#who needs mermaids when we've got

[i-guess-it-rains]

not the type to walk into a dream

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

oooh 70 on the prompts list with shane would be so angstyyyyy plz i need to see ur thoughts on this -galaxy

This one's got a little kick to it ough

70) "After everything we've been through, you still don't think that I love you?"

......

"Honey..wh..what is this?"

"Can't you read? God, and I thought Alex was the only illiterate man in town-"

"I know what it says! But..I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?"

"Besides being a leech on my income for the past year and not doing a damn thing to make up for it....no."

"..are you crazy? I HAVE been doing my part! Just..take these back to Lewis and tell him you changed your mind. I'm not signing them."

"I don't need your signature. Just mine is enough to finalize it. I've already gotten everything packed for you..since you're too goddamn lazy to do it yourself."

"....what?" Tears stung Shane's eyes as he shakily set the stack of papers on the table, his vision blurring. He stared at you, seeing not an ounce of remorse on your face..but instead pure hatred. "Why would you do this behind my back? I-I thought...you-"

"What? You thought I loved you? Hah." The brief laugh that left your lips was cold. "Who could love a messed-up lowlife like you, Shane? I have a farm to take care of, a community center to restore..I can't have you slowing me down. It was a fun little fling, but now you bore me. I gotta get serious about my work."

"That's...all I was to you? A "fling"?!" A hurtful scowl formed on his face, hands shaking. "What about everything we've-?!"

"I only pitied you. And y'know, if I didn't care about Jas growing up without a father figure..I would've left you in the forest that night. I only stayed and married you to make them happy. But you blew your chance to get your act together..they're gonna be so disappointed in you."

As much as he wanted to respond with a snarky "I didn't know there was a time limit"...he was frozen on the spot, unable to say anything.

What could he say?

This was all so sudden...and just when he thought you two were doing so well and he was starting to have a genuinely positive outlook on life..

He made the horrid mistake of checking the mailbox and finding the dreaded papers.

"I'll say this was 50,000 gold well-spent." You grabbed the papers off the table, looking at the broken man before holding out your hand. "Give me that necklace. I'm gonna sell it."

"No..." Shane shook his head and clutched the mermaid pendant, tears streaking his face as he backed into the corner. "I...I-I'm so sorry, I'll try to be better! Just tell me what I can fix, a-and I'll-!!"

Suddenly you pulled out a dagger and swiped at him, causing him to flinch and shield himself, eyes squeezing shut in anticipation-

Yet he wasn't injured, but when he saw his pendant in your hands now...he felt as though you actually twisted that dagger deep into his heart.

He collapsed to his knees, devastated as you sheathed your weapon and pocketed the amulet you once tied around his neck at your wedding.

By your hands, you two were bonded in matrimony...

And by your hands, that bond was severed.

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm sick of pretending that I care for some lazy ungrateful fuck. Goodbye, Shane."

And with that, you stormed out of the house..and he was left there on the floor, his sobs filling the silence in the now empty cabin.

.

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.

It was already late when you returned from your mining trip, and once you finished putting the spoils of your expedition into the shipping bin, you yawned and stretched.

The time was 1:10 AM...and your energy was super drained.

You figured Shane was already sound asleep. The idea of crawling into that cozy bed and cuddling with the man you loved had you eager to take off your boots and put your tools away.

However upon opening the door..you immediately caught a faint whiff of beer, and it left a sinking pit in your stomach.

He did bring home a six-pack case today, and he promised to have it in moderation.

But the kitchen trash showed clear evidence of recently-opened cans.

Four out of the six, in fact.

'Oh man..it happened again..'

You knew that he wasn't gonna be able to quit cold turkey just like that. It wasn't a habit he could flip off like a lightswitch, and that's a fact you've come to accept.

Although he had a few beers from time to time, it was nothing like before. And he would always let you know if he was having some....so to realize he drank over half the case tonight alone was alarming.

Why? You were only gone for a few hours..

You entered the bedroom, finding Shane still awake, hunched over on the bed's edge with his face in his hands. He looked completely torn up, and you've never seen him this bad since..

"Shane, sweetheart?"

Startled, he looked up at you, revealing his eyes to be puffy and red from crying. "O-Oh..hi. You..y-you came back?" He hoarsely asked.

"Of course I did..without having to visit Harvey, thank god." You walked over and sat beside him, frowning. "But more importantly are you okay? What's wrong?"

He tried to respond, but the memories of that nightmare made him physically incapable of doing so...and fresh tears welled in his eyes.

A choked sob came out, and as quickly as he tried covering it up--it failed as similar heartbreaking noises followed.

You didn't waste any time pulling him into a hug.

Leaning against you, he sobbed into your neck, soaking the collar of your shirt in tears. But you just hushed him and rubbed his back. He didn't smell too heavily of beer, although it made you wonder what happened tonight that was bad enough to make him relapse.

Was it...you?

Was you being away stressing him out?

Did he think you wouldn't come back-

"[Y/n]...you sure you..really love me? And all of this isn't...a-a joke?" He hiccupped softly.

Those questions made your heart sink, and you briefly pulled away to gaze at him in sadness. You knew he was still struggling with his self-confidence and self-image, often comparing himself to a "squishy bag of flesh" and feeling "too old", but for him to doubt your love?

Even after talking him off a cliff?

Even after going to the gridball game where you shared that first kiss?

Even after giving him the bouquet and mermaid pendant?

"After everything we've been through, you still don't think that I love you?" You asked softly, not with anger, but with worry.

"Just look at me, and look at every other guy in this town. You could'a had a doctor, someone who can still play gridball, a writer who lives by the sea...even that emo guy seems cool. But you chose me..."

With a sniffle, he clutched the mermaid pendant with trembling fingers. "...this pathetic..l-lowlife who doesn't do shit on this farm. I swear I'd change and get my act together, but I'm letting you down again...j-just like everyone else. And I'm so sorry...I'm such a failure." He sobbed harder.

"Wha..that's nonsense. You do more for me and this farm than you could possibly know." You cupped his face, feeling his cheeks grow wet with fresh tears. "You feed the animals, you water any crops my sprinklers could've missed...and those pepper poppers you give me help keep my energy up in the mines so I can come home safely."

"But..I can't even microwave them right." He whined. "I wanna have the energy to cook like you do-"

"What do you mean?" You frowned. "Last week, you made me a killer omelet when I went to bed angry over a Pepper Rex burning my favorite cardigan."

Shane blinked, searching his foggy brain for that memory, before it dawned on him that he actually DID wake up extra early to surprise you with an omelet he cooked on the stove. Made from Charlie's eggs, of course.

"Ah, that's right..well...I guess I'm good at some things.." He sniffled, slowly calming down.

You chuckled softly, thumbing away the rest of his tears, your fingers brushing over his scruff. He recently shaved it, but it grew back rather quickly--like a crop infused with deluxe growth fertilizer.

"You're good at being my partner, and keeping me company after a long day." You kissed him in the lips. "I love you, Shane. Nothing will change that, even if you have relapses."

"I love you, too..and 'm sorry. I just had this really bad nightmare, and I couldn't fight the urge tonight."

"I understand, I'm not angry." Bringing him back into a hug, you sighed as he squeezed you tightly. "Did you wanna talk about it? I know it's late but..I'm sure it'll help us both."

"...you promise not to laugh?"

"I promise."

"I..had a nightmare you divorced me."

"Huh..really?"

"Yeah, you filed the papers behind my back and said some...pretty hurtful stuff, like how it's "the best 50,000 gold you've ever spent", how what we had was just "a fling", and...how I'm leeching off of you." The longer he went on, the more he struggled to swallow back further tears. "And..you took the pendant back by force. With that dagger you always keep on you."

"....."

"I-It's stupid, but it...just felt so real. And when I woke up and you didn't come back from the mines yet, I thought maybe..it actually happened."

"Shane." You shook your head, leaning back again to bring his face into your hands. "No way would I EVER put that much gold towards something that stupid. This farmwork..it's so much to one person to handle, and I'm forever grateful you're here to help me. You're doing your best, and that's all I could ever ask for."

"Thank you.." He nodded, finally realizing that what he dreamed was nothing more than a ridiculous nightmare.

You smiled and kissed him again, making this one last a bit longer before you pulled away. "I'll get you some water, okay? I don't want my baby to have a hangover in the morning."

Shane sheepishly returned the smile, allowing you to get up and go to the kitchen, while he got comfortable in bed and patiently waited for your return. His hand went to the pendant on his chest, relieved it was still there.

Even though you were probably dead-tired from the mines..you still took the time to care for him when he hit another low. You didn't see him as a chore or a leech on your life.

You saw him as your husband, your soulmate..someone you were willing to love through thick and thin even when some days were harder than others.

Of course, his depression might tell him otherwise, and manifest those insecurities into nightmares.

But you'll still be here for him no matter what.

[abyssal-author-and-artist]

I love Monster Falls so much. Like just from a fun fluffy perspective (stay tuned for the body-horror sequel to this post)

Like imagine Boss Mabel but Monster Falls. Stan pretends like he's turning to stone and the execs look at him and go "he's a gargoyle playing it up. We'll take him." Dipper nearly kicks a person because they call his "cervitaur outfit" fake looking and say his hooves are super fake. Mabel comes in and, depending on whether she's a unicorn centaur or a mermaid, she either trots over and uses her horn to light up a hole he kicked in the drywall earlier or flicks water on his fur because "Dipper, you can't keep threatening to kick people! Your hooves hurt." Wendy is mostly the same honestly and Soos keeps dropping his hands in stuff.

Imagine what the background characters would go through for that. You walk into a store and the cashier - who isn't paying attention - is oddly hairy but whatever, you don't judge. The handyman looks pretty sickly and you could swear that his hand is backwards but he walks away pretty fast. You into the back and this kid trots up - and yes, we do mean trot because he's got a fucking deer for the bottom half of his body. He's also got little baby antlers and freckles all over his body and he can't be a real cervitaur so you tell him that his outfit looks fake and he goes "I just wrestled a Gremloblin with four legs and you're gonna tell me this is fake?" and then another kid walks in, and she's a unicorn centaur with flowers all over the place falling out of her tail or her hair. She's got a horn on her forehead and you can see where it starts around her bangs and she goes "Dipper, stop antagonizing the guests! We've gotta show Grunkle Stan that we can do this." And he chuffs like a horse and she goes "Don't you chuff at me, mister. Do your job." and then walks away.

Imagine going to a pool and watching a unicorn centaur wading into the pool, shivering as her fur gets soaked. There's a gargoyle in pool jail and a zombie is messing with the pool floaties. Or you go to Gideon's Tent of Telepathy and the seat in front of you is wet and there's a mermaid pulling herself onto the back of a cervitaur or being carried by a gargoyle man.

Like it's so cute and there's so many cute small little things you can do with it. Like I love it. Dipper wincing in Not What He Seems because his deer back gets pressed against the wall weirdly when the portal's about to open. Mabel in Sock Opera having Dipper put her on a cart because she doesn't have legs. Soos accidentally dropping body parts or slipping up and nibbling someone. Wendy taking a few days off every once in a while because she's a literal werewolf. Ford flying off as soon as he leaves the Shack and forgetting everyone else has legs (except maybe Mabel depending on your preference). Stan hitting stuff with his wings and doing makeup to look human still.

Actually we need more Monster Falls fanfic and I've been debating writing some.

[kimbap-r0ll]

Can I please request dorm leader (and/or vice dorm leaders) having a very vivid drea where they’re about to kiss their crush but they’re woken up just before their lips touch?

Wait this is really cute! I only limit to five characters (with the exception of groups ie dorm leaders) and doing about 13 characters is a lot, so I'm going to stick with just the dorm leaders for now

Dorm leaders waking up from a dream of getting a kiss from you

Riddle

The dream went like this: you two were sitting in the rose garden and doing homework. You ask Riddle for some help and he scoots himself a bit closer to you. Both of you are like, inches away from each others' faces and when he glances at you, he can see a slight blush on your cheeks. Smiling to himself, he says that you look really cute, to which you reply with a flustered "sorry, we've only been this close when we kiss" and then he's about to go in for it (first time he ever decides to kiss you first) and then he wakes up from a pillow being thrown at him.

You were looking at him with such beautiful eyes in his dream, but when he woke up he just sees Trey and Cater yelling at him to wake up with two more pillows in their hands. He's about to go red but he stops himself and asks what's happening. Turns out he's been sleeping on his desk that he missed a dorm leader meeting. HIM!

Swearing to himself (for the first time ever that anyone's heard him) he rushes out, even though his hair is a bit disheveled and he looks half-asleep. He gets there and doesn't answer any questions (or any teasing from Leona)

If you happen to run into him while he's running to the hall of mirrors, he looks away because he's too shy. He would love to kiss you, or at least initiate one first at some point, but he's too emotionally constipated to do it. Maybe in another dream he'll get to do it, but for now he needs to focus on the meeting and getting back at Trey and Cater for throwing pillows

Leona

In his dream, you were likely just cuddling with him as always. He isn't even sure what the dream was really about, since all he could remember was him looking up at the ceiling, then at you, and then back. He asked you something about if you wanted to go, but you said you wanted to stay for ten more minutes. Before he can interrupt you and say he wants you to leave so he can "have his peace" (btw if he ever says this, it usually means he has no idea why he's feeling so much love) you move closer and your about to kiss him. He's about to kiss you when suddenly he gets awoken by you shaking him.

"Leona, we need to get to class. You promised this time you would go together!" you pull on his sleeve, trying to get him out of his bed. Seriously? You weren't the one wanting to leave in his dream, let him go back ;-;

"Leave me alone, you can go ahead," he'll throw a pillow on his face to muffle the sound of you telling him he can't miss another class. "Fine, I'll stay for ten more minutes, better late than not showing up altogether," you sit on his bed, crossing your arms and waiting for him to get up. Nothing.

Finally, you pull the pillow off of his face and give him a quick peck on his lips before running out and yelling at him to get to class. He just lies there, stunned, heart racing, but at least he got his kiss haha. Will he make it to class? Probably not.

Azul

His dream was wayy too good in his opinion. He wasn't fumbling up at all, being extremely suave as he showed you around the town by Coral Sea that he would visit every now and then. You two danced at the town square, got to check out small vendors, etc. By the time the sun was setting, you two were sitting by the shore and just relaxing. You told him you had a lot of fun that day, and he was talking about the tale of a mermaid princess who got to live with her human lover. Something about kissing and that's when he went for it, more or less to show rather than tell the story but right when you two were about to kiss he bolts up because Floyd's yelling

"HEEEYYYY RAMSHACKLE'S THROWING A PARTY WANNA GOOOO?!!!" Floyd has no noise control and Jade's just laughing in the back by the doorway. Floyd shakes Azul and tries to dance with him when he gets up while Jade is explaining what's going on. Turns out Grim wanted to celebrate acing a test by throwing a party.

Azul groans and says he'll go, he just needs some time to fix his hair. Jade and Floyd say that he's fine as he is and they try to pull him out of his room to no avail. Azul ends up coming to the party thirty minutes late (he was also practicing what to say to you haha)

When he gets there, you open the door and hug him, telling him you're glad to see him at the party. He tries to hide his blush by pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, but you know he's just flustered. He then suggests that next time there's a long weekend, you two should go to the town by Coral Sea. "It's a beautiful place, I think it would be a fun date," he says.

