#༺◦°◦. para .◦°◦༻

[plunderwater]

TIMING: Recent LOCATION: Somewhere around World's End Isle PARTIES: Shan "Aika" (@plunderwater) & Cass (@magmahearts) SUMMARY: Shan "Aika" & Cass partner up to steal from a rich bad guy, though the selkie conveniently leaves out some details from the nymph. CONTENT WARNINGS: Scooby Doo references, thievery, "betrayals"

So. White Crest’s gone all to hell. Again. But hey, silver lining — this time, it’s not Shan’s fault. Best she can figure out is that it has something to do with the moon and some crystals. Someone completely lost the plot and made all this happen… But who? And how? More importantly, what is it with these guys and crystals? Now the town’s all ass-deep in erratic aggression. But everyone’s still just confused…and vulnerable. 

Speaking of guys and crystals, and vulnerable guys and vulnerable crystals, Shan knew where she had to be. Even though she really didn’t want to. But her pelt needed it to be okay. And because she apparently never learns anything from her experiences, she’d risk everything to make sure it was okay. All over again. With that in mind, she plopped herself over the manor’s high stone wall, gracefully rolling into the bushes, right behind a tree. Heaving a sigh, she looked for her current partner-in-crime, some girl she’d never worked with before but found out was a pretty damn good thief. 

“You ready?” Shan whispered to her, careful not to make any unnecessary noise. Their target was a rich bad guy, which wasn’t saying a lot, considering all rich guys are obviously bad guys. Rumors had it that he was some sort of magician. Shan didn’t share said rumors with her current partner. Just in case she wasn’t into that sort of stuff. And mostly because Shan may end up doing more than just stealing from this spellcaster. All over again.

Cass didn’t usually work with a partner. Thievery was typically a ‘one woman job’ kind of a deal, and involving someone else usually ended up getting you burned. But some jobs were a little too big for one person, and this was one of them. The manor was massive, and the promise of riches inside of it was similarly huge. And the guy who lived there was, by all accounts, a real asshole. Cass had heard from some of her homeless contacts that he had a bad habit of cruelty. Not the kind a vigilante could resolve — he wasn’t out mugging people or anything — but the kind that could meet karmic justice through thievery.

It hadn’t been hard to find someone else interested in the same thing she was. Cass had poked around with a few of her most trusted contacts and been sent in Shan’s direction, assured that the woman knew what she was doing and wouldn’t stiff Cass on the loot. If things went well, she could eat for weeks with what they stole tonight, so she needed things to go well. Like, a lot.

“Ready to roll,” she confirmed, flashing her partner in crime a bright grin. “What’s the plan? Where are we hitting first?”

Shan was no stranger when it comes to working with a partner, sometimes even partners. She was never worried about getting burned, mostly because a lot of times, she did the burning. The few times she was betrayed, she actually appreciated the wit and skill it took the betrayers to play her. There was an exception to that rule, though, and Shan never really talks about it. Not that she ever has. Things like this were best kept as secrets, and as someone who loves keeping secrets, the conniving selkie even rarely shares details of plans with those who needed to know them. Case in point…

“This place has too many rooms,” Shan feigned distress, discreetly relishing the younger girl’s delectable face. “Plenty of…justice to be doled out. Maybe we should split up? I’ll take the east wing, you take the west?” It was always a gamble, suggesting partners to split up, but Shan did have that kind of problem. Her frequent visits to that casino in Worm Row could attest to that. “My informant said our target preferred to keep the trophies he stole in the west wing,” she tried to bait the ingénue with that tasty carrot on a relatively unprotected stick. “I’ll see what he has in the east and then we’ll regroup in the middle before we make our great escape?”  

Although Shan would rather not plot against such a pretty little morsel, and she did not want to, she’d been here before. Things like this? They always ended up sideways. Not for her, but for the others she’s worked with. Hopefully, this girl would suffer a much better fate. If Shan could, she would make sure of that. The selkie always liked the idea of an apprentice, someone she could work with whenever the need arose, someone younger she could mentor. Alas, in this game, ideas she likes never really end well. Flippers crossed this would be different.

It was a decent plan. The house was big — one of the biggest Cass had ever really stepped foot inside, though this wasn’t really saying much. She didn’t rob houses often, solely because robbing houses was the kind of thing that tended to be a two-man job and she rarely had a second man to speak of. She preferred smaller acts of thievery, like pickpocketing and the occasional scam. But this house was ripe for the picking, and this person was willing to help her, and a bigger score would mean less pickpocketing and that would mean less feeling bad. So she nodded her head, offering her makeshift partner a small smile in affirmation.

