#and the snake nested next to the pool

[swampstew]

A flower for my flower (my rose with vicious thorns 🥰 🥀)

🥰 if you were a flower, I'd say you're a gardenia! Beautiful, magnificent, smell like pure love, blooming with unrestricted confidence, and my all time favorite flower!

[the-tropes-are-hungry]

The Worm's Mother (2/3)

If I get to write this fic Leshy is both (1) the Main Character and (2) Literally A Worm Who Became God. Like he will be driving the plot, and the plot will be the Cat Takes the L and the Lamb suffers Religious Trauma. CW: rotting corpses and descriptions of Leshy eating them. I'm sorry. [Prev] / [Next]

His mother loved him. She would have told him if she didn’t.

He’d hatched into a cocoon of loam and root. His first bites, teeth still tender, had been of the sweet, sour, bitter nest around him. The darkness muted sound, but the warm pressure held his body safe sinew was wrapped in muscle, and soft carapace became chiton. He was kept patient by roots snaking through the soil for his teeth, sharper and stronger, to suckle on. In the dark, her heartbeat lulled him to sleep. When his claws were strong enough to dig, she gave against his touch.

Here, where loam touched clay.

Here, where the roots carried water.

Here, where Mother brought him blood.

The smell, the smell. The enlivened touch across his pallet, like cool water but sweeter, headier, thicker. He thought it was the roots, stupid worm, some incredible plant with red roots and black juice that ran so sweet he gobbled even the soil around the weeds.

He tunnelled up. He tunnelled out. He needed more.

He needed it until he bit into a kind of plant that would not shred (fabric, Shamura would tell him later), so he used his claws to tear into the fruit. The flesh. The flesh.

Fruit within fruit. Sweet within bitter. Tangy under salt. Textures his mind had no words for, a crunch that made all his infant eyes open for the first time, deep in the body of the great warm bloody dead plant-fruit he’d already eaten half of.

Ears, suddenly open without Mother’s embrace, wracked with sounds not from her or from him. If he wanted a fruit like this, so would others.

And if he was covered in its juice, others would eat him too.

He ripped the bones from the corpse and retreated back to mother. He dug deeper, and squirmed tighter, and never found the nest again (not that he had left much of it behind). But he did find a hollow where cold water pooled and no light came, and Mother did not warn him of anything save the swaying of the trees whose roots formed this burl in the ground.

He ate his bones. Like the fruit he’d torn them from, they were treasures wrapped in treasures. Soft meat, crunchy gristle, sharp and salty and when ground with his front teeth made his whole head vibrate before the deep dark butter within slid down his throat.

He slept after that first meal. Deeply. Safely. Mother protected him.

He went back to that grove (the battlefield, Kallamar would explain) several times, and brought bones back to the burl to eat and then sleep. The fruit was less good, less sweet, more pungent, kinda gross. He needed to dig a different path each time too, always too big after sleeping to squeeze back up the same way. Mother warned him with trembles, and sighs, and once a face-full of rancid (festering) water to stop retracing his path, to learn, and grow, and dig anew.

His legs sprouted, bringing misery. Thoroughly unexpected and unwanted, and Mother would not make the burl large enough for his new bones. It was not fair that the corpses’ bones had become his bones, no one had told him this would happen. The claws on his toes were not strong like the ones on his hands. They were not good for eating, or burrowing, or—no, scratching they were good for. Extremely good for. The scratching—oh the itching? Why itching?

His fur sprouted, bringing itching, and odor, but oh the scratching yes yes yes the scratching (the scritches someone else would say). Yes, all the time. So good. So, so, so good.

There was nowhere else to try his legs but the grove. The sun had turned the corpses putrid, and the flies had turned to maggots writhing in the last of the meat. Maggots were okay, like any other grub, but boring. No gristle, no grinding, no challenge. More bitter than meaty, and small. A snack. A boring, same-y, stupid snack.

He stood by accident, but mostly instinct. The sun was setting. There were no more fires. Fresh rain lay dewy on the trees and grass, covering the rancid smell of the blood where it was crusted under bloated corpses, no longer appetizing. He simply went from clicking his claws over strange thin loud cold stone (Kallamar would call it tempered steel with an oxidized finish. Shamura would call it shoddy.) to being taller than the corpse and the corpses around it.

Foot-claws were good for not falling, but that would take time and this time he fell and he shrieked and he kicked and now the bad-meat smell was his smell and EW. FUCK. DISGUSTING. HOLY SHIT I’VE BEEN EATING THIS?

The first time he saw birds fly was when he lay on his back in an unmentionable pile of viscera. The sky was the colour of an iris petal streaked with orange and pink. Thin white clouds like dandelion juice broke up the prism, and the black bodies of soaring corvids streaked by with open throats, echoing his own outraged trumpet.

He lay there for hours. Or maybe five minutes. He dug his claws into his mother and felt her ever-cool ever-present ever-real presence holding up his back and tail and legs and feet and arms and head, opened his mouth to the yawning expanse of new-evening stars in their crown of war-blackened treetops, and for the first time since his birth he laughed.

Two thousand years later, in a pumpkin patch and at the edge of twilight, Leshy will hear the birds and the trees and smell the green and the wet and feel the cool and present and real form of his mother beneath him, and for the first time since his fall and resurrection he will laugh.

But on that day, in the distant past, in a world he did not know and did not care to know of, the worm rolled over in the viscera to stand and gurgled as something stared back at him in the muck.

He blinked his yellow eyes at it. It blinked its green eye back.

Useless thing for a worm to have. A crown with a blinking green eye. No good for digging, or scratching, or chewing or eating.

He tried to eat it anyway.

No good.

But it felt good. And like that first mouthful of flesh, and that first glug of sweet blood, if it was good then it must be good.

So, he picked it up, and he put it on, and he walked (badly) from bloated corpse to dew-crisp grass, set his claws to digging, and vanished to show Mother.

Mother loved him. She would have warned him if she’d known.

[Prev] / [Next]

[nettleclan-clangen]

Moon 28

Previous | 28 | Next

Shimmerprickle was babysitting the kittens, as was her duties as campkeeper. Sporekit was snoozing lazily under the shade cast of the Herbalist's rocks, while Sorrelkit and Chasingkit wrestled. Larkkit and Warmkit were both fearfully taking turns putting their little paws in the tide pools that made the outter border of camp, right next to where Shimmerprickle sat. She was always there to be a big sister to the little balls of nervous floof, especially now that they were up and walking. She hoped to mentor one of them when the time came- Sorrelkit, especially. He was spunky and would go along great with her prima donna attitude.

She barely felt the bite when the snake sank its teeth into her. She blinked and looked over to the small snake, a bright orange-yellow thing, with pink-red eyes. It had darker yellow spots, and a scoop shaped nose. It dug into her fur more, like she was a mouse, and it hit skin. Only them did she hiss in pain, and bit at it. Warmkit and Larkkit looked over as she tore it off her, leaving a gnarly looking wound in her right shoulder, and began crying- loudly. They ran straight for Greydrizzle, babbling and talking over each other. Shimmerprickle rolled her eyes and followed them, the snake making a foul smelling musk as she walked. Gross.

Greydrizzle began making a bandage and herbs slop mixture when Mothleaf and Perch got a good look at the snake that bit Shimmerprickle.

"Oh, thank Starclan, that's not a rattlesnake!" Mothleaf sighed, watching as Shimmerprickle set it down. The snake, oddly, turned belly up, stuck out its tongue, and stopped breathing as heavily.

"How do you know?" Shimmerprickle asked, flipping the snake over, to which it flopped back over and musked. Again.

"Well, for one, it's really small, and the tail has no big segments on the end. And for two, that behavior! This is what Quietclan calls a 'Puff Adder'! They're huffy little things, only mildly venomous. You'll be fine with a bit of poultice, you might get a bit of irritated skin, or like you've been stung by a bee. We'll have to monitor you for any allergic reaction- Murmurstar had- has... a pretty bad reaction to Puff Adder bites." Mothleaf morosely looked at the adder as it refused to participate in the conversation. Perch put a paw on its neck and it wriggled around.

"I wonder how a snake like this got here. It's too... bright. A hawk or... some other critter would've already made it their lunch at this point." He picked it up gently, making sure to keep his mouth over its neck, so it couldn't move its head to bite.

"Twolegs sometimes keep them things as pets." Badgerpatch said, leading in a tired looking patrol of Slipgoose and Meadowshade. "By the way, Perch, next time you an' yer," he cast a scathing look at Mothleaf, "ladyfriend, wanna go rollin' th' clovers, TELL US WHAT THE NINE HELLS TANSY LOOKS LIKE!" Badgerpatch hissed, hackles raised. Perch held his jaw open as he scoffed, face red. Mothleaf hid her face in her fur, as Meadowshade put a paw over the snake Perch accidentally dropped.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I HAVE A MIGRAINE!" A weak but still feisty voice screeched back. Poor Fennelspot. Greydrizzle lead Shimmerprickle over to an empty nest, close to Honeytide, who was still stricken with a mangled tail. His heat exhaustion had left him, along with Rainflick's heat stroke. Shimmerprickle settled down nicely as Greydrizzle began dressing her bite, two little sets of eyes watching.

Warmkit was the first to approach, ears and tail tucked as she waddled up to Shimmerprickle. "S-sorry I din't tell you sooner..." She sniffled. Shimmerprickle just smiled and pulled the kitten closer, and licked her wild fur calm again.

