#love seeing all the cool creatures in tide pools

[hitwiththefandomz]

Captions:Hey-TD! Donnie from Cabin 11! Have you found any wildlife, rocks, or have any water samples?

@tmnt-fandom-family-reunion

Some good ol wildlife, dragons and starfish

@tmnt-fandom-family-reunion

Cabin #7 (7Wonders of the Turtleverse)

[just-some-user-hunny]

Grey ghost as your dragon ...

. Grey ghost was a considerably shy dragon.

Although shy may not be the right word to describe him, more like introverted and prone to avoiding people. He isn't particularly fond of the ruckus that humans make. They're so noisy, and nosy.

. Cattle would disappear in the hours of daylight, often in days of heavy fog and engulfing dark clouds. All common folk know to herd in their livestock on particularly cloudy/foggy days as to dissuade the grey ghost from paying them a visit.

. Befitting his name, he hides in the clouds. shrouded with silver and dark shadow as he soars silently upon the wind like a haunting phantom, the beat of his wings like a windstorm or hurricane.

. He's a very silent flyer. Arguably the quietest dragon out of all of them. He drifts and skulks like a ghost.

. His wildness is that of a bird of prey. Poised and exact, silent and puffed with pride. If he were to bond with you, you'd get to delve more into his guarded personality. He's mostly withdrawn, but he certainly wouldn't mind your company.

. Humans, to him, are both predator and prey. He's seen what they are capable of, seen how the dragon-lords have captured and saddled his kind. At first he would be very hesitant of you, shying away and flying off whenever he was given the chance, but no matter how often he hid from you, he was never too far. You'll swear you can see him on the corner of your eye whenever your sights are set to the sky. You'll hear the beat of his wings as he'd silently cruise in the sky over your head, watching you. Observing you.

. Bonding with this wild dragon would take patience and delicacy, but once you were granted his precious trust? Oh he would be all over you.

. His leathery pale wings are worn from constant flight, so he would love whatever pampering you'd give him. Soothing Salves upon the aching muscles of his wings, cleaning his silvery scales around his face, or simply allowing him to sleep with his head nestled close to you or in your lap, he'd be a happy dragon. Humans have always been off limits to him, so he's exploring this side of humanity. The goodness. The kindness. The pack bonding that they seem to hold for anything and everything. You're his experience.

. He loves flying with you. He'd not even mind the saddle, almost eagerly letting you fasten the dragon-saddle upon him as he impatiently awaits for you to clamber on so he can show you how high he can soar. Be warned however- he's going to test you. See how high or fast you can tolerate his dance in the air, how much courage his little human has, and how worthy they are of riding him.

Be mindful to hold on tight to the reigns, you're going to need it.

. He'll take you over deep oceans, vast forests and treacherous mountains. He'll take you to the stars and the moon, fly you as close to the heavens that you can possibly reach your whilst within in your mortal body. He especially loves flying through billowing storm clouds and rainclouds. The rush of wind under his wings, the fresh cool rain on his scales, and the claps of thunder that makes his heart skip a beat. You may return from your flights a little drenched and shivering, but it'd be so worth it.

. He would probably not tolerate the dragon pits. He hates the confinement, and the thought of being cramped in there with other bulky dragons. All growling and huffing and bellowing fire, stepping on tails and talons. He's a solitary creature. Grey ghost likes the company of himself and you.

. Instead he would find a perch nearby. A cave perhaps, or a nice spot near the shoreline. He likes the bubbling seafoam and the glittering silver fish in the water.

. He loves seeing you every morning. When you leave the castle grounds, there you will find him. perched upon a cliffy hillside, or perhaps near the tide pools- his dark silver scales shimmering with seaspray. Your greetings are often reciprocated with a huff or a bellow of smoke, before he nestles his neck and wing down for you to climb upon his back.

. If you are bonded with him, it is possible you share a common interest. Perhaps you harbour some introverted tendencies, or maybe you are a little shy and anxious. You could also just want to go against the grain and do things at your own pace and style, whatever the case, you will both see a part of yourselves in one another. He gets it- he understands. Loud noises, gossip, prodding words and eyes- they're all too much. He'll take you to the tranquility of the clouds and stars, and he'll be your greatest strength and protection- just like you are his greatest peace and joy.

[etherati]

Taproot - (1/25)

To celebrate finally finishing this monster of a fic after 4 goddamned years, I'm going to be posting the full chapters here on Tumblr, serialized like in the olden days, to make it easier to digest a bit at a time. Expect an installment once a week. This is a sequel to Wellspring, and is a post-S2 AU with, at this point, established Trephacard--plus some historical flashbacks, family drama, bloody showdowns, and a lot of secrets waiting in the wings. And feels. All the feels. If you like those things--or, for reasons I cannot disclose at this time, dear old Leon Belmont--consider giving this one a spin.

Summary from Ao3:

Taproot (n): The oldest, most central root; that from which all else arises.

Every family has its roots, diving down into the shadowy, secretive earth--and there's no such thing as a bloodless inheritance.

🎵 Music pairing: The Old Ways - Loreena McKennitt

Next -- >

Go to part: one | two | three | four | five | six

Sunrise over the Black Sea—golden light spilling into the water like its own sort of glowing, glittering liquid, diffusing through the brine and illuminating it in hues of orange and amber and violet-pink—is one of the most beautiful sights the natural world has to offer. There are other striking sunrises to be had, and other bodies of water prone to making a person feel overwhelmingly small, but nowhere else do the two combine into such a spectacle, delighting the eyes even as it harrows the soul.

At least, nowhere else that Sypha has been, and she has been a lot of places.

She twists the end of her walking stick into the damp sand and gravel. This means that she’s close; she can tell by the particular mineral-laden smell of the salt and the angle of the light that she’s still a bit north of Enisala, but not by very far. There’s no shame in having arrived at the sea slightly off from her target. The only truly accurate navigation is by the stars—and the lingering presence of the night creatures and the winter’s bitter chill have had her travelling mostly with the sun.

Overhead, the keening cries of shorebirds as they dip and weave, coming in low to gather at the waterline, to pick over the tide pools and sandbars. The breakers beat the rocky shore, relentless. There’s a stark beauty to the place, to the way life struggles forward despite its days being filled only with further struggle. Tenacity. Tenacity, she understands, and all the spoils it brings.

This would be a lovely place to bring Adrian and Trevor to, she thinks; let them see this dawn, let the three of them roughhouse in the waves and drink sweet fruit wine in the sun and make love in the cool, damp sand once twilight settles in, all softness and blue-black shadows and the murmur of the tide. When the weather is warmer. When the sea is greener than it is grey, and the wind coming off of it doesn’t threaten to peel the skin from her face and hands. When they feel safe, leaving the castle unguarded for a while.

That time is, with certainty, not yet now. But she’s working on it. She’s still not gotten used to travelling alone, honestly hopes she won’t ever have to, but sometimes needs must. And that’s the entire point of this, of having to be away from them for so long.

She misses them—misses her family, too, but that’s an old ache that she’s grown accustomed to. Missing Adrian and Trevor is a different kind of hurt, sharp and fresh, made worse by knowing how badly they’re missing her in return. When she was growing up, travelling constantly on journeys measured in seasons, a month had felt like nothing. Now, it feels like an eternity.

There’s no snow and ice out here, this close to the water; there never is, in her experience, until you get to the deep, deep north. The sand is wet and the coarse stone crushed into it grinds under her staff. It’s blunt and thick, as writing implements go, and there’s no way to get any detail—and anyway, she’s no artist.

She still leaves a chunky, lopsided heart in the sand, as if marking the spot to return to later—as if the waves won’t wash it away mere hours after she’s left this place.

The sun is high overhead by the time the crumbling stone fortress of Enisala comes into view on the horizon. It feels wonderful, even if winter sun never warms one through the same way summer sun does; she drops her hood to bask in it, shifting her pack on her shoulders.

The ruins themselves are all beige-grey rock, the sky even more devoid of color, stormy and brooding. As she gets closer, though, she can see little pops of color all around the perimeter of the old fortress—blanket-draped caravans, colorful paper lanterns, artifacts of every culture the trains have come into contact with over the past year. Anything to make the space lively.

This place has always felt oddly significant to her—with its ruins that no one will claim ownership over, that seem to belong only to themselves, like slumbering giants from the birth of the world. Really, anywhere on the eastern edge of a landmass would do, for the Speakers’ winter solstice celebrations. But this is where her family group has always come, and so she knows she will find them here. For a week on either side of the solstice, many trains gather here in the sprawl of the mysterious ruins, and they eat and dance and share stories, all the stories of the year before, and Sypha knows she has a few that will make even the elders jealous.

She smiles to herself, framing the narrative in her head as she sets off down the narrow, meandering path to the gathering below.

“Sypha!” a familiar voice calls out, along with the clatter of scattered and dropped firewood; she’s barely made the edge of camp, is still lost in thought, but that voice would snap her out of just about anything.

“Kiri,” she oofs out, as the woman barrels into her, catching her up in a crushing embrace that’s more robes than anything else—layers and layers of them, to keep out the damp chill. Sypha hugs back just as hard; she’d been expecting her family and the others, the ones she’d watched leave Greşit all those months ago and then had to say farewell to again late in the spring. She hadn’t been expecting Kiri, Kiri who knows all her secrets and remembers what she looked like when she was young enough to go about with her hair unshorn, who she spent more time with growing up than she did her own family—throwing rocks into rivers and climbing trees and playing rough games with the boys. Testing every limit, challenging every rule, pushing for every wild dream.

Kiri, who’d been away from their clan for at least three years now, off studying the healing arts with the Ottoman scholars in the east when their own collective knowledge had proved insufficient for her. Three years that now feel like nothing—and isn’t it odd, how the friends of childhood are so often forgotten when the demands of adult life catch up, but the body never forgets what it’s like to hold them?

