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bethanythebogwitch · 2 months

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Wet Beast Wednesday: bluegill

This series goes all over the world; from the tropics to the poles to the deep sea. After all that, it can be nice to go home. For this Wet Beast Wednesday I'm going back to my spawnpoint of Illinois and discussing the state fish: the bluegill.

(Image: a bluegill underwater. It is a round fish flattened on the sides. It is green on the top ans fades to yellow on the sides. The underside of the chin is bright blue and behind the head is a bright orange patch. End ID)

Lepomis macrochirus is the most popular and famous of genus Lepomis, known as the sunfish or true sunfish (not to be confused with ocean sunfish). These fish are native to freshwater lakes, streams, wetlands, and rivers of North America and all share a fleshy ear flap extending from the operculum and are usually quite colorful. Bluegills are large for sunfish, which isn't saying much. Adults can reach and average of between 10 and 30 cm (4-12 in) and the largest bluegill on record reached a whopping 41 cm (16 cm) and was weighed in at 4 lbs 12 ox (2.2 kg). Bluegills and flattened and deep bodies with fused dorsal fins and spines in both the dorsal and anal fins that help prevent predation. The fish are brightly colored, but coloration varies widely based on size, diet, time of year, location, and many other factors. Because of this, two bluegill can look like completely different fish. Their bodies can range from dark green to orange, darkest on the top, and they usually have green faces with blue markings on the chin and bottom of the face that give them their common name. The "breast" region just below and behind the head ranges from yellow to orange and is usually a bright orange in mature males. A key feature is that the ear flap is black. Bluegills usually grow more brightly colored during mating season and less colorful other times of the year. There is a series of vertical stripes going down the side of the body that can quickly be darkened as a threat display.

(Image: a bluegill in a net with its stripes in full display. End ID)

Bluegill are skilled swimmers thanks to the shape and flexibility of their fins and the amount of fine control they have over them. This lets the fish maneuver gracefully through obstacles and confined spaces that other fish would struggle in and turn while not having to move forward. Bluegills are also one of a relatively few fish that are skilled at swimming backwards. This requires very different fin motion than swimming forwards. When swimming forwards, bluegills use their tail fin to provide thrust with the other fins helping with steering as is typical for fish. While swimming backwards, the dorsal and anal fins provide thrust while the pectoral fins are moved in a rowing motion to provide steering. Bluegills are also fast swimmers, their slender bodies allowing them to cut through the water at high speeds. Bluegills are also often used as an example when explaining the c-start escape response. This is a behavior found in tons of fish used to escape from danger. When the fish senses danger, a group of specialized neurons called Mauthner cells activate and control the escape response. The fish bends its body into a C shape. This shape allows for maximum thrust when it rapidly straightens its body out again for a speedy getaway. The c-start escape response is heavily customizable, allowing the fish to shoot off at nearly any angle it needs.

(Image: a young bluegill swimming amongst lilypads. It is not as round as the larger fish and its colors are more muted. End ID)

Bluegills are found in freshwater systems east of the Rocky Mountains (so most of North America) but they have been introduced west of the Rockies and to other parts of the world. They are very adaptable fish that can live in a wide variety of environments. It is probably easier to list bodies of water in North America that don't have bluegill than the other way around. They prefer to live in areas with cover, live brush, aquatic plants, and shady spots. Bluegill are diurnal predators that subsist on aquatic invertebrates like insect and crayfish larvae and worms, along with the occasional smaller fish. In times of famine, they will eat aquatic plants and algae or turn to cannibalism. Like many fish, bluegill feed through suction and they need to get within under 2 centimeters of they prey for the suction to be effective. Bluegills are also prey to larger predatory fish, turtles, birds, raccoons, and otters. Bluegill are mostly active in the morning and evening and will often move between feeding grounds and shelter during the day. They are reported to be aggressive to each other and other fish. Sighs of aggression include darkening their stripes, flaring their ear flaps, and biting.

(Image: someone holding a very fat bluegill. End ID)

Bluegills mate in the summer between May and August. Males will build nests in rocky or sandy bottoms by clearing away sediment to expose hard surfaces. The nests are circular and 15 to 30 cm (6-12 in) in diameter and built in shallow water. Males will swim around their nest to try to attract females through displays and grunting noises. Females carefully analyze the male's displays and appear to prefer males with larger ear flaps. Once a female chooses a male, they will circle each other as the male acts aggressive. Once they meet in the middle of the nest the two will touch their underbellies together, with the male on top, and the female will lay her eggs as the male fertilizes them. The eggs sink into the nest and stick to hard surfaces. After mating, the male takes the kids in the divorce chases the female away and will guard the nest until the eggs hatch and the larvae swim away. During this period, the male will aggressively defend the nest against anything that comes near. They have been known to approach and bite snorkelers who get too close. Females can produce between 1,000 and 100,000 eggs depending on their size. Bluegill will mate multiple times each season. Larvae live in the shallows and feed on plankton. They grow rapidly for their first three years and then slow down. Bluegill can live up to 11 years, but usually live between 5 and 8 years.

(Image: bluegill nests seen from above. The nests are circular depressions filled with pebbles. Each nest has a male hovering over it. End ID)

Bluegill can hybridize with other sunfish, though this is rare in the wild. It usually happens when two sunfish species live in an area with limited nesting ground. The most common hybrid is with the green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) to produce an offspring called a greengill. Greengills are highly varied in appearance and typically between their parents in size. Most greengills seem to be the result of a male bluegill attracting and mating with a female green. Greengills were long thought to be stile as are most hybrids, but a least some second generation hybrids have been discovered. Greengills do have reduced fertility compared to their parent species. Another hybrid that is less commonly seen and not as well studied is the pumpkingill, a hybrid of bluegill and pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus).

(Image: a greengill being held in someone's hand. It is more elongated than a bluegill and reatins the orange breast, blue chin, and black ear flap while being otherwise darker than most bluegills. End ID)

Bluegills are classified as least concern by the IUCN, meaning they are not in danger of extinction. Bluegills have been introduced to waters well outside of the native range by anglers and they have become an invasive species in multiple countries. They are banned from being imported in Germany and Japan because of how invasive they became. Bluegills are highly popular among anglers. They are small and easy enough to catch to be a good target for beginners and large bluegill are a good example of panfish, fish small enough to be cooked in a frying pan. Large males are particularly easy to catch due to their aggressive defense of their nest. Many places have very low populations of large males. Lakes and ponds are frequently stocked with captive-bred bluegill to attract anglers. Population management is important because bluegill can damage the local ecosystem if their numbers grow too large. They can also be introduced to ponds to try to help control aquatic insect populations. Bluegills have little fear of humans, especially in places where people feed them. I personally have been SCUBA diving in a quarry where people feed the fish and the bluegills swam right up to me. Bluegills that are very familiar with people are know to allow themselves to be pet. Bluegills can be kept in captivity, though they need large tanks and tend to be aggressive to other fish.

(Image: a larval bluegill. It is a long, white fish with small fins and a very large eye. A scale identified part of the tail as being 2000 micrometers long. End ID)

#wet beast wednesday #bluegill #sunfish #fish #fishposting #fishblr #freshwater fish #aquatic biology #biology #ecology #zoology #animal facts #informative #educational #image described

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yandere-class-1a · 10 months

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I wanna see your head canons on what their fins would look like! (I can imagine everytime they feel happy and warm their tail glows)

Authors note: These are my personal headcannons for the mermaid AU. I might change them in latter stories but I feel pretty comfy with where they are right now. They where all just sorta ideas I have floating around but I hope you like them! Also I actually had the idea of their eyes glowing when they get happy but decided not to add it, so your not that far off with the tail ♡

Shoji has eight silver colored tentacles with a dark blue under belly. His suction cups are a slightly lighter blue and his beak is the same color as the top. I can imagine him being a bit self conscious about it and usually keeping it covered up by the tentacles, kinda like his mask in the anime.

Koda has motly white tail with red details. His tail actually resembles a seahorse but much bigger to support all of his weight above water

Sato's tail is a a soft brown color with black and white stripes. I imagine his tail with a sorta puffy feel to, not supper puffy though, kinda like puffy stickers. It resembles a sort of clownfish look with brown instead of orange.

Ida has a dark blue tail with one of his bottom fins being made out of metal parts, think like toothless from HTTYD. I imagine he would have made it either himself or with Momo's help.

Sero has a long black tail with white puffy streak all around it. The streaks look a lot like tape, to match his original universes quirk.

Shoto has a half red half white tail that colors switch places with his hair. I imagine that he might have a few darker spots on his tail from his past.

Momo has a red tail with beutifull yellow fins at the bottom. It's a pretty basic mermaid tail but it has a little of a rough texture than the original sleek mermaid scales.

Bakugo has a ash blonde tail with large swirls of orange and black. His tail kinda resembles a catfish in all ways except color.

Kirishima has a red tail with specks of black that resembles a shark. I would imagine that Kirishima would sorta be the protection of the pack so his tail would have scars and possibly a healed bite mark out of one of the fins.

Ojiro has a thick skin colored tail with a small tuff of fins at the end. It kinda looks like his tail from the original universe but is more smooth.

Aoyama has a shiny white and yellow tail that has a sort of sequins look to it. He has the ability to change the colors to fit in with the environment but he says that these colors make him ✨️sparkle✨️ more.

Denki had a bright electric yellow tail with little black marking that happen to look like lightning bolts. His tail takes resemblance to a electric eel.

Izuku's tail is a beutifull emerald green with freckles of red and white. The fins are a bit longer than the average mer-man, it is a pretty yellow and looks slightly tattered and torn (Probably from how reckless he is).

Mina, as stated before, has a glimmering pink and yellow tail. Her tail is very strong and has some visible muscles, but not a ton.

Tokoyami had a dark black tail with a white under belly, like a orca.

Uraraka has a pretty white tail with large splotches of pink and brown, it kinda looks like boba.

Jiro had a shorter but strong looking purple tail with flowy fins that resemble earphone jacks hanging from her side.

Hagakure has a long almost clear tail that resembled that of a jelly fish.

Tsu has a beutifull green tail with black swirly stripes all along it. It resembles that of a tadpole. Her type of mermaid is supposed to grow legs but hers somehow stayed like a tadpoles.

