#for second i thought it was a giant octopus on there!

[petit-papillion]

Cover art by Giovanni P. Timpano

📸 Scuderia Ferrari

[tj-crochets]

Okay no crafting updates, but my room is so much cleaner! Most of it was organizing to clear floor space but I also finished cleaning this little organizer thing and separated out my safety eyes by size and color and was able to fit a bunch of other things in this organizer

And there’s still space for when I finally find my metal plushie claws! They are in my room somewhere and someday I will find them

[floylia]

ELYSIAN ♫

09. Hurt to try

Visiting has never felt more invasive.

A large screen rested in the middle. Two massive, black speakers sat on each side of his desk with a small piano perched on top. A white shelf filled with trinkets and golden awards stood beside his stand-up microphone. An array of purple and silver acoustic panels hung around the wall, and you can’t forget the line of guitars laying in a fashionable order.

“Your studio is cleaner than I thought,” you whispered in awe, eyes bouncing around the small room.

Scara scoffed as he dropped his belongings on the grey sofa near the door, “What did you take me for?”

“A gremlin who never leaves his cave filled with chip wrappers and empty cans of energy drinks,” you shrugged, eyes still wandering.

He rolled his eyes and headed to his desk to start his computer up, “Don’t compare me to Aether.”

“You’re lucky he’s not here.”

“What’s his short ass going to do?”

“You’re the same height.”

“Allegedly,” Scara stood from his seat, urging you to take his spot, “I’ll find another chair, you can sit in mine or look around–I might take a while.”

You went to his shelves. You saw a picture of him when he was younger, wearing a volleyball jersey and holding a trophy with his teamates, one of them you recognized—Childe—they must have been childhood friends.

Then you saw another picture, one with his family. It was his highschool graduation, wearing a cap and gown with a stash that boldly displayed “validictorian,” – his mother, Ei, stood on his left, radiating an elegant smile, while his aunt, Nahida, stood on his right, pinching his cheeks with a mischievous grin. They must have been proud of him.

The next one was 5WIRL’s first concert. They were all young, bright with aspirations, beaming at the large crowd despite being rookies. Beside it, you saw a small octopus plush–Marlin–next to a polaroid picture with you two–a photo you’ve never seen before. You snapped a picture of it.

“[name]—” Scara entered with the chair.

You placed the picture down and trailed him.

“Are those all your songs?” you pointed at the screen.

He shook his head, “There’s more I’d like to do, but I want you to listen to this one.”

He passed you the headphones.

You wore it, “What is it called?”

“Bewitched.”

The song started out slow with a piano. His voice was smooth—different from his usually raspy voice. You took everything in—the lyrics, the melody, and piano. His stare was intense, observing every bit of your reaction.

“Did you like it?” He asked.

You grinned at his expectant face, “I love it, are you adding this? I’d be a crime not to.”

“I was planning on making it my title track,” he paused, “And if you agreed before, I wanted you to finish the second verse.”

“Oh.” It’d be a shame…

“Yeah.”

You stared at the giant screen, “…Can I see the lyrics?”

He flipped through his notebook, you see glances of his other works, scribbles of words and phrases only his brain could think of–one of the many reasons why you admire him.

He gave you the page, “It's a work in progress, but that’s the draft.”

“Can I try?”

Kunikuzushi smiled, “Of course.”

notes:

i lied im more excited for the next chapter (had to break this scene in two)

im on a roll with these updates and then ill ghost again idk jk

synopsis: After 7 years of enduring the media’s relentless pursuit of painting you as a villain, you’re forced to go through an indefinite hiatus with a tainted reputation on your head. However, just when you thought your career was over, a certain 5WIRL member wants you to feature on his solo career. Surely, this won’t affect your reputation once more, would it?

Scaramouche x fem!reader

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[azrael08]

*Crashes through your fucking window* MIDAM HEADCANONS CAUSE I HAVE INSOMNIA!!!!🤘🤘🤘 (Warning: Some Nsfw)

Michael LOVES roughhousing as a form of showing love because it reminds him of how he used to play fight in heaven with his siblings, when he did it with Adam for the first time and knocked him onto the floor he was scared because he thought that Adam would be scared of him but Adam just smiled and laughed and he was ecstatic!

Adam’s a cuddler. My personal take is that neither of them start out cuddling, they’ll go to bed a comfortable distance away each other but still close enough to know that the other one is there (Abandonment issues) (Maybe there like facing each other?) And then by morning Adam is completely on top of Michael, borderline smothering him with his limbs octopus style. Meanwhile Michael just stays stiff as a board repeating Don’t wake him up Don’t wake him up Don’t wake him up Don’t wake him up DON'T FUCKING- Over and over again in his head as Adam just tucks and nuzzles his face into his neck

Michael never understood the concept of human pleasure. Or more specifically how it felt. He only knew how it was supposed to happen cause that’s all he had been taught and of course during his ‘high and mighty’ days he would never want to watch the earth monkeys go at it, so he just didn’t care. That is until he focused on Adam’s pleasure. I personally believe that they had their whole soul-sex thing going on for a while but at one point Adam asked Michael if they could try it the human way, obviously Michael said yes and he tends to all of Adam needs immediately. But about halfway through Michael notices an overload of hormones in Adam brain and so he’s like “Adam? are you okay?” And Adam just lifts his head with the most Lust-filled zoned-out half-lidded eyes and is like “…huh?” While panting heavily. Michael now understands human pleasure.

Michael is obviously very protective of Adam. I mean he offers to smite anyone that bumps into Adam too harshly on the street. But he's especially protective around other beings that aren't human and could potentially do serious harm to Adam (Demons, other angels, etc.) This all comes to a head when Adam tags along for one of Michael's meetings in heaven. They decided that Adam would look around while Michael did his work and when his meeting was over he'd come find Adam and take them both home. Michael hadn't given a second thought because its Heaven, its his Home, of course Adam would be safe. But when Michael was finished and went searching for Adam he saw a group of younger angels - who had never visited earth and rarely seen humans - holding Adam upside down and prodding him with their wings and limbs while Adam looked visibly uncomfortable but obviously wasn't able to stop the giant angels. Michael R A G E D and seized Adam back as he basically screamed at the group of angels leaving them shaking and cowering behind their primary feathers, all that stopped him from smiting them was the fact that Adam pulled on his feathers and asked to go home, and of course Michael supplied. So, its a pretty well known fact amongst all angels that when the prince of heaven returns with his human that you - under absolutely no circumstances - go anywhere near Adam, not that Michael would ever let you considering he now holds Adam tightly to himself with a minimum of 17 eyes watching him at all times.

They binge watch terrible medical shows with vastly different opinions, Adam finds it fun to point out the medical inaccuracies and laugh at the stupid drama while Michael finds it horrifying as he learns about how many terrifying diseases humans can develop, his grace hold onto Adam a little tighter than usual when they watch, the only reason he keeps watching is because Adam enjoys it and he can't say no to those eyes.

Michael gets lost in pleasure when he and Adam are intimate and he sometimes snarls and growls deep and all angel like. He trys not to because it might freak out Adam. It does freak out Adam, but in a good way :)

[mochinomnoms]

From @c_jf_l on twitter

I never thought of Azul using himself as a pillow before. Tbh his mer form does look pretty comfy. With him also being bigger in that form you could just use ZuZu as your personal bed.

Azulito would make an excellent pillow, especially considering if he is a Giant Pacific octopus, he'd be big enough to use as an entire bed too! Most likely, he'd be best to curl up with either spooning against him when he's curled in, like in the second picture. His tentacles make for good cushions, though not great as blankets, so consider investing in a nice one, there are many meant for merfolk but serve just as well for humans!

[aw-shizz-here-we-go-again]

•|| Cuddle Pile ||• (Mermay 2024)

Prompt 1: Cuddle Pile

Featuring: Nightmare, Dream, Killer, Dust, Horror, and Cross!

Ships: Subjective. (Can be seen as either Nightmare X Killer X Dust X Horror and Dream X Cross, or it can be seen as platonic cuddles.)

Summary: Nightmare and Dream had a fight, so the Murder Time Trio convince Nightmare to cuddle with them to help him calm down. Dream also gets comforted by Cross.

Warnings: Angy octopus, sadge goldfish.

Credits: Leviathantale and the Mermay Bingo I'm using are both by @skumhuu!

Read tags for notes.

A low rumbling growl echoed throughout the deep trench caverns as the great kraken residing inside grumbled curses under his breath. His tentacles curled around the stone pillars all around him, cracking them under the pressure as he tightened his hold on them in anger.

As much as he loved his brother, Dream of course, he hated how annoying the other leviathan could be. They had recently had a 'conversation' that hadn't gone so well, and that was to blame for his wrath.

...He also had a massive headache, which wasn't helping in the slightest.

He flinched slightly as he heard the sounds of tails swishing through the water, and he opened his eyesocket to see that he was suddenly surrounded by three certain circling sharks. "...What do you want?"

"Awh c'mon, who managed to piss in your clamshells already?" Killer asked with a playful tone, swimming up closer to Nightmare's much larger face. He squeaked and tucked into a roll and Nightmare blew him away with bubbles, but he wasn't that upset.

"Yeah... what happened?" Horror asked next, tilting his head as he gazed up at the giant leviathan. Dust didn't say anything, but instead nuzzled one of Nightmare's many giant tentacles.

"None of your concern." Nightmare snarled, but his angry facade was quickly cracking open like an oyster, showing a softer side. He struggled not to smile at Dust's insistent nuzzles, Killer's smile, and Horror's worrying. Damnit, why couldn't he just be emo and brooding in peace?!

"Nighty! Nighty! Nighty, can you change into your smaller form, pleaaase???" Killer was abruptly right back up in Nightmare's face, swishing his tail excitedly as he begged.

"And why in the seven seas would I do that?" Nightmare cocked a bonebrow up as he questioned Killer, squinting his eyesocket in suspicion.

"Pleaaase? Just for us~?" Killer whined, nuzzling and rubbing himself against Nightmare's cheek.

Nightmare made the grave mistake of looking down at the other two sharks, seeing that Horror was giving him puppy eyes while Dust hugged one of his tentacles.

By the True Leviathans, he was getting far too soft.

Nightmare sighed, choosing to relent as he shrunk down. His bones turned snowy white once more, and his eyelights turned purple. All three shark boys cheered as they saw the little octopus, and they swarmed around him once more.

Then Horror suddenly dived down as Killer wrapped his arms around Nightmare, the small current made from Horror's movement catching them both and dragging them down too. Dust trailed behind, as if making sure Nightmare couldn't escape.

Nightmare already knew it; his fate was sealed now, and he didn't even try fighting back.

As soon as they reached a large flat ledge in the trench, the sharks 'released' Nightmare, only to immediately press as close to him as possible. They all sort of swam around in a tight ball for a second to find their places and get comfortable, then they all settled down as successfully caught the leviathan in the center of their cuddle pile.

Nightmare huffed, but he couldn't stop a small smile that grew on his face. His now much smaller tentacles gently wrapped around each of his shark boys, further entwining him into the cuddles.

As he fell asleep to Killer, Horror, and Dust's soft purrs, he thought that maybe cuddles weren't so bad after all.

. . .

