#and i’m not talking about men who have tentacles

[dovewingkinnie]

it’s alwyas Girl and Tentacle what about Guy and Tentacle right guys

right guys

[phoward89]

Banner by me, dividers by @cafekitsune & @saradika-graphics

Based on this ask

Warnings: Dark!Stepbrother!Coriolanus Snow, Bigot General Crassus Snow, Implied child abuse, cussing, obsessive behavior, smut. AU of sorts.

When your mother started dating some war hero general, you didn't think much of it. Your mother's dated men, mostly officers, over the years and nothing ever came of it. So when your mother announced that Crassus proposed and she said yes, you nearly had a stroke.

Your older brother, Rein, had signed up for the peacekeepers the very next day. You think it was to get the hell out of the house, since Crassus Snow had a reputation of being a very cold, stern, and cruel man.

Not that you knew much about him. But you kind of knew his son. Well, you didn't know Coriolanus, but you went to the Academy with him.

Little did you know, Coriolanus has been secretly watching you ever since his balls dropped and his voice changed. He always thought that you were a beautiful little dove. His darling rose. He had a crush *cough* obsession *cough* with you, but would only watch you from afar.

His group of friends (rich asshole kids he had to play nice with) weren't the type of people that would accept you. You weren't from one of the great Capitol families.

But, despite not being able to be seen with you, he was determined that one day he'd have you pinned down on his bed.

How he planned on doing that if he never talks to you, well, who knows…

So, when Crassus Snow told his son that he was getting married to your mother, well, Coriolanus was over the moon. He was finally going to be able to fulfill his fantasies; pin you down on his mattress and fuck you into it until you begged for mercy.

The day after he found out you were going to be his new stepsister, he approached you at the Academy. You were talking with one of your friends, waiting for classes to start, in the main hallway. He felt that now was the perfect time to introduce you to the right friend circle to have; to claim you as his own too.

“Why isn't it Y/N Halvir, my new stepsister.”

“Your mother's marrying his father? Oh, I feel so bad for you…” Your friend whispered so only you'd be able to hear her.

Giving Coriolanus a fake smile, you simply greeted him with, “Hi, Coriolanus. Shouldn't you be with your own friends?”

“I’m actually here to take you with me so that you can meet them, now that you're a Snow.” Coriolanus replied, his icy eyes taking in every inch of you.

“Our parents aren't married yet, I'm nothing to you, but your classmate at the moment.” You reminded him, since he's never shown interest in you before; doesn't need to either since your parents’ are still planning the wedding.

Well Crassus’ mother, your soon to be new Grandma’am, was planning it while her son was footing the bill. You hope she doesn't pick out some frilly, gaudy, girly puffball of a dress for you to wear.

Coriolanus gave you a smile that was all pearly whites and sickeningly sweet. “Dear sweet stepsister, in time they'll be married, and I just want to introduce you to my friends.”

Your friend noticed the glint in Coriolanus' icy eyes and was afraid for you. She didn't know much about him, but he always intimidated her. Gave her the creeps for some reason she couldn't pinpoint. Your friend looked between you and your soon to be stepbrother, hoping that he'd just leave you alone.

Sadly, that didn't happen.

Coriolanus' large hand grabbed your arm, his long fingers wrapping tightly around it like tentacles. He leaned in close, so close that his breath was fanning your face, and gritted through his perfect teeth, “You're going to be a Snow, Y/N, so you need to start acting like it. The first step is to let me give you friends that are worthy of the Snow name.”

Your heart raced and you felt fear bloom in your chest. You nodded at him, giving into his will.

Coriolanus smirked when you turned to your friend and told her you were going with Coriolanus.

You were his now. His, and he’s never letting go.

Integrating yourself into the Snow family was easier said than done. First, you were stuck moving into their 12th floor Corso penthouse right away. Right away being mere days after the engagement was announced.

Your mother was so happy to be living in the grand penthouse, but you missed your old apartment.

At least your old, albeit smaller, apartment was warm and felt lived in. The Snow penthouse was cold and felt dead despite its large size and grand decor.

“Coriolanus, show your new sister to her room.” Crassus sternly ordered his son while standing in front of the fireplace in the main room, sipping tea.

Your mother and Grandma’am, Coriolanus’ grandmother, were sitting in chairs around a glass star shaped coffee table, sipping on tea and hot chocolate. Grandma'am was the one with the hot chocolate.

Grandma’am and your mother seemed to get along well, while Crassus didn't seem to care.

Hell, the general had a scowl on his face and looked a bit miserable.

You wondered if Coriolanus would grow up to be like his father since he already looked like him.

“Yes, father.” Coriolanus nodded. Grabbing your hand and leading you away from the adults, he said, “You'll be in Tigris' old room, little dove.”

“Who's Tigris?” You innocently asked.

“My cousin; she moved out into her own apartment not long ago.” He explained, dragging you down the hall.

You knew what Coriolanus truly meant. His cousin left after his father announced the engagement with your mother.

“My older brother just joined the peacekeepers, so it looks like we both had some family move out.”

Coriolanus stopped at a door, only to push it open and drag you inside of the room. “Mark my word, sweet stepsister, father will be pushing for your brother to take an officer's aptitude test as soon as he's eligible.”

“I don't see why, Rein's not his son.” You told the blonde as he let go of your hand and flipped on the light switch.

The room was spacious. The only furniture in it was a bed, a nightstand, and a desk with a chair. The bed linens were simple too.

The room felt more like a guestroom then a room that had once belonged to somebody in the Snow family.

Maybe it was the lack of personal decorations that made the room feel so lifeless?

But wasn't that to be expected considering Tigris has vacated the room; took any decorations and personal touches with her.

Coriolanus guided you over to the bed. “Not by blood, but as soon as our parents marry, your brother will be another son of Crassus Snow.” You both sat down on the soft mattress. You felt as if his blue eyes were studying you, taking you in like a fine piece of art, as he explained, “Being a part of the prestigious Snow family, Rein will have certain expectations to stand up to now, as do you.”

“I didn't sign up for this, Coriolanus.” You shook your head. Staring at a wall, you bitterly remarked, “My mother decided to marry Crassus, but I didn't know that meant I'd have to be some perfect, rich military brat.”

“Yes, well, we just have to make the best of our circumstances.” Coriolanus told you, his voice a bit crisp and tight. His large, pale hand heavily rested on your thigh. His face got dangerously close to yours, causing his breath to warm your skin. His icy eyes flashed with a fire as he smirked, “At least you have me to guide you, ensure that you're perfect.”

Your heart was racing wildly in your chest. Was your soon to be stepbrother coming on to you?

No. He couldn't be.

He couldn't.

Could he?

But before you could find out, Coriolanus was called by his father to help show the movers where to place your things.

Leaving you alone in your room with a million different thoughts swimming in your head.

Not long after moving into the Snow penthouse, you were asked out on a date by Sejanus Plinth. He was very cute and sweet. Plus he came from a good family.

And you accepted, much to Coriolanus' horror.

Dinner that night was interesting, to say the least.

“But father, you can't let her go out with him. He's district.” Coriolanus protested after hearing Crassus approve of your date plans for the following night.

Grandma'am’s wrinkled face shook with worry. “Coriolanus is right, Crassus. The district boy might hurt her. He’s not Capitol blood; he's not civilized despite living amongst us.”

“Sejanus is a sweet boy. I’ve heard only good things about him from Mrs. Plinth.” Your mother smiled in between daintily eating her spoonful of soup.

Correction, not soup, but a tomato lobster cream bisque that was the first of 4 courses. Which also included a desert.

Yea, dinners were a lavish affair in the Snow household. But since Crassus had a cook on staff, you guess they could be.

Coriolanus’ jaw twitched at your mother's words. He felt that she was foolish for taking the words of a district woman to heart. That she shouldn't be encouraging you to go out with that dirty district dog just because his mother- no his ma, said he's a sweet boy.

He's district and anyone with a drop of district blood in them hated those born and bred in the Capitol. Even those who were district transplants that were allowed into the Capitol as a reward for making their fortunes from betraying the blood of their own couldn't be trusted. No, not when their blood wasn't pure, but was tainted.

Sejanus Plinth, although living in the Capitol and being from a filthy rich family, was and always will be a filthy, dirty blooded, district dog. He was undeserving of you. Infact, even a boy from the Capitol was undeserving of you.

Because you deserve nothing, but the best. You were a part of the Snow family, so only the best for you.

And that was him.

Coriolanus was the best. The only one worthy of you.

He knew it was taboo, forbidden even, but he didn't give a fuck.

Coriolanus was going to have you and his father approving of your date with that damn district born Plinth boy wasn't going to stop him.

General Snow reached for his goblet of wine, only to announce in a deep, authoritative tone, “I've given my approval of Y/N’s date with Sejanus Plinth, so all protests of it will stop.” Giving his son a hard look, Crassus cruelly remarked, “Coriolanus, son, perhaps you should find a girl to entertain yourself with instead of your studies. I wonder about you sometimes, if you even like girls at all.” An evil glint appeared in the light blonde general's cerulean eyes. “Perhaps you'd rather go out with the Plinth boy tomorrow night instead of sending Y/N.”

The room went deadly silent. One could hear a pin drop.

“Crassus…” Grandma’am shook her pearl encrusted turbin covered head at her son. Her blue eyes were full of disappointment.

Your mother didn't say a word, just kept eating her soup. If she felt bad, well she didn't show it. Her grey eyes were glued to her spoon, as if the liquid in it was the most fascinating thing she's ever seen.

Coriolanus flew up off his chair, causing it to loudly clatter to the floor, and stormed out of the dining room.

“Coriolanus!” You called out after him, rising from your own chair with the intention to follow after him.

You felt bad for Coriolanus, for what his father said at the supper table. It was uncalled for. It was disgusting and rude. He was trying to shame and embarrass his son, it wasn't right.

Before you could even make it an inch away from the table, your future stepfather rose from the table and rounded on you. Roughly grabbing your wrist, he coldly said, “Let him sulk like the weakling he is. Sit down, Y/N, and finish your first course.”

Everything inside of you screamed to listen to Crassus, to just sit down and eat that damn tomato-lobster bisque, but your need to run to Coriolanus, to make sure that he was alright, won out. You don't even know why, but you seemed drawn to your future stepbrother. You couldn't just abandon him to wallow in misery by himself.

You wretched your arm out of the general’s cold, tight hold. Looking up at him, you said, “I'm not hungry anymore, Crassus.”

“You'll address me as father now, you little brat.” Crassus ordered, towering over you. The imposing war hero looked ready to kill. It seems that nobody has ever stood up to him before, but always fell in line with his command.

You nodded and went to turn around, only for your ‘father’ to grab your wrist once more in a tight hold. His grip on your small wrist was so hard that you could feel the bones squeezing painfully together.

He twisted your arm behind your back, making your wrist flare as if it was on fire while the rest of your arm threatened to snap like a twig, and spin you around to look at the table.

Crassus' voice was deep and full of cruelty as he told you, “Take a good look at your soup, dearest daughter, because your serving will be given to the Avox.”

Your eyes looked at the table, but not at the soup. No, you looked at the pair of women seated at it. Silently, you begged them to help you. Sadly, they wouldn't.

No…

Your mother was too preoccupied with her bowl of soup, or maybe she was afraid of crossing her future husband. And Grandma'am, oh the elderly woman just gave her son a pitiful look, but wouldn't dare speak up against him.

“In fact, for your insubordination you'll starve tonight.” You heard your mother's fiance chuckle cold-heartedly.

Crassus shoved you to the side, causing you to hit the ground with a loud thud. The force of your side colliding with the hard marble floor knocked the wind out of you. So much so, that you didn't even hear the sound of large, loud footsteps hurrying over to you as you weakly pushed yourself up.

You felt a large hand wrap around your upper arm, but the touch was different than before. The long fingers weren't bruising around you, but surprisingly gentle with their lithe hold.

You felt yourself being lifted up to stand on your own two feet as Crassus seethed at his son, the one helping you, “Coriolanus, take that bitch with you and keep her all night. I don't want to see either one of your disrespectful faces until morning.”

Coriolanus’ eyes were full of icy hate as he curtly nodded at his father. Without a word, he ushered you away from the dining room.

Sadly, he'd have to teach you that General Crassus Snow likes his children to be seen and not heard. That he enjoyed slinging out biting, stinging remarks to cut down his children. That he was worse then the devil to deal with. That life could either be hell or something worse then hell with the Snow patriarch.

Coriolanus Snow would teach you how to navigate life under his father's roof because you're his.

Yes, your mother might be marrying his father, but nevertheless you are his and therefore he must protect you.

“What did you do to make him lash out?” Coriolanus asked, sitting with you on his bed.

His room, you discovered, was sparsely decorated. Just like yours, all he had was a bed, a nightstand, a desk and chair. A couple of portraits hung on the walls, and a few trinkets were stacked on the window sill. Oh, and a couple of pictures frames and small items were on his desk, overlooking his school books and papers.

But, all in all, it felt as empty as your room did.

Damn…

This house was cold and empty, full of nothing but sorrow and hate it seemed.

And your mother willingly brought you here.

Fuck your life…

“I got up from the table to follow you; make sure that you were okay.” You honestly told Coriolanus, listening to the sound of his father yelling at your mother about how unmannered you were.

Oh, and they were still in the dining room.

Yea…

That's how loud Crassus was.

Biting your bottom lip, you looked at the boy with platinum curls that you were stuck with for the night, and told him, “Thank you for coming back and helping me, Coriolanus.”

Coriolanus tucked a stray strand of your hair behind your ear. “Y/N, my darling, you belong to me. I'll always come back for you, help you when in danger.”

Before you could even ask him what he meant by belonging to him, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours. It caught you off guard. You honestly weren't expecting his lips to be so lush, so soft. And you definitely weren't expecting him to kiss you.

He's going to be your stepbrother soon.

For Christ's sake!

He's going to be your stepbrother!

That revelation caused you to place your hands on his chest and gently push him away, while leaning your head back to break the one-sided kiss. You looked into his icy blue eyes, only to see something dark swimming in them.

Correction: not something dark, but lust.

“What's wrong, Y/N? Why did you push me away?” He asked, voice heavy with wonder. Lust blown baby blue eyes never leaving yours.

“You're going to be my stepbrother soon, Coriolanus. We can't kiss and stuff, it's not right.”

“Oh, darling, we're not blood related, so it's perfectly fine for us to kiss and to fuck.” Coriolanus assured you with a whisper in your ear. His breath was hot against your cheek as he confessed, “I've been watching you at the Academy for years, my little dove. Fucking my fist every night to fantasies of you and now that I have you with me, well, Y/N, I'm not ever letting you go.”

“You've liked me for that long?” You asked in bewilderment.

He couldn't have liked you for so many years, only to never make a move.

Could he?

It just didn't seem possible.

“Mhm…” Coriolanus hummed, only to nip at a spot right below your ear. “You've consumed my thoughts since we were 13, my darling rose.”

What? He's had a crush on you since you were 13?!

Like what?....

He's liked you for that long and never said a word? Never made a move, until now?

Wow…

“Corio-” You began, only for him to sigh and cut you off with, “Please, call me Coryo.”

Nodding, you turned your head slightly so you could look at him. “Coryo, you should've told me how you felt years ago.” Your eyes flickered to his hand, that had found its way on your thigh, and back up to his baby blues. “It's too late to do anything about it now. Our parents are getting married and I'm Sejanus' girlfriend now.”

Coriolanus did not like that remark. Oh no, he didn't like it one bit.

You're NOT Sejanus' girlfriend!

You're his girl, you belonged to him. Hell, you're part of the family now too.

His, his, his!

You're his and he's going to show you.

“You don't belong to him, Y/N. You’re mine.” Coryo darkly declared, only to kiss you.

He kissed you with so much fervor. He was a man possessed as his lips slid against yours. Kisses you as if you were the air he needed to breathe.

This time you didn't push him away. Instead, your lips moved against his. Your hands tightly fisted his shirt; pulling him closer as your lips clashes with his.

Coriolanus pushes you onto your back, causing you to let out a surprised gasp. He used your shock to deepen the kiss by slipping his tongue into your mouth.

His hand caressed the inside of your thigh as his tongue explored your mouth. Tasting you as if you're the sweetest treat.

Your hands ran up his chest and snaked around his neck as your tongue flickered against his, causing you both to moan. As your tongues began an intimate dance, his other hand found its way to your neck.

You pulled away slightly, catching your breath as your lips hovered close to his.

“Coryo.” You breathlessly moaned, feeling his long fingers brush against your soaking wet panties.

“You're so wet for me, darling.” He smugly told you. “You need me, don't you?” He asked, even though he knew that your entire being aches for him at this very moment.

Coryo wanted, no needed, to hear you tell him that you wanted him to fuck you dumb. That only he could take away the ache in your cunt.

Him, the very reason for your wet pussy.

“Coryo…we can't…” You weakly protested as your core aches with a fiery desire. One that you've never felt so fiercely before.

Or at least until now.

