#coral has to explain it to him and he almost cries

[crazycriter]

my tbosas hc is that tanner has no understanding of women and thinks their time of the month is a big werewolf joke

[twisted-wonderland-but-gayer]

House husband jade house husband jade

(I find the way of the house husband hilarious)

Househusband Octotrio

Combining 3 in one here, Very trio centric

Azul

He's not a total Househusband, he has a business to run.

Still, he is amazing at housework. Everything is meticulous and organized for maximum efficiency, the nerd even calculated it. You both probably also have a pet Roomba that drifts around on occasion.

Azul is also an amazing cook from his years of owning and working in restaurants. He will wear the frilly apron and cook healthy, hearty meals that still taste great. He is waiting for his praises. Please praise him for his work, he needs it.

Also hard-core mom energy. It's kinda cute. He will make you eat some veggies and you better sit up straight, that shrimp posture is no good for your back! Also lectures you if you're working too hard, he loves you and wants you with him. 

Gets everything on the grocery list for a good price and the highest quality where it matters. He will even get you snacks. I can see him after he's done with all his chores acting like a wine mom watching true crime drink in hand while reading a book. Or in this case, watching Shrimplicity, the most popular show in the Coral Sea, reviewing contracts, and sipping on a drink that pairs well with his chicken nuggies.

Imagine him at the end of the day taking off your coat and hanging it up, asking how your day was, and giving you a kiss on the cheek. When you have to go out for the day, he makes sure you look your best, even fixing your collar, cuffs, and tie before smooching you goodbye.

All in all, he's more of a traditional househusband.

With Kids:

Man's a textbook father. He has read every book, watched every video, and also asked his mom, step-dad, and grandma about raising children. He's almost too good. 

So much exposure to all sorts of healthy foods and is probably a Pinterest mom with lots of activities and playtime focused on developing motor skills. The baby/ies is/are the healthiest in the world. He makes sure to read to them and never baby-talks them either.

Bedtime stories with lots of big words are common. He would even have them on his lap as he mixes potions while explaining how to make them and what they do. But most importantly he makes sure to tell his child/ren how much he loves them. He feels like he never says it enough.

100% would have the kid/s on his lap during a deal to coerce the client into signing a deal. Come awwwhnnn look at their cute little faces. He has money to make, do you want them to starve?? How could he be so evil with such adorable children?? And the children also have the most judgemental stare.

The kiddos will definitely grow up very loved and accepting of themselves. As they get older they are taught responsibility and chores. They are given a good allowance and strict rules that Azul encourages them to negotiate so they can practice for the real world.

The day his kid/s end up triggering their mer form during bathtime, he cries. The little chubby octomer— a form that he once despised— in the tub is his, and he loves them so much. It reminds him of how he looked like as a kid and it opens his eyes a bit to how harsh he was being to himself. Whenever he doubts himself or insecurity builds, he remembers his kiddo/s and how they're so much like him. Hating himself is also hating them. He swears that he will teach them, self-love.

Overall he's an amazing househusband that's even better with kiddies.

Floyd

I cannot see him being 100% a Househusband. He's probably still Azul's lackey for beating people up when it gets too boring. Not to say he couldn't be a househusband— just probably not full-time.

You have a very… eccentric house husband to say the least. He's definitely not like other house spouses. Rather than neat and tidy you probably have a semi-organized mess. Occasional decorative nick-nacks here and there which may be an acquired taste… theme does not exist to this man, he puts all the things he likes into one place like a fandom blog.

Cooking-wise, sometimes it may be better to eat out. There are some times when he either forgets to cook or ignores it because he's bored, which just means it's a take-out day. Other times his cooking is like his mood. Floyd can really cook something decent if he tries. Hell, he can also probably hunt some high-quality fish to eat raw. Regardless when he tries the food isn't perfect, but that just makes it better.

When the cooking isn't so great… be prepared. It can either be like eating cardboard or dumpster water. One time he served you a hotdogs sausage that had spaghetti going through it and you haven't been the same since.

Oh yeah, when grocery shopping he's super sketchy. "Hey hey you got any of that white stuff? White an' granulated?" "Sir we do not have that.." "No flour? Aw man I was gonna make a cake… or well try to.~" Everyone thinks that he's up to something. It's even worse when neighbors greet you and he comes off as threatening. You've gotten several noise complaints too. And police called because people thought the bite marks on you were from Floyd hurting you. No, he's just demanding attention and giving love.

With kids:

He WILL bring any kids you have along to his work and show them how it's done. If he can't hold them, he'll plop em on a chair or give them to uncle Jade as he just beats the absolute shit outta someone. He's not raising weaklings. If they can crawl they can brawl

He encourages his kids to have fun and make a mess. Oh, you wanna use mustard as paint? Count him in! You wanna try adding some meat to the cake? Let's make the weirdest cake ever then!

The kid/s are always encouraged to be kid/s and to be themselves. He jokes with them and genuinely listens to their interests. He's a dad when it matters and will go to a boring dance recital and probably get escorted out for going up there to join them.

Silly bedtime stories and play-wrestling are common. Oftentimes the house is a wreck afterward but when is it not? Floyd teaches the kids how to fight early on by wrestling them. Sometimes neighbors get concerned about how he manhandles the little one/s but he's surprisingly safe about it. Yeah, he's holding the baby like a gun and pretending to shoot people, but the neck is supported.

Floyd is impatient when the kid's merform doesn't trigger quickly. He would often throw them in the pool or bath randomly in hopes to see them. One day he sees a little eel in the tub and immediately gets excited and starts cooing over them. He promises to teach you all how to swim very good, yeah?

Chaotic good dad that gives their kids lots of fun memories and stories to tell.

Jade

S+ Househusband. Man's practically a butler already, house husbanding is child's play to him.

You think Azul was tidy? Jade is meticulous and probably moves the fridge and oven weekly to clean behind there as well. Dust is not a concept to him at all. There are no need for Roombas when Jade exists. Do not mess up his arrangements or orders of things, he gets very annoyed because his way makes the most sense to him. If you're short he might put stuff you use a lot on the top shelf. 

The home has a very earthy theme too. It's no secret he adores terrariums and nature. You may have a moss wall and a lot of houseplants and mini terrariums too. The air in your house is crisp.

His cooking is incredible as always, and his foraging has never stopped. A lot of ingredients used he may have grown or foraged himself. Please compliment his mushroom dishes, it makes him really happy and he may tell you everything he knows about them too. Overall you have very tasty and balanced meals every day.

Jade is also misunderstood and considered the scary one of the household. To be fair he does encourage that image by messing with others for his amusement. Oh, the neighbors saw him covered in blood through the window because he was butchering a steak? He'll play into it to watch them squirm. He'll change his wordings to sound sincere yet threatening too.

Coupon god when grocery shopping, though it's rare for him to go shopping in big stores. He loves farmer's markets and is especially good at haggling prices. I can see him also selling and exchanging mushrooms there too in his own little stand. Raw milk and honey, fresh fruit and veggies, along with some high-quality meat? Loves it. As a regular, he gets discounts too. Definitely jokes with his regular shopkeepers by pretending to be scary, it's an inside joke.

An ideal house husband really. He's absolutely terrifying to everyone else but is sweet and loving with you. Lots of friendly banter too, he is a tease after all. 

With kids

An ideal yet strange dad? Your kids always seem perfect with him, it's strange. Perhaps the kid or kids you have will inherit Jade's ability to seem calm.

Like his parents, he will train any kids you have at a young age in self-defense. Kid's gonna be a black belt in everything at age 7.

Surprisingly good with children and it still feels surreal that he has little ones. He does everything he can to make them as healthy as possible as babies. Plenty of meat, plenty of veggies, mushrooms, and all sorts of playtime activities to make them strong.

He would encourage any hobbies the kid/s may have and support their interests completely. Goes to any plays or piano recitals. 

Jade teaches responsibility first and foremost. There are certain things you have to do and certain actions have consequences. He teaches them all kinds of things from chores to cooking to camping to swimming in the ocean. What to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Of course, he doesn't tell them everything as he doesn't want his kids to be completely dependent on him and lets them try or think of new solutions.

Don't think his intimidating self disappears with his kids. If anything they inherited it. He will tell them scary bedtime stories that they adore and they mimic dads "scary voice".

"Let's say you have 5 eels in your reef and a shark devours two of them, a sad day undersea… but how many remain?" "Two! Two!" "...Correct little one, smart as ever."

Jade is surprised he manages to find someone he trusted enough to start a family and he adores you both so much. You all go to the beach or the Coral Sea often so the children can see their grandparents and explore their other homes. One day, in the shallows as Jade, was curled around the little thing in eel form, did they change as well. The kid was surprised and a bit scared at first, but Jade scooped them up and held them. It's time to teach them everything there is to being an eel.

[sundove88]

Oyster Returns The Pearl- A Cookie Run Kingdom One Shot

After realizing what her ancestor had done and the mistake he brought upon her dear friends the Gem Mermaids, Oyster Cookie decides to take it upon herself and fix what was broken.

Note: Based on THAT scene of Moana.

Spoilers for the new update ahead!!

The rain poured down on the streets of The Creme Republic, with thunder and lightning filling the skies above. Everyone had gone inside to escape the horrid weather and enjoy a nice hot drink to help their tired bodies. Well, Almost everyone. Captain Caviar Cookie as well as Oyster Cookie decided to do what no other cookie had done before- return stolen property. “Come on, Captain Caviar! She needs this more than we do!” Oyster said, helping her friend as well as his own crew make their way to the shores.

“We’re going as fast as we can, Oyster!” Captain Caviar yelled as the Salty Sharks and Candy Diver bounded behind him. In the distance, they saw Black Pearl Cookie commanding a furious tempest, as if driving her anger towards the land cookies who had betrayed her so long ago. “We have to hurry! There’s no time!” Oyster shouted as she climbed up the rock in her own heels, knowing that this was her only chance to make things right. She then held up the jet black Pearl, and it shone like a beacon in the distance.

This alerted the giant gem mermaid to Oyster’s presence, and her sisters Crimson Coral, Gold Citrine, Aquamarine, and Mystic Opal as well as everyone else; Frilled Jellyfish included, watched in awe as Oyster climbed down the rock and towards the area where land and sea met. “Let her come to me.” She said in a determined tone, still holding the Pearl. At that moment, the ocean split in two- allowing for both parties to pass through. Black Pearl swam forward with an unstoppable rage, while Oyster just gracefully walked forward- singing a lullaby of reassurance and hope.

I have crossed the horizon to find you

I know your name

They have stolen the heart from inside you

But this does not define you

This is not who you are

You know who you are

The moment Oyster finished her lullaby, Black Pearl towered over her, her face more calm than anyone had ever seen. “Who you truly are.” Oyster uttered softly. Holding the gemstone, she walked up to the massive siren and said: “Black...no. WHITE Pearl Cookie- I can't take away all the years of suffering my ancestor has made you endure, but I can finally give back what he stole from you and…..help you heal...” the house head explained, holding up the precious stone. Upon witnessing her Pearl for the first time in years, Black Pearl started crying. “Y-Y-You gave it back…!” She said through her sobs, seeing the precious gemstone.

“So please, take this. It doesn't belong to me; it never has...” Oyster said as the siren continued crying, her tears that had been held back over the years finally flowing free. “T-T-Thank you... thank you so much..!” The mermaid said as she profusely thanked the cookie who gave back the most precious thing in her life through her tears. “Anything for a friend of mine.” Oyster said as she was picked up by Black Pearl, the former drying the tears of the latter as the clouds began to dissipate above them, the sun warming up all around it. “I’m sorry… I am so sorry…! And ashamed of all the lives I took and how blinded by rage and anger I was… I’ll do anything to make it up to all of you, but I… don’t think… I’ve earned my redemption…!” The mermaid said as she cried bitterly. “We weren’t angry at you. We were just sad… that you lost your way and who you were.” Crimson Coral replied as she swam up to her sister. “I… I did lose my way… and who I truly was.” The giant siren replied as she hung her head down in shame.

“But thanks to us, you’ve found both again.” Captain Caviar replied as he swam down to where his friends were. “And you weren’t alone in doing so. And we’re so happy you’ve found your way here… and who you truly are!” Friiled Jellyfish said enthusiastically. “OYSTER!!” Everyone yelled as Black Pearl, who was now back to her true self aka White Pearl, gracefully placed Oyster back on solid ground. “I did what I had to do.” She said with a smile. “And it was the right thing to do.” Crimson Coral began. “You saved our sister.” Aquamarine continued. “And for that…” started Gold Citrine. “We’re more than grateful for what you’ve done.” Mystic Opal finished. “How can I ever thank you?” White Pearl Cookie said, her now silver eyes filled with eternal gratitude. “You already have. By sharing your secrets with me since I was small.” Oyster replied, kissing the siren on the cheek. The cookie who had fixed her ancestor’s mistake had finally done the impossible- help Black Pearl regain the trust she had lost.

The End

[kanafinwe-makalaure]

No Longer a Home

Words: 2.5k

Relationships: Maglor & his spouse & their daughters

For Maglor, the First Kinslaying was not only a crime against Elvenkind, but also against his own, very Telerin family. Without him, his spouse and young daughters are left to process what has happened in Alqualondë, the desecration of their home by beloved family members.

The world was dark and the sand still drenched in crimson blood; it had not been enough time for it to be cleaned away or for the waves to wash it into the ocean. The last bodies were being carried off. Instead of song, wails and cries coloured the air, but they rang dull and lifeless through the darkness, which seemed firm and thick as darkness should not be, like a sea of tar.

The houses of the Falmari, normally so bright and shining, sat in rows upon the hill, painted white and blue, skeletal like a dead coral reef. They were decked in pearls whose glow was now dimmed; their inhabitants dared not speak too loudly even when they were inside, and all windows were covered.

In one such house, a little girl with dark, raven hair came down the stairs for breakfast and found only her elder sister at the table. She had been told to sleep, even though no-one could tell whether it was night or day, and that by morning, they would have found her twin; but who could even know when morning was?

“Where is Ammë?” she asked Alkarmë, who had made scrambled eggs and rice.

Alkarmë did not look at her at all.

“Eat.”

Ellaurië sat down and stared at her.

“Is she still looking for Kánë?”

Alkarmë nodded. “They’ll find her. Now eat.”

Ellaurië put a few bites of food on her plate, but did not touch it. She already knew it would not taste just how Atto made it.

Suddenly, she laughed, and she knew all would be well. It was a puzzle, this situation, and Kánë had solved it!

“I know!” she cried. “She’s hiding so that Atto will come and find her!”

Alkarmë frowned; the flicker of the fire almost made her look angry.

“Just eat,” was all she said, her voice a little thick like the darkness outside, and the more Ellaurië laughed, the more Alkarmë looked as though she wanted to weep, so Ellaurië explained.

