#i think i really want to get coral island first

[vilnan]

the way i still haven't finished baldur's gate three <3

[staarpiece-arts]

for ppl playing coral island early access right now: who are you romancing? I’m leaning towards Surya, but kind of torn between him, rafael, mark, theo and kenny

[lady-ashfade]

Strawberry Bunny

Day 4 of celebration marathon

Yandere class 1A x bunny!hybrid!fem!reader

-£ ask: “Yandere mha reaction with Strawberry Bunny reader in their bunny form” I was telling them about this so they requested it for this marathon @serxinns

-£words: 1k

-£ warning: yandere behavior, readers fur color being pink and white, bunny from coral island, short fic.

no one knew were you hid yourself at random parts of the day, one minute you’re there and the next you’ve disappeared.

the class was overbearing in your normal form, constantly picked at your cheeks and touching your fluffy ears. no one cared how flustered you got, they’d just coo and continue to baby you. the girls found it comforting to have you on their laps and play with your ears, even enjoying to watch you eat with your nose twitching.

however, todoroki was part of that train. you were his source of comfort when he was angry or needed a break.

Mina liked to dress you up in pink clothes, Tsu would be there taking pictures with Ochako.

deku knew about your quirk front to back like everyone else in his notebook. which foods refilled your energy, how often you took naps, were to scratch your ears. he knew everything about you, good and bad.

however none of them had ever seen you as a bunny. the small animal you turned into made you shy and skittish, and you wanted to rest without your friends petting you. even your teacher, aizawa had never seen you like that before.

“guys,” denki put down the switch in his hands while his friends payed attention to different things. Bakugo and kiri fighting over the game on the tv, Jiuro looking through a magazine while Mina watched tiktoks with her feet rested over kiri.

“do you guys here that?” the only one to turn their heads was jiuro. She looked around and tried to listen but the boys yelling blocked her from hearing anything.

“No, no,” denki got up from the bed , “it’s whimpering, and it sounds like a animal.” Mina looked up to the boy jumping over her. this caught her attention at the word animal. she placed her phone down and lifted herself up to follow him.

“What animal would be in the dorms? Do you think koji has one?” it wasn’t a bad guess really, the boy did it often.

“Where the hell are you guys going?” The angry blonde shouts while still staring at the tv and smashing the controllers in his hands. “Bring me a coke if you’re going to the kitchen.” Kirishima asked while doing the same as his friend.

they hummed and exited the room and they heard the sound get louder, just outside their door was a vent at the top of the wall. They heard squeaky. Their eyes fell on a small fluffy animal with pink and white fur, the legs kicking around to try and stay in the vent but was close to falling.

“That’s weird,” denki titled his head when he noticed something familiar. You had the same patterns on your ears, he knew them like the back of his hands.

“Don’t just stand there!” Mina elbowed him and jumped forward to help the animal stuck, she tried to reach for it but was to high. “It’s okay little buddy, Mina’s got you!” She tried to soothe the thing but it just got more intense with it’s kicking.

but it didn’t help them, when they started to panic their body started to fall back and the small feet started to kick them off the walls.

you started to squeal and pray you could get back up but you weren’t ever that lucky. so you feel down and Mina was quick to catch you and hold you close. you tried to get away but she didn’t let you go.

“it seems so scared,” she coo’d and looked over your bunny form, “what do you think spooked it?”

She didn’t get a response as denki just looked at you. The gears in his head spinning and it only took a moment before his eyes went wide while looking into your eyes.

“It’s y/n!” he shouted excitedly and tried to reach for you but mina turned and held you close.

“No! I got her first! She came to me.” She started to pet your fur. The mention of you made her protective and clingy. and now that you were a hopeless little bunny, she couldn’t let you go!

“Not fair,” he pouted, “I heard her cries! It was me, so give her to me.”

the whole class heard them argue, and you whining to be let go. soon the students exited their our rooms and find them in the hallway, even the students below. they found you in her arms as a bunny. now everyone started to fight at who got to hold you since they have never seen you like this before.

some tried to steal you away. So you were going from classmate to classmate. You hated it. This was the reason you didn’t want to show them!

as they all fought they didn’t notice their teacher approached and readying his quirk. sero got to you and made a run for it but he was met with Aizawa standing their with his scarf and his eyes glowing red. He looked deadly and ready to fight a villain.

“Give her.” He demanded and sero was quick to obey. Once aizawa had you he walked off to his room leaving them disappointed and upset. iida and Tsu tried to calm everyone down but missed your presence.

once you were back in his room he placed you down, “you okay kid?” within seconds you transformed back into your human form. you sighed.

“No, I just wanted some peace and quiet. I took a wrong vent and got caught.” he hummed and patted your head.

“all you have to do is ask and I’ll tell them to back off, or you can come here and rest.” He threw a blanket over himself and yawned.

“I off all people know how much naps help.”

you nodded your head, “can you lift me into the vent again?” he groaned but complied to your request.

once you were back into your bunny form he lifted you into the vent and you ran off, your little footsteps echoed off the metal. you went back to your dorm and locked your door, then went under your bed to the nest you made for yourself.

but the underlying problem was that when you went to class the next morning they would all be all over you.

[faevi]

COMFORT. // GOJO.

Scenario: Today was a bad day for you. You couldn’t even get out of bed to take care of yourself. You need comfort. Gojo Satoru, your boyfriend, is eager to be that comfort for you.

Word Count: 4,072.

Content / Trigger Warnings: female reader (she/her), implied depression (?), bad mental health basically, not taking care of yourself, gojo basically comforts and takes care of you, lots of crying.

I think that's it! Please (kindly) let me know if I missed something.

Note: No, Coral Island is not out on Switch yet :’ ) I have it on PC and I thought it was on switch but it’s not. Do look out for it, though! Cute comfort farming game. This probably won’t be the last time you’ll see me writing about Gojo comforting, as I like to write things deep from the heart or what I face, y’know? Like I started this when I was having a sad day, so dfjkgdfklg and, I know I’m not the only one. Mental health is important!! Please always take care of yourselves. If thinking about Gojo comforting you helps with easing your mind & heart, then hell yeah.

I know technically this is SFW so minors could read, but my entire account is basically NSFW still and I don’t feel comfy. So….

MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS, PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT!!!

“Baby?”

There’s a gentle knock on the bedroom door, the deep yet soft voice being muffled by it. You’re currently curled up in the king-size bed, pillows plumped up and eyes glancing from the Nintendo Switch screen to the door. Shame washes over you and you sink further beneath the blankets, voice timid.

“I’m in here.”

Satoru didn’t hear it, but he still pushed it open. He doesn’t want to be apart from you. Not when you’re like this. He could sense something wasn’t right in the morning, but you insisted he went to work and that you would be okay. Low energy, you said. You peek up at him, the hood of his hoodie that you’re wearing pulled right over your head, not wanting him to see your puffy eyes and dried-up tears on your cheeks. You haven’t left the bed unless it was to go to the toilet or get water. Really bad, you know that. You should have at least eaten something. Even if it’s just a banana or a bag of chips.

“Welcome home, ‘toru.” You say, voice a little raspy but still holding that sweetness that’s only reserved for Satoru. You feel too drained to greet him like you wish you could. That’s another sign to the white-haired male that it’s one of the low days. Thankfully, they are rare but, they still prompt him to be wrapped up in his concern. He drops his satchel at the side of the dresser before he walks over to the bed, unbuttoning the first few buttons of his white shirt. “Thank you, princess. I missed you all day.” He expresses, emphasising the ‘all’ in a sing-song voice that coaxes a smile to appear beneath the hoodie. Good. He’s a little relieved to see it.

Satoru settles on the bed beside you, arm wrapping around your body to pull you in close. He’s low enough on the bed to tuck his chin over your shoulder as you twist a little to adjust yourself for the position of the half embrace. His stunning blue eyes focus on the screen as you continue to play the switch, his long fingers mindlessly stroking along your shoulder. Satoru knows you refuse to pull the hoodie off just yet, so he won’t force you to. He knows that you have been crying and is desperate to comfort you but, he’s not about the ‘forceful’ ways like some may think he would be. Baby steps.

“Coral Island?” He asks, pressing a kiss to your shoulder and you hum, thumb on the analog stick moving around. It makes you happy that your boyfriend makes sure to remember the games you like. “You’ve made a lot of progress on your farm, baby. It looks cute.” He praises sweetly, keeping his voice soft so as to not disturb too much. You smile at his words, ignoring the way your hands start to tremble and your eyes sting. What did you do to deserve such an attentive and loving man as your boyfriend?

“Though, I’m still a little grumpy that you want to marry, what’s his face… Wakuu. I think I’m a lot cuter, they should put me in the game.” He whines lightheartedly and you can’t help but laugh. “Baby, I think you’d make the game crash from how desperate people would be to date you. You’re too pretty and you’re all mine.” You huff a little, mind lingering a little on the thought of others wanting Satoru. Why did he choose you? He could have anyone he wants in the world.

“I’d hack the game so I reject other players aside from you.” He insists, noticing the tremble in your voice. He looks down at the top of your head, wishing he could see through and know your thoughts. Well, he can usually guess right, at least. He’s pretty good at reading people. Especially you. Calmly, Satoru takes hold of the console and puts it on pause before setting it on his bedside table. You let him do it. “Th-That would be too much work, s-silly.” You stutter out as tears for what feels like the hundredth time spill down your cheeks.

He hums softly, tugging the hood off of your head slowly, giving you time to stop him. You didn’t. Your shoulders shake and you can barely process anything now as you cry; not even when he moves your body so you’re facing him and between his long legs. He pulls you in close enough so his hand can rest on the back of your head and you sob against his chest, apologies babbling out between the heavy cries and obnoxious sniffling. “Nothing is too much work when it involves you, Y/N. Let it out, hm? No more hiding from me. Just let it all out and let me be here for you.” He whispers, the other hand rubbing soothing circles against your back.

Your legs that were tucked beneath you, slide until you’re laying against him with your legs extending out next to his, face still buried against his toned chest, fingers curling into the shirt that is becoming wet with the continuous stream of your tears. Your chest hurts so much. The tightness lingers, even as you cry your heart out. No wonder it feels impossible to breathe. You swear you could feel each teardrop as it rolls down your cheeks. Gross. It’s so gross. Small hiccups escape as you struggle to breathe properly between your heavy sobs, feeling his hand stroking along your hair as he holds onto you so lovingly. You couldn’t help but feel guilty that he has to comfort you through this. You thought that after hours of festering in your misery, you’d pick yourself back up before he got home.

He shouldn’t have to do this. It’s not the first time that he has had to help you and you just feel so bad about it. Sure, it may not be common. It may not happen all the time. Not happen weekly or even monthly but, it must be so stressful to deal with. Mental health can be so exhausting and every time this creeps up on you; you just wish you were someone who stinks of positivity 24/7. Always smiling. No dull clouds in your life, so no chance to spread it to those you love. Satoru deserves better than you.

Satoru frankly doesn’t give a fuck about your opinion when it comes to that matter. It sounds harsh but, it’s true. In his eyes, you are exactly what he deserves because you are everything that he wants in a partner. He’ll tell you that as many times as you need to hear. It’s not exhausting to him. Not at all. Nothing about you exhausts him. Satoru does feel concern when these particular days blossom but, isn’t that normal? Lovers are meant to be there for one another. Through the good and the bad. No one is perfect and, he knows. He knows that you’ve had partners who would snap with anger the second you showed a glimpse of insecurities or sadness. They would tell you that you’re making them miserable for having a sad day every so often. That it’s all your fault and that you’re exhausting. Even though, truth be told; these days aren’t that often. It’s just being human. Some may experience it more than others but, Satoru doesn’t think it means they should be treated harshly. Maybe with more kindness.

Besides, anger and guilt-tripping always cause more bad days because you learned to try and bury it all. To never let it out. Then it just grows like a nasty virus in your system, slowly bringing you to the point of feeling overwhelmed and unable to contain it. It surprised him that you used to apologise profusely at the beginning of your relationship. You had bad relationships that just added to your insecurities and made you feel like complete shit. All you need is reassurance and comfort. It took some time at first but, Satoru thinks that you’ve ‘improved’ in the sense that you have fewer sad days because of feeling like a terrible partner. You have insecurities like everyone else but, you knew deep down of his love for you and felt reassured by it. Especially since Satoru never expressed anger towards you. Just patience and love. The white-haired male of course wishes that you never felt anything bad. It’s natural for a lover to want that for their other half but, he’s not going to curse those bad days and make you feel worse. Together, you’ll get through it. That’s how he sees it and if it takes time to slowly ease your mind into that direction; Satoru will go that way and hold your hand.

His large hand continues to stroke along your back, resting back against the various pillows and watches quietly as you sob heavily into his chest, heart quietly clenching at the sight. He wishes he could take the pain away completely. You feel as if your lungs now rattle from how hard you cry, tears both spilling down your clammy cheeks and soaking into his white shirt. Your fingers stay curled up in his shirt, face rubbing pitifully against his chest. It feels so warm and strong. One of the infinite reasons as to why you love this white-haired man. His strength never wavers when he embraces you. You always feel safe, even as you cry. Still, guilt naturally lingers for being a burden.

