#it's the crab claws that got me

[bunnyb34r]

Well my credit card wont be happy, but I think I'm good on gifts (the crabs are sure getting a lot. Little shits)

I tried to pick enough shit out on Scamazon so that if I dont make it to an irl store, it'll be okay (I'm so fucking drained lately. Really hoping it wasnt a third round of covid that I didnt catch) but 😩

[crehador]

time to eat a bunch of strawberries and watch hyped-up 02

[deadsetobsessions]

Sea Cryptic! Danny- pt. 10

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.3] [Pt.4] [Pt.5] [Pt.6] [Pt.7] [Pt.8] [Pt.9]

“This you?”

Danny glanced at the stone tablet in Spoiler’s hands and groaned, Phantom form flickering with embarrassment as his face got even more neon green. It was indeed him.

——

The first Atlantean and Ghost King encounter went something like this:

Imagine Danny, sleep deprived. Easy enough. Now, imagine Danny, trying to corral a ghost that had a penchant for sea life.

“Alabastor, I swear to Ancients, if you don’t get back here, I’m gonna make you into ghost sea-food boil!” Danny yelled as he chased Alabastor through the ghost zone. The crustacean shaped ghost cackled, skittering along the Zone.

"Make me, Phantom! You have not seen the might of the sea!"

"That's it, soup-time, crabby!"

Danny dove after Alabastor, chasing him face first into a temporal portal and right into the sea.

"BEHOLD!" Alabastor rumbled, claws raised and sea churning around him. Danny flew at him, noticing the screaming people below. He quickly raised a dome of clear ice to protect their entire city before returning his attention back to the giant crustacean. The distraction cost him, as Alabastor blasted him with a beam of his power. "THE MIGHT OF THE SEA!"

"SOUP!" Danny bellowed back, Alabastor's power forcing him into a giant crab form, aside from, hilariously, his head. Danny, always quick to adapt, slammed a massive claw straight into one of Alabastor's eyes and popped open the Fenton Thermos with a feral grin. In but moments, Danny manages to soup Alabastor but not before slamming him down onto the unbreakable ice Danny had just made.

Carefully turning by skittering sideways, he unmelted his ice.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly to the gawking civilians below.

"Suh-ree? What is suh-ree?" A brave woman asked.

"Oh," Danny uttered as he realized that he should probably switch languages. His giant crab body and small itty bitty human head swayed in an unsure motion. "Sorry means "my apologies." I had not meant to involve you. I am Phantom."

"It is alright... thank you for protecting us... God Phantom?"

He grimaced. "Not a god."

"King, then." She stepped forward. "May I ask of the ice?"

——

Spoiler, sensing weakness like the Riddler to a riddle, leaned in. "Did you know they have a traditional dance to honor the god that gave them the unbreakable ice that protects Atlantis to this day? It goes like this," Spoiler stepped back and did the dance, complete with exaggerated arm movements and, embarrassingly, the scuttle walk Crab!Danny was forced to learn with his new crab form.

"We shall never speak of this again," Danny huffed.

"But King Phantom, the God of Eternal Ice and Protection, how could we not celebrate your iciness?" Spoiler simpered, Black Bat not too far away and shaking with laughter. The purple donning vigilante did the scuttle dance once more, picking up bottles as she went a small circle around one of Bludhaven's rock beaches.

Danny scowled and plucked the tablet away from her, hair flowing an a more agitated direction. His jumpsuit burned brighter. "Why are you two menaces in Bludhaven? I thought your territory was in Gotham."

"Nightwing asked for back up and we were in the area." Spoiler, blessedly, stopped the walk to answer him. "By the way, are you and Danny dating?"

"Pardon?" He asked, insulted but highly amused.

"Oh, you know, he has your number, and you only ever talk to him outside of us, and how you guys have a high level of communication." Spoiler said leadingly.

Oh, Danny knew what this was about now. He found out their identities and now these two are interrogating him because he liked them best. They thought they were so clever. Well, they clearly haven't gotten to know Danny at all if they thought he was going to make good decisions.

Danny tilted his head, making sure his face gets as eerie as possible, shadows elongating and eyes burning just that much brighter. The neon green of his face shone even brighter against the suddenly dark landscape of the place. Black Bat stood up, laughter seizing immediately. Spoiler tensed.

"I have a riddle for you. You are good at those, are you not?"

Spoiler blinked but gamely said, "Bring it."

"What do these things have in common? An arguing couple, papers on a stranger's desk, and Star City's robbers."

"..." Spoiler slipped into her solving mode. "Stolen goods. Stolen hearts?" She guessed.

"No. The answer is that they're all none of your business," Danny snarled. His form flickered. "Keep your questing away from Danny- Daniel, vigilante. Your duty is to protect your city and help her," Danny swept an arm out. "Stick to that instead of inserting yourself into places you are not wanted."

Then, with a toss of an ecto-crossed recorder that held the verbal report he'd promised Nightwing towards Black Bat, Danny blinked out of the visible spectrum and flew above the two.

"... Shit, I think I pissed him off."

Black Bat nodded. "He was defensive."

"Yeah... did you hear that slip? Oh, they are so dating."

Danny grinned. He couldn't wait for Tim to interrogate him soon.

——

"You're kidding."

Danny shook his head, maniacal grin still on his face hours later. He'd taken the liberty to call his best friends before classes started for the day.

Tucker groaned. "Danny, I can't believe you're messing with Batman. Why are you like this."

"Look, I need your help."

"Oh no, keep me out of your dumbass plans, Fenton," Sam pointed at him through the screen, immaculately painted black nails threatening.

"Okay, if you go along with my plan, I'll give you Dr. Isley's number."

"Deal," Sam said immediately, changing her tune at a drop of a hat. Or, at a drop of a number.

"What about me?" Tucker asked, offended. "I deserve compensation for my work too, dammit!"

"I'll give you Tim Drake's number and persuade him to let you have a crack at Wayne Industry's tech basement."

"Deal, what are we doing?"

Danny's grin spread even wider. "We're dating. And, you two? You're Phantom's exes. Tucker, you say good stuff about me. Sam? You make up terrible things about me. But we're all dating each other and I'm dating Phantom on the side."

"I hate you," Sam deadpanned. "But fine, it's not that hard. I've got tons of embarrassing stories about Phantom. You better get me that number, Danny, because you know Dr. Isley was my gay awakening."

"For Tim Drake, I'd be willing to puff up your ego." Tucker said solemnly.

"Perfect. I'm cleaning his brother of ectoplasm today. so expect a call later! Love you guys!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, boyfriend." Sam clicked off the call.

"Think Tim Drake would be interested in a date?" Tucker asked Danny.

"Nah, I think he's got his heart on Benard."

"Damn," Tucker sighed. "Guess I'll have to mend my broken heart with the tools of a state-of-the-art lab, right, Danny?"

"Yep, see ya!" Danny hung up. Today was going to be a good day.

[incorrect-batfam-quotes-mostly]

Jason: Crabs really just do fucking nothing all day long, huh

Jason: 'Oh shit, look at me, it's time use my claws to pick away at some dead fish’

Tim: You got pinched, didn't you?

[mindmelter]

Courtship Display

"What the hell are you doing? You're embarrassing me." I said to the hot man shaking his bulge in front of me.

I was at the beach when I spotted this hot guy wearing yellow speedos; luckily, I had my alien buddy with me and asked him to take over the man's body. So while the man was sunbathing with his girlfriend, the tiny crab-like alien crawled in the sand and inside the man's speedos, then quickly pinched the man's balls with his tiny alien claws.

The small crab alien had special claws that could take over anyone whose claws clamped onto. His claws would release a powerful venom that could turn the biggest man into a mere puppet for the alien. The venom would make the host's brain permanently inactive, making the alien attached to their balls their new brain.

The man's girlfriend didn't even notice her boyfriend convulsing on her side. I knew my little friend had taken over his body when the man woke up and started crawling toward me in a crab walk and started to shake his hips non-stop. People around us started to look at us, making me feel embarrassed, so I told him to stop, but he continued.

"It's a mating dance; the male in my kind shakes their crotches to attract females. Does this mating dance work on humans? You're a male human who likes the same sex, and by the tent forming in your speedos, I can tell It's working." He said, as he sensually moved his hips.

"Ok, I confess It's really hot seeing a straight man doing this... dance, but here is not the place, let's go somewhere more private so I can show you how much your mating dance works on me. Then you can try this same dance while having my cock inside his ass."

We went to a private area at the beach, and there we got fully naked. I saw my alien friend latched on to his ballsack with his tiny claws attached to the man's balls. It was always funny to think he controlled his hosts through their balls.

The man had a nice cock, but it wasn't what I was looking for at the moment. I lay on the sand with my hard cock throbbing, and he got on top of me in a crab position; I aimed my cock at his entrance and he impaled himself on my shaft, I moaned loudly as he started to fuck himself on my cock, he was moving his hips sensually just like he was doing moments before.

He rode me like an expert. I knew by the tightness of the host's ass that he never had a cock up his ass, but my alien friend sure was an expert in making his hosts take my cock like true sluts.

The sight of the host's hard cock bouncing up and down, together with the tightness of his hole, made me explode inside of him, which seemed to trigger the host's orgasm as well.

[theminecraftbee]

sigh okay this year i have actual mob vote opinions. disclaimer: my MAIN opinion is that if i see too much mob vote salt on my dash i'll just block the relevant terms again, and that all three mobs are adorable and i'd like any of them. however, my vague thoughts on them:

crab: i have inherent vault hunters-based crab grudges. the coconut crab appears in my nightmares. however, past that, the crab as an animal is fun, i like crabs alright. the fact it's shown crawling up trees sideways is neat. i'll say mangrove forests are ALREADY one of the loveliest, most alive-feeling biomes, so i don't know if they need an exclusive mob? but it's also realistic for the crab so i'll take it. when it comes to the crab claw itself... many questions. is it an off-hand item? or like create's extendo-reach thing? or what? how MUCH additional reach does it give you? even just two blocks can be wildly useful in my modded experience, but like, is it one or two blocks, or does it double your reach, or what? and does that reach extend to mining at all? the video says it's just block placing, which would make sense from a balance perspective, but does sort of hamstring the claw's usefulness if that's the case; if you misplace a block you're going to have to scaffold over there anyway. if it DOES include mining reach... oh boy, that's a whole new ballgame.

armadillo: cute! i like armadillos! seeing it curled up as a ball, i wonder if it has a block-like form like that? that sounds really fun! like a shulker, or something else you could stand on. (that is PURE speculation, nothing else to suggest that is shown in the video.) it being found in "warm biomes like the savannah" i like more than the mangrove-exclusive crab, especially since the savannah can feel a little sparse and lifeless. i wonder if it's in other warm biomes? as for its effect, it has the most straightforward one: when it gets scared it sheds its scute, and you can use that to make wolf armor. i like wolf armor! wolves have needed some way to make them more survivable for ages! it's not like, got potential to be a massive gamechanger or anything, but it doesn't have to, it's fun!

penguins: by FAR the cutest design. i love that they chose macaroni penguins, excellent choice. the fact they're native to stony shore biomes is also an excellent choice (and far better than choosing a snowy biome; more penguins live in places like the stony shore irl!). the stony shore having penguins also gives it a bit more of the life stony shorelines have irl. their secondary effect, though... honestly, "make boats go faster" doesn't really speak to me? i am enjoying imagining a world where this effect works while iceboating (prepare to rubberband ALL OVER THE PLACE), and i think it would be fun, it just personally compels me the least. which is a shame, because i think the penguins are ABSOLUTELY the cutest!

overall, i think i land towards the armadillo. i like that none of them really have any big, exciting, game changing feature, just nice-to-have. makes it feel less like we miss out on something huge when two of them lose, just miss out on something potentially cute. i still wish the old mob votes could still be added to the game and that the losers here would also be added to the game. i wouldn't be mad if any of these guys won honestly they're all cute and have mildly interesting effects.

and this will be the last time i discuss the mob vote, except maybe to reblog cute art.

[red-riot-unbreakable-heart]

5 Times You Stole Eijiro Kirishima’s Hoodie | Part 1: The Convenience Store

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Ship: Eijiro Kirishima x Femme Reader! 💋

Genre: Fluff, Romance, Tension, Hero Situations, Eijiro Kirishima is a Pro Hero

Link to My Master List 😬

5 Times You Stole Eijiro Kirishima’s Hoodie

Part 1: The Convenience Store

It is a rainy Tuesday night and you are absolutely exhausted from work. On your way home to your apartment, you decide to stop by a local bodega for some junk food. You have been looking forward to binge watching a trashy reality TV show all day long, and some potato chips would be the perfect snack to munch on as you enjoy the juicy TV drama.

The bodega’s glass sliding door opens with a squeak as you hastily fold up your dripping umbrella. You shiver as the cool store AC hits your wet skin, and goose bumps flare across your bare arms. The day had started out deceptively warm, and you hadn’t dressed for the weather. You are deeply regretting the choice to wear the navy sleeveless dress that is now clinging to your body and dripping a puddle onto the dull bodega carpet. Oh well – you will be home in just a few minutes and will be able to step into a hot shower soon enough.

You grab a shopping basket and wander the aisles, eager to satiate your cravings for salty crisps. The store is unusually empty for the hour – the sudden rain must have kept most people inside. The only other people present are the elderly cashier, and a man pursuing the energy drinks in one of the freezers. The other patron is keenly focused on a bottle of purple Gatorade - intently reading the ingredient list on the drink’s packaging. You pay no attention to this other customer as you locate the snack aisle and load up your basket with chip bags boasting a variety of fun flavors (BBQ chips?? Yes please!). The aisles are tall – stacked ceiling high with boxes and bags containing every flavor of chip one could imagine.

SMASH! A loud crash reverberates throughout the tiny store, followed by the sound of small objects scattering across the vinyl floor. A deep voice booms out: “This is a hold up. Give me all the money in that register. And make it quick – I don’t think either of us wants any trouble.” You freeze; blood running cold in your veins as you quickly put the pieces of the situation together.

“I swear old man – I’ve got a special quirk that will make your life all kinds of painful unless you Hand. Over. The. Cash.”

You move slowly along the aisle, looking for a gap in the snack shelves so you can better assess the situation. Through a small space between cereal boxes, the situation comes into view – the man that you had seen shopping for sports drinks is now standing menacingly over the check out counter. He is around six feet tall with sharp features; a simple black domino mask obscured his eyes. Clad entirely in black, he stands with his right arm gripping the linoleum countertop, the other poised grotesquely above the cashier’s balding head. It takes you a moment to put together exactly what you were seeing – the villain’s right arm was a gigantic crab claw! If the situation weren’t so tense, you would have died from laughter. The scene is ridiculous – the man’s arm (claw) is twice the length of a typical human arm and had a bright, shiny red hue. This kind of mutation quirk always gives you a start – the unnatural way the man’s body blends seamlessly with the extra large claw is uncanny.

