#underwater submerged objects

[blogparanormalexpresso2stuff]

May 8, 2024 - How do UFOs burst out of ocean waters completely dry?

[heliosunny]

Yandere!Dazai x Reader

The first room

A sharp, throbbing pain pounds at the back of your skull as you regain consciousness. The world feels unsteady, like you’ve been submerged underwater, your senses muffled and slow to return. Your fingers twitch against the cold, uneven ground, stone, rough and aged. The air is thick with dust, the scent of damp wood and something metallic lingering faintly.

You blink, your vision struggling to focus in the dim light. Shadows stretch across the walls, cast by a single, flickering bulb hanging overhead. The room is small—four walls of old stone, a heavy wooden door with an iron handle, and a handful of objects scattered across the floor.

Your breath catches as you sit up, a wave of dizziness washing over you. “Where… am I?”

A groan breaks the silence.

Your gaze snaps to the other side of the room, where another figure stirs. A man, draped in a long brown trench coat, sprawled on the ground with an arm flung over his face. His dark, wavy hair is messily tousled, strands sticking to his skin as he exhales slowly.

Then, his fingers twitch. His breathing quickens.

He jolts upright with a sharp inhale, his head swiveling around before his eyes- deep brown, almost unreadable in the dim light, land on you.

For a long moment, the two of you simply stare at each other.

Then, he exhales a shaky laugh, raising a hand to rub his temple. “Well, this is quite the wake-up call” he murmurs. His voice is smooth, laced with a tired amusement that feels strangely unfitting given the circumstances.

You swallow, your throat dry. “Who… are you?”

His smile falters.

“I was hoping you’d tell me” he admits, his brows furrowing slightly. His gaze flickers to the locked door, then to the scattered objects around the room. “I don’t remember a thing.”

Neither do you.

The realization sends a jolt of unease through your chest. Your mind is blank, no recollection of how you got here, no fragments of a life beyond this cold, unfamiliar room. It’s as if everything before this moment has been wiped clean.

The man watches you carefully, his head tilting. Despite the situation, there’s something unnervingly relaxed about him.

He hums thoughtfully. “Well, we’re trapped, we have no memories, and judging by that locked door, I’d say we need to work together if we want to get out of here.”

Your eyes flick to the door. He’s right, there’s no obvious way out. The only things in the room are an old wooden desk, a bookshelf, a rusted filing cabinet, and scattered puzzle pieces on the floor.

You press a hand to your forehead, frustration bubbling up. “This doesn’t make sense…”

“Ah, but that’s what makes it fun” he muses, pushing himself to his feet. He stretches lazily, as if shaking off the remnants of sleep, before flashing you a lopsided grin. “What do you say, partner? Shall we escape together?”

You hesitate. There’s something about him that unsettles you—a sharpness behind his gaze, a too-casual ease in the way he carries himself. But you don’t have a choice. You need to get out of here.

“…Fine,” you mutter, standing. “Let’s figure this out.”

His grin widens.

“Now that’s the spirit.”

Dazai, if that was even his real name, proved to be sharp, his eyes flitting over every inch of the room with an almost playful curiosity.

“Hmm… This place has a very ‘abandoned mystery novel’ aesthetic, don’t you think?” he muses, brushing dust off a wooden desk. “Perhaps we were detectives, kidnapped by an enemy to keep us from solving their grand scheme! Oh, the drama of it all~”

You let out a slow breath, crouching near a bookshelf. “Less speculation, more searching.”

He chuckles. “How serious! You’re either very determined or very used to dealing with nonsense.”

“Maybe both” you mutter, running your fingers along the wooden shelf. The books are covered in dust, except for one, its spine slightly misaligned, as if it had been pulled out and hastily shoved back.

You slide it free. Click.

Something inside the wall shifts.

Dazai perks up instantly. “Oh? Now that’s interesting.”

A panel in the wall creaks open, revealing a small compartment. Inside, a brass key rests on a velvet cushion.

You glance at him, a triumphant smirk tugging at your lips. “Guess I’m the better detective.”

His eyes twinkle with amusement. “Oh? Are we competing now? My, my, how exciting.”

Ignoring him, you grab the key and move to the locked door. The metal handle is cool under your fingers as you slide the key into place and twist.

Click

The lock releases.

You exchange a glance with Dazai before you push the door open.

The second room

The second room is slightly larger, with dim candlelight flickering against stone walls. The air is heavier here, thick with an odd mix of old paper and something faintly metallic. A round table sits in the center, cluttered with scattered notes and an hourglass filled with black sand.

Dazai whistles. “Ohh, this looks ominous.”

You pick up one of the papers. It’s a riddle, scrawled in elegant but uneven handwriting:

“A thing that breathes but does not live, Its time is measured, yet it stands still. It speaks no words but tells all truths. What am I?”

You frown. “A clock?”

Dazai hums. “Mm, close, close~ But not quite.”

You glance at the hourglass. The black sand inside is unsettling, as if it’s swallowing the dim light around it. “It’s an hourglass, isn’t it?”

Dazai claps his hands together. “Ding ding ding! My dear Watson, you truly are brilliant.”

Rolling your eyes, you turn the hourglass over.

The walls tremble. A hidden compartment slides open, revealing a new passageway.

Dazai chuckles, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets. “You know, if we weren’t in a life-or-death situation, I’d quite enjoy this little game.”

“…It doesn’t feel like a game.” you murmur. Something about this place unsettles you, not just the eerie puzzles, but the way they seem almost tailored to you. As if someone knew exactly how your mind worked.

Dazai hums in thought, then nudges your shoulder lightly. “Don’t make that face, partner. We’re in this together, remember?”

You glance at him, his usual lazy smile still in place. But there’s something else in his expression now, something unreadable.

You nod slowly. “Yeah… together.”

Neither of you notice the way his fingers tighten slightly in his pockets.

The third room

The third room is the strangest yet. It’s filled with mirrors—tall, narrow ones lining the walls, their reflections slightly warped. A single piece of paper is pinned to the farthest mirror.

Dazai steps forward first, but as he moves past one of the mirrors, he freezes.

“…Oh?” His voice is soft, almost too quiet.

You turn toward him. “What?”

He stares at his own reflection, his usual humor wiped away. His expression is unreadable, his fingers twitching at his sides.

You frown and step up beside him, only to feel your breath catch.

The reflection looking back at you… isn’t quite right.

Your face is the same, but your expression in the mirror is off. The mirrored version of yourself stands too still, eyes slightly dull, posture unnaturally relaxed. And Dazai’s reflection, his mirrored self—isn’t smiling.

Dazai lets out a slow chuckle. “Now this is interesting.”

You swallow, forcing yourself to focus. You rip the note from the mirror and unfold it.

“The closer you look, the less you see. The moment you remember, it will all make sense.”

Your hands tighten around the paper. “What the hell does that mean?”

Dazai tilts his head, his gaze still locked on his reflection. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

For a moment, the air in the room feels heavier, suffocating. Then, Dazai suddenly grins again, stepping back as if nothing happened. “Well, no time to waste! Onward, my dear Watson!”

He strides ahead, leaving you staring at the mirrors for a second longer.

Something about that reflection… felt wrong.

And deep down, you can’t shake the feeling that you’re missing something important.

The room is suffocating. The flickering candlelight warps your reflection, stretching it unnaturally across the mirrors lining the walls. Your stomach churns with unease as you stare at your own face- still, unmoving, too perfect in the glass.

Dazai hasn’t looked away from his reflection.

His usual lopsided smile is gone. His body is eerily still, his hands slack at his sides. The weight of something unspoken hangs between you, thick as fog.

A strange, suffocating silence fills the space.

You try to shake it off, turning your attention back to the note in your trembling hands.

“The closer you look, the less you see. The moment you remember, it will all make sense.”

You lick your lips, your voice barely above a whisper. “Dazai… what do you think this means?”

He finally moves, his fingers ghosting over the glass, his reflection distorting beneath his touch. “It means,” he murmurs, voice uncharacteristically low, “that something isn’t right.”

You take a step toward him. “What do you—”

The reflections move.

Not in a way they should. Not in a way that makes sense.

Your breath catches in your throat as the mirrored versions of you and Dazai shift—not following your movements, but acting of their own accord. Your reflection tilts its head, lips parting slightly as if whispering something. Dazai’s mirrored self simply stands there, shoulders tense, fists clenched at his sides.

Then—the mirrored Dazai turns to look at you.

Your real Dazai does not.

Every instinct in your body screams at you to move, to run, to do anything—but your feet feel like they’ve been rooted to the ground.

Your reflection steps forward, pressing a hand against the glass. It smiles. Not at you, but past you.

The note in your hands trembles. “Dazai,” you whisper. “Something is wrong.”

He chuckles, but there’s no humor in it. His fingers twitch against his coat. “Oh, my dear, brilliant partner… That’s the funny thing, isn’t it?” His voice drops, barely above a breath. “Everything has been wrong from the start.”

