#When you are so use to seeing seals on beaches and Ice

[ivys-garden]

Hivy, This is Ivy!

Throughout my time on Tumblr one of my favourite things to do has been to create hypothetical Minecraft updates, I've done this twice before with The Pigeon update and The Pond Update, but a few weeks ago I let you lot chose what geographic area I should turn into a hypothetical update

Yall chose Celtic Europe (and Oceania but that's for later) AKA, Ireland, Scotland, Whales and Cornwall. I was very glad with this outcome as I myself am Scottish and I had a lot of ideas for this…..too many ideas…. So many ideas that I had to cut an entire section and now some stuff feels barebones….whoops. (but hey now I can work on a full portion update later…yay.)

But, enough of that, let's move on to:

The Fae Update!

New Biomes + Structures

There are 6 new biomes in this hypothetical update, each referring a different local found in celtic europe these are: The White Cliffs,The Glacial Pass, The Wisteria Forrest The Heather Moorlands/Peat Bogs (take your pick), The Highland Forests, and… you'll see ;3

The White Cliffs

The White Cliffs are a new coastal biome, consisting of grass topped cliffs, sandy bays and rock structures jutting out of the water. Suspicious sand and gravel generates naturally here and loot from it follows the fishing loot table, though with an increased chance to find nautilus shells and a rare chance to find sniffer eggs

This biome is based on the White Cliffs of Dover and the Jurassic Coast

The White Cliffs has only three new features:

Puffins

A new passive abiant mob, they drop Feathers when killed. Instead of the normal birds nest (introduced in the pigeon update) puffins lay there eggs in “wall nests” grey nests that attach to walls, these can be used as a decorative block

Seagulls

A neutral mob who drops Feathers and fish when killed, they spawn both in the White Cliffs and on beaches and open Seas. Seagulls will attack the player if they are holding any food item in their hand, stealing it.

Seagulls serve no other purpose.

Chalk

Chalk is a new stone block. It has the blast resistance of wood and is exclusive to the white cliffs, making up the cliffs themselves.

Chalk can be dyed any of the dye colours in the game, creating a softer, more Pastel variant of that colour (queers rejoice). Chalk can be made into slabs, stairs and walls in the stone cutter.

The Glacial Pass

A cold mountainous biome, the Glacial past is mainly made of stone and deeplate, with ice and snow also being common. Dipstone spikes can be found here as well as gravel structures resembling Eskers and Terminal Moraines (yes my favourite subject is geography how can you tell?). Suspicious gravel can be found here as well as suspicious snow, which can also be found in the igloo. Strays, Polar Bears, Foxes and Rabbits Spawn in this environment

This biome is based on glaciated uplands

Seals

Seals can be found in all cold environments. Seals will follow the player when they swim, upon coming on to land Seals will bob in the afternoon expectantly.

Seals can be fed fish, clapping after this is done

Seals drop blubber when killed. Blubber can be crafted into blubber blocks, when lit on fire these blocks burn light yellow. Blubber can be used to make torches, lanterns and campfires.

Blubber can also be crafted into a chest plate, the blubber chest plate reduces projectile damage and prevents Frost damage in powdered snow, but it slows you down while on land

The Wisteria Forest

A replacement for the old flower Frocester, this is a rare forrest in which all natural flowers spawn

Purified water (a type of water introduced in the pond update that can cure harmful status effects and restore hunger permanently for a short time) would spawn here too, as well as unicorns and kelpies (introduced in the pond update, will be discussed later)

Other Mobs that Spawn here will be discussed later

Wisteria Trees

Wisteria trees are a new wood type. The wood itself is a pale green with a purplish grey bark. Wisteria leaves are pale lavender. Wisteria trees also have hanging leave variants, much like willow leaves (pond update) that grow in the same way as glow berries

Butterflies and Moths

Passive ambient mobs that spawn in all biomes, though moths are most common in dark oak forests and butterflies are most common here. Both come in many colours, much like tropical fish. These mobs are as large as the bees (traditional dictates that all Minecraft arthropods must be massive, also yes bane of arthropods works on these, but do you actually care?)

Butterflies and Moths drop their respective wings when killed, these can be grafted onto the elytra (using the dragonfly carapace, an mob drop from the dragon fly as introduced in the pond update, speaking of that, the Toad from that update will also eat Moths and Butterflies) grafting these wings on changes the electable texture to resemble the wings of these Mobs (Note: despite both having many textures the electric will always adopt The Lunar Moth and Monarch Butterfly texture respectively)

Crann Bethadh Sprout

The sprout of a legendary tree, this is a two tall plant with ever changing leaf colours, shifting throughout all the pastel colour variants

The player can take a cutting of this plant using shears

This plant can only be dug up by the sniffer

Flower Crowns

By combining any 4 flowers in a circular pattern in the crafting table players can make flower crowns. Flower crowns adopt the colours of whatever flowers were used to craft it. Flower crowns can be worn on the head and serve no purpose other than to make people look pretty ;3

Wisteria Grass

Wisteria grass is a new grass type block that is pale lavender. It behaves the same as grass. It is only found in the Wisteria forest

The Heather Moorlands

Heather Moorlands are made up of water, grass, mud and a new block. No trees and few other plants spawn here, but cattails, reeds (pond update), sea grass and lily pads would be common here.

Bogs would spawn here

Toads, Frogs and Dragonflies would spawn here

Heather Moorlands are based on….Heather Moorlands.

Peat

Peat is a new powered snow-like block. It is brown in colour and makes up most of the ground in the Heather moorlands. Any plant can be planted on it.

Falling through peat takes notably longer than it does for powdered snow, players cannot freeze in peat, only suffocate. Peat can be safely traversed with leather boots.

When broken, peat will break into Peat Logs, peat logs can be burned in the furnace as an effective fuel

When lit on fire, Peat burns Bright Red, peat logs can be used to make peat lanterns, campfires and torches.

Combining 4 peat logs together makes a peat block, smelting a peat block creates Hardened Peat. Harmed peat can be made into Smooth Peat, Chiselled Peat, Peat Bricks, Cut Peat, Peat Pillar and Peat Tiles

Gortach

The Gortach are a new Undead mob. They spawn in swamps and peat bogs and resemble Bog bodies. They hide in dirt, mud, sand, gravel and peat and jump out of the ground to attack.

Gortach inflicts poison with their attacks. Gortach can carry swords, axes, and spears

Gortach drop their weapon, peat logs or Rotten flesh when killed

Spears

Spears are crafted either with one iron ingot and two sticks in a diagonal pattern, or are dropped by the Gortach

Spears are weaker than the sword but have a better reach, can be thrown (though this isn't good for their durability) and completely bypass shields and armour, hitting the opponent as if they had nothing at all

Spears have all the same enchantments as the Sword + Loyalty

Heather

Heather is a new purple flower exclusive to the Heather Moorlands. It gives purple dye when ground up.

The Highland Forest

Made up of rolling hills and Birch trees, all normal passive Mobs can spawn here, but sheep, goats,bees and cows are most common. All normal hostile Mobs can spawn here

Loch Lurkers (a rare UnderWater horse-like mob from the pond update) also spawn in the lakes here

Birch Updates

Yep. This is a secret Birch forest update.

A new form of Birch tree “Silver Birch” that grows much taller and has yellow leaves can be found here. This form gets its own sapling

The Birch block would also get a minor update to make the black segments more like stripes and not ugly blobs

Leave Updates, Packed Leaves and Thatching

Players and Mobs can now walk and fall through leaves.

When breaking leaves with anything other than shears or silk touch leaf blocks will drop leaf items (except wisteria and Spruce, which drop Petals and Needles)

By placing 9 of these in the crafting bench the player can create packed leaves, a new solid version of the leaf block

Thatching is a new block of greyish colour that is crafted with 6 wheat on the top and bottom and 3 leaves of any type in the centre of the crafting bench. Thatching looks the same as a Hale Bale, only without the string holding it together.

Goosegrass, Nettles, and Thistle

Goosegrass is a plant that grows in any forest, but is most common in the Highlands. Walking through goosegrass results in it sticking to you, taking up one of your unoccupied armour slots and slowing you down. Walking through it at all also slows you down, much like cobwebs, making this plant dangerous when fighting mobs

Nettles can only spawn in Dark oak and Highland forests. Nettles stay low to the ground, if they are walked on by a player they are inflicted with Poison. Nettles can be collected and made into a healthy soup

Thistles are a new type of two high flowers. They can be ground into purple dye. They hurt the player if walker through

Deer

Deer are a new mob found in all forested environments, much like Wolf's they have different textures depending on the biome

When killed, Deers drop Venison, a new edible meat

Like Goats, Deers will try to charge the player. Also like Goats, after hitting a block deer will drop and antler

Fog

Fog is a new weather type, lowering the amount the player can see for a short time and allowing a few Mobs to spawn, particularly endermen

Shelf Fungus

A new decorative block that grows on trees

Wildcats

Wildcats are a new ambient Mob, they share a model with Ocelots and Cats and they drop string when killed

The Mushroom Grotto

Oh yes. A new forest of giant mushrooms and mycelium. This biome is very rare. The Mobs that Spawn here will be discussed later

Mushroom Wood

Much like the nether mushrooms, overworld mushrooms are now a woodtype. The mushroom stem can be stripped and converted into all wood blocks. Mushroom wood is white in colour.

New Mushrooms

Yep. There is now a mushroom for every colour of dye in the game. Mushrooms can also now be ground into dye

Here's what all those mushrooms could look like (minus brown and red of course):

(Note: this is based on design, not colour)

Before moving on, sniffers don't just get the Crann Bethadh Sprout. They get a new plant for every dye type in the game

Plus, they can dig up two new mushrooms exclusive to them, when ground these mushrooms become two new dye types… Well, not quite. They Become Rose Dye and Spring Green Dye, the two removed wool colours. This is the only way to get these mushrooms and these dyes. This would make the sniffer more worth the work put in to get one and create a lot of more strange decoration choices

Here's what they COULD look like (note: again, colours don't line up)

Mushroom bricks

Smelting the Mushroom blocks (not the stem, the block itself) creates mushroom bricks: multicoloured bricks taking on the patterning of the mushroom used to make them

Mushroom bricks can be made into stairs, slabs and walls

Puffball Mushrooms and Faerie Rings

Both exclusive to the mushroom forest.

Puffball mushrooms are brown in colour and are plants that stay on the ground, when walked over they release spores that inflict harmful status effects such as Poison, blindness, slowness, weakness, nausea, lethitatvia, and mining fatigue

Faerie Rings are Rings of mushrooms that take up one block on the ground (they also come in all colours)

If a player steps on one it is like they are walking through cobwebs, and upon getting out they will be inflicted with slowness.

If a mob steps in one they completely freeze and their AI is disabled until they are knocked out or the ring is broken.

This would help allow players to use Mobs as decoration without lagging there game

New Structures

Bothies

A bothy is a public structure found typically in the Highlands, there small houses for folks to take shelter in.

Bothines can spawn in any woodland biomes, they'll appear as a simple wooden house. Inside Bothies will have a chest with low level loot and a bed.

Occasionally, suspicious sand,mud, gravel or snow will spawn outside the bothy (depending on the biome), these typically have low level loot but items such as armour Trims or record disks can be dug up

Stone Works

Based on the numerous palaeolithic celtic stoneworks,these are small abiant structures spawning in the Dark Oak, Highland and Wisteria forests, as well as Heather Moorlands, Snowy Tundras, Wetlands and Mushroom Grottos

There would be many variants of these structures resembling stone circles, stone henges, standing stones, stone portals and cobbled walls.

All of these are made from base stone blocks, though sometimes other blocks can be found like chalk flooring or trees/water spawning in the centre of a stone circle

Sometimes, though rarely, these structures could spawn with a “Stone Holder” a new block that holds a tool or weapon (similar to the myth of the sword and the stone) these can be moved with silk touch. The player can remove the weapon, which will always be made of iron (that's important for later) and could have some low-level enchamtmants

Occasionally, these can also structures spawn with suspicious dirt, which can be dug up with the brush. Pottery sherds are more common in these structures, but apart from that, they exist only as set dressing ;)

Castle Ruins

A more substantial ruin, Castle Ruins can spawn basically anywhere, but are most common in Highland forests.

Castle Ruins are winding structures, they have a Dungeon below with Gortach or Bog spawners in the cells. The main ruin itself is made up of narrow passageways, imagine a smaller version of the bastion.

There would be numerous loot chests around, but upon opening one, a new mob would be summoned called a ■■■■■■

This mob will be discussed later :)

The Beast's Lair

An underground structure most common under the mountains or Highland forests

Made up of narrow passages leading to open rooms filled with gold blocks, loot chests containing riches and even some new vaults. There's also a shocking amount of skulls littered around

And of course the new boss here: The Wyvern

The Wyvern is a draconic boss mob spawning only hear, it has 4 legs and two wings and is bright red (Note: no. Wyvern never meant a dragon with only 4 limbs. That is a modern addition. Wyvern and dragons were different because of what they breathed)

The Wyvern is very powerful up close and can attack from far away with its poisonous breath

Upon its defeat the Wyvern will drop copious amounts of gold and emeralds that it ate, perhaps even some diamonds if your lucky

Faerie Mounds

Spawning exclusively in the Wisteria Forests, Highland Forests and Mushroom Grottos, these are small dirt hills with a spawner inside and a handful of loot chests

They are essentially fae Dungeons

The mobs that Spawn here will be: you guessed it, discussed later

Clochan + The Dubnos Tunnels

Clochans are typically just an abiant structures common in the Highlands, small cobblestone huts with nothing interesting about them.

But occasionally, they lead to something greater. Some of them spawn with holes leading to a second structure made up of 5 rooms, oriented in this pattern:

In the centre room are 5 stones, each baring a carving of one of the 5 element symbols (note: these are taken from the unused painting textures, with a new one added for wood), at the base of all these stones is a new kind of Vault “The Fae Vault” exclusive to this structure and the beast's lair

The carvings look like this:

The goal of this structure would be to go to each of the challenge rooms, each of with have there own stone with a carving, right click on said carving to indicate you have completed the room, and once all 4 rooms are complete return to the centre room to click on the craving that was not represented by one of the carvings in the other rooms. Getting this right results in the appearance of 5 Fae keys from the stones. These keys can be used on the fey vaults to claim the structures loot

Failure to complete the structure will be indicated by the carvings glowing Red and numerous waves of Mobs spawning

The challenge rooms each contain a challenge pertaining to their element: the fire room is filled with fire, the water room is flooded, the air room requires parkour, the earth room is a Maze and the plant room is filled with Sweet Berries, Goosegrass, Nettles, Thistles, Puffball mushrooms and Faerie Rings (yes I know mushrooms aren't plants, shush.)

On top of that, there are several spawners for the fae in this structure, with various types appearing to attack you. Though these spanners will be deactivated upon completing a room

(Note: carved stones can be moved with silk touch)

They fae Mobs that Spawn in these will be discussed later.

These structures would create unique challenges for the player and would bring more life to these biomes, encouraging exploration.

(Part 1/5)

[junnieverse]

FIRST DATES ➳ TOMORROW X TOGETHER

➙ what your first date with txt was like

pairing: non idol!txt x afab!reader

genre: fluff

warnings: not proofread, lowercase intended

a/n: what's your ideal perfect date? personally it depends but I've always wanted something interactive and fun such as an arcade date or even mini golfing (enha and possibly zb1 versions coming soon)

🖇️ — 최수빈 ; SOOBIN !

↳ outdoor cinema date

after many failed dates and relationships, you weren't expecting much from the blind date your friend set you up on today

you both had texted each other, still unaware of how the other looked wanting to keep it a 'suprise' until the day of the date but suprisingly you both got along over the phone

you had suggested a movie for your date and soobin thought an outdoor cinema would be perfect

to say you were shocked first meeting him would be the understatement, you did not at all expect soobin to be that handsome and he didn't expect you to be so pretty

"W-wow... I mean, hi, my name is Soobin." he nervously introduces himself bowing

you both got to talk a little and get to know each other before the movie and everything was smooth sailing

during the course of the movie, soobin even tried the classic yawn and arm over the shoulder move

ofcourse you thought it was cheesy but nevertheless you moved in closer to him making him blush profusely

after that great date, you both maintained contact and even had a few more dates after that before officially dating

🖇️ — 최연준 ; YEONJUN !

↳ beach date

dating had never been part of your agenda whatsoever but you decided to join a dating website and see what happens

that's where you matched with choi yeonjun and he was the first to message you with the cringiest pick up line known to man... but he still managed to make you laugh

' Are you a photographer, because I can see you and I together '

' Wait that's not how it goes, I can PICTURE you and I together, how do I manage to mess that up too '

after his failed attempts to rizz you up, you both started talking and decided to meet in person for an official date

on the day of the date, you both decided to have a picnic at the beach and having bought all the food, yeonjun catered by bringing the blanket and umbrella so you wouldn't burn

the day was spent simply laughing and getting to know each other

yeonjun also happened to have brought his polaroid camera with and captured a bunch of photos of you, the scenery and the both of you

"So maybe my pick up line wasn't far off, I was able to picture us together." he jokingly says making you playfully roll your eyes

🖇️ — 최범규 ; BEOMGYU !