In a different section of the trench, Dream was sitting alone while trying not to cry. He hadn't meant to apparently provoke another argument with his brother, but he somehow managed to anyways.

His fins gently swayed in the slight currant as he curled up in a ball, feeling utterly miserable. Maybe he was the problem. Maybe he shouldn't keep bothering Nightmare. Maybe he should just leave...

Dream flinched as someone brushed up against his back, and their arms wrapped around him. Someone else's tail curled up against his, and the other mer purred quietly as they carefully groomed his frills. "What happened, angelfish?"

Dream relaxed as he heard Cross's voice, but he didn't respond. Instead, he wiggled around to hug Cross as he let out a small whimper, tears pricking his eyesockets.

Cross understood immediately, and he pulled Dream closer to him as they both snuggled up together. The water turned serene and quiet as they laid there, their souls mending a little more as they relaxed in peace.

It was okay if Dream didn't want to talk about it, words were overrated anyways. Besides, cuddles were just better.

______________________________________________________________

Start <-You're here!

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Masterlist

[xenazaria]

When the Preeminent was finally submerged, something... Strange... Happened. All of the remaining ghosts collapsed to the floor at the same time. Every single one of them. Lloyd watched, confused as Morro fell.

He should probably... Do something? Right?

He walked over to the ghost, cautiously.

He instinctively reached out to roll Morro over, but his hand faded through the ghost's body.

Luckily- or unluckily, depending on how you looked at it- the ghost stirred after only a few awkward moments of stillness.

Morro rolled over, blinking and confused. Lloyd's green eyes met Morro's brown for only a second before jerking away, searching for anywhere else to look other than the eyes of his-

Wait.

Morro's eyes were green.

Why are they brown now?

Unless...

"Where... Am I?" The ghost asked slowly.

What.

"You are in Stixx, Morro. You know, the place where you literally released a giant tentacle monster and then tried to curse the entire realm? That place?"

Lloyd looked back at Morro. The ghost looked like you had just told him his grandma died and then killed his puppy.

"You... Do remember doing that, right?"

Morro shook his head no.

"Do you remember possessing me? Breaking into Cloud Kingdom? Stealing the armour?"

"I don't- Cloud Kingdom? What? Why would i-"

"GET THE FU- FRICK AWAY FROM MY BROTHER YOU JERK!"

Lloyd almost didn't have time to react as Nya started throwing water blasts at the ghost. Almost. He jumped in front of her, getting absolutely drenched in water but not letting any past him.

"Nya stop! I'm fine! I don't think he's a threat right now."

Nya paused at his words "The bi- JERK- that jerk fricking kidnapped you, Lloyd! How could you say he's not a threat?!"

"He doesn't even remember who I am, Nya! I don't think he remembers anything from after he died!"

"Okay, um... Thanks for like... Saving me or whatever that was, but can I PLEASE have some more fucking context about... Whatever is going on here? Why is Blondie wearing that? And who are you? I thought Maya was the master of water."

"SEE?! He doesn't even know where we are. And if you look, his eyes are BROWN now."

Nya let the ball of water that she was preparing fall to the floor. "What?"

"My eyes have always been brown, Blondie. Unless they haven't? This doesn't look like those caves. Or the cursed realm. Where did you say we are again?"

"Stixx. You escaped the cursed realm, kidnapped Lloyd, and freed the preeminent. Do you seriously not remember that?"

"Freed the who? That giant octopus wanna-be? Gross, why would I do that? That thing's ugly as fuck. Also you never answered my question about Maya."

The two ninja just stared at Morro in shock, before looking at each other.

"Okay, so... Chances of... That... Being some sort of mind control?" Nya asked.

"Pretty high. My scan, along with interviews from the other remaining spirits, suggest that none of them remember anything after arriving in the cursed realm the first time." Came a voice from behind, speaking as hesitantly as a nindroid could.

"Okay... So... What now?"

"I say we gather the remaining ghosts and... I don't know, put them in a deep stone cell until we figure out what to do next. Zane, do you think you could get the others started on that? But have W- have Sensei come to us. I think he will want to talk to a certain... Someone."

"I am right here, green bean. How long was I fucking gone? Is that actually the green gi, or is it just some copy? I died, so clearly it wasn't supposed to be me... Was I gone long enough for Wu to find the real green ninja? How long did it take for him to replace me?"

Before Lloyd could answer, Morro froze.

"Morro?" Asked the old man, standing at the entrance of the alley.

"Umm... Hi... Dad... It's been a while, hasn't it? Or... Not that long if these two were telling the truth... Did I really... Do all that?"

Wu ran to the ghost faster than he had ever seen his uncle run before.

"Morro... Is it- is it really you?"

"Were you expecting someone else?" Morro joked nervously.

"When you- At the tea shop, I had hoped that- That wasn't you right? Please tell me that wasn't really you."

"What tea shop? The last thing I remember is showing up in some ugly ass green ribcage and yelling at some bitch, and the next thing I know I'm here."

"Language," Nya said. "There are children in the room- er- alley."

"Okay, well I don't know how long I was gone, but last I checked I was 14, so does it really fucking matter if I swear around children?"

That seemed to cause everyone in the alley to pause.

"You were 14?"

"You're telling me I got kidnapped by a child who is YOUNGER THAN ME?!"

"But... You left the monastery only 3 months before your 15'th birthday... How long were you out there before..."

"As far as I'm concerned, the last time I saw you was when I walked down those stairs a month and a half ago."

"Morro... That was 40 YEARS ago... You left the monastery 40 years ago."

[marisol-000]

The Sandbox Scientists ch. 3

Sooooo I may have been off about how long this would take, in my defense this is only my second multi-chapter fic! My solution to this is to stop guessing when things will be done so you get ch. 4 when you get it <3

Something I realized when double checking the opening scene is that I accidentally made it very unclear which Henry is narrating XD, I’ve decided to leave it that way

Big chapter this time! I thought about splitting it up but that's lame so you get what you get <3 Happy Thanksgiving!

(a03)

Henry was over the moon.

The adults liked science!!!

The adults like science the way they liked science!!!!!

They weren't mad or grossed out at all! Like the other grown ups and kids were when he talked about it.

The “Lodgers” as they called themselves had shown him and the other him all sorts of cool stuff! Like a GIANT octopus, and a metal man with glowing eyes, the biggest telescope he’d ever seen in his life, and even mice that were invisible!

There were so many labs here that were used for all sorts of things he didn’t understand yet!

Mr. Sinnet even let them hold his flamethrower!!

Not even his mother liked when he showed her his ‘science projects’. But these guys! They let him put his hands in the dirt and pick up a plant that moved!

Other Henry touched some slime that didn’t stick if he was fast enough!

And one of the lodgers gave them candy!

Whatever this place was was the best place EVER! He hoped Momma would let them come back sometime.

Archer, their new friend, leaned next to them while they tried the big lollipops someone named Doodle gave them.

“So, what kinda science is you two’s favorite? Neuroscience? Engineering? Cryptobiology?”

No one ever asked Henry what kind of science he liked! He also didn’t know what those words meant but he couldn’t wait to find out!

“Potions! I like to make potions with stuff I find outside! Oh and monsters! When I grow up I’m gonna be a monster doctor so I can help monsters when they get sick!”

Other him jumped in at this. “Yeah! I’m gonna make potions that bring people back to life, like Frankenstein!”

Someone nearby gasped. A hushed mutter ran through the crowd at this. Lodgers who had started to drift away and chat with their neighbors were suddenly pulled back into the boys’ conversation.

Archer straightened, and had an odd spark in his eyes.

“Sooooo, you like Frankenstein then?”

They nodded, “Mm hm! He’s the coolest scientist ever! I wanna be just like him!”

The whispers grew louder, with people giggling and nudging each other.

“You don’t say? Then I bet it’d be <em>really</em> cool if I were to tell you about a certain someone who’s in town.” Archer mused.

Henry paused in trying to bite his lollipop, “Who?”

Surely they couldn’t mean…

“Oh no one special,” he said, someone snickered behind them, “It’s just that we just so <em>happen</em> to have a certain… mad scientist in our attic right now.”

The boys froze where they were. For a moment Archer got a little worried.

“FRANKENSTEIN?!?!?!??!?!??!”

Frankenstein was having a quiet day.

She’d had her fair share of that in life, living in the wilderness, distancing herself from society. Hell, even before everything she had isolated herself from the world, driven everyone away lest the small minds find out about her incredible experiments.

Which was fine, she didn't need anyone else. So what if the lodgers had barely stopped by to talk to her all day? It didn’t bother her at all! It wasn’t like she took the slightest indication that she was being ignored with anything less than the <em>utmost</em> grace and dignity.

She huffed into her book and pretended not to be eyeing the door instead of it’s pages. Glaring as though hating it personally. As if her lovelies were just on the other side waiting to see her and this stubborn door was the problem.

Creature, the stone wall, was as content as ever with the silence. Enjoying a book of his own in the corner, likely philosophy or something.

Although constant companions and wholly comfortable talking to each other, the two had worn out their conversation topics years ago. Either agreeing on certain things or tired of arguing in circles on others.

There were days when they'd debate for hours about something she was <em>clearly</em> right about and days where they pretended the other didn’t exist.

Lately he often mocked her about her ‘adoring fans’.

Judged her for how greedily she drank up the attention like a surgical sponge. Languishing in the first shreds of approval she’d had in decades.

Well, he hadn't actually said any of that, but he was thinking it! She knew he was!

She could just feel his disapproval in how easily she was letting herself get attached as if it were her own…

Bah! What does he know?

She hears them before she sees them, WAY before she sees them. The gaggle of lodgers charging up the steps with almost as much enthusiasm as they did on her first day awake.

The woman straightened immediately, practically tossing her book aside and giving her full attention to the door.

Finally, Frankenstein’s day was resuscitated as a crowd of almost every lodger in the building burst into her room. All chattering and shifting and even waving at her like her prison of a bed was a grand stage or operating theatre.

They kept a respectable distance considering how small the room was with so many people in it. And she preened under their attention, ignoring creatures sigh at his reading being interrupted.

“Frankenstein! Frankenstein!” everyone called out excitedly. Eagerly talking over each other.

Everyone was smiling and leaning around each other to get a better view of her. All their words blending together. 

A hearty laugh bubbled out of Frankenstein’s chest. They were so energetic and curious, smart and idealistic. They were perfect scientist material!

She wanted to put them all in her pocket and take them with her on her travels, tell them stories, show them the world.

Oh, how she resented that idiotic Doctor Jekyll for keeping them in a box. The way he had them eating out of his perfectly manicured hand, thanking him for their gilded cage.

Well it was about time they bit that hand!

Couldn't they see how the world was not in their books and manuscripts, it was out there!

Frankenstein held her gloved hands up to quiet the noise, taking a big breath for what was sure to be a rallying speech that would finally convince the so-called lodgers to fight for their freedom.

“Frankenstein! We have some special guests who want to meet you!”

She was cut off by a few of the lodgers. Fighting their way through the crowd, they were ushering someone to the front, entirely hidden behind the energetic scientists.

Frankenstein blinked in surprise as there, pushed out of the huddle as though in offering, were two…children.

She froze.

