#saltwater blue holes

[violetpixiedust]

thinking about spending a day at the beach with your bf jj and the rest of the pogues. ♡

18+. afab reader. no description of appearance. fluff/smut. use of ‘papa’ once, mentions of spanking. shy!kook!reader x dom!jj.

in between searching for the cross, evading the law, and intense fights with the kooks, a beach day was certainly a nice escape from an otherwise hectic lifestyle.

the sand is warm and pale beneath your knees as you sit in your cute little bikini beside jj’s damp body. he’s laid along a ratty old towel, littered with a few holes and fraying at the edges. beads of saltwater meld themselves within his tan skin from his previous surfing exertion, eager to soak up the sunlight with you now that he’s gotten his adrenaline fix. you had been searching for seashells and sea glass with kiara while the boys were out on the water. ending up with a good sized pouch by the time your boyfriend ran up to meet you on the shore, shaking out his soaking dirty blonde locks at you like a dog. squeals and joyful giggles left your lipgloss coated pout, strumming alongside the seagulls.

absentmindedly, you hum when your manicured nails sort through your small treasures, careful not to let them get lost in the never ending sand. it isn’t until you notice your boyfriend’s baritone voice humming alongside you that you burst into giggles. you meet his sea-foam blue eyes from where they peak out above his black sunglasses, frames falling to the bridge of his lightly freckled nose. one of your pearly teeth reach out to bite along your plush bottom lip, shyly taking in the handsome sight of jj laid beside you.

damp swim trunks hang low on his paler hips, golden happy trail leading you up to the toothpick balancing between his freshly licked lips. the pogue grins slyly in amusement, satisfaction at your sudden shyness running through his veins like the sweetest high. “c’mere, princess. up.” you don’t have time to check for the whereabouts of your friends before the large palm of jj’s hand crudely reaches underneath your thigh, skin burning as he leads you to straddle his torso. you briefly hear pope gagging and john b’s amused laughter behind you, but ultimately choose to ignore them when jj’s calloused fingertips reach out to play with the hem of your swimsuit, effectively distracting you. “‘gonna show me those pretty little rocks takin’ up all of your attention now?”

you nod with a soft smile, shyly avoiding jj’s heady gaze for a moment, unknowing to the way his expression softens incredibly at the sweetness emitting from you. floaty and radiant, like his own personal angel. his calloused thumbs rub soothing circles along your hips as he watches you begin to explain each piece of sea glass you chose, head feeling as if it were underwater still with how gorgeous you are. his ringed fingers faintly shake when he thinks about how undeserving he is for someone like you. an angel from figure eight. outer banks pride and joy. who used to send him a shy little wave at the boneyard, eyelashes fluttering when he would wave back, his split lip pulling up into a smirk at the dazed look that overtook you. the girl who now jumped onto the back of his bike in boarder-line scandalous mini skirts, sweet and powdery perfume clouding the pogue’s judgement for a second too long. until your freshly done nails would dig into his waist, melodic voice urging your pogue boyfriend to hurry up and drive. the overprotective housekeeper would attempt to chase after the two of you with a broom in her wrinkled hand, before being buried by the dust billowing beneath the bike’s spinning wheels every single time.

it isn’t until you hold up a few pieces of sea glass to the side of his face with a cheer of excitement that he tunes back in. “mm, what’s the squealing for, cupcake?”

“i found a piece that looks like your eyes. see!” you bend over to get a closer look at the comparison, completely unaware of the way your tits push up together near jj’s face. a shaky breath leaves your boyfriend’s bitten lips, his suddenly rosy cheeks startling you for a moment before you feel the noticeable shift of his hips beneath you. instead of gasping cutely and sitting up like jj expected you to, your moment of realization morphs into a sly expression.

and jj knew that look.

“don’t-“ you riskily pay no mind to your boyfriend’s warning tone, “innocently” slinking back along his body with a soprano sigh. your manicured nails rake over his abdomen on your path backwards, cupped heat just brushing past the now obvious tent in jj’s swim trunks-

instantly, the pogue manhandles you into place. you squeak at the firmness of his ringed grip, heart pumping with adrenaline when his sun kissed hands force your back against his warm chest in record speed. shark tooth necklace digging between your shoulder blades. your bum pushes against jj’s erection with a final maneuver- now out of sight, but still painfully hard against you.

“whoa. chill out, mike tyson-“ john b drunkly remarks with a surprised laugh before sipping on his nearly finished can of pbr, blissfully unaware of the previous situation. meanwhile, sarah smirks knowingly at the two of you from beside her aloof boyfriend, meeting your playful gaze with one of her own.

you’re about to suggest a game with a mischievous wiggle of your hips, clearly not learning your lesson- before jj’s long fingers cup your jaw from behind, gripping you in place. the blonde’s rosy lips press to your ear, his left hand intertwining with your own smaller one, voice low. “y’not going anywhere, duchess. need you to calm down and behave. unless you want me to spank you raw on this beach in front of our friends, hm?”

your breath hitches with surprise at the threat as you watch kiara and pope run back from the ocean dripping saltwater, jj’s words echoing in the now hollow structure of your head. “and if you’re good,” the blonde nods your head up and down for you like a ragdoll for good measure, smirk curling along his chapped lips with faux innocence gleaming from his eyes. he’s more than aware of the pressure building between your pretty legs, your glossy eyes looking up at him for guidance. not to mention the shivers that clatter down your spine at the idea of being put in your place for everyone on the beach to see. all he could do was harden at the thought. “papa’ will let ya show him which one of these rocks he can put on your pretty little finger soon, yeah?”.

the pogue waits for you to nod your own head ‘yes’ like a big girl before placing a kiss on the crown of your head. your shy expression stays hidden against his heart, a giddy smile drawing across your glossy lips as you think about your future with jj.

needless to say, you behaved for the rest of the afternoon.

[abigail-pent]

Thoughts on HTN Act Four on my ??th reread:

- Harrow says "You cannot build in the River. It is a dimension of perpetual flux. Defined space is nonsense here. You might as well try to wall off Time with bricks and mortar." Which hits VERY DIFFERENT after Nona when we physically see a Tower rising from the River - this is way more like bricks and mortar than Pal's bubble even! IS THIS A CHEEKY LITTLE FORESHADOW OF WHAT THE TOWER IS???

- I think it's so fucking funny that Harrow tells her lobotomized self to silence Judith, like she knew Judith was going to speak her inconvenient mind no matter what

- There are 24 total letters. One for Harrow, one for Ianthe, one for Ianthe to give to Gideon Nav if met, one for Cam, one in case Harrow met Judith, one in case Harrow met Corona .... so like most of the letters went unopened. What happened to them? They went into the River but did anyone pick them up?

- Teacher says: "When the work was done, when I was finished and so were they, and the new Lyctors found out the price, they bade him kill the saltwater creature before she could do them harm." This still makes no sense.

We know (from Chapter 37) that "the price" is one of a set of John's lies - that the RBs would chase them and destroy them for the indelible sin of Lyctorhood. But that only explains why they thought Alecto would harm them if they knew Alecto was an RB (truth), and they thought RBs hunt Lyctors (lie). Throughout HTN, Augustine and Mercy both appear to know a lot more about John's motives than John tells Harrow, but we don't actually know if they learned this, or the history of the ten billion, from John or from BoE. When they had Alecto locked into the Tomb, they certainly didn't know that Alecto is John's cavalier, or else the big reveal about Alecto's and John's eyes would not have been such a big deal ten thousand years later. What did John tell them at the time? "Oh hey RBs kill Lyctors and we've been hanging out with one this whole time?" I don't think so! Did they just randomly guess there was an RB in their midst? Seems unlikely! So why did they suddenly turn on Alecto?

- When Augustine says Harrow's call sign is H, just H - is that him taking pity on her (knowing what her cavalier's name should be and choosing not to use the initial G), or him condescending to her because she is not a complete Lyctor?

- When Alecto learns that Varun is coming and she's astonished that it's happening... this is very interesting. She shouldn't be surprised if she already knows the RBs are chasing her and trying to get to her, but her astonishment makes it seem like she doesn't actually know this.

- the way Harrow prays that Ianthe isn't the traitor.... hmmmmmmm

- Cytherea tried to bodily go to the surface of an RB and failed, having gone "mad for weeks"

- Cyrus died before Ulysses and Cassiopeia. When he drove the corpus into a black hole, Ulysses drove the brain through the stoma and Cassy dropped the body into the River alongside the brain; which means Cyrus was the first to go. (Though obviously Cassy's death was faked.)

- The way Mercy describes the RBs: #2 sounds like Mercury (quicksilver), #6 sounds like Uranus (sphincters), #4 sounds like Venus (a humanoid creature with a beautiful face) #1 sounds like ... I don't know, maybe Mars (looked to Mercy like a great and incoherent machine, with a great tail and a thousand broken pillars on its back; looked to Cassy like a mechanical monster with swords for wings and great horns, tesselated over with graves; both of these say "war machine" to me), #8 sounds like either Jupiter or Neptune (a giant head, finned like a fish, teeth protruding from its own skull - fish suggests ocean/Neptune; red with a big green eye - eye suggests Jupiter), #7 looks like Neptune because it's blue but I think it's actually Saturn (who is classed as a Varunian god, who ate his children, and of course we know from NTN that #7 is named Varun the Eater), whatever number Alecto is is Earth, and that leaves Pluto and either Jupiter or Neptune unnumbered and undescribed. I'd guess Alecto is #9, which leaves #3 and #5.

- Augustine says Mercy's House "suckles at the stoma like a damned teat." We know the Second House drains thanergy to turn it into thalergy and the Eighth House is the opposite of the Second in that way; so it drains - or sucks - thalergy. Which is hella fucking curious because it suggests that the power on the other side of the stoma may actually be **thalergy**. But when you think about it, that actually starts to make sense. John says that the other side of the stoma is "a genuinely chaotic space," "a portal to the place I cannot touch, somewhere I don't fully comprehend, where my power and my authority are utterly meaningless," and that "no ghosts venture deeper than the bathyrhoic layer." What could be more chaotic than a fount of pure life energy - afterlife energy, even? What could take the wind out of John's sails more, or contradict his power more, than a source of actual, eternal life? We know from GTN that death has to connect to life, and life to death; death can't be linked up to death like that, the opposites call to one another. And we know for certain that the force on the other side of the stoma calls to John, who is a great conduit of thanergy, and the Resurrection Beasts, who are massive, planet sized pools of thanergy. I think the stoma opens for them because they're Big Thanergy and the stoma is the gate to Big Thalergy.

Also: we don't actually know that no ghosts get all the way down to the bottom of the River except if they're like really evil, which is what John posits. We know we do not see ghosts at the bottom of the River. It doesn't follow that ghosts just choose not to go there. This fact could also be explained if the Big Thalergy on the other side of the stoma is pulling all the nearby ghosts through. Classic causal inference fail - John has the direction of the causal relationship backwards.

- John can't project his soul into the River and enter the "senseless state" because then Alecto would come to the fore and take over his body.

