#stays out of sight

[softquietsteadylove]

When Thena heard in the news about the 4th fisherman drowning out at the sea she fears that it will happen to Gil too. So she decides to do some swimming lessons for Gil to make him stronger and more secure in the water. She doesn’t tell him why all of a sudden she wants to spend time with him in the water, Only later Gil learns her true intentions.

For the mermaid one!

Gil hit the surface, taking in a deep gasp of air.

"Hm," Thena pursed her lips, swimming closer to him in a second, "that was only a minute."

"Only," he huffed and puffed.

They had been practising getting him to hold his breath for longer, gradually. Thena had been positively horrified to learn that most humans could only hold their breath for about a minute before their lungs demanded oxygen. So horrified that she had insisted he strengthen his lungs, as well as plenty of other swimming skills.

So, every night after work, they would spend a little time in the water together before he had a shower and started their dinner.

"Yes, 'only'," she huffed right back at him, circling him with ease thanks to her tail cutting through the water. "Gil, your average has only increased by ten seconds. You are a fisherman!"

"Yeah," he panted faintly, swiping water and his weighed down hair out of his eyes. "And I do my fishing up on the boat, believe it or not."

She gave him a very unimpressed look. "I met you because you fell overboard."

She had a point. Gil avoided her eyes, kicking his feet and swishing his hands to keep himself afloat. "Angelfish, I appreciate the training and all. But it's been a hell of a day, I really-"

"But-!" she started and bit into her lip with her fangs. He raised a brow, waiting for her argument. She sighed, though, swirling her tail to keep herself stationary. "Perhaps you're right."

"Thena," he sighed, watching her swim slowly over to the ladder of the dock. "Angelfish, wait."

"No, I'm sorry I insisted on doing this every night," she offered him a contrite smile, "you must be exhausted."

"Hey, c'mere," he reached for her, keeping his other hand on the ladder to alleviate his own burden. "What's going on? I asked already what this was about but something's up."

Thena dodged his eyes, moving her tail, feeling the water bending around both her movements and Gil's. Humans really did have to work so, so hard to stay afloat. All that air in their lungs and it lasted less than a minute on average. And Gil's muscle was so dense, and those strong arms of his weren't actually doing the most work when he swam.

"Cuddlefish?" he tried to persuade her with sweet words again, leaning closer and kissing her cheek.

Thena sighed, leaning into the affection and bringing herself closer to him. Even in the water, although it made his skin feel damp, he was still so warm. "I was worried."

"Yeah, I'm getting that impression," he smiled again, running his hand over her hair, the water beading and running right off. "But I mean why, though?"

She sighed more harshly, flicking her tail fins more. "You saw the news."

Several deaths of fishermen had been reported on recently--enough that the local news had announced that it was unwise to be out in open water without proper training and equipment. They were even investigating exactly why the fishermen had all met their ends, and it seemed unfortunate but natural causes due to them tumbling overboard and simply being at the mercy of the sea.

"Even the strongest human is a guppy when you're out in those waves," she frowned, pressing her forehead to his chest. "The stormy season is upon us and if you fall in, or get tangled in a net again, and-"

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he cooed, kissing beside her ear and tucking her head against him. "Nothing like that is gonna happen, Angelfish."

She bit his shoulder gently (like tugging on an ear). "Net--overboard."

"Right," he remarked, and they both had to chuckle. He held her tighter though, "okay, you got me there. But you saved me."

"And what if I'm not there to save you next time?" she pulled her head up to frown at him. She pulled her hand from the water to touch his cheek, "what if I'm too late? What if you fall so deep that even if I do get you back to the surface, your lungs are already depleted?--or the pressure has crushed you beyond repair?"

"Thena," he said more firmly, even going so far as to silence her with his lips pressed to hers. "I promise I won't let that happen."

She glared at him, letting her fangs press into her lower lip. "You cannot promise that. You do not know what can happen out there!"

"Maybe."

She huffed; whose side was he on?!

"But I can promise that I'll be careful," he smiled, hoping to encourage her into doing the same. "I keep my tether tied if the weather is bad, I make sure I'm not standing on the nets anymore. And I have stuff on the boat to help too, y'know."

She tilted her head at him, hoping to convey how unconvinced she was.

"I know you're worried about me," he sighed, pulling her hand from his cheek to he could kiss her palm. "But humans are tougher than you think. And hey, my girlfriend is a mermaid--I have more experience in the water than even the average fisherman, now."