“We can, little dove.” He told you, using his fingers to slip your panties to the side. The air hitting your wet pussy causes you to shudder.

Your reaction has him smirking. Pulling your legs open wide for him, he announced in a dark, lustful tone, “I'm gonna fuck you and you're gonna like it, Y/N.”

Breaking eye contact with him as his hands ran over the insides of your spread thighs, you confessed, “I've never done this before, Coryo.”

“You’re a virgin.” Coriolanus stated, not asked. He knew you’ve never been fucked before. He would've known if you had since he stalked looked after you from afar for years.

“Yea…” You trailed off, blushing in embarrassment.

God, your skirt was bunched up and your legs were spread wide open, like a whore in heat, with your panties pushed aside exposing your dripping tight hole to your step brother. And here you were, blushing at having to confirm that you're a virgin.

Coryo took a sick pleasure in you being embarrassed about your innocence despite the wanton state he had you in.

“Don't worry, your stepbrother's going to change that.”

“God, Coryo, don't call yourself my stepbrother while my legs are spread for you. It's dirty.”

“And you're my dirty little slut because your cunt’s drooling and clenching around the air from my dirty words.” Coriolanus taunted as his hands rested on either side of your pussy, thumbs spreading open the lips to expose your tight dripping hole to him. “Oh, darling, you've got such a pretty pussy for me.” He cooed, dipping his head down between your spread legs

“Oh god…” You shakily moan, feeling Coryo lick a thick stripe up your cute with his hot, wet tongue.

You could feel him smirking against you before his tongue flickered your clit.

“Coryo.” You moaned as he wrapped his lips around your clit and sucked on it.

He smacked the inside of your thigh, only to lift his head away from your pussy and hiss, “Shut up, bitch. Don't wanna get caught, do we?”

“Sorry, it just felt really good.” You apologized, your voice tinted with need.

“You're forgiven, darling, but don't be loud again or else I won't prep you. I'll just fuck you face first in my pillow to muffle your screams and call it a night.” He told you, making new gush of wetness spill out of your pussy. “Oh, looks like me fucking you face first in the mattress turns you on, stepsister.” Coryo darkly chuckled, his breath hot against your aching core. “Don't worry, I'll do that to you, but not tonight. Tonight's your first time and I don't want to hurt my girl. I want to swallow your moans of pleasure, not muffle your moans of pain.” He told you before placing his mouth back on your dripping cunt.

“Mmmm….” You bite your lip, preventing your moan from being too loud, as Coriolanus sucked on your clit.

Your hands found their way into his platinum curls as his tongue teased your tight, wet hole. His thumbs let go of your pussy lips as his mouth latches onto your cunt, tongue messily lapping thru your folds. His hands grabbed onto your thighs, spreading them even wider.

Painfully wider.

But you couldn't help, but curl your toes into the mattress as his icy blue eyes pierced into your soul. He looked at you with such hunger as he messily ate you out.

It was as if he craved you; couldn't get enough of you.

As if he was starved and you're the only meal he's eaten in days.

Your hands tightened in his hair as you felt his tongue enter your hole, fucking you.

“Coryo…more…” You begged, for what you didn't quite know, as your chest began to heave up and down heavily.

Coriolanus knew exactly what you needed.

You needed your tight cunt filled and fucked.

And he was going to give you exactly what you needed.

He wrapped his lips around your clit sucking it harshly, as he slipped his middle finger into your pussy.

Coriolanus moaned at how tight your hole clenched around his long fingers. The tightness of your virgin cunt clenching around his digits had him rock hard and grinding into his mattress. Fuck, he couldn't wait to have his cock inside your tight pussy. Stretching it to its limit, making it fit around his large cock.

“Coryo…feels so good…” You panted as he fucked you with his finger while sucking on your clit.

He smirked against your clit, only to add his pointer finger into your cunt. He curled his long fingers up inside your slick walls, causing you to writhe in pleasure every time he hit that spongy spot deep inside of you.

“I-I think…” You trailed off, biting your lip to keep a moan from spilling out, as you felt pressure build up in your lower belly.

“You think you're gonna cum?” Coryo supplied for you, his breath hot on your cunt, as he began to piston his fingers deep inside of you. He knew you were close by how tight your cunt was squeezing his fingers. He couldn't wait until it was squeezing his cock.

“Yea.” You squeakily nodded.

“I want you to cum on my face like the little slut you are. Can you do that for me, darling?” Coriolanus told you, his voice raspy and thick with lust, before dipping his head back between your spread legs and sucking your clit.

“Please…make me cum, Coryo. Please, so close…” You begged, causing him to fuck his fingers up into furiously while sucking hard and fast on your clit.

He needed to taste your juices spilling out onto his chin, needed to feel your pussy tightening around his fingers. He craved it like the headmaster at the Academy craved a fix of morphling.

Your toes curled tightly in the sheets and your nails scratched Coryo's scalped as you came with the sound of his name on your lips.

He slowed his movements just enough to help you ride out your high. His tongue greedily lapped up every bit of your juices that came squirting out of your pussy.

Your hands fell out of his curls as you began to calm down from your high. You couldn't help, but smile at how messy his hair looked as a result of you pulling on it.

When Coryo pulled his fingers out of you and sat up, sucking them clean, you were horrified to see that his chin was glistening, that your juices were dripping down his chin and onto his neck. Your cheeks flushed red and you quickly sat up, trying to clean the wetness from his chin. “I'm so sorry, I-” You attempted to apologize, only to be cut off by Coryo chuckling, “Don't apologize, darling. You squirting all over my face turns me on.”

“Really?” You asked, eyes wide with shock.

“Really.” He nodded, grabbing your hand that you used to wipe his chin with. Bringing your palm up to your face, he huskily ordered, “Now taste yourself.”

You blinked, feeling your pussy begin to pool and ache again, only to obey Coryo’s command and lick his hand clean.

The taste of yourself was a bit sweet and tangy. It was also intoxicating.

Standing up and pulling you up with him, Coryo said, “We need to get undressed.”

“Okay.” You nodded, feeling a bit nervous despite having just had Coriolanus’ platinum blonde head between your legs mere moments ago.

You went to grab the hem of your dress, only to have Coryo bat your hands away and grab it himself. “Lift your arms up, darling.” You nodded and did what you were told. Quickly, he pulled your dress off and tossed it to the side. “Take your bra and panties off.” He instructed while quickly working to unbutton his shirt.

Coriolanus’ lust blown eyes were glued to you as you reached behind your back and unhooked your bra. He felt his breath hitch as you took off your simple, white lace bra.

“Oh, little dove, your tits are perfect.” He cooed while removing his shirt and tossing it to the side.

You shook your head, only to look down at the floor and sigh, “No they're not, Coryo. You don't have to say that.”

Being nearly 18, you're self conscious about your boob size. Especially since you didn't seem to be as developed as the most popular girl in school. The girl that every boy (well, maybe not every boy since Coriolanus was half naked in his room with you) wanted to fuck. The perfect, pretty, popular, dirty blonde with jewel tone eyes.

Livia Cardew.

Coryo had just toed off his shoes and unbuckled his belt when your self doubt caused him to stop undressing. He closed the small space between you and reached his hands out to grab your tits.

You shyly bit your lip as he squeezed them. “Your tits are perfect because I say so, my darling.” Coriolanus huskily told you as the pad of his thumbs roughly ran over your nipples.

“But I'm not-” You began to protest, a feeble attempt at explaining your thoughts, only for Coryo to cut you off with, “Shut up, I told you that I think your tits are perfect.” He roughly squeezed them. “As long as I say they're perfect, little dove, then they are.” He declared before bending his head and taking one of your, now pebbled, nipples into your mouth.

The feeling of his wet tongue swirling around your nipples while his fingers tweaked your other one has you rubbing your thighs together, seeking friction to relieve that growing ache between your legs.

Letting go of your nipple with a wet pop, his lust filled blue eyes bore into yours as he orders, “Unzip and pull my pants off, Y/N.”

“Okay.” You nodded before doing as you're told with shaky hands, all the while Coryo was biting and nipping at a spot on your left boob.

You knew he was leaving a hickey there and, for some reason, it turned you on. The idea of him marking you as his made something flare up in you.

You've never had somebody want you before, but Coryo wants you so much that he's putting his mark on you. Staking his claim.

Coryo pulled his head up off your chest as his pants pooled around his long legs. Stepping out of them and kicking them to the side, he smirked, “You should take your panties off. But put your kitten heels back on, I want to fuck you in them.”

“Okay.” You nodded, pulling down your lace white panties while watching him pull off his socks.

You bent over and grabbed your shoes from the floor. Putting on your black kitten heels, your eyes popped out of your head as you watched him pull down his boxers only for his big cock to spring free and slap up against his lower stomach. You've never seen a cock before, but you knew his was big. It was long and girthy. Must be at least 8 inches, had veins on the underside and an angry red head that's tip was leaking precum.

You felt yourself gushing just from looking at it. Oh my God, how is that going to fit inside of your pussy.

“Don't worry, it'll fit.” Coryo assured you, a proud grin on his angular face.

What the hell? Did you say that out loud about him not being able to fit? Oh hell…you must've.

Taking your hand in his large one, he brought you over to the bed. “Lay down and spread your legs as wide as you can for me.” He instructed.

Nodding, you quickly laid on the bed and spread your legs for him. Your knees slightly bent, kitten heels slightly digging into the mattress.

“Fuck, your pussy’s so perfect.” Coriolanus swore while kneeling onto the bed, right between your shaking thighs. “Perfect and all mine.” He said while using his thumb to smear his precum around his cockhead. He began to give himself a few shallow pumps, to coat his cock with his precum, as you stared up at him with anticipation dancing in your eyes.

“You want me, Y/N?” Coriolanus asked, lining his dick up with your pussy. “Once I have you, take your virginity, I'm not letting you go.” He told you, teasing his cock thru your wet folds. “I fuck you and you're mine forever. You understand me, my darling rose?” He seriously asked, giving you a last minute opportunity to back out, as his dick bumped your clit.

Your hands held onto his shoulders as you looked him square in his icy blue eyes and confidently said, “Make me yours, Coryo. I want to be yours.”

That was the sweetest thing he ever heard. You begging him to make you his. Saying that you wanted to be his.

Coriolanus was in heaven.

He dipped his head down and captured your lips in a quick, but needy kiss before lining his tip up with your tight hole. He leaned his forehead against yours as he surged forward, pushing his length inside of your tight walls.

Your nails clawed at him and your eyes teared up at the stinging sensation of being stretched wide open on his large cock for the first time in your life. You bite your lip, swallowing back a cry, as your walls struggled to accommodate his large cock.

Coryo was about halfway in whenever he brushed away a stray tear rolling down your cheek. “You're taking me so well.” He praised. Kissing your cheek, he said, “Just a little bit more, Y/N. I know you can handle it. You cunt's made for my cock.”

“It stings, Coryo.” You gritted out, feeling him pop your cherry before sliding the rest on the way in and bottoming it.

“I know, it does. I know it does, darling.” The platinum blonde told you in a feeble attempt to soothe away your pain. With a proud smile, he pointed between you and said, “Look, a perfect fit.”

You looked down to see that he had disappeared inside of you; the only evidence of his cock being the outlining bulge in the bottom of your tummy. You ran your fingers over the outline in awe, causing your-hell you don't know what to call him right now except for Coryo, to shudder blissfully.

Bringing his large hand to cover yours as it traced over his bulge in your tummy, he proudly announced, “My cock’s deep up inside of your womb, darling.” Lacing your fingers with his, he pinned your hand onto the mattress and began slowly thrusting into you. “I'm gonna fuck my baby up into your womb. Show everyone that you belong to me.”

His words were like a bucket of ice water being dumped over your head. The reality that you weren't on birth control and had your soon to be stepbrother's cock in your not so virginal pussy anymore had you slightly panicking.

“Coryo, you can't do that. You can't cum inside of me. I'm not on anything and our parents’ll be mad if-” You began to frantically ramble as Coryo fucked his cock slow, but deep inside of you, only for him to cut you off with a rough toned, “I don't give a fuck what those assholes think, Y/N. I'm 18 and soon you'll be 18, so they have no say over us fucking.”

You bit your lip, leaving out a mewl, as your felt his dick brush up against the spongy spot inside of you.

“Hell, come mid-summer we'll be graduating the Academy, so knocking you up won't interfere with your education cause there's only a handful of months left til the games and the graduation ceremony.”

“Coryo, were too young. Just, please, pull out before you cum.” You pleaded with innocent eyes.

Coryo couldn't grant you that. He couldn't do that for you. He's selfish and wants you all to himself. What better way to ensure that you stay with him then to baby trap you?

It's perfect, really.

Knock you up and you're stuck with him forever.

Nobody will ever want you let alone look twice at you once they see you're pregnant with his baby.

With your stepbrother's baby.

Oh, yes, knocking you up will make the perfect scandal that'll keep you two together forever.

Plus, Crassus won't want the shame of having a bastard grandchild, so he'll push for Coriolanus and you to marry in order to give the baby a legal name.

Sadly, Coryo underestimates how evil and cruel his father can be (even to his unborn grandchild). If he wasn't so pussydrunk, maybe Coryo would've realized that knocking you up would only enrage his father.

But he wasn't thinking clearly. He's pussydrunk and high on his obsessive love for you.

“I'm not pulling out, Y/N.” Coryo firmly told you. Speeding up his movements, he grunted, “Now stop whining and enjoy me fucking you.”

You didn't argue about the subject of him pulling out anymore, just nodded your head and let the feelings of pleasure wash over you.

Your breath hitched and you let out a mewl when Coryo's hands grabbed a hold of your legs and pressed them into your chest, causing them to rest on his shoulders as he began to thrust harder into you.

“Coryo…you feel even bigger…’ You muttered, the position change making him hit deeper inside of you.

“You like my big cock fucking splitting open your pussy, don't you? Fuck, your taking my cock like such a little cock slut, Y/N.” He darkly told you, lust tainting his voice, as you scratched his back and babbled his name.

“Coryo, please. I'm so close. So close…” You begged him to make you cum as your head got heavy, making you feel like you're underwater.

“I'll make you cum, darling. I'll make you cum right now on my cock.” Coryo told you, snaking his hand between your bodies only to roughly rub and pinch your puffy clit.

The feeling of his thumb roughly abusing your clit and his cock deeply plowing into your pussy has you clenching around him, cumming hard with his name on your tongue like a prayer.

Coryo fucked your thru the aftershocks of your second orgasm, only to sloppily speed up and chase his own release.

“I'm gonna cum inside your pussy and you're gonna take it all, Y/N. You're gonna drain my cock dry, little dove.” He told you as he felt his heavy balls, that were slapping relentlessly against your ass, tense up.

“Coryo, I think I'm gonna cum again.” You told him, feeling that warm fluttery feeling well up in your lower belly once more.

“Fuck, your creaming my cock like such a good little slut.” Coryo groaned at the sight of the white creamy ring you were leaving around the base of him. “Fuck…” He gasped, about to cum. “Cum with me, darling. Cum with me.” He demanded, his hips stuttering before he let out his release.

You came again once you felt his hot cum shoot up deep inside of you in thick ropes.

“Oh fuck…” Coryo panted, collapsing on top of you.

“Oh fuck…” You agreed with him, kicking your feet and causing your black kitten heels to go flying across the room.

Your legs limply slipped from his shoulders as your hands shakily carded thru his sweaty light blonde curls. All while his face nestled into your perfect tits. Coryo's softening cock was still nestled inside of you, but you didn't mind. The closeness felt nice.

Your first time was amazing. It was nothing like the horror stories you heard other girls at the Academy gossip about. You were lucky that Coryo knew what he was doing. You felt wanted for the first time in your life after losing your virginity to him.

Coriolanus felt that fucking you was the best experience in his life. Honestly, it sure beats all those stupid quickies he had with dumb whores in the alley behind the club. He'd never tell you that tho.

No, you didn't need to know about his sexual past.

All that you needed to know was that you’re the only one that he wants. The only pussy that he’s getting his dick wet with for now on is yours.

You were cuddling in bed together, blankets pulled up around the both of you. Your head was resting in the crook of his neck as his long fingers raked thru your hair.

You felt happy in this moment, but you knew that it couldn't last. That it has to end. Your parents were getting married.

You could never be together, not truly.

You were going to be stepsiblings soon. Being together would be considered taboo.

Coryo could sense something was bothering you. “What's the matter, darling?” He asked, searching your eyes.

“We can't do this again, Coryo. Despite how we feel, it's taboo.” You told him, breaking eye contact with him because you didn't want to see his reaction.

“Y/N, I don't care what society thinks about us, our situation.” The platinum blonde spat. Lifting your chin up, so you had to look him in the eyes, he swore, “You're mine and I'm not giving you up. I'll kill anyone that tries to take you away from me, Y/N.” Coryo leaned in, kissing you on the lips. “It's us against the world, my darling rose. And you know what? Snow always lands on top.”

You were tired and didn't want to fight, so you decided to give in to him, to the man whose arms you were in. “Okay, us against the world then.” You smiled, eyes fluttering tiredly.

