#the orca one might look cute on her

[gramophoneturtle]

Father in some Splatoon 3 gear!

Father would love so much of Splatoon 3 gear. It's like he got himself to make clothes based on his fashion ideas. I've got a couple clothing sets he can swap between, it's so wonderful!

Imagine he's wearing the Pink Dadfoot Sandals for this. I kept his gloves cause how could he not be wearing his gloves!

[maleyanderecafe]

Symptoms of Deceit (Visual Novel)

Created by: strawberry squid

Genre: Horror/Mystery

Symptoms of Deciet has some very fun world building considering that people are generally associated with different animals, along with a yandere of which asks you to stab him to prove his loyalty to you (which we don't do. Coward). This is an r18 demo, so while there are a lot of interesting things that set up the world, it has yet to be completed. Still, I think it's a good start for an interesting world. If you are interested, you can find out more at @symptomsofdeceit.

The story starts out pretty simply with Ariel working at their job as a secretary for Willani Epidemiology Lab. After some clicking around, we learn a bit more about their favorite drinks amongst other things. After looking through their phone and seeing some news about a disease that is affecting sea star based humans. We are then startled by Nalis who scares us playfully. After talking about the disease that is spreading to sea star base humans, our boss, Tremo seems to interrupt, pulling Nalis away from Ariel. Ariel is a bit off put by Tremo's sudden change in personality, seeing as she's almost never acted in such an irritated way however, shrugs it off to the stress she likely has thanks to the new disease.

After work, Ariel leaves and returns to their apartment, meeting a new person who has just moved in. Being a new neighbour, he asks to exchange phone numbers with Ariel.

Accepting this will lead to him introducing himself as Thaumo. While going in, Thaumo offers to walk them to their room, being persistant and worrying that there might be insects or other things going on. Ariel relents and the two go back to their respective rooms where Ariel can text both, one or neither of Thaumo and Nalis (sorry that sentence was kind of confusing). Nalis's responses are more playful and teasing while Thaumo is more sweet and cutesy.

After heading to work, Ariel can choose to text Nalis about being late.

If they do, then Nalis will text back with a cute and funny little emote before arriving on time and giving Ariel their favorite drink.

Ariel spots Tremo and greets her, however when asking about yesterday's conversation with Nalis, Tremo seems very visibly confused and tells Ariel that she didn't talk to Nalis after work at all and leaves, leaving Ariel to be kind of confused. Nearing lunchtime, Ariel spots Nalis passing by and also gets a text from Thaumo. They can either choose to talk to Nalis or text Thaumo back.

Texting Thaumo back will lead to him inviting Ariel to a nearby cafe for pastries. The two will talk about the cat cafe nearby and how even though Thaumo likes cats, they don't tend to like him nor do other animals, despite what kind of cute methods he tries to get them to come to him. The two of them also talk about his biology, learning about his blue blush, three hearts and copper based blood. During this time, Ariel gets a call from Tremo asking about specific documents while he sticks Ariel's fork in his mouth. Unfortunately, this means that Ariel has to go back to work suddenly thanks to the call as someone from the Beuro is there. Unforutnately by the time they get back, Tremo tells him that they have already left, and Ariel seems a bit saddened that they didn't really tell them about it. Ariel is then invited into a group chat with Nalis, Tremo, Thaumo and Dr. Willani, who as it turns out is one of the benefactors of the institution that Ariel works at. Ariel talks to Nalis and after a confusing conversation about the fact that Nalis and Ariel didn't talk the day before, the two talk about BERE whom is going to investigate their workplace.

While walking home, Ariel runs into Thaumo who is outside and was late to going to the Ariel's workplace before it suddenly started raining. Ariel ends up walking Thaumo back to their apartment and starts to read an article about the CEO of Orca Finance and his tragic accident, only to see Thaumo in this article as well. After going to work, Nalis invites everyone to go to an arcade, though Thaumo seems to fight against this. Ariel can then choose whether to go to the arcade with them or not.

Denying it will have Thaumo visit later in the day with the two talking about the article that Ariel read last night, with Thaumo reassuring that the Orca Fiance (the one supporting their lab) will not pull out their research fund before the two of them go to the lunch room to eat. There, the two end up seeing Nalis in the breakroom and Ariel can feel the tension between them. Ariel can then ask Nalis about his day. After watching Thaumo provoking Nalis, Ariel can also ask about what Thaumo is trying to pull.

Afterwards, it sees Thaumo got kicked out by Nalis and Nalis warns Ariel about a body down in their path, as they think about how the starfish disease is spreading quite quickly. While walking into the alleyway, Ariel recognizes a voice from one of her coworkers at the lab, as well as Nalis, the two of them fighting. Unable to ignore this, Ariel walks into the alleyway, and sees the so called Nalis turn into Thaumo before killing the coworker. Ariel tries to back out, but Nalis promises that he won't hurt Ariel before realizing that they don't remember him. They recount a memory together back when they were children, with him stating it's the reason for his living, as he had nothing else that seemed to matter. Ariel can try to give him some mini therapy, but he will still refuse to let go, even allowing Ariel to stab one of his three hearts, which we don't (coward). He talks about in the past years he's been able to push his body to the point of being able to do things a mimic octopus shouldn't be able to do, such as mimic other's appearances and voices perfectly, not being able to die if Ariel were to stab him in the heart amongst other things. Thaumo ends up letting Ariel go, warning them that if they do try to call for help or the police, Thaumo would end up just getting rid of them.

Ariel ends up going home, and seems to have a really difficult time trying to recall the memories of Thaumo, leading to a headache. Thaumo ends up crawling up into their apartment where you can throw things at him or be angry at him. Depending on actions you can also end up teasing him by sitting in his lap and kissing his cheek or just telling him that you'll walk with him to work. You do get to text him if Ariel decides not to sit in his lap, with an option to threaten to kick has ass or ignore him.

There are some other endings such as favoring Nalis will end with Thaumo breaking into the apartment at the end, only this time as Nalis, and acting as him (or at least, that's what we believe). Nalis will instead force Ariel to swallow drugs. After passing out Nalis (it is actually Nalis, not Thaumo) confesses that he too feels empty and hates the fact that he has feelings for Ariel. He decides to lean into it, and play around with it, hoping that he will get all good and bad emotions directed at him.

As well as attempting to call Nalis, only to have Thaumo catch Ariel, and pretend to be them, getting Nalis to hang up. We learn that he can also spawn tentacles out of him, much like a cuttlefish would. They have to reluctantly get along with Thaumo regardless.

There is an end credit scene where we get to see an event based on the childhood memory that first made Thaumo attached to Ariel. There is a boy that tries to wake Ariel up, only for Thaumo to stop him. The boy is a sea star type, with him seemingly infected by the disease that was talked about throughout the game, even telling Thaumo that he will for sure die. This brings Thaumo happiness then sadness as he is happy that he will be alone with Ariel but is sad that Ariel might be disheartened at this. When looking at Ariel, the boy states he doesn't want to die alone, with Thaumo finding an excuse to kill him as a result.

First of all, I got to say, I love the idea of having each character have a marine animal associated to them, being able to have certain powers that come with that animal is really neat. Even side characters, like the coworker that Thaumo kills has the ability to harden like a sea cucumber (which is his main animal), which really comes to focus. It's nice that the character designs also correspond to that in some way, like Thaumo and Nalis's eyes or blush color being similar to the mimic octopus and cuttlefish respectively. You can tell that this creator really has a love for marine biology, which you can see in this game. It's always really cool when you can feel the love and knowledge of a topic shine through in the game, since you can really feel that they clearly know a lot about it. I think the touch of being able to change the UI color in the beginning is really neat, along with the hearts that hang on the side to indicate how much affection Thaumo and Nalis have for Ariel is a good touch. The ability to choose the kind of backstory you want with Thaumo is always a good way to add some more customization in the game. I am a little worried about the possible scope of this game considering that it seems like there is also female yanderes planned for this game, but I'm sure that has never stopped other yandere game developers. It has a nice cutesy vibe to it thanks to the UI, backgrounds and character designs. Ariel as a main character I feel is nice as well, and I do like that they have a job relating to the main ideas of the game, namely marine animal research. In this case, they are just the front desk, but it is nice to see them interact with other characters in the lab as well. Hopefully we can see more of their interactions, maybe they get to be a lab member in the future? I think that would be cool. I've also heard we get to choose the type of marine animal that we would be associated with in the future. Personally I'd love to have some sort of shark as the animal of choice, but I guess we'll see. I think it could add some interesting abilities to the characters in terms of flavor text or even change how Ariel looks (like different blush colors like the rest of the cast or changes appearances like frown for shark based characters. Listen, I just think sharks are neat.)

Okay, time to start out talking about the two yanderes in this game, Thaumo and Nalis. We'll talk about Thaumo first because he's more prominent in this game as of now. Thaumo as a yandere is very clingy and is willing to be hurt by Ariel, so basically a pathetic meow meow of a yandere, which of course is one of my favorite types of yanderes. He seems to have been trying to find Ariel for a while now and when he does, he turns into various other characters to watch over them. You actually can see this in game, such as when Tremo is acting strangely in the very beginning, seemingly angry at Nalis while complimenting Ariel, or even when Ariel tries to talk to Nalis, only to find that he's been acting very strange. It's a neat detail that you don't really notice too much on your first play through if you're not paying attention, but is cool to see on consequential ones. I do kind of wish it had more significance to the character's actions, other than, "huh, that was weird", but I think for a setup it's pretty neat. We can also see him licking a fork that Ariel was using while they're on the call with Tremo (which was driving me up the wall) and the fact that he actually did allow us to stab him in one of his hearts (even though we didn't, again, coward). He seems very powerful, being able to not only completely mimic not only the appearance but also their voice and demeanor. I'm not sure if that's an inherent thing he can do, where he can just naturally act like the person he's mimicking or if it's something he has to study and watch over for it to work. There's also the fact that he can regenerate his hearts, though if we were to somehow get rid of three of them, it's hard to say whether he would have lived or died in that case. It is also possible that the appearance of Thaumo we see now might not actually be what Thaumo looked like originally. I'm also curious if he was in any way involved with Ariel's memory loss in the past. What exactly makes Thaumo's memory with Ariel so special and why does he consider everything else in his life not as such? It's an interesting mystery.

Nalis on the other hand, we do get to see a lot of him as a friend towards Ariel, but we don't get to see nearly as many yandere moments. We do know that he is aware of Thaumo's ability to take on other people's shapes and forms (which, how does he know this? Who knows.) From what I can tell, he seems to be a reluctant yandere, having initally hated that he had fallen in love with Ariel in the first place, but has decided to go all in and try to get all of their emotions directed onto them, whether good or bad. It's kind of an interesting way of monopolizing all of a lover, at least in terms of a yandere, since I think most of the time yanderes usually prefer having a positive interaction with their love and avoid any bad ones. I'm not sure what his abilities are though (certainly related to a cuttlefish, but what exactly could it be), so perhaps it would be revealed in the future. Would be cool if it is actually in the current demo, it's just not something I knew or noticed. He is very playful towards Ariel while also being protective, coming off as the best friend kind of character, though it does also make me wonder how exactly Nalis fell in love with Ariel in the first place, as well as how demented his real personality is, considering that it seems he had some sort of plan that Ariel "ruined". It was very cool seeing Thaumos pretend to be Nalis in one of the break room scenes, since the sudden change of personality seems to have caught Nalis and Ariel off guard.

Overall, I think this game is a very solid start and has really interesting world building. I think that being able to see how the starfish disease affects the rest of the plot and how exactly the two yanderes Nalis and Thaumo ended up in this position of falling in love with Ariel. The character designs and artwork are all very great and I love the small customization that you can add to the UI. I think it could go one step further and maybe make the UI more marine themed? I dunno, just a thought. If you are interested in this game, please come and check it out.

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Currently Watching - September

aka The Masterlist

Because I love a good little list - in alphabetical order! 😊

Regularly updated during the month, latest update 11.09.2024

A little link to my favorite bl-tropes-collection 💙

gif-requests are open, but you'll need to have some patience🌼

Here you can find all of my gifs.

At the end you can have a look at what we can expect in September with a MDL link and a link for a trailer (if avaible).

This is guaranteed to contain spoilers!

1. 4 Minutes 🇹🇭 (6/8)

Such an interesting series. Still a little bit confusing, but yet I am intrigued. Just how did Tonkla know that Great was the one who helped with his bother's murder. Why was is videotaped. This doesn't make much sense to me, but I bet I missed something. Interesting what can go wrong if you decide to take another path.

2. Cityboy_Log 4.2 🇰🇷 (18?/23)

This one is getting a little bit too staged and too boring. There is not much happening. It doesn't mean you have to fit in a jealousy plot or cheating, just let them do stuff. And those "upsi-we-got-caught-moments" are so staged and just not good. I don't like them. And please give the throuple some scenes where they acknowledge they like each other. Don't play with us like that!

3. First Note of Love 🇹🇼 (6/12)

This week we dealt with the aftermath of Orca coming back to Taiwan and the huge pressure lasting on Sea's shoulders. There is still not really a romantic spark between those two, it is more of a fan and his idol or a older brother caring for his younger sibling. And yet next week we get a confession and some romance... I don't know how to feel about it.

4. Happy of the End 🇯🇵 (4/8)

This week got dark. Damn. The whole episode four was a hurtful flashback of Haoran's life. And he had a fucked up life. And some of that he projects onto Chihiro, even though he is the only light in his life right now. But he doesn't know better, so I don't blame him. It was hard to watch, but it is something that happens everyday everywhere... we just don't look.

5. Hidamari ga Kikoeru 🇯🇵 (11/12)

We are 11 episodes in. I was trying to love it till the end. Yes, this is not just a story about Kohei and Taichi. There is so much more to it. But nothing is really told till the end. We just get snippets. We get snippets of how Taichi deals with the abandonment from his parents, but no real conflict or conclusion, but we know this affects him. We see a friendgroup, and don't get me wrong, I like Taichi's friends, but we don't get a real deep connection between them. Maya was put in there to be the drama, the villainess. Her story might have been interesting, but she is in no means a likable character and her story is going where? What was her purpose? Still don't get it. And the main plot. Where is it going. We got the first half of the series where Kohei and Taichi building a really strong connection and of course we whitness Kohei falling for Taichi. And with the second half I thought we see how those two work around it, how Taichi comes to terms with his own feelings for Kohei, because we already got the hint that he likes him too! Why was there no communication between these two at all during the last couple of episodes. It was all misscommunication. A trope I really don't like. And still today was no real talking between them. Just beating around the bush and changing the subject. I don't need smut or even a kiss in everything I watch. But I want some clearity and some good writing and most of all staying true to the characters! And this is not it anymore.

