#but you can't bring harpoons

[asleepinawell]

the best type of supervision tbh

[kirbybecomesastarwarrior]

Lady Celestine: Navigator of the Constellations:

The Forgotten Hero of Yore

The Merlyn of the KBASW (AU) & the love of Arthur's life.

Just to be clear Merlyn & Celestine are the same person it's just her disguise when she goes out.

For: @kirbyoctournament

Character Overview/Personality: She's the combination of Merlin from Disney's Sword & the Stone, Queen Eclipsa from SVTFW, Willy Wonka from (Wonka 2023 ), and Merlin from (the 2008 TV series).

She's an optimist... many of her peers mistake it for being naivety but in reality she's well aware of the darkness in the world... she sees it every day with her powers. Since seeing so many terrible things in the future she treasures the present and is always grateful for the things she enjoys in the now. (Also there's another reason for this....)

And finds the joy in the darkest of times...

She likes to be overly prepared... And tend to keep (*hoard) things they might need... Often tends to hold things she doesn't really need. With Arthus side eying her "You really need to keep that."

"Don't look at me like that Wart... WE MAY NEED THIS HARPOON ONE DAY WHO KNOWS & YOU'LL THANK ME LATER !" *proceeds to carry bloody harpoon home... with Arthur facepalming himself*

They actually did end up using that harpoon 3 months later & Celestine rubbed it in Arthur's face for an entire week. This constant hoarding led her to the first iteration of the Dimensional Cape, which started as a dimensional bag to store all her stuff. (LMAO).

This brings me to Celestine's wisdom & sass: similar to Merlin (the series & Disney) is filled with cleverness & comebacks. When she's doing her diplomatic work and out and about she knows how to do it "gracefully."But when she transforms into Merlyn, she lets loose exactly how Merlin is when he becomes Dragoon. Has no filter and becomes a chaotic old man throwing shade left & right

She hates' cursing so as resulting in hilarious, nonsensical words to place them: Fiddle sticks, biscuits, sweet butter crumpets, etc ~

Her future sight has made her a very empathic person... knowing the suffering of others in her visions. Creating a very kind, caring individual who wants the best for everyone, for them to be happy.

Keep reading for extra content & lore: (Which include spoilers for KBASW so tread carefully!) Other than that please continue...

Lore related content: (If you just want a short read)

In Denial (Oldest lore)

What Kind of King's in My Blood (Background info)

Celestine is Merlyn: (Most Current lore)

And fair warning I low-key wrote a novel... but there's a special prize at the end if you read all of it. (Extended Lore)

Lady Celestine serves as a catalyst for the anime Kirby series...

Now Celestine can't predict the exact future... only show potential paths. But her powers can guide people to the outcome they want and the path that constantly changing.

Absolom made Celestine focus solely on her future vision and trained her personally... He tried to paint himself as this kind saintly father figure towards her... but in reality, wanted to monopolize her ability.

He tremendous amount of pressure on the poor girl...(Mother Gothel Style "Mother knows best) Believing the only thing that made her valuable was her future sight. And one more thing about Celestine... SHE HATED HER FUTURE VISION! She didn't just see the future... she experienced it! Feeling all the raw emotions of the scene.

However, Absolum would guilt-trip her: "Oh you don't want to let everyone down... you're the only one who can do this... you're so special... you can't disappoint everyone..:

Causing her to grit her teeth and bear with it... Absolum was like a father to her she couldn't say "No." Plus it's not like she could let them down... One day she had a terrible vision foreshadowing the demise of Shiver Star...

The people of Shiver Star were infected by Dark Matter's essence... Nightmare & his demons robbed them and stole all the planet's resources... while the people were possessed and had their life sources absorbed by Dark Matter.

Celestine immediately ran to the other Heroes of Yore & Absolum.... for this and assured the worried child they'd take care of this... "don't worry we'll use this information and take care of it."

And they didn't just take care of it... THEY MADE IT WORSE! Seeing an even more terrible vision appeared before her.

~

Celestine: Wait I thought you said you'd-

Absolum: Oh but my child we did you said that planet was a goner anyway... they were already possessed.... it would be so wasteful if all those resources would fall to Nightmare...

Sir Uther: We cleared out the planet before Nightmare did. And killed all of those who were going to be infected & spread it throughout the galaxy... we prevented the problem before it even happened...*gives a wicked smile*

Absolum: Yes we couldn't have done it without you *gives a wicked smile*

Celestine couldn't help but blame herself for the downfall of Shiver Star... A few hours later Celestine's warpstar cracked-

"No problem... I think," Absolum

To remedy the situation, Absolum tried to fame concern for her but in reality was keeping her in the temple to hide that she was "broken." She could still tell fortunes just at random, they just had to keep her near the temple and store them whenever they came to her.

Absolum was still reeling at how could this happen... he didn't want to expose his little mistake. (In truth he knew he was working too hard and put her to work earlier than most, because of her ability... CHILD LABOR AM I RIGHT?!.) It was still too valuable, they can't risk having her break some more...

Thus, Celestine became a caged bird.

Uther felt that she was a failure unbecoming of a Hero of Yore and not deserving of her title. She can no longer do the ability properly and with her body always hurting how was she going to fight on the battlefield!

Along with that thought she be too emotional anyway... always trying to steer them to the future... the least amount of damage... HE WANTED PROGRESS! Often opting for the method that would get him results not caring about the collateral damage!

Icarus shares in Uther's sentiments, with the added notion that she got away with lazying around doing nothing. Just got to sit there waiting for the next prediction to come around. He & Uther were doing all the heavy lifting and she was still being treasured by Absolum... (he wasn't jealous of the attention or anything...)

Thus resulting in Icarus having the brilliant idea of sticking Celestine with all the political fairs (the paperwork). Which seemed like a good idea at the time (a decision they would all come to regret).

Unbeknownst to them... they had given Celestine all the diplomatic power in the galactic court. Managing to win over the galactic council with her charm and grace. Uther had always used his power to intimidate his ideals.

However, Celestine had a softer approach and was seen as far more likable in the... (this was before the council was corrupt and this was due to Celestine's influence...) Often resulting in the members to come to her for their problems. Uther couldn't beat her in this arena... being reminded all too well this was a political battle as well.

For Icarus, you see there was a... certain deal he wanted to part take in... a deal with Halacandra. Where did the GSA partner up with and believe that he could easily impress with his inventions... with their queen?! ( Minerva Mim - Magolor's great aunt)

What happened... the king was supposed to be here whys he spent an entire month sucking up to him who was this queen...

The queen was not impressed & ended up showing technology far greater than his... for the first time, Icarus was forced to eat humble pie... "How could this have, surely this is some sort of mistake shouldn't the king be here-"

"Oh he's dead... and unlike him, I'm not to be won over by pretty words and flattery now you offend me... why would I ever want to do business with a lowlife with you!"

Madam made sure to inform the GSA they would not be doing business with them & Absolum desperately wanted to get that deal. Then Celestine volunteered to remedy the situation & suggested inviting her here.

Absolum agrees seeing there is nothing to lose, Uther believes this was just a desperate attempt to try to be useful while Icarus is excitedly waiting for her to fail.

Meeting arrives Celestine takes care of everything personally and at the end of the day. Queen Minerva is all smiles and arrives with a contract, "Alright I've changed my mind, and I'll do the deal as long as I'm working with her."

Minerva wasn't interested in Icarus' inventions but Celestine's alchemic formulas were revolutionary. And just had to have her on their team.

Absolum was shocked and relieved... (maybe this girl had more than one use after all...) and was constantly praising her. And because of her connections with Minerva... she'll need a bodyguard now when she leaves the GSA base but what the why it was worth it.

And Icarus oh how badly he wanted to be part of the mixing pot, but he had to go through Celestine. Who was more than happy to reject his proposal and experiments. (Icarus never forgave her for this.)

She was becoming too influential now ... This resulted in Icarus scheming with Uther... to get rid of her.

Thus beginning the creations of the Ancients & the Halcandrans, with Celestine & Minerva leading the helm. Alongside Dairus Drosselmeyer (Minerva's right-hand man & Daroach's great uncle)... they created many of the legendary treasures... that were now scattered about the galaxy.

(These were kept secret from the GSA... Minerva knew the truth of the situation... for you see during the meeting she had hidden away Kirby's prediction not of him just defeating Nightmare, but the reawakening of Void Termina & Doomsday... and showed it to the Queen and she understood... that's the other reason why she said yes to her)

Minerva helps Celestine create the Kabu's across the galaxy and presents them as "safe houses for star warriors" but in reality, they were all preset guides to Kirby's prophecy.

And helped her create Triple Star... Thus the creating the vigilante Merlyn.... Her work as Merlyn didn't go unnoticed and the people of the galaxy started to recognize the hypocrisy of the GSA. Which made the Ancients & the other's blood boil.

This resulted in having Uther send in his send three of his best soldiers: Sir Nonsurat, Dame Morgan, and last but not least (you guessed it WART... I mean Sir Arthur.)

Kirby's prophecy spoke of "a match" to start the spark that would flame of a new era of peace...

Arthur- Match/ Meta Knight - Spark/Kirby - Flame

At the time she didn't know who it was; the prophecy was incredibly vague with which one it was. But she wasn't going to pass her knowledge to any of them without being sure. (She didn't want another Shiver Star incident to happen... not again...)

But how would she determine which one it would be... they all seemed the most unlikely candidates as "the match." How could she weed out which one... A TRAIL, A TEST, A GAME!

So like in tales of old, Celestine did these little tests of character... and would secretly tag along during missions. Giving them all a chance to see which one it would participate in... Giving them little riddles of the monster Nightmare would do. But she always gave them a choice... (breadcrumbing) and "can't force anyone to change."

However, three of them all seem annoyed at this except for... Sir Arthur was the only one captivated and interested. It takes a while for Arthur to accept Merlyn's but only after the events of:

What Kind of King is in My Blood:

That makes him actively ask for Merlyn (Celestine to help him change) and pretty much becomes Celestine's partner in crime. And as to become a willing student... merely wishing not to become like his master (Sir Uther).

However, their little sparring match still happening, with the condition that he should win... Merlyn's not allowed to be called him Wart... (Needless to say she fought him twice as hard.)

(This post-Celestine is Merlyn:) It goes into more detail about their relationship here but... I added a few things.

Romantic feelings only start after that...

Basically, before they knew they were head-over-heals for each other their love could never be in reality. Not just because of their positions but something else...

After her warpstar broke... she received a terrible vision of her body eventually breaking and her disappearing into star dust. Foreseeing her early death...

She had initially accepted but after all the friends she made (and falling in love with Arthur) she did everything she could to stay longer for them... Celestine tried to keep herself together as long as she could, and managed to keep herself alive a little longer (than she was supposed to) but now she could feel it... she was running out of time.

