#i drew this a while ago but i have GOT to post it eventually.. this was such a good drawing- one of my favs

[mixtercandy]

Space Doughnut gajinka/humanization i did a bit ago :3

[shhhsecretsideblog]

No Time To Hide

This was something I wrote for an Imagine You’re Pregnant prompt, original post here. Thought I’d make a side blog and post it here as well cos I really enjoyed writing this and might be tempted to write more birth fics

Eva opened the wooden window of her small cottage, letting the cool autumn air whip through her hair. The smell of woodland and damp grass filled her nostrils as she took a long, calming breath.

Describing herself as a green witch, Eva loved her little cottage hidden away from everyone deep within the rich forest. Coven life was never something that appealed to her; the idea of being constantly surrounded by other witches, their opinions and their magic, was torture for Eva. She much preferred her own company, free to live her life the way she wanted. Free to use her own style of magic, without the distraction or judgement of others. It was why she decided to live here in the heart of the forest. There was a river that flowed through the centre of the woodland, the ancient trees stood tall around her home, and the forest floor was packed with all manner of plant life. It was perfect; just her, the elements and Mother Nature.

Despite her preference of living alone, as time passed Eva began to yearn for something… it wasn’t romance or friendship, but the idea of a child. Children were never something she had considered, but as she grew older Eva had begun to see the benefit of having children. Someone to pass all her knowledge and wisdom to, someone to love and care for and share all that she’d learnt. She wanted to pass on this way of living, to create a legacy.

A few months ago, nine to be exact, she enchanted a local townsman - not that he would ever remember it. And now here she was, rocking side to side and cradling the underneath of her heavily pregnant stomach, preparing herself as birth drew near.

The cramps had started yesterday afternoon, small and barely noticeable at first. Eva had been terribly uncomfortable these last few weeks, suffering constant aches and twinges, so she did not immediately give them any thought. However when they got sharper and more frequent, forcing her to pause whatever she was doing, they soon got her full attention.

Not knowing how long this could take but knowing she would eventually lose mobily as her labour progressed, she collected all her preparations and got the supplies ready. Blankets, towels, sterilised medical equipment, all within easy reach in the main living room. Snacks and drinks lay available on the coffee table and a pot of hot water sat by the open fire keeping a constant warm temperature.

“Mmmnnngghhhhh” Eva moaned deeply as the latest wave peaked. She leaned forward resting her elbows on the window sill, jutting her hips back and swaying them slightly. The baby was low and heavy in her pelvis, the head pressing downwards as her body slowly opened up.

When the latest pain had eased Eva straightened and looked down at her swollen stomach, speaking lovingly towards her unborn babe. “You’re really coming aren’t you little one? I’ve not done this before so please take it easy on me.” Her child responded with a gentle kick prompting the witch to smile.

Over the next few hours Eva got into a good rhythm riding out the contractions, each one hitting sooner than the last and with incrementally more vigour. She paced, rocked, squatted, kneeled, trying to find any comfortable position to ride out the waves. Her low and heavy stomach made moving from position to position cumbersome; one hand staying on her bump or her lower back at any given time, while the other kept her supported on whatever furniture or surface was nearby.

As the contractions ramped up, creeping steadily towards unbearable, the witch’s teeth clenched tight and she growled behind them. Three minutes apart. Holding on to the back of her armchair Eva lowered herself into a deep squat. Sweat covered every inch of her body, her thin linen dress and underwear clinging to every curve of her fertile frame.

Her hips were in agony, the pressure building. She opened her mouth to wail but no sound came out, shocked into silence by a sudden burst between her open thighs. Immediately the pressure eased and Eva could catch her breath again. The wooden floor below her feet was soaked; her waters had broken.

“Oooooooh okay- We’re getting so close- Are you ready to come out now baby? I cannot wait to meet you.”

Eva stood up, cradling the curve of her spasming bump. Her bare feet stepped ungainly out of the puddle on the floor and she quickly threw a tea towel down to soak up the worst of it.

“It’s just you and me, little one. We can do this.” Eva reassured herself, rubbing circles around her swell, preparing for the intensity to soar now her waters had gone.

However, before the next contraction could strike the witch startled at the sudden loud interruption of ringing bells. Rapid and urgent, the piercing chimes echoed all around her cottage, howling through every room.

Witch hunter!

The enchantments set up around her hidden home in the forest hadn’t gone off in decades - she had almost forgotten the wards were still in place. And yet the incessant ringing immediately chilled her to her very bones, suddenly haunting her with long forgotten memories of the brutal murders of her fellow witches.

Her stomach clenched with a new, different sensation - fear. At any other time Eva would arm herself with weapons and potions and storm outside on the offence, making sure to take down her enemy before he had the opportunity to strike. But now… the pressing weight in her hips and the constant aching of her contracting womb showed she was in no position to attack, or even defend herself, if put up against a murderous witch hunter.

She had to get out of here. The warning bells throughout her home would soon reach the ears of the witch hunter and then he would beeline straight to her hidden sanctuary. She needed to find somewhere else to hide.

Distracted by the chimes, Eva was unprepared for the next contraction when it ripped across her body, rooting her to the spot. She doubled over in pain, palms planted firmly on her thighs.

“Unnnhhhhhhhhhhhh no-no-no-no……” she whimpered through strained breaths as the pain skyrocketed and her belly hardened. Panting heavily the witch ignored growing desire to bear down. Her waters had broken, she was probably almost fully dilated, if not already. But she couldn’t stay here. If she stayed, both her and her child would certainly be killed. She had to leave and find somewhere safe to deliver this baby.

After what felt like an eternity, the contraction finally faded and she bolted straight out the back door of her cottage, leaving barefoot with nothing but the clothes on her back. She had wasted precious minutes since the warning alarm riding out that last pain - she couldn’t afford to waste any more time gathering supplies to take with her. Eva took off as quickly as she could, disappearing deep into the lush green forest.

She barely got out of sight behind the first set of oak trees before another contraction was already upon her. Two minutes apart. Leaning against the rough bark of the nearest tree, Eva squeezed her eyes shut and tried hard to swallow the whimper creeping out her throat. The unbearable pressure was demanding in its silent request and her knees trembled with the effort of ignoring it. The baby was so heavy, and dangerously low. Feeling like it would just fall out if she took a step too wide. Yet she remained strong, persevering and weathering the storm in her uterus, determined to keep this baby inside of her until she got somewhere safe.

The second the pain let up an inch the witch was on the move again running as fast as she could across the forest floor. Over ferns and moss, rocks and fallen branches, thankfully the hardened soles of her bare feet were used to the uneven terrain. She made sure to keep off the main footpath and stayed hidden within the dense trees, but it made for more of an obstacle course than she’d like. With added weight of her labouring belly she couldn’t move at speed and on a few occasions nearly lost her balance. But deeper and deeper into the forest she went.

The trees became her allies, providing cover and support when she was forced to stop with each new powerful contraction… 90 seconds apart... 60 seconds apart. A large, ancient willow tree with an unusually curved trunk was the latest comrade in her fight for survival. Eva had pitched herself within the alcove of the trunk, out of sight and leaning back against the bark, lifting the weight of her hardened stomach with both hands. The long hanging branches brushed the forest floor in a circle around her position, hiding the witch behind a nature-made curtain.

“Grnnnhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Eva could no longer hold in the animalistic sounds of her extremely advanced labour. The baby was right there, nestled deep in her widened cervix, desperate to be born.

“Nooooooooo-please-baby-wait-a-bit-moreeeeeee-” she begged through gritted teeth. The next contraction started before the current had even finished and the need to push was too powerful to refrain. Knees bending and thighs widening, Eva’s body pushed of its own accord.

It felt right, pushing. It was what she was meant to be doing - to follow nature's primal instinct. And yet she couldn’t forget the very real threat of the witch hunter, still hidden somewhere in this forest, poised and primed to kill her.

The fierce contraction continued to hold her hostage. A long grunt escaped her mouth as her body pushed along with the pain.

“I can hear you, witch!” A gravelled voice taunted from across the thick forest.

Eva’s eyes widened and immediately clamped her mouth shut, biting her lips together drawing blood. Half squatting against the tree, every muscle in her body continued to strain as it forced the baby lower and lower and lower. She couldn’t stop pushing even if she tried. One of the hands cradling her stomach shakily ventured south, lifting up her dress and feeling between her legs. Through the thin damp fabric of her underwear she could feel the baby’s head begin to enter the world.

She panted silently, tears streaming down her cheeks. The forest stretched out for miles, completely uninhabited in all directions; she was all alone. There was nowhere to go and no one to help. Heavily pregnant, being hunted, and seconds away from birthing this child.

A loud snap of wood echoed from a few metres away. Eva suddenly bolted like a startled deer, consumed entirely by fear and survival, and disappeared again into the thickened wood. She ran, wide legged, the heavy boulder of a baby’s head deep in her pelvis screaming to be born. Push! Her body cried out. Stop running and PUSH!

But she couldn’t. If she stopped she’d be dead.

Another contraction ripped through her as she ran. 30 seconds apart. Her muscles tensed and squeezed as she ran, her body trying to force the baby out despite the mother’s desire to hold on a bit longer. She could barely stay upright, the raw adrenaline no longer enough to keep this birth at bay. Her legs became jelly, all she could feel was pain and pressure and fear. Eva faltered, she couldn’t go any further. Out in the open she planted her hands against the nearest tree, widening her stance, and pushed. Hard.

“Mnnnnnnnrrrrgggggghhhhhhh!!!”

More of her baby’s head began to appear behind the fabric of her tight underwear.

“Ohhhhhhhhhh-Hecateeeeeeeeeeee!” she whimpered, praying to the deity.

Her baby was close to fully crowning, she could feel it. The white hot agony of being widened and stretched beyond anything she imagined made her eyes water and throat nauseous. She retched, a dry heave, and desperately tried to catch a breath through the dual need to push and the sudden urge to vomit. The texture of the rough bark beneath her palms was the only thing keeping the witch semi-grounded and preventing her getting swept away in the overwhelming sensations currently tearing her body apart. Still bracing the tree, Eva’s head dipped as she took slow deep breaths, ignoring the instinct to push in order to ride out the sudden nausea.

An ominous whistling sound drifted through the trees carried on the wind. Eva could barely hear it over the thundering beating of her heart, that is until she heard:

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” The voice sang.

The witch hunter was close. But so was her baby... Eva felt between her legs again to evaluate just how bad her situation was. It was bad. Her underwear was stretched beyond repair as it housed a significant portion of her baby’s head, filling her cupped palm. Ignoring all the pain and her body’s pleas to push, she panted heavily and tried to think! She needed a plan to survive.

The witch hunter had physical strength, yes, but he did not know these woods like Eva did. This was her home, her sanctuary, and she knew every inch like the back of her hand. Beyond her laboured breaths and the unnerving whistling of the approaching witch hunter, Eva registered another sound nearby - the swooshing sound of running water. The river - she was by the river!

Lifting her head the witch frantically scanned the surrounding area, getting her bearings of where she’d ended up within the woodland. She was a few hundred yards from the river’s edge, about a mile from her cottage. It wasn’t an area she often visited because of…. That’s it! Okay, it wasn’t a great plan, and there was no way to know if it would work, but it was her only shot of survival.

She took a steadying breath through the current contraction squeezing her womb, fighting once more against the primal need to push. The baby’s head filled her underwear, millimetres from a full crown. If she pushed again there was no way she’d be able to stop until the head was fully born.

Whimpering through the pain Eva stood up straight, one hand staying between her legs, and she prepared herself to move. Just get to the river. She told herself before making her way unsteadily east.

The sound of rushing water grew louder as she stumbled slowly through the forest. One step. Another step. Nearly there. She knew exactly where to go, and where to avoid, desperately trying to stay focussed on her surroundings and not succumb to the agonising pain crowning between her thighs. Keep going.

“You can’t escape me, witch!” The voice threatened, getting closer.

Eva stumbled into the side of a tree, her bare shoulder scraping against the bark. Pausing, she took a brief moment to breathe through the pain. It was a mistake. The second she stopped to inhale deeply her body started bearing down again, forcing the baby down. Immediately the head came to a full crown in her damp underwear and she screamed.

“WITCH!” The murderous voice roared.

Eva turned and saw a flash of black leather through the distant trees, and it was coming her way. Cupping the baby’s head she tentatively wobbled forwards, knees trembling, staggering towards the riverbank. The blinding pain was constant, her eyes barely focussing. She had to make it to the exact right spot or her plan would certainly fail. Her footsteps were shaky but determined as she continued the last few carefully placed steps in her journey. Behind her the crunching sound of a disturbed forest floor drew ever closer.

Reaching the river’s edge Eva collapsed against the large boulder that sat on the grassy bank. She made it. Turning around against the stone, the cold granite pressed against her back as she faced the woods and waited for the imminent arrival of the witch hunter. But the baby’s head inched lower, her body stretched to its absolute limit. She wanted to cry, to howl, to scream. Instead she focussed inward, drawing on all the power from the earth under her feet, and taking a deep breath she finally, and intentionally, followed her body’s demands. Teeth gritted, a growl behind them, she pushed with everything she had. Her whole body trembled, bearing down against the pressure of the large round head slowly appearing between her thighs. The ears… a nose… she could feel it all. Her hands frantically scrambled under her dress and within seconds the baby’s head popped out into her underwear and she cupped it quickly within her palm. The relief was instant and for a brief moment Eva’s heart calmed as she held her child’s newly born crown.

The witch’s reprieve was short-lived as the approaching footsteps from behind one of the nearby trees resulted in another person soon entering the river's edge. The witch hunter was dark haired, full beard, but was not as athletic as Eva was expecting. There was sweat glistening on his temple and dripping down his neck, disappearing beneath a thick leather jacket. His mouth practically drooled at the sight of her and he gripped the long hunting knife in his hand. The lust for her death was haunting.

“At last… you’ve given it a good go, I’ll give you that, but you cannot escape your fate.” The man said as he took a step towards her, threateningly swishing the knife in readiness. “You are an abomination, evil incarnate. Witchcraft has no place here. My family has been taking your lot out for centuries. And it looks like I get the honour of not only killing you… but the next generation as well.” He glared at her pregnant swell.

“No- no! This- this child is innocent…” Eva panted, still holding the head of her half-born babe hidden under the draped fabric of her dress.

The witch hunter scoffed and took another two ominous steps in her direction through the fallen autumn leaves. Eva watched each step with a laser focus.

“No descendant of a witch is truly innocent.” He drawled, tilting his head with an unnerving animalistic incline. “Wickedness will run through its veins, there is no saving its soul.”

Eva couldn’t take her eyes off his feet, watching every step he took. She chose this location for a reason, knowing she needed to end up exactly here by the rivers edge - dangerously using herself as bait. His heavy boots crunched through the orange leaves, sauntering slowly towards her like he was toying with his prey. So close. Her heart stopped, breath held as Eva prayed to all the Goddesses for her plan to work. Then whoosh!

The witch hunter was suddenly hoisted in the air by his foot, caught in a primitive trap laid here many years ago by the previous inhabitants of these woods, whom were long dead and forgotten. The man roared as he was pulled sharply towards the sky, his arms flailing, the hunting knife falling from his hand in his shock.

Eva exhaled heavily and closed her eyes in pure relief. The steady thumping of heart pulsed around her body, beating once more now the immediate threat disappeared. The man yelled and shouted at her as he hung limply from the tree, but the sound barely registered with the witch. Her senses had been overtaken by the sudden movement of the baby, turning inside her, and an all too familiar urgent weight pressing down signalling her work was not yet over.

Eva tried to move but she was too far gone, too deep in labour, every muscle seemingly locked in position. “Unhhhhhhhh Hecate….. mnnnggghhhhh the baby- the baby is comingg…..” she whimpered, the pain splitting her in half as she was stretched once more with the baby’s shoulders. All her bodyweight was pressed back against the boulder, and she managed to sink towards the ground. Squatting deeply, her large rounded stomach rested heavily between her thighs.

