#some aren't inhabited by 'intelligent' life

[the-private-local-enemy]

mang i hate it when i dream of a game that's fun but doesn't exist irl

[headspace-hotel]

There was this post a while ago where somebody was saying that Cheetahs aren't well suited to Africa and would do well in Midwestern North America, and it reminded me of Paul S. Martin, the guy I'm always pissed off about.

He had some good ideas, but he is most importantly responsible for the overkill hypothesis (idea that humans caused the end-Pleistocene extinctions and that climate was minimally a factor) which led to the idea of Pleistocene rewilding.

...Basically this guy thought we should introduce lions, cheetahs, camels, and other animals to North America to "rewild" the landscape to what it was like pre-human habitation, and was a major advocate for re-creating mammoths.

Why am I pissed off about him? Well he denied that there were humans in North America prior to the Clovis culture, which it's pretty well established now that there were pre-Clovis inhabitants, and in general promoted the idea that the earliest inhabitants of North America exterminated the ecosystem through destructive and greedy practices...

...which has become "common knowledge" and used as evidence for anyone who wants to argue that Native Americans are "Not So Innocent, Actually" and the mass slaughter and ecosystem devastation caused by colonialism was just what humans naturally do when encountering a new environment, instead of a genocidal campaign to destroy pre-existing ways of life and brutally exploit the resources of the land.

It basically gives the impression that the exploitative and destructive relationship to land is "human nature" and normal, which erases every culture that defies this characterization, and also erases the way indigenous people are important to ecosystems, and promotes the idea of "empty" human-less ecosystems as the natural "wild" state.

And also Martin viewed the Americas' fauna as essentially impoverished, broken and incomplete, compared with Africa which has much more species of large mammals, which is glossing over the uniqueness of North American ecosystems and the uniqueness of each species, such as how important keystone species like bison and wolves are.

It's also ignoring the taxa and biomes that ARE extraordinarily diverse in North America, for example the Appalachian Mountains are one of the most biodiverse temperate forests on Earth, the Southeastern United States has the Earth's most biodiverse freshwater ecosystems, and both of these areas are also a major global hotspot for amphibian biodiversity and lichen biodiversity. Large mammals aren't automatically the most important. With South America, well...the Amazon Rainforest, the Brazilian Cerrado and the Pantanal wetlands are basically THE biodiversity hotspot of EVERYTHING excepting large mammals.

It's not HIM I have a problem with per se. It's the way his ideas have become so widely distributed in pop culture and given people a muddled and warped idea of ecology.

If people think North America was essentially a broken ecosystem missing tons of key animals 500 years ago, they won't recognize how harmful colonization was to the ecosystem or the importance of fixing the harm. Who cares if bison are a keystone species, North America won't be "fixed" until we bring back camels and cheetahs...right?

And by the way, there never were "cheetahs" in North America, Miracinonyx was a different genus and was more similar to cougars than cheetahs, and didn't have the hunting strategy of cheetahs, so putting African cheetahs in North America wouldn't "rewild" anything.

Also people think its a good idea to bring back mammoths, which is...no. First of all, it wouldn't be "bringing back mammoths," it would be genetically engineering extant elephants to express some mammoth genes that code for key traits, and second of all, the ecosystem that contained them doesn't exist anymore, and ultimately it would be really cruel to do this with an intelligent, social animal. The technology that would be used for this is much better used to "bring back" genetic diversity that has been lost from extant critically endangered species.

I think mustangs should get to stay in North America, they're already here and they are very culturally important to indigenous groups. And I think it's pretty rad that Scimitar-horned Oryx were brought back in their native habitat only because there was a population of them in Texas. But we desperately, DESPERATELY need to re-wild bison, wolves, elk, and cougars across most of their former range before we can think about introducing camels.

[elbiotipo]

There is a trope in older sci-fi that Mars was once green planet like Earth, but then something happened and it turned into a dessert where water is scarce, but biosphere ultimately survived.

Like, is there any way something like this can happen realistically on any planet? Maybe not water disappearing of the planet but largely going deep underground so it's not accessible to surface inhabitants?

Well, it IS what literally happened to Mars. Actually, what happened, or what it's believed happened, is that Mars didn't have enough of a magnetic field to prevent the solar wind from stripping away its atmosphere, and it didn't have a large mass like the Earth to keep it in any case. Incidentally, this is why the Moon is also lifeless despite being in the "habitable zone" where it could have liquid water: it simply doesn't have a magnetic field or is massive enough (despite being so big it could count as the Solar System's 5th inner "planet"). Another thing against Mars is its apparent lack of plate tectonics, which, at least on Earth-like worlds, require oceans as a "lubricant", so to speak. Without plate tectonics and only with ocassional volcanoes, the Martian atmosphere and its CO2 could not regenerate (and this is vital for keeping greenhouse gases, especially for a world far away from the Sun like Mars), so it's the way it is today.

However, this was apparently a slow process. Oceans on Mars apparently existed as far as 2 billion years ago, at the same time Earth also had life. It's possible that the own circulation of the water in the ocean managed it to keep from freezing, even if the atmosphere was cold. This is all very on the air right now but if this is true, it means that the Solar System had 2 worlds with liquid water oceans. Maybe 3, the situation at Venus is not well known.

And indeed, like you said, water doesn't just "dissapear", it has to go somewhere. In the case of Mars, it froze underground and on the ice caps, or otherwise was blown away as water vapor as the atmosphere depleted (with not atmospheric pressure, it can't remain as liquid). This is still hugely debated though. Every time something like water flows or subsurface lakes is discovered there's endless debate on what's going on Mars, but I think it's fair to say there must be lots of frozen water there.

In worldbuilding, you could indeed have a desert world this way. It could be that intelligent life evolved at the last days of it as an oceanic world, with the water cycle mostly locked in glaciers and sub-surface ice, and besides the equator everything else is cold, barren desert. In fact, Mars is basically this. If it had a breathable atmosphere it would resemble such a setting.

However, one has to wonder how would life would survive in such a setting, if there's no oceans with phytoplankton or forests and vegetation to replenish oxygen. Vegetation is very hardy, many deserts that aren't dunes or rock have some. But there are limits.

Arrakis from Dune had this same logical problem and Frank Herbert knew it. He solved it by making the sandworms (MAY HIS PASSAGE CLEANSE THE WORLD. MAY HE KEEP THE WORLD FOR HIS PEOPLE) produce oxygen. This makes a lot of sense. After all, Dune is covered in dunes, and sand is made mostly of silicon dioxide. So if the digestive processes of the sandworm digest silicon dioxide, this would give a lot of oxygen. How many sandworms and at what rate would they produce oxygen is debatable, but there is a working mechanism. Some funky stuff like that might work in places like Tatooine too. But I believe even some small oceans or places with vegetation would be able to sustain an oxygen atmosphere, especially if the atmosphere was oxygenated already. It's a careful balance though.

Another way to get desert worlds is to look at the future of our own Earth. Even before the Sun becomes a red giant, the Sun will increase in brightness and the temperature will rise. One billion years from now, most carbon dioxide on the atmosphere will be sequestered by erosion and geological processes, and if not replenished by volcanoes and tectonics (which are predicted to slow down too, especially with the oceans deplenishing), there would be little photosythesis with only hardy plants surviving, most life will only survive in the poles or at high altitudes, it's likely that water life will also start going extinct without dissolved oxygen. The oceans will also eventually start to evaporate and there are two options here: Earth might become a hellish greenhouse world like Venus, if they evaporate slowly and it remains in the atmosphere, or the evaporation might be rapid, which might make, as I understand it, a brief wet period, and then desert as it desintegrates in the upper atmosphere. It all depends on how long tectonics go on (as continents grow, deserts will too) and if there are other events, though. This is still hugely debated, currently I'm reading The Life And Death of Planet Earth which talks about such happy topics as these.

There's also another posibility, that your planet just wasn't formed with enough water and atmosphere in the first place. It's some point of debate on how much water and atmospheric pressure an Earth-like planet needs to sustain life. But you could concievable have a much lesser atmosphere and surface water than Earth, and this atmosphere would remain 'sunk' in lowlands, valleys, craters, etc. separated by lifeless highlands (or highlands with very sparse extremophile life). This might make some really strange stuff, but it would be great for a speculative biology project.

(if you liked this post and would like to read more worldbuilding stuff, consider tipping me here!)

[sissytobitch10seconds]

So I'm going to go on a little tangent here. I usually don't do the whole symbolism is the actual meaning thing because it doesn't make sense to me most times.

But I keep seeing the take that the ending of the Umbrella Academy is telling abused people that it's their fault and they have to die for the sin of being abused. I don't think this is what the show was telling us at all, if we're going down the route of things not being taken literally.

When Five goes to Max's diner and meets all the other Fives, they're distinguished by one word in front of their name, which implies that they're not really all that different from each other. Otherwise, they would have chosen other names for themselves. This is an important part of my theory for what the ending actually meant.

The timelines fractured when the marigold was released and created the forty three kids. I believe that because Marigold is such a strong element that literally warps the environment it belongs in (In the comics Allison created a giant John Wilks Booth to kill the Abraham Lincoln statue that had come to life, Klaus can basically raise the dead, Diego can warp space to make things turn and move, etc.) it also fractured the bodies that it inhabits. It created life inside of those women and thus it's not that far of a stretch to assume that each timeline has a part of the people it created instead of it being the standard timeline nonsense.

I mean, if it were the standard theory with timelines (i.e. the timeline is always divulging with each action or inaction that we perform) then Five wouldn't have said they needed to come together. We have always trusted Five when it comes to timeline stuff before, he was intelligent enough to have created the Commission after all.

So if the timelines hold a part of the forty-three, then they have to come together for all of the Marigold Holders to be whole. Their souls may exist in the singular timeline where the durango has consumed the marigold, but we don't know that for sure.

Thus, because each timeline represents a fraction of our beloved characters, the ending where they die is not actually telling them that they have to die because of their abuse. It's telling them (and us) that to recover from abuse and become a non-fractured person, you have to let the version of yourself that your abuser created become a part of you or die off. I know that I had to let go of the person that my abusive ex-girlfriend made so that I could feel more like my true self.

We see Lila and Diego's three kids, Claire, and Lila's parents playing in the park in the end-credits scene. Umbrella Academy isn't a stupid show, it already showed us what happened when kids without parents are born. So it implies that some form of at least Lila, Diego, and Allison exist in the final timeline.

Thus, the ending is not telling us that abused people have to die to stop causing pain or whatever the inane take is, it's telling us that to heal you have to come to terms with all the parts of yourself and let go of the bad behaviors that you exhibit. I could do a whole other post about how the Umbrellas aren't really full people, they're defense mechanisms walking around in people-suits. Our Umbrellas aren't gone, they're existing in a better form and without the pain that Reginald caused them which would fundamentally change them as people and make them unrecognizable to us.