↳ laser tag date

you had been friends with beomgyu for awhile now having been in the same friend group but your dynamic changed after you both shared your first kiss during a game of spin the bottle

you had thought nothing of it at first until you realised he was all you could think about and you were inevitably crushing

taking that leap of faith, you decided to ask him out expecting to get rejected anyway but he suprisingly agreed

you were both big on doing something super fun and so when the suggestion to try laser tag came up you had to try it

"If I beat you, you owe me ice cream and if you win, I'll get you whatever you want." you suggest out stretching your hand as he shakes yours sealing the deal

confidently going in there you thought you would be able to beat beomgyu forgetting how great his aim was

he knew he would probably be better than you but despite making that deal he still wanted to get you your ice cream

"I'm sorry for shooting you 10 seconds in, how about we get some ice cream still, my treat." he suggests slyly putting his hand into yours making you blush as you try to hide your smile

"There's that smile I love."

🖇️ — 강태현 ; TAEHYUN !

↳ cafe date

taehyun happened to be a member at the gym you worked out at and during your workout he happened to help you spot and he soon became your 'gym buddy'

you soon grew a great friendship from that but I never went anywhere past the gym

that is until taehyun mustered up the courage to ask you to get coffee with him after a workout you both had and you ofcourse agreed

the cafe was a great choice considering it was a very peaceful place you could both get to talk and get to know one another

you actually got to see a more softer and even smarter side of taehyun during your date you never thought you would get to see

in the gym he was usually funnier and and casual but during this date you learnt so much more from this sweet guy

"Well I'd like to think we can meet more outside of the gym. Maybe ice skating next week?" taehyun asks hoping for a good outcome as his eyes light up at your response

"It's a date." you tell him giving him a short peck on his cheek

🖇️ — 휴닝카이 ; HUENINGKAI !

↳ escape room date

you had first met kai through his sister who you were friends with and it was rather obvious he was completely smitten when he would always get so flustered around you

you had waited for the longest time for him to finally ask you out and when he did, he bad suggested an escape room date

you had once mentioned how you always wanted to try going to one and so this was the perfect opportunity for kai too

he wanted to show off his great logic skill figuring out the different clues and you found it impressive and attractive

"Wow Kai, you're really good at this." you praise him as he evidently turned red

at some point you got stuck on a certain clue and went up to kai to figure it out with him and having you so close to him almost made him lose consciousness

his brain stopped working momentarily from the close proximity but you both worked well together

the escape room date was a great success because you got to do what you've been wanting to and with your crush

you both decided to go have a late lunch together after that and planned future dates to come

[mirrorsmoonlight]

☆ ~ you can buy my love but you don’t want it

pairing: treech x gn!reader summary: you rent a boyfriend to experience what it’s like to be in a relationship (and to spice up your summer), despite not being big on them. in the end it wasn’t you who caught feelings. warnings: modern au, second person, fluff to angst?, treech acts like a bf cause that’s what rent a boyfriend’s do (but he kinda quickly falls for the reader), one of the longest i’ve ever written

summer break contained warm temperatures and frizzy hair from the humidity. it also turns out, that boredom is something that’s stretched through the days of the long summer. and to perish that boredom you wanted to do something exciting, and if it wasn’t exploring new countries and hanging out with friends, it’ll be something that is out of the ordinary.

after finalizing the decision, you clicked that button that sealed your fate. feeling a rush of adrenaline rush through your veins. tomorrow is the day, and you’d made sure to pick your best looking outfit for this occasion. but not for the man that’s going to be stuck by your side, but for you.

-

the wind blew warm air onto your face as you stepped out the door, taking a second to admire the beautiful view; the sky a bold blue with clouds lounging in the sky, the ultimate laughter coming from the families and friends, and the beautiful greenery swaying and shining with healthy limbs.

your feet created a rhythm against the pavement soon after as you began to make your way to the meeting place - which was only 10-15 minutes away - with your tote bag hanging on your shoulder. only when you’d finally arrived, did you see him, standing infront of the restaurant looking as gorgeous as he had in the picture.

his head shot up at the sound of your footsteps, pausing for a bit before a smile plastered itself on his face. “hey, (name) right,” he held his hand out in a polite handshake after you nodded, clasping your hands together after shaking it, “my name’s treech if you’d forgotten already.”

you smiled, his warm attitude and welcoming smile killing your nervousness and causing you to relax, “it would be a shame if i’d forgotten the name of someone as captivating as you. plus i would say it’s pretty unique, you don’t really see a lot of people with that name.”

a laugh left his lips at your teasing, before hitting you with one of his own remarks, “and it would’ve been a shame if you’d arrived just a few minutes later. the food looked a little too good that it almost made me forget who i was here for.”

fondness was the only thing present on your face despite you rolling your eyes, “well now that i’m here you won’t forget, cause today will be the best day (date) of your life.” watching the smile not once disappearing as he shook his head, before using his free hand to grasp the handle of the door, holding it open so you could go first, “well then we better get to it then, shall we?”

-

the restaurant was fancy, pristine hardwood floors and flawless white walls boxing in the squared tables and chairs made of mahogany. as he talked to the hostess you scanned your eyes to every corner, eyes shining with facination, not even realizing that you were now being led to the table if it wasn’t for the grip on your hand.

the table was against the window, allowing the sun to beat down onto the people inside. it was also dressed in a white tablecloth, protecting the tabletop from dirtiness and stains. treech paused, making sure to pull out your chair for you to sit down before taking a seat in his own.

“so what do you want to do after we’re done eating,” his attention was wholly on you as he asked, leaving you abit startled yet you quickly shook it off.

“i was hoping that we could buy some ice cream at the truck near by and walk on the beach together,” you hands busied themselves with unraveled the silverware from the napkin. placing them on the table, before spreading the napkin over on your lap to make sure you wouldn’t dirty your clothes while eating. “then we could stroll the shopping strip nearby.”

you looked back over at him, surprised at seeing that the whole time he never once took his eyes off of you.

-

the lunch was filling - making you convinced you might not even have room for such ice cream you’d mentioned before - and delicious, the aroma wafting out of the door as you both walked out. as he strode back up to your side he gently removed the tote you were carrying onto his own shoulder, before reattaching your hands together, both of you walking in silence.

you led him to the ice cream truck that was just a few blocks over, turning to him to ask him what he wanted as you ordered. only having to wait a few minutes before one of the employees came back with your order in hand. once the ice cream cones were secured, you carefully handed his to him, setting a slow pace as you walked the direction that would lead you to the beach.

it didn’t take that long to get there, but the both of you were almost done with your ice cream. nonetheless even with the cone in hand, you made sure your shoes were off, holding the insides of it with just the tips of your fingers. no chatter being created between the two of you, just the sounds of the waves crashing against shore and the seagulls that flew overhead accompanying you two.

eventually as the trail of footprints on shore grew longer, the remainder of the ice cream became shorter; nothing but crumbs harboring its place on your fingertips.

so you looked towards the horizon, the sun shining like a lightbulb in the sky as you admired the beauty of it. and noticing your focus was averted away from him he quickly pulled out his phone, aiming the camera towards you before quickly snapping a few pictures.

a grin lighting up his face, knowing that the sun could never compare to the beauty he saw in you.

-

the sand was stubborn, sticking onto your feet like a second skin. and when relief was finally found, more crawled up and held their place leaving you frustrated. and noticing this treech abandoned his effort of doing the same to come to your rescue; picking you up in bridal style even though you loudly verbalized your protests.

“what’re you doing,” you held onto his shoulders as you laughed. “doing what a boyfriend would do, obviously,” he smiled down at you with such a genuine smile it made your stomach fill with butterflies, a pink hue beginning to spread across your face.

luckily, his long strides across the sand let you arrive to the dry cement faster. him gently setting you down on the bench before taking the spot next to you to dust his sand covered feet.

your eyes were trained on his figure for a good few minutes before you hid your face in your shoulder, not wanting him to see the effect he left on you after what he just did.

-

the next stop was the shopping strip like you’d promised, the streets not full but not bare either. neither of you decided to stop and browse through the stores, choosing that this would be a great time to just aimlessly walk together hand in hand.

but time went by quickly, the sky now a dark purple - soon going to fade into a black - with stars beginning to pop out of their hiding places. and just as time trickled away the strength in your feet did the same; the soles throbbing from the journey you’d had. so, you stopped at one of the benches that were along the path, resting for a bit. only for a few moments later treech announcing he was going to pick something that he’d saw on the way.

you nodded, too tired to object to what he’d plan to do. so while he was gone you observed the people around you, trying to distract yourself. when he’d returned you noticed he held something behind his back, heart rate speeding up in what you didn’t know was adrenaline or excitement.

“since the day will end soon, i wanted to give you one last gift,” your attention was caught, tiredness leaving your body for a blissful minute. he pulled the mysterious gift from behind his back and presented it to you; a perfectly wrapped bouquet of faded pink tulips in his hands.

“treech, you didn’t have to,” you shook your head as you looked at him but a thankful spark was in your eyes. “i wanted to,” he sat down next to you before handing you the bouquet, watching you for a moment, “you were probably the best fake partner i ever had.”

you chuckled before leaning in to hug him, “thank you treech, it means a lot that you even put the effort in doing this last minute.” his hand gently soothed your back, rubbing circles into it before pulling away, “well as much as i enjoyed the day it’s probably time to get you home.” you looked at him for one last moment before nodding, gathering your stuff.

-

when you arrived at your place you felt disappointed. spending time with him probably being one of the most memorable things that would happen all summer. but you knew that what you had was only temporary. you knowing that even though you loved it, you couldn’t love it forever since both of you were in different places in your lives - you not focused on wanting a relationship.

you turned towards him as you stood infront of your front door, ready to say your goodbyes. “i’m glad i chose you,” your shining eyes focused on his own, “if it was someone else i probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much as i had.”

he nodded before stepping closer to you, one of his hands cupping the back of your neck. and recognizing what he’d planned to do, you gently placed your hand on his chest, “i didn’t pay for a kiss?”

“you don’t need to,” he shook his head before pausing, waiting for you to consent first. and once the smile popped on your face and you began to lean in, he took the opportunity, kissing you like it would be the last time.

and once you pulled away, he let you go. watching as you strode up the steps. the last thing he saw before you disappeared was your beautiful smile that you shot over your shoulder.

-

a/n: i wrote this in just a few hours because i wanted to post it before it was 2024. so i wanted to say Happy New Year’s Eve or Happy New Year’s, depending where you are!

[myapathyhaspeaked]

Platontic Sides Week Day 2: Vacations

“For the last time, we’re not, and will never, swim on your side!” Roman yelled, but Remus kept poking him as he rambled on and on about the various benefits of the beaches on his side of the Imagination, like Lovecraftian monsters and seaweed that tangled around your leg and pulled you down, down, down into the watery abyss until you floated to the surface, gasses from decomposition escaping your blue-tinged lips. Roman failed to see anything beneficial about any of that, but had long accepted that trying to figure out how Remus found joy in any of his interests was like trying to get a true ant’s eye perspective by smooshing his face into the ground. Uncomfortable, and would never actually work.

“Oh come on, what’s even in the water!?” Remus complained, like he couldn’t imagine an ocean not filled to the brim with creatures that yearned for blood and bone.

“Fish! And seals and sea otters and starfish!”

“Mermaids?” Remus asked, and really Roman should know better than to treat his brother’s questions as anything but a potential trap.

“I could make some,” he replied, taking the bait. Remus grinned.

“Can they drown me?” Roman groaned and sped up to put some distance between them. Virgil looked up from his phone at the sound of quickening footsteps in the sand and decided to match his pace so he wouldn’t have to walk alone just because his brother was annoying.

The Prince had invited the other Sides to a relaxing day at the beach in the Imagination. This wasn’t a unique occurrence; Roman had been inviting the others to the Imagination since they were children. He’d created bouncy castles, jungle expeditions, magical playgrounds, petting zoos, and a myriad of other things for them to play in and explore. What was new, however…

Roman looked back to see Remus talking about something with Patton. Whatever it was, it was causing Patton to cover his ears and turn pale. He only stopped when a way-too-long arm snaked around to poke him on the back, and realizing he could bug someone else, turned to Janus to continue the conversation. If the snake happened to start walking slower than the rest, well Remus didn’t seem to notice. Their differing speeds caused them to walk less as a group and more as a line, like a roller coaster instead of a car.

“It would be rude to not include them,” Patton had insisted. And look, what fun he’s having now. It wasn’t like they hadn’t excluded them before. Excluding them used to be the standard.

They finally reached the shore. It was perfectly picturesque, gentle waves crashing into white sand dotted with shells ready for the taking. An ice cream shop, one eerily familiar to the one Thomas’ family used to go to when they went to the beach when he was a kid, sat a ways away, playing music just loud enough to hear but not so loud that it became annoying like mall music. The seagulls squawked in the distance, and unlike the real ones, they’d stay in the distance. Logan breathed in the lovely sea air, letting his shoulders slump as he felt the tension leave his body.

He then started searching his tote bag for something. After a few seconds of grabbing around, he pulled out an orange tube. He popped open the blue cap.

“Everyone needs to apply sunscreen. I expect you to return in two hours to reapply.”

“Oh come on, we’re not going to get mesothelioma from a fake sun!” Virgil protested. He hated applying sunscreen, there was always the chance of accidentally rubbing his eyes before he rinsed his hands off. 

“The term you’re looking for is melanoma, and it has been shown time and time again that the environment of the Imagination has the ability to affect us.” While developing cancer was unlikely (that wouldn’t happen in Roman’s fantasyland), they had gotten sunburn on previous excursions. It was, unfortunately, too intrinsic to the beach experience to leave out.

Logan finished rubbing the lotion on the spots his wetsuit left uncovered and passed the tube to Virgil. He cringed, but begrudgingly took it. Being sticky was at least marginally better than getting lobsterback. 

Patton took his bag off his shoulders and began to set out the beach chairs. Roman joined him to stick the umbrellas in the sand. After applying sunscreen, the two of them grabbed some plastic buckets and shovels and made their way towards the water. They had plans.

The teacher sighed and laid down on one of the chairs, making sure the umbrella properly shaded him before reaching into his bag and pulling out his book about echinoderms. 

“What’s the point of the wetsuit if you’re not going to swim?” Janus questioned hypocritically, because he was also sitting in a beach chair despite wearing a bathing suit, piña colada in the hand that wasn’t propping his head up. Logan wasn’t sure where the drink had come from. The snake had explicitly refused to carry anything.

He wondered if he had another glass. Hydration is very important. That’s why.

“I might later. It’s just that this chapter on starfish is so fascinating. Did you know that they don’t have a brain?”

Janus hummed, a noise that acknowledged what he said but didn’t give the impression that he cared all that much. “Reminds me of some people I know.”

Meanwhile, Remus was sneaking up on Virgil, who was busy watching a crab scuttle around a small hill. It had blades of grass poking through the sand, and it cut off suddenly to create a mini cliff into the ocean. The crustacean danced between clumps of grass, snapping its claws like castanets.

The anxious Side knew how to swim. He even liked to swim. He just had to warm himself up to it, remind himself that shark attacks were rare and Roman didn’t know how riptides work and wouldn’t make them even if he did and that he wouldn’t get the bends from diving just a few feet. So he was sitting off to the side, waiting for his nerves to stand down.

Remus snickered impishly, the only warning Virgil had before he was shoved over the edge and into the salty water. He spit the nastiness out before glaring up at the Duke, who was peering down at him in turn, grinning.

“You’re an asshole.”

“Thanks, I try.” He then disappeared, giving Virgil a few fleeting moments of hope that he had left to pester someone else. That hope was soon dashed by the huge splash of Remus cannonballing recklessly close to him. 

Janus took a long sip as he watched Virgil flick water at the Duke’s face, only to scream shrilly when Remus gave chase. He tugged his floppy sun hat over his eyes and leaned back.

Patton and Roman had been busy creating a sand castle for the past fifteen minutes, and they were making remarkable progress, probably because they were in a fantasy where wet sand doesn’t collapse at the slightest disturbance. Their goal was a tiny palace fit for tiny royalty. They had completed the main tower, with a strand of seaweed hanging from a carved out window like the locks of a trapped princess. They were now working on the battlements and the moat.

Roman took a scallop shell from the pile they had accumulated and pressed it over where the gateway would be if he was working with a more stable material. He’d need to see if popsicle sticks would work, once they ate them (the popsicle, not the stick). Patton was next to him, poking crenels into the sandy curtain wall. Once that was done, he took some pebbles and lined them up against the edge of the moat that probably didn’t actually add any structural integrity, while Roman took some twigs and poked them into the sand to act as the castle residents. He also placed a cone-shaped shell (not a cone snail, Remus could have all the venomous creatures on his side, he didn’t need to share) outside the wall to serve as a cannon. 

“I don’t know, it’s missing a certain je ne sais quoi,” he concluded after staring at their creation for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Jenny said what now?” Patton asked cheerily. He knew full well what je ne sais quoi meant, but he was here to have fun. The Prince rolled his eyes, wanting to groan but finding that he wasn’t upset enough to do so.

The fatherly Side scanned the beach for whatever could complete their masterpiece. There was sand, more sand, a shell, even more sand, some washed up kelp, a lot more sand someone should get around to vacuuming, and ooh, score!