“I-I’m so sorry, Satoru..” You manage to whine out breathlessly, voice becoming high-pitched, tongue unintentionally licking up the salty tears that lingered on your chapped lips. You have been lacking in self-care today. Satoru hums thoughtfully, hand coming up to push the strands of white hair out of his crystal blue eyes. “Don’t apologise, Y/N. You haven’t done anything wrong. You know that these days will never be a burden to me.” He reassures, voice low and calm. It soothes your soul with ease. Sniffling, you decide to sit up between his spread legs, though one hand refusing to let go of his now wet shirt. Your head stays tilted downwards but it doesn’t stop your boyfriend from leaning in to scatter light kisses across your visage, not bothered by the tears. He knows it will prompt a smile to appear and that’s one baby step in the right direction. You do end up smiling very briefly as his soft tiers ghost against your cheeks, mildly amused by the quiet ‘mwahs’ he leaves with each kiss.

It’s funny, really. Before you met Satoru, during knowing Satoru and being his friend, even now as you’re in love with the tall male and dating him; people always painted him as a man who frankly does not fucking care about people or that he’s utterly oblivious. They see when he’s loud and playful. Yes, sometimes a little immature (deliberate) and cocky but; they refuse to see this side of him, even if it’s directly on a silver platter for them to be exposed to it. Though, you selfishly think of how happy you are to be the only one who gets to see the loving and romantic side of Satoru. Satoru cares. He cares so much for the ones around him. He’s subtle in changing his ways for certain people. Whether it’s to let someone else take the last seat or tiny praises laced in between playful advice. He can be serious or calm when the time calls for it.

You hate that people continue to paint him as a selfish man who thrives off of his own cockiness and talents. Satoru, your boyfriend — Is a human being created with all kinds of shades of colours and each colour deserves to be loved. Cherished. His hands caress along your bare thighs, head tilting as he inspects your face, thankful that you’re not trying to hide anymore. Not through a hoodie or burying against his chest. He does think it’s cute when you do that. He can’t deny it. You’re finally managing to calm down, the tears slowly stopping and not trailing down your cheeks any further. Did thinking about Satoru as a person calm you down once more? It’s not the first time. Ha… You really are lucky to have him. You watch as his lips already begin to curl to form a small grin. It’s infectious because you feel the corners of yours twitch and you have to press your lips firmly together to stop it from happening. Maybe it’s a punishment to yourself. You can’t smile completely yet.

“Look at you, my little love.” Satoru says, large hands coming up to tenderly cup your cheeks, thumbs a bit firm when they rub away the tears. “All out of tears now. It’s all thanks to me for being the best boyfriend with a magical touch, hm?” Satoru jokes lightly to coax that soft giggle out of you and his heart eases at the pretty sound. Your heart practically swells at the pet name he calls you. In the early days when Satoru learned that you’re weak when it comes to pet names, he instantly started to use them. It’s like he uses it as a weapon. Only sometimes. Jokingly. All the time it still feels natural and wrapped in love. You didn’t know that he’s discovered that he adores using them when it comes to you. Especially when your eyes light up in his direction.

“You are the best boyfriend..” You manage to say, voice strained from crying so much. Snot threatens to drip out and it must make you look so unattractive. He doesn’t care. You’ll always be pretty in his eyes. Satoru smiles warmly at your words, playfully shaking his head. “Alright, this is about you. So don’t try to put the focus on me and think this can just slip away… Unless you want it to. I won’t force it.” He sighs, plucking a tissue from the box on the bedside table. You can sense it. He might become a bit agitated if you don’t express your thoughts, even if he’ll politely agree to move on and clearly treat you lovingly… You can already understand why he’d be annoyed. Locking it all up isn’t healthy and he’s been encouraging you for so long to be open with him. He’s not like past lovers so don’t treat him as such. It is true. He’s nothing like them. He may not be perfect if he’d secretly become annoyed but, he’s human. Just like you. On trivial matters, he’d usually whine as his form of complaint but, this is no trivial matter. It’s serious to him; your wellbeing.

“I won’t hide anything from you, Satoru.” You promise, nose scrunching up a little as he wipes it before carelessly tossing the tissue towards the small bin. Naturally, it lands in. He’s Gojo Satoru, after all. You shift to sit cross-legged between his open legs, slightly apologetic that he has to spread his long legs so wide. Satoru isn’t bothered by it. You bring a sleeve up to wipe at your eyes, chewing on your bottom lip. How do you even speak? It feels like the words are lodged in your throat. “It’s just a bad mental day. There’s nothing really behind it. One of those days, I’m sorry..” You trail off and you glance up to see him looking intently at you, arms comfortably crossed against his chest. Satoru isn’t blocking you out and you know that. He tends to position himself like this when he’s listening.

Still, he’s waiting for that one thing. Even with his eyes clouded with warmth for you, you know what he wants to hear. The tiny bit of truth. “Bad mental day, but… I feel guilty. I wanted to hide this from you so I— So I wouldn’t be a burden. Wouldn’t make you tired of me and I’m scared! I’m scared that if... if the bad days happen more, you’ll..” You don’t want to say it out loud. It feels like a knife is lodged in your throat. It might come true.

“Leave you?” Satoru finishes your sentence of worry. Hearing it out loud brings on a wave of nausea and your head falls down, fingers gripping the sheets. The white-haired male’s heart aches to see you so sad and vulnerable. Terrified. Maybe a normal person would feel hurt and offended by their lover having such fears. Complain about their lover having no trust in them. Satoru knows to not see it like that after dating you for a long time. People have thoughts that they can’t control. They’re like intrusive little gremlins ready to happily feast on the brain. Again, what heals is comfort and giving that reassurance. He repeats that to himself as a reminder. To never doubt. Not that he ever would but, it’s better to be safe. Tears threaten to spill again as the guilt bubbles up inside of you for admitting the scary thought. You don’t want to lose Satoru. Not ever.

Satoru sighs softly. You sense it’s not an annoyed sigh. You're sure if you ask, your boyfriend would jokingly say he’s just exhaling air. “Why do you have to sit cross-legged? It makes it hard for me to cling!” Satoru whines, large hands reaching forward to encourage your legs to uncross before he tugs you forward, strong arms wrapping around you once more, gripping firmly as if to show he’s not leaving. You gently nuzzle his shoulder as he presses a kiss to the top of your head. “I’m never leaving you. You’re stuck with me for life. Y/N, it’s okay to have bad days. Whether multiple in a row or sporadically. I don’t care about— Well, I mean. I do care. I’ll always care. I just want you to try to remember that you’ll never be a burden. This is never a burden.” Satoru says, keeping his voice soft against your ear.

You pull back a little to look up at him and his hand comes up to cup your cheek, shifting his hand to smooth his fingers across your hair, keeping you in place. “I want to be here with you on your darkest days and so you’ll never be left alone there. As cheesy as it sounds, I’ll be that glimmer of light for you. Just like you are for me. You have no reason to ever feel guilty about moments like these.” He finishes with his arms draped around your figure. A small smile manages to appear, cheek squishing against his shoulder. It doesn’t take much talking from Satoru to bring you comfort. He always knows what to say.

You’re just glad he’s finally home from work. You’ve been feeling so lonely without him. Carefully, you nuzzle against his shoulder before pulling away to look up at him, meeting his crystal blue eyes. It’s then that you notice he still has his sunglasses on, pushed back against his fluffy white hair. You pinch the bridge of the glasses and slide them off to set aside on the bedside table, not wanting to ever block the pair of gorgeous eyes you get lost in daily. “I love you.” You say softly, tilting your head to press a kiss against his wrist as his large hand pauses against your hair.

You watch him slowly form a grin at hearing the words, hand coming down to gently cup your chin. Satoru admires you in silence for a while. Even with a puffy face from crying and lack of sleep, you’ll always look beautiful to him. All his, too. No one else can have you. “I love you, too.” He says, voice filled with loving warmth before he leans down to press a kiss to your lips, not bothered by how chapped they feel. He’ll never pass on the opportunity of kissing you. You both pull away from each other and you can’t help but slump against him, feeling exhausted. It’s funny how you slept through the day between crying sessions and you’re still so tired.

The sight practically kicks a certain side in Satoru to wake up and so he sits up, arms caging you in as he looks down at you between his legs. “Alright, princess. I know you haven’t eaten. How about we order in? Whatever you like. I don’t want to force anything on you but you have to eat, at least.” He says, hand reaching for his phone that’s tucked in his pocket. You puff your cheeks out and look at him. His eyebrows are furrowing out of concern and his lips pouting. It’s hard to say no to him and, well, he is right. Again. “Okay, ramen.” You say, planting a kiss on his cheek. Relief washes over the tall white-haired male, thumb rapid against the screen as he orders your preferred ramen, along with his and a few entrees before he places it down.

“Do you have some energy to shower?” He asks, pausing for a moment before his hands come up in defence, eyes comically wide. “Swear you don’t stink, princess. I just want to take care of you and usually showers make you feel better. If you’re too tired, you can share a shower with me?” He offers with a hopeful glint in his eye. Satoru knows he’s being a little selfish because he enjoys showers with you. You roll your eyes at your boyfriend quickly getting all defensive, somewhat endeared by the fact that he emphasises that you don’t stink. Only Satoru would do that. You really do love him. Every single fibre of his being. His entire existence.

With your heart swelled up with love, you dramatically throw your arms over his shoulder before wrapping them around his neck, smiling. “Only if you carry me. I’m a princess, right?” You giggle softly and instantly, Satoru plants a kiss on your lips. He really can’t resist you. “Typical princess behaviour. You’re lucky I’m such a simp.” He grunts out as he lifts you in his arms with ease, large hands cupping your ass cheeks to hold you up as you wrap your legs around him. You raise an eyebrow at hearing his words, amused to hear the older male use fangirl terms.

It’s the exact thought that prompts your realisation. You don’t feel sad anymore. Not currently, anyway. You look at his gorgeous visage as he carries you to the bathroom, not a single thought of worry about dropping you. Satoru is too strong to do that. You bite back a smile and cling tightly onto your boyfriend as you think to yourself that being around him is healing and good for your heart. You’re determined to do the same for him whenever he feels any sort of negative emotion. No matter what, you’ll love him hard and take care of him like he does for you.

“You’re choking me—“ He rasps out, face scrunching up dramatically before you loosen your arms and smile sheepishly. “Sorry.” You say with a quick peck to his lips. He happily accepts it. Satoru sets you down on the bathroom counter, one hand already unbuttoning his dress shirt to reveal his beautifully toned body. You watch as he adjusts the taps for the shower, seeking the level of warmth that you like and notices you watching him with a dreamy look and smirks in your direction. “What are you thinking, baby?” He asks, cocking his head to the side. You shrug innocently.

“Just that I love you and would do anything for you. Want to always take care of you and make you happy.” You find yourself blabbering out and eyes locking with his. His smirk fades into a smile, endeared by your words. It’s rather comforting to hear. To know that you are here for him just as he is here for you. Satoru extends his hand out for you to take. “You already do that and more. I love you, too. Come on, let’s undress and shower before our comfort food arrives.” He says, wiggling his long fingers to entice you to take hold. You simply smile before taking hold of his hand to pull yourself off of the counter.

Right. It is time to shower with the love of your life.

Life is really good when you have Gojo Satoru as your lover.

[mikisspeak]

Different love

Luffy x Male! Reader (Fits for trans males too)

⛔️MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, YOU’LL BE BLOCKED⛔️

Cw: Mention of christian family(Reader), homo in denial, just a homo confession.

_•*•_

This wasn’t possible.

Neither correct.

How did this even happened?

A lot of questions ran over your head the last days.

You were a straw hat, you joined after Luffy, your handsome captain, saved your village from a strong crew of pirates, it was normal to be so devoted to him..Right? But something felt off; at start you thought you were just too thankful for Luffy saving the ones you loved and taking you like his new nakama, but with the time you realized it wasn’t that easy. Every time he smiled at you when you arrived the kitchen to eat with the crew, when he stretched his rubber arms to you and hug you tightly after being lost on the new island you guys arrived to, every little smile he gave you..Everything made your heart pound strongly on your chest; your cheeks heat up and your pressure raise.

But no.

It couldn’t be.

You liked women, it was always like that, or at least that was what your parents told you when you were little, men with women-women with men.

This was a sin, but you couldn’t help but think that if you had to choose between heaven and kissing him, you could burn in hell with happiness on your face.

There was a problem tho. He never liked no one. The most beautiful woman in the Grand Line, Boa Hancock, was head over heels for him and he just dared to leave her hanging as he did with every beautiful woman on the seas. What got you sure it would be different for you? Luffy was always so unaware of sexual and romantic attraction, he was probably aro-ace, so confessing to him was a probably loosing game.

But you couldn’t with the feeling anymore, that heavy weight on your chest every time he said you were friends..

“Just friends.” You thought when he mentioned it the first time.

You didn’t wanted to be friends with him, you wanted to hold him every night near of you, to be able to tell him how much you loved him whenever you wanted without being asked by the others. You had to do it.

“I like you, Luffy.”

You pronounced, you finally had the courage to tell him your feelings after seeing the opportunity when, after dinner, he happened to be alone on the upper deck.

Luffy looked confused at you, his head tilted slightly and his eyebrow went up while the other furrowed.

“Ya’ like me?” He asked rhetorically, his confusion turned into his usual and pretty smile.

“I like you too ___! You’re my best friend after all.”

Those words sank hard on your heart, did he understood it? Maybe he ignored it? You sighed and proceeded to explain better.

“No but..- Not as a friend! More like..I, uh.”

You breathed again inhaling and exhaling to calm down before gaining enough courage.

“Luffy. I love you. Not as a friend, neither a nakama. I love you like a couple would.”

