#SandCastles

[treasuregamble]

Ricky Rainfrog, Amuseable Sandcastle, Sandy Snail via Jellycat

[blackcherryvelvet0909]

Sandcastle King (Leona x GN!Reader)

You admired the many sandcastles as you walked along the beach. They were all constructed uniquely to the tastes of their sculptors - to the dorms they belonged to. Despite the short two hour time frame, they were all so intricately designed, every detail well thought out. The most impressive, in your opinion, was the ones belonging to Diasomnia, Octavinelle, and Savanaclaw. They were around the same size as the others, but the way they were erected was most impressive. Diasomnia’s almost looked as though it were made of stone - Malleus’s craftsmanship, no doubt. Octavinelle’s was a near-exact replica of the dorm itself, special seashells placed on the peak of the towers resembling the spires of Octavinelle. 

Savanaclaw’s sandcastle, however, had been the one to win out. You honestly hadn’t expected much, and neither had the other onlookers. Of course, Jack and Ruggie worked hard, along with some other students, but there were those who really didn’t do anything at all. It was hard to get even half the dorm to participate! You supposed it was because magic was not allowed to be used to construct the castles; apparently some could not last without their magic for more than a couple hours. Leona himself, the leader of them all, had grumbled away about the magicless competition as well. He really didn’t do much in terms of labor…but he showed up in other areas of the contest. 

Never would you have guessed Leona knew so much about architecture, nor how such structures would hold up with sand as their body. Despite the difficulties of crafting with such loose material, Leona had managed everything so well that nary a crisis had occurred during the castle's construction. Truly, Leona’s secret knowledge was the envy of all other contestants - you noticed even Malleus pouted when Savanaclaw won. Never would anyone doubt Leona again. Well, in the construction and design department, at least. Any other kind of task was up for debate. 

You gazed out to the sea, various Savanaclaw students splashing in the crystal waters. Most were still celebrating their victory, even though some hadn’t contributed at all. You glanced over to your right to see Ruggie sitting pretty in a chair close to the shoreline, the throng of corndogs he’d received as his prize nearly gone. He could certainly gobble down food in a hurry. You hoped he was getting enough to eat during the trip. As for Jack, he’d gone with Epel and Deuce to get some ice cream - and Ace some aloe vera. He never listened when people warned him to put on sunscreen…

As you scanned the beach, wondering what to do next, you finally spotted the king of the castle himself: Leona. He was laid back on a large towel, eyes closed as he took in the sun’s rays. He looked like he was sleeping - you weren’t surprised. For someone who napped a lot, you expected him to be tired after the competition. You were honestly surprised he participated at all; at first, he was going to assign Ruggie to lead the pack to victory. It was when Malleus taunted him for turning tail that Leona agreed to the whole thing. You were sure Malleus regretted that teasing now.

Before you realized it, you were standing beside Leona. You watched him sleep for a minute, his bangs brushed aside to keep sweat out of them. His arms were folded behind his head, chest rising and falling steadily. Idia was right that one time he ranked your friends by attractiveness: Leona was, indeed, one of the top three men on campus. You wondered if that was why he and Malleus fought sometimes, to see who could outbest the other in that regard. You would have to ask Malleus to confirm later - you doubted Leona would tell you. 

You were pulled out of your thoughts when Leona’s eyes suddenly opened. He stared up at you, brow furrowed as he nearly snarled. “Oi, I’m sleepin’ here. You’re blockin’ the sun.” 

You couldn’t help but tease. “I thought you liked the shade?”

“Yeah, when I feel like it.” He smacked your leg with the back of his hand. “Move.” 

“You can’t even ask me nicely?” 

“You want me to make you?” 

“Alright, alright,” you stepped out of the way, “you don’t have to be so whiney.” 

He grumbled as he turned to lay on his side, away from you. “I’m not whiney.” 

“Yeah, right!” you laughed. “You’re whinier than Ace half the time!” 