"It's okay, baby girl, you're not the one whose supposed to keep the camp safe by her lonesome. I was the one who should've been watching out." She cuddled Warmkit close as Larkkit scrambled over, huddling into her left side. "Same goes for you, little sunbeam! I'm not mad at either of you." Larkkit didn't say anything, but his body untensed. Shimmerprickle laid down fully, 'trapping' Warmkit in her paws and under her chin, as she began to give the baby a bath.

~~~

Outside the medicine den, Sorrelkit found an opening in the walls of camp, a tunnel just barely kit sized, that he could squeeze through. Nobody knew, and he always made sure to come back home before too long. But his confidence grew more and more with each visit. Soon, he thought, he'll try catching his own prey! That'll make him a warrior even before his siblings! Maybe next moon, when he's three whole moons? That was the age a big bad leader from a long forgotten clan made kittens like him apprentices, but it'll be all right!

Sorrelkit is strong.

Nothing can take him down.

[monstersdownthepath]

Monster Spotlight: Rorkoun

CR 6

Neutral Evil Huge Aberration

Adventure Path: Kingmaker: Rivers Run Red, pg. 86-87

These absolutely bizarre aberrations slither through the lightless waterways and endless, inky depths of the Darklands, making their homes in tight crevasses no creature of their size should be able to fit in and emerging to gorge themselves on whatever creature may pass by. Able to cram themselves into tiny cracks thanks to their boneless, semiliquid body, victims may not even realize one's there until its teeth are already closing around them!

When discovered in cavern waterways closer to the surface, Rorkoun are typically found nesting in pools or bogs near the hideouts of goblinoids and mite/mitflits, because their alien intellect registers two facts: they cannot stand the flavor of goblins and mitflits, but both of those creatures often bring in what the Rorkoun truly enjoy, the (say it with me now) flesh of sapient humanoids. While normally these creatures are opportunistic ambush predators, Rorkoun fill a strange niche in the Darklands: that of the guardian to small raider tribes. Not out of loyalty, but because goblins and mitflits both love to antagonize nearby civilizations, which invites reprisal from those civilizations, and that reprisal comes in the form of delicious morsels the Rorkoun truly enjoys to feed on; any actual guarding it does is purely incidental. While goblins often believe the twisted abominations to be protector beasts that guard them from the retribution of dwarves, drow, and other Darklands denizens, their fanatic belief often blinds them to the fact that the Rorkoun only ever attack invaders until it manages to grab onto a morsel or two and dive back into the waters to enjoy its meal, leaving the rest to do as they will.

Rorkoun strike like the snakes they just barely resemble, lashing their lengthy bodies from their watery homes in the hopes of Grabbing onto a target and either constricting them to death or pulling them into the water to drown. They have a 15ft space and a 15ft reach, making shorelines in the Darklands even more precarious than they already were, and their strength and size can spell doom for single targets that get grabbed by their bite or their coiling slam attack. The bite of one of these creatures deals 2d6+7 damage, the slam 2d6+3, and both of them Grab anything they hit. Anything that can't break the grapple takes an additional 2d6+7 damage each round from constriction, but the primary danger is being dragged into the water and swiftly drowned; even breaking free of the grapple doesn't end the danger, because most creatures pulled underwater--especially ones which rely on bludgeoning weapons--have their offensive options drop to nearly zero. It's difficult to fight back or gain any meaningful distance before the horror just grabs them again next round!

If you think you're safe taking to the air or being able to walk on water, they have a disgusting way around that, too, by horking up Gobs of their horrid mass at targets within 30ft as ranged touch attacks. Anything hit by a Gob takes 1d6 damage from the impact and must succeed a DC 19 Reflex save or become entangled in the slime, plummeting to the ground if they're in the air, sinking if they're swimming, and becoming stuck in place if they're on solid earth. This technique is especially dangerous when aimed at foes already engaging goblins and gremlins alike, as being entangled usually assures a swift and horrible demise by countless thrusting spears and cutting daggers. Mercifully, any amount of Acid damage destroys a Gob completely and utterly, allowing Wizards with Acid Splash to free themselves and their allies without risking too many resources, and Rorkoun themselves have a Vulnerability to Acid that means bringing acid flasks and Acid Arrow into the depths is a good move.

Rorkoun are incentivized to use their slime as a support projectile, as tribes of goblins near their homes will usually throw such victims into the water for them to feed upon like a sacrifice. Without other monsters helping them kill creatures that were gobbed up, any creature that gets outside of their reach and stays out is typically safe. "Stay away from the water" is the surest way to avoid having to get into combat at all with these things, and while not always feasible, taking the battle away from the shoreline assures no third party attacks will leap from the depths to assault the party. The threat posed by these tentacle monsters is immense, but the Rorkoun need this massive threat radius because of a crippling weakness: Aquatic Dependency. Their lives swiftly end if they spend even a single round without their space intersecting a source of water, their bodies painfully and "violently" dehydrating the second they're not drawing water into themselves. They take 1 point of damage the first round they're not touching the water, then 2 the next, 3 the one after, then 4, 5, 6, so on and so forth until they either slip their body back into the water or die horribly. The process is stated to be so painful that Rorkoun will only bear it if they're literally on the verge of starving to death, and otherwise will never risk leaving the water for any reason or any length of time.

Before we wrap up, let's talk quickly about something unusual and unique about them: Deathwatch. This ability isn't listed anywhere in their Special Abilities block, nor is it a Universal Monster Ability, and it's not listed under constant spell-likes as it technically should. I'd consider this a printing error if it weren't for the fact that Deathwatch as a spell exists, and it's a fairly useful spell for something that's an opportunistic ambush predator: It allows the Rorkoun to constantly assess the health states of living creatures around it, letting it know which one to focus its wrath on as the easiest target, and how to avoid hidden Undead, unappetizing Constructs, or creatures who are too full of vigor for it to bother with. It's a 30ft cone, which also allows the Rorkoun to track prey in complete darkness, prey which is invisible or hard to spot, or sense when something (perhaps even something wounded) walks or swims past its hiding spot so it can spring out like a snake in a peanut can.

You can read more about them here.

[traditional-with-a-twist]

lx. Beauty and Her Beast

<<Previous || first arc || second arc || third arc || AO3 || Next>>

The sea snake had run aground. 

Her ship smashed, her people scattered, bound and taken into captivity, Umihebi had never known such lows.

Essentially an opportunist, she had enjoyed the luxuries of her misdeeds, indulging in quick and casual violence to impose her will on anyone who thought of thwarting it.

Her real genius lay in evasion: a mix of cleverness and optimism that persisted when she found herself in the nastiest of scrapes.

It should have come as no surprise when she wriggled her way out of the crown’s clutches, because she was as slippery as her name.

...

She had not escaped unscathed, however. 

The princes and their people had made their mark: no longer could she boast herself infallible — here was the proof, and all her crew knew it, too.

Umihebi had slipped her shackles, but she knew herself a hunted woman, and she no longer trusted in the sea.

...

Instead she fled east, to the land she had abandoned as a child and never thought to set foot in again. 

She had fashioned herself in mockery of it, flaunting its every convention while retaining its trappings, making no secret of how she scorned the place — nor showing any enthusiasm for testing what might remain of its kindred affections for her.

True to character, the reversal in course did not trouble her.

She was a sly, shifting renegade, and here was a bolthole. Umihebi seized it as she would any other advantage.

...

Submitting to the land’s customs again, however — even only so far as to maintain her concealment — did little to sweeten Umihebi’s temper.

More given to grin than snarl, she was wont to flash out in anger only under pressure. The closer her enemies hemmed her in, the higher her fury climbed.

Trapped in the manor cave she had considered her impregnable refuse, she had been frothing in rage by the time defeat became undeniable. She had submitted; she had bowed herself in chains, but her anger had only banked, not abated.

The laconic grin had gone; vicious resentment smoldered in her every look.

...

One thought dominated her waking desires: to secure herself a nest, reclaim her immunity from the law by marking a place outside it to which she might always resort.

Before she could settle on somewhere, however, Umihebi wanted to be sure that she would not be pursued – that those who had smoked her from her previous den would not, could not come for her again.

She had hidden herself with her usual practicality, not according to taste or principle, but in the one place most likely to secure her: the private residence of a merchant who owed her his fortune. 

...

The damp greenery of his walled gardens, with their delicately curling vines, open-faced flowers, and clear pools, all proved he had made much of the opportunities she had given him.

He was wealthy —powerful, even, with a private army of sashed swordsmen who answered to his bidding, even as he had answered to her message.

Readily enough had he dispatched his men to guarantee her safe passage to his properties, where even the ruling powers of her native land would consider carefully before demanding entrance.

She knew enough about him to ruin him, after all: a long and sordid history, shared between them both, that would more than suffice to bring his little empire tumbling down around his ears.

For now, though, she did not choose that it should fall — she claimed it as shelter, only her due, yet dependent on her good will, in case he had forgotten.

...

All in all, the arrangement satisfied Umihebi’s insatiable demand that she and she alone hold the upper hand.

There would be no such compromise as to allow compromise; to her mind, negotiation was a swift and absolute assessment of which party possessed the might to crush the other — tested and proved by force, as necessary.

She may be a fugitive, a tolerated guest at best in this place, but the real power belonged with her. 

Most importantly, everyone knew it. 

...

Her tidy arrangement presented just a few small drawbacks. For one, skulking in bushes and courtyards was no life for a pirate queen. The twining lattices and twinkling fountains might enchant the eye and beguile the senses into believing the estates endless, but she felt the four walls making their enclosure as a dog knows when it is chained.

It was one thing to deliberately ground herself when she had a ship waiting to launch out over the waves so soon as she judged the horizon clear.

It was something else entirely when the foreseeable future held nothing but the stone and painted walls of the city.

...

Umihebi chafed to return to her native element, but the stronger instinct prevailed, as it always did with her: she chose self-preservation and would remain until the right opportunity presented itself. 

More provoking, then, was the price she paid for her familiarity with her host: he counted himself familiar with her, too.

“Viper!”

She did not bother to correct the name; to contest it would grant the deliberate error importance.

She only sat where she was, surrounded by the remnants of luncheon, her disinclination for unnecessary exertion turned indolent in her forced retirement.

...

The merchant’s lip curled as he approached. 

He liked to think himself above her, she knew; he had papered over his deeds with civility and high status, turned aside from the life of overt criminality as soon as it paid well enough to finance his entrance into other markets — though not above the occasional side-handed dealing, she was certain.

The Crab, she called him: more show than strength, incapable of advancing directly, yet quick enough when it served him. He preferred rather to burrow than fight, for all that he was powerful enough when roused.

She liked to think that a word from her would shatter the shell he had so carefully constructed around his treasures.

...

“Viper!” the merchant repeated, as he came upon her. “You try a man’s patience, my honored guest, for you know that you are very welcome here… and, of course, your loyal retainers… such as you might call them…”

She waited, examining his reflection in her wine glass. He would get to the point eventually.

“...but there are limits, my cunning friend, you must be reasonable…”

...

Umihebi yawned elaborately.

He sputtered, provoked. “A filthy vagabond!” the man choked. “A common thief — worse — on the threshold of my very chambers —”

She lowered the glass and examined him narrowly. “Oh? We have company?”

...

“No guest of mine, but you — your men —”

She rose, a spark of interest lighting her dull eye. “Show me,” Umihebi commanded.

“I? Not I, no servingman am I —”

“Then summon a servant,” she cut through his babble, “and show me to our uninvited guest.”

...

At the rear of the garden complex, where the lowliest of their society collected the refuse, a gaggle of her followers waited.

In their midst — bound, gagged, blindfolded — sagged a lean man with the look of hard use about him. He might not have kept his feet without the support of his captors.

Umihebi’s eyes narrowed. “What,” she spat, “can’t you dispose of the trash without my help?”

...

Her men shifted uneasily; they seemed to have entered suddenly on second thoughts. “He disrespected you, Captain,” one said at last.

“Then cut his tongue out and turn him onto the streets,” she shrugged.

“But—Captain—”

“What.”

“He—he knew you. And he was in Tanbarun.”

...

Her pupils narrowed to slits. White around the lips and nostrils, Umihebi strode forward and tore the hood off the prisoner.

His head lolled, and one eye was puffy, but Umihebi never forgot a face. She was in the business of selling them after all.

“Well, well,” she whispered, staring at a specter from the day that lived in her nightmares. “What have we here.”

[hiragashii101]

Harbor Serenity

[18+ aged up Chongyun x reader]

Drabble, fluff (per usual)

Cross-posted

[Series 10+1 drabbles: [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] ...]

A few miniscule chatters, yet ones with you were the best.

Searching eyes landing at the back of the pale male's figure and you've never felt so captured. Allured even.

His eyes came to meet yours, as if he'd known you'll come by. Icy, cold and stoic, yet a pool of warmth and admiration laid beneath it. He'd given you a small smile to acknowledge your presence before he turned his head back to converse with his acquaintances.

You weren't sure if you were making accusations or believing it's truth, but you swore his eyes had lit up as if he had an idea involving you with it.

Time passed and before you knew it, both your bodies were slumped next to one another, legs dipping towards the colder, serene water. Ripples of waves capturing both your attention whilst he slid his arm to snake around your waist. The ocean across Liyue Harbour dancing gracefully.

He wasn't prone to acting out on romantic actions outdoors, rather to let it be done indoors privately. The stares of other commoners had him struck nervous, heat flushed to his body in minutes.

Your neck cranes towards the blades of his shoulders, head nested comfortably.

But for once,

A enlightened laugh came out of your lips, a smile forming across his face as he felt delighted to amuse you with his stories. He left out a soft contented sigh, feeling your lips imprint his collar.

He wouldn't mind.

You know the hyper fixation hits hard when I had the audacity to write this during classes. (No teacher, though. I'm not a bad SHS!)

Also why does Me and Your Mama always fuel my spirit to write?! Mental.

I'm genuinely not kidding as the next one might have slight spice. Also!! Yes, I did draw that. And it's not even the full image lol

[sebastianswallows]

Dangerous and Delightful — Chapter 13 — Wanting

— PAIRING: Sebastian Sallow x F!Reader

— SYNOPSIS: Sebastian is a purveyor of forbidden artefacts, a dark arts researcher, and a curse-breaker for hire. Ominis, desperate to save him from himself, hires Reader in secret to persuade him, by any means necessary, to leave his illegal activities behind.

— WARNINGS: Body worship, stripping, and a bit of Subastian.

— WORDCOUNT: 2.5k

— TAGLIST: @bloofinntoona @sarcasticpluviophile @estrotica

He pushed gently at her shoulder and had her sit before him, then he began to feel around the back of her head. The tight coil was held by a few long pins thrust through the bun at the top it, and there were a few more the top, above her temples. He started pulling on the pins at the back, tugging on them carefully, and then the ones above her ears. Her hair stayed in place at first, but soon fell under its own weight, unwinding like a nest of snakes into one thick braid.

“There, that’s better,” he whispered. Her hands were tucked between her knees, her shoulders bowed and tense. “Shirt next?” he asked. She merely looked up at him before he moved, hooking his thumbs beneath the collar to gently push it down.

Her corset was white and stiff and pretty tightly tied. He could tell from the way the top of her breasts swelled above it with each breath that she would not take its removal well — she was a nervous wreck — so he focused on the lower half of her instead. Sebastian kneeled before her as he held her gaze, and braced his hands on either side. Her boots were off, he noticed, so he directed his attention to her skirt.