You whip around to face him, but he’s already moving.

A hand seizes your wrist, fingers tightening just enough to keep you still. His grip isn’t bruising, but there’s something final about it, like he’s made a decision neither of you can take back.

You feel your pulse hammering beneath his touch. “Dazai—”

He turns his head slightly, just enough for you to see his face.

And for the first time since waking up in this place, you realize—

He knows.

He’s known this entire time.

He lets out a slow, shaky laugh, his grip on you steady as a vise. “Isn’t it strange?” he murmurs. “I didn’t remember a thing. Not my past, not why we were here. But the second I saw you…” His eyes darken. “…I knew I couldn’t let you go.”

Your breath catches in your throat. “What—”

The mirrors tremble.

Your reflection tilts its head again, lips parting in silent words. Behind you, the mirrored Dazai slowly, deliberately raises a hand—reaching out.

Dazai exhales, the sound almost reverent. “I built this place, didn’t I?” His voice is barely above a whisper. “I made it. I planned every detail. And yet, I forgot—until now.”

Your pulse pounds in your ears. “Dazai, let me go.”

“Why would I?”

The mirrors shatter.

The room plunges into darkness.

And all you hear is Dazai’s voice, whispering in your ear—

“This was always meant to be just us.”

[starmocha]

I'm gonna finish this story, I'm gonna finish this story, I'mgonnafinishthisstory, I'm gonna finish this story

Main story of Bride of the Dragon King is currently at 26.7k words...and idk, I think there are like ten scenes left. Most of my writing notes got scattered in my phone, because I've also been itching to write a few other AUs and more of the LNDS babies series. I have a goldfish brain and the attention span of a golden retriever, sorry, I can't be fixed 😔😔😔

Anyhoo, here's a wip snippet to hype myself up lol

Prelude is already out and I am keeping track of who asked to be tagged when I post the main story. Just mention explicitly to me somewhere and I'll add your handle to the list.

“Come here.” “I will not!” you protested vehemently, arms crossed over your chest, back turned to him in embarrassment. You could hear the sound of water splashing, sensed his presence shifting. You blushed harder. Sylus sighed. “I do not like repeating myself.” You flustered, but continued to adamantly keep your back to him. “You are shameless!” Sylus smirked, tilting his head in amusement. “Am I, my beloved?” Before you could even think of deigning him a response, Sylus motioned with his hand, summoning crimson tendrils that wrapped around your body, lifting and dragging you over until you shrieked in shock, finding yourself submerging into a hot spring. You surfaced quickly, gasping and sputtering, choking on the water you had accidentally engulfed. You could hear laughter and you turned in his direction, glaring, red-faced from both anger and embarrassment. You immediately splashed him with the water, yelling, “How could you do that?!” You gasped again, not expecting Sylus to wade closer to you. You quickly tried to avert your eyes, well aware he was completely nude in your presence. The sound of the water splashing seemed to grow louder the closer he moved to you. You whimpered when he invaded your space, his hand gripping your chin, gently guiding you to meet his darkening eyes. “As you have said, my beloved,” he murmured quietly, eyes darting back and forth from your flushed cheeks to your quivering lips, “I am shameless.” You swallowed slowly, heart quickening as his lips moved closer and closer until he finally claimed yours. You weakened, letting yourself be tempted by this sweet kiss, and forgetting momentarily the salacious situation you were in. As Sylus kissed you, his hands skimmed down underwater, resting on your hips and rubbing slow, lazy circles on them, feeling the wet fabric of your clothes clinging to your skin. You could feel an unusual heat building inside you as he touched you, seemingly testing the boundary between the two of you. He pulled away first, eyes growing hazy with desire. You panted, unable to regulate your breathing after the whirlwind of emotions he had just put you through in the last few minutes. You tried to speak, but all coherent thoughts seemed to have left your head, and from the way he was smiling at you, a cross between teasing and adoration, you found yourself at an even greater loss for words. After a moment, you managed to find your voice, as feeble as it may be. “You are so shameless…” you repeated, attempting to look elsewhere, though by this point, Sylus made sure he was the only object of your vision. “…how can you ask a maiden to bathe with you?” “She will be my bride,” he answered unabashed, smirking at your gawk at his audaciousness. His finger traced over your trembling lips, the light, fleeting touch left behind a tingling sensation long after they were gone. He hummed in satisfaction at the reaction you had. “Am I not your lover as well?” You blushed deeper. “…in a sense…” He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement at your coyness and embarrassment. He leaned down, taking your lips for himself again, pleased as he was able to draw out your soft, sweet moans. Minutes passed, he broke the kiss, the warmth of both your breaths intermingled, breathing heavy, and your look of disappointment not missed by his keen eyes. His fingers glided along your flushed cheek, down to your chin, and with a light tilt up so your soft doe eyes met his own aroused gaze, Sylus husked quietly, “In all sense, I want to be your lover.”

[fandomfluffandfuck]

https://www.tumblr.com/fandomfluffandfuck/783168756889354240 Sir this is just screaming sub!seb

related to this post, "an unstoppable force (sub who is whining and writhing and shaking and crying because they can hardly handle any more) vs an immovable object (dom gently cooing i know i know i know in their ear while they refuse to let up)"

I'm not supposed to be writing for Tumblr right now, especially right now, I have been so fucking busy at both school and work right now and I'm going insane but I just can't not sink my teeth into this 😮‍💨😮‍💨

Here we go anyway, lmao--

Thin sheets and rivulets of sweat shiver across Sebastian's hotly flushed skin, the slickness and wetness dripped and dragged across his melted, fluid body so sensationally he's panting with raggedly want. His skin is on fire. Yet, he is underwater--he is submerged in the mused ocean of sheets, draped across their king-sized mattress. Though, even as he he drowns with his gaped-open, drooling mouth full of pillow and sheets and his own hair, he floats suspended. Lifted up, too, because, at some point, he was held in a spider's web of silk, poised right above the surface. But, those taut ropes, deep blue and inviting, begging him to swim in their currents, have come undone.

Sebastian is just as loose, limp, and undone.

His fingers curl weakly then twitch, and his thighs quiver, knees knocking together as he writhes bodily, drawing his legs together only to be stopped by Chris obscenely large, strong body. Sebastian's body moves and undulates unknowingly. There is no plan, no thought, only the ripples of water pushed by the plunge of a rock thrown into the body of water--into his body.

Body.

Sebastian is just a body--only exposed nerves and sparking wiring. Pleasures of the flesh.

Fuuuck.

Those naked wires connect, leaping with erotic electricity from end to end. The pulses are enough to let Sebastian reach out and attempt to grab Chris where he hovers above him, his handsome face obscured by the tide and waves lapping over Sebastian. He is deep. Bubbles spill out of his mouth with every moan ripped from his aching lungs. He needs oxygen. He can't catch his breath.

"Ah, ah, ah!" He gasps through deprived lungs, his thoughtless head spinning faster and faster.

Oh, god.

Scratching, clutching, clinging, Sebastian's fingers fumble dumbly at Chris' hands and wrists. He can't come close to finding purchase on his dominant's body. There's no way. His fingers shake too much, and he's slick head to toe with sweat. Slippery and writhing yet so tightly knotted up.

Scrambling to grasp Chris, Sebastian is just an onslaught of sensation barely contained. Embodying agonized pleasure itself. He's drowning. He's ready to burst at the seams. The overstimulation is assaulting. Cloth drags against his skin but he isn't clothed; he's naked, so, so fucking naked, stripped down to nothing but his neediest self. The sheets rasp against him. His chest burns for air--all his oxygen has been consumed by the combustion of lust inside him, flames hungry--and his nipples throb. His nipples aren't even hard anymore, they're just red and puffy. He's been tortured. Touched and touched. Hours. Days? Weeks? Years?

How long has he been here?

How long has he been at Chris' mercy, dissolving into nothing but harsh, throbbing static? It's been at least long enough that his cock isn't even hard anymore. He isn't hard, he's limp. Everywhere. Melting. He's crying.

The last orgasm--the last one Sebastian remembers, it's totally possible Chris reached inside him and fisted another orgasm, ripping it out of him by the skin of his teeth--had Sebastian's cock pulsing out barely anything. He's drained. Saturated but drained, drowning in slick sweat, tacky cum, excessive drool, and frantic tears. All that fucking cum, orgasm after orgasm torn from his writhing body, is smeared and splattered over his belly and chest, fuck, even his neck. Hell, it might even have gotten in his hair, too, Seb hasn't looked in a mirror. If he could see himself, he wouldn't want to. He doesn't need to see what a salacious mess Chris has made him with his slick, swollen lips, glazed eyes, and messy hair, tangles of it fanned out around his head and spread across his stupid face.

Oh.

Sebastian tries to sob but sputters uselessly instead, his hair curling into his mouth. God, he wants more in his mouth. He doesn't want to choke on his sweat-damp, sex-fucked-up hair, he wants to choke on Chris' fingers, on his cock, on, on--

Fuck it.

