#i LOVE marine-themed aus

[localvoidcat]

So cesar, intruder and preacher and gabriel are deep sea mermaids, so cesars basically using bioluminescence and countershading to survive his eyes are realllyy sensitive and uncannily dark and wuite big to detect light and movement n all that jazz and his teeth are needle like almost so he comes off as quite unnerving but hes actually really sweet, and basically the only reason that cesar is able to come to the upper levels of the ocean is just because he got ahold of an object that basically allowed him to withstand lower pressures, also cesar is a longggg boi cuz deep sea gigantism go brr

Evelin and dave (and mark n sarah but only 1/8) is an open ocean mermaid so shes using countershading aswell but lighter and she is also really streamlined and hydrodynamic so she can catch up to random fish in the ocean

Jonah is a reef mermaid and hes realllyyy colorful to both camouflage amongst coral and warn others that hes extremely venomonous (so full of tetrodotoxin) and hes also really bendy kinda like a bendy straw to hide in cracks n crevaces

Ruth is a kelp forest mermaid and has like alot of kelp like patterns and fins to resemble kelp to blend in and she has pretty big eyes like not to cesars extent but good enough vision to see through the murky water when the currents kick up sand n shit and shes fast to kinda maneuver around kelp without getting caught on it

Thatcher is a cave mermaid his eyesight isnt the best so he often sticks by ruth so he doesnt bump into things but his other sensesnare really good so he has that going for him and he has tougher scales than most so he doesnt get badly injured if he has to get through a smaller opening in a cave cuz rocks jagged and he heals wounds pretty fast lol

Adam is unknown...his characteristics dont match up with any known species. His blood has more haemoglobin than the others and he has paler scales and better heat retention than others and he also has moments when it gets really cold and hes just out and about but gets kinda a tiny bit more sluggish when it gets warmer...

Weird

OH I LOVE THESE SM !!!! cavefish thatchers soo real i love that <33

[nbclover]

teehee

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

ASL brothers HAIKYUU!! AU!!!!!

Day one of Self Indulgent month for me! I love these three, i love haikyuu, i love killer whales!

(The Naval Academy is this au’s version of marines)

For those who dont know, in Haikyuu (and prob in real life too but in my experience its not as important as they make it in the anime) The "Ace" of the team is the person who primarily scores points via spiking. Theyre the Hard Hitter, basically.

Design talk👇

Originally, i was gonna make their school mascot just "The Pirates" but i couldnt figure out a clever pun with the school name so i scrapped it in favor of an animal mascot. I figured I would have a wider range of puns that way.

I landed on Orcas as the mascot because I think they really embody a pirate way of life. Theyre strong, hang out in groups of a mix of found family and their actual family, hate the rich, and theyre fun loving! And also im a bit biased because theyre my favorite animal, but hey, i said its self indulgent month, didnt I?

Their school name is a play on the word for Killer Whale (Shachi シャチ) and the word for 'knowledge' (Chishiki 知識), i just smashed the two words together. I'm very proud of myself for coming up with that given i dont speak japanese at all.

Anyway, with their designs, I was taking inspiration from orcas to match the design themes of haikyuu. Ace's hair is bleached on the underside to look like the underside of an orca's body, I made ace and sabo's eyes look more whale-like, the clip in sabo's hair is meant to resemble to spots behind orca's eyes, and I tried to make luffy's hair look more like it's round and spiking down more than i usually do.

Ace is wearing a ''way of the ace" shirt in the first picture, Luffy is wearing a shirt that just says "VOLLEY BALL" because i think it would be funny if he wore a bunch of those Zero-context-poorly-translated-random-english-words shirts that theres a bunch of in Asia. Sabo dyes his hair like delinquents do, but it doesnt much look delinquent~y because of how soft it looks. He means to do it to make him look like a delinquent though. Sabo still has his scars in this au, but he uses his hair, arm braces, and leg braces to cover them up. LUFFY AND ACE HAVE FUNKY SOCKS BECAUSE NO ONE CAN TELL THEM (or me) THEY CANT. Sabo wears athletic socks though because he's a debbie downer. He defends himself saying “It’s practical” and Ace and luffy call him “practically a Debbie Downer.”

Luffy is very good at receiving from growing up with Sabo and Ace practicing setting and spiking with eachother and assigning Luffy as Ball Boy. So he got the libero position from that cuz sabo and ace put in a good word for him. Nepotism.

I didn't feel like coming up with designs for them, but Zoro and Bepo are also on their team (theyre in the fifth image sitting on the right of the line of students). Koala and nami are student managers, Robin is the teacher manager, and Franky is the coach. all other straw hats/luffy friends, rev army comrades, and whitebeard brethren are in the stands. Im trying to keep the ages consistent with how they are in canon.

I didnt do a very in depth research, but i couldnt find what Japanese schools have as mascot costumes. and given no one wears any costumes in haikyuu for their team, i can kind of assume they dont use them over there. But unfortunately for them, I'm American. And part of the backbone of our schooling system, is Vaguely Unsettling Mascot Costumes. My sister says my design for it looks like its from Club Penguin, and i find that delightful. [moment of silence for my billions of fallen Puffles, taken from me in The Shutdown] Anyway.

I thought I was clever coming up with the equivalent of the Marines in this au being a Naval Academy. And their mascot being Seals, famously the animal that gets the absolute Worst Of It from orcas. Get shit onnnnn

I believe thats about it, thanks for coming to my ted talk :)

[kwanisms]

Rough Waters — h.jisung

» stray kids masterlist «

➮ samebito!Jisung × f!Reader wc: 10k summary: Y/N is a marine biologist who is obsessed with finding new sea life. During a night dive, she stumbles across a very well hidden underwater cave entrance and finds herself meeting something that defies all logic and evolution. She forms a bond with the creature and comes back almost every night to visit him. genres/themes/au: fluff (if u squint), smut; supernatural and japanese folklore themes, s2l, slight predator/prey themes; non idol au, merman au, samebito au warnings: adult dialogue, female reader, a little bit of arguing between Y/N and some of the townsfolk about the existence of mermaids, some slightly sad conversation about Jisung being alone, sexual content (18+ mdni), see smut warnings under the cut! special taglist: @yoonguurt , @anyamaris , @wooyoungqueen , @kpop-stories-21 , @xsweetelegantdiasterx , @kookthief , @stardragongalaxy , @millennial-fangirl , @blankdyean , @imwithurmother , @bangchans-angel , @oreoqueen , @yjeonginlvr , @zdgx1 , @shuxsoo , @s00buwu , @queenmea604 , @pochaccomin , @katsukis1wife , @linos-catnip , @wh0r3mir4 , @cutiespaghetti Join the taglist! »» Closed ! Strikethrough means I cannot tag you. MINORS WILL BE BLACKLISTED & BLOCKED. AGELESS BLOGS WILL NOT BE ADDED.

a/n: this is super self-indulgent and I will not apologize for shark merman cnc Jisung. I wanted this Jisung so I made him. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. If you enjoyed this, reblog or leave a comment. I love feedback. The next part, Changbin's part, is the last one of this series! That being said, next up is the Holiday Special of Tales from Camp. You can sign up for that taglist here and read the first two installments here. If you've yet to read the OG Tales from Camp, that masterlist is here. Thank you so much for reading and as always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only.

smut warnings: teratophilia (aka monsterfucking), unprotected sex (he’s a freakin shark merman. You think he cares about avoiding pregnancy? He can’t even get her pregnant lol but you need to use protection!), oral (f receiving), con noncon, pool/water sex (kinda lol), dirty talk, use of pet names (little fish, cutie, baby, pet, etc), rough sex, dom!Jisung, sub!Reader, even though it’s cnc Y/N is very receptive towards his advances and in the end, she does give him consent. But if CNC or dubcon makes you uncomfy, don’t read it. This is my fantasy. I wrote this for me lol if I missed anything let me know

dialogue prompt: ❛ I'm waiting for your permission to let me have my way with you. ❜

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

The warning sign at the beach that read ‘beware of sharks’ in all capital letters should have served as warning for what you were about to get yourself into.

Living in a seaside town has always had its perks. Sandy beaches to visit in the summers, the smell of salt that you’d come to love, boating, all the seafood you could want among them. It was almost like your own personal paradise.

The one drawback was the shark population that increased at the end of summer which drove away the rest of the tourism for the season. You weren’t mad about it. After all, the ocean was home to all marine animals, sharks included. As a biologist, you knew each animal had its own purpose and was beneficial to the ecosystem, especially sharks.

So despite the danger, you never missed an opportunity to dive when the weather allowed. Of course, you chose night time for your dives.

Night was perfect as the animals weren’t as active without the sunlight.

Your dive for the night had taken you to a rocky part of the shore where you knew caves would be. The caves along the shore were always hard to reach and most of them only had underwater entrances.

You’d explored a fair share of them since moving to this town but there were many more you wanted to explore and see what kind of life you could find.

This excursion was like any other, you’d made a plan with the local coast guard as well as letting your contact in town know when, where, and how long you’d be. It was a standard procedure which had become routine for you.

You had taken out your boat and anchored it just off shore and near what you assumed was the opening to another cave before suiting up and jumping into the water. The water was cool enough in the summer months but in the fall it was almost freezing, making you grateful for the wetsuit you wore no matter the temperature. Making sure your mask was secure you slowly sank into the water, turning on and shining your light towards the bottom of the rocks.

An opening was visible at the base and you carefully made your way down, inspecting the opening before starting inside. You’d explored many of these caves before, you knew the procedure and the caves never scared you. To some, caving was one thing but to do so underwater was an entirely different beast. To you, it was almost second nature.

As you continued forward, you scanned the walls of the cave, taking note of the coral, algae, and other life that had taken root on the walls. It wasn’t uncommon to find life in places like this. Sea caves were often the home to unique and enclosed ecosystems.

As you gently propelled yourself forward, you noticed how the cave seemed to open up. As you reached the end you looked up and saw that the cave did indeed open up into a large cavern. Sand lined the bottom of the cavern, many coral reefs and other life taking up residence. You started to swim up, noticing the surface approaching rapidly.

You broke through the surface of the water and found that the cavern was much larger than you initially thought. Swimming over to the edge of the pool, you pulled yourself up and started to look around as you started to remove your mask.

It was a rounded cavern. The pool was about twenty feet in diameter but there was a rocky ledge where you were currently perched on and then the rocky floor continued for another twenty feet making the whole diameter of the cavern about forty feet. You pulled your mask off and set it down as you undid and shrugged off your oxygen tank.

“This is incredible,” you whispered to yourself as you removed your flippers and got up, starting to walk around the cavern and inspect the walls. There was a slight glitter to them as you shined your light. Not like they were wet but like some kind of diamond dust was embedded in the rock.

You looked straight above your head and noticed there was an almost perfect circular cut out in the cavern ceiling and moonlight was filtering through the hole. The moonlight hit the surface of the water and danced around the cavern.

As you were inspecting, you noticed something else.

The cave seemed inhabited. You noticed bones collected in a pile and an old fire pit. You wondered who might seek shelter in this cave when it was so close to the boardwalk but didn’t have time to dwell on it as you heard a large splash coming from the pool.

You made your way back over and cursed as you saw your mask and oxygen tank sinking to the bottom of the pool. “Shit,” you said softly and looked around. You hoped there might be a break in the rocks that would allow you to exit the cave instead of having to go back into the pool but you saw nothing.

You turned around on the spot, trying to figure out a way out of this but you saw nothing that could help. There was nothing you could use to reach the tank and mask which were now nestled at the bottom of the pool in the sand. “Fuck!” you cursed, your voice echoing off the wall.

You looked away from the pool when you heard a shift against the rock behind you.

Shining your light back, you saw nothing and chalked it up to nerves.

You turned back, eyes catching something dark in the pool below you before you felt something grab you and pull you into the pool.

You kicked and fought against whatever it was until it seemed to let go of you and you quickly swam to the surface, coughing once you broke through the surface. You tried to pull yourself up onto the rocky ledge but something grabbed your leg and tugged, pulling you off the wall and back into the water.

Just as quickly as it grabbed you, it let go.

You tried to shine your flashlight around but whatever it was moved too fast for you to get a good glimpse of it. In a desperate attempt to throw the animal off, you threw your flashlight away, turning back for the ledge at the light splashed a considerable distance away.

You hoped the splash would distract the animal enough for you to get away and it seemed to work as you scrambled up onto the rocky ledge before you pulled away and peered back at the still water’s surface. Your eyes scanned the area, looking for any kind of predator that could have been responsible.

Upon not seeing one, you looked down to inspect your arm and your ankle. Your skin was unbroken and mostly unscathed. There were slight imprints, almost like teeth or maybe even claws but no blood had been drawn.

A small splash caught your attention and you snapped your head up in time to see a ripple cross the surface of the water. Something had disturbed the water. You saw a dark shadow move near the bottom of the pool, only noticing it as it crossed in front of the beam of your flashlight.

You were being watched. Whatever had dragged you into the water knew you were there and it was circling the pool. Waiting. Hunting. Whatever it was was sentient enough to know it had you trapped. It knew the only way out of the cave was through the water and it would wait.

You should have been terrified. After all, it was hunting you but your curiosity wouldn’t be satisfied until you caught a glimpse of it. You had to know what it was.

Carefully, you approached the edge of the pool, eyes scanning the dark and catching a large shadow as it swam in circles. Not in an erratic or frenzied pattern but calmly. Almost… leisurely.

As you peered over the edge of the rocks, the shadow stopped circling and started to swim to the surface. You watched in awe as a dark smooth body broke through the surface before you saw the fin. A shark fin. ‘Of course it was a shark,’ you told yourself watching as the creature moved towards you.

You pulled back slightly as it drew closer and closer. You were well aware that some sharks were known for their breaching behavior, namely great whites. This was definitely not a great white shark. It was much darker. It could have been a tiger shark but tigers weren’t known for their aggressive behavior.

Bull sharks on the other hand were and though bull sharks hadn’t been spotted in the area in over 20 years, it wasn’t completely impossible.You drew back entirely, hoping the animal wouldn’t try to jump out of the water to reach you.

As it drew closer, you watched as it dove down with just precision that you were starting to wonder if it was a shark after all. Sharks weren’t known for diving so steeply. They were gradual divers. You leaned over the edge and lost sight of the shadow. Your eyes caught the flickering of your flashlight and you cursed as it went dark, the illumination you had now gone and only the light of the moon allowing you to see.

The water seemed to still as you looked around. Had it left? Was the animal gone? Your instincts told you it was still there, waiting for you to slip up before it took you at its latest meal.

Even though sharks didn’t go out of their way to eat humans, if one was hungry enough, it would stalk one and wait. Just like any other starving predator.

As you looked around, you saw bubbles just under where you were leaning over the water.

You glanced down and let out an ear piercing scream as the creature surfaced quickly, forcing you back as it breached and landed on top of you. You struggled to push it away, taking care to avoid the head and any potential bites.

As you struggled under the weight of the animal, you could have sworn you heard… laughter?

Your eyes popped open and you looked up, fear and shock mixing as you stared at the creature above you.

You were looking into the face of a man. Your shock and fear turned briefly into anger as you tried to make sense of the situation. Had it been a man this whole time? Some weird cave hermit that had been tormenting you and pretending to be a shark to scare you into leaving his home?

“You should see your face!” he said as his laughter grew. You narrowed your eyes and tried to sit up but it was then you noticed the lower half of his body and gasped.

From the waist up, he was human. Golden tan skin that blended into the dark blackish-blue of his shark-like tail. A… merman? Your eyes traveled back up to his face, taking in each and every detail bathed in moonlight. He wore around his neck a black cord necklace with shells and in the middle, a pendant made from a shark tooth.

You watched as he continued to laugh, sharp pointed teeth peeking out from his plush peachy lips.