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recurring-polynya · 5 months

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Izakaya Kamenoya, Part 4

All right, it is time for the final article in my series on Izakaya Kamenoya, the bar all the shinigami drink at in filler episodes! Today, I will be making a valiant attempt to identify what kind of food items are available! Bleach is rather famous for portraying food as blobby lumps, so wish me luck!!

The history of izakaya is pretty interesting, but they basically evolved out of sake shops that started serving food to attract customers and also to entice them to hang out (and keep spending money). They tend to serve small plates, which are shared. This can span a really wide range, though, from just a few basic bar snacks, up to a fancy restaurant. Izakaya Kamenoya tends towards the more full-service. According to the article I linked above, people didn't do a lot of cooking at home in the Edo era--they cooked rice at home and purchased pickles and other simmered goods to top it with. This fits right into the Seireitei to me--shinigami have demanding jobs and disposable income (at least moreso than Rukongai folks), so they love to eat out.

Check out this Ladies' Night Spread, for example:

That looks like two big platters of sashimi in the middle to me, and that's clearly tamagoyaki (rolled omelet) on the far right.

The episode very kindly gave us this close-up of Assorted Meat Skewers.

I am not quite sure what the brown slabs served over lettuce are...tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlets), perhaps?

In this shot you can also see some little fish. This looks similar to a picture I found of eihire (grilled stingray fins, served with mayonnaise), so I am assuming this is a something similar.

Boys' Night Out is going to be less fancy, because the boys in question are broke, but it's generally the same stuff-- sashimi, tamagoyaki, skewers, BUT they also have this cool table-top grill! It's called a shichirin, apparently, and is often used to grill yakitori, which it looks like exactly what they're doing. I feel strongly that this is a thing Iba is super into. Like, you go out drinking with Iba, you know he's getting the shichirin. The fact that shichirin translates to "seven wheels", cements this even harder into my heart: it is both grilling (manly!) and a reference to Squad Seven, what is not to love?

How about captains? Ukitake and Kyouraku seem like a pair of guys who enjoy a good meal.

LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT FISH.

So. Um. Well, it looked to me like it was a fish that had been made into sashimi and then the sashimi was sort of arranged over the skeleton of the fish, with the head in tact (If you are not able to tell how I was able to discern that from this potato-quality screenshot, it's fine, I'm not so sure either). Anyway, I looked that up to see if it was a thing and it sure is! It's called ikizukuri and you do it while the fish is still alive. Today, it's a controversial practice, but Soul Society be Soul Societin'!

In less upsetting news, it looks like they each have a little cup of chawanmushi (egg custard with savory mix-ins, like mushrooms or shrimp). Also, lots of skewers and bowl of colors (pickles maybe?)

I also have this shot from Kyouraku and Amagai's first venture, but I can't tell what anything is:

Clearly a less impressive spread, but they only just got there, so maybe there's more to come. Croquettes in the middle perhaps? I would guess that those little square cups are matcha pudding but Kyouraku hates matcha. The smaller plate kinda looks like more skewers, but it also seems to small to be skewers.

Moving on the other end of the price scale, what does the Extra Value Menu at Kamenoya look like? I'm sure Hisagi and Kira know!

The anime did not give much help here. It looks like they have more of those ?tonkatsu?. Kira's got a plate of...sliced cucumbers maybe? The beige lump in the middle has some colored specks in it, so I'm guessing a fried rice of some sort.

As a final note, I love these little blue cups of orange bulbs that Kira's emotional support team is enjoying here (also more tamagoyaki). They seem like they should be easily identifiable, but they don't look like anything in the two dozen "things to eat at an izakaya" articles I read for this. Is it a fruit? Is it chestnuts? If you have an idea (or you can identify anything else that I couldn't) please let me know!

earlier posts in this series: (part 1) (part 2) (part 3)

#izakaya kamenoya #honestly very grumpy that we didn't get to see rukia and renji eat anything #tybw you owe me a third new year's filler episode #it should be the renruki marriage proposal and include a loving pan over whatever they are eating at the time #this post was. uh. research. for the request fanfic that i definitely have not been procrastinating on

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ashersbraincell · 2 months

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The Roblox pressure fandom has me in a chokehold, so I have succumb to the urge to make an experiment fishe oc except I cannot draw so you’ll have to use your imagination here(while also probably looking up pictures of the species I list😅). The amount of time I have spent looking up aquatic species is outstanding, but here goes!

Fair warning, I consider myself rather cringey at making ocs so, yes, if it is so obviously a cringey self insert I am aware of that

Name: Z-19, codename “Dragonfly”

Nicknames: Shrimp, Firefly, Spark, Nemo

Main story: Used to be really good at swimming as a kid and were talking to their coach about possibly getting their dream of becoming a mermaid/professional swimmer, while also being like a superhero if they came with and so being a stupid kid they agreed. They were kidnapped and experimented on in order to make them optimum for exploring. They made it seem „cool” and tried their past to reduce pain as much as possible, and so by the time they finished their training sometime around the age of like 20 they basically had Stockholm syndrome and moreso gratitude towards Urbanshade than anything. They only begin to open their eyes to how much childhood was taken from them after they meet Sebastian and decide to become a shop assistant and aid in his plan for escape and getting revenge.

DNA donor species:

REDACTED-gives tentacles sharp edges that can be used for self-defense or otherwise harm. Also makes them generally resistant to radioactivity, aiding them when exploring more radioactive sites

Clownfish-mainly influences colour(making what would be otherwise blue parts orange with red hues), allows to be omnivorous despite preference for meat, occasional popping+clicking noises in communication

Humbolt squid-entire body flashes red when threatened or flustered

Firefly squid- glow in the dark specs all over body, used for light navigation

Blue glaucus-main external physical feature structure determinent, ear fins as well as additional fins on both legs and arms resemble these but in orange colour(see “Clownfish”), as well as small, stubby black horns on the forehead. Behaviouristic characteristics include curling into a ball as a protective mechanism as well as a suspected tendency to float carelessly on their back when on the water’s surface, though this cannot be confirmed as this was a habit even before DNA transplant

Sea Anemone-allows for retraction and lengthening of tentacles

Generally: genderfluid because of many donor species being flexible in sex, high preference for meat due to majority carnivorous donor species, can exist in any temperature water(for exploratory purposes), short fluffy ginger hair remains suprisingly intact, skin is largely, but not completely, covered in orange scales, eyes are entirerly black in colour including the sclera, teeth are noticably sharp due to various donors. Note: tentacles come from the back of the subject for ease of movement, they have retained their limbs even if having fins on them. Said tentacles are also black in colour, like the little nub horns

Silly little fun fact section(because I might add random trivia here as I come up with it):

•They don’t exactly remember why they do it(having long forgotten their parents because they were kidnapped at the age of like 5, 6 tops) but because they used to lightly guilt trip their mom into not smoking as a kid they now do so to Sebastian once they get to know each other more and there’s yk, an actual bond and trust(albeit most likely unsuccessfully). Before a bond was built they probably just silently judged him for it and perhaps occasionally held their breath/coughed

•The code name “Dragonfly” comes from the combination of both the firefly squid and the Blue glaucus, which has the more common name Blue Dragon!

•I imagine, since they’re immune to eyefestation’s radioactivity, this would lead to a rather humorous interaction when they’re avoiding looking at the shark but eventually get annoyed with the insistent pleading and just snap back at it and stare it down, much to eyefestation’s suprise(because, yk, they’re not used to people staring them down bc it usually kills them?). Tbh I imagine Eyefestation would he so taken off-guard by this that it would swim away, confused and flabbergasted, the poor puppy shark 😭

•even if they wanted to, they could not ever really befriend the squiddles considering how they automatically produce light from their bioluminescencent spots in darkness

•the Firefly squid wasn’t considered in their initial DNA plan, it had only been included as a „bandaid fix” after Urbanshade realised that they tended to get claustrophobic in dark unlit places, not wanting to spend extra resources on providing them with light equipment

•game-role wise, I’m pretty terrible at fitting characters in-universe well so excuse any cringey mary-sueness. They would play a role very similar to Painter, as in being allied with Sebastian to thwart Expendables in making it to the Crystal, but they would be more deceitful than Painter in their intentions. They would act almost as a guide, occasionally helping, doing stuff like helping Expendables out of a dark room if they stay there long enough. Their biggest role would be in replacing the second appearance of search-lights as the main threat at the end of the game. Twist-villain basically. Not quite sure what their gameplay mechanic would be(obviously they would kill with their tentacles but I’m not sure what you would do to avoid it. All I know is that, like painter, they would have some voice lines when they kill you, probably things like „sorry”, „it had to be done” , „we can’t let it happen”, „*shaky sigh*”, „forgive me”, etc.

•they can both easily feign niceness, maybe even genuinely having a little bit of fun helping out the expendables, and are genuinely silly and affectionate with Sebastian and some other entities(room for expansion, haven’t considered it yet). They, however, HEAVILY dissociate to a mostly robot-sort of carrying out orders state when killing, mostly as a result of their past combat conditioning by Urbanshade

•Originally, their primary objective was to kill Sebastian. Obtaining the crystal was also in their mission but it wasn’t their main goal. But [plot] , [character development] and essentially Sebastian opened up their eyes to how much their childhood was robbed from them, and wanting revenge they, at first reluctantly(because of how much of a prick he can be, be fr) joined forces with sebastian in his mission of blackmailing urbanshade yada yada, only gradually over time forming a genuine connection

•Aside from „helping” Expendables+Their role at the end of the game, they mostly do drop-offs at the beginning of the game, occasionally bring some items with them to sell to Expendables in a pinch(for example, if they get stuck in a Turret room with a keycard, theres a chance for them to show up with a Code-Breaker, that kinda thing. Running low on health? Might bring a med-kit. Basically extending Sebastian’s data-gathering business by taking advantage of situations where expendables might desperately need certain items, under the guise of being helpful. Occasionally, they will also attempt to sell “pretty trinkets” they find around the Blacksite/the nearby perimeter of it; they’re not worth anything and don’t do anything either. But they’re pretty cheap and mostly just a little hobby of theirs. They also, as mentioned before with their role at the end of the day, essentially do Sebastian’s „dirty work”, which includes picking apart the bodies for items to recycle into the shop business etc. This is mostly to utilise their ability to dissociate somewhat well when performing horrific actions in contrast to sebastian who(despite probably not wanting to admit it) wants to preserve his humanity atleast somewhat(I headcanon he can sometimes flip out and rampage on people but is freaked out by the aftermath :<) TLDR: Sebastian’s little henchman/sidekick, whatever u wanna call it

•The Imaginary Friend gets voicelines like „don’t trust them” when around them, so they’re not very fond of the imaginary friend. Besides, they find them pretty freaky and creepy

•they are likely somewhat friendly rivals with Painter, both secretly trying to outdo one another to impress sebastian(hence why they like to offer code breachers in the turret rooms to make Painter’s work pointless >:3)

•when you climb on sebastian and you can see the little area post the railing above the desks, that’s where their little living area would be.

