#I can just dolphin dive on them with no worry about breaking a bed

[mysteryoftheshockwave]

Ooh! What's this?! MY FACE? Yes. Yes, it is.

I figured since I look all pretty right now, I might as well. Also, because @zombabe935 thinks it's a good idea.

(Now for some sillier photos, as well as a preview into my sketchbook :3)

(If anyone gets what cutscene the first sketch is from and what game this little guy is from, comment or reblog with your answer. :3)

(Bottom text: Sorokina Middle text: I'm a dragon! Stop calling me a dinosaur!(Inside joke with a friend))

I also drew the DE dragon on the right. :3 I have too much time on my hands.

I tried to get the cat in, but he's napping on a box. He's old, so I forgive his laziness.

[areiton]

sunlight caught in water - stony

Hey look at me posting my fic on tumblr like it’s 2020 again. Here’s my contribution to Mermay. 

Read on AO3 

~*~ 

The boy comes to the water every summer, sunshine bright and beautiful. And below the waves, hidden in the shoals, you watch. 

~*~ 

He’s with a woman, the first time, frail and small next to her side and you watch him stumble, watch him fall, and his hands splash down in your water. 

You strain against the arms holding you, against the edicts that keep merkin safe, because you see him coughing but he’s laughing too, bright and beautiful, and he splashes in your waves, and you want to splash with him, see those blue eyes trained on you. 

The woman scoops him up and carries him, dripping, into the sand and sunlight and you go limp in Jarvis’ arms, and his tail twines with your tentacles, soothing some of the sad loneliness. 

~*~ 

The boy comes back. Every summer, he comes back, and you watch. As the years slip by, the woman vanishes, replaced by a dark haired boy with hands that are gentle as they help the golden bright boy you can’t look away from. 

He’s still too small, frail and blinding beautiful, and you still drift under the waves and watch him. 

Jarvis doesn’t always go with you, anymore. The migrant currents that bring you past the golden haired boy are harsh and cold, and you think that he’s better left in the warm tropics, where the waves aren’t troubled by metal boats and rippling searching waves and sleek submarines that hunt like sharks in the dark. 

The waves whisper stories, and your cousins carry tales, and you twist in the waves, searching the shore for your sunshine boy because the world is at war, again, the waves twist bloody and the deep swallows up the bodies of too many. 

The coldwater merkin feast and you--you hide in the dark, craft your nets and drag them back, the ones who might survive, and you can hear them screaming when you flip in the water and vanish, a cloud of dark dark tentacles and red gills. 

You save them, as many as you can find, and you search the shore for a boy you don’t find. 

And once, just once, you see someone with sunshine bright hair and seablue eyes and a body as big as a coral reef and you think he’s yours, your boy, because his smile is the same and he splashes in your waves and it sings against your skin like a familiar song sung out of tune. 

Then he’s gone and you think he isn’t, he isn’t, he can’t be. 

~*~ 

Rhodey chases you. 

You love him for it, for his devotion, for the saltwart presence of him behind you, always. His dark skin and gunmetal shark fins scare off most who follow, scare off the sharks and curious dolphins and the orca. 

You love him for chasing you even when you know he doesn’t understand, can’t understand, because he’s never seen your golden sunlight boy smiling into the waves like he can see through them and see you. 

You love him for it, because you are strange and other in your pod, with your dark flashing tentacles and darkwater eyes, an egg hatched strange in the warm water beds, alien and wrong. You grow up quick and bright and bored and Jarvis says you’re perfect, exactly where you should be, but the only time you feel like you belong is when you’re swimming with Rhodey and letting Jarvis’ strong arms carry you through the currents, and hiding out of sight in the shoals under a sunbright boy’s unknowing gaze. 

~*~ 

The tides whisper. 

The waves tell a story. 

Of a bright burning soldier and the war tide he’s turning. 

Of blood brothers and a daring rescue and tired feet tramping through dry forests. 

Of a war torn beach and thousands of bodies surrendered to the waves, and you shiver, and shake and it’s not him, it’s not him, it’s not him. 

Your sunbright boy shakes the world and you chase him as far as the waves will let you and hope that the tides will bring him home. 

~*~ 

When it happens. 

When the ocean trembles. 

When the waves shatter, rocked by an explosion that wakes the monstrous deep--

When it happens, you’re still riding the currents with Rhodey, in bloody water turned bitter with war, and you feel it, feel the tsunami wave that throws you through the water, rips you from Rhodey and your pod and you scream, and crash into the rocks. 

~*~ 

You wake. 

To darkness lit by your strange deepwater gaze. 

You wake. 

To pain and ripping heat. 

You wake. 

To unfamiliar fins and the deep deep silence of the monstrous waves, where nightmares swim. 

You wake. 

And wish you could die. 

~*~ 

You’re smart. 

Cephalopods are always smart, and you think of Rhodey, gunmetal gray and worried eyes and you think of Jarvis, his muted jeweled tones and betta fins, and you think of the migrant currents and your sunbright boy smiling into the waves, and you swear you’ll survive. 

~*~ 

There is a merkin in the cave with you, a serious faced man with a clownfish fin and you wonder where his family is, but you never ask, because you don’t want to know. 

A clownfish that swims alone is almost obscene. 

~They’ll come for you~ he says and you blink at him, tired and shivering. You feel wrong, twisted, missing something essential. 

The sharks have ripped away your tentacles, and you cannot swim, cannot protect yourself, can only drift against the cave floor. 

~They’ll come for you,~ he says and his words are fierce. ~Don’t let them take you.~ 

~*~ 

They take him, in the end, and you--

You use your hands, clever helpful dammed things, drag yourself away while they rip him apart, and it’s silent, so quiet here in the deep, not even merkin screams to break the silence. You  tuck yourself down down down, a broken bloody carcass and let the ocean hide you as you heal. 

~*~ 

Time passes slow, and you heal slower. 

But time does pass, and you do heal, and you dream, dream of a boy bright as sunlight and waves playing on your hands, and seablue eyes laughing into yours. 

~*~ 

When you emerge. 

When you emerge, you are the thing you have always feared, one of the monsters of the deep. You slip from your deepwater crevice, spill inky black tentacles across the water, and stretch in your new grown skin, and when they come, the sharks with their bloody mouths and ripping teeth--

You smile, savage in the dark, and your deepwater eyes gleam and you tear them to pieces. 

~*~ 

You drift along the ocean currents that should feel familiar but nothing feels familiar, not anymore. Merkin drift in your wake, and you can taste their trilling fear, their whispered words shivering through the water against your skin. 

Merkin do not become this, do not become at all. 

The deep--the deep is made for dangerous creatures, for the sleeping giants and dark made monsters. The deep is not made for merkin, with their love of fast water and warm currents, but you have never been a normal merkin, not with your inky tentacles and curious soul and deepwater eyes. 

You drift now, a giant sheltering your kin, and ache because the world feels strange and other and you miss Rhodey, like a tentacle that never grew back. 

~*~ 

When you hear--

You hear so many things, whispers whispers whispers in the water--but there is this too. 

A wave tore through the oceans and killed droves of fish, killed merkin and whales and a pod of dolphins, and it was only a family of narwhal that found it. A ship in the water, strange and metal and falling fast, and a body trapped in ice, shining as bright as the sun. 

You listen, because you can’t help but listen, and turn your eyes north, north, north. 

It’s not him. It’s been decades now, a thousand tides and currents changed while you hid away and grew, and your sunbright boy is long since dead, with Rhodey and Jarvis both. 

~*~ 

Your flashing happy warm water merkin fall away. You swim north, and a pod of orca merkin find you, swim alongside you while the currents change and the tides sweep in and out and then they too turn away and you--you swim north, into water deep and cold and you find--

You find ice. 

You find a boy, trapped in ice that glows like sunshine encased in waves and you breathe, the first time in decades, press yourself against the cold cold ice and wrap your tentacles around it, until you’re as close to him as you’ve ever been. 

A shadow moves in the deep, and you remember the sharks, the grey flashing bellies and white ripping teeth and you want them to come, want them to take you, think you could rip them apart again, that you are better now, then you’ve ever been and you snarl, twist--

Still. 

Stare. 

He is so very small. Smaller than you remember, or perhaps you are just too large, now.

But he is still familiar, still your--

~Hey, Tones,~ Rhodey says. ~I knew you’d find us.~ 

~*~ 

You drift with him, and he never asks, about the monster you’ve become, only lets you carry him when the tides are too strong, when he is tired. You drift with him, and he talks, tells you of the years when you were lost, of looking for you and finding your sunbright boy instead, of staying close to him because you always found your way back to him. 

You drift and sometimes, when Rhodey is swimming and you are sure that he is safe, you dive, dive down into the murky deep, where monsters sleep and the dark glitters, and you tear it apart, the metal ship that brought him into your waves, and pick through the detritus. 

Pluck a round metal disk from the waves, and a glowing blue stone that hurts your eyes that you hide away, a whisper of a promise you can’t name gleaming in it’s depths. A picture, a picture of your sunbright boy and a word spilled together that you can’t say but you think might be his name. 

~*~ 

The years pass, and Rhodey stays, and you stay, and he sleeps on in his ice, until the waters shift and tremble and the ice melts, changes the currents once again, drags him into--into murky water touched by oil and humans and you drift along with him, because you cannot leave him, will not leave him. 

~*~ 

Loud men with rough hands and no gils, no fins, no tentacles--they pull him and his ice from your waves and you scream. The ocean trembles and shakes in your fury, but there is this, still, indisputable: 

He is gone and you cannot follow. 

~*~ 

~Rhodey~ you murmur, watching the watery shore. A sunbrigh man stands there, bereft and shoulders shaking, strange against an unfamiliar skyline, a city rising new and sharp behind him, and you linger unseen in the shallows, a monstrous shadow that has followed him his whole life. ~What if we left the ocean?~ 

~*~ 

You dive, dive, dive, and bring it up, the stone that gleams the color of your deepwater eyes, electric blue and blinding, and Rhodey watches you, something like fear and awe in his gaze, but trust too. 

You smile and think of sunshine and the world melts away. 

~*~ 

Steve watches him, the strange dark haired man with electric blue eyes and the Tesseract in one hand, and shivers in strange recognition, and a chill crawls down his spine, when Tony smiles at him, like a prey caught in the hungry gaze of some ancient predator. 

He smiles, though, a flash of white teeth and it’s bright, almost blinding, like sunshine caught in water. 

Steve smiles back. 

[peterstanslizzie]

Reacting To: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Season 3 Episode 2)

Episode Title: Code Word Milkshake

Spoiler Warning: Kindly proceed if you’ve already seen the episode or are able to handle spoilers 

1. OMG! A K-pop song? That’s so cool! It sounds like BTS lol. And the song is pretty catchy too 🎵; “Dive into my ocean of love”. It’s such a bop! We see the mutes (even the Mod Frogs) fangirling HARD. But what animals are these guys supposed to be? Are they dolphins? But why do they have horns? And apparently abs as well: 

2. Aww but the leader of the group, Hyun Soo (as revealed in the subtitles) soon gets paralyzed by a dart and is kidnapped after signing fan autographs. And of course, it’s the doing of Dr. Emilia as she’s seen testing a serum sample on Hyun Soo. Again, I’m impressed with her ability to be so stealthy. However, she’s finding it difficult in getting the right formula for the genetic serum since none of the samples she’s used so far has worked on the kidnapped mutes. BTW, Jamack talking to Hyun Soo is hilarious. 

3. In Timbercat Village, Kipo is planning with HMUFA a mission to find Emilia, rescue their friends and retrieve Song’s research journal. Oh, did Asher get a haircut? If so, they look really nice.

4. Our boy, Benson wants Troy to come along because he feels safer when he’s around. How precious! I’m  happy he gets to go on a mission with Kipo for the first time too. It’s nice to mix groups up sometimes. And it looks like it’s just gonna be a human/hybrid-only mission because the mutes won’t be able to handle Emilia’s sonic emitter. Dave is upset that he won’t be able to tag along with them. I think it’s a good thing to sit this one out because he does have a tendency to die during their missions lol.

5. They manage to hitch a ride on a couple of dragonfly mutes due to Kipo coming up with the codeword, “Milkshake” to keep situations calm.  Random but okay. As they’re flying over the sea, they spot a ship, which definitely belongs to Emilia since we hear Zane asking Greta to turn on the sonic emitter as some mysterious sea creature was circling around them. Because the dragonflies are not immune to the sound, this causes them all to fall into the water

6. The group tries to climb over the ship to get a peek of the situation aboard and they can see the burrow humans enjoying their time there, splish-splashing in a giant pool paired with a crazy slide and everything. 

7. Dave lets Lio and Roberto know that he wants to have a boys night out (BNO) with them. But it’s clear that he’s doing this because he still feels salty about not being included in the stealth mission. Roberto looks like he doesn’t want to go out but Lio is down to hangout with Dave-o lol. 

8. Back on the Dr. Emilia’s ship, Kipo and gang try to find her lab but they almost got spotted by a blonde human girl, who apparently is able to hear Hyun Soo  sing through the cafeteria vents and thus, wants him to sing for her. Kipo and Troy actually recognize her from their old burrow. She’s actually Hoag’s daugther, Doag! I can’t believe he named his daughter that lol. Anyways, they were all actually friendly with one another, so we shall see if she’s willing to help them or not. Doag really likes dancing and we see her dancing around to Hyun Soo’s singing. She then does a split and spots them. Well, she doesn’t look alarmed actually. 

9. Meanwhile, Dave and Lio are playing cards but afterward, they went to check out the so-called “community bonding” session between Timbercats and the Umlaut snakes. At first, it seems like they are having a huge argument but they’re actually just writing a song and having a couple of debates. It’s song-break time. This time, the song is called ‘Friendship Alliance’. How fitting. After the performance, Lio says he wants to go to bed but Dave isn’t done yet and wants him to check out his secret stash of explosion berry cola.

