#another lionfish!

[ghoulangerlee]

Aurora who is a water/air ghoulette hybrid, who has the physical qualities of a lion fish (with spines and poisons) who is invasive and that translates to her being an invasive type of ghoul; there's no one else like her because of this, because she's so volatile and will muddle up the somewhat chaotic system of summoned ghouls on the surface.

This in turn makes her very lonely at first. She's summoned many ages ago, left to settle on just the outside of pack; in the pits she had a large pack, going from place to place when there was need for that (as the pack grew bigger).

Now, she's pretty much alone.

And then one day, Copia finds her. She puts on a brave face; her voice a thing of beauty as she sings in the church's choir, haunting and perfect for Satan himself, though she thinks her singing sounds more like a call. A call for pack.

Copia invites her to step in for Sunshine, compliments her voice, offers her solace in his rag tag pack of ghouls that all come from very different parts of the pits. They're not invasive like her, but they accept her much to her own surprise.

Her poison and spines don't scare them like they do others.

Even Copia is enamored by her, not afraid when she's mostly unglamoured in the lake with Rain, hissing softly at the sting of her spines as he reaches out to touch her.

She trills happily, reaches out with a cool touch to soothe the sting and Copia smiles at her.

In her mind, she can feel the pressure of her packs' bonds, nowhere near as large as the pack she had in the pits, but she's happy now.

After years of being lonely, she finally belongs.

[reliquiaenfr]

and here are the ones i’m thinking about keeping. five, but i can’t decide how i like that last boy so we’ll see. delighted to get some kids for accents i’ve been sitting on for ages! still no tentacle undertide tho but i’ll find one eventually

[tauforged]

torn between making widow a sanitized cephalopod of some kind or having her be a different weirdass invertebrate like a crinoid or a sea spider….. both options are very compelling to me. however i’ve been trying to stick to crustaceans for omnics so i worry a sea spider will be a little too close ? idk. idk idk i’m very tired and have not eaten much today so i’m naturally out of it

[kyumisyumi]

Tentacles and Tendrils

Shaking off the rust and giving monster smut(writing in general) a shot again.

Prompt: monster partner is in rut/heat and the partner has to deal with it

Rating: 18+

Monster type: M!Merfolk x F!Reader

Word count: 6k

~Taking requests~

     You stare out at the unending, blue horizon. The cool ocean breeze preparing you for the temperatures of its water as you linger along the edge. You wore the company certified diving gear: a wetsuit, mask, BCD, the works. A spear weighed down one hand while a cylindrical container weighed on your shoulder. Hope and pessimism fought to be at the forefront of your mind as you scan the empty waters with heavy disappointment. This area was always relatively vacant, but not too far off you can spot a duo entering the water with matching gear. Their actions take you out of your haze, and with another gauge check you finally approach the water. Getting a feel for the sea's surge, you make your way in. And with practiced hands you slipped on your fins before turning to greet the seas with outstretched arms.

     Beneath the blue your body instantly goes into autopilot. Swimming was as natural as walking and these seas might as well have been a second home; a wayward beauty that will switch it's mood at a moments notice but home nonetheless. You took it all in, familiar as it may be, the ocean never stopped being a sight to behold. A world beneath our own full of wonderful blues, outstretched greens and terrifying blacks. The current had a bit of force behind it but nothing near the cruelty you knew any large body of water could deal. Your darting eyes couldn't help but search around, scanning everywhere for even just a hint of... There! You moved with haste. As much as you could as a land dwelling animal in aquatic terrain. You didn't get far before the shape you eagerly chased revealed itself to be just a particularly thick and unruly swatch of seaweed. You sigh internally before resolving to begin your original task.

     Nearing a gorgeous station of coral, you couldn't help but linger and watch the busyness. Schools of varicolored, itty bitty fish swimming through the equally colorful pseudo-flora. Despite your love for marine life, you never quite learnt the names of all the little guys much less how to differentiate between them, say for a handful that stick out. Your interest was usually for the larger lifeforms mother nature had to offer; you smiled as you watched a wary grey eel eye you with suspicion. Soon your eyes fell upon your reason for being here. It's bright red colors were slightly muted by the depths, with white tiger stripes outlined by black to break up the pattern. Its form was lined with spines and frills that flowed and fluttered with each graceful swish of it's body; an absolutely gorgeous creature. You readied your spear. The black strap trigger pressed into your skin as you carefully aimed, hoping not to hit anything but the target. It helped that the lionfish lingered in one spot before you speared it. You moved to put it in the container before opting to offer it to the eel you saw earlier. As gorgeous - and delicious - as they were, these guys were invasive here and the effects of their persistence was a constant strain to the native wildlife. They seemed highly concentrated around this sandy patch of substrate, driftwood and dead coral. It didn't take long after the first few kills for one of your friends to make their way over. Gently, you caressed the top of the nurse shark eyeing your spare eagerly, this one you named Lisa... or maybe it was Madeline. It was no surprise your face blindness extended to animals as well, even the cute ones that made your dives feel a little less lonely. The creature began gliding and swirling around you. You liked to believe the fondness was mutual but it was equally likely they were just in it for a meal. You speared another lionfish and offered it to the grey and white cutie.

     The spot you were in. The shark. The scenario. It brought back the memory of the first time you saw him.

     Back then you were collecting lionfish, same as now with a duo of nurse sharks tailing your every movement. At the time you were overly cautious, so you'd sit in one place, removing the venomous spines of the fish before handing them over. You could see him out of the corner of your eye, he'd been there for quite a while, watching you. From his position partially behind the rocks, you'd think he was hiding -or rather, on the defensive- but you just can't imagine something that big and powerful hiding from tiny 'ol you. Yes you had a spear but you doubt it would do you much good if he decided to attack. Merfolk. Given your job at the Aquatic Wildlife Center you were relatively familiar with them. Your company was more than welcoming when programs were made for them- as well as the other species- who showed interest in coexisting during the realm migration. The Merfolk you were familiar with, however, had to undergo numerous lessons on etiquette and culture to live among humans. The one near you now... The word 'feral' came to mind. You didn't quite like using such an animalistic term towards something that looked a little too human, someone that you knew had equivalent intelligence. His skin was primarily muted greens with a burst of parchment white down his chest and undersides of his arms. Unlike the fish tails merfolk were known for, this one's body ended in a myriad of tentacles, not unlike an octopus. Height wasn't exactly something you could measure but in terms of body mass he was more than twice your own. He seemed to tense any time you held direct eye contact so you settled on keeping him in your peripheral and keeping your movements slow and measured. You're not sure what he wanted but if he was content to just watch you, you didn't mind.

     The next time you went out for a dive he'd made another appearance, this time resting on the rocks instead of behind them. Looking at the way his tentacles gently swayed against the current, you realise the way they'd writhed restlessly the day before may have been a sign of anxiety. It tickled you that somehow, in his mind, you were a threat to be worried about. You'd never even been in a proper fight. His relaxed demeanor gave you a bit of courage and you contemplated offering him one of the lionfish but ultimately chose not to. Doing so would feel as though you were treating him like an animal at the petting zoo. Then again, he was watching you like an animal at a regular zoo, keeping his distance as if he thought you'd lash out at any opportunity. You focused on the task at hand. Either the sharks had developed more patience or they were full from yesterday, this time they seemed more interested in dawdling around and getting pets than playing Russian roulette with your spear. You'd gotten into a rhythm of pull, aim, release as you moved slowly across the sandy substrate with him never too far behind.

     On the third day he was almost as close as the sharks were. There was still a respectful distance but you'd only have to reach out your hand to touch him. Despite your determination to hold strong as he approached there was a hint of fear in your eyes when he first got closer. He wasn't threatening but the size difference was all to blatant up close, his chest so broad and arms so thick you didn't doubt they could snap you in half like an oatmeal cookie. In response he seemed to try to make himself look smaller, drifting at a lower level so that his head wasn't much higher than yours. This gave you a good look at his features, he had round pupils unlike the rectangular slits you associated with octopi, his sclera was a light grey and his irises a saffron yellow on downturned eyes. He didn't seem to have any patchwork of iridescent scales like your work colleagues. His eyes aside, everything about his face was sharp, from the hooked nose to the prominent chin and brow bone. As curious as you were, you tried not to look any lower than the slits along his neck; gills, in case your gaze made him uncomfortable. You briefly wondered if he'd try to say something once he got closer but he didn't, he just looked back with a gesture you interpreted as 'continue'. So you did.

There actually weren't anymore lionfish nearby so you decided to take a moment to clip the spines of the one on your spear, hoping to feed it to Joel the eel... or maybe this was Geoffrey. He took this lull in your movement as an opportunity to interact. You stared wide eyed as his hands reached out. It looked as though he was going to reach for your spear but thought better of it and reached out for your free hand instead. He took your smaller hand into his much larger ones. He inspected each finger, pulling them apart and tracing the curve in between, where his held a thin membrane. He ran a thumb over your blunt nails, where his held thick black claw. His movements were slow - cautious - and you get the feeling that it was more for your benefit than his. Wary as you were, you were equally enthused to learn more of the  man... fish... octopus being before you.  He inspected the sleeve of your wetsuit, running his fingers over the material. When it seemed like he was going to pinch the fabric between two claws you tugged your hand away, shaking your head in hopes the gesture was universal. Thankfully he understood. He then circled you to take in the rest of your form, a possible sign he understood touching anywhere else on your body might be unwelcomed. 