(I’m probably bigging myself up big-time saying this but if anyone feels inclined to draw this silly enby feel free, just pls don’t claim the character idea as your own :< I’d greatly appreciate being tagged or otherwise notified too!)

…I can’t believe I just made a fishsona

#roblox pressure oc #pressure oc #pressure roblox #roblox pressure

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feelkindadizzy · 30 days

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ID: Three digital drawings filled with characters against a light grayish blue background. All the characters are brown / black vampires with a lot of colored freckles and jewels on their skin. They all have fangs, pointy and colored fingers, and some kind of fish like features. Each following description is from top to bottom and from left to right.

First canvas. 1. A fat vampire with long wavy orange/brown hair. They have bat like ears and nose. They are wearing a black dress and a black headband. They are holding a strand of hair filled with blood and are looking at it with an annoyed look. 2. A thin vampire with wavy light pink hair. They wear two giant white shells on top of their ears that are labeled "rajout", and on each side a braid comes out of it. They wear a sleeveless white top with fishnets at the top. They are looking in the distance. 3. Various mouth drawings with a different number of fangs and teeth for each. The colors are all different as well. One of the tongues is labeled "bat" 4. A thin vampire with long dark curly hair. They have a bat like nose. They are only wearing a white top. They are crouching and holding the bottom of their legs, and are looking up with a big smile and closed eyes. Text at the top right reads: "Écume baby". 5. A fat vampire with long blue wavy hair looking at the viewer with surprise. They have bat like ears. They are wearing a black dress. They are holding a human they just bit and there is blood on their chin. The human is thin, has long dark curly hair and is wearing goth clothes, and looks unconscious or dead and appears to be smiling. 6. Four very simple drawings, each labeled with what they are: "weird eyes", "this shape" along with a bat wing, "fangs", and "fishnets". 7. A fat brown skinned character with dark green curly hair tied in a low bun. They have bat like ears and a fish like nose. They are wearing a black top. They are looking at the viewer with a soft look.

Second canvas. 1. Two drawings of sea-monster like feet. The first one is adorned with jewels and the second one is wearing green platform shoes. 2. A thin vampire who is seconds away from biting a human. They are gripping the human’s back, which is seen because the human is wearing a backless dark pink dress. The human is thin and has dark curly hair tied in two buns. The vampire has a narwhal like horn and fish like ears. They have light green cornrows. There are wearing long finger-less gloves. 3. Simple drawings of a scale pattern and two seashells. 4. A fat vampire with long blue goddess braids, some of which are tied in two buns. They have a bat like nose, orange fins as ears, on their shoulders, and on their back. They are wearing a white top, blue shorts, white fishnet like tights. They are walking on the beach with a blue beach rollator and are smiling while looking in front of them. The rollator has seaweed and seashells on some parts of it. Its orange wheels are filled with water, fish toys and seaweed. 5. A thin vampire wearing a black headscarf and a red under-scarf. They are wearing a black t-shirt with a long sleeved red shirt underneath, and black pants. They are looking down. 6. A thin vampire with short light orange twists tied together in the shape of a sphere at the bottom. They are wearing a white top and blue pants. They look kind of surprised. They are spreading their right arm, which look like a bat hand. The wing part is orange with green accents. It is labeled "Fish fin + bat wing". They are an amputee, their left arm and its wing are amputated.

Third canvas. 1. A thin vampire with long dark green hair, some of it taking the shape of bat wings. They have two little horns and fish like irises. They have yellow glasses, and are wearing a pink long sleeved shirt with a yellow top on it, pink bell bottom pants and light green platform shoes. They have two purple forearm crutches with sand pads tips. 2. A vampire biting a human while holding their spread out right hand. The vampire is thin, has green bantu knots, two blue bat wings, and is wearing a black dress. The human is thin, has straight black to pink hair, glasses, a dark top and pants, and finger less gloves with holes in them. The human is smiling. 3. A thin vampire floating on their back in the water while smiling. They have long curly light blue hair, three horns, a tail. They are naked and have top surgery scars. 4. A fat vampire with dark locks tied up in a bun smiling. They have bat like ears, and an anglerfish like horn. They are wearing a blue dress with a colorful pattern on it. They wear a lot of jewelry: a ring on their nose, gold rings on their teeth, and several earrings. 5. Two vampires, one is standing and the other one is crouching between their legs while holding the other’s right leg. The vampire standing is thin, has long purple curly hair, bat like ears, and is wearing a black top with black pants. They look confident and serious, and have strabismus and their right eye points upward. They are labeled "Madame Pandora colors (heart emoticon)". The vampire crouching is thin, has multicolored curly hair tied in a ponytail, a narwhal like horn, bat earrings, a white jacket with an opening at the chest area, pink pants and purple platform shoes. Their tongue is sticking out and they look defiant. END ID

Content warning: blood | eye contact | bright colors | eyestrain | artistic nudity

We've been trying out designs ideas for vampires that are linked to the ocean 🌊🐚

Some notes:

Rajout: Addition

Écume: Foam

Madame Pandora is a character from Petit Vampire

#oc #ocs #oc art #vampire #vampire oc #our art #blood cw #eye contact cw #bright colors cw #eyestrain cw #nudity cw #really like how it turned out #my oc art #my ocs #original character #original art #artists on tumblr

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sunlightbabe · 1 year

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out to sea - a preview

Juice dribbles down the corner of your mouth as you take a bite of the strawberry, ripe and slightly warm from where it’s been sitting in the sun. It’s sweet, picked from the bush and brought to the market at just the right time. The juice- red, vibrant- drips from the half eaten fruit onto the gray rock you’re sitting on.

“... it doesn’t look like straw to me.”

You don’t bother to hide your amused smile as you turn to look at where Victoria floats beside you. Her arms are crossed on top of the rocky outcropping and you can just see the fin of her tail flick out and above the water every now and again.

“It’s called a strawberry,” Ethan says from where he’s sunbathing on the rocks. Victoria rolls her eyes and focuses on the fruit in your hand once more.

“But it’s red. Straw is yellow and itchy, isn't’ it?” she asks you. “So why did they name it incorrectly?”

“Sometimes,” Ethan chimes in before you can say anything, “things are named incorrectly. Starfish aren’t fish, you know.”

“No, but they are star shaped. That one makes sense.”

“I don’t know why they’re called strawberries,” you say, looking at the basket beside you. There’s plenty of strawberries left, as well as raspberries, blueberries, some wrapped cheese, and a load of bread that was baked earlier that morning. “But I can look into it and let you know next time?”

Victoria huffs, an impatient little noise, and you can just barely hear Ethan audibly snicker over the gentle lapping of the waves against the rocks.

It’s a perfect day to be out here, just the three of you, hidden away from the world. The sun is out, warming you down to your bones, it feels like, but the occasional ocean breeze keeps you from feeling like you’re roasting out here. The ocean is peaceful- not calm, because the ocean is many things, but calm is never truly one of them- and the waves glitter in the late afternoon light. It’s quiet this far from the shoreline. All you can hear is the water. No seagulls, no hustle and bustle of the city, no other people. Just you three.

“... does it at least taste like straw?”

“Oh my goodness Victoria,” Ethan says under his breath.

You shake your head. “No, not at all.” A moment passes. “Do you want to try?”

You know she does. Victoria hasn’t been able to look away from the fruit since the moment you pulled it from the basket, but you know that from previous experiences, fruit doesn’t like Victoria. It’s something with their biology- there’s no fruit in the ocean, after all. They can’t process dairy or bread products either. Vegetables had been a hit or a miss- you’ll never forget the delighted look on Ethan’s face when he bit into a tomato for the first time, or the pure look of disgust when he tried a carrot.

Victoria eyes the strawberry and hauls herself up onto the rocks. You catch a flash of the scales around her waist, deep orange and red that shimmer in the golden afternoon light.

“This isn’t a trick?” she asks with an arched eyebrow. “Like the lemon?”

“No,” you say with a laugh. “Not a trick. I promise.”

Victoria looks a little skeptical, but she makes her way a little closer to you, eyes flickering between your face and the basket. You look inside and push some of the berries around, trying to find what looks like the ripest once, the perfect first strawberry for a merfolk to try. Behind you, you can hear Ethan move closer, the rasp of his scales against the rocks. He’s been out in the sun for awhile now. Soon, you think, he’ll need to dip back into the water.

You’re about to reach for a strawberry when Victoria grabs your wrist. It’s gentle- she’s careful and makes sure that her sharpened nails don’t scratch you. She’s focused on the strawberry held between her fingers, eyebrow furrowed like she’s focusing on a problem. It’s adorable. You kind of hate how adorable it is.

“We eat just the red part,” you explain as she gently lifts your hand so she can sniff at the strawberry. “It’s sweet- sometimes people dip them in sugar or cover them in chocolate-”

“Chocolate?” Ethan asks. He’s much closer now, his shoulder brushing yours as he settles beside you. He tilts his head to the side as he watches Victoria observe the strawberry. “You’ve brought that to us before, yes?”

“Oh I like chocolate,” Victoria says excitedly. “You should bring it to us again. Next time you visit, I think.”