Heart pounding too hard, chest heaving desperately, body moving too fluid and slow, Seb still fights, needing to have him. Grab him. Please. Want it. Need it. It doesn't matter, though--

Chris easily, so goddamn easily, catches both of his wrists in one big, heavy hand.

Gah!

Sebastian's body revolts against the capture, his spine flexing, arching, and his soft, vulnerable cock valiantly twitching against his clenching abs. If he could hear through the cotton stuffed into his ears, he might hear himself shout, or he might not. He has no fucking idea. His brain has entirely melted out of his ears. He is empty of everything, save for molten pleasure; his body is a collapsing cavern filled floor to ceiling with lava. Feverish. Sizzling. Hot.

Chris, never done with him--toying with him, using him, loving him exactly as hard as he needs--simply eases his spent cock out of Seb's well-used hole to the sweet sound of Seb's choking little moans. All while holding him in place single handedly. And, holy fuck, to replace the big, gaping void he's left inside him, Chris eases forward a thick vibrator. Sebastian doesn't need to think to know what that is. That's all it's been. Cock. Vibrator. Cock. Vibrator. Cock. V--

Over and over again.

Cock. Vibrator.Cock. Vibrator.Cock.VibratorCockvibratorcockvibratorc--

Again and again.

Merciless.

Assaulting him.

So good.

Too much pleasure.

Sebastian can't take it. Crying. Sobbing. Shivering. Convulsing. He's sloppy, open, and loose. He can't even clench around the toy to stop the hot, thick cum dripping out of his hole, fucked in deep by Chris. So thoroughly loved and ruined.

As he fucks the vibrator in, pressing it in so deep Sebastian chokes on it in his throat, Chris presses Seb into the mattress harder, keeping him still so he doesn't thrash frantically yet so, so weakly, "I know, I know, I know," Chris murmurs, hot, against his slick temple as if he's the one being fucked raw and oversensitive.

Seb still jerks hard, jolting, moaning loud.

"Shh, baby," Chris presses him down harder, better than any silk rope could ever dream of being, "just take it, take it. You can take it."

And that's all the warning Sebastian gets before--

Chris turns the vibe on.

He turns it up.

"AHH!" Seb stutters out a scream through chest-heaving sobs. It feels so good it hurts. It hurts so good it feels fucking amazing. He barely is able to blubber, again and again, nonsensical against the teeth-rattling vibrations, tearing him to pieces, "huh-hurt--hurts! Huurts! Chr's! AH!"

In his meanest sweetest pitying voice, Chris asks, squeezing his wrists that much harder, bruising him, "aw, did you want to stop, honey?"

It takes Seb all too long to hear him and to realize what he's being asked. Immediately, though, when he does realize, he cries harder, teeth chattering, eyes rolling back, humiliation pulsing through him, knowing the filthy depths he'll go to for pleasure, "nooooo," he arches his neck hard. Shaking his head and rattling his own brain. No. No. No. Don't stop. Don't ever stop. It hurts. He can't take it. He wants to. He wants more. He--Chris, Chris-! Chris! Oh, god!

He's given up on making words. What are words anyway? It's just the raw, visceral expressions now. He doesn't have anything left to give but shrill, jagged cries of desire from his throat.

Chris chuckles, knowing exactly what's going on in his stupid, pretty little head and proud of him for it.

Helpless, Sebastian hiccups through another cry, drool smearing across his cheek from his own hair that was in his mouth--painting his pink cheeks with his own soaking desperation. More humiliation. More lust. More.

"I know, hard work, isn't it, honey? Just laying here, letting me play with you until you cum dry. What a tough life, baby. Too bad I know. I know you want it. Don't you," there's no question, no argument. He wants it. He wants it so bad he lets Chris tie him down so he can't get away even when his body just wants to thrash and squirm and wriggle. Anything but take more. Seb wants more. Please. "I know," Chris purrs, dangerous.

[eustasskiddsprosthetic]

Hey, remember when I said I shipped Lawlulaw? Yeah, I finally have an idea for them!

As I was fleshing this out, I suddenly felt the need to shove in Acelaw and Sabolaw in there so uh that's fun. I wanted this to be Lulaw centered but the moments of Ace and Sabo can be very easily spun into a romantic direction if I wanted and I wanted to be open to having a Law harem!

Welp, anyways, onto the plot I cooked. Edit: I elaborated more on this au here (x)!

I'm thinking of Law as a scientist who studies marine life. He has a huge lab where he collects specimens and spends a lot of time sketching out the intricate details and labelling them. He loves drawing these because it helps him get a clear, objective view of the world. His ultimate goal is to know just what makes the world tick.

He wants to know the inner workings of everything, kind of to compensate for how he barely knows himself and the depths of his subconscious nature. He believes everything has a place. A creature's ever part, every organ, every component is like a gear that keeps the whole system running and Law loves analysing them.

It may or may not be surprising but he actually believes in things like monsters, aliens and cryptids. From his experience, there's so many interesting sea creatures within the realm of science. It seemed a bit rude to dismiss the possibility. You never fucking know.

So that means when he sees a merman washed up one day in front of the beach near his home. He shrugs and says, "Well, he looks better than a drunk Bepo."

From indifference turned curiosity, Law squats down and starts poking this merman with a bit too much force and said merman jolts awake. Law notices how sharp his teeth and claws were. Law knew he would die if he did not approach him correctly.

"H-hello. I'm Law. Are you okay?"

The merman was visibly confused. Law realised he seemed a bit dehydrated and realised his gills on his neck looked uncomfortable. Law understood. He pointed to the ocean behind the merman.

"I'll take you back," Law said. He did not know how to approach the situation beyond rolling up his sleeves just in case the merman had an allergic reaction to his shirt and very gently trying to carry the creature princess-style.

Law was horrified to feel that this creature was heavy and struggled with carrying him. So much for wanting to be brave. The merman did not do anything to make things difficult—Law just was not the strongest out there. He just stared at Law with literal stars in his eyes. He made a cheerful little sound that was admittedly quite cute.

Law let the merman go when he was just around waist-deep in the ocean. He gently poured some water over his gills, which elicited even more happy sounds. When Law let go, the merman suddenly looked sad and Law felt like a horrible human being.

"Good bye. Take care"

The merman was swimming rather freely in the ocean now and he circled around Law. Law felt anxious. Did he walk into a trap? Was the merman going to attack? The merman did not seem hostile but you never know what these creatures were thinking especially when they were alive.

When the merman stopped swimming, Law took a good look at his features. He was quite cute in the face with large round eyes and an equally large mouth that occasionally broke into a large smile. If he were human, Law would've fallen in love.

"Good bye, it was nice meeting you-"

The next thing Law knew, he was immediately submerged underwater. He could barely breathe and felt himself choke. Meanwhile the merman was giggling like this was all very amusing. Law was knew he would die, if not for something rapidly swimming up and forcibly dragging the merman away.

Of course it was another muscular merman. He looked older than Law's murderer and had dark red accents on his hands and neck. There were spots on his face that looked like freckles. Now this one looked predatory. In human terms, he looked like he was nagging the other merman. Irritated, Law stood up as best he could and punched them both on the head.

Law's murderer seemed annoyed and sad at the violence, while the other one looked mildly impressed. He whistled through his gills. At least Law knew what that meant—it was a fucking mating call.

"Shut the fuck up! You're both annoying me! Go away!"

The black-haired mermen tilted their head to the side at the same time. In the distance, a pale, almost albino merman swam closer. Unlike the other two, he seemed friendlier even with a heavily disfigured face. He laughed as he happily said, "I'm sorry for my brothers, bastard!"

Law was flabbergasted. This was not his day.

"You can talk?"

The blonde merman seemed more surprised than Law. Law would punch him too but he was much faster than the other two in grabbing them by the shoulders and swimming some distance away so they would have to shout at each other. Law's murderer seemed sad that they were separated.

"You can talk, human?" The merman replied. He laughed. "Bitch!" He seemed to say those vulgarities with great childlike amusement. Though, Law would not be surprised to hear that he knew what those words meant and meant them sincerely. He seemed cunning.

Law felt wet, disgusting and thoroughly upset that he did not die. "Why, yes I fucking can! Piss off!"

As Law made his way back to the base, he suddenly heard the blonde merman tell the pervert and his murderer something. They went silent when Law looked back. Three seconds later, they started making loud, hysterical noises.

For God's sake, Law walked away with a ruined morning, wet clothes and the horrible memory of nearly dying. That was annoying, as he walked up the ocean where he was comfortably knee-length. He felt something gently grab his foot.

"What do you want, murderer?"

The merman pouted slightly and fuck isn't that just the cutest thing? He tried to pull Law back but gently this time. Law realised this was kind of like a child trying to make friends. He sighed and squatted down again to meet this creature at eye-level.

"I won't go with you but I'll come back tomorrow morning. Don't pull that shit again, or I'll kill all three of you. Understood?"

