#these birds took forever to draw

[lexia-solve-e]

"those hands that gently cradle living things could also crush them with ease" - atori in ch. 258

[zeeio]

email but hermitcraft + owl delivery??

[guardians-of-gahoole-fanworld]

This is Soren, meeting one of my OCs, Melody.

Melody is a beautiful female Greater Sooty Owl that is a singer and travels through the owl kingdoms as she performs. Not only is she incredibly talented, but she is also a Tyto Tenebricosa, a creature of the night and darkness, which pulls many creatures towards her.

Despite the dark reputation of her breed, however, she is an incredibly kind and compassionate owl that leaves a good impression on those she comes across. She is friendly towards everyone, even those who dislike her because of her species, and she adores children.

She and Soren met when she came to the Great Tree to perform and since Soren never encountered a Greater Sooty Owl before, he was astonished by her. Loving to meet new people, Melody of course agreed to meet and talk to him, and she simply fell in love with Soren.

Such a beautiful and kind young soul. He would bring it far in life, she was sure.

---

Hello my friends!

Back with another art piece and another OC. This time, have a Greater Sooty Owl for you. She is a gorgeous girl, isn't she. Even though she looks VERY similar to someone...but I can't put my finger on who...

ANYWAY, I hope you like it❤️. And if you don't, I hope that you can at least laugh at it.

[bird-likes-to-fandom]

ignore the mail chimp ads

Ignoring the mailchimp ads so hard

The traditional sketch is under the cut!

[nico-moist-moses]

I'm trying to learn how to paint digitally atm, so here are some practices!

[lemonlimetoast]

I really hope this semester of intro to biology doesn't awaken anything in me

[finelinevogue]

an absolute nuisance

summary - harry is a nuisance in the morning

pairing - boyfriend!harry x reader

word count - -1k

♾️🩶♾️🩶♾️🩶♾️🩶♾️🩶♾️🩶♾️🩶♾️🩶♾️

“What’s this for?” Harry sat up in bed against the headboard.

The duvet was pushed down onto his lap so his bare torso was showing. There was a little roll or two where his stomach was tucked over from where he was sitting.

“Happy first day of spring!” You smiled cheerily.

You felt happy this morning.

The sun was shining into your bedroom, the sky was cerulean blue and the birds were chirping away.

You handed Harry his mug of peppermint tea, which he religiously had every morning, whilst you enjoyed the classic english breakfast tea. Milk, no sugar.

“Thank you, m’love.” Harry smiled, giving you a moment to kiss him softly before you situated yourself beside him crossed legged.

“Sleep okay?”

You took a sip of your drink even though you knew it would be too hot.

Harry kept his hands around his mug as if it was the middle of winter, more out of habit than necessity.

“Mm, yeah. You?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m going ‘round to Noel’s this afternoon to drop off some tech gear.” Harry told you.

“Okay.” You nodded, “I’ve got work at 2.”

“When do you get off?”

“Should be about 6, but you know what they’re like.” You rolled your eyes.

“If Katherine keeps you for extra hours again, love.. I’m going down there myself to kidnap you.”

You chuckled, “Kidnap me?”

“Yeah. I’ll stage the whole thing. I’m an actor now, you know?” He winked at you, carefully taking a sip of his drink.

“Okay, Mr Hollywood.”

You stayed chatting about everything and nothing whilst you enjoyed your morning teas, before you decided to start getting ready for the day.

“Where you going?” Harry asked, his hand softly stroking small circles into the exposed skin of your thigh.

“Need to get ready.”

You reached over to draw the loose hairs away from his eyes, allowing your hand to brush over his cheek as it moved due his face.

Harry warmed at the feeling, his cheeks glowing in colour as your skin moved across his.

“Don’t go.” He pouted.

You moved from your cross legged position to sitting on your legs in a kneeling position. You leant closer to Harry and cupped both of his cheeks with your hands.

“I’m only going to get ready.” You kissed him. He kissed you.

“Wanna stay in this moment with you forever.” You kissed again.

“And make me late for a shift with Katherine? I don’t think so. If I had a dick, she’d cut it off.”

Your words sent a laugh through Harry, him complaining how sometimes you really did know how to ruin a moment. You took it as a compliment, because sometimes it would a good tactic to have.

“She’ll cut off my tits instead.”

“No!” Harry pretended to be horrified, which sent you into a fit of laughter. You sank you face down into the crook of his neck to hide yourself.

He smelt so good. And how? It was first thing in the morning and he smelt so homely and perfect.

Harry took the moment to his advantage, pushing himself over you and trapping you underneath him. The manoeuvre was too quick for you to even understand the logistics of it.

“Harry!” You sighed with a giggle.

“You have four hours before you need to leave.” He whined. “Stay with meeee.” He buried his face against your neck and left a trail of kisses there, getting close to the spot behind your ear that made you melt.

“But I need to do stuff.”

“Yeah? Like what? Maybe love on your boyfriend?”

