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lbachle replied to your post: I’m reading through those old Drabbles I wrote…

Yes. Yes I do remember. THOSE WERE FREAKING HILARIOUS FICLETS.

there was one, and it make me laugh just thinking about it, because im pretty sure i was high on something or maybe id just been suffering from lack of sleep, but it was about Chell breaking out of Aperture Labs to discover giant Ghost Shrimp had taken over the world.

like wtf

some of the others were pretty good now I think about it though. Actually that whole month, some of the fics were just ‘meh’ but some were pretty OK and I’m glad I wrote those

but ghost shrimp seriously

In case anyone’s wondering why I spent the last six days writing drabbles about how horrible Ghost Shrimp are..

This is what shrimp are supposed to look like

This is what shrimp actually look like

[insert “Gah! What?!?]

and this

is what Ghost Shrimp

look like

It’s all the horribleness of a real live shrimp monster with the added bonus of being partially invisible. Great.

Drabble-a-Day: Summer

Fandom: Ghost Shrimp Cabin Pressure

“Well, what about a Toblerone? Those always make good presents.”

Douglas sighed, but it wasn’t like he had expected any different.

“I can’t get her a Toblerone, Arthur,” Douglas explained, “Or to be more precise, I could, but that can’t be all I get her. It’s her birthday, Arthur. She’s turning ten. She’ll expect more than a chocolate bar.”

“Oh, right. So where are we going then?”

“We’re here.” Douglas pulled up beside the kerb as Arthur peered out the passenger window.

“Oh wow! A pet shop!”

“Yes,” Douglas confirmed, turning the car off and stepping out during a lull in traffic, “I figure there’s nothing any kid wants more than a pet animal for their mother to take care of.” Douglas followed Arthur inside, grateful to be out of the summer heat and into the air conditioning.

Arthur looked around with an excited expression on his face. “Remember, Arthur,” Douglas said, thinking of the warning Caroline had given him that morning, “You’re only here to give suggestions. I know my daughter but you’re basically an overgrown child yourself, so you’re providing the child’s point of view. We’re not actually getting you anything.”

“Right-o, Douglas!” Arthur said, but Douglas wasn’t sure he believed Arthur’s assurance. “Ooh, can we get her a bunny?”

Arthur was sticking his fingers through the cages anyways, but Douglas shook his head. “I’m afraid we’ll have to get something a bit smaller - see, I don’t exactly have her mother’s permission for this, and while the point is to get something to inconvenience the woman, I don’t want to be too mean.”

“I thought the point was to get a gift for your daughter.”

“Well, yes. That is the primary goal here.”

Arthur’s attention was soon caught by something else. “Ooh, what about one of these?” He had crossed over into the aquarium section and gestured towards the fishtanks.

“What, a goldfish? A fish sounds like a good idea, but a goldfish seems too plain-“

“No, one of these!” Arthur pointed directly at a few translucent creatures crawling around the bottom of one of the smaller tanks. Douglas had to lean over to get a better look.

“A shrimp,” Douglas stated.

“A ghost shrimp! They’re see-through, see?”

“They’re horrific, Arthur.”

“No they’re not! They’re very interesting looking! See, I think they’re interesting, I’m sure your daughter would think so as well!”

“I’m not buying her a shrimp,” Douglas said, “not even a proper one. They’re disgusting and it wouldn’t even be worth freaking her mother out.”

“Aw, they’re not disgusting-!”

“I beg to differ.”

“-and they’re much more interesting than a goldfish!”

“I think I’d rather go with the goldfish, thank you.”

Drabble-a-Day: Look

Fandom: Ghost Shrimp The Avengers (MCU)

Tony Stark was still a ways out, heading back to the tower from a publicity stunt no one else agreed to join in on, when the iron suit HUD alerted him to another presence on the rooftop balcony. He gave a phony salute from the air and received a half-wave in return.

“Barton!” Tony called out after the balcony landing pad had removed his helmet. “What do your hawk eyes see?”

Clint grinned at the joke. “Nothing out of the ordinary tonight except you.” He was leaning against the balcony railing, looking out over the city as if he’d been put on guard duty. His bow and quiver lay nearby but, much to Tony’s pleasure, nothing seemed to have been used for target practice. ”How did your stupid party thing go?”