“I’m so glad you made it,” Kiri says, her face buried in Sypha’s hair. “My first Solstice back with our people and you weren’t here! I was getting worried.”

“What, did you think I would miss it?” Sypha asks, faux indignation through her own laughter. “Never.”

“Well, I’ve been told that you have your hunter, now,” Kiri says, pulling away, a sudden swell of distance blooming between them. No wonder—too often, Speakers who marry outside the tribe never quite find their way back. She and Trevor hadn’t been that to each other the last time she’d seen her family, had just been circling ever closer without quite making contact, but fair assumptions could be, and often were, made. “And your sleeping soldier?”

“Mm, yes,” Sypha says; it’s been a long time since she’s thought of Adrian that way, though he’s never stopped fighting for them. “But this is important, being here. And seeing everyone again! How have your studies been?”

Kiri’s eyes flash with excitement, bright against the wind-bitten redness of her cheeks; her skittishness evaporates in an instant. “It is incredible, Sypha! The things they know, in the south—the things they’ve kept track of, that others have forgotten. There is a book one man there has written on how to repair a person as if they were a torn garment or a broken wagon. It’s remarkable.” Adrian probably has a copy of that, somewhere in his mother’s medical library—if not, she’ll have to remember to track one down. “I understand why we do not record our stories, but after three years there, I wonder if we are foolish to not record knowledge itself? Raw knowledge I mean, the kind that is hard to frame in the context of a story.”

My people are idiots, she remembers saying, during that

interminable stay in the Belmont hold; she’s usually more inclined to be generous, but there’d been an infectious kind of frustration and cynicism they’d all been fighting, after a certain point. 

“I’ve wondered that, too,” she says now, far more diplomatic; the journey has done her outlook a lot of good. “About an entirely different body of knowledge! Not something that would be as useful as the medicine you’re learning, but yes—if having something written down can save a life, how can that be wrong?” 

“Don’t let the elders hear you say that!” Kiri admonishes, laughing.

Sypha blows a dismissive breath through her nose. “I am sure they already think I’m a terrible member of our tribe, just for raising a hand against the enemies of humanity. I cannot imagine their opinion of me can get much worse.”

Kiri throws an arm over her shoulder, pulls her in. “It’s not that bad,” she says, trying to be encouraging, but there's a tension there. “Our Sypha, the warrior of Wallachia. But I always knew you were destined for something special.”

Sypha frowns in thought, takes a few steps in silence. Did you? She wants to ask, and she wants to ask, Why?

Destined. Destiny is too large an idea, is the sort of thing that hovers around other people, people with remarkable families, with mysterious pasts. Sypha is a magician like any other Speaker magician; her father was the same, and his mother before him, and there is nothing unusual about any of it. These things run in families, and magic users are common, and sure, she'd gotten herself sucked up into an epic story because of it, but it could as easily have been another.

Couldn't it have?

Would another scholar of magic have done just as good a job? Would another magician have melded into the team as well as she did, have communicated in battle so effortlessly, have picked up the slack the other two dropped and protected them when they needed it? Could just any magician have snatched Dracula’s castle out of the aether like it was a feather on the breeze?

Would another Speaker have tossed aside the principles of a lifetime to stand up and fight, or is there really something dark and burning in her that sets her aside?

If there is, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Is that even the question to be asking?

“...how does it feel, to fulfill a prophecy?” Kiri asks, as they start to make their way toward the rest of the camp. It’s clear from the suddenly uncomfortable undercurrent in her voice that she’s not talking about the whole killing Dracula part; that story, her family has already heard, and it’s surely made the rounds. No—she’s talking about the rest of the prophecy. The part that’d had Sypha so uneasy clambering down into the catacombs and so defensive when she awoke there in the face of a hunter; the part that she’d like to believe any random magician would not have been able to fulfill.

“Strangely?” Sypha says, pitching her voice low. “Like I did have a choice in the matter.”

“Truly? You did not feel fate’s hand pushing the issue?” A pause, a few scuffing steps in the snow. Then, carefully: “Or another hand entirely?”

And oh, Sypha understands why her old friend is concerned, understands all too well given the way the world has sometimes treated their people. How non-Speaker men have often regarded them—worldly and experienced and incapable of ever saying no, as if rejection of the church’s self-loathing, oppressive morality somehow made them into succubi. But the implication is so absurd in context that she still laughs, conspiratorial. “No. My God. I had to push them. I thought I was going to go crazy.”

A smile then, more genuine. The tension drains out of the arm across Sypha’s shoulders. “What kind of heroic warriors are they, if they’re not fighting for the hand of maiden fair?”

“In what world, I wonder, would I be considered a fair maiden?” Sypha asks, smiling despite herself. Her robes are ragged with wear, her hair recently chopped short again, her feet swathed in cloth bandages beneath her sandals to keep out the cold. Fair indeed. But she knows that society outside of their caravans frames the world in certain ways. “And they were fighting with me, not for me.” 

“Still. Most would expect some sort of reward for saving the world—even if only from fate.”

Sypha shakes her head, remembering that sunrise through the castle doors, the way they’d all started drifting apart before she’d pulled them back together. Those first few hours of having no idea what to even do with themselves, in this tomorrow that they hadn’t expected to see. “We were all shocked to still be alive, in the end. I imagine that would be reward enough for anyone.”

Kiri looks to her feet, swallows. They walk in silence for a moment. It had, perhaps, been unfair to go into such dark territory—to invoke how close they’d all come to dying that night. But these are the stakes Sypha has gotten used to, the way she’s become accustomed to thinking of the world. Speakers don’t fight; they are always in danger from those who don’t understand them, but that is a danger that brings itself to one’s door. The memory of choosing to walk across an enemy’s threshold, certain she would not ever cross it again, is uniquely hers.

“If you met them,” she says, gently bringing the topic back around, “you would understand. They honestly are good men. They understand what trust and respect are.” And they have enough baggage to fill an entire wagon, between them both, but that’s not for her to say. She’s not so dense as to think that they’d been dragging their feet just to frustrate her. “They do respect me, and I had to do nothing extraordinary to earn it—only what I’m truly capable of. We are equals.”

“Enough so that they trusted you to make this journey alone,” says a voice from her other side, mild and gentle, and Sypha turns without thinking, throwing herself into her grandfather’s arms.

“My angel,” he says, stroking her hair, and as it always does, the endearment makes her heart clench up a little around something—something hard and painful, like a rock in her chest, that she has never understood.

She huffs a laugh against his robes, pushes through it. “It was more a matter of whether I trusted them to survive a month without me.” Kiri laughs then, and her grandfather does too, and it warms her to know, with this kind of certainty, just how lucky she really is.

“…and it was in this way that the houses were joined, the scorched land of one family and the usurped fortress of their oldest enemy, and from the ashes of tragedy and loss and centuries of discord arose the hope of an unexpected and brilliant future.”

A long silence, broken up by the crackle of logs in the fire, by the quiet rustle of voices from elsewhere in the camp. There’s no need to pronounce the end of a story here, not if one is half decent at telling it; Sypha knows that they are just letting it sink in.

“A remarkable story, more so even than the first telling, which we have all heard,” one of the elders says, one she isn’t familiar with. In front of the old woman’s feet, a pair of young children are still staring raptly at Sypha. The elder’s voice is warm, pleased. “It will be quite a thing to add to our memory stores. And quite a thing to know that one of our own played a role, in such a difficult time for our country.”

“One of ours, one of Dracula’s, and one of their own that they threw out,” says a young man a few places to Sypha’s left; his voice carries the twist of a smile. “I wonder how the church must feel, in the face of such irony.”

And oh, that’s a thought that has given Sypha much satisfaction over the last year—to be a fly on the wall when the heads of the church met to discuss what had happened!—but the old woman frowns. “I imagine they feel as though they nearly caused the extinction of all human life in Wallachia,” she says, a touch sharp. “Perhaps that is enough?”

One of the children at her feet giggles, a Look who’s in trouble kind of sound, and the man ducks his head. But he’s not in trouble. That isn’t how they do things. “Pardon me, Elder,” he says, “but I disagree. That they made a horrible mistake is knowledge that can fade or be downplayed over time. That they were saved by the very people they ostracized and cast out—that carries weight that cannot so easily be shrugged off. Even if we cannot share this with the rest of the people of Wallachia, that lesson should at least be preserved.”

Because it is about hubris as much as it is about blame, she can remember saying, after that first meeting they’d had with Acasă’s strange new church. Blame can be washed away with a convincing enough apology, and hubris will make the same mistakes over and over again. Both must be undermined if any progress is to be made.

It had been a hard sell. Adrian tends to want to place blame if only to have something to aim all of his anger and sadness at, now that he’s allowed himself to start navigating them; Trevor only wants the world to feel more just than it is. But in the end she’d brought them around: more needs to be done than to just rub the church’s nose in the mess it’d made.

Which is why they’d agreed, in the end, for her to finally tell the story in its entirety—nothing masked or obfuscated, no details left aside. Only for her people’s ears; a closed telling, a rarely invoked practice used when the full story needs preserving but would put the participants in danger, should it get out into the general populace. The people of Acasă are just now starting to truly accept Trevor for who he is; tolerating a witch and a vampire is a bit much to expect of them, just yet.

“For whatever it’s worth,” she says now, “as a participant in the story? I agree. How this was ended, and by who, is just as important as who started it in the first place. There are lessons in both of those things."

The elder regards her for a long moment, thoughtful. Then nods, just a tiny dip of her face into the firelight. “Very well. This story will sit alongside the previous version. The nature of Wallachia’s saviors is to be preserved, as a means of emphasizing the church’s shortsightedness and the need for it to not repeat that mistake.”