“She knows that when Atto hears she's missing, he will come home, because even though he wants to leave, as soon as he hears that one of us is missing, he will come back! He'll come back to us!”

Alkarmë looked away and her lips were a very thin line.

“Your food is getting cold. Eat.”

Ellaurië laughed and digged in. The food did not taste just how Atto made it, but that did not matter because he was going to come back soon!

Read the rest on AO3

[zealous-whispers-of-us-redux]

a different kind of song

(A/N: no one ever asked for this, but there isn't enough merman!Bucky/reader fics out there, lol. Also, her song is basically "Siren Song" by Margaret Atwood)

Warning- allusions to sexual assault. Do NOT read if that bothers you!

Summary: The sea swallowed her whole, and she was reborn with saltwater on her tongue and webs between her fingers.

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

She did not remember her life as a human. All she remembered was the war, and the hunger, and the men raiding her village. She remembered the sweat-soaked skin of a warrior snatching her up as she cried out for help. She felt the slide of his body, his blade against her throat. Then when he had finished, she remembered being thrown away into the deepest part of the sea, left to die. But she was blessed by the primordial sea god Phorcys, a child of Artemis, and was allowed to live again. Her new body was formed from misery and blood, and the reward for her suffering was eternal life with the chance to kill as many humans as she wished with no divine interference. The killing of human men, for men were the chosen victims of any siren. Women were not drawn in by their song, and if, by chance, a woman stumbled across a siren, that siren would leave her alone.

Slowly, she began to forget the trappings of humanity, the sound of her mother's voice, and the taste of human food. She aged with the world, hidden deep beneath the waves. Countless men fell prey to her beautiful song, and she learned how to kill quickly. She grew to love the taste of flesh, the sound of someone drowning. She forgot what it was like to be lonely. 

Now, she only knew starvation.

An all-encompassing hunger clawing at her belly made her whine with pain. Humans had avoided this part of the sea for a few years, and she last ate three months ago. She'd had to survive solely on fish, which, while technically food, were not filling nor even tasty. She was beginning to hate fish.

There were no boats; she checked three times in the past hour. It was dangerous for her to be so close to the surface because the air outside was toxic. There was also a very likely chance that she would be spotted by anyone who could harm her. But she was so hungry that she forgot herself. She floated just beneath the surface and sang, letting her voice ring out through the water, enticing any man into approaching. The setting sun shined down on the outcrop of rocks above her.

And there! A flash of something!

She sang louder, opening her eyes underwater. There was a man with darker hair than she had ever seen lying on a gigantic rock. He was acceptable, she guessed. She barely knew what that meant.

He had yet to notice her, dumb as he was. She could see her song was affecting him as his eyes started to close, and his hand inched unconsciously closer to the water. His finger just barely skimmed the surface before she lunged, yanking him into the sea with her. He began to fight back as she dragged him down to the sandy bottom. Thrashing against her hold, he scrabbled to gain purchase on her body, but to no avail. Her skin was as hard as stony coral and difficult to cut. She sang her trumph, mocking him as she brought him up to break the surface, only to bring him right back down.

But this man had a tail, and she did not realize it until it hit her in the face. She squawked in surprise, her song cutting off. The merman twisted out of her slackened grip. She snarled, baring her teeth as she swam at him. Sirens were stronger than mer, especially in deeper waters, so it did not take much to grab him again. They wrestled, flipping over each other. She sliced his side with one of her nails; his tail knocked the wind out of her. He pulled her lure too hard, and she made a pained sound, biting at his hand. He cried out as she ate clean through one of his webs. Blood leaked into the water, making her ravenous.

"This is the one song everyone would like to learn: the song that is irresistible," she began, "The song that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons, even though they see the beached skulls!"

The merman ceased struggling. He stared at her, his eyes growing vast and dreamy. She grinned toothily. She had only had mer meat once before. It was harder to draw in mermen than human men, so because of that, she was only able to entice a single merman. But that was years ago, and he wasn't nearly as delicious to look at as this mer.

She dropped the tone of her voice to a seductive curl. "This is the song that nobody knows because anyone who has heard it is dead, and others can't remember. Shall I tell you a secret? And if I promise to, will you come nearer? I will tell my secret to you, to you, only to you. Come closer, closer to me."

She lifted her finger, tempting him to come over so that she could take a bite. The merman swam closer until their chests were pressed together. He said something in a language that she had never heard before.

"This song is a cry for help, my dear. Help me! Only you, only you can, for you are unique!" she cried sadly.

His tail curled around hers, and she frightened at the gentle touch broken out of her song. She spat and gnashed her teeth, but still, his tail stayed where it was. He opened his mouth and said something, but she still could not understand. She went to bite his nose off, but he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers so plainly that she stilled. She was not sure what was happening. She was not sure what she was supposed to be doing. She floated there, letting him mash his mouth against hers. His mouth tasted bizarre.

Finally, the merman stopped. He pulled away only minutely, still looking spellbound. Strange. Her song had ended. Why did he continue to look at her like that? He reached out and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. His own were darting back and forth across her face, searching for something. He spoke more things that she didn't understand.

"Uhh-h- hello," the merman said in a language she could understand. "Hi."

"Why were you crushing your mouth onto mine?" she asked.

"What, never heard of kissin' before?"

His smile was much too pleasant. That was unacceptable. Food was never supposed to look nice. She wanted to claw the smile right off of his face.

"Kissing?"

"Yeah, touchin' lips. Usually done as a sign of love or, you know, desire."

"Desire?"

"Sweet Thetis, you're fuckin' gorgeous," said the merman, ignoring her confusion.

His hand shot out to touch her lure, but he thought better of it and withdrew.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

His smile grew bigger, how funny: "Beautiful. Pretty."

"Pretty? What's that?"

"You know, like when you find a shiny thing, an' you wanna keep it forever?"

"I do not know," she grumbled (How dare this mer make her feel unintelligent!). "I have never had shiny things."

"Never had… Hold on, my pretty one."

Mystified, she waited just as he'd asked as he ruffled through a pouch that she had not noticed before. She had never seen anything like it and wondered where she could acquire one. Of course, she never had a reason to have a bag since she had no use for possessions. Perhaps it could hold weapons! Or bones to snack on!

"Ah-ha!" the merman said, thrusting something in her direction.

She stared at the thing in his hand.

"Looks even prettier underneath your lights," he said, avoiding her eyes.

"What is it?" she replied, her hand darting out nervously to touch it.

She pulled back almost instantly, but the merman grabbed her wrist.

"It's called gold," he explained, tipping it into her hands. "The humans use it to get other shiny things. D'you like it?"

"I am not sure. I do not know what I like."

"You can keep it."

"What kind of trickery is this?"

"No tricks. As I said, you're beautiful, and beautiful things should have beautiful things."

"No tricks, certainly, but what do you want in exchange?"

For the first time tonight, he looked sheepish. She noticed that his stomach was turning pink, but for what reason, she was unsure. She wondered what he was trying to work up the nerve to say.

"Well, er, matin' season is comin' up," he began.

"Not yet."

"Right, it isn't for a few months yet, but I was taught to woo the mer, er, the creature that I choose with shiny things. It's my first matin' season, you see."

"Mhm."

"An' the wooin' part takes a while. An' then there's the courtin' stage, which takes even longer."

"If you need a mate, there are mer all around this area during this time."

"Well- heh." The merman rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I'd like it to be you."

"Why?"

"Because you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Ah."

"I have more shiny things if you want 'em," the mer said, reaching for his pouch.

She shrugged. "I have no use for them."

"You don't gotta have a use for 'em. Where's your home cave? I can bring 'em there."

"I do not have a home cave," she said.

"Oh, right, where is your family's cave, then?"

"I have no family."

"No family? You mean, you're out here all by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you lonely?"

"What is lonely?" she asked.

"Sad, because you have no one with ya."

"What is sad?"

"Whaddya mean, 'what is sad?' It's sad! Don't you know what that is?" the merman twisted his face up like he was in distress, though what kind she was not sure.

"I only know hunger," she told him.

His eyes lost some of their shine. "Oh, yeah, right. How long's it been since you ate properly anyway? You don't look so good."

"I have not caught a human in months."

"D'you need help huntin'?"

"Can you ensnare a human with your singing?"

"No, but I know some good spots for fish."

"I am not in the mood for fish," she said.

"You just haven't found the right kind," the merman replied, closing his left eye.

He turned tail, swimming away from her before glancing back to see if she would follow him. The hunger in her belly was making her act quite strange in that she was willing to go along with this merman. She felt, oh, what's the word, she knew this, like mer, she was curious. She decided to follow him, keeping a bit of distance between them until the merman flipped around in an impressive display of tailfins and long dark hair, and decided they would swim side by side. His hand kept brushing hers, trying to grab onto her fingers for some reason. She tugged away, unsure of what he was trying to do. She still had not yet decided if she wanted to mate with him anyway. Sirens did not mate in the same way that mer did, that much she knew. They called it breeding, and it was over in a frenzy of teeth and claws. There were no gifts of shiny things or "kisses."

"What's yer name?" the merman asked.

The question stunned her. She could not remember her name before the sea took her in, and she had no use for a name now. No one else called to her. Her name was simply another memory, another casualty to add to her list.

"I do not know," she said.

"You know what a name is, right? Like, I'm Bucky, for example."

Her fingers drifted up to her lips, searching for her name. If she remembered the shape of her mouth as she spoke it aloud, perhaps she could remember the correct sounds. She thought back as far as she could, to the feeling of water filling her lungs, to the sounds of screams, to the smell of a fire burning down her village, to her blood staining her tongue. She wanted to remember her name. She had not even realized this was something she had lost until she needed it.

Then there was a flash of memory, jagged and cutting. Her heart began to race. In her mind, she heard it. Her mother had been crying. Her mother had been screaming at the men to stop. Her mother had been shrieking to let go of her, let go of my daughter. Her mother yelling at her to be brave, hold her breath, be strong, my love, my dear. Her mother. She remembered her mother.

Her lips parted, and she whispered the name into the water. The merman, Bucky, repeated it.

"Again," she said.

He did, and oh, she felt something new, something besides hunger. A hole opened in her chest. Her lower lip wobbled, and then she was singing a new song, never before heard from a siren. It echoed around her and Bucky, reaching out to the farthest depths of the sea. It was filled with desperation, isolation, and salvation, but it was hope and home too.

"Is this what sad is?" she asked Bucky once her song was over.

"Yeah, it is," he answered, curling his tail around hers.

When he went to wrap her up in his arms, she let him, falling into his embrace.

[not-twst-enough]

“*sniffs* because of my tears, I ended up breaking most of the rules. *sniffs* *sniffs* I really.....am the Queen’s worst soldier.....*sniffs* hck! uwaaaahhhhh!~”

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Name: Gale Sombre

Japanese: ゲイル・ソンブレ

Romanji: Geiru Sonbure

Other Name:

Monsieur Fausse-tortue (Rook)

Ukame-kun (Floyd)

Crybaby-senpai (Ace)

Voiced by Sakakihara Yuuki

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Birthday: February 19

Starsign: Pisces

Height: 174cm

Eye Color: Turquoise

Hair Color: Dark Blue and Green highlight

Homeland:

Coral Sea (formerly)

Rose Kingdom

Race: half-cow; half-tortoise (hybrid)

Family: Unnamed Father and Unnamed Mother

PROFESSIONAL STATUS

Dorm: Heartslabyul

School Year: Second

Class: 2-D Student no. 12

Occupation: Student

Club: Cooking

Best Subject: Defensive Magic

FUN FACTS

Dominant Hand: Right

Favorite Food: Gelatin

Least Favorite Food: Escargot

Dislike: Riddle’s anger

Hobby: Making Gelatin

Talents: Cullinary

Unique Magic: “Shell of Grief”

His UM has ability to engulf a large area with his aura, causing anyone within his reach to be overwhelmed with intense feeling of sadness and uncontrollable cry. This ability doesn’t mean to be in constant depending on Gale’s decision whenever he activate with his own freewill

PERSONALITY:

He is the most melancholic crybaby of Heartslabyul and never smiles. Gale is easily emotional at anything that he would constantly cries over. His clumsiness, many mistakes he have done to whatever he helps, horrifying things like danger, intimidation of others, Riddle’s punishments, the weirdness of NRC. All of these are droving him to be more sad that he usually ran away to his dorm and hides in isolated rose maze that is a safe place for him to cry no matter how long he stays. Due to his personality, he’s been mostly neglecting the rules and duties as the Queen’s soldiers. Almost everyone in Heartslabyul (sometimes Riddle himself) have forgotten about him. Some other knew of his personal disappearance but thought it’s troublesome to bring him back because of his melancholic behavior.

He often been easily teased and naming him a “coward” by many because how fragile and cowardly he looks. Either showing their affection towards him and jokes around with pranks but know that he is too sensitive when it comes to jokes. Making up scary jokes or stories would frighten him the most which obviously him begun to cry. Although he wouldn’t mind the good jokes as long as someone has to reassured him if it aren’t true and apologize that is offensive to him. Even Gale doesn’t always smile he would love to see those who’ve been around with him, smiles. He may be an annoying crybaby or a fragile coward to people’s eyes but he has a big kind heart. He is quite a shy one having hard time converse one another and showing his expressions other than sadness due to his past. Wouldn’t want to be the center of the attention by anyone. He’d usually thought negatively by mumbling harsh words to himself subconsciously that people would find it annoying. Find a way to cheer Gale up would be a hard mission to do but in order to zip his mumbles, they need various ways to bring his hopes up. It’ll take longer for Gale to feel what’s “happiness”.

In a good side, he’s surprisingly smart and a bit skilled at baking/cooking. He is very serious during class rather he’s really good at academic work than physical work thanks to growing up being well-educated back from his hometown he’s kind enough to help others explaining very detailed information and everyday he went to the library and studied by himself since Library is a quite place. Gale rather likes to stay quite places like in the rose maze and botanic garden. There are times he could be very serious but passionate if it’s about cooking. He’d nervously accept anyone’s help in baking & cooking if they promised to keep in mind of his teaching. Gale was actually wanted and tried his best to grow close relationship with anyone even if he always ran away from everyone. He’d slowly develop understanding new feelings from his observation and experiences. If something is serious that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to defend himself and other people he love. that really upsets him that much, he’d unexpectedly would show little bit of his true colors than he didn’t realized

Quick warning that his backstory is a bit angst ⚠️

Backstory

Gale was born to be a unique sea creature. A hybrid.....a frown hybrid to be precise. Apparently the parents have to live separately due to his father’s demand of work on the surface so from now on, his mother was the one who’ll raise Gale in the Coral Sea. Every mermaid children even from his school have avoided Gale because of his grotesque appearance: a body of a sea turtle and a horn & tail of a cow as a results of being isolated from them at the young age. Some mermaids did dare bullied while ridiculed Gale naming “son of a sea demon” which makes Gale constantly to mourn everyday alone on the rock until he realized he’ll never fit in with other mermaids or sea creatures. After some time, he and his mother had moved to the surface to reunite and live with their father at the Rose Kingdom. The differences from Sea of Coral is that Gale likes the atmosphere of the Rose Kingdom. People were been nice to him and the children wanted to play with Gale then he made few friends there but still until now Gale is still very insecure of his true form except only Heartslabyul knew who really was that they accepted him as also respected his decision to keep it a secret from outside students.