Unsurprisingly, he took particular interest in your legs, watching the way they swayed to keep you afloat. He didn't touch you yet you somehow felt pressure over every inch his eyes laid upon. Was this how your coworker felt during those awkward introductory meetings where there would always be one person asking to touch their fins. The memory made you giggle and the merman suddenly shifted his focus from your legs to your face. Your breath caught as his eyes focused on yours, it was mesmerizing how they looked as fluid as the ocean; the colors swaying as the black center zeroed in on you. For a moment you wondered what did you look like through those eyes. He raised a hand to rest his knuckles against your cheek. His gaze then lowered to your lips. Your body -so ready to flee when he first approached- now froze. No matter how much you tried to reinforce that his actions were of innocent curiosity you couldn't stop thinking they weren't. Or maybe you just hoped they weren't. Oh dear. Before you could figure out where your head was at, he pressed a thumb against your lips. There was a subtle shift in his features as he stared at you intently. A question? Was he asking to kiss you? Your heart sprinted. He wanted to kiss you... and you- you were actually considering it. You must be insane; yes you thought he was gorgeous in a unnatural -captivating- way but you weren't going to kiss a creature you haven't known for more than a few hours. You hadn't even exchanged words with him. Words... Oh! That was it! You would've face palmed  if your hands weren't occupied. He wished to speak, and prior knowledge reminded you that merfolk could adapt a language through lip contact. Well, that cleared your brain a bit. If that's the case surely you could spare your lips for a moment. It wouldn't have to be long, just the slightest peck was enough. A fraction of a second. He was patiently awaiting your answer, somewhat pulling back as if to tell you 'no' was a more than acceptable answer. With a tad more hesitation you finally nodded. You pulled out your mouth pieces, angling it downwards to prevent excess air loss. Trying to show some initiative you moved closer but you just couldn't bring yourself to close the kiss. Graciously he did and your lips met. Your rushing blood brought heat straight to your cheeks. It was such a minute amount of contact but your body responded as if he was already tongue deep inside. You felt... something. Like faint streams of electricity that moved from the corners of your lips to the center before vanishing. You figured it was the magic at work, now would be the time to move away but your body and brain can't seem to get on the same page. Or maybe they were on the same page and the voice telling you to move away was something foreign, something unwanted. You opened your eyes to see his, half lidded but looking at you with an intensity that couldn't be misconstrued. Neither of you wanted to break the contact. You're not sure where the confidence came from but just as you moved to press closer to him, your lungs reminded you where you were. They called for oxygen. It took more effort than you would like to admit to pull away from him and return your regulator to your mouth. You looked back at him to see his fingers pressed against his mouth, eyes swirling with mixed emotions. Maybe it was your eyes playing tricks on you but you swear he licked his lips. His adam's apple bobbed in his throat and he moved his lips as if testing the motions.

     "Can you understand me?"

     You nodded in the affirmative. And by Gods, the smile on his face could outshine the sun on a clear summer morning.

     This opened up the pathway to your budding friendship. Underwater, you couldn't have full conversations but with the barrage of questions he had there was hardly a need to speak. It especially amused you that he had to confirm that you were indeed human. Do humans walk everywhere? Do we forms pods? Do we dream? Do humans fly was a weird one to answer under the limitations. It was an eye opener to the fact that you were as alien to him as he you.

     At some point you remembered that you were on a timer and though there wasn't really a quota, resurfacing with only four lionfish would definitely not look good for you. You went back to spearing, trying to be quick while he asked about this and that. It only got better when you finally resurfaced. You perched on the old abandoned dock, it was barely more than a couple planks of wood hanging on for dear life. You were especially glad that this area remained as vacant as when you left so you didn't have to worry about worried/wondering gazes at the two of you.

     Unfortunately diving was only something you could do 2 maybe 3 times a week, it was essentially a freebie session offered to break up the office work you dread. Still, even after you clocked out, you'd take a stroll to that same dock where he'd be waiting beneath the surface. You learnt that, though most merfolk would declare otherwise, his species wasn't rare. Just distant and reclusive. The only reason he was close enough to the shore to spot me was because he seeked a precious stone to complete a trade. Based on his description you believed it was Larimar or Blue calcite, which you may have in your personal collection. When you asked why he decided to approach you, his answer was a sideways glance and a shrug before quickly changing the subject. There were moments, you noticed, when he'd rest his arms along the wooden planks and caress your overhanging legs. The movements were slow and feather light, almost absent minded. It made your mind fuzzy, you wished to just close your eyes and focus on nothing but the feel of his skin against yours. Occasionally, he would gently rake a claw over your soft skin and you'd try your best not to trip over your words. In return, you'd run your fingers over the mix of tentacles and tendrils that sprouted from his head- similar to hair. The prehensile limbs would wrap around your fingers. The gestures were unmistakably intimate but neither of you spoke against it. Amongst the many questions and conversations would be these moments of content silence, these you treasured most. His hands on you, your hands on his, as you both enjoyed the world around you and each other.

     Now those memories fill you with a hollow feeling in your chest. It's been almost a week with no sign of him. What had you expected, really? He has a life down below that he has to attend to after all. Even you have missed a day or two. What if he's hurt? The question gnawed at you many times these past few days; you despised the small part of you that preferred that outcome over having been left behind. But then the idea that somewhere down there he was facing unknown perils that you'd have no means to help him with would solidify in your mind. No, you'd rather the hurt of having been abandoned. Summoning your mental fortitude, you aimed to focus on the task at hand before you accidentally harm one of the sharks by being distracted. There was a new face this time... at least you thought they were new. They nuzzled your body as if sensing your distress and to your delight; it helped

     Seconds dragged into minutes then hours before it was time for you to get out. You wished you could say you were strong enough to just go but instead you swam around for a bit; hoping. Praying. But there was nothing around except you, the water and your pitiful heartache.

     Above land you safely shed the equipment. The smart thing to do would be to go home as soon as possible. To finish your day, change your clothes and curl up in blankets while playing some video games. However, you've always been a creature of habit so instead you sat at the old dock. Alone. The sun was so warm but the winds were relentless, they licked at your skin as if trying to shoo you away. Maybe this was Poseidon's way of telling you to get over it. It's not like there was anything between the two of you. You'd only known him for a handful of weeks after all, that's barely enough time to form a friendship much less... As if shutting down the thought, your brain replayed a memory of him pressing his face against the palm of your hand with pure bliss etched into his features. As if your touch alone could push away all his problems. Then there was the time you touched your forehead to his during a momentary spur of boldness. The look he gave you spoke so loud in the silence. You would've kissed him then if not for your shyness winning  out. That was one of the last moments you'd shared before his disappearance. A treasure in your heart that now caused you pain. Packing up your things, you got up to leave, however something clutched your ankle. Something, rather, someone you recognized all too well.

     You gasped violently as you were dragged down. Thank goodness you did because it was all the air you'd get to take with you in your rapid decent below. He shifted so instead of being pulled by his tentacles, you were fastened to his side by a firm arm. He stared straight forward as he swam, allowing you only to see the tendrils whipping around the back of his head. You could hardly process how fast you were going down the bottomless blue. The water shifted from a bright, comfortimg azure to ultramarine as you went deeper and deeper. Your panic rose the further he swam, which did your lungs no good. Was he trying to drown you!? You couldn't call out, couldn't scream so you tugged and pulled at his thick, unyielding arm, trying desperately to get him to stop. He turned to you then, there was a look of pained and haunted thoughts scribed into his face. The lovely grey of his sclera had darkened into a soulless black making the yellows of his eyes that more vibrant, almost glowing in the waters inky depth. The word 'feral' again came to mind as he blinked his second eyelids. He looked at you and looked at you and looked even more. As though his eyes processed one thing but his brain was stuck on something else. It took a moment but he finally said your name. Not said, growled it. His usually velvety deep voice was now strained through gravel. He pulled you closer to him and buried his face in your hair, your heart would be fluttering were it not currently banging in your chest wondering where the hell was the oxygen it ordered. You tried, you really did, to struggle against his hold. Hoping he'd wake up from whatever spell he was under and bring you back to solid ground. Hell, you'd make an attempt to swim for it, knowing how futile it would be. But once his long tongue was on your throat you became putty in his arms. You feel three distinct fingers rake against the other side of your neck as he nipped at you. You can't tell if your breath hitched or your lungs made another vain attempt to reach for air. You raised a trembling hand, trying to alert him to your situation but he seemed solely focused on tasting your skin.

     "Breathe." He spoke in-between licks, his tongue venturing down to your clavicle, and you wondered if he'd actually gone mad. His hooded eyes met yours and he repeated the word.

     It didn't matter anymore, the choice was no longer yours. You had held onto that final breath for dear life but it was time for that life to come to an end. A stream of bubbles left your horrified lips as you now fought not to breath in; that was a far shorter battle. You inhaled, preparing for the sting of water invading your airways in it's rush to your desperate lungs. For your body to heave and cough as the waters reminded you you were not it's friend but a guest who had overstayed their welcome. Would your body float up to be picked at by birds or sink to be fodder for the sea floor scavengers? You waited and waited. But... It never came. You, somehow, were breathing air. Opening your eyes in confusion, you looked around to see if you were suddenly back on land, if all this was some dream or hallucination spurred on by your guilt and heartbreak but no. You were still surrounded by the open seas and all it's inhabitants. Your breaths felt slightly strained but you weren't going to complain about life saving miracles. Especially when a giant tentacled man was tracing his finger down your spine. Now that your life was no longer at risk(mostly) you calmly rest your palm against his head, trying again to get answers out of him. He stilled, dissolving into your touch as he had many times before. You saw a bit of clarity in his eyes before he closed them.

     "I'm sorry." He said after a moment, his voice was lustful and strained, like a warning sign dipped in want and desire. "It started; my heat. I tried to stay as far away as I could but when all sense had escaped my mind the only thing left were thoughts of you." He pulled you closer, his eyes remained closed as if one look at you would break the little control he had. "I thought I had overcome it when I began searching for... Methods for you to survive beneath the waters. But the moment I had my answers it overtook me. It possessed me. It still does. I want you...desperately but only if you'll have me."

     You listened to his words, in confusion then understanding. Then you actually understood! Oh! Suddenly your body had forgotten all it's woes, focusing on your core instead. He wanted you. You bit your lip in thought, noticing that the water couldn't pass some unseen threshold of your mouth. You wanted him, you couldn't even pretend to deny that but... Was there a 'but'? You searched your tainted mind for excuses but your brain and your body were again in unison, the only outlier was you. You slid your hand up his face and caressed a cranial tendril, he opened his eyes and you felt his body vibrate. Purring.

     You didn't have the courage to look him in the eye when you spoke. "I will." You consented.

     He was on you instantly. His lips crashed into yours with reckless need. There was no slow build up, no questioning nor tentative tongue touches. His tongue snaked pass your lips and devoured you in kind. His large hands ran down either sides of your body, meeting when they both grabbed at your ass. There they lingered, kneading your flesh through the stretchy materiel, before one devious hand ventured even lower. You felt him slide a finger along the fabric covering your sex. Back and forth, his finger glided creating a nice little friction that almost touched your eager clit. Your hips moved on their own, seeking the contact. You craved more of his touch and suddenly the thin, synthetic rubber was a dense barrier. As if hearing your thoughts, there was the slightest pinch against the crook of your behind before a sudden coldness seeped in. You could feel him carefully swipe his claw to just above your clit, creating a opening in the fabric. The new sensation of cold wetness against you warm sex made you gasp but it was soon replaced by the warmth of his... hand? No, the texture was far different. Before you had a chance to investigate, the feeling of suction against your clit gave you all the answers you needed. Something between a gasp and a moan left your lips, the sound must've pleased him greatly because he tore himself away from your mouth to look into your eyes. The limb covered your whole sex, with the tip lightly teasing your entrance but it was that one suction cup upon your clit that was really putting in the work. It took a rhythm that was brain meltingly pleasant against the sensitive bud, thoroughly teased by his phantom touches prior. A sudden surge of pleasure began to build causing you to reflexively try to squeeze your thighs together. However, the  action was impeded by two tentacles quickly wrapping around your legs to keep them parted. They squeezed as if to reaffirm their hold on you. He took your chin in his hand and watched you intensely as you came undone from the stimulation. His grip was light but unyielding when you tried to turn away. Closing your eyes would lead to him stopping completely until they fluttered open again to meet his. He would take in every dip in your throat, every curve in your lips, every crease beneath your eyes and flush upon your cheeks. He wouldn't miss a moment of your first orgasm at his hands. His gaze was dizzying, as if whatever possessed him was now reaching out for you.  Having him inspect you with such cold fondness only made the experience that more salacious. The rising tide of pleasure finally crashed and you were left a buzzing, panting mess. With a look of gratification he released your chin, wrapping his arms around you once more to knit your body to his.

