#deep-sea date mod

[aziraphales-library]

Hi there! First off, thank you so much for doing what you do, this blog is amazing!

When browsing on AO3, I tend to filter out M and E rated fics cause I’m sex repulsed. As a result, I fear that I’m missing out on some great fics. So I was wondering if you had any recommendations for M/E rated fics that don’t contain sexual content? Could be show or book inspired

Hello! Here are some M-rated fics with no smut. Some may skirt the line, with talk of or allusion to sex, so be cautious if you need to...

Checkmate by UnproblematicMe (M)

On the one hand Crowley really loved the post-apocalyptic – more relaxed – version of his angel. But since Aziraphale felt more comfortable in the demon’s presence now, the arrogant bastard he deep down was showed more often than in the past. He had acquired a liking for teasing his old friend and while Crowley of all people had no business being annoyed about friendly bickering, this time he really was miffed.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by soft_october (M)

"When the ship puts in at port, Aziraphale is hustled away by the captain to the purser's office: rescuing the third son of an established lord will merit him a fat prize indeed. Aziraphale’s face is a pale oval caught between a pair of long blue coats as Crowley, who isn’t anything to anyone - except he thought he was, he thought - watches him go, peeking through the slats in the ship's railing. Those blue eyes - too innocent, too kind for what this world expects of him - keep lock with his until the last. Aziraphale is fussed over, put under the command of the captain who rescued him, gets a letter from his father that he carefully keeps in the cover of his bible, continues his slow rise through the ranks of His Majesty’s Navy. Crowley, he later learns, takes up piracy." Golden Age of Piracy AU.

Trust by GayDemonicDisaster (M)

Heaven has taken a demon prisoner. Aziraphale doesn't think it's right. I added an illustration of Trueform Crawly in this universe.

O That I On Wings Could Rise by wyrmy (M)

"It had been one month since the apocalypse, and Aziraphale was blissfully happy. Crowley was everything- and more- that he could wish for in a boyfriend. Their relationship was an unending source of joy." Why then does Aziraphale feel a lingering unease, an emotional tension that he doesn't quite know how to release?

Getting Lucky by Supergeek21 (M)

As much as Aziraphale has a soft spot for romance, he has never given much thought to sex, that is until an over-zealous acquaintance insinuates he should be having it with Crowley... tonight! Crowley is thrilled to finally be openly dating Aziraphale. He'd do just about anything to make his angel happy, even things he never imagined his love would be interested in. What happens when two supernatural beings love each other very much, but are still very bad a communication?

Velvet darkness, burning bright by hapax (M)

Anthony Crowley is an ancient vampire who is so Done: with immortality, with his human prey, with his fellow vampires, with himself. Then one evening he encounters a gorgeous, mysterious man who finally renews his interest in living. Too bad this same man seems likely to kill him.

- Mod D

[rebuilding-the-garg]

The Gargantuan Fossil

This post was from the beginning of my project, thus some information I’ve written here is outdated. Please read my recent posts to see up to date information.

The Gargantuan Fossil is one of the most recognizable parts of the mid-portion of Subnautica’s gameplay. Its sheer size strikes both terror and awe into the hearts of players who stumble upon it. It’s unfortunate that only a third of the creature’s fossilized remains can be seen. Even using the Freecam command to check under the map reveals that the rest of the skeleton remains unmodeled. This is all we have of the Leviathan.

“Gargantuan Fossil” is quite the accurate name, considering just a third of this creature’s skeleton measures 402 meters in length, with the creature’s total size being an estimated 1,100-1,500 meters. Just the skull itself is under 100 meters, and our human player character can nestle comfortably in even its smallest eye socket. I would’ve tried to show our human character’s model for a size comparison, but this thing is so large you wouldn’t even be able to see him.

There have been many different reconstructions of this behemoth of a fossil, the most popular being this commission piece made by Tapwing, for the YouTuber Anthomnia, shown below. And while it’s cool, it’s... not all that accurate.

In the past, I actually helped create a Gargantuan Leviathan mod based off Tapwing’s concept, working alongside other incredibly talented artists (who will remain anonymous, they can talk about their experiences as they please) and some... not so savory individuals. I don’t want to be associated with that old Garg. This reconstruction project is both a way for me to move on and make something better than what I had in the past, and to test my skills and knowledge in the various natural sciences.

Although there is a second specimen, the skull of a younger instance, this fossil holds no significant data outside of showing just how small these creatures start out as. As shown in the image below, despite being a much younger instance, our player character could still fit inside the Leviathan’s smallest eye socket, although it wouldn’t be as spacious as its adult counterpart.

The game’s PDA (Personal Data Assistant) states that the Gargantuan Fossil is approximately 3 million years old, which is INCREDIBLY RECENT. For reference, 3 million years ago we still shared the planet with multiple other hominid species like Australopithecus afarensis back in the mid Pliocene. The Subnautica we know today is a byproduct of a mass-extinction of megafauna, such as Leviathans. My guess as to how the Gargantuan got this big is a combination of deep-sea gigantism and an evolutionary arms race against the other megafauna alive during its time, with prey attempting to become larger than its predator to avoid predation, and the predator growing to continue this cycle. When this ancient ecosystem of leviathan-class super predators collapsed, likely because of the meteor that struck Planet 4546B, the Gargantuan Leviathan was out of a substantial food source and went extinct. It could be possible that these creatures even gave live birth due to their serpentine body and massive size, making them too large for life in the shallows, where laying eggs is easiest.

NOW. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE BONES!! It’s important to figure out if the Gargantuan Leviathan had a cartilaginous skeleton or a bony one, so let’s count the bones!!

There’s TWO WHOLE BONES!!! AND IF YOU LOOK NEXT TO IT!! THOSE RIBS ARE BONES TOO!!!! UWAA!!! SO MANY BONES!!!! How can we tell this is bones? It’s simple! Cartilage is rubbery and flexible, so it doesn't fossilize well, while bone is hard and rigid, perfect fossil material!! Cartilaginous skulls also tend to be made up of many little interlocking bones, with bony skulls being made up of only a small handful! 

Another thing I found interesting about the Gargantuan Skull is that it seems to have a ball and socket joint? This could have just been a similar mishap to the top and bottom jaws being fused in the skull’s model, but I’m trying to keep things as close to the original anatomy as possible. The ball and socket joint probably evolved to help with the burden of such a massive and heavy skull and allowing for greater speed and range of motion. In a world full of Leviathan-class predators, being able to have a wide range of motion would be extremely beneficial in locating both potential predators and prey.

Despite its immense size pushing the claim this Leviathan was an apex predator, it sports a small pair of horns, which is unheard of in large apex predators here on Earth. The darker coloration leads me to believe that these aren’t just horn cores, but the entire horn. These horns were most likely used to assist in defending itself against predators while it’s still small and vulnerable. It could also be a possibility they were used for threat displays and territory fights though it seems unlikely due to their small size. Sexual displays are also unlikely since just about every creature in Subnautica seems capable of asexual reproduction, as noted in the PDA entry for eggs. Asexual reproduction seems to be a very ancient basal trait in Planet 4546B’s evolutionary lineage and was most likely evolved to help species persevere even with low numbers and harsh conditions, preventing the dangers of inbreeding.

Overall, the skull’s shape and tooth structure suggest a piscivorous diet (of course it eats fish, the planet’s 99% water), and its shape specifically is reminiscent of an Orca and Redondasaurus. The lack of nostrils stumps me, there’s no openings in the skull aside from its eye sockets, however there’s also no evidence for a gill apparatus. I’m... going to have to come back to that at a later date. Though I personally believe the Gargantuan Leviathan was an air breather due to the lack of evidence for gills.

OKOK, ENOUGH ABOUT THE SKULL ASRIEL, WHAT ABOUT THE RIBS?

WELL... THE RIBS ARE... SOMETHING.

Behold! My very poor photomash of the same two images to show the total approximate length of the Gargantuan Leviathan, and a bad edit to show off what I believe the whole skeletal system would look like! (skeleton image credit)

Despite the game’s PDA describing the Gargantuan Leviathan’s body as “eel-like,” its skeletal structure is more reminiscent of a snake. The ribs show no indication of limbs, so it probably had a dorsal fin similar to eels or sea kraits.

One thing I’ve noticed about the Gargantuan’s ribcage is the existence of what appear to be bony, avian-like uncinate processes, which help the trunk’s muscles pump in and air out of the body, adding onto the idea that this leviathan breathed air. These uncinate processes in diving birds are especially long, which help reinforce the body and musculature, allowing the animal to stay underwater for longer periods of time.

My hypothesis for the role the Gargantuan Leviathan played in its ecosystem is similar to the Sperm Whales of our world, taking in large amounts of air before diving into the depths to fetch their food.

Next week, I’ll be doing more research into the skeleton and possibly beginning work on fleshing the Garg out! If there are any sciencey folks out on Tumblr who want to add their own input, feel free!! I want information!! Correct me if I got anything wrong!!

[winthiria]

D:BH Reverse Big Bang 2024

finally, here's the first chapter of my entry for the Detroit: Become Human Reverse Big Bang 2024! I was paired with the wonderfully talented @insignova. you can find the incredible art for this fic on their account.

thank you to the @dbh-bb mod team for making this event possible and to my amazing partner for trusting me with such a great concept. I really hope I did it justice!

A year ago, an endless storm swallowed the world, trapping the people of Belle Isle on their small island indefinitely. Legends dating back centuries say that storms at sea are caused by the Great Dragon of the Sea, a god that dwells in the deep, and that the only way to stop them is to appease its anger. Hank’s not sure he believes all of the stories– not until the storms take his son. Desperate to get him back, Hank joins a team of adventurers on a quest to find the Dragon in the hope that it will have answers about Cole’s fate. 

Hank isn’t the only one looking for answers. Out at sea, the crew discover they have a stowaway on board, an amnesiac named Connor who’s forgotten everything about who he is and believes the sea has answers. Together, Hank and Connor embark on a journey to take back what they’ve lost and to find out who they really are.

more chapters coming soon!

[pitch-black-angel-of-death]

I look up at the flat window as the rain lashes against the phone booth. Despite the downpour I can see the lights of the tv and the peak of your mountainous body. Your gorgeous head illuminated, each chin blending into your neck rolls as you chew the dozen burgers I left you with.

We didn't expect to get here, we originally decided that if your body started to fail, we'd let it. Maybe it was the brain mods, or maybe it was somewhere in your mind all along, but now you wanted to keep going. I could understand it, you weren't yet 900 lbs, only 867 lbs, and you'd already had three heart attacks, and the blackmarket drugs I'd used to pull you back as you whined and begged for more life and more food were expensive, even with both our Life Grants and my wage. That tantalising 1000 lbs kept you going even as the blood and the grease pooled in your legs and I had to shake them, and watch your body wobble like the sea. Wave after wave of flab, crashing against the other.

I knew the answer would be no. I knew this was dangerous. But I had to check on the off chance. I pull the finger I'd purchased from my coat, attach the pulse mimic to it and place it on the payment pad as I dial in the number for the Corperation Wellness Centre. I wait a nerve wracking half minute as it scans the finger and connects me. I make sure the camera is set to off my end, otherwise I'd be rumbled straight away.

Finally the bright sunny electronic voice begins "Welcome to XS Corporation's Newton Wellness Centre helpline. Your biomedical data is being accessed as we speak. Please confirm your name, date of birth and the first line of your address for security purposes." A dancing cloud of particles sits on the screen, moving with the voice.

I root around in my pocket for the tub that the finger is from and pull it out. It reads "Harry Jenkins, D.O.B. 13/02/2137, last state registered address 28 Prince Drive, Weystock, Newton NT1 2BQ". God, he's only 23, I think as I input the information into the keyboard. The tekker who sold me this finger said the guy was a fellow feedist but single. He must be really desperate for food to sell his finger for the meager price I paid. This guy came from a well to do family as well, judging from his old address. Weystock is where the rich would eat real food three meals a day but use slimming pills to always appear as if they didn't. He was using vintage cash now, he was basically off grid. There were pros and cons to off gridding as a gainer but once you hit one of those cons, it tended to spiral from what I'd heard.