A cold wind rushed through her, instantly snuffing out the spark she’d held seconds ago. Cutting through her coat to her core.

The two boys in front of her were distinctive in appearance, it nagged at her, distantly. But all she could see was William.

“These are our newest recruits! Henderson and what was it? Benry? Yeah Benry.”

There was no way anyone named these unfortunate children that, unless London had gotten weird while she was gone, but the two seemed too entranced with her creature to correct them.

The boys weren't even looking at her like everyone else was, eyes instead on the homunculi like he was some celebrity they got backstage tickets to see.

“We found them snooping ‘round our labs!” “Cripes they were hard to catch.” “These two are gonna be fine scientists someday!”

The creature that had killed her youngest brother.

She understood why he did it.

She understood it was her fault.

It was her fault. For making a monster with such strength, just to see if she could. It was her fault for abandoning it, leading to the resentment and hatred for all like her. All Frankensteins.

It was her fault he was dead.

No! It was the price one paid for Science, she was wrong to have attachments then and she would not let herself get attached to these kids now. Not when it meant people got hurt. Not when - aannnnnnd Creature was letting them climb on him like monkey bars.

To her shock Creature was holding perfectly still, staring in utter befuddlement at the small things crawling on him like bugs.

As hesitant as he looked, he wasn’t stopping them. Merely watching.

It was… odd.

This had never happened to him before. Fully grown adults who were hardened from life and trained to deal with criminals turned tail at the mere sight of him, yet here were two children, gazing up at him with round eyes like he was Santa Claus.

“WOW, you’re Frankenstein's monster?!”

“Did you kill Frankenstein?”

“Are you gonna kill someone else?”

“How did Frankenstein make you?”

“Can we be friends?”

“Do you wanna play doctor with us? Mr.Tanis gave me a scalpel!”

One of the lodgers yelped, “What!? I most certainly did not!”

The way they were looking at him…

The lodgers looked at him the same way. At first he had taken it with suspicion, as he did all things. Assuming that their looks were of scientific curiosity, and that they were imagining all the ways they could dissect him. Take him apart and find out how he ticked, just like Moraue longed to.

But now, it was obvious, they were looking at him with childlike wonder.

Creature stared mutely as the lodgers wrestled the knife from the boy with brown hair, not quite understanding it yet.

The blond’s hair tickled as it brushed against his shoulder, though he did not react to it. The two children were being surprisingly careful where they placed their hands, taking care to not pull on any of his seams.

Creature watched as the little one slipped off, landing back first on his lap with an “oof”. The fall wasn't tall enough to knock the breath out of him though, so he seemed fine.

Creature lifted him up, holding the boy in one palm. He giggled in response.

One of the lodgers whose name he didn’t know called out to the boys.

“Hey! Didn’t you want ‘ta meet Frankenstein?”

The man was standing by the bed, gesturing to his creator with a smile.

The two boys gasped and scrambled to her.

The woman seemed almost startled to have her name called, snapping out of her trance.

Frankenstein shook the clashing thoughts out of her head. The two children at her bedside were staring at her, opening and closing their mouths like they couldn’t grasp what question to ask first.

She looked at the one with brown hair. She had snorted instinctively when he pulled an actual scalpel out of nowhere. A fine scientist indeed.

The blonde one had eyes like she’d never seen before. Perhaps he was some sort of creature? Or a descendant of one at least. No humans eyes produced light like that for no reason.

They looked at her like she hung the stars, like she held the secret to life itself. Which she did of course. 

No wonder these boys had snuck into the society just to see her! Why, who wouldn’t want to see the infamous Dr. Frankenstein!

And what's more, these precious children were untainted by Dr. Henry’s lies! The false ideas of what a mad scientist should be, reliant on his wealth and equipment.

Victoria had always seen herself as Job, a man who had everything taken from him, everything he loved and everyone who loved him, only to be rewarded for his faith.

She’d always seen the advancement of science as her reward for carrying out her experiments, a higher plane of understanding, the closest a human could come to godhood. But… hadn’t Job’s been everything he’d lost twofold?

Maybe, when she and Creature left London, they wouldn’t have to leave alone.

[I was struck by LIGHTNING when writing this sentence. All of the sudden a whole new plotline was open to me. One where Henry stays with the society and Edward is offered the chance to leave with Frankenstein to the _ forests.

It reminds me of gravity falls when the twins argue over Dipper taking Ford’s internship.]

Frankenstein puffed up her chest and launched into a story.

When Lanyon returned he waltzed through the kitchen door, swinging it open dramatically.

“Rachel, I'm back! I told the tailor Edward lost their bags on the trip here, so they need a new wardrobe.” he crowed, only to see an empty kitchen.

Hm, not in here. He wandered out again, peeking down random hallways.

He hadn't really told them that. As soon as he’d handed off the note and the words “childrens clothes” were out of his mouth Lady Beatrice and Lady Kimberleigh had practically mobbed him. Gushing and asking if he and Everly had finally had luck with a baby. He nearly had to beat the women off with a clothing hanger!

He shuddered at the thought of what rumors would come of this.

Regardless, the outfits were ordered and they could pick up a set in the morning.

“Rachel! Henry! Where in the blazes are you?”

“Robert!!”

He paused in the middle of the hall. That was Rachel. But he’d never heard her shout like that. She sounded almost scared, Rachel never sounded scared! Not even when Hyde disappeared after the fire.

He turned around and was surprised to see her running up to him with wide eyes, her hair a mess like she'd been running her hands through it. Her eyes red and puffy.

“Robert I’ve been looking everywhere and I <em>can’t</em> find them I can’t I've looked everywhere please tell me you know where they are.” she gasped, skidding to a stop.

His eyes widened, heartbeat picking up, “Know where- what?! Rachel you were the one who claimed <em>I</em> couldn't handle them, don’t tell me you’ve lost them already!”

The day manager tried to catch her breath, swiping a lock out of her eye.

“I was-! I took my eyes off them for just a minute! I left them to get changed while I made some sandwiches and I told- I told them to come to the kitchen after but they didn't and I went back for them but they- Robert they weren't there and I’ve <em>looked</em> everywhere oh what if they’ve left the building? Robert I <em>can’t</em> lose him again! I can’t!” she cried.

Lanyon had <em>never</em> seen her like this, she was always so sure and confident, it honestly made him nervous.

She reached out to him for a hug and he flinched back like her arms were livewires.

“Er, Well!! They can’t have gone too far! I’m sure they're just hiding or something. Kids do that, I think. Surely there's some nook or cranny you haven't checked yet!” He was stone stiff oh god where was Jekyll when you needed him, he can't comfort this poor girl!

Rachel just shook her head, curls flying, “No no I checked my room, Henry’s office, I checked all the labs and rooms and bathrooms I can’t think of anywhere else <em>to</em> look!”

“Well, they’ve gotta be here, can't the lodgers whip up some sort of, I don’t know, finding device?” He peered down the hall, hoping to flag down the nearest one and get them to deal with this. Unfortunately it seemed like he was on his own for this one.

“I don’t think that's how it works Lanyon, besides it’d take far too long, what if they're hurt?”

“Well they should at least <em>try</em>.” He huffed, “It wouldn't hurt to have more people looking either. Where are the lodgers anyway?” Now that he thought of it he hadn’t seen anyone besides Rachel since walking in.

Rachel sniffed, rubbing her face and breathing more evenly.

“Oh yeah, they were all running around earlier, some sort of emergency.

I think Griffin finally turned invisible and they lost him or something.”

She looked around, just noticing how empty the halls were.

“Uh, that was a while ago actually. They should have found him by now.”

Lanyon shifted uncomfortably. First Henry and Edward, now the whole society? Whatever was going on couldn’t be good.

In fact, it was almost suspicious how everyone had gone missing at the same time while he was gone…

“Wait. Oh god, What if the lodgers have them? The lodgers hate Henry! What if they took him away? What if they’re experimenting on him right now to find out why he’s small?!” Lanyon yelped.

Rachel frowned at him, “The lodgers do not hate Henry.”

“Oh yeah? What about the exhibition they’re all refusing to take part in? You’ve heard what they're saying about him, that he’s somehow corrupt and ‘rotten’ just because he hasn't gone off the deep end and killed anyone using science or something!”

“They're just going through a bit of a rebellious phase right now.” she defended, “And besides, even if they did, they love Hyde, they drink and play games all the time! They wouldn't hurt him.”

“That's worse!” Lanyon cried. He resisted the urge to run his hands through his styled hair, “Hyde’s planning on killing Jekyll for his will! What if the lodgers are in on it? What if they know he inherits the society? Now would be the perfect time to do it, they probably took him off to Queen Frankenstein while he’s small and defenseless!”

“Edward is <em>not</em> plotting to kill Jekyll!” Rachel shouted, “Would you give that a rest already! As for Franken..stein…”

The two looked at each other with wide eyes and bolted for the stairs.

“And that's when the beast pounced! I dropped my torch and rolled out of the way, I heard it crash into the brush behind me and took the chance to make a break for it. I ran all night, struggling to see my way in the dark and knowing it had no such human limitations. 

Miles away from civilization I knew my only chance was to somehow find Creature in the snowy woods before the beast found me.”

The lodgers gasped quietly and whispered to each other, sitting criss-crossed on the floor.

Both children were sat on Frankenstein’s lap, enraptured by her tale. They looked up at her with wide eyes, hanging on her every word.

“At one point I stumbled my way into a clearing, the…vollmond shining down on me. It was close behind, I could hear the thing snapping branches like twigs. I knew the only way was forward and started running. I could barely breathe, my legs felt like lead, with every step I took it only got closer, bounding after me on all six legs. It’s wide maw-”

The door slammed open with a bang. Everyone jumped, some people screaming in surprise.

Everyone whirled around.

At the door were two figures, hidden by the shaded doorframe.

Frankenstein huffed, more annoyed than anything. 

“Really doctor, this is the second time you've interrupted my tales for your insipid formula…Oh, the other one.”

The doctor coming toward her was not Jekyll, as she assumed, but Lanyon. The purple man was trudging through the crowd on the floor, stepping on hands and nearly tripping over people in his haste.

She crossed her arms, huffing, “Really, you and your-”

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

As soon as he was in range Robert snatched Henry off her lap. Earning a startled yelp from the boy.

Frankenstein jolted, confused. She hadn't seen this man much and while he was never the most agreeable person, she'd never seen him so furious.

She sputtered as he held the boy to his chest the way mothers did when she and Creature walked by. If she were in a better mood she’d get a kick out of the gentleman fearing her more than her creation.

“What in the world do you think you're doing? Grabbing this boy like you own him when I was <em>clearly</em>-!”

“What are you doing to him? Huh? Putting ideas in his head, trying to make him mad like you!” he accused, holding the boy tight while he squirmed uncomfortably.

“I bet you people are trying to brainwash him! Get him involved in unnatural things and mad scientist nonsense!”

Rachel, who was much shorter than the doctor and was caught behind the now-standing crowd of lodgers, tried to call out to him. “Er, Robert! I don’t think-” 

“Hey! What's your problem?” “We’re having storytime here!” “You're in the way!” “Leave him alone!” “Frankenstein ain’t done nothing wrong!”