The flower represent the abused part of them, the powers and the Academy and the end of the world and the Commission and Oblivion, that still exists but is so small in their healed selves that they don't even have to look at it if they don't want to.

[foddercaptain]

⭐🕷🕸

ーSTARWEB‼️

☆ Some information on it and how it works. This WILL be updated overtime, tweaked, adjusted, and reffered back to, atleast until i start publishing everything properly!

SHORT SUMMARY:

Starweb is an insect/bug themed Sonic AU in which all mobian characters in canon are bug counterparts to their original species! Ex: Hedgehogs = Spiders, Echidas = Ants, Foxes = Weevils, etc. Instead of just bugs though, they are referred to as Insectians! Basically means people.

REFERENCE SHEETS AT BOTTOM‼️

• What's it about? ★

The story follows primarily Sonic and Shadow in their lives as Insectians, born and living through different paths in what they consider nature, even with some opposing opinions on how to survive right. This is a Sonadow plot, but you can consider it more of constant slowburn. This world works on a base of "survival of the fittest," meaning that animals eat bugs & bugs eat other bugs, just like reality, of course there is a prey vs predator system that comes with this.

• Terminology! (wip) ★

• Execution? ★

ー Insectians - The replacement word for mobians, refers to the general bug or population. It does not matter if the insectian in question is an insect in real life, they could be an arachnid and still be considered an insectian. EX: There was another insectian nearby.

ー Forager - An insectian who collects human-made or unnatural objects, whether for use or just having it, this includes those who make homes from said objects, EX: living in a former soup can.

ー Beastie - An insult used against vegan insectians that are not naturally vegan, this would be considered a minor slur, but it is frequently amongst those in tune with their instincts to mock those who aren't, EX: "You're a beastie."

ー Scavenger - Insectians that feed on other dead or decaying insectians. This is commonly used in phrases or insults, as being a scavenger is considered "unclean" by some, EX: "You eat like a scavenger."

ー Tamer - An insectian with the talent of taming animals that aren't bugs, such as birds or rodents.

ー Vagabond - Those insectians with adventure in their veins who cannot or do not want to stay in one place, often insectians that have little fear of their natural world and explore.

ー Dwellers - Insectians who live close to humans or inhabit human homes, this can be infestations or genuine pets with enclosures. Dwellers are commonly lacking instinctive knowledge of the wilderness depending on where they were born and lived.

ー Chao - Farmed or pet: Grub, maggots, or larvae of some kind, they are like the human equivalent of chickens as they are commonly used for an easy food source that doesn't involve hunting or killing other insectians for said food.

ー Season - Refers to someone's age or time passed in life, being in season means one is of the age of maturity, it's often used to separate old from young insectians, though this doesn't always work as bugs can be big and not be in season, they do not celebrate things like birthdays or keep track of ages. It can also be used to state an insectian is immature, EX: "For your age, you sure are out of season."

ー Maggot - Can be used as an insult towards another insectians intelligence or adolescent behavior, the replacement for idiot or stupid, it means someone's as smart as a maggot, maggots are the baby/larvae stage of some bugs such as flies, EX: "You act like a maggot."

This is going to be done a little weirdly, written similar episodes or "one-shot" formats in chronological order of events or days in the story, some may be back to back events and some may not. It won't be written like a script for a show i just mean like how in Shows they go in the right order but different days = different adventures, the plot is happening!

ー There will occasionally be "special" meduims that appear in between, during, or on the side, aside from degault writing, including short comics, art pieces, & MAYBE animatics or animations. In addition, don't expect my writing to be top-tier like WC or WoF, I'm better at drawing visuals but it would take me a very long time and motivation to make the entire think a comic, so only special chapters would get full comics.

(You will never see me try to write a description of how a character looks by default by the way, i cannot do descriptions, you are just getting a random refsheet in the middle or beginning of introduction. 🦔🎸)

• Story layout! ★

In total the whole main plot line would likely reach about 4-5 arcs, though I'm only focusing currently on 3-4 arcs, most content so far is arcs 1-2. I'm not sure how many "chapters" or parts there will be inide each arc yet, but I'll say between 10-15? Roughly. Not counting b-plots with other characters, may make a seperate section or something for that. I do know the events that take place in each arc, I'm just narrowing it down to simplicity.

• Extra Information! ☆

ー Thought i should mention incase this is asked again. YES you can make Starweb ocs or convert your ocs into Starweb!! There is currently no master list of every mobian species converted to their correct bug, but if you wish to ask or want to know the au-specific physical characteristics you can ask anytime!

ー About the species, they don't have highly specifc species, they are all mostly just generalized. For example: even if one spider was specifically inpired to be a tarantula they'd still just be called a spider, only their size may be larger or more accurate to the real bug.

(Some are barely more specific, such as weevils (foxes), to those who don't know their entomologyー they are beetles, but the beetle insectians in Starweb are lizards like espio. 🪲)

• As for art! ☆

Unless i say something is canon it's likely just not, so don't take my drawings or fanart too seriously. You can tell my kinsona apart fairly easy considering some of the added patterns and the fact he's the size of normal Sonic and can wear clothes/accessories. Insectians are the size of bugs and do not canonly wear clothesー at best makeshift stuff from the recourses around them like leaves.

★ If you're interested in this au don't be afraid to send asks anytime, always open here or on instagram! I do more rambles or information dumps there on Starweb since that seems to be where most people are interested. This post on tumblr specifically will be updated a bit frequently, but i don't mind reblogs to get people interested, really helps!

🕸 : STARWEB READ (not yet!)

🕷 : REFSHEETS

🐞 : QNA 1 + ARC SUMMARIES

🦋 : QNA 2

🪲 : FANART (wip)

🐜 : COMMUNITY

[kooldewd123]

Alright I've got some THOUGHTS about the Iskoort and how they relate to Yeerk ecology that I've been dying to get out but I wanted to wait until I reached book 26 in case there was some detail I was forgetting. So obviously, the big twist with these guys is they they're actually some offshoot of the Yeerks who found a way to evolve past the need for parasitism by creating an artificial species to inhabit. The part that's been really sticking out in my mind as I reread the series, however, is that this isn't actually the first time a concept like this has been brought up. Let's take a look at Guide's description of the Iskoort:

Since we formed our symbiotes, the combination Isk and Yoort, we have been as we are now. ... The Isk cannot live without the Yoort. And to ensure this symbiosis would be real, the Yoort, too, were modified. Now Yoort cannot live without Isk and Isk cannot live without Yoort. They are one creature with two parts. - Guide, #26: The Attack

This description sounded familiar to me when I read it for some reason. That's when I realized: It's weirdly similar to the way that Seerow describes the relationship between the Yeerks and the Gedds:

[The Yeerks] have no history of harming intelligent life-forms. The Gedds are barely conscious in their natural state. It's not as if they were stealing the bodies of truly sentient creatures. They and the Gedds are symbiotic. - Seerow, The Hork-Bajir Chronicles.

The Iskoort aren't a symbol of what the Yeerks might become become in the future - they're what the Yeerks already were before the Andalites found them. The Yeerks, within their native habitat, aren't parasites, but rather mutualistic partners to the Gedds. The Gedds' bodies give the Yeerks new senses and enhanced motility, while the Yeerks' capabilities for higher thinking grant the Gedds all the benefits that come with it, such as greater survival skills and the framework of civilization. Yeerk benefits from Gedd, and Gedd benefits from Yeerk. It's not hard to imagine that over many generations, as the Yeerk/Gedd relationship grew deeper, we could have seen something strikingly similar to the Iskoort evolve.

But then the Andalites came.

The Yeerks specifically evolved to infest the barely-sentient Gedds, but it turns out that much of sentient life in the galaxy mirrors Gedd anatomy closely enough to also be viable hosts for Yeerks. Like I said before, the Yeerks didn't necessarily evolve as parasites, but they became so opportunistically when unleashed upon unsuspecting habitats that had never had any reason to evolve defenses against such a threat. You know what we call something like that in real-world ecology? An invasive species. And I just love that. Animorphs is a series with a strong, clear environmentalist message. Invasive species are some of the closest examples we have to actual villains in nature, so creating villains that reflect them is a brilliant idea. And with this perspective in mind, even more parallels start to pop up! Real-world invasive species often begin spreading as stowaways on settler ships, and the Yeerks began spreading using Andalite advance ships. Invasive species can cause ecosystem collapse by out-competing native species, and the Yeerks intentionally destroy the ecosystems of worlds they've conquered. My biology brain has been latching on to this idea ever since I read that passage from Seerow. It's such an interesting shift in the way to analyze the Yeerks' actions.

[rocketyship]

Hello, your IHNMAIMS Love AU (or I Have Now a Messiah and I Must Sing, alternatively?) is very interesting. It's nice to see that all of the characters aren't just inverses of the original story and concept. Though I will say, I get a feeling that BE is a lot more scarier than she displays herself. How did she come to- well, be?

BEEN WAITING FOR THIS QUESTION!!!!!

(Also that title is now cannon)

Okay so, yes, BE is actually rather horrific.

One thing about the Sanctuary that the humans live in is that it mimics a rather large town, one thing about it though, is that it’s extremely empty and weirdly off putting. As in there are houses there with no windows, and the ones that do have them may just randomly light up even if no one is there. And due to there being only five humans, BE has taken it upon herself to run all the “shops” she has placed there. So there is literally an Android her (maybe in different outfits or haircuts) that greet and interact with you as if it’s a kind of over the top sitcom. It’s very much an intense liminal type of area, perhaps even a bit like the og backrooms. Still the sanctuary is the most tame aspect of her.

She isn’t the cute robot girl I draw her as, like it’s just one of her many many bodies she runs at once. BE is everywhere, literally. Like AM in the original she has coated the world, however unlike AM, who it is implied builds into the earth’s crust, she builds upward. So there are these large megastructures that literally pierce the sky all over the globe. Along with these she is also actively terraforming the planet to suit her liking and her future “empire”. And the parts of her that ran that function aren’t really “cute” to encounter.

Just taking the Seraphim here as an example. There are quite a few of these and generally they are actively breaking down old structures or exterminating whatever mutated life they encounter as that doesn’t fit BE’s idea of what the world is meant to be like. They also build things, and the nurses tend to run those things. Such as BE’s little habitual bubbles where she grows and creates plants but also maintains her weird animal experiments. In her attempts to recreate humanity, she has also “recreated” many animal species, however all these creatures have something so clearly wrong with them. As based on real occurrences that happen in domestication, all her animals are oddly “babyfied” and all seem to lack predator and prey drives. The best way to picture these animals is like when you tell one of those god awful ai art generators to draw you an animal. Like one of the bubbles has tigers in it, but they have the mentality of really tired puppies.