#writing tag #it's? gonna be fluffy and whimsical and eventually smut once i figure out... mermaid biology?? sksk

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saffronscales · 2 years

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Ahh yes gay Fanfiction 😌 Ravenpaw sat in his nest made of sea weed and kelp he sat there looking bored his beloved older sister, Brindleface she was like a second mother to him. What’s wrong little brother? Brindleface asked Ravenpaw let out a sigh how does she stay sane being inside all day?! Ravenpaw thought to himself I wish we could go to the surface I always wonder what it’s like up there you know? walking around on fourlegs chasing the seagulls that fly and discovering new things? Ravenpaw mewed look Raven it’s dangerous up there! Brindleface meowed our mother was almost killed by fourlegs! Brindleface added. soon Brindleface went to sleep wait why don’t I just sneak out! its not like Frostfur Mom and Dad are here to stop me! Ravenpaw thought to himself he proceeded to swim out of Kelpy den quietly he tried to swim up to the surface Ravenpaw where are you going? Fireheart asked his orange shimmery tail moving the surface Ravenpaw meowed with pride okay… be careful Fireheart replied sounding uneasy. Soon Ravenpaw came up to the surface and ended up in a bunch of offly dry sand Ravenpaw then noticed something his fins had disappeared instead he moved around clumsily However he noticed a fourlegger… he had long fluffy fur pretty blue eyes the white parts of his fur shimmered in the moonlight so did his eyes. It seems this fourlegger had noticed him crab dung! Ravenpaw then ran away clumsily wait come back! Meowed the unfamiliar male voice Ravenpaw flatted his ears is he stopping me because he knows I’m Fuzzypelt’s son? Ravenpaw asked himself I’m not trying to be a foxheart but um.. why are you here? Asked the unfamiliar tom cat I was observing fish! Ravenpaw mewed shyly. Oh! I like observing fish! The unfamiliar tom meowed happily his fluffy tail moving do you want to observe with me? He asked politely sure! Ravenpaw replied

Follow me! The tom meowed okay! Ravenpaw replied soon they made it a cave it had a hole in the top and the Moonlight shimmered on the water they watched the fish for a while so what’s your name? Ravenpaw asked curiosity filling his eyes Barley. Barley simply answered mines Ravenpaw Ravenpaw mewed I’ve never heard a name like that before Barley meowed.

they spent a long time studying the fish however Ravenpaw had to go. Sorry I have to go Ravenpaw meowed oh I’m a mercat by the way… Ravenpaw mewed shyly are you just saying that…? Barley replied not sure if he should believe what Ravenpaw was telling him.however Ravenpaw got in the water and instead of back legs he had fins and a fish tail see? I wasn’t lying Ravenpaw purred Barley just give a smile. Ravenpaw proceeded to swim however Brindleface stood there concerned Ravenpaw! you could’ve been injured! Brindleface exclaimed he’s nice he didn’t try to hurt me! Ravenpaw explained I know but please be careful when going to the surface! Brindleface added now lets go little brother Brindleface meowed. I love him Ravenpaw thought to himself as he got nice and snuggly in his nest he started thing about Barley which made him purr.

#aw cute

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poeisobelfieldsend · 3 days

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SCALES

After the chunk had been remade, I decided to approach the method of making the scales at a different angle. Fish scales overlap far more closely than the diamonds I'd been doing before, so after some thinking I decided to layer thin strips on top of the flat top of it and carve out semicircles along the layers, taking out the excess sculpy carefully or smoothing it down onto the layer beneath if need be. The photos I took aren't great it looks better at more of a distance.

I forgot to take a picture of this part but I also textured the meaty part of the chunk so it wouldn't look lumpy and unfinished, adding veins and a resemblance of those lines on salmon to make it recognizable.

As of right now for colouring, I plan for the scales to be a blend of blue, purple and bluish greens. The meat is something I'm more indecisive on; I'd love to do a bright orange to compliment the blues on top, but it could just be mistaken for a fish a lot easier that way, even once I add the fin on top of the scales. I may make it red to be closer to what human meat would look like but I'm still unsure.

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fishbreedsblog · 1 year

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Introducing the Japanese Calico Oranda: An Artistic Masterpiece in Aquaria

A beautiful and interesting fish called the Japanese Calico Oranda lives in bodies of water. It has won the hearts of fish lovers all over the world. Known for its fancy looks and graceful behavior, it adds a touch of art to any aquarium. This fish is the definition of aquatic beauty, with its unique features and beautiful colors.

Basic Details: Where It Came From and What Makes It Unique

The Japanese Calico Oranda is from Japan and is part of the prestigious Oranda goldfish family. This family is known for having beautiful finnage and intricate looks. People who love the beauty of nature, like aquarists, love these fish because of how big they are and how complicated their color patterns are.

Size: Grow to be about 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) long on average, but some have grown even bigger.

Lifespan: If you take good care of these interesting animals, they can live for 10 to 15 years, giving you a long and happy companionship.

Temperament: They are known for being calm and gentle. They often swim peacefully through the water, and their bright colors make for a mesmerizing sight.

Looks: Its unique feature is the beautiful way its big, bulbous head and flowing fins look together. People can tell each other apart by the "wen," a fleshy growth on top of the head that can be different sizes and shapes from person to person.

Varieties and Colors: They have a lot of beautiful color patterns, and the markings are often a mix of red, white, orange, and black. The body, head, and fins are all decorated with these colors in a way that looks beautiful and fits together well.

Needs for Habitat and Tank: Making the Aquatic Canvas

Japanese Calico Orandas do best in ponds and aquariums that are well taken care of in their natural environment. A tank that is at least 20 gallons (75 liters) should be big enough for one adult fish, and another 10 gallons (38 liters) should be added for each extra fish. The temperature should be between 65°F and 72°F (18°C and 22°C), and the pH level should be between 6.5 and 7.5. Water quality is very important.

Adding decorations like smooth rocks, live plants, and driftwood can help make their environment look more like their natural habitat. These parts not only make the tank look better, but they also give the fish places to hide and explore.

Feeding: Satisfying the Hunger for Art

A balanced diet is very important for staying healthy and full of energy. You should give your goldfish high-quality pellets made just for them, as well as frozen or live foods like brine shrimp, daphnia, and bloodworms. Adding blanched vegetables like spinach and peas to their diet gives them extra nutrients and keeps their digestive system healthy.

Breeding: The Tricky Art of Spreading

It can be hard to breed Japanese Calico Orandas, and you often need special conditions and knowledge to do it right. Because the fish is so complicated, it's usually only experienced breeders who can successfully breed them.

Common health problems and ways to avoid them

Even though these fish are usually very tough, they can get swim bladder disorder, parasites, and fungal infections sometimes. To avoid and deal with health problems, it's important to keep the environment clean and well-kept, eat a balanced diet, and act quickly on any signs of illness.

Important Things to Think About: Beauty and Compatibility in Harmony

It is possible for Japanese Calico Orandas to live together with other peaceful fish species that need the same water conditions and tank size.

Different Types That Work Together for a Harmonious Tank

Other types of goldfish, like Ryukins, Fantails, and Telescopes, can live with them. So can tetras, guppies, and other fish that don't bite.

Differences Between Males and Females

Telling the difference between Japanese men and women There are times when calico orandas can be hard to care for, especially when they are young. During the breeding season, mature males may get small white bumps on the covers of their gills and on their pectoral fins.

Differences Between the Japanese Calico Oranda and the Standard Goldfish

The Japanese Calico Oranda and the Standard Goldfish are both goldfish, but the Japanese Calico Oranda has a unique head shape and more complex finnage, while the Standard Goldfish looks more streamlined.

Last but not least, stands as an amazing example of the amazing artistic skill found in aquatic life. Its beautiful look, unique traits, and calm personality make it a sought-after addition to any aquarium. Fish lovers can enjoy the stunning beauty for years to come by giving them the best care and the right environment.

#freshwater fish

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lord-explosion-baku · 3 years

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Trident Tale

Merman!Shinsou x reader, Kirishima x Reader

Warnings: adult themes (Minors DNI)

A/N: read the prologue on AO3

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

(Original image by @maewoahoah)

Synopsis: Moving to an island where everyone is big on the surf scene and other oceanic happenings might not have been the brightest idea for someone so afraid of anything that has to do with water, but you make do by spending your days looking after the Bed & Breakfast, trying not to burn the house down when you fry a few eggs, and obsessively scrolling through Eijirou Kirishima’s social media page. He’ll never notice you, and you think you’re fine with that, until a mysterious force washes into Ms. Shuzenji’s pool after a particularly nasty storm.

Hitoshi Shinsou is a pain in the ass from the get-go, but you put up with him, fins and all, when he promises he can help unite you with your soulmate. The catch? The fish is hellbent on taking back what was stolen from him, and he won’t lift a gracious finger until he gets what he came for.

You’re helpless to lend him a hand, so long as you stay dry. Unless, of course, he has other plans.

You know how the saying goes: you rub his fins, he’ll rub yours.

Storms have never really been your cup of tea. Though you keep yourself locked inside a good percent of the time, there’s nothing quite as suffocating as the compress of clouds overhead. It’s not like you always have to see them to be uncomfortable, but you definitely feel them pressing down, closing in, and caging you, even when you’ve got yourself tucked under a blanket on Ms. Shuzenji’s couch.

It’s been a little over a year since you first moved to the island. All you needed was a new beginning, and you got that, but you got that, and the tropical weather that you’re still getting used to. It’s currently typhoon season, and holy seaweed-on-your-doorstep, is it storming.

There’s little you can do to distract yourself while staying and working at Shuzenji’s bed and breakfast. There are currently no guests, aside from you, so all the rooms are made, and the old lady is on another one of her long vacations, so you’re basically being paid to lounge. You’re grateful for that, at least. But the only thing that’s keeping you physically separated from the terrifying weather is a thick glass pane that water sloshes on every time a wave laps over the backyard walls.

The things that separate you mentally are the old-timey recordings of Shuzenji singing alongside an ensemble cast, and the little device in your hand. If you didn’t have your boss’s haunting melodies echoing throughout the house, and some big, beefy, tatted eye-candy to gawk at during the storm, you’d surely go insane.