Lanyon turned on the crowd with a snarl.

“Nothing wrong? Are you people crazy? She hit him!!”

Everyone gasped at the wild accusation. Of course they were on her side! Nevermind that Henry was just trying to help her when she hit him! Nevermind that she didn’t even have the grace to apologize!

One of the lodgers he did recognize, Helsby, immediately jumped to the quacks' defense.

“How <em>dare</em> you say that about Frankenstein! You rich pricks are all the same! Slandering good people's names when it suits you!”

“Frankenstein would never do that!”

“Yeah! We’ve been here the whole time and she never hurt him at all!”

Frankenstein herself looked unbelievably offended, her face a likely unhealthy shade of red for someone her age. “Dr. Robert I’m aware you disapprove of my presence here but I have NO intentions of hurting any child.” she spat coldly.

“Oh yeah? Even if that child is Jekyll?” He challenged.

“I- what on earth are you talking about you simpleton, that's not doctor Jekyll thats…”

Frankenstein looked at the boy squirming in his arms, <em>really</em> looked at him.

The smaller boy was still on the bed with her, pulling on the brunette in Robert’s arms. The brunette reached back, holding onto the other, looking at him with red eyes… he had a rather hooked nose…

The lodgers took up her rebuttal with vigor.

“What? Lanyon, did you hit your head man?”

“Yeah obviously that's Benry!”

Robert stared incredulously at the room full of scientists and doctors. Jaw hanging wide.

“<em>Are you telling me not a single one of you realized they're Jekyll and Hyde?!</em>”

Every person in the room stopped still.

“<em>WHAT???</em>”

“What did <em>Jekyll</em> do to get on Ito’s bad side?”

“Wait, you guys didn’t know that?”

“You did??? Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“I thought we all knew and just weren't talking about it!”

“WHY WOULD WE DO THAT?!”

“Oh, I thought they were Jekyll and Hyde's secret love children.”

“<em>What?!</em>”

“What, you think one of them's a girl? And besides, Hyde's only worked here the past two years, these guys are older than that!”

“So? Are you saying Hyde didn't exist before then or what? You think Hyde spontaneously came into existence two years ago? Huh?”

“Are YOU saying only girls can give birth? Some gals are guys!”

“Sure but Hyde??”

“He <em>is</em> rather short for a man his age.”

“Actually I was thinking Jekyll, he seems kinda feminine doesn't he?”

“Maybe Hyde knocked Jekyll up and recently found out about them! And he stayed to be a good father!”

“Pfft! Hyde? A good father? Now you're talking crazy.”

“I bet <em>that's</em> why Jekyll’s kept him around so long! He's the father of their children!”

Lanyon felt anger and disbelief rush through his whole body. He worked his mouth trying to say whatever was on his mind that wasn’t straight cussing.

“I - I - NEITHER OF THEM ARE WOMEN AND THESE AREN'T THEIR SECRET LOVE CHILDREN WOULD YOU LOT SHUT IT ALREADY”

Robert held a hand to his temples, his face screwed into a scowl.

“We suspect they were testing some sort of potion and something went wrong, turning them both into children.”

“Both of them drank it?” “What kind of potion?” “Wait but why don’t they remember us?” “Are they stuck like this?”

“Stuck like what?”

He stiffened. For a moment he’d entirely forgotten he was still holding Henry in his arms.

The boy was looking up at him, wide red eyes searching his face for something.

“Are-are we, we didn’t…?”

Suddenly Lanyon realized they had been hiding it. He and Rachel hadn’t mentioned who they were, why they knew them, or the real reason they couldn't go home. Hell they had even left the kitchen earlier to talk out of earshot.

They hadn’t meant to keep it from them. Honestly hiding it hadn't crossed their minds, but, neither did telling them. 

It felt wrong somehow. Like they weren't planning on having them around long enough to have the need to explain it to them. 

The boys hadn't asked why they knew them, too young to really distrust them. They just assumed all adults knew everything.

Before he had to answer and make everything worse, Rachel cut in. Now free of the jostling crowd and finally making it to Frankenstein’s bedside.

“Er, so, you remember when we found you, and we knew your names?” she asked.

The boys nod slowly, quietly looking at her.

“Well, nobody told us your names, we know them because, well I guess you told us.

We’re friends. We have been for a while, but, you two are supposed to be adults. Like us. Your names are Edward Hyde and Dr. Henry Jekyll. And you work here at the society, like we do.”

Henry tightened his hands on Robert's sleeve, face unreadable.

Edward gaped at the woman, still standing on the bed.

“But- but we’re not, we didn't drink any potions. We were at home!”

“I know, I know this doesn’t make any sense, I’m sorry for that. But, this isn’t so bad is it? We can take care of you! We’re gonna find a way to fix this. Right?”

She glanced at Robert, who was tight-lipped and looking at his friend with a distracted look in his eyes.

“Uh, right.”

“That-That’s ridiculous!!”

Right. Frankenstein was still there.

Robert slowly composed himself, the smugness he felt in realizing the woman had been speechless that whole time fueling his salty soul.

As mad as she had looked earlier, it was a cold sort of anger. This? This sputtering rage was fuming.

“This boy cannot be Dr. Henry! He is a scientist! That blasted doctor is nothing but a-a-a shameful fake and a stain on the name of science itself! Henry Jekyll is a disgrace of an alchemist and false idol of respectability and hollowness!

I detest that horrible man!” She gestured to the boy in Robert's arms, “How dare you make the wild claim that he is…that…”

Her eyes widened as she saw the expression on said boy's face.

Everyone in the room stared in horror as both kids BURST into tears.

“What is <em>wrong</em> with you??”

Rachel grabbed Henry from Robert. Who was holding the sobbing boy as far away from himself as he possibly could. Then snatched Edward up under her other arm. Storming from the room in a hurry.

She could hear Lanyon and Frankenstein start shouting behind her, quickly joined by everyone else. 

Rachel kicked the door shut behind them and sprinted all the way to Jekyll’s office.

When they got there she had to put the boys down to open the door. 

They had stopped crying by now but were eerily silent. Both looking down at their feet.

“Don’t listen to Frankenstein, both of you. That old hag's hated Dr. Jay since she got here for no reason at all! She isn’t even a real doctor!” she huffed.

Her voice hammered through the silence in a way that almost made her regret speaking at all. But the boys didn’t so much as flinch.

Creasing her eyebrows in worry, Rachel led them to the side room she knew Jekyll usually slept in instead of his own house. She's not sure exactly how old they are right now but they were definitely young enough to need a nap after all that.

As the boys walked past her she snatched Edward up into a hug and <em>squeezed</em>.

He startled, kicking his legs around. “Hey! Stop doing that!”

“Goodness sakes you two! Do you have any idea how worried I was when you ran off? I have half a mind to lecture you for leaving like that! But…”  now wasn’t a good time to scold them, “ I’ll let it slide if you chickadees lay down without a fuss.” she promised, nodding to the bedroom.

Henry looked around the room, there wasn’t much to see. More red curtains blocking out the light, a single bed pushed up against the wall, and a rather large wardrobe. Like the office, there were a lot of books, either on shelves or just the floor. There were many frames on the walls but it was too dark to make out many details.

They didn’t have shoes to remove so Rachel set Edward down on the bed, Henry hopping up next to him.

Sniffing, the two nuzzled into the pillows quietly as Rachel tucked the blankets in around them. 

Rachel is leaning against the doorway between Jekyll’s office and room when she hears the doorknob rattle.

She startles a bit, instinctively reaching for the kitchen knife in her pocket. <em>I swear to god if that wretch hobbled all the way here just to-</em>

The office door swings open to reveal Lanyon.

He blinks when he sees her, but doesn’t look too surprised. Mostly he just looks tired.

Behind him was Ito, who followed him into the room silently. She nodded at Rachel in acknowledgement, who nodded back.

Rachel peeked into the room, still asleep.

She pushed off the doorframe and with a final glance back, gently closed the door.

Lanyon sighed, stopping at Jekyll’s desk.“I talked to the lodgers, they're not to tell anyone outside of the society about this. Ms. Ito has volunteered to take a look at whatever potion they drank.”

Ito, who had been drawn by the shouting, had been given a rundown by the other lodgers. And, unamused at the grown adults all talking over each other, waited politely til Lanyon was done to offer her services.

“Dr.Jekyll taught me everything I know, if anyone can figure out what went wrong it would be me.” she stated.

“Alright, we think this is the potion they took.” Robert grabbed the glass container lying on the desk to hand to Ito, “It was the only one out of place when we came in, though neither of us actually saw them drink it.”

She nodded, taking the glass and holding it to the light.

There was very little liquid left. It looked to be a dull brown at first but when she tilted in one way and the other there was an oily red and green residue around the edges.

She sniffed at the potion, the smell alone almost made her gag. An unholy mix of so much salt she could smell it and residual fumes that made her head spin. Frankly she's surprised the two men managed to swallow this at all. Though with the things she’s seen Hyde eat maybe she shouldn’t be.

Ito sighed, “This just doesn’t make any sense, Dr. Jekyll would have measured out exact amounts, and certainly taken it one at a time if they were testing something new. Unless it had a delayed reaction.”

“What if it wasn’t something new?” Rachel suggested, “What if they did this a lot and were more casual with it?”

“Maybe, but what would they be so casual with? Do they take the same medication?”

“Mm, not that I know of. Maybe not medicine then? I know Edward drinks random potions sometimes for the hell of it.” she laughed quietly, “One time he vomited some sort of green goo in my sink and ran all the way to Jekyll's office.”

“Not to mention we practically have to force Henry to take medicine when he <em>is</em> sick.” Robert offered. The only thing he knew of Jekyll self-medicating with was wine, and it didn't typically de-age people by almost thirty years.

Ito poked around the desk in silence. She knew Dr. Jekyll was usually a dedicated note-taker, but again, if this was something he did often there would be no reason to.

Frustratingly, the habit of putting ingredients away after herself that the doctor tried so hard to drill into her was working against them now.

Usually it meant that volatile materials weren't lying around waiting to be knocked over and cause messes, or even small explosions. But in this case it meant she had no idea what ingredients were used in this experiment.

Dammit. She sighed and turned to Rachel and Lanyon.

“Alright, so basically I have no clue what this was originally supposed to do, much less how it went wrong, much less how to reverse it. 

I can take a closer look at this with some equipment but this isn’t a lot to work with.”

The two looked at her in shock, like she’d grown another head.

Robert bit his lip, tiredness quickly replaced with nervous energy.

“Can’t you just, give them a potion that makes them older?” he asked.

Ito made a face. “I…don’t think that would be a good idea. If we forced them to grow up they still wouldn't have any of their old memories, they'd just be adult-shaped children. And that's <em>if</em> something like that would work and not mix negatively with whatever they've taken. For all we know this could be a temporary side effect, and changing anything would mess everything up.”

“So they just, won’t remember us? Everything we’ve done together, everything we’ve talked about, all the time we spent together is just gone?” Rachel cried, “There's nothing we can do to get them back?”

Robert clenched his fists on the desk.

Ito sighed, “I know this isn’t what you want to hear but I think the best thing to do is just try to wait this out.”

She refused to say something so terrible out loud, but there might not be a solution to this.