“Ohhhh it’s coming…. I- need… mnghhhhhhhh I’ve got to… got to pushh...”

She ripped off her underwear as the next contraction started, freeing the baby’s head from the confines of the damp linen. With both hands ready to catch, the witch pushed with renewed determination. “Urghhhhhhhhhhhh!” One shoulder was out! Then the next shoulder. She took a breath, panting, holding the child dangling from her body. Eva became suddenly hyper-aware of the breeze and leaves, the nearby river and the crisp autumn air, all the elements surrounding them which her child was now being born directly into. Trembling, she beared down fiercely once more and within another few minutes a newly born witch entered the world.

Eva sobbed with relief, quickly pulling her daughter up over her stomach and placing her against her chest. The infant made a soft gurgling sound, her first breath, and then started to cry. To a new mother it was the most beautiful and reassuring sound in the world.

“Disgusting…. Filthy little vermin.” The witch hunter sneered with venom.

Eva had forgotten her audience and looked up with hatred at the man still swinging upside down from the tree. She held her baby tight and secure against her skin, as if shielding the child from the mere sight of him.

“You should drown that thing in the river.” He spat.

Red, blinding fury overwhelmed the new mother. With the pain gone and her baby safe in arms, pure fury raced through every pore of the witch’s body, consuming every atom of her being. Rising slowly, babe still clutched in hand, Eva approached the hanging man with eyes glowing with revenge.

“When I get free, I'm gonna enjoy splitting you from ear to ear!” He roared.

Her head tilted in observation watching the man’s disgusting arrogance in his determination to kill her despite still struggling against the rope binding his leg. Apparently unaware his threats were idle and his attempts to escape the trap were futile.

The witch bent down carefully to pick up the large silver blade that had fallen amongst the browning leaves. The man didn’t see the new mother pick up his weapon, and didn't notice the switch when the hunted became the hunter. Eva stalked silently, murderously towards the hanging man.

Before he could open his mouth to mock or belittle or challenge her, Eva’s hand swished past his vision in a flash, the blade gliding through the witch hunter's throat like a knife through butter. The man’s eyes widened, taking a heartbeat to register what just happened, before the cascade of blood erupted from the open wound and he began to choke and splutter.

Eva dropped the knife.

Delicately readjusting and shhhing the newborn cradled in her arm, she took one final look and started their journey back to the cottage. Eva found comfort in the sounds of the forest; of the flowing river, the whistle of a breeze, and the drip drip dripping of her enemies blood now pooling onto the forest floor.

[daycourtofficial]

Falling in Love on the Fourth Floor - Part 7

Summary: Out of an act of desperation, you move in with a guy you kind of know who happens to have a really hot brother who lives next door.

Author’s note: eeeek I’ve had parts of this one in the drafts for AGES the middle section has been drafted for at least a month I swear and I’ve been sitting on it like 🧍‍♀️ waiting to share it. I think this is my favorite part so far (but not my fav overall 🥰)

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Masterlist)

Your day had been shit. Ever since that godsawful date Mor ambushed you with last night, you couldn’t stop yourself from wondering about Azriel and Nesta’s date. What they were doing, how things were going, if she was making him laugh.

Hell, you couldn’t stop thinking about their date while on your own date. The guy was good looking, and he wasn’t terrible, but there was nothing there between you two.

He also was very into cryptocurrency, a topic that quickly took over the conversation at dinner. A topic you did not encourage him to continue on. He somehow didn’t get that memo, insisting on walking you up towards the doors of your building when he was dropping you off, where you had made a lame excuse about going to bed early before ducking into your building.

You had followed the same path Azriel took only moments ago, continuing on to your own apartment. You open the door, finding a note on the fridge in Cassian’s messy scrawl.

Have fun.

He drew a winky face, and then several crude drawings on the post-it. The drawings made you groan, Cassian’s enthusiasm for your date further solidifying your nonexistent chance with his brother.

Of course Cassian would have Mor set you up after he found out about your little crush on his brother. You felt so stupid when you saw Nesta on their couch earlier today. You hardly spoke to Rhysand on the way to lab, your thoughts too flooded with how terribly you had read the whole situation.

Cassian probably told Mor all about your dumb crush and got her to fix you up tonight. Maybe Azriel had even mentioned your text to Cassian, asking him what to do about the annoying roommate who developed a crush on his brother.

Your chest hurts, but it was just a silly crush. You’ll get over it.

Eventually.

-

Azriel stood in the elevator, waiting for the doors to close as he looked at his phone, looking at the last message you had sent him Friday morning.

Wanna grab lunch tomorrow?

He hadn’t answered, his phone having been on silent all day to focus on finishing his work for the next week and the reception in the library not allowing messages to come through. He hadn’t seen the message until he woke up this morning, the timestamp seeming cruel.

Now he stares at it and wants to throw his phone. Missed opportunities, he supposes. But what would this lunch have looked like since you’re dating that dickhead from last night? Would you have had to reject him outright?

He can see your face contort in a smile as you tell him, “oh no, Az, I’m seeing someone.” Then you’d probably laugh about it with the dickhead.

He runs his hands down his face when he hears someone yelling, “hold the elevator please!” He juts out an arm on instinct, not noticing who it is. He sees you slip inside, the doors bumping against his arm, bringing him back to reality as he looks down at you.

Fuck.

A light scent of oranges fills the elevator, and he notes it’s likely from your shampoo. He pulls his arm from the door, allowing them to close, locking the two of you in the metal box.

You look up at him, eyes going wide, cheeks heating in embarrassment at the close proximity. You’re standing right in front of him, and you can smell his cologne, a scent of night-chilled air and cedar filling your nose. You take deep breaths, telling yourself that it’s okay, it was just a little crush.

On a very pretty, smart, and very kind guy.

Who smelled incredible.

You look down at your feet, unsure how to speak to him now that you knew he was dating Nesta. And not wanting to further embarrass yourself by flirting with him.

Gods, this was how you were going to die, you think, shuffling to lean against the rail. Azriel’s voice puts a halt to the spiraling of your thoughts.

“Nice date last night?” Azriel asks, trying not to let whatever he’s feeling bubble up. Your eyebrows shoot up, unaware of Azriel even knowing about your date.

Of course he knows, you think, Cassian probably told him he’d handle it.

“He spent the while night telling me about stocks and crypto and how he wants to be in Forbes 30 under 30,” you scoffed, “so no, it was not nice.”

The elevator starts moving, and his eyebrows shoot up. “So that wasn’t your boyfriend?”

You scoff, “hell no. Mor ambushed me yesterday. She told me to get dressed up and we’d go out and have a fun girl’s night, but when I showed up she texted me that she set me up instead.

“The worst part is Mor was so confident that she told Cassian about it, so he had stayed at her place last night to give me ‘privacy’. He even left crude drawings around the apartment to help the ‘atmosphere’.”

Azriel laughs as the elevator dings for the third floor. He feels his chest lighten, knowing you definitely weren’t seeing anyone. “Mor’s always been ambitious, hasn’t she?”

You laugh. “Maybe it was just a ploy for her to have sex with Cassian.”

You say it, but you know it’s not true. The real truth was they wanted to put you out there, help you get over the beautiful man standing next to you. They knew you didn’t have a shot, especially compared to Nesta. You’re brought back to reality, and decide to hurt yourself further.

“How was your date with Nesta?” You ground out, after a pause in your conversation. You needed to know so you can completely cut off your feelings for him. You needed him to pierce you with the final dagger.

His eyebrows arch up, and he looks at your expression.

Were you upset? You won’t meet his gaze, and you’re clenching your fists. Were you - jealous?

His mouth curls up at the thought, “uh it wasn’t a date. Nesta and I study together every Thursday night. We take a lot of the same classes. We did it last night instead because she was busy on Thursday.”

Your eyebrows raise in surprise, “so you’re not dating Nesta?”

He laughs, “absolutely not. No that’s an avenue I’d never go down. But there is some-“

His words die as you hear a screeching sound and the elevator stops completely, leaving you two stranded somewhere between the first and second floors.

“No - no, no, no.”

You start freaking out - elevators always gave you a bit of concern, their small dimensions making you feel cramped. You hit the button to open the door, jamming it with your finger. Realizing that it was fruitless, You pull out your phone only to remember that the elevator always has no service.

“Fuck,” you mumble, and your breaths start coming faster and faster, and you’re trying to remember your calming techniques, when you feel cold hands gently grab your cheeks.

“Hey, look at me.”

You look up, finding hazel eyes looking back at you. They’re etched with concern, not a trace of mockery in them.

“We’re okay. Breathe with me, can you do that?”

He grabs one of your hands, placing it on his chest so you can feel his breaths as they come in and out. Your eyes stay trained on his, not wanting to look away, wanting to get lost in the gold flecks you find there.

You start following the rhythm of his breaths, but he keeps talking to you in a soothing tone. You’re too focused on breathing to register what he’s saying, but you do register the soothing tone he’s speaking to you in. You could get lost in his voice, its deep timbre a melody in your ears.

Eventually you come back down enough to focus on what he’s saying and he’s telling you about his night - everything he did yesterday.

“Rhys texted me to get some trash bags on my way in, which is where I was coming from when I pulled up and found you with crypto douche.”

You smile, your first real reaction to his words since the elevator stopped.

“There she is,” he says, his finger tapping your cheek, “wanna tell me more about crypto douche?”

“He wants to be a landlord.”

Azriel snorts, “of course he does.”

“I didn’t even want to go on this date,” your eyes stay locked with his, the golden flecks calming you down. “But Mor has been begging me to go out with this guy for ages, and then she finally decided to ambush me by forcing it on me.”

“You know you can tell Mor “no”. It’s a complete sentence.”

“I know,” you sigh, “but she loves playing matchmaker, even though she’s awful at it. Usually once every other month I let her set me up, but she was just throwing a tantrum I wouldn’t let her set me up this time once I figured out the rouse.”

He doesn’t let himself linger on the fact that you haven’t let her set you up since meeting him. Coincidence, maybe. “Have any of them been successful?”

You blow out a breath, “uh, no. Usually I stay for an hour then leave. None of them have ever gotten a second date.” You pause, thinking. “In the words of the great philosopher of our time, “I’m a pathological people pleaser,” you chuckle.

“And who said that?”

“…. Taylor Swift.”

He looks at you, a chuckle on his breath, such tenderness in his gaze it shocks you a bit. “You should stand up for yourself more.”

“I’m… not really sure how. It’s kind of new to me.”

You look at your feet, but he taps your chin so you’ll look at him again. “I stood up to my parents, and it was the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”

You had tiptoed around the topic since your admission to Cassian the day you moved in, the wound still too raw to discuss with anyone other than Feyre. Mor knew some of the details, but not the whole story. You’re sure Rhys and Az knew that something happened with your parents, but you never let them know too much about it.

They didn’t know that your parents had told you that you became everything they had tried to avoid. That, despite everything they did for you, you didn’t turn out right.

You hadn’t told Mor because you knew she would have burnt down their house with them in it.

“It was scary, moving here with a guy I hardly knew.” His grip on you tightens slightly, and he’s hanging onto every word you say.

“But I don’t regret it. Not even when Cassian wakes me up at 6 AM with his singing.”

He chuckles, and he stills as you look into his eyes, your voice clear and strong.

“I don’t… I don’t regret any of it. I don’t regret meeting you.”

His hands are still cupped on your face, his face mere inches from your own. Your confession hangs in the air as you two look at each other, and he leans closer, pressing his forehead to yours.

Your breathing hitches, but not because you’re stuck.

He opens his mouth to reply, but the elevator comes back to life, moving downwards again. It startles both of you into jumping away from each other, and you clear your throat.

“Where are- where are you going?” You ask, gesturing towards his helmet.

“Oh, uh Cassian forgot his lunch and doesn’t have time to grab anything between clients. I was going to bring him something.”

The air is lighter between you two, and Azriel feels like he can breathe you in again. The fog of confusion has lifted between you two, leaving you to be seen clearly by him.

“Do you want to get lunch?”

He echos your previous text message to him, and you nod.

“Yeah I’d love that.”

You stroll through the lobby, putting as much distance between the falter elevator and yourselves. Once you make it to the parking lot, Azriel places his spare helmet on your head, tapping the top of it lightly affectionately.

You zip your jacket up as Azriel gets on the bike first, his thighs straddling the seat. He holds the bike steady, allowing you to place your hands on his shoulders for balance, letting go of your fears as you swing your leg around to straddle the bike behind him. Your body leans against his, wrapping around him, holding onto him.

You place your head on his back, your fingers clutching onto his jacket. It feels new, electricity crackling through every inch of you that is in contact with him, despite the layers and helmets that separate you.

He chuckles at the gasp you let out when you two start moving, how your hands hold onto his jacket a little tighter than before.

He pulls a hand away to place it gently on one of the hands you have clutched to his jacket, squeezing three times before moving his hand back.

[1000sunnygo]

Has anyone noticed that we never had a chance to properly see Law's second "signature" fit, one he wore during the timeskip before and during his time as a Shichibukai? He probably wore it the longest, albeit during his offscreened activities.

Similar to Onigashima, he draped a coat over his shoulders.

So much thoughts went on it to never eventually use it. What was the point.

Time to read Japanese for ants. Texts on the left:

"D will bring up a storm", "I'll grab what I want for sure".."monster arm?" His arm seems a bit deformed in that image too so who knows what's up with that + I don't trust my reading skills Oda marked a star on the final version, "Shichibukai" written on top.

Apparently he spent a lot of time on deciding his post timeskip hat. There's also this interesting bit of info in the Osaka exhibition log book noting that he wants Law's sideburns to be more distinct? thick? A user on Twitter noted this recently, that Oda commented while making Z's design that "sideburns are Manly".

Law wore a yellow top under the punk hazard coat in the manga. Anime Law, though, wasn't wearing it.

Oda drew the genderbent Law (left) in a similar fit, she's actually wearing the coat this time - but missing her tattoos and had no painted nails. The volume was released during late Dressrosa so this outfit was still the "default" post timeskip Law outfit in Oda's mind. Merch developers changed the fit to his Dressrosa coat for the Fem Law figure.

The fact that Doc Q's genderbent Law had the nails manicured and painted is both hilarious for what it is and a possible implication that Oda could be inspired by an existing, suggestive genderbent Law figure that released 6 years ago. Bet he owns one 🤨

In relation to my previous theory that the extent of Law's involvement and character depth was decided along Punk Hazard arc, I don't think Oda thought too deep about Law's tattoos and heart symbol when he decided Law's default Shichibukai fit for the timeskip. Law had to wear a coat during Punk Hazard for the cold weather and a heart-themed costume during Dressrosa for story purposes, followed by a casual shirt and the Wano yukata. Rather than purposefully avoiding it, Oda simply didn't have a chance to incorporate the default post timeskip design that he planned for Law.

The Onigashima fit could be a "modified" version of that very old design, now his characterization properly conceptualized and laid out and thus feathers instead of a regular collar as a nod to Corazon. His tattoos are also visible for a similar purpose.

There's so much to unpack in character designs. I wish we had access to more drafts and notes.

TL;DR

Oda never got to use the timeskip outfit he originally designed for Law due to various reasons, mainly because when he designed it, he didn't know what Law's role during the timeskip would be. The design gradually became obsolete, So he simply modified it to the Onigashima fit that's closely personalized based on the unplanned developments Law received along the way.

