#some of the monster ideas I had

[sinful-lanterns]

New monsters for the Monster AU:

Dullahan! NOX: Also known as the infamous headless horseman, NOX is able to take off and reattach her head at will, and oftentimes can be seen riding a ghostly horse during the night.

Succubus! Macchiato: A lustful demon-type monster who works under Devil! Eirene. She feeds off dominating vulnerable humans and drinking up their “ecstasy.” The more pleasure a human feels, the sweeter their “essence” is to her.

Jekyll and Hyde! Luvia Ray: An experiment gone wrong, Luvia was once a regular girl who got mixed up in a crazy experiment and gained an alter ego. Ray is a stronger, meaner, and more powerful identity of Luvia, while Luvia is just a sweet woman who doesn’t wish harm on anyone.

Reanimated Corpse! Iron: Essentially she is Frankenstein’s monster, a reanimated corpse brought back from the dead with the usage of electricity. Iron is searching for a “bride” to fill her void of loneliness and love, and wanders the earth looking for one.

Angel! Anne and Angel! Ariel: Both are pure, angel monsters who help out humans and are one of the few monsters that get along well with humans. They are known for their blessings and their healing properties.

Automaton! Eureka: Constructed by an inventor, Eureka is a specially engineered Automaton with a human soul implemented in it. She is currently in a “coma” after her inventor died, and can only be reawakened again when someone inserts a special key into her.

Golem! Vanilla: A gentle, yet powerful clay guardian that guards a human village. Golems are another one of the few monsters that get along well with humans, and can often be used to guard farms and livestock.

[starry-bi-sky]

finally giving fem danyal her own au and fulfilling my 'danny is an animal whisperer' agenda at the same time: mother of monsters danyal 2.0

i say "2.0" because TECHNICALLY 'mother of monsters danyal' is an au I made back in June for Dark fem!Danyal (who I promptly named Layal). However, I haven't posted much for her yet, and I like the "mother of monsters" premise too much to leave it only to Layal. Plus Danyal in that au was going to become the mother of monsters anyway, just with significantly less world domination and mass extinction.

'Animal whisperer' Danny has been something I've been thinking about since my latest DP 'wolfpack au' post and it's! So fun to think about, and who no better to assign the idea to than Danyal Al Ghul? Who comes from a family infamously known for their love of animals and nature?

Fem Danyal is just purely self-indulgent. *gestures wildly at her* i just lomvb,,, her,,,, I've only really mentioned her in context of the 'Things in Threes' au/my first Danyal al Ghul au with the facial scar, but she's!!! I love her. She deserves her own au <33

So kill three birds with one stone! Make a post about it.

Anyways, Danny has a large lair. Similar to cult leader danyal, her lair is a giant mountain region resembling nanda parbat with a big temple/palace-like area built into the mountain. It's large, it's overflowing with natural flora, with its own mini-floating islands hovering over some areas, and it's also completely empty.

Danny takes one look at her lair upon first meeting, -- noting that it looked relatively smaller from the outside -- and promptly, with the elegance of an Al Ghul, goes "What the hell??" Because yes, while she does enjoy her own solitude and privacy, this is a bit ridiculous.

For heaven's sake, there's even a massive lake in there! What's she going to do with all this space? Can she make it any smaller? Why is it so big in the first place? This looks borderline like one of the mega-islands!

She finds out later that apparently, the amount of ectoplasm a ghost has can have an effect on the size of their lair. And since she has such a large core, her lair reflects that. Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, it's bigger on the inside so it doesn't take up "too much space" on the outside. Don't worry about it too much.

Danyal isn't totally opposed to having such a large lair, she's just... a bit baffled by it. It feels like so much wasted space is all. All this flora and no fauna to enjoy it with. It's practically eerie.

She decorates her temple-palace area, transforming rooms to match her needs as she sees fit. In the center of the inner gardens is a massive tree that she likes to climb, with twisting, winding branches. Sam and Tucker have honorary rooms, even if they can't safely leave the specter speeder for long periods of time, even with proper safety equipment. So does Jazz. Ali (Dani) has one too, but he can actually use that one, and Danny brought him to her lair so he could decorate it himself.

