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the siren call of squids got to me after all

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❝'Cause I'm not trapped with you, you see. You're the one whose trapped with me. My head's not yours its mine, and I'll take my fucking time. 'Cause I know, I know....❞ 

#BRAINBURROW, AS PRAISED BY JACKALOPE. A FANTASY FOCUSED MULTIMUSED WITH PRIMARILY BG3, ELDER SCROLLS, AND DND LORE. FEATURING TWO INTERCONNECTED OCS, ALSO CONTAINING OMELUUM FROM BG3 AND GIDEOS FROM INFERNAL TIDES

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👀

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𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐟𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧'𝐬, and yet with the touch – the warmth bestowed so tenderly – all of the Emperor's tentacles sporatically squirm and curl in on each other.

In its wake, confusion rises with each passing sentence. It can't help but pour into Rick's mind, twisting and contorting like a dangling snake. Because, for the lack of a better term, he's flabbergasted. Why is the one word able to form in the mess. But his hand doesn't pull away, and he only stares, until–

A rush of his psionic power forcibly searches Rick's mind. Digging and hunting for the ulterior motive, but nothing in his search feels threatening. There is no intent of harm, nor enthrallment; he knows better than to even try. He's simply... frantic.

" And if I'd rather eat your brain than explore it, " his voice coils around him. " ...What then? Many seek your death... It would benefit many. "

“Dunno. Is it working?”

The scientist asks, and by the tone given to him from the other, it’s damn near incentive to reach out for this creature’s clawed hand—which he eventually does. A more human gesture, and one perhaps a little less… Forward than grabbing a literal erogenous zone, though he’s still got his eyes on the prize. Those thick tendrils and how they curl leave static prickling at the edge of his skin in a way that titillates. For now, he imagines the kiss he places on the hand of the illithid as one of those tentacles.

He makes eye contact while doing it.

Shameless and forward.

“You, me, a dimension where they serve fresh brains on a tray like it’s a goddamn cafeteria. Maybe a little bit of watching the birth of a new universe together after. Maybe a little bit of mindblowing telepathic sex later where you show your brain folds and I show you mine. Maybe not. Maybe you just wanted a free lunch with no strings attached. Either way… Still honored to take a beautiful specimen like yourself out to eat regardless.”

To say Rick’s grinning behind the illithid’s hand is an understatement.

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rick sanchez rizzing up the emperor ( @empcrer ) like

^ the emperor btw

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@therealricksanchezpleasestandup inquired – Twirls a tentacle around his finger rather girlishly, as if it were hair.

“You free this weekend, baby?”

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞, and upon contact, a shiver dances up the appendage. It's a light touch. It shouldn't give such a reaction, but much to his distaste, the underside of an illithid's tentacles is an erogenous zone.

The Emperor lets the touch linger a moment before plucking it away from the man's digit. Annoyance mingles with amusement in Rick's mind, and the ulitharid's voice follows.

" ...Are you asking to court me, Rick Sanchez? "

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Jeanne Bieruma Oosting (Dutch, 1898–1994) Octopus, c. 1960 Relief etching, aquatint print; H 334 x W 434 mm Rijksmuseum RP-P-1982-872

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collapses i DID IT. i cleared out my drafts and my inbox lets GOOOO

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@unfortunatedarling inquired – “I have to pee – can you move?”

𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 to register what they're saying. He looks back once, then twice... before scoffing. " What?? "

He swoops back, gesturing to his various wine bottles in the Astral Plane. " Are you planning to piss in my wine?? "

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@illithidparasite inquired – "It desired to come as well." Said about the... very odd intellect devourer sitting upon the shoulder of the equally odd ulitharid. // aka it subtly showing off its own kitty o}

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞. But that thought lies beneath many layers of his psyche... Though his unimpressed facial features might signal such a thought.

Behind him, Us, among many of his other intellect devourers, shifts in uncertainty.

" ...I see. " The Emperor responds plainly, looking from the devourer back to the ulitharid. " And what knowledge does it deem worthy of this meeting? "

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𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞. It sits between two digits and he... casually swirls its contents while never breaking eye contact. He'll let the little vampire ramble about like a rodent stuck in its cage for as long as he needs. It only tattles on his fears after all...

The Emperor waits a moment in case Astarion decides to speak up again, before he finally takes a slow sip of his drink. " You seek the Sunfire Ring. " He answers plainly, disinterested. Perhaps the vampire will point a finger and demand why the ulitharid never spoke of such a ring, but alas... such a question was never asked.

" As for my ruse, " he parts from the wine with a satisfied sigh. " If you were not welcome here, my defenses as well as my colony would have made swift work of your disposal... " All of them stand at the ready regardless. He can feel their frustrations, the desire to rid their home of the undead, but...

Astarion will always be welcome here. As he was nearly the Emperor's thrall, once.

" With that being said, if you seek my assistance, you should ask kindly. I would think that you, of all of your companions, know the harm of prejudice. "

"well, they seem to be behaving quite well so far." there's an almost amused, perhaps condescending grin that graces his pale, fanged face, crimson gaze darting about the dark halls. he hadn't yet been swarmed, then again, let's not get too cocky now. "you on the other hand, how do i know this 'kind and welcoming host' attitude isn't nothing but a ruse?" why should he tell this mass of pulsating tentacles anything. for all he knew, there could be a wooden stake behind his back.

throughout his many adventures, across centuries, astarion typically wasn't one for holding his tongue. his smart mouth had gotten them into trouble more times than he could recount. but... these creatures had caused his party such torment. you'd think after implanting a worm within someone's brain, they'd be more cautious in your presence. but he did just break and enter this lovely tower... such is the life of a rogue perhaps.

and yet, silence, it drags on for far too long. until finally, there's a click of his tongue, a slight roll of his eyes. "...it's a ring. our brainiac wizard just so happened to remember it's existence after everything that's been hurled at us. and thus, we've been trying our luck to find it, yet, no luck thus far." it was highly valuable, one which granted immunity to the roaring sun above. who's to say they weren't already too late? astarion wasn't the only vampire who roamed baldur's gate. who's to say it hadn't already been pilfered, or perhaps, even more disappointingly, it never existed to begin with.