His face froze, he stood in shock in front of you, turning everything really awkward. You looked down, his eyes were the thing you wanted to avoid right now. Then, while your sight was still down to the wood floor, you heard a chuckle.

Before you could get up your sight, a wild Luffy was already getting over you, wrapping you in his rubber arms and swinging you around with strength and a smile that could burn the sun.

“I love you too!” He said with a happy and loud tone, it was a miracle no one was hearing the conversation at this point.

Your face turned from confusion to happiness and a little giggle left your lips as you captured his cheeks on your hands and kissed him, the thing you wanted to do since the very first day was finally a chance. You wouldn’t change this moment for anything. At all.

“So? Then we’re a couple?!” He asked happily, a small coral-pink blush adorned his pretty face. He let you go and waited for an answer.

“Of course Luffy.”

Suddenly—and it shouldn’t have been a surprise— claps and cheers were heard from behind the mast of the deck, from there Zoro, Nami and Usopp came out. Cheering happily from what they already knew from a long time, but they could finally be able to presence.

Your face tinted red as you stared shyly at your crew mates, Luffy, so uninterested as always just received the cheers with a big smile.

But, on the inside, you were happy, did happiness actually existed for pirates? Could you really be happy with him? This was like a dream come true you never wanted to end. Now you knew it wasn’t a sin neither something bad, it was love, a pure love…

A different love.

A/N: Short but i loved it! Hope ya’ like it too. Remember I’m takin’ requests.

[indispensible-pencil]

I've played roughly an hour of endless ocean luminous now and I have to say while I enjoy it so far the comparisons to the other games are inevitable and I have a few niggling issues I want to share because I really wanted this to be great.

1) the focus on multiplayer. No thanks. I'm sure people will use and enjoy this but endless ocean was always a solo experience for me, the atmosphere is ruined with 20 pricks milling around doing fortnite dances

2) the mishmash of aquatic life. They've mashed together the first game (one reigon focus) and second game (multiple separate maps with different animals altogether) and I don't think it works. You get fully freshwater fish hanging out on a coral reef with all the surgeonfish and it just takes me out of it. I'm fine with tropical marine life from coastal Indo-Pacific mixing with marine life from the mid Atlantic to not restrict the choice here (not that pedantic) but when we previously had a fully realised section of the Amazon river with mangroves, awesome ruins, and god awful muddy visibility just randomly coming across pirahna in a cave next to a dolphin is disappointingly lazy and breaks the immersion. You can find over 500 marine species guys you don't need to throw freshwater in for seasoning.

3) The randomised maps are broken, quite bland, and ruin the 'special' feeling of the rare encounters. I was thrilled to come across Thanatos from endless ocean 2 who terrified me as a kid (and had his own awesome entrance music) but then in another part of the map I found him again. And then again. No joke, I found Thanatos 4 separate times in the same map.

4) I miss the general haunting atmosphere of the first two games (mainly the first). The operatic score, the cursed statues, the trenches.

5) also miss hanging out on the boat/island

Not nearly finished the game yet but yeah a few disappintments for me so far. Interested to see what other fans think.

[noarawriteszr]

I see you are open for Coral Island requests. I’m immediately going for pain. How would you think about how Pablo, who was crushing/falling in love with the new farmer, be told that the farmer is dating Rafael?

This is How it Feels - Pablo x Reader 🪸

Ouchie, you're really going for the pain bestie 😭 But that plot is interesting and fun, thank you for requesting! 🐻‍❄️ྀིྀི

By the way, this story is kinda inspired by the music "This is how it feels" by laufey and d4vd! I don't know it just got the right vibe for this one. And I'm so sorry about the late upload, I swear to god that it was meant to be written earlier but things happened, hope you still like it!🥹🤍

WARNING:

This is not entirely grammatically corrected, may contain spelling errors.

I did this story in neutral gender because I didn't see any specifications about it, I hope you don't mind!

When the news arrived that someone new would finally arrive in town, Pablo couldn't hide his excitement while Rafael just decided to ignore this fact, Pablo still didn't understand the way of younger brother acted but didn't try to understand it either.

A few days passed from the news until I saw the new face, they were so beautiful, their eyes shining so beautifully into the sun and for the first time in years, Pablo didn't have words to say, he just stared at farmer's from far, admiring them like no one else did. Pablo wanted to know more about this person, what their laugh would sound like and be the reason of it but even though he tried to be in places where he thought they could be, farmer was nowhere to be seen, at least that's what he thought.

His first real contact with they were in the festival Cherry Blossom Potluck and at that moment he thought it was the moment to show his charm, after all, it will work, right?

It was such a strange feeling, he normally didn't feel nervous at all in any social interaction but seeing them there just made his heart skip a beat, his hands getting sweaty and his breath definitely not regulated when he saw them walking towards him.

"Hey! I don't think we met before, I imagine you are older brother Pablo, right?" – They said quite confused and not sure so Pablo quickly nodded with his head, unable to talk with such beauty so close to him, maybe he's dreaming..

"Um.. Y-yeah, I'm Pablo.." – This definitely doesn't seem like Pablo at all, this type of behavior is more normal of his brother, not him! Thankfully farmer just smiled and said that it was a pleasure to meet him, going to greet others while he was quite stopped in his own tracks. Only getting out of this trance when Antonio got close to him and looked at him suspiciously, trying to understand his un-Pablo behavior.

And so the months passed, every time farmer and him met, everything simply went wrong whether it was a wrong phrase or someone arriving on time, nothing went right. Pablo began to be more and more sure that this wasn't a simple crush, Pablo had had several crushes throughout his life but never someone who stayed in his mind for so long without even having had an evolution in the relationship. The fact that bothered him most was that they was often in Sanchez Brothers Blacksmith and he was aware that they wasn't coming to see him, their eyes weren't to meet them but his brother..

It was a year and a half since you arrived and that situation got worse since you and Rafael got more closer everyday and he had to heard about you and hear about the villagers saying how cute you guys were, it was taking more and more of space of his mind that he wanted, how come this come that way? how come of all people you were interested in his brother, it would be better for him to be jealous of others but his brother... Pablo couldn't help but feel bad about this, his brother didn't do anything and neither did you after all.

His heart stopped when he saw you walking in his work shift, maybe he could tried to charm you? maybe if he tried another way it could work, right? You smiled at him shyly and didn't have him the chance to try, you asked him to make a locket necklace and his throat starting hurting and he tried his best to stop himself from crying in front of you, he could manage to not cry his eyes out but it was visible that he wasn't well.

"Pablo, what happened? Are you unwell, are you hurt in any place?" - Your friendly and worried tone didn't make him any better, actually it got worse since the true he had to face it, you love Rafael and he couldn't never be him, no matter how hard he tried, he wasn't enough for you, his efforts wasn't able to be noticed by your heart..

"I'm fine.. just a little headache, so.. for who is this?" - His voice almost wasn't heard by you, his voice was going to crack if he say any louder, he couldn't bare you to ask him more questions and he didn't want to end your happiness.

"So this is the thing.. I'm in love with Rafael, he's the sweetest person, he makes me happy and safe, whenever I'm with him is like I'm in paradise.. And since you're his brother I came here to ask for it to be made and also to ask you for the blessing, is it okay?"

Empty.

That's the feeling Pablo was feeling, any type of energy that he could have was done with that question.

He couldn't find the right words, he just decided to lower his head and nodded, avoiding you from seeing his face. He could feel your excitement but didn't pay too much since he was still absorbing the information.

He had to shallow his emotions when Rafael came to the blacksmith shop, he didn't want to disturb and be the cause of his brother's unhappiness, he needed to be a good older brother and support his little boy but how? how can he be happy when he wanted you instead?

And the time passed, the engagement was ready and soon the party will begin, the good thing is that he priorize his brother happiness above everything, even his so Pablo was able to hide his hurt when he saw you walking in your wedding dress and telling sweet phases and love promises, how Rafael said that loving you was such a sweet treasure and blessing, Pablo could only think the opposite, loving you was a nightmare, falling in you with you was not a blessing and his heart was hurting in ways that it never did so he could only affirm in his head:

"So this is how it feels

to fall in love with you."

Maybe one day he could move on and see it with a different mindset but for now, it hurts so much to fall in love with you.

[dragongirl642]

Davy Jones x female reader (soulmate au) part 2

Author note:

It's been a while but a sequel is here!

Cross-posted on Wattpad.

Part 1

-----------------Start-------------------

(Y/n) pov:

Life on the dutchman was getting off to a great start. Can you sense the sarcasm?

I'm cold, tired, narrowly avoiding being constantly drenched by the leaky ceiling, and the food is terrible. I've been here three days and I want to die.

I haven't seen the infamous Davy Jones since my unwelcome boarding of The Dutchman. Sure, I'd seen his shadow on the wall a few times, I don't think he realised I could see him, and I'd heard his footsteps late at night when I was trying to sleep; but he hasn't actually come to talk to me again after the whole soulmate revelation.

Meals are delivered twice a day. A small cup of gruel in the morning and another cup of gruel in the evening. Everything tastes and smells of fish. I'm sick of salt. I'm sick of fish. What would I give for an apple or anything really; that wasn't pulled from the briny blue.

However, there is one ray of light in this perpetual darkness. A hole in the brig wall. I've been keeping an eye out outside.

The second I see land; I'm going to make a break for it.

I've tested the hinges on the cell door, and they were as easy to remove as I expected. Just use a stray board anchored against a bucket and lift and voila.

Right now, the ship was gently rocking as soft rays of sunlight drifted through the hole. Lighting up the cell and filtering through a few remaining shards of glass in the window, casting the coral encrusted walls in vibrant hues pinks and blues and greens. If not for the constant rumble of booted feet above, it's almost peaceful.

The opposite of yesterday's violent ride. I'd been thrown around the cell as the ship bounced and dipped in the waves. I had several bruises from where I'd hit the floor and the bars until I'd been flung back and become trapped on the bench during the storm, by hooks made of coral that twisted and looped around me, like the ship was alive.

Well, moving on. New day, new opportunity.

Warm beams of sunlight stream through the hole in the hull.

I skip over and look outside. The warming rays feel like a blessed balm on my skin, chasing away the bone chilling cold.

Land!

There on the horizon. A dark strip of green and yellow.

A beach? An island? A town? Whatever it is, we are getting closer.

Lady luck must be smiling upon me today. I can hear the shouting of the crew above. My breakfast was delivered about 2 hours ago, so I have a few hours to make my escape without being seen.

First, a disguise. I move to the bench and started kicking the coral. Adding a few more pieces to the pile I had been gathering for days under the bench.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I froze, listening for approaching footsteps. The sounds had come no closer than what I assumed was the end of the corridor. Hearing no more steps, and no tell-tale breathing, I set to work. Ruffling my hair out, I pick up a few pieces of coral and begin to entwine them in half of my hair.

'Uh this will be a pain to remove later.'

Picking up some more coral I hook it in the laces of my boots, snag it onto my clothing and around my belt.

Looking down, I give a wiggle...The coral swayed but didn't fall off.

'Alright, disguise is in place...Now I just need to not die.'

Gripping the vertical bars of the door, I squat low and brace before straightening out my legs. The door lifts and I fall back slightly before lowering it quickly. The clang as it hits the floor is muffled by the crew above. At least I hope it is.

Creeping quickly forward, a glance shows no-one around the cells. I crawl up the stairs and step among the crew, hunching slightly so the coral obscures my face. The monstrous crewmembers spare me no more than a passing glance, the few other human (or still mostly human) newcomers hurriedly dart between the more established crewmembers carrying bundles of rope or cleaning supplies.

The dutchmen is dark, if not for the streams of light pouring through the various cracks in the hold and from the stairs. The shifting of the crew flows around these beams; those cursed to wander the dark veil of death, subconsciously seeking the light.

I look around for the stairs. 'Keep moving like you have a purpose (Y/n), and no-one will question you.'

I weave through the hull until the brightest beam of sunlight guides me to the stairs. Just as I make to ascend, a shadow blots the light and I jump to the side. Backing into the area besides the beams, hiding in their shadow as the hammer-headed crewman descends.

He pauses at the bottom and sniffs the air, head tilting as he looks around confusedly. Searching.

"Oi Maccus!"

He perks up at the call of his name, head snapping towards the piranha-headed crewman calling from the depths of the hold. The cat-o-nine-tails at his belt sways along with the ship, barbed tips stained dark with memories of violence.

I crouch subtly more, hands pressing into the beams at my side as I strive to inch further into the shadows.

The wood vibrates, the beat complicated, unlike the natural shudder's ships make as the waves toss them to-and-fro or the marching tempo of booted feet crossing the deck.

A rhythm...music!

I wonder where it's coming from. But, there's no time for that.

The beat seems to seep into my hands, soulmark tingling in time. I quickly pull my hands away from the boards and look around.

I sigh in relief, as Maccus goes to see what the whip-carrying crewman wants, I scramble around the corner and up the steps.

Head down, eyes darting around, I make my way to the stern.

Scales.

Coral.

Wounds.

Seaweed.

Pearls.

Eyes.

Starfish.

Teeth.

Shells.

In the light, the crew look even more horrifying. No longer hidden in the shadows of the hold or the shade of the night. I keep my eyes down as I grab a bucket sitting near the steps. Lifting it to hide my chest, I slink through the crew.

Looping the deck takes almost an hour.

Blending in with the other deckhands low in the hierarchy, means stopping every few minutes to scrub absentmindedly at the deck or rails.

