#doing three colors at once on one block with water based ink is. impossible. but i have oil now. thumbs up emoji

[mildmayfoxe]

a big inspiration for my seabird print & a good song for walking around feeling somewhat melancholic

[ericsonclan]

Fathoms Below

Summary: Louis, Violet and Renata escape from the land dwellers and go back to their underwater home to inform the others.

Word Count: 2591

Read on AO3:

Renata stared at the mysterious object before her. Its shiny black color made the mermaid’s eyes sparkle with curiosity. What was it? Could you wear it? Did it smell? What did it taste like? All these questions bounced around her head as her bright yellow tail flicked up before plopping down with a faint thud on the sand. She had to know the answer to all of her questions but which one would she try to answer first?

After a moment Renata decided on her choice. As her tongue wandered towards the object she heard a loud exclamation with words she couldn’t understand. Renata opted to not focus on those words. Instead she gave the object a long lick.

Suddenly she felt eyes staring at her. Renata turned to see two land dwellers looking at her in shock. Renata’s eyes grew large as her tongue paused mid lick. The air around the cove grew tense but was quickly broken when Violet spoke up.

“Hey, dumbass, get back here now! Fucking hurry!”

Violet’s frantic cry made Louis emerge from the water. With a mighty leap his evergreen tail shone in the light for all to see before he splashed back into the water.

Renata knew what she had to do. She had to be brave and make it back to the water as quickly as she could. Land people were bad news. With a dramatic lunge Renata flopped onto the ground and began to spin her arm in circles. Whether or not that helped propel her forward wasn’t clear but it made her feel speedy. Renata continued forward, doing a series of what she was sure were beautiful belly flops. Of course those belly flops ended up causing the sand and small rocks on the ground to scratch against her belly. It hurt but she knew it was her best bet to escape and not become sushi.

“Warning! Warning! Warning! We gotta help her!” Louis panicked, swimming circles around Violet who was just as worried.

“Renata! Move your ass! Come on!” Violet swam around Louis in circles as well. Both of them desperately wanted to help Renata reach the safety of the water sooner but the land dwellers were right there.

Renata took a deep breath and spun her arms around faster, giving breathtaking belly flops as she made slow but steady progress. The encouraging words of her friends telling her that she had this as well as the worry in their eyes pushed Renata’s determination into overdrive. Based on the land dwellers’ reactions they had most likely found out that all three of them were merpeople. She was nearly there when one of the land dwellers spoke again, trying to get the other one to help them somehow.

Violet quickly stopped that conversation from finishing as she sent a mighty wave crashing towards the surface and slamming against the land dweller. That seemed to do the trick as the other land dweller hurried to check on her friend. Renata put her all into her last belly flop and successfully landed in the water face first before her yellow tail slipped into the cove’s waters. Louis immediately linked his arm with hers then grabbed Violet’s hand. Using all the might of his tail Louis swam under the water, disappearing below the surface and towards the safety of their home.

After a few minutes Louis let go of both of them and swam round Renata. “You’re safe! You didn’t get hurt, right?” Louis twirled around Renata then looked at her with concern.

“Yep! All that was hurt was my tummy!” Renata smiled warmly and swam with a newfound peace now that she knew the land dwellers wouldn’t nab them.

“You almost got caught,” Violet mumbled and swam ahead. “Now they know what we are and once we tell the others there’s no way in hell we can go up there again,” Violet frowned back at her pair of friends.

Her words made Renata’s smile falter for a moment and Louis froze mid-swim. The ends of his tail went limp as he processed what Violet had said. “Wait, no! We can still go up there somehow. The land dwellers seemed nice, especially that golden eyed one. She liked my gift from earlier!” Louis swam forward, catching up with his best friend who was leading the way back home.

“Besides, those stick leg folks are dumb! They don’t even have good or tasty food. That weird black block was stale or something,” Renata’s tail flicked back and forth wildly as she navigated through the seaweed and passed a school of fish to catch up with her friends.