Trivia

He is the twisted version of the Mockturtle

The name Gale was named by his parents decision that is from an old English word of gal "jovial" and “light” meaning cheerful as they wanted their son to be the happy one. Sombre is a French word based on Latin sub “under” & umbra “shade”

His parents are actually different races as his father is a cow while his mother is a sea turtle

Gale has a hobby of making gelatin as the reference from an old Jell-O commercial in 1956

He has this other ability he could transform to his turtle form and quickly hides inside his shell whenever he was jump-sacred

He is the one who made the beret to design like Heartslabyul themed

He with Azul and Leech twins used to be an old classmates from their elementary school in the Coral Sea

Despite being sorted to Heartslabyul and as a Coral Sea-born, he doesn’t fit in well with Octavinelle students. He tried to, though.

Every spring break, he only visited Coral Sea to meet up with his relatives from his mother’s side

(Heartslabyul banner originally belongs to 👉🏻 @/piraticusdorm not mine)

[wallgirl]

The Little Nereid Part 11

Record of Ragnarok fanfiction

Poseidon x OC

Word count: 2,100

Dynamene, youngest of the 50 Nereids, has lived most of her adolescence as a servant alongside her sisters at Poseidon’s palace. But with her coming-of-age birthday and other developments, what she initially thought was just admiration of her master blossoms into something stronger and more passionate… and painful.

Categories and warnings: Romance, angst, unrequited love, coming-of-age, earn-your-happy-ending, slow-burn (ish); no sexual content. There will be some graphic violence in the future.

Starting a temporary hiatus; will have about ?17? parts total.

---

Dynamene could hardly see through the dark, brackish water that surrounded her on every side. She was too upset to pay attention to where she was going; she swam straight on until her tears had stopped. When she had finally slowed to a halt, she didn't recognize the ocean around her. The water was colder and the coral reefs had disappeared. A heavy stillness and silence pressed about her. She allowed herself to drift down to the bottom, her gentle landing stirring up clouds of silt. She was completely alone now. This part of the ocean was largely devoid of sea life; any way she turned, she saw no movement. It was only her and the swaying kelp that stretched as far as her limited vision could see.

Sniffling quietly, she removed her bracelet and cradled it in both hands. It didn't shine in the hazy water, but the colors remained the same. She stared at it, wishing that the same strong hands that had gifted it to her could appear now to caress her cheek and tell her that everything would be alright.

But they would not. She was all by herself, with no one to count on or turn to. She didn't dare go back home now, where they would surely lock her up on account of keeping her safe. She couldn't go back to his palace either; that would be the first place her family would look for her. Her face crinkled up again in despair, but no tears emerged; she had cried them all out long ago.

What do I do? Where do I go? I'm alone now. And I have the feeling that, no matter where I go, people will discourage me from following my heart. She squeezed the bracelet tight.

I want to see you. Won't you come here, so I can talk to you? I want to hear you explain things in your calm, logical way. I want to hold your hand and feel how strong its grip is around mine. I want you to hold me until I feel better, and this ache goes away.

Her lower lip quivered, and she allowed herself to sink down onto the coarse sand. She curled up, squeezing the bracelet to her chest with both hands. But you won't.

Maybe my feelings are hopeless after all. I have no way to act on them. I can't tell him what I really feel, and my family won't let me be with him. It's all useless. It's all for nothing.

She sensed something moving in the seaweed nearby, and quickly turned. A small pike was poking its head out, watching her puzzledly.

"Oh, excuse me, my lady," the pike said quickly. "I wasn't expecting to see one of you Nereids way out here, especially so late."

"No, it's okay," Dynamene sat up straighter. "I hope I didn't disturb you." She brushed the sand from her cheek.

"Not at all. I was just settling in after a hunt." It swam forward curiously, its immobile little face and dark eyes an almost humorous clash with its sympathetic voice. "Are you alright? You sounded upset."

"I..." Dynamene covered her face in both hands. "I am. It's been a horrible night. I've ran away from home. I got in an argument with my older sister... I don't know where to go from here."

The pike rested against her leg sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that. Family quarrels are never fun. Do you want to talk about it? It might not be much, but I can listen."

Dynamene took a deep breath. "I... I've fallen in love with someone that my family doesn't approve of."

"Oh, dear. That's no good."

"No. I want to be with him, but they won't hear me out. They don't like him at all. I don't know what to do. I love him, but it's hopeless. Nothing will come of it." Dynamene wiped at her eyes, despite the fresh tears bubbling away in the water.

The pike was quiet for a moment, flicking its tail in thought. "I might have some advice, if you'd like."

Dynamene looked at it in surprise. "You do?"

"Yes. About thirty miles from here, overlooking the coast on a tall hill, is a temple of Aphrodite. Perhaps she could counsel you."

Dynamene jerked back in surprise. "Aphrodite?! I'd never even considered..."

"She can be temperamental, but it's said that she loves a good love story. She might see fit to help you. You can get there from here by following the north star."

Dynamene mulled this over briefly. Temperamental... I already knew that from gossip over the years. But if there's even the slimmest chance that she can help me, I have to try. She had never spoken to Aphrodite, only seen her from a distance during formal events. Aphrodite was not one to often lift a finger for mortals who asked for her help. But Dynamene was a Nereid, and part of Poseidon's court. Perhaps she would be willing to speak to her. Dynamene's expression began to brighten with hope. "Thank you so much, friend. I truly appreciate it."

"Not at all. I hope your luck improves, Nereid." The pike brushed its face against her hand before returning to its home in the weeds.

Dynamene took a deep breath, her spirits slightly lifted. A door had finally opened for her; she had a spark of hope to embrace now. That spark had lit a new resolve within her, flooding out the dark hopelessness that had weighed her down previously. But it was so late, and she was tired. There was no way she could make the long swim to the temple on her limited energy. She began to walk the ocean floor, the current gently pushing against her body. She just needed to find a good place to rest for a while.

Her approach stirred up a school of silvery blue fish from the weeds, and they scattered in every which way about her. She stopped to watch them swirl about her. Their color was a perfect match for Poseidon's eyes. The ache returned to her chest, and she reached for them, her fingertips brushing against the slick scales.

I wish I could see you right now. Are you asleep at the palace? Or have you returned to the Indian Ocean, seeing to your duties? Even if we're miles apart, the idea of you being awake as well comforts me...

I love you. I want to be yours. I want you to be mine. I want to wake up next to you in the morning and see the sun shining in your fair hair. I want to cling to your arm as we attend events together; you and I, as lovers. I want you to take me all across the ocean, showing me everything you know, everything you see.

If that can happen, then one night alone on this cold seafloor isn't so bad.

A dip in the silt ahead seemed like a reasonable spot to stop. She curled up in it, her body just small enough to fit comfortably. She waved her fingers, and the surrounding seaweed gently bent over her to weave themselves into a delicate shelter. Taking comfort in her new course of action, she quickly faded off into a deep sleep filled with visions of slender lips and strong arms.

---

Hundreds of miles away, Poseidon stood before a towering underwater wall of craggy rock. Focusing his energy, he slowly rose his arm and tightened his hand into a fist. By his will, the rock groaned in an ear-splitting crack before separating. Giant segments of the wall began to fall slowly through the water, narrowly avoiding the sea god. He didn't blink. He knew they wouldn't touch him.

The last of the fault was finally broken up; at least that of it which had been causing the disturbance. Given another year, the grinding of the plates might resume. Even he couldn't stop the movement of the Earth's giant tectonic plates, but he had no desire to. It was simply another cycle of nature. That being said, he also didn't like the idea of the friction leading to disaster. He'd have to have one of the lesser sea gods keep an active eye on it for the time being.

His work finally finished, he leapt from his perch to land on the ocean floor. One task was done; now he had another to focus on.

"Come to me," he spoke. His words were at a casual volume, but they resonated over hundreds of meters, reaching out to the sea life nearby. At once, the animals stopped what they were doing and began to flock towards him, his words an undeniable command. Like a scene from a painting, fish, cetaceans, and crustaceans of every sort formed a colorful crowd about him in the pristine blue waters.

"The largest of you, find me more of these." He held up an opened oyster in his hand, showing them the mother-of-pearl interior. "Only oysters that are this size or larger will do. Quickly."

The sea life scattered, the biggest animals rushing out obediently to find what he'd asked for. Some of the oysters they fetched were broken from being opened by other animals.

"No, not the cracked ones," he told a whale who brought him a large oyster that was nearly trisected. He gently placed his hand on its head. "Only those that are intact. I need them for jewelry."

The whale looked at him with its intelligent dark eyes before hurrying away once more.

Why am I doing this? I promised her a bracelet. I don't need these many oysters.

A necklace and a tainia for her hair will be much more visible. No one will miss them. I'm sure she'll be over the moon with delight. Such a simple girl.

But a bracelet is a rather pathetic gift. So low-brow coming from one of the greatest gods. So easy to miss on such a slender wrist.

A heap of oysters with shining interiors quickly began to pile up next to him. "That's enough," he told his subjects. "Thank you."

He summoned a bag, and as if they'd returned merrily to life, the oysters hopped one by one inside. He fastened the bag and was about to return to the surface when he saw a humpback dolphin steadily approaching from far off in the blue void.

"What is it?" He asked the animal as soon as it came within range. He recognized the intricate golden markings on its back immediately as a sign that it was part of the court of the Nereids' family. "My day is busy enough as it is."

"I apologize for... interrupting you, sire," the dolphin began apologetically. It was completely out of breath, as if it had raced the entire way here. Poseidon's brow furrowed. If the dolphin was arriving just now in the morning, it had to have left its palace in the dead of night.

"You're nearly incomprehensible. Surface first, then tell me."

"Lord Poseidon, it's an emergency. The Nereid Dynamene has run away overnight."

Poseidon froze. His jaw clenched tightly. "...Run away?"

"She had a quarrel with one of her sisters last night, and escaped into the ocean. She hasn't been seen since. Her family is... is worried for her."

Poseidon's lip began to curl. Those idiot Nereids. I allow them to remove her from my palace, and they can't even keep hold of her for one day. Worthless sisters. I should have never let them leave. "Where do they think she might have gone?" He managed to ground out. Cracks began to form in the seafloor beneath his boots.

The dolphin shrank away from him, his anger apparent from the way the water was beginning to simmer about his body. "They haven't any idea, my lord. They wondered if she might have returned to your palace."

"That would be the logical idea." His cool words barely concealed his rage. "Return to them. I will return home and organize a search on my end immediately. If she has returned to the palace, I will send word."

"Yes, my lord." The dolphin quickly swam towards the surface to take a breath before making its return journey.

Poseidon stood there, fuming, as he formed a plan of action. The sea life nearby quickly scattered, not wanting to get caught in his growing wrath. Stupid child. She'll get herself killed. She's far too naïve and weak to traverse the ocean alone. So like a young girl, to let her emotions rule over her. The water around him was boiling now, bubbles hissing in his ears.

Eyes snapping, he waved his arm in a sweep before himself. The water began to roar as it swept quickly all about him. For her sake, she'd better be at the palace.

The turbulent current dispersed, and he was gone.

---

AUGHHH

I listened to On My Own from Les Misérables. The 25th Anniversary Samantha Barks version. That's what I thought of with Dynamene by herself.

Is Poseidon even capable of loving another person? Or is owning someone like an object the closest he gets to affection?

I will be taking a brief hiatus from writing this to refill my writer juice, no longer than 3 weeks. I love this story, but I'm losing energy for writing it. I need to give it some space to regain that emotional drive. I will see you all soon!

[sunnytwst]

Hello! May I request the dormleaders hc where there sibling who is just a little bit younger then them visit them after they overblot. If thats alright^_^ and I absolutely love your writing💜

hello!! sdofhsofdh first of all i’m sorry this took so long!!! and then also sorry once again if jamil is out of character because i feel like i don’t have a good grasp on his personality.....and then sorry yet ANOTHER time because i only did the characters who have overblotted in the story so far because i’m pretty new to the game and too nervous to speculate...please enjoy askjdfgodifhg

relationship: riddle rosehearts x gn! reader (siblings), leona kingscholar x gn! reader (siblings), azul ashengrotto x gn! reader (siblings), jamil viper x gn! reader (siblings)

format: headcanons

genre: hurt/comfort

warnings: spoilers for backstories, spoilers for overblots, discussion of past abuse and trauma, mentions of depression

riddle rosehearts:

for as much as riddle seems to have improved, he’s sometimes overwhelmed with shame because losing control like he did when he overblotted almost felt like failure

when you tell him that you’re visiting he’s kicking the dorm up into a frenzy again, making preparations for your arrival, everything has to be perfect, nothing can be wrong

it might stem from feeling like he has to be strong, as your older brother, or maybe from an ingrained fear of harsh criticism from his family

you think that he’s just awkward initially because you haven’t seen each other in so long but he doesn’t relax at all as the day goes on, speaking stiffly and formally

when the two of you are alone later that evening and you try to explain the reason for your visit was just that you’re worried about him he’d try to deflect but ultimately snap, face growing redder and redder, fists tightening at his sides

worried about what? there’s nothing to worry about! or maybe you’re worried that he’s gone off the rails? that he’s gotten too soft? that he’ll damage the rosehearts name?

when you flinch away from him, eyes wide and watery, riddle practically deflates

it’s not your fault. you’re not his mother.

you’re not his mother.

wrap him in a hug and tell him that it’ll be okay. you’re not worried about any of that, you’re worried about him, about how he’s doing and feeling, about if he’ll be alright, because he’s your only big brother and you love him

he cries, but knowing that you’re still there for him and you always will be even when he’s not perfect is a huge weight off his shoulders

leona kingscholar:

honestly, he really, really did not want to see you shortly after his overblot and told you to not to come

even if the two of you are close, leona has a pretty complicated relationship and view on his family and probably wouldn’t be ready to see you right after an incredibly vulnerable point in his life

you should respect his boundaries and lay off but if you reach out again in a few weeks, asking for permission to visit, leona will probably be in a more ready state of mind, albeit not particularly enthusiastic

doesn’t really bother to make any preparations for your arrival

like he might have ruggie dust a little?? but that’s about it

when you get there and go to greet him with a hug he doesn’t behave any differently, just loosely wrapping his arms back around you if you’re persistent and grumbling

if your goal in coming to visit him was to have a serious talk and check in with his Emotions then you’re fresh outta luck buddy

anytime you try to bring up what happened with the overblot or genuinely ask how he’s feeling he would either deflect with a “tch, what are you, my mom?” or ignore the question entirely

you probably won’t be able to get him to open up to you but if you talk to him anyways, just mentioning that you wanted to see him and make sure he was okay, that you love him and his health and happiness came first to you, he would listen

he defaults to his tsundere response but having that support and assurance means a lot to someone who is so used to being second place

azul ashengrotto:

probably anticipated your visit

life in the coral sea is incredibly challenging and with all that on top of azul’s crybaby tendencies, you had made it a habit since youth to check in with him pretty frequently

something like the aftermath of an overblot wasn’t really something that could really be gauged over the phone or some letters though and so it made sense that you’d want to come and see azul in person

he would agree to meet you in the evening, after he’s cleared out the lounge, because scamming people helps him both make a profit and gives him time to calm his nerves

he’s your charismatic big brother after all, right?