Sypha nods deeply, a long and slow dip of her head nearly to her knees. “My thanks, Elder. May your tribe live happily and well, in the coming year.”

“And yours.”

The crowd disperses, some going to hear or tell other stories, some retiring to their caravans for the evening meal. One figure stays nearby, hunched over a nearby fire, close enough to have heard her telling but not actually part of the group receiving it. In the fading light, the shape is just that: a shape, a silhouette, blue-black against the blue-white of the snow, limned in the cold violet light of sunset. They have a branch in their hands, are stripping it of its side-shoots methodically, tossing them one by one into the fire.

It’s a silhouette Sypha would know anywhere. 

“What stories have you to tell,” Sypha asks, settling down alongside her, the ritualistic question feeling strange in her mouth, “since this time last year?”

Kiri huffs a laugh. “None as exciting as yours. You’re a hard act to follow, Sypha.”

“You seemed excited about all the knowledge you’d gained, earlier.”

Twist, pull, snap. “That’s nothing, compared to having a grand destiny.”

“I still say that destiny is too strong a word. We basically fell down a hole.” 

“Directly into the vault of Greşit’s sleeping soldier. At precisely the time the three of you were most needed. That sounds like kismet to me.”

Sypha can’t help but laugh, remembering. “It felt more like incredible clumsiness, from where I was standing.”

“Falling.”

“From where I was falling, yes.”

A stretch of quiet, then, broken only by the crackling of the fire.

“So,” Kiri says after a while, tossing an entire handful of twigs into the flames. There’s a smile on her face but the firelight has turned it bitter, all shadows and edges. “Your soldier is a vampire.”

“Dhampir, really,” Sypha corrects, kneejerk. For so long, it’d been Trevor she was correcting, then after a while, Adrian himself; she’s used to being quick on the draw with it, because either of them saying vampire had generally been a sign of badness brewing.

Kiri breaks another few twigs free from the branch, twists them in her fingers. “I don’t know what that means.”

Right. Of course she doesn’t. “It means his mother was human.”

“Oh,” Kiri says, seemingly still not sure what to do with this information. “I knew that, I guess. From the story itself. I didn’t realize the distinction mattered.”

“Yes, it… it matters. A great deal. I do not think a true vampire would have ever sided with humanity.”

"Still. I wonder if I would have been able to guess, had we met in the summer instead of the winter."

Sypha plucks at the scarf around her neck, the wool scratchy but warm, dyed in a hundred vibrant colors. It’d come from the market in Acasă, knitted by an old blind woman, and had been a gift—gratitude for the work they’d done securing the town against the demon attacks. They had saved her son’s entire family, and gone home that night and celebrated it, a battle with no casualties save the demons themselves. She’s wearing it because of the cold, but she knows what Kiri is asking. "Perhaps."

A huff of breath. “So much for your gentle warriors.”

“You would probably be surprised,” Sypha says with a shrug, not even bothering to take offense on Adrian’s behalf, because she can tell this isn’t what Kiri’s actually upset about. Some people compare words to weapons, and it’s truer than they know; you can dodge and feint and mislead with them as well as you can with steel. “But that isn’t—Kiri. What’s going on?”

For a long moment, no reply. The fire cracks and pops, splitting the wood apart in a spattering of sparks. Kiri throws the whole branch into it like a spear, a hard burst of frustration.

“Taerna married, this summer,” she finally says, the words quiet. 

That stops Sypha cold, her fingers poised in mid-reach for a branch of her own. She curls them back up around the empty air, feels the nails bite into her palm. “She always said she would wait for you.”

“Why should she have bothered? We were only friends.”

“You were more than that.”

“She married,” Kiri repeats, short, face tightening as if to hold something inside. “Like all of my friends and sisters did. Marriage and children and… it’s all anyone does. We had plans. We were going to, to travel, and she was going to hunt our food and I was going to heal people and we were going to see the world together. But this is the only life anyone seems to care about.”

And even you’re going down that path, Sypha can hear, unsaid. You and your prophecy, your exiled hunter and your inhuman soldier. 

Sypha closes her eyes, takes a breath. “She cares about you.”

“She also cares about her hound.”

“She loves you,” Sypha says, insistent.

Kiri laughs, bitter, tears threatening. It’s like watching an old dam crumble, flawless limestone threading through with cracks and stress fractures, and then: an outrushing of things held back for far too long. “Not enough,” she says, curling forward over herself, arms tight around her belly. “Not more than she loved the idea of having a child. Not enough to be with me.”

“Oh, Kiri. I’m sorry,” Sypha says, threading an arm over her shoulders, pulling her in. “I’m sorry.”

“Do yours love you?” Kiri asks after a moment, muffled by the layers of robes. “Enough to change the world, to defy everything for you?”

Sypha thinks about Trevor punching Dracula in a ridiculous, suicidal attempt to keep him away from her, thinks about Adrian in her garden, enduring the sun to make her happy—about a castle and a watchtower and the ending of the story she’d told, and her grasp on her friend tightens. “They do. And each other.”

A laugh into her shoulder, rough and wet. “I’ve always thought it would be terrible, to be involved in a prophecy,” she says, barely audible. “I never thought I’d be so jealous.”

There’s a stream that runs past the ruins, a narrow but swift-moving current that cuts through the ground here like a knife. It leads into the tough, gnarled pines and firs that grow this close to the sea, into these dark and uninviting woods that are nevertheless filled with a thousand secret places.

Sypha follows it, as she always has, year after year. 

Things are different, this year.

She finds them by the water, bundled up and talking quietly. There’s a fire burning, but it’s been banked and allowed to subside down to embers, giving off heat but very little light. In the heavily filtered winter moonlight, they look like faery folk—Arn with his delicate, dignified features, Lily with the luminescent white bone beads threaded into hair the color of pitch, both of them beautiful and earnest.

They look up when she steps closer, their faces dark, shadowed. Painfully anxious.

She sits down on the ground, near to them, facing them. She is just as filled with anxiety. She has never done this, has no idea how to approach it—she knows they are not being blindsided like Kiri was, knows they have had time to adjust to the idea of this, but all she can see is her old friend’s face, broken up in grief over a friend-love she—and everyone else—had thought was something more. For once in her life, Sypha cannot find the words.

Then Lily smiles, the brilliant, passionate smile Sypha remembers, and holds out her hands, and Sypha lets herself fall into the woman’s arms, nearabout crushing her in the embrace.

“It’s all right,” she whispers, against Sypha’s ear. “You’ve found your loves. It was always bound to happen to one of us.”

Sypha nods against her, feeling the tears welling up. Turns to embrace Arn, the familiarity of his touch painful in this context, in knowing what she has to do.

“Are you set to marry?” Arn asks, quiet, solemn.

Sypha shakes her head. “I haven’t brought up the subject yet. There are a lot of complications—no human establishment would ever welcome us. But...”

“But you would like to.”

“Yes.”

“Will you come back to us then, for the ceremony?” Lily asks, and her voice sounds like the fear of paths diverging, not knowing if they will ever converge again. “Or even just to visit? You know there are none here who wouldn’t welcome all of you—or if there are…”

“Lily will convince them to change their minds,” Arn finishes for her, a small smile at the corner of his mouth.

Sypha closes her eyes, takes Lily’s hand. “Of course. I could not stay away for long. And you can always visit us—we’ll have a lot of space, once we rebuild.”

Visiting, seeing old friends: it’s not the same, won’t ever be the same. And sometimes things change, and people change and what they are to each other changes. But these two were always dear friends first and foremost, and that will never—can never—be any different. She gathers them both into her arms, and it’s a sweet, comfortable place to be.

“Please tell me,” Arn whispers into her hair after another long moment, “that Belmont at least bathes regularly, now?”

And like that, the seriousness of the night vanishes, goes up like a twist of smoke into the black. Sypha laughs, and keeps laughing, until it turns to tears again and she can’t sort out which she’s feeling more of. 

“Yes,” she says, with a little hiccup of sob-laughter. “He does. He fights the darkness and protects the innocent—like he was born for. And washes the monster blood off, after.”

“Good,” Arn says, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “We could tell from the beginning, that he was capable of being more than he was pretending to be.”

A long measure of silence, only the water rushing past, too swift to freeze even in the heart of winter.

“Will you let us give you a proper farewell?” Lily asks, hesitant. “Do they know—”

“They know,” Sypha says, biting her lip. “I talked with them about it before I left. They don’t mind.” As long as it’s a farewell, she hears Trevor saying, laughter in his voice even as he’d tried to be serious about this. And not a ‘till next time’.

Adrian had just been quiet, and had smiled softly in that way that is always disarming to her, and had simply said that traditions, and closure, are important. For everyone involved.

“Do you want this from us?” Lily asks. “Whether they mind is not the only question.”

It’s secluded in the little copse of trees, even the starlight blocked by the arching branches thick with green needles, and warm from the banked fire. Sypha nods, and reaches out with both hands, palms up in invitation. They each press a kiss to her open hands, and they hold her and she holds them, all of them swathed in the shadows of this secret place. She lets them say goodbye to this part of their collective lives, lets them put their hands and their mouths on her and push her to giddy exhaustion—one last gift from her youth, and one that will have to hold her over through the winter chill until these two weeks are out and she can begin to make her way home.

When they wander back to camp late that night, appetites sated and tension shaken away, things are different between them, always will be different, now—but that’s all right, in the end. Change, like liquor in a wound, can sting, but it is sometimes the only thing that makes the blood run truly clean.

