#[ how could i ... not ... reblog this tiny octopus ... ]

[airytificer]

i just remembered that someone in a reblog of 1 of my posts was curious on my take on razor because of my safety tunnels sruvivor post. the one that is actual art of the STS. so uhhh sofry tumblr i'm not sparing the 10 paragraph post because this singular person was curious. you know who you are

apologies, dear razor fans, she is simply insufferable and i am a hater. proceed with caution there is so much text

firstly, her existence makes no sense, how in the WORLD is she a hybrid bestial if the "child logic" chart from pushpin and fossil exists. how is anyone in her pack a hybrid bestial. like are they going to explain that because if one has a child via either spawning stone OR respawn terminal they. aren't hybrids. or usually even the same animal as their parents?? how does razor's pack even exist??? explanation pls?? please don't tell me that she's a wolf-bear hybrid for plot convenience i beg.

other than that, razor also feels a little unreasonably aggressive for someone who is 23. even her packmates don't seem like the type of people to immediately threaten a random person's life because her silly little best friend is fucking dead and they also have nothing to do with it. Actual Grown Woman i tell you, even if she was raised in the forest. her packmates. are better.

speaking on aggressiveness, she is also violent. unreasonably. she hunts survivors; she is omnivorous. gum points this out. razor mutilates a citizen because they wouldn't give directions to a respawn terminal. she has killed fuzzball's classmate because they were "intimidating" her instead of like, idk, being reasonable and indirectly helping fuzzball's school situation. fuzzball didn't even want her to be killed but razor passes it off as like "oooh but it sounded like sheee wanted to kill youuuu" girl you KILLED HER and LIED to YOUR mother so YOU wouldn't get in TROUBLE AND YOU GOT ANOTHER PERSON KILLED AND EATEN IN THAT PROCESS. and fuzzball just goes "maybe you did a good thing" THEY COULDN'T EVEN GET THE HUSK BACK OH MY GYFOSFSUDGGG.

i need an entire paraggraph dedicated to razor and the safety tunnel survivors im so sory

the safety tunnel survivors' situation is dire, their literal only choice to stay completely safe is camping around in the tunnels and eating people. other food sources? probably all consumed by now and they would risk their lives dearly (they are DELICATE OBJECTS mind you, just adds on to the risk even just with the parasites) by going outside. ("it's our only food source" -lava lamp) "those people can't defend themselves" NEITHER CAN THE FUCKING DELICATE OBJECTS. THEY HAVE TO BE COWARDLY OR THEY WILL DIE. they probably know that it's unethical, but they would also have 0 clue on if this apocalyptic event will ever end so what's even the point of worrying about those people's families from their perspectives? it's hopeless for them. sure, wanda COULD go outside to get food. she is a trained assassin. BUT WANDA IS BLIND. THE RISK IS STILL FAR TOO HIGH IN THIS SITUATION. echolocation probably isn't even good enough to avoid parasites (they're so tiny dude)!!!!!! and especially the lage-stage events where the parasites are doing backflips through ways of infecting people. echolocation makes noise and attracts assimilated objects. also, RAZOR IS UNNECESSARILY POWERFUL WHEN KILLING THE SURVIVORS. razor can break A FUCKING FISHTANK, WHICH HAS REINFORCED GLASS, JUST BY ROARING AT HIM. and then she just fucking one-shots the other guys and figuratively dies. why? because they mentioned chowing down on her already-dead best friend. ooo this was TOTALLY just to show off delirium symptoms oghmyfshgjhj. girl this is what i mean by the delicate objects can't even defend themselves.

dragonscale can breathe fire because she is a demon. why can't sticker sheet paralyse and kill razor using his incredibly toxic venom, he's a blue ring octopus, right? LAVA LAMP IS ALSO A DEMON, WHY CAN'T SHE ALSO BREATHE FIRE? oh sorry forgot that the main characters aren't allowed to die sorry plot armour hahaah i hate everything

warhammer, a lawless king, is her father and it genuinely kind of makes her sound more like a mary sue oc because of that. i find it a litle funny.

most of my hate stems from the safety tunnel survivors stuff. it drove me a biiiiit insane. i hope the person who reblogged my post is happy with this.

[meowmeowmeowmeow4x]

Dark Blue Moon and the Suffering Sun Part 7

reblog and comment plz <3 i read every one of them and love them all

also here's the masterpost

Damian knew Phantom used echolocation to locate this ravine in the first place, but the question was whether Damian could try the same thing. Damian hugged the walls of the cliff face, keeping his body flush against the surface, and lurking around corners and behind obstacles. The coast was clear.

Clearing his throat, he let out a high-pitched click, projecting it as far as his voice could carry. Immediately, his sensitive ears picked up the echoes coming back in layers. While the sound he sent was singular, the echoes came back in staggered waves, with layers of different pitches and tones and brief silent spells over the course of a millisecond.

This echolocation was useless!

Damian weighed his options. He could approach the surface, but there was no telling if Skulker had a vessel nearby where he could lick his wounds. The worst thing he could do was just hand himself on a silver platter to the creep. On the other hand, he doubted a flashlight would be very useful at the very depths of the ocean.

He still had to try.

Damian’s backside tingled with a light pressure, a feeling he’d come to associate with his lateral line. He armed the wrist ray on his left hand, and grabbed the Anti-Creep Stick with the other. Scanning the ravine revealed no other sirens or fish, but a slight stirring caught his eye.

Damian squinted at the crevice on the opposite side of the bark, not quite sure of what he was supposed to be looking at, until his nose caught the smell. There was definitely something there, but it didn’t smell like another siren the way Phantom and the teenage girls did.

An octopus then?

Octopodes were intelligent creatures, beautiful examples of the ocean’s biodiversity.

But Phantom needed sustenance, and he couldn’t afford for Damian to be picky. However, he put away the bat regardless. He wasn’t so cruel as to bash its head in to death. No, he would make it quick.

Damian unsheathed his claws, and coiled up his tail. Hopefully it wasn’t one of the poisonous varieties. He truly did not want to test Phantom’s immunities at the moment. Like a tiger waiting to leap, Damian kept his body still, and scrutinised the rock for the slightest deviation in colour…

There! Damian pounced. The octopus’s colour returned to its natural yellow pallor. His hands wrapped around its bulbous head. Score! Now to kill it. Sorry octopus, your sacrifice will not be in vain.

However, the mollusk was not about to give up without a fight. Suckered tentacles slapped at Damian’s face. The slimy skin of its head allowed it to slip out of its grasp. As Damian went to activate the wrist ray, a cloud of ink spurted right into his face, and he lost track of it.

Dammit! Damian let out some uncouth words under his breath, and banged his hand on the rock.

Hunting for food was difficult. Theoretically it should’ve been simple. Find something edible, kill it, bring it back, but everything Damian found was either too small to be worth the effort, or too big to risk his life. Multiple times Damian was forced to dive around corners or into claustrophobic cracks as ocean behemoths crossed his path. He couldn’t even find a patch of seaweed or algae this deep into the trench.

He was running out of options as the sun began to set above. Damian was starving himself, and it was getting frustrating. His body was not adapted to thrive in these waters, or maybe it was, and he just didn’t know how.

Either way, the exhaustion of the hunt began to take its toll on him. Far from providing for Phantom’s recovery, he had only wasted his own energy for nothing. Each failed kill, each accumulated bruise left him more and more anxious. That was why when he spotted a lone anglerfish creeping up from the depths, Damian decided to challenge it.

She, for male anglerfish were absolutely tiny satellites to the females, drifted into the twilight zone where Damian caught sight of her. She was almost half his size, and her teeth seemed as big as his fingers Her lure glowed brightly against the darkness of the deep ocean, as little fish wandered closer to the ‘sun’ and got chomped for their troubles. She was truly beautiful.

Hiding behind a small shelf, Damian aimed the wrist ray. The gills should allow him to subdue her quickly. Then securing the kill should be easy.

Damian waited. Just a little closer…

Then he fired.

The light of the shot was almost blinding. When the glare faded, Damian saw not a dead anglerfish, but a very much alive one dashing away. No! Damian sprung into a sprint after her. This may well be his last chance to get anything edible. He had to give chase.

Thankfully he’d gotten a lot of practice the last few others. As the anglerfish tried to round a corner, Damian grabbed its tailfin with his claws, digging in to try and slow it down.

Instead, the angler swerved to the side. Its powerful muscles slammed Damian against the rocky wall. Damian cried out in pain, and his grip loosened enough for the angler to get away.

Damian groaned. Not another one.

Damian lay there, dizzy from pain and exhaustion, watching morosely as the scraped scales healed themselves before his eyes, taking up valuable energy that he did not have to spare. Night fell. Without light, the next few quarries would be even more difficult, if not impossible. What he would do for Alfred’s cooking right about now. He would never make trouble at the dinner table again, if he ever got out of this alive.

His lateral line spiked up again, but Damian just felt tired. Sighing, he readied himself for another beating. How the might have fallen…

He noticed a beam of light shining from around a corner. Hushed voices followed. They were speaking Atlantean! Damian’s heart soared. He didn’t know they were this close to Aquaman’s territory! He knew there were a small number of settlements in the Pacific, but he never expected to stumble into one of them!

“Over here, I require assistance!” He called out.

The whispers rose into rushed conversation he couldn’t make out. Soon he found a light being shined on him, and two Atlantean soldiers, a man and a woman, pointing their spears at him. What?

“State your business here, siren.”  The venom in the woman’s voice was palpable. Belatedly, Damian realised it was hasty of him to assume good relations between the two ocean peoples. However, this was his last shot.

“Please, my companion is injured and requires medical assistance. I swear on my name that we do not mean you harm.” Damian pleaded, with complete earnestness. He even added a whimper at the end to make himself look more vulnerable, more childlike and unthreatening, even if it was beneath him.

The man laughed. “Hah! I’ve heard that one before, punk. But if you think you’re gonna pull one over us easily, you’re shit outa luck. Your kind’s not welcome in these waters, now scram.”

Damian’s mouth gaped open. Did these people have not the slightest compassion? He often criticised his father’s habit of picking up strays, but deep down he knew that that trait was a quality of his character, and not a flaw. These Atlanteans could not even be bothered to spare him a glance outside of telling him to leave. Their eyes did not hold compassion, or sympathy, or even pity, only hardened wariness, and contempt.

“Please, I beg of you.”

The soldiers bared their spears at him. “I said scram, siren! Go back to your pod and stay there.”

Damian gave them his best glare as he turned tail and swam.

Only, he stopped once he turned a corner, but was still in earshot.

“Damn sirens, sinking to new lows. What next, a baby?” The male soldier muttered, his voice trailing off as the two returned to their patrol.

Patrolling soldiers meant an outpost, maybe even a settlement. And that meant food, medical supplies, and weapons. Damian knew a golden opportunity when he saw one. If these miscreants would not grant him the aid requested, then who was Damian to decide he didn’t need permission?

And so Damian stalked them closely. He trailed behind the duo of soldiers a dozen or so metres away, using his lateral line and nose to keep close track of their movements. A sense of calm quelled the ever present instinctual fear of being out in the open, as the familiarity of stalking targets washed over him. He almost didn’t have to try, with how terrible their situational awareness. If he were in king of the ocean’s shoes, he’d be very disappointed with his underlings’ performance.

Perhaps he’d have to snitch on them to Aquaman once this was all over. That would be suitable revenge.

The soldiers unwittingly guided him through the ravine, finally ascending. Above the cliff shelf, about two hundred metres away, stood an Atlantean settlement. Looks like he managed to catch them at the end of their route. Excellent.

Damian estimated the town’s circumference to be around ten kilometres, judging by parallax. He could just spot scores of Atlanteans going about their day, kicking their legs about to swim in a way that seemed so clumsy after seeing Phantom zip through the waves. The buildings stretched out from the flat sandy planes to jutting out from the sides of cliffs.

What was more important was the fields. Huge fields full of leafy plants he had never seen before. Along the cliff face, vines weaved between stone supports bearing strange fruits.

Damian grinned.

Now, all he needed to do was infiltrate.

[goldenkirstein]

aot band! au headcanons pt. 2:

pt. one here

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pairing: connie x fem! reader, mikasa x fem! reader, armin x fem! reader

wc: 1.2k+

cw: smut (18+ minors DNI), reader has female anatomy, dumbification (?), dacryphilia, squirting, degradation, daddy kink mention, , impact play, slight exhibitionism, collaring, oral sex ( f + m receiving), fingering, slight dubcon.

a/n: this is a repost i changed some stuff, will i ever be satisfied? probably not, but here it is part two. any feedback is appreciated !!

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

smut under the cut

connie springer:

Connie is on drums

His arms are covered in tattoos, and he has snake bite piercings. The tattoos are coloured, and like Eren, pretty cohesive. Most of them are New school style, his favourite piece being an octopus covering his upper arm.

When he performs, he’s usually shirtless, sweat dripping down his body. He stands up on his stool when he finishes a set before taking a bow, his chest heaving and a lazy grin on his face as he shoots you a wink.

His hands are rough and calloused; frequently after shows, you are found tending to his bruised knuckles, scolding him for his carelessness on stage; he says he can’t help that he gets too lost in the music, among other cheesy things that leave you rolling your eyes at him.

He wears bracelets, maybe a ring or two. His favourite is a small handmade bracelet that you made, which sits on his left wrist. He loves seeing how happy you get when you see him wearing it while he performs.

After shows, he gets caught up with fans and his bandmates, but he never lingers for too long, knowing that you’re waiting for him backstage. He loves pulling you into a hug and hearing your protest that he’s so sweaty, but it only makes him tighten his grip around your waist and press his growing bulge against your center, silencing you effectively.

While Connie loves the noises the crowd makes, what he loves more is the way you mewl and whimper for him while he fucks you deeper into the couch.

