#going 2 try to do doodles for these but do NOT expect me to keep it up LMAO

[octubreazul]

I love how you find posts or reblogs of mine that I'd forgotten about. Makes for a treat in my notes to rediscover stuff :)

Haha I'm glad you enjoy it, I scrolled through your blog and put some posts in my queue so it will probably keep happening XD

Also if you feel like it, may I have another fish? I'll trade it for a flower or a pokemon, whichever you prefer (it may take me a few days tho)

[kingsbride-moved]

2 and 13 for the end of the year asks? :]

2. if you did add any new F/Os to your list this year, was there someone who you absolutely didn't expect would end up becoming an F/O? if so, did it take you a long time to realize you like them, or did they take your heart by storm?

TBH I can't quite remember if I played R/F4 for the first time this year or last year. That's okay though <3 anyways! I would have to say Porco for this one ^.^ He's a character archetype I already like a lot (he's described in universe as a "charitable weirdo" which is so true <3), but I wasn't sure if I would be able to look past the issue of "this chaacter's primary thing is to be a fat joke." But there IS a lot more to his character than just that, and his relationship with his adopted family is one of the sweetest things in the game! Anyways I liked him immedietly when I saw that one of the main jokes with him is that he asks the player to marry him Constantly (then rejects them if they try to actually accept LMAO) 13. if you've had any F/O(s) for longer a year, did you find out anything new and surprising about them this year? Did this change your relationship change in any way?

This was more "end of the year last year" but I'm counting it anyways. It's not at all surprising considering the kind of guy he is, but in his original concept art, Theseus was going to have an idle animation where he throws flowers to the audience while in the arena! And I think about it a lot... I get why it didn't make it to the final stages (would've been a damn nightmare to animate I bet), but the concept of it alone is soooooo cute to me.... I think about it a lot

[mind-intheclouds342]

Do it for them - Co-captain reader x Curly

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Swansea: "Could you see anything?"

You took off your space suit helmet to respond to him, your face showing dark circles and a tired grimace. 

"Nothing at all... But... mm... We are following a trajectory but I can't say which one it is, we are not returning to earth but we are also not heading to the delivery zone... I only know that the ship is taking us somewhere else... but maybe-"

You were about to collapse, but Swansea immediately caught you before you fell.

Swansea: "Okay! That's enough, how long has it been since you last slept?"

"I need to find a way to return... Then I'll be able to sleep..."

You held onto his shirt tightly, trying to stand up but your body wouldn't let you, you felt the full weight of the suit on you. 

Swansea: "How could you go out like that? Do you know what would have happened if you had fainted out there?! We were going to lose you forever!"

The man immediately made you sit down and helped you take off the suit. 

Swansea: "Look at yourself, have you been eating? You look pale."

"I have my reverses in my room..." 

You murmured as he helped you to your feet and took you to your room, he could see the pile of accumulated food.

Swansea: "You haven't been eating!"

"Maybe I forgot about that..." 

He began to worry upon seeing all the papers stuck to the walls, written and scribbled, recreating plans of the ship and attempts to return. 

Swansea: "Listen to me carefully, we all appreciate the work you are doing, but we need you to be fine! Otherwise, we won't have a captain anymore!"

You rested your head on his chest and he felt how you wrapped your arms around him, he stood still as he heard you sob, sighed, and returned the embrace. 

"I'm scared - I'm afraid I won't be able to fix this - that I won't be able to see him again - that something will happen to all of you - it's too much"

Swansea: "You don't have to handle everything on your own, we're a team. I know well that Curly was your partner, that you relied on each other, but you can count on us too." 

You slowly pulled away and ran your hand over your cheeks to dry your tears.

"I didn't know you were good at comforting."

Swansea: "Ha! My wife is expecting a girl at home, I'm prepared for these things." 

"She is going to be very lucky to have you as a father."

Swansea: "Of course," he sat down next to you and sighed, "I want you to take a break, okay?"

"...Okay," you nodded. "Can you take care of the others? Delivering their rations and all that?"

Swansea: "If you give me the code, I'll do it without any problems."

"Thank you very much, Swansea... These two months after the crash...have been... Exhausting"

Swansea: "You want to see it, don't you?"

You nodded without saying a word. 

Swansea: "I can distract Anya and you can sneak off to see him."

"No- I can't do that... I will respect his wishes and wait until he feels ready to see me... Have you seen it?"

Swansea: "Nah, the only ones who have seen him are Anya and Jimmy, it seems like he's in a delicate situation."

You lifted your legs onto the bed to hug them tightly, resting your chin on your knees. 

"I'll rest for a week, is that okay?"

Swansea: "Of course, boss" 

He patted your back before leaving.

You looked at the rings on your hands and smiled. 

"You have made me depend a lot on you... I have to learn to control myself..."

You sighed and threw yourself onto the bed to try to get some rest. 

The first few days of your break, you felt extremely anxious for not doing anything about it, but you knew you needed to stay calm. 

One night you heard some knocks on your door, you were doodling in your notebook to keep yourself distracted until you saw Jimmy walk in. 

Jimmy: "I brought you a cup of coffee." 

He mentioned leaving the cup on the nightstand next to your bed. 

"Thank you"

Jimmy: "I noticed you left Swansea in charge."

"He has more experience than the others."

Jimmy: "Shouldn't it be my responsibility? I am Curly's co-pilot."

"What's the point of a co-pilot if there's no pilot's cabin? I'm sorry Jimmy, the answer is no. Anyway, in a few days I'll be back."

Jimmy: "Why do you always have to be a bitch with me?!"

You lifted your gaze from your notebook to see him, tilting your head. 

"I never did anything to you, you were always the one who talked shit about me, but Curly always kept you in line. Now he's not here, so I'm going to keep you in your place, okay?" 

Without saying another word, he left, slamming your door hard, but that didn't scare you or make you react in any way.

Seeing the cup of coffee he brought you, you took it to throw the content in the trash. 

.

.

.

.

.

Jimmy: "You and your perfect wife, your perfect life... It seems they enjoy seeing me as if I were someone inferior."

The man was speaking while placing a pill in his hand. 

Jimmy: "Let's see how much he's going to believe after tonight." 

He brutally opened his friend's mouth, who let out a cry of pain and growls that seemed to come from a helpless animal. 

The sounds from that room were horrible, all caused by the man taking it out on his friend for having everything he wanted. 

[jmdbjk]

Mental gymnastics...

I am flipping out. That's all. Just my brain doing cartwheels and whatever those things are called where you flip between those high bars and let go for a breathless second and then grab onto reality again. Or this...

Too much Olympics these past few weeks I guess... anyway.

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT! I may or may not mention scenes in detail and their outcomes during these long rambling messy posts beginning with the next sentence.

Before I get into it... kudos to the staff for keeping up with these two and for suffering many extremely anxious moments as Jimin and Jungkook drove themselves through NYC, as Jungkook and then both Jimin and Jungkook rode the motorcycle through traffic, and the few heart stopping moments when JK flipped his kayak over and then they took off down the river alone before staff caught up with them. Not to mention probably looking up the nearest ER/urgent care facility in case Jimin got too dehydrated from his bout with the stomach bug.

Seriously though, their lives and global headlines had to flash before their eyes when JK disappeared underwater under that kayak... so big applause for the staff/production crew for not shitting THEIR pants thirteen times too.

So here are some of my thoughts. I'll begin with the first episode...

Episode 1:

In the opening scene, I'm assuming this is Antoya Korean BBQ restaurant. They were talking about JK's sore throat and that he had to visit a medical facility. Jimin kept on about it. It seemed like JK's "stop babying me" attitude bubbled up a little bit. Let them be them. As you can see, JK adjusted Jimin's beanie so he could see his eyes. They were fine.

Pause and reflect: they didn't know what to expect with this idea of a travel show. The moment above happened on Thursday evening, July 13. Both of them were working. Jimin was still working on his concepts, photos, MV and whatnot, planning to finish everything for Muse in the coming months. Jungkook had a full schedule for promoting Seven which was dropping the next day. He had to get up early for Good Morning America concert in the park.

I'm stating all this for point of reference. Nothing is static. JK was in work mode: he had a performance the next day and also not feeling well himself. Jimin had been on a plane for 14 hours. Just keep these things in mind before jumping to conclusions.

In the next scene (the next day) back at the hotel after JK's done with his performance and when he's packing to go on this trip he's all in and ready to go. Hurry up Jimin!

Jimin asked him how the live performance went. As we know, the GMA live performance was mostly rained out. Before the storm came through, they quickly pre-recorded the performances before it would have been time for the live broadcast and then shut it down. Jungkook had to be driven quickly to the studio to be interviewed to fill the leftover time in the program that more of his live performance would have taken up.

Hearing Jungkook say "this isn't my first rodeo" was never going to be on any bingo card in my lifetime.

I don't know what he was scribbling on that iPad but it looked geometric. He was focused. Maybe it was something for the next week's performance, maybe it was a sketch for music show staging, trying to recreate that flower archway they saw at Antoya the night before? maybe he was doodling in Canva... we don't know.

Me either, Jimin... (this was the first of all the hilarious gems that begin to shower down on us).

They are both known to be perfectionists when it comes to their work. And we know they've also both performed when feeling less than 100% on that stage. Jungkook realized there were circumstances beyond his control and he took it in stride.

FYI, in New York City, they stayed at the Loews Regency on E. 61st Street in Manhattan. It is between Madison Ave. and Park Avenue and not far from Central Park. Swanky. The suite looks like the 2-bedroom "Park Avenue Suite" and runs $2100 a night... gasp. Yes, its the same suite where JK did his live after his rained upon GMA appearance. During this live he mentioned being poked with needles, IV's and shots in the butt as well as teasing us with what would become Are You Sure:

No, I don't think Jimin stayed in this suite with JK. Jimin's room had a smaller bathroom and a shower curtain instead of a glass shower door. Staff with camera woke him up.

To be that beautiful when rolling out of bed... anyway, I digress...

It truly was unplanned and spontaneous as if they were doing this with the idea of "let's try it and see if it can be viable." Even Jimin wasn't sure if any of this could be aired.

Once they got in the Jeep they started to find their groove. Being alone, just them, was what they needed. They could focus on what was ahead of them. The driving moments were some of the best for me.

We eventually learn that Jimin wasn't feeling well and I'm certain this is what Jungkook was telling Yoongi during that episode of Suchwita, along with the elbowing in the nose.

Seems like Jimin's stomach trouble started when they were at the first restaurant, the burger place. The bathroom visits continued at the brewery and into the evening at the campsite.

Jimin had some sort of stomach bug that kept him on the toilet a lot and he ran a little bit of a temp. I am sad that he wasn't feeling 100% when they were on the yacht the next day but he still seemed to enjoy it enough to find the humor in his situation. He was a real trooper.

It sure didn't stop him from eating. My man was very brave in that regard. Me... no way I'd be stuffing my face with a big greasy burger when at any moment I might need to make a run for the toilet.

They get back on the road and these are the moments that I wait for:

After arguing in satoori about who is the worst driver between them, they start shopping at Dick's.

And get recognized...

After shopping excursion at Dick's, they finally head to High Nine Brewery...

Jimin's first sample wasn't to his taste (again). His taste buds were probably a little off since he had the stomach thing going on... but JK's eyebrows say that his sample was pretty good.

They finally settle on a hard seltzer and a pale ale and relax for a little bit. Jungkook is still wondering what would make good subject matter to film. They are truly making it up as they go...

Jimin proceeds to explain and an interaction happens and I am not sure what to think about it:

I am going to end this post here because they are now on their way to the kayaks and that segment deserves its own post and I have too many screen shots of it to fit in this post.