6. I Saw You In My Dream 🇹🇭 (9/12)

Okay. They are cute and I love their communication, from noth couples. Everything is going real smooth, so I guess the next episodes are going to be a little bit rougher. But this week we got a little bit consent and heart-eyes and soft touches and I really liked it here!

7. Jack & Joker: U steal my heart! 🇹🇭 (1/12)

I loved that we got this flashback of their past and how those two poor souls try everything to make people proud of them and end up in their own prisons. And yes, I am a War addict and I am finally back to my stuff on my screen and I couldn't be more happy!

8. Kidnap 🇹🇭 (1/12)

Okay, it is the first episode and Min is already head over heals with Q. With this paste we'll have the first break-up on episode five! And I like it! The show so far is quite alright. I am looking forward to their dynamic and the humor of it and of course I want to see how everything's going to turn out.

9. Seoul Blues 🇰🇷 (5/8)

When I said I want some drama, I didn't mean that! I hate this ex-story. He comes off like a real asshole, but they have a weird tension. But there was just the drama with the ex-girlfriend. And now there is the next hurdle in the way. Just give them an episode to relax and enjoy their new love. Argh!

10. The On1y One 🇹🇼 (7/12)

"You know, I've always felt that Guanyin Mountain by the Danshui River is quite efficacious. As long as you wish sincerely to it, it will certainly come true." And after that sentence you get this look on Wang's face!? Oh, he doesn't want them to be brothers. He is wishing for something closer, more intimate! And Tian too! And now they want to live together. I can't deal with the show! It is so good! The looks, the chemistry, the story, exquisite!

11. The Trainee 🇹🇭 (11/12)

And they're dating! They are cute together. I like that Ryan is encouraging Jane to go after his dreams- He build up his confidence and now Jane is ready to start something new. I really like this dynamic! It is a very pleasant turn of events. Ryan is such an interesting character. He is kinda shy and inexperienced, but can voice his needs and wants really good. I am looking forward the last episode.

12. Word of Honor 🇨🇳 (20/36)

Do you still believe I'll come back to this one? It is a really good series, but I can't motivate myself to dive into it right now 🙈

Finished in September

Series

Takara no Vidro 🇯🇵

We had our final today and I loved it! The fact both of them missed each other and communicated this. Taishin likes it when Takara opens up to him, because it makes him feel special and closer to him. And I get that. Takara is a person who doesn't talk much about himself, but who has so much anxiety and Taishin wants to share those burdens, because they are equal, because he wants to take care of Takara too. I started this series without any expectations and with mixed feelings, but it slowly became one of the gems of the week and I was so looking forward to this final episode! A really good 9 out of 10.

Movie

Short Film

Dropped in September

Looking forward to in September

Live in Love - Trailer (Sep 1st)

Happy of the End (Sep 3th)

Kidnap - Trailer (Sep 6th)

The Hidden Moon - Trailer (Sep 7th)

Jack and Joker - Trailer (Sep 9th)

Unlock your Love - Trailer (Sep 11th)

The Time of Fever - Trailer (Sep 12th)

Love Sick - Trailer (Sep 14th)

Bad Guy my Boss - Teaser (Sep 15th)

Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Sep 17th)

Chaser Game W2: Utsukushiki Tennyotachi (Sep 20th)

Uncle Unknown (Sep 20th ?)

[shoggothslime]

What kinds of merpeople the Termina Contestants would be

(already shared these thoughts on twitter, might as well share them here too)

Pav's a lionfish because they're invasive, they move their spines in a way that's similar to peacocking, and they have venomous stings.

Marcoh's a mantis shrimp because they punch the shit out of their prey. Simple answer.

Daan's a moon jellyfish because of Blank Soul, how they're the most common jellyfish for others to pluck out of the wild for a pet (but often kill them due to them needing specific tanks), and... moon and all... :3

He'd also be really cute as a jellyfish. I'm biased.

Abella's a giant pacific octopus because they're incredibly smart and strong. Also the red reminds me of her hair and it'd be fun to imagine her using all her octopus arms to tinker with stuff.

Olivia's a leafy seadragon because of how they blend themselves into the plant life they make their homes. Mermaid Olivia wouldn't be able to swim strongly but I like to think of her grabbing onto plants to help move herself around in kelp forests. :D

Levi's a spotted garden eel because they live in these little sand holes (trenches :3c) and are rather shy. They can however get used to certain presences such as people in aquariums. I recommend looking at the Sumida Aquarium story.

O'saa is a yellow boxfish because yes yes yellow mage, but these fish also can release deadly neurotoxins into the water which is basically hurting if you think about it.

Samarie is a gulper/pelican eel because I was obligated to make her a deep sea fish and it reminds me of Dysmorphia. Also she'd be a cute eel mermaid.

Tanaka is an oarfish due to them being known for being found dead or dying in shallower waters before earthquakes or tsunamis. Literally the opening kill as a fish. So sorry Tanaka lol.

August is an Orca because of their hunting tactics being so brutal and said hunting tactics being passed from parents to children in a pod, making different pods having different tactics and cultures. Like how Rag's influence can be seen in August.

Karin is an orange-lined triggerfish because of how territorial and aggressive they are despite their appearance. They often catch new salt water tank owners off guard by how willing they are to throw down.

Caligura is a goblin shark because it's a deep sea fish that feasts upon bottomfeeders. I also refused to let Caligura be a fish that even I could find cute. :3

Marina is a clownfish because the anemones are kind of like a warding sigil and she's a silly billy among the horrors at times. :3 They are also one of the tropical fish to be able to change from male to female. They are also my favorite childhood fish. Someone had to be one.

And finally, Henryk is a blue angel because despite how they look, they will poison the shit out of you and it will be painful and suck so much. Not worth touching.

[amoransia]

Chapter 71 spoilers!

I think Aruma-sensei heard my insane ramblings (lol), because this is a perfect setup for Imuri to finally learn more about Priest's background (even if it's not him consciously talking to her...?)

Just as there is a road that contains happy memories with Imuri, there might be a road which contains all the bad ones. After all, dreams are only crafted with what one already knows, and new stuff can't be created from scratch: he can relive those happy memories as much as he wants, but if he carries on dreaming, he'll never make any happy memories again. He has to wake up to experience new stuff!

On the other hand, if Imuri learns about his past this way, I think it would be tragic, but I don't think he'd ever talk about stuff like that willingly -- or to anyone, for that matter...? So maybe this is the only way?

Hm.

Dante's beard stubble and scar are back, which saddens me greatly. I thought I was onto something with that theory... Tsk tsk. Whatever. It doesn't matter (crying).

This chapter settles the bitter Dante/Vir ex-boyfriends image for me. It was very hilarious. It was like they were fighting for child custody of Priest-kun... (it was Daniel, rather, but it's funnier with Dante...)

True to Imuri's inner artist, she carries a marker (plus post-its) everywhere she goes...? Cute characterization. No clue what's going on with the orca, though. Hm hm hm!

Here comes Dante & Miha vs. The Witches!! Miha also seemingly has a history with witches (back on his introduction) so not really surprised. Plus, Barbara and Leah know Imuri best, so it'd be better for them to follow her.

I hope we get to see Daniel's miracle, if any. He seems to have almost photographic memory, so maybe related to that?

That said, this chapter continues to reaffirm that they all still view Priest as a means to an end.

Both Vir and Dante, stupid as they come, fail to realize that the root of the issue is their thinking. "We need his power"... bro u are the church. He is still a believer. Won't you grant him a bit of peace before you use him, at least?

Ironically, Imuri is the only one thinking of him as a person, even if her thinking is extremely selfish.

Her messing up her speech balloons with her thought balloons was not a gag I was expecting in ekuoto, so I laughed very loudly lol. Egoistical indeed!!

ALSO NO WAY ITS OOGIE BOOGIE????!!!!!

PS. Oh god wait if she's retracing Priest's memories does this mean she'll find out how he's been looking sexually at her??

[moonlight-tmd]

Mermay blitzbee headcanons or story please?

Oh gee, you folks are really into these mermay stuff, huh?

Unfortunatelly I don't have much to offer since I was never interested but I'll try-

Somehow these big sea monsters ended up together in Detroit- I suppose they adapted to be in both sweet and salt water so yeh. One day a little girl is hanging out with her dad at the shore and she runs off and tadah, she meets a funky lemon shark!Bee. Then the rest; orca!Optimus, puffer fish!Ratchet, marilin fish!Prowl and sea turtle!Bulkhead.

Then there's others- the mean ones; great white shark!Megatron, anglerfish!Lugnut, hammerhead shark!Shockwave, mimich octopus!Soundwave catfish!Blackarachnia and finally... flying fish/tiger shark!Blitzwing- an odd combo thought of as ugly but sturdy.

I think the two would separate and occupy the two nearest bodies of water- Autobot tribe is occupying Lake Erie while the Decepticon Tribe inhabits lake Huron.

The two tribes generally try to stay out of each other's ways with with a limited supply of fish it's rather hard not to stay out of conflicts- the con tribe has begun to be aggressive to the bots and certain boats that hunt the remaining fish in the water. That being said the bot tribe is actively trying to keep the cons busy so they both don't get discovered.

One day when Bee was looking around the bridge and the shores for fun human stuff that might have fell in he saw a shadow lurking behind some rocks- upon closer look it was Blitzwing, who literally jumped him in attempt to eat him. Of course Bee was swift to dodge. He started talking/bantering and it was revealed that the odd fish mix was left to starve because the other tribe members thought he was fat enough to get by on lower amount of food. Bee decided to take Blitz for a meal- ever since they met Sari the kid has been bringing them shockingly huge amounts of food at the docks. The feeder was there still and it wasn't much issue getting it open- Blitz ate the whole supply. He thanked the little shark and apologised for trying to eat him and swam off. From then on every other day Blitz would sneak into autobot waters and look for Bee to take him to the feeder.

Over time they started to take liking to one another- one may even spot signs of courting happening if they looked closely. Truth be told, Bee was interested in Blitzwing ever since he saw him- he was a sucked for all the odd and unique things and Blitzwing was all that, although the fact he was trying to eat few of the bots on multiple occasions was a bit alarming. Blitzwing on the other- fin? has been charmed by the tiny yellow sharkie- the curiosity, fun nature and hte kindness he offered made him Blitz's favorite mer soon. The two would meet up outside of the feeding times too, the small Lake St Clair and the rivers that connected it made a great place to hang out without being spotted by either tribe.

It was all going fine until the con tribe noticed Blitz has been putting on weight despite not eating- and it was not starvation swelling. They decided to spy on him and found out he was getting stuffed with the help of the teensy weensy lemon shark. Autobots had ways to get food so of course they invaded into their waters and tried to get it for themselves. Idk what else, there might have been a huge fight over it and then Sari got hurt in the water and yadda yadda the conflict was resolved in a peace agreement to not harm anyone and share food- oh and Sari's half mer thanks to her mother (who died when she was tiny) so she can go hang out w/ the mers in the lake.

I would guess Bee and Blitz have made their courtship public after the agreement and the cons have let him go; while the cons did nothing to better their relationship with him, he's been oddly welcome with the bots. He and Bee are quite a cute oddity.

And yes, he promised to not eat any of them nor the humans.

[sinsiriuslyemo]

Chapter Eight: Muggle Films and Magical Secrets

Penny had her knees drawn up under her chin, her arms wrapped around her shins, turned slightly toward Sirius as though she planned to hide behind him at any moment. Her eyes, however, were glued to the TV as the menacing sounds of a tuba played behind an underwater scene, where a bloke named Matt Hooper was inside of what he’d called an anti-shark cage. Sirius’ attention was split between the movie they were watching, and Penny, the latter being of far more interest to him if he were being honest. It wasn’t that Jaws hadn’t been engaging, but rather that he preferred to watch her reaction to a film she’d claimed she had seen a hundred times, and yet was watching as though it were the first time. It was amusing and rather charming.

He had loved The Goonies, which had been the first muggle film they’d watched. The group of four friends had reminded him so painfully of he and his friends that for a moment, he wondered if whoever wrote it had gone to Hogwarts with them. For a brief moment he had even wondered how different their lives would’ve been had they found themselves looking for ancient treasure instead of fighting a brutal war. The wonder and sense of adventure in the eyes of Mikey and his friends had left their own not long after they’d finished school.

Benjy Fenwick. That had been the death that had changed everything for him. It was the moment Sirius realized just how fragile life was, and how likely it was for any of them to lose it at any moment.

Afterwards, Penny insisted that he might likewise enjoy Jaws, a film about a giant shark terrorizing a small island off the coast of America. Apparently it was one that she’d seen as a small child.

“Oh dear God!” she exclaimed as the large shark swam up behind Hooper in the cage, crashing into it.

“I thought you said you’ve seen this over a hundred times,” he mused, the corners of his lips curled slightly.

“I have, but it gets me every time,” she answered without moving her eyes from the screen. “This was the movie that got me to stop taking baths, you know.”

His smirk grew more pronounced. “Is that so?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Don’t ask me why, but I was convinced that the shark would somehow come up from the drain and eat me whole — tub and all.”

His brows shot up above his eyes. “You thought…”

“I was seven,” she argued, finally looking over at him. “I know it doesn’t make any sense.”

Sirius snorted softly. “When I was seven, I thought that the stars were fairies who flew too high and got stuck to the night sky.”

Penny smiled. “That’s kinda cute. Wait, are there really fairies?”

“Oh yes,” he answered. “They aren’t as magical as they sound. Mostly they’re used for decoration.”

Her brows furrowed. “Decoration?”

“Mhm, they’re quite vain you see. They love being put on display, spend most of their time grooming themselves.”

“Huh.” She blinked and then glanced at the screen. “Oh! This is the best part, watch.”

Just when Sirius was near certain that shark would kill everyone aboard the Orca, Chief Brody began to strike him with a large, heavy tank, throwing it into the animal's mouth. The chief began to climb out of the cabin, a long, makeshift spear in his hand.

“Does he mean to kill that shark with just a stick?” Sirius asked incredulously, preparing himself for a convoluted and thus disappointing ending.

“No, he has the rifle, see it?” she replied, pointing at the screen.

“Rifle… is that some other sort of weapon?”

“Yeah, it shoots out these little things called bullets. They’re just a bigger version of that smaller one he had earlier… sort of… I don’t know, I’m not really a gun person.”

Sirius tilted his head to one side as he watched the main character, Brody was his name, shoot at the shark, who apparently was keen to bite down on the air tank in its mouth. “What’s he doing then? He’s already tried to use a gun.”

