#I don't know I'm very fascinated by these little creatures lol

[coockie8]

How, exactly, does Issun's glow work up close? 'Cause I know in-game, they kinda just fade it out, but like... He's got a bright fucking glow; like 800 lumens at least bright, and sticking my face really close to a light bulb has not caused the light it's putting out to "fade", so I'm just... Confused.

Can he dim it on command? We know the colour can change depending on his emotional state, to at least two different colours; red for when he's pissed and yellow for when he's trying to get attention (I think, this one's not super clear). But exactly how the Poncles work, biologically, is not something that's ever really covered in-game in anyway that really matters.

We know they're bio-luminescent and the colour of such can change. We know they have ant-like strength; they can jump wildly high, and Issun is shown lifting a full Sake jug at least 100x his size, and yeeting it several feet upward at one point. We know they have a close spiritual relationship with the Gods, a relationship they cultivate through artwork.

And... That's pretty much it. And I have so many fucking questions.

[britneyshakespeare]

Man is saying weird things to me again

[featherwingfae]

So the nonhuman theme of the day that I've been seeing on the Internet seems to be self doubt both due to internal and external influences.

My response to this theme is this. You are who you are. And no one can tell you who you are but you. (The rest of the post is pretty much just this^^ in way more detail than necessary. You have been warned lol. Buckle up this is gonna be a long one. Literally took all day to write 😅)

Most of us live in a society where we've been told since infancy who we are are and what we must be, and if we don't fit in the predesignated boxes then there must be something wrong with us and we just need to be forced into a box. But just think about the vastness of life for a second. From macro to micro there's just so much to everything it's breathtaking. Everything is layered. Why should one being's existence be any different. There is what is seen and then there is everything else. Some thing's don't need to be understood by others, because they are not there for others. They are simply there. Wether we understand them or not. And that in itself (I think) is quite lovely.

I am Fae. Not just because of ______. I am Fae because it is simply what I am. It's what feels right.

It's ok to just exist. It's ok to live without ever fitting into boxes or labels. And if you find a label or box that fits you, that's ok too. It's your existence. Do what makes you happy. I've also found that sometimes, finding that feeling that you fit somewhere, comes first and the reasons why come after. Be patient. I know it's maddening sometimes when you've got a million questions bumping about in your head, or even just one or two burning ones, but life is a journey. A mystery to uncover through experiences.

I could give you a whole laundry list of reasons why I can call myself Fae. But at the end of the day, the only reason I need is that it feels right. I don't need to act like the stereotypical Fae (from folklore, media etc), I don't need to have magical experiences, I don't need memories. Keep in mind that your nonhuman identity does not need to match anyone else's.

If you're a Fae who loves technology and finds the modern age fascinating. Guess what? There's nothing wrong with that. (I LOVE Minecraft 😁 Though that may or may not have to do with the fact that I get to fly around and build whatever I want from nothing. Yes I'm obsessed with creative mode 😅 I usually get bored in survival)

If you're a Therian who's never enjoyed being on all fours or who doesn't like gear. It doesn't make you any less Therian. Do what makes you happy 😊.

If you're some ancient entity and you use an ungodly (hehe) amount of emojis and/or abbreviations (ex. Lol, omg, etc) it doesn't make you any less ancient or awesome. Do what you enjoy. You are too old to not be having as much fun as you can experience. I'm also an ancient creature, you really think I want to spend my time not doing what makes the happy chemicals 😊✨👁️🪽😁.

If you're an Alien who's not obsessed with space stuff. That's ok. Human portrayals probably don't do it justice anyway, and there's so many other things to be interested in. Like have you seen mushrooms? Those funky little guys come in so many varieties it's absolutely delightful 😊🍄✨.

If you're a vampire who can't stand the sight of blood. Don't worry about it. I can almost guarantee you're not alone (plus there's a lot of different types of vampires. If you know you are/were definitely sanguine then you're still valid 😊).

If you're fictionkin and you're absolutely nothing like your fictionkin type/character. That's ok 😊. People often change with their experiences, it doesn't make you any less yourself.

That last one applies to most nonhumans identities in general honestly 😅.

If you're an angel that doesn't/didn't have big feathery wings. You are still an angel. The universe is filled with too much color and variety for me to believe that all ______ have the same or very similar designs. I've never heard of an angel with dragonfly or beetle wings. That doesn't mean they don't exist 🙃.

You can be a plant who loves salads, a placekin who hates going outside, an objectkin that doesn't use it/it's pronouns or is super expressive, a vampire who adores sunbathing or just sunlight in general, a carnivore that doesn't like meat, an avian that's afraid of flying or heights, a demon with a heart of gold, a deity with social anxiety and/or low self esteem, an herbivore that loves going hunting, a dragon who prefers minimalism, an aquatic creature who doesn't like water, a void that's constantly overthinking, you can match all the known stereotypes for your nonhuman identity or none at all. You can have phantom shifts constantly or never get any, you can have countless identities, you can have just one, you can remember your past life/lives in detail or remember nothing at all, you can believe in past lives and souls, or not, your identity can be psychological, physical, spiritual, etc.

It's s your identity. No one else's. Just because you choose to share yourself or your identity with someone else does not mean they own you or your identity. It is, was and always shall be, yours. (Btw please please please, be careful who you share your nonhuman identity with. Not everyone is going to "get it". And not everyone is going to accept it. Stay safe, mentally, physically, emotionally etc.)

They say names have power. They also say not all things are what they seem. Whatever your nonhuman identity looks like, only you can know what it truly is. Understand that I am not saying that the appearance of one's nonhuman identity should be dismissed altogether, especially when one is still questioning. I am saying, that we shouldn't rely solely upon appearances. If your nonhuman identity fits in the category of x as far as appearances go but x just doesn't feel like it fits, then chances are, you're not x, or there's more to it than just x. I've known I was Fae since right around 2019. However I doubted myself for a long time because as far as I knew Fae were "supposed to have insect wings" and on top of having big feathery wings, I have a lot of them. In fact many of my nonhuman features could be considered angelic. However I've never felt particularly comfortable identifying as an angel. It just never felt like the right fit. It took awhile but eventually after I'd already accepted that my "angelic features" didn't make me any less Fae. I remembered why I had those features to begin with, and it all just clicked into place.

It's ok to not have all the answers or even the correct answers right away. Life is experiences. From moment to moment you are who you are. Things may change, new truths may be revealed, that doesn't make you or your identity any less real. You are whoever you are right now. Wether that is someone/something from everything you have ever been or ever shall be or just one thing right now, unconnected to anything else. You are not fake for changing. You're not fake for not changing. Most have doubts about themselves about all sorts of things. To the point where it seems like doubt is just part of the human world experience (not saying it's only a human world experience, just that everyone here seems to doubt themselves about something or other) and perhaps working through our doubts is a lesson of this place, then again maybe not 🤷. In the end what you believe is up to you😊.

Now, I'm not expecting that this single post from a total stranger will erase all your doubts. Not at all. I didn't write it to erase doubt, but rather to give it a little bit of something to fight against. To plant just one more seed in the hearts and minds of others who might need it or whom it might help in any way. This post is far from the only one out there, fighting doubt in its many forms and faces. And what I've said has already been said in many times and ways. But it's my take and not everything will click with everyone. If this post helps even just one being, then it has served it's purpose. Each and every single one or plural of us is unique in our own ways. And I truly believe that's one of the most wonderful things about life as a whole.

If you've read this far, I apologize if I got a bit carried away and made this post longer than necessary but it means a great deal to me and things that matter to me are very difficult to "sum up" 😅. And if you follow me. I warn you now that most of my posts will probably be a bit lengthy if not extremely so.

And now my dear creatures, crawlers, beasts, beauties, hellions, heavenlies (no I don't care that that's not a word it is now lol), magicals, marvels, wonders, wanderers, wildlings, winged things, whimsies, and whatsits (and everything beyond and in between) I wish upon you a most wonderful day/night. May you always know/remember that your existence makes the world a more magical place. 🌍✨ (And in my opinion we could use all the magic we can get 😊)

👁️🪽✨🍄🍀🪻🌱🥀❄️🌟✨

Till next time.

[teenandbeyond]

I've noticed your predator/alien franchise doesn't have anything for xenomorph. Let's change that lol. Could I get something that has a similar storyline like the one that says dark reader on it the one where the reader is obsessed with aliens.. It's made me curious tbh

Xenomorph x Dark. Reader

Mx. Anonymous, you read my mind! I was wondering when someone would request this! And you don't need to apologize, since it's fanfiction, we're just gonna say eff reality for a moment (even though the whole thing is fictional...but you get it).

Want more from me, my Infinites (I'm trying out a follower name thing lol. I'll probably shuffle through random ass names until one works)? 𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆

👽Discoveries👽 (Aliens)

Warning(s): Dark Fic (dunno if it came out as dark as I wanted), Non-con details, unprotected, triggering(?), size difference, I don't know where I went with this (this is what happens when I write parts at different times, I guess)

Sometimes experimentation leads to temptation...

✨✨✨✨✨✨

"You're crazy, [Last Name]!"

You tapped the end of your pen against your lip in thought before smiling, "Maybe, but crazy gets better results than normal. Ask any of the greatest geniuses, they'll tell you."

You were labeled as the crazy scientist because you suggested cross breeding. Between Xenomorph—or Aliens, the term used for common folk—and humans.

'It's impossible!'

'It's wrong! Don't you have any morals?' they cried.

'You want to talk to me about morals? Ha! Who are the ones who take creatures as they please and experiment to their heart's content, past what's necessary, simply for nosiness and fear of not knowing everything?'

You always shut them up any time they felt a need to comment on you.

"Sometimes the most impossible things can be made possible," you muttered as you scribbled something in your many notebooks dedicated to this theory.

You could admit you were pretty obsessed with Xenomorphs, you found them fascinating. You studied them with a passion.

You wanted one...and the opportunity came when a group of scientists arrived with a captured Xenomorph.

They were studying it to come up with a defense against them, you, among a few other scientists decided to spectate.

And all hell broke loose.

Turns out, someone from the group had gotten infected. You had to figure that out when a man's stomach burst open.

There was panic as the other scientists fell victim, until the newest creature was contained.

The two aliens were to be stored away since the team leading the experiment was now dead, until someone else decided to take it over.

That was your opening.

You took the fully grown one to your private lab, where everything was already set up.

The huge cylinder it was in was a little heavy, but you made it work. You pushed a button that would release an anesthetic-type liquid into the fluid the creature was summered in.

Once it was confirmed to be unconscious, you released it and properly restrained it, tail and all. You loved risks, but not when the result could stop your experimenting from proceeding...you can't test things if you're dead.

"Now...let's get your vitals connected to my database..." you tapped away at your screen until the patches and machinery you'd connected to it did their job, "There you are...and you are a very healthy Xenomorph."

You went through a few experiments of merging DNA samples, but something was missing. You couldn't figure out what it was.

You were disturbed from your deep thoughts by a pathetic escape attempt behind you.

"Oh, you're awake. I should introduce myself," you approached the alien carefully, "I'm your caretaker. And you're all mine for the time being."

It continued to struggle, hissing at you as you calmly took off your lab coat and put on gloves.

"Now, for a physical examination..."

Your hand slowly trailed down the alien's head and jaw, raising a brow as its struggle turned hesitant.

You heard a rumbling sound from its throat, the mouth covering muffling it.

"So...you aren't completely adverse to touch, hm?"

Then you explored its shoulders and arms, you trailed lower to its sides.

"Everything seems to be in order so far...You really are a beautiful specimen..." you sighed in fascination.

You were mesmerized and edging towards getting aroused.

And the alien could smell it, it was reacting.

Visibly reacting.

You smirked, "Oh...well, look at that. I've made the discovery of a lifetime."

So much research had been done, but never have sexual organs been found on an alien. But you supposed it wasn't common for someone to show arousal in their presence.

"Standing at attention just for me...What should I do with you?"

You were absolutely breathless.

But who could blame you, you were stretched to your limits. And there were still quite a few inches of it that didn't fit inside.

There was some defiance at the beginning, but this alien would just be the next being to know you always got what you wanted in the end.

And the hotter you got and the louder you got, ashamed defiance turned into lustful acceptance.

You balanced on your hands best you could, your feet also supporting you, but they were beginning to become less reliant the more they curled.

Its skin felt cool and smooth, a stark contrast to your heat and muscle. It made you shiver in the best ways as you slowly slid up and down.

"I think I might—keep you."

You were becoming more obsessed by the minute, perhaps your rationality was being manipulated by the smell of sex and sweat.

Or maybe because the alien tried and failed to keep itself quiet, sensitive to your every move.

A cute little virgin it was.

All yours to use as you've wanted. You could possibly get a sample once you were done, see if it gave different results.

Everything was in your control, until it wasn't.

The alien decided it'd had enough of your slow pace.

It thrusted up in quick strokes, making your body move so quickly it looked like it was shaking.

With a groan, your nails dug into its arms, then you gasp as it breaks out of its restraints.

For a moment, you think it'll attack, and it does.

It flips you under and bullies itself back into you, forcing in every inch.

A brutal attack that leaves you trying to catch your breath.

With a growl behind its mask, it pummels into you.

With fascination, you feel the bulge it creates and swear you can see it, but you're a little disoriented right now.

Your vision flashes from the pleasure and pain, your body is tingling.

"You—You're my discovery to keep," you grin.

[squarebracketsmileyface]

you mentioned before that tim and brian would have a hypothetical kid named jesse down the line, if jesse is going to be canon, what is he like and what is his relationship with his parents and sister?

Honestly I haven't thought much about Jesse simply because he's so far in the future and I've been very preoccupied with Birdie and Tim, but I have put at least a little thought into his relationship with his parents and sister. Well, mostly his sister lol.