[These are all my own opinions about what I am seeing and hearing them say and from what I am observing from the video. It's ok if your opinion is different from mine.]

[silksongeveryday]

Drawing Hornet everyday until Silksong comes out - Day 200!!!

(huge thanks to this person for the art suggestion!! <3)

I genuinely can’t believe that I’ve made it to 200 days, it’s truly been wild how time flies by like that and the amount of doodles I’ve made during that time. Over 200 doodles (217 to be exact if we’re counting double pictures/extra doodles) have been made over the past 200 days. :0

And thank you all so much for the love and support! Not only have we reached 200 days but also 1400+ followers about a week ago! <3

But, having said that I’d like to make a few announcements—some good, some not so great—about a few things regarding the blog, myself, and other stuff.

Putting it all under the cut so the post isn’t long if you’d like to know more

______________________________

Announcements!

My pfp!

1.) I’ll be changing my pfp again!! I’ve officially decided that after every 100 days or so I’ll change up the pfp so it’s up to date with my doodle style (assuming it changed at all lol), but generally it’ll look relatively the same as the last!

Possibly more admins?

2.) As of right now I’m looking into the idea/possibility of having a second (maybe third?) person help me with daily doodles! As much as I’d like to keep doodling everyday there are some days that it can be tough or some situation might be happening. (i.e. recently got injured)

See, the problem is I don’t exactly have a proper way of trying this out??? My idea was to maybe do this through dms or more preferably Google Forms. I also don’t really know what form of communication afterward would be best either, suggestions to help me work this out would be great! (as you can tell I’m not very good at this stuff lol)

Commissions!

3.) After much consideration and a lot of thought, I’ve decided that in the near future, I’ll be opening commissions again for the first time in years. I don’t have everything set up quite yet, but expect more info in the near future!

About requests:

4.) You may have noticed recently that I haven’t been doing as many doodle requests recently. Sure, there’s usually quite a few in a row at once but you may have noticed I’ve also been doing “non-requested” doodles aka ones that I just do on my own.

Expect this to become a very normal thing going forward. I probably won’t be doing as many requests as before because frankly with the amount of requests I get daily when it’s open is a lot to handle sometimes. Does this mean requests will be stopped entirely? No, I’ll still do some occasionally, but not as much as I have in the past.

Also I’ll likely be doing strictly anonymous requests.

About Burnout:

5.) Alright let’s address the elephant in the room.

There have been quite a few instances where people have wondered if I would ever have burnout and have occasionally joked about “dying” from said burnout because “Silksong will never release, you’ll be doing this forever” etc etc.

In the past I’ve been fine, motivation has been great, but recently I’ve noticed it a little bit.

Unfortunately life has its own plans so it can be a little hard for me to make a doodle that day, expecially recently since I’ve been experiencing personal/medical issues. It’s part of the reason I’m hoping to get a second (maybe third) person to help me do daily doodles so I can take a little bit of the load off my shoulders.

So what does this mean for this blog?

Not much right now. But in the future, there may be some changes. My current plan is to keep going on daily doodles/posts for the length of a standard year, so roughly 365 days. After that, if things in personal life keep up the way they have, I may have to stop daily doodles and instead will post only if I have time. That likely means doodles every other day or every three days or something. At the very least I’ll still post a doodle once a week.

Not to worry though! I’ll still try my best even after I reach day 365 :)

I’ll discuss how things work a little more on my main @miizori later, but that’s as much as I can think to explain rn.

———————————————

Just a few more things I wanted to say!

This community has been so cool to interact with, so much tamer than some others I’ve been apart of in the past. I’m genuinely thankful for how much support and how nice everyone has been. I truly didn’t expect to get this far, I was fully expecting to have stopped like 10 doodles in lol. I especially love to see all your comments in the tags and people sharing their art. You’re all so cool :)))

I have a dtiys from back when I reached 300 followers that’s still available if you’re feeling up to it!

Also my main (again, @miizori) is where I make updates on doodle stuff, regular art stuff and so on if you’re interested at all in that lol

I think that’s all that I can remember wanting to say, so thanks!! I look forward to more doodles for you all :)

[dilutedconfusion]

A Moth to a Flame

Eustass x F!Reader (Part 1)

Summary: Y/N is living on a small island in the New World. This takes place during the 2 year time skip, only a week after Kid has lost his arm to Benn Beckman. In need of supplies the Kid Pirates make their way towards Y/N’s island.

Warnings: Mentions of blood

Word Count: 2.8K

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Something strange was happening.

Or moreover you could tell something strange was going to happen.

The island you lived on was simple. People came, people left, and very few stayed. A pit-stop for the adventurers. A home for the sullen and normal.

You lived with your parents still. Tucked away in a relatively normal house in the more rural area. You could move out but money wasn’t something that flowed freely into your hands. You worked a decent job, had small little hobbies, and tried your best to fill your days with something that didn’t feel forced.

Forced.

That word pressed against your skin and into your ribcage. A strangulation of necessity, expectations, and lack of will. Even the things you loved to do were hard to do. Your brain is a whirlwind of outcomes desperately clawing at you to mean something. Like a single dandelion seed floating over the ocean. Looking for some place to land, hoping the wind will carry it long to find ground. But you supposed that the wind was starting to die.

Even still you reminded yourself of something deeper. The way the wind would trace lines through your hands and hair. Clothes flush with your skin as you stare out onto the ocean. Heels and rear digging into the sand as you watched the blue and green hues of the ocean churn.

Everything felt right. Everything felt like there was something more. Some kind of escape just out of your line of sight, far off into the horizon.

You sifted around in your bag lined neatly at your side. Unlatching the small buckle before flipping it open. Pulling out a bright green apple for a simple little snack. Your canines snapping through its smooth skin before sinking into the soft grainy texture. Sour juice spilling on your tongue and even dribbling a bit out of the corners of your lips. You wiped off your chin with your sleeve. Tucking your torso into your bent legs as you take a moment to just relax.

Something is calling me out there. You thought to yourself. Feeling that all too familiar sense of longing in your core. I just wonder what it is.

__________

It started off as a deep chill up your spine. Goosebumps spread greedily across your skin. Making your hand pause, clenching around the pencil a bit tighter. You shot your head up from your sketchbook. A maze of doodles and scratched out drawings not good enough for your taste. The sun was still relatively high in the sky. Blue tugging at the corners of your vision as you looked up at the fluffy clouds. They were floating so idly but right now you wanted to be anything but idle.

You shoved your sketchbook and pencil into your bag in a sudden rush. Slinging the satchel over your shoulder before haphazardly standing up off the shore. With your legs feeling rather numb and the sand not helping much you stumbled along. Trying to close the gap between you and the little town you lived in.

There was a trail through a less dense patch of forest. Despite this, the trail was covered in ferns and even some logs laying on their side. You made quick work of walking through the trial. Keeping your gaze downwards as you let out a little annoyed huff. The tree roots seemingly trying their best to trip you.

“What am I even doing?” You muttered to yourself. The forest of course was not responding so you continued on. “What the fuck do I think I have? Some sort of sixth sense?” You rubbed your face in annoyance. Brushing your hair back you let out an annoyed groan. Knowing that this tendency you had to let even the smallest intuitive feelings lead you was a way to spice up your life. To find danger or something new. It had led you to trinkets stuck in the earth, caves, and a hidden oasis. But you’ve scoured this island hundreds of times. Nothing was new anymore so why was your intuition freaking out?

Another deep crawling sensation prickled at the back of your neck. Your body trembling as you slowly made your way closer to the edge of the forest. The dark shadow of leaves and branches spread across your face before your skin touched the sun once more. Heels clicking against the makeshift cobblestone trail you made your way towards the first signs of town. Grain fields on either side of you crawling with loud crickets and cicadas. A bright red farm house and a big rickety looking windmill turning at a decent pace.

You lived in the New World but from the looks of it most would’ve thought it was some unnamed island in one of the many blues. It had a noble city, up on the north end near the island's cliff edges. But you resided in the south, though unlike other low income areas across the sea yours was managing its own. Even if parts of it were…less than safe.

Bounding down the trail you kept your senses on high alert. Almost expecting some sort of uproar in the village or a huge explosion to send the ground trembling. That sense of danger and adrenaline sliding down your throat as you swallowed hard. A bit disappointed to find nothing.

People were walking through the relatively clean streets. Children running in groups and bumping into passersby’s. Stalls with shopkeepers smoking underneath their canopies. The rough scent of smoke was only a trace in the air as the hot grills cooked up an assortment of dishes. Each leaving a puff of steam huffing out and into the endless sky. Savory and spicy scents lapping at your nose as you briskly walked through the street.

You managed to weave through the crowd, watching peoples faces and almost hoping for them to be filled with some sort of surprise. Shock? Maybe even fear? Just something to indicate that this feeling, that was telling you something big was coming, wasn’t wrong. Grabbing onto the strap of your satchel slung around your shoulder a bit tighter.

Well…if it's not here yet. Then it must be coming soon. You thought trying to convince yourself this wasn't a waste of your day off. Just another measly attempt to make this life of yours interesting. You made quick work and slid into an alleyway. Taking the quick route towards the docks. By the first signs of seagulls flying high in the air you knew you were getting closer. Their annoying squawks followed by the sounds of thumping hammers from the shipyard.

You made your way down one of the few docks. They were old, green and rather damp at the bottom. Having been built before you were born so they’ve collected quite a lot of kelp and green slime. The top rows of wood creaked loudly as you walked across them but held strong regardless. Your eyes set on the ocean ahead before a voice stopped you.

“You come down ‘er to watch the sea again?” An old man, one you knew pretty well, popped his head out of his small fishing boat. Walking along its deck with a hammer in hand and looking down at you on the dock.

You halted and looked up at him, a distant but pleasant smile on your face. “I suppose. Got a feeling.” You mumbled to him, eyes drifting back to stare at the ocean. The sun was a lot lower than when you had last paid attention to it.

“Another one of those aye?” He said, almost with a bit of judgment but his tone immediately brightened up. “Well hopefully you’ll find what yer lookin for. Can’t have a young lass like you just sitting at the docks her whole life can I? Gonna get ya hypothermia doing that.”

You rolled your eyes a bit at that but he gave you a big smile. Though you could tell behind those fluffy eyebrows and small shadow of his hat he was worried about you. “I’ll be fine. I won’t get hypothermia or scurvy just sitting by the dock will I?” You said, cocking your head a bit and giving a little smile.

The old man gave a sweet little chuckle, his chest rumbling as he laughed. “Sure hope not.” He replied, wiping the tiny line of sweat across his brow.

You gripped your satchel strap a little tighter taking tiny steps forward. “Well I have a jacket and plenty of vitamin c so I’ll be off. Don’t go staring at me as I work. I don’t sketch well under pressure.”

The old man gave a fake little pout at that. “Not even a little peek? Ya know I love em. What you make.” You gave him a warm smile and waved a dismissive hand at him.

“Maybe when I’m done. But not now. Plus by the looks of it you have something to work on anyways. Keep slacking and I’m going to tell your boss.” You said with a bit of sass before briskly walking down the long dock and away from the small man's boat.

“Whaddya mean?! I am my own boss!” He yelled back at you giving yet another hearty laugh. That warm chuckle ringing in your ears but eventually faded off. Leaving you with nothing but the smooth rhythmic sounds of waves and the rather annoying seagulls.