Eijirou Kirishima, one of the island’s best surfers, is out on his board, live-streaming his current fight against the waves. His whoops and hollers can be heard over the crashing tides, getting even you excited for what’s about to come. That’s the thing about Kirishima; he’s wild, you’re not, and it’s hot as hell. Oftentimes, you catch yourself daydreaming about joining him out in the surf—he guides you through the waves, maybe yoou impress him a bit with your sudden affinity for wave-riding, and the two of you wash up on shore where you’ll both share your first kiss. It would be feasible if you could swim. It would be feasible if you bothered to learn how to swim, but for now, you’re content with your imagination. At least he can make you hate the terrible weather a little less.

The conspiratorial smirk he shows the camera is borderline swoon-worthy when the swell begins to pull him further out. It’s impossible not to bite your lip every time you catch a glimpse of his arms forcing themselves through the sea. He makes this look easy—like the storm is child’s play, and as the winds blow Shuzenji’s trash bin into the sliding glass door, you welcome the delicious distraction.

As Kirishima stands up on his signature trident board and rides one of the biggest waves he’s seen all day, you’re once again struck with how much of a coward you are. He can fight the elements, while you can hardly bring yourself the courage to talk to him. Mind you, he’s constantly surrounded by a close group of friends—a close group of friends you find intimidating—and when he’s not with them, he’s out in the water. Where there’s water involved, you’re spoken for. Unless, of course, you’d like for the first time you guys actually speak, to be when he’s giving you CPR.

Not the most ideal “meet cute”, but if it works, it works.

A loud crash snaps you out of your admittedly salty daydream. Mango, Shuzenji’s orange tabby, yowls at the blanket of water cascading down the windows, and your stomach sinks. There’s only so many minutes you can pretend that the storm Kirishima is facing isn’t the one that’s destroying Shuzenji’s yard.

With a sigh, you roll off the velvet couch, and grimace when crumbs that were nesting in your shirt fall to the carpet: a mess to clean up later. Without any guests to mind, you don’t have to worry too much over keeping the place spick-and-span, so long as things are nice and tighty by the time the old lady gets back, which will be awhile.

You have an easy enough job—at least, when there aren’t bunches of thick seaweeds crashing over the yard’s wall, flooding the pool.

“Shit.”

Water sprays in every direction. The already trash-infested pool overflows as more kelp rolls in with the maniacal waves, and angry, white foam bangs on the back door. It's a disaster outside, and you’re not sure what to do about it.

Fingers wrapped around the back door handle, you struggle to think of a way to prevent a bigger mess, but even if you could manage to clean anything, nothing is stopping the tempest from wreaking anymore havoc. Best case scenario, you stop a plastic soda-chain from washing out to see and becoming a deadly necklace for an unlucky seagull. Worst case scenario, you slip, crack your head open on the pavement, and drown before you can ever utter the words “mahalo” to Kirishima.

Needless to say, you’ll take your life over a gull’s any day.

Another sigh.

A greater wave collides against the wall, bringing more of the Great Unknown into the pool. This is going to be a fun job to clean. Good thing you’ve got Shuzenji’s service boy, Denki Kaminari, on speed dial. You think if you sound particularly distressed in the morning, he’ll show up to help you out with just about anything in the matter of minutes. God bless desperate fuckboys.

So, for now, you cuddle back up on the couch, watch Kirishima shake saltwater out of his thick, red hair, and pretend that his storm is not the same thing as your storm.

It’s early morning when you finally rise out of bed. You hadn’t gotten a whole lot of rest—something to do with the wailing winds shaking your bedroom window nonstop, but after you finally drifted into dreams about snakes and dragons, you woke to clear skies, and light seagull calls.

From the second story, you can see early birds have already gotten the jump on cleaning up the beach. The sun is shining, the ocean blue and vast. The only trace there was ever a storm is already being taken care of. There are lifeguards riding around on ATVs and younger civilians with trash bags and grapplers picking up seaweed and absconded debris. The respect everyone has for the island is something to be admired, and you half-consider going out there yourself, after you’ve dealt with your yard, which is sure to be a wreck.

There’s no interest in picking out a cute outfit for the morning you’re going to have, even if Denki might see you, so you throw on a already-worn-this-week crop top, some pink shirts, and you’re good to go.

The first thing you do after Mango’s fed is check your socials. Kirishima posted a picture of his breakfast: a hefty plate with three eggs, sausage links, bacon, cut avocado, and what seems to be low-carb toast. The post reads, gotta eat ur gainz 2 gain ur gainz, and it’s so ridiculous that you’re infatuated with this reckless himbo. You wonder if you’d ever be able to hold an intellectual conversation with him, if you could ever manage to speak to him in the first place, but conversation wouldn’t matter if his mouth was between your thighs.

Following his example, you crack two eggs over a frying pan, sigh at the mostly empty fridge, then agonize over the state of Shuzenji’s yard. It’s worse than you thought it’d be. The pool is a sickly green color, and from where you’re standing inside, its murky depths seem to be almost opaque from the seaweed and garbage stewing together. Kelp litters the beige pavement, and there’s trash hiding in the shrubs. There’s a chocolate donut floaty bobbing around in there, too, and Shuzenji doesn’t own any floaties.

What a drag.

Before you get too far in your head about everything you’ll need to do to clean up, you quickly dial Denki’s number. He picks up after a ring and a half.

“I know what you’re about to ask,” says the boy on the line, and from his cocky tone, you can assume it’s not going to be about the cleanup. “I am absolutely free tonight. If you wanted to grab drinks at the Salty Barrel, maybe go on a romantic rendezvous out on the beach, watch the sunset on or in a couple blankets, I wouldn’t complain.”

“I’m not calling to ask you on a date, Kaminari,” you say as you step outside. The pavement is cold underneath your bare feet, and you have to tip-toe around to be sure not to let any kelp touch your skin. Yuck.

“But you’re not, not calling about a date, either,” he counters. By the volume of his voice, you can tell that he’s in his van, talking to you over the speaker. Good. So he’s already out and about.

“I need you to tell me how to drain Shuzenji’s pool.” Call you cold, but you’re used to Denki’s flirty nature by now, and you’ve learned that the best way to deal with it, is to not acknowledge it. Of course, you can’t be too callous when it comes to him, especially when you actually need his help. You eye the dangerously complex-looking valves off to the side of the house, and grimace. “There’s too many twisty thingies! I’m not sure what to do!”

“Now, hold your horses, little lady! Don’t go twisting any thingies just yet. Draining a pool is a process.” There’s a long pause, the loud growl of an engine, then silence. He’d pulled over to talk to you. “How’s your TDL? And what kinda PVC pipes you got?”

“The huh and what?” You don’t need to pretend to be in distress—you have no idea what he’s talking about.

“Listen, don’t touch anything. You’re calling because the pool’s a mess right now, right? You don’t need to drain it; at least, not yet. I can swing by in an hour or so to clean it, but I’ve gotta make some stops first. You’re not the only single woman who wants to watch me do my thang, especially not after yesterday.”

“It’s so bad, Kaminari.” The water in the pool sloshes around, like there’s actually something in it causing the water to ungulate and burble. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Don’t worry your pretty, little head over it. You've got me, okay? It’s my job to protect and serve.”

“You’re not a cop.”

“Nope, I’m better than a cop. I’m a pool guy.”

He goes on to ask you to check out what kind of drain the pool has, if you can find the drain, then loses you when he starts talking numbers and gallons. While still on the phone, you send a few texts to Shuzenji, explaining the predicament, then Denki mentions rates. You’re getting the cutie pie discount, doubled because he counts Shuzenji as a “cutie pie” too—something you mention to her because she’ll get a kick out of it—then he drops all business to ask about food.

“I’m cooking my breakfast,” you say with a wary glance back at the house.

“But is your breakfast fries and a shake from Tiki Burger?”

You bite your lip as your stomach growls its empty sorrow. “No.”

“Would you like it to be?” His knowing grin is heard through the line.

“…I’m not gonna go out with you.”

He chuckles and you’re grateful that he can’t see your answering smile. “We’ll see how you feel after you see me work my magic. And hey, if you’d like me to wear a Speedo while I work—“

“You’ll be here in an hour?” You cut him off, because Denki in a Speedo is the last thing you need on your mind. The thought of Kirishima in a Speedo, however, gets you a little hot, which is saying a lot, since you’re a part of the Speedos and Dolphin-shorts Are Abominations To Swimwear belief system.

“Maybe sooner. I think my next client just needs me to check out their chemical levels. Inside pool and all. Everyone else knew to put a tarp out.”

The tarp you had blew away, but you don’t bother explaining that to Denki. Let him believe you’re the dim-witted “little lady” he wants you to be. If it means Shuzenji gets a discount, not that she can’t afford any bill Denki’s company throws at her, then let him believe you can’t open a pickle jar without a man’s help for all you care.

“See you then,” you say, and end the call. There will be time to work on your charm once Denki gets here. Until then, you figure you could do some investigating so you’re not completely helpless.

Leaving your phone on the pavement so you don’t accidentally drop it in the water, you make your way around the pool to where you think you remember the drain being. You can’t say you’ll know what kind of drain it is, but if you remember correctly, it’s circular, and like, kinda meshy? That description simply won’t do.

Dropping down to your knees, you peer down into the pool, squinting, as if that can help you see through all the muck. There’s definitely a lot of kelp and algae, sand drifting through the water, someone’s wayward brazier, and oh. A school of fish—little babies circling about. It’s wild, but you suppose it could be possible if all the chlorine washed out and there was enough salt water to sustain marine life.

The fish move together, bopping into each other, mouths gaping open to eat whatever they find in their temporary home. You don’t know enough about marine life to know what kind of fish they are. Silvery little things. Maybe Denki has something that can help transport them from the pool to the ocean. It’s not far—Shuzenji’s house is on the beach. It would be a shame if all the little fish had to die. You don’t particularly care about touching or feeding fish, but a life is a life, and if they can be saved, you’d at least like to try.

But all your thoughts of saving fish life stop when you catch something moving in the water. It’s not the fish—they’re not that big, but it’s definitely fishlike. Fish plus. It moves like a shadow, serpentine and fluid. You catch a glimpse of scales, so it’s definitely not a dolphin—even then, it’s bigger than a dolphin, and more graceful than a shark. You begin thinking of leviathan, and other mythical creatures, as ridiculous as that is, when you see a long flowing fluke.