Kalim

The dream was basically like a movie. He has no idea how it went from him running away from a bunch of knife wielding bears to something more calm, like you and Kalim on a carpet ride. Either way, he liked the latter part of his dream. As you two slowed down on top of clouds, you two stargazed. It was magical, but what made it better was when you turned to him, said thank you, and you asked if you could kiss him. You two haven't kissed yet, and so he was like "Uh, yeah, s-sure!" since he was nervous. You closed your eyes, moved closer, and before he could feel your soft lips Jamil woke him up

"Late to class? Not on my watch, you're the dorm leader now so you should know how to manage your time!" Jamil scolds but gently places some breakfast on his desk. Sure Jamil was uptight, but at least he was caring. Kalim nodded sadly and got out of bed.

Throughout the day, the dream kept playing over and over in his head. If he could have had five more minutes, maybe you two could've kissed and who knows, he might've known what it would be like to kiss someone! Ah, maybe he should ask? Yeah, he should ask you for a carpet ride. So, he marches to you during the lunch break to ask.

"Ooh, that sounds like a lot of fun, I've always wanted to stargaze from all the way up there!" you respond excitedly. He knew you would like it! He hopes you will kiss him on the date, but maybe he could muster the courage to ask you for a kiss first.

Vil

He had a crazy dream (at least in his opinion). You were pulled in as an understudy for a character that was supposed to be his lover. Everything was last minute, but because you were so good at adapting to different roles this was no issue. The scene finally came to when you two would kiss, it was the highlight of the production. He would tell you even as a prince he didn't want to live in luxury if it meant he wouldn't be with you (at least that was the character he was playing). For once he was playing the hero, he was going to get a happy ending, and he was going to kiss you! He pulled you closer, confessing his love for you, and when you two were about to kiss he woke up.

He woke up. On his own accord. He just woke up because his body knew it was 6am and he for once wanted to miscalculate his sleeping schedule. Sure his health mattered but not when it was such a good dream! Sighing to himself, he pulled himself out of bed and got ready.

You two were in the film studies club together and you were the only one that showed up that day. It was raining so it made sense that some people didn't feel like showing up, but nonetheless it meant you two basically had a date. You picked out a romance movie and started watching it. "It's a favorite of mine," you laughed.

Throughout the movie as he had his arm wrapped around you, you felt as though he was pulling you closer. This, however, was not intentional. Vil was lost in his thoughts, thinking about his dream, replaying the scene over and over. Perhaps it was because he loved you so much he felt like he wanted to hug you tighter. One day, he will find the courage the kiss you, but for now keeping you close is enough

Idia

This man probably has the wildest dreams. Usually he doesn't like going to sleep because his dreams will be about Ortho (twst spoilers) and they're usually really sad. But this time, his dream was exciting. First it was about you, Idia, and Ortho fighting some aliens in a spaceship and finding your ways back home. It was sort of like you all were in Metroid but you all succeeded in escaping the enemy ship. Idia was super happy in that dream, and before he knew it, you were about to kiss him. It was like a victory kiss? Who knows, all Idia remembers is you were so close to his face, your hair brushing his face and then you close your eyes and he was about to do the same but when he opened his eyes again...

Ceiling. Just his regular ceiling in his dimly lit room. It was 3am, he woke up by accident. Out of all days that he could have awoken it had to be this! Not to mention, he usually doesn't sleep because of nightmares but it seems like luck wasn't on his side ;-;

Idia's pretty grouchy for the entire day. A lot of students notice he's mumbling to himself more. But when you enter the classroom, yell out his name, his hair just flames red. Everyone around him asks him if he's fine and he just goes "H-hi y/n, um, yeah, hi." Gosh he was so awkward, why couldn't he be like himself from his dream?!

After class, you two talk about your favorite games and recent tv shows. He talks about a space game he's been into recently and you ask him if you could watch him play through it. Of course, he answers yes. Then, he asks "Have you ever thought about kissing someone?" "Huh?" You look at him, puzzled. Shoot, did he just say something without thinking? He waves it off, saying it wasn't anything important, but feel free to surprise him with a kiss on your game night!

Malleus

He's also not one to sleep a lot mainly because he doesn't have a lot of dreams. Perhaps it's because of how many years he's been alive and how nothing seems to excite him anymore. He hasn't had a good dream in many years, but that all changed when you arrived. Now, he's had more frequent dreams about marrying you, saving you from danger, holding hands, etc. But this time, you were with him in a party hosted by his grandmother. You looked beautiful in your outfit, honestly he dare say you were the most beautiful one in all of Twisted Wonderland. You two were out in the balcony, away from the party but the most important part to him was that you confessed your love to him. You wanted to stay with him. "Child of man, if I were reborn, or for every time I was reborn, I would always fall in love with you." With that, you two were about to kiss when-

"MY LORD! Oh, oh my apologies, everyone's been looking for you and we weren't sure if you would be at the tower, the graveyard, or-" "What's the point?" Malleus asked Sebek. Of course, the first year was very outgoing, but sometimes Malleus wished the boy would leave him alone. He was sitting on the Ramshackle roof by the way.

Malleus thanked Sebek for being concerned but asked him to leave him here. Sebek agreed and went back to Diasomnia while Malleus closed his eyes. He wanted to take a nap again, go back and see you look at him with such warm eyes. Ah, his heart was beating so fast and he just wanted to tell you how much he wanted you to stay with him, to love him.

"Malleus! Did you want to come in? I'm trying to bake something and you're welcome to join!" he bolted up when he heard you from below. You were holding a mixing bowl while smiling at him. Jumping down, he smiled and agreed to help you. Ah, if only you knew how much you meant to him. Maybe he'll confess to you there?

[sixthwater]

Hello! Have you been feeling a bit lost recently? Especially with all of the eclipses that we've been experiencing? Well, here is some short advice from your spirit guides and angels to help get things sorted out.

Left → Right / Pile 1 → Pile 4)

Decks Used: The Psychic Oracle, Fairies Oracle Deck, Elle Qui Oracle, Woodland Wardens Oracle, Sacred Creators Oracle, Sea Melodies, Language of Flowers, Wild Unknown Animal Spirits,

Disclaimer | Pinned | Tip Jar | Paid Readings

Pile One

I began your reading and my back started killing me; make sure you’re doing proper stretches or you’re not pushing yourself too hard to wear yourself out.

There is a sense of holding your tongue or keeping yourself trapped in the closet. I just got an image of The Little Mermaid when she signed away her voice but it’s not the Disney version it’s the legitimate fairy tale, it’s also more of a choice? It’s difficult to describe; it’s not that you prefer to be uncomfortable and to hide under a mask blah blah blah, but there’s experience of pain and loss so you don’t want to do it again. Maybe you haven’t expressed certain emotions or identities, but you overheard them being looked down upon or it was made fun of, so instead you locked these emotions up and threw away the key (ex; someone laughing at you having feelings for them when brought up as a joke or someone disrespecting a sexual orientation/identity, etc). Your pile is the very first, in all of my history of reading, where I want to be completely silent and only listen to certain frequencies as well.

The advice: You need to listen to yourself and the world (in a way). You already have the answers to your questions/concerns inside of you, but you do need some help finding them obviously. You’re looking for external answers, but it’s only causing more confusion because...well everyone sees the world differently. So when you try to put yourself in those shoes, it causes more scratches on the Vinyl record that is your life, you know? It’s funny to say this but they’re kind of asking you to pull back and not move on so fast from what’s going on because you haven’t really sat with your feelings and gone through the process. What’s been upsetting you and why did it bother you. Why did you react that way. Well how did you get to Point E from Point B? Take a time out and sort these things out when you can because it’ll get you some clarity. There’s also a piece here about communicating and becoming vulnerable. It’s not exactly the same, but I need to figure myself out sometimes with talking and I end up stumbling upon revelations through discussions. You might need to have a low energy discussion with someone you feel comfortable with you so can get to these answers. You don’t need to immediately express or explain these things, but it will help you out. Some of you might need to re-route yourselves because you are lost and you took the wrong exit; it’s fine, that’s life and it’ll happen constantly. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, if you weren’t here to make mistakes then what are you even here for. Confide in other people, ask for help, get some guidance. You can rely on those around you, not everyone will want to hurt you. I keep being nudged to an issue with identity and — for some it’s just figuring out who you are but there’s pain so if it is what i mentioned earlier, only you know yourself. People can help, but do not let them police who you are and decide what’s ‘correct’ and what’s not. The main message overall is that there is a need for you to be vulnerable with people — or at least someone. There is either embarrassment or pride here holding you back and it’s smothering emotions that end up causing inner turmoil. I would say this points to seeking out a therapist but there are no swords here, so I believe this could just point to finding people to confide in or making peace with the softer aspects of yourself that you might find shameful.

With ‘Chance’ and ‘Dive’, I believe it’s just pointing more towards diving deeper into unknown territory which would be emotions you haven’t explored yet. ‘You cant live your life dealing with surface level things’ is the phrase I’m getting.

Pile Two

Pretty simple so this might be short. The energy check is a bit out of reach despite how simple it seems. I think the first two songs might sum it up a lot better than I can. I don’t believe it deals directly with love, but the idea remains.

I think the advice here is to not teeter too much to one side. You’re not lacking in passion, but you might pull back too much if something fails. There’s a slim piece about being a bit scattered in where you want to go, but we’ll touch on that later. For now, it’s being enveloped by how alive you feel when you’re going after your dreams. How happy it makes you and the rush you get. I keep being drawn back to Passion Ignited as well as Aylis because they’re similar; a glowing ‘orb’ that’s placed over the chest somewhat. Ah that reminds me of The Greatest Showman. Just it’s song ‘Come Alive’, I think that fits this pile quite well. You just have to be comfortable diving into your passion and not be embarrassed, and even when making mistakes, to laugh it off and keep chasing after it. It doesn’t even have to be a dream — people call nearly everything cringe these days. Are we not supposed to have hobbies? Enjoy your hobbies, that’s the point of living. What does it matter. Express yourself and be a bit goofy, you’re a bit tense and scared of messing up right now, but it’s okay. Now before I mentioned being scattered — there’s a small message of getting a clear view of what you want in your life. Do you want to be an influencer or do you just want a good work-life balance. Or a remote job. It’s the general idea that you have which might not really be what you want at the end of the day, and they’re just asking you to clarify, because you can make certain things come true if that’s what you want. However, with just as many ‘let loose’ cards you have, they’re balanced with some grounded cards here. Also, if you haven’t reached your goal yet, don’t give up. We never reach our goal with just one attempt or in just one chapter. You will get there.

Tiger Lily...maybe my job example was on point? If you’re thinking of jumping into something headfirst with no back-up, really think about it. Make sure you have savings, you have a safety-net, you have all your bases covered, etc. There are plenty of people who can afford to take a risky route of income because other people are covering bills with an insane paycheck, or they’ve had years to build up a base. Be patient, and work dutifully to get to that place. It’s difficult, but with these really precious spread I believe that you will have much to offer people if you take your time. This doesn’t mean give up, it just means be smart and take your time.

Associated Songs: Passion – Utada Hikaru, All My Heart – Sleeping with Sirens, Tonight – Kesha

Pile Three

This is gorgeous. The energy while pulling cards was light and goofy and I’m understanding why now. The meaning of these cards would usually give off a blue/purple aura, since there are a lot of messages alluding to soul searching, but I believe this is more...personable? How do I explain this.

Usually when you think of soul searching, you think of The Hermit. Someone who pulls back from socializing and focuses on themselves. However with this combination, it feels more like really thinking about- I’m sorry the strongest smell just popped through my vents and it smells like Cinnamon. It is not my favorite but it reminds me of gatherings late at night, anyway — It feels like thinking about the people around you and how they reflect you and what you want in your life. You figure yourself out and what you want out of life by interacting with others. It’s not that you need others to do this, but they shine a light on certain aspects of yourself or they bring you to do activities that you wouldn’t have done on your own, thus making you have these realizations. So the advice itself is saying that you should sit on these moments and really let them seep in. They’re not necessarily telling you to isolate and do some introspective thinking, but when you have these moments, don’t push them aside to keep up with others. You have a knack for knowing yourself inside and out, and what’s best for you. I know that seems pretty normal, but it’s not necessarily common. Knowing who or what you want VS what you don’t is a good gift and you should be utilizing it right now. I keep hearing ‘don’t be satisfied’. Keep looking for things that really make you happy. It’s not in a greedy sense, but don’t think ‘well that’ll do’, go seek out experiences or hobbies that make you feel whole! I don’t deal with chakras, but all this green is hard to ignore considering it stands for the Heart and I’ve felt happy and calm the entire reading. There’s not much advice here because you might already have the answer inside of you but more like recommendations; such as going for walks, or having calm hangouts with friends or family. I think you’re already doing what’s being said here, but do your best to keep a balance of focusing on those revelations of what’s best for you and healthy doses of engagement with those around you. I don’t have to pull extra cards either, you seem to be doing quite fine honestly

(There are no songs here, a lot of light-hearted songs. Some goofy mixes. Good Time by Carly Rae Jepsen & Owl City as well as chill songs that don’t really have messages in them)

Pile Four

Confidence. That sums up your whole reading. Well that and some change. Right now it doesn’t necessarily feel like doubt or naysayers, but you don’t really have people to boost you up. Or you need to feel extremely safe/supported in order to really go after something — which feels more physical than spiritual. So it could be a change in majors, career, personal expression, hell maybe just changing direction with your life in terms of dropping out or not using your degree in pursuit of something else entirely. The flowers in the Deceit card resemble horns right now and it’s like opinions or external thoughts regarding the situation that can make you overthink your next steps or how you feel about the topic in general. Gosh I’m forgetting the term but in a way, they could end up being right in a sense that they affect your natural ability and make you way too anxious to perform naturally, thus making you fail. So it’s the ‘well I’m going to fail so I’m not even going to do my very best’ so when you fail you think it was destined to happen.

Your guides and angels are asking you to just take a chance and trust in the adventure. You have to move with confidence, you can’t be sheepish with this. You could be new to this change, so obviously mistakes will happen, but you can’t go into this with a pessimistic attitude. I’m seriously not getting any negative energy around you so don’t worry about that. If the world around you is dull, explore different avenues that give you joy. I’m always going to say to never just leap into the unknown without any thought, but you seem extremely hesitant and it’s holding you back from a new chapter and great experiences that are meant for you. This could be in the shape of a new job or merely just new friends who could help you gain more confidence within yourself. Again though, this pile seems more material based than the others, so I’m thinking it’s related to money matters or at the most, possibly moving but that’s a stretch. There’s a small piece of being scared to take up new opportunities because you’re not well versed in them but, you won’t know everything in the world? The only way to gain experience is to test it out. If it’s for you, then you’ll know once you try it, right?

