#mermaidelephant

[peccolias]

Prompt from @mermaidelephant : 

Two of your characters have to infiltrate the estate of a noble obsessed with fashion. How would they dress and how comfortable/uncomfortable would they be in their new clothes? How do they feel about the noble’s fashion hobby?

--

This had to be one of the more…interesting…tasks Mitsuba and Gen had encountered during their hunt for two particular Uchiha men. Hints of their whereabouts had taken them to strange places, but this was by far the strangest—and, perhaps, the most dangerous. Nobles weren’t to be trifled with, after all. Not openly, and especially not by two rogue shinobi connected to one of the most well-known clans of the land, uninvited and unwelcome.

Ah, if Butsuma or her brothers caught wind of this…

But, no. Intel was intel. If Mitsuba worried before there was a problem, it would only distract her from their goal.

There had been reports of an eccentric and grossly wealthy noblewoman called Tenryū Momoka hiring the Uchiha clan to guard the caravans that brought her deliveries of extravagant riches and garments thieves would fetch a pretty penny from—if they could make it out alive. Uchiha presence, though, summarily ended any pilfering.

The reports, however, were only rumors. They needed proof. Receipts, correspondence, sightings… Anything that would lay the next stepping stones and set their search on the right path. And, in order to get that information, they had to play a part.

Namely...

Infiltrating the noblewoman’s manor as one of her several well-dressed and perhaps equally noble guests. 

It wasn’t a huge issue as far as appearances went—everyone wore a mask on the manor grounds during the so-called ‘one-hundred day festival,’ so their identities were safely concealed.

The masks resembled those the future ANBU would wear. Porcelain. A bit heavy. In the shapes of fox faces and cats and boars. The ones Mitsuba conjured up through her wood release and painted with swift and sharp smears of paint, however, were much lighter and only noticeably different if someone got much too up close and personal. The lenses of her glasses did press up against the eyeholes uncomfortably, but she wouldn’t have to bear it for long. They’d be quick. In and out in less than an hour. Any longer, and they ran the risk of getting caught.

“I can hardly fathom this type of lifestyle,” Gen muttered at her side, keeping close perhaps not out of necessity, but because they were both adrift in this strange and whimsical world of fashion and faceless forms that seemed so detached from their reality, and if they drifted too far away from each other they may never find their way back. They’d be forever lost, flitting about and chatting and laughing and drinking. “This is a waking nightmare, Mitsu.”

“Only if you think of it that way. But it is definitely distasteful.” She eyed him curiously through the narrow eyeholes of her mask, wondering if he’d ask why she had no trouble with lace-up strings or buttons or frills or the more restrictive seams of these ‘strange and foreign’ fashions when he himself seemed to squirm and itch to return to his sleeveless top and haori and loose-fitting pants. It hadn’t been easy, tracking down the woman’s past stolen outfits, but it had been a stroke of luck that they only needed minor alterations to fit well. 

Whoever Tenryū Momoka was, she had access to the far corners of the world, not limited to their land or their culture alone. Western styles Mitsuba was familiar with, once upon a time and likely forever, rang true in fitted pants and double-breasted coats lined with golden embroidered accents. And the full, satin skirts of what could have been Victorian or Georgian-era gowns. She’d never cared to learn the distinction—and, besides, in this world, they probably had different names. Something that even resembled an intricate and flowing Indian sari was displayed by one of the masked guests among them.

If she and Gen hadn’t been dressed in the same vibrant hues and patterns as everyone else, their drab and neutral forest-tones would have stuck out like two sore thumbs.

She did wonder, though, if Momoka had gifted these outfits to her fellow nobles as costume or if they were only on loan until the festivities reached their end. Festivities that also had influences from far-away, much bolder and free than what she’d come to know in this world.

Moving through the crowd, however, was simple due exactly to that boldness and freedom. No one noticed two guests slipping away into the shadows of the manor halls, where the world fell still, and almost quiet, when the doors were closed and when they crept further and further in so that the sounds and music outside were nothing but a whisper.