This was something you did often so getting into the perfect position was almost as easy as breathing. The wood nearly carved into the shape of your rear right where you sat on the edge of the dock. You took your shoes off. Tucking the socks delicately inside each shoe so as to not lose them. Before letting your feet hang and sink into the deep and brimy water below. Cold spikes slamming up your legs from the sudden change in temperature. You’d hiss just a tiny bit to force your feet and calves to deal with it. Succumbing to the cold until finally it became more manageable.

Grabbing out the same sketchbook and pencil form before you propped it up on your lap. Taking one foot out of the water and placing it on the dock as you bend your knee. Making the perfect easel in your case.

As you chewed your lip you thought about what to sketch. You didn’t feel like continuing what you had already drawn. A new page for a new feeling felt better. So you just glanced down at the off-white page. Hoping and willing something would just pop out at you.

Eyes rolling up to land on the sea ahead you felt another breeze whip at your hair. Sure you spent almost every waking moment of your free time staring out at the sea. You had just come from another spot on the more secluded shoreline. But it seemed to you that you could never stop staring.

Drawn out whispers talking of a wide eyed girl staring longingly at the sea. Rumors that you had a lost love who floated away. Others thought you were yearning for a life out at sea. Or even just calling you airhead so lazy you’d rather just waste your time than use it. But none of that was true.

Because it wasn’t a lover you were waiting for. You never knew love. Or at least never dabbled in it despite your past yearnings. So being alone wasn’t a problem. It was all you knew. But at the same time a life at sea, though something you fantasized about, was not your reason for spending hours at shorelines.

You knew you would most likely get sick in a bad storm. Even the thought of trying to succumb to sleep whilst the ship thrashed was nauseating. You would probably get homesick or at least crave solid land. And…you were well…weak. Stronger naturally due to your more chubby and sturdy body. Taller than short women but shorter than very tall women. Yet nothing about you screamed prepared to put your life at stake. Which was exactly what the sea promised. It's a stakes game out there. You knew that.

And to be honest you enjoyed the simplicity of your life at times. The fact that you were safe, well fed, and had a roof over your head was a blessing. It’s much more than others who were from more impoverished islands could expect. You had the time to let your mind wander. The time to sit idly or explore. The quiet life filled with mostly solitude was a comfortable blanket you had sunk into a few years ago.

So people would whisper. Frankly, you didn’t give a shit. Let them believe you were sick for a lover that you’ve never had. Or that you were a lazy woman bound to live in her head rather than in her life.

You knew what you wanted.

Or at least you knew you wanted to want something and whatever that something is was out there.

An image randomly popped in your head. Making you tilt down to stare at your paper distantly as almost if you were drawn in by a trance.

A tulip. You thought, hand tightening around your pencil. I’ll draw a tulip.

__________

“What’s this island's name again?” Heat asked, hand absentmindedly tracing the scars running across his cheek.

“Don’t know. Don’t care.” Kid grumbled in response, his single flesh hand clenching the banister as he stood underneath Victoria's jaw. The helm clasped in Heats hand as he stared at the Captains back in front of him. That distinct red coat billowing in the breeze. The waves splashed up periodically giving the two of them a nice balmy spray.

Kid’s sharp eyes narrowed on the blurry and slightly indistinct line of the horizon. Knowing full well a small patch of an island would soon spring forth. A port for his men to take rest and restock the boat. A chance to breathe.

It had been only a week since Kid lost his arm. Ever since that day things were tense beyond belief. The crew was struck with perpetual fear and even anger. Kid was so reserved and distant he chose not to speak the moment he woke up on the medical table after it happened. Ever since then each response was short and harsh. As if he was forcing himself to talk.

Forced.

Kid thought. He wasn’t forced. By no means did he regret what he had done. He didn’t think he would lose. He was aware of the risk he was taking the moment he laid eyes on Ben Beckman. Willing to give an arm and leg just to take his dream by the balls.

And give a limb he did.

But it wasn’t exactly the phantom pain or the lack of a limb making everyday a harrowing experience. It wasn’t relearning how to do things on his own or feeling nearly hopeless holding his beloved tools now that his limb was gone. That he scolded himself for needing help. That the pain each day was something he’d grunt and deal with. What made everyday so perfectly harrowing was the way the crew viewed him.

Forced pity.

Was a better way to put it in Kid’s mind. Sure they cared. Sure they wanted Kid to feel better and get back up from this. But he was already up. In fact the second he woke up without a limb in his ship's medbay was the minute he got up. No qualms. No quarries. Just up and at ‘em. Another day to make his dream come true and nothing was stopping him.

Even if he suddenly didn’t have an arm.

But the pity felt grotesque. His swollen and bandaged stump was rugged with scars. Just a bleeding reminder of his own failure. He had spent every waking moment slaving away at a prosthetic arm. It was nearly done despite the many chairs and walls Kid had kicked in during the process. A permanent sheen of sweat lining his forward since the moment it happened.

His mind? Blanking it out. His body? Barely able to wake up in the morning.

This island would be the first island they docked on after the incident. Their ship in desperate need of supplies and more medical equipment. After reapplying countless bandages, gauze, and ointment for a week straight it seemed none was left for the other crew members.

So they needed this. Scratch that. KID needed this. To get away from his crew for a little while. To feel some solid ground underneath his feet.

Finally a small speck of something broke free from the horizon. Kid having stood there staring out onto the sea for a concerning amount of time. Almost lost in a trance that Heat was too afraid to break.

Kids' eyes narrowed once more. Taking in the small island from a distance and the smallest hint of relief washing over him.

He didn’t know exactly what would help to get over this but he knew whatever it was, was on that island.

A/N: I realize the reader character is a bit…wallflower like I suppose? Sorry if that’s not your cup of tea but I promise there’s more to her then meets the eye later on. The exposition of this story was really there to just let you understand her longing. Hope it worked and thank you for reading <3

[fishsticksloser]

Hi :> Can i request the rise turtles confessing to the reader? Like in the middle of their confession they just begin to babble a lot, but Then the reader just gives them a short kiss on the lips and say “you talk to much <3” and just casually walks away

Love Confessions

RotTMNT x gn!reader

Warnings: aged up, mutual pinning, confession, awkwardness, eventual fluff, not written as headcanons, swearing

A/N: I am projecting so hard rn... These are long, so I put it behind a Read More to condense. :)

Donnie

You and Donnie got along really well. You'd developed quite the crush on him and he you although he wouldn't tell you that. He took you out all the time, to find mystic stuff or just search for good scrap metal he could use. Sure, most people wouldn't think anything of it, but it was a lot of fun.

"This isn't easy for me. I've never... Not like this. But... You matter to me. A lot." Donnie says as you sift through a pile of scrap.

"You matter a lot to me too, Donnie." You smile, passing him a fairly good sized piece.

"My brothers get so annoyed because of how much I talk about you." That caught your attention. You stop what you're doing, turning to him. "Stop smiling at me like that... You're going to make me fuck up..."

"Fuck up what?" You ask.

"I'm 100% sure you're all I think about. You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen." Donnie starts rambling, more reasons he 'appreciates' you. He keeps his eyes off you, nervous about what he's saying could possibly mean. "Look, I’m not sure if I’m liking this development. Now… Now it feels like I can’t go a day without thinking about you, and about how you’re doing, and if you’re doing well, and if you’re happy, and I just want to see you and talk to you and I miss you when you’re not there and— and—"

You lean forward, pressing your lips to his. His rambling stops, hand cupping the side of your face.

"You talk way to much." You laugh, pulling away from him.

"Wait... Don't." He mumbles, dragging you back to him. "Not yet."

Leo

Leo walked you back to your house after you went out to dinner. It felt like a date. Was it? Did Leo just feel too embarrassed to tell you? You 2 had known each other for quite a while, you definitely had a crush on him. Maybe you were reading too much into it.

"I had a really nice time, Leo." You smile as you get to your front door.

"Uh... Me too." He rubs the back of his neck.

"Is everything okay?" You tilt your head slightly, watching his reactions. You smile, you've never seen him this nervous.

"I just thought… Never mind. It's dumb." Leo laughs nervously.

"Come on, Leon. You can tell me anything."

"How on earth do you expect me not to fall in love with you when you look and smile at me like that?" Leo groans, dragging his hands down his face. "I’m done pretending that you’re just a friend to me when I see you so much more than that!"

He continued to ramble. You're eyes were so pretty, you laughed at all his jokes, etc. It continued, almost seeming like it would never end. So you stood on your toes, pressing your lips to his softly. He caught your waist, gently holding you close.

"If you wanted to kiss me so bad, why didn't you do it then?" You laugh.

Mikey

Mikey was your best friend, only that... Until it wasn't. You confided in Donnie your massive crush on Mikey. Donnie kept trying to get you to confess, but you were nervous. Eventually Donnie got Leo to try and convince you too. It got to the point where they left, dragging Raph with them, leaving you completely alone with Mikey.

So now you sat in Mikey's room, painting, doodling, just having fun.

"All this time I think I was bound to fall in love with you. It was only a matter of when and where." He sighs, putting down his brush.

"What?" You ask.

"I keep daydreaming about you, and it’s so distracting and annoying and I can’t stop, and it’s all because I’m in love with you and—" You quickly stop him, kissing him softly.

"Then don’t. Don’t stop daydreaming about me, don’t stop being distracted and annoyed by me. Don’t stop thinking about me. Don’t stop… Don’t stop being in love with me." You breathe. Mikey grins, kissing you again.

Raph

Raph was always so nice to you, he comforted you when you were having a bad day, he knew all the ways to make you smile. He was so genuine... You were falling so hard for this giant.

"I asked myself if I’d give you the world if I could, and yes. Yes I would. With no hesitation, I’d give you the world, if you so much as asked." He laughed. You 2 had been playing games together, but took a break to grab snacks. "So yeah, I’m pretty much fucked."

This was the first time he's ever sworn in front of you. You stared at him, open mouthed.

"I mean, I haven’t been in love with someone before but I’m pretty sure this is what being in love feels like, right?" He chuckles, looking at you. "I just really enjoy spending time with you and you really have become someone very special to me and-"

You kiss him. It was a little hard due to his height, but he was quick to help out, setting you on the counter.

"I want compensation for the mere fact that I fell way too hard for you." You laugh. He snorts at your comment. "Some bones were definitely broken on the way down."

[vargaslovinghours]

EleVeN!11!!1! (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10½)

Fuzzy Edgar forever. I don’t remember the context now, maybe there wasn’t any to begin with haha, he’s just so cute with slightly longer hair! And upset :)

Some Diaryfic snuggles ♥ Scriabin can be so sweet to him at the worst time ah, I love Edgar’s hard on his arm and Scriabin’s pulling his hair out of his injured eye 💕

While I was very inspired by the Red Flags meme going around (we’ll get there), I was just as inspired by Mixed Messages - this exchange is so silly and them to me. He’s just trying to flirt back, you don’t have to make it harder! That’s just what Scriabin does haha

🥐 🖕 D:’

What else did you expect Scriabin to do with texting capabilities?? I’m still very enamoured with the thought of Scriabin using emojis and Edgar using emoticons - they are sort of different generations!

Here’s the Red Flags! So gd catchy, damn lol. I was specifically inspired by the X is on a date with themself edits, it was so tempting to consider a Ladyverse version as well haha. Edgar’s uncomfortable smiles were so incredibly fun hehe ♪

Y’see because with that many eyes- you get it

Edgar’s little “Or do I??” makes me laugh haha, anything to get out of this situation!

Waiter Jake ❤️💕💖💞💗 Rescue him!

