DON'T GIVE THE SHIBE WIFI !

❛ don't worry about me , i'm , uh , i'm used to burning the midnight oil so to speak. ❜

grace dismisses simon's question with a wave of his hand & a laugh. he should sleep at some point , especially given that such long hours in the lab were unnecessary for the most part. the taumoeba were breeding just fine now , & they hadn't tried to make another break for it , which is an added bonus , & the astrophage is otherwise unremarkable.

he's just bored.

❛ & don't worry about rocky , he's harmless. it's just a thing on his planet — they watch each other sleep to protect them. you get used to it after a while. ❜

grace may not know what simon's been through prior to joining them on the hail mary , but in his scientific opinion , whatever it was was more than enough hardship for a lifetime ; grace didn't intend to make his life any harder. that & ... simon isn't exactly a scientist. even if he wanted to help , it'd be ... a little difficult to get him reasonably up to speed. besides , everything was fine for now.

mid-stretch , grace pauses to watch the way simon shifts his gaze , tilting his head in the same manner. he lets his arms fall to his sides , shaking his head slightly.

Old habits die hard for the both of them, it seemed. Simon knew, deep in his heart of hearts, that Grace and Rocky were both entirely harmless. It just stood to make the once-convict wonder how such a softhearted guy like Grace wound up in the depths of space alone in the first place.

Yes, the scientist was smart. He was well equipped to navigate the never-ending reaches of their galaxy, to create miracles to save the stars that had once been figured dead.

The sterile light of the lab creates a halo around the blonde's head, and Simon softens. Slowly, like a shelter dog wandering a new home for its first time, the dark haired man crept closer to the two engineers.

He sat down on one of the stools, remaining hand resting tentatively on the table. He can't help but be curious, dark eyes peering at the sample that wiggled and breathed under Grace's microscope.

"Astro-what...?"

Flowers. Flowers. So many flowers. Surely, Bear will love them! The smell will fix that of vomit and piss from a few days ago – that was embarrassing, and Bear needs to forget. She’ll be putting them EVERYWHERE in his home. It’ll be so pretty, and he’ll be happy with her again. Yes! (no!)

So she decimated one of the neighbor’s garden in the process; so what? They’ll understand: Love is more important than their lawn – or they won’t, because no one can understand the kind of connection Nikki has with Her Bear.

She walks with a load of multiple types flowers, so many of them they obscure her vision – and then, as one may have predicted watching this from afar, she walks smack into someone else, and the flowers fall in a heavy clump at her feet. “Excuse me”, she snaps, eyes like slits, her mouth tugged into a thin, rather long line. For a moment, she appears as an unhappy, spoiled child. Now her flowers are bruised.

The scent of flowers comes long before their bodies collide, alarming the kitsune. But they don't step aside. They merely allow the human to knock into them, their skinny body jolting, before stepping out of the way to prevent being fallen into if the girl should stumble all the way to the pavement.

However, the flowers fall victim instead. Aishireiko stares, ruby eyes gleaming, before a playful smile comes to rest upon their lips. In a graceful motion, they bend, kimono sleeves sliding with a wssshhh on the ground.

Those pale hands gather the flowers up. "I apologize, miss. I should have been watching where I was going," Aishireiko's eyes crinkle at the edges. "In return, let me show you a magic trick to make up for my behavior~"

Just behind their body, their shadow twitches. Then suddenly those hands flex, and with a poof of smoke...

The flowers have returned to normal. Not a single petal out of place. In fact, they're all wrapped up in fine purple crinkle paper and a ribbon, a beautiful bouquet for any lad.

"Ta-da~ All better, ne?"

# MAYOINOMORI⸻ come get lost in the lost woods. independent original lore SHAPESHIFTER oc ft . many au's written for mature audiences / explicit content will only be written with adults

ᶦⁿ ᵗʰᶦˢ 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥, 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 ᵀʰᵉʳᵉ’ˢ ⁿᵒʷʰᵉʳᵉ ᵗᵒ ᵍᵒ, ᴵ ᵃˡᵒⁿᵉ ᵃᵐ ᵘⁿᵃᵇˡᵉ ᵗᵒ ˡᵉᵃᵛᵉ

"They're dead."

"We're not dead!"

"This house is ours."

"The war is not over."

"Sometimes I bleed."

"You look so different."

"Is that how she killed you?"

"There are no intruders here."

"Don't trouble yourself, ma'am."

"They're ghosts! Come over here!"

"If you see a ghost, you say 'hello'."

"Sooner or later, they will find you."

"I'm not talking about the ghosts..."

"Well, you shouldn't have come, then."

"No one can make us leave this house."

"You listen to me... I've seen them, too."

"Interesting? I was scared out of my wits!"

"Why didn't you stay like the others did?"

"That's enough questions. Eat your food."