“Gonna be just my friend in a moment if you don’t let me go.” You huffed.

Harry’s head perked up at that. “There’s nothing friendly about what you did to me last night.”

“You make it sound like you were helpless…” You giggled.

“I was!”

“Oh give over.”

“You had me completely surrendered.”

“You’re such a nuisance.” You groaned, trying to lift up but he was too heavy for you.

“And yet you love me. Sounds like you’ve got the issues, babe.” He teased you.

“I hate you.”

“I love you too.” He kissed you. Reluctantly, you kissed him too - which only ended up with you staying in bed for another four hours…

[egophiliac]

I was going to wait and poke at this a bit more, but the excitement of Upcoming Episode 7 took over. :') so here's one of my alt ideas for Silver's UM poster! this time with more Diasomnia-appropriate colors (that said, you can tear the pink fluffy clouds away from my cold dead hands)

I also recorded this one, for anyone who's interested in that kind of thing! it includes all my fuckups and changing my mind and spending forever adding details before deciding it looks better without, so, uhhh, enjoy my failures! (I kept trying to draw in his jacket details...it never worked...) also featuring lots of drawing on the wrong layer, forgetting how jackets work, and the black censor boxes of continually forgetting to turn off pop-up notifications. hope you like watching me draw birds!

here it is, combined and compressed down to about 10 minutes long (with a warning for flickering and flashing colors from sped-up zooming/layer changes): [ link ]

[devnmon]

too sweet. || a.m.

a/n: heyy ok i know you guys have probably seen enough of the fics with hozier songs but i also love him and when i heard this track the minute it was released, i was like oh yeah this is arthur morgan core. if ur bothered by me writing this then i say that is simply your problem ngl. in the case that you are reading this, it's just a silly little blurb that sums up arthur morgan in the eyes of the song too sweet by hozier !

wc: 632 | warnings: mentions of smut (that's all)

Arthur Morgan was never an early bird. In fact he despised it. Most times he did was only during a hunt, when he woke smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze. You– you were different; completely rising before the sun rose like clockwork. While you always told him never to stay up till the sunrise, he did, arrogantly, anyways.

He was amazed at how you were so easily able to exist in a world that fought against you– not only in the gang, but as a woman. Drunk on life you seemed to be, Arthur would say, while he took his whiskey neat. In his bed at 3am many nights, he took pride in getting to lay next to you when the slower moments came to pass.

You kissed him in the early mornings when you rose, lips still tasting of the previous night's wine. The sweet morning greeting of your lips had him praying for you to lay with him longer. Arthur was lovesick and kept you wherever he went; whether that meant drawings of your from across camp, or your name written with a heart next to his on a different page. On the off chance he gets back to camp early in the mornings before you wake, he leaves you the most exquisite trinkets for you to remember him by.

It's not often he must stay out of camp for longer than a couple days, but when he does, he returns with a heartfelt apology that takes place in your shared bedroll, begging you to accept his apology with every praise. Your touch has been ingrained into his mind, body. and soul, and yet– it burns his skin every time. Each press of your lips and swipe of your tongue over his skin.

He's so goddamned lucky you've let him at your body long enough to know how well his melds with yours like putty. You're the cream he voids from his coffee– because you're too sweet for him. You're too sweet with your sweet lips like heaven's gate, and Arthur is marveled at how you let him of all men kiss you.

The natural beauty you walked around with every day made Arthur seethe with envy at the fact that other men would gaze upon what was his. Most times when you clock his jealous stares and frustrated grunts, it's instinct when you immediately reassure him that you're not going anywhere.

His frustration is released among his true aim towards the spots on your body that make you mewl and call out his name like a mantra. It boosts his ego through the roof like a rocket when you respond and intertwine your soul even more with his.

When he's free from the constant back and forth from camp and jobs, there's a rare moment where Arthur dedicates two or three days to only you. He whisks you away to an expensive hotel, and uses his every power to bring you a new kind of ecstasy when he shares the bed with you. Arthur never wants you to think he doesn't have time to spend on you; he proves that any moment he can.

At that point, he'd gladly die between your thighs just to hear the wanton noises of carnal desire you feel for him and only him. He's seen so much pain in the world, that he's astonished someone like you can be beautiful and perfect so naturally.

You're the sun he wakes to every morning, the contrast of the heat during the cool rainy nights. As sweet as wine and the grapes it has been made from; he'd wait forever to taste your kiss again as long as you were there to ease the aches and pains.

Until then... he'll take his whiskey neat.

[bedoballoons]

Is your requests still open i just got back on and stuff and i kinda forgot your username did you change it i feel like my memory is getting worser everyday🫠aside from that if you are still doing requests can i maybe request like a reader that has animals following them around because of the calming presence they have around them that they use to comfort the characters at times maybe with a dendro or cryo vision (tighnari, wanderer,lyney,xiao,nuevelle bro what is this mans name and maybe cyno for the last) oh and they are a healer

It did change! My older username was much longer and a randomly generated one so I decided to go with something more personal! Also so happy to see you again! Sorry this took forever to write, but I hope you enjoy!