How was she supposed to tell her everyone... Minerva would be devastated, who was going to help Darius (& Minerva) with his creations, who would protect her followers, and stop Uther & Icarus from making the galaxy into a wasteland...

And worst of all she'd leave Arthur all alone & heartbroken. Who's supposed to tease him now, make sure he doesn't do anything reckless, keep that ego in check, make sure he isn't a prat, to remind him to smile and enjoy life... to laugh... oh her poor little Wart...

No there must be another way...she couldn't tell any of her friends... she wasn't giving up yet... However, little did she know that was the least of her worries...

Celestine was always careful with hiding her connections with her alter-ego... and Arthur, but there was one person who did figure this out. Sir Nonsurat; after Arthur had saved "Merlyn" from his grasp he started to see a pattern.

Arthur had been an accomplice to Merlyn's along... "HOW DARE ARTHUR, I KNEW YOU NEVER DESERVED YOUR POSITION AND WITH THIS YOU WILL BE RUINED FOR SURE."

Thus, Celestine received numerous horrible visions (she got them all at once)... of Arthur being found guilty in a trial. And at the end of each, Arthur had refused to sell her out, remaining loyal to her, confessing his love for her, and dying. And then she saw her demise as well... her body finally breaking right after... poofing into stardust.

Being completely overwhelmed, she burst into tears. Desperately searching for a future where they could both live... (a future where she could be happy with him.) However, it was either that she & Arthur had escaped and her body would explode and Arthur would be captured (by the GSA) and executed right after for his desertion).

Celestine couldn't help but believe that she had destroyed Arthur's future all because she had gotten involved... (it was Shiver Star all over again.) Just like in the other futures... what could she possibly do...

Perhaps...she could solve one problem with another...

So, before the day Nonsurat was going to turn in his report of evidence... Celestine had stolen it away. And with the help of Darius, they manipulated the information to frame someone else...

Nonsurat was infuriated once he found his evidence to be stolen... But he didn't want to cause an uproar, so he demanded a completed search of every squadron. Under the pretext "there is a traitor among us, and they've stolen my documents..."

A complete search required every general to be accounted for. Nonsurat observed Arthur carefully only to find him especially giddy!?

Arthur: I do hope the search is finished soon... The sooner we finish here the sooner I can give Celestine this-

Kit Cosmo: Code red! Everyone needs to come to the Courtyard immediately! Were under attack!

Arthur: By who?!

Kit Cosmo: By... Lady Celestine...

~

(She had already known Icarus was trying to take her down... so using her Nonsurat's evidence, she had successfully framed herself... handing it in in the guise of one of Icarus' informants.)

With the information he had put together and received, Sir Icarus concocted a false trail that Celestine was leaking information and was secretly in cahoots... with Merlyn.

Since it was a trial that involved someone as high-ranking as her... she knew the trial would exclude a select few. And since she knew Nonsurat would warrant a search... she knew it would be the perfect thing to keep Arthur out of the trail.

Celestine: Well, if I am going to get locked away... I might as well make it worth the sentencing.

It was at this moment that Celestine unleashed her demonic owl (she had hidden away) and bit off his head Absolum; killing him instantly. (Madoka Magica style). Icarus tried to stop her but failed Celestine resulting in his wings being ripped off. And officially went on a rampage letting out all those years of unbridled rage & sorrow she had kept in.

Then she remembered quickly about Kirby's prediction... quickly she created her own army of Hydro Clones... to leave them all at bay.

She went into her lab and quarters and destroyed every piece of magical research and Alchemic formula. She wasn't going to let them benefit & use her research any longer and most importantly to keep Kirby's predictions... but one person who managed to get through the army... it was none other than Uther.

Uther: I always knew you were a little witch~

Celestine: That was a sham trial & you know it ... You forced my hand

Uther: You should; 've stayed in your place, someone weak as you, you are not worthy of your spot as a Hero of Yore-

Celestine: Well you are not worthy of your spot as leader! You never were and one day you'll fall you'll see *at that moment Celestine received another vision-*

At that moment Uther thought this was the perfect chance to lung at her but this backfired... he accidentally ended up seeing Celestine's vision too... And it visibly shook him to his core.

Being overwhelmed by the very visions that plague Celestine, (claiming before she was emotionally weak, was causing him to be paralyzed by fear...) It was a vision of his throne crumbling down& everything he built and it was being led by one astral... he couldn't make out the face... was... was it pink...

Celestine tried to pull away so he couldn't see the rest of the vision... and ended up striking his right eye to stop him... Uther was left frozen while Celestine could feel her body about to break and desperately made her escape... But as she stormed out...

Uther: Will make sure you're vision will not come to pass I will find that pink warrior if it's the last thing I do... And I'll- you'll die by my blade gah- *Still paralyzed because of the vision & couldn't get up

Celestine: Sorry Uther... but I'm afraid that honor won't go to you...*runs out to find Arthur* I've already selected my champion...

In the commotion, Arthur manages to find her, desperate he reaches, Celestine:

Arthur: We have to... you need to run-

Celestine: Graduation time Wart *sees a cast of other soldiers & on-looker watching* - Let's see what you're made of! Just treat it as one of our sparring matches and we'll be fine-

After all the losses in their sparing matches, Arthur finally manages to beat Celestine... "Well done, Arthur- you've finally done it, you've w-" * Visibly starts to break... and falls- and Arthur catches her

(Celestine pulls up a smokescreen so no one can see them... however, three people manage to sneak in)

Arthur: Celestine, what's happening to you-

Celestine: I've come to the end of my time- due to my condition my body was bound to break... I didn't mean to hide it... I really thought I could beat the odds... I'm sorry War- Oh I guess I can't call you Wart-

Arthur: NO! If that's the case you weren't in the best condition- *starts crying* I didn't really win-, you have to stay *sobs profusely* You have to stay and call me Wa-Wart!

Celestine: Figures *chuckles...* it takes you this long to finally admit you like the nickname ... Thank you Arthur you made my life short all the worthwhile... I hope you can forgive me

Arthur: There's nothing to forgive Cel- Celty, *cries* I love you, please there is always something... There's always, you told me that... You're the greatest mage in the galaxy... there's got to be...

Celestine: I surely hope that light of you doesn't get snuffed out *smiles warmly* it's going to be hard Wart but remember this...

Keep your eyes open and beware of the bad in the world... but also hold on to the good as well... you don't have to look, just know that it's there... it'll keep you from falling...

(the quote that Meta Knight said to Kirby originally came from Sir Arthur... that was told from Celestine...)

And even should you lose your way I know you'll find it again... you'll always be a worthy king to me. I love you too Arthur... and I always will.... (*they share one passionate kiss*)

It was a kiss Arthur had so longed for, but it was laced with so much sorrow and joy all at the same time...

Arthur: I don't wanna let you go-* Gets knocked out by Minerva...

She had informed Minerva before the trial (and of course was devastated but was willing to fulfill her last request). And who stood behind her were Darius & Kit the only three witnesses to what really happened. Kit realizes that Celestine is Merlyn... She then handed off and knocked out Arthur to Darius & Kit Cosmo.

And made sure they promised to paint Arthur as the hero who defeated her. And fled the scene and Minerva went to her best friend and hugged her one last time... and fled with the others.

When they had all left to safety... she lifted the smoke screen only to see a hoard of Ancients led by Uther try to arrest her. She flew into the air Celestine had her Gravity wicked moment... as her body finally was about to shatter into pieces.

Celestine: I curse you all, *putting one final spell cursing the Ancients* (basically she's the reason why they all disappeared)

As her body started to implode they mistook it to be a suicide bombing and she was planning to take them all down with her... thinking quick the Ancients Crystalized to prevent the explosion...

But in that moment she has one final vision of Arthur taking the seat as leader of the GSA. She smiles and says "I always you could do it Wart *starts cry* It's just too bad I'll never be able to see it in person".

Arthur woke up in the hospital wing hearing... Darius & Kit recount the story of the incident. With the way Kit & Darius spun it was Arthur who saved the day... (Arthur realized this was all part of Celestine's plan: to give him a title that would protect him even when she was gone...) Arthur * began to weep* with Kit trying to comfort him the best he could...

Making Arthur (to the Ancients) irreplaceable... being able to take down a Hero of Yore when they (Icarus & Uther) could not. Being extremely grateful (and needing a new holy figure), gave him the title of "Holy Knight," and said they owed him one favor...

(So basically he got credit for defeating the love of his life & took her place as the GSA's holy figure...)

So in summary:

Before being detained, she managed to rip off Icarus' wings, blind Uther in his right eye, and kill about 500 Ancients. She was trying to escape only to be stopped by Sir Arthur, who defeated her in battle. But tried to escape only to be cornered by the remaining soldiers... and seeing she had nowhere else to run...

Despite the efforts of the Ancients to paint her as wicked, people could not believe in the shame of a trial. Especially Minerva, when she heard this false slander on her best friend (she had enough of it)... she declared Halcandra's formal separation from the GSA. Cutting them from Halcandra's advanced technology caused an even bigger scandal. And had put her down to silence her as well... removing her...

(What happened to Darius... well that's a story for later)

Ruining their reputation even further... destroying the pristine image they had built up until now. And those who were at the trail were split in the middle... On one hand, it seemed like she had gone on a rampage because of her unfair judgment and merely reacted because she was pushed into the corner. On the other hand, she had always been hiding away her true nature & hatred for all of them, and once she had been found out... she unleashed all of it.

Were both true...

As a result, the Ancients tried to erase her from existence... from the galaxy, with only the remaining Ancients & the Heroes of Yore remembering her... Celestine had become forgotten.` Basically, she was described as (by the Ancients) the unspeakable third who tried to destroy them all & maliciously take them down with her. And she had to be erased...

However, this did not remedy the situation... Uther was still haunted by Celestine's vision he must hunt down the pink warrior... he will not have his reign end. Icarus was all too happy to take over the Halcandra projects... however, was always constantly reminded of being reduced to flightless astral and still hates her to this day.

While everyone had forgotten Celestine: they all remembered Merlyn. But even though, "Merlyn" had become a legend, many doubted the actual existence... of this supernatural being.

However, there was one person who managed to remember her... and that's where her story ends...

Or maybe not...

Her crystallization saved her preventing her from exploding... So she was still alive in there. They tried to hide her crystal in a cave and seal it off so no one would find her... Little did they know that the cave held one of the dark portals of Morpho accidentally ending up in the underworld...

And guess who ends up accidentally winds up there.

BTW they got married in the Underworld

I actually planned this out to be a tragedy, but I ended up making them have a happy ending... (that I can't reveal just yet how it happens in the story)

BUT BEST BELIEVE OUR GIRL GETS EVERYTHING SHE DESERVES AND SITS ON THE THRONE WITH HER KING WHERE SHE BELONGS!

And if you read this long thank you for reading! <3

[moving-asfateentertwines]

Spixo?? Roter?? Tf are they called??