"Can't you hear it? There's someone there."

"Stop breathing like that. Stop … breathing."

"We all surrendered, what did you expect?"

"You're not going. You left us once already…"

"No crying now. No crying. Stop that. Here."

"I loved you, but that wasn't enough, was it?"

"I don't care what I said! Get away from them!"

"The intruders are leaving, but others will come."

"They're everywhere… they say this house is theirs."

"Look what an awful face you've got when you cry."

"I'm beginning to feel totally cut off from the world."

"There are things your mother doesn't want to hear."

"I won't ask for forgiveness for something I didn't do!"

"Sometimes we'll sense them. Other times, we won't."

"You're always teasing me and telling lies… I'm sick of it!"

"If you're dead, then leave us in peace. Leave us in peace!"

"I have noticed, there's no need for you to raise your voice."

"How do you know who the 'goodies' and the 'baddies' are?"

"Tuberculosis finished us off, more than half a century ago."

"We must all learn to live together. The living and the dead."

"Why don't you tell my mother? Then maybe she'll believe me."

"It is quite clear that these 'beings' do not want us to live here."

"Yes, but that was before. The condition could have cleared up."

"Where's my daughter? What have you done with my daughter?"

"Death of a loved one can lead people to do the strangest things."

"Who do you think you are! You have no idea what has to be done!"

"What's the matter with me? I don't know what's the matter with me."

"The only thing that moves here is the light, but it changes everything."

"I thought the Lord, in his great mercy, was giving me another chance…"

"There are going to be some big surprises. There are going to be… changes."

"Sometimes the world of the living gets mixed up with the world of the dead."

"I'm no wiser than you are. But I do know that I love you. I've always loved you."

The cave system did not seem to be terribly vast, based upon first inspection. But Moomin knew better than to assume that he was safe, or that the tunnels wouldn't suddenly drop down into a nightmare of mazes, or even suddenly fill with water with the coming tide. He had to move quickly.

He only lingered now and again to view a crystal or cool looking stalactite hanging from the cave ceiling, nose twitching and shaking side to side upon dislodging a drop of water from the floor. Okay, noted. Standing still meant getting wet.

Moomin continued his way through the tunnels, hand pressed to the walls to stay close and not falter in the darker systems. He had some matches in his pocket, so he lit one and used it to light his way...

Hopefully he would reunite with Nata soon.

He's older now. Braver, a little taller too. Unfortunately, none of these things helped in navigating the growing darkness any easier, and it isn't long before he stumbles upon a hole in the floor, just big enough for him to squeeze down. Below, the path continues to open up, the distant echo of dripping water indicating a river somewhere nearby.

The hole sloped gently, and even if it didn't he could use his clutch claw to scale up and down if necessary. After carefully descending, Nata found himself in a much larger cave with stalactites hanging down from the ceiling. Moss glowed faintly at his feet, dully illuminating the chasm which seemed to wind into tunnels unknown.

That moss his only guide, Nata proceeded forwards cautiously, still keeping his hand to the nearest wall whenever he could. Eventually, and thankfully, a growing light cast a familiar shadow further down the tunnel.

"Moomin?"

“Nata!” The very second he senses his friend near, the creature trots into the tunnel, smiling wide under his large nose. His first instinct was to hug the other boy, but he instead opted to grab his hand, squeezing it, before letting go to point into the further cave depths.

”Well, even if we don’t find a way out immediately, it’ll be an adventure, won’t it?” Blue eyes sparkle like the ocean, tufted tail waving back and forth merrily behind Moomin’s rump. “Say, do you think we’ll find pirates and buried treasure? Or maybe another abandoned city like the last one you showed me?”

For even with the danger present, the young lad was enjoying every step of their journey together. Nata was the greatest companion a good rugged adventurer could have (minus good old Snufkin, of course!) and the lands he hailed from were so rich with mysteries it made his heart soar.

“You know, my Pappa had faced pirates before. He said the best way to beat them is to fight on the side where their eye patch is! Then they can’t see you!” Moomin grinned.

Even with most, if not all, of her memories returned to her, Tako wasn't sure if she had known Acht in her past life. It was hard to place the Octoling, with their skin bleached and their tentacles the color of deep galaxies. All she knew was that Acht had grown up alongside Marina.

What had happened to them? The Calamari Inkantation had freed them all from the control of Octavian, allowed them to see that the outside world was full of Light, not the despair they were told was there.

"Do you remember anything about what you were doing before all this?" The question leaves the young Octo before she can stop it, and immediately, she winces and looks away.

"Sorry. Y'don't have to answer that if you don't wanna. It's not my business."

"It's okay." Acht shrugged their shoulders noncommittally. "I don't remember it, but I know what I was doing. I was in the metro, too... I was the DJ."