He plucked it up from where it was buried in the sand, only visible by how it caught the light at a certain angle, then held it up to present it to Roman. He beamed proudly when his friend’s face immediately became one of excitement.

“Great horseshoe huffing heffalumps, sea glass! Good find, Padre, it’s perfect,” he said as he took it from his hands to admire it better. It was a glittering white, and upon closer inspection, slightly translucent. He spent a while twirling it in his fingers, observing how it looked at all angles.

Now they just needed to find the right place for it.

Atop the tower was the obvious choice, right where everyone could see it. But that was too obvious, and furthermore might cause the structure to collapse. If only there was an interior for the castle, because it would have made a fantastic disco ball.

While they sat there pondering, Remus crawled onto shore like he was reenacting the late Devonian Period, creeping up to the beach chairs. Unaware of his presence, Logan continued spilling sea creature facts.

“Did you know that when threatened, sea cucumbers will eject their internal organs in a process called evisceration.”

“Doesn’t sound like an overreaction at all.”

“Sounds sexy!” Remus popped up, between them, causing them to both jump in surprise. How such a loud Side managed to sneak up on anyone was a mystery, one that Logan was planning to study and one that Janus had long given up on solving.

“The sea cucumber?”

“Anything can be a—”

“No, no they can’t!” Janus interrupted. He’d use his hand-slapping-over-the-mouth trick, but that never seemed to last long with Remus.

“See, Chamber of Sea Kraits agrees with me!”

“You are deliberately misinterpreting me,” he complained like he didn’t purposely speak in a way that made it difficult to tell when he was being sincere.

“Why are you here, Remus? Last I checked you were occupied swimming.” Swimming was a generous word for it. The Duke had spent the last five minutes pretending to be a drowned corpse. He was so close to getting that stiffness of a body that was only halfway into rigor mortis just right.

“Got bored.” It turned out letting yourself drift was a good way of constantly washing up on shore like a piece of driftwood. “Say, how do you feel about burying me?”

“Six feet under buried or make you into a mermaid buried?”

“I’d prefer a kraken but that works too.”

Virgil saw Patton and Roman waving to him and walked onto shore to see what was up. And what was up seemed to be a kickass sandcastle.

“How the hell did you guys make that?” he asked, because he was pretty sure sand couldn’t do that. He’d know it could actually do a lot more than he thought if he fell down an internet rabbit hole about sand sculpting. 

“Blood, sweat, and tears, my frightful friend.”

“And buckets!” Patton added before motioning for him to take a closer look. Peering down into the bailey, he saw a small mandala design made of shells radiating from a piece of white sea glass.

“Woah, neat,” he said as he took in the details. Several of the twig people seemed to be dueling. “So, what are you gonna do now?”

Grabbing the closest item nearby, Patton held up a beach ball and answered, “Volleyball?”

“With three people?” Roman asked. It would be odd, but if the moral Side wished for it, he was perfectly happy to make a quick volleyball court. 

“We could do three on three if we invited the others.”

“They seem a bit…busy,” Virgil pointed out, nodding over to where Janus and Logan were packing sand on top of Remus, steadfastly ignoring his suggestions to add a certain anatomical feature.

“Well how about a good ol’ game of catch with your old man,” Patton suggested, and that received nods all around. Since two of them had yet to enjoy the waters, they decided to play in the ocean, wading until waist deep and standing in a triangle formation. Despite only being ten or so feet away from each other, they spent half their time chasing after fumbled balls as they drifted away, the waves pulling the beach ball away every time they reached like the fruit branches above Tantalus.

The Sides stayed at the beach until the sun began to dip into the water, lighting it up gold as the sky was painted in peaches and tangerines. They then made their way back to the door to the Mindscape, ice cream from the shop in hand.

---

@platonicsidesweek

[bluejaysandblackbats]

To Touch Fate

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: Jason attempts to settle down in Southern Italy and live a civilian life.

Chapters: 16/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Original Character(s), Bruce Wayne, Terry McGinnis, Matt McGinnis

Relationships: Jason Todd/Original Character(s)

Additional Tags: Angst, Jason Todd-centric, Jason Todd is a Father, Terry McGinnis is Batman, Retirement, Future Fic, Major Original Character(s)

Chapter Sixteen: Late Night

Angelo relapsed, and his fever spiked. Noemi called out of work to take care of him. Jason couldn’t sleep. So he was up every ten minutes, watching Angelo breathe. “Jason, you have to relax—.” 

“I can’t relax. Angelo’s never been this sick before,” Jason whispered. He checked Angelo’s forehead with his watch and took a deep breath. Noemi clicked her tongue.

“Giasone, do you need something to do?” Noemi asked. “Get him out of that sweatshirt. He’s too heavy for me to pick up. I have to get him more ice to chew.” Jason obeyed, slipping Angelo’s sweatshirt over his head. Angelo turned toward Jason, holding onto his father’s sweatshirt. Noemi returned with ice chips. 

“Hey… Hey, Angioletto,” Jason whispered as he nudged Angelo awake. “Mamma brought you something… Come on.” Angelo mumbled incoherently. 

“You’re too warm. Try to eat a little ice. If your temperature doesn’t go down, we might have to take you to the hospital,” Jason whispered. 

Angelo closed his eyes, and Jason jostled him to keep him awake. “You gotta get hydrated,” Jason whispered. Angelo didn’t answer. “Come on, Angioletto. Wake up.” 

After a few minutes, Jason propped Angelo up in a chair and searched the house for Noemi. “What’s wrong?” Noemi asked.

“I can’t wake him up. Emi, something’s wrong,” Jason whispered. Noemi nodded. “Don’t panic. Take him to the emergency room,” Noemi commanded, “I’ll stay here with the kids.” Jason nodded. “Don’t panic. I put his hospital bag in the car—.” 

Domenico stepped into the hallway, rubbing his eyes. He was wearing joggers and a sweatshirt. “I wanna go with Papá and Angel,” Domenico whispered. Noemi sighed.

“I’ll take him. Come on, Dom,” Jason whispered, “Grab something to do.” Jason carried Angelo to the car, buckled him in, and checked his temperature. Domenico clenched his fists at his sides. 

“Papá… What’s wrong with Angel?” Domenico whimpered as he got in the car. They rarely used the car except for emergencies and trips. Domenico hugged his knees in the car. 

“I don’t know, Dom… He might be dehydrated, or it might be some sort of infection, but—.” Jason took a deep breath. “Dom, can you read to me?” 

“I brought my journal… I don’t know if you’d like to hear—.” 

“I’d like to… I always love your journals. They’re so interesting,” Jason replied, trying to remain calm for Domenico’s sake.

“Okay… Um… I wrote something after last week…” 

Domenico cleared his throat. “ I saw a seal pup during my run this morning. I sat on a rock and watched him sleep. I didn’t expect to see one so close, but I sat there for almost an hour, watching and wondering. I wondered if Papá saw seals this close when he was my age. I think about Papá’s life a lot. I saw his home on a map at school. 

“ My American friend at school says everything moves slowly in Italy. I want to know what he means. I’m sure that Papá knows. One day… I’ll ask him ,” Domenico read. Jason smiled, finally able to relax. 

“I don’t talk about America much… Do I?” Jason questioned. “Are you afraid to ask me about my life there?”

“I don’t want to make you sad,” Domenico replied, “Sometimes you seem sad.” 

“No… I’m not sad. I worry about your Nonno Bruce sometimes, but that’s it. You can ask me anything,” Jason replied. 

“Did you go to the beach in the summer, too?” Domenico asked.

“Oh no… We couldn’t go to the beach. You could die there,” Jason replied, “And the docks were where all the criminals met up.”

“What did you do in the summer, then?” Domenico questioned.

Jason squinted as he tried to remember his childhood. It seemed so far away. “When I was your age, I would lay a blanket out on the fire escape and wait for the shaved ice man to come. I listened for the little bell on his cart. Sometimes, my mom, Catherine, would fill spray bottles with water and food coloring… And we’d go up to the roof and spray each other until we were covered in colors,” Jason whispered, “Sometimes I’d take the bus to the nice neighborhoods with my father and we’d—. This part is bad… Don’t do this. We used to steal money from rich people’s cars,” Jason confessed.

“Why?” Domenico asked.

“Well… We were hungry, and I was a little smaller than the twins and wearing my father’s old shirts. It was for survival. I never stole for fun. I knew what I was doing was wrong, and I stopped as soon as I was in a better situation,” Jason explained. 

The car jostled when they hit a bump in the road, and Jason tutted at Angelo. “I’m sorry, kids,” Jason apologized, “Dom, you have an American classmate now? When did he move here?” 

“It’s his first year in Italy. His parents are divorced, and his mom moved here for work… He’s from Metropolis. Is that like Gotham?” Domenico asked.

“No. That’s better than Gotham. I like Metropolis. If it wasn’t for the major property damage and the constant threat of malicious alien settlers, I think it’d be a good place to raise a family. It’s just—. There’s not enough space to grow… Are you and your American classmate friends?” Jason asked. 

“Um… Yeah. We want to go to the same schools when we’re older. I hope his mom lets him stay here,” Domenico replied. Jason nodded. 

“Maybe his mom can meet Emi and me… And we can—. You guys can stay over at each other’s houses. Does that sound okay?” Jason offered. Domenico made a soft noise. Angelo’s head drooped, and Jason reached out and held his head back. “You were always Angelo’s baby. He prayed for you before you were born. When you were born, Angelo used to lay you on his chest and hum so you could feel the vibration when your stomach hurt. It was a pretty cool trick. I used that with all the other kids. His bond with you is special. So, I—. Are you boys okay now?” 

“Uh-huh. We’re okay. He promised me I could sleep in his room sometimes when he gets better… How’d he get so sick?” Domenico asked. 

“I don’t know. I’ve been asking that all night,” Jason whispered. 

Domenico looked out the window and sighed. “Is it true that you gave up your American life because Mamma was pregnant?” Domenico asked. Jason nodded. 

“Yeah… And I was in love with Mamma… She—. I met Emi at a time in my life when I was ready to slow down. When Emi told me about Angelo, I knew it was okay. I could stop. I could settle down here and build a life,” Jason explained, “I’m lucky, Dom. Did you know that?” 

“What do you mean, Papá?” Domenico asked. 

“I didn’t think I’d ever have children… And if I did, I couldn’t imagine they’d want me around. You’re all so understanding and kind. I have the sweetest children in the world. That’s why I respect all of you so much. You could be angry or defy me, but you don’t. You’re wonderful kids,” Jason whispered. 

“No one’s papá is like you. You never yell at us and—. And you teach us cool stuff,” Domenico smiled. 

“I teach you too many things,” Jason half-joked, “And I still haven’t had the chance to thank you for getting Dario and your sisters to school.” Jason pulled into the parking lot. “Can I ask you one more favor? Can you watch Angelo while I get a chair for him?” 

“Of course, Papá,” Domenico replied. Jason left the two boys in the car, relieved that Domenico helped him take his mind off his worries.

[fresh-new-yoik-watah]

Love Like the Sea

Chapter 5: Hearts Blurred

a/n: this one was a doozy. Warning, definitely not proofread, I just couldn’t do it. Finished writing that last sentence and said “I’m putting it out immediately”

pairing: Neteyam x Metkayina!Reader

important story info: no use of y/n, it was not working for the story. Neteyam, reader, and Ao'nung are 19. Kiri is 18. Loak and Tsireya are 17. Characters have been aged up for story purposes (not for smut, just easier to write them older)

warnings: none!

word count: 5.3k

—————————————

Cold wind brushed against your skin, leaving behind goosebumps. The sea roared as loud as your thoughts as you replayed the dinner that officially sealed your fate just hours ago. You were grateful your mother wasn’t in the mauri when you arrived back, not wanting to explain why your cheeks were trailed with tears. You wouldn’t have been able to keep it together if she were there, knowing she’d be cheering for the union of you and Ao’nung. Seeing her excited would truly break you as it couldn’t be farther away from what you felt inside, you wanted to hide, disappear, but sitting in the dark as water rushed up and down the shore, you felt alone, trapped. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to escape where your duties wouldn’t follow.

“Hey,” a voice came from behind, Neteyam.

You quickly wiped your face, hoping to hide any evidence that you had been crying. “Hi.”

“You left this.” He gestured to the bag dangling from his hand, your shells.

“Oh thank you. You can leave it here.” You patted the sand beside you.

Instead, he crouched down, attempting to level with your eyes. He squinted, as if reading you, hearing your thoughts. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

No.

Neteyam blinked, knowing you were lying. He had watched you on the beach for a little before approaching, having heard your sniffling. “You’ve been crying.”

“No.”

Yes.

He ignored your denial, pressing on, “What’s wrong?”

You sighed, debating whether you should open up to him. It’s not like you hadn’t before, but it was different. This was a complete vulnerability, sharing with him that you felt like your life was ending. You were raised to take Ao’nung’s hands, to be his Tsahik. That was all you were, your worth, your purpose. Overtime, it had become a far away point that you had yet to reach, but it was like finishing a songcord. What now once you reach the end? Where does your life go after?

You looked into Neteyam’s eyes, contrasting yours like fire and ice. His were wide, like open arms, welcoming you as you were. Your life, your title, didn’t seem to follow you when you were with him. You were just you, and he was just him. You could trust him.

“I am to be mated when the tulkun return.” You watched, waiting for any sign of withdrawal or change, scared your friendship would be ruined, that he’d pull himself away from you.

“To Ao’nung?” He asked.

You nodded, holding your breath, anticipating, but nothing could’ve prepared you for the strong arms that wrapped around you, pulling you close.

“It’ll be alright,” Neteyam whispered, his head resting atop yours. In any other instance, you would’ve pushed him away, reminding him of the boundaries you had to uphold, but you couldn’t care anymore and completely unraveled, sobbing into his chest. Everyone else be damned if they saw you two.

For just a moment, you could pretend what it would feel like to be comforted and held by someone who truly saw you. Your heart had beat for the first time ever and sunk just as quickly upon realizing, you now have made a mess of things.

~x~

Months had gone and passed. You avoided almost every interaction with Ao’nung, wanting to be as far away before you had to spend the rest of your life with him, and in doing so, your relationship with Tsireya was strained as they were almost always together, and if not, she was with Lo’ak. You liked him though; he was spunky, which often was misinterpreted as being troublesome, but he was kind and really only wanted to be seen. If anything were to come of him and Tsireya, which you didn’t doubt would happen, you’d support them.

With the time, there was a newfound spark you found in yourself, you did things you never did before, no longer fearing others’ judging gazes or what repercussions that might’ve been, not out of rebellion, but you didn’t stop yourself from letting Neteyam teach you to shoot or sneaking into the forest where he showed you how to “properly” climb. He was a bit more level headed than you, reminding you that you didn’t have to get things on the first try, keeping you calm when you almost snapped his bow in half out of frustration of constantly missing the target.

Neteyam had become your best friend in every way possible. Suddenly every task required two to complete, and despite the disapproval, no one could really be upset because you two fulfilled everything tenfold.

Though, you caught yourself staring at him more times than you’d admit; you noticed how much he had changed since first arriving. His arms were thicker as was his torso, the Metkayina lifestyle taking full effect, but he still held onto the forest, keeping feathers in his hair and adorning beaded jewelry. He was a hybrid of both worlds, and he was truly beautiful. You internally scowled everytime he caught you looking, hating how your cheeks flushed purple and your heart skipped. He never teased you about it thankfully, but you could easily turn it around to the amount of times you’ve caught him watching you or his own lingering touches.

“I think this is the most we’ve ever caught,” Neteyam hoisted one of the large baskets up, filled with fish from your recent hunt, resting against his side.

You mirrored his actions with one of the less full baskets, “It really feels like it.” You huffed, adjusting its weight. “Let me come with you to bring your share to your family, I want to see TukTuk!”

He rolled his eyes, “Using me to get to Tuk.”

You bumped your hip against his, causing him to stumble slightly with a laugh, “Skxawng.”

Suddenly your ears twitched at the sound of voices and commotion nearby, voices you recognized. Neteyam was already looking at you when you turned towards him, eyes furrowed.

“Is that..?” you started, Neteyam finishing your thought.

“Lo’ak.” He groaned.

Neteyam had started to enjoy not having to save his brother’s troublesome self the last few months. Lo’ak had been keeping to himself for the most part, besides with Tsireya, and Neteyam almost forgot what it was like to constantly be taking the fall for things he warned against doing in the first place.

You both walked quickly, feet sliding around in the sand with each step. You spotted Kiri, her shaggy hair appearing through the trees. Upon coming up to her, you saw she was further back from the rest of them, them being Lo’ak and Ao’nung and his posse. Hearing the snide laughter, you easily put together what was happening.

Neteyam stormed past you, past Kiri, beelining right to Ao’nung who was shoving Lo’ak around. He grabbed his shoulder, yanking him away.

“Leave them alone,” he glared, eyes on fire.

Ao’nung stared back, at first confused where Neteyam had come from, but quickly shifted once seeing you standing not too far away. You two had come together. He brought his arms up, feigning surrender, keeping his eyes on you.

“Smart choice,” Neteyam said, “and from now on, I need you to respect my sister.”

One of Ao’nung’s friends hissed, but was shut up by Ao’nung’s arm going across his chest.