“Would you stand, please?”

She did, and it brought her waist right in front of him. He tempered his smile, tilted his head to look up at her, and slowly started undoing the buttons. They were on the side, at her left hip, bigger than the ones on her shirt and less rigid.

“You look ravishing,” he said, but sounded more cheerful than seductive. He was attempting to cheer her up… It was unsuccessful.

She tore her gaze away from his, and began fiddling again, or tried to. She had no idea what to do with her hands now that he was in the way, before her, his fingers all around her hips undoing her clothes, pulling them off, pushing them down… And behind her was her unmade bed, feeling more like a wall than anything.

“So, what… what…”

“What do I intend?”

She nodded.

“I don’t know,” he laughed. “I haven’t thought about it.”

The heavy skirt fell down almost by its own weight. The material was so stiff it would not pool beneath her knees. In front of him, her corset was tucked in her petticoat, which bloomed once freed in folds and ruffles and lace trim. Sebastian held his smile and gently pushed her back.

With her sat on the bed again, he went about freeing her of what was left. The shirt was taken away from underneath her, and the skirt, and then the too-full petticoat as well. He climbed on his knees behind her to undo the corset.

“Where were you this morning?” she asked.

He couldn’t see her face from there, but could tell from her voice that she wasn’t happy. “I went for a walk again.”

“And you couldn’t wait for me?”

“I didn’t know you wished to join.” He untied the bow at her back and tugged loose the strings of her corset, working patiently until the garment relaxed on her body. “I can join you tonight though,” he grinned.

He finished the unlacing, but let it stand around her figure. For the first time since entering her room, he felt unsure. Did she want him there? If not, then why did she ask about his whereabouts with a hint of jealousy? She instilled in him the strange impression of being at once desired and resented…

Sebastian carefully got up off the bed, ready to leave if she asked him to, but as soon as he was before her, she raised her hands and pulled the corset up. She sat back down in her plain chemise and grey stockings.

“Well, you might as well pay your dues for today,” she said coolly, leaning back on her arms.

There was a tension in her countenance that hinted at a smile, but whether one of joy or nervousness, Sebastian couldn’t tell. He nodded and grinned at her, and bowed, only to pick up the garments and go to put them neatly on top of the commode. He smiled — she radiated impatience, and he could feel it at the back of his neck.

Sebastian returned to her with slow and quiet steps. He stopped, looked down at her still sat and leaning backwards, and enjoyed the view. She was frowning up at him, and although she was beneath, he still felt like she was the one looking down on him… He caught her by surprise by kneeling in front of her again.

“We still have a few things to take off, don’t we?” he smiled.

“You don’t ha—”

She didn’t get it out before he undid the ribbons that held the stockings up — first the right one, then the left. He looked into her eyes as he pulled them off each leg. They were still warm.

“Lovely,” he whispered, his hands clasping her naked feet. “Isn’t that better?”

The lamplight shone off her skin, right where her knee was bent. It made the breath freeze in Sebastian’s throat. Greedily, he let his eyes roam her.

“It feels like I’m the one getting paid here,” he chuckled nervously, looking up every few seconds to make sure she wasn’t angry — she frowned and her lips were pursed, but there was as much apprehension in her gaze as there was in his.

“And how do you intend to resolve that?” she asked in a tight and cold voice.

“Like this.”

He bent down and kissed her. His lips stayed on her right knee for long dragging moments, then he moved to the left. His eyes were closed, he breathed her in, and above him he could hear the stillness of her gasp. When his kisses travelled higher, she moaned. The skin of her upper thighs was soft and oddly cold, and the closer he got to her waist, the more her muscled tightened. He opened his eyes to look up at her, and he smiled at noticing how her chemise now stuck to the skin of her stomach in a little patch of sweat.

“Not feeling neglected now, are you?” he asked in a hot whisper.

A little sound died in her throat.

This was going surprisingly well, and Sebastian felt encouraged by her reaction — or the lack of it. That she did nothing to stop him was something that, only a week ago, would have been unimaginable. Last night had given him a bit of courage, a bit of hope, but this was more than that a hundredfold. She enjoyed it, he realised with glee.

“Is this your revenge?” she asked tightly. “For yesterday?”

Sebastian frowned, eyes narrowing as he tried to understand her. “Why would this be revenge?”

“Because you’re teasing me.”

“Oh,” he laughed, slowly crawling his way closer to the bed, up on the mattress, toward her chest. “So you admit you teased me first?”

Her chemise was so sheer that he could see her shape through it, her rising chest and twisted waist as she crawled away from him. He breathed in deeply, hoping to take in more of the scent of her body. He braced his arms on either side and directed her up, toward the pillows, and trapped her there. The playful smile he had until now softened.

“We don’t have to keep teasing each other, you know,” said Sebastian. “Peace?”

“What does your peace look like?”

“Oh, I’ll show you what my piece looks like.”

She aimed to smack him over the head, but just as she did so, he ducked his head and buried it at the bottom of her ribs.

“Se-b-ast—”

He breathed her in and groaned, curling his hands around her chest to bring her to him like a bouquet of flowers. Her knees kicked at his chest for a little while, and then they stopped, and gradually she surrendered. He placed one kiss on her through the material before his heavy head came up and he looked into her eyes through the flickering candlelight. She seemed scared and wary, and somewhat confused.

So it surprised him all the more when she shoved up against him, tangled her legs with his, and pushed him on his back.

She towered over him triumphantly, panting and smiling like a cat that caught its prey, but her arms betrayed a trembling as she held herself up. “You seem to forget that you’re the one that has to pay his dues to me,” she purred. “And this is my bedroom. My bedroom, my rules.”

“What about when we were in my bedroom?”

“That’s mine too.”

“Oh, of course,” he laughed, “how silly of me to forget.”

As his hands finally settled still by his side, hers came up to his head. Her right palm cupped over his mouth and her left threaded through his hair. It was oddly intimate, but still too predatory for his liking — not that he wanted to stop it, not this far into their little game.

“You talk too much,” she said. “Now, you’ve had your fun for tonight, don’t you think?”

Sebastian frowned, thinking she was about to kick him out.

Instead, she slid lower down his body and started nuzzling his chest. Her hair tickled his chin as she mouthed at the little bit of skin that showed above his nightshirt, and her braid fell softly to brush against his side. Her hand started gripping his hair tighter when she became frustrated at how little of him she had to play with, and her lips travelled higher. With slow tremulous laps, she licked the sweat that pooled at his neck, and closed her lips around the wetness to leave a little bite.

Sebastian closed his eyes and moaned. He found his legs spreading on their own, and in his loins grew an impatient throb that swelled and tightened by the heartbeat. He felt her push against his chin with her hand still over his lips, so he tilted his head back, giving her more to kiss, more to lick, more to bite.

She smiled at his obedience, and reached a part between his neck and jaw that made him shiver. His way of asking for more was to tilt his head the other way — and she obliged. Sharp teeth closed around his skin and dragged down in a light scrape until she reached his Adam’s apple, playfully following it when it bobbed up and down. Her fingers pulled at his hair in one last tug before she let him go, and freed his mouth, and moved her hands instead to the buttons of his nightshirt.

“W-what are you doing?” he asked hoarsely, his head coming up just enough to look down at her.

Her eyes were half-lidded and soft and her lips were red from kissing, curled in an uneven smile. She popped a button open and her gaze left his to stare at the fresh bit of skin.

“Really?” she giggled. “Freckles here too?”

“Well, I�� What do you want? I can’t help it,” he laughed, bracing himself up on his elbows.

She leaned down gently and placed a little kiss on one of them, and then another, and another. “You have a bit of russet fur here too,” she whispered.

“It’s hair, not fur…”

“It’s sticking to your skin,” she smiled. “Are you that nervous?”

“That’s not sweat, that’s from your mouth,” he said.

In spite of his banter, Sebastian was left staring in wonder as she kept kissing him and pulling the shirt lower as she went. She hummed and unbuttoned more, parting it as much as it would give, pushing it to his shoulders, then laying herself across his body as if it were her domain. Her lips tickled a path all across his chest until they bumped into a risen little nub. She took it in her mouth for a quick suckle, and all of Sebastian’s muscles jumped at the contact. He heard her giggle as she teasing him, lips shivering around his skin.

Sebastian’s limbs trembled until he couldn’t hold still anymore and he wrapped his arms around her, but he didn’t know if he wanted to hold her close or push her off. It didn’t matter, because her hands came up and grabbed his wrists, pushing them back to the bed.

“Not your turn yet,” she said as she parted from his skin.

“When will it be my turn?” he frowned.

She caught her breath and rose from him, looking like smoke in her white sheer nightgown. “Your turn to what?” she asked with a cocked brow. “What do you want to do?”

Sebastian opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly couldn’t find the words. There were, perhaps, no words for what he wanted.

“I thought so,” she said smugly at his silence.

“Well what do you want me to —”

“That is precisely it. I want you to want something.”

He breathed out a heavy sigh and fell back down on the pillows. There was that feeling of betrayal again, of being tricked, of being used…

Seeing him pouting made her soften, and she laid back on his chest and began undoing the rest of it until it was completely off. He’d never felt more vulnerable.

“Do you know what I want?” she gently asked as she looked into his brown eyes.

“What?” he asked, still feeling uncertain about her.

“I want you to stay with me,” she said, pushing the sleeves down his arms.

He could feel her hands trembling as she caressed him, tracing patterns back up to his shoulders, across his clavicles, drawing constellations on his freckles. Her hands were cold and light, as if afraid of touching him too firmly.

“Are you some kind of vampire?”

“No,” she laughed. “I just —”

“Then what?”

She frowned at his tone and stuck her nails in him.

“Ow!”

With her claws still in his chest, she leaned forward and forced him to look at her.

“Listen here, Mr Sallow. I am being very forthright with you. I think I have made it clear what I want, and how I want you. And what I want from you in return in honesty.”

“About what?” he scowled.

“Are you capable of wanting me as I want you?”

“I thought that was clear.”

“No.” She said it like a warning. “What you want is some pleasant way to pass the time, isn’t that right?”

“No!”

“No?”

“No.”

“Do you wish to stay with me, then?” she asked, sitting up again, balancing herself right above his waist. Her fingers left red indents in his chest as they released him, and she trailed her hands softly lower down his naked torso.

Sebastian found it very hard to deny her at this point… He remembered that first night back at his flat, and the morning afterwards, and how desperate he was for her. Then, he thought of his work, his travels, his promises to Burke and… Oh, about that.

“I… I’ve already sent a letter.”

“What?”

[rosavulpes]

With his cloak covering his head , helping in keeping it dry against the onslaught of the rain . Albafica been standing out among their numbers for quite some time now , grateful for the reprieve in noise that the stormy weather had brought along with it .

The sound of the droplets striking against the soil enough to drown out their chirping , scratching , and light strained snarling as he watched over them . Waiting for them to finally lay still so he could retract his presence within this area , and move on to wherever he was needed next .

Good , the rain would help keep the scent of his roses bound to soil , and the puddles . Even if by chance someone was near , as long as they weren't foolish enough to attempt to touch the swarm , there was less of a chance of them coming into contact with their scent .

The Swarm had proven themselves to particularly active on this planet suggesting that there may be a live nest somewhere on it with how viscous this particular brood had been during their fight . His suspicion being that they were trying to guard it from him . A clear sign that he was drawing closer . While some of the other knights of beauty had volunteered to come along with him for this journey , even if they were kept away at more than a field's length their presence during battle was something he couldn't risk tolerating . It was always best for him to tackle assignments alone , easiest when there was no one around in general for him to concern himself over .

Watching silently as their colors began to mix , the sight of the bugs enveloped in his roses may have seemed beautiful to others as their blue blood sported fallen rose petals mixed in with traces of red but ... he found the sight to be depressing .

Walking forwards towards the direction that the swarm had first arisen from to attack him , he'd soon come across one true sting , that was still clinging on to it's fading life . It senses , save for it's sight , all nearly gone .

Kneeling down before the bug , there was a temptation to embed the stalk of one of his black roses through it's skull to give it a quick demise , but when it came to his roses he knew all too well that it's sense of touch had long since been taken away once the poison had been injected . It likely couldn't feel anything more , not the grip of the vines baring his roses , the feeling of the rain , nor the loss of it's own blood pooling on soil around it .

Akin to the sting of a scorpion or venomous snake , despite how much it bled , the wound would not coagulate to stop it . It no longer had that ability .

" I pray Tayzzyronth grants you peace in your next life "

Closing it's eyelids , the golden knight continued onwards until he was at last before the mouth of a cavern . Darkness awaiting him further beyond it . Barbed vines baring his roses blossoming around his feet , as if following him with every step he took . A fuchsia colored aura about him as he guided a rose to his lips .

Proceeding further into the darkness , with a chorus of high pitched screeches echoing far , and wide soon afterwards . Roses completely covering the mouth of the cavern cutting off escape .

[clangenwritingexperiment]

Moon 100

(I had all this written out... then I didn't save... I am going to cry...)

Crookedbracken's grief has gotten so bad that they now have an actual physical stomach ache because of it. The medicine cats are concerned.

Frostfreckle has given birth to two tiny kits. Pumpkinkit and Runningkit. This will be their last litter or they will be boxing their mate over the head.

Primwave has recovered from their whitecough.

Primewave has also tried to confess to Swiftspark but they were rejected.

Shimmerfreckle's leg has healed with no scar in sight.

Cragshadow was out on a morning walk when they were suddenly jumped by a fox. In their mad scramble to get away and up a tree, the fox managed to chomp on their tail, leaving it mangled.

Whisperpeak's whitecough is gone.

Sunnybird and Dazzlenest have recovered from frostbite but were left with a scar.

Hemlockpelt is expecting kits!

Whiteice and Hailleaf have survived yellowcough.

Garlicclaw joins the elders! They happily settle down in the nest next to their new mate Wolverinepeak. They both look forward to living their sunset moon together.

Conchpaw has been named Conchblaze and honored for their composure.

Riverkit, Weaselkit, Hyacinthkit, and Heavykit stand trembling as they are all made apprentices. Riverpaw is given to Waterice, Weaselpaw is given to Riversand, Hyacinthpaw is given to Redocean, and Heavypaw is given to Hailleaf.

Jumblekit sits nervously at pools edge. Their littermates had just been apprenticed but they were left out of the ceremony this far. Were they going to be apprenticed at all?

(This is where I lost ALL of my progress so I will instead summarize what I can remember)

Jumblepaw becomes the new medicine cat apprentice under Fleckrustle.

(I had a whole thing where Fleckrustle had received visions and was even visited by Stormflicker to tell them that Jumblepaw was the one but it's all gone now)

Several cats become mates.

Shoreeagle has died due to an unexpected fox attack.

Pumapaw, Bearpaw, Pheasantpaw, and Gardeniapaw all become apprentices.

Sloepaw finally had their warrior ceremony and they are very proud of themselves. They are now Sloepelt.

Hilltalon found an abandoned kitten and adopted it. They named the kit Blizzardkit.

Quietpaw has also become a warrior named Quietmask.

Sprucefeather also died because of a snake bite.

Flaxpaw and Frecklepaw have also become warriors named Flaxstripe and Frecklecry.

Dolphinfade and Hemlockpelt have created Barnaclekit.

[crosbyreport]

Cancun Mexico: It’s not all beer chugging and wet t-shirt contests (dammit). Cancun has fascinating archeological sites and a rich history that you can explore in between Margaritas.