He adores Birdie from the get go, is absolutely fascinated by her and constantly wants to be held by her. He'll fuss when she leaves the room etc. he's such a big sisters boy (is that a word? Like mummy's boy or daddy's girl? Whatever) he adores her, and she adores him back, constantly brings him bugs to look at and all that. He did try to put one in his mouth a few times when he was a baby though so she has to keep the bugs just out of baby-arm's reach 💀

She's also his number one defender when he starts school. They're both autistic and very weird with it (Birdie with her insects and Jesse with I think it was lizards? Reptiles and lizards and stuff like that I'm pretty sure?) so unfortunately Jesse does get bullied a bit... Until his big sister brings in the insect the kid bullying Jesse is most scared of the next day and just sorta follows him around with it, telling him facts about it while he's crying because she's chasing him with some terrifying creature in hand. She threatens to put it on him if he picks on Jesse again (even though she definitely wouldn't because the insect could get hurt that way) and yeah, Jesse doesn't get picked on again. After that he doesn't get bullied again, sorta? just that kinda mean "leaving that person out and not choosing them in PE etc" kinda bullying? That's still bullying but he's not getting physically bullied or insulted by his peers so?

He's got a couple of good friends though, and he has absolutely no qualms about spending lunch with his big sister. For the sake of me loving these two, they're at a very small school which has like, reception to year 11 —about 4 to 16 year old— kids all on one school, tho reception to year six —about 4 to 10/11 years old?— probably have their own playgrounds so they don't get kneed in the heads by older kids 💀. This is because I don't know how US schools work and I can't be bothered to work it out so I'm going with UK school age ranges and year names and all that. Basically Jesse and Birdie's primary school and highschool are the same place and Birdie can go onto the primary school playgrounds at lunch without getting yelled at by teachers (pretty sure you can't do that at UK schools either, even when primary and high school are on basically the same land, at least you couldn't at the schools I went to, but anyway)

When it comes to Jesse and his parents I've thought about it a lot less unfortunately 💀

I have thought about him and Tim a bit? Tho that was mostly me thinking about Tim and Birdie and coming up with something because of that. Anyway, Tim is a very anxious parent, he's lost so many people in his life and really struggles with not being able to see Birdie at all times, he was a major helicopter parent because he was constantly catastrophizing about something awful happening to her if he left the room for even a moment. And obviously he gets better with this over time, therapy works wonders so he was a little less of a helicopter with Jesse, but when Birdie moves away for University he really struggles with panicking about if she's okay. She phones him most nights to chat, but between those times he's gotta do something with his anxiety.

So, he puts all his focus into Jesse. Jesse's like, idk still under ten when Birdie's 18 and off to uni, so he's still living at home (duh) and Tim can just dote on him. So he does. Tim bakes with Jesse whenever he wants, let's Jesse help with making his dinner (even though it slows the process down exponentially), is happy to let Jesse stay up ten minutes longer whenever he wants (this isn't as bad as it could be though because in his head Tim's set Jesse's bedtime at like, half 8 at latest and he gives Jesse his "ten more minutes" at 7:20pm so like, Jesse's only feeling like he's going to bed late y'know?)

Jesse loves his dad's, absolutely adores them. Not as much as he adores his sister, but still a lot.

Also I keep thinking about giggly, bubbly, grinning baby and toddler Jesse sitting on Brian's lap while Brian does wheelies and spins in circles in his wheelchair. Jesse's definitely a "spinning in circles" autistic kid and his favourite way to spin is sitting in Brian's lap. Only issue there is Brian getting dizzy and not being able to do it for as long as Jesse wants lol.

[bitter-panacea]

Goultard's backstory, comparing the Dofus manga and the special episode Part 2 - Falling in love

Part 1

The special ep and the manga are the most different when it comes to Goultard falling in love.

The most notable difference is that Goultard falls in love with one witch instead of three. Certainly because they thought Gou having three girlfriends/wives at the same time wouldn't be politically correct enough for a short film meant to be showed to french tv channels as a way to prove Ankama had what it takes to make a tv show (Wakfu).

In the manga, Goultard goes after a trio of witches, the dark sisters, who keep stealing food from their village and causing chaos. He's not really interested in stopping them, really he's just charmed and intrigued... (maybe he's kinda fascinated... and wishes he could be free like they are idk idk maybe who knows)

Kiki : Alright girls, I've got everything we need... Let's go!

Guy : Well, Goultard? What the hell were you doing? These three witches ransacked the whole village! And you didn't even lift a finger!

Goultard : I... I don't know, I wasn't myself, they must have cast a spell on me... / Guy : A spell? My ass. You're losing it! Talk about a hero... You're a pervert, that's what you are!

The way this guy talks to him like he's a completely useless imbecile really proves Goultard's only respected as long as he does what people expect him to do...

So he throws a large boulder the size of a small boulder at them, making them drop the bag of stolen food.

Kiki : Listen little peasant, we don't want to hurt you. Give us that bag and you'll leave safe and sound. / Elvie : Pretty cute for a little peasant.

Goultard : Shush... A small demonstration is better than a long speech...

Kiki : You think we're impressed, you pretentious macho? (Still... A tree with only one finger!) Let's see what you can do againsnt our magic powers!

Dark sisters : Take this! / Goultard : I wonder which one is the cutest...

They insult him, make fun of him, threaten and eventually attack him... and I guess that totally does it for Goultard. This is also exactly what Algathe did before he fell in love with her, so I'm pretty sure that's just his type.

Goultard : Now, you've really gone too far... You've burnt all my clothes off! (Gou like "teehee oops i'm naked lol ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ " )

Kiki : It's impossible... No man can resist our magic! / Elvie : Seems like he can.

Goultard : Now, may I give you some advice? / Kiki : Keep your advice and take this!

Goultard : Please, don't make me hurt you! / Kiki : Ow, my arm. Where does this strength come from?

Goultard : No idea, I've always been pretty sturdy... Now, if you'll excuse me... I believe this bag of provisions must be returned to its real owner. See you later, girls! (omg nobody look! he's ass)

Ah yes... No creature could resist Goultard, whether monstrous or feminine... / Kiki : What a guy... / Elvie : I'd like casting a love spell on him.

They dont ever say it, but you cant make me believe that these three "single" witches, who people call "sisters", (who lived together secluded from "respectable society"?) and did petty crimes together, weren't all dating one another. Goultard was just the latest addition to their cute little polycule. Thanks to his idiot rizz. And supposedly huge dick (If Elvie says so I believe her)

Elvie : Oh! Now that's what I call a magic wand!

His dick pictured here, here and here (pictures kindly provided by @dj-m0th thank you lmao)

( ＾◡＾)っ✂╰⋃╯No!! you leave that thang alone!!

In the special episode, the unnamed witch initiates the flirting with Goultard.

She IS very cute even if she doesn't seem mean like Goultard usually likes.

They dont waste any time getting to know each other. As shown here by this VERY subtle broom riding illustration.

In the manga, the relationship takes a little more time to develop.

Thus, after a few months, the relationship between goultard and the dark sisters grew friendlier. They first began by repairing the damage they had caused and helped Goultard to fend off the most aggressive monsters.

Over time, the three sisters and goultard became more intimate / Kiki : Take your finger out of there, naughty boy...

Looks like they're having fun. Good for them, good for them....

His wedding was magnificent and thousands of warriors came to pay homage. They were even surprised to see some former enemies arrive during the ceremony.

(Cabotine isn't there, is she dead?)

Life went on and Goultard was the happiest hero in the world. / Monster : Goultard, you little worm, come taste my balls... / Goultard : Stay in bed, girls, I'll be back in five minutes... (He'll be back right after tasting this dude's balls I guess)

They had many children and lived happily ever after

They have four children, three boys and a girl. Riri, Fifi, Loulou, what the fuck is the daughter's name oh my god (Fun fact : Riri, Fifi and Loulou are the names of Donald Duck's nephews in french)

Goultard's family is what he cherishes the most in the entire world. He truly loves that simple domestic lifestyle....

And this is it! Happy ending! No looming threat in the dark and certainly no part 3 to this post.

Part 3 Part 4

[thunderwetter]

Shockwave's your icon, what about him?

Maybe medical play?

Shockwave! My favorite!!

Okay Imma try to keep this short and not ramble too much lol

Since you didn't specify any continuity, I'll just talk about him in my headcanon AU that is mostly based on IDW with some Prime thrown in. TLDR; - Scientific curiosity is equal to physical arousal - Outliers and other special frames are hot (Blurr, Megs, ...) - Partner is a bit like a science project, being analyzed and watched - Senator Past: Many flings, especially with commoners bc they felt like "forbidden fruit", likes being admired - Post-Institute: Not very active, still feels arousal but mostly ignores it for the sake of efficiency Curious about other characters? My ask box is open!

Longer version:

I think for Shockwave (any Shockwave, really, except for maybe Shockblast) scientific curiosity is kinda equal to actual arousal in terms of satisfaction. They go hand in hand. He'd be someone to overload with his mind instead/alongside of his body (if that makes any sense xD), he has a rather unique way of excitement.

I think one way this happens is that Shockwave would bring science "play" to the next level. Medical play, very similar, but he'd love to disassemble his partners, get to know them from the inside out. He'd probably never allow his partner to do the same to him though, he's been fully disassembled multiple times in IDW and I don't think it's very pleasant to him xD His partners are in a certain way test subjects, even if he's not taking them apart. His eye would watch and analyze every reaction.

He'd also be into Outliers. Big time. Why do you think he had his academy? They're one of the big fascinations that he kept from his Senator days. Whenever he sees Skywarp teleport or notice Soundwave read minds, his spark would skip a beat. He'd be keeping his eye on them for sure, heh. In general, I think he'd have a thing for "special frames", like Blurr with his super-speed or Megatron's warframe. Remember how in the Exodus novel he imagined an army of "Megatron-inspired supermechs"? (I swear I'm not making this up, that's the actual phrase the author used) Yeah, something like that.

I think as a Senator he might've had a thing for affairs with commoners too, with maybe a little bit of exhibitionism thrown in. Just the rush of being seen with someone of the lower classes would've given him this sense of tasting a forbidden fruit. Given how he used to be quite vain, he might also just have enjoyed being watched. I can see him as a mech who would prefer to ride his partners to make sure they see how his fresh paint shimmers in the dim light of a berthroom. Watch their faces and how they stare up to him. Oh yeah, Senator Shockwave was a whole different creature. He surely wouldn't have minded some body worship here and there, but only if it truly felt sincere, otherwise it'd be too much.

I don't think he indulges much in physical pleasure after the Epurata/Shadowplay happened, but his body and mind still reply to stimuli, even if he doesn't act on his desires. They get in the way of his science, mostly. He doesn't see them as illogical, but rather as bothersome. (He'd self-service if he couldn't handle the heat, but he has himself very well under control mostly)

[sophiesbookishthings]

May Reads

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

I get it. I get the Sanderson hype. This is book 1 of the Stormlight Archive. It is such an incredibly unique and creative book. It's absolutely everything I want out of a fantasy book. The world building is mindblowing. I mean, he even thought about how the grass would work differently. The grass! I feel like no one ever thinks about the little differences like that that make the world they're writing so much more real and interesting. And the characters are enjoyable too. It's very rare that I read a book where I'm equally invested in every single pov. There's usually always one where I'm waiting for the next to start. Not this one. I was equally invested in all of them. And yes this book is HUGE but it is 100% worth it and I know this series is going to live in my brain forever. I am going to stop now cause I could seriously write an essay. I cannot recommend this book/series highly enough.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (⭐️ and a secret 6th star)

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

This is a novella in the Lunar Chronicles about Queen Levana's backstory. I was looking forward to this one cause I love a good villain backstory and it sure delivered. Meyer did a great job of showing that yeah some bad things happened to Levana but she handled pretty much all of them so badly and how that made her who she became in the main series. It reminded me a lot of Snow's arc in the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes where he A) had a less than ideal childhood/family life and B) just kept making worse and worse decisions as the book went on and falling deeper into the villain role.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

The first thing I did when I opened this book and saw Dream was go "wait that's literally just Neil." I love that the artists did that. It made me laugh. So I watched the show before I read the comic and I'm impressed how accurate the show was. There are slight differences but I like both versions honestly. If you like comics or gothic horror, this is a good one to read

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

I found this book and was immediately intrigued. Octopuses are one of my favorite animals. I think they're fascinating and incredibly smart. My mom and I both ended up with a copy of this book, so we read it at the same time. It wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, but I did still really enjoy it. I really enjoyed how the main characters grew throughout the story. I especially loved the octopus pov. And I figured out how one character fit into the story before my mom. Which she didn't appreciate lol.

4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

Daindreth's Outlaw by Elisabeth Wheatley

I dont have a ton to say about this one. It felt very fast and like it was very much just a bridge from the first book to the third. That didn't make it a bad book, though, by any means. I did like the new sorceress character that was introduced and the magic/evil forest setting. I also enjoyed the fmc exploring and discovering her new powers.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

More Stormlight Archive! I genuinely don't know how I read 4 books between the first one and this one cause these books live permanently in my brain. I'm super excited about where this one left off. It was a really interesting place (literally lol). So much happened in this book and it was cool to see the characters grow in their power. And all the reveals! The backstory reveals, the whole deal with the parshendi (which was super sad), the deal with the spren and the shardblades, whatevers going on with szeth (who I love), and somebody not being dead (I knew it!). I particularly loved shallan in this book. I adore a manipulative protagonist. They just do something to my brain. And patterns a cutie. I was about to fight kaladin, though, and I love him too, but oh my god. I don't know. I could talk about this book forever, so I'm gonna just stop rambling and say that I loved it and leave it at that.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[puffpastrycrimewatch]

Mirame

Omg this took so long, I hope you guys like my world and want to see more it, I did doodles of all the gods so you have a visual of them, lol let me know who's your favorite and why

So, in my story Mirame the world is high fantasy

let's start with the a little bit about the world then gods we'll go over the races in a different post

The world

For now we're calling this world Mirame (Spanish for look at me)

Mirame has floating islands kept up by waves of magic left behind from dead gods, hollow mountains, magic that flows through almost anything, different planes of existence such as Gahenna (hell) that can be passed through with the right amount of magic, demons, fairies, bug people and much more!