Just keep your head down and keep looking.

"Oi, watch where you're going."

I stumble back as a shell-encrusted crewman shoves me to the side. I stumble against the railing and fumble with the bucket, almost dropping it.

Shit, did they see anything? Suspect anything?

I throw a glance at their back from under the coral, but they walk away uncaring of the "lowly deckhand" they'd just accosted.

I can't help the sigh that escapes me and quickly pretend to scrub the railing.

Davy Jones Pov:

I find myself crossing the line again.

Stretching my senses through the walls of my ship to check on the woman in the hold.

When we sailed through storms, I made sure she was held safe.

When the cold became too great, I ordered my crew to sail to warmer waters.

Now, I am here again, at the bottom of the steps to the hold. Just a few steps away from turning the corner and standing before the bars.

Every time I so much as have a passing thought of her, the words on my wrist burn and I find myself standing here again. Drinking in this strange feeling of calm emanating from just around the corner. Listening to their even breaths.

'I want to talk to her.'

No sooner had this thought crossed my mind, that the hole in his chest pulsed in mimicry of a distant heartbeat. A surge of rage swells within and I turn to leave.

I step though the Dutchman's wall and emerge in my cabin.

The gleaming keys of the pipe organ glimmer and I find myself drawn to sit and play. As I always am.

A familiar melody fills the air, and my gaze is drawn to the music box. Her gift.

For the first time in years, I stutter over the tune.

The air turns bitter and my soulmark begins to beat, not like a heart, more like a drum. I do something I've never done before; I draw my gaze away from the music box and focus on the keys, not to focus on playing the music box's melody, but to play something new, just to see if I could. With the beat of the bond in my chest and an electrifying spark on my skin, I begin to play.

At first, I test the keys carefully.

A high note here, a low chord there.

Slowly a melody begins to emerge.

Flickering up and down the keys with the unpredictability of flames, accompanied by the steady beat of a blacksmith's hammer at the anvil. Melodies whispering low, then swelling into a crashing crescendo, then drawing back with the unshakeable predictability of the tide.

The pitted surface of the keys, the distant groans of the crew, the creaking of the ship. All begin to fade away as the music fills the air.

The music box is open. I don't remember opening it. The melody

"Calypso."

I don't dare voice the words I wish to accompany her name.

Can I ever be free of you?

A flickering catches my eye, and I look up to see a face reflected in the crusted metal of the organ's pipes.

I hear a sigh. So soft I almost miss it. The tone is relieved, of fear released.

I take a moment to place it before I realise it must be her, in the brig.

I pause. The mark burns again, and I'm suddenly filled with the need to know just what had scared her so.

I stand, clenching my good fist and unable to stop my beard's tentacles writhing as sudden unease grips me.

I almost charge through the walls of the Dutchman, landing heavily outside the brig.

The door lies on the ground, the cell is open and empty.

The cell is empty.

No!

How dare she escape?

Did she leave me?

Where is she?

Conflicting feelings swirl within me; sudden rage at the brazen audacity of the escape, sorrow at the apparent abandonment, and fear...fear that I would never see her again.

These emotions catch me off guard with their strength, but I'm helpless to resist the siren song of their pull.

My soulmark burns and I draw on the strength of the Dutchman and authority as her captain.

Find Her!

(Y/n) Pov:

There isn't a small-boat on this cursed ship.

It makes sense. They never go on land and the ship full of creatures who can breathe underwater wouldn't need a means to escape a sinking ship.

I stop in the shade of the stairs, rubbing my temples to ease the stress headache I can feel building. Crouched under the railing, with the bucket in front of me, so it looks like I'm cleaning the barnacles of the aged wood.

Suddenly there's an unknown pressure. A whisper. Spreading through the crew like a ripple in a pond. Slinking up from the depths of the hold and up onto the deck.

It looms over me, and I fight to catch my breath. Its anger and sorrow clawing at my skull.

Suddenly the ship vibrates as a distant muffled roar-like sound travels up from the hold.

The eyes of the human-looking and distinctly non-human looking crewmen alike all cloud over for a moment, all overtaken by the powerful force seeming to emanate from the very bones of the ship itself.

The crew begin to murmur. Eyes and feelers shifting this way and that.

"Escapee."

"Find the girl."

Oh No!

I quickly slip through the door beside me, wincing as the crew outside begin to shout. The wooden interior is worn and covered in algae like the rest of the ship. Which makes sprinting down the short corridor hazardous. I almost slip down the short stairs at the end, hitting the wall when they twist back on themselves.

There's another door. Heavy and pitted with barnacles, hinges leaking rust. But it opens smoother than I would have thought it would.

There's light. A pale blue light fills the room. Streaming shadows flicker and wave on the ceiling, but there is no pool of water or windows to make these reflections.

The room is a dead end.

A bunk to my left, a chest to my right, and a massive pipe organ dominating the opposite wall. The silver pipes gleam and shimmer and pale bone keys shine bright against the encrusted frame.

I approach the instrument.

Maybe there is a secret lever or a space behind or somewhere I can hide.

Close up, I can make out the pits and scrapes making a pattern of age across many keys, while others are worn smooth; whoever plays this must play the same song a lot.

I reach out and feel around the sides of the organ, before kneeling to look underneath the keys. There's a faded elegance to the organ, and a beauty to the way the coral spirals with the grain of the wood. I knock on the panels below.

Clatter-Clack.

I freeze. Something just fell.

A gentle melody begins to fill the air. I crawl back and something catches on my foot. I awkwardly turn to roll out from under the organ and grab the object.

It's a music box. The sorrowful melody continues to twinkle from the small locket as I pull myself to stand.

My soulmark burns.

"What are ya doing'uh?"

I flinch, almost dropping the locket but I catch myself and instead slam it shut. I spin on the spot and hold the locket behind me like a child caught dipping into the pantry before dinner.

Davy Jones is stood in the centre of the room. Thunder in his eyes and chest heaving like he's run a marathon. He stomps forward to loom over me. "Why are ya here?" and not in the brig.

The music box is freezing in my hands, even as my soulmark continues to throb and burn.

I fish for an excuse, but don't dare step back or lean away. "Um...I..." the reflection of the organ in his eyes catches my attention, "...I heard music..."

The captain's eyebrows (ridges?) raise slightly in surprise.

"It felt nice so I was wondering where it came from." Time to make a gamble. I lean forward slightly, "do you play?"

Something unreadable flashes in his eyes, and his expression darkens.

Oh shit! Subtle shuffling back as the tingle of a bead of sweat drips down my back. This is how I die. I gulp.

Davy Jones' gaze snaps down at the sound before he meets my eye again and steps forward. He circles past me and takes a seat at the organ.

I jump as he starts to play, the air vibrates from the force of the sound coming from the pipe organ. The vibrations from the music reverberate through the deck beneath my feet.

The beat feels familiar.

The vibrations I'd felt earlier, they must have been him.

The music weaves around us, seeping into the wood and coral of the dutchman.

It doesn't look like he will stop anytime soon. I take a hesitant step forward. No movement. I take another, and another, and soon I'm stood beside him.

For a moment, I'm transfixed by the flurry of movement as his hand and beard tentacles fly across the keys. His eyes are closed, brows slightly furrowed.

I know I've never heard this song before, but something about the melody feels familiar. The push and pull of the tide, the steady beat of a hammer on steel, the call of a gull, the crackle of flames.

Something inside me tugs at my heart and the locket is quickly tucked back into its place as I slowly inch closer to the fearsome captain.

There's a space beside him on the seat. If he notices me sit, he doesn't show it.

His eyes are closed, face softened in contemplation. A shadow falls over him from the brim of his hat, outlining the angles and ridges of his face and, when it angles just right, giving me a glimpse of the human face he once bore.

His clawed arm rests on his thigh next to me, the sharp tip resting on the edge of the organ.

I reach a hand forward to rest a finger against the wooden frame of the instrument under the keys; just beside his claw. The vibrations that travel through my hand are soothing.

I can feel the cold brush of his claw against my knuckles. I don't move, either to pull away or place my hand over his arm.

He doesn't move either, just continues playing that hauntingly familiar song.

I close my eyes, taking this moment to rest before I plan my next move.

It sounds like home.

[dmwrites]

2023 fic roundup! Thanks for reading my stuff this year!

Below is all of the fic links, summaries, and any additional notes (in chronological order) from yours truly:)

NPC Bdubs: an in-game explanation to why Bdubs didn’t upload his Limited Life pov- Cleo notices that Bdubs is acting a little weird, almost like some kind of non-playable character.

The Coral Kids’ Keeper: Martyn and Scott live out on a island on the sea on the Limited Life server, and a sea creature that calls himself xbcrafted take interest in them. He protects them. He is here to protect them, right? (Dm note: oh my goddd I love this one still I love the horror at the end [I may just be biased to xb tbh lol])

Impulse’s post-death affirmation: Impulse got second place in Limited Life, and Skizz is so proud of him.

Clock Full of Love: Impulse gave Bdubs a clock in the beginning of Limited Life. At the end, Cleo adds her own touch to it.

Grian and Scar’s punishment: It all started when Grian and Scar touched his (Doc’s) redstone (tunnel bore). Their punishment? Zombiecleo scolding them.

Talks of Adoration on the Tower of Team TIES: Etho and Impulse have more in common then they think, and reflect on it all one sleepless night in the Team TIES base

Big and Handsome God Has A Big Sad: the empires s2 server can’t be empty, right? Sure, Joel hasn’t seen anyone in forever, but people still love him, surely, right? They wouldn’t all leave him. They wouldn’t. Right? (Dm note: this idea wasn’t executed as well as I would have liked, but I really like the crumbling reality vibes of this one)

Cuddling with the Homies: Grian, Impulse, Scar, and Skizz playing Sons of the Forest. They get one tiny-ass tent to all sleep in. It’s if the “only one bed” trope was four dudes being idiots in the woods in a tent.

I know how to keep you warm;)): the new life smp folks wonder if Chillager Martyn will freeze up if he gets flustered. Scott is up to the task. It’s all silly.

Copper Pearlo takes on The Button (2): Grian and Mumbo stumble upon copper golem Pearl

One Year Later: Double Life ended one year ago (when I posted this fic lol). Impulse makes Bdubs another clock

The CuteGuy Who Stepped Up: Scar needs a CuteGuy sidekick, and Grian does not want to be a sidekick in the slightest. Enter Joe Hills from Nashville, Tennessee. (Dm note: the CuteGuy main character was decided by a poll. This is also my second most-liked fic of 2023)

The Slime Code: Gem is a slime in New Life! She calls Jevin on Hermitcraft to ask about any slime rules she now needs to follow

A Dream of Pink: Joel has a dream of showing a pretty girl with pink hair (who roasts him) his hardcore world builds. She seems familiar…

3rd Life x NightVale: the radio transcript when Cecil Palmer from the town of NightVale interviews a strange man with a red sweater and split knuckles and keeps talking about something that happened in a desert. (Dm note: love this one, definitely caters to a very specific audience, but this one shows up in my notifs almost every day. I think I did a good job at the ad breaks and such.)

Sacrificial Impulse: Grian, Scar, and Skizz died while hunting ghosts with Impulse. Impulse wants to bring them back, no matter the cost. Also, EvilNotion is the ghost hunters’ boss.

xB’s Revenge- a Blood on the Clocktower story: based on the first session of hermitcraft’s BOTC, Iskall accuses xbcrafted of being the demon, and xB becomes the first innocent to die. But xB sticks around after death, and wants the sweetest revenge on Iskall. (Dm note: this one is long as hell but man the concept was so good. Drowned!xb is so good.)

Bdoubledown? How Cute: a brief conversation between Impulse and Skizz about Impulse’s brand new soulmate in Double Life

GIGS gets another G: Gem is jealous that Grian, Impulse, Scar, and Skizz are hunting ghosts, and wants to join in. Pearl, local odd woman, has a way. Possession is fun among friends! (Dm note: this is the most liked fic of this year, which is definitely not what I expected lol)

The Dungeon Is Hungry: Hypno thinks all the superstitions around the Decked Out 2 dungeon are stupid. That is until everything goes sideways and Cub is covered in sculk and pointing a sword at him down in level 4.

The Impossible Task: Martyn gets a very simple, two-word task in Secret Life: find RenTheDog. But Ren isn’t here… right? (Dm note: when I thought of this idea I literally said “ouch!” in my head lol)

GIGGS Hunts a Ghost!: the GIGGS crew gets called on by Zedaph to find and capture evidence of a ghost he claims he has seen haunting hermitcraft. (Dm note: the b-plot grian and zed rivalry is so funny to me idk why I decided they hate each other lolll)

A Moment of Peace: Martyn and Cleo are estranged soulmates in Double Life, and they take a moment to drink some tea and talk about what soulmate they’d like to have if they had a choice.

It Feels Different Now (and that’s a good thing): Pearl has to hurt people on the Secret Life server as part of her task, but she takes no joy in it now. She harkens back to what has changed between Double Life and now.

Jimmy’s Grave: Cleo made Jimmy a grave before he died in Secret Life. He did end up dying that very day, and a mourner comes by his grave when it’s all said and done.

Red: Pearl’s favorite color is red. She is made to be a red name, even when she’s not.

Becoming the Villain of the Server: (secret life) Scar digs up Jimmy’s grave to take his spine, to sell it to Joel, pretending that it’s Lizzie’s. Hey, what else is a man to do? (Dm note: this one fucks so hard, i love how fucked up the idea of it is, what Scar would have to do to make it happen. Eating this.)