10. Doag explains to the group that Dr. Emilia has been treating them nicely so far but they want her to know the truth about Emilia who has been trying to kill Kipo since she was a baby. Plus, according to Troy (and Benson from earlier on), she didn’t eat his Benson’s pancakes. Troy is way more upset about the part about the pancakes, which of course he has to be since it’s his boo’s pancakes. But my goodness, Doag’s voice is like nails on the chalkboard. Don’t you agree? 

11. I think it’s hard for them to convince her that Dr. Emilia is a bad person, especially since they don’t have any real evidence to show. Emilia is like a savior to these humans. Fortunately, Doag wants to help them rescue Boom-Boom, Jamack, Camille and Hyun Soo regardless. 

12. She takes them to Dr. Emilia’s lab, which isn’t very hidden like they said lol. The door’s locked but Troy, the skilled magician was able to pick the lock no problem. Benson is impressed and he actually addressed him as his boyfriend! Cute!

13. They enter the lab and we see all the kidnapped mutes trapped in their individual mute-proof cells. Aww the way Jamack called Kipo, Burrow Girl was so sweet. He has come a really long way with her since Season 1 huh? I don’t know what’s up with Boom-Boom but she(?) doesn’t look too good, almost unhinged. So, Hyun Soo is known as a Dolphicon! I guess that’s short for Dolphin and Unicorn. That’s explains the horn. I actually like the name “Wall Siren” for him as well. Despite only speaking in Korean, Hyun Soo does seem to understand English when Doag asks him “who are you?”. I feel like the introduction of Hyun Soo is like paying homage to Kipo’s animation studio, Studio Mir, which is in fact South Korean. 

14. Kipo proceeds to then break them out of their cells. Doag declares she’s going to help them escape. I actually hope there’s a chance that she would be part of Kipo’s group officially. She seems cool, mostly lol. Wolf also finds Song’s research journal but before they could make their escape, the traumatized Boom-Boom looks at the needles Dr. Emilia has been using on her, freaks out and drops her nectar bombs on them, which causes the whole lab to explode.  Boom-Boom needs therapy for sure. Ughh…Wolf also accidentally drops the journal and leaves it behind the lab. That book is probably destroyed. 

15. Back at Timbercat village, I assume Lio had already drank the cola before he is super hyped. Yumyan also joins in on their shenanigans and he gives them the idea to steal Molly’s axe and put it in an axe bush (is that what Yumyan said?). Also, is this supposed to be a pun or something?

16. Doag puts Hyun Soo in their getaway boat but it’s weird since he’s a dolphin and can just swim in the water instead lol. They’re supposed to leave now but Kipo wants to face Emilia now. I say she’s making a bad decision here. Dr. Emilia then arrive with Greta and Zane but Wolf takes out the latter two easily. The rest of the humans come out to the deck to see what the ruckus is all about and Emilia tries to play coy and innocent with them. 

17. Hoag notices that his daughter isn’t around. Our heroes try to explain to the humans that Dr. Emilia is the bad guy; They told about how Song is the Mega Monkey and how she got her to attack and destroy their home back in Season 1. And they explain that she mind-controlled Song to kill her own daughter. 

Even grandma can deliver a beatdown on someone lol

18.The humans are reluctant to believe them because it does sound very farfetched. But c’mon…they should know by know that Las Vistas is a messed up place; Anything can happen. Also, don’t they remember the Mega Monkey saving them from getting gilded in Season 2. Suddenly, Hoag makes an attempt to paralyze Kipo with one of the darts but she quickly reacts and knocks him out. The humans see this and they get mad at her. Eventually, Kipo and the others make their escape. Finally. 

19. Back to Lio and Dave. We find out towards the end that Molly actually killed Dave 5 times for the stunt he pulled on her lol. Anyways, the both of them are glad to have this bonding session with one another since Kipo isn’t around. 

20. Our heroes reach land but Doag wants to go back because she knows her dad is worried sick about her. And so, Hyun Soo and I guess the rest of his groupmates are bringing her back there. Aww, she should’ve stayed but I understand why she wants to go back to the ship. But to be honest, somebody should’ve thought to give her a communicator or a walkie-talkie or something because at least they can know what Dr. Emilia’s next move is. Perhaps they don’t really have to think too much into it since the journals has been decimated and all…or is it?

21. Wolf, I hope you’re happy you dropped the journal lol. Dr. Emilia figures out that Kipo is X. Wait, I’m trying to remember if there any mention of X in the previous episodes. Anyways, I wonder what she’s going to do with the fur Kipo left during their last confrontation. I guess since Kipo is a human who also has the DNA of apex predators, Emilia is going to play with her recombinant DNA and figure out a way to reverse the effects of the mute DNA so that only the normal DNA will be present? I dunno….

22. Last note/tiny bit of criticism: Is it just me or do you guys sometimes think that some of the character designs look a little wonky in this episode? Sometimes, I felt like Kipo, Benson and even Troy look a little off in some frames. Anyways, that’s the end of my review of episode 2. Stay tuned tomorrow for my review of episode 3. Thanks for reading everybody!

[somedayonbroadway]

Could you do “The Little Mermaid (Sprace)”?

I am so stoked for this one!!!!!

The Little Mermaid (Sprace) AU

Characters

Racetrack Higgins (Tylilleprins) — Ariel

Spot Conlon — Prince Eric

Jack Kelly (Jaqeleder) — Sebastian

Alberd DaSilva (Alberdybhav) — Flounder

Bryan Denton (Brydenbeskyttelse) — King Triton

William Snyder (Snydehavheks) — Ursula

Medda Larkin — Carlotta

The Delancey Brothers (Osvraggods and Mostrandingsgods) — Flotsam and Jetsam

Mermaid colors:

Race has a blue tail.

Jack’s tail is green.

Al’s is an orange-red

Denton’s is like navy blue

Oscar’s tail is dark dark green, almost black

Morris’s is dark red

Snyder’s is a cecaelia (half human, half octopus) but his color is purple. Obviously.

Okay, so this AU actually takes place in modern day. Spot is the son of a very rich man who is practically royalty in Manhattan and basically lives the life of a prince.

Anyways,

Race, a fifteen year old merman with the birth name of Tylilleprins, is a prince of Atlantica in the Atlantic Ocean. He is the youngest prince, second only to his big brother Jaqeleder who he calls Jack. They speak their own mermadian language (in my head it is made up of small clicking sounds, almost sounding like purrs mixed with dolphin sounding noises and sometimes and some actual vocal words). His father, Brydenbeskyttelse, is the king (yes he has a very long name. It’s shorter in mermaidian).

Race is fascinated by the human world. Him and his best friend Alberdybhav (Albie) often go off to explore sunken ships and swim as far up to the surface as they can before Jack catches them.

Jack catches them a lot.

Al doesn’t always go with Race willingly. Race often drags him along on adventures even though it is forbidden by the king to go to the surface.

The king and the older prince of the sea have their reasons to hate the human world, but Race does not, so he has this curiosity that Jack warns him time and time again is very dangerous. He doesn’t heed Jack’s warnings.

One day, Race and Al eventually make it to the surface and hide behind seaweed and small rocks of the ocean while they get closer and closer to shore, gazing at the beach. He catches sight of a boy, about his age, maybe a little older, getting ready to go surfing with some friends. Of course, Race and Al have no idea what the boys are doing.

Eventually, Al says something that makes Race remember something.

They were supposed to be at a party in which Jack was being presented as the kingdom’s next leader. When they get back, Jack’s already mad at him, but is even more worried about him. When he finds out where Race was, he swims away and shuts Race out for a little while so their father can lecture Race about going to the surface, grounding him as he’s yelling at his youngest son.

Race and Jack had always been close, despite being at odds a lot of the time. Jack is extremely protective of Race, often shooing off potential suitresses and suitors who are after the crown. He tells Race he’s too naive to be in a relationship because there will be a lot of merpeople out there who are after him for status and power.

Race doesn’t mind that Jack is protective of him, though sometimes it breaks his heart that so many people he finds himself interested in are using him.

He doesn’t like that Jack won’t let him up to the surface.

What Race doesn’t know is that Jack hates the human world because he witnessed the humans murder their mother when Race was only a baby. Jack and her had been playing up near the surface at sunset and a group of fishermen spotted them. To protect her son, their mother pushed Jack behind a buoy and tried to swim away, drawing attention to herself and away from Jack. He watched them shoot her with something to slow her down and drag her up onto their boat with a net. She screamed for him to swim away so Jack did. They tried to shoot him too but they only grazed his chin. It’s how Jack got the scar that’s there.

After Race misses Jack’s party, their father persuades Jack to keep an even closer eye on the kid, trying to get Jack to forgive his little brother and somehow Jack ends up following Race and Al to the surface where he tries to literally drag the boys back down to the castle. But he hides behind a large stone when he finds that Race is watching some surfers.

Jack starts to get a little bit more frantic when he realizes how close they are to the shore. But they can’t swim away without someone seeing them.

Eventually, Jack finds that Race is infatuated with one of the boys in particular. They watch him for a long time until the boy is out there alone, riding waves until he wipes out, hitting his head on his board and falling under water.

Race’s reaction is immediate as he dives to save the boy from drowning. Jack screams at him to come back, forcing Al to swim away as he chases Race who doesn’t listen to him at all.

Race swims the stranger back to shore, taking in the sight of him and falling in love with him immediately. He talks to the boy, but to humans their language sounds like song above the water, while below the water it just sounds like ticking and dolphin noises (In some myths I believe Sirens, not mermaids but still, sound like song above the water and screeching under the water).

But when the boy starts to wake up, Jack grabs Race and panics, dragging him back under the sea before the boy can fully see the person who saved his life.

Spot Conlon is the son of a rich business owner. His father is rarely around, leaving him with a lot of butlers and maids to keep him company in his mansion that he practically lives in alone. He has a few friends from school, Hot Shot, Kid Blink and Rafaela. He loves to spend most of his time with them at the beach.

His mother used to tell him that he’d live in the ocean one day. That is, before she left them for another man. Regardless, Spot loves the ocean.

He has a tattoo on his arm of a mermaids tail along with a seashell on the back of his shoulder. His father technically paid for them, but he doesn’t know that. Spot gets them out of spite. He knew he was supposed to be a perfect child, but he hated that.

Anyway, he goes out surfing with his friends on his birthday. They all leave by sunset, but he stays a little longer, not wanting to go home to an empty house.

He loses his footing on his board and hits his head, going under.

He wakes up for a moment, hearing someone singing sweetly. He can see bright blue eyes above him before he goes unconscious again.

When he wakes up later, he’s in his bed with a doctor hovering over him as Miss Medda, the head of staff at his mansion, worrying over him like she always does.

Spot begs to know who saved him but Medda tells him he got washed to shore by the tide. Spot tries to explain that there was a boy that saved him and sang to him, but Medda tells him he must’ve been dreaming.

Spot promises himself he’ll find the boy who saved him.

Meanwhile, Jack is scolding Race for making contact with a human before Brydenbeskyttelse finds them and scares Jack by asking them where they were. Jack gets skittish and eventually manages to cover for Race, not wanting to get in trouble himself. But he quickly finds that Race is still curious about the boy he saved and the human world in general. Before he can try to talk to Race about it, his brother is gone, off being completely lovestruck.

Al teases Race and tries to figure out who made such an impression on his friend before realizing it was the human he’d saved. He gets a little nervous and Jack tries to talk Race down, eventually following Race to a small grotto filled with things from the human world. Race doesn’t seem to mind at first that Jack is there. In fact, he seems happy that his brother finally gets to see his collection.

Jack is horrified.

He doesn’t want to, but he tells their father.

The King is furious, scolding Jack before finding the grotto and frightening his youngest son. Race tries to explain to him that these things won’t hurt anybody, but Brydenbeskyttelse destroys everything within his sight with his trident. Jack is horrified by this too, trying to calm his father down, but only getting screamed at in response.

In case anyone was wondering: Race calls Brydenbeskyttelse “Daddy” because he literally is Ariel and he’s the baby and he loves that and his father had never gotten this angry at him before.

Their father leaves and Jack tries to apologize, trying to tell Race he was only trying to keep him safe, but Race would yell at him to go away, scaring Jack and Al who had unintentionally watched the entire exchange. Race ends up breaking down on the floor of his grotto, feeling alone and betrayed by his brother who he trusted more than anyone else in the world.

What he didn’t know is that he’d been watched.

Osvraggods and Mostrandingsgods have been watching Tylilleprins since the beginning of the story, in fact, they’ve been watching him for years, waiting for him to be at a vulnerable place where they could sneak in and try and comfort him.

Os and Mo circle around Race at first, creeping him out when he sees them. They coo at him and wipe at his tears. He’s scared and almost cries for Jack before they tell him there’s someone they know that can fix all of his problems. A sea witch named Snydehavheks. Race is skeptical, knowing that witch was dangerous, at least according to his father.

But the mermen promise Race that he will be able to be with the man he loves and away from those who destroyed everything he adored. So Race goes with them.

He is unknowingly followed by Jack who was trying to go back to check on him and Al follows him closely behind.

Together they watch the whole exchange. Snydehavheks is a strange but powerful man. No one knows much about him, but he reveals himself to be Race and Jack’s uncle who was banished from the kingdom after a few spells gone wrong. Race tries to retreat after hearing this, but with eight arms, the guy grabs him easily and holds him back, explaining that he’d turned over a new leaf and wanted to help.

Jack tries to go in and help his brother, but is stopped by Os and Mo who hold a “knife” to his throat (its sharp fish bones fashioned as a weapon).

Race still doesn’t know he was followed.