     "You're so beautiful." He cooed before trailing off into words of his own language.

     You didn't get a moment to say anything back before you felt something probe against your opening. One of his tentacles slid inside you fully, welcomed and aided by the slick lube of your still pulsing walls. You shuddered in his arms, thankful for the support. It was a comfortable fit and suddenly you're reminded that it's been ages since anyone has had you like this. It made the experience slightly more alien atop the fact that you were being intimate with a lust driven sea-beast. Rather than the expected thrusting, the appendage grazed along your insides. It twisted and pushed as if getting a feel for you, learning you before pulling back out. The sudden emptiness made you whimper, you looked at him, ready to beg if need be but it didn't come to that. You felt your entrance being prodded again. It was the familiar tip of a tentacle, ready to enter you once more. However, the more it pushed, the wider it got; so very much wider. And Gods, it held a bumpy texture that was absent before. Just as your mind went hazy you realised it was two of them, wrapped around each other. It finally gave you the thrusting motion you desired, it's ribbed texture grazing parts of you that remained untouched for too long. Your movements were limited but you attempted to grind against each wonderful thrust, moaning your delight with feather light whispers. This was all too good, soft and pliable enough that it writhed inside you but firm enough to press against your hungry womb.

Despite all senses seemingly being focused on your trembling hole you felt something press against your stomach, forcing it's way into the tiny space between your body and his. You peek downward to see the spearheaded tip of what you assumed was his cock. Suddenly, his preparation of your cunt made sense, you'd expected him to be big but geez. It was identical in color to his body, darkening at the tip in a similar fashion to his fingers. It throbbed and twitched as he began to grind against you. Even with two tentacles stretching your insides, your greedy eyes craved the feel of it. Craved the connection to him. You reached down and grasped it at the base, shock almost pulling you out of your haze when it wrapped around your hand. It tightened as if begging for more of your touch. You acquiesced and began running you hands up and down his massive length, taking great pleasure in the way his body vibrated with resonating groans. His thrusts inside you growing wilder, taking you further and further and you were determined to take him with you. His voice held a softer, pleading tone as it goaded you on, praising you between strained hisses. His cock swelled and hardened, his words devolving into senseless mumbles. The limbs inside you became more erratic as his pleasure grew. His grip on your body tightening to the point of leaving small tears in your suit and nicks in your skin. He released a long animalistic huff as he coated your arm in slimy white fluid, your body responded by coating his tentacles with your own. You rest your head against his chest, moving in time with his heavy breaths, counting them as you both recovered. You're not sure when he began moving you but suddenly you were face to face. He kissed you. Slowly. Gently. Tasting and savoring you.

     "Do you think you could take me, my treasure, or do I need to stretch that greedy hole of yours even more?" He asked between kisses.

     Words were beyond your tired brain so you just nodded. As spent as your body was, this moment would not feel complete until he was inside you. Slowly, as if moving you too much too quickly could break you, he turned you around so that your back was pressed against his chest. He snaked his hands around you -he really did seem to love having his arms on you-, one hand moving to grope your breast while the other traced a line down your stomach to caress your mound. You feel his lower half angle itself to bring his leaking member to your slick opening. Oh so slowly you feel him slide into you, spreading you wider with each inch. You couldn't help but try to squirm against him but his hands held you steady. He was only half way in when your body began to show resistance. He started pulling out slowly and thrusting into you, getting a little bit further each time.

     "You're being so good for me." He whispered just above your ear, his voice held a lovely cadence. Singsong; as if haunted by a melody that compelled his body to move.

     You couldn't hear it but you felt it, it rang through your body with each sway of your hips and out your lips with each whine. Down to the way he held you, like an instrument to be adored. Every moan a crescendo and every voice stopping bite at your neck a diminuendo. He was playing you and you were loving every moment of it. In and out, in and out like he was timing bars on sheet music. That was up until the flat, tapered tip hit the deepest part of you; he'd hilted. Then everything stopped. Fermata. You're only warning for what was to come were the tentacles that slithered around your legs to ground you. You hardly even felt him pull out, just the force as he thrust fully into you. The sound that left your mouth was a guttural whine of shock and pain. He kept going.  Slamming. Pounding. Taking your body over and over. It hurt and yet you desired more. He fucked you like he was craving this moment his whole life. Your body eased and the pain slowly dissolved into pleasure, never quite leaving but become something more. Something better. Something wholy obscene. Your body was an inferno in the cold, dark water. Pleasure overtook you; you no longer felt like a person, just a mass of emotions and senses. You could hear his grunts and growls behind you, the sounds he made were truly animalistic. Wild. Primal. Savage. As though he couldn't fathom being anything but a creature of vulgarity. Couldn't fathom doing anything but driving himself into you. Desired nothing more in the world than to fill the emptiest parts of you. Your walls tightened around him, as if intending to learn every bulge and vein of his cock. Pulling and sucking him in with no desire to let him go, that was where all your strength went. You felt the recognizable build of another orgasm and judging by way his pliable member was now a hardened monolith, he wasn't far off.  He no longer needed to lead, you danced with him as you both came together. His seed seeped out of him, filling every bit of (nonexistent)space inside of you before oozing out. He continued to thrust, making sure you milked his cock for everything he had. It's throbbing was like a heartbeat inside you.

     You collapsed against him, laying your head flat against his chest, your cheek barely touching the flesh above his heart. After a moment you looked up to see him already staring down at you, the affection in his eyes fueled your already thrumming heart. A moment of tenderness as the tainted waters surrounding you both whisked your indecencies away.  His sclera lightened to their usual soft grey. An eagerness popped up on his face as he seemingly wanted to ask you something then but thought better of it. A somber look taking over his features instead. Using what little strength remained in your body, you turned fully to him. He immediately took your head in both his hands and rest his forehead against yours.

     "I- Did i hurt you?"

     "Did-" You gave him a droll look. "Did you hurt me??" You flicked his head. Well, you tried but there was less than no force behind your fingers. "Of course you did. Lucky for you I enjoyed it."

     "I'm so sorry, I'll be gentler next time." He sounded genuinely apologetic. "If you would allow for a 'next time'."

     "There better be."

     "And a time after that?"

     "Don't push your luck, ocean boy."

     You felt him smile against you. It may have been an innocent one but you couldn't help but wonder if he was already plotting.

     He took you above land after that and you thanked the Gods above that your towel and pack was still waiting for you. At least you could walk(limp) to the company building without catching a charge for indecent exposure. He watched you from his usual spot on the dock. His downturned eyes hooded by his lashes had him looking like a distraught child watching their best friend board a plane to unknown lands. Did he think he scared you away? That you'd never return? Maybe as a bit of revenge you'd let him believe it.

((You also had to deal with the urge to sink into the floor at the knowing and amused looks on your merfolk coworker's face every time they saw the marks on your neck D:))

[wife-of-all-dilfs]

lionfish, seahorses, and dolphins, oh my! | f. odair

masterlist

anon's request: noo bc i've been thinking about this for a while (all the time) imagine the reader from district 8 who's with finnick always sewing random fish patterns into his clothes or any cloth-related items bc of his district!!!

warnings: just some cutesy fluff, very very mild suggestive themes

notes: i couldn't not write this request it's so cute. very rushed because i've got another fic in the works ;) stay tuned my beautiful readers <3

word count: 800

Finnick would always invite girlfriend!reader to District Four because this man has major attachment issues, so you practically live at his house and are both attached to the hip. And one day he would find this little lionfish embroidered onto the cuff of his favourite sweater, which oddly resembles the colour of his hair.

His first instinct would be to call out to you. "Sweetheart?"

And you would respond with a "Hm?" from another room in the house, sneakily sewing something onto another item of his clothing. He would be curiously inspecting the little creature that had taken up residence on his shirt as he padded through the house to your whereabouts.

Just as he entered the room you were in, he would begin, "Why is there a—"

He'd cut himself short as he looked up and saw you sitting comfortably in a lounge chair, legs tucked beneath your body, a soft, knitted blanket draped over your lap, and a sewing kit lying on the side table. In your hands were a pair of his pants.

One of his eyebrows raised. "You've got my pants."

You looked up to find him standing in the doorway. "I do," you replied.

He took a step closer. "And you're sewing them."

"I am."

Another step. "And there's a fish sewed onto my sweater..."

You simply smiled at him—an adorable proud little smile. God, you looked so cute he genuinely felt to urge to lean down and pinch your cheeks between his fingers, but then he remembered he was your boyfriend, not your grandmother.

"Not that I'm not in absolute awe of your sewing abilities but—" He chuckled, shaking his head— "why?"

You shrugged, piercing a sewing needle through the waistband of the pants in your lap. "You're from District Four; fishes are kind of your thing, are they not? Plus, it's pretty," you said, then your voice lowered to a soft murmur. "Like you."

His stomach fluttered and he almost giggled like a little girl at your words. Once he got close enough, he kneeled beside the chair you were sitting in, watching as your delicate fingers manoeuvred the needle and yarn into the outline of a seahorse. He smiled to himself.

"Do you think I should start weaving clothes for you? Considering your district's all about making clothes and stuff," he said with a smirk.

"Like a dress made out of netting? It wouldn't leave much to the imagination."

"You won't hear this mouth complaining," Finnick said, the image of you walking around the house clad in a black net dress overcoming his mind.

Your cheeks warmed with a horrible blush and you decided to focus your attention entirely on the seahorse in the effort to overcome the sudden lewd thoughts involving his mouth.

Finnick continued watching in amazement as you managed to turn a few colours of yarn into a beautiful seahorse on the waistband of his pants. He wondered how many other pieces of clothing of his you had managed to infiltrate with various sea creatures. When his eyes caught on a bright blob of colour on the underside of the shirt sleeve he was wearing, he smiled, knowing he had gotten his answer.