[druidshollow]

hi hello! i hope i am not bothering ya'! but how does phrases and the silly gang find hollow space after dune beat them up? will he be ok? (also LOVE your art!! you're a pretty big inspiration for me! thank you so much for posting your sillies here and stay safe and well!)

hey no youre not bothering me ever!!! :DD

after dune attacks space they wander, injured and weak for a long time. they have a vague idea to look for someone named a fleck of flame- phrases had mentioned them, and he had nothing else at all to head to. all space knew was to keep heading straight south so they did, but their injuries got worse rather than better since nothing had been done about them, and eventually they collapse, exhausted and unable to go on.

very, VERY luckily for them, some unnamed members of fleck's group find him, and carry him back to fleck to be cared for! because... plot, space actually managed to get where he meant to, atleast

after helping space recover, fleck lets space stay to wait for phrases and rivers to arrive. i drew a comic about this a while ago but its pretty outdated, mainly space still having the leg. fleck has to remove it in canon

:))) sorry to end this post very ugly, im in a rush to finish this before my sibling's birthday party lmao

[datura-tea]

holy shit this year marks 10 years of this blog and moz!! i can't remember the exact date i started posting here - my archive says i have one post from november 2013 but let's disregard that - but i do remember it was around late 2014/early 2015 :)

^ one of the very first moz art pieces i ever drew, for fallout week 2015!!

memories and art through the years under a read more bc it got long

2014 → baby's first rpg!! i started playing fnv on my cousin's jailbroken xbox late 2013 and finished mid 2014 and i loved every minute of it. i remember waking up at 8am and playing almost nonstop until 2am the next day haha!

i didn't play moz on my first playthrough - but i did start creating a character that would eventually become her: a shorthaired ex-boxer who punched her way through obstacles when diplomacy failed. i remember she spent a lot of time with boone. i liked him then, because he saved my ass more times than i can count. but i digress. this is draft 1 moz essentially

2015 → this is the year that i was doing my thesis so i could graduate but i was so depressed and stressed about it that i distracted myself by replaying fnv on pc, where i played through the dlcs for the first time. i fell in love with the dlcs' oversarching story; particularly ulysses, who i became obssessed with, especially since i couldn't find any content of him at the time. in the game, i played as moz; i had most of her personality and choices down, but her backstory was still up in the air.

fun fact: this was an existing sideblog that i remade to be a fallout blog so i could look for ulysses content, and when i couldn't find any, i made some myself, featuring moz as my main courier six. originally, i didn't ship them, but eventually i ended the year as a courier/ulysses otp shipper.

this was the year i started drawing digitally - my uncle let me borrow a drawing tablet and i used an old copy of photoshop i pirated hehe

2016 → i graduated this year!! and promptly fell deeper into my depression. this was the year that it got so bad that i had to be medicated. through it all, this blog and moz and ulysses and my fandom friends were with me. and for that i am truly grateful :) this was the year i figured out how to lock transparent pixels so that i could color my lineart lol

2017 → i started hammering out moz's backstory this year i think. there's a lot of sketches of her and her family in my files. i experimented with shading and backgrounds here but that experimentation was pretty short-lived

2018 → i started using references seriously!!!! i did a lot of oc on oc kissing this year, featuring mostly moz and many friend ocs haha

2019 → didn't draw much this year. actually this year was a blur and i can't remember much from it except from it being the year of my terrible no good bad copywriting jobs... anyway i did manage to continue my courier/ulysses brainrot and make this piece, which i'm still proud of

2020 → pandemic time. i spent a lot of time asleep at home and i think this was also the year i started doing commissions?? shoutout to anyone who has ever commissioned me - thank you so much, i truly appreciate it!!

2021 → i switched from my old-ass pirated photoshop to clip studio paint and never looked back. also i did a bunch of commissions for my grandmother's surgery, which failed, and i distracted myself from the sadness by drawing my ocs over and over and playing disco elysium

2022 → by this year, i've got moz down pat and have started vaguely developing other ocs instead. but she's still always at the back of my mind

2023 → i bought new brushes from true grit texture supply and immediately found new favorites that i started using for everything. i tentatively started incorporating background elements in some pieces!

2024 → while it's still too early to say where this year will lead me art-wise, i will say that i started experimenting in realistic paint studio (which i bought in 2021, the same time as clip studio paint) a few days ago and i'm liking the results so far. we'll see!

all in all, these last 10 years have been quite a ride, but i'm glad i stuck around and i'm glad you guys stuck around too!! much much love 💖💖💖

[lithreeum]

WHATS UP FUCKERS I'M HERE TO SHARE WITH YOU MY LATEST CAFFEINE FUELED BRAINCHILD:

THE PROJECT MOON AU WHERE NOTHING BAD EVER HAPPENS EVER (and also some of them are college students (and none of this is well thought out at all please help me))™

You know how Fate has that one cooking spinoff where nobody kills anybody and they just hang around and have dinner?

This is that. For PM fans. Roland is canonically a good cook and a foodie. It could happen. PM please make it happen I just want my goobers to be happy and untraumatized.

Anyways, with that rambling done, let me ramble about these four fuckers and what they're up to.

So, the setting's a fancy college where rich people go to. Angelica is there on academic scholarship; Argalia has a music scholarship; Roland's there because his adopted mom Iori is a lecturer there so the tuition's cheaper; Angela's there because Ayin and Benjamin are fuck you rich and spoils her to high heavens.

Argalia's and Angela are both music majors, Angelica's in engineering, and Roland's in culinary. Roland and Angelica are 2nd years, Argalia and Angela are 3rd years.

Roland's known Angela since forever ago because they were in the same orphanage. Argalia and Angelica are siblings. Here's baby roland on adoption day I drew while writing this because I have no self control.

Where was I? Oh right. So, Roland gets adopted by Iori; Angela gets adopted by Ayin and Benji. Angela calls Ayin Dad and Benjamin Gramps because he has grey hair, the two got to some hijinks in their high school years, they remained friends to present day.

Back to the main four. So, first year, Angelica and Roland meet on campus one day on some meet cute shit. Then it turns out Iori is Angelica's Host family while she's studying here. Romcom shenanigans happen, Argalia's the overprotective brother, Angela's the resident wingman/shipmaker/popcorn eater/"just kiss already" yeller, Roland cooks/awkwardly flirts, Angelica gifts Roland a knife she made for his adoption day, it's great. Eventually A Fritter Called Jeon happens and they start dating and more romcom ensues.

That is everything my stupid little monkey brain can semi-coherently conjure up since the rest are just incoherent snippets of tangentially related information and cute funny things these goobers can get up to. Among which include:

The Asiyah and Briah Sephira are Angela's circle of friends that met in high school, they all go into their respective fields from LoR. Geb does sports. Maybe Yesod and Angelica know each other from engineering competitions or something.

Binah's a CIA agent that knows way too many people, because of course she does.

Yan and Gloria are taking Theology studies, Esther and Hubert are post-grads/professor assistants, they become friends somewhat, Moirai's a professor there.

Blue Reverbs are all music majors that hang out with Argalia and Angela, they take bets on which one snaps and kills the other first. Oswald bets on hate sex. Tanya bets that the two of them would kill someone together.

Charles' Office are Roland's group of friends back from back in High School, Olivier went on to become a civil servant, I do not know what the fuck the rest are up to, we'll see when they show up in Limbus.

Speaking of Limbus, the Limbus gang are all in...I don't know what you english speaking fuckers call "school clubs but in college", I know a word exists for it, but I'm blanking. They're all in one of those. Rodya started it and roped them all in. Vergilius and Dante are their advisors. They go around and survey the socioeconomic state of the country in various locales and write reports about it (read: Rodya found a way to get them all free vacation and they all took it)

Angelica' physically very strong, she does martial arts, and she gets Roland into martial arts, but whenever they "spar" they just end up a blushing pile of goo that's too embarrassed to grapple their crush. They have good fun though.

Argalia keeps trying to split Angelica and Roland apart but he doesn't actually try since he's seen how happy she gets when she talks about him.

[jackalspine]

HEY so I’m like low key soober doober sick rn BUT

I wanna talk about my brain rot can I talk about my brain rot oh please pleas eplesoelspelapepaplpleasepla

SO I WAS ruminating on mine fuggin DP ftp AU and I was trying to come up with an antagonist that could potentially BLAST DANNYS CORE INTO 100000 LITTLE PIECES but felt kinda meh about Vlad doing that

But then I was like AH WAIT I CAN M AKE MY OWN CHARACTER.. SO I DID. But ehhhg what kind of motivation would this random ghost have for fucking up the poor ghost boy this time ahAH!

Cut to me blacking out and finding this on my iPad

OHOHOHO FUCKINNN WOUGH OK

if you look at Pariah Dark’s canon design

I thought this was a little strange… he doesn’t really scream… regal? Does he? Like.. he’s got renaissance boot flaps, a postiche??, skull tits, a loincloth, and obnoxious shoulder pads. This bitch is all over the place

Uhhv I forgot my point but EVENTUALLY I concluded that he wasn’t Raised the Ghost King but TOOK THE POSITION BY FORCE

Which is sick and adds a smidgeon of Nuance to his 1dimentional experience doesn’t it?? He took the power from some other king or power or even United the GZ eons ago wnbbb woah ok no that’s cool ok wait

So eons and eons ago,, ghosts were left to drift aimlessly on earth and the GZ without guidance which caused general mayhem for both the living and the dead. It was chaos. But a ghost who had lived in that Chaos and Disorder had died with a deep Obsession with CHANGING THAT

Enter: King Lark who’s ascension to Power was earned all post mortis. He was Obsessed with keeping Order and for a long time this aided him in his quest to unite the restless dead. BY HIS SIDE his faithful friend Thraal who handed the technical side of his rule. To help him rule Thraal made him the the crown and ring

They implemented Rules to the ghost zone that prohibited ghosts from crossing over to the mortal realms. And for a long while it was going pretty well

Except even after tightening his iron fist hold on everything in the GhostZone his core would ache to Fix the source of chaos (the continued existence of living things that would keep making more things that would also die) and so to rectify this he was all like oh yeah ok so if I kill every living thing on earth then no more problem :) WHICH IS BAD

and the ancients who were kinda pretty chill with everyone being chill in the GZ absolutely drew the line at fucking up the balance between the realms so they were like eeeehg put him in tha box. AND THEY DID

And now his friend Thraal (who over the years has been treated less like a dear friend and more like a Thrall) who had always had a sort of Obsession with following Lark (now pariah dark) like a good little sheep- has been going a little crazy waiting for Pariah to get out of his timeout box

Wait idk what I’m talking about nm good night h

[synthshenanigans]

woah hey a year has been passed wowie :0

First two weren't posted here cos they were too long ago & not CJish related but love the way he took up 70% of the year lol

[ Full images + templates below :} ]

[TW for Bright Colors, maybe blood & very very vague themes of depression/suicide for like 2 drawings I believe]

Long text about the arts if anyones actually curious!!

January: An old OC I completely forgot about until making this. He's based on old radio like things :}

February: Played Person 5 Royal last year & drew Joker cos idk he's neat. Fun fact, the same day I fully finished the game was the day Storm & a Spring came out. Also while grinding in the game, I had his Bidding & VoaC covers on repeat. Which was a bit annoying to do since they weren't on Spotify yet & YT on mobile didn't have looping then.

March: The Hawaii Part ii album cover :} I did post that eventually but that's the time I actually made it. Had listened to TME a couple of months before then which got me into the album, so months later I drew it cos why not? [Also the month Vol.1 fully released on everything. What's funny is my gallery for that day was a handful of memes I saved at 4am before I fell asleep. And then the next image saved is when I woke up which was a screenshot of the whiteboard in TfaR lol]

April: First main Jash art !!! And its not even with any of the songs from Vol. 1 lol. I had his Moss cover on repeat again & now that all of Vol. 1 was out, I drew Heart in some moss. Or really in the image from the video.

May: Lil animation I made of Heart with the song Don't Hit the Lights! Link to my post & the song can be found here :}. Still really like the song & even the drawings. Might remake em eventually idk

June: Sky/socialc1imb's Clue AU! I like murder mysteries & this one was real interesting so I drew it a lot lol. Might remake that one or one of the others I made at somepoint? It'll be a bit later if I do but ye

July: A redraw of a HMS piece I originally made back in May, based on the Three Wise Monkeys thing. I like the idea of it so I keep wanting to remake it.

August: I honestly can't remember if I posted that art or not. Actually yea I don't think I ever did PFFT. It's one of the few drawings I did of myself this year & its from CJs Not Perfect cover [as you can tell by the lyrics on it]. Also one of the very very few vent-ish arts I made. I like the background more than anything but its still neat ig?

September: Art for one of the best songs ever. I love Fine, I'm Fine its so good & I listened to it for like 70% of the 20+ hours it took me to make the drawing. Still proud of it so there's the sketch I drew on paper, the one on my tablet & then the final versions.

October: There was a lot from this month due to Jashtober. I still like this one lot & it wasn't insanely rushed so I picked this one to show lol.

November: I have no idea why I made a fun lil soul. I was having an identity crisis over my art style & ig decided to draw the guy who is a walking identity crisis/j

December: Same as September. One of my favorite songs ever was covered & released, so I made a drawing like everyone else lol.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

I know Matthew plays hockey, but does he ever want to just give up whatever his government job is and take playing hockey to the olympics or at least pro level? I mean it's got to be more fun than whatever secretarial, front man type corporate job he normally has to deal with when working with the gov right? Or maybe getting into farming or something. I dont know, he just seems like someone who'd eventually just lose his shit if he had to be stuck in an office for too long.

I honestly think most of his time in any government post is like the twice-a-decade he gives enough fucks to be involved. Like, what is he going to do in an office? Stamp government documents? Approve things? He's fucken useless in that environment. I think a couple of times he's said fuck it, started over and played pro hockey or Olympic hokey. He's not the only one and probably smashed some faces in. Alfred or Arthur had to help wipe and reset his identity because inventing a whole new set of documents is much more complicated nowadays than 100 years ago, but he's played and then faded into the background. He probably gets away with that more than a lot of nations can. Nice combo privilege of big bro's military-industrial complex and his own insignificance.

I've had him in the parks service as a bootlegger, a sailor, a ships carpenter, a diplomat, a firefighter, a medic, a search and rescue medic, especially a hockey coach, and a hockey player. I'm not about to write shit about people working in an office if I'm candid. I also think he drew a veterans pension for 110 years before the government. "hey wait, the last Canadian World War One vet died 10 years ago."

And as far as money goes. I think he and Alfred got their savings wiped in the 1930s, and Matt kept himself afloat via good ol' imperial nepotism via the old fart while Alfred was on his own since WW2; Matt's financial well-being has been so tied into Alfred's. I had an economics manager who joked that when the US economy stumbles, Canada breaks its neck so there's some fuckery there, but let's be honest; Matt just occasionally gives Alfred the 'you have hurt my feelings' eyes and gets what he wants and like 500 apologies.

When I look at Alfred, I see someone who likes to work when it's something he's interested in. But Matt... always struck me as a bit French. Not that we don't work hard, but Matt hit the "they pretend to pay me, so I pretend to work' attitude sometime in the '70s. And he's half insane? Like man's wandering around the woods half feral for months on end in at least one of my timelines. He comes back needing anti-parasite meds, three kinds of antibiotics and Alfred going over his checkbook like 'what the fuck did you do with your dividend this time?" Like Afred's his own kind of batshit, but he's got a good head for numbers on his shoulders.

But yeah, the best way to keep him human is to let him do shit that actually appeals and keeps the depresso level below catastrophic so hockey, forestry, etc. Working in an office in Ottawa happens but it's rare, and when it goes on too long in tandem with being as lonely as he can be with only one major border, he ends up missing half his humanity and eating raw raccoon liver in the woods. Letting him slapshot Ivan in the face at the Olympics every now and again is good for the budget lmao.

[kraaico]

Where/how do you get the ideas to make these super cute art? I love art but I basically copy others and I wanna have my own style.

What a nice question!! I could honestly write a book about this, but for now I'll keep it condensed. (maybe uhhhh a blog post later or smthn) ....Sorry it's long anyway lol

These are my thoughts as an independent illustrator/artist that has the time and freedom to create what I wish, keep that in mind. I can't vouch for what it takes to get through art school or build a portfolio for <specific thing X> cause I don't know shit about that, this is just for creating art that you love making.