Neteyam pushed Lo’ak with his hand, attempting to pull him away, “C’mon.” It seemed that the situation had deescalated, you exhaling that nothing worse was going to happen.

But perhaps you spoke too soon, Ao’nung’s voiced jeering, “Freaks, all of them.”

Lo’ak stopped, his whole body tensing. “Lo’ak, don’t,” you tried to warn, but it was futile because he was already trudging back, full steam ahead.

“I know this hand is funny,” Lo’ak began, holding it up to show his extra pinky. “I’m a freak, alien.”

Ao’nung just smirked, knowing he pushed a nerve.

“But, it can do something really cool,” Lo’ak continued. “I ball it up really tight like this, and then,” he held his fist as Ao’nung eyed him, getting closer to see what Lo’ak was talking about. Your stomach dropped, realizing what was about to happen, but before you could stop it, Lo’ak swung, connecting with Ao’nung’s face who tumbled into the ground.

“It’s called a punch bitch! Don’t ever touch my sister again.”

Lo’ak was thrown back in a blur of limbs as Ao’nung lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. The rest of the posse joined in, ganging up on Lo’ak. You couldn’t believe it, a whole bunch of children. Kiri’s expression matched your own, just utter shock at the scene taking place before you. What do you even do, do you wait it out?

Neteyam sighed, giving up to his own internal battle and punched his way into the pile of boys. Now you had to been dreaming, Neteyam was smarter than this. It was as if he had been replaced with a baby ilu, just so stupidly excited for action.

“Stop!” Kiri tried to cry out, but if anyone heard her, none showed.

��My tail!”

“Ow my ear!”

Kiri paused before bursting into laughter, and you joined her, disbelieving you were even the same species as the boys tangled on the ground.

“Hey!” A deep voice boomed, causing the fighting to immediately freeze. Jake Sully was storming towards you all, forehead intensely creased and eyebrows scrunched with anger. “Boys get here!”

Neteyam and Lo’ak peeled themselves off the ground, sand stuck to their arms and legs and in the fresh wounds that littered their bodies. Neteyam didn’t even glance at you as he shamefully followed his father away, ears pinned to his head.

Everyone else had disappeared and now you were left with two overflowing baskets of fish, and Ao’nung. He was in worse shape than Lo’ak and Neteyam, a purple bruise forming around his eye, blood dripping from his nose. You almost felt bad.

Silently, you picked up a basket, holding it out to him to take, knowing you couldn’t carry both yourself and that Ao’nung knew that no matter what he was feeling, he couldn’t disrupt the shared labor among the people. He took the basket from your arms, wincing as it brushed against the cuts on his chest.

“I have some salve you can use,” you offered.

“I’m fine.” He started walking away from you.

“You’re bleeding.” You trailed after him, keeping up with his long strides.

“I said I’m fine.”

“But-“

“You don’t speak to me for months, don’t even look at me! Now you want to help me.” Ao’nung scoffed.

“I’m supposed to help.”

“And you’re supposed to be with me! Not with that freak!” Ao’nung’s chest was heaving, his voice getting louder with each word. “How do you think it looks, you spend all your time with him. We’re to be mated!”

You flinched at his last sentence. “We are friends, I am allowed friends.” You looked down, hiding the tears forming in your eyes, “Let me have a friend before I’m tied to you forever”

Ao’nung’s demeanor softened slightly, his instinct to care about you kicking in, but as quickly as it came, it went, replaced with the cold. He grabbed the basket you were holding, now carrying both and walked away, leaving you alone in the sand.

Unbeknownst to you, a pair of golden eyes was watching from among the trees, Neytiri. Her heart ached, having sympathy for you, knowing how it felt to be promised to someone you didn’t want. She had grown to care for you the past few months; she saw how kind you were, how you made time for Tuk so she wouldn’t feel left out when she couldn’t do things older kids were allowed to do. She saw how you never judged Kiri or Lo’ak, never making them feel less than because of their additional physical differences, how you let Kiri help you as a healer so that she wouldn’t forget her teachings from Mo’at, and Neytiri especially saw how you were with her eldest son. She would’ve had to have been blind to not notice how close you two were, how Neteyam’s eyes lit up and ears twitched whenever you were mentioned. First it was the new knife he used, saying it was yours, then it was the growing pile of shells among his things, that miraculously always had at least one extra the next day than the night before. Now she barely saw her son, and she knew it had to do with you, but she let him be, it was harmless, for now. Neytiri promised herself she wouldn’t dictate his love life like hers was, despite the nagging of her own mother back in the forest insisting he was getting too old to have not found someone yet, that he needed someone beside him. She shut down all the names Mo’at tried to throw at her, knowing Jake wouldn’t want his son forced into it either, but it did get frustrating, seeing so many perfectly strong and capable women not get a turn of a head from him. She’d never seen him with anyone the way he was with you, and now it worried her, scared for her family’s safety, scared they could lose their sanctuary if Neteyam pursued something with you. He would be destroyed if she demanded there be nothing between you two, because she knew he would listen to her, and Neytiri couldn’t do that to her son; she would simply have to watch, watch and pray that Neteyam wouldn’t be stupid.

~x~

“Ow, ow!” Neteyam hissed, muscles tensing as you applied the cold salve to the cuts on his chest.

You could’ve rolled your eyes, knowing he was being just a little dramatic, “It’s not that bad.” You scooped up some more salve onto your fingers, “Hold still,” bringing your hand to his cheek to treat the split skin under his eye.

He did his best to stay silent as you worked, watching you, hoping you couldn’t feel his heart racing. You were so close to him, he could see the texture of your skin, the rippled patterns that painted your face like waves, almost outlining your eyes, as if the ocean crafted you itself, which sort of was true. Ewya made the seas, and Ewya made you.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” you spoke, avoiding his eyes.

“Did you tell Ao’nung the same thing?” He scoffed.

“If, I were speaking to him,” you poured an ointment onto his chest, “I would add in he’s a skxawng.” You looked over his wounds once more, lightly pressing your fingers against each one, “I’m finished. I’ll give you some salve to use again tomorrow.”

Neteyam didn’t respond, staring out the entrance of your mauri, watching the waves.

You pressed your lips together, debating whether to leave him be or try to talk again. “How are Kiri and Lo’ak?”

“Upset. Lo’ak is apologizing to Ao’nung.”

“What, why?” You asked. If Neteyam were facing you, you would’ve seen the corners of his lips turn slightly up, glad that you were on his and his brother’s side.

“Our dad. He’s scared of things getting messed up.”

“Nothing would happen over this,” you reached for his arm, “I would never forgive Ao’nung.” Neteyam turned to you as you continued, “Besides, Olo’eyktan knows his son.”

“Oh?”

“Ao’nung is like Lo’ak—“

Neteyam started laughing, shocked you would make such a comparison, his playful brother and your stuck up future mate, but you gave him a pointed look before picking up your supplies to put them back in their rightful places. “They both lash out as a way to seek attention and approval.”

He thought about it, supposing you were right. Ao’nung and Lo’ak just wanted to be seen by their fathers, their respective chiefs, attempting to live up to who came before them, but more often than not, falling short.

“I am sorry for what happened, for Kiri, and you and Lo’ak. She didn’t deserve that, and Lo’ak shouldn’t have to apologize.” You cast your eyes down, feeling awful for what happened earlier, unable to stop the guilt from creeping in. Maybe if you weren’t so close with the Sully’s, Neteyam especially, Ao’nung wouldn’t feel as threatened and maybe would have left them alone.

He shook his head, “This was not your fault,” reassuring you.

“I just care for your family. I hate that this happened.” You threw your arms up, getting antsy and anxious.

Neteyam stood up, the woven floor moving with him, grabbing your hands, forcing you to look at him. “I know.”

You stared at his hands over yours; despite yours being much wider, his still enveloped yours, having just slightly longer fingers. You were in awe of him, regardless of everything he didn’t naturally have, he kept up in the water, and maybe even swam better than most. He persevered. “Ao’nung is wrong, we are the same,” you met his eyes, “you are one of us.”

His chest swelled, overwhelmed, feeling the weight of your words, knowing that you saw him as an equal, not as Neteyam the outsider, or Neteyam the warrior, but just Neteyam, one of your people. Then his heart sank, your people, whom you’d rule beside Ao’nung.

“I have somewhere to show you,” you suddenly spoke, letting go to walk to your mauri’s opening. “I think you’ll like it.”

Neteyam clenched his hand, not enjoying the now empty and cold feeling from the lack of your touch. Over the last few months, he noticed the growing desire he had to be around you, yet when you were there, it still wasn’t enough, nothing subsided the roaring fire inside. He was magnetized to you, unable to break the pull, and he knew why. He didn’t know at what point he realized, maybe one of the times he held your arms in place to fix your hold on a bow a little too long, but he felt something for you, something beyond friendship. He knew it was wrong, knew he couldn’t act upon it. He should’ve made an excuse not to go, should’ve said he had to find Lo’ak or help his dad, but you just had that big smile that crinkled the corners of your eyes. He would follow you anywhere.

~x~

You took Neteyam deep into the forest, so far that the waves from the ocean couldn’t even be heard anymore. The trees were so much different than he was used to, slender and towering, swaying in the wind, most of them without branches, not meant to be climbed. There was no rule that you weren’t allowed there, there just was no reason to be there; everything your people needed and did was by the sea.

“We’re almost there!” You called to Neteyam behind you, climbing up a rock ledge with ease.

Then you heard it, the familiar rushing water, signaling you were right where you wanted to be. “Here!” You gestured to the river, surrounded by lush greenery, leading to a wide waterfall.

“This way!” You practically skipped through the plants, Neteyam following close behind, still confused on where you were taking him.

You came up to the waterfall, and to his surprise, you slipped behind it, like it was a curtain. He waited, but you never appeared on the other side, so he went in after you, much less gracefully, his arms and shoulder getting splashed on. You were standing in a cave, shielded away from the outside.

“Wow,” he gasped, gaping at the space.

“I found this place when I was young,” you ran your hand along the walls, damp with moisture. “It was after we laid my father with Ewya, and I wasn’t allowed to swim down with them. Maybe I was too young, but I remember being so angry that I had to stand in the water with Tsahik. I was so angry that my duties didn’t let me bury my own father, I wanted to run away. I couldn’t go out to sea, so I went into the forest and ended up here.”

“How did he die?” Neteyam was crouched down, looking up at you.

“Akula attack,” you brought your hand back down to your side, “he saved his diving partner.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

You sat beside Neteyam in the dark, luminated by each other’s bioluminescence. “I go to see him at the spirit tree, memories of him. He’s always the same, says the same things.” You blinked, trying to stop your eyes from spilling, “We’ll soon be the same age.”

He reached his hand into yours, giving a squeeze. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

You smiled, not that he could really see it, but you knew he felt it. “It could be for you, and Kiri and Lo’ak, somewhere to escape to, like it was for me.”

“I think Kiri will really like it, she’s very in tune with the nature around her.”

“She has Ewya’s gift,” you said.

Neteyam shrugged, “Something like that.”

You two sat in silence, only the sounds of your breathing and the rushing waterfall filling the cave. The condensation made it feel colder than it was, goosebumps raised on both your skins, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, a nice change from the beating rays of the sun you were used to.

“I think I climb faster than you now.”

Neteyam laughed, echoing in the cave, “I don’t think so.”

“I mean, I got over that wall easy!” You tried to argue.

“Those were rocks. You can say you’re faster once you beat me in a real tree, one that grows all the way to the sky with many branches.”

“Okay monkey boy,” you rolled your eyes.

He grimaced, “You can’t call me that!” He playfully pushed your shoulder, “That’s what Kiri calls Spider.”

“Spider?” You asked.

“He’s—,” Neteyam paused, unsure what to actually call Spider, the boy that was alongside him his whole life, before Lo’ak or Kiri were even born. Was he a friend? Best friend? Family? “He’s my brother.”

“Your… brother?” He knew the question you were thinking, where was Spider?

“Not to my mom. He’s human,” he explained, which seemed to only raise more confusion from you. “He was left here as a baby, raised by my dad’s friends. He grew up with us. He’s like us in every way except physical.”

“What happened?” Subconsciously, you moved closer to Neteyam, intrigued and curious.

“He was taken by the sky people. That’s why we left, our dad was worried Spider would tell them where we were, he wanted to protect the people.”

You frowned, saddened for Neteyam, for his family, and for Spider. None of them deserved this. “I don’t think he would betray you, he is your brother.”

“I don’t think so either,” he whispered.

“Do you think you’ll see him again?”

“Yeah, when this is all over.”

You stared at the bands on his arms, beaded and woven, and the necklace around his neck, all from his home, a reminder that he would always feel like something was missing. “Will you go back?”

Neteyam turned his head to you, braids swinging at the sudden movement. “Kiri and Lo’ak fit here better than they did in the forest, they were meant to be here.”

“And you?” You urged on, leaning closer.

“I’d like to see the forest again,” he started, your ears faltering at his words, “but, I think I might stay.”

Maybe it was selfish, but you were glad, glad that your time with him wasn’t a means to an end, glad you would have him for just a while longer. “There will always be a place for you here, even if you change your mind one day. And I don’t doubt your brother will stay here, so you’d have to visit him anyway.”

“Him and Tsireya.”

You nodded, “They fit together.”

“Yeah.” Neteyam’s mind was elsewhere, getting lost counting the freckles on your shoulders and arms. He wondered if he could connect them and what shape they would make, if he’d be able to memorize the pattern. Did you think of him like this, able to drown forever in thoughts of him? Did it kill you as much as it was killing him that he couldn’t trace every part of you with his hands, how much he wished his hands to know what you felt like?

“Neteyam?” Your voice faded in; he had no idea if you said something before that.

“Hm, what?”

“We should go. It’s gotten late,” you repeated.

You were already standing, having made your way back towards the cave entrance. “Oh, right,” Neteyam got up and followed after you as you pressed your body against the outer wall to slip past the waterfall.

Eclipse had long passed, the lush plants surrounding the small river now glowing with bioluminescence. He didn’t doubt you’d be able to find your way to the village in the dark, but Neteyam had a better idea how to get back. “I know a quicker way.”

You stopped in your tracks, “What? I just showed you this place.”

“Yes,” he nodded, smirking, “but there’s a faster way.”

You crossed your arms, unamused, “And what would that be?”

Neteyam grinned, pointing up at the night sky, “Fly,” as if it was the most obvious thing.

“No.”

“C’mon, it’s perfect! I said I’d take you flying one day, and we’ll make it back much sooner,” he tried to convince you. He was right, it would be much, much faster, and it’s not that you hadn’t flown before technically, but a tsurak was different from an ikran. Yet, it was hard to say no to him, especially when he had that grin on his face, excited and childlike.

You took a last look at the looming trees before sighing, “Okay, but straight to the village.”

“Yes ma’am.” He called out into the night, and almost instantly his ikran called back, emerging from further into the forest, her powerful wings creating a dust cloud as she landed beside him. Neteyam pressed his forehead against Seze’s scaly one once she settled, greeting her. “I missed you.”

He swung his body up with ease, connecting his queue with her. He waited for you to join him, but you didn’t move from your spot, staring uncertainly up at him.

“Come on, it’ll be okay,” he tried to reassure you.

“I just—“

“I promise it’ll be alright,” he didn’t let you finish talking. “I promised I wouldn’t let you fall,” he echoed the words he said to you that first night together many months ago. Neteyam leaned down, holding his hand out to you, “Do you trust me?”

Of course you did, and you knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to you. You’re not really sure what you’re actually scared of, you just couldn’t help yourself, having never been that high up before. Hesitantly, you placed your hand in his, letting him pull you up to sit behind him. Seze shifted below you, the movement causing you to yelp and throw your arms around Neteyam whose chest rumbled with laughter. “I got you, stay calm.”

Your grip did not loosen, clinging to him. “Ready?” He tilted his head back waiting for your response.

You nodded, knowing eventually you would have to get it over with, but nothing could’ve prepared you for the feeling of Seze propelling into the sky. You instantly shut your eyes, your heart pounding. The air rushing past your ears was deafening, and you could feel your body weight being pulled to the ground from the momentum.

Neteyam felt for your hand around his chest, giving it a squeeze. “You should open your eyes.”

And you did, despite every instinct telling you not to, you peeled them open. Seze had since leveled out, no longer flying straight up, but instead gliding across the sky. You quietly gasped, it was beautiful, the stars littering the night, so much closer than before, you could almost touch them. The wind blowing through your thick hair, as if it didn’t weigh anything, was surreal. You could see everything from up there, the flickering lights of the village, the sea wall, Three Brothers Rock further into the horizon, and the ocean, the whole ocean, glistening from the reflection of Polyphemus.

Your arms now rested around Neteyam’s waist, no longer latched to his upper body in fear, and he smiled. You felt like you were seeing your world for the first time, in awe that this is how he got to see it. Neteyam brought Seze away from the trees that were far below, guiding her to the ocean, barely flying above the water. You reached down, touching the sea and gliding your hand through the waves as she flew. “This is amazing!”

“I knew you’d like it!”

You smiled, “Thank you,” resting your cheek on the top of his shoulder. Soon after, you came upon the beach, Seze landing gracefully on the sand. Neteyam hopped off first, grabbing your hips to help you down after, but before your feet touched the ground, Ao’nung was storming towards you.