The world is entering a Renaissance when the story starts, technology has just begun, there are magic trains and cars.

I'll go more into the depths in a separate posts in the future

GODS

The gods have different jobs to keep mortals alive and the plane of existence from falling, even if they don't want to, they don't all get along with each other, they're at each other's throats in the present

Brugmansia

(concept art, still feeling out her design)

The weaver of life, she's quite narcissistic and looks down on mortals, she has a son called tentsosra, she cares deeply for him, she also has a right hand man, he's more rude than brugmansia.

Brugmansia created a race called Erklings, she created them in her own image, she has very high standards for them and if they don't meet them there are consequences.

Mortals always hunt down her creations as trophies or for rituals, in order to stop humanity from touching her beautiful creations (creatures and plants) she created monsters that solely attack mortals, such as sirens, forest guardians, trolls, etc.

Brugmansia often kills mortals in the most brutal ways possible, to teach them a lesson.

brugmansia is very injured at the start of the story due to Satra attacking her with a new disease, at the start of the story brugmansia is at her weakest and most vulnerable.

Tentsosra

(concept art)

God of the elements, born from a seed brugmansia found and watered with her tears tentsosra was born, treated like a son making him loyal to Brugmansia willing to risk his life to protect her

He is kinder than his mother and more curious by nature

Tentsosra created a race of people called Obi that can change from human to animal, however they have been hunted to extinction at least that's what most think, barely anybody knows of their existence

Known for hunting mortals on Brugmansia's behalf

Tentsosra is worshiped by huntsman seeking a bountiful hunt as well as protection from brugmansia's creations.

Katabasis

(Since I already did a post about katabasis I'll just dig a little deeper into them and where and what their domain is)

God of the afterlife, they control what happens to your soul, Katabasis has direct connections to Gahenna (hell) and is in charge of keeping the peace with them, as an all out war for the mortal plane can spell out disaster.

Katabasis fascination with mortals is quite disturbing, Katabasis used to torture souls or treat them kindly to see their reactions, like tearing a bugs legs off

Some see katabasis as a bad omen, others celebrate Katabasis hailing them as the greatest god of all

Katabasis domain is on the edge of life and death, they have subjects called psychopomps, they help Katabasis with sorting and escorting souls, unfortunately some souls are rebellious and still have fight in them transforming them into undead creatures, often distorted beyond recognition, they're often dealt with by Amelia Vilheart.

Satra Nosferatu

(concept art, I'm still redesigning her lol)

God of gluttony, disease, and cannibalism. Satra loves the taste of Ko'nari flesh specifically, but she's not picky she'll eat any mortal she can get her hands on. Satra hates brugmansia with a passion, they have fought countless times, however recently Satra had lost but left brugmansia deeply injured, she had slinked into the earth, recovering and waiting to attack any moment.

Satra is very childish, but also surprisingly smart in tactics, she used to be Brugmansia's ORIGINAL creation, staying by Brugmansia's side like her daughter until Brugmansia saw Satra devouring one of her creations that's when brugmansia banished and disowned her.

Satra has minions called nymes, they usually dig through the head of someone and drag their body for Satra to consume, they also grave rob, but there are ways to ward them off, by calling on your God to protect your loved ones graves of begging on your hands and knees fod satra to desecrate your loved ones corpse.

Moshi Yama

(concept art, I also need to redesign her, also yeah your eyes bleeding is supposed to happen-☠️)

Goddess of parties and lust but she used to be the god of prosperity, she was worshiped by the fairies, they loved her but ever since the incident they despise her and call her a disgrace to the gods.

Moshi Yama has the ability to bend and warp reality, some think it's just illusions though, it's like being on acid

she was born from the legendary gods Malachite and Parhassus, they died from their love for each other and decided to give birth to Moshi Yama and Amato Yama causing them to perish in a beautiful and tragic display of their love, Moshi Yama and Amato Yama were mischievous when they were younger causing the other gods problems

fast forward Amato Yama had betrayed Moshi Yama attacking her worshipers city at that moment Moshi Yama had given up and decided to lay low and have sex with many mortals searching for something, until one day she noticed great potential in one of Amato Yamas generals, a possible new god

Amato Yama

(still designing ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ)

God of war but he used to be the god of trickery

as you know he is the twin of Moshi Yama, he hated this fact, he felt like he was her shadow, constantly overlooked, until one day he decided he would rise up, so he ordered his worshipers to attack Moshi Yamas "pawns" and so began his empire

he grew a nation and ruled it himself, which is blasphemous for gods, they're not supposed to interfere to that extent, so when Neiths husband went to stop him Amato Yama was furious and so they fought and unfortunately Amato Yama won, feeling the rush of victory and the hatred of the gods he decided he would kill all the gods until he was left

Neith

Goddess of the sun and knowledge, she has a daughter named Mao, her husband unfortunately died by Amato Yamas hands.

She's about 10 feet tal and has been alive throughout creations of mortals, her godly form is said to be as big a 4 mountains by her followers.

Neith covers herself head to toe to conceal herself as she grieves her husband's death, nobody remembers how she looks, it's been lost to time, she has a horn that can be pulled out to reveal a spear, she never uses it unless the situation is dire, she often avoids confrontation.

Her followers are very secretive, and share knowledge with Neith

Mao (also known as the Phoenix)

The god of freedom and flames, she's only been around for 8 hundred years but it seems she already has a whole city devoted to her.

She has a horn like her mother that can be pulled out to reveal to be a javelin

Mao has left her mother's side and is now trying to inspire the mortals of the world and to help them just like her father, however she doesn't know what it's like to be mortal so sometimes she makes bad decisions and causes troubles for her worshipers.

Mao was born with the ability to control flames to the extent that she can cause it to not hurt but heal somebody, the same as her father.

Mao feels like she must prove herself worthy to be known as the daughter of one of the greatest gods to exist

Castile

(concept art)

God of the moon and entropy

She's a child, and possibly from the plane of Gahenna

She is afraid of becoming a monster and destroying everyone as prophecied

As she grows older the more stronger and uncontrollable she becomes, her body grows more and more with devilish features, she does not know her parents all's shes known is a giant empty castle and her ghostly caretaker Cerberus.

When the story begins Castile has herself in a deep slumber so she would not harm, using her astral protection to help her followers

Castile loves her followers as they love her, she does not care for what they do or harm she is just so greatful to be herself again.

The consequences of her power include uncontrollable hunger, heightened ability to hear, increased strength, sharp nails, increased magical abilities and new spells, and if consumed enough a full vampirism transformation in which you can either lose yourself to the monster inside and only watch through empty lenses or gain full control with ultimate power and intellect, which is very rare the average is lost self.

The one major problem with castile is she doesn't know how to help mortals as a God and ends up making lives more worse and those around them but she sees her meedling as helpful, castile didn't even know she was God until she slumbered

-----------------------------------------------------------

Holy shit, you get all of that? (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

[novemberdevils]

oh my god oh my god omigod!!!!! just finished ch3 and dude, i'm so in love w your fic it's insane. i fucking adore your jack and nico, and you have such a compelling and vivid way with words!!!! your passion for f1 shines through, and that's coming from someone who watched one (1) race last year lol.

most of all, i'm so intrigued by nico. he's so mysterious!!! and kind, and mean, and jealous, and talented, and ahhhh. if u wanna ramble about him and his dynamic w jack, i'm all ears 💕💕

ah thank you so much!! 💕 i love writing this jack and nico so bad i have formed emotional bonds to them and i will cherish them forever... probably good i like writing them bc i have a LOT more races i need to write for them lmao my bad

yeah everything i get properly into i am completely incapable of being normal about so i have a whole lot of f1 nonsense stored in my brain still, even if i don't interact with the sport so much anymore. but it is just. such a compelling little world over there. now that i am in the land of hockey rpf i couldn't NOT write an f1 au like... it was just a need... i read some pretty banger hockey aus in the f1 fandom so it was only fair i turned the tables. i think

nico is a fascinating creature. or whatever it is he said about jack. i love writing him and i like unreliable narrarator-ing jack about him bc like. as the writer and understander of inertia!nico's brain i know what he's thinking and why he does things the way he does them, but jack hughes decidedly. does not. like jack clearly has a Very strong tendency to assume that everything nico is doing he does for some sort of personal gain -- he couldn't possibly be doing all of this because he actually likes jack, but instead it's some sort of mind-game to win him the championship, and even if jack doesn't particularly want to contribute to that he also likes it too much to stop. and i think i've said this in some of the posted stuff but jack at this point only really feels completely clear-headed when he's with nico, and when everything else in his life is just so much all of the time he kind of needs that escape, which unfortunately is attached to his title rival's mouth. womp womp. he does also like him bro is just in denial and refuses to admit it oopsies

but it's kind of a really weird dynamic as it stands. because jack is misinterpreting nico's motivations while also ignoring them completely -- mostly for selfish reasons -- and his own motivations are also kind of screwed? in a sort of backwards way he thinks all the things he does with nico help his game, which kind of vindicates him in that these mind games he perceives nico to be playing aren't working, but they do also simultaneously distract him because nico is often pissing him off and jack -- as much as he loathes to admit it -- cares a lot about how nico perceives him. he wants nico to like (coughs praise) him. there's gonna be a whole thing about that super super later into the fic like literally the second to last race of the season i have great big plans it's a whole thing. i keep mulling it over in my head lmao but i'm nowhere close to actually writing those scenes

jack clearly cares a lot about how everyone perceives him, so he doesn't properly attach his extra-care for nico specifically to anything for a while. he's busy. but he gives a whole lot of giant fucks about it, he just pretends he doesn't. something something scene from ch3 with his brothers where quinn (i think? idk i only wrote the fic) implies that nico actually wants jack to watch all his interview clips bc he thinks it messes with his head. which it does. jack is very busy pretending it doesn't. also re: this i do remember writing, jack is always reading/watching nico's interviews in particular because he knows nico might talk about him, and he needs to know if he said anything nice. it can be inferred that a lot of the drivers on the grid are talking about jack actually, because he is/was leading the championship so his name is getting thrown around a lot, but he doesn't really give two shits about what leon draisaitl or pierre gasly has to say about him, he really only stalks nico's clips

absolutely just because they are title rivals playing mind games with each other and no other reason! not because he cares specifically about nico's opinion of him! that would be crazy!

[sergeantsporks]

Is Evelyn angry at Caleb for not trying harder to redirect Philip's witch-hunting interest to something more... benign?

Ignoring that she herself is a Witch, witch-hunting was historically used to justify some pretty nasty stuff like: Racism, sexism, religious prosecution, and classism.

To say nothing of how its victims were often elderly, disabled or deemed guilty only because of who they were related to. And you know, the fact that torture was typically used to achieve confessions too.

I'm just saying that Evelyn could very easily justify any concerns that she has about Philip's "hobby" to Caleb without even revealing that she's a witch. From a layperson's POV, Caleb is taking quite the lackadaisical approach to his little brother treading close to incel-adjacent territory, lol.

That's not the reason she's mad at him, but I'm gonna do a little explaining why 👍.

The thing with Phillip's interest in witch hunting is... I know I make a lot of jokes how Evelyn is dating someone whose brother is the one guy who thinks witch hunting is a good idea, but that's not exactly how it is with him. He's interested in it from a purely academic stance-- we're going to run into Jacob Hopkins next chapter, and (hopefully if I do it right) we'll see the difference between Phillip, who's looking at it through only a historical lens, and Jacob, who still pretty much applies it to real life and falls into that very dangerous territory.

While Jacob is like "wow, this is the history of our town and a legacy I think we should continue," Phillip is VERY aware of the politics and horrors involved in Witch Hunting. In fact, one of the things that drew him in as a subject is that he's FASCINATED by how the combination of racism/sexism/religion/classism/ablism/all that tied into how overwhelming this mob mentality was. In yet another spectacular failure to recognize the self in the other, the peer pressure and mob mentality of witch hunts is something he dissects from a modern standpoint and questions how it could have happened. He's aware of the fact that the people who were hung as witches were victims of aforementioned issues-- that's something Caleb actually did make sure he was clear on when Phillip first started getting interested. He's mostly interested in the psychology and how all the stuff going on at the time was just the right cocktail to set off this bunch of killings.

Now, the problem that Phillip falls into is that part of his mindset is "how could they kill so many innocent people hunting for something that doesn't exist and these people could not physically be?" rather than "how could they kill so many innocent people?" full stop. The reason he's sure witch hunting was wrong is because he doesn't believe magic is real, so it was all just a morality panic and people were killed for no reason. That differentiation seems like basically the same thing if you also don't think magic exists (like Caleb), so trying to address it (if you're Evelyn, who's very aware of the existence of magic) is something that would seem. Odd. And very unnecessarily semantic.

That differentiation becomes a problem when he gets to the isles and well. Okay so magical creatures and witches ARE real and some of them are a little gung-ho about wanting to eat his skin. Those people in the witch trials might not have been witches and it was a nasty bunch of politics that got innocent people killed, but these people here for sure are witches. And THAT'S when his witch-hunting interest becomes a problem.

[cheezeybread]

Once I learn how to draw, it is OVER for you nerds.

I'm gonna have to commission someone to make a proper character sheet for her one day 🤣

Anyway, more about my twst oc, Tallulah, as I try to straighten out her character! And also some of my Yuusona, Ray...just some sprinkles here and there, teehee.

Man, maybe I should just go ahead and write a fanfic for her, idk!

Sooooo have a random jumble of thoughts!

Orca mermaids, like irl orcas, tend to stick in a "pod", made up of famil members and Mayne a few tagalongs! They're divided based on their last names (ex, the "Freshwater" pod will be made up of those in the Freshwater family), so Tallulah belongs to the RingWater pod.