He’s addicted to the way you dig your nails into his arm, eyes screwing shut when he ruts into your sopping cunt. Your fucked out expression spurring him on to whisper in your ear, “cockdrunk already, princess? I just got started with you.”

Connie likes to lift up your tiny band shirt, giving him a perfect view of your tits; he jerks his cock a few times before he cums with his head thrown back, shooting ropes of his hot seed over your chest. He loves dragging his fingers over pert nipples, collecting his cum, only for him to slide his fingers in your mouth and watch as you diligently suck his digits clean.

mikasa ackerman:

Lead vocalist of the band.

She doesn’t have many tattoos; you can occasionally get a glimpse of the ink when her skirt rides up a little when she’s getting lost in the music.

Mikasa brushes off the comments she gets after shows, fans wondering if she’s dating any of the boys, always answering with a laugh.

You can’t help but feel a little possessive of your Mikasa; she doesn’t notice how the men in the crowd look at her with hunger in their eyes. Little do they know that it’s your fingers that she comes undone on every night.

Sometimes after shows, you’ll have her withering underneath you on the upholstered seats of the tour bus as she cries out in pleasure. The fans’ screaming from before is replaced by the squelching of her wet cunt as your fingers scissor in and out.

She looks like a work of art underneath you, her cute little pussy spread open, clamping down desperately around your digits. Her whimpers fill the bus, tear-filled eyes looking up at you, “p-please let me cum, baby, ‘m a good girl, your good girl.” What kind of girlfriend would you be if you denied her sweet pleas?

Watching her cum, leaves you in a trance. Her legs tremble, and her back arches from the seat as you continue to pump your fingers in and out of her gushing hole; you continue until she’s a twitchy mess pushing your hand away from her sore overstimulated cunt.

Mikasa also has a tongue piercing; she got it as a dare after a celebratory night of drinks when their band headlined the biggest venue in the city. You can catch glimpses of it while she performs, the silver ball peeping out from her delicate mouth. She knows the effect it has on you.

She lives off of your praise, cherishing the way you sigh out in pleasure and call her your perfect angel when she gives your clit kitten licks before sucking on it.

One incident in which Mikasa thought she could be slick was to use a vibrating piercing while eating you out. The vibrations paired with her fingers curling into your sweet spot sent ripples of pleasure across your body, the pressure building in your abdomen until it became too much, and you let out a silent scream, your thighs tensing around Mikasa’s head.

It wasn’t until you came down from your high, you realized that her face was wet; she only gave you a shy smile in response before licking her lips. Needless to say, that wasn’t the last time she used that piercing on you.

armin arlert:

He plays the keys and occasionally is on vocals.

During their performances, he’s usually on the side of the stage, never truly attracting attention to himself. He’s immensely talented and wants people to praise him for that, rather than how he looks or on fancy tricks he does on stage.

However, there is one person he does look for in the crowd, your usually pretty easy for Armin to spot; all he has to do is look for the pink collar with a heart shape “O” ring resting delicately around your throat.

The other boys often joke around how Armin is so pussy whipped, teasing him that the sex is probably vanilla and that he’s probably never made you cum before. Armin doesn’t take the comments to heart; he just laughs and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, if only they knew.

Armin doesn’t linger around fans for too long after shows; he usually goes straight into the green room, where you’re always sitting waiting for him, hands under your thighs. He coos at you, telling you how pretty you looked in the crowd. You bat your eyelashes up at him, mustering out a “thank you, daddy.”

Unlike his other bandmates, he doesn’t have any tattoos but unbeknownst to anybody else, except you, he has nipple piercings.

He loves it when you spend extra time kissing, licking and nibbling at his chest, tongue circling one of his nipples, your hand tweaking the other piercing. Worshipping his chest like the obedient girl you are.

Armin is the jealous type; if he catches you with the other boys, he won’t hesitate to pull you into a room to teach you a lesson.

This is how you end up lying across his lap; skirt hiked up as he delivers spank after spank on your sore ass cheeks, his tone unforgiving as he kneads your ass, “eyeing up the other guys, hmm? I look away for one minute, and you’re already whoring yourself out to them.”

Afterwards, he’ll pull you into his lap, whispering gently in your ear how good you are and that he’s only looking out for you. He brushes away your tears planting kisses all over your body before sliding his cock between your folds to give you your reward for being a good girl for him.

a/n: hope this sounded good, ik i posted this earlier, but i didn't like it, hopefully its better this time around hjghj

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as always, if you enjoyed, leave a like/reblog, i truly appreciate it <33

[mayans-sauce]

Nails

Pairing: Bishop Losa x Female Reader

Word Count: 450

Warnings: none

Request by anon which you can find HERE

A/N: thank you for the request! The prompts have been changed just a tiny bit. Enjoy <3

Sign up HERE to join my taglist!

GROUP CHAT for updates!

Gif Credit: @pedropcl

Your best friend of all time had been so kind to treat you to a nail session with her. A day of having fun and getting pampered was the perfect relaxation after the hectic week you had at work. It also gave you time to catch up together since you hadn’t seen each other in forever.

Once at home Bishop was all over you to show him your nails. He thought it was such a wonderful gift from your best friend to treat yourselves to a bit of a pampering session—just you two girls after the chaotic week that was. It was what both of you deserved.

“Come here!” He patted the sofa cushion for you to sit and show him. He took your hand in his to inspect what had been done. “It looks beautiful! I’m happy you had a good time.” He saw all over you what an easy and satisfying state you were in. Your shoulders are not tense anymore, and that smile of yours had that slight hint of a spark in it which he missed. “It was so nice to catch up and just chill. I don’t normally like to do my nails that much, but this was fun, and I think they turned out pretty.”

It was beautiful work that had been done. The color was soft and not too harsh. You were more than happy how they turned out. They were just a tad bit longer than your natural ones. But it was pretty, and you didn’t mind it at all. The day out with your girlfriend was successful and a much-needed one.

The conversation took a complete 360 turn, with Bishop demanding scratches. “Scratch my back, please?” He laid on his side with his head in your lap, almost nuzzling into you like a cat. “You’re not a fucking cat, Obispo! Scratch your own back! I thought this was my day to be loved and pampered?” “Do I look like an octopus? Do you think I can reach back there? Scratch my back, please! You have the perfect nails for it now. Food is on its way; I have your favorite sappy movie ready to play, and I’ll pamper you all good and pretty in bed later.”

“Ugh, fine.” It’s not like you could resist. You loved to make him feel good, both sexually and none. You lifted his shirt enough to have access to his back. As soon as your nails made contact with him, he melted and was entirely at your mercy. A long drawn out satisfied moan left him at your nails, dragging back and forth on his skin. “Thank you, sweetheart.” “Anytime, Mr. Cat.”

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Thank you for reading❤️ A quick reblog and feedback would be so appreciated❤️ Let me know if you want to be added/removed from the taglist.

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[itsbeaconhillsbaby]

octopus hearts || tom holland x reader

a/n: how do my intended blurbs turn out so long! god dammit. this idea popped into my head, so I hope you all like it. as always thank you so much for supporting; liking, reblogging, commenting or messaging me about any of my work. I love interacting with you guys and I plan to try and be more of a presence in general, not just with writing. come chat! hope you’re all well x  word count: 1638 warning: none...I think everything I write is pretty tame summary: it’s about time you and tom extended your little family 

“You do know she’s only young...” “And? What’s your point?” “The point is, you’ve managed to find the biggest toy in this whole place!” Tom turns to you, cradling two sacks of dry food to his chest, muscles straining slightly against his t-shirt. In his free hand was a large fluffy purple octopus - all 8 legs dangling centimetres off the ground. You’re both stood in front of the full aisle of toys, picking out your favourites for your new arrival. “She’ll grow! Plus look at it...she’ll love it.” He holds up the toy until it’s eye level with you, its stitched mouth looking at you almost mockingly. You roll your eyes, smiling at Tom’s pleading face, his bottom lip curling upwards into a pout. “Okay, it is cute. But that’s the last one Tom, we don’t even know if she’ll like them yet.” Tom grinned cheekily, slipping the toy into the growing basket you were holding, planting a sloppy thank you kiss onto your cheek as he did so. You laughed as he fist pumped the air before continuing your way through the aisles. The excitement was building, the whole situation becoming more and more real, as you searched for the necessary items.

//// “No peeking!”

If you could’ve rolled your eyes, you would have. You had been sat in the car for around 15 minutes, with your eyes closed and your hands covering your face.

Tom had finally wrapped his latest film in the US, and you had spent the past three days in-between your classes ‘reuniting’ – neither of you surfacing from your shared bedroom unless you were forced to do so. You had assumed Tom had met up with the boys, gone down to his local or played golf during your class time and were therefore extremely confused as to why he suddenly woke up one morning, bribed you to get dressed and dragged you out of the house, only to beg you to keep your eyes closed as soon as you got into the car.

“I’m not sure I like this surprise Tom, where the hell are we going?”

“We’re almost there, you’re going to love it! I promise.”

You felt the car come to a halt, gravel crunching beneath the tyres.

“Stay here one sec.” You heard Tom’s car door slam shut, and soon enough you felt the cold air as yours opened.

He guided you out of the car, allowing you to use him for balance as you struggled to get your bearings, eyes remaining closed the entire time.

“Okay. You can open them.”

You slowly opened them, blinking confused as you looked at a grey building. you eyed tom from the side, seeing his cheeky grin lighting up his entire face before you turned back to the building. It was then that you noticed the sign.

You were at your local dog rescue shelter.

“Tom…what are we doing here?” You fully turn to face him, eyes widening in both excitement and shock.

“Well we’ve lived together for over a year now and I know we said it wasn’t possible. But with this new film, they’re looking at a franchise and it’s an entirely UK based production, so I’ll be here, and I don’t know – you’re graduating soon, I’ve looked into dog sitters and walkers for during the day. My family can help ou-”

You interrupt him mid-sentence, arms wrapping around his neck and shoulders as you pull him towards you, eyes fluttering closed as you kissed him. Your entire stomach erupted into fluttering butterflies at all the thought behind the surprise, at the idea that Tom was genuinely just as excited about adding to your little family as you were.

You push back suddenly, “This is actually happening right now? You’re not messing me around? Because that would be a mean prank…”

“No,” he grins, laughing. You felt his breath tickle your cheek, “it’s all real. Now c’mon, we’re going to be late for our doggy date.”

He tucks you into his side, arm wrapped around you as you head into the building, your stomach doing somersaults the entire time.

////

Your phone buzzed, lighting up next to your laptop. You were in your university library, researching titles of books you needed for your dissertation when a text from Tom popped up:

eta 10 minutes x

You immediately took note of the last couple books on your list, before closing your laptop and stuffing it into your bag. You grabbed the pile of books you’d already collected into your arms before checking them out at the front desk, heading immediately for the nearest train station.

You made it home in record time.

As you unlocked the front door you could hear the pitter patter of tiny feet on the wooden floor. Placing your bag and books on the entry table, you let your keys fall into the bowl alongside Tom’s.

“Hey baby. In here.”

You peeked around the corner into the living room where Tom was lying stretched out on his side in the centre of the room. Holding his head up with his palm, he held up a soft crinkly toy as your new little ball of golden fluff jumped on her hind legs in her attempts to reach it.

“We’re bonding,” he murmured, lifting his head to look up at you, “come join us.”

The little puppy was all legs and floppy ears as she caught her toy and bounced across the room, tripping over it as she tried to hold it up. She paused as you entered, her head tilting dramatically from left to right, her toy immediately laying discarded as she tumbled towards you.

“Hey puppy! Hi Nala.” You kneel down, letting her sniff you to remind herself of who you were, before she wiggled onto her back, paws in the air as you gave her belly rubs. Her white and golden tail thumping on the wooden floorboards.

“Oh my god Tom, I can’t believe she’s here!” He sits up, grinning from ear to ear. He rolls one of the balls next to him and you both watch as Nala bounces after it, attention immediately grabbed. You shuffle towards him, placing yourself in his lap, “Thank you, thank you, thank you. Did she cope with the journey okay?”

Tom winds his arms around your stomach, “She was a star. She’s great in the car, didn’t even cry.”

You nod as he begins peppering kisses on your collarbone, as you watch your new puppy continue to explore her new home.

Your eyes are immediately drawn to one of the discarded toys, the giant octopus that was taking up a scary amount of room on the floor. You roll your head towards your boyfriend smirking slightly, “I take it she didn’t like it?”

He whines quietly, huffing, “So she might have run away from it, I think it freaked her out…” you laugh, tangling a hand into his hair as you pull him towards you, before you hear a noise that causes you both to dart your heads up in search of the destructive sound.

“Oh, fantastic so she’s hates my choice in toys, and she’s a cockblock,” Tom mutters as you stifle a giggle, immediately hurrying after your little pup.

////

You were laying on the couch, Tom’s chest pressed to your back. Nala had completely passed out, lying half in her crate, and half out of it and you couldn’t take your eyes off of her.

“Well, I think that was relatively successful,” you murmur.

“You would think that, it wasn’t your shoe laces that she chewed up,” Tom murmured from behind you.

You’d both had a tiring day with Nala. Once she got bored of playing with her toys, she immediately decided that running outside with Tom’s shoe and hiding under one of the bushes just out of reach would be far more exciting.

“You can’t get mad at her, look at her little face.” You sigh, officially completely head over heels in love, “I can’t believe someone would just dump her, she’s gorgeous.”

You felt Tom brushing a hand up you side absentmindedly as he nodded, “I know. They think she was bought as a christmas present, and then abandoned a couple weeks later.”

“We’re going to give her so much love. And I can’t wait to introduce her to Tess. You think they’ll be friends?” You grasp the fingers trailing up your arm and bring them closer round you, interlocking yours with his.