Haha the Bear! Yeah, this is an uncomfortable time for you, but it’s urging you to sort of learn how to walk, and embrace the natural calmness yet underlying formidable strength of this animal. I’m thinking of when someone was arguing that the bear was one of the scariest predators in the world, but this card also stands for inner strength and you literally have Strength here so, you just have to be comfortable entering this new stage of life (transitions, which there are too many examples for me to list here). Don’t be hard on yourself, everyone has been in your place before.

(Not many songs, just Bends by Carly Rae Jepsen stood out)

[stonathanweek]

STONATHAN WEEK 2023 PROMPTS

Please click the read more to see more detailed explanations about the prompts!

~~ PROMPTS FOR WRITERS AND ARTISTS / PROMPTS FOR GIFMAKERS & VIDEO EDITORS ~~

Day 1 (Friday, July 21st): Scoops Ahoy! / Favourite Outfits

Scoops Ahoy!: Inspired by Steve's job in Season 3, this prompt refers to all Food Services AUs you can think of! You can stay close to canon with an Ice Cream Shop or you can get creative with a Coffee Shop, or a Cake Shop AU, or anything you might like, it's up to you!

Favourite Outfits: Show us your favourite outfits worn by Jonathan and Steve throughout the series! It doesn't have to be limited to scenes they've had together (because there isn't many, as we all know). You are free to play with different clips from different seasons! Maybe there's an outfit you think should make a return next season?

Day 2 (Saturday, July 22nd): Roommates AU / AUs

Roommates AU: And they were roommates... In Day 2 we invite you to explore Stonathan's dynamic as they share a living space and all the chaos that situation can bring!

AUs: This can be any sort of AU that you can come up with. Get creative with the video clips or photos you use! Images do not have to be limited to the show. Anything from Fantasy AUs, to Bookstore AUs, to Coffee shop AUs, to Dystopian AUs. The world is your oyster!

Day 3 (Sunday, July 23rd): Fake Dating AU / Parallels

Fake Dating AU: When the truth hides in a lie! Pretending to be together to fool the others was part of the plan, but the more time they spend together, the more... they want it to be real?

Parallels: We all know the Duffers and their love for patterns and parallels! However, parallels don’t need to stop with ST. This prompt is a challenge to find any parallels in the show or other media that connects to Steve and Jonathan!

Day 4 (Monday, July 24th): Fantasy AU / Colours

Fantasy AU: We've seen a lot in ST. We've seen Shadow Monsters, and Evil Vines, and little girls with superpowers, and Vecna. But we haven't seen it all. What about kingdoms, and dragons, and knights, and princes, and wizards, and mermaids, and shapeshifters? The options are endless! In a world where magic exists and royals rule the lands, what are Jonathan and Steve up to?

Colours: Colours are a big part of cinematography and character design, but here we wanna see your take! What colours represent Steve and Jonathan and their bumpy dynamic the best to you?

Day 5 (Tuesday, July 25th): Canon-verse / Steve & Jonathan + another character

Canon-verse: We all can agree we haven't gotten enough from Steve and Jonathan together in the show. Well, this is your chance to change that! With this prompt you can play around with the rules of canon. Maybe Stonathan got stranded in the Upside Down? Maybe there's some deleted scenes between seasons you want to explore? Or what happens after canon? There's many options!

Steve & Jonathan + another character: Friendships and relationships are one of the most important aspects of the show. Here you have the opportunity to explore some of the other dynamics that Steve and Jonathan have together with other characters, or dive into a dynamic/group that includes Stonathan and that you might like to see in S5!

Day 6 (Wednesday, July 26th): Music AU / Song Lyrics

Music AU: Music is a huge part of ST, so we couldn't not have a prompt that related to it. Bands, mixtapes, old record stores, etc. Anything you can think of that relates to music counts! Let Jonathan's music snobbery and Steve's mainstream taste shine this day!

Song Lyrics: Have some song lyrics that are just perfect for Steve and Jonathan? This is your time to shine!

Day 7 (Thursday, July 27th): Forced Proximity / Favourite Scene

Forced Proximity: Isn't it just inconvenient when for reasons out of your control you have to share a same space with someone you might not like so much, or someone who might not like you so much, or someone you might like too much, or just someone you haven't talked to in a long time, and it's just Awkward? Yup, it's the worst. But it's so much fun when it happens to the characters we love! Go wild with this one!

Favourite scene: Show us your favourite scene with Steve and Jonathan. We know there aren't many to choose from, but we'd love to see how creative you get with it! Show us your different styles and takes!

** No prompts are exclusive to any media! We made separate prompts for Gif Makers and Video Editors and Moodboard Creators so they could have a better prompt to work with given their type of media. That being said, to all Gif Makers, Video Editors and Moodboard Creators, feel free to choose any prompt of the day you would like to work with! **

[bllkrarepairweek]

Our #BLLKRPW 2024 Round Up is here!

A million thanks to everyone who participated this year, our second year of BLLK Rare Pair Week! 🫶 This year was even bigger than our first, both in number of days and in terms of submissions! In addition to some familiar faces from last year, we also got a ton of new folks joining us and together, you all created 59 works and 5 new rarepair tags on AO3!!! 🥳

Our poly ships also got some love this year which was great to see! ❤️

With more rarepairs than ever, we've put together a little survey just to get a sense of what's working for everyone in terms of prompts, event structure and ofc to gauge general availability for next year's event! The survey will be open for a week so please fill out as soon as you can!

Additionally, if you want to keep up with events in the BLLK fandom (some really great ones coming up!) go follow our Event Hub @bllkeventshub (you can also follow us on twt)

Now onto the round-up!!! (Added under 'read more' for length - please let us know if any links are broken/wrong)**

**Please note that many authors on this list have their fics locked to registered users so this will affect how the collection looks to anyone not logged in. If anyone wants to make an AO3 acct and needs an invitation, please feel free to reach out to us, mods have a number of invitations! Now go and give our rarepair creators all the love! 🥰

Day 1 (Roommates/Cooking + Baking/"You talk in your sleep.")

Art: 'bbq date' by @sid3buns - Barou/Isagi [twt] [tumblr}

Fic: 'the same (but kinda different)' by @kae-karo - Nanase/Rin

Fic: 'fortnight' by @tsukkinoneko - Kaiser/Rin

Fic: 'when in Rome' by Not_who_u_think - Otoya/Karasu

Fic: 'Used to it' by yuzuwakano - Kiyora/Niko

Fic: 'i think i saw you in my sleep' by luxxxio - Shidou/Chigiri

Fic: 'a taste of sweetness' by xynzel - Hiori/Nanase/Isagi

Fic: 'Random Roommates and Coffee' by RyleeWyatt - Barou/Chigiri

Fic: 'i'm in the mood to pay attention to you' by HiShark - Kaiser/Raichi

Fic: 'Bad Taste' by tangerinelighter - Karasu/Shidou

Fic: 'curry hearts' by @takeunknownroadnow - Rin/Isagi/Bachira

Art: 'baking' by mymeadowismade - Raichi/Isagi [twt]

Day 2 (Merfolk + Pirates/Beach Episode/"Seeing you in a wet T-shirt is its own reward.")

Fic: 'you slipped away into my prominence' by tsukkinoneko - Kaiser/Rin

Fic: 'the most important part of boat ownership' by kae_karo - Karasu/Shidou

Fic: 'Shark Teeth' by yuzuwakano - Kiyora/Kurona

Art: 'pirates&mermaids' by sid3buns - Barou/Isagi [twt] [tumblr}

Art: 'wet t-shirt' by useless_donut - Raichi/Aiku [twt]

Fic: 'Crimson' by RyleeWyatt - Barou/Chigiri

Fic: 'let us randezvous' by xynzel - Hiori/Kurona

Art: 'beach day for the boys' by @getosugurusbangs - Hiori/Reo [tumblr}

Day 3 (Academia/Meet Cute + Meet Ugly/"How much will it take for you to kiss me?")

Fic: 'Wicked Game' by tsukkinoneko - Kaiser/Rin

Fic: 'come the white wine, bitter sunlight' by tsukkinoneko - Kaiser/Reo

Art: 'academia' by sid3buns - Barou/Isagi [twt] [tumblr}

Fic: 'kids say the darnedest things' by kae_karo - Bachira/Kunigami

Fic: 'November' by RyleeWyatt - Barou/Chigiri

Art: 'Rinness Attack' by @nieznajomy-na-bagnie [tumblr} - Rin/Ness

Fic: 'tongues tongues tongues' by tangerinedarker - Karasu/Kiyora

Day 4 (Cowboys + Western/Secret Identity/"There are easier ways of getting my attention.")

Fic: 'sterling reputation for gold' by kae_karo - Shidou/Reo

Fic: 'Lazy Night' by tsukkinoneko - Kaiser/Rin

Fic: 'endless sky to dive into' by bluemoonjupiter - Chigiri/Karasu

Art: 'Cowboys' by sid3buns - Barou/Isagi [twt] [tumblr}

Fic: 'Cats and Missing Persons' by RyleeWyatt - Barou/Chigiri

Fic: 'The Masked Bandit of Blue Loch' by tangerinedarker - Kunigami/Chigiri/Reo

Fic: 'i wasn't watching (and neither were you)' by starsquared - Kiyora/Himizu

Day 5 (Bodyguard/Reunions/"For you, anything.")

Fic: 'Let the Games Begin' by smallweirdo - Bachira/Ness

Fic: 'what were YOU doing at the underground fight club?' by kae-karo - Aiku/Barou

Fic: 'from a star on hallowed ground' by tsukkinoneko - Kaiser/Rin

Art: 'Bodyguard' by sid3buns - Barou/Isagi [twt] [tumblr}

Day 6 (E-Sports + Streamers/Social Media Interactions/"You weren't supposed to see that.")

Fic: 'Bleed the Past' by @blobbyfics - Barou/Kunigami

Art: 'you weren't supposed to see that' by MissSleepless12 (collab w kae-karo)- Barou/Chigiri [twt] [tumblr}

Fic: 'How to Ship Hazardous Materials' by kae-karo (collab w MissSleepless12) - Barou/Chigiri

Fic: 'an offline event gone right' by tsukkinoneko - Hiori/Shidou

Fic: 'Hanging by a Thread' by sid3buns - Barou/Isagi

Fic: 'rosy maple' by strawberrylemonade1225 - Shidou/Bachira

Day 7 (Pacific Rim + Drifting/Didn't Know They Were Dating/"I don't want to do this without you.")

Art: 'didn't know they were dating' by MissSleepless12 (collab w kae-karo) - Karasu/Kaiser [twt] [tumblr}

Fic: 'in the interim' by kae-karo (collab w MissSleepless12) - Karasu/Kaiser

Fic: 'how hard I tried to breathe through the trees of loneliness' by tsukkinoneko - Chigiri/Rin

Day 8 (Free Day + Past Prompts)

Fic: 'Well At Least He's Easy (to break up with)' by useless_donut - Aiku/Raichi

Art: 'chp 2 sneak peek' (NSFW) by useless_donut - Aiku/Raichi [twt]

Fic: 'Besame, estoy abburido' (Spanish) // 'Kiss me, I'm bored' (English) by BilingualShipper - Otoya/Himizu

Fic: 'getting tipsy' by aikusagist - Aiku/Isagi

Fic: 'the first who ever did' by aikusagist - Aiku/Isagi

Fic: 'paging nurse yoichi' by Not_who_u_think - Aiku/Isagi

Fic: 'i can't help it, your taste so seductive' by tsukkinoneko - Kaiser/Rin

Fic: 'Card-Carrying Member of the "Fuck Isagi Yoichi" Club' by kae-karo - Kaiser/Kira

Fic: 'Three is a Charm' by MissSleepless12 - Rin/Isagi/Bachira

Fic: 'pull me closer (and kiss me harder)' by takeunknownroadnow - Barou/Nagi

Fic: 'fashion-forward' by bluemoonjupiter - Barou/Chigiri

[jellybean-supreme]

Secrets to be kept (Byron X Reader)

Description

Mermaid Reader X Surfer Byron

Y/ń is Cleo's twin sister, but her type is different from her sisters, she likes surfers and her sister likes well Lewis. Y/ń and Byron have been friends for a while. Then all of a sudden Y/ń stops surfing and Byron gets worried about her. Will he find out what's wrong ?

Lewis 16

Cleo 15

Emma 15

Byron 16

Rikki 15

Chapter 1

Y/n Pov:

Byron and I were on our way to the beach for some surfing. Byron and I reached the beach around 5am. We set our boards on the sand and I checked my phone for messages from Cleo. She had asked me if I would like to spend some time with Emma, Rikki and her, and as I did not have any other plans for the day, I agreed to go along. Cleo instructed me to meet them at a bridge near Emma's swim spot.

"You all right?" Byron asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine, let's go," I replied.

I asked him if he would like a drink at the JuiceNet Cafe, as Byron and I had been surfing for a while.

"Byron, what time is it? I have to meet Cleo and the girls at 12."

"It's 11 o'clock, what are you guys going to do?" Asked Byron.

"I'm not really sure, Cleo just asked me to join her," I replied.

"Oh, I hope it isn't anything tedious."

"Its been great surfing with you Byron, looking forward to seeing you this evening."

"I am sorry but I am going to have to cancel this evening as I want to practice my swimming."

"Sure, no worries, I will see you tomorrow," I replied.

I went to the bridge to meet up with Emma, Cleo and Rikki. On the way I saw Cleo and Rikki on Zane's dinge. It was one of his many new ones.

"Want to go for a ride?" Rikki asked.

"Have you got a licence?" Emma asked seriously

"Are you my mum?" Rikki asked with a chuckle

Cleo and I chuckled along with her.

"Let's go" I said excitedly.

We headed out into the deeper water near the island of Mako. I loved that island. It was so beautiful.

"Uhhh guys, we may have a problem," Rikki said.

"What's wrong Rikki?" I, asked.

"We've run out of petrol," Rikki said.

"WHAT," Emma and Cleo shouted.

"Cool!" I said

"IT'S NOT COOL, Y/N, WE COULD BE STRANDED HERE FOREVER," shouted Cleo.

"Jeez, you don't need to get so upset," I said.

"We could go there," Rikki said pointing at Mako Island.

"Mako, you mean?" Emma asked.

"No way, there are sharks," Cleo said, scared.

In spite of everything, we headed for Mako Island. Emma remembered her phone and tried to make a call to test the signal, but when she realised she wasn't getting any, she decided to go deeper into the island to try and get some. We decided to go with her to make sure she stayed safe.

I jumped across, with Emma and Rikki following. "Everybody, watch where you step," I said. We were all waiting for Cleo. She was about to jump when she fell into a hole and we followed her because she told us she had hurt her ankle.

After we went down the hole with Cleo, we looked for a way out. Then we saw something that looked like a pool. Emma investigated the pool to see if it led to an exit. After a few tense minutes of my sister worrying about Emma, she rejoined us and informed us that we could swim through the pool looking thing to the outside. She estimated that it would take us only 20 seconds to reach the sea. We all got into the pool except Cleo, who can't swim. Rikki and Emma offered to help her and she agreed. When she finally got into the water, I'm not sure what happened, but the moon was right above us and there were glowing particles.

We all got out of the water unharmed, the water police then escorted us out of the water and we all returned to our respective homes.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The next day, Byron and I went back to the beach, but this time to a beach with bigger waves. As I was getting ready to go into the water, I noticed that my wetsuit was getting stuck to my bikini.