Having not as many white spots on her body compared to the other orcas, she has an advantage against prey if she hunts in the deeper areas of the ocean (of course, this also means that she won't be able to see as well, since it's dark lol). She's had some accidents hunting, when coming across sea creatures that can easily spot her in the darkness, but nothing life-threatening. Other than the cookie cutter shark that tried to nibble on her when she was a young lass.

Discovering her knack for some types of magic, as well as finding the concept of land fascinating, like many other mercreatures, Tallulah left her family to work on Sage's Island- eventually landing a part-time gig at the Night Raven College's library, and another part time job at an antique shop towards the coast. Both jobs keep her busy, for sure, but during her down-time, Tallulah will check out books from the library about magic and practice whenever she can. She's not very good at it due to no professional teachings, but it's a start!

Tallulah is a relatively quiet girl, who prefers to keep her thoughts to herself and doesn't see much reason so speak to strangers. But at least she's smart to make up for her lack of social-ness! Sis has those smart-orca genes, and is a cunning lil beyotch-. At NRC's library, she's known for being able to suggest specific books for classes and knows exactly where each individual book is (blame it on her being a huge nerd who spends most of her free time at said library, even though she's not an actual student...lmao, what a loser!!)

But alas, one day she has the unfortunate luck of running into Ray, a magicless human who's found herself stuck both in this world and in this school. The two strike up a quick friendship as Ray babbles on about her situation while Tallulah is working on sorting books, and since Ray doesn't have anything better to do, she pops back in to bother our dear little mer-orca gal every shift! Once they get close enough, Ray suggests that Tallulah should come live in Ramshackle with her and Grim, since it's a fairly large building and can house plenty other people! Not to mention they could use the extra muscle in fixing it up. Surprisingly, Crowley agrees (on the condition that he doesn't have to pay Tallulah for working at the library since he'll be giving her a place to live), and now there's one extra member of the Ramshackle home!

Since she's not technically a student, there are some areas of campus that are off-limits to her (pretty much just the main building in which classes are held) for a little while, but don't worry! She gets full-access to the campus after a month or so, just by doing some tasks for the Headmage.

And, in helping Ray and Grim with their classwork (as well as Ace and Deuce since, let's be honest, those two are ALWAYS at the Ramshackle house), Tallulah learns some more about magic, slowly working up her power and skills. She's still not a super-powerful mage, ofc, but baby steps! :)

[tisorridalamor]

Finished the 1999 Hunter Exam arc (and coincidentally the youtube vid with the first 31 episodes also ends then) and I'm so mildly fascinating by the worldbuilding of hxh. First of all, when you start the series you only really know two things:

There are "Hunters"

There are "magical beasts"

And I was very intrigued by the fact that the show just kinda throws you in there and has you go straight to the Hunter Exam without elaborating, and don't even learn too much about the world beyond that through the exam. It's almost refreshing in it's lack of detail, you're just along for the ride with Gon (who also doesn't know very much about the world being 12 and from a random island) and his new best buds.

What little you do learn about the world though is that... it's actually a pretty scary place! Many country's borders are closed to the point where it's notable that Hunters can get into almost all of them with their license. People are pretty nonchalant about death during the exam, Kurapika's backstory is tragic but not treated as especially notable, and the existence of a legendary assassin family is practically a common fact. Death is cheap to a degree in hxh which is interesting and starts to make more sense when nen starts getting explained and you learn what people in this setting are truly capable of. Yeah in a world with organizations like the Phantom Troupe, families like the Zoldycks, and creatures like the Chimera Ants, Hunters make a bit more sense. Hunters, this organization unrelated to any major world government (from my understanding), being almost above the law worldwide is so crazy but it's how the normal people of the world deal with their extraordinary circumstances.

If you can prove you've got what it takes, you receive specialized resources / rewards that incentivize catching dangerous criminals, protecting rare flora / fauna / culture, or even internally policing the Hunter organization for people who would misuse those things. I guess it's a system that works!

Semi related: It's also great the the world building is so vague cause no matter what gets introduced it always feels like it fits lol

[sparkymalone]

Here is what I have so far for chapter 16. I'm not going to post any of the smut, since I don't know if that's allowed or whatnot.

Feedback is appreciated! Take a look and let me know what I can do to fix this nonsense. I think it maybe just got too rambly? But I don't know.

Maybe there's nothing wrong with it and I'm being too critical. That's possible, too.

Or if you just want to read a chapter early, that's fine, too. Lol

Chapter 16: The One That's Based on 'The Little Mermaid'

The sunlight glinted through the clear ocean water, illuminating the sea creatures swimming below. Warmth permeated the water around Hajime and he couldn't help but smile. He swam along behind a school of fish, his elegant green tail swishing behind him.

Most days in this particular ocean area were like this, warm and serene. The creatures that lived here were all fairly peaceful and coexisted easily (aside from the natural food chain, of course). The merpeople generally got along well, too.

Hajime was pretty well-respected by the other merpeople he knew. Not because he was anything special, really - he wasn't. But he was fairly friendly and helpful, and the others responded well to that. And he generally liked all of them, too.

He pulled away from the school of fish, fins gliding through the water. He swam down to a nearby reef that he had become very familiar with over the years.

Chiaki was waiting for him, dozing off against the coral around her. She smiled at him tiredly. "Good morning."

Hajime smiled back fondly. "You're going to get all scraped up if you keep leaning on the coral like that."

She waved off his concerns. "It's nothing to worry about. Now come on," she grasped his hand and started swimming towards the surface.

Hajime happily followed. As much as he loved his friends and the peaceful kingdom they lived in, he never quite felt like he belonged. There was no denying that his heart yearned for something else.

Hajime was fascinated by the surface world. He had been for as long as he could remember. Whenever he could, he would swim near the shore or climb up onto rocks to watch the land-dwellers. They were all so interesting to him.

He couldn't interact with them, of course. Contact with anyone from the surface was strictly forbidden. Hajime wasn't completely sure why, but he wasn't about to argue with King Kamukura. Still, he loved to watch them.

He didn't tell many people about his love of the surface. None of them really seemed to get it. Chiaki had been the most understanding. She would often accompany him to look at the land-dwellers, even though she didn't find them as fascinating as he did.

Lately, the two of them had begun a new routine. There was a particular time of day when ships would often sail past the reef they had just been in. Chiaki had first alerted him to the regularity of the ships about two weeks ago, and since then, they had gone to the surface to see them almost every day.

Sure enough, as they neared the surface, the underbelly of a large ship passed overhead. Chiaki and Hajime swam up alongside the ship, trying to find the perfect distance to see the deck without being too visible themselves. The ship seemed a bit too large, however, and they couldn't get a good look.

"Let's just wait for a bit," Chiaki suggested as the ship sailed away. "Maybe a smaller boat will come by."

Hajime sighed, but agreed. The two of them floated lazily in the water for a long while, waiting to see if anything else would happen.

The sun was beginning to set and a storm was starting to roll in. Hajime was just about to give up when he heard something in the distance. He turned to look in the direction of the noise and was pleased to realize that a boat was approaching. He glanced over at Chiaki, but the girl was still fast asleep. Hajime contemplated waking her up for a moment, but eventually decided it wasn't worth it.

As the boat drew near, Hajime could see that it was much smaller than the last one. He swam up to the boat once it was close enough, excited to see if he could catch a glimpse of some land-dwellers.

In the orange light of the setting sun, slowly being overtaken by dark clouds, he was able to make out a few people sitting on the deck of the boat (a yacht? Hajime thought he had heard this type of boat called that before). He approached the side of the ship, hoping to get a better look.

Once he was close enough, Hajime decided to push his luck. There was a ladder on the back of the boat and, against his better judgment, he grabbed on and started climbing. He peeked carefully over the edge of the deck.

There were a few individuals sitting along the sides of the boat. They were dressed in lavish clothing (or, at least, that's how it seemed to Hajime) and all seemed rather preoccupied.

Hajime felt his gaze slowly being drawn to one individual, however. There was a man sitting by himself near the back of the ship, gazing off into the sunset with a bored expression. The merman began studying this particular land-dweller, wanting to get a better look - and to understand why his attention was so captivated.

The man had very short blonde hair and sharp, golden eyes. His delicate features were twisted into a scowl. He didn't seem very interested in the other occupants of the yacht. He was leaning against the railing, looking rather annoyed, and Hajime found that he couldn't take his eyes off of him.

A silver-haired woman approached the blonde. "Young Master, a storm is gathering, and the water is getting rather rough ahead."

Hajime idly noticed that this was true. The waves were getting increasingly choppy, and while it didn't bother him at all, he supposed it might be a bit much for someone who was used to solid ground.

"Perhaps you and the other guests should go below deck," the woman continued.

The blonde scowled at her. "Fuck that," he grumbled. "We're almost home, right? How bad could it be?"

The woman furrowed her brow. "I believe it would be better to be cautious, especially since you can't-"

"Hey!" the man hissed, blushing. "Don't fuckin' talk about that here!" He glanced around to see if anyone had heard, but no one else seemed particularly concerned with their conversation.

Bowing, the silver-haired woman apologized. "I'm sorry, Young Master. But please, consider going inside or putting on a life vest."

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever."

As the woman walked away, Hajime continued watching this blonde land-dweller. He seemed smaller than the others. Hajime knew that land-dwellers came in a variety of sizes, but he had always associated it with age. This man seemed to be around his own age, however, so his diminutive size felt unusual… and somehow just made him more captivating.

The waves were indeed getting bigger, Hajime noticed, and the yacht was beginning to rock. Most of the people on the deck started carefully making their way inside. The blonde just grabbed onto the railing stubbornly.

Hajime held tightly to the ladder for a bit longer, but as waves began crashing against the boat, he reluctantly decided it would be better to head back underwater. He cast one last curious glance at the blonde man as rain began to fall, then hopped off the ladder and back into the sea.

He swam a little ways down, looking up at the ship. The water was really roiling now and the yacht was being tossed around quite a bit. Hajime knew he should probably head back to Chiaki, but something kept him there, following the boat still.

Hajime couldn't shake the feeling that something bad might happen. The silver-haired woman's words from earlier came back to him and he idly wondered if the blonde man had gotten safely inside.

There was a flash of light above the surface of the water. Lightning, Hajime realized. The storm was getting worse.

A particularly large wave struck the side of the boat and, moments later, a body crashed into the ocean. The person flailed about, but clearly had no actual swimming form and couldn't get back up to the surface. Their movements began to slow down the longer they were under the water.

Hajime felt panic setting in. He wanted to help, but it was forbidden for merpeople to interact with land-dwellers. If he let this person see him, he'd be in a world of trouble.

Still, he couldn't just let them drown. Hajime made up his mind and sped through the water towards the poor human.

As he drew closer, he realized that it was the blonde man from before. Almost subconsciously, Hajime began swimming faster, feeling an even greater sense of urgency.

He reached the blonde and pulled him into his arms, surprised by how small he seemed. Hajime checked the man, but he was unresponsive. Furrowing his brow, the merman swung his tail and jetted them both towards the surface.

They broke through the surface of the water and Hajime lifted the other man's head into the air. The human coughed and hacked, trying to get a proper lungful of air. But with the storm raging the way it was, keeping his head above the water long enough for him to breathe was proving difficult.

Hajime looked around, but he had lost track of the boat. They weren't too far from the shore, however, giving the merman an idea.

He swam towards the beach, moving as quickly as possible, pulling the blonde with him. He still tried to keep the man above water, but he could only do so much. He just hoped that once they were somewhere safe, he could make up for all the human's lost air.

It took several minutes of swimming, even with Hajime's powerful fins. But eventually they reached the shoreline and Hajime started looking for something specific. He was relieved when he was able to spot the place he wanted.

There was a small grotto set into the rocky shore, offering some slight cover from the storm. He swam into the alcove and pulled the blonde up onto some rocks. There, sheltered from the rain, the man should be able to breathe.

Hajime studied the diminutive man, really taking in the details of his face. His eyes were closed, long lashes fanned over his freckled cheeks. He was honestly stunning, and the merman found himself more enthralled than ever.

However, the man was not breathing.

Hajime could feel panic setting in again. What was he supposed to do? There had to be something. He thought back to all his time studying the land-dwellers and tried to find something useful.

Suddenly, it came to him. He had seen humans pull other humans out of the water and then resuscitate them… somehow. It wasn't super clear, since he wasn't able to get too close, but it looked like they were pushing on the person's chest and then… kissing them?

…Worth a shot, he supposed.

Gently, Hajime placed his hands on the blonde's chest and pushed. If he remembered correctly, the rescuer had pushed in a sort of rhythm. Hajime tried his best to imitate what he remembered. He pushed on the man's chest for a while before leaning down to his face.

He hesitated when he was close to his mouth, however. He felt a little weird about kissing an unconscious man. Although, the more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that what he had seen the rescuer do was kissing. So what was it, then?

Realization struck him and he quickly covered the other man's mouth with his own, blowing air into his throat. He went back to pushing on his chest, alternating between that and giving him air, just like he had seen the other human do.

After a few minutes, the blonde suddenly convulsed, coughing up water. He took several gasping breaths before his eyes slowly fluttered open.

Hajime froze, hovering above the man's face, hands still resting on his heaving chest. Their eyes locked and, for a moment, neither of them moved.

After a long silence, the blonde spoke. "...What… What the fuck… happened?"

"The storm," Hajime explained unhelpfully. "You, uh… fell off your boat."

"...D-Did you… save me…?" the human asked quietly, voice hoarse.

Hajime gave a slight nod. "Um… yeah," he murmured. His cheeks flushed as he realized that this was the first time he had ever gotten to talk to a land-dweller.

He was so dead if the king found out.

The blonde furrowed his brow. "Thanks… but where the fuck are we?"

The merman let out a startled laugh. "Oh, um… a cave, near the beach."

"Which beach?"

Hajime had no idea how to answer that. "...The sandy one?"

The human scowled at him. "Which one, you jackass. The name." He started listing off names, absolutely none of which Hajime recognized. Seeing his blank expression, the blonde sighed. "Jesus. Okay. I'll figure it out myself, I guess."