─⊰⁠⊹ฺ🍂𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⁠⊹ฺ🍂

{༻~Calm like a soft breeze~༺}

CW: Super sweet and fluffy!

(Includes: Lyney, Tighnari, Xiao, Wanderer, and Neuvillette!)

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

𑁍༄Lyney:

"Oh my" Lyney gasped as he caught sight of the fish in the ocean, the lot of them swirling at the bottom of your feet while you searched for shells against the setting sun...the crabs had even started to follow you. You just had that affect on everything, anything that could see your sweet smile...feel the calm collected words that left your lips...they'd be entranced. He himself often got himself watching you with lovestruck eyes, hoping to catch glimpses of just what made you a walking safe place.

"Mon amour, you're one of the most beautiful mysteries of this world, I hope you realize just how many times you leave me in awe..."

"L-lyney...I'm just collecting shel-"

"I know and yet you've even caught the attention of the sea itself...incredible. Absolutely incredible."

𑁍༄Tighnari:

Tighnaris tail swayed slightly as he watched you, he couldn't help but be amazed...more animals gathering around to watch along with him as you intertwined small sticks into a crown. Your soft presence drawing him and every other living thing closer so they could see the culprit behind their newfound peace of mind. He had no clue how you managed to turn even his most stressed days into easy evenings. You truly had to be magical, and not like using a vision type of magic. A magic entirely your own, a spell you cast on anyone who met you.

"You're pretty incredible. I thought today was going terribly and then you turned it around like it had never been bad to begin with...how do you do it?"

"I just go with the flow and comfort you all the ways I can, you're the incredible one and I want to help you feel that way."

"There's no doubt you do."

𑁍༄Xiao:

Xiao sighed, watching as more birds gathered around you...your being radiating a calming aura that even had him feeling like he could lull off into a sweet sleep. "How do you always manage to draw the attention of the birds? You're just humming and yet it feels like you slow the world down so all can feel at peace...even me with my Karmic debt. How?"

"I'm not sure, I just humm the melody in my heart and hope that the birds and you enjoy it. As for being calming...I guess I find it easier to comfort people when I'm like this. Does this help?"

"Yes...I appreciate it. I might actually rest for awhile...if that's alright."

"Of course it is. Rest as long as you can my dear, you deserve it."

𑁍༄Wanderer:

Wanderer set his hat beside you, laying his head on your lap so he could look up at you while more animals gathered around the both of you. Normally so much attention from the wildlife would leave him annoyed...but you calmed his angry soul so easily. Reading aloud to the creatures of the forest and him while the clouds slowly swayed in the sky...you just left everything feeling safe and cozy.

"I don't know how you do it...but thanks I guess, for making me feel better. Even if you didn't really do anything but read. It helps.."

"If reading to you is what helps then consider it my pleasure."

"...you, are what helps."

𑁍༄Neuvillette:

Neuvillette opened the window slightly, allowing the many birds that had been sitting on the sill of it to get a better look at the source of the most wonderful lullaby they'd ever heard. Your voice was like the calming waves of a ocean, the perfect sound washing over him and wrapping him in a comforting warmth he'd needed so badly after his long day at work. He could listen to you for hours and never find your voice dull.

"You're a work of art my dear."

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚~Have a nice day~*⁠.⁠✧

[gay-dorito-dust]

Hey🤍 may I please request a fluff/romantic or Bi Han. I know a lot of people don’t think he is capable of being romantic but a girl needs some fluff for Bi Han please. Maybe something were he is sweet and caring only towards reader and everyone else he is normal Bi Han. Love your writing thank you🤍

This got shoddy at the end of the drab. 🦦

You were lost within your own head for while when Bi-Han had appeared at your side, gingerly taking your hand within his own, drawing a gasp from your lips as you felt his cold fingers intertwine with yours. ‘Bi-Han. You’re here.’ You breathed out, smiling instantaneously upon being greeted with the beautiful dark eyes of the man you had happily promised your heart to. Your grasped his hand tighter, almost as though you were checking if he was actually with you, rather then some illusion you’ve coincidentally conjured up.

‘Of course I’m here, little bird.’ Bi-Han told you whilst pressing a soft kiss to your forehead, letting them linger there for a while before pulling away to gently rest his forehead against your own. His eyes locked on yours, as though he were fearful to look away in the instance that you wouldn’t be there when he looked back. ‘For I could never be content as to keep you waiting for longer then needed.’ He adds as he took this moment to ingrain you eternally within his mind, so that he may never forget who he was fighting for, who he was carving a better future for and who he would vigorously defend till his last breath escaped from him.

Gods did Bi-Han hate being separated from you for long periods of time, truly believing that one day Kuai Liang and Tomas would try to enact revenge for his supposed betrayal, by taking away the one person who gave him true purpose in this life; you. However he couldn’t completely disregard his duties as Grandmaster, for it would be sacrilege. Bi-Han was forever grateful that you never held that against him, and instead fully understand that he couldn’t fully commit to being your lover when there was so much work yet to be done.