"Hey Byron," I ask, reddened like tomatoes. "Before you go into the water, can you help me with my wetsuit, it's stuck?"

Byron replied, "Sure," as his cheeks began to turn pink.

I blushed even more at the sensation of his gentle touch as he placed his hands on my back.

"There you go," Byron said with a smile and a hint of blush on his face, "shall we go surfing?"

"Thank you," I said, trying to hide my blushing.

"Yep, let's surf."

About 10 seconds into the water, I turned into something. I don't know what. But I looked exactly like a mermaid. I told Byron I had to go, luckily he didn't see me change. I hoped he wouldn't be upset that i had to leave, thankfully he understood. I got out of the water somewhere where no one could see me and I had a go at drying myself off, but it didn't work. I was in such a state of frustration, I didn't have a clue what the hell was wrong with me. It was at that moment that I felt a sharp sting on my tail. I looked up and saw that I had somehow managed to start drying my tail off.

Then, my legs appeared and I was dry everywhere. But how did that happen?' I asked myself in my head.

Besties [A/N This is a group chat. Y= the first letter of your name C= Cleo E= Emma R =Rikki ]

Y: GUYS HELP!

Y: WE HAVE TO TALK, LIKE NOW

Y: PLEASE!

E: ARE YOU OKAY?

E: There is something that I have to tell you as well.

Y: NO, NOT AT ALL!

R: ALL RIGHT, GUYS.

R: LET'S MEET AT CLEOS.

Y: ALL RIGHT, SEE YOU IN A COUPLE OF MINS.

C: See ya.

Byron❤️

Y: Hey Byron, I'm sorry I left you on the beach, I wasn't feeling too good.

B: That's all right, are you feeling better? I was worried about you.

Y: Don't worry, I'm fine now, I'm sorry I didn't mean to worry you, Byron.

B: It's OK, I'm glad you're all right.

Y: Talk to you later, bye byron☺️

B: Bye :)

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

When I arrived, Cleo, Rikki and Emma were already there.

Cleo: "it was orange and it was covered in scales"

Emma: The moment I hit the water-

Rikki: I was water for a second.

Y/N: I was a fish.

Cleo: What's happening to us?

Emma: That's what I'd like to know.

Rikki: Is there anybody else here?

Cleo: No, my dad is working and my sister and Mum went shopping.

Y/n: OK, what happened to us? About 10 seconds after we come into contact with the water, we grow these...

Rikki: Tails, and then they go away when we're dry. And it's the same with you? Isn't it?

Y/n: The tails are exactly like...

Rikki: Like mermaids.

Emma: I've already told you. You're not funny. Mermaids don't exist. It's just............too weird.

Right then there was a knock on the door.

Cleo: Oh no, it's Lewis. I forgot he's helping me with Biology today.

Lewis: Cleo? Oh - have I got the time wrong?

Cleo: No, we said 9.00. But, sorry Lewis, something's come up.

Lewis: Like what?

Cleo: "Just something important, but not so important that you need to know, sorry Lewis, have to cancel, maybe another time". Cleo was quiet for a second, then it looked like she had an idea. "Lewis, you are a smart guy. Do you have any knowledge about mermaids?"

Lewis: No, not really

Cleo: "OK, sorry, goodbye."

"What?" Cleo asked.

Emma: "Do you know anything about mermaids?" Are you crazy?

Y/n: Cleo, this is really serious, if anyone finds this, we're going to be so screwed

Cleo: You're right, I'm sorry.

After talking we all went our separate ways. Cleo went to study with Lewis at the Juicenet Cafe, Emma went home to call her swimming coach that she was quitting, Rikki went who knows where and I, well I'm going to call Byron that I'm not surfing anymore.

Byron ❤️

Y: Byron, hi!

B: Hey Y/n, ready to surf tonight?

Y: Byron, do you think we could meet up instead? I've got something to tell you, but I don't want to say it on the phone.

B: Yeah, of course, let's meet in the garden that we found.

Y: All right, meet me in about 2 minutes.

B: See you there.

[][] Time skip[][]

This is what you are wearing.

You can choose between these [ you don't have to wear these, you can choose whatever you like, these are just a few ideas ].

This the garden

"Byron, hey, thanks for coming," I say with a sad expression on my face.

"Yeah, no problem, everything ok? " Byon says with a concerned look on his face.

"I just wanted to let you know. I won't be surfing anymore. Something personal happened. I say on the verge of tears.

Chapter 2

"Byron, hey, thanks for coming," I say with a sad expression on my face.

"Yeah, no problem, everything ok? " Byon says with a concerned look on his face.

"I just wanted to let you know. I won't be surfing anymore. Something personal happened. I say on the verge of tears.

"What..." Byron says, confused and saddened in his voice.

"I can't go surfing anymore," I said as the tears started to roll down my cheeks.

Byron didn't say anything, he just came over and hugged me, crying too. I hugged back.

"I said in a low voice, "Please tell me that you're not angry with me.

"I'm not angry," Byron whispered softly in my ear.

"Byron whispers with sadness in his voice, "Tell me we can still hang out, it doesn't have to be on the beach.

"Of course Byron, you're my best friend," I say with a forced smile, I've never liked using the word friend to describe my feelings for Byron.

"Are you free tomorrow night?". There is something I want to ask you,' Byron says as he wipes the tears from my face.

"Y-yeah, sure," I say. The blush spreads across my face like a wild fire.

" Well, I've got to go, y/n," Byron says shyly, his face starting to blush.

"Bye Byron, see you tomorrow," I kiss him on the cheek and quickly leave a red-faced Byron behind.

*A few days later

I have been ignoring Byron for the last two days or so. I wanted to hear what he had to say to me, but I told him I couldn't come because I felt sick. But I wasn't. I felt weird after kissing him. I told him that we were still going to hang out and talk. But after what I had done, I couldn't. During the time I was ignoring Byron, I had a lot of thoughts about my feelings for Byron. Did I love him? Did he love me? Would we even be able to make it last as a couple? Why should I have feelings towards Byron? Well, he had the most beautiful eyes, the kind that can make you forget to think, and that smiling face, the way he talks to me when I'm sad, the way he hugs me when I'm cold, oh god, I love, I love Byron. I cannot confess. It'd be a blow to our friendship. I'm never going to do that. Because there is no way in hell that he would want to be with me at all. He'd be better off going out with Cleo or Emma anyway. My thoughts were cut short by Cleo, who was calling me.

" Hey Y/N, come down here!" Cleo calls out.

" Coming!"

I walk down the steps and see Byron sitting on the couch, looking up at me.

"Y/n, hey," Byron says as he gets up.

"Hi," I say quietly.

"Can we talk, please?" Byron asks as Cleo takes that as her Q to leave.

"Erm...sure.

"Can we go to our spot?" Byron asks.

"Sure," I answer in a soft, quiet voice.

Your going to a beach with big waves, it hard to find, but its secrest surf spots for only a few locals. It has a small beach that goes along way until it reaches some rocks.

Let's go walk along the beach,' I say and Byron just nods.

"Y/n, have you been ignoring me?" Byron asks quietly.

"N-no, I haven't." I say.

"Can I talk to you about what I wanted to say to you the last time I saw you?"

"Of course you can Byron." I give him a smile that is slightly forced. I thought he was going to tell me he had a girlfriend or something the last time he said he wanted to talk to me.

" I wanted to tell you that I like you, I like you a lot, y/n, more than friends, even best friends. I understand if..." I cut him off with a kiss on the lips.

I can't believe I did that.

He kissed me back.

We pulled our lips away from one another. "I whispered in his ear, "I like you too, Byron.

Chapter 3 Finale

Byron and I have been going out for a few weeks now. Today I am going to show him why I have stopped surfing with him. I'm really nervous to tell him. Would he be upset that I didn't tell him sooner?

❤️Byron ❤️

Y: Hey Byron, can you meet me at our beach spot?

B: Hey, bae, yeah, sure. Is everything all right?

Y: Yeah, I just have something I need to tell you.

B: Ok, see you in 5 :)

Y: Bye :)

The Beach your going to is 5hqt same one as the previous chapter.

Wear whatever you'd like

He's wearing board shorts with a t and no shoes.

"Hey, bae," Byron says to you. He gives you a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Hi," you say softly.

"I wanted to talk to you.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just need to tell you why I've actually stopped surfing with you".

"Okay? Are you sure you want to? I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me."

"Yes, I'm sure."

"So do you remember the time I went out with Emma, Cleo and Rikki?" He nods, "Well, Rikki rescued Cleo from one of Zane's pranks and then Rikki picked up Emma and me. So we were out near Mako when we ran out of petrol and we paddled over to Mako to see if Emma could get a signal, she couldn't so we tried to get higher up. But that was when Cleo fell down into a hole. Rikki, Emma and I went in after her. It was too steep to climb back up and she had hurt her ankle." Byron looked worried and nodded his head as if he was telling me to keep going. "So then we tried to find a way out and we saw a pool like thing, we called it the Moon Pool. Anyway, Emma went through to see if we could swim through it. We could. Then Cleo got really scared that she was going to drown. So it took a while to get her to go in, but when she finally did, the moon was over us and all of a sudden there were these beautiful particles, they were really beautiful. Then we simply swam out of the moonpool to the open water. We all went home after the water police found us. But the next day, when we touched the water, we were transformed into mermaids. That's why I had to leave so early when we went surfing".

"That's quite .............something."

"Yeah..."

"You're not mad that i didn't tell you earlier?

"Of course not, I'm just surprised. Can I see? You know, you can turn into a mermaid?"

"Sure, would you like to swim with me? "

"Yea," Byron says, smiling gently at you, "let's go.

You walk into the water after the ten seconds wait you fall flat on your face.

Your tail is a beautiful pearl colour with black/very dark purple lines.

"Wow.....you look incredible ❣️" Byron says. His face is flushed.

"T-Thanks"

"Wanna go swimming?" Byron asks as he holds his board in his hand.

"Sure," you say with a smile on your face as the blush spreads all over your face.

You put your arms on byrons board while he's sitting on it looking at him.

"I love you," Byron whispers in my ear.

"I love you too," I whisper back to him.

' The End

[quotidian-oblivion]

✨Out of context lines shitpost Pt. 7✨

Part 6

Sorry we've taken so long. Life=sucks. School=hard. Us=dead. But we also spent most of our energy roasting each other online under the tags 'quotidian convos' and 'nogolsta says hi'.

However, we managed to stay funny and collect quotes throughout, so here ye go.

gfhirgy forgot to tag Nog @mispeltnostalgia Here's dumbass #2 guys /aff

Shit we said in class (or in public) as the batfam:

~

Duke: You can’t tease me i got a scholarship

~

Kon: I got these caramels from the shop and they're really stale. But I'm still gonna eat them cuz I don't give a fuck about poisoning myself Bart: Just like how I'm poisoning myself with expired mayonnaise *bites sandwich*

~

[talking about poisoning] Steph: Then they die! >:D Damian: No, they won’t die. They might just get a little dizzy when they stand up. Steph: Oh.

~

Bruce: I have once gone two days without water and was on the brink of death Tim: Once, I hadn’t drunk enough water for a couple of days and I went to stand up, but I just c o l l a p s e d on the ground

[while deciding on who would say what]Nog: Hm… who would be stupid enough to— it’s Bruce.

~

Tim: The level of projection has gone so far that I am now projecting into school assignments.

~

Teenage!Bruce: *goes for a high five* Alfred: *awkwardly holds his hand*

~

Babs: Tim, have you gotten a date for Valentine's yet? Tim: Yeah. I’m texting them right now, Babs: Who is it? *leans over to see* Babs:  Babs: Are you roleplaying with a chips company? Tim: I asked them on Instagram and they said yes as long as I add them as one of WE’s sponsors.

Quo: Nog is in a committed relationship with Arnott’s Shapes. Do you have any words to say to your lover, Nog?Nog: ❤️chimpkon crimpens❤️Quo: And that’s real love, guys.

~

Duke: A lot has happened since last week, I have a whole ass big fucking family now Dick: That happened today

~

Tim: The world is an oyster and Jason is gonna eat it Jason: What? Oh. Yeah. Nom.

~

Steph: I stand up and a Niagra Falls of popcorn falls down off my boobs.

~

Bart and Kon: jAywALkjAYwAlKjaYWaLkJaYwALkJAyWalK

~

Damian: You need protection for kissing as well and it’s called a boxing glove.

~

Lex Luthor: You’re not a gamer Kon: no but i am a gay mer… person. I’m a mermaid- oh no the condensation

[lumpywhump]

Hidden Scars #2: Pline

still don't know how to do the fancy word link think so boom here ya go

tw: flashbacks

"Hey, are you okay?" Kane stared at the boy. This kid, clearly no older than 12, was out in the middle of nowhere talking to a beaten up stranger who was just laying on the ground. "Mister?" "Uh—" Kane went to talk but was cut off by his own coughing and had to sit up. The boy moved to help, but Kane put up a scarred hand. "I'm fine," they coughed out, finding his pride again. He didn't need help from a child. "Where are your parents?" "Me and my mom live right over there," the child pointed to his right. "Do you guys live near a town?" Kane tried to scratch under the thick metal collar around his throat. "Yeah! Our town is really fun. Trust me, I've been to Farinsburg. We've got an ice cream store right in the center. Can I show you!?" The kid was practically jumping at the idea. "Uh… sure?" Kane shifted and all his muscles ached. "Ow ow ow," they chanted and they slowly stood up. "I have to go tell Mom where we're going and then we can go," the boy began walking. "Oh," he stopped, "my name is Pline, what's your's?" "Kane," he answered as he attempted to keep up. The twigs and bushes scraped his barely covered skin. "Wow, that's a really common name. Mine's a lot less common. My mom named me after this guy who died," Kane nodded, unsure how to reply to that. They approached a house. It was a decent size with yellow sidings and two floors. Pline pulled Kane up the stairs of the deck and opened the glass sliding door. "Mom!" Pline yelled, making the boy jump. "I found someone out in the woods! I'm going to go show them Mermaid's!" Carpeted footsteps echoed through the house until a woman appeared. "Pline, what did you find this time…" the woman trailed off as she took in Kane's appearance. He didn't know how he looked but he was sure it wasn't a pretty sight. "What happened?" She gasped. "I dunno," Pline shrugged, "found him like this. Oh! I forgot about my Lego house!" The kid ran over to the swarm of legos on the floor. "Come in," the woman beckoned.