✨️Developing a style ✨️

A lot of people talk about 'finding your style', but I'm personally an advocate of developing a style - and most importantly it being a process that never stops. Now I don't know how old/experienced you are, but especially when you are just getting into art (and with 'just' I mean years) it'll change a lot because you will be improving a lot!

Now for me personally, I've been busy ~finding a style~ since I was 10. And up to like 2 years ago (I'm now 28) I was frustrated I just wasn't able to find one. Every half year or so I'd try to get back into art "for real this time", stick to one medium and general style and/or subject, and within a matter of weeks become frustrated and then not draw for a good while. That style-mentality really took a toll on the fun I had in making art, but also stunted my own artistic development. I was restricting myself at a stage where I should be everything BUT. I told myself I wasn't good enough, not cut out to be a professional, wouldn't be able to sell myself if I couldn't stick to one thing, yada yada. Great mentality. I'm now in therapy!

Anyway, what broke me free of that was a promise I made to myself back in 2020. I told myself I would get back into making art, but this time, just do what feels fun *at any given moment*. Let go of the pressure. I didn't post to socials and just shared with my friends, and eventually started posting to my then very humble Twitter following. I liked Twitter, cause there wasn't the pressure that Instagram always gave me of having to have a perfect feed. So I drew digitally, I drew with pencils, did some painting, got oil pastels, tried collage. And those experiments all influenced one or another. That's been key for me. If I feel like I hit a creative wall, I just try another medium or another CSP brush or another app on my tablet. Just experiment with lines and colors and not worry about what ends up there. (it's usually cats) Creating like this kept the fun in it for me and I've created nearly every single day since then, and that too is key to style development: Create A LOT. Don't hyperfocus on one perfect piece when you can also create 4 good-enough pieces in the same time.

Now on the topic of copying: it's a natural thing to do. Just be responsible about it! (don't share on socials if you blatantly copy something. While it's a good method to learn certain techniques, it's something that should stay in your private sketchbook) Also be sure to study from many different places, don't fixate on just a couple of artists! Find what inspires you in real life: be it buildings or nature or animals or people or objects, and try to capture them in different ways: from realistic to just the basic shapes. You'll find out what kind of style and level of detail you're naturally drawn to soon enough. Creating your own visual library in your mind by drawing many different things is ultimately what will allow you to put your ideas to paper in a quick and intuitive way. Having a (cheap!) sketchbook that you don't show anyone but just goof around in and explore everything and anything is a very helpful tool.

✨️ Generating ideas ✨️

I get my ideas from SO many different places. Many of my cat paintings were actually created to deal with a strong emotion or feeling I was having at the time.

Now externally, I get a lot of inspiration from nature and from the place I live in. I used to live in a fairly urbanized area, but it wasn't until I moved to the country side with wide and far views that I saw daily that I started getting interested in drawing landscapes. I didn't draw a lot of cats until they were chilling in my garden everyday. When I lived at home I drew a lot of fish, cause my dad had an aquarium. What you see and observe everyday matters. Taking your camera or phone on a walk in the neighborhood and capturing small details is a great way to gather inspiration, even if the area is a bit boring. I have a Fujifilm X100F that I try to carry to most places I go, cause I can quickly photograph things and I like it better than phone photography.

I also draw a lot of ideas from the media I consume: shows, movies, games, comics, music... Sometimes it just hits that inspiration button and lights a lil flame that'll turn into an idea. I love the magical worlds Studio Ghibli creates for example and the soothing calmness that games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley have. Things like that just work their way into my art, often subconsiously.

I also draw what I yearn for: be it a doodle of a comforting hot bowl of soup when I crave it, or a beach scene cause I want to go for a beach walk. It's fun, and lets me daydream a little about things I maybe cannot have in that moment.

Another big thing is worldbuilding and storytelling: I have this fictional world in my mind that I desperately want to get out, and it will, piece by piece.

So yeah. There's many places to grab inspiration from. Writing down what inspired you is useful. Doing it every year or so is too, cause then you'll start to see trends and get a better understanding of what drives you. Cause in the end that's what's most important, I think: Find the things that ignite a flame in you and then let it out in a way that is fun and comforting to you. Don't worry about what other people are making or that you're not making what you 'should' make!

I hope this was somewhat helpful - it was fun to write at least, I have many thoughts about this :')

[jariten]

January-March 2024 Roundup!

Trying a new thing this year where instead of just "one off" "single volume" "limited run" "compilation" works I read "long form" "serializations". I must say it's already doing my soul good to prioritize and work through the way too many unread series that have piled up in my room while I was prioritizing short form works.

First I want to highlight is Chiisana Ochakai by Nekojuujisha! I already posted a very short description of the work but would like to share my own encounter and quick impressions. I first learned about the series from Futabasha's mook Natsukashii! 70-nendai Shoujo Manga Mook (type of mook I love to collect but can't spend too long looking at lest my demons make me go online shopping). This mook highlights both true classics as well as works and authors who have fallen a bit by the wayside in the manga landscape (but to no fault of the quality of their work). Chiisana Ochakai got a VIP treatment in this mook and I immediately knew this was something I wanted to read. I finally got around to reading this past month and was so blown away by this work and the atmosphere it created. Part of me wasn't expecting anything more than a charming fantasy slice of life set in a world of cats, but I many times found myself very moved by Purin and Moppu's view of life and their philosophical musings. The fairy tale world was truly that. I loved the little encounters like when Moppu met The Sun itself at the bakery. This is also by far the closest thing I've come to reading a manga that embodies a lot of the wistful qualities of the original Moomin novels by Tove Jansson. Can't recommend or praise it enough.

Also noticed how so many libraries have Osamu Tezuka's Buddha? I've encountered plenty that has but I finally found one that actually had the whole series and decide to do my obligatory one Tezuka title per year right then and there. And wooooow by far the best of his works that I've read, I was especially struck by the paneling and multiple viewpoints that were carefully balanced. A true epic and despite it being the retelling of the foundations of a world religion, Tezuka enjoyers who enjoy him being self referential or goofy will still find plenty of that.

Is Kichijoji the Only Place to Live? by Hirochi Maki was a manga that years ago got propagandized on Tumblr and I was just soooooo sure it would get licensed. Which it did, but digital only. I finally resorted to the Japanese edition. The propaganda post absolutely sold how charming and fun the protagnist sister pair is, but neglected to mention the varied clientele and what an amazing tour of the less known neighborhoods in and around Tokyo it is, with real life locations and spots to check! Worried most of these spots don't exist anymore post-COVID? check the post COVID sequel series!

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is a manga adaption of Kotaro Isaka's novel by the same name by Ikuemi Ryou. I'm not familiar at all with Isaka's bibliography but I could tell this was a great combo (Isaka even admitting to being influenced by Ikuemi's work). I love one shot collections that focuses on characters that are connected to each other or the same incident seen from multiple points of view. Isaka's cast is varied and all at different points in life with different wants and needs.

I have a more detailed summary of A-ko san no Koibito by Akino Kondoh in the queue but oooooooh my god. This was my dedicated commute read for a bit and talk about a series that only got better with each volume. Eventually I didn't even want to arrive at my location I wanted to keep reading. Its one of my favorite explorations of relationships, facing your past ones, and figuring out what it is you actually want that I've read so far in great deal due to the blend + repetitions of past and present. These smooth transitions are done so well and drew me further into the characters and their conflicts. Truly nothing like any other manga I've read but fits perfect into my own slowly expanding mini canon of manga about late twentysomething and up characters trying to figure out what romantic relationships mean to them.

Also eeeeeek I'm beyond late just wanted to highlight Hunter X Hunter volume 37. I will always think that when one can deliver at a quality this high you have the right to take all the time you want. So intrigued by how everything is developing would love to reread what we have of this arc some time soon.

[psychopomp-recital]

hi I just wanted to ask: what drew you to death magic specifically? and, if your comfortable, how do you deal with grief (both yours and others) by being a death witch? (plz don't feel obligated to answer if it's too invasive /gen)

Oh not too invasive at all! Thank you for being so polite, this response is very long I’m sorry you asked a rather deep question 🩵 CONTENT WARNING IN TAGS

What drew me onto this path?

TLDR; I have always been surrounded death and it has been an ever present part of my life. I hated the idea that when someone died they were gone forever that’s it. Because regardless if you believe in spirits, I hope we can all agree that we’re all collections of the ancestors who make up our bodies & the ancestors who make up our personalities, we are who we are because of those passed on. And I can all but hope that someday someone will remember me and my stories the same way I remember these folks.

I want to be a good ancestor someday.

THE LONG ANSWER

I was raised in the Southern United States. The culture of this area is that surrounded in death. Everywhere you go there is haunted places and cemeteries. There’s also a strong sense of family there, this feeling that everyone is woven and interconnected.

I was raised Mormon and by a folk magical family who taught me the importance of ancestor work. I understood that these folks are part of me, by blood or otherwise they have made me who I am.

I was raised holding hands with my ancestors chronic illness. I looked it in the face everyday. Haunted by the idea that someday my body would rot away the same way I saw theirs rot, reminded everyday that illness could rip my mother from me without warning.

I eventually realized I could continue to ignore death, pray I have time on this earth to do what I want to do and run from it. Or I could embrace its role in my life and welcome it like an old friend.

I found comfort in the idea that I could help those who have passed on. The families who never got to say goodbye now had an opportunity to at least send the message. I could do my part to calm the fear these folks feel when they slip further into deaths grasp. I found a purpose for the pain I was experiencing.

If I could learn all I can while I’m alive, perhaps when I die I’ll be able to leave behind my knowledge and someone can keep this practice going. In that way, they keep me alive too.

I heard you die twice, once when they bury you in the grave And the second time is the last time that somebody mentions your name.

How do I handle the grief of others and the personal grief I experience?

I think I actually made a post on this! I’ll link it below!

But honestly it just comes down to boundaries, and being kind to yourself. It’s okay to cry and be upset and miss those lost to us. It’s okay to mourn for the dead you work with. YOU ARE STILL HUMAN. Don’t loose sight of that.

Also if you check out #MyPsychopompJournal you’ll see some entries on grief and my raw experiences with it. The one below in particular is a pretty good example;

Let me know if you are interested in a more in depth post about how I handle grief personally because I don’t want to ramble more than I already have!

ASK MY ANYTHING ASKS ARE OPEN!

[nonsubstantial]

MARCH 2024 DIARY POST

I'm keeping up the habit of writing a monthly post to catalogue all the things I've been obsessed with in 2024. At the end of the year, I want to be able to look back and remember what was making me happy all year long! If you are reading this, I hope you will enjoy hearing about these things or checking them out too! First, a chaotic collage of those things!

VIDEO GAME: As you may already know, Splatoon is probably my favorite video game franchise of all time. I really cannot overstate how important it is to me. Naturally, I was highly anticipating its new singleplayer DLC, titled Side Order, but when it finally came out at the end of February, my elbow was fractured in a way that made it painful for me to play. So, I had to wait until about a week into March for my elbow to heal a little. Then, I spent about 10 hours obsessively playing it, and I loved pretty much every second of it. It featured by far the most difficult levels ever seen in a Splatoon game, which was a treat to me as a player who was disappointed by the rather simplistic story mode of the base game. Splatoon 3: Side Order took the form of a roguelite battle tower, similar to Salmon Run but with new enemies, unique (and sometimes puzzling) stages, and customizable weapon builds. Even players who find it a bit too challenging at first can eventually mod the difficulty to an extent that (hopefully) makes it doable. The story was nothing crazy, but the gameplay and visuals were so unbelievably good that I honestly wished I could erase it all from my mind and play it again from the start. Just yay 💕, I love Splatoon so much.

TWITCH STREAM FAN EDIT: If you don't already know who Jerma is, he is a prolific video game streamer that I became a big fan of a few years ago. His unique humor has consistently impressed and appealed to me, and his fan community has proven itself to be both creative enough and motivated enough to persistently churn out edited “best of” versions of his streams. For better or for worse, Jerma announced his retirement from streaming last year, leaving his eager fans with nothing but his earlier content to dredge for, well… content. One such fan edit that was released this year, post-retirement, was a massive compilation of all his Nancy Drew playthroughs (save for one). This edit in particular was one that I found overwhelmingly funny and good, and it inspired an ongoing fanfic that I’m still currently working on writing. Oddly enough, watching this caused a domino effect that got me back into writing in general and has given me the surge of confidence and inspiration that I needed to keep working on creating the fiction that has lived inside in my head for years. I really hope this feeling never dies. You can watch the stream that inspired me, linked here!

MUSICAL ARTIST: Peach Kelli Pop is probably tied (with a few other artists) for the title of my favorite band of all time. Their entire discography is only about 2 hours long, but they were still my most listened to artist for several years in a row. It’s due to the consistency of the vibe across all of her work: upbeat and positive while still delivering a profound emotional impact. I've been able to just listen her entire catalog of music over and over and over again on shuffle. I might describe it as DIY rock, or feminist punk, and if you haven't heard it before, Gentle Leader is probably the best album to start with. Listen here!

MUSICAL ARTIST: After listening to nothing except Peach Kelli Pop for about a week straight, I started to look into similar bands that I hadn't already checked out and found one that really caught my interest. That's how I was introduced to Tacocat! Their band name is both a palindrome and euphemism, and their album Lost Time was love at first listen. They have cozy lyrics about aliens, birth control, and creating your own values, and their music has left me in a good mood every time I've thrown it on. You can listen to the first song that I heard, linked here!

SONG: It's Don’t Rain On My Parade, by Barbra Streisand!! I still haven't watched the musical that this song is from, but the drag queen Plasma mentioned it on RuPaul Season 16, which is how I ended up hearing it. This song gets an individual mention because I was absolutely blown away by this one individual track! It's brilliant and catchy right out of the gate, "Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter! Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade!" It's from 1964, but its recording sounds crystal clear and it channels its intended emotions perfectly. I felt compelled to listen to it over and over again, because it really is just so cheerful and artistically inspiring. I feel like it's a perfect piece of music. Listen here!

SONG: I have to give another song an individual mention! It's Mood Indigo, by Nina Simone!! I’ve been a big fan of Nina Simone for years now, but more often than not, I've stuck to my favorite album, Pastel Blues. I did branch out and listen to this song a few times in the past, but it only recently dawned on me just how perfect it is. Wikipedia says that it was recorded in 1964, about the same time as Don’t Rain On My Parade, and while it's technically a cover of an old Duke Ellington song, Nina Simone’s version has a totally unique vibe, evident from the first few bars. Its lyrics are meant to be cathartic, as they discuss suicidal ideation, while the drums, bass, and piano create a beautiful and upbeat swing melody that perfectly juxtaposes and rebuts the content of Nina’s vocals. It's menacing, catchy, uplifting, and truly perfect! I now believe it to be a landmark in Nina Simone’s career, and the whole of music history in general. Listen here!