She has a personal garden, but for the most part she lets the flora exist as it is. Too much space to cultivate it en masse anyways.

Skip to a few weeks later, on her next visit to Clockwork. She developed a habit of going to see him semi-regularly just because. She enjoys his wisdom, and he has a lot of stories to tell, and when he's not being the cryptic and esoteric timekeeper, he's a bit goofy.

(pushing my dadwork agenda here,,, i think Danny deserves to go 'hey, Lord Clockwork, do you want me to buy you something' while she's at walmart, only to receive a singular glowing sticky note that says 'cucumber gatorade'.)

(She insists on referring to him with his proper titles even for the most mundane of things because it's proper, but Clockwork sees a future where she eventually calls him "Cee" and by all things in existence is he determined to get there. Anyways,,,)

On her next visit to Clockwork, just as she is about to leave, Clockwork stops her and goes; "Ah, I have something for you. Hold out your hands."

Danny does as such, and Clockwork doesn't give out things often, so her curiosity has spiked to the highest levels. He turns away from her for a moment, using his staff to summon whatever it is he needs, and when he turns around.

He drops a fish into her hands. Granted, a fish in a small glass tank. But a fish nonetheless. A small one, roughly about the size of her finger, with a blue-black, eel-shaped body and four sets of glowing eyes. She can see thin, almost translucent, but spiny fins down its back and the start of bioluminescent markings. It's swimming around in circles in its small container.

"Lord Clockwork." Danyal says all too calmly.

"Yes, Danyal?"

"What is this?"

"That is an adolescent leviathan, Danyal." She’s transfixed onto the tank, but she doesn’t need to see Clockwork’s face to hear the smile he’s stifling.

The myriad of emotions that runs through her all at once threatens to overwhelm her, and she can’t tell if the feelings are negative or positive. So she carefully closes her eyes to breathe in through her nose.

“Clockwork.”

“Ah, I see you’ve dropped formalities.”

She ignores that.

“Why have you given me an adolescent leviathan?”

She's expecting the trickster to look amused when she opens her eyes. Instead, he just looks endeared. "I know you're fond of animals," he says, "and you always look amazed when you come across an animal of the realms. So I thought you might enjoy taking care of the young beast, it's mother is dead so it has no one to care for it."

Oh.

"But, if you don't like it," Clockwork's hands reach out for the tank, "I can simply take it back--"

Danyal shifts the tank out from his reach and hugs it possessively. "I never said that. How do I care for it?"

And so clockwork gives her a list, and when Danyal returns to her lair, she sets up a large tank in her room for the leviathan to swim in -- it's much too small for the lake right now, she thinks. She'll feel better if it's somewhere she can find it. She names him Suhā.

Suhā grows quickly, and by the end of the mortal month she transforms one of the rooms into a large pond for him to swim around in. He's a very loyal beast, recognizing her as it's mother of some kind. Danyal takes great care ensuring that her beastie gets quality care, and Suhā swims to the surface to see her when he senses her in the room.

It spirals from there. Somehow, Pandora catches wind that Clockwork gave her a leviathan, and so the next time Danyal visits the Greater Athens, she gives her a baby chimera. It's eyes are still sealed shut, Danyal can't bring herself to say no. She names the little beastie Firas.

Frostbite hears about it too, and not to be outdone, gives her an animal she's never even heard of. Infinite-realms born, apparently. A fox-like creature with two small horns like an impala, four eyes, and tall legs. The name isn't something she's quite sure how to write down, and she's positive that her friends won't be able to comprehend it. She names her Eira.

Getting the three of them used to each other was... interesting. Suhā tried to eat Firas when Danyal first introduced the two, and they've hated each other ever since. Firas and Eira are seemingly getting along. Her island already feels full enough with the three of them on it.

