I love Cuphead; it’s not an easy game by any means, and it can be a very frustrating experience, but holy cow is it fun! The bosses are fun, lovable, and some of them are so cute! Grim Matchstick is definitely a favorite; as frustrating as I found his fight, Grim’s an adorable sweetheart, and it’s hard to stay mad at him. Even the creators have described him as having the personality of a big, silly dog! And he looks so cuddly; how is this possibly the first picture of him hypnotized?!

I haven’t seen the show, but I have seen Grim’s kid; it’s so cute! Hopefully, they both get a bigger role next season; I’d love to hear what Grim’s voice sounds like!

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Somewhere on Inkwell Isle One, a bright green dragon wandered through a forest. He’d flown over it more times than he could count, but he’d never seen what it was like beneath the trees. Maybe he’d find something fun, or tasty, or meet someone nice! They couldn’t all be like that awful pig.
It had been lovely so far, but also lonely; there didn’t seem to be anyone around. Grim hoped he hadn’t scared them off; people tended to run when a big dragon showed up. He liked scaring people, but not like that! He preferred a playful “BOO!”, a quick apology, and a nice conversation!

Speaking of which, he’d finally found someone!

Grim stifled a giggle as he tiptoed up behind the snake resting in the branches. The dragon took a deep breath…
And was quickly disappointed as the snake turned and greeted him.
Aw… At least he seemed nice.

Grim cheerfully struck up a conversation with the snake; his name was Kaa, and apparently he’d seen Grim flying around. He thought Grim seemed interesting, and was eager to meet him. Kaa was sorry if this was rude, but didn’t he used to have more heads?

The snake’s question was answered as the heads in question burst out next to Grim’s neck, making silly faces.
Grim replied, alternating heads:
He-
Still-
Did!
He usually liked to keep them out, unless he wanted to surprise someone, or in this case to avoid them getting tangled in the branches.

Kaa blinked in confusion.
Well. Retractable heads. That was a new one.
The Inkwell Isles never ceased to surprise him.
Brushing aside the bizarre sight, Kaa had to ask: with all those eyes, how was he at staring contests? He considered himself a bit of an expert, and was interested in seeing how he’d do here.
Grim perked up; that sounded fun! To make it fair, if one of his pairs of eyes had to blink, he’d blink the others too-
Kaa brushed aside his concerns; it was fine! He was hoping for a challenge; he’d call himself the winner when every head had blinked.
Grim replied uncertainly; if he was sure…
All six of the dragon’s eyes met Kaa’s own, a determined glare on each of them. He was ready to start!
Kaa snickered; if he was sure…
Grim’s jaws dropped as Kaa’s eyes began to whirl with beautiful, captivating colors that-
Were cut off immediately when Grim uppercut the snake with his tail.

Kaa rubbed his aching jaw with his own tail, as Grim sheepishly apologized. He’d like to trust the snake, to continue playing, but he couldn’t take chances like that; he had a kid to keep safe! He was sorry to impose, but he was going to have to set some rules.

Kaa’s jaw dropped, pain forgotten as all six of Grim’s eyes swirled black and white. Every swirl, every ring, needed to be seen, and there were so, so many; not as colorful as his own, but fascinating all the same. They soothed him as they flooded his mind and drowned out his thoughts; the snake was floating in a sea of bliss. His eyes spiraling with colors not his own, his tongue drooping out, Kaa could only think of how wonderful this felt, of how he should look deeper and deeper and obey.

For the first time, another’s voice filled his head; one soft and stuttering, but firm. Every word was law, and must be obeyed. Kaa wouldn’t eat Grim or his child, or harm them in any way. Kaa was allowed to hypnotize and control Grim, but there were limits. He couldn’t alter Grim’s memory, or change his personality; Grim was always to be Grim. He would not make Grim harm anyone he wouldn’t normally, and he couldn’t use his control of Grim to alter or remove his own orders. Kaa was not to hypnotize the child, whose wellbeing came first; whatever Kaa did with Grim, he was to ensure it didn’t come at the little dragon’s expense. He was not to look for or exploit any loopholes in his orders, or means of escaping them; when the snake let Grim go, Grim would let him go.

Kaa nodded along, happily, dopily grinning as Grim looked at him with a warm smile; the snake was so cute spellbound! With a snap of Grim’s claws, Kaa broke into the widest grin that had ever crossed his face, not a thought in his mind but obedience.

Grim happily scratched the snake’s chin; he was pretty sure he’d covered everything! He didn’t use that trick much; it was rare that he found a foe or meal that couldn’t be fought with might, flames, and eye beams alone. Until now, the only uses he’d had for it were particularly evasive prey, and to soothe and amuse, but never control, his precious baby.
As long as everything was safe, he’d be happy to be hypnotized; it seemed like a fun experience! With a quick call to Kaa, the snake awoke, shaking his head in a daze; being the one hypnotized was a first. He had to admit, it felt nice; he hadn’t been this relaxed in ages!
Grim asked: did he still want that staring contest? He promised no spirals on his end this time! Or tail whacks!
Kaa looked at the dragon in disbelief. A willing pet? Would the surprises ever end?
…
Odd as this had been, he might as well get what he came for.
Kaa smirked. Grim was on!

---

Grim’s jaws dropped as Kaa’s eyes began to whirl with beautiful, captivating colors. The dragon’s eyes drank up ring after ring, thoughts and troubles softly swept aside in a steady flow of colors. Kaa swayed from side to side, and Grim followed with his heads and body, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks as he began to smile. Kaa’s tail crept across the dragon’s body, feeling, pressing, caressing it, and Grim let out a moan. A motion from the snake, and Grim rocked his hips in circles, wrapping himself more and more in the snake’s embrace. The spirals speeding up as the coils continued their compressing caress, the dragon was a panting, moaning, blushing mess. Kaa leaned in close, and Grim’s mind and vision were flooded with the most vibrant colors he had ever seen, not a thought in his mind but how pretty the colors were and how good it felt to look deep into them and listen to Kaa’s words.

How he was a good dragon, and good dragons got to feel this good all the time. How good dragons were obedient pets to their masters. How his master would take every unnecessary thought and scrap of free will, and leave his pet free to be a cuddly, empty-headed cutie. How as a pet, he’d be his sweet, loving, goofy self, ready to provide his master with food, conversation, entertainment, anything – and his master would love him too, giving him a life of cuddles, coils, and so many colors.

Grim nodded eagerly, colors coursing through his eyes, mouths drooling and at least one tongue hanging out of a dopey grin. A final tug around his necks had Grim roaring in delight as a PING! rang out in his mind and his mouths broke into the goofiest of grins.

Kaa snickered as he looked at his silly dragon, panting happily as his tail wagged wildly behind him. He’d gone heavy on the hypnosis; he wouldn’t want Grim to outdo him! Really, almost none of those rules had been necessary, but he supposed he could see where the dragon was coming from; if he had a child, he’d want to make sure they were safe too. Speaking of which, he needed to check on Grim’s; after that, he and his pet would have so much fun!

Belly rubs were barely the beginning of the day he had planned…