His gaze flickered back to you, observing the look of concentration on your face as you sewed—the gentle crinkle of your furrowed brows, the subtle curl of your lips, and every now and then, the small twitch of your nose like that of a bunny, the pink of your blush adding to the image.

He couldn't help but prop his folded arms on the arm of the chair, chin resting on his forearms as he shamelessly and blatantly admired the changes in your facial expressions. He noticed as your eyes began to occasionally flicker toward him, your attention increasingly beginning to drift.

A few minutes later, you exhaled a heavy sigh. "You're so distracting."

"You're so adorable," he replied almost dreamily.

There it was again. The humiliating pink flush of your cheeks.

He grinned, humming a quiet laugh as he rose to his feet to plant a kiss on the top of your head.

"Can I make one request?" he asked.

"Perhaps."

His eyes fell to the lionfish on the shirt in his hands, eyes sparkling with child-like joy. "Sew some of these onto your own clothes so we can match."

A wide smile stretched across your lips.

Within the next week, you and Finnick were a giggling mess, sporting matching sweatshirts embroidered with big blue dolphins, each one's blowhole featuring a small red heart just above.

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

remora reader is so cute i wanna snatch her away from 141 she can be my pretty little gf ill feed her and let her stick to me while i swim around >:( shes a babyyyy

this is so sweet <3 if only she weren't so super overprotected. and the 141 sharks aren't a fan of competition :(

cackling at the idea of another mer just barreling in at top speed, tackling remora reader and hissing at Price, Ghost, Soap and Gaz that they've ALL lost their clean scale privileges until they learn to take care of her!! (ง‵□′)ง

specifically this happening with a lionfish or barracuda mer. small but spiky/aggressive. someone the 141 can't actually fuck with but just have to tolerate.

no idea how to write something like this but i love it _(:з)∠)_

[taylorswiftstyle]

The Eras Tour | Fearless section | Version 5

Roberto Cavalli custom

My very first thought upon seeing this dress was, “Oh that’s very Roberto Cavalli.” Which makes all the sense in the world why Taylor would want to time a new Cavalli creation (by Creative Director Fausto Puglisi) in Milan - one of the fashion capitals of the world and home country to both Cavalli and Puglisi.

Roberto Cavalli is known for many of its signature house code prints, like those of big cats. We see that reference in other Fausto-created pieces for Taylor on the Eras Tour such as the cat head emblem on the tops of the 1989 2.0 sets.

On this new Fearless dress, we see another classic print come to life: Roberto Cavalli’s iconic ‘Ray of Gold’ print. 'Ray Of Gold' was first introduced by the designer in 2007 and revived and recreated by Puglisi for a limited capsule collection in 2024. The original inspiration source for Cavalli was the beautiful refraction of a sunbeam on the golden facade of an art deco lighter. To me, the fan-like visual calls to mind the windblown hair toss of the Fearless cover albums.

After recreating the 'Ray of Gold' print, Roberto Cavalli CEO Sergio Azzolari told WWD that Fausto is “very respectful of Roberto, yet at the same time he succeeds in reinterpreting his style in a more contemporary way, without distorting the brand.”

There’s something refracting light meets lionfish meets Flintstones meets sand through an hourglass meets animal print about this look. Which is to say I think it looks fantastic and eye-catching. However, I personally find Versions 1 and 4 come closest to honouring the original aesthetic of the Fearless era. Your thoughts?

Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/TAS24 via Getty Images

[tinydefector]

Marine Centre 7 - Merformers AU

Word count: 2k

Warnings: mention of dead animals, eating dead animals, attempting to court/filrt.

Masterlist

Perv

Next

_____________

Big blue had been avoiding them the best he could while at the centre, staying at the bottom of the cove or out in the deep water of the sea so that he wasn't near them. 

 But all the other oceanides began to get very friendly towards them, following them up and down the sea line and around the walkways around the marine centre.  

Angelfish trills, surfacing from the water cooing as he tries to get their attention. "Hi Angelfish, I'll talk later. I'm trying to find Big blue” they hum with a smile as they continue walking towards the cave.    

Cherry shoulder-checks him aside. Calling out himself He waggles his fins as he pushes himself up onto the sand a little, using his hands to drag himself.  “Cherry! No,no you just got out of quarantine, don't you damage your scales again!” They nearly shout while trying to shoo him back into the water. 

As Rodimus makes another persuasive overture, the three Oceanides continue calling and thrilling as if trying to get their attention but they were set on a mission they wanted to find Big blue. They had books that they wanted to read to him, to help him be able to speak a little more or just be able to ask more questions from the food they eat to oceanide ways. 

“What has gotten into you three my God, you're acting like pups” They chuckle only to hear Bee call out. They would know that call anywhere. “Bubba!” The little yellow pup calls out. “Yes hello baby!” They call back. 

 The little pup zooms through the water, spitting out a mangled blend of little melodies and little words. "No! Cuddle, cuddle!" He huffs puffing up as he chases them. “You can cuddles in a little sweetheart.”  

Firefin seems just as persistent to stop them from going to the cave. Beaching himself in their part, blocking them. They let out a sigh realising they weren't going to escape the three adults and pup. “Fine, fine guess I'll sit here then” they huff out and sit down in the sand. 

Bumblebee is quickest to zoom over, trilling excitedly as he uses the waves to wash himself up closer to them as he wiggles and drags himself into their lap. They grab out one of the books of fish holding it out for Babybee to see. The other three almost crowd around to inspect what they have. 

“Fish, Fish” the pup shouts. “Yes bubba, fish, gonna point out them and you nod if you eat them” they coo while pointing to the fish, making a motion to their mouth, doing a head nod and shake to try and make sure the oceanides understood what they were asking.   

 

Cherry jabs at a pufferfish photo, then to Angelfish who shoves him away with a playful hiss. Bumblebee trills happily from his perch, little hands pointing at fish as he peers at them. “Do you like Flathead?” They hum only for the little one to nod vigorously. The other three seem to be playfully fighting between each other over an answer. 

Firefin rumbles thoughtfully. He nods slowly at them, he then points to the lionfish and makes a low snarl at it. “yea i know you don't like the Lionfish, the Sharks seem To once they are dead.” They continue pointing to another one, this time an Eastern Wirrah. “What about this one?” 

At the next indicated fish, Angelfish perks up. Cherry nods eagerly. As they continue to go through the book making doen fish that they liked and didn't, Bumblebee babbles as he points at other fish, crustaceans and shellfish excitedly. 

But it's their heads snapping to the side as Shimmer beaches himself with a kill. “Holy shit, holy shit!” They shout pulling Babybee closer as they watch Shimmer rip into the seal carcass. His head snaps towards them as blood runs down his mouth and chin before he goes back to eating. Shimmer lazily tearing into a seal carcass on the sand. The pup coos excitedly at the gory sight, wiggling out of their arms and quickly splashing his way over.  

__________________________

"Hello gorgeous!" Rodimus trills, only for Bluestreak to surf closer to them. "Come swimming with us again please?" He calls out only for Sideswipe to shoulder-check him aside. " Ignore this fin flicker, you can do better. Name's Sides - I'll show you a way better time than any landwalker." He waggles his frills eagerly. 

As Rodimus makes another persuasive overture, Sideswipe cuts in flamboyantly. "Forget these two- I'm the best you'll find in these seas, sweet thing!, come on you have see me at my lowest" 

Rodimus elbows him aside. "The they're not interested in guppy talk."  

Their displays only grow more elaborate as the softone strides unresponsive past, oblivious clicks drowned out by youthful cry of Bumblebee. The little pup zooms over spitting out a mangled blend of songspeak and soft word phrases. 

But Rodimus presses ever closer, blocking their path. “Come on, you had no issues talking with me after Optimus took off” he nearly whines. The softskins let out a sigh realising they weren't going to escape the three adults and pup. So they sit down in the sand. Close to the water so that Bumblebee could move closer. 

The group lets out a noise of success. “finally we can actually spend some time with you!” Sideswipe laughs as he moves closer, watching curiously as they pull out strange looking boxes. But as they open it the oceanides see the images of fish. 

Bumblebee, trilling excitedly as bright illustrations capture his fleeting focus. Sideswipe and Bluestreak crowd close as well, "Ooh, look - it's you, Blue!" Sideswipe jabs, pressing his claw at a  picture of a pufferfish. Bluestreak shoves him away with a snort. "Frag off, your ugly mug is Not!." 

They let Bumblebee curl up in their lap while pointing to a fish. And making a 'to eat' motion before waving their hand in the direction of the three like a question. Before doing a head nod or shake. Sideswipe catches on first, snapping his dentas. "Eat it? Frag yeah we do, looks tasty!" 

Bluestreak elbows him. "Spongebrain, they're asking if WE eat it, not if YOU would." He turns a questioning gaze on the humans. "yes we hunt those" he nods along as they point to different ones. At the next indicated fish, Bluestreak perks up. "Oh, those? Fat suckers are a real treat, their meat just falls off the bone. We'll chase those gutbusters all over the reef given a chance." Sideswipe rumbles while admiring the different fishes.

Sideswipe nods eagerly. Rodimus nods too, he then points to the lionfish and makes a low snarl at it. “Those firefish are nasty, we don't eat them, they make us very sick” he informs only for the softone to make a noise in understanding. 

He points to others, fielding answers. "Groupers are yummy. Lobsters if we're lucky, fast buggers though. Any big fish, deep fish.  barracuda, Mahi Mahi, sunfish, even marlin if it's a big feeding party."

As the softone continues pointing to others as the boys nod or shake their heads over which ones they eat. Bumblebee babbles as he points at other fish excitedly, “yummy, yummy!” He coos which earns a laugh from the others. “ yea pup they are yummy”

The smell of blood has their attention as Sunstreaker drifts onto the sand with a seal that he is ripping into and eating. The metallic scent draws Sideswipe's attention downbeach. "Hey, looks like Streaker's found himself a feast." The others follow his gaze to see Sunstreaker lazily tearing into a seal carcass on the sand. 

Bluestreak clicks his dentas, eyeing the dripping prey. "Not a bad catch, solo this time?"  Rodimus' fins flick approvingly. Sunstreaker licks a lingering gaze to their softone. Bluestreak snaps his dentas jealously. "Showoff, look he's got them interested now!"

"Always got to one-up us, eh Streaker?" Sideswipe whines. "Can't you let the rest of us wow someone for once?" Sunstreaker just huffs, blood dripping from his chin. "Not my fault if you clownfish can't land a catch to save your sorry shells. At least I get results." He flicks gold and silver fins in a taunting display.