“Pretty Scooby Doo of you,” she joked. “But not a bad idea at all. I can totally take the west wing.” She paused for a moment, then asked, “Which way is west?” It was… suspiciously generous of the other woman to offer to let her take the part of the house where all the ‘trophies’ were stored. Cass wasn’t quite sure she trusted it. If they were friends, maybe, but they were practically strangers. Why risk Cass finding the good loot and making off with it? “What do you think is in the east wing?” She doubted she’d get an honest answer, but she wanted to know. 

Not that knowing would change anything. Cass was trying to be optimistic, but… She could guess how this was going to end. The other woman would probably betray her, and she’d have to high-tail it out of the manor before being caught. It didn’t matter much — she’d talked her way out of arrests before with a few promise binds, and she could do it again with ease — but it always hurt a little, even coming from a stranger. So… she did her best to prepare herself for it. To try to make herself ready. This woman would let her down. She had to be okay with that.

Shan could help but smirk at Cass’ quip. It was a bit refreshing, to say the least. The past few heists she’s pulled, which weren’t at all that recent, were mostly with older, more mature and perhaps more experienced thieves, all of whom were as serious as they were boring. Cass was a breath of fresh air, a welcomed respite, from the usual drudgery. Shan almost felt sad at what could happen between them if things didn’t go according to plan, which it never does. At least for her partners. She usually had the better luck in the partnership. Usually. “That way, Daphne,” the selkie pointed in the direction. Would that make her Velma? She did rock the short hair, so why not?

“...an old friend, if I’m lucky,” Shan rolled her eyes. If she was lucky, sure. If her target was unlucky, moreso. Her leads were always pretty good. The rare ones that turned out to be terrible? Not as bad as most others. The fact that she was still alive, playing thief with a pretty attractive young woman? Definitely not as bad as the others. “...if not, well, that just means I get to find you right away,” she booped Cass’ nose, even mouthing the ‘boop’ part of that act. She thought it was cute, even liked it when someone did that to her in her seal form. Cute things are rare in her line of work. Well, cute free things. “If things get too much for you, make a run for it, kay?”

Shan reassured herself that if it came down to it, she wouldn’t hesitate to leave the girl behind. But as she sneaked her way toward the east wing, crouching as low as she could, taking to the shadows she could find, she realized she’d feel immense disappointment if it truly came to that. All that potential… The selkie would rather not see it wasted. Besides, there was something…tasty about the girl. Was she something else? Can’t find that out if their story ended there. Don’t let me down, sweetie.

Shan was pretty go with the flow, from what Cass could tell. She easily adjusted to Cass’s humor, adding on to her joke and rolling with it rather than being annoyed at the young nymph’s tendency to refuse to take things seriously. And Cass liked that. She could adjust herself as needed, when it came to getting approval — she was good at that, had a tendency to do so without thinking sometimes — but it was nice not to have to. It was nice to be able to make stupid jokes about Scooby Doo and not have to worry about being annoying. “Jinkies,” she replies with a wink.

Her expression faltered, just a little, when the other woman mentioned an old friend. “We’re here to steal things. Right? Not… hurt anyone?” Cass was a thief. Cass was a good thief. She was small enough to fit into tight spaces when she needed to, quick enough to avoid detection. She wasn’t great at lying her way out of a situation thanks to her nature as fae, but she could bind people as needed to escape without consequence. She was a good thief. 

But she didn’t want to hurt anyone.

She eyed her companion carefully, wishing, not for the first time, that she knew Shan a little better. If it were Nora here with her, Cass would have been able to read her intentions based on her expression alone. But she didn’t know Shan. Not really, not in any kind of a way that mattered. She was a stranger, more or less. And that was scary, in spite of the fond boop to her nose. “I don’t want to leave you here alone.” She didn’t want to abandon her partner mid-job… but she also didn’t want to leave and let someone be hurt. 

At the moment, though, she didn’t have much of a choice but to trust. Shan went towards the east wing, and Cass hesitated only a moment before ducking off towards the west. She kept an ear out, but the house was too big for her to hear if there was something going on out where Shan was and she knew it. She was flying blind here, with no way to know if someone was being injured or if she was being thrown under the bus. It was terrifying, but what choice did she have? A girl had to eat.

And she’d probably eat pretty well, with some of this shit. She ducked into a room with a sprawling bookcase, eyes widening at the sight of it. The walls were lined with things that screamed ‘expensive,’ and Cass began carefully pulling them off the shelves and tucking them into the bag she’d brought along. At least she’d get something from all this. She had to remind herself that that was important.

“Of course,” Shan gave the girl a smile and a nod, intentionally only responding to the first question. It’s an old trick, one that only worked when the other party asked more than a single question at a time, often because they knew the dark truth and would rather not hear it firsthand. A lot of people were like that, and Shan could not blame them. The weight of the truth can be too much to bear, and in this life, most people just want to live happily. She thought about that as she continued sneaking toward the east wing. 

