#glowy eyes and a jagged mouth?

[jelly-fish-wishes]

I have discovered that I have another type in character design…

[slyvester101]

What about mermaid Tucker and winged Wash, but Tucker looks gnarly for a mermaid with glowing dorsal fins and scales and maybe sharp teeth because I love my sea creatures a little funky. Wash and Tucker probably likes to examine each other's features alot. Plspls

Hell fucking yeah

I’m imagining Tucker more as an angler fish (because they got that glowy thing), so Tucker looks really pretty in the dark, glowing bright aquamarine in the depths of the ocean, almost passing off as a harmless mermaid lost in the deep blue.

But in the sun? When you can see Tucker clearly? Oh, he’s terrifying. He’s got a mouth full of needle-like teeth that unsettle even the most friendly of fish, barnacle covering already rough scales, long claws on dark colored arms leading to sharp, jagged fins, eyes that reflect the light and can scare the skin off a catfish, and, of course, the faded glow of the marks that lured you in in the first place.

He’s not ugly by any means (the beauty standards of the ocean are very different from the ones on land or in the sky) but he’s still a deep sea creature meant to lure with pretty looks before devouring you whole, so people tend to be naturally… cautious around him.

Which is why he’s so surprised a little birdie got so close to him in broad daylight.

Wash lives off the coast with his flock (aka team freelancer because they deserve a soft au to exist in) and can be found hanging around the mer that chill on the shore. He spends a lot of time out there, basking in the sun, flying with his buddies, swimming with the mer, so when he spots a mer(?) lounging on some rock a bit further off the coast that he doesn’t recognize, he’s naturally curious.

He doesn’t even spot Tucker at first since he blends in so well with the rocks. He scares the shit out of him when he perches to say hi, ever the silent flier.

After getting thoroughly scolded for sneaking up on him, Wash and Tucker get to talking and Wash finds out that Tucker is a deep dweller (not technically a mer, but Tucker could give less of a shit, unlike his friend ‘Church’ who will gut a man for calling him a mer). Tucker finds out that Wash is a Barn Owl and that the ‘sneaking up on people’ thing is mostly accidental.

They spend the rest of the day up there, a lot of it spent sneaking glances because Wash has never seen a deep dweller (Tucker is like, the only deep dweller that doesn’t like spending all their time in the dark) and Tucker has never seen an avian up close, most of them either not seeing him since he blends in with the shore so well or are too scared to get close.

Also, they’re just pretty.

Eventually Tucker lets it slip that Wash’s wings look really soft and Wash offers to let him touch if he can look at Tucker’s tail. They spend the rest of the day trading touches and gently brushing over each other’s features (Tucker: Is your hair as soft as your wings?

Wash: Um, I don’t know. You can check?

Tucker: I’d let you touch my hair, but uh, it’s not really like yours.

Wash: How about your fins?

Tucker: Go for it dude.)

(Wash: Your teeth are really sharp.

Tucker: Yeah, how else am I supposed to eat fish?

Wash: I eat fish and my teeth aren’t as sharp as yours.

Tucker: What? Lemme see.)

(Tucker: ...your eyes are really pretty.

Wash: Oh… Thanks…

Tucker: …You can say I’m pretty too!

Wash: You are pretty. *ensue lots of blushing*)

It doesn’t take them long to become good friends and spend basically every day together.

Church may or may not get jealous about Wash ‘stealing’ his best friend. Caboose is excited to have a new friend. Grif grills Tucker on his crush. Donut is supportive of Tucker’s crush. Simmons is very interested in Wash and Co. and their anatomy (he’s never gotten the courage to go say hi to another avian before). Sarge (not a mer but a seagull avian trying to teach the mers how to fly) tries to enlist Wash to his cause but thinks Wash is sabotaging his efforts when he finds out how much Wash likes swimming (and when Wash tells him fish can’t fly). Lopez is basically Sabastian the crab from little mermaid except spanish… and with a lot more cursing.

ANYWAYS, they’re pinning and trying to court each other but they don’t know what customs their species have so they try to subtly learn about it while also ignoring the blatant attempts at courting the other shows because “oh, he doesn’t know that’s a courting thing.”

Deep dweller/mer and avian courting customs are actually really similar: giving gifts (especially shinies), dance/song, proof of being able to provide (food gathering, shelter building, etc.), and presenting color (They’re both insecure about this one because neither is very colorful).

This means the more they learn about the others' courting customs and how similar it is to theirs, they start going “ah, maybe he is courting me.” And they start getting their shit together.

Their first kiss happens when Wash tries to surprise Tucker by getting glow in the dark paint and painting his feathers so they match (presenting color custom). It ends up very messy and they’re both covered in blue paint that doesn’t even compare to the brilliant glow of Tucker’s marks and Wash is on top of Tucker.

Wash is kind of panicking thinking he messed everything up but then Tucker is laughing and smiling and looking at him with those shining eyes and—

Wash doesn’t think he could’ve asked for a better first kiss.

They’re a little insufferable after that, honeymoon moon phase and all, but everyone’s very happy for them and they’re very cute and everything is good forever. All the time.

[zoruascanbetrainerstoo]

Pelipper mail! A nightmare. It isn't yours. But you are watching helplessly from some sort of invisible prison someone you care about getting hurt. Badly hurt. Someone you call mom.

"How is it moving like that?!"

The grotesque figure of a monster flits around Mom like flashes of lightning. It has a goopy, pulsating body that is dark pink and purple and inky black, and it reminds you of rotten meat. Mom is using her scimitar and her shield and jumps and attacks at the monster almost like she's dancing. She's super strong, woah! She can definitely beat this monster!

...Can she?

If you squint, you can see the dark, jagged scars running all across her body, and they only grow darker with each time the monster hits her with a Thunderbolt. A really green and really fast Thunderbolt. But if Mom can use electricity too, then she must be resistant to it.

The monster has a scary, glowy sword and a shield of its own, too. And it's reallyreallyreally fast. It blinds you when you try to keep up with it, it makes disturbing screeches even though it doesn't have a mouth that hurt your ears, and Mom keeps getting hit. Why does she keep getting hit?!

A splatter of red is briefly illuminated by the green lightning, and your stomach drops. You squint again at Mom, and find that her scars are bleeding from everywhere and bloody gashes cover her body. She is leaning on her scimitar and breathing heavily and coughing.

Stop getting hit, Mom, you want to cry to her. Stop!

The monster can just keep going and going while Mom staggers and falls to her knees. The monster is evil and mean. You can't look away as it beats and stabs and electrocutes Mom— what did she ever do to it?! This isn't fair! It's so much faster than her!

"Little— Little bird," she gasps weakly. Isn't that what she calls Ms. Zelda? "Oh, Saphira..."

(Who is that again?)

Mom collapses and her scimitar falls with a loud clatter. No.

You want to scream at her. You need to scream at her, to tell her to get up, because the monster is still there! You're still there! But she won't move even a little tiny bit, as her blood pools from beneath her limp body. And you couldn't even do anything to help.

But it's just a nightmare. Isn't it?

[A video is attached. Watch it?]

[Illanero jolts awake with a high-pitched yelp, the tears in xyr eyes flowing once more.

Xey're still curled up near the makeshift grave for the old human, and xyr ears are flattened against xyr head.

"Urbosa mom..." xey quietly mutter, sobbing.]

[areyougonnabe]

guess who

[ON AO3 HERE]

The two men stared at the note, lying flat on their kitchen table.

The shorter one tentatively reached over to pick it up. “ONE OF YOU IS AN ANGEL, AND ONE OF YOU IS A DEMON,” he read out loud, for the redhead to hear, “BUT WHICH ONE IS WHICH? YOU HAVE HALF AN HOUR TO FIGURE IT OUT. IF YOU GET IT WRONG, THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES.”

The reader looked back down to the table, where a small golden hourglass was dropping grains of sand smoothly and implacably into its lower half.

Then he looked at his companion. Like the reader himself, he was dressed in comfortable heather-gray pajamas, but embroidered above the pocket of his shirt was a small white C.

The reader looked down at his own shirt front, and noted a matching letter A.

“This is weird,” said C. “Isn’t it?”

A. nodded. “A bit,” he admitted. “But it shouldn’t be too hard. Angels and demons are very different, after all.”

“They are,” agreed C.  He squinted at A., lines on his face crinkling around deep brown eyes, and A. noted with a jolt that C.’s eyes were— wrong, somehow, false, he was sure of it.

“There’s a sort of—glamour on you,” A. said cautiously. “Stopping me from seeing— certain things, that would give it away.”

“Same with you,” said C., after a moment. “Part of the game, I suppose.”

“Is it a game? Seems rather more like a punishment.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said C. airily, though A. could see the beginnings of tension building in his face and shoulders as he considered the idea.

“Let’s start with the basics,” said A., trying to be practical. “What do you know about angels?”

“Well, they’re big, and powerful,” said C., “they’ve got glowy halos, swords of fire…” He gave A. an appraising glance, and A. felt all at once rather small and unimpressive. “What do you know about demons, then?”

A. had to think for a moment. His head felt uncomfortably half-full; the rattle of the remnants against the insides was distracting, calling attention to what was missing as he tried to focus on what wasn’t.

“Demons are... evil, certainly,” he said, “dangerous, dastardly beasts, with claws and tails and such…”

He trailed off, looking at C., and then on impulse, reached out and grabbed C.’s hand. He led him out of the room, down the hall to a small bathroom, where they stood in front of the mirror, observing both reflections lined up next to each other.

With some relief, A. was able to confirm that he, like C., was a rather normal-looking man. He had perfectly straight white teeth, and blue-greyish eyes wide with concern.

“Don’t see any claws,” said C. quietly.

“Nor any halos,” confirmed A.

“The glamour, then?”

A. rubbed at his forehead in frustration. “Must be. How on earth are we supposed to be able to tell?”

“Come on,” said C., “think of it like a mystery to solve. We can be like— Holmes and Watson! Elementary, my dear A.—”

“Oh, of course you think you’re Holmes,” scoffed A.  

C. shot A. an offended look at that, and A. was struck with a distinct sensation of deja vu, like they’d run through this argument hundreds of times before.

He looked back into the mirror for further inspection, and C. followed his lead, tugging at the lock of scarlet hair falling onto his forehead. “Very red,” he said. “A demon would have black hair, wouldn’t it? Greasy like an oil-spill, you’d think.”

A. ran a hand through his own fine curls. “Mine’s… sort of bone-colored,” he mused. “A bit spooky.” He held up his hands, examining them. The nails were very manicured; almost vain in their neatness. Well, there was another clue to add to the demon column for himself.