“It wasn’t stupid and it wasn’t a party, really, and it went well, thank you.” The balcony landing pad automatically removed the iron suit, leaving Tony in his jeans and t-shirt, and surprisingly chilly. His first instinct was to head inside and down to the lab, but instead he stood for a moment by the door.

“Can you really see all the way to the street from this high up?” Tony asked. Clint leaned over the edge of the railing to look directly downwards.

“Just about,” he answered. “Almost well enough to get a decent shot, if the angle wasn’t horrible.”

Tony almost quipped back with a warning not to shoot at civilians, but decided against it, instead saying, “That’s unsettling.”

“What’s unsettling are your creepy fish,” Clint retorted, turning around to point through the window at the large 50-gallon fish tank sitting by couch.

Tony pretended to look hurt. “My fish? What’s wrong with my fish?”

“They’re see-through, Stark. Fish aren’t supposed to be invisible, they’re supposed to be gold or purple and normal looking.”

“My fish aren’t invisible,” but as Tony looked over at the tank he realized he couldn’t see any, either. “There’s just not very many of them. That’s not creepy, that’s just… forgetful of me. I’ll have Pepper buy some more.”

“Not if they’re all going to be as creepy as the ones you’ve got. They’re see-through, Stark,” Clint said again

“Oh, are you talking about the shrimp? Yeah I guess they are - and they’re not fish. Shrimp are crustaceans.”

“Whatever.”

“It’s not ‘whatever’, it’s kind of a big difference in-“

“They’re creepy,” Clint cut Tony off with a serious look. “Just thought you should know.”

Tony scoffed. ”You just have no taste.”

Drabble-a-Day: Order

Fandom: Ghost Shrimp Portal

Warning: CRACK.

When the world opened up to Chell, is was gold. It was almost fake gold, such a stark contrast from the decaying labs she had finally managed to escape below. The sky was clear and blue and the land a sea of golden grass, everything clean and new, open to her for exploration, with her trusty, albeit a bit crispy, Companion Cube at her back.

A few more steps out into the real world and she quickly realized something was wrong. For one, the grass seemed to be covering the tops of what looked like city buildings. For another, she was pretty sure that was an actual ocean over the next grassy ridge.

If it wasn’t an ocean, it was a huge lake, because she couldn’t see the other side of it. Chell looked around some more and saw nothing but ocean water and sand and golden grass, and the ruins of a human civilization. The shed she had once taken to be a secret laboratory hatch out in the middle of nowhere now looked like a rooftop opening that had been hastily covered up. 

For a full day Chell walked, directly away from the beach, until she hit another. She tried going to sleep hungry, but the ground was hard and the air uncomfortably warm. Instead she tried cleaning her Companion Cube off, and found a note hidden in a removable panel. It was typed up, and held only the words “Animal King Takeover,” with a pair of ghost eyes topped with a crown.

She was eventually captured by the Animal King’s drones, half-starved and on her way back to that rusty hatch that now seemed her only hope for survival. It wasn’t so bad, she soon learned, living underwater, but it wasn’t very comfortable either. The mutated Ghost Shrimp had been kind enough to build air-filled passageways for their human subjects, but the constant threat of a break and suffocation was unpleasant. 

And there was the added sensation of realizing she had spent most of what she could remember of her life trying to escape into the real world, and now she was trapped again. Trapped with other humans who seemed less human than the robotic AIs she would willingly admit she wanted to get back to.

latiburona replied to your post: Drabble-a-Day: Wind

These make me happy.

You’re going to love tomorrow’s.

Drabble-a-Day: Wind

Fandom: Ghost Shrimp Sherlock

The rising wind turned the spring afternoon chilly, making John wish he’d had the forethought to bring his real jacket. It also meant all the cabs they came across were full, but Sherlock didn’t seem to mind. He led the way down the city streets at a brisk pace, with his coat collar turned up against the wind in a way that made John roll his eyes.

The case had been solved in only an hour’s investigation. John was surprised Sherlock had even bothered coming outside. the Detective hadn’t responded when John commented that he seemed in a surprisingly good mood, but John thought he saw a hint of a smile.

The smile disappeared when Sherlock halted unexpected in front of a bet shop. John almost crashed into his back, and took a moment to steady himself.