Very inspired by this one specifically, he’s totally innocent! Not offputting at all! ♥

Alright well good luck with that bye. I love Edgar being menaced into continuing this date hehe ♫

Scriabin just keeping on the pressure for this date to keep going! Slight neg in “Couldn’t you have dressed up a little nicer though? ✨” pft

Brief aside with Scriabin!Edgar out drinking with my OC Mint who has very openly had a crush on the Vargases for a while now, thanks Mint

Honestly it was all just an excuse to turn him down and have Scriabin call Edgar his “landlord” haha; I was feeling nostalgic and went back to reread some old YuGiOh fics and had been so long away that I forgot that was a term used in the fandom to refer to the bodies of people the various Yamis would take over hehe ♪ It felt very fitting!

I can call him that but don’t you call him that >:(

Angy Scriabin!Edgar, the usual

Handplates re/reading doodles!! Hghgh!!! The theses of these stories of codependent relationships cut me to my very core I’ll have you know 💕 I managed to avoid falling down the rabbit hole of Handplates!Vargas but I was this close, lemme tell you. The subtle shift in phrasing changes so much ;; I love them dearly

A kind-of leftover WOY style Scriabin, since I made his hair all pointy in my first doodles - the WOY style is quite soft and round! He looks very silly hehe

Another song that is, yes, unironically in my Vargas playlist. This is a Nny song to me and you can pry it from my cold dead correct hands. That beautiful facial hair ♪

More Handplates/Vargas, this time obviously inspired by my holiday request 💕💖💞 I honestly rather like how calm Gaster seems whenever he’s in Edgar’s vicinity, he is a fairly unassuming human haha. Is it because he doesn’t laugh very often? Oh no that’s sad actually haha

I’m not done with Blank Slate Ch. 4 just yet - hopefully soon! - but this lineup stands out to me especially since I made it while rereading Handplates. Specifically after Gaster is pulled out of the Void - Gaster having to face the people he loves who have no memory of him really spoke to me in a Blank Slate way - the scenario of being able to completely start over and have never done anything to hurt your loved ones, at the expense of never having done anything to them, as far as they’re concerned, ah! It hurts so beautifully!! That’s one of the central themes I’m chasing so it was so cool to see in that context! Very inspiring ♥

So remember how in my Sims post, one Vargas family ended up with two Todds? Well what if that but actually

Twin Todd AU, just try and stop me

The saddest little twins y’ever did see ahh 💔 Having to share Shmee because there’s just the one of him! Who has a greater need :’0

I actually went and skimmed the SQUEE! comics to get a better grasp on the Casils, I’d forgotten basically everything haha. It seemed in keeping that if they could barely keep track of the one Todd, they wouldn’t bother even differentiating between two :’) Taking Todd shifts to better share the load

At least they have each other! More helpful than a stuffed bear who eats trauma? On par at least?

I also happened to catch this screenshot of the Todds gossiping about their shadow-dad, though I’m not sure who had seen him :0 By now I have found an adoption memory-loss prevention mod - thank goodness :D - but it wasn’t installed at the time! :0 Blue Todd is the Todd who’d already been the Vargases’ kid, Red Todd is newly-adopted Todd :)

Greetings in order! One of the Todds came by to scout out this strange new person

It’s a name to go by, if nothing else

Reporting back from the field, he has served his big narrative influence hehe ♥

Uh, yeah, about that- While I don’t doubt you were seeing double at times, uhm-

Surprise! Double the sons!

Only so much space in this apartment! They’re probably used to sharing a space to sleep weh, the implications of this AU are sad! I have no one to blame but myself haha

I have never been able to give up this twisted love I have for Edgar getting flustered about incredibly silly things and Scriabin chiding him with just his name haha ♥ Real twins do not delegitimize whatever the hell you two are to each other 💕

Who me? An affinity for how names shape identity and what it means to be a whole separate person? In love with this story in particular? You must be mistaken. But really, what would their name(s) be? I also love the subtle differences even just here - one Todd speaks up for the other! Dynamics ✨

1994, 2004, basically the same year innit. Scriabin is so much more on the up-and-up about the latest technology than Edgar, that old man

In which the offscreen is me lol, I was so blown away by how much more advanced the Sims 2 was from the Sims 1 ♥ Scriabin doesn’t need a box with a program in it, he has the absolute funnest toy in the world already!

And isn’t that the most important part ♪

Scriabin immediately makes himself and hooks up with every Sim he can, Edgar uncomfortable and totally not watching a~ny of the animations hehe ♪ Honestly though, the thought of Scriabin being genuinely excited to virtually get it on with any-and-every delights me haha

Look. Look, okay, look- If I could choose what to be inspired by, I would but sometimes

Obviously Scriabin would be a long Furby lol, this exchange can be summarized to “Scriabin no D:” “Scriabin yes >:D”

He’s complaining that Edgar ignoring him sleeping is boring haha

I did briefly lose my mind over how the Furbish word for “I/me/my/mine” is all the same - linguistically it makes sense, self-possessive, but in this, in their context ♥

Based on that one Wojak format - looks into the camera like “Yes. I am in your head. Insanity tracks” pfft

And it’s @jaspravex with the steel chair!! I hadn’t drawn any of them in like a month and then all of a sudden- I was 1000% not expecting to be hit with such a huge wave of inspiration but gosh and dang did this line of thought light me up. The implication! The jealousy! Wow that’s a lot all at once I wasn’t expecting ♥ Somehow these two never ended up on my shipping chart, dynamics I swear haha ✨

There’s September through February for the fourth go ‘round! Wild when I put it like that :0 Like clockwork, these lads ♪

[the-ninjago-historian]

I'm feeling sad today, so FLUFFY COLE X VANIA HEADCANONS TIME!

FEAST YOUR EYES UPON MY HALFBAKED SHIPPING IDEAS!!!🤣🤣🤣 Lol. I need something to cheer me up. These or Pixane usually does the trick. Also, I wrote most of these well past my bedtime. So you KNOW it's gonna be fun! Lol! And I have a little post-series stuff thrown in too. So these headcanons aren't canon to Dragons Rising. Just wanted to make that clear. Anyhoo, let's go!

1: Vania fell first. Cole fell harder.

2: They like to go hiking and spelunking ALL the time. They're the cutest little adventure duo ever! They've discovered all sorts of secret places in Shintaro's mountains. And even some ancient artifacts and cave paintings from Shintaro's past!

3: Whenever Cole visits Shintaro, Vania just lights up. She's happiest when she has her bestie with her.❤️

4: Vania once tried to teach Cole how to use the Shintarians Flight Packs. He was absolutely terrified at first. (Falling off of stuff trauma.😭) But Vania told him to focus on something nice so he wouldn't look down too much. He ended up looking at her. Cue mutual blushing and shy downward glances.🤣

5: Cole taught her some new dance moves. (She had been brought up on more refined forms of dance. Like waltz and such.) She wanted to try something different.

6: At first, they are both quite shy around each other. Not quite sure how close to get. But eventually once they got comfortable around each other, they became very snuggly and affectionate. Especially Cole.😊🧡🧡🧡

7: Everyone in the Ninja fam were super happy when Cole finally admitted to liking Vania. He'd always been so supportive of their own relationships. So they were happy he'd finally have a partner of his own to love.

8: Vise versa, the Geckle and Munce were very excited that the Skyfolk Queen was interested in the Son of Gilly/Milly.

9: Vania loves to chatter about her interests and Cole is always happy to listen. (Chatty Extrovert x Good Listener!😁) Vania sometimes secretly worries she's talking his ear off. She doesn't know that Cole loves just hearing her voice.🥹❤️

10: Vania is very protective of Cole. She loves him dearly. Even before they started their relationship. She wasn't kidding when she said she would bring her entire army to his aid. (As seen in Crystalized.) That being said, I think she would do anything in her power to help keep him safe.

Okay, post series ones now!

11: Cole had this perfect plan for proposing to her. Except he wasn't expecting one thing. When it finally came time to propose, Vania proposed at the same time. 🤣 They laughed about it more a good ten minutes before exchanging rings.

12: Cole ends up becoming King Consort of Shintaro. At first, the Shintarian people are a bit apprehensive to the idea of having some who isn't a Shintarian on the throne. But this changes quickly after seeing what a good ruler he is. And he quickly becomes popular with the people.

13: They have three kids. Their names are Valkyrie, Zephyr, and Collette. AKA Cole Jr.✨ More on that later.

14: Val and Zephie here are twins. But, they're aren't identical twins. Val looks more human and is the spitting image of Lilly. Except with streaks of gold in her black hair. Meanwhile, Zephyr looks more like a Shintarian. And he has the opposite. Gold hair with black streaks.

15: Cole was unbelievably excited about finally becoming a father. He'd always wanted kids of his own. When Val and Zephyr were born, he actually cried when he got to hold them. He couldn't believe him and Vania could make something so beautiful.

16: Collette is the baby of the family. She's adorable and definitely a daddy's girl. Also, this happened;👉

Jay: Hey Cole! I guess you missed out on naming one of your kids Cole Jr again, huh?

Cole: *smirks* Oh? Meet your niece, Collette.

Jay: A- *Jay EXE. has stopped*

Cole: *Dabs in victory*

Kai: Son of a gun. He did it.

And FINALLY, this funky quick doodle I did of them. It's kinda "Meh" but I tried.😅 (Vania is a nightmare for me to draw. Lol.)

On a side note, I'll probably do something like this for each of my favorite Ninjago ships. That should be fun!

(Tagging @only-lonely-stars because I know she like these two. Hope you don't mind!)

[lunchtimebedamned1997]

Gideon Nav Concept

(Speedpaint under the cut <3)

PLEASE NO SPOILERS FOR BOOKS 2 OR 3 I'm just starting #2 rn

This is to go alongside the Harrow one I posted yesterday! I'm not as pleased with this one (in terms of sorting my thoughts out), though I spent more time on the art/with rendering. It's close to how I see Gideon, but like I said in the Harrow post, Gideon isn't as clear in my head since book one was from her POV and we got a lot less frequent descriptors of her :(

I like the art overall though! I wanted to do little background doodles like I did for Harrow's but I just cannot draw swords yet LMAO its just - never made sense to me??? I guess this series is my sign to study bones and swords finally, huh?

Speedpaint tiiime:

I couldn't decide if a wider or thinner jaw suited her better? I feel like if i added her neck to the final outcome it would feel more aligned with my mental image of her. Thinner face than my initial underpainting, but with a moderately-thick neck and obviously a good deal of muscle??? Idk.

Gideon and Harrow are very Vi and Caitlyn coded to me, so I think my already wobbly mental image of her gets further warped by the associations my mind has created.

Some book two thoughts below:

Okay, I'm at the end of chapter two of Harrow the Ninth rn, and... dude the second-person perspective/narrative view is kind of wigging me. I'm particularly fond of limited third person narratives like book one had, where it's from the perspective of a singular character's experiences, but it's described from a point of separation. Ex: 'It was hard for her to tell. Tara wouldn't have said it exactly as Veronica had, but she felt the message was true, and perhaps more clearly delivered through V's cutting way of speaking.'

Reading book two and being Harrow is deeply uncomfortable - as it is supposed to be. It's not that it's not well done, it's that I wasn't expecting it, and it's not my personal preference. I'm hoping that the more Harrow returns to lucidity, the more the writing slips back to something at least a little closer to what I'm drawn to.

Again, to be clear, I think it works exceptionally well, it's so well utilized for the point Harrow is at, but I don't like it XD I am, however, getting a lot more used to it as the book continues. Especially because it's helping to keep things muddled and shrouded and I am enjoying trying to sort out the crumbs being dropped at our feet.

[chuckeroo777]

Dungeon Meshi Volume 14 Part 2

The worst is well and truly behind us! Let's enjoy the end of Dungeon Meshi!