“For sure...best of friends.” He says as you snuggle further down against Tom, his arms tightening around you as you both relax against each other.

The pair of you let Nala recharge her batteries, diving into an episode of the latest show you had been watching together when you jump with a small gasp at the startling movement beneath you, as Tom sat himself up.

“Oh my god, look!”

You take a glance at Nala. she’d shifted herself in her sleep so instead of laying on the cushioned dog bed and blankets that were in her crate, she’d shimmied out and lay flat out against the giant octopus. Paws tangled with the soft legs of the toy as her head rested on its fluffy body, her pink tongue lolling to one side.

“Yes!” Tom cheered, Nala’s eyes immediately opening from the noise, “I knew she’d love it! Watch this space, Oscar the octopus is going to be her favourite.” He jumped off the couch and hunkered down next to her.

“Wait…do not tell me you named it?”

You took in the man in front of you, lying on his front playing with the pads of Nala’s paws and felt your cheeks begin to ache slightly from the smile on your face.

“Who’s clever! Yes Nala, clever girl.”

You took in your dorky little family, sliding off the couch to join them. The perfect little family of three. 

[a-little-dreamer-s-world]

A Singing Loneliness (Part 2)

Back at it again! I’m glad that quite a few of you seem to be enjoying this story as much as I am, though I will admit that I’m not sure how long I’m going to let it run for, but I’ll be doing my best. I’ll be reblogging this with the taglist. Hope y’all enjoy!

Warnings?: Eventual LAMP, Body Insecurity (sort of), Self-doubt, panic, 

“Why can’t we stay here though?”

“Because! It’s not safe to stay in one place too long; you know this, Patton,” Roman huffed at the merman in his arms, his tail laced between his and Logan’s as they settled for the night. The three of them laid in an alcove within a great reef, the shipwreck they had been at in the earlier in the day laying somewhere in the distance.

“But what about the merman in the land vessel? It doesn’t sit well with me to leave him there,” said Patton, looking up from Roman’s chest as Logan’s arm unwrapped from his waist to touch Roman’s arm.

“Well, if he had decided to come out when you were calling him, then he could have joined us. But he didn’t and that’s his choice. But seriously—”

“I think we should stay here for a little while,” Logan interrupted, surprising the other two enough to look at him.

“You too, Logan?” Roman asked, disbelief written all over his face. It was rare that Logan didn’t side with him when it came to Patton and his admittedly impulsive decisions.

“Well, why not? There are not many predators around here, and the ones that are here are smaller than us. It would give us a good break and we don’t need to worry about food for a bit,” Logan explained, shrugging his shoulders.

Patton seemed ready to erupt out of their arms in excitement, but Logan saw the look on his face and quickly added, “But it would still be a good idea to stay away from the vessel. They’re unstable with decay, so any thump against it could cause it to collapse.”

Roman sighed as Patton deflated against his chest, saying, “Let’s discuss this in the morning. Figure something out then.” He leaned down to kiss of their foreheads, feeling Logan lean over to kiss his cheek and Patton kiss his chin.

The three would settle down down once Logan kissed the top of Patton’s head, closing their eyes amid the soft light filtered through the water with the rising moon.

Virgil awoke in his nest of kelp, just as alone as he was when he fell asleep. In his mind that was a bit of a relief; another day he could ensure he was still here alive and well. 

He raised his arms above his head to stretch, his tentacles extending out with them. He paused to listen to his surroundings, nodding to himself when nothing unusual was heard. He pushed himself forward and squeezed out of his hole. Virgil placed a hand on a wall, allowing a small smile to loosen his lips.

This place had made a good home for him; it hid him from predators and it was a great place to hunt for food. Speaking of which...

Virgil licked his lips when he picked up the sound of scuttling in the sand. He swam as quietly as he could towards his exit, finding himself in the lower parts of the human ship. He chose his favorite corner and got into position, slowing his breathing as his skin started to blend into his environment.

Ten minutes and a snatch by his tentacles later, he was enjoying his first meal of the day with a decent sized crab. He leaned back against the wall and hummed to himself, thinking back to the day before. What was it like to be in a ‘pod’? Was it nice? Annoying?

...Loving?

He shook his head, looking down at the half-eaten crab before tossing it away from him with a scowl. No, he shouldn’t think like that. There wouldn’t be a chance that they would allow him near them if they saw what he truly looked like. He had scared so many others away with how he looked; might as well let the last look of him be somewhat pleasant.

He was about to float over so he could retrieve his crab when a sound made him freeze, his skin draining into a pale gray. A familiar swish of a large tail was approaching, and fast.

He sped back up into the hole back into the room he had laid in to talk to the pretty merman yesterday. He waited with baited breath, wondering why was he back. Or... no, it wasn’t him.

He watched as the merman with the royal blue scales came into the hull, glancing around. Was he looking... for him?

No! Pale Blue (Patton, if he had heard right the other day) must have left something here the yesterday, and he and Red didn’t notice either until they all realized it was missing. But then, he would have found it earlier in the day if that were the case. So then why...?

Royal Blue’s scales weren’t just that color as he observed him further. The blue would be interrupted by specks of silver scales, making him look like the night sky, on the rare occasion Virgil would be brave enough to go near the surface. His scales crawled up his spine and his arms, patches branching off like bubbles. He was longer than Patton, every move he made filled with grace and with an effortless agility he wished he had.

 It was when dark blue eyes met his brown ones that he panicked and ducked out of sight, trembling as he anticipated for what, he didn’t know.

What he didn’t expect was to hear him hum.

Logan didn’t know why he was doing this, to be honest.

The three of them had split up to hunt for food, but Roman had made sure that he had Patton in his sights because they all knew if he had the chance he would go back to the sunken ship. Which left Logan to his own devices as to what he decided to catch.

While he didn’t necessarily share Patton’s sentiment over the concern of the strange merman, his curiosity was driving him crazy. Why did he seem so shy? How was he comfortable, or even able, to live in such a place that could come crashing down at any time? And where was his pod if there was one? Was he abandoned, waiting?

Was he a lone survivor?

Logan looked back to make sure Roman wasn’t following him as he entered through the hull, sniffing the water as he kept his ears open in case he heard the stranger. A fresh kill caught his nose, drifting closer to the half-eaten leftovers of a crab.

Now this was interesting; Usually, merman teeth and claws weren’t strong enough to cut through crab shell, but it clearly had been torn apart. He mused about this as he glanced up, but his thoughts took a grinding halt when he found dark brown eyes staring back at him.

His mouth opened in slight surprise as the stranger ducked out sight, a soft whimper being the only indicator that the mysterious merman had not left the ship entirely. His initial reaction was to swim up there and actually see him, but something about the whole situation stopped him. 

What was it that Patton had told them about? His singing? He figured he should try it; that way, maybe this stranger would be more willing to come out.

He closed his eyes and started to hum first, finding the tune. He opened up his mouth and let out a drawn out note, the melody starting out like a lullaby. He had never had the confidence in his voice like Roman or Patton; instead, he sung soft, though that never seemed to bother the other two, even enchanted by it.

His eyes opened when another voice joined his, almost making him falter in his song. The stranger was just as Patton had described and more. He strengthened his song to keep him with him, relaxing into himself as the low voice drifted into his mind to memorize.

He let the melody taper out, giving the stranger a small smile. “You really are like Patton said.”

The other merman shuffled above him, acting a bit bashful. “I don’t know what you mean, sorry. What did he say?”

“He told us you were breath-taking, both in looks and in your voice,” he replied, honest and warm, unlike his usual matter-of-fact tone. He slowly inched closer, trying to seem inconspicuous in his movement. 

The merman gave him a tiny smile, looking away. “I think he’s thinking too highly of me. I’m just... me, after all.”

“Really? Because I would have to say that I agree with him, Logan said, his smile growing wider as he saw his whole face turn a slight shade of pink. He failed to notice that his forearms had turned that color as well, even over the “scales”.

“So, if he’s Patton, then who are you?” he asked, Logan seeing those pretty brown eyes stare into his.

“I’m Logan. Why... Why won’t you come out?” He had already halved the initial distance without the other noticing, feeling his hand twitch with the need to touch his pretty face.

“I...I’d rather not, I’m sorry,” he said, backing away from the hole just an inch. Logan felt a lurch in his chest that he would disappear for good, and he decided to go for it.

Just as he floated closer with his hand outstretched, he saw the stranger’s eyes fill with panic (and was that fear? He had hoped not; for him to be the cause of such fearful look...), and he quickly ducked out of sight. Before he could anything, call out, go in after him, anything, he was met with something that made him sputter back.

Pitch black... stuff filled his vision and his mouth, coughing to try and get it out. Ink, he belatedly realized as his back hit something solid. He stopped all movement when he felt vibrations in the water, his own warnings of the unstable ship filling his mind. He cleared his eyes the best he could and whisked himself out of the hull to find his pod, find his safety, find his home.

As he swam off, his mind went to where all that ink came from. There must of been an octopus in there, and it must have gotten startled when the other merman had dashed off. But even he had to admit that no octopus produced that much ink, and that something in the back of his brain was flashing that something was off, he had to ignore for it now.

He just wanted his home.

What had he done?

Virgil groaned as he heard Royal Blue leave, ink trailing from him into the surrounding water. He forced himself to move out of the ship through a different exit, not wanting to be seen. He would have to wait before the ink cleared out.

He curled up on himself, grabbing his head. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He knew now, or if he didn’t he was going to figure it out. He would tell the others, and they would hate him, and he would have to move, and...!

He looked down at his skin, and once again he could see patches color that belonged to those three mermen. He was suddenly filled with anger and shame at himself; how dare he thought of them and their beautiful selves and even think he could be anything like them.

He was not fast or agile, he didn’t have claws, his skin was nothing like their wonderfully smooth scales. He was just... himself.

Tides, he hated himself.

He didn’t know what to do now; if he’d stay, they would confront him, maybe even hunt him, for lying about himself. For acting like something he wasn’t. He reached down and grabbed a tentacle, squeezing it as hard as he cold. It didn’t hurt all that much; he didn’t know if he should cry about that or what.

Finally, he sighed, letting go as his entire being turned a dull brown. If he were to move, where would he go? This was the best house he’s had in most of his life. So what if they decided to come for him? At least he could always hide away and keep quiet so they didn’t find him.

And honestly, if they did find him, could it even be worse than being all alone?

He glanced back up to his ship, remember the shaking it had done with Logan’s departure. He should probably be more worried about than he actually was, but even if it did come down, he could most likely make some kind of house out of it.

It was at that moment he wondered if he had ever called this place home.

With his weary shake of his head, he made his way back inside. Something made him pause, turning his head to look out into the open ocean beyond.

The feeling of the water around felt more... active than normal. He had felt this before; a storm must be heading his way. He idly thought how he would need to hunker down in the night in case anything else decided to take shelter in the ship.

Little did he know that it would be a storm that would change everything in his small world.

[squiid-iink]

Assistance? If anyone can help that is?

So, my teacher wants me to design her a realistic octopus cuff tattoo that goes around her entire forearm (elbow to wrist). I don’t have trouble drawing the actual thing (I’ve made little tiny paper flips that show the front and back of the design if you flip it accordingly that she currently has). Her only complaint was not being able to see what it looked like actually on her (which is understandable).

So now she wants a little “sample” (I don’t know what else to call it) of it that she can wrap around her arm on paper (not like a temporary tattoo, like a sheet of paper she can wrap and tape and have it on to see how it looks, though she might want a temporary tattoo version later, she can never make up her mind) so I’m just thinking about taking a sheet of paper, wrapping it around her arm, cutting it appropriately, re-drawing the design on it, and then putting it back on for her to see (that way I could actually to the appropriate proportions at least, since I haven’t been given measurements).

The reason I’m thinking of doing this even though I’m sure it’s not the right way to is because, like I previously mentioned, she hasn’t been giving me the measurements of her arm for me to use, so I might just do it this way really fast since the school year is almost over and such and make it super nice and pretty to show her after the break (unless I can actually meet with her long enough to get the measurements and still have time to do this before June 18th, but I semi doubt that)I might do it a different way though (different than the paper wrap thing that she wants). Which is why I am making this post.

Do any of you guys have suggestions or tips for this? An easier way of making her this “sample”? Cause I know that what I’m thinking of doing might work, but it also might not work and turn out not looking like what she’s talking about when she is asking for a “sample”. I don’t have access to any other form of doing it in a professional manner (that I can think of at least).

So if anyone has any ideas that either you can just think of or you have seen before or have had actual tattoo artists do with you or someone you know (that I could still do as a teenager in high school with only 14 dollars to my name) please feel free to comment below or pm me. It’d be great to get an outside opinion since my friends don’t really care and are no help in this scenario at all.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you have a nice day.

Goodbye.

Also

Please reblog if you don’t know how to help so that someone who might be able to has a better chance of seeing this

Thank you!

And goodbye again!

[queenofmoons67]

the wingbeats carry on

Fandom: Akatsuki no Yona

Summary: When all the dragons are turned into actual dragons, Hak and Yoon have to figure out how to turn them back.

SPOILERS for anything after the anime, including the OVAs.

Word Count: 885

You can find links to both the original Tumblr post this is based off of, art created by @akatsuki-no-octopus for it, and the AO3 version in the reblog!

Credit to Nickelback for the original lyrics “just like a heartbeat / the drumbeat carries on.” I do not own Akatsuki no Yona.

There wasn’t any warning when it happened. One second Hak was talking to Yona, the next he was staring down at a ruby-colored dragon only four times the size of Ao.

Hak blinked several times, and when the dragon didn’t disappear, he asked incredulously, “Yona-hime?”