‘If it was for you?’ You inquired. ‘I’d wait for as long as I must to see my beloved home safe and sound. So you needn’t worry in keeping me waiting.’ You finished as you then softly pecked his plush lips, cooing softly once pulling away from him, enjoying how Bi-Han fruitlessly attempted in following after your lips. For a man as cold as ice he was quite warm and gentle, but you knew he was only like this for you and you often times felt spoilt by being blessed to see this side of him; The side of him that would constantly hold you face in between his hands when checking you for injuries, his thumbs stroking the skin of your cheeks with such gentleness, as though he thought you were going to break. You even saw Bi-Han during his most stubborn and his most angriest of moments and yet still you called him the most breathtaking man you’ve ever met because to you that was the honest truth.

‘I just don’t want to wish you being bored of me when I come home.’ Bi-Han admitted softly. ‘You deserve a man who is willing to be at your beck and call, to be with you from the early hours of morning, to the later hours of night. You shouldn’t have to settle for less because you feel as though that’s all there is going for you, and instead you should strive for more for you deserve more, way more then any man could possibly give.’ Bi-Han truly meant what he said, he truly believed that you deserved better, never to tolerate less, for he felt like he wasn’t giving you all that he possibly could and it pained him greatly because you’ve him so much throughout the duration of your relationship.

Bi-Han only felt as it was only reasonable to give you an out shoulder you feel as though you weren’t being valued enough, as he always tended to put you and your well-being first and foremost in just about everything. But you saw what he was doing almost instantly and you weren’t about to allow Bi-Han to make a offer a solution that’ll only end up hurting the both of you because despite his tiering duties as Grandmaster, he was a dedicated, loyal and caring lover. You couldn’t have to ask for a better man and never would for Bi-Han was it for you, he was the one.

‘Bi-Han.’ You murmured, taking your free hand to hold his cheek, stroking it reassuringly as you watched him visibly relax within your hold, moving his head to kiss your inner wrist. ‘To be bored of you would be like to be bored of living for while you are a very busy man, you are the most attentive, sweet, caring man I have ever met.’ You pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose before brushing your nose against his, breathing him in as deep as you could. ‘Not once have you ever made me feel less important or less valued. Never. You made me feel worshiped, you made me feel loved, you always found room for me within your busy schedule, and I could never find a appropriate way to express my gratitude to you but I hope to everyday.’ You concluded, hoping that you had gotten your point across that you weren’t going anywhere without him.

‘You don’t need to express anything to me, my beloved,’ Bi-Han reassured you, kissing your inner wrist once more. ‘For the sole fact that you still being here with me despite all my flaws is the biggest gesture I could have ever received and I’m eternally thankful that you haven’t yet given up on me. Do it should be me expressing my gratitude, not you.’ Bi-Han finishes. ‘There’s no need for that.’ You assured him. ‘You’ve done enough and you’ve just gotten back from a long mission. You must be exhausted and in need of rest.’ You then began to pull Bi-Han towards your shared bed by his arm.

Bi-Han wasn’t one to complain, as it meant he got to make up for lost time by laying in your arms and leeching off of your warmth whilst putting his aching body to rest, something his soul had yearned to do the moment he return to the Lin Kuei. ‘That sounds perfect, little bird. That sounds perfect.’

[joeyalohadream]

Clegan prompt modern au Buck interacting with animals and Bucky’s reactions.

This one's for @coastiewife465 ! Thanks for the prompt, I enjoyed writing it! Hope you enjoy reading it!

Word Count: 1035 (read below the cut for Buck and a kitten!)

“I’ll just wait out here,” Gale tells him, hands in his pockets as he eyes the overcrowded food court through the large glass window.

Bucky hadn’t considered that the ballgame at the stadium across the street starting in hour would make this place so busy when he’d placed his pick-up order for their favorite Chinese spot.

“You sure?” Bucky asked, though he himself wasn’t looking forward to muscling his way through all those people either. “Might take a while if they’re backed up.”

“Yeah, I can’t with all that,” Gale waves his hand, gesturing to the food court and shrugs. Bucky nods, understanding completely. “Think I’ll walk down that way and check if Scoops is busy.” He points down the strip mall sidewalk.

Bucky smirks. “Buck, I’m literally going in there to pick-up our dinner, which is way too much Chinese for two people and you’re going to go get ice cream?”

Gale rolls his eyes at his scolding tone and meets his eyes with a comedically defiant look.

“I like ice cream,” he says as if that justifies it.

A laugh escapes Bucky and he shakes his head. He fists the front of Gale’s t-shirt and pulls him into his space, presses their lips together for a brief moment before releasing his shirt and pushing him away gently in the direction of the ice cream parlor.

“Go get your ice-cream, sugar,” Bucky tells him with a smile, chuckling when the pet name earns him a glare. “I’ll text you when I make it off the battlefield in there.”