“You humans are so much fun,” he said as his laughter subsided. His hands rested on the rock under you as he leaned over you, his slim waist positioned between your thighs as he smirked at you. Leaning slightly to the left, you looked over his body again. The dark blackish-blue faded into a pale grayish-blue on the ventricle side and the same grayish-blue stripes covered his back. The fin on his back was just past his waist and was a very typical shark-like fin.

His tail was also the trademark shark fin but it was more like a thresher tail with the top part of the fin longer. Your eyes traveled back up to his face, inspecting the ocean blue irises that stared back at you. “What the--” you trailed off, pushing yourself up, forcing the creature to back up.

“What are you?” you asked, voice full of caution and curiosity. You watched as the creature fell back into the water, disappearing below the surface before popping back up, fixing you with a playful stare. “You’re the scientist,” he noted. “You tell me.”

You stared at him blankly. How could you even expect to explain this? Explain him? His very existence had been disputed and debated for hundreds of years. Mermaids were the stuff of legend and folklore. They weren’t supposed to exist.

If that were the case however, how did you explain this? How did you explain the creature treading water before you? “It has to be some sort of suit,” you mumbled, looking at the shark-like body under the water. The creature scoffed. “It’s always ‘seeing is believing’ with you humans until something shows up and then it’s all ‘has to be fake.’ Do you ever believe anything?” he asked.

You looked up, examining his face. His soft features. Round cheeks, plush pouty lips that started to lift into a crooked smile, showing off his pointed teeth. “I believe in science,” you explained and he rolled his eyes. “But I also believe there are things science can’t explain,” you continued.

You started to lower yourself into the water and he immediately shied away. You held up your hand. “I’m not going to hurt you,” you said softly. You saw his eyes flit to the knife strapped to your thigh. You followed his gaze and quickly removed the weapon.

“For protection,” you replied, setting it on the rocks behind you and facing him. “In case something tries to take a bite out of me,” you added. His brow furrowed. “If you get bit, maybe you shouldn’t get in the water,” he replied and you nodded. “I’ve never been bit,” you answered. “I’ve gotten close, but the knife is a last resort,” you continued.

“You have your teeth and your claws,” you reminded him. “My teeth and nails are no match for shark skin,” you added. “If you aren’t a match, why do you enter the ring?” he asked, tilting his head slightly. A smile spread across your face. “Because I study marine life,” you replied.

“I’m a marine biologist.”

The creature tilted his head the opposite direction. “Are you here to study me?” he asked. You shrugged before answering. “Up until a few minutes ago, I didn’t even know you existed,” you answered, swimming a little closer. He watched you cautiously. “So you didn’t know this cave is my home?” he asked and you shook your head. “No, I had no idea.”

He studied you carefully.

“Are you… a merman?” you asked suddenly. His expression changed, amusement crossing his features as he laughed. “A merman?” he asked incredulously. “Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “Those pretty boys live safe and sound in their lairs, never venturing far from home,” he added.

You cocked your head to the side. “Pretty boys?” you asked. “Do you not think you’re pretty?”

Your question must have caught him off guard because he stopped smiling and stared at you, a slight pink hue reaching his cheeks. “N-no,” he answered finally. “I’m not.” You frowned at him. How could he not think he was? You found all sea life incredible beautiful but nothing you’d encountered before had made you think it was attractive and yet here he was before you.

“I think you’re pretty,” you replied. He stared at you, eyes widening. “Y-you do?” he asked softly, to which you nodded. “I think you’re very pretty,” you replied. He swam a little closer, inspecting your face. “So,” you said, breaking the silence. “If you aren’t a merman, what are you?”

He raised his gaze to meet yours, drawing it from your body under the water. “What do you think I am? Hmm, marine biologist?” he asked and you sighed, backing away from him and pulling yourself up onto the rock. “Sorry,” you said as you situated yourself. “My legs were getting tired.”

He watched as you massaged your calves. “I can only tread water for so long.”

“In my experience,” you started. “I’ve never seen anything like you,” you continued. “The shark part is unlike any species I’ve ever seen. It’s like an amalgamation of tiger and thresher sharks,” you noted. He smiled, showing off his pointy teeth as he swam closer. “So you’re saying I’m unique?” he asked.

You nodded as he drew closer. “Unique and otherworldly,” you added. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” He pulled himself back up, leaning over your frame. “You’ve never seen anything like me?” You shook your head again. “Never,” you replied.

Silence fell over the two of you as you stared at one another. His dark hair had started to dry a bit, the ends of his bangs falling into his eyes. “What do you call yourself?” you asked, tilting your head to the right. He smiled, mimicking your movement. “Jisung,” he replied. “My name is Jisung.”

“Jisung,” you repeated. He leaned in, eyes watching your lips as you spoke. “I like the way you say my name,” he whispered. You could feel your heart rate kicking up as he leaned closer. ‘What is he doing?’ You stared back as his eyes moved up to meet your gaze. “What is your name?” he asked just as softly as before.

You froze. He was asking your name? Should you tell him? It’s not like he was going to look you up or something. You then wondered if you should tell any kind of sentient creature your name. Didn’t that give them power over you or something? You must have taken longer than he expected because he smirked at you.

“What’s the matter? Shark got your tongue?” he asked, amused by his own joke.

Your facade broke and you smiled. “Y/N,” you finally answered. “I’m Y/N.” Jisung smiled back, a genuine smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Y/N,” he replied, lowering back into the water and staring up at you.

“Likewise,” you replied.

After meeting Jisung that night, you promised to come back. And came back you did.

You managed to gain his trust enough to draw a small vial of blood, and take a couple pictures mainly of his tail and markings. You promised to keep his existence a secret, making sure all your research on him was done at home and that you kept everything under wraps.

A few days turned into a week and you came back almost every night, getting to know Jisung and more about his existence. You learned that he wasn’t a merman, like he had said. He was a samebito. He had explained that it was similar to a merman but different folklore and legends.

A week and a half had passed since you first met Jisung and you were currently sitting on the edge of the boat, writing in your notebook, going over your notes before suiting up and jumping in the water. 

A splash caught your attention and you glanced up. You weren’t sure why you even looked, it was night time and you couldn’t even see the water except near your boat. You grabbed the spotlight, flipping it on and turning it slowly until something came into view and you sighed.

“Someone’s impatient,” you chuckled, letting go of the light and returning to your notes as Jisung swam over to your boat. “I got lonely,” he said softly as he reached the end of your boat. He quickly pulled himself up to sit on the side of the boat near you.

“What’re you writing?” he asked, leaning over to see your notebook. “Just some notes,” you mumbled, finishing up your notes and closing the notebook quickly, and setting it aside. You turned to look at him and your smile fell upon seeing the fresh scar on his shoulder.

“What happened here?” you asked, voice laced with concern as you scooted closer.

He glanced down and let out a chuckle. “Oh,” he said softly. “I got a little too close to a shark feed ground,” he continued. “I’ll heal pretty quickly,” he added as you inspected the wound. “I was hunting and got in the way,” he admitted with a sheepish smile.

“Have you eaten?” you asked, looking up at him. He met your gaze and hesitated. “What?” he asked and watched as you got up and walked over to the opposite side of the boat, lifting one of the seats and reached in to pull out one of the fish you’d caught earlier.

“Here,” you said, holding it up. “I mean,” you added, turning your head to look at the fish. “I could cook it,” you said softly. Jisung smiled and chuckled. “Did you catch that for me?” he asked as you walked over, holding the fish up. You nodded. “There’s more in the cooler,” you added.

Jisung chuckled and shook his head. “It’s okay,” he said with a smile. “I’ve eaten,” he explained, taking the fish from you. “I don’t want to gross you out,” he added as he inspected it. “Oh,” you said dejectedly. Jisung looked up and handed the fish back. “Just keep it on ice for a little while longer and sell it if you don’t eat fish,” he said softly.

You took the fish and took it back to the cooler, closing it and placing the seat down before heading back and sitting back down. “So when did this happen?” you asked, nodding at his shoulder. He glanced down again as he thought.

“Oh, maybe like a couple hours ago,” he replied and your eyes widened in shock. “Wait, really?” you asked and he nodded, looking confused at your shock. “Yeah, I heal pretty quickly,” he added with a laugh. You leaned forward, reaching up to brush your fingers against his skin.

“Weird,” you murmured, making him throw his head back with a laugh. “Sorry,” you said sheepishly. Jisung shook his head. “It’s okay,” he replied. “Like you said, you’ve never met anyone like me.” You chuckled, nodding. “That’s true,” you added.

Silence fell over the two of you as you looked up at the sky, the waves lapping at the sides of the boat and a gentle breeze blowing through the air. You looked over at Jisung to find him already looking at you, a calm expression on his face.

“What?” you asked softly and he shook his head, a smile spreading across his face. “Nothing,” he answered. “Oh!” he said quickly sitting up. “I found something really cool while out the other night!” he said and turned towards you.

“Wanna see it?” he asked. You nodded, feeling excited. “Where are we going?” you asked, getting up and starting to strip to your bikini, not noticing the way Jisung’s eyes followed your movement and body. You moved to grab your wetsuit.

Jisung waited patiently for you to pull it on. “Jump in,” Jisung said, looking at the water and you looked at the water. “We’re swimming there?” you asked, making him chuckle. “It’s not far,” he answered. “It’s worth it, I promise.” You narrowed your eyes at him.

“Come on, Y/N,” he groaned. “Live a little,” he added with a wink before rolling towards the edge of the boat and diving into the water. You sighed and grabbed your boat keys, pulling the elastic over your wrist and walking over to the light, shutting it off the light and heading to the bow of the boat, grabbing your flashlight and snorkel mask. 

As you reached the back, you turned the light on to see Jisung was floating, waiting for you. “Where are we going?” you asked as you held the flashlight between your knees as you pulled the mask on. “Not far,” Jisung said as you grabbed the flashlight and climbed down the ladder, joining him in the water.

Jisung took your hand and gently pulled you along. “Come here,” he said softly. “Hold on,” he added, guiding your arms around his neck. “Are you sure?” you asked, softly, cheeks burning as you looked at him so closely. He turned his head to look at you, his own cheeks turning soft pink.

“Uh,” yeah,” he said softly. “Just try not to get under me,” he added. 

It felt weird, hanging off him from behind as he started swimming. It almost felt like you were riding a shark, the trashing as he started off but soon turned into a smooth motion as he zipped through the water, propelled only by the powerful tail.

Jisung was careful to stay near the surface so you didn’t have to hold your breath with the mask. You could tell he was holding back, not swimming as fast as you knew he could go. You’d seen him zipping through the water before, breaching the surface at speeds you suspected most sharks could reach.

This was much slower than you’d witnessed.

Jisung started to slow, lifting his head out of the water. As he came to a stop, you slid from his back, reaching up to remove your snorkel mask. “We’re almost there,” he said, looking up at the stars overhead. You glanced skyward, letting out a soft gasp.

“Wow,” you whispered. Jisung chuckled, grabbing your hand gently. “Come on,” he said quietly, tugging you through the water towards the rocky beach. “I’ve seen these rocks when visiting you,” you commented as he led you towards them. “You’ll need your goggles for this,” he said, turning to look back at you. As soon as the words left his lips, you pulled them back on, dumping any water out of them.

“Now what?” you asked as he took your hand again. “Hold your breath,” he instructed. You took a deep breath and allowed him to pull you under the water, leading you down towards a cave opening. It wasn’t unlike the entrance to his cave; only this one was much narrower.

The cave opening seemed to go on forever, winding around as you let Jisung pull you. Your lungs were starting to burn and you knew if you didn’t hurry, you’d start to suffocate. Finally, Jisung pulled you free from the narrow cave into a much larger one and pushed you towards the surface.

You kicked towards the surface of the pool, breaching at the same time he did. Jisung floated near as you coughed, allowing air to fill your lungs again, the taste of salt on your tongue. “I had no idea there were so many of these,” you gasped. “How many are there?”

Jisung chuckled, taking your hand. “Come,” he said simply, pulling you through the water. The inside of this cave was much different than his. Instead of a single round chamber, there were multiple round chambers, connected together. 

Jisung pulled you along into the next chamber until you reached the last one. “Through there,” he nodded towards a window in the rock wall. “This is so cool,” you commented as you swam over, pulling yourself up to peer out.

It was then that you saw it.

Jisung pulled himself up next to you, a wide grin on his face. “Wow,” you whispered. “Cool, huh?” he asked, resting his chin on his forearm.

Outside the cave was more stretch of ocean, waves rolling up onto a sandy beach. There was only about twenty feet between the beach and the treeline behind it and the beach stretched for about fifty feet between two rocky bluffs.

All along the beach, rolling in the waves were glowing blue lights. “Bioluminescent plankton,” you whispered. “They come here every night to feed,” he whispered. “It’s pretty cool, with the stars and the lights,” he continued.

You turned to look at him.

“This little alcove is remote,” he explained. “Human’s haven’t started colonizing it,” he added. “I think it might be privately owned,” he continued. You glanced at him before looking back at the beach. “I hope it stays like this,” you whispered, also resting your chin on your forearm.

You sat in silence, watching the lights dance in the waves. You could feel Jisung’s eyes on you and you turned to look at him, your cheeks burning. You watched his eyes flit between your eyes and your lips before he slowly moved. He lifted his hand, moving it to cup your face, thumb tracing the curve of your cheek.

Your heart started to hammer in your chest as he leaned closer. At that moment, a shrill laugh rang out from the direction of the trees. Jisung pulled back abruptly and you turned away from his gaze to look at the beach as a beam of light bounced along the sand.

“Teenagers,” you whispered as a group of teens came out of the woods, giggling as they descended on the shore. Jisung scoffed as he watched them. “Ungrateful little shits.” You snorted into a laugh. “Come on,” you said softly. “Before they decide to come into the water and find this cave with us inside.”

Jisung allowed you to lead him away, back through the cave. You pulled your mask back on, taking another deep breath and letting Jisung pull you through the narrow opening and back into the open ocean. You took your time swimming back, only hitching a ride when your legs gave out.

Back at the boat, Jisung watched you climb up the ladder and pulled himself up on the side again, watching as you disappeared into the cabin. In the privacy of your boat, you stripped and dried off, pulling on dry clothes and running a towel haphazardly over your hair before returning to Jisung.

His hair had started to dry as he lounged on the side of the boat, his tail hanging down the side of the vessel. You chuckled, turning on the lights of the boat and Jisung opened one eye to look at you. “Are you gonna sleep there?” you asked as you walked over, taking a seat on the cushion below where he was lounging.

He propped himself up, looking down at you. “What happened back there,” he started, his voice taking on a more serious tone. You looked away, feeling a sour taste bubbling up from your stomach. ‘He wants to forget it,’ you told yourself.

“It’s fine,” you interrupted. “It can’t happen, I know,” you added. You refused to look up at him so you missed the way his brows knitted together as he stared at you, a slight pout on his lips. “That’s what you’re going to say, right?” you asked when he didn’t answer.

“I’m a human and you’re not. So we can’t.”

You felt his fingers move under your chin, turning and tilting your head to face him. “Stop jumping to conclusions,” he said sternly before leaning in and closing the distance, pressing his lips against yours. For a split second, you panicked before accepting the gesture and melting into the kiss.

You whined as he started to pull back. You pulled him back in by the back of his neck, kissing him more fiercely. Jisung accepted your advances, lips parting as he took back control, his tongue slipping into your mouth. You pulled him closer, leaning back onto the cushions and forcing him to follow your movements.

Jisung groaned into the kiss and pulled back quickly. “Wait,” he gasped. “Sorry,” you whispered as he pushed himself up. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “Just give me a second.” You sat up as he pulled back, taking a few deep breaths. “Things were getting a little intense,” he admitted.

You smiled shyly. “Sorry,” you replied. “I got a little excited I guess,” you added, shrugging. Jisung chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “That’s okay,” he answered. “I did, too,” he admitted with a grin. “It happened really fast. I’m sorry if I crossed a line,” he continued.

You shook your head, pulling your knees up and resting your head against the backrest of the seat. “It’s okay,” you said softly, looking up at him in the lights of the boat. “I wanted it.” Jisung nibbled on his bottom lip nervously. “You did?” he asked, his voice sounding optimistic.