It's the mad lad himself! (And a bonus Tade)

I genuinely have to question how good Yaad would be at this. He was born after the start of the curse, so he's had zero contact with the outside world. Presumably, Delgal remained in charge until he left, so Yaad only has like six years experience ruling, and that was only over a peaceful rural community with basically no conflict other than Thistle. And even if Delgal did teach him everything about being a king, that advice is a thousand years out of date.

It's everything I ever wanted!

...

Now what?

How about we make you the royal orcish liaison and call it a day.

Chilchuck. What the hell is that fit? You look straight out of one of the daydream hour modern AU doodles.

Um, that IS what he wants to do.

"Uh, guys, why does it say attempted murder? I totally blew Mithrun's face off."

"He got better."

Oh god, Marcille! Your eyes! The lion is back! But seriously, Marcille is a complete emotional wreak, and I love her for it.

So, does Izutsumi actually know who did this to her, or does she just want to go on a vague quest to try and find them? As of the post canon, she seems pretty content to live at the castle, doing cat things.

Always keep expectations low. Then you can really blow them away.

Luckily, Laios has picked up some tricks from Chilchuck for when being coddled.

Do you think Kui added the last-minute wolf head just so Laios could have a sick-ass wolf cape?

Most of these titles are great, but I honestly can't remember why this random elf would think Laios is pervy.

I totally think Chilchuck should be one of Laios' advisors, but I understand if he wants to do other stuff.

It took this long, but Toshiro has finally embraced the Meshi.

Good news! The literal opposite is going to happen! Now eat your food and stop complaining.

They're such good friends you guys.

Just as Steven Universe collects moms, Chilchuck collects daughters.

Mithrun continues to not give a fuck. Good for him. You eat that kebab.

There's a whole ass story here we don't get to hear. She totally ate out a naga, didn't she.

I love this manga. Even in the most poignant scenes, it always makes me laugh.

How do you think Kahka Brud is gonna feel about you stealing all the coastline?

Just one chapter to go, and then the MMT epilogue! See you guys in a little for the finale!

[nomsfaultau]

thank you so much for writing mandatory family reunion. i just reread it for the eighth time. i think im going to dedicate my life to life to reading your other sbi fics until you update again. also; do you have any tips for committing to fics and not leaving them half-finished?

ahhhh that’s so sweet glad you enjoyed! As for writing fics, having it be your special interest really helps. But for more general advice on finishing:

-Don’t stick to just one story. Which seems counter intuitive! But inevitably you’re going to hit a snag in one story. So instead of stopping writing at all, switch projects. Writing involves a whole bunch of thinking, and stuff needs time to percolate in the back of your head. But having a small project to work on in the mean time keeps you engaged in the writing process, gives you practice, makes you feel like you’re making progress, and allows time to work out the other story. I personally have 1-2 main projects, Fault and MFR, and then rotate a couple back burner stories that I work on whenever I get inspiration and fully expect to have very slow progress and possibly never finish. Short stories, one shots, hell even just writing little one off scenes that don’t go anywhere. It’s a way to keep writing fun and thus you’re more likely to continue working on the stuff you’re trying to complete. Don’t feel bad if there’s breaks between working on your main project. Writing involves a lot of thinking and it takes time to do that.

-Devoting time to do that thinking also significantly helps. When you’re falling asleep can be a good time to rotate stories in your head. Could also be if you’re walking from place to place, or brushing your teeth, or other little gaps in the day. Even if you’re not physically writing, it’s still part of the process and can make it easier when you actually sit down to write because you know what scene you’re most excited to work on. Also, talking over your story idea with a friend is a great way to stay motivated if you can get over the mortifying ordeal of being known. You can bounce ideas off them, and other people’s investment in a project can be a great motivator to finish. Like legit a single ao3 comment once stopped me from my plan to abandon a fic. Reminding yourself why you (and other people) like the story makes it easier to want to continue.

-Keeping a rough outline of what you envision for the story can give you a road map to how close to done you are and where to go next. Just like you can hop between projects, I find jumping around the plot time line to write what scene I’m most interested in atm keeps me going instead of writing everything in order. Though, all writers have different degrees of plot planning, so that depends on your style.

-Art! I’m an artist, and while writing definitely fuels what I draw, I find doodling cool scenes I want to write really inspires me to keep going. This sorta falls under the same category of continuing to think about the story and motivating you to finish. -I found keeping a writing journal has improved how I view my writing. Basically, I’ll jot down a bullet point list of scenes worked on that week/month. Writing is a very slow process, so seeing a timeline of actual progression on a story makes it feel like I’m actually getting more out of my head and onto paper. I also jot down what ideas for scenes I came up with since that’s also part of writing, and might include a chill no stakes writing goal for that period, like work on X or Y project, or a particular scene. Sometimes my goal is just ‘write at least one sentence’. I give it lots of leeway, and accept that the muse may just be somewhere else that week. And if the goal isn’t met, no sweat! Life can get busy at times and it’s more important that you aren’t beating yourself up if it’s been awhile since you last touched a project. Forcing yourself to write a scene that isn’t ready won’t result in a good scene or an happy writer. Switch projects, give yourself time to think about it, take care of yourself, etc.

And, legitimately, don’t be afraid to abandon a piece. Maybe you’ll come back to it, maybe you won’t. It can feel disheartening to feel like you can’t seem to finish a project, but unfinished pieces also do a lot for you: they hone your craft, allow you a creative outlet, give you scenes that could potentially be reworked for later pieces, and most importantly were hopefully fun to write! Story crafting is a hobby that should bring you joy, not frustration and shame.

Like, I have stories that will never see the light of day and are just so I can have fun and poke it with a stick occasionally. I’m 100% confident in saying that every author will have tenfold the number of unfinished wips compared to complete works. That’s just part of the creative process: exploring different worlds to find the one you want to write.

Perhaps a fic might never get finished, but in the wise words of Technoblade: “if you enjoy it, it’s not time wasted, no?”

(Now, I think he was talking about murdering people, but the point still stands.)

[maria-ruta]

I’m so glad anytime you post anything about your vampire characters, I love hearing anything about their stories! Veronica is so cool!

Sorry for keeping you waiting, anon, but your ask was cheering me up and warming my heart for the last couple days - thank you very much! <3

I'm so happy to hear ppl like my characters, and our vtm campaign and my dear Veronica🥺💖

as a treat I will share some in game doodles from our vtm game with you <3

COCKS STORE!

Charlie ( @osatokun ) had hard time at the hospital so Veronica helped him feed on other doctor by distracting and hugging him

Charlie (malkavian, @osatokun ) Veronica(toreodor) and Jaqueline (tzimisce, @tench-art ) getting drunk at the bar togther after stressful night. Veronica complaining about life while Jaqueline landing her a ear and Charlie just got back from banging with random person in the bathroom (it was long ago, now he's married and don't go for one-nights)

1)its forbiden for vampires to show face on photos, so Veronica sends this kind of selfie to Jaqueline - with silly emoji over her face and very bluury Charlie in the background - they are breaking into school lol

2)back in 80s. Veronica's human nerd girlfriend Lina gets punched by bandits for trying to protect a guy they were hired to beat up. Veronica gets furious and kicks the shit out of them (she successfully trips over 2 of 4 guys and keeps them down on the ground). She used a bit of celerity - enough to be quicker while not breaking the masquerade. Lina was amazed and thought Veronica is master of martial arts!

Veronica to Charlie - I wonder what Jaqueline is up to?

Jaqueline, who was siting at the backseat of Veronica's van, waiting for her - What do you mean?

Veronica and Charlie - "getting spooked bc they didn't expect her to be there"

Veronica isn't fan of dirty street rat nibbling on her earring (even if the rat is super cute and helping on a mission) and Charlie falling over while Veronica tries to catch him but only manages to grab onto his pants. Butt's out!!! (oh yeah also there is cursed dead person in cables)

Veronica teasingly encourage Charlie - you are such a hot little pie!

Charlie - pls stop!

Thank you for your attention!

[snailsdraw]

[Start ID: 6 pages of HLVRAI narrative doodles about the Science Team's first meeting with the Spore Launcher.

Bubby waves Gordon over to a small lift enthusiastically: "Gordon, come look at what I found! Right this way." Gordon, however, is wary: "I dunno, man. Should I even be trusting you to lead me places? You remember what happened the, uh, buh- the last time, so sue me for having a hard time believing it's safe up there." Bubby gives him a tired look: "Gordon, I've long put that behind me-" "YOU???" Gordon cuts in incredulously, "YOU'VE put-" Bubby ignores him and continues: "And- Yes! I would like if we could get going now."

But they do not get going, because Gordon is now mad. The lift makes its way up without them. "Look, buddy," Gordon starts, trying to keep him volume under control, "I don't know if you think this is some sorts bit? Or me being uncooperative- I am GENUINELY traumatised by what you did. And Benrey. Can't forget him. The fuckin' TWO of you can-" But Bubby isn't having it, and dismissively he says: "Yes, and I apologised. I didn't expect that to happen, you know. I did tell you that." The lift comes back down with a surprised Darnold. "Oh! You guys made it," Darnold says as the lift comes to a halt. Bubby's face brightens as he sees him, and he points out the thing held in Darnold's arms: "Oh good, it's that thing I wanted to show you!" All eyes follow Bubby's finger down the purring lungfish-like alien in Darnold's hands. Gordon is horrified: "What the- what the hell is THAT?? Should we REALLY be touching the weird alien creature- killing machines- in this place- Come on, you guys…"

"Well, y'see, Dr Freeman," Darnold begins matter-of-factly, "those creatures were- y'see, they weren't in tubes. Un-tubed creatures, now they're the ones you gotta look out for. But this one is fine. I should know. I made the potion in the tube I found her in!" Gordons squints at him: "What the hell is he saying?" Bubby's mouth hangs slightly agape. He does not answer. Darnold continues, undeterred: "I recognised it immediately from how I, uh, blacked out for 2 minutes after tasting it." "You WHAT?!!" Gordon yells. Bubby regains his voice. Something Darnold had said about making potions for tubes had left him uneasy. "Darnold, did you aid in my creation?" he asks in a small voice, too quiet to hear over Gordon's volume. "WHY WOULD YOU- You're supposed to-" Gordon stumbles over his words, perplexed by Darnold's actions, "Weren't you, like, terrified of dying just a minute ago- WHY would you drink something you didn't even RECOGNISE??!" "Look-" Darnold tries to interject, but Gordon presses on. "YOU COULD'A DIED, MAN!!" Sensing that Gordon is finally done, Darnold sighs: "Look, I understand your concerns, Dr Freeman, but what IS a scientist if not someone who observes and makes sense of his surroundings?"

Gordon pinches his nosebridge and screws his eyes tight shut: "I dunno…Alive? Usually?" "I do this for a living, you know?" Darnold counters. Bubby folds his arms, unimpressed: "That's no attitude for a scientist, Gordon. How do you think we got so famous as a research facility?" Gordon groans: "From all the shit that's going on now, for sure. The media's gonna run with this for weeks-" He cuts himself off with an exhausted sigh: "I'm done with this conversation." Gordon pulls his hand from his face and gestures to the alien creature in Darnold's arms: "What's, uh, what's that thing you found there, bud? You know it's not dangerous. What else d'you got? Know?" Darnold's eyes wander upwards in thought, stroking the creature absentmindedly: "Well…she didn't try to take my head off when she saw me, that's one. There were two others in the intact tubes nearby. Hers was broken."