“I need to speak with you,” he rushed out.

“Ao’nung, please don’t—“

“It’s Lo’ak,” he interrupted you, and both yours and Neteyam’s stomachs sank, worried and anxious for what Ao’nung was about to tell you.

~x~

“How could you do this!” You scolded Ao’nung, standing beside a teary Tsireya in their mauri.

“We were messing around, he was supposed to come back by now,” Ao’nung explained.

“He could be dead!”

Tsireya gasped, “Mara—“

Ao’nung shook his head, leaving the mauri to wait for the search party to return.

You pulled Tsireya into a hug, letting her cry, “Mawey, mawey. I’m sure he’s okay Reya.”

She sniffled , “How could he be so cruel?”

“I,” you paused, thinking, confused what could’ve possibly possessed Ao’nung to take and abandon Lo’ak outside the reef, knowing the risks, knowing that even the strongest swimmers were not allowed to be beyond the seawall alone. “I don’t know.”

A horn sounded from outside, a voice shouting, “The boy has returned!” Tsireya wasted no time in rushing out the mauri, pulling you behind her.

A large crowd had gathered on the edge of a pathway, Tonowari, Ronal, and Ao’nung standing at the front as Lo’ak arrived with one of the villagers on the back of a tsurak. Jake pulled his son up, quickly glancing over his body for any injuries, “He’s fine, just some scratches.”

Neytiri shoved her way past the people, sighing in relief that Lo’ak was safe, but instantly hardened her gaze, “I pray for the strength that I not pluck the eyeballs out of my youngest son.”

“No,” Tonowari spoke up, “my son knows better than to take him outside the reef.” He grabbed Ao’nung’s neck, forcing him to kneel, “The blame is his.”

“No, this is not Ao’nung’s fault,” Lo’ak said, “it was my idea, he tried to talk me out of it.” You gasped, what was he doing? “I’m sorry.”

Tsireya looked at you, eyes wide with concern as Jake pulled Lo’ak away, Neytiri and Neteyam following behind.

“Ao’nung what were you thinking!” Ronal scolded, “You are to be Olo’eyktan!” But he did not hear her, his mind elsewhere, staring at the floor emotionless.

She scoffed, exasperated, clutching her stomach, an instinct for whenever she got emotional or stressed. Tonowari realized this, ushering her back to their mauri to calm her.

“Ao’nung?” Tsireya was concerned about her brother’s unusual silence. He ignored her, brushing past to chase after Lo’ak, who was storming away from his parents.

“Let them talk, they need it,” you reassured her, but more so trying to convince yourself as you watched them talk, even playfully shove each other as if no malice existed there before. You just hoped everything would be alright.

[saintsofwarding]

WE SHALL BE MONSTERS

Header by keltii-tea

Chapter 9: A Fox in Sheep’s Clothing

By the time Mia started to wake up, Heisenberg had just about run the gamut of every insult he could fling at her.

While she lay unconscious he'd paced back and forth, muttering under his breath, shaking his head, stumbling on the jagged fall of rocks the helicopter was currently strewn over. It lay there, a beached, gutted whale, spitting black smoke once the engine caught fire.

Heisenberg had stood, staring at it, yearning for a cigar, pawing through his pockets as if one might materialize, and when one didn't, he spent a good thirty minutes ripping apart the remains of the burning helicopter with his power and smashing the pieces into fragments of metal.

Now, he collapsed on a rock, breathing hard through clenched teeth, and waited. The sky was pale and hard as a sheet of ice, a light snowfall dusting the mountainside and stunted, twisted pines surrounding the crash site. The furrow of dark earth carved into the ground by the crashing helicopter had already frozen solid.

The wilderness rang around him, vast and silent.

For now, anyway.

He hunched down into his trench coat, hands deep in his pockets, eyes narrowed as he stared at Mia Winters, unconscious before him like a soldat seconds before its reactor kicked in.

Mia lay sprawled on a piece of metal scavenged from the helicopter. Her gray-brown hair was tangled around her shoulders, her lips slightly parted, blood dripping from a gash on her forehead. Her bullet wound had already sealed up, just a pucker of scar tissue over her sternum. Heisenberg leaned over his knees, watching her, waiting.

He could make out, faint as a wasp's hum, her heartbeat. His Cadou turned over inside him, a restless movement, echoing his own impatience.

He wanted to be proved right, and he wanted it now.

How'd you hide that secret from Chris, then? he wondered. But then again, they'd never cottoned to Ethan's little mold problem. Maybe the BSAA weren't as all-seeing and thorough as they liked to pretend to be.

To be fair, neither was he. His plans, inevitably, fell apart at the seams, carefully-constructed though they may be, and he'd had to get good at improvising. Easy, when one was as fond of explosions and rusty buzzsaws and spectacle as he was.

Now, there was no chance of buzzsaws or spectacle. This place was bleak as an old bone. As for explosions- well. The helicopter flames were already dying out.

Soon, the cold would get in.

Mia stirred. She twitched. Her lashes fluttered. Heisenberg didn't move from his rock as her eyes opened, as she stared up at the pale sky.

"Wake up, Mia," Heisenberg said. "You fucked up big time."

"Heis..." she rasped.

She gasped, then scrambled onto her hands and knees, reaching for her back. She touched the ragged hole in her sweater and froze.

"Yeah," Heisenberg said. He spread his hands. "What's with that?"

She put her hand down and, slowly, sank onto her haunches. "Get the hell away from me."

"Nothing doing. You owe me one, sweetheart. I saved your life."

"I don't- I don't want your pity, okay?" She shot a fiery glare at him, her hazel eyes bright in the frozen sunlight. "I'd rather freeze."

"Nothing so nice," Heisenberg said. "You would've been picked back up by Ouroboros. What, I wonder, would they have done to you when your dumbassery led to their pet Lord of the Village getting loose?"

He hooked a thumb toward himself and flashed her a grin. "Hm. Maybe you have a point. I'd sure as hell rather freeze than...whatever that would be."

"Oh, god," Mia whispered, bringing her hands to her face and running them through her hair. "Oh god. I did fuck up, didn't I."

"Yep."

"And now?"

"...Now?"

"If you're gonna kill me, kill me."

"You think I want to kill you? Mia. If I wanted you dead I'd have carried out my threat, broke your neck while you were unconscious."

"Why didn't you?" She tilted her head. A challenge. "After everything I did to you?"

His grin widened. "You were useful, weren't you? It's not every day a hostage falls right into your hands."

"Then why not leave me after you got to the helicopter?"

"Because Ouroboros doesn't get to kill you," he said. "Anyone gets to, after all the shit you pulled, it's me."

Mia stared at him for a good five-count, her face blank of expression. Then she gave a weary snort.

"Go on," she said. "Do your worst."

"Seriously? Thought you were a fighter. After hearing about your three years at the Baker estate, I assumed...well. Maybe I pegged you wrong."

"No." Mia faced him, climbing shakily to her feet. "No. That was a threat, Heisenberg. Go on. Do your worst. Can't be any worse than what you've already done-"

"Eh, you've got a point there."

"You stole my daughter." She staggered forward, her face hollow, her eyes ablaze. "You...you let me and so many others get tortured-"

Another step, her hands curling into fists. "You murdered my husband!"

She flung herself at him, the word fraying into a guttural howl. Heisenberg grabbed her by her wrists as she took a swing; she jerked to a halt with a little snarl, twisting against his grip. She was pretty strong- all that terrorist-organization combat training, he assumed- but he still had the Cadou on his side. He flung her off; she stumbled on the rocky ground, but came up with fists raised, the blood from her head wound streaking down her face and matting her hair.

"Mia-" Heisenberg said. He jerked to his feet, ducking her next punch. "Mia, I didn't fucking kill Ethan."

She stopped, panting. Blood dripped from her chin, her eyes bright with tears. "W...what?" she said.

"I didn't kill Ethan, all right? I was trying to get a rise out of you, and you fell for it like a bitch. I didn't fucking- dammit, Mia, Miranda killed Ethan. She and Redfield's huge-ass bomb that splatted her and the megamycete over the whole valley. Ethan was crystallizing. Dying already. Wanted to make the end mean something. For you. For fuckin'- everyone."

He paused. "For Rose."

Mia still breathed hard, slightly crouched. She scrubbed her knuckles over her mouth. "You're lying."

"Believe what you want to, sweetheart."

"He would never...give Rose to you."

"Desperate times. Redfield was off holding back the lycans. No one else was there to give her to." He couldn't resist another grin, showing off a hint of incisor. "Besides, Mia, don't I look the trustworthy type?"

Mia gave him a black look, but she backed off. She slumped onto a rock.

Heisenberg sidled over, standing on the edge of the slope, watching the snowfall creep closer and closer by the minute.

"So," he said.

She gave no response.

"Miranda did a number on you, didn't she?"

Nothing. He glanced sidelong at her.

"Oh, come on, Mia," he said. "It's just you and me. No one else to pour out your dirty little secrets to. No one else to overhear."

"You're despicable," she muttered.

"Yes, and?" He paused. "You embarrassed about it or something?"

"I'd rather not think about it."

"Sure, sure. I get it, Mia, I really do. When Miranda took a bonesaw to my ribs I didn't like to think about it either. I was just a kid, though. Maybe. Details are fuzzy. But I do remember what it felt like when she reached inside me and took parts of me out. And when she put something new inside. Something that wasn't me. I remember the way it moved and settled and curled up inside me. Like it was always meant to be there."

He stopped. His voice had dropped to a low, raspy growl. Mia was looking at him, now. He couldn't tell for how long.

"You were a little boy when she gave you that...thing?" she asked.

"The Cadou. Means-"

"-Gift," she finished, with a small, bitter laugh. "Yeah. I definitely looked that one up on google translate."

"I bet you did. So what about you?" Heisenberg said. He faced her fully again, hands stuffed deep in his coat pockets. "She didn't implant the Cadou in you, that's for sure. But she did something, all right."

"What tipped you off?"

"Besides you surviving a gunshot wound that should have cracked your sternum like an egg? Huh, how about your remarkable anti-aging regimen?"

She touched her cheek.

"She experimented on me," she said, after a pause. "She...injected me with...I don't know what was in that syringe. I thought I saw it wriggling under my skin, but...it could have been the drugs. I'm not sure. She kept me sedated some of the time. The rest, when I was more alert...she didn't talk to me. I was like..."

"Like an animal?" Heisenberg said.

Mia lowered her head. She hugged her arms around herself. The last of the flames from the burning helicopter died down, and the snow began to fall in earnest, blurring even the closest trees to gray shadows. Heisenberg had his coat, and could withstand the cold pretty long, but Mia just had her sweater.

"Listen," Heisenberg said. "Do what you want. Stay here if you want. I'm gonna go clean up your mess."

"Take on Ouroboros alone?"

"Yeah."

With that, he began away. He heard Mia scramble to her feet. "You won't get far," she called.

"Uh-huh."

"You know what this is?"

Heisenberg looked back. She'd lifted her arm, showing off the fancy-looking electronic watch thing she'd controlled his harness with, back on the ship. A small red light pipped on it.

"I don't know that shit," Heisenberg said.

"Among other things, it's a distress beacon," Mia said. She lowered her hand. "Ouroboros has a fix on us, now. It'll be a while in this snow, but they'll come for us-"

Heisenberg snapped the watch from her wrist and brought it hovering into the air between them. Mia didn't flinch; maybe she'd expected the move.

"I wouldn't," Mia said. "Break that, I mean."

"Oh, yeah?"

"When I injected you on the helicopter-"

"Knocked me the fuck out, you mean?"

"I did more than that." She lowered her head. Her tear-worn features, in the deepening shadows, took on a sly cast. Heisenberg began to see just how Mia Winters had evaded years upon years of consequences for all the bad shit she'd been a part of. A wolf in sheep's clothing, indeed. Or, maybe, a fox.

"That syringe was full of a slow-acting necrotoxin," she went on. "Developed to maintain control over bioweapons we loaned out to our various clients. We injected the creatures with that substance before sending them out. If the bioweapon wasn't returned within the agreed-upon timescale...full system meltdown."

Heisenberg's pulse hammered, his Cadou giving little spasms of anxiety in time. His mouth was dry. The necrotoxin, already beginning its work? Or just the sickening acceptance that someone had gotten one over him?

"You're lying," he said.

Mia smiled.

"Believe what you want to," she said. "Sweetheart."

"So- what? What's your play?"

"Ouroboros has the anti-toxin. They pick me up, alive and well, they'll administer it to you."

"You're sure about that?"

"I think it's you who should be worried."

Heisenberg advanced on her, stopping just short of running straight into her. She looked up, into his face. Even through a hostage situation, a gunshot wound, a helicopter crash, and a fistfight with a magnetic mutant on some godforsaken Romanian mountainside, she still smelled pretty damn good.

Fuck her. Fuck all of this. Little shards of metal rose from the rocks, orbiting around him as he stared down at her.

"How long?" he said.

"A few days."

"Good." He eased one of the metal shards forward, letting it draw a fine line down the smooth skin of her cheek. Her lips trembled, but she didn't back down. "Plenty of time."

He turned and began away, letting a few metal shards slip into his pockets before dropping control over the rest.

"Plenty of time for what?" he heard Mia yell from behind him.

"For me to get to the village and do what I need to do! I know it's tough, Mia, but do try to listen when I say things!"

The sound of crashing metal came from her direction. He looked back in time to see her emerge from the remains of the burned-out, smashed-up helicopter with a sleek, strange-looking rifle. Loaded, no doubt, with more of those anti-BOW rounds.

"Gonna shoot me?" Heisenberg called.

"No. Ouroboros would really make me into buzzard bait if I did that. You, unlike me, are a valuable asset."

"A valuable asset you just pumped poison into. You're betting the farm on this whole distress call maneuver, aren't you?"

She blew a plume of ash off the rifle barrel, watching the black dust swirl into the breeze. "And you'd better hope I win."

***

They set out into the wilderness.

This was familiar, Heisenberg thought, getting into the swing of things. Mia hiked along with her shiny new rifle shouldered and her affect grim, doing a good job to not look affected by the cold. While neither he nor his siblings could leave the valley boundaries, the ancient saintly statues Miranda had enforced as the perimeter- the limits, perhaps, of her power- there was plenty of wilderness between them and the village, plenty of woods and chasms, caves and cliffs to wander through.

As much as he'd craved the drowning, single-minded oblivion of the work he did in his factory, weeks or months on end of arms gloved in corpses and steaming piles of organs replaced with polycrystal and metal, he was a creature of extremes, after all, and he craved silence when the work at last grew too much, and the engine of his brain turned to scrabble and scrawl.

Oh, there were recollections of hunting, too, blood in the snow, lycans leaping and tearing alongside him, striking down sorry souls at his command, but here and now the memories rising to the top were ones of peace.

Necrotoxin must be getting into my temporal lobe, he thought, giving his head a little shake. Need to give myself a hard electric shock, stave it off for as long as possible. If only there were some jumper cables around. Peace wasn't in the cards for him. He couldn't think that way now. Maybe never.

He paused at an outcropping, squinting at the mountains visible through the mist.

"You on the right track?" Mia asked him.

"Yeah." He put out a hand, gauging the distance between two peaks. If he turned his head- yeah, that was it. He'd spent countless hours in the field of waist-high grass outside his factory, perched on the rusted treads of some old tank or heap of scrap, smoking a cigar and listening to the wind through the dry stalks as he stared toward the mountains surrounding the village. He knew them by now, knew them like the smell of sunsets around this place. The sting of each sun slipping below the horizon, another day longer in captivity.

Another day in the factory. Another corpse gutted. Another heart torn loose and machinery coiled in. A foreign thing, forced inside.

The work was endless, but it was all he'd ever known, and he'd loved it because it would set him free. In his darkest moments, in the black pits of his grief and rage and despair, he'd thought to himself will I ever be free, would I even recognize freedom even if I felt it.

Now, like in the factory, there was a job to get done, and he'd do it no matter what it took.

Is that what you want, Mister Heisenberg?

It didn't matter. Not now.

What about after?

But there could be no after. That was the way the world worked. Maybe Rose had a point, in her yearning for a human life- denial of self was the only way to find peace. And he would never be human again.

After the village, he thought what he'd done- saving Rose, saving himself- was redemption enough to spare him from the world. He saw now how it all came back around, how the end was as ever like the beginning.

There was no peace for him. There was no freedom for him.

Right?

Afternoon slipped stealthily into night. Mia kept her rifle at the ready. And when the howl filled the cold air, Heisenberg was almost relieved. Finally, he didn't have to do anymore thinking.

"Lycans?" was all Mia said.

"Yeah. Stay close."

"I've got this, Heisenberg-"

"I don't doubt your skills with that potato shooter of yours, Mia," he told her. "I'm saying stay close in case one blitzes us and drags you off." He looked her up and down. "Believe me. They're gonna go for you first."

She didn't argue, just pressed in, her shoulder brushing his back, her finger poised alongside the trigger. Another howl joined the first in chorus. Heisenberg searched the trees, but saw nothing- no lycan pack, no eyes glinting from the shadows. No reek of blood. Were they hunting other prey?

No.