- Harrowhark has never had a father figure - or a figure who wanted to be her father - except he tried to kill her.

- Harrow saying she's not a person because she's a chimera or a war crime... ohh... 😭😭😭

- John says he designed the Tomb *with* Anastasia and never wanted it opened from either end, yet at the end of NTN we find Anastasia's body in there with Alecto... so either the Tomb was always openable by Anastasia or John knew she would die in there.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: electric eel

Prepare to be jolted this Wet Beast Wednesday as we dive into the shocking world of electric eels. The fist thing to know about electric eels is that the name is a lie. Not the electric part, that's true, but the eel part. Despite appearances, electric eels are actually knifefish, a group of freshwater fish that are more closely related to catfish and piranha than to true eels.

(Image: three electric eels swimming in an aquarium. One in front is seen in profile. It is an elongates, slender, brown fish with tiny pectoral fins and a long anal fin that runs under most of the body. End ID)

There are three species of electric eel, though they are so similar to each other that they were previously classified as one species. The species are Electrophorus electricus, Electrophorus voltai, and Electrophorus varii. The main difference between the species are in the shape of the skull. All electric eels are elongated fish that are cylindrical at the front and flattened vertically at the tail. They have no pelvic or dorsal fins and the tail fin is small and fused with the anal fin, which runs across most of the body. The anal fin is the primary means of locomotion for the eels. By undulating the fin in a wavelike motion, the eel can swim forward, backward, or hover in place. The body of the eel is scaleless, instead bing covered in muddy brown skin. Electric eels grow throughout their entire lives and grow new vertebrae as they get longer. The largest species, E. electricus, can reach 2 meters (6.6 ft) long and weighs up to 20 kg (44 lbs). They are obligate air-breathers, being incapable of obtaining enough oxygen through their gills to survive. Instead, they must surface every two to ten minutes to breathe. The inside of the mouth is wrinkly and heavily vascularized, resulting in a high surface area that can absorb oxygen as long is it stay wet. The floor of the mouth can flex to draw air in and then it is forced out through the gills. Carbon dioxide is excreted through the skin. Electric eels have poor eyesight, but have electroreception and very good hearing thanks to Webers apparatus, a set of tiny bones that connect the inner ear to the swim bladder. The apparatus amplifies sounds that the ear would not be able to detect on its own.

(Image: a close-up of an electric eel's head. It is round and brown, reminiscent of a potato in texture. The mouth is located on the frond and is closes, with no visible teeth. Tje eye is very small and pale blue. Across the head are sensory pits that look like small holes. End ID)

All of the vital organs of the eels are packed into the first fifth of its body length. The rest of the body contains the electric organs. Keeping the vital organs in the front of the body isolates them from the electric organs, preventing the fish from damaging their organs while generating electricity. The electric organs take up so much more space because they need to generate very powerful electric shocks. Most fish that hunt with electricity are saltwater species as salt water conducts electricity much better than freshwater. Because electric eels are freshwater fish, they need to generate much more powerful shocks to effectively hunt other animals. E. voltai can produce a maximum recorded 860 volts of electricity, the highest of any animal. Electric eels are electroreceptive, able to sense electric fields in their surroundings. Electroreception is divided into passive (animal senses electric fields of others) and active (animal generates its own electric field and can sense distortion in that field caused by other objects or animals). Electric eels are active electroreceptors. They sense changes in their electric field using sensory pits on the head that are derived from the lateral line system that all fish have. Electric eels have three electric organs: the main organ, Sach's organ, and Hunter's organ. The main organ sits in from of the Sach's organs while the Hunter's organ sits beneath both. The organs are derived from muscles and consist of stacks of structures call electrocytes, which are made up of specialized cells. When the brain sends a signal to the electric organs to produce a shock, special ion channels pump sodium ions into the cells while different channels pump potassium out. This creates a sudden difference in electric potential, which is what generates the shock. Producing electricity is a costly process and the eels need rest and nourishment between multiple successive shocks. The main organ generates the powerful shocks used to stun prey while the Sach's organ creates weaker shocks used for active electroreception. Hunter's organ appears to support the other two.

(Image: an artistic depiction of a cross-section of an electric eels, showing the structure of the main electric organ. From there, the image is zoomed in on multiple times, showing the the structure of the electrophytes, the protein channels, and the structure of the proteins involved in generating electricity. End ID. Art by Daniel Zukowski)

Electric eels are found in northern South America and the ranges of the three species generally do not overlap. They prefer muddy bottoms or swampy areas. The terrain of their territory changes quite a bit through the year. In the wet season, water levels rise, flooding sections of forest and grassland and connecting streams and ponds. In the dry season, water levels drop and many streams and ponds are isolated. These isolated bodies of water become warm, low-oxygen areas where fish that rely on gills are at a disadvantage while air-breathing fish like the electric eels can thrive. Electric eels are nocturnal predators that detect and stun prey through their electric abilities. Their diet consists mostly of fish, but they will take just abut anything. While mostly solitary, E. varaii have been observed coordinating with each other to hunt schools of tetras. When the electric field generated by Sach's organ is disturbed by another animal, the eel will use the main organ to produce a strong shock to stun the prey. Stunning can be done from a distance, but is more effective if the eel makes contact with the other animal. An initial shock may be used to temporarily immobilize prey long enough for the eel to contact it and release a second shock. Some sources propose that the eel can use its shock to forcibly contract muscles in other animals, either immobilizing prey or forcing prey to move, making them easier to sense. Where or not this is something the eels can actually do is up for debate. Electric eels also use their shocks to deter potential predators. When feeling threatened by something on land, the eel can leap out of the water to make contact with the threat and shock it. Very few animals prey on electric eels, but known predators include caiman, alligators, and piranha.

(Image: six frames showing na electric eel in captivity responding to a perceived threat (a fake caiman head) by partially leaping out of the water and contacting the head to shock it, before returning to the water. End ID)

Electric eels breed in the dry season. Males will use their saliva to glue together mud and sand into nests where the females lay their eggs. The male then fertilizes the eggs by releasing sperm onto them. The females may lay eggs multiple times during the breeding season and can lay up to 1200 at a time. The male stays by the nest to guard the eggs and hatchlings for up to four months. The lifespan of electric eels is in question, but captive specimens can live for up to 20 years.

(Image: an electric eel resting on a pile of wood next to some rocks. End ID)

All species of electric eel are classified as least concern by the IUCN, meaning they are not at threat of extinction. Threats to them mostly consist of pollution and habitat loss. Studies of the electric properties of the eels have lead to multiple discoveries and inventions. In particular, Luigi Galvani was inspired by studies on the eels when he invented the battery. Electric eels are also important in the study of the voltage-gated sodium channel. These channels are used to generate electricity, but are also used to trigger the contraction of muscle cells in many species, including humans. It is hard to study the channels in muscle cells because they are found in very small amounts. The electric organs of the electric eel have much higher quantities of these channels, making it much easier to study them. Better understanding of voltage-gated sodium channels could lead to improvements in prostheses and medical implants.

(Image: a cartoon showing an electric eel swimming with a black cloud emerging from its tail. Threee other eels watch from the side, one commenting "Ew... I can't believe he's still running on fossil fuels". End ID. Source)

[justfangirlstuffs]

A Saltwater Room

Part 3 featuring @scarredlove's Sea Slug AU boys. :D

Part 1 here, Part 2 here.

Wordcount: 2055

As you slept you had strange dreams. Dreams of being underwater yet somehow able to breathe. Dreams of hands gently cradling you and bright eyes peering at you through the darkness, dreams of being wrapped up in warmth and softness. And any time you felt scared, soft gentle words of comfort were murmured into your ears, allowing you to sink further and further into restful slumber.

Sunlight pressed against your eyelids and you groaned. You didn't want to wake up. You just wanted to stay wrapped up in the warmth of your bed sheets... except... how was the sunlight getting in? Didn't you close the curtains? Something shifted against you, and you very quickly realized you were not alone. And you were not in bed, and these were not your bed sheets.

Blinking your eyes into focus, you found yourself wrapped up in curtains and folds of reds and blues and golds. You were laying atop the yellow sea creature, their arms wrapped around your middle, while the blue one was loosely draped over your legs in a way that didn't hurt but kept you effectively pinned you in place. No wonder you were so warm; now that you were awake you could feel the soft hum of their bodies. They appeared to be fast asleep.

Taking in your surroundings you found yourself in a different sea cave. Much larger than the one you'd fallen asleep in. You were currently resting on a sandy shore that lead to the opening of the cave that had two wide arches looking out into endless ocean. Small waves gently lapped over the sand, trying their best to reach you but lacking the strength or motivation to get very far. Big mood, honestly.

Overhead, a large, jagged hole served as a skylight, letting the sunshine in but still keeping most of the cave in shade. A few large rocks sat in the center, probably perfect spots for sunbathing during certain times of the day. As your eyes roamed, you noticed a part of the cave seemed to go deeper, but you couldn't see too far in before it melded into blackness. Still, you couldn't help but be nervous that something might emerge from those shadows.

It then dawned on you that you were far too calm for this situation. You could feel your panic, your fears and anxiety, but it was like there was a layer of... something separating you from it, not allowing it to reach up and pulled you under. Or... maybe you were just so overstimulated from yesterday you just didn't have the energy to have another attack. Regardless, it was time to address the two sea creatures in the room with you.

“Um... hello?” You lightly nudged against them, trying to get them to wake up so you could have some freedom of movement.

They both stirred, the blue one arching their back as they stretched. Seeing you awake, they slithered off of you. The yellow one waited until you were fully sitting up in your bed of sand before also putting some respectable distance. Huh... okay... so far this was a lot... tamer than your first encounter with either of them.

“Good morning. How are you feeling?” the yellow one asked, rubbing their hands fretfully. “When Moon brought you here, I was worried he might've been too late. You were so cold, I thought-”

“Moon?” you repeated, rubbing your head. Your eyes widened. “Wait... as in... Sun and Moon?”

Moon immediately perked up. “You remember us?”

Glancing between the pair of them, it suddenly clicked. No wonder they seemed so familiar and yet so unrecognizable. Because the last time you'd seen them, they were tiny slugs living in your aquarium, small enough to fit in your hand.

“But... you were...” You pointed to your hand. “And now you're...” You gestured vaguely at them.

“Mm, I suppose we do look a bit different,” Sun mused. “Though, to be fair, in such a small space we weren't able to really... stretch our legs, so to speak.”

A bit different. Understatement of the century if there ever was one. Still... you couldn't believe that they were actually here. You thought you'd lost them forever years ago. Your family had been getting ready to move, and you were taking one last stroll with them, in the little aquatic carrying case you had made so you could take them with you whenever you had to leave the house. If they wanted to, of course.

However, your jerk of a cousin stole them from you and you'd chased him, trying to get them back. Then the idiot dropped them into the river that opened out into the ocean. You tried so hard to save them. You cut your hands and knees open on rocks trying to get to them in time, but the ocean stole them away, along with your blood and the tears you cried. You remember being so distraught that you had sulked for weeks afterwards. You'd lost your three best friends, yet no one seemed to understand how much they meant to you. When your parents offer to get you new slugs, you had refused, because how could you possibly replace them?

