#floating docks systems

[floayaboatmarine]

Upgrade Your Shoreline with a Modular Floating Dock

Waterfront properties offer endless opportunities for relaxation, recreation, and convenience. Whether it’s a residential lake house, a fishing lodge, or a busy marina, having the right dock makes all the difference. Among the many options available today, modular floating dock systems stand out as the modern, flexible, and reliable choice. Designed for easy installation, long-term durability, and customization, these systems offer a smart way to maximize your shoreline’s potential.

In this blog, we’ll explore the benefits of modular floating docks, how they compare to traditional options, and why upgrading your shoreline with one is an investment in both functionality and value.

What Are Modular Floating Docks? Modular floating docks are interlocking platforms designed to float on the surface of the water. Unlike fixed docks, which are built on pilings or supports driven into the lakebed or riverbed, floating docks move with the water level. This makes them ideal for areas with fluctuating tides, seasonal changes, or uneven underwater terrain.

Made from durable materials like high-density polyethylene (HDPE), aluminum, or composite decking, these docks are resistant to corrosion, UV damage, and general wear and tear. The modular design means you can configure them into various shapes—straight, L-shaped, T-shaped, or even platforms for personal watercraft.

Why Upgrade to a Modular Floating Dock?

Adaptability to Water Levels One of the biggest advantages of floating docks systems is their ability to rise and fall with water levels. Whether you're dealing with changing tides or seasonal flooding, your dock remains accessible and safe.

Easy Installation and Expansion Modular floating docks are designed for simple setup. Most systems come with pre-engineered parts that snap or bolt together. This makes it possible for property owners to install them without the need for heavy machinery or professional help. Want to expand in the future? Just add more modules.

Low Maintenance Compared to traditional wooden docks, floating systems require far less upkeep. There's no need for repainting, resealing, or worrying about wood rot. Cleaning typically involves just a hose and some mild detergent. For busy marina operators or homeowners who’d rather spend time enjoying the water than working on it, this is a major plus.

Enhanced Safety Features Many modular floating docks feature slip-resistant surfaces and rounded edges. This is especially important for families with children or elderly members who may be using the dock. Railings, ladders, and cleats can also be added wherever needed, creating a completely safe and customized environment.

Eco-Friendly Materials Most modern floating docks systems are made from recyclable, non-toxic materials that don’t leach into the water. Since they don’t require underwater construction, they cause minimal disruption to aquatic habitats during installation.

Modular Floating Docks vs Traditional Fixed Docks Feature Modular Floating Docks Traditional Fixed Docks Installation Quick, tool-light, modular Time-consuming, heavy-duty Water Level Adaptation Floats with tide changes Static; may submerge or rise Maintenance Low (non-corrosive materials) High (wood rot, metal rust) Customization Highly configurable Limited to fixed layouts Cost Cost-effective over time High initial and upkeep costs

Modular floating docks clearly offer a better return on investment when considering long-term flexibility and maintenance.

Ideal Uses for Modular Floating Docks Modular docks aren’t just for personal boat access. Their versatility allows them to serve many different purposes:

Residential boating docks

Floating fishing platforms

Swimming and lounging decks

Kayak and jet ski launches

Commercial marina walkways

Event or concert stages on water

Whether you own a private cabin or operate a waterfront business, there’s a floating dock configuration that can suit your exact needs.

Tips for Choosing the Right Modular Dock System Before you make a purchase, keep the following tips in mind:

Know your water body: Calm lakes require less anchoring than tidal rivers or open seas.

Think about purpose: Will it be used for swimming, fishing, docking boats, or all of the above?

Choose quality materials: Look for UV-resistant, non-corrosive systems with strong warranties.

Plan for the future: Select a system that allows easy expansion if your needs grow over time.

Final Thoughts Upgrading your shoreline with a modular floating dock isn’t just about aesthetics it’s about making a smart, long-term decision for accessibility, safety, and enjoyment. With their modern features, eco-friendly build, and adaptability, floating docks systems offer a reliable solution for any waterfront property.

Whether you’re upgrading a family cabin or building a commercial marina, modular floating docks help you get the most out of your shoreline with less hassle and more freedom.

For premium modular floating dock solutions in Australia, visit Float Ya Boat Marine today.

[georgelouismarine]

Precision Construction Techniques

We specialize in professional boat launch construction, ensuring safe and efficient access to water bodies for boating enthusiasts. Contact us now!

[naved07]

Floating Dock Manufacturers

Looking for reliable floating dock manufacturers? Look no further! Our premium marine equipment ensures durability and stability, perfect for any waterfront project. Experience quality craftsmanship designed to withstand the elements while providing a safe and convenient access point to the water. Whether you’re expanding your marina or developing a private dock, we deliver innovative solutions tailored just for you.

[spookysaladchaos]

Global Top 24 Companies Accounted for 44% of total Floating Dock Systems market (QYResearch, 2021)

A floating dock, floating pier or floating jetty is a platform or ramp supported by pontoons. It is usually joined to the shore with a gangway. The pier is usually held in place by vertical poles referred to as pilings, which are embedded in the seafloor or by anchored cables.

Frequently used in marinas, this type of pier maintains a fixed vertical relationship to watercraft secured to it, independent of tidal, river or lake elevation.

According to the new market research report “Global Floating Dock Systems Market Report 2023-2029”, published by QYResearch, the global Floating Dock Systems market size is projected to reach USD 0.37 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period.

Figure.   Global Floating Dock Systems Market Size (US$ Million), 2018-2029

Figure.   Global Floating Dock Systems Top 24 Players Ranking and Market Share（Based on data of 2021, Continually updated）

The global key manufacturers of Floating Dock Systems include Bellingham Marine, Meeco Sullivan, Marinetek, SF Marina Systems, Ingemar, Poralu Marine, Walcon Marine, Flotation Systems, Maricorp, EZ Dock, etc. In 2021, the global top five players had a share approximately 44.0% in terms of revenue.

About QYResearch

QYResearch founded in California, USA in 2007.It is a leading global market research and consulting company. With over 16 years’ experience and professional research team in various cities over the world QY Research focuses on management consulting, database and seminar services, IPO consulting, industry chain research and customized research to help our clients in providing non-linear revenue model and make them successful. We are globally recognized for our expansive portfolio of services, good corporate citizenship, and our strong commitment to sustainability. Up to now, we have cooperated with more than 60,000 clients across five continents. Let’s work closely with you and build a bold and better future.

QYResearch is a world-renowned large-scale consulting company. The industry covers various high-tech industry chain market segments, spanning the semiconductor industry chain (semiconductor equipment and parts, semiconductor materials, ICs, Foundry, packaging and testing, discrete devices, sensors, optoelectronic devices), photovoltaic industry chain (equipment, cells, modules, auxiliary material brackets, inverters, power station terminals), new energy automobile industry chain (batteries and materials, auto parts, batteries, motors, electronic control, automotive semiconductors, etc.), communication industry chain (communication system equipment, terminal equipment, electronic components, RF front-end, optical modules, 4G/5G/6G, broadband, IoT, digital economy, AI), advanced materials industry Chain (metal materials, polymer materials, ceramic materials, nano materials, etc.), machinery manufacturing industry chain (CNC machine tools, construction machinery, electrical machinery, 3C automation, industrial robots, lasers, industrial control, drones), food, beverages and pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, agriculture, etc.

For more information, please contact the following e-mail address:

Email: global@qyresearch.com

Website: https://www.qyresearch.com

[ggidolsmuts]

The Girl That's Out of This World - tripleS Yooyeon

"Liftoff in 3, 2, 1!"

You're slammed into your jump seat, the g-forces pressing against you, metaphorical straps against the literal straps around you. Your ears are filled with the loud roar of thruster explosions, your eyes only seeing blue, then white, then grey as your vessel strives to break through the atmosphere. It's a rough launch, there's lots of rattling, maybe this is the one time things go sideways—fuck why are you thinking like that, fuck fuck fuck—

Everything goes black, and you blink, finding yourself in the stars.

"You good?"

"Yeah, bit of a bumpy launch eh?"

"Eh, it was fine." That's Kim Yooyeon for you, your fellow astronaut on this trip, utterly unflappable she might as well be gliding through life, so unfazeable that she might as well be her own phase of matter. She's already unbuckling herself from the seat and floating to the back. The mission is long, 2 months to be exact, but there's lots to do. "Monitor the systems."

"Copy." You stay seated, coordinating with mission control until finally you call out to her.

"We're enroute to the space station."

"Copy, support systems are operational, no damage from the launch."

"Really? After all that rattling?"

"All bark and no bite, luckily." Yooyeon straps in again next to you. "Get some sleep, it'll be a few hours before we get to the station." You lean back, and allow yourself to fall asleep to the beeps of the systems and the silence of space.

A higher pitched beep jolts you out of your sleep, and you see the space station ahead.

"Beginning docking maneuvers," you announce, and Yooyeon has shaken herself awake, repeating your order back to you. Both of you hold your breath as you watch the station loom over your craft, and the screen shows your shuttle closing in on the docking port. You move the controls slightly, there's a rumble as contact is made, followed by the whirr of locking mechanisms, and finally—

"Docking complete." Both of you lean back in your seats as the most stressful part of the mission is done.

"Good job, let's get out of here." Yooyeon floats to the shuttle exit ahead of you, and after disengaging the door locks you're both drifting into the space station. "Ah, finally out of this suit."

As you step out of your spacesuit, the helmet catches on your head, giving you a proper smack. You had forgotten—no, not forgotten, gotten used to—how pretty Yooyeon looks. She was the belle of the space force, as pretty as she is sharp. Many of your colleagues were envious that you got to go on a space mission with her, to accompany the angel on her way back to heaven, so to speak. Over the multiple weeks of intense training and preparation though, Yooyeon became your colleague, your teammate, responsible for your life just as you are responsible for hers on this mission, with safety being the priority above all else.

So you stopped seeing Yooyeon superficially, and yet, a far way from the surface of the Earth, you catch yourself staring at her beauty—long black hair, round eyes, ruby lips, delicate as a flower. Yet she's up here in space with you, suffering through the grueling launch and coming out looking like that, while you just... look like you.