Snydehavheks offers Race a deal, one he describes as very good and well worth the cost. In exchange for two weeks on land with human legs and the ability to understand English, the witch will take his voice. The only catch is that Race has to get Spot to kiss him by the final sunset on the last day to remain human permanently or else his soul would belong to Snydehavheks. See, mermaids' tails can turn to legs when they’re on land, but walking on them is painful and horrible for them. So this offer is to take the pain away and make sure his legs stay no matter what for two weeks.

Race tries to argue, not understanding how he’d get Spot to kiss him if he couldn’t speak, but Snydehavheks would tell him that he still had everything he needed to make it happen and he’d offer Race a contract.

Jack would finally get the weapon away from the brothers in front of him and cry out for Race not to do it, but Race would just get even more angry and sign the thing.

His voice would be gone immediately and his legs would start growing. His fangs would turn into regular human teeth and his claws would shrink and flatten out.

He’d quickly find that he could no longer breathe.

Jack would act fast, Al right behind him. They’d swim Race up to the surface so he could breathe and Jack would be screaming at Race the whole time until Race was too stunned to listen. He’d be human and he’d be terrified.

Jack would tell him that they could fix this. That he’d go back and talk to the sea witch, but Race wouldn’t let him. He’d grab Jack’s arm and try to hold him still. Jack can see how shaken Race is and Al doesn’t know what to do so he can’t just leave the two of them up there.

Eventually, Jack tells Race he needs to go get some sort of clothing. While Jack doesn’t understand humans, he used to observe them too and knows they don’t just walk around naked.

Race would steal someone’s clothes that were left on the beach, realizing how difficult it was to walk when he’d never tried it before. Jack would panic and try to tell him to come back to the water, but Race wouldn’t and Al would tell Jack that even if he did make a deal with Snydehavheks, Race would still be human for a little bit and someone was bound to find him sooner or later.

Jack would try to get their father but before he could, humans would catch sight of Race. Jack would try to drag him into the sea by his ankle, but Al would force him under the water and away from the shore.

Race, who is now on the ground, would be approached by the very boy who he’d gone up there to see. It’s early in the morning at this point. And the boy who introduces himself as Spot was going out for a morning surf.

Spot asks Race if he’s alright and Race goes to respond, realizing again that his voice is gone. He starts to panic and Spot asks him where he can take him or who he can call. Race just shrugs and shakes his head which Spot takes to mean as he’s alone.

Jack and Al watch as Spot leads Race away from the ocean and Jack has no idea what to do.

Taking Race to Miss Medda, Spot tries to communicate with him, finding that this mysterious boy can’t read or write, but seems to understand him just fine. Spot finds that something about this boy reminds him of someone but he knows he can’t be the boy that saved him because the boy that saved him had hummed and sang to him.

Miss Medda gets Race cleaned up and washed up and redressed in modern clothing that fits Race perfectly. Spot offers to show him around since Race agrees that he doesn’t know where he is really and doesn’t have anyone he knows there.

Race is nervous and anxious about everything but gets excited about little things anyways. When he sees Spot’s tattoo, he grabs the other boy’s arm and studies it for a long time. So Spot asks him if he liked Mermaids and Race immediately smiles and nods his head.

Spot decides to then take Race to the local aquarium where they meet a scientist named Mr. Weisel, who Race immediately finds he doesn’t like. Weisel tells them about a mermaid they caught years and years ago (Race’s mother) who they unfortunately killed a little bit too soon. A lot of people don’t believe there was ever a mermaid, as mermaids are myths, but Race puts the pieces together easily. He shows them a necklace made of shells that Race recognizes immediately as his mother’s.

He gets upset and even more scared so Spot would take him home.

Now it made sense why Jack, who seemed so fearless, was terrified of the human world.

From then on, Spot talks to Race about mermaids and how he was sure he’d seen some in the past (he’d seen Jack when Jack was little, playing with their mother).

Eventually, he takes Race back to the ocean where Race meets his friends who think he’s a bit odd, but Race doesn’t mind. They’re at the beach and Race can see Al. When he finds a way to get to where his friend is hiding, Al says that Jack is losing it. Race feels guilty, knowing it’s his fault his brother is so worried. Al tells him that Jack still hasn’t told their father what’s happened, explaining that Race was sick and wouldn’t leave his room and always finding an excuse for the king not to go see him.

When Spot finds him, Race shoves Al back beneath the water and pretends to just be watching the waves.

Spot and his friends teach Race how to surf.

Race is surprised at how much he likes it.

For the next few weeks, Spot and Race get very close. Spot starts to teach Race how to read and Race shows Spot how to appreciate the ocean in an entirely new way.

About a week in, Spot becomes infatuated with Race and starts to hold his hand. Race loves it.

At some point, they almost kiss in a lagoon, but are interrupted by Os and Mo who were sent by Snydehavheks to stop Race from succeeding.

Jack and Al, who were trying to help Race succeed, see the other two mermen and follow them back to their cave to figure out the sea witch’s actual plan where they learn that Snydehavheks is after the crown and plans to use Race as leverage to get it.

By the time they try to get back up to Race to warn him, it’s the end of the last day and he and Spot still haven’t kissed.

Weasel, who suspected there was something off about Race from the beginning, was watching him and Spot who were sitting at the edge of the water.

All in all, it’s a big mess.

Race begins to transform back into a merman and it causes him physical pain. He cries out, realizing his voice is back and tries to swim away before remembering that if he goes back, he belongs to the sea witch who gave him legs. So he hesitates just long enough for Weasel and a group of fishermen to throw a net over him and use long sticks with formed edges (not pitchforks but something similar) to pin Race to the shore. He tries to squirm away and cry out for help. Spot is confused and at a loss for words but tries to do something.

Race starts screaming for Jack who is hiding behind a buoy farther out in the ocean. Jack is paralyzed with fear and doesn’t know what to do so all he can do is watch them put his little brother in a large tank and pack him into the back of a truck and take off with him.

He dives back beneath the water and begs Snydehavheks to tell him where his brother is, reluctantly offering up his soul in exchange for information and help getting to Race.

The sea witch offers to help, but doesn’t grant Jack land legs. He simply tells Jack to swim up to shore and the rest would be made clear to him.

So Jack does what he says.

On the shore, there’s a uniform waiting for him. It’s a janitor’s uniform from the aquarium. He pulls himself from the water and puts it on, standing up on scaly legs and finding it extremely painful to walk on them, like thousands of needles piercing his skin. But he forces himself to walk and get to Race.

There’s an invisible trail leading Jack straight to his brother.

Race is being kept in a display tank for now in the aquarium. He’s been there for almost a full day by the time Jack finds him. He doesn’t like being in there. People tap on his glass and call him a freak. At first he’d hiss at them, showing off his sharp fangs and daring them to continue taunting him. Eventually he just gave up and turned away from the humans, curling up in a ball on the floor of the tank and trying to imagine his brother was there with him. Jack never let him be scared. Even when he’d wanted to shut down Race’s curiosity, he hadn’t wanted to scare him.

So he’s laying there with his tail pulled up to his chest and he’s crying, knowing he can’t do anything until he hears someone speaking his own language behind him and he turns around to find Jack standing outside his cage, looking like he was in pain, but still managing to look relieved that he’d found Race.

Race presses his hand up against the glass and Jack matches it crying at the relief of seeing his brother alive.

After a minute, he tries to break open the tank with anything he can find around him. He gets it to crack after a while, so Race starts hitting at it, trying to break it. Eventually, Jack manages to shatter the glass and Race gets pushed out onto the floor.

That's when a worker finds them, just as Race is regrowing his legs. Jack immediately sits down and pulls Race to him, hissing at her because he’s not a full human and has his fangs and claws still.

The woman, Katherine, Race reads off of her name tag, is shocked at first. He tries to speak English for the first time in his life, saying things like “please” and “ocean” and “daddy” because he knows that Jack is there but he still wants his dad.

Katherine would melt at the sight, finding some pants for Race to wear. That’s when Weasel would rush in. Jack was still holding on tightly to Race and Katherine would stand in front of them ready to defend them because she didn’t agree on keeping the merman from the beginning.

When Weasel tries to get to Race, Jack claws at his arm, deep enough to make him bleed.

That’s when Weasel figures out that Jack’s a merman too.

He grabs for his walkie talkie and calls for backup just as Spot breaks into the aquarium to try and break Race out. He finds Race and Jack on the ground behind Katherine and goes to get closer to Race. Jack tries to lash out at him, but Race stops him, though he still is a bit cautious of Spot because Spot didn’t save him while he was being captured.

Spot tries to ask Jack for his permission to help take Race back to the ocean. Race has to translate for him the best he can. Jack let’s go of Race, knowing that as long as Race made it home, he could be happy.

Eventually, he lets go of Race with one more kiss to his head and let’s Spot scoop him up as Katherine starts to fight with Weasel, tasing him with his own taser as more backup arrives.

She helps Jack stand and realizes walking must pain him, so she takes his weight and tries to get him back to the water.

They have a very hard time getting out of the building as Katherine has to hide them from Weasel’s men. Jack takes a reluctant liking to Katherine as she helps him through the building and back to the water. Even though they can’t understand each other’s language, Katherine manages to make Jack laugh and Jack finds himself intrigued by this woman.

Once they get back to the water, they find Spot on the shore panicking.

He tells Katherine that Race was there a second ago but the second he was fully in the water, some kind of octopus dragged him down.

Jack doesn’t understand, but he sees the panic on Spot’s face and immediately finds a place to dive into the water, going to find his brother only to be caught by two other mermen who drag him down beneath the water.

It’s Osvraggods and Mostrandingsgods. They tell him that Snydehavheks is there to collect him as he is now his property.

He finds Race struggling against Snydehavheks, who has his tentacles wrapped around the boy as they are forced to face their father who demands to know what on earth his half brother thinks he’s doing.

The sea witch shows Brydenbeskyttelse the contracts his sons signed.

The king knows what his brother wants. So he gives it to him.

With one final look at his sons who are begging him not to do what they know he’s about to do, he offers Snydehavheks the crown and his trident after making the other man promise that no harm would come to his boys. Snydehavheks agrees before making his half brother sign a contract and then taking the trident and turning Brydenbeskyttelse into stone.

Jack’s heart breaks as he watches his father fall but he demands that the sea witch release them as he made a deal. He rushes to grab Race before Race can go to the statue of their father and forces him to stay close, unsure of truly what to do.

Eventually, the younger prince fights his way out of Jack’s arms and tries to fight Snydehavheks who nearly kills him with the trident. After that, Race rushes up to the surface to get away from the man who’s now chasing him and Jack goes to help him.

At the surface, Spot and Katherine are still standing confused on the shore. But when they see Race struggling to get away from a giant half man, half octopus, Spot rushes to help him, managing to hurt the sea witch but eventually getting dragged beneath the surface.

Katherine tries to rush to help him, but Jack grabs her and helps her back to shore before Os and Mo can grab her.

Jack and Race then manage to get Spot to safety before Race finally takes his father’s trident and stabs Snydehavheks in the back, killing him. Jack then takes the thing to scare Os and Mo away. Once he does that, him and Race swim down to their father, freeing him.

Brydenbeskyttelse hugs them tightly before Race remembers Spot and rushes up to the surface again, hugging Spot immediately and trying to apologize.

Spot holds him back just as tightly before pulling away and kissing him.

Jack swims over to see Katherine and they have a cute little moment where Jack says in his own language that there was something about her he just wouldn’t be able to get out of his mind. She doesn’t know what he said, but she gives him a kiss on the cheek.

Their father watches the exchange, asking Race if he truly wanted to be with Spot. When he hesitantly nods, the king reluctantly gives Race the ability to walk on land without pain, even though he can still return to the ocean if he wants to.

Race doesn’t go without hugging his family again.

Eventually, Spot and Race do get married. But every time they get in a fight, Race goes back to find Jack and stay with him for a little while.

Spot gives the merpeople “human names”. He calls Race “Tyler”.

Jack visits his human friends and his brother once a week at least, learning how to speak English and finding that he was falling for Katherine who was just as quickly falling for him.

She finds herself fascinated by the life of the sea and eventually lets Jack take her down after he has his father’s permission. Brydenbeskyttelse turns her into a mermaid (her tail is yellow and orange). And her and Jack eventually become married and she gets to be a queen.

I know all of their names look like I was just typing random letters but I actually looked up the Danish translation for somethings (just on google, so I have no idea how accurate it is) because The Little Mermaid is a Danish story.

Tylilleprins — Lille prins means Little Prince

Jaqeleder — leder means leader

Brydenbeskyttelse — beskyttelse means protector

Alberdybhav — dyb hav means deep sea

Osvraggods — vraggods means flotsam

Mostrandingsgods — strandingsgods means jetsam

Snydehavheks — hav heks means sea witch

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed! I really like this one! Writing mermaids is interesting.

Let me know if you guys wanna see any scenes written out!

For more Mood Boards and AUs, click here!

[unpopular-bishop]

caught

The thing was when Pharm asked if Team wanted to keep the ring at his place, Team should have said yes. He should have said Thank you, Pharm, my best friend and the light of my life, I would like to keep this secret engagement ring at your apartment, perhaps within one of your shoes or something.

Instead, he’d said no, it’s fine. Hia never goes through my drawers.

Except he’d lied, because Win does go through his drawers, but only when Team is an idiot and asks him to get a pair of socks for him because he’s still half asleep and feeling lazy.

“Um,” he hears moments after closing his eyes again in an attempt to get a few seconds more rest while he has Win distracted. He decides not to open his eyes, even though he already knows that his cover has been blown. He’s only had that ring for a few days, how has he already fucked this up? He still has three weeks of planning to put in before their anniversary!

Maybe it’s a dream.

“Team.” Win says, “Why do you have a ring box in your sock drawer?”