The woman, Tammy, gently held Kane's chin as she cleaned their relatively fresh wound dragging from their nose and touching his neck. "Where are your parents?" She asked. Kane could tell she was trying to distract him from the pain. "They're in the capital," "What's your last name?" "I—" "Mom!" Pline yelled as he appeared in the doorway. "I finished my house! Can I show you?" "In a minute, I'm trying to help our friend here." Tammy poured more hydrogen peroxide on the rag. Kane hissed as rag touched his skin. "When can I show them Mermaid's?" "When he's feeling better." Tammy reached for a square bandaid to put on the first half of the wound. As she put it on, she folded the bottom so the sticky part wouldn't touch his wound. "Can you hold that?" She grabbed the second bandaid and put the top bandaid over it. "How old are you?" She picked up the rag again and moved onto his arm. "I don't know," Kane whispered. "Last I knew I was 18. What year is it?" Tammy gave him an odd look. "It's 2024," His stomach dropped and his breath quickened. It was as if a thousand bricks landed on him. "It's been two years?" He felt his eyes begin to water, but quickly wiped them away. "Heh, wow," he put on a smile and looked at Tammy. "I've been gone a while," The boy watched Tammy's face go from concern to full blown panic. "What happened?" She quickly schooled her face. "Where were you?" His voice caught in his throat for a second. "I— I don't know," he whispered as he began to stare at the wall. "There was— I didn't— oh my god." He bit his lip and began to scratch around the collar. "Hey," Tammy gently lowered the boy's hand, "why don't we get that off you, yeah?" Kane nodded, his ratty hair bouncing with the movement. He tensed as he watched Tammy's hands slowly reached for his neck. His skin throbbed under the collar as the woman felt around the back for a release button. With a satisfying click, Kane could finally breathe. Without the weight of the collar, it finally sunk in what he had done. He was free. "Holyshi— sugar!" Tammy blinked. "Uh…" she looked down at the collar. The thing was brown on the outside and black on the inside. There was a metal ring in it. The ring matched the patterns of burns on his neck. Kane stared at the floral shower curtain. He didn't want to meet the woman's gaze, afraid of what he might find.

"No one wants you now. Think about it." The boy's captor chuckled. "Why are you still here? With your family's resources they should have found you easily," Kane looked around although the blindfold was snug around his eyes, he still tried to catch a hint of light. "You're not hidden that well. They just don't want you back. They know you're ruined." A smooth finger traced the large scar on his arm. "Can't have you seen all mangled, hm?"

"Kid?" Kane blinked and returned Tammy's gaze. "You okay?" Kane was about to nod before he was interrupted. "What kind of question is that? Of course you aren't. Listen, when you're all patched up we're going to find your parents, okay?" "Uh, sure." Kane didn't want to argue with her that he was an adult. Especially because he did in fact live with his parents

[hannahhook7744]

Stormbringer Crew Incorrect Quotes (Part 5);

Harry Hook: You fight like my sister!

Luke Tremaine-Westergaard, being a smart ass: I've fought your sisters. That's a compliment!

-----------------------------------------

Barnaby Teach, son of Black Beard *Jumps out of nowhere* We meet again!

Hannah Hook: I saw you three hours ago!

-----------------------------------------

Hannah Hook: Hello Captain Beardless.

Barnaby: I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALL ME THAT!

Hannah Hook: And I told you to pick on someone your own age.

-----------------------------------------

Hannah Hook, drunk on soda: I'm telling you man, she digs ya.

Luke Tremaine-Westergaard, also drunk on soda, groans: Another graveyard joke?

Hannah: Shut up, we both know you thought it was funny.

Luke: And we both know you have a thing for the prince of Arendelle yet you haven't done anything.

Hannah: Don't throw stones in glass houses.

Luke: That's not even how that saying goes!

-----------------------------------------

Darcy *stares at all nine of her siblings, who are gathered in the 'med room' suspiciously* What do you want?

Alex, playing with a knife: You gotta help us doc, we've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas

Darcy: Help you with WHAT?

-----------------------------------------

River Le Beak, holding his beanie to his chest as he stands on a sinking rowboat: Looks like we've shivered our last Timbers, mateys.

Hannah, shooting him a disgusted look: I'm revoking your pirate card.

River, gasping dramatically and hugging Luke: No captain! Please, anything but that!

Luke, playing along: Not the pirate card! What are you gonna do next? Give us the black spot?

Skia, glares with water up to her ankles: if she doesn't, will.

Zee, five inches are on the dock: You guys know you can just step onto the docs right?

All *shushes her*

Zee, looks to Peachy and Remi: would it be a mutiny if I tossed a cannon ball in their rowboat to make it go down quicker?

Peachy: YES!

Remi, grabbing his guitar: Oh there once was a row boat that went to sea, that got on the wrong side of a pirate named Zee~~

*Dodges rotten tomato*

-----------------------------------------

Joy Foxworth, pointing at Tulip with a squirt gun: You've yeed your last haw!

Tulip, pointing back at her with own squirt gun: No I haven't, partner.

Hannah Hook, baffled from the tree, forgetting she's supposed to be hiding: WHAT LANGUAGE ARE YOU GUYS SPEAKING?!

Peter Pan, sprays her with a water cannon filled with something that is not water causing her to fall out of the tree: COWBOY!

-----------------------------------------

Random AK: Having Vks in Auradon is all fun and games until they're on the opposing dodgeball team!

Kyle White: That sounds like a skill issue to me.

-----------------------------------------

Amira: YOU FOUGHT WHOMST WITH A WHAT WHEN YOU WERE HOW OLD?!

Hannah, confused: What are you referring to?

Amira: Aziz said you told him a story about your childhood—

Hannah, realizing what she's talking about: Oh I stabbed a kidnapper with a fork when I was three.

Amira: YOU WERE NEARLY KIDNAPPED?!

Hannah: Yeah, hasn't everyone nearly been kidnapped at one point?

Amira: NO!

Hannah, not believing her: Oh sure. Next thing you're gonna tell me is that there isn't a Creeps Peak and Cannibal Cove everywhere-

Amira: THERE'S NOT-

Hannah: And that not everyone gets death threats as children-

Amira, eye twitching: Stay here, I need to go take my Tiger for a walk to Beast Castle.

Hannah*laughing* That's a funny joke Amira- hey where'd she go?

-----------------------------------------

Tulip Rossi, Zee Snoops, Evie, and Luke Tremaine-Westergaard: SURPISE MAKEOVER!!

Hannah Hook, running: NO NO NO NO!

Luke: YOU CAN'T OUTRUN US FOREVER!

-----------------------------------------

Hannah, half asleep and looking through her spy glass: SWOGGLE MY EYES IT'S MERMAIDS!

Moxie, amused: Describe 'em.

Hannah: There's a tan one with a gold and black tail that looks like sequins and one with a blue and black tail and an afro, a buoy grave, and a baby one-

Rian Frankenstein-Van Helsing, not even bothering to look up from his marine biology book: That's just Misty, River, Shania, and Toby, captain.

Hannah, embarrased: Oh.

-----------------------------------------

Hannah at 3am: Do you guys think other types of bending exist that were forgotten to history? Like bone bending?

Luke at the end of the bed: I think that's just breaking bones.

Drizella, who came to check on Luke: When on earth did you get here?

Hannah: about 11?

-----------------------------------------

Luke: Hey Darcy, are you Christmas? Because I wanna marry you.

Darcy:

Luke: I'm guessing that's a no until I propose in a non corny way?

Darcy, nodds:

Hannah off screen: I told you she was gonna say no if you did it that way!

Luke: SHHH!

-----------------------------------------

Kyle, in a silly voice: Yarr, I be a pirate, maties. Arrrg!

Hannah, looking at him as if he just shit in her cereal: I can't belive you've done this.

-----------------------------------------

Moxxie laying on a beanbag: Christmas gets so much harder the older you get. What do you want for Christmas? I don't know! Financial security? To not almost die for a week? Socks? I don't know! What about you guys?

Rian: I want to be as smart as I was before I got brought back to life.

Eduardo Frollo: My father dead.

Parker McLeach: A gun.

Hannah: To be normal.

Haul Bjorgman: My depression to go away.

-----------------------------------------

Hook: Okay which one of you gave my daughter a real golden sword and who taught her slang?

Hades, drinking out of a gauntlet: She won a ship, I thought she deserved a reward.

Hook: Did you teach her the slang?!

Morgie: What slang did she use?

Uliana, amused: And how does this slang relate to the sword?

Hook: She named it the nut slicer!

Hades *does a spit take*

Persephone *chokes on her cereal*

*Meanwhile elsewhere, Maleficent can be heard cackling*

-----------------------------------------

Hannah, near tears: Alex I did something terrible!

Alex, the son of Helga Sinclair and Hades: Don't worry, I have a shovel! *Taps ground with shovel*

Hannah, vaguely terrified: Wait what? What do you think I did?

Alex, a mad glint in his eye and a wild smile on his face: It doesn't matter because no one will ever find out.

-----------------------------------------

Kidnapper: We have your son.

Haul, confused: I don't have a son.

Kidnapper: Then who watering and talking to my plants while blasting heavy metal music?

Haul: Oh my god you have Noah. His siblings are going to kill you.

Kidnapper: Hey buddy don't you threaten me.

Haul: I'm not threatening, I'm warning-

*A loud crash rings out over the phone followed by glass breaking, swearing, and screaming*

Darcy: Hey Haul.

Haul: Hey Darcy, Hannah told me to tell you and the guys to be at the ship tonight because we're having a party.

Darcy: Will be there.

*Phone hangs up*

Haul: Well I did warn them.

-----------------------------------------

Olivia, Gaston's daughter: In hindsight, having an abusive parent is funny because it's like 'Daddy why you have beef with me, I'm literally three years old and I love you'.

Eduardo, Frollo's son: Ugh, don't remind me. One time my dad yelled at me for drawing too loud.

Luke, confused: How do you draw too loud?

-----------------------------------------

Darcy: I've got a date with destiny and it ain't gonna end with a kiss.

Noah, confused: Who's destiny?

Darcy: It's just an expression, brother.

-----------------------------------------

Hans: We have a front door you know.

Hannah, who came in through Luke's window like normal: I know.

Hans *sighs*

-----------------------------------------

Noah: MY CABBAGES!

-----------------------------------------

The kids in Hannah's crew: I wanna be just like you when I grow up!

Twenty year old Hannah, suddenly getting flashbacks to every dangerous thing she's ever done *spit take*

Hannah, internally: NO GODS, PLEASE. GODS NO!

-----------------------------------------

Elara's birth parents *try to take their daughter back after abandoning her on the barrage and causing her to grow up on the isle*

Hannah, pushes the elf girl behind her and glares: SHE'S NOT YOURS, SHE'S MINE!

-----------------------------------------

Hannah *shooting up in her bed in the middle of the night and accidentally knocking Skia, Luke, and River who she was having a sleepover with out of it*

Luke: OW!

Skia: Hey!

River: Hannah, what the hell?

Hannah, getting horrible flashbacks to her family's partners violent attempts to flirt: HAVE MACON WEST AND OLGA HEARTS BEEN FLIRTING WITH ME THIS WHOLE TIME?!

*Momentarily silence followed by a loud explosion of noise as the other three question if that is the case*

-----------------------------------------

Hannah: When I was younger I used to set toilet paper on fire and flush it down the toilet for fun and only stopped because I burnt the seat.

Eduardo Frollo: Again, weird but not a sin.

-----------------------------------------

Luke: One time when I was a kid the toaster caught fire, so I went over to my dad who was arguing with my grandmother and tugged on his sleeve for six minutes till I had his attention and calmly told him the toaster was on fire.

Hannah: Oh yeah I remember that. He was all like 'WHAT? AHHH!' and your grandma asked why we didn't say anything lol.

Kyle: why do you remember that?

Hannah: Oh I was there.

Kyle: ?

Hannah, fondly sighs: Good times.

-----------------------------------------

Lady Tremaine, impatiently: And if I wanted to sit around all day going nowhere, I’d be a teacher!

Luke, fed up *hits the gas and starts driving recklessly* Got it.

-----------------------------------------

Lady Tremaine to Luke: You’re not fit to be king of … name a place

Luke: and you're not fit to be a mother, let alone a hair stylist.

*five minutes later*

Luke runs and hides behind Drizella: MOM! GRANDMA'S TRYING TO KILL ME!

-----------------------------------------

Lady Tremaine, regarding Luke: My third biggest fear: He brings home a whore and says, ‘We’re married!’ Oh, and the whore has bangs.

Darcy: I'm literally right here.

Lady Tremaine, drinking: And I wish you weren't.

Darcy: And I wish you were dead but we can't all have what we want.

-----------------------------------------

Luke: Your point being- *freezes in horror*

Hannah *staring at him wide eyed*

Haul: Uh... What's wrong?

Luke, screaming: I'M TURNING INTO MY GRANDMOTHER!

-----------------------------------------

Luke: You know, when I was little I used to pretend you weren't my grandmother.

Lady Tremaine: Me too.

[kotaloyelysiumevents]

August '24 - Monthly Prompt

🌌Alternate Universe August!📖

Fic

AU-gust (G to T)- theartseewinks A collection of 31 AUs for 31 days!

The Anointed, Unexpected (E) - @5ellaal5 Modern/Stripper AU - Kotallo is annoyed at the distraction Fashav proposed because it's delaying his mission, and Aloy is trying to fund her company in the ways that have worked in the past, and they both find what they need in an unexpected place.

The Huntress and the Flood (E) - @5ellaal5 Greek Mythology AU - A hunter discovers a tree at risk of being destroyed in a flood, and protects it. The tree was actually a dryad, who falls in love with the hunter, and they get married and have a lovely relationship with each other!

Secret Identities: Dark Days (M) - @setavvo Superhero AU - No one knows where meta-humans come from, or how long they've been hiding in society. But two years after the Red Raids, dark forces appear, threatening to disturb the fragile peace between them and humans...

a crown in shadows (M)- @flyandfall Royal AU - “She doesn’t have the same face as Queen Gaia,” Kotallo whispered back, striking his flint to start a fire. “The other queen dumbass. Don’t say you don’t see it.” AKA Kotallo gets entranced by the woman who kills a man in front of him, who happens to look a lot like the missing princess.

Is light and darkness in us (M) - @iammythmaker Angel/Demon AU - There is darkness and light in each of us. The main thing is to see these sparks and love them.

Tail and hug (G) - @iammythmaker Naga AU - Inspired by art by @astralpaint

Nemesis (T)- @iammythmaker Gods & Goddesses AU - Legends say that prosperity is followed by collapse. The goddess is here and she hears. Her silent guardian awaits her awakening. They will both wake up when the world approaches collapse and the endless cycle of entropy creates a zero point. and then the world will bloom again.

Art

High School AU!! - @kakko-jp

My Neighbor Kotaro - @quiche-draws

Mad Max AU - @setavvo

Secret Identities: Dark Days - @setavvo

Mermaid AU - @tonys-art-n-stuff

Mandalorian AU - @i-lavabean

What If? - @i-lavabean

Wind Weaver AU (TLOZ:Wind Waker-Style) - @i-lavabean

Knight AU 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,- @han-ban-bam

Self-Indulgent Wind Weaver AU- @quiche-draws

---

We've got a ton of entries this month!! Thank you so much for all your work and the variety of ideas you have shared with us!!

Once again, if you do not see your work here and would like to be featured, please let us know!

You can also check out our AO3 collections here and here!

And as always, if you're interested in joining our 18+ server, feel free to send us an ask!

[sovengardeswag]

You Poor Unfortunate Soul

Summary:

Raphael collects the esoteric, the rare, and the lovely. He has recently come into a spell that lets him take voices. No ripping out tracheas, no bloody messes.

