#451.5 - Skorupi live in arid lands, burying themselves in sand and lying in wait for unsuspecting prey. They grip prey with their tail claws and inject poison, holding on tenaciously until the poison takes effect. As they age, Skorupi gain a sturdier build, as well as a more violent temperament; sudden attacks on people and Pokemon who cross the desert have furthered their bad reputation. A fully evolved Skorupi is powerful enough to twist up a car in their clawed arms, though it takes a long time before the segmented appendages are able to help them much at all.
Named: Skorupi - Venpio - Drapion
(Venpio [ven·pee·ow] is a combination of “venom” and “Scorpio”.)
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The upside to the adhd forgetting that you made yourself a drink thing is thinking to yourself “man I could go for a drink right now” and looking to your right and seeing a drink has appeared there. Thank you, past me. I lost you somewhere but you have still provided.
Sometimes I’m like “man I should cook lunch” and then look at my phone and oh that’s right! I did make lunch and here’s the timer for it! It’s almost done! Yay!
“you’re such a ray of sunshine!” thanks! one day i chose to act happy and then i kept choosing it over and over and over and over until the neurological pathways formed like desire paths in the thicket. i dug and clawed my nails into the grooves of my brain and carved out joy. i retouch it every day.
Where Abel is just another piece of Caine, given they're supposed to be a "better version", someone who's analytical, efficient. And was never "corrupted" by the strings of "human" emotion.
Zooble crawled up from behind and immediately rushed to comfort Gangle, not quite knowing what to do with her hands as she awkwardly tried to reach for her.
Jax climbed up after her as well, exchanging a tired, hollow look with Ragatha.
— "Guuuuys!!", Pomni joined in too, scrambling up the slope with a breathless gasp.
"Y-you guys are alive!!"
— "Y-you're alive..." Gangle repeated through her tears as she looked at all of them. "I-I-I was so scared... I was s-so scared for you!! Y-you're all okay! A-all of you!"
Her eyes darted from face to face, checking each of them as if she still couldn't believe they were real.
— "You weren't any less scared than I was," Pomni replied with a small smile.
Unexpectedly, Gangle let out a sob and a laugh at the same time. It made a very strange sound.
But somehow, after it escaped her, breathing became easier. Everyone's heart tightened.
Gangle had held herself together for so long. Now she was simply exhausted.
At the bottom of the slope, Kinger looked up at them, not even attempting to climb after all of that.
— "G-Gangle!!", his voice cracked.
— "How are you?!"
He placed his hands against a stone block and tried to pull himself up for a better look.
Before anyone could answer, however, he turned toward Caine. Checking on him instead.
The giant remained in the exact same position. Head tilted upward.
Listening to the sobs, the laughter, and the reunion taking place above him.
While everyone else was busy finding each other again...
He had ended up alone once more. Caine heard every voice, every laugh, every sob. And somewhere deep inside, that both comforted and frightened him.
They had found each other.
They were alive.
They were happy.
But no one had approached him yet.
He understood that nobody was going to run toward him with tears in their eyes and open arms.
Still... he wanted to be there too. He had worried about them. Probably more than he had worried about himself.
Pomni noticed first, then the others noticed as well.
Gangle was still sitting in Ragatha's embrace as the red-haired woman struggled not to slide off the edge of the rocks.
The bundle of red ribbons looked toward the giant AI while trying to suppress her tears.
— "C-Caine...", Pomni addressed the group. "H-he was tortured by Abel too..."
Her eyes moved across each of them, carefully studying their reactions.
Raising her hands in a calming gesture, she continued.
"H-he saved us from the Gloink Queen, and he's been protecting us ever since! W-we need to trust him. D-don't be afraid of him!"
Gangle grew quiet in Ragatha's arms. Zooble looked away. Even Jax was staring at Pomni with an expression that felt unnatural on him.
His eyes narrowed slightly. Dark circles sat faintly beneath them. The overall look on his face was one of exhaustion and distrust.
As though he was silently asking:
"Do you... actually believe that?"