For all their time down there, Acht's memories were incredibly hazy. Mostly, what they remembered was the moments at the very beginning, before they had been sanitized. A strange telephone, a devil's bargain, a glowing IV bag... and a knowing choice to throw everything away, to let the abyss take them.

“Not much,” Tako admitted, shrugging. “I remember the metro. Not much at all from before. Just… Darkness. Endless dark.” She could only faintly recall the overhang lights buzzing and ticking, humming a song she wished would die.

The academy was rough, that much she is certain. She had found an old scar on her wrist the first night she woke on the Deepsea Metro, reborn from the tank keeping her asleep until transportation had completed. A scar from a trial gone wrong, or perhaps a bullying incident from her past. That scar remained covered by a yellow ticket bracelet until she made it to the Surface.

Now, with only the thin metal bracelet of the Tower’s universe, Tako could see the faint scar even better now. No way to ignore it. WHich was what led to her fingers idly rubbing the old flesh as she reminsced.

“I almost rather have the darkness instead of this constant sterile light. It’s giving me a major headache.” The agent grinned, playfully smacking her head with a loose fist. “Maybe that’s why I’m not as fresh as I used to be?”

@shibemuses. / starter call.

❛ oh , simon !! ❜

grace smiles brightly when simon enters the lab , accompanied by rocky's familiar chittering in greeting. it's odd ; grace hadn't realized just how badly he'd missed the company of actual humans until they'd found one. he stands from where he's spent the last ... actually , it doesn't matter how long he's been here looking at astrophage under a microscope in case there's anything he'd missed. the only thing that matters is his back hurts from his terrible posture , hunched over with shoulders tensed.

stratt could've found something with some lumbar support , really.

but that's besides the point , & grace sighs , stretching his arms overhead.

Unease gnaws at his heart, despite the warmth that flutters beneath a gilled chest. Simon had never, ever been asked such a question in his life. It was always what he could do for others, for the mission, for Eden. Then it was what he could do to earn his freedom.

For someone as bright and as brilliant and capable as Grace to ask what *he* could do to help the convict… Felt impossible. And yet, here they were. (Escaping the blood ocean was deemed impossible. And yet.)

”Fine,” Realizing Grace was waiting for an answer, the dark haired man stammers out a short response, looking away. “Your uh, rock friend— he was starin’ at me all night. Or. Listening?” Because if he remembered correctly, Rocky was eyeless.

Simon blinked, tilting his head, dark waves spilling over his shoulder. The punny t-shirt still feels strange, too soft, against his burnt flesh. All of it too soft for a man born under the brunt of cruelty.

“Shouldn’t you sleep too?”

The very second Noriko comes close, all the other girl is afforded is a glance. A glance, looking up and down. Clearly, the witch was not really impressed with her conversation partner's appearance or abilities.

Instead, her stoic face broke into a sneer. And she laughed, exposing sharp, cat-like teeth. It wasn't mocking or loud, but it was more like the laugh one gives a child when they figure out a 4 piece puzzle for the first time.

"Ah... You really believe that, don't you?" Her clawed fingers tapped against the stone. "That your purpose grants your violence meaning. That because your hands are steady when they break things, that somehow makes the breaking profound. You think suffering is some cosmic flaw to be corrected. A defect in the design. How cute."

Her eyes reflected the stars above, a amused, tiny smile still upon her pale lips. "You speak as though pain is an invention. As though despair was added to existence by some careless author and all that’s needed is the right move to edit it out. But you're very wrong. Suffering isn't tied to life like a parasite, it's what gives life a meaning."

Crossing one stocking-ed leg over the other, the witch simply allows her black shoe to bob back and forth idly. "To know joy requires absence. To know hope requires uncertainty. To love anything at all requires the possibility of losing it. Break that tether, and you don’t create paradise, you merely create stillness."

Bernkastel affixed Noriko with a sharp violet gaze, that smile still gentle despite the cruelty of her eyes. "For someone who claims to understand the board, you’ve never learned the first rule of games... If there is no risk, no failure, no despair— then there is no triumph either. No miracle. No reward. What will you have then, Noriko Kimura? Ufufu~"

What would Noriko have, when risk and failure and despair have been defeated? Would it really be the end of triumph, miracle, reward?

"I wonder how long it has been since someone such as yourself lived among the people, truly lived."

"There is a drive that exists beyond humanity, but propels it just the same; survival. We seek to defeat the disease, the predator, the end. Even now, incurable illnesses are fought. Invasive species are fought. Through science or magic, theory or practice, death has always been something to stall, to negate, to push back against. It is the very nature of living to find a way to continue living. Very few find peace in the embrace of death, everyone always wants more time."

She eyed the girl opposing her down. "Maybe some of us with a surplus of it struggle to find anything worth doing, eventually."

