#and Don jumping in to save him from drowning???

[savvylittlecoxswain]

This is some Bobby Moch-type shit fr:

Well we were doing a boat race style event, high school rowing (8+). So I was in the bow seat and things we were all pretty invested in this race-none more so than the Cox. We complete the heads race for placing a in the final (boat race style long 5k with corners n stuff) and after we cross the line everyone is pretty exhausted, then out of the blue I see the stroke in the water clutching our little cox. Turns out he'd passed out just after we'd crossed the line and we hadn't noticed until he straight up fell out the boat. Good times

#tell me I’m wrong I DARE YOU #and Don jumping in to save him from drowning??? #bobby moch #the boys in the boat #boys in the boat #boys n boats #Reddit #bobby and his boys #bobby moch probably

[jess-fae]

Mermaid au part 2

Note; I finally got around to finishing the second part woohh, btw i am sorry for the weird spelling errors i will hopefully fix it this time

Summary; Hobie is a pirate captured by the British navy and one day Y/N a mermaid finds him

Trigger warning; thoughts of death, angst, violence, dont worry happy end i promise

✦ "I want you to kill me, I cannot live this life." you looked into his eyes once you would have felt such love but now you felt nothing, it hurt deeply

✦and even if you wouldn't turn into seafoam like your sisters, this would be the only way to end this tragedy humans called life

✦ so you looked hopeful into Hobie's eyes hoping he would understand, after all, in these shared moments you two had there had to be at least a few where he cared for you too, right

 ✦ yet as those words had fallen off your lips Hobies mouth fell dry, he cursed the captain and the lieutenant and whoever let them take away such a big part of yourself

 ✦ you pressed the dagger into his hand, which he swiftly pulled back shaking his head and refusing even to touch the weapon that he was supposed to take your life with

 ✦ you knew you were asking for much but you couldn't help but feel a little betrayed, as you looked over to the water you questioned what all the men felt like when you drowned them and if it would feel any different for you

 ✦ "A can't, it aint righ' dove" he whispered as his hand reached out for your own, noticing the lack of small scales and claws that could have ripped out his heart out at any moment

 ✦tears began to swell in your eyes again as you whispered to yourself "From the sea we are formed, to the sea we return." it was an old saying spoken after or before the death of a mermaid

 ✦even though Hobie could hear you speak, he didn't understand the meaning of what you were saying, but he guessed it couldn't be to good as you starred into the ocean with your eyes full of longing

 ✦as you dropped the dagger and stood up to get closer to the edge of the small boat, Hobie grabbed your wrist stopping you from jumping off

 ✦pulling you close just as a crew member walked along the deck, his voice turning into a whisper "am sure there is a way where ya don' have to die love"

 ✦you sat back down, watching him closely as he thought, that's when it hit him, around a year ago he had saved a witch from being burned alive by angry chr*stians

 ✦" 'lright, I migh' have an idea but we gotta get these chains of." before he knew it you were climbing up the ship again, only to return a few minutes later with a old pair of keys

 ✦ you threw them down to him and Hobie immediately tried them on his chains that were trying his legs to the boat

 ✦ back down with him, you saw that familiar smirk dancing on his lips, "Do you promise if this doesn't work that you will put me out of this misery?"

 ✦the smirk faded and Hobie choked on unsaid words but nodded, the witch had to help you, she had too...

...

 ✦days passed and for you, it seemed like you were just aimlessly swimming around, boredom had gotten the better out of you as you leaned over the edge and let your fingers dance around in the water

 ✦watching as hobie rowed the boat, his slim but yet strong arms flexing every so often

 ✦he made jokes but you couldn`t laugh, still wishing that this would all end soon

 ✦ your eyes went back to the ocean, missing every moment where the cold water used to hug you like a lover would have, now it would just feel like chains tying you down longing for your death

 ✦another day had passed and hobie had finally found the island he had been looking for, praying to whoever would hear him and listen

 ✦he guided the boat through the swamp-like waters, till he saw the small wooden shed

 ✦the two of you stood in front of the door, knocking swiftly waiting for the witch to open the door

 ✦when the door opened a rather young beautiful woman stepped into view, her face falling into a smile as she saw hobie

 ✦you studied her closer as she pulled you two inside, her locs were long and put in a high bun with many of them falling out, her face was filled with golden piercings, and her body was wrapped in a long green dress that reminded you of the kelp forest you loved to explore with your friend

 ✦you found out her name was Eissa, and she asked what she could help hobie with, while he was busy explaining the situation to her you found yourself stunned by her house

 ✦it was filled with different magical items and trinkets that could only be found on the bottom of the sea

 ✦"Is there any way you can make her a mermaid again?" Hobie finished and Eissa looked puzzled, she walked over to one of her many bookshelves and picked up a book skipping through the pages

 ✦you could see her eyes widen after some time, "Hobie may I speak to you in private?" he nodded and told you to stay here before kissing your forehead and leaving into the other room

 ✦"How much are you willing to do for her?"

 ✦"Anything"

 ✦Eissa swallowed before she turned the book towards him, showing him that for such a ritual you would be required to eat a human heart, but not such any, one that was willing to give it up for you

 ✦the room was thickly filled with silence, hobies hand went to his belt grabbing hold of the dagger you had pushed in his hand when you asked him for the impossiable

 ✦ he looked at it closely before handing it to Eissa, nodding at her

 ✦soon enough he sat down and took his final breaths of air, he had gotten her into this situation

 ✦Eissa returned to the room with you inside and gotten her pot out, gently putting hobies heart inside

 ✦"w-where is hobie?" you asked looking back at the door hoping for him to step out of it at any point

 ✦"He can't be here turning the ritual" a lie. but it would be a waste to tell you as things were already done

 ✦soon you laid on a desk as your legs were tied together, Eissa handed you the heart which was still hot from being soaked in the potion

 ✦"You will need to eat it..."