Okay. This thing is not just big. It’s gargantuan, and to see this much of the creature without seeing its head makes your skin crawl. You imagine falling in and being swallowed whole, suffocating in the dark, drowning in a monster’s belly.

The thought spooks you static, just in time to meet a pair of eyes in the water. This is your overactive imagination—you’re scaring yourself insane, but you don’t look away, and those eyes, almost human and curious, don’t disappear.

You’ve consumed enough media to know how these impossible interactions go. The creature is inquisitive, but keeps its distance. It often has to be coaxed out of hiding, and even then, the thing is skittish and untrusting. You’re certainly not one to go “pspsps, hey little guy, I’m not gonna hurt you,” but even if you were, you don’t get the chance, because this thing you’re looking at isn’t the least bit skittish, and in one second, you’re making eyes at at it, and in the next, the thing is exploding out of the water.

A large, broad chest towers over you. The thing pushes itself up with arms, human arms, but it’s anything but human. Sure, it has hair, although an odd purple color, framing its angular face and jaw, which are both human enough. Also framing its face are a pair of long, pointed fins sticking out from where human ears should be. Water dribbles down its chest, down to its navel—its navel. Your brain screams mammal, but underneath its navel are scales, rippling down to where its legs should be. Not human. Not fish.

Fish plus.

Man.

Fish plus man.

Fish-man.

Its eyes are almost the same color as its hair, only a shade lighter, and much sharper, narrowed in on you. It’s glaring. You realize this at the same time you realize that you're staring at it with your mouth agape. This would be so rude in any other setting. It’s also rude to pop out of a pool that isn’t yours without any other warning, but you’re not about to chastise the thing. You’re far too scared.

Then the thing reaches out to you, sprinkling water on your thighs and your shirt. Its hands look like a man’s hand, but its long fingers are connected by thin, indigo webbing that matches its tail. Its tail. You lose focus trying to find the word for this creature that’s barely on the tip of your tongue, when you realize the palm of its hand, its fishy, webby hand, is hovering over your cheek, the other carefully placed next to your knee to keep it upright.

You open your mouth to speak, but only a hiss comes out. The creature, wary, brings its hand back, but only slightly. Not enough to put you at ease, but enough to allow you to gain your composure, and scream.

“H-help!!!” You screech. “Help! Somebody! Help me!”

It claps its hand over your mouth, knocking you back. Water drips down on your shirt as it leans in, mouth curling up with distaste. Then, it does something impossible.

It speaks.

“So loud,” it growls in a low, masculine timbre.

It speaks, you think, it speaks and it has no manners!

You try to yell back, probably something with little thought, but you have a mouth full of fish-man hand, and the more you warble in its palm, the more apathetic it appears.

“Be quiet and still,” it commands, as if obeying it is supposed to be the most natural thing—something it expects from you. It catches you so off-guard that you actually listen, only trembling a little bit as those indigo eyes scan over your form. It’s uncomfortable having an unknown but cognizant creature observe you so closely. You shiver when its gaze roams over your belly, down your legs. You want to curl your legs up, move away, but you’re afraid if you even twitch more than it’s comfortable with, it’ll grab you and drag you into the pool. Your nightmare.

Instead, it does something slightly less worse. It moves its hand from your mouth to your cheek. The palm of its hand warms your skin in an unnatural way, like you’ve been laying in the sun for half an hour and it’s only your cheek that heats up. The creature's eyes widen as light begins to emanate, either from you, or from it, you’re not sure, but definitely from where it touches you. Tingles run from your neck down to your spine, and you wish you’d put a bra on before going outside, because this thing’s touch is making your body react in a way that it shouldn’t.

“So easy,” it purrs appraisingly, somewhat less insolent, but you’re still taken aback, ears hot with embarrassment.

Un-fucking-likely.

“Easy?!” You squawk out. “What do you mean by easy?”

It doesn’t answer you, and instead, moves its fingers from your cheek, down your jaw, to your chin. It begins leaning closer, heavy lids closing. You notice its lips for the first time: a defined line and a pretty bow. If you were in a less dire situation, you’d be able to admit that they’re very nice lips, but they’re getting closer to you, closer still, and you realize with a jolt what it’s trying to do.

Your foot meets its chest in a heartbeat.

“Nope!” You belt out, extending your leg so there’s more distance between you and the impolite beast. “Not today, fish-breath!”

Unperturbed, it lifts a lazy brow. Then, to your absolute horror, it presses both of its hands into your bare leg, and again you’re lit up, warm, and tingly, only far worse than before. Stomach tightening, you make a choked noise, trying to hold in the sigh that claws at your throat.

“Fish-breath.” It repeats your insult like it’s a balled-up piece of paper to be thrown in the trash. “I’ve been told that my aroma is quite appealing.”

“By whom? Other fish-breaths?!” You wriggle your leg out of his embrace, or whatever you could call that invasion, only to have it slip down so your foot rests in the fish-man’s hands, bright as the stars in the sky. “Eww ew! Don’t touch me! Get away!”

The creature scoffs, but let’s you go, and you both watch as the light disappears from the arch of your foot where he’d been touching. Fish-man slinks back into the murky water, hiding under a blanket of algae.

You have enough time to gather your composure, wipe the water droplets off your face, and rub your eyes. For a moment, you try to convince yourself that this has all been a sleep-deprived hallucination, but you’ve never really been one to delude yourself, unless your Kirishima fantasies were involved, and you know that you’ll have to try another tactic to accept the reality of your situation. Perhaps you can try to be civil with this creature, ask it if it’s…hurt, or if it needs a late night escort to get it back to the sea. But then, the thing resurfaces on the opposite end of the pool. It faces you, and leans back against the wall, arms spread out against the pavement, basking.

“You know,” he says, “your decorum is severely lacking. Don’t humans have classes that teach them proper etiquette—how to be more polite towards their guests and such?”

What’s lacking is your patience for marine life.

Standing up, you take in the thing, which you’re now pretty sure is in fact a man of sorts, in its entirety. His tail is long, longer than human legs, extending past the halfway mark of the pool, if your measurement counts his fluke. There’s a golden cuff on his right arm that spirals around, accentuating his large biceps. You stubbornly admit that it’s attractive—he’s attractive, at least, he would be for people who were into fish and not surfers. You brush whatever you’re feeling in the pit of your stomach off by telling yourself that you’re simply awestruck, and move on.

“Where I’m from-“ you begin, straightening your sodden crop top- “we offer our guests various beverages and snacks, depending on the time of day.”

Annoyingly, he looks interested.

“Since it’s the morning, I’d offer a guest tea, or coffee, and if I’m looking to impress, I’d maybe cook them a hot meal.”

The creature offers you a sardonic smile. “I happen to be famished.”

“However, with home-invaders, we’re more likely to pull a gun on them before heating up the earl grey.”

He loses the smile, and you’re glad that he might have an inkling of what a gun is. You’ve never owned one, and they don’t allow firearms on the island, but the threat stands. But if he was intimidated, even for a moment, he doesn’t show it anymore, and proves just that by turning his back on you, and resting his head in his arms. He has a dorsal fin with what looks to be a deep, x-shaped scar near his tailbone. You try not to wonder what that could’ve been from.

“Then how do you propose I go from a home-invader, to a house guest?” Asks the creature with little interest.

Cautiously walking around the pool with your arms crossed, you begin to list things off for the far-too-comfortable fish-man.

“You can start by telling me who you are, what you are, why you’re here, what you want, and why you think you can lay your webbed hands on me.”

“Oh, is that all?” He hums noncommittally. Content. Aggravating. “Why don’t you start then? Who are you, and why are you here?”

The back of your neck grows hot and uncomfortable. “How entitled do you have to be to—!” You start, but you’re swiftly cut off by the shrieking of the fire alarm. Smoke plumes from outside the house’s windows, and you curse under your breath before darting towards the door. You’d completely forgotten about your eggs.

In your haste to move the pan off the stove, you burn your fingers and drop the pan to the kitchen floor, two blackened egg crisps flaking off and diving in different directions. Mango yowls at the commotion and investigates one of the fallen egg crisps. Before you can tell him to buzz off, he loses interest in your mess, not bothering to give it a taste. You don’t blame him, but the eggs didn’t appear to be cat-bad. Ah, you can’t kid yourself. They are cat-bad. They’re completely inedible. Now you’re going to have to head to the market, while worrying about a man trapped in Shuzenji’s pool.

Your stomach roars at you.

After cleaning the mess as best as you could while desperately and ruefully wanting to return to your guest—no, not guest—invader, you get the alarm, half-heartedly fan the smoke out of the house, and return. Angry. This guy better start talking soon, or things are going to get ugly.

To your utter displeasure, he looks all the more amused at your newer, messier state.

“Was that supposed to be the hot meal,” he asks, cocky. “Because if so, I’ll pass.”

Instead of biting his head off like you’d like to, you present him with the still-dirty frying pan, pointing it at his head like you intend to use it.

“Start talking, fish-for-brains.”

The beast snickers, raising his hands in the air in mock-surrender. “Easy there, tiger shark. You know how to use that thing?”

You refuse to humor him. Instead, you keep your scowl tight, your arms steady. If he’s not threatened, he’ll lose interest in this game, then he’ll have to talk.

Lo and behold, you’re right. The fish-man rolls his eyes, and looks at you, again, with apathy.

“My name is Hitoshi Shinsou,” he says, lackadaisical, like he’s already bored of himself. “I’m one of Ryūjin. What humans have learned to call merpeople are actually descendants of the sea gods who lived centuries ago. I’m here, simply because the storm washed me here. What I want is to retrieve what’s mine. I thought I could lay my webbed hands on you—well-“ the corner of his mouth tilts up-“darlin’, it was because your body reacted to me.”

Mouth forming the beginning of a question that never comes, you stare in disbelief at this myth. Then the last thing he said dawns at you.

“I did not react to you!” You rebuke, steady hands now shaking.

“Oh no?” He says, but it’s not a question. It’s a challenge.