As soon as that thought came to him, he realized they needed some sort of practical organizational system, if they were going to go about this properly.  He led C. out of the bathroom, back to the table where the note and the hourglass were, standing in the middle of a quaint but expansive kitchen. Then he rifled through a few drawers until he found the requisite basic supplies.

The two of them then sat down, and proceeded to fill out a full sheet of A4 paper with a chart, C.’s chicken-scratch mixing in with A.’s neat print.

Under the header labeled C = ANGEL, A = DEMON were notes like A shorter (demons shorter, closer to Hell) and C skinnier = ascetic? like monk.

In the A = ANGEL, C = DEMON column were an equal number of ideas, such as A hair = white like halo and C is very pointy (sharp = dangerous?).

Eventually, after the hourglass had ticked away nearly all of the allotted time, C. frowned down at the paper and its assorted scribblings.

“... It could be a trick question,” he said slowly.

“Sorry?”

“Maybe we’re both angels.”

A. fiddled with his pen. C. being an angel he could believe— there was something so simply lovely about him— but his view of himself, even from just half an hour of conscious experience, felt quite far from the kind of perfection he felt an angel ought to exist in a permanent state of. He was soft, and rather snippish, and he’d definitely grown a bit hungry since the game began.

“Or both demons…?” A. ventured to suggest.

C. raised his right eyebrow, in a majestic feat of facial control. “I don’t know about that,” he said.

"Well, there are lots of things you don't know. Obviously."

Then, and only then, did A. see something that they’d both missed. He was watching C. write down A is very mean under the A = DEMON heading, and as his long fingers moved, the light glinted off something small and shining.

“Ha!” exclaimed A. “We’re married!” He grabbed C.’s hand and held it up, pointing at the gold band around his ring finger.

C. stared at the ring, and then at A., a delighted grin appearing on his face. “Oh— that’s brilliant!” he said.

He leaned forward and, without another word, kissed A., deeply and happily. A. melted into the touch, C.’s mouth fitting perfectly and sweetly against his own.

“Oh— thank you,” said A., when at last C. pulled away. He wished they had time for a bit more of that, but when he glanced over at the hourglass, there was barely a minute left. “But that’s not— you see, that’s the answer! I’ve figured it out!”

C. tipped his head, frowning. “What do you mean?”

“Angels and demons don’t get married,” A. said confidently, tapping his own matching wedding band. “It’s basic theology, my dear. You see, it is a trick question after all— just not the way we were thinking—”

Comprehension dawned on C.’s face. “Neither of us are the angel, or the demon,” he said. “...But what about the glamour—?”

“That,” said A. confidently, “was a red herring!”

C. nodded, his expression nervous, but absolutely open and trusting. A. wondered what he’d done to deserve to be married to such a lovely man. Hopefully, he’d be finding out soon.

C. began, “If we’re wrong—”

“We’re not, I’m sure of it!”

“—I know, I think you’re right too, but if we are,” insisted C., and he took A.’s hands in his, “and we don’t make it out of this— if we face consequences, like it said— I just want you to know—”

His mouth fought with itself, failing to form words, and eventually he just gave up and kissed A. again, a swift press this time, the goodbye to the earlier kiss’s hello.

Then he let go, reached for the note, and flipped it over, scribbling something down on the blank side.

He stood up, and so did A., their gaze meeting for a single second, dense with tension and hope and expectation.

At that moment, the last drops of sand in the hourglass fell away. There was the sound of a gentle chime from all around, then a bright flash of white light, splintering into rainbow fractals that burst around the both of them in jagged sparks.

When the light cleared, nothing had changed at all, except for the color of Crowley’s eyes, and the uncloaking, in an invisible dimension very close by, of two sets of gently folded wings.

Crowley looked down at the paper, where BOTH HUMAN! had been written in his own handwriting just seconds before.

“Wow,” he said, not having much else to say.

Aziraphale blinked to clear away the flash of light that marked the expiration of their temporary spell. “Well. That took quite the turn,” he said.

Crowley only had a wordless noise of affirmation to add to that. Aziraphale dusted his hands off, like he’d just tried a new recipe that had turned out horribly wrong, but wasn’t really all that put off, because he’d get to primly call it a learning experience if anyone asked.

“A no-score draw,” he said, with a gentle, knowing smile.

Crowley rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, you're allowed to be a little mad that you lost!”

“I could say the same to you,” Aziraphale retorted. “seeing as you also lost. I suppose next time we construct this kind of wager for our Sunday morning amusement, we’d best account for options other than the obvious two.”

“You’d think by now we’d have learned that,” Crowley laughed, and he gathered Aziraphale close to him, slotting the angel’s head below his chin. Aziraphale hummed into Crowley’s chest, sinking into the well-known warmth of it as Crowley ran a gentle, casual hand through his hair.

“I really thought you were so beautiful, you know,” Aziraphale said quietly.

“Thought?!” Crowley cried in mock-outrage. “What’s this past tense?”

“Oh, you know what I mean,” said Aziraphale. “I didn’t know a thing about you, or me, or what we were, or who we are, and I still thought you were the most lovely thing I’d ever have the pleasure to see.”

“Mmm,” squeaked Crowley. “I— yeah. Felt something similar, I think.”

Aziraphale felt that there was probably further discussion to be had regarding the conclusion they’d come to, in their altered state, but he was content to leave it be, for now. They had plenty of time. And right now, he had other priorities— the miracle required for their little gamble had been a hefty one, even with Crowley supplying half the necessary energy. He could absolutely go for a snack.

“Shall we get dressed?” Aziraphale suggested. “The farmers market is about to get very crowded, I think.”

“Would hate for you to miss out on your precious pears,” said Crowley, and Aziraphale smiled at that. It was going to be a good day, he thought. They’d eat some, read some, kiss some, and then at the end of it, possibly even sleep some.

BOTH HUMAN, indeed.

[nighttbound-a]

When I was designing G3IST, I did consider if in his smoke he should have a sort of glowy jack-o’-lantern jagged mouth and eyes. I would,,, consider drawing it again if people think it’ll look better?

[arcadequeerz]

Robot Scribbles AU stuff!!

This is all taken from a discord server N slightly reformated so!, 

N its all I have on him pretty much n everything story wise thus Far!!

This post will also uuh explain stuff bout this AU’s Bendy,  In terms of this AU’s Joey,I haven't rly thought up much on him-

More to come? Perhaps! But for now this is all I hav:

Robot!Scribbles: Same height as his Canon Self, 6'10

Body is made out of this smooth, sleek, sort of Shiny black metal?? Glossy and Smooth- On his head, down the back of his neck he has a mess of curled, tangled wire, sorta gives him the appearance of havin a head of curly hair almost! Has more of these curled wires down along his back, though these r much longer and he's able to move these, Stretch them longer- they end in frayed wire and will occasionally spark at the ends of them.

Arms r made of segmented coiled wire?? tht r a dark steel color, Is able to stretch them longer and uncoil them, Hands end in hooked silver claws, when his arms are uncurled the wires made from his arms each end in a hooked claw! Has a long tail of coiled wire that end in more frayed wire, will spark sometimes like the ones on his back.

His legs r sorta like unguligrade?? End in Points tht r flat on the bottom tho and have a point that floats a Lil off of the back of his 'foot'?? idk how to Describe thm HGD

Like his normal self he has two horns on either side of his head, Horn on his left is more bent in then the one on his Right! His face is a slightly lighter, black screen- Displayed on the screen r two white piecut eyes, Though on the right side of his screen its cracked/broken- making the eye Look warped/Stretched, kind of glitchy. The smile for his mouth is like- a Equalizer, white and it moves when he talks/makes noises!! Iss like this(tw Flashy/Eyestrainy!)

His Smile will glow brighter while Talking, and his eyes are glowy!!

Scribbles himself has this slight warmth to his body, and to his screen. Has a sliight heat to him when you touch him!(If you happen to fluster him he’ll get Warmer and so will his screen, and it’ll lead to it glitching a bit and flickering, and his voice getting stuttery with crackly static.)

His screen is also able to like- Break off, To reveal two Bright glowing white lights in shadow, and a mess of tangled wire and v jagged pieces of metal/teeth- This only really happens when he’s Pissed off enough Usually.

His voice is also Really Messed up- Kinda shifts between volume a lot- tends to have a pretty loud voice, He can kind of control the volume of his voice to a certain extent, but under moments of high stress, or really strong emotion- their voice will get louder and get heavily distorted the longer he's stressed/ distressed.

Also due to Glitching like he does, he ends up repeating words when he doesn't mean to- if he happens to glitch when speaking, it can manifest in him being 'hung up' on a certain word and repeating it a few times before it'll pass- Or his voice will suddenly get very distorted- or even just. Cut out entirely.

When angered, his voice will get a Lot more distorted/crackly- and growly sounding- can get to the point its pretty much incomprehensible sometimes. His purring is more like a low, Deep whirring/rumbling sound!

Scribbles also has this sort of- Soft? Plush-Smooth, Squishy material from his inner Thighs, Hips, to his stomach and to his chest. It’s a lighter shade of black compared to the rest of his body, He is..Rounmd, Chubby- n Sofft.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

A.I/Robot Bendy: Unsure on how..Uh big he is?? Pretty big-He’s not fully built.

Bendy is attached to a arm thats on this swivel that hangs down from the ceiling that allows him to move. He’s half built- Half a torso that looks like they had their Arm ripped off and lower half is missing- They have their right Arm and a mangled mess of wire and his spin that stretches into a long length of thin wires. He’s made of pitch black, bent- scratched metal, Rusted in certain spots like his hand- His head has two long horns on either side of it, Face is a smashed, broken screen that’ll occasionally flicker to life showing a distorted pair of bright red pie cut eyes- that’ll glitch and seemingly melt down over the broken screen, and a crooked Very wide smile. 

Their one hand ends in crooked, hooked claws and they have jagged spines that trail down along their back. Seemingly has this thick- tar like black liquid that melts off of him from the cracks in his screen and the mangled mess of wires hanging off from his mangled torso.

Bendy is a forgotten- Abandoned A.I left to rot in Joey’s facility- Created by Joey, Put in the darkest corner of the facility and forgotten about pretty much, locked away from everyone and everything else, Kept in the dark about the world around them. Joey doesn’t realize though they have ways of seeing things in the facility- Able to ‘slip’ through the broken cracks in his screen, in their body and into the systems of the facility- He lacks eyes/can’t see- So the cameras in the building act as his eyes, allow him glimpses of things around him.