            The shop cashier looks up at the villain with terror in his eyes. He seems absolutely frozen on the spot as the masked robber clicks his claw menacingly. With a start, you notice that the inside of the claw is wickedly sharp. The villain flashes it dangerously towards the cashier’s neck to drive a sense of urgency.

            You assess your options. Your quirk isn’t particularly powerful, but it definitely has some use here. If you could just get a little bit closer to the situation, you could probably use it to distract the villain long enough to get the cashier out of harm’s way. You stretch out your hand to activate your quirk, but stopped dead when you feel a warm, rough hand clamp around your mouth from behind.

You try to scream, but the sound comes out muffled. Adrenaline floods your veins as you prepared to fight for your life. You hadn’t heard someone sneak up behind you, and you squirm in an effort to get away. An arm reaches out to steady you, and it’s owner whispers: “Sorry to startle you – I’m here to help.” The soft, gravely voice sends a fresh wave of goose bumps down your chilled skin. You turn to see one of the year’s top heroes - the Red Riot - crouched over you in the snack aisle. You’d recognize that trademark red spiky hair anywhere. Your body starts to relax a bit – things are under control and a hero is here!

Over the past few years, Red Riot has been making quite a name for himself in the media as a dependable, chivalrous hero. You’ve often watched his battles and rescues play out on the television – not only was he a skilled hero, but also he was kind and genuine. His interviews were your favorite – he always found such nice things to say about his teammates and the people he rescued. And he wasn’t bad to look at either.

He’s clearly not on duty – his usual simple costume has been traded in for a black t-shirt, jeans and a soft red hoodie. Your heart skips a beat. He’s so totally hot. When he realizes you’re not going to scream and give away his position to the villain, he releases you from his embrace. He smiles reassuringly, and the warmth of his grins reaches his eyes.

“I’m going to get you out of this.” He promises.

For a second there, you completely forgot about the convenience store hold up occurring feet away from where the two of you were crouched. Your senses are clouded by the closeness of Red Riot, who is still holding you steady with his muscular arms. When he realizes his touch is lingering a bit longer than necessary, he quickly pulls away. He shifts to peer over your shoulder through the small cereal box window. The movement brings him ever so slightly closer to you, and you find yourself inhaling the sweet scent of clean laundry. You lean the tiniest bit closer to him.

But back to the situation at hand – you can hear the crab clawed villain barking commands at the cashier. He wants all the money from the register as well as a roll of lotto tickets. He must be either extremely overconfident or incredibly good at crime – because this man is taking his time! Red Riot scowls as he watches the scene unfold. You can see his body tensing as he prepares for a confrontation. With a look of determination, he turns to you and whispers “stay quiet and out of sight. I’m going to go distract the villain and try to de-escalate the situation. If things get physical – run. There’s a dumpling shop across the street – get someone there to call the police.”

His red eyes bore into your own. There’s something so intense and hot about him. You feel a strange connection pulling you closer to this man, closer to the heat of his body.

            “W-wait.” You whisper. “I can help!”

            You point to the man with the crab claw – he still has the Gatorade bottle in the pocket of his pants. To his left you see a palette of energy drinks waiting to be restocked. “With my quirk I can control small amounts of liquid. I can distract him by levitating all those energy drinks at once. I’ll suspend them in the air and bring them all crashing down on top of him, giving you time to get the cashier out of harm’s way.”

            Red Riot smiles appreciatively. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m afraid I can’t ask you to put yourself in danger like that. I’ll handle this on my own. Just keep quiet and get across the street, okay?”

            You make a face. You don’t understand why he won’t let you help. After all, the villain seems untrained and unfocused. His claw hand can’t do much damage to a bunch of small, moving targets.

            “Trust me.” Red Riot reaches for your hand. He places the pads of your fingers on his palm. You can feel him activating his hardening quirk beneath your fingers as his skin slowly becomes rougher. “I was built for this.”

            You nod, unable to argue. His quirk makes his skin feel smooth and strong like the bark of an oak tree. You press your fingers lightly into the center of his hand, but there’s no give. Reflexively, he closes his fingers around your own, causing electricity to shoot through your hand at the intimate touch. Red Riot’s eyes widen, an apology already at his lips. You quickly slip your hand out from his grasp.

“Good luck, Red Riot.” You tap the hardened skin on his forearm. “You’re right – definitely built for this.”

            He grins, seemingly basking in the compliment.

            “That’s right – just leave this to me!” He whispers back. “Stay safe, okay?”

Red Riot army crawls down the aisle. You watch as he slowly steps out from behind the shelves and approaches the counter confidently, grabbing a bag of BBQ chips on the way. The poor cashier is now filling a grocery bag with money from the register as the crab armed villain hulks over him, sneering and clicking his claw. The villain doesn’t even seem to hear Red Riot approaching him from behind.

            In two strides, Red Riot closes the distance and reaches out to tap the villain on his crabby shoulder.

            “Excuse me, sir. I’m going to have to ask you to step away from the counter. Other people want to check out.” As he says this, he pointedly tosses his bag of chips onto the shiny linoleum counter.

            The crab villain whirls around, face full of fury. His eyes widen and his face contorts in fury when he realizes whom he’s talking to. The villain wastes no time – he propels himself away from the counter, whirling his deadly sharp arm towards Red Riot.

Crack!

The arm makes contact with Red Riot’s rock hard skin. The hero smiles smugly, his right arm taking the brunt of the blow.

“Why don’t we take this down a notch, sir? I’m clearly a match for your quirk, and the police are already on their way. There’s no need to fight, we can just talk - ”

            The villain moves surprisingly swiftly, shifting around Red Riot’s outstretched arm and reaching to position his claw around Red Riot’s neck. The hero’s facial expression shifts to surprise – he wasn’t expecting a villain with such a cumbersome quirk to be able to move so languidly. The crab villain slowly starts to press down his claw around the hero’s neck. Red Riot is making a face that clearly says “Oh, shit.”

You turn and desperately reach your hand through the gap in the cereal box display, pointing your fingertips at the villain and willing your Quirk to activate. Almost instantly, the Gatorade bottle resting half full in the villain’s back pocket lifts into the air as all of the liquid rushes towards the top of the container. You focus all of your concentration on the bottle.

Unfortunately, you never had a lot of opportunity to train and refine your quirk as you had pursued an educational track that prioritized tech and computer skills over quirk competence. However, you had a grasp on the fundamentals of how your quirk worked – and you figured if you could just distract the crab villain for a moment, you could give Red Riot a chance to regroup.

The villain pressed his sharp claw further around Red Riot’s neck. You could hear an ominous cracking notice – and you hoped desperately that the sound wasn’t the hero’s thick skin crumbling beneath his assailant’s grasp. You began to feel a sickening mix of adrenaline and fear coursing through your veins and you try to renew your concentration. The liquid inside the bottle begins to boil – the water fizzing and popping in the small confined space. You shakily will the bottle to float up and behind the villain’s head.

Red Riot uses his hardened hands to try to break the villain’s grasp, but the crabby grip holds fast. The villain is intensely focused on trying to crush Red Riot’s windpipe, and so he is completely taken by surprise when the bottle of Gatorade explodes and hits the back of his head with a splash of scalding purple liquid. The villain howls in pain – both hands reflexively flying to cradle the back of his burned head. In his pain and fury, he unwittingly releases Red Riot from his grasp. The red headed hero is quick to take advantage of the situation – dropping to the ground and sweeping a strong leg beneath the villain’s own. The crab-clawed villain comes crashing to the ground with a large “thud.”

Red Riot wastes no time, dropping on top of the villain to pin disproportionate arms to the ground.

“Sir, you’re under arrest for armed robbery and for engaging in combat with a licensed hero. The police will be here shortly to take your statement - but in the meantime please stop resisting.”

You breathe a sigh of relief as Red Riot continues to hold the villain tightly to the ground. Behind the counter’s register, the convenience store clerk still stands frozen, holding a wad of bills in bills in a vice-like grip.

You hear the metallic slide of the store’s automatic doors followed by several pairs of heavy boots off to your right. Within a few seconds, a team of police officers comes into view, their starched blue shirts bright in the florescent lighting.

At the sight of the police, the crab villain finally seems to give up fighting – his body sagging to the ground beneath Red Riot. The hero holds his position, eyeing the villain’s mutant arm warily. Even from a distance, you can tell his hardening quirk is still activated – he isn’t taking any chances.

“Great job, Red Riot! We’ll take it from here.” A tall officer with a glinting badge steps forward and uses a length of metal cord to bind the villain’s large clawed arm. “We’ve been after this guy for weeks!”

Red Riot smiles as he steps back and lets the police team capture his assailant. He turns and meets your eyes through the space in the cereal box wall. He grins at you, his dark eyes wink a quick “thanks” in your direction as he detectives whisk him away for questioning.

“Miss – are you alright?” You let out a small squeak of surprise, turning to find a short female officer with a tight bun of dark hair coming around the corner of the aisle. You look down at yourself – crouching like a wild animal in a soggy, rain-drenched dress.

“I’ve definitely had better days.” You laugh, allowing the policewoman to help you to your feet. You feel the adrenaline slowly start to melt away, leaving you feeling shaky and a bit lightheaded. You can’t think of the last time you used your quirk, so you’re sure the little stunt you pulled to save Red Riot has impacted your stamina.

“Mind if we ask you a few questions about what happened here?” The officer asks, motioning for you to follow her to the front of the store where the crab villain is being checked for weapons.

“No, not at all!” You wrap your arms around yourself and attempt to bring some warmth back into your body.          

The police had a lot of questions. Apparently this villain had been evading them for quite sometime. He had been robbing convenience stores across several cities. He was quick, efficient, and sometimes even deadly – having injured half a dozen clerks and store patrons in his mad pursuit of cash.

“We heard that you used your quirk to get Red Riot out of a spot of trouble.” The policewoman with the bun taps a pen to a pad of paper thoughtfully. Her tone isn’t accusatory; she’s just stating facts. “The unsanctioned use of a quirk in combat is illegal, but since you were put in a potentially life threatening situation and you were in under the supervision of a pro hero, the Good Samaritan law should cover your actions today.”

 You feel the last bit of energy absolutely drain out of you and you reach out to grab a nearby store shelf for support. Illegal? The thought of breaking the law hadn’t even crossed your mind. You had just acted on pure instinct when you saw Red Riot in trouble. You start to shiver more violently as the weight of what you’ve done fully sinks in. The policewoman quickly waves to another officer and you find yourself being guided to a chair.

“Miss - it seems like you’re in shock. Please take some deep breaths and we’ll get you to a hospital shortly to get checked out, alright?” The officer pats your hand kindly and pockets her notepad. She walks out of view to call a medical team with her colleagues and you are momentarily left alone in the corner of the store. You stare at the ground, your head feeling fuzzy and cold. It was so stupid to use your quirk so recklessly like that! You admonish yourself silently. You’re sure that Red Riot could have gotten himself out of that bad situation given time – he was a top hero after all! You were just so worried and eager to help…

A soft material engulfs your shoulders. “You’re freezing! Here – take my sweatshirt.” You turn and see Red Riot standing behind you, his strong hands pressing his large red hoodie around your shoulders. He smooths the plush material around you, and you shiver at the contact.

“I couldn’t possibly take this!” You said weakly despite your body hungrily leaning into the warmth of his touch and the offered piece of clothing.

“It’s too late – it’s already yours. Consider it a thank you for saving me back there.” Red Riot grins, showing off a row of pointed teeth. You gratefully accept the gift – tucking your arms into the floppy sleeves. You’re practically swimming in sweatshirt.

“I really shouldn’t have done that.” You look down, ashamed. “You had the situation under control, and it was irresponsible to use my quirk like that. You even told me not to help earlier.” You shake your head, and then blush when you realize you’re probably showering the chivalrous hero in raindrops.

“Don’t beat yourself up about that at all! While it’s true that a Pro can always break out of a tough spot, someone once told me that ‘meddling where you don’t need to is the essence of a hero.’ You moved without thinking to help me when I needed it. That took guts.” His grin widens. “I’m so lucky that such a strong person was looking out for me from the cereal section.”

You laugh, cheeks blushing at the compliment. He’s just so…handsome, grinning roguishly at you with his deep, dark eyes.

“Your quirk is really strong, too. What was that – liquid manipulation? Have you ever trained your quirk?” You’re taken aback by the sincerity of his interest in your small little quirk.

“Not really – I had the standard quirk class in elementary school where we are evaluated and learn how to control the basics of each of our quirks. Beyond that, I never had much interest in it. I can make small amounts of liquid float, boil and freeze. It’s not particularly powerful, but I can make a mean pot of soup with it.” You smile, appreciating the attention you’re receiving from the hero. “I went to a specialty high school focused on business and marketing, so I pretty much avoided any quirk training or hero-focused track. Exploding that little Gatorade bottle was probably the crux of my power.”

“Well it was incredible! I feel like you’re really underselling yourself – I see so much potential in you and your quirk. With just a little training, I think you could really do some damage.” Red Riot says excitedly, talking animatedly with his hands. You laugh, picturing yourself in some ridiculous hero suit parading around the city splashing boiling water on legions of seafood-themed villains.

“Surprisingly, the hero life is just not for me!” You grin before a wave of shivers wracks through your body. Is this from shock? Or is it the damp cold of your rain soaked dress finally catching your attention.

Red Riot instantly notices your discomfort and shakes his head thoughtfully before saying: “Stay here a minute, I have an idea.” He scampers away and you’re left alone again. You focus on taking a few deep, calming breaths as you zip the hoodie up to your chin. You inhale deeply and realize that the red fabric smells comforting and sweet – a combination of mint and cedar wood. You deeply breathe in the scent of Red Riot, and you feel your panic ebb away. You’re steeped in exhaustion as you slouch against the hard plastic chair.

A moment later, Red Riot re-appears, holding a steaming Styrofoam cup. “I made you some peppermint tea.” He says shyly, holding out the hot cup. “It always makes me feel better after a fight – I thought it might do the same for you.”

You take the cup gratefully and tip it back for a sip. He holds out a hand to stop you. “Careful, it’s hot. Give it a second to cool so you don’t burn your mouth.”

“Thank you so much, Red Riot. I really appreciate all you’ve done today.” You’re too tired to care that you sound like a fan girl.

“Hey, call me Eijiro. After what we’ve been through together, we should be on a first name basis.” To your surprise, his cheeks tint pink as he shares his first name. You smile softly and share your own nickname. He repeats it back to you, seeming to like the way your name rolls on his tongue.

“It’s nice to meet you Eijiro.” You feel the warmth of the tea sinking into your icy hands.