“He’s not going for the shark this time,” she answered with a knowing grin, adding in a much quieter voice, “He’s going for the tank. Smile, you son of a bitch!”

Sirius jolted slightly as an explosion was shown on screen, water bursting into the air as Brody rejoiced. Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, he watched as the water turned a dark shade of red, the half-blown shark sinking to the bottom.

“I love that part,” Penny said just as Hooper had resurfaced.

“Oh, thank Merlin. I like him,” Sirius said as he once again leaned back in his seat.

“Me too,” she replied. “I almost became an oceanographer because of Matt Hooper.”

Looking over at her, Sirius turned slightly toward her and asked, “What did make you want to study witchcraft?”

Penny shrugged as she hit a button on the remote, and the tape slid out of the VCR. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve always been fascinated by people’s fascination with it. I find it interesting how it can influence a society for good or bad, mostly bad. At least historically. Did you know in the US in 1692 they burned women just for being suspected of being witches? No evidence, just a suspicion. Back then all it took was some Puritan’s wife to point a finger in your direction and just like that, you were burned at the stake.”

Sirius shook his head. “No, I didn’t know that. We don’t really learn about the witches and wizards in America. But it sounds horrifying.”

“I always assumed it was the Puritan’s obsession with their misogynistic views on women, mixed with citizens exerting revenge on their neighbors for one thing or another,” she mumbled, her brows slowly forming a crease between them. “Are there wizards and witches in the States?”

Sirius nodded. “Yes, of course. Our kind are everywhere, in all parts of the world.”

“You make it sound like you guys are a different species,” she replied as her lips formed a smile.

“We aren’t,” he said, smiling back. “We just have different traits, I suppose. It’s not very different from having dark hair or light hair, brown eyes or blue eyes.”

“And you just… live among us? How do you keep your magic secret?” she asked. “I mean, I can’t imagine becoming a garbage collector when you can just use magic to make trash disappear.”

“Some of us live among you, but for the most part our world is separate from yours. Most wizarding families live and work in our world. Very few work with muggles, and most only by necessity.”

She turned to sit cross-legged, facing him. “You have your own world?”

“In a sense,” he answered. “It’s still in this world, it’s just hidden.”

“Where?”

Tilting his head, Sirius narrowed his eyes as a smirk fell on his lips, which earned a small laugh from Penny.

“Well, okay then, can you at least tell me what it's like?”

Shifting his eyes to the coffee table, he thought about how he could explain the wizarding world to someone who had never seen it. There was really only one word that came to mind, “Magical.”

Her eyes still watched him as though she was waiting for him to expand on that idea, and though in any other circumstance he’d had never entertained the notion of telling a muggle about its existence, he almost relished in sharing it with her. Perhaps because of her genuine interest, or perhaps he actually did trust her to keep it secret, but as he continued, he allowed himself to become immersed in the memories that seemed so far away.

“There’s this village called Hogsmeade, it’s the only all-wizarding village in Britain. It’s one of the oldest communities in the wizarding world, not very far from Hogwarts. It’s surrounded by the most beautiful mountains and caves. We used to go there on the weekends sometimes. There are shops and cafes, and enchanted candles that hang in the trees during the holidays. And when it snows, it looks like a place that’s just fallen out of a storybook.”

“Sounds amazing,” she replied.

“It’s lovely,” he agreed. “Our favorite was to go to Zonko’s Joke Shop, where we would stock up on various items we could use to play jokes on the First and Second year students. Then we would go to Honeydukes and have a butterbeer.”

Penny’s brow arched in interest. “Butterbeer? Like butterscotch beer?”

Sirius shrugged. “I’m not sure what beer is, but yes, it’s butterscotch flavored.”

“Beer is an alcoholic drink. In London it’s called a pint.”

“Ah yes, of course. It has some alcohol, but not very much. You can’t get pissed on it.”

“That sounds good.”

“It’s delicious. Especially on a cold day, they serve it hot.” He licked his lips, trying to remember the flavor on his taste buds, but it had been far too long. He could only faintly remember what it smelled like. “What about you?” he asked, turning his eyes toward her.

“Me? I grew up in Westport, Connecticut,” she replied as though there was no comparing it to the wizarding world. “We have museums and parks, beaches… shopping, if you’re into that sort of thing. I think the biggest thing to happen there was when Paul Newman moved to our town back in the 60s. He opened up a playhouse that does pretty well.”

“Who is Paul Newman?”

“He’s an actor. Or was… I think he’s retired.”

Sirius nodded once. “Sounds lovely.”

“I guess,” she chuckled.

“What brought you to Britain?” he asked.

“School, mostly… but I was also pretty desperate to leave. My parents are great, but they can be a bit…” She paused to think of the right word, “overbearing sometimes.”

Sirius nodded. “You did mention that before.”

“I did?” she asked, her brows knitting briefly. “Oh yeah.” She laughed under her breath. “I keep forgetting you’re a dog. I mean you… you know, you turn into one.”

“Right,” he answered with a smirk.

“How do you do that anyway?”

“It’s a very complicated and dangerous spell. It took us two years to manage it.”

“It’s that complicated?” Penny asked in somewhat surprise.

Sirius nodded. “Well,” he reconsidered. “Not necessarily, but there are some things needed that are outside of your control and take a long time to find. Such as a lightning storm. That alone could take years.”

“Do you get to pick your animal?”

He smiled at her. “No.”

“So, what? Does it go off your —”

“I shouldn’t be telling you any of this,” he reminded her gently. The small smile was still on his face, but he feared telling her too much could put her in even more danger than he already had.

“Well, it’s a little late for that. Sucks for you that I’m a history major,” she teased. “Come on, this is so fascinating, and when will I ever have a chance to ask a real wizard questions ever again? Probably never, I’m pretty boring. Don’t get out much.”

Snorting to himself, Sirius ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “What animal you can become often has much to do with one’s personality.”

“Huh… interesting,” Penny mumbled. “I wonder what animal I’d turn into.”

“I’m not sure,” he replied. “I don’t know you that well, but if I were to guess, likely something intelligent, kind… beautiful.”

Her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink and a shy smile stretched on her lips as silence settled between them. If this were an entirely different situation where he wasn’t a wanted wizard and Harry wasn’t in danger, he might’ve followed up with another flirtatious comment. He might’ve even tried to kiss her. But that nagging voice in the back of his mind — which strangely sounded quite like James — kept telling him that even flirting with this muggle woman was dangerous, even cruel. The facts remained that he was indeed a wanted wizard, and Harry was in danger, and because of that any connection with Penny would be short-lived. Encouraging their mutual attraction would only end in heartbreak. His own he could handle, but not hers. She had been nothing but kind to him, breaking her heart would be a terrible way of repaying that kindness.

“Another tape?” she suggested. “I have three more.”

Sirius swallowed, glancing at the remaining tapes on the bottom shelf. “Alright.”

“I could make popcorn,” she said as she stood and went to the shelf. “What do you think? Indiana Jones, Casablanca or Back to the Future? Which sounds good to you?”

“I liked The Goonies. Which one of the three is similar?”

“Well, technically none, but the kid who played Data in The Goonies is in Indiana Jones. And it’s also an adventure movie,” she replied.

“Right, let’s have that one then,” he said.

Nodding once, Penny pulled the tape from the shelf and began to put it into the VCR after taking Jaws out. Sirius’ eyes casually scanned the shelves again, Magical Theory and A History of Magic catching his interest once again.

“I wondered,” he said, waiting for her to look back at him before he gestured to the shelf with his chin. “Where did you find those books?”

“Which books?” she asked, looking up at the shelf.

He stood and went over, pulling out the old, tattered copy of A History of Magic and holding it up for her to see. “This one.”

“Oh, that was a gift from my uncle.”

“Your uncle?”

“Yeah.” she replied.

For reasons he wasn’t prepared to dissect, Sirius felt a surge of excitement course through his veins. Was she magical? A squib perhaps or simply a witch who somehow or another had yet to discover her magic?! He shoved aside the fleeting thoughts of her being able to come with him to Scotland and asked, “Is he a blood uncle?”

“No, he’s married to my mom’s brother.”

Right. She was no witch. She just possibly had a wizard who had married into her family.

“I see,” he replied, trying not to sound too disappointed. “Do you know where he got them?”

Penny shrugged slowly. “No clue. He just said he thought I would find them useful for my doctorate program. Are you telling me that’s a real magic book?”

Sirius nodded, holding up the book. “This one I read while I was in first year,” he said before he reached for Magical Theory. “This one, too. You have a few others in that other room as well.”

She cut her eyes to him, her brows furrowed at him. “How do you know what books I have in there?”

“I saw them,” he answered. “When you went out after giving me a bath, I had a look around your flat.”

“You went through my stuff?”

“Not exactly. I just had a look around, that’s all.”

“Okay, but what does that mean? Did you go through my drawers, did you — Oh my God, did you see my underwear?!”

“No! Of course not!” His cheeks grew slightly warm, an unusual feeling for him. “Only what I could see without touching anything, honestly,” he answered, holding up his hands, each still holding a book.

Nodding softly after a moment, she glanced at the books in his hands, gesturing to them. “So those are textbooks.”

“Yes,” he replied. “So are the ones in your study, though they’re more advanced. Ancient Runes Translations is a sixth year book. Did you get those from your uncle as well?”

“Yeah, he gave me five books total after I finished my Masters.”

“What exactly is a Masters?”

“It’s the degree you get before your PhD,” she answered.

“Degree?”

She nodded. “That’s higher education for us muggles. Don’t you guys have something similar? Like school after you leave school?”

“No,” he replied in a chuckle, putting the books back on the shelf. “Not really, at any rate, unless you were a performer of some kind. There was a girl in my year who wanted to be an actor. She went to the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts after sixth year.”

Agatha Winterbourne, Ravenclaw. Sirius could still hear her in the Great Hall during supper, yammering away excitedly at the Ravenclaw table about how she would be leaving Hogwarts at year’s end to follow her dream. He remembered how he would glance between James, Remus and… him, an expression on his face that was some mixture of worry and doubt.

“Oh? Has she been in anything I might have seen? I watch a lot of movies,” Penny answered, smiling.

“Mostly plays… but whether she’s worked since, I haven’t any idea,” he replied. “We were at war by the time I finished school the following year, that left me with little choice but to join the fight to ensure we would have a world to go back to that was worth living in. I wasn’t entirely tuned in to what was going on outside of it.”

“That must’ve been really hard,” she said after a moment.

Sirius bobbed his shoulders, going back to sit on the sofa as he answered, “It was alright. It wasn't the worst thing that was going on at the time.”

“Yeah,” she mumbled. “Well, if you hadn’t been at war, what would you have done?” She went to sit beside him, pulling one leg up onto the sofa.

He had never wondered that before, had never even considered what he might’ve done after leaving Hogwarts. There had been a brief time in his second year when he had entertained being an artist, mainly because he knew that such a profession would offend his mother, who had expected him to continue the family’s name in philanthropy. That all changed around his third year, when there was an anti-muggle attack that killed dozens of innocent people. He had overheard his parents boasting about the Dark Lord’s progress, and it had been from that moment in time that his interests swayed toward helping the opposing side.

“When I was 11, I thought about being an artist,” he said. “But that was mostly me rebelling against my parents. I’m not sure if I wouldn’t have become interested in something else as I got older. Perhaps a dragon keeper. Or a philosopher. Something with a lot of action or that required the use of my clever mind, but not an Auror. Definitely not an Auror. They’re a bit like your muggle police. Far too many rules for my taste.”

She smirked at him, propping her elbow onto the back of the couch and leaning her head on her hand. “So you were a trouble maker.”

He grinned playfully and wagged his brows. “You’ve no idea, love.”

She chuckled softly, and was about to ask him something else when a ring sounded from somewhere behind her. Turning to the end table beside the sofa, she picked up some sort of contraption and held it to her ear. “Hello?”

He could hear another voice, a woman.

“Mom…” Her eyes met Sirius’ as she added, “Hey.”

The woman spoke again, though he couldn’t quite make out what she was saying, but the look on Penny’s face was as though she were smelling a rubbish bin.

“Great,” Penny said, clearly attempting to sound enthusiastic, but failing miserably. “I really don’t have time to —” She rolled her eyes, sighing silently. “Okay.” She listened for a few moments before saying again, “Okay, fine. I’d be…” She grimaced. “Delighted.”

Whatever it was she was agreeing to, Sirius was positive she was far from delighted about it.

“Yep. Okay. I have to go,” Penny said. “Okay, bye.” She placed the object back onto a large cradle and looked back at him, shaking her head gently. “Don’t ask.”

Standing, she made her way into the kitchen and began to rummage through a cupboard out of sight. When she came back into view, she was opening a packet and placing it into the microwave and pressing one of the buttons.

“Do you not get along with your mother?” he asked.

She took a step to lean halfway through the door frame. “I do, I just get annoyed when she tries to set me up. She doesn’t really get me, and… I guess I don’t really get her much.”

“Mm,” Sirius replied.

“I know she loves me,” Penny said as a popping noise began to come from the microwave. “And I know she means well, but I wish she would just understand that dating is the last thing on my mind right now.”

Trying to ignore the twist in his abdomen, Sirius gently cleared his throat. “She’s sending you on a date then?”

“Unfortunately,” Penny groaned, stepping back into the kitchen. “Some friend of hers’ son. Apparently he’s just finishing up his Masters at Oxford. La-di-dah.”

Sirius tried not to let out a bark of laughter. “Maybe she thinks you’ll like him.”

“My mom doesn’t know what I like,” she answered as a longer beep sounded from the microwave. She opened it and pulled something out of another cupboard before she opened the microwave. “She doesn’t get why I chose the topic I did for my Doctorate. She thinks it’s a waste of my time.”

“What’s a Doc —”

“PhD,” she replied, coming back into the sitting room with a large, bright orange bowl and reclaiming her place on the sofa.

“Right.”

“If it were up to her, I’d get married and start popping out babies like a good little factory,” she said, taking a kernel of popcorn from the bowl and eating it. “Nevermind what I want.”

“What do you want?”

Penny sighed, swallowing what was in her mouth before she said, “To learn more. To study this other culture that up until now I didn’t think existed in any tangible way.”

“And do what with it?”

“I don’t know yet,” she answered with a listless smile. “Can’t exactly write a book on it. But something good. Whatever it is I end up doing with all this knowledge, I want it to help people somehow.”

“Perhaps one day you will,” he replied with a warm smile. He glanced down at the bowl. “Are you going to share that then?”