Hajime winced. "Sorry. I, um… I'm not familiar with… the area."

"Whatever, it's fine." The human started to sit up and Hajime moved to help him. Once he was upright, he looked around the grotto, assessing the situation. The storm was still raging just outside.

Following his gaze, Hajime hummed thoughtfully. "I don't think you should go back out there just yet. The water is pretty rough, and since you can't swim-"

"I can swim!" the blonde yelped, whirling to face him. "Who the fuck says I can't?!"

Hajime held his hands up defensively. "Sorry! It just seemed like you couldn't. When you fell off your boat, you basically sank."

The man was flushed a dark red. "Wh-! What, were you just fuckin' watching me?!"

It was Hajime's turn to blush. "K-Kinda, I guess…? But," he hurriedly added, "it's a good thing I was, because I saw you fall!"

The blonde frowned at him. "...You definitely weren't on my ship. Were you on a nearby boat?"

The brunette looked away evasively, unable to keep himself from cringing. "...Not exactly."

Arching a brow, the human took a better look at his rescuer. Messy brown hair, intense hazel eyes, a very… shapely chest (shut up, gay thoughts), and a fish tail covered in glistening green scales.

…Wait, what?

His eyes widened. There wasn't much light in the grotto, but that was clearly a tail. "What the hell…?"

Hajime followed his gaze, blushing. "Oh, er…"

"Is that some kinda… mermaid costume or something?" the man asked hesitantly.

"Merman."

"Whatever, answer the question."

The brunette tried to think of something, anything, to convince this man that he was just a normal human. "...Um… no, it's real." Hajime cursed his honesty.

Thoughts reeling, the blonde stared at his tail. "...No fucking way."

Hajime winced. "Please don't freak out. And please don't tell anyone. I'm already going to be in deep trouble for just talking to you."

"...Can I touch it?"

That question was so far out of the realm of what Hajime had been expecting that his brain short-circuited. "Uh… what?"

A flush slowly crept up the blonde's neck. "S-sorry, that's really fuckin' weird, isn't it?" He looked away. "I, uh… I won't tell anyone about this, don't worry. No one would believe me anyway." He shifted, bringing his knees up to his chest, suddenly feeling cold.

Hajime licked his lips nervously. "...You can touch it. My tail. If you want to."

They stared at each other, wide-eyed, both clearly surprised by the offer. Finally, the blonde snorted, a wry grin spreading across his face. "Yeah, fuck it. I'm pretty sure I'm hallucinating all this, anyway. Why not touch the mermaid's tail?"

"Merman," Hajime corrected him quietly, but his eyes were quickly drawn downwards as the man reached one freckled arm out towards him.

They were sitting side by side on the rocks, so Hajime's fins were splayed out against the wet stone. The blonde's hand moved down to about where his knees would be, and gently brushed his fingers against the shimmering scales. He ran his fingers up and down a bit before glancing up at the merman's face to make sure this was still okay.

Hajime was flushed, staring with rapt attention at the hand touching his tail. He hadn't really been touched in such a way before, since his tail wasn't exactly considered special amongst an entire race of people with similar tails. The human's fingers traced the shape of one of his scales and he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Sorry," the blonde quickly apologized, voice barely above a whisper. "Is that uncomfortable?"

But Hajime shook his head. "No, just… different." He watched intently as the man resumed studying his tail, slowly moving down to his fins, which fluttered under the light touch.

The man let out a soft laugh. "Sensitive?"

"Kinda."

Smiling, the blonde sat back up. "It's probably the same as having your feet tickled, huh?"

Hajime just shrugged, having no frame of reference for that comparison. "I guess? What are 'feet'?"

"These things," the human replied easily, raising one leg and wiggling his foot around.

Enraptured, Hajime leaned closer. The blonde was wearing swim trunks, so his movements drew attention to the fact that his legs were on full display. The brunette followed the slender, freckled limb, watching his foot wiggle. "Whoa…"

The blonde blushed at the intensity of his stare. "...Y-You can touch my legs… if you want." He looked away as Hajime faced him in surprise. " 'S only fair," he mumbled.

Hesitantly, the merman reached out and placed his hand on the other man's knee. He moved down slowly, tracing his fingers gently over his skin, running them softly against the top of his foot. He glanced up to see the blonde watching him, straight-faced aside from the crimson blush adorning his cheeks.

Fuck, he was cute.

Hajime carefully moved back up the man's leg, brushing against every freckle he encountered. As his hand moved past the knee and onto his thigh, however, a soft whine escaped from the blonde's mouth. Hajime looked up in surprise.

The human had a hand over his flushed face, avoiding the merman's eyes. "Th-That's enough," he growled, but he didn't move.

Blushing, Hajime couldn't help the little smirk that formed on his lips. "Sensitive?" he asked, echoing the man's question from earlier.

The blonde glared at him, but it was diminished by how red he was. "Shut the fuck up. A-Anyway, it's weird to be touching another man's leg like that."

The merman shrugged, but obligingly removed his hand. "You started it."

"Well, clearly it didn't feel the same for both of us."

Hajime contemplated that. "In all fairness, you didn't touch that high on my tail." He eyed the man's thighs, wondering if it would feel the same.

"...Do you want me to?"

He looked up, startled. "...I… yes?"

The blonde took a deep breath to steady himself before hesitantly reaching out and placing his hand about thigh-high on Hajime's tail. He rubbed gently against the scales there, eyes searching his face for a reaction.

Hajime felt a flush crawling up his neck. The hand on his tail didn't really feel any different than it had further down, but the fact that the other man clearly wanted it to was making him flustered. Plus the way he was looking at him…

The merman carefully slid his hand back onto the blonde's thigh, watching his eyes widen in surprise.

The atmosphere in the cave was suddenly much different. The two of them locked eyes, faces burning, as their hands ghosted over each other's lower half.

The human's hand slid up over Hajime's hip, brushing against the bare skin of his abdomen. The brunette let out a soft gasp, his own hand slipping down onto the other man's inner thigh by accident. Another quiet whine escaped the blonde.

Unable to contain himself, Hajime leaned closer. "...Can I kiss you?"

The human looked up at him, wide-eyed, and nodded.

Hajime carefully pressed his lips against the other man's. Even though he had just given him mouth-to-mouth, this was completely different. He focused on the softness of the human's lips, the hitch in his breathing, the flutter of his eyelashes against Hajime's cheek.

The blonde parted his lips invitingly, and the merman gladly complied. His tongue gently slipped into the other man's mouth, tasting him. His partner's tongue met him halfway, and they moved together in a slow dance.

They kissed like that for a moment before Hajime pressed the blonde back, laying him against the stones so that he could have better access. He kissed him again, enjoying the soft whimpers coming from the human's throat.

Eventually they had to break for air. They locked eyes, both flushed and panting. "...What the fuck are we doing?" the blonde breathed.

Hajime smiled slightly and was about to answer, but a distant shout cut through the air.

"Young Master!"

They both whipped their heads towards the mouth of the cave. The storm outside had calmed considerably while they were distracted. It was still raining, but the wind and waves were mostly back to normal.

There was another call in the distance and the blonde scrambled out from under Hajime. "That's Peko! Shit, she's probably worried sick." He looked at the merman. "I need to get back."

Hajime nodded slowly. "Okay. Do you need help? Not saying you can't swim," he smirked a bit, "but you're not great at it."

Glaring, the human moved towards the mouth of the grotto. "Just get me to my damn yacht."

The merman slid back into the water and gestured for the blonde to join him. He directed the man to hold onto his shoulders before swimming swiftly away.

They were able to spot the boat fairly easily. There were several people shining lights off the sides, searching the water for the man they'd lost. Hajime carefully avoided the lights as he approached, not wanting to explain his existence to any more humans.

Once they reached the back of the boat, Hajime helped the blonde up onto the ladder. He clambered up onto the deck, but when he looked back, the merman was gone.

"Young Master!" He was grabbed by a panicked Peko a moment later, and all thoughts of the mysterious merman were pushed to the back of his mind.

Hajime watched from a short distance away, making sure the blonde was safe. He saw the man look back out at the ocean several times and he smiled, just happy that the human was thinking about him.

Hajime would definitely be thinking about him, too.

Suddenly very embarrassed about what had just happened, the merman dove beneath the water and began the long trek home.

***

"It was… insane," Hajime finished lamely. He had been recounting his adventure to his friends, to mixed reactions.

Chiaki beamed at him. "How sweet! Do you think you'll see him again?"

Kazuichi stopped fiddling with the ship part he had been working on. He often scavenged sunken ships and took them apart for fun. "That's an awful idea. We're not supposed to interact with the surfacers, you know?"

Hajime shrugged in response. "I couldn't just let the poor guy drown."

"No, but you still didn't have to make out with him." Kazuichi frowned at him. "If the king finds out what you did…"

"But he's not going to find out, right?" the brunette asked with a twinge of annoyance. The other man backed off.

Chiaki was still thinking about the positive aspects of Hajime's story. "Hmm… he said it was his boat, right?"

Hajime nodded, not really sure where she was going with this.

"So then there's a chance he might sail through here again… I think."

The brunette felt his cheeks flush. "It's… it's fine if I don't see him again." He recognized the lie for what it was.

So did Chiaki. "It's okay to want to see him again, you know."

Hajime just sighed. "...Okay. I want to see him again. But I know it's not going to happen, so let's just drop it."

All three of them fell silent. After a few minutes, Kazuichi tried to change the subject, talking about some sunken ship he had heard about from a fish, but Hajime wasn't really listening. Even though he was the one who wanted to drop the subject, he couldn't help but still think about the land-dweller.

He knew he wasn't likely to ever see him again, so Hajime took the time to really hang onto the memories he had. He focused on the man's bristly blonde hair, his dangerous golden eyes, his adorable freckles… how soft his lips were…

Chiaki was watching him with a bemused smile. "You really have it bad, huh?"

"Dude," Kazuichi whined, feeling ignored.

"S-sorry, just ignore me," Hajime told them, blushing.

God, he was so fucked.

***

Hajime honestly didn't expect to see the cute blonde ever again.

So when he appeared while Hajime was people-watching at a nearby beach a few days later, the merman was shocked.

He watched, wide-eyed, as the man walked along the shore, gazing out towards the sea like he was looking for something. Hajime's heart leapt into his throat as he realized that he might be what the blonde was searching for.

The human spent a long time watching the waves and looking around. Hajime had to resist the urge to leap out of the water and throw himself at the blonde. Instead, he stayed hidden behind an off-shore rock, just watching.

Eventually, the silver-haired woman from before came to collect the human, who cast one last look at the sea before following her away.

Hajime watched him leave sadly. He would give anything to be able to spend time with him again.

With a sigh, he swam away.

***

"I told you he'd be back," Chiaki told him triumphantly.

Hajime just rolled his eyes. "Technically, you said he might sail by again."

She frowned up at him, puffing out her cheeks. "Hey. This is even better, right?"

They were hanging around in the stone grotto Hajime called home. The two of them had been talking about the land-dweller for a while now. Kazuichi was sitting a few feet away, ignoring the conversation as well as he could.

"I mean, it still doesn't really mean anything." Hajime fiddled with a conch shell, wishing he didn't care as much as he did.

Chiaki sighed. "Maybe, but if he was looking for you, then that means he's thinking about you just as much as you are him… I think."

The brunette ran his fingers through his hair and considered her words. "...This would be much easier if I could just… go to the shore," he mumbled. "Like… on the land."

With a dramatic groan, Kazuichi finally joined the conversation. "Then just go, man."

Hajime furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?"

"If you care more about this land guy than your own safety, then just go," Kazuichi reiterated, scowling at his friend. "What's the king really going to do?"

"Murder me," Hajime replied flatly. He paused, then added, "And murder the human."

The pink-haired man sighed. "Then… I dunno, become a human or something."

Hajime's frown deepened. "That's stupid. I can't just become a human."

Kazuichi glared back. "Maybe you can, I don't know! I'm just sick of you always obsessing over the surface and not doing anything about it!"

Silence fell over the three of them. "Sorry," Hajime finally offered. "I didn't mean to talk about it that much."

Kazuichi sighed. "I'm sorry, too. I probably sound like a jerk."

There was another pause before Chiaki fluttered her fins in thought. "Maybe you could just go to the shore, though. Just stay in the shallow water and maybe he can come to you."

"I don't know if that's a good idea. He's not a very good swimmer." Hajime smiled at the memory.

Kazuichi perked up as an idea occurred to him. "Wait, maybe you can become a human." Both of his friends turned to him questioningly, so he continued. "The sea witch might be able to do it."

Chiaki frowned. "I don't think dealing with the sea witch is a good idea…"

Hajime nodded. "Probably not."

The pink-haired man shrugged. "I dunno, dude. It might be worth it to at least ask. You like this guy a lot, right?"

Hajime was alarmed to find himself considering it. How much did he like the land-dweller? Enough to make a deal with a sea witch?

…It couldn't hurt to ask her price, he supposed.

***

The sea witch burst out laughing when Hajime described his request. "That's hilarious, little man!"

Hajime frowned at her. "If you can't do it, just say so…"

"Oh, I can do it," she corrected. She tossed her hair behind her, as though that would make any difference underwater. Her strawberry blonde pigtails were just as unruly as before. "But it's still hilarious."

The brunette shifted, feeling uncomfortable. "Why's that?"

The sea witch gave him a toothy grin. "You want to do something so extreme, and just for a man?" She cocked an eyebrow. "Honey."

Hajime was feeling more irritated the more she talked. "I didn't come here for you to laugh at me."

"And yet here you are." She settled in front of him, her strange black and white tentacles getting uncomfortably close to him. "How long do you want to be on land? Forever?"

Realizing this could be his chance to become what he was so fascinated with, Hajime nodded slowly. "...Yeah, if that's an option."

"And what are you willing to give up?"

That question caught him off-guard. "Uh… besides my whole life down here?"

She waved him off. "No, I mean what'll you give me?"