The dragon chirped and blinked large, purple eyes back at him. When he did nothing but keep staring, the dragon flapped her wings once, twice, and launched herself into Hak’s arms. Before he knew it, itty bitty horns on the crest of her head butted his chin—hard. Hak stumbled backwards, groaning, but somehow managed to keep a hold on the dragon. A long, slimy tongue snuck out of her mouth and bathed his chin where she had accidentally hit him.

Hak made a face, but she only did it once so he didn’t say anything but, “You are definitely Yona-hime.”

She chirped again, and Hak sighed.

That wasn’t the end of it. Hak returned to camp, the dragon who was Yona in his arms, to find Yoon staring at four other dragons. Four. A huge golden dragon the size of a small hill, Zeno’s pendant hanging off of one horn, crouched as far to the edge of the forest clearing as he possibly could to make room for the others. Though, granted, most of that room was needed by the bear-sized emerald dragon currently prancing in circles, long legs striking the hard earth and his head held high as he took deep breaths, nostrils flaring.

Leaping around the emerald was a white dragon the size of a small mountain lion. His tail lashed the air in excitement, and the only times he stopped moving were to carefully skirt around a sky colored dragon only as big as a half-grown wolf pup. Ao sat calmly in-between the blue dragon’s horns, holding onto one with one hand while the other held the acorn she was eating.

Yona arched her neck so her own head rubbed the underside of his chin, while her tail wrapped around one arm to squeeze it tightly.

“Pushy princess,” he muttered, but stepped forward all the same. “The four idiots, I presume?”

Yoon whirled around, his entire body relaxing as he cried, “Hak, you’re back! Thank goodness, you won’t believe—” The sight of Yona, very much a dragon herself, made Yoon gape. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Hak shrugged and, when Yona started to wiggle, set her down. Watching her bound over to sniff at Shin-ah, he said, “Unfortunately not. Thankfully we were just talking when it happened.”

Yoon nodded slowly, but the Genius Pretty Boy didn’t have the best temper. Hak counted to three and then watched as Yoon spun back around, hands on his hips and Mom Glare in his eyes.

“Kija, what did your grandmother do this time?” he asked exasperatedly, staring down at the white dragon. Kija—who had finally stopped bouncing around in favor of investigating Dragon Yona—looked back up at him with what Hak could only call a sheepish expression. Yoon sighed. “I know it’s not your fault, Kija, but just—” He waved his arms at the five dragons. “—Look at all of you! What are we going to do now? We’re supposed to meet Lili to discuss the events in Xing next week.”

Zeno turned his head and snorted at them, the wind the action created blowing through their camp in a flurry. Hak braced himself with his legs and turned his shoulder into it, steadying Yoon when the boy stumbled into him. Jae-ha, as big as he was, didn’t have an issue. The other dragons weren’t so lucky.

The wind caught under Kija’s wings and sent the white dragon stumbling, while Shin-ah and Yona—and Ao—were so tiny they blew straight up into the air. Zeno coughed as he held back another snort, this time in alarm, and swung his tail around so that Shin-ah landed on it, legs splayed out and thankfully not impaled on one of the tail spikes. Ao had managed to hold onto the blue dragon, so she was also fine. And Yona was—

Hak stumbled back as Yoon fell into him, and the three of them—Hak, Yoon, and Yona the tiny red cannon ball who had glided right into them—ended up on the ground in a mix of groaning limbs. When they righted themselves, it was to find the other four dragons and Ao staring down at them, Zeno and Kija with their eyes wide, Jae-ha visibly trembling as he held back laughter, and Shin-ah and Ao with their heads cocked to the side in curiosity.

Hak stared at them, then at Yona as the smallest dragon hopped over to stand between Jae-ha’s front legs. Yoon scrambled up to check that her and Shin-ah hadn’t been injured.

“Five dragons, a squirrel, a mother, and me,” Hak muttered. Kija chirped at him, slightly deeper but mostly the same sound the princess had made earlier. “Well! Yoon, if you get started on dinner, the dragons and I will put the camp back together again.” There was no point in worrying about how things would work out. If it was like the other spells they had been cursed with, it would fade within the week.

It didn’t fade within the week.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think!

P.S. I am accepting prompts for future chapters! This is only the first of many to come. The second chapter is already with my beta, and hopefully there will be more soon after that.

[mst3kproject]

K11: Humanoid Woman – Part I

The original title of this film in the USSR was the Latin Per Aspera ad Astra, which translates roughly to Through Hardships to the Stars.  It’s a phrase that has inspired a great deal of art and poetry, some of which I will be reblogging as bonus material.  The movie is two hours long, and I’ve never seen it even on MST3K, so I have no idea what to expect.  Knitting in hand, snack at fingertips, here goes.

A group of cosmonauts discover an unidentified spacecraft, apparently abandoned.  They stop to check it out, and find evidence of an unknown catastrophe that seems to have killed all the creatures on board – except for one, who had time to get into a spacesuit.  The crew’s first contact specialist, Sergei Lebedev, takes this survivor back to Earth with him to stay with his family.  Niya, as they call her, begins to remember flashes of a polluted and hostile world and of a cruel creator, while the humans discover that she not only has frightening telekinetic powers, there appears to be some kind of control circuit implanted in her brain.

When ambassadors from her home planet of Dessa arrive on Earth, Niya stows away on the ship taking them back to their homeworld.  She and the humans arrive to find Dessa almost entirely devoid of life and run by a corporation selling gas masks and bottled air. After some research, the Earthlings discover a way to clean up the planet’s atmosphere, but the CEO of the gas mask company, the greedy and callous Turanchox, will stop at nothing to maintain his stranglehold on Dessa.  Niya’s powers, which her creator intended would save the planet, may just be what he needs to destroy her companions. He just needs to find the control circuit.

This is a complex film with a hell of a lot to say and a lot for me to get my analytical teeth into, so I’ve decided to stretch this review out into two pieces.  This week I’ll discuss Per Aspera ad Astra as a movie with effects, performances, and so forth, and take a look at its worldbuilding and storytelling.  Next week, I will delve into the movie as a piece of Soviet propaganda.

The Russian movies that appeared on MST3K tended to be better than they’re given credit for (probably the really bad Russian movies were never exported to the west in the first place) and Per Aspera ad Astra is not an exception.  There are parts of it I absolutely love.  The worldbuilding in particular is beautifully done, with small moments used to establish big pictures.  When the cosmonauts in the opening scene find a strange vessel in space, they are able to look it up in a catalogue and find no matches for it – this tells us eloquently and with no clunky dialogue that this is a future in which we’ve had contact with multiple civilizations among the stars.  The utter everydayness of space travel is established by having a spaceport that looks and sounds just like a modern airport, and makes the audience marvel at the fact that here in the twenty-first century, humans have learned to fly and no longer think anything of it.

The special effects are lovely.  They’re not perfect, but they’re good enough, and their purpose is to tell the story rather than to make the audience go, “wow!”  The composite shots aren’t great, but the miniatures are nice.  Planet Dessa is just a bunch of industrial sites filmed through an orange filter but it gets the idea across.  Niya’s powers are edited with abrupt cuts and tight focus, which make them feel jarring and out of place – later, when we see her on Dessa, the edits are smoother because this is where she belongs.  The only thing that’s really bad is the octopus alien in the tank, which gets worse the closer we look at it. It looks like a dude with a sheet of latex draped over him, which is of course exactly what it is.  A puppet would have been way better.  This creature is irrelevant anyway, being nothing but intrusive comic relief – though the scenes with Vasily the cat are actually pretty funny.

The best effect in the movie are the zero-gravity sequences, which are magnificent.  They’re the equal of anything in Gravity or Apollo 13, without any computer trickery or the need to film in freefall – instead, they’re done in a neutral buoyancy tank, like the one NASA uses to train astronauts.  The ingenious thing is that the only zero gravity environment in the film is on the dead spacecraft from Dessa, which has no power and is full of dust and debris from the explosion, which naturally makes it look smoky and dim… as if it’s all underwater!  Something that could have been an obvious trick actually adds to the atmosphere instead.

There’s an interesting escalation of the sci-fi elements in this film. For most of the first half of the movie we’re on the Lebedev family’s estate, which is a peaceful and pastoral place. All the farm work is done by robots, but the only robot we see is the amusingly humanoid one that serves as a butler of sorts, and there’s very little to tell us we’re actually two centuries in the future.  Later, the speculative elements increase in importance, as we meet the octopus alien and go back into space, and finally Dessa itself, with its orange sky and its monsters, is something that could only exist in a sci-fi movie.  No matter how weird and esoteric this movie gets, it’s all rooted in the ordinary. The fact that we spent so much time with normal people on Earth reminds us that there are normal people everywhere – even on dying planets and ocean worlds of octopus aliens.

Roger Ebert once said of My Big Fat Greek Wedding that everybody in it looked like a real person – that this was not some alternate universe in which Anne Hathaway is considered awkward and nerdy.  Per Aspera ad Astra is like that, too. Even characters who are supposed to be attractive, like Sergei’s son Stepan and his friend Selena, are very ordinary-looking by Hollywood standards.  Thus they should be: this is a story about normal people doing what their world considers to be normal things.  The various crew members on the spacecraft look tired and occasionally bored or frustrated by their duties, as people would when this is just their nine-to-five. The workaday feeling of the people and places, the functionality of the sets and the costumes, remind me of Alien – this world is science fiction to us, but not to the people who live there.

It’s hard to judge performances in a language I do not speak, but I was very impressed by Yelena Metyolkina as Niya.  She is physically perfect for the part, with large eyes, fair colouring, and a slim, bony build that make her look a little alien to begin with.  Throughout the first part of the movie Niya is almost totally mute, but Metyolkina makes that silence speak volumes: we see that Niya is afraid of her own powers and overwhelmed by the abundance of life all around her on Earth.  She imparts her emotions through tiny twitches of her face and body.  When we first meet her, she does very little but sit in a chair with her knees tucked up to her chest – as she opens up emotionally, she also opens up physically, permitting herself to move around and take up space.  Later, when she is frightened or vulnerable, the curled posture returns.

It’s really remarkable how much her appearance changes when she starts wearing wigs.  She still looks odd, but the simple presence of hair softens her quite a bit and you can believe she would blend into a crowd in ways she wouldn’t with the buzz cut that is apparently natural to her.  Even with the wig on, though, Metyolkina manages to include moments that remind us Niya is not an earthling and will never quite fit into this world, no matter how much she learns.  She can act human, but it really is just an act.

The movie also does an excellent job of portraying equality between the sexes.  We meet several women and all of them are respected as the intellectual equals of the men.  Dr. Ivanova is an authority in her field and while Sergei argues with her about how Niya should be treated, he bows to her insistence on security features for his home, and allows her to study Niya’s brain and the cybernetics in it.  Only once does he say something disrespectful, and she immediately calls him on it and makes him apologize.  Sergei’s mother is an obstetrician, also well-regarded and with her services in high demand.  Stepan’s friend Selena is a bit of an annoyance with her crush on him, and says some insensitive things to Niya, but she is not the empty-headed ditz cliché would demand.  The only place where there’s an obvious inequality is in the all-male spaceship crews.

On all these many levels, Per Aspera ad Astra is an absolutely beautiful, well-made, and thoroughly enjoyable film.  I admit that I probably think it’s better than it is because I’m comparing it to all the many bad movies I watch, but I was absolutely enthralled by the visuals, the story, and the complex and conflicted character of Niya.  I think this is most likely why MST3K never re-visited Humanoid Woman the way they did some of the other KTMA films.  There’s just not that much to make fun of.

At least, not until we get into the meaning of this story.  Unfortunately, when that happens Per Aspera ad Astra starts to get really preachy – like, Avatar levels of preachy.  Stay tuned for next week, when I will attempt to unpack the Soviet side of Cold War Propaganda.  It’s just as annoying as the American one, even when it looks prettier.

[mothmanismyuncle]

The Witching Hour

Hey. I wrote some filth. I know, I know, usually, my rule is “Don’t Get Horny On Main,” buuuuut this is too good to pass up, and I’ve been reblogging debauchery here for months anyway. 

This is a Klance Witch AU smut piece, very short. I’m going to turn it into a series because what even is time management?

Anyway, smut below the cut ;)

Tagging @bitchniz

Let me know if you want tagged in later instalments.

Lance almost couldn’t contain the snort that bubbled up inside of him when he saw where Keith was tugging them.

“Keith, can’t you see the irony here?” He sniped. The dark look that the boy shot him from under his bangs made his steps shorten momentarily. His pants were just a little too tight all of the sudden to maintain his usual swagger. “We’re about to go into a broom closet,”

“Shut it,” Keith growled, one side of his mouth ticking up. Lance was forgiven, for the moment. Keith knelt down and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. Lance’s eyes scanned the hallway. It was lunch period, and this was the science wing. No real reason why anybody should be over here unless they also needed a little alone time in a broom closet to get them through the day. Keith unlocked the door in seconds with his lockpicks and had a finger snagged in Lance’s belt loop before Lance could say anything else. The door closed behind them, and they were plunged into darkness.

“Light switch?” Lance breathed. Keith’s hands were everywhere, gods, the boy was an octopus. 

“We don’t need it,” Keith insisted lowly, pressing wet kisses to the column of Lance’s throat. Lance hummed in response. That was one surefire way to get Lance to be quiet, and Keith found that out early on. Lance got to work on Keith’s jacket. “No,” There was a hiccup in the inception of a love bite. “Not today.”

“Okay, mi cielo. Where?” Hands cupped Keith’s face and the pads of lithe thumbs rubbed small circles in his cheekbones. 

“Backdoor only,” Keith’s voice rasped and he cleared his throat. He’d never not feel awkward about this part, but he knew it was best for the both of them. Lance, bless him, giggled to relieve the tension in the air.