That seemed to be what the merman wanted for he smiled brightly and made those happy clicking noises again. He hugged Law's shoulders, licked his cheek quickly, jumped off and swam off with his brothers who seemed more interested in this little guy more than anyone else.

The sight was sweet. Maybe tomorrow morning would be better...

(Also, Law read up on Merfolk. Apparently, they were acknowledged to be legitimate sea creatures only three years ago and there were proper laws to forbid the act of hunting and killing them. Law found it strange that policies viewed them more like an endangered species than human beings.)

(More importantly, Law found out that there were some highly intelligent merfolk could learn human languages. And even more importantly, merfolk use their saliva to mark their territory... Including their mates, whom they usually commit to for life... Huh.)

[zestydistress]

MARBLE HORNETS TIM WRIGHT HEADCANONS

-Had to learn how to do basic things from his friends ever since he got to college. i.e. tying his shoes(the mental hospital definitely took away his shoelaces and he eventually forgot how to do it), swimming(makes entry #65 worse mentally and physically), doing laundry(bro got admitted when he was like 7 and was confined into his room for almost the entire time, he was not learning how to do laundry), sewing(no sharp objects in the ward), cooking(can't be in the kitchen as the nurses worried about the children hurting themselve), etc.

-Has a deep-rooted fear of drowning.(I like to think that ever since he was a kid he was experiencing those time warp torture sessions from the operator where he'd end up submerged underwater for unknown amounts of time)

-Fantastic at navigating. He can navigate the entirety of Rosswood forest. He can navigate any forest. I like to think that he led the guys to places in rosswood during the student film days since he was the only one to navigate the forest to get to film sites(and to get back to the parking lot)

-Has big issues with food textures, cannot stand mushy food.

-Is so sensitive when it comes to spices, bro cannot even handle a bell pepper./hj

-Cannot drink alcohol when on his medicine, was the designated driver every time he went out with friends.

-has a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep, but no one really noticed as he just lays completely still on his back with his arms pressed against his side and eyes closed until he drifts off. When he's asleep he'll move around a lot. He's a flailer. He will scream in his sleep too. Also talks in his sleep a lot and sleep walks.

-Disassociates frequently and often.

-When off his meds he cries when watching Disney movies

-Used to absolutely despise his meds because they made him feel so numb. He knew he was supposed to feel more than that and it made him even more reactive when off of them. Eventually he just grew to forget what it felt like to be off of them, he can't remember what it felt like when he could fully process emotions other than the comfortably numbed ones. He'd still get aggressive, happy, sad, etc. but he could only feel them strongly when they were in the extremes. Any other time it was just dulled from what he usually felt.

-Ever since Marble Hornets ended he's been taking care of his mom.

-Loses stuff so easily it's insane. Mostly loses his keys though.

-Has a terrible fashion sense since he was never able to choose his own clothes. Usually goes for vibrant clothes at first since he never had the option to wear anything that colorful before(this is my reasoning behind that horrendous monkey shirt he wore LOL)

-Has a kinda weak immune system. He was sick so much when he was a kid. His immune system isn't as bad as it could have been. Considering he regularly ran away and disappeared into the forest or further. His immune system got stronger when in college though.

-Picked up smoking like a month after he got out of the hospital, one of his only friends in there was an old man with a smoking problem and would always ask the staff for a smoke which they denied. He also kept calling Tim by the name of his deceased son.

-Basing him off of Night Mind's interpretation of marble hornets. So Masky isn't another personality or anything, it's just Tim trying to get to the bottom of this like Jay is. Except he's using much more... Violent methods. And he loses his memory of when he chooses to become Masky, so ToTheArk and Hoodie help him remember what their goal is(stopping Alex).

(also group headcanons:

I don't like the names masky and hoodie but I do realize they're the most recognized names for them. I love the name Techy for ToTheArk to match the theme, but I prefer calling them:

Tim = The Source

Brian = The Advocate

Jay = The Messenger

Alex = The Instigator

ToTheArk = The Projectionist

I have yet to come up with good ones for Jessica, Amy and Sarah. I have also yet to read the comics)

[dru-plays-starbound]

This is the bottom layer of the right-hand side of the Polis II-c colony.

Here we have a 'tech' friend into their retro arcades and vaporwave (WW furnishing, Foodies furniture, nuggubs' Vanilla+);

Testing out the slime set (Foodies furniture);

An 'attract a tenant with a tungsten lamp and door' quest, which I decided needed to be a scientist (Foodies furniture, Prop pack, nuggubs' Vanilla+, More Outpost Objects, Extended Furniture Crafting);

On the other side we have a 'Nuu' friend (Foodies furniture, Maple32);

Another 'tech' friend, who I decided was an avian compsci person (Foodies furniture);

A 'Submerged' friend, whom I spent ages retrieving the stuff from the Altais Old Mine colony for (it's not craftable, only available from underwater Nuu vendors) (Maple32, Prop pack, nuggubs' Vanilla+, Elithian Races)

This is the area that links the top left and right sides of this colony together. I thought I'd try out some of the wallpaper techniques suggested by marionandinteriordesign. IDK if they're any good; they are very small spaces.

Here we have:

An Apex friend

An 'iron chair and iron lamp' quest

An empty space for a spare workbench and forge (and a spare bed for someone)

A trader of unusual things

The teleporter, and a Totally Normal 1960's Earth Police Box.

(Mods: WW furnishing, Foodies furniture, nuggubs' Mod Suite, Elithian Races, Maple32, Prop pack, City Co. Street Props, WW's VA-11 HALL-A, More Teleportz)

[blogparanormalexpresso2stuff]

Ep. 1941 Richard Dolan: New Book: USOs!

Tonight, Tuesday on FADE to BLACK: Richard Dolan is with us to give us an update on what is going on with his research... and an announcement on his new book on USOs!!!

Richard Dolan is one of the best known UFO researchers in the world. He is the author of several groundbreaking books in the field, opening up fresh ways of understanding this perplexing subject.

These include his large two-volume history, UFOs and the National Security State, which has permanently altered our understanding of the history of UFOs and the government coverup. He is also co-author of “A.D. After Disclosure,” which opened up a new conversation on how UFO Disclosure could take place and what that might mean for the world. His book “UFOs for the 21st Century Mind” (recently revised and expanded) remains the best single volume to discuss the full range of the UFO subject in all its complexity. His book “The Alien Agendas” adds to his unique contributions, being one of the few attempts to analyze the beings behind the UFO phenomenon by examining the long history of our encounters with them.

Richard has done countless television shows, conference appearances, podcasts, and interviews around the world. In addition to ongoing book projects, he actively contributes to his website, RichardDolanMembers.com, which is home to a large and active UFO community.

WEBSITE:

https://richarddolanmembers.com/

Air date: February 27, 2024

[blueiscoool]

Divers Discover 2,500-Year-Old Shipwreck and Anchors Off the Coast of Sicily

A shipwreck dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries BC was discovered in the waters of Santa Maria del Focallo near Ispica on the southern tip of the Italian island, along with ancient anchors made of stone and iron.

This shipwreck discovered off the coast of Sicily could offer new insights into ancient Greece, which colonized the Mediterranean island for hundreds of years.

Archaeologists discovered the ship buried under 20 feet of sand and rock off the southern tip of Sicily. The ancient wreck was not alone in its discovery. Just a few feet away, the team found two iron inverted “T” anchors, likely from the seventh century A.D., as well as four stone anchors that are thought to be from the prehistoric era. One of these stone anchors was broken and may have originally featured two wooden flukes designed to help secure it to the seafloor.

According to a translated statement from the Sicilian Region’s Superintendent of the Sea, these findings shed light on the region’s rich maritime history.

When archaeologists unearthed the sunken ship, they discovered a hull built using an “on-the-shell” construction technique, a simplistic early shipbuilding method often traced to populations around the Mediterranean. The “on-shell technique” is characterized by planking connected at the joints, allowing the ship’s hull to function in a self-supporting manner.

Also, archaeologists created a three-dimensional model of the shipwreck and collected samples from the artifacts for analysis, hoping to understand more about the materials that compose them.

“The general condition of the hull, which has long been the object of attack by mollusks that feed on wood, is in fact extremely delicate and requires not only expertise, but also a lot of caution,” Massimo Capulli, professor of underwater and naval archaeology at the University of Udine, said in a translated statement from the university.

“This discovery represents an extraordinary contribution to the knowledge of the maritime history of Sicily and the Mediterranean and highlights once again the central role of the Island in the traffic and cultural exchanges of antiquity,” said Francesco Paolo Scarpinato, Sicily’s regional councilor for cultural heritage and Sicilian identity, in a statement on the shipwreck. “The wreck, dating back to a crucial period for the transition between archaic and classical Greece, is a precious piece of the submerged Sicilian cultural heritage.”