Team needs to think. He has approximately seven seconds before his entire plan implodes and all of the time and thought he’s put into this stupid proposal becomes useless. He has a boat! He has plans!! He has a whole - thing! With flowers and a speech that Manaow helped him write - currently being edited down by Pharm for time - about - all of that romantic shit that Win secretly loves and that Team couldn’t care less about except for how happy it makes Win.

“It’s Pharm’s.” He says and then, “Hia, my socks,” in the whiniest voice he can manage. You’d think a year out of school and into a career would mean less whining but Team isn’t afraid to break it out when he needs to.

“Pharm has a ring box in your sock drawer?”

Team still doesn’t open his eyes. If he looks at Win, the whole half-formed plan is blown. Win can tell when something is up with barely a glance at Team most of the time. He sniffs trouble out like some sort of water dog. Do otters have a good sense of smell? No, Win is more of a dolphin than anything. Friendly at a glance, might even be friendly up close, but the next thing you know he’s stabbed you to death for fun. Do dolphins have a good sense of smell? Team should know this, probably, but his brain is blank with panic.

“Was he supposed to keep it in his sock drawer? Like some sort of no-hindsight idiot? What if Dean had stumbled all over it when he was getting his boyfriend socks?”

“Pharm’s proposing!? I thought he was waiting until the restaurant took off.”

“My toes, hia.” Team finally opens his eyes and stares at the ceiling. He lifts one bare foot, wiggles his toes aggressively, “I’m so cold. I’m going to lose them, hia. Will you still be here when I can’t walk anymore because all of my toes have fallen off?”

“Your toes are not going to fall off, Team.” Win says after a brief pause and then Team hears the drawer close with a soft thump and Win comes back into view with a roll of socks and no ring box.

“You didn’t open it, did you?” Team can’t help but ask, a little anxious. If Win’s opened that box then the whole thing is blown; first of all, Win’s fingers are smaller than Dean’s. Second, it’s not a regular sort of engagement ring, no diamonds or delicate metals. It’s thick and dark, and there’s thin strands of silver etching their full first names around the band, with a blue stone set in place of a diamond. It’s nothing heinously gaudy or expensive because neither of them has ever cared about that sort of thing, but Team had spent months slowly constructing exactly what he wanted in his head and then making Dean use family connections to find him someone who would do it right.

“No, I didn’t open Pharm’s ring box.” Win says with an eyeroll, but he looks happy. Happy is always a good look on Win, but this is especially nice. He’s sort of glowing, almost. “Dean’s gonna be happy.”

Team stares at him, but Win’s focused on unrolling the socks and shoving Team’s feet into them even though Team is being a brat about it and half-heartedly kicking at him, so Team gets to be a creep for as long as he wants. He can’t help tracing Win’s features, the curve of his nose and the wide smile, the squinty eyes as Win laughs and finally pins Team down long enough to get one sock on.

“I hope so.” Team says, and doesn’t entirely mean that he hopes Dean is the one that will be happy when that ring finally makes an appearance.

He makes Win’s life difficult and evades his questions about the ring until it’s time for him to leave for the office, which he does after puckering his lips enthusiastically for a kiss Team pretends he is reluctant to give. Team watches from the window as he gets into his car and drives off, and then he dives back to the bed to grab his phone and call Pharm.

“Hello?” Pharm answers on the second ring, sounding cheerful and awake as he ever is at seven in the morning on a Monday. Mondays are Team’s worst days, and he hates them. Garfield had the right idea, Mondays are awful. He wouldn’t have been nearly discovered if it weren’t a Monday.

“Hia found the ring and I told him it was your ring so now he thinks you’re hiding a ring from P’Dean to propose to him.”

There’s a short pause and then, “Your names are written on it?”

“He didn’t see the ring ring, he saw the box,” Team explains impatiently, though he isn’t sure exactly what he’s impatient about. Pharm can’t go back in time and demand that Team let him keep the ring, any more than he can go back in time and stop Team from demanding Win put on his socks for him.

“I see.”

“What am I supposed to do?” He flops onto the bed, face in the pillows, and lets out a loud yell. “I’m so stupid!” “You’re not stupid, Team.” Pharm says loyally, like the loyal little liar he is. Manaow would tell it to Team straight, which is why Team called Pharm first. That and to let him know he had to start acting weird and sneaky around Win from now until their anniversary in a little under a month. “Besides, this isn’t so bad. Now you have a cover story so if P’Win notices you acting weird you can just say you’re helping me out!”

“That’s true.” Team turns over and stretches out his free arm and legs, staring up at the ceiling again. He should have hidden the box up there, somehow. The ceiling has never done him wrong.

“We’ll make it work, Team! Don’t worry! It’s just three weeks, right? We can keep it together for three weeks, right? Fighting, Team!”

“Right.” Team says uncertainly, and sits up to start getting ready for his own job.

-

It turns out that between he and Pharm and Manaow (and Dean and Del and Pruk and, somehow, Alex), they are able to keep it together for three weeks. It’s the hardest three weeks of Team’s life, and he’s including the last three weeks of Win’s graduate school, when every day had stretched for centuries as the time came ever close to Win finally coming home (to him). He’s pretending to plan an entirely different proposal than he is actually planning, and every moment is a moment that could have blown the whole thing with how nosy Win is to know more about his best friend’s supposed future engagement. He even drops by Pharm’s restaurant a few times, just to chat it up and fish for details that Pharm laughs and pretends he has but won’t give away in case they somehow get back to Dean.

It’s hard, and stupid, and if Team had just listened to Pharm than it would have...probably been just as hard, but at least he wouldn’t have some sort of cover story to keep up.

But then the night comes, and there is a boat. There are flowers and a three minute speech that had been cut down for time by Pharm and Team only gets through about a minute of it before his eyes get hot and his throat clogs up so he just tosses his sweaty, bent up index cards to the side and drops to both knees instead of just the one because his legs actually managed to give out under the weight of his nerves. There’s a ring box and it’s open this time, and then there are a lot of tears and laughter and if Team thought Win looked happy when he thought the ring belonged to Dean, then he’s nearly incandescent now.

-

“I should have known. Pharm would never leave a ring here.” Win says into his hair that night, while Team is staring up at his best, dearest friend the ceiling, still seeing stars.

“Shut up.” Team says, quite happily, and reaches down so he can hold Win’s hand and feel the ring on his finger, body-warm. Win holds his hand back, just as tight.

[the-writing-dump-bin]

Reunited (And It Feels So Good)

Jotaro’s home! We’re finally back together and now it’s time to get…reacquainted…

Jotaro x Lyss (self insert/self ship)

NSFW 18+

Lyss’s POV

There wasn’t much to clean around the apartment, it was small enough as is and it had just been me the last two weeks so there wasn’t much to do.

Jotaro was finally coming home tonight and I couldn’t be more excited. It had been hard with him gone. I missed him so much, especially when I was going through a lot of stuff mentally. Though he may not look it, he knows how to calm me down and make me feel relaxed just by him being near me. It’s going to feel so great to have him home. We’re both not overly affectionate, but whenever we’re apart for long, when we reunite, we are close.

I put my music on and start lunch for myself. It’s more fun to dance and sing in the kitchen while I cook. A thought crosses my mind and I realize that I don’t even know when Jotaro’s flight is suppose to come in…or when he boards for that matter. He never told me what time he would be home; just the day. Grabbing my phone I text him, I need to know when to go and pick him up. Hey, babe. What time are you supposed to arrive? I need to know when to pick you up.

Ten minutes go by until I get a reply. I’ll be home when I get home.

Such a typical Jotaro response. Rolling my eyes, I grab my plate and head into the living room. Turning on the tv and settling in for the afternoon. I had gotten a couple texts from a group chat I was in and even wrote some of my story. Had to distract myself somehow. If I just sat here and did nothing while I waited, I would go crazy.

The hours went by silently and long. I had made enough dinner for myself and Jotaro, thinking he would be home around then, but no. I had texted a couple times, but had gotten no response. Sighing, I put the leftovers away and start on cleaning the kitchen. Again with my music, I got so lost in singing and dancing while I washed the dishes, I didn’t notice anyone else was here until I felt two massive arms wrap around my body. I shriek in fear until I am calmed by a familiar, deep grumble.

“Yare yare, woman. Calm down, it’s only me.”

I freeze in place and let the realization sink in that Jotaro is holding me. “Jo-Jotaro…!” Spinning around quickly, I meet his eyes and jump up into his arms. He holds me up in the middle of the kitchen, kissing me back as I attack his mouth with mine. “You’re back! I’ve missed you so much!”

Jotaro’s POV

I’ve missed her too, but I don’t tell her. I show her. I move forward until she’s between a wall and myself, letting my tongue dance with hers. Her hands tangle in my hair, tugging when she feels a jolt course through her body. The feeling sends shivers through my veins.

It’s been so lonely without her. Being able to touch her again, to taste her kisses and feel her love is more than I could ask for right now. Pushing off the wall, I bring her down the hall and into our room, dropping her onto the bed. We stare for a moment and I notice what she’s wearing; a smirk creeping onto my face. “You’re wearing my sweater.” Pulling off my shirt, I lean over her, caging her with my arms and looking her down at her. “Take it off.”

She’s so submissive to me and does what she is told. The fabric of that baggy sweater comes up and over her head, showing that she is wearing a shirt underneath it. “Hmpf.” I scoff. “I was hoping there wouldn’t be anything on under it.”

Lyss only grins at me and goes to undo the button on her pants but I stop her. “No. I will do this.” Of course I take my time doing this, I like watching her squirm. My hands work on removing her pants, pushing up her shirt to expose her stomach as I leave kisses across her skin. Soft moans leave her while I run my tongue along areas I know she’s sensitive in. Pants and underwear slide off her hips and down her legs until they are completely gone and tossed to the floor. I move and kiss around her hips and thighs. Lyss shivers, her breath in a stutter, but I’m not going to give her what she wants quite yet; we have all night to do lots of things I have planned.

Moving upward, I continue my trail up to her stomach again, staying there for a few seconds before I make my way up to her chest. Bringing up my hands, I grab at her shirt and pull it over her head. Just as I am about to dive in and attack her bare breasts, I notice something just above her right breast that wasn’t there before I left. “You got another tattoo?”

“I did.” I know she’s staring at me while I inspect the new ink embedded into her skin. “It has a couple meanings. The dolphin is to remind me of you and I got the Aquarius symbol to represent the both of us, since we’re both an Aquarius.”

I’m touched, really. An adored sigh leaves my mouth and I lean up to kiss her lips before returning to her chest where I kiss at the drawn dolphin on her skin. My hands grab her breasts, fingers sinking into her flesh as I squeeze. I may have large hands, but they’re not big enough to cover all of what she has. Her back arches into my touch and warm breath on her chest, whimpering her feelings.

“Jotaro…” She breathes my name. God damn it, how I missed that sound. My actions start to get a little more forceful, I almost can barely keep myself contained. I start biting at her skin, sliding my right hand slowly down her side and between her legs. A sharp gasp leaves her lips when I touch her and she grabs my shoulders, gripping tightly as I move my hand across her entrance. I bring my head up and stare her right in the eyes while I push in a couple fingers. We don’t break eye contact. She whimpers, my hand moving vigorously over her sensitive walls. The look in her eyes tells me she’s ready for a release and I am happy to give her one; I want to see her face when she lets go.

Lyss flings her head back, body seizing and her walls squeezing around my fingers, but I don’t stop. I keep going as she rides out her first high of the night. The little cries she emits turn me on even more. When she finally comes down, her body relaxes and I pull my hand free. “Damn…” I comment.

Lyss chuckles. “Well, you have been gone for two weeks.”

“Are you telling me you haven’t done anything to yourself while I was gone?” She doesn’t say anything, but the smirk she gives me tells me all I need to know. A deep laugh forms in my throat and sit up on my knees, undoing my belts and pants. “On your hands and knees.” I command and she obeys.

Removing my pants, I take my place behind her, caressing her backside as I lean over her. Every time we’re together, I am reminded how big I am compared to her. She’s so small underneath me, it makes me feel powerful. I line up with her and slowly make my way in. I hiss at how tight she is but keep going, rocking my hips a little helps me go further in.

“Mmmm…! Oh my god…” She pants, holding onto the headboard. “All the way, Joot. I want it all.”

I grab her hips. It takes everything in me to not pound into her right away, I don’t want to hurt her while she’s adjusting to me. “Don’t worry. You’ll get it all.” I only know when she’s ready when she starts rocking against me, craving that friction she desperately wants. My grip on her tightens and I start moving.

Snaking my hand around, I rest it low on her abdomen. “Oh, god, Lyss…!” I grunt into her ear. I don’t like admitting my sexual likes, but me being big as I am over her is one of them. The way she is moaning and panting tells me that her second high is on the rise so I start thrusting faster. “You better have good grip on that headboard.” I can feel my release threatening as well…

Lyss’s POV

I hold on to the headboard for dear life. Jotaro’s speed picks up to send in pain, pleasure and longing into me. I can feel the want and need we had both been missing these agonizing long fourteen days. My breath hitches when he hits a sweet spot and I gasp out in a whirl of emotions. “Faster, Jotaro… I’m so close…”

“Yes…” He encourages and grabs my hair, pulling my head back. “Come on, tenshi…” His hips snap into me with great force. “Beg. Beg for me.”

My mind starts to cloud, it took me a moment to finally do as he said. “F-Fuck me, Jotaro! Please! I need you!”

His hips go an ungodly speed, making my core burn hotter as we both arrive at our climaxes. I scream out in ecstasy into the room while Jotaro grabs my breast as he releases himself so deep inside me, grunting against my back.

We don’t move for while, trying to catch our breaths that had been lost during our romp. With a deep inhale, Jotaro moved and pulled out of me, sending aftermath sensation along my walls and wraps his arm around me, pulling me close to his sweaty body as we lay together on top of the bed. He pulls the blankets over us and kisses my shoulder. Nothing is said for a long time; the sounds of our breathing and the beating of our hearts is the only thing that can be heard.