“As you were,” Keith let out a low laugh and brought his attention back to just under the palm that reminded him where he had left off in the dark. Keith finished bringing a dark blossom to life on Lance’s collarbone, just under the line of his tee shirt and snaked his hands up Lance’s stomach. “You’re impatient today,” Lance said quietly in his ear.

“I’m impatient every day,” Keith shot back before lifting the tee shirt up and over Lance’s head. The soft chuckle made Keith’s heart pound and he felt his face break into a grin.

“You got me there, mullet,” Lance said quietly. Keith grabbed Lance’s belt buckle and tugged gently. “Go ahead.” Keith could already tell that Lance was so ready for this as he unbuttoned his pants and eased his fly over his erection. The hiss that Lance let out made Keith grin again as he sunk to his knees. Lance tangled his fingers in Keith’s hair as Keith worked Lance’s boxers down. “Guess which ones I’m wearing,” Lance said, not fully expecting an answer.

“Uh, the happy cow ones,” Keith said offhandedly as he fished around in his jacket pocket for a condom. Lance gasped.

“How did you know?” There was a rip as Keith tore open the package with his teeth. “Maybe that’s your magic, Keith. Mind-reading.” 

“Not the time,” Keith said stiffly. He rolled the condom down Lance’s length and Lance swallowed with a gulp.

“You’re right,” He gasped. Keith chuckled darkly as he licked his lips. 

“Like usual,” Keith muttered. Lance didn’t have a chance to fight back before Keith took him into his mouth. The air left Lance’s lungs in a hurry as Keith took as much as he could with a bob of his head. Lance’s hand tightened in Keith’s hair and Lance felt Keith grin around him.

“Kinky mullet,” Lance breathed on a shaky exhale. Keith swirled his tongue over the head and Lance groaned, deep in his throat. Lance tugged and it was Keith’s turn to moan as he took more of Lance in on another frantic bob. “Keith,” Lance breathed. “Keith, Keith,” He was praying, now. Keith knew this rhythm like he knew the rhythm in shifting gears on his bike. “You’re so good at this, Keith. You and that filthy mouth,” Lance muttered. Keith knew his pupils would be blown wide with an expression on his face that always made Keith wonder what Lance thought he was looking at. Keith hummed and chuckled when the vibrations made Lance stutter. “Slow down, slow down,” Lance instructed. “We’ve still got the main event.” Keith extricated Lance from his mouth with a crude popping sound. 

“You got the lube?” He asked, standing up. 

“Do I have the lube, he asks.” Lance scoffed. A plastic snap answered Keith’s question. “Are you going to be a good boy and get ready for me?” Keith’s hands moved of their own accord. Pants hit the floor, and thumbs hooked into the waistband of boxers. “Uh, don’t forget your gloves, dude. Last time was gross,” Keith snorted and unhooked the snaps on his gloves and tucked them into his jacket pocket. He put a hand out and connected with Lance’s chest.

“Ready.” He said huskily. Lance’s hand cupped the curve of his ass.

“That makes two of us,” He said. Keith could hear the grin in his voice as a finger smoothed between his cheeks. The lube was warm from riding around in Lance’s pocket all day. “Spread your legs a bit,” Lance muttered in his ear. “That’s a good boy,” Heat pooled low in Keith’s abdomen at the words. Lance’s finger teased at the entrance and Keith couldn’t hold in the growl that escaped him at the taunting contact. “Calm down, wild man, we’re getting there,” He chuckled. Keith arched his back and Lance kissed him in an obvious attempt at distraction. Keith kissed back for a moment but snagged Lance’s bottom lip in a sharp bite. “Ow!” Lance cried. “Alright, alright, you frickin’ cannibal, you win,” Lance’s finger dipped into Keith and Keith’s breath hitched. “Happy?”

“Very,” Keith responded. The word vibrated in his chest and made Lance chuckle at him, but Lance kept up his work. Lance peppered Keith’s neck with soft kisses as he toiled, making Keith’s breaths come in staccato gasps.

“You ready?” Lance whispered into the crook of Keith’s neck.

“Yesterday,” Keith muttered, backing away and spinning around. 

“Okay, logistically, there’s gotta be something for you to lean on in here,” Lance said, palming himself and getting a bit more lube. 

“The shelves,” Keith replied, already leaning over. 

“Good thinkin’. I knew we kept you around for more than your charming good looks,” Lance chuckled, his hand connecting with Keith’s ass. His thumb swirled around Keith’s hole. “What’s your poison today, wild man?” 

“Lightning,” Keith said, without hesitation. Lance hummed as he lined himself up. 

“Lightning,” He replied. “Coming right up,” Strong hands gripped Keith’s hips and the pressure built against him. It was all he could do to keep himself from rocking back on his heels and fucking himself against Lance, and he bit his lip in impatience. Lance’s thumbs swirled against Keith’s hipbones and Keith tasted pennies in the air. That was his only warning before a sharp snap filled the air and every point of contact that Lance had with him came to life briefly. A groan pulled itself from Keith’s throat like taffy and Lance bottomed out. “That’s a good boy,” Lance said lowly. There was a pause.

“Lance, if you don’t move in two seconds,” Keith snapped. 

“Alright, alright. I’d say, ‘Keep your shorts on,’” He replied, swirling his thumbs on Keith’s hips once more. Keith tasted pennies as he growled. 

“Lance!” Lance chuckled and pulled himself slowly backwards before allowing Keith to have a taste of the thunderstorm in his veins. Keith’s limbs tingled as one hand snaked forward, towards his dick. 

“What’s your colour?” Lance asked tenderly. Keith allowed a second to pass before answering.

“Green,” He replied. Sparking kisses made their way up Keith’s spine as Lance lazily circled the head of his dick with a finger, sending tiny arcs of electricity directly into Keith’s brain. “Oh, god,”

“Leave him out of this,” Lance chuckled. He picked up the pace, tearing another low moan from Keith’s chest. Keith felt the pressure building in his groin as Lance’s magic made his whole being tingle to life. He rasped a breath and the steady stream of words that he hadn’t realized he’d been babbling — mine, mine, mine, — slammed to a stop as another snap sounded and electricity kissed his asscheek. “Oh, thaaat might be a little sore later,” Lance stopped moving. Keith snarled and bucked his hips back and Lance whined. 

“Somethin’ to remember you by,” Keith said darkly and Lance resumed his work on Keith’s dick. The sparks in his fingertips made Keith’s head swim and his lungs felt like they couldn’t get enough air. 

“You are such a good boy,” Lance whispered huskily in his ear, moulding himself to Keith’s back.

“I’m close,” Keith stuttered and Lance nipped his ear. 

“Me too,” He grunted. He picked up the pace, chasing his own release, and turned up the voltage, chasing a release for Keith. A whine escaped Keith’s mouth as he felt his knees begin to shake. Lance gripped Keith’s waist tighter to keep from falling over as the pair of them saw the face of a God they knew intimately. 

Keith’s moans reached a crescendo, and three things happened all at once. The lightbulb over them flared to life, but it was short-lived. The power flowing through it caused it to explode in a shower of purple sparks. The cleaning supplies on shelves that they were debauching swiped themselves down, falling all around the boys but miraculously not touching them. And last, but absolutely not least, Lance came, followed by Keith shortly after.

“Holy shit,” Lance breathed, eyes wild in the dark. “That usually doesn’t happen,” He chirped. He pressed one last kiss to Keith’s spine as he extricated himself from Keith’s ass. “Wonder what that was,” 

“Dunno,” Keith rasped. His forehead rested on his arm on the shelf. “Think you could find some paper towels?” Lance turned his phone flashlight on and set to work cleaning his boyfriend up. 

“Did that lightbulb explode purple, or am I just losin’ it?” Lance asked, and Keith gave him a level look.

“We just had mind-blowing sex in a school janitor’s closet, and you want to know what colour the lightbulb exploded in?” Lance huffed at Keith’s dry tone. “You were keeping me pretty busy,” 

“Okay, okay. It was a little… Weird, is all.” Lance said, handing Keith his boxers and pants. “Wait, did you take your jeans off over your boots?” He asked giving Keith an incredulous look. Keith sighed and smacked at his forehead. 

“We’re gonna be late for class,” Keith said, wriggling into his pants and stuffing his hands into his gloves. 

“Sure, sure,” Lance finished cleaning himself off as best as he could before wrapping the condom in an auspicious amount of paper towels. “Hope they don’t find this,” They peeked out of the broom closet before leaving, hands tangling together.

“I’m sure they’re gonna be more busy with the mess in there than the trash can,” Keith said quietly, cheeks pinkening. “I’m not sure what happened either.” He admitted. Lance peeked back over his shoulder at the closed door with a frown. There was something he couldn’t quite put his finger on about that, but Keith squeezing his fingers once around his snapped his attention back to his boyfriend.

“Yeah, it’s whatever,” Lance said, waving a hand in the air. “Weird coincidence.”

[green-eyeddragonfanfiction]

Running from the Past: Chapter 4

Summary: Reader is a mutant who was experimented on by HYDRA. Due to her unique powers, she escaped a year and a half ago without being seen when the Avengers attacked the Hydra compound she was kept in for 5 years of her life. Her mutations and Hydra experiments allow her to blend in with her surroundings (like a chameleon/cuttlefish/octopus) and change her appearance in minor ways (such as hair, skin, and eye color), though the changes are only temporary. She’s been caught by the Avengers. After a long and painful conversation with the Winter Soldier, she accepts his help in getting her memories from before 6 ½ years ago back. She also suspects he’s hiding something from her. Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader Word Count: 2,661 Warnings: language (always), violence/fighting, traumatic past (mentions of torture/experimentation), slow burn, angst, fluff, delicious breakfast food (Rough) Translations: Bonne apétit, garçons -enjoy the meal, boys кукла - doll Спасибо за еду -thanks for the meal A/N: A huge thank you to everyone liking and reblogging my posts <3 This is my first big fic and the support feels awesome. You’re all amazing! Also, this chapter = poor confused baby Bucky…. and sorry for shooting him in the leg earlier, but babe’s strong. he can take it.

 Masterlist // Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

It took everything you had to keep your face impassive. The pressure in the base of your skull returned when he used the nickname, and you gritted your teeth.

“Dollface is fine. Just go get my shit, please,” you say, your tone giving away your internal struggle.

He nodded, grinning deviously. “If you have any questions or need anything, ask FRIDAY. If you need me or the team for whatever reason, just ask FRIDAY to let us know,” he said, sparing you one last glance over his shoulder before he walked out the doors of the observation room.

To your surprise, it wasn’t Bucky who returned with the blanket and entertainment. You were pacing your room, your thoughts wandering, when Wanda poked her head in the door. She saw you staring at her with a raised eyebrow and walked in, smiling tentatively.

“Hey,” you said cautiously, not entirely sure where you stood with the woman after your comments earlier.

“Hey, (Y/N),” she responded with a small smile.

There was an awkward pause.

“I, uh, hope you like romance novels. They’re most of what I own,” she said, nodding to the small pile of books in her arms that teetered precariously on top of a fuzzy-looking fuchsia blanket.

You thought back to the bookshelves at your apartment, overburdened with romance novels. You could find the books littering every surface of the tiny apartment. “Yeah, that’ll do, I guess,” you said, cheeks burning.

Wanda gave you a crooked smile as though she could tell what was going through your head. You realized she very well might. If she did, though, she didn’t let on. She pressed a button on the wall that you couldn’t see and a small 8inx8in square hole in the wall opened at about chest height next to you. She passed the books and blanket to you through it.

“This one’s my favorite,” she said, handing you a well-loved book with a particularly muscular, oiled-up, bare-chested man on the cover.

“Yeah, Jean Lancaster is a literary genius,” you said, smiling fondly at the book. You had a brief moment of oblivious bliss before your eyes widened comically in horror, hand flying up to cover your big dumb mouth.

Wanda laughed at your reaction. Hard. You briefly considered crawling into the darkest hole you could find and never coming out. But Wanda’s laughter was contagious, and you soon found yourself laughing along, books and blanket forgotten on your bed.

To your horror, Bucky chose that time to walk into the observation room. 

“What’s going on in here? I could hear you both down the hall-” he paused as he took in the sight in front of him. Wanda was almost red in the face from laughing so hard, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Your head whipped around to Wanda, your slightly puffy, watery eyes pleading. The look on your face sent her off into another fit of hysterical giggles.

“Wanda?” he asked, completely taken aback.

“Wanda,” you whined, your voice pleading.

With what you assumed was immense difficulty, she managed to get a few words out. You strained to hear them between the giggles.

“It’s’ok, Bucky. Just bonding,” she said, throwing you a devious smirk. You shushed her as subtly as you could. Bucky looked between the two of you, the confusion on his face as clear as day. She rolled her eyes at him. “Out, you big oaf. We’re going to have girl talk,” she said, pushing him towards the door.

“But-” he began, but she gave him a shove out the door.

“I said girl talk, Barnes!” she said with pseudo anger. He whirled around to protest, but she simply waved at him happily as the doors shut in his face. “Keep him out for a while, please, FRIDAY,” she said, turning back to you.

“As you wish, Ms. Maximoff,” FRIDAY said. You heard the door lock with a surprisingly loud thunk.

“So, lovely weather we’re having, eh?” you grinned nervously at her.

“No, no. We’re talking about this. You’re not getting out of this conversation by changing the subject,” she said, pulling a chair up to the large glass wall.

You groaned and plopped down on your bed. “Alright, which series are we starting with?” you asked her, resigning yourself to your fate.

She grinned happily at you before spurring onward into a tirade so impressive you thought it had to be rehearsed.