"Thank you Harry Jenkins, which department helpline do you wish to speak to?" chirps the sunny voice and lists off the mile long list. I select the one we need and glance back up at the window. Your overplumped cheeks are bouncing as you cram fries in and even in the dim light I can see the sticky sheen of grease coating your face and chins. The most beautiful display of gluttony I'd ever seen. You're completely right, it would be a massive shame if I didn't get you to over 1000.

"Welcome to the Replacement and Augmentation Department," a refreshingly human voice says, but still tinted with a false happiness. "How can we help you today, Harry? According to your records you haven't been to a clinic or centre in three years. I have to remind you that any procedure we discuss today may have an inaccurate outcome prediction because of that."

I take a deep breath. How heavy was this guy when he was last checked? I really hope it was under 400 lbs otherwise this would be impossible. "Hello, I'm looking to see if I could get a new heart?" After a while I hear some keyboard clacking. "Independent operation, I have friends who work in surgery," I add, hoping that will improve chances. It was well known that the Wellness Centres often refused to operate on people above 700 lbs, despite it being illegal to do so according to the very laws the Corporation implemented.

"Your free choice in your medical care is important to us, if you are undertaking independent operations though with XS Corporation's products I have to remind you of the following. We are not liable for any death..."

I had started the person on a legal ramble that by the Corporation's own laws they had to tell me. "Thank you," I say through gritted teeth when the jargon comes to the end. "I understand, just want to know if I'm eligible."

More keyboard clacking ensues before a sigh. "My apologies, Harry, but as your records state, you have already had one heart replacement. Without coming into a centre or having a wellness check, I am unable to confirm or deny your eligibility. At your last weigh in you were 402 lbs. If you need help with your weight and affording the corrective slimming medications, please contact the Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Healthy Pocket Foundation, they'll be happy to help you. I see you're calling from another area code but we can even send a team to your registered address to begin a wellness check and-"

"Thanks," I manage before hanging up. I can't deny that I'm turned on, the thought of a guy so heavy, so unhealthy so early in his life but I'm pissed as well. I slam my fists down on the phone's control panel before looking back up at you through the window. My dick throbs harder as I watch you squish half a burger into your mouth in one go. I can imagine the moans now. Like in a trance I disconnect the pulse mimic and put the useless finger in the tub and exit the phone booth. I make my way up the near-two century old concrete stairs, stairs you haven't used in over two years. I put my own finger on the flat door's retro-fitted print lock and walk inside the flat.

The telly is advertising something you don't care about but your eyes are locked on as you reach down to your upper belly for another handful of fries. Your giant mass flows over the bariatric bed, your thighs squeezing through the rails, your under belly keeping your legs permanently parted. Your tummy gurgles, whether its because of hunger, digestion or pain, you don't care. Even before you finished chewing the fries you're grabbing another burger.

"Hey darling, anything you need?" I ask, my hands scooping up your layers of fat on your back as I slip myself behind you and the pillows that keep you upright. It feels good being pressed against all that fat. Despite the sponge bath this morning, the folds are sticky with sweat and grease. I wouldn't expect any less from my hog. I gently kiss the rolls, and listen to you moan through the mouthfuls of burger.

Then you grunt for a while, your brain trying to turn some semblance of humanity back on before you pant out one word.

"More..."

Confused? This story is set in a dystopian future for fat people and feedists. Read part 1 here, which is set a year prior and part 2 here, which is set eight years prior to this third part.

[cetaceans-pls]

Free Balling, Free Whaling

written for qwerty in thanks for their generous donation towards @dcufans4palestine 's recent charity drive! thanks again for taking part, and thank you to the mods for organising this event :')

qwerty, your request was both detailed and open-ended, and this turns out is the Perfect Recipe for me to go crazy. hope you enjoy this!

Sometimes, your community is you, a seal you've never actually met, a number of late-night service industry workers, 2 former grad students, and a lady who’s a leggy killer whale on land. Sometimes, that’s plenty.

Rated T, Gen, Jason Todd-centric. Read on Ao3 below:

or read here on tumblr below the cut:

See, the thing is, for all that Gothamites take Great Big Pride in being stone cold motherfuckers, they are in fact suckers for a pretty face.

 And it’s hard to get prettier, sweeter, than a goddamn all-natural harbour seal that gets spotted off of Pleico Beach, in clear view of like the 10 million people enjoying this day of unbearable sun in Gotham, sweet-faced women in cute bikinis and middle-aged men in cute broadshorts all braving the sharp pebbles of the beach with just a beach towel between body and gravel, all scampering up to take ten thousand pictures of a wee face in the near distance peeking out at them.

 Jason had laughed himself sick, because the appearance of a harbour seal in the bay had upstaged what had been quite a big spectacle of a thing with the joker and his 12 joker-lite disciples doing some weird biblical (?) reenactment at the Cathedral while they tried to steal some holy relic. Jason’s well-read but bibles had been so ubiquitously pressed upon him by well(?)-meaning church types in his messy youth that he’d never gotten ‘round to reading it, so he's unclear on the reference, but also there hadn’t been much time to analyse the tableau the guys had made, since:

i) Batwoman had massacred them right quickly because she'd been waiting for a date in the area and didn't appreciate the police presence;

and

ii) The nightly news had covered the incident with one (1) grainy still of the gang in some weird robes in the sepulcre for about 8 seconds before dedicating entire 20-minute blocks to coverage of Sheila the Harbour Seal, complete with marine biologists and seal-holograms.

 Gotham Bay used to be a thing of nightmares, the way much of Gotham had been a thing of nightmares not even 2 decades ago, but under the stern but loving hand of Wayne Enterprise, both have recovered with a steely exuberance  that makes bone-deep Gothamites feel Some Type of Way. Jason remembers being young and sitting at the docks illegally fishing for squid to sell to Alberta (the sole stalwart fishmonger based in the Narrows, most similar in appearance to a deep sea thing with a gaunt face and alarming teeth, who had a tendency to donate leftovers to the soup kitchen on 54th and Hertz, single-handedly making the residents of one of the most under-served parts of Gotham shockingly competent authorities of good proper fish stews), and how there would be a crust of muck and algae and blood audibly thunking against the wooden supports.

 He’s still got a thumb bone at home, the first one he’d found on the beach back in the day when the mafias really acted like they had the right to run Gotham ragged, dumping bodies like it’s their civic duty, and he’s pretty sure most people around his age and the income-bracket of his youth have got one of these historical, hysterical souvenirs.

 So to’ve gone from that, all of that, to Pleico Beach now hosting young families and harbour seals alike…. Christ. Now that’s biblical (maybe).

 Jason’s not the biggest fan of crowds, though, and also feels some amount of toxic embarrassment to be caught in public trying to catch sight of some gal. This is why he’s here on his squid dock at 3 o’clock in the morning with his Bat-grade night-vision goggles, twice already blinding his own damn self when he’d pulled out his phone to google seal behaviour and inadvertently blasting his retinas with the brightness of his screen.

 Probably should’ve checked and realised the little lady is likely less active at night before he got himself out here, but it’s not like it’s some great loss to just be out in the spray, chilled to the bone because he’s got Red Hood’s top on but just shorts on the bottom and late-summer/early-fall nights in Gotham can be so so frigid and so so loving. He’s halfway to wondering if he can find, like, a safety pin or something, tie it to the grappling wire he’s got in his right boot and do some squid-fishing for old times’ sake when there’s an almighty splash! at the end of the dock, and heavy ker-thunk! of something slamming into it.

 Man, just how damn big is Sheila? And nowhere in any of the articles did it say that harbour seals had a 20 foot vertical leap! Jason’s up and running towards the end, imagination quickly conjuring up an image of Sheila with a nipped tail, having made an almighty jump onto the dock to escape a predator, though what large predator can survive Gotham Bay even in her current condition is a question and a half all by itself, and-

 Uh.

 Jason blinks, then takes off the night vision goggles to blink again.

 Uhm.

 A Large Predator, a veritable Eater of Seals, a killer whale with hands and knees and feet blinks at him back.

 “Uh,” Jason says dumbly. Is this an undersea god type of situation? In which case he really wishes he’d brought his comms with him so that he could get Oracle to page Aquaman, emergency in aisle 3 (an orca’s evolved to have arms and legs by the frozen peas). “Is this a beaching?” he asks, possibly to the creature, possibly to whatever higher being might be listening. Deep deep inside, in that place that feels a certain giddy pleasure when Gotham wrings him dry and makes him come back for seconds, he’s a little warmly astonished that this many years of duty in and there’s still so damn much to be surprised by. “Are you okay?’ he says next, and manfully resists making clicking noises like a bad impression of a dolphin.

 His mouth says these reasonably thoughtful things, but his body’s crouched low, ready for a judo grapple against this being that’s got to have at least 100 pounds on him (and he’s already a man of many pounds).

 This orca-person somehow manages, with no eyebrows and no lips, to look at him warily. “I’m good. Are you?” they ask him right back, and whatever one might imagine a whale sounds like in English, one would be wrong. It’s like hearing a jackhammer suffering through conjugation, like the twang of a musical saw through the crispy static of a bad mobile connection.

 It’s unbearable how in 4 words Jason knows with Absolute Certainty that this creature is a Gothamite, though. Who else says ‘good’ like it has 12 syllables? He finds himself relaxing, and straightens up. “Can’t say I was expecting, uh, you, but I’m not doing so bad. I’m Jason, are you in trouble?"

 They look at him with the beady black eyes, body tensed and massive and toothy and packed dense with muscle rounded out with hearty blubber. They seem to come to a decision, and shrug shoulders like rounded mountains. “I was just out for a swim to check on the seal. Uh.” For the first time since their appearance, the great orca seems at a little bit of a loss. “I’m. Orca?”

 Jason can’t help a chuckle, can’t hold it back now that’s fully fully clear that he’s not about to have to fight This Creature. “I’m happy with calling you Orca, but if you have a preferred name, and,” he very politely does not look downwards, “pronouns, stuff like that, I’m pretty good at being respectful.”

 When orca-people sigh, it comes a little out their blowhole. Jason’s trying to hold back laughter so hard he feels a little sick, and he thinks Orca can tell, because though the glossy dark skin of their cheeks can’t seem to show it, he suspects there’d be a blush there otherwise.

 “You can call me Grace. Sexual dimorphism’s not very obvious in killer whales, it’s mostly down to size.”

 Jason shrugs. “Nice to meet you, Miss? Uhm. Grace Orca. And size isn't the only thing that matters.”

 She snorts (the blowhole keeps getting involved!! Lord god!!),  and picks up what Jason had thought was some dilapidated sail cloth but is instead a dilapidated sail cloth sewn in the approximate shape of a coat that could fit a 9 foot Lady Orca. “You’re taking this extremely well,” she says, squinting keenly at him.

 “Can’t live in this city without being respectful of all her inhabitants,” Jason says with grave seriousness, before cracking into a smile. “I was hoping to catch sight of Sheila, you know, the harbour seal. Seems like I got to see a cool, uh, marine lady regardless, so it’s not like I’m going to run away screaming.” He doesn't add that 2 weeks ago he was making small talk over alien canapes with this guy that looked like 2 giraffes stapled ass-to-ass with 3 sets of diaphanous wings on some Outlaw business, so comparatively speaking, she's So Regular.

 The facial muscles of a orca-person should preclude them from emoting very well, but Grace manages to get across warm surprise with great aplomb. “Are you a marine biologist?” she asks in the excited tones of someone who believes they’ve met a kindred spirit, and Jason makes a note to check in on all the Graces in Gotham who are marine biologists.

 Jason shakes his head. “Nah, I’ve just never seen a wild seal in Gotham before. When I was a kid you got more dismembered feet than fish out here, so I got a little excited. Why were you out and about looking for her?”

 A thought strikes him, and he winces. “I’m a city boy, but I get that it’s law of the jungle rules out there, and I respect that. If you are planning to eat her, though, you don't need to tell me .”

 She looks like he's called her a slur. “ Of course not! ” she yells, shrill enough it’s half a whistle. “What kind of a monster do you think I am?!”

 There’s no easy, courteous way to answer this, so Jason goes for blank honesty instead. “All of god’s creatures need to eat to live, man. I gotta make my peace with how cute cows can get when I’m eating a hamburger, I sure as shit am not gonna judge you .”