As the creature begins to purr under his hand, Darnold smiles slightly: "Oh! And that she seems to enjoy being pet…which was quite surprising." "I couldn't find any written information on their species," he continues, "so I've elected to call them the, uh…Gubbs…after the sound they make." "The Gubbs," Gordon repeats, unsure, "Right, okay-" Bubby raises an accusing eyebrow at Darnold: "That's not what we agreed on." He raises an intelligent finger, recounting: "I remember clearly stating that they looked like mini Hubble Telescopes, and that we named them "Hubbs"." Darnold frowns at him: "I- no, you- I recall no exchange of that nature, Dr Bubby." Overlapping him, but quieter, Gordon mutters: "The Hubb- I mean, I guess? Kinda? But-" Bubby jumps back in to correct Darnold: "Of course, you do! It's much like the James Webb Telescope you kids are more familiar with these days." Gordon freezes.

"Gh- The-" Gordon stutters, and it takes him a moment to find his words, "J-James Webb." Bubby begins to say "Yes", but shuts his mouth right before the word leaves. "James Webb," Gordon continues, shaken, "I'm not trippin', right? He said that. James-" "…yeah, I, uh…" Darnold says, equally at a loss, "…I don't know what that is." Gordon points at Bubby: "How do you know what that is, it's not even-" his voice drops into a harsh whisper, "It doesn't even exist yet??" Gordon sucks in a breath. "Bubby," he tries again, carefully "How do you know what that is?" The old man is silent for a long beat. "Hello, Gordon," Bubby says. The defult NPC dialogue line catches Gordon off guard so hard he wheezes in surprised laughter. "You can't just-" Gordon wheezes for breath. "That's Dr Coomer's line-" As if on cue, the stout elderly scientist appears by Bubby's side. "HELLO, GORDON!" Dr Coomer greets chipperly. Gordon heaves a heavy sigh: "Hello, Dr Coomer…" "Hello, Dr Coomer!" Bubby beams.

End ID.]

Previous parts found here: [Part 1.] [Part 2.]

[cupfullofpapas]

(Yes I'm reusing this image too busy to doodle a new one :''( life has been super crazy as of late ) Second Vol in The Assistant series: In the arms of a Devil Rated: E F/M Cardinal Copia x F!Reader Papa Emeritus IV x F!Reader Also read it on my Ao3 here Previous Vol. : The Assistant

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5: Screen Share

Sleeping was difficult that night, you tossed and turned until your body was too exhausted and you passed out, when morning came you reached out expecting to touch your Cardinal's sweet face but found only cold sheets, the confusion it hit you before your memory did. “Ah.. the tour,” you thought out loud with your hand still on the sheets.

Your Cardinal would be lying beside you, waking up to him you would crease his cheek and get a genuine smile from him, a smile you missed already. Grabbing your phone and tapping in the security pin, the envelope icon had a 1 on it. 

Copia:  Goodnight Cara Mia <3, call me when you get up

You smiled looking at the message the little heart he typed out made you giggle as you pressed the call button on his name, it rang a few times before he picked up.   "Dolcezza, good morning!."  He greeted putting a smile on your face as you sat up in bed leaning against the headboard.  "Morning Caro, how did you sleep?."  You heard Copia groan.  "Without you by my side, horrible I used to be able to wake up to an empty bed and not think anything of it, and now? it is the worst feeling in the world."  You couldn't help but chuckle at the dramatic tone of his voice her hand cupped over your face to keep any noise from escaping.  "Well it's only for a few months Copia, remember-"  "Cara" He interrupted "If you are, going to say 'absence makes the heart grow fonder  please Mountain has already given me the entire lecture about it, no wonder he  is Primo's favorite ghoul."

 A smile came to Copia's face as he heard you laugh on the other end ahh what a laugh you had he could listen to it for hours, there was a moment of silence the Cardinal swallowing hard trying to decide if now was the right time to say those three little words to you, he shouldn't be this nervous about it he'd already slept with you several times. Copia opened his mouth to speak however Rain appeared in the doorway his thumb pointing over his shoulder.  "Ah, dolcezza, I need to go and get started first concert is in a few days."  "I know."  You replied swinging your legs over the side of the bed and getting up.  "I need to get my butt up too."  At that moment there was a quick rapid knock on your door as one of your siblings of sin stuck her head into your and Copia's dorm room as you and Copia said your goodbyes. "Come quick!, Sister Gemma has gone into labor!." 

You stared at the sister in shock. "But" You started. "She isn't due until next month."  This made you get up quicker throwing on her habit, instead of brushing your hair you shoved it into the hat there was always time to brush it later. The closer you got to the infirmary the more siblings of sin and ghouls alike littered the hallway, pushing one of the shorter ghouls aside. 

"Sorry, Lenti!." You called back finally pushing the door open and heading down the hall.   "Sorella." Came Primo's worried voice taking your hands in his.  "We were in the garden when the pain started."  "Has her water broke?" you watched as Primo stared at you blankly.  "I'm not sure, I do not remember Sorella"  You knew he was worried and some information could have escaped his mind especially with everything moving so fast and his fear of losing a second wife. 

You heard Gemma call for him it took you aback for a moment to hear her like that, fearful, fearful was one thing you would never classify Gemma as. Primo had let go of your hands and rushed to Gemma's side.  "Mi amore, do not worry everything will be okay."   "I hope ah!- so caro."  You watched them for a moment and wondered.. if one day that would be you and Copia, shoving the thought aside you stepped into the room. "Gemma how close are the contractions?"  Before Gemma could answer you heard Sister Imperator behind you.  "They are close now, if you would please step out into the hall."  You wanted to argue about staying there, however, Lenti was already tugging you out of the room to stand with the rest of the ghouls, ghoulettes, and siblings of sin. The heavy doors kept Gemma's cries at bay, time seemed to stand still as you worked your way to the outer edge of the group squeezing out of the crowd. 

"You!." You heard a voice yell out and before you knew it you were tackled to the ground and with weight sitting on your stomach the air had been knocked out of you.  "Divine!." You heard Alpha's voice as he picked the ghoulette up off of you the blond giving a nervous laugh, meanwhile, Terzo and Omega helped you sit up you were about to thank them but only glared at Terzo. 

"Yes, yes I know I was a dickhead, look I've already called and apologized to him, as much as I didn't want to-" "He felt awful after the fight, he didn't even do his skin routine or bubble bath" Omega butted in, thankfully the young Emeritus had worn his paint or else you would have seen his cheeks go red. "Shhhh! Omega!."  He spluttered "What? it's not like it's a secret" You mustered out a small laugh looking up as Alpha walked over still holding Divine by the back of her top, like a cat that had been caught.  "What do we say Divine?" the ghoulette hissed only to get shaken slightly. "Okay! okay!."  The female huffed.

"I'm sorry for tackling you, I saw you and got too excited- now put me down Alpha!!." The Ghoul opened his hand dropping the girl who landed on the floor with a thud. "Ow! you motherfu-" She started but huffed making her way to Terzo on all fours taking a seat by him and Omega grumbling.  "I see she's still pretty feral."  "We're working on it." Alpha shrugged before asking.  "Any news on the baby yet?."  You shook your head. "Nope, Sister Imperator had Lenti pull me from the room, I think she's pushing right now." 

"She pushed you from the room? the old witch"  Terzo grumbled running his hand through his hair in annoyance. "She better be kind to my niece or nephew" Terzo hissed quietly. 

It felt like forever until the door finally opened and Sister Imperator stepped out.  "It's a girl."  She announced to the waiting crowd Primo being the next to step out of the room holding the baby girl wrapped in a yellow blanket.   "Alessia Anna Emeritus." He announced blinking as several of the crowd members were pushed aside Terzo forced his way to the front his eyes having a shine to them. "Fratello, she is beautiful"  He spoke his voice a whisper as those tiny mismatched eyes looked up at her father and uncles her little head was covered in soft blond hair.  "How is Gemma?." You asked as you made it through the crowd Omega, Alpha, and Divine having acted as bodyguards. 

"She is doing well, come"  Primo spoke as he turned allowing you and the others to walk in the older Emeritus considering you part of the family now.  Gemma looked up from her place on the bed. "Sister, there you are." She held her arms up allowing you to hug her Terzo was next followed by the two ghouls before Alessia was handed back to her mother. 

"They said she was early but strong with everything fully developed." Gemma smiled as Alessia's little hand took hold of her finger, you turned your attention hearing the door open only to see Secondo standing there he looked surprised or maybe shocked?, to see you there, you couldn't pinpoint it. 

Saying your goodbyes you headed out of the room so the brothers could marvel over their new niece, thankfully the crowd outside had departed making it easy for you to be on your way.  Time seemed to slow down and you hated it, you hated going to bed alone at night sure Copia and you would talk for a few hours until you both eventually fell asleep while still on video call there were a few times you woke up seeing him fast asleep you had learned a few things from this:  One Copia was a heavy sleeper. Two he sometimes talked in his sleep. And three he sometimes passed gas in his sleep, the first time you heard it, it sent you into a fit of laughter that woke the poor man up out of a dead sleep. When he asked what was so funny you spared him any humiliation and simply said that Bisscoti had done something funny, from then on if it happened again you always muted your side to laugh or giggle. 

Two months in and time started moving faster, thankfully mostly because you were watching little Alessia, rather watching Primo gush over his bundle of joy you had to remind the eldest Emeritus to take his medications and of his appointments with the abbey's doctors. You watched as Primo gave his daughters' belly a raspberry which made the youth squeal in laughter, feeling your phone buzz before ringing the screen and flashing Copia's name you waved to the two happy new parents before taking your leave and answering.

"Hey babe."  You answered giggling as you heard a wheeze of surprise on the other end.  "Hello sorella, how are you?." Your Cardinal asked once the camera had been turned on allowing you both to see each other, you swore he grew more and more handsome each day.  "I'm good, missing you, you have what, one or two more shows before you return, yeah?."   "Si, and non too soon." "Oh?, trouble in paradise?." "I wouldn't say trouble more like ehhh.."  He rolled his wrist looking for the right words to say. "Getting the ghouls and ghoulettes to listen to me, especially Omega and Alpha but enough about work how is la mia nipotina doing?"

You stared at him for a moment. "My little niece."  He respoke as you gave a thankful look. "She's doing well, a little small, other than that she's in perfect health." "Does she have the ehh, eye?." 

"Yeah she does, it's so weird, seeing a tiny set of eyes like that makes me wonder if there are any baby pictures of you lying around."  You laughed as you heard Copia wheeze a 'no'. You laughed while heading back to the dorm,  flopping onto the bed while holding the phone above you. 

Copia watched as you flopped down onto the bed seeing your gorgeous hair fanned out and the way the blankets hugged you... his mind started wandering, wandering right down into the gutter it had been too long since he had pleased himself, so long that seeing you sprawled out on the bed made him stand at attention. Copia was mentally thanking Lucifer and the infernal princes that he had remembered to lock his bunk door for some privacy. 

"Ahh, cara mia the things you do to me."  He whispered which put a smile on your face as you rolled over onto your belly the phone held out in front of you.  "Oh?, and what do I do to you?, my Cardinal?."  You watched as his face turned a soft shade of red.

"W-Well I-I that- that is uh... um.. eh... that- you see ehh..." He was flustered and you loved it.  "Well?."  Your voice took on a flirtatious tone. You watched as he smirked feeling the rare boost of confidence. "How about I show you, eh?."  Now it was your turn to turn red as you heard the rustling of clothes and a zipper and with the turn of the phone, you were face to face with his cock standing erect and proud. Copia's leather-dressed fingers came into the frame to stroke at himself slowly. You watched biting your bottom lip as you felt a tingle between your legs watching, listening to his breathing grow deep. 