"Have you forgotten how to remove the jumpsuit already? We spent so much time training on that."

"Just adjusting to the low grav environment," you mutter as an excuse. The two of you tour the space station, floating through the various segments that make up the station. You arrive at the living quarters—they're small and claustrophobic, but as with anything when you're in space, ironically space is at a premium. Your sleeping cabin is effectively an open coffin, complete with straps to stop you from floating away, there's a curtain for privacy, but that's about it.

Then there's a small kitchen, which is basically just the area that has the "cooking" machine, reheating and rehydrating space food for human consumption. There's a bathroom, also small, and finally the main body of the station where you'll be conducting science experiments, observing the stars, and watching over Earth.

"Everything is operational," Yooyeon speaks into the microphone, communicating with mission control.

"Roger, please begin the experiments whenever you're ready."

The two of you throw yourselves into the work, working with the command center and logging experiment results. In between experiments there were a lot of maintenance to be done, and you two find yourselves in the little nooks and crannies of the space station, checking for cracks, leaks, and loose bolts. It put the two of you in close quarters, and with no perfect substitute for weightlessness there was no small amount of accidental touches and brushes—you didn't notice your hand drifting close to her chest, she didn't notice her leg drifting between yours. But things remained professional for Yooyeon—everything addressed without fluster or embarrassment. You are in space after all, there were much bigger things to be worried about.

You wish you could say the same for yourself. You knew you would have to abstain as much as possible in space, as any cleanup would be quite hard when everything is quite literally floating about, but over time it became harder and harder to ignore Yooyeon. She dressed simply in a t-shirt and shorts most of the time, and even that was enough to distract you—when did her legs look so good, and her thighs muscled yet juicy, how did you not notice it before?

The breaking point came when Yooyeon pushed herself off a wall to get through the station quickly, only to collide with you coming out of the sleeping quarters and sending both of you spinning through the corridor.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were awake— Ah!" After the collision her top had come loose and it had ridden up, floating well above her waist, giving you a peek at her midriff and simple bra underneath. Hastily she pulls it down, a light blush on her cheeks. "Sorry about that, I thought the coast was clear."

"Yeah, no problem, go ahead. I'll sleep in for a little longer." It was an excuse, as your morning wood had come back in full force—you're way too frustrated to function. As Yooyeon floats away you make the decision to get yourself off, to just get it out of the way. You pull out a foil packet—condoms that your colleagues had pushed on to you.

"Dude why would I need condoms in space?"

"You're up there with Yooyeon, just the two of you, literally no one else in the world there."

"But we're in space, nothing's going to happen, we're not going to have sex in space."

"Who said anything about sex? Sure she wouldn't have sex with you, but just looking at her might be enough after a few weeks up there! What if you just need to get one off, you want your cum floating around in the space station? If you don't take this, when I'm next on the space station I am bringing a black light."

"You guys are fucking ridiculous!" You stuff the foil-wrapped rubbers into a discreet pocket just to shut them up.

Annoyed at your colleagues being right you wrap your tip with the rubber and wrap your hand around your shaft. Your colleagues missed on something though, that it is fucking weird to masturbate in space, in weightlessness, while trying to make sure the condom doesn't slip; while you have no material to work with at all, just the memory of Yooyeon's midriff and bra and thighs; while Yooyeon's looking at you.

Wait what?

"Y-Yooyeon!" you choke out.

"Shh!" She glares at you, and you remember that the monitoring mics are live as work hours just started—two way communication with mission control is great, making you feel less lonely on the space station, but now is the worst time for that! "Do you need my help?" Yooyeon whispers. She's tying her hair up, your brain short-circuting as the ponytail floats in mid-air.

"What? Sorry I— Let me—" Your hands waves about frantically, trying to remove the condom, pull your boxers on, stuff your cock back in, pull your pants back on, and not float towards her while you do it all at the same time.

"Just let me help you." Her hand stops you from pulling up your boxers, and in the next moment Yooyeon's lips are wrapped around your shaft. Your mind is spinning, from the absolute shattering of the image you have of her, to the fact that both of you are floating in space. You grab on to a bar that's in reach, making sure that the sight of Yooyeon giving you a blowjob doesn't float through the space station for any cameras to catch. Your other hand is on Yooyeon's head, presumably to make sure she doesn't float away from you, but more because you never wanted to leave her mouth!

The two of you are near horizontal, lying in weightlessness as Yooyeon continues to push her gorgeous face on your cock. Her tongue swirls, her cheeks hollow, Yooyeon is doing everything to get you to cum.

"Yooyeon!" you whisper harshly, and she flicks her eyes up at you. You throb one last time, and Yooyeon devours you to the base, her nose bumping into your crotch as you begin spilling everything into her mouth. You're pent up after weeks without satisfaction, and now all you can do is keep yourself quiet, biting your t-shirt as you watch Yooyeon stay planted on your hips, your thick and salty load going straight down her throat. Your hips buck, and the motion moves Yooyeon with it as you spurt one more shot into her mouth.

When she finally gets off your cock, her eyes are a little watery, but other than a little swipe of her lips there's no indication that Kim Yooyeon just swallowed the biggest load of your life like it's just another Tuesday (or Wednesday, time gets funny in space).

"All good? Be sure to clean up," she mumbles, and floats away.

What the hell just happened?

Yooyeon leaves you to collect yourself, and she collects her own thoughts too—she had wanted to check in on you, make sure you weren't hurt from the collision earlier. Yet when she saw you in that state, she wanted to make sure things were safe—it wouldn't do to have globs of cum or a filled condom floating in space, an actual choking and biohazard. So she took it upon herself to swallow it all and—

"Mmgh!" Yooyeon can feel it inside her—digesting food is a little odd in space, and when she's swallowed an extra meal worth of seed it is more than a little off, and she suddenly feels full. She puts a hand over her midriff, but has to resist moving it lower. Just as you were pent up, Yooyeon was equally frustrated. She had wondered if you were able to sneak in a self-love session or two, but she never noticed any signs or traces of it, which is good. Now with your abundant load inside her she realizes why that was.

Sadly for her there's no way she could do it, and she shudders and tries to calm herself, to think about the work ahead and not what's in her... No, better to not think about anything being "inside" herself right now.

As the work day winds down on the space station you approach Yooyeon.

"Hey, I just wanted to say I'm sorry, I thought I was alone. You didn't have to, you know."

"I— Yeah, it was unprofessional of me, I just wanted to make sure there wouldn't be anything floating around, I'm sorry."

"N-No no, not at all." You can't believe your ears, Yooyeon's apologizing for blowing you! "Thanks for keeping us safe, I guess?"

"Yeah. Is there anything else?"

"No, please let me know if you ever need some privacy, so we can avoid something like this in the future. I can give you plenty of space."

"That won't be needed, it is infeasible for me to do it in space." You blink rapidly at Yooyeon admission—what does she even mean?

With your pent up frustration relieved you don't think too much of things, and nothing seems to have changed with how Yooyeon treats you, so it fades a little into the background for you as you are consumed by the work that needs to be done.

But for Yooyeon her frustration only builds, she catches herself looking at you below the waist on more than one occasion, wondering if you were hard, wondering if she could see it again. She had not planned on masturbating on this mission, but after what happened she's finding herself flush and warm often. Yet she can't take any more clothes off, taking off anything more would be because— No, she shouldn't think about sex, it doesn't help things! 

The breaking point comes quietly for Yooyeon, on another chance collision. The two of you are passing through the narrow corridors in opposite directions—Yooyeon has just washed up, and you're on the way to do as well. She slips when she tries to push herself through the narrow gap, sending her bumping into you.

"Yooyeon, are you okay? You feel really warm, is it a fever?" You're holding her close, a hand on her forehead. "You're burning, let me get a thermometer."

"No! I just need some rest, I'll turn in early tonight." The truth is Yooyeon's effectively in heat, the sudden close proximity and touch catching her off guard. She retreats to her "bed", strapping herself down and trying to calm herself. She presses her thighs together, hoping her shorts and underwear can absorb enough of her wetness, but it has the opposite effect, as the added friction makes her rub her legs together subconsciously.

When you finish cleaning yourself you return to the sleeping quarters and tie yourself down, but as you try to fall asleep you realize that the usual white noise of the space station is not as it usually is. You hear a continuous rustle, like someone tossing and turning. Yooyeon having trouble sleeping? You debate if you should call out, potentially disturbing her rest even more. Your attentive ears pick up on more detail—the rustle is persistent, less tossing and turning and more rubbing together of fabric. Every so often there is a deep exhale, and you realize what is going on.

"Yooyeon, do you need my help?"

Yooyeon freezes in her bed, like she's standing in front of a line. She knows what you are asking, and you know that she knows, which is why you asked; and she knows that you know that she knows, and so she answers...

"Yes."

She can hear you undo your straps, and soon you would be floating towards her, and then— You're here already, pulling open the curtains! In the dark Yooyeon prays that you don't see her blush, but everything else is showing—her thighs tightly pressed together, her hand down her own shorts, a fistful of absorbent sheets in the other.

"Tell me what you need."

"I need— Want to get off, but the sheets need to be there."

"I can umm, just swallow it all." Yooyeon's heat only grows, now she's thinking about you down there, eating her out and— oh god...

"No, I get really wet when it happens." There's little embarrassment left in Yooyeon, she needed to get off more than anything else! You pause for a moment, and Yooyeon gets even wetter, watching you watch her.

"Give me the sheets." You move in close to Yooyeon, taking them from her. You gently nudge her thighs open with your knee.

"Do you want to take off your shorts—" She pulls one leg out, enough to give you access to her over her underwear.

"No, just like this is good," is her immediate reply. You press the sheets against your thigh and then nudge up between her legs. Instantly Yooyeon traps you there, and so forceful is the shove of her hips downwards that you have to hold on to her to not be pushed away. When you steady yourself to look at Yooyeon the view is mesmerizing—from the neck up, Yooyeon might as well be asleep, eyes closed and breathing deeply. From the waist down however she's outright riding you, grinding herself on your thigh with hip gyrations you didn't even know she could make. She's grinding down on you so hard you have to push up against her, to counteract her strength in the weightless environment.