Hajime just shrugged. "I don't really have much… What do you want?"

The sea witch made a big show of considering the question as she turned back to her cauldron. Hajime couldn't help but think that her whole "witchy" decor was a bit much. It almost seemed like she wanted it to be over the top

"How about," the witch began, looking at him over her shoulder, "your voice?"

He furrowed his brow in confusion. "My voice? What?"

"The price for my spell." The woman grinned. "I'll make you human, but I get your voice."

Hajime's hand instinctively went to his throat. "That's… a little bit extreme, don't you think?"

"Says the guy who literally wants to be turned into a different species," she teased. "How about this: you give me your voice, but just temporarily."

The merman thought it over. Something still seemed off, though. "Then, what do you really get out of the deal?"

The sea witch regarded him in surprise, looking almost impressed. "Look at you, catching on so quick! Let me give you the details." She crawled around the cauldron, putting it between the two of them. "I'll make you human for three days. During those three days, I get your voice. If you want to stay human, all you have to do is get your loverboy to kiss you."

Hajime felt his cheeks heat up. "That seems kinda strange, don't you think?"

She shrugged at him. "I don't question your shit, so don't question mine. Get him to kiss you in three days and you get to keep the legs and you get your voice back."

"...And if he doesn't kiss me?"

The witch grinned wickedly. "Then you belong to me."

He frowned at her. "What does that mean?"

"Just what it sounds like, dummy." She turned away, busily grabbing things off the shelves behind her.

Hajime mulled over his options. The deal was definitely strange, but then, his original request was pretty strange on its own. He was certain that he couldn't trust the sea witch, but…

All he had to do was get the blonde to kiss him. They had already kissed before, so theoretically, kissing him again should be easy… right?

"...Okay. Let's do it."

The witch cackled at him again, already tossing things into her cauldron. "Hell yeah! Here we fuckin’ go!” Whatever she was doing, the cauldron started glowing an ominous shade of green. The sea witch waved her hands, chanting something, and a current of green swirled into the water above the cauldron. With a flick of her wrist, the witch sent the current towards Hajime.

He only had a second to react before the water around him was all glowing green. He yelped in surprise, feeling a strange tingle coursing through his body. The feeling wasn’t entirely unpleasant, just odd.

That quickly changed as pain shot through his tail. Hajime let out a pained cry, hands instinctively clutching at his fins. He watched, horrified and enthralled, as his tail slowly split in two. The scales gradually disappeared and, before he knew it, his tail had become a pair of legs.

Pain was still coursing through him, however. He made another noise - or at least tried to. With alarm, he realized that no sound was coming from his mouth. The pain he felt settled in the base of his throat and he knew his voice was gone.

The sea witch was grinning at him deviously. “You better hurry up, honey. Humans can’t breathe underwater.”

Hajime felt panic shoot through him as he realized she was right. Quickly he started swimming for the surface, but it was proving very difficult. Legs didn’t exactly work the same way his tail had.

Eventually he managed to coordinate his movements enough to start progressing towards the surface, but his lungs were already starting to burn. He scrambled to move faster.

Ironic, he thought, drowning trying to get to the person I saved from the same fate.

Just as his vision was beginning to dull around the edges, he broke through the surface of the water. He silently gasped for breath, taking in desperate lungfuls of air.

Once he was breathing again, Hajime took in his surroundings. He was still a ways off from the nearest beach. He really should’ve thought this through a little more.

Just as he was preparing for the long swim to shore, he heard the familiar sound of a ship approaching. Turning, he noticed a vessel slowly approaching him.

Realizing that he no longer had to hide from the land-dwellers, Hajime excitedly waved at the ship, hoping for rescue. Thankfully, the sun was still high in the sky, so he would be easy to spot.

The ship slowed as it passed, and Hajime was shocked to realize that he recognized this particular yacht. What were the odds?

A person hurried down the back ladder of the boat, extending an arm out to Hajime. “Hey! Grab on!”

He swam close enough to take the outstretched hand and allowed himself to be pulled onto the back of the boat. He leaned heavily on his rescuer, unsure how to balance his weight on his new legs.

“Whoa there,” the man holding him chuckled. He was huge and had no problem supporting Hajime’s weight. “Lucky we came along when we did. What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”

Hajime opened his mouth to answer, but of course, no sound came out. He looked up at the man helplessly, suddenly realizing how hard this was going to be. He had no way to communicate.

To his credit, the man quickly figured out that Hajime wasn’t able to answer him. “Something wrong? Are you injured?” He looked over the castaway’s body. “Looks like you lost your swimsuit, at least.”

Hajime looked down. He hadn’t even thought about the fact that he was completely naked. He knew that the land-dwellers had little outfits that they usually wore when they went in the water, but he had certainly never thought about wearing one. He also became aware of the strange appendage he seemed to have grown along with his new legs. But he could figure that out later.

The man gave a boisterous laugh. “No worries! We’ve got extra clothes onboard! Let’s get you on deck!”

With great difficulty and a lot of help from the large man, Hajime managed to climb the ladder onto the actual deck of the boat. He looked around, taking in the sight. For all of his observations, he had never actually seen what a boat looked like from the top, and he wanted to commit the experience to memory.

The other man climbed up behind him and quickly grabbed a nearby towel to wrap around him. “Here, this should make you at least a little more comfortable.” He clapped Hajime on the back, nearly knocking him over, off-kilter as he was. “The name’s Nekomaru, by the way. What’s your-” He cut himself off, noticing Hajime’s helpless expression. “Ah, right. That’s okay, we can figure that out later. Come on, let’s get you some trunks!”

Hajime followed behind him unsteadily as he made his way across the deck. There were other humans here, too, most of whom kept their distance, whispering amongst themselves as they watched him pass. He didn’t recognize any of them, but he was fairly certain this was the blonde man’s ship.

Nekomaru led him below deck and into a small cabin. He rifled through some sort of bag and pulled out a swimsuit. “Here! It might be a little big on you, but we can tie it.”

Of course, Hajime had no idea how to put the thing on. He was still getting the hang of walking. After a minute of panicking, he figured out that he could sit down and try to manoeuvre his legs into the swimsuit.

The large man watched him struggle, arms crossed over his broad chest. “Huh… We should probably get you checked out once we get to land.” He helped Hajime get back on his feet and adjusted the large swimsuit. “Where are you from, by the way?” At the castaway’s blank look, he winced. “Right. Can’t talk.”

Nekomaru led him back to the deck and got him situated on a seat near the back. The large man then left him to go see when they would be heading back to shore. Hajime was alone.

So far his experience being a human was… underwhelming. But Hajime was sure it would get better once he was on actual land. And once he found the blonde man, of course.

As if on cue, a familiar face emerged from below deck, looking as grumpy as ever. Hajime tried to jump to his feet, but his lack of coordination resulted in him falling back into his seat. The action successfully got the other man’s attention, however, and he watched as the blonde’s eyes went wide.

The man approached him cautiously. “You… There’s no way…” he murmured once he was close enough. His eyes fixed on Hajime’s legs and he frowned. “So it was just a costume?”

Hajime shook his head and opened his mouth to explain, but no sound came out. He shut his mouth again, looking frustrated.

The blonde arched an eyebrow at him. “...What the fuck is wrong with you? Can’t you talk?”

The former merman shook his head again. He felt a little sheepish suddenly, realizing he had no way to explain to the man why he couldn’t speak to him. This deal was getting worse all the time.

Crossing his arms, the blonde studied him for a long time. He finally dropped into a seat next to Hajime. “So I guess I can’t ask you why the fuck you’re here… or what your name is.”

Hajime shrugged helplessly. A thought occurred to him and he pointed at his mouth, directing the other man’s attention there. He then mouthed the syllables of his name, hoping he could at least get that across.

But the blonde just seemed confused. “Uh… I can’t read lips.”

“Young Master.” The silver-haired woman that always accompanied him appeared out of seemingly nowhere. She eyed Hajime apprehensively. “I was unaware that we had a new guest.”

“I’m just as confused as you are,” the blonde replied, eyes still fixed on Hajime. “Maybe even more.” He blinked as an idea came to mind. “Hey, Peko, see if you can figure out what he’s trying to say.”

The woman - Peko? - turned fully to Hajime, her piercing red eyes studying his face. The merman swallowed hard before trying again to mouth his name. “Ha-ji-me?” the woman repeated as he formed each syllable, and he nodded excitedly.

“Hajime?”

He whipped his head around to look at the blonde. Hearing his name from the other man’s mouth was oddly endearing, and he felt a broad smile form on his face.

The blonde man, on the other hand, was still frowning. “Is that your name?” When the brunette nodded, he hummed thoughtfully. “Huh. How did you get here?”

Hajime just shrugged, not certain how to explain that without words. He just pointed helplessly at the sea.

Nekomaru approached again, looking as cheerful as ever. “Hey, Boss! I see you’ve met our stowaway!”

The blonde looked up in interest. “Oh, you know where he came from?”

The large man nodded. “He was just floating out in the water, nothing around for miles! Lucky thing we found him, huh?”

Peko regarded Nekomaru coolly. “You shouldn’t bring strangers onboard without alerting us.”

“He was gonna drown,” Nekomaru argued, crossing his arms.

“It’s fine, Peko,” the blonde told her. He studied Hajime again. “...Do you have someplace to go?” When the brunette shook his head, he asked another question. “What are you even doing?”

Hajime shrugged again and Nekomaru laughed loudly. “Yeah, I keep forgetting he can’t answer, too!”

The blonde scowled up at him. “You can leave now.” He glanced at Peko. “You, too.”

“Young Master, I hardly think I should leave you alone with a strange man from the sea,” the woman told him, voice even despite the obvious jab.

“It’s fine,” he hissed. “Fuckin’ go.”

Eventually, Peko and Nekomaru walked away, leaving Hajime alone with the blonde man. He smiled at the man at his side, who just frowned back.

Hajime had an idea. He turned fully to the blonde and pointed to himself, mouthing his name. He then pointed to the other man with a questioning look. It took a second, but the blonde seemed to catch on. “Oh, my name?” The former merman nodded. “It’s Fuyuhiko.”

‘Fuyuhiko,’ Hajime mouthed, not missing the way the other man’s cheeks reddened as he did so.

“A-Anyway, since you don’t have anywhere to go, I guess you can come with me.” He paused, crossing his arms. “Seriously, you’re going to have to explain to me how the fuck you got here and what your actual plan was. Are you just stupid?”

Hajime frowned, giving his head a slight shake. He thought about it for a moment before motioning out towards the ocean, and then pointing at Fuyuhiko.

The blonde regarded him with surprise. “Me? What…” His cheeks flushed. “...You came to see me?”

He nodded, also starting to blush. His eyes widened as the other man started to laugh.

“Dumbass,” Fuyuhiko snickered. “We kissed once and you crawled out of the fuckin’ ocean for me?” Despite his laughter, his face was still bright red.

Hajime couldn’t help but smile. The blonde’s laughter was really cute.

Once he regained his composure, Fuyuhiko leaned in conspiratorially, lowering his voice. “So… Were you just pretending to be a mermaid last time?”

The brunette shook his head, mouthing the word ‘merman.’

Fuyuhiko looked up at him, expression unreadable. “You’re telling me you’re really… seriously a merman?”

Hajime nodded.

“Then how the fuck do you have legs now?”

The former merman sighed silently, pointing helplessly at his throat.

The blonde groaned. “God, this is annoying. Maybe when we get to shore you can write it out?”

Hajime nodded excitedly. He hadn’t even thought about writing. That way he could explain the whole scenario. He’d be able to kiss Fuyuhiko in no time.

***

As it turned out, his plan to write down his explanation had a fatal flaw.

Merpeople didn’t write the same way as land-dwellers.

Once they got to Fuyuhiko’s home (which was startlingly large), Hajime had been given a sheet of something the humans called "paper," plus a writing implement. He had spent several minutes trying to figure out how to use both objects.

Back under the sea, writing was typically done on stone slates, or traced into the sand, if you were close enough to the bottom. Writing on paper was a bit different, but in an interesting way. Hajime was excited when he started getting the hang of it.

He began writing out what had happened to him while Fuyuhiko hovered over his shoulder. Not even two sentences in, however, the blonde interrupted him. "What the fuck is that?"

Hajime looked up at him, confused. He looked back down at the page curiously. Sure, his handwriting was a little messy, but-

"None of that makes any sense." Fuyuhiko grabbed another pen and scribbled something on the page. "Words are supposed to look like this, see?"

Both of them stared down at the paper, at the two drastically different writing styles. Seeing them side by side made it abundantly clear.

Merpeople had a completely different written language than surfacers.

Hajime had really hoped that it would be the same, since they apparently had the same spoken language. That clearly wasn't the case.

Fuyuhiko groaned loudly. "Goddamnit, so much for that plan." He frowned at the other man, trying to figure something out. When nothing came to mind, he sighed. "Ugh, okay, I guess we'll figure out your story later."

The former merman gave him an apologetic look, scratching his head.

"It's fine. For now, let's just get you settled in." He led the way out of the room they were in (some type of study?) and up a set of stairs. He ended up having to help Hajime, realizing that he had never encountered stairs before. "Shit, sorry."

The brunette just smiled at him and accepted his support. He didn't miss the way that Fuyuhiko's cheeks got just a bit pinker.

They made their way into a bedroom on the second floor. "You can stay here until we figure this out. I think there are some clothes in here…" Fuyuhiko went to the closet door, opening it and observing the contents. "Yeah, there's some stuff you can wear. Hopefully it fits. Go ahead and get changed before dinner-" He turned just as Hajime started pulling his swimsuit off and immediately Fuyuhiko turned crimson. "W-What the fuck are you doing?! Wait for me to leave, dumbass!"

Hajime looked at him, confused. Merpeople didn't really wear clothes, just accessories, so he didn't have the same sense of modesty as the panicked human.