Leona glanced over his shoulder at you, thoroughly unamused. “Are you gonna keep mocking me, or can I finally enjoy the sun in peace?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” You began to walk away as you mumbled to yourself. “It’s not like you need it anyway.” 

A small gasp left your lips as a large hand wrapped around your ankle. You looked back to see Leona, glare directed up at you. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“I mean, you’re already tanned,” you replied. “I don’t think you can get anymore baked.” 

“That so?” A sly smile stretched across his face. Oh no. “‘S that why you were oglin’ me?” 

You scoffed. “Ogling? I wasn’t ogling.” 

“Suuure you weren’t.” You stumbled as Leona tugged at your leg, forcing you to come closer. “Tryin’ to get a look at one of the college’s ‘top tier men’, right?” 

If you were beastmen your ears would have perked up in shock at the familiar term. “Where did you…?”

“Ruggie,” Leona said. “He overheard your lil conversation with radish sprout the other night. Thought it was so funny he’d tell me about it.” He smirked as he eyed you mischievously. “And you know what he told me? He said you agree enthusiastically when Idia said I was in the top three.” 

Well, caught red-handed, weren’t you? You could not stop the blush that tore across your cheeks, embarrassment flooding your veins. You wanted to run, and then maybe go dig a sandpit and die. Your eyes glanced over to Ruggie, who happily bit into his last corndog. You’d deal with him later. For now, you had your honor to defend. 

“Y-Yeah, and?” You mentally cursed yourself for stuttering. “I’m not gonna lie and say you’re ugly.”

“So I’m handsome then?” He was practically grinning now. 

“I never said that…” 

“They say the truth will set you free~” 

“Oh, shut up!” 

Leona breathed out a sound of amusement as he shrugged. “Suit yourself.” You thought you were finally free from this humiliation - and then you felt yourself fall. You yelped in surprise, hand flailing to try and grab onto something to catch yourself. Instead, your back hit Leona’s towel. You felt arms circle you and tug you close into a near suffocating hold. Leona’s expression was unreadable now, as his face was now hidden in the crook of your neck, but you could hear the amusement in his voice. 

“Guess I’ll just have to keep you here until you come clean.” 

Though you struggled in his grasp, it was no use - he was too strong for you. There was no escape. You glared daggers into the top of the lion’s head as you spoke. “Leona, I have to go-” 

“Well, you’re not.” 

“I need to see where Grim-” 

“He can take care of himself for a bit.” 

“Leona, get off me!”

Leona’s ears twitched, as though searching for genuine hurt in your voice. When he found none, his hold grew ever tighter. You felt him smile against your neck, “As I said, the truth will set you free.” 

“Bastard,” you hissed. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Leona brushed you off as he relaxed. “Wake me up when you’re ready for a confession.” 

He meant yours, no doubt. You didn’t want to, you wouldn’t! He’d have to get tired of this at some point; once he let you go, loosened his grip just enough, you’d run and never look back! Maybe one of your friends could help you escape…you hoped. For now, you had no choice but to sit - well, lay - tight and get comfy. Hopefully your sunscreen hadn’t washed off earlier, or you’d surely end up just like Ace. You sighed as you stared up at the sky, an incoherent grumble spoken under your breath. 

The purr that reverberated through Leona’s chest was surely at your strife.

[thatgurlbey]

[greasydumbfuck]

im sorry to everyone for making a polish comic all you need to know the pixies are saying a "doing your mom" joke

[thebeyoncesource]

SANDCASTLES (2016)

[addisonstars]

“sand-fortress”

written for day 20 of august for @wolfstarmicrofic with the prompt “sandcastle”

267 words

“Sirius, what are you doing?” Remus asked, as Sirius sat down in the sand with a pail and bucket.

“What does it look like I’m doing, Rem? I’m building a sandcastle.” He replied, filling the bucket with sand.

“Ohhhh,” he said, “Let me help you.”

“Ok!”