Thena rolled her eyes; merely knowing her did not make him a better swimmer. Although she had to admit, Gil's form was better than some of the other fishing boat idiots in the area. She pouted, "swimming is not a talent that can be passed on through mating."

Gil just laughed before leaning in to kiss her again. "Maybe we'll just have to keep trying, hm?"

She attempted to remain cross with him, but it really wasn't working at all. He was far too charming for a human. She leaned in to kiss him as well, her tail taking on a mind of its own to push her closer to him so she could wrap her arms around his neck.

"And hey, we can keep swimming like this," he shrugged, running his fingers up and down her back where skin met scales. "You like it, right?--having your tail on, just swimming around for fun?"

She did enjoy it. It felt nice to have her tail on in its natural state, and swimming with Gil made her feel...closer to him, in a way. She felt more connected over the gap between human and mer.

Gil kissed her again, still holding onto the ladder. "How about this--you let me start dinner for us. And tonight, when the moon is out, we can swim a little again before bed."

Thena brightened visibly, her tail practically wagging. Two of her favourite things were promised: swimming with Gil, and sleeping with Gil. What a hopeless thing she was.

"Okay, come on," he smiled, beginning the trip up the ladder. Once he was up he did shiver some.

Thena followed him up quickly, always happy when her feet could navigate the ladder easily (one of the hardest actions she'd had to learn with her legs on). "Come on, let's get inside."

Gil pulled his towel around his shoulders, although he pulled her into him with it, both of them walking slowly and awkwardly cocooned together within the fluffy cloak. "So, what do you want for dinner?"

"Hm," Thena mused, happy to shuffle along at a cucumber's pace if it meant being tucked into Gil's side. "That rice porridge you made was tasty."

"Oh yeah?" he brightened. He liked that recipe, and although it had been a remedy for her feeling unwell at the time, she had come to like it too. "Okay, I'll add some extra seafood."

Thena eyed him, "and sardines?"

He bent his head down, kissing her forehead, "anything you want, Angelfish."

[lerrryyyyy]

fashion disasters icons #tddk 😌💚🤍❤️

°°°

Do not edit or repost my art.

[trustymikh]

where is my beach episode

[batbabydamian]

DC July 2024 Solicitations - Comics Featuring Damian! 🦇

BATMAN AND ROBIN #11

7/10/24

Written by Joshua Williamson

Art by Juan Ferreyra

Cover by Simone Di Meo

Variant Covers: Juan Ferreyra, Travis Mercer, Christian Ward (1:25)

Bruce and Damian plan the perfect father and son getaway…to DINOSAUR ISLAND?! When the dynamic duo uncovers a deadly family secret, their investigation takes them on a fun-filled adventure to rescue one of Batman’s greatest enemies!

THE BOY WONDER #3 of 5

7/3/24

Written by Juni Ba

Art and Cover by Juni Ba

Variant Cover: Khary Randolph

The cunning Tim Drake has always been the smartest of Batman’s sons…and the most comfortable matching wits with the most sinister geniuses on Earth. Damian Wayne doesn’t like feeling outsmarted—to him, no smugly-written insult could ever be sharper than his sword—so when he’s forced to infiltrate a super-villain gala alongside the sneaky Red Robin, the biggest danger the two of them face might not be Lex Luthor but Damian’s own temper!

*John Timms Variant Cover appearance(?) + potential cameo

ABSOLUTE POWER #1

7/3/24

Written by Mark Waid

Art and Cover by Dan Mora

DC’s epic summer event kicks off with a bang, as the combined might of FAILSAFE and the BRAINIAC QUEEN has at last given Amanda Waller the ability to steal the metahuman abilities of every hero and villain on planet Earth. As chaos erupts in the streets and a massive misinformation campaign sways public opinion to her side, the founder of the Suicide Squad methodically targets each superhero dynasty one at a time, starting with SUPERMAN. But even in this darkest of hours, a resistance is forming…and BATMAN is out for vengeance. It’s a shocking blitzkrieg across the globe that is decades in the making—and will shape the course of the DC Universe for years to come! Brought to you by the superstar talents of MARK WAID and DAN MORA—it all starts here!

*John Timms Variant Cover appearance(?)