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐔𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 onto an old, half-crumbled wall. He squats, a hand lifting to spread its digits to his head. An echo of his past. The Emperor could easily levitate again, as all mind flayers should, but echoing in his grounded steps is Balduran.

From his fingertips, psionic energy ebbs and flows. He still doesn't have a strong grasp on his new abilities, but the sensations... the psionic energies around them trying to cloak themselves... it bounces off like echo-location.

" Almost twenty... " He steps off the wall and hands them a scroll. " Are you able to play this? " It's a spell. One only a bard as powerful as Yunae can recite. As once it's complete, it will ward the githyanki from entering the temple.

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒ "Y-yeah, I'm familiar," unfortunately, they added on in their mind.

How did they get roped into this, exactly? Their first guess was because they were probably the only person in the group of heroes that had stopped the Netherbrain that tolerated the Emperor's presence. Everyone had been against, or at the very least, hesitantly wary, of the mind-flayer once his true identity had been revealed, feeling tricked and even more distrustful of him; even though to Yunae, it had made perfect sense why he had not shown himself to be what he really was until it had been absolutely necessary.

Another guess was maybe Yunae was his favourite, but that was a very, very distant second guess.

The bard stood beside the Ulitharid and listened as they took their harmonica out, and their rapier in the other hand.

"...How many?" They asked him. Githyanki spent their whole lives preparing to kill his kind, and possessed psionic abilities of their own-- Yunae wasn't sure if the Emperor could detect the exact number.

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Do you have moments where you... resent the Illithid biological need to consume brains of people to survive?

" 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲... " Tentacles quiver before he takes a finger to playfully pluck something loose from his fangs. " It is no different from their cattle, their hens... The only hurdle is their persistence. It can make it difficult for a proper, clean hunt. "

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WHORE!!!

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𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝– a similar thought process the Emperor can respect. It's what the world is to him. Mere pieces moving on a chessboard... closer and closer to his heal his true thrall– Baldur's Gate. The child of who he was before, and the child he allowed harm to come to when he was ripped from its side.

But because of the disrespect, the hand wave, he remains floating– eyes locked on @illithidparasite. Truly, he has little interest for the supposed merger or collaboration. As distrust is second nature to him. He feels them on the edge of his mind. Thus, his hands stay behind his back, but while no physical threats present themselves... He prefers to be prepared.

" What you seek is to set boundaries. " The Emperor tilts his chin up. A sharp swat against their presence bordering his deeper thoughts comes with a low furrow of the brow. " So do spare me your false compliments, and explain these benefits... " Because how it speaks already tells of an inevitable betrayal.

THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE MUSCLE TENSE 'PON THE STOLEN BODY, NOR A FRAGMENT OF MIND WISPS FRAYED. Worry had not been PRESENT within the Prince, and it near bled this fact from body which relaxed against chairs frame. “&– - I had every intent to do so, Emperor. You are not someone I could just fool.” A hand raises, BUT MERELY TO PROVIDE A SLOW WAVE-OFF MOTION. Eyes were watching, beyond its own // PHYSICALLY, AT LEAST. All of them were its, though the Ulitharid needed not the physical bodies staying at shadowed outskirts. “&– - I'm aware of the little hodge-podge colony you have started. We are similar in that way, you and I. Taking from the wreckage, shifting through the wastes for what benefits us. Why waste pieces on a chessboard?”

HERMAEUS MORA DOES NOT SPEAK AN INVITE TO SIT, BUT AN OFFER IS PRESENTED. It does not DIG into the true illithids mind-- - but there is that wisp of presence // LIKE A NOD IN DIRECTION OF NEAREST OBJECT OF OFFER. Then the Old Ones presence retreats, other then what necessary for communication. “&– - You are a rarity. Someone aware... keen to the potentials of illithids, but not blinded by the Grand Design. Or rather, how it currently manifests. I seek not a merger, for I'm aware such an agreement would not come to pass in this time or place. Merely.... communication. Cooperation. There are benefits to be had, of course.”

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𝐀 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝. Does he care about Mora's status? No, not particularly so; especially if they're not among his growing list of allies.

" Choose the wanderer... not the hero. " Another will spring up like an infestation. At least a curious fool will never be remembered or sought after.

A sigh vibrates the base of his tentacles, and he flips his cowl over his head. " All I ask is that you don't lead them on to my dealings. "

“&– - I am far from without caution, nor am I simply some mindless beast driven by hunger. I think you have forgotten who you speak to.” In spite of words, voice comes even-- - calm, unaffected. Maybe a HINT of amusement at the other trying to remind to be 'careful' towards it. “&– - Though I must admit, there is some aid in rarely having to hunt on oneself... even ignoring that which colony brings in, how often a wanderer or a would be hero comes to seek some fame provides. There is a recommendation in both.”

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just got done with a bunch of errands, but i wanna try and put my writing focus onto emp today! gonna be tackling those drafts like its the sq... s... squid g