 Grace Orca looks at him like he’s the weird one here on the dock, and to be fair to her, he maybe actually is. “I just wanted to check on her welfare ,” she says with injured pride, starting to stride down the dock back to shore, one step for every 3 of Jason’s. “They don’t tend to be fully solitary animals, and they’re not migratory either, so I was trying to figure out how she drifted all the way down here. Didn't manage more than a look before she swam off, though.”

 Jason can’t exactly blame Sheila for her nerviness. He’s pretty proud with himself for acting real regular walking in sortof-step with Grace when her teeth are the size of his thumbs and he’s enviously, jealously regarding her muscular shoulders. Swimmers’ shoulders, damn. “We got any breeding colonies near here? I know people who know people, could probably figure out how to relocate her home if she needs it. And, uhm.” He very gentlemanly lets her go down the rickety wooden steps first (he’s not confident they’d take both their weight). “I’m sorry for implying you’d eat her.”

 At this, she does gnash her teeth just a little. “The bay’s recovered a lot, water quality’s better, algal bloom’s more under control, and there are a couple of fish nurseries that are looking really promising.” Grace sighs gustily (her blowhole wipples like the lid of a tea kettle aa!!). “But we’re not doing so well that we can support an apex predator. I’d starve out there, and if I didn’t I’d be eating things more valuable than me, so.”

 Ah, shit. Jason’s has a rough idea of rough living, but a street rat would experience life a lot different to a Literal Street Rat. Waylon’s got it rough but now that he’s borderline the de-facto union leader of the Great Gotham Underground Coalition, half the service workers in town will comp his food on sight. Grace has no such social influence, or Jason would’ve heard of her before. He glances at her, and feels some weird solidarity of being a thing that is of but maybe isn’t welcome to Gotham.

 Maybe she got made a monster, too.

 “That sucks,” he says, pebbles crunching underground. “You do the marine biology stuff for work? And hey, for ambushing you on your chill nighttime swim, let me treat you to dinner?”

 She draws to a halt, and he almost loses an eye on the peak of her dorsal fin. Instead, he’s intensely whapped by her powerful tail when she turns on a dime to stare at him. “Are you hitting on me?” Grace says, gone shrill again, and isn’t that a thing.

 Jason grins; he’s got teeth too. “Haven’t made up my mind yet, but I’m never gonna say no to good company and good food. Patrice’s over on 12th and Bakri is open all hours, and if you don’t mind takeout we can go sit in a park or something. I have so many ocean-based questions, Grace, you’d be doing me a a favour.”

 He’s also uncertain if she needs to, uhm, Submerge, and the Dumbfuck Giant Fountain with Horses in the park at 13th and Bakri would give her plenty of space to splash. God, he makes less efforts to be diplomatic with emperors of ancient civilisations, but Jason is relatively confident that he can predict the shape of Grace’s predicament, and 9 foot tall or no it sure seems like she deserves a gentler hand than most.

 (There are a lot a lot a lot of scars all down her back, pale stripes on what should be glossy smooth inky black, and he doesn’t know what caused ‘em but he knows that they’re not right.)

 No one’s ever accused him of being terribly smooth or charming, but Jason does okay. He cocks his head in question, knows he looks a little cute and a lot silly in between his armoured turtleneck and his knobbly knees all out in the open, and Grace sighs (!!) and goes “Hope your wallet’s ready for this.”

 “What a lady wants, a lady’s gonna get,” Jason says with the confidence of a man with a platinum credit card with no conceivable limit, and off they go.

-

 Patrice himself always takes the night shifts, too serious to be the sort of guy that would let teens suffer through night-time Gotham serving calzones on the cheap. Fair play to the man, after a short sharp scream when Grace has to hunker down to squeeze herself into his dinky little store, he’s back to being stone-faced damn damn quickly.

 Said stony facade does relent, though, when he sees Jason peeking out from behind her. “You shouldn’t be having dinner so late, Jason,” he tuts with the severity of a man who doesn’t get to spend enough time tutting his own kids on account of his late night shifts.

 Jason just snorts. “It’s not late if I stay up. This is my friend Grace, and we’re both starving.”

 “You have a lovely store,” Grace says dutifully, and Patrice takes her rattling-whistling-whirring voice in stride, inclines his bald head with wispy hairs with great gravitas, and gives her a respectful nod of thanks.

 “Sweet talkers,” he says gruffly. “What will you both have?” He eyes Grace, head tilted back to meet her face that’s tilted down (to avoid a droplight). “I got vegetarian pies.” He squints, reassesses. “And seafood marinara calzones, though I’m gonna have to bake ‘em so you’ll have to wait.”

 Jason’s got squid on the brain. “How many do you want, Grace? ‘s my treat.”

 She looks sedate up top, but her tail is whapping like she’s about to murder a great white shark. “Two?” she hazards, looking curiously awkward for being this awe-inspiring sight.

 “Sounds good. Two dozen of your seafood best, Patrice, and hit me with a slice,” he pauses, and faintly wishes she had ears that would give away how she’s feeling instead of, uhhhh, ear holes?? Ear holes?? “Two slices? Of tiramisu, and a latte each. That sound good, Grace?”

 “Two dozen is so many-” she starts in protest, this lady too in love with Gotham Bay to eat her fish, not even built to survive off of sewer rats like Waylon and the lads, and luckily Jason doesn’t even need to step in.

 Patrice just rings their order up. “Growing kids need to eat,” he tells her very sternly, like she’s a regular customer, like he hadn’t shrieked a glass-shattering shriek at the first sight of her. “I’m gonna throw in some garlic knots, too. Got any allergies or anything, miss? God knows this boy's got the gut of a trash compactor,” he says with genuine affection.

 Grace looks a little lost, and Jason figures that she isn’t an eldritch sea creature (because you’d seldom find something more self-assured than a 4,000 year old oarfish the size of a tectonic plate), figures that this change is kind of recent, but long ago enough that it’s been too too long since a well-meaning middle-aged person behind a counter has called her miss and smiled at her, and man, they need to come up with a better system on how to treat metas with dignity.

 ���My mom used to make really good seafood marinara,” she offers up instead, and Jason sees in real-time as Patrice’s eyes go a little misty as he adds mozzarella sticks and another half dozen calzones to their bill free of charge.

 (Thank god for tip jars).

-

 It takes 25 minutes and Patrice is sweaty and a little breathless by the time he’s bundled up their food, but the vibes are immaculate and tomato-tinged as they wander out his restaurant down to the park, right to the massive fountain.

 Grace seems a little dazed by all that’s happened, which is good. Jason very intentionally is trying to leave her off-balance enough to spill her secrets (the better to serve her with!), and also while he’s not the most Warm and Affectionate person, by hook or by crook he’s been some type of older sibling for some pretty large chunk of his life, and he feels in his gut that Grace is younger so she’s just gonna have to suck it up and make peace with him being a bit of a coddler. To reduce any embarrassment on her part, Jason kicks off his shoes and sits on the lip of the fountain, feet in the cold, grimy water. It makes him shiver, just a little, but a sip of hot hot coffee has him sighing in delight. 

 “Go on, help yourself.” He nudges a bag over, grabbing a calzone wrapped in foil for himself.

 After a brief pause, she shucks her coat, scrambles over the ledge to sit in the water, submerged just barely to her waist, but it’s clear that it’s some sort of soothing; her tail is lazily whipping in water, and he wonders if she even realises she’s gently making herself drift forwards and back. “Thanks,” she says. “Been a while since I got to eat cooked food.”

 Yeah, damn, they really need to figure out some sort of soup kitchen/shelter situation for people who are people who just happen to be a little less regular.

 “Patrice is a nice guy. Kinda traditional, but his youngest came out recently and he’s been working real hard to make himself more accepting. The pride calzone is gross as hell, though, do not recommend it.”

 She, uhm, chortles, maybe? A jolly little sound, and Jason grins. “You’re laughing now, but you’re not gonna be laughing when I get you one of them and you realise that man’s put peaflowers and sardines and butter and shit just to get the colours right.”

 Grace baps him with her enormous tail; it will bruise, and he’s charmed. “I still can’t tell if you’re a weird fetishist who’s trying to hit on me, but I think I’d forgive a lot for a pride-themed pie.”

 “Promise I got brought up to be very respectful of women,” Jason says with the confidence of someone who had Wonder Woman in his upbringing. “You’re just really cool. It's rare to meet a marine biologist in general, you know, never mind a marine biologist who’s, uhm, extra marine.” Much of the walk to and from food has been heavy on pelagics and Cnidaria and Phocidae and Gulf streams and Jason understands maybe 65% of what she’s talking about, can really only spiritedly join in when they both go off on a growling tangent on sea-level rise and how it’s worsening the housing crisis in the city, and man, there’s just a lot to admire in that kind of fervent dedication to a damp cause.

 She baps him again, but looks substantially more morose even though her more rigid jaw doesn’t seem to allow for downturned non-lips. “I used to be a marine biologist,” she says in mournful whale-song. “With a specialisation in marine mammal growth hormones and their applications in medicine. I had a little cubicle at the Gotham Aquarium and everything .”

 Jason hums mildly. “Take it that the tail and stuff is a more recent development?”

 She nods gruffly. “Had a real bad accident, got paralysed, and I did not respond to that in a super healthy way.”

 Bruce has had his back broken, Babs is in a wheelchair still, Jason just fully fully died. He knows academically that there are ways to healthily process the complete and total upheaval of a life; he’s just not confident it’s attainable by anyone below the level of a bodhisatya. “My brother’s partner had a run-in with the joker, and she’s been in a wheelchair ever since. I don’t know how she does it.” He very carefully doesn’t look at her. “Don’t know how you’re doing it, but I’m glad you’re doing it anyways. Would’ve been a real quiet dinner tonight otherwise.”

 Grace makes a strange burbling sound, and maybe cetaceans have cetacean feelings that English just can’t get across. “I’ve done some pretty fucked up things. The gene-splicing and dosing and orca-fication just so I could walk again isn’t the half of it. I’ve committed crimes , Jason.”

 It takes an enormous effort of will to not laugh so hard his lungs give out. Miss ma’am’s out here swimming pro bono to check in on fish and seals and shit, and she’s making a confessional out of a fountain with a priest who’s got a body count in the dozens; Jason’s got blood caked on so thick he always always always smells just a little metallic (just a little too-human) nowadays. God, how hopelessly sweet. “Lay it out on me, I’ll be the judge of how bad is bad, Grace.”

 She doesn’t look at him still, tucked up tight and folded away like she can compress the whole lot of her (she can’t). “I didn’t used to be full-time like this. Used to be I could swap, you know, between paralysed human me and super cool killer whale me with a syringe and 20 minutes of throwing up. Work was going great, I was collecting so much data, it was crazy, the tissue samples from my thighs had human and orca protein markers but from my tail it was all orca, and there’s a lot of implications for organ regeneration and tissue transfers, really, but…”

 “Not hearing any greater crime than being a massive nerd,” Jason says mildly, and is splashed for his efforts (he’s laughing as he pushes his sodden hair back. “C’mon, spill, have another calzone.”

 He tosses her one, and she digs into it immediately. “There’s a program we have for kids with rough backgrounds, at the aquarium. Kind of like day camp, over the summer, and the parents get free daycare and the kids get to do fun little activities and practice being aquarists, all that sort of stuff. It was great, but the funding didn't get renewed for this year, and I thought, hey, how hard can it be to get money for that?”

 Jason winces, and Grace just keeps pushing on. “It’s the sort of thing you hear rogues doing all the time, right? Steal a great big diamond, something like that. So I ambushed this yacht party,” and she says yacht the way a lesser man might say ‘steaming pile of shit’, “and was gonna grab this ugly diamond off this woman who did not follow sanitation protocols for her yacht’s wastewater, and it was going mostly okay, and then…” She looks around, somehow managing to look hunted despite being a quintessential hunter. “Batman appeared.”

 Jason goes cold, freezes up and feels a roaring rage, this unshakeable white-hot thing that always flares in response to any proof of Bruce’s negligence or foolishness or bloody-minded adherence to made-up rules causing so so much more damage than they could ever be worth. “Did he hurt you,” he says very mildly, but his jaw aches with how much he wants to shout and bite throats out.