Lanyon’s expression is blank with shock, then twists into anger.

“Well are we just supposed to wait forever?! Wait for them to grow up naturally? What about our friends? Our- our-!”

Ito clenched her jaw, “They’re my friends too.” she snapped.

“Look, there’s not much I can do with the information we have, Dr. Lanyon.

Even if I knew what went wrong and how to reverse this we'd need a ton of body parts. One of the most basic rules of alchemy is that mass can't be made or destroyed and I’m not even sure where it went when they shrank!” she said, throwing her hands up.

The neo alchemist took what remained of the potion and walked out of the room, leaving the two leaning over the desk in despair.

“I'll keep working on it but please, don’t get your hopes up.”

She closed the office door behind her to give them some privacy.

[sirenfromthelostcity]

The Scarlet Witch Alt

Hello! Been some time since I posted but I really hope y’all enjoy this lil thing. It is a Scarlet Witch reader story but it is NOT connected to my Movie Night series. Honestly I just wanted to practice writing more emotionally intense scenes and since this character dealt with a lot of loss I figured I’d just channel it here. Initially I wanted to write this scene with Bruce but somewhere along the way I changed my mind. Anyways yeah I hope you guys enjoy it! Feedback would be very much appreciated! <3

Side note: It’s Damian Wayne x Scarlet Witch reader and there are mentions of death.

Word count: 1.9k

Dick had been walking for what felt like hours, searching through the woods but to no avail. Doubt creeped into his mind that maybe he was given the wrong location so he decided to facetime Tim to confirm. Fortunately the connection in the area was decent so after a few rings he answered. 

“Hey, are you sure you gave me the right coordinates? There��s nothing here but trees and whatever else you normally expect to see in the woods.”

“Let’s see,” said Tim and Dick could hear the quick tapping of his keyboard. “On my side it shows you’re in the right area. The energy readings aren’t as crazy as last night’s but it’s still considerably high? You sure you don’t see anything hinky over there?”

“No, but I’ll keep searching. Were you and America able to find out anything new?”

“Actually yeah, new and terrible.”

“What’d you find?”

“Remember those weird markings we saw on that giant octopus that attacked America?”

“Yeah.”

“Well according to her, all the creatures that had previously attacked her had similar markings on them. I couldn’t find any leads in our database so I sent some pictures over to the league and Zatanna reached back to me. They’re runes, Dick. Not only does this mean someone is definitely summoning these monsters to attack America but that they’re also powerful enough to control these things and send them on a chase through various different universes and it wants her power.”

“Shit,” Dick grumbled. 

“My thoughts exactly,” sighed Tim. “Zatanna’s offered to help and she’s working on locating Constantine for more assistance.”

“That’s good, hopefully- OW!” Dick jerked back as he seemingly walked into nothing. Upon impact he dropped his phone and instinctively rubbed at his forehead. He stared ahead in confusion. There was nothing in the way. At least, nothing he could see.

“You okay, what happened?”

Remembering his phone, he quickly bent down and picked it up. 

“I just walked into something that’s not there.”

“Uhh… come again?”

“Something very real, or at least it felt real, knocked into my face but there’s nothing there,” Dick paused and narrowed his eyes as he studied the space before him. “Tim, look at this.”

He flipped the camera and showed his outstretched hand. 

“Okay?” Tim replied, not exactly sure what he’s supposed to be looking at. Then Dick flicked his fingers and particles of static momentarily covered the afflicted area, similar to what you’d see on a glitchy TV screen. “Oh-kay! That definitely counts as hinky. What is that?”

“My guess would be some kind of force field, it feels tingly,” Dick replied as he flicked his hand again, causing more static to appear. 

“Stop flicking it, what if it sucks you in or something?”

“Relax, Tim, whatever this thing is it was pretty adamant on keeping me out just now it’s not gonna-” Suddenly Dick’s hand sunk into the apparent portal before him and he felt a strange tingling sensation throughout his body as more particles of static started to surround the area.

He tried to use his other arm to pry himself free but he could tell the struggle was only aiding his entrapment. Tim’s distorted voice echoed all around him as he was pulled fully into the portal until he finally landed on new ground. Dick quickly gathered himself and assessed the new scene. 

The sky was a brilliant blue and a blooming garden replaced the gloomy forest scene he was in mere seconds ago. Several rows of cherry blossom trees surrounded the area and he could hear birds happily chirping. He bent down to pick up his phone and show Tim what he found but somehow the battery was completely drained. 

“Great,” he grunted as he put the now useless device into his back pocket.

He spotted a little cottage house a few meters away and with having little to no options he walked over to investigate it. Upon finding a window he peeked inside for any insight of the owner. The home was littered with books and sheets of paper but no weapons, at least none he could immediately see. There were remnants of an unfinished breakfast on a nearby wooden table, but no person in sight. Next to the unattended breakfast was a series of sketches and he squinted to get a better look at them but he couldn’t fully make out the contents of the drawings.

The questions running through Dick’s mind were growing by the minute. Judging by the contents of the cabin, he didn’t feel like there was a threatening presence but why the secrecy? Why a force field in the middle of the woods? Why let him in?  

His train of thoughts were interrupted by someone calling out his name and although he recognized the voice he almost couldn’t believe his own eyes. 

“Y/N… oh my god,” before he could think, he embraced his estranged friend. “Where’ve you been? How have you been? What are you doing here?”

Y/N lightly chuckled at all his questions and gently pulled back from the hug, “It’s nice to see you too, Dick.” 

“Did you make all of this?” he gestured to the environment and she nodded. “Why did you take off like that? We didn’t see you at the funeral. You can’t… you can’t just disappear like that.”

“I’m sorry. After everything that happened,” she briefly looked away. “I just needed to be alone. Regroup with myself. I know my departure was abrupt but I didn’t mean to make anyone upset.”

“No one’s upset, Y/N, we were just worried. The people we lost that day…I miss them every single day. But they wouldn’t want us to deal with what happened alone. Damian wouldn’t want you alone.” 

At the mention of his name she visibly tensed up and he almost regretted bringing him up. Yet before he could say anything else, she had already changed the topic.

“What are you doing here Dick? How did you find me?” 

“Actually, I think it was you that found me and let me in.”

Y/N looked at him confused and they walked together as he explained to her how he ran into her little force field. 

“There’s this girl, she’s with Tim right now back at the cave, she’s being chased by monsters. It’s a bit of a much longer and weirder story but if you’re up for it we could really use your help.”

“I’ve been out of the field for some time now. I’m not sure I’d be able to provide much help.”

“We’ve all seen what you can do, Y/N. Don’t see yourself short. Besides you created this beautiful little utopia for yourself here, honestly it’s impressive.”

At that she grinned.

“Why don’t you bring America here?” she suggested.

“Here?”

“Yes. Don’t get me wrong, the bat cave is safe and all but here she’d be well hidden…” 

She turned to look at Dick as she noticed he stopped walking with her. He didn’t say anything but his look of mistrust and apprehension told her everything.The ball had dropped.

She deeply sighed and cast her look down at her feet.

“You didn’t tell me her name.”

“No,” he slowly shook his head in disbelief. “I did not.”

“You know, the hexes were always easy. But the lying… that part not so much.”

Y/N extended her hand and as she expertly moved her wrist the world she created began to fully unravel. As if someone suddenly turned off the sound, the birds stopped chirping. The garden was swallowed by her red energy and replaced with dark, dead trees. 

Even her attire changed to a dark red cloak with an intricate crown placed around her temples. Her fingertips were coated in black, the mark of the possession of the Dark Hold. The unholy book floated near her as her previous illusion finished falling apart. 

Dick’s eyes immediately went to the Dark Hold. 

“God, Y/N… what have you done?” 

“Nothing yet, but even then it’s more than what you have done.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he replied, taken aback by not only her tone but her accusation.

“The Lazarus pit,” she snarled. “You could’ve used it on him, on them. You could have tried SOMETHING!”

“You think it didn’t cross my mind? None of them would’ve wanted that! They would’ve been nothing but a shell of who they were, a living reminder of the people we lost. The pit wouldn’t have worked the way you wanted.”

“But they’d still be here and I could have found a way to fix what the pit could not restore. I’m not who I used to be anymore, Dick. The Dark Hold has shown me so much-”

“It did more than that. It changed you, Y/N.”

“Growth is accompanied by change.”

Dick scoffed. 

“Why send those monsters after her, what do you want with America?”

“Believe me, sending those creatures after her instead of myself was mercy. All I want, all I need is her power.” 

“She’s a child! You know she won’t survive the process.”     

“I don’t relish hurting anyone, Dick. but she’s not a child. She’s a supernatural being with powers that are, quite frankly, beyond her control.”

Dick was astonished at how cold she sounded. He could not believe the words coming out of his former friend’s mouth.

“I know I can put them to better use,” she continued. “I plan on using them to leave this universe and go somewhere where Damian is alive. And despite your judgments, I’d like to offer you the chance to come with me,” She slowly started to walk around him. “You and I share the same pain, which is why I offer you this. We can leave this place. We can have Damian, Barbara, and Bruce. I can make you forget this world ever happened. It’d be as if we never lost them.” 

As she spoke, Y/N wove her hands together and summoned miniature glimpses into various universes from the book. Dick’s eyes teared up as he saw images of Barbara, Bruce, and Damian. They were alive and well having dinner together as a family in one scene and stopping a bank heist together in another. 

“You could have all of your family back,” she said as she summoned scenes of his parents, gray haired, alive and well as they introduced the performers at Halle’s Circus. “Just say yes.”

All the images and sounds tugged at his heart strings and wiped away at the tears that managed to escape him.

“No,” he pleaded. “Y/N we share the same pain. But this is not the way. I can’t trade one life for another.”

“It’s not just for one life. It’s her for them,” she gestured to their loved ones. 

“But the blood shed would not end there. In these worlds, there are other versions of us, what’s to happen to them?”

At this Y/N tore her gaze from a scene of an alternate version of herself cuddled up with Damian to him and in her eyes he saw an unrepentant gleam. From that look he knew there was no use in reasoning with her. The friend he had once known and loved was no longer there.

“You should have taken my offer when you had the chance,” she angrily flicked her wrist and the images quickly vanished. She turned to walk away but he called to her one last time. 

“What happens next?” 

“Prepare to hand over America by sunset, peacefully.”

“And if we don’?”

“Then it won’t be Y/N who comes for her. It’ll be the Scarlet Witch.”

[slocumjoe]

how would fo4 crushing companions react to an unintentionally touchy sole? for example they hold their hand without thinking when leading them somewhere, lean slightly against them while waiting, etc

(also if you dont mind could you write the one for x6 post railroad ending instead of sole being director?)

ohohohoho yesssssss

I love prompts like these because I get to inflict suffering

Companions (most of which are touch-starved) react to a touchy-touchy Sole

Cait; At first, totally thinks Sole is just fucking with her, like...teasing. So even if she's initially startled everytime, quickly recovers. Might respond with her own, rougher touches. Sole gently puts their hand on her shoulder, she gently punches theirs. She's conflicted on it, though. Obviously, being touched is a bad thing in Cait's book...but Sole is a good thing. So...what's she supposed to think, here? She does find their sudden clingliness cute. Teases them for it.