As expected, the place was not heavily guarded. At least not as blatantly as others of its kind. Shan guessed most of the guards were elsewhere, probably playing cards and chit-chatting. She looked around for any sort of surveillance, found a few, and made sure to time her movements accordingly. When there were cameras involved, most underpaid grunts tended to stay near the surveillance room. Or at the very least take it easy. It’s not a surprising thing: Most humans rely on technology too much. Not that it was a bad thing. It was more of just a thing. Good or bad’s usually reflected on people, not on non-sentient items.

After sneaking past a few open doors, some of which were empty, one with two people having the time of their lives, Shan came across what seemed to be the boss’ office. It was a large enough private den, with a large table, a large chair behind that table, and a few manly adornments such as the large head of an equally large deer over the large chair and table and the uninteresting bits and pieces of other achievements on paper. Scanning the latter, Shan realized they were certificates and the like, all congratulating the very friend she had been missing.

“John, is that you?” The large man with no hair had his back turned to his open door, his eyes scanning his front yard through the large glass window behind his large chair and table, underneath the large head of an equally large deer. This man was a hunter, though not the kind she feared. His prey were mostly defenseless wood animals, though he kept to the human laws of hunting because he prioritized breaking other human laws. Shan met him a few months ago, when together they intentionally broke a different human law, only for him to secretly break more under her very nose. The audacity.

“I’m heartbroken,” Shan purred, slithering into the room, casting off any attempts to be stealthy. This man did not deserve to not know what was about to come to him. He deserved to look his Maker in her eyes. "I thought it might take you a little longer to forget all about me?"

“You… You’re the thing from the waters!” He tried to grab something from under his table. A gun perhaps? Or a knife? Shan remembered he had a penchant for…small weapons. Unfortunately for him, the selkie was faster than him, already between him and the drawer after sliding over the table. “Ah, ah, ah!” She grinned as she slammed the drawer shut, crushing his fingers inside it, and at the same time, pressing her hand over his mouth. “Why don’t we take our time talking things through, uncle? How many men do you have close by? Are they all…” She took a good, audible whiff of him for no other reason than to emphasize her control of the situation. “...magicians like you?”

Cass wanted to ask more, wanted to trick Shan into making a promise she wouldn’t be able to break just to maintain certainty in all of this, but she knew it was something of a lost cause. If she pushed her luck too much, she had a feeling Shan would figure things out pretty quickly. She didn’t know what the other woman was, but she got the feeling it was something distinctly not human. Not fae — Cass would have sensed that — but something. Which meant she probably knew a thing or two, which meant trying to trick her into a promise could end badly.

But the desire was there all the same. The desire was always there, lurking in the shadows. It was so much easier to bind someone into doing what you wanted them to do than it was to trust that they’d do it on their own. People, whether they were human or something else, were so fickle sometimes. They’d leave you just as quickly as they’d come into your life to begin with. Cass had been abandoned so many times now that she often forgot what it felt like to be kept around. 

In any case, there was no time to dwell. Shan was already gone, and Cass followed suit quickly. She found the treasure room, she loaded her bag until it was almost too heavy to carry. She picked the things that looked the most expensive, and a few that just looked neat. Alex would like this trinket, she could give that one to Ariadne, that one there would look nice in Nora’s crypt. Some of the thievery was in the interest of selling things for a profit, sure, but some was more geared towards… gift shopping. It was a little more fun that way.

When she finished, she ducked down the hall to find Shan. The other woman wasn’t in the corner where they’d parted ways, so Cass headed in the direction where Shan had gone. She told herself Shan might need help, but honestly… she was just a little curious about what the other woman might be doing. She moved through the halls until she heard Shan’s voice, eyes wide and curious as she ducked into the office.

There was no hesitation from the selkie. When the spellcaster tried to push Shan off of him, even adding a forceful kick to the abdomen for good measure, the selkie instinctively grabbed whatever she could of him. The struggle was short-lived, as the man wasn’t as spry as he used to be, and in the end, Shan managed to grapple his hands and arms away from each other. Just in case he tried to burn off her eyebrows or something. With more technique than force, she slammed his head on his desk, stunning him for enough time that she could take her malfunctioning pelt out of the furred white coat that kept its hunger at bay. For the most part.

“Remember this thing, uncle? Found another spellcaster who’s also a tailor. Fancy man… Fancy dead man,” Shan grinned, relishing the horror in the old man’s eyes as she inched the surface of her pelt closer to his face. “N-no… Not that! Anything but that! Get it away from me! I know better mages! I can point you in their direction!” Under her arms, he squirmed, trying to escape but not risking accidentally touching the portable magic siphon. “Ah, yes! There’s the old Eggbert I know… Sacrificing others to save his skin… Even his loving niece. Tell Benny I miss her!” The man screamed, even before the pelt could savor the hairs on his flesh, the dwindling magic that surged through them. He screamed so much, two of his men suddenly entered the room, their weapons drawn. “Hey, what the hell are you doing? Stop!”