Violet sighed in annoyance as she weaved her way through some colorful fish. “Doesn’t matter if they were nice or if they’re dumb. It would not only be our tails but everyone else’s if the other land dwellers believed those two,”

Louis and Renata were silent at those words, knowing Violet was right. The rest of the swim back home was rather quiet as the three moved through the sea with relatively fast speed.

It wasn’t long before Violet caught sight of home. The tall patches of seaweed where small sea creatures hid away from the larger ones that wanted them for dinner served as a marker that they were close. Violet flicked her pink tail, causing the small creatures to scatter in a panic and zoom off towards the large pillars of sea stone that represented an entrance to the small underwater city the merpeople called home.

Louis’ face immediately brightened when he saw the familiar sight of the different caves that were formed within a massive block of sea stone that the merpeople had smoothed out over the years. The walls were adorned with different sea shells and stones that had become luminous and glossy thanks to the different currents under this great sea.

By the entrance was James who was happily picking soft purple coral to surprise Jesse. The scales on his warm grey tail shimmered in the light as a happy little tune escaped his lips that he was sure only he and Jesse could hear. The merman looked over at his love who was busy being in absolute awe of the wonders of seahorses. Jesse’s eyes shone with excitement and happiness as he studied the golden sea horses who were absentmindedly floating up and down without a care in the world. Jesse’s bright silver tail stood out amongst the gold of the seahorses as he tried not to disturb their space.

Soon his attention was drawn away when James surprised him with a small necklace made from the purple algae. Due to its softness it was able to sway in the small currents underwater without scratching at Jesse’s chest. Jesse smiled lovingly and stole a few quick kisses before inviting James to watch the seahorses with him. Violet, Louis and Renata soon passed the pair and were drawn to the excited voice of one of the younger merpeople.

“Allie!” Willy called out. His copper tail dragged along the sandy bottom of the sea floor while a tiny squid covered his face. The merman navigated blindly as he tried to find his love. Allison watched with amusement as Willy waved his hands this way and that before running into a small sea rock.

“Shit, Willy!” Allison’s amused smile disappeared as she rushed over to Willy. Her blood red tail swooshed this way and that as she sliced through the water to reach him faster. “Are you okay?”

Allison helped up Willy who was silent as he struggled to get the squid off his face. After a moment or two of struggling he successfully got the sea creature off who wiggled around in his grasp. “Look, Allie, look! I got us a new buddy for our daily swims! His name is Inky!”

Just as Willy declared the squid’s name it sent out a jet of black ink which covered the two merpeople. Allison and Willy roughly coughed as the ink slowly dissipated and was swept away by a swift current. Once the water was clear around them the two smiled at each other before Willy tucked Inky under his left arm and grabbed Allison’s hand. Soon the two merpeople were happily swimming off, talking of adventures that they wanted to share together.

“Come on, we should tell Javi and Santi,” Violet swam forward and passed by Omar who was walking back with a crab in his mouth that he had bested.

“Hey there, Omar!” Louis gave a friendly wave to the merman. “Is that for dinner?”

Omar glanced up at his friend. His black tail moved at a steady pace to keep himself afloat, the bits of silver scales on it shimmering for a moment before disappearing as the touch of the faint light that shone from above shifted. Spitting out the crab, Omar caught it before replying.

“Yeah but it's only a small part. Ruby is busy catching the rest with Aasim,”

“Ooo! I can’t wait! Your cooking is the best in all the seas!” Renata beamed and Omar gave a small smile in response.

“Thanks. I should get going; I have a lot of work to do,” Omar gave a wave which the trio returned. After the small gesture the merpeople went their separate ways and Violet noticed Brody chilling on a large stone, basking in the underwater light as she looked at her collection of colorful seashells. The auburn mermaid let the current flow through her hair and let the ends of her baby blue tail sway with the water’s movement.

“Brodes!” Mitch’s booming voice drew her attention over to the merman with the yellowish green tail. A confident, smug grin was resting on his face as he made his way over to his love. The blue claws of crabs clung onto different parts of his tail. He quickly shook them off. “I finally did it! I fucking beat those little shits that Sophie said were impossible to beat! That proves that I’m the best merman around!” Mitch smiled and swam around Brody, his tail brushing against hers. “It proves that I can protect you,”

Brody smiled warmly at her love and kissed his cheek, causing the merman to freeze mid swim. “I already knew you could protect me,”

Those words made Mitch’s heart swell and he quickly swam next to Brody to see what she was doing.