From One Lonely Winner to Another: Scar wins Secret Life. Sunflowers grow from his skin to be with him as he goes to succeed the final task. (Dm note: another one I love, I just love the aesthetic of it all.)

[transmutationisms]

Very interested to hear your thoughts on Yellowjackets in light of your cannibalism post

i honestly feel like i was like, themes-baited into watching yellowjackets. i did make it through the first season because i was led to believe there would be certain payoffs and they just never arrived lol.

like, obviously the present-day storyline with taissa is implicitly built off the idea that cannibalism is a threat to her political career specifically because it's coded as an uncivilised act, and her being black (and gay) plays in here. basically her career is threatened by the implication that she's feral, her appetite is out of control, etc. but the show never does anything with this, never interrogates this discourse, and seems (in season 1 at least) to actually be operating fully within this white/colonial paradigm insofar as taissa killing the dog and eating dirt are meant to signal her instability and 'wildness.' (as a side-note, dirt-eating specifically was historically configured as a 'slave disease' in the atlantic world, and the writers seem wholly unaware of this or at least unwilling to engage with it; you can read more about it in rana hogarth's 2017 book "medicalizing blackness".)

i can understand conceptually why people care about shauna/jackie but i simply don't lol. based on where the first season left them i assume shauna is about to eat jackie or something. they are not an interesting pair to me, cannibalism-wise, largely because i think they basically function as a shock-value use of cannibalism as a symbol. like, it really comes across as "holy shit, look at these respectable white girls who are engaging in acts of uncivilised savagery." i find this a problem for the entire show actually, and it is certainly true to its "lord of the flies" inspiration in that sense. but whereas william golding was explicitly engaging with ideas of what it means to be 'civilised' and inverting ballantyne's "the coral island" by portraying the boys themselves as the source of evil, yellowjackets seems largely unaware of such intellectual and cultural context, and seems to want to interrogate cannibalism as an expression of Girlhood without admitting that this invocation of cannibalism is very much a discourse of whiteness and how racialisation works.

besides all that, i simply did not think it was a very good tv show dfgdgfdgf as in, the dialogue is limp, the pacing is whack, the cult/evangelism shit is annoying and unnecessary, and the different storylines are poorly integrated. there are economic reasons tv tends to be bad and i would be willing to overlook mechanical problems if the show was About Something, but it's really not, imo, because it gets stuck on a voyeuristic interest in Girls Debasing Themselves and doesn't even go anywhere with that theme.

[shesasimp]

Coral Island- Semeru- Fluffy Oneshot- Waterfall Kiss

It was no secret to Semeru that I loved the waterfall on the farm. The lookout, the view of the beautiful waves it created and the feel of the cool water on my skin when I lounged away on a hot day made the spot all the more desirable for me to use. 

What did turn out to be a secret, was how much Semeru enjoyed watching me at this spot.

I was laying with my head against the wooden side of the pool, enjoying this hot summer day. It has been almost 9 months since Semeru and I enjoyed our fall wedding at the underwater coliseum, and we’ve fallen into a good routine living together at the farm. I was so worried he would regret giving up the soldier's life for me, but he has taken to the farm better than I expected. For a man who has lived such a solitary life, he was the perfect partner at home. I think he truly desired someone to share his life with, but never found that person. Well, before I found him, that is. And I’ve never been more grateful to have someone around.

“Hey there, my love.” I felt his hands on my shoulder, just as his sweet whisper met my ears. I peeked one eye open to see this beautiful man above me. The sun shining high behind his head casted a shadow across his gorgeous face, but I could still make out the loving look behind his eyes. I’ll never get tired of seeing that look. “Hey, Baby. Care to join me?” I lifted my right leg out of the water, pointing my toes as a gesture for him to hop in. He gave a small chuckle before slowly lifting his shirt above his head, his blue shorts following shortly after. I could stare at those washboard abs all day, but I turned my head to face away before he could catch me staring. I don’t want him to think I’m some sort of pervert. Luckily, he slid into the water right beside me without mentioning if he noticed my stare or not.

“I had a feeling I’d find you here. Have you been out here long?” He grabbed my leg, dragging it over to his lap as he started to rub my feet. He has a weird obsession with them. Not in a kinky sort of way, but more like a cute curiosity. He has gotten really good at using his own legs, and I’ve caught him playing with his leg muscles a few times, but he also loves to wiggle my toes and massage my calves after a long day of farming. I find his eagerness to learn more and more intriguing every day. 

“I’ve only been out here for about an hour. Started to blister my hands weeding around the chicken pen.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help you this morning. I’ll take over the rest of the chores today, so you can just relax and take it easy.” He looked into my eyes, gently brushing my bangs back behind my ear. “It makes me happy to be able to visit the kingdom still, but the cost of not getting to wake up next to you is a high price to pay.” His words brought a blush to my cheeks and a smile to my lips. He’s such a hopeless romantic, and I don't even think he knows it. 

“Don’t you miss the ocean?” He thought about my question, gently rubbing my foot under the water as he gave it some thought.

“I miss the ocean and the serenity of it. But I’ve found a  different kind of peace here, with you, on our farm.” He gave me his closed eye smile. The cuteness of his actions would have me giggling and kicking my feet if he wasn’t sitting right in front of me. I just leaned my head on his shoulder to hide the blush.

“I’m glad. I hope I can be enough for you.” I felt him pause on my foot while the other hand reached up to lift my chin. He gently placed his index finger under my chin and his thumb against my lip, using them to lift my face towards him. He rubbed my lip with his thumb, while he looked deeply into my eyes. 

“You’ll always be enough for me, Darling.” He leaned forward, but didn’t connect our lips quite yet. He wanted to give me a chance to ask him for a kiss first.

“Kiss me, won’t you?” I let out in a breathless whisper. He gave me a smirk that left me even more breathless. 

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask! Come closer.” He brought his face down, finally connecting our lips. The instant heat it sent through me ran from my head, all the way to my toes- causing them to curl on instinct. I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing him even closer as we got lost in the passion of the kiss. Before things could go too far, we pulled away. We were both red in the face, slightly panting as we stared into eachothers eyes. Semeru looked down at my lips, before meeting my gaze once more.

“You know,” He started. “I take it back. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get enough of this.”

[somethingsnow]

Story about the sea monster I made for Octo week read if you want fair warning there is poison/poisoning, spooky monster, the die, and some swearing but other than that enjoy reading. (I forgot Irish)

It was late in the afternoon things were peaceful and surprisingly it had been pretty tame not even Kwazii caused any kind of chaos which was a surprise to most of the crew until they heard a knock at the octopod’s door most of the crew reacted to this sudden knocking and Kwazii being extremely bored he shot up hoping that it would be something exciting so he raced down to the launch bay almost forgetting to put on an oxygen tank until he saw the Captain getting out of the water with the crab and urchin they help a while back most of the crew came to the launch bay to see who could be knocking at the octopod’s door “what seems to be the problem” Barnacles asked the carb and urchin the urchin didn’t speak and he seemed on edge as if they escaped from something or someone “well uh in the coral reef two new guys showed up and they uh seemed nice at first but they became not nice when I went to say hello and welcome them and the one who was kind of round looking with some kinda weird spiky skin I think grew in size and the other one looked like a crab but he snapped his claws at us and it scared the whole reef and then they disappeared in some bubbles we came looking for you guys cause later we saw em again and the round one was eating the coral and it wasn’t dead or dying coral it was perfectly healthy and it was our friends home too so we came to you to help they could be eating others homes and maybe even the whole reef” Before anyone else could say something Kwazii spoke “Aye I’ve heard of this kinda beast before I even encountered this beast before, what we are dealing with is a Wrythgar it’s a beast that no pirate wants to encounter it could knock a pirate out for days the Wrythgar is a beast that looks like two creatures but when it grows it becomes one big beast with claws that could break a ship in half and each claw be covered in poisonous spikes a single prick could leave even the best pirate out of it for days and that’s not all it’s whole body is covered in these spikes and when it be really mad it’s face opens showing it’s deadly teeth they be around as big as a pirate’s peg leg but ye should never look into it’s mouth or it takes yer eyes and adds em to it’s face so you can see your body before it eats it, I barely got away but not before it used it’s claw to pinch me tail luckily I got to land before I was knocked out by it’s poison” “You were poisoned before” Peso said concern about Kwazii’s health “Aye matey I still have the scar to prove it” and with that said he move his tail into his hands so he could move some fur to reveal a scar that looked like he was stabbed by something and around that was a kind of different scar it looked like a crab’s claw “that must of hurt a lot if you got knocked out” Peso said looking at the scar “Aye it did once I woke I felt horrible as if I had been attacked from the inside but it was only in me tail luckily so I could survive on the island I was stranded on” Kwazii said proudly the rest of the crew was more concerned rather then proud or happy once Kwazii open his eye to see the whole crew staring at him in confusing or concerning way “we will unpack that later okay but now we should handle the fact that what ever is in the reef should probably not be there or eating the reef” Barnacles said breaking the silence Kwazii was going to say something about the unpack it later but decided against it then inkling spoke up “yeah whatever it is we should make sure it doesn’t eat the reef many creatures do eat coral but if they eat to much they could get sick and with the description given it sounds like they are eating a great deal of coral” “yes so it’s important to go check it out Peso Kwazii and Shellington in the gup A” with that said they hop into the gup A and once they were prepared they were off “Tweak open the Octo hatch” “On it Cap” and so they were off to the reef to investigate.

While they were getting there Shellington asked the crab and the urchin some questions about the creatures “so how would you describe them” “well uh the one eating the coral was somewhat round and orangey and it had a ton of spikes all over its self and the other was looked like a crab but it looks nothing like any crab I had seen around it looked red and orange but I think it was more red” “Jumping Jellyfish a red crab shouldn’t be here” “why not matey” “red crabs live on islands in the Indian Ocean not in the Pacific Ocean the changes in temperature could make them sick especially since they don’t travel far from shore the only time they would be away from shore is when they are eggs and even then they don’t stray from from the shore of their homes, they can survive in water but that’s only for a few weeks or even a few months and that’s in the Indian Ocean not the Pacific Ocean” “Oh no they’re probably not doing well then we need to help them” “Yes and since they aren’t apart of the ecosystem they could cause problems to those who call the reef their home” “good thing we’re here then Octonauts suit up” with that said they moved quickly Peso was the last out of the gup carrying the crab and urchin out of the gup “where were they last” Barnacles asked the crab and urchin “they were over there near the shadows” so the crew moved carefully near the shadows Kwazii was the most on edge staying quiet and using his ears to listen to their surroundings in case the beast were to sneak up on them and attack “over there some eaten coral” Shellington pointed out “aye it seems the beast is still lurking around” “yes so let’s stay together and stay quiet so we can listen in case there eating more” everyone nodded and stayed quiet.

After some time of looking and listening, they figured they should spilt up so they cover more ground that way so they did Barnacles took the north side of the reef, Shellington took the east side, Peso took the south and Kwazii had the west and so they spilled up and if they couldn’t find anything they would return to the gup and if they did find something they would radio the others or if they were in trouble they make a sound Barnacle’s sound was a growl, Peso’s was a kinda bird call, Shellington’s was basically him screaming and Kwazii’s was a hiss, and with that, they were off the reef had an eerie atmosphere like something from a horror story no fish was out and about it was strange as if the reef was abandoned but it wasn’t because every now and then one of the crew would be told by a fish this exact message “leave now before they get you” it was odd that they heard the same message but they pushed it off it’s what everyone would say in a time like this right?

With Captain Barnacles he was investigating a very crowded area full of coral it looked like kids had fun with chalk if some creatures were eating coral they would come here for an all you can eat buffet but surprisingly there were no bite marks or anything indicating that something or anyone was there it was creepy but it didn’t scare the captain he figured that everyone was hiding from whatever or whoever was in the reef but he still didn’t hear or see anything not even a whisper so he tried to find some other sea creatures to see if they saw something but to no avail no one was in the north side of the reef not even shrimp was there and since he couldn’t find anything he started to swim back to the gup A since there was nothing in the north side but just as he was about to leave he ran into a few clownfish “oh hello there what happened here” “nothing really but some fish came here telling everyone to hide from somethings I was coming out to check if it was safe yet” “well there’s nothing I can find here so I’d say it safe on the north side but stay alert there is someones eating coral and they scared a few creatures so be careful” “okay thanks for the warning big guy” “no problem just doing my job” and that was the end of that conversation so he went to the gup A and started using it’s microphone to listen to anything that was out of his hearing range.

With Shellington on the east side of the reef, it seemed odd that even though these creatures weren’t from here they sure hide or camouflage like they do his side had less coral like it was the end of the reef but it wasn’t since coral was still present and there were some fishes there but as soon as he tried to get close to them they ran away from him so he gave up on trying to talk to them and so he pull out his magnifying glass to find some clues but all he found were some crab tracks so he followed them but it just lead to another blue and green crab that ran away as soon as he got to close so Shellington was disappointed to find nothing but he kept trying to find something but when ever he found something it was a dead end as if he was taking all the wrong turns in a maze but he still tried until he found some spikes they match the description the crab gave so Shellington carefully put them in a bag and made sure not to touch them in cause they had some toxins or something on them so he returned to the gup A to analyze the spikes he found luckily he wasn’t that far from the so it was a short swim but just as he entered the gup “hello Shellington” it was just the Captain but it still scared Shellington enough to make him jump “you okay did I scare you” “yes I didn’t see you in the gup you startled me is all” “sorry about that” “it’s fine we’re all probably on edge from how creepy the reef is right now” “so did you find something” “actually I did some spikes that match the description I just need to analyze them and we can find out what creature it is that’s with the red crab” “good job Shellington” “thanks Captain” and so Shellington started reaching what kind of creature it could be.