“So what were you buying here at the store anyway? Let me go get you a cart and – oh, hold on!” He absentmindedly leans in close to you, reaching out to pull a stray wet strand of hair away from your face. He tucks it gently behind your ear. “We should really get you a hair dryer or something!” He laughs, “You’re still soaking wet!” Despite just having met, the touch is so intimate and familiar. You lean towards him, wanting him to touch you again with his strong, capable hero fingertips.

“Red Riot – the press is outside waiting to interview you.” A police officer calls over, snapping you both back to reality. “They’re eager to hear about how you apprehended the villain. For the sake of her privacy, let’s leave this young lady’s roll in the capture out of it.”

Eijiro snaps to attention, his hand still hovering close to your face. He turns to give the officer a thumbs up. “Sounds good to me! I’ll be right there.”

He moves to look at you again. His eyes are wide and his expression intrigued. “They’re going to take you to the hospital to make sure everything looks okay. They’ll probably keep you overnight for observation until you’re out of shock. I’m sure they’ll take good care of you, cutie.” He stands to walk out of the store. “Thanks for saving my life – I hope to hear from you soon!”

And with a wave, he strides away towards the press team waiting outside. You look down into your tea, confused and quietly delighted at his hope to hear from you. You have absolutely no idea how you would ever contact him again, but the sentiment and the term of endearment he had used is sweet. Ever the chivalrous hero.

The next few hours are a whirlwind of tests and scans and interviews with police officers and doctors alike. Despite your protests, an ambulance whisks you away to the closest hospital and you are kept under observation just as Red Riot - Eijiro ­- had predicted. The staff is courteous and sweet, praising you for your roll in the incident when the police officers tip them off. You’re given comfortable clothes to borrow and access to a hot shower adjacent to your hospital room.

When you finally sink into the hospital bed, it’s pitch black outside. You flick on the grainy old TV that’s mounted above your bed and flick through the channels until you stop to see a familiar face on the local news.

Red Riot is smiling down at you from the TV set, his eyes warm as he answers the questions of various reporters.

“I was just shopping for some ramen when I noticed the villain. Weird coincidence that I just happened to be at the same store as him!” The hero laughs, rubbing his hand behind his head. “I’m thankful to the store patrons and the clerk who stayed calm as I handled the situation.”

“Red Riot – did you have any difficulty subduing the victim?”

Eijiro pauses to think for a moment before carefully saying “There was a moment that he had the drop on me, but a really cute shopper distracted him for me and allowed me to get the upper hand.”

“You’re so humble, Red Riot. I’m sure you had everything under control.”

Eijiro shakes his head. “I don’t want to encourage recklessness, but I do want to make it clear that you don’t need to be a Pro to be someone’s hero. The woman who helped me today – her bravery and willingness to act even when things were scary is what true heroism looks like. I’m grateful to her, and I hope that I’ll be able to see her again soon.”

The reporters continue to fawn over Red Riot for a few more minutes – peppering him with more questions that he cheekily answers. He avoids revealing any additional details about you despite the reporter’s needling and prodding. Soon the news broadcast ends, and the anchor appears on screen and starts discussing upcoming movie releases.

You sit with your mouth gaping open. Had you really made such a lasting impression on the sturdy hero? You feel your heartbeat increase at the thought, causing the heart monitors strapped to your chest to peep and whir. A nurse appears at your side in an instant, and you bashfully explain to her that you are fine – just a bit overexcited from the day’s events. Once she is assuaged, you return to flipping through channels before settling on reruns of The Bachelor. This wasn’t the soapy TV series you had been looking forward to all day, but it was as close as you are going to get at this point. You let the show run and before long you are dozing in the propped up hospital bed, dreaming of seafood villains and heroes with bright hair and dark, endless eyes.

When you’re finally ready to check out from the hospital the next day, the nurse at the front desk presents you with your belongings. Your wallet, your high heeled work shoes, and an extra large bright red hoodie. “Oh – I forgot about this.” You gratefully accept the sweatshirt and shrug it on. It swings around you like a trench coat, fluffy and warm. You can still smell traces of cedar wood on the collar.

You walk out of the hospital and into a surprisingly sunny day, metallic sliding doors parting for you as you exit. You sink your hands into the hoodie’s overlarge pockets and are surprised to feel a rectangular square object tucked into the deep right pocket. Had Eijiro left a piece of gum in his hoodie? You fish it out with your index and pointer fingers – it’s a small folded up piece of paper ripped from a notepad. Upon closer inspection, you notice that it’s branded with the convenience store’s faded logo. You guess it was ripped from the clerk’s register notepad.

Curious, you unfold the small wad of paper. Written hastily across the note is a messy scrawl of digits and the words: Would love to take you to dinner some time, cutie. Thanks for rescuing me. – Eijiro.

            Oh my God. He gave you his number. A warm blush creeps up your face as your eyes run across the note over and over again. What a crazy 24 hours it has been! You reach into your purse to grab your phone. With shaky hands you add “Eijiro Kirishima” as a contact in your phone, adding a few rock emojis and a bright red crab emoji beside his name. He’d probably find that hilarious.

            You draft up a fresh text to the red headed hero and type: “In need of rescuing tonight – the villain: hunger and boredom. In need of a hero who knows the perfect ramen spot.” You hit send and hold your breath. What if he’s on patrol tonight? You worry. What if he was just being nice and doesn’t actually see you again?

            Your worries are totally baseless, because within seconds you have a reply: “I’m more than up for this mission – meet me in front of the convenience store at 8. Wear the sweatshirt so I’ll recognize you in the crowd?” He ends it with a winking emoji and your heartbeat quickens. You officially have a date set with Eijiro Kirishima – the Red Riot.

Your hero.

Thanks so much for reading!!!

---------------------------

Other Kirishima Stories:

Headcannon: Kirishima LOVES wearing Bakugo's clothes.

🦈❤️Boyfriend!Kirishima ❤️🦈

A Long, *Hard* Night with Eijiro Kirishima (A18+ - MDNI!!!) 💋

Link to My Master List 😬

[slowlysoluminary]

[ ISAT SWAP AU, FAMILY END SCENE ]

ACTORS: king, {euphrasie,} [claude,] <nille,> |mira,| drawing kid

.

{"Wh-whats. . ."}

Fear drips through each of her words.

{"Oh no. Oh no, no, no. . ."}

Her hasty breathing climbs.

You turn your head.

You wish you didn't .

{"Pele, this smell-?"}

Her panicked eyes lock with yours.

You can't shift your expression fast enough.

She knows... She knows. She always knows. Of course she'd know now.

You don't understand. You did everything right. Couldn't the Universe send you a boon? Lend you silence as the world breaks around you, again? And again? And again? Over and over and over and ...

And what's different? You found a home, a place you belonged? A place you were loved? Did you think that would help you? Were you really that stupid??

Hahahahahaha!!!!

["Euphie!"]

They rush to her aid. You're frozen in place. Too useless to comfort her. (She wouldn't want you there anyway.)

<"Pel?">

Nille noticed, too.

<"What's goin' on? Is sum'n the matter?">

She's torn, between reaching out for you and sticking by Euphrasie. Why? You can't help but wonder.

The Kid lets out an anxious bleat. Nille ushers them closer.

|"I-I'm sorry! Monsieur, please...!!"|

{"That Mirabelle..."}

{"Ooh, it got her too..! It's too late!! I should've noticed sooner!"}

<"Euphs, we're gettin' worried! What are you talking about?">

Are you just going to stand there?

She's suffering. It's your fault. Do something. Do something!!!!

["Pele! What's-"]

["Urgg!!"]

The world breaks.

|"I don't know what's happening!! Forgive me, I'm sorry!"|

{"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, n-"}

["The air around us, it's -! Augh!"]

Burnt sugar thickens the air around you. Breathing is a chore.

<"Crab, my head hurts...">

Is someone wheezing?

<"PELE!!">

... Oh, it's you!

They're all running, reaching. Worried. Confused.

<"COME BACK!!!">

You haven't moved, and you make no motions to do so. You have no such intention.

Will you ever get to see Nille reunite with her younger sibling? Watch her reunite with the one person she talks about most frequently, most favorably? Help her guilt come to pass? At the end you'll always find a sliver of that woman (shame she'll never stay that way).

["H-hey! Pele! Something's wrong! Talk to us!"]

Will you ever get to see Claude find peace with herself and her situation? Will you ever get to see her in her daily life, untroubled by the weight of an entire country? Will you ever get to see her find happiness with the one she loves? Will you yourself ever find peace with Claude's situation? (You don't think about the tug on your heart at the thought.)

The Kid cries, trailing behind Nille, unsure what to do.

You hurt. Will you ever get to see this kid's family? Will you ever find their name, their identity, their home, some safe place for them to stay? Will you ever be a safe place for them to stay? (Your heart burns with the mere idea that you've been an insufficient provider).

{"P-Pele... what did you do?"}

You hurt. Will you ever get to see her smile at you again, with the same genuine glee she does at the rest of the world? Will you ever mend your broken bond with that woman? Will you ever get to speak a word with her without fighting the urge to claw your eyes out, or flee, or what have you? (You love her.)

Will you ever get to see a happy ending?

<"HOLD OUT YOUR HAND!">

You oblige, with little heart. It won't work. The idea is futile (it comforts you anyway).

What do they see in you? What do they think of you?

|"I'm sorry, I failed you!! Euphie..!!"|

You take a step forward.

And

your world falls apart.

(They are your world.)

【 ✦ 】

ADDITIONAL

Only in this moment can you finally rest.

[ahamkara-apologist]

finally got the chance to draw so I kinda went ham with drawing up a headcanon sheet for the Eliksni, in which I blatantly disregarded the canon skintones and just had fun (i don't really enjoy how pink they are in canon personally- I think they should have more natural colour variation)

Some notes:

-The freckles on Eramis and Variks are just freckles, they're not due to age. As for the alarming amount of minor scratches scarred into Eramis's neck and, to an extent, Misraaks- those are marks from hatchling claws! They're traditionally considered marks of beauty and wisdom in Eliksni society. Eramis has many to mirror her many litters, while Misraaks only has a couple from Eido

-I drew everyone but Taniks bald because I drew Taniks first and then realized later that it kinda obscured my hcs for their individual head shapes, so their setae is on the bottom. Setae is someting that only fully sexually mature adults develop, and is much closer in texture to a horse's mane than human hair. It also runs all the way down the back of their neck, much like a mane, and in some cases (like Taniks) has barbs or hooks along its strands so that ornaments can be woven into it, which is inspiration that I took from decorator crabs

-Eramis's facial scars were given to her by a Guardian at Twilight Gap, and are deep enough that they cut into her nasal cavity. Luckily, it's right near the nostrils anyways so she isn't impacted too bad, but she does have to be careful about keeping it clear of debris. Deep in her eye sockets, she's also had some electrodes installed that link to sensors in her helmet and give her little buzzes/shocks whenever something passes in front of it to help compensate for being half-blind, but it's a pretty crude device that doesn't work all that well on small objects

-Each Eliksni's ethnicity is written below their names, which is why Eido has a question mark. She's a mixed kid- try to guess which Houses her parents might have been from ::3

-The horns/shoulder spines were extra spikes of mineralized chitin that were common on adults in Riis, and were traits that were lost during the Drift. They often were calcium/mineral stores used to show age and fitness, but since resources in Sol are scarce, they no longer grow during molts. Riisborn Eliksni still have horn nubs, but that's about it

-As for the sexual dimorphism thing: that's more just me musing about how slight it would be with my hcs about their reproduction (which involves females laying fertilized eggs into a specialized broodpouch in the male, who then builds on their yolk supply and gives them the calcium needed to form eggshells, and thus needs to be bigger). When given actual Eliksni with a natural range of bodily variation, it would be near-impossible to distinguish them

[denaliwrites]

Horrible Things

Tenth Doctor x GN!Reader

Summary: The Doctor notices you like to cuddle the crab plushie he got you, so he decides to get you another one. Sequel to Cute Things.

Requests: Open!

Warnings: The most horrifically realistic crab plushie ever.

Tag List: @nyxiethesimp

"You -- you get that thing away from me!" you whined as you backed up into one of the seats by the console. Carefully, but simultaneously in something of a panicked hurry, you crawled on top of it and perched precariously. All the while, you had a finger pointed menacingly at what the Doctor held in his hand.

"What?" he asked innocently. "What's wrong with it? I thought you'd like it!"

You wagged your finger at the object he held. "That is evil! Cursed. Possessed by the souls of every crab that's ever died by human hands."

"What?"

The barely contained laughter in just that one word only spurred you to press deeper into the seat. "You heard me, jackass. Now get it away!"

"Aw, but it's cute," he protested, turning the crab plush to look at him. "I rather thought you'd name it the CRABIS."

"The -- Doctor!" you whimpered. "It -- I'm sorry, but it's way too realistic to be cute! And where the fuck are its eyes!?"

He looked at the crab thoughtfully, turning it this way and that so as to examine it. "Huh. That's a good question," he admitted.

"Crabs have eyes," you said. "But that cursed crustacean has none!"

You could tell that the Doctor was having a great time with this. His lips kept twitching up in flashes of crooked smiles that he struggled to rein in.

"Eyes are the windows to the soul, yeah?" you asked.

"Sure," he agreed, his voice curious.

"Well, that thing doesn't have eyes -- and it looks soulless!"

"Hey, now," he said, managing to sound somewhat serious, "plenty of things don't have eyes but have plenty of soul --"

"But not that!" you protested. "That's some Chucky shit!"

"What--"

"That thing's gonna come alive in the middle of the night and kill me!"

"Now you're just being mean," the Doctor pouted, settling the crab neatly on the console. "Look at it. Harmless little thing. Cute."

You hissed, much like a cat, in the crab's direction before slinking off the seat and down the hall towards the bedrooms, also much like a cat.

You awoke that night to strange shuffling outside your door. Forgetting all about the events of earlier that day, you got up and opened it, expecting to see the Doctor. Instead, you were met with empty air.

You looked down the hall in both directions before shrugging and turning to close the door.

Just before you did, though, something caught your eye and you looked down.

Sitting just outside the entrance to your room was the little crab plush, and in one of its claws was a knife.

The scream that came out of you was loud enough to rattle the TARDIS. It echoed down the hall and the sound of the Doctor's jubilant laugh echoed back from somewhere to your left.

You picked up the crab and its knife and stared at it balefully. "I'm gonna kill him," you told it. "I'm gonna take this stupid knife and I'm gonna kill him with it." Though the crab didn't answer you, you suspected the Doctor heard you, based on the gleeful cackle you heard in the distance.

[bunnyb34r]

Scupa discovered that since his last molt he is now big enough to stand on top of the cabana (or the shelf I haven't seen which) and can once more enjoy his favorite long forgotten (banned) pastime of scuttling on the tank lid at 3am scaring the shit out of me and waking me up (: I'm so thrilled

[a-twistedheartslonging]

*cough cough* so uh.... nonhuman jade??? I feel like he would frog blink at me

Either that or not blink at all/hardly blink, most fish don't have eyelids, and even though he and the other mers do it's not like they would need to underwater. Tbh Seb and Mal would prob do that weird blink.