You're glued to Yooyeon's gorgeous face, even in the dark she looks like she's glowing. You watch her bite the inside of her cheek, her brow furrow slightly, and then she goes slack.

"I'm done," she says quietly. "Thank you."

"Hmm?" It was barely noticeable! Yooyeon was stoic but you never thought she would be this restrained even in climax. "Right."

"Do you need me to help you with that?" You look down at where she's looking—your stiffness poking into her thighs.

"N-No, I'm good, it'll go down. I'll dispose of these, you should rest."

"Okay, thank you." You realize you have to peel the absorbent sheets off your thigh—despite her lack of reaction to her orgasm, she's completely soaked through the multiple layers. As you hold it in your hand you squeeze it a little too hard, and some of it is released. "Oh there's—" Yooyeon can only blush as you catch them in your mouth, swallowing her juices. "You didn't have to do that."

"You did for me, I'm just making sure there are no choking hazards. Good night."

Yooyeon watches you drift away without another word, and her mind is a jumble. She's basking in the glow of her orgasm, oh how she needed that! But she's also conflicted—it was professionally inappropriate, she should never have agreed to your help! She probably should not have sucked you off before either, and it's all a big mess now. Disturbingly, after feeling your hardness poke against her, it's all she can think about even after getting herself off. 

Having disposed of the sheets you float back to bed, trying to calm yourself down and go to sleep. When you hear Yooyeon move in her bed, you clear your throat softly, reminding yourself to not treat every noise from her as sexual.

"Good night." Yooyeon's voice comes soft and clear across space.

You realize neither of you are going to get much sleep that night, and you take a deep breath, trying not to think too much about Yooyeon still being awake.

"G-Good night."

The last two weeks were borderline unbearable, and both of you were on edge. Far above earth, in your little space haven, you and Yooyeon felt like Adam and Eve, having sinfully tasting the sweetness of the forbidden fruit that one time. Yet you're unable to consume each other, to relive it over and over again. Yooyeon has tried to remain professional, but you know she feels the same way, as you've caught her staring just as she has caught you looking—not once has she said anything, reprimanded you for letting your desires get the better of you. Every time you have to slip past her in the corridors, your bodies close to touching, is when space has felt the most dangerous. Even when you had to go on a spacewalk, to fix something on the outside of the station, when all that keeps you from drifting into the void is Yooyeon making sure that you remain tethered, the most dangerous time was when you returned to the station, and Yooyeon was there to help you out of the spacesuit, stripping you, her face at eye level with your crotch. It was almost too much for either of you.

Almost. Somehow nothing happens, and you're strapped into the return capsule with Yooyeon, both of you ready to head home.

"Disengaging the locks."

"Triggering push-off mechanism."

It's almost imperceptible in space, but you're lightly nudged against your seat as the capsule pushes away from the space station. A few minutes later you trigger the thrusters to put you on a trajectory back to Earth. It begins to take up most of your view as you get closer, and you monitor the panels in front of you, watching the readings go down until...

"Entering atmosphere!" Yooyeon starts the return sequence, and all you can do is wait. It gradually gets louder in the capsule as you fall at terminal velocity, and the capsule rattles and shakes. You look out the capsule window, and all you see is red, the air now superheated as it rubs against the surface of your survival cell. A boom, intended of course, is heard as the heat shield around the capsule, having served its purpose, is blown off. Then a second explosion, and you're snapped back even harder against your seat as the parachutes deploy, slowing you down further. A loud continuous roar fills your ears as thrusters fire up, and you and Yooyeon brace for a hopefully survivable impact.

No training could prepare you for this, it still feels like you're going down too damn fast, and all you can do is close your eyes and hope it's enough. Your bones rattle when you finally hit the ground, but you breathe a sigh of relief when everything goes quiet.

"Yooyeon?"

"Yeah, I'm here." She gives you a thumbs up. "All in one piece." You fire one back at her. The capsule door opens up to a rush of people, and both of you are extracted. Quickly you are transported to a hotel, where the two of you are sat down and given a physical.

"Okay, so you two are in good physical condition it looks like, but we're going to keep you in this hotel under observation for another week."

"We can't leave?"

"Preferably not, there will be media hanging around, and we need to do the debrief before you speak with them. You're free to order room service or have food delivered, anything else you need, just let us know."

"Got it."

"Will we have clothes?" Yooyeon pipes up.

"Yes, we'll have a suitcase of your clothes brought up. If there's something missing your family is free to send stuff over." With no further questions you and Yooyeon are led to adjoining rooms. Although your body has no idea what time it is, as soon as you fall on the bed you moan at finally feeling a mattress on your back and a pillow under your head, and you quickly fall asleep.

Until a rude banging at your door wakes you.

"What the hell? I just got here!" you mutter as you pull the door open annoyed, only to see Yooyeon.

"It's been 5 hours." Yooyeon clarifies. You blink once for every hour you have apparently slept for.

"Has it? Damn, sorry. The bed felt so nice I must have just, yeah."

"Same, I just got up too. It's midnight though and nothing's open, do you want to order room service?"

"Sure but... You want to eat with me?"

"Well we ate every meal together on the space station so I thought—" Yooyeon drifts off, a little abashed. "Sorry, I got too used to the routine out there, have a good night!" You hold the door ajar before she can close it.

"No wait, you're right, let's get some food."

Neither of you order much—despite it being midnight, having just gotten up both of you eat only enough for a "breakfast". As soon as that's done, there's an awkward silence—in space there's jobs to do, experiments to check on, on Earth, right now there's nothing to do, only each other for company, and soon all the "non-work" stuff that happened on the space station floats up in your minds. Yooyeon's the first to breach it, and she does it in the only way she knows how.

"We should have sex."

"Yooyeon what?"

"After... that time, things changed slightly on the station, I know you felt it too. We couldn't get it out of our system then, but you know, we can now. I haven't had a chance to, you know, satisfy myself. Unless you have already, then I'll just—" Yooyeon's words speed up as she realizes what she's admitting to you, that sex has been on her mind since landing back on Earth, that she hasn't gotten herself off yet. With her words, you realize of course, that you haven't gotten yourself off either.

"We should do it, I want to do it too." You barely recognize your own husky voice. The two of you almost defy gravity, flying to the bedroom. There's no shame or shyness, Yooyeon's naked and you're nude in a flash—this was pure need, the tension that built way above Earth crashing down on your bed. No foreplay, no checking with Yooyeon, you needed to be in her. She's tighter and wetter than anything you could imagine in your frustrating fantasies, and you moan, enjoying the feeling of being able to sink into her.

You start with a few thrusts, groaning at how she grips you—she needed this as much as you do! But when you don't hear anything from her at all, you stop and check on Yooyeon—she has her eyes closed again, her chest lightly moving, like she was riding your thigh instead of your cock. You didn't expect a strong reaction from her, but you definitely expected some reaction.

"Yooyeon? You okay?"

"Yeah, it feels good. Why?"

"Just um, couldn't tell if you were enjoying it. I thought you would like it more than what we did on the space station."

"Oh, sorry, yeah it's good. I'm not... very fun in bed. You're my third and... The first two guys didn't go so great."

"How so?"

"The first guy, we broke up because I was too messy in bed." After seeing how wet Yooyeon got, and how she's already making a small wet spot on the bed, you disagree but his loss is arguably your gain.

"And the second guy?"

"Said I was like a dead fish in bed, I ditched him because I caught him with someone louder and more 'fun', his words."

"Damn, that's rough, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be, but yes it's great for me, I'll try to be more responsive if I can."

"Just tell me what you're feeling." You start moving in and out of her again.

"It feels good." You hug her, whispering into her ear.

"Tell me more, more than good."

"You're stretching me, I haven't done this in a while, so it's really intense. You're also... wide? It's different." It's both hot and a bit disconcerting, hearing Yooyeon's version of dirty talk.

"What do you want from me? Should I go slower, faster, deeper, shallower?"

"I..." Yooyeon falls silent as she tries to process your words and feel you at the same time. She didn't lie when she said she felt good, and maybe it's because she's finally getting some after the tension in space, but Yooyeon knows she's wetter than usual, her walls extra sensitive. She's too tense, she should relax more, enjoy the sex and—

"More!" Yooyeon's yelp surprises both of you. As she consciously relaxes, her walls give a little, and when you thrust you end up just that little bit deeper in her. It hits her like a comet—Yooyeon's hand on her mouth, eyes wide open, but her pussy flutters around your shaft. You pull out slowly, and when you sink back in, making sure to get just as deep as you did before, Yooyeon whines—she wants this, this is different!

"Something tells me you're not wholly at fault for being a dead fish in bed."

"Deep! It feel so— Mmm!" Yooyeon tries to muffle herself with her hand, and you have to pull it away. "I'm sorry I can't—"

"Don't hold back, now you sound like you're having fun."

Yooyeon can feel her cheeks heating up—normally she's reserved, in control of herself. Even when she's horny she just gets wet, but she never makes a sound, not if she doesn't want to—feeling good is one thing, showing that she's feeling good is another thing altogether. And yet as she looks down her body, when she watches your slick covered shaft enter her and feels the immense pressure as you push in, like you're splitting her open; when she hears the squelch of her own pussy, and feels her thighs get wet when she leaks and squirts more juice; when her chest swells, and the moan she's holding back pushes its way out of her mouth, Yooyeon can't help but think that losing control of herself feels good, that feeling so much pleasure until she loses control is amazing.

"It feels so good, don't stop, don't stop!" Yooyeon cries out, like you've unblocked or unsealed something deep inside of her. Your own head is spinning, her sudden transformation shocking you and pushing you to go even harder, to hear more of her. You grab her thighs, squeezing them and pulling her towards you on every thrust. She's splattering against your hips on every thrust, your grip on her thighs is fucking slippery. You notice her thighs are around red around where you're grabbing her, but then no, the flush is spreading throughout Yooyeon's body.

"Oh!" It's a sharp yelp, one that gives you pause—Yooyeon's looking down her body at you, and you feel her legs shaking. She opens her mouth to say something, but it's too late.

"FUCK!" Yooyeon throws her head back and screams. Her hips buck strongly, causing you to slip out of her. You suddenly feel something warm on your stomach—thick and translucently white, sliding down your body.