“Have you been here this whole time?” you asked them.

“Mm, here and there,” Sun answered vaguely. He reached forward and gave you a small boop on the noise. “Looking for you.”

“Waiting for you,” Moon added, his hands worrying the front ruffles of his robes. “Sorry for scaring you. Just... missed you.”

“I might have been a little... hasty as well,” Sun admitted, fingers toying with one of his rays. “I was just so happy. I apologize.”

They... had been looking for you all this time? All these years? What had they been getting up to? Had they gotten lonely? It must have been so scary for them, for their world to explode in such an abrupt and unexpected manner. But at least it seemed like they'd been able to adapt in a way that helped them to survive. Plus, the fact that they were apologizing for their behavior, however well-intentioned it was, really meant a lot.

“So, wait, if you two are here, then where is...” The sentence died in your throat as the pair's eyes widened and a large shadow suddenly loomed over you.

Turning around, your heart leapt up into your throat, clogging up any words you might have said. If these really were your Sun and Moon, then there was no doubt who this could be. Eclipse was so very tall. Taller than the other two. His robes were a deep midnight black laced with gold, adorned with bright yellow polka dots that gleamed with light. Like Sun, he had a halo of appendages around his face that were reminiscent of rays, only more elaborate. Golden yellow eyes shined down at you, his expression unreadable.

Wordlessly he knelt down, one of his large hands reaching out to gently stroke your hair. “Are you all right?” His voice was a gentle rumble, like distant thunder.

“Y-yeah,” you mumbled. “I think so.”

“Good,” he said. Then both of his hands were gripping your face, not harshly, but enough to get your attention as his face suddenly twisted in anger. “What the hell were you thinking?” Suddenly the thunder was not so distant anymore. “Wandering the beach after dark! Are you looking to get eaten?”

The unexpected admonishment cut you deeply and tears sprang up in your eyes. “Why are you yelling at me?” you squeaked.

Eclipse let you go looking panicked, clearly not having expected you to outright cry in the face of his ire.

“Nice going, idiot!” Moon chided, smacking Eclipse on the back of the head.

“I agree,” Sun muttered looking soured as well.

“Shut up! It's both of your faults they nearly died to begin with!” Then, to your amazement, Eclipse scruffed them both with each hand and threw them hand over hand into the water where they splashed, spraying droplets everywhere.

Moon make a few splashes and gargling sounds before playing dead, whilst Sun went full on theatrical mode. “Oh no! Whatever will I do? I need a beautiful strong pearl to save me from this dreadful predicament.” He glanced at you and winked.

A small snort left you, chased by a few giggles. You wiped the stray tears away with the back of your hand. Eclipse lightly touched your shoulder and you winced on reflex. His hand withdrew, his expression sullen but penitent.

“Sorry about that, Angelfish. I got carried away,” he muttered. “When those two brought you here, you were frozen, and your breathing was so slow.”

Shoot... had you really been that in danger of exposure? You gave a small shiver. “I don't do well with yelling,” you told him frankly. “But... it's nice that you cared, Eclipse.”

The use of his name got a reaction, as several of the colorful appendages around his face twitched as a smile spread over his visage. By this point, Sun and Moon were over their theatrics and had come back ashore to rejoin you. Though you noticed they were continuing to keep their distance, even though their expressions and the way they seemed to almost unconsciously gravitate towards you spoke volumes as to how much restraint they were exercising.

“Clip likes to act big and scary, but really he's the biggest softy of all of us,” Sun remarked with a wide grin.

“He's softer than a jellyfish,” Moon teased, poking at Eclipse's side. The latter gave a playful swipe at Moon who ducked away with a soft cackle.

The sight brought a grin to your face, warming your insides. The familiar way they acted, the way they teased and ribbed each other... they really were family. Even though Eclipse tried to act bothered, you were almost certain there was a fondness behind the irritation he was sporting. Gaud... seeing them all here stirred up so many memories, and your head felt so abuzz it was overwhelming. What was once so far off and distance now felt fresh and vivid as though just yesterday you'd been in your bedroom chatting happily away with them.

Suddenly, you were overwhelmed with the strongest urge to hug them, to hold them in a way you couldn't before. And yet... so much time had passed between then and now. You were different, and they were very different. Was it really okay for you to just... pick up where you last left off? Especially when you didn't know them anymore, not like this anyway. But... it would be so nice to have friends again. To have someone in your corner.

“So, what-” you began, however you were cut off as your stomach gave a monstrous growl that seemed to echo through the cave. The three of them stared at you and you were so embarrassed you wanted to hide your face in your hands.

“You're hungry,” Eclipse remarked. Not a question.

“I guess I shouldn't have skipped dinner,” you mumbled, rubbing your stomach.

“You WHAT?” he demanded. However, when you winced at his tone he clenched his fist and released a long heavy sigh. “Let's get you home.”

“Wait, but...” You glanced between the three of them. You still had so many questions.

“Go home, eat and rest,” Eclipse instructed firmly. He extended a hand, and you shyly took it. It was so large compared to your own, but it was soft, warm, and kind. He easily pulled you up onto your feet. “We can talk more later, once you've had time to...” He trailed off, as though searching for the right words.

“Process?” you supplied.

“Yes, that.” He pulled you closer, until you were only a breath apart from him. Your cheeks flushed at the proximity. “All you have to do is call for us, and we'll come find you.” He leaned down pressing a kiss to your forehead.

Warmth bloomed from the spot as your heart thrummed in response. Then suddenly you started to feel very sleepy. You slumped against him, and his arms cradling you was the last sensation you felt before you passed out.

[puppetmaster13u]

It's the last day of Mermay...

So have my most common headcanons on who would be which (or take inspiration from such) for if they were merfolk <3 Yes, this is DCxDP but can be used for either separately if you want.

Bruce- Ray

Alfred- Remora

Kate- Angel Shark

Dick - Guppy

Cass- Cuttlefish

Jason- Thresher Shark

Tim- Bichir

Steph- Spanish Shawl Sea Slug

Duke- Anglerfish

Harper- Cichlid

Cullen- Rasbora

Damian- Stingray

Carrie- Dusky Batfish

Jarro- Starfish

Terry- Devilfish

Matt- Koi

Barbara- Jellyfish

Gordon- Squirrelfish

Ghostmaker- Moray Eel

Harvey- Tiger Shark

Selina- Catfish

Harley- Clownfish

Poison Ivy- Leafy Seadragon

Riddler- Corydoras

Joker- Piranha

Bane- Pufferfish

Mr. Freeze- Leopard Seal

Scarecrow- Anglerfish

Waylon- Saltwater Crocodile

Solomon Grundy- Coelacanth 

Penguin- Longfin Icedevil

Ras Al Ghul- Sturgeon

Talia- Pike

Dusan- Pike 

Deathstroke- Tiger Barb

Clark- Sea Lion

Connor- Fur Seal

Jon- Fur Seal

Kara- Sea Lion

Martha Kent- Ribbon Seal

Jonathan Kent- Manatee

Lex Luthor- Cardinalfish

Barry Allen- Marlin

Wally West- Swordfish

Bart- Marlin

Iris- Trout

Thawne- Wahoo

Captain Cold- Beluga Whale

Heatwave- Guppy

Captain Boomerang- Discus Fish

Mirror Master- Mahi Mahi

Green Arrow- Goby

Arsenal- Arapaima

Artemis- Grouper

Black Canary- Orca

Diana- Lionfish

Cassie- Lionfish

Cheetah- Spotted Snapper

Vandal Savage- Dunkleosteus 

Marvel- Whale Shark 

Billy- Wrasse

Mary- Wrasse

Freddy- Killifish

Eugene- Loach

Pedro- Danio

Darla- Goby

Black Adam- Gar Fish

Dr. Sivana- Dolphin

Mister Mind- Bristle Worm

Martian Manhunter- Octopus

M’gann- Octopus

Aquaman- Hammerhead Shark

Kaldur- Blue Tang

Oceanmaster- Ray

Plasticman- Oarfish

Booster Gold- Goldfish

Blue Beetle- Blue Shrimp

John Stewart- Sailfish

Hal Jordan- Neon Tetra

Red Tornado- Mantis Shrimp

Zatanna- Swordtail

Constantine- Fighting Fish

Doctor Fate- Wrasse

Deadman- Glass Fish

Klarion- Platy

Cyborg- Mola

Raven- Squid

Beast Boy- Triggerfish

Starfire- Koi Fish

Beast Boy- Fluffy Sculpin

Lobo- Wolf Fish

Deadshot- Ruby Barb

Killer Frost- White Koi

King Shark- Great White Shark

Doctor Light- Dolphin

Catman- Tigerfish

Angel Breaker- Redtail Black Shark

Trigon- Giant Squid 

Martha Wayne- Mako Shark

Thomas Wayne- Devil Ray

Lucious Fox- King Mackeral 

Jack Drake- Freshwater Angelfish

Janet Drake- Comet Goldfish

================================================

Danny- Betta Fish (Or Giant Phantom Jelly)

Dan- Lancetfish

Ellie- Betta Fish

Jazz- Oarfish

Sam- Lamprey

Tucker- Devil's Hole Pupfish

Valerie- Cherry Shrimp

Vlad Masters- Vampire Squid

Maddie Fenton- Lion's Mane Jelly

Jack Fenton- Whale

Ida Manson- Gulper Eel

Mr. Lancer- Hatchetfish

Spike- Gourami

Wes Weston- Carp

Kyle Weston- Perch

Paulina- Dragonfish

Star- Cichlid

Dash Baxter- Short Beaked Dolphin

Kwan- Goldfish

Box Ghost- Boxfish

Lunch Lady- Killifish

Skulker- Sea Turtle

Ghostwriter- Lyretail

Sidney Poindexter- Shubunkin

Jonny 13- Corydora

Kitty- Loach

Ember- Basslet

Desiree- Seahorse

Spectra- Eel

Walker- Frogfish

Nocturn- Lanternfish

Overgrowth- Sea Pig

Fright Knight- Swordtail

Pariah Dark- Skate

Princess Dora- Dragon Goby

Pandora- Leaf Scorpionfish

Frostbite- Crabeater Seal

Clockwork- Colossal Squid (or Congor Eel)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you want pics of any of the fish/creatures I am happy to put them out, I just can't put that many links on one post lol. (Also apologies if I missed anyone)

[thelampisaflashlight]

A Lack of Engagement Pt. 6: Toll Man

[Previous entry: Here. Rain learns more about the toll man of Limbo than expected.] Below the cut.

The rush of sea foam fills Rain's ears as he pushes himself up from the ground, his hands falling into the impression of his body in the sand...

Sand...

Rain blinks away the haze of sleep and pulls himself into a seated position, staring out over the slowly churning waters of the endless sea.

It takes him a moment to process what he's seeing; He cups his hands in the tide, and splashes his face with the cold water, his senses returning to him one at a time.

He's in Limbo.

...Why is he in Limbo?

Standing, he brushes the blackened sand from his skin, pausing to run his fingers over the blue and white stripes along his arm.