He saw it, suddenly- the form loping alongside them, keeping several yards back. Small, ungainly; it seemed to shamble along, then pause, then keep shambling, its head bowed.

Mia's brow furrowed. "What the hell is that?" she muttered.

"Looks like a small one."

"I can get it from here-"

"Hang on." Heisenberg put his palm over her barrel. "Lycans are like sharks. You get blood on the ground, they go into a frenzy. Don't want to draw a whole pack on us."

"Oh, you couldn't handle that? I thought you were supposed to be a big deal around here. You certainly acted like it, once upon a time."

"Yeah, yeah, save it, sweetheart."

The shape shuffled around them, letting out the occasional small yip. Heisenberg stopped as it crawled ahead of them, behind a cluster of rocks jutting from the snow. He brought his hand from his coat pocket, levitating a palmful of scrap around his hand and wrist. It glinted in the half-light.

Mia inched forward, rifle trained on the rocks.

"Careful-" Heisenberg warned.

The shape emerged from over the rocks. Small, skinny, one leg withered. Its long hair fell in tatters over its face, coarse and gray. He made out the fangs jutting from its lips, and, too, the remnants of the dress the small lycan wore, an apron tied around its waist. It saw them, big eyes bright beneath its hair, small fingers curled on the snowy rock.

"It's a child," Mia whispered.

"A child lycan," Heisenberg said, with a laugh. Now that was fucked up.

"Oh, god." Mia's hands shook on the rifle. The lycan gave another little yelp, crawling over the rocks and dropping down to the snow. "No, no-"

"Mia!" Heisenberg barked, in warning, as the lycan's haunches tensed, bringing up his hand, electricity snapping between the metal shards.

The lycan leapt with a snarl; Mia stumbled back; the muzzle flash lit the trees, gunshot going wide.

Gotta do everything my goddamn self, Heisenberg thought. A hum of power blasted through the forest, shaking snow from the branches. Shrapnel pinged off the tree trunks, the rocks; the lycan fell, steaming, thrashing and clawing at its multiple small wounds before going still. Mia was on her knees, breathing hard.

"C'mon, get up-" Heisenberg grabbed her shoulders and hauled her to her feet. "We gotta move. Others will have heard- ohhh."

A half-moon of bite marks glistened on her forearm, shredding aside her sweater sleeve. As Heisenberg watched, the wound pulsated.

"Oh," he said again, this time with intrigue.

"Hurts," Mia managed. "Agh-"

She convulsed. The wound seemed to throb in time; there was definitely something in there. Heisenberg glanced at the child lycan, crumbling into crystal. Inside its open mouth writhed tentacles, as if in some grotesque last gasp at life.

He remembered his conversation with Mia onboard the ship. Miranda's little show and tell in the stronghold. So the lycans had in fact mutated without her interference. Fascinating.

Mia began to shudder under his hands. The wound rapidly blackened, flesh turning necrotic as he watched. No time to waste. He heaved her into his arms.

"Giving up already?" he said. "So disappointing."

"Y...y'dont...want to observe...this...?"

"Another time, Mia." He pulled her hair out of her face so she could see him as he grinned down at her. He gave her a little pat on the cheek. "I need you alive, don't I?"

She grew heavier as he hurried through the snow, as he broke through the treeline and onto a slope. The howls echoed louder, closer, a looping, overlapping wave of them from all directions. There. He spotted it against the otherwise-unrelenting expanse of trees and mountain: a ruin clinging to the mountainside, a single crumbled tower crowned with what looked at this distance like a stone angel. Some kind of church, then.

Good. Nice thick stone walls.

Heisenberg skidded down the slope, Mia jostling in his arms; the black putrefaction bubbled and grew as he watched, leaching the color from her skin.

Snarls filled the woods.

He picked up speed, ducking through the stone archway of the collapsed wall around the church. Claws scythed the air at Heisenberg's back; he let go of Mia as he swung around and drove his fist into the lycan's face. It snapped back with a shriek.

"Bad dog!" Heisenberg roared.

The church doorway was just beyond. A kick sent the rotted, iron-studded door banging open, blowing a cloud of dust into the gloom.

Mia gave a pained cry; black fluid oozed from the corner of her mouth, her eyes squeezed shut, lids black-veined, lashes damp with rot.

Heisenberg sent the door slamming shut, yanked two of the bolts out, fused them together into a makeshift latch. Impact shuddered against the door a few moments later, claws screeching down the aged wood.

Holding it shut with his power, he shoved aside a few of the moldering pews aside and lay Mia down on one of them. After a beat, he stuck an ancient velvet kneeler under her head. No point in concussing her- for now, anyway. Dust filtered down from the rafters as the sound of lycans crawling over the church roof echoed through, graying her hair even further. A single shaft of moonlight fell from a hole in the ceiling, giving Heisenberg enough light to work by. As the midnight moon rises on black wings...A scrap of old prayer drifting through his head. Was it still a prayer when it was spoken by God herself? Glory to...glory to...

"Dumbass," he told her. "That wasn't a kid anymore."

"I...I know that- I'm not stupid-"

"Why the fuck did you freeze up, then, huh?" He tore the shredded material of her sleeve open, exposing her arm to the air. Black veins twisted down it to the elbow. The wound itself had swollen to the size of a grapefruit, the flesh soft and mushy to the touch, pulsing with a cardiac rhythm.

"...Scared...thought...I was, I was, back in...nightmare..."

She was losing it, and fast. Muttering, Heisenberg fished the remainder of his scrap metal from his pocket and sent it swirling together into a long, pointed shape. A flexion of his power pressed it together, molding the scrap into a makeshift scalpel. Its edge shone blue-white, razor-sharp.

He floated it above his palm. He'd be more dexterous using his abilities for this. He gave Mia his belt to chew on, held her down by the shoulders as she thrashed and spasmed under him.

"Don't- move-" he ordered.

She screamed around the belt, a grating sound propelled from deep inside her guts. Fan-fucking-tastic. This was why he preferred to work on the dead. At least Teodora had done him the courtesy of laying still while he cut her open.

He lowered the scalpel to the swelling. The first cut sank in as if through butter; black fluid spurted out, hitting Heisenberg in the face. He spat it aside- tasted rancid- and kept going, splitting the growth open like a rotten tomato.

A shriek came from the wound. Nestled inside the growth, latched into Mia's arm, was a curled, tentacled thing, fetal and shapeless, screeching as the air hit it.

"Intriguing as you are," Heisenberg told it, "I need this arm attached to this body."

He jabbed the scalpel down. It skewered the parasite; the thing's keen was ear-cracking, setting his teeth on edge. With a twist and a flick of the scalpel, he ripped it off her arm and sent it splatting to the flagstones, where it oozed, trying to crawl away by its long, trailing tentacles.

"No hard feelings," Heisenberg told it, and brought his boot down on it, crushing it into sticky goo.

Mia had stopped spasming and lay, as before, sprawled, her chest rising and falling in short, quick pants, his belt trailing from her mouth.

She let it go with her teeth as he took it from her.

"Ow," she whispered.

He bent her arm up so she could see the wound, and made the hand give her a jaunty wave. "You had a little friend."

"Better...better company than...you..." She was fading fast. Heisenberg busied himself with her arm, draining the black fluid from her skin, cutting away the excess rot. But Miranda's augmentation did its job, and even as he cleaned up the wound, like he would with the rot that had infested the  bodies of so many of his prospective soldaten, it began to clot and scab itself over.

"Look at that," Heisenberg said. "You'll be all plugged up in no time."

"No..." Mia mumbled. "Don'...wanna be..."

"What was that?"

"Don't wanna be...a monster...not, not again..." She gave a little hitch of a sob. "Everyone's counting on me..."

She fell silent, her head lolling to the side. Heisenberg gave her face a poke, then made a small "Hm." of dissatisfaction.

Curious, he gave the scalpel blade, covered with her fresh blood, a lick. Hm. Didn't have the taste he usually associated with megamycete infection. What the hell had Miranda done to her?

Questions for later. He finished all he could now, then sank to the floor, leaning his head back against Mia's hip on the pew. She was out cold, far as he could tell. Probably for the best. He listened to her breathing, then tipped his head back to look at the hole in the ceiling, the scrap of sky visible beyond.

A few stars had come out, the clouds parting to show a sliver of moon. Stars didn't look like that anywhere else but here.

You're back home again, Karl.

What do you think you'll find, in the place that destroyed you, in the place you destroyed in turn?

Yeah, well. Like he'd said. It all came back round eventually.

He'd worry about it in the morning.

[xtruss]

‘These creatures are precious indeed’ … a scene from Netflix’s Our Planet II. Photograph: John Haskew/Netflix Photograph: Ed Charles/Netflix

Our Planet II Review – So Much of David Attenborough’s New Show Is Just Astonishing

From cameras that mimic homeless bees to extremely cute chicks, it’s an honour to see these sights – but be prepared to witness humanity’s awful consequences for wildlife

— Jack Seale | Wednesday 14 June 2023 | Tv Review | Documentary

Sitting at home, breath held, earnestly hoping that some tiny animal thousands of miles from your sofa can survive a life-or-death situation: it’s always been one of the eerie pleasures of a wildlife documentary, despite such a reaction being essentially irrational. What does it matter whether that lizard can outrun those snakes? It’s all part of nature. It’s nothing to do with us.

Well, not any more. The scene that sticks in the mind from Our Planet II, Netflix’s new Attenborough-voiced opus, is of an albatross chick on the tiny Pacific island of Laysan, fighting for life without any predators nearby. The little thing’s opening its beak wide and dry-heaving towards the sand. “There is now so much plastic in our oceans that it reaches the most remote islands on Earth,” says Sir David, as we see the beach strewn with incongruously colourful detritus. The peril the chick is trying to survive is whether or not it can sick up a gobbet of indestructible crud its mother mistook for food.

The four new hour-long episodes have plenty more sequences to make you think: heck, what have we done? In the Arctic, a walrus perches on the only floating glacier shard within view, unsure where to go next. A polar bear, knackered by the need to swim much more and walk much less, fails to hunt a bearded seal that’s better at sliding on and off the melting, fractured ice. The theme is migration, as prompted by the changing seasons – but humans have changed how extreme those seasonal shifts are.

It is not all doom – in fact, the environmental warnings are slightly less strident than they were in the first run of Our Planet. We have plenty of wonders still to enjoy. The show’s recurring motif is an unbelievable shot of animals on the move together in staggering numbers. A megaherd of cape buffalo in the Kalahari, filmed from the air and looking like swarming ants; actual swarming army ants, carrying “supersized larvae” to their new forest home; locusts turning the ground yellow as they walk, then undergoing a bristling metamorphosis that makes them even more disquietingly alien, whereupon they turn the sky pink. The locusts’ trip from Sudan to Tibet is illustrated by figures moving on a 3D relief map, a clever visual aid to underline the vastness of the distances that migrating creatures cover.

We have extreme cuteness, too, in the form of a murrelet chick on Vancouver Island who has to trek alone towards the shore, so small it keeps smacking face-first into twigs lying on the ground. That Laysan albatross chick is adorable once it’s recovered from its human-induced choking fit, standing on the beach all ragged and fluffy, gazing out to sea and wondering when to attempt its first flight. It’s seen a young black-footed albatross set off, lose momentum and land on the water, bobbing for a second before being eaten by a tiger shark that has travelled 1,000km for this specific feast. Another black-footed bird is more or less in flight a few inches above the surf, but isn’t going to get far: a tiger shark is chewing on its foot.

For those in peril on the sea … Our Planet II. Photograph: Netflix

Whether our friend will suffer the same fate is the subject of the episode one cliffhanger, a device used throughout the season to persuade us to let the Netflix machine roll on to the next instalment. This seems unnecessarily needy for a prestige wildlife documentary, and it’s awkwardly executed: presumably for the benefit of viewers who might watch episodes in isolation, the next one starts with a recap that repeats the information binge-watchers have just been given. Elsewhere, there is the odd moment where the footage doesn’t feel new enough: everyone’s familiar by now with lions working to isolate a weak buffalo/wildebeest, but we see that old drama play out twice, alongside similar sequences of orca v whale, arctic fox v snow goose and crocodile v zebra.

But these are quibbles, brought on by how spoiled we’ve been by previous landmark natural history shows. Take a step back and so much of Our Planet II is astonishing: a drone camera mimicking a homeless bee swarm’s hunt for a new nesting place, checking out the holes in various trees, is one of many times we’re reminded what a precious honour it is to see such sights.

These creatures are precious indeed, and Our Planet II tries to see hope in places where humans have shown some awareness of their responsibilities as tenants-in-common of Earth. The antelope whose ancestral migration routes have been blocked by barbed-wire fences protecting US oil and gas fields, for example, have at least had bridges built for them so they can cross our lethal four-lane highways. It’s the least we can do.

[mygainyear2024]

Day 73 Farewell EU and your 90 day visa rules, I'm/we're off on a bucket list adventure to Morocco

Rose and I spent the morning playing tetris with our luggage, particularly as we're flying Ryan Air from Santander to Marrakesh. We duck out to grab some cash and Rose wanted to look at a different Pull & Bear shop. One of the great things about Europe has been the late checkouts, 12 noon at Hotel Chiqui.

I made a reservation at BNT Street Food for lunch, a place on the water I'd seen the first night I walked (no google, no Fork App, just intuition!). First stop the seals and lone penguin at Parque Marino de la Magdalena. This is a free park with ocean on either side and a lovely green space for hanging out.

Lunch did not disappoint. The view out to the beach/ocean, the wine and the burgers, yum. And Rose offered to buy me a cocktail, I opted for the local red instead, so smooth and good with or without the food, I had two!

Our suitcases were both 2kgs over. It worked out ok, we were allowed to remove stuff and jump the queue to bring them back as he'd ticketed us. And no-one really checked our excess carry on!

I was excited to arrive in Marrakesh and it wasn't horrid through passport control. I even practiced my very poor French with the Officer. Sadly the perfume Rose has been desperate to buy in Australia, and we found at Duty Free here, was only available in the departures area, not the arrivals area, despite me pre-ordering. Fingers crossed the pre-order at Tangier Airport on our way out will be available.

We pre-arranged transport with the Riad, and were expecting to see a sign with "Bohemian Jungle" on it and Hassan waiting. But nothing. Luckily the free airport wifi worked outside the terminal, as I left the purchase of a sim card as the Riad owner, the usually very responsive Anna from the Netherlands, said Hassan would help us with all of that. I rang Anna several times, and the Riad, and no answer. I wondered at what point I just get a taxi knowing that we still needed to walk at the end. After about 20 minutes someone else showed up with the scatchings of "Bohemian Jungle" on the back of his sign and said "I'm not Hassan, and handed me his phone to speak to Hassan to confirm we should get in the car!" It was a very exciting ride, even more exciting than any Asian country I've been to. Big cars, down narrow two way alleyways, motor cycles, cyclists, pedestrians, chaos. We entered one medina, passed the Kings Palace, and exited that one and in and out of a couple more. Rose said "I thought we were going to the jungle". My reply "it is a jungle of sorts"! We reach our destination, and I said to Rose, we'll be met and need to walk the rest of the way. The driver and Hassan seemed to be having several heated conversations. I think it was about how far he needed to drive us in. Thankfully Hassan was there when we stopped and we walked about 300 metres around several corners and we arrived. It is magnificent. Hassan served us traditional mint tea and biscuits, gave us a map and explained the important sites, a book with pictures of how to get out of the Riad and back again, and an old phone to ring if we get lost. He's already suggested to Rose that they share shisha, having given up alcohol. I heard them talking and Rose said something like "my mum won't let me"! I sang out and said "I don't mind it's up to you"! We asked for some ice so we could make a start on the second 1 litre bottle of gin! And I asked if there was fresh milk I could have for my coffee in the morning, already googling that fresh milk is available in Marrakesh, but best bought early before the sun affects it!!

[didsomeonesaygo]

Song of The Siren

Long overdue visit with Scott & Katie in Grover - one of Katie's fave bands was playing in Morro Bay, of all places, so they called a meetup. Went up on Thursday for Katy's birdseed; Uncle P and J had a boys' night while the girls had dinner at Ox & Anchor. Mere ate the whole thing, and then we took her home. Kate and I headed to High Bar to watch the sunset, but it was SO COLD. Went back down to the lobby bar, where we hooked up with Katy's friend Nina and watched Nina's friend Dante play looped guitar and sing. It wouldn't be a night out in SLO if you didn't end up at MC's, so we did. It was a big time. Scott & Katie arrived Friday afternoon - we had dinner at The Spoon Trade, then went home and learned the delights of Play the Patriarchy. Katie won, because of course she did, and it's about time a woman won for once!

Saturday we had planned to go see the elephant seals in San Simeon, but decided that was too far to drive, so we walked around in Avila and Katie had the best iced oat milk latte ever at Kraken Coffee. Stumbled by accident on Pirate's Cove, a short, easy hike on the way to the nude beach. (No, we did not go. This time.) Hit Hotlix and Old West Cinnamon Rolls in Pismo, then headed home for a nap before the main event.

When it was time to go, Katie could barely contain herself. Had a great dinner at Highwater, and then, finally, off to an old Kimzey Cousins stomping ground, Happy Jack's - now The Siren. Katy's friend Jamie Jones met us there and had the inside scoop on getting closer to the stage. The whole trip was worth it just to see Katie having such a great time with Old 97's.