Of course, that's not the end of it. With her luck, she begins stumbling across other monsters. Realms-borne or otherwise. An injured hydra in the Grecian islands that, through lots of trial and error, Danyal is able to rehabilitate and heal. It routinely comes to visit her afterwards.

A griffin with a broken wing that she moves permanently to the island that likes to keep to itself, but tends to come down when she's near. It gets along best with Firas.

A panther-like monster from the Shades Woods that had six legs and three tails, with ends that reminded her of a venus flytrap. It stuck around the heavy foliage and she can only make out where it was when she saw its golden eyes reflect.

She befriends a young indrik with its leg injured, and much like the hydra it follows her back to her island, and stays there in the mountains. It comes out when she's alone, much like her other beasts.

She receives two more leviathan -- one from clockwork, and one she finds herself while exploring the deeper and darker recesses of the Ghost Zone. It was huddled against the carcass of its mother, and she managed to befriend and get close enough to it to bring it back to her island. Suhā is fully grown by then, with a head bigger than Danyal herself and he still likes to stick her head out of the water for nuzzles when she's near.

He's not very happy with his new siblings, but he's not trying to eat them when she's not looking. So she calls it a win in her book.

And it's not just large beasts either; smaller animals begin popping up when she's not looking. Bird-like creatures and small mammals, and she swears she saw a doe (or something resembling a doe) grazing in the forest while she was walking by.

She takes back with her a lone snake egg once, and it grows so big it wraps around her island and sleeps with its massive head on the mountain beside the temple, like some smaller breed of Jörmungandr.

And on and on it goes. Some of the beasts she comes across never step foot onto her island, some of them follow her back, while others she has to carry back. Not all of the ones that follow her stay, and Danny rehabilitates the injured and releases them when they're fully healed.

It's hectic, and busy, and frankly she loves it. Some of her rehabilitated beasts return to visit her, or to have their children somewhere on the island, or whatever it is they need to do.

She becomes a bit infamous for it. She goes to visit Dorathea once, and as she's walking through the streets she can hear some of the denizens whispering while she walks past.

"Is that her?"

"Her highness' friend? Yes--"

"--that's the one--"

"--Mother of monsters--"

Danny's not sure how to feel about that.

Although, she can't say she's opposed.

Danyal Al Ghul, Mother of monsters, raiser of beasts. It has a nice ring to it.

[fatedroses]

And some days, I just wish you wouldn't look at me at all.

[specialagentartemis]

The Odyssey stands the test of time as a story because it latches into the deep storytelling desire within us to go “and then some MORE weird random shit happened”

[keydekyie]

"Don't run. Never run. No matter how frightened you are."

"But, then... what can you do? How can one fight... that?"

"Stand your ground. Look them dead in the eye."

"That will stop them?"

"No. But they'll have to live with themselves, and perhaps the next one will be luckier."

[demonslayedher]

I finished posting the unabashedly educational Sword Fic.

It includes a detailed (but hopefully beginner-friendly) explanation of all the steps of making a Nichirin blade from a sunny mountain like Mt. Youkou, a touch of swordsmith and metalworker folk lore (including demons), meta about what must make Kimetsu no Yaiba's swordsmithing methods different from real life methods, some character exploration for Haganezuka and his polishing method, vocabulary and additional resources in the chapter notes, and hopefully, an endearing, silly POV character to learn this all through.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Can you pls also share sleepy lwj and wwx bc I know the perfect place for them to nap as well!! 🤩

The sleepy lads, at your whims! Transparent too!

[semisolidmind]

ooh boy ooooh golly

here comes the burnout folks

[liauditore]

new suicide squad anime got me thinking about the genderbend batman au i made when i was 16 again.

extra (nsfw??? body horror + shirtless doodle lol) art under the cut + drabble.

A mysterious actress appears in Gotham!

Production for the long-anticipated remake of the 1930s classic horror film, "The Clay", is saved in part thanks to the audition of one woman with no credits to her name, just a face and demeanor identical of the late leading actress of the original film.