Professor Massimo Capulli, added in a separate statement released by the university that studying the wreck may help illuminate how trade happened between ancient Greeks and Carthaginians, two groups that thousands of years ago fought for control of the seas around present-day Sicily. We are in fact faced with material evidence of the traffic and trade of a very ancient era.”

Further exploration of the wreck may provide valuable insights into the maritime knowledge of the era. This underwater investigation is part of the Kaukana Project, an initiative dedicated to researching the cultural heritage hidden beneath the waters off the coast of Sicily, which has been underway since 2017.

By Leman Altuntaş.

[pyramultimuse]

@fxckin-blackbeard closed starter with merman!Sephiroth

Mermaids were some of the most common stories of sailors and pirates. Beautiful women of the sea with enchanting songs that would hypnotize sailors into diving into the water and end up drowning. But what of mermen? There had to be some, but why did no one talk about them? They were solitary creatures that prefered the quiet depths.

In those depths there were earthquakes and eruptions, movement of the very earth that stirred up the water so much that created tsunamis. The coast that the port had been recently washed over by a great wave. Many buildings flooded, some completely swept away, the docks were in shambles, it was a catastrophe. But the port had only got his with the end of the disaster. A monotoned merman had been caught in the initial eruption at the bottom of the ocean. The underwater blast swept him away that was impossible to escape.

The change in pressure as he came up from the deep sea made him sick, the churning current pounded at his body and when he did reach the surface, he was bludgeoned and cut from debris and broken wood from man made objects getting swept up by the sea. Sephiroth unconscious when the water reseeded and the ocean stilled, he lay on the sandy and rocky cove by what remained of the port. His body battered and bloodied was partially submerged at the water's edge, the gills on his ribcage would flare open when the water washed over them then close as he was not used breathing with his lungs. The beautiful man of the sea was barely hanging on.

[fiercefauna]

@tiredsn0w hello again - here is part 19 - 21. Next one, will be the last one - things are bit dicey now because it’s almost over.

To anyone else this is an SCP wiki project featuring 049 and 6118. The Doctor has issues adjusting to a new planet after an alien with an anomalous immune system peaks his interest, and affections.

Note - you can find the other parts by checking my earlier posts. Sp&g CREDITS - @ironymobile

Part 19.

“Something very big’s been through here. It seems impossible but, these things must have been hiding underwater.” 

Seedy shut off the blower as they pulled in beside the mass of mangroves that concealed the grand shelter. “These things? Seems there was only one.” 

“The only one we know about was dead, are you implying it came back to life?” 

“So you’re just going to go in there and explain to a room full of prehistoric monsters whose dead relative was in our freezer that we would like to speak to the planet’s most notorious assassin?” Tasha was silent. Seedy launched themself into the dark water before their sister could object. She decided to leave her dive gear behind as well. Hopefully, if she hurried, her sibling wouldn’t be starting any unfortunate conversations. 

While more aquatically adept than humans, (being able hold breath for 10 to 30 minutes at a time) the One of Kepler still prefer to be able to see where they are going. That there seemed to have been significant changes made to the submerged root scape around the shelter did not improve things. Tasha failed to find Seedy on the first attempt and was preparing to turn around when she grabbed on to something she couldn’t let go of. 

Seedy watched their sibling slide out of the water on the end of the big Zero’s tail, the terrifying gaze of 5a82’s resident Earthling, 049 greeting her. “Not so easy to move around out here, is it, dreadful damp, hot as tetanus.” The Doctor lowered his lantern, put his hands behind him and retreated a few steps. 

“Why are you here.” Five-aye regretted the tone, it sounded terribly rude. Seedy’s mouth was muffled by the oversized flipper hand of the already over-large, ancient Keplerian so Tasha answered. “You can’t stay here. Either the rebels or the Feds will kill both of you in the process of fighting over you and then kill each other and then all the rest of us.”

5a82 slumped on to a carved outcrop, causing his friend to fuss over him. “I’m fine! Try to relax!” The Doctor wasn’t ready to go back, but this wasn’t the right time or place to discuss the man’s mental issues. 

“WE COME IN PEACE!”

Landing lines fell down the shafts of soft light piercing the dome of the root shelter and dark shapes descended from them. 

The amplified announcement followed the soft whir of a Vahwhol’s textured blades. 7cb7 never thought they’d be dropping out of one these things like a meat drone on it’s way to a war crime. The Aven landed beside them, with the grunt of someone getting on in years, it didn’t immediately occur that their own legs had shocks. A small circle of security Twos moved inward.

5a82 approached with a weapon, but made a show of pointing it at the floor, he saw the Aven and just - froze. 

“Simply Beautiful. Sure, the new units are healthier relatively speaking, but the compulsion to chain of command - second to none here.” 

“Is not your dog!” Lover-bird slipped in front of his Asu, challenging the Aven as best he could in his broken language. 

The Aven was slow to respond so 7cb7 stepped forward, hoping their English wasn’t too embarrassing. It was possible all the white-coats learned from private tutors and not a combination of internet videos and Brit-coms. “All this is our fault not yours. Neither of you seem used to being famous so let me explain that you can’t just go where you want without an escort.”

“Airborne intruder!” said one of the Aven’s Twos. 

The little guy was sufficiently back to normal to pull the Doctor into a crouching position, so a small, lighted drone could be shot down. “Is it press?” said the Two leaning over it. “Get away from it.” said another. 

049 reached for his thigh and tossed away a dart. He ran for the safety of his patient and its prisoners as fatigue set in, rummaging in his bag for a reversal.

A glue net was thrown on to him from a dark disk clinging to the ceiling of the root structure. The disk hovered over and began to enclose him in the claw structure beneath it - but was ripped apart and thrown aside by the instance. 

Five-aye saw the Doctor, still trapped in the netting, being carried into the water by his patient but couldn’t follow, for he had to shoot down another dart drone and dodge a second glue net from a second capture disk. Dodging caused him to stick to another. He aimed his weapon as the disk made a pass overhead. 

Three strategic shots into its inner workings sent it crashing to the pavers behind him. Greasing his dive knife with oil from the battered machine he cut himself free of the glue, and remembered, that he had once again been separated from his friend. 

Part 20. 

“Looks like the fog’s rolling back in.” Tasha commented as she was pulled from the water.

“Don’t say “l told you so” just don’t.” Seedy reminded themself. “She’s learned her lesson. We stuck out our necks and got squat in return.” Instead they said, “So - how do we convince the neighbors not to kill us?”

Tasha flipped a lock of wet hair away from her eyes. “I think the radio’s in the supply case.” 

Seedy opened the craft’s storage compartment and was confronted by the specter of death. 

“S-Sorry, f - force of habit.” 

Five-aye put away his gun, unfolded his small body from the cramped compartment and quickly seated himself at the prow, his back submissively turned to the siblings. So close to another murder, so close. So easily he’d drawn a loaded weapon. So many times, right-between-the-eyes. 

Seedy steered the craft into a root shelter and tied it. The Asu did not object. A long, tense silence followed. 

Tasha had to make the first move. “Okay, so you’re armed, we’re not. Do you want us to take you somewhere or do I need to further explain the concept of a hijacking?” 

“We need to find him.” 

“049? Do you have any idea of where he could be?” She stepped carefully over the thwarts and sat beside the small Two. It so happened that she’d managed to miss glancing over at just the right moment when the muzzle of the weapon had made contact with her sibling’s face. Seedy was well aware but planned to drink about it later, right now the continued safety of their world depended on a very dangerous, person-shaped animal getting back to the trained professionals. “We were heading back to the eel farm. It’s full of resistance, but I’m sure they’ll go easy on you.”

“Where else could I go?”

“Unless you have a better idea? That’s it.”

“Just - do whatever.”

Mists concealed them until they were within a span of the agricultural complex. At that point, the loud engine was powered down and they coasted forward on acquired momentum, the fan softly whipping the air.  Tasha put down her binoculars. “Did you radio in?” 

“Five-aye has it.” 

“Um could we have the mic? The people at the farm might think we’re a threat.” 

The boat stopped, turned at a right angle, then began to drift in a new direction, the siblings hanging on for dear life despite the slow, ambling pace. 

“It’s alright.” Five-aye carefully and conspicuously stowed his weapon. “Lazare knows where the Doctor is.” Fuck it, until he had a better name, the big instance was Lazare. 

Part 21.

“Wakey! Wakey!” The sound of 0pt8’s rifle’s casing being dragged along the bars of a cell made for exotic animals woke 4b80 from a pleasant dream about none of this actually happening. What the cell held previously was probably not something Seedy would ever divulge, though a smell lingered. “I’ll give you some privacy, just plug yourself in and show me the empty cartridge when it’s done. Don’t worry it’s fine. I still have a soul.”

Someone other than Feds and Resistance had needed to reach the lovers first, but drugging 0pt8 had still been a traitorous act that was going to haunt. The Two seriously considered imbibing what could very well be a tainted ration, yet if death was in that infuser it might not be a kind one. Letting the victim of an attack guard their attacker was never smart. 