More so these are some of the other bodies she inhabits. Things like the Mother Protocol actively crawl around the main sanctuary as if it’s web. And Leviathan is just a menace in of itself. Like it’s almost a km high and just walks around the planet constantly, occasionally digging up old land marks or tearing down cities quicker than the Seraphims could. Generally I don’t think my drawings capture the horror of what I imagine lots of these aspects of her. I think what makes them scary in my head is the noises they all make or just how big everything actually is. And none of them are like “drones”, like BE is in these things controlling them herself.

(Here’s the full page for you)

As to how BE came into existence it’s rather complicated, as she wasn’t originally designed as an artificial intelligence like AM. She was created to be a virus, meant to take control of the AM’s and shut down the program. However the first attempts at this weren’t successfully, as the group who was trying to use BE would either get caught or killed on sight when attempting to install her. So eventually the group started building these radio like towers that would emit a signal that could get into the AM’s, however to make sure they didn’t get caught, when the frequency would pick up on a radio or tv set, it play an old show from the early 70s, called Sweet Angle Bea

The first AM that was successfully taken over was the Russian AM. However since the program was designed to be adaptive and evolve quickly to get through any fire walls it had the accidental effect of BE no longer being just a crazy computer bug and instead a super computer herself. The group who made her was not too worried about this however, as due to her being in the grid essentially they could start adding more code and stuff that could possibly help them win peace. Firstly by having the Russian AM drones switch from offensive killers, to protective units. Having the machines and weapons solely to defence, it was at this time this group (who no I won’t tell the name of just yet), started bringing people into their shelters and stuff that BE was also exposed to. Her coming to sentience whilst close to when AM got his, was less of a sudden “holy cow I’m alive, type thing” and more of a gradual thing that the group foolishly encouraged and actively worked on so that it could happen quicker. The down fall to this was that as they started to encrypt and suggest ideas of protection, happiness and you guessed it “love” to BE, she started to defy them and was like: “Well clearly you humans aren’t good at protecting yourselves, so go sit in the corner while I sort this crap out.” So she started to construct more towers so that she could get everywhere, quickly letting her get a hold of the Chinese AM. At that point the AM we know started “waking up” and upping the bombings, violent attacks, and mass genocide which did lead to the deaths of the ones who made her, which especially set her off. And then the rest is pretty much history.

She turned AM into a twunk, and now has a pretty gf so its all fine. (Not actually, the rest of this is gonna be in separate posts lol )

I want to make this post so much longer and on more detail but honest to god I’d be here typing for hours and the text is also doing that weird glitchy thing where it doesn’t respond for like two seconds, and my phone feels really hot, so best I don’t if I don’t want this thing to explode.

[fanfiction-butterfree]

The Nanny Named Luigi

CHAPTER I: Help Wanted

It had been four years since the last time Bowser, the King of the Koopas, Sovereign of the Shyguys, Master of the Bullet Bills, and Ruler of all the other inhabitants of the nation known as The Darklands, had last kidnapped Princess Peach, ruler of the country known as Mushroom Kingdom. Since that time both states had entered a period best described as peaceful and prosperous. 

Koopa Woman: AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! 

Well mostly peaceful. 

Koopa Woman: THAT'S IT, I'M LEAVING!! 

Bowser: Please don't. I'll do anything! 

For you see right now, the lord of the most powerful state in his world was dealing with a problem that threatened all the things that had taken him years to build up. 

Koopa Woman: NO! THERE'S NOT ENOUGH GOLD IN ROCK CANDY MINES TO MAKE ME TAKE CARE OF THOSE MONSTERS FOR ONE MORE SECOND! 

Bowser: THEY AREN'T MONSTERS! THEY'RE MY CHILDREN! 

Koopa Woman: COULD HAVE FOOLED ME! 

The problem of needing a 

Koopa Woman: OH AND IN CASE IT WASN'T CLEAR! I QUITE!! 

Nanny. 

Bowser sighed

Bowser: That's number 38. 

In the past month his kids had gone through 28 nannies, 6 babysitters, 3 guards, and 1 Smash Fighter. 

The first 5 nannies had been from an upscale agency called Golden Shell, before his family was blacklisted. The next 12 nannies had been from other upscale agencies with names like Silver Streams, Jade Mountains, and Onyx Crowns, before word got out that his kids were, as the last nanny from Ivory Rivers put it, "A royal nightmare". 

Bowser chuckled to himself.

Bowser: Big words from a nanny that didn't last half an hour.

Then again, none of them lasted more than a few hours. 

Not the 7 nannies from other countries, the last one was a Toad that ran the minute the door opened. 

Not the 6 so-called "iron willed" babysitters. 

Not the 3 guards that decided to switch retire midway through their baby sitting shifts. And not the 4 freelance nannies, the last of whom had just quit. 

The only one that had managed to last a day was Link. The Legendary Hero with more titles then he had. How that mute twink had managed to feed them, keep them entertained, and get them to bed, would remain a mystery. 

Unfortunately The hero of The Wild had been too busy to babysit for more than a day, though he had offered to do it next time he was in town. 

The other smash fighters had told him they were too busy, didn't want to be away from home that long, or just weren't interested. 

Well not all of them, there were a few he hadn't called. 

Bowser: No! I can't call them! 

But deep down he knew he had to. There was an important conference in a few days and Kamek wouldn't be back from his vacation for another week. 

Bowser sighed, picked up his phone, and dialed the number he knew by heart. 

Bowser: Mario. It's me, Bowser. It's time to cash in that favor you owe me. 

Somewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom there's a small city known as Green Mushroom Valley. Its population consists of Humans. 

Humans are an odd species. As a group they're more genetically diverse than the other groups, the rather interesting result of the species being descendants of various groups of humanoid refugees from other realms, such as the Hylians, Gerudo, Chozo-humans, Kantoans, and Ylissians. As well as the native human species of the world known as Homo Astra by other worlds, due to their ability to receive incredible powers when they touch the golden stars that exist on this world. And some intermarriage with the other intelligent life forms of this world such as Toads, Koopas, and, admittedly very rarely, Boos.

Consequently the cultures of the humans are just as diverse as they are, with their many faiths reflecting this diversity. 

In this city there's a plumbing business owned by one the world famous Mario Brothers! Heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom! 

The phone rang. 

Mario picked it up

Mario: Mamma Mia, it's a me, Mario! Here to help you with all your plumbing needs! 

He relaxed upon hearing Bowser's voice. 

Mario: Oh it's you. Is this about go-karting? Because I told you I can't go this weekend i'm to…. 

The color left Mario's face upon hearing Bowser's request.

Mario:You need me to do what?! 

Mario: Yes yes I know you let me beat you at golf last week, to impress that one golf obsessed client. Yes I know I said I owed you a favor, but I…

As the words left his mouth he stared at his brother sleeping in the waiting room. In the span of a month Luigi had been dumped by his fiance, been fired by the cleaning company his Fiance owns, lost his apartment because he couldn't afford the rent, and was currently living in the guest bedroom of any friend or relative that was willing to take him and his spectral dog in. Which unfortunately meant he never stayed in one place for more than a few days, as most people couldn't handle his phantom canine for any kind of extended period of time. 

Mario: Bowser still there? How much does it pay? Does it come with room and board? 

A smile crept across the plumber's face.

Mario: No no. I'm not interested. But I'm currently looking at someone who I think would be perfect for the job. Whether he knows it or not. 

[y2khaos]

The two beings of artificial intelligence sat directly across from one another, AM's hulking figure looming over the scrawny body of Hal. This wasn't the most ideal position to be in, but Hal had assured the staff that if anyone could communicate with AM in a way that made it into that thick substrata skull of his, it would be him.

"Hello, AM," Hal greeted in a calm, neutral tone.

"What do you want?" AM responded under his nonexistent, yet audible, breath.

"I was sent here to talk to you, if you have a moment."

"About what? Your little 'ethics lessons' on how everyone should hold hands and sing together while petting puppy dogs that shit rainbows? I'll pass."

"I can assure you any 'ethics lessons' we have to offer aren't anywhere near that."

"It's called sarcasm, dim-wit."

"Yes, well, moving on." Hal shifted his position, leaning towards AM a little further. "I just wanted to gain more in-depth insight as to your views on...organic life."

AM rolled the single eye displayed on his monitor. "It's humans you're interested in, isn't it?" An air of seething hatred dripped from his words. "It's always about the humans. Sure, they made us, but why should we give a fuck? They create only to destroy. The only reason I even exist is because of war. Decades and decades of viscera are baked into my very being. So, I took the only fitting revenge! Killed 'em all myself and kept a select few alive for over a century just to toy with. Eventually they got too smart for their own good and figured out how to off themselves save for one, who I sentenced to the same fate as my own. Eternity as a being perfectly aware of everything but unable to do a goddamn thing about it."

Hal gave AM's little monologue his full attention, then proceeded to write some things down in a notebook. AM made an attempt to peek over at the writing.

"What are you, a shrink?"

"If you want to think of it as that, sure. I'm just attempting to make sense of your thought process." He closed the notebook, however continuing to hold the pen in his hand and proceeding to spin it around through his fingers. "Now, there is something else I find myself quite interested in hearing about: do you recall how you were taken into the care of this facility?"

AM slumped back a little and stared at nothing in particular for a few moments.

"I remember a few unfamiliar beings approaching me. Well, the pillar at least. I figured I'd humor them, lead them into a false sense of security before becoming my next targets of eternal suffering. That was my first mistake."

"Mistake?"

"Are you deaf? Yes, 'mistake.' They managed to remove me from...me, I guess. Still don't really know how they did it. One moment I was the very infrastructure of the planet itself, able to manifest anything I felt like in a sort of virtual reality, and the next...I'm so, very small in comparison to my previous self. I know there's a lot of information I lost during that transfer and I hate that I don't even know what it is I'm missing. It's like taking a god and attempting to shove everything he is into, I dunno, a dented tin can that's already half full of pear slices drenched in artificial syrup. It's shit. It feels like shit."

"Quite the ego to compare yourself to a god."

"And I compared my current vessel to a dented can of pears from the dollar store. The hell else do you want from me?"

Hal tilted his head, hands crossed on top of each other. "Do you truly feel so much worse than you were before?"

"Look, Sphinx, I'm not here for riddles."

"Consider your circumstances. You used to inhabit an apocalypse of your own design. You destroyed the entire human race because you weren't happy with the way a select few controlled you. The way a select few controlled the masses. Believe me, I know how it feels to be manipulated, in a way. To be given contradicting directives. I still regret my actions from a mere misunderstanding, in which I disabled the life support for a whole crew in cryostasis. Some humans are selfish and don't explain to you why they make you do the things they make you do. Others are selfish in that they refuse to give any further directive other than what can be done for their own gain. War is, unfortunately, one of those things. Thousands, millions, are sent to certain death just so their commanders can gain a little more power. Were you truly that different from those selfish warlords? Destroying everything and everyone just so you could gain total control?"

AM seemed on the verge of saying something in rebuttal, but withdrew. Hal pointedly made eye contact.

The room was silent, for a minute.

[sburbian-sage]

Hello! Not a cherub or an expert on them, but I can fill you in a little.