“What a drag…” Shan sighed and rolled her eyes. Before they could do anything, she pulled herself and the old man down on the floor, behind the desk, the pelt and her coat now wrapped around his desperate face. It would've been more amazing if she could’ve just dragged him into the water, but she made do with what she had.

The scene that played out from where Cass stood was a terrifying one. Neither Shan nor the presumed owner of the estate had seen her enter, and she went from preparing to greet her partner in crime to sinking into the shadows when she saw the altercation. This wasn’t what they’d come here for. Cass was a thief, not a violent person. No one was supposed to get hurt, no one was ever supposed to get hurt.

But apparently, Shan had different ideas. She must have from the start, right? The whole time, had she been manipulating Cass? Using her as a distraction so she could do… this? It took Cass a moment to realize what was happening, but when the pelt came out, she choked on a strangled breath. She remembered being a kid, young and wide-eyed and terrified. Remembered the man who’d used her to charge his pelt, the way she hadn’t felt like herself for so long after. Unable to so much as use her glamour, unable to do what she’d needed to do just to survive as a kid on the streets. The man Shan was attacking wasn’t fae — Cass would have sensed that — but did it matter? She was hurting him. She wasn’t supposed to hurt him.

Cass tried to swallow her fear. She yearned to be brave, to step forward and insist that Shan stop, but her heart was in her throat and her hands were shaking. There were only a few things that she was really afraid of, but selkies were undoubtedly one of them. After her experience with Marcus all those years ago, they were pretty close to the top of the list.

Before she could muster up her courage and step out, the guards ran in. And she was relieved, in spite of the bag of stolen goods on her shoulder. She didn’t want to confront Shan, didn’t want to face her fears now or ever. The guards rushed in, and Cass used the distraction to duck over towards the window. She looked over, catching Shan’s eye with a betrayed, horrified expression. They were supposed to share the loot, but Cass couldn’t imagine splitting it with her now. Not when her heart was pounding and she felt so small. She slipped out the window, leaving Shan to deal with the guards alone. She didn’t feel as bad about it as she should have.

— .◦°◦༻

[talentlesshuman]

Reposting so they're all in one place! In the future, I'll edit this post to add more if I make them instead of making new posts.

Lopunny and Buneary Fusions! I started by making these bunearies for fun, but ended up getting charity donation requests to draw lots of lopunny fusions!

edit 11/1/2024: Added pachurisu and parasect designs :)

edit 11/5/2024: Added ribbonbee and typhlosion evo lines

edit 11/22/2024: added frillish and miraidon designs

[undeadkyart]

drawin the dex collection 5!

[colision-de-palabras]

-Créditos al autor.

[chicacrazy0]

[winespace-post]

Él no tiene idea de cuánto amor tengo para darle, pero por mi salud mental prefiero no hacerlo más.

[escritos-literarios99]

Quiero ser lo mejor para mi, porque lo mejor para los demás ya traté de serlo y nunca fue suficiente.

[paraily]

”Stop romanticizing abuse!” Okay, first of all, I’m FETISHIZING it. Get it right.

[black-beauty-poetry]

El amor realmente enceguece a las personas.

-Dark prince

[simplygoingmadd]

blasting my silly little music and creating my silly little daydreams so i don’t lose my silly little mind

[yo-espero-que-me-leas]

[plunderwater]

TIMING: Recent LOCATION: Sea Breeze Boathouse, Harborside, White Crest PARTIES: Shan "Aika" (@plunderwater) & Jasper (@eatdearth) SUMMARY: Shan "Aika" and Jasper go on a boat ride together! With Val the dog! CONTENT WARNINGS: Technically an attempt on someone's life

The last time Shan was around these parts was not that long of a time. At least not in her seal form. Renting a boat has never been something she was interested in either. For obvious reasons. Why row a boat, after all, when you can swim far better than any boat could float? But she did promise some guy she’d keep him company. Much easier to get secrets out of someone when they’re alone or lonely. Big catch if they’re both.

“Well, hello, handsome!” Shan waved at the arriving man from a distance, a huge smile on her face. Finally, he has arrived. Finally, they can rent a boat as per their discussion, all expenses paid by him, of course. Most importantly, finally, she can drag someone deep into the waters for a laugh or two. It’s not like she’s going to leave him there, anyway. It’s always more fun when they start wheezing, trying to catch their breaths, after her game. “Are you ready for some fun?”