“One day when I'm the president and you're my first lady, nobody'll even remember that our parents decided to get married. And if they do, well, they won't be breathing for long to say anything about it.” You heard Coriolanus tell you while drifting off to sleep, warm and safe in his strong hold.

If only you knew how many people Coriolanus would kill in his lifetime, would you still stick by his side?

Probably, since he was ingrained in your soul once you gave him your precious gift that was your innocence- your virginity.

After all, you discovered quickly after becoming a part of the toxic Snow family that it truly was you and Coryo against the world.

Tags: @kuroosbby001, @purriteen, @poppyflower-22, @meetmeatyourworst, @whipwhoops, @bxtchopolis, @readingthingsonhere,@savagenctzen, @ryswritingrecord, @erikasurfer, @tulips2715, @universal-s1ut, @thesmutconnoisseur, @squidscottjeans, @sudek4l, @wearemadeofstardust0, @mashiromochi, @gracieroxzy, @belcalis9503, @shari-berri, @aoi-targaryen, @whiteoakoak, @spear-bearing-bi-witch, @gisellesprettylies @loverandqueenofdragons, @qoopeeya, @mfnqueen1

[jolieblack]

Jolie’s notes on

The Lion’s Mane (Sherlock & co podcast)

Oh, this case made me so happy. 🦁🪼⛴️

Sweet domesticity in Baker Street, then a client ringing the bell bringing a dramatic case… This is another ACD story with quite striking hidden horror. You don’t really think much about the state of the body when you read it, but when you really start thinking about it, it is horrific. And off they go, our heroes, to solve another mystery and right another wrong.

Heroes with a pension plan, of course. Because of course Mariana would have set that up for them all. I love how this show keeps finding modern ways of showing how well Mrs Hudson cares for those two crazy boys.

Heroes who drink tea with marshmallows, too. Sherlock being a big petulant child about those cracked me up.

Loved Maud‘s early reference to tentacles, too. 🦑

Archie being able to sense when people are sad. 🥹

The non-consensual bathroom sharing made me laugh, too, but can people PLEASE just stop making fun of men who sit down to wee? Housewives and cleaning staff all over the world would be so much happier if all men just did.

"It‘s a trolley stuck in a wall." 😂 Trust Jonk to turn absolutely everything into a rant against the rich. 😝

And then they’re off.

Loved this modern version of "Holmes and Watson get on another train for a case", and John waxing poetic about the countryside by night. I have looked out of the window of a night train at the starry sky in the not too distant past myself, so this scene struck a particular chord. But I‘d just love to see more of this reflective, quiet John. He hides him too well usually.

And talking of beautiful, evocative mental images, the moment when Fjara rises out of the sea mist gave me absolute goosebumps. A sight that makes even Sherlock Holmes go "oh my word" must be a sight indeed. And all that with just voices and music. Amazing work.

I also loved how the mythical aspect kinda crept in slowly but unstoppably, and I spent the longest time wondering why Maud had mentioned none of it. In retrospect, of course there was zero reason why she would have. I kinda forgot that Sherlock Holmes stories love playing with our fears of the supernatural, only to supply a completely natural explanation in the end. But that’s quite an achievement in itself! Well played, Joel.

I’m quite happy with the solution as such, too. The original story has always been a little fantastical, that the waters of the British Channel should contain one single organism who could inflict such damage on a human being. But the combination of Lion’s Mane burns, chemical burns, previous fistfight with probably head trauma and quite possibly also a touch of the Martini effect together could totally do it. I’m glad Ian Murdoch survived, btw, I thought he was going to be the third corpse.

I also really appreciated the Lion/Liona throwback to Rache/Rachel in Study in Pink (which seems to confirm to me that we have seen Study in Pink already and it won’t come back).

And the accents! I loooooved the accents. I think they’re a major part of the reason why I listened to this case three or four times before I even managed to pause the flow to take these notes.

Jonk was really taking cringe to a whole new level in his interactions with the locals, though. This is really a part of Watson’s character that they entirely made up for this adaptation and while Paul plays it to perfection, it never sits quite right with me. I’m glad John was his kind and sensitive self with Maud though.

Sherlock wading in rock pools with his trousers rolled up is a mental image that will stay with me for a long while. Check out this lovely art by @noodles-and-tea

"Sexy murderous sea demons?" - "Very, very unlikely." 😂

"We‘re cutting the engine *and* the conversation." & "You are not a priority." 😂

Poor John, nobody wants to hold his hand…

THE JELLYFISH

There’s a reason why the scene with the submarine submersible has inspired a lot of fantastic fanart. I’ll just let these speak for themselves:

Behold the Lion’s Mane by @starfruitsomething

Lion’s Mane by @abstractfrog

The Lion’s Mane Part 3 by @sealbug

The Lion’s Mane by @reibub

Lion’s Mane Comic by @abstractfrog

I’m so glad they went and found Fitzi McPherson in the end, too. I didn’t expect that and it was a lovely touch.

I may also be a tiny bit obsessed with Sherlock competently handling boats. Very happy to see this several times in this story.

All in all, pure enjoyment this time around. Story, atmosphere, humour, acting, straight As all around for the entire team. More, please!

[raindrop-21]

The Best Gift

A/n: I've mixed Kortac&141 so I have more character reactions. There is a cut/banner where the smut starts if you only want fluff. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, enjoy your day, and here's a little König fluff as a present from me to you <3

word count: 1,177

Cw: Fem!reader, Pregnant reader, Octo!König, small bit of smut, fingering, kissing, nipple play, hand job, a smidge of breast milk drinking (please tell me if there's a better way to say that)

divider by @petal-pxl

It’s not the first time you’ve been here, at a small Christmas party with some of König’s work friends; Valeria, Nikto, Horangi, Simon, Johnny, Price, Kyle. You’ve worked with them all before you got pregnant. Currently, you’re sitting on the couch, watching your three sons play with their new toys they just got. Your youngest boy, who hasn’t been born yet, is pressing your bladder, so you tap König’s shoulder to get his attention.

“Hey, I’m gonna go to the bathroom right quick.” You say as you stand.

“Okay, liebling, be careful.” He says as he gives your hand a parting kiss and your rear a tap.

You go to the bathroom to relieve yourself. When you’re done and washing your hands, you look at yourself in the mirror, and then down your belly, where the little baby is growing.

“Little guy, could you please get off my bladder? I’d appreciate it greatly.” You say with a slight laugh as you feel the little baby kick in response to your words.

You get lost in thought about the future. You and König never thought about getting married, you guys were okay with just cohabitating for the rest of your lives. You got pregnant with your first child, and that didn’t change anything, got pregnant with your twins, that’s when a little seed of marriage was planted in your mind. Now that you’re pregnant with your fourth baby, that seed has grown into a tree. You’ve thought about bringing it up, but there never seems to be a good time, especially with the kids. 

You sigh to yourself before drying off your hands and leaving the bathroom. Once you’re back in the living room, you notice the absence of your boys and König. You look around a bit, their toys are cleaned up, all the wrapping paper trash has been thrown away, Price is smoking a cigar, Nikto and Valeria are talking in the kitchen, Johnny and Kyle are talking, but no Horangi or Simon. Where are they? You walk over to Price, who when he notices your presence, puts out his cigar in courtesy, and sit next to him.

“Do you know where they went?” You say, referring to your kids and the three men.

“Went outside for a moment, they’ll be back.” He says with a soft smile.

It takes about fifteen minutes before you hear a gruff “Shit” from Simon, along with a bang. He probably stubbed his toe. That thought makes you laugh. Simon and Horangi are bringing something into the house, they roll it into the living room, and stop it right in front of you. It’s a fish tank, not a big one, but not a small one, it’s decent sized. After they put it in front of you, they sit down on the couch.

After a few seconds, Marry Me by Jason Derulo starts playing, but you haven’t heard it enough to know it by just the first thirty seconds. As the song starts playing, you see three little octopi start swimming around the tank, a yellow one and two black ones, your sons. They’re swimming around it and putting up a bunch of little things. Once they’re done, König is sitting next to a little treasure chest, staring up at you with his big, round eyes. When the song says “Will you marry me?” König opens the little chest and on the inside is a ring. One with a decent sized diamond, not a flashy one. Your eyes water and you bring a hand up to your mouth and nod your head yes.

“Yes, yes!” You happily sob out.

König slips out of the tank, the ring being held by one of his tentacles. He crawls over to your left hand and slips the ring onto your ring finger. He transforms back to his human form, takes your hand away from your face, and gently kisses you.

“Meine Frau… You make me the happiest man alive, and now you’ve made me the happiest man in the universe��. Ich liebe dich.” He murmurs before kissing you again.

You can’t help the tears that keep falling, be it your natural reaction or the added hormones from being pregnant. When you look back at the tank, all three of your kids are staring at you and their father.

“Not your Frau yet, but your fiancé.” You say with a teasing giggle.

König gets a sad puppy look, and you can see your sons giggling at their father.

“You will be my Frau someday soon.” He says just as teasingly but with a tone of seriousness.

As you kiss again you hear claps and congratulations from everyone in the room, and a particularly loud ‘Woooo!’ from Johnny which makes you laugh once again. The whole rest of the night, König doesn’t take his hand off yours. He might be more enamored with the ring than you are. You watch as your kids play in the tank, chasing each other around, play fighting, playing hide and seek, snowball fights with the rocks in the bottom of the tank, etc. You end up scolding them for that last one.

When you get home and the boys are in bed asleep, you and König are in bed, but not sleeping. You’re facing König while kissing him, with your left hand wrapped around his cock. König’s slowly thrusting his fingers in and out of your cunt while his other hand plays with your breast. You moan and whimper into his mouth as he touches you in all the right places. He pulls his mouth away from yours, and down to your breast.

He peppers kisses all over your breast, until he gets to your nipple. He takes your nipple into his mouth and starts licking, sucking, and gently biting it. When he does this, your hand’s movements on his cock stutter before matching the pace of his hand that’s thrusting in and out of you. He speeds up and so do you.

His palm rubs on your clit, adding to your pleasure, bringing you closer to the edge. He knows your body like it’s his own. He’s pressing each and every one of the buttons that make you see stars. You’re quickly cumming on his fingers, suppressing your moan so that it comes out as a high-pitched whimper. 

As you come, a dribble of breast milk trickles from your nipple and into König’s mouth. The sensation and taste of it along with your hand’s movement, König cums with a loud, but not too loud, moan.

“Gott, Ich liebe dich.” He murmurs into the crook of your neck.

He sleepily gets up and grabs a towel to wipe you off, and your favorite set of pjs. He wipes you, and himself, off, and gently eases you into your clothing before crawling into bed next to you. He tucks you into his chest, protectively cradling you and his soon-to-be born baby. Long after you’ve fallen asleep, he’s still staring at you and the ring on your finger.

Best. Decision. Ever.

[manatee-rp-memes]

Muppets From Space (1999) Sentence Starters

~Feel free to tweak as needed~

"Hey, wait for me! Hold the boat! I'm coming!"

"What are you, anyway?"

"No, I don't wanna be alone! No, no, no!"

"I had that weird dream again."

"It's just that I'm sick and tired of being a one-of-a-kind freak, that's all."

"I don't even know where I came from or who I am."

"He didn't mean it! He's just a musician!"

"I’m on a schedule. What have you got?"

"Over the past few months, we have received some unusual communications."

"We are highly evolved beings."

"Put a little more paprika on those, okay? Thank you."

"I wonder if there really is life on other planets."

"Have you seen something in the sky but were afraid to talk about it?"

"Okay, I am not gonna panic... Who am I kidding? Yes I am!"

"You see, I was contacted through my breakfast cereal, and it was confirmed to me by the cosmic fish that I am definitely from outer space."

"Look, chumpo, I'm just trying to get a story."

"This seemingly ordinary rubber ducky actually contains invisibility spray. However, the effect is, sadly, temporary."

"I've been looking for something like you all my life. And now, at last, my search has come to an end."

"Don't... laugh... at me!"

"Could I get your autograph?"

"I'll make your back crack, your knees freeze, and your liver quiver."

"He just likes to hang out with his birds. Know what I mean?"

"I really need that information. So, I'm afraid we'll have to perform an invasive quadra-lobal brain probe on you and pluck it from your head."

"Where are you taking me?"

"No matter what happens, no matter what obstacles we face, we never forget one of our own."

"Well, well, well. We got a funny boy here."

"This is just like one of those carny rides."

"You're just trying to play mind games here."

"Tell me I'm beautiful, sweetheart!"

"You are beautiful, sweetheart."

"Should we just ask permission from those nice men with the rifles?"

"Have you ever experienced any achiness in your tentacles?"

"Listen. You guys go ahead. I gotta go find my friend."

"Behold! Irrefutable evidence of extraterrestrial life!"

"So sorry I got you into this mess. Thanks for coming to save me."

"Whoa. Now, now. Remember, calm blue ocean. You let it go. Baby steps, remember?"

"When we pull together, we can do anything."

"Get me the subatomic neutro-destabilizer."

"We'll be chilling in our hot tub later on. Perhaps you'd like to partake in the party."

"No, no, not me. I do not do goodbyes."

"Thank you for going to so much trouble to find me."

"That was probably the best day of my whole life."

[astoldbyaja]

His Soul Ch.9 ~Wakanda Forever~

Attuma’s lips were soft for someone capable of taking life. This kiss had a mixture of power and tenderness in it. The feeling that surged inside me was intense yet controlled like a surge of energy, like the ocean itself was holding me in place. I could feel the duality of fierce protection and gentle affection all in one. Everything inside me was telling me I was safe with him and yet I couldn’t explain why.

It was strange, the last time a man tried to kiss me, I was a teenager and M’Baku pulled him off me immediately.

“What are you doing eh! Kissing my sister! You are not courting her, and you are definitely not marrying her!”

Why was I even kissing him? I was a tad inexperienced when it came to romance or even actions of lust due to my brother’s protection over me. What was this deep exploding feeling inside the pit of my stomach? Was I in love? Was it lust?

I can feel his mouth trying to deepen the kiss by his tongue trailing across my lips. Finally, I leaned back with a gentle gasp looking up at him stunned. He looked at me with a mixture of confusion and worry. I shook my head immediately moving to grab my dress and wrap it around my shoulders.

“I’m sorry.” I whimpered quickly before hurrying around him leaving the enclosure.

I returned to Kore and the girls and bathed with them. They could see the concern on my face and tried to press me about what the matter was, but I just told them I wanted to talk to them and be near them. They weren’t convinced but did not press the matter.

Once everyone was dressed in formal clothing, we were escorted by Namora down another hall. She was in a bright strapless dress, breathing masks hiding her mouth and gills to her neck as she spoke about the food that is to be served. The hall cleared out into a large room with a table in the center surrounded by a wall of magnificent paintings. Our eyes moved all about the room, as if we were in some kind of painting come to life.

At the table was Namor who sat at the head with a white cape wrapped around his shoulders, the hem had many different patterns etched into them. On his right were casually dressed Attuma wearing robes himself and his hair was pulled back, and Namora as she finally sat down. Attuma looked at me with distant eyes and I just looked down then at Namor. He smiled at me and raised his hand for me to take the golden chair to his left.

“Welcome to my dining hall. Please sit.” he said. I nodded and we all moved to sit at different spots at the table. Of course, Zion sat beside me, and the rest followed. Namor smiled at everyone and now the doors opened again and Talokanil women and men brought in large trays of food. Numerous fish and squid and other colorful foods along with fruit.

“It’s strange I do not use this hall very much. I am glad I could share it with you. Please help yourself.” Namor said. We all looked at the food that was brought to us and slowly eyes were coming to me. It was Wakandan culture for royalty to be served first. I looked at Namor nodding at him.

“You are King, Namor. In our culture the king serves himself first.” I replied. His generals watched the interaction looking from me to Namor who shook his head.

“You are my guests and as Princess of Wakanda, you should have the first choice of food.” he said. I looked around the room before looking at Zion who smiled and I felt mild encouragement since I was near someone of my tribe. I hated having eyes on me. I looked at the numerous plates of food before grabbing the closest fish and fruit and now numerous hands shot out to grab different foods. Namor watched with pride as everyone began to eat and talk. Adan and Zion held up some squid and showed it to me and I laughed taking one of the tentacles from Zion’s squid and ate it. Zura and Hibo sat opposite from us talking to a Talokanil servant trying to learn some of the Talokanil language.

Even Namor and his general spoke and slowly joined in the conversations of us all.

“Princess Ansara, what are your thoughts on our city?”  Namora asked and I looked at her before looking at Attuma who avoided my eyes and then Namor who also looked curious.

“You have a lovely city. I know we have only scratched the surface of it, but I thank you all for showing us your world. I understand why you’d go to great lengths to protect it.” I explained. Namor nodded, pleased at my words.

“I should have you to thank for starting all of this. You are the second Wakandan woman to show kindness to my people by watching over my children while they came to your beaches. I am grateful for their protection.” he said. The first being Shuri, I was sure. I nodded gently.