Soon Violet’s attention returned to the task at hand and she spotted the merpeople she was looking for after moving by Sophie whose shimmery white tail was curled around Marlon’s maroon one as she tried a new nickname for him.

“Mar-kerel!” Sophie smiled but it soon faded away when she realized she didn’t like the nickname. “Nah, I think I'll stick with Mar and Mackerel,”

“Sounds good to me,” Marlon looked into Sophie’s eyes then pressed a small kiss to her nose. Sophie returned the gesture before she caught sight of her best friends. With an excited smile she gave a quick goodbye to Marlon then swan off after Violet and Renata.

“Vi! Ren! Lou! You’re back! How were the land dwellers this time? Do they still have stick legs? Or is it a disguise for their tails?” Sophie asked as she swam around the trio.

“You’re starting to sound like T,” Louis smiled at his redhead friend who shrugged.

“What can I say, I guess I’m curious too. I totally wanna come with you the next time you go up to the cove!” Sophie’s giddiness translated to her tail which swooshed around wildly.

“We’re not going again,” Violet grumbled and continued on forward. Her words made Sophie pause for a moment and she looked between Louis and Renata.

“We’re about to explain everything to Javi and Santi,” Renata smiled at her best friend then swam forward. Sophie nodded and quickly followed behind the group.

Soon the four of them were heading towards Javi who was in the middle of flirting with Santiago. His deep blue tail tickled Santiago’s chin before he twirled forward and captured the rose gold tailed merman’s lips in a soft kiss. After a moment the couple noticed the other merpeople coming forward and put kissing time on the backburner.

“Hey, you made it-”

Javi was cut short when a new voice called out.

“You made it back!” Minnie swam forward, her smokey grey tail moving at a rapid pace to close the distance between her and Renata as quickly as she could. Soon the redheaded mermaid tackled her love in a hug and spun her around before letting go and swimming around her. Minnie’s tail locked with Renata’s for a moment before she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend once more.

“Minnie!” Renata happily began to pepper Minnie’s face with kisses that made her turn as red as her hair.

“I was starting to get worried since you took so long,” Minnie held onto Renata.

Sophie snorted at her twin’s words. “Starting,” Sophie used air quotations and Minnie sent her a look.

“No need to worry, I’m A-okay beside some tummy scratches!” Renata smiled brightly at her love.

“You got hurt?” Minnie’s eyes flickered with concern as she searched Renata for any more injuries.

“Yep! And only belly kisses will heal it,” Renata gave a playful smile over at Minnie.

“You don’t deserve belly kisses!” Violet’s tone made everyone look over her way, surprised by her suddenly jumping into the conversation. The pink tailed mermaid maintained her deep frown. “Renata made us blow our cover to the land dwellers and it was all because she had to lick something shiny or whatever,” Violet crossed her arms while her tail flicked with annoyance, keeping her afloat.

“You did what?” Santiago swam forward, the worry clear on his face.

“It wasn’t on purpose. I just wanted to see what was so great about the land dweller’s stick legs but then I got distracted by the shiny black block. I didn’t mean to let them see our tails,” Renata’s face fell.

“So they saw all three of you and your tails?” Javi moved closer to participate in the conversation.

Soon Violet summarized what had happened along with Louis and Renata who jumped in to add certain parts here and there. Some details were important while others like Renata talking about her flopping skills and Louis getting caught up in how pretty one of the land dweller’s eyes were weren’t crucial story beats.

After the trio had finished sharing, Javi and Santiago swam off a little distance to discuss the situation. It was clear based on the different merpeople’s reactions that their opinion on land dwellers was varied. After a few minutes the couple swam back over towards Violet, Louis and Renata.

Javi spoke first. “Okay, Santi and I have decided that it's best to stay put down here for a while. That means no one is allowed to go up to the cove’s surface.” Javi looked around the merpeople as he spoke.