Kim Yooyeon's girl cum, ejaculated, ejected, expelled! Splattered all over you.

The sound of Yooyeon swearing for the first time you can remember, the sight of Yooyeon's body twisted in ecstasy, and the warm, gooey sensation of Yooyeon so thoroughly losing it—everything combines to send you over the edge. You're cumming too, your cock throbbing with a mind of its own, leaking onto Yooyeon. You're just as pent up as her, and you let out a low moan as your hand moves automatically, stroking and firing your load all over Yooyeon's trembling body.

"Ah... Damn Yooyeon!" You manage to roll yourself on your back, not landing on Yooyeon and not getting too much of her cream on the bed. The two of you just lie there, breathing heavily, riding the high of finally getting to fuck.

"Mmm..." Yooyeon's mind is floating like she's back in space, and she has to curl her toes to remind herself she's still alive and conscious. She swears she can still feel you throbbing inside her, something more alive than her. When she opens her eyes again she finally sees the ceiling instead of stars, and she hears your rough breathing next to her. Yooyeon runs a hand down her body, finding herself sweaty and sticky—it really happened, you two just had sex, and it was the most intense pleasure she ever felt. "Wow."

"Yeah. You okay?"

"Yes, just, never felt quite like that before." She has to bite her lip to stop a whimper from coming out—just your touch on her body, the tissues you're rubbing on her to clean her up, is sending sparks flying in her head. An irresistible urge is building inside Yooyeon, a newly awakened need. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Can I kiss you?" You blink at her, confused, but you see her squirming under your gaze.

"I mean, we've done everything past kissing so, why not?"

Yooyeon climbs into your lap, resting her hands around your neck. Your eyes rove up her body, from her thighs straddling you, pussy lips still parted slightly, to her chest, nipples still stiff, at attention, yearning for more. Your gaze goes to her lips, and you can see the teeth mark, where she bit down on earlier, and you look to her—

Her lips are too close!

"Mmph!" Yooyeon's short hair tickles your shoulders, but more importantly her lips are soft against yours, and she's leaving her marks on your lip, lightly nipping and tugging. Yooyeon pushes herself more insistently on to you, you have to take more of her weight until—

"Yooyeon!" You have to lie down, and Yooyeon's clinging to you on top, her arms wrapped around your neck and shoulders.

"Can we cuddle like this?

"If you want." To your surprise Yooyeon sighs, and she melts into you, face buried in your neck and completely relaxed.

"You okay?"

"Mm, let's just stay like this." Finally satisfied and happy Yooyeon lets her mind wander, her breath warm on your neck. She never felt like cuddling with her exes, but then again she's never felt this good sleeping with them. They would be out of bed by now, leaving Yooyeon alone in bed or worse, having to get herself off. "Why didn't we do this sooner?" she sighs, whispering to herself.

"We were in space." Yooyeon freezes—she didn't think you heard that! "The cleanup would have been impossible."

"I know, I meant, before that."

"Well, you were you, and I was I."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're not dumb, you know we do not look... good together." Yooyeon pushes herself up, and she looks annoyed, almost angry.

"So? What about now? We work well together, I know I can trust you with my life, we can rely on each other even in space, there's nothing more important than that."  Yooyeon's gaze is piercing through you, she's dead serious. "Don't you agree?"

"Yeah but, that's different—" Yooyeon kisses you again.

"I like you, I can't say I love you yet, but that comes with time right?" Her confession keeps you silent. "Besides, we're having sex, making love, as they call it. We just need to make more love."

"I don't think that's—" She nips on your earlobe, and you're finding yourself speechless more often than not around Yooyeon.

"I do think we feel good together, I don't think you dislike me, so I would like us to feel good, a lot." You never realized Yooyeon could switch on a dime like this, she's trying to seduce you.

"I don't dislike you, of course," you answer, throat dry, scarcely believing what's happening.

"Good, I'm happy. We just need to make lots of love then. Can you go again?" She's reaching down your body, finding your cock and stroking it, feeling it's firmness in her grasp.

"Yeah." You manage to confirm Yooyeon's findings, choking out a gasp at the end as she runs a finger over your tip.

"I'll be on top, I think I'm wet enough already." She most certainly is as your cock feels like it's being covered by the best "wet blanket" ever when she sinks down on to you. "You're getting really... Ah! Deep in me!" Her hand flies down to her flat tummy, right below her bellybutton, as if showing you just how far you're reaching into her. "I'm surprised you're not pushing a bulge out of me, it certainly feels like it."

"Yooyeon you can't just say that!" you murmur through gritted teeth. Yooyeon's weirdly technical interpretation of dirty talk is very effective, making you process what she means, and immediately allowing your imagination to show them to you in vivid detail.

"I'm just telling you what I feel. I'm sorry I'm getting you so wet, you remember how I was on the space station right? This is like ten, no, a hundred times more intense!" It certainly is true for you—you watched Yooyeon grind herself on your thigh to get off, and have replayed that scene in your head numerous times afterwards. Yet nothing prepares you for how Yooyeon's grinding down on you now, arguably even more strongly and demanding. With gravity and a bed to push against, Yooyeon's half bouncing and half grinding herself into you, and every time she sinks down on to your shaft, it's like she's pumping herself for juices, leaking her slick all over your crotch.

Except this time you can see her expression—her eyes are still closed, but her mouth is slightly open, letting out small moans. Her brow tenses and relaxes, as do her lips, the edges of her mouth curling into a smile every time she does so, like she's cumming again and again. It is as if Yooyeon has let all her guards down, and she looks utterly divine, like she does belong in heaven.

Oh, and her pussy has a velvet grip around your cock the whole time, trying to tug and suck and pull the cum right out of you.

"When we fall in love, I want us to procreatively fornicate like this."

"Pro-what?"

"Procreative fornication. You know, babymaking sex, breeding."

"You can't just say that, unless you want that to happen right now you should get off!"

"What? Why?"

"I can't hold on much longer, I'm going to cum in you!"

"Oh, you want to start right now? That's a little early but I don't mind..." You were going to stop her, trying to stop yourself, trying to clarify that she misunderstood, but Yooyeon leans in and whispers in your ear.

"You can fill me up."

With a rasp you draw a deep breath and grab Yooyeon by the hips, pulling her down fully. It is the best misunderstanding of your life as you unload deep inside her, with Yooyeon narrating dirtily into your ear the whole time.

"Ah! It's so warm inside me, you still have so much for me? You're really filling me up I— Nngh it's too much!" Yooyeon moans and buries her face in your shoulder. She shudders, and sighs, cumming again and prolonging your climax. You continue to weakly thrust up into her, and Yooyeon's body undulates with you, both of you trying to milk each other for all the pleasure you can get.

You're cuddling Yooyeon again right after, your load still freshly dripping between her legs—you wanted to clean her up, but she refuses to, insisting on cuddling first.

"Why did you let me cum in you?"

"I thought you wanted to."

"I do. No I mean, eventually, but not right now!"

"Are you worried about being safe?" You nod. "We're not in space anymore, we don't have to be safe on Earth." You can't tell if Yooyeon's messing with you, or if your point is orbiting Earth and has sailed over her head completely.

"No safe like, what if you get pregnant now?"

"Oh, I'm on pills, can you imagine ovulating in space? I'll go off it slowly so, it can't happen right now, but in the future." You breathe a sigh of relief.

"Good, we really shouldn't rush into things like that." You watch Yooyeon dip a hand between her legs, swiping up some of your seed before smearing it on her thigh.

"Of course, but for the time being, you can finish in me whenever you want, it felt really nice." You shake your head, and Yooyeon looks at you quizzically. "What?"

"How can you just say that so casually?"

"You told me to tell you how I feel. I just stated a fact, and then how I felt about it."

"You're impossible, say it again?"

"You can finish in me whenever you want, it feels really good?" You chuckle and kiss a nonplussed Yooyeon.

"You have no idea how hot you sound."

The first night Yooyeon returned to her room to sleep, but by Day 3 you're going to her bedroom to sleep, because you've discovered that Yooyeon was, for lack of a better term, a wet nympho, and she has completely ruined your sheets by coming over nightly.

That's not the only thing you've discovered about Yooyeon either—she's wet when she's on top, but when you're in charge Yooyeon can't help but get sticky, creaming around your cock instead of squirting on you. Yooyeon's discovering a lot about you too, encouraging you to find out more.

"I like grinding on your thigh, do you want to see if you like rubbing yourself on my thighs?" You do, and to her surprise Yooyeon finds the back of her thighs sticky and warm after giving you a thighjob.

"Do you want my hair up or down when I use my mouth? Oh, or you can decide!" That's how you find yourself holding on to Yooyeon's hair, tugging it as she sucks you off. There's no need to keep her from floating away, and you can't help but push her down on to you. She forgets about gravity, and your load spills out from her mouth, prompting an emergency cleanup for the both of you.

Yooyeon's discovering a lot about herself as well, and she tells you every single lurid detail.

"Oh, right there... you're pushing against my cervix there, it's so... nngh! You're so big!"

"Put your hand here, press down and— Ah! You feel even bigger like that, can you feel yourself? You're rubbing my g-spot so well. I think I like it more from behind, you seem to thrust harder from behind, is it because you like it more?"

"Yes," you growl out, answering Yooyeon's rambling dirty talk succinctly, thrusting into her harder.

"You're throbbing so hard, how are you getting bigger? Are you close? Can we finish together? I want us to finish together, and I'm so close I— Nnngh thank you!"

By Day 5 both of you are down to only one set of clothing left, which you wear only when the two of you have debriefs or checkups during the day. Yooyeon decides to completely forgo clothing around you otherwise, and right after that you make the same decision, the two of you going from forward-looking astronauts to Adam and Eve in about a week.

"I'm so tired, but I don't want to stop..." Yooyeon whines as you pound down into her prone form.

"We should, ugh, take a break soon."

"After this, maybe. Can you mating press me?" It's so completely casual now the way she asks for it, and you comply just as naturally, kissing her as you bend her knees all the way back to her shoulders.

"I'm so sore but it still feels so good!"

"Same, I'll cum with you, cum hard for me!" You pin her wrists with your hand, rendering her powerless to do anything, and she loses it.