Following his gaze, she smiled and moved closer to him, placing the bowl between them. “So you’ve had popcorn?”

“Have I had popcorn?” he asked in a breathy chuckle. “Of course I have, love, I’m not from another planet.”

Penny snorted bashfully. “Well, it’s good to know there are some things our worlds have in common.”

They stared back at one another for a moment before Penny leaned forward and took up the remote.

“It’s getting late, so this’ll probably be the last movie,” she said. “But maybe tomorrow, I can rent a couple more. We can continue your muggle cinema education.”

He let out a bark of laughter, tossing his head back. “Sure, I’d love that.”

She reached for the lamp on the end table and turned out the light, pressing a button on the remote before she snuggled closer to him.

He shouldn’t have done it. He should have kept his distance. But despite the voice in his mind screaming for him not to move, Sirius lifted his arm and draped it behind her over the back of the sofa.

You bloody prat, groaned James’ voice in his head.

[iamgodsoopsie]

What I think of you based on who you stan/simp for in MHA, Part 1:

PRO HEROS:

Aizawa: You're depressed, but functioning.

Mic: You have ADHD, but it's well managed. (Have you taken your meds today?)

Midnight: Most fanfiction is NOT a good guide for safe, realistic, BDSM practices.

Thirteen: Hello my nonbinary pals!

Nezu: People who underestimate you because of your cute façade have made a terrible mistake.

Power Loader: You spend waaaaay too much money on Lego sets that you don't may or may not actually build.

Snipe: The wild west is cool, just please learn how to properly handle a gun before you even think about touching one.

Ectoplasm: You're the kid/guy who everyone thinks will bring a gun to school/work. You won't, but you give off that vibe.

Cementoss: Your quest for inner peace is not yet over, good job on your progress so far.

Vlad King: The genre of porn you're looking for is called Bara, you're welcome.

Fat Gum: You give off ideal-older-brother vibes.

Sir Nighteye: Once people get to know you then they see how cool you are, but until then they just think that you're a fucking weirdo. (They're not wrong tbh, but you're a cool fucking weirdo).

Endeavor: Stop making excuses for abusive people. If they've been abusive, then the only way they're going to change is through intense therapy that takes place over a long period of time. They won't just suddenly be better, if they act like they are then they're manipulating you.

Hawks: People think you're cool but instead of it giving you confidence it gives you imposter syndrome.

Mirko: You want her to crush your head in-between her thighs (me too).

All Might: You're rapidly heading down a path that will lead you to severe burn out- if you're not there already.

Best Jeanist: You should really address your control issues.

Edge Shot: More like edge-lord! Jk, you're a fucking weeb (like me).

Kamui Woods: You're not sure how you've gotten this far, but you're going to keep doing what you've been doing since it seems to be working.

Mt. Lady: You're into vore and/or macrophilia, don't even try to deny it.

Rock Lock: You are the only person in your friend group with any common sense.

Ryukyu: I'd say that you should checkout r/dragonsfuckingcars (CW: NSFW, 18+, Reddit), but you already know about it.

Hound Dog: Just admit you're a furry and move on.

Ms. Joke: AIZAWA IS MY HUSBANDO, STAY AWAY!

Gang Orca: Your looks/disposition scare people away when all you want is to be loved.

Wild Wild Pussycats: You're LGBTQA+, or an ally.

Gran Torino: He's your old man goals.

Recovery Girl: She's your old lady goals (mine too).

Crimson Riot: He's the positive masculine figure that you wish you had growing up.

Selkie: You look (◣_◢) , but your personality is (UwU).

Other: People tend to forget about you even if you're really cool.

[ask-eden]

Relationships

This is the relationships log. Showing the relationships between my own characters and characters for others. [ Note: Only the MAIN characters will be shown here ] Significant interactions with other characters will add them to this list. Only those who have interacted multiple times OR left a significant feeling will be added. The list will update as time goes on or as relationships update

-> K E Y <-

❤️- Love (Platonic) 💕 - Love (Romantic) / Lust / Crush 💚 - Like 💛 - Fear 💔 - Distrust 💜 - Dislike 🖤 - Hate 🤍 - Neutral / Unknown 🤎 - Shame

Eden's Relationships: Alaxia: My brother! He's... everything... that I'm not.... " ❤️❤️❤️🤎 Dysnomia: "Why, out of every pokemon, did I get stuck with the creepy one" 💔 💔 💜💛 Luan: "My best friend... my only friend... I'm.. sorry I didn't get to say goodbye..." ❤️💚💚🤎 TwoToile: "It's nice to know I'm not ENTIRELY alone in this... Hopefully our paths will cross again.." 💚💚🤍 🤍 Bronte: "She seems.. really nice... I kinda remember her from when I was younger... mm... But she seems close to Alaxia... Aaah... I don't know.." 🤍 💚💚💚 Berry: "Tiny scary woman... I don't know what her issue is.. What did I do to her??" 🤍🤍💜💛 Immune: "There's a cute girl living in my necklace.. or... is.. my necklace?.. I don't know aaa... She's nice at least.." 💚🤍🤍🤍 Goddess: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" 💛💛💛💔

Dysnomia's Relationships: Eden: "Pathetic little gay man. That isn't a hate comment it's just.. more of a fact, honestly." 💜 🤍🤍🤍 Alaxia: "One day, I'm going to fucking gut you" 🖤🖤🖤💛 Goddess: "Weird amazon woman. How is menopause treating you? Why are you looking at me.. like that... No. Must've been my imagination." 🤍 🤍 🤍 💔 Bri: "Peanut butter and JEALOUS much? Maybe if you weren't such a hot head you would be in my position. Hah. Hot head.. glaceon.." 💜💜💜💔 Spyder: "One of the few beings I can call my 'friend'... Even if your overdramatic and a bit too touchy feely" 💚💚💚💚 Orca: "Why did you choose ME... out of everyone...." 💚💚🤎🤎 Nyx: "I'm so sorry I had to do that to you.. I hope you can forgive me..." 💚🤎🤎🤎 Berry: "I'm glad she chose the correct side." 🤍🤍🤍💔 Bronte: "You were one of the few that were kind to me. Stood up for me... I hope when the time comes, you'll make the right choice." 💚🤍🤍💔 TwoToile: "... I have a bad feeling about what might happen to you." 🤍🤍🤍💔 Lucky: "Hmm... A friend.. Maybe.. I don't know.. I have to.. learn to stop hating you first... Forgive my jealousy... please.." 💚💚💚💜 Gladius: "I owe you a lot... But I still am unsure on why a god would so willingly help out a mortal... Maybe other universes are.. different.. Forgive my ill feelings." 💚💚💚💔

Luan's Relationships: Eden: My Eeedeee! That's my best friend right there RIGHT THERE! My best friend!" ❤️❤️💚💚

Alaxia's Relationships: Eden: "Pathetic. Maybe one day you'll be of use to me" 💜💜💜🖤 Dysnomia: "Parasite Parasite Parasite Parasite" 🖤🖤🖤💛 Berry: "You'll be of use to me, whether you like it or not." 💜💜💜💜 TwoToile: "Strange to see one of those stupid mortal experiments survive.. Maybe you'll be useful to me." 🤍🤍🤍💕 Bronte: "I hope you'll come around soon, I would hate to have to force it." 💕💕💚💚 Arceus: "What kind of idiot gives all their powers away? You deserve everything that's coming to you." 💜💜🖤🖤 Etoile: "Pathetic Worthless Waste of power. I can't wait to skin you alive." 🖤🖤💛💛

Inaris: "Someone from another universe.. wants to remain in contact with me.. This is nice... They are nice..... mm..." 💚💚💚💕

[dreamingofscully]

xvii. the star

t / post-arcadia / idiots to friends / wc 1808 / no beta / ao3 / @today-in-fic 

mulder gets them red-eye tickets after arcadia / the between

“Mulder, you were supposed to turn left back there…” Scully’s voice was laced with exasperation. He didn’t have to turn from the road to know that she was staring at him with an upturned brow and a frown. The same expression she’d worn almost the entire time they’d pretended to be married at Arcadia.

He nodded, trying to keep his face neutral, but didn’t say anything.

And for her part, she didn’t press. Just let out a sigh and continued to stare out the window. If she’d ordered him to tell her or to turn the car around, he’d do it. But she never did. Only peppering questions, the tilt of her mouth telling him she enjoyed the process just as much as him. Something had changed, though, and he wasn’t sure of the last time he’d seen her look at him with more than frustration and anger, simmering underneath her silent visage.

The brochure he memorized had a tiny cartoon map, directions to their destination written in blue and red and green. Clear and bright. Leading to something happy, he presumed. He’d never been, and hoped Scully would forget her irritation at him for a few hours and be his guide.

As they turned the final corner into the parking lot, a bright blue structure with rails poking out of it stood right in front of him. Beside him, Scully stood straighter in her seat.

“Mulder? Sea World?”

He shrugged, feeling his face burn. When he found a spot, somewhere near the edge of the full lot, he turned to her.

Arms crossed, and an expression he couldn’t interpret on her face. It was better than annoyance, at least. She raised her eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

“When I knew this case was going to take us out here, I thought…”

“You thought we’d take in a show? Not the kind I would expect from you.” A hint of a smile. His heart sped up.

“Did you know, Scully, that dolphins have long been seen as messengers of the gods, as helpers of humankind?” He leaned against the door, facing her. And though she didn’t smile, she didn’t tune him out, watching him with guarded eyes. ”In fact, there’s a tale of a dolphin rescued by a fisherman from some nets. When his ship sank, he was the only one rescued, carried on the back of a dolphin. And ships, even today, see dolphins swimming in their wake as a good omen.”

“Confirmation bias,” she scoffed. Though her words didn’t feel as venomous as they had lately. “Also, you’re far more likely to be attacked than rescued by a dolphin. People forget, because they’re cute, but they’re vicious predators. They attack females, attack their babies. Even humans.”

“So your mom was right then, you were a ‘Sea Adventurer’ back in the day.”

“My mother?” she said. “Mulder, what’s going on? Why are we here? Some sort of psychic orca?”

He flashed her what he hoped was his most charming grin, and she relaxed into her seat. “She said you came here most days in the summer, when you were 13 or 14. I’ve never been, so I thought… maybe… you could show me around.”

She didn’t speak, but he saw the subtle transformation. A flush crept up her cheeks. The tilt of her head, curiosity and perhaps a bit of amusement. The corner of her mouth twitched as she tried not to smile.

“I got the red-eye. But I can switch it if you need to get home…”

She sighed. Bit her lip. Her hair, layered and curling, couldn’t hide her face when she bowed her head. Then she unbuckled her seat belt. “Well, we’re already here.”

Mulder fist pumped the air, grinning at her as they left the minivan, his dark sweater abandoned on his seat. She didn’t look back at him, and he couldn’t pretend that this might be an awkward afternoon. Talking about whatever was going on between them felt like it was off-limits. That it would only lead to more of a mess. He hoped that, at least, he could get her to smile and laugh. And maybe, just fucking maybe, she could see him as a friend rather than an annoyance.

She changed into clothes packed away in the back of the minivan. Her current dark funereal garb wasn’t appropriate for a hot afternoon of rides and getting splashed by sea creatures. It was out of place for sharing cotton candy and corndogs. While her change was practical, he wasn’t blind. Her ass looked great in her blue jeans, and her striped t-shirt was stretched tight over her chest. The deep vee gave a hint of cleavage. This Scully he hadn’t had the privilege of knowing, not lately.

How long had it been since they’d hung out like this? Just friends? No aliens or conspiracies to get in the way. Had they ever? What on earth, or in the universe, made him believe he could only see her when he invented an excuse?

As they walked underneath the oversized arch and he paid their tickets, it almost felt normal, like they’d planned to come here together. They were Mulder and Scully, not Rob and Laura. Partners and friends, not husband and wife. Though he supposed everyone would still see them as a couple, wandering around together at a theme park. Maybe they still had masks on, but instead of hiding their true identities behind a married couple called Petrie, they hid what they really felt and needed to talk about behind a shell of necessary congeniality. Leaning on the routine of working together. They never talked, but they should. They needed to. Something had to change. Impossible, though. Words stuck in his throat, and he suspected it was the same for her.

The roller coasters made his head swim. Though he would have lined up again and again if it meant he could see her smile, she put a stop to it when he wandered off the last one like a drunk, sitting heavily on a nearby bench. Educational pavilions were next, though Scully sped by the plastic-sheathed placards as he trailed behind, the knowledge already encased within her magnificent brain. He attempted to win a few prizes on the midway, but it was her aim that won them a giant orca plush. After carrying it around for about an hour and annoying her with whale sounds, she made him give it to a kid with sticky hands and face. It would have looked good atop his waterbed, before it had to be carried away. So would Scully. He banished the thought, but not before imagining the double vision of Scully beside him and reflected above, curled around black and white fuzz.

Worth it, he thought, as the real Scully took his hand and squeezed, looking up at him with a bright smile.

Mid-afternoon disappeared, the edge of dusk on the eastern horizon beginning to chase away the light. They were sitting on a bench near the orca show, staring out at the ocean just a few yards away. Mulder wanted to go inside, but Scully tugged on this side of his t-shirt and led them away.

They sat in silence, though it was companionable. Normal.

“I always felt bad for them.” Her gaze was locked upon the blue-green waves just out of their reach.

“The orcas?”

She nodded. “And the dolphins. The seals. Locked away in little pools for our entertainment. Kept from their families, from each other. The more I learned about it, the more wrong it felt.”

“Yet you stayed a whole summer.”

She tilted her head, watching him out of the corner of her eye, and shrugged.

“I have a distinct feeling I am missing some of the story here, Scully. What kept you coming back? A boy?” He nudged her with his shoulder. “Or did they let you feed the seals?”

Leaning her arms across the back of the bench, she looked upwards into the inky sky, stars just beginning to peek out. The sun had brought out her freckles, despite her liberal application of sunscreen. They scattered over her nose and cheeks, over the fair skin above the vee of her shirt. It looked good on her. His arm was beside hers, but they didn’t touch. He wanted to, but it felt wrong. Like it was crossing a line; even though he’d invaded her space the entire six years of their partnership. Even though the small of her back and the soft skin at her wrist felt like home.

He looked at her differently now. After the hallway. After they’d almost–

“I didn’t actually stay here,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.

His eyes traced the movement of her throat as she swallowed. If he couldn’t touch her, he would watch. “Oh?”

“Maybe if we come back, I can show you where I snuck off to, after my mom dropped me off.”

“Scully…” He smiled as she turned to him, a twinkle in her eyes.