Anyway

Rotxo has identity issues and has a crisis when the Sully kids show up

They're different. They aren't of their people and they're weird - they have extra fingers, tufts of hair over their eyes, their skin is dark, their eyes the wrong size, their tails too thin - he could go on

Yet they're so proud

There's a sense of purpose in them, they aren't quite kids like he, Ao'nung, or Tsireya are.

It scares the hell out of him

He lashes out at Lo'ak and Kiri, goes for their weaknesses when Ao'nung does

He wants them to leave, take their war with them, and let his family stay safe and tucked away on their beaches

They don't, clearly, and yet he comes to care for them

They're freaks but they're his freaks

Tsireya coming home with blood on her hands, teary cheeks, and Lo'ak in her arms terrifies him. However much he grew up that day he thinks she did double

Ao'nung is suddenly fast tracking his apprenticeship as Olo'eyktan

And he's left behind

Spider comes with the worst day of his life thus far

He once would have gutted anyone who said he would accept a sky person in his home but so much has changed and he can't bring himself to do anything without Ao'nung there to lead him

So he throws himself into his training, wanting to stop what happened to him and his friends from ever happening here

If what happened in the forests happened here he thinks it would kill him

Then Jake convinces Tonowari to let them use a gun

Tonowari - the man who is practically a second father to him after growing up between his children, who hated this war more than anyone he knew, who barely let them use offensive moves before their 15th year - is scared for them

He's awful with a gun

Metkayina kids don't get to carry a gun, it's not allowed to be their primary weapon, it's only for emergencies, but he saw what happened to Neteyam and he needs to know how to use it

He's off in the woods along their beaches trying to practice. Training was over hours ago but he doesn't take to it like the older kids (he and Ao'nung are the youngest learning right now - they strong armed their way in and he thinks it broke Tonowari a little bit inside)

Every shot is just a little off, he can't get the target quite right

Metyakina are spear wielders, their weapons bring them close to their enemies and they use their strength to bring them down. Bows are a necessity but archers are few in the specialty: it's just not what they do

The gun is heavy in his hands, hard to balance and kicks back every time he tries to shoot

Why the hell a weapon bites the user he has no fucking clue -

"Brace your back foot. You're leaning too much, it's not a harpoon."

...

Rotxo will swear for the decades to come that he did not jump, fuck you-

Then the little sky-person is there

He met Spider when they brought him home

The boy was pale, thin beyond what he suspected was natural if the slight sway to his stance had anything to say. He was mottled in bruises and striped with scars but there was a feral strength in the kids eyes

He stuck close to the Sully kids, blended right into the little pack they made up

The other kids flanked him at nearly all times. He never saw the blonde alone and they seemed happy that way. The kid was haunted but he guesses they all are now

They didn't talk much. Lo'ak threatened him with raw fear in his eye that if he and Ao'nung even tried an ounce of what they did to him then peace talks and found friendships be damned, he'd make them regret it

Spider would hang out with them, but he didn't talk much. Most of the others still resented him. They feared him or hated him and Rotxo suspects he knew that

That said, he doesn't know what to do when Spider walks up and forces his gun down to his level

He moves his hands, steps back and adjusts his stance, then steps back with an approving nod.

"Alright. Aim a little lower, you aren't in the green. Shoot, it'll be better."

He hits the target in the neck, then the tree behind it. The gut the third time.

"Uh..thanks."

[seramilla]

Could you imagine if a little after the first attack (the angelic spear harpoon thing) Sera realizes she's pregnant with their fourth baby but now until everything calms down she decides not to say anything?

Sera had found out shortly after the near-miss on her and Emily's life by Heaven -- the incident involving one of Vox's heavily modified drone devices being shot at them from out of the sky. And then Odette had nearly met her own end at that traitor employee of Carmilla's. Sera thought better about bringing it up to Carmilla at that time. Everyone had been through so much, and she didn't want to add one more worry to everyone else's plate.

Initially, she'd thought it was her own anxiety and fear making her sick. That is, until the occasional sick feeling became a more daily thing, and she'd wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, with a concerned Carmilla standing next to her, patting her back, while everything from dinner the previous night ended up in the trash can next to their bed.

The episodes had continued, but now things are settling down. Lucifer had told her brother Seraphiel, the new High Seraphim of Heaven, that he held no power in his realm. Any future assaults on his family would be considered an act of war, and thus Seraphiel's hands and wings were tied. Until he could come up with a new scheme to get back at Sera, her family is safe...for the time being, anyway.

There may not be a better time to let Carmilla in on the little thing she'd learned, Sera thinks. The secret she's been keeping from her until now. She gets the supplies ready for when Carmilla comes home that evening. As soon as her wife walks into their bedroom, sighing heavily, about to collapse onto the bed next to Sera...she realizes Sera isn't lying down, or asleep, like she normally would be at this hour. She's standing there, holding something out to Carmilla in her hand. Carmilla takes it, and about falls onto the floor in shock.

A pregnancy test. And not just one, but two pregnancy tests, that are both unequivocally positive. Sera had wanted to be absolutely certain, before confronting Carmilla with this. Carmilla just stands there, looking down at the objects in her claws, completely at a loss for what she's looking at.

"Where...?" Carmilla asks, barely able to form a cohesive sentence. "What--I--where did you get these?"

"Belphegor delivered them to me," Sera said, confused as to why that's what Carmilla is focusing on. She gets her answer almost immediately, when Carmilla actually does have to sit down at that moment, and barely makes her way to the bed before falling over onto it.

"How...?" she asks, which seems like an odd question to Sera, considering Carmilla already has two girls of her own. She should know how this works by now. "Is it...is it mine?"

"Of course it is!" Sera insists. "Who else would it belong to? Carmilla, I'm pregnant! You're going to be a mother again!" Sera says this with so much sincerity, overshadowed with so much love and joy, that she can't help but scoop up the smaller woman into her lap, holding her, while Carmilla still looks down at the tests in her hand, dumbstruck.

"I--" She's still at a loss for words. "How did--Sera, I'm not supposed to be able to have anymore!"

"What?" Sera's confused, and pulls away from Carmilla slightly to look down at her. "What do you mean, Carm?"

"After the Exterminations started...I didn't want to run the risk of having more. Belphegor and Lucifer worked some spell on me. They said it was practically 100% effective. How is this even possible?"

Sera looks down at Carmilla, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. Whatever magic the two monarchs had done on Carmilla...obviously "almost 100%" doesn't mean that it's fool-proof. The overlord shouldn't be that surprised.

Carmilla is looking up at her, still dumbstuck. Sera can tell she's still somewhat in shock. It's exceedingly cute and adorable.

Sera hugs Carmilla close, peppering her forehead with affectionate nips and kisses. Even though it's not quite the reaction she'd been expecting, it's definitely understandable, considering what Carmilla had just informed her. "Well...surprise, darling!"

"Ay dios mio," Carmilla replies, before collapsing onto the bed beside her.

[niftukkun]

=The Exiled=

[A fierce combatant with unrelenting claws and a better jump than most. With rage in your heart, yours is a path is lined with constant blood and wrath.]

[Little Gods and Passing Beasts AU, aka roleswapped rain world! ;; more under the cut]

scug Pebbles in Artificer's campaign!! as is only right. they have rage-to-rage communication no matter the world lmao.

so yeah pebbles with a hella grudge. a little bit of a twist though, in this campaign you are not targeting scavengers, but vultures. vultures in the Inquirer, Hearth, Skydiver, and Exiled campaigns are much more common compared to Drifter, Surveyor, and Martyr's campaigns. id imagine theyre still limited to certain areas and maybe even regions - so for example, no vultures in the shaded citadel equivalent, but in areas where they can be encountered, there would be very very many of them and an extremely high likelihood of encounter and death. to keep things balanced, however, the hp of regular vultures and king vultures are lowered, though not by that much only to like 50 or 75% of their actual HP. to fight, Exiled has a maul like Artificer but better and a double jump ability similar to Arti but without the actual bomb part. they also have the boosted spear damage like Arti and Hunter. i am also very tempted to give them Gourmand's drop slam thing just for funsies but thats only a maybe right now. in the Exiled campaign, it starts like Artificers in getting a citizen ID drone, and starts picking up when you get to the metropolis equivalent ive been calling Lofty Roost. after exploring for a bit you may find the tallest building, the highest perch, and encounter the King Miros Vulture (>20 HP, essentially a miros vulture w the harpoons, slightly faster land walk speed, and a cool unique vulture mask).

the Exiled was once a young, arrogant and slightly callous little scuppy. upon reaching hunting age, the Not Yet Exiled decided to be a little... risky. decided to hunt a vulture, a common threat in the colony's territory, all by themself. and they succeeded. at the time, the Not Yet Exiled was the only one injured, the only one who got close enough to the successfully hunted vulture to get a scar in their eye. when the rest of the hunting party drew close however, is when things started going wrong. the King Miros Vulture was in the area. everyone was too occupied, too distracted to see it before it swooped down and struck. the Hearth, kindest and loved by the colony, got snapped up. thankfully it was a fairly large hunting party, so no one died. though quite a lot were injured, the Hearth had the worst injury and that was only because every scug was caught off guard. however, it was still a hunting party. sure the colony can forage and they do have a stockpile of food, but thats a big blow to food acquirement, and the Hearth, who was only there because it was their little sibling's first hunt, was injured to the point it would take several cycles for them to recover - if they will at all. so. the colony leaders decided to exile the young scug. this was their first hunt. their skill assessment, to see if they are fit to hunt at all - and they went out on their own and decided to hunt one of the biggest threats in the area. sure, it was successful, and if they did manage to bring back the vulture with no one else hurt the colony leaders might have even considered giving the young scug a reward in the name of sharpening their already exceptional hunting skills - but they went out on their own when slugcats are supposed to hunt together, to make sure everyone comes home. willful endangerment of an entire party like that,, they can't let it slide. so the Exile was exiled. given instructions of a territory far enough away where the hunting is good and told they are never able to go home. it angered them. it was a successful hunt! they took down a vulture! sure a couple scugs were injured but it wasnt their fault! they dont know if their sibling is alive oh stars what have they done.

after quite a lot of cycles living alone, stewing in anger and guilt and hunting down almost exclusively vultures, they decide to move. they make their way,,, somewhere. and find an odd device that starts following them around. after more wandering they eventually find an iterator named Explosive Redamancy, fallen but functional and calling them her citizen? sure. more importantly she gives them information on where the King Miros Vulture is! Revenge Will Be Theirs!!! revenge will not bring Hearth back. will not let them back in their colony. is it even worth it? it has to be. what else could they do?

[peanut-butter-and-theatre]

17 + richjake

17. Tending to an injury/wound/illness

"This kit sucks," Jake starts, "And— And you're an idiot."

"I figured surfing couldn't be that hard," Rich defends, his fingers never pausing while messing in the sand around him. He leans to the side, looking at the water behind Jake. "Oh, shit— I don't know where the board went."