"Ah! I will if you ask me to—" Yooyeon screams as you bend her knees back just that little bit more, thumping against her sweet spot, and she splatters you with sticky creamy girl cum right as you flood her womb with thick seed. Your arms give out and you collapse on top of her, utterly drained. Yooyeon giggles as she strokes your hair, knowing that you've spent yourself completely in her.

"My turn to cuddle you."

And on the seventh day you rested. The two of you come out of the observation period more ragged and drained than when you entered. You were able to explain it away as recovering from getting acclimated to Earth's gravity, but from the looks housekeeping gave you they definitely knew that you two were busy acclimating to each other instead, you just pray they don't tell anyone. 

"We should go out," you bring up to Yooyeon once people are out of earshot.

"We are outside," Yooyeon answers nonchalantly.

"No, like on a date."

"Sure, which day did you have in mind?"

"No Yooyeon, like—"

"Friday at 7?" She's smiling—she really does have the ability to render you speechless.

"I uh, yeah, that sounds good."

"Great, see you at 7 am!"

"I— Wait what?"

Regardless of her communication quirks you start dating Yooyeon and things progress quickly. A few months later she asks you an odd question.

"We've made a lot of love since our first week right?"

"Yes, during that week and after." You've gotten used to Yooyeon's phrasing, but you wonder where she's going with this.

"So how do you feel about us? Should we continue being together? Have we made enough love?"

"Yes." You quickly pick up on her choice of words. "Do you want me to say I love you?"

"Yes."

"I love you Yooyeon." She kisses you, and then proceeds to drop a bombshell on you.

"Good, I love you too. I quit the space force."

"What! Why?"

"They would never send us to space together, they know we're a couple now."

"Yeah but still, I thought you wanted to be in space!"

"I saw Earth from space, that was a lifelong dream of mine."

"I know, so why did you quit? I could have stepped back instead."

"No, that still keeps us apart. I don't need to go to space anymore, because I found someone on Earth I'd rather spend the rest of my life with." She produces a ring, a simple band with a bluish-green gem on top. "I won't get on my knees because I'm already shorter than you, but—" She fumbles the ring, as if trying to figure out which is the right orientation to present the ring before giving up.

"Will you stay on Earth with me?"

A/N: Bit of a random one, there was some discussion of sex in space I saw, and I wondered if it would work, then I wondered who would work in that context, and came up with smart and pretty Yooyeon lol. Also fits with the whole tripleS thing in my mind, I tried to work in a cosmos thing but eh, didn't try very hard lol. I tried to capture some of her...aloofness? Some of the stuff she says makes you do a double take or can be a little goofy so yeah. Thanks for reading!

[galedekarios]

the splendours of waterdeep

Gale: I hail from Waterdeep, the City of Splendours.

we've all heard gale introduce himself and there's a certain pride that colours his voice. but what exactly are waterdeep's splendours?

1. general noteworthy things about waterdeep

i) waterdeep is one of the cleanest cities in the realms

this is not only achieved by having many of waterdeep's buildings and facilities connected to a sewer system, but also through waterdeep's dungsweeper's guild. the members of the guild make their rounds through the city, sweeping streets, collecting trash, litter and refuse.

this service is paid for by taxes.

ii) waterdeep's water system

waterdeep boasts an extensive water system that enables the city to have free access to clean water. this free access comes in many forms: fountains, wells and bath houses. some establishment even have their own access to fresh water in form of tap water "with the turn of a knob", as volo puts it in his chapbook about the city.

iii) waterdeep, city of light

waterdeep possesses many signs and street lamps that are lit with continual flame spells:

hundreds of driftglobes also illuminate the city each night:

A driftglobe was a small glass orb that magically floated in the air and emitted light.

in addition to these magical means, so called lamplighters keep the streets lit - with the exception of the field ward and more dangerous areas of the dock ward.

iv) waterdeep and literacy

waterdeep is one of the most literate cities in the realms.

the font of knowledge is a temple to oghma, god of the domain of knowledge, in waterdeep. priests of oghma "valued, preserved, shared, sought, created, or uncovered knowledge and learning. [x]" the priests there offer free instructions and lessons in reading to everyone. the temple has a library, known as "the great library".

the city has many publishing houses and printing presses. books and chapbooks (short books containing various topics from memoirs to romances, politics, etc.) are popular, as are small and large paper advertisements that dot the streets and alleys. broadsheets are popular too in the city:

A broadsheet, also known as a short scroll, was a short, printed document which usually contained tabloid-style news or political rants. They were common in Waterdeep, where they were sold by broadcriers on the main streets.

some of these broadsheets popular in waterdeep are [x]:

The Vigilant Citizen, which was one of the most reputable broadsheets in the city.

The Blue Unicorn, which reported paranormal events such as haunted mansions or undead hiding among the nobility.

The Daily Luck, a sheet aimed at gamblers.

Horkle's Gossip Cauldron, whose style of writing was said to be profane and blunt to the point of rudeness.

The Mocking Minstrel, one of the most read broadsheets in the city, known for its caustic and sarcastic tone.

The North Wind, which focused on nobility gossip and fashion.

The Merchant's Friend

Halivar's Broadsheet

restaurants and other establishments in waterdeep often have printed menus that are placed outside, as well as handed out to those who choose to eat there.

2. the griffon cavalry

"Waterdeep doesn’t have the fabled flying ships of Halruaa, but it does deploy an aerial defense force. Brave warriors of the City Guard light out from the Peaktop Aerie atop Mount Waterdeep, riding fearsome griffons that have been bred and trained for that purpose. Each of the riders is equipped with a ring of feather falling — not merely to prevent death from mishap, but to allow them to perform stunning feats of aerial acrobatics. In both martial displays and in real battles against flying threats such as manticores, harpies, and outlaw wizards, the griffon riders actually leap off their mounts into the open air! For a breath-stealing moment, they fall like stones, closing in on their targets at incredible speed. Their opponents rarely see the griffon riders. When they are past the danger, the free-falling riders then suddenly halt in the air, drifting like feathers until their griffon companions swoop in and they regain their saddles. Working in concert with one another in this fashion, members of the Griffon Cavalry can rapidly eliminate any threat to the city — and even catch the body of the offender before it hits the rooftops below. Riders of the Griffon Cavalry are trained to stay above the rooftops, not because they fear crashing into towers and weather vanes, but because the smell of so much horseflesh in the streets below can sometimes drive their griffons into a frenzy."

[from: volo's waterdeep enchiridion]

3. the walking statues

"Over a century ago, just one of these eight behemoth statues stood visible at the northern foot of Mount Waterdeep, on a bluff called Gull Leap. Ninety feet tall, it resembled a bald human staring out to sea. Later events (discussed below) caused it to be transformed into the statue known today as the Sahuagin Humbled. When the Spellplague gripped Waterdeep in 1385 DR, six more walking statues suddenly appeared in the city, wandering to wreak havoc even as the Sahuagin Humbled remained motionless. The authorities and citizens of Waterdeep succeeded in stopping three of these new statues, breaking the Swordmaiden and the Hawk Man, and sinking the God Catcher into the street up to its waist. Then all the statues mysteriously stopped their rampage just as quickly as they had begun it. Tsarra Chaadren, the Blackstaff at the time, couldn’t command them to return to their former hiding places on the Ethereal Plane. Consequently, the city repaired itself and built up around them. Much later, in 1479 DR, the eighth statue — the Griffon — merged from the Ethereal Plane to defend Ahghairon’s Tower against intrusion. It roosted there for a time before flying to its current position near Peaktop Aerie on Mount Waterdeep. Once more, this activity seemed to be outside the Blackstaff’s control. Thankfully, all the walking statues have been dormant for well over a decade now, serving only as beautiful, cyclopean reminders of Waterdeep’s might."

[from: volo's waterdeep enchiridion]

the walking statues are:

the god catcher

the griffon

the sahuagin humbled

the great drunkard

the lady dreaming

the honorable knight

the hawk man

the sword maiden

below you'll find more lore and backstory about these walking statues of waterdeep:

[from: volo's waterdeep enchiridion]

edited to improve format and added text descriptions of the statues for easier reading:

the great drunkard

This walking statue stopped its rampage as it approached the Market, then fell backward and sat upon a building. When it settled, its arms fell limp at its sides and its head tilted forward onto its chest, giving the impression that it had fallen asleep. The statue’s huge stone battleaxe still stands nearby, its haft angled upright and its blade half buried in the cobbles. The rubble of the crushed building was long ago rebuilt into a broad stone stair (with railings and a ramp that drunkards are often rolled down) that ascends from the cobbles to the statue’s lap. That lap now holds a two-story tavern also built from the rubble, called Gralkyn’s Tankard. The unconscious pose of the statue and the tavern in its lap made the name of the Great Drunkard a natural fit.

the god catcher

This is perhaps the most famous walking statue in the city, thanks to its dramatic pose, its nearness to the Market, and the self-evident magic of its existence. The statue is of a well-muscled but impassive male human with its left leg sunk to the hip in the street, the result of a spell cast by the Blackstaff at the time of its rampage. Its left hand and right foot press against the ground as if it is trying to pull itself out. Its right arm is raised skyward, and above its open palm floats a sphere of stone. Its gaze looks up toward the sphere, and the pattern of bird droppings around its eyes gives it the appearance of weeping. All about the statue, climbing up its chest and on its knee and shoulders, is a tenement that carries the name “the God Catcher.” The tenement’s landlord is Aundra Blackcloak, an unsociable sorcerer who is rarely seen in the city except when she alights from the door carved in the floating sphere, which serves as her home. On the rare occasions when she wants to meet with city folk (typically to purchase odd substances for magical purposes), she appears unannounced on balconies or rooftops after dark. Her dealings are polite, though, and she pays fair coin. She never confides in anyone or talks about her own doings — and if anyone but she has ever seen the inside of her spherical home, they’ve said nothing publicly about it.

the griffon

The walking statue called the Griffon is shaped like the beast for which it is named. Though it stands on all four legs, its back is fully twenty feet off the ground, making it a mount fit for a storm giant. Although it has shown itself to be capable of flight, with the granite feathers of its wings spreading like a bird’s, the Griffon now merely stands in a regal pose near Peaktop Aerie atop Mount Waterdeep, looking to the southeast over the Dock Ward. Newcomers sometimes assume it to be a monument to Waterdeep’s Griffon Cavalry, but Waterdavians know better.