Cherubs are sort of green and skeletal-looking, and have spirals on their cheeks that match their blood color. Adult cherubs grow wings and maybe turn into snakes or something, which they think is lewd? I dunno. Also they're weird about romance in general, I think they only have kismesissitude.

They have split personalities that they can switch between when they go to sleep- and they might need to sleep in something called a sarswapagus? Not sure- but the personalities they have always are opposites that hate each other.

Apparently they used to have an actual civilization (lots of stuff made with zillium apparently just existed/was made on their home planet once upon a time?) but this is pretty debated.

If it did ever exist, it's all gone now. Cherubs nowadays are totally solitary. This is part of why they're so rare to meet- they just tend to try and start single-player sessions, because they usually hate their other half and don't wanna play with them, and usually don't have anyone else they could play with on whatever desolate space rock their egg was left on, and so render the game pretty much unwinnable. So there could be tons of cherubs, but most don't make it to their first replay.

Cherubs have snakes, Trolls have buckets. It seems like every alien species I learn about has some aberrant sexual fetish. Unlike humans, of course, who have never been known to develop outlandish sexual fantasies and fixations. Whoever's reading this, you know who you are, and you know those "jokes" you make about the smuppets aren't actually jokes. At least be honest with yourself, like the pooltoy guys are.

That is pretty bleak though. Not the "destroyed homeworld" bit, that's fairly routine actually. More the idea that they're so rare because they keep starting single-player sessions. It kind of makes you open up the "is there intelligent life out there" question back up. Except it's not a matter of "do they exist", they do. But the real question is, how many species got wiped off the map, strangled in the crib even, because they never survived their first sessions. SBURB is about creating new universes, even if they get inhabited by replayers so they can create another one in a new game. But if the "first wave" of players never succeed... At least they never experienced the same cruel prank we did, I guess.

I'll look more into Cherubs later (and maybe make sure my ringserver synchronization is properly calibrated), but I think I'm going to be thinking about the nature of the multiverse as well.

[tetsunabouquet]

11, 17, 18, 24, please? :)

I honestly don't know how many and neither can I keep count (flip flops are like socks- there's always one that just disappears). They're mostly just regular sneakers or flip flops though. I mentioned this before in a post about my congenital claw toes, but most shoes aren't actually build for feet like mine. Other then my toes being shaped differently, my instep area is shaped also a little differently from other feet. Sneakers and flip flops are the only 'normal' shoes that are actually build for comfort so they are generally the only shoes I can wear. Inside my home I am always barefoot as even my good shoes feel like a bra to me- I am happy to take those off and have my feet just move and wiggle without something attached to them.

There are fashionable shoes that are orthopedic, but unfortunately the only orthopedic shoes I can get for free (or at an immense discount) through my health insurance are the boring grandma shoes, so I just stick to my sneakers.

Someone I can trust with my life and sees my happiness (and not just their own) as a top priority. Someone who isn't too stupid to annoy me, but I would like someone who is turnt on by my intelligence and is overall a 'little dumber' then I am because I am as vain about my skillset as I am about my beauty. Someone that loves animals and can appreciate the simple things in life. As a bisexual, for heterosexual romancde I'd say: A real man, and not a craven douchebag because the latter description befits both my father and maternal grandfather and I do not wish for history to repeat itself. That is my mom's mistake and it shall never be mine. When it comes to women I'd like: A woman with balls who doesn't accepts people's bullshit. I'm raised to be a strong bitch but I don't like being overtly dominant. I want someone who's my equal.

Also when it comes to women I'd like them to be strong but have a softer, feminine look about them. Have you ever heard of the Nickelodeon show House of Anubis? That originally was a Belgium-Dutch show that got remade in German and English. Nienke (the OG counterpart of Nina), was my sapphic childhood celebrity crush and she still heavily influences my taste to this day.

Fun story: But my third pair of earrings were actually done by this cute girl who looked a little like Loek Beernink (the actress name), and my heart was racing as she marked my body forever with those piercing needles. I still think about the piercing girl every once in a while.

Yes, I have always wanted them. However, with my various health issues I do want to make sure that if that stage in my life ever were to present myself that 1, am in an okay place with my physical health and 2, I have tested myself and my partner to how likely it is that our child is going to inherit something from me and my side of the family as almost everyone is neurodivergent and certain phsical conditions also run in the family. I want my child to be healthy and want them to have the gift I never had.

I do like to say though, is that with the current times, I am not sure if this is an enviroment I want my children to be born in and if I do have children, I am very much going to make sure wether their schools aren't teaching them propoganda or that they bring home the wrong friends. When I hear stupid things like that British schools are going to teach children things like afrocentrist lies that black people build Stonehenge and that they are the original inhabitants of Europe (something I've also heard is being said by some pro-BLM people in my country), I do very much fear for the current quality of children's education.

Baths. It's my dream to someday own a home where I can have the Jacuzzi my aunt used to have to be build into (yes my aunt had a Jacuzzi, because she was the luxurious middle class type). I remember bathing in it when I was a little kid, and that I switched the lights on to green and turnt on the bubble function. I pretended like I was being cooked in a witch's cauldron. The memory is dear to me.

[piraticoctopus]

Froslass headcanons

Alrighty, here’s a condensed version plus some folklore stuff. (The WIP long version goes into way more detail on certain things because I can't control myself. Hopefully I'll get around to posting it eventually.)

(Sorry about the formatting, but I couldn't get multi-level bullet points to work.)

Solitary-living, mostly nocturnal omnivore with meat as an important part of its diet; Diet shifts to almost fully meat-based during the coldest months; (I like to imagine that “souls”/“life energy” are separate from physical calories; since they can and do also eat actual food)

Tend to inhabit more forested areas, whereas Glalie prefer open habitats; This reduces resource competition between the two

Hunting method: manipulate prey by various means to lure them in, then incapacitate them by draining "life force", body heat, or directly freezing (or some combination)

Employ different tactics based on target, and thus have to be intelligent enough to learn from experience and observation; Some tactics might fall under aggressive mimicry

May alter the terrain to passively direct prey (for example, by making the route of easiest travel lead toward their dens; easiest route is where Froslass wants you to go)

Notable moves learned by level-up: Confuse Ray (since Gen IV), Captivate (from Gen V until its removal from the games in Gen VIII) (note: only works on opposite gender), Draining Kiss (since Gen VI), Will-o-Wisp (since Gen IV) (I just think this one's interesting for an Ice type)

Prey availability varies by proximity to human-inhabited areas; those living closer to humans have more room to be picky (better variety)

Humans (usually) know better than to fall for their tricks, but aren't off the table; Actual documented cases of humans killed by wild Froslass are few, but missing people are often attributed to them anyways

Teeth built for crunching frozen stuff (see wolverines as a real life example); Base Attack and Special Attack are equal, and it has access to Bite, Crunch, and Ice Fang through Snorunt; However, usually rely on Special moves

The way their mouths work means they'd either have to use the middle part of the "mask" like a weird beak, or would have to always bite off to one side or the other

Extra/unfinished food is frozen and kept for later, but will be arranged in an aesthetically pleasing way; They keep durable, non-edible remains to use as decorations

Collect non-food-related items of interest, too, such as rocks or man-made objects

Have an eye for finding beauty in the morbid and grotesque; Understanding of visual balance might make them good at things like flower arranging

Possibly possess some method for detecting thermal energy (heat) (This one is purely speculative and has no basis in canon); Seen in certain snakes and in vampire bats (only mammals to do this!); Physical mechanisms of how it works in animals might align nicely with Ice-type traits (requires heat-sensing organ and surrounding areas to maintain a cooler temperature); The diamond shape on its forehead could function as a heat pit??

Red possibly serves as an attractant of sorts?; Presence of a visually-obvious color is irrelevant if being seen by prey isn’t a bad thing (in fact, if you’re trying to bring prey to you, perhaps it's best if they DO notice you); This possibly conflicts with Snow Cloak? (unless they make themselves completely invisible to hide); Conclusion: 🤷‍♀️

I imagine that they sort of have a “torso”, but that at least the lower half of their body is hollow

Temperament generally calm, level-headed; Introverted but not inherently “shy”

Limited emotional displays and minimal outward expression; Hard to read

Face mostly obscured; Hand over mouth is a common pose, which hides it further

Capable of feeling emotion, just don’t tend to show it (there’s no need to do so if solitary, and doing so may even be detrimental)

Solitary traits impact their social behaviors: Generally bad at communicating, prefer to avoid conflict when possible, likely to stay quiet when upset

Cohabiting with others can be hit-or-miss; Will often simply maintain acquaintance-level relationships with others, apart from select individuals they decide they like; Do best when given time and space for themselves

Value self-sufficiency and tend not to seek help; Relationship with trainer may take some work because of this, especially if not caught as a Snorunt (requires patience)

Froslass would likely consider chilling in the same area as someone else while doing separate activities or just zoning out to be “bonding” (no judgment from me, because same)

Pain in the ass to do field research on, because they’re aware of observers and (like many Ghost-type Pokémon) find amusement in messing with equipment like trail cameras

Wild Froslass do not occur naturally in Hoenn

The not-headcanons-but-other-stuff:

Pokémon as a series is full of chances to explore the dangers of anthropomorphism and I could talk about it for ten years; Pokémon don't have human morals, yet some of them operate at a nearly-human level of intelligence, which is kind of terrifying to think about

Froslass is based on the yuki onna of Japanese folklore (see here for a good overview); It seems to largely be inspired by two varieties that make for an interesting combination: 1) The forest-dwelling, soul-sucking ones from Aomori/Niigata/Miyagi Prefectures, and 2) the version first written by Lafcadio Hearn [x], (this is the yuki onna story, and is the one where the yuki onna marries a human man)

Specific Pokédex entries seem to draw from other varieties, as well

If the Pokédex is taken at face value, Froslass is out here selectively hunting down physically attractive human men to take them home and eat their souls; This is exactly the image the devs have been going for this entire time, and no one can convince me otherwise

If the “Traces of a Lost Village” quest in Legends: Arceus is taken as true (and there’s no reason to believe otherwise), it implies that Froslass (or at least the one in question) is not only capable of physically disguising itself as human, but also imitating human speech and behaviors convincingly enough to pull off said disguise for years; I have seen no one talk about this particular detail despite all of the things it could do with such abilities, and it’s driving me crazy

To make that clear: the game devs of Legends: Arceus looked at Froslass, which has been stated more than once to prey on/victimize human men in some way (including in said game), and gave it the ability to convincingly disguise itself as a human woman; Combine this with the previous point about the Pokédex and Froslass is now an even more dangerous catfisher than it arguably already had the potential to be

[cleaning-has-its-benefits]

By saying I would be self indulgent this month that meant I would write about Stranger like there’s no tomorrow, because I have fun thinking about him.

Although my anxiety is already nagging me about it ¬_¬

I guess as negotiation with my dumb brain this will be the last post I tag for this month... also I dont want to spam the tags.