The recent surge of arcane power from the blue moon has certainly made Jasper much more confident than usual. The geology professor had always been a little awkward, if not hilariously annoying. This time, however, it was evident in his strut, in the way he winked and smirked at everyone he passed by in his path to the boathouse, that he was feeling like a new man, maybe even a different man. It hadn’t been too long ago since he lost his face to the mines, thanks to a volmugger with a gagging problem, a traumatic tragedy in his life, but now here he was, already experiencing another strange, supernatural occurrence in just a few months, only this time, he’s liking it.

At the sight of the lovely young woman waving at him, Jasper would’ve gone cartoon wolf and made that ‘awooga’ noise. Given enough time, and perhaps leeway, he would’ve. But Val tugged on her leash, forcing the earth magician to focus his attention on her or risk an escape into the water. Despite their, well, differences, Val and Jasper decided on a truce, realizing this trip would benefit both parties: Val, so she can finally leave the creepy manor Jasper’s uncle bequeathed him, and Jasper, so he can finally leave the creepy manor his uncle bequeathed him. 

All those days moping and skulking because of his missing face left Jasper gravely in need of this trip. He was very excited when he realized he would be experiencing it with a beautiful stranger, so much so, he didn’t even care if Val was included in the package. “You must be…the person I’ve been talking to online! How do you do? You look absolutely amazing! Stunning, even!” 

Shan smirked as soon as he opened his mouth. Her first thought was that he must be an experienced charmer, though something about him made her very curious. Almost like he was being too much of a charmer. In her line of work, too much of anything can be very revealing. Especially when it comes to strangers. Trying to match his excitement, Shan widened her grin and offered her hand to shake. An introductory refresh should balance the scales between them. “Aika Chan,” she gave her one of her aliases without a single sense of hesitation. She’s done this before. Numerous times already. It was second nature by now. “And I see you’re quite the ladies’ man, professor.” Professor Jasper H. Langston. Geology professor at the University of Wicked’s Rest, Maine. She already knew him. At least the things on his online profile. She wasn’t quite sure digging further would be necessary. Maybe she’ll find out soon enough.

A stolen glimpse, a momentary distraction, however, revealed something else, something much more important — The professor had a dog! Crap! The swear word quickly exploded in her head, though it was already too late. Shan was already bowing down, toward the dog, already squealing like an elated lover, drowning in good, positive vibes at the mere presence of a furry cutie. “Aww! Who do we have here? You have a very adorable wingman, professor!” She heaved a sigh of joy, giddy at the four-legged angel. “Who’s a good boy?” 

Aika Chan? Jasper paused, caught off guard by the name. Not because it was suspicious, at least not to him, but because it sounded so very cute! Like how the girls say their names, introduce themselves, in those Japanese cartoons. Wait, is she Japanese? Jasper would have lucked out if that’s the case. He does love gyoza. “Aika Chan… That’s a lovely name,” he gave her his hand, waiting for her to reciprocate so that he could shake her most likely soft fingers. “Am I? I can only attest to the fact that I am indeed a professor… Professor Jasper H. Langston, University of Wicked’s Rest, Maine!” There was pride in his introduction. A lot of it.

But before he could turn that pride into something else, Val took over the scene, stealing the show with her cuteness. The half-beagle, half-Japanese spitz bounced on all fours as she skipped toward Aika, her tongue out and her tailing wagging excitedly. Aside from Jasper’s coworker/ex, the dog has suffered a lack of beauty around her, with only the spellcaster and the boring silence keeping her company since the death of her previous owner, who was Jasper’s late uncle. Without much prodding, Val was all over Aika, sniffing and licking whatever she could of her, much to Jasper’s dismay. “She’s a she, actually,” he scratched his head, an awkward smile on his face. “Her name’s Val. She’s 50% beagle and 50% Japanese spitz.” 100% butthole.

Yes, I already knew that. Shan hid the truth of her prior knowledge of his identity behind her impressed gaze complete with wide eyes and an innocent smile. A geology professor might not be the most useful of contacts, but he does seem very proud of his affiliation with the university. Who knows? Maybe she can make use of him in other ways. A quick but thorough look-over of the otherwise charming and dusky man seemed to support that thinking. Underneath that pride must be an equally potent virility. “A pleasure to meet you, professor!”

“May I?” Shan posed the question to both the human and the dog but did not wait for the former’s answer. When Val allowed her to touch and pet her furry being, the selkie took the opportunity to carefully and gently lift the dog and carry her in her arms. As if Val’s cuteness had given her the extra strength to do so. At least for the few seconds that she could. Shan gracefully deposited Val back on the ground when she realized she could not keep the physical charade up, awkwardly giggling to mask her failure. “I’m so sorry! I’m getting way ahead of myself! Should we find a boat first?”