the sahuagin humbled

For years, the only visible walking statue of Waterdeep was known simply as “the walking statue.” It stood at the foot of Mount Waterdeep near the head of Julthoon Street. Then, after its critical role in defending the city against an invasion of sahuagin in 1370 DR, Khelben Blackstaff reshaped the statue into a sahuagin. It now bows low toward the House of Heroes on bended knee — a gesture of obeisance to the city, and an acknowledgment of the sacrifice of all who fought for the city in that war.

the lady dreaming

This fair lady caused much chaos when she was active. The statue has the appearance of a female elf, whose hair and clothing appeared to flow naturally as it walked through the city during the Spellplague. When the walking statues stopped, this one toppled onto its side, taking on the appearance of a titanic sculpture of a noble lady asleep in her garden.

the honorable knight

The Honorable Knight is a statue of a male warrior in plate armor with a shield and longsword. When the walking statues stopped, it bowed to those opposing it, straightened, sheathed its sword, and doffed its shield, setting it point down on the ground and upright by its side. It then ceased motion in this position, facing southwest toward the harbor, and looking for all the world like a castle guard standing at ease. The pose it assumed led to its naming, and it is viewed with respect by the citizens of the southerly wards.

the hawk man

This statue looks like a winged, hawk-headed being, and thus locals call it the Hawk Man. I can reveal that in fact it bears much resemblance to an aarakocra, one of the bird-people said to live in the Star Mounts in the High Forest. The statue’s wings are folded tightly against its back and have never unfurled, leaving its flight capability uncertain. It was brought low during its rampage across the city, and now it tilts decidedly toward the northeast due to a missing right foot — long ago broken up for building rubble, along with its right arm. Its left arm is extended out toward the north, palm forward as if in a gesture to say, “Stop.” The body has been hollowed out and turned into a tower shared by several wealthy tenants, which is officially known as Sparaunt Tower after its owner. The statue’s left hand extends over a courtyard to the north, wherein lies the entrance of a tunnel carved through the arm. Visitors and residents can ring a bell in the courtyard, whereupon a door guard acknowledges the ringer and lowers a rope ladder for tenants and expected guests (or a rope chair that is drawn up for guests who are infirm or laden with heavy items).

the sword maiden

This statue appears virtually identical to the Honorable Knight, except for its female form and open-faced helm. It was felled during the Spellplague after causing much chaos and slaughter. The residents of Waterdeep’s North Ward funneled much of their frustrated and dismayed reaction to its rampage into dismantling the statue, parts of which can now be found all over the North Ward, either incorporated into buildings or as bits of freestanding sculpture. The head of the Swordmaiden sits in a stand of tall trees in the center of the block of the North Ward bounded by Hassantyr’s Street, Tarsar’s Street, Whaelgond Way, and Ussilbran Street. The center of its jaw and mouth have been replaced by a door, which leads into the shop known as Thort’s Findings. Undevvur Thort is a wizened ex-adventurer who leans on a cane (which some locals insist is more than just a cane). He lives in the small shop, whose many levels, staircases, and landings fill the hollowed-out interior of the head, and which is crammed with oddments sold to Thort by adventurers and other travelers. These items bear little placards in Thort’s beautiful, flowing handwriting that identify them (or at least provide speculation as to their origin and purpose). Nobles and wealthy merchants who desire props for themed revels often rent some of Thort’s wares as decoration — and many sages, alchemists, and wizards visit him regularly in search of potentially useful items.

[ohnoitstbskyen]

Silly question because I'm bored:

Which do you think stinks more, Zaun or Bilgewater?

Oh Bilgewater, one hundred percent. Zaun is all chemical industrial fumes that will burn the nerves out of your olfactory system with any prolonged exposure, you'll feel the stench as burning in your lungs rather than in your nose.

Bilgewater is rotting fish and seaweed stuck under slimy wooden dock timbers, corpses floating just under the surface of the water and, truly, SO MUCH blood and fish poop.

Plus Malcolm Graves.

He really tips the scale on this one.

[magicalmatcha]

SWEET LIFE: Missin Something

@/offbrandheiress tweeted!

↳ i have to work a 12hr shift and ashido mina is partying it up 😒

LONG WRITTEN PORTION UNDER THE CUT!

"Katsuki!"

The party was bubbling, music thrumming through the decks of the yacht, laughter ringing out beneath the soft burn of the setting sun. Dozens of guests moved like light across the sprawling vessel, each one draped in summer looks that cost more than most people’s tuition.

Bakugou stood near the starboard rail, one hand shoved into the pocket of his tailored slacks, the other holding a half-finished glass of mead. He listened, mostly tuned out, while Kyoka and Hagakure chatted beside him, their voices trailing between beats of the ambient lounge track humming through the yacht’s sound system.

His head snapped to the side at the shrill, familiar voice. His scowl didn’t shift.

Barreling toward him in a whirlwind of pink and white silk was Mina Ashido, radiant and visibly unhinged, dripping in Swarovski jewelry like it was armor. Behind her, Kirishima followed fast, holding a tiny gold Prada clutch with both hands like it might explode.

“This caterer,” Mina hissed, skidding to a halt in front of them, “thinks takoyaki is a suitable finger food. Takoyaki, Katsuki!”

Kirishima grimaced in agreement. Mina tossed her hair over one shoulder and threw her arms up dramatically. “And it’s not even the fact that it’s takoyaki, it tastes like it came from a street cart. He’s making a fool of me.”

Katsuki stared at her for a beat, vaguely amused. “Have you ever even had street food?”

“No,” she said instantly, appalled. “That’s why I need you to try it.” She grabbed his forearm in desperation, about to drag him off when he planted his feet and pulled away.

“Calm down, Princess Bubblegum.” He reclaimed his arm with a shake. “I got the caterers, remember? They’re the same people who did the afterparty for Seoul Fashion Week 2022. The squid’s wild-caught, flown in from the damn Caribbean.”

He said it casually, but there was weight behind it, and Mina stilled, visibly unclenching.

“Right. Of course.” She smoothed her silk skirt as Eijirou wrapped an arm around her waist, steadying her.

“Just relax, Mina,” Kirishima said gently, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “The sunset hasn’t even peaked yet.”

Katsuki raised a brow, taking a sip of his drink. “What, you doubted me?”

“A little,” Mina admitted without shame.

“Fuck off.”

She grinned, crisis averted, the gleam returning to her already over-glittered eyes.

Sero and Denki wandered over, their presence announced by the faint sound of Denki chewing gum too loudly and Sero glancing down at his camera, flicking through footage with practiced swipes. Denki tugged on his arm impatiently, trying to get him to keep pace.

“Yo, has the Golden Trio pulled up yet?” Denki asked, eyes scanning the yacht’s entrance. “Yn promised we could use her for clout for at least three minutes of the vlog.”

Mina shrugged, effortlessly elegant as she plucked a cosmopolitan off a passing tray Kirishima flagged down for her. She held the glass like an accessory, nails glinting in the warm gold of the setting sun.

“Party started at five,” she said, sipping without smudging her gloss. “They’ll come fashionably late, just late enough to make an entrance, but not late enough to look like they’ve stopped respecting time entirely.”

“Elite punctuality,” Sero muttered, checking his screen again. “The most terrifying kind.”

“They’ll be here any minute,” Mina added, glancing up just as a new wave of laughter rang out from the upper deck. A smaller boat had just docked, a sleek, minimal thing with all-white trim, and more guests filed in, the yacht tilting ever so slightly beneath the shift.

A drone floated overhead, lazily circling, its blinking red light barely visible against the darkening sky. Whether it belonged to an influencer’s vlog or a Tattle Tokyo scout was anyone’s guess and no one cared enough to find out.

Bakugou’s brow furrowed faintly, listening. Kyoka had pulled her phone low, glancing at the screen like she was trying to read discreetly under the table.

“She’s here,” Kyoka murmured, not bothering to raise her voice.

“How do you know?” Sero leaned over curiously, handing the camera to Denki without taking his eyes off Kyoka’s phone. “When I checked her location thirty minutes ago, she was still holed up in some house in Azabu.”

Kyoka flipped her phone around to show them.

On the screen was a grainy zoomed-in photo from the Tattle Tokyo live stories, Yn, unmistakably poised, descending from the new boat in a stunning dress and heels too high to be safe on a floating structure. Behind her trailed Momo, graceful and immaculately composed, and just a step back from her, Todoroki, looking every inch the heir to a dynasty.

The caption underneath read:

“BREAKING: Japan’s princess has docked. Yn Fushikage, flanked by her famously difficult-to-access entourage, has arrived at Ashido’s end-of-summer sunset soirée. Todoroki in white linen. Yaoyorozu carrying what looks like a vintage Bulgari clutch. And All Might's protege clad in Versace. A strange girl seems to be accompanying them. We’ll be watching.”

Denki let out a low whistle. “We are so getting the thumbnail.”

“God bless Tattle Tokyo,” Sero muttered reverently.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. “Bunch of creeps with a drone.”

“You’re literally in three of their top-viewed posts,” Kyoka said without looking up.

“And you looked good in them,” Mina added with a smirk. “Be grateful.”

Just then, the ambient music dipped for half a second, the kind of subtle signal a DJ might cue when something or someone notable entered the space.

And like clockwork, the golden light of the setting sun spilled across the upper deck, and the Golden Trio stepped into view. Accompanied by Izuku. Of course. A vaguely familiar face.

They were late, an hour and forty two minutes but who's counting, probably. Her sunset-toned gown matched the color of the sky behind her too perfectly for coincidence, delicate gold accents catching the last of the light as if the setting sun had chosen her for a final bow. Her hair was in a style Mina would later describe as “casually imperial.” A glass of something citrusy and expensive was already in her hand, and she hadn’t even spoken to a single person yet.