 Something in his tone must’ve given him away, or maybe it’s one of those whale-only senses, again. Grace turns, propelled by her tail, and looks at him with less guilt and more startled curiosity. “Hey,” she says tentatively, awkward in how she comforts. And for the first time in their brief but delightful acquaintance, she very tentatively reaches out to very delicately place her massive massive hand just above his knee, so so thoughtful to keep a barrier between his skin and hers, like that’s something he’d ever care about. “Hey, you okay? Did Batman do something to you? I’m willing to try biting him if he’s done something, Jason. I don’t know karate or anything but I’m pretty sure I could chew through armour?”

 This startles a laugh out of Jason, though it’s a little ragged because his breathing is a little jacked. “Been treated pretty bad by him,” he settles on, in the end. “But I’m not one of those guys that thinks he’s great and amazing and perfect, so I’ve gotten pretty good at managing expectations and being disappointed in him all the time. But Grace, hey. You gotta tell me, I promise I need to know. Did he hurt you ?”

 She shakes her massive, wondrous head. “I mean, he tried to get the gem back, but I’m not really someone you can just throw around. The problem was that I got really distracted fighting him, and he’s really scary even to me, so while I was looking his way I got shot a bunch of times by the woman’s bodyguards.”

 Grace twists a little so he can see her back, and there’s a scattering of rounded scars just by her fin, and that’s awful awful close to her spine, and oh, god, he can see the Shape of Things.

 “I think I would’ve died if I turned human again then, and I was pretty sure I was going to die in orca lite mode too. The Bat incapacitated the gunmen and hustled me away, and I think he was going to take me to a hospital, which, broadly speaking, if you see an unwell marine creature you really should go straight to the aquarium because the vet team there’s incredible, but I was really bleeding out and I had the human-to-orca serum and I told him I think taking the orca shot while I’m in orca mode’s probably the only thing that’s going to keep me alive.”

 Fucking hell. “Then what?”

 Grace shrugs, enormous and abashed. “He said okay, took off his cape so I wasn’t sitting bare-assed on the ground, and then offered to hold my hand while I took the shot.” She looks down at her hand, reflexively squeezes it. “Think he thought I was gonna die on him. Think I thought I was gonna die on him too. I’m not a behavioral ecologist, so this is just conjecture, but I don’t think orcas are big fans of dying alone either, so I appreciated it.”

 Jason rests his hand on what would be her wrist, and squeezes down tight. God, he hates unloving deaths. “You're a social creature both ways, huh? Glad you weren’t alone, Grace,” Jason says with way more understanding than most. “Glad it worked. What happened after?”

 “Well, I threw up for 20 minutes,” she says primly. “Then I knocked him on his ass and ran away, because I was scared he was going to arrest me.”

 To be a fly on that wall, holy shit. Jason offers up a hi-5, and she takes it. “They should get you a medal,” he says with utmost seriousness. “What you been up to since? I’m a big man ‘round town, and if a lady like you were available for dinner dates I sure would’ve heard of it.” He doesn't know how to politely say how have you kept yourself alive since, so this light-hearted sleaze is all that he can manage.

 Grace abruptly gets up, parting the seas, and climbs out without making eye contact. “The rest of the story up till right now isn’t something I’m proud of. You sure we can’t go back to talking about flood risks and poor urban planning?”

 He climbs out too, and hands her more food. “We can talk ‘bout anything you like, but if you’ve got troubles, I can’t help with things I don’t know, you know?”

 Grace screws up her face, and it doesn’t go very well because there’s a lot of face to screw up, but her unhappiness is clear. “I’m a muscle-for-hire,” she says all at once. “Have to work to eat, and not a lot of places are looking to give me work looking like this.”

 An agitated lady of any persuasion is not a very fun sight to see, and it makes Jason really hopping mad, but 'really hopping mad' doesn't serve Grace Orca, so he swallows it down and shakes his head to clear it. "Been having a real rough time of it, huh, Grace? Sounds godawful." He does need more specifics if he's going to try to improve her lot in life, though. "What are the, like, top 3 things you wish you could fix?"

 She laughs a whistling mirthless laugh. "Number 1? Take me back to when I was human again. I'll make my peace with being disabled, at least I wasn't getting shot at all the time."

 Not a thing Jason can do for her, though not for a lack of want. "Man, don't we all have a time we wish we could go back to," he says in pale consolation. "Can't help with that, though I'll holler if I ever get my hands on a time machine, promise. What's next?"

 Grace tugs on her overcoat. "Same as what I needed when I was still a grad student; would be nice to have some cash. Get some good food, maybe use my old ID and figure out how to rent a little apartment with a tub, something like that." She makes a disgruntled clicking sound. "I still can't get used to sleeping under water, and the serum's not perfect. It gets so cold."

 Now that's a solvable issue! "Girl, that's easy peasy. Here, c'mon." He tugs out his wallet, tugs out his credit card that's got neither name nor limit to it, and hands it over. "My, uh, my dad's rich but I'm in a lifelong rebellious phase 'cos he's kindof an awful person a lot of the time. You don't need to hench if you don't want to, get takeout seafood marinara for the rest of forever, I don't give a shit."

 She makes no move to take it from him, but he keeps holding it out towards her. "Seriously," he says. "Your number 2 most desired thing is something I can help with. If it makes you feel bad, you can catch me on the docks and pay me back once you've got a roof over your head and figured out some better employment. For now, you gotta take it."

 Grace scowls (it's terrifying). "I don't gotta take anything! What am I going to do with someone else's card!" she yells, flinging his arm away. "This still isn't a face they'll let into Whole Veg!" 

 She takes a deep, gasping, shuddering breath, and lets it all out in a miserable, hurtling whisper.

  "This isn't a shape that gets to be human."

 And ain't that just the Shape of The Thing (that is no longer human). Jason can empathise on the inside of his head all day long, how he's not 100% all-natural all-human after a tango in a Pit, how he's pretty sure his eyes glow in the dark now and his canines are a little serrated and he's really really immune to most poison these days, but the face of him is the face of a person who does not make Patrice scream when he enters his shop. Strong arms and strong legs and strong tail and Grace still would rather go back to a time when she wasn't a powerful predator, when she couldn't even walk. Jason's never had to tackle this specific issue, and he isn't entirely sure what to say, except to say the things he used to say to himself in the dark of the night, too-sharp nails ripping through corpse-pale skin, tucked in a corner and barely (not-quite) human.

 "Maybe not," he says, carefully. "Not your average Joanne, no. But it's a shape that gets to be a person, Grace. Can strip flesh from bone and replace it with the king of the sea, lose all your DNA 'cos you fought to survive, but you don't stop being a person. And so long as you're a living breathing person, you're entitled to care, and I'm entitled to look out for you. I know a guy who knows a guy who's got a bit of crocodile in him, I know a lady who knows a lady who's 1/16th cypress pine, and I know people who are technically all-human and they're the most discomfiting motherfucker on Earth. And I know all of 'em and all of 'em know me, and now I know you and you know me, so do you know what I think your third wish is, Grace?"

 "What?" she says like she's trying to sound angry but mostly she just sounds sad.

 "It's company, isn't it? People to check in on you like you check in on Sheila, people to have calzones with, people to talk shop with, people to hold your hand when you're not feeling good. Tell me true; is that wish number three?"

 The fight's gone out of her, and hers isn't a face made for crying but Jason hates that she looks like she wants to anyways. Months and months and months sleeping in the sea and committing crimes she didn't want to for the lacklustre joy of continuing a wretched existence, and now she's getting harangued by some rando she met on the docks in the middle of the night.

 Still, though, he's just got this one little push left. He can lead a killer whale to a seafood marinara calzone, but he can't force her to eat. See, consent's also a massive massive part of personhood, so he's got to wait. She's got to say it.

 At long last, in a tiny voice that's like a distant chirp, Grace says "I don't want to be so alone anymore."

 And with a smile spitting sparks like an electric eel having a real time of it all, Jason says "Your wish is my command".

-

 It's gone 4 in the morning right now, and Jason's without most of his gear, so he can't really go all out All Out the way he wants to, show off and showboat for Grace to illustrate to her how, uhm, colourful and varied the threads are that make up the tapestry that is Gotham. He's limited by addresses he knows off the top of his head and people he knows would be at home right now.

 Enter the cute, slightly-rundown brownstone duplex 4 blocks away from the Scheyichbi Botannical Gardens. It's a pretty chilly night, like frost is an imminent threat, but the front door (that he'd jimmied open) leads to a veritable greenhouse of vegetation, obliging monsteras with leaves dipped low, pothos sprawling like wildfire, a ficus in the corner taller than a man, bundles of mums flourishing up to the size of ottomans. "Pam, don't kill us, 's just Jason!" he'd yelled as soon as he came in, because he knows her and her hair trigger response to invaders (Venus fly traps the size of Honda Civics). "It's an emergency, and Harley if you're in, come say hi too!"

 There's a sound like a mighty oak getting splintered in a storm, but that's just Ivy acting a little dramatic (she's very understandably very sensitive to day-night cycles). There's also a light jingling sound, so it seems like he's gotten a little lucky.

 Grace meanwhile is trying to hide behind his back, this technical criminal gone so awkward over a spot of breaking-and-entering. "Jason, what the hell is going on?" she tries to whisper furtively, but given her throat and her build it's ringing loud and clear.

 The jingling comes closer at a rapid rate.

 "I just wanted you to meet these nerdy chicks I know, you guys can have ladies' night out and talk about how shitty graduate school was, or whatever," Jason says, before ducking down to the ground.

 Grace does not have similar reflexes, and so is helpless in the face of Harley sprinting down the steps, shotgun in one hand, cute pyjama bottoms making the clinking sound 'cos the draw ties have little bells sewn to them. Harley, who'd been ready to kill a second ago, claps eyes on Grace Orca in her living room, and immediately screeches like maybe she's part barn owl. "Oh my god!" she screams, not slowing down a tad, "oh my god, Pammy, come the hell down! Jay's brought in thee cutest girlie in the world!" And just like that Grace is tackled and then picked up in a hug, picked up feet-clear-off-the-ground picked up, and man, Jason's so good at plans.

 "I hate all of you," Pamela says as she comes down the stairs in a robe, and she's a lady up top but today her legs have strangling vines 'round them like it's what she gets instead of leg hair, and when she turns to the side you can just about make out that half her hair's just spines. "What the hell's going on?"

 Jason gets up, brushes himself off. "Pam, Harley, meet my newest friend, Grace Orca. She's got a PhD in marine biology, and she went rogue for a bit 'cos she needed money, and now I'm doing my civic duty in setting her on the right path."

 "Right path," Pamela says testily, scowling at him, plucking burrs from sleep-heavy eyes. "At 4 in the morning?"

 "No time like the present," Jason says, helping her with a seedpod stuck to her lashes. "C'mon," he says real quietly. "She could do with some looking out for, before she gets in too deep."

 They both look over to where Grace is now festooned in a knitted afghan around her shoulders, Harley sitting with her in a loveseat as she very cheerfully spills her life's story to Grace, who goes from looking immensely awkward (Harley's college days) to intensely, feverishly angry (must've hit the joker just now).

 Pamela sighs. "I'm not in the habit of picking up strays," she says meaningfully, even as she grows both ears out into pitcher plants, the better to look more inhuman with.

 "No," Jason says matter-of-factly. "But you've never been one to let a sweet shrub wither, either."

 She can't argue with that.

 (Three hours later, they're all having breakfast at this little hole-in-the-wall diner run by a cute couple that left henchmanning around the time Harley did, and Grace has been made master of

1. The pink and purple afghan from Pam and Harley's lovenest;

2. Jason's credit card;

3. A little woven beach bag Harley had had lying around for short term storage of snacks and items;

and

4. An old smartphone of Pam's, complete with a sim card furnished by Gerry who's the barista, on account of him knowing Akechi who got out of henchmanning a couple of years before he did to start a successful mobile phone kiosk in Queensbury Mall two blocks down).

-

 It's brunch, and Grace and Jason are out in the garden seating area of a cheerful little Brazilian café, enjoying the slight peeks of sun between the clouds. Grace looks a little dazed, which is pretty understandable given a good few hours in the company of Gotham's premiere power couple, but she's also looking pretty, ah, happy. She's got any number of kiss marks all over her face, because Harley's affectionate by nature, and Jason thinks it's an awful cute look on her (he is himself decorated in three).