The sky turned orange and pink and purple as the sun set over the ocean. Screams of children, the mechanical whirr of rides, and the endless jingle of the concessions surrounded them on all sides. All of that disappeared as he sat next to her, except for the feeling that things were finally getting back to normal. The dizziness from the rollercoaster, from not knowing where things were going between them, fading with the sun.

“Hey Scully, I know I’m a couple days late, but… happy birthday.” He watched her profile, the lights from the midway bouncing off her skin in the dim light. Azure and pink and white, a mesmerizing kaleidoscope. Her eyes shone, facing away from him.

“I thought you forgot,” she said, her voice so quiet he had to lean forward to hear.

“Never, Scully.” He risked a touch, squeezing the pinkie that laid on the bench between them. Curling her finger around his, she gave him a tight smile and stood.

“Thanks, Mulder. For this. I had… I had a good time.” She turned her wrist, checking her watch. “But I think it’s time to go?”

“Aw, ma, do we gotta?”

She laughed, and pulled him up to his feet. On their way out of the park, he dared to press his palm to the small of her back. He felt the shift, or maybe he wished for it. She stared out the window in quiet contemplation as he drove to the airport. Instead of frustration and anger radiating from every pore, every tense muscle, she sat next to him like she always had. Before. And when she glanced at him, her face was soft. Recognizable.

He puffed his cheeks. Allowed himself to breathe.

Though they didn’t talk about anything important, perhaps this afternoon was enough. For now.

[clover-midori]

PICKING UP PIECES

In the name of our lord and savior Terry Crews I deeply apologize for how long this chapter will be. Enjoy.

"Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward."

- Fredrik Backman

"Flappity flippers! Captain! You’re… YOU'RE ALIVE!" Peso tightly hugged the polar bear, his orca flukes waving slowly. "You were out for hours. Had I not noticed you, I’d think we were all on our own!"

Barnacles smiled, still unaware of his transformation. "Well, it IS good to be back," he said. "That crash was faster than I expected!"

"We may or may not have made the right choice to NOT go to the HQ. If anything, I should’ve come back for you." Shellington’s ears drooped. "I should’ve stopped crying."

"Yar, don’t say that! I know you were in pain, and I could totally understand… Everybody needs to cry sometimes, Shellie." Kwazii patted the otter on the dorsal fin.

That last word echoed in his mind. Shellie? As in… Shellington? Cute nickname, he thought. Made him blush a little. Fluttered his pectorals too.

He felt MUCH better knowing he was the reason why everyone was STILL here.

"So, you all got turned into mermaids, huh?" Barnacles kept looking at the leopard shark merotter, then at the lemon shark merkitten. "That’s interesting… seems like I’ve gotten myself into it as well!" He looked down and realized he too was like this, now hauling the tail of a beluga whale. "Seems to fit me very well." He didn’t mind how it was rather small compared to the rest of his crew, who all gained oversized tails bigger than their waists. “It’s not hard to swim in those, is it?" he asked, to which he got a bunch of head shakes and nopes.

"So, Captain, now what? The Octopod is flooded, the only thing that isn’t is Kwazii's room, and we likely don’t have any way to contact any of the Octo-Agents." Dashi raised her paw.

"Oh, that’s not a problem! Here’s your Octo-Compass, Captain! I was holding onto it this whole time. Didn’t want to lose it either, I bet!" Peso swam next to him and took the device out from under his hat. "I assume everyone’s looking for us as of now, so do try to call back… even if they haven’t, it’s still good to inform them of what happened to us! Bet they’ll be surprised, too!"

Tweak kept watching from behind the shattered window, still pissed but not as much as she was earlier. The bunny was starting to question just how bad this REALLY was. Maybe it wasn’t that awful, but perhaps that was only because of Barnacles.

She ducked down, hoping nobody could see her. Not that she was going to attack again, but she needed some time for herself. Maybe she’d go explore the surroundings.

"Yeah, that’ll help take things off my mind. To be surrounded by so many things without needing any gear? Perfect."

~~~~

Barnacles had been looking through the lower floors of the main area with his crew. To him, it felt… quite saddening. This thing he’d have piloted for 13 years? Lost for real this time.

Sure, the last time it crashed in Namibia, Tweak modified it to walk on land, and was usable again, but this time it was destroyed and uncontrollable. And now it was left to rot away.

Hopefully this thing went to good use, as well as all the GUPs. Maybe an artificial reef like last time.

With no way to get on land with these tails, the Octonauts were merely nomads once again. If anything, they pretty much didn’t exist anymore. At least that’s how it felt. Being confined to the sea without the Octopod was virtually a nightmare. And that nightmare was becoming real.

"Well, can’t stay silent forever. That’ll only make matters worse. What do you say, Peso?" Barnacles curved his tail towards the penguin.

Peso nodded, looking around in dread. "You might as well. I’m surprised I only became a mermaid. Would’ve expected myself to become a WHOLE orca…" he looked back on his flukes, and chuckled a little.

"Unless there’s many more mythical things and beings out there!" Dashi chimed in. Why else was it specifically this, Captain? Why else do Kwazii and Shellington spend so much time together? It all makes sense now! There’s probably a world we STILL haven’t discovered out there, and it’s RIGHT here on Earth, down HERE!"

"Father" and "Son" stopped swimming and just looked at the dachshund in disbelief. What was she going on about again?

Another world down here? Kwazii and Shellington? What about them? The two were kinda lost in her words, especially Peso.

Dashi had then realized how odd that truly sounded. As excited as she was, she did realize her words. Seemed like those two got to her fast, and now they were in her mind.

"Uhh… Hey, anyone seen Tweak? I’m gonna go look for her." She swam off.

"You know what, Captain? Call everybody."

"My thoughts exactly. Leaving them in silence is NOT OKAY."

~~~~

"No, no Paani, you do not just lose contact with the Octonauts, EVEN when I’m in Hokkaido and they’re in California. Or something like that. Since when did this happen anyway? Last night?"

5,400 miles away, in Sapporo, Japan, another Dachshund was sitting inside a 7-Eleven, chatting with a few Octo-Agents on his netbook.

"Last night, Yeshi. Last night. They were trapped in hurricane Selma. I fear they’ve either lost power or even crashed… AGAIN." Paani responded. "Now, just making sure… to whoever else is here, please say your names!"

"Koshi!"

"Professor Natquik."

"Min here."

"Pearl. Hiya."

As everyone announced themselves, Yeshi he started to think about what happened particularly to his sister, Dashi. Knowing she was on there when signal was lost made him deathly scared. He couldn’t believe this kind of shit had to happen only a few months after reuniting with her and meeting the other Octonauts, too.

Before joining the Octo-Agents, Yeshi was the singer for a local band in Hokkaido, DE LEET. A dacschund among humans, it was a little awkward, but he managed to make things work. If anything, the people didn’t mind much. They might as well have liked that more, which they DID.

"I knew I shouldn’t have been away for so much," he groaned. He was in heavy grief just like his youngest sister, Koshi, who was calling from Australia.

"Everything okay, Yeshi? You’ve stayed silent for a little while now." Paani tried to get his attention. The dog immediately looked at his laptop. "Yeah… I mean, I might be grieving right now. I feel like throwing up, you know?" He rushed off, and went for the restroom.

Pearl had felt his pain just as much. Her brother, Shellington, whose back she always had, was in the same predicament. No one in the group call was aware of what had truly happened, and were left in mystery and misery.

But the most damaged was probably Koshi. "A Junior Agent doesn’t deserve to be involved in a disaster of this scale, especially when their relative is potentially lost," Natquik told Paani. "I say we should let her stay at her sta-"

"N-no, no, I’m okay! I… I can go!" The pup interrupted. "Sis might be waiting for me! Right, bro?"

Yeshi had just returned from the restroom, a grieving look in his eyes. "Yes… yes Koshi. She’s waiting for us… I hope." He looked right at her, then navigated for an image of Dashi. "I promise."

"It’s what all of us would’ve wanted. Inkling's there," Pearl looked at Min.

"Barnacles' is there too." She looked at Natquik.

"As are Dashi and Kwazii…" Yeshi and Paani too.

"And then…"

The sea otter couldn’t keep talking. All the thinking of her brother got to her, and likely Periwinkle next to her. The thought of his uncle, possibly gone.

Yeshi just sat there, unable to throw up again. He didn’t want to bother anymore. That would be a pain for the janitor here. But thinking about all this was gonna make him suffer an anorexic feeling.

"What are you waiting for, you dumb stupid fuck?" He cried to his laptop screen. "Koshi's right, you know. Koshi's RIGHT. They gotta be waiting for us."

Natquik nodded, ignoring the profanity. "Like my friend Barnacles says, there’s no time to waste. Yeshi? Paani? Koshi? Min? Pearl? All of you, get ready. The Octonauts are out there and need help themselves. I’ll be headed for the Octoray in just a few minutes. Pack everything we need because this is an EMERGENCY."

Yeshi slammed his laptop shut. He was NOT wasting a MINUTE, even if it meant waiting a whole day for this thing. He grabbed it and his instant ramen, then rushed home to his base in the mountains west of Sapporo.

"Someone's acting fast. I like that…" Natquik watched as the dachshund hung up.

"Now, I should mention that I AM bringing a special guest with us for help on this mission… you’ll have to wait and see who it is."

~~~~

"Tweak?" Dashi swam to the cave where the bunny was curled up in. "You feel any better?"

The green mermaid looked up, opened her eyes, and saw Dashi floating over her, with that iridescent dolphin tail in full view. The bunny did crack a small smile at the sight of her.

"…I think I’m okay. Starting to reconsider some stuff." Tweak sighed with a crackle of electricity. "Y’know, what I did to y’all, and… Well, I don’t think I can talk to Cap just yet."

The dachshund swam down, sitting next to her. The two figured it wouldn’t hurt to make a little company for each other.

"You know, I think I’ve been… thinking a little different. Like, you know how Kwazii is?" Dashi asked, rabbit nodding in response. "Those tales he tells about myths almost every night that delve into lengthy informational conversations with Shellington and scare Peso into his breakcore mixtapes? Well, seeing how we’re mermaids, do you… think any more of his stories are real?"

Tweak just sat there, thinking of them. "Kwaz? His 'spooky pirate stories'? Well, yes… I mean, no- I mean… Well, Dash, it might just be a sheer coincidence. But then again, Shellington was responsible for our transformations, and he’s really close to Kwaz, so…"

The two went silent again. "We’re just overthinking. I should get some more rest… You could use some too." The bunny closed her eyes, and shook her tail until she felt comfy enough.

The merdog figured she had a point too, and turned on her side.

"Well, see you in a few hours. Zap me if you… need anything."

~~~~

A polar bear watched as the Octoray slowly landed on the south tip of Mackenzie King Island. She’d have only heard about these folks for a while from her brother, who she was still completely unaware of lately.

"Don’t worry, you two. These are your uncle’s friends. They need us for a special meeting, so please stay calm."

Natquik disembarked the ship, approaching the three. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bianca. I assume you have everything ready by now, so I advise you get on board immediately." He turned around and went back inside the Octoray, the three polar bears following.

Once all four were inside and with seatbelts on, Natquik slowly but immediately took off. "Next stop is Campania Island, then onto Sapporo, I suppose…"

"Odd how Paani hasn’t shared a location yet. He best hurry." The fox pondered under his breath.

~~~~

It had been about an hour now. Barnacles and Peso sat on the edge of the HQ, looking through the former's Octo-Compass. "Natquik's contact should be in here. I’m hoping he’s available right now." He kept looking around in the list. "You know, Peso, I’m glad you and I could do this together." The polar bear looked at him, twitching his whale flukes. "These last few hours have been… out of focus, and being with someone I know makes me feel safer."

Peso smiled, giving his flukes a twitch as well. It really was nice spending time with the boss, now that he had the chance to. "Thanks, Captain. For that, and finding my xylophone in the wreckage. It still sounds great, too!"

Barnacles wrapped an arm around his assistant, just as he finally caught sight of Natquik's image. "There it is."

"Now to just speak up."

~~~~

Above the Northwest Territories, Natquik noticed his Octo-Watch was ringing. He stopped the Octoray mid-air for just a moment and answered.

*HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY, HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY- boop!* "Still can’t believe I have a Bill Wurtz ringtone. Who’s he anyway?" The fox sighed, as he noticed the caller.

"Wha- I-I don’t believe it! Barnacles?! You’re alive? So, did everything go well?"

The polar bear laughed a little. "Well, I am and so is everyone else here. As for the Octopod… yeah, it’s gone."

Natquik freaked out. "WHAT?! Gone? Like… destroyed?"

"In a way, yes. It’s unusable. Everything's flooded, it’s down in the sand. Abandoned for good, if anything. The Namibia incident was merely a close call but this is IT."

The Arctic fox was worried. "Oh dear. Did you make it to dry land?"

"Nope! We’re still down here!" Peso sounded in. Natquik was quite shocked. "You two STILL have air?"

"Of course, Nat! Turned out we all got turned into mermaids, so now we’re just… waiting here."

Like many others, the Arctic fox just… stopped working, and fainted. Bianca made sure Orson and Ursa were okay, then looked at the fox worrisomely and took control. "Natquik, is everything okay?" She held onto his arm, noticing his Octo-Watch. "Barnacles? Is that you?"

The captain on the other side was excited to hear his sister. "Bianca! I haven’t seen you in forever. Did Natquik pick you up on the Octoray? Sounds like it."

"If that’s what it is, then yeah. Me, Orson and Ursa are the only passengers, I guess. What’s happened over there? What did you say that made Natquik… fall like this?"

Barnacles felt insanely awkward. To explain this to his sister was gonna be difficult. So, to combat those fears, he told her without a hitch.

"I’m a mermaid, that’s all."

Bianca found that a little hard to believe. Her brother? A mermaid? How? And why? She asked, getting the "crash and chemical spill" response that many others did. She quickly jotted it down, completely unaware of where she was at this point.

Although, I do guarantee you the people of Yellowknife and Hay River won’t forget seeing a big-ass manta ray in the sky. That’s the stuff of urban legends on old online forums. Maybe something of actual mythology. Who knows?

"So, is that why Nat needed me? To meet up with you and the others? That’s great! I mean, I know you’re like this probably forever… but it’ll still be nice to visit again!" Bianca chuckled, before getting a tap on her shoulder. Natquik had recovered from fainting, and was now holding the polar bear's note.

"What’s this about?" The fox looked at the paper, regarding what had happened. It was signed with Bianca's name in the corner. "You wrote this? Let me see here…"

The polar bear held onto Natquik's watch. "Sorry… he’s back up. I’ll have to get going now, Barnacles. See you soon."