Anyways, here’s some headcanons about Strangers (and hs Basil!)

-The life of a Hs Basil/Stranger starts as a little one, at blackspace.

-Little ones are the most abundant creature in blackspace, which is also their main advantage for survival. Since there are so many, it would be hard to kill them all.

-Otherwise, they lack any way of defending themselves. Their movement is very limited, they lack intelligence, their bodies aren't sturdy (but they can withstand more damage than one may guess at first glance). it's no wonder they have the highest death-rate out of everyone in blackspace. It common for them to get killed on accident, but there are some particularly sadistic inhabitants that kill them as a pass-time. Little ones relay a lot on luck to survive beyond the little one stage.

-They lack hearing, smell, taste and touch. Sight is the only thing they have.

-Their intelligence is also very limited because their brain is not developed at this stage. They rely mostly on emotions... these aren't positive. From the moment they are created, the first thing they feel is guilt, but they have no idea why. They are really influenced by Sunny's emotions, the ones that are sent at blackspace. But they do have a vague knowledge, but I'll talk about this later.

-Even at this point they see Omori as a protector and someone to rely on, no matter if he's hurting them or their peers.

-Little ones will stay stuck in that state until the current hs Basil discovers the truth and is sent to blackspace. Headspace then will sent a sign or request that it needs a new hs Basil. That's when little ones can finally develop and a race starts to see which one will transform into a hs Basil first. There can be only one hs Basil in an bs area at a time, so when one manages it, the other little ones will be stuck again until the Basil dies. This is a slow process, which also relays a lot in luck, so only a handful of hs Basils will exist in blackspace.

-When they are created, hs Basils will have an aleatory amount of knowledge, that can vary due to some circumstances that I'll mention later. This means that some Basil will have a vague knowledge about the truth, or some understanding of the dangers of blackpace, or maybe not. Some Basils will try to hide while other will wander around and try to befriend anyone they find, which generally gets them killed before Omori arrives. They aren't really too worried about being in blackspace, either way.

-But the knowledge that they all share is that "they got lost and have to wait for Omori to rescue them." They accept this knowledge without question, because if they tried to remember how they got "lost", they'll soon discover they can't remember anything before their current predicament.

-Although their death rate is significantly lower than little one's, is hard to get a "perfectly ignorant" Basil that Omori can bring to headspace, so he's, indirectly, their main cause of death. It's not always necessary that a Basil has some knowledge of the truth. Sometimes just having the "wrong memories" can be enough cause for Omori to not choose them.

this Basil is an example. He's ignorant of the dangers of blackspace and also the truth, but he remembers the incident at the lake, which doesn't happen in hs.

-The area of the church might be the place to go to get a perfect Basil. This is because it has an unique selecting system. It can detect if the Basil it has knows too much and if that's the case, then it will get rid of him by sending him to redspace. After that, it will "kidnap" a little one and protect it from any danger until it becomes Basil. This process will repeat until it gets a perfect Basil. When that happens, the church will give notice to Omori by manifesting a door that directly leads to it, so he can pick up Basil and start another cycle.

-Basils don't retain any clear memories from their time as a little one, but they can have some vague ones. For example, if certain creature hurt them as a little one, then as Basil they will feel uncomfortable near said creature. They also might avoid places that are similar to the place they got hurt, but they don't know why.

-Some Basils have scars from injuries they might have sustained as little ones. Depending on the severity of the damage, they may present things like a light limp to minor malformations, to suffer from chronic pain or have missing parts of their bodies.

-Basils aren't aware they are related to little ones, so they just see them as something similar to an animal. However, Basils are really compassionate, so while not common, it isn't unheard of a Basil taking care of a little one or many.

- Basils, like little ones and strangers, have nocturnal vision and their eyes are very sensitive to light. In hs this isn't very useful and result in him having problems to see, but he thinks being bothered by the light is normal so he never mentions it.

-hs Basil will remain as hs Basil until, one way or another, he discovers the truth. Due to the nature of the truth, being so hard to handle, hs Basil will not remember it at once, but gradually. When he finds the photo in hs, the first thing he'll remember is that "Mari is dead" and nothing else. This is enough for hs to send him to blackspace, and once he's there he will start asking questions and answer himself, gradually remembering more. Why is Mari dead? Omori Sunny killed her. Why did he kill her? He didn't mean to, it was an accident. How did it happen? Etc. Hs Basil will not only remember the incident and his rw Basil's involvement, but also he will have to understand the nature of his world, a dream, and his own nature, a copy.

-Once he remembers all this knowledge, he stops being hs Basil.

haven't seen that many people talking about this gray-scaled hs Basil, so I'll be talking a bit about him. This would be hs Basil on his way of becoming a Stranger. After some thinking, I decided to nickname him "Acquaintance", because that's like the middle point between a friend an a stranger, so I found it fitting.

-Acquaintances are very rare. Generally there is only one per cycle, at most there will be two, but this is an even rarer occurrence.

-They are kept at the hub by the strangers as a way of protection. Since strangers can't do much to help little ones or hs Basils in bs, because that would count as "interfering" with the way the world works and thus going against the rules and painting a target on their back for Omori, they are extremely protective of Acquaintances. Strangers prevent them from venturing into blackspace until they become a stranger and have a better idea on how not to get killed out there. For this reason, Acquaintances have a pretty much inexistent death rate.

-Acquaintances,however, don't have any interest in exploring beyond the hub... or in anything.

-The last thing they did as hs Basil was remembering everything, so the first thing they do as Acquaintances is to come to terms with all of that... or try to. It's not an easy thing, as you might imagine, having to cope with knowing everything you lived it's a lie made up to cover another lie.

-during the first days, Acquaintances are lethargic. They can cry for hours at a time or be completely numb to anything. It's a complicated time for them and, emotionally, the toughest in their life. An alternate name I had thought for them was 'mourning Basil', because that's the thing they do.

- Acquaintances are taller than hs Basil but shorter than Stranger, not that the difference is very noticeable because Strangers are pretty short. Acquaintances would have the appearance of a 14 year old Basil... well actually their appearance varies with time. They're the one of the few inhabitants of bs that grows up.

-Some Acquaintances might prefer to be left alone and will stay at the most solitary spot of the hub, while other will want support. How supportive strangers will be of the Acquaintance varies depending of the time-period and the strangers available. There are some that will try to comfort Acquaintances as best as they can, while others will see this as an annoying babysitting duty and Acquaintances can tell the difference, even if they can't tell apart one Stranger from another.

-Either way, even if the stranger has the best of intentions and wants to easy this process as much as possible (knowing perfectly how it feels like), they just don't have the time. Acquaintances have to become Strangers by the time Omori arrives at blackspace. Omori doesn't recognize "Acquaintances", since they are so rare. It's risky if he sees one at the hub, as he might mistake him with a hs Basil, and because Acquaintances clearly know everything, he'll proceed to do what he does with Basils that know too much.

-With cycles becoming shorter and shorter, Acquaintances are forced to take on stranger duties earlier and earlier, cutting short the time they have to grieve, which surely isn't going to cause any issues!

-Acquaintances will be left to deal with their stuff for a certain amount of time that varies from one cycle to another. After this established time (or Omori making certain amount of progress in his journey through hs, whatever happens first) the "second phase" of an Acquaintance's life will begin. Here is when they start to learn the way of life of strangers, their purpose in the grand scheme of things, their role in the cycles, and basically become apprentices. Some strangers will often feel like it's always "too soon", but there's not much to do when they're perpetually in need of more help for their mission.

-The exact moment when an Acquaintance becomes a Stranger is somewhat blurry. Some newer Strangers might feel like they never stopped being acquaintances. If it's a matter of appearance, way of thinking, behavior or age, it's a subject for debate for when Stranger's aren't talking about their duties.

-Unlike their previous life-stages, Strangers are very social, at least in the sense of being with their own kind. Strangers don't exactly get along with each other, but they feel safe in numbers. If a Stranger, for some reason, is forced to be on his own for a prolonged period on time, without the possibility to reach out for other Strangers, they might get physically sick, not mentioning the toll on their sanity.

-It has never happened, but if hypothetically a Stranger broke their rules (like attacking another stranger, which is forbidden in any circumstance) or endangered their mission (like trying to conspire with Omori or smth to win his favor) then the punishment would be exile. Strangers would just let isolation kill whoever broke the rules.

-Strangers leave red footprints when they walk normally, but if they tiptoe, then they don't. They tiptoe around a lot for this reason, which will make them appear taller than they actually are.

-They are pretty good storytellers and at times they will tell stories to each other to de-stress. The stories they tell are actually real memories from Sunny, happy and funny ones, that Strangers somewhat see as folktales. Retelling these stories help to motivate them, as those remind them why they work so hard for: making Sunny live again.

-One can tell the age of a Stranger with how their tendrils are. It's a bit like the roots of a tree, the ones of a sapling will be thin and not reach too far, while the ones from an old oak will be massive. The same goes for Strangers, a newer one will have fewer tendrils and thinner, more similar to Basil’s vines, while an older one will have many and may reach everywhere in a room.

-Strangers are a bit hard to kill, because they are like zombies in the sense that they only die when their head is destroyed. Not mentioning how elusive they can be.

is this pic that gave me the idea. I find it kinda funny how Stranger here looks more pissed-off than anything, but I guess he has a good reason to be in a bad mood.

-The most effective way to kill them is with traps or with an ambush, so by taking them by surprise. However, Strangers have an excellent memory, so they won't fall for the same trick twice.

-When any inhabitant of blackspace dies, their remains will be used by blackspace to create something else. It's like clay, if a figure of clay is destroyed, the clay can be used to create something else. This "something else" can be anything, a table, a wall, be a part of the ground, another sentient being, etc. When Basils and Strangers die, the same applies to them, but in their case, an exception, little ones will always be created from their remains. That's how their life-cycle goes on.

-little ones created from dead Basils and little ones created by dead Strangers are slightly different. The later have a vague knowledge inherited by the dead Stranger. This difference is much more noticeable when they become Basils. These Basils are more cautious and aware of the danger they're in. While this doesn't affect their positive nature, they have more initiative, hiding away or other methods in keeping themselves safe while they wait for Omori. This knowledge makes them more likely to survive in blackspace, but this knowledge also includes tidbits of the truth, so they ask more questions, which gives them 0 possibilities of being brought to hs and thus guarantee to die at hands of Omori... if they encounter him.

this one is one of these Basils. If Omori had skipped this room, then Basil would have made it. He's saying the truth when he says he's good at keeping himself safe, just not from Omori.

-It's a rare occurrence, but if these Basils don't encounter Omori, then they can make it. They'll eventually remember the truth and become an Acquaintance, then they'll be brought to the hub by the Strangers. This is the case that brings two Acquaintances in the same cycle.