ABSOLUTE POWER: TASK FORCE VII #1

7/10/24

Written by Leah William

Art by Caitlin Yarsky

SUPER NO MORE! With the assault on Metropolis’s heroes complete, Amanda Waller’s latest living weapon, the Last Son, sets his sights on the other most powerful supers in the DCU…the Marvel Family! Will their combined powers be enough to survive this terrifying threat? In this biweekly series we'll see the ABSOLUTE POWER event through the eyes of evil—as told from the point of view of the TRINITY OF EVIL!

*Rian Gonzales Variant Cover appearance

NIGHTWING #116

7/17/24

Written by Tom Taylor

Art and cover by Bruno Redondo

Everything Dick Grayson has built is crumbling around him. His life is spiraling out of control and Heartless is at the center of all of it. Now Nightwing must leave his city. Can he take back the power he’s lost? Or will Blϋdhaven and its citizens be lost to Heartless forever?

[abi7100]

Tony: *In the middle of playing hide n' seek with Peter, five hours in, on the verge of tears, unable to find him*

Peter: *sleeping peacefully on the top shelf in Tony's closet*

[etsukiharu]

how many pairs of wings i can put on Sunday?

yes. happy sunday everyone :D

[bonefall]

I’m rereading Po3 and despite its flaws I really enjoyed the introduction to the three. Jaykit isn’t mentioned to be blind in the first few chapters and instead they chose to show how much MORE capable he is compared to his littermates; until at the end of chapter 3, he brings up his blindness on his own. It makes forcing him to be a medicine cat SO much more frustrating because it really feels like they’re setting him up to be a warrior and choose his own fate (note i haven’t finished the reread this is just my first impression)

I like how you seem to take that path in BB regardless! It makes his arc so much more enjoyable

His arc in canon is super frustrating because he's such an independent character who clearly wants to make his own decisions in life, but then he just gets shoved into the medcat den. I LIKE that he ultimately goes there and that he enjoys it; but it was still really fucked up that they stripped away his autonomy in the process.

Re: they are not real, they are writing choices. Taking away the choices a disabled character can make over their own life, forcing them into a celibate nun role, and then going "awwwww dont worry see? he likes it! This was the best thing for him :)" was fucked up.

And imo it didn't have to be that way! You wouldn't have to go the FULL route I did with big changes, he could just be more involved in the descision to stop being a warrior apprentice and it would be fine. Minor change that would make a world of difference.

I do also have to interject to say though... blindness should really not be an extremely severe impairment for a ThunderClan cat.

I'm dead serious.

Whiskers are built-in sensors that tell you the exact position of everything within several inches of your head, ears swerve to pick up sound, and the jacobson's organ provides a sense of smell so keen that I have an entire Clanmew expansion draft because I needed to make WORDS describing the power of this sense that humans do not have. I cannot stress enough how delicate their other senses are, felines do not rely on their sight like primates do

ThunderClan lives in a mixed-oak woodland, where sight is already often obscured by foliage, objects are close together (for whiskers to feel), and nearly every movement makes noise against the leaf litter. RiverClan and (moor-running) WindClan cats would have a harder time with this disability than Thunder or Shadow.

Cat sight SUCKS to begin with. It sucks BADDD. They don't have color vision, they're significantly nearsighted, and they can't track up-and-down movements well. WC doesn't write realistic cats (more like small fuzzy people really) and I also work with more humanesque eyesight, but the only thing Jay should really lose is an ability to rapidly track a small animal swerving fast. Blind cats are often still excellent hunters in spite of that!

So it's an extra big waste that they railroaded him into a position he didn't choose, saying he couldn't be a warrior. This is the perfect disability to write, if you want to explore how ableism can impact the characters in this society who ARE legitimately still capable of nearly full independence, but still need to find accommodations for what they can't do.

In the same arc they're doing the dumb Cinder Reincarnation Plotline, no less!! Where SHE is also feeling like she has no choice over her "destiny," and gets a conflict over a potentially disabling injury

"Oh nooo if cinderpaw breaks her leg she wont be a warrior!"

"What the f-- Im Jaypaw and im reporting live from the scene where a Category 1 Idiot Moment is taking place. Woman breaks leg, suddenly everyone believes she is a horse, more at 11."

One of these days I should really make "herb guides" just covering how various sensory disabilities impact the lives of Clan cats and some tips for writing them as warriors, especially between Clans. Stuff you wouldn't usually consider, like how much noise deaf cats tend to make, how RiverClan would get a ton of sinus infections and lose their sense of smell, being blind in Sky vs Thunder, etc.