At that, she hung up and handed it back to the Arctic fox, who seemed just as worried. A little annoyed by the sudden hijack Bianca did, too.

"I didn’t want to leave this thing on autopilot. Orson and Ursa were a little scared when you passed out, you know. Now, let’s keep going."

Natquik sighed. What he read was making complete sense now. He knew he’d have to speed up now.

All for Bianca.

~~~~

*Ker-zap!*

Dashi immediately got up. Tweak was sitting at the edge of the cave, looking towards what was left of the Octopod.

"Hm? Tweak? You called?" The dachshund swam over to her, and sat down again. The green bunny was spaced out, still contemplating her actions.

"Might as well‘ve. If anything, I just need somebuddy to come with me… y’know, back to the Octopod. Everyone still remembers me, don’t they?" Tweak sighed. "They hate me too, I know that for a fact."

Dashi did feel a bit wrong for supporting her rabbit, but at the same time she knew it was right to stay with her while she recovered. Otherwise it was likely she’d only get worse. And nobody would want that.

"Can we go now? I don’t want the bad feelings to roll back in, gotcha?" Tweak got up and slowly swam forwards. Dashi nodded and hugged her from behind, only to keep getting shocked again and again.

"Owwwww… Yeah, we can… owwww… we can go." Dashi shook her tail again and again to numb out the pain.

"You’ll get used to it, Dash. It’s gonna hurt but it’ll be worth it in the long run."

~~~~

Peso didn’t even know it was possible to play his xylophone underwater. But he was giving it a shot, and while it was quieter than before, it WAS making noise.

"I’d hit harder but that’s only gonna break it… at least I fear that’s the case. Sorry, Captain."

Barnacles had no issue. On the bright side, they could both breathe air, so playing on the surface was no issue. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to try again at the accordion, too.

"Uh, hi…" suddenly came a voice in front of them. "Can we… all talk? All 4 of us?" It was Tweak and Dashi, having returned.

Peso was a little surprised by the bunny’s appearance, but he wasn’t as scared right now.

"I wondered where you went. Yes, we can talk…" Barnacles moved a little bit. "Here good?"

Tweak pointed down, signaling for a more private area. The other mermaids followed, until they reached the FUCKING SHATTERED launch bay. "Right, this looks good." The merbunny sat down in the sand. "Mind the tail."

Dashi sat a little closer to Tweak, giving her a hug. Her green ears drooped a little in comfort, before she spoke up.

"So, I doubt any of you are aware of what I did, but I think I should explain. And if you DO know, trust me when I say I’m sorry."

"So, I went berserk earlier. Peso, you were busy with medic stuff, and I attacked you and Kwazii. Y’know, I saw Cap as the culprit for this crash, but a little while back I realized things may not be what I thought. Like, it’s not just Cap's fault… we’re ALL at fault!" The bunny happily laughed, before stopping once again. "Which is kinda disappointing. Everybody, we can’t mess up like this again. We were doing so well and now…?"

She gave off a few crackles of electricity, just looking at them.

"Octonauts, the best we can do is learn from it, and move on." Barnacles spoke up. "This may be our lives now, and while it may be difficult to keep going, this is NOT the end of it all. As long as we stay together, I promise that things will go swimmingly. Now, are there any questions?"

Dashi, Peso and Tweak all just sat there, as was Shellington in hiding. Barnacles nodded in understanding. Everything was feeling more surreal. Maybe that nightmare last night, but he couldn’t even recall it so it didn’t matter.

"Okay, so are we just gonna wait here, or what?" Tweak tilted her head.

The captain then remembered. "I almost forgot. Professor Natquik is likely headed here soon. I’ve sent him the location of the nearest landmass: Isla Guadalupe."

Inside her mind, the bunny couldn’t figure out what the point was. To get him turned as well? That didn’t make sense at all, but oh well. If that was what they both wanted, so be it.

Just don’t say she didn’t warn anyone, she thought.

~~~~

Bianca had fully understood everything about the situation. Whoever Natquik was heading for was, apparently, also investigating this. As of now, however, the polar bear was the only one made aware so far.

The Octoray slowly descended towards Campania Island, where two sea otters were standing.

"Don’t let Yeshi touch your Octo-Watch, unless you want an existential crisis." Natquik scoffed, as he touched down. "Now, Bianca, try not to bring this up until we reach Sapporo. I need everyone to know at once, for simplicity."

The polar bear nodded, as Pearl and her son slowly walked in. The mother was clearly distressed, but Periwinkle was still unaware.

Bianca had a bad feeling about her. She and Natquik knew Barnacles and the others were fine, but others didn’t. And seeing how glum this sea otter was, it was clear she was not liking this at all.

Pearl immediately sat next to her, sulking in despair. For a moment, the polar bear felt like talking to her, even for one second. Yet, it looked like she wasn’t even interested.

Orson, Ursa and Periwinkle didn’t seem too bothered. If anything, they were just busy with themselves, having little conversations on their own. It was helping the otter pup too.

To Bianca, it was cute. Just seeing them talking about how nice the weather was getting and how there were more fish swimming around than before made her feel warm.

But to Pearl, it just kept her cold. She couldn’t bear to see herself and Periwinkle alone like this. Sure, her brother WAS away most of the time, but knowing he was doing well was what mattered most to her.

The more Bianca looked at the otter, she was only feeling worse and worse for her. Right now, they were merely strangers, but she knew she couldn’t just leave her in the dark.

After all, they were in this together.

“Uhh… hi.” The polar bear tapped Pearl’s shoulder. “You seem really down. Wanna talk?”

The sea otter looked at her with her tired eyes. As much as she wanted to be left alone, she DID want to be heard at the same time. So, she nodded, shedding a tear.

“It’s my younger brother,” Pearl sniffled. “Shellington was his name. He was on the Octopod when it went offline. And, like, it hit me so hard because… we always had each others backs. Like, when he kept getting teased, I…” She was breaking down once again, and everyone was watching her, except for Natquik who was still focused towards taking the red eye to Australia.

The 3 younglings were clearly concerned, especially Peri. He’d have never seen his mother so sad.

“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m okay.” Pearl rubbed her eyes and clinged to Bianca. “I just… need a break.” The two walked to the back of the ship, near the cargo bay.

“I knew I shouldn’t have put Paani in charge.” Natquik groaned in unrelation.

Now in privacy, the two were just sitting there. Pearl was still crying, and Bianca kept trying to comfort her. The polar bear knew she had to speak up again.

“Hey, it’s okay. Everybody needs to cry sometimes. I know how you feel. I lost my brother too…” Bianca took a deep breath. “Or, at least I thought I did.” She held her paw. “I know Natquik told me not to tell anyone… but this is for the good of both of us.”

At that, the otter’s ears perked up. “You thought? As in… he’s still alive?” She stopped crying for a moment, as Bianca smiled at her.

“That’s right. He managed to make contact with Nat, and he told him all about what happened. If he’s alive, the same could go for your brother… Oh! And another thing~?”

Pearl was trembling in worry, but at the same time ambition.

“My brother is a MERMAID!”

“M-mermaid~? He got turned into one? Does that mean…?” Before the otter could ask, she noticed her Octo-Watch.

It was Barnacles. Pearl was surprised. The polar bear was most certainly right. She quickly answered.

“H-hiya? Is this Barnacles?”

“Ah, Pearl! Is this a bad time?” On the other side, Captain Barnacles was sitting with another sea otter.

“What? No, not at all. I’m on the Octoray with somebody who looks like you. Is she related or some-” The other bear tugged her on the arm. “Wait, excuse me…”

“…sorry, I just…” Bianca blushed a little out of embarrassment. “You know, I think we should introduce ourselves. My name’s Bianca. That’s my twin brother you’re talking to, by the way!”

The otter giggled. “Ah! That’s wonderful! I’m Pearl, by the way! I’m glad we could meet like this…” She patted Bianca on the back, then got back to her other conversation. “Anyways, Captain, is it true you became a mermaid? Your sister’s with me and she told me all about it!”

“Well, I have been quiet for too long, but I can confirm… All of us got turned into mermaids. And I mean ALL of us.”

Pearl’s jaw kept dropping lower and lower as she heard all of this. “Does that mean… Shellington…?”

And as she stood there in the most worry ever, she got her answer.

“Pearl, when Captain says everyone, he means everyone.”

Shellington’s voice. The one thing his sister wanted to hear this whole time.

He really was okay.

Bianca really was right.

And now, she meant everything to Pearl.

Neither of the two mothers thought they’d get into a situation like this. Ever. But on the bright side, it brought them together, from the deep darkness, back into the warm light. Knowing things were gonna get better.

The sea otter had never been so happy before. She was finally at peace. And it was all thanks to Bianca.

HER Bianca.

These next 15 hours were gonna be totally worth it.

~~~~

Paani walked through the cold sands of Coronado. Beyond the sea was the weakening Hurricane Selma, now just a category 1 at this point. He was likely losing track of time, but he was aware of how close he was to the Octopod.

“It’s gonna take them forever, but at least I have a whole sea to look at while I wait!” Paani laughed. “Brilliant! Just look at all of that… not a single worry, as I just… OH… WAIT…”

His happiness vanished quickly as he realized why he was here. “Right… The Octonauts. I’m the one in charge of… Operation No Signal. I HAVE to be serious…”

The macaque sat down in anger. He was thinking of telling Natquik where he really was, but it was definitely too late now. He checked the radar and now the Octoray was over southwest Oregon. Pearl had already been picked up, the monkey never said a word, and it was either headed for China or Australia.

“Shit. I’m on my own, it seems.” Paani facepalmed. “Might as well do my own thing, even if it means being considered incompetent…”

He stood up again. Was anyone behind him? No. Good. He could think for as long as he wanted.

Paani started at the vast ocean. He knew the Octonauts had to be out there. Dead? Likely. But at least he knew they were there at some point.

He had no equipment with him at all, but that wasn’t stopping him from… anything at this point.

“Kwazii, Shellington… I’m coming!” He got back onto his paddle board, parked on the sand, and went off to sea, southbound. To go straight to the west would put him in Selma’s storm surge, and now possibly Todd’s, so no way.

It seemed hard to figure out exactly WHERE the Octopod went missing, so Paani took a quick glance at the radar archives on his Octo-Watch. The last time the Octopod was online was around 10:00 PM PDT, October 4, 2023. Turned out it was really close to Selma’s eye as well. Now all the monkey had to do was get to the coordinates, then swim. Or something like that.

“I’m doing this on my paddle board, alone in the Pacific Ocean… and I’ve likely already figured everything out!” Paani couldn’t figure out why Natquik needed so many of the Octo-Agents. Sounded like a lot of hoopla if anything.

Maybe he needed to calm down for a moment. That Arctic fox probably did have a reason and he was just throwing it away.

Paani stopped paddling. He sat down, looking at the fading skyline of San Diego. The ambition was just killing him, he realized. And maybe it was too late. Getting back to dry land was NOT gonna happen at this point.

All he could do was wait.

This was quite peaceful anyways. Or at least when he realized it was.

He should’ve also realized how bad of an idea it was to just book it into the open ocean.

But hey, at least they’ll hopefully find him as well.

~~~~

Tweak was brooding a little bit. Like yeah, now she was getting used to her new tail, and she wasn’t hating Barnacles as much, and it DID make sense that he wanted Natquik over, to confirm their existence, but in the end it was just gonna lead to him being lost as well.

All that lesirena was getting over the ocean, and it still looked transformative as ever, even though it was a little overshadowed by the seawater.

She wondered how far that was gonna go. Hopefully not too far north. That’s where all the humans were. Would suck for them to get turned.

Hopefully these currents would keep it away. The only ones getting turned were the Octonauts. Maybe these humans had some kind of resistance. No one could really tell. Not even Shellington.

This was the greatest thing ever. And yet it wasn’t.

“Cap, I’m getting worried.” Tweak swam over to him, who was picking away broken glass over the HQ.

“Something wrong?” Barnacles stopped, and turned around and looked at the bunny, flicking her tail around in concern.

“Well, all this lesirena… I feel like it’s becoming too widespread. Like, it’s gonna reach the coasts, y’know?”

That made total sense. The Captain looked around him and shook his head in disbelief. He’d have never seen water so pink before… except for all that jellyfish once.

It didn’t help that most of the GUPs were still in the launch bay and most certainly needed repair. Tweak had to figure out how she and the others were gonna clear that out.

Maybe THAT was why Cap had invited Natquik. Maybe he never had a reason until now. Maybe… he was aware the whole time. Whatever.

She just couldn’t let humanity go down like this, even if it did suck.

~~~~

“So you decided to just abandon us like this? When I made YOU in charge? You think you’re funny, Paani?” Natquik scolded the monkey. “You leave me dead worried for you and all you’re doing is doing this alone! My, you just DISGUST me in every single way possible!”

Paani tried to reason with him but he was just too angry. “Sir, I didn’t… I didn’t mean to just leave you out like this! I should’ve just-”

“I’ll make sure Barnacles hears about this. You’re DONE for.”

####

Paani quickly woke up in fear. He had taken a nap on his paddle board, waiting for the current to keep carrying him. But that only made him have that nightmare.

He realized the consequences were WORSE than he thought. Being fired from being an Octo-Agent would SUCK.