"It sounds to me that someone like you has been conditioned into thinking the destination is what sweetens the journey. Knowing that things end means you savor them while you can. That is just noise. The subliminal messaging of the universe telling you to enjoy what meager time it gives you because it will take it all away at a point. The meaning of a life is what pain is endured and bested. That... is a poor way to live. And it is forced upon us. Well, most of us." She stood defiant, looking out at the world.

The truth, the final truth, was that Bernkastel knew better than anyone the struggle that Noriko was subjecting herself to. She knew how it felt to claw and spit blood from your jaws as you go down fighting, repeating the same loop. Over and over. Searching for that ending, that miracle, the one where you are allowed happiness.

But what the witch cannot stand is the notion of Noriko believing she’s truly helping humanity by chasing this “miracle” she seeks. The Incubator had not brought forth the miracle then. What made the girl think she could grasp it with her own insignificant hands?

Amusement and disgust make a bitter tea within the cat-like witch’s stomach. Maybe, with time and enough suffering, Noriko would make a fine witch herself. One capable of commanding gameboards and stories within the Fragments of their universe.

And maybe she won’t be so boring after all.

Bernkastel yawns, revealing sharp, cat-like teeth that click together when her jaw shuts. “I have lived for centuries. Humanity is something foolish, insignificant. You have become predictable in your adolescence as a species. Lamenting your lack of instant results, unable to fathom clawing and struggling for your answers any longer.” A tilt of the head, purplish hair tusseled by the wind. The city blares beneath them both.

“Allow me to be frank, Noriko Kimura. Once you have this so called ‘miracle,’ what then? What keeps the Incubators from contracting more girls? What will prevent entropy, should you halt the plans of those little rats?” It is a game of never ending questions, each answer a crumb to feed the gnawing pit of her boredom.

It was hard to grasp what was being said. But Madoka had to believe it, deep down, because the Incubator had told her that there was only one other magical girl who existed outside their system. Homura had been the only one. Now Madoka. And the third was this girl, someone not in Madoka's class, but with the Mitakihara Middle uniform.

The pink haired teen fidgeted idly with her hands, a habit she had not broken even after gaining some semblance of confidence after contracting. Deep down, she was always going to be the product of Homura's work— a girl swapped with the lizard with a trembling heart.

But this also proved to Madoka that she had messed up. Her wish had gone through so many variations back then. To wish to help Mami. To save Sayaka. To understand Homura. Until finally she wished to take Homura's burdens herself and find a path to save them all... Which had only led to more pain.

"Noriko-chan," Madoka began softly, finally looking up from her hands. "Is this why there don't seem to be Witches in this loop? What are we fighting? It's all so strange."

Then, another question, this one filling her ruby-pink eyes with concern and panic, like a rabbit trembling in a cage.

"And where's Homura-chan?"

"Ah, the Witches... well..."

She really did know nothing. Of her other self. Of her law. Of what Homura did, and its lasting effects...

"Against all odds, even against the will of the universe, Witches have been reintroduced into the Puella Magi system..."

"Our Law of Cycles is... incomplete. A program without its programmer guiding it. Fulfilling a directive instilled in it, but not fully grasping what is asked of it. It saves Magical Girls, it takes their soul to safety, but it cares not for what is left behind. The remnants it does not cleanse become... the Witch."

"In times past, I would describe a Witch as a corruption of a Magical Girl, but now... I see it more as her vengeful echo. The hate left behind when she is freed. They exist alongside emotion absorbing beings known as Wraiths."

"As for Homura Akemi, well... fret not. While she once ripped off a piece of universal power for herself, she has given it up... or lost it. I do not know the specifics. Now, she exists happily alongside a version of Madoka Kaname, Sayaka Miki, Kyoko Sakura, and Mami Tomoe."

In the back of her mind, Madoka was suddenly aware of how strange this girl was. Noriko spoke in a way that wasn’t common for their age range, unless the teen was doing it on purpose as a bit or committing to some “cool” alter ego. It was a touch old fashioned, haughty… Among other words that Sayaka would have used, but Madoka didn’t dare say aloud.

After all, Noriko could turn out to be a friend. A potential ally who could pave the way to a successful loop, one where Homura was safe. WHere all their friends could live happily, away from the dangers of the magical girl system.

Unfortunately, it seemed Madoka was too late. This loop was most likely a dud. Witches existed, far more volatile and cruel than before. Was Noriko the only one fighting them? Were there other girls in Mitakihara fighting the scourge?

Furthermore… How long could Madoka keep Homura from her fate?

“That doesn’t sound like something I would have done. Or something Homura-chan would do.” The pinkette said, brows furrowed in concern. Still fidgeting, she started to twist her Soul Gem ring back and forth.

“If a Madoka Kaname exists in this loop, then I’ll have to hide, or conceal myself as someone else entirely. And find some way to keep Homura-chan and the other girls safe.”