The next day passes quickly and well. She gives her grandfather the gifts that Adrian and Trevor had sent along with her; scouring the castle library, Adrian had found a rare volume of supposedly true stories from the far east that he thought the tribe would appreciate having to add to their memory stores, and    Trevor, feeling some cabin fever in all of the early season snow they’ve gotten, has taken up carving—which is to say, he isn’t very good at it yet, may never really be. But the two simplistic figures he’s sent are easily recognizable as rough caricatures of priests, one missing a finger and one missing an eye. In memory of the day we all met! he’d said, performative, trying to disguise the sentimentality as tactless humor.

Her grandfather laughs to himself as he holds the figures up, and she can tell he’s trying hard to mask how entertained he is; violence is so anathema to their people and yet, somehow, this particular act of violence never seems to have unsettled him. Context, she supposes; Trevor had been acting specifically to save his life, and he could have done far worse.

She wanders the camp, looks at all of the lovely exotic decorations, and plays with the children, an odd pang in her heart as she watches their innocent games. She helps prepare lunch, lighting the fires for the ones doing the cooking, chopping vegetables and kneading dough for flatbread, and she goes into the woods with Kiri to gather more firewood—they will need a lot of it, tonight. 

They don’t talk, while they gather. It’s not awkward, just an understanding that the space between them needs some quiet, needs time to breathe.

She visits with the others in her family, with the surrogate aunts and uncles that are not actually related to her by blood, with the childhood playmates and the mentors, and with Taerna and her husband, a man from another tribe who’d chosen to join hers

instead of the other way around, had chosen to take her name. He seems sweet enough, and Taerna seems happy, if a little haunted around the edges of her eyes. Everyone she asks says that yes, of course they will be there, tonight.

Last night had been for stories, and tomorrow will be as well. But tonight is for celebration. All things in equal measure.

Hours in, Sypha drops onto one of the logs around the edges of the clearing; she slumps forward with a happy groan, reaching to rub the knots and strings out of her calves. Her walking muscles are conditioned like no others, but dancing muscles are a different story. It’s a good ache, though, like that burn in the cheeks that comes from too much smiling, too much laughter. She feels overheated from the exertion and the fire, no matter the chill in the air, and she unwinds the scarf, loosens the top layer of her robes to let the air move through.

Between where she sits and where the fire burns, silhouettes move, a chaotic display of human joy and beauty. They have no structured dances, really, though longtime partners often grow into each other’s steps. She can smell warm food nearby, bread and stew and hot mead, sees all of her family and friends and the strangers that come here as well, all her people, all dressed as she is, and wonders again: could any of them, the ones with magic at least, have done what she did?

She stares into the fire, remembers the feel of the castle’s engine between her fingers, the way she’d felt reality bending and brittle fracturing around her, so much more power at her disposal in that moment than she’d ever brought to bear conjuring fire or ice—and she thinks that no, maybe not. She’s met other magicians; she’s not sure any of them have ever trapped an eldritch monstrosity or blown apart an Enochian ward or—or done the things she’s come here to learn how to do. The things her father and her grandmother could do.

Later. Later, when the Nasaii tribe arrives. They should be here by morning. She will learn what she needs to, and she will go home, and she will be able to protect that home more thoroughly than she ever has before.

In the meantime, she watches the dancers, contemplates getting some stew, contemplates whether her legs will fall off if she tries—watches Arn and Lily together on the far side of the clearing, twisting in a tight curl that makes Lily’s hair lift, the fire lighting up her bone beads and glinting in Arn’s eyes. Watches the children imitating the adults, the youngest pairing off with their siblings, stumbling all over each other. Watches strong, tough Taerna with her husband, insisting on leading him, as much as anyone can lead in this sort of dance. 

Watches the elder she’d told her story to last night, sitting across the fire from her, watching Sypha right back with a gentle smile that says Don’t worry,  that says You will be with them soon.

And there’s nothing inherently romantic about these dances on the solstice—friends dance with friends, parents with children, and many dance alone—but she remembers being young and everything being about those early, tentative relationships, remembers that there was a thrill in getting the chance to dance with those people she called heart-mates, or to be asked to dance by someone she wished to be that close to.

So she can’t help but smile when she sees Taerna whisper something to her husband and break away from him, sidling hesitantly up to where Kiri sits. She’s poking at the dirt with a crooked, bare stick, and her sandals haven’t touched the dance ring—are clean of the dust and soot that coats the ground here, the

remains of a hundred years of bonfires.

Taerna holds out a hand, uncertain.

It won’t solve all of the problems, won’t make Kiri’s love hurt less or magically mend things between them. But there’s something of healing in Kiri’s eyes as she reaches up to take that hand, leaves the stick behind in the dirt, lets herself be pulled up and into the ring of dancers, the two of them falling into each other’s space with an ease that says We belong here, that says Even if we must change, there is still us, that says You will never be a stranger in these arms.

Next -- >

Go to part: one | two | three | four | five | six

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

if you dont mind... i would like to share some of my fish related dreams....

In one of them I was on a swing-set surrounded by sea nettles. Instead of getting stung though, I was just bouncing on their bells kind of like that scene in finding nemo. Later on in the dream, I saw someone snorkling by a coral reef but he was also hugging a pufferfish and kissing it...

in another dream I was at these tide pools that had a whole lot of creatures. there were octopus and turtles and fish and whelks and crabs and i was just completly yapping about them to my dad in the dream...

In another dream there was a fairy there that said that my fam and i need to switch bodies. But she didnt switch us anyways. My family and I were wading in the river until a small wave came and pushed us a little. Then bigger and bigger waves came so we all went onto a big rock. Then the waves became bigger and more violent and they had yellow flashing in and out from all the foam. The fairy then said "It's a wave of ironfish!" The iron fish honestly just looked like tuna but a little thinner.

finally in another dream i had a pet fish that jumped out of its tank and grew legs to run away from me-- then it jumped into a toilet and flushed itself....

ok thanks bye i love your posts

Fascinating dreams! I bet the tide pool one was fun, it’s always so cool when you get to see creatures in your dreams, even if not real! Or rather especially because they’re not real: they can be very imaginative. Like the ironfish (although they were rather tuna-like)

[themuseinthewoods]

hello you're works are so awesome. will you write something for Achilles too when he comes back to Phthia after this war in thessaly and he sees reader on the beach collecting seashells and stuff, like just write something soft🤗

YES!!! OMG, I love this. Anon, you are amazing.

Pure fluff, I did Achilles x gn!reader. mentions of the reader being in a skirt, but they all wear skirts so....

I made it so they are together already and he's visiting his love!

Seashells by the sea shore

The water was cool against my feet and legs as I stood in the small cove, skirt tied up so it rested above my knees, the tide pools were full of seashells and sea creatures. It was Thetis, Achilles's mother had told me about it when she heard I loved seashells, I needed to thank her later, I had found so many beautiful items.

I found a small pearl, along with my usual bunch of shells I used in my crafts, and I was bent, washing it off, the white shiny surface glinting as I rinse it in the water.

"Y/n." I straightened, turning and spotting the man I loved so dearly. "Hello my princess." He was stoic, as always when I saw him, a smile spread across my lips.

I made my way over to him, his arms crossed as he watched me come closer. With my free hand, I cupped his face, making his eyes meet mine. "You came back." He chuckled, uncrossing his arms, sliding his hands down my sides before wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer. "I always do."

I slip the pearl into my hip bag with my other shells and I rest my hands on his pecs, playing with his necklace without a thought. "Still. I do enjoy it." I press a gentle kiss to his cheek, eyes tracing his face. He hadn't changed, expect his hair had gotten a little longer.

He turned his head, kissing my lips hungrily. "I missed you." He said against my lips, his hands running up and down my sides. "I missed you too." I say, pulling away slightly. "You're still as handsome as ever." "I should hope so." He chuckled and pecked my lips. "As soon as I marry you, you're coming with me on these journeys."

My eyes light up and he bears his own soft smile. "I can't wait."

He began to sway with me in his arms, dancing with me to the rhythm of the ocean beating the shore and rocking its children, my hands slide from his chest to his shoulders, to link behind his neck as we move together, leaning my forehead against his.

"Darling?" He kisses my temple, a soft hum of acknowledgment falling from his lips. "can I show you something?" Achilles stopped swaying, keeping his hands on me with a nod.

I remove my hands from him, digging in my hip bag and pulling out the pearl, holding it up for him to see. "I found it before you called me." One of his hands left my waist, taking the small jewel between two of his fingers, looking at it with mild curiosity.

"Would you like me to have it put in something for you?" I blinked, confused and he chuckled at my face, pulling me closer to him, kissing my temple. "A ring, a necklace, anything? Such a beautiful find should be admired, just like you."

I blush lightly, a shy smile on my face. "Maybe your mom would be willing to teach me how to make one of the chord necklaces? I have some pretty shells that would look nice..."

My lover pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I am sure she would love that, it will look wonderful on you." He slipped the pearl back in my hip pouch, burying his face in my neck and pressing kisses to my skin.

Sighing contently, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms again after so long of him being away.

The end?

i love this, its one of my favorite things i've written for Achilles!

[arlerts-angel]

Hi Mack!!! Congratulations on 1k ❤️ I’m submitting for the match making event! This is such a cool, unique, and fun idea - I’m having a great time reading everyone’s submissions 🥰

Fandom: Attack on Titan

Physical description: I’m 4’11 with medium length, wavy/curly, dark brown hair. I have brown eyes and a round face, with a small nose, and freckles! I’m very pale and the sun is my nemesis. I would say I’m on the curvier side and I have visible tattoos all over my arms and on my thighs.