The macaque got his Octo-Watch and figured it was better to tell Natquik now than never.

~~~~

OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN, NORTHEAST OF HAWAII

Pearl was resting her head on Bianca’s shoulder, feeling much better than before. Neither of them couldn’t wait to head to Isla Guadalupe, to finally see how things went for their brothers.

Natquik was getting a little bored. Turbo mode was switched off for the sake of avoiding an overheating problem. So now he and the others were just waiting endlessly here. But at least they WERE getting somewhere.

“…Hm. I’ve never thought about how this music actually sounds. Still don’t get why Yeshi did this, but it can’t be THAT bad…”

He went through his Octo-Watch and into the music player. Sure enough, there were lots of things in it, but the first thing was this shit called “alphabet shuffle”.

Natquik facepalmed. This was not gonna be good, he thought.

As the voice of some guy he didn’t know sang out on his earbuds, the Arctic fox sat down in slight regret. But the more he was listening, he was starting to realize… No, this wasn’t as bad as he thought.

Natquik laughed a little. “I’ve only known Yeshi for a week and I must say, his music taste is interestingly nice.” He took a look at the rest of the songs, in which there were a LOT of them. Most of them were made by this one guy named Bill Wurtz or whatever.

He kept listening along, watching the clouds above him and Hawaii below. The fox was starting to resonate with these lyrics, even if they were utter nonsense. He concretely remembered that Barnacles was safe, as were the others. They were waiting.

“And I’m alright, and it’s just fine… and I’m going to make things right.”

For 45 seconds, Natquik felt total bliss.

Well, up until his Octo-Watch received a call.

Unfortunately, Paani finally woke up.

“H-hi Professor! Sorry I went silent! Just preparing a bunch of stuff! Where are you?” He eagerly asked.

Natquik sighed. Took this guy long enough. And yes, he was in charge. What an idiot. Who decided he’d do this? Those kinds of thoughts ran through the fox’s mind.

“We’re over Hawaii right now, headed for Australia to pick up Koshi. Where are YOU?”

Paani felt super awkward but he didn’t want to make matters worse, so he straight up admitted everything. “Off the coast of San Diego. I’ve got the last known coordinates of the Octopod, so no worries!”

Natquik would have spared no mercy for him, but remembering that the Octonauts WERE safe calmed him down. But of course, he couldn’t tell anyone.

“…Paani, if you can get back to land, please do so. I’d rather we all be together.” The Arctic fox slowly facepalmed. The macaque monkey looked back at where the shore was and figured he had a point.

“Well, I’ll see you by tomorrow morning. I’m headed for Imperial Beach now. BYE!” Paani quickly hung up.

That call had a better outcome than he thought. But did he have to really go back? Like, he knew he was getting close. He knew he couldn’t just… turn back outta nowhere. He had to paddle for even one more minute. Isla Guadalupe was 275 miles away. Seemed quite far, but the monkey didn’t mind. He just had to stay focused. Selma and Todd weren't in the way anymore, so that was a good thing.

“Isla Coronado is up ahead… maybe I should call it a day and stop there for tonight.” Paani sighed. A few more paddles, and that was it. Not like the others were gonna be here for some time anyways.

He could wait, and so could they.

~~~~

Early the next morning, about 3 AM, Tweak managed to make a document regarding what to do with the lesirena.

Her idea? Send everyone to absorb it—everyone being the OctoMers. As much as they could. The rest would be all contained and handed over to Natquik, or whoever was coming here. It sounded easy, yet difficult. But like Cap said, as long as we stay together.

“If only this thing hadn’t happened in the first place. What the fucking shit…” she muttered under her breath, as she handed it over to the beluga bear. “Put this in a safe place, got it?”

As Barnacles read the paper, his Octo-Compass was getting another signal. An Octo-Watch nearby.

“Cap, is that Nat?” Tweak swam over next to him. The polar bear shook his head, noticing the name.

“It’s Paani. All this time he was here and I didn’t even notice. He’s off the coast of Ensenada, apparently.”

The bunny shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll be okay. If anything he’s gotta be on his paddle board… We should be on standby.”

Tweak swam up to the surface and looked for any lights, but she was only met with the vast night sky. There was nothing out here but that.

Paani tried again. He'd been going at this for half an hour now. And for trying so hard, he made little to no progress throughout those 30 minutes.

The trouble was, he had a heavy feeling that they were out there. The Octonauts. Alive? Most likely now. So, why forget all about this?

“Speed up,” the voices in his head called out, again and again. “You have to find them.”

All Paani could do was listen. It was killing him from the inside, but at the same time, he was fulfilling a goal, and now he wasn’t gonna stop.

The more he kept going at it, he felt himself becoming increasingly tired and frustrated. He shook his head and realized what he was doing.

He stopped. He let the waves carry his board. He was ashamed. This was becoming an addiction and it was NOT okay.

The monkey would’ve gone back to land, but that meant more paddling, and that would make matters worse.

And so, he jumped off.

Like Tweak, Paani just… floated there. Watching the night sky. They both had their own issues, too. Tweak still felt bad about her mental breakdown yesterday, and Paani let everyone, and his guard, down, by not following the rules.

Both were hoping things were truly gonna get better, but those hopes seemed distant.

Paani decided it was time to truly take action.

Almost immediately, he took off, swimming. He’d have never done this much, as he was an Octo-Agent, but this seemed more practical than the paddle board. And even if it was the dead of night, nothing was getting in Paani’s way.

But as he kept going, he started to feel VERY uncomfortable, to the point where he didn’t feel like swimming. He felt like something… or someone, was after him.

His fur got warmer and warmer, in a sea of iciness, and he could’ve sworn there were shadows surrounding him again and again.

The macaque monkey finally relished up the courage to look back, flashlight his Octo-Watch, and what he saw was nightmare fuel.

“Hey, Paani! We missed you!”

A kitten, and a sea otter. Both with shark tails. Both surrounded him. In utter darkness, lit up only by that watch’s screen.