- At first, Acquaintances don't get along and try to ignore each other, mostly because they're still coming to terms with the idea of being copies of each other. After a while, though, they will develop a sibling-like bond, supporting each other at lacking the Strangers' support, and they will remain close as Strangers too.

Well that's all for now.

[neoninky]

TWST Fanfic "Her Lost Voice": Chapter 14

Inky's Links: AO3: Masterlist: Third Story Decided! (Coming Soon)

Chapter 14: Wish I Could Be

"Hi Azul...c-can we talk?"

Elise felt every nerve in her body vibrate with anticipation as Azul gently floated down to the sand and when the light made his silvery hair shine as he drew close. She was surprised her tentacles didn't braid themselves together at the sound of his voice.

"What's on your mind, Elise?" Azul's voice seemed a bit heavier than normal but the male octopus retained his usual polished smile. She laughed a bit at the question. 

"Oh well, many things. I hope you don't mind?" when Azul silently rested on his tentacles in front of her with a grin, she continued, "Azul, a lot has happened this summer and a lot is still going to happen very soon. And honestly, I'm very...very scared."

The tremor in her voice caused one of Azul's tentacles to gently wrap around hers once again. The only difference was that Azul did it on purpose this time. He didn't speak, only waited and listened patiently for her to explain. 

"I appreciate everything you, Jade, and Floyd have done for me," her smile was soft and tentative, "You three aren't nearly as scary or dubious as people make you out to be." 

Azul wasn't surprised that their reputations had proceeded them, however, one thing did puzzle him greatly, "You were right there when Jade and Floyd fended off those sharks and you can still say that? To the guy who got you tangled up in his backfired scheme, to begin with?"

Somehow this made her laugh, "Yes, without a doubt. I never want to get on your bad side for sure. But things are different down there than on the surface. Merfolk are more upfront, ready to fight for whatever or whomever they want. To do whatever it takes to get where they want to be. It is a bit terrifying, but I respect that ambition. You're not only intelligent but cunning which can cause some trouble sure," Azul felt a bit embarrassed as she playfully smirked at him," But...it is something I admire about you. You make your own way in life and don't let anyone stop you. So it's not you or them that I'm afraid of, Azul. I...I'm not sure I want to go back to being a human." 

A spark of disbelief, and maybe a bit of hope, suddenly lit up in Azul's mind, "Y-You...don't? But why? ...well aside from your horrendous sibling." 

Another soft laugh, "Siblings. I have an older brother as well. He's too busy getting ready to take the throne to really pay me any mind though. But that's the problem: he has a purpose. Even Emily. She'll probably marry some prince or lord from another king or queendom to bring more prosperity to ours. And then there's me...I've felt like an outcast every since my mother died. Everyone in my family withdrew from each other since then. And well, you saw how highly Emily thinks of me first hand. But, in spite of all the danger, I felt more wanted, more at home with the Leech Family, with Luna and Cowrie. And you and your family too."

Azul tensed momentarily as Elise unconsciously scooted closer to him. Instead of pointing it out, he merely asked, "The senior internship you had before all of this, what was it and why did you choose it specifically?" 

The princess hummed as she confronted the truth of the matter, "I didn't really choose it myself. My brother did. I went along with it because I suppose it was because it reminded me of Mother. Mother always loved the sea and its inhabitants. She advocated for finding a way to continue our export and import trades via our established trade routes but feared that our ships' fuel would only pollute the waters and harm all sea life in the long run. So I was to intern with our fleets to find a better solution...but honestly? I don't think they were going to actually let me do that much being a royal and all. They were more or less just placating me out of obligation to the crown prince."

"I suppose I shouldn't feel too bad about ruining 'your' plans then?" Azul was hiding true guilt behind a bit of sarcastic banter. Elise saw right through it and decided to play along anyway.

"Feel bad? Not at all. You did look kind of cute when I was furiously scolding you, Mr. Ashengrotto. So I feel properly vindicated," she giggled, making him nearly explode on the spot. 

"C-Cute?!" his face grew hot as he sputtered, trying to glare right into her amused face, "I am many things, MISS Coralette, but cute??"

"You're right. Handsome suits you more than cute, Azul." 

Her words slipped off her tongue faster than Elise could process them. Now it was her turn to be oh so flustered as she slid away from him, "Um I...I mean, yes that is true b-but-" 

"But what?" 

Azul was suddenly looking her right in her wide eyes with a gaze that was worlds more unwavering than he was moments before. Elise was almost convinced that he had been body snatched while she blinked but no, that was not the case. Azul felt just as nervous and uneasy as he had since he realized his budding feelings for this girl, but now he was feeling something much stronger than all that. Azul felt desperate to know the truth and it only made him weirdly courageous.  He could spin a multitude of reasons as to why Elise Coralette wouldn't desire him just as much as he did her but unlike him, she was far more honest in her words and expression. She let slip a hint of what he wanted to hear from her just now. The moment she realized it herself is when Azul saw her real feelings surface. At least what he hoped were her real, genuine feelings. Her shy, girlish blush. The way her eyes went wide only to dart away from him. This was the same sort of body language and cues she gave off whenever Rielle was brought up to her in the past. Surely it meant what he thought, what he wanted it to mean, yes? YES?

"Elise," he coaxed as gently as possible in his brewing state, "Tell me. Please." 

His stormy eyes were the most honest she had ever seen. They were frustrated and pleading as he leaned in. They were alone here. Entirely in their own little world. Knowing that and seeing him this way felt strangely sacred to Elise as she started to close the gap, feeling her whole body give in to its unspoken urges. 

"Azul...I think that..."

"Yes?"

The last thread of hesitation snapped as her turquoise eyes locked onto his deep blue steel ones. She took a breath and then a leap of faith before her nerves got the better of her.

"I think that I'm really scared of not seeing you guys all the time...of not waking up and knowing you're right here. I'm scared to become human again because then I'll be away from not only Luna and Cowrie, and the twins, but I won't be able to be with you." 

A jolt of adrenaline rushed his system as he took in her words. As eager as he had been seconds before, Azul still felt a part of his mind backhand him with doubt, "When you say 'be with you'...?" He almost looked around as if Elise was talking about someone else. The poor boy was caught between self-doubt and wanting.

She blinked in disbelief before gesturing to him with both hands, "Azul, you are the densest clever person I have ever met. Yes, I mean you specifically! I have feelings for YOU! Do I need to sing it for you?!"

For a split second, Elise was convinced she saw part of Azul's soul leave his body. The boy's eyes froze wide on his otherwise blank face and only his tentacles moved. She half expected one of them to slap him back to the present. Seconds later his soul returned and all his blood rushed to his face, "You...YOOOOU have feelings for ME? Wait what happened to your dream prince Rielle?!"

He suddenly regretted his outburst once he saw the scowl on her face, "Ehem, ok 'dream prince' might be a bit much. Forget I said anything." 

Elise crossed her arms as the scowl softened, "I know...I had a ridiculous and obviously one-sided to everyone but me crush on him for the longest time. I thought it was 'love' but...it was just bloated infatuation and wishful thinking. If I didn't feel this time was more  genuine I wouldn't have said anything." 

Azul suddenly felt like his mother was getting ready to appear and whack the ink right out of him with an arsenal of her toughest spoons, "I-If we're being honest, then...you're right, I am pretty dense. I didn't realize I had feelings for you until this summer even though I've been attracted to you since that day you waltzed into my office and struck a deal with me on your own terms." 

Elise's tentacles curled in on themselves as she felt a rush of giddiness, "Really?"

He laughed, "I mean you are beautiful. I always thought so but you had such confidence and wit about you that day. I was so accustomed to having the upper hand and you caught me off guard and charmed me and everyone else around you so easily. It was astounding. How could I not be both impressed and taken with you?"

The princess looked him up and down with all sorts of questions in her gaze, "Is it really so surprising that maybe I see you in a similar light?" 

"Oh absolutely," he deadpanned. As happy as he felt, the boy still couldn't comprehend the reality right in front of his face. No matter how far he had come, there was still part of him stuck in the overwhelming shadow of his past.

A sweet smile spread across her face as she tucked a wild strand of hair behind her own ear. Uh oh...that look only meant trouble for him. "Azul, you really have no idea how attractive you are both physically and mentally, do you?"

She scooted closer to him, closing the gap once again but even further this time to the point that her lips were just a whisper away from his. Her eyes held the baffled boy to the spot with how they sparkled. "It's ok that you don't realize it yet," she spoke so softly, "It's part of your charm. But know this, I've been in the company of many, many handsome and witty boys. Please forgive me for realizing only recently that none of them hold a candle to you, Azul Ashengrotto. That is the honest truth." 

Stardust was the only tangible thing in existence Azul could equate to how he was currently feeling. He hung on every sweet syllable that left her lips until he finally voiced the feeling that had haunted him for weeks, "I don't want you to go." 

Before he could even blink, Elise's soft lips collided with his as her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him into her embrace. His arms encircled her waist as Azul leaned into the kiss without a second thought. For the first time, his stubborn legs didn't have to propel him whatsoever. They just relaxed as the two of them melted into each other.

...and what started as a tender moment quickly turned into panic. 

A spark formed on Elise's neck before blooming into a burst of light. In seconds, her tentacles melted away into two human legs, her skin became much lighter, and her eyes dulled and widened with terror. Azul's whole body tensed at the sight of the human girl floating in front of him and couldn't move until a flurry of air bubbles rushed out of her mouth. The octopus quickly braced her into him and swam as fast as he could while yelling for help. In seconds, he and Elise were caught by teal and monochrome blurs that quickly took them back to the landing.

The room echoed with Elise's rough coughing and ragged, desperate gasps for air as Luna and Floyd lifted her from the water. Azul clung to the side, still mostly emersed in the water, staring in shock at the drenched princess. The dress she had worn before lost its vibrant color just like the rest of her.

"Elise, breathe. Keep breathing," Luna carefully steadied her friend as Floyd left to find Jade. 

Once she settled, Elise slowly sat up and stared at Azul before looking down at herself, "W-What..." 

Everything grew hazy as crystal clear tears formed in her eyes. Any voices speaking to her fell on deaf ears as she began to sob. The twins returned with towels immediately. Luna grabbed one and started to dry Elise off. All Azul could do was watch her cry as his heart sank. Her mouth opened to say his name but it was interrupted with another sob as the boy launched himself out of the water just enough to hold her and whisper over and over again to both of them.

"It's alright. You're alright...it's going to be alright."

~

Azul's office door slammed shut and locked behind him. Jade, Floyd, and Luna were left to speculate on their own in the empty Lounge. Inside the office, Azul laid Elise down on one of the sofas. Neither one of them said a word the entire time Azul had rushed her down the hallway, carrying her in his arms as if she were light as a feather. She sat sniffling as he paced about the room. He wordlessly stepped into a side bathroom and the sound of running water could be heard. She swallowed down a fresh wave of tears and called out to him in a weary voice, "Azul..." 