Astarion wants the sun. Doesn't want to get on his back for a dead rat. Wants to be free of Cazador in every way he can be.

The two strike a deal, the voice of a spawn for the sun. And a soul as well. After all, true love's kiss doesn't exist.

A little mermaid inspired fic about Astarion giving up his voice to walk in the sun (AO3 link in replies)

Chapter One: In Pain, In Need

Baldur's Gate smelled like fish guts and cat shit on a hot summer's day, making winter nights a much more pleasant time in the city. That's what Astarion told himself, at least, when he found himself missing it and cursing the cold. His padded doublet offered little protection but, even if it did, he wouldn't be warmed, undead flesh unable to hold onto heat the way the living did. Thus, there was an equal measure of relief and dread when he entered The Blushing Mermaid, the air within much warmer than the air outside.

Astarion's goal this night was to get in and get out. No long flirtations with the shy ones. No, the last thing he wanted was to drag this out. That was why he had chosen this place. Tired, lonely sailors from far away? They would follow him home with a wink and a kiss after months at sea, no one would ever miss them either. As he took a look around at his choice of prey, he sat at the bar and asked, "Have you any good wine?"

"We've got red wine and, uh, white."

"Red then," speaking of, his eyes fell on a table with a lone tiefling. A man with dark skin and one red eye, the other a false eye that was stony grey. His hair was tied in tight and neat cornrows that were framed by his elegant, curved horns. He seemed peaceful, just people-watching as he drank his ale. And there was a noble quality to him, despite the surroundings. His scars told a story of adventure, of experience in combat. And yet they did not greatly age him, he looked 25 if his reckoning of human ages was accurate. In short, he was beautiful. Cazador would be pleased indeed. This man wouldn't earn him a place in the favored spawn room, but Cazador would find no reason to put him in the kennels at the very least. Little wonder then that he strode up to the man as he sipped his disgusting glass of wine, "Well hello there. Is this seat taken?"

The man seemed mildly surprised to have been approached and told Astarion, "Not at all. Please." He gestured for Astarion to have a seat. "I'm Wyll by the way." He then gave a little knightly salute, "The Blade of Avernus at your service."

Astaron wracked his brain for some sort of recognition, some sort of knowledge about him, and came up empty. Never had he heard of this man in the taverns. "I'm sorry darling, I'm afraid I'm a bit behind on my adventuring news."

"Ah, that's alright. I used to have a different title. I earned this one when I was at Elturel. I was there when it was released from the hells and helped the people there."

"Well, aren't you quite the hero, then?" Certainly explained the name. In his experience, most decent tieflings avoided names like The Blade of Avernus. "You simply must tell me more." He leaned forward, sipping his wine once more. Maybe he could get more drinks in this man. "Were you from Elturel? Was the experience as utterly shocking as I've heard?"

"Actually, no, I wasn't even at Elturel when it fell. I was sent into Avernus afterward to hunt a devil."

"Sent in? How?" There was only one way he knew that people got sent to the hells and came back. "Are you a warlock?"

"Was. I was a warlock. I assure you, I am beholden only to the Sword Coast now."

"And you were named The Blade of Avernus after felling your quarry."

"On the contrary, when I arrived at Elturel, I found this was no devil trying to further terrorize the poor people of Elturel, but a tiefling, the same as many of them. A hostage in Zariel's court who was conscripted to fight in the blood war. When Elturel fell, she ran away and hid among them. And when I learned this, I couldn't bring myself to kill her. I had been deceived."

Astarion, feeling this was getting a bit heavy, broke the tension with a giggle, playing the part of a tipsy admirer, "You naughty thing you. All it took for you to disobey your patron was a pretty face?"

Wyll chuckled a bit, just the slightest bit of fluster to his face, "No, no, nothing like that. You see, while she was with the tieflings, she had taken to protecting them. Making sure they survived the hells. There was one child, Mol, despite being injured and small, who tried to protect Karlach. She said she would take my eye if I so much as laid a hand on Karlach. And I knew then, from the child and the look in Karlach's eyes, that I had been deceived. And I paid the price for it that very night."

"Is that how you lost your eye, darling? Tribute to your patron?" He laid a comforting hand on Wyll's, his voice full of sympathy and awe.

"Oh, no, I lost my eye long ago. But that's a story for another day, perhaps. It's a proud moment, to be sure, but not exactly one to be told to charming voiced strangers in a tavern."

Astarion took a look at Wyll's stone eye, then. It seemed to be made of bloodstone, with an adorable heart-shaped pupil carved into it but there was something else there. Something magical. It hit him, that this was a sending stone, no doubt still sending news to his former patron. Ah. well, it wouldn't be the first time he performed in front of an audience. "Well, there's no need for us to remain strangers. Perhaps, after a bit here, we can go to my home for a nightcap. I've always dreamed of being swept off my feet by a hero." Truth be told, Wyll was just his type, a sweet face, but just a bit rugged.

Wyll flustered again, pulling his hand away, "Look, you're lovely, you truly are, but I don't do... that. I'm sorry."

Shit. Shit. He had miscalculated. Most adventurers weren't like this. They were only happy to take what they wanted from Astarion. Why, oh why, did he have to run into a virtuous hero? "Ah, there's no need to apologize, darling. I should have realized you were the chivalrous sort." This would have to be a long game and he'd have to try his luck at a different tavern.

Just as he was about to ask Wyll how long he was staying in Baldur's Gate, there was a crash from the kitchen, some swearing, and a burning smell. A grease fire, no doubt. And before Astarion knew it, he was trapped in the building, the fire burning all around him. Watching as it consumed all in its wake. He should have been outside, watching the scene with the poor sods who were mourning their favorite watering hole. Yet here he was, walking through a burning wreckage, looking for that beautiful fool who had insisted on getting people out. If Wyll perished in this blaze, Astarion wouldn't stop thinking about it. It would be just another death on his tally of sins. So even as the flames licked at him and burned him, he pushed through. His only relief was that he didn't need to breathe.

Eventually, feeling nothing but pure heat on his body and ash falling upon him, he found him. A support beam had fallen on him and the smoke inhalation knocked Wyll out. Astarion pushed on the beam with all his might, his hands catching splinters as he pushed and readjusted and pushed again. Nevertheless, he just barely managed to push it off of the man's leg. He then picked Wyll up and hauled him out of the burning tavern.

But he didn't lay Wyll down at the front for the fists to take care of. No, it wouldn't do for Astarion to be spotted. He snuck to the next alley over instead and sat Wyll down on a crate. He pat Wyll's cheek as he spoke, the hero of Elturel finally taking in some clean air. His eyes fluttered and opened and Astarion knew that the first thing the tiefling saw was him. He coughed and Astarion told him, "Shhh, it's alright, lovely. Don't stress yourself."

Wyll nodded, taking deep breaths as Astarion assured him, "Don't try to yell for the fists, you'll only hurt yourself. I'm going to make a racket and they'll heal you and you'll be good as new but I have to go. Do you understand?"

Wyll nodded, his good eye scanning over Astarion, trying to memorize his face.

"There we go. You'll be alright, darling. Now, I'm going to make that racket and leave you.” And with that, Astarion lifted a discarded milk can and slammed it as hard as he could into the ground, slinking off once it had made an ungodly noise.

Covered in soot and ash, sporting a few minor burns, and with his hands covered in splinters, Astarion was in no state to continue his little hunt. He needed to change and get these damn things out. He just hoped his master would see it as a pause and not a failure.

As he returned to Szarr Palace, he decided to go in from the tower connected to the wall. Climbing up was a bit of a pain with the splinters, but far less terrible than what was in store for him if he got caught. He walked past the half-asleep fists with no issue, the charmed guards merely said, "Welcome home, Master Astarion," as he walked past them. Jumping onto a balcony afterward was practically trivial.

He thought he was home free as he crossed the threshold, walking one, two, three meters away from the balcony doors before he felt a chill and heard Cazador's voice. "You're home early. And what a state you're in."

Astarion flinched as he turned around, "Ah, Master, I assure you this is merely a delay. I just need to clean up and be on my way to catch you a morsel tonight. I know that I shouldn't come home without one but I just wanted to make sure that today's was of good qua-"

Astartion immediately shut his mouth as Cazador grabbed his wrists, the ancient vampire having noticed that Astarion was trying to not gesticulate. He looked at his hands and asked, "What manner of nonsense did you get into, boy?"

Astarion tensed further at that. Of course, Cazador would notice his property had been damaged, however temporarily. "I-I assure you master. I just wanted to ensure that-"

"Cease your prattle!" Cazador commanded as he bent Astarion's wrists, a small whimper coming from the spawn. "Tell me why you have these splinters."

Astarion felt the pull of the command like the pull of a leash upon his brainstem. His eyes glowed in response and he spoke loud and clear. "I pushed a beam away when I was caught in a fire at the Blushing Mermaid. I was with a target there at the time."

"Were you spotted by the flaming fists? Be truthful."

Another pull, his eyes continued to glow, "No."

"And what gave you the audacity to believe you had a right to break the rules, to come back completely emptyhanded? Speak true!"

"I thought I could sneak past you and wanted to change my clothes."

Astarion felt the sharp sting of a back-handed slap then, right across his cheek. Cazador had seen disrespect in his honesty. Astarion's jaw clenched, and the command lifted.

"You little idiot. You cannot ever get anything past me in my home. Not ever. And to think, you were so close to earning the favored spawn room this month. It's as if you throw away every opportunity I give you. Every single time. I do not begrudge you for trying to survive a fire, but I will not tolerate disrespect."

"You're right master, I'm sorry. I should have checked into the flop house and found clothes, I shouldn't have done this to you. I shouldn't have gotten hurt. I promise to be good from now on. I promise." He was tempted to yank his wrist away but knew that if he did at this angle, it would likely snap. "I'll take care of my splinters before going back out. And I'll bring you back the most beautiful virgin I can find in the lower city."

"Oh Astarion, you always did beg so sweetly," Cazador stroked Astarion's cheek gently, "But you'll just have to save that for later. Your actions need to have consequences, lest you grow arrogant again."

Shit, shit. "But Master, I've already injured myself! I've learned my lesson! You don't need to waste Godey's time!"

"Oh, but Astarion, what use are consequences with no follow through, hmm? You'll start to believe every threat is a bluff." And with that, he started to drag Astarion to the kennels. The spawn trying to dig in his heels like a dog dragged on a leash.

Godey was there when they arrived. Of course, he was. Where else would he be? He stopped cleaning his scalpels and watched as Astarion was thrown on the ground like scraps to the dogs. "Here so early, child? It isn't even midnight. No matter, Old Godey is ready to play."

"Stay your hand, Godey. I have something specific in mind for him."

"Oh? Is that so, Master?"

"Indeed. Keep an eye on him as I find the implements. You are free to strike him if he tries to leave."

"Of course, Master. I won't lay a hand on him a moment before."

But that wasn't true, as soon as Cazador was gone, Godey started to run his bony fingers through Astarion's hair. He told him, "You must like playing with Godey, being such a naughty child. What did you do to anger the master this time?"

"I hurt myself in a fire. And then I tried to sneak in to get clean and healed."

"Oh, such a shame that you got in trouble for that, and such a shame you escaped those flames. You would wear scars so prettily."

Astarion instinctually covered his face at that. Oh gods, Godey was going to give Cazador ideas at this rate. The last time that happened, the skeleton ripped his fangs out of his mouth, let them grow back overnight, and yanked them out again for a straight ten-day. He couldn't even remember what he had done, only that Godey had said he should keep his fangs to himself and it had given Cazador the idea.

Speaking of, though, he returned. But he was not baring Rhapsody or some horrific tool. No, he was holding a set of tweezers. The kind a nobleborn lady would use to pluck her eyebrows. And Cazador was holding it while wearing a glove. “I want you to remove the splinters yourself. And then, when you're done, Godey will, shall we say, give you a manicure."

Astarion hardly saw the point in getting rid of the splinters if Godey was going to rip out his claws, each time Godey readjusted the grip would surely cause shooting pain with the shards of wood in his hands. But he wasn't one to make his own life worse, so he reached an open hand out to Cazador.

But as soon as the tweezers touched his hand, the spawn hissed in pain, a rash blooming on his skin. The tweezers were made of silver. Bastard.

Cazador smirked at Astarion's pain, telling him, "Do think on your actions, Astarion." He then looked to Godey, telling him, "I'll come to check on him, come dawn. Have fun, old friend."

Thus was the beginning of Astarion's newest torment. He had been forced to hurt himself before, this was nothing new, but it was no less humiliating and terrible. At first, he tried to be delicate about the process, keeping the tweezers at the very tips on the most shallow splinters, hoping to reduce the burning sensation and hives to his fingers. But Godey gripped his hair and pulled, "Trying to pull one over on Old Godey, eh? Do it properly, child, lest I do it for you."

Astarion grit his teeth and adjusted his grip on the tweezers, more hives blooming as he squeezed and gripped the splinters, perhaps with a little more force than strictly necessary. Some of them needed to be dug out, the burning smell of silver actually piercing his skin faint but present, the tiniest wisps of smoke when they came free. Pain radiated through his hand through the entire process. He wondered if his hands would scar as his back did.

The same thing happened with his other hand. With each pinch, each pull, each squeeze, he shot agony into his palms. By the end of it, his hands were an ugly red color, they felt warm for the first time in 200 years, and they were utterly covered in blisters, itchy and burning. Panting, he threw the tweezers aside, his hands shaking.

Godey kicked Astarion in the gut. "Naughty thing, don't go throwing away the master's heirlooms around like mere stones! Pick it up and put it where it belongs."

"Fuck you, Godey," Astarion managed, despite the wind being knocked out of him. Though it earned him another slap before he picked up the damn tweezers and put them on the table.

"See, was that so hard? Now, give Godey your hand. I want to hear you scream."

Astarion couldn't help but wonder if, despite the fact that he was completely bones, Godey was getting off on this. Either way, he gave Godey his hand and watched as Godey clamped the pliers over his pinky claw. He gently tugged once, twice, trying to build up the dread in Astarion before he blinked out of existence in a flash of red light. What?

He heard a smooth voice then, almost sing-songy. "There now, we wouldn't want those lovely claws of yours to be ripped out, now would we?"

Astarion scrambled to his feet and turned around, seeing a human man just standing there. Cazador wasn't with him, "What is this? Did Cazador decide to put me to work for my transgressions? Did you banish Godey for some privacy?"

The man chuckled darkly and told him, "No, little vampling, nothing so base. I'm not another guest of your master's but a savior. Now, you can come wih me or be a good boy and wait for the skeleton to come back and do your little manicure."

Astarion looked at his blistered and red hands before looking back at the stranger. If this was a setup, then it was certainly an elaborate one. "Fine."

The man snapped his fingers and they were suddenly elsewhere. A dining room laid out with food of all sorts and several goblets. The man told Astarion, "Drink your fill, vampling. I ensured that you have only the finest of blood."

Astarion picked up a goblet and sniffed it. No poison. But this place, "Where have you brought me?"

"This, Mr. Ancunin, is the House of Hope. Where the famished come to feast and the desperate come to deal. And I know you, pretty spawn, are both. Come, drink your fill."