“I had never met a Talokanil before them. My brother kept me in the mountains mostly when doing business with Wakanda. Children should not be punished for the sins of the adults in their lives.” I said. Namora gave a gentle wince and Attuma watched me now with a deep gaze as Namor spoke.

“You lived in the mountains? I have always wanted to visit the mountainous region of Wakanda. Would your king allow me such a visit someday?” he asked. I looked down in thought wondering if it was wise to speak on decisions such as this.

“If we are able to finalize an alliance, I think he would be opened to the idea.” I replied with a smile. Kore smiled as if pleased by my words. Namor chuckled.

“I’ll take it.” he said. Further talks went on about bringing the swimming technology with us to Wakanda for our scientists to examine. Zion was picking at my food with his fork, and I gave him a playful pout and gently nudged his side.

“Stop.”  I said lowly in Igbo. Because we had agreed to courting, it was allowed for him to act in such a flirtatious way even in my position as princess. It was still Jabari custom. There was a firm pound on the table that made us both jump as I looked at Attuma to see his fist on the table, and with his other hand he was raising a large cup. I noticed the sharp glare from Namor as his general stood up.

He began to speak.

“A toast, to our new allies. We had our difficulties, but I have seen how honorable of fighters you all are, and I would be honored to go into battle with you all any day.” he said with a nod.

Namor nodded and raised his glass, and I did the same. Everyone followed my lead, and we pressed our glasses together. The cups and silverware were jade, and gold and I knew there was vibranium in them. I glanced at Attuma as I sipped my glass and he looked at me now with a look I couldn’t quite describe. I couldn’t tell if it were genuine or not. After about forty minutes of eating and talking, Namor allowed everyone to walk about the halls with one Talokanil servant. I asked about Talokan beads so there was no language barrier, but Kore and the others were more than happy to move about without speaking. She wanted to talk with Namor and his generals about the specifics in our alliance on behalf of my brother.

Namor agreed to this, and I sat in this meeting listening only. I wish it was that easy, for Attuma’s gaze was drilling into the side of my head. He must be upset about that kiss. Oh, it should have never happened. I should apologize or something. What, no he kissed me! Oh, but I replied to it. It was obvious I offended him. Namor explained his expectations of what an alliance should between our nations.

“Wakanda has no real reason to be alliance with other nations outside our borders. In the end the surface dweller’s greed will always win over them and they will come for your vibranium labs.” he said.

“For now, King M’Baku has taken your advice and closed our borders for the time being while we rebuild our home. We have much to do and are not concerned with our other allies at the moment. But we need them in case any other threats not of this world come for the planet.” she said. Namor looked down curling his hands over the table.

“Your former king had no right to expose your country to the world. In doing so it put Talokan in danger. We will not aid anyone who is not Wakandan. If the planet itself is under attack, our armies together can stop them.” he said. He sounded like a controlling partner honestly, only rely on him for everything we need. Who needs friends? Kore shook her head.

“King Namor, to ask Wakanda to stay within its borders forever is very limiting no matter what is outside. Your very own children repeatedly continued to visit Princess Ansara. What will stop them from growing curious of the many vast cultures aside from Wakanda? Will their parents stop them, will you stop them?” she asked. I winced looking down now. Namor gave a stiff stare.

“I will ensure their curiosity does not go beyond Wakanda.” he said. She nodded.

“But you can imagine how limiting them will eventually make them more and more curious. If you would at least hear one of our better allies out, I think-”

“No.” Namor said bluntly, and now Kore and I tensed some. “My people will never endure the hardships we had to face before acknowledging Wakanda again.”

I bit my tongue in anger. I could only imagine what Shuri would have gone through had she felt she had to marry this man. I stood up now, causing all eyes on me again.

“If you would excuse me, I am not feeling well.” I said swiftly. Namor nodded in understanding.

“Of course, Namora will escort you to your chambers. We will bring you refreshments to help you sleep.” he said. I nodded my thanks before walking from the room. I have been in other meetings when discussing peace talks, but even future allies saw reason. But they only saw reason was because they got something out of it.

Namor did not need something out of this except Wakanda. He didn’t need money or weapons. He only wanted his people safe and in order to do that, that meant his allies had to be loyal to him and him alone. What if we could not make peace with Talokan? Maybe they would just leave us alone… or maybe Namor would do something sinister. I knew better than to think he would not stoop low if it meant keeping his people safe.

I was brought back to the caves and this time I noticed numerous blankets and hammocks and the lights were dim above us. Namora pointed over to a large area with blankets. I walked over noticing the beautiful stitching on it. She spoke lowly.

“Royalty sleeps in the larges bedding.”

I noticed Hibo was fast asleep on one of the hammocks. She seemed knocked out. I smiled and looked at Namora and whispered a thanks to her and she bowed and departed from me. I gently sat on the blankets noticing how soft and warm they were. I looked over at hibo noticing her blanket was halfway off her body. Quietly, I got up and moved over to her placing the blanket over her body. She hummed gently rolling on her side.

“Thank you, sister.” she said lazily, eyes not even opening. I smiled warmly. Obviously, she was used to her sister’s gesture.

“Of course.” I said gently. I leaned up looking at some of the shimmering rocks. I thought I saw movement or at least the reflection of movement. I swiftly turned and saw no one was there. I shook my head. I have done a lot today I was obviously exhausted and was seeing things. I moved back over to the blankets and quietly sat on them before lying down. These blankets were thick, and I loved that. I did not fall asleep until Kore and the others all returned which was maybe an hour or so later.

“How did it all go?” I said softly to Kore. She looked at me with a light stare.

“It went well princess. Do not worry we will be going home tomorrow, and I will tell the king what was discussed.” she said. She did not have to tell me twice. I was out like a light.

By the next morning, or how my body told me it was the next morning due to its sleep schedule, we were all dressed in fresh new Wakanda robes. Servants came in with fruit and we gently talking amongst each other.

“These blankets were very cozy.” Adan said.

“Yes, I wish I could bring one back with me.” Zura replied. I smiled at them and when we were all packed, we were lead down the hall. Zura and Hibo were excited about the new technology they had in their bags.

“The king will be very pleased with these necklace e samples given to us.” Hibo told. However, Kore was quiet, not looking as upbeat as yesterday. I grunted at her.

“What is the matter, Kore?” I asked. She looked at me quickly smiling.

“Nothing, princess. Just ready to be on land is all.” she replied. I looked her over with some worry before nodding. We were now back in the cavern where the sub was floating in the water. The same guards from before were standing in their usual place. The servant pointed to the door that was being opened by another warrior who waved us over.

“I guess Namor, and his generals will not be seeing us off.” I replied lightly.

“Shocker.” Kore said lowly. As we moved toward the sub, I noticed my Talokan bracelet was still on my arm. I was stunned that no one asked for it back. It is laced with vibranium. As I was getting closer to the ladder, violent splashing shot from the water. I yelped as I found myself suddenly surrounded by Zion and Adan, their guards up. We all huddled together as now we were surrounded by Talokanil warriors, their spears pointing at us immediately. My heart was pounding now as we all looked around.

“What is the meaning of this!” Kore snapped. I heard heavy footsteps and turned toward the side of the cave to see Attuma and Namora approaching with more servants behind them. Attuma began speaking.

“Personal belongings to K'uk'ulkan have gone missing and an investigation is underway. You will all be stripped of your bags and searched.” Immediately, warriors grabbed at our bags. My bag was violently jerked off me, and Zion pushed the warrior male away from me after he got the bag.

“This is insane! We would never steal from Namor or anyone or thing in Talokan!” Kore said. One by one our bags were emptied and searched. The warrior who took my bag rummaged through it before calling for Attuma. The large warrior approached, and the man gave him my bag. What the hell was going on! Suddenly, Attuma looked at me with a frown holding up a pearl necklace with black beads on it. I whimpered some shaking my head as I had never seen that before in my life.

“I did not take that!” I stated, and Kore stood beside me with a firm stare.

“The princess has been framed! She would never jeopardize such an important mission between our countries over some trinket!” she snapped. Attuma approached us with a stride of power holding his large axe over his shoulder before speaking.

“You all will be held while we investigate this matter. Usually, the punishment for stealing from us is either imprisonment or death. Take them.” he commanded.

Zura and Hibo were grabbed first, and we all shouted in protest. Kore and I were grabbed next, and our legs were kicked from behind us forcing us on our knees. Immediately, Zion was there, with a large rock in his hand and he bashed the male who held me, and Adan fought against the warrior who held Kore.

I fell to my hands and looked up noticing Attuma approaching with great speed holding his axe out. My eyes widened as I looked at my tribesman in utter fear.

“ZION!” I screamed. Both Jabari warriors turned in one mighty swish, I watched Attuma’s blade slice across both Zion and Adan’s chest. Blood sprayed onto the ground quickly, and their bodies fell back effortlessly. I screamed violently as my tribal brothers fell back to the ground not moving. I panted heavily as Kore, Zura and Hibo screamed in utter pain.

“OH HANUMAN NO!” I screamed grunting heavily in sadness before crawling over toward their limp bodies. I grabbed Adan’s face. This wasn’t happening. “Oh, great father of all, no, no, no! Please!”

Tears streamed down my face as I looked at my country men. Zura and Hibo cried out deeply as they were restrained, the pain evident in the way they screamed.

“This is not happening Kore… this is not happening Kore!” I screamed placing my hands on both their chests. I was hyperventilating now, and I shook my head touching their faces. I heard Attuma speaking now.

“Take the scientists and the ambassador to the cells. Bring the princess to my grotto.”

“No, you can’t do this!” Kore yelled as she was being lifted off the ground while Hibo and Zura were being dragged away down different halls, their arms reach out for each other violently, their screams playing in my ears.

“No Hibo!” Zura cried.

“SISTER!” Hibo screamed.

I was still on my knees looking at the dead bodies before me. This was a trap, all of it. Namor never planned to let us leave. I felt my arm being grabbed and I tore from the hold and looked up at Attuma’s face. He looked very content, very pleased with the sight before him.

“Look at my face,” I said with a quivering tone and he did, “Look at my eyes… Wakanda will never forgive you for this. My brother will never forgive you for this… I will never forgive you for this.”

He raised his head some as he watched me before speaking.

“We have all the time in the world to get past this.”

I was grabbed by my arms and forced to my feet before being taken down another hallway, the sub growing smaller and smaller.

[moonlightandmarble]

Give Me The Night-Prelude Nocturnus

I posted this on AO3 under the same name but if you're allergic to the site or just want to read on tumblr here it is. Again this is part of an ongoing AU with @costumersupportdept

Desperate to save Vessel, III, and IV from Sleep's domination, II makes one last ditch effort and summons forth Night herself. Because who better to beat a god, than another god?

Prelude:

ii smoothed out a wrinkled and torn bit of aged paper with slightly shaking hands. The writing was barely legible in the dim light of his single candle, but that’s all he could allow for. He already was risking too much as it was, and he kept looking over his shoulder, almost certain at any moment that he would be found out. That the door would be wrenched open and he would be dragged kicking and screaming across the Beach and into the cold depths to be shredded apart by tooth and tentacle.

And that was if he was lucky. If he were unlucky then the punishment would be much harsher, and much more prolonged.

“I must be absolutely mental. Nothing is going to happen…but if nothing is going to happen, why am I about to piss myself in terror?”

He shuddered, and squeezed his eyes shut of the mental images that had been etched into his mind. The ones that played out over and over again whenever he tried to sleep. Vessel screaming wordlessly in the sea while ii was screaming himself, reaching out for him but too far away to help. And then there was nothing but blood, the tide churning and stained crimson. Vessel nowhere to be found.

As horrific as the images were they were a reminder as to why he was doing this. He was starting to lose count of how many times Vessel had died and washed up on the shore days later, but more and more lately when he came back he was…changed. More of his memories were missing, and it was taking longer for him to recover. It filled ii with dread, but also anger. And the anger was winning out against the fear he had of Sleep’s potential punishment for him. At least with IV and III away only he would get the blame if he were caught. But they wouldn’t be away for long, and he didn’t have any more time to waste.

He bent over the paper, squinting. He had gone over the words it felt like 1000 times already, but he wanted it to be perfect. He cleared his throat, stilled his thoughts, and in a voice barely above a whisper spoke the hymn,

“Nyx, parent goddess, source of sweet repose, from whom at first both Gods and men arose, Hear, blessed Kypris, deck’d with starry light, in sleep’s deep silence dwelling Ebon night! Dreams and soft case attend thy dusky train, pleas’d with the length’ned gloom and feaftful strain. Dissolving anxious care, the friend of Mirth, with darkling coursers riding round the earth. Goddess of phantoms and of shadowy play, whose drowsy pow’r divides the nat’ral day: By Fate’s decree you constant send the light to deepest hell, remote from mortal sight For dire Necessity which nought withstands, invests the world with adamantine bands. Be present, Goddess, to thy suppliant’s pray’r, desir’d by all, whom all alike revere, Blessed, benevolent, with friendly aid dispell the fears of Twilight’s dreadful shade.”

He sighed as he finished, before reaching out to pinch the wick of the single candle, casting the room into total darkness. What was done was done, and now he needed to wait.

The room was so quiet that the ocean tide sounded like it was a far off memory, and the sound of his own heart thudding in his chest became deafening. Still he waited.

And he waited.

And he waited a little more.

He heaved a great sigh of disappointment, “Great. Another failure, and now I’m sitting here in the dark talking to myself like an idiot. At least no one can see me making an ass of myself.” He stood up and reached blindly for a match to relight the candle, when a soft smoky voice spoke from directly behind him,

“Hello.”

His heart jolted and he nearly screamed, just managing to stop himself by clamping a hand over his own mouth as he whipped around to look behind him.

The wall behind him was dark of course, just as the rest of the room was, but somehow not as dark as the shadow that was stretching up it, moving like liquid and shaping itself into a vaguely human form, two lights like distant stars where the eyes should be. The shadow began to solidify, taking on the shape of a tall woman crowned with lyre-shaped horns, inky wings stretching out behind her before reshaping themselves into a velvety cloak. Now that she was becoming more…physical…he saw her eyes were reflective like a cats, and she yawned, revealing a mouth filled with too many teeth, sharp ones that that. He slowly lowered his hand from his mouth as he looked up at her, and it took everything in him to not turn and bolt as she took at step towards him,

“Why have I been summoned?”

He stammered, all the different versions of how he would speak to her that he had played out in his head vanishing in a puff of panic, “Ah w-well, you see my friend he u-uh, well it started when…um…”

She leaned in slightly, eyes narrowing as she sniffed at him, and he immediately froze like a prey animal.

“Something…smells familiar on you"

"S-smells… smells familiar?"

"Like someone I knew before…a very long time ago. Who is this friend of yours?"

"I just…He.. I know him as Vessel? He’s tall? Broody? He’s-he’s got a white and red mask, he was already here when I first arrived and he was sort of feral when we met and didn’t even remember how to speak but-um-”

Her head tipped, eyes still narrowed.

"He’s a brilliant singer? Emotionally tortured? Um…six eyes?”

Her head lifted and her eyes widened slightly, "A singer?”

ii swallowed but felt relieved at the slightly more positive response, “Ye-yeah. Yeah, he’s got a really beautiful voice.”

She hummed, whispering half to herself, “Perhaps a distant relative…and you summoned me because of this Vessel, why?”

"I… I…", ii presses the heels of his hands into his eyes and takes a big shuddery breath, "He's gotten himself entangled with another deity- to Sleep. Vessel, he's not-he's not doing well. Sleep's been using him as a mouthpiece but I think Vessel's… well, he's getting worn down. He's trying to do more thinking on his own, but then he feels guilty, and then there's turmoil and Sleep gets angry with him and there's…. there's a lot of blood. And Sleep has realized now that if he tortures the rest of us - there are two more of us, I sent them on an errand so I could try this - but if he tortures us then Vessel's more likely to give in to what Sleep wants because he feels bad about inflicting all of that on us but I can just see him going more and more-sort of transparent around the edges. And I-I just-I love him a lot and I want him to be okay again. I want him to…I want him to be able to live"

As the words all tumbled out of him he felt hot tears burning behind his hands, his voice coming out in a choked sob, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Everything else I’ve tried has failed and every time he comes back he remembers less and I’m not trying to cause you offense but I have no idea what I’m doing and I’m scared I’m making things worse please just-“

There was a quiet “Shhhshhhshhh”, and a warm hand on his shoulder gently squeezing. He looked up blearily, and saw that Night was looking at him with a gentle smile. Her purple irises regarded him kindly, and he could see that her skin was flecked with silver, making her look like clear sky at midnight.

“I understand well wanting to protect those you love. What you want is very noble. Of course I will help you, in whatever way I can.”

ii blinks at her, "You will? You will. Oh god," he wobbled to his knees and breathed audibly, pressing his face into his hands and rocking a little."Thank you, holy shit, thank you. I'll do whatever you need me to do, I just want to see him stop hurting all the time. Whatever sacrifice I have to make, I'm willing, anything you want to demand of me, thank you, please, just, I want him to be okay."