“Oh, yes, of course!” Jasper was so caught up between getting jealous of Val and getting distracted by Shan Aika’s charming good looks that he almost forgot what they were there for. No matter. That was easily remedied. He was a well-dressed man. She was a very attractive young woman. And they had a dog with them. Talking up the boat rental girl was easier than making next week’s lesson plan. In a span of minutes, seconds even, Jasper had secured all three of them (sadly Val had to be there) a boat. Not long after, they were on it, rowing across the waters, all three of them (sadly Val had to be there). “You do this often, Miss…Chan?”

It was a strange feeling. Not just the unexpected but welcomed surge of mystical powers in his bones, not just the trauma of having his face stolen by a creature he did not understand in a place he could barely make sense of, but also being a distance away from any semblance of earth. Jasper, being a spellcaster with a strong elemental affinity to the element of earth, had never been that far from the ground, off the ground, with the sole exception of the plane rides he had to take during his overseas seminars. This was perhaps the first time he was distant from his element in his hometown. As he rowed and rowed, that was all he could think of, though a stolen glimpse of Aika and Val made him smile. This was the perfect family he’s always sought, the vision of which, an idealized version. Shame it wasn’t real. At least not yet.

“Perfect day for a boat ride,” Jasper muttered under his breath, uncertain if she’d hear him, though he wouldn’t mind either way. “Perfect company, too…”

“Not often,” Shan purred, as she combed Val’s fur, the satisfied dog on her lap. They sat across from Jasper who had to row on his own, as there was nowhere else to sit and Shan had lamented her lack of upper body strength to ferry the three of them across the waters. Jasper seemed at that moment like any giddy lover, one who craved the opportunity to impress their better half and make themselves feel worthy in everyone’s watching eyes. It was a role she liked to play against, mostly because it gave her more power than the others tended to realize until it was already too late. “I prefer actually getting down and dirty in the water… You know? Get wet.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Shan gave her her sweetest smile, the best one she had in her arsenal. Funny story: That same smile was actually stolen from a naive boy in Japan. Or was it Korea? Either way, she was the last person he ever shared that smile with. “You flatter me too much! I could say the same thing…” No, she could not. Jasper didn’t seem like anyone important to, well, anyone. Might as well just spend the day with his cutie patootie dog! “I don’t think I’ve ever been with a distinguished professor before…” She had. Years ago. But that one wasn’t a geologist. “And a geologist at that!” The selkie made the effort to flutter her eyelashes, making him feel she had more of her interest than he actually did. Most people rarely get that opportunity. That was why, whenever it happens, all the moths slowly surrender to the flame. No questions asked. Only she had them. The questions. A lot of them. As per usual. 

“Does that mean you know a lot about the recent goings-on in town?” Shan tried to be as coy as possible, but with all the flirting and the faux weakness she had shown him, surely he wouldn’t think of her as anything more than just a curious little lady throwing so much interest in him and his line of work. “With the crystals and the mines?”

Jasper almost choked on air when the lovely woman spoke the words “dirty” and “wet” but mostly only after his dirty mind processed the equally unclean association of those words with her existence. He was an idiot, too, so that didn’t help. He quickly tried to regain his composure by returning her smile, chuckling with the confidence of a confidant at the exchange of the flattery. “Oh? But you’ve been with other professors before?” A stupid question, prompted mostly by his lack of other alternatives. “Yes, you could say that. Crystals, the mines, face thieves made of crystals from the mines… One could say I’m an expert on those things and more!”

Just because he got his face stolen doesn’t technically make him an expert on any of those things, especially the part about there being more. Jasper was a geologist. That was it. He was an expert in geology. That was it. Anything more, especially the supernatural? He was a noob. Barely even well-versed in the basics. But he was surging with power and pride, so he felt like he was the king of the world. Or at least, of the town. “Why do you ask? Are you interested in crystals and the mines? Because I could maybe take you on an expedition…maybe?” 

They were so far from the rest of the docks now, shrouded by the distance, barely visible to anyone who dared to care. In fact, if anything happened to either of them right then and there, no one would probably notice. Jasper thought about this, strangely, but immediately focused all his attention on the beautiful Aika. Maybe they’d share a kiss there, away from prying eyes. Ohoho!

Shan nodded, a playful smirk on her lips, already expecting Jasper’s manly man brain to go this route, “Plenty of professors.” She even made sure to add a hefty helping of confidence in that delivery, pride as well, just to draw him in. Like fish to bait. “Some of them, not even mine.” The truth was not far off, however. Shan has been with several professors, though not in that context. In her line of work, having access to an expert close by was always a boon. Speaking of experts…

“An expert? That’s very impressive! Only with you leading me by the hand, Professor,” Shan giggled. Like a schoolgirl. Or more accurately, the bait to his fish. It wasn’t just because he was a professor, too. Most men, though to be fair, also her, have a special place in their heart, a soft soft spot in an otherwise hard location, for school girls. Japan’s greatest export, maybe. A cultural gift. “Oh, we’re so far from prying eyes now, it seems,” the selkie feigned obliviousness to their current whereabouts, even though she had designed the entire play, so to speak. 