We hadn’t originally planned our two-week vacation to Cancun Mexico for its affordability but — when weeks later I found myself unemployed (like the rest of the planet) — it seemed like a prescient choice. In addition to its favorable exchange rate, Mexico has fascinating archeological sites and a rich history that would allow us to slip in a bit of culture between Margaritas. Cancun Mexico is a sunny paradise on the Gulf side. Our resort’s pool in Cancun Mexico We chose two new cities to visit: Cancun and Mazatlan. Cancun for its Maya ruins (Chichen Itza, Tulum and Coba). And Mazatlan for its guilt-free, lack of anything really must-see or -do. When we arrived in sunny Cancun Mexico the next day at noon, beaten and bleary-eyed from our red-eye flight, it was a toasty 84-degrees. We hit the beach and immediately fell unconscious in the Caribbean’s warm embrace for what seemed like, and actually turned out to be, a really long time. Long enough that it was already dark when we next opened our eyes, so we paradoxically headed uptown to go downtown for dinner. We ate at a vegetarian place named “100% Natural” but only loved it 97%. We had a great tasting, healthy meal — including a bottle of Viognier —and yet the most expensive part of dinner was the US$15 cab ride back to the resort. Cancun is apparently Mayan for “alcohol poisoning.” Looking down from Coba’s El Castille, 60-meters up. To be honest, I had a different image of Cancun Mexico in my mind when we first planned the trip. I was thinking the city was a thriving, hedonistic beach-metropolis; a coastal Las Vegas with skyscrapers and neon-lit dance clubs. The reality, though, turned out to be more...rustic than that. Cancun’s downtown was, well, a bit run down. Many of its sidewalks were crumbling and street signs missing — all of which might have been expected in a centuries-old city like Roma or Firenze — but was kind of surprising when you considered that Cancun has only been a tourist destination since 1971. In fact, the entire area owes its existence to a Mexican planning board that was looking for an area they could develop to attract American tourists or, at least, American money. A place where both young men and women could drink until they vomited and display their naked genitalia without fear of moral or legal reprisal. Cancun Mexico is a better name than the original. Coba’s impressive El Castillo, aka The Castle. Originally nothing but swampland lousy with mosquitoes and snakes (before the government trucked in pesticides and pavement), the area in question was renamed “Cancun” a word derived from an unpronounceable Mayan word which meant roughly, “nest of snakes.” And, while we didn’t see any reptile or insect infestations, Cancun Mexico was certainly overrun by shamelessly pasty-white tourists like myself. And honestly, I'm not sure if that’s much of an improvement over the mosquitos and snakes. Getting around El Centro (aka, “Downtown”) wasn’t as easy as it could have been. Cancun wasn’t built on a grid even though the ‘grid’ concept had been around for hundreds of years at the time Cancun was built. We got lost a lot in Cancun Mexico. Tulum, the walled, beachfront city. Rather, the city had a pretty haphazard layout — and despite our being somewhat savvy world travelers (we even had a freakin’ map!), we still had to pay some local guy on Tenkah Avenue ten pesos to find the bus stop we needed. Still, to be fair, when people speak of Cancun Mexico, they are usually referring to the tourist areas, like the Zona Hotela, a strip of white, sandy beach jammed with massive resorts and monster hotels. It’s where Cancun looked its best, usually through beer goggles. The Zona Hotela was a 5-mile strip of white sand stretching from El Centro south, encompassing an equally long inland lagoon for some reason. The worst part of Cancun Mexico is its tourist zone. El Zona was choked with monolithic hotels and mega-resorts facing the azure waters

of the Gulf of Mexico, while tacky theme restaurant/bars like Hooters, Margaritavilles, and Señor Frog’s lined the inside lagoon. That way, you’re provided with a picturesque view of water whether you’re laid out at the beach, or face-down at a bar. Almost like a Maya Square Garden. Our more modest resort, the Imperial Fiesta Club @ Casa Maya, was located near the northern entrance of El Zona. However, its less than ideal location was made irrelevant by the presence of a super-convenient city bus that passed by every 10 minutes or so. For about US$0.65, we were soon back in El Centro walking the crumbling sidewalks and looking for La Habichuela, a pretty good Yucatan-style restaurant. Afterward, we walked to the nearby “Mercado 28” which sounded like a good place to shop for interesting and authentic goods available nowhere else in Cancun Mexico, but wasn’t. Still, we hadn’t come to Cancun Mexico to buy cheap trinkets that would break before we got them home. No, we were there to buy cheap Maya trinkets that would break before we got them home. And for that, we had to do some driving. Coba is Mayan for “acrophobia.” Sacred sinkhole? My sweaty ass it is. The next day, we rose brutally early to go see two significant pre-Columbian Maya sites not far from Cancun Mexico. Coba, which had the distinction of possessing the second-largest pyramid in Central America (Guatemala has the tallest). And Tulum, which supposedly had a killer oceanfront view. Rather than brave Mexico’s questionable Interstate system by ourselves, we opted to let someone else drive us out to the ruins. (In hindsight, we could have easily driven the 3-hour trip ourselves, but we were on vacation and frequently drunk. Besides, we would have missed out on our tour guide’s helpful blathering on about all things Maya: “Established in the Yucatan around 2600 B.C., the Maya rose to prominence around A.D. 250 in present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras.” We went to Coba to see its castle. Me, on a scooter. After what seemed like an eternity, we arrived at the Maya town called Coba. And to be honest, the place was in worse shape than Cancun Mexico. Coba was literally in ruins — it didn’t look like any Maya had lived there for decades, or longer — I mean, you’d think they’d have mentioned that fact in the tour brochure! Its egregious disrepair was a shame, because there was ample proof of a once-thriving civilization. The most obvious evidence was El Castillo (aka, “The Castle” or pyramid). At over 60-meters high, El Castillo was an impressive feat of stacking rocks on top of other rocks. This rough-hewn pyramid stabbed skyward from a clearing deep in the Yucatan jungle and was visible for miles around. It wasn’t surprising, therefore, to discover that—from the top of this awesome monument—one could also see for miles around. How do we know? They actually let us climb the damn thing. No, seriously. (Do they not have OSHA here?) Our Lady of Immaculate Reception (bada-bing!) With nothing more than a thick rope to grab, the Mexican government let out-of-shape, couch-potatoesque, American tourists like me climb the 180 or so feet to the top of El Castillo without signing any legal releases first! Their unquestioning faith in the protective power of the feathered snake god, Kukulcan, was almost enough to convert me to the religion on the spot. From the summit of El Castillo, we saw what ancient Maya priests probably had seen when they weren’t pulling the still-beating heart from a live, Maya warrior’s chest: namely, the surrounding compound, complete with a Great Ball Court, a dense forest that went on for miles, and five crocodile-infested lakes where CSI:Maya detectives would likely find a lot of dead warrior remains. Tulum is Mayan for...oh, let’s say, “beach party house.” Para-advertising at its finest. In contrast to the other ruins we had visited outside Cancun Mexico, Tulum didn’t really have a pyramid to climb, but being built on a cliff 40-feet above the beautiful Caribbean, it didn’t really need one.

As Coba’s first line of defense against invading forces from the sea, Tulum was the most fortified of the Maya sites we saw. The massive 400-meter long stone wall surrounding the place was our first clue that the name Tulum might be Mayan for ‘walled city.’ But Tulum was a significant seaport and trading outpost, too. In fact, the Maya had built a road all the way from Tulum to Coba that was paved with a white substance that reflected moonlight—I forget what they called it, but it wasn’t cocaine—making night travel much easier (and probably safer than driving Mexico’s Interstate system). Chichen Itza is Mayan for “tourist attraction.” What was akin to Pok Ta Pok box seats. Chichen Itza, the most well-known Maya site near Cancun Mexico, is home to Castillo de Kukulcan which, at 24-meters, is a lot shorter than the pyramid in Coba despite being built on top of a smaller, pre-existing pyramid (kinda like a Russian nesting doll). Chichen Itza’s El Castillo is remarkably well-preserved, considering all the athletes who’ve been filmed running up and down its ancient steps for TV commercials. Disappointingly, we weren’t allowed to climb the pyramid ourselves because, back in 2005, an 80-year-old lady adventurer slipped and fell to her death. So instead, we were forced to wander the compound, learning stuff instead. The most interesting thing we learned against our will was that the Castle was designed with a number of very odd acoustic properties. By standing in front of the main stairs—which, from the side, cleverly looks like a serpent climbing down!—you can clap loudly and hear freaky echoes all around the compound that supposedly sound like their winged snake-god or something. I forget what its utility was, but it had some kind of practical purpose at the time (beyond entertaining tourists, I mean). The Great Ball Court is where the Maya played ball. The edge of the stairs make a snake climbing down the side. The Maya put that same acoustic wizardry to work when they built El ThunderDome — I mean, the Great Ball Court. This massive arena was used to showcase their national sport, Pok Ta Pok. And while every Maya city had its own Pok Ta Pok court, this monstrous 550-foot long grass one was much...well, greater. Unlike most courts which had walls angled at 45-degrees, the Great Ball Court had steep, 90-degree vertical walls made of strategically sized and placed wall stones. The court’s clever design let someone stand in the North Temple and converse in a normal tone of voice with another person in the South Temple over 500-feet away. Presumably, this allowed the Maya ruler to be heard over the crowd noise as he bellowed that timeless proclamation, “Citizens of Maya! Let us prepare ourselves to ruuummmmmbbbbble!” Before basketball, there was “Pok Ta Pok.” Pok Ta Pok was a combination of basketball, European football, and Canadian hockey. Each team of seven players attempted to keep a ball off the ground using only their hips, knees, and elbows. The object of the game was to get the ball over to a captain who was running along the sideline wall’s ledge, located about 4-feet above the field. The team captain then used a kind of stick to hit the ball through a stone hoop in the top/middle of the stone wall. What good is any place without a Hard Rock Café?  The difficulty of scoring was so great that games often took days to complete, which probably wasn’t as bad as it sounds, since winning meant that the losing team’s captain got to quite literally decapitate your captain (yes, you read that correctly). So the winning team captain was in no hurry to end the game. The “reasoning” for this apparent barbarism was that, clearly, the winning captain had just proven that he could beat all Earthly competitors and therefore, “logically,” he had to be sent to the afterlife to take on the Maya Gods. See? It makes perfect sense now, right? Frankly, we should probably apply that theory to pro-athletes today (I’m looking at you, Tom Brady).

What’s Mayan for “total dick move”? As you would expect, the pyramid and other structures at Chichen Itza are all owned by Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. However, the land they stand on is owned by the Barbachano family. As we were told the story, this shrewd, but ethically challenged family, bought up the entire archeological site before the government could. The government then attempted, repeatedly, to buy the site, but the Barbachano’s wouldn’t sell because, you know…money. Finally, they agreed to sell the monuments, but only if they could keep the land underneath them. This one-sided deal let the family profit from tourism—admission, food, drinks, souvenirs, etc— without any of the costs of maintaining the site. Shrewd, right? No, wait. That’s not the right word for it... Hot and tired? Take a dip in Quintana Roo Cenote. One of Cancun's smaller mega-resort hotels. Just outside Cancun Mexico and Chichen Itza is the sacred Quintana Roo Cenote, or “Big-Ass Sinkhole.” It’s an impressive cavity in the Earth where some think the Maya performed ritual human sacrifice (those same people also think the Maya were stupid enough to pollute their only inland water supply). The cenote was considered a very holy place and it was protected and preserved for centuries until the day when someone figured out how much money they’d make charging sweaty tourists to swim in the thing. Now, it’s not so holy. A brief history of Maya. Really brief. The Maya, it is believed, were descended from Mongolians, which is why they look somewhat different from other Mexicans (they’re shorter and more, well...Asian looking). From what we gathered, they came over to the Americas back when Sarah Palin’s Alaska and Russia were still connected by a land bridge. Those Maya forbears lived in Alaska until the first Spring arrived, after which they flew to Cancun Mexico, got totally hammered and decided to stay for a few centuries. Isla de las Mejueles is Mayan for “Island of Women.” Beachy sculpture within a downtown traffic circle. Luckily, there was more to do on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula than just studying ancient cultures. There were brainless activities, too. Like taking a boat over to Isla de las Mejueles, a tiny island just off the coast. Upon arrival, rather than take a taxi or rent a car, we rented a banged-up 1983 Honda FC50 scooter for US$35 instead and puttered around with no apparent regard for our own safety or the safety of others. We decided to take a chance with the scooter because the island has one main road that encircles most of it, so my chances of getting us lost were low. Yet having not ridden a motorcycle since I drove my brother’s Honda 50CC into a fence as a kid — I was nonetheless an absolute menace to everyone else on the road. Zany tree trunk growth. Weaving back and forth like a drunk Kennedy, I still somehow managed to stop the scooter approximately where we wanted, successfully avoiding all the iguanas and small Maya temples everywhere. Along the way, we stopped at a nice, divey beachfront restaurant known for its Yucatan-style whole fish and Puerco Pibil. Afterward, I piloted us back towards downtown so Amy could shop for some silver and I could return our poor scooter, surprisingly unscathed, all things considered. The problem with Cancun Mexico. Para-Advertising at its finest. During our week-long stay in Cancun, we wondered many things: Is Hell this hot? How do you say “Grey Goose” in Spanish? When did we last eat corn? But mostly, we wondered this: What is it about Cancun Mexico that attracts American douche-bags the way the area used to attract mosquitos? It’s veritably teeming with sun-burned “bros” drunkenly spilling three-foot-tall beers on their white-trash wives while thoughtlessly insulting their Mexican hosts like a bad episode of Jersey Shore. Or any episode, really. One of many Mexican alligators. We had hoped that by going in October—aka, the ‘shoulder’ season—Cancun wouldn’t be as crowded.

And, truth be told, it wasn’t as crowded as it probably could have been. I guess, it just wasn’t crowded with the types of people I wanted. You know, twenty-something girls trying to piss off their fathers by showing up topless in a “Girls Gone Wild” video. You might get luckier when you go to Cancun Mexico. But, for a less touristy place with fewer Americans, try the inland city of Oaxaca.

[lazy4honey]

A human sized dragon and female reader tasting each other. If that's alright with you.

It’s alright, I like reader requests! It’s like a personal writing prompt, making me want to challenge myself.

Dragon Tasting

Contains: fem!reader doing the 69 with a human-sized dragon, squirting, NSFW & MDNI

You had been traveling through the mountainous forest for over a week already. Up to yesterday, the weather had been fine, but today, thick clouds darkened the sky, and the dense humidity of the nearing rain made your skin feel sticky.

Just before it started to rain, you managed to find a cave. It smelled a little strange, but if was dry and had a slight upward slope inside that prevented water from flowing in.

Outside the cave, the pouring rain formed a fine mist, and a chill filled the air. Without any dry firewood available, you could only use the stuff in your bag to make a small nest and hope to at least stay warm. You took off your clothes, pulled your blanket tight, and slowly drifted off into a dazed sleep accompanied by the heavy pitter-patter of the rain.

Then, after an unknown amount of time, there was a strange sound in the cave. It was like dry leaves being crushed, like something hard rubbing against the stone walls, slowly approaching you. You vaguely felt a steady heat approach you, circle around your nest, and then come even closer, hot, wet, strangely spicy puffy of air hitting your face. Then it snuck under your blanket, something soft and warm like an oven pressing against your body.

Dazed, you squeezed open your eyes. In the dim light, you were barely able to see something that looked like a snake but didn’t move like one sway in front of your face. You grabbed it, feeling it warm and smooth, and subconsciously rubbed it.

Suddenly, the thing pressing against you under the blanket growled, or maybe it purred. You could feel it breathe heavily, the hot puffs of air spraying over your abdomen and crotch, making you clamp your legs together and clench your hand.

The thing you were still holding, presumably a tail, flicked reflexively. It seemed a little like it wanted to throw you off, but also like it wanted to rub against you. The next moment, the thing moved, and suddenly you were facing a pair of glowing golden eyes illuminating a monstrous visage. It’s strangely spicy breath once again hit your face and made your throat burn.