You nodded. “I did,” you reassured him. “You didn’t cross a line.”

“That’s a relief.”

Silence fell over you as you watched him and he watched you for a while. You weren’t sure how much time had passed before you spoke. “Do you ever get scared?” you asked him. He tilted his head curiously. “Scare?” he asked. “Of what?”

“The town? Fishermen? Being discovered?”

Jisung hesitated, no doubt pondering his answer. “Sometimes,” he answered finally. “I guess I haven’t really thought about it but I like being left alone,” he said, smiling before speaking. “Well, mostly alone,” he added. “I just want to live my life like most creatures.”

“Have you ever been spotted before?” you asked and he smiled wider. “You tell me? Heard any stories?” you snorted as you realized what he was hinting at. “No, thankfully,” you replied. Jisung chuckled at your response. “There you have it. Safe and undiscovered except by you.”

He leaned closer, brushing his lips against yours before pressing a chaste kiss to your lips. Your cheeks heated up again. You could feel the heat spread all the way down to your core and you tried not to focus on the feeling lingering in your stomach. Jisung noticed a shift in your demeanor and tilted his head.

“You okay?” he asked softly, moving his hand to caress your cheek, thumb brushing over your bottom lip. You nodded wordlessly. “Yeah,” you answered. “I’m great,” you lied. “But it’s getting late,” you commented. “I should probably head out.”

You got up, Jisung sitting up and watching as you did. “Hey,” he called softly, reaching out for your hand. You allowed him to take hold of it and pull you closer. “I have to go hunting tomorrow but I’ll see you after, yeah?” he asked. You nodded, leaning in to press your forehead against his.

“Goodnight,” you said softly. Jisung pulled you in, placing a tender kiss against your lips. 

“Goodnight,” he whispered. You watched as he dove off the side of the boat and into the water with a splash, only surfacing to look up at you. You waved at him as he stared up at you. 

“See you tomorrow!” he called before disappearing below the surface, no doubt heading into his cave.

“See you tomorrow,” you whispered.

Only you didn’t see him the next day. Or the day after that. You couldn’t bring yourself to face him.

The night after Jisung took you to see the bioluminescent plankton and kissed you, your dreams were plagued with him. They started innocently, spending time exploring the caves but they soon took a turn and you were starting to have inappropriate thoughts and dreams about him.

Things you should definitely not be thinking about.

The dreams only escalated after that and soon you were dreaming about him showing up in your home, shark tail gone and replaced with human legs.

It was starting to get out of hand.

You hadn’t been back to see Jisung in almost a week and you were feeling guilty not only for disappearing but also for having continuous wet dreams about him. How were you supposed to look him in the eye when all you could think about was him pinning you down and having his way with you?

You knew sooner or later, you’d have to go back out there. You couldn’t just not ever come back. You at least needed to explain to him why you’d been avoiding him and avoiding coming back.

The final push came when you were at the market, looking at some cuts of steak for dinner when you overheard a conversation at the next stall over.

“You’re so full of shit, Paul,” a woman said, shaking her head as she continued crocheting. “No I’m not!” the man you presumed was Paul replied. “I saw it! Looked like a great big tiger shark but it had the upper body of a man!”

You froze, eyes widening as you inspected a particular cut of steak. ‘Jisung?’

“And where did you see this mermaid?” another man asked, laughing. “Near the pier! I was doing some fishing off the end when I spotted it! Was huge! Like ten feet long!” You felt your heart start to pound as you forced a smile and pointed out two steaks.

The stall owner packaged them up for you. “Thanks,” you murmured, handing over a few notes to pay for the meat as the conversation beside you carried on.

“I swear, I saw it!”

You walked away as the others around the man laughed and waved their hands, dismissing his claims. Upon returning home, your mind was made up for you as you entered your kitchen, making one of the steaks for yourself and saving the other. You wonder if Jisung had ever had steak before.

After dinner, you packed your stuff, grabbing your bikini and house keys. You stopped and grabbed the steak from the fridge and headed out of the house, locking up and walking towards the marina, bag slung over your shoulder.

You ignored the night beach goers enjoying bonfires as you headed for the docks. Once on your boat, you casted off, backing your boat out and driving out towards the caves where you knew Jisung had taken up residence.

You reached the rocks in record time, casting your anchor and moving to lower the microphone in the water. You normally didn’t have to use it but you figured after a week, you might need to use it to draw Jisung out.

You turned the dial, starting the dolphin call and sat on one of the seats.

You waited patiently, arms crossed over your chest before you got up and headed into the cabin, changing out of your clothes and into your bikini and then pulling on the wetsuit. As you exited the cabin you heard a splash and looked up to see Jisung perched on the side of your boat staring at you.

There was no smile nor greeting. He merely stared at you blankly.

Neither of you said anything as you stared at one another. Finally Jisung spoke.

“What?” he asked shortly. You crossed to the cooler, lifting the seat and opening the cooler lid. You pulled out the steak and held it up to show him. “Ever had beef?” you asked. Jisung narrowed his eyes. “That’s all you have to say?” he asked. You tore open the brown paper and removed the plastic, holding up the steak.

“Have you ever had steak?”

He glared at you. “Is this some kind of test?” he asked. You shook your head, walking over to where he was and climbed up to sit next to him. “No,” you replied. “I was at the market earlier and got steak,” you explained. He stared at you, glancing down at the meat and back up.

“And this is relevant, how?” he asked. He was clearly upset at you and you couldn’t fault him. You disappeared after he’d kissed you. You presented the steak. “How about you eat and I’ll talk, hmm?” you asked. He looked up at you hesitantly before he nodded.

You handed him the steak to inspect. “You said it’s beef?” he asked. You nodded as he raised it to sniff. “Cow,” you added. “It’s actually a really tender cut,” you continued. “I cooked the other one earlier and ate it for dinner.”

You turned away as he nibbled at the end of the steak. “I also heard an interesting story at the market when I was buying this steak,” you explained. “One of the guys there, a local fisherman. name’s Paul,” you said, glancing at him.

“Well, Paul told everyone in his vicinity that he’d seen something out on the pier while fishing this morning,” you continued, noticing how Jisung’ gaze flickered to you. “Said he’d seen something… strange.” Jisung lowered the partially eaten steak.

“Said it was huge. Looked like a massive tiger shark,” you continued as Jisung stared unblinkingly at you. “Said it had the torso of a man.” Realization dawned on his face as you spoke. “I was spotted?” he asked and you sighed. “What were you doing at the pier in broad daylight?” you asked.

Jisung looked away from you and down at the meat. “I went looking for you,” he admitted. Your heart skipped a beat. “Why?” you asked softly. “Because you vanished,” he replied, looking up at you. “I haven’t seen you for a week!”

Your stomach sank. It was as you feared. “I’m sorry,” you said softly as he ripped the steak apart with his hands. “I was dealing with some things,” you added as he tore into one of the pieces. You watched as he chewed the raw meat and swallowed. “Are you okay now?” he asked.

You nodded. “For the most part,” you added. “I’m still… dealing,” you admitted. Jisung devoured the last of the steak and looked at you. “Do you have any more of that?” he asked, sniffing the air. You chuckled and shook your head. “No,” you replied. “Just the one.”

He pouted. “That was really good,” he murmured, looking disappointed. He perked up quickly. “You’re here though,” he added and you nodded. “I know,” you replied. “And I’m sorry I was gone.” He shook his head and nodded towards the water. “I have something to show you, come on!” he said and before you could answer, he rolled off the boat with a splash into the water below.

Sighing you grabbed your snorkel mask and turned off the boat lights, making sure to grab your keys and the ankle flashlight. Once you were equipped, you climbed down the ladder and into the water with a splash. Making sure the mask was secure, you ducked your head.

You could see Jisung swimming near the opening to his cave. Once he was certain you spotted him, he slipped into the narrow opening and you took a deep breath before following, removing the mouth piece of your snorkel.

You pulled yourself into the opening and followed the path to the interior chamber, kicking toward the surface. Jisung was sitting on the ledge of the pool and you moved over to join him, pulling the mask off and setting it aside.

“What did you wanna show me?” you asked as you pulled yourself up. Jisung held up his hand, showing you a collection of shells. “Scallops,” you muttered, picking up one of the shells. “And this,” he added, showing you an intact clam.

“It already died,” he explained as he carefully pried it open with his nails. “But this is what I really wanted to show you,” he explained as he picked up something small and round and handed it over, placing it in your palm. It was a pearl.

“It’s so pretty,” you breathed, holding the pearl closer. Jisung smiled before he slipped into the water. “I have one more thing to show you,” he added and disappeared under the water, diving down to the bottom of the pool.

He resurfaced moments later and swam closer, holding up something small, smooth, and purple. “Sea glass,” he said as you took the smooth stone-like material. “I see this stuff all the time,” he explained as he rested his chin on your knee. You smiled at him. “You’re giving gifts now?” you asked and he nodded.

He took a deep breath, the smile on his face dropping. “Is something different about you?” he asked suddenly. You glanced down at him and shook your head. “No,” you replied. He lifted his head, sniffing the air. “Something smells different…”

Your cheeks burned as he leaned closer, inhaling your scent.

“Oh,” he said softly, glancing up at you.

“Are you-”

“These are really pretty gifts,” you interrupted, looking down at the pearl and sea glass. Jisung’s brow furrowed as you avoided his gaze. “Y/N,” he started and when you still didn’t look at him, he pulled himself up, caging you in with his arms as his body slotted between your thighs.

You let out a surprised squeak, the pearl and sea glass falling from your hands and into the water with a plop. Jisung was inspecting your face, leaning closer. “Jisung,” you warned as he leaned even closer, forcing you to lean back, holding yourself up with one hand.

One of his hands moved to your lower back and pulled your hips flush against him, forcing another squeak from your lips. Heat spread into your cheeks and pooled in the pit of your stomach and Jisung’s eyes widened as the realization hit him.

“So that’s why you’ve been avoiding me?” he whispered. You shook your head. “I haven’t been avoiding-AHH!” you gasped as he very quickly pinned you down, your back flat against the rock as he hovered over you.

“You have,” he murmured. “You’ve been avoiding me. Was it the kiss?” he asked, his hands moving to pin your wrists together. “Did it have some sort of effect on--”

Jisung stopped, his words catching as he caught the change of your scent. The sudden flood of arousal that filled the cavern.

“Oh,” he said, his voice dropping an octave and eyes darkening. “So that does it for you, does it?” he asked, grinning lopsidedly at you, showing his sharp teeth off. 

“Being pinned down and unable to move?”

You stared up at him, breathing heavily as heat rushed to your core, a tingling sensation starting to form in your toes. “W-what?” you whispered, your voice much softer than you intended. Jisung’s grin widened. “I think you do. I think you like this,” he continued.

You shook your head but your voice wouldn’t come out. Jisung tilted his head, black eyes boring into yours. “I think you’re lying,” he said, leaning down, his lips inches from yours. “I think you like the idea of being unable to fight back,” he chuckled, nose nuzzling into your cheek.

“Maybe I should teach you a lesson for disappearing on me for three nights. Making me worry about you.” You let out an involuntary whimper, feeling his hips grind against yours. Jisung let out a soft chuckle. “Oh, baby,” Jisung whispered as he ghosted his lips over the skin of your neck up to your ear.

“You really should have stayed away another night.”

You let out a squeal as Jisung pulled back, water splashing as he pulled you with him.

You surfaced, kicking under you to stay afloat as you looked around quickly. You turned back to the rocky ledge, to pull yourself up but as you got about halfway out of the water, Jisung resurfaced, pressing against your back and pinning you against the rocks.

You let out a cry of surprise as he chuckled in your ear, his hands wandering to your wetsuit and your eyes widened as you heard a rip of the fabric. ‘Did he just…’

When Jisung pulled back to admire his handiwork, you realized he’d ripped the entire back of your wetsuit open, completely ignoring the zipper right next to it.

You lowered yourself into the water and turned to look over your shoulder at him, finding half of his face submerged in the water. “What the hell!” you snapped. Jisung darted forward, pinning you against the rock wall. “Sorry, little fish,” he chuckled as his hands were quick to start pulling your wetsuit off, leaving you in just your swimsuit.

“That was my favorite wetsuit,” you pouted as you watched it sink into the depths of the pool. Jisung blocked your view, taking your face in his hands. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, leaning in until your lips were inches apart. You stared back at him, unmoving. He hesitated, a slight smirk crossing his features before he finally closed the distance, kissing you.

Your lips parted in a gasp allowing his tongue to slip into your mouth. Your own hands had moved to the rocks, trying to keep yourself from sinking. Jisung pulled back, lips ghosting across your cheek and kissing down the side of your neck.

You felt him nip at the string of your bikini top. “I could easily snap this,” he mused before continuing to kiss along your shoulder. You opened your mouth to retort but he pressed his hips against yours, ripping a moan from your throat instead.

Another roll of his hips and your hands slipped from the rocks. Jisung was quick to grab your wrists, placing your hands on his shoulders. “If you need to hold onto something, hold onto me,” he said, watching your face as he rutted against you again.

Your head was swimming, heat pooling in your lower belly as the shark creature grinded against you, one hand holding onto the rocky ledge while the other moved down to your thigh, holding your hips in place. The rocks in the wall behind you jutted out, pushing into your back but you couldn’t be bothered to care, not when Jisung was breathing heavily into your ear, teasing you with his words.

“You know I could pin you down and have my way with you right now if I wanted to, right?”

You let out another moan as he rutted against you. “What’s stopping you,” you breathed, your voice just audible over the sound of the water lapping against the rocks. Jisung chuckled softly, his breath fanning over your collar and neck. “Because,” he started, slowing his movements.

“I’m waiting for your permission to let me have my way with you.”

One of your hands moved up the back of his neck, tangling in his dark locks. “Then consider this my consent,” you whispered before pulling him into a heated kiss. It only lasted for a few moments before Jisung lifted you up out of the water, placing you on the edge of the rock ledge.

“Don’t move,” he ordered, reaching up and untying one side of your bikini bottoms, letting the material fall before untying the other side and grabbing your hips in his hands. You had no time to ask what he was doing before you felt his tongue rough against your clit.

“Oh shit,” you gasped, eyes fluttering shut, one hand moving to his hair. Jisung ignored your grip on him, merely licking slowly up your slit. “That steak tasted amazing,” he noted, his voice low and gravelly.

“But you taste divine.”

You let out another moan as his lips attached to your clit, teasing, flicking, and sucking on the sensitive nub. You felt the tips of his pointed nails digging slightly into the flesh of your thighs. “Oh shit,” you gasped as he nipped at your clit.

“J-Jisung!” you whined, back arching as he lapped at your clit. “Keep saying my name like that,” he groaned against you. “Sounds so good when you say it like that, baby.”

“I need you pliant,” he murmured, pulling back to look at your slit. “But I don’t wanna hurt you,” he added softly. “Spread your legs for me, cutie,” he instructed. “And keep them spread.”

You did as he asked, spreading your thighs, squeaking out a small yelp when he pushed your knees closer to you. “Hold right here,” he said, patting the backs of your knees. You replaced his hands and groaned as you felt his tongue against your slit.

“Relax for me,” you heard him mutter and you took a deep breath.

You felt the tip of his tongue push into your hole and both of you groaned; you at the intrusion and him at the taste and warmth of your cunt. You felt him ease more of his tongue into your walls and wondered if he’d been hiding the majority of his tongue.

You moaned, walls clenching as his tongue moved in and out of you slowly. “F-fuck. I didn’t know you could do that,” you whined. Jisung hummed against you, sending vibrations against your clit and you gasped out.

Just as quickly, he withdrew his tongue and pulled back. “I think that’s enough,” he said as you propped yourself up, chest heaving. “I’ll just have to take my time easing into you,” he added, grabbing your hips and pulling you closer.