The only way Paani could respond was through the loudest he’d have ever screamed, in all his life.

~~~~

Roughly 4 hours later, 10PM in Shanghai, 7AM in LA, Natquik prepared for takeoff from China, now with Min and Koshi on board, he decided to give Paani a call, making sure he DID listen.

He just stood there, looking at his Octo-Watch, waiting for a response. Nothing. He tried calling him a second time.

STILL nothing.

“I’m pretty sure he’s still asleep. What do you think?” Min looked at the Arctic Fox. “He’s gotta be tired from all that paddling earli-”

Natquik knew exactly what happened. “No, no, NO. You know where he stopped? Middle of the ocean.” He showed the other Octo-Agents where Paani’s last location was. “Sure, he is a little… stupid… but he wouldn’t do that!”

The red panda tilted her head. “Maybe he was knocked over and swept away by a wave. We shouldn’t be waiting here, if that’s the case… Get Yeshi and go, go, GO!”

Bianca wasn’t even aware of what happened to Paani, but she was still happy to be meeting all these new folks.

“So much commotion, so much conversation… Pearl, what’s all this about~?” She curiously asked the sea otter, who kept watching this unfold.

Ironically, the other mother had been sitting with Periwinkle in the corner, and really didn’t pay any mind to Paani’s disappearance either. The two moms just looked at each other, blushing with no reaction to Min yanking Natquik by the ears for calling that macaque monkey stupid.

“Well, all I can say is… Welcome to being an Octo-Agent, Bianca. I’ll be your guide!” Pearl leaned over, and nuzzled up against the polar bear, met with a warm hug from her. None of the surrounding brawls could pull them from each other’s love, stronger with every hour on board.

“This is where it ALL begins~!”

In a world where others thought everything was falling apart, the couple knew this whole thing was just an opportunity for PICKING UP PIECES.

Yet, nobody knew where Paani was. To be continued…

[theflyingfeeling]

sending you a lot of hugs! 🫂🫂🫂

everything’s gonna be alright again! 🥰

please don’t be too hard on yourself. even if you reapplied to the job - you had your reasons and they should respect it. that doesn’t make a fool out of you.

here have an orca who has fun splashing in the water:

I hope this cheered you up a bit 🥰🫂

awwwww a cute orca 🥺 thank you 🖤

I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than that (gonna put this behind a read-more)

I less worried what they might think of me for reapplying after having turned them down once already. I'm more worried about my employement agency person calling them to make sure I did actually apply and that I do actually have an interview with them, in other words, that I haven't been lying about it. IF the people from the workplace I'm applying to find it odd or off-putting or suspicious that someone from the employment agency is asking after me to make sure I haven't been dishonest in what I've told them (even though I haven't!), they might not want to hire me? Is that something they could do? If I'm otherwise qualified? I mean, I could live with not being hired, but then I'd have to worry about the employment agency deciding to cut off/suspend my unemployment daily allowance, because I had declined the first interview that I was invited to. Because I guess they could very easily do that, since I've been neglecting my responsibilities as an unemployed job-seeker (at least this is how my wrteched brain sees it lol).

I'm not sure if this makes any sense to anyone 🤷‍♀️ I'm just so scared of having screwed things up.

(As a side note, in Finland the current system is that if you're an unemployed job seeker, you're required to apply to 4 jobs every month or in other ways show you've been "an active job-seeker". You do this by filling in a form online in which you explain what you've done during each 4-week period (there's a deadline for it too). It's mostly about applying for jobs or looking for job opportunities in other ways (e.g. sending out open applications to employers; I'm not sure if you're supposed to tell them you've been in a job interview or if it counts as "activity", but at least there's no clear option for that in the online form). And I have fulfilled this criteria every fucking month, this month well in advance actually, so on that part they'd have no reason to cut off my allowance, but I also assume not going to an interview would be enough of a reason for them to do so 🤷‍♀️

Furthermore, on my first meeting with my employment agency contact person I asked how they make sure one really has done all those activities they have reported, and she said that sometimes they do check-ups, but not usually not needed and that she's never had to do it. In my case I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she decided to do a check-up and call the place, especially because I've been sort of passive and gloomy whenever we've talked (because I'm just so stressed out and anxious about being unemployed. I had to hold back tears the whole time during our first meeting; the rest have been just phone calls but I did silently cry during one of them too), so I have no idea what kind of impression I have given of myself to her.

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

13 Days of AUs- The Sixth Day of Christmas: A Future TokoDeku AU

Summary: On the 13 days of Christmas, Music gave to me… 13 different POTSOD AUs! Each contains a different pairing and different plots but within: a collection of plot line that will appear in the main series… though have fun figuring them out! (Including a few pairings that will appear~)

ON AO3

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

 A teenager sits in her room, looking down at a piece of paper. The girl has green hair and eyes and freckles covering her face. She taps a pencil o against her desk and sighs. She leans back in her seat, obviously thinking.

 “Izumi?” A maternal voice asks. The door to the room opens to let in an older green-haired woman who smiles at Izumi gently. She smiles back. “I was checking to see how you’re making out,” the woman says kindly.

 “Alright, mom,” Izumi says. “Just struggling with this essay. UA is supposed to be the hardest school to get into, and their prompt for this essay feels… so big and confusing.”

 “You’re probably overthinking it,” Izumi’s mother informs her daughter. “I trust you’ll figure it out, but you have a tendency to assume the worst or to complicate things.”

 “I know,” Izumi says. Her mother suddenly turns and laughs. “Wha-“

 “Mama!” A toddler comes into the room. She wears a cute shirt with Gang Orca on it and looks a little like a patchwork doll. Her skin is two different colours, stitched together blockily, and her hair appears like ribbons, button-like eyes blinking as she walks to the teenager.

 “Hi, Tomoe!” Izumi says, picking up the girl. 

  “Mama! Work?” The little girl asks, pointing at the paper. Izumi nods.

 “I am, baby. I have to write a paper on two heroes dear to me and why. But only one can be a pro.” Izumi tells her daughter. Tomoe makes a surprised noise.

 “Ah, then you are overthinking it,” the eldest woman laughs. “Come on, Tomoe, let’s leave your mother to work a bit longer. We have cookies to make.”

 “Cookie!” The toddler cheers, squirming out of her mother’s arms. Izumi laughs and lets her go before turning to her work. She pauses, a look of thought crossing her face as the door closes. She looks at it, and then a smile crosses her face. She turns to begin writing.

 “My name is Midoriya Izumi, and I was diagnosed Quirkless at age five,” her voice echoes as she writes. “My life became hell after that. I was bullied, scorned and lost my friends.” 

 The screen flashes pictures of a green-haired child crying and whimpering as she faces off against a blonde boy, teachers and even what looks like a neighbour. 

 “I only had one comfort during this time: All Might,” the screen morphs to show the girl watching the infamous debut video of the number one hero, switching to show her running around in a onesie of him and then her gushing over hero merch. “All Might was a god, someone who would think I could be a hero. I loved him, loved him so dearly it felt like life itself was being pulled from me. Then, I met him.”

 Izumi is shown to be facing the hero, looking at him with hope in her eyes. A hope that seems to crumble, the screen focusing on her eyes.

 “Be realistic.” the hero’s voice says.

 “He told me I could not be a hero. That being Quirkless meant I could never be like him. In this way, I felt destroyed, ripped apart, and my pieces were no longer fitting.” the girl is shown walking down a street, crying. “Then, I met him again. It was after an incident at my school where one of the teachers turned out to be working for an organization called Humarise. They tried to kidnap me after paying a bunch of criminals to attack the school. I fought off the teacher and disabled one of the attackers.” 

 The screen shows the teenager doing what she claimed, slamming a teacher’s face into a wall before tackling a large and intimidating man, using a pen to stab at his neck, teeth bared.

 “He told me something different. He said I could be one. I did ask about the change, briefly becoming furious when he mentioned he theorized I am a late bloomer and a false negative. How dare he, I thought, how DARE he try to claim I could become a hero then, with a Quirk. However, he told me that he had been wrong before.” 

 The screen changes to show All Might bowing to Izumi, the girl looking shocked before it changes to show her hauling trash off a beach.

 “I decided to accept his offer of help, his secretary coming to check on me often. I unlocked my Quirk with their help, though I had been training with my friend Tokoyami Fumikage for some time before we met.”  The screen moves to show Izumi and a bird-headed teen lifting weights in a gym together, talking. It moves back to show Izumi in her room, still writing. “All Might is my hero because he made a mistake and owned up to it later with me. He may have his flaws, but he’s a good man who is kind and generous. I could never ask for a greater hero in the pro ranks.” The girl pauses and looks around her room. It’s filled with hero merch but also contains pictures of her alongside her mother and daughter. The teenager sighs and nods.

 “However, I learned that good people can do bad things young. When I was a child, my mother seemed to be against everything I did. She had an image of me that she wanted to see become a reality dearly. She would block out things she did not like and refused to back away from her ground. At first, anyway.” Izumi sighs, pausing in her writing. “I was once friends with a boy named Bakugou Katsuki. Or, as my therapist says, I was friends with the idea of him. He was a smart boy with a strong Quirk who quickly became the target of praise. My school at the time fully believed that might makes right, and he was praised backwards and forwards. My mother even saw him as a great hero in the making. At least until she caught him and his gang holding me on the ground as they tested their Quirks on me.”

 The screen shows the image, the younger version of Izumi screaming as a blonde boy laughs, explosions coming off his hands. But there is her mother, watching this with horrified eyes.

 “Mom cracked down, told the boys’ parents and started waking up. She stopped being so focused on image and what I should be. Instead, she allowed me to explore. She started going to therapy for herself and found me one. We began to make moves to a healthy relationship. Then…” The screen goes to Izumi again, the teenager hunched over her paper, shaking. She swallows and begins writing again. “We had a teacher named Yamanaka Hari for math. He was kind, the kindest teacher in school. I felt safe. 

 “I was eleven the first time he touched me. Twelve the first time he raped me. And thirteen when I gave birth to a baby. My mom knew something was happening, and when I told her….” 

 The screen changes to show a regular-looking middle school, with people talking and teachers working. A man is in front of a class, teaching math. The door flies open, and everyone jumps. Standing there is Mrs. Midoriya, her eyes almost glowing as she glares at the man.

 “You fucking TOUCHED MY DAUGHTER!” she screams, the man suddenly screaming. The screen moves to show Izumi continuing her writing.

 “My mom broke seventeen bones and castrated Yamanaka. He’ll never touch another person, and mom got off with a slap on the wrist for her actions. No one cared, not when more evidence of me not being the first came to light. Aldera had two former Quirkless students. And they had tried to speak up only to be ignored. Mom packed us up and moved as soon as the court case finished, my daughter Tomoe in tow. So, my hero, who is not a pro, will always be my mother. For changing for me and doing everything in her power to protect me.”

The screen focuses on the smile of Izumi before it changes to show Principal Nezu reading over the essays. He grins as he reads one.

 “Why, Midoriya Izumi, you’re going to be a fun one.” he chuckles.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

-Alright, so in this AU- Inko wised up when she was confronted with the cruelty Izumi went through. It shocked her enough that she got a therapist because she wondered how she hadn’t seen this. Said therapist worked through Inko’s populationist ideals, and then Yamanaka attacking Izumi had her fully break away from her old ideals. 

 They moved and ended up near the Tokoyami family who Izumi became best friends with. They have mutual crushes, but while Izumi is more adjusted in this AU, neither has made the step forward yet. 

-All Might met Izumi mostly the same way at first, and then after more thought realized he fucked up, but couldn’t find her until the attack on her school. (This also has a side effect of making people side eye Humarise more before the bombs)

[out-and-aboot-eh]

Day 12 - Tofino

We woke up to glorious sun peeking through the trees around us, which boded well for today’s main activity, whale watching! After a bit of breakfast we boarded the minibus and headed for ‘Remote Passages’, the company that would be taking us out on the whale infested waters! We were advised to wrap up warm as it can get quite chilly out in the open water, but the sunshine was bouncing off of the harbour as we arrived.

After an introductory video about the wildlife and what we might see as it was filmed around the area, we were provided with thick red puffy boiler suits that would float if we fell out and fill up with water in certain areas to keep us warm. I don’t know the exact science behind it, but I wasn’t planning on falling so I didn’t worry too much! Once zipped up, all the layers I had on seemed quite unnecessary, so I left one behind and opted for a half zip down to stay cool whilst on land. We were introduced to our skipper Charlie, who would be guiding our rib, by the name of Night Eagle. The group all managed to board without dropping in the sea, and G and I sat at the back of the boat to give her the best chance of not feeding the fish with her breakfast.

We left the harbour at a steady speed, watching the land slowly sink into the distance before Charlie cranked it on the open ocean. The spray was a rainbow on the water as be bumped along on the look out for whales. On the way we saw a few sea otters looking very chipper floating in the sea as they’re not bothered by the boats. Sea otters will spend their lives in the sea without venturing onto land and can do so without feeling wet or cold because of their thick fur. There was a fair bit of activity over the radio that wasn’t easy to work out, but G heard the call of humpback whales and she must have been right as we turned around and went off in a new direction with some haste for a few minutes before slowing down where a couple of other boats were floating.

Charlie informed us that hump back whales are harder to track and predict where they’ll surface as their movement is random compared to other whales, so we sat patiently waiting to get a glimpse at some humpy goodness! After a couple of minutes Charlie shouted and pointed over yonder and we caught the first glimpse of a mother and calf. We spent a while in the area as the humpbacks surfaced every 2-3 minutes. I have a fair bit of footage to sift through to see if I’ve caught anything decent, but my gut feeling is probably not! We saw a couple of flukes, whereby the whale dives and the tip of the tail flicks in to the air on the way down. They’re respectful of the animals here and give them a wide berth, so we didn’t get too close and I was only filming on an iPhone.

From there we went closer to shore where en route we saw more sea otters including a pair together and then lots of seals chilling on the rocks. They looked very cute and smiley basking in the sun and at this time of year they can relax a bit more as the orcas aren’t lurking below. There were also a few small birds dotted around the ocean and gulls in the air, but our next stop was to see some grey whales. We stayed close to the shoreline as the grey whales congregate near to a part of the island that is only 30 ft deep, which is only 5ft deeper than some of them are long. These were easier to spot than the humpbacks as there were 4 of them around and their movement is more consistent and they popped up more frequently with bigger spouts of air. But due to their length in relatively shallow waters for their size, they don’t tend to ‘fluke’ as they end up bumping their noses on the sea bed! It was great to watch these magnificent creatures doing their thing, including one called ‘The Orange Crush’ or ‘OC’ who got her name due to some orange lice on the top of her head upon first visit and has been returning to this spot for over 70 years, a whale local celebrity! It was brilliant to watch these magnificent beasts in their natural habitat enjoying some cool Canadian water, which I myself have done on many occasions on this trip (not always through choice!)

On our way back to port Charlie spotted another humpback, which he was very excited about and with good reason. They believe this particular whale is a newbie to the area and he was the first one to spot it, so if it is indeed a new whale to the area based on the data they’re collecting, he’ll get to name it! As a fellow Brit, I’m sure he’ll go for the obvious name of Whaley McWhale Face! As time was against us, we didn’t stay for long, but did stop for another brazen sea otter who practically waved at us as we took a few snaps! After a fast and bouncy ride back, we stripped off our chunky red attire and headed into the town of Tofino.

We had a few hours to explore, so G and I popped in to a couple shops before heading for a little stroll around Tonquin Park, which included a boardwalk through the forest to a small beach, where there were dogs playing and one guy all in black fishing from the rocks below us. There was signage saying a known bear was in the area, but the closest thing I’ve seen to a bear is Iain’s bare arse! There were lots nooks and crannies that looked like they could be liveable for a furry friend and G recounted a tale that our zip-line guide told her. He had come across a tiny hole (by bear standards) that looked interesting and stuck his head in it to find himself nose to nose with a sleeping bear and as he backed away a rather dazed and confused bear head popped out! However the closest we came to a bear was whilst we were minding our own business looking at the sea and the fisherman came scrambling up the side of the rocks through the bushes huffing and puffing! He must have sensed our surprise as he asked whilst walking past “Did I scare ya?” Of course not, I always walk around with my fists clenched!

As we still had a bit of time on our side we returned to the minibus via a couple more shops and of course a bar, for a swift cider. Our next stop was Chesterman beach, which is award winning coming in at number 5 as a best spot for surfing. We ambled up the beach as far as we could go, with our toes dipped in the water. We eventually hit a patch that was a private beach which was our point to turn around and head back to where the majority of the group were chilling. Megan mysteriously disappeared before picking us up and but the mystery was soon uncovered when the waft of chips was a coming from the back of the minibus. We returned to our campsite via a quick ‘gas station break’ where I was hopeful for another ‘Big Gulp’ but alas all the huge drinks on offer were ice based and I can’t be getting brain freeze whilst trying to type the blog!

As this was to be our last night with Chief as chef, we were hopeful for a Canadian classic and our hopes were answered as soon as the chips were bought! We enjoyed them with cheese, gravy, bacon and for those in need of some vitamin c, tomatoes. As always there was a little something sweet for afters, in the form of a s’mores pie and other left over desserts, which we made short work of! It was an earlier dinner than usual as we had a final stop for the evening, Long Beach, where we could watch the sunset. We just caught the final glimpses of the full sun as it fell behind the row of trees along the beach. After taking a variety of snaps, we headed back to camp for a final few games of werewolf, before our last full day.

Georgie’s highlight of the day: Seeing the whales fluking and Tonquin Park walk.

[endeavoryoucankissmyfuckingass]

*gently nudges her into the shop, eyes roaming and seeing that they're not the only ones in the store* you having fun kid? See anything you want? I'm buying

Uhhhmm.. Aww that’s a cute gang orca plushie- Oh that’s a neat all might hoodie!!!! Oooooo a mirko carrot pen- [She seems to be a bit all over the place.]

[Near the all might display is a very excited looking, fluffy green haired boy with a decrepit looking blond man.]

[blues824]

Im back with another request!! I can’t help it as I love your works! So I wanted to ask if you could do dorm leader reaction (maybe even Lilia’s) thoughts to a darling that’s the Vtuber named Shylily! If you may not know she’s a Orca+cat! She’s so cute and does the most cutest things!! But she’s lewd and I wonder how the dorm leaders and even Lilia (can’t help as I love this smug fae) react to her cuteness, but also her lewd behavior every once in a while? Will they blush? Be stunned? Flabbergasted? You decide!

Her collab with Vox in the Under the Table episode was so hilarious. Had me dying, crying, laughing, sneezing-

Also, I hope these offered you the tiniest bit of joy in your awful month thus far. This is suggestive for obvious reasons.

Riddle Rosehearts

He had to admit that your cute voice was what drew him in. You were just so adorable that he couldn’t help but be drawn to you, and he grew attached. You were so kind, and he thought you were the personification of a breath of fresh air.

That was, until he saw your lewd side. You had decided to make him flustered at an unbirthday party. You gracefully and gently placed yourself in his lap, which already made him so freaking flustered. Then you whispered in his ear, saying, “The only tea you will need is the one you and I will make together later” and mans had a bloody nose.

He couldn’t even speak, so you had to bring him inside to clean up the blood. You being so close to him didn’t help his situation, and his blush ended up just getting worse somehow. Then you kissed him very passionately, and he damn near passed out. He was just grateful to the Great Seven that no one walked in on you two making out.

Leona Kingscholar

If lions are apex predators and orcas are apex predators… then this makes one heck of a couple between the two of you. He honestly was very protective of you because you were so cute and people might try and take advantage of you, sometimes forgetting that you were still a natural predator.

When he did experience your lewd side for the first time, he was pleasantly surprised. However, he planned to return your little ‘affections’ tenfold. You started a war that you would never be able to win, no matter how hard you tried. If you tried to sit in his lap, he would hold you there by your waist.

He would ‘scold’ you for being naughty, but he doesn’t hate it at all. It gives you both the chance to show each other that you are his just as he is yours. So if you decide to whisper something lewd about how you dream of being the mother to his children, then he will respond by saying that you could start right then. Don’t play with this man unless you don’t get flustered.

Azul Ashengrotto

He was deceived, but in a good way. He thought you were so cute and innocent, despite being an orca (looked it up and orcas actually eat octopus… that is an important tool that will help us later). Your voice, your smile, everything about you just drew him in like a sailor to a siren’s song.

The moment you decided to bring out your more suggestive side, he was so flustered. He thanks whatever exists above that you decided to do this in private. All you had to do was perch yourself in his lap as he sat in his office chair at the Lounge, whisper a little something about how you could eat him up. He is gone.

Like Riddle, he is absolutely done for. His face is red, his nose is bleeding. After gently wiping the blood away, you decided to plant a kiss onto his lips. You weren’t satisfied by one measly kiss, though, so you quickly went over to lock the door before continuing with the makeout session. Azul makes it out with messy hair and hickeys all over his neck, along with a dopey grin on his face.

Kalim Al-Asim

Oh, look! It’s the couple who is way too sweet for their own good! The way you both just act so freaking cute together makes everyone either coo or gag (Ace). Ain’t no way that it’s legal to be acting all cute (Ace, we get it. You got negative rizz).

When you try to bring out your more suggestive side, he doesn’t understand what’s going on. He’s too naive. He just thinks you're needy and very easily gives in. If you place yourself into his lap, he will wrap his arms around your torso while burying his face into the crook of your neck

What everyone doesn’t know is that he is actually leaving kisses and hickeys upon your skin. You end up being the flustered one because of this wild card that Kalim pulled on you. You felt the betrayal, especially as your lovely boyfriend went right back to the conversation as though he hadn’t just marked up your skin.

Vil Schoenheit

He thought you were absolutely gorgeous, and therefore wanted to dress you up in all sorts of things (and I really do mean all sorts, if you catch my drift). Your cute, innocent disposition added to the excitement of it all, and so he designed outfits that would match.

The first time you bring your seduction out for a stroll, he is also pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately for you, he is not easily flustered. If the two of you appear in public together and are immediately hit by the paparazzi, you will whisper something suggestive to Vil to try and get him to break his cool character.

Once you both get back to Pomefiore, he will give you back your shown display of affection multiple times over. I’m talking hickeys, pinning you to his bed by straddling your waist, the whole shebang. You are not escaping until you are thoroughly marked up.

Idia Shroud

This boy was so freaking scared to talk to you because you were just so kind and beautiful, and this mans got no rizz (he does, but he doesn’t know that). When you agreed to be his through the notes that he wrote to you (total cliche, but this mans saw an anime and thought it would be a good idea), he was over the moon.

When you decided that it would be a good idea to get him flustered, you went a tad overboard. You had him where he couldn’t escape: his bed. You pinned him down by straddling his waist, leaning towards his face, whispering in his ear that he looked so sexy and submissive in that position. You let out a little giggle and recoiled after you got him to ‘malfunction’ (think Sanji from One Piece).

What you didn’t expect was for him to get the courage to pull you back forward, and flip the two of you over. Now, he was on top of you, and he held your wrists/arms to your sides. There was still a massive blush on his face, but he got you flustered as well. That’s a huge victory for him.

Malleus Draconia

Even though he is a dragon fae, he was following you around like a lost puppy. You were the love of his life, and he wanted to make sure that you were safe from every single danger that presented itself. In return, please give him all of your love and affection.

He never understood what you were trying to do when you tried to be suggestive, until it got to a certain point. He doesn’t understand flirting, but he understands body language. If you were to place yourself in his lap and lean against his chest, then he will get what you’re trying to do.

Now, don’t blame him for his wandering hands, or if he teleports you to his chambers within the empty dormitory. Don’t blame him for marking you up for hours upon hours. Don’t blame him for if Sebek or Lilia walk in on you two and your little makeout session. He just wants everyone to know that you are his and only his.

Lilia Vanrouge

You both are generally very adorable, alright? Sure, Lilia has another, more mature form that he can change into. However, for the entirety of the game up to the point everyone is at right now, he stays in the young boy form. 

When you decide to be a bit more lewd with him, he is very happy to reciprocate. Oh, you placed yourself in his lap? Well now you are stuck there because his hand is keeping a firm hold on your thigh. You want to whisper something seductive about him being able to take command of you in bed later, he tells you to say “yes, sir”. There is no winning on your part.

He almost never gets flustered; I say almost because there is one thing that can get him to blush and freeze. Tell him you want kids. Tell him, and he will malfunction. That’s only for a few seconds, before he uses his strength as a war general to hoist you over his shoulder and carry you to the bedroom.