“My hero,” Gale drawls out to him before he turns away. Bucky sighs and watches him walk away for a solid minute before entering the food court.

----

After two ignored texts, one unanswered phone call and a glance into Scoops, that he sees is not busy but doesn’t contain his favorite blue-eyed ice cream lover, Bucky is annoyed. It took forever to get the food and now it’s getting cold.

He looks up and down the strip mall walkway and then glares against the sun until he can see his truck clearly in the lot. No Gale.

Huffing out a sigh he tries to call him again and starts walking back toward the food court. Maybe Gale had tired of waiting for him and braved the crowd after all. Movement to the left draws his attention and he stops to take in the large, colorful bird behind the window of a pet store. The bird stretches out both wings as Bucky watches and he can’t help but think Gale would’ve thought it was pretty.

He narrows his eyes at the thought and walks closer to the window, leaning forward to peak inside.

And there, just inside and sitting in a chair in the middle of some kind of waist-high enclosure is his missing boyfriend. Shaking his head, he uses the hand not carrying their rapidly cooling dinner to push the door open and walks straight up to the edge of the little make-shift fence.

He’s ready to scold the younger man for not checking his phone and making him search for him but his thoughts come to an abrupt halt as he takes in the scene in front of him.

Gale hasn’t even noticed his arrival, too preoccupied with the tiny white kitten sitting on his lap and looking up at him with eyes blue enough to rival his own. He’s using two long fingers to scratch under its chin and Bucky can see his lips moving but can’t make out the words he’s speaking to the animal.

What he can make out is the dimple on his cheek and the lines by his eyes that indicate he’s smiling one of real genuine smiles. His shoulders are relaxed as he uses the hand that’s not occupied with chin scratches to stoke down the kittens back.

Gale hunches over and places a kiss to the animal’s tiny head and Bucky has a really bad feeling that he came down here to pick up dinner and he’s going to be leaving with a kitten.

He clears his throat and then feels a little guilty when Gale startles. But then that gentle smile is directed at him, and he knows he’s got a dopey look on his face as he looks into those blue eyes.

“Who’s your friend Buck?” He teases.

“She doesn’t have a name,” Gale answers him, eyes shining. “Yet.”

“Gale,” Bucky’s starts with a warning tone, but then Gale’s eyes get bigger and somehow brighter, possibly even bluer and he’s so damn cute that Bucky already knows he’s going to take this damn cat home.

And Bucky wants to tell Gale that the apartment is technically his and Gale just moved in two days ago, and that neither of them know anything about cats, and that their schedules are so hectic they don’t really have time for a pet.

He doesn’t tell him any of that though because Gale picks the little animal up in one hand and holds it to his chest and says, “Please, Bucky?”

Gale never asks for anything really, so instead he sighs and says, “Okay, Buck.” And the smile he gets in return makes him want to melt into the floor.

----

An hour later, after so much damn paperwork, Bucky holds the door open for Gale and they walk out of the pet store. Bucky’s holding their now probably ruined dinner in one hand and a tote bag full of essentials for cat ownership in the other while Gale holds a small carrier containing their new roommate.

“Come on,” Bucky tells him and moves to start towards the truck. “We’ve still gotta get cat litter and all that shit somewhere on the way home and I’m starving.”

He doesn’t hear footsteps behind him though and when he turns Gale hasn’t moved and he looks conflicted, sheepish. Bucky takes the few steps back to him, concern pulling his eyebrows down.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Gale’s cheeks turn red, and he brings his free hand up to rub the back of his neck.

“I, uh, I still really want ice cream,” he says, and Bucky loves him so much it hurts.

[doom-spook]

Here's my most recent, I went into way more detail then planned and as a result it took forever. Since it took forever, after doing the bird and flowers, I used brushes for the clouds and background plants haha. Still overall pleased with it! Next drawing in the works I think may surpass this one?! Probably not but it'll be close

[mylostloversbookmarks]

Take This Moment

Characters - Joel Miller x Reader, Ellie Williams

Summary - You, Joel and Ellie have been on the road to Jackson for weeks. While hiking through a forest you come across a little slice of heaven. The three of you take the day to enjoy the little things in life.

Word Count - 1.8K

Warnings/Tags - 18+ only Minors dni. Soft!Joel, fluff. Post-Outbreak.

A/N - I took a walk in my local forest park last weekend and I could not get this idea out of my scone, I wrote this in about 2 hours so I hope you all like it lol.

Reblogs, comments and feedback are always appreciated!

Divider credit to @saradika

You, Joel, and Ellie had been hiking for hours, doing your best to make it through the densest parts of the forest before losing the light and having to start setting up camp for the evening.

As you trudged along listening to Ellie's endless attempts to make Joel laugh with her awful book of puns. She got him a few times, watching him turn his head the other way, trying to hide his smirk.

Over the last few weeks, you have noticed Joel slowly opening up. He's becoming softer with you both, and the thought sent warmth radiating through your chest.