Jotaro’s arms hold me tighter, like he is afraid he will lose me if he lets go. I can feel him nuzzle into my neck with his nose, his breath hot on my soaked skin. He doesn’t need to tell me he missed me or that he loves me, I just know. I place my own arm on top of his and give him back a squeeze. “Rest up.” He mumbled. I could feel a sinful smile on my neck and I look over my shoulder at him and he nibbles at my ear. “We’re not done tonight… Not by a long shot. Because now, Daddy is home to take care of you.”

[hollyhomburg]

BTS on Their Honeymoon

A/n: The honeymoon is where the sex happens right? 

W/C: 3.1k 

Tags: Pregnancy kink, non-explicit sex, smut, mentions of unplanned pregnancy

Seokjin 

Takes you to a private island for your honeymoon.

Imagine Seokjin in a rolled up button down shirt with the first few buttons popped and a pair of sunglasses. 

Seokjin spares no expense - renting out this upscale bungalow, a fully stocked fridge with booze, that has it’s own boat in case you want to go back into town. 

You walk into a bed covered with rose petals and a bottle of champagne waiting for the two of you, Seokjin kisses every inch of you and makes you serenade the crashing waves with choked moans of his name all night. 

You spend the first day walking along the beaches wading in and out of the crystal blue waters. 

You both go scuba diving to see the reefs and the colorful fish and end up getting a picture taken underwater with a sea turtle that becomes your favorite photo taken on the trip. 

At night Seokjin takes you out to sit and watch the cruise ships coming into shore and even drags you into the water. 

you leave your clothes in the sand, and press your bodies together,  skin to skin in the warm tropical water, making love in the warm water with your legs slung around his waist. 

During the daytime, it’s your turn to push him down into the sand- on the secluded beach with no one around.

you shuck off his beach bottoms, and sit astride him with your hands on his shoulders, he runs his hands up and down your back, unable to feel enough of your body. 

you slowly ride him- most of the time he’d mind the speed but not now, not when he can look into your eyes and see the love in them.

saltwater rolling off your hot bodies to pool in the sand as you make him groan and close his eyes in bliss, making him mutter your name like a prayer. 

Seokjin literally can't get enough of your body for the entirety of the honeymoon, by the end of the 5th day spent rolling around in the sheets, you even say, “I don’t know how you still have the cum for this,”

And Jin just laughs and kisses your shoulder, “I always have more for you.” and it’s gross and a little cringey- but in the end that’s your husband. 

He does relent, taking you to pet some of the dolphins and manta rays and even to a large island for a dinner of crab and lobster. 

“Anything my wife desires,” he tells the waiter.

Yoongi

The two of you spend a full 2 weeks in a secluded cottage in the mountains. 

It’s a cute cozy place full of duvets, fur rugs, and automatic fireplaces that throw heat like no body’s job and keep off the winter chill.

The two of you spend the first few days hold up in each other’s arms, enjoying the quiet away from the city. 

You don’t need anyone else in your little warm bubble on the side of the mountain; you guys don’t turn on your phones or computers- you just drink each other in. 

But your relationship with Yoongi had always been 50% unconditional all-consuming love and 50% endless passion. 

So For Yoongi, the honeymoon would 100% be about making love to you as many times as he could and in many varied and kinky ways that would make you so vocal he feared you would trigger an avalanche 

Yoongi makes love to you in front of the fireplace on the soft fur rug, the kisses he presses to your lips and to your skin burning like he was lighting a flame in you from the inside out.  

Thrusting into you as such a speed that you surely have bruises after. Growling lowly as he came that you where his- you’d be his forever. 

Ties each of your limbs to the corners of the four poster bed, and makes you cum so hard that you can barely walk the next day- not that he minds- he just ends up carrying you everywhere. Even to the hot tub out back which does a good job of relaxing your muscles 

he cants stop drinking in the way the jets of water are coaxing moans out of you, your lips parted as your cheeks pink up from the cold outside in contrast to the warm water 

Which of course results in him pulling you into his lap to make you moan for him, you hadn’t even bothered to bring a bathing suit so he took advantage of the fact that you were already nude. 

He fucks you Up against the cold window in the middle of the night so that anyone out in the woods would be able to see your naked forms. 

Before you go back- Yoongi treats you to a couples spa day in the city you fly out of.

Pampering the fuck out of you with a full body massage, facial, full body aloe Vera treatment, a fresh manicure and pedicure, and a deep conditioning treatment for your hair. 

You make him get the facial with you and he relents after you catch him falling asleep after the steam that yeah it wasn’t so bad- and he’ll probably end up getting them more often with you when you go back to Korea.

And you’re fucking glad that he warns the female masseuse that you have a lot of… ugh, love marks in unfortunate places.

Your honeymoon ends up being just what you need and you return to your lives sated…. for now. 

Though being married to Yoongi, you know it’s only a matter of time.

Hoseok 

You decide to have a little more of an adventurous honeymoon- you don’t have a set return date in mind when you set out on you a road trip across the continental us and parts of Canada.

With a start in Portland where you get to see some of your favorite artists play together at a festival. 

You hop from city to city exploring urban exhibits, museums, and staying in a new hotel every night (which might be good, seeing as you too tend to make the beds very messy)

You get to hug the massive trees in the redwood forest and see the coast of California.  

Hoseok and you drive into the middle of the desert, and he makes love to you under the Milky Way galaxy with only the stars as your witness among the cactuses. 

He touches your face and marvels at how lucky he got that you became his. 

borrows Jungkooks camera and takes a ton of pictures

You go to the Grand Canyon and go spelunking in the caves of the Colorado River, marveling over the stalactites and stalagmites. And laughing when a bat startles Hobi. 

You guys go dinosaur bone hunting before you head down to New Orleans and dance the night away in a real New Orleans jazz club, and Hoseok tells you he could stay in New Orleans forever just for the music if it wasn’t so humid and smelly. 

You whale watch in the Gulf of Mexico while you take a luxury ferry boat down to Miami and then a car to Disney world

You almost die of laughter when Hoseok rides the tower of terror.  The two of you take dorky photos wearing Mickey ears and wear buttons that say- just married. 

The two of you watch the fireworks in magic kingdom and he presses his lips to yours and tells you that every wish he’s ever made was for you. And it’s cheesy but it still makes you cry and you know you’ll remember it forever. 

There are marvelous misadventures as well such as the condom breaking when you’re 3 days into your first backpacking trip- way too many days away from the morning after pill. 

And you’re realizing that they’res no use for you to hike out and try to take it while you're witnessing the sunrise over the mountains that color the  field of wildflowers light yellow  when Hoseok takes your hand and presses the back of it to his mouth and says, 

“Even if the worst happens I know well both meet it together.” Because really- even though you got married young, Hoseok is 100% devoted to you and wouldn’t mind having kids with you now. Though it would be nice to wait a few years at least. 

So when you take the test the day before you fly back to Korea, and find that yes- you defiantly made a baby with Jung Hoseok, he can’t find it in himself to be anything other than incandescently happy.

Namjoon

The two of you spend three weeks in Italy, spending the first week in Venice where he rents out an entire canal side apartment with a rooftop garden and stargazing sight and back patio. 

Your honeymoon is slow and leisurely, time spent lingering over meals and in bed in the mornings. 

He takes you on a gondola ride the first day. 

You do all of the touristy things- visit museums together, walk the streets in the afternoons when the light is all golden and the streets are hazy 

You attempt to try every flavor of gelato and quickly get preoccupied with the different types of chocolate, which Namjoon thinks is adorable. 

You both could spend a lifetime wandering the city streets arm and arm and never get bored, finding the back alley hole in the wall places that have the best food. 

He takes you to a different famous restaurant each evening and to a wine and painting class underneath the hot Mediterranean sun, 

And at night Namjoon will lean in close to you and asks you how misses Kim is enjoying her honeymoon, her food, or her wine, 

and sometimes you’ll coyly look away, and he’ll kiss you his lips tasting like gelato or pinot noir as he asks “how about now?” and then another kiss “now?”

And he’ll drag you home to make love to you with you bent over the railing of the rooftop garden, 

“You gotta be quiet honey- you don’t want anyone to hear us up here do you?” 

The next week you spend in Rome where the two of you go to see the Vatican- and almost get kicked out for being too handsy, 

You get a private wine tour and the hosts let you loose in the wine fields, you guys are a little tipsy and a little too enamored by the smell of the white grapes and fertile Italian dust, 

So you hardly protest when Namjoon hoists you up- and in a show of strength that he’s proud of slings your legs over his shoulders with your back pressed against an olive tree, and eats you out like you’re a damn full course meal, 

By the time you wander back, your legs are jelly and he won't wipe the smirk off his face. “Did your wife get sunstroke, Mr. Kim?” the hostess asks, inquiring after your dazed expression  

“Maybe- we better turn in, don’t worry, I’ll take care of Mrs. Kim”  

And take care of you he did. 

Your honeymoon was more a relaxing adventure than anything else and you come back to your lives, ready to start on projects that you’d both abandoned before.

Jimin 

Jimin really wants to be a literal fairy tale prince for you- so the two of you spend nearly a month in France, even renting an actual chateau for part of it- though you do tour a fair few as well. 

You guys take a tour of champagne France, and Jimin gets progressively more and more complementary the more he drinks the bubbly liquor mixed with peaches or lemon. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you where an actual princess- we should check your family tree.” 

“This prime rib tastes good but I’d rather eat something else if you know what I mean.” 

“is it just me or am I the luckiest man in the world?” 

And the two of you get so wasted that the owner has to drive you home giggly. 

But once you’re back in the castle, the walls of yellow wood and gold leaf are warm and inviting. Jimin hugs you from behind, hooking his hands into the tops of your jeans by his thumbs and kissing your cheek, his lips sliding down the side of your face to suck on your neck. 

“Will let you make you mine in every way Jagi? Now that we’re married?”

Needless to say, you guys defiled every single inch of the chateau, you had sex in what used to be a dukes bedroom, on the wide dining room even against what you found out was a very very old painting. 

Even when he takes you to Paris he continues to act possessive of you- kissing you on the neck in public- something he’d never done before, pinching your ass in your short skirt.  

He even drags you into a back alley at one point in time, you’ve always loved how adventurous he was with your sex life, and married life has not changed that one bit- if anything it’s only made it hotter. 

He takes you shopping in Paris’s garment district loving the fancy French lingerie so much that he nearly buys have the store. 

He takes treating you as a princess really seriously, by making sure room service is ready when you wake up, and Makes sure every hotel puts roses on each bed. 

you put a love lock on the love bridge togeather. 

You go to the top of the Eiffel tower and see Paris at night time, walking through the streets all giggly and drunk after dinner, 

He takes you to the Paris opera house and even takes you on a special behind the scenes tour. 

Your honeymoon was just about spending time together- about you having him all to yourself, and as your prince and husband; Jimin was delighted to oblige you

Taehyung 

The two of you decide to take a mini trip around California for two weeks, going to see the redwood forest but also content to spend most of your time in San Francisco and la. 

After a day of traveling after your wedding you and Taehyung hole up in this nice but generic hotel when you’ve got week long reservations at a Sonoma vineyard. 

And Tae pulls you close to him while he sits on the edge of the bed, intent on just holding you while he falls asleep- tired from a day of traveling- but he’s woken from dozing when you softly whisper that you have a little surprise for him. 

“I talked to the doctor a few weeks ago… she took me off my birth control…” 

And he sort of looks up at you with this dumbfounded look, suddenly more awake then he’s been and years, and you’re trying to conceal your small but shining smile.

Tae’s been bugging you about kids since forever, but you’d always said you weren’t ready. He touches your face softly and reverently, you can see that you’ve almost reduced him to tears. 

Fingers skim across your stomach as he looks up at you with eyes full of wonder and says with his famous boxy smile “let's make a baby.”

Taehyung makes love to you and fucks you every single way over the course of your honeymoon.

Groaning like a porn star every single time he cums inside of you. You even laugh and tease him over his new kink because you swear he’s never cum that hard before. 

“I didn’t even know I liked it to be honest!” he says, blushing harder than he has in years. But your teasing is all in good fun. Teahyung shows you that Making a baby can be very very kinky and very very fun.  

“Beg for it, Darling,”

You spend a few nights in a little Sonoma vineyard trying all the best wines. And spending half the day in and out of bed- Taehyung hasn’t become any less insatiable. 

He doesn’t stop even after you remind him that it will probably take your body a little while to adjust to the absence of hormones.

In the end, he try’s so hard to get you pregnant that he forgets about having fun on the honeymoon all together, though in his mind it was still an amazing time. 

at night he brushes his hands over your (still flat) stomach pouting and saying, “I just want to start a family with you already”

Jungkook 

Your Engagement might have been a little bit rushed, seeing as Jeon Jungkook had accidentally knocked you up the one time you didn’t use a condom. 

But he knows that he could never love anyone else the way he loves you, you and your little baby bump. 

He spends your entire plane flight talking about how cute your bump looked in your dress, you’re only 4 months along- really just starting to show in any significant way.

Jungkook had popped the question to you the second you’d told him. 

Sure you were young, but he knows that he wants this with you. He wouldn’t want it any other way. 

The first few days of your honeymoon are unexpectedly chaste, the two of you decide to go to Japan together, mostly because of how close it is (Jungkook didn’t want to put you under the stress of a long flight) 

You guys have managed to time it perfectly to see the rolling hills of flowers that sit below mount Fuji 

You spend the days with him, walking among the flower paths, taking the sky tram to the base on the mountain, and visiting some of the temples. 