everything is going smoothly, the two of you are just making small talk and enjoying the atmosphere, but azul won’t address the overblot on his own and you’ll need to put your foot down and bring it up explicitly in conversation

may try to distract you with “ah, need another drink?” or “what do you think of this song?” but you’ve known him too long to fall for that

it’s not that he doesn’t want to talk about the overblot so much as he’s scared to talk about it, scared of revealing his vulnerable side, so if you assure him that you won’t judge him at all then he’ll crack

there’s not a lot of talking going on but he cries into your shoulder if you offer it to him (and later offers to foot the drycleaning bill)

would act like it never happened the next day but expect a gift basket sometime soon

jamil viper:

basically the entire viper family works for the al-asim family in one way or another so jamil knows that the news of his overblot would reach you pretty fast

his parents had reached out too, of course, checking if he was okay (and checking if he was well enough to keep serving kalim, remarking how merciful it was of him to not fire the vipers on the spot!) but you were the only one who wanted to come visit

jamil tells you that if you manage to get time off then sure, you can come visit, evidently not expecting you to actually be able to take a vacation

he had to do a lot of thinking and reflection after his overblot and you’ve caught him in a vulnerable time so he’s quite guarded around you when you first arrive

could you possibly be here to reprimand him too?

it feels like an uphill battle because you didn’t come here to make small talk but you’re also not really sure how to approach the topic of his overblot since he’s never really been a Feelings kinda guy to begin with

at the end of the day it’d probably be easier to either let him confront you on your reasons for visiting on his own time or, if he doesn’t, go ahead and assure him that you really and truly care about him anyways

it might not seem like it but you’re still family and what you think matters to him

would allow for a hug and maybe a small smile before you left

[seacottons]

peachy clean. — [ s.mg]

pairing: mingi x reader ( ft. woosang )

wc: 1k

warnings: this garbage dump is an excuse to push forth my tigger mingi agenda.

summary: your tall and cute roommate has no idea how to ask you out, so he resorts to unusual means.

“So is this a new phase of yours?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the male mumbled, concentrated eyes lingering on his reflection as he delicately presses the edges of a sheet mask in place.

You gestured to the bathroom cabinet with a wave of your hand, an incredulous expression resting onto your features, “Then what is all this?”

He turned around and blinked momentarily at you, finger reaching up to scratch at his scalp in a sheepish manner, “Our... cabinet?”

You shared a long, silent stare with the taller.

“You didn’t leave any peach scented item in the store,” you mused as you brushed the pads of your fingertips along the rows of brand-new tubes and jars of skincare, “And the rug? The shower curtain? You even dyed your hair peach— what’s next?”

“Well, actually, he bought boxe—”

“Ah! No, I didn’t. Stop!” Mingi shushes the other male beside him with a smack on his rear.

You blinked, brows quirking up.

An awkward chuckle rumbled from Mingi’s chest, hands reaching to tug you forward by the rope of your robe, “Shh,” he chided whilst ripping open a sheet mask packet, “I don’t have phases. And—”

“You had a Tigger phase last year,” Yeosang interrupted from beside him, dainty fingers working on adjusting the headband keeping his hair at bay, before popping open a bottle of toner, “When you had an ‘epiphany’ about being the reincarnation of Tigger. Whatever that means.”

“Don’t be rude. That doesn’t count! Yunho and I are partners in crime. If he’s Winnie, I have to be Tigger. That’s just how it works,” he hastily explained, voice growing smaller by the end of his words. You quirked a brow as he adjusted your head upwards, large hands splaying out the slick mask onto your visage before tenderly pressing it flush against your skin.

Of course, it was peach scented.

“Is this because I mentioned peach being my new favorite color last week?”

He pauses abruptly, eyes subtly widening momentarily before his composed composure returns, swiftly turning to the side to wash his hands, “No, of course not,” he quipped hastily, hands faltering as he hastily searched for the next item to apply.

“Your ears are quite red for someone trying to tell the truth,” Yeosang muttered, fingers flicking the shell of taller’s ear playfully, “Also, if this new peach moisturizer breaks me out, you’re dead, Mingi.”

“I don’t even remember having that conversation over dinner,” he mumbles underneath his breath, hands ripping open his lip balm stick in a suspiciously rough manner, eyes refusing to meet your gaze as he swipes the stick onto his lips.

“You’re a horrible liar,” you utter, hands ruffling his coral tresses gently. You work on removing your robe to hang by the door, before dusting away the fibers left on your t-shirt and sweatpants.

“Me!?” He turns around, wearing a scandalous expression. The lower half of his mask shifts and flaps in the air as he scrambles to defend himself, “I haven’t lied since the day I was born.”

“Right,” Yeosang drawls in a monotonous manner, “And I haven’t—”

“Guys! This cake is amazing!” the ajar door slams against the wall, startling the three of you, and a loud presence bombards the somewhat peaceful atmosphere in the large bathroom, “You have to tell me what bakery this is from!”

“Wooyoung, you imbecile,” Yeosang chastises from behind you. You place a hand over your chest to calm your erratic heartbeat, head turning to peek at your reflection and ensure the mask was still in place.

Mingi’s features pale at the sight, and he gapes at the confused, black haired male, “What?” the smaller asks in bewilderment, the back of his hand wiping the tiny dollop of whipped cream on the corner of his lips.

“That cake was for (y/n)!” Mingi cries in betrayal, hands quickly swiping away the small container from the shorter’s hands, “Wooyoung! You’re so greedy!”

“I told you confessing with a cake was a bad idea,” Yeosang shakes his head, fingers reaching up to tie his blonde locks into a small ponytail, “You might as well just word it out to (y/n) since Wooyoung’s fatass ate the frosting.”

Your brows shot up in alarm, eyes widening, “What?”

A state of panic overtakes Mingi as his eyes quickly darted to your stunned expression.

“You mean the ‘you’ve got a peach of my heart’?” Wooyoung starts, eyes growing wide in an incredulous manner, “Wait- don’t tell me that’s how you were planning on confessing?” He looks over to the flustered Mingi, only to wheeze out a laugh of disbelief at the other’s silence, “Are you serious? Mingi, that’s got to be the corniest way to—”

Yeosang peered from behind you in bewilderment as Mingi removes and stuffed his sheet mask into Wooyoung’s parted mouth, the younger gargling out a choked cry in protest at the bitter taste of the serum. The blonde sighs, and with a roll of his eyes, saunters off to drag Wooyoung away with the back of his hoodie, “Let’s go before I die of second-hand embarrassment. Why did I ever agree to become roommates with you three?”

Wooyoung’s cries were still audible from where he was rinsing his mouth out in the kitchen sink. You fought back a laugh of confusion and amusement and peered over at a mortified Mingi, who fumbled with the half-eaten, tiny cake container in his hands, head hung slightly, ”You didn’t have to do all of this just to confess to me, Mingi. A few words would’ve sufficed, y’know?”

“It was stupid, I know,” he grumbled underneath his breath, “I just thought.. I would appeal to you more? I don’t know? You know I’ve never been good enough with words- and—”

“It’s not stupid. It’s actually very cute,” you laughed at his dumbfounded expression as you wrapped your arms around his waist, your head tilting to gaze at him teasingly. His hands shot up almost immediately to re-adjust the mask on your face, “You own a peach of my heart too, you cute bum.”

“Really? Wait. You mean that as in..?”

“Yes, really,” the way his eyes sparkled at your words threatened to make you laugh in endearment, “I actually wanted to ask you earlier but—”

You paused at the sound of heavy stomps coming towards your direction.

“Mingi, you’re a piece of shit, you know that!?”

Yeosang’s muffled voice followed suit, “You missed the grand opportunity to say ‘peach of shit’, but okay.” 

[98prilla]

Acceptance

Remus has a breakdown. 

A03

...

He’s shaking, trembling, really, curled up on the bed, rocking back and forth, arms wrapped tightly around himself, nails digging into his skin, but he can’t stop, he can’t stop, he’s so exhaustedly broken, but if he stops moving he’ll die.

 His room is a mess. He’s destroyed everything in it, all the furniture, his desk and his chair and his shelves, his morning star shattered to pieces. He’s already torn through his imagination, his castle in ruins, burned to the ground, ash scorching the air, the force of his screams blowing out the stained glass, and not in a fun way.

 His sketches are ripped and torn and scattered across the floor, his notebooks ripped in half, his paints stomped on, staining the floor in sticky puddles of colors, splashed against the walls, ruining the mural he’d worked so hard on, all mixing and melding into an ugly brown color.

 It’s ugly and disgusting and gross and he hates it, hates it all, hates himself, hates everything, everything here.

 The voices are so loud. They’re so loud in his head and he can’t drown them out, they eat away at his brain like acid oozing in through his ears, they rip at his skin with the force of a hurricane, peeling off his layers of skin, then muscle, then flesh, then bone, until he crumbles to dust, scraping him apart with his own bones, his own teeth turning against him as they clench down on his tongue, hot blood dripping between them, down his chin, and he can’t see anything, he’s lost, so lost, deep in his own head.

 He wants it to stop! He wants it to shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!

He’s choking on his blood and he coughs, spits, not caring that it lands somewhere on his bed, on his usually tidily made sheets, staining them red, red, red, too much red, and his fingers dig deeper into his flesh, more red dripping down his arms. He’s too hot and too cold and it aches and it burns and everything is too loud and too much, his clothes are scratchy and rough against his skin, his every breath in and out sounds like thunder, his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.

 He’s screaming. He thinks he’s screaming? He can’t tell if it’s him or someone else, but the sound is earth shattering, ear piercing, it gives him something to focus on, but soon his lungs are burning and despite everything his voice gives out, but there’s still too much left, he hasn’t let enough out, it’s still bubbling under his skin in ulcerous blisters. He screams again, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter, because no one is coming, no one is left, no one is here anymore. DeeDee is gone, Virgil is gone, his brother is gone, Patton never liked him, and Logan barely tolerates him, he’s all alone, no one is coming to save him from himself, and it hurts, it hurts more than a knife to the heart, it hurts more than splinters in his eyes, it hurts more than tacks in his feet, it hurts more than swallowing fire ants alive, and distantly he’s aware of hoarse, desperate sobs cracking through the silence, but it doesn’t feel real, nothing feels real.

 His world is spinning, spiraling, colors blurring and blending and reality is cracking, and he can’t even name the strange horrors he’s seeing, just vague images and ideas, filled with pain, and hurt, and violence, and he cries out for someone, anyone, for Dee, please, please, please! Then it fractures into a million, billion fractal reflections and facades and broken, empty reflections, and he knows it is hopeless.

…

It’s Logan, who finds him. Remus has been oddly silent for the last three days, and though the others brushed it off, it has him worried. Still, he was hesitant to breach Remus’s walls, but Janus was backsliding, and he knows how good Remus is with the scaled side when it comes to this.

 The room is a mess. Which is what he is expecting, to be honest, Roman’s always is too, papers and ideas and sketches hung to cork boards, plotting out his next grand adventure or novel. But this is a different kind of mess. A destructive kind of mess. Which, again, may not be unusual, until he looks closer.

 Journals. Notebooks. Beautiful drawings done in ball point pen, incredibly detailed, it would have taken hours to make some of these, and he recognizes the ripped and trampled shreds of some of them, remembers Remus showing them with pride. He can’t imagine Remus destroying them, and he adjusts his glasses nervously, taking another step deeper into the dark room, having to squint to make anything out. He fumbles around, and finally finds a light switch. It turns on green fairy lights, and all the air rushes out of his lungs before he practically sprints to the bed.

 “Remus. Remus, can you hear me?” The creative side’s eyes are open, staring blankly ahead, unseeing. He’s rocking just a bit, mumbling incoherently under his breath. He’s wearing only boxer briefs, small shivers wracking his frame, and he can’t tell if it’s from cold or shock. Dried blood covers his chin, stains his arms, and he realizes that Remus is scratching at his chest in a steady, methodical pattern. It is oozing blood, a deep X mark, nails digging deep into his flesh as if trying to claw his heart out of his chest.

  He lets out a strangled sound and catches Remus’s hands firmly, though once he’s holding them, they go limp.

 “Remus. I am going to sink out with you now.” He doesn’t think Remus can hear him, but he narrates his actions anyway, taking a deep breath and sinking out to the commons.

 “Logan?” Virgil asks as soon as he appears on the floor with Remus, setting aside his headphones. Then he catches a good look of the two of them and curses, leaping off the chair, crouching by Logan's side.

 “He appears to be in a dissociative state. He is unresponsive to both noise and touch.” He explains, voice wobbling. “I am going to fetch the first aid kit and attempt to clean off the blood to determine the extent of the injuries. Stay with him?” Virgil nods instantly, taking Remus's hands as Logan stands, shifting to kneel before him.

 “Rem. Oh, Rem, what happened?” Virgil asks softly, not expecting a response, surprised as he feels Remus squeeze his hands, eyes shooting up to Remus’s face, finding it just as blank as it was moments earlier, but his grip doesn’t loosen. He keeps a tight hold of Remus’s hands as Logan returns.

 Remus doesn’t make a sound as Logan carefully wipes away the blood, wincing at the deep scratches running down Remus’s arms, careful around the deep gash on his chest. He wraps bandages all the way up Remus’s clawed arms, then carefully sews up the gash, before packing it with gauze. Virgil is wincing in sympathy, but Remus doesn’t flinch or acknowledge them even once.

 “He’s freezing. We need to get him into clothes and warmed up. Hopefully that will help bring him out of his shock. Familiar faces and voices will also help.”

 “Janus’s room.” Virgil says automatically, grabbing hold of Logan and sinking out.

…

He's warm.

 He's wearing clothes, but they don’t scratch and scrape and dig into his skin. They’re soft and perfect.

 The voices are quieter. Still loud, still there, but quieter, and he realizes someone is speaking.

 “Rem? Can you hear me?” Virgil. His senses snap to, and he blinks, clearing his vision.