Hitoshi grabs the flat end of the frying pan and yanks it, and you, closer to him, closer to the water. You cringe and whine when a wet, webby hand closes around your wrist. Inadvertently, you drop the pan, but he pays it no mind as it sinks past his tail. Your skin begins to glow underneath his palms, and the tingles come back, shooting up your arm, causing tiny goosebumps to appear.

“Would you look at that,” Hitoshi croons, slow and almost sensuously. His indigo eyes narrow on your index finger where you’d burned yourself. To add to this nightmare, he closes his lips around it, and begins to suck. Your stomach flips, and you’re not sure if it’s because you’re disgusted, or scared, or…enjoying the feeling of his warm mouth, his tongue, touching your skin.

“Stop.” It’s a whisper. It means nothing. You think you want it to mean something, but your thoughts are buzzing into a blur. Knees growing weak, you descend, leaning closer to him, not caring about the water or the seaweed or the fish, and instead, entirely focused on his mouth. It’s glowing, his mouth. Faintly. Like a single candle lit in an otherwise empty room.

When he eases off of you, he runs his thumb over your now-healed finger, and let’s your arm fall limply at your side.

“All better,” he whispers back at you.

There are prickles all over your skin once you regain an ounce of dignity.

“What the hell was that?” You ask, breathless for no other reason than shock.

“The glowing?” He asks. “The healing?”

“Both.”

“Your reaction to me.” He’s cocky again. This is something sick. Mythical creature or not, this has got to be a game he plays, washing into people’s pools, causing problems, sucking on lonely girls’ fingers. He probably gets his kicks this way, and uses whatever other kind of magic he has to erase whoever he’s tormenting’s memories, if he doesn’t end up eating them when he’s done. Bogus.

You won’t let him get to you.

“Alright, Hitoshi Shinsou, how would you like me to get you back into the ocean? You healed my finger-“ although it’s essentially his fault you were burned to begin with, if you take into account the sequence of events-“so helping you out is the least that I can do.”

“I could use your help,” he muses lightly, turning his body back around to his chest and abdomen are turned towards the sun. You tell yourself not to stare like you know he probably wants you to. Though his eyes are closed, he peeps at you, sneaking a glance. “I don’t want to go back into the ocean, though. Not until I get what’s mine.”

With the might of a girl who just wants to go back inside and scroll through her phone, you swallow your bite, and ask, “what would that be?”

“Oh, this and that-“ he waves his hand around dismissively-“other things.”

With the might of a girl who just wants to go back inside and find another frying pan, you say, “alright, listen. Someone is on their way to the house to clean the pool. I don’t know what one of Ryūjin means, but I’m guessing people like you don’t always want to be discovered by people like us. So you either tell me what it is you need, or see how my pool guy reacts to a mermaid lounging around in my backyard! I wouldn’t put it against him to call the local news station. Get this place flooding with cameras. Does that sound like a pretty picture to you?”

Absolutely none of your threats penetrate Hitoshi’s cool nature. In fact, he laughs.

“When he gets here,” the merman drawls, knowing he’s got you hanging on every word, “invite him to swim.”

#bnha mermay #mermaid au #siren!shinsou #mermaid!hitoshi shinsou #hitoshi shinsou x reader #shinsou x reader #bnha x reader #bnha x you #bnha imagines #bnha reader insert #reader insert #trident tale

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anenfo · 3 years

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[ID: A drawing of Jimmy and Scott from Empires smp. They are both drawn from the shoulders up, colored, and wearing sunglasses.

Jimmy is to the left of Scott, and is pulling his glasses down to look over them. He has orange eyes, similar to fish eyes, fin-like ears, and is wearing a black turtleneck halter top.

Scott is to the right of Jimmy, and has his glasses on fully. He has long hair, with part of his fringe held back by a butterfly clip, and is sticking his tongue out.

Underneath is written "they are judging you". /End ID]

Scott is the sassiest person on the server and he's passing it on to Jimmy

click for better quality <3

#im rlly happy with how jimmys hand came out #sorry abt the funky lighting btw #my art #empires smp #solidaritygaming #scott smajor #empires fanart #esmp scott #esmp jimmy

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crossroadsandloudmusic · 3 years

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notes: First Rengoku fic I hope you guys enjoy!!!!!!! I’ll be putting out more this week, I plan on doing some more fluff fics, trying out headcannons, and then trying my hand at writing NSFW fics as well! Request are open if anyone wants anything specific! Btw if anyone has any tips on how I can improve my writing please do not hesitate!! Thank y’all so much for the support already, it literally makes my whole day when I see someone has liked my post😭❤️

warnings: none just pretty basic soft kyojuro stuff, jim falling for a fellow demon slayer he saved yadda yadda yadda.

Chapter 1: Deadly Dance

The soft summer breeze cooled your wet skin, you had been training relentlessly for the past three weeks. Although exhausted you pushed your muscles past their limits; you had to get stronger, better, faster. Even if it killed you, because being weak almost did. In your last mission, you had been sent to a village south east of the butterfly estate, their children and some of the younger demon slayer core members had been disappearing. So it was decided someone with higher rank would be sent to eradicate the demon responsible for the disappearances. You had felt confident it would be a simple two day mission, surely a demon that went after mostly children couldn’t possibly be stronger than you, right? You had been gravely wrong. The first night you arrived at the village you conversed with the locals to gain some information. They had informed you that the disappearances occurred near the river which split the town directly down the middle. You looked towards the river and saw the lazy current slowly churning downstream. The children were not getting swept away. You thanked the shop owner and started towards the bank of the river; hand resting on your katana just in case. As you made your way down the slope and towards the waters edge you noted that although the landscape seemed serene, there was an undeniable feeling of uneasiness. Continuing upstream you saw footprints in the sand, some small, some larger but all of young children. After staring deeply at them for quite some time you made an internal promise to make the river safe for the children to play again. You would not be able to bring the others back but at least you could prevent anymore from being taken.

Suddenly the feeling of unease grew stronger, you looked towards the middle of the river; katana unsheathed. A black orb began to fill the middle of the waterway, as it made its way to the surface bubbles and waves boiled around its rising form. It towered above the water, the grotesque demon was covered in water weeds and slim. It’s body resembled a fish, clad with gills and fins, all of which were topped with razor sharp barbs. The most shocking part of this creatures terrifying body was its fingers, they were shaped like small fish, they glowed bright purple. This was what he was using to lure the children into the river, it was devastating to think of the child reaching trying to catch the fish only to be consumed by this monster. Fueled by rage you attacked.

The battle was gruesome, hours upon hours you fought. It had been pure luck that you were able to extinguish the demon. Exhausted and beaten severely, you had settled against a tree till the village people had found you that morning, drenched in your own blood. You had not remembered the trip to the butterfly estate, or even much after you had arrived. Only vague whispers and fuzzy memories, one in particular had you puzzled. Laying in one of the recovery beds you had felt a strong warmth down by the side of your leg, with the little bit of strength you had left you opened your eyes and saw the sun sitting on your bed. You hadn’t the ability nor the energy to focus on the figure all you remembered was wisp of red and orange.

Wiping the sweat from your brow you heaved the heavy weights above your head again. Lowering and raising them up again your muscles begged for a break, but you couldn’t stop now. You would never be weak again, not ever again.

As you concluded your weight training you walked over to the large oak tree that shaded half of your training area. There you had a gourd filled with water and a wooden katana propped against its base. Sat down with a dud and drank almost all of your water, it had become hot due to the summer heat but you didn’t care. Sighing you watched the tree tops sway in the breeze, as much as you hated to admit it, you had needed this break. This break was short lived as you once again rose on aching muscles to begin sword training. First you started with the basics you had learned when you first had become a demon slayer, then after ruthlessly repeating every move you had been taught in the beginning you switched to more complicated maneuvers. With each mastered skill you began making it harder and harder, swiftly cutting the air with your sword faster and faster. The more you swung the angrier you got, cutting the throats of the invisible demons that surrounded you. Who were you trying to prove that you were not weak to, the demons or yourself? With a mighty jump you soared into the air, you could see it, a colossal demon two stories high that wanted nothing more than to devour you. Descending at the speed of light all you saw was your chance, an opening for a clean cut on the imaginary behemoth. Slicing his head you followed through, watching the blood sizzle into ash as it flew from your blade. You landed gracefully on the ground, eyes still closed you sheathed your wooden weapon into your belt. You sighed deeply, and opened your eyes to an unexpected sight. The flame pillar stood some feet away from you, his hands at his hips with a joyous grin across his face

“That was quite impressive swordsmanship, (y/n)! I am thoroughly pleased with how well you are improving!”

Immediately you fell to your knees, your nose grazing the loose dirt.

“Rengokusan! I had no idea you were coming, please forgive me for being so unobservant and distracted! Had I known I would have cut my training short to prepare for your arrival, it is an honor to be in your presence! The presence of a hashira!” You shouted

This awarded you a boisterous laugh from the hashira. Yet you dared not to move in fear of disrespecting him.

“Please the honor is mine, I came by to check on you after your last mission! You had gotten severely injured and I wanted to make sure you had recovered. Shinobu informed me that you left the estate before you had been released.”

It was true, you had been disgusted by your own weakness you left the estate to begin your training once more. Bones were still cracked and wounds would reopen from time to time. Still you said not a word and remained bowing. You heard footsteps approaching till you saw the tips of sandals.

“Give me your hand (y/n), please I’d like to speak to a becoming hashira face to face.”

Slowly you rose from the ground and grasped the firm calloused hand of the man that stood in front of you. Looking up to him now you saw that the grin you had only gotten a glimpse of before was still there. It filled your heart full of warmth and set your mind at ease, when you met his fiery eyes they were fixed on you; taking you in completely, memorizing every detail of your face. Quickly you broke the contact, taking your eyes off his, a blush was deepening your already flushed cheeks.

Another cheerful laugh from Rengoku filled the air, his smile wider now. Blushing intensely you brushed the dirt from your pants and arms.

“No need to be nervous! You are becoming a fine swordsman, please show me some more!” Bellowed the hashira.

Frozen you looked at him, he smiled and stared intently waiting for a response. You smiled sheepishly and rubbed that back of your neck, this amount of admiration had made you embarrassed, the praise from a hashira had you stumbling.

“Um…oh! Ok of course Rengokusan!” You hurriedly said as you fumbled with your practice sword.