MUSICAL ARTIST: Okay, one last music rec, I swear!! I was really feeling the vibes this month (but mostly just listening to bands that I already know and love). Along with Peach Kelli Pop, another one of my favorite bands is King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Ever since 2017 (aka, the year of the gizz) they have probably reigned supreme as my #1 most listened to band. They just have so much music, with so much variation, that I can usually find at least one of their songs that appeals to me. Since the start of this year, I've been collecting and organizing a playlist of my favorite songs by them, titled 31 Days Of Gizz. Not for any particular reason, but just because I find it fun to make lists! At the last minute, I decided that I would organize the songs, specifically in the way that I would play them if I were introducing someone new to the band. So, if you haven’t heard their music before, maybe it’s time I introduced you? But no pressure, I just like their songs and I made my playlist just for me! I'm linking to it on spotify, HERE, if you’re interested! (forgot to put this one on the collage, lol)

VIDEO GAME: Right before the month ended, I bought the new fantasy tactics game, Unicorn Overlord, and I am fucking in love. I’ve been a longtime fan of the fantasy tactics genre, so as soon as this game started making waves, I begrudgingly accepted that I HAD to play it. I really don’t have a lot of time in between trying to take care of things at home and working on my writing, as I mentioned before, but I briefly dropped all my other hobbies and managed to fit about 10 hours of gameplay in before the month ended. I really wish I had time to obsess over it, because I feel like it is a masterpiece, even if the rumors about there being gay content ended up being a disappointing exaggeration (the game was developed by Vanillaware, but was published by homophobic giants ATLUS and SEGA, so I’m not surprised). Despite the story being pretty much dog shit though, I believe the gameplay is damn near perfect, and even revolutionary within its genre. I’ll probably be sinking all my game time into it until the new Elden Ring DLC drops. If you’re a person who also likes fantasy tactics, then I highly recommend playing it (I got it for the Nintendo Switch, where it seems to run perfectly).

(that’s it. It is now APRIL!! There might be some repeats this next month, or I'll leave them out... we'll see. Hope you have a good day! ♡)

[midorisudachi]

Several months ago I was feeling nostalgic & played Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age II again, about a decade after I had first played them. A few weeks I posted my fan art of my OC & Alistair. Now it's time for my Hawke OC & her love interest!

When I had first played DAII, I made Anders my love interest. This time around, I decided to change things up & make my character go for the broody Fenris. It took a lot to get him to slightly warm up to my character (whom I named "Chevaune Hawke), but then there was that sexy scene where Fenris couldn't help himself and he kissed Hawke, and then she returned the kiss by pushing him against the wall. (I never knew she had it in her! Lol!) But after they got intimate, darned Fenris was already getting dressed, so Hawke asked, "Was it that bad?" To which Fenris replied, "I'm sorry. It's not...it was fine. No...that is insufficient. It was better than anything I could have dreamed." I got why he was afraid to get close to somebody, so Chevaune & Fenris remained "just friends" (no intimacy" for a few years, but I made my character loyal to him.

Eventually, this conversation happened:

Fenris – “We have never discussed what happened between us three years ago.”

Hawke – “You didn’t want to talk about it.”

Fenris – “I felt like a fool. I thought it better if you hated me. I deserve no less. But it isn’t better. That night… I remember your touch as if it were yesterday. I should have asked your forgiveness long ago. I hope you can forgive me know.”

Hawke – “I need to understand why you left, Fenris.”

Fenris – “I’ve thought about the answer a thousand times. The pain, the memories it brought up, it was too much. I was a coward. If I could go back, I’d stay. Tell you how I felt.”

Hawke – “What would you have said?”

Fenris – “Nothing could be worse than the thought of living without you. ”

Hawke – “I understand. I always understood.”

Fenris – “If there is a future to be had, I will walk gladly into it at your side.”

Then they kissed. Awwwww. Ha ha. They had such a complicated relationship but I'm glad my Chevaune Hawke got his heart & affections. Especially at the end, before the final battle...Fenris said, "“I…may not get the chance to say this again. Meeting you was the most important thing that ever happened to me, Hawke. Promise me you won’t die. I can’t bear the thought of living without you.” Notice how I drew him wearing the Hawke logo at his hip? He eventually wears that in the game after a while.

At one point during the game (before all the final battle/ending stuff), Anders questioned Chevaune, stating that he did get what she saw in Fenris & hinted that she be better with him instead! In fact, all my companions questioned my relationship with Fenris! LOL! Varric once stated, "I haven't told anybody about you and that angsty Trevinter elf." Ha ha! Even Chevaune's grumpy arse uncle (Gamlen) said (in a snarky tone), "So you're into elves now? It takes all kinds of people." Oh, shut up. Ha ha. There was a lot more bantering & conversations, but I'm not going to type them here, because it would take up a lot of space! As it is, I already wrote too much! *Grins*

Drawn with Sakura Pigma Micron pens, then coloured in with a mix of Copic Markers & Ohuhu Markers.

Fan artwork © Jacqueline E. McNeese

Dragon Age II/Fenris/Hawke © Electronic Arts/Bioware

[sparkymalone]

Here is what I have so far for chapter 16. I'm not going to post any of the smut, since I don't know if that's allowed or whatnot.

Feedback is appreciated! Take a look and let me know what I can do to fix this nonsense. I think it maybe just got too rambly? But I don't know.

Maybe there's nothing wrong with it and I'm being too critical. That's possible, too.

Or if you just want to read a chapter early, that's fine, too. Lol

Chapter 16: The One That's Based on 'The Little Mermaid'

The sunlight glinted through the clear ocean water, illuminating the sea creatures swimming below. Warmth permeated the water around Hajime and he couldn't help but smile. He swam along behind a school of fish, his elegant green tail swishing behind him.

Most days in this particular ocean area were like this, warm and serene. The creatures that lived here were all fairly peaceful and coexisted easily (aside from the natural food chain, of course). The merpeople generally got along well, too.

Hajime was pretty well-respected by the other merpeople he knew. Not because he was anything special, really - he wasn't. But he was fairly friendly and helpful, and the others responded well to that. And he generally liked all of them, too.

He pulled away from the school of fish, fins gliding through the water. He swam down to a nearby reef that he had become very familiar with over the years.

Chiaki was waiting for him, dozing off against the coral around her. She smiled at him tiredly. "Good morning."

Hajime smiled back fondly. "You're going to get all scraped up if you keep leaning on the coral like that."

She waved off his concerns. "It's nothing to worry about. Now come on," she grasped his hand and started swimming towards the surface.

Hajime happily followed. As much as he loved his friends and the peaceful kingdom they lived in, he never quite felt like he belonged. There was no denying that his heart yearned for something else.

Hajime was fascinated by the surface world. He had been for as long as he could remember. Whenever he could, he would swim near the shore or climb up onto rocks to watch the land-dwellers. They were all so interesting to him.

He couldn't interact with them, of course. Contact with anyone from the surface was strictly forbidden. Hajime wasn't completely sure why, but he wasn't about to argue with King Kamukura. Still, he loved to watch them.

He didn't tell many people about his love of the surface. None of them really seemed to get it. Chiaki had been the most understanding. She would often accompany him to look at the land-dwellers, even though she didn't find them as fascinating as he did.

Lately, the two of them had begun a new routine. There was a particular time of day when ships would often sail past the reef they had just been in. Chiaki had first alerted him to the regularity of the ships about two weeks ago, and since then, they had gone to the surface to see them almost every day.

Sure enough, as they neared the surface, the underbelly of a large ship passed overhead. Chiaki and Hajime swam up alongside the ship, trying to find the perfect distance to see the deck without being too visible themselves. The ship seemed a bit too large, however, and they couldn't get a good look.

"Let's just wait for a bit," Chiaki suggested as the ship sailed away. "Maybe a smaller boat will come by."

Hajime sighed, but agreed. The two of them floated lazily in the water for a long while, waiting to see if anything else would happen.

The sun was beginning to set and a storm was starting to roll in. Hajime was just about to give up when he heard something in the distance. He turned to look in the direction of the noise and was pleased to realize that a boat was approaching. He glanced over at Chiaki, but the girl was still fast asleep. Hajime contemplated waking her up for a moment, but eventually decided it wasn't worth it.

As the boat drew near, Hajime could see that it was much smaller than the last one. He swam up to the boat once it was close enough, excited to see if he could catch a glimpse of some land-dwellers.

In the orange light of the setting sun, slowly being overtaken by dark clouds, he was able to make out a few people sitting on the deck of the boat (a yacht? Hajime thought he had heard this type of boat called that before). He approached the side of the ship, hoping to get a better look.

Once he was close enough, Hajime decided to push his luck. There was a ladder on the back of the boat and, against his better judgment, he grabbed on and started climbing. He peeked carefully over the edge of the deck.

There were a few individuals sitting along the sides of the boat. They were dressed in lavish clothing (or, at least, that's how it seemed to Hajime) and all seemed rather preoccupied.

Hajime felt his gaze slowly being drawn to one individual, however. There was a man sitting by himself near the back of the ship, gazing off into the sunset with a bored expression. The merman began studying this particular land-dweller, wanting to get a better look - and to understand why his attention was so captivated.

The man had very short blonde hair and sharp, golden eyes. His delicate features were twisted into a scowl. He didn't seem very interested in the other occupants of the yacht. He was leaning against the railing, looking rather annoyed, and Hajime found that he couldn't take his eyes off of him.

A silver-haired woman approached the blonde. "Young Master, a storm is gathering, and the water is getting rather rough ahead."

Hajime idly noticed that this was true. The waves were getting increasingly choppy, and while it didn't bother him at all, he supposed it might be a bit much for someone who was used to solid ground.

"Perhaps you and the other guests should go below deck," the woman continued.

The blonde scowled at her. "Fuck that," he grumbled. "We're almost home, right? How bad could it be?"

The woman furrowed her brow. "I believe it would be better to be cautious, especially since you can't-"

"Hey!" the man hissed, blushing. "Don't fuckin' talk about that here!" He glanced around to see if anyone had heard, but no one else seemed particularly concerned with their conversation.

Bowing, the silver-haired woman apologized. "I'm sorry, Young Master. But please, consider going inside or putting on a life vest."

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever."

As the woman walked away, Hajime continued watching this blonde land-dweller. He seemed smaller than the others. Hajime knew that land-dwellers came in a variety of sizes, but he had always associated it with age. This man seemed to be around his own age, however, so his diminutive size felt unusual… and somehow just made him more captivating.

The waves were indeed getting bigger, Hajime noticed, and the yacht was beginning to rock. Most of the people on the deck started carefully making their way inside. The blonde just grabbed onto the railing stubbornly.

Hajime held tightly to the ladder for a bit longer, but as waves began crashing against the boat, he reluctantly decided it would be better to head back underwater. He cast one last curious glance at the blonde man as rain began to fall, then hopped off the ladder and back into the sea.

He swam a little ways down, looking up at the ship. The water was really roiling now and the yacht was being tossed around quite a bit. Hajime knew he should probably head back to Chiaki, but something kept him there, following the boat still.

Hajime couldn't shake the feeling that something bad might happen. The silver-haired woman's words from earlier came back to him and he idly wondered if the blonde man had gotten safely inside.

There was a flash of light above the surface of the water. Lightning, Hajime realized. The storm was getting worse.

A particularly large wave struck the side of the boat and, moments later, a body crashed into the ocean. The person flailed about, but clearly had no actual swimming form and couldn't get back up to the surface. Their movements began to slow down the longer they were under the water.

Hajime felt panic setting in. He wanted to help, but it was forbidden for merpeople to interact with land-dwellers. If he let this person see him, he'd be in a world of trouble.

Still, he couldn't just let them drown. Hajime made up his mind and sped through the water towards the poor human.

As he drew closer, he realized that it was the blonde man from before. Almost subconsciously, Hajime began swimming faster, feeling an even greater sense of urgency.

He reached the blonde and pulled him into his arms, surprised by how small he seemed. Hajime checked the man, but he was unresponsive. Furrowing his brow, the merman swung his tail and jetted them both towards the surface.

They broke through the surface of the water and Hajime lifted the other man's head into the air. The human coughed and hacked, trying to get a proper lungful of air. But with the storm raging the way it was, keeping his head above the water long enough for him to breathe was proving difficult.

Hajime looked around, but he had lost track of the boat. They weren't too far from the shore, however, giving the merman an idea.

He swam towards the beach, moving as quickly as possible, pulling the blonde with him. He still tried to keep the man above water, but he could only do so much. He just hoped that once they were somewhere safe, he could make up for all the human's lost air.

It took several minutes of swimming, even with Hajime's powerful fins. But eventually they reached the shoreline and Hajime started looking for something specific. He was relieved when he was able to spot the place he wanted.

There was a small grotto set into the rocky shore, offering some slight cover from the storm. He swam into the alcove and pulled the blonde up onto some rocks. There, sheltered from the rain, the man should be able to breathe.

Hajime studied the diminutive man, really taking in the details of his face. His eyes were closed, long lashes fanned over his freckled cheeks. He was honestly stunning, and the merman found himself more enthralled than ever.

However, the man was not breathing.

Hajime could feel panic setting in again. What was he supposed to do? There had to be something. He thought back to all his time studying the land-dwellers and tried to find something useful.

Suddenly, it came to him. He had seen humans pull other humans out of the water and then resuscitate them… somehow. It wasn't super clear, since he wasn't able to get too close, but it looked like they were pushing on the person's chest and then… kissing them?

…Worth a shot, he supposed.

Gently, Hajime placed his hands on the blonde's chest and pushed. If he remembered correctly, the rescuer had pushed in a sort of rhythm. Hajime tried his best to imitate what he remembered. He pushed on the man's chest for a while before leaning down to his face.

He hesitated when he was close to his mouth, however. He felt a little weird about kissing an unconscious man. Although, the more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that what he had seen the rescuer do was kissing. So what was it, then?

Realization struck him and he quickly covered the other man's mouth with his own, blowing air into his throat. He went back to pushing on his chest, alternating between that and giving him air, just like he had seen the other human do.

After a few minutes, the blonde suddenly convulsed, coughing up water. He took several gasping breaths before his eyes slowly fluttered open.

Hajime froze, hovering above the man's face, hands still resting on his heaving chest. Their eyes locked and, for a moment, neither of them moved.

After a long silence, the blonde spoke. "...What… What the fuck… happened?"

"The storm," Hajime explained unhelpfully. "You, uh… fell off your boat."

"...D-Did you… save me…?" the human asked quietly, voice hoarse.

Hajime gave a slight nod. "Um… yeah," he murmured. His cheeks flushed as he realized that this was the first time he had ever gotten to talk to a land-dweller.

He was so dead if the king found out.

The blonde furrowed his brow. "Thanks… but where the fuck are we?"

The merman let out a startled laugh. "Oh, um… a cave, near the beach."

"Which beach?"

Hajime had no idea how to answer that. "...The sandy one?"

The human scowled at him. "Which one, you jackass. The name." He started listing off names, absolutely none of which Hajime recognized. Seeing his blank expression, the blonde sighed. "Jesus. Okay. I'll figure it out myself, I guess."

Hajime winced. "Sorry. I, um… I'm not familiar with… the area."

"Whatever, it's fine." The human started to sit up and Hajime moved to help him. Once he was upright, he looked around the grotto, assessing the situation. The storm was still raging just outside.

Following his gaze, Hajime hummed thoughtfully. "I don't think you should go back out there just yet. The water is pretty rough, and since you can't swim-"

"I can swim!" the blonde yelped, whirling to face him. "Who the fuck says I can't?!"

Hajime held his hands up defensively. "Sorry! It just seemed like you couldn't. When you fell off your boat, you basically sank."

The man was flushed a dark red. "Wh-! What, were you just fuckin' watching me?!"

It was Hajime's turn to blush. "K-Kinda, I guess…? But," he hurriedly added, "it's a good thing I was, because I saw you fall!"

The blonde frowned at him. "...You definitely weren't on my ship. Were you on a nearby boat?"

The brunette looked away evasively, unable to keep himself from cringing. "...Not exactly."

Arching a brow, the human took a better look at his rescuer. Messy brown hair, intense hazel eyes, a very… shapely chest (shut up, gay thoughts), and a fish tail covered in glistening green scales.

…Wait, what?

His eyes widened. There wasn't much light in the grotto, but that was clearly a tail. "What the hell…?"

Hajime followed his gaze, blushing. "Oh, er…"

"Is that some kinda… mermaid costume or something?" the man asked hesitantly.

"Merman."

"Whatever, answer the question."

The brunette tried to think of something, anything, to convince this man that he was just a normal human. "...Um… no, it's real." Hajime cursed his honesty.

Thoughts reeling, the blonde stared at his tail. "...No fucking way."