 Virgil is before him, legs curled under him on the bed, Virgil's hands in his. His eyes are wide, breath held.

 He's curled up on someone's lap, and realizes it's DeeDee, humming softly, his hands gently rubbing up and down his arms, grounding him.

 Logan is the voice. He’s sitting beside the bed, a book open in his lap, reading aloud, the even, gentle noise quieting his mind further. He lets out a deep, shaking breath, slumping back against Dee, exhausted.

 “hi.” He whispers, letting a soft gasp as Dee's hand cards through his hair.

 “Hello, darling. How’re you feeling?” Dee's voice a soft murmur, a purr against his ear.

 “Oh, ‘m fine. You know me, always getting into something or other.”

 “Remus. You were and are not fine. You have been in a dissociative state for about a day now since I found you, though it very well may have been longer as you have been absent for about three, and done significant harm to yourself in that time.” Logan, setting aside his book. He swallows hard, pushing himself out of Dee's lap, moving to the edge of the bed.

 “oh. S-sorry.”

 “For what?” He blinks, looking up at Virgil.

 “what?”

 “What are you sorry for, Remus?” He swallows hard, squeezing shut his eyes, idly scratching at his arms, before he feels someone once again take his hands. He almost whines, because he needs the pain, he needs it, it’s the only thing that helps.  

 “everything. I know I’m too much. I kn-know that’s why you left, cause I’m too loud and too annoying and too much. I can’t control myself, no matter how hard I try I just can’t and I ruin everything, and I’m not… not good.”

 “Remus. Is that what triggered you to shut down?” He picks at his bandages, before those hands corall his again, and he shakes.

 “D-dee’s gonna leave. You’re gonna leave. I’m gonna be all alone in the d-dark and it ma-kes it so much louder, it gets so loud, and I can’t make it stop, it won’t stop, but the p-ain makes them shut up, just for a bit, but it’s enough, it stops and it’s enough, and it hurts, but it’s f-fine, it’s fine! I deserve it. I can de-al with it, that’s my job, right? Handle all the bad, all the b-bad no one else wants, who cares if I can’t stop thinking what Roman would look like with his guts pulled out and strung across the bedposts, who cares if I can’t stop seeing plucking every shiny scale off of DeeDee, who cares if I try to rip my own heart out so I can crush it in my own fist, so I can never, never hurt anyone? It’s not enough, it’s never enough, it’s too much, too loud, too loud, too loud!” He screams, ripping his hands away from whoever is holding them, breath speeding as he falls off the edge of the bed onto the floor, clutching at his head and shaking.

 “nonononono No! I don’t wanna… I won’t, I WON’T! Don’t make me, don’t… I won’t hurt them, iwon’tiwon’tiwon’tiwon’t-“ Visions are filling his head, terrible, awful, horrible, and he’s clawing at himself, his face, his hands, his legs, anything, everything, because he’s bad, he’s being bad, he deserves to be punished.

 “Remus! Remus, Stop!” Virgil is pinning him down, and he snarls, kicking, fighting, gnashing teeth, then one of his hands gets loose and he swipes at Virgil with a hiss.  Virgil yelps, drawing back, and his vision clears, horrified. Four long scratch marks mar Virgil’s face, going from his left temple, across his eye, rather like Scar in the lion king. He lets out a small wheeze, scrambling back, unable to look away from the red, red, red, he hurt Virgil, he hurt him, he did that, he hurt him, he’s terrible, awful, this is why he deserves to be alone, this is what’s wrong with him, he’s not normal, he’s not good, he’s a mess and a wreck and a problem, everything that Thomas didn’t want, everything wrong with Thomas, everything wrong with the universe and they’re going to leave-

 “Ree, it’s ok, I’m ok, I promise.” Virgil, arms open, and he howls as he falls into them, clutching at him, whimpering and whispering apology after apology. “I know. It’s ok, Rem, I forgive you, I know you didn’t mean to, I know.” Virgil murmurs in his ear, rocking him.

 “I’m not leaving you, Remus. I wouldn’t ever leave you behind. I will never leave you all alone. I promise.” DeeDee, slipping behind him, wrapping both him and Virgil in his arms, and he presses tighter against Virgil.

 “It’s f-fine. I can’t hurt anyone if I’m all alone.”

 “Falsehood. You’ll hurt yourself, Remus. And that is an unacceptable outcome.” Logan, soft but firm.

 “S-so? Why… why does it matter? So what if I hurt myself? Its not… im not like all of you. I’m not important, I don’t matter.”

 “You do. Rem, you matter. I’m sorry I just… left, I’m sorry, but it wasn’t your fault. It was… a lot of things all combining, but it wasn’t all on you. It… it was mostly me. You scared me. When Lo popped up with you, there was so much blood and you weren’t talking and I thought… I just… I care, ok? I never really stopped caring, so don’t you dare give up on me. You’re the most stubborn, headstrong person I know, Rem. You’re not bad, just like I’m not bad, even if we can’t control ourselves sometimes, that doesn’t make us bad.” Virgil mumbles, holding him tight.

 “You always take care of me, Remus. I will always do the same for you, if you just ask. You hide it so well.” He curls further into a ball, new, silent tears flowing down his face as the voices finally go silent, leaving him alone in his own mind.

 “I scare Patton. Roman hates me.” He argues weakly.

 “patton has warmed up to you. He understands that you have your own intrusive thoughts, and he can see through them to your actual distress and meaning. And Roman… is difficult but he misses you more than he would ever admit. Regardless, we are not leaving you alone or behind simply because of their feelings. Not when it is a matter of safety. Your safety.” Logan replies, and he sighs, a long, shaking breath, fists uncurling from around Virgil's sweater.

 “I’ll hurt you. I have hurt you.”

 “Ah. You referring to your introduction video, when you threw a ninja star into my head and ripped out two of my teeth.” He nods, looking down at the ground. “You know you did not actually cause me any harm, Remus. I can see through your actions and recognize they are not reality. Your actions did not actually damage me in any way. You knew that would be the case, which is why you targeted me, instead of Virgil or Patton, who would take the injuries literally.” Logan counters, and he’s surprised Logan can see through him that well, even then.

 “I love you.” He mumbles. “I love you and I’m terrified I’ll go too far and actually hurt you.” Exhaustion creeps into his voice. He knows what he wants, what he’s always wanted, but he won’t ask for them to stay, he won’t obligate them like that, when they should want to run as far and fast as they can. “you should leave me behind.” His throat feels dry when he says those words, the opposite of what he wants, but it’s what’s right.

 “Remus. Would it be accurate to state the thoughts get louder and progressivly more violent and dark in nature the longer you are without contact?” He furrows his brow, confused.

 “I… I guess. It… in the dark and the quiet there’s nothing else, just my own head and I can’t get out of it.”

 “Have the thoughts stopped now?”

 “yes, I mean, they never really stop, but they aren’t the only thing anymore, I can push them to the back of my head and only let the smaller ones slip out. It’s like a whisper when it was a scream earlier.”

 “Then why would we leave, darling?” Dee asks, and he blinks.

 “What?”

 “You pretty much just said that being around people and ambient noise makes your intrusive thoughts easier to manage, and stops you from getting so sucked in you end up hurting yourself, you idiot. So if you’re hanging out with us, yeah, they’re still gonna happen but they’re not gonna be as bad. Probably easier to control, just like my anxiety. That’s what a support network is for, Ree. It… it took me a long time, I guess, to actually learn that for myself, but it was worth it.” Virgil mutters, face a bit red, though he doesn’t miss the small, proud smile on Logan’s lips, the gleam in his eye as he looks at Virgil.

 His own mind is reeling. Of course, it’s easier to keep them quiet when there’s other noise around, of course touch is grounding and helps keep him centered in the present, of course doing things, activities, writing, drawing, helps keep his mind focused and allows him to let out the thoughts without hurting anyone, he just… he didn’t think the others would care about all that enough to justify letting him be around them.

 “I mean, I know that! I just… I didn’t think any of you would want to be part of mine.” He mumbles, hugging himself with a slight shiver.

 “Of course we will. We love you too, or whatever.” Virgil mumbles, pulling Remus back into a hug, before grinning and hefting him up in his arms, depositing him back on the bed despite his surprised screech of protest.

 He laughs as DeeDee settles beside him once again, stretching out and resting his head in Dee’s lap, legs laying atop Virgil, who snorts, but doesn’t move, simply grabs a fluffy throw blanket and tosses it over him.

 “We’ll speak to the others tomorrow. I don’t expect a problem integrating you into the group, Remus. It will be beneficial for everyone. All of us working together is what is supposed to happen, anyways.” Logan says, voice smiling. “For now, you need to rest and let everything heal.”

 “ok. Keep reading? I… it helps, I think. He mumbles, already half asleep. He hears Logan’s voice start again, steady, feels Dee’s hand in his hair, feels Virgil holding his hand, and he smiles, tears dripping down his face. He didn’t think it was possible, any of this, and it feels… good. So, so good. For once, he doesn’t think he’s going to ruin everything. For once, he thinks the voices whispering in the back of his mind aren’t him, at heart, just a side effect of who he is and what he represents. And he knows, he’s safe from them, with so much warmth surrounding him.

[phoenix-manga]

The Serpent and the Octopus [pt.4]

It was quiet… too quiet. Azul and Jade feared the worst when they were busy trying to lecture Floyd. ‘Trying’ because they failed to realize that their visitor and the eel twin snuck off, panic ran through their veins when they looked back only to be met with a bustling crowd but no princess or twin in sight. 

‘SHIT!’ was the only word both thought at the same time as they retraced their steps to try and find them but to no avail.

Azul: Where’d they go?!

Cried Azul as he scanned the crowd for any sign if the eel and oarfish.

Jade: Knowing my brother, he’d go to the place he wants to go. It’s possible they’ve gone to the shipwreck zone…

Jade started to drag Azul to the location as fast as he could. 

While Jade recalls going to the sunken ships several times, he is aware that there are sharks swarming around that area. He’s kept track of the time when sharks hunt around those grounds but Floyd doesn’t know that, he doesn’t remember things when he loses interest. Jade is more than aware of the fact that sharks would roam about the shipwreck zone at this time.

He hopes his brother and the princess are alright and still in one piece, because if they are then he and Azul would kill Floyd and Cerule. Royal status be damned, he’s had enough! 

Azul: (This is why I hate royals!)

Was the only thought in Azul’s mind.

Meanwhile, Floyd and Cerule were still busy rummaging through barrels and debris for some interesting objects.

Floyd: Ugh, nothing but junk here too!

Floyd tossed a broken metal to the floor and slumped next to the barrel he was rummaging through.

Cerule: Really? Because I think you can make something out of it if you try hard enough

Cerule tries to reassure Floyd as he was getting irritated that the ship, they’ve searched is devoid of anything good. But he just responded with a huff and urged Cerule to move to another ship. As he tried to swim through an opening, his tail was caught by a fishing net and he struggled to pull himself out to no avail. 

Floyd: Ce-chan! I’m stuck!

She rushed to his side and helped him pull but despite both of their efforts, Floyd’s tail wasn't budging at all. Cerule spotted the metal piece Floyd had tossed and picked it up to cut the net finally freeing his tail.

Cerule: See, what did I tell you? If you can use it then it isn’t junk!

She stuck her tongue at him to tease him, Floyd just rolled his eyes and was about to retort until he felt the beam behind them was about to collapse due to cutting the net that was supporting it. He grabs her in time to avoid being crushed by the debris.

The sound alerted the shark in the area and it started to swim around the ship, looking through the windows until it spotted the two mermaids. Cerule noticed it was getting dark and as she looked at the window, she could feel herself freeze when she spotted the shark charging the ship.

Cerule: FLOYD, SHARK!

(CHOMP!)

Immediately they swam up to the deck to narrowly avoid the onslaught of teeth about to chomp down on them. The shark started to struggle trying to spit out debris wedged in his teeth, giving them more time to escape the ship and into open water. 

They started to swim towards the way they came, Cerule looked back to see the shark was zooming in towards them at great speed, she pushed Floyd away into some seaweed.

But that left her open to the shark’s tackle that sent her flying towards some rocks, she hits her back hard, knocking the breath out of her. She could barely pull herself to swim away when she sees the shark swimming towards her slowly, as if to mock her helplessness. Floyd comes out of the seaweed to see what is about to happen, he throws a rock at the shark to keep its attention away from her.

Floyd: Hey! Catch me if you can, you beast!

He mocks the shark to follow him away from Cerule. While he was busy leading the shark away, Jade and Azul managed to arrive in time to see Floyd being chased by a shark.

Jade: Floyd!? What on earth-!!!

Jade and Azul didn’t have time to process what they were seeing when they began to split up because Floyd was heading over to their direction.

Jade: He’s not going to keep up the speed! What can we do?!

Jade was starting to panic for the safety of his brother and Azul doesn’t have anything on him other than maybe trying to ink the shark, but with how fast it was swimming he can’t guarantee that he’ll get a clean shot.

Floyd was starting to get tired from all the fleeing that he failed to notice that he was swimming near a bed of sea kelp which got his tail tangled. He struggled as hard as he could but his tail wouldn’t budge. 

It was hopeless as the shark was gaining speed and closing the distance, he closed his eyes and waited for the shark to gobble him up. But when nothing happened and he didn’t feel any pain, he peaked for a bit to see that a large pointed rock had pierced the shark’s side. 

Cerule: Floyd! Over here!

He looked up to see Cerule with her tail wrapped around a broken rock. She swam down and cut the kelp with a sharp stone nearby. She was struggling for a bit since the kelp was a bit tougher to cut and the stone was fairly dull. 

She needed to get him free because the shark was slowly shaking itself out of its shock. Suddenly, a cloud of ink covered the shark and Azul and Jade started to tear the kelp quickly. Managing to free Floyd from the sea kelp’s grasp.

Azul: You two are such a pain in my ass!

Azul yelled as he used his tentacles to hold onto Floyd and Cerule while he held Jade’s hand to swim towards safety. When they were back at the Coral Sea, Azul was about to give a verbal beatdown to Floyd and Cerule but before he could get a word out, Cerule beat him to it by bowing and profusely apologizing. 

Cerule: I am so sorry! I know after what happened I can’t take it back with an apology but… This was the first time I’ve ever been able to go out like this! I was so caught up with doing something exciting that I forgot about the consequences!

Azul blinked as he processed what she just said before she added more to her apology.

Cerule: I won’t tell my father what happened today but if you need to yell at someone then please don’t yell at Floyd, I should have refused but I didn’t!

She almost had a convincing stone face if it weren’t for the tears leaking out of her eyes. For a few minutes there was an awkward silence between them, until Azul couldn’t help himself as he laughed at the sight, she was far different from the royals he had seen.

Azul: Ahahahaha! Out of everything that I thought you would say, I never expected you to say something like that! But this situation is clearly both of your faults so don’t expect me to deny that it was your-

Floyd: OWWW!