Personality: Highly reserved and introverted. I have a small group of friends that I really come out of my shell around, and I can be super goofy/eccentric when I’m comfortable. I’m loyal almost to a fault, especially for those I hold dear. I was the “weird kid” when I was younger and had a rock collection, so I feel like that gives a pretty good insight to who I am, lol. I’m a highly emotional person! Crying is my response to all my major emotions: happiness, anger, sadness, etc. I also struggle with depression, an undiagnosed attention disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.

Interests: I’m a big reader, I love poetry and sci-fi and classic literature too! I’m also a ceramicist, illustrator, and motion graphics designer. I’m a big movie person, mostly sci-fi, animation, or anything space themed. I collect vinyl, music is sooooo deeply important to me. Kpop is a core tenet of my personality lol. I’m a casual/relatively new swiftie. Libraries, museums, bookstores, the farmers market, and cafes are some of my favorite places to be. I have a deep interest in marine biology and deep ocean creatures, small critters, tide pool dwellers etc. The beach is one of my favorite places to visit, but I also enjoy nature in general, specifically forests and any place that has lots of floral plantlife. Physical touch and quality time are my love languages!

Eeeeeee I’m so excited to see who you pick!!!

𝑰𝑻'𝑺 𝑨 𝑴𝑨𝑻𝑪𝑯!

hi moss!! this was easy..... a little too easy 👀 i'm pairing you with armin because you have SO MUCH IN COMMON!!!! armin would absolutely ADORE taking you on bookstore/library/museum/farmer's market dates !! armin is canonically a spoiler, so anything you want he'll buy it!! on the first date, he'd take you to a cat cafe <3

[tunabesimpin]

Hi tuna! Congratulations on the milestone 🎉🎉! I love whenever someone holds a cute event like this 💕 (hopefully this entry is fine I don’t think I’ve ever sent in an ask before)

Tadaaa! Kaori and Isa have arrived fashionably late to the party! (Let me know if the links don’t work 🫣) But don’t worry, they wouldn’t show up empty handed! They’ve brought a cooler full of cool snacks!!

I’d say kaoris favorite beach activity would be looking through tide pools and finding all kinds of little creatures in them! And even though neither of them can swim, you don’t have to be too deep in the water to make a big splash!

Isa is kaoris +1 and she had to throw him over her shoulder and carry him like a sack 🙂

(And once again congratulations on reaching 800!!)

---

They finally made it, Kaori and Isa had wandered into the party zone. Most of the festivities were in full swing, Volleyball matches roared with watchers and players, few were already set in making sandcastles, and many were mid fight with the water guns.

This gave the two the opportunity to sort themselves out and get their base set up for the day. Most spots were already taken, having coolers or parasols and towels lying about. Kaori sighed, "See this is why we should've gotten here earlier..." Isa rolled his eyes and shrugged it's not my fault someone forgot to buy sunscreen until last minute~" With the commotion, it didn't take long for Tuna to find the duo.

Tuna waved happily welcoming the two. Having overheard their predicament, a thought came to mind "Say... if you need a spot how about a trade?" Octavinelle was known for its rather taxing deals, even if Tuna seemed nice, they did still work for Azul. Isa pulled Kaori back for a moment "This has bad news written all over it. I'm betting Azul hops out of no where to collect a trade..." Kaori chuckled "Nah if anyones fetching stuff, its gotta be the leech twins." After discussion the two decided to bet on it, whoever lost would pay for the spot. They turned back to Tuna and accepted the deal.

Tuna trotted back to their spot, waving Isa and Kaori to follow. They arrive at a donut beach towel covered by a large parasol. Tuna scooted their towel over to make room as they spoke "We can share this spot, but... I wanna piece of whatever's in your cooler!" The two stared in disbelief, that was it?

---

PLEASE OK SORRY IF THE WRITING SEEMS DULL, BUT I JUST LOVE THE HEART SHAPED COOLER ITS SO CUTE!!!!! Thank you for the congratz and everything too!!! ^0^ i had a lot of fun drawin ur ocs <3 I hope you enjoyed the event

[lyctoralsaints]

✧     ֺ    ˖    ⎎ @temptsdeath said a kiss stolen away in a corner ,  ignoring crowds where cass is the one stealing from az .

celebrations  are  a  lovely  thing  and  he  watches  the  boisterous  exchange  of  conversation  between  his  family  from  a  distance.  azriel  sees  the  way  they  interact,  sees  the  way  that  their  people  approach  and  grin  and  greet  ––  he  will  never  be  one  of  the  ones  people  smile  at.  he  learned  this  long  ago,  but  every  year,  when  the  stars  blink  more  brightly  than  usual,  he  finds  it  still  stings.  azriel's  darkness  is  so  deep  it  makes  everyone  glow  all  the  more  .    .    .  but  it  hides  away  his  heart.  he  simpers  to  himself  and  it  is  some  meek,  unseen  thing  before  he  shifts  on  his  feet;  a  silent,  winged  creature  on  the  prowl,  wings  tucked  tightly  to  the  strong  expanse  of  his  back.  he  moves  through  the  hall,  and  the  crowd  falls  behind  him  as  he leans  himself  into  a  corner.  he  stays  there  for  so  long, stagnant,  watching  everyone  enjoy  themselves,  that  he  doesn't  realize  the  shadow  looming  close.  cassian's  form  is  all  too  familiar  to  him;  those  broad  shoulders,  and  the  wild  compassion  in  those  lovely  hazel  eyes.  azriel  sips  the  sweet  wine  in  his  glass,  hoping  to  cool  the  warmth  that  pools  in  his  chest.  〝 I  was  just  starting  to  wonder  where  you'd  disappeared  off  to, ”  he  utters,  voice  low.  he  looks  him  over  as  if  searching  for  any  sign  that  other  hands  had  mussed  his  hair  but  he  finds  none.  lips  part  so  he  may  continue  but  he  is  cut  off,  crowded  in  and  strong  hands  leave  him  huffing  a  laugh.  he  reaches  out  to  place  his  glass  down  so  it  doesn't  end  up  being  dropped. 〝  oh,  cass,  ”  but  he  has  never  pushed  him  away.  no,  he  indulges  like  he's  some  selfish  fool.  then  a  mouth  covers  his  own  and  he  thinks  perhaps,  just  .    .    .  just  maybe,  the  world  falls  apart  under  his  feet.  his  shadows  skitter  across  his  skin  like  a  cloak,  pulling  at  cassian  in  desperation,  to  keep  him  close.  the  ruckus  of  the  celebration  is  drowned  out  by  the  thunder  of  his  heart,  and  the  encouragement  whispered  by  the  wisps  of  darkness  that  roil  around  them like a whirlpool, a tide coming and going.  the  shadowsinger's  own  hands,  ungloved  and  scarred,  venture  up  the  column  of  a  neck  to  the  nape  of  the  other's  neck  so  he  may  reciprocate  the  kiss.         he  can  never  express  it  outwardly  but  he  hopes  cassian  understands  .      .      .  cassian  knows  his  heart  like  no  other  ––  what  else  could  explain  that  but  the  simplicity  of  love?

[erigold13261]

So Sofa’s into aquatic animals/sea life right? They’re going to get along with Kento (who probably also likes sea life/the ocean in general)

Oh yea I can see that!

I think Kento's love for the ocean is on a bit more superficial level where he is a lot more in love with the ideas of the ocean and beach and the relaxation that comes from them, but he'd also be very willing to just listen to Sofa talk about the ocean.

Sofa is a lot more fascinated with deep sea exploration and marine animals, but is totally willing to talk about the surface sea creatures or upper beach life (especially coral reefs and stuff too).

The two just go and look at the tide pools to relax and look at all the cool animals hanging out there.

Definitely don't see the two being super close like how Sofa is with the other Crew members or Kento is with Yu and the rest of his Polycule and JJK gang, but they are definitely closer to each other than anyone else in the other's group (like Kento is not close to the rest of the crew other than Dodo considering they are cousins, but even then they aren't as close as they used to be, and Sofa isn't as close to Kento's polycule or SaSiSu, tho them and Margo and Peni are good friends).

[rampions-story]

"I really shouldn't. I mean. I'd like to but the repercussions would be...there." Auri weighed the options in his golden head, the idea of swimming was enticing the cool waters, the lovely way the salty air smelled. The sound of waves. His toes wiggled as they sat planted in a warm tide pool, he stared down at all the cute fish that were in there. He looked up when the other said something about tentacles though a golden brow quirked in confusion at the idea. "Octopi so close to the shore with no reef? Seems unlikely. But they are brilliant creatures. Smarter than most bandits for sure. I'd love to see one so I could paint it." he gestured to the bag at his side that held his collapsible easel and watercolor set. A present from his parents.

location:  on  the  coast/docks  in  the  little  mermaid  realm

there's  no  part  of  him  that's  royal  anymore.  once  you're  banished,  that  sort  of  title  is  stripped  from  you.  yet  he  still  acts  like  this  land  is  his.  ursula  looks  out  into  the  sea,  almost  longingly,  and  sighs  happily.  “if  you  want  to  go  for  a  swim,  then  be  my  guest.  i  think  i'm  just  going  to  keep  watch  though.”  they  laugh  softly,  almost  like  it's  an  inside  joke  even  though  they're  the  only  one  that  are  in  on  it.  “unless  you  want  tentacles  wrapping  around  your  legs.”  valentine  doesn't  even  know  who  he's  talking  to.  he's  just  heard  footsteps,  but  the  gaze  to  the  sea  is  too  strong  to  tear  away  right  now.

[dolphingirl1234]

I started to analyse the hermit crabs episode a while ago, but the wifi cut out and it didn't save so that was the end of that. here I am like 3 months later doing it again.

(Excuse the terrible screenshots lol)

This episode has so much great Peso stuff and no one talks about it I swear.

First of all, look how they just run off without thinking when Barnacles calls.