You let out a yelp as your lower half fell into the water. “Turn around,” he growled, grabbing your hips and pushing you into position as you held onto the ledge. Jisung lifted you partially out of the water, holding you in place. “W-what’re you doing?”

“I’m going to fuck you, baby,” he chuckled. You felt something warm and wet grind against you and you let out a moan. “O-okay,” you said as he pressed the head of his cock against your slit. “It’s not too late to tap out,” he joked and you shook your head.

“No,” you retorted. “I want this.” 

Jisung hissed, the tip of his cock slipping into you and making you gasp at the intrusion. You hadn’t gotten to see it before he was pushing it into you but it felt huge. You moaned, your walls stretching to accommodate him as he slid in, inch by inch.

“Hold still,” you heard him whisper as he pinned you against the ledge. “What--FUCK!”

You cursed, gasping as he thrust forward, sheathing his entire length inside you with one motion.

“Oh fuck,” you groaned, knees bumping into the rock wall as Jisung bottomed out. “Hah, so t-tight,” you heard him grunt. “M’gonna fuck you so good,” he chuckled, resting his forearm over your back. “Now just stay still, baby,” he continued, slowly pulling back and snapping his hips forward, making you gasp.

“Fuck you feel good. I should have done this a lot sooner,” he mused, setting a steady pace, thrusting into you from behind. “J-Jisung,” you whimpered. You felt his breath as he leaned in close to your ear. “This was more fun when you fought back,” he panted. “So fight me.”

You tried to push yourself up but he just forced you back down. “Come on, baby,” he cooed. “You can do better than that. Beg me to stop,” he laughed, slamming into you, making you see stars with each thrust. “S-stop,” you stammered weakly.

Jisung laughed again, his breath hot and heavy against the back of your neck. “Is that the best you’ve got?” he asked. “Come on, pet,” he continued, grunting with effort. “Really beg me.”

S-stop, please,” you whimpered, finding a little more strength in your voice. You didn’t want him to stop though. Not when it felt so good. “That’s it,” Jisung groaned. “Keep it going. Beg me not to fuck you. Tell me you want me to let you go. Plead with me,” he growled.

You gasped as he gave you a hard thrust, stealing the words from your tongue and the breath from your lungs. “J-Jisung. Stop. This is wr-wrong. P-please s-uh-stop,” you moaned into the rocky surface. You noticed how your whines and pleas only spurred him on.

You tried again to push yourself up only for him to grab both of your wrists, forcing you back down against the rocks, pinning your arms behind your back with one hand. “You really think you can fight me off?” he scoffed, thrusts increasing in speed.

“You think you’re strong enough?”

You shook your head, moans slipping from your lips as your mind started to go blank. “That’s right, little fish,” he smirked. “You’re powerless against me. You can’t do anything. You’re completely at my mercy. This entire time you think you’ve been in control?”

He chuckled darkly. “You haven’t been in control of shit. I let you think you had the power here. You’re out of your depth, Y/N. You have no idea what you’re up against,” he growled, slowing his thrusts to deep rolls, making your eyes roll back and a low moan escape the back of your throat.

“I let you leave every night but you always come back to me,” he continued. “Why do you think that is?” he asked softly, continuing to grind against you, his cock lodged deep in your walls. “Because you’re mine,” he growled. “You’ve been mine from the moment you entered this cave and you’ll be mine when you leave ‘cause no matter how many times you leave after this…” he trailed off, licking against your pulse point.

“You’ll always come back to me.”

You let out a mix between a scream and a moan as you felt his sharp teeth pierce your skin. ‘He just bit you. You’re gonna bleed out, you idiot!’

Despite the sharp stinging pain, the bite was more superficial with only minimal bleeding. It was meant to scar you. To mark you. You were now marked as his. 

Upon sinking his teeth into your skin, Jisung felt your walls contract around his cock and he groaned, his thrusts regaining the same relentless pace from before, slamming into you repeatedly, savoring your cries of both pleasure and pain from the bite. It would heal. It wasn’t that deep anyway.

Your walls tightened, restricting his movement as he felt you cum and he coaxed you through it, whispering words of encouragement in your ear as you came down from your high. “That’s it, baby,” he whispered. “Such a good girl, taking my cock so well.”

You moaned in response as he kept going. “It’s my turn, little one,” he murmured. “Shhh, baby. It’s okay. Just let go. I’ve got you,” he added, keeping a firm hold on your wrists. “Gonna fill this cute little pussy with my cum and make you mine.”

He readjusted your hips so the rock wasn’t digging into your hips before chasing his own. The sound of skin on skin echoed around the small cavern, bouncing off the rock walls, mixing with your moans until Jisung finally let out a slew of curses, strung between moans as he came, burying his cock deep inside you and filling your cunt with his seed.

He knew it wouldn’t take. You were human after all. He couldn’t actually breed with you but damn did it feel good to pretend for a few minutes as he came down from his own orgasm, muttering into your ear about how you were bound to him forever and how cute you’d look carrying his child.

When the moment passed, Jisung inspected the bite wound to your shoulder, clicking his tongue. “I could have bitten harder,” he murmured as he released your arms. “It might not show once it heals,” he added as you pushed yourself up. “If it doesn’t show up,” you said, your voice hoarse.

“I guess you’ll just have to try again.”

Jisung smiled as you looked over your shoulder at him. “How about tomorrow?” he asked, eyes sparkling in the moonlight. You rolled your eyes. “I meant after it heals, you perverted sex fiend!”

Jisung pouted as you pushed him away, his cock slipping out of you and retracting back into his body as you shakily pulled yourself up onto the rock ledge. “But,” he started as you grabbed your bikini bottoms and turned to face him. “No buts,” you retorted. “Let me heal first, otherwise you might kill me.”

Jisung watched as you put your swimsuit back on, retying the strings. He watched as you moved back to sit on the edge, dipping your legs into the water before moving to push your thighs apart and slot between them, resting his arms on the tops of your thighs.

He smiled a toothy grin when you looked down, meeting his gaze before he spoke.

“So, the day after tomorrow?”

ⓘ Graphics made by me. Content and support banners made using a template by cafekitsune. I do not allow reposts, translations, or continuations of my works. All writing and graphics are ©️ kwanisms.

[starberry-cupcake]

if my silly recaps and my reactions bring a small smile to your face or remind you of a book you love in these trying times, it's all worth it ♥ I'm hugging you softly and telling you I'm here for you ♥

previously, in harrowcita del 9:

this happened

EPIPARODOS

9 months and 29 days before the emperor's murder

I need you all to know I'm reading all of these announcements of time stamps for the emperor's murder like this

I spent these past 2 days marinating on this time stamp and making math in my head with the fact that harrow told palmolive that he's been in his river loft for 8 months

and being like "is this gonna be the Explanation????"

sort of

remember when I said harrow was probably the one who did the mind tampering or, at least, it was done with her consent?

I WAS CORRECT

I also said maybe it had to do with the emperor and his murder but that's not yet been clarified

harrow is asking yandere twin to help her do a brain procedure to forget stuff

for reasons that will be partially disclosed later

basically, it's like if she was asking her to cut her hair for her, but more metal

yandere twin also sort of dunks on palmolive and harrow goes like "you wash your third house filthy mouth before talking about my bestie palmolive sextus like that"

she didn't say that word by word, she said "I may have been Sextus's necromantic superior; but he was the better man. You are not even so worthy of that brain as to wipe its bloodied remnants from the wall."

which is kinda similar in concept

camilla would have high-fived her for that one

yandere twin is trying to convince harrow not to do the brain hair cut because it's dangerous and potentially useless

as if that has ever stopped someone from the ninth from doing crazy shit

harrow tells yandere twin that if she thinks becoming a lyctor doesn't mean they're more trapped than ever, she's delulu

harrow also exhibits one golden eye

and I'm like WAS GIDEON SLURPED IN THE END???? I WAS HOLDING OUT FOR HOPE!!!!

yandere twin says "time to absolutely fuck you up"

cue brain makeover montage with this song

please imagine it with that song, I need you to see my vision

I swear it's very important

I didn't mention it before but this chapter was narrated by yandere twin

sponsored by chad aka babs aka nebarius...was it nebarius or naberius? anyway

she says that harrow's brain makeover is a "destructive, romantic, ridiculous act"

I sure hope so

she also says she's gonna marry harrow, but probably not

I sure hope not, because it's not my ship, yandere twin, I'm sorry

I like you, but not for harrow

ACT FIVE

CHAPTER 40, 41, 42

I'm grouping these all together because they're a ~theme~

the fact that the titles of them are like ?????????? is very much the spirit of these recaps

thank you, author, I see your vision

these are other aus, much like the canaan house gideon-less au, but with different scenarios

first au has a broken IX skull, it takes place in the ninth and harrow is called "nova" instead of "nonagesimus"

in it, she's fighting ortus, or attempting to

because harrow wants ortus to give her the spot of cavalier primary

which is very regina george twin and chad behavior, they had a similar situation going on, but they resolved it with biting

as you do in the third house

(I just wached a yt video in which a person was called 'babs' and they said the name so many times it's starting to make me want to name chad correctly)

(it's fixing my brain)

she also mentions a Reverend Daughter who isn't her

she doesn't seem to like the other reverend daughter, even if she stepped in to intercede for her at one time, and ortus and her argue about it until crux comes in

it's giving gideon and harrow switching spots, in a way, although gideon never wanted to be cavalier primary

neither did ortus

regina george twin is the only one fighting for that spot

she is made to go and apologize to two pilgrims standing there and, when she does, it's abby and magnus from the fifth

and abby says "this isn't how it happens"

our favorite phrase

next au has a V broken skull and takes place in a ball

there is a Divine Highness who is looking for a bride and this is a dance to present suitors to her

the sixth house isn't dancing or joining in on the party, wich is another tick on my personal checklist of my favorite house

idk if there's a quiz of which house you're in but I hope I'm that one

*me getting the second and having to erase my memory like harrow*

abby and magnus show up once again and magnus is eating the food and complimenting harrow on how accurate it is

ortus is with them too, because polycule

they all wanted to see where this au led (actually, me too) but, you know what they say

say it with me:

"this isn't how it happens"

42 is a broken IV skull

this one is, at the start, a sort of military au

the kiddies from the fourth show up, remember them?

they're still talking in whispers among themselves

so cute ♥ I'd say protect them at all costs, but we already failed at that

the important part of this one is that it turns from a military au into a coffee shop au

and there's a BARI star (puns!)

"the arms beneath the rolled-up sleeves betrayed lean, taut muscle, a little dewy with sweat and steam from the mess. But it was the face that sent her neurons in a thalergetic spin. When Harrowhark looked at that face, she found a curious heat travelling all the way up from the pit of her pylorus to the high collar of her Cohort shirt. It then traversed her cheeks, her nose, her brow, her temples. The other officer smiled a firm-jawed, long, crooked smile at her; Harrow was electrified by the fact that beneath the hastily brushed crop of red hair those eyes were—"

(the fact that my playlist started 2 become 1 from the spice girls right now is actually incredibly funny)

AND ABBY GOES "Absolutely not"

ABBY NOOOOOOOOOO

ABBY LET ME HAVE THISSSSSSSS

LET ME HAVE A COFFEE SHOP AU INTERLUDE AS A TREAT

I DESERVE IT

WE ALL DESERVE IT

CHAPTER 43

GIDEON FRACTURED SKULL PEOPLE

AVIATOR GLASSES, CROSSED OUT IX, CRACKED SKULL

one night before the emperor's murder

we're connecting the timelines

ortus's polycule is arguing about the previous scenarios and whether or not "that was..." while harrow wakes up

abby promptly shoos everyone out of the room

FOLKS LISTEN TO THIS NOW

LISTEN TO THISSSSSSS

"If I forget you, let my right hand be forgotten. Add more also, if aught but death part me and thee. Griddle."

I'M IN P A I N

I'M IN S H A M B L E S

(my playlist decided on hoobastank's the reason now lmao what is happening with the 90s/early2000s playlist tonight)

OK OK EXPOSITION TIME

sort of, you know how it is

harrow remembers gideon and cries for her as we all do

abby is asking her questions and gives her one minute to mourn

so, harrowcita decided to do the hair cut brain procedure to separate the part of her brain that remembered and understood gideon's soul

accoding to her, it was "a brute-force solution but it worked"

very gideon behavior, we love that

abby points out that harrow is also very much haunted by an invasive soul

harrow's like ?????????????????????????? on top of everything else?????????

I'm wondering if this is ice cube barbie????? not sure

abby explains that harrow is possessed by an angry spirit and that she's losing against it

ice cube barbie sure has reason to be angry if she wants to, she had to put up with doctor reverend emperor john's bs

also, the canaan au is harrow's form of palmolive's bachelor loft, the bubble in the river thing

she made an au in the river and brought on all her ghostie ghoulie friends to populate it

abby tells her that she didn't remove her memories of gideon, she re-wrote and re-touched them with ortus, which is why he was invited, and she also filled in spaces of some people (people who weren't dead) with constructs

harrow says "what a waste of a woman, to have ended her life at the bottom of a ladder"

RIGHT???? she was killed so book 1 could be longer, otherwise it would have been solved in 2 minutes, no wonder she's the top in the polycule

apparently also a lot of what's happening at this canaan au has been modified by this invasive spirit that's haunting harrow

harrowcita tells abby who's alive, abby says regina george twin should have been the lyctor

NOW WAIT A MINUTE THERE

yandere twin and I don't see eye to eye on everything but I get defensive if someone's trashing her abilities in comparison to her sister

also "The Master Warden found the idea of dying inconvenient"

I love that chad catches a lot of strays when he isn't there but palmolive gets a lot of compliments when he isn't there

did they ever interact one on one btw? I don't remember, it feels like a jock vs nerd situation

wait, are they a ship???

why am I asking this now IT'S NOT THE TIME

harrow starts quoting gideon ♥ "as her—cavalier—might have put it, absolutely butt-fuck nothing happened"

we love that, so poetic

harrowcita basically can't leave her canaan bubble now because she's in the river due to the fight that was going on with the beast and whatnot

abby says that the canaan au happens when harrow is asleep, unconscious or just disconnected from outside stimuli

harrow tells her about the beast and how she was brochetted out there

abby says that she's not dead yet because, if she was, her soul would be gone forever and they need to ensure her body survives

harrow asks herself "what is happening out there?"

WOULDN'T WE LIKE TO KNOW

BUT WE WON'T KNOW YET

because I have immense willpower and knew this was the right time to stop reading, otherwise this recap would be awfully long

gonna put "strong willpower" in my cv to see if the sixth house accepts me

see you in the next one very soon!!! be safe and take care of yourselves ♥

[sapphicseasapphire]

I don’t know if I’ll ever actually use this little secret code in my comics but I want you to know that it exists.

For the Cryptid au, Mer language is very much based in music. Songs. Legend has different melodies for all of the Links- songs that exist in their respective games- that function as their names to him. Ravio is called by his theme, Marin is called by the Ballad of the Windfish.

Legend has two names in his own language: one that was given to him by his Pod and one that was given to him by Ravio. The one given by his Pod is a deadname, he’s not allowed to use it anymore since he was banished. Ravio calls him by the “First Search” theme from Link’s Awakening, and that’s what he answers to now.

He also gave Ravio his second name, since poor Rav was too little to remember his first one.

Legend is unfairly good at singing. Poor Ravio’s voice is all scratchy and hoarse- he hasn’t used his native language since he fled his home. He was five years old. He’s very out of practice. Legend gives him vocal lessons until he’s able to hold a proper conversation in Merspeak.

… I love these two so much

[1dcommunityficrecs]

Long Distance Fic Recs

I didn't know this would happen when I picked this theme, but my fiancée spent the last week away at her sister's -- celebrating a new nibling! So an exciting time, but I definitely missed her, even for only a few days. So really feeling this list of long distance recs, loving each other despite the miles and yearning to be reuinited. Here are seven amazing fics!