“That includes for shits and giggles, to sneak glances at land dwellers and to confront them,” Santiago looked at Sophie and Renata then at Louis and finally at Minnie. All the merpeople mumbled in agreement and that was that. They knew that if they stayed put for a few weeks these land dwellers would get just as bored as the ones before. But based on Louis’ distraught reaction to the declaration and Renata and Sophie’s secret glance this was surely not going to be a rule that would be kept.

[outroshooky]

“i still remember the way you taste.” | myg

⇢ genre: series (angst, fluff)

⇢ pairing: min yoongi x reader

⇢ word count: 2.5k

⇢ prompt: “I still remember the way you taste.” postbreakup!au

the writing style of this fic was inspired by @tendershepherd and Three Preludes. i highly encourage you to check out Shep's blog and fics!! you can read Three Preludes here.

I gotta say, for being apart for eight months and counting, you still know how to sneak up on me and give me a goddamn heart attack. I mean, seriously. You should know by now that I scare easily, which leads me to think that maybe you did actually plan to step outside and find me. Well, you probably did decide to come to talk of your own volition for once, and not because Hoseok put you up to it. He was always sympathetic, and a little bit more understanding when it came to these things (I won’t mention the snake incident).

It was close to broiling inside the wedding hall, which was filled with glass, glitz, and utterly drunk, vaguely familiar relatives. Side note, ditching a very wasted Aunt Ji-Yoon and that one hovering waiter with the combover was absolute cake compared to getting those bloody heels off. Gem-studded and beautiful, sure. Easy to slip off in an emergency? Hell no.

That’s where you found me, actually. I’d gotten the left ankle-biter off after a good minute and a half minutes of struggling, and was about two seconds away from cutting the straps off of the right. The ambient glow of skyscrapers was ample enough to illuminate the balcony, with only a few bare bulbs dangling to criss-cross the ceiling. Apartment buildings loomed beside like impossibly tall trees, and city blocks were laid out in perfect alignment below. With the slight buzz of champagne in one’s skull, you could almost call it ideal serenity. It was as close to tranquil as life had been in a long, long time.

And then you came along and fucked it right up.

“Need a little help?”

That was all you said. Four words. Four simple words that shot my heart into my tightening throat. Let’s be real for a moment Yoongi, I’d be able to recognize that rasp if you only said four syllables. Your voice is really something else, you know. It’s deep, a little husky, a bit grating on the ears. There’s a bit of breathiness when you’re talking, you choose your words carefully and sometimes you hesitate. But there wasn’t hesitation in that sentence, and for half a second, I didn’t even believe you could be here. Then I remembered that I missed the service, and you were his best man, and it was you after all who was standing next to me, tugging on your right tuxedo sleeve, hair as black as the night sky, the firm line of your mouth set into a slight pout. Maybe it wasn’t your actual presence that scared me, but those four words that burned a hole right through the wall I’d let down for just one breath on the veranda. You managed to stumble across me at my most vulnerable moment, and I’m still not quite sure how.

I think you knew as soon as you saw the expression on my face. You read me like an open book, you always have. Every part, every fragment of me was spread out before you the second I heard your footsteps echo on the concrete. Call that a side effect of being the closest to your heart for such a long time, but half of me suspects that that’s just who you are, and I’m oddly comfortable with that. If it’s anyone that instinctively knows their way around the deepest parts of the maze, if it’s anyone who can dissect the cogs of people’s innermost workings without being crushed by the machinery, it’s you. Without a doubt, it’s you.

You chuckled a little when I didn’t say anything, just shook your head. It wasn’t meant to be ironic, nor mocking, more like “Wow, I just surprised my ex-girlfriend, and she’s currently staring at me with one hand on her shoes and her jaw on the floor. Hmmm, I’m Min Yoongi, I’m so clever with my quiet voice and tendency to sneak up behind people when they least expect it.” (Do I honestly think that you said that bit about being clever? No, but it made me feel better, so lay off it.) It was at this point that I finally ripped that godforsaken heel off, and I could turn and actually face you for the first time.