With Peso on the south side of the reef, the reef seemed healthy and lively and there was a lot but it seemed like there should be more coral as if some of it disappeared there were a few bite marks but they looked old since the coral was growing but other then that there wasn’t much but it felt like Peso was being watched so they called out “hello are there any creatures here I’m here to help” no response for some time until “are you really here to help” so Peso responded “Yes I am” after a bit, a lobster came into Peso’s view “hello” “hi” “what’s your name mines Peso” “my name is Lory” “nice to meet you Lory what’s your problem” “ well earlier I was chill and some guys came and tried to eat some of my home so I snapped at them and the red guy snapped his claw at me and hurt my claw and now it really hurts” “your claw does look hurt good thing I’m a medic” “really” “yes now it doesn’t look that bad it seems like you only need a bandage and some rest” so Peso takes his med kit and puts in on the coral opening it and takes out his bandages “will this hurt” “nope not at all” with that said Peso quickly bandages up Lory’s claw “wow that was fast and it feels better already” “that’s good just let your claw rest for a few days and it should be all good” “thank you Peso” “it’s nothing really I’m just doing my job” “don’t be so modest who know how long it would’ve taken my claw to heal on it’s own but thank to you it’s gonna heal much faster” “yeah I guess so but-” “no buts hun you are doing a great job remember that” “I will Lory” “good now you should go help some other folks I heard that some folks on the east side of the reef are causing trouble I don’t know but be careful hun” “I will Lory thanks for telling me” “no problem hun” and so Peso went back to the gup A

With Kwazii on the east side of the reef now the east side looked all fine and happy but Kwazii couldn’t shake the feeling that someones were here and watching him and with the fact that this part of the reef was empty and quiet he knew something was up normally he’d look all over the reef but this time he felt that it wouldn’t be that easy so he found the most middle part of the area and he stood there listening he heard nothing at first but then he heard something to his left and so he looked over it was a Hawksbill sea turtle but Kwazii wasn’t surprised “hello again” “good to see ya Marcel how ya been” “good but some dudes are causing trouble” “aye I know I’m tryna catch em” “by standing still that’s not you man” “I know but these guys are sneaking so I’m listening for em I even hear you swimming and knew if was you” “I forgot you could do that man I’ll patrol the reef while you listen cool” “yar good thinking matey also is you see a polar bear, penguin, or sea otter those be my friends there also here to help” “good to know if I see em I’ll introduce myself to em and if I see the trouble makers I’ll send a signal” “alright matey be careful tho” “please careful is my middle name” “no it ain’t your middle name is Declan” “shut it Kwazii you know I was joking” “I know I just wanted to mess with ya” so Marcel was off patrolling the area Kwazii was in so now Kwazii could listen to his surroundings he heard the distinct sounds of Marcel swimming he heard the little whispering of the creature until he heard something new it was a very strange sound almost as if it was made for a distraction so Kwazii didn’t move until he heard the swimming of a creature he doesn’t know behind him so with his quick reflexes he barely escape the attack “ahoy yar scurvy sea beast come to finish me off” “actually yes yes I did also it’s a good thing your little friend aren’t here I’d hate for them to see you death” Kwazii laughed then spoke “they won’t have to since I won’t die not today and certainly not by your fins” “let’s see about that” so the orange blob of a fish charged at Kwazii luckily Kwazii saw this coming so he quickly dogged the attack and let out a hiss alerting the other that he was in trouble but before he could react the red crab pinched his tail so Kwazii couldn’t run or dodge quickly and the orange fish went in for a another attack but Marcel used some drift wood to knock the fish back “Kwazii hop on my back” Kwazii shook his head no “get out of here Marcel it’s to dangerous” so Marcel just dropped the wood pick near Kwazii and went off “really you I could have taken both of you” Kwazii just smiled “red make him hurt” once that was said the crab pinched Kwazii harder probably enough to make a grown man scream in pain yet Kwazii didn’t he just smiled “why don’t we rip off that smile of yours” so the orange fish charged again but Kwazii pick up the pice of wood and blocked the attack “really you think a pice of wood can protect you” this time Kwazii spoke “yes because it just did” “get over here smart ass I’ll make you eat your words” as the fish goes to charge again he’s stopped by the wood again as while the fish is recovering Kwazii takes the time to get the crab off while he gets the crab off he sees in the corner of his eye the fish charging again so this time he dodges but now fast enough as the fish hits the end of his tail

“Kwazii I brought help” Marcel said Kwazii looked over to see the gup A with Barnacles, Shellington and Peso in it “looks like all your friends will see you’re death” once those words were spoken Kwazii felt an extreme amount of pain it was unfathomable it actually knocked him down a bit but in this short amount of time Peso was somehow next to Kwazii already and started to tend to Kwazii’s wounds while Marcel made an kind of a protection barrier with bubbles and sand while the Captain and Shellington contained the fish “thanks mateys” “shut it Kwazii save your strength” Marcel said “he’s right save your strength you need to recover from the poison luckily we caught it early so it won’t kill you but you need to recover your strength since with the crab’s pinching and the pufferfish’s sting it took a lot of your body’s strength it’s incredible that you’re even standing” Peso said while finishing tending to Kwazii’s wounds Kwazii didn’t speak he knew if he did there would be a lecture but he did nod his head showing that he listened to them soon after a bit Captain Barnacle told Marcel to stop with the shield since they caught the pufferfish and crab “good job Marcel on the shield” “thanks Captain” “Kwazii how do you feel” “tried and dizzy but fine now” “Okay let’s get to the gup A and sort out what happened” so they went to the gup A Captain Barnacles caring the pufferfish in a special container while Shellington caries the crab in a container too while Peso was helping Kwazii swim back to the gup with Marcel’s help to.

“So what happened” Captain Barnacles asked “well instead of searching all over the reef to find the troublemakers and stood still and used his hearing to find them,” Marcel said trying to shine some light on the situation “that’s actually really smart cat have incredible hearing so staying still and listening is a good idea especially since the whole reef was quiet” Shellington explained “yeah he even knew it was me who swam up to him before I went to patrol the reef” “incredible he knew it was you before you said anything” “ yeah he did” “incredible” “that is incredible but it’s not what we’re trying to find out” “oh sorry Captain” “so what happened after that” “it was a little while unit he tried to sneak attack me but I knew it was him because of the sound he makes while swimming” “yeah you took the fun out of my sneak attack” “okay but why were you even trying to sneak attack Kwazii in the first place” “well he brought us here so I attacked him as revenge” “that makes no sense he’s been with us until we split up and even before we got here” “okay fine this is gonna seem stupid but years ago I don’t fully know but he was in the water and I went up to help him or something but he swam away so I snapped at him and stung him and said to him ‘if I ever see you again you’re dead’ so I stuck to my word” “I was 10 when that happened” “so I poisoned a child” “yup” “Kwazii how are you still alive” “I have no clue so don’t ask me” there was now an awkward silence on the gup A until Shellington broke the tension “so how you two even here the is the Pacific Ocean not the Indian Ocean” “we went out in search for food and we got swept away in a currant I guess” “well good news we can get you both home right captain” “yes we can we just have to radio the octopod and tell them that we’re going to return them home” the Captain said as he walked to the front to radio the octopod Shellington went with him and Marcel went by to his reef duties, Peso went up to Kwazii to ask “Kwazii how are you feeling right now” “uh still a little dizzy and tired but fine non the less” “okay are you in any pain” “not really unless I move my tail” “okay so how would you describe the dizzy feeling” “uh like when you spin on something really fast then get off that dizzy” “okay what about the tired feeling” “i uh keep wanting to take a nap but I ain’t letting myself” “you could take a nap if you want you’d just be waken up at the octopod” “I’m not going to take a nap on mission I’ll probably take one at the octopod Peso” “are you sure” “yup I’m sure matey” “okay but just remember the offers there” “alright matey” then it went silent in the back of the gup the only real sounds was the engine starting up and Kwazii almost falling asleep then waking up Peso was feed up with it and went to the front to ask the Captain “Captain is it okay for Kwazii to sleep right now” “yeah it’s alright he just needs to be awake at the octopod” Peso went back to the back of the gup where Kwazii was sitting “you’re talking a nap” “not on mission” “I got permission from the Captain for you to take a nap you need the rest Kwazii” “no I’m fine with out sleep for now” “Kwazii you’re taking a nap you need sleep to recover strength” “fine I’ll take a nap” Peso said nothing he just smiled at Kwazii and went to the front of the gup, Kwazii yawned and let himself fall asleep.

It was a while before they reached the Indian Ocean but that gave them enough time to figure out where these two belonged they both belonged to Christmas Island it was a somewhat long ride since they were in the Pacific Ocean but it gave Peso some time to give the pufferfish and crab a check-up to make sure they were both healthy which they were they were just a little disorganized because of the different conditions but other than that they were fine “it seems your both perfectly healthy” Peso said to the pufferfish and crab “well that’s good news” they both said “we never introduce ourselves I’m Peso what are your names” “well I’m Sean and my crab buddy is Ted” “it’s nice to meet you both” “it’s nice meet you as well Peso” and so the gup fell into an awkward silence again but was soon broken by Captain Barnacles telling the crew “we’re here Christmas Island” Kwazii shot up out of his nap and then “oh fuck that’s a headache” “Kwazii watch your language please” “breá” “what did you say?” “I said fine” “did you just speak a different language and no realize it” “I never spoke a different language what are you on” “say it again just fine nothing else” “breá” “you did it again” “ní raibh mé (no I didn’t)��� “you guys are hearing this right” “Kwazii your speaking Irish” “níl (no)” “feck (fuck)” “did you just hear yourself” Kwazii nodded his head “Kwazii can you stop speaking Irish” “Níl a fhios agam an féidir leat stop a labhairt captaen na Rúise (I don’t know can you stop speaking Russian Captain)” “I know you insulted me about me speaking Russian didn’t you” Kwazii nodded his head yes “you’re on trash duty” “really Captain” “and your back to English” “I am oh feck yeah” “really” “you already put me on trash duty so yes” Barnacles sighed like a defeated father “what was that all about” Shellington asked very confused on what just happened there was a bit of silence until Ted spoke up “why did this whole situation / conversation remind me of Toy Story 3 where buzz speaks Spanish” “how about we drop what just happened and return you two home” Barnacles said not wanting to engage in this kind of conversation anymore and so Barnacles grabbed the case the pufferfish was in while Shellington took the one with the crab one by one they hopped in the water to return the creature Peso did advise Kwazii to stay in the gup and rest some more but Kwazii refused cause he wanted to talk to the pufferfish and the crab so Peso helped him up and into the water since Kwazii couldn’t walk that well from the dizzy feeling and headache.

Once everyone was in the water and the two troublemakers were released “Thanks for bringing us home” “it’s no problem we’re just doing our jobs” “well thanks anyways also Kwazii I’m sorry for stinging you now and back then” “yar it’s alright things happen” “yeah anyways bye” “goodbye” and just like that Sean and Ted were gone very mysterious those two “alright back in the gup we have a long right home” the Captain called “alrighty Captain” and so they went by to the gup but there was a tiny problem the gup’s battery was low so they radioed the octopod “what’s up cap” “the gup A’s battery is low and I’m not sure it will make it back to the octopod” “I could go pick you guys up in the gup C but it’s at half a battery” “we could go as far as we can in the gup A while you charge the gup C’s battery” “yeah but how will we know where you guys are” “the gup finder it runs on its own battery life right” “it sure does let me check it’s battery level but it plan can work” “alright Tweak we will start heading back to the octopod and once you see us stop for a good 10 seconds you come and get us in the gup C” “alright Cap” so the plan was set and they were off again “uh Captain” “yes Shellington” “how long do you think this ride will be” “in total or just in the gup A” “in total” “well the gup A’s battery is at around 3 minutes left of battery life and it takes around 6 minutes to charge a gups battery fully from dead to full and the gup C’s at half so 3 minutes to charge it fully and we are around 12 minutes away from the octopod so in the gup A we will travel for 3 minutes until it’s dead so that makes us 9 minutes away from the octopod once Tweak get to us and that’s another 9 minutes then once she tows us back to the octopod that’s another 9 minute so in total that would be around 21 minutes in total” “okay” “you okay Shellington” “Tunip asked if we could play bored games tonight and I’m wondering on if we will get there with enough time to play bored game or to even put him and the other vegimalss to bed” “we will get there will enough time don’t worry about it, it’s around 7 at the octopod right” “yeah” “what time do you put Tunip and the other vegimals to bed” “at around 9 if there not being stubborn” “and it will take us around 21 minutes so you’ll have enough time to play bored game with them and put them to sleep” “you’re right thanks Captain” “no problem” so the front of the gup fell somewhat silent but this time in wasn’t awkward.