Baby, I'm Right Here by FallingLikeThis/suddenclarityharry (8186, Explicit, Louis Tomlinson/Harry Styles) – fic post

Leave it to Harry to not realize he's in love with his friend until they're living in different hemispheres. It takes a date with a lovely guy who just isn't HIS lovely guy for Louis to finally say what they've both been thinking.

Reccer says: I love their easy back and forth banter and the comfortable solidness of their friendship. And when that transitions into romance -- beautiful. I'm always a fan of a meddling Niall, too, even if he's meddling in a different way than usual here!

Danger I can’t hide by CelticSky (227290, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson)

Flying Officer Styles and Sergeant Tomlinson would have likely never crossed paths in a time of peace, their lives laid out neatly, predictably before them. But then the world became unrecognisable. Too soon they grew accustomed to fear, surrounded by death and destruction, not even their freedom a certainty any more. Until they found eachother. Comfort. Companionship. Understanding. Another person to lose.

Reccer says: In my opinion, this fic is the masterpiece of 2023. It's one of those fics that should be a movie. It's perfect. The script is masterful. The story is gripping. The characters are masterfully constructed. There's emotion, anguish. It's beautiful. It's powerful. A gem.

Du är mitt livs kärlek (You are the love of my life) by goldenkinglouis (1749, Teen, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson)

Harry finally meets Louis at the airport after six months of long-distance love.

Reccer says: This fic is so sweet my teeth hurt and I just want more. So adorable and romantic and full of love.

From Eight Until Late, I Think About You by supernope (35227, Explicit, Louis Tomlinson/Harry Styles)

Louis and Harry are both YouTubers, and if they didn't want all their viewers to ship them they should maybe stop flirting in the comments of each other's videos. They don't live all that far apart in miles, but it still takes almost a year for them to meet in person. When they're paired up as roommates at a YouTube meetup, there is NOT only one bed, but that doesn't stop them.

Reccer says: I always love watching a relationship build and grow, and this fic does it beautifully. From joking comments to texting to Snapchat to meeting up (and promptly making VERY questionable but hysterically funny decisions together) it's just great.

miles away from seeing you by LiveLaughLoveLarry (SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFic) (1749, Teen, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson)

Harry is in his final year studying marine biology, and is doing an international exchange at the University of Auckland. This fic is entirely told through images of social media posts and conversations (Image descriptions are available)

Reccer says: it was the first all-media fic i've read, but i was impressed how the entire story/feelings etc came across in just pictures

seven hours behind by justanothershadeofblue (5000, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) – fic post

Harry gets Louis off over the phone during Louis’ first tour.

Reccer says: Really fun slice-of-tour-life fic, and also hot!

the blue never ending sky by justanothershadeofblue (4000, Teen, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) – fic post

a heart-aching AU where Harry and Louis had a dream to go off and make music together after school, but then Harry goes… without Louis. Louis PoV, with an epistolary element.

Reccer says: this fic is simple but perfectly angsty! you don’t see a lot of ambiguous-ending fics in this fandom, but this one nails it.

[steddieunderdogfics]

Monster fucker theme weekend!

Hade's Dogs by Teddywesworl

It's a sci-fi au. Eddie's cybernetically enhanced so I feel like that's close enough to monster? Maybe??

Hades' Dogs by teddywesworl

@teddywesworl

Rating: Explicit

15,697 words, 1/1 chapters

Archive Warning: No Warnings

Tags: Protective Steve Harrington, Past Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson Needs a Hug, Gay Eddie Munson, Soldier Steve Harrington, Biotics (Mass Effect), Eddie Munson as Kas the Betrayer (Dungeons & Dragons), Kind Of, Canon-Typical Violence, Frottage, Psychic Abilities, Sex Magic, Misuse of Biotics, Under-negotiated Kink, Mildly Dubious Consent, Mass Effect AU, no knowledge of mass effect required. just know that they are in space, Recreational Drug Use

Summary

KAS groans and rolls over onto his back, splaying like a starfish. “Sweetheart, I am a cybernetically enhanced supervillain in a one-window cell in outer space,” he says. “I’m not exactly out here thinking about whether it’s socially acceptable to ask my hot guard about his mysterious backstory.” Steve stands there in stone-faced silence, processing ‘cybernetically enhanced supervillain’ and ‘cell,’ but KAS isn’t quite done. “You might want to get a better lie, though,” he says. “Your secret’s safe with me, but I’m not the only creature on this station that can catch you on it.” -- OR: Steve is a black ops space marine undercover on a station that holds one of the most powerful and dangerous biotics alive. His mission is to extract the biotic if he's sane, or to kill him if not.

Thanks for the rec!

This rec is a part of Theme Weekend. The theme this weekend is Monster Fucking.

Know a fic that deserves extra love? Submit through our asks or the submission box!

[fanaticsnail]

The Break is Never Easy

Masterlist Here

Word Count: 5,175

Synopsis: You were invited as an artist to showcase your work at the bi-anual ball thrown for the marines. A decade has passed between you and your severance from your ex-fiance, old flames reigniting as tension builds throughout the night.

Themes: Marine!Bogard x Artist!Reader, right person wrong time, dance series fic, lost love, love reignited, angst, domestic angst, military themes, death suggested, love found once more, dancing, miliary ball/gala.

Notes: This fic is dedicated to the beautiful @i-am-vita, creator of the banner for the storyteller au collaboration for Mihawk's Sapsorrow. Bogard’s angsty chapter for the dance-fic series is all for you, dear! 

Tag List: @sordidmusings @gingernut1314 @feral-artistry @writingmysanity @since-im-already-here

"You had my heart // I had yours too // My fight’s withdrawn, believe me // The break is never easy"

Staring at the ornate canvas encrusted in gold, you allowed a warm smile to rise against your lips to highlight your face with its mastery. This, your prized creation in the entirety of your collection, was the reason you had been invited to showcase your artistic skill within the ballroom of the upper class admirals within their bi-anual commemoration ball. 

The imagery within the oil painting showcased the grief of war: the violence within battle, alongside the families they left behind as they ran off to rid the world of the ravenous plague of piracy. A valley of skulls littered alongside the crystal shores of a cove you knew well in childhood; the woman within held resemblance to yourself, distant enough to not draw similarity within the crowd; the version of yourself a decade your junior as she clung to her marine lover. 

Her back had been riddled with bullets, the blood cascading down her back, as she shielded her Marine lover from their incoming carnage. Holding the woman by the waist, the expression of immense bittersweet adoration and sorrow, resembled the younger version of your ex-fiance. 

Crafting this depiction of war caused you to experience the pain over and over again, feeling the exact moment your heart shattered into a million pieces as he left you. The words he spoke to you, the tone he used, the feeling of his hand caressing your cheek to wipe your tear stricken face of the falling droplets of sorrow - all depicted in the utter chaos within the portraiture. 

You raise your glass of sparkling wine to your lips; the amber hue bounding from the glass as you take a small sip of the liquid within. The beading of the bubbles tickled against your tongue, the bitterness of the tannins dancing with the sweetness of the juice as it trickled down your throat. Feeling a presence beside you, you withdrew the glass from your lips and crossed your arms. 

“Is this one of yours?” the familiar brogue of the man who stole your ex-fiance from you caused your spine to tingle and the bile coat your tongue with its flavor. 

“Does it surprise you to be informed that it is?” you retorted, refusing to break eye-contact with your painting to spare the gentleman at your side the luxury of a glance. The warm chuckle felt oddly comforting despite your disdain for the gentleman. His voice held a brutish warmth within, almost pride in standing next to such an accomplished artist within their field. 

“Not in the slightest,” he confessed with the small shake of his head. At this comment, you turned to face him. Your dress danced at your feet, the slit from ankle to thigh flashing a moment of exposed skin to him as you drew yourself closer to the man who stole your love from you. He extended his right hand to you in a gesture for you to take it, an action you reciprocated by placing your right hand within his palm. 

“In fact, love,” he uttered, drawing your hand up to his lips and brushing them against your knuckles, “I have never been more proud to be proven wrong.” He withdrew your knuckles from his lips, the tingling sensation of his stubble remaining behind as he released your hand from his.

“Wrong in what capacity, Vice-Admiral Garp?” Your narrowed eyes held your question with more venom than what you had originally intended, the sting of the break festering beneath your skin the longer you stayed within the aura of your painting. The dryness of his humorless chuckle stung against the rapidly reopening wounds of your sorrow; both of your attention being recalled to the painting of the defeated woman within the arms of her Marine lover. 

“Artists serve a purpose in war,” he commented, bowing to the painting before turning and bowing further to you, “And I was wrong to trigger such a break in union from my right hand and his bonnie lass.” Upon hearing those words, you felt the swell of vindication in your blood swell to your heart and mind. 

If you remained the person you were ten years your junior, you may have yelled, screamed, hit, slapped and gnashed your teeth at the highly decorated vice-admiral at your side. In your decade of severance from your lover, you had learnt to navigate the upper class and to smolder the flames of your raw emotions enough to articulate your meaning verbally alone. 

“How honorable of you to repent a decade in the latter to the event, sir,” you nodded, your lips curling up in a smirk hidden by your chin’s tilt. Rising from your stoop, you held the brutal gaze of the vice admiral and remained unflinching in your resolve, “May the next time you assume weakness amongst the arts, you think back to this moment and make the wiser decision.” 

“Aye, that I will,” he nodded, a knowing twinkle held within his intense and wild eyes, his decorum faltering as the beast within him lurked beneath, “And should Bogard ever attempt to push back on a hard boundary again, I may yet acquiesce to his request.” The sting of the name of your ex-fiance had your blood swelling, the hurt remaining and resurfacing the longer you stood next to Vice-Admiral Garp. You stepped toward him, your body smothered by his great height, but unwavering in your resolve.

“May your heart be open to receive such pushback, Vice-Admiral,” you nodded, awaiting dismissal from one so high in the commanding chain against a meager civilian. 

“Rest assured, bonnie,” he stepped closer to you, clapping a hand over your shoulder in a gesture of familiarity, “It will be.” At that, and a brief nod, you both departed from your proximity to the painting while watching eyes held firm to your departure from the shadows of the corner of the room.

Bogard held onto your every word; his heart swelling at every syllable departing from your lips. He had not heard a whisper of your voice in over a decade, the silence plaguing him with each moment that passed in your absence. His eyes stuck to your frame at your departure from his commanding officer, and captain, Garp. The way your dress swelled at your feet, the way the hem cascaded down the exposed skin of your back to the hue of the material illuminating beneath the lights. 

After all this time, Bogard’s heart belonged to you. His soul screamed at him to rush forward and hold you in his arms, smothering you with open adoration and affection; regardless of who’s eyes were watching. The unspoken concept that was holding him from sprinting to your side, was the mystery surrounding your correspondence to the letters and calls he attempted to reach you with. 

He had stretched his resources until they snapped, breaking off relationships with communicators and transponders that held only silence in response to his heart dissected upon the pages of the parchment paper sent to you. For the first three years of serving Vice-Admiral Garp as his right hand man, he was an emotionless drone and lackey. His only outlet was sketching and scribing his mind to you and sending you his thoughts from the corners of the blue sea he had found himself traveling within. 

Nothing. Not a semblance of a whisper of a word. His heart was met with a cold, hard nothing. No simple “okay,” no complex hatred and rage scrolled onto a tanned page of scrap paper. Nothing. In that uncertainty, he had no idea how you would respond to such a swell of affection. 

Have you moved on? Were you married? Did you have a beau or a spouse? Did they court you the way he did? These questions remained unanswered, even as you reached for another glass of sparkling amber wine and drew up your emptied former glass to place on the tray. He had to know. Moving forward from the shadows, he glanced up at the painting his superior and the former holder of his heart were glancing at. 

His breath was stolen from his lungs as his eyes met the painting. The imagery was so intensely intimate, he felt a blush begin to litter his face with its warmth. He didn’t know how to feel, angered that his likeness was depicted in such a way, or proud that this moment of time was artistically captured within the brushstrokes within each injury depicted within. It was beautiful. 

Each movement within the piece had his heart cracking like porcelain meeting concrete at a harsh velocity. He could see your heart, your soul; his ex-fiance and holder of his affection depicting such unjust injury upon the canvas. 

You smiled at the attendees. Young marine cadets who sparked and jittered in place with their hands clenched and nervous had your heart swooning in memory of the man who held your heart in your youth. The small string orchestra swelled their melody, your body swaying in response to their bow-strokes and finger-picks almost against your will.

Several members of the attendees had joined the circular dance floor, swaying jovially to the rhythmic beat and swell of the melody with precision. You smiled a vocalless laugh in encouragement of a pink-haired cadet out of their depth dancing with a skilled marine dancer, Vice-Admiral Garp also spinning a widow on the dancefloor within his skilled arms. Although you had reservations about the vice-admiral, you did appreciate the intention behind the break he caused with your beloved. 

He wanted to protect you in a multitude of ways, your youthful wonder being your downfall in assuming the best in those around you. Your artistic soul was not meant for war, no matter the individual who held your affection. But in time apart from Bogard, your heart began to harden and turn wrathful. You changed your familial name, fled to a new beginning to make something of yourself as you processed your grief. 

With no name nor family to hold you back, you thrived in your artistry. Your popularity gained and nurtured you with each piece created by those rallying to your support. The first item you produced with a piece of your soul scribed within the canvas was the piece you were staring at with Garp moments prior. In the silver healing of your scars, you silently thanked Garp for prying you apart from your beloved Bogard to allow you to depict such pain upon the page.

As the serenade concluded, you applauded the musicians with your hands and a joyous cheer flung from your lips. You also applauded those brave enough to dance, nodding to Garp in respect with a small smile he reciprocated. 

A presence fell to your side, the familiar cologne drawing up to your face and alerting you of his presence before he had even spoken a word. You tensed, your newly emptied glass clutched firmly within your strong grip before an attendee wordlessly collected it from your fingertips. 

Neither of you could find the words to articulate to one another, feeling the tension gathering between your bodies with each inhale and exhale you took silently beside each other. You refused to be the one to break the silence. He was the one to end your union, he should be the one to apologize. 

Bogard did not know how to approach your silence: the same silence he was met with for each letter he sent to your residence depicting his heart; piece by piece. He wanted so desperately to cast all decorum and title aside and simply escort you outside and fall to his knees and beg for an answer to a single question be asked within the pages. 

Questions you had no knowledge of. No parchment paper, scrap nor call had found you on the other end of his many stretches from his base to your home. How could it have? You had changed all you were to become who you are. No name tied you to your history, abandoned alongside your heart cast aside by Bogard now standing beside you. 

“Would you care to dance?” he asked after clearing his throat, prompting you to turn your chin towards him to meet his darkened eyes. 

After all this time, his aura still held the same pull it always had. You felt your soul call for him, your body almost moving against its will to be pulled into his arms. You curtseyed deeply, prompting a small click of his tongue and turn of his head in displeasure. 

“I would be honored,” you uttered monotonously, extending your right hand to him for him to claim within his left. Your breath hitched at the contact, prompting you to mentally scold yourself at such a response. 

As your eyes met, you almost looked past the man he was now to the boy who held your heart a decade ago. His eyes held a similar reflection, meeting with the person you once were behind your eyes. Refocusing both your gazes on one another, you were met with an unfamiliarity you had no map, nor compass, to navigate. 

The hazelnut glow of his eyes still held you breathless within their depths, as much as your parted lips held his similar focus. He led you onto the dancefloor, the music swelling as he began to twirl you within his arms in front of his superiors, colleagues and underlings. You had no idea where to begin the unspoken conversation, feeling almost awkward within his arms the longer the silence was held between you both. 

Being the first to break the silence, you held your gaze firmly against his after huffing out a breath of frustration. Smiling, you darted your eyes between focusing on each of his, feeling incredibly exposed beneath his focus. 

“Are those new medals, sir?” you asked him, gesturing with your chin to his left breast pocket. 

“Sir?” he asked, his left hand gripping yours a little more firmly before relinquishing its intensity on your hand while holding firmly against your hand. “My darling, I don’t know what you-...” his words rushed out of his lips without restraint, a small cough from his throat refocusing his mental state with a deep inhale and exhale. 