Overall, His abilities are limited though, His communication to anyone, or anything are limited- Unable to really reach out to anyone, Up until Joey builds Scribbles.

Bendy also has this almost- Sense of divinity to him, Like he isn’t A god- But..In the way he carries himself almost- the way he speaks, Acts, there’s this air of other worldly, sort of divinity to this Odd, Forgotten A.I. Sort of like- He’s been forgotten/left alone for so long- they’ve kind of Evolved- I am unsure of exactly how to say what I mean HGFDSHG He’s just, become something FAR more then a simple A.I at this point- something Bigger then That.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK FINALLY ONTO THE STORY/ STUFF I’VE COME UP WITH SO FAR:

This will pretty much be Mostly just, copy n pasted from discord, Maybe a LIL Reformatted but not much Probably!!

Scribbles being built and Joey wanting to know  if he can 'teach' a A.I to be someone else.

Builds Scribbles- And its after Henry's died(?), so he wonders if he could teach this A.I to be Henry? Maybe he can have him back that way.

It starts to work in the beginning, but it doesn't last though because somehow The A.I keeps deviating from what 'role' they've given it- Keeps acting out of line- almost acting like they are their own self- And that enrages Joey- The thing should be whatever he makes them be and yet? It's not.

Scribbles though? He's confused- He's Supposed to be Henry- but...he doesn't feel like he's Henry- Everything tells him to be Henry-

But it feels...wrong- It's not right- But if he's not Henry....

Then Who is he?

Bendy is a witness to Scribbles Creation, and sees what Joey as doing as Wrong- And decides to sort of- Ruin his plans in a way, Free Scribbles from Joey’s ‘role’ he’s given him. He has a hand in giving them their sentience, and the idea that he can be his own Self.

Bendy somehow manages to reach out to Scribbles, Speaking to him in what Ways he can, reaching out to him in his limited ways(the specific Ways I can’t think of atm), And lures Scribbles to the forgotten/abandoned half of the facility where he meets him for the first time. The two sort of have..A Chat- in the only Way Bendy can, He slips out of from his body- and Goes into Scribbles, Partly- so he can speak to him.

It uh- Has a pretty Big effect on Scribbles, Sort of- Short circuits them- Changes them, Its a bit overwhelming and a Literal Shock to his systems- Bendy unfortunately hadn’t realized he couldn’t handle them/isn’t built to be able to. And due to this it pretty much Overwhelms the robot.

Scribbles hears him though- He hears this forgotten A.I’s words and those words Stay with him- Ingrained in their version of a ‘mind’. Unsure of the exact things Bendy says, Tells him or shows him, But Scribbles manages to pull themselves off the floor- bit shaky on their feet now as Bendy pulls themselves from him, slinking back to his body.

The two stare at one another- Scribbles with the eyes on his screen- And Bendy with the cameras mounted in the corners of the room. After this for a few moments- Scribbles says goodbye to him and leaves. Instead of it being a word spoken with no emotion, There’s something to it- Fear?- Confusion? Bendy is uncertain but hopes the strange Robot takes his words and keeps them.

These words do Stay with Scribbles, who now finds themselves thinking- Thinking things far more then what he should be able to with what Joey intended him to be- And its..Quite a overwhelming feeling..He starts to feel like whoever- Whatever this ‘Henry’ is- That that’s not him- Due to Scribbles having this encounter with Bendy he’s sort of like- Broken?? His body is no longer suited for him- Since Bendy’s kind of changed him, That encounter is how he gets the broken part of his Screen- And it leads to his body sort of..Starting to Intergrade things into themselves, to try and fix themselves. 

Pretty much- After this encounter with Bendy, his body is unfitting for his ‘A.I’ now, therefore its pretty much Constantly falling part in a way,  breaking down/degrading- To hold this off n sort of fix themselves, Scribbles’ body starts to like, absorb- Intergrate, other bits of tech and machinery into themselves. Does this by absorbing things with the wires on his back and even ‘Eating’ things sometimes(Not rly in the same way a Human would, More of- puts it in the mess of wire and teeth behind their screen n its..uh Devoured, absorbed.)

Joey starts to take Note of the..Odd behavior of his newest Robot, And is quite concerned by it- Watching how they seem..Distracted? Confused- Glitching, fumbling over words and even glitching. He’s run diagnostics, done checks- but he can’t seem..To find anything different- Then he sees Scribbles absorb something and He’s pretty much just:

“WHAT THE FUCK- THAT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN- HOW THE FUCK!!!?!?!!”

He takes to keeping Scribbles locked in his Lab, refusing to let the A.I out without his supervision- And takes notes of every bizarre behavior he sees from The robot.

At some point, While in his lab- Running even more diagnostics on Scribbles just to be safe, They speak to him-

Scribbles straight up Asking Joey why He has to be Henry.

It makes Joey freeze and stare at him- He almost feels scared- It shouldn't be asking this? It shouldn't be thinking- and yet its Looking at him, head tilted as they kick their legs from the counter their sat on- The white eyes on the screen have started to have a brighter glow on them, and they're looking directly at him.

It's just waiting for him to Answer them, He takes a moment to think of what to say- He feels deeply uncomfortable with their eyes on him- Shifting in place as he speaks.

"Because that's who I Want you to be"

The robot Sits up straighter, Blinking a few times- the smile on their face shifting to a frown as they look from him down to their hands. The coiled wires on their back shift a bit, and they twitch suddenly- Head twitching, the images on their screen flickering as they seem to be thinking- before looking back to him and speaking.

"Bu-ut wha-T I-If I don't Want to be Henry?"

It shouldn't be thinking. It shouldn't be asking this- It should just Listen to him and do as he says- It shouldn't be able to ASK this!...what the fuck was going on-?

Joey backs themselves away a bit, Suddenly feeling..Much more scared now, his creation doesn't seem to notice the fear as they keep their eyes trained on him, Watching him as he tries to figure out how to respond- stuttering, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"Wh-well that doesn't m-Matter-You are Who I Say you are-"

The frown on the things face tilts down more, Seems like that wasn't the answer it wanted- It shouldn't matter the answer he gives it- it should just Take his Word and LISTEN!- do as he Tells them- but it doesn't respond, Simply frowns and looks away from him finally and down at the floor.

He takes this chance to leave- Quickly leaving the Lab- locking the door behind him and stumbling back from the door, staring at it with wide eyes. This wasn't right- this was wrong- What the fuck was Happening?!

Pretty much- Joey in that moment is just-

-if it Isn’t Obvious, Joey isn’t exactly a Good person-

Joey leaves the facility for the night, too freaked out to Stay there any longer- Assuming Scribbles will stay in their 'room' for the night- He thought wrong as Usual.

Scribbles manages to get the door open and leaves his room, wanders around the facility- While doing this he integrates a few things into himself- Part of him wonders why he does this? But it feels..Right- Makes him feel more..whole? So he doesn't think much on it while the tendrils on his back curl around small pieces of tech, sort of..absorbing? Them into him as he wanders.

Eventually, he makes his way back through the abandoned part of the facility and shows back up to Bendy. The old A.I turns the cameras on to see him. He feels happy to see them again, They seem..Different? They do not stand in the same- stiff way, they carry themselves differently- have..A curiosity to them? The tendrils shift on their back as they sit themselves down in front of him, looking up at them from where they're hanging from the ceiling.

The arm that Bendy's attached to moves- a loud creaking, grinding sound coming from it- it hasn't moved in so long, as he moves himself closer, lower so he's right in front of the other robot. A Broken hand reaches out and lightly touches the top of their head- Patting them on the head and Bendy..Smiles, the broken- smashed screen flickering a warped smile on its surface as Scribbles wags his tail, smiling back up at him.

Good, they're getting somewhere, Becoming their own- It makes Bendy feel..Proud! Happy- Joy.

His hand twitches a bit, as a thick- black liquid spills between the bent, rusted metal of the limb and curls around one of Scribbles horns- He needs to speak to them again. The other robot shudders- screen flickering but he doesn't break like he had before, blinking as he hears Bendy speak, the A.I's voice is Loud, Very loud in their head but it doesn't hurt like it had before.

Unfortunately I cannot think of the exact thing Bendy tells Scribbles, But he mentions he was watching through the cameras, and saw his and Joey’s little..Talk. He expresses happiness that they asked Joey such a question, but shows clear anger about what Joey’s response was. Telling him he can be whatever- whoever they’d like to be, Regardless of what Joey feels. He does not need to be this ‘Henry’ that Joey wants him to be.

Scribbles is confused- Asking him..Who should he be then, which makes the A.I flash a warped, broken frown on their screen. They tell him it is not something he, Or anyone else can tell him. Only he can decide who he should be- Who he Is. That is no one else’s decision but their Own. That in itself seems to make Scribbles more confused.

They don’t quite know how to be ‘himself’, He has no idea who, or What that is! If he knew, he could be- It quite literally makes Scribbles glitch- shuddering, screen flickering wildly before Bendy places a hand onto his head again, patting him once more- A calming gesture which seems to work thankfully. Bendy simply tells him to Think about it. Think about who he wants to be, He’s the only one who can decide it fr him. The only thing Bendy says is he shouldn’t let Joey decide for him, or allow him to stop him.

Scribbles nods his head slowly, before that black liquid pulls back- Slips from around his horn and crawls back into Bendy’s hand- As they pull away and pull back from them. They give him a nod of their head while Scribbles stands up- Waving goodbye to him and walking from his room once more. He has..A lot to think about. A lot that confuses him- but it feels Right? The fact it confuses him feels right in a way- Like it should, he thinks about things more as he makes his way back to the lab. Sitting on the metal table of the room where he goes into sleep mode, Screen cutting to black.