It seemed like someone was trying to discretely remove the infusion device from the bars. Forby wasn’t sure the shadow in their peripheral was real but they whispered to it anyway. “I can’t vouch for the safety of that. There is no shortage of Two juice on this planet so why don’t the pair of you just stop trying to run away?”

The soft, metallic whisper had a loudness despite its low volume. It seemed the words would have been unmistakable even if they had only been thoughts. 

“Need him, he, the missing piece.”

“To what?” 

“Pestilence.” 

“Yes, he was hacked to produce an anti-agent for the Sentinel disease but we already did that. He loves you, and will be much better able to help you with the whole planet at his beck and call. There’s something wrong with you. You ignore certain things as though you can’t perceive them. You work yourself nearly to death, and can’t shut down.” 

“Useless.” 

“You don’t have to be useful just some kind of healthy! This planet is full of people grown in labs for Oseo knows what. We can treat the conditions that arise from that. Been doing it for ages!” 

Where was the guard? Forby had never really experienced a waking dream but there had to be a reason no one had responded to the sound of conversation.

[lostinhistory]

Heritage News of the Week

Discoveries!

Archaeologists from the Lublin Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments have unearthed a “vampiric” burial in the gardens of the Palace of the Uniate bishops, located on Góra Chełmska, Poland.

Man buried with large stones on his chest to prevent him from 'rising from the grave' unearthed in Germany

Archaeologists have unearthed the grave of a man weighed down by stones — apparently to prevent him from rising from the dead as a "revenant" — while excavating around a 17th-century gallows in Germany.

3,000-year-old military fort unearthed in northern Egypt

A series of mudbrick ruins in northwestern Egypt contained the remains of military barracks with storage rooms for weapons, food, and provisions. It dates back to the era of the New Kingdom (1550 BCE-1070 BCE).

Have archaeologists uncovered the remains of French poet Joachim du Bellay at Notre-Dame Cathedral?

Archaeological excavations at Notre-Dame de Paris have uncovered a burial site that could be that of the French poet Joachim du Bellay, whose grave has been sought since the 18th century. But doubts remain…

Archaeologists excavate one of Europe’s largest Neolithic settlements

Archaeologists are excavating a fortified settlement associated with the Linear Pottery Culture at Eilsleben in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Four silver Viking Age bracelets discovered 'untouched' on Norway mountainside after more than 1,000 years

The four silver bracelets had been buried nearly 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the ground on a mountainside in Årdal, a village in southwestern Norway.

Rare Celtic helmet thought to be 2,400 years old excavated in Poland

The archaeologists believe the helmet is linked to the La Tène culture of European Celts who lived during the Late Iron Age. The culture, which dates to between the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE, originated during the mid-5th century BCE.

Experts restore the lost colors of an ancient Egyptian temple

Egyptian and German experts have successfully restored the lost colors and glimmering metals that once enlivened ancient Egypt’s second largest, and perhaps best preserved, temple.

Battle of Waterloo dig uncovers horror of severed limbs and shot horses

The carnage and horror of the battle of Waterloo have been laid bare in an excavation by military veterans and archaeologists that has uncovered amputated limbs and the remains of horses which were shot to be put out of their misery.

Archaeologists study submerged Nabataean temple

In 2023, archaeologists discovered the submerged remains of a Nabataean temple during an underwater survey of the ancient port of Puteoli, located in modern-day Pozzuoli, Italy.

Archaeologists discover mysterious stone structures and a Roman chariot during excavations in Bulgaria

Dr Vladimir Slavchev, an archaeologist at the Regional History Museum in Varna, told Bulgarian News Agency that mysterious stone structures were uncovered during the excavation of a necropolis mound. The remains of a Roman chariot were also discovered in the area for the first time.

Was Venice’s famed winged lion statue actually made in China?

Fresh analysis from researchers at the University of Padua has connected the statue to Chinese copper ore deposits in the lower Yangzi River.

Sacred church for Saint Theodosius of Turnovsky uncovered in Bulgaria

Archaeologists from the Regional History Museum-Veliko Tarnovo have uncovered traces of a church from the monastery of Saint Theodosius of Turnovsky.

Three bronze shields and helmet of 2700 years old belonging to Urartians found in Ayanis Castle

For the last few seasons, the excavation team has been trying to uncover the structures associated with the Haldi Temple in the citadel. In the 2024 excavation season, three bronze shields and a bronze helmet dedicated to Haldi, the chief god of the Urartians, were unearthed.

Ceremonial objects unearthed in ritual pit

Archaeologists have unearthed a ritual pit containing ceremonial objects during excavations at Solnitsa in the Varna region of Bulgaria.

7,600-year-old child skeleton and a silver ring found in Türkiye’s Domuztepe Mound

During the excavations carried out in the mound this year, a child skeleton was found in the layer dated to 7,600 years ago. In the same context, a silver ring was found, thought to have been used for babies.

Traces of ancient city that revolted against Rome uncovered

Archaeologists have excavated the remains of Fregellae, an ancient city in central Italy that revolted against the Roman Republic.

16,000-year-old skeleton, crystals and stone tools discovered in Malaysian caves

Archaeologists investigating caves in Malaysia have discovered more than a dozen prehistoric burials they think are up to 16,000 years old.

Turkish archaeologists uncover Millefiori glass panels for the first time

The first Millefiori glass panels ever unearthed in Turkey have turned up during excavations at the ancient Lycian city of Myra’s former Andriake port, in present day Demre, Antalya.

Sacred chapel destroyed during German Peasants’ War rediscovered

Archaeologists from the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt have rediscovered the Mallerbach Chapel at the site of the Kaltenborn monastery.

French dig team finds archaeologist's 200-year-old note

A team of student volunteers on an archaeological dig in northern France has had a surprise communication from the past. Sifting through the remains of a Gaulish village on cliff-tops near Dieppe on Monday, they uncovered an earthenware pot containing a small glass flask. Inside the bottle was a message on paper, rolled up and tied with string.

Museums

Although there is no lack of information on individual repatriated works, the larger picture of where they came from and how, who is returning them and why can be lost in the anecdotes. This is where the Museum of Looted Antiquities (Mola) comes in—a new digital platform that traces not only the histories of specific repatriated objects but also compiles metadata in order to better understand smuggling networks and the museum industry’s intensifying repatriation efforts.

Gardner Museum Is renovating the room that witnessed a notorious heist

An ongoing restoration project at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is embarking on its final major leg. What the museum calls the Dutch room, home to canvases by Rembrandt and his contemporaries, will soon undergo restoration and conservation work, including not only paintings, frames, and sculptures, but also furniture, wall fabrics, and much more.

British Museum’s new director has planned the ��biggest transformation of any museum in the world’

In the wake of the British Museum’s recent slew of controversies, its recently installed director, Nicholas Cullinan, former boss of London’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG), has promised change.

Repatriation

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles returned a bronze funerary bed dated to 530 BCE to officials of the Turkish government during a repatriation ceremony.

New California law may end the legal dispute over a Nazi-looted Pissarro in Madrid

A bill signed into law this week by California Governor Gavin Newsom may signal the beginning of the end of a decades-long dispute between the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid and the heirs of a Jewish collector over the rightful ownership of a work sold under duress during the Nazi regime.

Sacred Indigenous Cloak Returned to Brazil by Danish Museum

The nearly six-foot-long cloak was constructed using 4,000 scarlet ibis feathers. It was taken from the Tupinambá people during Portuguese colonial rule. Since 1698, it has been on display in Copenhagen.

$8.3m of trafficked antiquities returned to Turkey by Manhattan District Attorney’s Office

The objects in question were linked to several ongoing investigations, among them, a trafficking network that systemically looted the ancient city of Bubon in Turkey and trafficked the works to New York.

University of Michigan Museum of Art seeks to deaccession 9th century Buddha statue to Nepal

The Board of Regents at the University of Michigan voted unanimously to approve the deaccession of a 9th-century stone Buddha from the university’s art museum to allow for its repatriation it to Nepal.

Heist to homecoming: Stolen portrait of Winston Churchill returning to Canada

An original print of Yousef Karsh's renowned portrait of Winston Churchill — a photo known as The Roaring Lion — was officially handed over to Canadian authorities at a ceremony this morning at Canada's Embassy in Rome. The black-and-white portrait, one of the world's most renowned and historic images, was stolen from the lobby of the Fairmont Château Laurier hotel in Ottawa during the COVID-19 pandemic, sometime between Dec. 25, 2021, and Jan. 6, 2022. It was replaced on the wall with a rudimentary fake, complete with a phony Karsh signature.

Heritage at risk

A nation’s understanding of itself is built on intangible things: stories and music, poems and language, habits and traditions. But it is also held in its artworks and artefacts, fragile objects that human hands have made and treasured. Once lost or destroyed, they are gone for ever, along with the stores of knowledge they contain, and potential knowledge that future generations might harvest from them. For Leonid Marushchak, his country’s culture, no less than its territory, is at stake in this war: a culture that Vladimir Putin has repeatedly claimed has no distinct existence, except as an adjunct to Russia’s.