Night put a hand under one of his arms, helping him to his feet. She was strong, very strong, but still gentle, "It's obvious you care a lot about your loved ones, and things must be truly desperate in order for you to call upon one such as me. Here, come, let me help you sit down. Light your candle and tell me more of Sleep and eat of this…this-”, she tipped her head as she examined a plate that he had left out on the table, “-well it's some sort of food you appear to have placed as an offering but I am unsure of what it is exactly?"

ii smiled weakly, "Oh, it's um, it's a Jaffa cake. IV loves them. I wasn't sure what you would want, or need? Is there something I can…offer you now that you're here?"

Night picked up the cake, sniffing it curiously before taking a delicate bite. As ii watched expectantly she perked up, looking at him and smiling, "It's very good. No no. This is…much better than a burnt sheep. You'll have to excuse my rudeness…it's been…a very long time since anyone has called upon me. I have heard a little of the modern world but a lot is still unfamiliar to me. So I suppose I would ask that you teach me of it. Over time, of course"

Ii rubbed his hands together between his knees, “Unfortunately, time may be what we don’t have a lot of”, he fumbled with the matches before lighting his candle, “Um, so we’re part of a band and we’re about to go spend half a year performing all over the world.” He sighed, “Initially I think it might have been Vessel’s idea, because like I said, amazing singer. What better way to get Sleep’s message to people? But I think now he’s started doubting more and more and writing songs I don’t think Sleep likes…but Vess- he’s too stubborn to stop performing them, and we’re about to be dropped in the middle of normal humanity to do this and -god- I just don’t know how it’ll go if he already seems ready to just disintegrate half the time.”

She squinted as the candle was lit, but then ate another bite of the Jaffa cake, considering, "So that I understand correctly: you summoned me to defeat Sleep in order to save the one you love. But first we must go on this…tour…among regular humans. And obviously I wouldn't fit in among you so you need me to remain hidden but available for the next time Sleep attacks your Vessel? Yes?”

ii dropped his head back into his hands, "Yes? I guess? I-I don't know what I was thinking as far as a gameplan…just that I was a little desperate and I knew that the safest time to try this was when Sleep had him and I could convince III and IV to go-", he cut off and looked up in wide-eyed terror, "Fuck. FUCK!". He pushed himself to his feet and grabbed her hand in his, "He's back, he's on the beach, you have to stay here I don't know if Sleep can see you or-" he waves a hand "-feel you or anything, but I have to go get him and if Sleep knows I've done this he's going to tear him into pieces in front of me and I don't…. I can't-", his lip quivers and Night curls her lip in the direction of the Beach. She turned back to him, “There's one way for me to hide but I need your consent. He can't feel me if I'm hiding within another body."

II blinked at her for a second and then squeaked "In me?"

Night nodded, "Yes. I promise it won't hurt"

II looked towards the direction of the Beach again, clenching his fists, before looking back at her and nodding, “Do it.”

Night turns back into ebon mist, before sinking into his skin, "Now go, save your friend"

II didn’t pause to consider how weird this was, instead immediately turning and throwing the door open, sprinting for the unmoving black lump that was laying on the tideline. He dropped to his knees in the soaked sand behind Vessel and pulled his head up onto his thigh, getting his face out of the rising tide. He held him there with one arm as he started checking for major injuries with the other, talking to him, urging him back to consciousness, "You're okay, you're okay, I've got you, c'mon back. You're Home. Are you with me, Vess? You're safe now, you're not with Sleep, c'mon"

Vessel lurched as he tried to take a breath, breaking into a violent cough that led to him choking up a thick, cold, black blob. II rubbed between his shoulder blades, holding him sideways so he could get all of the black muck out of himself and into the water.

"There you go, okay, I got you, get it all out, I know it's gross”, he let Vessel convulse it out before cradling him, rocking gently as he waited for his limbs to start working again, "We'll get you back in the cave and warm when you get your legs back, III's not here and I don't want to drag you if I don't have to."

Vessel managed to croak out, “…where?”, blindly pawing at and clutching onto II, before blinking around wildly like a spooked animal.

II pet his head like he was comforting a frightened child, “You’re on the Beach, Sleep’s not here, I’ve got you, sweetheart. Get your legs working and we’ll get you back in the cave next to the fire with all the blankets I can-JESUSFUCK-”, he doubles over Vessel as something lurches in his chest, his heart feeling like it was trying to rip it’s way out of his ribcage, and for a split second he thinks to himself that Sleep has caught him and he’s about to die.

Almost as soon as it happens however, it stops, and he hears Night’s voice in his ears, "I-I’m so sorry.”

II manages a deep breath, “What was that for?!”

Night’s voice sounded shaken, and even as she tried to reassure II it made him feel all the more worried, “It’s…it’s nothing. I’m sorry. I will explain later. Let’s just, get him back into the cave. I could carry him for you?”

He shook his head, trying to not drop the barely-there Vessel back into the water, “No, no you need to stay hidden. He could come back and for all I know he may have already figured out what I did.” He shifted Vessel around as gently as he could, before getting an arm under him, “C’mon big guy, both legs, here we go,” he staggers them both to standing and starts coaxing Vessel across the sand, one dragging step at a time.

Vessel mumbled, "So cold…no sounds…"

II stroked down his back as he shuffled him forward, “I know, sweet boy, you’re back now. Let us get off the beach and I promise you tea and blankets and you can cuddle me for as long as you like, I swear.”

Night’s voice was like a little moth softly fluttering by “…how many times has this happened?”

II sighed, "I’ve…lost count. I don’t know, once every couple of months? Sleep just sort of appears, there's some sort of discussion, sometimes he leaves Vessel alone, sometimes he picks him up and takes him somewhere, sometimes he ah…. shows his displeasure more overtly? But any time Vess…. goes away….. he eventually reappears on the tideline like someone's dumped him out of the back of a cosmic panel van." II hung his head a little as he trudged Vessel through the sand, "I'm terrified that someday he…. won't, that he'll just be… gone."

"Does he ever speak to the rest of you?"

"Who, Sleep? Not in so many words. He ah…uses Vessel? Sometimes to try to keep us in line- he dropped him in the water once and made me- Shhshhh, it's okay, we're almost there" he patted Vessel's back again as he started to falter. "-he made me watch him um… bleed out in the water…. without being allowed to go help once, after he saw my first round of research, and that was…not great." He blinks hard against the scene of blood and screaming, before finally shuffling Vessel through the main opening of the cave he and the others called home. He gets him propped into a pre-made nest of pillows and blankets in front of the fire, pulling off his wet clothes and rubbing at his clammy limbs before wrapping him up again in the blankets, kissing him on the cheek. "Vess, you with me? Tea or cuddles first? III and IV should be back eventually so you can still get tea if you want to hold onto me for a while, it may just not be as fast."

"I…wish I could say I'm surprised, but…I have come across Sleep's kind before. They are…quite cruel". Her voice sounds like it's on the verge of breaking as she speaks, and she goes quiet.

Vessel lays still, panting and pale before clutching onto II’s wrist so hard that it almost hurt, "D-don't leave, please."

II kissed him on the forehead, "Oh baby, okay, no leaving. C'mere, sweet boy, you're alright, time to get warm." He adjusted himself until Vessel put his face into his neck and curled up around him, shaking and curling his fingers into his clothes. II looked up, trying to blink away the tears that were threatening to fall, "I’m here, I'm not going anywhere. Rest now, you're back, you're warm."

He sat quietly with Vessel, waiting for the shakes to subside, and as he did Night spoke up once again."I can feel how much you love him. I promise I'll do everything in my power to help you. The promise of a god isn’t lightly given. "

II closed his eyes and shuddered slightly, the tears leaking out around the edges, "Thank you. I'll do anything you want, I promise, any-any debt that needs paid, I'm willing. Whatever it takes. I don’t care."

"You owe me nothing. There is no debt. I want to help you, to help him. I…thought because I smelled someone familiar to me on you and because of the hymn that this was…some sort of trick. But I think I understand now…", II felt her shift slightly in his chest, "Do you…believe in Fate?"

II wiped at his eyes with his fingers. "I don't-I think I don't understand, Fate? I promise I wasn't trying to trick you, I might have gotten something wrong in the translation, but it wasn't intentional."

There was a long pause before Night spoke again, "A very very long time ago I had someone I loved very much as well. He was…taken from me. There was nothing but ashes and bone when I found him. It was as if my very heart was being torn to shreds. When he was taken from me-when he died-it was if a part of me…died with him".

II kissed Vessel's forehead again, softly, lingering to make sure he was sleeping soundly. "I'm sorry…I…think I understand that feeling more than I'd like to."

"He also sang, and wrote poems. I did not ever imagine I would ever hear his voice again except in my dreams. So when we were on the Beach and I heard him speak…it was as if my heart stopped. Your Vessel and my Aneirin…are the same somehow."

II felt his chest clench, only it wasn’t Night that was causing it this time, "I don't… I don't understand…he was here when I got here. He was almost feral, there was nobody else here with him and he was terrified to touch me, it took him weeks to not startle when I talked to him. He-he was so broken.”

And yet, he thought to himself, didn’t Vessel say that Sleep could change things on a whim? and often did? He had seen Vessel die and come back, over and over again. Sleep would do it for any reason, even if it was just to show that he could. Would it be all that unbelievable? It’s not like Vessel could remember where he had come from. None of them really could. At least not wholly.

Night continued, "His death was…traumatic. Horrible and painful and cruel. He had been made a sacrifice to a sun god of a pantheon that revels in blood and agony. They care not for humans except as playthings. When you first told me Sleeps name, I recognized it. He is a part of that pantheon. Although that of course, isn’t his true name."

And that was another thing Vessel had mentioned, that Sleep’s real name wasn’t pronounceable to the human tongue. That he was old, older than humanity and the mountains and maybe even older than the Earth itself.

II stroked the side of Vessel's face, sighing, "Oh Vess, what did you get yourself in the middle of? This is so much bigger than you ever let on, if you even knew, and I don't know if I can untangle all of this without making it worse."

"From what you told me, it’s very unlikely he knew. Sleep would likely have made sure he wouldn’t remember anything”, she made a soft hum, “Three thousand years…oh how I have sought you out in the stars, hoping beyond hope that somehow we would meet again. That you would be reborn. But I never, thought of this.”

II sat dumbfounded, "Three-three thousand years?! He's that old? How is that even possible?"

“You know Sleep is capable of much, you have seen that for yourself. Time doesn’t work the same way for the divine. It is not linear like it is for mortals. It’s more like…a spiral. And for Sleep and his kind, it is even stranger, there is no past, no future…only existence and occurrence.

II blinked, trying to sort through everything going on in his head, "I-I guess I'm sorry? For everything that happened to him. To you. I'm sorry I had to-had to-drag you back together like this, especially when I have to keep you hidden. I’m so sorry. I just wanted-I just was so desperate-"

Night made that gentle shushing sound again, and he could almost feel her hand on his shoulder again, "Don't apologize, you've done nothing but try to save the ones you love. I am still with you, and I will stay with you as I promised. That will not change. Your name is…II? Yes?"

"He named me, I didn't really have a name I knew when I got here."“You’re no longer alone in this II. We will face what comes, together.”

He rubbed his hands over his face, suddenly exhausted, “Are-are you sure there’s nothing you want from me?”

She chuckles softly, “There’s no hurry, but I wouldn’t mind another one of those Jaffa cakes when the chance arises.”

[theredpharaoah]

Dragonbinder is so nonsensical. A horn, some blood, and a sacrifice is all it takes for some random to claim a dragon? Yet in the thousands of years Valyria ruled, not one of their enemies could manage to steal a dragon? Maybe you could say Ghis and the Andals had no magical knowledge, but you can’t say that of the Rhoyne. GRRMS magical system is vibes and blood. He says all ritual is arbitrary(one thing he gets right) and magic is innate to certain people. So the Rhoynish’s mastery of water magic would��ve definitely allowed them to engineer their own dragon horns. Everyone knew Valyrian magic was based on Fire and Blood and it doesn’t seem to have even originated with them - having most likely come from the people of Asshai. Horns and spells are said to have been used to control dragons by Valyrians but the Targs never had to use them so I think that’s bullshit. Unless they made them for non-Valyrians they adopted to ride dragons I’m not buying it.

And as if this whole lil horn thing wasn’t bad enough, he seems to be implying that Victarion is going to be the one to steal Rhaegal. Victarion Greyjoy, the grey bullock(whatever that is). Unambitious, dutiful, and dim Victarion. “Dumb as a stump”, “dullard and brutish”, Victarion is going to gain a dragon and ride off to glory. He’s somehow going to outsmart his much more intelligent brother; the psychopathic magician Euron. All with the help of a horn Euron gave him and a random Flame Priest. Victarion. Not fAegon. Not Jon Snow. Not Tyrion. Not Arianne Martell. Not Bran. Hell, not Arya. Victarion. The Ironborn will succeed in attaining a power Old Ghis, The Rhoyne, and probably countless other literate and intelligent civilizations failed to. The Ironborn….hmmm.

Moquorro says: "I have seen you in the nightfires, Victarion Greyjoy. You come striding through the flames stern and fierce, your great axe dripping blood, blind to the tentacles that grasp you at wrist and neck and ankle, the black strings that make you dance."

The men of the fandom seem to be all over Victarion because they like dumb asses who swing weapons around, revels in raiding, murder, rape, and kidnaps ppl to bring home as sex slaves or just regular slaves(Salt wives and thralls are slaves regardless of what the illiterate squid cult says). They consider that to be badass I suppose. I don’t. I will drop this series like a sack of hot potatoes if Victarions gets Rhaegal. Nothing would piss me off more than that. And no I’m not asking him to care - I doubt he will ever even know. But this is my blog so I’m talking about me.

[moisssofrp]

 was plotting with someone and threw out some ideas. i wanted to bring them here to see if anyone was interested. for this it’d be m/m and i’d like to play the bottom / sub and contains mainly dead dove related content. so check below for more & ideas. warning; dead dove content / ideas

if you’re of the rp-finder type than, most of these were written with either a large age gap or cookie with the top being younger. they’re quickly written and rough idea’s but all contain some element of dub/non, monster (thinking tentacles) or haunted (ghost), i**cest or step, omegaverse and etc! But we can tweak them and add or take out as you’d like. or if they springboard some ideas of your own but i’m open to more.

the typical jock x nerd, my muse would be the jock and maybe the friend to your muse’s older brother. he doesn’t really bully him but might play pranks. ppl think he’s straight but your muse maybe finds a lot of gay porn and black mails him

this one is based of off one i read and my muse is molested on the train but doesn’t stop it and kinda enjoys it or is to scared to speak out. either way, your muse see’s, records and uses it against him. it could be student x teacher or they live on the same street

this one, my muse is secretly an omega and is finding it and it’s a very pro-alpha world. because of that my muse keeps to himself and comes off mean or is just really strict. your muse is an alpha and finds out he’s an omega and takes him

this one would be incest and my muse raised your muse so your muse thinks of him as a father instead of an elder brother. my muse is alpha but acts like an omega in a sense of being motherly as well so your muse decides to bitch him and turn him into an omega

my muse moves into an apartment complex that’s fairly empty and your muse family could own it or something. it’s haunted or has monsters and it’s really your muse and/or your muses controls them. one day, it’s happening and he tries to your muse to help bc they’ve built up a good relationship but ur muse is in on it

this one is from a manga but with some tweaks, it could be a male dominated world or even alpha dominated world. so your muse even though young, is seen as the head of household. my muse starts to date your muses elder sister / mom and has ideas on my muse. he takes him and my muse doesn’t want to be exposed but ends up loving it and trying to keep it secret. the mother/wife doesn’t really pay attention that they spend so much time to together bc your muse tells her it’s not a woman’s place or something

same kind of plot as above my muse has a younger sister and starts dating your muse is who is considered a bad boy, he wants doesn’t approve and your muse comes over one day to confront him and catches him watching gay porn has his way with him until my muse gives in and wants it

my muse nephew (your muse) has always talked about marrying him and my muse has always laughed and brushes it off but your muse comes to live with him and he takes the chance to have them

for this one our muses could it’d be incest and our muse’s live out in the country or away from a lot of people at least. my muse had your muse young and is struggling to put food on the table and the farm doesn’t make much money. your muse gets the idea to use his dad to make money via porn and etc. we could iron out the fine details but involves non-con, mind-break and etc

a world were underage sex and etc isn’t considered taboo everywhere and is considered more liberal. your muse suggest to his dad/brother/caretaker they move to a knew town and my muse doesn’t realize they’ll moving to a more liberal one and when your muse starts to take advantage of mines, no one really cares and it’s encouraged

a world were men are supposed to be seen as tough/doms and those don’t are degraded slightly. my muse is secretly gay or at the very least, secretly likes being the one taken. your muse finds out and does it

another train one that could lead to more (for plot and not just smut) but my muse was dared to wear a slutty out on the train late at night, it’s cramped and your muse takes advantage of mines

your muse and my muse have been messaging on an app and meet up for the first time in person, my muse is already in the room and blind-folded and etc. when your muse realizes who it is, they don’t stop and things go from there, blackmail, more non-con/dub-con and etc. they could be siblings, father-child, student-teacher or whatever

[tonguetyd]

"make it make sense"

You have a thing for werewolves, next question.