Hajime winced. "Please don't freak out. And please don't tell anyone. I'm already going to be in deep trouble for just talking to you."

"...Can I touch it?"

That question was so far out of the realm of what Hajime had been expecting that his brain short-circuited. "Uh… what?"

A flush slowly crept up the blonde's neck. "S-sorry, that's really fuckin' weird, isn't it?" He looked away. "I, uh… I won't tell anyone about this, don't worry. No one would believe me anyway." He shifted, bringing his knees up to his chest, suddenly feeling cold.

Hajime licked his lips nervously. "...You can touch it. My tail. If you want to."

They stared at each other, wide-eyed, both clearly surprised by the offer. Finally, the blonde snorted, a wry grin spreading across his face. "Yeah, fuck it. I'm pretty sure I'm hallucinating all this, anyway. Why not touch the mermaid's tail?"

"Merman," Hajime corrected him quietly, but his eyes were quickly drawn downwards as the man reached one freckled arm out towards him.

They were sitting side by side on the rocks, so Hajime's fins were splayed out against the wet stone. The blonde's hand moved down to about where his knees would be, and gently brushed his fingers against the shimmering scales. He ran his fingers up and down a bit before glancing up at the merman's face to make sure this was still okay.

Hajime was flushed, staring with rapt attention at the hand touching his tail. He hadn't really been touched in such a way before, since his tail wasn't exactly considered special amongst an entire race of people with similar tails. The human's fingers traced the shape of one of his scales and he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Sorry," the blonde quickly apologized, voice barely above a whisper. "Is that uncomfortable?"

But Hajime shook his head. "No, just… different." He watched intently as the man resumed studying his tail, slowly moving down to his fins, which fluttered under the light touch.

The man let out a soft laugh. "Sensitive?"

"Kinda."

Smiling, the blonde sat back up. "It's probably the same as having your feet tickled, huh?"

Hajime just shrugged, having no frame of reference for that comparison. "I guess? What are 'feet'?"

"These things," the human replied easily, raising one leg and wiggling his foot around.

Enraptured, Hajime leaned closer. The blonde was wearing swim trunks, so his movements drew attention to the fact that his legs were on full display. The brunette followed the slender, freckled limb, watching his foot wiggle. "Whoa…"

The blonde blushed at the intensity of his stare. "...Y-You can touch my legs… if you want." He looked away as Hajime faced him in surprise. " 'S only fair," he mumbled.

Hesitantly, the merman reached out and placed his hand on the other man's knee. He moved down slowly, tracing his fingers gently over his skin, running them softly against the top of his foot. He glanced up to see the blonde watching him, straight-faced aside from the crimson blush adorning his cheeks.

Fuck, he was cute.

Hajime carefully moved back up the man's leg, brushing against every freckle he encountered. As his hand moved past the knee and onto his thigh, however, a soft whine escaped from the blonde's mouth. Hajime looked up in surprise.

The human had a hand over his flushed face, avoiding the merman's eyes. "Th-That's enough," he growled, but he didn't move.

Blushing, Hajime couldn't help the little smirk that formed on his lips. "Sensitive?" he asked, echoing the man's question from earlier.

The blonde glared at him, but it was diminished by how red he was. "Shut the fuck up. A-Anyway, it's weird to be touching another man's leg like that."

The merman shrugged, but obligingly removed his hand. "You started it."

"Well, clearly it didn't feel the same for both of us."

Hajime contemplated that. "In all fairness, you didn't touch that high on my tail." He eyed the man's thighs, wondering if it would feel the same.

"...Do you want me to?"

He looked up, startled. "...I… yes?"

The blonde took a deep breath to steady himself before hesitantly reaching out and placing his hand about thigh-high on Hajime's tail. He rubbed gently against the scales there, eyes searching his face for a reaction.

Hajime felt a flush crawling up his neck. The hand on his tail didn't really feel any different than it had further down, but the fact that the other man clearly wanted it to was making him flustered. Plus the way he was looking at him…

The merman carefully slid his hand back onto the blonde's thigh, watching his eyes widen in surprise.

The atmosphere in the cave was suddenly much different. The two of them locked eyes, faces burning, as their hands ghosted over each other's lower half.

The human's hand slid up over Hajime's hip, brushing against the bare skin of his abdomen. The brunette let out a soft gasp, his own hand slipping down onto the other man's inner thigh by accident. Another quiet whine escaped the blonde.

Unable to contain himself, Hajime leaned closer. "...Can I kiss you?"

The human looked up at him, wide-eyed, and nodded.

Hajime carefully pressed his lips against the other man's. Even though he had just given him mouth-to-mouth, this was completely different. He focused on the softness of the human's lips, the hitch in his breathing, the flutter of his eyelashes against Hajime's cheek.

The blonde parted his lips invitingly, and the merman gladly complied. His tongue gently slipped into the other man's mouth, tasting him. His partner's tongue met him halfway, and they moved together in a slow dance.

They kissed like that for a moment before Hajime pressed the blonde back, laying him against the stones so that he could have better access. He kissed him again, enjoying the soft whimpers coming from the human's throat.

Eventually they had to break for air. They locked eyes, both flushed and panting. "...What the fuck are we doing?" the blonde breathed.

Hajime smiled slightly and was about to answer, but a distant shout cut through the air.

"Young Master!"

They both whipped their heads towards the mouth of the cave. The storm outside had calmed considerably while they were distracted. It was still raining, but the wind and waves were mostly back to normal.

There was another call in the distance and the blonde scrambled out from under Hajime. "That's Peko! Shit, she's probably worried sick." He looked at the merman. "I need to get back."

Hajime nodded slowly. "Okay. Do you need help? Not saying you can't swim," he smirked a bit, "but you're not great at it."

Glaring, the human moved towards the mouth of the grotto. "Just get me to my damn yacht."

The merman slid back into the water and gestured for the blonde to join him. He directed the man to hold onto his shoulders before swimming swiftly away.

They were able to spot the boat fairly easily. There were several people shining lights off the sides, searching the water for the man they'd lost. Hajime carefully avoided the lights as he approached, not wanting to explain his existence to any more humans.

Once they reached the back of the boat, Hajime helped the blonde up onto the ladder. He clambered up onto the deck, but when he looked back, the merman was gone.

"Young Master!" He was grabbed by a panicked Peko a moment later, and all thoughts of the mysterious merman were pushed to the back of his mind.

Hajime watched from a short distance away, making sure the blonde was safe. He saw the man look back out at the ocean several times and he smiled, just happy that the human was thinking about him.

Hajime would definitely be thinking about him, too.

Suddenly very embarrassed about what had just happened, the merman dove beneath the water and began the long trek home.

***

"It was… insane," Hajime finished lamely. He had been recounting his adventure to his friends, to mixed reactions.

Chiaki beamed at him. "How sweet! Do you think you'll see him again?"

Kazuichi stopped fiddling with the ship part he had been working on. He often scavenged sunken ships and took them apart for fun. "That's an awful idea. We're not supposed to interact with the surfacers, you know?"

Hajime shrugged in response. "I couldn't just let the poor guy drown."

"No, but you still didn't have to make out with him." Kazuichi frowned at him. "If the king finds out what you did…"

"But he's not going to find out, right?" the brunette asked with a twinge of annoyance. The other man backed off.

Chiaki was still thinking about the positive aspects of Hajime's story. "Hmm… he said it was his boat, right?"

Hajime nodded, not really sure where she was going with this.

"So then there's a chance he might sail through here again… I think."

The brunette felt his cheeks flush. "It's… it's fine if I don't see him again." He recognized the lie for what it was.

So did Chiaki. "It's okay to want to see him again, you know."

Hajime just sighed. "...Okay. I want to see him again. But I know it's not going to happen, so let's just drop it."

All three of them fell silent. After a few minutes, Kazuichi tried to change the subject, talking about some sunken ship he had heard about from a fish, but Hajime wasn't really listening. Even though he was the one who wanted to drop the subject, he couldn't help but still think about the land-dweller.

He knew he wasn't likely to ever see him again, so Hajime took the time to really hang onto the memories he had. He focused on the man's bristly blonde hair, his dangerous golden eyes, his adorable freckles… how soft his lips were…

Chiaki was watching him with a bemused smile. "You really have it bad, huh?"

"Dude," Kazuichi whined, feeling ignored.

"S-sorry, just ignore me," Hajime told them, blushing.

God, he was so fucked.

***

Hajime honestly didn't expect to see the cute blonde ever again.

So when he appeared while Hajime was people-watching at a nearby beach a few days later, the merman was shocked.

He watched, wide-eyed, as the man walked along the shore, gazing out towards the sea like he was looking for something. Hajime's heart leapt into his throat as he realized that he might be what the blonde was searching for.

The human spent a long time watching the waves and looking around. Hajime had to resist the urge to leap out of the water and throw himself at the blonde. Instead, he stayed hidden behind an off-shore rock, just watching.

Eventually, the silver-haired woman from before came to collect the human, who cast one last look at the sea before following her away.

Hajime watched him leave sadly. He would give anything to be able to spend time with him again.

With a sigh, he swam away.

***

"I told you he'd be back," Chiaki told him triumphantly.

Hajime just rolled his eyes. "Technically, you said he might sail by again."

She frowned up at him, puffing out her cheeks. "Hey. This is even better, right?"

They were hanging around in the stone grotto Hajime called home. The two of them had been talking about the land-dweller for a while now. Kazuichi was sitting a few feet away, ignoring the conversation as well as he could.

"I mean, it still doesn't really mean anything." Hajime fiddled with a conch shell, wishing he didn't care as much as he did.

Chiaki sighed. "Maybe, but if he was looking for you, then that means he's thinking about you just as much as you are him… I think."

The brunette ran his fingers through his hair and considered her words. "...This would be much easier if I could just… go to the shore," he mumbled. "Like… on the land."

With a dramatic groan, Kazuichi finally joined the conversation. "Then just go, man."

Hajime furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?"

"If you care more about this land guy than your own safety, then just go," Kazuichi reiterated, scowling at his friend. "What's the king really going to do?"

"Murder me," Hajime replied flatly. He paused, then added, "And murder the human."

The pink-haired man sighed. "Then… I dunno, become a human or something."

Hajime's frown deepened. "That's stupid. I can't just become a human."

Kazuichi glared back. "Maybe you can, I don't know! I'm just sick of you always obsessing over the surface and not doing anything about it!"

Silence fell over the three of them. "Sorry," Hajime finally offered. "I didn't mean to talk about it that much."

Kazuichi sighed. "I'm sorry, too. I probably sound like a jerk."

There was another pause before Chiaki fluttered her fins in thought. "Maybe you could just go to the shore, though. Just stay in the shallow water and maybe he can come to you."

"I don't know if that's a good idea. He's not a very good swimmer." Hajime smiled at the memory.

Kazuichi perked up as an idea occurred to him. "Wait, maybe you can become a human." Both of his friends turned to him questioningly, so he continued. "The sea witch might be able to do it."

Chiaki frowned. "I don't think dealing with the sea witch is a good idea…"

Hajime nodded. "Probably not."

The pink-haired man shrugged. "I dunno, dude. It might be worth it to at least ask. You like this guy a lot, right?"

Hajime was alarmed to find himself considering it. How much did he like the land-dweller? Enough to make a deal with a sea witch?

…It couldn't hurt to ask her price, he supposed.

***

The sea witch burst out laughing when Hajime described his request. "That's hilarious, little man!"

Hajime frowned at her. "If you can't do it, just say so…"

"Oh, I can do it," she corrected. She tossed her hair behind her, as though that would make any difference underwater. Her strawberry blonde pigtails were just as unruly as before. "But it's still hilarious."

The brunette shifted, feeling uncomfortable. "Why's that?"

The sea witch gave him a toothy grin. "You want to do something so extreme, and just for a man?" She cocked an eyebrow. "Honey."

Hajime was feeling more irritated the more she talked. "I didn't come here for you to laugh at me."

"And yet here you are." She settled in front of him, her strange black and white tentacles getting uncomfortably close to him. "How long do you want to be on land? Forever?"

Realizing this could be his chance to become what he was so fascinated with, Hajime nodded slowly. "...Yeah, if that's an option."

"And what are you willing to give up?"

That question caught him off-guard. "Uh… besides my whole life down here?"

She waved him off. "No, I mean what'll you give me?"

Hajime just shrugged. "I don't really have much… What do you want?"

The sea witch made a big show of considering the question as she turned back to her cauldron. Hajime couldn't help but think that her whole "witchy" decor was a bit much. It almost seemed like she wanted it to be over the top

"How about," the witch began, looking at him over her shoulder, "your voice?"

He furrowed his brow in confusion. "My voice? What?"

"The price for my spell." The woman grinned. "I'll make you human, but I get your voice."

Hajime's hand instinctively went to his throat. "That's… a little bit extreme, don't you think?"

"Says the guy who literally wants to be turned into a different species," she teased. "How about this: you give me your voice, but just temporarily."

The merman thought it over. Something still seemed off, though. "Then, what do you really get out of the deal?"

The sea witch regarded him in surprise, looking almost impressed. "Look at you, catching on so quick! Let me give you the details." She crawled around the cauldron, putting it between the two of them. "I'll make you human for three days. During those three days, I get your voice. If you want to stay human, all you have to do is get your loverboy to kiss you."

Hajime felt his cheeks heat up. "That seems kinda strange, don't you think?"

She shrugged at him. "I don't question your shit, so don't question mine. Get him to kiss you in three days and you get to keep the legs and you get your voice back."

"...And if he doesn't kiss me?"

The witch grinned wickedly. "Then you belong to me."

He frowned at her. "What does that mean?"

"Just what it sounds like, dummy." She turned away, busily grabbing things off the shelves behind her.

Hajime mulled over his options. The deal was definitely strange, but then, his original request was pretty strange on its own. He was certain that he couldn't trust the sea witch, but…

All he had to do was get the blonde to kiss him. They had already kissed before, so theoretically, kissing him again should be easy… right?

"...Okay. Let's do it."

The witch cackled at him again, already tossing things into her cauldron. "Hell yeah! Here we fuckin’ go!” Whatever she was doing, the cauldron started glowing an ominous shade of green. The sea witch waved her hands, chanting something, and a current of green swirled into the water above the cauldron. With a flick of her wrist, the witch sent the current towards Hajime.

He only had a second to react before the water around him was all glowing green. He yelped in surprise, feeling a strange tingle coursing through his body. The feeling wasn’t entirely unpleasant, just odd.

That quickly changed as pain shot through his tail. Hajime let out a pained cry, hands instinctively clutching at his fins. He watched, horrified and enthralled, as his tail slowly split in two. The scales gradually disappeared and, before he knew it, his tail had become a pair of legs.

Pain was still coursing through him, however. He made another noise - or at least tried to. With alarm, he realized that no sound was coming from his mouth. The pain he felt settled in the base of his throat and he knew his voice was gone.

The sea witch was grinning at him deviously. “You better hurry up, honey. Humans can’t breathe underwater.”

Hajime felt panic shoot through him as he realized she was right. Quickly he started swimming for the surface, but it was proving very difficult. Legs didn’t exactly work the same way his tail had.

Eventually he managed to coordinate his movements enough to start progressing towards the surface, but his lungs were already starting to burn. He scrambled to move faster.

Ironic, he thought, drowning trying to get to the person I saved from the same fate.

Just as his vision was beginning to dull around the edges, he broke through the surface of the water. He silently gasped for breath, taking in desperate lungfuls of air.

Once he was breathing again, Hajime took in his surroundings. He was still a ways off from the nearest beach. He really should’ve thought this through a little more.

Just as he was preparing for the long swim to shore, he heard the familiar sound of a ship approaching. Turning, he noticed a vessel slowly approaching him.

Realizing that he no longer had to hide from the land-dwellers, Hajime excitedly waved at the ship, hoping for rescue. Thankfully, the sun was still high in the sky, so he would be easy to spot.