You tried your best to push your feelings for him to the very recesses of your mind, but somehow they always ended up front and centre when you saw him like this.

It was not exactly what you would call relaxed, but it was as close as he could afford to be given your current circumstances.

As the three of you make your way into a clearing, you and Ellie wander around the small section of forest that isn't completely dominated by trees, always staying within Joel's eyeline as instructed and taking in the scene before you.

You stand in the middle of a lush forest, surrounded by towering trees that seem to stretch endlessly towards the sky. Bright sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor.

The air around you is warm and fresh, with a gentle breeze rustling the leaves and carrying the scents of pine and earth.

As you look around, you see a carpet of moss and ferns covering the ground, patterned by patches of wildflowers in varying shades of pink, purple, and yellow.

Birds sing sweetly in the distance, while the occasional rustle of leaves betrays the presence of small animals scurrying about their business.

This puts you slightly on edge, but you know that you are too far out for even stray infected to find you here, and you find yourself wishing you could stay in this quiet, secluded place forever.

Though you knew that wasn't possible, with supplies as hard to come by as they are in this hellish world, they are even harder to find in the middle of nowhere with nothing around you for miles.

As you continue to explore the clearing, you notice Joel watching you from a distance. His gaze lingers on you, and you can feel the heat of his stare setting fire to your skin.

Despite your efforts to keep your feelings for him at bay, you can't help but feel a surge of desire wash over you. You catch his eye, and he gives you a small, lopsided smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

Feeling a flutter in your stomach at the sight of him with all his broad shoulders, strong arms, and veined hands that are resting on his hips. You smile back at him, a deep blush creeping across your cheeks.

Ellie's laughter draws your attention, and you turn to see her skipping through a patch of wildflowers, her arms outstretched like the wings of a butterfly. You can't help but feel a twinge of envy at her carefree attitude.

You long for the days when the world was a simpler place and you didn't have to constantly worry about not only your own survival but also that of Joel and Ellie, which you realise is now more important to you than your own.

When you look back at Joel, you see that he is watching her too, locked in a trance with a gleam in his eye you have never seen before, and you feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for his presence in your life.

He has become more than just a partner in survival; he has become a friend and your confidant, and you hoped maybe something more, but that was just a fantasy.

You explore the area surrounding the small clearing and hear a stream babbling somewhere nearby. You glance behind you and see Joel kneeling beside Ellie, teaching her the basics of how to track an animal, showing her the small hoof tracks left in the bracken by their feet.

"I'm just going to scout out this side; I'll shout if I need you, okay?" You call to Joel over your shoulder, hoping he's distracted enough with Ellie to let you out of his sight.

"Okay, but don't go too far. If you hear or see anything, you keep low, keep quiet, and you make it back to us, you hear me?" He instructs you, his voice low and serious; are you imagining the double meaning behind the 'us'? Had he wanted to say, 'Make it back to me'?

You nod your head solemnly at the man whose eyes are currently boring into your soul. Emploring you to be safe, you turn and head towards the sound that promises fresh drinking water.

As you wander further through the forest and come to a break in the treeline, you stop dead in your tracks.

You're glad that Ellie can't see you; you know she would burst into a fit of laughter if she could see your face, eyes wide and mouth hanging open in a comical 'O' in surprise.

Your brain isn't processing what your eyes are seeing. You blink rapidly to ensure you weren't imagining things from dehydration.

What lay just a few feet before you was not the small stream you were expecting; instead, what lay before you was a river—a large, crystal-clear river.

The water sparkles in the sunlight, and you can see schools of fish darting through the currents. The river looks so inviting, and you can't resist the urge to take a closer look.

You carefully make your way to the edge of the riverbank, marvelling at its sheer size and power. Dipping your fingers in the cool, fresh water, feeling it rush over your heated skin.

For a moment, you forget the current state of the world and just enjoy the simple beauty of nature. You close your eyes and let the sound and feeling wash over you.

You feel a sense of peace that you haven't felt since the world fell to its knees. As you sit by the river, your hand traces patterns on the surface, lost in your thoughts as Joel and Ellie approach behind you.

You don't bother to turn around; you have become well accustomed to the sound of his heavy footsteps.

"You've been gone for a while, and Joel started to get worried, so we came looking for you," Ellie murmured, almost in apology.

"Ellie" Joel sighs out her name in exasperation as if she has just blown his cover.

"What?!" She began. "You were all like." Ellie clears her throat, takes a deep breath and drops her voice a few octaves in order to mock Joel's deep, gravelly tones:

"No, she's been gone too long. Something must have happened. I need to find her." She rolled her eyes at him, shrugging her shoulders as she looked at you for help.

"I appreciate your concern. Joel, really, I do, but look at this," you say, beaming at him and gesturing towards the river. "It's incredible" you breathe.

Joel looks at you, his expression softening. "Yeah, it is," he whispers, his voice full of wonder as he takes in the sight of you.