Bumblebee swimming over to Sunstreaker. Cooing softly as if to ask if he could try the seal with him. The little pup is very polite as uses his big wide eyes up at him, Sunstreaker had a soft spot for the pup reminding him of his own pup sunstorm bumblebee's plea proves effective, as his big puppy eyes always did. With a smug quirk of his lip, Sunstreaker tears off a choice strip of seal meat for the eager little pup. 

"Here you go, squirt. Maybe you'll finally fill out that scrawny frame with a real meal." He ignores the others' jealousy as Bumblebee trills his thanks around the treat. As he lets the pup have his fill of the seal while he eats. 

Bluestreak scoffs. "Look at that, he's stolen the pup's affections too..." Sideswipe tries to stop the soft one from following Bumblebee down to the seal carcass. "Don't pay them any mind, sweetspark. I'll hunt something for you." He calls out as a promise. 

Bumblebee eagerly devours his seal chunk with Sunstreaker's watchful gaze. When the pups caretaker edges closer, Sideswipe whines pathetically. "Don't do it, you'll only encourage his displays! Gorgeous, come back - I'll prove myself a far truer catch." 

But their noisemaking falls on deaf ears as their human carefully approaches the feeding pair, wary yet curious. Sunstreaker lets them near without hissing, merely flashing bright patterned frills at them in invitation. 

A challenging smirk curls his lip components. "See something you like, landwalker? I'm always up for another hunt if it means claiming a worthy prize." The others can only whine and fawn, outmatched by the golden mech's sheer audacity. 

"What are you doing?" Drift asked, popping his head up to watch the younger Oceanides. Bluestreak huffs. "We're trying to win favour, prove ourselves to the landwalker. But Sunstreaker keeps showing off as usual." 

Sideswipe nods fiercely. "He only does it to make us look bad. If he'd frag off maybe one of us could get a real connection going."

Rodimus vents softly in amusement. "Optimus already tried a fin show, but I doubt Sunstreaker will get them that easily." Sideswipe titters. "Can you blame him? The way they doted on Bee, of course he got all showy!" 

Drift shakes his head in amusement before taking off again. 

"No way, Optimus!," Bluestreak insists. "I mean look, they're still not even reacting to us" 

Sideswipe nods eagerly. "Bet his display freaked them right out, Wonder how far south he hauled his sorry tailfin..."

“I'm telling you Blue, He got so worked up while Ratchet and I were at the caves, fins and frills All flared out as he made a little call to them. And beforehand I was asking him if they were his mates. He said something to them in their words and they got very shy” Rodimus says to him.

"How would you even mate one?" Sunstreaker shoots back at them.

Bluestreak hums curiously. "I don't suppose landwalkers mount the same as we do? No tail, slit or pelvic fins in sight." 

"Frag if I know." Rodimus says defensively. 

Sunstreaker fans his fins and frills at them again, a soft little rumble leaves him as he puts on the show, the softskin looks at him and smiles as they talk and praise Sunstreaker in the language he can't understand, but they do make a whistle noise at him. He smirks triumphantly as the landwalker's praise. Bluestreak scoffs jealousy. "Fragger thinks he owns the surf with this showboating" 

A deep rumble echoes off the waves and it has Bumblebee looking up and calling out to his Sire. Even the softones attention flicks to the large Oceanide as he hangs back in the deeper water. Optimus was still keeping his distance from them after his flare up. 

Sunstreaker falters his display. "Well frag me, Papa Prime's making his presence known out there..." Bumblebee trills excitedly at his sire. “Papa, Papa!” he calls out to him.

____________________

Photos of what the Oceanides look like for those who haven't seen Megatron is the next one I'll be working on.

____________________

______________________

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[silvermizuki]

Hi this was literally only supposed to be a reference of their designs for another mermay piece I had planned but now they have lore :)c

Image ID and extra info ‘n their reference w/o the shading below the cut! 

[Tip Jar] [INPRNT]

[ID: Sun and moon as Merfolk, sun on the right and moon on the left. They’re both hovering inside a partially enclosed underwater cave with tealish sunlight streaming in from openings leading outside. Orange and yellow crystals are scattered amongst the walls as Sun curiously holds a fragment of one close to his chest. Moon is a bit further behind him with a concerned expression, hand raised slightly as if to warn sun.

Sun’s palette sports orange, a light tan, red, and yellow; his tail and fins would reference to a betta fish, fanned and frilled. While the spines and stripped design on his body refer to a lionfish. Moons palette consists of cyans, light blues, navys, yellows and reds. The design on the tail can be compared to van gogh’s starry night, moon was based off a mandarin dragonet for the fully black eyes with red haloed pupils and the rich vibrant colors from the fish. /END ID] 

Ok!! :D So- Moon I based off the mandarin dragonet bc of the gorgeous colors and sun is based off a lion, betta AND clown fish. I’m so happy how they both turned out <333

And if you want a little blurb about the lore here ya go:  They're both out gathering supplies for the potions/medicine that they make for other merfolk until moon catches a glimpse of something sparkling in an underwater cave. They go check it out and they find a countless amount of glowing crystals they've never seen before, its not in their books. They aren't sure of its properties but they can feel some type of magic coming off of them. And since sun is curious, they're about to find out what it does.

Also shout out to @strawberrymothteeth​ hi I saw your comment in the server about adding a clam bag and I so wanted to but I had to force myself to stop working on this rwegljrae 

maybe ill edit it in when everyone’s not looking 

[lokh]

well. it worked so i guess its ok. kyojuro wig for comparison lmao

due to the construction of this wig making it unwearable for me I am now forced to cobble together 3 different wigs

[im-a-wonderling]

Sloth Brains and Spine of Lionfish ~ George Weasley

This is a continuation of my ongoing George Weasley fanfic, so make sure you read the other parts first (here's part 1). I need to figure out what the overall fic name should be, so if anyone has ideas, let me know XD

Warnings: none

Word count: 5.2k

“And we’ve inquired about renting a place in Diagon Alley.” George easily skipped the vanishing step, turning around to offer his hand. I ignored it, jumping the step on my own and nearly losing hold of my books for my trouble. Unbothered, George gestured grandly with the untaken hand. “Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, we’ve called it.”

We reached the bottom of the staircase, making our way down the nearly empty corridor. I liked to walk to my classes before the castle walkways were clogged up with bodies and sounds, and most of the other students were still at lunch. Funny, George never seemed to mind the crowds before, yet now he walked with me in the empty hallways between every class.

George hopped up on the bench against the wall, walking along the wood with his arms stretched out for balance. “We should have a response before we all go home for Christmas, and possibly have the place rented before school lets out.”

I dodged the ghost of Erling the Great that had just appeared through the wall, hoping he didn’t see me. I did not want to get trapped into one of his onerous and endless stories again. “So you’ll be selling all those prototypes the two of you’ve been testing on the first years?”

“Yup." George hopped down to walk beside me again. "Plus a few more we’ve got up our sleeves. We’re testing another one tonight, and if it’s finally ready, it’ll be one of our staples in the shop.” The light in George’s eyes as he spoke about his dream was unlike his normal errant sparkle. The shine wasn’t born of mischief, it was born of passion, and it seemed to lift George’s very heels as he bounced excitedly forward. 

“Well, I’m certain it’ll be brilliant.” Distracted, I hadn’t even thought about the words before they came flying out of my mouth. I pressed my fingertips to my lips, unsure if I were more horrified or embarrassed. 

George’s bouncing paused, and he turned the full weight of his vexingly self-possessed smirk on me. “Is that so?”

Embarrassed. Definitely embarrassed. 

My cheeks blazing, I scowled at him. “Don’t crow, it’s unbecoming.”

The redhead absentmindedly knocked the railing at the top of the next flight of stairs, causing the stairs to ripple a bit and then resolidify. “I’m just revelling in the compliment.”

“It’s hardly a compliment, more a statement of fact.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Oh?”

“Don’t look at me like that.” I forged past him down the stairs, ignoring the slight tremble I felt underneath my feet. The staircase—objectively the most sensitive staircase in the castle—was just pouting over George’s knock. “The two of you are persuasive, which is objectively a good skill to have for retail, not to mention the shrewdness required for the strategy of business and the creativity and intelligence to make new products. I’d wager you’ve already made a fair bit of coin here at Hogwarts, so with a centralised location that can be open full-time, you’ll make a fortune, and likely–” I closed my mouth, pressing my lips together.

Too much. I’d said too much. 

The faint, impossibly warm chuckle from behind me made me shiver. “Well, when I have a fortune, I can perhaps afford to buy you a Christmas present.”

I stopped, rooted to the step. George passed me, continuing down a few more steps before seeming to notice I wasn’t beside him and turning to face me with a puzzled expression. "What?"

“Don’t buy me anything.” From my position three stairs higher than him, I had a tactical advantage were this to become a situation where my wand was necessary. Any offensive attack I unleashed would be that much harder to defend against. 

But George stuck his hands in his pockets, seemingly unconcerned. “With trying to go into business and all, I couldn’t rustle up enough Galleons if my life depended on it.”

“Don’t spend anything on me,” I repeated, easily masking my sudden nausea as distaste. Gifts were pointless at best, painful at worst.

The incessantly inquisitive and contrary Gryffindor tilted his head, his eyes giving me a strangely sharp assessment that made me wonder if I wasn’t masking as well as I thought. “Why not?”

I forced myself to woodenly descend the steps and then turn the corner towards the Potions classroom. “There’s nothing I need.” 

“But surely there’s something nice you want?”

“There’s nothing I want either.”

“Now you’re just joshing. Everyone wants something.”

“What do you want?” I shot back.

“I told you.” George opened the door to the Potions classroom. “To buy you a Christmas gift.” 

I didn’t walk through the doorway. “Well, I want you to not buy me a Christmas gift.”

“Nah, that doesn’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Your wanting can’t just cancel someone else’s wanting. That’s like asking for it to drizzle when you don’t even like drizzles and only because I like the sunshine.” His tone was perplexingly even and carefree, despite the venom of my words. And he still held the door open. 

I gripped my books tight to my chest. “Christmas gifts are like sunshine?”

“No, you are like sunshine,” George replied, the corner of his mouth curling in an infuriatingly charming smirk. He had no right to look like that when being sarcastic. “With all your suspicion and compliments and enthusiastic statements of fact, why, you just make me feel warm all over.”

“Then go step out in the snow,” I said crossly, finally walking under his arm into the classroom. 

A cauldron bubbled merrily up by Professor Snape’s desk, just in front of the blank chalkboard. Reaching my potions station off to the left, I dropped my books down, the resulting thud much too loud but ultimately satisfying. I waited for the dungeon door to close, signalling that George had left and allowing the pit in my stomach to dissolve. But when it did close, I couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed. 