Remus started putting sand in the bucket and patting it down and they flipped it over, hoping to get a perfect sandcastle. The perfect sandcastle, however, it was not achieved.

“Um, did we do something wrong?” Sirius said, hiding the smile in his voice as he stares at the lumpy dome shaped sand.

“No, I don’t think so. Maybe the sand isn’t right?” Remus said, frowning.

“How is the sand not right? It’s sand for fucks same. It has one job.”

“No, no, the consistently. This obviously must be to like to soft, because it doesn’t hold its shape. Let’s add some water to it to make it more compact to hold the shape.”

It took them a while to figure out a good sand to water ratio, but once they found it out, they were unstoppable.

For the next couple hours, Sirius and Remus built up a sandcastle empire, complete with a moat and all. People might have thought they were crazy, two grown men sitting in the sand building sandcastles. But Remus and Sirius didn’t care, they were healing their inner child.

“Well.” Sirius started, staring at their creation.

“Well. It looks like we built a sand-fortress.”

“Yeah, wow.” They had a tourist take a photo of them standing next to it, making crazy poses, because normal is boring.

sandcastles are so fun to make idc what anyone says. and yes, there is a right consistency to the sand to make sandcastles.

ps: i finished art heist baby so if this is poorly written im so sorry my brain has been short circuiting bc ahhh

-a.s.

[solastia]

Sandcastles is finished on ao3 under andrasteschosen

So happy that story is out of my life

And I'm sorry if you can tell that lmao. But at least I think the epilogues sound pretty. I tried to make it more purple-proseish than my usual style to make up for it. It's more Namjoonesque now, I think.

[hedleylamarr]

SANDCASTLES (1972).

[cantevenbeachhere]

What’s the biggest sand castle you ever saw?

Okay so one time Barbie - I forget which one - built a sandcastle that came up to her eye level. Which was my shoulder level. And it looked legit like a castle! It was insane!

I wish I had a picture, but I didn’t have my phone with me.

Thankfully I’m not the Ken who accidentally knocked it down either.

Beach themed mail!

[leucisticpuffin]

For the WIP game, what is “sandcastles” about?

sandcastles is a story in which Maglor, after hundreds of years of solitude, gets kidnapped forcibly rescued by some kids from a small fishing village and has to learn how to Be A Person again. (It was meant to be a oneshot, but as always, it got away from me.) Here's a snippet:

Months passed: the last traces of summer were washed away by high autumn tides, and the sand-dunes were full of strange birds passing through on their journey north. There were pools deep in the dunes, marshy places where the long-legged waders gathered to hunt and preen their tired feathers, and the wide expanse of the beach where flocks of (birds?) tumbled along the shoreline, their white bellies flashing as they turned. One day Pia came past the wetland and found it full of geese, hundreds and hundreds of them, gone as quickly as they came. Still the elf-traveller stayed. Perhaps he lived somewhere in the dunes: Pia imagined a hovel of driftwood and wrecked ships’ boards, the smoke of a campfire twisting like spun thread up into the night. 

She did not speak to him again; but often she saw him, or heard his voice on the wind and stopped to listen. It was impossible to hear a voice like that and walk away.

Her chores took much longer to finish, these days. 

Thanks for asking! Work on this one is slow so I need the extra motivation :)

[knxwles]

My thoughts on Lemonade - Beyoncé 🍋

Lemonade is one of the biggest albums created. It’s not just about Jay Z’s infidelity. It’s about sisterhood as well. Beyoncé tells her story in the most beautiful way possible. She takes us on a powerful journey through her various experiences that come with loss and betrayal. Even though there are 13 songs on the album, i’ll narrow it down to the five stages of grief that she portrays in this album.

The first stage of grief is denial. In the opening track “Pray You Catch Me,” Beyoncé expresses feelings of suspicion and uncertainty, hinting at a sense of denial about the betrayal she is experiencing in her relationship.