There were air kisses exchanged with the artistic elite, someone from the Tokyo Ballet circle, a fashion house heiress, an actor’s daughter. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu flanked her with practiced ease, stepping into conversations with ghost-like grace. Midoriya, in tailored off-white and nerves, trailed just behind, caught in a too-long conversation with a P.R. girl who worked for Valentino.

And glued to Yn’s side was someone Katsuki vaguely remembered, a short-haired brunette with a nervous smile and a hand that clutched Yn’s arm like she might float away without her. Greece trip. Mykonos. Something about a villa and too much talent but not enough money.

She looked terrified now.

“That’s the ballet girl,” Kyoka murmured, having sidled closer beside Katsuki, eyes flicking between the newcomer and her phone. “Uraraka something. I remember her from Greece, Fushikage must have used her plus one after all.”

Mina arched a brow. “She looks like she’s one shaky breath away from falling off the yacht.”

“She’s new,” Kirishima offered gently. “She’ll adjust.”

“Or get eaten alive.” Denki appeared again, camera in hand. “This place smells blood in the water faster than actual sharks.”

Sero nudged him. “Let’s get the shot. Yn’s dress is doing 90% of the work for us.”

Katsuki didn’t speak. He just kept his eyes trained on her, on the way she laughed with someone she didn’t like, no-one liked, the way she held her glass like she hadn’t been raised around people who had to hold glasses like that. Regal. Remote.

She looked good.

Too good.

And then she glanced down.

Not at him. Not yet.

At the stairs. At the party below.

The golden light softened her already-gentle features as her eyes skimmed across the crowd. Her smile, polite, practiced, and warm enough to be disarming, never faltered. Even when it landed on them.

Mina straightened instinctively.

Kirishima gave a tiny wave.

Denki whispered “here we go” like a man preparing for liftoff.

And Katsuki—

Katsuki narrowed his eyes the second her gaze locked on his.

Because she saw him. Oh, she saw him. And the worst part?

She smiled.

Not like she was amused. Not like she was being sarcastic.

No. Yn Fushikage smiled at him like he was a welcome sight. Like he was someone she was happy to see.

Her head tilted just so, one hand resting lightly on the banister of the upper deck. That same impossibly soft smile still playing at her lips. She didn’t wave, didn’t smirk. Just dipped her chin in a delicate, regal nod.

The way one might acknowledge a butler who’d done something correctly for once.

Bakugou scowled. His grip tightened around the glass in his hand.

Yn turned away like she hadn’t just mentally dropkicked him off the side of the boat using nothing but grace and composure.

And worst of all?

The moment she vanished behind the sweeping curtains of the lounge deck, he could still feel that perfect little smile burning a hole in his skull.

“We have to greet Ashido,” Momo murmured, her voice low and deliberate in Yn’s left ear.

“Honestly, it’s the first thing we should have done,” Shoto added from her right, eyes flicking toward the glittering upper deck.

“I just saw them,” Yn said evenly, swirling the pale pink drink in her hand. Her voice was calm, aloof, detached in a way only she could pull off in four-inch heels. “Didn’t say hello, however.”

The three of them stood in a quiet alcove near the edge of the main deck, half-shadowed by a canopy of gauzy linens and warm string lights. Around them, the soirée glimmered like a perfume ad, music pulsing softly under the chatter of guests, designer fabrics rustling in the warm breeze off the water.

Midoriya appeared beside them like a ghost, Ochaco trailing behind, fingers wrapped tightly around his arm like a lifeline. His voice was quiet and firm. “We just went to say hi to the Brat Pack. I'm about to get Raka something to eat. Or snack on, these are finger food at best."

“Oh, great,” Yn sighed, finishing the last sip of her drink and placing the glass on the tray of a passing waiter without ever breaking eye contact. “So everyone’s said hi but us.”

Shoto didn’t bother to look smug, but his silence did it for him.

With a soft sigh, Yn reached into her bag, already resigned. “Hold this.”

Shoto flipped open her compact mirror before she had to ask, holding it up with practiced ease. She caught her reflection, hair still perfect, lashes curled, the faintest shimmer of champagne highlighter on the high points of her cheeks. Still, she reapplied her gloss with surgical precision, pressing her lips together once before sealing the tube.

She stared at herself a moment longer than necessary.

Then she shut the compact with a quiet snap.

“Alright, fine.” She turned toward Momo with the air of someone walking into a war council, not a party. “Let’s go."

They made their way across the yacht with the quiet precision of seasoned diplomats. Shoto trailed just slightly behind, unbothered, unreadable, while Momo walked with purpose, all elegance and posture. Yn was in the center, unhurried, letting people part around her like tides.

“Try not to look like you’re marching to the guillotine,” Momo said softly, offering a half-smile.

“I might as well be,” Yn muttered back, flashing an award-winning smile at some politician’s son in Gucci loafers.

A gasp caught in Momo’s throat. She stopped abruptly, causing both Shoto and Yn to freeze mid-step.

“What’s wrong, Mo?” Shoto asked, brow raised.

“Oh, I just remembered, we have to say hi to the president’s son. His father’s approving the expansion of the railroad industry. My family benefits greatly from that.” Her eyes darted around the crowd, her voice coated in an obvious lie.

Shoto blinked at her, unimpressed. “We can do that afterward. We have to say hi to the host of the party. It’s only polite.” He nodded slightly toward Yn as they continued walking.

But Momo quickly grabbed both their arms, tugging them back. “Oh, but I insist, they’re on the other side of the boat. Let’s go. Please.” Her tone had changed, urgent, tense.

Shoto narrowed his eyes. “You’ve never been a good liar, Mo. I saw you talk to him when we got here. What—is this about some guy? You have feelings or something?”

Yn gasped, eyes lighting up. “Oh, that’s so cute! Momo with a crush? Never thought I’d see the day. But please, you know we have to say hi to Ashido firs—”

Her voice faltered as she caught the direction of Momo’s gaze.

“Wait… why do your eyes keep darting behind me?”

Shoto turned first. Then Momo. And finally Yn.

Her heart didn’t shatter, it sank. Quietly. Slowly. Like a ship folding beneath the waves with no fanfare, no warning. A collapse so still it almost didn’t look like anything at all. The silence inside her felt too loud.

There, near the second staircase at the far end of the deck, sat Hugo.

Her Hugo.

He was laughing, half-listening to some Arsenal player she didn’t recognize. He looked good, effortlessly so, in that untouchable, aloof kind of way that used to draw her in. His curls caught the light just right. His posture was casual, relaxed.

His arm was draped lazily around a girl with brightly green dyed hair. Her laugh rang out like wind chimes, airy and thoughtless, as he leaned in close, whispering something into her ear. His lips brushed skin. The girl’s nails matched her Balenciaga wedges. Yn hated how easily she noticed that.

She giggled.

He smiled.

Yn blinked.

The image stung with a slow, dull ache. Not like a knife. Like a bruise. Like a realization.

Shoto and Momo stood still, unsure of what to say.

It didn’t matter. There was nothing to say.

Yn exhaled once, the sound short and clean, like the click of a clasp. She reached for her composure like it was just another item in her clutch, matte, minimal, and ready for use.

“Well,” she said softly. “That’s humiliating.”

She smiled—cold, perfect.

Then turned her back on him completely.

The sun dipped lower behind them, bathing the yacht in a wash of molten color. Somewhere on the deck, the laughter of strangers echoed, and Hugo didn’t even look up.

inside scoop!

momo is a bad liar, if you want to keep a secret you don't tell her

if this was any other story maybe yn would have confronted him but as much as she's the biggest hopeless romantic, she also has an appearance to maintain and she can't have a break down on in front of people

Also that whole bit of "maybe Hugo's sleeping bc time zones" yn knew he was in Japan. Her friends didn't. Thats what made her even more confused

that took me forever to write, I didn't know how I wanted this to flow. I still don't like the way it turned out

Mina's party had 215 people in attendance. The yacht is not that big. Actually idk how big yachts are.

Now the songs/titles will actually pertain to the story

Not proofread. I got lazy.

<< paper machine | waste my time >>

Send an ask to be added to the taglist! Also my inbox is always open, Sweet Life related asks are under 🥂 — sweet life!

TAG-LIST: @strawberry-wine320 @cielito--lindo @wonubby @rednicotine @shewki @midnight-drives-with-sunarin @talilosha @ikissfade @hxneymxn @nina-from-317 @kodzubaby @tridentgumfreshy @harryzcherry @pinkulraviolencedoll @h-sadsoul @xoxogospgirl @doorie @nerast333 @heartsforkatsuki @onlyisaa @darkcurlyswirlywirly @h-sadsoul

[adaginy]

The Big Guide to Humans: Home Planet

Humans come from a small, rocky planet, called Terra or Earth or some other translation of "dirt," where they lived on the land surface despite the planet being mostly covered (area and volume) by water. They do, however, measure temperature in a scale based approximately on the freezing and boiling points of water (at their average atmospheric pressure), set to 0 and 100. As with "years" (see lifespan and development), your local human can probably tell you the conversion to local measurements, if the knowledge is not in your local storage and the numbers are not being converted automatically by your translation dock. The planet's rotational axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane, resulting in "seasons," a predictable progression of local temperatures between local lows to local highs and back over the course of an orbit, despite its nearly round trajectory. This is in addition to the smaller temperature changes of the day/night cycle. Terran weather temperatures range from -90, below the freezing point of radon, to 60, nearly the boiling point of bromine, though humans mostly live where the weather over the course of a year ranges between -20 to 45.

Humans infamously breathe oxygen, but Terra's atmosphere is actually mostly nitrogen. The 23% oxygen concentration is enough for fires to sustain easily, assuming fuel and initial ignition, but low enough that fires smother nearly immediately when fully covered. Terra's rotation and heat from Sol combine to cause a predictable pattern of convection known as prevailing winds. Winds are often strong enough to move light objects without causing damage, not uncommonly strong enough to make it difficult for humans to move against it, or stronger, and sometimes strong enough to cause damage to buildings. This is in addition to regional threats of "extreme" winds, most notably tornadoes (fast-moving, localized funnels of winds strong enough rip buildings apart and fling heavy objects) and cyclones (weaker than a tornado, but traveling slowly and raining so copiously that shelters are also damaged by water).