But a few days in- you can sense he’s getting restless, 

His hands linger on you when you go to the local hot springs, his hands grabbing at every inch of you under the hot water, but he never makes the moves you want him too. 

His hand hovers on your knee while you’re out at dinner trailing close enough to the middle of your thigh that it makes you squirm. 

You eventually ask him what’s wrong and he backs you slowly up against the door of your hotel room, his forehead rested against yours as he presses a hungry kiss against you, his stomach brushing your pump as your back hits the door softly. 

“I want to make love to you for the first time as your husband, do you think its ok? You know for the baby?” his eyes flicker down to your stomach, he looks so unsure

“Of course! I’m surprised you didn’t ask sooner- I thought that- that you didn’t…like me like this.” Your insecurities feel silly now that you say them out loud to him, his eyes go wide as he almost jumps to say “God no honey you’re absolutely gorgeous- I’d say even more now!”

His hands brush over your swollen breasts as he lies you down on the hotel bed, 

“you’re so beautiful like this, of course, I want to-“ he breaks off in a groan. Nipping at the skin exposed by the deep v of your dress “I’m so lucky.” He pants out. 

Let's just say your daughter, who was born 5 months later- was the first of many children you had. 

[gumnut-logic]

Gordon (part one)

Title: Gordon

Part One

Marks series

Author: Gumnut

Jun 2019

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: Golden tipped waves stretched to the horizon with no sign of his beloved younger brother to be seen.

Word count: 3082

Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo, Wing!fic.

Timeline: Before ‘In his Stead’, but it might pay to read the other fic first to get an idea of the universe.

Author’s note: For @godsliltippy cos I can :D This is part of the Marks universe, part of the original story I had planned that I have now adapted to align with the universe @the-lady-razorsharp and I have developed. It actually occurs before that story. Parts of it may even seem familiar as I’ve merged something I’ve written before into this :D This is mostly an exercise in exploring this new universe and its capabilities. Thank you for tolerating my delusions and I hope you enjoy this :D

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

-o-o-o-

“Virgil! Come home, please!”

The voice that pleaded over his comms obviously didn’t know what it was asking. “No! I will not give up. He’s here, somewhere.”

“You’ve been out there for hours. You’re tired, I can’t...please come home before I have to declare you missing as well.”

“John, if I don’t find him now, I never will. He couldn’t help it. He didn’t mean it.”

“I know, but it is irrelevant now. How are you going to find him? He could be anywhere and anything.”

“I’ll find him. I’ll know him.”

“How?”

“I just will.”

The wind up high was blustery and John was right, he was tired. His pinions ached and his bare chest and legs were cold in the late afternoon wind. Perhaps he should have launched his ‘bird, but he knew he had to do this manually, knew he had to reach out without the interference of the roar of engines and artificial flight. He had to listen. He had to feel.

And goddamnit, he had to find his brother.

Endless miles of ocean stretched out before him. He had been flying methodically, his jet black wings beating efficiently to conserve energy, spiralling out from Tracy Island. So much ocean and so little sign of Gordon.

It had been a stupid argument over nothing, but things had been said that should never have been said on both sides. Gordon had stormed off, throwing himself off the cliff in front of the villa. This was nothing out of the ordinary, the man was literally a fish, but he hadn’t come back.

He had been gone for hours, and Virgil had been searching for hours more.

“Virgil...”

John voice was pure pleading worry.

“I’m sorry, John.” He followed the words with an impression of love and apology.

The sense that was his brother wilted, resignation floating on the air currents. “Please be safe.”

“Will do my best.”

Scott and Alan were on the other side of the moon attempting to save a freighter from colliding with that same orbiting body. Virgil had no doubt that John, currently grounded on Tracy Island with a broken ankle, had been keeping his brothers updated on Virgil and Gordon’s antics. He also had absolutely no doubt that if he didn’t return soon, John would call in Kayo to rip him out of the sky with Shadow.

He stretched the aching muscles across his chest and shoulders, his whole eight metre span flexing as he let himself drop a few metres in exchange for a little relief. A warm updraft curled around his bare chest, tantalising his senses, and he couldn’t help but reach for it, pinions arching up and forcing him into the welcoming air current. It caught his wings and he lifted

A sigh passed his lips as he banked, his flight path calculated to efficiency, taking full advantage of the sudden warm boon.

Golden tipped waves stretched to the horizon with no sign of his beloved younger brother to be seen.

Gordon, where the hell are you?

For a moment Virgil closed his eyes. Perhaps if he searched with something other than his sight? Evening light played across his eyelids.

Gordon?

Please, Gordon?

Since the day Gordon was born, Virgil had been aware of his brother. The rapscallion little boy, mischievous little brat and water baby had been on the second eldest’s mind from day one. Virgil had never told anyone that he had ‘heard’ his little brother’s surprise and alarm at being born. Virgil had been asleep and really too young to understand what had woken him up. It wasn’t until many years later that he realised exactly what he had felt.

When he finally met his little brother, there was that same sense he had with John, but different. Little Gordon had been screaming his lungs out in his father’s arms. Virgil had clambered up on to the bed beside his parents and reached for his brother’s hand. The moment they touched, Gordon stilled, his fingers wrapping around Virgil’s and there was that sense, that familiar warmth.

It was that sense Virgil was looking for now.

Out here, somewhere in the blue was his odd little brother, the one who had fins instead of wings.

The boys’ marks had become apparent early in their lives. The trait came direct from their mother. Memories of being wrapped in the white down of her wings were cherished by all of them. They were also the reason why the family lived on a hidden island far away from prying eyes.

Jeff Tracy was many things, but he did not have a mark. Despite this, the trait bred true in all five sons. With the exception of Gordon.

Gordon’s mark was different from his brothers and from early on it had been thought that perhaps he wouldn’t be able to lift. There was concern Gordon would be left behind, that he wouldn’t feel the wonders of wind beneath flight feathers, that he wouldn’t be able to fly beside his brothers.

It wasn’t long before the true nature of his little brother’s mark surfaced.

Perhaps it was ironic that it had been a stranger, another little boy who forced the issue. A rip on an open beach while the Tracys were visiting on business. The chance that both Gordon and Virgil were on the beach at that very moment.

People screaming for help, Virgil’s little brother the expert swimmer already earning medals in the pool hadn’t hesitated, diving into the surf to save the little boy.

Halfway out, Gordon disappeared. Virgil, a much slower swimmer despite his strength didn’t notice at first, except perhaps a flicker of surprise amongst the adrenalin pumping through his veins, but the little boy soon had his hands wrapped around the dorsal fin of a dolphin, surfing towards shore.

Gordon was nowhere to be seen.

Virgil had panicked, but then the boy was being lifted from the shallows by the sun tanned limbs of his brother. Virgil was dumped by a stray wave as Gordon turned around, his eyes searching for him.

The elder brother made for shore and Gordon met him in thigh deep water, eyes dark with something. Virgil sensed shock, but there was wonder and amazement and that night the two of them had a very long talk.

Now Virgil was often the one waiting on the shore for Gordon to return. Their brothers grew to accept Gordon’s ability quite readily, though Scott, being Scott, worried more than all of them combined. And Virgil understood why.

Because Gordon was alone. None of them could follow him and one day he just simply might not come back.

God, please, let it not be today.

He banked towards the north, following his ever-widening search pattern. He fought the urge to yell his brother’s name, knowing it would be useless from this height or any height really. But he did try to call to him. They had never been able to speak to each other telepathically, but there was that sense. They could feel each other and it had helped in the past, and please let it help now.

Please.

The wind shifted slightly and Virgil fell into a spot of turbulence. Normally it would have been nothing. He would have bounced off it and skimmed across the top, but he was very tired and it snagged him, wrenching him around, breaking his beat and tangling his flight. He lost some of his momentum and fell.

He didn’t fall far. He was an experienced flyer, but he had to work his flight muscles hard to stabilise and, god, it hurt.

John was right, he had been out here too long.

Goddamnit.

Gordon, where are you?

Come back.

He closed his eyes again, desperate to find that connection.

And was blindsided by sudden terror.

Virgil stumbled mid-flight and lost even more height. As his wings struggled to regain pace, his mind darted about, desperate to find the source of the fear.

Gordon. It was definitely Gordon.

Direction? Direction?

He abandoned thought and simply flew. He swooped low to the water, skimming just above the waves, a manoeuvre that would have had Scott tearing him a new one if he caught him. The smallest error would see him catching a pinion on an errant wave. The result would be nasty. But Gordon, Gordon was here somewhere.

And there. Gordon was there. He couldn’t see him, but he was there.

Virgil back-winged, his massive span stirring up enough wind to disturb the water beneath him. A single stroke to push himself higher into the air, and he dove, folding his aching pinions and letting them go, feathers dissolving into his mark just as he hit the water.

Muffled silence enveloped him.

The sun was still at an angle to light the depths, though it was slowly fading. The yellow of the late afternoon shifted the water towards emerald. Virgil dove through the liquid beryl, bubbles of air refracting the light into shades of turquoise and aquamarine. Far below, in the shadows, was a shape.

Virgil’s shoulder muscles worked hard, pushing him deeper and deeper.

As he drew closer, the shape became that of a large squid. Far bigger than Virgil, tentacles stretching off into the distance, as alien as any cephalopod could be.

Yet undeniably Gordon.

Virgil’s lungs were already burning. He could swim, but he was no natural in the water. Not like his little brother. But he had to reach. He had to touch...

His fingers brushed across soft skin.

He had to return to the surface.

With as strong a kick as he could give, he pushed himself back up towards the light, climbing as his lungs burned until he burst through waves to gasp in the air he desperately needed.

“John, I’ve found him.”

“You have? Where?”

“Can you locate me? About fifteen to twenty metres below.”

“You’re over hundred kilometres out!”

Virgil spat water. “Am I?” A blink. “Something happened. Did you feel it?”

“Something...?”

A sigh. John was never comfortable with sensing his brothers. Virgil could feel his consternation from here. It wasn’t fear or dislike, more a wariness as if he hadn’t quite accepted that others could sense how he felt. Virgil thought it quite baffling considering his brother was a communication specialist.

“I need to get down to him again. Report momentarily.”

Several deep breaths and Virgil dove beneath the waves.

A more considered descent this time saw him reach his brother with more time to spare. He hovered beside the huge squid. In the distance a cloud of ink was dissipating.

What the hell happened?

He brushed his fingers across soft inhuman skin. Chromatophores lit and followed his touch, before he, again, had to climb for air.

He burst through the surface, gulped, over-oxygenated his system and dove yet again.

Gordon had slipped closer to the surface, but he was still quite a distance down. Considering his form, it was highly likely he wasn’t supposed to be this shallow in any case.

A giant eye was staring at him.

While Gordon was in form, Virgil could not sense him as clearly. It had something to do with the process, perhaps a change in thought as well as shape? Virgil didn’t know. So, the feel of his brother was unclear, the expression in that patented dark eye somewhat hidden.

Virgil reached for him anyway, placing his bare hand on his brother’s mantle. The colours immediately danced, dots and streaks homing in on his touch, outlining his hand to the point that when he once again had to let go, a hand print was left behind.

It persisted until Virgil could see it no longer, his climb towards the sky imperative.

When he dove again, the squid was gone.

Instant panic was not calmed by the eventual sight of his limp, now humanoid brother drifting in the water column.

If he could breathe water, Virgil would have screamed his brother’s name. As it was, he felt both his brothers flinch at his reaction anyway.

Both.

Virgil was often teased for his massive arms, but he was ever so thankful he had them as stroke after stroke drew him nearer until he was able to wrap those arms around his little brother and drag him towards the surface. He hoped to god he wasn’t deep enough to trigger decompression sickness. He hoped to god he could reach the surface in time.

He burst into the cooling air, gasping in breath and turning to his limp brother, desperate for signs of life.

Heartbeat. Slow but regular.

A moment of worried breathlessness before Gordon gasped as much as Virgil had and rolled in his grasp, spitting out seawater.

“Vir-gil?” Half-lidded brown eyes looked up at him as the swell rolled them in its embrace.

“Gordon, what happened?”

His brother blinked slowly, his eyelids clinging shut for a moment. “Argu-ment wi’ a whale.” Those eyes slipped closed again and Virgil had to clutch him tighter to stop his brother from slipping back under the surface.

A quick investigation of Gordon’s body found bleeding teethmarks in his side.

“John! I need Kayo. Now.”

“Already on her way.”

Predictable, thankfully.

Leaning back, there was little he could do for his brother other than support him. He managed some pressure to help with the bleeding, but the cool water was helping a little.

Gordon’s skin was cold.

The swell rose and dipped, lulling. With only the sound of wet lapping and no sight other than sea and sky, the ocean had never felt so vast. Virgil had never felt so small.

But he had his brother in his arms. His fish brother, who loved the water with his very soul. Virgil clung to him.

He kept them afloat with the occasional kick, but stayed as still as possible, because despite not having the marine knowledge that Gordon possessed, he knew what blood in the water meant. It could have been minutes, probably was, but time was warped by circumstance. In any case, it wasn’t long before the first shadow beneath the surface was outlined by the sinking sun.

“Kay? You out there?”

“Ten minutes, Virgil.” She had been on assignment, after all.

“Any chance of making it less?”

There must have been something in his voice. “I’ll do my best.”

“Please.”

Another dark shape joined the first.

Virgil had a healthy respect for the sea and its inhabitants. He knew enough to know not to mess with most of them. Particularly the ones with teeth.

His options were few. Getting lift this low in the water was pretty much impossible much less while dragging his brother. He could put up a good fight, he had feet and muscle, and living with Gordon had let a few important shark facts lodge in his brain. But ultimately, they were both very vulnerable and their only real hope was Kay.

C’mon, love.

A third dark shape had joined the circling by the time Thunderbird Shadow appeared on the horizon. One shark of unknown variety dared to swoop in and Virgil had to nudge it off with a good foot in the face.