“It has been a few years since last I held you in my arms,” he nodded, ushering you out to the side of him before twirling you within his arms. Your back fell flush with his torso, his every essence overwhelming you with emotions you thought to have buried a decade ago. “I have earnt a few titles over the years, yes. I appreciate you taking the time to notice.” 

“Of course I would notice, Bo,” you answered him with as much hase as he did earlier, taking a moment to collect yourself as he swayed you within his arms. You briefly shook your head, allowing him to wield you as an extension of himself with another twirl; this time ending with you facing him. “I always notice.” 

He hummed in response. There was no way he could ask all questions plaguing him for each swell and step of the melody from the orchestra. In lieu of interrogation, he opted to focus on you externally. He focussed on the ornate way your hair was drawn up, the way you held your face beneath its painted and accented appearance, the way your dress clung to your body and held an illusionary barrier between tastefully covering the necessities while leaving little to the imagination for what falls beneath. 

Both closing your eyes, you fell almost organically against one another. The automatrons beneath your inhibitions had your chests pressing against one another, your foreheads holding a similar fate with their proximity. As soon as his forehead was pressed against your own, you felt the person you were a decade ago resurface and lean towards him.

“You-...” his voice fell short, the stutter and waver in his voice had your heartstrings tugging like a wolf leashed beneath its owner's muzzleing. Opening your eyes, your brows arched up in the center as they fell on Bogard’s lengthy eyelashes. You witnessed his eyes darting beneath the small shield of flesh, dreamlike in its make while searching for a word or phrase. 

“We were perfect, weren’t we?” you smiled through your sigh, his eyes opening to meet yours at your words, “We were the right people for each other, but the wrong time. You were a Marine in the prime of your life, while I was an experience-.”

“-You were everything to me,” his voice cut your sentence like shattered glass through tender flesh. The raspy tone of his voice matched with the intensity of his eyes had you truly wanting to believe his words. Your breath hitched, unable to find stability within the large gathering of people on the dancefloor. 

Bogard continued to lead you through the dance, silent and brooding through each twirl, spin and sachet. His questions continued to swirl behind his lips, his brow furrowing and deepening the more the dance continued to leave his questions unanswered. 

“You never gave me a whisper of where you were, what you were doing, if you were okay or struggling,” he began, his heart pouring from his lips in a hushed whisper, “You were to be my wife. My love, I would’ve never accepted the promotion should I have known the agony I would endure at your silence. I would have become a sword for hire, a bounty hunter-.”

“-And I would have never asked you to make such a sacrifice, my heart,” you confessed, feeling the music begin to decrescendo its swell and teeter off, “I loved you, and you held my heart within your hands,” you drew yourself closer to him, feeling the final dip in his movement before he drew you into an embrace against his body, “You were my love to lose, and I will be forever grateful to be a chanel for your affection.”

Applause resounded within the hollows of the room and reverberated from the dome of the room. You broke from Bogard’s embrace and bowed to him, and he to you. 

“We would have been best side by side,” he confessed, his lip stuttering beneath his words, “I would have had you with me. My light,” he continued, stepping towards you and reaching to reclaim your fingertips to brush against him, “My heart. You were mine-.”

“-I was yours, Bogard,” you nodded with a false smile to mask the pain resurfacing, “And now our light is gone, and the break was not easy on either of us.” You stepped away from his outstretched hand, subtly shaking your head at him and attempting to stop the rapid rise of familiar sorrowful emotions within your heart. 

Taking your bottom lip beneath your top teeth, you held your widened eyes fixed on  his to warn him not to pursue you in your retreat before you left the dancefloor - a warning he refused to follow, even if it was commanded by the most superior officer in the chain of command. He had lost you once, and the memory of you was once again slipping through his fingers in each moment he watched you turn away from him.

“Let her be,” Garp’s voice broke him from his silent brooding, Bogard’s jaw clenching as his teeth ground behind his firmly clasped mouth, “Just let her be for a moment before you chase her.”

“Sir?” Bogard asked, his brow arching up at his superior officer in question. Garp’s stern expression began to falter beneath his hardened exterior. A grin rose to his lips, his eyes holding a foreign twinkle usually reserved for the pursuit of a particularly difficult adversary. 

“She is a rare soul to walk among us mere mortals,” he confessed, his eyes fixed on the retreat of your body as it disappeared through the threshold of the exit, “And she needs to be treated as such.” Turning to his underling, Garp clenched his firm hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze beneath his wide grip, “Allow her the luxury of navigating her own feelings first before you confess your own to her.” 

Bogard nodded, his broad hat covering his eyes to shield the emotions gathering behind them. He could see how you were struggling beneath your learned hardened exterior, truly unsure as to who the person you had become really was after all this time. All he knew within his soul was you were his, and he is still yours. 

Upon exiting the central floor your dance was held upon, you breathed in a heaping gulp of air unoccupied with the sting of unnatural perfumes, colognes and lotions within the dancefloor. You hang your head back, lulling it upon your shoulders within the solitude the gardens provided for you. 

“May I join you?” the familiar voice of your ex-fiance asked you, prompting you to both repress a groan of frustration within your lungs while your heart cried out in affirmation of his presence. Your internal conflict did not provide you with any resolve within your being, prompting you to provide a half-hearted shrug and a nod in response. 

Stepping closer beside you, he felt uneasy in your radiance. He took the opportunity in your own internal argument to look over the way your dress clung to your body. Raking his eyes slowly, he drew them up from your shoes, to your calves, to the split in material against your thigh which prompted his breath to hitch. He slowly withdrew his gaze from the small glimpse of flesh to your hips, chest, exposed neck and face - your brows continuing to be knit with a mixture of confusion, rage and sorrow. 

Before he could utter a single word or compliment your way, you spoke with your sharpened tone, causing him to stumble in his own mind.

“What do you want from me, Bogard?” you asked him, turning to face him with your heart weighing heavy within your chest, “I gave you everything. I gave you my youth, my body, my time, my heart, the prime of my life - leaving me in this shell of the person I once was, no longer an object of desire-.”

“-You never answered a single letter,” he interrupted your train of thought, prompting your frown to deepen in the centre of your forehead, “I sent you mountains of wasted paper for you to not return a single scrap of a word, nor semblance of a phrase. I would have appreciated a simple reprimand, a crude expression telling me to leave you alone-.”

“-Bogard, need I remind you that you left me?” your voice elevated to a small and firm argumentative tone, your jaw clenching with your every word, “You left me. You left me on that island with a simple relaying of the word from your commanding officer. One that he relinquished tonight, in fact: ‘Artists have no place in war. I shall leave you now so we are not burdened by the loss of one another’,” you mocked him, stepping closer to his body diminishing within the shadows. 

You allowed a dry and humorless laugh to escape your lips as you stepped closer. Allowing a moment of tension to continue to swell between you, you snarled at him with your eyes narrowed.

“Did you enjoy my painting of us?” you asked him, your brow and lip twitching in anticipation for his response. You expected anger and wrath at the depiction of his likeness within the canvas, his passionate ignition of flamed fury directed at you. In its stead, you received a small whisper in response. 

“I saw your heart reflected on its page,” he uttered, stepping closer to you with his head bowed, “A heart I have tried so desperately to reach in the decade that has held us apart.” Your heart fluttered with its rage within you, desiring to both shove him to the side and leave, but also draw him close for an embrace. 

“After all this time, you continue to chase me?” you spat at him, your heart now elevated to a heightened pace of anxiety and a rush of rage, “Tell me. What do I have that a flurry of others do not? What do I have that another cannot return to you? That another that would be more suited to provide for you, could not? Tell me, Bogard. What do I have to offer you-?” 

Bogard stepped in, claiming your waist within his left hand and holding you flush against his chest, while his right hand claimed your left cheek within his gentle caress. 

“You still hold my heart,” he whispered, his breath dancing on your lips on each syllable, “You rule my heart,” his words drew you in, your eyes swelling with the emotions of your youth. “I would build a citadel around your leadership, as queen of my heart,” he continued, his eyes dancing between your own. Your breath hitched as his eyes met with your parted lips, his own parting as his body swelled to join yours all the sooner. 

“You command my every being, in all these years apart,” he continued, reaching his right hand up and weaving his fingertips within your hair, anchoring the heel of his palm against your jaw and forcing your eyes to meet with his, “I never stopped loving you.” 

At that, his body surged forward; his lips claiming yours beneath his in a slow and firm movement. Your eyelashes were immediately flooded with silent tears spilling from the corners and littering your cheeks. Your soul yearned for him, surging your body to react to his touch with your own desperation. 

You had never stopped loving him either.

Hooking your arms around his neck, you pulled him into yourself with your heart pulsating with a dangerous rapidity for each second you continued this embrace. He ushered you over to the darkened corner of the wall, coaxing your body to respond further to his ministrations within the shadows to hide from prying eyes. His tongue darted out to dance with your own, a groan siphoned from his lips as you reciprocated his advances. 

You unhooked your arms from his neck, choosing to grip at his collar beneath your fingertips and drawing him impossibly closer to you. The ruckus from within the halls had you pay no mind, too swept within the arms of one another to have a thought or care cast at its elevation. The music swelled within the room, Bogard continuing to operate with his lips collecting each scrap and semblance of affection you allowed him to skillfully claim.

It was as if the pain of the decade ceased to exist at this moment. The two of you pictured the life you would have had within the arms of one another: marriage, stability, equality, relationships being at the forefront of this illusionary divergence. 

At the booming voice of Vice-Admiral Garp within the ballroom, addressing the soiree of Marines within, Bogard broke his lips away from yours while panting desperately against your lips as he listened to the orders of his superior officer. At that break in caress from the word of Garp, the illusion shattered and you were swept back to your position as the ex-fiance to the right hand of the Vice-Admiral. 

Bitterness swelled within your heart, you opting to push Bogard away from your arms as his attention was pulled elsewhere. His eyes quickly darted back to you upon this action, your own eyes refusing to meet his as you wallowed within your own disgruntled fury. 

Bogard felt a similar choice was to be made, akin to the decision he made a decade earlier. He could choose to rejoin the ceremony at this stage, leaving you out here to wait for him to return - should Garp let him; or to remain out here with you. You: the light of his life, the person he gave his heart to in youth - and its current owner as queen over his body. 

As he felt you pull away and begin to shepherd him to return to the halls, his eyes snapped as he made his decision. 

“I lost you once,” he uttered, his hands grasping your hips and holding you firmly in place, “And I refuse to lose you again.” At this small utterance, you would be a fool to admit anything other than the swell of your heart within your chest and your eyes softening at such a notion. Putting aside your own selfish desires to keep him further with you, you shook your head and reached up on your toes to place a chase kiss against his cheek.

“I will still be here if you choose to return to me,” you ushered him with a small smile, “And if you don’t, I will not hold it against you this time.” He leaned forward, the tip of his broad, gray cap circling the crown d your head as he placed his forehead against your own. 

“I will never break from you willingly again,” he confessed, his tone holding all of the emotion resurfacing from the decade taken from him, “Nor would I ever allow the light to leave us. You have my heart,” he nudged his nose against your own, “And I desire nothing in return-.”

“-Should you desire it or not,” you spoke over him, ensuring your voice was heard over his inner monologue, “My heart has been with you from the moment we first met,” his eyes met with yours as you continued, “And was only returned to me when you shattered it upon your departure.” 

He claimed your lips beneath his, feeling the roll of your raw emotion within your lips the longer he held you against him. Breaking away, he gazed intently into your eyes and uttered his final confirmation.

“No matter how long it takes: I swear to remake your heart and treat it kindly should you offer it once more.” 

“My heart is yours, Bogard,” you sighed in response, the swell reigniting within your chest as you allowed him to cradle you against himself. Ignoring the calls and words of Vice-Admiral Garp within the hall, addressing the marines and tailoring their awards to them without his right hand beside him, Bogard was intent on showcasing how deeply he loved you regardless of the time that departed.

Garp continued his relay, his eyes darting to meet with the image of an entanglement with his right-hand man and your body pressing romantically against one another with a twinkle in his eye. He remained relishing in the fact he was able to right the mistakes of his past and reset it to shepherd it into a promising and fruitful future; Bogard finally able to meet with his bonnie lass once again and treat you with the utmost respect you deserved.

He refused to come between you again, swearing at that point to never offer an ultimatum to an underling in return for their loyalty.  

[stuck-writing-sickos]

Lucid (prologue)

(Yandere reader insert)

[Series Link]

[A/n: can be a standalone series. Mermaid (?) AU for In Poor Taste. I dont... know if I'm gonna include Lukas. But dw, that means there will be rooms for new characters.]

If you want to run away, why not come into his arms?

You didn't know how to stay away from water. Something about its shimmer reeled you in. You particularly loved the ocean - cool and blue like liquid diamond, its depth called for you like an aching lullaby. Your intrigue was barey cocealed, so it came as a surprise for no one that you took diving lessons the moment you moved to your seaside apartment. Sure, it was hard work for your body who took the brunt of your day job as a bankteller, but your pursuit for the deep was restless.

You weren't by any mean a natural, but you were a resilient learner. Silent like a stone, you geared up and followed the elegant movements of your teacher. You were clumsy at first, taken by surprise upon the strength of the water, but once you got the hang of it your heart beat in a melody unheard. The cold water, the coral, the bustling marine life... you were enchanted beyond saving. Abandoning your social life and any prospect of romance, you let yourself be entranced by the ocean's glamor.

Something that your instructor neglected to tell you, though, was the call of the deep. She likely assumed that you were too serious and cautious to do deep dives. After all, you were not one of much words. You didn't even realize that you were swimming downward. You saw blue, and you saw darkness. You felt air bubble floating against your momentum. Yet, a gear in your head still turned to push you forward. You remembered the unprecedented euphoria you felt before the strong arm of your fellow diver, Jung, caught you mid-torso and pulled you backward. In a trance, you were blindsided as air hit your face. Jung's voice sounded far away when he cussed out "fuck, you scared me bad with that one".

You didn't dive for a while after as per his recommendation. The ocean was going nowhere, Jung said, but you might. To distract you, he took you to art galleries and painted with you in your free time. He was a poor painter, but he would do it for your sake. You asked if he wanted you to write prose with him in return, to which he laughed and said there was no need, and that you ought not to peruse his manuscript anyway. Plus, he liked being around you when you painted - he affirmed - your shades of blue were haunting, in a good way. You asked what he meant, but all you got back was "it's good inspiration for my novel".

Jung wasn't vocal about his works. He never let you know his pen name. You tried to respect his privacy, but your curiosity got the better of you. During your time spent away from the ocean you dug for his works. It was only by chance that you managed to get your hand on them. In secret you snooped around his apartment when he invited you over for dinner and found his own signature in a book. His pen name was Haiyang. You supposed that was within reasons - he too loved the sea. Purchasing a physical copy behind his back, you decided to read it to get your mind going. Then, you understood the secrecy: he was still in the closet. His writing, dealing with themes of body horror and doppelganger, betrayed an exasperated effort to overcome self-hatred.

You wanted to let him know that he had your support, but instead you didn't say anything - you breached his trust by reading his novels. Quietly sticking by his side, you tried to find the right time or the right word, but before you could, he had vanished into the sea.

The news spread like wildfire, and with that came the uncovering of his identity. His readers pieced together that the missing person whose body never resurfaced was the author of their beloved books. Online you saw thinkpieces, video essays, and truecrime podcast episodes on the matter. His face splattered across billboards and campaigns for a search. The mystery manifested, flooding the internet for months before a documentary on his disappearance dropped.

Chaos.