Anyway, since He and Floyd are the same kind of creature, stuff from Floyd's post will be repeated.

He still has his ear and arm fins even with the potion. He can make his ear fins wiggle and droop and they will sometimes do it unconsciously, perhaps because of how he’s feeling or if he’s eating or sucking on something. Unlike Floyd, Jade will do his best to control it since that shows his emotions and he doesn't want others to be able to read him, though that's not to say he won’t do it on purpose like when he fake cries. The whole “being able to produce tears” thing wasn't something he could do until he got on land. Fish don't have or need tear ducts. Still, if it's just the two of you he might give a fin wiggle to hear you giggle, he be silly like that sometimes,

He can make the arm fins flare out and go down so he can get shirts on easier, and they will flare out when trying to be threatening.

Still keeps some of his eel coloring and stripes along with his claws. His hands start with that not-quite-white he has and become more of that green-blue going up.

His fingers have little bits of webbing and...are kind of creepily long. 

Doesn’t blink as often as a human should and his eyes glow in the dark, along with his habit of staring it can be a bit startling. 

Like his brother, is very instant on getting you in the water with him for some reason. If you can't swim, he'll offer to let you ride him. Though he is capable of outspending a broom you don't worry about him trying to zoom like Floyd, that doesn't mean he won't try to scare you in the water though. He may be more polite than his brother but he's still a little shit.

Has no belly button or nips.

Has a very strong interest in your feet and legs, especially with how…soft they are. In the official manga, we get to see that Floyd isn't the only touchy eel, though he isn't…rough about it like Floyd. Well, not as long as it's you. He loves to poke, squeeze, and rub them. Very very badly wants to bite but…he’s a gentleman. At least until you guys are together, and he has permission, expect to look like you got nabbed by a small shark then after.

He can't help but be fascinated by how different your body is, he really does want to study you, though funnily enough he gets a bit of stage fright if you try doing the same.

Is a fan of those small clawless hands. Seeing how they prune up when wet for too long, holding them and enjoying that soft warmth. He’s bigger than plenty of people but gets a special kick out of how big you make him feel.

His skin feels different from what humans have but isn't quite the same as when in his eel form. It's soft but also…thick. There’s no way you would be able to break his skin with your bite or scratches, dull little human nails and teeth can't do much. He would be pretty amused at you actually trying to bite him, how cute. It makes him want to tease you more and make you make you angry enough to try more. Still, if you do somehow manage to break skin he’s prepared, can’t have his little shrimp die of poisoning.

Along with eating fish, crabs, and octopus's moray also eat very toxic creatures and as a result, the blood and flesh of a moray are very toxic. They accumulate high levels of ciguatoxins, which can give humans ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) if eaten. There will be times in a fight where he’ll get his blood on the guy on purpose and Jade has used his blood for…things before. Part of why Jade wants to test “special” mushrooms on others is because the poison won't affect him, and he wants to see how it affects others. Might poison you in small doses on purpose so you'll build up a tolerance.

A moray will often eat anything small enough to fit in its mouth and is capable of taking a chunk out of bigger fish. As a result, Floyd will also try to eat…not food things if he can fit it in his mouth. Luckily for you, Jade has more self-control than his brother so your small nicknacks are safe...for now.

Everything about you just triggers his prey drive. He really wants to bite you, chase you, squish you, put eggs in you, bite you some more. Really hates having to keep up his calm gentlemanly image at times.

Can open his mouth scarily wide and his teeth are longer than OG Jade's, so it's a bit harder for him to hide them like he would with those polite smiles he always has. Very long tongue, you've seen it when he totally wasn't trying to show it off to you. He was just enjoying that ice cream. Funny how you're the only one to get a good look at it though.

Has pharyngeal jaws which are a second set of smaller jaws located in the throat of the moray eel, behind the normal jaws in the mouth, complete with tiny teeth. This set of jaws gets launched into the mouth cavity during feeding, where it can grasp onto food, and pull it into the throat to swallow. Morays are unique in using their pharyngeal jaws to actively capture and restrain prey in this way.

Certain eels have been shown to be surprisingly affectionate with divers they recognize and enjoy petting, rubbing, and gentle hugs. Though a bit touchy, when in public he is nowhere near as touchy as Floyd. When alone? Just as bad if he knows you are comfortable with it.

His gills are still present so his rib area is a weak spot. Getting hit there would really hurt and really piss him off.

Is nocturnal and prefers dark places, especially when sleeping. He also likes being snug and wrapped up for sleepies. In the sea, he would like to sleep in small places with his brother and would love for you and him to share a sleeping bag when camping.

Moray have a spongy, sluggy texture from their lack of scales. To top it off, these fish are covered in a thick mucous layer. Believe it or not, mucous serves a very strong purpose in nature, typically providing a protective barrier over otherwise vulnerable layers of skin. Your stomach should have a thick mucous layer to protect it from the acids inside, and similarly, a fish without scales can make good use of this snotty, slimy substance to keep it safe from toxins and physical damage as it occupies its rocky habitat.

The green moray eel is actually brown under all the snot; it’s just covered in a thick green layer of mucous. In some species, this mucous is even toxic, making them a particularly nasty prey item. Luckily what Floyd and Jade have isn't the toxic kind and will make your skin pretty nice. Jade will use this in his favor to get more cuddles. Careful though, he may do what Floyd does and perform what is known as a slime attack by slapping someone in the face with his tail, it is very unpleasant to get in your mouth.

The smallest moray, the Snyder’s moray, is around 12cm (4.5in) long, and the largest is more than 3m (over 10ft) long and weighs up to 30kg. A huge moray eel in Indonesia has been witnessed feeding on sharks and I like to headcanon the tweels are pretty big in their mer form and not just because of tail length.

Morays actually have pretty bad eyesight and a keen sense of smell to make up for this and rely primarily on chemoreception such as smells and tastes to navigate their world. I do wonder if the twins need glasses but don't use them or maybe wear contacts. 

Jade is very good at tracking you down by scent and likes it when you smell like him and him smelling like you. Though he loves cuddling and hugging you, it isn't just for affection. He’s giving you that eel stank, plenty of the others are weary around him and you smelling like him can help keep others away.

Unlike with Floyd Him leaving clothes at your place is never out of forgetfulness. He plans everything out. Insistes that you put on his coat when it’s cold out and drapes it on you before you can say no. Hoodies aren't usually his thing, but his ass bought some just for  “forgetting” them at your place. They're actually some fancy name-brand ones. Still, even with his planning, he could not prepare himself with how good you looked in them…it was so big on you, and you looked so cute and now it smelled like you and….

The moray can form a true knot with its body, that it uses as leverage to pull on prey items like slippery fish. They can also use this method to create strong pressure to break food items into smaller pieces. It’s thought that the skill is passed on between individuals. So, if you want to escape eel cuddles…good luck but it's probably not going to happen. Even in his more human form his long arms and legs will be wrapped around you. Kinda funny thinking of the tweel's parents teaching them how to become living knots though.

Certain types of eels can change their sex. The leaf-nosed moray born male, transitions as they age, switching to female later in life. This transformation determines them as “sequential hermaphrodites” I like to headcanon that the tweens can also change sex or already have both in their mer form. 

Morays can have around 10,000 eggs at a time, and when the larvae are hatched, the eels are fully translucent. I like to think the boys started out as tiny little things you can hold in your hand.

Regular eels do seem to have some courtship rituals. Some of which being displays of behavior, such as graceful movements and vibrant color changes and I already like that headcanon of the tweels being bioluminescent. Maybe he convinced you to come down to his dorm's special pool one night and decided to show off for you. Showing off that beautiful glow while doing these cool tricks in the water. A positive reaction will likely be taken as acceptance, so unless you tell him no, you will receive some wet slimy eel-loving.

Male eels may compete with each other for the attention of females showcasing strength and health to impress a potential mate. Welp, time for Jade to invite you to a hike and show off, expect to be carried after he makes up after walking into an area, something about the grounds stability and how only a seasoned hiker like him knows the proper steps to safety. Dude will lift up a whole ass dead tree trunk stuck in your path. Will also be even more of a menace towards the other guys.

Eels also release pheromones into the water to attract and communicate with potential partners but...hmm you're just a human and on land. With the others being beasts and all, they would be able to smell it easily and know to stay the hell away from him but would his little shrimpy notice? I think at most that if it's something that you can smell it probably just seems like Jade has just smelled a bit…musky lately. He is probably around you even more and keeps close to see your reaction to it. He probably gets sad if you tell him he stinky and takes it as you not wanting him. If you compliment it? Very happy eel time.

As for the rest of what he does, it's little things like bringing you food which is often cooked by him, little trinkets that made him think of you, and getting territorial around others. The latter usually ends up with him not bothering to hide his teeth as he “smiles” at whoever is talking to you, likely having his hand on your shoulder or waist while doing so.

[inthedayswhenlandswerefew]

When The World Is Crashing Down [Chapter 2: Choose Love Or Sympathy]

Series summary: Your family is House Celtigar, one of Rhaenyra's wealthiest allies. In the aftermath of Rook's Rest, Aemond unknowingly conscripts you to save his brother's life. Now you are in the liar of the enemy, but your loyalties are quickly shifting...

Chapter warnings: Language, warfare, extreme babygirl energy, violence, serious injury, Larys Strong, alcoholism/addiction, references to sexual content (18+), Crab Family lore.

Series title is a lyric from: "7 Minutes in Heaven" by Fall Out Boy.

Chapter title is a lyric from: "XO" by Fall Out Boy.

Word count: 5.5k.

Link to chapter list (and all my writing): HERE.

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A moment of clarity, something he’s having more of lately: eyes glassy but open, voice husky, words slow. His vast bedchamber in the Red Keep always smells like honey and rose oil and the brackish golden air that blows in off the ocean. Sounds float weightlessly through the open windows like feathers on waves, music and shouts and creaking wagon wheels, gull cries and sails cracking in the wind. Late-morning daylight is an aisle across the stone floor, a river, a channel. Aegon’s bed has been moved away from the windows; when his wounds are uncovered, direct sunlight can ravage him in minutes, fresh blisters, thickening scars.

Aegon winces as you sit behind him and knead warm rose oil into his back and shoulders. His flesh is a grisly mosaic: pink and crimson and white, knots of burgeoning scar tissue, spots that are still raw and weeping. “It itches like hell, does that mean it’s infected?”

“That means it’s healing. Do you want more?” You mean the goblet of pearlescent milk of the poppy on his bedside table. It’s always there, and refilled frequently.

Aegon shakes his head, groggy, slumped, white-blond hair loose and disheveled. “I should probably be sentient on occasion. You haven’t been helping me piss into chamber pots or anything, have you?”

You smile. “No. You’ve got servants for that.” Although they report their findings to you; Maester Arthur of Claw Isle once taught you that organ failure is a common cause of death for burn victims, even if they survive the risks of shock and festering. All appears well enough on the outside, and then they start pissing blood or their skin goes yellow as their innards lose their secretive divine cadence, that vital rhythm, and then the poor soul is gone within days.

“Thank the gods,” Aegon says. “A speck of dignity remains. It’s tragic enough that I now closely resemble an overcooked meat pie.”

You chuckle as you massage rose oil into his wounds, keeping the scars moist and supple so they do not split open when he moves, so his joints are not locked in place. He will need them when he is out of bed again. He will need them if he truly is the king. “I don’t think you look that bad.”

“Because you’re used to sifting through guts and corpses all day. I’m an improvement. I’m only half dead.” And just weeks ago, he was pleading to be all the way dead. He glances back at you, brow knitted into thoughtful furrows; you can see it between the messy locks of hair that shag over his face. “What made you want to study something like this? It’s gruesome. It’s miserable, thankless work.”

“I was never good at anything,” you tell him. “My sisters were, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t dance, couldn’t sing, couldn’t embroider patterns unless they were humiliatingly simple, and even then I loathed it. My father grew so desperate he encouraged me to try archery with my brothers. I accidentally put an arrow in the foot of a squire and that was the end of my bowwoman career.”

Aegon laughs, then groans at the pain it causes him. He turns around so he can look at you, clumsily repositioning himself on the feather mattress, propping himself up on his palms. He squints down at his left hand where his ring should be: gold wings, jade eyes. You will have to remind Aemond to give it back to him. “I was never good at anything either.”

You can’t imagine that to be true, and yet it’s what you’ve always been told, that he was gifted at drinking and whoring and nothing else. You cannot reconcile those stories with the man in front of you. You keep trying, keep failing. You slather your palms in rose oil again the then begin massaging it into his chest. Aegon watches you with muzzy, drugged interest, eyes like cold ocean currents. “Then, five years ago, my brother…” You hesitate. A real name, an imagined one? You decide there is no harm in this small truth. Aegon will not remember the name of a younger son of a Crownlands house; he barely recalls the men of his own Kingsguard, who now spend their days trotting around the castle after Aemond. “My brother Everett was burned very badly, just like you were, although his wounds were mostly to his legs. And we all thought he would die. People advised us to show mercy by giving him enough milk of the poppy to kill him. They said it would be a sin to let him suffer so terribly. Yet our maester believed he could save him. My father and eldest brother had other responsibilities to attend to, and my mother and sisters could not bear the sight of Everett’s injuries. But I watched the way the maester worked on him, and I just…I thought it was the most captivating, beautiful thing I’d ever seen. The way a body can be taken apart or put back together like stones in a wall. Place one here, remove one there, and then like magic you’ve changed the course of someone’s life. Our maester taught me how to clean burns and change bandages, and when Everett was well again, he taught me about broken bones, fevers, childbirth, wolf bites, dry drowning. I read every book on the subject of healing in my father’s library. He kept having to order me more from the Citadel. I think I would have liked to be a maester myself, but…”

Aegon grins. “You have to go marry your mystery nobleman.”

“And women can’t be maesters.”

“They made me king of the Seven Kingdoms but you can’t be a maester? Fucking ridiculous.” He studies you as your fingers—tenderly, carefully—press rose oil into the red scar that creeps up over his right cheek. “Why won’t you tell me who he is?”

He means your betrothed. Aegon keeps asking about him in his moments of lucidity. You quip: “I don’t want you to have him murdered.”

“That would solve your problem.”

“I preserve life, I don’t take it.”

“I’ve noticed,” Aegon says with a soft, tired smile. Very slowly, he reaches up with one hand to pat at his silvery hair. “Can you give me my braid back? It seems to have been washed out again.”

“Of course.”

“Why did you start doing that?”

What is the truth? Something you can’t tell Aegon. No matter how often I touch him, I want more. “It’s a war braid. You’re a warrior. You’ve earned it.”