"You have bruises from the board hitting you," Jake notes. Disinfectant solution falls from the bottle onto Rich’s skin. "And you're bleeding. How the fuck are you bleeding?"

Rich, the stranger, carefully picks up a fingertip's worth of sand and flicks it at Jake's hair. He snickers at himself, then answers, "Sliced my leg on a shell or something?"

Jake shakes his head. Gauze presses between his and Rich’s skin. "That lifeguard has probably never met a dumber motherfucker."

"Oh, he should be glad you were there," Rich waves a dismissive hand towards the ocean, "To 'save' me as painfully as you could've. I think I got water in my nose and my ears! You're a real lifesaver, Jakey."

Before he can give another thought, Jake leans forward. "You're just mad I didn't give you CPR."

Sometimes, Jake forgets who he's talking to. At the joke—ha, a joke—Jake would expect Rich (before) to pause. He'd expect a hesitant laugh, a hard shove, and a snort followed by a 'dude, you're gross!'

But Rich (after) doesn’t hesitate. He doesn't push him. He just smiles, rolls his eyes, runs a hand through his already messed up hair, and laughs, "In your dreams."

For everything Jake reminisces about, for everything about Rich (before) that Jake still thinks about, there are few things that Jake actually wholeheartedly prefers about the before. So few things, in fact, that when Rich smiles at him after the medicine is poured and the bandages are wrapped, Jake can't help but not remember how Rich used to smile.

"Think you can walk?" Jake asks. (And, of course, he smiles. Jake's face always forces him to in accordance with Rich’s smile.)

Rich doesn’t even fake trying to stand up, he just sits still. "No, you'll have to saw my legs off," Rich tells him, then laughs, looking down at the sand, "Or carry me like a bass you harpooned."

It is a joke, Jake has to tell himself. A joke.

"I'm leaving you on the beach," then Jake stands up, taking the first aid kit into his arms.

Rich stands up as well with little trouble, proving his claims false. ("A shame," Jake thinks). Rich brings the back of his hand to his forehead, putting on an accent somewhere between standard British and American southern, "You treat the ill terribly!"

"Your ass is hitchhiking home," Jake lies.

And Rich (after) smiles.

[bahamutgames]

GCPL Game Jam 2024

Hello! Recently the county I live in held an event where you could go and play some games made by local people for the county's game jam they held! I had no idea this was happening until just a few days before, so sadly I didn't enter the jam, but I did get to go to the event and play the games!

I had a great time, the whole Free Comic Book Day event was neat, I got cards from a lot of local artists, saw some cool cosplays, got to play some jam games, met some cool indie devs, and even got a free Monster High comic. Neat.

Anyway, I figure it would be a shame and also just downright rude to not talk about what I got to play during the event! So I figured, hey, let's just make little post solely devoted to it :)

Before we begin, here's the link to the jam page (x) so you can see all the submissions. The theme was "Tales from the Abyss" so a lot of them are horror themed!

Abyssal Assault - by Link362

This one is a pretty basic top down shooter. But for some reason I can't stop thinking about how good it felt. You'll play it yourself and see how simple it is, but for some reason the mouse control for aiming just feels particularly good to me. I think there's a lot of potential in this game for some serious improvement if they add more enemy types and upgrades. I can see sniping enemies with arrows from across the screen being SO satisfying and using the deadzones as cover from enemy fire could be really cool and make for some unique mechanics in a VS-like. If they care to iterate on the game, of course lol

Abyssal Eats - by Poyomain

DUDE this game absolutely rules actually! I had a very difficult time with it during the event and couldn't beat it at all. But after coming back to it today to make this post I seriously LOVE the concept. All the mechanics and stuff really came together and I genuinely love this game!

This is a neat game where you use cards to cook recipes for monsters, it's a little difficult to understand because there's no tutorial, but I really think this game has TONS of potential to be fleshed out into a full project! It's also one of the nicest presentations from this jam, having cute custom graphics and even an original song made just for it! This one is super neat!

Bell-Punk - by Ingward

One of my personal favorites from the jam! When I came up to play it, the person who made it told me they were waiting for me to come over cause they wanted someone who knew what they were doing to try the game... Do I really just give off the gamer aura? Terrifying thought.

Regardless, this is a top down twin stick shooter where you use a harpoon gun to beat up sharks, grab a pearl, then slowly bring it back to your ship. It's nothing super fleshed out, but it's a REALLY good concept in my opinion, and I think deep sea stuff is SUCH a good concept for a shooter / horror / abyss theme that really doesn't get used enough. Just this base with some upgrades, level and enemy variety, other objectives, ect ect would be KILLER! But the creator told me some of their plans for the concept going forward, and I'm not sure if I'm allowed to talk about them, but they sound REALLY cool, so I'll absolutely be keeping up with this one!

Dante's Diner - by cjoyner150

So, I absolutely SUCKED at this game. Couldn't do it during the event and can't do it now. But I still wanted to give it a shoutout cause it's such a good use of the theme. Basically the abyss is the diner you work in and demons will come in, and sit at the table, and you just have to cook for them. Easy peasy. The creators told me the tables were based on the circles of hell, and if that's what they're going for that's GENIUS. I could seriously see a ton of potential in the concept especially if, say, different types of customers sat at different tables, reflecting their sin. Also, this cooking dinerdash game has enemies. Neat! They should put combat into it to

Dimension - by cbianca168

Simple, but OH so addicting. I could NOT stop playing this one. I gave it so many tries at the actual event, but had to give up. However, once I got home and could play it with a controller, it was a lot easier. This is a simple game where you have to pick up orbs while dodging scrap and not get knocked into a black hole. But it's got a nice presentation with its visuals and particularly its music. The creator told me their siblings made the song, and it actually changes to match how far you are into the level! Which is VERY neat! Think you can beat my score?

Hansel And Gretel's Summoning - by kingofthedregs

Another simple one with a really good presentation. This is a cute game where you have to quickly search for candy in a room, and hide whenever a witch comes by. It's easy when you get the hang of it but it was a good challenge when I started. I really like the original artwork in this one and I actually think there's a lot of potential too! I didn't realize the set up for a big plot that appears at the end, so I'd love to see more of what the creator has in store here!

Melt - by p3arldiv3r

So by the time I'm writing this I still haven't gotten an ending in this (sorry to everyone who made visual novels READING IS HARD FOR ME) but I wanted to give a shout out to this one in particular. The creator told me they made all this stuff brand new and original for the game jam. Including the writing, the character designs, and the art. Which is CRAZY! I've only participated in one jam and a lot of the art in that game was pretty small so I feel like doing all the art and writing in such a short time is very impressive. If stuff about angels sounds interesting, maybe check it out, the creator said it's roughly the size of a chunk of a novel, and with multiple endings is a pretty loaded jam game!

Pirate Tales: Lighting The Abyss - by ChokladGames

Another one I couldn't beat, but still wanted to give a shoutout to. This is another impressively large game considering it was made for a game jam. You control a pirate ship, and have to search a large ocean to find clues on where towers are to shoot them down and get rid of the evil fog over the ocean. It's a little lengthy of a game that you have to beat in one sitting, but the concept is very cool and over all I think it's an impressive project! I was also particularly impressed with the use of actual wind physics, where sailing in the direction of the wind makes you go faster! Neat!

Sticky's Dream Job - by MeganG

A shoot 'em up!! You already know I love those! And it's a vampire survivor like, which is cool! I really enjoy this game, since this genre is a personal favorite, and I think this one in specific is very cute with its scribbly aesthetic and being on paper. But it's also a very impressive jam game overall, having multiple classes (they all share the same weapons, but still) with different music tracks for each, lots of upgrades, and actual achievements which is NUTS to me. There's also some cool weapons I feel like I hadn't seen before like a radius shield and giant weapons you lob in an arc similar to Castlevania. I believe this one won the jam over all if I remember correctly, and it certainly earned it, neat game! I got to year 79 and became so powerful I couldn't die. Typical day for a game dev am I right fellas?

Under the Sea - by htesdev

A neat little side scrolling platformer! The whole point of this one is to complete the obstacle course as quickly as possible! You collect coins to increase your speed, and collect gems for checkpoints. It's simple but I think it's a great premise for a side scroller to take place underwater! Especially since water levels are pretty notorious lol. I think this could be expanded and they could really expand on the idea of the level getting harder to see the deeper you get. Anyway, I only got to 67 seconds (66 appears to be the best time) so try and see if you can get that quick!!

VOID - by FoxTrot

Another cool top down shooter! This one is admittedly a lot more polished, having a lot of mechanics such as dashing and shielding. But coolest of all is that you unlock a new spell every floor and can spend coins to swap out your abilities to a load out you enjoy! I keep saying this but this is super impressive for a jam game in my opinion! I think this game can be expanded even more into something really cool! I just like being able to change my abilities on the fly lol

---

And that's just a bit of what I played at the event! There's even more games in the jam I didn't get to check out or that weren't showcased there! And there were TONS of horror games, so if you're interested in some bite sized indie horror, you should check out what else is available!

Everyone who participated in this jam is SUPER talented and if you're interested in ANYTHING that was shared here, I encourage you to go give it a look! I love seeing things made locally where I'm from so it was really exciting to see some Georgia game devs at work :)

If anyone from the Free Comic Book Day event stumbles upon this post, reach out! I'd love to talk more with other Georgia gamers!

[12pt-times-new-roman]

y'all I'm not fucking ready for this.

How many weeks in a row is this with no DDB sponsor?

Matt is dressed in Ruidus colors. fear

personally? I think it would be very funny if somebody replaced Liam's chair with one that's a foot shorter than everyone else's.

I'm fully expecting Ira to be a Garmellie/Artagan situation. This motherfucker is an archfey slumming it on Exandria and ancient god-killing wizard dilfs are his dive bar of choice.

Ira was around for at least one previous apogee solstice, but he was in the Feywild when it happened so he didn't get to see the true extent of is power.

"What do you think about the gods?" "I don't think about them." good answer, good answer

Aberrations and other "mythological creatures" born on solstices (even normal ones) are particularly powerful.

The circlet prevents Imogen from hearing the thoughts of people around her. It just eliminates that entirely. And with it goes most of the reasons she'd have to side with Ludinus and Otohan. Truly the peak of non-wizard mortal hubris, to consider killing the gods before looking for an item or a spell to solve your problem first

Sending to Keyleth from Imogen: "We're a couple hours out, to the southwest. Are we meeting up? Just going for it? Help?" "I'm gathering those of able-body who recovered from our last endeavor. I'll look for a tree. Let me know when you need the cavalry; our arrival isn't quiet."