Got up Sunday, ate the fab cinnamon rolls, and then packed up. Picked up lunch from Taqueria Santa Cruz to have with Mere, and then headed home!

[slushyseals]

Seal Rescue Ireland Reflect on our Rivers this National #HeritageWeek! Throughout the ages, waterways in Ireland have been incredibly important to new settlements and areas where water sprang forth were considered sacred. There is great mention in Irish folklore of river deities, with many records of people making offerings to these venerated water bodies.It is sad, then, to know that in modern Ireland only 53% of assessed rivers are in satisfactory ecological health. The health of our rivers has been degraded as a result of physical changes and run off pollution from agriculture, industry and underdeveloped urban infrastructure. Let us not lose these once sacred and respected water bodies and ecosystems, let us strive instead to protect and care for them as our ancestors once did!Join SRI’s actions to re-establish healthy riverbanks with our active Watershed Restoration project. Planting native trees and vegetation alongside rivers provides habitat to increase biodiversity, prevents erosion, and creates a natural filtration system for water that runs off the land, into the river, and eventually into the sea, improving marine environments for countless species, including seals!

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 09 }

- back to school blues -

featuring: gojo satoru; geto suguru; nanami kento x fem.reader

extra notes: unedited; no curses au; use of swear words

[ gojo satoru ]

your playful boyfriend was one who always harbored the most amount of joy for summer.

in fact, he made summers so enjoyable for you that you found it difficult to get back into the daily routines of your school life.

each time you were stuck in class without your beautiful boyfriend, you would daydream-

your memories taking you back to those happy and fun summer days.

sharing ice cream together

splashing within the glittery beaches to take refuge from the scorching hot sands

to sharing watermelon flavored kisses together-

those memories were enough to make you sigh with yearning, earning a glare of disapproval from your teachers when they realized that you weren't paying the slightest bit of attention to their lectures and assignments.

this in turn, made you struggle a bit with returning back to your once studious nature, which in turn made you crave your satoru's presence even more.

when your days suddenly turned sour, your beloved would always send you a text, telling you to meet him at your usual place, tucked away in a corner of the empty music room to share lunch together.

today was no different;

after being scolded by your teachers by your lack of enthusiasm, you knew you needed to do something to change-

yet all you could think about was how stifling you felt every day

and how you desperately wanted to be free.

upon meeting satoru at your usual spot, you could feel all the stress simply melting away. the sight of his smile sends your heart reeling, and you struggled to catch your breath upon drinking in his beauty.

he smiles at you and welcomes you with open arms, beckoning you to come even closer to him as you do so with little hesitation.

you immediately bury your face into his broad chest, telling him all about the bad day you had and how you couldn't seem to focus that much.

"i wanna go back to spending summers with you."

you softly admit to him, earning a rich chuckle from your boyfriend when he tells you how much he shares your feelings.

"i know it's been just as tough on you as it has been for me, but perhaps this can be a decent incentive to get you motivated?"

he nudges at you to look down and see whatever it was he had in his hand, and you follow his gaze only to gasp at the sight of the gorgeous ring settled in the palm of his hand

its gemstone made of a brilliant aquamarine surrounded by two simple diamonds,

the sight of something so extravagant makes your mouth fall open in a wide gape.

your boyfriend seems amused by your expression before sliding on the ring onto your finger, "let's take this as a promise and do the best that we can to graduate. and once we're out of here, i'll take you as my lovely bride and we can spend all our summers together as husband and wife."

unable to speak due to how happy you felt, you could only manage to wrap your arms around your beloved, sealing your future promise of forever in a deep kiss ♡

[ geto suguru ]

now, many people would call you pathetic or a hopeless romantic if they found out you had a huge crush on your tutor

but once they saw geto suguru in the flesh, you were sure that they would understand your feelings thoroughly.

he was a student that harbored an almost wild and untamable beauty

with long locks of jet black hair that fell to his back

and eyes that were so dark you could easily drown in those mysterious depths-

everything about geto simply drew you in, like a moth to a flame.

and you supposed your struggles with your philosophy classes were what put this fine specimen of a man in your path.

geto was intelligent beyond belief, his explanations and notes were even more detailed and easier to follow than with your professor's own lecture notes.

but perhaps a downside to geto being your tutor was how little you could pay attention

between gawking at his close proximity

and just being able to admire his beauty from just a mere inches away

you found yourself daydreaming what it would be like to kiss him-

to delve your fingers through his hair

and how soft they would feel to touch.

which was why your sessions never went as smoothly as intended.

but you figured you had time to fix this little crush on your tutor, figuring that he was too caught up in his lectures for you that he didn't realize how your attention was barely there.

and oh, how wrong you were.

little did you know, geto was all too aware of your lingering gaze

and of your pathetic attempts to hide your flustered face from him behind the cover of your open notebook.

he knew what that hungry look in your eyes meant, and felt that it would be a shame to let a beauty like yourself stray too far from her studies.

which was why he had the perfect plan for you.

you meet with geto at your usual spot at the library

getting your notebook and textbook out as you repeated over and over again to pay attention.

but oh damn, geto suddenly came in wearing a tight fitting sweater and jeans.

his hair was put up in that half-bun you adored and oh fuck, some strands of his hair were framing his face

his eyes were shining so brightly when he suddenly sits next to you, never once looking away from you when he takes your hand in his-

and places a gentle kiss at the back of them.

the blood was felt pounding against your ears, and geto seems to notice when he chuckles

leaning in to whisper against your ear, "a little raven told me you have a particular fondness for me. is this true?"

"u-uhm i, w-well." your words came out as a stutter, unable to find the right words to say

but your muddled thoughts were cut off when geto suddenly pushes himself away from you, giving you a brief moment of clarity now that the scent of his cologne wasn't clouding your senses.

"but i'm afraid my services as your tutor would be all for naught if you end up failing nakamura-sensei's class. and to think i had high hopes of asking you out if you managed to pass your next exam with a B-. you are, of course, one of the loveliest students i've ever had the pleasure of tutoring and would hate to see you fail in such a way."

the promise of getting a date with geto helps you perk up considerably. now, you felt inspired to write that damn essay on theories and was willing to study off of the notes geto had made for you.

your daydreams weren't going to distract you anymore, since they were so close to coming true-

as long as you put forth the effort to finally pass this class-

but you had a feeling that geto would be more than enough inspiration for you ♡

[ nanami kento ]

there was an indescribable exhaustion felt coursing through you each time the month of april brought forth the promise of a new school year

and when you chose to become a teacher, you thought you would have gotten used to it only to be proven wrong.

it never got any easier, and your desire for winter and summer breaks were always at an all time high.

you often found yourself lost in thought in the midst of grading exams and papers

the tip of your red pen always tapping against your skin as the monotonous tick-tocking of the clock slowly drove you to the brink of insanity.

dammit all, you really were losing your mind thanks to boredom.

your eyes begin to hurt from the sheer amount of papers you had graded, making them sting just the slightest when you toss your red pen on top of your stack of papers

and rub gentle circles around your temple.

a gentle knock brings you out of your reverie, and you look toward your open door to see nanami kento's tall frame.

"hello." he greets you by your last name before running a hand through his slicked back hair. "i figured you needed a break from grading and wanted to ask if you'd like to accompany me to have some ramen?"

"god yes, thank you, nanami. i could honestly kiss you for making that offer."

you were too preoccupied with gathering your belongings to see how your words made a deep blush appear against the blond man's cheeks.

once you were ready, the two of you exited the school together while making small talk

nanami kento was a young man who began teaching the same year you did. he often kept to himself, so you didn't know too much about him.

a lot of times, during your years of teaching together, he would invite you out for lunch or dinner somewhere

never once asking you to pay for the bills, or even split them when the tab came.

you didn't question it, all you knew that the last time you tried to pay discreetly for both of your meals, nanami had found out and promptly took your money back before placing his own on the table.

you figured that this was just his way of showing his friendship with you and simply accepted it.

in the midst of your small talk, you take notice of the way nanami went past the usual ramen stand you frequented at

yet when you asked him, he simply shrugs and tells you he craved for something else at the last minute.

so imagine your surprise when nanami ends up taking you to a newly opened restaurant you have been dying to try, but never had time to.

you were sure you had complained to nanami on more than one occasion on how much you wanted to eat at this place

but always had something up that prevented you from doing so.

feeling touched and extremely elated, you fling your arms around nanami, locking him in a tight embrace

further flustering the poor teacher as he awkwardly returned your embrace.

upon entering the establishment and ordering the dishes you wanted to try, you were happy to realize that the food was delicious in every way.

as you happily devoured each dish, you could see nanami take his own tentative bites of food

his gaze never once leaving yours as he seemed happy to witness your joy firsthand.

wanting to talk more, you ask if he'd taken anyone else here on a date at one point-

which was when he drops his eating utensils and looks at you with wide eyes,

a blush spreading across his features when he suddenly was unable to meet your gaze.

"n-no, just you." was all he answered.

for a couple of seconds, you thought about how strange it was for a good looking man like nanami to still remain single after all these years.

you ask him if he'd ever dated anyone before, and you swore you'd never forget the exasperated sigh that came from his lips.

"well, i've been trying to date you this whole time. i've been doing that ever since i first laid eyes on you, but you never seem to notice."

after his admission, you watch as he pushes up his glasses, face steadily turning red as a slight frown was seen settled against his lips.

feeling completely blindsided by your own obliviousness and stupidity, you figured that it was time to show nanami how you felt the same for him

and put him out of his misery.

by leaning across the table, you were able to capture his attention once more, calling out his name to have him look at you

only to have you slant your lips against his in a brief but sweet kiss

pulling away as you admired the awed look on his face

you spent the rest of dinner holding hands from beneath the table, never once wanting to move away from each other now that you finally belonged to one another ♡

a.n. - i almost have to go back to school soon and may end up on hiatus for a bit since school has been so rough on me ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡ but i'll try my best to destress and update with stories throughout the year ♡

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[auronlu]

More glimpses of Spira from noclip.

I just discovered the houses in Besaid Village have wicker screens that can be erected to block off the doors just inside their entrances at night, providing a bit of a porch for shedding wet clothes (It must get a lot of rain; every house has a rainbarrel on the roof.)

Also, I've been providing these without commentary so you can look at the images and discover things on your own,but a few observations on previous photosets:

In the Crusader's Lodge, there's a map of Spira. You've probably caught that, but what I hadn't noticed was the sword rack on the other side of that divider wall, or the inkwell and pen on the "innkeeper" desk. There's also a couple spear racks and the Crusader banner, and piles of food and drink stores against the wall by Gatta's desk.

That ruin on the path from Besaid Village where Kimahri jumps down to haze Tidus? The roots sprawling all over it are really spectacular.

In the Aurochs' Luca locker room, in addition to the ball rack, there's a shelf with folded towels and some binders/books: one is named "SPORTS"; I haven't worked out the others. Also there's posters for past tournaments between the Aurochs and various teams including the Bevelle Bells. And, to my disappointment, I was finally able to read the names on the lockers, but they're just things like Xcdef Yghij Zklmn in Spiran script.

In the Aurochs' Luca locker room, in addition to the ball rack, there's a shelf with folded towels and some binders/books: one is named "SPORTS"; I haven't worked out the others. Also there's posters for past tournaments between the Aurochs and various teams including the Bevelle Bells. And, to my disappointment, I was finally able to read the names on the lockers, but they're just things like Xcdef Yghij Zklmn in Spiran script.

Maester Mika's ship has paddlewheels as well as sails.

The street vender in Luca Square, who I believe was Al Bhed, has Luca Goers and Al Bhed Psyches t-shirts for sale. a "blitzball" magazine,baseball caps, team posters and pennants.

Rin's Travel Agency offers "Free Rooms." Does that mean "rooms available," or does the Church of Yevon subsidize an Al Bhed businessman to keep couriers and other travelers from being killed by fiends? The latter sounds like typical Yevon hypocrisy and a nice racket for Rin.

After Operation Mi'ihen fails, the Al Bhed's ginormous laser canon (same kind of guns Cid fits on the airship) lies broken across the lefthand side of the beach; Auron's standing in its shadow. Right after the disaster, there's corpses or something blocking the way so you can't go back, but soon that barrier is removed so you can use the fallen gun as a ramp up to Mushroom Rock Road.

The shoopuf's body is dimly visible underwater. (In general, anytime there's something visible underwater, or there's a reflection, it's actually a complete model on the other side of the water/glass, flipped if it needs to be a mirror image.)

Is Macalania Temple another airship?

When the party falls through the ice at Macalania Lake, they land on the miscellaneous debris stuck on Sin's head. From above, you can see its two fins looming in the background.

In Bevelle, the chamber where the guard pushes Tidus into the water side of the Via Purifico also has the gate to Yuna's side and the door to Jecht's cell. if Braska hadn't freed Jecht, that might've been where he was headed.

The Tower of Light of Bevelle, atop which Yuna's wedding took place, rises up behind Bevelle's main gates, visible from the Highbridge.

Yojimbo's Fayth is sealed with ribbons that read "Seal."

If you've ever seen a fayth statue of Jecht, it's a phenomenal piece of fanart that's been floating around on the web for over a decade. It's not in-game.

[lolishdes]

❝Summer Riskiness❞ || Fat Gum X Rock Lock

✧Request by @princeasimdiya12 !!

《So the idea is that the two go on a beach date with Rock Lock wearing nothing but a speedo and a face mask. In truth, he'd have on a cock chastity, a vibrator and his mouth stuffed with underwear and sealed with duct tape. His objective is to get through his date and pick up some souvenirs without anyone exposing him or him cumming in public. And of course fg would tease and torment him.

Also, just like before, can you ensure that Rock will mmph and moan through his gag please?》

✧A/N: *guiltily walks in* At this point just call me irresponsible ureee (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)

So, she's back from her long writer's block, been a hassle, along with the deteriorating mental health like christ what's next. Anyways, @princeasimdiya12 I PROMISE I DID NOT FORGET YOUR REQUEST HUN, didn't know I was gonna experience a hell of a month, I swear I felt guilty every day knowing you are waiting. (ಥ﹏ಥ)

✧Warning/s: NSFW content under cut, MLM, established relationship, over-stimulation, bullet vibrator, exhibitionism, Rock Lock's mouth duct taped shut, slight dacryphilia, Fat Gum being a tease (as usual), chastity cage, muffling.

✧Summary: Fat Gums hot headed lover had a secret kink that he has yet to realize and explore, fortunately for him Fat Gum is always willing to give his sweets the pleasure he desires! ♡

Minors kindly don't interact!

_________________

“C’mon sweets, it's gonna be real fun. Do it for me, yeah?”

Fun his ass, how in hell was this fun?!

Sunny skies paired with ice cold popsicles, children and adults alike jumping towards the salty sea as they turned sun kissed.

The innocent scenery of the summer season thrives in front of the two heroes as they enjoy their rare days off on the beach. The fat hero sits peacefully as he hums on his seat, on one hand he holds a refreshing fruit shake to cool off his sweaty body…and on the other rests his phone that he keeps fiddling with, as he playfully adjusts the intensity of his lovers bullet vibrator that has been shoved inside his quivering hole.

While Toyomitsu hummed gleefully on his seat, Takagi was asked to buy some items at the nearby souvenir shop. You know, like cute keychains and graphic T-shirts, simple right?

Well, Takagi wouldn't be so pissy about it if Toyomitsu wasn't in his usual horndog mood! Though to everyone's point of view, there was nothing wrong with his appearance, what hides within his black tight speedo resides his cock binded with a chastity cage and his ass being abused as it vibrates constantly— resulting in stimulating him even more.

What makes it even worse is that Toyomitsu wanted to go even beyond risky and annoying by making Takagi shove his used cum covered underwear inside his mouth, making him unable to speak coherent words. And to make sure this stays inside his mouth, Toyomitsu duct taped his lover's mouth. Fortunately, he was wearing a face mask to hide such a sinful sight.

Now, he will just be a complete mess as he deals with this pleasurable torture.

Takagi is pissed, actually, he is beyond pissed! When his plump lover suggested this, he flat out refused and protested as he followed up with his usual fiery attitude. But of course, other than the sweets that Toyomitsu consumes, it seems that his words now are also sweet as sugar, because he was able to convince his lover, despite his protests.

Thought not surprising, Toyomitsu is highly aware of how much his lover very much enjoys the risks that this play has.

Just recently when they ravished one another on Toyomitsu’s desk, and as usual Toyomitsu would utter the filthiest yet sweetest words. Saying how there's a high chance of being caught by one of the students and the other sidekicks. Or that people from the other buildings can see the fucked out look he has on through the tall glass windows that covers Toyomitsu’s office.

And the way Takagi's hole would clench tight as more cum drips down his cock. “Tsk tsk, so filthy~” Toyomitsu teases as Takagi’s moans and whines become more lewd, as Toyomitsu could only groan whilst his thrusts become sloppy, close to his climax.

After that instance, Toyomitsu knew that his lover had some filthy fantasies that needed to be fulfilled!