They stopped and looked to Floyd to see that he had a cut on his tail. The cut wasn’t too serious but it was quite large and it was stinging because of the salty seawater seeping into the wound.

Cerule: You’re hurt!

Floyd: I just realized it now, after my adrenaline wore off… the seawater is making it sting

Floyd held his tail between his hands and tried to put pressure onto the wound but it ended up hurting more.

Cerule: Wait, I can heal it!

Cerule swam over to him and started to cry, they were confused at what she was doing at first until they heard her mumble an incantation.

Cerule: Mother of the sea… Hear my voice… Tears into shiny luster… Healing gems that glimmer… Tears of the Sea!

As soon as her incantation was over, her teardrops turned into a handful of white, shiny pearls. She took the pearls and crushed them into powder then rubbed it all over the wound, shock was evident on their faces as the damaged tissue began to heal until not a trace of the wound was visible.

Floyd: Woah! It doesn’t hurt anymore? I didn’t know Ce-chan could use healing magic!

Floyd wiggles his tail around still in a daze of what he witnessed.

Cerule: It’s my unique magic, Tears of the Sea! I can turn my tears into pearls and use them to heal injuries! Although I had to use a lot of it because of how large the cut was…

Cerule explained while rubbing her eyes that were a bit swollen from crying. Azul’s gaze darted from Cerule to Floyd’s tail. It was rare to encounter people who had powerful healing magic as there were not many who possessed the ability to heal. All of Azul’s annoyance and frustration with the situation turned into realization.

Perhaps this encounter was fate for him, after all he did want to study to become the best magic user like the sea witch. He wondered to what capabilities could those pearls possess and if he could use them to make a very rare potion that no one ever heard of. This was a golden opportunity.

Azul: Princess… I thought of a way you could remedy the events that you caused today… If you promise me to give a bottle of those healing pearls in exchange, me and Jade will allow you to explore exciting places.

Cerule: You will? T-thank you-

But Azul raises his hand to stop her.

Azul: But… as long as we all go as a group so that this incident won’t be repeated

He says sternly, earning an enthusiastic nod from her.

Cerule: Of course!

At the proposal, Jade and Floyd looked at Azul as if he had grown two heads, what came over him? Wasn’t he upset just a moment ago? But with the way he had this calculating gaze meant that he saw an opportunity. However, for the first time this didn’t sit well with Floyd.

While Floyd was thankful that he wasn’t getting scolded, he was a bit conflicted because as much as he would have wanted to see the merfolk getting tricked, Cerule has made her spot in his friend circle and if he was going to make her sign a contract then he might just try to talk him out of it.

Floyd: Azul! What are you saying?

Azul: I’ve given it some thought; we should have listened to Floyd from the start so that we may never have gotten into this mess. So, I propose that if you provide me with a bottle full of those pearls, we will accompany you to plenty of exciting places in exchange. It’s a fair deal, no?

If it was only for the pearls then Floyd might have not needed to worry, he relaxes a bit at this.

Cerule: Sounds fair! We have a deal, Azul! Thank you!

She rushed over to hug him, which he was one thing that he wasn’t expecting. He felt a small tingling emotion that he couldn’t exactly describe, part of him felt that she was violating his personal space but at the same time he could feel her gratitude and it was very uplifting for a second. Just for a second… With a beet-red face he pushes her away and reminded her of keeping distance.

Azul: Y-Yes well… Now that we have an agreement, let’s head back to the school, it's getting late

Cerule happily swam alongside him, Azul heard snickering behind him and he saw the twins looking at him with an amused grin on their faces. He knew exactly what they were thinking and they couldn’t be more wrong. 

He sent them a warning glare, but they ignored it and whispered among themselves on how Azul was getting soft for the princess. He convinced himself that he wasn’t getting soft! Azul saw an opportunity and didn’t want to waste it, that was all it was.

Yes… just an opportunity…

Once they arrived back at the school, Azul managed to convince the teacher that the princess was given a tour around the city and how grateful she was to enjoy sightseeing. The teacher thankfully bought it and didn’t question him on what actually transpired.

Soon enough, the day ends and Cerule had to go back home with her father. The teacher and the entire class were lined up when the Serpent King arrived at the school to pick her up. 

She snuck behind Azul and slipped a bottle of the pearls into his hands that were folded behind his back before quickly swimming to her father’s side. She gave him a bright smile before turning to her father.

Serpent King: I thank you for the courtesy you’ve shown and for looking after my daughter. But for now, we must bid you all farewell…

His thunderous voice rumbled in the surrounding area that left some of the merchildren in shock while some were in awe.

As the king and the princess left, Azul stared at the bottle of pearls in his hand. The pearls were sparkling brighter than the pearls made by oysters, it could very well be compared to stars.

When he got home, he swam to his room towards his desk and hid them in his drawer, his thoughts drifting back to Cerule and the odd events that transpired which led to him becoming ‘friends’ with her. He thought to himself that she was the one who said they were friends but she was just an opportunity he took advantage of.

Just an opportunity… or so he thought.

Timeskip to the Atlantica museum where Azul was offering to tour the Ramshackle duo and their friends as an ‘apology’ for the overblot incident. He places the edited picture on the wall, his eyes catch another photo. 

It was of a familiar serpent with red and white hair, smiling happily as she held hands with an octopus who was shying away from being in the front. Azul sighs as he walks away to join Yuu and the others.

Azul: (Come to think of it, she’ll be visiting Octavinelle to send me another bottle of pearls again…)

[END]

[crystalninjaphoenix]

MerMay 2021 Day Three Hey Neighbor

Schneep was woken up by the sound of something clattering down the tunnel leading to his cave. He looked up just in time to see a rock fall down onto the floor. Did a fish or something knock it into the tunnel? Rare, but not unusual. Sighing, he rolled over and tried to fall back asleep.

But then there was the sound of another rock falling down the tunnel. Schneep sat up and watched as that one also landed on the floor. Okay, that was not normal. There was probably someone outside. Grumbling, Schneep rubbed his eyes, then left his sleeping alcove and headed towards the tunnel to the surface.

Poking his head out of the hole in the rocks, he was surprised to see sunlight brightening up the water. It was already daytime? How late had he slept? That was one of the downsides of living in a cave, he supposed, you could easily lose track of time.

“Uh, hello?”

A pair of tentacles drifted into vision, soon followed by a face. Schneep gasped, and backed into the tunnel.

“Sorry! Did I scare you? Didn’t mean to.” The unfamiliar merm backed up as well. She was...another octopus? Her lower half was eight tentacles, with more web connecting them to each other than Schneep’s own, patterned in shades of white, yellow, and brown. The mostly-pale coloring contrasted against her darker skin, and her black hair flowed freely in a cloud around her head. She also wore a short shirt, the kind of which humans might call a ‘crop top,’ woven together out of blue-green material.

“Ah, do not worry, it was just a bit startling.” Schneep pulled his torso out of the hole and onto the sea floor. “Can I help you with something?”

“Well, I was told there was a healer in the area, is that you?” The mermaid asked.

“Yes, that is me. My name is Henrik Schneeple.”

The mermaid raised an eyebrow. “Surnames, huh? Well, in that case, I’m Vea Mira.”

“Hmf.” Schneep just woke up, he was not in the mood for sass. But he wasn’t about to turn her away. “What do you need, Vea?”

Vea settled down on the ocean floor. “Do you have any chill medicine in there? I think I’m coming down with one.”

“Hmm. Let me see.” Schneep retreated back into the cave, immediately starting to look through his supplies. There wouldn’t be anything for this in his gathered human supplies, as far as he could tell, they couldn’t catch the chill. So he dug through his herbal supplies, until he found what he wanted. He grabbed a few strands of a red plant, and returned to the surface, leaving the tunnel altogether. “Here.”

“Whoa, big.” Vea backed up in surprise.

“What?”

“Ah, I just mean you’re bigger than I expected,” Vea explained.

“Oh, I see.” Schneep gave her another look. She was rather small, at least a whole head smaller than him now that they were level. “It is fine, I am bigger than most merms.”

“Wait a moment...” Vea narrowed her eyes. “Aren’t you a Large Greater Ocean Octo? What are you doing in the Narrow Ocean?”

Schneep stiffened, his tentacles curling closer to himself. “Well, I can tell you are a tropical octopus, so I suppose we are both out of place. Anyway, do you want this?”

“Right. Sorry.” Vea had picked up on Schneep’s sudden defensiveness, and looked genuinely apologetic.

“It is fine. Here you are.” He held out the strands of red weeds. “If you chew on these, it should reduce any chill symptoms. One of these lengths should last you a whole day if you eat the whole thing.”

Vea took the strands, looking over them. “Do they taste good?” She looked doubtful about that fact.

“It is tolerable,” Schneep said. “You can chew it with another meal, if that would make it better.”

“Right.” Vea nodded. She started to turn around, but then hesitated, and turned back. “I’m new in the area, by the way. I’ll be staying here.”

“Really?” Schneep asked, curious. While it was true that younger merms would leave to find their own home once they got old enough, she clearly wasn’t that young. Probably around his own age. Once a merm found a suitable home, they would usually stay there. Unless...something happens.

“Yes. You’re right, I’m originally from the tropics, but you know.” Vea shrugged. “Humans really like to visit the area, and they’re doing it more and more. So I figured it was time to leave. Wanted to explore anyway.”

“Are you an explorer?”

“No, I’m a weaver.” Vea smiled. “So if you ever need any bags or clothes, let me know.”

“Ha. Maybe you could make something for my friend Jackie, he likes to dress up but only has weeds.” Schneep said so in a joking tone, but really, he was curious. Professional weavers weren’t very common nowadays. Mostly merms made do with what they had, amateurly crafting anything they needed. “So where will you be living, then?”

“Ummm...” Vea looked around. “Well, this is a nice reef.”

Any friendly feelings were immediately shut down. “Yes, but it is my reef. Find your own.”

“Whoa, okay, a bit territorial, huh?” Vea raised an eyebrow. “It’s a big reef, and from the looks of it, merm-made specifically for multiple people to live.”

“Yes, well, I am sure there are others nearby, then,” Schneep said, folding his arms. “I value my space, and this whole area is part of that. I say again, find somewhere else.”

Vea stared at him silently for a moment, then slowly grinned. “Hey, you won’t even know I’m here.” She swam backwards a bit, and then something strange happened. Her tentacles started to change color, becoming darker, slowly shifting through shades until they were turquoise. Then the color spread along the rest of her, skin and even hair changing to match. The shade even matched the blue-green of her shirt, which in turn blended in with the water. Schneep cried out in surprise as she almost disappeared altogether.

There was a flash of white teeth as Vea grinned again, then with a twirl she swam in the other direction, weaving amongst the plants and coral of the reef. Quickly recovering, Schneep shouted out, “Hey! Not fair!” He swam after her. She...she did go this direction, right? No wait, he didn’t see any movement. Slowing down, he turned around, eyes scanning for any irregularity. There were a few fish, but nothing that was the same size as a merm.

Of course the one merm who wanted to move into his area would have a camouflage ability. And of course she would be too stubborn to listen to him. Scowling and grumbling under his breath, Schneep turned around and headed back to his cave. Maybe she was right, and he wouldn’t even know she was there.

Though...part of him said that it was a while since he’d talked to people outside his immediate friend group. That part of him happened to sound a lot like Jack’s voice, and was encouraging him that hey, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Sighing, Schneep concluded there was nothing to do about it. He’d just have to wait and see.

[werezmastarbucks]

Whitmore Guy claims his last victim (it’s not Damon)

(moodboards made yet again by @stfudipz​ who gets me and Mal like no one else)

Whitmore Guy masterlist

word count: 2537

warnings: clinical insanity

music: good things fall apart by illenium, jon bellion and travis barker, afraid to forget by hammock, hope is gone by moby, a part of me by neck deep

this is the last chapter

She woke up to him singing. Her eyes were burning as if she’s been crying and then stopped, and Mr Sandman brought his dry salt and sprinkled some into her eyelids. Her head leaned against the door, vibrating with the friction of the wheels with the road. Sunrise was on. From the east, long coral pattern of light fog was stretching, lighting the sky. The air must smell like dew and tears, but there’s the sun behind the low roofs in the straight streets of Lavonia. She wondered how Kai (the name was strange; she had to remind herself it’s Kai, not Mal) hasn’t woken her up earlier, with the music blasting so loud, and with his unapologetic singing. He did have the sense of rhythm, but didn’t use it too often. He mainly preferred to squeal like tires.

“I know I can be dramatic, but everybody said we had it”, his head snapped to her, as he saw her move, “hmmm, hmmm. You’re up? What did you see?”

“Them two killing Atticus Shane”, she whispered. Kai’s vampire ears caught the sound. She could now explain a lot of things. Now that she knew. She looked at him. Her head was heavy, as if she’d banged it several times. Although she’s apparently been out for no less than three hours, she didn’t feel rested. It was like a fever that’s just stepped back, and the heavy afterglow was still lingering. Even blinking was hard.

“How did you give me that vision? And what was she doing, giving you magic? How?”

Kai frowned.

“Don’t say ‘she’. It’s you. It was you”.

“I’m sorry, she just felt like another person. I don’t remember her, either. Together with you, it’s like I’m robbed of the memories of myself”.

She looked at the long, thick scar on her hand, crooked like a hook. The cat’s sharp teeth. It was white and bulgy now, several years later.

“That’s what Malivore does. It robs of memories” he shrugged. Then he granted her with a long glance. Rows of houses were flying by outside, as they strode through a housing estate. There were fields ahead. Y/N didn’t want to think about where they were going. At the same time, she wanted to be there.

“But it can’t take away the feelings. I mean, you should record me say it, hehe”, he grinned, “me talking about feelings. Anyway, you kinda feel empty, right? All those times you told Mal… your best friend in the world and your lowkey crush… about you missing something, and that thing about the reverse doorframe syndrome. You were missing me, poor thing. But now it’s over. There’s no spell to reverse the Malivore effect, but thankfully, you and I, we were meant to be together, by nature. So, I will fix that. You know, I can just show you whatever you want”.

“And by nature, you mean that weird thing she… I was doing? The zip?”

“You’re feeling it?”

Kai smiled and took her hand. The light sensation was there again.

“It’s me taking magic from you. You’re a vessel. Ever heard of that?”

“That’s the first time I ever hear this. I think Bonnie would’ve told me if it was a thing?”

The witch vampire shrugged dismissively.

“Vessels are rare. They’re hidden. They’re only meant to feed siphoners. A vampire can’t spot it, especially if the vessel doesn’t know what it is. A witch can only detect it if she knows what she’s looking for. Bonnie could touch you all she wanted, you’re just a human on the outside”.

He bit his lip hard, and looked like he was deeply, fundamentally proud.

“You only work when I’m near you”.

She sat up, stretching her back.