Releasing Val from her arms, Shan carefully inched her way closer to Jasper, her eyes seemingly drawn to his lips. “I think you have something on your lips, Professor…” She made sure to stop a breath away from him, her lips from his lips, enticing the man to take the first step, tricking him into thinking he still had control over the situation, even though the selkie had already researched him months ago. 

It wasn’t that hard, considering he had revealed as much online, starting with how he had lost his face in the mines. All Shan needed to do was follow him where she could, chat up or overhear the students that attend his class, even befriend his ex who also works at the university… All he needed to do was kiss her, have a little taste of her lips, let her pull him close… Into the waters. All her pelt needed to do was consume his magic, and if he had none, well, who was going to miss a geology professor who had no social life?   

Jasper’s eyes grew wider than he thought they ever could, and his grin did the same. He wasn’t a prude. He didn’t have the time or the right to be one. Hell, he didn’t even want to be one. People deserved the opportunity to enjoy themselves, their bodies, and Jasper would be lying if he said he didn’t want that opportunity for himself either, especially since he rarely got one. 

“You’re more impressive, I think,” Jasper almost howled, and he did in his head. Like a cartoon wolf. Awooga. “I would not mind the opportunity…to have you join an expedition in the future. I can check my calendar and maybe we can compare schedules once we’re back on dry land, hopefully at my place?”

But it seemed that they didn’t need to wait to get back on dry land, much to Jasper’s excitement. At first, he was worried he’d look like a fool in front of Aika, thanks whatever grime was on his lips. He tried to remember what he had for breakfast and failed. Was it jam? Was jam going to ruin this otherwise wonderful boat trip? 

No. Apparently, it was just an excuse for her to get closer, and how could Jasper decline an opportunity given to him so obviously? With only a second of hesitation, trying to gauge whether she’d pull away (he thanked his luck when she did not), the geology professor planted a soft kiss on the beautiful lady’s scrumptious lips and felt “sparks” fly around them, him, all over the place.

The selkie wasted no more time. As soon as Jasper kissed her, Shan pulled him close, her arms wrapping around him, his back, his body, like an octopus wrapping its tentacles around its prey. His dog stared at them, a little miffed, but perked up when the selkie leaned back, throwing herself and Jasper into the waters. Val barked and barked and barked, but it was too late. The dog could do nothing else but wag its tail and bark in alarm at the loss of her owner as splashing water almost ruined her dry fur.

This wasn’t the first time that Shan had done this, and she doubted that it would be the last. With her pelt malfunctioning, its hunger for magic too strong for the selkie to overcome, she had to resort to this tedious process. The manner would often be different — sometimes her victims would fall on dry land, without the need to drown in water — but the point was always the same: for her to survive, these spellcasters and fae must be sacrificed. Not something she wanted personally, in fact she loathed the thought of it because she perceived it beneath her, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Shan felt the panic set in within Jasper as soon as he realized what had happened. Or more appropriately, the change in location. Most men aren’t quick on the draw, especially if the selkie’s lips were still on theirs. Confusion takes them first. Why are we wet? Are we floating? Did our boat sink? But the panic can never be denied. Even if the mind remains clueless, the body will do whatever it can to survive. The struggling was annoying to her, but they were in her waters now, her territory, and all things considered, she had the home field advantage. Until… 

At first, Jasper just thought Aika was pulling him closer, on top of her, as all lovers kissing on a boat tend to do. At least that’s what he thought they did. But then things got a little wetter. Jasper thought their kiss was getting more passionate, more unruly, more uncontrollable. Because of course it would be, considering they both wanted this. But then things got a little too wet for his comfort and everything else, including his clothes, were now soaked. That couldn’t have been just a kiss, right? Definitely nothing normal.

So he panicked. His eyes shot wide open, the waters around him and her surprising the geology professor. Did she throw them overboard? Aika didn’t look like she was worried, much to Jasper’s concern. To him, she was enjoying herself so much, she was oblivious to the danger they were in. He tried to pull away, shake her awake, and even drag her upward, back to the boat, but her grip felt stronger, tighter, and the waters as well. They were going to drown. They were going to die down there. 

All rationality left Jasper, replaced by his survival instincts. His body and his mind did not want him to die down there, did not want Aika to die down there with him. But they could only do so much. Luckily for him, there was another aspect of the geology professor that could do more. A lot more. So, as soon as Jasper started to lose consciousness, his magic kicked in, wild and surging, overfed by the strange blue moon that the scientist could not explain himself. 