“Sherlock,” he said, but Sherlock had already disappeared into the shop. Looking into the window, John saw a pen full of small dogs, puppies out front where they’d be easy to see. Suddenly worried, John followed his flat mate inside.

Instead of hovering over the dogs, however, Sherlock seemed to have gravitated to the aquariums. “What are we doing in here?” John asked as he eyed the bright beta fish warily.

“Shopping,” Sherlock responded curtly. “What does it look like?”

“We don’t have room in the flat for an animal, especially if you’re just going to experiment on it.”

Sherlock said nothing, which was exactly what John had expected. He was watching the goldfish rather intently, swimming around in a tank so large it was obvious how fast their were breeding them to be sold as food.

“If you buy a fish you have to feed it,” John said, mentally adding ‘and clean up after it and take care of it.’ “And warn Mrs. Hudson about it.”

“How do you feel about these?” Sherlock asked, pointing at a small tank of guppies. It occurred to John that he was in a pet shop, looking at fish with his flat mate. He really didn’t want to be here anymore.

“I don’t think it would be humane to buy a little fish just to see how long it takes to die.”

“What about one of these?” Sherlock now pointed at another tank. The sign read ‘Ghost Shrimp’ but John could hardly see anything inside. What he could see were a bunch of shrimp eyes hovering about and several vague, translucent body outlines scuttling across the blue rocks.

“Those are horrifying,” John said matter-of-factly. “Were you planning on injecting them with pigmentation?”

“Such an obvious idea, John. I was thinking something more interesting.”

“Of course you were. You can’t buy one of those things and keep it in our flat unless you put some color in it.”

Sherlock seemed to take a minute to consider that suggestion. He finally said, “Deal.”

Drabble-a-Day: Denial

Fandom: Ghost Shrimp Homestuck

I believe you are incorrect, Rose had typed into the laptop. The Squiddles are in fact just a bright manifestation of a darker underlying theme. She picked up her pen again to doodle as she waited for the next response. The once brightly colored poster was now covered in darker shadings and symbols, but it wasn’t done yet.

GG: what??
GG: no!!!!
GG: the squiddles are adorable!!! :D

Rose laughed, putting her pen down. Be that as it may, I am sure there is a dark message the show is trying to promote. The cute exterior layer is just a cover. Which seemed ironic, now that Rose thought about it, since she was covering the Squiddles poster in a more literal layer of dark. The black penmarks had almost washed out the purple of the foremost Squiddle, and a few Zoologically Dubious creatures that she had doodled on the bottom corners were now beginning to creep into the main image.

GG: what do you mean?
GG: the squiddles teach about teamwork and trust and love!!!
GG: youre just being cynical rose

She considered that. Perhaps she was reading too much into it; Rose knew she had a tendency to do that. Not that she’d ever admit it. Instead, she decided to try another tactic.

What about those ghost shrimp? she asked, referencing a few side characters who had shown up in a recent episode. The ghost shrimp were near-invisible, with blank, hollow eyes, and Rose didn’t believe that even Jade could see them without shuddering involuntarily.

GG: …
GG: what about them?

A sigh. Rose’s poster enhancements weren’t going to be complete anytime soon. Didn’t they seem inherently grim? I thought their intrinsic value was obvious.

GG: they were kind of weird :\

Because they were meant to convey the theme that not all is as it seems to be. There is the primary layer of what we see, Rose continued typing, trying to think of the best example she could use, and that’s the image behind the ghost shrimp. Then there are the shrimp eyes and mouths, which clue us in to something not being right, even if we can’t quite see it.

She smiled at her own analogy, and went back to doodling on the poster, adding a pair of hollow ghost shrimp eyes to the bottom, along with a ghost shrimp mouth. It looked appropriately grim and dark, she thought to herself.

GG: youre definitely thinking too much into this rose
GG: ghost shrimp dont represent anything!
GG: except maybe how hard things are without friendship! ;)

Rose shook her head and sighed again. She stared at the screen, pen held in the air, before finally smiling. There was just no way to get to some people. I’m glad we’re friends, Jade. You’re wonderful to talk to.

GG: :D

Trying to figure out how to fit ghost shrimp into a Homestuck fanfic, and just read/watched more about Squiddles and Horrorterrors than I ever wanted to see /hiding under the covers