Letters from his fans. Invitations to interviews. Emails from news broadcasts. You got them all. Who was Jung? Who was Haiyang? What was he like in real life? The global sensation sent tsunamis of attention your way - you, a friend from his diving classes. People scoured for a glimpse of Jung's shadow in you. They put your face in conspiracy theories as well as juvenile video edits. Their morbid curiosity drove them to flood your town like packs of bloodhounds searching for rabbits. You refused to entertain their psychotic thirst for "the truth behind it all", sealing yourself up in masks and sunglasses whenever you needed to get out. You grew to resent their narcissistic needs to insert themselves into Jung's narrative - complete strangers clawing through his doorway crying as if they knew him, as if they ever spent their Sundays on his motorbike rides down the coast or get piss drunk at the beach while hanging on his shoulder. He never walked them home when it got dark. He never bought them canvases when they would tear up their painting in a fit of painter's rage. You grew colder and harder, turning to hate the world.

Everyone was stupid and selfish.

You grinded your teeth through it alone. Your paintings grew from blue to black and red. You locked them away, unable to look at them once done, unable to throw them away. Stuck, you tried to find solace in the ocean view from your apartment.

That was until your job fired you. You were bad PR, you knew, even when they danced around it. You didn't bother to hear their excuses. That morning, you packed everything on your table into a carton box, your head feeling emptier than ever.

You were supposed to drive home, but instead you found yourself going down the coastline with your window down, salty ocean wind going through your sleeves and collar. You couldn't tell what it was that you felt. You only knew your insides felt hollow enough to manifest an illusion of freedom, yet your corporeal body was heavy and sluggish. Driving all the way up the cliffside where you braked to watch the glimmering blue sea, you found yourself hopping out of the car and walked toward the edge.

The dizzying view downward made your stomach churn. You felt the hypnotic pull of the water even from way above. Your eyes were fixed on the foam that licked at the rocky edges, your heart drumming to fight against the sublime temptation. You thought about how if Jung had been near, he would have told you to stop being silly and driven you to the local grocery store for a strawberry cream pop. Upon that thought, you felt your cheeks wet from tears.

He would have wanted you to live.

You were staring at the rocky beachside transfixed when something hooked your attention. You thought you saw a person at first, half naked , sprawling against the wet rock. Knowing how deep the water went there, you felt your chest twisting into a knot as you stared in horror seeing them lying their motionless. Yet, something was not quite right about the scene. Even in disarray, you couldn't help but took notes of their abnormal size - they were much bigger than the average human. The rocks looked ... small against their form. Squinting to get a clearer picture, you failed to figure out what they were wearing. Something like a frilly white dress with a translucent veil draping over them? A runaway bride? - you wondered to yourself, trying to make sense of what you were seeing but couldn't.

For the life of you, you could not see their legs.

Your head spun. You stood in silence, trying to calculate the fastest route you could take to get to that beach. It was not private property, that you knew, but it was secluded, which guaranteed a long walk from where your car would be. From your estimation, you could reach them in at least one and a half hour, which was better than nothing, you supposed. Adrenaline pumped through youe veins as you rushed back to your car, your feet barely touching the ground. Your car's engine reeved atop concrete as you drove down the coast again, your heart thumping in your chest. You knew you were doing something impulsive and stupid. You knew that it was the self-serving part in you that wanted to be a part of something important and unusual to take your mind off reality. Still, you drove on in silence and felt the winds against your skin.

[demonicnarwhale]

So for my first project in my Proprint class, we had to make 5 separate prints (draw or photograph something then print it on a 17x22 paper, same thing as last semester) so here's my stuff!!! Oh! And the prompt was basically anything but monochromatic or black and white, but we can either use one or two colors

They're all based on my Small Town AU because I thought it'd help get my ideas for this AU thingy situated a bit, and cuz it's fun

The first one to start us all off is Doc Scratch! The one and only, the catalyst (if you will) of this small town turning to shit. It's basically him bringing a sort of day of reckoning thing going on. But not like reckoning in the idea that they're getting judged by god or whatever. In this case, Scratch himself just plays around in this universe (this is the "bad" ending). Basically, the townsfolk begin to turn and hurt each other (reasoning will be explained in the 2nd project tehee and the wording here is like this just so I don't spoil too much) (also the top is just the different edits I came across and thought looked pretty)

Motifs / Symbolisms:

- The time on the clock reads 3:19. So specifically Genesis 3:19 is pretty much just when Adam and Eve are cast out of the Garden of Eden. The idea here is that Scratch will turn this thriving and self sufficient, almost found-family-like town into a big ol' graveyard. That paradise they all have come to enjoy and build a community together? Buh-bye!!! Cast out! Into the miseries!!!

- The picture of the oil painting is of The Agnew Clinic 1889 painted by Thomas Eakins. The painting was commissioned in honor of David Hayes Agnew, a pretty well known and respected surgeon of his time, a leader in a way. And I just felt like Scratch would have some of these "lesser" known art pieces of important figures of the past around his house. (Die would approve of this painting I believe)

- The apples are purposefully way too round, almost Christmas tree ornament looking. It's to allude to this feeling or idea of something being too perfect, but very off putting. Basically Doc Scratch himself. He's a man that's a part of the town but also not there. He's a total enigma for everyone and most people will chose to just accept that and just be cordial with him, that placid and simple smile just has something deeper going on teehee

- The card he holds is a nod to tarot ones (obvious I know but I ain't no tarot or star signs believer so I had to search up which card would make sense here). So seven of swords just means betrayal so haha on the nose

- There was gonna be a violin added but I just wanted to get this drawing done so I said "screw that". The reason why I was gonna go with the violin is cuz that idea of "haha Scratch is another name for the devil" and I remembered a song The Devil Went Down to Georgia which I fuckin dig. Also the idea of the devil having a violin playing contest with a kid is so fucking funny cuz he got his ass kicked. (oh yeah and just the idea of the devil being associated with the violin)

So yeah! I just had a lot of fun just coming up with this drawing and doing a little breaking the frame/boarder with the small apple branches reaching into the top box.

What can I say? I love marine associated themes so of course I gotta draw Trace and Fin. Oh and the sketches (or draft) I did just made me feel so proud and happy. Cuz even though it's a bunch of mumbo jumbo, it all just managed to flow out really well with this one. It's a shame that the digitalized final piece isn't as impressive to me as my sketches. The two compasses are also pointed at 3:00 and 5:00 cuz, ya know. That's their numbers. The fish from bottom to top are sockeye salmon, moray eel, tunas, and I didn't look at one fish for the ref with the top one but let's go with red snapper.

i sadly had to rush this one as it was getting close to critique day (aka the 26th) and some of my other classmates needed to print too so I didn't want to get in their way and such later on. (originally we had to make 5 prints but he saw not a lot of people would be able to so he cut it down to just 3. And so I already had 3 prints done so why not just let everyone else who really needed to print, print)

So this print was going to have PM, AR, and WV doing their own things (as seen in the first draft) but I changed things up so it'd be simpler and allow me to work on the last 2 prints. But hey! At least WV's there!! And then I was messing with shadows and the last one just looked really funny. OH! Oh and the 2422 was when PM made her appearance in the webcomics (at least, that's what I think or recall) and since that's her plane, it was a little nod. And this is her logo thing (still being worked on but you get the gist of it)

I do however feel hella bummed that I wasn't able to keep the mechanic tidbits (for AR) in this drawing since I hate drawing cars, the tools I tried drawing didn't fit the look of the finalized drawing. I'm sorry AR </3. Oh and I completely forgot about WV's lil torn up red flag, but it wouldn't really match i feel anyways in the end results. WV being a farmer, PM a mail woman hence the stamps, and AR being a (car) mechanic!!!

Ok so that's all for now, I'll upload the 4th and 5th print and photos of them all printed in another post since this is fuckin lengthy

PT2 HERE

[dubylou-draws]

*Aggrieved pufferfish noises*

[Translators note: "You’re always whining about not wanting to go to work, you’re always hitting on girls, and you snore SO loud!"]

(no, I don't know what a pufferfish sounds like either)

____

Merman Zenitsu and pufferfish Chuntaro!

I was backing up some files earlier, and stumbled across this dumb AU doodle from a few years ago. Seemed appropriate to colour it with watercolours!

Cute little Chuntaro is a prickly pufferfish in this AU... but that raises the question: what marine species would the rest of the corps use to communicate underwater?

Swordfish are extremely fast swimmers, have convenient weapons/ letter clips stuck to their faces, excellent eyesight, are highly migratory loners with a massive range, and... ugh, fine. They're the obvious choice, aren't they?

Most members of the seaman slayer corps use swordfish.

Further fishy ideas beneath the cut:

Tanjirou:

My first instinct is to say sunfish, but the mental image of one of those massive creatures drifting menacingly behind him at all times is just too ridiculous.

And yet... somehow it makes perfect sense? A gentle giant that acts like a shield, patiently sheltering his sister from the sun whenever they travel near the surface.

Shinobu/ Kanao/Kanae: Butterfly fish, of course! All with polite and graceful personalities.

Shinobu fights using a variety of marine animal venoms including stonefish. Stonefish stings are treated with the applicaton of heat to denature proteins in the venom... so if Douma's an ice guy in this AU too, he's in for a rough time.

Inosuke: Briefly had a cute little pigfish, but he ate it within a day. Now he just has a regular corps- assigned swordfish. They're also tasty, apparently... if only he could catch it!

Tengen: Really wanted a Fireworks fish/ some other absurdly flamboyant tropical fish. Instead, he was assigned a bland- looking, tiny little fish that's well- suited to stealth missions.

It's been thoroughly ✨bedazzled✨by now and loves him. The most popular family member by far. Very plump and spoilt.

Gyomei: Green humphead parrotfish. These guys are massive, pretty docile, and spend most of their time crunching through rock- hard coral with big teeth to scrape off yummy algae, pooping out the rest as sand. They are cleaners that are instrumental in maintaining the health of coral reef ecosystems.

Gyomei's parrotfish is no exception; however, it used to be an insatiable glutton, to the point of destroying the coral reef it once resided in and being ostracised by its peers as a result. Wracked with guilt and with nowhere else to go, it received an invitation to serve in the corps. Its new master helped it learn self control.

Rengoku: There's no shortage of bold, flame- coloured fish species out there... but I reckon this guy just has the same generic swordfish species assigned to the rest of the corps. The only difference being that his used to be his father's loyal companion, and it's aged a bit, so it's not as speedy as it once was. It should've retired years ago, but refuses to abandon its self- imposed duty of keeping its master's son on the right path.

Was a rebellious playboy in its youth. Now it's a straight- laced military type, follows corps rules to the letter. Doesn't trust that slimy sea slug Nezuko one bit.

Sanemi: SAILFISH, hands down. Aggressive, vaguely wind- themed predator, and the fastest swimmer in the ocean. Both of them are pretty smug about that last point.

Genya: An archerfish would make sense thematically... but again, Genya just seems like another corps- assigned swordfish kinda guy to me? He definitely has a pet snapping turtle though. It's very small, and VERY grumpy.

Muchiro: A sweet natured blue- ringed octopus who wants nothing more than to be friends, but suffers from crippling social anxiety that makes it seem aloof and unapproachable.

Everyone is TERRIFIED of it except Tengen, who thinks it's flamboyant as heck, and Shinobu, who is simultaneously obsessed with it and wants to stab it dead.

Muchiro just ignores it, for the most part.

(Giyuu can relate).

Mitsuri: Blobfish lacking in self- confidence. Mitsuri thinks it's cute, and is absolutely correct in her opinion. Accepts cuddles from Mitsuri and Obanai only, and blushes at compliments. It's also insanely flexible, just like its master. Copes well under high pressure!

Giyuu: This man has a manta ray, no doubt about it. A creature of few words with a serene and peaceful disposition... yet inexplicably a huge social magnet that effortlessly draws everyone's attention (away from Giyuu). Especially popular with young merchildren, whom it often allows to ride on its back. Holds a deep respect for both its master and Urokodaki (who has a manta ray too, by the way).

Obanai: Had the toughest time deciding this one. A striped beakfish would match his colour scheme perfectly, but... I just don't think it suits him. A striped marlin, maybe? Anyone with more ideas, let me know!

Kaburamaru is a sea snake, obviously. A black- banded sea krait.

[swaps55]

this might be random, but i NEED to know, what's the risotto recipe you have in mind? I love cooking and, not to be cringe, but I have made a few of the dishes you've mentioned in Opus if they catch my eye or I have enjoyed making them before and fancy giving them a whirl again. But I don't remember you ever quite specifying the risotto and I was wondering if, well, there was a specific recipe or if it was just risotto. I was planning to just wing it but, well, food is a very conscientious theme throughout Opus and I knew there was a chance you might have an actual recipe in mind!

First, that is not cringe, that is amazing, and I am now dying to know what you have made.

Second, FUNNY STORY.

I do a lot of due diligence when I write. Food is a theme that runs throughout this series, and honest to god I look things up before I slap them on the page. Kaidan has a much more multicultural background than I do, and I didn't want to be That Asshole who assumes my narrow culinary experiences are universal. So when I mention a dish, it's safe to say I put some thought into it. I even have the actual drink recipes for the 'Yang Gang's favorite cocktails, thanks to @pip-n-flinx.

There is one notable exception to this.

It's the risotto.

I'm gonna be honest. When I made risotto the coveted Alenko dish, it went something like this:

Me: Ok, I need a funny reason for Shepard to be willing to go pose as Kaidan's partner with his parents. Also Me: How about a legendary home cooked meal. Me: Perfect. What's the Legendary Home Cooked Meal at Casa Alenko? First thing that comes to mind. Also Me: Risotto. Me: Great. Wait, what is risotto? Also Me: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Me: Doesn't matter, we're rolling with it.

I'm not even kidding. When I made Lora Alenko's Risotto the most mouth watering meal in the galaxy I didn't actually know what risotto was. I thought it was some kind of pasta. See why I research?

You have to understand, this all started with Sonata, and Sonata was supposed to be an AU one shot that was maybe 7k words TOPS. It wasn't supposed to be part of Opus. It wasn't supposed to dictate the tone and establish everything about how Opus ultimately unfolds. And because I wasn't writing it with that in mind - it was just this silly, supremely self-indulgent diversion to distract me from the stupid thing I was stuck on in Cantata - I, uh. I just winged it.

(I have since looked it up, since had it, and DO actually know what it is, please stop laughing.)

So I have no idea what the recipe is. I feel like it's one of those things that can't have a recipe, because the reality will never be as good as Kaidan's boasting.

But also consider this alternative: Sam has the worst tastebuds in the galaxy. What If Lora Alenko's "risotto" was just some elaborate home made cheesy rice that was kid!Kaidan's favorite meal, so he has some big time nostalgia glasses on about it, Sam is insane over it because he's a basic bitch, and there has not been a marine on the 'Yang who doesn't love it because marines' idea of a good snack is a box of crayons.

Just saying. XD

(That said, if you wind up with a heavenly risotto recipe you recommend, I'm uh, open to suggestions....;)

[doostyaudi]

❤️‍🔥Hello Everyone!!❤️‍🔥

❤️‍🔥My name is Dusty/Yara/Audi, though most call me Dusty. Idc which one u use

❤️‍🔥Adult

❤️‍🔥Bisexual, genderfluid/genderqueer

❤️‍🔥Any pronouns (masc terms)

❤️‍🔥ADHD, NPD

❤️‍🔥I draw and animate! I especially love to make animation memes!

❤️‍🔥Im a shadow demon cat irl :3 🐈🔥

❤️‍🔥Goth

❤️‍🔥 Furry (post of my fursonas :3)

❤️‍🔥I love silly kitties!