Ellie is splashing around in the shallow water near the riverbank, her laughter once again filling the air. You decide to throw caution to the wind and join her.

Dropping your pack and toeing your boots off as you wade into the water after her, Joel watches on from the safety and dryness of the shore, chuckling openly as he watches you flicking water frantically in Ellie's direction.

He watches you both enjoying yourselves in the late afternoon heat as he sits on the edge of the river. Admiring how the water slicks your hair back out of your face and how it leaves your skin shiny and gleaming in the sunlight.

He tries to be subtle about it, glancing away quickly when he thinks you are going to look in his direction and stealing glances at you when your attention is focused on Ellie.

You tried to get him to join you both on multiple occasions; he declined, claiming that "one of us has to be the adult." Your response to that was to childishly splash water in his direction.

Making him turn his head and throw his hands up, hiding his laughter, but despite his efforts, you could see the dimple on his right cheek and his broad shoulders shaking up and down.

You catch his eye, and he looks away quickly, as if he's been caught doing something he shouldn't be doing.

And you can't quell the flutter in your chest at the sight of him watching you. His eyes seem to linger on you longer than usual, and you can't help but wonder what he's thinking.

You wade towards the shore, ready to join him on the bank. But before you can reach him, he steps forward, leans over and playfully shoves you back into the water.

You gasp as the cool water envelops you completely; you're unable to hold back your laughter as you resurface, looking up at Joel with a playful smirk stretching across your dripping face.

He chuckles, eyes crinkling at the corners in the way that makes your heart skip a beat, as he takes you in.

"Sorry about that Darlin, I couldn't help myself," he laughs low in his chest, holding a hand out to help you back onto the shore.

You take his hand, feeling a jolt of electricity as your skin touches his. A rush of excitement courses through you at the proximity of your body so close to his, feeling your cheeks flush with colour.

As you stand up, you're very aware of how your wet clothes cling to your body, and you feel Joel's eyes on you once again. You turn to face him, feeling a little self-conscious under his gaze.

To your surprise, his expression is soft and heated, and you can tell he's admiring you. A thrill of pleasure races through you at the look on his face, and you can't stop the smile that curls your lips upwards.

For a moment, the two of you just stood there, gazing at each other in the golden sunlight that streaked through the breaks in the canopy above your heads.

The sound of the river and Ellie's laughter fills the air, and you all lose yourselves in this little haven the three of you have created.

Feeling a sense of warmth radiating through your chest and squeezing at your heart for what felt like the millionth time today as you look into Joel's eyes.

You know you will never forget this moment. Enjoying the simple pleasure of being alive, surrounded by nature and the two people you care about most, fills your heart to capacity.

Knowing now that when things get rough, you will have this memory to think back on, things don't seem so unbearable after all.

[c1garettesduringsex]

"𝙈𝘼𝙔𝘽𝙀 𝙄𝙁?" | 𝙍.𝘼.𝘽

𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘹 𝘍𝘦𝘮!𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

Summary: Regulus wants nothing more than to be with you forever, but you know some things are just more important.

𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨: Angst with sad ending, established relationship, Character death, regulus is lovesick.

A/N: I love writing about regulus, he's my first ever harry potter love. and he deserved sm better (I was also listening to "two birds on a wire" while writing this, kinda made me cry)

Ever since third year, Regulus black knew he was hopelessly in love with you, ever since the day in the library…he knew by the way his heart and face burned in your presence. how his hands shook when you passed him a book, by the way your eyes imprinted into his gray ones. it was only two years into the relationship when he proposed, and obviously. you said yes.

and now, fresh in school holidays. last year at Hogwarts, you stayed at one of his parents villas’

“Regulus?” your voice was similar to angel, and Regulus is sure that if you told him you were from the heavens, he’d believe you. “Yes, my love?” his hand grazing yours under the table of the kitchen. he took you in. clothes that fit you perfectly, hair in a ponytail, glasses hung down the bridge of your nose. “Oh nothing…you just seemed, deep in thought?” you smiled, continuing to read the book you’d been ranting about. while he just watched you.

“i suppose that would be correct”

its true…Regulus Black, Loves you, and there is only one thing stopping him from running away with you forever. the cursed tattoo that he tried deeply to scrub away. not that he would ever tell you that, you knew about it of course. in fact, you decided to make ‘light’ of the ‘dark’ mark. so to speak.

you embraced it, you adored him anyway. which was all he could ask for.

But what he hadn’t been telling you, was that he planned to steal and destroy Voldemort’s, Horcrux. meaning there is a chance he would not come back to you, his biggest fear.

and when the night had finally arrived, he started to doubt everything. as he stared at you in bed, tears started to well. Regulus Black, would be leaving you all alone. in the world without him…

“Reg? come back to bed…” you whispers through sleep, arm reaching out for him. and when he did not take it, you opened your eyes. “Baby?” glancing at his outfit, he seemed he’d be going somewhere. “where are you going, reg?”