“Is that why you are so obsessed with me?”

Kai shot her a warning gaze.

“And what’s with all the psychotic behavior? You think you can control me? Bae?”

He laughed out.

“Of course not. It’s just… now, unfortunately, I’m the only adult in this relationship. And you know I’m not very good at being an adult. I need to steer you in the right direction, but it takes patience and finesse, and honestly, I feel like I’ve used up all my patience while being that… Mal Osbourne. That’s us”.

He stopped the car where the housing estate ended, and the road took deeper into the countryside. The long line of fields stretched forward on, but on the left, below the whitening sky, there was a mass of trees so dark it mesmerized the sight. The motel Y/N stayed at last year was further on, about two miles down the road. Here, it was quiet and absolutely empty. No birds even.

She couldn’t wait anymore. She left the car, her feet trembling at the sensation of hard, cold asphalt cooled up during the night. The grass was already dry and pricky, ready to die for the winter. Kai slapped the door closed and went around the car.

She was looking at the forest.

“Is that where Malivore is?”

“Uh-huh”.

He was standing at the trunk of the car, looking at her. In the complete silence, she asked herself what he had there. Without another word, he opened the trunk, but she couldn’t see from here. Her heart sunk. It was pounding so hard her eyes went blind for a second. Kai bowed and started pulling something out.

God please let it be my things. Let it be a suitcase with my things.

It was Damon Salvatore.

She realized Mystic Falls was left behind, five hours exactly. And that her phone was still in the pocket of his jacket. It wasn’t a choice of one or two, it was now a complete mess. Her head was still numb with the night vision. She watched herself in the rearview mirror of the car, excited eyes, the mouth that keeps crooking in an entertained smile, the tilt of her head leaning towards Kai. She was completely smitten by him, he had possessed her. She was trapped.

“Up”, Kai threw Damon’s body on the ground and crouched above him, slapping him on the side of his face gently. “I want you to be awake for that. Come on, it wasn’t that much vervain”.

He looked up at her and smiled as if saying, what a weakling! and expecting her to share his scornfulness . She was mute, walking up to them. She knew that was exactly what Kai’s been talking about earlier. The choice.

Damon moved, his face distorted with pain, and opened his eyes slowly. He was weak. Like a wounded animal, he looked at them both, trying to focus, to make his limbs move, but the poison in his blood was too strong.

“Interesting how it took all of you, and a spell, to take me out”, Kai said, venom in his voice, “but it took only one of me to knock down both you and your little brother. I can’t help thinking you’re a bitch ass baby compared to me”.

He looked at Damon with indifference, his eyes opaque, like the vampire was an insect. Before she could say anything, he put his hand into Damon’s pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He then handed it to her without raising his head. Damon’s eyes shifted on her, and he did what he always did. First of all, he checked up on her.

She took the paper with hard hand, unsure if she even wants to see it.

Listen here, Damon, it’s me. I mean, you. You’re sitting in your car outside the cave in Georgia right now, confused about what you’re doing here. The first thing you do now is, you leave and read this completely and utterly alone. Bon Bon wanted to know, too, because she’s a brave soul, but honestly, he’s not worth it. Don’t tell her.

The lines were jumping in front of her eyes. To take a breath, she looked at Damon whom Kai was trying to get to stand, pulling on his shoulders. Damon was forced to take his hand for support, and was furious about it.

“What is this? Is it a letter to yourself?” she cried.

Damon sniffed like a wolf, his eyes hard silver. He wasn’t sorry.

“I’m not sorry”, he said. Kai clicked his tongue.

Her heart was breaking again, and again, as she looked at Damon. Always, he has been there to cover her, and he’s always had that way about it, the way that expressed that he knew better. That he had it all under control, regardless of what others think. His decisions were always authoritative. He didn’t really care for her, he cared for his version of her wellbeing. She had to comply with what he thought was best.

How was Damon different from a psychopath kidnapping her barefooted then?

“Read it, read it”, Kai waved his hand, “I need to say something to Damon”.

“I’ll be damned”, the vampire growled. Damon was strong. He was a strong, skilled fighter. But apparently, there was something that broke in Kai, like a string that let out this hurricane of power. He seemed untouchable, like the earth itself was giving him strength. As her eyes were sliding down the lines, she realized he’s been to hell, she realized all the things Damon was describing must have made him the ultimate killer, inescapable.

Damon charged at him, his strong hands wrapping around the witch’s throat, but Kai motioned his hand like witches do.

“No touchy, please”, he said shortly. With a sweet whistle, Damon flew through the air and crashed on the field meters away. Kai followed him.

“You know what?” he said, a bit louder.

She walked after them both.

“Kai, please, don’t kill him!”

Damon was getting up. He got up again and again, as Kai put him on the ground effortlessly time after time. One was resilient and refusing to back down. The other had all the power in the world, fueled by anger.

“I almost had it all together, you know”, Kai snapped. He sure didn’t realize who he was yelling at.

“And then this”, he pointed at Damon, “took it all away from me. And I almost felt for you, bastards. You liked Mal so much, what a bunch of losers. I almost forgave you, can you believe it? I was about to call the whole thing off. Then I remembered how we were so happy and normal – a luxury that my girlfriend here”, in the heat of the moment, Kai grabbed her by the neck, and she yelped again, with surprise. He shook her like she was a ferret. “Doesn’t have. What am I supposed to do about her? You know, Damon, you’re the villain here. I was just trying to get it all together”.

“You’re a fucking psycho”, Damon grumbled. There was dry grass in his hair. Y/N fought out of his clutch. “I would chain you up to a mountain in Malivore myself if I had a chance, anything just to keep you away from here”.

“Joke’s on you, idiot”, Kai chanted, “there are no mountains in Malivore. No lakes, no cities, no nothing. There’s just… nothingness. And you. Alone”.

Damon panted, showing his teeth.

“All your family is dead”, Kai said, and the hammering silence fell again. Damon and Y/N froze.

“What?” Salvatore uttered. Kai snickered.

“They’re all dead. Your brother, Elena, the witch, the bossy blonde, the teacher. They’re gone. But you don’t get to join them”.

“Dead?” Damon repeated, like wind flew off his mouth.

“The hunters I brought into Mystic Falls. The FBI guys. They were mine”.

He turned to Y/N and looked at her. He reckoned, at that moment he had the same look that he usually gave Sandy when he didn’t want her to scream. He tried to imagine tearing Y/N’s jaws apart and was upset. She’ll be sore now for a long time. This whole relationship thing is such work.

She was clutching Damon’s letter in her fist so hard her nails were hurting her hand. She didn’t ask why. She knew why. She understood him perfectly, but at that moment, the last pieces of her were stomped away. She realized he took away everything from her, everybody, punishing her, somehow, for forgetting him. There was nothing now: only him and this eternal pink sky stretching in all direction of the cosmos. And nothing else.

She saw in a slow motion as Damon jumped forward, his face a mask of pain. Y/N was rooting then for Damon, knowing perfectly well the bad guy shall have the upper hand. Like in the movie, she felt distant, unpresent. She knew these were the last moment she would see him. She looked at his silhouette in the air, black ink spot on the light morning background. She thought of that time he ripped a heart out of a vampire to save her, and stood with it, scarlet blood dripping from his fist. She was falling into the abyss, slowly, her mind leaving her. As Damon reached Kai, they both disappeared, and she was left alone in the field, and only then she let out a shriek.

She decided she would kill Kai Parker. One day, when he’s lost caution. When he thinks it’s finally over, and she’s over it. When they live somewhere else, in Ohio, because Ohio is for lovers. When he thinks life is finally good, and everything he’s done is justified, that it’s all for love, she will kill him somehow. Of course, it will take a lot of thinking, because he seems like he has no weak points. But she’ll come up with something.

The sun was now blazing on her cheek with the first rays, rolling up above the field and spreading golden newborn light, brilliant and clear, over everything. She was shredded; like a vegetable, she was now peeled of her layers, and only the animalistic red core was left, all instincts and no reason. She undid her fists and pushed away some garbage laying at her hand.

She watched Kai return from the forest, picking and pulling at the flowers as he went. He rubbed his face like a sleepy child. She stood up, rubbing her knees, and took full lungs of air. She will kill him one day, that is how it will end. She has no choice. But now, she’s incapable of that. All she can do is love him, for now.

Kai approached her, taking her in his arms, and they kissed, morning sunlight sneaking between their lips. The car was waiting for them on the side of the road, warming up slowly.

“Where now?” he asked. His hand was slowly caressing her shoulder, and she shivered with pleasure, snuggling close to him. The air was still a little chilly.

“How about a shoe store? You fucking brute. My feet are cold”.

Kai chuckled. As they reached the car, he turned back as if admiring the sight.

“Babe, what was I doing there?”

She got into a car and tried to close the door but Kai was in the way.

“I don’t know. Taking a leak?”

Kai shrugged. He looked at his left palm, puzzled. Turned it and showed it to her, a smudged word in a black marker.

“Who’s Damon?”

She blinked.

“No idea. Get in! Come on, Kai”.

“You’re driving”, he winked. She puffed and crawled over to the driver’s seat. Kai Parker got into the car with a wide smile on his face and closed the door.

[artificialqueens]

Seashells To My Heart, Chapter 1 (Biadore Mermaid AU) - Whiskey Neat

A/N:  PLEASE READ!! I wrote this a while back. It’s meant to be chaptered but I have not been able to come up with anything past this first chapter and I don’t currently have plans to continue it. I hate to leave it unfinished so if any other authors are interested in writing more chapters, please feel free. I’d love to see where you guys could take this story! The only thing I ask is that you please give it a happy ending. With that being said, happy reading! (and hopefully writing too)

Summary: Adore and Bianca are soulmate mermaids living happily in the sea. But one day Adore gets captured by humans and it’s Bianca’s job to save her.

It was a warm spring day and Adore and Bianca were happily swimming through the ocean water. They stopped every so often to admire some coral or to indulge in some PDA, depending on whether or not anyone was around.

The two mermaids were soulmates and they spent almost all their time together. In fact, they hadn’t spent more than one night apart ever since they started dating 2 months ago. Being apart for long periods of time caused them both severe heartache. Like actual physical heartache. Their bond was stronger than anything anyone had ever seen and it needed to be maintained carefully.

They were holding hands and humming softly as they swam along, when suddenly a large net came out of nowhere, surrounding them. They both panicked and violently wiggled around trying to escape. Bianca was able to free herself but Adore still struggled against the net that was quickly tightening around her. Bianca rushed to help untangle her lover but was unsuccessful, and before she knew it, Adore was pulled from her grip as the net lifted her up towards the surface of the water.

“Bianca, help me!” Adore cried out in fear.

“Adore!” Bianca yelled, as she caught her last glimpse of Adore’s long blue hair before the younger girl was completely out of sight.

Bianca swam after her as quickly as she could but it was too late. When she reached the surface, the boat was already speeding away with Adore, her screams barely audible over the hum of the engine. Bianca dove back underwater and rushed to find literally anyone who could help her figure out where those evil humans were taking Adore.

_________

The humans kept Adore tangled up in the net until they were on land and reached a medium sized building that had many windows and a pool in it. Despite Adore’s fierce struggling, they managed to pick her up and carry her inside, finally releasing her from the net, and dumping her into the pool.

The water was cold. Very cold. She shivered violently as she backed up into a corner on the opposite side of the pool, trying to stay as far away from her captors as possible.

“You’ll stay here until we want you to come sing for us, understand?” One of the men told her.

Adore just stayed silent and stared at them with wide glassy eyes. She was still shivering and at this point she couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or the fear.

“What, your voice doesn’t work anymore, fish face?” Another man spat.

“Come over here.” The first man demanded.

Adore didn’t move.

“I guess I’ll just have to keep this then…” the man told her, holding up a beautiful bracelet made of seashells. Adore recognized it immediately. Bianca made that bracelet for her. It must’ve fallen off while she was in the net. That was the last connection to her soulmate that she had. She desperately needed it back so she timidly swam back across the pool towards the two men.

The more rude of the two grabbed the bracelet from the other and knelt down in front of Adore.

Adore held out her hand, but instead of just handing it to her, the man put it on her wrist himself. “There you go, my pretty” he said and proceeded to stroke her cheek in a suggestive way. Adore felt sick. She spit in the mans face and he looked at her angrily.

“You bit-” he started, attempting to swing at the blue haired girl but she had already retreated back into her corner at the other side of the pool.

The man who didn’t get spit on pulled the other man up by the arm and led him towards the door. “Just give her time to get comfortable.” He said as they exited the room, leaving Adore all alone.

“Just give her time to get comfortable.” Adore repeated in her head.

Time.

Get comfortable.

Two things that Adore didn’t want. Suddenly the full reality of the situation set in. What if she was stuck here forever? She would probably never see Bianca again and the ache in her chest spoke to that.

She needed Bianca. Her soulmate. She didn’t want to live without her. She didn’t think she could live without her. Adore ran her fingers over the fragile seashells on her bracelet. “I love you.” She whispered, finally letting herself cry.

Not even realizing she fell asleep, Adore awoke a few hours later to the sound of someone coming into the room. The nicer man from earlier carried in a plate of food and set it on the edge of the pool, motioned for her to come eat, and then walked back out the door. Eating was the last thing she felt like doing right now so she ignored the food and rested her arms back on the side of the pool, hiding her face in them, and letting herself sink back into the pit of heartbreak and despair that she was feeling.

The next two days were the same. The man brought her food twice each day and she ignored it every time, continuing to lay there, completely focused on the feeling of her heart slowly falling apart.

The fourth day was different. Instead of the usual man bringing her food, it was a young blonde girl, no older than 14, who brought her a fresh plate of seaweed. Instead of leaving the room immediately after delivering the food like the man had, the girl came and sat down on the side of the pool next to Adore. She could sense the sadness radiating from the mermaid and she wanted to help her.

“My dad said you’re not eating.” the girl said.

Adore heard her, but didn’t look up. She didn’t have the energy to. This whole experience had drained all the life out of her, and not eating for the past 3 days hadn’t helped.

“I’m Courtney, what’s your name?” The girl continued.

No answer.

“Can I braid your hair?” Courtney asked.

Another piece of Adore’s heart cracked as she was reminded of all the times Bianca had braided her hair, weaving pretty little flowers into it as she did so. A single tear ran down her cheek as she gave Courtney a small nod, craving the contact of another living being, but still keeping her face hidden in her arms.

Courtney’s fingers had begun combing through her tangled blue locks when suddenly Adore let out a sob and looked up at the young girl.

“I miss her.” She choked out, voice sounding raspy and weak from not speaking for so long.

“Who?” Courtney asked, still stroking her hair.

“B-Bianca, my soulmate. I m-miss her so much, I need to go back. I need to go back!” Adore sobbed.

“Back where? To the ocean?”