They have so much respect for him to just drop the rope they were playing with. They know they have to listen when he calls. Barnacles #1 Role Model TM

Peso freaked out when Barnacles said that, while Tweak just didn't react. She's known Barnacles for so long that she just. knows.

Just... absolute ocean nerds. forgot about the tide and kept looking at whatever crabs and stuff were in the rock pools. They live in the ocean. They see this stuff every day, but they still got distracted by it and completely forgot about the tide.

He left Peso in charge. He left Peso in charge. He does that a lot. He trusts Peso enough to leave him in change of the Octopod while he's gone. This episode is in season 1 and we all know Peso's the little shy boi in season 1. Barnacles gave him a small task to start with, just keeping track of the Octopod while most of them are out.

This guys taking his small job very seriously. He's the little one. The younger one. The smaller one. The shy one. He doesn't get put in charge. So he's gonna do this job and he's gonna do it WELL.

She just goes along with it. She knows it's his first time being in charge and she's helping him. She doesn't say anything in this scene and just obeys. I just... I love that.

No picture for this one but Peso's voice sounds forcefully deeper in this scene. he's trying to sound like Barnacles because #1 Role Model TM.

He hears the creature needing help and just,,, no more big boy Peso.

She's so supportive I love it sm

Peso sounded the Octo-Alert solely because Barnacles does it. There was absolutely no reason to. He just went out by himself which he could have done without the whole process of explaining it. He just did it because his #1 Role Model does it.

She prompts him to ask her to open the Octo-Hatch. She could have just done it but no. she wanted Peso to get to say it like Barnacles.

Inkling and Tweak have a little conversation about Peso doing well once he leaves and it's really sweet.

He looks up to Tweak as well. Like "My friend's so cool look at her go" #2 or 3 Role Model. I'll name her #3 because Kwazii.

He just,,, shuts down Tweak's plan. Not even "That's a great idea but I don't think it would work" like he usually would. Literally just "no lol whats next". This episode has so much character development.

He goes straight to Barnacles for help because he is #1 Role Model TM

There is no reason for Kwazii to be in this scene. He just stands next to Barnacles imitating his pose and occasionally changing facial expressions. He's just there because he wants to be like Barnacles, because say it with me: ✨#1 Role Model✨

If anyone can speak in emoticons, it's Peso. He sounds so proud of himself when he says that it's adorable.

Barnacles is so proud of him too. He singles Peso out in multiple episodes to praise him, and this is one of the first as it's in the first season.

Taking a break from the Peso stuff to point out Tweak's level of empathy. This girl looks so sad when the crab says he doesn't have a shell anymore. I could point out so many examples of this in like every episode.

Anyway that's pretty much all. I've never seen anyone talk about this episode even though it's got so much analysing potential. I'm gonna try analyse more episodes and maybe characters too. So yeah that's my analysis of the hermit crabs episode thanks for listening :)

[jar-of-ectoplasm]

Beach Trip Headcanons: La Squadra

a/n: it's getting warmer where i live which is horrible and i hate it but it gave me some inspo here's some bullshit

Genre/Warnings: Crack, fluff, just some cute shit, polyamory (sorlato), a LOT of simping omfg

~Risotto Nero~

-he already had his tits out on the regular so his bare chest isn't anything new but he lost that stupid hat so it wouldn't get wet and now you can stare at hat-less riz

-doesn't get in the water too often but he definitely goes underwater to grab your legs and scare you (he does it to ghiaccio and melone too; melone screams at the top of his lungs and ghiaccio fails around like he's drowning)

-spends most of his time under the parasols with illuso and prosciutto, just chatting and watching you mess around with your teammates (and maybe checking you out while he's at it)

-lowkey starts to get jealous if he thinks melone or formaggio are gettin' too friendly with you (god help any random person that flirts with you)

-Riz makes damn sure both you and him are very well saturated (?? does that sound weird) with sunscreen. there's no way in hell either of you will be suffering through that

~Prosciutto~

-you thought you were going to the beach with your boyfriend? lmfao nah you're at the beach with mom and your rowdy ass siblings now

-came in clutch with the sunscreen, aloe vera ointment, snacks, water and spending money. has a very nice set up under a parasol with illuso (and you, if you'd like to join him in his relaxation/parenting session)

-pros with his hair down, shirtless and wearing a pair of pineapple swim trunks to match with pesci? out in public? a lot more likely than you'd think

-formaggio would be a prick and dump water on his hair and now you get to see prosciutto with his hair wet fUCK (pros would be FUMING but he'd look so GOOD)

-would read to you but he doesn't want to risk getting any of his fav books wet so he'd just tell you wonderful stories of the team before you joined (most of them are embarrassing for everyone but him)

~Pesci~

-literally he's having the time of his LIFE right now. he's completely protected from the sun (thanks mamma pros), he's goin' fishing, he's got his s/o with him, what more could a boy ask for?

-maybe he should've asked formaggio to not throw sand at him every 10 minutes because that is happening for sure, no matter how much prosciutto yells at him to stop pesci will not be left alone

-is in the water like, 70% of the time. he'll make bets with ghiaccio to see who can swim out the farthest and ghia is surprisingly not mad when he loses

-he'll walk off the beach with just you to get ice cream and it's honestly really fucking cute (he gets strawberry, btw)

-pesci really likes picking you up and tossing you into the water. he's secretly a little bastard and will laugh at you while helping you up

~Illuso~

-jesus the entire day with him is just 🙄. he's such a little bitch about EVERYTHING

-won't go in the water at all and carries a compact mirror with him so he has an escape plan in case formaggio decides to fuck with him. salt water damages your hair and there's no possible fucking way he's risking his scalp just for a little fun

-still insisted on wearing swim trunks and going shirtless though, mostly just to have your undivided attention (as if he didn't already force you to pay attention to him enough)

-sitting under parasols with prosciutto because he's pale and has sensitive skin but he still ends up getting sunburned and won't stop complaining

-you guys did have a cute little moment when the sun was starting to set and he dragged you away from everyone so he could look for sea glass with you (totally wasn't an excuse to hold your hand while he was dragging you around)

~Formaggio~

-spends the entire day being a little rat bastard and making almost everyone wish he was dead (he respects risotto too much and sorbet and gelato scare him so he leaves them alone)

-throwing sand at pesci and melone, pouring water on prosciutto, stealing melone's goggles, chasing illuso into the mirror world, straight up throwing ghiaccio's car keys across the beach

-and of course he's gonna drag you into this. even if you just wanted to have a nice beach day with your asshole boyfriend, he's gonna hold you captive during his shenanigans

-can and will wipe his sweat on you. he thinks it's the funniest thing in the world. please throw seaweed at him in retaliation, he thinks it's nasty as fuck

-leaves the beach early so he can treat you to dinner, both as a thank you for dealing with his bullshit all day and as an apology for wiping sweat on you every 30 minutes

~Ghiaccio~

-the most unrecognizable when he's as the beach with everybody. his hair isn't styled, so his curls are a lot looser and not plastered to his head, he's not wearing his glasses so they don't get lost in the water, HIS FUCKING LEGS AND BARE CHEST ARE JUST OUT

-literally just,,,SURFER GHIACCIO??? come ON dude. he knows what he's doing and will wink at you every single time he catches you staring

-loves wading out far into the water with you on his surf board so he can be all soft and cute with you without anybody hearing or seeing him

-he'll also be pretty light-hearted when he's out there too. he and pesci will see who can swim out the farthest and he'll let pesci win (let's be honest, with his legs he could swim to a different continent if he wanted too)

-ghia might look hot as hell out there, but he'll also end up burnt as hell. literally he just didn't put sunscreen on and he was out in the sun for hours. hottie got sun poisoning, please take him home early he will die

~Melone~

-he brought along goggles, a snorkel and flippers so he can do some shallow reef diving

-he'll pop up occasionally and yell for you to come over and show you a tiny little crab or a cool looking fish he found (it's honestly really, really cute)

-mel will take routine breaks to reapply sunscreen, drink water, check up on you, and get his goggles stolen (which he did not plan on). he'll also take this time to use shitty beach-related pick up lines to get you to laugh

-honestly as pervy as you'd think he would be. maybe it's because he's distracted by all the fun little creatures he keeps finding in tide pools and such

-has his own little set up a few feet away from prosciutto and illuso's. he'll be there while he's taking his breaks and yes he will try to cuddle with you even though it's pushing 90 degrees at noon

~Sorbet and Gelato~

-not to get sad in what is supposed to be a fun headcanon set but neither of them will take their shirts off or get in the water. both of them have a lot of body image issues and they'd really appreciate it if you didn't try to convince them to be half naked in public

-with that being said, both Sorbet and Gelato get loads of enjoyment out of just watching you swim around and have fun before returning to them

-Sorbet will help apply sunscreen but he really just wants an excuse to grope you and Gelato in public

-Gelato will want to have a sandcastle building contest with you (Sorbet is the judge and both of you receive the grand prize of a kiss)

-long walks on the beach together at night after everyone's gone home? of fucking course it's gonna happen

[arlertwifey]

snk cast x gn!reader + cute summertime romance

18+ ONLY, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, PLEASE!

☼ — ft. Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Jean, Levi, Hanji, & Erwin (all characters are 18+)

☼ — genre: pure fluff + gn!reader x character, warnings: mentions of vandalism/petty crime, alcohol mentions 

☼ — a/n: please enjoy my first snk x reader content :)

E R E N

Fills his time with a weird mix of volunteering around the city and committing blatant acts of vandalism

He spends his days helping out at the youth shelter and nights scribbling graffiti anywhere he can find a spot. Takes you to spray-paint every underpass you come across

Unnaturally good at arcade games and wins you lots of little random plushies from the claw machines. Your favorite is an angry-looking brown bear that you can’t help but think resembles him

Loves to stay up late and discover new parts of the city with you. Has a bad habit of falling asleep on your shoulder wherever you are though, when he finally runs out of energy

Even though he tries to play it off like he’s too cool for them, insists that you two take cute photobooth pictures together and keeps his favorite of them in his wallet

A R M I N 

Practically lives at the beach during the summer. The two of you plan out your days there in advance so your able to visit the different tide pools and see various sea creatures.