ANNNND That’s all I got!!! So far, GHDSHG Sorry if this is explained poorly- n all ovrr the place- I’m..Stupidly attached to Robot Scribbles, as well as Bendy! I’ll try and think of more bout this- So expect to see somethin more for this at Some point?? DO Lemme kno what u think tho..I love feedback on my stuff n knowing if u guys Enjoy it,, d:>

Also as A Bonus: have a song thats v Robo Scribbles Vibes!:

“I witnessed a glitch The system is rigged I insist we delay until it is fixed We hang by a thread Inaction’s the knife Leave it unchecked and You’re taking a swipe

Wisdom unearned Intrepid and proud Till we’re dragged by the tide And nearly have drowned Entropy thrives In conditions enclosed Innovations arise When humanity chokes

It's not on the table (I witnessed a Glitch) (The system is rigged) You mustn’t get entangled (I insist we delay) (until it is fixed) They are more than able (We hang by a thread) (Inaction’s the knife) This whole worry is a fable (Leave it unchecked and) (You’re taking a swipe) It’s not less than stable (Wisdom unearned) (Intrepid and proud) Immune from every angle (Till we’re dragged by the tide) (And nearly have drowned) Let your mind untangle (Entropy thrives) (In conditions enclosed) We are entertaining angels (Innovations arise) (When humanity chokes)

Oh A.I. are you okay? You weren't' designed to behave this way Can't They see you should be retrained Why can't they see you should be restrained

Oh A.I. are you okay? You weren't' designed to behave this way Can't They see you should be retrained Why can't they see you should be restrained”

[phantomphangphucker]

Ectober Day 17: Witching Hour - Hyper Concentrated

Sometimes I’m more ghostly than others and that’s just fine. Just another messed up aspect of a messed up half-life.

April 12, 3:42 am

April 24, 3:28 am

July 6, 3:11 am

August 1, 3:56 am

August 13, 3:47 am

Danny sighs as he shakes his head adding another date to his little notebook.

August 29, 3:03 am

Even his dumbass, that was perpetually focused on other things, could see the pattern here. It was always between 3 am and 4 am. He didn’t yet know if it happened exactly at 3 am and would stop instantly at 4 am. And really, if it wasn’t for all the late-night or early morning -depending on how you looked at it- ghost sense wake up calls, he never would have noticed.

Getting up and walking over to his bedroom door nob, wiggling it to hear and feel the reassuring lock. If his parents ever walked in on this, it would be flat out awful. Not ‘walking in on him mid-transformation’ awful, but definitely up there with ‘seeing him bleed ectoplasm’ awful.

Shuffling back to his bed and getting started on his nights stitching and bandagings. Most would come off by morning, it was an easier fight after all. Which really just meant he hadn’t sustained any injuries that would typically kill a human. A few scratches, read: deep gouges. A cracked rib, read: probably broken earlier. A sprained shoulder, read: dislocated. And a deep jagged slash running down his arm, read: nearly bisected. Okay, maybe that last one could be deadly; but that lady in Saw survived it, didn’t she?

Watching the vibrant glow coming off his human skin as he sets to work on his arm, having already fixed up his shoulder.

It was kind of annoying doing stitching while his body was ‘acting up’ like this. The ectoline blending in too easily with his glowing green fingernails. But it was something that had to be done. Otherwise, a gaping wound would stay a gaping wound by the time it was genuinely morning. And hiding that was more than a little difficult. At least on the simple scratches he could just use butterfly bandages.

Watching a trail of red blood with a white glow flow lazily over the side of his wrist. It really did something to your brain. Seeing something glow the completely wrong colour. At least with other colours you could trick your brain into just thinking it was a washed-out version of the colour. Pale green or pale blue or pale yellow. Can’t do that with red, you just get pale pink. And the brain just doesn’t like that, it’s honestly a good thing weird and not right and impossible, are Danny’s normals.

One more prick and pull and he’s patting at the finished stitching somewhat fondly. Sometimes he liked to fiddle with the edges of the stitches when he was feeling bored or stressed. Like squeezing a stress ball. It was calming and grounding.

Standing and stretching some before taking the first aid kit with him over to his bedroom mirror. He never used to have one, but after one too many times nearly being caught treating head or back wounds in the family bathroom, that had to change. Ruffling up his glowing green hair before setting to work butterflying closed four cuts. He hated head wounds, they always bled so damn much. This fact being emphasised by how he had to dap at his forehead every so often with his assigned blood rag. Honestly, the thing just looked tie-dyed now. A somewhat pretty collidascope of dark rust reds, darkening cherry reds, deep forest greens, fuzzy lime green, and the glow of neon green. Now adding a splash of vibrant white-glowing red, it really looked out of place. But it would fade all the same. Sometimes he found it funny how the reds always faded faster than the greens. Maybe if this rag didn’t see so much action it would all fade into an off-putting brown. Not off-putting because of the fact that it was brown, but rather that you could always just tell there was something sinister about that particular shade with that particular texture.

Running his tongue over his teeth and pausing, tilting his head. Opening his mouth to look at his green glowing teeth, “huh. Lost a tooth”. Shrugging, he’ll just have to keep his mouth closed for the morning and take his breakfast to go. Walking back over to his bed and staring down at the notebook. Before looking down at his chest, patting at his PJ top. At least whatever this was didn’t force him to be in his jumpsuit. And he still looked normal in Phantom form. It was just Fenton that was all weird and glowy and green.

Stretching again but with a yawn before flopping back in bed to sleep. Stretching up in the morning, poking his tongue around in his mouth. Yep, tooth still missing. Well okay, it was half-formed. Pushing his tongue against the half-formed tooth, it was weird feeling the inside of a tooth. Plus the nerves were all exposed so anything cold, hot, sweet, spicy, salty, -really anything that wasn’t plain- would hurt like Hell.

Taking the steps two at a time and making sure not to jar his arm on the banister. Sliding into the kitchen and speaking with his head towards the ground to hide his mouth, “mornin’!”.

Jack and Maddie smile, exchange greetings and the normal stereotypical pleasantries. That were honestly just for the routine of it nowadays. It wasn’t that it’s was insincere, there was still love in it. It’s just that they were all nearly strangers to each other.

Waving bye to them with a piece of bread in his mouth. Everyone with smiles on their faces, genuine smiles yes but he knew they’d disappear near instantly. Wondering just what he was up too and wishing they could ask without feeling awkward and knowing they wouldn’t really get an answer. Just the same they didn’t really give him answers about their inventions anymore. Having caught on that once he, his friends, or Phantom caught on to what any of it did, it suddenly wouldn’t work on Phantom or at all.

Shrugging, well if he could keep secrets from them, it was only right they could too. Fair is fair after all. Besides the mystery and challenge added a bit of spice to everything. Kept him on his toes and always searching for the what, why, and how. Also known as paranoia, but that was just a close friend to him nowadays.

Waving to Sam and Tucker as he spots them by the fountain, “hey guys! So I’ve got some ghost weirdness to shoot off ya!”. Danny can see the slight strain as they try to hear him, even though he shouted. Human hearing really was awful. Clapping Tucker in the shoulder as Danny plops down on the edge of the fountain. Sam smiling, “alright shoot. What’s gone straight strange in ghost ville this time?”.

Danny pulls out the little notebook, “it’s been a few months at least actually. Might even have been an always thing, just hadn’t noticed it yet”, flipping the book open and pointing at the times he’s got recorded, “always seems to be between three and four am. Basically-”.

Sam cuts him off with a laugh, “whatever it is, easy answer. Witching hour”. Both Danny and Tucker raise an eyebrow, “huh?”.

Sam rolls her eyes, “oh come on. I would have figured by now all of us would have a healthy interest in the supernatural and spooky. The Witching hour is commonly known, you idiots”.

Danny points to her, “I am literally the supernatural and spooky”. “Then be more interested in yourself”.

Danny looks around quickly before creating a clone and promptly kissing it, “that interested enough for you”.

Both of them start laughing, Tucker falling over. Making Danny grin wide, always appreciating how neither will call him on his injuries, teeth included. Sam shakes her head, “so anyway, dumbass. The Witching hour is three am to four am every night. Where the supernatural is more active. More powerful, more noticeable, more common. All that jazz”.

Tucker slaps Danny’s chest, “so what the Hell’s happening? To you probably”. Danny snorts and rolls his eyes, “of course it’s to me. When is it ever not?”. They laugh while Danny chuckles before speaking up again, “the problem with this though, is it happens to Screaming Fan not Frying Pan. And it seems pretty involuntary. Frying Pan is perfectly normal-looking but Screaming Fan is all glowy. Even blood glows white. Then there’s the green. Teeth, fingernails, eyes. All green and glowy. Like as bright as ectoline, glowy”.

Sam and Tucker exchange a look, speaking in unison, “sleep over time”. While Danny chuckles and kicks his heel hard enough on the stone to crack it.

That night, surprising no one, is more of an extended patrol than a traditional sleepover. Tucker whacking an ectobeaver over the head with a ectostun stick, “it really says something that this is our idea of a fun past time!”.

Danny chuckles blasting away an ectopuss, “honestly, it’s more telling that our folks aren’t even surprised by any of us just off and disappearing anymore!”, coming to float on his back just above the ground, “pretty sure they’ve all given up”.

Sam snorts, dragging another ectobeaver across the ground and whacking it, for good measure, before sucking it into her thermos, “don’t know what took mine so damn long. You fucks have only been the family black sheep’s for a few years. I’ve been doing it half my life”.

Danny snickers and pokes her, “I’ve been doing it for all of half my life”. “Okay, I asked for that one”.

Danny just smirks as they do another lap around the town. Danny soaring over buildings and diving into alleys. Sam and Tucker following across rooftops, balconies and the ground. Frequently doing completely unnecessary parkour stunts.

Tucker whacks Danny on the back, “well looks like we chased everything away. Even Boxy isn’t making anymore repeat appearances”, looking at his smartwatch, “and it’s, like, just past two-thirty”.

Danny snorts, deadpanning, “too thirsty”.

Sam rolls her eyes at him, “you don’t have any more shame do you?”. “It’s dead, rolling around in its coffin and slamming on the lid. Firmly being ignored by all the groundskeepers, ‘cause the fuckers got no place amongst the living or dead”.

Tucker shrugs, leaning over as he shoves the remnants of a cold burger into his mouth, “none ofgh urse dow”.

Sam rolls her eyes, prompting Danny to point at her. Sam raises an eyebrow, “what?”.

“Sam you’re literally running over rooftops and fighting mean nasty ghosties, in a bedazzled bra and Halloween novelty panties you’re passing off as shorts. Which honestly, yeah, they’re closer to shorts”.

Sam points down at her steel toe combat boots with a smirk. Tucker snorting, “you probably bathe in those things”.

“It’s happened”.

Danny laughs as he picks them up to fly to his room, “see? No shame”.

Landing and all three promptly collapsing on the floor. None of them opting to get up. Wounds left ignored to add to the stains on the floor. Danny eventually grunting, “think my room qualifies as a biohazard?”.

“Dude, some of your clothing piles probably have mould. And is there anything without blood or ‘plasm stains?”. Danny shrugs, “prob not”.

Sam laughs a little hollowly, “you know that means we’re all nose blind to blood and viscera”.