Adore nodded frantically. “P-please, just l-let me go back…”

“I’m going to tell you something, okay? But you can’t tell anyone.” Courtney began.

Adore sniffled and nodded again.

“I hate what my father does. He captures mermaids like you and holds them captive for their beautiful voices. He uses them for entertainment at these big parties and then he auctions them off at the end of the night, where they’re taken away by some random stranger. I don’t know what happens after that but no mermaid has ever come back here after one of those parties.”

Adore’s eyes widened. “No! I have to go back to Bianca! Don’t let them take me away!” She begged, grabbing Courtney’s hand.

Courtney gripped the mermaids hand tightly. “I’m not going to. Once I figured out what he was doing, I knew that it wasn’t okay. So lately I’ve been helping you guys escape. My dad doesn’t know and he’d kill me if he found out. This is very risky but I’m going to help you get back to Bianca…but I need your help too, okay?” Courtney explained.

“Of course! I’ll do anything!” Adore told her, perking up at the thought of being reunited with her soulmate and getting out of this hell hole.

[rijurambles]

After TP Headcanons

More headcanons! Just my opinions here! You don't have to agree with any of these. As of the start of this post, Link is currently 19. He was 17 at the start of his journey.

- Ganondorf is defeated and Hyrule is saved. - Link (who I will call Twi for the rest of this post) is absolutely beaten after the fight and is taken to the Kakariko shaman Renado for healing immediately. Midna comes with him. Zelda stays behind to try and repair the Castle. - Twi recovers slowly. He is often restless and tries to get up on his own, insisting that he is fine. He almost acts as if Hyrule is still in danger. Midna leaves to visit Ordon as Twi is making his final adjustments. She explains what happened to Twi to Rusl (during the course of TP, not in the battle) and entrusts the shadow crystal to him. This is because she plans to leave Hyrule, unbeknownst to them, and she wants Twi to have it in case he ever needs his wolf form. This recovery takes about a week. - Midna, Zelda and Twi meet up at Arbiter's Grounds. The ending scene of TP happens. - Twi is in a state of shock after this and doesn't move for several minutes. Zelda is surprised as well, but she pieces things together and understands that Midna had to leave to rule her kingdom. Twi argues that even if that is the case, then she still could've kept the mirror standing so that there would be a link between them. He also cries. A lot. Twi tries to repair the mirror, but to no avail. He does manage to find a fragment of it, though, and he keeps it. - On the way back to the Castle, Zelda asks Twi what he plans to do now. He responds with a determined smile - "I'm going to find another way into the Twilight Realm.". Zelda....has her doubts. She offers him a place as a royal knight. He refuses. Twi returns to Ordon. - Rusl meets up with Twi and tells him about Midna. This causes him to trust Rusl much more. He makes the shadow crystal into a necklace for better access. - Twi starts doing research on the Twili. This continues for some time, around six months, until he gives up the study. During this period he is known to have stolen a few books from the Castle Library, which he promises to give back, but what happens after this makes that kind of hard. - Twi eventually gives up on the study, and decides that it's time for him to move on. He returns the Master Sword to its pedestal. A month later, he receives a letter from Zelda inviting him to a ball at the Castle. Now, usually, Twi isn't good at parties, so he initially wants to refuse, but it did say that it was important, so he comes along. - The castle servants are insistent that he wears something more proper (because he basically just showed up in his Ordon clothes). He is assigned a tailor - which means he has to change - which means his scars are going to be visible. He usually only covered the major ones before this (being the ones on his shoulders and chest), but the tailor's reaction makes him feel a little bit defensive about showing them. - This causes his usual need to wear layers. Anyways, the party is uneventful except for that the silk fabric is foreign to him and he's quite awkward while wearing it. When he is called into the Princess' room, things go south. - First she asks if he's reconsidered being a knight. Still a no.Zelda explains that she felt when he placed the master sword back - and when he tells her that he's permenately retiring the blade, she gets angry with him. This grows into an argument to where a few offhand comments are thrown around (such as "Maybe Midna severed the mirror because she wanted to get away from you!" Which boy howdy pisses Twi off.), and eventually Zelda calls the guards to escort him out. - But this is the Hero of Twilight we're talking about. Though reluctantly, he's able to easily get the guards off of him, and announces that "if I'm leaving, it's going to be on my terms, not yours." He does not return to the castle. Nor does he ever return those books. - It's now been almost a year after TP. Twi goes back to being a ranch hand. He's formally adopted by Rusl, though it doesn't matter much since he's nearly 20 now, but it does mean that Colin is now legally his little brother. He steps up to the role quite well. Their infant little sister, Liza, is growing. Twilight returns his original tunic to the Light Spirits, exactly where he got it from. Though Ordon does come together to make him a new tunic for all that he's done for them. - Years pass, and Liza and Colin grow up. As Rusl and Uli get more elderly, Twi steps up to the plate a lot. He's a strict big brother, but only because he cares. He sets serious bedtimes so that those two won't develop his insomnia. Liza becomes an avid researcher. Colin attempts marksmanship. The town of Ordon expands. - Prince Ralis reaches official King age, and Twilight gives him back his coral earring as a gift. - Telma and the Resistance are always looking out for Twi in Castle Town, even if he's unwelcome in the Castle itself. - After this, things kind of mellow out. That is, unless Linked Universe happens and he gets plunged into a life changing field trip. Yeah, so Zelda is kinda rude to Twi. She's not a bad person, they simply have conflicting ideals. You know that one person you just can't get along with no matter how nice you are, even if they aren't exactly horrible to you all the time? Yeah. That's Twi and Zelda.

[casualcatte]

RP Journal: 08/07/2020

Ah, all it takes is a nice trip out to the Night Raid Bounty Call to set the world to rights and remind you that the thrill of the hunt is one of the best things in life. As I stood in line to turn in my reward token, I was surprised to see Loksia put in an appearance. I know I invited her out and all, but I hadn’t really expected anything. She offered for us to take up a bounty together, so I let her peruse the bounty board while I waited in line.

[ Courtesy cut for another LONG one, folks! ]

Not long after that, R’zunh and Yihmu’ra came stumbling in with a mylodon head between them. Oschon’s Compass, it was enormous!  I hadn’t realized they’d taken on something so formidable. The two of them looked downright thrashed.  Nan’to quickly took care of them, so I stayed in line to get my turn-in done.  There would be plenty of time to see them after they’d been tended to. 

By the time I got back to Loksia, she’d picked out a coral-fetching assignment for us that seemed fairly easy. For my own part, I picked up the bounty for a mated pair of birds out in Yanxia that needed to be taken alive. That should be a good indicator of Edgard’s skill. After all, killing a hunt is an easy enough matter, but bringing one in alive is a whole new level of complexity, especially when these birds need to be harmed as little as possible. 

More waiting in line as we posted our bounties with the Bounty Officers, after which I decided to take a few minutes to check on Zunh and Mu’ra. For all that we may be new friends, I grew up around hunters in Tailfeather.  Hunters, near and far, are family by extension to me. I couldn’t /not/ check on them and make sure they were okay.  It would’ve gone against my entire upbringing. 

By the time I got there, Nan’to was done patching them up, so all they really needed was help getting to the common room. I helped with that and, once they were seated, I brought out the bottles of kumis.  Injured or not, I wasn’t about to let the two of them welch on a deal!  They promised, so they must perform!  Besides, maybe this alcohol was strong enough to make them forget their pain for a while.

Each of us took turns drinking, including a new friend in Z’rhun Tia.  Yes, journal, that’s right.  There is now a Zuhn and a Rhun in my life.  Like I didn’t have enough trouble keeping Edmond and Edgard straight at the time, now I have these two. At least they don’t /look/ alike, for pity’s sake!  One last victi--hunter joined in our shenanigans, an elezen by name of Zanshin Kutabare. Somehow, Loksia convinced him to drink an /entire/ jug of kumis on his own and that elezen was tra-a-a-ashed. He literally threw himself over the balustrade and fell down the stairs to the bar room, simply because he had to pee. Man, kumis is some pretty strong stuff.  And nasty.  I’m never drinking it again. I saved the last bottle to give to Nan’to, since he apparently likes the stuff.  I considered ita thank you for all that he’d done for Zuhn and Mu’ra.

The night wore on and it was clear that Mu’ra had way too much to drink, so it fell to me and Rhun to get both of those silly cattes to bed. I even had to go so far as to take off Zunh’s boots and tuck him in.  I did tell him if he asked for a glass of water or a nightlight that I’d sock him in the nose. Immediately after those two, Rhun and I had to put the elezen /back/ to bed, only then were we able to call it quits. 

We stopped over in the lobby for a bit and had the opportunity to talk to Tetsuyo Wulf and Nan’to for a bit. Tetsuyo seems really easy to talk to once you get him going. We chatted about common things for a bit and he told us of a big feast and festival they’ll be throwing next week, I think.  Of course I plan on being there. What crazy catte says no to free food? Rhun seemed to have the same idea.  But it was closing time, so it really wouldn’t have been polite to linger.

Rhun and I shared a boat back to Kugane and that’s where we parted ways.  I carried my batch of wool back to Bokairo, then took myself down to the Kogane Dori to see if I could haggle some decent prices to sell it.  I wasn’t about to mail twenty skeins of wool to Lorrendor in Ul’dah.

Speaking of Lorrendor, he snuck up on me while I was in the market. He came all the way from Ul’dah simply to visit me, he said. We sat in the garden near the embassies again, since it’s one of my favorite places in the city. But all that seemed to concern Lorrendor was Edgard. Edgard, Edgard, Edgard.  Why was I taking Edgard hunting?  Why was I testing Edgard’s ability? Edgard was probably such a better hunting partner. For Twelve’s sake, what is it about Edgard that concerns him so?

He brought up the hunt again, how we “nearly died.” Gods be good and grant me patience, we didn’t almost die. Yes, I got hurt, but that was through my own stupidity and ill-preparation. The bara was critically wounded and bleeding out. It wouldn’t have had the strength to kill either one of us!  I’m a seasoned enough hunter to see that, so why couldn’t he?

It’s so INFURIATING how he treats me like a child and this isn’t for the first time. Why can’t he simply let me be who I am without trying to stifle me at every opportunity? I’m not his responsibility, I don’t want to be. Friend or not, caring or not, I am who I am. He either accepts this or he doesn’t. 

Then he had to mention Tristane. He had to /use/ Tristane against me, like his over-protectiveness was the same. It’s not.  It never could be. Tristane’s came from a place of love, a place of hope for our future together, of the dreams we hoped to weave. This is nothing close to the same. 

I struck him. I know that it was wrong.  My temper gets the better of me. I was just so angry, that he’d even try to put himself in the same league as Tris. Angry that he would try to use Tris as leverage for his overprotective nature. I couldn’t believe it. He went on to say I don’t want or need his manner of caring. I sure as /hell/ don’t if it means stifling me at every opportunity and trying to shelter me like I’m some defenseless waif.

Edgard. He kept mentioning Edgard. As if Edgard were as important to me as Tris. Surprise!  He’s not either.  Neither of them is Tris.  Neither of them could be. We’re all three of us broken.  And broken things can’t put one another back together.

It was after all this that Lorrendor decided to tell me he has feelings for me as “more than a friend.”  /Gods./  WHY.  What could he possibly have feelings about?  He doesn’t know me, he’s barely known me a fortnight! I can’t imagine what I’ve done or said that’s so earth-shattering as to inspire these feelings. I’m strong-willed, independent, with all the manners of a cave coeurl. I don’t get it.  I don’t.

I don’t have feelings for him OR for Edgard beyond friendship. I like them both for my own reasons, but both of them have a lot of baggage that they need to deal with first before they’d be good relationship fodder for /anyone/, not just me. 

Lorrendor says that it’s simply the man he is, like I’m supposed to accept that and be fine with it. Yet, on the same token, he can’t accept that I am the way I am. If we can’t accept such major parts of each other, how on Eorzea can we be anything other than friends?  Even as friends I get annoyed when Lor smothers me. I don’t want it. I don’t want to be protected.  I don’t want to be left behind while he goes to fight the big bad alone in order to keep me out of harm’s way. He can’t seem to understand that.

He went on to say that he cares about me. If he cared about me, then he wouldn’t have brought up Tristane. Certainly not in the /way/ he brought him up. Why do men have to be so /stupid/ and muck up a perfectly good friendship?  I never should have taken him on that hunt.  That seemed to be where everything went sideways.  Or maybe it was his whole trip to Kugane, after that first night, something in him began to shift and by the end of it, I hardly knew him as the same Lorrendor I’d met in the Quicksand.

He finally gave it up as a lost cause and left, presumably to go back to Ul’dah. Gods be good, let him go find some other woman to swoon and sigh and want to be protected by him. It’s never going to be me. 

Still, I was glad that he went. Bringing up Tristane hurt far more than I thought it would. I cried, for the first time in a long time. I cried so much because Tris deserved a better fate than he got. Tris loved me more than anything and we’d planned to have a Bonding Ceremony right there in Tailfeather where we met. We had our whole lives ahead of us and it was all burned to ash in one stupid moment when he decided to fight the Bandersnatch Alpha on his own, rather than follow the plan we’d made for weeks. All in order to protect me, to keep me out of harm’s way. Is it any wonder that I hate it?  It robbed me of the one person who ever thought the world of me, who believed I could do anything, except for that one hunt.  Idiot.

I never expect Edgard to show up at the times he does, it’s almost as if the hand of fate is determined to make my life a misery. Naturally, I was still crying from memories of Tris, which won a quip from the Ishgardian about how I actually had emotional reactions to things.  Idiot.  Of course I have feelings!  Just because I don’t show them to /him/ doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

What happened next… I can’t even really explain what happened.  I vented, he listened, we traded our usual banter, though my heart wasn’t really in it until near the end.  He told me to visualize a target as Lorrendor and throw rocks at it.  I chose the bridge across the pond. Admittedly, I’m a pretty good shot with rocks.  Bridge-Lorrendor would’ve been rendered unconscious with a pretty serious concussion. Between the banter, the venting, and the rock-throwing, though, I actually felt better. Edgard really can be a good friend when he puts his mind to it.  It’s strange.

At the end of the night, he asked me if I was going to brood or if I’d need him there to hold his hand. There was something in the way he said it, something that made it seem like /not/ taking his hand yesterday had bothered him. So, I took it tonight. 

He had on those spiky, reticulated gauntlets that dragoons favor, I thought for sure I was about to cut myself on one, but I took his hands in both of mine anyway. I held him like that for a moment and -- maybe it was just my imagination -- he seemed /dumbfounded/ by it.  Edgard, the Perpetually Glib and Effervescent with his flirtations and witty rejoinders was rendered /speechless/ by me holding his hand. Gods, if I’d known that was all it took to shut him up, I’d have done it long ago. 

Still, I was grateful for the good turn he’d done in cheering me up, whatever small kindness I could give him in that moment… he deserved it.