Has a strong sweet tooth. He’s a huge fan of any type of frozen treat, but is extremely partial to slushies. In at least half the pictures you get of your summertime adventures, his mouth is stained teal from the blue-raspberry flavor he always buys.   

Gets surprisingly tan during the summer, due to the fact that he’s outside whenever possible. Even when studying, he prefers to do so at parks around where he lives rather than indoors. His hair bleaches out a little further as well.

Willing to go to parties with you when the two of you are invited by mutual friends, but tends to slip outside to the porch after the first hour. More often than not, the two of you wind up ditching all together and heading off to find someplace to get late night food. 

He brings you to visit his grandfather during the summertime and the two of you help him out with repairs around the house. Being around the two people he loves the most brings out Armin’s talkative side and the three of you spend your vacation days swapping stories over glasses of iced tea.

M I K A S A 

Busy during the summer, so you can’t meet as much as would like

Part of her gym’s regional kickboxing team and helps teach part time. You go to all her matches and cheer till your voice gives out. She tells you that you don’t have to come, but secretly is so, so grateful that you do

On days when you’re both free, you try out all the best brunch places in the city. Mikasa prefers small family-owned businesses. The two of you quickly become regulars at your favorite spots

Sends you voice messages when you are apart ever since you said that you liked to hear her voice. She’s adorably awkward in them, usually just telling you about whatever she’s doing at the time and how much she misses you

Gets misty-eyed when you show up at the airport with flowers for her when she gets back home. Squeezes you till your out of breath and lifts off the ground a little bit when you hug again after your time apart.

J E A N

The actual best at planning a fun day full of activities

Busts his ass working at a couple part time jobs most days, but makes up for how busy is by making sure you two have the best possible time and do the most when you’re together

The type to have a bucket list for all the different activities he thinks you guys should do together. He puts a lot of effort into creating it with you. The two of you decorate two matching posters so that each of you has a copy. 

A little bit of a sucker for cliches: ice cream dates and visiting waterparks. He’s a romantic at heart and with you he feels like he can finally participate in all the classic lovey-dovey activities couples do.

One of those people who acts like an influencer despite the fact that he’s only followed by family and friends. Takes super high quality pics of you so he can brag about how great his s/o is. Took a few photography classes in college and it shows. Every photo he takes of you looks amazing because you can tell just how enamored he is with you.

King of matching couple fits. Loves when the two of you wear coordinating colors or even just similar accessories.

L E V I 

Not a fan of hot weather, so prefers to hang out in the evenings or early mornings when it’s cooler (which works well with the fact that he has to work most days). 

Has no clue what to do during the summer, besides what you two always do, but does his best

You two go for early morning runs at his suggestion and then get breakfast afterwards. There’s a smoothie place down the block from the park that you frequent, with different local fruit specials each week. 

He brings you to his favorite tea shop and you two slowly drink your way through their summer refresher menu throughout the season. You learn

Is willing to go to the beach, but be prepared to cover the man with sunscreen, because he burns. Since he knows that he won’t encounter anyone from work, he sometimes wears a large sunhat for extra UV protection.

When your vacation time finally lines up, the two of you get out of the city and head to the charming town where his mother lives. You get to help Kuchel in her garden and listen to her stories about adorable young Levi.

While he’s not extremely enthusiastic about summer as a season, he does find it far more enjoyable when he gets to spend it with you

H A N J I

Lives for traveling during the summer months, half for fun and half for their work as part of an anthropological research team. Whenever they can’t bring you along, expect lots of silly, cheesy postcards and many late night phone calls.

Thinks that camping is an absolute must. You two go on hikes together to find the best places to camp. Teaches you all sorts of cool facts about the different areas you are in. Likes when the two of you get “lost” and have to navigate back with a compass (and a park map as backup).

Makes their own homemade juice blends (some better than others) and freezes them into popsicles. Brings you them and other snacks when you’re working.

Stays up late with you and points out different constellations while you drink hot cocoa on the rooftop of their apartment building. While you don’t understand everything they are explaining to you, you love to watch their excited expression and enthusiasm as they tell you all about the world.

E R W I N

Glamorous cultural events are Erwin’s favorite part of the summertime 
Expect to to be brought to opening ceremonies, christenings of cruise ships, and wine tastings

Despite the fancy events, Erwin makes sure you don’t feel too out of place by spending the evenings shit talking the other guests with you, and trying to guess who is sleeping with who and who is going to get drunk and ruin the evening

Insists that you get out of the city as often as possible, so expect a lot of weekend getaways

As much as he likes to do things with you, he can also appreciate an afternoon spent drinking sangria and reading by the poolside (a private pool, of course. He can’t resist asking you to put sunblock on his back (half because he actually needs the help, half just to see you blush at the request).

Owns a sleek vintage convertible that he’s only able to drive in the warmer months. Likes to pick you up from work in it while still dressed in his impeccably sharp suit from the office, just to see the looks on your coworkers faces

[galactic-magick]

Oblivious: Tech x Reader

Request: Could u possibly do a Tech x Reader where the batch is on an ocean planet of sorts and tech and the reader are nerding out over something like tide pools and the rest of the batch is like “how are these two so smart yet so oblivious to their feelings?”

Summary: You and The Bad Batch settle on an ocean planet for the night, and you and Tech seem to know everything except your own feelings for each other.

Words: 1000+

Warnings: none

Author’s Notes: Had to do some research on tide pools for this one lmao, and I made up a bunch of fake star wars science that probably doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, earth science experts don’t come at me pls XD

-

-

-

Laying low has been incredibly difficult for you and The Bad Batch, none of you are exactly the type to “blend in.” You’ve been hopping all over the galaxy, until you come across a planet almost entirely covered in ocean. It’s habitable, but not many people live on it due to the lack of large segments of land.

Thankfully though, you find an island that’s big enough for your ship and make a landing. You run out into the fresh air, the smell of salt water and cool breeze filling your nose. Tech follows close behind, analyzing the planet’s climate and resources, and the rest soon after.

“The tides are going to get much higher over the next couple hours, we’re going to lose much of the land we have right now,” Tech says, moving down the beach. “Don’t set anything up past this point,”

“Can we build a fire?” Wrecker asks excitedly.

“Why would we need a fire? Our ship has a heating system,”

“Because I want to!” he crosses his arms. “And what if the ship runs out of heat?”

“I think that’s a great idea!” Omega pipes up. “I’ve never even seen a campfire before,”

“You haven’t?!” Wrecker takes her hand and points to the small forest of trees on the other side of the island. “C’mon, let’s go!”

“Wait!” Tech calls after them, but they’re too fast. “Ugh. The wood is going to be too wet to use anyway, they’re wasting their time,”

“Hey, it doesn’t hurt to let them try,” you smile. “Besides, we’ll only be here a day or two at most, right?”

“I suppose,”

You skip across the rocks and sand, finding a couple tide pools with several sea creatures in them, “Look over here!”

“Careful, those are incredibly slippery,”

“I’ve never seen anything like these,” you poke at one. “Wait, didn’t you say high tide is later? That means the water will go even farther than this, we might be in trouble,”

“Not exactly. Tides are different depending on the gravitational pulls and phases of the moons, and this planet has three,”

“So?”

“So we’ll be fine,”

“This water is fresh, Tech. I don’t see how more moons changes the fact that these waves are going to drown us in a few hours,” you sigh. “Look, I get that you’re the intellectual around here, but I had ones like these back on my home planet, I know what I’m talking about,”

“Every planet is different, this one isn’t due for another tide that high for at least a couple weeks, the pools must just be deeper than average,”

“I guess you’re right,” you trust him, so you refrain from bickering any further. “Oh look! I think I’ve seen that fish before!”

“Really?” he cocks his head, looking towards where you’re pointing. “While interplanetary travel of non-sentient species is uncommon, it’s not impossible, although in most cases it’s considered an invasive species-“

“Nevermind,” you say as you lean closer. “It just looks similar,”

“Ah, I see,”

“You know, I love the kind of creatures in here, somehow they manage to survive despite the harsh conditions,” one of them crawls onto your hand. “They just stick to anything they can so they don’t get washed away by the water,”

“Especially somewhere like this,” he nods.

“What are you lovebirds going on about now?” Hunter exhales, walking up to you and barely holding back a smirk.

Both you and Tech immediately stop talking, avoiding eye contact. Sure, it’s true you fancy him a bit, but no way are you lovebirds of any sort. You bicker too much to ever admit your feelings anyway, and all your conversations are friendly or just exchanging thoughts and facts. Nothing special.

“You know,” Hunter continues. “You guys are the smartest people on the crew, but damn are you oblivious,”

He walks away, leaving you two in silence.

 -

 Against all odds, Wrecker and Omega actually do manage to make a fire for the evening. Omega’s eyes are glued to the flames, watching in awe and drowning out everything else.

You and Tech haven’t talked much since being called out by Hunter, not necessarily because you’re mad or bitter, but simply because you don’t know what to say.

Was Hunter right? Were you actually super into each other and you were just too stupid to see it?

Now that you think of it, Tech definitely treats you differently than everybody else. Not just because you’re not one of his brothers, but he genuinely goes out of his way to help and care about you. He’s super sweet when he wants to be.