Well, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the blood on the second sniff, so he took a drink. "Why is this spicy?"

"Why, it's cambion blood of course. I also have incubus and hellhound, even demon. All watered down with tiefling for your palate. Though I also have more mortal fare."

Astarion gripped his goblet lest this strange man take it from him. Though this clearly wasn't a regular human man. "Who and what the hells are you?"

"What an appropriate way to phrase that question. If you'll allow me..." And then, in a spiral of flames, the man became a devil. "I am Raphael, at your service."

Oh gods, a cambion. He should have known. He vaguely wondered if the blood he drank was Raphael's. He drained the goblet and said, "Well, you've wasted your vintage then, devil. I'm not keen to trade one master for another."

"Who said anything about your soul?"

Astarion, having gone to sniff at another goblet of blood, paused and said, "Go on."

"You see, I'm a bit of a collector. I seek the rare and esoteric and I've come into possession of a rather unique spell. I won't bore you with the details, just that it's derived from hag's magic and that you are the perfect test subject for it."

"I'm not hearing an offer."

"Patience, I was just getting to that. In exchange for your cooperation with the spell, I can offer a partial cure to your vampirism."

Astarion simply drank what he determined to be tiefling's blood as he listened. And then, he spoke, "Well then, we should be going over the details of this, shouldn't we?"

Raphael smirked and gestured for Astarion to follow him, "Let's."

Instead of an office as the spawn expected, Raphael led Astarion to a richly furnished boudoir with many chaise lounges and a bathtub that smelled of lavender and mint in the middle. On the far side of the room, he spotted a bed where a skimpily dressed devil that looked remarkably like Raphael lay. "Another client?"

"No, just another part of the House of Hope. Please, sit."

Astarion sat on one of the chaise lounges as Raphael spoke, "I can give you a potion that allows you to walk in sunlight. You would still need to avoid silver lest your allergies act up, still need to slake your thirst, but never would you have to worry about anything more than a sunburn."

"What's the catch? Surely a potion like that would have every vampire lord breaking down your door."

"Nothing gets past you, does it? No, vampire lords don't seek it out. Not because they relish in scampering through the dark like rats but because the sensation of the sun is still there."

Astarion felt what little bit of hope he had crumble to pieces then and there, "So, it doesn't work."

"Ah, that is where you, Strahd, Cazador, and every other vampire misunderstand. The potion negates all the damage from the sun, just not the pain. But what's a little pain when you can take a stroll with a pretty thing on your arm, when you can sniff roses at noon, and when you can hide from your master in plain sight."

Astarion still didn't give an answer, but he did ask, "What does the spell do?"

"It takes voices. Don't worry, your pretty throat will be left unharmed, but the voice that had brought a thousand people to their doom? The giggle that makes virgins fall into a stranger's bed? It would be the perfect display of the spell's use and the perfect addition to my collection."

One thousand. One thousand. He knew the amount of people he had brought to Cazador had been high but never past the hundreds. He suddenly felt a little sick. A thousand pairs of hands had touched him, a thousand mouths had kissed him, and a thousand people had died after having him. But with the sensitivity to sunlight removed, he would never have to do that again. "So all I have to do to ensure my master can't touch me is lose my voice and be uncomfortable while standing outside." And yet, somehow, it sounded too good to be true. "There's more, isn't there?"

"Just two little things. The first is that you must refrain from drinking the blood of thinking creatures for three days. The other is that your voice by itself isn't all I need from you."

"Spit it out, devil."

"The young man you saved today isn't any old tiefling. He was Grand Duke Ravengard's son."

"Don't lie to me. I know that Grand Marshall Ravengard's wife was a human and the Grand Duke doesn't exactly have a pair of horns."

"There's more than one way to make a tiefling. Let's just say that Mizora gave him a bit of a makeover."

"So you're saying he's hells touched."

"Indeed I am."

"I fail to see what my flirting with a prince has to do with any of this."

"I'm saying that he's valuable. Eventually, daddy will succumb to some malady or other as all humans do and little Wyll Ravengard will become Grand Duke Wyll Ravengard."

Astarion finally caught on to what Raphael was implying, "You want me to bring him to you."

"Not physically but yes. Woo, seduce, enrapture him. Wrap him around your little finger and whisper my words into his ear, putting him around mine."

"Bit brazen to steal another devil's warlock, isn't it?"

"On the contrary! Wyll was freed from his contract when Elturel sas spat back out of Avernus. This is simply filling an open position."

"I see, so live in the lap of luxury where Cazador can't touch me at the expense of my voice and some discomfort." There was just one problem, "How do I stop Cazador from compelling me back at night?"

"That's your problem. Steal a ring of mind shielding or tie yourself to your bed. I'm sure you'll think of something, you're a resourceful spawn."

"And if I fail? What's to stop me from running to Athlacka or Kozakura after realizing he only likes the company of maidens?"

"Then the potion incurs fees and I retain ownership of your soul."

"Fair enough."

"Now, don't speak so quickly, Astarion, I have a reputation to uphold. There are certain guarantees I need to decide you've taken serious steps in this endeavor. You need to get him to kiss you in three days."

"Ha! You're joking! I'll have him eating out of my palm by then."

"Not a regular kiss. True love's kiss on his part."

"You're joking, you're joking, that doesn't even exist!"

"Oh come now, where did that bravado go? Do you truly believe that you can't make a man fall in love with you in three days?"

Astarion clenched his jaw and thought about it. Here was an opportunity to get away from Cazador. And he was going to throw it away because a devil wanted him to whisper into some prince's ear? "Where do I sign?"

With a sweep of his hand, Raphael summoned a contract and a quill. Astarion read it and found the terms were laid out as described before signing it.

When it disappeared, Raphael told Astarion, "Now then, let us get to the fun part.” He led Astarion to the bed and had him lie down. The devil who had been there moved and asked, "Shall I go, Master?"

"No, I have need of you Haarlep."

"Oh, I didn't know that spell had a naughty component."

"No, just hold his wrists."

"How sad, he looks like he would be fun to play with."

Astarion freely gave his wrists to what he now knew was an incubus. He told Raphael, "This is going to hurt, isn't it?"

"I have no idea, but we can't risk you clawing my eyes out, now can we?" He straddled Astarion's waist and opened the spawn's mouth to pierce his finger, drawing runes on Astarion's throat with blood while speaking an incantation.

Suddenly, Astarion felt a pulling sensation in his throat, painful, like a fishing hook had been lodged in his larynx and an angler was trying to yank it out. His instinct was to reach for his throat and check that he hadn't been stabbed but Haarlep held firm, eerily smiling down on him. When he looked at Raphael's hands he saw a red rope of light coming from his throat. "Now, speak, sing, do everything you can to get your voice active."

Astarion nodded, saying, "My name is Astarion Ancunin. I am two hundred and forty years old and I was born in Baldur's Gate."

He felt another tug at his throat and once again tried to pull his hands away as he screamed, Haarlep holding on tight. Raphael had pulled on that magical cord and told him, "That's it, little bat, keep going."

"I was a magistrate, once, but am now a vampire spawn, hunting pretty morsels for-"

With another tug Astarion found himself silenced. A scream from that last, savage pull, dying in his throat. Haarlep let go of his hands and Astarion sat up, seeing Raphael holding up a glowing orb like a prized fish. There weren't sounds coming from it, despite what Astarion would assume. And Raphael was looking at it as well, almost amazed that it had worked, "My, isn't that lovely?"

Astarion tried to speak but no words came out. He huffed through his nose and pointed to the voice.

Raphael caught on quickly, telling him, "Oh, it's going behind glass. Protected and safe and labeled in my archive."

Astarion nodded in understanding. Yes, that made sense. Raphael would want to show it off.

Raphael then set aside Astarion's voice in a jewelry box, the magic rope disappearing as he closed it, before pulling a potion bottle out of his nightstand and uncorking it. Going to tilt Astarion's head back, he said, "Drink."

Astarion did not hesitate as the bottle was pressed to his lips. The mixture was warm and oddly fungal tasting. He was surprised that he was able to taste it at all. But as it was downed, he felt... different. Warmer. Though not quite body warm.

"Now, we can't send you out with your hands like that. Your prince charming would think you contagious. Go clean up in my bath."

Astarion nodded once more, getting up and going to dunk his hands in the pool. He found that in an instant, he was energized. All of his aches were gone, his hands were no longer covered in bumps and hives but merely slightly red. Even his minor burns were gone. He also took the opportunity to wash what little remained of the cambion's blood from his throat.

"Your clock starts at sunrise and runs out on the sunset of the third day. Nod if you understand."

Astarion nodded once again.

"Now, I'm going to send you into his path. Just do what you do best." He gestured for Astarion to follow and the spawn obeyed.

As he followed Raphael, Astarion felt as if he had, perhaps, made a mistake. He saw all manner of debtor now that he cared to look. The tiefling woman staring into the boudoir, another woman running around like a dog, and, gods, was that a man cradling and praising a full chamber pot? What was to be his fate if he failed to make Wyll fall in love? The removal of his tongue, his past under Cazador used against him? There was hardly any time to ponder though as they came to a room full of mirrors. "Ah, here we are."

They stood before a portal to Baldur's Gate. It was time to fulfill his mission. "I'll put you in his path, don't worry, just walk in."

So, Astarion did just that. He stepped through the portal, its light not harming him as he stepped into the pre-dawn of Wyrm's Rock, the home of the Grand Duke. Astarion felt rather confident if he was honest. He had saved Wyll, after all, making him fall in love should be easy.

Then the sun began to rise.

[amaretigris]

The Sea Witch's Curse

Taglist: @luna2034 @notagreekgal28 @hopeisrising @mylittlemermaid221 @justagirlthatlovedtoread

A/n: The part WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR 🙏✨

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Ch. 6 | 2.2k words | Fluff & smut | WARNING: EXPLICIT

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After you had both calmed from the stressful ordeal, Eric set about cleaning the cut on your neck. He left his quarters for supplies, returning with a bowl of ocean water, and a wash cloth.

"The saltwater has healing properties," he answered your curious look.

Nodding, you bunched your hair up at your nape, and held it off to the side to allow Eric free access to your neck. The two of you sat in silence for a moment, as he wiped blood away from your wound.

"Why did that ship attack us, Eric?"

You broke the silence.

Eric's hand stilled for a moment, before continuing it's ministrations.

"Because we robbed them," Eric spoke in a low voice.

"You robbed them?" Your eyes met his.

Eric dropped his hand to his lap.

"Yes. I haven't been much of a prince in the last five years, (Y/N). I've had to do what I could to ensure this crew's survival. I've done things that no man who still holds my title should," his brow furrowed as he looked at the bloody rag in his lap.

You felt guilt tug at your heart.

"It's okay. You've done what you've had to to get these men home," you placed your hand over his, urging him to look at you.

When he did, you held his gaze.

"I'm sorry that you had to use your gun on that man because of me," you apologized.

Eric shook his head and settled his other hand atop yours.

"No, you don't have to apologize for that, (Y/N). I shot him to protect you. Your safety is worth it. That's probably the most noble thing I've done in years," he swallowed, shaking his head again.

"No, the things I'm referring to are not noble. We started out fighting off pirates on the sea, but now we've become pirates ourselves," he admitted, squeezing your hand.

It was like he was scared you would run at his confession.

"It's okay," you repeated, searching his eyes.

How could you convey to him that you understood?

Eric's gaze faltered.

"We only rob other ships. We never pillage islands or villages, where there are families," he continued, like he needed to explain himself.

How badly your heart ached for the man. Looping your arm around the back of his neck, you pulled him to your chest in an embrace. You didn't want him to feel guilty anymore.

"You're a good leader, Eric," you whispered by his ear.

You felt Eric's arms tentatively come to wrap around your torso, before squeezing you closer to him. How long had he gone without another's embrace?

The thought made you even more sad. This man has lost his only family and home at the hands of Ursula. You had to help him break his curse, whatever it took.

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Stepping out of his quarters, you held Eric's hand in yours. You turned to him, nodding your head. Eric took a deep breath, and got the attention of his men.

"Oi! Listen here, men!"

All crew on deck immediately stopped what they were doing, turning to face their respected captain.

"(Y/N) is about to sing a song for us. Do not be alarmed. She is here to help us," his eyes darted around to every crew member.

"I thought ye said she couldn't speak," one man piped up.

Eric nodded.

"Aye, I did say that. I didn't want to cause a panic," he admitted.

"The lass be a mermaid?"

Another man hollered the question.

Eric nodded again.

"Ye said she'd washed up from a shipwreck," the first man added.

Eric held his hands up in mock surrender.

"Yes, men. I thought she had. I found out more information later. I didn't want to cause a stir," he paused.

"(Y/N) is a mermaid, and she can speak. But you all saw her blood today. She does not have the green blood of the sea witch. She, herself, was cursed by the witch. Just like us," he placated.

There was silence for a moment.

"Sing a siren song, she be?"

Eric locked eyes with the man who asked the question.

"Yes, Sebastian," he nodded, "but do not be alarmed. I have heard her siren song already. She will not use it to harm us," he looked to you.

You nodded your head at this.

"The sea witch, Ursula, has also taken my home and my freedom from me. I can only imagine what you've been through. We have to work together to end our curses. We will find a way," you spoke, realizing that you weren't exactly sure that Eric wanted you to speak to his crew.

Your eyes cut to his face nervously, but you only found a smile.

Grimsby spoke next.

"Aye men. I can vouch for her, too. She's here to help," he added.

The men in the crowd nodded.

Smiling, you descended the stairs. Eric followed on your heels. Walking to the side railing of the ship, you looked out into the open ocean. You opened your mouth and began singing your melody. Harmony filled the air. You coasted on the tune, feeling it coursing through you. Bringing the melody to a close with a hum, you watched the waves intently.

You weren't sure that this would work, but it was worth a shot. When you saw no movement on the water, you frowned. You almost turned away before you saw the tip of a mermaid tail briefly breach the surface. Gripping the railing with excitement, you watched as the shadow moved closer to the ship. A flash of red hair came up, but quickly dove back down. You grimaced and turned to find the whole crew peering over your shoulder at the water.

"It's my sister, Ariel. She won't surface with all of you watching," you explained.

Eric nodded.

"Let's stand down," he turned and ushered his crew back to the center of the deck.

You turned back to the water, and Ariel's head popped up.

"(Y/N), you're safe. I'm so relieved. We've been searching all of the seven seas for you. I'd recognize your siren song anywhere. What happened? Have these men taken you hostage?"

You shook your head.

"No, no. I'm sorry to worry you. It was Ursula. She turned me into a human. These sailors have provided me with safety and aid since I washed up."

Ariel shook her head.

"Really? But Father said-".

"I know what Father says, Ariel. I know he has his reasons for distrusting humans, but they're not all like that. Does Father know where Ursula is?"

Ariel shook her head.

"No, but he's been combing the waters for her. He figured she had something to do with your disappearance."

"Yes. Please tell him that she cursed me. These men are also cursed. We have to find a way to stop it."

"He will help you, (Y/N)," her eyes shifted behind you. "I cannot guarantee that he will help them."

You squeezed the railing and nodded.

"I know, but I will. Thank you Ariel. I love you," you waved.