“So I am good at something after all,” he murmurs. You rebandage Aegon’s wounds and help him lie back down again. You give him a sip of milk of the poppy, which by now is badly needed; Aegon’s face is sweated and pale and agonized. Then you clean the rose oil from your hands and begin weaving a small braid into his hair. He gazes vacantly towards the open window, bright warm light he cannot walk into. “I assume Aemond is…handling things.”

“Yes, he’s…” How will Aegon take this? Is it a relief, or a slight? There was a great ceremony. You did not attend; you were here tending to the Greens’ broken king. It’s where you spend most of your time. “He’s been made Prince Regent and Protector of the Realm.”

Aegon nods, his expression unreadable. “How’s Sunfyre?”

“Still at Rook’s Rest and gaining strength. He was climbing the cliffs as of a few days ago. But I’ll ask Aemond when I see him today.”

Now Aegon smiles again. “Sunfyre is fierce. He is extraordinary.”

“You both are,” you say as you fashion his silver braid; and Aegon stares as if he couldn’t have heard you correctly.

Her steps are so light that at first you aren’t aware she’s entered the room. You see her out of the corner of your eye and immediately stand, moving away from the bed, from Aegon. You feel strange touching him this way—unnecessarily, self-indulgently, greedily—in her presence. She is his wife, after all.

“Your Grace,” you greet Helaena, bowing. She does not look at you. She looks vaguely in Aegon’s direction instead. She is wearing a turquoise blue dress and her long hair pulled back from her face. The servants have dressed her, or Alicent; she cannot do it herself anymore. In her hands she holds a large glass jar of sticks and leaves.

“Hello, Helaena,” Aegon says, more like a sigh than a welcome.

She scurries towards him and sets the jar down on his bedside table with a clunk, right next to the goblet of milk of the poppy and a number of other drinks, things you ply Aegon with to keep him hydrated. Then Helaena speaks, her eyes on the contents of the jar. There is something else in there, you see now: a fat wriggling green creature, a caterpillar inching along the length of an upright stick. "For you."

“It’s very nice,” Aegon tells her, in a tone like a parent losing patience with their child.

“It takes nourishment and then rests,” Helaena says. “It is wrapped in a cocoon and stays there for a long while. But when it emerges, it is not just well again. It is greater than it was before. And it can fly.”

“Oh, I understand now.” Aegon makes no attempt to touch her—not even her hand, not even for a moment—but his words are kinder. “I am the worm. Thank you, Helaena. This comforts me.”

She is satisfied. She turns to leave.

“Your Grace,” you begin, and hold out your hands to her. She does not take them. She does not meet your eyes; she stares instead into the golden luminescence of the open window behind you. You can hear crashing waves and the screeches of swooping gulls. “I wanted to express…I cannot even begin to tell you…I am so, so sorry for your suffering—”

She spins away from you and sweeps out of the bedchamber. You are left looking at the empty place where she stood, heartsick and sorry. What did I do wrong? What should I have said?

Aegon offers you an apologetic smirk, but his eyes are sad. “It’s not personal. She doesn’t really like touching anybody.” This is an irony, and one that must read on your face. A king and queen—by definition, by necessity—do an inordinate amount of touching. He invades, she endures, they knit heirs together out of threads of blood and sweat. “What we have between us, it’s not…romantic. It never was.”

This is not something he should be telling you. It is not a jest but a spilling of deep, sacred truths. “I didn’t ask.”

“No. But you were wondering.”

You were. You return to the bed and sit down beside Aegon, finishing his braid. You choose your words precisely before you speak. “I don’t believe I have a right to know certain things, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about what you’re thinking.”

“Then let me unburden myself so there is no confusion,” Aegon insists, drowsy but fighting sleep. “There was no joy in it for me or Helaena. I tried to make it as quick and painless as I could, but still, her disdain for the task was obvious. It happened just often enough to conceive the children. And we haven’t even tried in months, not since…” He doesn’t need to say it. Everyone knows, Greens and Blacks alike. A son for a son. The murder of Jaehaerys, six years old and utterly powerless, in exchange for Aemond slaying Luke.

Do you think such a thing was just? No, of course not, how could anyone? Very few things that happen in this world are just. They come with passionate defenses but no mercy, no vision for a less violent future. The wheel goes around and around, and everyone takes their turn being crushed. “Aegon, I’m so sorry,” you tell him softly.

He shakes his head. He will not discuss it. Aegon’s remaining children, Jaehaera and Maelor, do not ask about him; on the rare occasion that Alicent brings them to his bedchamber, they do not seem to know who he is. In fairness, Aegon does not seem to know them either; he regards them with a dull sort of bewilderment, like one might peer down at a page written in a foreign language. In the hallways of the Red Keep, the children clutch at Alicent and Otto, and sometimes Aemond will take a few minutes to play with them, stacking wooden blocks or arranging cloth dolls in a miniature castle. But if ‘mother’ and ‘father’ are words the children know, you’ve never heard them spoken aloud. “Can I have some wine, please?”

“Did you finish your goat milk?”

“Resentfully.”

“Then yes. I’ll get it for you.” You pour Aegon a cup of red wine and then tilt it against his lips. He slurps the cup dry before his eyes dip closed. You set the empty cup on the bedside table, feel his forehead for fever—longer than you need to—and then rise to leave him. You are almost to the door when you hear him say: “Thank you for changing my mind.”

You turn back to Aegon, puzzled. “About what?”

“About wanting to be dead.” He grins and waves, a weak miniscule motion of his left hand. “Come back soon, angel.”

“I will,” you promise.

And only then does he surrender to blessedly numb unconsciousness, the only place in the world that doesn’t hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~

You find Aemond in his own rooms. He is sitting in front of the large circular mirror on his vanity. His hair is long and straight and painstakingly neat, his tunic made of black leather. He is wearing the crown of Aegon the Conqueror. Rubies fracture the sunlight and scatter it against the walls; Valyrian steel glints.

Aemond marvels, knowing that you’re here: “It looks better on me than it ever did on him.”

“I need more rose oil.”

In the mirror’s reflection, his lone blue eye darts to you. “You always ask so politely.”

“I didn’t want to waste your valuable time. I can be more loquacious, if you prefer.”

“That won’t be necessary.” He stands, taking off the crown and placing it—gingerly, with both hands—on his vanity. “I’ll see that you have everything you require.”

“I am eternally appreciative.”

Then he does something that he thinks is amusing, a little joke you share. He grabs for your arm and you yank it away just before his fingers can close around your wrist. This makes him smile; it’s one of the only things that does. “Now follow me,” he orders, striding past you and through the doorway.

You hurry after Aemond, dashing through corridors and archways. You know where he is going; this has happened before. As you ascend a staircase, Alicent is leading Jaehaera and Maelor down to the gardens. She has one tiny hand gripped in each of hers; the hem of her emerald green dress drags on the stone steps. She keeps losing weight. You stop to scoop Maelor up and hug him—he giggles, squeezing at your cheeks as you smack kisses onto his face—and then turn your attention to Jaehaera. She has just learned the rules of curtsying and loves to practice. You bow to her, and then she does the same to you, and while her head is bent low you ruffle her silvery hair until it is in hopeless disarray and Jaehaera is laughing hysterically. Then you kneel down so she can sabotage your hair however she sees fit. She pulls strands out of your sensible low bun until you give up and shake it all loose. Alicent—large dark eyes, demurely veiled auburn hair, somber and suffering—gives you a grave, grateful smile. Aemond has waited at the apex of the stairs for you. When you rejoin him he continues onward to the council chamber.

Inside men are taking their seats and already beginning to quarrel: Criston Cole, Otto Hightower, Grand Maester Orwyle, Tyland Lannister, Jasper Wylde, Larys Strong, the knights of the Kingsguard. Sir Rickard Thorne pays no attention to you. Aemond once mentioned off-handedly: ‘Sir Rickard, I believe our healer is a distant relation of yours.’ The knight had glanced at you and produced some noncommittal reply, oh, indeed, sure, is that so. You had met before, you realized when you saw his face, years ago, at some event that brought together the houses of the Crownlands, a wedding or a funeral or a feast. He has a hazy recollection of you, but he cannot pin it down; he spent the evening with boisterous young men like your eldest brother Clement, while you had spent it with other noblewomen. Sir Rickard’s mother or sisters could probably identify you as a Celtigar. To Rickard himself, you can masquerade as some unimportant cousin he is ashamed to have forgotten. You assume your usual place in the council chamber: standing in a corner, trying not to be noticed, only there in case specific questions involving Aegon’s medical treatment arise.

“Is he dying?” Otto asks Aemond. “He must be. He has no interest in whores.”

Aemond raises his eyebrow at you. “Actually, I’ve been informed he is improving.”

Maester Orwyle beams at you. Upon your arrival in King’s Landing, he had confirmed to Aemond and Criston what you already knew: that while the Citadel’s guidance several decades ago was indeed pork lard or cow dung to treat burns, now there is a growing consensus that vinegar, honey, and oil for scar tissue are the best available remedies. You nod back. You are natural allies; the Greens’ king is under your joint care. You both have much to lose if he dies.

Now Otto Hightower addresses you. He is a stern, weathered, shrewd man. He reminds you of your father, though far more humorless. “When will he be able to fight again?”

“Fight?” you echo, stunned. “In battle? Months at least, my lord. Perhaps a year.”

“A year!” Otto bellows, then turns his wrath on Criston and Aemond. “I told you, I told you! I urged him to exercise caution, over and over again I warned him of the danger, and while I was penning letters to every possible ally you were pouring poison into his ears, convincing him that I wasn’t doing enough. Now look at him! Look at this goddamn fucking mess!”

“How fares the dragon?” Tyland Lannister says.

“I received a raven from Rook’s Rest today,” Aemond replies. “Sunfyre is eating well and ambulatory.”

“Useless,” Otto hisses. “Can’t fly. Can’t be moved. A waste of the livestock he’s being fed.”

“We may yet find a purpose for him,” Aemond says.

“Two dragons!” Otto explodes. “Can you count them?! We have two dragons capable of combat, and one of them is ridden by a fifteen-year-old. The Blacks still have Syrax, Caraxes, Vermax, Tyraxes, and Moondancer. And gods help us if they find someone to ride any of the other unclaimed beasts on Dragonstone. Seasmoke, Vermithor, Silverwing, Grey Ghost, the Cannibal…”

“I hope they try to tame the Cannibal,” Criston mutters. “If we’re lucky, he’ll eat them all.”

“My lord,” Larys Strong says to Otto, clutching his cane; he has a habit of lacing his fingers overtop the handle and resting his chin on them. Larys is a watchful, quiet man who speaks rarely yet with great consequence. He is the Master of Whisperers, he is the Lord of Harrenhal, and aside from that he is an enigma to you. “I hate to be the bearer of unfortunate tidings, however I must speak plainly. I have just obtained reports that the Blacks are pursuing precisely the course of action that you fear. Jacaerys Velaryon is offering land and knighthood to any man who can mount a dragon and join their cause. The realm is littered with Targaryen bastards, I’m certain it is only a matter of time until they find at least a few candidates suited to the task.”

Otto slams his fist down on the table. You startle at the noise; Aemond glances over at you. “No king. No Sunfyre. Dreamfyre in the Dragonpit, who Helaena cannot fly into battle. A fucking disaster.”

“We have Vhagar,” Aemond says confidently.

“She is worth two full-grown dragons,” Otto pitches back. “Not four or five.”

“Daemon is the real threat. If I can eliminate him, the war is over.”

“Daeron should be prepared for combat,” Jasper Wylde says. “He is travelling with Lord Ormund Hightower’s army in the Reach, but he can easily be called back to King’s Landing. He could assist Prince Aemond in his pursuit of Daemon and Caraxes.”

“I don’t need his help,” Aemond replies darkly.

“Then perhaps he could safeguard the city once you’ve gone.”

“We cannot sacrifice military strategy on the altar of personal vendettas,” Criston says. “Dragons are best used on the battlefield against soldiers and castles, not on meandering quests to find one lone enemy, that’s a needle in a haystack, it’s a misallocation of precious resources.”

Aemond counters: “But if I can kill Daemon, nothing else matters—”

“It does matter, Aemond!” Criston roars. “I matter, the armies matter, winning the confidence of the houses you hope to rule matters!”

“How is Corlys Velaryon handling all of this?” Otto asks Larys. “The defeat at Rook’s Rest, the death of his wife?”

Larys answers: “He blames Rhaenyra for the losses. He has taken it badly. It is my understanding that he intended to withdraw his support from the Blacks, and was brought back only by Jacaerys giving him the title of Hand of the Queen. I am under the impression that Corlys may be willing to reconsider his allegiance if the circumstances were right—”

There is a knock at the council chamber door, not a knock but a pounding, not a pounding but a frantic drumming like the marching of soldiers’ boots. Sir Criston Cole unlocks and opens the door. Alicent stands there with her face flushed and shiny with tears. Instantly, Criston is at her side asking what is wrong, one hand resting protectively her shoulder, the other on the hilt of the sword he wears everywhere he goes.

“Come quickly,” Alicent begs you, only you. “Please. It’s Aegon.”

You race with her to Aegon’s bedchamber, hearing the screams long before you reach him. This doesn’t make sense; he shouldn’t be in pain this severe, not yet, not for hours. You are aware that there are footsteps thundering behind you, Aemond and Criston rushing to see if the king really is dying this time. In his bed, Aegon thrashes and moans. He needs to stop moving so violently; he will split his scar tissue like burst seams. Already you can see blooms of crimson appearing on his bandages where the wounds beneath have reopened: his neck, his waist, his ribcage. He is out of his mind. He is destroying himself.

He is shouting for Sunfyre, for Aemond, for Criston. He is back at Rook’s Rest being roasted alive in his own armor. Not dying, then; just having a nightmare. You kneel at his bedside and smooth his hair back, his braid threading through your fingers, and whisper to him that it’s alright, that he’s safe, that he needs to wake up now. Alicent is weeping, both hands covering her mouth. Aemond and Criston are watching you, mesmerized, transfixed.

Aegon’s oceanic eyes fly open, wide and panicked. “Where am I?”

And you smile down at him, your palm cradling his unburned left cheek. “The end of the world.”

He blinks. He remembers. His lips stretch into a grin. “There you are,” he tells you, voice gravelly and low. “I dreamed everyone was gone and you were too.”

“I’m here.”

“You aren’t in a hurry to abandon me for your burly betrothed?”

Cregan Stark must think I’m dead. “No, Aegon.”

“You can’t leave without telling me.”

Everett, Clement, my father, my mother, Piper, Petra, Penelope, they must all think I was burned to ash on the battlefield or murdered and tossed into the sea. “I know. I won’t.”

“You can’t leave,” he says again, a half-awake whimper as he sinks back into unconsciousness. You give him more milk of the poppy, enough to make his sleep deep and black and dreamless.