You assumed a stance, sword drawn, ready for battle, when your nerves had overcome your mind. You stood frozen without a clue as to what to show him. You stood silently and then tried to remember the most basic of attacks when all of a sudden large hands clasped your hips. A small squeak escaped into your throat as your released Rengoku was holding them.

“Stand with your hips square, this way you’ll have more power and be less likely to lose your balance.” He now spoke with a lower tone, his face grazing your ear. He guided your hips to straighter position, then his hands traveled to your shoulders.

“Relax your shoulders, it’s not about how hard you cut, but where. Let your blade do the work, we just guide it”

He was closer now, you could feel the warmth of his body envelop yours. You felt his chest against your back, his hands now on top of yours, you held the sword together. Together you swung the sword, him encouraging you throughout the process. With his gentle touch he taught you as much as he could remember, rather than a rigid step by step sequence it became a deadly dance. Simultaneously you both swayed and slashed through the heavy air, soon the dance became faster and harder both now trying to keep up with the other. Training now had extended far into the evening, the setting sun in the distance and the stars now becoming visible. Concluding your waltz you both were out of breath, sweat beaded and dropped down your face. The pillar released his grasp of your sword and took a step back, he too was sweating as he wiped a bead from his forehead. Turning to look at him you saw his glowing smile once again, you smiled in return.

“Rengokusan, could I interest you in some tea?” You tiredly said as you caught his gaze once more.

————————————————————————

“Rengokusan, I want to thank you for your kind words and training you gave to me today. It means a lot you came all the way out here to check on me.”

Rengoku took a small sip from his tea as you two both sat on the edge of the porch.

“Of course (y/n). Ever since I brought you back to the butterfly estate I wondered about how you were recovering. When I went to visit they said you had left, so I came to see if you had returned home.”

You gasped at what he said.

“ You carried me to the butterfly estate?”

“Yes, I had been sent to the same village but I had arrived a day late, the people found you resting underneath a tree near the river. I’m sorry I was not there sooner.” You saw his smile fade slightly. He had felt responsible for your injuries and almost death. You could see the pain that caused him in his eyes.

“Rengok—“

“Please. Call me Kyojuro.”

Without thinking you grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently.

“Thank you, Kyojuro. Without you, I’m not sure I would have survived. And for that I owe everything to you.” He looked at you deeply, his face serious now, eyes fixed upon yours.

“ Kyojuro, would you consider training me more? I want to become stronger, I want to become a hashira.” His look for seriousness became one of exuberance, immediately he stood up, hands on his hips. Loudly exclaimed,

“Absolutely I’ll train you! We will begin first thing tomorrow morning! I’ll be here to wake you up!” His sudden outburst stunned you.

“Really! You’ll train me? Oh thank you Kyo thank you, thank you so much!” You couldn’t contain your excitement, you jumped with joy. Your bouncing and repeated thank you’s earned a famously hearty laugh from Rengoku. He smiled at your reaction, a slight tug pulled at his heart when he saw you smiling at him so brightly. Before he knew what was happening you enveloped him in the biggest hug he had ever received. Quietly shocked at your quick reflexes, he wrapped his arms around you too. He looked down and saw your face buried in his chest and your grip getting tighter. Now it was his turn to blush. You let go almost as quickly as you had pulled him in. You began jumping and shouting with joy, the excitement of all this made your heart feel like it was going to burst!

“I’m gonna make you so proud, just watch and see!! I’m gonna get so strong and skilled!!! I can’t wait to start our training!!! I’m gonna make you so proud!!” You yelled. Rengoku was speechless, he watched you express yourself so freely. He saw the joy on your face and it made his heart swell with the idea of seeing like this everyday. He wanted to feel this again, he wanted to hold you again.

That evening Rengoku departed, he promised to be back by morning and you couldn’t have been more thrilled. You watched as he waved goodbye and rounded the corner out of sight. That night sleeping was not an option, for you were far too excited to even close your eyes. The next day would begin your official training by the flame pillar.

#kyojuro rengoku x reader #demon slayer #rengoku x y/n #flame hashira #demon slayer rengoku #demon slayer requests

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bufomancer · 3 years

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Ten Cool Livebearers You May Not Know About

I’m pretty sure most people in fishblr know me as the wild betta fanatic, but truth be told I love livebearers just as much- if not more because they’re better suited to the water where I live. Livebearers such as dalmation mollies, mickey mouse platies, and all of the many variants of the common guppy are a staple of the aquarium hobby for their social behavior, hardiness, and ease of breeding. But did you know there are many more less common species of livebearer that are equally as gorgeous and rewarding to keep?

Here I’ll be briefly introducing 10 of my favorite species of livebearer. Disclaimer that this is not a care guide, just a list of fish I wish more people knew about!

Venture under the cut to see...

10. Endler’s Livebearer (Poecilia wingei)

(image source)

Admittedly endler’s livebearers are the most well known and commonly available species on this list, which is why they’re first. Their popularity has grown to the point that you can typically find them at your local aquarium shop, and even at chain pet stores. But they still make the list because I have a soft spot for them, and they are my top recommendation for people who want a hardy livebearer that will do well in a 20 long but is a bit less common than the typical guppy (Poecilia reticulata).

They are a bit smaller than common guppies, getting no bigger than 2 inches long. The females are blander in coloration, but the males exhibit stunning orange, black, and green patterning that makes them quite a sight to behold.

Endler’s will readily hybridize with other Poecilia fish, so many breeders keep detailed records to prove the purity of their stock. Undocumented endler’s sold in pet shops or listed as “K-class” are assumed to be hybrids. “N-class” endler’s have proof of lineage able to be traced back to their native waters, and “P-class” endler’s show the traits of N-class endler’s but without record of their lineage.

9. Sailfin Molly (Poecilia latipinna)

(image by Oliver Lucanus)

Sailfin mollies are a spectacular and less common alternative to the well known short-finned or common molly (Poecilia sphenops). Like many Poecilia fish, the two species will readily hybridize- in particular the melanistic “midnight sailfin molly” is attributed to hybridization between P. latipinna and P. sphenops.

A similar species, Poecilia velifera, may also be sold under the name “sailfin molly” and may explain why there are conflicting reports on maximum size- some say females can easily reach 6 inches, while others say they max out at 3-4. Keep in mind that tank bred strains tend to be smaller than wild specimens. When selecting an appropriately sized aquarium for sailfin mollies, err on the side of assuming they could reach 6″ to prevent the need for a hasty upgrade should your little 3″ fish suddenly double in size!

8. Least Killifish (Heterandria formosa)

(image by Brian Gratwicke)

Despite the name, the least killifish is not a killifish at all, but a member of the family Poeciliidae. They are tiny, maxing out at just over an inch long. While they may be blander in appearance than many other species on this list, their diminutive size is incredibly appealing. A large group could happily take residence in a 20 long. They are the 7th smallest species of fish in the world, and the smallest found in North America.

7. Tiger Teddy (Neoheterandria elegans)

(image source)

The common name of this adorable striped fish is certainly apt. Maxing out at an inch long, they are one of the smallest fish available in the hobby. They are quite shy fish, but do well in heavily planted aquariums, and are not particularly fussy when it comes to feeding provided it is small enough for their little mouths.

They may look small in pictures, but trust me, that is nothing compared to how tiny they are in person. I always find it difficult to believe animals can even get that small.

6. Butterfly Goodeid (Ameca splendens)

(image by Khor Harn Sheng)

This species is fairly well known in the hobby, in part thanks to the efforts of the Goodeid Working Group. Certainly one of the most commonly commercially available goodeids! Considering their obvious beauty, though, is that any surprise?

Females can grow to nearly 4″ in length, making them a good choice for an aquarist wanting something a little bit larger than some of the other available livebearers. Males have a yellow edge to the caudal fin, and shiny reflective scales. The females are a mottled yellowish-brown. Certain ornamental strains have been selected for a stronger and more extensive black coloration.

5. Perugia's Limia (Limia perugiae)

(image source)

Limia are not very popular in the hobby. I myself regularly forget they exist, but they are quite handsome fish that would look stunning in home aquaria. They are on the smaller side at around 2 inches maximum, with gorgeous iridescent coloration. I would not hesitate to maintain a shoal of them in the future!

Personally I find this species more attractive than the more common humpbacked limia (Limia nigrofasciata)

4. Pygmy Swordtail (Xiphophorus pygmaeus)

(image source)

I’m a big fan of tiny fish, so pygmy swordtails are right up my alley. They grow no bigger than 1.3 inches. Despite their small size they are active fish from fast flowing rivers and should be maintained in larger aquariums. Tank bred specimens like those pictured above may be selectively bred for enhanced orange/yellow coloration that looks stunning against a lush green aquascape.

I have also seen X. multilineatus sold under the name “pygmy swordtail”.

3. Swamp Guppy (Poecilia picta also known as Micropoecilia picta)

(image source)

Now we’re in the top three, and of course, this small (max 2 inches, usually less) brightly colored species makes the cut. I desperately wish swamp guppies were more common in the hobby. They are on my list of absolute favorite fish species. I really don’t have much to say about them except look at them! Aren’t they perfect!

2. Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki)

(image source)

Native to North America, the mottled melanistic form is most popular in aquaria but the uniform wild-type is equally as beautiful. Females tend to get no larger than 2.5 inches.

I think North American natives are wildly underrated in the hobby, and this species is no exception! They are undeniably gorgeous and any aquarist would be lucky to have a tank full of them.

They may be confused with the western mosquitofish (Gambusa affinis).

1. Metallic Livebearer (Girardinus metallicus)

(image is my own)

This is absolutely one of my favorite species of all time. I kept them for a time, but ended up rehoming them when I took a break from the hobby. They were such a joy to keep, not difficult at all and very beautiful. All specimens are a flashy golden yellow, while the males feature a black stripe on their underside that earns them their other common name- the black chin livebearer.

I would love to keep these fish again, and I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a stunning livebearer on the smaller side. I really don’t have a single bad thing to say about them.

Girardinus falcatus are near identical but without the black chin.

#this isnt gonna show up in the tags bc it has external links UGH so rbs are appreciated #fishblr #aquablr #my guides

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