Shielding his eyes with one hand, Fuyuhiko headed towards the door. "I'll, um… I'm gonna go! You get dressed, okay?" He paused at the door and cringed as a thought dawned on him. "...You probably need help, huh?" He turned to see Hajime nodding sheepishly. "Shit," he sighed.

Still blushing furiously, the human went back to the closet and yanked out some clothes. He averted his eyes as much as possible while instructing Hajime how to dress himself. When he reached the buttons of the shirt, however, the merman proved completely inept.

Fuyuhiko sighed dramatically before stepping closer to Hajime, who was sitting on the bed. He batted Hajime's hands out of the way and started fastening the buttons himself. He tried very hard not to think about his fingers brushing against the other man's chest, or how close their faces were, or how he was technically standing between Hajime's legs.

As he finished with the buttons, he moved to pull his hands back, but Hajime caught his wrists. Their eyes met and Fuyuhiko's breath hitched. He was even closer to the merman than he had realized.

"...What are you doing?" Fuyuhiko asked quietly, feeling Hajime's thumbs rubbing softly against his wrists.

No answer came, obviously, but the brunette gently tugged him closer. Hajime leaned in, breath washing over Fuyuhiko's lips, hazel eyes searching his face to make sure it was okay.

He was so close now, lips barely a hair's breadth away. Fuyuhiko could feel his heart pounding.

At the last second, the blonde shoved Hajime back, quickly stepping away. "S-Stop!" His cheeks were bright red as he placed a hand over his face. "We can't… You can't just show up here and…" He gave a frustrated growl, unable to find the words he wanted.

Hajime blinked at him, face flushed. He tried to apologize, but no sound came out. 'I'm sorry,' he mouthed.

Fuyuhiko just shook his head and turned away. "It's… it's fine. Just stay here. I'm gonna go." He opened the door to leave, but paused again. "I'll have someone come get you for dinner." And then he was gone.

The merman let out a long sigh and laid back on the bed. That had been awfully close. Maybe kissing Fuyuhiko would be easier than he thought.

Hajime frowned to himself. He didn't like the idea of kissing the other man just for the sake of the spell. If they kissed, he wanted it to be because it was what they both wanted. He had tried to kiss Fuyuhiko just then because it felt right in the moment, and he had thought that the other man felt the same.

It was fine, though. It was only the end of the first day. Hajime still had plenty of time.

He sat up with a determined smile. He was going to kiss Fuyuhiko before the three days were up, and he was going to let it happen naturally.

***

Dinner was an experience.

The man from earlier, Nekomaru, had come to collect Hajime. He led him to a lavish dining room with lots of people gathered around the table.

Hajime ended up sitting between two people he hadn't met before, while Fuyuhiko sat near the end of the table. The blonde didn't talk much during dinner, and Hajime wasn't able to hear anything, anyway.

What he did hear, however, was a lot of chatter from the people surrounding him.

From what he could gather, it sounded like Fuyuhiko was some sort of royalty, or at least someone important. The diminutive man had been tasked with entertaining guests by his father. That was why he had been spending so much time sailing.

The blonde clearly wasn't too happy about his current role and wasn't afraid to let everyone know that. It seemed like most of the people present were used to his attitude, though.

Hajime tore his attention away from the conversation he was listening in on, glancing over at Fuyuhiko. He was surprised to find the other man looking back at him. As soon as their eyes met, however, Fuyuhiko scowled and turned away, leaving Hajime confused.

After dinner, Hajime found himself wandering around the building a bit. He was really getting the hang of walking, but he wasn't sure he was ready to tackle the stairs by himself. Besides, he was enjoying the sights.

He ended up outside on the back patio. The night sky was beautiful, and as he approached the railing, he was treated to an amazing view of the ocean.

Hajime smiled softly. He missed his friends, but he knew they'd want him to enjoy himself. Well, Chiaki would. Kazuichi would probably complain about him getting left behind.

As he was admiring the view, another person approached him from behind. "It's nice out here, huh?"

Hajime turned in surprise and was pleased to see Fuyuhiko coming to stand by the railing beside him. He smiled warmly down at the blonde, remembering why he was there to begin with.

Fuyuhiko ignored the way the merman was looking at him. He leaned against the railing and smirked at Hajime. "Heh, you're probably sick of looking at the ocean, though, right?"

The brunette thought about it, gazing out at the sea. Then he shrugged, shaking his head slightly. He has never seen the ocean from this perspective, after all.

Fuyuhiko hummed in response. After a pause, he sighed. "...I have so many questions for you, but you can't fuckin' answer any of them."

Hajime gave him an apologetic look. They fell silent for a while, but it wasn't uncomfortable. The merman looked up at the stars, thinking that those actually looked better back home.

"...Hey," Fuyuhiko started quietly. Hajime turned to look at him. "Did you… seriously come all the way here just for me?" His cheeks were flushed and he wouldn't meet Hajime's eyes.

The merman nodded slowly, studying the other man's face. Once he was able to speak, he would have to explain that he also wanted to live with the humans, but the simpler explanation would suffice for now.

Fuyuhiko's golden gaze gradually moved up and their eyes locked. "...Why?"

Hajime considered the question for a long moment, unsure how to answer. He wasn't even sure he knew the reason. There was something drawing him to the other man, a feeling powerful enough for him to follow Fuyuhiko onto land.

How could he possibly explain that?

He moved forward slowly, drawing closer to the blonde. Fuyuhiko eyed him apprehensively. Hajime lifted his hands to carefully cup Fuyuhiko's face, feeling the heat radiating from the smaller man's cheeks.

Hajime leaned in, closing in on Fuyuhiko's face. He watched the blonde's eyes slowly close, his long lashes fluttering slightly. The merman felt his heart beat faster and his own eyes slid closed as he neared Fuyuhiko's lips.

Just before they could kiss, however, a voice cut through the night air. "Young Master!"

Both of them scrambled away from each other, turning to face the silver-haired woman who was rapidly approaching them. "P-Peko, it's not-" Fuyuhiko started, face flushed.

The woman swiftly placed herself between the two men, glaring coolly at Hajime. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

The merman held up his hands defensively, mouthing a silent apology even though he wasn't entirely sure what the issue was.

Peko's piercing red eyes narrowed. "You have no right to lay your hands on my young master. Do you have any idea-"

"Stop it!" Fuyuhiko barked, grabbing the woman by the arm. "He wasn't doing anything! I, uh… had something in my eye," he lied, shooting a look at Hajime. Play along.

The brunette nodded, backing Fuyuhiko up. Peko studied him for a long time, apparently deciding whether or not to buy into the obvious lie. Eventually she sighed. "Fine. It appears that you don't mean any harm, so I can let this slide."

Hajime was flooded with relief, but it was cut short when Peko continued.

"But I would advise you to learn your place."

Fuyuhiko scowled at her. "Shut the fuck up with that. I don't care about being 'above' anybody else. Being the heir to the clan doesn't mean I'm off-limits or whatever."

"Perhaps you don't think so, but your role in the clan does put you above others. You shouldn't be fraternizing with random commoners." Realizing how she was addressing Fuyuhiko, she bowed her head. "I am sorry if I've spoken out of turn."

The blonde was already shaking his head. "It's fine, I get it." He turned to Hajime. "We should probably part ways for the night. Can you find your way back to your room?"

Hajime nodded. He wasn't ready to be separated from Fuyuhiko yet, but he recognized that this was for the best. So he watched sadly as Peko led the smaller man back into the house.

His thoughts were still reeling. They had come so close to kissing again. And there was definitely chemistry between them, Hajime felt it. And it was only the end of the first day.

The merman headed back into the house, more determined than ever

***

Throughout the next day, Hajime found himself in many similar situations. Whenever he was alone with Fuyuhiko, the two of them would be drawn together, as though by some magnetic force. Usually this resulted in them touching in some way.

Several times, they got frustratingly close to kissing before something (or someone) would interrupt. Hajime was just about ready to grab the other man and kiss him senseless the moment he saw him.

He returned to his room in the early evening. He wanted to keep spending time around Fuyuhiko, but the blonde had eventually chased him away, claiming he had to work.

Being on land was still strange to Hajime. There were so many things he didn't know how to do. Nekomaru was nice enough to instruct him how to do a few things without asking why he didn't already know, but he knew he still had a lot to learn.

Now, sitting on his bed alone, it really started to sink in that this could end up being Hajime's whole life. If he met the sea witch's terms, he would officially become a land-dweller. It was a little overwhelming.

A voice cut through the silence. "Psst, hey loverboy!"

Hajime's head whipped around, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. Airy laughter surrounded him and he tried following it to the source.

The voice led him to a vanity set against the far wall of the room. As he drew nearer, the mirror began to shimmer before changing to show the grinning face of the sea witch.

"Surprise!" she shouted. At Hajime's shocked expression, she continued. "Since your time was about half over, I thought it might be a good time to check in, see how you're doing. So? How's it going?"

The brunette just frowned silently at her.

The witch cackled. "Oh, right! You can't tell me!" Her tone clearly conveyed that she hadn't forgotten about Hajime's affliction at all. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I've been keeping an eye on you the whole time!"

Hajime's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak before remembering it was futile.

"You and your man have been getting awfully cozy, haven't you?" she teased, chuckling when Hajime blushed. "In fact, you've been getting so cozy that I think I'm going to change the terms of our contract a little."

The merman furrowed his brow angrily. He tried to yell at her, but still nothing came out.

The sea witch waved him off. "No good, can't hear you. Anyway, it looks like you're not going to have any trouble kissing your little human, so how's about we up the ante?" She grinned wickedly. "Now if you want your voice back, you're gonna have to fuck him!"

Hajime felt his heart stop and his brain short-circuit. He shook his head, no way was he going to agree to that.

"I'm not hearing any objections," the witch jeered, "so the deal is done!"

There was a flash of green light, blinding Hajime for a moment. When his vision cleared, he glared at the mirror.

The sea witch was cackling excitedly. "Hell yeah! Look at that fuckin' face!" She leaned closer to the mirror. "Is that despair you're feeling?"

The brunette took a step backwards, feeling overwhelmed by the new situation. He could feel a pit forming in his stomach.

"Good luck, loverboy!" The witch gave him a little wave before the mirror shimmered again and changed to show Hajime's reflection.

He stared at the mirror for a long while, processing what had just happened.

The sea witch had changed the terms of their agreement - could she do that? He supposed she could, since she already did. And now just kissing Fuyuhiko wouldn't break the spell. He had to somehow convince him to have sex - within the next day.

Hajime sat heavily on the bed, mind reeling. How the hell was he going to pull this off?

The merman grimaced. While he definitely did want to sleep with Fuyuhiko, he didn't want to rush into it for the sake of this spell. He had wanted all of his interactions with the blonde to be as natural as possible.

And then, of course, there was the tiny detail that he didn't actually know how humans have sex.

First things first, he supposed. He needed to kiss the other man before he could get any further.

…Tonight. I'll definitely kiss him before the end of the night.

***

Hajime held onto that determination all throughout dinner. He ended up sitting a bit closer to Fuyuhiko this time but there were still multiple people between them. The merman didn't let that deter him, however, and he spent most of the meal giving the blonde longing looks.

He knew that Fuyuhiko was aware of his staring. Even though the blonde was deliberately not looking back at him, his cheeks and ears were flushed.

When the human finally did meet his gaze, glaring at the brunette in embarrassment, Hajime just responded with a slight smirk and a pointed look at Fuyuhiko's lips.

After dinner, the blonde cornered him just outside the dining room. "Come on, we need to talk," he growled, grabbing Hajime's arm and pulling him along.

They ended up in a very nicely furnished bedroom with a healthy layer of clutter. Hajime wondered briefly if this was Fuyuhiko's room before he was pushed to sit on the foot of the bed.

The smaller man stood in front of him, arms crossed, glaring at him. "What the fuck is your problem?" At Hajime's blank stare, he continued. "You can't just keep… fuckin'... staring at me!" He gestured angrily and his cheeks turned red.

Hajime felt a little embarrassed. Maybe staring hadn't been the best move, but really, he didn't have any other way to get Fuyuhiko's attention. He gave the blonde an apologetic look, shrugging slightly.

Fuyuhiko sighed. "Look, I know… I know that there's something between us," his blush deepened, "but you can't just keep mad-dogging me until I… Shit, I don't even know what you expect me to do!"

His grumpy expression was adorable, and Hajime couldn't help but smile a bit.

"And that!" Fuyuhiko pointed at the merman's face. "Quit, like, smiling and shit when I'm mad! It pisses me off!"

God, that was even cuter. Hajime started laughing silently.

"Seriously, asshole! Knock it off!" Fuyuhiko moved forward to grab the front of Hajime's shirt. He realized his mistake as he became painfully aware of how close they were now, but he didn't back down.

The brunette looked up at him, expression an odd mixture of surprise and mirth. This close, he could really see how many freckles the other man had. His eyes slowly trailed down to Fuyuhiko's lips.

Drawing in a shaky breath, the blonde tightened his grip on Hajime's shirt. "Stop looking at me like that," he said, voice low.

Like what? Hajime mouthed, not even thinking about the fact that the human couldn't hear him. He gently grasped Fuyuhiko's wrists but didn't move them.

"Like you wanna fuckin' kiss me," Fuyuhiko murmured, and he was so close now, and there wasn't anything to stop them. Hajime couldn't resist.

The merman closed the distance between them and kissed him. The blonde pulled on Hajime's shirt, tugging him even closer as their mouths pressed together.

Lips moved slowly, sensually, savoring the moment before parting invitingly. Hajime licked into the smaller man's mouth, hands moving to cup his face. The memory of kissing Fuyuhiko in the cave came rushing back vividly.

The blonde made a soft noise, kissing back eagerly. Their tongues met as the kiss deepened, all of the anticipation from the last two days coming to a head.

Fuyuhiko nipped at Hajime's lower lip, letting go of his shirt in favor of burying his fingers in his hair. The merman pulled him closer and he allowed himself to be drawn into the taller man's lap, straddling him.