You reclean and rebandage Aegon’s wounds. It takes hours. Aemond fetches Maester Orwyle to assist you. Criston comforts Alicent, wanting to do and say far more than he can. When it is done, only Alicent remains in the bedchamber with you. She visits Aegon frequently, but she does not know how to speak to him; she always stands there clasping her own hands together, praying and stalling, desperate to show him love and yet incapable of it.

“Thank you for what you’ve done for him,” Alicent says, tears glistening in her umber eyes. “Not just the hours, not just the medicine. For everything that you’ve done.” And she embraces you, and when she does you hold her like she wishes her own daughter could.

~~~~~~~~~~

In the night you see it repeating like a chorus of a song in the shadows that crawl across the ceiling: one year ago, stray snowflakes in your hair, stars in a black sky and air like metal.

The Celtigar fortune is older than the Targaryens’ conquering of Westeros, older than the Doom of Valyria. Where did the money come from? Friends of the Celtigars would say distinctively cunning maritime trade; their enemies would say piracy. Perhaps the two are not always so different. Is there any mechanism of accumulating great wealth that does not involve stealing in one form or another, of wringing out some other soul like a wet cloth until every drop of them disappears down your throat? Your ancestors did not tame dragons, but they had a different sort of gift: for every coin, they could find a way to make two or six or ten. Repeat that process for centuries and there are vaults filled to the ceiling with gold coins like pieces of the midday sun.

When Daenys the Dreamer had a vision of the Doom over a decade before it left Valyria a smoldering, fragmented wasteland haunted by demons and plague, only three Valyrian houses heeded the warning. Her own family, the Targaryens, relocated to Dragonstone. The Velaryons, having already long occupied Driftmark, resolved to stay there. And the Celtigars—merchants to some, pirates to others—crossed the Narrow Sea to settled on Claw Isle.

Crispian Celtigar served as Master of Coin to Aegon the Conqueror. Alton Celtigar was his Hand of the King. Edwell Celtigar was chosen to be Hand of the King to Maegor I, and later Master of Coin to Jaehaerys I during his minority. The Celtigars have never been far from the Iron Throne…though perhaps none were ever as close as you are now.

One year ago, your father embarked upon a trade mission to White Harbor. Never a man to squander an opportunity for new business, he added stops in Oldcastle, Cerwyn, and Winterfell, and brought along his four maiden daughters to stoke the desires of Northerner lords. Piper fancied a son of Lord Manderly, Petra caught the attention of a Cerwyn boy. But no offer was advantageous enough for Bartimos Celtigar’s liking; no deal could be struck.

In Winterfell, Lord Cregan Stark was already married. His wife, a childhood friend before she was a bedmate, trudged around the castle heavily pregnant and dragging layer upon layer of furs to guard her against the cold, often biting even in summer. Lord Cregan took little notice of your giggling, gossiping sisters, and even less of you…until he broke his sparring partner's arm in the castle courtyard. As the other women fled with nauseated faces back to their needlework, you asked Winterfell’s maester if you could watch how he set the fracture and managed the man’s pain. The maester was delighted—Northerners, as a rule, lack intellectual curiosity—and even allowed you to help bandage the wound once the split bone had been popped back into place. And it was only then, as you knelt there with your forehead creased with determination and blood coating your hands to the knuckles, that Lord Cregan Stark began to see you.

You have a fear of marriage, not a general aversion but a specific and powerful dread. When you were fourteen, you asked your mother if she enjoyed lying with her husband, and you had known as soon as she spoke with a careful sort of reticence—‘I enjoy feeling close to him, I suppose’—that the answer was no. When you were sixteen and your cousin Theodora married into House Bar Emmon, you went with the other noblewomen to inspect her bedsheets the next morning, and were horrified by how they chuckled at the large rust-like stain and recalled their own initiations into sex, this unavoidable rite of passage, this ultimate surrender. At breakfast, the men toasted wine and hooted and sang, while Theodora stared down with glazed eyes at her untouched bacon and duck eggs and said when Piper asked how the night went: ‘He wanted me three times. Is there anything I can do to make him stop?’ And you had thought: Aren’t unions like this supposed to be holy? What the hell do the gods have to do with it? Are they in the sweat, in the bleak resignation, in the linen of the sheets? Do they fill the man with blind lust like an animal’s, do they help hold the woman down?

Your eyes close as you lie in bed in the Red Keep, your room adjoining Aegon’s, and suddenly you are back in Winterfell again. You are making notes as the maester shows you the herbs growing in the Glass Gardens when Cregan finds you. He is tall and broad, made more so by the furs that engulf him like mist drapes the stony cliffs of Claw Isle. His voice is booming, thunderous, cataclysmically formidable. He is used to being listened to. He has never been expected to sit quietly as other men charted out his life like the route of a trade ship: here you will go, here you will be emptied of every scrap of value. He says he will give you a tour of the Library Tower. It is not an invitation; an invitation can be declined.

You walk together through the Godswood—dark water, blackberry bushes, crows squawking, gods you do not believe in—and Cregan tells you fond memories of his childhood. He likes hunting and archery. He spars in the courtyard for hours each day. He never stays still, he never goes quiet. He wants to know where you learned to marvel at the ghastly art of piecing broken bodies back together again. He wants to know why you are so different from other women. And he inquires with great fascination about the legendary treasures of your house, not just gold but rubies, jeweled cups, Myrish carpets and Volantene glass, a horn said to summon krakens from the sea, an axe made of Valyrian steel.

Winterfell’s library is sparse and dusty, cobwebs in shadowy alcoves. Cregan Stark thinks you will not notice. As he slips books about anatomy and herbology off the shelves to show you, you cannot help studying his hands, large and calloused and always stained with black patches of ink or soil or soot. They make yours look tiny and defenseless, skin of silk and bones like glass. You picture him claiming you, owning you, climbing into the marital bed knowing that you cannot refuse anything he asks for. You envision him forcing your thighs apart with those huge filthy hands, leaving smudges like ash. You imagine him tearing his way into a part of you that feels so small, so vulnerable; you imagine the suffocating burden of his interminable weight.

A moment of clarity, in the library beathing dust and Cregan’s scent, a woodsmoke musk, a wolflike wildness: I don’t know this man. I don’t trust this man. I’m glad he’s not free to marry me.

This was before the war began, before Cregan’s wife Arra Norrey died birthing their son Rickon, before Jace Velaryon arrived in Winterfell to forge the Pact of Ice and Fire. And when Cregan agreed to support Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne, and Jace pledged to marry his firstborn daughter to Rickon, the Warden of the North decided there was one last thing he wanted inked into the covenant. He wanted an ally in the South, bottomless wealth, his future children to have Valyrian ancestry. He wanted a woman with vigilant, unflinching eyes and blood on her hands.

He wanted you.

[fruitcoops]

Please, Please, Please

Cubs beach day in Nice and prompt C4: "Sunscreen" for day 2 of @oknutzy-week-2024! Characters belong to @lumosinlove (except Colette)!

“You,” Logan began, rubbing his hand faster until an aggressive thwap-thwap-thwap punctuated his words. “Are not going to be embarrassing me here, ouais?”

“Okay—Jesus, Lo—yes, alright, I got it.”

Logan pulled back and examined his handiwork. Functional. For now. Down the beach, Leo already looked half-asleep in the sun, and Finn’s longing glances toward him were not even slightly hidden. The breeze ushered a cloud further along; the sudden sunburst made Finn squint.

Logan huffed and squirted another dollop of sunscreen onto his palm, aiming for Finn’s shoulder this time.

“Oh my god, Tremz.”

“You’re going to burn!” he insisted. Finn squirmed away, but he had never been able to shake Logan. Not on the ice, and certainly not on a pebbled beach he’d been traversing since literal infancy. He smoothed out a stray arc of white over Finn’s spine and watched goosebumps flare on his arm. “What would you do without me, eh? Crisp? Like toast?”

“You sound like your grandmother.”

“If I bring back a lobster boyfriend, she’ll think I don’t know how to take care of you!” Logan wiped the excess on Finn’s waist and nodded, satisfied. “Bon.”

Finn quirked a grin at him. “Am I free to go?”

He was so sweet in the sun. So sparkly, copper and amber and caramel catching in his hair where the salt air had starched soft waves. Logan came close and pressed a kiss to each of his summer-warm cheeks. “I love your freckles too much to let them roast.”

“Hmm.” Finn turned his head slightly to the side, pushing his smile into Logan’s cheek. “Just my freckles?”

“And maybe you, a little,” he conceded.

Finn’s hands were pleasantly cool when he ran them along Logan’s sides in a long up-and-down. “A little?”

“Maybe a little more.”

“Enough to bring me home.”

Logan scrunched his nose at him. “I had to bring you, or the hot blond wouldn’t come.”

Finn slapped the sunscreen bottle from his hands with Logan’s favorite wordless sound of affronted disapproval—nearly a squawk, mostly a whine, almost his name. He snatched the bottle just before it hit the coarse sand and took off at a jog, dodging driftwood and clumps of drying seaweed.

Nice was beautiful in the summer. There was a reason he had brought Finn here, years ago. Finn hadn’t known a lick of French and Logan had hardly known what to do with himself watching the autumn reds of Harvard against a backdrop of blue and purple, but it was perfect. Still was. He knew just where to step to make the dock silent as he slowed and made his way to the far end, matching the steady rock of the current as it broke on the sand below.

“Bonjour.”

“ ‘Jour.”

A lazy smile spread over Leo’s lips when Logan knelt to straddle him, knees sinking into the soft towel they had brought down from his grandmother’s house. She utterly adored Leo, with his cherub curls and his good manners and (most delightfully) the ability to speak French. They hadn’t stopped chatting in nearly a week. Logan could listen to it forever.

Leo stretched, torso arching, arms overhead, ankles popping behind Logan—and relaxed, one wildflower-blue eye peering up. “You’ve got a halo,” he murmured. “Mon ange.”

Logan sighed through his nose and let his weight rest heavy across Leo’s waist. His breaths were measured with the comfort of a beach day. The sun had been kissing him golden since the first hot day in June; a week lounging on the coast of France practically made him glow.

“Le mien.” He drew a line down the center of Leo’s chest, where tiny freckles peeked through if you knew where to look. Mine.

Leo’s smile widened until his eyes crinkled. “You sound different here.”

“Mm?”

“C’est, um…” He raised a hand with great effort, tapping his fingers together like a crab claw. “Taffy. Smoother. Fancy.”

“You don’t sound like anybody here,” Logan laughed, relishing the judder of Leo’s belly beneath him. “But, my grandmère loves you anyway.”

“Yeah, she does,” Leo said, prodding him in the chest. “We talk all day long and she doesn’t say I sound funny once. You, on the other hand…”

“Ah! Un petit caneton! Ouais-ouais-ouais, coin-coin-coin-coin,” Logan mimicked.

Leo’s laughter nearly unseated him; he had hardly caught his breath when a shadow cooled Logan’s shoulder, and he leaned blindly into Finn’s thigh. “Are you being bullied into proper skincare, too?” Finn asked.

Leo tilted his head back with a hum. “We’re discussing how Madame Colette likes me better, thinks my French sounds exotique, and calls her only grandson a duck because he speaks like un canadien.”

Finn tapped the bill of Logan’s hat, knocking it off his head. “So you’re Frenching without me and not manhandling Leo into sunscreen? Preferential treatment, much?”

Logan blinked up at him with all the emptyheaded innocence he could muster. “C’est quoi? Je ne parle pas l’anglais, j’regrette.”

Finn’s lips pursed—his ears reddened. “He’s so sorry,” Leo translated before Finn could open his mouth. His hands slid up Logan’s thighs, high enough to edge on indecent but steady enough that Logan really didn’t care. “He just came here to swim and hang out with his hot boyfriend. Doesn’t know a thing about sunscreen, do you, baby?”

A gentle flick to the forehead was a small price to pay for propping his chin on Finn’s knee. “Here in France,” he said, laying on a thick false accent. “We don’t…’ow do you say…burn? I have never ‘eard of zees sun-screen you speak of.”

Finn looked at him for a long moment, then down at Leo. Chocolate-brown eyes fell on Logan again and he batted his lashes. It drove Finn fucking crazy when he did that, less in the sexy way and more in the don’t you give me those eyes you menace way. Logan employed it often for petty crimes like leaving one chip in the bag and putting it back in the pantry, just to watch Finn’s head explode for his own amusement.

Finally, Finn clucked his tongue. “I’m getting on the plane home without you. Good luck finding a redhead in France.”

Logan caught him around the calf with both arms when he began stepping back. Finn pulled, but he stood no chance when a featherlight kiss found the base of his thigh. “You’ll love me in the morning,” Logan countered. “When you aren’t stuck inside with aloe all over.”

“I happen to like staying inside and doing puzzles with Madame Colette.”

“Grandmère will keep trying to teach you French,” he threatened.

Finn narrowed his eyes, though he had long since stopped trying to free his leg. “Maybe this time I’ll learn, and then we can make fun of you together.”

“You won’t get to see the surprise,” Leo singsonged.

Logan frowned down at him, confused. “What surprise?”

Leo took his lower lip between his teeth and looked up at Finn, plucking at the hem of Logan’s swim trunks. “Remember when Lo and I went into town for bread yesterday?”

“…yes,” Finn said slowly.

“He got a really tiny swimsuit.” Logan watched Finn’s eyes widen. “And if you burn, you won’t get to see it.”

“It’s green,” Logan offered helpfully.

The corner of Finn’s jaw worked. “That’s a hard bargain,” he said at last. He beckoned Logan up with one finger and took the sunscreen back from him, setting it down by Leo. There was a curious, analytical look in his eye that made Logan want to know everything and nothing all at once. “I’ll think on it.”

“Can I help you make up your mind?” he teased.

“Yeah, actually,” Finn said, brightening. “You can.”

Logan’s pulse kicked. One week here with them had left him feeling like he’d been soaked in honey, and it only seemed to get better. He had barely been nineteen when he first brought Finn along. This future had not even been in his best daydreams. “Quoi, rouge?”

“You can cool off.”

The sudden shove to his chest caught him by surprise—the clash of the ocean around him silenced Leo’s bark of laughter in a blur of bubbles and blue. He could see Finn’s wobbly outline sketched out by the sun. Where the water drew him down to smooth gray pebbles, they drew him up, and he kicked off the bottom with the world waiting above.

[tinydefector]

Lazing Lagoons

Merformers AU

Jazz x reader

Word count: 2.1k

Warnings: None, Absolute fluff.

Jazz masterlist

Full masterlist

Ask are open, please make,e sure to check my full masterlist and read my rules.

There will most likely be a part 2 to this

_____________

a human stands off to the side of the large outdoor rescue lagoon taking water samples, swirling them in little jars as they write down notes. They slowly step into the water in the shallow end taking coral samples and checking the few Rays which swim closer wanting a treat. The loud sound of water splashing has them tensing up "Don't even think about it!" They call over their shoulder.

A large webbed hand stops mid grab for fish in the bucket on the ledge of the pool.

The large silver and grey Mer surfaces, bright opal like optics flicker to the human as the Mer flashes a grins impishly, razor sharp denta flickering in the low light of the overhang. He swishes his long shimmering tail through the water as he drifts closer to the human who stands there looking mildly unimpressed. "Aww c'mon! Can't blame a mer for tryin'!" He calls back to them, energetically splashing tiny waves at their back.

Surfing nimbly through the shallows, Jazz zooms closer to observe their work on the coral, chin perched casually on crossed arms as he peers over the large reef bed, resting against it while he watches them with the tiny samples. "Whatcha got dere? Find any pretty shells? Ooh lookit dat lil crab!" His gaze darts around watching the crustacean quickly disappear before it becomes a meal.