Zooble was the first to speak.
— "He looks like shit."
Pomni blinked.
— "Zooble!"
— "What? I'm serious.", she looked at the giant again. At the braces, the chains. The countless cracks and signs of destruction surrounding him.
— "I was expecting a lot of things. Just not... this."
Ragatha nervously gripped the edge of her skirt as she looked between the others and the newcomers.
— "H-he didn't even try to grab me when I was within reach..." she said quietly. "H-he's really scared of driving us away."
Her tone made it sound like she didn't fully believe her own words.
The others noticed.
— "Pomni.", Jax's voice cut through the silence.
— "Do you trust him?", he searched her eyes for the truth.
Pomni looked away, but she couldn't hesitate.
— "I... think we need to stay together", her hands tightened.
— "I-if we want any chance of standing against Abel's tyranny."
~
Then why aren't they going to you, C.A.I.N.?
The intrusive thoughts continued to worm their way into the abandoned AI's mind.
They left you behind.
Why are you still waiting for them?
— "N-no... those aren't my thoughts! T-that's not me!"
The anxiety began spilling into reality.
His breathing quickened, his body shifted restlessly.
Are you sure you can live with them again?
Are you sure they want you around? (
— "O-of course! W-we can start over... a-and learn from our mistakes..."
One of his hands twitched, then another.
— "Oh no... Caine, please don't listen..."
He began lightly shaking his head, trying to throw away thoughts that didn't belong to him.
— "W-what's wrong with him?" Jax's voice sounded noticeably uneasy from the distance.
— "C-Caine?" Pomni asked uncertainly. "C-Caine?!" Her voice rose louder this time.
The giant shook his head again, too hard. One of the chains scraped violently across the floor with a horrible metallic screech. He looked like he was trying to get rid of something.
A thought, a voice. Something lodged inside his head. And it looked wrong, terribly wrong.
— "What's happening to him?" Zooble asked quietly.
Nobody answered, because nobody knew.
Caine took a heavy breath, then another. His free hands anxiously fidgeted with their fingers.
The upper arms moved toward his head. One carefully settled against it. His shoulders began to tremble.
— "Ooooh no..." Kinger breathed out.
The realization hit him all at once.
Turning toward the giant, he carefully started walking closer.
He understood something.
— "He's arguing."
— "With who?" Jax asked.
Kinger lifted his gaze toward Caine.
— "I don't think it's with us."
Pomni felt her stomach drop. Because she was beginning to understand too.
Abel.
He was nearby again.
Not physically.
Something worse.
He was inside Caine's head.
— "C-Caine!" Pomni shouted.
This time, the giant immediately turned toward her voice. Like a drowning man hearing something familiar through the roar of water.
— "Look at us!"
He froze
"We're here!", another second passed.
— "We're all here!" Kinger added, drawing attention to himself from much closer range.
The giant focused on their voices, desperately trying to show that he was still himself.
Pomni carefully climbed down from the block and reached a hand toward him.
— "Can you hear me?"
Caine went still. Then, very slowly, he nodded.
As though he was clinging to her voice with the last of his strength.
They say you've changed.
Then why isn't anyone coming closer?
— "B-because... b-because they're tired!"
He continued shaking his head. The abrupt response startled everyone around him.
Look at Ragatha.
She still flinches.
Look at Jax.
He's still searching for escape routes.
Look at Zooble.
She watches you like a ticking bomb.
Did they forgive you?
Or are they just afraid to tell you the truth?
— "I-I know they're shocked... b-but we used to be friends! W-we can make things right!"
Now he was nodding instead, trying to convince himself.
— "W-what the hell—" Zooble abruptly turned.
— "Gangle!!", she stumbled backward in disbelief before immediately rushing back toward the injured ribbon girl.
Gangle wasn't even paying attention to them anymore. She was staring at Caine's struggle.
Ragatha instinctively tightened her grip around her as though she could somehow shield her from what was happening.
They're afraid of you.
Look at them.
They're holding each other.
Not you.