“Anyone sit here?” 

I looked up in time to see George gently set a copy of Advanced Potion-Making on the station next to me. 

“What are you doing?” 

He flipped through the pages, his eyes trailing down the text. “Sitting in class with you.”

A fledgling of panic rustled its wings in my stomach. “You’re not in this class.” George hadn’t achieved the Outstanding required on his O.W.L.s to continue Potions at the N.E.W.T. level. 

“Well, I see no harm in sitting in. Hogwarts rewards those who seek knowledge, you know.”

There was harm. There was much harm indeed. “George, class is going to start soon.”

George calmly met my gaze. “Lucky for us, I don’t have anywhere else to be.”

“Are you insane?” I hissed. “They’ll eat you alive.”

“Better me than you.” His light tone couldn’t disguise the weight of his words. 

I paused, studying his freckled face. “Is that what this is about? You’re trying to rescue me again?”

“Prevent the need for rescuing, actually.” George pulled out his seat, sitting down and pulling out his potion-making kit, which clearly hadn’t been used in a while. “And be careful, or I’ll think you don’t want me to sit next to you.”

“I don’t.” Especially not when our peers were about to walk in, including Warrington. Not to mention Snape. George's misguided attempts would only succeed in making us both targets.

Unconcerned, George pulled a quill, an ink pot, and parchment out of his bag. “I promise I’ll be a model pupil.”

How did he do it? How did he brush it all off like the words meant nothing? Like consequences didn't exist? He just sat there, easily relaxing against the back of his chair like he had the ultimate conviction that it would hold him up as long as he needed. 

The classroom door opened, and I immediately but subtly slid into my seat, hoping against hope that somehow our peers wouldn’t notice us. 

But hoping George Weasley was unnoticeable was as useful as asking a kappa not to eat you. Warrington’s wicked eyes settled on George before sliding to me. I ducked my head. Maybe Warrington’s similarity to hippogriffs didn’t end with his looks and the sign of reverence would make him less dangerous. 

But even as Warrington finally sat down, directly in front of Snape’s desk, I could still feel stares.

My peers didn’t often remember I existed, as I intended. I didn’t answer questions in class, I stayed out of trouble, I took care not to offend anyone who mattered and not overly involve myself in anything. It protected me, and it protected Clem. And yet as everyone, Gryffindor and Slytherin alike, stared at me with shock and disapproval, I knew they remembered me now. And that remembrance was going to bite me where it hurt. 

I shrunk down in my seat, holding my elbows tightly. George leaned over to me. “Relax,” he said softly. “No one is going to curse you in the middle of class.”

“It’s not the middle of class I’m worried about,” I muttered, more to myself than to him. 

His lips pursed, but before he could reply, the dungeon door banged open, and Professor Snape strode to the front, his cloak billowing behind him like shadows of prejudice and loathing. I could see the moment the potions master noticed George. His beady eyes narrowed, sending my trepidation through the roof. It was hard to know which house was more despised by the other in the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry, but Professor Snape did not have the same amount of integrity within the rivalry as Professor McGonagall. 

“A new student today,” Professor Snape mused, the slow delivery of every word promising trouble. I sat so stiffly, my shoulder muscles were beginning to hurt, but George stayed calm and seemingly unaffected. “Is there a reason for this…change?”

“Yes, sir, I just really wanted to hear today’s lecture,” George said politely. 

“How studious of you.” Professor Snape crossed his arms, warning of the incoming confrontation. “I suppose, Mr. Weasley,” he said in his characteristically flat tone, “that you’re also studious enough to tell me what sloth brains are used for.”

George didn’t move from his laid-back yet attentive position. “Sir, that would be dragon dung fertiliser.”

The curl of Professor Snape’s mouth made me tense. “Of course. I would expect someone of your,” he paused as he rested a hand next to George’s worn textbook, “inclinations to misguidedly name dung as being the correct answer.”

A few snickers rang through the classroom, the Slytherins ready for the millionth round of Gryffindor mistreatment. “Daft Weasley,” said Warrington’s unmistakable voice, loud enough to echo through the whole classroom yet remarkably and predictably soft enough that Professor Snape didn’t seem to hear.

But I knew he had, judging by the hateful glitter in his eyes. The professor leaned in closer to George, who still hadn’t moved from his position. “Ten points from–”

“He’s not daft.”

I barely realised the words had come out of my mouth until everyone in the classroom turned to look at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw George straighten in his chair.

“Excuse me?” Professor Snape finally asked. If the potions master could manage a sincere expression, he’d be aghast. As it was, he looked at me with the same chronically detached countenance he always wore.

Underneath the table, a hand brushed my leg, but I ignored it.

“Sloth brain mucus is used in the creation of dragon dung fertiliser, which Professor Sprout names as the superior fertiliser for magical plants. If you wanted him to answer what sloth brains are used for in this class, you should’ve specified, at which point he would’ve clearly said the Draught of Living Death.” I stared resolutely back at Professor Snape as the classroom fell silent aside from the bubbling of the example potion beside Professor Snape’s desk. “Sir,” I added belatedly. 

The only sign of the professor’s surprise and uncertainty was the rapid blinks. “He would’ve clearly said it?” Professor Snape asked finally. “Then I suppose Mr. Weasley would also be able to tell me what colour sloth brains turns the Draught of Living Death, hmmm?” 

“Cyan.” George’s posture, straight as an arrow, revealed the strain he was now apparently—and tardily—feeling. “It turns the potion from pink to cyan.”

See? I thought victoriously as I watched Professor Snape’s jaw move in a suspiciously gnashing way. I was right. He’s not daft. 

“Detention,” the professor finally said. 

“Yes, sir,” George responded, lowering his eyes.

“Not you, Weasley.” The dark eyes turned on me. “You, Miss Y/L/N.” George’s hand balled into a fist. “For speaking out of turn.”

I met the head of my house’s eyes without flinching. “Yes, sir.” 

As Professor Snape continued the lesson, I noticed with slight triumph that he’d completely forgotten to take ten points from Gryffindor or give George detention for showing up. 

But the triumph shrank as the class continued and George’s posture remained stiff. 

-

After brewing a nearly perfect Antidote to Veritaserum and being assigned a 42-inch essay on exactly how the antidote combatted compulsory truth-telling, class ended. Instead of waiting for Warrington and the others to leave, I shoved everything into my bag and was the first one to the door. But nowhere could I go at no possible speed to avoid the fiery anger burning behind me. 

“What were you thinking?” George hissed as I walked towards my common room. 

“Snape doesn’t get to treat you that way,” I replied with equal fervour, wondering at how completely my compliance had disappeared. “And neither does Warrington, the prat.”

A hand closed around my elbow, turning me around. “Beg Snape’s forgiveness,” George demanded. “Maybe you can beg off spending the night in the dungeons.”

“I won’t,” I snapped, wrenching my arm out of his admittedly gentle grip. “Because they were wrong; you’re not stupid. It was a stupid question. He just wanted to mock you–”

“I’ve been mocked nearly every day of my life!” The response was so impassioned that George’s cheeks were going red. “I can handle it.”

“Well, I can’t!” I said sharply. “It’s not fair.”

“Oh, like you serving detention on behalf of your brother?”

I glanced around quickly, noticing the few seventh years loitering in the corridor. Were they gathering more evidence about the sudden and unorthodox alliance between George and I? Would any of them report back to Warrington? Or Snape? Or Merlin forbid, Umbridge? 

Seizing George’s wrist, I dragged him off into an alcove, pulling so roughly that he nearly bonked his head into the sloped decorative wood carving of the tiny space. “How is what I did any different than what you’ve done for me?” The snarling tone of my words made me think of my lioness Patronus. Perhaps a lioness was more apt than I’d originally thought. 

George, however, looked nothing like his mischievous and light-hearted magpie. “Because you disrespected a professor!”

"So did you! If you hadn't sat in the class, the whole thing could've been avoided!"

"Snape already hates me! But he's your head of house, and now you've insulted him!"

I glared at him. “And if McGonagall treated me like that, would you just sit there and not say anything?” He wouldn’t, we both knew it.

George scoffed deep in his throat. “That doesn’t matter, she would never do something like that.”

“Come off it, George!” I impatiently readjusted my heavy books, resisting the urge to toss them at him. “You would stand up for me!” He had stood up for me, many times over.

George pressed his lips together so tightly, they started to whiten, stubbornly refusing to say what we both knew was true. “You shouldn’t have done it.”

I scowled. “You don’t get to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do.”

“Someone has to, since you clearly weren’t born with basic self-preservation!”

Livid, I tossed my head and stormed out of the alcove towards my common room where the foolhardy twin couldn’t follow me.

“What happened to not lifting a finger to help or hurt anyone?” George called after me, so loudly that the other noises in the hallway hushed.

I lifted a finger over my shoulder in an obscene gesture as my only reply.

-

My footsteps echoed through the dungeons as I neared the potions classroom. Somewhere above my head was the Great Hall, lit up with enchanted candles and everlasting torches. In the dungeons, however, the torches were so sparse, it was easy to grow convinced that there was something lying in wait in every shadow.

“I received a new Spine of Lionfish shipment this morning,” Snape was saying, gesturing towards my potions station where a stack of boxes lay before returning to the parchment he was writing on. “You will crush them all into powder without using magic. When you are finished, and only then, are you allowed to leave.”

Spine of Lionfish. Capable of causing pain and paralysis. I licked my lips. “Sir, am I allowed to wear my gloves?”

The potions master paused in his writing, making my heart sink as I tried to guess how great a punishment Professor Snape meant to inflict on me. “Yes,” he said finally.

Worried my relief would make him change his mind, I concealed it before nodding and sitting down at the desk, pulling out my dragonskin gloves and getting started.

It would’ve been meditative to pulverise the white and red spines if I wasn’t constantly aware of how long it would take to grind three boxes of spines when my mortar could only hold five spines at a time. I glanced over at the desk to see Professor Snape hunched over, his nose inches from the parchment he wrote on, as if he was struggling to see it. 

I popped open a vial, holding my breath so that I wouldn’t accidentally inhale any of the powder as I poured it inside the vial and labelled it. 

Each vial could hold the powder of about fifty spines, and I’d filled four vials when Professor Snape suddenly rose from his desk. He pulled at his cloak, untangling it from his legs as best as he could while holding a letter. Whatever the letter was, it was either important or elicited some sentiment to make him clench it so tightly. Without saying a word, Professor Snape left.

I poured the powder into the half-full vial before dropping new spines inside the mortar. It might take me all night to finish my detention, but finish it I would. Once punished, my defiance would hopefully fade in memory.