A sudden flash of movement draws his attention a small silvery fish darting past. Jazz lunges with a playful growl, coming up empty handed as his prey slips through his fingers. Popping back to the surface, he beams unrepentantly at the human's stern glare.

"Aw don't lookit me like dat! Mers gotta eat, ya know!" Jazz swears with a wink and finger gun, before slipping silently back under the water to resume his hunt. In truth he wasn't that hungry but whenever he snuck into the lagoon he took his opportunity to try and snag a fish or two before getting scrolled.

They roll their eyes as a smile falls onto their lips. "You know the carnal isn't there for you to come in here you know, it's so the reef sharks have access to the ocean, and doing ocean releases." They state as they slowly move back to the bucket. Jazz waves a dismissive clawed hand, tails lazily keeping him afloat. "Psh, dem sharks ain't never around." fins flared and pearly teeth flashing. The human huffs out a reluctant chuckle, knowing full well he's the reason for the reef sharks' absence. “Uh huh, Sure you're not just spooking them to steal their fish?” They shoot back, refocusing on labelling samples, but can't help shooting sly glances at the spirited mer.

Jazz notes their amused smiles and beams, pleased as always to coax more positives from the typically stoic human. He swims lazily nearer, laying chin atop dripping arms as big opalescent optics peer owlishly up at them as the work. "Ya know, if yer ever feelin' adventurous enough for a swim with lil ol' me, Betcha ain't never seen the ocean reef like we merfolk do!" The offer, as always, hangs temptingly in the air.

They grab the bucket of fish and begin emptying it into the water, the small fish dart off in different directions into the reef, it makes Jazz's fins flare as his optics narrow as if on the hunt. "Don't eat them, they aren't for you!" They shoot back at him when he begins eyeing some of the colourful mix of reef fish, they splash water at him which earns a loud whine of a thrill from him.

"Awww c'mon, one lil fishy ain't gonna hurt nobody! But you're right, you're right..." he concedes with a sigh. Drifting back closer to the human who continues To watch him to make sure he didn't try and eat the fish meant for the reef.

"You know I swear I'm the only human who has issues with mer trying to get into pools, I swear if I ever told anyone about you they'd want to study why you're so interested in getting in here, bet Seaworld would pay me good money for you as an exhibit" they state in a huff, it was all talk, they would never do that, Jazz was a rather sweet mer, had surprise and scared the crap out of them the first time he ever showed up wanting to steal fish. It had shocked them even more when he had spoken to them.

Jazz at least has the good grace to look abashed at the chiding, schooling his handsome features into an expression of utmost innocence. Flashing a roguish grin, he swims lazy circles around the human, listening with keen interest as they speak. At the mention of study and dissection, his bioluminescent markings flare in alarm.

"Oh no no, we don't be wanting any a' dat study nonsense! Merfolk got our secrets ya know." He waggles his optic ridges. Boldly, he loops an arm around slim waist, drawing them close as a small collection of thrills and clicks leave him.

"How 'bout you just keep ol' Jazz your little secret, hmm? Then we can have all kinda fun exploring together without no pokin' and probin'." He rumbles softly, staring up at them with such optics that shimmer in blues, Greens and purples, it really did give the illusion of Opal in some ways.

After a moment, the human sighs, they flick him softly and turn away from him to put the bucket up. "So what can I do for you, and why are you in the lagoon? Did you drag yourself across the walkway to get in here?, did anyone see you?" They ask with arms crossed.Jazz rubs his forehead ruefully where the human flicked him, grin turning sheepish. Clearly his antics have piqued their curiosity or worry.

He swims a lazy loop in the water, gleaming dorsal fin cutting elegant lines through the water. "Well ya see, I MAY have spotted ya workin' over here and got a lil curious is all." He winks roguishly. "As for why I be here specifically..." Jazz casts a finned hand grandly about the enclosure. "Let's just say a certain lil reef shark was gettin' a bit big for his fins and I decided to, eh, relocate him elsewhere for awhile. No harm done!"

He flashes them a cheeky smile. "An' drag myself across the walkway? Psh, please. With these babies?" Jazz flares his tailfin proudly, fins flowing with iridescent light. "I'd put Aquaman himself to shame! Naw, I just slipped myself on through the current gates when the tide was changin'."

They glare at him " Jazz if you have broken the ocean grate down there in not going to be happy" they state while staring him down. Jazz holds his webbed claws up defensively, fins fluttering in placation. "Now, now, no need to be gettin' all ornery! I wouldn't do nothin' to compromise the barrier, I promise, I have claws i pudit back in place."

He flashes them a pleading look, big opal eyes widening in a manner he knows is hard to resist almost like cat eyes. Circling closer, Jazz gently grasps their wrist, feeling their pulse pound rapidly against his palm. He rumbles low in his chest. "All I wanna do is spend some time with ya."

Gingerly, Jazz lifts their hand to his faceplates, nuzzling gently against their fingers as his biolights dance an invitation. "Whaddya say? Slip in wit me, just for a lil while." Jazz gazes at them pleadingly, hoping his charm can sway them. They let out a sigh as they walk deeper into water. The lagoons were too shallow for a mer his size to be in there too long but he could still swim rather well throughout the lagoons Of the rescue facility.

Jazz's face lights up with unrestrained delight as they move deeper into the water so he didn't have to rest against the bank, willingly engaging with him. With chirps and whistles, he zips energetically around the shallow pool, fins splaying gracefully to manoeuvre his bulk through the tight space.

Jazz makes the most of it, launching up to momentarily breach the surface before slipping smoothly back beneath in a shimmer of chrome and azure. He circles ever closer to the human, radiating calm invitation. "Ain't this fun? Don't gotta go too deep ta enjoy the splash, eh?" Jazz grins, His optics practically glow with joy to have their focused attention.

"You're a pest you know" they state with a barely kept smile. As he slowly drifts closer.

Jazz merely chuckles softly at their halfhearted insult, spark soaring to see the smile they try to conceal. "Aw, but yer smilin' so I must be doin' somethin' right.” They nearly yelp as Jazz pulls them into the water only to land against his chest laying across it as the mer floats peacefully in the pool.

His grin flashes his sharp teeth up at their surprise face as strong arms encircle their waist, drawing them fluidly into the water. Jazz makes sure to keep their head above the surface, securing them safely against his broad frame.

"Oops, lil accident there!" He trills innocently, though his optics glitter with delight. Jazz gently cradles their back, letting them adjust to the cool embrace of the water. "See? Nothin' to worry about with lil ol' Jazz around." He rumbles soothingly, running webbed fingers in slow circles across tense muscles until he feels them begin to relax.

Floating was as easy as breathing for him, he held the human close yet loose, waiting patiently for panic or anger. They let out a grumbled sigh as they relaxed against his frame. One hand hangs over his shoulders in the water as they lay their head up on his shoulder as they both just exist. Floating in the pool as Ray's and fish swim around the lagoon.

In truth they did enjoy his visits, but they fretted over him getting caught by others. They doubted anyone at the refugee would say anything but they didn't want to risk him getting caught, money could make people do alot of things and they didn't want to risk Jazz's safety or his pod.

Jazz's whole frame practically vibrates with subdued joy to feel them sinking into his embrace. One hand rises from the water to gently cradle their back, holding them securely as his claws trail soothing patterns across their back. He nuzzles their head fondly, inhaling the soft scent as his optics close briefly in contentment. Floating here in peaceful stillness.

They cuddle into him. "Do you want me to come swimming with you tonight?" They softly inquire. When they speak, murmuring that tender question, Jazz's spark practically swells until he fears it may burst from his chest. Slowly opening his optics, he peers down at them with such caring and gratitude, it's plain for all to see how deeply he cared for this human and how much they meant to him.

"Ah would be the happiest mer in all the sea if ya did," Jazz rumbles softly, servo coming up to gently cradle their cheek. Leaning in, he presses a chaste kiss to their forehead with a tenderness that belies his brutal strength.

"But only if it's what you truly want. I'd never force ya or put ya in danger, you gotta know that." Pressing their heads together, Jazz cradles them as if the most precious of gems. All he desires is their happiness.

The hum softly against him. "I finish my shift in half an hour, if you can sneak back out without getting caught ill meet you over by the jetty in the mangroves" they mumble softly as they sit up against his frame. "I still have to feed the eels"

Jazz practically vibrates with barely contained elation, optics glowing fiercely as he gazes up at their darling face. All he can do is hold them tenderly and nod. Slowly releasing them to stand, Jazz watches with eager affection as they exit the pool. "I'll be waitin' for ya where the water meets the land, babydoll." He rumbles softly, spark thrilling at the thought of going swimming with them.

Surfacing silently, Jazz offers one last wave before slicing smoothly through the water back down the ocean gate to the reserve's channels, back out to the open sea. Here, under the dusky sky, he lets his joy ring out for all to hear in a joyous chorus of whistles and clicks. Stealthily, he slips into the mangroves' shadowed crevices, ready and waiting for them to finish their shift.

_________

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[themeatpit37]

(you don't have to write this if you don't want to)

Story Idea: MC brings Jack to the aquarium and to an amusement park for his birthday as a surprise. How would Jack react and feel? (MC tells the amusement park workers to secure the seat next to them to make them feel safer. Most of the time they do comply and if they refuse to, Jack will get off the ride).

SWWSDJ Mini Fic; Birthday Bash!

❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙

(Art made by Sauce/Jambeebot)

Oh? Why this sounds like a lovely idea! I’ll see what I can make to do your request justice! Sorry if I couldn’t fit everything! I wanted to give each subject their spotlight, so some parts might seem rushed and I apologize!

Content included: Fluff, gender neutral second person reader, follows the yes route in story, short aquarium visit, amusement park visit, talks of Jack’s devotion, spoiling Jack for at least 80% of this mini fic, Reader worries there is imbalance in the relationship, reader decides to put the pants on in the relationship for a bit, and more!

Content warnings: Nausea warning and mentions of vomiting (none that actually happen or are described in detail)

❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙

—————

You’d never seen Jack like this.

It wasn’t uncommon for him to get so excited that he’d start speaking too fast or try to gather up some fun facts to tell you about a subject, but right now he was completely silent. All he could do was stare in complete starry eyed wonder at the moon jellyfish that gently floated around their enclosure. His hands were clasped together behind his back, most likely to keep himself from touching the glass, and he would slowly yet subtly rock back and forth on his heels.

“Hey Jack? You… doing okay over there?”

“… It’s just like the night sky, don’t you think?”

Jack muttered softly, still sounding amazed even after staring at the tank for so long.

“The way they glow and light up the darkness of the water. Like small little spats in the vast darkness…”

He made a little snapping motion as he said “spats” for emphasis before he turned to you with a little smile on his face and a soft gaze to match.

“Kind of like you.”

It was funny how easily Jack could turn any situation into an opportunity to show his love for you, but this especially made your heart skip a beat. Were you really that important to him? Did he really see you as a light guiding him through the dark? Or were you looking too deep into it? Before you could think more about this, Jack gasped and made his way to the other room of the aquarium.

“Sunshine look they got crabs!!!”

You quickly follow him into the next room, mostly so you wouldn’t lose him, only to catch Jack immediately reading the little exhibit sign placed not too far off from where the crabs were.

“Giant Japanese spider crab! Woah, they certainly fit the title of giant!”

He laughed to himself and you decided to walk over for a closer look. The crab in question was in fact large with long legs, the legs that carried its claws at the front folding inward. The shell was a vibrant reddish orange with white on the legs and the underside of the crab in a speckled kind of pattern.

“Oh that reminds me, hey Sunshine!”

He gave a knowing smile before continuing.

“Fun fact, spider crabs are considered one of the largest crabs in the world! Oh also did you know that the innards of a crab are commonly referred to as miso?”

The first one was probably read off of the sign, but now you’re curious as to where he found out that second fact. It didn’t matter though because you were just happy to see him all excited. Even with all this excitement and energy coming off of Jack, you knew what you had to do. In fact, you were on a mission. Jack was distracted and that gave you time to get him something special. So you decided to give an excuse to leave for a moment and let him watch the crabs some more.

“I’ll be back, just gotta run off to the bathroom is all.”

“Alright sunshine, just don’t be gone for too long! I get lonely without you…”

You waved goodbye and walked away from the crabs, heading towards the gift shop in the aquarium instead. You had already gotten him a gift, but getting another wouldn’t hurt. Plus, you knew exactly what he would like.

…..

You had hidden the gift in the car, under the back seat where Jack would never check. You knew he wouldn’t check because he sits in the front seat which was exactly where he was right now.

“Today was amazing Sunshine! Honestly, it was perfect! I don’t think I could ask for anything more!”

It was hard to keep a straight face as he said that. Very hard. The aquarium was only the beginning of the celebration! Now it was time for Jack’s first gift, so you took an unexpected turn instead of taking the normal route home. It took Jack a moment to even realize he didn’t recognize the road you were driving down and his suspicion was only confirmed the further you drove.

“Hey Sunshine? I thought… I thought the apartment was over there?”

“Mm-hm, the apartment is over there.”

You didn’t turn around though and instead took another turn.

“… Where are we going, sunspot?”

You only smiled and continued straight. Jack decided to look out the window for clues as to where you were taking him only to spot something in the distance.

“Hold on is that a…”

He didn’t even finish his sentence as the Ferris wheel got closer and closer into view along with the many other roller coasters and bright lights that weren’t quite as bright as they could be due to the sun being out.

“Wait, you’re telling me we’re going…!”

Jack couldn’t help but let out a giddy laugh as a grin spread across his face. You on the other hand pulled into the amusement park’s parking lot as a way of answering his question.

“Well aren’t you full of surprises today! I didn’t even know they had parks like this around here!”

His face and hands were pressed against the glass as you parked and got out of the car, walking around to Jack’s side to hold it open for him with a bow.

“After you, sir.”

You said with a playful tone as Jack eagerly hopped out of the car like an overexcited puppy about to go to a dog park. With a quick trip over to the enterance and the purchase of a wristband, you two were ready.

“So, where should we go first birthday boy?”

It wasn’t too abnormal to talk to Jack here since so many people were crowded around you, making it easy to mistake you talking to him for talking to anyone else around. Jack thought for a moment as he glanced around the park to figure out what to ride first, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

“Hmmmm…. Which to choose, which to choose.”

He then grabbed your hand and started guiding you over to the teacups, one of the spinning rides. It’s only a good idea if you can handle being dizzy, don’t struggle with motion sickness, or haven’t had any of the food here yet. It was cute though with the tea party aesthetic and pastel colored cups. Because it was a ride for friends, family, or kids, you’d probably have to come up with a reason not to sit with someone since the people running the rides tend to want to put as many people on as possible. Probably because of the long lines. Your wristband was scanned and you were told you go ahead inside.