 "Waylon's office hours are Thursdays and Fridays," he tells her over sandwiches. "Noon to 5, and I texted you his address. He's kinda prickly at the start, and don't call him Killer Croc ever because it's pretty rude, but if you tell him what it's been like for you he'll tell you what it's been like for him, and I think that'll be good for both of you. And the other address I sent to you is this lady that runs this fish shop in the Narrows. I haven't spoken to Alberta in years, don't think she even remembers me, but that woman is unshakeable and loves fish, so I feel like you two would probably get along."

 Grace nods, attentive and studious like she wants to have a pen and notebook in hand to take notes with. In the cool loving light of day, after hours and hours in Jason's company (and then Patrice's and Harley's and Pam's), she's looking a good deal more relaxed, had done little more than good-naturedly say "Don't worry about it," when Euvaldo had let out a manly yell when he'd first been startled by her entrance, and it's a good look. "And who're we meeting now?" She looks around to make sure no one's listening, though given that she's a 9-foot-tall orca-woman of course everyone is straining to eavesdrop even as they politely pretend they aren't. "I think after this I want to go to the aquarium," she tells him, a little shy and a little steely. "I want to let my friends know I'm okay, kindof. I want to figure out if I can get accessibility services to accommodate me, see if I can't get back to doing good work. Seems like after the first scream, people get used to me pretty quick?"

 Jason snorts. "I didn't even scream once, thanks. And I know you're still kinda cut-up about keeping my credit card, so before I let you go off to do your cool girl scientist shit, I thought you'd want to hear from the horse's mouth himself that it's okay for you to commit a little fraud."

 "The horse?" she says quizzically.

 Jason squirms. "My da-"

 "Jason."

 And Jason looks up, and it's Bruce looking at him and at Grace with a broad, unfeeling smile, tenser than a bowstring.

 "Bruce," he says. On one hand, it's maybe an asshole move to spring this on Bruce, but on the other hand, it's not like Bruce wouldn't have heard word of what Jason's been up to. No, the most important thing is to make Bruce see Grace and see how Grace has been failed, systemically and personally, so that maybe next time a different poor fuck won't have to suffer the way she's been made to suffer.

 It's the Red Hood's duty, the purpose of this blood-red bat on his chest, to hold feet to fire, make sure people get exactly what it is they deserve.

 He'd thought he was playing it pretty cool, but just as he's gotten better at reading Grace she's gotten better at reading him, and ah, shit, he had said something about not getting along with his dad, hadn't he? Because Grace has turned to fully face Bruce, and she's stood up and drawn her shoulders back and Jason's half-hidden by the bulk of her tail and the curve of her thigh, and she's baring her teeth at Bruce like she's gearing up for a fight (even though she doesn't know karate). "Who're you?" she snaps, and it's a lucky stroke of luck that she doesn't semm recognise Bruce Wayne in the flesh.

 Bruce doesn't clarify for her. "I'm Bruce," is all he says, not taking a step closer. "I'm Jason's, ah, guardian."

 It's a little hysterical that that's the title Bruce's gone for, and it's not the one Jason (even in his perpetual anger) had assigned to him.

 Grace doesn't look mollified, but she does look over to check on Jason. He pets her tail, and then gently pushes it away so that she can take her seat again. "Grace, it's fine. We're not on the best of terms, but you don't gotta bite his head off."

 "I'm willing to try," she tells Bruce menacingly, even though Jason knows there's no way in hell she'd go for it.

 "Perhaps later," Bruce says politely, taking a seat. "Can I know why you asked me to come here?"

 "Yeah," Jason says. "Got 2 things to put by you. First thing's first; Grace here's in a bit of a tight spot, and I'm offering to help her out by lending her my credit card. Since it's technically yours, I thought she'd feel better if you gave her your blessing."

 Bruce's lips go thin, but she doesn't know he's Bruce Wayne so he can look a little sour and a little cold and a little worried. "Jason, it's your card, it's your money. You don't need my permission to use it. But miss, if it makes you feel better, whatever Jason says is okay, is okay with me."

 Grace still looks discomfited, massive tail twitching behind her. "Cool," she says, but she's looking at Jason.

 "Cool," Jason echoes. "Two, Grace, Bruce here helps run a lot of non-profits. I need you to tell him your story, okay? From the kiddie camp at the aquarium, to the shit going wrong on the yacht, to the things that you had to do to survive after that. You can leave out things if you want, but if you can tell him all the things you told me, it'll help him figure out how to do better in the future."

 She looks a little uncertain, and tries to murmur out the side of her mouth (extremely unsuccessfully). "Even the stuff with the, uh, creature of the night? And the, uh, legal stuff?"

 Jason looks at Bruce, who's sharp enough to see the Shape of Things coming and is already gritting his teeth to bear it, and nods. "All of it, as much as you can manage, Grace".

 And the main reason that Jason's here and Jason had called Bruce despite despite despite, is because even with all the things the man is so so so bad at, there isn't anyone on Earth so dedicated to holding their own feet to the fire, more invested in trying (and often failing) to atone for all his many, many wrongs.

 So Grace tells her story, about too-little-money and too-many-hurts, gunshots and violence and sleeping in the cold dark ocean and being alone and being a criminal and being a no-longer-human struggling to remain a person, and Bruce goes paler and paler and his hands clench tighter and tighter, and Jason watches over all over this as he quietly sips at his limonada suiça.

-

(It goes on for well over an hour, with Bruce asking clarifying questions and taking notes in his phone. Getting things off her chest has Grace mellowing out enough to ask if Bruce wants to join them for lunch, but Bruce had shaken his head, handed off 6 different cards for 6 different people who can help with 6 of Grace's top 10 troubles, and gotten to his feet with a gentle excuse of having a meeting he can't avoid.

"It was good to make your acquaintance, and I hope you'll keep in touch," Bruce had said, shaking Grace's hand. "I'm sorry for all you've had to go through. I hope I can help make things easier for you, and anyone else that might share your circumstances."

And that had taken Jason aback a little, that Bruce had actually apologised, had taken in the enormity of his wrongs and then taken ownership of his faults. It happens more rarely than it should, but goddamn it feels good to have gotten this apology for Grace even if she'll never figure out the true heavy weight of it.

Bruce had looked like he'd wanted to say something to Jason, too, but Jason's too wrung out to want to hear it, and had kept his eyes firmly on the condensation rolling down his glass.

And then Bruce had said, "Thank you for calling me, Jason," and he'd sounded like he meant it, and then he'd left, and Jason had exhaled the heat in his head, and things are a little better now for all of them than they were before.

"He didn't scream even a little when he saw me," Grace had said admiringly. "I see where you get it from, Jason."

And if that ain't a compliment and a damning indictment all at once.)

-

 They split up, after that, Grace saying that she wants some privacy as she works through the mess of things left in her wake, meet-ups and calls to friends and family. He imagines her going through door after door and hearing startled scream after startled scream, and it gives him a little bit of a headache. She's an adult, though, and if she's prepared to do this he'd be doing her a disservice to tail after her.

 So instead Jason had gone home, fully ignored his phone exploding with texts from everyone bombarding him with pictures of him hanging out with Grace Orca, and taken a 10 hour nap. At some point, he think he dreamt that he was in the lily pond behind the Manor, swimming on his back like he's an otter and Sheila had been on top of him, like a baby otter, and the water had tasted of limonada suiça but was the colour of a sizzly electric green.

 Grace had been running around on land, he thinks. Damian had been there too, inexplicably, like even in a dreamscape he'd heard the siren call of wild beasties, and they'd laughed loudly with each other, and then Grace had thrown him into the sky and he hadn't come back down, had stayed in the air like a sugar glider that's a stranger to gravity.

 And then Sheila had rolled over and then gotten heavier and heavier on his chest, and Jason had kept going down and down into the lemonade-not-lemonade, and no one had seen him go down or maybe no one had cared, and he hadn't struggled and just kept sinking.

 He'd woken up with drymouth and a faint desire to drink more lemonade. He'd also woken up and realised he's only ever seen Sheila in his dreams, and there's no text from Grace yet, and it's early out still (only 1 AM), and he feels a little unsettled in his skin. Easy enough to put on a good face for Grace, who for all her build is still a civvy, but in the quiet dark of his own home, Jason's feeling, ah, a little lonesome, a little cold. Sucks, that Red Hoods don't get a Red Hood to look out for 'em.

 Instead of moping for too long, though, he takes a long hot shower, uses up every last drop that boiler has to spare, and dresses real nice and warm, replete with fluffy socks and a scarf around his neck. He grabs a beer and a couple of slices of 2-day-old pizza in foil, puts them into his shopping bag in case he wants to get more snacks on the way. He remembers, this time, and shapes and sharpens a bit of wire into the shape of a fishing hook to bring with him.

 He's still, somehow, got squid on the brain.

 Set and prepped, exhausted and a little cored out and a little light-headed, Jason heads off back to the primordial sea (Dock 3 at Newquay Harbour).

 He gets there, has barely taken a seat with his feet in their fuzzy Christmas socks and Crocs(!) hanging over the side, when there's a splash! and a whump!. Jason turns, already halfway to smiling, and there's Grace, who's fully smiling.

 "Hey, stranger," she says, cheerfulness bubbling up and out her blowhole (!!).

 "Hey yourself," Jason says, relieved despite himself to see her in good spirits. "Someone's in a good mood."

 "Someone's not." Grace is studying him rather intensely. "You okay? Anyone I need to bite?"

 That does get a laugh out of him. "I'm gonna take you up on that offer one day, and you're really gonna regret it."

 She flashes her teeth, and it's a promise and a half. "I have a phone now, so just call me anytime. Seriously, though. You're okay?"

 Jason nods. "Yeah, man. Hearing about your stuff kindof reminded me of some of my stuff, and it's nothing new or super tragic or anything. I'm just a little worn out, which is pretty crazy, since you've been doing all the heavy lifting."

 "Yeah, but I'm built for it, little guy." The joke doesn't land with Jason's mood the way that it is. She stares at him shrewdly, and then she continues. "I'm having drinks with some of the girls from the aquarium on Friday. They're gonna bring a bunch of stuff, and then we'll meet down on the beach for a picnic. You wanna come?"

 Uhm. This is not going in the direction Jason was expecting. "Uh. Nice of you to invite me, but won't it be weird to have me over when you're reconnecting with your friends?"

 Grace just stares at him. "Didn't let weirdness stop you from knocking down Pam and Harley's door at ass o'clock in the morning to introduce me to them, did it? Besides, you're pretty cool, for someone who isn't a marine biologist. I'm kinda easing back into, into regular friendships," into being a person again, she doesn't say, "that kind of thing. I wouldn't mind the moral support?"

 What's a guy to do, even when he's pretty sure he's being manipulated? Jason nods helplessly, fondly. "I might have work, but text me a reminder and I'll try and swing by for a drink. That good?"

 She beams at him, and what an experience it is, to be smiled at by this hallowed face, her pale underbelly glowing in the light pollution like a beacon. "Sounds great. And come in early on Friday, with a change of clothes, okay?"

 "What for?" He frowns. "You need help with something?"

 She shakes her marvelous, majestic head. "No. Maryam's a post-doc at the aquarium and her partner's working as part of the conservation trust managing the breeding harbour seal population like 2 hours north from here. The plan is to relocate Sheila so she's not at risk of being hit by a boat, and we're gonna need someone who can help with transporting her. I told Maryam that I knew a guy who knew a guy, but really I meant you."

 Oh, my. Jason, unlike Grace, can turn red. Luckily the blustering winds already has him flushed, so maybe she can't tell. "How did we get to a point where you're the one doing me favours already?" he says, instead of saying no I don't want to help move Sheila, don't pity me. Because, well. It isn't pity, is it? Hadn't been pity when he saw her for the first time, either.

 "Always been told I'm a quick learner," Grace says, and then she blinks audaciously at him, and on god she seems to have twice the number of eyelids than the average person, and this has Jason bursting into startled laughter so hard he almost rolls off the dock, and is only saved by Grace grabbing him round the shoulders, and she's so startled by it she'd started clicking at him, and this makes him laugh even harder, and he laughs so hard he almost cries, in the circle of the arms of an orca-person who should be a killer but is instead insanely tender-hearted about seals and sad lads alike.