"I go over and give Fearne a big hug." "Aww—" "I reach into her pocket." never change, Ashton

A ways out from the crater, the Bells Hells come upon a structure in the storm — the wood and stone wreckage of a skyship that carried a cathedral on it. It's mangled and burned; the brumestone has been scavenged. It looks recent, and the outer hull is covered in mounts for heavy armor, harpoons, and cannons, but it was brought down by battle on the deck, not by massive damage to the outer hull. The iconography indicates that it was from Vasselheim, possibly a Judicator ship.

jesus fucking christ. Matt could not say "DO NOT GO THROUGH WITH CRASHING THE SHIP" any more clearly.

if that dispel pulse is shutting down the automatons briefly, then maybe it's not actually intentional. maybe it's a by-product, an unintended consequence.

it never ceases to amaze me that without fail and across all of his characters, Travis manages to be both the voice of "fuck it we ball" and the person who slows down combat to calm players.

like, does CritRoleStats keep track of how many combat encounters each PC has started? bc Chetney has got to be up there with Imogen this campaign

this battle music has the same opening notes as the 2001 theme and now I can't hear anything else

The spellcaster has a +6 spell attack, but also cast hold person at 5th level and did 15 damage on a fire bolt, so they're most likely 9th level with a +2 spellcasting ability modifier.

Ashton rage build update: 2 on the d4 is the space build (portals!). they took the Crusher feat for their 8th level ASI. also, when the space build is active, they can use portals (either as a bonus action or as a result of hitting a creature or as a result of bringing a creature to 0 hp) to teleport to any space they can see within 30 or 60 feet of them.

As a reminder, shock flare is a reskin of arms of hadar, but it pushes creatures away instead of preventing them from taking reactions and deals lightning damage instead of necrotic.

Tal saying "five foot step" gave me hella flashbacks to Pathfinder 1e

"Well, I don't get to choose, do I? Let's just go with it." god fucking damnit. Ashton's rage abilities and how fucking random they are is so poetically and narratively intwined with the themes of this campaign, it's wild

it will never not amuse me that Matt, without fail, misunderstands the way the command spell works. it's super minor and not a big deal but as someone with a DM who's pretty on-top of it, it's very funny

Imogen gets pulled into a tent by a very quick and quiet force.

"Who are you, and why are you fighting the Vanguard?" "I've got friends coming in. Friends or enemies?" "I asked you first." "The question isn't why! It's 'are you fighting too'?" "Who are you with?" "

oh my god of fucking COURSE there are already infiltrators in here. of course there are. why wouldn't there be? Ryn didn't come here alone.

BEAUREGARD???

BEAUREGARD!!!!

y'all you have no fucking idea how excited I am——

"He can go say hi to the rest of his friends we've put there [in jail]." how fucking many of the Cerberus Assembly are in jail now? we know Trent is in there but who else?

CALEB!!!! blorbo!!!

"So. What's the play here, Beauregard?"

They're both friends to the Verity, and they've worked with Ryn before. They came here with her, trying to do a recon mission before she was taken.

The Children of Malice are a front for the Ruby Vanguard.

Caleb and Beau saw the other skyship go down. It was from Vasselheim. The Vanguard struck the skyship from the sky at Ludinus' request, though Caleb hasn't seen any sign of Ludinus being in the crater for many days. But the perpetual dispel pulse was intentionally installed.

Caleb, Beau, and Ryn were all on the Shadowfell team — they were able to damage the key, but unable to completely destroy it.

Caleb refers to Ludinus as the most powerful of the assembly, "the one who could topple it all" if he goes down. He and Beau came here alone;

The entire site is illusion-proofed, there's a dispel wave every minute. There are also mage-hunter golems here, which we've only ever heard of existing inside the Heirloom Sphere. I am forcibly reminded of the fact that Ludinus Da'leth is aware of the Happy Fun Ball.

"The absolute, absurd amount of muscles she has—" "Like Marisha?" *raised eyebrow* Matthew. (fuckin' simp (affectionate))

Ludinus has been reverse-engineering Aeorian technology and using distilled dunamis energy to power it, with multiple mesh-like power sources. He's "obsessed" with divinity and appears to be "counting on opposition, which makes [Beau] uneasy."

"What's dunabis?" "...there isn't time to lecture. It's a very obtuse form of magic that exists between the fabric of all other forms of power. It's one of the oldest and most fundamental forces within Exandria and beyond. It can alter time, space, probability, entropy — it is dangerous in the wrong hands, and unfortunately, a very strong source of it has been in the hands of Ludinus and the Assembly for some time." The 'very strong source' is presumably the beacon, which Ludinus has had since 835 PD.

The Cobalt Soul has been trying to nail down Ludinus for a long time, but "he's always one step ahead."

Caleb specifically refers to dunamis as chaotic, referencing Ashton.

Ludinus has apparently been doing this outside of the Assembly. Caleb's contact in the Assembly (Astrid, presumably) notes that even the rest of the Assembly is afraid to get involved in Ludinus' plans.

Halas, Trent, and "Bendathar" are in Beau's list of archmages they've fucked up.

Hey! Beau knows the Ashari! that's cool. She also knows Ira and his history of designing the keys.

There are dozens of mirrors and hook-like spires facing toward the key itself. Everything is reinforced with a massive amount of residuum — the device, the walls of the excavation site, and everything beyond. "An all-out assault would be far too dangerous." Caleb gives a sending stone to Chetney, who gives it to Laudna, under the assumption that the groups are going to split up to cover more ground.

given the fact that the solstice didn't actually happen this episode and that the Mighty Nein and the Crown Keepers are now attached to this, I feel like my "PFS2 special scenario" theory has some more merit

Beau disappears, Caleb goes invisible (they both start to circle around), and the Bells Hells start to descend the crater.

also, last minute update: Fearne would have flirted incessantly with both Beau and Caleb.

threads that have connected in this episode:

Missing residuum shipments: the malleus key and its surroundings are reinforced with residuum. that's a massive amount; it's possible that Trent's supply of residuum, the stuff the Nameless Ones stole, and the stuff the Paragon's Call were trafficking were probably all going here.

The Cobalt Soul and the Cerberus Assembly: It takes a long, long time to dismantle political systems. The Cobalt Soul has apparently imprisoned more Assembly members than just Trent.

Out-of-the-blue rolls: Those random rolls Matt had Marisha and Liam make were indeed rolls for the Shadowfell expedition that Beau, Caleb, and Ryn were involved with. They rolled shitty, so the Shadowfell key wasn't entirely destroyed, but was damaged.

[ironychan]

A Little Human (as a Treat)

Part 1/? - Un Voluntario

Part 2/? - Un Escursione

Part 3/? - Una Complicazione

Part 4/? - Una Famiglia

Part 5/? - Una Aiutante

Part 6/? - Una Ricerca

Part 7/? - Un Confronto

Part 8/? - Un'Emergenza

Part 9/? - Una Speranza

Part 10/? - Una Sera

Part 11/? - Un'Interruzione

Part 12/? - Una Fuga (Prima Parte)

@dysphoria-sweatshirt @writer652 The kids head for the harbour, but there's an angry mob at their heels.

In San Giuseppe, another group also found themselves cornered. Signor Giglioli had belatedly locked the door, but too many other people had seen what Signorina Mulino saw when she, just trying to help, led them to where Perla and Flavia had said they were going. Soon there was a crowd gathering outside, rattling the door and shouting, and Signor Giglioli shooed everybody up the stairs.

Perla went first, immediately behind the confectioner. Her father and grandmother followed her, then Leonardo and Flavia, with Luca, Giulia, and Alberto bringing up the rear.

“Who was that guy with you in the jail?” asked Leonardo.

“That was Signor Maccarello,” said Luca, as they all crowded into the kitchen of Signor Giglioli's apartment upstairs. This was a very small room, stuffed to the gills with all sorts of interesting things that Luca would otherwise have loved to stay and examine: there were photographs, including one of Signor Giglioli and his long-dead wife on the wedding day, and one of him in a military uniform surrounded by companions. There were old army helmets and even a couple of guns, a trunk with the corner of a green uniform jacket hanging out of it, and on one wall, a frame around a large collection of medals. Luca hadn't known that Signor Giglioli had been in the war, and he wondered what sort of stories the man might have to tell about it.

Now wasn't the time, though. Not with an angry mob downstairs.

“Luca said Mario Maccarello from Portorosso had a cousin here,” Alberto added, “so he'd heard of us, and we asked him to help us find Flavia.”

“Because we needed to know the best places to get out of the water,” Giulia said.

“His wife Felicia is probably worried about him,” Luca realized. “I hope he gets home okay.”

Flavia perked up. “Her name is Felicia? She's looking for him?”

“I doubt it,” said Alberto. “She's scared of the surface and she thinks he is, too.”

“I think they'll be fine,” said Flavia. She looked over at Perla, and the two girls shared a snicker.

They climbed another flight of steps, and from the third floor they were able to look out the window at the crowd gathering on the street below. There were a couple of dozen people now gathered around the door of the candy shop, brandishing fishing poles and harpoons, pitchforks and nets. Somebody was hammering on the door, demanding that Giglioli let them in.

At the back of the crowd, a couple of metres away, were Felicia and Signorina Mulino. The pastry cook had an arm around her friend, trying to comfort her. Perla leaned out and waved to them, but they didn't seem to see.

Somebody else did, though. “Upstairs!” a man's voice shouted, and eyes rose. Perla waved harder, and managed to catch Felicia's eye before she had to duck back inside to avoid a barrage of thrown objects.

Behind the two women, unseen by anyone but Perla, three men crept out of the police station and hurried up the hill. The one in the middle had a big coat over his head and shoulders so that nobody could see his face.

“We're stranded!” Signora Pepitone lamented. “Where can we go?”

“Over the roofs!” said Perla.

“Perla!” Roberto exclaimed. “What have your mother and I told you about climbing over roofs? You're going to fall and get hurt!”

“Everybody does it!” Perla complained.

“We do it in Portorosso,” Giulia put in, “but Mamma won't let me in Genova.”

“See?” Roberto said. “Even the sea monsters know better!”

“Come on,” said Perla. “It'll be easy to get to the harbour that way. We just need a window that these people can't see.”

“This way,” Giglioli said.

“You're not going to encourage her!” Roberto protested.

“As long as you're careful, roofs are a perfectly good way to get somewhere,” said Signor Giglioli.

“For spies in wartime, maybe!” Roberto said. “Not for children!”

“He was a spy?” Alberto asked eagerly. “Really?”

“Absolutely,” Signor Giglioli said. “The next time you're in town I'll tell you all about it,” he promised, then frowned and looked out the window at the growing crowd. “Or maybe I'll come visit you. This way.”

He took them into the other bedroom, which he used for storage. There, a small window high up in the gable led out onto a roof. The children could fit through this opening with ease, and the adults could probably go one at a time with a little wriggling – all except Signor Giglioli himself, who was far too fat. He started waving the children through.

“You go, and I'll see if I can talk some sense into the people downstairs,” he said.

Luca didn't like that idea. “What if they're mad at you for helping us?”