His heartrate was unlikely to recover any time soon.

Gordon continued to lie slack in his embrace.

TBS came to a hover above them, and her engines frightened off their spectators. Virgil drew an uneven breath as his girlfriend inflated the floats on her ‘bird’s grappling claws enabling her to lower to a soft landing on the surface of the ocean.

Silence for a split second and Kay was climbing out of her cockpit and down onto the floats. Virgil made an awkward attempt to propel himself and Gordon towards her Thunderbird.

A line landed with a splat in the water beside him.

He grabbed it and clung.

Kay drew them both to her side.

“Thanks.” His voice was breathless.

Kay was all business. “Status?”

“He’s injured. Puncture wounds on his left side. Consciousness intermittent.” Virgil slipped under a moment as Gordon’s weight was taken from his arms, Kay hauling him up onto the float. He fumbled for a moment, limbs stiff, before his arm was grabbed, pulling him to the surface. Another fumble and he grabbed the float himself.

“Thanks.”

“Your status?”

Okay, her tone said everything. She was pissed. Probably scared-pissed, but pissed nonetheless.

“Tired, but functional.”

She didn’t acknowledge his statement, continuing to attend to Gordon, medpack in hand.

So pissed.

The floats were wide enough to support all of them and the moment she had Gordon secure, she reached down and helped Virgil out of the water. He flopped into a sitting position against a landing strut while Kay lowered the cockpit between the floats.

Shadow could only carry two, including her pilot.

They didn’t need to speak, which was probably just as well. Kay’s expression was enough to rip the skin off his face. Together they manhandled Gordon into the backseat and secured him.

“You fly him home. I’ll wait here.” Her voice was firm.

“No.” Visions of those shapes in the water came to the fore. “I’m fine. I’ll fly myself.”

“Virgil-“

“Kay, he needs to get home fast. I’m not leaving you out here alone in the dark.” Because yes, the sun was dipping and the waves were becoming little more than silhouettes. “I can lift and will meet you there.”

“It is over a hundred kilometres, Virgil! Equally in the dark!”

“Not the first time, unlikely the last.” And equally unpleasant. “You can always meet me halfway. In any case, no time for argument.” A brush of his lips against hers and he was clambering up Shadow’s landing strut, leaping onto her wing.

“Virgil!”

As he turned to look at her, he lifted, his feathers sprouting like shadows. He swallowed a groan as his painful pinions spread. This was going to hurt.

He forced a smile. “Race you home.”

Jump, step, leap and he was in the air, wings clawing upwards in great aching strokes. He was going to pay for this tomorrow, but there was no way he was leaving Kay out here by herself.

He made note of the sounds behind him as Shadow retracted her cockpit and fired her engines.

Okay, so perhaps he was going to pay for this in more ways than one, but as Shadow shot past him, he returned his focus to flying, making a beeline for that sense of John, Gordon and the island he called home.

-o-o-o-

End Part One

[elevenhoursinfront-blog]

29th September 2017

I couldn't sleep. I didn't know why either. I've not had this problem for ages. Maybe it was the mattress. My head was going 100mph. I laid there from 2100 to about 0130 before I must've eventually fell asleep.

What I did do though, was very productive. I planned our East Coast trip, or so, I briefly outlined it. Here's what it's looking like:

- Leave Cardwell and get the bus to Cairns.

- Pick up our Campervan in Cairns

- Stay in Cairns for however long and do the Great Barrier Reef tour. We have two tours in mind. One cheap one and one expensive one. We'd LOVE to do the expensive one but we'll see how money goes.

- Complete the Daintree Rainforest and visit Cape Tribulation. This is the oldest living rain forest in the world and it's where the rain forest meets the reef. We might do this one weekend with the farm family rather than alone. We'd probably camp too.

- Drive down to Mission Beach to maybe complete our Sky Dive!!! We'd like to do White Water Rafting but we definitely won't have the money do that. - Drive through Innisvale, Tully and Cardwell. We'd be able to stop at Cardwell for a free nights stay I reckon. Leonie's that lovely. We'd be able to shower and all sorts.

- Then drive to Townsville and see the Wallaman falls which is the highest single drop waterfall in Australia. We was meant to do that a few weekends ago but I wouldn't have been able to do the hike with my leg the way it was. It's still sore but getting much better.

- Drive down to Magnetic Island. We'd be able to stay on the beach in a tent with a double bed and electricity. We've done this in India but it's only $30 each. We'd be able to hire 4x4's too so we could explore the island.

- Drive down to Airlie Beach and visit there. Apparently, the beach isn't all that nice but different people have different opinions. If we don't like it, we can drive 1 hour inland to visit the Eungella National Park which is known for seeing wild Platypus.

- Then to do the Whitsunday tour. The Whitsunday tour is the most popular tour in the world, I reckon. It's stupidly expensive so I think we'll only do the 1 day tour rather than the 2 day tour. You still see Whitehaven beach which is the only reason people go.

- Then there's nothing to see for about 5 hours worth of driving.

- We'd then arrive in the town called 1770. This is the only town that has numbers rather than a name. We'll be booking a surf lesson here for the bargain price of $17. It's the cheapest school in Australia and it's a good 3 hours long. We wanted to do it in Byron Bay but it's about $50.

- Next would be Bundaberg which is a remote town, again mainly for farms. There's a rum distillery there should we want to stop. There is a tour called Scooteroo where you drive round on scooters that sound exactly like Harley's.

- Rainbow beach, Fraser Island and Hervey Bay would be our next stops. Fraser Island is the second biggest tour in Australia and just as expensive as Whitsundays. These are the two tours that will take the biggest chunk out of our money. We'd be doing a 2 day tour and you drive in 4x4's along the biggest sand beach in Australia. It has a fair amount of Dingoes though so we will stay away from them... Hervey Bay is where we wanted to go whale watching but it’s not going to be the season unfortunately.

- Sunshine Coast is the next place of arrival. We'd either have a beach day in Noosa or visit The Australian Zoo (Steve Irwin's Zoo). Depends on money, again.

- Brisbane city! Mel is living there at the moment and she said we'd want to spend a good 5 days here. I haven't really researched into what to do as it's one of the main cities.

- Gold Coast / Surfers Paradise. This will most probably be a beach day.

- Byron Bay. The one place we have wanted to visit since we arrived. It's meant to be the most chilled out place in the world. I'm hoping to stay a good few days. We'd be able to do the walk to the lighthouse, kayak with dolphins and all sorts.

- Yamba is next and I've found a $10 tour with a local who will show you around. The next few places, including this one, is where backpackers will just drive straight to Sydney. I wanted to stop because they're meant to be hidden gems.

- Coffs Harbour - I wanted to see the Sealy Lookout which is meant to be unreal.

- Port Macquarie - It's meant to be stunning here.

- Newcastle - Now we'd be back in New South Wales (well, we would be up in Byron but any who). Newcastle has fabulous beaches so I wanted to stop, for at least a day.

- Port Stephens for sand boarding! The sand boarding tour is only about $28 each for a good few hours and it looks like so much fun. How many people can say they've been sand boarding?

- Hunter Valley - Only because it's the oldest winery region and we love wine.

- SYNDEY! Although, I would like to drive down another 3 hours to Canberra just to say that we've been to the capital. I know it's meant to be rubbish with literally nothing to see but who knows. We might enjoy it. Plus, if we have a vehicle, what's 3 hours? It's like going somewhere along the M25.

So, that's the outline so far. It's going to cost a good $3,500 each. We have to do a lot of planning, especially with the camper and trying to find free/cheap places to park overnight. It'll be an absolutely amazing experience if we can do it but it's all dependant on money, like anything in life. Work hard, play harder.

I fell asleep after planning that. It was a restless night, I was uncomfortable and hot. Steve fell asleep at 2030 because he's got a cold. He slept across the majority of the bed and I had to keep pushing him onto his side. He fell asleep with his phone somewhere in the bed too and I woke up with it stuck to my stomach! Thanks hun. I peeled it off me and shoved it under the pillow. We couldn't have the aircon on because it makes too much noise so we were sweaty and horrible.

The locals woke us up around 0700 with their loud motorbikes being on for about 15 minutes before driving away. Why? Why don't you turn it on, when you're leaving? Or does that make too much sense and not enough noise? We fell back to sleep aroud 0800. My alarm went off at 0900 for work, which I obviously snoozed until 1000. I swapped with Jessy so I was in earlier which didn't bother me. I quite like going in and getting it over with.

I got up, had my breakfast and got ready for work. My phone rang and it was work. Now what? I rang back and Mel answered, she went "Hi Charlie, you start 4. Thank you bye". She hung up straight away before I could even get a word in. I was furious. How bloody rude!!! Mel is basically like the manager but not quite. She's from Asia somewhere, maybe Philippines but her English isn't fantastic. I never, ever dumb anyone who's English isn't great because it's not their first language, so I'm not being horrible. I couldn't learn another language.

I didn't know whether Mel knew that Jess and I had swapped or whether she did, and that she's asking me to start at 1600 instead. Argh! Why hang up? I rang back and explained that I had swapped. Mel said that I should come in at 1100 then.

I got back up, continued getting ready and she rang again. She told me to start at 1600 and to tell Jess to start at 1100, the way it was. I explained, AGAIN, that Jess was at work at the lime farm and she doesn't finish until 1500. Mel said 'oh right, okay' and hung up...

She rang, again. By this time, I was furious. She told me to tell Jess not to come in if she can't start at 1100 and to ask Francis to start at 1400. I told her that I didn't know Francis' number so I couldn't. Why am I doing your job for you? This is ridiculous. There is no organisation here whatsoever.

I text Jess saying that we couldn't swap and if she couldn't start at 1100, then don't worry about going in. I also said that if Francis can start at 1400, if she's not at a farm, then amazing. I didn't get a reply, which I expected.

My phone rang again and I decided to ignore it. My whole morning has been stop, go, stop, go and I'm not changing it anymore. They're rude and unorganised - I can't deal with it.

Steve and I chilled in bed for ages. Hours in fact. We didn't get up until 1300. We did however, break into room N, steal our mattress back and change the TV's over. Now I should sleep well tonight. I've figured out that the aircon makes a noise from the vibrations so when I hold my hand on the window sill, it stops. Now to find something to keep it stopped. I'll leave that for another day. I got my cosie on and went to the pool for a swim. Another 40 lengths in the bag. Steve stayed in bed. I don't think that he has got what he had in Melbourne. It's just a cold this time, thankfully.

I had been speaking to Mel a lot on the phone lately. She's ridiculously home sick and wants to go home. She's living in Brisbane but struggling like hell to get a fulltime job. There is nothing. She's trying to force herself to stay in Australia because she didn't want to go home until November but I told her that there is no point in making yourself unhappy to prove a point, a point that means nothing. She's going to have a think. She ran out of money doing the East Coast but still has enough to see Perth, Adelaide and to go home via Fiji which in my eyes is a lot of money and a lot of travelling.

I got back to the room and jumped in the shower. Steve put some chicken into the oven for us to have for lunch. When I got out of the shower, I see that Leonie put on the backpacker Facebook page that she needed 4 staff to work for a farm 9th October to mid November - PERFECT! I wasn't even dry from my shower and I shoved my pj's on and ran to the office. I put Steve's name down straight away. It's for a different watermelon farm. I would've put my name down but I would struggle big time doing that.

I told Steve and he gave me the dirtiest look. I just gave him the biggest smile. He was happy deep down for full time work but watermelons is hard. I just said that think about it as a free work out and that he'd come out looking like Arnold S!

We had chicken salad for lunch and I left for work. Jess messaged saying that Rachel asked her to come in at 1600, probably not realising that I was too. We got there and it was staff overload. Mel was stressing out. Serves you all right. Work was awful. Absolutely awful. It was packed and constant for hours. We have two busses that arrive at the same time around 1700 so the queues go on forever.

Whenever we get someone trying to get petrol, we have to accept it, like at home I guess. It bleeps loud and every second until someone accepts. When we do, we're meant to write down the reg, the time, the pump, the make/model/colour, the amount etc... Well we didn't have time to do this and one car managed to drive off without paying.

We told the 'supervisor' Saab after the rush stopped and she said that it would come out of our wages as it was our fault. Lexi and I were on the tills. I just went BANG at that point. I shouted saying that it was absolutely ridiculous that she would even consider that to be an option, it's illegal to take our pay, let alone for something OUT OF OUR CONTROL. It's not my fault someone else is breaking the law so you will not punish me for it. You should have CCTV, a process in place for things like this. Not a measly bit of paper. I told her that money will not come out of our pay otherwise I would call the Police and Fairwork Australia. I walked away. Saab went off speaking in her own language which I think was Hindu. I didn't even care. How bloody ridiculous. Lexi said she'd just quit.

I was furious for the rest of the shift. It went by quickly thankfully. There wasn't much to do late shift wise because Jess and I split the work between us. It was really busy customer wise so if Jess weren't there. I wouldn't have finished until roughly midnight.

Brandon is the guy that works nights. He's absolutely lovely. I explained the fuel thing to him and he said that he has been forced to pay it before. I shouted 'WHAT!' to him. He said that he told Rachel he shouldn't be paying it and she blackmailed him. That's also illegal... This is absolutely disgusting and nothing will come out of my pay for it.

I finished at 2300. Jess was meant to stay at work until then but she was tired. She'd been at the farm all day so I said she could go at 2200. She's in early tomorrow morning too which I don't understand. I'm lates all week but it'd make sense to let the girls have a lay in over the weekend. It's bank holiday on Monday and we'd better be getting BH rates for it otherwise I'm not going in. I'm so fed up of their crap!

Steve was outside my work waiting to walk back with me which was nice. We walked along the pavement listening to the waves crash against each other and the very weird wildlife around us. Mainly birds, weird and ugly birds. Pigeons with really long legs, legs that my Dad would be jealous of.