(Turns out, the truth of it is;

If you look out for people, people will look out for you too).

a/n: super secret tumblr-limited author's note here. man this fic really took me places. i feel like i'm usually a lot more explicit about theming, and half wonder if jason's slump in mood near the end felt like it came out of nowhere, but i wanted to give him highs (this incredible man looking out for this killer lady) and also give him lows (who watches the watchman and he's afraid the answer is No One). i also worry i didn't give grace enough of a personality.... turns out i'd like to work on how to give people flavour even when they aren't the pov character!!

and i put in a bunch of references to other fics and it felt really self-indulgent but i think they work even if you've never read anything else from me and it for me felt like a victory lap... like oh, yeah, what a built-up lived-in gotham you've set up for yourself!!

anyways this has been the first fic in a long long time where i felt really relaxed about writing.... feels nice man.....

[astral-corner]

Welcome to MDM

MDM is short for Monday Dusk Monolith, which is the (cancelled) FNF mod that this au is based off of. (Warning for body horror; including extra eyes/eyes where they don't belong/things in place of eyes, and spiders.) Or, well, originally based off of. Collaborating with friends, we've taken a lot of creative liberties and gone off in our own direction. The two of us have a focus on the main human(ish) characters, and as a group we've added plenty of mod and other outside characters to the roster, along with incorporating lore tied to things like Pico's School and Spooky Month.

Due to not owning every character, we can't definitively answer every question, but this will hopefully give a good jumping off point for the things we can answer. Plus we can always ask our other friends for clarification.

Before we dive too deep, let's establish some of the characters:

Adam, aka Boyfriend Hatsune, (he/him) is a head empty, bi disaster of a man. He has the ability to go back in time whenever he dies or loses a rap battle, allowing him to try over again and do better next time. He is borrowing this power. He left his parents and sister behind in Japan, and his brother is currently MIA.

Lilith, aka Girlfriend Dearest, (she/her) has half a braincell, though most of it goes towards her interest in science. She gained her love of science from her dad, who she now sometimes offers help in searching for a cure for the infection that's taken over. Her and her dad try to keep close enough contact in this wasteland, but her mom is MIA.

Cain, aka Pico Newgrounds, (he/him) is tired of being the main braincell holder of this trio. He's not quite sure how the other two survived long enough to find him again, let alone survived curing him. Basically adopted by an army (literally) and forcefully adopted a member of an opposing faction as a cousin/sibling figure.

While the main plot of this mod, and the inciting incident we've been playing around after, is still the monolith landing in the city, there's some backstory we should give an overview of first.

Back in the day, in the fictional city of Newgrounds, Pennsylvania, (no, this is not a coincidence) Adam (Boyfriend) and Cain (Pico) went to the same high school. While there, the two of them were dating and often hung out with Val (short for Valentine, aka Nene) and Moses (Darnell). Around this time, the other three loved to tease Adam about a friend who "you wouldn't know her, she goes to another school." None of them realize that he really did know Lilith (Girlfriend) back then, having traded names with her at one point while the pair of them were transitioning.

One year, Adam's parents got a job offer in Japan, and moved across the sea with his younger sister Lydia (Miku). Given that Adam was in high school and thus close to finishing schooling, they decided to let him stay with his young adult older brother, Abel (Michael), to finish it out.

Unfortunately, Abel ended up in an altercation while trying to protect Lilith during a hangout with her and Adam. In keeping with the Big Bro mod that Michael originates from, Daddy Dearest quite literally saves his life.

This is not the only gun related incident Adam would be unlucky enough to get caught up in. Within weeks of the event with his brother, the shooting from Pico's School took place. While Cain saved the day as Adam barely survived, Adam's parents were naturally worried about their son staying in America after both gun violence incidents. He was given only a few weeks to pack his things in preparation for leaving, and nobody was quite okay in this situation. As a parting gift, he was given his now iconic hat.

Without Adam for emotional support or a positive influence in the wake of the shooting, the remaining three friends turned into mutual bad influences. With Cain getting scouted by Assassin Corp, the trio slowly turned to a life of crime together. While the trio all turned to contract killing, they aren't afraid to turn to other illicit activities on the side.

It was somewhere around this time when the events of various Pico related things took place; such as Pico vs Überkids, Pico vs Bear as alluded to with the mention of Assassin Corp, and the Pico's Cousin games.

Adam lived in Japan with his family until a few months before the monolith arrived, when he finally moved back stateside at the age of 19. It'd been 5 years since he'd been made to leave, and, having lost contact with all the friends he'd left behind, he had no idea where any of them were. He did manage to reconnect with Lilith, and the two of them ended up dating.

That leads us into the events of the mod: The monolith falling and causing the infection; discovering music is the cure through it stopping Lilith in her attack against Adam; using that to save Daddy Dearest; an adventure to meet two strange children, their spider mom, and a weird creature in a lemon costume; and stumbling across an infected Cain, who very much wanted Lilith dead.

And then off we are into even more original content for this au which includes meeting a bomb man, a cloud man, and stumbling across Pico's family which led to the discovery that Cain has the ability to respawn, just to name a few.

[write-behind-you]

I'll see you in hell, you handsome rogue.

Rules:

I reserve the right to end any thread for any reason. I will do my best to discuss it beforehand to attempt to resolve any issue, but should the problem persist, I will not hesitate to end it.

No god-modding. It's unfair and takes the fun out of writing. Again, I will do my best to discuss it with you, but I will not hesitate to end the thread and, in most extreme cases, stop writing with you.

This blog is multi-verse. You are not allowed to be upset at my having interactions with another user. Threads from separate users and in some cases threads from the same user happen in separate universes unless previously discussed. This includes shipping and relationships.

You do not own my character. He will act as he wishes and may not interact the way you want him to. If you do not like his behavior or traits, find a different Spy blog.

Muse does not equal mun. Just because Spy acts cold towards your character does not mean I do not wish to interact with you. If you have concerns, my DMs are always open.

This blog is SFW. I am not against NSFW roleplay, but this blog will remain SFW. If you are interested in NSFW rp, do not hesitate to DM me. I am not against writing it privately with previous discussion

This blog is not TF2 exclusive. I welcome all muses and am interested in their interactions. Do not hesitate to send me an ask just because you do not play one of the mercenaries.

Character:

This Spy is the Spy from my fic Professionals Have Autism. Feel free to read it to get a better idea of the type of Spy he is. It has been a while since I wrote it, though, so he has grown a bit since then.

Spy is polyamorous. He is dating both Scout's Ma and the RED Sniper. The exception to this rule is if you are playing either of these characters. In said scenario, their relationship is as we write it. This does not mean he is not open to other relationships. If our characters have chemistry, they can still be in a relationship. If this makes you uncomfortable, we can discuss it and make a separate verse where he is single. He will remain poly in this scenario.

Spy is the father of one Scout and stepfather to Scout's older siblings. If you play either of those characters, we can discuss their relationship in DMs. I'm definitely interested in playing with Scout's sibling OCs.

This blog uses the respawn mechanic in TF2 verses. We can discuss otherwise if you wish, but I prefer writing with respawn actively working or a past mechanic. I am also open to respawn breaking threads.

Tags:

#Gentlemen. - IC posts

#Unmasked - OOC posts

#Make it quick. - Asks

#Say that again. - Ask memes

#I'm not easily impressed. - Reblogs

#The Teufort Nine - TF2 verses

#He could be any one of us. - Other verses

#Shall we? - Open threads

Verses:

Default - The RED Spy stationed at Teufort. No additional tags will be added.

Deep Blue - Tentaspy. A deep sea mermaid fashioned after the mimic octopus. Lives in the ocean and eats fishermen.

Emesis Red - An Emesis Blue verse. Takes place after the events of the movie. A Spy who respawned wrong and lives alone.

[armored-atlantean-captain]

"The Die Has Been Cast"

~Julius Caesar

[Credits Unknown; Found On Google Using "Pirate Aesthetics" Search]

Name: Teuta Celeste

Teuta - Albanian Origin; "Mistress Of The People"/"Queen" Celeste - Latin Origin; "Heavenly"/"Celestial"

Age: Eternally 19

Pronouns: He/She, Alternating However Comes Naturally [Agender/Bigender]

Sexuality: Unknown

He has only recently returned back to the human realm after The Atlantean Civil Wars, where he has celebrated her 15th through 19th and beyond birthdays. None of the Oceanic Realm holds her interests, and so there has really been no opportunity for dating or explorations beyond knowing what she does not want.

Teuta Celeste is the now-deified High General of Atlantis after participating in the Civil War against her father, Oceanus, and Ceto who were fighting to punish the Land Realms and Humans for their devastating effect on the Sea's Domain. She holds Rank within the Third Realm second to only the Princesses, Princes, King, and Queen of the realm due to her help during the war and kindness to the realm. She accepted deification as a reward a mere three months ago as a reward for her service and an offer to help with the rebuilding and negotiations, with only the condition that she could still die in battle being asked back. Now, she wanders freely in the Land Realm in her off-time from rebuilding and helping Atlantean Negotiations.

Godly Parentage: Okeanos, Second King of the Oceans

Mortal Parentage: Unknown, Was Sent To Lupa Practically At Birth By Okeanos

Weapons: Twin Swords Made From Cyclopean Materials; Thick Bracelets Made of Imperial Gold

While "Caenian Metal" is one of the most popular metals among the Atlantean and Warring Sea Peoples, "Cyclopean Materials" is much rarer and denser. Very few were ever rewarded with such a weapon, especially among the Sea Deities, but when Teuta traveled deep into the Abyssal Lairs--banning her entire Legion from following her, not even a single guard was brought along in her mission--and convinced the Ancient Cyclops to help them out in both the Atlantean Civil War and Typhon, she was granted the reward of her own weapons remade into ones of Cyclopean Material as soon as she ascended to immortality--the same material which made Jupiter's Master Bolt, Pluto's Helm, and King Neptune's Trident.

Her Imperial Gold Bracelet-Cuffs, on the other hand, have a much longer but less significant story attached to them--they were simply one of the many pieces her, Jason, Reyna, and the legion uncovered preparing for the Titan War that she slipped on and never truly slipped off.

Powers: Atlantean Tattoos

Okay, so "Atlantean Tattoos" sounds stupid by itself, but within the Seas--and, specifically, Atlantis--it is the basis for almost literally everything, especially when establishing your Place to the Seas & why it should listen to you. It shows both the Oceans and the Peoples within it what Authority you hold in their Hierarchy and Politics. Teuta bears the "High General of the Third Kingdom" ranking, which is signified with three thick black lines along her neck where the gills are and a large Back Tattoo all across his upper back detailing the Seal of her specific Specialty among the High Generals--a specialty which the mod/his creator has not figured out yet :)).

Abilities: As a Demi-Titan (Not Uncommon Amongst The Roman Legions), Teuta was born stronger than her Demi-God, Demi-Primordial, and Demi-Spirit peers, in both physicality and mentally. Whereas Demi-Gods lean heavily on their supernatural powers and those elements of their existence, Demi-Primordials are more observers and apart of their parents' domains, and Demi-Spirits physically embody the spirits of their parents/their duties in translation to the mortal world, Demi-Titans are born with unnatural strength, endurance, resilience, and nearly nonexistent connections to any types of powers or manipulations of the supernatural/godly world.

In fighting, Teuta specializes in strength-feats. This can range from anything such as simply not being intimidated by her foes in front of her, to standing toe-to-toe with giants and keeping pace with them for as long as she needs to--their immortality be damned.

Tags:

↳ Teuta Interacts - In Character

↳ Yeah... That's Totally How You Human Teuta - OOC/Mod Interactions :))

Credits to @thecutestgrotto for the dividers!!! Thank you so much <33

[veryflirtytransportalate]

[Previous] - [Next]

"It was just me against the world… and the world had it coming." - Captain Kellogg, of the U.S.S. Crunchatize Me

Sometimes you just gotta cruise it solo style. Maximize your me time. Tell your companions that you're funkin' sick and tired of them walking into the frame when you're trying to take overly fancy photos of my rocking bod' in the harsh deserts of... Boston.

Anyway yeah sometimes I walk around without my companions. Dogmeat is forever, I don't event count him. Otherwise it's usually me, Piper, and Cait, and I bring along extra schmucks if I'm going somewhere really tough (I changed the damage I take to be a flat x5 at all times so I sometimes do really need the help). Piper is my photographer so I mean, can't leave her behind unless I feel like playing the 'tripod and walk away' game, and Cait seemed badass and cool at first but it's... almost like she's badly written? That's what talking to her is like. Also he's in love with me and all I did was bring her to a place she pointed out on the map and basically okay her sitting in a chair. I get the impression if I'd asked her to she'd have said funk it and double down on every drug ever which is... honestly more in keeping with who I am as a person, but she was clearly not doing it right.