The second stage is Anger. Songs like “Hold Up” and “Don't Hurt Yourself” showcase Beyoncé's anger and frustration over her partner's infidelity, as she confronts the pain and betrayal head-on with empowering lyrics.

The third stage of grief is bargaining. The song “Sorry” can be seen as a form of bargaining, with Beyoncé asserting her independence and self-worth as she navigates the complexities of her emotions and relationship.

The fourth stage of grief is depression. Tracks like “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles” delve into themes of sadness, longing, and reflection, as Beyoncé grapples with the pain and heartache of a failing relationship.

The final stage of grief is acceptance. The album ultimatelymoves towards a sense of acceptance and empowerment, with songs like “All Night” and “Formation” celebrating reconciliation, forgiveness, and self-love as Beyoncé finds strength and resilience in the face of adversity.

However, in “Formation” Beyoncé celebrates black lives and womanhood in a number of ways. The song's lyrics and music video highlight themes of empowerment and self-love within the black community. Beyoncé proudly embraces her identity as a black woman and encourages others to do the same. The song also addresses social issues such as police brutality, racism, and theimportance of self-expression. “Formation” serves as a powerful anthem that celebrates the strength and beauty of black lives and womanhood.

Through her music and visuals in “Lemonade,” Beyoncé captures the complexities of grief and healing, offering a deeply personal and relatable exploration of love, loss, and transformation.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk! 🍋

[blackcherryvelvet0909]

Sultan's Shore (Kalim x GN!Reader)

Kalim’s sparkling white smile was almost blinding. His ruby eyes twinkled with happiness, his sun-kissed skin speckled with seawater. The young man was having the time of his life. He turned to you as he filled his bucket with yet another pound of wet sand. “[Y/n]! How’s the moat coming along?” 

“It’s going great!” You continued to pat down sand with your little shovel as Kalim trotted over. “I just need a bit more wet sand to pack in the walls around the moment, and then it’ll be finished!”

“Awesome!” Kalim knelt next to you and set his bucket of soppy sand between you. “I think this should be enough for that.” 

You nodded in agreement. You dug your shovel into the bucket and fished out some of the makeshift cement and brought it to the moat. You put a clump at its edge before you patted it down, securing it in place. You glanced up at the rest of you and Kalim’s sandcastle. It wasn’t the most glamorous, but it was coming along quite nicely. You honestly never expected Kalim to be so good at making sandcastles, but the man had some surprises in him yet. You chuckled as you eyed the little seashell Kalim had placed atop the tallest tower of the structure: the crown jewel of the palace. 

“I love making sandcastles,” Kalim said as he began constructing yet another small tower. “My siblings and I love going down to the beach; we often have contests on who can make the best sandcastle.” His eyes suddenly lit up - you could practically see the lightbulb atop his head. “We should have one here! Tomorrow!” 

You smiled at his enthusiasm. “That sounds like fun! I know many would enjoy it - but it might be best if we separated people into teams. There’d be more space that way, and it’d allow for us to make even bigger sandcastles.” 

“Yeah!” Kalim’s grin was as bright as the sun. “That’s such a good idea. You’re amazing, [Y/n]!” 

You let out a chuckle, your cheeks now dusted a bit pink. “Well, it’s not the most unique idea. I just thought it’d be fun.” To try and save yourself from further flustering, you moved the conversation along. “Should we separate teams by dorm or by randomly chosen groups?” 

“I think random groups would be cool.” Kalim gave a small pout as his small tower grumbled soon after he lifted the bucket. “How do we do that though?” 

“We could have people draw straws,” you suggested. You helped Kalim reconstruct his failed tower as you continued. “Or we could draw colored strips from a hat. Either way, the ones with the same things drawn would be on the same team.” 

Kalim’s smile quickly returned - both by your ideas and by how this tower did not grumble. “I’ll get it set up then! I hope Jamil and I will be on the same team…wait, I should try to aim to be on an opposite team.” 

“Why?” 