The ship slowed as it passed, and Hajime was shocked to realize that he recognized this particular yacht. What were the odds?

A person hurried down the back ladder of the boat, extending an arm out to Hajime. “Hey! Grab on!”

He swam close enough to take the outstretched hand and allowed himself to be pulled onto the back of the boat. He leaned heavily on his rescuer, unsure how to balance his weight on his new legs.

“Whoa there,” the man holding him chuckled. He was huge and had no problem supporting Hajime’s weight. “Lucky we came along when we did. What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”

Hajime opened his mouth to answer, but of course, no sound came out. He looked up at the man helplessly, suddenly realizing how hard this was going to be. He had no way to communicate.

To his credit, the man quickly figured out that Hajime wasn’t able to answer him. “Something wrong? Are you injured?” He looked over the castaway’s body. “Looks like you lost your swimsuit, at least.”

Hajime looked down. He hadn’t even thought about the fact that he was completely naked. He knew that the land-dwellers had little outfits that they usually wore when they went in the water, but he had certainly never thought about wearing one. He also became aware of the strange appendage he seemed to have grown along with his new legs. But he could figure that out later.

The man gave a boisterous laugh. “No worries! We’ve got extra clothes onboard! Let’s get you on deck!”

With great difficulty and a lot of help from the large man, Hajime managed to climb the ladder onto the actual deck of the boat. He looked around, taking in the sight. For all of his observations, he had never actually seen what a boat looked like from the top, and he wanted to commit the experience to memory.

The other man climbed up behind him and quickly grabbed a nearby towel to wrap around him. “Here, this should make you at least a little more comfortable.” He clapped Hajime on the back, nearly knocking him over, off-kilter as he was. “The name’s Nekomaru, by the way. What’s your-” He cut himself off, noticing Hajime’s helpless expression. “Ah, right. That’s okay, we can figure that out later. Come on, let’s get you some trunks!”

Hajime followed behind him unsteadily as he made his way across the deck. There were other humans here, too, most of whom kept their distance, whispering amongst themselves as they watched him pass. He didn’t recognize any of them, but he was fairly certain this was the blonde man’s ship.

Nekomaru led him below deck and into a small cabin. He rifled through some sort of bag and pulled out a swimsuit. “Here! It might be a little big on you, but we can tie it.”

Of course, Hajime had no idea how to put the thing on. He was still getting the hang of walking. After a minute of panicking, he figured out that he could sit down and try to manoeuvre his legs into the swimsuit.

The large man watched him struggle, arms crossed over his broad chest. “Huh… We should probably get you checked out once we get to land.” He helped Hajime get back on his feet and adjusted the large swimsuit. “Where are you from, by the way?” At the castaway’s blank look, he winced. “Right. Can’t talk.”

Nekomaru led him back to the deck and got him situated on a seat near the back. The large man then left him to go see when they would be heading back to shore. Hajime was alone.

So far his experience being a human was… underwhelming. But Hajime was sure it would get better once he was on actual land. And once he found the blonde man, of course.

As if on cue, a familiar face emerged from below deck, looking as grumpy as ever. Hajime tried to jump to his feet, but his lack of coordination resulted in him falling back into his seat. The action successfully got the other man’s attention, however, and he watched as the blonde’s eyes went wide.

The man approached him cautiously. “You… There’s no way…” he murmured once he was close enough. His eyes fixed on Hajime’s legs and he frowned. “So it was just a costume?”

Hajime shook his head and opened his mouth to explain, but no sound came out. He shut his mouth again, looking frustrated.

The blonde arched an eyebrow at him. “...What the fuck is wrong with you? Can’t you talk?”

The former merman shook his head again. He felt a little sheepish suddenly, realizing he had no way to explain to the man why he couldn’t speak to him. This deal was getting worse all the time.

Crossing his arms, the blonde studied him for a long time. He finally dropped into a seat next to Hajime. “So I guess I can’t ask you why the fuck you’re here… or what your name is.”

Hajime shrugged helplessly. A thought occurred to him and he pointed at his mouth, directing the other man’s attention there. He then mouthed the syllables of his name, hoping he could at least get that across.

But the blonde just seemed confused. “Uh… I can’t read lips.”

“Young Master.” The silver-haired woman that always accompanied him appeared out of seemingly nowhere. She eyed Hajime apprehensively. “I was unaware that we had a new guest.”

“I’m just as confused as you are,” the blonde replied, eyes still fixed on Hajime. “Maybe even more.” He blinked as an idea came to mind. “Hey, Peko, see if you can figure out what he’s trying to say.”

The woman - Peko? - turned fully to Hajime, her piercing red eyes studying his face. The merman swallowed hard before trying again to mouth his name. “Ha-ji-me?” the woman repeated as he formed each syllable, and he nodded excitedly.

“Hajime?”

He whipped his head around to look at the blonde. Hearing his name from the other man’s mouth was oddly endearing, and he felt a broad smile form on his face.

The blonde man, on the other hand, was still frowning. “Is that your name?” When the brunette nodded, he hummed thoughtfully. “Huh. How did you get here?”

Hajime just shrugged, not certain how to explain that without words. He just pointed helplessly at the sea.

Nekomaru approached again, looking as cheerful as ever. “Hey, Boss! I see you’ve met our stowaway!”

The blonde looked up in interest. “Oh, you know where he came from?”

The large man nodded. “He was just floating out in the water, nothing around for miles! Lucky thing we found him, huh?”

Peko regarded Nekomaru coolly. “You shouldn’t bring strangers onboard without alerting us.”

“He was gonna drown,” Nekomaru argued, crossing his arms.

“It’s fine, Peko,” the blonde told her. He studied Hajime again. “...Do you have someplace to go?” When the brunette shook his head, he asked another question. “What are you even doing?”

Hajime shrugged again and Nekomaru laughed loudly. “Yeah, I keep forgetting he can’t answer, too!”

The blonde scowled up at him. “You can leave now.” He glanced at Peko. “You, too.”

“Young Master, I hardly think I should leave you alone with a strange man from the sea,” the woman told him, voice even despite the obvious jab.

“It’s fine,” he hissed. “Fuckin’ go.”

Eventually, Peko and Nekomaru walked away, leaving Hajime alone with the blonde man. He smiled at the man at his side, who just frowned back.

Hajime had an idea. He turned fully to the blonde and pointed to himself, mouthing his name. He then pointed to the other man with a questioning look. It took a second, but the blonde seemed to catch on. “Oh, my name?” The former merman nodded. “It’s Fuyuhiko.”

‘Fuyuhiko,’ Hajime mouthed, not missing the way the other man’s cheeks reddened as he did so.

“A-Anyway, since you don’t have anywhere to go, I guess you can come with me.” He paused, crossing his arms. “Seriously, you’re going to have to explain to me how the fuck you got here and what your actual plan was. Are you just stupid?”

Hajime frowned, giving his head a slight shake. He thought about it for a moment before motioning out towards the ocean, and then pointing at Fuyuhiko.

The blonde regarded him with surprise. “Me? What…” His cheeks flushed. “...You came to see me?”

He nodded, also starting to blush. His eyes widened as the other man started to laugh.

“Dumbass,” Fuyuhiko snickered. “We kissed once and you crawled out of the fuckin’ ocean for me?” Despite his laughter, his face was still bright red.

Hajime couldn’t help but smile. The blonde’s laughter was really cute.

Once he regained his composure, Fuyuhiko leaned in conspiratorially, lowering his voice. “So… Were you just pretending to be a mermaid last time?”

The brunette shook his head, mouthing the word ‘merman.’

Fuyuhiko looked up at him, expression unreadable. “You’re telling me you’re really… seriously a merman?”

Hajime nodded.

“Then how the fuck do you have legs now?”

The former merman sighed silently, pointing helplessly at his throat.

The blonde groaned. “God, this is annoying. Maybe when we get to shore you can write it out?”

Hajime nodded excitedly. He hadn’t even thought about writing. That way he could explain the whole scenario. He’d be able to kiss Fuyuhiko in no time.

***

As it turned out, his plan to write down his explanation had a fatal flaw.

Merpeople didn’t write the same way as land-dwellers.

Once they got to Fuyuhiko’s home (which was startlingly large), Hajime had been given a sheet of something the humans called "paper," plus a writing implement. He had spent several minutes trying to figure out how to use both objects.

Back under the sea, writing was typically done on stone slates, or traced into the sand, if you were close enough to the bottom. Writing on paper was a bit different, but in an interesting way. Hajime was excited when he started getting the hang of it.

He began writing out what had happened to him while Fuyuhiko hovered over his shoulder. Not even two sentences in, however, the blonde interrupted him. "What the fuck is that?"

Hajime looked up at him, confused. He looked back down at the page curiously. Sure, his handwriting was a little messy, but-

"None of that makes any sense." Fuyuhiko grabbed another pen and scribbled something on the page. "Words are supposed to look like this, see?"

Both of them stared down at the paper, at the two drastically different writing styles. Seeing them side by side made it abundantly clear.

Merpeople had a completely different written language than surfacers.

Hajime had really hoped that it would be the same, since they apparently had the same spoken language. That clearly wasn't the case.

Fuyuhiko groaned loudly. "Goddamnit, so much for that plan." He frowned at the other man, trying to figure something out. When nothing came to mind, he sighed. "Ugh, okay, I guess we'll figure out your story later."

The former merman gave him an apologetic look, scratching his head.

"It's fine. For now, let's just get you settled in." He led the way out of the room they were in (some type of study?) and up a set of stairs. He ended up having to help Hajime, realizing that he had never encountered stairs before. "Shit, sorry."

The brunette just smiled at him and accepted his support. He didn't miss the way that Fuyuhiko's cheeks got just a bit pinker.

They made their way into a bedroom on the second floor. "You can stay here until we figure this out. I think there are some clothes in here…" Fuyuhiko went to the closet door, opening it and observing the contents. "Yeah, there's some stuff you can wear. Hopefully it fits. Go ahead and get changed before dinner-" He turned just as Hajime started pulling his swimsuit off and immediately Fuyuhiko turned crimson. "W-What the fuck are you doing?! Wait for me to leave, dumbass!"

Hajime looked at him, confused. Merpeople didn't really wear clothes, just accessories, so he didn't have the same sense of modesty as the panicked human.

Shielding his eyes with one hand, Fuyuhiko headed towards the door. "I'll, um… I'm gonna go! You get dressed, okay?" He paused at the door and cringed as a thought dawned on him. "...You probably need help, huh?" He turned to see Hajime nodding sheepishly. "Shit," he sighed.

Still blushing furiously, the human went back to the closet and yanked out some clothes. He averted his eyes as much as possible while instructing Hajime how to dress himself. When he reached the buttons of the shirt, however, the merman proved completely inept.

Fuyuhiko sighed dramatically before stepping closer to Hajime, who was sitting on the bed. He batted Hajime's hands out of the way and started fastening the buttons himself. He tried very hard not to think about his fingers brushing against the other man's chest, or how close their faces were, or how he was technically standing between Hajime's legs.

As he finished with the buttons, he moved to pull his hands back, but Hajime caught his wrists. Their eyes met and Fuyuhiko's breath hitched. He was even closer to the merman than he had realized.

"...What are you doing?" Fuyuhiko asked quietly, feeling Hajime's thumbs rubbing softly against his wrists.

No answer came, obviously, but the brunette gently tugged him closer. Hajime leaned in, breath washing over Fuyuhiko's lips, hazel eyes searching his face to make sure it was okay.

He was so close now, lips barely a hair's breadth away. Fuyuhiko could feel his heart pounding.

At the last second, the blonde shoved Hajime back, quickly stepping away. "S-Stop!" His cheeks were bright red as he placed a hand over his face. "We can't… You can't just show up here and…" He gave a frustrated growl, unable to find the words he wanted.

Hajime blinked at him, face flushed. He tried to apologize, but no sound came out. 'I'm sorry,' he mouthed.

Fuyuhiko just shook his head and turned away. "It's… it's fine. Just stay here. I'm gonna go." He opened the door to leave, but paused again. "I'll have someone come get you for dinner." And then he was gone.

The merman let out a long sigh and laid back on the bed. That had been awfully close. Maybe kissing Fuyuhiko would be easier than he thought.

Hajime frowned to himself. He didn't like the idea of kissing the other man just for the sake of the spell. If they kissed, he wanted it to be because it was what they both wanted. He had tried to kiss Fuyuhiko just then because it felt right in the moment, and he had thought that the other man felt the same.

It was fine, though. It was only the end of the first day. Hajime still had plenty of time.

He sat up with a determined smile. He was going to kiss Fuyuhiko before the three days were up, and he was going to let it happen naturally.

***

Dinner was an experience.

The man from earlier, Nekomaru, had come to collect Hajime. He led him to a lavish dining room with lots of people gathered around the table.

Hajime ended up sitting between two people he hadn't met before, while Fuyuhiko sat near the end of the table. The blonde didn't talk much during dinner, and Hajime wasn't able to hear anything, anyway.

What he did hear, however, was a lot of chatter from the people surrounding him.

From what he could gather, it sounded like Fuyuhiko was some sort of royalty, or at least someone important. The diminutive man had been tasked with entertaining guests by his father. That was why he had been spending so much time sailing.

The blonde clearly wasn't too happy about his current role and wasn't afraid to let everyone know that. It seemed like most of the people present were used to his attitude, though.

Hajime tore his attention away from the conversation he was listening in on, glancing over at Fuyuhiko. He was surprised to find the other man looking back at him. As soon as their eyes met, however, Fuyuhiko scowled and turned away, leaving Hajime confused.

After dinner, Hajime found himself wandering around the building a bit. He was really getting the hang of walking, but he wasn't sure he was ready to tackle the stairs by himself. Besides, he was enjoying the sights.

He ended up outside on the back patio. The night sky was beautiful, and as he approached the railing, he was treated to an amazing view of the ocean.

Hajime smiled softly. He missed his friends, but he knew they'd want him to enjoy himself. Well, Chiaki would. Kazuichi would probably complain about him getting left behind.

As he was admiring the view, another person approached him from behind. "It's nice out here, huh?"

Hajime turned in surprise and was pleased to see Fuyuhiko coming to stand by the railing beside him. He smiled warmly down at the blonde, remembering why he was there to begin with.

Fuyuhiko ignored the way the merman was looking at him. He leaned against the railing and smirked at Hajime. "Heh, you're probably sick of looking at the ocean, though, right?"

The brunette thought about it, gazing out at the sea. Then he shrugged, shaking his head slightly. He has never seen the ocean from this perspective, after all.

Fuyuhiko hummed in response. After a pause, he sighed. "...I have so many questions for you, but you can't fuckin' answer any of them."

Hajime gave him an apologetic look. They fell silent for a while, but it wasn't uncomfortable. The merman looked up at the stars, thinking that those actually looked better back home.

"...Hey," Fuyuhiko started quietly. Hajime turned to look at him. "Did you… seriously come all the way here just for me?" His cheeks were flushed and he wouldn't meet Hajime's eyes.

The merman nodded slowly, studying the other man's face. Once he was able to speak, he would have to explain that he also wanted to live with the humans, but the simpler explanation would suffice for now.

Fuyuhiko's golden gaze gradually moved up and their eyes locked. "...Why?"

Hajime considered the question for a long moment, unsure how to answer. He wasn't even sure he knew the reason. There was something drawing him to the other man, a feeling powerful enough for him to follow Fuyuhiko onto land.

How could he possibly explain that?

He moved forward slowly, drawing closer to the blonde. Fuyuhiko eyed him apprehensively. Hajime lifted his hands to carefully cup Fuyuhiko's face, feeling the heat radiating from the smaller man's cheeks.

Hajime leaned in, closing in on Fuyuhiko's face. He watched the blonde's eyes slowly close, his long lashes fluttering slightly. The merman felt his heart beat faster and his own eyes slid closed as he neared Fuyuhiko's lips.