Rome’s Arch of Constantine damaged in lightning strike

Italian authorities began conservation on the ancient monument after a storm caused part of the arch’s frame to collapse.

Metal detectorist who stole £3m Viking hoard jailed for five more years

Layton Davies and George Powell were jailed in 2019 for failing to declare the collection of buried treasure dating back 1,100 years to the reign of King Alfred the Great and instead selling a large number of items for significant gain. Experts believe the treasure would have provided fresh information on previously unknown alliances between the ancient kings of Mercia and Wessex.

'Irreplaceable' artefacts stolen from museum

The items were stolen from South Shields Museum and Art Gallery between 26 and 27 August, Northumbria Police said, though it has only just released the information.

The biggest threats to heritage sites worldwide? War, urbanisation, tourism, climate change and lack of funding

According to World Monuments Fund, the top issue varies widely depending on geography

Odds and ends

The well-preserved remains of a Roman town discovered during survey work for a solar farm in Cambridgeshire have been given heritage protection status as a scheduled monument.

Solved: the mystery of how Victorians built Crystal Palace in just 190 days

Experts have discovered that the answer to this 173-year-old riddle lies in the first known use of standardised nuts and bolts in construction – a humble engineering innovation that would power the British empire and revolutionise the industrial world.

Notre-Dame Cathedral window replacement project defiantly moves forward

Despite opposition from the National Heritage Commission, the French Ministry of Culture is proceeding with plans to replace some historic stained glass windows at Notre-Dame Cathedral with contemporary artworks

The rare blue the Maya invented

The colour survives in the work of 17th Century Spanish colonial painters, a symbol of the wealth that ultimately doomed the Maya.

Heritage home restoration project uncovers a piece of lost St. John's history

140-year-old Pleasant Street house a time capsule of a different era

This 19th-century painting of England’s tragic teen queen has found a new audience.

The nearly 200-year-old French painting of the ill-fated English queen is finding a new audience on Tiktok.

[silent-words]

🪻🌸🌾🪷 for the rook ask game!!! <3

Hi! Sorry for taking so long to answer this ask game! I'll answer about my canon Rook, Elaine Mercar.

🪻 What is the most painful injury your Rook has received? How has it affected them once it healed/scarred?

Elaine got her wrist broken while working as a Shadow Dragon. She was hopping through the rooftops, and slipped. Landed on her hand, and the wrist got twisted. She still feels it sometimes, and Emmrich recognises it when they have dinner.

🌸 Does your Rook have any siblings or close friends they see as such? Where are they during the events of Veilguard?

A big soporati family of Mercars! Elaine's parents adopted her after she was found on the battlefield. They had already had three children, but adopting a child in Tevinter means a chance to have a mage in the family (they would've loved her even if she didn't have magic, of course). And they were lucky, as she turned out to be the first Mercar mage. Elaine two sisters and a brother are too different from her to be close to her. She had different education and has a different position in society due to her talents in magic (she's a laetan). Still, she's not alienated from her siblings, they like her to listen to her, especially about her adventures, while she was fighting elvhen gods (who aren't gods, she keeps saying, just ancient elvhen magisters).

Of course, they envy her. Elaine brings home another mage, a renowned necromancer, and marries him. When she is struggling with the design of her wedding dress, the Archon of Tevinter himself comes to help her. Because they're friends. She's also friends with a lot of prominent and famous people. But, well, Mercars aren't evil, they're not scheming behind her back. Just become upset when she tells them how she spent the afternoon talking about Tevinter's future with Magister Tilani or the Imperial Divine.

They can't stay in Ventus, because it's full of Antaam, so her elder siblings move their families to Minrathous. They're old in their 30s (Elaine is 32 herself, by the way). Her two sisters and a brother are in relationships, the brother is married and has a child. During the Veilguard they find themselves in the city attacked by dragons and gods.

🌾 If there was a demon trying to trap/take over Rook, what kind would be the most successful? What would break their hold?

I had the whole idea of Elaine confronting the Despair demon during her Harrowing (or the analogous rite in Tevinter). She has always been different from her family, they had high hopes for her, but she had never had an opportunity to excel. In the Circle she was always surrounded by laetans from mage families, by alti who are more talented by birth. She had lost hope to achieve anything in her life, and despair nearly took hold of her. But she heard Magister Pavus' public speeches against slavery and sought out the way to help making the Imperium a better place. That's how she became a Shadow Dragon. I think if the Despair demon took hold of her, she would break out thinking of multiple opportunities to do something good. She may need her friends' help and reassurance for that.

🪷 Does your Rook have an irrational phobia? (ie spiders or large man-made objects submerged underwater)

She may have a little claustrophobia, so she doesn't like visiting small caves, for example. Elaine lives in an apartment with a balcony and a huge window, because she doesn't like closed spaces.

[ladybellissima]

Finding Love Katakuri x Reader Part 28

Silence and darkness welcomed Katakuri with open arms after another hour of torture. He lost the track of time. He couldn't tell, if it was day or late at night or if already weeks past or only days. Katakuri could only focus on his mental strength to not break. To not lose against these bastards and show any weakness. Never would they get informations about his family. Never would they be able to get a trumph card against his mother to destroy his home.

"never will they get close to my wife…"

Closing his eyes the image of her lovely smile popped up in his mind. He would do anything to have her by his side now. Close, embraced in his strong arms. It broke him more than every torture they would try. Moving slightly, he growled of the immense pain, which shot through his body like an arrow. He wasn't able to move an inch. Still cuffed with the damn sea stones, he was defensles hanging from the wall.

"She sure knows by now what happened… God damn it.", he cursed and could imagine her tears, her helpless cries about the fact that he wouldn't come back ever again. Biting his lip of desperation, till blood slowly ran down his chin, he tried hard not to cry. Katakuri was lying to himself. He was already broken. He couldn't. He just couldn't accept to not see her ever again.

"I want to life…."

His frustrated whisper echoed through his lonely cell, but he knew all too well that his hopes were useless.

"I just want to say how much I love you. Just one last time… My lovely sweet wife…"

Shaking his head to control his feelings he sighed deeply. The most important thing was that she would be safe and that was the last string for him to keep on fighting.

xxx

" Fuel low… Fuel low"

(Y/N) 's look fell onto the display of the ship. Horrified she gasped of shock, while she guided the ship with high speed through the sea.

"Not now! Out of all places it have to happen here!", she spoke frustrated, while the ship trembled of another push of a sea monster. She was so close, so damn close after traveling for exhausting long weeks, but out of nowhere a sea king followed her tracks and started to attack. Sweat rolled down her forehead, while she pushed button after button to get faster and hopefully out of the territory of this monster.

"You damn beast! Get out of my way… Who knows how much time Katakuri has left…", she shouted frustrated and her look fell onto his vivre card which was already burnt to the half.

Suddenly the ship was shaking like crazy and (Y/N) was rolling from one side to another, up and down and to all directions. Her bags were roughly pushed open and ingulfed with Big mom's sweets, she quickly grabbed the small bag from Pudding to not lose it too. Screaming she lost completely control over the situation and the next moment everything was black. With half lided eyes she only was able to see the red control lights and the sound of water.

Was this her end now?

"Damn it… Katakuri…", she whispered before her vision became blurry.

"Captain Coby there is something swimming before us!", a marine cadet called out to the young man and let him look out with a serious expression on his face.

Finding the object, he could only tell that it was pink.

"From what we could see it seems like an underwater submerge ship, but I am not sure..", the cadet spoke next to his captain.

Irritated he ordered to get closer to this mysterious thing and got more confused after getting a better view.

"a… a Bonbon?", he spoke dumbfounded and never saw such a thing.

"yes captain Coby. A swimming… Yeah… bonbon.", the marine spoke kind of amused of the situation. It really looked ridiculous. Slowly they pulled the huge vehicle out and placed it onto the ship.

"Who would travel with such a… honestly I can't find the right words for that.", he spoke and watched the others who were looking for an entry.

"Captain!"

Slowly Coby stepped to the marine and looked into the ship. Gasping he couldn't believe his eyes. In between an huge amount of sweets was laying a breathtaking young girl, who was hugging a small bag dearly. With hearts in their eyes his crew flew around him, while Coby still couldn't move an inch of this image. Shaking his head he entered the ship and came to her side.

"She seems okay… Just unconscious", he whispered and brushed some strainds of hair out of her face. Smiling he took her into his arms and came back outside.

"How sweet"

"She looks like an angel…."

Ignoring his lovesick marine collegues, the young man walked to his office and laid her down onto his bed.

"We will head back to the base!", he ordered quickly and made sure that (Y/N) was comfortable.

