Simon

████▒▒▒▒▒▒ 30%

█████▒▒▒▒▒ 50%

████████▒▒ 80%

██████████ 100%

⋘ connecting ⋙

⋘ initializing camera... ⋙

⋘ starting mic feed... ⋙

A feed starts, coming in similarly to the old video styled calls that earth had. On screen in a man… with fishlike features. Gills on his throat, scales running down one half of his face like the mockery of a normal scar. From the camera angle, you could just slightly see the end of a tail.

In the background were plants of differing types inside planters. A garden. All inside what seemed to be a large glass dome.

“is this fucking thing working- oh. Hello. I’m Simon. I was the… pilot of the sm-13. I- um… I got my freedom, along with a few other things. Currently I run a greenhouse since nobody else around here seems to know how to take care of a fucking plant. I also tag along with any new… submersibles going down into the blood ocean. Not inside of the glorified tin can, obviously. I dunno if anyone will even see this, but… yeah.”

The man runs a clawed and webbed hand through his hair, reaching the other one out before the feed cuts off.

It seems like the feed has a comment section underneath, maybe you should leave something there?

“I- no.” Simon stated firmly, almost shocking himself.

He didn’t want Cerci dead. Despite the mental horrors they’d put them through. Maybe it was just because of the fact they seemed somewhat well intentioned?

Oblivious. They seemed oblivious to normal human behaviors. It was clear Cerci’s only look into humanity was convicts and Simon himself. Not great examples.

Well. It dosent have a name exactly. But you ate it a lot while in the submersible. Not sure what you ate before then so its a bit of a blend of it all.

The light love making it aswell. Gave you more than you could eat im sure. Always gives to much. Pulling from yourself and feeding it back to you.

*Cerci tilted their head*

You love yourself more than anyone else after all. Just a few things you had left behind here and there. Nothing much.

*not much of an answer but maybe answer enough. Simon had hallucinated before. Memories from his child popping up. How does memories taste? Mixed with the blood that made him who he is now.*

Simon scrubbed his hands over his face, the roughness of his fingerless gloves slightly grounding. Not enough, never enough when it came to Cerci.

There’s a light at the bottom of the ocean-

Memories, then. Liquid memories and Trees know what else. What this would do to him remained to be seen. Probably nothing good.

There’s a light at the bottom of the ocean-

His tail flicked. How was he supposed to even feel about this? It was clear that Cerci had a very loose grasp on anything human, and Simon could only assume they’d come from the blood ocean so had only viewed past divers. Could he even really be upset?

THERES A LIGHT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN-

*it tasted sweet. Occasionally a bit chunky in its texture as it easily glides down Simons throat. Its warm. Comforting. Like an old memory.*

It is good to see you eat bug. Not needlessly fighting like the first time we talked. You have already eaten so much of it before I was afraid you had gotten sick of the taste. Glad to see thats not the case.

*there it was again. The wrong smile. Like a misunderstanding of where the muscles in the face was and how they moved. The more Simon ate the more bitter the soup became. Slowly replacing the sweetness of it. He had many bad memories after all. When was the last time he tasted it?*

*cerci just sat there. Starring. Patiently waiting for him to finnish.*

It… it tasted good. It tasted bad. It tasted right and wrong. His head swam a little, chest constricting like he was bordering on panic. Why? Why was this familiar? Why did it hurt?

The spoon clattered a little when it hit the side of the bowl, and Simon gritted his teeth again. Harder. Letting some of the stray liquid pool against his canines.

*cerci had entered another room. Practically yelling from in there over noises of their "cooking"*

Now bug. If your not gonna eat the treat make sure to keep it away from Lakia. Would be so unfortunate if my favorite dog stopped being herself.

*15 minutes of noise continued. Banging. Cutting. Tearing. Blending?*

*in the end Cerci entered the room once more. Placing down a bowl of red soup that dident smell of blood or anything else Simon knew.*

Dinners ready bug! You are rather rude. I have been here for 20 minutes and you haven't offered me anything to drink. Instead I have cooked for you. Have you never had guests over before bug?