However, the cast and crew have bigger worries than their limited budget and endless demands from their producers -- everyone involved seems to be disappearing one by one!

While the average gothammite worries that the cult classic's "cursed" reputation might be a little more than an urban legend, The Batman refuses to entertain such unfounded silliness and aims to get to the bottom of this crime against cinema!

presenting BATMAN '63 - THE RISE OF CLAYFACE coming not actually ever lmao

(her hair is brown now because I like the idea of her appearance never being fully consistent lol. shapeshifters gotta do their thing)

[whump-galaxy]

Thinking about a monster whumpee having to be shaved for one reason or another. Maybe to get an IV, maybe they’re covered in burrs/too matted to move, maybe the whumper is doing it just to be spiteful.

Maybe when the electric razor turns on, the buzzing sends them into a panic. They twist and turn themselves over, causing them to get tangled in whatever is restraining them.

[kayleerowena]

august's ouija board reward: holographic stickers of some of my favorite cryptids!

join the ouija board or spirit box tier before july 31st to get these! patrons also get discounts on my shop, which will be open till the middle of august!

[p1zzaparty]

i for one would love to hear the remainder of ur thoughts on maggie tozier…

EEEE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING!!! This means so much coming from you Kat 😭

okay a few things to note before i begin

This is a lot

Its a lot of me redoing her from the ground up, her personality, her looks, her background, her relationships etc, etc.

So just know, im taking like a thousand creative liberties with this

To begin i based her looks on the character Deirdre Barlow from an old brit soap opera called Coronation Street.

I imagine she literally looks like her kids, they get almost 90% of her genes and look like mini versions of her. Though she perms her hair to fit in with the trends, and tv has sold her a bunch of at-home perm styling kits. She's got pronounced jowls like Richie does, he probably has her wide nose too. Her fashion is very on brand for the time with lots of sweaters and jeans and big clunky jewelry.

I always imagined, much like every little homo, Richie got a lot of his fashion from his mama..

and cartoons.

She's average height, and probably is on and off diets but never takes it too seriously. Besides she enjoys baking and is always trying some recipe she saw Julia Childs make. She's kind of a stocky woman, it just runs in the family to be sorta squarish and have this bulldog look to them.

As for personality i personally never cared for Kings description of her as a kind of wishy washy woman who cried at everything Richie did or said.

For me i liked to think someone like Richie needs a mom who matches his energy and can take on his rambunctiousness. Even if it takes grabbing him by the ear and dragging him back inside to get a verbal slashing. She's not overly dominant or strict, just used to Richie always mucking up mud and knows how to rear him back even if he still embarrasses her in public sometimes with his trashmouth. I mentioned this before but i see Maggie as one of the, if not ONLY, better parental figures in the loser club. She genuinely cares about Richies friends because of how few and far between there is. Any kid in her house is her kid, she feeds and provides a safe place for anyone he brings home. Even if she doesn't understand some of their interests, or lingo, or fashion statements, or music. She's a moms mom, always referring to any kid as 'hon' 'baby' or 'sweetheart.' She can be fun and doesn't take anything toooo seriously, but she still cares about appearances. She's like an average sitcom mom who wants to look like a good mom and have a normal family with a happy life. She's also, a giant dork.

Much like her son, she too is kind of a loser. She's got that Tozier awkwardness, always making jokes where there shouldn't be, laughing too loudly/obnoxiously, always making references to pop culture even if nobody in the room has a clue what they're referring to. She doesnt really have a lot of friends 😭

She definitely tried, oh my god did she try. She would bake goodies and strap baby Richie into one of those backpack carriers and go around the neighborhood trying to introduce herself and her stinky ugly baby. And it was hard, Derrys an old, OLD small town. Backwards, judgmental, harsh, hateful. Unfortunately she just wasn't that privy with the other moms around her. But she desperately wanted to be, being a stay at home mom is lonely work. She dreamt of just being that sitcom housewife that makes the perfect dinner and snaps her fingers to clean the house in an instant and talks, and talks, and talks on the phone. She wants in on the mom gossip. She wants to be apart of a community SO badly.