You talked with Wanda about romance novels for hours. You discussed your favorite authors and the best plot twists of each of your favorite books. You both commiserated over how much you hated badly written doe-eyed heroines with no backbone. There may or may not have been slight squealing over certain muscle-bound heroes you both liked. You debated on whether modern day romances were better, or if tragedy in classics like Romeo and Juliet were what made a romance truly great. Bucky had come by and dropped dinner off for the both of you. You both gave him distracted “thank you”’s before returning to your debate. While you ate, however, your conversation lulled. 

“I’m sorry,” you said quietly, in between mouthfuls of mashed potatoes.

She looked up from her meal at you and smiled softly. She didn’t need to ask what you were talking about. “It’s alright,” she said before she took a bite of chicken. She grimaced at how dry it was a took a sip of the orange juice Bucky had brought you with your meals.

“Please tell me,” you said, braver than you felt. You nearly shriveled under the look she gave you. She assessed you coolly before speaking.

“Are you sure? It’s not a happy story.”

“I never thought it was. It must have been awful for Hydra to seem like an improvement…” you say meekly, not wanting your words to be taken as a challenge.

She sighed deeply and took another sip of orange juice. She gazed at you over the glass before setting it down.

Then, she told you everything.

She told you about her family that lived a hard but happy life together in Sokovia. Of the fighting that claimed her parents’ lives and nearly claimed her and her brother’s. How their thirst for vengeance against Tony Stark had driven them to nearly destroy the world. She told you, finally, of how her brother died on the floating death rock that was Sokovia, protecting Hawkeye and a small boy. She got very quiet at the last part. You could see it in her eyes- she was years and a thousand miles away, back in Sokovia.

“I’m sorry,” you croaked out. Your voice snapped her out of her reverie and she gave you a weak smile.

“You didn’t have to start crying, you know,” she said in a teasing tone that couldn’t quite hide how sad she sounded. You were crying? You reached up and felt your cheek. Yup, those were tears. You’d begun crying without even realizing it.

“I’m horrible for saying those things to you,” you said, rubbing your tears away with your sleeved arm.

“You didn’t know… and I’ve made plenty of mistakes. Mistakes I have to live with for the rest of my life. I suppose what I’m trying to say is: Don’t worry about it,” she said, smiling fondly at you.

You nodded, not trusting your voice to keep from cracking.

“Miss Maximoff, I’m sorry to interrupt ‘girl time,’ but Captain Rogers and Mister Wilson are back from their mission and request your presence for debriefing,” FRIDAY’s voice said over the room’s speaker system.

“Tell them I’ll be there in a moment, please, FRIDAY,” Wanda said to the VI.

“Right away, Miss Maximoff,” it responded.

“Duty calls,” she said as she got up and stretched, stiff from sitting for so long. “Are you done with your dinner?” she asked, motioning to the mostly empty plate in your lap.

You shoveled one last massive spoonful of mashed potatoes into your mouth and swallowed. “I am now,” you said, grinning impishly.

“Gross,” she said, smiling at you. “I’ll take it back with me,” she said, pressing the button to open up the hole in the wall. You stuck your plate through and she placed it and her glass on top of her own.

“Thanks,” you said, smiling up at her.

“Hey, what are friends for?” she said, smiling back. She looked pointedly at the books, then winked at you. “Enjoy.”

You groaned. “I hate you,” you said halfheartedly, unable to fight back a half smile.

“No you don’t,” she said cheerily as she walked out of the room, doors shutting firmly behind her.

You sighed and carefully arranged Wanda’s books into a neat pile next to your bed. You absently wondered what time it was. There wasn’t a clock or window in your tiny room-cell. You laid back on your bed, snuggling up under the white and fuchsia blankets. It could be any time of the day, but you weren’t tired. You picked up a book and started reading.

You awoke to the sound of the doors to the observation room opening. You groaned, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. You must have been more tired than you thought. You’d fallen asleep two and a half chapters into The Contest. It was such a racy read- you didn’t even think it was possible to fall asleep reading it.

You closed the book, put it down, and looked to see who had deemed you worthy of visiting.

You weren’t that surprised to see Bucky, but Steve standing there surprised you. ”And to what do I owe the pleasure, fellas?” you asked, watching them suspiciously.

“Bucky told me about you accepting our help. Wanda- though she won’t go into any specifics- has decided you’re most likely not a flight risk anymore,” Steve said, staring at you evenly. He paused. “Are you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at you.

“That depends on whether or not you try to feed me that bone dry chicken again or not,” you said, smirking. “It was like eating chicken-flavored sand.”

Bucky and the Cap smiled in unison, but Steve tried to look serious halfway through. It didn’t work, and your grin widened.

You let the joke sit for a moment before you sobered. “I’ll stick around for a while, Captain. Until this whole Hydra shitstorm blows over. Besides,” you said, glancing at Bucky, “I’ve gotten a very interesting proposal.”

“Please, call me Steve,” he said as he tapped away at the screen of a panel you couldn’t see in front of him. A loud clunk to your left caught your attention. The door was ever so slightly ajar now. You looked back at them incredulously. You pointed at it and raised an eyebrow in question. Bucky snorted, smiling, and Steve smiled and nodded.

“FREEDOM!” you screeched, yanking the door open and throwing yourself bodily into the corridor. The super soldiers followed you into the hallway, alarmed. You ran down it, relishing the ability to move more than six feet in any one direction. They jogged after you, still confused. You suddenly whirled around to face them. “Kitchen,” you said simply. They pointed down the hallway. You sprinted down it.

As you came upon an intersection, Bucky yelled to you. “Left,” he said, finally catching up to you. But you were off again in a flash. He gestured helplessly at you to Steve who seemed amused by the whole situation. Bucky groaned and jogged after you, slowed down by his only mostly-healed leg, Steve trailing closely behind.

By the time they’d arrived in kitchen, you’d already searched through most of the cupboards for the things you needed.

“Communal food rules?” you asked without looking at them as you continued to ransack the pantry.

“It’s open for everyone to use unless there’s a name on it. Never touch the prime cuts of steak, though. Sam forgets to write his name on them a lot and he’ll attempt to kill you if you eat ‘em,” Bucky said, leaning against the door frame as he watched you work.

“That’s only you, Bucky. He only gives the rest of us the cold shoulder for a day or two if we eat them,” Steve said, smiling at his friends’ shenanigans. He walked into the kitchen and sat on a stool at the island.  Bucky followed his lead and sat down next to him.

“I’m beginning to think he doesn’t like me very much,” Bucky said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

“What gave it away?” Steve asked, matching his sarcastic tone.

Bucky was about to respond, but you spoke before he could.

“What do you guys like in your pancakes?” you ask, having found a huge bowl and pancake mix.

“Banana,” said Bucky without skipping a beat.

“Blueberry,” Steve said just after that.

You nodded.

“Eggs?” you asked after you located a nice non-stick pan under the counter.

“Over-easy,” they both said in unison. You chuckled and nodded.

“Got it,” you said.

While the pans heated and fruit prepped, you portioned out the pancake mix, adding banana slices to one third, blueberries to another, and cinnamon and a handful of chocolate chips to the last. You pulled out the carton of eggs and a stick of butter.

“So I hate to ask- I don’t want to lose my homemade breakfast privileges- but what brought this on? Are you just really hungry?” Steve asked, watching you work with interest.

“She loves breakfast food,” Bucky said, smiling faintly as he watched you work.

You froze for a second- not long enough for them to notice. How did he know that? That wasn’t something many people knew about you, and he said it like it was as plain as day. If he was to be believed, your relationship with him during your time as a spy for Hydra was professional (not to mention very, very evil). Were you even yourself while you were brainwashed? Did your love of breakfast food somehow transcend brainwashing? Or was there something he wasn’t telling you?

“Who doesn’t love breakfast food?” you said as cheerfully as you could manage. Neither Steve nor Bucky seemed to notice anything off about your tone. They were too enraptured by the food cooking on the stove.

“Amen to that,” Bucky said, watching as you flipped the pancakes perfectly. In between flipping enormous pancakes and their over-easy eggs, you pulled out three huge plates. As the food finished cooking, you tossed it onto their plates, doing increasingly difficult flips as you went. A behind-the-back-halfway-across-the-kitchen-pancake-flip earned a low, impressed whistle from Bucky and a round of applause from Steve. You finished scrambling your eggs and shoveled them from the pan onto your plate. You grabbed syrup and whipped cream from the fridge and placed them on the counter, set your plate down, and took a seat next to Bucky at the kitchen island.

“Thanks, (Y/N),” Steve said, lightly salting and peppering his eggs.

“Bonne apétit, garçons,” you said, taking a moment to appreciate your handiwork.

To your shock, you realized your beautiful three-stack cinnamon-chocolate pancake pile had been infiltrated by a banana pancake. It sat smugly in the middle, taunting you. You realized Bucky must have swapped one of his for yours when you weren’t looking.

“Oi,” you said, turning to look at Bucky.

“Is there a problem, sweetheart?” he asked, smiling at you innocently.

You opened your mouth to say something, but then the smell hit you. Cinnamon-chocolate-banana perfection, sitting there on your plate. You closed your mouth and stared at the pancakes in awe. 

“Nothing,” you said, throwing some softened butter onto your stack of pancakes. You heard him chuckle under his breath.

“Looks delicious, кукла. Спасибо за еду,” Bucky said as he reached for the syrup at the same time you did. Your hands collided midair.  

And just like that, it felt like the world exploded around you. The only thing you felt before the world went black was the rending pain in your head. You swore your head was collapsing in on itself.

  Chapter 5

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[some-cookie-crumbz]

Mind of What Matters

Mind of What Matters Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Pairing: Hance Summary: As Hunk watched Lance melt and fall in love with her all over again, he falls in love with him all over again too. Standard Disclaimer: If you read and enjoy this, please give it a like/ reblog so I know if I should write more. AN: I just really wanted to write this.

Nightmares were far from uncommon for Lance at this point.

Years fighting the Galra Empire had left him with many instances for his subconscious mind to drag up and launch back in his face in his sleeping hours. Most of the time it recalled instances where he and his teammates had nearly died and twisted things, forcing him to walk through a horrific alternate ending where they couldn’t save them. The time an explosion sent shrapnel at Hunk ended not with him getting a scar that traced the curve of his shoulder leading towards his neck but instead his neck being split open by the jagged piece of metal. The incident in which Keith had been stabbed from behind was now an instance where his lung was pierced and he died choking on his own blood. Another time, Pidge’s plan to get aboard a ship by pretending to be captured goes awry, becomes the real deal and she’s killed via Galran firing squad instead. And another instance is Allura’s own whip becoming tangled around her throat being jerked by a Galran General and successfully snapping her neck. So many times he dreamt of things such as that occurring; his fellow Paladins dying in front of him or in his arms. And, because his sleeping mind was both masochistic and a bit narcissistic, sometimes he dreamt of being sent out from the airlock and suffocating in the vastness of space, or being killed by the explosion Sendak and his lackies had caused all those years ago.

Not everything was doom and gloom, though, given all they’d accomplished in their still-running tenure as Paladins.

While Zarkon had been brought down and a rocky alliance formed between Voltron and newly declared Emperor Lotor, old allies of their fallen enemy had come out of a woodwork to try and take them down. Even now, well over a decade since first stumbling upon the Blue Lion and beginning their space adventures, they were still fighting as Paladins. Lots of things had obviously changed in the time since then; for both better and worse. They had a large enough coalition developed that the Paladins themselves weren’t needed to answer every distress call they received, so they had more time to actually breathe and try to process all they’d been through. And they had gone back to Earth and enlisted the Garrison’s help – which had involved Keith and Pidge being ridiculously smug – so there were plenty of hands on deck to help maintain the Castle of Lions and assist in repairs on the Lions after battle. All work was overseen by Pidge, Hunk, or Coran, of course, but it certainly didn’t bother Lance that he no longer got dragged into helping with cleaning.

But that might have been part of his problem; actually having time to really think about his life may have been what caused the nightmares frequency to escalate.

The nightmares about his fellow Paladins would still wake him up but he’d become a bit desensitized to them after so long. He could wake up from those nightmares, chug a glass of water to get his quaking under control, and then typically be okay to lie down and doze back off within an hour or so. Now his mind created new scenarios, though, that involved her. Her, the love of his life, his greatest source of joy, and his ultimate spring of courage and inspiration when the fighting felt like too much.

He now had nightmares about their enemies taking her from him. He dreamt of breaking into a ship to save her, mind gone in a frantic fog, and he would only be vaguely aware of whatever the dream Paladins were calling to him over the comms. He would hear her screaming somewhere in the long, echoing halls of the foreign ship and his blood would run cold in his veins, her pained wails bouncing all around him. He’d tear off in any given direction and her shrill shrieking would cut off in a loud, gurgling sound. Right after she fell silent, he’d stumble into the room where she was; too late to recover more than a gory, mutilated corpse.

He always woke from those nightmares choking on muffled sobs with tears streaming down his face. Just like this time.

He took a few deep breathes to steady himself, scrambled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom uneasily. He chugged a cup of water from the sink tap, grateful as ever that all the water on the ship was filtered, and then stared at his reflection in the mirror. The years had been good to him – not that there was room for improvement anyway, just a need for quality control, really – with the last traces of baby fat fading to give him sharp cheekbones and curve of a jawline deserving a man like him. The scar that ran from the center of his right cheek down to the start of his jaw didn’t take away from his devilish charm - Hell, it probably even added to it – but the bags under his eyes certainly did. It made them seem less bright, at least in his opinion.

He pushed off the bathroom sink and slipped back out into the bedroom. He glanced briefly at the bed before slinking out, knowing that slipping back under the sheets would yield no comfort. Not yet anyway. He briefly entertained the idea of heading to the kitchen to get a snack. There was a cookie jar filled with fresh cookies Hunk had made that afternoon sitting on the counter, or even a small dish of food goo might help qualm some of his unease. He then shook his head, more worried that food wouldn’t set right on his stomach after the frightful images from his nightmare. He glanced briefly at the door across from his own, turned his gaze back to stare down the empty hallway, then sighed in defeat and headed toward the other door.