He's unglamoured, and his first thought is to conceal himself, but the magic that hides his true form on the surface cannot be conjured here in Hell.

He looks at the palms of his hands, at the webbing between his fingers, and wonders, again, how he wound up here, while another questions if he ever really left.

He shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders for good measure, hands coming up to gently slap at his face in an attempt to recall how he got here and then-

"DEW!"

-he remembers it all at once.

Frantically, Rain searches the shoreline for signs of life, even a wayward soul that could direct him towards his friend, but...

Rain looks out at the waves, at the water falling over itself on its way to meet the sand, and stands in silence.

He's alone.

He's alone, again.

But then he hears a cough.

"Guh, fuck... saltwater can suck my ass..." a familiar voice groans, but when Rain turns excitedly, expecting to see Dew, he sees...

"Oh, hey, Rain... Fuck, that landing was rougher than I thought... What?"

The ghoul before him is...

"What? What?? Rainy, you're freaking me out, say something!"

Rain inhales sharply and covers his face with his hands.

"You're completely naked!"

"Since when did you become such a prude??" Dew shrieks, sounding offended, "Clothing isn't exactly at a surplus down here, and the cost on the portal was leaving our worldly possessions behind, ergo-"

Dew freezes suddenly and slaps both hands over his chest.

"THEY'RE GONE!"

Rain jolts, "What?? What's gone??"

"MY FUCKING PIERCINGS, FUCK!" Dew looks down at his chest, pouting, "Aw, man, the hole is even closed up... shit, I'm gonna have to get them redone... Goddammit..."

"That's..." Rain pinches the bridge of his nose, "...Shouldn't you be worried about something else right now? Like, I dunno, us being trapped in Limbo??"

Dew pauses mourning his nipples for a moment to look at Rain dead on, "One, we aren't trapped, we're just passing through, like when you go around the jail space in Monopoly, two, having to get my piercings redone is going to be a fucking nightmare, because my nipples are twice as sensitive than they were before."

"Really?" Rain contemplates reaching out a hand and flicking one to test that statement, but maintains at least an ounce of self control, and instead says, "...so what now?"

"We walk." Dew says plainly, gesturing off into the distance, "Originally, it took me four days to get out of here, but we're already at the halfway point, seeing as we're already here."

He gestures out at the sea.

"But how can you be so sure of that?" Rain questions, "The endless sea is always expanding, and there's no way of telling how far along the shore we are."

"Because we're not following the shore, Rainy, we're walking away from it." Dew explains, "If the sea has grown, which I know it has, that means we have a lot less walking to do before we reach the toll man... I can't know for certain how close we are, but it's just... a feeling!"

"A feeling..." Rain echoes, "Dew..."

Dew grabs Rain's hands and gives them a shake, "Do you trust me?"

Without hesitation.

"Yes."

Dew smiles, but the expression quickly slips from his face, turning into something much more somber.

"Rain?"

"Yeah?"

"...Do you want to talk about all of this?" he asks, "I know I said we should wait until after we're home, but it's an awfully long walk and I think..."

Rain nods.

"I... I'd like that actually." he says, toeing the sand, "We'll walk and talk, yeah?"

"Mn."

Despite saying they would talk about things, both of them find themselves unable to start; How do you even dive into a conversation like this? Who's even supposed to speak first?

"We could... ask questions about each other to kind of, I dunno, work our way up to it?" Dew offers, "Shoot the shit, ya know?"

"Right, right..." Rain thinks for a moment, "Before the ritual, back in the library, you said you were raised on the surface, what was it like growing up there?"

"Well, I mean, it had its good and bad points, but, I had a decent childhood." Dew says, "...I hit a rough patch when I was a teenager, fell in with a bad crowd, and I never really left it truth be told."

"When I said I died before, it was because none of my 'friends' really cared about me enough to stop me from wandering off, and I got lost, took a few too many bumps to the head, and wound up here for the first time." he holds his arms out, "Turns out, if you have even an ounce of demon blood in you, you don't experience the same afterlife as regular humans do, 'cause instead of really dying, you just... move."

"Were you scared?" Rain asks, looking down at his friend, "Being here."

Dew shakes his head.

"It made me feel lonely if nothing else..." he says, "Back on the surface, even if they weren't good people, I was never really alone like that before. What about you? It couldn't have been easy growing up in a place like this."

"It was quiet." Rain hums, "Even when I was a kit, living under the water, there were never really a lot of people, let alone other ghouls around. It was maybe me, my parents, and a handful of older members of our pack, who were like grandparents to me growing up, but other than that... there wasn't a lot going on."

"I like living on the surface a lot better." he admits, "I know some of the other ghouls topside might miss Hell, but Limbo isn't like the rest of this place. There's nothing here but water and sand. ...Next question then; Top or bottom?"

Dew does a spit take and gives Rain a swat on the shoulder, "Dude!"

"What? It's a valid question!" Rain flusters, "I mean it's definitely a leap from, 'Hey, what was your childhood like?' to this, but we're making conversation, and I think we'd have probably talked about something like that by now even if we weren't in this situation so-"

"It depends." Dew responds.

"Oh?"

"It depends on the person I'm with, the set-up, stuff like that." he continues, "Like, I'm okay being in either position, it just depends on the dynamic we have going on, I guess? For example, with Terzo-"

"...You slept with Terzo?" Rain interjects, "How did I not hear about this??"

"-When I slept with Terzo," Dew ignores his outburst, "he liked to be on top. Always."

"Really?"

"Regardless of the set-up, like if we had some roleplay stuff going on, or if Omega was there-" Dew gives him a look that says not to interrupt him when he makes a noise hearing the older ghoul's name in this context, "-he preferred to be the one doing the penetrating instead of being penetrated. Can't say what kind of dynamic Omega and him had going on outside of those encounters, but it wasn't really my business either, aside from knowing whether they had fucked someone else, because, ya know... germs."

"So you'd consider yourself a vers then?" Rain assumes, and Dew shrugs, "A switch?"

"I don't really classify myself as one thing or another, like I said, it depends on the person I'm with and what we're doing. I usually just default to whatever the other doesn't want to do." he says, placing his hands on his hips, "Your turn."

"Kind of... the same?" Rain says, not sounding terribly sure as he scratches under his chin in thought, "I don't know if it's a water ghoul thing -'cause I've seen some things go down in the lake- or a me thing, but I... I'm trying to think of a way to put this that doesn't sound weird... You know the Hulk?"

Dew blinks at him.

"Incredible or Hogan?"

"Incredible."

"Go on..."

"You know how his secret was that he's always mad or whatever? It's that but horny." Rain admits, "I could be having the worst day imaginable, and all my brain can think of is 'smash'."

Dew snorts.

"It's actually kind of frustrating sometimes, because there are times when I know it's definitely not appropriate to be having those kinds of thoughts or feelings, which is why I think it could just be a me thing, but it would also make sense from a physiological standpoint; Water ghouls have a whole breeding season, and that's why there's so many of us, but I guess maybe down here I was repressed because of the lack of people..." Rain rambles, crossing his arms, "Or maybe I hit some kind of threshold where all I can think about is sex or something like that. A-Anyway, it's your turn to ask a question."

"I guess, as a follow up to what we were just talking about... If you have this urge a lot, how come I haven't heard about you hooking up with anyone lately?" Dew asks, "'Cause, ya know, world travels fast in the abbey, and I feel like I would have heard about it by now if you were getting laid all the time."

Rain makes an odd noise in the back of his throat, "I, well..."

"You don't have to answer that if it's too intimate." Dew quickly adds, but Rain holds up his hand.

"No, it's okay, it's just... I guess it's because I've been hanging out with you so much more often." he flushes, "Being around you, I'm... Hell, you already know I'm attracted to you, but it's... When I'm with you, I'm not thinking about anyone else. I don't want anyone else. So I haven't really wanted to hook up with anyone, because I know I could be spending that time with you instead, even if we aren't like that."

"Rain, that's..."

"I know it's weird, but, I..." Rain's eyes go wide, "...I like you."

"I... I like you, too." he says finally, "But I was... I thought it was only a skin deep kind of thing, and that I'd fuck this -our friendship- up by acting on those urges, because it's happened before, and I don't want the feelings I have for you to go away after we... if we..."

"I'm glad you didn't." Dew confesses, "Make a move that is. I don't know how I would have reacted to something like that happening suddenly."

"I... Then I'm glad I didn't..." Rain says, smiling a bit awkwardly, not sure what to say, "But... what do you mean by that?"

Dew stops in his easy strides and turns to face Rain once more.

"It's complicated for me, too, Rainy." he says, "I have feelings for you, but I have to... talk things out first. Get a feel for things before jumping into something like that. Because I like you, I don't want to get hurt by you, or vice versa."

"I would never..."

"I know. I know you wouldn't do it on purpose."

Rain lets his arms drop down by his sides, "...So what's stopping us now?"

Dew points towards a hooded figure in the distance.

"The toll man."

.

.

.

Rain stares at the looming figure approaching them, at the large lantern swaying at the end of a crooked staff in the toll man's massive hand, and then to Dew.

Then back to the toll man.

Then back to Dew.

"...You're thinking about the logistics of how I fucked him, aren't you?" Dew rolls his eyes, "Seriously?"

Rain holds is arms out in front of him, "He's over twice the size of Mountain!"

"First, height doesn't equal dick size-"

"I'm telling Mountain you said that."

"-and second of all, he was... actually very gentle all told."

Rain gapes at him.

"He's at least twenty feet tall, Dewdrop-"

"Greetings..." the toll man booms, lowering himself down so he can be on eye level with the two ghouls, "Ahh... you've returned, and with a friend this time no less..."

Dew waves nervously, and elbows Rain to get him to do the same.

"Hiii, yeah, I'm back, but we're just visiting, this is my hus-...Friend! My friend, Rain!" he does an odd pose beside Rain, as if displaying him like a work of art.

"Your husfriend... I see..." the toll man chuckles, "That's very nice, good for you. Now then... Just visiting? Limbo is certainly an odd choice for a vacation, and it seems you left your luggage behind... Tell me, little one, have you met with a terrible fate again?"

"Not exactly." Dew waves his hand dismissively, "I haven't died this time... It's a long story, but the gist is that Rain and I wound up in a different reality, and we're trying to get home, so we thought we'd try and find a way back through Limbo, since, ya know, the veil is thin and all..."

The toll man nods, "So you've sought me out to bargain with me once more?"

"I know I can't give you what I gave you before..." Dew rolls his hands in front of him, "...and Rainy and I don't really have anything we can offer you except for ourselves right now, but if you have any special requests, we'd be willing to figure out a way to... make it work?"

Rain looks at Dew, leaning down to whisper in his ear, "Are you suggesting a three way with the toll man?"

"I mean, we don't have to-"

"I am not at a loss for warm bodies to lay with, necessarily..." The toll man states, driving his staff into the ground so he can fold his arms, "...I am able to travel to other layers of Hell after all, but I do find myself in need of something... different."

"...Oh?"