Sonia is one of her few mom friends and even then that's more of a obligated friendship, their only common interests being their children and television. She kind of finds Sonia annoying and doesn't approve of her parenting methods, always rolling her eyes when the phone rings while Eddies staying the night, knowing its some new task she'll have to force the boy to do. Though she enjoys that Sonia will listen to her blabber, even if shes probably just sitting and watching tv while Maggie drones on about this and that and giving an assuring "uh huh" as a sign of life. Maggie's such a tv head too, i love to think she enjoys watching Cheers the most along with various soap operas and game shows. Her family bonds over tv with tv dinners on tv stands while they parrot tv quotes at each other. She probably has to shoo Richie away whenever Cheers is on, needing time to debrief and mumble to herself about Dianes complicated romances. And shes got a crush on Fraiser, god you and your mom have crushes on wimpy mama boys in suits lordd

I based a lot of her personality on Calvins mom from Calvin and Hobbes

I played around a bit with her background. I know she's depicted as Catholic but i always imagined she grew up Jewish, only quitting the practice when she and Went got married. Her views on religion are mixed, not wanting to really skew her children in any direction, but celebrating Christmas to fit in with everyone else in Derry. Not that it really helped because she never took them to church. Evil bastard child and her half demon brother whos annoying. Her and her parents relationship are a bit if not totally strained, they probably disapproved of Went back when they first met as teens. Their reasons were based mostly on Wents social status, but they were also just very critical of Maggie and every choice she made. She always felt suffocated by her parents and Went just made her feel clear and airy. Though it was mostly puppy love that kept them together at the time, their love would continue to blossom over the years as they got older and older. They truly loved each other.

I had this whole idea that he and Maggie were young lovers at 18, falling in love like it was the movies as they hid it from their parents. But she would end up pregnant with Rachel like REALLY early on, and it would kind of "ruin" any "plans" they had of running off together and going to some local college while Went worked. Which only added more strain to her and her parents relationship as they went off to have a small shot-gun wedding at a courthouse. Only able to afford a dress and flowers at the time, but she still looks back at it fondly and probably passed her dress on to Rachel later in life. She is still in contact with her parents but only rarely do they go visit, Richie hates the smell of his grandpa and always tries to rile them up by doing impressions of Mickey Mouse.

She's one of the youngest mothers in Derry, only making her more of an outcast in the judging eyes of others, but she loves her kids more than she ever felt she was loved as a child. She always wanted a girl, just enjoyed shopping for one and bonding with one and brushing their hair and decorating their room and doing their nails and makeup together. She adored Rachel, she was exactly what she dreamed of when she thought of raising a little girl. Their relationship is really close even if Rachel began to pull away towards her teen years. (I have SO many ideas for her as well 😭)

Much like her, Richie was a surprise/accident. She never really imagined herself caring for a boy and found it a bit more difficult, especially since their age gap is a bit wide. But even through her rolling eyes and yelling Richies full government name when she finds her nightgown cut with eyeholes in it for his ghost costume, she loves her son.

Their relationship is VERY much like Linda and Gene. While she doesnt care much for Richies crude humor and snappy quips, she cant help but hide a smile sometimes when she hears him and Rachel bickering back and forth. She genuinely thinks her son is really funny, just needs to tone it down a notch sometimes and not be the loudest voice in the room. God, shes probably taken him to talent shows at school. Tying Wents best looking polkadot tie around his neck while he nervously flips through his note cards, getting his glasses all sweaty as he quietly asks if maybe they, um, can just go home instead. And she'd sigh and clean his stupid thick glasses for him and tell him hes going to do wonderful. "You're funny Richie, real funny." And when she see's him waddle up onto the stage, nervous, scared, and tiny. Her smile would be bigger than her heart, having to flash him a healthy thumbs up to boost his little confidence. But of course he would fumble, sputtering every joke, never getting to the punchline, or getting their too early, and he'd be too quiet for the people in the back to even hear him. And Maggie would be the only one clapping, the loudest she can too. That's her funny guy. She lets him cry to her and wipes his tears with her sleeve. She never bought into the way most moms treat their sons, she wanted Richie to grow up loving someone with his full heart. Even if it means she coddles him sometimes.