“I did some hostage negotiation in my time, too,” Giglioli assured him. “If I can talk down soldiers with guns, I think I can handle some fishermen.”

Perla climbed out first, then helped her father and grandmother to do the same. The three sea monster children went after them – and that left Flavia.

Flavia hadn't wanted to say anything because she knew they didn't have any other way out of the house. If they had, Signor Giglioli would surely have taken it. This had to be done... but she was petrified. When she stuck her head out the window and looked down, even with the roof blocking part of the view she could tell it was awfully far to the ground, even further than it had been from Signora Pepitone's bedroom. The roof everybody was climbing out onto sloped, and she could just picture herself sliding down it and tumbling off the edge. Her head began to spin, and she had to duck back inside and sit down at the base of the wall, hugging her knees.

What was she going to do? She couldn't stay here, she had to go with her father and friends and get back to Portorosso. Yet she couldn't climb out that window. She just couldn't.

Leonardo crouched to talk to her. “What's wrong, Angelfish?”

“I can't,” she said miserably.

“I bet you can,” said Leonardo.

“No, I can't. When I look down I get dizzy.”

“Oh... vertigo,” Leonardo realized. “You're afraid of heights.” For a moment he was shocked and disappointed in himself that he hadn't known that... but of course he hadn't. Flavia had never been up high in a place where there wasn't water beneath her. Falling into water was one thing – falling onto the ground was very much another. “I think you can if you're brave. You're gonna have to try, because you're too big to carry.”

Giulia popped her head back in the window. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

“I can't go,” Flavia told her. “I'm sorry! I can't. I'm too... I'm too scared.”

“She had to close her eyes to climb down to the street from Nonna's window,” said Perla from outside.

“Can you do that here?” Leonardo asked. “No, that's not safe on the sloping roof. Okay, we're gonna have to find another way down.”

“I don't know how well that'll work,” Signor Giglioli warned. “I can hear people at the back door, too.”

Giulia climbed back in the window. “Shut your eyes,” she said, “and give me your hand. Alberto will take the other one, and we'll help you. We won't let you fall, I promise.”

Flavia raised her head, and saw Giulia's earnest smile. In the window, Alberto offered a hand. Could she trust them?

Yes, she could. They weren't like the kids back home who made fun of her and didn't want her around. They'd come back to look for her just as she'd known they would. If they said they wouldn't let her fall, then they wouldn't. She wiped her nose on the back of her hand and got up, then took a deep breath and shut her eyes. Giulia and Alberto each took a hand as promised, and helped her to climb out the window onto the roof. The tiles weren't as slippery as she feared, and with them holding her up, she was able to balance as long as she didn't think about the drop only a metre or so away. Leonardo climbed out after her, while Signor Giglioli went back downstairs to confront the townsfolk.

“This way,” said Perla. “Don't worry, Flavia, I won't go anywhere hard. Nothing steep. You can do it.”

Flavia, eyes still shut, nodded and went in the direction her friends were tugging her. She carefully felt ahead with her foot, making sure she was still standing on something solid. Perla led the way, then Alberto and Giulia with Flavia, and Luca behind them warning her about where she was standing, whether the roofs ahead were flat or sloped, or whether they had slippery leaves on them. Roberto and Leonardo brought up the rear and helped Signora Pepitone, who didn't like this much more than Flavia did.

“This is why we don't like you climbing, Perla!” she called ahead. “This is terribly dangerous. Anybody who falls is going to break an ankle, or worse!”

“Can you not say that?” asked Leonardo. “Flavia's frightened enough!”

“Oh, sorry,” said Signora Pepitone.

Although Perla tried to stay on the level as much as she could, like Portorosso San Giuseppe was built on a steep slope down to the Mediterranean. It wasn't quite as precipitous as the smaller town, which sometimes had stairs instead of streets, but parts were still treacherous. The worst was when they had to cross between two flat areas by crawling across the peak of a roof in between. The tiles here were loose and clinked as Flavia crossed them. She clung tightly to Alberto's belt as he crawled ahead of her, with Giulia right behind, helping her find places for her knees. At the far end, Perla held out a hand to help them up when they arrived.

Disaster nearly struck when a tile broke under Alberto's knee. He yelped as it slid out from under him to shatter on the cobblestone street below. Flavia screamed and grabbed him tightly, expecting all of them to plummet to the ground, but Alberto managed to Change and wrap his tail around a television antenna. This bent, but it held him. Perla took his hand and helped him up, and he and Giulia got Flavia, who was shaking badly, up onto the flat again.

“So... you guys just do that?” asked Roberto.

“Yep,” said Leonardo, who didn't feel like explaining and was just glad Roberto hadn't fainted again.

Unfortunately, they weren't entirely safe yet. Flavia's shriek and the sound of the terracotta tile smashing had attracted attention, and soon they could hear running footsteps and angry shouts.

In Portorosso there were houses right on the harbour, from which it would have been possible to jump directly into the sea. In San Giuseppe this was not the case. There was a road that followed the shoreline, with a fence on the far side to keep children from using it as a diving platform. In order to get to the water, they were going to have to cross at least a four-metre gap.

A four-metre gap with a dozen people in it, calling for reinforcements.

“Come on, we've got them trapped here!” somebody shouted.

“They've got Signora Pepitone,” another person pointed out. “Careful! They might hurt her if we upset them!”

The group gathered on the last roof near the water, that of a little seaside restaurant and gelateria, and considered their options. There were people on all sides. There was nowhere to get down... but they couldn't go back. That would only leave them further and further from the sea that was their only possible escape.

“Oh, dear,” Signora Pepitone lamented, “this is all my fault!”

“Sure is,” muttered Leonardo. If what she'd said to these people were half as bad as the way she'd described sea monsters on the phone to him, it was no wonder everybody was terrified.

“What do we do now?” Luca asked Perla, hoping she knew another route.

“I dunno. I didn't expect anyone to be here,” Perla replied. She looked around for ideas. Could they go further up the coast? But then they would get higher, and the drop to the water would be further, and Flavia wouldn't like that...

“I have to do something,” Signora Pepitone decided.

Everyone turned to look at her. “You?” Roberto asked.

“Yes! Help me down.” Signora Pepitone made her shaky way, crawling on all fours, to a window in the next building over. “I'm the one who started all this. If I tell them I was wrong, they'll have to believe me.”

“I'm not so sure about that,” Roberto said, but he took his mother's arm, and he and Leonardo helped her down to climb through the window. Robert himself followed her inside. “Stay where you are, Perla,” he told his daughter. “I've got to look after your Nonna. Don't try to climb down on your own.”

“Yes, Papà,” said Perla.

It took a couple of minutes, but they made their way down to the ground floor, where the rather disconcerted owner of the house opened the door and let Signora Pepitone out to face the mob.

“Signora!” somebody said. “Are you all right? Did they let you go?”

Signora Pepitone looked over her shoulder, then faced the crowd and took a deep breath. “Signori e Signore,” she said, and then cupped her hands around her mouth to shout as questions and conversations among the mob drowned her out. “Everybody! Ascoltare!”

People finally quieted, and she tried again.

“Everyone,” Signora Pepitone said, “I'm afraid I've made a terrible mistake. I've caused a lot of upset for no reason at all. These sea monsters, it seems they're not going to hurt anybody after all. They're quite safe, and they just want to get back to the ocean.”

This was greeted with a stunned silence.

“What do you mean, they're quite safe?” a woman asked suspiciously.

Roberto stepped out to his mother's side. “She means that they're... well, they're up there, aren't they?” He pointed to the roof, where the children and Leonardo were gathered, watching. Perla waved. “Do they look dangerous?”

Luca, Alberto, Giulia, and Flavia all took their turns to smile awkwardly and wave, trying to seem as harmless as possible.

“Everybody up there is a sea monster except our Perla,” said Signora Pepitone, “including the gentleman.”

Leonardo groaned as he raised his own hand. He'd hoped that wouldn't come up.

“I've seen them do that thing they do,” said Roberto, “and I don't think they can disguise themselves as anybody in particular. They just turn into the same person every time. They don't seem to want to hurt anybody.”

“I'm afraid when I saw them at the zoo I panicked,” Signora Pepitone added. “I've made a terrible mess and I'm trying to make it up to them. Can't you just let them get back in the water and leave?”

The crowd didn't know what to make of that. Some looks were exchanged as people tried to figure out what their neighbours thought and what sort of action they should take.

“First Giglioli and now you!” a man said. “Is this some kind of hypnosis?”

Alberto frowned. “What's that?” he whispered to Luca.

Luca didn't know either. He turned to Giulia.

“It's when you put somebody to sleep so they'll do anything you say,” she said.

“Is that real?” Alberto asked skeptically.

“I don't know, but it only matters if they believe it is,” Giulia pointed out.

“Hypnosis?” asked Signora Pepitone. “Surely not! We're wide awake!”

“It's just weird how everybody who talks to them ends up taking their side,” a tall man with a harpoon said.

“That's because they actually listen to us!” Alberto shouted down.

“I promise we'll never come back!” Luca added. He'd said that several times today and he hated doing so, but if that's what it took to escape, then they would do it.

“Don't promise that,” said Perla. “I want you to come back. You guys are the coolest!”

“There's another one!” a shorter, fatter man said, stepping up to stand next to the tall fellow with the harpoon. “Hypnotized!”

“Oh, for heaven's sake,” said Signora Pepitone. “Will all of you just listen...”

Then the fence fell down.

There were cries of surprise, and people turned and backed towards the building, turning their eyes and their weapons towards the fallen boards. In the gathering dark, a hulking shape with glowing red eyes and a lashing tail climbed out of the water and stood in the middle of the street. The humans gasped and murmured, backing up and forming into a sort of phalanx with the harpoon man in the front. Roberto Pepitone stepped in front of his mother, holding his arms out to protect her as the dripping monstrosity slowly advanced. Behind them, the house owner shut the door and several locks clicked into place.

“Uncle Massimo!” Alberto shouted out happily, at the same moment as Giulia cried, “Papà!”

The man with the harpoon looked over his shoulder. He could tell that the rest of the crowd expected him to do something, but while he'd felt very brave facing down creatures the size of children, six feet and six inches of shark-man was a very different proposition. He held the harpoon out and very cautiously prodded the menacing beast in the belly.

Massimo calmly took hold of the harpoon and snapped the point off it with one hand. He tossed it over his shoulder and looked around.

“Anybody else?” he asked.

The group took another collective step backwards.

At that point Massimo began to dry out and transform. He wasn't quite used to this yet, especially the part where his balance changed as his tail disappeared. He swayed a little before standing up straight, which the crowd interpreted as him drawing himself up to his full height – and human Massimo was not much less intimidating than the sea monster.

“Is everyone all right, Leonardo?” he called up to the captives on the roof.

“We're fine!” Leonardo replied.