[nyxlinak]

I love time travel fanfics so much, like when one of the boys goes in their past body. I could totally see Dean waking up in his past body. He is completely confuse at first but when he realise what is happening, he takes a look at Sam and see a short boy with messy brown hair and innocent eyes free from any pain, he hasn’t saw them like that for years…

Dean gets SO nostalgic for the innocent, curious, moody kid his little brother used to be, he would want to protect him at all cost becoming even more overprotective than his past self and past!Sam would be like: wtf is wrong with you ???

[livvylubug]

I know the these characters may not exactly be relevant to your After Death AU but how are characters like Doll and Khan holding up? Did Uzi vist her colony again or did she just leave them alone?

Uzi did Indeed visit the colony to get some personal belongings before leaving the planet. but she tried her best not to be observed, Especially by her father, who didn’t handle any news of his daughter very well.

And well, with Uzi and Cyn no longer in the absolute solvers grasp, it needed a new primary host, and who better than our formerly red eyed friend?

[darkwood-sleddog]

more and more i become of the opinion my dogs are not reactive to strange dogs but in fact it is unreasonable to expect them to NOT be reactive when the dogs we pass are unwalked, understimulated rural hellions that thrash at the windows of their houses, bark at us and follow us for entire lengths of properties, snarl at us, run at us with tense body language etc.

is this because a neighbor (who does skijor!) moved in half mile down the road from us a half a year ago with the most polite, unreactive dog that my dogs glance calmly at as they walk by? as it is unrestrained (no underground fence) on the property? absolutely is.

is this because a few years ago a neighbor's very nice pitbull mix got out and when it walked up to us with polite calm body language my dogs reacted just as calm and we were able to walk this dog home? absolutely is.

like i am a human woman and have lived in areas with much larger populations than i do now. i remember being followed by strangers, yelled at by strangers in aggressive ways. it made me tense and yes...reactive in those moments to ensure my own safety and needs were met. but was it my fault for having to react that way? To call friends and family and be on the phone any time that i walked alone? to check in when i got to where i was going? to bring pepper spray and iron knuckles to walk less than 10 minutes away from home? I don't think it is. Rather it's the failure that allows that behavior towards me which is at fault. i should not have had to carry those things with me. or call a single soul.

same with my dogs. my dogs aren't reactive, i'm just the only person who walks my damn dogs in my rural neighborhood. even though we can walk for 4+ miles either way on safe dirt roads out of our driveway before we reach pavement. nobody else. walks. their. fucking. dogs. yes i manage my dogs behaviors, it can be embarrassing when they get riled up, but know what? it is not their fault so many other dogs fucking SUCK. and it is not those dogs' fault that they suck either. i encountered more politely behaved dogs when i lived in the suburbs and city than i do now because those dogs at least had some sort of experience with being around other dogs (passing them on the sidewalk even) out of necessity. Rural people truly just throw their dogs outside and expect that to be enough. if you're lucky they install a little underground fence that will maybe keep fido in the yard (like uwu WE don't want to have a look at a fence and we're going to make all our neighbors GUESS if our dog might run into the road at them uwu).

[ask-the-totally-real-peppino]

Hey Pep, were you... stuck in your pizzeria? Couldn't you leave? How did you get ingredients for your pizzas?

Pep: "Hcum evael ot ekil t'ndid tsuj I, airezzip ym ni kcuts t'nsaw I."

Pep: "Yletelpmoc meht diova ot reisae tsuj saw ti os, thgis no dekcatta senolc rehto eht fo ynam tub, stneidergni teg ot semitemos tuo og ot evah did I."

Pep: "Deirrow tog llits I, enog saw I nehw meht hctaw ot Olleb dna Otrop detsurt I dna, sselpleh ton erew seno elttil eht elihw tub, airezzip ym morf yawa yats ot dednet yeht..."

Pep: "Deneppah ti nehw deticxe os syawla erew seno elttil eht tub, morf saw ti ohw erus ton ma I. Niaga dna won yreve stneidergni fo yreviled a teg osla did ew tub!"

Pep: "Ecalp eht dnuora saw revetahw pu gnikcip naht doof rehserf hcum. Oot saw I dna."

Pep: "Heh. Ydal ynnub ytterp eht, mhu... Ion... Mu... N... Hu ees d'I osla dna..."