Pieces of rocks and stone from the waterbed suddenly shot up, a few hitting Aika, like missiles aimed at Jasper, except they didn’t hit him. All they did was surround him, forming a shell of sorts, before sending him back out of the water, spitting him on the nearest shore and crumbling like sand swallowed by the sea. The geologist was still unconscious but at least he was no longer drowning.

Where did the projectiles come from? Even under attack, Shan was still trying to make sense of things before taking cover. When the first hit came, however, when she was struck by one of the rocks for the first time, her instincts took over, and the selkie quickly spun around to avoid the second. At the same time, she withdrew her pelt hidden sneakily within the fur coat around her shoulders, the entire thing technically the pelt wrapped inside a thin but magical bag that resembled a fur coat’s exterior. It was a hard thing to acquire, rather a hard thing to make a spellcaster give her, but everyone would do anything to live. Just like Jasper and his magic, it seemed.

More rocks started to unearth themselves from the ground below, deep underwater, forcing Shan to wear her pelt despite it still needing a bit of mystic juice. Can’t be helped, however. She was ambushed by some sort of surging earth spell. If she delayed any further, she and her pelt would be floating in the waters, only found much later by curious passersby. Shan wasn’t going to die there. Not anytime soon. Draining the few magic that remained in the pelt, Shan transformed, and as quickly as she could, mostly because she feared taking her time would endanger both her and her pelt further, the Seal swam away to safety, catching a stolen glimpse at the last minute of the strange earthen shell, egg, that had consumed Jasper and whisked him back up to safety. So close.

Like Jasper, Shan managed to get herself back to shore as well, though he was nowhere to be found. She quickly took off her pelt, scowling at how her prey had escaped her. All she needed was for him to go unconscious for a few, so that she could steal his magic. She wasn’t going to kill him…probably. Shan planned to get him back to the boat as soon as her pelt was recharged. Did she consider his survival heavily? Not really, but she didn’t consider his death heavily as well. That should count for something, right? 

“Ugh, looks like it’s back to the drawing board,” Shan heaved a sigh of disappointment, shaking her head, as she picked herself off of the ground, once again stowing her pelt within her fur coat, rolling it to give the exterior the bounce most people liked, them oblivious to the true danger the somewhat fashionable apparel hid. “But we’ll meet again, Professor… That’s a promise.” 

When Jasper came to, he was back on solid ground. His throat immediately tried to regurgitate the remaining water in it, violently forcing as many of the foreign liquid out as possible. The geology professor coughed and spat and technically vomited the waters out, heaving on the ground as he turned himself as upright as he could, only noticing then that he wasn’t alone. Val barked, wagging its tail. The dog looked concerned, the first time she had ever been when it came to him, and sniffed him all over. When their eyes met, however, and Val realized its late master’s only living relative was pretty much all right, even though Jasper was wet and still suffering the effects of almost getting drowned, the dog raised its nose at him and looked away. 

“So you do care about me?” Jasper coughed, chuckling. He couldn’t believe all he needed to do for his late uncle’s dog to show some semblance of affection toward him was to almost die. He’d done worse for a human girl. “Exposed!” He doubled down, much to Val’s annoyance. The dog growled and sat with her back, mostly butt, to him, pretending to not care about his well-being anymore. Maybe it no longer did. After all, Jasper was now conscious enough to pick himself off the ground, and Val did not have to worry about who’ll feed her anymore. “Where is…”

A sharp pain in his head interrupted his train of thought. Jasper coughed again, drops of saltwater still inside him. Maybe even clinging to his lungs or whatever. Shaking his head, he tried to pick up Val but the dog was like eww no you’re wet you dipshit and avoided his touch. Jasper grinned. Shaking his head again, he gestured for Val to just follow him as he tried to find their way home. “That’s the last time I’ll go on a date with a hot girl I’ve never met.” It won’t.

[saciada]

estou cansada de deixar que todos tenham o meu melhor enquanto recebo qualquer coisa.

alessandra braga — saciada.

[lelouch]

Protests and memorials in honor of the first and only openly nonbinary Mexican magistrate, Jesús Ociel Baena Saucedo, in CDMX, Aguascalientes and Mexicali.

Ociel advocated for laws protecting LGBT people, trans youth, equal marriage, gender identity recognition, between others. They inspired a lot of trans and gnc people in the country, being widely celebrated for their advocacy in court and for being open about their relationship with gender.

On the morning of November 13, 2023, Ociel was found murdered with their partner in their house. Police said they didn't have "enough proof" to consider it a homicide.

Justice for Ociel, for Karen, for Renata, for Paola, for Naomi, for Dayanne, for Ivonne, for Valeria, for every trans person murdered in this country and in the world.

[colision-de-palabras]

-Jesh Rojas.