You felt your heart beat with joy and the heat pool in your abdomen.

The thing you were facing— that was a dragon.

The dragon came closer, sniffing you again. And then it licked you.

It had a long tongue, a little rough and coated thickly with its strange smelling saliva.

You swallowed with some difficulty and gently held its heads, leading the dragon’s head back under the blanket and to your crotch.

The dragon’s snout parted your legs, its hot breath hitting you. You pressed against the warm, snake-like dragon and clung to the creature as it smelled you and tentatively extended its long tongue to prod at your clit. Then it licked you, the tongue heavily sweeping over your clit and labia, leaving a tingling, hot feeling together with its sticky saliva.

A soft moan spilled from your lips, swallowed by the dripping rain and the rustling of the dragon inside your nest.

The dragon’s tongue continuously swept over your folds, pushing them apart and directly teasing your wet entrance. It allowed you to hug its body and grab its horns to pulls its head, giving it better access to your erect with arousal pussy. Lying half on top of you, the weight almost immobilizing you, its tongue plunged into you and made your muscles contract.

You could feel your vagina throb as the long tongue easily moved inside of you. Its tip curled and lightly scraped against your soft walls, slight bumps at the thicker root of the tongue grinding against your swollen erectile tissue with every action. Every little arch of the tongue made you gasp and moan, rocking your hips to find a better position.

You couldn’t help wrapping your legs around its neck and shoving your crotch into the dragon’s maw, letting its tongue penetrate deeper and even reach your cervix. Each nudge against the narrow passage triggered a throb in your womb, and you teared up from the thrilling pleasure of the dragon’s sharp teeth dangerously scraping against your skin. The looming threat of the beast on top of you suddenly biting down stimulated an unprecedented pleasure, making its current actions even more arousing.

You tightened your arms around the dragon. The close proximity caused your breasts to be squeezed against the beast’s belly, your nipples lightly rubbing against the scaly skin every now and then.

Your neck arched as you tossed your head back with a loud groan, and then you saw it.

Right above you, the dragon’s skin parted, forming a slit from which a fully erect, pale penis slowly emerged. It’s tip hung right above your mouth, and you once again smelled that strangely spicy scent.

The dragon moved a little, now fully pressing down on you as it greedily licked up your vaginal fluid, and its hard penis bumped into your lips.

Hearing it growl, the low sound vibrating through your body and making your pussy flutter, you didn’t hesitate and opened your mouth, enveloping the hot dragon cock and pressing your little tongue against the pulsing glans. The tongue inside you twitched violently, pushing against you, causing your belly to bulge almost painfully and triggering a moan from you. You uncontrollably opened your mouth wider, and the dragon cock was shoved forward, its tip pushing against the back of your throat.

The sensation made you gag, your throat constricting around the dick. At the same time, the dragon growled and pulled its tongue out of you.

You whined at the sudden emptiness. Desire surged through your veins and made you long to be filled, to be fucked by the dragon until you couldn’t think clearly and were left a mess twitching with pleasure.

Just as you were arching your back to somehow get the tongue back inside you, it stuffed itself into your pussy. Somehow, it felt like there was more of it than before. The root of the dragon’s tongue was so thick it forced your entrance painfully wide open and kept rubbing against your clit, and the incredibly flexible muscle with its small bumps managed to press each and every sensitive spot of your pussy.

After completely filling you up, the dragon’s tongue retreated again. Before you could complain, it thrust back in, harshly hitting your cervix.

Your scream of pain and pleasure was muffled by the beast’s cock.

The dragon’s tongue continuously thrust into your pussy, making your weak human body rock back and forth beneath it. Your abdomen pulsed with every move, your nipples feeling raw from the friction against the dragon’s belly, and the cock still engulfed by your mouth pushed so deep in you felt like it was about to mash your brain. The cum leaking from the strangely shaped cock flowed down your throat and left a dry burning sensation, making you swallow.

Gradually, you felt like your blood had turned into lava and was setting your entire body of fire.

Your mind was blank, wholly concentrated on the ecstatic pleasure derived from the dragon’s tongue and unable to feel anything else. Exhilaration washed over you like roaring waves, your toes curling as your pussy fluttered and pulsed and you pushed your hips onto the tongue pressing so deeply against your cervix you felt like your guts were about to be crushed. Something inside you relaxed amidst the continuous contractions of your vagina and you released with a long moan, squirting all over the dragon’s tongue and maw.

By the time you recovered, you realized that your sight was blurred by tears of pleasure and your mouth overflowing with thick, spicy dragon cum. You choked and quickly turned your head away, barely preventing the liquid from finding its way out of you through your nose.

Some more time passed before the dragon moved again. It turned around, and you once again faced its golden eyes.

Somehow, you understood the look it gave you.

—From now on, you are its treasure.

[lilimalia]

LOVE ME LIKE NO OTHER // xiao

SYNOPSIS... even the greatest yaksha has his moments. moments that feel lonesome and unexplainable to those around him. but maybe, for once, he's got a shoulder to cry on. and maybe he hopes it stays that way... just a little longer.

CHARACTERS... xiao ,, alatus ,, demon conquerer

DISCLAIMERS... gender neutral reader , fluff, hurt/comfort, consoling the lonely Yaksha

BARISTA'S INTEL... tsuki tries to write fluff and ultimately fails. i am also very sorry for the lack of actual fanfic updates, school is… sigh.

CAFE TUNE… Rises the moon // Liana Flores !

The pain that wallows in him feels vile. Like the bite of a snake against the flesh of a mouse, it engulfs him like sickness.

Xiao's steps drag heavy against the wooden floor, his body aching from head to toe.

The world seems almost to blurred to see...

"Xiao? Are you alright?” He hears a voice call. Like a sirens song, it ushers him closer.

“Hey… Great Yaksha? Can you hear me?”

“You bother yourself with unnecessary actions mortal… I am fine.” He grunts, attempting to straighten out his back to stand his ground.

Except… It seems like his actions dissatisfy you further. He gazes over your solemn expression, twisted with tension he just can’t seem to understand…

“Do not underestimate the Mighty Adepti, Mortal.”

He watches you, as you make no effort to retort back. But instead, grasp your hands gently behind his back, soothing him as you guide him gingerly into the room you occupied.

“Come, even the greatest immortals need a comfy night of rest too…”

Your voice murmurs, serene and alluring.

He makes no effort to stop you, grasping against your body to draw you in, as the both of you lay within the soft and comforting protection of the bed.

His aching muscles crack and sore as he lays down. But it doesn’t matter.

He watches, as you lift away his hand, that grasped onto your body so easily.

So naturally…

He’s watching your every move, graceful and yet gentle to the soul. Watching as you carefully adjust him into the bed, cushioning his body between a fort of pillows.

He wonders how you know.

His golden eyes watch adamantly, keen as a hawks gaze. But as vulnerable as a newborn duckling.

Your humming now he notices… This one tune, one he hears much too often.

“There is no need-…”

“There was no need for you to come to my door oh Great Adepti. And yet you did. Relax Xiao…” You murmur once more, stopping your tune as you sit next to him.

It’s a strange sight, he thinks. How he, the Great Demon Conquerer, rests so vulnerably in your greatly constructed pillow mattress… And how you, a mere mortal, is sat nested to him, gazing out into the plains of Liyue. Eyes thoughtful; hand placed right on the pillow next to his head.

He turns his body, much to the protest of his muscles and bones.

“Don’t move to much Xiao…” Your whispering.

Your whispering now… And he wonders if your upset.

You turn back, facing away from the midnight sky of Liyue; interlaced with velvet blankets of midnight blues; embroidered white shiny stars.

You look beautiful…

He thinks too himself. As begin to hum your tune once more.

“Mortal… Why is it that you hum that song? Does it not seem repetitive too you?”

Your eyes dance with [eye color] hues, pooling with white shine.

“Of course not Xiao… It’s the tune I hummed the first time we met. Remember?”

“…”

He doesn’t answer… But your eyes say so much more then he could ever need.

He wonders, sometimes, how you read him so well. How it seemed like his emotions were like clear pond water to you.

And then he realizes.

Your hand is grazing his forehead, playing lightly with his hair. As he gazes up at you, wrapped in pillows and blankets, and you gazing down at him, sweet honey smile lighting up the world he found so dark.

He loves you.

And maybe, he’s okay with that.

SPECIAL BREWS… none available, sorry customer!

BARISTAS INQUIREMENT… A shorter oneshot just to keep my blog actually alive!

word count. to be inputted

Tag List Form !

©-FUTURIST... Please do not plagiarize, themes are edited by me, reblogs allowed, do not repost on any other platform!!

banner credits: @/shivaille_

[peachesandmilktea]

You write the squid game aus so beautifully! How about a yandere VIP!Hawks who corrupts a smart player with the power he can offer her. he’s been watching her for awhile, a little mirror of his younger self, somehow managing to strategize ways to keep her team alive. Of course, this isn’t without blood, so when her team chooses her as a sacrifice in the next game, she wonders if this betrayal is her karma for letting so many die just so she and her group can live. Right before the bullet can reach her, he asks her if she wants to live. somehow she knows if she says yes her entire team will die. While her old team stare in horror at VIP!Hawks and her in the middle of the room, their scream pierces through air. He fucks her this same night, explaining to her all the power she can have in this game so long as she’s his.

Squid Game AU - VIP Guest!Hawks x Player!Reader

Squid Game AU Masterlist.

TW: Yandere, Dubcon, Mentions of Violence and Murder (in the context of the game), they're playing Hide and Seek.

She was the wolf, they were the sheep.

It wasn't a role Hawks would have chosen for her. No, her tiny, weak little form and her fearful gaze were far from the image of a blood-thirsty, merciless predator, and he couldn't help but smirk at the thought, at the cuteness in the gap between tiny little her and her role as a murderous wolf.

The game was simple. She had to catch the sheep.

If she did, they were all eliminated. If she didn't, she would be the one lying in a pool of her own blood at the end of the day.

And of course, her team played against her. Used all her little flaws that they knew so well, turned her adorable, clumsy mistakes to their advantage without even a single second of hesitation, no matter how much they promised they'd stick together mere minutes before the game countdown started.

They would sacrifice her in this sick game of hide and seek, and she'd be their martyr, the one they'd cry for at the end of the game, once their hands were too full of gold to even be able to hold a flower and put it the grave they'd forced her into.

But Hawks didn't like that outcome.

And if he didn't like it, why should it be so? All of them, her team, every single of the other players, they were all pawns in a game crafted for his entertainment, and as such, his word was law.

He walked into the gaming field, silent as a cat, threatening as a bird of prey eyeing a tiny little mouse cowering underneath him.

And she didn't even see him coming, focused as she was, desperate as she was, trying her best to find her teammates turned opponents who were now nowhere to be seen.

A deadly game of hide and seek.

Sad little wolf looking for sheep, she hadn't caught a single one of them.

She was more like a baby bird, he thought. One who couldn't fly, one whose wings were still too weak to permit it to escape to the skies. One that would fall from the nest and break its neck unless he caught it in a merciful, gentle hand.

"Want to live, little bird?" he asked, letting his fingers brush against her hip, pulling her to him as she let out a surprised yelp.

And she must have been just as desperate as he thought she was, because burning tears were rolling down her cheeks when she raised her eyes to him, and she caught his shirt in a tight, distressed grip when she recognized him as someone who wasn't a player, who wasn't her opponent, who had the power to save her.

"Please, please, please, let me win. This isn't fair, me alone against eight of them, how can this be fair-"

She was babbling, eyes reddened and lips trempling as she pleaded, begged for a scrap of mercy.

Cute.

"You really did pull the short end of the straw, didn't you?" He laughed, genuinely amused. His fingers snaked around hers, still clutching his shirt. He stroked them, gently, kindly, just as a lover would. "Don't worry, baby bird. I don't like injustices either."

He raised a hand, snapped his fingers.

The firing of the guns all around the field drowned every other sound. And soon enough, everything was silent except for her quiet sobs, and even those cute little yelps died down when Hawks caught her chin to have her raise her eyes to his.

"So. What do you say?" He asked, an eyebrow cocked in arrogance, the shadow of a smirk on his lips.

"Thank you," she whispered, genuine gratitude dripping from her tone.

She didn't protest when he kissed her, the blood of her friends still covering the ground all around the field they stood in. She didn't resist when he entangled his fingers with hers and took her away, through a thousand hallways and to his room, more luxurious than she'd ever seen. She didn't plead for him to let her go when he stripped her of her green clothes, dirty and stained, and let them fall, discarded on the carpet while he worshipped every inch of her body.

He kissed, stroked, licked, bit her until she was a cowering mess underneath him, until he learned the sound of her voice when it was dripping not with fear but with pleasure, until tears were rolling down her cheeks not because she was scared but because she craved for more, she craved for him.

"I can give you power," he murmured against her skin, tearing shiver after shiver from her body. "I can give you anything you wish for."

His fingers ran along her thighs, her chest, her throat, settling on her lips until her cute little tongue came out to lick at his thumb, obedient, submissive, perfect.

"You just need to be mine, baby bird," he said.

She let silence hang in the room for a few seconds, raising her doe eyes to his, reddened, sparkling with unshed tears of pleasure that still threatened to roll down her cheeks if only he dared touch her once again.

And when she nodded, when she gave herself to him once again and for good this time, he smiled, kissed her raw and let himself fulfill all of the wishes that had swarmed his mind ever since he'd laid his eyes on her.

That was exactly what she was meant to be.

His.

---

Join the taglist?

I really want to write more Hawks, not only in the Squid Game AU but in general. I'm not really satisfied with this one but I hope it was fun to read still dnsjknds

Please tell me your opinion ❤

[talesofsonicasura]

Game Designer s/o- Black Seastone: Shedding

Next part for Black Seastone section. You already know what's going to happen for this particular headcanon. Sun Wukong will get his human form back in the second to next part if you are wondering. As for Hank, you'll find out soon. This can be read gender neutral or preferred gender. Enjoy.

You knew that at some point in time animals would shed their fur, molt or things like that. A thing that tends to happen when they're getting bigger and getting old. You weren't an expert on this.

Apparently this counted for Great Apes alongside Hank. Why? Cause you began to notice bits of red fur, fish scales and pale spikes on the house floor. Also caught Hank scratching his flaky fish hide against the table. Gross.

For the MerGrunt shedding, only possible answer being whatever those people did when they transformed Hank. Fish usually shed their scales if badly injured or something. Then again, he is practically the Frankenstein of injuries.

Anyway, something needed to done. So you end up buying some industrial brushes, lotion and whatever you think could help. Sun Wukong and Hank were getting groomed, no exceptions.

Between the two men, it was the MerGrunt that have been the most reluctant to the grooming thing. From what Hank had told (signed) he has never experienced any positive contact for a very long time. You promised that the whole session with him could be done bit by bit if he wants.

Hank decided to brave it. Sun Wukong was first since the pool has to be cleaned out again. You used a water hose with a power nozzle and the biggest plastic pool you had. Monkey King wasn't so happy getting sprayed much less having a large broom brush his soapy fur.

He was practically drenched until he got the leaf blower treatment. Sun Wukong went from a Great Ape to a giant poofy red furball that had Hank laughing his ass off. You handed him the the oversized comb since the Mergrunt is next.

The lotion being for Hank's Grunt half as he had been itching and it would help make his scars fade a bit. As for the fish half, apparently some snake been added to the concoction than just an Atlantic Fish. The scales being peelable with a scarless layer underneath.

In short, you had to help peel it off since there wasn't enough snake to allow Hank to properly shed. Man, the A.A.H.W from his world were a bunch of cruel dicks. Boy is it awkward to peel a mixture of snake like fish skin off the 18 ft Mer.