"Recently, I have been interested in handling matters... myself... but I find it difficult to find relief from my hand alone... if you catch my drift." he large man says, making a jerk-off motion, "I'd like something to help with that. Could you deliver something like that to me? If you can promise me that much, I will allow you to return to the surface."

Rain opens his mouth, then closes it, then places one hand on his hip before holding the other one up.

"Are you... Do you want, like, a fleshlight or-"

"Dildo."

Rain can't help but tremble, from fear or laughter he isn't sure, but something about hearing that word uttered from the mouth of a giant whose voice sounds like it couldn't get any deeper if the man himself was standing at the very bottom of Lucifer's frozen lake has him shaking.

"You don't have those in Hell??" Dew balks, "Jesus Christ-"

Lightning crashes distantly.

"-Sorry! Satan's balls, what kind of prison is this place??"

"We have some... instruments of torture that could double as such things, but I have grown tired of making do..."

And that's when the thought strikes him, and Rain's face splits into an almost manic grin.

"I have an idea."

Dew turns to him slowly, "You don't mean..."

"If we can find it and send it back here, it won't be a problem for us anymore, and the toll man here gets something new to play with. I mean, it might be a little big even for him, but I would consider it a win-win at the end of the day." Rain says, "I mean, that is if we can find it. We don't know where it got to after it vanished the first time, but we could look, and, worst case scenario, we pool our funds and get something custom made for our friend here."

"I like this husfriend of yours." The toll man chuckles, then crouches down further, appearing more serious, whispering, "But seriously though, if you can't find the thing you're talking about, I like the color purple and would appreciate some more realistic details, so... yeah."

"You've got a deal, big guy." Rain says, holding his hand out to shake on their new bargain, "So you'll send Dew and I back to the surface then?"

The toll man stands and nods.

"On the condition that you uphold your end of our bargain and deliver the goods within a week's time. I am a very patient being, but when I say things are getting dire..." the toll man looks off into space for a moment, "...Just, help me out or I'm filing a complaint with HR, Hell Resources, and cursing you both."

"Very fair, very fair."

Stepping back from the pair, the toll man retrieves his staff from the ground and draws a circle around them using the end, the light in his lantern turning from a brilliant red to a wicked green, before a bright flash of light forces Rain to shut his eyes.

For a moment, he feels like he's falling, as if the ground had dropped from beneath his feet, and then he feels the sudden rush of water over his skin, hot and steaming, and stinking lightly of sulfur.

He feels his feet brush against tile and in an instance, he's pushing himself to the surface, gasping for air as he emerges into...

"EEK! WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!" a shriek rings out, followed shortly by another startled scream, "GET OUT!"

...the women's bathhouse attached to the sister of sins' dormitory.

"Uh-oh..."

.

.

.

Of all the things Swiss expects to see in the middle of the night while hanging out his bedroom window having a smoke, two buck naked, pale assed ghouls covering their junk with their hands, looking thoroughly ashamed of themselves was... surprisingly not that low on the list, given it had happened once before.

What is surprising, is that the pair in question are Rain and Dew.

Normally, he'd just let it be and wait until breakfast to lay into them in front of everyone so they couldn't deny it, but this is too good of an opportunity to pass up.

"Evening, gentlemen~!" he greets them cheerfully, saluting them as they both look up at him like deer in the headlights, "Looks like somebody got up to something naughty, huh~? Go for a late night swim and have someone steal your shorts?"

Dew flips him off from the ground with the hand that's not currently covering his crotch, and Swiss wants to make a joke about that, too, but it's the look on Rain's face that has him tamping out his cigarette and leaning back inside the window, "I'll unlock the door, hold on."

About five minutes later, Swiss meets the pair at the backdoor, ushering them inside.

"...So are you two going to tell me what happened, or are we all just going to sit here in silence?" Swiss asks after both Rain and Dew have had time to get dressed, "'Cause you both look a little off."

"I-" they both start, then look to each other, "You can- I- We-"

"Dew first." Swiss says, making the decision for them.

"We... had a very important discussion, kind of. Started it, didn't really get to discussing it properly. Lots of feelings involved." Dew summarizes, leaving the bulk of their adventure out of it for now, "I guess you could say the hangout got weird... ish."

Rain nods solemnly, "It's, complicated..."

"Ohhh..." Swiss looks between the two, nodding sagely, "...How far did this 'conversation' go before the feelings happened?"

"We didn't-" Dew starts, then shakes his head, "...We didn't fuck. We just... a lot happened, we're both kind of feeling a little... a little off, like you said."

"...Would continuing the conversation in one of your bedrooms alone help?" Swiss suggests, "...If it's that kind of conversation... maybe a change of setting would help move things along in one direction or the other?"

"Swiss, we're not going to-" Rain cuts himself off, side-eyeing Dew, who is already glancing at him, "You know, maybe we should."

"I was going to say that sounds like a great idea, Swiss." Dew adds already standing up, "Come on, Rain, let's go to our-Your room."

"Right, right, my room. Let's go then."

Swiss listens to the sound of their retreating footsteps, waiting until he hears the slam of a door down the hall before sagging down in his seat, relaxing once more, before a thought strikes him.

"...Did Dew say 'our'?"

[kamesama]

fushiguro tōji, gojō satoru, nanami kento & ryōmen sukuna as aesthetics

fushiguro tōji.

an average male cologne; the smell of a basic aftershave. thick grey clouds as a prelude to a storm. cracks in the concrete with weeds growing out of them. smoke. salty, savoury aromas upon one's tongue. olive green. worn-out slippers by the front door, waiting for their wearer to come home. cigarette lit in the dead of night. cool breeze; the type that plants a sense of discomfort. last moments of gloom before dawn proceeds to crawl across the heavens. a vivid, haunting memory. an empty jar of savings. a lucky coin residing in one's ancient wallet. faded photographs filled to the brim with nostalgia. comfort of one's bed at 10:21 am.

gojō satoru.

a thick blanket of snow outside the window, first thing seen in the morning. white chocolate. shimmering blue eyeshadow. a single strike of lightning; bright and unexpected. scentless lip-balm applied over chapped lips. eggplant purple. silk. twisted books with twisted endings; hard to grasp and understand. feeling muscles pulling at the corners of the mouth. the haunting, accursed inability to reach a sense of satisfaction. marshmallows. heartbeat increasing rapidly in the heat of excitement. personal and oddly specific nicknames. expensive perfumes. sizzling champagnes and vip lounges. judging eyes following every step. curious knowledge of trivial things.

nanami kento.

black coffee. comfort of warm bread. sound of pages being turned. fatigue dragging down the eyelids. distilled water used for ironing. steam. brown leather. ticking of a clock. solace found in solitude. extravagant living rooms. kitchen gadgets. vanilla. blue skies and harmless stray clouds dissolving across the azure. saltwater. sunlight shattering over the ocean waves. daydreams of joys that never come. yearning. thick, strong roots of a mighty tree. jazz. items organised by colour or size. salt and pepper. animal prints. being needed. twenty-minute power naps. fountain pen stored in its extravagant coffin never to be used. utterly simple thing engraved on the bottom of a watch.

ryōmen sukuna.

cherry cola. magma. black holes and comets. natural disasters. malevolent mythological creatures. hot springs. remnant of tradition still drawing breath. short poems. full moon. thick ink spilling all over. calligraphy. starving roar of thunder; lightning strike splitting heavens. keen eye. dark piano. abandoned mansions. cracks in walls like veins. blunt truths. pomegranates. cobwebs. false promises and sweetened lies. fans. bold but refined pull at biwa's strings. armageddon. dreamless slumber. a single pebble stirring calm water surface. spider lilies. symbolisms. battlegrounds littered with sacrifice. insatiable thirst. rubies on silver.

thank you for reading!

— kamesama.

[naitaurbusiness]

Definitely, Totally Real Gardevoir Facts

(Made by a Gardevoir for the uneducated)

Due to being Amorphous, if a Gardevoir falls for an extended period of time they squish against the ground like a cartoon. After a few seconds they pop back to normal shape.

Gardevoir dresses are natural parachutes that slow their descent! Gallade do not have this protection.

After creating a black hole, a Gardevoir turns into a Gothitelle.

Also due to being Amorphous, Gardevoir have extremely flexible internal organs.

Much like many other Amorphous Pokémon, Gardevoir are not actually organic nor natural. They are in fact most closely related to mannequins.

The 'default' Tera Type for a Gardevoir is Grass. This is vestigial power left over from the common ancestor they share with Lilligant and Florges.

Gardevoir heart crystals are not well-attached to their body. They can be pushed in and out through the chest without causing any harm. If you find any red, trapezoidal objects, please return them to the nearest Gardevoir.

When a Gardevoir uses Moonblast, they actually teleport to the moon and come back to throw a moon rock at their target. The light is simply there to disguise this.

Somewhere, a Gardevoir is watching you. Give them chocolate to ease the threat.

Does a Gardevoir look concerned for no reason? This is normal and regular occurence. They have likely just seen the universe collapse, as Fairy types are immune to the Dragon type legendaries in charge of space and time. (Exception to this are Gardevoir born in Hoenn before November of 2014, who mysteriously did not develop their Fairy typing before then.)

Being strong empaths, Gardevoir partially sustain themselves on the emotions of others. Positive emotions are more 'filling,' while negative emotions are unhealthy when consumed in large amounts.

The rift above Spear Pillar was created when a group of Gardevoir fought Dialga and Palkia. They all simultaneously created black holes with the help of Giratina, who was banished to the Distortion World for this act.

Shiny Gardevoir are blue because, instead of Liligant and Florges, these Pokémon have various Water Types in their ancestry such as Quaquaval, Milotic, or Vaporeon.

Due to being Fairy types, Gardevoir remember every instance of Dialga has resetting the timeline. Reality is Dragon-type, and we are immune.

Natural green hair in humans comes from Gardevoir ancestry.

Gardevoir always blink manually, just like you are now doing.

Gardevoir do not need to blink, instead they use Life Dew to moisturize their eyes.

Gallade blades can shift forward, instead protruding from the wrists rather than the elbows. This was best documented in the research paper "Assassin's Glade."

If you see a green-haired human, this is a Gardevoir in disguise.

If you ever go to Giahonl, you do not recognize the Gardevoir in the water.

Gardevoir crystals cannot be planted in a pot to grow a Ralts. This is because Ralts require a high-pressure saltwater environment to form.

Gardevoir and Hatterene have a symbiotic relationship where Gardevoir identify sources of strong negative emotions and Hatterene neutralize them. Level of violence involved varies between individuals.

The ability Trace comes directly from Mew.

It's a Gothitelle if it grows up from the ground and a Gardevoir if it grows down from the ceiling.

They're only called Gardevoir if they're from the Gardeaux region of Kalos. Otherwise, they're just Sparkling Hatterene.

When teleporting with a Gardevoir, hold your breath to avoid spaghettification.

Gardevoir are Fairies, and thus are incapable of lying. Everything they say is absolute truth.