We sent a parcel to Steve's Grandad with some bits inside that'd he'd like. We paid for the delivery and tracking too. They received a note through the door saying that they had to go to Waltham Cross office to collect it and pay the customs fee! We were both fuming - what is this? And, why is this? It was nothing out of the ordinary. A hat and a book. What an awful day. We hoped that it wasn't going to be expensive for them.

I showered and laid in bed. Steve is moaning at me because I'm doing my blog and it's a long one... Sorry guys. It's now 0110 and I'm hoping for a good sleep!

Luckily, customs only charged £16 which is still absolutely ridiculous. But, Grandad is one very happy chappy so that's all that matters.

[kadobeclothing]

How HubSpot Marketers Stay Creative Under Pressure

As 2020 begins, you might be under pressure to build strategies, create campaigns, and pitch new ideas quickly to start your first quarter off right. The pressure to create can cause both stress or fears of failure which are scientifically proven creativity barriers. Not only can they stand in the way of your motivation, but they could also prevent you from coming up with new or unique ideas.

When you’re under pressure, you might feel less inspired, unmotivated, or run into a nasty case of writer’s block that leaves you wondering if you’ll ever come up with a great idea ever again.When that moment happens, don’t panic.Remember, this happens to everyone — especially marketers who need to churn out hundreds of creative assets or campaigns a year.

At HubSpot, we have a wealth of creative marketers who strive to come up with unique and attention-grabbing campaigns, like this one. We also have a team of bloggers who write an average of four to five blog posts each week. While we work up against high expectations, we also achieve major goals, such as high web traffic and credibility in our industry — and a lot of that comes from learning how to harness our creativity when the stakes are high. To help you, here are five tips for staying creative under pressure I got from my colleagues on the HubSpot marketing team. 5 Ways to Stay Creative Under Pressure 1. Pretend you’re working on behalf of someone else. The stresses of knowing that your creative ideas could go wrong and make you look bad can stop you from thinking in creative ways or pitching unique ideas that others might not consider. When your fears about your career are getting in the way of your thought processes, pretend you’re coming up with ideas for someone else — such as a client. Pretending to work on a project on behalf of another person sounds like a strange tip, but it’s highly recommended by the HubSpot Blog’s Senior Team Manager, Karla Cook. “This mindset is actually proven by research to produce more creative results,” Cook explains. “When you’re producing work that will be attributed to you, you typically put more pressure on yourself to get it perfect, which can restrict how creative you get. When you think the work will be attributed to someone else, you’re more likely to take creative risks.” “Even when you know the final product will be attributed to you, try detaching a bit from the first draft and writing it as if you’re going to pass it off to someone else,” Cook adds. “Tricky in practice, but once you get the hang of it, it can really help with producing fast creative work.” 2. Just start outlining. If you’re trying to produce creative content, such as a blog post, video script, or design, don’t let staring at an empty page intimidate you. Just get started by drafting an outline for possible content or campaigns. Caroline Forsey, a staff writer on HubSpot’s Marketing Blog, says this a great strategy for fending off writer’s block. “If you’re really feeling uninspired, just get the bare bones of the piece down on paper, and come back to it later,” Forsey says. “Once you have something semi-ready to publish (even if not the most well-written piece), the pressure should subside, allowing you to dive back into it a few hours later with fresh and innovative ideas for how to add flair.” 3. Work when you feel most creative. On top of jumping into an outline, Forsey also suggests figuring out when your pique productive times are and scheduling your creative tasks during them. “I know I work best in the morning,” Forsey explains. “I will snooze Slack notifications, put my phone away, and close my email tab, so I can focus during those two to three hours when I’m feeling most creative.” 4. When you’re absolutely stuck, walk away from your computer. If you’ve tried everything and feel like your mind is absolutely fried, it’s time to take a break. But, don’t spend time getting distracted on the internet. Instead, take a walk or get out of your office for a few minutes. Yes, it might seem scary to take a break away from your desk when you’re dealing with deadlines, but this can help you swiftly come up with new ideas and motivate you when you return to creating content. This tip is a favorite of HubSpot Blog Managing Editor Meg Prater, who read about it in a book called “Still Writing” by Dani Shapiro. In the book, Shapiro talks about the “pitfalls of writing on a computer and the ease of escaping writing blocks by riding on the ‘log flume’ of the internet.” Here’s a quote from Shapiro’s book that Prater recollects: “By the time we return to our work — if, indeed, we return to our work at all — we will be further away from our deepest impulses rather than closer to them. Where were we? Oh, yes. We were stuck. We were feeling uncomfortable and lost. And how are we now? More stuck … Our thoughts have not drifted but, rather, have ricocheted from one bright and shiny thing to another.” Prater explains, “When I take breaks to give my mind a rest or move through a ‘stuck’ point in my writing, I try to get up from my desk, walk around my house, or sit outside for a few minutes. It’s less distracting for me and easier to get back into my work once I’m ready.” 5. Get eight hours of sleep. When you have deadlines coming up, it can be tempting to think that staying up late and skipping a few hours of sleep for just one or two nights will help you get more creative work done. However, mounting research says otherwise. This is why my biggest tip is to get some sleep. Not only are you less productive when you work at night, but a lack of sleep can also stifle creativity. Not to mention, sleep issues can be detrimental to mental health. As a former employee of multiple startups and newsrooms, I was no stranger to late-night shifts and take-home projects. But, now, as the HubSpot Blog’s Audience Growth Writer, I’ve noticed that I come up with far more creative and effective content ideas when I’m well-rested. As a night owl, I know this is easier said than done. So, I’ve trained myself into better sleep habits. Each night, I consider 9 PM to 10 PM my wind-down time where I sit in bed, watch TV, or do a little light social media surfing. Then I try to have my mobile devices off after 10:30 PM and hopefully fall asleep by 11 PM. Regardless of when you sleep, developing a habit will help you stay on track so you aren’t wide awake and worrying about your deadlines at night. 6. Record your creative ideas when they hit you, then review them later. Great ideas can happen at any time: in the car, while cooking, during a walk, or even when you’re falling asleep in bed. When something interesting pops into your head, record it. “Use a voice recorder or voice assistant to record your creative thoughts when they come to you,” says Jim Ruocco, a senior customer success manager. If you’re using a voice assistant, Ruocco adds that you should instruct it “to remind you the next day.” For example, you could say, “Ok, Google. Remind me to create an app that can translate dolphin into English tomorrow morning at 9 AM.” While ideas like the dolphin language app noted above might seem inaccessible in the short-term, you can still backlog a long list of thoughts that could lead to solid projects later. Jump Start Creativity and Productivity A creative mind can also be a very productive one. But if you’re feeling sluggish and non-productive, there are plenty of things to do to boost your energy and motivation. Here are a few great posts that touch on finding motivation when you need it, productivity hacks, and the science behind productivity.

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[noordinarytravel]

8 Destinations You Should Check Out for Spring Break 2019

Spring break will be here before you know it. Two months from now, thousands of students will be packing up for spring break. Some will be headed to warm beaches, some will be heading home, some may be headed someplace at all. What about you? Are you thinking about a trip for spring break?

You don’t have to be a student to enjoy spring break. My family and I are holding out until a little later in the year for our first trip but I’ll be with you in spirit! If you are in the planning stages for your spring break, or if you haven’t even started, below are a few ideas for a great vacation. It doesn’t matter if you are single, a couple, a family, a student, or even retirees. The suggestions I am giving will work for pretty much anyone who needs to take a break and have a little fun!

ALASKA

Ok so you may be thinking “Alaska for spring break?” Yes. While it is still a bit chilly, a trip up to Fairbanks will give you an amazing opportunity to see the Northern Lights. Generally speaking, you can potentially see the Northern Lights from any place in the state but the further north you go, the better your chances.

Northern Lights season is September and into April but using mid-March as a cut off point is your best bet. This is a great way to spend your spring break! Alaska cruise season starts in late April and runs through September for most cruise lines. The cruise itineraries don’t go far enough north to guarantee the ability to see the Northern Lights either so an air/land trip is your best bet.

If you are looking for an interesting place to stay, the White House in Skagway is rumored to be haunted. Built in 1902 and serving as a hospital during it’s life time, a stay her could add a little excitement to your vacation!

Book with Hotelopia!

COSTA MAYA

It seems a lot of people, when they talk about going to Mexico, are talking about the Yucatan region. Cancun, Cozumel, Isla de las Mujeres, Playa del Carmen are the places I typically hear about. I myself have visited them as well.

Fortunately for me, a few years back I was on a Caribbean cruise that had a stop in Costa Maya. I am so glad for the introduction because, at the time, it was somewhat undeveloped and untouched. There wasn’t even much by way of accommodations back then but the beaches were beautiful with plenty of beach clubs side by side with food, drink, cabanas, and hammocks in the water.

We were fortunate enough to get a cabana and table closest to the water and we made great use of the table service. The food wasn’t anything to write home about but it was what you would expect, and the drinks were good. Most of the beach clubs had wifi so that is a plus as well.

NICARAGUA

Nicaragua is one of those places that I think is absolutely underrated. Bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south, it is referred to as the “Land of Lakes and Volcanoes.” US citizens need a passport to go to Nicaragua but visas are not required for stays less than 90 days within a 6 month period (see more info about visting Nicaragua here)

Nicaragua has over 50 volcanoes however only 7 are active. Check out Masaya National Park for information about tours that take you right to the edge of a volcano, including night tours. There are several tours available from various cities including this private night tour by Viator.

Not into volcanoes? No worries. There are plenty of sandy beaches to satisfy most sun worshippers. Weather in Nicaragua is in the 90’s in March so it is ideal for relaxing to the sound of the waves with a fruity drink in your hand. January to April also happens to be ideal because they are the driest months.

BAHAMAS

I visited Bahamas a few years ago during a girls’ trip and found the food too interesting to pass up. My favorite, conch, is easily found at most restaurants and I found with great delight that it goes great with most adult beverages (in my humble alcohol fueled opinion).

While you need a passport to visit the Bahamas, a visa is not required. On my last visit we went on a cruise that had an overnight in Nassau. Nassau is not my favorite port but it is still a great place to visit. We did a city tour that stopped at several locations via bus with opportunities to try rum and rum cake.

If you want something truly exciting to do in Bahamas, check out the Grand Bahama Shark Dive with Viator. This 2.5 hour tour takes you out on a boat to Shark Alley where you dive in and get cozy with reef, lemon or nurse sharks.

LAKE TAHOE

Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite spots. Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and is shared by both California and Nevada. It is a freshwater lake and offers skiing, hiking, and beaches to tourists. There really is something for everyone.

On my trip to Lake Tahoe, we were driving in from Reno with a brief stop in Virginia City. If you are looking for an interesting place to stay, and if you are parnormally inclined as I am, you may want to consider the Tahoe Biltmore on the North Shore. Rumored to be haunted by a ghost named Mary, she is said to be seen in 1960’s attire.

If ghosts are not your thing, you have plenty more hotels, lodges, inns, resorts, and bed & breakfasts to choose from. I had my kiddo with me and I didn’t think she was ready for parasailing (we took a gondola tour instead) but you should absolutely consider the South Lake Tahoe Parasailing tour.

LAS VEGAS

This city needs no introduction. I mean……who hasn’t heard “Vegas baby!” The weather is quite ideal in March: 70’s during the day, 40’s/50’s at night. I won’t even bother talking about casinos and gambling because everyone knows about that. There is so much more to Las Vegas than that!

One of my recommendations is the Sunset Hot Air Balloon Ride. There is a sunrise ride that is less expensive but who wants to get up early after some late night gambling and bar hopping? Or maybe you can stay up all night and then go! A 1-hour ride plus a champagne toast…….doesn’t that sound dreamy?

If an hour in a balloon is too much for you, how about 15 minutes in a helicopter? On our next trip to Las Vegas (some time this year) I plan on the Night Flight Helicopter Tour. I have always wanted to do it and this year will be my turn!

HONDURAS

Honduras is a commonly known as a cruise port for many cruise lines. I have been a couple of times and had such a great time that I will be going a third time. My first time included snorkeling over a ship wreck and it my daughter’s first time snorkeling altogether. I had to shove her into the water but, once in the water, she loved it.

Our second trip included swimming with dolphins which was more exhilarating than I expected. While they are friendly and gentle creatures, they sometimes swam by us closely and quickly which startled my daughter just a little bit. You can stay in shallow water though which is ideal for younger children.

Our next trip will likely include the Monkey and Sloth Hangout tour. I like this tour (despite the fact that sloths kind of freak me out) because it is a sanctuary that is home to these sweet rescued creatures.

Travel advisories exist from time to time so please check the US State Department website before planning a trip to Honduras. For air travel into Honduras, a passport is required but there is no visa requirement for visits up to 90 days.

CRUISE!

So this one is my favorite. Why? Because there are SO MANY OPTIONS available! You don’t have to try to choose one destination and your accommodations + meals are included. It is very cost effective, especially if you don’t require luxury accommodations like a suite. (Personally I am a fan of suites because I travel with my family and we need the space.) I absolutely adore having coffee on my balcony every morning. The sound of the ocean is absolutely calming.

There are multiple US ports to choose from as well as itinerary and duration of cruise. If you are thinking of taking the kiddies on a spring break trip, a cruise is a great option for you because of the availability of kid’s programs on so many ships. You get the benefit of being able to drop the kids off for activities while you get a little down time. If you have accessibility needs, a cruise is a great way to go because arrangements can be made to meet your needs.

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I hope this list has helped you narrow down your choices for a spring break vacation. If you travel during prime spring break time, you can expect prices to be higher. If you have the ability to be flexible, I encourage it to save you money and to avoid the hassle of crowds.

Make this beautiful day count!

Annette