Hank was flailing from how frayed his sensitivity became as he tries to bite something. You had just peeled off the last bit of shed skin only to catch his teeth in your arm. Holy fuck!

Sun Wukong was about to throttle the mer if you didn't stop him. Hank bit hard enough to bleed but thankfully it wasn't too bad. Still going to bruise though.

Didn't help that he began to lap up the blood with his huge ass tongue. You didn't notice the Monkey King's tail wag irritatedly before you pried Hank off. Thank god there's no need for stitches.

Once the bite had been treated, you thought that you could finally relax. Especially since any shed fur or scales weren't much of a nuisance now. Until Sun Wukong decided to nip your other arm. Asshole!

Not only did he bite hard enough to draw blood but also lapped up the blood before running. Practically cursing up a storm as you had to treat another bite. If a small loud speaker was put in the Monkey King's nest and blasted the Monster Inc theme while he's asleep... Serves him right.

Jealousy! Let this be known that biting is a definite between these two. I imagine that Grunts court in very strange ways with it all starting with a simple bite. Sun Wukong is the type to be quite possessive as well so Hank biting someone he plans to court marks him as competition. Whether said bite is accidental or not.

As for the whole grooming thing, I had to look up a lot of stuff instead of charging head on. Hank has a bit of sea snake in his scrambled DNA. A.A.H.W were practically a bunch of mad scientists and wanted to give the assassin a very miserable existence. Slow painful death deal.

That's it for now! Until next time folks, continue to thrive in the madness and I'll see you back on the journey west.

[castleamc]

El Chico Del Apt. 512 (7)

Pairing: Frankie “Catfish” Morales x F!Reader

Words: 4.7K

Warnings: 18+, Only because Frankie devours some titties, Food Mention/Consumption, Anxious reader (overthinking), Disgusting amount of fluff while dancing, lmk if you see anything else!

Summary: You all gather at Will’s house to celebrate Jessie’s return and to receive some unexpected news.

A/N: listen—this chapter got me into my feels with the dancing scene. i was really like melting cause cant relate..

Previous Part | Next Part | Main Masterlist ⭐️

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Part 7: Stepping Stone

With his arm limp over your favorite cozy blanket you can see, clear as day, that Frankie has found his peace. Though you’re facing his back right now you do know, judging by his deep snore, he’s probably drooling right about now on his pillow, but most importantly dreaming away his troubles curled up in his side of your bed.

It didn’t take long for him to mark his spot on your bed, when he helped you build the new bed frame he plopped on his side folding his legs waiting for you to join him. Needless to say after a couple of bed frame stability checks you both were too tired to move. Hence forth, his claim on his side of the bed became history.

After the few alarm rings, to which you had annoyingly turned off so it wouldn’t disrupt him, his body showed to be still in a deep and relaxed sleep. It was kind of impressive how he could sleep anywhere so fast, probably from the years of being in the military. Having to become accustomed to habits that are hard to break, yet sometimes you like to think it’s because he’s truly happy.

That first night Frankie slept on your couch next to you, he looked like he was caught up in the sweetest dream. It wasn’t something that you’d ever forget, that look of serenity was starting to blossom right before your eyes.

Deep inside your heart his peace was the one thing in this relationship that you held so dear. Wanting him to be okay and to know that even if he’s not okay, it will be.

Staring at the back of his luscious brown curls you had to admire the way the Sun was perfectly illuminating the different shades of honey brown strands. Ridiculous as it may sound, some of the colors in his hair resembled golden halos. The richness of his black strands was a pool of quiet. You could stare at it for hours secretly wishing your hair looked that good. Why do guys always have nice hair?

You reached forward tugging gently on a curl to watch it bounce back into place. You never got tired of that. This fool just had to have the most beautiful head of hair and you were the other fool that had the sweet pleasure of running your fingers through it.

You scooted closer letting your breasts press up against his back while you kissed the freckles and sunspots along his shoulders. This was your attempt at waking him. He had to get up soon to get Jessie and her “friend,” that's visiting, from the airport, but you didn’t want to do it right away. There was still a lot of time left you think.

Once you leave your nest here you’d have to start cooking soon.

With a finger, you delicately traced the valley of his neck, purposely, trying to tickle him. His shoulder responded first before any other limb with a quick twitch causing you bite your lip. You snuggled closer to his warmth that you could practically taste the piney shampoo in his curls dancing around on your tastebuds. You buried your face in the crook of his neck kissing the skin around with your lips.

Still no budge. He really sleeps like a log.

Time for drastic measures then.

Very carefully you snake your hand under the blankets reaching for the front of his boxer briefs waistband. You find it funny for some reason trying to hold in your giggles, that he hasn’t awoken to your struggle. Your fingers were almost there. You could feel his happy trail grazing the tips of your digits. It’ll have to do, gently you start twirling the hairs trying to lure him out of his dreams.

Still nothing.

You do wonder what he’s dreaming about so deeply. You could only hope it’s something he loves or some ridiculous dream that he’ll most likely won’t remember as soon as his eyes greet the brand new day.

Between kisses, you playfully whispered in a haunting voice, “Frankieee…” You managed to slip one finger under his waistband, but before your other fingers can bask in the thickness that is his cock—your wrist was caught.

“Got you.”

He groggily switches hands to hold your wrist in place and you remain quiet as possible. He searches behind with his hand, much like Velma from Scooby-Doo, trying to reach for your leg.

“You’re tickling and getting me hard, diablita.”

You bite your bottom lip suppressing the smile forming as you snuggled deeper behind his neck pretending to snore. You sort liked this name from him, it was hot and made you want to keep going.

His hand firmly hooks under your knee bringing it over his hip to caress the length of your leg.

Normally you’d cringe at the thought of a man touching your semi-unshaven legs, but not with Frankie. He never batted an eye to your body hair, regardless where it was. Every inch of you was loved and accepted by him, from your stretch marks to your prickly cactus legs. If he didn’t mind it, neither did you.

In your defense though, you do shave, you just haven’t had the time lately.

He’s not going to sleep now, he’s definitely awake. His fingers are starting to draw featherlight circles on the bottom of your thighs and with all your strength you had to swallow down your moans. Damn him for knowing your body so well. You were ticklish in that one specific spot that no one knows about, but him. It only took a certain amount of build up to get you squirming under his touch. And as much you loved being touched by him, you were starting to lose your cool and he knows it.

A husky voice speaks into the pillow, “I know you’re awake. I can hear you.”

And with that the final nail in the coffin was hammered in. Those blunt fingers of his dug into your sensitive pillowy flesh causing you to yelp a laugh into his neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” You try to say breathlessly between laughs.

“You don’t? Let me refresh your memory then.”

You quickly snatched your arm away from his hand before he could turn around and begin your counterattack on his very delicate and ticklish prone ribs. Realizing this, he abruptly stops moving to lay on his side trying to get a hold of your hands but fails miserably as you slipped past his hand.

Frankie was caught between laughing tears into his pillow and barely breathing. He needed to get you back, but you were quick. Quicker than he had anticipated, he loved that about you. Always finding new quirks about you. However, this is something he’ll remember from now on. There was, though, something soft bouncing and grazing against behind his back. Something that he knew too well and loved so much, judging by the hardening nub dragging on his skin, this would be your downfall.

Out of breath and with tears in his eyes, he strategically pulled the covers off the both of you letting them fall on the floor. You gasped trying to reach for the blankets, but it was too late. You cowardly retreat from your attack to reach for your pillow trying to hold your laugh in. He was smart, you’ll give him that.

Oh, you were so fucked and you knew it. Your whole body, minus your panties, was completely exposed.

Frankie took this time wiping the tears around his eyes turning to face your small frame sinking further into the mattress. What wasn’t disappearing is the mischievous smile behind the pillow corner.

This you were not expecting.

“Don’t you dare.” You shake your head unable to wipe the smile off your face, but trying to cover your breasts with the pillow. “I might. You shouldn’t have challenged me to a tickle competition…naked.”

Slowly he tugs on the corner of the pillow and you can’t resist holding up the front so you give letting your breath fall. He throws the pillow to the side and you adjust yourself into a comfortable position below him. “Like what you see, papasito?”

His new nickname sparks a flame in his eyes that hits your core. You internally groan knowing you both don’t have time for a quickie, he needs to go get his sister—now.

Frankie hovers over your breasts darting his tongue out to lap up your hardened nub, you moan reaching for his curls pressing him deeper. “Ohh right there, papasito…right there!”

He groans with a mouthful of your breast, intent on sucking the juicy flesh after hearing that nickname. Only you could call him the silliest and sexiest things and still make him go crazy for your love. The thought excited him. He felt his cock twitching for pleasure and to hear your proud of him.

Frankie’s phone on the nightstand vibrated against the wooden surface, he ignores the sound continuing to suck on your breast with his eyes closed. Too focused to care about anything, which was starting to become harder and harder on you, his other hand grasped your other breast. Rolling the tender nipple between his fingers. It pained you to get him off, especially when he’s treating you so good, but he has to get ready to go. You looked down running your fingers through his curls and loving how his mustache scratches your skin.

He can never shave that off, you make a mental note.

“Whiskers, babe your phone,” you slurred out a moan as you wrapped your legs around his waist pulling him closer to your body. Through his briefs you felt the heavyweight of his cock rub against your dampened panties, it felt too good to pull him off. An actual crime. “F-fuck.” You gritted.

Reluctantly, you get a hold of his cheeks lifting his head off already regretting the sweet sucking sensation as he lets go of your breast with a plop sound. The sight of the hot trail of spit connecting you both made your stomach burn with desire. You ached taking in his drunk-like expression, those large brown eyes were doe-eyed like a lost puppy. You gave him a look darting your eyes and lips to his phone telling him it’s time.

Breathlessly he nods, “I know, I know. Let me take care of your other breast please and then I’ll go.”

“Well, since you said please,” You joked, but reveled in the attention. He smirked kissing your palm to finish devouring your other breast. You gingerly traced a finger to the bruises left on your skin, you could feel the tender spots. The feeling ignited your core desperately needing him deeper inside. You’re going to have to take care of him later, as he sucked the soft flesh he pressed down deeper making you feel the way he’s lazily rubbing against your core. “When we get home later tonight I want to ride you, Frankie.”

No sound is heard except a throaty growl from him as he slightly pulled back, with dark eyes he swirled the sensitive nub with his tongue causing you arch your back.

“Can't wait, mi diablita.”

With the yellow rice done and seasoned to perfection, you gave yourself a mental pat on the back since no one is here to taste it but yourself. You were really proud of your work. Admiring the way the colors complemented one another, it was too pretty to even eat. You were starting to feel excited that you’d see everyone again after Benny’s last fighting match.

You set aside the rice so that it doesn’t burn, but stays fairly warm as you continued to cook. You weren’t done with it yet.

Now it was time to burn the actual flesh off your fingertips. Your least favorite part.

With two forks you start to pull apart the hot boiled chicken that’s inside the ceramic bowl, luckily you had your favorite playlist of Spanish songs playing so it wasn’t all too bad. It allowed for time go by faster, but nothing—nothing could be said for the hot temperature in the chicken that was starting to radiate through the metal to your fingers.

Nonetheless, you treaded on as this had to get done.

While simultaneously singing terribly off key to the lyrics of a Juanes song you attempted to blow at your fingers for some temporary relief.

“Por los hijos de mis hijos y los hijos de tus hijos…” Might be one of the most catchiest lines he’s ever written, you can’t help but get into the song. You loved dancing and singing, as much as you could do it—you would. Growing up your house was always filled with music, whether it be in English or Spanish, it was always around you. A constant companion that helped you through your loneliest and happiest days. You just let the music carry you, especially with lyrics as powerful as the ones that you feel some connection to it.

This was one of your favorite songs to dance to cause of the beat itself, it’s uplifting, quick, and extremely romantic. It’s quite hard not to dance along to it or feel some pull. Swaying your hips to the beat, you start to wonder if Frankie knows how to dance. He has to know-how, given from the way he fucks you.

Those hips can definitely move you into oblivion and how he’s enjoy himself.

The next song in your playlist was by Luis Fonsi, you cleared your throat genuinely feeling at ease in your element. The soft guitar intro started to encourage your vibe to sing along, rather loudly and excitedly too, you didn’t realize that you’d had an audience member watching you as sing your lungs out.

Frankie was barely near his apartment door when he heard your voice attempting to sing, ‘No Me Doy Por Vencido.’ At the last top steps of the stairs, he smiled instantly swirling his keys in his finger. He had to walk slowly to your door being consumed by the love in his heart. Desperately needing to catch you mid-performance—his heart began to long for you as he quietly opened the door.

A man leaving his apartment passed by doing a double-take behind Frankie, for a moment he thought it was cause he saw him trying to sneakily open the door until the man spoke referring to you. “You’ve got a concert waiting for you man.”

He smiles, anticipating to see you. “You have no idea.”

Opening the door quietly as possible, he sneaked in as quickly and expertly using his training to good use. It worked like a charm since you never turned around. Frankie doesn’t know if he should be worried about that, but it's the last thing on his mind as he leans against the door frame watching you dance. The way your hair was moving along to your singing, it resembled beach waves pulling everything from the shore back into the ocean. And Frankie felt like he was the one at the shore.

You were an actual siren was luring him into a trap, but it was from a torturous one, it was the haven of your love. The way you were pulling apart the chicken in the bowl might as well be his heartstrings.

Never in a million years would he have imagined that a song, as perfectly as this one, would describe his life with you. Let alone the way he feels around you. You were beautiful and enchanting singing your heart out in your little world.

Cooking for him, sister, and his friends. It was seriously unfair how real you are to him.

Frankie quietly walked around to go behind you slipping his hands around your waist pulling you closer to his chest.

“Hey, you’re back! Where’s Jessie?” You squealed holding the bowl so it wouldn’t rollover.

“She wanted to be dropped off at a hotel with some guy friend.”

“Guy friend?” You questioned looking up at him, but he was pretty much clueless about that.

He shrugged it off and focused all his attention on your neck. “It smells good,” he sneakily reaches for the chicken while distracting you.

You laugh swatting his hand away. “No-uh, you have to wait like everyone else.”

“Fine. I’ll just wait right here holding you. As long as it takes.”

He snuggles closer resting his chin on your shoulder, the music is near ending when you realize he’s starting to sway along with the song. You continue to cook and sing mindlessly in his arms.

Suddenly Frankie starts to sing, surprisingly not that bad, his voice is deep and you can’t help but join in with him. You set the forks down turning around to face him to slow dance in the middle of your kitchen. Singing the words along with him you giggle, “Yo, yo no me doy por vencido!”

Frankie rests his head against yours coming to a soft sway letting the rhythm take him and you to another world. Almost as if the song is taking you both into this new chapter in your lives together without needing to say anything else. It was guiding you both to a new stepping stone. When he looks down to your eyes, he holds them for a second falling more and more madly in love with you as time and lyrics pass by. It feels as if he’s about to say I love you for the first time, but you don’t feel scared or nervous. It’s an acceptance. He closes his eyes to kiss your forehead and you wrap your arms around his waist holding him closer to hear, his now soft-spoken tone, vow profoundly to you, “Yo quiero un mundo contigo.”