[maisonaime]

Ilithyia's Blessings - Part 4

I literally do not expect anyone to read this a mere hour after Miss Maas herself dropped the H-bomb on us, but I wanted to get this out into the ether before I lose myself in the next 900+ pages of her world. I promise after this chapter I will actually start fixing things rather than simply destroying them, but enjoy the demolition for now! ~2.2k words.

Warnings: depiction of a panic attack, fears about pregnancy/birth/motherhood, violence, choking, heights, family conflict, angsty, some would say a little dark

Part 1;  Part 2; Part 3;

Part 4:

There was nothing above the din in her mind and the shattering of her heart amidst the blackness. She could not stop this path of destruction, couldn’t quell the fire spitting out of her, taking aim at every person she loved. There was deep exhaustion settling into her mortal body that her power just ignored, dragging her down from her chest to her knees as she curled in on herself and sank to the floor. She didn’t care if it stopped. She wanted to burn and burn until she blew away on the wind, at last settling into the dust her bones were wrought from. 

Tarquin stood frozen in place as the black hole of power in the antechamber to his study churned and churned until finally, he decided he had to do something. Feyre appeared to be smothering herself with night once again, and that kernel of their shared power he had latched onto previously had spiraled completely out of his grasp. As his brain caught up with the events of the past 15 minutes – running at about a four-minute lag time – he was still trying to decipher if he had actually seen the unmistakable blue glint of siphons amongst the darkness. 

Enough was enough. He had yielded to this display of power, yielded to his base instinct to help those who had nowhere to go, yielded to her highly unusual interruption of his Court, yielded to her request for asylum and anonymity. 

All things that would probably see him split down to a molecular level by her deceptively gorgeous husband. Until he had learned of their pairing he had lusted after them both, and after? Well, what was unfolding had certainly not crossed his mind any of the many times he pondered what the Lovers of Night did with (and to) each other. 

Enough was enough. She was entitled to her protection here, but if she wanted to rip open the bridge between space and time in his Court… she would at least need to step outside. 

The High Lord of Summer steeled himself against the blackness and sent ribbons of water imbued with fractals of precious light from his palms. It wrapped itself in the same pattern as the chains of blackness had curled themselves around Feyre. Tarquin sent bursts of his power from his fingertips to propel the shards of light into the fraying enclosure.  As the blackness began to dissipate like ink, he flinched to see Feyre thrashing on the floor. Panic washed into his chest as he worried she had seriously hurt herself, motivating him to push the last of the thick night away. 

He quickly shifted the intention of his powers, allowing those ribbons to quietly reach Feyre and lift her off her feet, running soothing currents across her pulse points, gently uncurling her limbs and immobilizing her from further endangering herself. 

Feyre was certain she had died. One moment she was keening against the ground, unable to breathe, the burning behind her eyelids and between her brow like iron ore being dripped into her brain. The next, she was weightless along the cool planes of Tarquin's power. 

Only her mouth and nose were left exposed for air, forcing Feyre to refocus all efforts on breathing deeply as she was distracted from her mania. The silence that wrapped itself around her like a soft embrace nearly had her adding to the saltwater surrounding her. She hadn’t the energy to form a single thought, wisps of words and images stuck on repeat in her mind without taking coherent form. The confusion ebbed away into nothingness as she finally gave herself to the burnout. 

She hadn’t told anyone, had felt useless to state such an obvious fear, but she was so scared to give birth. She was afraid she couldn’t do it, that the pain would be insurmountable, that her body would not obey her and she would lose control at the cost of her and the babe. She had been quietly doing her own research and found a healer who specialized in attending to laboring women for their emotional support, but she had told no one, not even Rhys. 

It somehow felt silly to say that she was afraid to be in pain, though she knew that it went against every rational thought process. Of course, she was going to be afraid to be in pain, that pain would last for hours and would only escalate until her son was out. She was creating a new life and a task so important was bound to be hard and long and painful. And maybe that was part of it too, the part she really hadn’t found the words for. That she was afraid, not just for the pains of childbirth, but for the pains of being a mother. 

That she would lay her heart bare every day of her child's life, allowing it to break over and over again without complaint. Being forced to watch the realities of the world claw at his dreams, reminding him of his essence while letting him change, one day watching him set off on his own without knowing what world he would face. 

In the depths of the night when Rhysand would be so heavily asleep next to her that she could shield the bond without him noticing, she worried she might not be as ready as she thought she was, that she rushed into having a child with centuries still ahead of her. How could she hope to impart the same wisdom at twenty-one that she might’ve at one hundred and twenty-one? Had she ever stopped to consider living a life that was truly for herself? 

She thought she could overcome it, the birth and the rest of it. With time. With her family. With Rhys. With a team of good healers. 

And now she had nothing but herself. And the shattered promise of a son she may never get to meet.

— 

No force on earth could stop the powers converging in the scummiest alleyways of an otherwise beautiful city. Save for a god unleashing itself upon Velaris there would be little to stop the cataclysmic implosion of the most important family in the Night Court.

Nesta was set in a dead sprint down the streets; hurtling through corridors and refusing to look back as she felt that cold midnight power bearing down on her, creeping alongside her as Rhys hunted her in earnest. Her rage had already dissipated, but the well of power churning inside of her sang with glee at the challenge. She had no illusions about being able to avoid the oncoming confrontation, but she prayed that some pitying god might allow her a last drink before her sure death. 

Cassian was surveilling the city in a frenzy, staying close to the rooftops to avoid provoking his brothers' ravaging power as he trailed the plume of raw power hurtling toward Nesta. The notion of having to put himself between his brother and his mate, the sting of betrayal at the both of them for their actions, for their disregard. His chest felt like it was caving in with the dissonance, the knowing of what he might have to do. 

Azriel was contemplating continuing his freefall straight into the Sidra and letting the current wash him away. Unfortunately, it seemed his new master did not prefer that course of action. He could taste her potent blood on his tongue. As if she were seeing through his eyes, thinking his thoughts, she spoke into his mind. Now Azriel, we can’t have that. He had the distinct sense his wings would continue flying with or without his will. 

The new bond was more than chafing, it was blood-curdling. Where he had always hoped to hear his shadows sing, they now shrieked like the violent scraping of all the strings on a violin, like talons against steel, like a boy staring at his own hands on fire. Remember, you’re not to breathe a word of our secret, I expect not a blink or a breath out of place. He flew on. 

Amren and Morrigan stood on either end of the alley that led to the entrance of Nesta’s favored pleasure hall from before her intervention. Varian was hurriedly canvassing the neighboring streets hoping to spot Nesta and give the two females warning, if only a few seconds. They had reasonably gambled that given that these few city blocks were the only ones Nesta had ever really bothered to learn, her feet would probably carry her there by habit. 

And naturally, they were correct. 

Nesta made her way around the corner, chest heaving as she slowed to a brisk walk and shrieked as Mor made to grab at her and winnow her away to safety. She lunged out of the way, only to back herself directly into Rhys. He landed and swept her into the air in a blur of wings and smoke so fast, that Mor could do nothing but stare at the space where Nesta had stood for fractions of a second. Cassian bleated like a wounded animal as he launched himself into the sky after them.

There was nothing but the wind in her ears, the burgeoning pressure of altitude and her power crooning for more, more, more. 

They were hundreds of feet above the city when Rhys paused in the air and held her out in front of him by her throat like she were little more than a ragdoll. Nesta clawed at his arms and struggled not against his grip, but for more of it as her panic threatened to take over. 

He sneered cruelly, bringing her close to his face. Gone was the male she had seen look at Feyre with such softness; like their souls were intertwined and carried on twilight clouds. Finally, a monster to rival the one raging inside her. 

“If I have anything to say about it, you will never see your sister or our child ever again.” Rhys snarled.

That caused Nesta to pause, cold steel sweeping through her veins and into her irises. The silvery goddess in her spoke softly and with such venom that his grip softened just slightly in shock, preventing him from stopping what happened next.

“Neither will you” she leveled. Then she spit in his face and pushed herself out of his grip and into the awaiting sky. She was freefalling for mere seconds until she was in Cassian's arms as he hauled ass out of the city, towards the safety and coverage of the Illyrian wilderness.

—

Azriel landed at the River House moments after Rhys, having caught the brief skirmish between Nesta and Rhys in the sky. His heart had stopped as Nesta fell through the air, even as he saw Cassian moments from intercepting her.

He saw Rhys disappear from the sky and cringed as his power and voice flooded his mind. The house. Everyone. Now. There was no room for insubmission, it was a power Rhys rarely wielded over his Court. Azriel cringed at the realization that he was now bound to two oaths, even while betraying the one. None of Rhys’s authority over him had waned, independent of Feyre’s usurping thread to him. 

There was no avoiding it, and he couldn’t give anything away by his behavior, so he landed on the lawn and stalked after his brother into the River House. 

They had all reconvened in the study. Elain was wide-eyed and adding generous droppers of mirthroot tincture to each glass of brandy she had poured for the group. Mor leaned against the wall next to her, murmuring an explanation.

Amren was draped on the couch looking thoroughly fucking annoyed by the whole lot of them. Varian was perched behind her looking like he knew he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. 

Rhys had his head in his hands, his elbows perched on his knees as he sat in the middle of the floor. Everyone looking and not looking at him through their peripherals. 

Mor downed her drink and grabbed a glass, bringing it to Azriel with narrowed eyes. 

“And just where the fuck were you while we were dealing with all of this?”

Azriel took the glass and murmured a thanks. He brought the glass to his lips but Mor’s hand shot out and pushed his arm back, her eyes narrowed as she sniffed the air. 

It happened too quickly for anyone to see, but the tumbler was shattered on the floor and Rhys had Azriel by the collars of his leathers, pressed against the wall so hard it had splintered to the vaulted ceiling. 

“Azriel” Rhys said, his murmured growl barely audibly over the din rumbling from the depths of whatever cavernous power he possessed. 

“Why do you have my mate’s blood in your mouth?”

Azriel shucked his siphons, letting raw power flood and fortify his shadows as they formed a shield around him. Fodder in the face of his second beast of the day, he wondered at whose rage would prove more destructive. At whose hands he’d be reduced to carrion. Or if perhaps, the two bonds would simply ribbon him.

He hardly had time to weigh his fates as Rhys hauled him by into the skies high above Velaris, into the cover of the clouds where no one could bear witness to the slaughter, save for the few curious gods.

And Rhys exploded.

[cherryblossom-chopper]

》Beach Day《

Content: Bartolomeo Fluff. Ambiguous Reader.

————— ୨୧ —————

Bartolomeo couldn’t stop grinning as he watched you. Bringing you to the beach was one of his significant decisions. Maybe he couldn’t get in the water with you, but seeing you in your cute bathing suit was good enough.

Nico Robin and Cat Burglar Nami approached Bartolomeo’s spot in the sun, blocking Bartolomeo’s view of his partner.

“We’ve got questions for you, mister,” Nami declared, hands on her hips. Her sunglasses were titled down, a sharp look in her eyes.

The man let out a flustered shriek, not looking them in the eyes, “Questions? What kind of questions, Ms. Nami?” Bartolomeo stammered. He feels their eyes drilling holes into his skin.