❤️‍🔥I make lots of oc x canon content lol

❤️‍🔥 ACAB

❤️‍🔥FREE PALESTINE (list of resources to aid Palestine)

❤️‍🔥Anti-capitalist

💖Media im obsessed with💖

Madness combat, Warframe, Dead Space, Pikmin, Pokémon, Ultrakill

💖Honorable mentions💖

Lupin the 3rd,dungeon meshi, Monster High, local 58, star wars, what we do in the shadows, mst3k, marine biology, paleontology, repo:the genetic opera, Hamilton, cryptids, the amazing digital circus, bugbo, Steven Universe, the owl house, gravity falls, rock band (the game), tf2, welcome home, doom

{Will update when i remember things}

💖Types of media i enjoy💖

Horror movies/games (YUMMY), violent video games, rpgs, rhythm games, comedy games/movies/tv shows, memes, stories with complex themes and lots of nuance :3 (what i write mostly LOL), hashtag music lover

💖Current kin list💖

❤️‍🔥Auditor (madness combat)❤️‍🔥

🩵Louie (pikmin)🩵

🩷Spinel (Steven universe)🩷

{can you tell which one i have clinged onto the most? LOL}

❤️‍🔥Common questions that need to be answered❤️‍🔥

Q: "how can I use your works? (art, characters, stories, ect)"

A: however you want! Everything of mine is copyright free! It's all in the public domain! Literally do whatever u want. Hell, you can even put my art on merch and sell it! Dont even have to give credit! Just as long as u don't say the art is yours, we r cool, alr? Also yes u can trace my art too, thought i should say that. U can take inspiration from my art and ocs, unless stated otherwise. Also DONT REDESIGN MY OCS PLEASE u only get to do so if i give u direct permission, though if u do, keep it to urself

Q: "Will you ever open commissions?"

A: im not sure honestly?? Like i said everything of my is public domain, and i would like for that to apply commissions, but idk how that works legally, so i haven't opened them.

Q: "why don't you ever reply to comments?"

A: I cant. Be shadowbanned prevents me from replaying to comments. Granted, this acc isn't, but two of my accs r, and that includes my main, so that has effected my commenting abilities.

Q: "can i draw your ocs?"

A: YES PWEASE i eat any and all fan art up like a starving Victorian child.

Q: "is your drawing requests open?"

A: yes! I am most likely going to draw ones that are abt my ocs or characters im currently obsessed with lol

Q: "is spam liking/reblogging allowed?"

A: allowed and encouraged!

❌DNI❌

Transphobs, homophobs, bigots, terfs, maps, zoophiles, pro shippers, nazis, fascists, zenoists, partake in cringe culture, anti furry, exclusionists, and Narcissistic abuse truthers

Anyways, have fun!

Additional links: YouTube, artfight, old acc, twiddlefinger side blog, Rave-N au masterpost, daily auditor blog

[silent-sanctum]

Can you write like a little cute one shot or Drabble of Jotaro (part 3 or 4 don’t matter to me) learning that his crush is a celebrity from America that has come to Japan? If you use part 3 then you can use the exchange student trope!!! 😳

you thought it was just gonna be a drabble? But it was me! A short fic! but sure I'll write a cute lil sumn for you honey ^^ And before reading this, I'm gonna give a bit of context for this world. I used 4taro for this one, placed him in a modern au in Tokyo where Stands don't exist, he isn't married, and he's just living life as an ordinary marine biologist on a break. With that given, hope you enjoy~ ^^

Still with You - Jotaro x Reader

word count: 2.3k

To be labeled as a “poor oblivious old man” at the age of 28 was something Jotaro would dismiss in less than a second, but considering what just happened to him… might as well live up to it for a day or two.

What transpired for that name to be given to him?

The whole thing started one fateful afternoon when the marine biologist earned himself a well-deserved break from a week-long dive into the Pacific Ocean, and he opted to visit a local café that was near his office. It was small and family-owned, serving only up to 20 customers max.

He wasn’t the type to be too picky in choosing his cup of coffee, so visiting small-business shops would end up in his subconscious to-do lists during his free time. Besides, the place was homey- had nice furnishing, theme, and a small stage for any singer to perform on.

It also happened to rain heavily that day, leaving Jotaro holed up in the tiny establishment. Then again, he wasn’t complaining. He loved the sound of the the drops pitter-pattering on the pavement outside while he sipped his warm drink, white coat draped over his shoulders.

The door opened, signaled by the chiming of the bells above. A person hurried inside dressed with a bucket hat, mask, and hoodie, half-drenched by the downpour outside. The owner addressed the soaked clothes but the lady merely shrugged them off and lifted a bag, stating she had extra dry clothes.

Again, Jotaro wouldn’t have even paid attention on a normal day, but for some reason he was curious on what she was up to considering her inconvenient situation. He played it nonchalantly, taking another sip from his cup and waited for her to return in new clothes.

He watched her wave to the eager-looking customers with a beaming smile as she approached the stage with freshly changed clothes and a microphone in hand.

Jotaro cocked a brow. A performance? He huffed. It’s been awhile since I’ve indulged in music. Might as well.

The lights dimmed for the spotlights to focus on her. The music opened to the sound of rain ambiance then combined with the muffled instrumentals, she began to sing:

Your light voice that passes by me Would you please call my name one more time Although I’m paused underneath the frozen sunset I’ll walk towards you one step at a time Still with you

The piano began to play and somehow, the atmosphere grew cozier than before as the soothing jazz music played out. The crowd began to sway, some recorded the singer on their phones, and Jotaro ended up in a trance, focused on the person behind the vocals.

She continued to sing the following verses with an almost alluring tone to it like a siren playing her song to the helpless sailors lost at sea, washing over their worries with a waves of calm and comfort. Eventually, as the chorus came, he found himself unable to tear his eyes off from the performer, his head slightly swaying as a victim to the music.

Her eyes would close from time to time, and when it wasn’t, she would sweep her gaze across the room, watching her audience to let them know that the song was theirs to enjoy.

But then as she reached the verse after the chorus, her gaze stopped at him and with maintained eye contact, continued to sing:

The moon looked lonely It looked like it’s crying brightly in the night sky Though I know that the morning will come I wanted to stay by your sky like a star

The day, the moment If I knew it will be like this I would have kept more of them When will it be if I see you again face to face I’ll look you in the eye and say I missed you

At that one moment, Jotaro’s heart fluttered beneath his stone-mask façade, breathless. What was the purpose of that prolonged eye contact? Or was he overthinking? She may have turned away back to the others, but he couldn’t forget how she didn’t stray away from his gaze for that long.

But even then, he couldn’t stop watching. The chill music didn’t help either. The chill beats were the type of tunes he’d hear from his playlist, and he’d hear from his coworkers that there was the additional charm when hearing it live.

And he’d be lying if he said that was a false statement.

He tried to pull away from the melody as the song neared its end, but as if the singer sensed his intentions, her hooded gaze returned to him and he couldn’t turn away as she sang the final verses of the song:

Behind the faint smiles that gaze at me I want to paint with the beautiful light Even though our footsteps might not match I want to walk this path together with you Still with you

The café burst in applause, some cheering as the performer smiled at the crowd with a bashful smile and bow. “Thank you everyone!” With one last wave, she walked off the stage with a bounce to her steps.

Yet Jotaro still remained on his seat, brows furrowed as he could only stare into the half-emptied cup in his hand that has gone cold. That was intentional. He shook his head and drank, not minding the coolness of his coffee. Impossible. What are you even thinking? Has Polnareff filled my head with all his nonsensical sappiness? He rubbed his temple with the added stress. Damn you Pol-

“Uhm… hi there.”

Damn me. Jotaro didn’t reply anything back to the singer standing by the chair opposite of him, a cup of coffee in hand, the smile still fixated on that face of hers as she spoke fluent Japanese to him. “You wouldn’t mind if I sit here, right?”

“Why here?” He said, arms crossed. “Aren’t there other tables for special guests like you?”

She shrugged. “There are, but there are some things that need addressing and will keep me awake all night if left unsaid.”

He scoffed. Tell me about it. Without a word, she took her spot in front of him and set her warm drink on the table. “So… I know you noticed something during my intermission.”

The maintained eye contact with the lyrics? “And what would that be?”

“Being stoic are we?” She chucked. “Well, I know you know what happened so I’m not going to beat around the bush any longer. First thing’s first,” a hand reached out to him. “Y/N. Just a tourist on vacation, but you may have known me from somewhere.”

He tilted his head and tried to remember the many face he’d seen throughout his life, but he couldn’t recognize yours in any. Regardless, he shook your hand. “Jotaro. And no, I don’t know who you are.”

You widened your eyes. “Really? Even from somewhere like… I don’t know… movies or shows from the States? Showbiz, Internet, and all?”

He shook his head. “I don’t watch much media nowadays, neither do I stay online. Too busy with work. I’m also not interested in showbiz. Why? Am I supposed to know you?”

“Oh no! No no no,” you laughed, nervous. “I’m just a cover artist in YouTube. When I’m not busy, I sing either to myself or to others, like now. I just asked… out of curiosity.”

“Mm… I see,” Jotaro said. “Though I’m still asking why you chose this table specifically among-”

“You’re cute.”

He stopped short, mouth agape with words left unsaid. What followed was his cheeks growing warm together with the tips of his ears and his eyes widening by a bit. “Ah…”

“Hey, I told you I’m not gonna beat around the bush,” you giggled, shrugging. “And I’d be lying if I told you that you were otherwise.”

Jotaro cleared his throat as he looked away, lower half of his face hidden with the back of his hand. “That was so sudden, I apologize if I’m turning away for a bit.”

“Oh no it’s okay!” You said. “It’s natural for the crowd to turn bashful around my presence after all~”

“Well, aren’t you boastful…” He said lightheartedly, glancing back at you for a second.

You hummed, leaning on your hand on the table as you stirred your drink with a small cheeky smile and slightly puffed cheeks that surely didn’t tug at his heartstrings. “Can’t help it. It just comes naturally good sir.”

It took him a couple of minutes to recollect himself from the out-of-nowhere compliment. Only after about 5 sips of caffeine and the simple music of the cafe’s playlist did Jotaro turn back to face you with a straight back and steeled face. An imperfect one at that with how his brows were furrowed and how his cheeks were still likely tinted pink.

“Uhm… thanks.”

You smiled at him and nodded in acknowledgment, closing your eyes to take a long sip of your drink. Shit, what now? Part of him wanted to remain quiet, waiting for you to continue talking, but another wanted him to say something back to not make the conversation too one-sided.

“I…” You looked at him again with shining eyes and he had urges to just back out and leave with a lame excuse. But he trudged on… the best he can. “I- You… you have a nice voice. And music.”

This time, your cheeks bloomed a warm pink and hints of a shy smile were forming, and Jotaro looked away for the umpteenth time, the visual too endearing for him to handle. “But I know you already knew that. Might as well give my review.”

“I can tell,” you said, breathy as if you had to stifle in your bashful chuckles. “You kept watching me when I sang in front of you all with this look of intrigue and awe, and…” A huff of breath. “I couldn’t help but return it. The cover I chose to use today certainly didn’t help either.”

As you let out a short embarrassed laugh with your hand covering your smile, your eyes closed from the joy that paired with your natural blush, Jotaro couldn’t help but smile back with his own cheeks warm. Your happiness was infectious apparently.

“You know,” you started as you finished your drink and got ready to leave. “You’re a nice guy despite your initial grumpy demeanor.”

“Get used to it. It’s not a demeanor.”

“Oh? Are you implying we’re gonna meet again, Jotaro?” you asked with a raised brow and he spluttered, not used to hearing his name being blurt out from your lips with that voice. At his response or lack thereof, you chuckled and ripped out a piece of paper from a notebook in your bag.

“I see. Lucky for you, I too hope we get to hang out together like this sometime soon.” With a pen from your pocket, you wrote down a series of numbers and your name with it. A second later, you handed your number for him to take. “Will I be expecting something from you soon?”

Jotaro cocked his head with regard and took the slip of paper. With no hesitation, he folded in half and ripped it, leaving your number unharmed as he took out his own pen and wrote his on the other blank half.

“I don’t mind chatting with you,” He slid his contact to you. “But don’t expect me to be the one to start conversation. As I said, I’m busy.”

You scoffed, albeit playful and smiling, liking his wager. “We’ll see about that.”

~

It’s been a week since your encounter with him at that mini café, and even in the midst of paperwork and research, Jotaro couldn’t forget the sweet-voiced singer and the song she sung.

He knew when it came to these feelings, he didn’t know shit about them and so he wasn’t aware that they’d persist for this long.

Jotaro didn’t want to do this but he figured he’d first figure out to deal with the current issue through communication with a friend or two. Either that or end up thinking about a café performer who he just met 24/7 until god knows when.

Suffice to say, he came out of the conversation dumbfounded, flattered, and very much the one with a mind of an “old man”:

“Pol, can I ask you something?”

“Jotaro asking me questions? Now that’s a first! What is it buddy?”

“Something happened when I was at a cafe and… ah good grief, I can’t believe I’m about to say this…”

“What? Tell me! You say it like it’s something serious-”

“I think I got… I have… a crush on somebody.”

…

…

“Oh my god. You’re 11 years too late but holy shit! My man! Finally! Do you have her number?”

“Ah right. It’s here.”

“Aha~ A phone number~ So you weren’t lying. Did you text her?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I did Pol.”

“Oh?”

“OH?!”

“What is it this time?”

“Jotaro, you have a popular actress crushing on you?!”

“Huh?”

“Y/N L/N?! The Y/N L/N?!?! MY GUY-”

“She’s one of the most critically acclaimed celebrities in the United States. I’m definitely sure Mr. Joestar have heard of her since he’s always glued to whatever’s showing on screen. She also has her own YouTube channel where she does a lot of gorgeous covers of her favorite artists!”

“Oh.”

“'Oh' doesn’t cover the fact that you discovered one of her secret busking spots, got her to talk to you over coffee, liked it, AND GOT HER TO LIKE YOU.”

“Ah.”

“YOU REALLY DIDN’T KNOW?!”

“I don’t watch much and I’m not on the Internet as much so-”

“Damn I may be the older adult here but you sure are one poor oblivious old man.”

…

“So are you going to help me talk to her again or not?”

“You bet your stone aged ass I will. Just make sure I get an autograph in return~”

[hmshermitcraft]

An AU that fits this week's theme came to me in a dream! Unfortunately I woke up before it was done setting up everything

Basic premise: a lot of the Hermits were important people in small nations that took inspiration from some of their bases across the seasons but fleshed out and expanded to whole countries that all had some kind of Logistical Problem, many of which were relatively new

e.g. Grian's country was full of rugged terrain and flying islands with poor soil, with alchemically useful fungi and some ocean access but no good ports (because the underwater terrain was just as rugged and full of floating rocks as the overwater terrain); False and Stress had high mountains above cursed-to-eternal-winter small lowlands and lots of icebergs (great harbours and lots of marine life and good hunting, terrible farming but okay forestry); Doc's Perimeter had lush plantlife in its thick air and abundant stone but had flooding issues, a monster problem from tomato slimes, and was perpetually short of some magical reagents, etc

Mumbo, Impulse, Scar, and Pearl were also involved but the dream didn't get around to fleshing out their countries ): Someone had a newly-founded mostly-underground country

These countries all had Problems but they realized they didn't all have the SAME problem, and they were also neighbouring each other or at least short-distance ocean access to each other, and so they decided to unite their countries with a mixture of trade routes and political poly marriage

False and Stress did it first, after losing a lot of their territory to the same war that got Stress's lands cursed, but once news of that came around a lot of the Hermits were like. Huh. That's a Good Idea actually

they expected it to be a purely political marriage, with the hopes of them all being friends, but they found love

It's the dawn of a new age for their countries. The resources traded between them help, but also the ideas they can bring.

xB lives on the water, with people adapted for diving deep into the waves. He's able to offer suggestions for Doc's flooding. If they can't stop it, then he can work with it and make structures that withstand it. Whilst the stone is beneficial for xB, as mining is difficult in their location.

With Stress and False's countries being combined it eliminates a lot of trade issues they were having previously. It's not uncommon for icebergs to block entire harbours, but now they can arrange for that by monitoring their movements and directing the flow of traffic.

It's also a relief to not feel as isolated anymore. Practically, it's a benefit. They're an intimidating force now, less likely to be messed with. But now they can meet with each other and relax once all the politics talk is done. They can curl up in beds that don't feel as big with another person in (or two. Or three.)