As it gets later, most of the crew heads back to the ship to sleep. You’re honestly not that tired, so you stay by the fire, and Tech doesn’t leave either.

“Hey,”

“Hello,” he nods.

You scoot over until you’re sitting next to him, “What’s going on in that brain of yours?”

“Just…thinking,” he keeps staring forward at the fire. “For the first time in my life, I’m completely unsure about something,”

“How so?”

“Well, all my life, all our lives for that matter,” he gestures to the ship. “We’ve been born, raised, and trained to be soldiers. We’re literally created and grown for that purpose. We accept early on that we’ll probably never get the opportunity to live a normal life on our own terms. We don’t get the luxury of going where we want to go, staying where we want to stay. We don’t even get to choose our clothes or our food most of the time. We don’t get our own home, we don’t get to pick our jobs, we-“ he pauses. “We don’t get to fall in love,”

A quiet “oh” leaves your lips.

“Now that the Republic is gone, and we left the Empire, we’re not just soldiers anymore. We have the freedom to do all those things we couldn’t do. But how do I know what I should or shouldn’t pursue? How do I know what parts of normal life I should experience?”

You quickly lean in and kiss him, “You try it, Tech,”

He stares at you stunned, struggling to process what just happened.

“I…I think I should try it again. Just to be absolutely certain,”

“Of course,” you chuckle, kissing him again.

[demigoddessqueens]

Surrounded By You

Story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32442172

Admiring the visibility of the blue sea was something that Hazel had only dreamed of before. Sure she had been in lakes and pools before, but the ocean was a whole other life of its own. A life of its own that nurtured the creatures that swam beneath the waves.

And what better way to explore all of the ocean’s gifts than a cruise along the coasts of the Mediterranean, and with such good company. Her travel companions were a cavalcade of characters from across the globe. Each with their own stories that made the night’s dinners more memorable than the last.

Despite all the excitement, nothing could compare to the beckoning call of the ocean. The white sand and sapphire waves were equivalent to the modern sirens’ calls, and the energized young woman intended to make the most out of it. Unbeknownst to her, there was a set of piqued eyes that had been keenly interested since her arrival.

Lysander had been alive for many centuries and had encountered many creatures, both the natural and supernatural. Yet to come across such a human as this woman was a rarity that few of his kind were afforded. The merpeople, merfolk, or fair folk of the sea. Of all the wonders that he had seen, something about this human was different.

Dark, sun-kissed skin and hair as golden as the sands with a dazzling smile that only emphasized her perfect dimples. He thought her on par of the goddesses Circe and Calypso, maybe even a bit more so. From her stance to her graceful dancing, Lysander found himself falling for this human. It started as a foreign feeling, something budding within his heart but as the days grew long, it became something else.

He had to see her. Truly see her, not just from the distance as some horrid creature but to meet her face-to-face. From his perspective, it seemed like the perfect plan. He'd casually swim to make himself seen and known, catch her attention, and see what it eventually led to. The first few attempts were barren, much to his disappointment. Lysander's nerves always getting the best of him and the doubts always sneaking their way into his thoughts.

Would she be afraid of him? Alert the others? Never comeback to the shores and its welcoming waves? He pushed them to the back of his mind, still assuming the best even if it was naïve of him. While the ocean's troubled youth mulled over his thoughts, Hazel made her way across the sands. By this time tomorrow, she would be setting sail back to her home, but it wouldn't be a proper goodbye unless she got in a last swim. In all honesty, her heart grew heavy from the fond memories of laughter and she didn't wish to part so soon.

Throwing caution to the cool winds, she dove head first into the blue crystal waters and savored the last of her freedom. Lysander heard the splash above him from his coral hiding place, seeing the human's swimming form. This was his chance. He had to take it now or he would forever come to regret it. Slowly but surely, he felt himself enchanted by her dance. How she twisted and turned with the tides, and the golden hair that wisped in the current. Hazel stared intently at the reefs that surrounded her, forever implanting this image in her mind before her departure. It felt like an eternity in the pockets of the ocean, until she noticed some movements.

At first she thought it just another sea creature, a fish or crab here or there just exploring around, until she turned to her right and locked eyes with another. These eyes belonged to the merfolk who so longed to see her face to face, and desired just a sliver of her time. Lysander slowly swam to Hazel, both of their hearts hammering in their chests at what transpired. Gently extending his webbed hand forward, he held out the small pooka shell that was cradled in his hand. Every natural instinct and nerve was screaming at Hazel's body to move, or just do anything. She didn't know what unearthly force kept her planted there in that moment.

Was it the fact that she was living out a scene from a fairy tale? That the stories she had heard during her travels had finally manifested? Or was it the fact that this creature was the most ethereal being she had seen? She had thought mermaids to be something otherworldly, but the one that stood before her with a shell in his hand was more beautiful than she could have possibly imagined. Just as intrigued as he seemed to be, she hesitantly reached out and took the humble gift he presented.

The sensation of her hand sent out a soft gasp from Lysander. He noted how her hand still did not move away even after claiming the shell, and he decided to show a bit more of the depths of his affection. He curled his hand around hers, gently grasping at her fingers. The gesture caught Hazel off guard but she returned it as well. Of all the things to happen on her last days, and here she was holding hands with one of the merfolk. In that moment, she thought back to what one of the guests had said over dinner, a poem of sorts that gripped the heart.

She recalled how the older woman who recited it had a certain glint in her eye, one that hinted at a more adventurous time back in her youth: "Unable to perceive the shape of you, I find you all around me. Your presence fills my eyes with your love. It humbles my heart, for you are everywhere." Holding onto his hand, the shell's significance starting to weigh on her, Hazel started to doubt if her goodbye was truly going to be forever.

[you-can-call-me-wanda]

Beach Day

Pairing: David Lee Roth x Reader

A/N: I hope you like this idea! I just had the idea of going to the beach stuck in my head for some reason...

“How did you find this place?”

You looked away from the beautiful scenery in front of you to stare at your boyfriend in awe for a moment. He smirked down at you, proud to have been the one to discover this little private cove at the beach you two were visiting.

There was no one else there in the small outcropping David had stumbled upon earlier that morning, making it the perfect little sanctuary for the two of you. The beach was surrounded by rocks on the left and a few trees grew further back in the sand. To the right side though, it was clear and sandy, perfect for you to lay out a blanket or set up a few chairs and an umbrella. The waves were calm, and shore was littered with shells and pretty rocks.

“I found it this morning,” David said, taking your hand and leading you forward. “I woke up early and went for a walk on the beach while you were still sleeping. I stumbled upon in on accident. Lucky, huh?”

“It’s beautiful,” you said.

“I figured you’d want to see it,” David said, pressing a kiss to your temple lovingly.

You turned your head and kissed him back with just as much affection on the lips.

“You know me well,” you replied.

“C’mon,” he said, tugging you towards the ocean. “Let’s go swimming!”

The water was cold but that was okay because that just meant you and Dave had to hold each other a little closer. You wrapped your arms around his waist, clinging to him, as the two of you jumped over the waves together and lightly splashed the salty sea water at each other, giggling as you did.

You stayed in the water for close to an hour. Dave entertained you both by doing all sorts of tricks like handstands and backflips and cartwheels which he would have you judge.

And, of course, he always found ways to pull you under the water or pop up next to when you weren’t expecting it and scare you. He was like a kid sometimes with all the energy he had but it was just one of the many things you loved about him. You had lots of fun swimming, but eventually, the two of you got somewhat tired and went back to the sand to lay down in the sun for a bit.

You and Dave stretched out on the beach blanket you had set out earlier and your closed eyes contentedly. The sun warmed you up immediately and you felt akin to a cat basking in a sunny window. You could feel Dave behind you, his arm resting against your hip and he rested too. In that fashion, it wasn’t long before the both of you fell asleep.

“(Y/N)!” Come check out what I just found!”

You stirred from your nap at the sound of Dave’s excited call somewhere further down the beach. You opened your tired eyes and blinked into the bright sunlight. Turning your head, you could see your boyfriend jumping up and down and waving you over to him. Letting out a small laugh, you rolled over and got up, making your way over to him.

“What is it?” you asked when you were close enough to him.

“Look!” he said, pointing into a small pool of water.

You peered at it curiously.

“A tide pool?”

“Look inside,” he instructed you. “On that rock right there.”

Your eyes followed his finger. Sure enough, on the rock that David was poiting at, a small pink starfish sat in the water. You gasped, now just as excited as David had been.

“Oh my god!” you squealed. “That’s so cool!”

“I know!” David said. “We should see if there’s any other animals living in here.”

So, that’s what the two of you did next. You sat on the rocks next to the tide pool and carefully examined it. It had lots of nooks and crannies so the two of you took care to check every crevice which you were glad you did. Together, the two of you found two more little starfish, a crab, and some sort of creature that looked like a type of shrimp of sorts.

And there ended up being a whole bunch more tide pools by the rocks that you and Dave got to explore too. Dave held your hand as you climbed along the rocks and explored each of the pools. David was like a kid on Christmas whenever the two of you found some type of new creature living amongst the algae and rocks, he would be jumping up and down and cheering with excitement.

“This has been one of the best days ever,” he said to you, as you returned back to your beach blanket hand in hand after you were done exploring the tide pools.

You grinned at him.

“Yeah?” you said. “I think so too. And the best part is it isn’t even over.”

David smiled at your words and wrapped an arm around your shoulder.

“What should we do with the rest of our day then?” he asked you.

“Hmm,” you said, thinking. “I don’t know. We could stay to watch the sunset,” you suggested.

David squeezed your shoulder and nodded.

“That sounds great,” he agreed. “As long as I get to be here with you, I’ll be happy.”