“So I don’t rely on him as much.” Kalim began to decorate the sandy structure with more shells. “He does so much for me already, and we’re almost always on the same team since we’re both in Scarabia. I need to show Jamil I can be independent; he needs to see that he can do other things without having to worry about me.” 

Your heart softened in that instant. You knew why Kalim felt that way; even if it was months ago, Jamil’s overblot was still on his mind. When he realized just how little Jamil had gotten to live because of him, Kalim felt genuine remorse. He still wished to be friends with Jamil - but, above all else, he cared for his well-being and feelings. There were many people at the college who didn’t have the same heart as Kalim…he really was a kind, sweet man. Your smile softened as you patted Kalim’s hand. 

“I’m sure Jamil would appreciate that, Kalim.” Then, for a moment, you exchanged your smile for a frown. “But will you be okay? I know how much you love to spend time with Jamil.” 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Kalim reassured you with another bright smile, eyes shining with determination. “Besides, I have other friends I can be on a team with. There’s Cater, Lilia, Silver; I’d really love to be on a team with you, too, [Y/n]!” 

You let out a small laugh. “I’m not very good at making sandcastles, Kalim. I’m surprised this moat turned out as well as it did. I don’t know how much helped I’d be.” 

“It doesn’t matter to me whether or not you’re good.” Kalim scoot a little closer to you, eyes fixated on yours. Your foreheads almost touched…you felt your heart flutter. “All that matters is if you’re there having fun with me.” 

Had Kalim always been this pretty? You knew he was sweet, he always was, but…something about the look in his eyes, the way he spoke to you now, was different. Before you could discern it further, a voice from across the beach caught both of your attentions. 

“Kaliiiimm!” You both turned your heads to see Lilia further up the beach. One hand held his parasol, while the other held two glasses of…something. Likely some tropical drink - non-alcoholic, of course. If it weren’t for the thin stems at the bottom of the glasses, you’d wonder how Lilia could carry them in one hand. “You have to try this drink - it’s delectable!” As the third year drew near, he tucked the parasol under his chin and offered the glasses to the two of you. 

“Oh, thanks Lilia!” Kalim stretched out his hand and took one of the glasses. He glanced over his shoulder at you as he sat back on his heels, “Here, [Y/n], I’ll share it with you.”

“Actually,” Lilia offered the other glass to you, parasol back in his other hand, “this is for you, [Y/n]. I couldn’t leave you without a refreshment.” The fae’s eyes narrowed, a mischievous glint in his red orbs as he smirked. “As cute as it would be for the two of you to share, I can’t have you exchanging saliva just yet.” 

Neither of you said a word as Lilia walked away - as if he hadn’t left you two red in the face. After a moment of stunned, embarrassed silence, you and Kalim finally met each other’s eye. He gave you an awkward smile and laugh as he raised his glass. “W-Well, let’s drink! If Lilia says they’re good, they must be!” 

You returned his awkward smile, though yours was a tad shy. “Y-Yeah…”

So, the two of you sipped your drinks and continued to build your sandcastle. Lilia was right, they were good…but his words haunted your mind. They lingered too much, apparently. You could have sworn Kalim kept glancing in your direction when you weren’t looking. You two ended up naming your sandcastle ‘Sultan’s Shore’ - and Kalim did not hesitate to make clear he would always love to share that shore with you. 

[greasydumbfuck]

sandcastles........ and spider-starosta since this goofy as fuck universe is his

[fullslack]

Calvin Seibert

[graaaaceeliz]

It's very important to build sandcastles. For example when we went to lindisfarne we made a sand Abbey, island and heugh, and then used pebbles and shells and sticks as vikings. On the beach at Alnmouth we made a motte and bailey castle and then made a tiny trebuchet.

We are 16, 21 and 22. This is a very important part of our holidays. Sand castles are good for the soul.

[echo-is-super-cool]

WARNING ESPOSTED BONE(fish) DISMEMBERED HEAD(fish)

I made the lost city of Atlantis!:D

:)