Inside the manor—inside was possibly worse. More than a manor, she’d go so far as to call it a museum, expertly crafted and curated and creepy, with a plethora of fashions that mirrored those found outside and included headwear, hats, and styled wigs. Some hung up on display boards, some fitted to wooden mannequins—

Gen gripped her shoulder as they came to a halt in the middle of the strange exhibit. “We may have made a mistake coming here.”

“Have you always been such a scaredy-cat, Gen-sensei? It’ll be over soon.”

Mitsuba opened the nearest door—and wished she hadn’t.

She stood before the rows upon rows of fanned-out kimonos suspended on stand-up hanging racks and briefly felt the sting of a not-so-far-off memory that involved her late mother’s own garment. No—not so much a sting, but a shiver that raced down her spine. The colors of the fanciful garb before her took on dull, cool silver and blue hues all awash in the hazy hauntings of the past that no longer, if ever, welcomed her. 

She closed the door with a definitive snap. “…Let’s not go in there.”

“Who did you say was a ‘scaredy-cat,’ again?” Gen eyed her with a wry smile, but she ignored it and crept to the next room with purpose.

No matter how many doors they opened, the contents were much the same. No signs of a study, of personal quarters, of a library, or anything useful, and their time ran short.

It wasn’t ideal, but…

Until the hundred days of revelry were up, they had quite a few chances to return and run a thorough search.

[what-are-even-humans]

A stuffed animal. Not the taxidermy kind tho.

[the-a-j-universe]

☕️ tell us how you really feel about socks with sandals

They’re...better than sandals without socks, but only because I hate the way sandals feel on my feet.

[fialleril]

🎲

[secretlystephaniebrown]

mermaidelephant replied to your post “*throws up hands in the air* today’s RH!Steph update isn’t actually...”

I got an email alert �� so that’s something?

oh good, at least that’s still working! XD

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

@mermaidelephant replied to your post “inkovert: hello I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. The…”

@nobodysuspectsthebutterfly i have a butterfly phobia and you’re tags are making it so much worse :p

Uh... sorry? You are following this nonsuspicious butterfly, though. Feel free to adblock my icon, if it helps. ;)

[math-is-magic]

mermaidelephant replied to your post: men weaponize art against women notable examples...

How does Hey Delilah fit the pattern? Like, where is that in the lyrics? Also, didn’t the band make up Delilah? Sorry I’m being pedantic. Overall I agree.

@mermaidelephant

Delilah was based on a real person Delililah DiCrescenzo, who never dated the singer and who’s actual relationship was put in jeopardy because the song implied she had a long distance relationship with the singer. She was super uncomfortable with the song because she felt pressured by Tom’s fans to not let them down by continuing to rejects him. She also felt it was very intrusive and creepy about the singer looking in on her life.

[cyb-by-lang]

How old is everyone in the stargate crossover?

Kei is 27.

Rin is 26.

Genma is 30.

Raidō is 32.

Minato is 37.

Aiko is 16.

Kaito is 16.

Roku is 19.

The Stargate folks are as old as they are per canon season two/three-ish. I don’t recall if that is ever stated directly.

[restlesstsukiriver]

You are a sunshower

I have no idea what that is but it sounds so cool, I’m going to look it up now. 

A sunshower or sun shower is a meteorological phenomenon in which rain falls while the sun is shining.[1] A sunshower is usually the result of accompanying winds associated with a rain storm sometimes miles away, blowing the airborne raindrops into an area where there are no clouds. Hence, a sunshower. Sometimes a sunshower is created when a single rain cloud passes overhead, and the Sun's angle keeps the sunlight from being obstructed by overhead clouds.

Okay Holy shit. I love it.

[uncontinuous]

mermaidelephant replied to your post “I still can’t believe that one of the best fanfics in the BNHA fandom...”

You say that and don’t post the link?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13282323?view_full_work=true

Here you go. It’s called Regrets and it’s fantastic.

[peccolias]

What was the hardest fic to write? What’s your dream story? The one you’ve imagined in your head but never tried to write?