It's not until she processes that Sole is touching her that shit hits the fan.

Okay, shit, Sole is touching her. Holding her hands, pressing up against her. Okay. Fuck. What does that mean? Is it flirting? Shit way to flirt, if they want to get going in the sheets, they should just say it. After This Moment, any touch is going to be like a flashbang to her. Might start leaning away. She's confused now, she isn't sure what this is or what she wants from it.

Curie; Crushing or not, really likes the touchy-touchy! It's new sensations for her synth body, and Curie is touchy with everyone. Getting to be touchy-touchy with her favorite person? Wonderful! She lavishes in the affection and probably returns it tenfold. If Sole brushes hands together, she'll grab theirs and hold it tight. Curie isn't a shy person. Her stomach might be filled with butterflies, and her heart does some weird stuff, and she loses all control of her facial expression, but Curie is Curie. She lacks the mental illness nerf everyone else has. There will be a moment where she questions the intentions, and she'll be sad at the thought of Sole not meaning anything by it, but Curie is nothing if not optimistic.

Danse; If you listen carefully, you can hear the Windows shutdown noise. Danse all but lives in a giant metal husk. Even if he didn't, people don't touch him anyway. So. Sole? Touching him? He bricks. Hard system reset, absolute crash. Shit is frying up there in that thick skull.

The second time it happens, the Reaction is worse. Third time, Worse. This multiplies until Danse starts getting used to it. Does that mean things go well for him? No! This is Danse, here! He convinces himself they don't mean anything by it. Even if they did, which they don't, nothing could happen. He's either their C.O, or a synth. And besides, they deserve better anyway. Danse doesn't think highly of himself, and he never has.

No matter what happens, he lets Sole do whatever they please. Danse is a teddy bear thats never gotten to fulfill his function as a teddy bear. He'll be dammed if he ever admits it, but good God, does Danse need it. It's a rush of euphoria. This man has been kept in Power Armor for years. And it's Sole. If they went octopus on him and didn't let go, a part of him would be screaming, yes, but everything else would be melting, too relieved to protest.

Deacon; Fully leans into it. Thinks their touchy-touchy is funny, even if he's freaking out. Will walk while dramatically swinging their hands around. You know couples at amusement parks? Or, really, couples in any public setting? He does that. And thing is, Deacon is not a touchy-touchy person. He'd rather not, actually. But Sole likes it, and the dirty looks they get from people when Deacon is condemning Sole to the Couple Shuffle (iykyk) is too good to pass up.

Internally worried, obviously. Again, mental illness nerf. He would like touching Sole in a more...personal way. Not sex, just...it's the intention. Holding hands is one thing. Holding hands with a friend is another. Holding hands with a partner is a whole other beast. But Deacon isn't sure he'd actually want to pursue anything. Ideally, he'd stop this, keep his distance. But also ideally, he'd knock his own shit off and just be upfront...he's not too keen on either idea. Hey, what if we give each other piggyback rides?

Gage; Also goes Nope, but his nope goes in several directions, compared to the other Nope's. Gage doesn't trust like that, for one. It's different with Sole, yeah, but whenever Gage is presented with something new, he throws all the caution he has at it. He trusts Sole. He thinks them his better half, his partner in crime. But...this is weird. Objectively. Touching a guy like Gage is a weird thing to do. Once he picks up that they don't notice they're doing it, calms down. Then panics for a completely different reason.

Why the fuck is the Overboss touching him?

Gage starts doing the math. Okay, maybe they're just touchy when comfortable. That doesn't mean anything. It's definitely weird. But why are they touching him? Gage isn't the most cuddly person. That's what the fucking rusty spike armor is for. Sole doesn't care. Sole presses into him, brushes their fingers against him, puts their bedroll next to his. Are they...like...anxious, or some shit? Is this a Symptom? Should he be worried? Where Danse has Windows shutdown, Gage has a few notes of the Jaws theme.

At no point in this process does he allow himself to think about how it makes him feel, because Gage has better shit to do (no he doesnt), he doesn't feel anything for them (yes he does), and even if he did (he does), Sole doesn't mean anything by it (Sole has been flirting with him for weeks).

Hancock; Honestly, Hancock started touching first. He's a physical guy. So, Sole also being touchy-touchy doesn't phase him. He's certainly happy to see that they feel comfortable with him, and want him close, but for once, Hancock doesn't suffer the mental illness nerf.

YET. Because whoops, once he examines why Sole might be touching him, we're off to the fucking races!

When people touch Hancock, they're usually hinting at something. Sole either is, or isn't doing that. If they are, Hancock has to consider if he goes down that path. Do they hook up? Hancock would prefer more than that. What if Sole does too? Okay, does he even deserve Sole? Back up, now. Say Sole isn't trying to get in his pants. He still wants them. They're dangling right in front of him, and he can't have them. Youch. Does he stop touching them, ask them to stop touching him? Should he take what he can get?

Ah, hell.

MacCready; Much like Hancock, probably started touching first. But, MacCready's touchy-touchy is more like Cait's. Playful, teasing, that thing. Shoulder-punching, flipping their hat, maybe even tickling if he and Sole are really close. MacCready has issues, but not the kind that, like, Danse and Hancock share.

Oh man, Danse and Hancock would hate to hear that. I should really write that comparison essay.

Despite this, once Sole starts touching him just to touch, the play-fighting stops. He likes them, and they're giving some signals that they like him. So, he might start returning the little touches. Not intentionally, either. Reach over and wipe dirt off their face, slip ammo into their pockets, gently bump them to get their attention. The only companion who doesn't read into it. He doesn't really notice it at all. It just starts happening, and later down the line, after he and Sole get together, does he think about how natural and normal it is to touch them and be touched.

Nick; I don't think Nick has a ton of sensations. At least, not in his body's current state, old and torn up. He'll notice Sole touching him, but he can't really feel it. You'd think that would lessen the agony.

Nick wants nothing more than to not be in this body, but he's kind of stuck. And Sole keeps touching him, in this body that he can't feel them in. It's like big glass wall between them. He can feel them touching the glass, but not their hand. Whereas everyone else gets the benefit of contact, Nick only gets reminded of what contact might feel like.

It's like a theater performance, mimicking something from the past. It doesn't help that all of those memories of touch are of Jenny. Thinking of 'your' dead fiance when your current flame is touching you is not a good omen for starting a relationship.

Honestly...I think Nick wouldn't want to be touched. He wouldn't turn them away, tell them to stop, because they're seeking comfort. But he couldn't enjoy it. Not physically, and so not emotionally.

Piper; Piper isn't touch-starved, averse, or deeply insecure like other companions. So, she has a pretty normal reaction. Piper pauses the first time it happens, and has that moment of 'omigosh they touched meeee'. Feels really stupid for it. But she's a young woman in love, damnit, if she has hearts in her eyes for while after, following Sole like a lost puppy, that's her business.

Piper knows that Sole is doing it subconsciously, but she also takes little steps forward herself. So, she might, say, play with their hair absently, or ask to braid it. Or offer to do their makeup, if they wear any. She might fix or adjust their clothes/armor if it needs it. Little touches with the benefit of the doubt. If Sole escalates, she's escalating. Will throw her legs over their lap, tuck herself under their arm, come up behind them and rest her chin on their shoulder.

Piper reads into it only a tiny amount. She almost goes crazy over it, but stops herself, realizes that trying to analyze Sole and their feelings is only going to complicate things. So, she just does her thing, and hopes it goes somewhere nice from there.

Preston; Much like Piper and MacCready, has a pretty normal response. He doesn't notice it at first, takes someone else to point out how touchy Sole is for him to realize. Preston is, again, canonically not a touchy person, but Sole's contact is quick and light, so he's not uncomfortable with it. Might even return it briefly, like patting them on the far shoulder if they lean into him.

Interestingly, Preston is the only companion to really think about his own feelings about it in a healthy way. He makes sure to keep himself objective and rational. Okay, he has feelings for Sole. Sole keeps touching him. He would like for that to be charged, but the only way to know that is to ask. Preston isn't ready to ask that, so he doesn't need to worry about it. He can have his feelings without knowing if they're reciprocated. He can deal with it when he's ready.

Look, Preston has put up with a lot of BS in his life. He's going to avoid making his lovelife just as difficult.

X6-88; Sole touches him for the first time. X6-88 refrains from throwing them across the room, as he is supposed to, typically. Sole does it again. X6 refrains again. This continues for way too long without any developments.

X6 eventually stops himself and goes "I should probably think about that, huh?"

Starts with himself. X6-88 experiences physical and mental sensations around and about Sole. That would aptly be considered "having feelings." Is he in...love? How would he know? Maybe its indigestion. Alright. He may or may not have romantic feelings for Sole. That's not helpful. He cares about them, he knows that. But is that the love those Pre-War musicians never shut up about?

What about Sole and their insistence on physical contact? They're a little colder than he is, coursers run warm. They move differently, too, more stilted, there's hesitancy. Coursers move like water, with no pause or consideration. So, even something like a simple tap is alien to him, because he finds Sole completely alien, in this regard.

He's going to try and ignore it until Sole does something else that throws his head all out of wack. But for now, just...deeply confused. Has so much else to process first.

[writingsofwerewolves]

Want to see what I wrote spur of the moment about this guy?

~

As I carried towels towards the deck, the ship suddenly gave a hard thunk. I swayed on my feet, steadying myself against a nearby wall with a large window that showed nothing but dark water and specks of stars in the night sky.

At least… it did only show that.

As I continued to brace my hand against the wall, frowning as my mind tried to decide whether the thunk was worth panicking over, something in the window caught my eye. The tip of a tentacle crept upwards into the view of the window, the suckers occasionally catching on the glass as it slowly moved up and up and up.

I stared at it, mouth hanging open. While at first it had seemed small, the tentacle became larger and thicker the farther it moved up. It was already more than halfway up the window and the lowest and largest part I could see was twice the width of my thigh.

“M-monster,” I stuttered out in a whisper as realization hit me, “S-sea m-monster.”

After one more second of hesitation, I dropped the towels and sprinted up to the deck. A few passengers looked irked by the ship’s sudden stop but no one seemed worried.

“T-tentacle,” I panted out to one of my fellow employees, “Monster.”

She wrinkled her nose as she glared down at me, “What are you talking about?”

“A monster has us,” I gasped out, “A giant octopus or something.”

“We hit a reef,” another employee rolled his eyes as he passed, carrying a tray of drinks, “Chill out.”

I shook my head and pointed the direction I came, “I saw a tentacle. It looked like the kraken from Pirates of the—”

The ship lurched, causing a few people to fall off their feet and out of the lounge chairs. I stumbled hard into a wall, crushing my arm with my own weight.

“No one panic,” a voice came over the loud speaker, “We must be caught of a reef or something. Just find a safe place to brace yourselves. We’ll be free momentarily.”

My breath was coming in rapid, panicked huffs as I scrambled away from the wall and towards the edge of the ship. I gripped the railing and looked down.

I saw them. The tentacles slowly making their way up the sides of the ship. Some had already wrapped themselves around the railings of the lower decks and some were securely fastened to the sides with their suckers.