His hand reaches to hold the back of your hair with deep devotion that you begin to feel your heart race. It felt as if he was asking you, in the best way he knew how to make you believe, to spend the rest of your life with him so you nodded.

You continued to nod finishing the next lines cementing this vow, “Juro que vale la pena esperar y esperar.”

Frankie smiled holding your face as he lead your mouth to his, he kissed you deeply and slow. There wasn’t a hurry or desperation in his kiss. There was no need for one knowing that you have the rest of your lives to be desperate and passionate for one another. In a way his kisses seemed to have absorbed any sliver of doubt within you.

His strength pushed you backwards bumping into the counter yet it didn’t stop you. Even when the bowl made a tumbling noise.

If there was one thing that Frankie couldn’t stop nor resist, it was a good kiss. Everything about it was addicting, the prickly feel of his facial hair against your fingers and lips, the taste of his mouth, and how badly you wanted to combine it with yours.

There was no stopping a soldier once he’s determined.

Parting away to catch a breath, you both stood quiet in each other’s embrace until you broke the silence by placing a soft kiss on each little bald spot in his beard, you spoke.

“We should finish making the food.”

The gleam in his eye persisted to remain there sparkling down at you for the remainder of the time, “Sure. What do you need me to do?”

There wasn’t much that needed to be done, you already did the rice that had the carrots, peas, and all that was left is the chicken that you were about to finish to combine it together and the meat to be ready to grill.

“The only thing left is the meat,” you instructed pointing to the fridge. He nodded patting the side of your waist heading to take out the meat. “I’ll get started on the sazon then.”

“Nice fruit magnets.”

You let out the ugliest laugh at his sharp observations. “Leave my lemon and orange magnets alone.”

Frankie playfully raises both hands in defeat and reaches up the cabinet. Trying to keep the banter going, he uses your head for support making you laugh harder than intended.

Damn his height, too.

You called Lizzie on your phone to let her know you both arrived at Will’s place and needed help opening the door with both your hands and Frankie’s being occupied. Since they’ve both met, they hit it off pretty fast which makes you a tiny bit excited for more events planned. Only because you’ll someone you’re so close with at these type of cookouts.

Luckily, Will lived fairly close to you both which made sense now that you look at the night he dropped off a drunk Frankie at your place. Our place was on the way back to his.

You stood behind Frankie, making sure he didn’t drop the olla of arroz con pollo that you put your heart, sweat, and tears, metaphorically speaking, into this beautiful creation.

“You can put it down you know.” He shook his head holding the side handles tighter, “We’re right here, they just need to open the door!” He bellowed making you laugh.

You caressed his lower back to provide him some comfort from holding the heavy pot. He looked over to you this time matching your earlier worry with a small smile, “Don’t drop the meat. I worked hard on that.” You perked up testing his warning, playfully, you pretend to almost drop the aluminum tray in your hands. You giggled at his quick reaction with his elbow, “Not bad, Morales. Not bad.”

“You’re so in for it when we get back home.”

Now that, you couldn’t wait to see. You batted your lashes pouting, “Are you going to teach me a lesson, hermoso papasito?”

Frankie swallowed groaning and praying that the day goes by quickly. Hearing that nickname again makes him feel primal as hell, he’d kill to have you ride him and praise him using that name right about now. He curses himself for not showing you how much he loves you this morning. “You got a little bit of drool right there.”

He chuckles about to retort when you both hear a woman’s voice.

The door opens to Lizzie, wearing the most striking royal blue romper that complements her skin color beautifully. Her hair is perfectly curled, as it is always—she has that naturally curly hair that lovingly frames her face. She greeted you and Frankie with tight hugs taking the stuff from your hands and leading you both to the kitchen.

“Where’s Will?” Frankie asks following your direction to place the pot on the stove to heat it a bit as we wait for everyone else. “He’s outside with Benny and Santiago, they’re trying to spark the grill up for you but…”

You all three look through the glass door leading to the backyard and sure enough, Santiago and Benny are arguing while Will stands between them drinking his beer. “I better go outside.”

“I’ll go with you to say hi.” Frankie reached behind for your hand as you both step out into the backyard.

“Look who finally arrived!” Benny shouts raising his arms, he approaches completely swerving past Frankie to pick you up into a giant bear hug. You start to laugh at the way your feet are no longer on actual grass. He plops down fixing your hair and turns to do the same to Frankie, except his feet don’t leave Earth. Will greets you with a firm handshake and a respectable kiss on the cheek. Frankie talks with Benny and Will right after leaving you and Santiago, you’re not sure why you’re nervous but you tell him about the food you made right away. You were too eager to wait anymore.

“I have a surprise for the guys but I think you’ll appreciate it a bit more.”

Santiago drapes his arm around your shoulder cautiously asking as if you both were in cahoots, “What'd you do?”

“It’s nothing bad! Follow me,” you head to the kitchen to show him the food you made. Lifting the lid you’re greeted instantly with the mouthwatering smell of chicken and rice that has carrots and peas with a dashes of cilantro on top.

In all the time you’ve known Santiago and have spoken to him, you never knew him to be so quiet like he is at this very moment. You start to think you might’ve fucked up. Maybe he doesn’t like this food? Shit, or what if it looks bad—you turn to close the lid feeling feel your pulse start to race trying to come up with something.

“You made this?” Santi steps closer taking in the savory aroma stopping your movements. “Yup. You’re Colombian right?”

He nods getting a closer look of the food you made.

You felt like an idiot asking that now. What if he isn’t Colombian? Well, he could still eat it. It’s not like the food you made looks disgusting or anything, in fact, you’re pretty proud of it. Even Frankie tasted it, but then again he could be just nice to you. Not wanting your feeling to get hurt or anything.

Santiago scoffs in disbelief, that sound alone sends you into a full-blown anxiety mingled with a smidge of panic.

“Do you hate it? I wanted to make something for all of you guys as a thank you for welcoming me into your group and especially into Frankie’s life. Fuck, you hate it. I’m sorry I-“

“Stop. Come here.”

Santiago opens his arms smiling at your thoughtfulness and the rambling. He hasn’t had a home-cooked meal ever since he left Colombia, hasn’t been back, and probably won’t ever go back for his valid reasons. It was a sore subject for him, that’s where he met Yovanna and where it everything started to go to shit. So this gesture you did and bringing him a home-cooked meal back to him is something he’ll be eternally grateful for. He’s never had a sister, but you’re starting to take the reigns along with Jess.

“Gracias, el olor de la comida esta chévere. En serio.” He reassures you breaking apart from the hug to hold your shoulders. You cant help but feel pride that he loves it. “No, pues gracias a ti por aceptar me. Yo no tengo familia aqui conmigo tonse estar con todo ustededs significa el mundo para mi.”

Santi smiles endearingly at you and puts his arm around your shoulder again calling out to Frankie. “Fish!”

Frankie looks over to you both, stepping away from the grill’s smoke. “Yeah?”

“If you don’t marry her I will pendejo. Just saying,” he quips patting your shoulder. “You’ll always have a family here with us, okay?”

You nod thanking him for being kind. Annoyingly you find yourself swallowing back your emotions. This is not the place for that, but fuck if that didn’t hit hard. You can’t help but feel a sense of longing for your dad. You missed him so much, you missed this, having people around you. You’re blessed to have Lizzie, who was sitting comfortably on Will’s lap—they would make great babies now that you think of it.

Returning to your thoughts, you take a breath walking to Frankie that had this proud boyfriend look plastered all over his face. He is so smug and cute sometimes. Even the dimples were making a special appearance this afternoon.

“Guess I have to marry you pretty soon.” He speaks candidly with you at his side. “Guess so…Does that sound like something you’d like though?”

He had started to grill the meat so most of them were near done. Using the meat fork, he slices a piece of the steak that’s cooked handing it to you without asking.

“For you, I’d do anything.”

Not exactly the answer you’d hoped. You know he would move mountains if it was physically possible or attempt to try. But doing something for someone vs wanting it for yourself are two different things. “Yeah, but is it what you want?”

Why out of days, do you choose to overthink everything happening today? You could feel your panic starting to deafen your surrounding and your focus zeroing in waiting for his answer. Anxiously you start to eat on the piece of meat to keep you busy.

“I do. When we were dancing earlier, I meant it querida. I do want to spend the rest of my life in this world with you. I want to grow old with someone that isn’t trying to fix me but rather understands and you do that. It still shocks me that you haven’t run away after all my bullshit.”

“I’d never do that to you. It’s cruel.” You hesitated to ask, but since we’re here. “Is that what Wendy did to you, try to change you?

Frankie takes the final piecies of small cooked meat off the grill and closes it grabbing the plate.

“She did. Until she couldn’t take my panic attacks and the way I changed coming back home—I wasn’t the same.” You hooked your arm around his walking inside the kitchen away from everyone outside. “I wasn’t present all the time being overseas and I get why she left, it wasn’t what she signed up for.”

“That’s a shit excuse. You’re reason enough to stay.” You close the glass door behind you.

“That’s so fucked up Frankie. I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“It is, but I’m glad it did.”

“Why?”

His shoulders drop and you realize what you just asked, again it’s the overthinking. He looks over at you extending his hand for you to grab it. “I wouldn’t be here with you…finally happy.”

Your heart blossoms with pure love and adoration for him. You wrap your arms around his neck, taking in a glance around to make sure no one is watching as you seductively press your lips against his neck to gently bite the strong muscle along his shoulders, just a small tease of later.

“You promise you won’t get bored of me?” You gushed resting your head on his shoulder taking in the smell of his cologne as his arms curls around your waist tightly against him. “I highly doubt that after the performance I saw today.”

You laughed kissing his cheek, “Good cause there’s plenty more of that soon to come.”

Shortly after you received a text from Jessie saying she’s arriving. It wouldn’t be a cookout unless someone is arriving late, you kinda loved that. She arrived just in time as the food was still warm and freshly cooked, you head towards it with Lizzie and Santiago.

Meanwhile Frankie headed to the door to let her in as you told everyone else outside, her other two adoptive brothers would want to see her. Santiago was the first one to ask, pulling you to the side away from Lizzie, who passing the plates to no one apparently. “What’s the surprise? I know you know.”

“Why do think I know? And if I did, how do you know I know?” You inquired quizzically matching his energy.

“Come on, I have years of training in the Delta Force. I could interrogate people with my eyes closed. This isn’t new to me. Plus you haven’t stopped smiling since you said she’s here, so spill it.”

“Years of training in Delta Force? Really that’s the best you got? I was raised by chismosas—you can’t break me Santi.” He snorts squinting at you.

“She’s not going to spill anything Pope.”

Jessie comes up from behind him wrapping her arms around his neck. She might as well have dropped him to the floor in a wrestling move. Benny comes up from behind her doing the same move, you can see that was something Benny taught her. She breaks free from his hug coming around to hug you tightly, “After I say hi to everyone, can we talk later?”

Stop overthinking, christ. “Of course.”

Benny asks the burning question that Santiago is begging to know the answer to. “What’s the surprise, Jess?”

She takes a moment waiting for her “friend” to stand next to her after greeting Lizzie.

Frankie appeared from the hallway being followed by a man in his late 20’s, bearded, and around the same height as Frankie, but was shy in his demeanor. Totally the opposite of these four clowns, but he looked happy to be around her.

Frankie came to stand next to you while kissing your shoulder in the process.

Everyone is gathered inside the kitchen waiting with anticipation, it was starting to look like thenKnights of the Round table in here.

“Right. Everyone this is Daniel—Danny. Uhm...” The man at her side looks over to her giving her the same look Frankie gave you just moments before. You felt excited for her and her boyfriend, if what you had predicated was true that she’s engaged.

You watched them closely noticing the way his hand intertwines with her own giving her that boost. However, you weren’t the only one paying a close eye to them.

Frankie practically turned to stone, stiffening at the interaction taking place in front of him. He wasn’t leaning his back against the counter anymore, instead he was leaning on the kitchen island with white knuckles. You rubbed his back to ease him from whatever was going through his mind.

Jessie continued ignoring her brothers change of attitude.

“I-We,” she radiated joy looking up to Daniel for one last supportive nod.

“We’re getting married!”

There’s a beat of silence so quiet you could hear Lizzie’s stomach growling from your side of the kitchen. You’d laugh if the situation wasn’t starting to become tense.

“Well, don’t cheer all at once.” Jessie looked at each of her brother’s friends and her actual one. Her brothers standing still shocked trying to process how the little girl they’ve known all her life is getting married.

Yet, the brother that was related by blood—looked like his own blood was boiling. And you didn’t understand why.

Frankie stepped dangerously near her fiancée which made Jessie pull back as you tried to hold Frankie hand, but he slipped away from your grasp in shock.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

A/N: miss cliffy again??? yuh 🏃🏻‍♀️💨 sorry! also happy gobble gobble day, hope you get stuffed more ways than one! 😏 sorry mind it went there and I had to say it lmao! ily! 🦃💜

Translations:

“Papasito”: DADDYYYYYY 🧎🏻‍♀️

“Mi diablita”: My little devil

“Por los hijos de mis hijos y los hijos de tus hijos…”: For the kids of my kids and the kids of your kids (tongue twister ngl)

“Yo, yo no me doy por vencido”: I won’t give up

“Yo quiero un mundo contigo”: I want a world with you

“Juro que vale la pena esperar y esperar”: I swear it’s worth waiting and waiting for

“Sazon”: it’s a combination of different powders for seasoning, ex: cumin, salt and pepper, etc.

“Gracias, el olor de la comida esta chévere. En serio”: Thank you, the food smells really good. I’m serious

“No, pues gracias a ti por aceptarme. Yo no tengo familia aqui conmigo tonse estar con todo ustededs significa el mundo para mi”: No, thank you for accepting me. I don’t have family here with me so being here with you all means the world to me.

“Chismosas”: People who gossip

Permanent Pedro Boys Tag:@mandocrasis, @frenchfryfranki, @snow30285, @greeneyedblondie44, @javierpinme, @sharkbait77, @kirsteng42, @beskarboobs, @cozy-pie, @littlefrescita, @mswarriorbabe80, @leannawithacapitala, @heythere-mel, @voteforpedro09, @just-here-for-the-moment, @djarinladylatin, @athalien, @littlemisspascal, @jediknight122, @lowlights, @jitterbugs927, @hocus-chlocus, @lips-for-you, @pedrostories, @hayley-the-comet, @maryfanson, @xaestheticalien, @diaryofkali, @sherala007, @hauntedmama, @andisturgss, @dreadwolfxoxo

Frankie's Co-Pilots:@hnt-escape, @woodlandmouth, @theewokingdead, @hoff-mommy, @ezzieu2, @dobbyjen, @finerthingsboutique, @yourbucky084, @blub-senpai, @lovesbiggerthanpride, @elinedjarin, @star-wars-fan-2005

crossed out tags don't work bbys 🥺

[sxngshine]

Siren

Request: AU: supernatural au! (surprise me) Trope: unrequited love, Prompt: "Sometimes I sit in bed and wonder what would happen if things were different" [you don't have to do this if you don't like- but I thought it would be fun to submit an entry😅]

Captain!Felix x Sea Creature!Reader

Word count: 3.5k (idk wtf happened lol)

Warnings: Kinda angsty(I suck at angst though so idk if it'll be sad or not 😭), mentions of blood and death.

Description: In which Captain Felix sails a new course unfamiliar in order to return back home, only to enter the territory of someone who’s been eyeing him the moment she sees his ship. 

A/N: I’m not sure if the terms I’m using are correct or if anything I’m talking about concerning manning a ship is correct or not, pls forgive me if it’s incorrect but for the sake of this fic we’re gonna pretend it’s right lmao. Also! Our lovely reader will also be played around with cause she was gonna be a siren but like not a siren if ya catch my drift. I'm not as happy with this as I wish i was but that's Okay.

happy reading!!

“Get up everyone! We got a long day ahead of us,” Felix yelled as he walked out of his cabin. The sun had barely risen but Felix was determined to leave as soon as possible so that they stayed ahead of schedule. 

The crew slowly rose from their hammocks while the rest trudged out of the crew's cabins, all groaning because of how early it was. The quartermaster, Chan walked up to Felix. 