He’d just go in and check on her. Just a quick peek; nothing more than that.

Her room was dimly lit by a little light-up octopus that his older brother had gifted to him at the baby shower. It changed colors, but when it changed to purple and red it cast an odd glow in her room that left her fussy and unable to sleep, so he’d set it to stay on blue. Blue was still his signature color, after all, and it seemed to soothe her. He crept over to the crib quietly, grateful that Pidge and Keith had coerced Allura to let them place down carpeting in a handful of rooms because it was so useful. Painting the walls had been out of the question – considering paint wouldn’t stick to the metal walls of the ship – but Pidge had developed small projection devices that made the walls seem as if they had been decorated with what looked like an elaborate painting of Varadero Beach.

Pidge had flashed him a grin when she first told him about it, shrugging lightly at his tearful declaration of gratitude. “Hey, it’s the least I could do after how much you two helped with preparing for Kaden the Destroyer,” She said playfully, nodding her head toward Keith sprawled out on the floor across from a tot with identical inky hair, stacking colorful rings of various sizes and colors. Once they were in a nice little tower, the baby let out an excited squeal and backhanded it, sending them scattering on the ground between he and his father. She had laughed and smiled, something soft and delicate and strange but not unpleasant on Pidge’s face, and looked at him again. “I’d suggest using them in your room while she’s sleeping in the bassinette with you. It’ll help make transitioning her to a crib when she’s big enough a little easier.” She had advised before walking over to join her boys.

Even with Pidge’s advice, it had still taken a full three weeks to get her to start sleeping in her crib without having an hour long hissy fit first.

He slipped up to the crib and peered in, settling his hands along the top of the railing, and smiled in relief at the tiny body resting inside. She was draped in the lovely blanket that his Mom had knitted for her, using a lovely blue-green color similar to the ocean, and had shifted around from being on her back like she’d been when she originally dozed off. She had twisted onto her side, legs kicked out and stretched to form a V-shape, with one arm curled to her chest and the other tossed behind her. Her little brow was knitted tight, as if her baby mind was trapped puzzling over a riddle, and he chuckled warmly. He reached in and gently traced a circle in the center of her forehead with his index finger – a trick he’d picked up in the last eight months – and watched as her face slowly relaxed to a more neutral expression.

He tugged her blanket back and reached in with both hands, carefully maneuvering her out of her crib so as to cause the least amount of movement, and then rested her against him, her head slumped against his shoulder. He stroked up along her back, his calloused hands catching a bit on the material of her bunny-covered feetie pajamas. “How about you come sleep with me tonight, darling?” He asked quietly. He took the sleepy sigh she released as she settled as an agreement and crept back to his own room. He was certain that he’d been quiet enough so as to not wake up his partner, and so long as he got up first in the morning then he wouldn’t have to hear a lecture about moving her from her crib.

He was greeted by the left bedside table being on when he walked in and scowled, moving to cover her face from the offending light. “Turn that thing down!” He hissed quietly with a frantic look. Her little face scrunched up and she started to let out a whine, her face rubbing against his shoulder as if that’d help mask the light.

The other sighed and tapped the top of the light thrice, causing it to take on a significantly softer glow. Lance watched as the baby settled against him again, face relaxing, and started creeping over toward the bed, a small smile on his lips. “Lance,” They said, tone an odd mix of patient and exasperated, as he slipped back under the covers on the right side.

“Sorry I woke you up, Hunk. Normally you go right back to sleep after one of my freak outs,” He said, keeping his tone at a whisper to avoid disturbing the snoozing baby in his arms. He settled back against his pillow and let one hand stroke along their precious little girl’s back.

“Lance, you know that isn’t what this is about,” He said while turning to look at him. His lips were twisted in a small frown and his dark eyes gleamed with concern in the low light. “This is the fourth night this week you’ve taken her out of her crib and brought her back to bed with you. You can’t keep shaking up her routine like this.”

Lance sighed and slumped his shoulders a bit, his hand reaching up to gently twirl a strand of their daughter’s dark locks around his index finger. “Co-sleeping isn’t that bad, you know. I mean, my Mom did that with all of us and it was totally fine,” He grumbled.

“This isn’t about co-sleeping, Lance; this is about getting her into a routine. It took us so long to get her to sleep in her crib and it’s probably confusing for her. I mean, we wouldn’t let her come back in here with us for a while and then all of a sudden she’d being brought back in? We need to get her settled in a routine, and part of that is making sure she stays in her crib through the night,” He said patiently. He met the panicked blue eyes now fixated on him with a forced calm he himself didn’t quite feel. He knew that this was hard for Lance – whom had been especially doting on their daughter since the first time they held her – but he also knew that they needed to start getting her in a set schedule and building her independence. Well, as much of a set schedule as they could get living in the Castle of Lions and continuing to serve multiple galaxies as Paladins of Voltron.

“I know,” Lance sighed and shifted, twisting to lay on his side so that their daughter was cradled in the crook of his arm between he and Hunk. He knew that Hunk was right; Hell, they’d had this conversation so many times and he knew it was right every single time. Not even Keith, whose protective tendencies seemed to have impossibly escalated since the start of his own family, used his paranoia and anxiety as an excuse to constantly take Kaden out of his crib; at least, not as far as Lance was aware.

And the thought of Keith being better at anything left an awful taste in his mouth.

Hunk shifted to lay on his side as well and started to say something but fell silent when the little body between them squirmed, tiny hands rubbing at her face. Slowly she cracked her lids to look up at them with those gorgeous baby blues of hers, eyes still foggy with sleep, and then yawned loudly. She blinked twice, still groggy, and looked between them both before she grinned and giggled, waving her little hands in the air lazily.

“Raya,” Lance cooed softly, reaching out and taking one of her little hands between his thumb and index finger and gently tracing a circle along the top of her hand.

The name was one they’d picked after running through thousands of other names in search of the perfect one. The name had many meetings that all carried some kind of attachment to them and what was going to be their family unit. The first one was “Friend”, which was pretty obvious; Hunk and Lance had spent years as the most loyal of friends before deciding to change the definition of their relationship to something romantic, and their friendship had been the perfect groundwork to a healthy relationship for them. The next definition was “Queen” and it fit oh so well too. She was their first born and, while they had discussed having at least one more child in a few years so she’d have a little sibling to play with, there would always be a special attachment to her as their first little baby; she’d always be the queen of their hearts. And, lastly, the name had a meaning related to “Heaven” due to the pronunciation in Bulgaria, and he certainly thought the halo seemed to fit on their little angel.

As Hunk watched Lance melt and fall in love with her all over again, he falls in love with him all over again too.

When Lance fell in love, he jumped in with both feet and every fiber of his being. He was one of the sweetest, gentle and affectionate people once he got close to you, and those attributes were amped up to the enth degree when he loved you. Hunk had experienced it himself – they were married and all – but he also knew that Lance tended to be a bit of a worrywart too. Lance always worried about what people thought of him, of his purpose and importance to others, but most of all he worried about the safety and well-being of those he cared about. He knew about the nightmares that plagued his husband most nights about what could happen to any of them on a mission – he tended to have those terrifying dreams, too – but he had been suspecting that Raya had started to become a victim in those night terrors, too. Lance never wanted to talk about it but given the habit he’d picked up of bringing her back to bed, he figured that was the most plausible explanation.

Hunk shifted to rest one hand on Lance’s hip while the other rested up along the top of Raya’s head, gently smoothing out her ruffled locks. Lance’s hand was still holding hers, but it now rested on her little chest, and she was starting to nod back off again. Her head lolled to the side to flash that charming sleepy smile of hers at Hunk as her eyes fluttered to remain open. “You can go to sleep, sweetie. We’ll still be here when you wake up,” He cooed softly.

She let out another loud, squeaky little yawn before drifting back into slumber, content little smile on her lips.

“She’s so beautiful, Hunk,” Lance breathed out, his voice wavering with adoration and affection. Hunk glanced up, fond smile still on his own lips, and watch him. Those stunning azure eyes were bright with warmth and affection, watching their snoozing baby, and Hunk was again reminded how happy he was that the color had been passed to their sweet little angel. Everything about Lance’s features seemed more gentle and muted, though whether it was due to the light or simply in response to him softening up in front of Raya, he couldn’t say with certainty.

“I can put in a custom baby monitor,” Hunk said gently, letting his eyes fall back down to their baby girl, “if that’ll help you feel better while keeping her routine intact. I can probably even get it set up in HD color so that you can say with certainty that she’s in her crib and safe and sleeping.”

Lance leaned forward and gave Hunk a quick kiss. “You’re amazing and I love you,” He mumbled happily before snuggling under the covers. He heard a small chuckle and closed his own eyes, feeling warm and safe with his husband and baby close by.

[tokyoteddywolf]

Oceans Of Love Epilogue

I decided to also put the Epilogue to Oceans Of Love here, for those who haven’t read it yet when i reblogged the fic and attached the epilogue there.

Read this first if you haven’t already, then click the Keep Reading link! :)

Epilogue~ Blue Isn’t The Only One Who Cares~

Lance woke up to the sound of Blue’s amused purring. Yawning, he stretched and blearily looked around. Oh, right, he was in Blue’s cockpit on a weird alien beach, and they had talked, and she’d told him all those things…

But there was a commotion out on the beach. It sounded a lot like… roaring? But it wasn’t coming from Blue, so what was making that noise? It was steadily growing louder, actually. He mentally reached out for the bond between him and his pretty girl, and the feeling of gentle affection and amusement filled him. “Wha- Wha’s goin’ on? Blue, wha’s that noise?” He whined, still slightly half asleep.

The purring increased, and Blue activated her dashboard’s display, turning her head up to look through her particle barrier to show him that the Castle Of Lions was descending into the planet’s atmosphere, as well as the faint figures of the other Lions steadily getting closer to their location. “Huh? Isn’t that the Castle? What’s it doing here? What time is it anyways?” Lance muttered confusedly, leaning closer and rubbing his eyes clear to see the screen better. He felt the ground shake a little bit as the other Lions landed on the beach in front of Blue, all of them bending down to let their respective Paladin out onto the beach.

Lance blinked, startled, because they weren’t in Paladin armor like usual whenever they piloted their Lions. They were all in pajamas! Well, more like sleep clothes, since they were more like the kind of clothes you’d wear on a lazy day around the house. They’d gotten the garments from Allura and Coran’s closets, since nobody wanted to sleep in their Earth clothes every night.

Shiro was wearing a large black t-shirt and black sweatpants, or at least the Altean equivalent to sweatpants, since cotton wasn’t a thing on Altea, apparently. His hair was still sleep ruffled, and he looked concerned, looking up at Blue and seemingly contemplating whether or not he should speak up.

Pidge was drowning in her night shirt that Allura had let her have, so it was more like a nightgown on the tiny Green Paladin. Lance remembered helping to stitch that pale green shirt into a better fit for his friend, so that it didn’t slip off of Pidge’s shoulders while she slept. She kept bouncing on the balls of her feet, looking just as worried as Shiro, and she flapped her sleeves wildly as she shouted up at Lance in Shiro’s place. Keith and Hunk looked like they were fresh out of the pods, though they’d had enough sense to pull on some clothes at least.

Everyone looked worried out of their minds. Why were they… Oh. Riiiiiiight. He and Blue had disappeared in the middle of the night, and had been missing since… Lance checked the little clock in the corner of the screen. Oh sweet Jesus it was already half past noon?!? No wonder they were so tense out there. He scrambled out of his seat, tumbling to the ground and pushing himself back up. He rolled his large blue sleeves away from his hands and tugged his blue knee-length shorts back up from where they’d slipped down during his fall. “Blue, open the door and let the barrier down please!” He called, gripping the wall as his beautiful kitty obeyed the order.

He slid down the ramp, bare toes touching the sand, and he’d barely taken a step forward when he was tackled to the ground by a familiar, tiny pale green and copper blur. “Gah! Pidge!” Lance yelped, only for two very ticked off golden brown eyes to lock onto his own ocean blues and judge him within an inch of his life. “Lance, what the hell, dude! Allura woke us up this morning and told us that Blue wasn’t in her hangar and that she couldn’t find you through her connection with the Lions! We were so worried that something was wrong!” Pidge screeched, grabbing him by the collar from her spot on his stomach and shaking him back and forth until he was dizzy. She’d been terrified that she’d lost another brother, so she had a damn right to be angry after scaring her like this.

“Yeah, man. Why’d you disappear on us like that? We almost thought you’d gone on a midnight flight and accidentally been taken by the Galra, or worse.” Keith huffed out, folding his arms over his chest and trying to keep his face from showing the fear he’d felt when Allura had shakily told them that she couldn’t feel where the Blue Lion was. He’d lost Shiro to those purple bastards once, and he wasn’t going to lose another friend to them again. The relief that had flooded the room, when Coran had found a signal on a recently formed oceanic planet, had nearly made Keith’s knees give out.

Shiro pulled Lance to his feet, not attempting to remove the four armed, Pidge shaped octopus from around the Blue Paladin’s waist. Shiro had also been frightened by Lance’s vanishing act. He never thought the Castle could be so quiet when Lance wasn’t there, talking up a storm and goofing around, trying to keep them smiling even under all the stress of being in a war. Breakfast and lunch had been so quiet, and the mood was heavy with worry over their friend. They’d all abandoned eating when Allura called them and said that Blue had given her a signal at last, and that they were now on their way to her location. “Did something happen last night, Lance?” He asked, every inch the concerned Space Dad the others like to joke about. Hell, Lance had been the first to call him that.