“All good, Papà!” Giulia agreed. “We just need to get down.”

“Let's go, then.”

Massimo stood glaring at the assembled people as the kids and Leonardo climbed through the window into the house, descended the steps, and removed the pieces of furniture the inhabitants had pushed in front of the door to keep Massimo from coming inside. Perla's father and grandmother took her aside and held on to her, while the rest of them joined Massimo in heading down to the boat, tied up in the harbour where Leonardo had left it. Leonardo, Massimo, and Flavia climbed in, while Alberto, Luca, and Giulia got into the water. Massimo started the motor.

Throughout all of this, the humans gathered on the shore simply stood and watched, too scared to move.

As they began to leave, Luca remembered something. “Hey!” he shouted. “Our bicycles are still in the Piazza Centrale!”

“We'll bring them back to you tomorrow!” Perla promised. “Right, Papà?”

Roberto didn't answer. Luca ducked back under the water, figuring if all they'd lsot was their bicycles, it hadn't actually turned out that badly.

As the boat chugged away under the stars, Leonardo gave Flavia another hug. “I was worried about you all day, Angelfish,” he said. “I hope it wasn't too awful.”

“It wasn't,” said Flavia, shaking her head. She thought back onto all the things she'd done that day... and yes, it had been scary when she'd gotten lost, but she'd gotten to see and try a dozen things she never could have normally done. “We went to a museum with pirate treasure, that was cool. Look what Giulia and the boys bought me!” She pulled out her bag and opened it to show her father the snowglobe, which was perhaps miraculously intact after all she'd been through that day. “The lady said it will sink in the water, so we can take it home.”

“Oh, that is neat,” said Leonardo, examining the object.

“And we got candy from Signor Giglioli,” she added, pulling out more items. “He made gummy sea monsters!”

“When he found out that we are sea monsters,” Luca added, “he said he was honoured we brought Flavia to visit him out of everywhere in San Giuseppe.”

“This one is honey-flavoured, so now I know what that tastes like,” Flavia added, gathering enthusiasm as she described her day. “We saw people doing all kinds of things! There was a lady making lace, and people making furniture, and there was a man who made pizza and a place that had all these little yellow birds hopping around in a big cage singing! Signora Pepitone showed me how to feed the pigeons, too. Perla's dad has them that are all fancy, because he shows them like Signor Paguro shows his crabs, but I didn't get to see them today. Oh, and she said she knows where there's an owl's nest!”

Her delight was infection, and soon the other kids were joining in, chatting about the things they'd done during the part of the day before disaster had struck. It was only when they reached the end of that that they remembered something important.

“Oh, no!” said Luca. “Signor Maccarello! We left him behind in jail because Signor Giglioli didn't have time to make the hole bigger! Somebody was trying to break the door down.”

“That was me,” Leonardo admitted.

“I hope he's okay,” said Giulia. “We'll have to tell his cousin when we get home, and he can go look for him. Or maybe Signor Giglioli can help.” She tried to remember if Signor Giglioli had a telephone. Maybe they could call and remind him.

“I think he'll be okay,” said Flavia. “His wife is looking for him.” She yawned.

Leonardo put an arm around her. “You can sleep if you want, Angelfish,” he said. “It won't take long to get back to the town.”

Flavia nodded and leaned against him, letting her eyes drift shut. She wondered what it was like to sleep on land... if she nodded off on the way home, maybe they wouldn't wake her up to switch back with Ciccio. Maybe she'd find out.

-

After Massimo and the children left, the townsfolk stood around rather awkwardly for a few moments, then found themselves confronted by Officer Ippolito, who was optimistically hoping to break up the gathering. He looked at the hole in the fence and the wet footprints on the cobblestones, then at the twenty or so people who were milling around as if they weren't sure what to do next.

“What happened here?” he asked.

People shifted their weight from foot to foot uncomfortable, and a few of them mumbled something but nothing that offered real information until the man with the snapped-off harpoon decided to step back into his unofficial role as spokesman.

“Well, the, uh... the father sea monster came back for his young,” he said. “He was terrifying,” he added, trying to regain some of his lost dignity. “Tomorrow, I say we all get together and hunt him down! He'll look good stuffed in the pirate museum!”

“You'll do no such thing!” said Signora Pepitone. “I told you, they're not here to hurt us, we shouldn't hurt them!”

Ippolito stared at her. “You're the one who started all this,” he pointed out.

“Yes, and that was an awful mistake!” she said. “I wish I'd listened to Flavia, and then people wouldn't have gotten so worked up. Oh, dear, how am I ever going to make up for this?”

“By taking them their bicycles back?” Perla suggested.

“Yes, we can do that,” Roberto agreed. “In the Piazza Centrale, they said?”

“I think Signor Giglioli moved them,” a woman offered.

“We'll go talk to him again, then,” said Roberto. “You folks didn't... didn't do anything to him, did you?”

“We kinda shouted at him a lot,” another person admitted.

“They can't be allowed to hurt the father monster, though,” Signora Pepitone, added, coming to the front to talk directly to Ippolito. “He looked like the devil, I'll admit it, but all he did was take the children and leave. He could have killed the lot of you with a flick of his tail,” she added, glaring at the crowd over her shoulder, “but he didn't, because he didn't want to!”

Officer Ippolito held up his hands. “Okay, everybody – and that includes you, Madame – whatever the heck happened today, and I don't think any of us actually know, it seems to be over now. The sea monsters are gone, if they ever existed...”

“Of course they existed!” said Signora Pepitone. There was a chorus of agreement from the other people.

“Either way, I need everybody to go home!” Ippolito said. “I think... I think we'll all feel much clearer-headed about it after a good night's sleep.”

“Who do you think you are, our father?” the man with the harpoon asked.

Ippolito glared at him and pointed to his police badge. “I think I'm in charge of keeping the peace in this town, and there are a lot of people here who've been disturbing it! So unless you want to take your turn in that jail cell...”

That did the trick, and though there were some disgruntled mutterings, the group began to disperse. The Pepitone family headed back up the hill towards the Piazza Centrale, while others drifted away into their own homes and up side streets. Eventually there were just two people left, sitting on a wooden crate outside the shuttered restaurant. One was the dark-haired woman in the blue dress who'd been first to notice that Perla and her friend had gone out to sea. The other was the Frenchwoman who ran the gourmet pastry shop where Ippolito and his companions sometimes got treats and coffee for their card nights.

“Come on, ladies,” he said. “It's time to go.”

“I still haven't found Tony, though!” the one in blue protested.

Signorina Mulino patted her friend on the back. “Felicia has been looking for her husband half the night,” she explained. “I don't know if you'll be able to help, though. They don't live in town, and...”

Something tickled the back of Ippolito's memory. It wasn't possible, was it? “Felicia? Ah, forgive me, I'm probably wrong, but... Felicia Maccarello by any chance?”

The woman in blue raised her head sharply. “Yes! That's me! Wait... how do you know my name?”

“Antonio Maccarello is a friend of mine,” said Ippolito. “Er... he's at my place right now. Come on, I'll take you there.” He paused, licking his lips. “You're not a...” Ippolito took a quick look around to make sure he and the women really were the only ones left on the street. “You're not a sea monster too, by any chance, are you?”

“Of course I am!” Felicia scrambled to her feet. “You know Antonio? How?”

“He plays cards with us on Thursdays,” Ippolito replied. “You didn't know that?”

“Thursdays? He said he was visiting friends on Thursdays!” said Felicia. “That's why I told him Thursdays were the day I went to see my cousins, because I knew he was scared of the surface and wouldn't want me to... wait... he's been coming here the whole time?”

“Um. I suppose he has,” said Ippolito.

“Well, he's got some explaining to do!” Felicia exclaimed, and then seemed to re-think that. “Oh. Oh, dear. So do I!”

“This way, ladies,” Ippolito told them, although at this point he was really wondering what he'd fallen into. “Uh, it is nice to finally meet you, Signora Maccarello. I admit after I asked Tony to my wedding I was a little upset when he got married and didn't invite me... but I guess he really couldn't, could he? No, wait...” he realized, “you've been in the Patisserie some nights when we've stopped there for snacks! You've made me coffee!” His eyes went wide. “I've seen you there! Why didn't Antonio ever say anything?”

Felicia squirmed. “Well... him and I don't actually know what each other looks like out of the water.”

“I see,” said Ippolito. Everybody else might have gone home, but it looked like his stressful evening was only just beginning.

-

Massimo, Leonardo, and the children arrived back at Portorosso very late, but Luca's parents were awake and waiting for them. Daniela ran into waist-deep water to greet Luca, Alberto, and Giulia with hugs. Flavia had fallen asleep in her father's lap, but now sat up, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

“Where's Ciccio?” she asked. Signor Ottonello was standing outside his Foccaceria smoking a cigarette, but there was no sign of Ciccio himself. She suddenly felt more awake as she wondered if something had happened to him. What if something had? Would she be... just stuck, never able to go back in the water again? She'd wanted to see the land, but not that bad.

Signor Ottonello dropped his cigarette and stepped on it to put it out, then came to help Flavia and Leonardo out of the boat while Massimo tied it to the quay. “He had to find somewhere to stay the night,” he said. “He told Guido he would try the Donzella family, but I don't know where he ended up.” He looked out at the water, gently lapping at the shore, with a worried expression.

“The Donzellas are nice,” said Luca. “I'm sure they'd let him stay. It'll be fine.” He, too, was yawning. “We'll go see them in the morning.”

That was reassuring, but it did leave a problem. “Where are we gonna stay?” Flavia asked. She and Papa Leo were staying with the Paguro family, but she wouldn't be able to go there.

“You can borrow my bed,” said Giulia. “I've stayed over with Luca's family before, I can do that again. Is that okay, Papà?”

Massimo nodded, as did Daniela Paguro.

“Always happy to have you,” she told Giulia

“Thank you,” said Leonardo. “We'll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Sleep tight,” said Giulia. “You can borrow my Paperino, too, if you want.”

Paperino turned out to be a soft toy duck in a sailor suit. Flavia got into a set of Giulia's pajamas, and hugged the duck as Papa Leo tucked her into bed and gently stroked her hair. A land bed was very soft, so that she sank into it a little, and the covers were nice and warm. She shut her eyes, and after the exciting, exhausting day in San Giuseppe, she was asleep only moments later.

[callsign-relic]

Soo were making a merformers tasty au now? Okay!

So I imagine Hyperion would be like a giant leviathan, cus boy has to be BIG.

Maybe like the gargantuan leviathan from subnautica, but with less massive head Tentakel thingies.

He'd be the kind to enjoy scaring the shit out of sailors, though he doesn't mean any actual harm. Like he just floats underneath ship's and watches the tiny creatures on top scramble about, trying to figure out what to do about him.

They alway come to the same conclusion: harpoons.

And they always make the same hilarious face, when they realize their weapons can't penetrate his scales.