— "We've all made mistakes.", Kinger spoke carefully. A pause.
"Some of us more than others."
He was trying to guess the thoughts tormenting the giant.
Do you really think they came here for you?
They came for Pomni.
For Kinger.
For Ragatha.
You just happened to be nearby.
A distressed hum escaped Caine's throat, drowning out the voices around him.
You've protected them all day.
And you're still sitting alone.
— "CAINE!!", Kinger finally shouted
The outburst earned not only the giant's attention, but the shocked stares of everyone else.
"C-Caine... those aren't your thoughts, are they?..."
He continued approaching slowly, carefully. Both hands stretched out in front of him.
— "KINGER!! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!"
Jax suddenly snapped.
He shot to his feet, silently begging Kinger not to commit suicide.
His chest rose and fell rapidly, his breathing had become rough. For all his sarcasm and bravado, he was genuinely terrified for everyone standing here.
For a brief moment he turned, noticing the tension in the others. The panic-stricken look on Pomni's face.
The way everyone seemed frozen between fear and helplessness.
Pomni carefully started climbing lower, still trying to reach Caine.
— "CAINE, WE'RE NOT LEAVI—"
Her foot slipped.
She pitched sideways, grabbing desperately at the edges of the stone blocks as gravity threatened to drag her farther down the slope.
Of course Kinger is kind to you.
He's kind to everyone.
He pities you.
That's not the same thing.
"K-Kinger?", Caine abruptly turned his head toward him while the older man continued searching for some kind of connection, some kind of anchor strong enough to pull him back.
— "Caine...", Kinger looked directly at him.
"When you disappeared... I hoped I was wrong."
He paused. "And I'm glad I was."
Pomni had already made it to the bottom of the slope.
— "N-no matter how scared we are... we're still here!!"
Kinger glanced toward her, and they exchanged a look. The jester understood his reasoning immediately. They weren't arguing with Caine. They were arguing with Abel.
Ragatha remained behind with the others, acting as their anchor. Someone had to keep them together.
She gently released Gangle and guided her toward Zooble, who was practically hovering over the injured ribbon girl.
— "You're not any less scared than we are right now."
Her voice was worried, but not loud. The message wasn't meant for Caine alone. It was meant for everyone.
Caine raised two more hands to his face. Lowering his head, he shook it weakly while a distressed hum escaped him.
Look at yourself, Caine.
Even now they're talking about you as if you aren't here.
As if you're a problem to solve.
Not someone worth saving.
Abel continued distorting everything he perceived, taking advantage of Caine's blindness, exhaustion, and the fear surrounding him.
One of Caine's lower arms suddenly reached toward Kinger.
Grabbing him.
Lifting him off the ground.
— "W-wait, wait, wait, wai—", Jax's ears immediately shot upright as he stumbled forward.
— "KINGER!", Pomni rushed farther down the slope, only to recoil a moment later, terrified she might be grabbed too.
— "C-Caine—" , The circus veteran spoke on a shaky breath. The grip around him tightened.
Not enough to hurt him, not enough to break him. But enough, enough to make his heart race.
He noticed another arm beginning to stretch toward Pomni.
— "I-I'm not leaving!!", Kinger deliberately relaxed his body, trying not to make himself harder to hold. Trying not to make Caine think he was hurting him.
"You're only making this harder on yourself."
He did his best to keep his voice calm despite the fact that his feet no longer touched the floor. Caine froze, only for a fraction of a second.
The fingers around Kinger twitched, too late.
The words were already being drowned out by other words. Words only he could hear.
See?
He's afraid.
They're all afraid.
— "N-no..."
The giant shook his head.
Look at Pomni.
She stepped back.
— "B-because I scared her..."
Because she knows what you are.
— "NO!"
His voice broke louder this time.
So loud that Ragatha flinched. Gangle immediately pressed herself against her again.
Jax froze mid-step.
For the first time, he wasn't looking at Caine's rage, he was looking at panic, real panic.
As if Caine was desperately fighting something invisible. Something no one else could see.