Lance opened his mouth to attempt a reply, but got swept up into a giant bear hug from Hunk. “Man I was scared, buddy! I woke up and got out of the pod and you weren’t there! Everyone was freaking out about where you’d gone off to! Not even the Lions knew where you went!” The large Yellow Paladin babbled, squeezing both Lance and Pidge in his arms. Lance looked like he was struggling to breathe a little, actually.

“Alright, Hunk. Put him down, I think we all deserve an explanation and some answers.” Shiro said, using the ‘down boy’ motion with his hands to convey the message along. Hunk set the poor Cuban boy down and stepped back, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Pidge, you too. I’m pretty sure he needs his lungs to breathe.” Shiro said calmly, raising an eyebrow at the smallest Paladin. Pidge grumbled, but let go as Keith moved over to stand next to Shiro.

Lance inhaled deeply, holding it in before exhaling in a loud sigh. “Oh man, feels good to have some air again.” He joked, getting a mouth twitch from Shiro, a fond smile from Hunk, an eyeroll from Pidge and a chuckle from Keith. “Well, actually, I didn’t do anything. Blue brought me here. I, uh, kinda had a bad dream I don’t remember, so I went down to talk to Blue for a little bit. I also kind of said that I didn’t believe in the strength of our bond a little?” Blue rumbled confirmation from above, shuffling into a lying down position so that all of the Paladins were in between her paws and shielded from the sun under her head.

“Well, she didn’t like that, so she locked me in the cockpit and flew out into space without me touching any of her controls. I didn’t even know she could do that, but Blue’s just full of surprises, right Beautiful?” Lance continued, glancing up as his Lion purred happily. “We went for a little swim in the ocean, and the energy of the water allowed her to actually talk to me with words! It was really cool, not to mention she sounds a lot like my Mom when she speaks.” Lance grinned at the shocked look on his team’s faces. “She told me a lot of stuff about our bond, and how much she cared. Oh, she also said that the other Lions can talk too, you just have to have a strong enough bond. Plus something else, but that’s for you to figure out on your own. No spoilers~!” He teased as his friends all turned to look at their Lions in awe. “After that though, I think I fell asleep watching the sunset. It was really pretty…”

“Wait, so you’re saying the Lions can talk? In actual words?” Pidge yelped, looking quite shocked by this news. “Yeah. Blue told me that she could speak because we were in her element and the energy from it, combined with our super strong bond, allowed our mental connection to become strong enough to hold her words, or something along those lines.” Lance explained, proud of the fact that he’d heard his Lion’s voice first. Blue rumbled confirmation and the other Lions must have done the same, because nobody was calling bullshit on him.

“He speaks the truth, everyone. In the past, the original Paladins had bonded so strongly to their Lions that they were able to communicate with words, images and emotions. Accomplishing this is something you should take pride in, Lance.” Allura had come out of nowhere, though the Castle had landed in the ocean a little while ago during Lance’s explanation. Her sudden appearance made even Shiro jump, though less noticeable from Hunk’s yelp or Pidge’s fluffed out hair. Lance beamed at the soft smile on Allura’s face, Blue filling their bond with the feeling of pride for him.

Hunk clapped his hands suddenly. “Oh! I know! We should celebrate this! I mean, it’s a big milestone for your Lion to speak to you, right? We should have a party! A beach party!” He exclaimed, eyes sparkling with ideas for party food. Lance chuckled and patted his friend on the back. “Totally! But only if we throw a party for everyone else when they reach the words level.” He chimed in, Keith raising an eyebrow.

“Words level? Is that what you’re actually calling it?” The Red Paladin blinked when Lance whirled on him. “Well, yeah! Don’t question my naming abilities, Mullet. Me and Blue are at the words level and you and Red aren’t, which makes me cooler than you~!” The Cuban teen taunted good naturedly while Hunk was chatting with Allura about having a party on the beach. This instigated a round of bantering over who had the best Lion, which eventually was stopped by Shiro as Allura was allowing them to have a party to relax for the day.

A few hours later, the party had been set up and everyone was enjoying the beach. Lance laughed as he kicked up a wave of water at Keith and Pidge, Keith hissing and Pidge shouting colorful curse words as her glasses got splattered with clear silvery droplets. Keith tackled Lance into the shallows, both boys wrestling around until Pidge joined in, screeching revenge as she poured a bucket (who knows where she got that from-) of cold water on both of them. She regretted this instantly when both Keith and Lance turned on her and tickled her to near tears.

Shiro was enjoying a nap on the sand, sleeping too deeply to notice Hunk carefully burying him with Allura’s help. Coran was tending to the food, a bunch of alien beef Hunk had brought after another space mall trip a few weeks ago. It had been a farmers market kind of mall, and Hunk had been ecstatic about it. So he’d offered up the treats for the party.

The Lions were all relaxing in the sun too, almost like cats on Earth did when napping in a sunny spot. Blue was stretched out on her side, her tail and paws trailing in the water, sending happy and cheerfully satisfied vibes to her precious Paladin. Red, funnily enough, was far away from the water, content in the driest, sunniest spot that was admittedly a little too hot for the rest of the Lions. Black and Green were chilling under a shady spot near some alien palm trees on a separate island, only a short Lion walk from the island where the party was being held. The palm trees had violet trunks, and golden leaves with pale blue spots that were nearly white, and the leaves were big enough to cover a van back on Earth. Green was fascinated by the plant life, and kept scanning everything while Black merely enjoyed the warm sand and the cool shade under the trees. Yellow had managed to bury herself into the sand on another, smaller, separate island near the Castle. The sand would be hell to clean from her joints later, but for now she was enjoying the warm earth on her metal.

Soaking wet, covered in fine sand grit, and exhausted from running around in the sun, the Paladins wrapped up the party as the sun went down. Shiro, Pidge and Keith were actually tanned somehow, and Lance had laughed at their horrified faces. That night, after a long shower and a vigorous spa ritual to clean sand from his hair and oil from his face, Lance flopped down onto his bed and stared at the ceiling of his room, still smiling.

Suffice to say that Lance was the happiest he’d been in months, and it was all thanks to an impromptu midnight swim with his favorite beauty. That night after the party, was the best sleep he had since he’d left home. The feeling of pure love and trust accompanied him in his dreams, and he danced in the stars as free and weightless as a bird.

“Sleep well, My precious Lance.”

// aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that’s a wrap! Holy shit, this entire thing is over 4000 words! The epilogue is exactly 2,306 words long, not counting the footnote here. I ship Lance X Happiness over all else, and Pidge and Lance are my brotp, and Keith is not an asshole, and Shiro is a concerned Space Dad, Hunk is a good friend, and Allura is not a total bitch that constantly puts Lance down but is actually nice and will allow little parties for accomplishments because having a reward for a milestone like this is important and she knows this. Also Blue loves her little pilot very much thank you, and she is a proud mama lion and will cut you if you even breathe on Lance wrong. Or freeze you to death. One of the two. Hope you enjoyed this! :)

[villainsarebetter]

Parent Fic: When pirate captain Rumpelstiltskin Gold is thrown into the watery depths by his mutinous crew, he comes face to face with every sailor’s worst nightmare: a mer-creature. Only, this one is no fish-maid…she has no tail, but bears a striking resemblance to an octopus…or a kraken.

This Prompt Fill: It couldn’t last forever.

Prompt: @Anonymous Belle finally finds a vessel that is safe for Gold to travel on. But they are both having a really hard time saying goodbye.

Author’s Note: Thank you everyone for your amazing comments, reblogs, and likes on my last few Monster Month updates! You guys are awesome! (And I promise I will soon respond to each person who commented. Sorry it’s taken so long!)

“Is that it? Is it safe?” Belle’s voice next to Rum’s ear was close enough to ruffle his hair but he barely noticed. There was warm sand between his toes, a whisper of breeze brushing his cheeks, and bright stars twinkling overhead - the tiny island Belle had brought him to in order to show him what she’d found. Even the breath of freedom was not enough to capture his attention.

Instead, his eyes were fixed on the familiar vessel on the horizon which was riding low in the water - a small two-decked cutter with a grinning rabbit figurehead. He knew from experience that it was a nominally a merchant and only carried a handful of crew, all of whom were quite happy to look the other way when their captain traded with pirates as easily as other merchants.

Jefferson Hatter had been an ally for years, even before sailing entered either of their lives; they’d met long before Rumple married Milah and Jefferson had never really approved of her. The Marching Hare was as safe as vessel as any that would ever pass this way.

“Aye.” He replied, voice muted in the crisp night air. “That’s Captain Hatter’s vessel. He’s a good man and an old friend.”

“...Oh.” Belle’s voice was small. Her tentacles, which were arrayed in the sand and surf at Rum’s feet, roiled unhappily and then reached up and tightened around his chest and legs, pulling him closer to her and away from the ship.

Pulled out of his concentration, the pirate captain looked over his shoulder at her in surprise and confusion. They were so close together that he could see the fine crease between her brows and the gently glowing freckles on her skin. When he tried to flex his legs and step free, she did not loosen her grip. He was tangled tightly in her grasp and had to fight down his natural instinct to struggle as her tentacles slowly dragged him back towards the water, away from the beach and into her domain.

“...Belle?” He kept his voice level and low. Careful. There was something strange about her expression, something that reminded him of their first few encounters and sent a foreboding shiver down his spine.

“I could keep you.” She blurted out abruptly. “Down in my cave. You’d be mine and I’d take care of you - no one would ever hurt you again. You don’t need to leave.”

“Oh, Belle.” The words should have been alarming, but instead they saddened him. If there was one thing he’d learned about her over the past few months, it was that she was lonely. A sweet, vibrant soul with so much potential but so few ways to use it...and a social creature born to a species of loners.

He stroked the tentacle around his chest, massaging the velvety surface in slow circles the way he knew she liked.

“You know I need to leave.” His tone stayed gentle, knowing that would be more likely to reach her than any sort of anger or pleading. “I’m human - I can’t live like that for long.”

The mer’s face crumpled and she ducked her head, suppressing a sniffle. It had been a while since she’d manhandled him or made him feel like a helpless toy in her grasp but for just a moment, she forgot to restrain her strength. Her tentacles easily enveloped him and rapidly dragged him off his feet, away from the warm sand of the island until he was in danger of being submerged. He was now perilously close to the deep water leading to Belle’s cave...and further away from Jefferson’s ship.

Rum took a deep breath and let it out slowly, keeping his cool even as his hindbrain screamed at him to struggle.

“Belle, please put me down.”

“But…”

“Belle.”

They had discussed this. He’d emphatically made it clear how much he hated it. Looking into her eyes, he saw the moment it registered that she’d been treating him poorly.

“...I’m sorry.”

Shamefaced, she gently set him back down on the shore and withdrew, refusing to meet his eyes.

His toes flexed in the welcoming sand and he turned with a response on the tip of his tongue, only for it to die at the last moment when he realized Belle was retreating. Her tentacles slipped from the beach and her human upper body quickly submerged to the chest before he could react.

“Belle, wait!”

“No. I-I understand.” Her voice wobbled. “You need to go back to your friend. I don’t-I don’t want to let you go. I like you.” A tentacle flicked back towards him, snaking back up the beach before it could be pulled away.. “But...I know you don’t want to stay with me.”

Her loud sniff tugged at Rum’s heartstrings. After a last torn look at the Marching Hare, Rum turned back to Belle.

He couldn’t stay with her. He knew that. But he didn’t want to say goodbye, either. She was the best companion he’d ever had - and that included his ex-wife.

“Come with me.”

The words tumbled out before he’d registered what they were. He was blinking in shock at his own suggestion when Belle’s head snapped around so quickly that she had to stretch out a tentacle for balance.

“What?” The mer’s response was a hopeful whisper, and Rum could not bring himself to regret his accidental invitation. His mind was already racing ahead, trying to figure out if and how such a thing would be possible...and calculating the benefits to having a literal sea monster on his side. He hadn’t thought of it before because it sounded downright crazy - mermaids ate humans - but now that the moment was here, he found himself reluctant to let go of his former captor.

Jefferson wouldn’t like it, but maybe, maybe Rum could make it work.

“You could come with me, back to the ship.” He offered, hiding his uncertainty.

Belle’s hopeful smile was like the sun coming out from behind the clouds, and Rum found himself resolving that there was no maybe about it.

He would make this work.

[cielcius]

Ohhhh, I do wanna answer you back, so first off, I always get excited if ppl mention me, hehe. Like you could just have a tiny tag with me name and if it's a post and not a reblog I will most definitely always read the tags. And I'm sorry I made you worry, I think I can from now on if I just go mia for some reason send some little greetings or something if you're okay with that

Anyway anyway, you got the covid shot? Or a different one? If it's the covid shot, my best friend actually had similar symptoms when she got her first shot. I hope you'll be feeling better soon and I also hope you slept well.

About the teacher thing, I feel you, like literally. I never did my work and I barely ever lied about not having done it, so I got called out a lot. It may be on you for not doing your work but it's also kinda rude to just call you out in front of everyone else.

These octopus plushies are so cute, not you got a bakugo coloured tamaki plushie, 2 in 1 GASP THEY M O R P H E D

I can't really recall anything else you said but I am sending you hugs and water cuz hydration is always a good thing

~cat quirk anon I nearly sent this without my tag lmao

oh don’t say sorry for making me worry! i do it for everybody, even people i barely know lol but yes! i’ll def do that in the future with the tagging ☺️ and yeah i got my first dose of the covid vaccine so it was a good day but yes the soreness is real sadly so thank u for that :)

and yeah that’s tru but my teacher also had a professor who called her out for doing an assignment poorly so i was like ‘why r u doing it to me when yk how shameful it makes me feel??’ lmao but what’s done is done

:O I DIDNT THINK OF HOW BAKUGOU AND TAMAKI MORPHED INTO A CUTE OCTOPUS PLUSH OMG that’s genius