"I see you miss me quite a bit hm?."  You giggled lifting your hips from the bed and rolling them feeling yourself starting to grow moist. You had almost forgotten how good it felt when he was inside of you, how good it felt while your Cardinal slammed into you hitting all the right spots while he had you on your hands and knees taking you from behind.

"More than you know tesoro."  You watched as his hand pulled away his cock throbbing, you watched it bounce with each pulse. Biting your lip you looked around as if to make sure no one was looking at your screen in your own damn room.

"You know- letting it go like that isn't good." You whispered. "Perhaps you should take care of it mio caro." You rolled your r and you swore you saw his cock bounce harder.  "Si, si dolcezza" You heard your Cardinal gasp as he took a firm hold of his cock starting to stroke his erect member soft moans passed his lips, moans that went right to your core making your slick walls throb and grow slicker, they gave a harder throb as you heard him groan your name.  "Fuck that's hot." You wheezed out in a whisper.

"Bellezza, what I wouldn't give to have you here with me right now bouncing on my lap, to be deep- so deep inside you." Copia panted out.

"Oh fuck, yes Copia."  The words came out in a hushed gasp of a whisper, they seemed to just spill out on their own as your hand snaked down between your legs slipping past your panties and feeling your moist lips.  "Sweet Lucifer, I'm so wet."  

You breathed you felt a slight wave of embarrassment however the feeling was pushed away as you sank two fingers into your cunt making yourself gasp his name, before you knew it you both were masturbating listening to one another, the phone had been moved so you both could also see each other while your hands went to work.  "Fuck, cara I want you, I want you so fucking bad."  Copia breathed as his hand pumped his leaky cock, beads of precum had welled and started to spill giving his erection a soft shine. 

"Ragazza birichina... I can hear your wet cunt from here."  Copia breathed making you clamp around your fingers.  "Oh fuck, C-Copia-."  You panted as you thrust your fingers in and out of yourself faster. "I want you here in me so fucking bad." You whined your back arching into the huge mound of pillows. 

"Ohh.. you have no idea how much I wish I was there." Copia breathed. "Amore I'm close." 

"Hold it baby, just a little longer wait for me."  You gasped as your second hand joined in rolling your clit, as good as it was it couldn't compare to the feeling of Copia's hands on you. Your mind trying to trick yourself into thinking it and surprisingly it works bringing you closer to your peak.  "Cara-."  Copia started but you cut him off.

"Now, now, oh fuck- now! oh baby I'm cumming I'm cumming!." You moaned as you felt the pressure snap in your pelvis it felt as if your blood rushed from top to bottom and back while your cunt squeezed your fingers.  Copia had sped his hand up until his balls finally contracted as he released. His head was thrown back as thick streams of cum splurted from his cock splattering onto the camera, you could only hear a faint breathless 'ah shit' as your body was starting to come down from its high falling back onto the bed. 

It took a few minutes before you finally had enough energy to get up and clean your mess, Copia doing the same on the other end wiping his phone clean.  Afterwards, you lay in bed with a pillow propping your phone up next to you as you both continued to talk into the night feeling even more in love as you said your goodnights and blew a kiss at the screen.  You were settling down for bed when you heard a knock at your door, mumbling you dragged yourself from the bed to answer it finding Emilia at your doorstep, your brow arching. 

"Mi dispiace, sorella, for coming to you so late but you are the only one I could think to ask."  "What is it Emilia? and it's okay."  "Mi dispiace, but do you- umm."  Her pale face grew red as her dark eyes looked away, she looked kind of cute that way almost too innocent to be in the church of Lucifer.  "Do I?."  "DoyouhaveanyextracondomsIcoulduse?."  She said quickly her voice hushed, there was silence for a moment while you both stared at each other before you laughed which made her face redder.  "Yeah yeah I do, come on in." You waved your fellow sister of sin into your dorm room while you vanished into your room grabbing the box from the nightstand and popping it open pulling a line of the foil packages out. 

Folding them you headed back to the living room where Emilia was still standing her face still red with blush.  "Here you go." You handed them to her as she gave a thankful smile.  "Grazie."   "No prob and don't think there is any bad blood between us just because you're with Secondo okay?." Emilia stared at you as if you had read her mind and seen right through her fears, you watched as her hazel eyes welled a little.  "Grazie, grazie sister."  She spoke smiling as you hugged her. 

"Now go, rock his world sis." You snickered as Emilia squeaked at your words, one final hug and she was off to nail the man of her dreams, you couldn't help but feel a little jealous that she could go right to her lovers' room and be with him while yours was miles and miles away. Your final thought that night was if this was how Gemma felt when Primo was on tour during his era as Papa, if she could get through it then hell you could too!. Tag list: Please message me and tell me if you would like to be tagged! @thesoundresoundsecho @xpapaemeritus @copiasprincipessa

[da3dm]

In the deep blue sea, there isn't a place for me

—

Yeah I got that title from the same thing sloth sent brick...but I changed it a bit! Here's the result of that mystery poll from before—Sloth kinda half helped with editing this...this is a oneshot with two parts to it bc it'll be super long otherwise and then brick would never read it

It feels rushed to me but maybe not to you guys! Also my askbox is always open

Taglist: @brick-a-doodle-do , @i-am-beckyu , @justarandomsloth , @awkwardgtace , @rosewriting-ao3 (and look rose, gentle giant!!)

If you want tagged you gotta tell me or I can't

TW: Unintentional fearplay, character believing they'll die, begging to die (won't die), blood, mild cursing there's like one curse word bc Irza is Irza, character thinking they might be eaten, mention of suicide. (If there's more please tell me)

Word Count: 4.3k

Part 1/2

Well, this was by far not how he expected his day to go, but...he never did like boring things. But maybe even this was a little too far a stretch to be seen as boredom relief. His time would've been better spent not getting in this situation. Honestly, the last thing he remembered was the pod of mer he lived with outcasting him by using a prank. He was brought out to the middle of nowhere and ditched. With that sort of result he didn't even bother trying to return…he'd had enough and been planning to leave soon anyway. Seeing as he didn't have any possessions, he simply swam away.

Then everything had started to darken. It hadn't been too concerning because looking around…there really wasn't anything there. No predators. So he continued on his way to the shore, hoping to travel through the shallows to find a new home rather than the open ocean. Only a pod could somewhat safely be in the open like this, not a lone mer. It hadn't been too long after until he discovered the water was shoving him around strangely. Lightly, at first. Then it quickly started to increase and his panic rose rapidly. If only he'd noticed that the oncoming darkness was the omen of a storm.

It swept him away helplessly, flailing through the water like a loose piece of kelp. He could faintly recall that it pushed him roughly in the direction of shore, yet another thing only making the water's abuse even worse. It was fully expected that the water's torrent would smash his rather frail body into the rocks lining the edges. Leave him stranded in a tidepool where he'd be picked at by predators. Maybe bury him in the sand where he'd have no hope of escape. It was at that point he'd crashed into something big and smooth, with a lot of clattering sounds all around him. Then it had gone black, the impact too much to withstand.

And that brings him to now. The sun was hot on his exposed skin, the water level steadily getting lower, and hotter. It felt like he was being boiled alive. He was trapped inside something. Something clear, that shifted and crinkled when he moved, and was rather uncomfortable. Sure, it had probably saved him from outright dying, but now he was too far from the water to even attempt tipping the thing over to escape. This was a rather precarious situation to find himself in. After waking up in here it had looked to be sunrise and the container was half full…but now the sun was directly above him, beating down on his vulnerable form while the water was so low he couldn't even fully submerge.

While half his body was in the water, he shifted around to try and rearrange a few more times and only got the same results each time. It was hopeless, so he worked on keeping his tail in the water as much as possible, refusing to believe he'd simply die here. There had to be a way out, even if that meant waiting for night to fall, when the tide would be higher. He might be out of water by then, but…it was likely his only chance of survival. Being out on the sand in the hot sun would both cook him and let his predators see he was there. That would be his end right then and there with how far he was. He may want out, but he wasn't suicidal.

Trying to think of what to do, more time was passing and the water was getting lower. It was maybe an hour or two later of him attempting to figure out freedom when there was a change. He was noticing that it was a little cooler, sparing him of losing all of the water, but that wasn't all. There was a new tremor motion the water reacted to. He blinked at the tiny, extra ripples his body wasn't causing. The ripples stayed that way but soon he realized they were getting bigger. Not long after, it came to his attention that he could feel a vibration traveling from the ground through the rest of his body. A rising dread filled him and he scrambled to try and see, holding himself up.

He couldn't see anything. Well…to be fair it looked like he was in a ditch, it'd be hard to see anywhere from this angle. The vibration stopped and he held his breath. Nothing. Was it gone? In his distraction however, he failed to notice that all his movement had drawn something after him. All of a sudden something crashed into his prison and he barely avoided calling out, biting his tongue and flailing for balance. He looked up in a hurry to face his attacker and froze. A bird. What even was this thing?? It was white but he didn't recognize it from the usual pelicans he'd seen where he used to live. Still, it was eyeing him like a new meal.

Stopping to wonder what it was might not have been his brightest idea as it was now sticking its beak inside the small opening, wings flapping wildly. The webbed feet pushed at the clear walls as he hurriedly pushed himself down, away from the threatening beak. He bared his teeth uselessly, but it made him feel a lot better. Truthfully all the motion was sickening and too chaotic to make right from left. It even made a loud, overbearing sound that made his head ring painfully. The noise echoed in this small space way too much and he slapped his hands over his ears reflexively. This was too much for him. He hadn't even started to escape yet…and he was being attacked.

Then the vibration from earlier came to his attention, much heavier than before. It made him bounce in place and even the bird reacted, looking at the cause and calling out again. Before much else happened, a new sound came to him, sounding like words, but way too loud to be words. It made the space around him shudder and the bird had left. He had to breathe for a moment before he even dared look up, bracing himself against the slick walls and gazing up just as a new shadow fell right before his clear cage. In some ways he'd wished he'd never looked up.

The owner of the massive shadow was just as huge, towering over him in a way he'd never seen before. His mind immediately supplied the word human. He'd been told about them, seen them from a distance…he knew they were bigger, but not like this. Why would he get stuck on the beach and run into one of them?! Did the world really hate him that much?! Unfair! Not to mention, humans were supposed to stay away from the area he'd been heading for. Had he really been swept so far off his intended path?? Anything was possible at his size in a storm that nasty, but going from stormy waters, to a bird, to a human, wasn't even bad luck. That's like an outright curse.

His thoughts were cut short when the giant being took a step closer to him, shaking the entire space and making him scramble to prevent faceplanting. It was coming closer. His dread didn't have time to build up before a hand came rushing towards his trap, one way too big for what seemed natural. Though he clawed at the smooth surface surrounding him, it was hopeless, the hand closing around it. He shuddered at the realization the hand went all the way around the bottle…he could see the fingers nearly connect. That was to say…he forgot what would happen when it's being grabbed.

Not even a second later, he was hoisted off the ground, making his stomach do a wild flip while he forced himself to stay calm. What if it wanted him to be scared? But when the space was tilted and the water began to flow away from him, he gave an involuntary yelp of surprise and looked around frantically. The tilt suddenly stopped and it went back to how it had been before, the water returning. This time when looking at the human, he found bright green, huge eyes that were both locked right on him. He fought back a shiver, meeting that, admittedly, intimidating gaze. The eyes widened and he froze up.