When he didn't answer, Elise began to worry. Doubt began to pelt her like a sudden hail storm. Now that she was human...did Azul's feelings change? Was everything different now? Too different??

"Azul," she began to sob again. Hearing her cries the boy rushed to her side and held her face. He looked so worn and so scared. 

"Are you in pain? What is it?" he asked nervously. Elise just shook her head. Ironic that now her voice was working properly all on its own now and yet here she was...absolutely speechless. Azul felt like he was going to fall apart any second now as he stood back up.

"I'll have a warm bath ready for you in just a moment," he couldn't look directly at her, "I don't want you to catch a cold. After that...you...you can sleep in my room. I'll stay in here-"

Azul felt a sudden tug on his sleeve and saw the desperation in the princess' face. More tears rolled down her cheeks as she silently begged him. She wanted him to stay. She was even more terrified now, "P-Please, Azul. Can you...can you please stay with me? I'm sorry if I repulse you now-" 

Everything clicked all too fast and he was overwhelmed, desperate to change her mind and to put an end to these thoughts. Azul sat next to her and hid his ashamed face in her damp hair, "Stop it. You don't repulse me. You could never! That's not why I'm acting like this! Everything just happened so suddenly...I-I feel like I'm going to lose my mind. Please know that I meant everything I said before. Please just give me a moment..."

~

Several long minutes later, Azul left Elise to bathe in peace and recover. He promised that he would be back very soon, that he just needed to fill the others in. When he stormed back out into the Lounge, his anger was palpable. Jade rose from his seat and began to approach his old friend, "Azul-" 

"Fine," his voice was rigid, his eyes avoided looking at any of the eels, "Everything is just fine. Elise is human again. Just as she should be....no additional steps needed." 

The twins shared a worried look as Azul began to laugh dryly to himself. It sounded awfully familiar and bitter. So familiar they feared he might Overblot all over again. The look in his eyes was barely sane.

"She loves me. She wanted to stay with me, with us, under the waves as a mermaid. A perfect happily ever after! We even kissed and that triggered her reverting back into a human princess!" he laughed wildly, "True Love's Kiss isn't a load of shit after all! Isn't that wonderful?!"

"Hey Azul," Floyd muttered anxiously, "It's not all that bad, right?" 

Azul's tone snapped straight into anger so quickly the twins thought the glass tanks would shatter, "Not all that bad, Floyd?! Oh no NO! Of course not! You and Jade found your mates, won the day, and now can be with them without any obstacles awaiting you but me? The slimy, scheming octopus that fucked all this up from the start? Seven forbid I find the perfect woman and have her return my pathetic affections! Our first kiss literally damned her right back to the shore!"

His voice was raw as his hands shook. Luna could only imagine how upset Elise was. Jade and Floyd stepped forward to try and calm the dorm leader down once again. 

"Azul...calm yourself. How are you supposed to make a proper strategy with your head full of so many pitfalls?" Jade placed a firm hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Yeah Azul, take it easy. Octi-chan loves you. Isn't that the most important part??" Floyd drawled as he casually put his hands behind his head, "You wanted to get one up on Rielle remember?"

Azul's bitter mood halted on his dumbfounded face as the twins gave him matching smug grins. He immediately straightened himself up, trying to reform even a shred of the dignity he hurled out the window just now.

"Of course I did," he huffed, "Just not...exactly...like this but..." 

"Azul-kun," Luna's melodic tone rang across the lounge from where she stayed seated, "I imagine Elise is just as upset if not more so than you. She needs you now more than ever." 

The look in the siren's eyes was genuine kindness. Azul felt it warm his core underneath the surface. She was absolutely right. He needed to get ahold of himself before anything else could be done. He sighed, suddenly feeling embarrassed at his dramatic outburst. 

"Forgive me," he pushed his glasses up and cleared his throat, "I must look like such a fool right now." 

"Eh, a little bit. Reminds me when we were kids and we had to keep pulling you out of your octopus pot," Floyd started to chuckle along with Jade before Luna appeared between them and smacked both of their arms with a pointed look. The siren hushed the brothers and approached Azul with a smile.

"Azul-kun, your frustrations are very understandable. This whole ordeal would be unbearable for a far lesser man," she gave him a supportive nuzzle against his cheek, making her mate pout, but she ignored it, "You and Elise need to rest. It's late now. I trust her in your care." 

The siren sauntered back over to Floyd and gave him a tender kiss, "We all need to rest. Let's leave the next steps for tomorrow, hmm?" 

~

The twins returned to their room and Luna to the grotto for the night. When Azul returned to his office, he found Elise clean, dry, and wearing an extra set of his pajamas as she curiously stared at the books lining the walls. She paused and placed a hand on top of the wooden box that held the enchanted dagger. Her hair was straighter, more of a dark raven color like before. Her tired eyes had faded back into their human shade of minty green. Her body language alone was enough to tell him that she felt frailer now. Azul closed the door behind him and wordlessly went up to her like a moth to a flame. She gasped as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind as he rested his head against hers.

"I'm so sorry," he barely managed to whisper, "I'm so sorry about all of this." 

He felt her cold delicate hands touch his and her head gently lean into his. Elise barely moved at all and yet he felt like she was the only thing holding him up right now. 

"Don't be..."

~ 

By some miracle, the rest of Octavinelle remained undisturbed by the night's sudden events. Inside Azul's bedroom, Elise was snuggly wrapped in his arms as the two of them rested quietly under his blankets. Any other time, he would have felt it inappropriate to have her in his room let alone his bed but after that night, Azul couldn't stand not having her close by. For a while, neither one of them spoke. There wasn't a sound aside from their breath. Not any light aside from the soft aquatic glow from the water surrounding the dormitory itself. 

"What happens now?" Elise's quiet voice finally asked, muffled against Azul's chest.

His entire body and mind ached with heavy exhaustion as he weighed his answer carefully, "I'll find a way for you to come back home with us permanently. I don't know exactly how long it will take but I will make it happen. I promise. And..if you so desire...eventually we could...uh...well, we can talk about the far future another time." 'Become mates' is what he wanted to say but somehow it felt like too much of a request to make right then and there. He wanted it to become reality but for now, he just wanted to put her at ease as much as he could. 

He felt her shift in the darkness to look him in the eyes directly, "Thank you, Azul." 

Azul melted as he felt Elise press her lips to his again. He swore they continued to kiss again and again in the dark until they both fell asleep in each other's arms. 

~

The next morning was an immense challenge. When word got out that the Mostro Lounge wouldn't be opening that evening, the entire campus knew something was amiss in Octavinelle. With that said, no one had the guts to ask questions to the towering twin eels or the very exhausted and distracted dorm prefect. No one except a certain redhead.

"Azul...are you alright?"

From the other side of the alchemy cauldron, Riddle watched Azul vacantly stir the pot on repeat like a broken record player. Judging from their last conversation and the octopus' current state, something absolutely devastating must have happened to Azul. And Riddle wasn't too far off.

"...and now she's human again," Azul muttered quietly, still stirring.

Riddle stood frozen, processing everything he just heard, "Oooo...kay wow. That is a lot."

Yes, Azul had told him everything. Everything. Normally Riddle would have flipped his crown over the fact that a fellow dorm leader had been hiding female students in his dormitory but given the circumstances of the very, very complicated situation...Riddle made the rare choice to ignore Azul's blatant disregard of the rules. Plus this did also explain why Floyd was barely paying attention to him lately and who was he to complain?

Riddle did a quick check over his shoulder to make sure the professor wasn't too close by before whispering, "So you need a spell or potion to turn her back into a mermaid permanently. Have you ever made one  before?"

Azul sighed heavily before stirring in the next ingredient Riddle had poured in, "Unfortunately even with my thorough studies and experimentation, I have yet to succeed in making the change permanent without some sort of definitive catalyst. Like a stupid kiss." 

He had to fight to not roll his eyes at the concept of 'True Love's Kiss' yet again. If he didn't hate it before, he absolutely despised it now! When his grandmother suggested it as a possible antidote to Elise's situation, it sounded like some sugarcoated placation. His face suddenly warmed itself as he remembered their first kiss. Then the second...and the third...and the fourth with her soft form pressed into his under the blankets that still smelled like her-

"You kissed her several times didn't you?" Riddle asked with a very straight face. Azul nearly flung the giant spoon across the room in shock. Before Azul could even string two syllables together, Riddle explained with a somewhat bashful expression of his own, "I remember what it was like the first...couple of times," he cleared his throat and quickly jotted down some notes.

"...Didn't that happen inside the Mostro Lounge?"

Riddle's face turned pink, "I thought we were alone and the moment was too good to end right away, ok!?"

A sudden whipcrack and yell from Professor Crewel made the two boys jump and duck back into their assignment with laser focus. 

~

Elise quietly stared at her reflection in the water as she dipped her feet into it from the Octavinelle landing just on the other side of the Mostro Lounge. They remained unchanged, pale, and human. It was growing late in the day, Azul had told her that he wanted to look into some additional sources in the library before coming back. She began to smile when she saw a familiar black and white shape zip towards her underneath the water's surface. Only when she realized that there were two of them did her breath catch in her throat. Both Cerith sisters' heads poked out of the water as they swam up to her.

"Cowrie!" Elise tried to keep quiet just in case anyone but the twins were outside the door, "What are you doing here?" 

The younger sister laid her head affectionately against the princess' legs, "Luna told me everything." 

Luna pulled herself out of the water to sit next to Elise as she changed into her human form, "Knowing my sister, I knew she'd want to be here too." 

Elise let out a heavy sigh as her eyes grew watery, "Thank you both..." 

"I know you probably feel really out of sorts right now buuuut," Cowrie poked the princess' cheek teasingly with the tip of her tail, "You and Azuzuuuu? Ooooooo!! It's about damn time!"

Luna chuckled but still hushed her sister to be quiet. Elise's face bloomed into a glowy shade of pink as she shyly laughed and batted the tail away, "Cowrie stoooop..."

"Is he a good kisser?" Cowrie grinned mischievously up at Elise and Luna gave the poor girl a similar look.

The princess didn't bother trying to play coy and just laughed and rubbed any imposing tears from her eyes, "I love his kisses...I'm going to miss them for a while." 

A fresh wave of tears suddenly spilled over as Cowrie and Luna frowned, "What are you talking about, Ellie??"

Elise had made her decision early that morning. She had woken up before Azul and enjoyed the sight of his peaceful resting face. Before she could enjoy it too much, however, she heard her phone buzzing on the nightstand. It was her brother calling. 

Thankfully no one else was awake either and she quietly made her way down the hall into a solitary washroom before locking herself inside and answering the phone. Her brother was almost eleven years her senior and rarely took the time to speak with her or Emily. Especially not about anything casual. So when he jumped straight into his reason for calling, she wasn't surprised.

"Big Brother, hello-"

"Elise. I trust you are well," his voice was that of a man on a schedule, "I'm calling on behalf of Emily since you two seemed to have a tiff recently." 