He also like to bump his head into the underside of smaller boats, like whales sometimes do. The human always make this high pitched screeching sound and he finds it hilarious.

He would never actually kill a human though, they are too cute and fun to play with, same goes for octopuses, they are just so smart and interesting!

He once ate a submarine, only to spit it back out at the surface, giving the humans inside a look like "how dare you taste bad!"

He also likes to scare divers. Just swimm by and, nom! Hyperion doesn't swallow them, because he's not sure if he can get something so small back up, but he'll carry them in his mouth back to the surface and spit them in a high ark out of the water.

This can actually be helpful, as he can adjust the water pressure in his mouth, making sure to level it out slowly before spitting them up, this way the humans don't get sick from ascending to the surface too quickly. (he learned the hard way that he had to do that)

Woaahhhh this is cool!!!! Man I used to not really care for merformers but you guys are making me more and more into it every day HAHAHA. I love the idea of him under the water just watching boats pass by, or gently bumping past them to spook them hehe. And I love the idea that he chomps up divers so fast only to not really hurt them and bring them back to the surface. AHHHH these ideas are all just so good HEHSHS

[mossy-rainfrog]

[ID: A black and white traditional drawing of Fedallah from Moby Dick. He is a thin Persian man with a mustache and short beard. He wears a turban and a long shirt, and holds a whaling harpoon beside him. He is holding onto the harpoon with both hands, leaning on it, as he looks down to the side with a reserved, pensive expression. Beside him, in pencil, is written his name, and "my sweet boy, my best friend" with a sad face. There is also a small doodled heart. End ID.]

Hello Herman Melville I have been reading your book and have come to the conclusion that you do not deserve to have Fedallah in your novel. He is a good man and seeing him villanized as a racist stereotype brings me anxiety, so I will be expecting a reply to this DM when you are ready to relinquish him to someone who will treasure him like he deserves xoxo

God, seriously though I have not been able to stop thinking about this guy for days. He's Ahab's friend!!! He tries to warn everyone of the coming tragedy!!! He is quiet and skilled and his character is an ocean of missed narrative opportunities. AUGH. holds him

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to add this; they have yet to post their Fedallah publicly, but this lad is still based on the design/influence of @pocketsizedquasar 's Moby Dick comic!!! pls go check it out!!! :D

[lensman-arms-race]

Matriarchs (or just one if you do not want to write that much) - 3, 15, 37?

3. Obscure headcanon

None of the Matriarchs actually have boobs, because they're robots. Speaker Matriarch is the most fashion-conscious and style-oriented of the 3, and decided to have her chassis modified to add boobs because she saw images of humans with them and thought that body shape looked cool. The other 2 noticed and were like 'oh dang, that looks sick' and had themselves modified the same way.

Perhaps not 'obscure' because it's in plain sight, but Camera Matriarch can't sit in a chair or lie on her back because she has a harpoon gun stuck to her back. She only sits backwards on chairs, or sits on stools. She sleeps either on her side, or on her front with her face hanging off the edge of the bed.

No-one knows what the dials on TV Matriarch's head are for. If you ask, she does a ^w^ face and then, without changing expression, brings both knife-hands up to your neck then kicks you to the ground (then teleports away, still smiling). If another TV encounters you lying in a crumpled heap like this, they'll point and laugh at you and say 'You asked about the dials, didn't you?'

Another one: TV Matriarch can talk verbally, but chooses not to because she dislikes the sound of her voice. I haven't decided whether it's because she has the same deep voice as the other TVs and would rather have a more feminine voice, or whether she does have a higher voice and wishes she had a low voice like her comrades.

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done

I reckon they (all 3) have accidentally killed normal humans in haste, after mistaking them for Skibidis. Yes, they feel terrible about it.

37. What they really think about themselves

Camera Matriarch is confident in her abilities (in combat and as a commander) but is less flashy than the other two, and is content to be that way. She knows she's serving her faction to the best of her ability and doesn't mind that her comrades (e.g. Dual Plunger Cam) get most of the glory.

Speaker Matriarch proudly reckons she embodies exactly what the speaker faction should be: ruthless in combat, stylish, AND always down to party.

TV Matriarch is the most badass TV besides the Titan, and she knows she is.

(Original post with list of questions)

[hikari-ni-naritai]

Trapping the two of us on an island with a lighthouse to go increasingly insane. bring a harpoon we might need it

I kill you day one and store your body in the frigid ocean at the base of the cliffs so I have a constant source of salted pork. I don't know who you are I can't risk living with someone who annoys me (no offense to you personally but a lot of people annoy me). Actually I can probably let you live until I find out for sure bc if you follow me you clearly don't think I'm annoying enough to kill me so I'd have time. At the same time though now that you've read this post you know it might be coming so you'll probably try to kill me first if I take too long so day 1 is my best bet.

[kraken17]

One quote from Pup Addams (the Wednesday from the 1964 TV series) per every chapter of Altogether Ooky in which she has been present.

"Is this a kidnapping?" (Chapter 17)

"I can't even bring my pets there. I'm sure I could bring Lucifer here without a problem." (Chapter 19)

"I don't want to die of boredom...that would be a very boring way to die." (Chapter 20)

"I'm sorry Miss Sinclair. But I just wanted to make it clear that we can defend ourselves." (Chapter 21)

"Oh, you are wearing pink too!" (Chapter 23)

"Getting thrown around flying is fun." (Chapter 25)

"You're so fluffy." (Chapter 26)

"You're a meanie." (Chapter 27)

"I saw them with harpoons earlier..." (Chapter 28)

“Oooh, C-4. You only let me use dynamite." (Chapter 29)

"Goodbye leech!" (Chapter 30)

[davekat-sucks]

do you have any favorite hcs for any characters? could be looks, hobbies, identities, anything! i like hearing abt peoples hcs

John as an adult, grows up having the best buff body and mustache. Jade and Nepeta's fursona are rivals in roleplay chats, but actually treat each other nicely when they meet in real life. Kanaya likes to make terrariums for the little grubs that hatched. To let them enjoy and experience the closest thing to outdoors if she can't bring them out of the caverns. Eridan doesn't know how to actually use other old weapons he collects (harpoons, shotgun, etc). His Crosshairs is basically a big laser beam, so he can aim easily because of that. Eridan can do text roleplay like Nepeta, but he does it like he is writing a book and tends to make long paragraphs to describe the situation he and the other player would be in. Even in text, his OC is also dramatic as he is. It makes Nepeta bored on reading all that when they tried to RP each other. Eridan knows and loves all the sea shanties. He will sing them any chance he gets during a FLARP session with his crew. He forces others to join along with him. Nepeta does wish to dress up like other FLARPers, but has trouble making her own outfits compared to others like Vriska, Terezi, Tavros, Eridan, and Aradia. Feferi, much like The Condesce and with Meenah, does like to bake. But has a hard time trying to do it in her underwater home, so she would usually go to Eridan to use his oven. He obliges and taste tests her pastries, despite his own worries of gaining weight. Dirk does like Boys Love visual novel games, even the trashy ones. He proudly puts visual novels as a part of video games. When buying a scuttlebug aka a car on Alternia, you do not need a license. You just immediately get to drive the car. If someone is in the road and they get hit by someone driving it, it's their fault for not looking both ways or the driver's for not watching the road. The trolls will get confused hearing the humans need to pass some test to purchase a vehicle. All scuttlebugs are equipped with Auto Pilot drive for those who are lazy to be on the wheel. Alternia does have brown cows and they do indeed produce chocolate milk. Had been trying to think about what instruments the trolls and Alpha Kids would play since I kind of miss that with the Beta kids when they played music. So far only got is like Karkat: Tuba (a Sousaphone as he calls it based on an AU that Shelby and her friend talked about) Terezi: Harpsichord (based on her music themes having this instrument) Tavros: Guitar Aradia: Theremin Kanaya: Harp Vriska: Electric Guitar (obvs) Equius: Double bass Nepeta: Bongo or Keyboard (get it cause the meme cats play those) Gamzee: Clown horns (what else?) Eridan: Viola (mirrors Rose's violin as viola's strings have C, G, D, and A on them) FeferI: Hydraulophone Roxy: Cello or fiddle Jane: Accordion (to play off her being like prankster that she would play an instrument that shows her playfulness) Jake: Flute (sucks at the bass guitar that was left behind from Grandma Harley) Just some that I can think of as of now.

[stain-glass]

Chapter 27 - Knights and Squires (pt.2)

Stubb - Second Mate. Cool under pressure, good humour, happy-go-lucky, careless, Cape Cod native. He is also a big smoker with a row of pipers ready and that is his defining trait. (Also the one that said Starbuck is careful)

Flask - Third Mate. Short stocky guy with a confrontational personality. No reverence for Whales, acts like they personally offended him and doesnt fear them. He comes from Tisbury in Martha's vineyard (no not that Martha, that would be wild) Nicknamed King Post due to his likness to the wood they use in Artic whaling.

Each mate commands a harpoon boat and a harpooner (like knight and squire)

Queeque - harpooner for Starbucks. We already know this guy he is the best. We love him, nothing more to say.

Tashtego - Stubb's harpooner. Described as “an unmixed Indian from Gay Head" amd "red man" So a full native american. He has long, thin, black hair, high cheekbones and round black eyes.

Ishmael claims you can see the antartic in them, so i think he means inuit. He goes on to talk about being a hunter being in is blood due to that, hunting moose and such. Also Gay head is part of Martha’s Vinyard, I wonder if that is why him and Stubb are paired up?

Daggoo - Flask's harpooner. He is “a gigantic, coal-black negro-savage with a lion-like tread—an Ahasuerus to behold.” (Ahasuerus of course being a king feom the bible and husband to Ester. So he has a regal bearing???). He is 6'5" and has larg hoop earrings. Being from Africa and just chiling on whale boats and ports, has retained a more native vibe, more so then Queequeg.

The funny sight of him standing next to the tiny Flask must be a sight and I'm sad that I can't see it.

Ishmael brings up the fact that the officers are all American even though the rest of the crew is diverse and brings up how this is true throughout America, in politics, military, construction of railroads, ect. The ones in charge are American born (i.e. White) and the ones under their charge are the mixing pot that makes up everyone else.

But then!!

He says that the "native americans" (not including the actual native american on the ship) provide the brains and the rest of the world with the brawn. .....like, my dude. You were so close.

He does go on to say that most of the Pequod was made up of islanders (isolatoes) but here they all work together and become a new federation and the past doesn't matter.

Ishmael ends the chapter by talking about all the grievances of the world being laid at the feet of ships like this, but he brings up Ahab's name like it is foreshadowing.

He also mentions a Lilttle Pip, a black boy from Alabama who bangs a tambourine. But it is unclear if this kid is died and an illusion to the dreedom of the sea or if he just is not coming back from become he is called a coward/hero (coward here, hero there. But where are these places).

Coward or hero. An intresing duality.