“To see my brother, ill be back soon” it was shameful lying to you, the biggest sin ever. “Okay, well…tell him I said “hi”, I love you. be safe please” then going back to sleep, as quick as possible.

"I love you...so much"

how did you trust him? maybe he’d still be here if you said something different

maybe if you just asked him to stay, he would’ve. knowing Regulus…he actually might have if you asked.

but he didn’t come back, ever. part of you had to know he was acting strangely lately, you just wanted nothing more than to grow old with him...stomach clenching at the thought, the only thing to remember him by, were a few photos and drawings of him.

Maybe if you had said something, acted differently? Regulus would be in your arms, kissing you and telling you “everything will be alright”

however, everything isn’t alright.

and it wouldn’t be for awhile…but thats ‘okay’

“It is sad not to love, but it is much sadder not to be able to love.”- Miguel De Unamuno.

[mossymandibles]

I'm sure it's all lore that will be revealed in due time, but could you tell us about some of the side effects of consuming the celestial flesh?

I’m definitely not good at working linearly and slow at story plot reveal right now anyway, so happy to answer lol

Also, I wasn’t sure how to gage how much context this answer needed so sorry in advance for the long answer 😭. And cw for graphic descriptions of disease/body horror stuff.

Tl;dr Eating Yvishnir eventually caused evolutionary entropy that sometimes causes horrors.

It’s said that Yvishnir (the body not in the ocean) was a fallen star from long ago, before humanity and the fall of Tartarus(ocean body). The primordials, (Furies and sea dragons) were the ancient fish and birds that fed on Yvishnir in order to sustain their size and godhood and multiply on Earth as its continued keepers. They grew jealous over humanity’s progress and out of fear they buried Yvishnir so humans wouldn’t find it, and hid themselves away. That’s how part of the creation myth goes anyway. Then Tartarus fell and uncovered Yvishnir once again, drawing the primordials out and changing the sea.

So when I say ‘eating the flesh’, I mostly mean the Crux. At first, when Yvishnir was discovered and exposed to the atmosphere, it produced something called Crux which permeated the corpse and oozed from it as a liquid, thought to be a type of otherworldly bacterium or ichor to help it decompose. It caused a sort of explosion of hyper biodiversity/evolution, starting with plants. Here are some examples, mostly some fungi:

Most Humans didn’t really consider eating the Crux of course.

There were a few eccentrics and cults however that started the ball rolling. They would mostly eat it from fungi that had grown around Yvishnir, as well as cooking with it. This caused versions of human evolution, where they began to evolve into the Myce and other species to repopulate as, genetically merging with fungi in order to survive the new world. They’re under the blanket term ‘Hox Strays’, who make up most of Marrowtide and other known civilization islands to this day. There are different variations of these and their mutations have ‘stabilized’ over many generations but that’s another story.

As for Yvishnir, there was a point where the Crux changed its properties, becoming more crystalline. Entropy took over the longer the body was exposed. Even the very insects that were feeding on it began to quickly horrifically mutate and grow. People would say that demons were being birthed from its rotted juices. The Crux began to bring on less desirable effects. Humans classified it as several new forms of horrific diseases ranging from otherworldly prions to the very DNA itself denaturing and mutating.

✨Some outcomes include but are not limited to;✨

>Victims known to have fits of uncontrollable laughter while bleeding from orifices. Several cysts that had broken out on the skin were found to contain bits of teeth, hair and even eyes, like they were growing them.

>Some victims became more beast-like but at the cost of their minds and insatiable hunger for more of the celestial flesh/Crux.

>Victims first described it as a tingling sensation in their chest and extremities. Their blood began to change its molecular structure to be crystalline as well. Cells became shard-like, until their blood eventually hardened completely. It could be seen poking through skin, like they were full of glass.

>Worse still, in a sort of sped up form of the first outcome, they can become a never ending cycle of constantly evolving body parts, growing biomass like cancerous tumors of body parts forever in bloom, eg. growing several hands from your eye or numerous organs. The body can’t sustain this and it pretty much ends in death.

These modern day effects were mostly observed by The Ladder and they determined that Yvishnir was not to be consumed by organisms any longer. In the modern day it is safely contained in Hearth, which is the name of the quarantined citadel outside of The Fever, serving god knows what purpose aside from genetic experiments they’re rumored to be continuing with the remaining crystalline Crux Root.

The primordials felt that those who continued eating the Crux were forsaken, punished for eating the god. They along with others had migrated far, far away at that point, populating the mountains of Zenith and oceans that no one dared to sail through. The body of Yvishnir faded into legends. Even people living within Fever and the isles surrounding it knew less and less about the body as time went on, more focused on surviving day to day.

Their are cases where people have somehow managed to preserve the liquid form of Crux, said to still be procured and preserved when the body was first uncovered and would thus have the least amount of risk involved.

Some people hunt mermaids for the soul purpose of searching the contents of their stomach, to see if they have remnants of Tartarus in them.

With Tartarus it’s all based on theory because no one is able to get down there to see wtf is going on, they only see the results.