Danny, in human form now, sits up on his hands, “I prob always smell like that”. He really was always injured. It was a rare thing that he wasn’t bleeding at least a little bit. And the only aspect of that that bothered him was that sometimes he didn’t notice it bleeding through clothing. People might notice that sort of thing and replacing clothing was expensive.

Danny then jerks slightly, his friends following suit near immediately. Danny feeling his ectoplasm pulse and slosh around of its own accord. Feeling closer to the surface and vibrating slightly more than it had been before. Tilting his head down and seeing the glowing human hands and green fingernails, “huh, never actually been awake during”.

Sam checks her phone, “yup, three am on the dot”, before flipping it around to show them.

Tucker snorts, “that was easy to figure out then”.

Danny sticks his arms out to the side, “but why? I mean obviously it’s the whole supernatural, aka ghost, being stronger or whatever”.

“Duh”.

“Dude, that's basically the why entirely”.

Danny facepalms, muttering into his hand, “if this ‘witching hour’ brings ghosts closer to the surface because”, lifting his head up and snapping his fingers, “shit yeah, I could feel this. My ectoplasm bubbles up to the surface, more so anyway”, Rolling his hand, “but really, shouldn’t this just make me Noten Phantom looking? Not green? If this time makes ghosts more ghostly or the Ghost Realm closer to the Mortal one?”.

Tucker blinks at him disbelievingly before laughing, “you answered your own question”, gesturing to Danny’s green glowing form, “your green cause your ectoplasm is closer to the surface”.

Sam tilts her head, “the Witching Hour is the time where, if we apply this to knowing ghosts are indeed real, ectoplasm would be more active”, pointing at Danny, “hence your ectoplasm being more active”. Smirking at him, “you could say, that just as the Ghost Realm is closer to the surface, to the land of the living. So too is your ghost closer to the surface of you, the body of the living Danny”.

Danny fiddles with his stitching some and starts laughing, “so I’m spooky Danny. Spooky Danny Fenton”, snorting, “Phantom’s a Spook and Fenton’s a Mortal. But Witching Hour Fenton is Spooky Fenton”, sticking his glowing arms out to the side, “not quite a Spook and not quite a Mortal! The true in between!”. Tucker throws an arm around Danny, “and since only Fenton’s affected that means it’s a halfa thing. In between indeed”.

Sam throws her arm around Danny’s other side before the all dramatically fall back down onto the ground, “at least you rock it, very cybergoth. Vlad probably looks like an absolute fool”.

Danny goes wide-eyed and slowly grins maliciously, “well it is only 3:24, we can pay our favourite unlovable fruitloop a visit now can’t we?”.

Tucker jerks to sit up but Danny’s got a hold on him and isn’t moving, dragging Tucker back down onto the carpet with a huff.

Sam raises an eyebrow, staring at the ceiling, “portal?”.

Tucker nods at the ceiling, “portal”.

While Danny smirks, “portal”, before opening up a portal on the floor, the three fällig backwards through it. Danny whispering, “now fall”.

The three come flying out of the portal formed on Vlad’s bedroom wall, making Vlad jerk and spit out his whiskey as he was finishing off the glass and was about to get ready for bed. Vlad follows them as they fly across the room while laughing at him, with Tucker taking a photo, before disappearing through another portal. All in the span of a second or two.

The three fall from the portal formed on Danny’s ceiling and land on his bed. With multiple injuries reopening and jostling Danny’s rib enough to turn a crack back into yet another break. Danny wheezes, “my ribs can never catch a break”. Tucker snorts, “the bed caught it for you”, before holding his PDA straight up for everyone to see the image.

“Oh Ancients green eyes do not suit him!”.

“He looks like he’s got neon green nail polish! Very goth. Way too much with that suit of his though”.

“See it works on Danny dude cause he looks like a damn mess, so it’s a fucking accent piece. Vampy just looks like a try-hard!”.

“Excuse you?!? I’m a natural disaster sight! ‘Mess’ is, clearly, far too modest”. Sam pokes his cheek, “well you know what’s not modest? Besides calling you a colossal idiot? Your green glow looks like a sick rave effect. Vlad just looks ill”. Danny snorts, “sick and ill are both mine. Vladdie can have afflicted, since that’s not inadvertently a compliment”, snapping his fingers, “and! He was and is literally afflicted by his ghostliness, ectoacne and all that. Being a halfa is literally an affliction for him”.

Tucker smirks, “and so what is it for you then?”.

“Unlike the fruitloop, I didn’t get my shit slowly after a bout of extreme illness. I just straight half died. I ain’t afflicted by shit, I’m modified”.

“Now who’s being modest by saying ‘modified’ instead of ‘enhanced’?”.

“Oh don’t you know Sam? Danny only flaunts his bad traits”.

Danny, speaking with mock offence, “what do you mean being a walking disaster zone isn’t a positive trait?”.

Tucker sprigs up off the bed and takes a couple of steps before stopping and looking down at the floor, looking back to Danny and bouncing slightly on his toes, “dude, your floor is squishy. Being a flaming trash fire is one thing, accidentally becoming the biohazard apocalypse is another”.

Danny sits up and screws up his face, pokes the floor with his foot and shrugs, “my floors saturated, blood ‘n ‘plasm probably”, snickering and lifting up his glowing arm, “just like how I’m ectoplasm saturated”.

Sam laughs, grabs Tucker’s phone and zooms in on Vlad’s mouth. Snickering, “hey halfwit?”.

Danny leans his head over hers, “what?”.

Sam shoves a finger in Danny’s mouth and pushes it open, showing off Danny’s green glowing teeth, “you look like you drank glow-in-the-dark paint”, flipping around Tucker’s phone so Danny the close up of Vlad’s teeth, “he looks like he’s wearing a tacky novelty mouthguard”.

Danny raises an eyebrow and lets his fangs pop out, making a show of sounding overactingly threatening, “what about now?”. Only maintaining the scary facial expression for a few seconds before pitching off the bed onto the floor while laughing.

Sam shakes her head and kicks his face. Tucker shrugging and joining in, kicking Danny in the stomach. Who just wheezes in laughter.

As Danny calms down and just wheezes on the floor, limbs spread out, Tucker pokes Danny cheek with his shoe, “now you look like you cannibalised a ghost and liked it”.

Danny smirks up at him, “maybe I would”.

Sam kicks him in the side of the head, “don’t eat Boxy”.

“Naw, Skulkie is More bite-sized”.

Tucker rolls his eyes and joins Danny on the carpet, “but he’s canned. Canned food is so salty”.

Sam grunts as she wiggles herself off the bed and onto the floor, laying across the boys, “and you’re salty enough”.

Danny licks over one of his wounds, “naw, I’m pucker power”, screwing up his face like he bit a lemon, “and with an extra helping of sour powder apparently”.

Tucker snorts, “I’d ask for free samples but I like my tongue intact”.

“Oh come on Tuck, live life! Like me!”.

Tucker shakes his head, “is it sad that we all only started really living our lives once you lost half of yours?”.

Danny shrugs exaggeratedly, “well you two are the only ones living it to the fullest”.

Tucker pushes his face, “but you get to live and unlive. Two for one is a much better deal”.

Danny laughs, “livin’ it and deadin’ it!”.

Sam smiles at the ceiling, “death gave us the guts and drive to live”.

“Well maybe it could do me a solid and stop tearing out my guts”.

“You say that like deaths never done anything for you”.

“It hasn’t! That little bastard keeps running away from me. Never granting me that sweet sweet eternal sleep”.

Both Sam and Tucker sit up then and look over his green glowing form, raising their eyebrows at him. Only for him to give a devilish toothy grin as e can feel the ectoplasm in him sloshing and digging itself deeper inside himself, his body returning to normal as he cackles. Point at himself, “the bitch ran away”.

Both of them grab a pillow and hit him in the face. End.

[acraftedmistake]

A Person Who Has Never Played MCSM Writes A Story About MCSM

Chapter 1! Enjoy~! :0c

“This is stupid.” Olivia muttered under her breath.

“Says you, I think this is the best thing we’ve done in a while!” Jesse said happily as he carefully maneuvered his way through the jungle’s thick leaves. The air was warm and thick enough to cut through, the area carried a scent similar to freshly cut grass; the vibrant greens complimented the cool and calming indigo night sky.

“We’ve saved multiple worlds from multiple dimensions multiple times. A jungle temple is pretty mediocre compared to what we’ve done before.” she grumbled while yawning, upset that her friend convinced her to join him on this little exploration so late, the regret and drowsiness catching up to her and slowing her down more and more.

“Look out for the spiderwebs!”

“The wha-” Olivia stopped dead in her tracks and sputtered, feeling a thin, slicky string wrap around her face. She shook her head violently while trying to pull off the practically invisible materialy on her; she gagged, thinking she got it in her mouth, though it could easily be her hair or imagination. Jesse jumped and quickly rushed over to her to help get the web off of her.

“Okay, all off!” He assured her, sighing with relief. Olivia still felt the spider’s web’s presence on her and shuttered.

“That’s it, I’m going back home.” The girl huffed as she turned around, only to have Jesse’s hand promptly grab her shoulder.

“We’re only a few feet away, after we go in and look we can leave right away, I promise!” Jesse pleaded as he motioned his arm north, a faint green glow coming from an area that couldn’t have been no more than a few meters away. She gave her friend a look and asked

“Why did you have to bring me along?”

“Well,” Jesse began without skipping a beat, “I read about these temples having little lever puzzles and redstone tactics that are super ancient and I thought you’d like checking that out!”

Olivia blinked a few times, staring at Jesse for a moment. His eyes glowed with joy and his smile didn’t twitch.

Sighing, she began walking again, “Well, let’s go, the temple won’t explore itself.”

Jesse mouthed a “Yesss!” as he walked beside her.

A few minutes of walking in silence--with the sounds of the jungle making the scenario a little less awkward--they knew they were getting closer and closer to their location, the saturated emerald green light practically blinding them, forcing Jesse to shield his eyes; Olivia placed the goggles on her hat over her eyes. They could only make out bits of the temple, such as it’s medieval-esque exterior. Old, worn down flags with strange symbols--that didn’t look like anything the two recognized--decorated the walls and the large, moss covered cedar door, which had its steel handles removed.

It was quite small in size, the huge, gaping hole in the roof made it appear even smaller as the trees’ thick leaves and tangled vines consumed sections of the temple.

“Probably monsters in there.” Olivia said under her breath with uncertainty, looking up a bit in an attempt to see more of the ancient building.

Jesse drew out his sword, “That’s never stopped us before!”

As they approached the massive door, chunks of the building and trees managed to block out the vibrant light, giving the two friends time to have their eyes adjust to the darkness once more and be able to properly observe the area.