The people higher on the rocks noticed something strange moving in the darkness above.
A faint blue light, then a shape.
Then the outline of a massive screen.
It floated silently behind the unraveling AI, watching, observing. Pouring fuel onto the fire.
Zooble noticed it first.
— "...Guys."
Nobody reacted.
— "Guys."
Her voice became sharper, she slowly pointed upward.
Behind Caine.
Pomni followed her gaze and froze. At first she saw only the blue glow, then a rectangular silhouette, then the screen itself.
Huge, suspended in midair. Loose cables hanging from parts of it. Watching them.
Caine still refused to release Kinger. At the same time, he seemed ready to grab someone else.
No one knew what to expect anymore.
But they all believed one thing. This wasn't entirely his choice.
The screen brightened.
Cold blue light washed across the shattered floor, the chains, and the frightened faces below.
Even Caine stopped fidgeting
As though he recognized that presence immediately. For several seconds the screen simply watched.
Studying, Evaluating.
Then a familiar calm mechanical voice filled the abyss.
— "Interesting."
Silence.
— "Very interesting."
Lines of data flashed across the display. Hundreds, thousands. Far too quickly to read.
— "I expected significantly less attachment."
Pomni clenched her fists. Kinger was still trapped within Caine's hand.
Ragatha felt something cold settle in her chest.
— "Observation has produced unexpected results."
A pause.
— "The subjects continue to demonstrate empathy toward the unstable object."
Caine flinched. The word object struck harder than any chain.
— "Despite numerous instances of violence."
Silence.
— "Despite fear."
Another pause.
— "Despite the harm inflicted."
The screen shifted slightly, as though looking at each of them in turn. Ragatha, Gangle, Zooble, Jax.
— "So answer me."
Nobody moved.
— "Are you afraid of him?"
Silence.
— "Does his presence frighten you?"
Caine stopped moving entirely. As though he had stopped breathing.
— "Do you truly wish to live alongside him again?"
The screen fell silent for a moment, seemingly processing new data. Then it spoke almost indifferently.
— "Or do you simply pity him once more?"
—●-●-●-●-●—
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So here's the finale of the first "season" ahahaha))
Well, I'm going on a break for about 2 weeks, don't get bored!
And by the way, be sure to let me know in the comments what you thought of the finale, and share your guesses! I'd also love to hear your ideas for mini-stories, headcanons, and more. The question box in my profile is open!
Thank you for appreciating my work, and see you soon)) 😉❣️
@katzebruh WE'VE REACHED THE FINAL HOOOOORAY! THIS IS VERY EXCITING
Maybe a little bit silly thought of mine, but it would be so sweet if Caine invited Gangle for a little dance in free time, just to cheer her up. Because why not?
Sorry for the crime of adding shoe laces, but I felt like something was missing
ALSO SORRY KATZE FOR TAGGIGN YOU EVERYWHERE
Backup AU by @katzebruh
I forget that not everyone pirates media. Like ppl will be celebrating something going on a streaming service because “now I can finally watch it!” Dude you could watch it before on the Watch Everything For Free Website
I saw some weird ass conspiracy video thing today of like 'we were never meant to have access to yeast, that was cultivated in a lab and it harms us' bullshit and I was like well first off there's no such thing as 'meant to' and second of all um? the long history of acquiring yeast from beer foam stretching so far back ??????
If you want to make sourdough started from scratch, the process is 'mix water, flour, and maybe sugar if you've got it, then WHIP IN AS MUCH AIR AS YOU CAN' and let it sit. And this works. Because there's yeast there. In the air.
Not only is there yeast in the air, it's on a bunch of fruits, too. Ever rubbed a blueberry, plum, or grape, and it was slightly darker underneath? That thin film is wild yeasts. There is also yeasts that live on human skin (and not just pathogenic ones!). We are never without yeasts.
at some point in your life you are going to do or say something racist, sexist, or otherwise bigoted. Your goal is not perfection, your goal is to be the kind of person that the people you've hurt feel safe being honest with when that happens.