Ariel lifted her hand above the surface.

"I love you."

And then she was gone.

You sighed and turned from the railing. Eric was a step behind you with wide eyes.

"Are you okay, (Y/N)?"

You wrapped your arms around yourself and squeezed.

"Yes, I'm okay," you smiled.

A quarter of a mile away from the ship, hidden by a sharp row of rocks, tentacles slithered just beneath the water. The sea witch's eyes watched you retreat from the ship's railing. With a cackle, her suckers detached themselves from the rock's surface, and allowed her to plunge back to the deep. It seems that you didn't think about who all your siren song might attract. Foolish girl.

⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅

Eric ushered you into his quarters, locking the door behind you. He seemed to be in a hurry to get you alone after you saw your sister. Turning to him, you were met with hungry eyes. There it was, that expression again. You hadn't known what to make of it earlier. Now, you recognized it plainly. It was desire.

Eric closed the space between you. Wrapping his arm around your torso and placing his hand on your cheek, he studied your eyes.

"(Y/N), you were so brave. I admire you for that. More than you know," his eyes tracked down your features to your lips.

Eric licked his lips before he eased them to your neck. Cautiously, he pressed a small kiss to the side of your throat. You gasped and snapped your eyes shut. Seemingly pleased with your reaction, Eric kissed down, and then back up your neck. Small and tender at first, then growing in intensity. By the time he brought his eyes to meet yours again, you were panting. You opened your eyes to see a flame in his that you'd never seen before. In him, or in anyone else. Ghosting his lips over yours, Eric stilled.

"Eric, please," you brought your hands to his chest. "I-I don't want your love just because you're under a spell," your eyes flicked back to his.

He scrunched his brow curiously.

"This is because I sang my siren song again, isn't it?"

You bit your lip.

Eric smiled and shook his head.

"No, (Y/N). I've felt this desire since I met you," he confessed.

"You have?"

Eric's eyes settled on yours again. He brought both his palms to your cheeks.

"Yes. You're brave, compassionate, strong, and more resilient than I could ever imagine. The only magic influencing me now is my own heart's," he pressed his forehead to yours, and closed his eyes.

You stood still, observing him for a moment.

"Okay," you nodded.

Eric opened his eyes again.

"Okay?" He repeated.

"Okay," you confirmed.

Eric reached up and removed a hand from his chest. He slowly lowered it to his hardened length under his pants.

All of your breath left you. Your eyes widened.

"We will only do this if you want to, (Y/N). But I can show you how humans truly connect with one another," he whispered.

You felt a foreign feeling settle heavy in your stomach - like you were missing something. You swallowed the lump in your throat, nodding again. Whatever this was, you wanted it with Eric.

Eric's lips were suddenly on yours. He used his thumbs to ease your mouth open. Gasping into the kiss, you let him explore. You did your best to keep up, but his pace was urgent. You were sure that his tongue had been in every crevice of your mouth when Eric broke from the kiss. Grabbing your hand, but holding your gaze, he led you to the bed.

When the back of your thighs hit the mattress, Eric's hands reached down to the hem of your dress. He connected eyes with you again, and you lifted your arms for Eric to ease the material up and off your body. Once your bare form was exposed for him, you felt your nipples perk in the cool air. Eric examined your body for a moment before reaching to pull his shirt over his head as well. He then untied the waistband of his pants, easing them down his legs, and kicking them off.

Your mouth fell open at the sight before you. Eric's muscles were so defined, and his member resembled a sharp rod. You had no idea what this would feel like, but you knew it must be good. Eric's arms came up to yours, easing you back onto the mattress. You went willingly, watching him climb over you. Feeling his weight on top of yours was comforting. Eric framed your face with his hands, and combed his fingers through your hair.

"This is my first time, too, (Y/N). We'll learn together. If I hurt you, you have to tell me," he waited for you to nod.

Your breathing was fast now, like you couldn't take in enough air. You looked down to watch Eric lining up his member at your entrance. You watched as the tip of it disappeared inside you, and you arched your back, and gripped Eric's shoulders at the penetration. Eric stilled, letting you adjust. He peppered kisses on your cheeks, still combing fingers through your hair.

When you opened your eyes again and gave him another nod, Eric pulled back a fraction, and pushed himself back inside. You moaned, squeezing Eric's shoulders. He repeated this motion several times, and each one felt better than the last. By the third repetition of this movement, you were experiencing euphoria. Bringing your hands to Eric's lower back, you urged him to go deeper.

"Please, Eric, that feels so so good," you whined.

Eric's head dipped with a groan, and his brow was creased. His strokes were getting harder, deeper. You loved it. Your sounds urged him on. When the squelching of your combined juices reached your ears, you felt your arousal heighten. You instinctively clamped your muscles in your lower stomach, and Eric let out a low moan.

"Fuck, (Y/N)," he cursed.

You felt yourself climbing higher towards something. You put your hands on either side of Eric's torso.

"Please," you ground out.

Suddenly, a wave of unimaginable pleasure splashed over you. You rode out your high, never wanting it to end. When you finally came down from your peak, you found Eric coming to his. His hips stuttered, and you felt something hot and sticky inside you. Humming in relaxation, you ran your fingers though Eric's hair when he settled his head on your chest.

"I wouldn't mind doing that again," you giggled.

Eric whipped his head to look at you with a mischievous glint, and his lips were back on yours instantly.

[why-is-thinking-so-hard]

more superhero cadina au

this time its regina, once again it gets long, but this time because I got distracted while researching sharks and decided to add so many shark facts

⚠️spoilers for mean girls as always⚠️

I feel like vampire regina has been done a lot and I wanted to try something different so after throwing some stuff around with my friend, we've come to the conclusion of: siren!regina.

I wanted her to have an influential power over people like she does in canon, but, like I said, I didn't want to make her a vampire. this also removes the immortality problem.

general regina superhero cadina au details:

so, regina is a siren from a family of sirens on her dads side, Kylie exists in this au and is also a siren, her mother is not a siren(clearly). she has the classic hypnotizing siren voice, shriek, water breathing, human/mermaid physiology(especially when she touches water, so like she has internal fish stuff all the time but when she wants to have external fish stuff/touches water she can get it h2o style), and manipulation of water

in her h2o mermaid form, Reginas fishform is shark. shark regina. because of apex predator and also because I like sharks and I wants regina to have electroreceptors which sharks do have but we can leave that for a different essay/post

false actually, I cannot keep my mouth shut when ive learned new things and as I said above, I spent an entire afternoon researching sharks. I know that the point of her powers in this au is that she's a siren, but part of that is the whole mermaid physiology bit, so hear we go: ive decided regina would be a bull shark because I realized that if she was a shark, she would need to be near saltwater so she wouldn't fucking die UNLESS her shark part was euryhaline, which bull sharks are, and they've actually been spotted as far as Illinois when going up the Mississippi.

bite force of 5,914 newtons, jaws aren't attached to the cranium so imagine the shenanigans regina pulls to freak people out by moving her jaw in weird ass ways and snatching food without moving her head. sharks have multiple rows of teeth and regularly shed and replace their teeth with no rhyme or reason, so regina will randomly lose teeth with the new ones just immediately popping right up behind it, sometimes she spit them at people who annoy her(Gretchen secretly collects them). her scales reduce drag when swimming so when rubbed the wrong way they're extremely rough so she can literally rub people the wrong way. shark siren form regina is 13ft long. less fun, when food is scarce, sharks can slow their digestion, regina would do this when her mother makes comments about her body. bull sharks are more likely to bite humans than most sharks. extremely good sense of smell, like some sharks can smell one part per million of blood in water and they can determine the direction of a smell the way we can with sound and they're more attracted to the chemicals in the intestines of many species and shark hearing is extremely sharp and they can hear prey from miles away(their hearing sensitivity is in the range of 20 to 1000 Hz), so I can only imagine the migraines regina gets from being around teenagers,

night vision, nictating membrane, sharks have the greatest electrical sensitivity of any animal as they have electroreceptor organs numbering in the thousands that allow them to sense the electromagnetic field of their prey as well as orient and navigate using the magnetic field of the earth and the ocean currents moving within it and creating electrical fields, lateral line tactile sensory system allows sharks to detect changes in water speed and pressure nearby and frequencies in the range of 25 to 50 Hz and lets them distinguish the currents around them, obstacles in their periphery, and struggling prey out of view.

im not sure how some of those would help regina, maybe they help her rule the school, they'd definitely help in superhero situations, but they'd definitely end up with her being hella overstimulated at school and might be why she's so frustrated with people all the time. I get that. anyway, sharks that need to continuously swim in order to breathe do something called sleep swimming, in order for them to actually get some sleep, its their spinal cord that controls the action, not their brain, seeing as regina would be able to breathe like a human and not need to constantly move she wouldn't need to do this, but I think she would have this habit of sleep walking and sometimes she does end up in the pool and sleep swims.

while she's not proud of it because it was prompted by her mothers comments, regina has used her siren powers to curate her popularity at school but no one knows she's a siren so they dont realize that

recurring h2o jokes with regina getting pelted with water and running off screaming "DONT LOOK AT ME" while you hear the h2o theme play faintly in the distance along with a splash will happen be warned. like. the homecoming scene where she gets the water sprayed on her is the same, she does the hair flip and everything and then. realizes. so she runs off screaming DONT LOOK AT ME and in the distance you can hear the h2o theme playing faintly

Regina's "janitor caught cady with a mouse in her mouth" was back in middle school, she, janis, Gretchen, and Karen went to the aquarium and she got distracted at one tank because she was listening to fish gossip and then later they went to the dolphin show and regina had to be forcibly removed from the premises after she started picking a fight with one of the dolphins(it called her 3 different slurs and insulted her clothing) and is no longer allowed at the Chicago aquarium. luckily her mother has a friend that was able to keep, "middle schooler has mad beef with dolphin," out of the headlines.

is regina a superhero herself before cady shows up in Evanston? yes actually. I did think about making her a villain but I want to have faith in regina having even a a molecule of a soul before cady shows up, she does have a younger sister after all and how can regina not have a soul when even my older sister does? just usual sisters giving each other, shit you know, I love her tho 🫶

I may have just written miraculous ladybug minus the bullshit love triangle, so um, there's that... but it's a superHERO cadina au and I wanted them to both be heroes.

Reginas dad runs some shady shit, ive yet to figure out exactly what it is, but the point is it's shady enough that even regina takes issue with it and decides to do something about it(little does she know, her dad is not directly involved in what happened to cadys dad but he has connections and that's how cady eventually gets involved with regina). so she adopts the hero persona of shark girl, it was gonna be a placeholder until I came up with the lore that she was inspired by the classic movie shark boy and lava girl, so as shark girl she fucks with her dads criminal shit and if she's extra pissed off, she will beat people within an inch of their life because she's not a saint. she focuses mainly on her dads business, feels guilty when she watches the news and sees things she could've easily stopped and maybe she helps where she can if she has time but she doesn't make a habit of it, not til cady comes around.

this got extremely long because of the shark facts, which I hope you enjoyed, so um, have some all over the place hcs as a reward for making it this far, even though these make it even longer

because sharks are hunted not only for their fins and meat, but also for the oil in their livers(not exactly a fun fact, but a true one nonetheless), I think regina would joke about just how much her liver would go for on the black market

regina has tried to break back into the aquarium to kill that dolphin, she had the sense to do it with her shark girl suit on so the "shark girl has major beef with Chicago aquarium dolphin" headline did make it to print this time

bull sharks will also hunt birds and terrestrial animals they can get too, as they are opportunistic feeders, so I can see cady and regina going after birds and small animals together while their friends regret not bringing leashes

regina tells cady she's a siren by asking, "would you still love me if I was a fish?" on a random Tuesday morning

I just know that bitch reenacts little mermaid any chance she gets

if you read this far, thank you for indulging all of. this. you've probably just learned more about sharks than you ever thought you would. and I did this for fun. anyway, so these posts were just to get the basic details of their powers out there, the next post should be getting into where the actual canon starts. keep reading, dont, either way, I will be writing more of this and I think the spidey au will be separate from this one. goodnight, y'all

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

Ellaaaa please tell us about your show!!! I want the whole account (if you want to/when you have time ofc)!! I'm so happy you got to hear fine line live ahhh you totally deserved it!!!

AAAAAAHHHHHHHH KIND ANON I CAN SCREAM ABOUT IT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE

so we had front of stage tickets and it was 100% the best ticket ive ever had so far: zero effort for an insane view and a fantastic place in the crowd with all the space we needed to dance and more. i've queued before and just really never want to again for more than enough reasons, and here was shown how i seriously didn't need to.

wet leg was epic. i am obsessed with them they are so fucking cute and also cool and also hot and also good. yes. i screamed my frustrations to the sky with them and all was good in the world.

and then. i'll just say immediately that the setlist is fantastic and definitely the best collection of songs i've ever heard of his, despite lights up not being there. the beginning was super fun and energetic, he is a master showperson, but it's in a way that is uniquely his. you can look at him and be in awe of the grandiose performance filling that entire stage, and then see that he's also smirking, skipping along the runway and pulling faces at his band. it's just. !!!!!!!!! you know?!?!?

my soul left my body during stockholm syndrome. goosebumps forever, bc of the sheer disbelief that im hearing a 1d song live. harry smiling, us screaming.

i've always wanted to hear she live, too, so that was just... mesmerizing. there were orchids projected on stage and it was all so perfectly fitting. our orchid, our mermaid. note the colors as well :')

then it was a big fucking party. just dancing and singing like we've never done before. he really felt happy and like he felt good, so happy and jokey. he grabbed Three pride flags during tpwk, and this was my first time witnessing the brass quartet as well. it was a BIG FUCKING PARTY

grapejuice is also so fun live. it's always such an experience to hear him sing a song live that he hasn't really sung before. i could tell that it's a tough one to sing, but he made it fun and quirky and cute.

aaaaaand THEN HE SANG FINE LINE. he sang fine line. holy shit. this is like. i grieved when he decided to stop singing it last european leg, it hit me hard. i think i've said it a shitton of times already on here but fine line is a song i listen to every morning and every night, it's the only thing that can calm me through a panic attack. it's an anthem of perseverance, hope and self-love. hearing it live was just me being transfixed, mesmerized, by what was unfolding in front of me, and slowly crying more and more. a tight tight hug from @bluewinnerangel through the sobs at the end was necessary bc we were all falling apart. in the best way

the darkness and pause after that were also necessary to get us back on track, for a show that was going to rake us through the entire spectrum of the human emotion once more. sign of the times was just. gasp

the PARTY that then ensued during wmyb. that bse intro is something else. any 1d reference obviously unlocks something unhinged in my brain that makes me fucking lose it, but hooooly shit. it goes SO HARD. wmyb always does and i'll never get sick of it.

to finish us off, of course, we have our rock: kiwi. the heaviness of that intro is addictive. his menacing gaze when he's choosing who to soak. the fucking SONG GOES SO HARD. IM HAVING YOUR BABAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY

and then it was over. but it felt extra extra good bc i knew i would be experiencing it again hahahrghr and my body is definitely stiff from the legit workout i did during the concert last night so. holy shit fuck yes