After a moment, the blonde pulled back, panting. "Shit," he breathed. He clearly wanted to say something else, but instead he dove back into the kiss. Hajime answered in kind.

They kissed for several minutes, quiet moans escaping from Fuyuhiko's throat. Hajime's hands moved to the other man's hips before sliding down his thighs, marveling at the way his legs were able to bend.

Fuyuhiko growled against Hajime's lips. He pulled away again, but not very far. "What the fuck is happening?" he asked between kisses. "I don't even know you, why the fuck do I want you so bad?"

Hajime laughed silently before his mouth was occupied again. He willingly gave up control as the blonde kissed him harder, clearly taking out his frustrations on Hajime's mouth. The merman slid his hands back up Fuyuhiko's legs, coming to rest on his ass, earning a breathy moan.

Eventually they broke apart. Fuyuhiko took a deep breath to ground himself, frowning at the taller man. "We have to stop. I can't… I don't want to do anything I'm gonna regret."

Hajime furrowed his brow, but he understood. He let go of the human, allowing him to stand up.

Fuyuhiko straightened his clothes. He was still trying to catch his breath, and he wouldn't meet Hajime's eyes. "...Sorry," he muttered. "I'm not trying to be a cocktease, I promise."

The merman wasn't sure what that meant, but he shook his head to show that there were no hard feelings. He stood up from the bed and indicated the door.

"Yeah," the blonde hurriedly agreed, clearing his throat. "It's probably better if you go."

Hajime walked to the door with Fuyuhiko following behind him. As he stepped into the hallway, he felt the other man's hand on his shoulder. He turned to face him, curious, and was caught off-guard as Fuyuhiko leaned up and kissed him again. The merman was surprised, but happily returned the kiss.

The blonde didn't linger, however, pulling away just as suddenly. "I'll, um… see you tomorrow, yeah?"

Hajime nodded and watched him close the door. As he made his way back to his room, the brunette couldn't help smiling to himself. He had successfully kissed Fuyuhiko! Now he just had to get a little further.

He sighed at the thought. The blonde had definitely been into the kiss, and it certainly felt like he wanted to do more, but it also seemed like he was hesitant. Hajime couldn't blame him, really. Asking him to jump into bed with a man he barely knew was unfair.

The merman reached his bedroom and busied himself with getting ready for bed. He tried not to think too much about the beautiful human, but it was proving truly difficult.

Especially because the strange appendage between his legs was standing at attention.

***

After breakfast, Fuyuhiko told Hajime that he had to actually work and pawned him off on Nekomaru. Hajime didn't mind, of course. He knew Fuyuhiko would have something else to do eventually, and he liked spending time with Nekomaru well enough.

When the blonde continued avoiding him after lunch, however, Hajime started growing concerned.

He was quickly running out of time. He had to get Fuyuhiko to sleep with him by the end of the day, and he definitely wouldn't be able to do that if the man in question wasn't around.

Hajime allowed Nekomaru to lead him outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of Fuyuhiko somewhere. The huge man commanded his attention, though, trying to explain some game involving kicking a ball. The former merman watched his demonstration incredulously, knowing full well that he didn't have the coordination for that.

Before he realized it, another couple of hours had passed. The sun was already starting to descend and Hajime still had no idea where Fuyuhiko was.

Luckily, Nekomaru saw his searching glances and understood immediately. "You looking for the boss?" When Hajime nodded, he laughed. "Man, you two sure like each other a lot! Young love sure is cute!"

His statement was a little confusing to Hajime, since he was under the impression that Nekomaru was the same age as him, but he blushed nonetheless.

The huge man just grinned at him. "He's probably meeting with his father right about now, but you should be able to catch him before dinner."

Hajime sighed. He didn't like waiting, since he was rapidly running out of time, but he also didn't want to disrupt Fuyuhiko's life anymore than he already had. He nodded to Nekomaru and went back to trying to kick the ball without falling over.

***

He wasn't able to find Fuyuhiko before dinner, and the blonde gave him the slip again right after the meal. Hajime ended up just going to Fuyuhiko's room and sitting slumped against the door.

It was probably a pretty pathetic sight, but Hajime didn't care. If this is what it took to be with the human, then so be it.

Glancing out a nearby window told him that it was getting late. The sun had set long ago. The merman sighed for what felt like the hundredth time since he sat down. This might be the end of his land adventure after all.

Just as he was getting ready to start the long walk back to the beach, he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up hopefully and was pleased to see that it really was Fuyuhiko.

Gold eyes met hazel and they stared each other down for a moment. "...What the fuck are you doing?"

Hajime climbed to his feet and just indicated the human.

"Waiting for me?" Fuyuhiko snorted, but his cheeks still turned pink. Well, pinker. "That's kinda sad, you know." He came closer, stopping right in front of Hajime. "What exactly do you want?"

The question was so blunt, and the man's face was so deadpan, it caught Hajime a little off guard. He stared back blankly for a second before pointing at Fuyuhiko.

The blonde frowned, brow furrowed. "Me? What, like… you wanna fuck me? 'Cause I'm not into that casual shit, okay?"

The merman shook his head. Obviously he wanted to sleep with the human, but that wasn't all he wanted. He reached out and gently laid his hand on Fuyuhiko's chest, directly over his heart.

It took the smaller man a moment to catch on, but when he did, his face and ears turned a deep red. "You…! What the fuck are you saying?!"

Technically I'm not saying anything. Hajime really wished he could speak instead of having to keep his snarky comments to himself.

Fuyuhiko grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. "...You're so fuckin' embarrassing." Despite the insult, he leaned up and kissed him.

Hajime gladly kissed back, carefully wrapping his arms around the other man, bringing their bodies flush together. As the blonde's lips parted, he happily took advantage. Their tongues met and the kiss deepened.

When they broke for air, Fuyuhiko glared up into Hajime's eyes. "I don't know what this is between us, but you better be taking it seriously, you hear me?"

The merman nodded in agreement, leaning in to nuzzle the other man's ear. There was so much he wanted to tell him, and the thought that he might be able to soon kept him on target.

Fuyuhiko made a soft noise as the brunette started kissing his neck. "Fuck… Let's get out of the damn hallway," he muttered, pulling away from Hajime. He grabbed the merman's wrist and pulled him into his bedroom.

Once inside, he shoved Hajime backwards onto his bed and slammed the door. Fuyuhiko stood over him, brows knitted and cheeks flushed. "...I'm serious about not wanting anything casual. If we… If we do this, you have to… promise…" He cut himself off, seemingly too embarrassed.

Hajime sat up and pulled the smaller man closer. He cupped his cheek and gazed up into his golden eyes, knowing that he felt the exact same way. I promise, he mouthed, though he wasn't sure Fuyuhiko would understand. I want to be with you… More than you know.

The blonde let out a nervous breath before kissing the taller man deeply. He moved closer so that he was standing between Hajime's legs, his own legs pressed against the bed. He pulled back just enough to speak again. "...You're not, like… going to leave me to go back to the ocean, are you?"

Shaking his head, Hajime leaned in, pressing soft, reverent kisses to Fuyuhiko's freckled cheeks. If only he could explain that this was exactly what he needed to stay here.

The human pushed him back onto the bed again, but this time he followed, covering Hajime's body with his own. He kissed the merman hungrily, straddling his hips.

(cue the smut)

A couple of notes:

So I wasn't sure if I wanted to make Fuyuhiko a prince, or just keep him as the heir to a yakuza clan (a yakuza prince lol) so I left it kinda vague. But I definitely leaned more towards the yakuza explanation. Should I make it more clear?

And I don't know why Nekomaru is there, lol.

I think I could probably take a lot of the beginning out, but idk. What do you all think?

[tethrras]

🎮 🍃 🤍 💘 for lavinia!

🎮 VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER — what are three of your oc's favorite hobbies?

AH I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS SOO MUCH THIS WEEK. i think one of her main hobbies is prayer <3 what do you mean that doesn't count? okay uhhh.... ummm.... hmmm......

she is very much Not competitive so she doesn't usually play games or cards or anything like that, although if there was a thedas version of solitaire she would be down. she does really like horseback riding though and has had a few horses in her life that she's loved very very deeply and thinks they are the most noble creatures in the world. she's definitely the type who would personally braid her horses hair. (she also really loves doing braids for people. not as a hobby but out of love. she does do slutty little braids for varric.) but you will never catch her ass wanting to do any horse riding competitions she'd be like why can't we hang out with each other and listen to the birds :(

she also REALLY loves swimming! she's always had a huge fascination with water and the ocean and i think she had a fling w a noble boy when she was younger that was 10% interest in him and 90% him offering to take her down to the coast of the free marches to swim and she took him up on it. she definitely sneaks out of camp at night during inquisition to find a stream and swim in it but she is very much Not okay with nudity so she makes a camp guard come with her and then turn away and not watch until she's dressed again.

i also think and tbh i'm coming up with this lore on the fly but i think she is also really into Architecture and Building. she was a guard so she had to understand how criminals or bad guys or what have you could sneak into the city and launch attacks and i think that coupled with her reverence for Chantries as a building and not as a concept made her get really into architecture. i also think she is really interested in building boats. oh this is so cute actually......... now her and varric need a country estate in ferelden where they have a lake and a little boat and a dock..... but anyway i digress. i think she is very... she very much feels affected by When Things are supposed to give off a certain vibe. if a place is supposed to make you feel alone she feels alone, if a place is supposed to make you feel in awe she feels in awe, she can intuit intent very strongly which is part of why she is SOO loyal to the chant, bc the chantry makes her feel so strongly when she's in them. you know? so yes i think she reads a lot about architecture and she definitely always hangs around skyhold asking the people doing repairs what they're doing and why they're doing it etc etc

🍃 LEAVES FLUTTERING IN WIND — what is/was your oc's favorite subject in school?

literally just memorizing the chant. as we know the whole thing is too long to recite in canon without taking a few weeks but she probably has a few sections she favours and that's because she worked tirelessly to memorize them in school. she doesn't have the best memory in the world so it took a while and those for sure stuck with her

🤍 WHITE HEART — what are three of your oc's neutral/questionable traits?

like i said she doesn't have a great memory and i don't think it's not for trying i think she just THINKS so much that some things slip her mind. she is also a little bit of a preacher. she tries not to be but she definitely smiles at people when they do something good in a way that's very obviously her going "the maker would approve of this". she's a bit sanctimonious lol. i also think she avoids Fun activities unless persuaded and would rather sit by the fire with a good book and her best friend/favourite person or have an intimate dinner with friends. it takes her a lot of convincing for her to go out and get wasted, for example

💘 answered here!!!

oc emoji asks

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Skyrim favorites! 2 parts!

Answer one or more of these as either Teldryn or Sydari!

And then ofc give us your favorites, too! 20.   favorite weapon?

23.   favorite faction?

24.   favorite creature?

26.   favorite ability?

Answering as both since they both have their own opinions on this. Throwing in some Morrowind references too...coz reasons.

I'm dropping a fic easter egg in here! :D

20. Favourite Weapon.

Sydari unsheathes a curious dagger from her boot and places it on the table. The metal is unnaturally dark and the weapon itself seems to hum. There's daedric lettering etched into the centre of the blade.

"This little thing has gotten me out of more sticky situations than I can count. The enchantment is a little temperamental but the blade never dulls." She looks over at the Dunmer seated beside her, he raises an eyebrow as he stares apprehensively at the blade. She carefully places the dagger back in its sheath and smiles at him.

"He hates Daedric shit."

Teldryn shakes his head and slumps a little in his seat.

"I don't hate Daedric shit, I just," He scratches the bridge of his nose before taking another sip of the beverage beside him. It elicits a slightly disgusted look, "Miluth forgets that I've had my fair share of interactions with Daedra, all have consequences that I am no longer interested in experiencing." He looks down the hallway and smiles to himself, "Not any more."

"Oh, that's bullshit Tel! Your favourite weapon of all time was that weird crescent sword you took from that Dremora Lord," Sydari jeered, "Tell them that story!"

Teldryn shakes his head, "It's locked away in the armoury for a reason." He makes a sign with his hands that implies "little fingers".

"He stabbed a god with it!"

"Did I?"

(I love the design for Daedric weaponry in TES, something about it is so badass).

23. Favourite faction.

Sydari rests her feet on the table and sighs, "I'm a Nightingale."

Teldryn laughs, "She runs the Thieves Guild!"

Sydari throws a crust of bread at him and laughs in return, "And he thinks building tents in the yard and putting lamps in the window qualifies as a personality trait!"

"That one is a worthy cause and teaching her to build a yurt is a great way to pass the time."

"And attracts the attention of half the town."

"It's a dying art"

Sydari smiles back at him, "I know".

(I play the Thieves Guild questline in Skyrim a lot and Josh is very much an Ashlander projection on my part. He's also a member of Twin Lamps, a faction that has grown on me quite a bit! Yes I did say I'd throw Morrowind into this, can't do anything as instructed lol)

24. Favourite creature.

Sydari smiles, "I have always loved rabbits. They're so cute! I find the netch that float across the island to be fascinating."

"You've never had one of those things puke on you. It's foul." Teldryn takes another drink of the odd beverage beside him and grimaces. He pats the large, olive-green carapace of the nix hound at his feet.

"That's because I've never thrown a whole bottle of Sujamma at one you s'wit!"

"Language!" Teldryn tuts, a smile plastered across his thin features, "I heard her say fetcher the other day! Where did she pick that up?"

"She probably picked it up from you at the market last week! You called Fethis one because you think that he overcharged you for that glass tube you insisted on importing from the mainland."

"That's because Fethis is a dick!" Teldryn sighed and leaned back in his chair, "He's a dick Sydari."

"Language Sero, language."

Teldryn shakes his head, "I like big dogs."

"He likes cats."

"Shhhhhh!"

(I can't choose animals, I like most of them tbh so the above is a selection. I personally love the calls of silt striders and I think netch are cute.)

26. Favourite ability.

Both elves look at each other.

"Invisibility"

(I play stealth characters as a general rule, it's fun!)