Not THAT part, I knew THAT already 😂😂😂

I meant the “I will happily talk about Musician Men Secretly Being Werewolves in one context but not the other” part

Like if anything you’d think it would be easier to take the “dude supposedly trapped in service to a tentacle monster god of dreams and nightmares” would be easier to make the jump to werewolf 😂 but I’m all “👉🏻👈🏻 guys I’m flustered”

Meanwhile somebody said “hey this Irish guy who uses his actual face and name? Imagine if he was a werewolf” and I’m slamming my credit card on the table.

THATS the weird part. Why am I shy about one and not the other!

Is it bc I think he’s neat and wanna hold his hand like a pathetic teenager? Mayhaps.

[bigpharmesan]

Does Sneako smell bad? Annoying podcasters suck and are ugly.

This is way late to the game but fuckit

Watching a Sneako video, Andrew Tate, Fresh and Fit, I get the waft of axe body spray in my nose. It smells like undertones of B.O, due to sitting in a chair for hours and getting angry for no reason. Their body doesn’t understand they’re on a podcast talking about beta males, all it knows is that they are highly agitated. Axe body spray and B.O sounds familiar. That’s because it is. You know this man. With love to these men, those who are kind and decent, we can picture them. Middle school boys in basketball shorts, the dishwasher you work with who isn’t just stoned on thc, I think chalked up they are the masculine individuals before their blossom, or who never got to, who may in the future. None of these podcasters are kind and decent though, and the men who are know the following statements do not apply to them.

These people are insecure, and insecurity makes you sweat. To identify an insecure individual within these lookmaxxing losers you should watch out for loud yelling, smiling while saying weird sadistic shit, and the classic “pulling on her ponytail and then running away” except with the entire internet.

I’m sick of tiptoeing around the real issue. Feminism, respecting women’s rights to, like, exist as fully fleshed out human beings with tangible brains and feelings, these have been discussed endlessly. It’s obvious what the real answer is: these men are equivalent to political McDonalds for those brainwashed by conservatism.

What everyone seems too polite to say, these guys are not fucking hot. They’re all mediocre looking men. That’s right. Andrew Tate? Mid. Sneako? Mid. Fish and Fuck? Mid. Maybe below mid. Beauty is up to opinion, but if every big, beautiful, voluptuous woman is unattractive, then these guys are shit swirled in a toilet bowl. You know it. I know it, they know it, so why can’t we just squash the beef.

The power of personal hype is underrated. These dudes don’t do manual labor, or nurse people back to health, or create less harm in the word. The problem is that these dudes understand how marketing works. Balding, slovenly, unfortunate as they are if they hype themselves up, and through extension their viewers, they will continue to have a flow of money. If they can be these hot pimp studs who fuck everything and don’t give a shit about morals or rules, so can the people who watch them. Dare I say, false idols?

People need someone to identify with, a goal or ideology to look towards. Where we used to have Clint Eastwoods and classic men in ties, now we have YouTube streamers. Prior masculine figures or idols at least had some PR, something to tiptoe around. Maybe a moral code of “men must protect women,” something dudebro podcasters dismiss in favor of hedonism. Formerly these role models taught values and morals to boys, reminders to men. Except, these dudes simply exist without direction and shout concepts they have after jerking off to tentacle porn. They put down their Xbox controller, having previously been screaming slurs at their CoD buddy, and begin talking to millions of people.

The message sent at its core is one of empowerment. Feel good, be strong, get what you want, and what you want, you need. They are not the first or last to speak this message, it can even be found in Mr. Rogers, a symbol of kind, honest, vulnerable masculinity. They do however twist it into digestible toxicity. Toxicity in the way that it can lead to self-hatred, destructive behavior, and further othering from community. A slow and welcomed poisoning.

A middle school boy watches Sneako, and he hears that he has value inherently. It’s explained to him, where he may not hear it otherwise, that he deserves to have his pleasure and role in society prioritized. Which is true for every human, or at least wanted, to some degree. That boy does deserve as much, but not at the harm of others. That’s where Sneako and others of his kind drop the ball. Mr. Rogers would have said the same thing, but then did a soft regulation to the ego, to remind that others also deserve this, and that our role in a successful society is to balance our pleasure and our sacrifice so that others can feel their pleasure. That way we can all max out our total joy.

No, these “Chad” podcasters instead twist it into a monologue on why you should be selfish to an evil degree. They trick these boys into funneling their own desires into the podcasters end goal, which is money and power. Leaving these boys and men empty handed, lonelier than ever, and at times actually dangerous. Snake oil peddlers to the desperate and young. You can see this when these idols meet their followers, leading to the children saying hateful, outlandish shit they don’t understand just to appease said idol.

It’s important to note, I ultimately want people who watch these podcasters to feel joy. That won’t be found living the life these podcasters advise, therefore I want them to examine what they hear, how the act on what they hear. They don’t have to be less masculine or watch people who are less boy-y. Men are beautiful, they are interesting, cool, strong, and I want them to be surrounded by similar things.

Andrew Tate is not beautiful. Sneako is not cool. Fish and Fret are certainly not interesting. The backbone of redpill podcasting is to prey on people in their times of weakness, ultimately being the most pathetic thing of all; a parasite.

So… Like, does Sneako smell bad? I’m certain of it. While Andrew Tate might have chosen more elevated perfume choices before the law got involved, he still isn’t attractive. None of the women and girls who fuck on him, fuck for him, or fuck with him find him attractive, they perform a job in exchange for clout, money, or survival. At times they aren’t even performing a job, they’re victims in a crime.

Bursting the bubble of their “cool factor” is essential to helping people stop watching them. Not to say you should go bully little boys for their scent choices and natural ignorance, that’s not how people grow. It’s simply that when we address these people, it’s essential to destroy any narrative that they are in control, confident, or have valuables. Podcast bros don’t have control, that’s why they resort to rage. They lack confidence; therefore, they rip down others to seem better. Despite any riches or social currency, they have, they don’t have valuables, an expensive car owned by an asshole is just owned by an asshole. And these dudes are major assholes.

[cryptidinspace]

Dangerous Waters, Chapter 5

CW: Mentions of fatal vore, brief discussion of made-up drugs

“Atlaaaantiiiic!” Irridesse’s voice rolled through the empty corridors. The inside of the school was like some ancient fortress, carved from stone, and hung with faded tapestries. Where do all of these come from, anyway? She swam a bit closer, inspecting one woven from seaweed ropes. A depiction of a mermaid, holding a dead human on a rocky shoal, beneath the gloomy moonlight. Her eyes flicked to the plaque beside it, confirming that this was, indeed, a mermaid. “Savior of Humans,” they call it. It could easily be mistaken for a siren though, and then the whole meaning changes… Tearing her eyes away, she hurried through the corridors. Another thing she noted was the odd shaping of the halls…the width and height of the hallways seemed to fluctuate slightly, some likely a bit too small for the larger sea monsters. Interesting. 

“Atlantiiiiic…” She sighed, not really believing in her chances of finding him. Atlantic was the son of Mayor Mura, the leader of their small community. Sunfish Vale. Her family was close to them, and so Atlantic had been her unwanted playmate since they were only fry. And he had always been a coward. This school was no different…he was too weak to stand up to Magna, too weak to stand up to his own pest of a father, too weak for this ridiculous school…but he was a pretty good swimmer.

He was probably halfway home already. 

As she turned a corner, Irridesse suddenly halted. There was someone else up ahead…at such a late hour, with everyone still meeting their counselors, there shouldn’t be anyone else here…peering at the stranger, she recognized the Headmaster. The same buffoon who had been talking to them all about an hour ago. He still had his sash on, and he was hovering outside a pair of doors labeled “auditorium.” He appeared to be reading something, a long scroll, and looked rather confused by it’s contents. Maybe he’s illiterate. 

“Scuse me.” She swam up to him, folding her arms with a bored expression. “Have you see a young merman, long blonde hair, blue scaled and blue eyes, wearing a jellyfish leather shirt? He ran off, and I was sent to look for him.” 

The principal looked up sharply, wide gray eyes blinking slowly. He looked puzzled for a moment, before softly gasping. A hint of a smile flickered over his face, before he looked back down at his scroll. Irridesse scowled at him suddenly, feeling distinctly off. There was something strange about him, and about the way he was hiding behind the roll of paper. “Ah, yes, I think I saw that young man head toward the main entrance. Appeared that he was in quite the hurry.” His voice had a creaky quality to it as well, like an old door with unoiled hinges. She stared at him for a moment more, before nodding and darting off. Creepy…But most old men were creepy, that was nothing new. Still…it wouldn’t hurt to keep her guard up. 

—------------------------------------------------

The swim to the front entrance was a surprisingly long one, and Irridesse found herself incredibly bored by the time she finally reached it. The constant pausing to study maps didn’t help, of course. But it was clearly a waste of time, as no one was there. The doors were shut tight, the glowfish still floating in lazy circles near the ceiling. Maybe he just went to bed…? 

A sudden swish of movement behind her made Irridesse flinch, before spinning around with a fierce look. Just her luck, it was that tentacled freak. Magna. “Oh great, what do you want? I’m kind of busy here.”

Magna laughed, slightly muffled by her mask. Her coils of indigo hair danced through the water as she shook her head. “Snappy as ever, huh?” Irridesse’s eyes unconsciously strayed toward Magna’s ample belly, where her wide array of teeth glinted in the dim light. Following her gaze, the sea monster snickered and patted her stomach. “What, miss me already?”

“Stop that!” She barked, turning away as her face reddened. What the fuck…”Seriously, Atlantic went missing. Our roommate, the one you terrorized earlier?” She sighed, crossing her arms. “They sent me to find him, and-” She turned to face Magna suddenly, eyebrows furrowing. “Hey, why are you not in class?” 

Magna’s teasing expression faded, and she rolled her eyes. “Our counselor never showed up. Honestly, this place is…not what I expected. It’s shitty.” 

Irridesse had to agree, unfortunately. “I’ve noticed. And it’s not what I was told.” She was silent for a moment, turning Magna’s words over in her mind. Something occurred to her, like a sudden bloom of fear in her chest, and her shoulders stiffened. “Magna…does that mean every Sea Monster is just…wandering around right now?” 

“Uhh…” The woman squinted, curling and uncurling her tentacles. “Well, Spike’s kinda the guy in charge, I don’t know where he went. A little one said she was throwing a party, though. I was gonna have a look around outside…so yeah, I guess everyone’s just wandering around.” 

No…no, what kind of god-awful coincidence- “Magna!” Irridesse’s voice went shrill with panic, and the sea monster froze. “Atlantic ran off on his own, in a dark and empty school full of Sea Monsters. Look me dead in the eyes, and tell me no one’s gonna try to eat him.” Coral’s lecture swam through her head. All the tedious rules to be followed, all the things that could go horribly wrong…what if Atlantic was already dead? 

She may not have liked him, but he was still a merman. They were still connected. From the start, Irridesse had gone into this with a desire to eradicate the stupid fear that mers lived their lives by. And on the first day, one of her kind had already been eaten. This is a death trap. 

“Hey…” Irridesse bristled, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest as a tentacle coiled around her arm. And yet, Magna’s voice sounded soft and gentle…not like it did a moment ago. “Hey, don’t panic. Most of them probably went right back to the dorms. And I’m telling you, no one is here to eat merpeople.” She seemed to hesitate, before quietly continuing. “Even if they wanted to, they’d quickly find that this is not the place for it.” 

“Get your slimy octopus legs off of me!” Irridesse spat, shoving the tendril away. Her eyes closed for a moment, and a deep sigh left her body. “Okay. Okay, what do you mean by this is not the place for it?” 

“Well…it’s a bad place for…for that…” Magna’s voice faltered. Somehow, she had learned some tact in this short time. 

“For killing and eating Mers?” 

“Uh…yes, pretty much.” Magna drifted onto one of the nearby couches, anchoring herself to the soft cushions. “The majority of Sea Monsters live in the open ocean. A lot of them, if they try to hunt a population of mermaids, will use their larger size to destroy buildings first, so that their targets can’t hide from them. We aren’t good at chasing and grabbing things in narrow hallways and classrooms full of stuff. And even if someone were crazy enough to try, the buildings are all made of solid volcanic stone. Sea Monster’s can get pretty big, but they’re still too squishy and soft to break rock like this.” Her eyes squinted, as though she were smiling beneath her mask. “So, there’s a good chance he’s fine.” 

Irridesse sank to the ground, her racing thoughts calming in spite of herself. “...alright. That sounds right.” 

Magna nodded. “He’s probably just in bed.” She cleared her throat, before looking up at the fish overhead. “So…who’s the Mer counselor?” 

Polite conversation? Really? In spite of her annoyance, Irridesse floated down to sit on the arm of the couch. “Coral Dulcette. She’s a sea monster expert, or something like that. Studies your kind, I think.” She once again found herself wishing she’d heard the rest of the lecture. 

“Oh yeah, there were a few Mers like that in my hometown. A siren, too, they had this little club and everything.” Magna’s voice was filled with fondness as she recalled old friends. “They’re actually the ones who convinced me to come here in the first place. Such curious little guys…” 

“Really? And did you try eating them every time you met?” Irridesse’s voice was dry as stone in the sun, as she shot the Sea Monster a glare. 

“Well, first of all, I was not trying to eat you.” Magna didn’t sound the least bit apologetic, in fact, it almost seemed that she was trying not to laugh. “Like most of ‘my kind,’ I can choose whether or not I digest something. I was always going to let you go.” She shrugged. “It’s how I grew up. That’s how sea monsters greet each other, where I’m from. Some of them might think it too intimate, but not me! It’s important to make people feel welcome when you meet them.” Irridesse squinted at her, still deeply skeptical. “What better way to welcome someone than welcoming them right into your stomach?” 

A moment of silence passed between them, before Irridesse suddenly snorted with laughter. She shook her head, as an unexpected grin grew on her face. “That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard.” And yet, somehow, she felt lighter than before. As if the fear was gradually draining from her body, leaving only amused exasperation. It’s not so scary now. But I’m not angry. I…don’t want to fight her. Why is that? What's happening to me? 

—-------------------------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere, Lacey felt petrified. Their hands were shaking, and their mind racing. They had tried to pay attention to Coral’s lecture, they really had, but anxiety seemed to clog their eyes and ears, like wet sand. 

They felt sick. Atlantic and Irridesse where both out by themselves, and everyone’s meetings were likely wrapping up now. What if Sea Monsters ate them? What if that Carcharias guy eats me? The thought of massive teeth and an endless gullet made a quiet whimper escape their lips. I want to go home…I can’t do this without Irridesse. I’m too much of a fucking coward. 

“Alright, our time’s almost up.” Coral’s voice sounded distant and weary. “Any questions, guys?”

A stunned silence filled the room. More than likely, Lacey’s panic was shared. Perhaps some had been lied to by parents, or bribed, or deluded into believing such friendship was possible. And now, the truth was coming to light. We’re doomed. 

Coral fidgeted with her hands for a moment, her bright red nails catching the light and glinting softly. Her formerly cheery look was replaced with something apologetic. “It’s becoming increasingly obvious that none of you were prepared for this.” Her tone grew softer, almost motherly, cutting through Lacey’s cloud of despair. They lifted their head slightly, eyes focusing on the older mermaid. 

“”I forget, sometimes, that most Mer communities live in complete fear of Sea Monsters. I was lucky to make a move into understanding them, and even luckier that it worked. It’s…dangerous, and scary, sometimes. All you know about these creatures is that they’d like to eat you. But they aren’t the beasts you think they are. They can be kind, and loving, and have perhaps one of the most unique and beautiful cultures that exist within the ocean. It’s true that Sea Monsters have eaten our kind, and will likely keep doing so…if we continue to live in the shadows.” Her gaze hardened, “Understanding is the only way forward.” 

Silence fell once again, awkward and tense. Lacey’s hands gripped the arms of her chair, knuckles turning white. She’s just like Irridesse. She’s fearless. She can’t understand what it’s like to be normal and terrified. A bell rang in the distance, signifying the end of the class period. How am I supposed to make friends with them, knowing that getting swallowed whole is a possibility? Knowing that they’re capable of eating me, and would probably like to. However, Coral had said that they didn’t want to hurt anyone. There’s no way. Maybe…maybe some of them are good people. But there’s no way all of them came here with good intentions. But better safe than sorry. 

“Alright, class dismissed. You’ll see my office hours and location in your schedule, please don’t hesitate to come talk to me, for any reason at all.” She sounded defeated, and yet mustered a faint smile. 