Just before they could kiss, however, a voice cut through the night air. "Young Master!"

Both of them scrambled away from each other, turning to face the silver-haired woman who was rapidly approaching them. "P-Peko, it's not-" Fuyuhiko started, face flushed.

The woman swiftly placed herself between the two men, glaring coolly at Hajime. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

The merman held up his hands defensively, mouthing a silent apology even though he wasn't entirely sure what the issue was.

Peko's piercing red eyes narrowed. "You have no right to lay your hands on my young master. Do you have any idea-"

"Stop it!" Fuyuhiko barked, grabbing the woman by the arm. "He wasn't doing anything! I, uh… had something in my eye," he lied, shooting a look at Hajime. Play along.

The brunette nodded, backing Fuyuhiko up. Peko studied him for a long time, apparently deciding whether or not to buy into the obvious lie. Eventually she sighed. "Fine. It appears that you don't mean any harm, so I can let this slide."

Hajime was flooded with relief, but it was cut short when Peko continued.

"But I would advise you to learn your place."

Fuyuhiko scowled at her. "Shut the fuck up with that. I don't care about being 'above' anybody else. Being the heir to the clan doesn't mean I'm off-limits or whatever."

"Perhaps you don't think so, but your role in the clan does put you above others. You shouldn't be fraternizing with random commoners." Realizing how she was addressing Fuyuhiko, she bowed her head. "I am sorry if I've spoken out of turn."

The blonde was already shaking his head. "It's fine, I get it." He turned to Hajime. "We should probably part ways for the night. Can you find your way back to your room?"

Hajime nodded. He wasn't ready to be separated from Fuyuhiko yet, but he recognized that this was for the best. So he watched sadly as Peko led the smaller man back into the house.

His thoughts were still reeling. They had come so close to kissing again. And there was definitely chemistry between them, Hajime felt it. And it was only the end of the first day.

The merman headed back into the house, more determined than ever

***

Throughout the next day, Hajime found himself in many similar situations. Whenever he was alone with Fuyuhiko, the two of them would be drawn together, as though by some magnetic force. Usually this resulted in them touching in some way.

Several times, they got frustratingly close to kissing before something (or someone) would interrupt. Hajime was just about ready to grab the other man and kiss him senseless the moment he saw him.

He returned to his room in the early evening. He wanted to keep spending time around Fuyuhiko, but the blonde had eventually chased him away, claiming he had to work.

Being on land was still strange to Hajime. There were so many things he didn't know how to do. Nekomaru was nice enough to instruct him how to do a few things without asking why he didn't already know, but he knew he still had a lot to learn.

Now, sitting on his bed alone, it really started to sink in that this could end up being Hajime's whole life. If he met the sea witch's terms, he would officially become a land-dweller. It was a little overwhelming.

A voice cut through the silence. "Psst, hey loverboy!"

Hajime's head whipped around, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. Airy laughter surrounded him and he tried following it to the source.

The voice led him to a vanity set against the far wall of the room. As he drew nearer, the mirror began to shimmer before changing to show the grinning face of the sea witch.

"Surprise!" she shouted. At Hajime's shocked expression, she continued. "Since your time was about half over, I thought it might be a good time to check in, see how you're doing. So? How's it going?"

The brunette just frowned silently at her.

The witch cackled. "Oh, right! You can't tell me!" Her tone clearly conveyed that she hadn't forgotten about Hajime's affliction at all. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I've been keeping an eye on you the whole time!"

Hajime's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak before remembering it was futile.

"You and your man have been getting awfully cozy, haven't you?" she teased, chuckling when Hajime blushed. "In fact, you've been getting so cozy that I think I'm going to change the terms of our contract a little."

The merman furrowed his brow angrily. He tried to yell at her, but still nothing came out.

The sea witch waved him off. "No good, can't hear you. Anyway, it looks like you're not going to have any trouble kissing your little human, so how's about we up the ante?" She grinned wickedly. "Now if you want your voice back, you're gonna have to fuck him!"

Hajime felt his heart stop and his brain short-circuit. He shook his head, no way was he going to agree to that.

"I'm not hearing any objections," the witch jeered, "so the deal is done!"

There was a flash of green light, blinding Hajime for a moment. When his vision cleared, he glared at the mirror.

The sea witch was cackling excitedly. "Hell yeah! Look at that fuckin' face!" She leaned closer to the mirror. "Is that despair you're feeling?"

The brunette took a step backwards, feeling overwhelmed by the new situation. He could feel a pit forming in his stomach.

"Good luck, loverboy!" The witch gave him a little wave before the mirror shimmered again and changed to show Hajime's reflection.

He stared at the mirror for a long while, processing what had just happened.

The sea witch had changed the terms of their agreement - could she do that? He supposed she could, since she already did. And now just kissing Fuyuhiko wouldn't break the spell. He had to somehow convince him to have sex - within the next day.

Hajime sat heavily on the bed, mind reeling. How the hell was he going to pull this off?

The merman grimaced. While he definitely did want to sleep with Fuyuhiko, he didn't want to rush into it for the sake of this spell. He had wanted all of his interactions with the blonde to be as natural as possible.

And then, of course, there was the tiny detail that he didn't actually know how humans have sex.

First things first, he supposed. He needed to kiss the other man before he could get any further.

…Tonight. I'll definitely kiss him before the end of the night.

***

Hajime held onto that determination all throughout dinner. He ended up sitting a bit closer to Fuyuhiko this time but there were still multiple people between them. The merman didn't let that deter him, however, and he spent most of the meal giving the blonde longing looks.

He knew that Fuyuhiko was aware of his staring. Even though the blonde was deliberately not looking back at him, his cheeks and ears were flushed.

When the human finally did meet his gaze, glaring at the brunette in embarrassment, Hajime just responded with a slight smirk and a pointed look at Fuyuhiko's lips.

After dinner, the blonde cornered him just outside the dining room. "Come on, we need to talk," he growled, grabbing Hajime's arm and pulling him along.

They ended up in a very nicely furnished bedroom with a healthy layer of clutter. Hajime wondered briefly if this was Fuyuhiko's room before he was pushed to sit on the foot of the bed.

The smaller man stood in front of him, arms crossed, glaring at him. "What the fuck is your problem?" At Hajime's blank stare, he continued. "You can't just keep… fuckin'... staring at me!" He gestured angrily and his cheeks turned red.

Hajime felt a little embarrassed. Maybe staring hadn't been the best move, but really, he didn't have any other way to get Fuyuhiko's attention. He gave the blonde an apologetic look, shrugging slightly.

Fuyuhiko sighed. "Look, I know… I know that there's something between us," his blush deepened, "but you can't just keep mad-dogging me until I… Shit, I don't even know what you expect me to do!"

His grumpy expression was adorable, and Hajime couldn't help but smile a bit.

"And that!" Fuyuhiko pointed at the merman's face. "Quit, like, smiling and shit when I'm mad! It pisses me off!"

God, that was even cuter. Hajime started laughing silently.

"Seriously, asshole! Knock it off!" Fuyuhiko moved forward to grab the front of Hajime's shirt. He realized his mistake as he became painfully aware of how close they were now, but he didn't back down.

The brunette looked up at him, expression an odd mixture of surprise and mirth. This close, he could really see how many freckles the other man had. His eyes slowly trailed down to Fuyuhiko's lips.

Drawing in a shaky breath, the blonde tightened his grip on Hajime's shirt. "Stop looking at me like that," he said, voice low.

Like what? Hajime mouthed, not even thinking about the fact that the human couldn't hear him. He gently grasped Fuyuhiko's wrists but didn't move them.

"Like you wanna fuckin' kiss me," Fuyuhiko murmured, and he was so close now, and there wasn't anything to stop them. Hajime couldn't resist.

The merman closed the distance between them and kissed him. The blonde pulled on Hajime's shirt, tugging him even closer as their mouths pressed together.

Lips moved slowly, sensually, savoring the moment before parting invitingly. Hajime licked into the smaller man's mouth, hands moving to cup his face. The memory of kissing Fuyuhiko in the cave came rushing back vividly.

The blonde made a soft noise, kissing back eagerly. Their tongues met as the kiss deepened, all of the anticipation from the last two days coming to a head.

Fuyuhiko nipped at Hajime's lower lip, letting go of his shirt in favor of burying his fingers in his hair. The merman pulled him closer and he allowed himself to be drawn into the taller man's lap, straddling him.

After a moment, the blonde pulled back, panting. "Shit," he breathed. He clearly wanted to say something else, but instead he dove back into the kiss. Hajime answered in kind.

They kissed for several minutes, quiet moans escaping from Fuyuhiko's throat. Hajime's hands moved to the other man's hips before sliding down his thighs, marveling at the way his legs were able to bend.

Fuyuhiko growled against Hajime's lips. He pulled away again, but not very far. "What the fuck is happening?" he asked between kisses. "I don't even know you, why the fuck do I want you so bad?"

Hajime laughed silently before his mouth was occupied again. He willingly gave up control as the blonde kissed him harder, clearly taking out his frustrations on Hajime's mouth. The merman slid his hands back up Fuyuhiko's legs, coming to rest on his ass, earning a breathy moan.

Eventually they broke apart. Fuyuhiko took a deep breath to ground himself, frowning at the taller man. "We have to stop. I can't… I don't want to do anything I'm gonna regret."

Hajime furrowed his brow, but he understood. He let go of the human, allowing him to stand up.

Fuyuhiko straightened his clothes. He was still trying to catch his breath, and he wouldn't meet Hajime's eyes. "...Sorry," he muttered. "I'm not trying to be a cocktease, I promise."

The merman wasn't sure what that meant, but he shook his head to show that there were no hard feelings. He stood up from the bed and indicated the door.

"Yeah," the blonde hurriedly agreed, clearing his throat. "It's probably better if you go."

Hajime walked to the door with Fuyuhiko following behind him. As he stepped into the hallway, he felt the other man's hand on his shoulder. He turned to face him, curious, and was caught off-guard as Fuyuhiko leaned up and kissed him again. The merman was surprised, but happily returned the kiss.

The blonde didn't linger, however, pulling away just as suddenly. "I'll, um… see you tomorrow, yeah?"

Hajime nodded and watched him close the door. As he made his way back to his room, the brunette couldn't help smiling to himself. He had successfully kissed Fuyuhiko! Now he just had to get a little further.

He sighed at the thought. The blonde had definitely been into the kiss, and it certainly felt like he wanted to do more, but it also seemed like he was hesitant. Hajime couldn't blame him, really. Asking him to jump into bed with a man he barely knew was unfair.

The merman reached his bedroom and busied himself with getting ready for bed. He tried not to think too much about the beautiful human, but it was proving truly difficult.

Especially because the strange appendage between his legs was standing at attention.

***

After breakfast, Fuyuhiko told Hajime that he had to actually work and pawned him off on Nekomaru. Hajime didn't mind, of course. He knew Fuyuhiko would have something else to do eventually, and he liked spending time with Nekomaru well enough.

When the blonde continued avoiding him after lunch, however, Hajime started growing concerned.

He was quickly running out of time. He had to get Fuyuhiko to sleep with him by the end of the day, and he definitely wouldn't be able to do that if the man in question wasn't around.

Hajime allowed Nekomaru to lead him outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of Fuyuhiko somewhere. The huge man commanded his attention, though, trying to explain some game involving kicking a ball. The former merman watched his demonstration incredulously, knowing full well that he didn't have the coordination for that.

Before he realized it, another couple of hours had passed. The sun was already starting to descend and Hajime still had no idea where Fuyuhiko was.

Luckily, Nekomaru saw his searching glances and understood immediately. "You looking for the boss?" When Hajime nodded, he laughed. "Man, you two sure like each other a lot! Young love sure is cute!"

His statement was a little confusing to Hajime, since he was under the impression that Nekomaru was the same age as him, but he blushed nonetheless.

The huge man just grinned at him. "He's probably meeting with his father right about now, but you should be able to catch him before dinner."

Hajime sighed. He didn't like waiting, since he was rapidly running out of time, but he also didn't want to disrupt Fuyuhiko's life anymore than he already had. He nodded to Nekomaru and went back to trying to kick the ball without falling over.

***

He wasn't able to find Fuyuhiko before dinner, and the blonde gave him the slip again right after the meal. Hajime ended up just going to Fuyuhiko's room and sitting slumped against the door.

It was probably a pretty pathetic sight, but Hajime didn't care. If this is what it took to be with the human, then so be it.

Glancing out a nearby window told him that it was getting late. The sun had set long ago. The merman sighed for what felt like the hundredth time since he sat down. This might be the end of his land adventure after all.

Just as he was getting ready to start the long walk back to the beach, he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up hopefully and was pleased to see that it really was Fuyuhiko.

Gold eyes met hazel and they stared each other down for a moment. "...What the fuck are you doing?"

Hajime climbed to his feet and just indicated the human.

"Waiting for me?" Fuyuhiko snorted, but his cheeks still turned pink. Well, pinker. "That's kinda sad, you know." He came closer, stopping right in front of Hajime. "What exactly do you want?"

The question was so blunt, and the man's face was so deadpan, it caught Hajime a little off guard. He stared back blankly for a second before pointing at Fuyuhiko.

The blonde frowned, brow furrowed. "Me? What, like… you wanna fuck me? 'Cause I'm not into that casual shit, okay?"

The merman shook his head. Obviously he wanted to sleep with the human, but that wasn't all he wanted. He reached out and gently laid his hand on Fuyuhiko's chest, directly over his heart.

It took the smaller man a moment to catch on, but when he did, his face and ears turned a deep red. "You…! What the fuck are you saying?!"

Technically I'm not saying anything. Hajime really wished he could speak instead of having to keep his snarky comments to himself.

Fuyuhiko grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. "...You're so fuckin' embarrassing." Despite the insult, he leaned up and kissed him.

Hajime gladly kissed back, carefully wrapping his arms around the other man, bringing their bodies flush together. As the blonde's lips parted, he happily took advantage. Their tongues met and the kiss deepened.

When they broke for air, Fuyuhiko glared up into Hajime's eyes. "I don't know what this is between us, but you better be taking it seriously, you hear me?"

The merman nodded in agreement, leaning in to nuzzle the other man's ear. There was so much he wanted to tell him, and the thought that he might be able to soon kept him on target.

Fuyuhiko made a soft noise as the brunette started kissing his neck. "Fuck… Let's get out of the damn hallway," he muttered, pulling away from Hajime. He grabbed the merman's wrist and pulled him into his bedroom.

Once inside, he shoved Hajime backwards onto his bed and slammed the door. Fuyuhiko stood over him, brows knitted and cheeks flushed. "...I'm serious about not wanting anything casual. If we… If we do this, you have to… promise…" He cut himself off, seemingly too embarrassed.

Hajime sat up and pulled the smaller man closer. He cupped his cheek and gazed up into his golden eyes, knowing that he felt the exact same way. I promise, he mouthed, though he wasn't sure Fuyuhiko would understand. I want to be with you… More than you know.

The blonde let out a nervous breath before kissing the taller man deeply. He moved closer so that he was standing between Hajime's legs, his own legs pressed against the bed. He pulled back just enough to speak again. "...You're not, like… going to leave me to go back to the ocean, are you?"

Shaking his head, Hajime leaned in, pressing soft, reverent kisses to Fuyuhiko's freckled cheeks. If only he could explain that this was exactly what he needed to stay here.

The human pushed him back onto the bed again, but this time he followed, covering Hajime's body with his own. He kissed the merman hungrily, straddling his hips.

(cue the smut)

A couple of notes:

So I wasn't sure if I wanted to make Fuyuhiko a prince, or just keep him as the heir to a yakuza clan (a yakuza prince lol) so I left it kinda vague. But I definitely leaned more towards the yakuza explanation. Should I make it more clear?

And I don't know why Nekomaru is there, lol.

I think I could probably take a lot of the beginning out, but idk. What do you all think?