Pep: "Emoh kcab ekat ot doof em evag dna ecin os syawla saw ehs dna, tol a reh ees d'I."

Pep: "Oot sgniht rehto emos dna azzip eht a-kooc ot elba saw I emit eht fo tsom os."

[loisfreakinglane]

[betweenblackberrybranches]

All I see is Y/N being at their mercy once they recognize the poor janitor. What if they just assume they're being a good listerner by not talking. Like if one of em is having a bad day they just snatch Y/n mid task for cuddles and to vent.

Ah this is about the rlgl au right?

Well that would be a super dangerous game to play because the staff is strictly forbidden contact to the bots or the clients, so if they ever got caught doing that y/n would definetly be fired, even if they werent at fault. Fazbear policy

This also means that if y/n wants to keep their job they cant openly help sun or moon if anything happens at work, and they cant be spotted with sun or moon while off the clock or that little oversight of management (overlapping adresses of staff and bots) could be discovered

lets see how long y/n will be able to keep the distance to the celestial twins befor those idiots worm their way into y/n s heart

[crimeronan]

i'm back to thinking about the 'worst' princess AU timeline without vee.

(refresher course: belos "kills" hunter and drags luz back to the human realm, luz escapes and gets returned to camila who doesn't know her At All, hunter survives his execution and tracks luz down later.)

mainly i'm thinking about how Unbelievably Fraught that first day would be. hunter treats camila with suspicion-edging-toward-rudeness for about an hour before suddenly apologizing for being "disrespectful" and acting Freakishly deferential. camila says she needs to ask a couple questions if he's going to stay here, As Literally Any Sane Parent Would, and luz just fucking Dissolves about how she can't send hunter away.

hunter stepping outside and separating himself from luz for the first time since his arrival so he can answer camila's questions, and it's pretty clear that he thinks he's protecting luz from something. and also that that something is camila.

(oh my god, they could even do "thank you for providing me with shelter, ma'am" "please.... don't ever do that again. and you can call me camila" i've connected the dots)

camila like luz hasn't told me very much about how she was raised. or.... where she was raised. you were brought up by the same.... p...erson?? group?? death cult....?

and hunter is just like.

well. yeah.

camila asking questions about things like his age and medical history and if anybody is going to come looking for him because those are all Extremely Practical Things To Know & hunter giving Extremely Fucking Unhelpful Answers like well i'm nineteen i'm alone here and i'm not dead. thus ends my familial and medical history.

camila just straight-up asking "do you know if you have a birth certificate??" and hunter being like "i.... don't think so....?" and her being like yeah i probably don't need to bother asking if you have a social security number huh. okay. we are going to be So Careful.

also camila is not conservative or prudish in the slightest, BUT. if your catatonic teenage daughter has been locked in an unknown death cult's basement for thirteen years & you meet a boy around her age who was also locked in the death cult's basement for thirteen years and has A History with her, you would have to be Out Of Your Fucking Mind to let the two of them share a room unsupervised before you know more about their relationship. like that's just common sense.

so. i'm trying to picture the exact level of, just, Nuclear Fucking Meltdown that occurs. when camila tells them she wants them to sleep in separate rooms.

[barrymccaulkinem]

i just kinda wanna shoot down every helicopter i see. get down from there

[mumbledramblings]

Survival Horror Vash who i met in a dream

i had a dream last night where a group of people and i were trying to escape this weird and spooky abandoned facility that kept changing around us as we moved forward and partway through vash showed up and joined us. he was kinda weird, though. he looked a little different and he kept saying morbid things and acting like he knew us well and was always part of the group, and no one seemed to think that was suspicious except me.

at one point he found a couch and kept asking this guy to sit and have drinks with him, but the guy was convinced that if he did he'd get cursed and die.

the one time i interacted with him myself near the end of my dream (i think he was avoiding me) he was taking a knife to the bottom half of his coat, cutting it lengthwise and taking apart the layers. i asked him why he was doing that and he just said that he needed it [like that] and wouldn't elaborate and i couldn't investigate further bc i somehow found myself leading the group.

suspicious and inexplicable behaviour aside, i don't think he was ~secretly a bad guy~ or anything. just kinda weird and lonely and. maybe not entirely human. i do think he was genuinely trying to help us get out and maybe get himself out, too. but god he was kinda unnerving to be around.