Lacey followed the other Mers out, listening to the quiet whispering around them. Everyone was worried, and no one had been fully convinced by Coral’s speech. Hands shook, and faces were pale with fear. “Hey.” Someone they didn’t know muttered, looking around at the others.”Maybe we should go back to the dorms in a group.” 

Not saying a word, Lacey trailed after the others as they murmured agreements. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------

A few minutes later, they found themselves drifting through a lonesome corridor. The dorms were alive with muffled talking and laughing, but all behind closed doors. As they drew closer to their own room, a soft thumping noise grew gradually louder, until it swelled into the recognizable rhythm of dance music. Mixed with the sound of chatter and the smell of alcohol diffusing in the water, it had all the makings of a party. 

A party. Huh. Still in a daze, Lacey recalled wishing so badly to attend a college party for the first time. It sounded like so much fun, a rite of passage, of sorts. If only they hadn’t suffered such a morbid twist of fate, if only their college wasn’t full of death. 

And it’s in my room, so…no sleep tonight, I guess. And they still didn’t know where Irridesse was. Should I go looking for her…? The thought brought a cold chill up their spine, and suddenly, tears came to their eyes. It was all too much, and now they couldn't even get to bed. Frustration and terror and tiredness welled up, burning behind their eyes, and Lacey curled into a ball, flipping their tail over their head. A frustrated scream began to build in their chest-before the door suddenly swung open. 

Startled out of their rage, Lacey uncurled and blinked at the intruder. Rosia, the tiny Sea Monster. She looked oddly anxious, until her eyes lit up at the sight of her roommate. “Oh, hey! Um, I hope you don’t mind, I didn’t mean to hold a party here, it just kind of…happened…” She let out a stilted laugh. “Um, anyways, have you seen Carcharias?” 

Lacey stared back in silence, jaw slack. Their brain felt melty and liquidy, thoughts swimming like minnows in the shallows. “Um…no.” 

After a moment, a soft “oh” escaped Rosia’s lips. Her eyebrows drew together into a sympathetic expression, and she halfway reached for Lacey’s shoulder, before pulling back. “You look miserable, is everything ok? I can tell em to clear out if you need to rest. We can take the party outside, or whatever.” 

“...Please.” Lacey’s eyelids fluttered, all their anger suddenly sapped. “I just…it’s been a long day.” It was easier to think of Rosia as a friend. She didn’t look big enough to be a threat, after all, and she didn’t have the same creepy energy that sirens did. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was just an odd-looking mermaid. “I’m sorry…” 

“No, no, don’t be!” Rosia waved one hand dismissively, grinning once again. “Just sit tight, I’ll have them out in a few minutes.” She darted back inside, her voice drifting out the door. “Alright guys, pack it up. Roomie needs their beauty rest.” 

Lacey didn’t even notice the stream of much larger Sea Monsters reluctantly filing out of their room, they were so tired. Their eyes stayed on the ground, as they sank to the ground with a sigh. Irridesse will be fine…right? 

She always is. 

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything felt heavy and sore. Where on earth was he? The water around him was chilly, but quite still, and smelled faintly of chemicals. His eyelids felt like lead weights, and he had never been so tired in his life. 

“Carcharias Rubrumepito?” His name, said by a feminine voice. She sounded almost timid, and he heard the indistinct murmur of a deeper voice just beside him. “No, I’m not scared, don’t be absurd.” She scoffed, with a tremor still present in her voice. “Mr Rubrumepito? Are you awake?” 

“Mm…” With great effort, he forced his eyes open. A siren dressed in black hovered in front of him, gripping a clipboard in one hand. Beside her, an older merman peered back at him through thick-wired glasses. “Hm?” 

Behind the strangers, he could see curtains swaying slightly in the current. Various cabinets lined the walls, and a tray full of strange instruments laid on a counter beside him. This is…a doctor’s office? Panic suddenly gripped him, and his eyes widened. He had been talking to Atlantic, who had gotten strangely close to his face, and then started yelling at him. And then…he couldn’t remember anything past that. What happened? I didn’t…I didn’t do anything, right? The possibility made him feel sick, and he looked around to see if Atlantic was with him. But no…it was just him, in a rather cramped room, full of strange machinery, which was holding him suspended over the floor. “Where’s Atlantic?”

“Atlantic Mira. Missing student, as of this morning.” Oh no… “Ran off from his counselor meeting last night, and no one has seen him since.” The nurse cleared her throat, darting a furtive glance at Carcharias. “It is…six in the morning now. They’ve yet to announce it to the student body, but I can tell you now.” Behind her, the man in green was staring at him with a mix of fear and disgust, and he felt his stomach turn. “Due to the circumstances, we think it’s likely that one of the Sea Monsters here ate him.” She tilted her head to the side, clearing her throat. “And…were you with him?”

“I…” His eyes were round, and his entire body felt cold. This couldn’t be happening. His first time alone with a Mer, and he had eaten him?? No, there’s no way. I couldn’t have. He strained his mind, but found his memory blank. He was close to my face. I could have so easily just…just leaned a little closer and…Carcharias squeezed his eyes shut, and a shudder of revulsion ran through his body. His mind went to his stomach, which he felt gurgle faintly. He was hungry. Right, if I ate last night, I wouldn’t be hungry already-

-he’s so small, it wouldn’t matter. His chest felt tight, and icey claws gripped his shoulders. He couldn’t even bring himself to answer the nurse in front of him. What do I even say?! Yeah, I probably did, but I don’t actually remember? No? Because I didn’t, I couldn’t have. He still couldn’t accept it. It didn’t feel real. He was so sickened by the notion, how could he have suddenly changed his mind without even knowing? It wasn’t like he was prone to blackouts and memory loss either…

“I don’t…think so.” He eventually choked out. “I…heard from someone that he was missing.” That wasn’t technically a lie. But he couldn’t tell the truth, he just couldn’t, because it was so suspect, and then what? He’d get sent away? Killed?! He couldn’t seem to remember anyone discussing a punishment for such things. Would it be counted as murder, or…? He shook his head, pushing away those morbid thoughts. 

“Right.” The nurse sighed heavily, before looking at the older man. “Is he good to go?” 

“There’s nothing else we can do about it.” He murmured. “Not until they officially decide on something.” He edged forward, clearing his throat. “You’re here because you were found passed out in a classroom. We’ve tested your blood already, and it appears that you were on some kind of knockout drug. Which, I might add, is commonly used by Sea Monsters who don’t want to feel prey squirming in their guts.” 

Squirming? Gross…A heartbeat later, Carcharias’s eyes lit up. This was a good thing, actually…he was quite certain he had taken no such thing. Did someone drug me? Not Atlantic, obviously, so…But who on earth would do that? Are they trying to frame me?? 

Well, it’s definitely working. 

“We just need to check a few more things. On your back, please.” Carcharias nodded and obediently rolled over, muttering an apology as his long hair nearly ensnared the nurse. The older one swam over him, apparently unbothered by the physical proximity to a Sea Monster. He placed one hand over the young man’s chest, nodding at the thrumming of a steady heartbeat. “Deep breath in your nose and out your mouth.” Carcharias took in a lungful of water, chest rising and brushing the nurse’s hands, before releasing a current that smelled vaguely of vegetables. “Right. Gills next.” The gills on his neck and waist fluttered, a second and more efficient respiratory system. “You seem fine. Go sleep off the rest of your comedown.” 

—--------------------------------------------------------

After hurrying back to his dorm, he almost immediately fell asleep, oblivious to the two small mers staring up at him in astonishment. 

“That’s your roommate?” Irridesse’s voice was equal parts awe and anxiety. “It’s…huge. Like, fucking massive.” She was seated on Lacey’s bed, with dark circles carved beneath her eyes. The yellow scaled Mer across from her nodded with a despondent expression. 

“Yeah. His name’s Carcharias. We, um, haven’t really talked.” Lacey was just glad that he was out cold, and slightly curious about where he had been all night. They hadn’t slept well, even after Rosia’s party left, and had watched the door nervously for much of the night. “That’s probably for the best.” Irridesse nodded in agreement, and Lacey sighed heavily. “So, still no news on Atlantic?” 

“Nope.” Irridesse and Magna had both headed to their dorm after a bit of talking, only to find that Atlantic was nowhere to be found. She had spent the next three hours tearing up the school with the Sea Monster, looking for him. The administration had even sent out law enforcement to look for him outside the school, and in the nearest town. But no one had seen him. 

Magna’s words had been reassuring, but not reassuring enough to completely ease her fears. Somewhere around three am, both of them had been too tired to continue. And now, she was back to update Lacey. It didn’t even occur to her to be upset about her friend staying behind, yet the subject was gnawing at Lacey’s conscience. 

“So…what do we do?” Lacey gazed at the girl with wide eyes, awaiting some kind of instruction. Irridesse stared into the distance, frowning. “If he was eaten by someone, how would we even know? Does this place have kind of security, other than the guys outside? Would a Sea Monster write down their plans to eat someone?” 

“I doubt it…it’s likely a spontaneous thing.” Irridesse tugged on a loose braid, coiling it around her finger in thought. “If we do have security, it’s probably not something we’re allowed to access. I suppose asking other Sea Monster’s would help, but would they betray their own kind like that…?” Would Magna? She wanted to believe that yes, Magna wasn’t entirely awful, and maybe she could be trusted, just a little bit. But species loyalty could run deep, maybe deeper than ethics. 

“Well, uh…” Lacey glanced back at the softly snoring giant behind them. “Carcharias says he’s a vegetarian, so maybe he would help?” Irridesse gave them an incredulous look, and they shrugged. “Look, I don’t really believe it either, but he seems nice, honestly. Could be worth a shot.”  If only they could get over the terror that gripped them whenever he so much as moved. 

“Sure, I guess. Let me know if he ever wakes up.” She looked up at the huge Sea Monster, and frowned slightly. He was, by far, the biggest living thing she had ever seen. It was hard to believe he was alive, and not just a big rock. I was going to find the biggest Sea Monster here, and defeat them. Would that be him? A vegetarian Sea Monster? We can figure that out once Atlantic is safe. Or…or once we punish whoever ate him. The thought sent an unexpected wave of smothering sadness through her mind. She hadn’t expected to feel this way over his disappearance…he was just a thorn in her side. And yet, he was innocent. Just an ignorant prick, nothing more. He didn’t deserve this. 

[golvio]

Some other things I am rapidly rotating in my brain, at varying levels of totk spoilage:

BIOLUMINESCENT PREHENSILE HAIR TENTACLES

LUNAR SYMBOLISM

BLOOD, BLOOD, BLOOD

HIS CLOTHES ARE ABSOLUTELY SODDEN WITH MALICE, LIKE AN EVIL, ABSOLUTELY FILTHY VERSION OF SKYSW ZELDA’S RITUAL WATER PURIFICATION

HE PROBABLY MAKES GROSS WET SLAPPING SOUNDS WHEN HE RUNS AND AN ABSOLUTELY REPULSIVE WET TOWEL SQUELCHING NOISE WHENEVER HE SITS DOWN. AND HE LEAVES CREEPY PUDDLES EVERYWHERE.

THE SPIRIT MAIDEN ➡️ THE COOLER SPIRIT MAIDEN

DEMISE ➡️ THE COOLER DEMISE

DEMISE WAS JUST A VOLCANIC NETHERWORLD GOD. GANON IS STYGIAN WATERS AND BLOOD AND DEATH AND WITHERING AND WANING AND LIFE AND REBIRTH AND AUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH

The horns are kinda stupid, though. Getting rid of those if/when I draw him.

THE DEPTHS

THAT SHIT’S FULL OF PRIMORDIAL FORESTS AND FOSSIL LIMESTONE AND ANCIENT RUINS AND IT’S PITCH BLACK AND HE JUST FUCKING. LIVES DOWN THERE. LIKE HE DID IN THE CLASSIC GAMES.

HE MAKES THE MOST GMOD-ASS FACE POSSIBLE AFTER MURDERING THE QUEEN. I HAVEN’T SEEN THE WHOLE CUTSCENE YET BUT I HAVE SEEN A GIF OF HIM SLOOOOWLY ARRANGING HIS FACE BONES INTO POSITION AND OH MY FUCKING GOD

EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT HOW HANDSOME HE IS WHEN HIS FACE IS ALL NEUTRAL AND SEVERE LOOKING BUT THE MAN IS ✨ABSOLUTELY HIDEOUS✨ WHEN HE GENUINELY SMILES AND I LOVE THAT SO MUCH. IT’S JASPER STEVENUNIVERSE’S DORKY-ASS “REALLY? 🥹” FACE BUT SUPER FUCKING EVIL AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

I’M PRETTY SURE THIS BINCH HAS BEEN IMPERSONATING ZELDA IN THE PRESENT, AND IF THAT’S TRUE THEN THIS DUDE IS THE FUNNIEST MOTHERFUCKER ALIVE BECAUSE HE’S GOING OUT OF HIS WAY TO TROLL RANDOM TOWNSPEOPLE IN ADDITION TO MESSING WITH THE MAJOR PLAYERS.

THIS MAN IS A FUCKING TROLL. HE IS A MANIPULATIVE PIECE OF SHIT AND A TROLL. THANK GOD. 😌

EYEBALLS

EYEBALLLLLLLLSSSSSSSS

ALSO THOSE WEIRD EYE PATTERNS ON HIS MUMMIFIED PALMS ACTUALLY MEAN SOMETHING AND THAT’S NUTS

THE BIG STINKY DREAMWORKS FACE HE MAKES AT LINK AND ZELDA WHEN HE FIRST WAKES UP

WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DOESN’T BECOME A BIG FAT BOAR MAN LIKE HIS CLASSIC LOOK IN THE FINAL BOSS FIGHT? THIS SUCKS, MAN.

THE GUY STOLE BOTH THE QUEEN’S SPECIAL SECRET CLUB SYMBOL STONE AND RAURU’S ARM LIKE “FUCK YOUR HETERONORMATIVITY I AM THE KING AND THE QUEEN OF HYRULE AND I AM GONNA MARRY MYSELF AND ASEXUALLY REPRODUCE. I DON’T NEED TO BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY I DON’T WANT ANY FUCKING HEIRS I’M JUST GONNA LIVE FOREVER AND OCCASIONALLY POOP OUT A CLONE THRALL OF MYSELF. AND GET INTO A BUNCH OF BIZARRE HOMOEROTIC OBSESSIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH A BUNCH OF MEN WHO LOVE AND HATE ME. FUCK YOU.”

OH BOY I SURE HOPE GHIRAHIM AND DEMISE’S SURVIVING BIOCHILDREN DON’T FIND OUT ABOUT THIS UPSTART HUMAN WARPING HIMSELF INTO DEMON SHAPE AND TRYING TO STEAL THEIR DAD’S TITLE WHILE THEY’VE ALL BEEN SITTING ON THEIR ASSES SQUABBLING OVER THE INHERITANCE AND GHIRAHIM MOURNFULLY HOLDS HIS LITTLE ROBOT BUTLER TOWEL OFF IN THE CORNER. THAT WOULD CERTAINLY CAUSE A LOT OF DRAMA DOWN THERE IN THE DEMON KINGDOM WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE.

[leschanceux]

☕✨ memes from the tea room: nsfw version ✨☕ feel free to change pronouns where necessary!

that sounds like the porn parody version of magneto, sir

happy holidays here’s messaging you should get some bitches

our dms are raw, but they're wet enough with my tears

[ name ]’s fisting class 101; if you think you have enough lube, you need more

what i've learned tonight, if a dick is as fat as a zucchini you're good

Idk if y’all keep talking about barrel sized dicks, I might fall of the grid & join a convent

I mean, if you're comfortable with having someone's thigh in your asshole, by all means

No fucks given, all the fucks given

Basically you want a friend you want to fuck who wants to fuck you back.

listen, I am ALWAYS here to hear about some Dick

does being slightly demonic make one more or less hot? asking for a friend

I sneezed once and nearly broke a man's dick

Tentacles aren't always for porn.

“Okay but here’s the real question - as a middle aged white guy, does he wear salmon colored shorts, slap you on the ass, & call you sport?”

this is the first time i feel like i genuinely need to censor an actual eggplant

someone said dude dicks and i've been summoned

I was going to say "you mean you didn't before?", but then I remembered you're a lesbian.

for some reason i just wanna say BOOBIES

hey everyday can be sinday if you checks notes sin

like I'm going to argue with anything with ass in the name

Aren't the dicks cold there?

Yes it is the universal law of dicks.

dick research is important

don't stick your dick in crazy and don't allow the crazy to stick their dick in you

wait gotta get back to nsfw...... dick

listen, no fandom can escape the monsterfuckers

a single fuck can tip the balance ... that sounds really wrong out of context

what's better than sex? cracking your back and feeling it pop back into alignment and be blissfully pain free for the first time in eight hours

No day is safe from buttholes

I KNOW SOME OF Y'ALL FUCK ON THE COUNTER

yes but you have to clean up butt puckers off your countertops

I mean, it's no "the dog stole my dick, again" story, but it was funny.