Oop this took a while to reply to bc current events gave me the mental BSOD BUT the hardest fic to write was pretty much Laterality, I think, since it was the first one I posted publicly that really took off and had expectations up until the end, both from readers and—well, me, mostly. In the beginning a lot of it was writing therapy and some venting because I was going through some stuff, so it was whatever, then later on as it grew, as I grew, I got sick from anxiety at some points both because feedback could be super harsh and because I felt I could do better. I really wanted to throw in the towel sometimes. So it was the hardest emotionally and writing-wise to get through, but I DID IT!! One day I really want to go back through it and do a re-write, keep the core ideals, clean up some technical stuff and maybe flesh out other things. BUT that won’t be for a long time. And since Halo Effect is ongoing, it’s still far from over…

My dream story is… an OCxcanon romance fic!! I’m terrible at writing the genre itself without putting it in the background of a genfic or throwing in some action or angst and whatnot to balance things out, but I really…really just want to be able to write a really tender, slice-of-life romance fic someday 🥺🥺🥺 I’m currently practicing that kind of thing, actually, so I guess I am trying to write it.

Thanks for asking!!

[braincoins]

Just had to make sure that this bit of convo from @aqueerkettleofish and @mermaidelephant was preserved for posterity... in Lower Decks form because it just sounds like them.

[langwrites]

Username Playlist

tagged by: @mermaidelephant

A song for every letter in your username.

L: laugh maker by BUMP OF CHICKEN

A: Atomic Bonsai by Joren "Tensei" de Bruin

N: Never Be the Same by Red

G: GONG by Jam Project

W: Walk by Foo Fighters

R: Rather Be by Clean Bandit (feat. Jess Glynne)

I: In Too Deep by Sum 41

T: Try Everything by Shakira

E: Embers by Owl City

S: Seven Devils by Florence + the Machine

Tagging @writer-and-artist27, @owlsofstarlight, @abalisk, @nyd-needs-cuddles, @mikkeneko and whoever else would like to do this.

[fialleril]

Have you been following Heroes in Crisis? If so, what do you think of Wally in that? So many people either love it or hate it...

We don’t speak of rebooted DC here at fialleril dot tumblr dot com.

[fromfattolessfat]

Hello beautiful people! Looking forward to seeing your posts on my dashboard!

anime6221                                

veganfitblah                                

exercisecatsandketo                                  

februaryeleven                                

thisweirdo                                 

chai-tea-cup

superfruitysprouts

lightening-the-load                                    

beauty-brains-and-booty                                    

kawaii-fitness                                                                                             

stephwantstofly                                   

fatkatgetsfit

dmzaldorai                                  

focusstrengthandsweat                                   

soulscravingcompassion                                   

sprinklewithhappiness                                  

brighteyes15   

abeautylikeabeast                                  

emilywilcoxx                                 

i-h8-winter                                  

royalhunni                                    

nadia96wolmarans                                    

lil-beee                                

fit-happens13                                 

chubbychummy        

absspo                                                                                      

momtong-balance                                  

mma-bjj-love                           

franwilliams87                                   

krissapea                                

born-fitness

get-me-fit18

stressingmeowt                                

mandafit                                 

mermaidelephant                                 

girlygainz

girlygainz                                   

splendidsam

splendidsam                                

arken-st0ned                                  

socialworkandcats                                   

healthyfitpunk       

healthyfitpunk                                

coffeecarsandcardio

inaracewithmyself                                  

frenchyaurianna                                  

ib0106                                 

ultraspaceweasel                                

razrblderomnce                                 

gxrlfrxndinacoma                                   

xxmondaymorningxx                                  

dontkalemyvibe                                

praisethegains                                   

workingfor140                                  

the--witcheress

the--witcheress                                  

perpetuity-of-health-x                                        

less-flower                                                                                                                                                                                 

[windwardstar]

20

To solve other peoples problems, they say to murder the problem 

Ri.NamriTrison and CalifOdelle to an extentTali may just do the punchingKirsh and Lell

Taia tbh