Detention would ease Snape’s ire, but my classmates would likely look to retaliate in their own ways. I took a deep breath. As long as they stayed away from Clem, I would accept whatever punishment they doled out. 

A soft rasp sounded behind me, making me freeze. And in that stillness, the unmistakable sound of a footstep sounded from behind me.

Would they interfere with the completion of my detention? Would Warrington, Parkinson, and Goyle really try to subject me to further wrath from our head of house?

Keeping the rest of my body still, I slyly slipped my hand off my pestle and into my pocket, gripping my wand. After a moment’s pause, I whirled around, thrusting my wand out. “Immobulus!” The blue spell shot from my wand tip.

“Protego.” My attacker’s wand arced, my blue projectile dissolving upon contact with the invisible shield.

Lifting my wand, another spell was about to leap from my lips when I finally recognized the face in the shadows. “What are you doing here?” I hissed.

George pocketed his wand before flinging himself down on the nearest seat as if it were a fainting couch. “I came to help my knight in shining armour. After defending my honour, I could hardly leave my dainty yet plucky princess to toil away in the dungeons.”

I clenched my wand, my heart beating at a pace I would fiercely deny if it were brought up. “I thought you said I was a knight.” 

“Maybe you’re both.”

“Maybe I’m neither.” I glanced at him. “You’re a lot more dainty than me anyhow.” And a lot more chivalrous, though he didn’t need to know that. 

George sighed like the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. “Can’t help it if I have easily bruisable skin, can I?” How strange. He seemed to have completely recovered from our fight earlier.

“Seriously, Weasley, what are you doing here?”

“Ooh, she brings out the last name.” George grinned. “That’s how I know I’ve got your stylish knickers in a twist.” I raised an eyebrow, and his smile fell. “Not that I’m making assumptions about your…knicker…preferences.” His cheeks were red again, but instead of accompanying the flush with a glare like earlier, he averted his eyes over towards the window where darkness was quickly falling.

“I’ll repeat my question,” I said, sparing him from acknowledging his obvious embarrassment. “What are you doing here?”

I definitely imagined the relief on his face as he dropped into the chair beside me. “Serving your detention with you.”

I returned to my mortar and pestle, grinding the spines with more aggression than before. “I know you have better things to do, perhaps some testing to do on first-years?”

“Fred can test the Canary Creams without me.”

“He’ll rename your business ‘Fred’s Wizard Wheezes’.”

George gave a short laugh, crossing his legs. “Naw, FWW doesn’t have the same ring as WWW.” 

“If Snape finds out you helped me with the work, he’ll get angry.” I didn’t want the professor getting any angrier at either of us.

“Then I won’t touch anything. I’ll just help you pass the time.” 

“By regaling me with more business plans?” My words were coming out all wrong, sharp and heated. George was being thoughtful, and yet I couldn’t seem to check my prickliness. 

“If you like. I also have some fabulous stories to tell about pranks or family or even the sausage rolls I ate for breakfast.”

My pestle scraped a little too hard against the mortar. “Maybe your knight prefers silence.” I glared down at the lovely pink powder. Without the proper knowledge, someone might mistake the powder for something innocuous, like fairy dust or rose sugar. But the seductive material could cause serious damage.

“I think I know my knight better than that.” His voice had no right to be that gentle. 

“Don’t flatter yourself.” He wasn’t being flattering, he was right on, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “Maybe you don’t know her at all,” I said lightly, pouring the powder into the vial before dropping the next five spines into the mortar. 

A hand found my waist, and I stopped grinding the chalky spines. My eyes fluttered shut at the sparks flying beneath my skin. I turned around, resting my gloved hands on his shoulder to push him away, but my muscles wouldn't do it.

I felt as though the warmth in George’s brown eyes was somehow pouring into me, chasing away the chill of the dungeon and shadows. 

“Trust me,” I warned, “you don’t want to get close.”

“That’s just like you,” George said softly, his eyes fixed on some point beneath my nose, “just like you to tell me what I do and don’t want.” 

“George, I’m serious.”

“So am I.” He licked his lips. “Uncommonly so.”

Fear flooded my body, tangling with the warmth to make a strange buzzing sensation. “Is this your plan?” I asked shakily. “The Gryffindor gets close to the Slytherin and then makes fun of her to all his friends because she fell for it?” I pressed my hand over the wand in my robes, prepared to pull it out again. “I won’t fall for it.”

George's hand brushed against mine. I wanted to pretend that he was trying to keep me from drawing it, but the gesture was too tender, too comforting to believe it. He stepped closer. “Maybe the Gryffindor is the one falling for it.”

“Sounds more accurate.” My voice was embarrassingly high-pitched and breathy. I cleared my throat. “Gryffindors are more gullible than Slytherins.”

“Can this gullible Gryffindor ask a question?”

He was too close. I needed to step away, to put some space in between us, but one step away was my potion station with venomous powdered Spine of Lionfish. “No,” I managed to say. “No questions.”

George lifted a hand to tuck my hair behind my ear. “Can I kiss you?”

My hands shook. If I needed to draw my wand, I wasn’t sure I would be able to hold it. “I said no questions.” Especially no questions that I didn’t know how to answer. 

His face came closer to mine until all I could see was the expanse of fair skin beneath freckles. “I’d rather drink the Draught of Living Death than be like Warrington…and yet I’m trying not to read into the fact that you seemed more ready to kiss his boot than kiss me.”

I couldn’t respond or think when he was this close. When his lips were so close that I could feel his breath on my face. He couldn’t even do me the favour of having halitosis or even just onions and garlic for lunch?

“That’s…it’s…I mean,” I stammered. Why was it impossible to form anything coherent? I would’ve been happy with a snarky comment or a quick denial. 

George tilted his head back slightly, looking me in the eye. “Say no. Say no, and I’ll sit back down and tell you about the recipe for Canary Creams.”

The refusal was prepared on my tongue, ready to launch and return both of us to the refuge of platonic banter with sporadic sincerity. Things were already too dangerous for the two of us, and the true threats of the castle and beyond hadn’t even started yet. It was better for both of us if I said no. I needed to say no. 

But I couldn’t do it. 

I never before had trouble doing what would keep myself and my brother safe, but being with George Weasley flew in the very face of safety, and I couldn't bring myself to back away.

His nose brushed against mine, and I marvelled at how smooth his skin was. I’d half-expected to feel bumps on the skin from his freckles. “Say no,” he whispered.

“I can’t,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure if the words referred to saying no or to kissing him, but George seemed to know.

Arms encircled my waist, secure and unavoidable. Lips pressed against mine, warm and soft and utterly, completely George. He was everywhere, even where he wasn’t touching me because all my body could do was sigh and all my mind could conjure were red locks and brown eyes.

He pulled back. “Do you–”

I rose to my tiptoes, kissing him before he could finish. George, apparently, didn’t mind, giving up on his words immediately to kiss me back. His fingers brushed back my hair, a gesture so comforting that I melted into him.

I pulled my gloves off, desperate to feel his face with my hands. The dragon scales let out a loud noise as they hit the stone floor, but I didn’t care, finally able to caress his face.

Without breaking the kiss, George stepped forward, moving me back on my tiptoes. I didn’t know where he was taking me, and I didn’t care enough to stop what we were doing and look. 

George took another step forward when there was a clunking sound. 

The latch of the door, I realised in horror. Instantly, George’s warmth disappeared, and I whirled around, frantically grinding at the spines while sweeping my gloves underneath the potion station with my toe.

Heart hammering, I heard the door open. The torches in the hallway casting momentary shadows before the door closed again.

Act natural, I thought frantically. Act like you've just been here the whole time, serving detention. But my inability to take a full breath undermined the nonchalance I was attempting. My lips burned, as if by kissing George, I’d kissed pure flames. 

“Miss Y/L/N.” Somehow, Snape’s voice was more chilling than before. 

Slowly, I swivelled to face the potions master. He didn’t look any more suspicious than he normally did, but he was never the type to emote.

There was a flash of movement over his shoulder, and I looked to see George with his back pressed to the wall of the dungeon, perfectly in between two torches where the shadows could partially conceal him. Quickly, I looked back to Snape, noting for the first time in my life with relief that the professor’s beady eyes were trained on me. 

“You are free to go.” 

I blinked, trying to ignore George creeping over to the dungeon door. “Sir, I haven’t finished–”

Professor Snape waved his wand, enchanting the mortar and pestle sets against the wall to soar over to the boxes and start grinding spines of their own accord. “You’ve been here for long enough.”

George reached the door, lifting the latch silently and sliding through a tiny crack in the door.

I nearly crumpled with relief, turning my attention back to Snape. “Sir, are you sure–”

“I’ve already taken points off Gryffindor.”

I frowned before quickly making my face blank. George lost points, regardless of my outburst. My actions today in class accomplished nothing. 

“As for you, I won’t take any house points.” 

Predictable. 

“But I’ve written to your parents.”

I froze.

My parents—who represented just a blip in the long history the Y/L/N family of pureblooded Slytherins and yet championed the legacy with every movement—would soon know. As I looked into Snape’s glittering eyes, I knew he’d told them everything and knew the magnitude of punishment I’d be receiving. His grin widened as I remained still as a statue. Not only did he know, he relished it. “You’re dismissed.”

Snape lowered himself into the chair behind his desk, taking his time as he folded his long, bony fingers. 

So thoroughly unable to move, I wondered if some of the dangerous pink powder had somehow made it into my body.

“Did you hear me?” The displeasure in Snape’s voice sounded like the cracking of a whip, and like a frightened mare, I stirred into action. 

“Yes, sir, goodnight, sir.” I swiftly knelt to grab my gloves and put them on before dumping the spines in my mortar into the box again. 

It wasn’t until I was pulling the dungeon door open that I remembered George, my fear only increasing. 

But instead of George awaiting me, it was the cantankerous caretaker, Mr. Filch. “Out of bed, are we?” he snarled, looking quite pleased. 

“I w-was finishing detention!” I burst out. “I’m on my way to bed, I swear!”

“You’d better hurry then.” Chapped lips curved upwards to show yellow teeth.

I fled from the teeth, from the spines, and from the consequences of the kiss. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, horror nipping at my heels. 

“Advantage,” I said quickly, and the door to the Slytherin Common Room opened. I ducked inside and ran as fast as I could towards my dormitory, not stopping until I flung myself down on my bed, burying my face in my pillow. 

Merlin, what had I done?