Porn au naturel if you will

SHEIN edition bad dragon

my curiosity is piqued, please share the viagra fact

Just submit to your god intended right to limp dick, damn

Cis men would probably rather do the stabby stabby than put a strap on lmao

[angrysadhappy]

In some ways I think of myself as part of the universe, I think a bit of me is space maybe I am half a star.

I have a theory we’re plankton, moved by a jellyfish and chosen by an octopus.

I came to this thought when I was around 12, I started to question my religion, my family and myself. I wanted to find answers to my wonders and give names to my feelings so I did what was human and made up a deity that could help explain and connect my experiences.

I’ve been in love with aquariums so it made sense that I started with marine life. Jellyfish are just blobs, to put it simply though if you’d take the time to read they’re more than that, they don’t have a brain or anything really..they just float and live but for an odd reason they have a strong defense mechanism; stinging. I may be wrong and you can correct me on this but— I believe that every strong emotion we feel can be described as a sting; like love can burn and throb (a jellyfish sting), and hate can itch and cause pain, the harsher the sting the worse the symptoms— like jealousy it’s a sting that blisters and fills with pus, or fear; nausea, vomiting, dizziness, chest pain, heart problems. These are the consequences of the jellyfish, but it doesn’t do these things on purpose just like how we “fall in love with the wrong person” and “things aren’t always meant to be, though you try”, some get stung for no reason, some who we think deserve to get stung don’t. It’s not the jellyfish’s doing, it’s just floating.

But the octopus. I don’t like this little wonder much.

After coming up with my blob-god I decided to continue my thinking and discovered the Yang to my Yin; the octopus. It’s funny finding out octopus are smart creatures and petty too, they have 8 tentacles to do 3 good things and use the other 5 to make a middle finger. My idea of the octi is simple; this marine life chooses its plankton and sets them at a certain direction. For example— you’ve tried your hardest to get the job you were qualified for but no, you didn’t get it— or when things were going so well with that date but she randomly ghosts you??

I believe the octopus makes purposeful movement while the jellyfish fish makes none.

Are you confused? Okay to just make it less complicated, because honestly even I get lost.., I’ll give you insight of what I’m currently going through and how I use this to cope.

For about a year I’ve chosen to chase the same guy over and over again; break ups, breaks, hook ups, birthdays— god every excuse just to be near him- and he would say nice things to me, he made me feel loved. But he hasn’t asked me to be his girlfriend..after all of that and it fine because we’ve talked and— in the end I couldn’t let him go. And like a cruel joke played on me each time I would try to leave him he suddenly seemed so kind, so vulnerable so sweet and if I didn’t fall for it- guess who took my fucking order at Chick-fil-a. Every. Fucking. Time. No joke! Different men working different shifts and EVEN IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS—THEY ALL RESEMBLED HIM. It was like seeing Frankenstein’s monster, they had his hair and if they didn’t— his eyes— whatever FUCK— you get the point.

I met him because the guy I liked left me for a girl.

“Hey Sophia about that date. Remember the girl I told you ghosted me for months and randomly disappeared and I thought she blocked me— yeah well she came back and I want to give her a chance.”

Boom.

So sad. Fine I go online to get attention from boys because duh!! I’m a teenage girl. And that’s where I met him, I usually don’t message anyone but for some odd reason I just..had the confidence that day.

Boom?

If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be who i am, I wouldn’t have. So I guess it makes sense

If that..whatever octopus made me go through all of that stuff just to have me meet him and then this jellyfish makes me so aware of my feelings I have to mature form them, acknowledge my life and find the courage to change— maybe. Maybe it was all meant to be, and I wonder if they have great things waiting for me. Maybe.

What I learned is to do what I can and let them do the rest, I had to come to terms that no matter how hard I try I can never really control my future or make plans, but what I can do is whatever is available to me in the present and isn’t that an amazing feeling? I feel like a baby who has little control and lots of care.

I understand why religion is so impactful, so important to people.

[silverwings22]

Song of the Sea: Chapter 43: The Dead Don't Die

Series Warning: explicit smut, alien anatomy (it's a monsterfucker fic, guys), major character injury, grief, canon typical violence, autistic meltdowns, and my terrible attempts at Mando'a Chapter Warnings: PTSD/trauma, trauma bonding, suicidal ideation, disability, biological weaponry, grief

Previous chapter:

Next chapter:

“Clone Force 99 is dead. It died when Tech did. You should know that better than anyone.”

“If it’s dead, then… then Tech’s not…” 

Shiani couldn’t get the conversation out of her head. She didn’t know what hurt more, the idea that Crosshair believed what they had been was dead… or that it might be true. 

Tech had believed in Clone Force 99. He’d told her a thousand stories about his brothers and the bond that made them what they were. The elite, undefeated, unstoppable team of brothers who’d never failed a mission or lost a solider during the whole war. When Shiani had joined them, she could only watch his rueful expression when he said their sudden string of failure could only be attributed to Crosshair’s loss. 

“He’ll come back one day, Tech. I know he will. He’s a part of the Bad Batch!”

“I do hope you are correct, cyar’ika. Clone Force 99 is… incomplete.” 

Incomplete. Not dead. But Crosshair hadn’t been dead during that discussion. He’d only been missing. Tech was dead. Tech was gone forever. Tech was-

“You okay, Shiani? You’ve been really quiet lately.” Omega startled her, plopping down on the ship steps next to her. 

“Yes, I’m okay.” Shiani sighed, lifting her arm and putting it around the girl. “Just lots of thoughts.” 

“They look like sad thoughts. Your head tentacles get all droopy when you’re sad.” Omega put her head against the siren’s shoulder. “Are you thinking about Tech?”

“I always think about Tech.” Shiani sighed, pressing a kiss to Omega’s hair. “He’d be so proud of you, you know?” She forced a smile, and Omega might have been able to tell it was fake but she knew the siren meant what she’d said. Tech would have been proud. Omega had finished what he’d started, and brought the family together safely again.

Now they just had to keep it that way. 

“Echo hasn’t called yet.” Omega sighed, showing her the screen of her comm. “I’m getting worried…”

“Too much worry will stunt your growth.” Shiani squished her, three times and lightly. “You’re barely hold enough to hunt.”

“The Empire’s hunting me.” The girl grumbled. “I need to find out why. Rex and Echo lost most of their men on Teth, and there’s got to be some way to help them.”

“The best way you can help them is to lay low.” They both looked up to find Crosshair standing in front of them, arms cross and a toothpick in his mouth. “Staring at your comm won’t make him call you any father.” 

“There was nothing in Tech’s files about the M-count thing, so I asked for help.” Shiani patted Omega on the shoulder. 

Crosshair glanced at the siren. The two of them hadn’t spoken much since they’d gotten back from Teth, just going through the motions of the day to day. “You have friends other than us?” He asked, surprised. 

Shaini scrunched her face at him. “Rude.”

He rolled his eyes. “I mean where did you make a friend? You’re always with us.”

Before she could answer, Wrecker poked his head out. “Shiani, Phee is on the comm.” 

“Oh good.” She pushed herself up and limped up the steps.

Crosshair looked at Omega. “Who?”

“She’s a liberator of ancient wonders.” Omega smiled brightly. Crosshair looked wholly unimpressed and cocked an eyebrow until she sighed. “A pirate. She’s a pirate.” 

They both followed Shiani up into the ship, finding the siren already talking to a pretty dark skinned woman. “I looked into that M-count thing you asked about. It wasn’t easy.”

“I still appreciate the effort. Did you find anything?”

“Only that some class-one bounty hunters are picking up high M-count targets for the Empire. That’s all I could find.”

“But what do they even want?” Hunter grumbled. 

“Don’t look at me. Tech’s brain was the vault, not mine.” Phee shrugged. “For anything else, you’ll have to ask a bounty hunter.” 

Shiani’s expression dropped at the mention of her mate’s name. She never wanted to shy away from talking about him, but the cold shock sometimes hit her as the loss hit her all over again. She could never say it was sudden remembrance, the memory never went away.

Hunter and Wrecker exchanged looks. “We’ll need to find a bounty hunter.”

Omega raised an eyebrow. “What about Fennec?”

For the second time today, Crosshair cocked his head to the side. “Who?” 

“Tried to take Omega on Pantora, right after we left Kamino.” Shiani sighed. “She was working for Nala Se to protect Omega… but targets change. Can’t trust her around Omega with so much money at stake.” 

Hunter nodded. “Wrecker and I will go. Crosshair, you stay with Omega and Shiani.” 

Shiani nodded, less than thrilled to be left behind, but her mind was whirring. “Any idea where she is, Phee?”

“I’ll get you the coordinates.” The pirate said kindly. 

“Thank you.” She shoved herself up again. “I’m getting my toolkit. If I’m gonna be stuck outside all day, I’ve got something I want to work on.” 

Crosshair frowned as she grabbed the large, rolling toolbox, and went to help her get it down the ramp. “What the hell are you planning?” 

Once they were out, Hunter knelt in front of Omega. “I know you and Shiani hate this, with us splitting up. But it’s too dangerous right now, especially if a bounty hunter is involved.”

She sighed. “I know…”

“I’ve got a mission for you, while we’re gone. See if you can get Crosshair to get his hand looked at… ignoring the problem won’t make it go away.” 

Omega nodded again and looked out the ramp to see Crosshair leaning over Shiani while she started inventorying her tools while he gave her a suspicious look. 

“I’ll see what I can do.” The girl nodded. “Be careful.”

“We will. Promise.” 

Shiani had been working, sitting under the big tree at the top of Upper Pabu, for hours. She’d plugged her welding torch into a solar cell and had a disassembled blaster laid out, gutted, with vials and test tubes sitting around her. 

“That better not be my sidearm.” Crosshair’s shadow eclipsed her, and she looked up with her welding goggles still on. It made her look even more googly-eyed, and made him think of Tech when they were cadets. 

“It’s not. It’s a spare we had in the back.” She mumbled around a curved, mouthguard shaped duraplast cup in her mouth that was filling with some kind of yellowish liquid. 

“The fuck are you doing?” He sighed, sitting down next to her.

She took the cup from her mouth and set it beside her. “Making a weapon that can even take down one of those operatives.” She started loading hypodermic needles into a clip she’d modified. 

“You can’t be thinking about fighting them. You saw what happened on Teth. He took out most of the base by himself before Wolffe’s men even got there.”

“I know.” Shiani poured the cup of venom into a test tube and attached it to the back of the blaster stock. “How’d your checkup with AZI go?”

“You’re deflecting.” He huffed, lowering himself to the ground beside her and pulling out a toothpick. 

“So? What did he say about your hand?” 

“The droid doesn’t know a goddamn thing. It says there’s nothing wrong with my hand physically and it’s all in my head.” Crosshair growled. 

“And you find that surprising?” Shiani paused from her work, giving him an incredulous look.

“You think I’m crazy?” He looked positively mutinous.

“I think you’re traumatized.” She pushed the welding goggles up on top of her head with a sigh. “I remember everything Tech ever told me about you. You’re brave. You’re a fighter, you don’t run or hide. But whatever happened to you, you won’t even talk about it to your own family. You only talk to me because I’m just as broken as you are and you know it.” 

He rubbed his right hand with his left, eyes dropping. He’d thought she’d write him off as a coward, with the droid saying the shakes were mental. “It’s not in my head.” He muttered stubbornly after a minutes. 

“Yes it is.” Shiani huffed and lightly swatted him with a tentacle on the knee. “You know how I know?”

“How?” He glared at her. 

“You said Clone Force 99 died with Tech.” She narrowed her eyes when she looked back at him. “Not when you got separated. Not when you didn’t come home. When Tech died.’ 

“I know what I sa-”

“So you think whatever made Clone Force 99 special could still go on without you, for a long time, but couldn’t go on without him.” She swallowed hard. “And you volunteered twice on Teth to stay behind and hold the line until we could get away. Once in the spire and once in the jungle. You want to protect the family, but you’re just like me. If someone has to, you want to be the one that dies.” 

The simple truth slapped him in the face, Shiani’s eyes fixed on him to make sure he couldn’t escape it. “... it’s what I deserve.” He finally said. “Tech didn’t.”

“You deserve peace, Crosshair. Tech didn’t make the choice to go to Eriadu for anyone but you. Plan 99 was a result of that.”

“Then what did you do it for?” He watched her test the weight and calibrate a few more things before removing the grip of the blaster and start fixing it to her vambrace, looking more like traditional Mandalorian Whistling Birds than anything resembling the blaster she’d started with. 

“I went for the same reason I did everything. For Tech.” She unwrapped her still bruised wrist and snapped the vambrace on, flexing as she checked the mechanics of the modified trigger she could now operate with her thumb. 

He sighed. Of course she had done it for Tech… she loved the dead clone more than anything in the galaxy. She’d be loyal to that memory until the day she joined him. It was both heart shattering and a little inspiring… what a love that must have been to see in person. He already knew Tech had looked at her like the siren hung the stars in the sky. How had Shiani looked at his brother? Like he was the warmth of the sun on the water’s surface? 

“So what’s the big idea behind dismantling a perfectly good DC-17?” He couldn’t make himself ask about Tech again, turning his eyes to the weapon. 

“I can’t fight the way I used to. I can’t get close enough to bite and be fast enough to get away… but I can turn venom into darts.” She smiled faintly. “No matter what they do to those operatives, they’re still flesh and blood. Even if they replace every limb with metal, the chest, neck, and head must still be human. And that means I can take them down with this.” 

“That’s batshit fucking crazy chemical warfare. I like it.” Crosshair chuckled. “And Omega thinks I need therapy.”

“You do. This is my therapy.” She started to pack up her tools. “You should try whatever Omega’s suggesting. She’s usually pretty right about stuff.”

He glanced up, spotting Omega making a beeline for them. “I’ll cut you a deal. Whatever she suggests, you do it too. If you do, I won’t tell Hunter you’re violating several articles of the Coruscanti Convention about biological warfare agents.”

She huffed. “You’re such a jerk.”

“Make your choice, squidlett. She’s almost here.”

“Fine.”

Omega popped up with a smile. “I’ve got an idea, but you’re going to have to trust me.”

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Crosshair sighed, looking at Shiani.

“You don’t like anything.” Both Omega and Shiani said at the same time.

“... true.” He sighed. “But squidlett is doing it too.”

Omega had dragged them down the beach, to a place where sand became stone and the setting sun illuminated everything in golds and purples against the darkening blue. The two clones sat cross legged, though Shiani had slid to the edge and let her feet dangle into the water while she watched the sunset.

Crosshair was skeptical, eying Omega out of the corner of his eye. “And you think this is going to work?”

“Your trouble is in your mind, right? So this will help you heal. Now adjust your position and relax.” 

Shiani put her hands, palm up, on her knees like Omega had shown her. Crosshair still didn’t look convinced. “Where did you even learn this?”

“My friend Gungi, on Kashyyyk.” Omega looked at Shiani. She was less vocal than Crosshair about her lack of faith in meditation, but she just seemed to be staring into space. “You’ve gotta try, Shiani.”

“You’ve been to Kashyyyk?” Crosshair frowned. 

“You missed a lot.” Omega put her hand over his trembling one and turned it palm up, holding it gently. It may have been the gentlest gesture he’d ever received, and he could only stare at her hand on his for a long time before deciding to take this seriously. 

“I know.” He closed his eyes. He had missed so much, and he hated that he had. He could have found a begrudging peace that was currently warming his chest under his armor a long time ago.

Omega turned her attention to Shiani. The siren’s big eyes looked misty, faraway but open, as she seemed to be silently lost in her thoughts. It was as much meditation as Omega could get out of her, and let herself drift off as well. 

Shiani had tried, she really had, to find peace. She had tried to sink into a floating, suspended state and think of the things that had once made her happy. Swimming at the colorful, lively reef with Tech. Laying on the beach or in the bunk, curled up against Tech while she listened to him breathe. Listening to him talk. Building something with him. Just looking at him while he did literally anything at all…

Everything came back to him. How the hell did she find peace when she couldn’t think of anything in the galaxy she’d been happy during that he wasn’t the center of? What did it say about her that she didn’t know how to be without him. 

Tech. It’s always Tech. It’ll always be Tech, no matter how many new memories I make. The best ones will always be the ones he’s in…

There was something icy cold and depressing about the realization she’d never be that happy again. He had his hand inside her ribcage, holding all three hearts in his hand, for the rest of her life. Even she didn’t understand how he’d taken over her life without her putting up a fight. 

When the tears leaked down her cheeks, she didn’t bother trying to stop them. Maybe crying was what she needed, to let all the hurt out like a flood that swallowed Kamino long ago. Pabu might need the water… if it didn’t, it wouldn’t notice a little more.

When she finally looked around, Crosshair and Omega looked content as they leaned slightly against each other and watched the sunset. The sniper was coming to terms with the idea of just… being, whoever he turned out to be when the orders and skills and duty were stripped away. Omega looked happy she was helping the brother she loved so much, who’d been through so much for so long. 

Shiani hadn’t found peace, but she did see a purpose. She’d die without question for Omega and her brothers, if that was what it took.