(My even less abridged analytical thoughts down below.)

[Previous] - [Next]

I didn't like the short hair with this hair and skin and eye combo. I also swapped the A- tattoo for a spider eye tattoo.

For those curious how I party with multiple companions: mods. The answer is always mods.

I use the Unlimited Companions Framework mod by expired6978 (opens in new tab) because it feels really stupid the default way they had it set up. If we're diving into the heart of enemy territory guns blazing I just can't respect it as a role playing reason that my robot handyman will get all awkward having to travel with my robot detective friend. Like, dudes, I'm gonna need you to get over that, this is a gunfight, not a first date. Now tell Preston to stop cranking his musket and come on, we're deep Glowing Sea diving.

[Previous] - [Next]

[linuxgamenews]

Discovering the Solarite Ore in Core Keeper's Shimmering Frontier

Core Keeper mining sandbox adventure game new Shimmering Frontier update coming to Linux, Steam Deck, and Windows PC. Thanks to the brilliant minds at Pugstorm, we're in for another treat. The base game is available on both Steam Early Access and Humble Store with 94% Very Positive reviews. Let's dive deep into the upcoming "Shimmering Frontier" update for the acclaimed Core Keeper. Trust me, it's going to reshape your underground adventures in a spectacular way on Linux and Steam Deck. Ready to embark on a new journey? Imagine an entire setting, glittering and shimmering, like an untouched crystal cave waiting to be explored. This is precisely the setting of Shimmering Frontier. A pristine and mysterious crystal-based region awaits your exploration. Here, you'll stumble upon a never before seen Solarite ore. What can you do with it? Craft some of the best equipment and tools in Core Keeper. Speaking of tools, get ready for two Core Keeper game changers. First, there's the Roofing Gadget. Think of it as your trusty tool to break through the ceiling and let in beams of sunlight. Due to shape the mood of your surroundings. Then, there's the Obliteration Ray, which is also as powerful as it sounds. Since this is a laser drill designed to cut through walls faster than anything you've wielded before. But the Core Keeper update is not just about the tools and settings. As you traverse this frontier, you'll come across some unique people. Watch out for the Mimite, a creature that can mimic the crystal surroundings. There's also the eerie Nilipede and the majestic Crystal Snails. And if you're into farming, there's a chance to breed and raise your livestock.

Core Keeper – Shimmering Frontier – Release Date Trailer

Trading has always been an integral part of our adventures, and the Crystal Merchant is someone you'll want to befriend. This Core Keeper merchant has an array of new items up for grabs. Also, with the newly discovered Solarite, you can craft enhanced equipment, from a superior Mining Pick to an advanced Fishing Rod, Sword, and Crossbow. Combat fans, there's something thrilling for you too. New battle events await in Core Keeper, set in arenas where only the bravest emerge victorious and walk away with amazing rewards. Since you can outfit yourself with over 50 new pieces of armor and equipment. Ever thought of wearing a necklace, the Larva Fang, that drains health from foes? Or how about a Trench Coat that expands your carrying capacity? The choices are vast and exciting. In this Core Keeper update, personalizing and upgrading your tools and weapons becomes a reality. A new feature called the Upgrade Station lets you enhance your favorite items. Dive deep underwater, and you might find the Atlantean Worm, a massive creature lurking in the Sunken Sea region. Beating it might also lead you to some amazing weapons like the Razor Flake and Slime Staff.

Optimization and Upgrades:

In addition to the Core Keeper content expansion, you'll notice upgrades that enhance your experience. Right from optimized performance to better water interactions and more customization options for your character. For those on Steam, there are also 6 new achievements waiting to be unlocked on Linux and Steam Deck. And for the creative minds, a special surprise awaits. A separate update now offers mod support, letting you browse, install. So you can create custom mod's to personalize your underground journey. Having won awards for its social and debut features, Core Keeper has already captivated over a million players. It promises a blend of mining, exploration, combat, crafting, and survival in an ancient cavern full of mysteries, relics, and treasures. Ready to jump into this mesmerizing world? Core Keeper mining sandbox adventure game is available on both Steam Early Access and Humble Store. Still priced at $15.99 USD / £12.99 / 15,99€. The new "Shimmering Frontier" is coming free on October 4th. Releasing on Linux, Steam Deck, and Windows PC.

[victorluvsalice]

-->And then, after an initial attempt to sit at one of the tables inside prompted a stranger to immediately join them, Alice and Victor promptly fled to the couch to do some flirting and smooching and deep conversations without being interrupted. Smiler hung out with them for a bit, then entertained themselves by browsing the various racks of clothes and getting to know some of the other thrifters -- like Dominic Fyres, who was dressed up like a sea captain for some reason. (Dude likes purple, though -- I approve.) It seemed like everything was going reasonably well, though (with me thinking that maybe Smiler could get a drink from new friend Dominic instead). . .

-->And then the game informed me that a fashion show was starting up in ThrifTea, and -- THAT NPC showed up. I know you can see her, in her captain’s hat and bikini top and flowered pants. Normally I’m a huge fan of ridiculous townie fashion, but -- damn. There are things even I consider a bit much. And not only did these badly-dressed townies prove a major distraction for Victor, Alice, and Smiler (none of whom were particularly impressed by that starting outfit, that’s for sure), they also attracted loads of OTHER townies to the location. Meaning the store got VERY crowded VERY quickly. Not exactly a great date atmosphere, especially when one of your couple is a loner who dislikes large crowds! And I’m not sure Victor magically fixing the toilet after Alice broke it helped, given the startled reaction from some of the crowd. . .

-->Nevertheless, Victor and Alice continued to make the best of things. Including exchanging flowers! An important tradition on Love Day, to be sure. Victor presented Alice with a fresh-grown tulip, which she actually appreciated (giving flowers CAN be very hit-or-miss), and she reciprocated with a rose and a message saying that Victor was her “everything,” aww. Sims 4 may be lacking in a few areas, but I think it definitely knows how to do romance. (With the occasional bit of help from a mod.)

[bottle-writes]

Omg!!!! Thanks for answering the child reader/Tabi request! May I request like a part two but like Child!Reader is like 10-12 and actually is quite mature and a good fighter/can defend themselves but keeps the “reckless” act around Tabi? For example let’s say they were in the restaurant Tabi, Gf and Bf were in and when Tabi exploded the restaurant, they got hurt in the background(They were in the restaurant without him knowing) and somehow managed to get the rest of the people out [besides Bf, Gf and Tabi).

(Bonus Points if Readers school isn’t the best place [Bullies, rude teachers and just messed up things] )

Np, I enjoyed writing it :)

So...Dad!Tabi pt.2, here we go! :D

(also...Tabi is, like, 28 here cuz the parent scenario wouldn’t work out if he and the reader had less than 12 years of difference and if he was in his very early twenties that’d mean that the first part happened when he was 15/16.)

______________________

Being 12 wasn’t easy.

Especially when school is hell.

Rude af teachers, bullies, you name it, you had encountered it. And damn did they have a problem with you for no reason at all. Well, there was a reason, but it was, to put it frankly, quite stupid.

Some of the kids at your school were just mad at you because of the incident that happened 8 years ago. When your dad was kidnapped and he was forced to wear a mask that he can’t take off, he found out his - now ex- GF and her dad were using him for their own success.

Just, nobody but you, Tabi, and some other people knew this. For the others what happened was that Tabi had attacked double D and that he was abusive towards Girlfriend and that was why he got fired and his body had disappeared. Because he was a “terrible” person.

But he wasn’t. Tabi was the sweetest dad in the world, even if he didn’t know about the “school situation” and even if you weren’t his biological child.

Circling back to the “school situation” you reckoned you didn’t tell him because you could handle it. The fellow seventh graders who tried to pick a fight with you, you beat them bloody. Well, not bloody but you get the gist of it.

With the teachers...well...you couldn’t do much but respond with the same level of rudeness.

One time, when the P.E. professor made a rude comment about A.G.O.T.I., who was your dad’s best friend and your paternal figure #2, you responded by telling him that he shouldn’t be making such rude comments about people he didn’t know especially since he wasn’t a saint, while also subtly hinting at the fact that half of the class knew about the affair he had going on with ms. Johnson, the history professor. He didn’t bother you after that.

________________________

At home though, you turned into the reckless and danger-ignoring but less and less defenseless child you always were.

Tabi wasn’t always at home so, when he could, A.G.O.T.I. would come over and watch over you, and when A.G.O.T.I. couldn’t then Ayana (maternal figure #1) would come to save the day and take care of you.

You were still a handful though.

Instead of slipping off of shelves or trying to jump off of rollercoasters (which you did a second and third time), you almost got eaten by some stray dogs on the streets when Tabi, A.G.O.T.I., and Ayana were chatting happily, you leaving their mind for a mere second. When they turned around they saw you being chased by five dogs and you can bet all you want that A.G.O.T.I. scooped you up in his arms and the trio and you fled the scene at lightning speed, the dogs giving chase for a good two miles and a half.

One time you got a crush on an eight-grader who, surprisingly enough, didn’t act like an asshole towards you.

You wanted to give him a gift to show your affection towards him.

When A.G.O.T.I., Tabi, and you went on a week-long trip at the beach, you jumped off of a rather low cliff, to look for a seashell that was worthy of his beauty.

To put it simply, your dad and his best friend rescued you from a rather big fish, who was trying to get a bite out of you. Though, they’d have failed if it wasn’t for Atlantis’ gatekeeper, Anchor.

The anglerfish was able to convince the fish not to eat you and they handed you to Tabi and A.G.O.T.I.

The three of you went out to eat shortly afterward.

The guy kind of rejected you but you had actually gotten a pretty dope seashell.

But nothing compared to the “restaurant boom”.

________________________________

As aforementioned, being 12 wasn’t easy.

Especially in a situation like this one.

You snuck out by the fire escape while A.G.O.T.I and Ayana were sleeping in the living room, to follow your dad, since he didn’t work on weekends, especially during the night.

You kind of regretted it as a blinding light engulfed the restaurant for a second and then...an explosion. The first and the biggest one you had ever witnessed in your 12 years of living.

You coughed harshly, trying to get the smoke out of your lungs. You looked around. The restaurant looked awful: broken furniture, people screaming, smoke, and fire, a lot of fire.

From your position behind one of the broken tables, you could see some injured customers, people crying out for help and...Tabi, your dad, was chuckling at the scene, in the middle of the restaurant, looking like a madman. A couple of adults, terrified by the whole situation, injured by the explosion, was staring at him with fear in their eyes.

The guy was holding a microphone. The girl was on the verge of tears, trembling in fear on the ground.

You recognized the girl. She was your father’s ex-GF, Girlfriend.

Seeing the situation and rethinking what happened during the last hour or so, your best guess was that it was your dad who made the restaurant explode. He had also been holding a detonator so…yeah.

“Dad, what the fuck.” You whispered, eyes wide in shock at the scene before you.

“hehehe...so, you survived the explosion, huh?” he told the couple, disgust and joy lacing his words.

You could hear the guy beeping at him in fear. Girlfriend kept on trembling.

As their interaction proceeded, you decided that you would not let some poor and defenseless customers suffer from your dad’s rage, since it seemed like the situation could only worsen.

While they sang you went around the restaurant, being mindful of not letting Tabi see you and you helped the remaining customers out of the restaurant.

While you were doing so, a glass shard got stuck in your left arm.

“Ah fuck.” You said as you helped the last person outside of the building.

When the ambulance arrived and the doctors had already been treating the injured people for a short while, the confrontation was reaching its end. You noticed that since all the angry screaming was slowly stopping.

“That’s my cue to leave.” You told the five-year-old girl that was hugging you. The kid had been crying for a while since her mother had been injured while she was trying to protect her from a flying table, but you escorted them both out of the restaurant, and now some doctors were taking care of her. You gave the little girl some older sibling-like comfort until she stopped crying.

And like that, you ran as fast as you could, trying to get home before your dad did. Also because (as aforementioned) he had left you with A.G.O.T.I and Ayana, who were both sleeping, he on the armchair and she on the couch, the moment you left.