And her and Went have a very loving relationship, very average and kind of mundane in a sweet way. They're very genuine, Wents sort of a passive guy who listens to his wife nightly rants about her day and enjoys it. He loves her more than his vocabulary allows him. Simple guy, loves his wife, laughs when his kids curse at each other, works wayyyy too much.

God this family

I think that's the brunt of my thoughts, most of my ideas are just small little things that add to her greater personality. I also loooove parental parallels so there's always tiny shit between her, Richie, and Rachel even.

In chapter 2 i think she's still alive, Went died from liver cancer a bit into Richies 30s (Toziers are kind of functional alcoholics.) So now she resides in Florida, where Richie bought her a nice home near the beach. He doesn't visit, or call that often which depresses her a little. But she understands, plus Rachel still often comes by with her children to visit and catch up.

I have list long notes on all the Toziers, they're genuinely one of my favorite fictional families and i literally highjacked them and made them my own 😭

OH! and i imagine she's got a collection of antique clown decorations. Vases, paintings, statues, gnomes, you name it. It's why Richies not very fond of them. Or going into her room much.

Tldr; Your mamas a loser like you

[presiding]

high chaos/low chaos/join the chaos in my dishonored 2 rewrite

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

everyone: oh no! horde prime is going to kill us all! anyone have any ideas on how to defeat him?

[crickets]

shadow weaver: we could try the only possible logical option here—

everyone: boo shadow weaver! evil sorceress who's trying to kill us all >:( we'd rather die than take your advice

[eldesperadont]

old 2020 era NJPW Fantasy AU pieces — the setting features a world that’s scared of magic, BC is a cringefail bandit gang, and this loud lanky ex-acrobat they picked up at some point turns out to be a Mage; more in the notes

[odo-apologist]

Smegtober #9: Music

Warning: there is a description of someone getting sick, so if you have emetophobia/find that uncomfortable, this is a heads up!

     Arnold was perched gingerly at the edge of his chair, shoulders scrunched about his neck and left leg bouncing away in discomfort. His eyes darted about the room, squinting in the low light, searching for the classmates who had taken him on this trip as an “initiation” to their group, but a knot of fear and shame grew in the pit of his stomach along with the realization that this was all some humiliating prank and he had been ditched in a dingy bar approximately 500 million miles from home.

     The place reeked of stale sweat, smoke, and cheap beer. The soles of Arnold's shoes had caught on the sticky floors when he walked, and he wondered how long it had been since they were mopped. He dreaded having to get up and navigate his way through the thick swathe of people shouting, laughing, and dancing to the music. And that was another problem: the music, if you could call it that. His parents would have called it chaotic noise, and he was inclined to agree. The live band produced a discordant, unharmonious cacophony upon poorly-tuned strings and clacking keyboards. The lead singer droned the uninspired lyrics out of time with the playing (to use the word liberally) of the tune (to use that word liberally).

     Eventually, the performance ended while Arnold had still spotted none of the people who brought him here. The knot had transformed into nausea and his breathing was coming quicker and someone brushed against him and stepped on his foot and his head was pounding and the glasses of lager that were thrust upon him by his peers wasn't helping any of it and he realized he was going to be sick. He stood up, swayed a moment, and shoved himself through the crowd until he got to the restroom. He had a moment to see himself in the mirror looking positively green before vomiting in, on, and over the sink. He took labored, gulping breaths between his retching, the effort, panic, and sting of stomach acid on his tongue causing tears to form in his eyes. Then he jumped as he felt a hand rest upon his shoulder.

     “Hey man, you alright?”

     Arnold had just enough strength to pause in evacuating his stomach of its little content to answer shortly, “Do I look alright to you?” He followed the question with another retch.