Way too dizzying fast, he was racing skyward, stopping only once level with the way too big face. Out of pure instinct he bared his teeth with a growl, pushing himself back against the opposite side. He pointedly ignored that the hand was on that side of it and that he could feel the warmth it gave off from inside. Except when he growled, he noticed a responding movement from above and his eyes snapped to it, only to go stiff and regret showing aggression. Those weren't the right ears. They were like triangles and kept swiveling around. Listening, he thought. He suppressed another shudder, instead choosing to glare at this giant and those horribly observant eyes.

He knew he was being stared at, his every move kept track of, but he was trying to wrack his brain for why those ears and unnerving eyes were familiar to him. There wasn't much time to think as that loud sound came at him again—the voice. Definitely a voice. He ignored the words. They were too distorted and loud to understand while stuck inside this thing anyway. Besides, he didn't want to hear the taunts or what it might be planning to do to him. He'd rather seem boring and be tossed back to the ground and ignored.

Except those eyes changed and almost looked…worried? He scowled at it, but the voice returned and everything was turning sideways at an agonizingly slow pace. His slow slide felt like torture, especially with how fast the water was already pouring past him, tugging him along faster than it was tipping. At this point all he could do was weakly scratch at it, feeling like he was being played with on his way towards the only opening. The last thing he tried was spreading his arms too wide to fit while trying to turn to keep his tail inside. If it fell out, the weight would just drag him down.

When he hit the opening he stuck, just as intended. A grim, victory smile plastered on his face as he fought to keep himself in this same position while looking to the side at the human. What he found was a look of surprise, but nothing happened. It was held in the same position, not moving even slightly. He thought he'd be shaken or something, but it never came. Instead, the voice came again, still not understandable from his position. It got quiet and motionless, as if the human was just waiting for him to change his mind or something. Not happening! That was when he noticed he was slipping. The giant jerk was waiting him out.

He growled in real anger at being treated this way, noticing those creepy ears moving as he made the sound. All he could see in those big eyes, was patience. A steady, calm, patience. Like this human already knew they'd win this. And they would, which only upset him even more. The problem was that he was still slipping, and steadily feeling like he needed to catch himself. Was he just going to fall to his death or what? Was the human dumping him out of the way? It was hard to say, but he was about to find out for himself. There wasn't even a shred of hope in his mind of holding on for longer than the human could wait…the surface and angle were simply too much and only half his body could be used to prevent it.

With one last squirm in an attempt to stay inside, he finally couldn't stay splayed anymore and fell headfirst out of the thing. His eyes screwed shut, certain he would plummet to his death…only for the result to be much less dramatic. The impact was muted, interrupted maybe only a second later by something soft that smelled heavily of herbs. For a moment all he could do was breathe, his heart racing painfully as his chest heaved from the scare. He didn't waste much time and after only a few breaths, he moved to figure out what exactly happened. Seeing it made him freeze up, his eyes landing on the tan colored, patterned floor beneath him. Skin.

Looking up while already know what would be there, his almost weary gaze trailed up the length of an arm all the way to the human's face. He was in the damn thing's hand. He inwardly groaned and pushed himself up while taking a deep breath, glancing at the fingers towering over him. A threat. It was mostly behind him and he let his head hang so he could simply see past his arms without it knowing where he was looking. It was hard to know what would happen if he was caught staring, and honestly? He'd rather be ended because he fought back, not for looking at something. That would be even worse than having been abandoned by his own pod using a prank. So he held his breath and looked up at that face again.

Then he immediately bit the hand beneath him. Hard. His aim was to draw blood at the very least, and he needed to do it before the human could stop him. The only response he seemed to get was a quiet whine of pain and a harsh flinch that nearly sent him off the hand. What stopped such a fate were the fingers, curling up over him. Without delay, since the other bite was already bleeding, he whipped around and sunk his teeth into one of those massive digits instead, his arms wrapping around it so his claws could dig in as well. He was fully aware that he couldn't win this, but that didn't stop him from trying.

What did make him pause was that finger separating itself from the rest slowly, followed by that much too loud voice ringing out above him. "Uhm…will you please let go…? That…it kinda hurts?" The voice was still too loud for him, but he could for the first time understand the words being spoken, even even what sounded like hesitation in the tone. Of course, his response to this comment was to bite even harder and snarl while he did, moving his head a little to trying twisting and make it worse. The human winced in pain, those ears drawing back as it instead muttered, "Yeah, okay, that's fair." He wanted the human to feel pain, why was it saying this was fair?!

His anger was boiling over and he grabbed onto it, using it to bury all the fear as he snapped his head to the side with an angry hiss, clawing at the finger he'd been biting before it bending forced him to let go. He fell back onto the palm, not really able to support himself with his tail. Wait. The human had a tail too. He narrowed his eyes while keeping his teeth bared as a few things clicked into place. He remembered an animal that had those ears, eyes, and tail. It was also very sharp in his mind that he'd seen it swiping fish out if the water and chasing any mer that got close. He didn't know the name, but this human looked like they were part animal. That animal. That eats fish. And probably mer too.

A very brief look of terror flashed through his eyes and he dug his claws into the palm a whole lot more to hurriedly turn it into anger. He looked this giant in the eye with as much Hate and rage as he could muster, his mind simmering as he ignored how the sun was slowly making his skin itch as it dried him out. With one deep breath, he practically screamed out, "THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN GOING TO DO?! STOP STARING AND JUST DO SOMETHING DAMNIT! YOU'RE TOO LOUD AND TOYING WITH ME! IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING TO ME, JUST DO IT!" His sudden volume was plenty loud enough to make those freaky animal ears go down and it felt like his own personal victory.

Until the hand finally moved. He was going up, being brought right to that face. It was impossible to fully get rid of a shudder as his eyes widened. Was he going to die now? His mouth did usually get everyone mad at him. He'd actually asked for this one though, but…he looked at the closed mouth of the face he was rapidly approaching. Was the giant going to eat him like that animal did that fish? He turned his head away to hide his face while not wanting to see what would happen to him. It was over. He'd purposely yelled at the human and said to get it over with. It was only a moment later that he felt the huge digits behind him start to close in on him. He didn't even flinch.

He was expecting to die somehow, but the human decided to speak again. "What?? You…do you think I want to hurt you? I'm sorry I was too loud…did I really scare you that badly? I wasn't trying really hard not to—" Why was this stupid giant prolonging his death? But they just continued their ramble. "—but I…I messed up? What did I do? How do I fix it? Is there something you want?" The voice was growing increasingly higher pitched and they were talking way too fast. He growled inwardly, despising that he had to listen to such idiotic lies after begging to die. Did it really thing he was that stupid? That he wasn't just some fun creature to toy with and leave to die? Lies.

He raised his head back up to stare his likely killer in the eyes, only to find out they were right in front of him. He had soared past the mouth and even the nose, being held so perfectly level with the eyes that he couldn't avoid noticing their emotions. With a shiver he didn't even try to contain, he scrambled backwards only to realize those fingers were holding him in place. His eyes were rounded at this revelation, merely glad to see his tail was at least still against the palm and not just hanging. If relieved was the right thing to feel, rather, when he was terrified. What else could he feel when staring into eyes each bigger than his head. Happiness??

Finally though, the hand moving snapped him out of it right as the human softly asked, "Hey, are you okay? Can't you speak?" Alright, so now he was going to be seen as some stupid animal that didn't even have intelligence? Like he'd allow that.

With yet another ferocious snarl, he growled, "Get the fuck away from me." His voice felt despairingly weak and he swallowed hard. Having to meet these eyes like this was…so uncomfortable. It frayed his nerves and played with his mind. The eyes looked too guilty. He leaned away. "Just…just leave me alone or kill me already. I don't want to play these games anymore." He was scared, but his tone still came out full of rage.

The huge eyes only got bigger as they widened, full of what looked to borderline horror. "Kill you?! I'm not going to kill you!" The human shouldn't be sounding so scared of his words. They should be getting mad, yelling at him, hurting him. But nothing was happening. Instead, he rapidly found himself tumbling back down into the hand, which now became two, simply cupped together. It wasn't right to be held like he was breakable. He glared at the human. They just wouldn't stop trying to mess with him.

Without thinking it through, he snapped, "Why not?! You're bigger than me, you're a predator, I shouldn't even still be alive except to be a handy little plaything for your own entertainment!" Nothing was said in response, everything going quiet. The human was…silenced? By his worthless and weak voice? This game was getting absurd and the look of pity he was receiving only served to make him retaliate with anger. He bit the hand again, trying as hard as he possibly could to be dropped or finally killed or something.

A wince of pain, but then nothing. He growled and twisted his head, eliciting a gasp and a following whine from right beside him. "Please don't do that…" Not long after, the other hand stopped being a floor for him and tilted up to cover him from above. He stopped and bit a different spot, feeling his eyes burn from tears he refused to allow free. This was it. The human was finally going to end it, by…crushing him. He finally got what he wanted…why did it make him want to escape from it? To never have asked for this? But no pain came. It was darkened, but stopped there, the other hand harmlessly held over him, making it almost reminiscent of a cave…if the walls were made of tanned flesh that kept moving around him. A muffled voice came to him next with, "I'll just put you back in the ocean…"

A spike of fear at the thought of returning, and yet he could already feel the human moving, making him roll slightly while struggling to stay in place. He stopped biting, now more intent on keeping himself still and not being given back to the ocean. Sure he'd been planning to escape there, but if he was for some reason getting free transport he wanted something else. A river or stream, something to make his boring life have some sort of meaning to it. This felt more like he'd be discarded this way than freed into it. He wasn't going to say or do anything, but his racing heart won. "WAIT WAIT WAIT!"

Everything immediately stilled and he had to cling to the skin under him to not go rolling away. He wanted to relax and maybe try to figure out why he'd said to wait, but the human of course had to butt in on it. "Don't you live there? I'll put you back, are you sure?" He inhaled sharply, thinking about being in the exposed shallows with the sheer number of those strange birds from earlier hanging around. He'd seen how many there were already. If he was put back in, not only would he be back in the place he'd grown to hate, he'd become food. Dying by the hand of a giant sounded much better than temporary, fake freedom, followed by being eaten.

He moved a bit, wincing silently at how dry his tail was feeling. "...I don't want to be in the ocean. Do whatever you want with me, just get rid of me already, but not the ocean…" He should've been asking for the ocean, not to stay away from it. This was stupid. Why would the human even listen? All he did was give it a new way to hurt—

"Okay, I won't." He stiffened greatly. Won't what? The voice sounded almost resigned with those words, making his already raised guard bristle with discomfort. Before he could demand an answer though, they spoke again, "I'll just…take you home. You're probably needing some water about now and my skin can't be helping that, not to mention it's really hot out today, huh? And it's not like there's any other water sources around…I don't even know what else you want if you don't want the ocean. Maybe you'll tell me once you're not so dried up?" He blinked at the half darkness as he listened to the disembodied voice from beyond the walls of hand.

The human was…just going to keep him? Probably to be able to toy with him better. Tools and other gadgets at their home to make his fate even worse. With an air of defeat over knowing he couldn't possibly claw his way out of the prison of hands, he hung his head. "...fine." His voice was quiet but with those ears? No doubt the human heard him. Fine. He'd accept this fate, but he'd go down fighting. He could already feel this giant moving again. For now however, he let his eyes drift shut, exhausted from his struggle and not sure if he'd even wake up later. Not without digging his claws in for good measure, smiling in grim satisfaction at the pained response he got.

Words rang out above him, "Alright, then let's go! I'll take and get a good look at you to make sure you're not injured and try to find a good place for you to stay!" That cheery voice was going to be the death of him, in more ways than one. Yet, that was the last thing he heard before his mind shut itself off. Oh well. Time to leave his fate to the mercy of this strange, giant being…even if it meant he'd die.

Maybe he wouldn't.

———

Part 2