I could say that you did a complete 180 in our time apart, that you were bulkier, you held yourself higher, you smoothed out the dents and pulled taunt the crumpled edges. I could say that you’d bettered yourself since March, I could say that you were a little tanner and your hair was a little longer and now the color of ink instead of straw, I could say that you carried yourself with an air of confidence that I’d never seen. But if I were to say that, I'd be lying, because sure, now your hair curls at the base of your neck instead of an inch or so higher, but you could never work out the dents and edges and that was just a fact about you. You hate working out, you’re stubborn, resistant to change, and still a little unsure about social situations. At the base of things, you’re fundamentally the same, and that's what I love about you, Yoongi. We know those dents and nicks can never be worked out, but you wear them with pride, and that lack of a change was comforting in a way I think you’ll understand with time. Even if you pull a sheet of paper straight again, you can never completely iron out the wrinkles.

“Guess not.” You played with the hem of your sleeve, rolling a loose thread between your index and pointer, an old habit you never seem to be able to break. “What’re you doing out here?”

“What does it look like I'm doing?” I honestly didn't realize how cold it was until I stood up, and the wind whipping around my bare shoulders and legs really didn't help my argument.

“Avoiding people?” Your smirk is simultaneously the most adorable and obnoxious thing I've ever seen.

“Fuck you. What’re you doing out here?”

“What does it look like I'm doing?”

“Avoiding people?”

“Well, I guess we've got something in common.” You came to stand next to me at the railing, leaning your covered forearms on the thin metal bar. Even in the darkness, your skin glowed pale, and I had to resist the urge to run my finger from the corner of your jaw to your chin, because it caught the light from the glass patio doors just so and you looked goddamn ethereal, Yoongi. (I enjoy a little bit of irony in that, because you so straddle the line between black and white that you seem to settle somewhere into gray, and that's exactly how you appeared to me at that moment.) I was so immersed in the contrast that I jumped when your hand waved in front of my face, and your lips jumped into the first hint of your real gummy smile I'd seen and missed so much. “Did you hear me?”

“What?”

“I asked if you were cold.”

“No, I'm not. Are you?” I looked out over the edge, eyes fixated on the dark river in the distance and the bright moonlight patterning across the water. (It wasn't any use attempting to lie to you, I don't know why I tried to; I don't learn from my mistakes and that's a flaw you pointed out to me during our infamous January fight.)

Your response was to turn and step closer to me and I momentarily forgot what breathing was, but all you did was slip out of your jacket and swing it around me, hand grazing skin as you adjusted the fabric. It came pre-heated courtesy of a combination of sweat and your tendency to run warm, and the little tinge of cologne on the collar only contributed to your efforts. You tilted your head as you straightened the fabric, hair flopping sideways, smoothing out the folds and creases and admiring your work before facing the skyline once more. “No, I’m not.”

I don't think my eyes have ever rolled farther back in my skull.

You seemed a little more at ease now that I was bundled up in your suit jacket, the touch of hesitance wiped from your slim frame. For a second, I could mistake your crisp dress shirt for that oversized sweatshirt you wear all the time, and the patio light for the late-night glow of your studio computer as you promised me you’d come to bed, just one more minute, please jagiya. Both the jacket and the sweatshirt smelled like you- cedarwood, musk, and a twinge of something exotic you must have gotten abroad. It's utterly fascinating to me how a combination like that of cedar and spice can be appealing, but you make it work.

Silence fell over us for a while as we stood there, wind swirling and whistling around the glass curve of the building to cut through your thin button-down and ruffle the skirt of my dress. You could call it peaceful with the city lights and my bare toes and your lingering cologne under my nose if undertones of regret didn’t linger on my tongue, bitter under expensive wine and a familiar human touch. It was peaceful like this once before- before we took each other for granted and before we started taking out our fights on the front door instead of the bed frame. The thought was sobering, and the words were on the tip of my tongue before you unknowingly (or perhaps knowingly) cut me off.

“You know, I still remember the way you taste.”

Yoongi, out of all the things you could have said to me standing out there on the balcony, those words in that order were the last words I ever expected to hear drop from your perfect rosebud lips, and I choked, airway constricting with my second heart attack of the last fourteen minutes. “Excuse me?”