     “Look, I'm just trying to help, yeah? Seems like you need it.” The hand returned tentatively to Arnold's upper back, and its owner asked, “Is this okay?”

     Arnold didn't have the ability to respond, but he didn't flinch from it this time. He reveled in the act of comfort that was given so freely. Eventually, the heaving subsided. He groaned weakly, face reddened and cheeks wet. The hand vanished from his shoulder; he just managed to stifle a noise of protest when it came into his field of vision holding a wad of paper towels.

     “Thanks,” Arnold replied quietly. He wiped at his eyes and his mouth. Turning on the sink, he cupped his palm and drank the water he collected, washing away the taste. He turned at last to the person who helped him. His face fell with recognition.

     It was the lead singer of that godawful band. His hair managed to be styled into both an afro and locks that ran past his shoulders. The jean jacket he wore was an eyesore, covered in sparkly, gaudy pins that seemed not just to catch but emit light, contrasting with the dim, bare bulb hanging above their heads; Arnold felt compelled to shield his eyes.

     Turned from the sink, no longer doubled over, the man in front of Dave was easier to take in. He recognized this guy as the one pressed into the corner of the pub during his performance; he stuck out so much from the usual crowd, he was hard to forget. Dave had noted his slicked-down hair (though some curls had come loose since then), the tweed blazer and starched shirt underneath (now slightly rumpled), the bow tie (clawed at until it hung undone around his neck). “You're not a usual around here, are you?”

     The question must have roused something in his thoughts, because Dave watched his face grow tight with anxiety. “No, I'm-I'm not supposed to be here. I don't know why I believed them, of course it was just another stupid prank! But I d-don't know where they went, I'm just stuck here, and now I've got to find a way home and I'll be late for class and I'll get bad marks again and-and Father–” Beginning to hyperventilate, he practically gagged with anxiety, threatening to get sick a second time.

     “Woah, woah, you're gonna puke again; just try to breathe.” As Dave watched him sputter out a few deeper breaths, he continued, “How about I walk you home? You aren't in a state to go by yourself. Where do you live?”

     He was met with a humorless laugh. “Io.”

     “Smeg!” No wonder the guy was nervous, being left on his own on an unfamiliar planet. “Who left you here? How'd you get here?”

     He looked away from Dave in embarrassment. “One of my brothers…well, he's a test pilot for new demi-light-speed zippers. And another student at my school happened to get access to one through their parents, and he and his friends said I could prove myself if I do near what my brother did and ride it with them to Earth.”

     “You'd really go through all that trouble to impress a bunch of crypto-fascist arseholes who'd ditch you as part of a joke?”

     The Ionian looked at him like he was crazy. “Of course! What do you expect me to do?”

     “If it were me, I'd tell them to smeg off. How about calling your brother? Couldn't you do that?”

     Arnold paled; out of all his brothers, John would be the least reluctant to help him out, but that wasn't saying much. Still, unless his fellow students returned to mock him (not an unlikely scenario) or he miraculously found them, there wasn't a much better alternative. He sighed. “I suppose so.”

     The singer appeared to catch his hesitation and was on the verge of speaking again when the door opened. It was another member of the band.

     “Dave, what's keeping you? We've got another set to prepare for!”

      “Yeah, give me a minute, okay?” As Dave spoke, Arnold headed toward the exit. But he called to Arnold, “Wait, you alright to head out?”

     “Oh, yes, I'm fine, tickety-boo.” He was sure everything else about him said otherwise, but the interruption of their conversation made him feel the sudden urge to get out of the bar, away from this atmosphere, and in contact with his brother as soon as he could. Besides, Dave had done enough, more than pretty much anyone in his life had. He didn't want to impose further, not when he didn't really deserve it. Still, before rushing off, he gave him a small, genuine smile and said softly, “Thanks for your help, Dave.”

      Dave barely had time to process this as the man slipped away, heading out of the bar. He hoped he made it back home alright. The idea of taking one of those zippers here was totally mad. Dave shook his head; he'd have to be out of his mind before he'd ever do such a thing.