It took her awhile to wake up. With a loud groan she opened her eyes and watched her surroundings. Confused she found herself in a neatly cleaned office and relieved, she found Pudding's bag beside her bed on a table. Nervously she got up from her laying position to get a better view.

"Oh finally you are awake…", a voice got her attention and she was met with a young looking man with pink hair. Most of it was hidden behind a bandana. Clothed with a captain coat, he seemed of a high rank. (Y/N) realized that her accident with the sea king, led her directly to a marine ship. She wasn't prepared to get in touch with these people so suddenly and felt in a way helpless of what to say.

"You don't have to be afraid. I am Captain Coby. We found you and your… Yeah ship. Are you feeling alright? You aren't hurt or? ", he spoke politely and came a step closer, but stopped immediately after he noticed her shiver.

"I.. Am fine. Thank you for your concern. And thank you for helping me out there. I am very grateful.", (Y/N) spoke as friendly as possible and smiled slightly towards the captain. In a way he seemed nice. Blushing he avoided her sweet smile and coughed to calm down.

"That's a relief.", he spoke and was about to ask further, but a cadet stepped to his side.

"Captain. We are here. The base is calling.", he spoke nervously and quickly Coby turned to the exit to answer the call. Stopping in his tracks, he looked back to (Y/N) and smiled widely.

"Don't worry Miss. You are safe here. After all, We are at the marineford base G-1! ", his words rang in her ears and let her eyes widen. She was there. She really was able to get to Katakuri's prison. Wiping her tears away she took a deep breath.

"Now (Y/N) focus. Calm down, get information and get an overview of the situation…", she spoke to herself, while her look wandered to her hand. Touching the black ring of Katakuri, she knew that she first had to make sure, if she was able to speak with them about her situation. On her way she thought about her possibilies. Maybe she was able to make a deal? To give them money to let her husband go? Sighing she took the ring off of her finger and placed it into the bag. Till she didn't know what would happen, she should hide her identity.

Stepping outside she gasped of the sight before her. The marineford was huge. It looked like an empire. The high stonewalls, cannons and thousands of marines, which were patrolling around the place were making her shiver of fear.

"Impressive right?", Coby's voice got her attention and let her look up to the smiling captain. Nodding she thought about her husband and where exactly he was being kept.

Deep in thought she didn't notice that the ship was already inside the base and docking on land.

" Captain Coby, Navy Admiral Akainu is waiting!", one of the many marines called out to them and softly he tapped (Y/N) 's shoulder to get her attention.

"Come with me please.", he spoke and walked forward. With every step she felt her nervousness raise. Mens were gasping and drooling of her appearance, which made her quite uncomfortable and Coby annoyed. Sighing he looked down to the beautiful girl and could see how afraid she was and the most scary meeting was already waiting around the corner.

"We will meet now Navy Admiral Akainu. He is one of the most powerful marines. I am sure that he won't cause you any harm. He is just very cruel against pirates or other criminals.", Coby spoke and didn't notice that he sounded in a way sad.

"You don't seem really happy about your motivated Admiral. ", quickly apologizing of maybe going too far, Coby just chuckled of her sweet behavior.

"You got a point. Well it's just.. I believe in justice, but it's important to see the person behind the actions too. If he is just killed because of the title, I think that's going into the wrong direction.", he spoke nervously to relieve his true intentions. Smiling (Y/N) stopped him by grabbing his arm, which gave him goosebumps.

" That's very honorable of you. You see things through your heart. I don't know this Admiral yet, but I am sure you are a way better marine than him, because you give people a chance and not judge someone by his appearance or name.", (Y/N) spoke with a smile and took him of guard. He was really fascinated by this woman. After being in trouble and god knows how long she was in that bonbon vehicle, she still kept a heartwarming smile on her face.

"Why is a girl like you out on the sea alone?.", he asked out of the blue and got a blushing mess of thinking out loud, while (Y/N) watched him with raised eyebrows.

"a girl like me?"

Flustered he fought for words and started to walk again.

"Forget what I said. Nevermind… Let's go.", he spoke quickly and they walked along a corridor to reach a big double door at the end. Pushing it open, Coby let (Y/N) walk inside, who was shivering of the cold atmosphere. The room was huge. High walls with windows made the room even more bigger. At the end was a big desk with two marines on each side. But that wasn't really important at that moment. Because her eyes met the serious ones of the Navy Admiral Akainu. Alone his strong expression made her scared. He was frozen in place and showed no sign of starting a conversation. Uneasy (Y/N) stopped and waited for Coby to help her. He knew right away how intimidating his superior was and stepped beside her.

"Navy Admiral Akainu. Here is the person who was traveling with the strange object.", he spoke professional, while Akainu's look was piercing her.

"Your name.", he asked and crossed his arms.

"(Y/N)… ", she quickly spoke and pressed her fist together for support. She had to pull herself together. It was her only chance.

"Why is a young woman traveling out there all alone? There has to be a good reason for that.", he spoke calmly and looked down onto his papers again. (Y/N) didn't know if she was allowed to speak, while he was reading and waited dumbfounded.

"What's the matter? Are you thinking of a good lie?", he suddenly asked and looked up shortly with a bored expression. Coby knew how this man loved to play with people. Looking down to her he was stunned of (Y/N) 's annoyed look.

"I am terribly sorry, but seeing you reading in between our meeting, I thought of not to disturb you.", she spoke with a hint of anger and let the Admiral raise his brows stunned. It was many years ago that someone was speaking with him like that. On the other hand Coby was sweating like crazy.

"I see… I was unpolite. So again. Who are you?", he asked in a demanding tone which let her shiver. Thinking about what to do she felt her heartbeat increasing.

"Admiral Akainu!", a sudden voice cut in and a marine stepped into the room. Annoyed he gave the intruder an angered look and let him bow in apologize.

"I am sorry to disturb, but we found an inscription at the cockpit of this stranger's ship. It belongs to the Big mom pirates!", he spoke and let (Y/N) 's heart stop for a moment. The air got thick and cold, while Akainu gave her a deadly glare.

"You are a pirate? And belong to this scum of people… ", he spoke with a dangerous calm voice. Coby gasped shocked and couldn't believe it. (Y/N)' s mind was racing. She had to find a good answer. A good plan. The moment she stepped into this room she realized that speaking things out and make a deal wasn't an option.

"Alone for the way you speak to me, I will kill you with my own hands.", he growled and got up pissed.

Gasping (Y/N) stepped back, while tears rolled down her face. She always learned to be honest. To never betray others, but this time she would.

For him.

Taking a deep breath she walked closer to the angered Navy Admiral, who was able to kill her with one hand. Coby wanted to stop her, but knew all too well that things got already too heated.

" My name is (Y/N) (L/N). I am the princess of Exotica. "

[spacetrashpile]

💐🪷🌼🌷

💜-Alhellí

💐 What is the relationship Rook has with their faction mentor? What was the moment they sent Rook away like?

Despite both of them, Alistair and Viago do genuinely care about each other. I think Alistair can give as good as he gets in terms of the "you fucking moron" tone that Viago takes, however he also knows when to not do that so he doesn't get murdered. As for the moment he's sent away, I think that's one of their worst arguments. It is loud and angry and a lot of things that neither of them really mean but that they never explicitly apologize about are said.

🪷 Does your Rook have an irrational phobia? (ie spiders or large man-made objects submerged underwater)

I think Alistair is at least a bit claustrophobic (because I in real life am kinda claustrophobic)

🌼 If someone was to ask Spite what Rook smells like, what would he say?

Already answered!

🌷If Rook needed to get away from their responsibilities for a moment, where would they go? Where is their safe space outside the Lighthouse?

Either to a little hidden glade in Arlathan or a falling apart clocktower in Treviso. Shout out to this insane saving the world mission for giving Alistair a place to hang out that is not crumbling beneath his feet.

[silurisanguine]

Rook Ask Game

Teleri De Riva: If someone was to ask Spite what Rook smells like, what would he say?

~

Does your Rook have an irrational phobia? (ie spiders or large man-made objects submerged underwater) ~

Is there an object from Rook’s childhood they look back on fondly? (ie a favorite stuffed animal, book, or food)

The first I answered here 🪷 Does your Rook have an irrational phobia? (ie spiders or large man-made objects submerged underwater)

Not really. Her fears are all pretty rational as they are things that can and will kill you if you are unaware - statues coming to life, being trapped in the Fade, buried alive, giant spiders the size of cows that like to lurk in old ruins, drowning, standing too long in a pool of Blight, becoming Blighted, that sort of thing. All pretty rational fears for the world she lives in.

🌺 Is there an object from Rook’s childhood they look back on fondly? (ie a favorite stuffed animal, book, or food) Songs her mother used to sing, that she learnt to play on the elven lyre. They bring her comfort, though also heartbreak. A dish her grandfather taught her, that he learnt from a passing Rivaini trader - spiced nugmeat and rice stuffed vine leaves. They were always a treat he'd make when ever she returned from going out with her brother to patrol the areas they were staying in.