As you run up the fire escape, you were suddenly reminded of the cut that was on your left arm by a stinging pain. You flinched. The doctor had treated it properly, and it wasn’t too deep so it really didn’t need any major treatment but you had also kind of fallen while you were making your way to the apartment complex you lived in, twisting your ankle painfully. It didn’t crack so...that’s a plus.

You entered your bedroom by the window and, after locking it properly, you went to bed, right after you heard the front door open, a sigh of relief escaping your dry lips.

Tabi entered your room, he looked at your sleeping form (you weren't really sleeping but he doesn't need to know that) and he smiled. Then he turned his head to look at his best friends, one sleeping on the couch and the other on the armchair, both in the living room.

What he did was absolutely wrong. He had a justification for all that but what he did will most likely get him in more trouble with double D. Or maybe he will learn his damn lesson and DD would stop bothering him and the people he cared about.

Like he did 8 years ago.

“Thank goodness DD had the decency not to kidnap Y/n too.” He said, leaning on the doorframe. Then, he looked at Snowflake, the Himalayan cat they had brought in a couple of months ago. He was currently sleeping beside Y/n.

He was a cat person, even though the first cat he owned he had gotten with his ex and it was later killed by his kidnappers.

He looked at A.G.O.T.I and Ayana, then at Snowflake and you.

He smiled as he went into his room, and he laid down on his bed.

.

.

.

He might have lost a lot, but he still had a family. Well, kind of.

___________________

First part

[inhuman-obey-me]

Can i request 🦇  with Leviathan and mc

Yes you absolutely can!!

"Trust in me, I’ll be your guide" - Levi x MC

"Levi? Are you still there? I can't see you anymore," you call out.

You feel Leviathan's tail wrap gently around your waist in reassurance, keeping you close to him as you swim together further and further down into the ocean. In the dark of the Devildom, even the surface of the sea is only lit by the moon and stars. It hadn't taken long for that light to be swallowed up by the watery depths, and at this point, it's hard to see anything around you.

“I'm here. Trust in me, I’ll be your guide,” he answers back gently. His voice almost seems to blend with the ocean, his words rippling softly against your ears. "We're almost there."

After a few more minutes, the water around you becomes still, no longer tugging at you, and Levi stops too, guiding you to his scaly lap and placing his hands over your eyes.

With a slight laugh, you say, "Levi, you know I can't see down here, right? Why the hands?"

"Y-you'll see in a second," he says, excitement and a tinge of nervousness in his tone.

When he takes his hands away a moment later, you can't help but let out a gasp.

Different sea creatures are gathered around, swimming in beautiful patterns as the glow of their bodies leaves streaks like blooming flowers all around you.

And Leviathan, too, is glowing, a mysterious blue light glimmering off him in thin lines along his snake-like body. He's brighter than the rest, lighting up the whole cavern, which appears to be made of crystals and lined with shadowy coral.

"It's beautiful!" you exclaim, nuzzling your forehead against his side, but to your surprise, his tail gently lifts your head up to face his.

"Um...MC! I know I'm just a...a gross otaku shut-in, who always stays at home, and maybe I don't take you on as many cute normie dates like my brothers would, but...but..." he stammers nervously, cupping his hands over yours to place something warm and metallic inside. "You're always there for me, and you never judge me for the things I like. And you seem to love me even when I don't like myself. I really love you too...so, MC...would you marry me?!"

[aziraphales-library]

Hullo!! can I ask fan fics that are meet cutes? i can't find any. Thank you sm!!!!

Hi! Oh, i adore a good meet cute. There is a tag on ao3 and I’ve created a meet cute + Aziraphale/Crowley search for you here, so feel free to drive in! For now, here are a few of my favourite meet cutes...

A Matching Pair Of Fools by ineffablefool (T)

This was foolish, the whole idea was foolish, and Aziraphale himself was the greatest fool of all. Oh, he knew his sister meant well, but what she apparently didn't understand was that Aziraphale was difficult. He was difficult to love, to even tolerate, with his very particular standards on everything from attire to zebra crossings. To expect a stranger to overlook all of that…

(Human AU. Pre-blind-date anxiety followed by Lots Of Soft.)

The Angel and The Holy Thorn by Z A Dusk (G)

Aziraphale has been in Glastonbury for five years but finds himself wondering if he’ll ever find what he’s searching for. Or even figure out what he’s searching for.

His neighbour Anthony has been in Glastonbury for six months and is about to open his new venture - The Holy Thorn restaurant. He loves the town but is having trouble finding his way.

When both men have a frustrating Christmas Eve, a chance collision leads to new connections. Perhaps this will be a happy new year after all?

Trapped by AppleSeeds (T)

When the power goes out, Aziraphale finds himself trapped in an ATM vestibule at the bank with only stunningly handsome model Anthony Crowley for company.

(Basically just a Good Omens version of the trapped in an ATM vestibule scene from the power cut episode of Friends)

Raspberry Ripple by FeralTuxedo (T)

Every afternoon, a man in a velvet waistcoat sits on the bench by the stone fountain and eats ice cream. Every afternoon, Crowley watches him from his office window. One day, he’ll pluck up the courage to talk to him.

Of Boxes, Boas, and Bastards by HKBlack (M)

When Crowley's friend, Anathema, sent an SOS text to help her classmate stealth move out of the place he shares with his seriously shitty (soon to be ex-)boyfriend, he didn't expect to catch feels for an angel. But then, he's always moved too fast. Good thing the angel is interested in keeping pace.

Or in other words,

A meet cute in which Crowley's a disaster, Aziraphale's a bastard, and Anathema's regretting introducing the two of them to one another.

the devil and the deep blue sea by Waywarder (M)

Look, Crowley didn’t have anything really against Pride Night. For starters, he was gay. Flaming like anything, even. But big, happy, in-your-face parties celebrating love and togetherness…

Yeah, not as much his thing. Doesn’t really matter why.

Also:

“And what the fuck does being gay have to do with fish?” Crowley demanded, a bit quieter this time, as a new, already-wasted guest stumbled up to the bar and ordered two tequila shots.

While tending bar for Pride Night at the aquarium (fuck his life), Crowley wanders off in the hopes of seeing some actual fish. What he finds is altogether more wonderful.

- Mod D

[fnfconfessions]

I'm making an fnf iceberg

here's the text of the draft and stuff. Please suggest more and some changes if needed.

The clouds:

Madness combat and newground mods Whitty and Updike Sonic.exe and Sonic mods Hazy river/Annie and Garcello Hex Friday night funkin': entity Tabi BNB Doki Doki Takeover Bob and Ron Starlight Mayham Matt Mid-fight masses

The tip/above water:

Shaggy Blantados Date week Sunday Hatsune Miku soft mod Among us Creepypsta mods Kapi The HD mods Undertale and Deltarune mods Zardy and Cablecrow Indie cross The nonsense mod Hypno's lulluby Retrospecter Dave and Bambi Carol Eddsworld Remix mods (B-side, C-side, B3, Arrow funk) FNAF Eteled and Austin BBpanzu's mods Boyfriend's and Girlfriend's relative's mods Kade engine and psychengine Communitygame Minus mods corruption mods

The upper part/water:

Pibby mods Twinsomania The Skyverse ThemaskedChris mod Disney mods Mario mods QT and KB Hotline 024 Pompom Tails gets trolled K.O.U. and G-su Sticky mods Starecorwn Poppy playtime Mandela catalouge Doki Doki takeover: bad ending Minecraft mods UniqueGeese plants vs rappers friday night fever Bosh rush friday night shootin' Walten files Trollface Starving artist

Middle of the iceberg:

Hololive Funkin' Radi Steven universe singstar challange genderswap Lofi funkin' Camelia peculiar colors The Psychic Void Rosie Mami Ghost twins Tree Cyrix Maginage matches Baldi's basics Anders Deep sea date Aflac Static Nekofreak Cheese Mlp Beepie Lexi Cosmo Calamity Friday night funkin': Tales from the raveyard Ayanna and Dalia Alfie Torrent Cheeky spongebob Omori Salty's Sunday Night Brightside Sweet and sour inanimate stuff mods Meri Funky friday cloud Friday night funkin: baddies

The bottom/deep sea:

Flippy MCYT mods Flippy Stickman Funky bot Animation vs minecraft Smg4 Times and tribulations FLchan TF2 lav night of the funky bot 21 Neon Chris Slaughter me funkin Ruria SCP Documic.txt Ace MLP Beepie Lexi 4 chan Abigail Mr. Beast cookie run kingdom Danganronpa Katelyn Flippin' Chira Ronald mcdonald hood Friday night Flexin' lily fruit medly mayham nefarious Dr. Jack Springheel Noke Red Byte funkin' Peppa pig Pou Rayna Richard Gyro Zipper Shinobi scramble Singe and Sear Gumball Fireboy and watergirl Ivny Rose showtime neon genesis Friday night at the club! martian mixtape

The abyss:

[theoldguard-recs]

What are your favourite hurt Joe /caring Nicky Fics.?

Hi! Thanks so much for your patience in this reply.

I have to be honest that I don’t have any faves along those themes (my co-mod might, and this post can be added onto!). If this kind of fic is still of interest to you, I ran a quick search with some different tag combinations and found the following that might be of interest to you.

Please note these haven’t been read thoroughly, only skimmed to see if they might be related to your request; your mileage may vary and please read the tags / use discretion!

If anyone else has recs, please feel few to add them to this post!

A burden halved - dana_norram - Mature, No Archive Warnings, ~2300 words. Shower sex, mild smut. “After Merrick, Joe is barely holding together. Nicky is there to lend his arms until he does.”

Hold me when I shatter - everything99 - Not Rated, Graphic Depictions of Violence, ~3300 words.  “Nicky feels his tension and holds him tighter, holds Joe together as he threatens to fall apart and does not allow the nightmare to pull him back into a world full of pain and agony. “We are in Malta and we ate apricots and pomegranates and dates and figs yesterday. You took my hand and laughed at how sticky it was and when we kissed, I could taste the sweet juice of the fruit, the sun and the salt of the sea on your lips.” During their healing time in Malta Joe's sleep is haunted by memories of the lab. But Nicky is there for him as he always was and always will be.”

call me home, beloved - nicolorinaldidigenova - Teen, No Archive Warnings Apply, ~3200 words. A month after Merrick Industries, Joe finds himself wanting to be alone with Nicolò, as he starts to feel himself unravel.  ***or a glimpse on what Joe means when he said: “he's the moon when I am lost in darkness”

In a Heartbeat - NamelesslyNightlock - Teen, Graphic Depictions of Violence, ~4000 words.  When the sword sunk deep into Yusuf’s gut, it was Nicolò who screamed.

what wise men fear - itsmylifekay and velociraptorerin (Old Guard Mini Bang fic, features art). - Not rated, creator chose not to use archive warnings (and therefore any may apply including Graphic Depictions of Violence), ~10,000 words. Nile watches as Nicky reemerges, arm raised and already firing, before her gaze is pulled away, Andy shouting about incoming and taking shots of her own to keep the door secure. Between the two of them it doesn’t take long and as soon as the hall is clear, Nile turns back to watch Nicky’s march, mystified by his transformation. Joe gets hurt and Nicky snaps, told from Nile, Nicky, and Joe's POV. Feral Nicky. At a glance this fic features lots of violence.

lights with guide you home - screamingarrows - Not Rated, creator chose not to use archive warnings (and therefore any may apply), ~35000 words. In which Joe is hurting and Booker is hurting and the road to redemption is not easily paved. Angst with a happy ending, everyone is sad. Hurt Joe / Comforting Nicky appears to feature prominently although a main focus of this fic also seems to be on the friendship between Joe / Booker. 

The “Hurt Joe | Yusuf al Kaysani” and “Joe | Yusuf al Kaysani Whump“ additional tags help filter fics down to a manageable amount, but it’s likely that there are a number under “hurt/comfort”. Other tags you might find helpful to search with include “Worried Nicky | Nicolo di Genova” or “Protective Nicky | Nicolo di Genova” and synonyms / canonized tags like BAMF!Nicky.

The sheer volume of Joe/Nicky fics is daunting, and I know that I’ve definitely missed a lot depending on what tags are or aren’t applied by authors, but I’m hopeful others might have some faves they can share!