“Morning cap’,” Chan yawned, throwing an arm over Felix’s shoulder. Felix grunted and gave Chan a distasteful look. “No one’s around Hyung, don’t call me cap’.” The shorter blonde pushed Chans' arm off him and walked up to the quarterdeck. All of Felix’s men were to address him as Captain or Sir, but since Felix had known Chan since they were kids, he preferred to be called by his first name when they were alone.

 Most of the crew was already on the main deck, getting themselves ready for the day and eating breakfast. Felix walked up the edge of the deck and let out a loud whistle, catching the attention of all the men.

“Rise and shine everyone! We set sail for Korea in 30 so hustle! We still got crates waiting to be loaded!” Felix instructed and was answered by a loud “Yes sir!!!”. He then called over Minho, the ship's helmsman to discuss the route they were taking. Chan clapped Minho on the back before and messed up Felix's hair (much to Felix's dissatisfaction) before he left to supervise the main deck. 

By the time everything was loaded and ready, the route was set and everyone was working to sail the ship out to sea once again.

“Captain!” I.N yelled from his position in the nest. Felix poked his head out to see who called him, his attention turning to the boy who was sliding down the rope from the nest and running towards him. “There's a storm up ahead! And it looks like a nasty one,” the boy reported. Felix took out his telescope, and just as I.N said, there was a dark grey cloud heading their way. 

There was no way they could go back right now, but it was too risky to try and ride out the storm. Felix walked up to where Minho was steering the ship, looking at the map beside him. “We’ll need to take a detour, are we near any land?” Felix asked, running a hand through his hair. He was positive that the weather wouldn’t be bad for the next few days.

“There should be some land northeast from where we are. But we’ll have to take another route home if we break course right now.” Minho explained and Felix sighed. “Very well,” he turned to Chan who overheard the conversation, giving him the signal. Chan nodded and ordered all the men to get into position, everyone working in sync to turn the ship.

It took a good hour of sailing for them to find land. “LAND AHOY!” I.N yelled from the nest, pointing to where a small island was. Felix was confused, there weren’t any islands on the map where they were. But his confusion turned into relief once they docked the ship. He had been worried for a while, thinking that they broke off the initial course only to not be able to find any land. 

The island looked like it had been untouched, which made Felix suspicious, but he moved it to the back of his head for now. “Listen up men! We’ll stay here for the night till the storm passes. Rest up cause we’ll be leaving first thing in the morning.” Felix called over Chan, Hyunjin, and Changbin, the 3 men walking up to him. 

“You three will come with me, we’re going to see if there’s anyone else around here.” He explained and began to walk into the forest of trees. “MINHO AND JISUNG! You guys are in charge till we’re back.” Felix called, continuing when he heard a faint yes sir. 

The four boys walked deeper into the dense forest, looking for any sign of human life. Suddenly, the four boys stopped when Felix heard a voice. “Did you guys hear that?” he asked, looking around. The other three looked at each other and shook their heads. 

Felix could’ve sworn that he heard a voice, but he figured it was nothing and carried on. Felix was walking in front of the others looking around but in the end, nothing was found. However, they managed to find some fruit and snagged some on the way back. Felix still couldn't stop thinking about that voice he heard. It almost sounded like someone was singing, and Felix couldn't deny that although it was really faint it sounded beautiful, almost like it was calling out to him.

Felix was snapped back into reality when he saw Minho and Jisung holding back one of the crewmates from possibly beating the other that was on the ground into a pulp. Felix sighed, groaning internally.

‘You two had only one job...’ 

Night had fallen over the island and Felix was glad that they decided to take a detour, there was no way they’d be able to survive this storm if they were still at sea. Felix was lying down on his bed wondering where that voice could’ve come from. He didn’t understand why he was so curious, but there was something about what he heard that kept him wanting to check it out. Having had enough, Felix got up and put his coat on, quietly walking out of his cabin into the pouring rain and ran down the ship into the thick forest. 

When Felix was in deep enough, the rain had practically stopped, only coming down in little droplets. Felix took the same route he did just hours ago, but this time instead of a smooth path, Felix found himself walking normally one second and then the ground disappearing beneath him the next.

He went sliding and tumbling down a rocky ground, managing to grab onto a tree root that thankfully stopped him from falling off the ledge he was now dangling off of. Felix quickly pushed himself up and sat down, groaning in pain. Then he suddenly heard the most beautiful voice singing. 

I've been watchin' you for some time

Can't stop starin' at those ocean eyes~

Ignoring the throbbing in his body, Felix stood up and began to make his way down the ledge, blindly following the voice until he was in a large open cave, lit by beautiful shining crystals. 

Burning cities and napalm skies

Fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes~

Felix’s head snapped in front of him, eyes widening when he saw what looked to be a woman sitting on a rock that was surrounded by a pool of water. She looked almost ethereal sitting there, combing her luscious dark brown locks that cascading down her back. 

Your ocean eyes~

The woman turned towards Felix, motioning for him to come closer with her long delicate fingers. She had large innocent-looking eyes, a cute little nose, and plump pink lips. By this point, Felix thought he fell in love at first sight. He slowly walked towards her, stopping when his eyes went lower to where her legs should’ve been. Instead, he was met with a green scaly tail. But rather than being scared, he was more curious. The woman looked confused when she saw that Felix stopped. Seconds later, the woman was jumping into the pool, and before Felix could even blink she was floating by his feet.

“Hello there,” Felix greeted the half woman half creature, crouching down to her level. He noticed that the water looked very shallow, but by the way the mermaid looking creature dived into the water, he was positive that wasn’t the case. “What’s your name?” he asked, hoping to get an answer.

The woman stared at him dumbfounded, slightly startled by his deep voice before answering. “Y/n,” 

Felix smiled, glad that he got an answer. “Are you a mermaid?” Y/n snorted when she heard that, shaking her head. “Those stuck-up wannabes don't live around here,” she said, resting her cheek on her hand as she examined the boy before her. “Then what’re you?”

Y/n ignored his question, instead asking him a question. “Shall I sing you a song?” she asked. Felix wanted to ask why she wouldn’t answer him but then he found himself nodding instead. Y/n began singing once again.

I've been walkin' through a world gone blind

Can't stop thinkin' of your diamond mind

Y/n reached for Felix’s hand, which he allowed her to take, too entranced by her voice to care. 

Careful creature made friends with time

Y/n tugged at his hand, lowering his head till their faces were inches apart.

He left her lonely with a diamond mind

She snaked a hand around Felix's neck, pressing her lips against his, kissing the boy softly. Felix instantly reacted, kissing her back. When Y/n was sure he was distracted, she lifted her other hand, fingers turning into sharp claws. Felix deepened the kiss, holding Y/n’s jaw in his hand and sliding his tongue into her mouth. Y/n was glad, this boy was going to be a piece of cake.

She brought her hand down, ready to kill the boy in front of her but what caught her off guard was when Felix grabbed her wrist with his free hand. Y/n froze, but Felix continued to kiss her as if it was nothing. When he pulled away, Y/n stared at him with wide eyes. Felix stared back into her what he now noticed were dull eyes, but he managed to catch a hint of guilt in them.

“Not today sweetheart,” Felix whispered, deep voice slightly raspy. Y/n couldn’t understand why he was able to react so quickly. She’d killed many men within minutes of meeting them, but for some reason, she just couldn't seem to kill Felix.

Chills ran down Y/ns back when she heard the pet name roll off his tongue. She switched to her last resort, gripping onto his neck and pulling him into the deep water. 

Felix struggled to remove her grip from his shoulders, trying his best to remain calm. Y/n stuck her sharp claws into his shoulders, causing the deep blue water to turn a deep red. When she was sure that Felix was dead, a few tears left her eyes. 

And those ocean eyes…

Y/n removed her claws from the now dead body, watching as he came afloat, still and unmoving. A sob left her mouth, more tears falling. It happened every time she killed someone, Y/n would start sobbing like crazy, shaking and afraid. She pulled the body out of the water, laying him onto the ground, and ran her fingers through his blonde hair. He was handsome from what Y/n could tell from behind her tears. The freckles splattered all over his face. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, laying her head on his chest. 

“I don't have anything against you… but if I didn't do this then they’d come and kill you instead. It would’ve been pure torture to be killed by them. This was the only way to save you.” Y/n said, propping her head up using her elbow, she traced the boy's lips. “It’s a shame I never got your name. I bet it would’ve been pretty like you,” she whispered, leaning down to press one final kiss to the boys' lips before she discarded the body. What she didn’t expect though, was for the boy to kiss her back.

She pulled away and shrieked, moving as far away as she could from the body. “Y'know, it’s not nice to kiss someone the way you did and then try to kill them.” Felix rasped, turning to the side so he could cough up some water. Y/n's eyes filled with tears and she covered her mouth. “H-how’re you still alive? You just d-died,” she stuttered.

“You must’ve killed most people the first time only, cause the third time really wasn’t the charm.” Felix chuckled. Y/n stayed silent, shocked because how could he be laughing and acting like she didn't just almost kill him. “Nonononono you’re supposed to be dead. They’ll sniff you out and it’ll be the end of the both of us why didn't you just die-” y/n mumbled and began to shake.

Felix noticed her shock, sitting up and scooting closer to her. Y/n’s mumbles seized when he pulled her into a hug, whispering sweet nothings and reassurances about how he’ll protect them both. 

Felix pulled away and placed a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “Hear me out..” he said quietly. Other than the dull burn all over his body, Felix's chest had tightened the moment he heard the cries of the creature in front of him and it warmed when he heard her laugh. Not to mention the flutter and increase of his heart rate when they kissed. 

“I love you,” Y/n stared at the boy in front of her like he was crazy. “I know for a fact what love is, and what it’s like to be in love. I can tell you 100% what I feel for you right now is love,” Felix tried to convince her. 

Y/n scoffed, pushing the boy off her, but he wasn't through yet. “You’re out of your mind.” 

“I am, but that's not the point here.” Felix countered, holding tightly onto her hand. “Please just give me a chance-” he tried to say but he was cut off.

 “STOP! Do you hear yourself?? I don’t even know your name-” Y/n said but then was also cut off. “It’s Felix,” he answered.

“Well FELIX, you’re clearly out of your mind. Look at me, I’m a goddamn monster. I’m not capable of feeling love or being loved.” 

“Yes, you are! I know you love me too! I heard you crying and everything you said before you kissed me again. I know you didn't want to and you did it with good intentions. Please Y/n, we both love each other we-” 

“FELIX! You know nothing. I don't love you and you don't love me either. I didn't say anything after drowning you and I kiss all my victims after they die. It’s my goodbye to them and then I throw their bodies away. You were no different.” Y/n was about done with Felix, why couldn’t he get the message? 

“I know I was, cause if you didn’t have any feelings towards me then you would’ve killed me by now. I’d be long gone yet here I am. I don't care about whoever you said is trying to kill me, I can protect myself and I’ll protect you too. I promi-” Y/n gasped, covering her mouth as she sat frozen in place.

“You heard that? Nononono this just makes everything worse they-” Y/n tried to say but then her eyes began to glow a bright blue and her brown hair was now as deep blue as the water sitting beside them. 

Felix stared and her frozen position, about to shake her out of worry but then she was back to normal right after. 

“They’re coming.” was all she said. Felix saw the change of y/ns mood. She looked like she had given up. Her eyes were duller than before if that was even possible. Her shoulders were slumped. She looked Felix in the eyes and he froze, she looked like she was dead inside. 

 “Who’s coming back-” Felix would’ve finished his sentence if it wasn’t for the big rock y/n threw straight at his head, knocking him out. Felix’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to his side, staring at Y/n as black spots began to take over his line of sight. “Please... Y/...n.” and with that Felix was out like a light. 

“He’s waking up!” “Get more water and ice!” 

Felix heard faint voices yell. He opened his eyes slowly only to be met by the concerned face of none other than Chan. 

‘Wait… Chan??’

Felix suddenly shot up, looking around. He was in his cabin, Chan, and Minho sitting by the side of his bed. “Nononono where’s Y/n?!” He asked frantically, trying to get out of bed but Chan stopped him. 

“Woah there bud, take it easy. Who’s Y/n?” Chan asked calmly. 

“What happened? How did I get here?” Felix screamed, tears forming in his eyes. 

“When we woke up you weren’t in your room so we assumed you went out, but then we saw you lying face down in the water and you were all bruised and beaten looking. So here you are now.” Minho explained. “Now don't you think we deserve to know what the hell happened to you? You’re the most skilled person out of all the men we have, so how the hell did you end up like this?”

Felix opened his mouth to explain but then he felt a sudden rocking underneath him. “Did we start sailing again?” he asked, feeling a sudden panic arise in him. Chan nodded and pointed outside. “We set sail just a few minutes ago.”

Felix used all his might to push Chan and Minho out of the way and ran out of his cabin, rushing up to the quarterdeck and crying out when he saw the island was growing smaller by the minute. 

He stared dejectedly at the island which was now just a dot in the distance. Felix saw something move in the distance and when he squinted he saw the luscious Brown locks he could never forget. “Y/n? Y/N!!!!” He yelled. She smiled sadly at him and waved, then 6 other creatures emerged and no matter how much she tried to fight them off, they had pulled her under.

“Y/N NOOOOO!” Felix cried, falling to his knees. It didn't matter to him that he fell in love with someone at first sight; what did matter though, was that the person who managed to take his heart in one night also managed to crush it not even a few hours later. 

3 years later. 

Felix and his crew had set sail once again for another voyage. This time setting course for the United States. Night had fallen once again but Felix wasn’t sleeping. He sat where he did every day for the past 3 years during the night at the very back of the ship where he last saw Y/n, hoping that he’d see her again someday. Even to this day, he waited and waited. 

“You waiting for her again?” A voice asked from behind him. Felix nodded at the Aussie who threw an arm around his best friend. 

“Y'know, I don't know if I ever told you this but, Sometimes I sit in bed and wonder what would happen if things were different. What if she was human? Or whoever tried to kill her didn't exist. What if I was like her? We could’ve been together if that was the case,” Feliz sighed, running a hand through his hair. Even to this day, he still remembered how heavenly her hand felt running through his hair, how soft her lips felt against his, how cold yet comforting her skin was. 

“Maybe in another life, you two will end up together.” Chan comforted his friend. 

“Maybe...” Felix agreed.

600 years later

“Felix hurry up! We’re gonna be late again!!” Chan yelled from the kitchen. Felix practically flew downstairs on one foot as he attempted to put a shoe on the other. “Let's go! We have 10 more minutes!” 

Both boys rushed to Chan's car and drove to their university in record time. They ran as fast as they could and were halfway to class when Felix realized he left his book in Chan's car.

“Chan, I left my textbook in your car!” Felix groaned. Chan smacked him upside the head and threw him his keys, running to class while thinking of good ways to distract their professor. 

Felix ran back to Chan's car and grabbed his textbook. When he was running back towards the building, he being the idiot he is, ran into someone and fell back onto his butt. The person in front of him held their hand out which he gladly took. He stood up and finally looked at the person he bumped into. She was really pretty, with large innocent looking eyes, a cute little nose, and plump pink lips. But there was something about her eyes that was really dull like they had lost the light in them. “You okay?” she asked. 

Something about her voice sounded so alluring to Felix but he couldn’t pin why. “Oh-UH yes! Yea I’m okay, sorry for bumping into you,” Felix apologized. “It’s fine,” the brunette said before turning and walking towards the building. Felix followed her and decided to introduce himself. 

“My name’s Felix, What's yours?”

“Y/n,”

Fin.