In the back of the gup was a little different “go to sleep or at least sit down” “Níl” “don’t you Irish me” “Cad atá tú ag dul a dhéanamh bandage mo bhéal dúnta (what are you going to do bandage my mouth shut)” “Te patearé el trasero, eso es lo que haré (I’ll kick your ass that’s what I’ll do)” “No lo harías (you wouldn’t)” “¿Cuándo aprendiste español (when did you learn Spanish)” “Empecé a aprender porque quería saber qué dices cuando empiezas a delirar sobre algo en español (I started learning because I wanted to know what you say when you start raving about something in Spanish)” “¿por qué (why though)” “because I wanted to” “Estúpido (stupid)” “hey don’t call me stupid” “just please at least sit down” “okay I’ll sit down” “thank you” so Kwazii in a seat closet to the window and just spaced out while looking out the window while Peso went to the front “did you guys know Kwazii was multilingual” “I did it’s actually on his files although they haven’t been updated in a bit” “wait really Captain” “yup that way if someone is speaking a different language we have someone who can translate” “how many languages does he know well that’s in the files” “according to the files he know Irish, French, and multiple sign languages if I remember correctly” “yeah the files need to be updated then he spoke to me in Spanish” “when did he learn Spanish” “I don’t know” “why would he even want to know Spanish” “he told me because I ramble in Spanish he wanted to know what I was saying” “mmm maybe he wanted to be closer to you in some way” “why though” “I don’t know ask him” “he’s resting right now so no” “okay you two let’s stop this and-” Barnacles was cut off by the gup’s battery dying “hold on” is all the Captain said as he steered gup away from some rocks and onto some sand “is everyone alright” Barnacles called out making sure the other were okay Shellington was on the floor kinda in the corner but alright, Peso was holding onto the dash bored with both his flipper to make sure he wouldn’t go flying but also all good “Kwazii you okay back there” once that was said on orange paw just in the Captian’s view and it soon made a thumbs up signalling that Kwazii was fine as well and Barnacles was also all good so now they just had to wait for Tweak “time to play the waiting game” “can we play cards Captain” “sure it’ll be some time before Tweak gets here” “who knows how to play Rook”

With Tweak she noticed that they stopped so she started working on putting the battery back in the gup C “Uüskah mika?” “Hiya Tunip I got to put this battery back in the gup C and then go get the boys” Tunip gave Tweak a confused look “I got to pick em up cause the gup A’s battery died, there now we’re good to go” so Tweak hopped into the gup C and was about to head off until “Tunip can ya open the Octo hatch” and so Tunip opened the Octo hatch and Tweak was off to get the boys who were now playing goldfish cause no one other than Kwazii knew how to play Rook and Kwazii doesn’t know how to explain it to em so goldfish it wasn’t a long ride so Tweak got there in no time “who ordered a lift” Tweak said arriving at the gup A “just in time” “what do mean in time Cap” “Kwazii is somehow losing at goldfish and is about to lose it” “that checks out” and before they knew it the gup A was attached to the gup C and they were off again and luckily they got back home in no time and to greet them was Tunip once everyone was out Tweak started working on charging the gup A’s battery, Captain Barnacles went to the HQ to check on things Peso went to the sick bay to refill his med kit, Kwazii went to take a nap and Shellington went to the game pod to play with the vegimals they played ping pong then some Pictionary and hid and seek. After some time everyone headed to bed with everything now peaceful again.

That’s the end I don’t really know how to end this but yeah I think we can imagine the creature report I feel if I try to write it it won’t be as good but yeah that’s the story I made also I forgot to put this in and I don’t want to mess with all the writing I did so I’ll say this here the pufferfish is an orange starry pufferfish I forgot to mention it but the writing is done and I’m tired and I’m working on another story for y’all so enjoy this and please ignore my messed up writing and inconsistencies also please tell me what you think I would love some feedback thank you and bye have a great time.



[mango-bango-bby]

mamgooooo i love the mermaid headcanons so much if you’re not to busy can we have a second part where they actually catch darling and shiggy sees her for the first time in a while love youuu

♡ Captured ♡

(A/N: I’m so glad you all seemed to like my mermaid headcanons 🥺💕 I hope you like this, I really like writing for fantasy au and stuff like this!!! So I hope you like this 💝)

Content Warning ⚠️: Yandere, fantasy au, mermaid au, kidnapping, delusional tomura, angst

Summary: You’re captured out of the ocean by a familiar pirate (Yan!Shigaraki x GN!reader)

Masterlist ➸ ♡

Last Part ➸ ♡

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

You had a bit of an obsession with humans. You loved to collect things from shops that had wrecked, you loved watching the boats that went by, you even sometimes went up to the shore to watch humans. No matter how many times others told you it was dangerous, you didn’t see how humans were dangerous. In fact you had become friends with one at one point.

You had saved a human after his boat crashed, helping him stay alive after getting to know him more. You think his name was Tomura. You’re not sure. Mermaids didn’t speak the same, language as humans although mermaids were quite intelligent and tended to pick up on languages easily. Sadly, he wasn’t there anymore. He wasn’t stranded on the island anymore.

You couldn’t understand how humans could possibly be bad, especially after Tomura. He was so kind to you. However it felt as if that feeling of trusts for humans had been completely ripped away from you. You had thought nothing of the boat passing above you. You loved when the boats came by.

Except you hadn’t expected a net to be lowered into the water with you. You tried to swim away, you tried, but you were caught. You struggle against the net, trying to claw your way out of the thick rope. You struggle even harder as you’re lifted out of the water and into the sun. You cry out as loud as you can, seeing the humans who are pulling you up.

“Is this the one?” A crew mate asks, turning his head into a certain direction. His crew didn’t exactly have a choice but to try and catch you. Tomura was one of the biggest pirates currently on the ocean, they would either catch you or walk the plank. There was no other option.

You look into the same direction as the crew mate, despite your tears you still see a familiar head of light blue almost white hair. After months of searching, reading up on mermaid sightings, catching so many mermaids and getting so mad and frustrated they weren’t you. You were finally in front of him again.

Tomura stays silent, taking a slow step towards you as you’re still stuck in the net. His smile is so wide it doesn’t even look human. You’re just as beautiful as he remembered. Although he wished you didn’t look so scared. You saved him once, now he’s saving you. The ocean is a dangerous place, there are so many other pirates who would want to capture you for the wrong reason.

You cry out once again, reaching for him as if asking for him to set you free. You trust him, you think he’ll set you free. Tomura almost feels bad at how scared you seem, he can only hope you understand his reasoning behind taking you from your home.

He was the one who put you in this situation, he wanted to capture you. He needed to capture you, he wasn’t the same without you. He locked himself in his room in the ship for days, even weeks trying to figure out how to get you back to him. He read up on mermaids, he spent weeks figuring out how to permanently make an aquarium for in the bottom of the large ship.

“You don’t have to be so upset. You’ll like it here” Tomura smiles, grabbing your hand in his through the net. He marvels at how soft your skin is. He needed you to be with him. He missed you so much. You continue to cry, wondering why he hasn’t freed you yet. He sighs for you, although he’s sure you’ll like the place he has for you to stay. He made sure to get sand for you, rocks, places to hide in the aquarium, plenty of coral, he wants you to be comfortable.

“Bring them to the tank. Keep them in the net until we reach the tank, they might try to escape”

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵ Thank you for reading, darling!!

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: This is a Drill

Never underestimate “old”. Some things are old for a very good reason. They work.

Horseshoe crabs have lived visibly unchanged for over 300 million years. Sharks are an age-old “fish predator” shape. Books have reliably kept and passed down information for over a millennium; we’re still investigating remedies in Bald’s Leechbook.

One of the oldest complex tools we have is the drill. What’s interesting about that is that we’re not sure which function of it as a tool came first. Humans being humans, odds are we did both at once.

The best-known modern function is that of creating a hole through, or partly through, another object. What we do with the hole afterward is up to your imagination. Stringing neat things as jewelry goes back as long as Homo has been sapiens; likely longer, check what anthropologists have dug up lately. Fastening things together, drilling out things we don’t want (knots in wood, bad teeth, etc.) or just putting holes in things for the heck of it are all common uses.

(Never underestimate the human ability to do things Because. We poke things. It’s a species thing.)

But when we drill things, we also create friction. Modern drills employ several methods to try and reduce it, everything from lubricants to timed bursts to heat-resistant gold oxide drill alloys. If all we want is a hole, generally we want as little heat to damage the material as possible.

In some ancient tools, though, making heat was the entire point. I’m talking about the original fire drill.

Now, when it comes to making fire, I am firmly in Camp Matches. I’ve also worked around Bunsen burners enough that I’m okay with flint and steel. But we’ve only had steel for, oh, say around 2500 years, plus or minus depending on where you were on the planet. Matches have only been around a few centuries. And if you’re really in dire straits - cast up on a deserted island formed from a coral atoll, or something - you might not even have flint.

In which case you’d better have ingenuity and patience. Given a bit of materials and time, you can drill fire into existence.

Note, have absolutely all your fire materials and very fine tinder set up in advance, and protect everything from the wind as much as possible. It’s going to take a long time, you’ll only get one ember at a time, and it’ll be a cold night sleeping if you miss.

So. Have everything you can think of set up, sit down, and drill. Be prepared for hours of pulling your bit back and forth.

No, longer than that.

Longer.

Eventually, it works. And if you get it to work once you will understand why ancient hunter-gatherers would set up fire-pouches and horns to carry a hot ember with them at all times. Because augh.

So. That’s a drill. And it will almost definitely be useful in your world, for one reason or another.

Fun fact: one of the first human uses of diamonds was industrial, diamond-tipped drills to make fine holes in pearls! They were imported from India to drill pearls in China in the Yuan Dynasty. Cool!

[jabberwondia]

jumping

For your one-year anniversary, you get one free wish from Azul.

Azul Ashengrotto x Gender Neutral Reader NOTES: Mild Azul backstory spoilers (from vignettes and Chapters 3/4), nothing too revealing. Despite the tags, this is rated Teen and Up, I swear. Mentions of deep water, tentacles, and sinking. Nothing scary, however.

For your one-year anniversary, you had been briefed in advance about the possibility of getting one wish granted – free of charge, bounding contracts or compulsory compensations. Of course, the only condition was that it was agreed upon by both parties, and that it was made within the realm of possibilities: that meant no wishing for it to rain a million Thaumarks out of the sky – though, at this point, you weren’t quite sure of what wasn’t possible in the world of Twisted Wonderland. You had one thing in mind though, and were quick to jump at the opportunity.

When you had told Azul Ashengrotto your wish, he had immediately recognized it as doable and plausible. He –also immediately– had refused profusely, glasses fogged up in disdain, muttering something under his breath and visibly shaken. Seeing his reaction, you had desisted, but the frown on your brow just wouldn’t go away. Seeing your reaction, he had calmed himself down and dared to ask:

“Is that really something you want so badly?”

Yes – as badly as to go wasting my one free wish with Azul Ashengrotto to make it come true, you assured.

“Fine,” he had conceded, lips tightly under control and not smiling one bit. “But I shall pick the place.”

‘The place’ was a rocky, tiny, inhabited island above the Coral Sea that took a whole ordeal to get to, partly because Azul’s flying was sub-par at best – and he had to manage with you clinging for your life on proverbial ‘back seat’ of the broom. While technically an islet, it seemed more like a series of cliffs speckled with vegetation – waves bursting with high energy chipped away at the rocks, and you knew that if you happened to fall not even Azul could ever hope to retrieve you. However, a concave space between the cliffs created some sort of a bay towards the inside of the island, serving as a breakwater for the crashing waves. As you flied alongside its curve, the ocean got progressively calmer, until you both reached a crevice, an opening in the sediment walls. Within was a cave that was just barely underground enough to be shielded from the sun, but not so far away from the opening so as to be completely in the dark.

It was unlike anything you’d ever seen before. Like a miniature amphitheater of limestone, the carved grotto had layers of rock slowly descending into a pool of blue waters, walls lined with moss and ceiling low, allowing you to sit upright, stretch your arms and be able to touch it. Azul steadied the broom before helping you down, and as the water rolled softly and calmly on the shallow stone steps, possibly moved by the ocean forces way down below, he instructs you to take a seat, and be careful. Dark turquoise in color, beyond the rocks it was unspeakably deep, and he wouldn’t want you falling in. The stone walls naturally merged into two steps: one above the water, and the other just barely covered by it but still close to the surface; so, you sat on the first one, with your feet towards the second.

“There’s an underwater tunnel that goes into the Coral Sea,” Azul says, his voice echoing throughout. The lack of available seating space in the rock formations meant he was flush beside you – not that after a year of dating you weren’t used to his presence, but it still made you feel some kind of way. “I used to come here to think.”

“It’s beautiful,” you gasp, wincing a bit at the cold water flooded your aquatic sandals. Azul had insisted you wear those, plus a short wetsuit, knee pads and shoulder pads. You wondered if all the equipment would not make you sink faster, but safety first, your boyfriend had said.

“Hmm,” Azul hums, deep in thought, before swiftly whiplashing back to his normal self. “Well, we’re not here to do sightseeing, are we.”

His slender, pale fingers fondled with the potion vial hanging from his neck: the answer to his rhetorical question.

“I’ll have to undress,” he adds. “Turn around, please.”

“After all this time?” you laugh dryly, but the mood was not light enough to joke, so you comply.

Even covering your eyes and twisting away from the merman and towards the cave walls, you can still feel Azul’s wetsuit sliding off his shoulder, the damp rubber grazing the side of your back; the clasp of the knee and shoulder pads coming off, his eyeglasses now resting on top of his discarded swimwear, and then a jump – a muted, soft splash.