As you made your way to one of the cups, you decided to speak up just as you had mentally rehearsed for cases like this.

“Oh hey, if you don’t mind, could I go on by myself? I just prefer some space to feel more secure!”

The person running the ride just shrugged and boom, Jack slipped right in and you followed suit. It just so happened you got the teacup with the cute hearts on it, fitting the two of you very well. Soon after the ride started up and the cup began to spin. It was slow, as these rides for younger audiences tended to be.

“So when does the ride actually go fast?”

Jack asked with curiosity which you couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at, hanging your arms over the rim of the cup.

“Jack this is a kid’s ride, they don’t go fast.”

As if the universe itself came down to punish you for your hubris, the cups suddenly cranked up in speed which caused a yelp to come out of you and a laugh to come out of Jack. As you spun, you caught a glance at the guy running the ride looking all smug at you in particular. Bastard. Fucking bastard. Jack put his hand in the air and leaned into the seat while you were just trying not to throw up right then and there… At least he was having fun. It may have sucked for you and your motion sickness self but it was much more bearable since Jack was enjoying it so much.

Finally, after several minutes of ungodly fast spinning, you two were able to get off. Jack stumbled out while you tried to hold onto him for support, which was a bad idea because you both were just stumbling around like you were two drunks who just came out the pub. However you were able to grab onto a nearby wall meant to keep people distant from those terrible teacups and use your other hand to pull Jack back over to you. It took at least a good five minutes for him to recover from the dizziness he was afflicted with and for you to recover from your nausea. Eventually, you stood straight up again to focus back on Jack.

“Alright we got on the teacups, what’re you thinking of doing next there Jack?”

You teased and gave him a nudge, probably confusing the people who you swear were giving you a weird look. Jack on the other hand was looking off somewhere else, possibly distracted.

“Do you still need a second there Jack?”

You asked, worried he still couldn’t tell left from right at this point, until he snapped out his thoughts with a head shake and turned to you with a sheepish grin.

“Oh sorry sunspot! Kinda got lost in my own thoughts!”

You decided to look where he was before and lo and behold, there was a food stall. How in hell could someone get off of a kiddie ride so fast it made you want to puke your guts up and decide afterwards that this was now the best time to eat?! To be fair though, it was later in the day and you did kinda mess up on the breakfast in bed this morning plus Jack didn’t seem nauseated at all so a little treat from the fair certainly wouldn’t hurt to get for him.

The stand he was looking at had lots of treats too like caramel apples, funnel cake, fried Oreos, popcorn, lemonade, those obsurdly large corn dogs, and cotton candy. With your hand in his, the two of you began to walk over, the smell of sugar, grease, and butter overwhelming yet tempting like a siren’s sweet song. You could see Jack already getting a little excited, a sight that was always pleasant to see.

“What do you wanna get?”

You decided to ask that instead of if he wanted a snack in the first place since it was clear he wanted to try something.

“Maybe some cotton candy? It’s been a while since I got to have some!”

Yeah that sounded about right. Last time he had cotton candy anything was probably when you made him that yogurt that one time at work. He seemed to like it, but you never did get that special surprise he promised… Stupid sprinkles probably, messing up the perfect yogurt… Now though you were going to remedy this! With a quick shuffle through your pockets you pulled your wallet out and got out your card. With a quick scan and the card returned, you were given a large fluff of blue cotton candy on a paper cone. You thought since the pastel blue made it looked kinda like Jack, he’d like it more just like the yogurt.

“Thank you so much sunshine! It looks so good!”

You nodded and watched as he tore off a piece and popped it into his mouth. It did make you wonder if anyone else could see Jack eating… Did they just see the piece floating in air only to disappear? Was anyone even paying attention long enough to care? So many things to wonder, but instead you tore off a small piece for yourself to nibble on now that you didn’t feel sick to your stomach, like a tax for paying for the cotton candy, as Jack continued eating his special treat. It was gone in no time since cotton candy is nothing but spun sugar, leaving a sticky residue on the fingers when finished.

“So tell me, what’s next there Jack?”

A chuckle left you as you watched Jack lick his lips which were stained with a touch of blue. He then focused on the question and hummed to himself as he tried to think of something, giving his chin a tap just like before. He was cute, there was no denying it but especially when he did silly, almost cartoonish stuff like this.

“Well we went on the teacups… Tried some fair food… Oh!”

Then a lightbulb went off, or you assumed it did when he suddenly stood up straight with a finger pointed up before gesturing to the huge Ferris Wheel with a big smile. The lights on the wheel itself were somewhat visible now that the sun was starting to set, giving off a glow like no other. They were colorful too, neon lights of red, white, and blue much more prominent than before.

“We can’t leave without going on the Ferris Wheel!”

Yeah, he was right about that. It was only something someone would avoided if they hated heights, but even then there is still something whimsical about getting on one of them. Plus if you were truly scared, it was Jack’s special day so making today special was worth it even if it meant going on one super tall ride like this one. Besides, it hopefully wasn’t going to be as bad as the teacups.

You stepped in line with Jack and waited. And waited. And waited… It was going to be a while of just waiting and following everyone else in line until- Oh! You were already at the front now! The guy in charge of the ride took a look at your wristband and scanned it why is everything here just done with scanning??? Bleh you feel like an old person yelling at kids to get on your lawn… but either way, you got into the Ferris Wheel’s passenger car and took your seat. You didn’t even have to worry about saving Jack the seat because most people don’t go into the cars with people they don’t know.

It didn’t take long until the ride was started up and the wheel went back to spinning, giving Jack and you some time together.

“You had fun today, right sunshine?”

You looked at him with a raised eyebrow, noticing how the orange colored sky behind him made his bright blue hair stand out and almost glow from the light itself. But you had to snap out of your thoughts on how pretty he was to answer his question.

“Of course I did, why wouldn’t I?”

“No reason, just wanted to make sure you had just as much fun as I did! It wouldn’t be my birthday if you weren’t also having fun!”

Ah, he was just thinking about you was all. Huh. Now that you were on the subject, he thought about you a lot didn’t he? Sometimes you wondered if he thought about anything but you… If he ever thought about himself the same way. Did he ever get time to himself? You know he stays home from time to time but does he use this time to focus on himself at all?

“Sunshine! Look! The sun is setting!”

You snapped out of your thoughts to take a look at the beautiful orange and pink glow of the setting sun. The further the sun traveled, the more noticeable blues and purples became. You could stare at it forever… Yet instead you looked to see Jack who was still watching, the colors of the sky shining in the reflection of his eyes along with the emerging stars that lit up the sky in place of the new resting sun.

It reminded you of what he said earlier that day, about the jellyfish being like stars… And how you were similar to them in that regard. His sunshine, his sunspot, his sundrop… all were light. The stars and the glow of bioluminescence, also light. You were more than just someone he loved, you were the very light that guided him.

Is that why he was so devoted? Why he insisted on caring for you so much? Maybe, just maybe, today shouldn’t be the only day you get to be the one to take care of him. Yes, he would be the one to insist caring for you but did he ever want a turn to be doted on? To be the one carried up the stairs and pressed into the mattress? To wake up to a plate of pancakes in the morning? Did he… Did he ever get the chance to let go and let himself be vulnerable like you were able to with him? All these questions, yet no true answers. It didn’t matter though, you were going to be the one to give your fair share. If you wanted this relationship to be healthy and balanced, maybe it was time to follow Jack’s lead and make him feel cared for every once in a while. Let him know you love him just as much he loves you.

Jack had noticed you were staring for a while and turned to you with a head tilt and a touch of confusion.

“Sunshine? Are you okay?”

Instead of responding, you took his hand into your own and carefully pulled him over. You two had done this before, but with your objective to stay in charge, it activated the tingly feeling of butterflies fluttering around in your stomach and flying up your throat to seemingly prevent you from explaining yourself. It wasn’t needed though as you tugged at the strings of his jacket and lead him over, which he followed seamlessly as he ended up practically on your lap. The moment your lips met, Jack melted into them. Your hand traveled up from holding his hand to cup the back of his head as your fingers tangled themselves up into the thick locks of blue hair that you knew so well.

Normally Jack would try to take on a guiding role during kisses, but with you practically straddling him and holding him in place, there was no room for that. He didn’t mind either, leaning into your every touch and hugging you so close like he worried you’d let go. You didn’t want to let go anyways, not in a million years. In fact, the only thing stopping you from going down and completely ravaging him was both because you knew you were nowhere near a place where you’d get away with it and because you didn’t want to go too fast with this. You needed to be slow with Jack on this type of thing, not just plow right in without asking.

But all good things come to an end and your lips parted from each other, leaving you both a little winded for many various reasons yet yearning for more anyways.

“Sunshine… I love you so much…”

He whispered, voice softer than normal. So that’s what it was… He didn’t mind leading or following, he just wants your attention. With that in mind, you cupped his cheeks and press your foreheads together affectionately with a gentle nuzzle.

“I love you too, more than you could ever know.”

As you two parted though, you noticed the wheel was slowly turning and you could see the crowd of people coming into view for their turn. Ah, you forgot you were still in public. Let’s hope while it was spinning, no one saw you making out with what they probably assumed was just the air…

“… Hey Jack?”

“Yes sunshine?”

“You know what? Why don’t we explore some more here? The park tends to stay open pretty late.”

Jack smiled at this and nodded as you finally came to a stop and the doors of the Ferris Wheel opened.

“I’d love to!”

….

You two left not that long after, talking about things like the big shark at the aquarium and the guy you found who actually won that one rope bridge game the fair had. It was very late at this point, at least for Jack since he had a pretty good sleep schedule and tended to go to bed early.

“Wow sunshine! Today really was the most perfect day ever! You really outdid yourself!”

Even now after the aquarium and the amusement park, you still had a few more surprises for him. Jack didn’t know this though, which you took advantage of. You gestured for Jack to sit down on the couch.

“Well today isn’t over, now is it? Go ahead and sit down, and cover your eyes for me.”

“Oh? Well alright! It’s the least I can do considering how much you’ve done today!”

Jack closed his eyes and covered them up with his hands, humming to himself as you left the apartment. Immediately you went to the car and grabbed the present stuffed under the backseat and shut the door before quickly making your into the apartment again. The bag was placed on the table before Jack, who was still covering his eyes, and you walked into the kitchen to grab the second item. Once back in the living room, the stuff was put down and you began to prepare.

“Just gotta do this… And place those… Can’t forget this!”

He could feel something being placed on his head, almost like a headband.

“Aaaand… There! Jack! You can open your eyes now!”

“Alright Sunshine, let’s see…”

Jack uncovered his eyes and slowly opening them, blinking a few times to adjust before a soft gasp left him. He touched the top of his head to feel a party hat that was glued to a headband was on top of his head. What really caught his attention was what sat before him. Sitting on the table was a gift bag that had a rainbow striped design and the words “Happy Birthday” in the middle. There beside it was a cake that had sprinkles and a rim of white frosting in a wave like pattern decorating the top and bottom. Sitting on the flat top of the cake were thin, long candles in red, yellow, and blue matching Jack’s main colors.

“You… Did you get all of this just for me..?”

He placed his hand on his chest, taken aback and instead of answering, you quickly lit them all. But the moment they were lit, they began to sparkle and pop because they weren’t actually candles, but rather sparklers. Jack’s eyes widened and a gasp slipped from his mouth, watching with childlike wonder at the colorful sparks that flew. As per tradition, you began to sing.

“Happy birthday to you,”

Jack perked his head up and stole a glance at you before looking back at the sparkling cake.

“Happy birthday to you,”

The longer he listened, the more emotional he got. No one has ever done so much for him, especially not on his birthday…

“Happy birthday dear Sunny Day Jack,”

At the sound of his name, his eyes started to water and he couldn’t hold them back much longer.

“Happy birthday to you!”

You finished up only to look and see Jack was crying, albeit very quietly, which he tried to hide by covering his mouth with his hand.

“… Jack…?”

You asked with a hint of worry in your tone, catching his attention. Was something wrong? Did he not like it? Assuming the worse was common in such a situation but you decided to push these thoughts away and ask him instead.

“You… You doing okay over there…?”

Jack wiped away his tears and sniffled, composing himself before giving a smile, a genuine smile that lit up the room like no other. Reassurance is what it was really, that all this was perfectly fine.

“Yeah just… I’ve never been so… Happy? You’re… You’re just so amazing sunshine, I just got a little overwhelmed is all! But these are all happy tears, don’t worry!”

You smiled back at him before walking back to the kitchen just to return with a knife to cut the cake, one plate, and a fork.

“Okay, I’ll go ahead and cut this up. You can open your present while I’m cutting you a slice.”

The cake was cut into eight slices, one being removed and plopped onto the plate on its side to reveal it was a four layer confetti cake with vanilla buttercream between each layer. Jack on the other hand carefully grabbed the bag and waited patiently for you to finish. Once you did, you gave Jack your undivided attention and waited for him to begin but he just waited. Probably for your permission.

“Go ahead, open it. It’s your gift after all.”

Jack then gave a nod and opened the bag up. The tissue paper wrapped gift inside was taken out and placed into his lap as he put the bag off to the side.

“Oh wow sunshine, this has a little weight to it! Now I’m real curious!”

He began to pull the tissue paper away and stopped for a second. Sitting in his lap looked to be a fuzzy baby blue jellyfish with two plastic eyes. You decided to explain.

“Well… I noticed you were looking at the moon jellies earlier and thought you might like this. Plus- Hold on, let me show you this instead.”

With one press on the top, the jellyfish began to glow. It was a soft cyan color and the light itself was kind of the same brightness as a night light; Bright but not obnoxiously so.

“So do you like it? I kinda figured you might want a little companion. Y’know, since I noticed you tend to get lonely when I’m not here.”

He nodded and held the jellyfish up. All he could do was smile as it glowed like a star in the vastness of space. The only thing he could really say was five simple words;

“Just like the night sky…”

—————

❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙

And that there is the end! Sorry it took so long! I got mighty busy and by the time it was starting to come together, I thought it would be a nice birthday present for Jack so I scheduled it to release on his birthday!

Sorry for any accidents in writing or rushed pacing! I was trying to complete this while busy with other things and they kinda both overlapped! But things are starting to calm down and requests are for the most part always open!

❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙❤️💛💙