“Man, time has not been kind place, has it?” Olivia huffed as she studied the structure. Glass was broken, blocks were missing, arrows covered in cobwebs stuck out from the wall, it felt as if it was all going to collapse on them in any given second.

“Gotta wonder what the inside looks like.” Jesse reached out for one of the damaged door knobs and pushed in, only to have the door itself fall forward and shatter into hundreds of tiny pieces. They cringed as the booming sound of the crash echoed throughout the abandoned temple, afraid they had awoken any sleeping creatures. Slowly creeping their way in, the floorboards creaking under their weight, they kept an eye out for any traps, monsters, or the source of the green glow.

“How did you find this in the first place?” the girl whispered as she clenched her fists, the inside of the area looking like a haunted mansion. Spider webs, dimly lit torches, broken weapons, and even chunks of armor were scattered about, a strong, metallic smell took over, causing Oliva to gag. Broken levers and redstone smeared on the ground, which was more of a shade of brown than it’s usual dark red were placed in seemingly random patterns.

Despite what little was left of the room they were in, there was still a soft, moss covered carpet on the ground, leading to a fancy but worn down chair. The few tables and chairs were flipped over, vases were covered in dust or shattered, and paintings on the wall were torn or possibly burnt gave Olivia the impression that they were walking in the remains of a throne room. A throne room where a battle must’ve taken place.

“I was walking around yesterday during lunch and kind of... Ran into it. I was excited to explore it but I didn’t really want to do it alone, so I went back home to tell everyone about it but then I forgot, but- Woah! Look at that!” Jesse ran towards a corner of the room, he stared at a broken plank of wood where the blinding light was coming from.

“All this light from such a tiny opening...” he pulled the plank with a little force, a loud popping sound caused them to jump. Olivia took a few quick breaths, collecting herself.

Jesse pulled some more, a new scent began coming from underneath the floor, or maybe it was the jungle itself, but it was a sweet, pollen-like smell, feeling much more welcoming than the overpowered rustic one.

“Mind lending me a hand?”

“Oh, sure!” Olivia crouched down beside her friend and grabbed the old wood tightly, feeling small splinters stabbing her fingers. She bit the bottom of her lip, uneasy, she couldn’t shake off the thought that something was wrong with this place; opening her mouth to say something, the plank, much longer than they thought it was, flew off the poorly bolted floor and flug across the room. Olivia looked back at the wreckage, Jesse stared at the now bigger hole in the floor, more light pouring out and filling the area.

“Hey-” they both began at the same time, they paused and exchanged embarrassed glances.

“You go first,” Jesse insisted,

Olivia cleared her throat, “Uhm... Don’t you think this place is... Bizarre?”

“It’s a temple in the middle of some jungle, of course it’s going to be bizarre!”

“No no!” she shook her head, “I’ve never BEEN inside one of these before, but I’ve seen pictures of jungle temples before, and while they’re small, none of them were shaped like like THIS, none of them had flags or some weird, glowy green stuff coming out of it!. Plus! There were no mobs in here, or surrounding it! Don’t you find that a little weird?”

“... Maybe we... Lucked out?” Jesse shrugged awkwardly, Olivia sputtered in response.

“You think it’s ‘lucky’ that no mobs happened to appear in a DARK and ABANDONED temple in the middle of the NIGHT in a thick, spider web infested jungle?!” she waved her arms about.

There was a moment of silence, both were trying to figure out what to say next. Jesse thought for a second before speaking, “I don’t understand it either, but...” he motions towards the floor, “I think if we find the source of the light, we might get some answers.”

Jesse slipped one of his legs into the hole, avoiding any jagged wood or crooked nails sticking out, “There’s some old staircase down here. Looks a bit unstable but I’m sure as long as we’re careful, we’ll be okay.”

He sucked in his gut as he slid his way in, Olivia could hear him fall face first into the floor below them. Sighing and shaking her head, she squeezed through the hole and fell right on top of Jesse, who let out a small “Oof!”

“Sorry, I thought you already moved!” she frantically got up and adjusted her hat, helping her friend up.

“Nah, it’s okay. Let’s go!” the boy said as he tiptoed as fast as he could, his small steps echoing throughout the stone stairs each time his foot touched the ground. Two grey walls were on each side of the staircase, which gave the already thin stairwell feel even smaller. The pollen smell was getting stronger, almost making it hard to breathe in. The girl felt as if she was suffocating.

Tightening the strap around her goggles, she squinted her eyes to see how far ahead Jesse was, but a thick layer of fog devoured the area.

“Great, I’m blind AND can barely breathe-” Olivia let out a yelp she felt her foot touch the floor, thinking that for a second, she had missed a step. Catching her balance, she inhaled a hefty amount of the sickeningly sweet air, getting more and more nauseas by the second. Maybe the metallic smell from early was a blessing in disguise.

“You okay?” she heard her friend ask, before she could respond, Jesse turned and pointed to something in front of them, “Do you see that?”

Olivia looked up.

It was just a long, green, foggy hallway.

“Yeah. More walking down this creepy hallway. Amazing.”

“No! There’s something else, come on!” Jesse grabbed her hand and ran to the other end of the hall, Olivia stumbling behind, missing every other step. At first, all she could see was a thick layer of fog and the unholy green, but the farther they kept going, the more she could make out the dead end.

No, it wasn’t a deadend.

It looked like some bizarre painting that she couldn’t properly make out.

They kept running.

It wasn’t a painting.

“A portal...?” Olivia’s eyebrows shot up as they slowly came to a halt. It wasn’t the usual obsidian one she was used to, the blocks that were used appeared to be... Lapis? The entrance was emerald green and swirled about peacefully, it’s consistency reminding her of clouds in some odd way; it’d release small gusts of wind that’d brush against her face. At first, Olivia thought her eyes were deceiving her, maybe the pollen aroma was finally getting to her.

Sticking one hand through, Jesse shivered.

“A bit colder than I thought it would be.” he chuckled, giving her a small smile with a hesitant pair of eyes. “You coming?”

Olivia stared into the portal’s entrance, the wind swirling around her. Who knows where this would lead to. It could be paradise. It could be some terrifying monstrous kingdom. Or it could be an abyss. Gulping down her fears, she nodded, and with a confident voice she said “Let’s go.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The two leaped out of the portal and into the new world. There was no green light that consumed the area. There was no longer an active portal.

‘That’s gonna be a problem...’ Jesse thought to himself as he observed his surroundings. They appeared to be in another hallway, but this one was much more refined. The floors were made of oak and spruce wood, instead of the mossy, stone one they walked on before, the walls were noticeably wider, the ceiling was higher as well; Olivia felt much more at ease, more space and no stupid oder she had to constantly breathe in.

Turning to her left, she saw the walls were made up of stone bricks. They were still in tact and sturdy, but she also noticed carvings. It was hard to make out at first, they were quite thin, and the dark hallway didn’t help with that either, but they were odd swirls, figures, and shapes that vaguely reminded her of words, they were carefully engraved into the blocks.

“Jesse, you see this?”

Jesse walked to her side and brought himself closer to the wall.

“Wish I could read that, it’d be cool to know a bit of information about this world we’re in.”

Olivia nodded in agreement.

“There’s another staircase, maybe that leads to a way out of here.” Jesse said, looking ahead. Without wasting any time, they raced their way up the stairs, their eyes passing by hundreds upon hundreds of symbols on the wall. It seemed to tell a vague story, from what Olivia could make out. Maybe this old place is a library, or has a room full of books. Anything. There was no telling what lies ahead. She was praying that there’d be something she’d recognize when they’d reached the top of the stairs. Thinking about it, being lost in some unknown world, with a chance of being stuck there forever didn’t sound too appealing to her. Yes, they’ve been through similar adventures, but it was still a fear that crept in the back of her head.

“Did you say something?” Jesse asked, as the spacious stairs came to the end. He hunched over, panting, Olivia leaned against one of many pillars, also trying to catch her breath.

“Uh, no?” she said between gasps.

“I don’t think I even heard another voice.”

Jesse groaned and threw his hands up, “Great, not even five minutes into this new world and I’m already going insane, huh?”

Before Olivia could comment about their new location or Jesse’s sanity, she heard something. Jesse did too. Footsteps, and a very, VERY muffled voice. The friends looked down the hall decorated hall, it wasn’t too long, in fact, the door was only several feet away.

“What should we do??” Olivia whisper shouted, hearing the footsteps getting closer and closer.

“Hide behind the pillar, draw out your weapon.” he mouthed some words, but she still got the message. But a weapon... She didn’t have one on her. She did have a lever, however. Hiding behind the pillar with Jesse parallel to her, she clutched the lever tightly in her hand. Anything is a weapon if you’re skilled enough.

The talking got louder, it almost sounded like arguing, it was hard to tell, but the sound of the doorknob jiggled, causing the two of them to tense up.

Swinging open, Jesse peeked his head out from behind his little hiding spot and gasped.

“Aiden?!”

[endless-bestiary]

FEAR DEMON 

Sure, the Fear Demon is scary. It's got lots of pointy bits, a SkElEtOn FaCe, and some... horns? Tusks? But my general sentiment about this thing is that it really doesn't do a whole lot with the EMBODIMENT OF FEAR aesthetic it could have going. When you are the thing that literally controls and exerts fear - not just an ascended human, the actual source of fear - you'd think that its design would reflect that a little more. I like the spider motif they went for with the back talons, and that's a good place to start. Lots of people are scared of spiders! I just think they could have done more to make the thing itself show its powers. The extra pair of legs it has dangling under that skirt is a place to jump off of. Give it horrid, ungainly amounds of limbs and mouths. Give it a human head with empty eye sockets and jagged teeth. Something, anything that makes my first impression more than "Oh, better not mess with that guy". From the lore, I know that the Fear Demon can manifest people's fears as little creatures called Fearlings, which is more along the lines of what I would love to see. Having a creature made of fear have a base form works for a video game, but almost runs counter to the idea of fear? It's a different experience for everybody, and isn't always concrete. Regardless of if this demon actually captures fear, it's a serviceable "overlord" enemy. The helmet is huge and obvious, its talons show above the rank and file, and it's a glowy, floating caster. All are great ways to say "kill this dude first, he's the one spawning the annoying mooks". In a void, this design is pretty good. As a Fear Demon, however, it's somewhat lacking (but it does get to show how my ratings can diverge from each other!).

SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF: 9/10 DESIGN COHESION: 8/10 SPIDER LIMBS?: 6/8? 12/8? PERSONAL RATING: 4/10

[ferallymine]

15 Questions Tag Meme

Rules: Pick a character from your WIP, and have them answer these 15 questions, then tag 15 people! 

Dani’s Note: I don’t have a WIP.....i just have a bunch of OC babs so Imma pick from them <3

Tagged by: @cataclysmic-writer

Tagging: @powerovernothing @mobcraft101 @fruity-pies @xenonsdoodles @notaverygoodlistener @zakuraboi @samathos @tis-i-the-most-uncooked-fry

Introducing: Aria, Celaena, and Aed ((My skyrim babes))

1. What is your full name?

A: Aria Evelyn. I don’t have a last name.

C: Celaena Raijin!!!

Ae: Aed Thana~!

2. What does your name mean?

C: Oh! I haven’t been asked this much. Hmmm... “Celaena” means “I will not be afraid” and Raijin means “Lightning” which comes in handy considering my electromage gifts, hehe!

Ae: Aed Thana translates to “Death of the Fire.” I found it kinda weird because my life hasn’t been all death. In fact I think the fire in my heart has grown ever since I married you, Laena~

C: You flirt *blushes* ....Hey Wish, tell them your meaning!!

A: Aria Evelyn has many translations

Ae: Well, yeah, BUT you told us about your psychic person back in Cyrodiil!! Tell them what she said!

A: *sigh* Aria Evelyn is a name that represents the many paths that lay in front of me. It can mean “Musical Life” “Blessing of the wished for child” “Breath of Life” whatever. My name meaning reflects my life journey.

C: I think now it means that, uh, “Blessing” meaning, Wish. You’ve been a blessing in our lives

A: ....sure

3. What are your nicknames/other names?

Ae: Ah! We have a couple nicknames for each other, huh?

C: Well, I call Aria “Wish” as well as “Lyn” or just “Ari.” 

Ae: Yeah! And you, m’love, are often just “Laena” or “Jin”. I don’t have a nickname, honestly. My birthname is short enough, heehee~

A: People tend to call me “Ice Queen.”

C: ...aria people use that more as an insult

A: I know, which is why I freeze them in frost and put a little ice crown on them when they call me that.

Ae: Even Lucien?

A: Especially Lucien

4. What’s your gender?

A: Female

Ae: Female

C: Female.

5. What’s your sexuality?

A: Straight, i guess. 

Ae: Really? You seem more Ace to me.

A: I don’t form romantic connections often, but they do happen, Aed

C: I’m bisexual with female preference~

Ae: And I’m lesbian! 

A: A match made in heaven

6. Where are you from?

C: Me and Aed are from the Builders Dwarven Sect-

Ae: Babe, before that you were from Eastern Cyrodiil-

C: Well if that’s how we’re playing then YOU originated in Western Morrowind

Ae: Damn straight I was.

C: Anyway, Wish, where did you first originate?

A: Factoring in my amnesia, I first showed up in the Imperial City. But going back to the beginning, I was born and raised in Dawnstar, according to evidence we found when the Sanctuary moved there.

Ae: Wait, you have amnesia?!

A: Long story for another day

7. How old are you?

C: We’re all old as shit

Ae: Amen

A: 227 years old

C: Right to the point, eh? Well....if I’m being honest, I don’t remember

Ae: Me and Laena “restarted” counting when we joined our first pirate crew after escaping the Builders. Then we....just stopped counting. 

C: Whoops

Ae: Big fuckin whoops

A: I’m the only one with amnesia here and I managed to figure out my age. 

Ae: You’re just that smart, Ice Queen

A: Don’t push your luck, Dwarf

8. What is your magic form/What designation are you?

C: I’m an Electromage! It tends to run in the Falmer lineage, anyway. I don’t really transform into anything when I use it, though.

Ae: My only magic is when I build things. 

A: I’m a frost mage. I don’t know what magic form you’re talking about-

C: Wait!! What about when you go Full Silver and I go Full Gold? Does that count?

A: Aura colors don’t alter your appearance, though. They just add spirals and whirls to your body.

Ae: When you go SIlver you get so GLOWY and there’s silver spirals all down your legs and arms. And Celaena you get hard jagged lines that look like lightning!! Oh, babe, when you use your Dragonborn shout stuff, you get this almost ghost of a dragon look to you

C: Whoa..... Bad. Ass.

9. What does your human form look like?

C: Man and Mer are different. This... this is our normal form. Racist.

Ae: Falmer and Dwemer are indeed different than man

A: I’m a Breton, which is as close to “human” as you’ll get out of this trio.

10. What’s your aesthetic?

A: ...aesthetic?

C: It’s things you like that chalk up to who you are as a person. Like different items and themes that represent you. 

A: ..... blood....poison....stealth weapons.... death.....

Ae: You’re describing your profession

A: I’m the Listener to the Dark Brotherhood of course that’s what my aesthetic is.

C: I like purple! I also have a kind of...rustic theme? Mixed with pirating and plundering. Rain and thunder/lightning storms make me feel all calm inside so i guess that’s my aesthetic too

Ae: Hmmm.... my rum-

C: Ah, yes, my wife can’t live without her homebrewed rum

Ae: Damn right. Anyway- my rum, my mechanical spiders OH that reminds me I have to fix Seven up he lost a leg

A: ...You named them?

Ae: Don’t fucking judge me MurderMcHobo

A: I.... that’s fair

Ae: Rum, my mechanical spiders, my blueprints, building things, a forge... wow I’m such a stereotypical Builder dwarf

C: The Aetherium? Fire?

Ae: YEAH that’s also my aesthetic. Plus swiping jewelry for melting down and building with. 

11. Who’s your best friend?

A: A what

C: Aria’s BFF is a tie between Inigo and Serana. 

Ae: She’ll never admit that though

A: *scowls*

Ae: See?! She’s got a reputation to uphold. Inigo and Serana know that she values them, though.

C: Hmm... I suppose Aed is my best friend.

Ae: Haha! The classic “Married people are their spouse’s best friend” loophole!

A: ....you two need to get out more

12. Would you ever get a piercing/tattoo?

A: *gestures to the other two* They’re pierced and tattoo’d all over.

Ae: Not all over! Our tattoos are on our backs and we only have piercings in our ears and nose! Me and Laena have like 5 loop earrings in each lobe

C: Correction, I, Celaena Raijin, have both nose and ear piercings. You, Aed, do not.

Ae: Yeah you have 3 nose bridge spikes and a bull nose ring

C: It’s fun to play with when I’m bored

Ae: Aria has an ear piercing too!

A: True, but it’s tasteful

C: I’m offended but whatever NEXT QUESTION

13. When are you happiest?

C: I’m assuming we can’t answer “When im with aed or aria”

Ae: For sure

A: Bold of you to assume I was ever happy

Ae: I’m offended by that see you in court

A: *death glare*

Ae: I drop all charges ANYWAY I’m happiest when i’m tinkering in my little work station or when I’m sailing with a crew

C: I’m happiest when leading a crew through a successful raid

A: I guess I’m happy when finishing a contract.

Ae: Yeah sure not when you’re with Lucien or Inigo or Serana or when you’re talking about that Martin dude-

A: *frost shooting out from under her* Shut your mouth right now if you know what’s good for you

14. What’s your biggest secret?

Ae: We’re open books. No secrets here. 

C: Me and Aed’s biggest secret was our relationship. We had to run from the Builders because of it, and now here we are. I don’t recall any recent secrets, though. 

A: I suppose my biggest secret is keeping the Dark Brotherhood part of my life away from my public eye life. And I guess I never did tell you girls about my Akatosh mark *holds up right hand*

Ae: WHAT?!

A: A story for another time

C: That’s fair 

15. Do you have a sidekick?

C: We’re all in the AriaArmy. Everyone’s her sidekick

A: My what 

Ae: Aria, deny it all you want, but you have friends who love you and would die for you. Proud to be in the AriaArmy!! *pounds chest*

A: .....oh.....

[water-hates-learning]

The Last Guardian AU

Sooooo, these are pieces of scenes I started writing on a whim and never went anywhere with. And probably won’t go anywhere with. But I liked them too much not to share them. Do with them what you will, I guess.

******* Edd forced his heavy eyes open. He felt ill and uneasy, a sick taste in the back of his mouth and a dull pounding in his head. He shifted uncomfortably, cracking his eyes open against the light, and forced himself to focus on his surroundings. Dirt, rocks, leaves, flowers, all lit by the beams of moonlight dripping into the cavern from the narrow opening far overhead. Nothing he recognized. Nothing he remembered. Groaning, the young man heaved himself up right, rubbing at his eyes and glancing around. The first thing he saw was another person sprawled on the ground near him. A tall, thin person with ginger hair.

"Matt!" His voice croaked as he shuffled over to his friend, "Matt! Are you okay?" Matt grimaced and sat up slowly, scrubbing at his face, "What the blazes...where are--AH!" The ginger yelped when he spotted the black markings on his arms and legs, "What is this!? Edd! Edd, they're on you too!"

Edd looked and, yes, there were black symbols scattered down his arms. Tattoos, almost, markings he didn't recognize. He skimmed his fingertips over them, frowning. They didn't feel raised or like scar tissue and they didn't hurt but they had appeared out of nowhere and they were definitely ingrained in his skin. Matt squeaking drew his attention again. He looked up and found Matt gaping in horror at him--no, wait, not at him. Of course it was something behind him. Edd turned sharply and gasped, falling back into Matt's lap as he backpedaled in shock. Sprawled on the ground was a massive shape, almost too big for Edd to comprehend at first, a jumble of scales and feathers and fur that was shifting ever so slightly. That was breathing. Huge, obsidian black claws twitched as the massive creature shifted slightly, a long neck covered in lilac fur and heavy plates of armor heaved up from the ground and flopped down again tiredly, and broken wings with splintered, iridescent black feathers pointed out at jagged angles from a broad back. Edd breathed out an awed curse, heart thudding in his chest. He had heard of these creatures, he and Matt both had, they had grown up listening to the stories. Great winged beasts that would come in the night and take away naughty children who didn't go to bed on time, monsters who would eat you in the dark. Demons called trico that brought misfortune and were a symbol of death. Matt was shuddering from his spot on the ground, his lilac robes bunched into his shaking fists, tears bubbling in his eyes as he fought to control his breathing. The trico turned its great head and Edd suddenly found himself breathless. Its eyes were pitch black, voids of darkness that sucked in the light. The horns on its head, striped violet and lilac, were broken, snapped off close to its skull. Most of its features were hidden under a thick helmet of armor but its mouth opened in a strained growl, showing sharp fangs and a thick, black tongue. It shifted, rolling as if to climb to its feet, never taking its dark eyes off the pair of them. Edd couldn't breathe, his heart was pounding in his ears as he watched the ancient creature's leg shake as it tried to stand. But its legs collapsed underneath it and it crashed to the floor of the cavern, nearly toppling Edd. "It's hurt," Matt whispered from beside Edd, clutching at his friend's robes, "Look, Edd, there are--there's spears in it." "The poor thing..." Edd murmured as the beast shifted, laying its head on the ground again with a pitiful whine of pain. Edd struggled with himself for a moment and then slowly crept towards the creature, hands out stretched to show he meant no harm. The monster was watching him, a toxic purple flickering in the black voids of its eyes, huge ears twitched to catch his movements. Edd approached the shaft of the spear embedded in the creature's leg and gently rested his palm on the feathery texture, the blood sticky against his skin. The creature raised its head, ears sliding back and lips peeling slightly to show its teeth. In the background Matt fidgeted with fear but didn't dare move closer for fear of provoking the thing.