“Tell me when,” you call, your breath revealing how nervous you were, shaking with expectation and excitement. You had imagined the transformation to make some sort of noise, yet it was unbearably still inside the grotto. The muffled sounds of the crashing waves outside, plus the soft trickle of a leak falling from the ceiling were the only things you could focus on. The stillness between you was so, that if it weren’t for your trust in Azul, you would have thought he ditched you inside the cave as some elaborate mean joke. Thankfully, he was nothing like his moray eel peers – at least not in this sense.

“Done?”

“Not yet,” he replies, hurriedly. “Sorry, Y/N. Give me some time.”

You twist your body to the direction where his voice is coming from, your own hands still veiling your eyes shut.

“It’s okay. As long as you need.”

A loud sigh followed. You felt a pair of hands now grasp at the lower step, where your feet rested, splatting water droplets as they tried to achieve balance. Azul steadied himself, bringing half his body up with the strength of his human shoulders, purposefully keeping the rest beneath the surface.

“Ready. You can open your eyes, now.”

A hauntingly shimmery shade of gray, the pale skin of his face almost seemed to match the color of his eyes – of course, you’d seen his eyes without glasses before, multiple times, but something about the way they reflected the scarce light was different now. Around his neck, and all the way through his arms and torso, the texture of said skin turned distinctly non-human; spotted, gleaming like a black opal, changing colors slowly from midnight blue to mossy brown to nightfall purple, mimicking the stone steps, in a way that would make him eerily disappear into the environment if it weren’t for his familiar face, looking straight at you. Something was swirling deep within the water, and you imagined that to be his tentacles; but as expected, he would not show them – not just yet. For your wish had been to see his true form, and you hadn’t specified if all or just half of it.

“Wow.”

“That’s it?”

You gulp before trying to articulate your thoughts again. “You’re so... beautiful.”

“That seems to be your catchphrase today,” Azul snaps back. You don’t blame him for being defensive – after all, you know he feels at his weakest right now, and this is something that not many humans have ever seen before: only a handful few academic personnel in both the Coral Sea human-training boot camp and in Night Raven College, and only for medical reasons that couldn’t be avoided.

“But you are”, you insist. Every human child has at some point dreamed of meeting merfolk, heavily influenced by bedtime stories, in which even the most fearsome sirens were mystical creatures with hauntingly loving voices and glittering scales of lavender. Maybe that is clouding your judgment, or maybe your love is – for this hardworking, albeit finnicky and distrusting boy who you were lucky enough to spend your happiest times with.

“Sweet-talking won’t get you anywhere,” Azul warns, as he is an expert on the subject. “But coming from you, I’ll take the compliment.”

He is about to suggest transforming back, but you spoke before he could.

“Can I touch you?”

“Uh...” Azul stutters, and he might have blushed if he had been in his human form, but as a deep-dwelling merman, the pigmentation of his cheeks only served for camouflage, and nothing more; its default setting being ash grey. “I doubt it’s anything special, but sure, go ahead.”

You descend to the final step of the stone stairs, before the blue abyss that Azul is floating in, so that water comes up to your hipbones – you don’t mind, as long as you can scooch on closer to him, caressing his shoulders and feeling the slimy, slippery texture of his pores. Every inch of his skin seems to have a mind of his own, contracting and expanding ever so slightly at your touch, changing colors as if involuntarily. To the side of his arms, a few small barnacles are growing – you remember he once told you they were like warts on humans, but because they all slept in seashell beds, every merfolk was bound to have a few here and there (and barnacles were a pain to remove successfully).

Azul waits in silence, a bit self-conscious, but still fixed on your face. He cannot believe you would honestly look at a creature like him in such adoration.

“Sorry. Are you feeling alright?” you ask, realizing that your natural curiosity might be making your boyfriend uncomfortable. Well, he was prepared for this much, at least.

“Yes,” he declares. “It’s not your fault. I just – I’d rather been born human, that’s all.”

There is nothing ‘that’s all’ about that statement – it’s a very deep and heavy thing to say, making your frown burrow in worry.

“Don’t make that face. I get to be human most of the time, after all. And on a government aid, no less,” he reassures. His stories about how we underwent human training to be able to walk, run, adjust to hotter temperatures and eat warm foods had always fascinated you.

“What was the thing you looked forward to the most?” you ask. “About turning human.”

Azul gives it a good thought. He’s starting to relax bit by bit, as his hue sets on purple, not trying to melt into the foliage anymore. You’re taken aback by the cold burn of his sudden touch, as his hands lazily graze your calves beneath the water. His tentacles are still nowhere to be seen, though. His temple rests on the kneepads he had insisted you wore, and though lightly, you can feel his lips hovering just below your knees.

He finally settles on his answer. “Jumping.”

“That’s... unexpected,” you blurt out honestly, because you can’t imagine how the same Azul who very profusely hates exercise could come up with that response.

“Hmm,” he hums once more, adjusting his weight up, arms crossed on top of your legs, his breath now so close to your thighs, you can actually feel it. He could very much switch to gill breathing at this point, but he’d rather make you feel his warmth. “Maybe saying I wanted to experience ‘gravity’ is more accurate.”

“I see. Did it hurt? U-uh, walking.”

“By the Sea Witch’s benevolence, when the mermaid princess of old finally turned human,” his voice turns darker, still embellished in his notorious sticky sweetness. For an otherwise introverted type, Azul is an amazing talker, and even better storyteller. “Some accounts say that walking felt like a thousand needles piercing her feet at every step.”

“Oh no,” you exclaim.

“An exaggeration, for sure. The only pains I ever felt were – what do you call them? Growing pains? In my kneecaps and elbows. Curious thing, indeed.”

You let out all the air you’d been holding in anticipation.

“You had me scared there for a second!” you scold him, and Azul smiles and shrugs. Absent-mindedly, you squeeze at the muscles tensing in his shoulders. “Ah, then I guess that means your human form matures with your age. That’s interesting.”

“Fortunately, our lifespans are pretty much the same.”

“It must have been so weird,” you continue, as intimate talks like these were rare, what with Azul always busying himself with his various, uh... businesses. “Growing bones and stuff, right? A–are you... you don’t have any now, do you?”

“My human half does,” he says, tilting his head so his eyes meet yours. “Oh, I know that look. You want to see the rest, don’t you?”

Foolish of you, thinking you could get past his wit. “Uh...”

“Not included in the bargain this time,” Azul says. “Though I might... comply, for a small fee.”

“–oof. Knowing you, no thanks. I’ll pass.”

“You wound me, Y/N. You’re not suggesting I’d ever demand collateral from you, are you?”

“As if you haven't before!” you exclaim, not that he needed any reminder of the Mostro Lounge anemone incident.

“Ah, ha, right,” he chuckles wryly.

Azul turns pensive again. He’s got both hands on your legs now, and you wonder if there is an unconscious longing for feeling his own now that he’s in his primordial, cephalopod form. Not speaking a word, he clicks your protective kneepads to remove them, lips ghosting from your thighs to your knees, making you squeak in surprise; he then rests his head in between, and you come to the realization he’s been trying to distract you from feeling the grasp of two tentacles on your ankles.

“Ah –”

“Don’t say it. I know. It’s disgusting.”

That’s a very far cry from your choice of words. It felt novel, and it tickled a bit, feeling the tiny suction cups nibble at your skin, but it wasn’t unpleasant at all.

“I like it. I like all of you.”

A pause. Biting your lip at your embarrassing confession, the cold humidity of the cave is starting to get to you, unwillingly giving you goosebumps.

“Can you show me?”

“No.”

“Aw. Well, okay.”

“Giving up so quickly, are you?”

“Azul!” you let out an exasperated sigh. “Which is it? Do you want to show me or don’t you?”

It feels like a rite of passage at this point. If he passed this opportunity to show all of himself to his lover, no such chance would come by twice. It has been a literal odyssey just getting to the cove, and to be precise – he did want to show you. He was just afraid.

“Your legs,” he says, lips pressed to them as he speaks, further sending shivers down your spine. “What marvelous things. The veins, the moles, the stretch marks,” his hands are human, but in this form, feel scaley and rough against your supple skin; his blackened nails growing out like claws, yet, by the boy’s own gentleness and self-control, managing to not scratch you. “Compared to this, I...”

I’m a monster, he wants to cry out, but he’s no longer into self-pity. And you know that’s not his final say in the matter, so you decide to wait.

They come crawling from the sides. Aside from the two tugging at your feet, two more envelop your waist – although the thick fabric of the wetsuit refrains you from feeling the raw touch, you can still feel the pressure from the suctioning, this time amply stronger. The closer they get to his lower body, the bigger the muscle membranes get, and thus their vacuum force much fiercer. He feels heavy enough, easily able to pull you down to the depths if he wanted to – in fact, you too have a potion hanging down your neck, which Azul had made and given to you personally, A water-breathing potion, in the very odd case you needed it, if his instincts gave in and lost control, or if a tide took you and you got separated. But he loves you too much to let such things happen, so it sits there unused, dangling idlily as you take the whole situation in, feeling your chest get tighter.

Azul reinforces his tentacle grip once more. With his human arms, he cradles your knees and nuzzles his head on your lap, closing his eyes. While your left is being used to stable yourself and sit upright, your free hand now moves to the back of his head, caressing his wet and curly hair gently. As his several arms embrace you, you are lost in thought. In a good way, his scent is like the sea. Not a summery day on the beach, but more like the skies before a storm – salty air, a sharp freshness rolling with the rainclouds. His choice of setting, this dark cave that would catch the remnants of sunshine in its underground pool, a lightshow of turquoise refracting off the surface; it was far away from his usual date spots, smart and cost effective, but it was him through-and-through.

“Well, what do you know,” Azul muses, and each word itches against your skin. “I’m weightless in the water, but my stomach feels like I just jumped from a trampoline and am free-falling into a bottomless pool.”

“That doesn’t sound too enjoyable.”

“No, don’t get me wrong. It is. I’m glad I got to show you.”

“Thank you,” you whisper. “For granting my wish.”

“Aren’t I compassionate?” his modest laughter makes him softly sway in the water. While he had promised the whole ordeal to be free of charge, you were sure he’d find a way to get back at you later.

“By the way, Azul,” you call, suddenly remembering why you were there in the first place. “You still haven’t told me what your anniversary wish will be.”

“That’s strange,” the once-greedy boy says, lips still flushed against your legs, pressing one more kiss on each inner thigh. “I can’t seem to think of anything.”

"to kiss you"

A series of one-shots and drabbles featuring the Twisted Wonderland boys, kisses, and a specific body part.

Part 1: Azul Ashengrotto x Gender Neutral Reader, legs. [you're here]

Part 2: Malleus Draconia x Gender Neutral Reader, lips.

[alpaca-clouds]

Some thoughts on Silkpunk

It's Punk-O-Clock. And today I am going to talk about Silkpunk and... the rather complicated feelings I have about the genre.

Silkpunk is one of the new Punkgenre, the term being coined in 2015 by writer Ken Liu to describe his book series "Dandelion Dynasty" of which the first book released back then. It was originally just a cheeky way of his to describe his own writing, but he since has given a proper definition for the genre.

To quote two parts of the short description:

The vocabulary of the technology language relies on materials of historical importance to the people of East Asia and the Pacific islands: bamboo, shells, coral, paper, silk, feathers, sinew, etc. The grammar of the language puts more emphasis on biomimetics–the airships regulate their lift by analogy with the swim bladders of fish, and the submarines move like whales through the water. 

And:

Finally, the “-punk” suffix in this case is functional. The silkpunk novels are about rebellion, resistance, re-appropriation and rejuvenation of tradition, and defiance of authority, key “punk” aesthetic pillars. 

(Also: Yay, someone who thought about how to make the themes actually "punk".)

But he also makes one thing very clear:

No, it’s not “Asian-flavored steampunk.” No, it’s not “Asian-influenced fantasy.” No, it’s not …

Which kinda gets us to the core of what I want to talk about here. That Silkpunk, more than maybe most other of the punk genre gets misappropriated as a term. Because most people do use the term to say "Asian-flavored Steampunk". And to be perfectly honest: "Asian-flavored fantasy that has some steampunk aesthetics in there, and hey, look, a pagoda!"

Asia, more than maybe any other cultural circle (except maybe indigenous American cultures) sadly tends to be culturally appropriated in fantasy and science fiction a lot. Especially East Asia, doubly so Japan.

I mean, let's face it: the original punk genre - Cyberpunk - is full of appropriation of Japanese terms and aesthetics, due to all the techno orientalism.

And this makes Silkpunk so complicated. Because the genre so often gets just used as an excuse for that. Some cultural appropriation, because folks really want to give their fantasy a bit of anime flavor.

Thankfully most lists online so far have been somewhat currated in this regard to not include just self-proclaimed Silkpunk but think of this philosophical framing. Which is also why I take a big issue that half the lists of media I saw on the genre features Avatar - The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra. While with ATLA you can at least argue that there is some themes of rebellion and re-appropriation of traditions... Korra does not even do that. (Look, folks, I love Korra for the characters, but the politics of that series as messy as fuck and almost the opposite of punk.) And the design in both series also does not feature any of the described Silkpunk aesthetics, being rather more traditionally Steampunk and Dieselpunk.

I don't know... I really, really love Ken Liu as a writer and his books are amazing. But outside of his books... I have found a list of other Asian American writers whose books might be considered Silkpunk and definitely will look into it. But so far... Most of the stuff I saw under "Silkpunk" did strike me particularly as what Ken Liu describes.