A scream filled the air and I knew I wasn’t the only one seeing them anymore.

“Monster!” someone yelled and almost instantly, loud cracking sounded and it felt like the floor gave way beneath my feet.

I was suddenly in the water, the highest point of the ship still visible above the waves. Around me, I saw people splashing and swimming, screaming for help. Beside me, the ship sunk further and I felt something heavy catch on my ankle, pulling me under the water.

No, no, no, no. Not like this,” I thought frantically as I struggled to hold my breath, eyes closed as I felt blindly around my feet for what was pulling me under. I felt it but I didn’t know what it was or how to detach it so I didn’t drown so I had to open my eyes. The salt water stung as I struggled to see in the dark ocean.

The ship’s lights were still on, illuminating things in an eerie blue glow. And I saw it. The monster.

Mostly, I just saw a swirl of tentacles, but I saw the main body of mass. I saw two giant blue eyes almost glowing in the darkness. I saw the monster’s tentacles wrapped around the ship, pulling it into the murky depths as several people swam desperately for the surface.

I was still being dragged downwards and my lungs screamed for air as I pulled fruitlessly at whatever weight was around my ankle. Then two tentacles shot in my direction and a scream escaped me automatically, the last of my air escaping in a flurry of bubbles as I scrambled aimlessly, just trying to get away from the monster.

One tentacle wrapped around my body, snaking around my thighs, belly, and chest, while the other aimed lower, for the heavy object I was attached to. Suddenly, I didn’t feel the weight on my ankle and then I felt rushing water around me as I was plunged upwards, breaking the surface and gulping in as much oxygen as I could.

I was still wrapped in the tentacle. I beat at it with my fists, trying to kick my bound legs. It was useless. The tentacle around me was even bigger than the little bit I’d seen in the window. It was squishy to a degree, contouring to my body and holding me firmly without crushing me, but strong enough that I couldn’t wriggle free to pull it away from me.

Then I paused, realizing the creature wasn’t pulling me under or hurting me. Just holding me, keeping my head above the waves. It took an embarrassingly long time to process that, but eventually my brain caught up and realized it wasn’t trying to kill me. It had saved me from drowning.

Around me, objects floated upwards from the wreckage of the ship. I saw people gathering on lifeboats, paddling away.

“Hey!” I called, waving my arms, “I’m here!”

They were too far. No one looked in my direction. And either they were moving very quickly or… I was being pulled the opposite direction.

“No!” I struggled anew against the tentacle, “Let me go!”

It wasn’t going to let me go. I felt the water rush against me as it swam, pulling me with it, away from the wreckage and my chance to get on a lifeboat.

Still fighting, I looked in the direction were were going and gasped. There was a ship. But it looked like one out of a pirate movie. It had to be one out of a pirate movie, because it was flying a pirate flag. The last thing I saw was a black flag with a stylized skull that had tentacles where the mouth was before darkness overtook me.

~

The first thing I registered as I started to wake was the gentle rocking of the ship. That wasn’t abnormal. I’d been on the ship for a few days and had finally started getting used to the constant movement. The second thing I registered, however, raised my suspicion. There was the strong smell of fish. It didn’t smell bad, but there was a distinct fishy smell all around me.

I blinked my eyes open and found myself in a wooden cabin, much different than the sleek modern room I’d had on the small cruise ship. There was netting hanging from the ceiling and stains that looked like water damage all around.

I looked down at myself. I was covered in a thin scratchy blanket that had holes in it. Beneath that, I wasn’t in my uniform. I was in what looked like a long, simple cotton nightgown that was quite warm. Which was good because I suddenly realized how chilled I was. I pulled the blankets up to my chin, my jaw chattering.

“Still cold?” a gruff voice asked.

I looked to the side and saw a man sitting there in what could only be described as pirate garb, with a large coat and the distinct pirate hat. Those features were second to what was truly unique about him, though. He wasn’t a human man. He had no nose, the place where it should have been nearly flat against his face. At first glance, he looked to have a beard but I quickly realized that the dreads hanging from his face weren’t hair, but tentacles that moved and curled slowly. His skin wasn’t human skin, but looked like that of some sort of aquatic creature like an octopus, colored a sea blue.

I scrambled back on the bed, clutching the blanket around me.

“What… what’s going on?” I panted out.

“I asked if you’re still cold,” he said with a small snort, “Still have water in your ears?”

The jab steeled me and my brows hardened as I looked at him.

“I was just in a shipwreck, dragged underwater by a giant fucking octopus and now it looks like I’m in a pirates shitty bedroom. Sorry if it’s taking me a bit to register things.”

His large round eyes widened, seeming surprised. I recognized those eyes. Those deep, shining blue eyes.

“It was you,” I whispered breathlessly. “You were the octopus.”

“Kraken,” he corrected, sounding irritated, “I’m a kraken and you’d do well to remember it, lass.”

“I’m not a lass,” I ground out.

“You look like a lass to me,” he returned.

My face warmed, realizing someone had changed me out of my clothes.

“Looks can be deceiving,” I tried to snap back, but my anxiety weakened my voice.

“Aye,” he agreed, rising from where he sat.

He towered over the bed I was in, his face tentacles writhing.

“If you’re not a lass, what are you?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“I’m nonbinary,” I told him, “Not a lass or lad or anything else. I’m just me.”

He snorted, though I wasn’t sure how since he didn’t have a nose, “Fine.”

“Why am I here?” I asked, craning my neck to look up at him, “You kept me from drowning. Why?”

“I always keep some treasure from our raids,” he said, shrugging his broad shoulders dismissively.

I raised an eyebrow at him and a laugh escaped me. It probably sounded a little hysterical because he took a step back, looking startled.

“You had that entire ship full of hot rich twenty year olds and you decided to keep me as your treasure?” I said, unable to hold back my amusement, “You’re either extremely desperate or have the worst possible taste.”

He raised an eyebrow. Or, would have if he had one. But I could see the muscles raising.

“You had your pick of hot woman, or men if that’s what you’re into,” I added quickly, wanting to be inclusive, “And you picked…” I gestured up at down at my body, “Me. Really, dude?”

He didn’t say anything.

“I guess it’s not too late for you to go back and get someone else,” I said with a shrug, “They couldn’t have gotten far in those dingys. Just turn back into that huge monster thing and bam, you could have your tentacles full of just legal singles.”

A smile finally broke out on his lips, almost hidden under his tentacle beard, “You’re really not afraid of me, lass?”

“Not a lass,” I reminded him, “And why should I be afraid of a fucking Davy Jones wannabe?”

Suddenly, he reached for me and I expected a hand to wrap around my neck. Instead, a tentacle did. I grasped at the large appendage as it squeezed my throat ever so slightly. It was much smaller than the ones I saw at the ship and it was coming from his sleeve, where his hand had just been.

“I’m not Davy Jones, little one,” he said in a low, dangerous voice, “He’s fictional and I am very, very real.”

A shudder went through me as I breathed quickly, feeling the soft and slightly slimy tentacle writhe slowly around me and under my hands as I tried to pull it off.

“Like it or not, you’re my prize,” he told me, “And you better hope you entertain me well enough that I keep you alive instead of feeding you to the other monsters of the sea.”

“I think I’d rather take my chances with them,” I spat out, a little choked though the tentacle wasn’t tight enough to cut off my oxygen.

He chuckled and withdrew, releasing me to gulp in air, my hand on my throat.

“You might get your wish, little one,” he said, moving towards the door, “Now rest up. I’ll give you some time to recover and then you won’t be getting much sleep for a long while.”

He winked and then pulled double doors closed, leaving me alone in the room.

[oblivious-troll]

Going to drop by here and say that I absolutely adore your Mermay entry with the Jalim snippet your wrote 🩷🩷

Now I gotta ask how you envisioned their first meeting went like ? How did they cross paths and how did such an unlikely romance between a merman and siren unfold ?

Thank you! I'm glad you like it ♥️ I might have gone a bit overboard with this answer, so bare with me, lol

---

I think they'd meet pretty simular to how they meet in the game, kind of forced to work together to survive and the longer they get to talking the more they tease and flirt until, oops! They're in love!

For different reasons they're both looking for a place to establish as their territory, Salim to settle down and live a peacefully secluded life when his old territory gets too filled with predators, Jason to get out of his old pod he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life with (Sirens are solo creatures once old enough to live on their own, until they mate and then they keep to just two and their young until they also grow up and leave. Merfolk are more pod oriented, usually in groups of 10-20, but solo merfolk aren't unheard of.)

They both come across this old ship wreck in a large cave, the perfect bit of territory to claim as a home. Neither know who got there first, bumping into each other not long after they get there- a short fight ensues but is cut short when a minor earthquake has the cave shaking and the entrance is blocked off when a chunk of rock is shook loose and falls.

The alliance is temporary and unstable at the beginning, both expecting the other to suddenly attack and that when they find another exit the territorial battle will continue. Maybe that was once the plan for both of them, but the environment has a way of interfering.

The cave goes deep, way deeper than either thought, and it's filled with octopus of various sizes, seeming to get bigger and more aggressive as they go down. Too many times are they grabbed by Giant Pacific Octopuses, Salim needing to take the brunt of them because he can withstand their toxic bites better than Jason- not immune like poison, but resistant enough to shrug off a good solid few. Not that Jason lets him take any bites, throwing himself back into the battle whenever a beak gets too close to Salim.

Distracted by the octopuses, it takes a while for them to notice that there's a lot of ship wrecks down here too... way too many with splintered wood suggesting they'd been dragged.

And at the center of it all, in the deepest pit of this hellish cave they've found themselves trapped in, lay a Kraken.

They thank Neptune that it sleeps, carefully maneuvering through the landmine of octopuses, unable to swim too high off the ground without disturbing the Kraken.

It's a mad dash at the end, jumped by an octopus that shreaks as Salim jabs in through with an old bar torn off a ship they'd passed earlier. Not such a stupid accessory after all when Salim had been fighting fine with his teeth, tail and claws up until now.

Jason's relived when they make it out of the Kraken's nest, turning around to laugh his stress and adrenaline off with Salim... but Salim's not there.

He doesn't hesitate a second, diving back into what has to be of the most dangerous place in the sea, swimming as fast as his tail will take him.

Salim’s in trouble, struggling to get multiple octopuses off him, claws chipped from overuse and too many scratches from strong beaks, suction cup cuts and bruises on the scaleless bits of his skin.

Jason’s helping Salim up just in time as a giant tentacle spears into the ground where his head had been, he keeps Salim's hand in his own as he dashes for the crevice too small for a Kraken- he's moving so fast he can't stop when he sees another tentacle of the now awake beast try to strike again, he just braces for impact and hopes Salim will make it.

A shriek louder than anything Jason's heard pierces the air and shakes their surrounds. He looks up to see the tentacle flail back, a distinct metal bar pierced through it. He gives Salim an incredulous look, and Salim's shit eating grin confirms it. The bastard speared it with the bar.

There's no time to think as they flee, hardly time to recuperate either as a bunch of octopuses try and follow them- they're lucky they find an exit on the other side of the vast cave only needing to kill a few more, but they have the advantage in the open and the blood of the octopuses lure out other sea creatures that thankfully aren't interested in either of them, seals the biggest help.