-

Overall tag list:

@thelastpyle @valiantlytransparentwhispers

Series tag list:

@onelemonoat @goldfishinpainttubes

[mishelkie-art]

Hello~ As promised, here are the 2017 versions of my Strawhat mermaid designs in comparison to the 2023/2024 versions. I originally had posted these to a different account, however I haven't posted any art on that blog in a long time, I think maybe since 2017? And now I don't really think of it as an art blog anymore. I originally started this blog so I could post the full and better quality versions of my art that I couldn't on Insta (cuz it SUCKS), but now I think I'll also post new stuff I come up with, instead of Insta being my main. Anyway-

To start with, as I mentioned in my last post, these designs were born from a specific AU in mind. In this AU, there isn't just one kind of merfolk, but merfolk were instead made up of many groups of different kinds of merpeople. Sharks, for example, were their own subgroup. Another example would be a group including aquatic mammals like whales and dolphins, and another group would be crustaceans, ect. I think in my first go at turning the Strawhats in merfolk I limited myself too much, like three of them were sharks and the others were just other kinds of fish. I do like Franky as a lionfish, but I changed him to a humpback whale to showoff more of the differences and similarities between the different kinds of merfolk. Plus, after the timeskip I think he's now canonically the slowest member of the crew, so making him a large animal that's been known to protect other species of animals from orcas seemed fitting, ya know?

With brook, he straight up was just some random fish that I really can't remember the name of, and I'm happy that this time around I did more research and found an animal that fits the spooky nature of his devil fruit. Overall, I think everyone got a glow up, but out of all of them I think Zoro's my favorite. I hate how I gave him that serious broody expression when it doesn't suit our beloved himbo idiot at all lol I feel the new version can be intimidating still, but also comes across as softer thanks to the colored lines and use of pinks and soft red. I don't know what I was thinking making Sanji primarily yellow, like his Wano outfit looks good but yellow is mainly his Germa color 😭 2nd time around I made him blue for his All Blue, and I wasn't sure if it came through, but I tried to curl and color his tail fins to make them look like crashing waves.

Unfortunately, at the time I drew these Jinbei wasn't an "official" member of the crew, so I hadn't thought to draw him. Also, I feel that I mistyped in the last post in regards to Vivi, by "original design", I was referring to the CANON design, not a previous design that I had come up with 😓

But yeah, I can't believe it's been seven years since I drew the first versions of these designs, I swtg ever since 2020 the years have just been blurring together lol

[sinful-lanterns]

Tbh Lamia in monster AU is just... Lamia. She's already perfect <3

I'm imagining reader sitting on a beach, throwing fish crackers as far as she can in hopes to lure in some creature.

The monsters are shaking their head because this will do noth—

Next thing they know Lamia is eating crackers out of reader's hand.

Something about Mermaid! Lamia just eating fish crackers out of the Researcher’s hand is ascending me. The imagery is so cute, one moment Lamia is just bobbing her head above the water, staring up at the Researcher with wide, curious eyes, and the next she swiftly swims over to her and begins eating the treats out of her hand. A mermaid, eating straight of her hand.

Things get even more interesting when Mermaid! Lamia begins licking the Researcher’s palm for crumbs, causing all the monster girls to seethe in jealousy whilst this cute siren woman plops herself on the boat to affectionately beg the Researcher for more. She may look all cute and innocent, but while the Researcher is gushing over how cute Lamia is, the mermaid is actually smirking at all the monster girls behind her and claiming the Researcher as her “treat giver.”

And yet another monster joins the strange expedition team. Convinced with the promise of giving her more fish crackers, Lamia allows the Researcher to study her (and you know what that entails…)

The Researcher’s notes after her encounter with Mermaid! Lamia:

- Mermaids and other aquatic-type monsters have a slit near their pelvis area that reveals their genitals. When aroused or in heat, the slit opens up to reveal their vagina or penis for mating.

- Mermaid voices are very angelic. Even when they aren’t singing, just speaking to one can cast shivers down one’s spine from how breathtaking it is.

- A Mermaid’s moans are pretty enough to make one orgasm immediately.

- Mermaids can take on the characteristics of a certain species of fish depending on the region they live in. Lamia specifically was found in warm, tropical waters, and is a Lionfish Mermaid!

- Mermaids are omnivores.

- Mermaid! Lamia’s pussy tastes fresh. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s like I can keep eating it all day…

[rhythmantics]

I call these my “ancient+” designs because I tried to stick with the original ancient concept/design... but More

gaoler - tried to make it look kind of cave troll, mountain troll, yeti etc. increased secondary coverage, made it more front-heavy, moose antlers for max power. wings now reduced to full hands because that looks kind of cool and troll-esque, plus in the lore they’re supposed to be for digging

banescale - i think they were trying to do a “demonic”-looking dragon to contrast the “angelic” coatls? unsure. went with that as my concept. used ambopteryx for anatomy inspiration, tried to keep a repeating shape for the horns and spines, tail now resembles a trident to go with the “demon” thing. not my favorite, might give it another go someday.

veilspun - tried to make it feel more fey/fairy, and by that i mean Honse. meant to resemble a dainty unicorn and/or wicked kelpie, while retaining the long tail, mane, and wings. turned out kind of queen chrysalis-y. experimented with 6 legs but decided that that clogged up the silhouette

undertide - tried to make it more Fish-y, removed the full-on dragon wings and replaced them with large dorsal and pectoral fins, + put some fin placement where it would actually be on a Fish + tried to retain the lionfish-inspired quills. also not my favorite, kind of wish they went for something more asian dragon or se asian naga, could keep the lionfish quills, idk. didn’t want to stray too far from the base concept because I kind of like undertides aside from the normal wings

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Devlog #12 | 06.09.24

And it's time! 💜 Another month, another devlog, and this one comes with great news!

First of all, we FINALLY settled everything with our studio's bank account, which means we can start sending the necessary documentation to Steam so the demo can be approved. Beta testing has almost ended and all that's left is a bit more of anxious revisions and getting the paperwork together.

We will announce the demo release date very very soon; as soon as we can announce our Steam page! We are hoping that can be settled this upcoming week, but let's see what happens. As the finishing line approaches, we have less to show mainly because we are saving some juicy things for our Kickstarter Pre-Release, so bear with us for a minute! ; v ;

Also, let's be real—paperwork is boring. No one wants to read about me fist-fighting Steam or the Spanish government.

So let's jump into it! 💜

PD: I have a lot of asks left to reply to, so let me apologize for being a bit on the slower side! T_T

This month, for mermay, we got a wonderful shrimp prince! 🧡

Seriously, though; he's supposed to be a lionfish, but the shrimp joke was too funny. Just look at this shrimpy beauty! 🦐

When it comes to the sprites, Raquel wants to add some touches to a few expressions, but she's now focusing on getting our merch art ready. We are so so excited to be able to show it! :')

🎉🎉All the backgrounds have been finished!🎉🎉

Well, all the assets have been finished, should I say! Everything is animated, programmed, and ready to go.

Programming wise, the beta testing process has been going great. Special thanks to Allie, our editor, and Lem (@crescencestudio) for offering their help in beta testing the demo! Also, A.J, Narjs, and Ela, our other beta testers that have given us invaluable feedback! 💜 I think we are almost finished; we are still waiting for one of our VAs to deliver their lines, and I want to give another round of testing to the mac version of the game.

The mobile version will most likely come later than the PC one, as it's stated in our masterpost! 💜 I'll start working on it as soon as the remaining voicelines are incorporated and the betatesting for the PC version is completely finished.

This month we started to reveal our amazing cast! 💜 So far you've met Amon (Brian Vaughn), Envy (Aaron Moy), Xal (Francfil Pontañeles) and our Mysterious Seer (Callum Sanders). Everyone has been wonderful to work with, and we can't wait for you to meet them all in game!

We are also starting work on our teaser trailer; if we are lucky, we'll be able to work with a wonderful artist!

We are sorry this devlog is a bit on the boring side—what's left for us is deal with the hell that is founding a studio and publishing a game. Taxes, build distributions, taxes, taxes, paperwork, reading lots of scary stuff...At the end of the day, we are just four little cryptids trying to stay afloat. I'm very proud of how far we've come, but now that things are getting very serious, I can't help but to shake in my boots a little! T^T

Our demo release date announcement is very, very close. We haven't said anything about it yet because we want to be certain everything is in order and as perfect as possible for the release. We know that's impossible (I mean, being first-timers, stuff is prone to happen), but we want to work as hard as we can to avoid oopsies.

And that's it, folks! We hope we can keep coming at you with good news, and we are very excited (and terrified) of what's to come. Thank you so so much for your support, for sending us asks, for your lovely comments, and for being interested in our game.

As always, please take care, stay hydrated and healthy, remember to eat and take breaks, and make sure to give yourself some love today! 💜

[inkstainedheartbeats]

Steve rams against the invisible barrier of the cage he’s been put in. His shoulder hurts and around him other mers tell him to stop. But they don’t understand. Those two legged bastards stole his kids. They’re his and he had made promises. SNAP! He ignores the pain. Ignores the scent of blood that is his wounds reopening. They took his fry. His babies. They took them. He pounds on the barrier, wailing warbles coming from his mouth. Two legged beings gather. They point and their odd language is muffled. He just wants his fry. Please. Please he can’t lose anymore pod members. He can’t be alone.

\\=\\=\\

Eddie watches as the newest “rescue” beats himself against the glass. Listens to his wailing. Flinching at each thud. No on goes up to the Alpha and it’s not just because he’s an Alpha. He’s a Lionfish. Sharp barbs fanned out and dangerous. His tan skin, what isn’t covered in bandages tell a story of pain. Eddie was born in this tank, one of the few fins folded in such a way that if he were released like his father was he’d be dead. Wayne had fought like hell- oh shit.

Hesitantly, slowly, he approaches. A raging Alpha doesn’t typically like it when another one approaches. Especially if the other Alpha is a shark.

“Please. Please, I can’t lose them too. Please.”

Eddie hadn’t seen his arrival. Adult mers were dumped into the enclosure, wounds and temperament be damned, pups usually went to the smaller pool up front until the humans were comfortable they wouldn’t be eaten alive.

“If you keep doing that the humans are going to think you’re dangerous,” he says softly.

The mer turns, teeth flashing in threat, head held high like Poseidon before his court.

“I am.”

“If you’re dangerous they won’t introduce any pups.”

The Alpha shrinks on himself. Like he’s approaching one of the actual sharks in the tank, ones he can see hovering held back by other mers, Eddie reaches out. Places a hand on the other Alpha’s shoulder. Draws him in for a hug.

“If they aren’t returned to you by tomorrow, I’ll bug my favorite human.”

He doesn’t know this mers name. Just knows that he smells of the ocean, of salt and freedom and things Eddie has only dreamed of. He knows that despite being dangerous and deadly he curls up in Eddie’s embrace. Mate. Eddie���s never been good at this. Tends to run when he can, not that he’s fast. Amphitrite don’t let him mess this up.