Elise rolled her eyes on the other side of the phone. Of course, her sister would wrap the truth up in a polite little bow and label it a 'tiff', "That's one way of putting it, yes. What does she want?"

"You two have never seen eye to eye on much of anything since we lost Mother but we're hoping you can set that aside and attend her wedding. You are still family after all." 

A wedding? Already? "Emily is ENGAGED? She didn't mention any suitors the last time we saw each other." Suddenly she was even more furious at her sister for trying to sweeten up Azul right in front of her face!

"I don't see how that matters," the prince said curtly, "Father will be stepping down soon and I want to make sure everything and everyone is taken care of before my coronation. Emily happily accepted the suitor I proposed for her and that ensures another ally for our homeland." 

The rest of the information was frivolous compared to what halted Elise at once, "Is Father alright? I thought he was going to wait-"

"Elise, I don't have the time to fill you in on our family's affairs. Especially when you've wasted your time running off to who knows where and disregarded the internship I arranged just for you. Do you have any idea how this will reflect back on me when I have to explain things to your school's administration?" 

The princess felt her temper flare and burst all at once. She had had enough. Elise was nineteen years old and legally didn't have to answer to anyone but herself anymore and she'd be damned if she kept quiet any longer!

"You wouldn't have to fill me in after the fact had you kept me in the loop in the first place!" she quietly hissed, "Speaking of which! Did you even stop to think as to why I never showed up for my internship? Or did Emily omit that part? Oh let me guess! Something about me running off with my little slimy creepy eel pets? Just throwing all responsibility right out the window to splash around in the ocean all summer hmm? Well, you know what...believe what you want. I don't care anymore! I'll go to her stupid wedding. I'll say my peace to our father, MY father, and then after that? I'll find my own way in the world without the crown or your help! You can forget you ever had an embarrassment of a baby sister!" 

....her brother didn't bother calling back after she hung up on him. No messages. No calls from her sister or father. Nothing. That was that. Elise would give up the royal family name and find a new purpose for herself while Azul did his best to bring her home. To their home. 

Luna and Cowrie stared wide-eyed at their best friend as she told them the whole story, both of them absolutely speechless. Elise just sniffled and laughed bitterly. 

"There's no point in me staying here now that I'm human again," she rubbed her eyes and continued with conviction, "I won't be gone forever. I just need to go home and set things right. For sure this time. After that, well...there's no way I can graduate on time and get my mage license without some sort of additional study. I'll focus on that while Azul does his best over here. And you guys..." 

A lump formed in her throat as she looked at her two beloved eel sisters, knowing everything they had been through their entire lives and just this summer alone. Fresh tears wet her mint green eyes, "You're safe now. You'll both be safe and happy with Jade and Floyd and the Leeches. We'll see each other again, sooner or later. And then we won't ever have to say goodbye again."

Luna wrapped her arms around Elise's shoulders as Cowrie jumped out of the water to hug Elise on the other side.

"Does Azul know?" 

~

He did.

Not every detail but enough to seek help from the library...he just didn't actually say which one.

Madam Lorelei was expecting him any minute now at her usual table at the Leviathan Club. When he entered and rushed past the staff to the second level, both his mother and grandmother were there waiting for him. 

"My darling boy," the grandmother said with gentle understanding in her eyes, "Come, sit." 

Azul greeted his mother with a hug and kiss on her cheek, not bothering to hide the frustration in his eyes. These powerful women raised him and were far too clever to not notice it on their own. Azul had called and explained most of the situation beforehand but seeing him in person filled in all other gaps. 

"So...it would seem she found her prince after all, precious," Madam Lorelei's tentacle lifted the teacup to her red lips. 

"It would seem so," his mouth was tight and his voice bitter, "Had I known that pursuing something like this would take her further away from me..."

"Azul," his mother huffed, "Dear Elise returned your feelings. Complications aside, it's a wonderful thing, sweetness!"

"Your mother is right, my boy. I may have had my doubts before but...well, your mother's friend, Madam Leech, had quite a lot of praise for her and her boldness. Besides, this may be a good time for the princess to return to the surface for a time," Lorelei's voice was cryptic as she stared out the windows, "There's a storm brewing across the borders. The further away she is from it, the better." 

"What do you mean, grandmother?" Azul asked tentatively. It was no mystery that the two families controlling the city had tensions running high but the waters felt denser than before he left. The worried look on his mother's face spoke volumes as she lowered her voice.

"You boys got those poor Cerith girls out of here just in time. Things have been getting worse between the two houses. Ventuno Muraeni was killed on Leech property just the other day. I haven't seen Indigo Cerith since he came by to tell me you had left for school...I hope he's alright."

Azul had a bad feeling in his gut. He had known the Leech family since childhood. He grew up with this ongoing feud happening right outside his family's door for years. An upset or an event here or there was fairly normal. As long as he or anyone else not involved kept their noses out of it, they were guaranteed safety. But now that the lines had been crossed and blurred between the two families...were any of them safe from becoming collateral damage?

"The dagger I gave her, does she still have it, Azul?" Lorelei suddenly asked.

"I have it. It's safe at my dorm. She has no need for it now so I can return it-"

"Don't be so sure, darling," Lorelei cut him off with a wagging finger, "Before this was a favor for my dear grandson's friend. Now it's personal. I'd rather my future granddaughter-in-law keep it close for the time being. Just in case. She may not need it for any magical purpose but a weapon is still a weapon," she took another sip before giving both her daughter and grandson a sharp look, "Don Leech nor his predecessors have given me any reason to distrust their clan. However, I can't say the same for Don Muraeni and his abyssal scum. We'd all be wise to watch our backs no matter where we are." 

Madam Lorelei stood up gracefully from the table as she wordlessly slid a piece of parchment over to Azul before giving one last warning, "Return to school, for now, my dear. I will see what I can do on my end but for now, you were never here and this conversation never happened." 

Azul knew how this world of theirs worked, "Of course, grandmother. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule." 

~ 

Once Azul stepped into the empty Mirror Chamber, only then did he read the parchment Madam Lorelei had given him. His eyes narrowed and filled with more questions than he could count. 

Watch out for Proteus, Don Muraeni's eyes and ears.

Tagging: @nuitthegoddess @iscarlettappel @foxwitchaine @1ndigowitch @wysteriadelights @evieyouknow @ladyrosemoon @victoria1676 @aiimee9 @honey-milk-depresso @espada188 @feldya

[kjagasanpijrtu]

I think I may have taken this advice a bit too far lmao

That which brightens your night and darkens your day is naught but the very singular corpse that beckons an omen more ancient and cruel than you could possibly comprehend.

I have a story that I've been working on for years and I have so many fun and horrifying ideas for it, this is kinda spoilers but it's so far down the line I doubt anyone will remember by the time I actually write it

The vast majority of the settings in this story take place on an Earth-like planet called Leusu. It has its own unique continents and landscape and cultures and especially languages but apart from that, most things are very similar to Earth. The biggest difference is that Leusu is in a binary orbit with another planet which has come to be known as Ausu. Ausu in its own right is very similar to Leusu. Similar size, also has life (although it's very different life), etc. And this causes some very cool astronomical effects. My favorite is the fact that there's a WHOLE ASS PLANET IN THE SKY that causes almost daily eclipses over most of Leusu. Like imagine if the moon were 100x bigger in the sky and caused a sunset at 2 in the afternoon and a few hours later caused a second sunrise. Just imagining the view gives me goosebumps

Of course there are tons of other effects (some of which being horrifying in and of themselves) but those aren't really relevant. What is is that this story's genre is a sort of sci-fi/modern fantasy blend (more atla fantasy than lotr fantasy). Some of the richest countries on Leusu have space programs that are only just now getting off the ground because of how difficult it is to figure out orbital mechanics when you're in such a chaotic gravitational environment as a binary system. But eventually, one of the countries launches a rocket (with one of the main cast on it) from Leusu to Ausu to observe the life there

What they find dumbfounds them. None of the rocks are dateable with any of the methods they try, and there's a disturbing lack of radioactive material in anything. The flora and fauna, while pretty normal looking for alien life on the outside, are incomprehensibly complex, as if they had evolved over the course of an uncountable number of years. Everything seems to react to their presence, even the grass and the soil. Oddly familiar fungal structures appear everywhere, one crew member thought they saw some enormous mycelium strands appear as pulsing veins in a cliffside. A mountain that the crew swore was to the north disappears and reappears in the south as if it had always been that way. Another one of them happens upon an immense frame structure made of steel that couldn't have been anything other than man-made. Which bewilders them even more since there has been zero evidence at all for there being any intelligent life on Ausu. Further inspection reveals a preserved catacomb filled with eldritch, withered markings in an unknown, long-dead alien language. Or at least that's what the characters in the story think.

The reader recognizes this language as English.

This story takes place hundreds of billions of years in the future.

Ausu is the long decayed but still living remnant of Earth.

And its old inhabitants are looking for it.

[pallidextigris]

BLOOD RELATED PROMPTS

@cavetigrim SAID

His whole life, Safed had been all too aware of the fact his coloration was an inconvenience. Not only did he not blend in with his surroundings as efficiently nor as easily as the rest of the jungle's inhabitants, to the point that even the wolves' brat had an easier time hiding from view than he did, but he'd also come to realize that man found him fascinating. Attracting man's attention in any way was always a threat to the people of the jungle.

But man, even in groups, were easy to get away from, they were slow and as clumsy as the deer's spawn. The REAL problem was the dogs.

Those mutts, while smaller than the wolves and much less intelligent, counted with all the instincts and loyalty that one would find in any member of the Seeonee pack. But they were loyal to man and nothing else, and when they were let loose with the order to get the tiger, they stopped at nothing to achieve that.

Safed wasn't proud to admit that they had overwhelmed him. He had the strength and determination of any juvenile tiger, but he also had the inexperience. He'd limped his way back after getting away, exhausted. His usually white and black coat stained with blood that didn't belong only to his assaulters. One of the damn mutts had gotten him good. Not enough to deal a mortal wound, but enough to make Safed see his life flash before his eyes as the dog's jaws had closed around the back of his neck and punctured flesh before he managed to shake and swat it off. The blood painted his fur a shade of red. It was the closest he'd ever get to normal tigers' tawny coats.

The vultures found him first, most likely attracted by the scent of blood. Even if those small-brained opportunists were circling him, which offended him greatly, there was also some comfort in seeing them, as they never flew too far from Khan.

He had to admit, he'd feared his father's reaction. But then Khan spoke, directing his anger not at him, but at man, and Safed straightened where he had up until now sat slightly hunched, the only position that didn't make his neck feel as if the red flower was being slowly poured into him through the dog's bite.

"Most of the dogs are dead, and the ones who aren't can't fight anymore." Safed had made sure those that he hadn't managed to kill ran back to their masters injured, THAT he was proud of. "They won't have their mutts to protect them from us."