They don't part ways after this, continuing to search for a territory that will be best for both of them instead. And when they finally do, mating is the next step for them :)

[sword-and-stars]

For all of our sakes, this list includes animals that are not strictly abyssal but just Very Deep Water In General. because reasons. Also because fuck you I do what I want.

9. Deep sea anglerfish

Listen, okay. This fish. This poor fucker. The deep sea anglerfish has a parasitic relationship with her man and eats everyone who gets to close to her. #staytoxic

8. Goblin shark

I hate this guy. Next.

7. Chimaera

This little guy is just happy to be included. Just a little guy. Just a little buddy!

6. Gulper eel

I love this fucker. He looks like a freaky shadow tadpole until you take a closer look and realize that his body is his whole mouth. He’s horrifying. 10/10.

5. Giant spider crabs

I don’t think I need to explain.

4. Vampire squid

There are few things better than a nontraditional cephalopod. The vampire squid is shaped like your favorite umbrella and is the only known cephalopod to be a scavenger over fresh food.

3. Giant isopod

This is the second best invertebrate in the deep sea and no I will not be taking criticism today. He’s huge. He scuttles. He’s basically a giant rolypoly that’s too big to give a fuck about fuck. 13/10

2. Dumbo octopus

Friend-shaped and the most most adorable fucker you’ve ever seen in your life.

1. Coelacanth

The coelacanth is not only the best fish on this list but in fact the best fish in existence. The coelacanth was thought he extinct until one was pulled up by chance off the coast of South Africa I wanna say. Coelacanths are part of the clade sarcopterygii, the lobe-finned fishes, which includes two types of fish currently alive today: coelacanths and lungfishes. In fact, tetrapods (critters with legs, ie amphibians, reptiles, and mammals) evolved from certain species of sarcopterygians and basically we learned a metric fuckton about how tetrapods evolved by studying coelacanths.

Also they stand on their heads to feed and it’s delightful.

12454825273/10 best fish, best sea critter, everyone else can go home.

[twomiddlefingersforthehaters]

_Art Book of Naruto Uzumaki_ Part-4

Each one of the tailed beasts appears in the chasms of time. May the truth of the jinchüriki be revealed!

1. Gaara from Sunagekure Village, jinchūriki of the One-Tail

The concept behind Gaara's beast is a tanuki (raccoon dog). In Japanese folklore, foxes and tanuki never get along, so I thought I would make it a continued rivalry between him and Naruto. I really like the jagged and jutted-out jaw that the One Tall has.

2. Nii Yugito from Kumogakure Village, jinchūriki of the Two-Tails

This design was based on a creature called a futamata, which is essentially a cat that has grown a second tail after living for a very long time. Yugito is a very high-ranking kunoichi, and even Killer Bee gives her a lot of respect.

3. Yagura from Kirigakure Village, jinchūriki of the Three-Tails

At the time of serialization, other jinchūriki like Naruto and Gaara had already appeared. That's why I opted to have an extremely large tailed beast appear first. The basic concept of this beast is a turtle.

4. Roshi from Iwagakure village, jinchūriki of the Four-Tails

This design was based on a gorilla.... that or the giant monkey version of Goku trom Dragon Ball. The horns on his forehead are made to look like the Monkey King in Chinese mythology. He can spit fire and lava.

5. Han from Iwagakure village, jinchūriki of the Five-Tails

I combined a dolphin and a horse, but I couldn't really picture it and ended up with something that don't really understand. Han wears armor made of steam and mostly uses ninjutsu that manipulates steam. In other words, he's the Steam Jinchūriki.

6. Utakata from Kirigakure Village, jinchūriki of the Six-Tails

The Six Tails is kind of wiggly and looks like it might but won't shoot out lightning. Utakata uses ninjutsu that manipulates bubbles, making him a slippery opponent.

7. Fu from Takigakure Village, jinchūriki of the Seven-Tails.

The basic concept of the Seven Tails is a bug. I made the exoskeleton of the bug look more like a piece of armor and made the wings part of its tail. The jinchūriki is a girl, but aside from that, I haven't really decided on anything about her. (LOL)

8. Killer Bee from Kumagakure Village, jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails

The Eight Tails is like a cross between an octopus and a cow. I love how tasty the tails can look. Killer Bee usually speaks in rhymes. He's quite strong.

9. Uzumaki Naruto from Konohagakure Village, jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails

The basic concept of this beast is a fox. It is the strongest out of all the tailed beasts. It's so strong that I have no idea how to present it. (LOL)

[the-lumpfish-king]

Very beautiful! Very Powerful!

Thought I’d make one of these pined post things to introduce myself.

My name is Solanum, but you can call me Sol or Lump (or Sol Badthey if you’re epic)

I’m a 24 year old ginger, use it/she/they/anything non-male, demiromantic, exist in an asexual quantum superposition, and am bi/pan. Most importantly, I am also a fish

I have a degree in Physics with plans to go into a PhD program for research Astronomy. My area of focus is galaxy structure, formation, and evolution. I’m currently working on my first research papers, adapting my undergraduate thesis work into proper astronomy journal form. I love doing physics and take requests for calculations, stupid or serious (check “#lump’s calculations” for those I’ve done so far, these are my best posts by far).

I try to keep fully nsfw stuff off this blog, but mild nsfw is to be expected, so minors beware

Outside of research, work, and classes I can usually be found gaming, playing MTG, or putting way too much effort into my shitposts while watching something on my second monitor.

I can be found on a few other sites under the same username but am only active here, and if any mutuals want to connect on discord or steam dm me

If you take one thing away from reading this it’s GO PLAY OUTER WILDS RIGHT NOW. Do not look up anything about it, just play the game and then get your friends to play it. Then we can all talk about it. Please, I need to talk about this masterpiece with more people.

Now that you’ve learned about me I have gained access to your walls. Don’t worry, all I do is nibble a bit of drywall from time to time.

Too many fun facts below

My personal motto is: “The universe is scary and so much bigger than any of us can comprehend, so it’s our duty to fag it up as much as possible”

My plushies names: -Tofrug: Lord Squishers -Manatee: Weapon of Lettuce Destruction -Reimu Fumo: Air Fried Bastard -Hydreigon: Hans -Vaporeon: Dihydrogen Monoxide Puppy -Meowscarada: Greenfield -Reshiram: Nuclear Mommy -Gardevior: Horizon -Blåhaj: Jimbei -Gobbo Bard: Ga Bu

I love nature, and evergreen forests in particular. I enjoy hiking and mushroom and berry picking.

My most proud find is this massive cluster of morels I came across a couple years back.

Here’s an overabundance of my personal top 3′s, not necessarily the three I think are best (except Outer Wilds, that’s best thing humanity has produced). Games: Outer Wilds, FFXIV, Ori and the Will of the Wisps Manga: One Piece, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Dungeon Meshi Books: Red Rising, Percy Jackson, A Song of Ice and Fire Movies: Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Secret of Kells, Hundreds of Beavers Shows: Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, Mob Psycho 100, Ya Boy Kongming! Characters: Mr Torgue Highfive Flexington, Kronk, Nico Robin Mountains: Mt. Hood, Sierra de la Laguna, Mauna Kea Flying Critters: Giant Golden-Crowned Flying Fox, Pelican, Toucan Landbound Creatures: Red Panda, Jumping Spider, Goliath Frog Marine Animals: Sea Lion, Lumpfish, Giant Pacific Octopus Pokemon: Gardevoir, Hisuian Goodra, Zekrom Soundtracks: FFXIV, Made in Abyss, Wildfrost Albums: Starship Velociraptor, Everything Ends (Materia), Westwinds (The Real McKenzies) Foods: Cottage Pie, Khao Soi, my dad’s Chile Verde Fruit: Mexican Pitaya, Atemoya, Mango, Huckleberry Galaxy Clusters: Abell 0209, Abell 1689, macs0416

Here’s a couple of neat galaxy pictures I took using my university’s telescope:

[kerubimcrepin]

Liveblog 8: Episode 5, AKA the one where we discuss Kerubim's dead family again

Since I made pointing out the food they eat A Thing we do here, let's start out with that for this episode.

First of all, their household is so fish-centric. An octopus? A lobster?? A different lobster and a fish?? Plus, multiple bags, one under the lobster, and one under the giant veggie on top of Joris's other veggies. Probably some grain, I guess. Simone is also carrying some greens in a bag.

Basically... Man, they love fish and veggies, I guess?

Yet again, we see Kerubim's low self esteem and need for validation in action.

Yes, he thinks he's amazing. Yes, he uses magic to force people to laugh at his jokes. And yes, it makes him very happy and proud.

Don't worry about it. :)

I find it kind of interesting that Joris is resistant to the magic, but the simplest explanation is that his soul is intermixed with a dragon. I won't think too much about this.

Joris should have a salary for the way Kerubim's reputation hinges on him not talking about the shit that goes on in their house.

Like the deadly swords and cursed items everywhere. Or having mold and rotting meat at every corner for his whole life.

Considering that bamboo milk is alcoholic, I am fascinated by the in-universe implications of this line.

I wish boil-able, alcoholic oat milk was real.

The best way to get Kerubim to do something stupid is to make fun of him. Again, his low, low self-esteem making an appearance.

Genuinely, instead of being at the bar, he should have been in therapy.

Very small note, but we can see an amputee among the many patrons who listen to Kerubim's scary drunken rambling. I wish more cartoons included this sort of thing.

Though, this might be a bit of a brick-joke, considering what we learn about YeCh'Ti and his arm collection.

COUGH COUGH COUGH. ANALYSIS EVENT LEVEL 10 ALARM WEE WOO WEE WOO.

Firstly, god. The sheer insanity of going from his child self's grief and pain over losing both of his parents, all of his sisters and brothers, to making jokes about this, jokes about having no family and being lonely.

Is it really funny to you, Keke? Or are you just pretending again?

Second of all... I could talk for hours about how much I love/despise this man, but fuck, the sheer level of cruelty in this line knows no bounds.

Are you really The Last Crepin in your family, Keke?

Or are you just being cruel and facetious again?

Cruel, and towards the only other person in the whole world who would understand what you went through, because he also went through it?

(This is, yet again, your signal to go read The Wheel of Destiny #8: Kerub Crepin and Dessous De Dofus)

No wonder Atcham wants to turn him into a coat. I would fucking hate him too.

Though, with Atcham kind of using his hate for him as a coping mechanism for not having control in his life, and canonically not thinking that Kerubim really... mistreated him, when they were young, it's far more complex than that.

Especially with the way Kerubim's own conflicted feelings on their relationship are portrayed in-canon.

I'm so normal about them. Haha.

...Aaaanyway, onto the rest of the ep, while trying to pretend this doesn't make me feel all sorts of emotions:

This moment is a continuity error, because Ogrest hasn't started his quest for Dofus yet. Also, he may not even be alive yet. Yes, Kerubim and Joris are that old.

It's too cute of an easter egg for me to mind, though.

God. Joris needs better loved ones. His standards are so low he's looking at Kerubim like 🥺

Something-something Kerubim would genuinely kill himself if it meant people thought he was funny and cool.

I don't think he learned anything from this, actually.

I think we have to kill this guy with hammers.