“We want to know your intentions with (Name),” Robin replies with a smile.

There was something nefarious about her grin that Bartolomeo couldn’t place, nor did he want to. “I’m not trying to do anything bad with ‘em,” he says, fumbling with his words. His hand wanders towards his face as he tries to hide his expression.

A third-hand snatches his wrist from his face. The Black Leg Sanji’s nimble fingers wrapped around Barto’s thick wrist. He glowers down at the other man; Sanji’s pink-tinted sunglasses do very little to hide his expression. Sanji squats down to meet Bartolomeo’s eye.

“We can’t trust just anyone with (Name),” Sanji says, letting Barto go, “They are precious to everyone here; we can’t just let some fanboy come in and steal them away. Right ladies?”

Nami nods, leaning down. She pokes his bare chest, a well-manicured nail stabbing into his skin.

Bartolomeo opens and closes his mouth like a fish as he struggles for words. What is he supposed to say? Sweat peppers his brow as he looks between the three straw hats, which are all staring at him.

“Hey!” The voice behind them makes everyone jump. You stand behind the Strawhats, hands firmly on your hips. “What are you three up to?” you ask, flicking sea water from your fingers at their crew.

“Just asking our friend a few questions,” Robin replies, their nefarious smile melting into a soft grin.

You shoo your friends away from your nearly cowering partner. “Scootch,” you say to Bartolomeo, waving your hand at him.

His toothy grin shines on you as he makes room for you on his beach towel. He fails not to stare at you. The sunshine and the saltwater on your skin nearly make you sparkle. How ethereal could you possibly be?

As you sit, Bartolomeo pulls you into him. His skin tingles with the remnants of the saltwater on your skin, but he doesn’t complain. He would sink below the waves if it meant your happiness.

“Thank you for saving me,” he says with a sheepish smile.

You smile back, enjoying the weight of his arm draped across your shoulder. “I always will,” you coo, shutting your eyes and leaning into him further.

“How was the water?” he asks, Bartolomeo’s eyes watching the blue waves lap at the shoreline, marking the spot he cannot cross.

“So refreshing,” you sigh, “But Luffy kept trying to come in after the rest of us. What are we going to do with him?”

“Ah, well, he’s just using his brain power so much to focus on other things,” Bartolomeo laughs, “Being the most powerful pirate in the world is hard work.”

You barely contain a laugh. “Sure, whatever you have to do to convince yourself,” you grin, patting his firm chest.

“But-but, you are much more impressive,” Bartolomeo says, the words tumbling out of his mouth, “You’re my favorite Straw Hat, obviously.”

You lean over and kiss his cheek. “Of course, I’m sure you’re not bluffing,” you tease.

Blushing, Barto’s arm slides down your side and wraps around your waist. He squeezes you and yanks you into his lap. “Me? Bluff with you?” he replies, resting his head on top of yours, “I could never lie to someone as handsome as you.”

You roll your eyes, grinning. “What a dork,” you say before struggling to get up. Your partner’s arm is holding you in place. He groans when you try to get off.

“Don’t leave,” he whines, “Ms. Nami and Ms. Robin will come after me if you won’t protect me.” He squeezes you a bit tighter.

You let out a soft ‘ugh’ before wiggling out of his grasp. “Come with me then,” you say, finally getting to your feet, “We can play beach volleyball or build sandcastles. We don’t have to get in the water.”

“Only if you hold my hand,” he said, reaching up to you.

With a grin, you help him up with a grunt. He’s far heavier than he looks.

With your fingers intertwined with Bartolomeo’s, you guide him just out of reach of splashing waves.

————— ୨୧ —————

🏷: @kristaline2dmensimp@vemuabhi@cjm-cookiethief@cipher-p0@undercoverweeb@aykxz98 @ryzio @lavenderkaye106 @chimooky @bolinhodadestruicao @jazminetoad

[dont-f-with-moogles]

The Farthest Sea

Word Count: 1249 Characters: Levi x Hange, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Sasha, Connie Canon universe

The giant salt lake lay before them, surging and rippling its blue flanks. Masses of white clouds were draped above, leaving only tiny windows of sky to spill shafts of light upon the scene. The water shimmered where each golden spear struck its surface. Amidst the cry of gulls overhead came the wild roar of the waves. Hange watched as a great crest rushed towards them, charging with all the ferocity of a thousand white horses. As the cavalry neared their position, they stumbled and collapsed into foam upon the sand. The swirling mass of water melted away as the tide dragged backwards, only to swell once more as though in preparation for a fresh assault.

Amazed, Hange dropped their boots behind them and walked until the soft, warm grains which clung to their feet became earthy and moist. They rooted themself firmly at the water’s edge, relishing the pleasant squelch of sand around their toes. As a flood of ice water lapped around their ankles, Hange gave a scream of delight.

“It’s freezing! I-incredible!”

There came a howl over to their right where Connie was hurling handfuls of saltwater into Sasha’s eyes. Jean, tired and thirsty from the long ride, reprimanded them both.

“Why do you two always have to act like such idiots!” he seethed, stooping over the glistening water and cupping a handful of it to drink.

On Hange’s left side, Armin stood open-mouthed. It was as though the young Scout had never fully allowed himself to believe in the existence of such an entity. He had long dreamed of discovering the sea and yet, now that it lay before him, it seemed to astonish him with its indisputable materiality. He drifted towards it with the rapture of a sleep-walker. Behind him, Eren and Mikasa held their boots out of the waves’ reach, unsure whether or not they should follow. 

Only Levi remained by the base of the cliff.

“Woo hoo!” Hange cried. With unrestrained delight, they plunged their arms into the cold sea and flung handfuls of water over their hair and face. Hange gave a wild shake of their head and wiped their mouth. The substance had left a bitter tang upon their lips.

“Wow, is this actually full of salt water? Huh…” For their attention was immediately seized by a dark object lurking in the shallows. Through their smeared glasses, Hange struggled to discern the identity of the creature. Cylindrical in shape and no longer than 3 inches, it was certainly unlike any fish Hange had ever encountered. The organism seemed to drift lazily with the current, giving every impression of being dead. 

“Hmmm. What could that be?” 

“Hey Hange!” Levi called out from the sanctuary of the cliffside. “You shouldn’t touch it. It might be poisonous.” 

Only partially registering what had been said, Hange waded out further into the water. They lifted up the mucous creature and held it out before them. Its body had a greyish hue and was covered entirely with tiny holes. It dilated like a long sigh, oozing foam in their hand.

“Wow!” Hange gasped, swinging around to Levi with their discovery. “Look!” 

Levi, who had not stirred, narrowed his eyes in disgust. “The hell is that? Titan shit?”

Hange had hardly opened their mouth to correct him before he relented. “I know, I know. Titans don’t defecate…”

“Oh good. Looks like I finally taught you something!” Hange bent down to the water once more, then brought the bizarre creatures closer in an effort to scrutinise them. “I’m not sure what these are though… could it be horse shit?” Levi’s mouth was pulled into an indistinguishable line.

“How have you got two of them?” 

“I think they like me!” Hange grinned.

“They think you’re one of their own,” he quipped at them. Hange had their back to him, absorbed in their study. Despite himself, Levi drew a step closer to the water before planting his feet firmly into dry sand. 

“At least the air here is clean…” he conceded. “…and the view isn’t bad…”

Hange gazed over the endless expanse of ocean. Sea and sky merged into an immeasurable translucent plain. The journey to the beach had been long, but it was incomparable to the notion of crossing these waters. How could one ever hope to reach the other side of the sea and survive?  Hange turned to Levi but found his eyes were upon them.

“…it’s incredible, isn’t it?,” Hange answered finally. Then a smile crept across their face. “You should see it from here!”

“I’m fine where I am,” Levi remarked coolly.

His protest was to no avail, for Hange swung around to face him. Levi grabbed at their hands, prising them away from his arms. Undeterred, Hange seized a handful of his green cloak, urging him forward.  “Come on Levi! This research is for the good of humanity!”

“Like hell it is!” Levi snarled as they grappled, “you just want to torture me with that stuff!”

He conceded by one step before quickly unlatching the metal clasp at his shoulder. Hange, who had been tugging at the material, stumbled over backwards with his cloak in their hands.

“I’m holding you responsible for getting that cleaned, Shitty Glasses.”

Hange stood, the cloak now clouding the water at their feet, and clung to Levi’s wrist. He attempted to writhe out from the grip of their icy fingers, but Hange’s grip upon his arm tightened. Their free hand sought his shoulder, steering him ever closer. Levi shuddered as seawater soaked through his shirt. Then something cold and slimy touched the back of his neck.

“Huh?! Get that filthy shit away from me!” 

Hange’s breathless laughter was in his ear. 

“So Levi, what do you think?”

“I think I’m going to drown you in this damn lake,” Levi snarled.

“Ah, but do you really want to risk being in the water for that long, Levi? It only takes one piece of poisonous horse shit to touch you…”

He refused to answer them. Either his anger had peaked to such a degree that it had rendered him speechless, or he had somehow become both awed to his new surroundings and startled by the very notion of being awed. Hange’s laughter slowed. Their hands were still on him.

“Mmm?” Hange glanced to their right. Eren had waded out into the water, ahead of Armin. He was pointing to the horizon… to where, according to Grisha’s memories, their enemies lay. Hange dimly wondered how their world might be perceived by someone waiting from across the farthest sea. Did these same divisive waters appear as blue and beautiful to them? Did they ever look upon the island of walls as a prison filled with innocents? Or were they forever fearful that these caged beasts would one day escape their long entrapment…?

Hange weighed these same thoughts years later, from where they stood upon the dockside. This time the waters looked different. The sea stretched out before them, an infinite plane of blue burnished with red light. A few feet away, the hydroplane was grounded and bathed in heat. The island stood a little beyond forever. Hange had never before recalled feeling so far away from home. For now, it was a place they would never return to. 

Hange turned, their cape whirling about them as they strode away. They were slow, dragging footsteps at first before becoming quicker, more urgent… until the drumming of their boots drowned out the thudding of their heart. 

[gointothevvater]

Siren

I finally got a little something written for @m3gahet's gorgeous siren AU! 🖤

.

"You could have let them harpoon me." Beneath the playfulness that was always present in the siren's voice was something like awe, and Charles glanced away from it.

"No," he said, his voice soft to the point of nearly being drowned out by the waves outside the ship. This was the closest he'd ever been to the creature, and he did all he could to ignore the warmth and want pooling in his belly at the sight of it. "I couldn't."

The siren tipped its head, silken white hair falling over its shoulder as it moved. It sat in an old barrel the crew had filled with saltwater, though its tail was too long to be tucked inside. It swayed lazily from side to side, its tip brushing the wooden floor. It was a beautiful thing, all sheer and golden-pink, and the edges of its ears and tail and the tips of its fingers glowed blue. When it spoke, the inside of its mouth glowed blue, too. If it kissed him, would the glow of its tongue show through his cheeks? The siren said, "Oh?" Its voice was like the ringing of a golden bell. It was beautiful. What the old tales said about sirens' voices had been right. "Why is that?"