Dosent matter! Eat up. Its your favorite <3

“Would you believe me if I said it’s because I didn’t know if you could drink anything? You’d kinda already a… fluid. Partially.” Simon ran his hand through his hair.

It wasn’t worth the fight bringing up the fact that Cerci had kinda just started cooking of their own volition. Most things weren’t worth fighting Cerci over, at this point. Like arguing with a plant. It wasn’t gonna listen to you no matter how hard you tried.

Simon was now extra worried about that dog treat. Thankfully Laika had decided to go exploring around AT-5 today so she wasn’t tempted by the treat. But still, best to put it somewhere high up later.

Knowing where your mess is dosent clean it. At least get the dust removed. We dont want Laika to develop an allergy, do we now?

Hmmm... perhaps you need a bit of a push? Get everything dusted off before I am finished cooking or I will force you <3

*cerci looked at Simon with the face almost mirroring his own. Smiling in a way Simon had never done. Or any human for that matter. Faces shouldn't bend like that.*

Having a body is so strange. How do you manage it for so long? At least it is much warmer in here than outside. Otherwise I would have had to crawl under your skun for warmth.

Simon grit his sharp teeth, something like dread curling in his gut. He couldn’t tell if it was because of Cerci’s words or face, but something about it made him feel wrong.

“Alright, I’ll fuckin’ get the dust off shit. Don’t need to do… that. And stay out of my skin, it’s bad enough that you’ve got my old arm.” He swallowed thickly, before turning his head away and getting to work.

It gave Simon time to think. Think about why Cerci asking how he managed to have a body bothered him so much. It got under his skin, tangled in his nerves and pooled behind his eyes.

Come on bug~ maybe I'm just obsessed with you. Why else go through all this effort to make sure your taking care of yourself.

*cerci walked around the place like a judgemental nitpicking mother. Using Simons lost arm to check for dust.*

So messy. When was the last time you cleaned? Besides the plant their is no order in this mess. Why dont you get this place dusted off while I cook you some dinner?

Do tell if I am being to nice. I try to balance the savior and tormented aspects. A healthy middle last longest.

*they reeked of blood.*

“I think I’m the last person who’d know what too nice is.” Simon sighed, leaning against his desk. Being nice wasn’t something he was versed in, giving or receiving. He dropped the dog treat still in his hand on said desk. Well, the two halves of it.

While the smell of blood made the hair’s on his nape stand on end, it didn’t bother him beyond that. It wasn’t a new scent, staining everything on AT-5.

Simon blinked, tilting his head to the side a little in confusion.

“Pride in what?”

*Cerci form was... something. The blood in the ocean was human, which is probably why their form looked humanoid. Two legs. Two arms. A head and torso. All put together of different pieces of flesh that had been torn off on the C.O.Is mission to the ocean. And what Cerci couldn't find of intact limps was instead put together by metal scraps from the submarines or the blood. The had no eyes. The hair was ever flowing blood holding itself up by some unknown force. And still- maybe the most frightening part was how much they shaped resembled Simon. His arm. Long hair. Height.*

Here you are Laika. Whos a good dog? Yes you are! Yes you are!

Aw dont be jealous bug. I have a treat for you aswell. Its rude to show up empty handed after all. You seemed to love this last time~

*the gave Simon a dog treat. Identical to the one that changed him back to normal before.*

Simon let Cerci in more out of shock than anything, fingers twitching around the dog treat before his grip tightened around it hard enough to crack the thing down the middle.

Look, he’s seen a lot of fucked up things. Plenty of gore and whatnots. He lived next to an ocean full of the stuff for fucks sake! But this? It might take the cake. Tied with the treedamned eel, that’s for sure.

“You-… have you not seen another human besides me before or something?” He finally asked after mostly getting his bearings. Why would anyone choose to look like him?

[I will start answering asks tomorrow to give everyone time to submit any. I will answer the oldest first as always but know I’ll get to everybody.]