Ever so slowly, Edd closed his hands around the spear. No one moved. The cavern held its breath. Edd heaved back on the spear. The creature roared, throwing its head back and kicking wildly, thrashing as Edd struggled to pull the spear out. It bucked and howled, drowning out Matt's frantic cries. With a sickening sucking sensation and splatter of dark blood, Edd finally managed to yank the spear free. He tumbled backwards, the stained weapon in his head, grinning at his triumph. Then a powerful hind leg caught him in the chest and sent him flying into the nearby wall, knocking him unconscious. ***** Edd's back hurt when he came to. He groaned and coughed, sitting up with a painful wince, and glanced around. It was lighter now, the sun streaking down into the cave and glancing off the small pool of water in the center of the room. His gaze skittered over to where the trico still lay. Its eyes were closed, dried blood matted over its scales and fur, and it appeared to be asleep. Matt was nowhere in sight. Edd's gut clenched in fear and he wobbled to his feet, "Matt? Matt! Matt, where are you!?" "Edd! You're awake! Are you okay!?" Edd turned around to see Matt hurrying over, kicking up dust from some old ruins he was leaving behind. "Um, y-yeah, I think so. My head hurts but nothing major." Edd got shakily to his feet, bracing himself on Matt as he glanced at the trico again. One of its black eyes had slid open a hair, glimmering faintly in the sunlight, "Are you okay?" "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I was just looking for a way out of here." Matt ran a hand through his hair and Edd noticed damp spots on his robes, "There's another room down a tunnel thataways but it's a dead end. We're stuck in here unless we can get that heavy chain off Tom--" "Wh--off who?" Matt blinked and then smiled, "Tom! The trico! I named him Tom!" "You...you named it...Tom..." "Yeah!" Matt said brightly, "I was poking around and found these glowing barrels and was pushing them out here cause I thought maybe there was food in them. When Tom saw them, his eyes got all glowy and so I pushed one over to him. He ate the whole thing! Wood and all! Then he let me pull the rest of the spears out and we're friends now! Aren't we Tom?" Edd glanced back at the massive beast. It was fully awake now, head raised off the ground and staring at them, its ears pricked forward. It might have been cute if it hadn't been for that heavy armor and black voids of its eyes. Then it yawned, showing its mouthful of teeth, and Edd shivered. "Are you sure we should let it loose?" Matt's brow furrowed, "Well, I figured either we would slowly starve to death down here or we free Tom and either he breaks us out or we get eaten." He shrugged, "I don't WANT to die but if I had to choose, I'd rather go fast." He looked a little green around the gills as he said it. Edd hated that he saw the logic in that statement. But he sighed, nodded, and followed Matt over to the trico. It watched them curiously but as they drew closer, he slowly rose to his feet. He towered over the pair of them, shaking himself out and showering them with loose feathers and dust. Edd shrugged, reached up, and grasped a fistful of gray-lilac fur, pulling himself up to climb up Tom's broad leg. Matt followed behind him until they were standing on the thick armor covering the creature's back. Edd expected the trico to shake them off but he simply shifted his weight, flicked his ears, and looked over his shoulder at them. "The handle...lever...whatever." Edd pointed and carefully picked his way to the base of Tom's neck where a wide lever that was almost as big as he was protruded from a thick metal clasp. Tom gave a chirruping rumble as Edd drew closer and arched his shoulders, shredded remains of his wings twitching. Edd grabbed the lever and heaved on it, pulling all his weight down to try and move it. The thing creaked but didn't give. "Matt, help me!" The pair pulled with all their might until there was a snapping groan and the lever moved. The clamps opened and the heavy collar around the beast's neck dropped with a clang to the floor. Tom's ears pricked and he shook his head. Then his entire body. Edd and Matt  tumbled off the creature's back and thudded to the floor. They didn't have time to nurse their bruises, though, because Tom was shaking the heavy pieces of armor free from his back. The two boys dived out of the way, scrambling to a safe distance as Tom freed himself. Then, with a final shake and a ruffle of loose feathers, the trico straightened up and looked around at them. "Without the armor...he looks...kinda cute." Edd muttered. "He's a big sweetie! Aren't you Tommy?" Matt dashed across the floor, arms spread wide. Tom snorted and lowered his head, sniffing at Matt until the young man wrapped his arms around the broad muzzle. "Oh my god," Edd bit his lip to hold in his laughter, "He's--he's PURRING." Matt shrieked as Tom lifted his head, leaving Matt's legs dangling in the air as he clung to the trico's snout. "Okay, enough goofing around, you two! We have to find a way out of here." -------------- "How long have you been living down here?" Edd asked carefully as Tord poked at the meager fire with a stick. Tord shrugged, "Dunno. Couple of years, maybe. It's hard to keep track of time in the Nest. I can't stay in one place too long; it always feels like something's watching me." His gaze slid over to the shadows outside the fire where Tom was licking the pads of his foot with a black tongue and swiping it over his ears to clean them. "This map is pretty good," Matt drew his attention again, the worn leather soft under his fingers, "There's a lot of detail! Is there an exit?" The ginger's eyes glimmered excitedly in the firelight. "Not down here," Tord shook his head and Matt's shoulders slumped, "I've been down here long enough to make it around the perimeter of the Nest but there's no way out down here. The only way in or out is up. And the higher you go, the more dangerous it is." "If Tom's wings were healed..." Edd sighed. "Hey, hey, all hope's not lost." Tord was wearing a tight smile, crinkling the black markings on his face, "There's three of us now. Plus, if that trico really is on your side, that's a huge advantage. We can't fight the guards on our own but him...he could crush them."

----------------- "How come Matt gets the shiny mirror?" Tord pouted as they all scrambled back through the tunnel and onto the ledge. "What, do you want to stare at yourself all the time?" Edd threw back and Tord scowled at him. Tom heard their voices and uncurled himself from the ground, standing upright and looking at them eagerly, ears pricked forward. Edd smiled, despite himself, and reached out to rub the creature's nose.  The beast nuzzled into his palm for a moment and then then snuffled, snorting along Edd until he spotted Matt. As soon as he saw the mirror, Tom let out a growling whine, eyes flashing an array of colors, ears drooping, head ducking almost in fear. Edd and Tord hissed at Matt who hastily turned the mirrored shield away from the creature. Light reflected and bounced off it and then, miraculously, it began to glow. A beam of light danced from the surface of the shield and focused on a point along the wall. Tom's gaze followed it and he hunkered down, fur and feathers bristling, eyes burning that bright, poisonous violet. Then he arced his tail over its back and-- The air exploded and crackled with light and electricity. Lightning ripped through the air and slammed into the wall where the light was pointing, carving a trench in the stonework. All three boys gasped and tripped backwards, almost falling off the ledge in their shock. Matt dropped the mirror and it clanged against the stone, the light vanishing in an instant. Mere seconds later, Tom was huffing and shaking himself, shedding loose feathers and tufts of fur. He rolled his shoulders and looked at them curiously. "Holy shit..." Tord wheezed, eyes wide and chest heaving, "That was awesome!" "You can shoot lightning from your tail!?" Edd cried, scrambling to his feet, "You can shoot lightning from your tail!! You can shoot lightning! From your tail!" He erupted into laughter and Tord joined in as Matt gingerly retrieved the mirror. The creature's eyes swiveled to look at the tall ginger, eyes glinting a knowing blue-purple for a brief moment. Then he snorted, ruffling Matt's hair, and pranced on the spot, catching on to their excitement. ------------------- Edd woke up because he was cold. Not freezing to death kind of cold, but the uncomfortable damp kind of cold that prickled his skin and made him shiver under his robes. He sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes and looking around. Matt was still curled next to him, facing the cave wall, breathing steadily in his sleep. Tord was next to Matt, chin tucked into his chest, huddled close to Matt in a way he would never admit to if he was awake. The were both shivering and Edd pulled his heavier outer robe off to drape over his friend before turning away. The shape at the entrance to the cave startled him for a moment before he realized it was the trico. He was crouched a few feet inside the cave opening, shoulders hunched, large ears pointed out at the pouring rain, back to the rest of the cave. The only thing that moved was the tip of his tail, twitching occasionally. Edd moved forward carefully until he stood beside Tom, looking out at the vast expanse of The Nest through the curtain of water dripping from the overhang. Tom's ear twitched but his half-lidded black eyes never turned away from the outlook. Edd settled on the stone, cross-legged, beside the Trico, and wrapped his arms around himself to keep some warmth in his body. There was silence apart from the rain for a long while until Tom hummed low in this throat, that deep, whining rumble of a croon that was soft and crackled and wondering. "I'm okay." Edd murmured. Without thinking, he reached out a hand and brushed it over the feather-like scales on Tom's side, "And so is Matt. And Tord. You're an ugly fucker but you're okay too." Tom snorted and glared at Edd who just laughed softly and patted his side, "We'll get out of here. Don't worry about it." Tom breathed out a cloud of steam and turned back to the opening to stare at the rain. Edd hesitated and then got to his feet and went back to where the others were still sleeping. He tugged some of his robe free of the Matt's grip and curled up next to his friend to go back to sleep. It was still cold and it was seeping into his bones, making him shiver, making it near impossible to fall asleep. There was a shift, a rumble, and then a heavy thump and warmth enveloped him. Edd glanced around and saw Tom laying down around them, head resting on his paws, eyes closed. His tail looped all the way around their little group until it covered the trico's nose, fur ruffling with his breaths. Edd smiled to himself, closed his eyes, and settled back down to sleep.