Charles couldn't say. He was thoroughly bewitched. He was pacing a hole in the floor, his eyes on anything and everything that wasn't the siren.

Then the siren said again, "Oh." It drew the word out this time, the sound like a crashing wave. "Is no one allowed to kill me but you?"

Charles hummed, but gave no real response. It wasn't like that. He didn't want it dead. He knew what he did want from it, but he dared not say that aloud.

It must've known anyway, because it purred, "Or do you just want to have me all to yourself?" When he didn't respond, it added, "You can have me, if you want."

There was nothing he wanted more.

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

What are all the babes (sams canon and ocs) favorite soda or water /flavors?

🩸🌜

You're in for...a long ass lost. Buckle in🩸🌜anon.

Canon and AUs:

Sun: Cucumber Water

Moon: Red Bull

Kill Code/Crescent: Monster

Eclipse: Coconut Water

Blood Moon: Carbonated Blood

Harvest Moon: Carbonated Bone Broth

Lunar: Orange Juice

Good Eclipse/Sirius: Carbonated Oil

Lord Eclipse/Pulsar: Carbonated Coffee

Servant Sun/Dawn: Mint Lime-ade

Prisoner Moon/Dusk: Lavender Lemonade

Captive Lunar/Twilight: Tea With Honey

Moonless Sun/Nebula: Mountain Dew Voltage

Merged Moon/Ganymede: Six Vente Mocha Frappuccinos In A Row

Star: Cotton Candy Faygo

Ceres: Candy Apple Faygo

Andromeda: Sun Drop

Callisto: Mug's Root Beer

Eris: Barq's Root Beer

Hunter Moon: Espresso

Blue Moon: Dr. Pepper

Gibbous Moon: Coca-Cola

Buck Moon: Pepsi

Purple Moon: Apple Cider

Honey Moon: Hot Chocolate

Dysnomia: Vanilla Cream Soda

Murder Code Sun/Black Hole: Saltwater

Arche: Margharitas

Angel: Sugar Syrup

Glow Moon: Glow Stick Liquid

Glitter Moon: Sparkling Water With Beverage Glitter

All My Eclipse Backups:

Comet: Baja Blast

Kuiper: Blueberry Lime Water

Cosmos: Lemon Water

Equinox: Mint Chocolate Smoothie

Solstice: Pear Fennel Water

Meridian: Chocolate Sauce

Quasar: Raspberry Mint Water

Heliosphere: Faygo Redpop

Bolide: Blackberry Sage Water

Stellar: Blackberry Lemon Smoothies

Orbit: Ice Cream (but ice cream isn't a drink, you may say. But to Orbit, ice cream is an entire food group and thus qualifies as a drink too.)

Galaxy: Green Tea

Asteroid: Red Wine

Supermassive: Strawberry Oat Milk

Betelgeuse: Apple Juice

Plasma: Ice Cream Milkshake

Luminous Blue: Light Blue Powerade

Firestar: Sprite

Remnant: Ice Chips (he refuses to drink things)

Plerion: Slushies

Emission: Aloe Vera Juice (it's the only thing he can keep down)

Subsatellite: Chocolate Caramel Smoothie

Cepheid: Root Beer Float

Chad: Gasoline

Starburst: Cranberry Juice

Seyfert: Blueberry Lemonade

Meteor Shower: Chocolate Milk

Shooting Star: Grape Juice

Heaven: Matcha Tea

Astro: Cinnamon Latte

Quark: Honey (literally just straight honey)

Chthonian: Twelve Espresso Shots In A Row

Stargaze: Pineapple Juice

Hydra: Apple Cinnamon Water

Kerberos: Lemon Lime Sparkling Water

Brown Dwarf: Faygo Moon Mist Blue

Sedna: Brown Sugar Boba Tea

Orcus: Matcha Milk Tea

[laylaylamode]

She's in her own world. Interrupt at your own risk.

Thoughts Behind the Wheel

"Creep" Radiohead

"Wolf Like Me" TV on the Radio

"Wave of Mutilation" Pixies

"Maps" Yeah Yeah Yeahs

"Celebrity Skin" Hole

"Seven Nation Army" The White Stripes

"Come As You Are" Nirvana

"Saltwater Sky" Nefets

"Sail" Awolnation

"Say It Ain't So" Weezer

"Eyes on Fire" Blue Foundation

"GO!" Santigold

"That's What You Get" Paramore

[anachronistic-falsehood]

ok um. hi. this is a c!crimeboys poem sorta thing i wrote like over a year ago for my creative writing course. it’s quite short and it kinda sucks so i edited it a bit but it's still very much the ramblings of a 20 year old in his first (and only) year of college holding onto dsmp with a death grip to keep herself from going insane who also has a poetry assignment due in less than two hours <3

i am by no means a poet. this barely qualifies as a poem but the people (my mutuals <3) have spoken and they want the crimeboys poem. i copy pasted it from an old doc. here u go <3

My Brother’s Old Coat

My brother’s old coat smells of ash and cigarettes. 

Patches cover the leather, concealing rips and holes he never thought to fix. 

I had sewn the patches myself, stealing it away in the dead of night as moonlight kissed my hair, embraced by the breeze under the stars. 

He never thanked me. 

Maybe he didn’t notice. 

The coat accompanied him through his last few months while he took up drinking and smoking.

I never liked the smell of his smoke.

Childish, spiteful, I would hold my breath around him, coughing up lungfuls of acrid stench, but now I inhale bouquets of memories from the leather. 

I’ve only had it a month, but the smell is fading, washed over by my own, essence of pine and body spray and saltwater. 

The sleeves hang over my hands, still too big for me after all these years. 

I fix another patch, needle piercing the thick leather while the moon and the breeze hold me under a midnight blue sky. 

If he was alive, would he thank me now?

[augment-techs]

14) You'll never be alone/When darkness comes, I'll light the night with stars/Hear the whispers in the dark - whispers in the dark by skillet

To mix it up a bit; Tommy and Kat

Memory as well as time and space pass through the Grid as it must or will.

It took years--years upon years--for Drakkon to break down enough for Tommy to break through the dimensions; though it only seemed like the blink of an eye for those in the know.

He saw some things that might have been; lives of his others and alters that Drakkon did or could not touch.

Some he felt. Some he thought he couldn't possibly watch.

He dreamed about them, after. Sometimes.

*

Probably the only reason he didn't launch himself out of bed, Kat using him as a body pillow with an arm wrapped around him and completely unconscious, was because J.J. was still that small, ever present weight on his chest that kept Tommy grounded.

Right. He was married. He was a parent. His Ranger days came and went, though rarer now as time marched on. He wasn't even thirty yet.

Still, he felt himself shake off the residue, like dark pixie dust on his psyche, that feeling of walking around in another life, another death passing over him through his link to the Morphin Grid.

Tommy passed a hand over J.J.'s back, feeling that steady breath, feeling that warm body, and then reached his other hand around Kat's arm to find her palm with his rough fingers.

He started tapping the SOS signal, hoping that he could talk about this, could get it out and off of him without having to wake up this precious bundle on his chest because Tommy himself might start sobbing like a child at the black hole, no bigger than a pin prick, situated in the Grid where nobody else could feel it.

Maybe that was why Kat woke up so fast when it was a lot harder to get her back to the land of the conscious after having their son, her still recovering from such a long labor, body still drained from being a short-term apartment. Maybe she felt the absence in the Grid, too.

"You wanna talk about it," was the first whisper in his ear, his eyes adjusting to the blue-grey of their room in the blackest part of the early morning, which their clock beside the bold foretold as not even three a.m.; the White Tiger and Green Dragon that still visited him in dreams from time to time helping his senses so he could look over at his wife.

Both of their eyes glowed their colors in the dark; ever present Pink for Kat, ever-shifting Green-White-Red-Black for Tommy, until their sights met perfectly and with a blink it was just them.

"I think...one of me left. Older, with a different kind of life. Still a fighter. Maybe an actor when he was younger? …Kids."

"No spouse?"

Tommy closed his eyes and focused in the feelings and truth, all jumbled up and fading even as he grabbed at them. Like any dream or memory that was-wasn't his own.

"...There was, but not anymore. Something hurt him bad."

Kat nuzzled into his shoulder, kissed the skin and brought a hand atop Tommy's where it still rested on J.J. for the calm and serenity that only seemed to come with this new life they both adored in its entirety.

"Was he alone?"

He breathed in and out, feeling his way through his Colors into the Grid, the way Colors that weren't his own were also in mourning and in shock and a little angry--which just meant a different kind of sad.

"There was a disconnect, I think. He had a lot of friends, but it wasn't...he was hurting and couldn't find a tether."

That was the best way he could describe it, in hoarse whispers, that saltwater in his eyes cresting and pouring out for Kat to dry up with her warmth and just being there for him.

"Do you think his own will be okay? Is he lingering a little bit?"

All Grid Ghosts lingered, this was a truth Tommy had picked up when he fought for his life in Black; his other colors fighting him and simultaneously coaxing him back to the living.

"They will, but... I think he was ready."

Kat sighed against his skin, their baby doing the same in unison, and Tommy was just glad he didn't ugly sob and laugh at the same time.

"Well, chances are our own will feel the break and loss through their connections and start calling you first thing in the morning."

(It was true, they would and did. The first one to call in the morning while Tommy was changing J.J. and Kat was making eggs in an effort not to be forced into sitting down and hooking herself up to what amounted to a William Sonoma tit juicer, was Trini. 

Kat actually held up the phone on speaker and was pleased to watch Tommy take in all the worry and wonderful advice his friend offered up as someone who had experienced a Passing with such a soft smile. He always had and would continue to appreciate his friends with their worry for him, and their love, and take whatever they could give him.

And he would fully embrace the advice from the woman who developed a complete terror of cars for over a year after one of her Others left jarringly and without warning. How Tommy probably wouldn't see the other in a mirror, but might be confused at a lack of certain scars or wrinkles and tattoos that would feel like they were missing, or how different his hair was-wasn't.

Her husband would go through an awful lot of that. Stalling to look in a reflective surface, looking for grey stubble when he'd already shaved, snagging the hairbrush in his long hair--he'd regrown--because it felt like it was supposed to be shorter. Taking J.J. to daycare and using entirely wrong initials, "Thank the Grid the people there know you are who you are and not a baby snatcher or they'd have tackled your ass, dear."

In five hours Tommy got more calls than he had in years from everyone among the Rangers he'd ever known, got a call from his nephew on the same line as Billy and Skull asking if he needed a hug, got a long distance call from his brother all the way in India where he and his husband and their kid were for a tour.

Kat was never so sure that he was loved. Sure that the Other that had left had been loved, too.)

She shifted and maneuvered J.J. onto her chest, perfectly moved from Tommy's little tits over to her (terribly uncomfortable) oversized ones that had more than doubled since her milk had come in. It opened up Tommy for turning over onto his side to curl into Kat's side, arms around her waist, legs twined around her own, and forehead perfectly pressed into her own sun kissed shoulder as she leaned to kiss the top of his head.

"You're here, love. You're here."