Going back to Takagi, he has finally arrived inside the souvenir shop. He looks around for the items that Toyomitsu specifically asked him to purchase, a small challenge to make this experience even more exhilarating. Takagi mentally rages as all he can do is furrow his brows in anger. However this falters once he feels that the vibrator has become much more intense than before. “Gnh hn!” He could only hold on to the nearest shelf as he was trying to stand straight, but finding it impossible at the moment.

He starts to become breathless, good thing he has a mask on because people could have seen the obvious red tinted cheeks he has on. Takagi was currently in a daze, almost every part of his body was being pleasured, his needy cock, his tight hole, his filthy filled mouth, and the risk of being caught from such a dirty act, it was all too much for him.

Fortunately, Toyomitsu showed some mercy and lowered the intensity, this allowed Takagi to continue to roam around the shop. Though by then he was already huffing for air, his surroundings becoming hotter than usual. To his luck, he was able to quickly find keychains and a graphic shirt in his size.

Relieved, he approached the counter to pay, however Toyomitsu had to turn the intensity at the wrong time! His behind started to violently vibrate as his knees became weak, fortunately the cashiers desk was there to keep him on his feet.

The woman stares concerned “S-sir are you okay?” well, obviously not, but anyways he could only nod to ease her concern. “Mnn.” Still slightly shaking, he raises his head and hands the lady the payment. As soon as the items were paid and placed in the bag he immediately left, ignoring the change.

As fast as his weak body could muster, he went back to his lover. While approaching him, me glares daggers at him, cursing him for almost having him caught back at the souvenir shop.

Though Toyomitsu was a little ignorant of this.

Once he finally arrived under the beach umbrella, he was about to throw the items on Toyomitsu; however his lover was quick to act and pulled him down on his lap instead now he was seated on his lover's leg, straddling it. He was about to resist but Toyomitsu grinds his knee on Takagi’s sensitive crotch, this immediately weakens Takagi as he moans from the stimulation. “Hng, mnn!”

Toyomitsu’s grin becomes wider as he watches his lover's desperation.``Oh, if only you knew how sweet you sound right now, so sexy.” As he continues to grind his knee between Takagi’s legs he gently pats his lover's head, comforting his lover's pleasure filled brain.

He could see the tears prickling at the corners of Takagi’s eyes, his hands grip tight on Toyomitsu. “Shh don’t worry, with this umbrella and my size, no ones gonna see you, darling. So come on, cum hard for me~” With one last grind Takagi came undone, the tightness of the chastity cage and friction becoming too much. “Mnn hngg!”

Toyomitsu sighs fulfillingly, pleased by his lover's current state. As Takagi was trying to catch his breath all the toys and restrictions on him were removed carefully. Once those were off, Toyomitsu held Takagi close, showering him with kisses and gentle caresses.

©All content belongs to lolishdes 2022. Please refrain from reposting (reblogs are appreciated !).

[evolutionsvoid]

When you first see a colony of this species hanging out on the shores and ice, you probably won't think too much about it. Despite the frigid waters and icy land, this region is filled with life. There are plenty of beaches filled with seals, seabirds and other beasts, so this is just another example. Large and blubbery, you may think them as lazy giants, sleeping on the rocks or leisurely taking a dip in the shallows. If there is danger here, it is probably in the depths, where predators wait to ambush an unwary swimmer. It may be tempting to steer your boat closer, either for a better look or to sit in the safety of the shallows. Locals around here, however, would be screaming for you to paddle as fast and far away as you can from this area. Though these beasts may seem slow and oafish, getting too close will make you quickly realize how wrong you are. What you have stumbled upon is a colony of Illhveli, the ones known as the Katthveli. Best not speak this name around that beach, though, lest you wake the slumbering creatures and find how monstrous they can really be. Though they belong to the "evil whales," the Katthveli (or more commonly: the Cat-Whale) is actually a kind of seal. Still mammalian and still a marine species, but not an actual whale. They can leave the water and crawl their way onto shore, though it is hardly graceful. The rocky beaches and icy shores is where they like to group up and rest, forming colonies that can number in the hundreds. Here is where they socialize, sleep and breed, only diving into the ocean to hunt for food or to migrate to better waters. Those in the same area as these colonies will certainly know when the Katthveli are around, as the noise they make is obvious and cacophonous. Their name of "Cat-Whale" is somewhat fitting, as their vocalizations sound just like a cat's. They meow, yowl and hiss, which often throws newcomers for a loop when they first hear it. You would think it was an island of cats, not these corpulent beasts! But these calls are how they communicate with one another, or argue. Mainly argue. Though they do band together in these huge groups, there is plenty of fighting and yelling to be done. Irritation about who stepped on who or someone taking your sunning spot, all of it leading to some screaming and biting. Though this can seem dramatic, just you wait until they really get angry. Their toothy maw certainly belongs to that of a predator, with long sharp teeth meant to hold onto slippery fish. Their diet consists of fish, squid, crustaceans and the occasional seabird. They are opportunistic in their eating, so whatever comes across their path is fair game. If a carcass washes onto shore, the colony will happily devour it, much to the frustration of the local Skeljaskrímsli. They prefer smaller prey, not really going after things their size or larger. In most cases, the larger beast is actually looking to eat them! Though they are an Illhveli, that doesn't mean they don't have predators. Other marine carnivores will target these blubbery beasts, as their bodies will provide plenty of delicious fat and flesh. However, not everyone can eat them, as they have that poisonous flesh that is common for the Illhveli. Some species can safely eat them, others cannot. The ones that certainly can are other larger Illhveli, like the Red Crest, using its large toothy maw to grab them and rip them apart. So this toxic meat isn't a foolproof defense, so why not something else? How about...being the most insanely aggressive and vicious little blights in all the oceans? Yeah, they really like that option.

Though they can seem cumbersome and awkward, Katthveli can become surprisingly vicious and violent when the mood hits them. Due to being a preyed upon so much, they are quick to go on the defensive and that tactic is to go absolutely insane. They lash out with their sharp teeth, nasty tusks and hook clawed flippers, looking to do as much damage as possible. Their large size means that running isn't an option, so they will always stick to fight over flight. They face their attackers head on and will even charge them, using it as an intimidation tactic and to get close enough to impale them. Their clawed flippers are good at climbing on slippery ice and wet rock, but they can do some horrible damage if used against flesh. Their large tusks are quite sharp and are powered by a muscly neck, that lets the Cat-Whale swing and stab these blades with incredible strength. Behind all that is a massive hefty body, which can batter and crush foes. On land, they can squash attackers with a powerful body slam, and in water they can ram foes like a charging bull. All this weaponry helps them fend off attackers and make any predator question their menu. If an ambush fails or the Katthveli has friends nearby, most carnivores will break off the hunt, as they dare not risk such a fight. Obviously nothing attacks a colony of Cat-Whales, as getting close would mean certain death. Besides, the Katthveli have enough trouble with other Katthveli to need any land predators. When mating season kicks in, their crazed aggression becomes even worse. Males fight with one another to protect their harems, and these battles get bloody. The claws and tusks tear through skin, as they rip into each other to determine who is the strongest. Thick blubber prevents deadly blows, but their scarred bodies show that these battles are not just show. At times, females can even get into it, as they have smaller tusks but just as much aggression. Those who overstep their boundaries or get too close to their young will face their wrath, which is quite often. In such cramped colonies, there is always an excuse to get angry at your neighbor and start biting. With the amount of scars and blood you see on these beasts, you would think they just escaped the jaws of a hungry predator, but in reality they were just having another territorial spat. This aggression of theirs is applied to all things, and that is including the locals. Katthveli colonies are avoided like the plague, and few dare even paddle near those waters. All it takes is the slightest offense to get one of these Cat-Whales spitting mad, and they will launch an all-out assault on those who anger them. Boats are rammed, nets are shredded, and they may even try to climb into the vessel to get some bites in. Their tusks and claws help hold on, and they will throw their bulk around to get closer to their foes. Smaller crafts are quickly tipped over or sunk by these boarding attempts, which dumps the poor occupants into the water. In that realm, no one stands a chance.

 If a Katthveli grabs onto the boat and tries to climb on, you have to do everything in your power to get them off before they pull you under. This is not an easy thing to do, as they are hissing and snarling the whole time, while trying to snap at you with their bladed jaws. One fisherman I spoke to said that he survived by thrusting his lit lantern into the beast's open mouth, the burning oil driving the creature back into the water. Often the advice is to jam something into their mouth or eye, but the trick is doing that without losing a hand. Killing them outright is nearly impossible, as their thick blubber dampens all attacks and makes it difficult to strike an organ. Waiting for them to bleed out is not an option, as they will tear you to pieces long before that happens. Slaying this intruder may not even solve the problem, as one tale I heard said that the occupants of a boat successful killed a boarding Katthveli, only for the dead weight to drag their whole vessel down. So it is best to avoid these waters entirely, as the ocean already offers enough misery. Chlora Myron Dryad Natural Historian ------------------------------------------------------ And for the next evil whale we have: a walrus! It's a walrus, the description is literally a walrus what do you want from me?

[honouredsatoru]

JJK Characters x You on a date

notes : I tried including Gojo's love for Digimon since I also grew up watching Digimon and loving the anime with all of my heart, also because Gojo's seiyuu, both Japanese and English versions, voiced for characters in Digimon, so I wanna pay homage to the both of them. other than that, I also included my love for arts and history, something I tried to incorporate into my writing, just to make it like.. lilith's style, ya know?

extra notes : also I wrote megumi for Elli, just because haha.

warnings : slight cussing. not proofread lol. other than that, none. 100% fluff!

characters : gojo satoru, fushiguro megumi, kugisaki nobara, nanami kento, itadori yuji.

Gojo Satoru - Arcades, vintage shops, especially collectors, especially Digimon, comic book/manga stores.

[Your name]! [Your name!]! Look, look! It's the Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 series! All 9 of them! Let's get in!"

"Ahh hold on. Towu! We're supposed to visit the cat cafe, you promised that you would go with me and take pictures with the cat hairband on! And I'm starving!"

You jokingly scowled at him, tapping your Doc Martens feet on the ground, arms folding.

"Fucking adorable. Let me see if I can tease her more, hah." A smirk soon appeared on this blue-eyed darling of yours.

"Let me get the manga and I promise, I'll go to this cat cafe with you, baby. Hm?"

"Oh alright."

"I love you, sweetheart. I know how much you wanted to go there but the manga. I- ahaaaa"

He started pouting as he kept pointing in the direction of the Digimon manga by the window. You quickly opened your camera, taking pictures of him sulking, emitting a soft giggle that actually made his heart squeezed with joy.

He presses his lips against your forehead, thumb circling your cheek, gently squishing them before opening the door, yanking you into the comic book store with him. You vowed to hide the comic books once he goes on a mission. After all, he made you wait a month before the two of you finally get to go to this cafe you always wanted to visit.

"Baby, I can read what you're thinking. Your face shows it too. Hehe. Watch me hide your panties."

Taking in a few gulps of air to deepen your breath, you opened your eyes, to meet the love of your life's own eyes, snickering at you, his large hands on the crown of your head before ruffling your already messy hair. There is no way you can stay mad at this man, as childish as he is, you know he loves you and deep down? He knows you love him too.

Itadori Yuji - Thrift stores, internet cafes to play online games with you, cinemas.

"Candy! [Your name] love! Don't! Make! Me! Ahhh cover up for me! I am gonna lose! I am gonna-"

He turns around to face you with soft eyes, his eyebrows slightly droopy before looking back at the computer, taking in the seconds in his head to register the fact that he lost in his mission with you in Inferno.

"Awww sorry babe. I mean.. you just started playing CSGO, so tell me, why- again- damn it- you wanna- AH. Damn it! Throw the fucking grenade! I mean why you wanna play this game, you need more practice- FUCK YOU."

Gentle chuckles were heard, emitted from his throat, his soft, peach toned lips landed on your cheek repeatedly as he rubbed soothing circles around your back.

"Breathe, bunny baby. You're so feisty whenever you start having online matches. Breathe. I love you, and I don't want you to get your blood pressure rising because of these dumbos, hm?"

Your lips curl into a faint and appreciative smile, nodding while your eyes are glued to the screen, ignoring the fading laughs and snickers from the people acknowledging your mini rage.

"I love you too. If I win, I'm getting us boba and chicken nuggets. So let me fight them, okie?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Megumi - Museums, art galleries, photo exhibitions, aesthetic cafes.

"Oh Gumi bear, look at that! That is the Raft of Medusa, it was done by Thèodore Géricault, he himself interviewed two survivors from the shipwreck."

He looks over your eyes that shine with excitement and pure happiness.

"Art"

Was what he thought every time he laid his sight onto you. God knows that he falls in love with you every single time he is blessed with your presence. Resting his arm around your waist, pulling you closer, inhaling the scent of mixed berries and wild roses, he swore he heard his heartbeat increasing every two seconds in a span of one minute.

"Oh really? What do you think this painting is all about?"

Glancing at him before returning to the painting, you puffed your cheeks, pressing your lips together with your index finger curled on your chin and your thumb under it.

"Lord, she is so cute whenever she does that. Can I kiss her? Should I? No wait, she's trying to tell me her own interpretation of this painting. To me. Oh wow. I'm gonna kiss her... later. I can't interrupt her." That is all he could think of. You. He is deeply, madly, beautifully in love with you.

"In my opinion, it tells me the ways of how men, or human beings, seek out in order to survive. When we are at the brink of desperation, insanity, happiness, greed, lust, desire, wrath, grief, don't we all do things unimaginable to help us go through the day? They even resolved to cannibalism. I think even I would commit to that if I was in an extremely dire situation."

You looked at him, a wide smile on your face, emitting a soft giggle that entered his right ear and stayed within the chambers of his mind. He closed the spaces between the both of you, sealing his lips onto yours, with the intention of making this very moment last a little longer heavy within his heart.

"Art."

Was what you thought of him.

Nanami Kento - Theatres, historical museums, fine dining restaurants.

You squealed, lightly clapping your hands as you ran to a block of marble, your foot tapping against the floor. He chuckles, hands in his pocket, taking fast strides towards you.

"Namnam! Look look! That's the Parthenon Sculptures! It was founded in hm... Athens, yes! If I am not mistaken, around 438 to 432 BC. These sculptures decorated the insides of the Parthenon, it is a temple located at the fortress of the Athenian Acropolis. It is said that this temple was built to appreciate and worship the Goddess Athena, she was the deity worship in Athens. Also, ah ah! Did you know that the word parthénos means "maiden", "girl" or ‘virgin"? And I-"

You look at him, your magnificent lover wearing a dark brown trench coat, with ecru brown trousers and a black turtleneck tucked in, his neck layered with white gold necklaces. Your hand unconsciously scratches your sideburns, giggling at the side of his stoic expression, eyes piercing yours beneath that yellow-green glasses he constantly has on his chiseled face.

"Oh... I am sorry... I didn't mean to bore you. I was just so excited because you know me! I love anything that is related to ancient greek history and mythology. I can't seem to get enough of it and it is absolut-

"I'm not bored, [your name]. I was just paying attention to every single word that pretty lips of yours uttered. It's magnificent that you knew all of this. It shows just how smart, curious, bright your mind and soul is. And darling?"

"Huh?"

"I am lucky to be blessed with someone like you. With Gojo constantly following me, there is no way I can read the books I bought for myself. However, having you around, breaking the ice with your random history tib bits, I feel like I am reading the pages, savouring each word, alphabet, sentence, thus expanding my quest and love for knowledge."

You looked down. Normally, you're not the type to tear up this easily but seeing how this man, this angel of a man, appreciates the little things you loved and adored, you can't help but let the waterworks out. You lifted your head up to meet his gaze, the tip of your nose slightly stuffy. You grabbed his arms, clinging onto him, the difference of height and size makes it sweet to the eyes of strangers surrounding you both.

"Oh Namnam. Thank you so much. This means the world to me. Shall we... go and see the best of Ramesses the Great? I've loads to tell you!"

Nobara - Shopping malls, ferry rides, beach dates, parks with cherry blossoms.

"Baby... tell me, have you ever seen anything as joyous as the ocean?"

You two stood by the seashore, fingers intertwined, your head resting on her shoulders, the sound of the seas splashing against the rocks and the warmth around your foot, it tingled but it feels good at the same time.

"I don't want this moment to end, [your name]."

"Why is that, pretty one?"

A faint sigh leaves her lips, you feeling her body loosen up.

"I just.. school is sort of stressful so my time spent with you liberates me from the pressure, fatigue, and image of curses embedded in my brain. Walking with you... through this airy womb of skies and clouds, don't you know it makes me happy?"

You leaned closer, pressing a soft peck on her cheeks, earning yourself a pair of scarlet cheeks with a gorgeous smile from the one next to you. You turned yourself to face her, hands on her shoulders, bringing her body closer to yours.

"Whenever and wherever you need me, I will be there. I might not be perfect, but I am gonna do my best to be the one you can always count on."

You pressed a kiss on her left cheek.

"I love you."

A kiss on her right cheek.

"I love you."

A kiss to the lips of the woman whom you shared your entire universe with.

"To the moon and back, I love you, Kugisaki Nobara."

The end.

tags : @tojisveryown @sookyshima @megumifushi @sixeyesgojo @sirthisisa-wendys @sasso-oda @fushigurocockslut @nkogneatho @kotarousgf @noritoshiikamo