You brushed off my trivial disbelief and initial shock, maintaining that oh-so-drippingly-cool exterior that I knew as Min Suga, the mask you place on when you need to hide because your vulnerability is simmering to the surface. “I still remember the way you taste.”

“You can’t just say that out of fucking nowhere, Yoongi-”

You stood up to your full height (just a maddeningly bit taller than mine), turning to face me completely, jaw set. As intense as always, your gaze whittled me down to the core, but they say the eyes are the windows to the soul and so I found myself staring back at you, exposed on the opposite side of the black panes. Your shoulders rose and fell. “Vanilla lip balm.” The statement was rhetorical; you needed no acknowledgement from me before pressing on, your quiet tone incessant. “Vanilla and red wine and black currant perfume when you’re going out.”

You shifted your weight onto your back leg, hands jammed in your pants pockets as your tongue darted out to wet your bottom lip, inhaling slowly. “There are some days where I think I can still smell your shampoo on my shirt.” You paused, gaze flicking from my calves to my eyes. “And I really don’t know how I feel about that.”

I cocked an eyebrow at you, unsure whether I was speaking to Suga or Yoongi, because Min Suga would never let this kind of a sentence slip from his sinful bad boy mouth but Min Suga was plastered across your pale skin, mask still painted over Min Yoongi’s features. It was the closest thing to an apology I’d ever gotten from you, and that thought nearly stunned me. “What are you saying, Yoongi?”

“I don’t know.” You turned on one heel sharply, hackles raising, hiding, withdrawing. You took four steps away from the railing, facing the double doors, pausing to take in the thudding of the bass, the clinking of glasses, the resonant laughter. “Forget about-”

I’d like to take this moment to apologize to you, Yoongi. My spontaneity was always hit-and-miss with you, a gamble of the dice, and I am still not sure if this was one of those times that made you smile and blush or made you want to crawl into a hole and never emerge, but for both of our sakes, I’m hoping it was the former. Because with the running theme of the night, out of all of the things that I could have said out there on the balcony, I picked the last option that neither of us could have expected.

I remember stooping to pick up my shoe, slinging your suit jacket off, draping it on the bench, and feeling the sting of late-night chill return. I remember concrete beneath my toes, hard and smooth like marble, the minute scattered gravel biting into the soles of my feet. I remember taking five steps and turning you to face me in one swift movement. I remember how your mouth dropped open into a little “o”, teeth peeking out under your top lip, and how your hands slipped out of their pockets to grab me as you staggered a step backward.

Silky soft.

Those were the only two words that came to mind when my lips met yours. I had worried, agonized over months that they’d somehow changed, that if I kissed you again their subtle taste would be gone, that everything that dramatically, cataclysmically shifted from the moment you’d pulled away for the last time. Silky, so soft in all of the right ways, sensual, narrow but parted enough that I could feel your shocked exhale rush into mine.

I took a moment to revel in the fantasy, the dream. White wine and musk met red wine and vanilla, and the drastically different flavors managed not to clash but instead compliment. Where my hand fell over your jaw I could feel the slant of bone, skin unmarred and perfectly glowing. Your cheek fit so perfectly against my fingertips, and the memory of countless kisses like this one burst against my closed eyelids, kisses against your chest on the couch, kisses on the street corner under neon lights, kisses below the river bridge, leaning on the fence, sitting side-by-side in the restaurant booth. It bubbled to the forefront of my mind, consuming my willpower to move, spearheading the tension that chafed two very different individuals who had once very much been in love, and perhaps were still in love, too.

“You know, there are some days where I think I can feel you kissing me,” I murmured, pulling back, lips brushing against yours as I spoke. Your arms wound around my waist, eyes still closed, forehead leaning forward to rest against mine as you licked your bottom lip, tongue flicking against the corner of my mouth. Your chest rose and fell, warmth burning through the soft fabric against my palm. “And I really don’t know how I feel about that.”

Your eyes opened, pupils dilated, and I knew I’d lost myself in them- in you- when your fingers danced up my spine, splaying over my lower back. “I do.” You glanced down at me, other hand brushing my hair back, circling my face to cup my jaw and cheek.

And you tilted your head and closed the gap.