Having such copious rain that buildings are damaged can happen outside of a cyclone, as well. While humans can swim surprisingly well for a non-liquid-dwelling species, this water has usually picked up so many contaminants that it is capable of overwhelming a human's immune system if it enters their body via their mouth or damaged skin.

Alternately, little or no water may fall on an area that does not usually experience water scarcity. The resulting "drought" kills plants and animals that cannot be moved. This is less predictable, but takes multiple years to come into effect. A vegetated area facing drought, however, is at particular risk for a wild fire, a fire that becomes too large and fast-moving to be smothered. Areas as big as residential ships can burned before the fire runs out of fuel or is able to be drenched.

Terra's planetary surface is made up of several pieces of "crust" floating on top of its liquid center. At the edges of these pieces, or at cracks in the pieces, huge pieces of crust can be forced upward or buckle under the pressure. Done slowly, so slowly no one notices, this produces mountains. Done quickly, it produces "earth quakes." Some earth quakes can only be sensed by sensors, but others cause buildings to shake apart. Humans know where these edges are and, instead of not building there, they design buildings that are able to resist being shaken. If the locus of the shaking is near or under the ocean, it can cause a fast-moving, towering wave called a "tsunami." An average tsunami is capable of obliterating buildings when it reaches shore, and then sucking any survivors into the ocean when it recedes (with strength far past even the best human swimmers). As with earth quakes, humans design buildings to survive being struck by this wall of water. The same edges and cracks also produce volcanoes, places where the earth's liquid center oozes or bursts out of the ground. This liquid will be at temperatures of 700 or more, above the melting temperature of radium and on past the the melting temperature of gold. It can cause fires when it touches things in addition to being so heavy and/or voluminous that it covers items in its path. Humans generally do not build very close to volcanoes that are frequently or explosively active. However, if a volcano is only likely to erupt once or twice within a human lifespan, or tends to ooze rather than burst, they will simply use several sensors to know when it will happen so they can get out of the way. Because they all originate in the same geological source, it is common to have two of these crack-based issues at once and not unusual to have all three.

Sometimes, rain falls in tiny frozen pieces, covering the ground in a layer of ice chips. Sometimes it falls in large rocks of ice, breaking and shattering what it strikes. Sometimes the temperature is anomalously hot or cold in places where the wildlife and human dwellings are not adapted to those temperatures. Sometimes massive sparks of electricity shoot from the sky to the ground. Sometimes the side of a mountain — or the ice chips piled on the side of the mountain — will fall off and slide down, burying and crushing everything in the way. Sometimes erosion under the surface will cause the surface to give way, leaving a hole in the ground big enough to swallow a person or a building. Sometimes the liquid inside Terra doesn't burst through the surface, but super-heats water until it does. While none of these features are unique to Terra, even among inhabited planets, it is uncommon for an inhabited planet to have so many of these features and it is nearly unique among humans to choose to live in afflicted areas. It can be helpful to understand, when one is wondering why humans and other life from their planet are "like that," that life only evolved on Terra once* and then experienced a burst of population up to and beyond local carrying capacities. Every species, including the plants, shares a common ancestor, and every creature that was ever born (hatched, sprouted, divided, etc) faced immediate competition from other, similar creatures. The ability to run faster, eat weirder, live hardier, spread farther provided an immediate benefit. Furthermore, in addition to the horrors described in this chapter of this guide, in Terra's planetary history there are multiple near-extinction-level events — new chemosynthetic species producing upheavals in the atmospheric gas balance, an asteroid strike, massive volcanic eruptions choking the air with ash and blocking energy from Sol — that further pressed evolution. Terra, truly, has earned its reputation as a death world — but less so for the life that has formed there.

*there is a long-standing idea that cephalopods may have originated separately, but this is really only taken seriously by the Chiparsen, who used to colonize via panspermia. While the Unified Government no longer accepts this as a valid territorial claim, the Chiparsen still hope to prove relation in order to put forth a diplomatic demand that Terrans remove cephalopods from their diet.

[tadc-harlequin-au]

I’ve been having this question for a while now and I suppose it’s not the most important but I can’t get it out of my head- is the world like earth? Were there areas/continents more impoverished say than the main area that everything is taking place in- areas that don’t have as much technology I mean, maybe not even puppets. Knowing humanity I wouldn’t put it past that there were villages and uncontacted tribes out there- before the fall I mean and all humanity got wiped out. Ig what I’m trying to get at is if the world just became a giant monoculture or if there was still different collections of people doing things they’re own way. (Sorr if this is a really weird thing to ask)

No no, you're fine. Funny enough, a while back, I was thinking about some rough drafts of literal worldbuilding for the harlequin au, and while this absolutely isn't final (it's TOO small), it does help me establish some rules for what I want this world to be.

It is a giant monoculture-esque/ethnocentric setting, yeah.

The world is NOT Earth. There are similarities yes, but it is significantly smaller than regular earth.

Some areas, lands, or archipelagos are even uninhabitable due to mostly environmental and a strangely paranormal(?) reasoning. Any attempts to expand beyond results in monumental losses whether resourcefully, financially, or just straight up casualties/no one returning ever. They don't have the necessary technology to be able to actually overcome this hurdle, so they cut their losses for now (that was the plan before everyone died that is lol).

That doesn't mean they don't try to harvest whatever resource they can that's in reach. Because they totally would.

The world would be fashioned like a giant cog; leaders say the cog symbolizes unity amongst the cities, and also marks the steady progress of everyone towards "The Future", as a cog helps keep a machine running. Very ironic, considering what state this world is in today.

Yes, I made City of Gears canon from Scarlet's story, I will not hear any objections /lh

The cities are HUMONGOUS. There are a total of 7 Megacities, all connected via giant bridges.

There are large docks for expeditions ALL over the edges of the cog. Planes are very, VERY less popular to use as mode of transport.

But you know what is popular? SKYBRIDGESSSSSSSSSSS BABYYYY

What's a skybridge? Think of "the floating train" + Skylines from Bioshock: Infinite's concepts, but it also spans THE ENTIRE WORLD.

Now, obviously you can smell that a well-hidden dystopian world like this has a lot of systemic corruption in place such as absolutist thinking, stereotyping, outdated societal "norms" and intense class oppression to name a few. I will not be delving incredibly deep into how shitty the old world was for three reasons:

For the sake of my sanity;

Out of respect because I'm severely uninformed and do not actually have the biggest brain nor all the time in the world to research; and

This old world is already gone anyways. There is no need to pick it apart piece by piece in incredible detail, because that's not the main focus of the story anyways. The main focus is how would everyone conform into their new lives, essentially a new beginning for everything?

As such, anything story-related will only be implied through the main cast. Besides, I'm clearly not the only one who's got a lot of ideas for this au, so as long as it's within the realm of possibility, I encourage people to worldbuild if they have ocs for this au, as well as if they so desire. Whether simply implied or directly referenced, go ahead. :)

P.S. some things may be added in the future.

[floayaboatmarine]

Innovative Floating Dock Systems for Every Waterfront Need

Discover the ease of modern floating dock systems perfect for marinas, waterfront homes, and commercial setups. These versatile platforms offer durability, easy installation, and low maintenance. Ideal for boaters and water lovers alike, they redefine shoreline access. Explore smart solutions tailored to your needs at FloatYaBoat Marine. Your water adventure starts here!

[georgelouismarine]

Innovative Marine Support for Seamless Operations

Our industrial marine services offers advanced equipment handling and operational support to enhance the efficiency of your maritime projects. Contact us now!

[naved07]

Portable Floating Dock

Transform your waterfront experience with our innovative portable floating dock! Perfect for launching your boat, enjoying a day on the water, or just relaxing in the sun. Easy to set up and take down, it’s ideal for any marine adventure. Enjoy stability and versatility on the water like never before—your perfect aquatic escape is just a dock away! 

[whereserpentswalk]

You live on a space station. It's several light years from the nearest star. Even with the best travel possible it would take about ten years to get there. And most stars people go to have even longer travel times.

The station acts as a rest stop between star systems. Mostly for generational ships that are passing through. Though rest stop is a strange thing to say. At this scale, the ships are the size of small cities, and the station is the size of a metropolis, if not in size then in population and function. Ships will dock for a few years, and people will have the chance to come out, of their ships and explore somewhere new, alongside getting new supplies.

It's always exciting whenever a new ship comes along. It's almost always a new culture you're meeting. Useally humans but sometimes something else. You get to find out about an entirely new culture, and live with them, and meet new people. There have been a lot of interesting variations on humanity alone you've met. A civilization that used biotech. Pilgrims on a journey to a planet that probably doesn't exist. A civilization of almost entirely cyborgs. Your ship always ends up with a neighborhood or two populated by every culture that stops by. Some people always choose to move to your station, some people choose to move to the ships from your station, when humans are the most valuable cargo, it's important to do what you can to up your diversity.

And beyond that, it's just nice for both groups to be able to explore eachothers ships when they're attached, getting to see so many new things. It's lonely out between the stars. You're always aware that even while you're in these massive cities that there's still only nothingness beyond you. That you're a small dot of light out in space. Even in the warmest and most cozy spaces you can't help but know that the cold is around you. It's all you've ever known, and all you'll ever know. The one time you met a ship that had been to a planet in living memory they found it disturbing that you only knew this world of floating cities, that you've never seen nature, but to everyone else it's normal. You have a few artificial environments, but for the most part it's just these cities in space, and that's fine for you, you like having people, you like being with the people you're with.

It's strange. Sometimes a ship won't have as many people. Sometimes it'll just be cargo and robots who manage the cargo. Sometimes most of the people will be in hypersleep. Sometimes it'll be a smaller ship with a smaller crew. One time a ship looked like a normal generational ship but it was entirely empty. The ship leadership made sure that one left fast, there was something deeply wrong about that one.

It's always sad when a ship leaves. You know it has to happen but that doesn't make it any less sad. It's something worth grieving for most. You have people who you knew for years who you'll never see again. People leaving forever on both sides. Entire streets and neighborhoods you'll never get to go to again. You'll spend your time with those who you know are going, do what you will for your last days. You'll see parents and children, freinds and lovers, split forever. And when you watch the ships go, you'll wish for some tragedy to turn them around, but there won't be, there won't be...