 ✦eating a heart wasn't to strange to you, but you never did it as a human could it be very different?

 ✦it was definitely harder to chew and it wasn't as enjoyable as it was before but you had gotten it down eventually

 ✦pain shot threw your legs are you watched them grow back together and into the beautiful tail it once was

 ✦emotions came rushing through you, hate, sadness and love. love for hobie

 ✦ so you asked again and Eissa finally told the truth, cutting through the rope with you claws you crawled your way to the other room

 ✦where in fact you saw hobies lifeless body, your arms wrapped around him repeatedly saying his name hoping for him to wake up

 ✦your cries turned into a melody, a melody that had wrapped itself around hobies body

 ✦Eissa watched as the blood from his stained shirt started to flow back into the wound, how the color started to paint his skin again and how his chest started to rise and fall again

 ✦hobies heart wasn't gone, it was very well still there beating... just not in his own body

 ✦his hand held a deathly tight grip on your arm as his eyes ripped open and came back to the undead

 ✦everyone's eyes widen at the sight, hobies hand rushed to his chest as he looked down to it not seeing a wound anymore

 ✦ unbeknown to you, you were singing a form of a healing melody used on fellow mermaids, and since his heart was within you it had healed him

 ✦ your arms wrapped around him again, hanging onto him with your full weight which was more than when you were human bringing him down to the floor

 ✦"ergh ehm, I rather not interrupt your little reunion but, Y/N can't be on land for to long or just dry in general before turning into a human again, till she is drenched again. but good news, if you are to become human you wont experience emotional loss like you did this time."

 ✦Eissa explained reading from her little book, hobie picked you up and carried you outside to place you in the water

 ✦you thanked the witch over and over again before hobie and you took off again

 ✦out on the open sea sunset wasn't away for to long and you jumped into the boat with him, letting your tail hang of the side of the boat

 ✦"You know i still need to thank you for what you did, hobie" you said leaning against his shoulder watching the sun go down

 ✦"oh do ya love?" his asked playfully, smirking down at you

 ✦"How about we get you a ship again?"

Note: argghhhh they're so cute!!! anyways that was part two i hope you guys liked it. I am planning to make a third part with more cuter shizzel and maybe smut...

#hobie brown #hobie x reader #hobie brown x reader #angst

[jaysflix]

Unrequited (I)

𖤐 Chapter I, Chapter II, Chapter III, Chapter IV

Part I, Chapter I 𖤐 The Unequal Marriage Genre: Romance, drama Pairing(s): Terzo/Reader, Copia/Reader Synopsis: To whom you marry isn't the right one. What can be done? Notes: Before we jump to conclusions here, no this story does not contain incest, you weirdos. Just think of it like Twilight with that whole triangle thing they had going on.

Warnings: injuries, description of anxiety attacks, and, like, heavy angst

2.5k words

There was a deep, heavy, and strangling silence that filled the room. Everyone knew the incorrectness of the situation, but no one had the power or courage to stop it without suffering greater consequences. The question of why hung in the air. Why was this to happen all so suddenly? Why was this decided among the highest members of the church? And why was it deemed the most responsible thing to do? The church spent so many years defying the good of Christ, highlighting the flaws of Catholic beliefs yet now it only reflects. The unfairness, inequality, and lack of empathy only proved that no one, no matter the circumstance, is safe from it all even when converting from one religion to another in an act of rebellion.

Rebellion. Such a strong, powerful behavior, but one you cannot do. For the sake of your beloved, sitting among the audience. Every chime of the bell drowned out the sounds of his shattering soul. How could it not? To see the one he’s only ever wanted to be with, standing at the altar with a dark covering, however unable to mask the trail of tears streaming in an unhealthy amount. He was supposed to be the one up there by your side, the biggest of smiles and excitement running through his veins. Anger, sadness, and a mix of other horrible feelings were all about what he felt at this moment. Perhaps everyone else felt it too. 

The chapel seemed to slowly fill with your river, and by the time you donned the ring, with a too-big-of-a-diamond screeching at your face, the water had risen up to your ears, silencing the words of the minister. When the two words were to be stolen from your lips, the liquid filled your mouth and deep into your lungs. Breathing became difficult. Mustering the strength with the help of your demons, silently the words spilled before you could choke a sob,

“I do.” The words were barely a whisper, but enough for both Terzo and the minister to hear clearly. Giving permission for what’s to come next, Terzo gallantly turned to you, uncovering your face from the sheer black. He already knew what to expect once he saw you clearly: puffy eyes, a swelling redness, and of course the darkness within them. You stared heartbreakingly at him, afraid that something would take your only true partner away if you didn't marry him. Terzo stared back, slowly and gently bringing a hand to cup your cheek, swiping away at the tears. His eyes held the same sorrow, and as he whispered a crushing apology, he took your hand and led you away from the altar to seal this new marriage.

A delay of claps echoed throughout. No smiles, no cheers, just a wave of pitiful cracks as you both scurried off. Terzo held you close behind him, his body shielding you from the crowd to save your shame. Your eyes are glued to his back before coming to a familiar figure standing in the far corner of the pews. Copia’s eyes, as swelled as yours, followed you as you exited. 

There would be no celebration tonight. Not with you present, at least. But anyone could expect that of course. How can anyone recover from this horrible tragedy? This pain? No, tonight you would mourn over the loss of your freedom.

･ﾟ:*𖤐*:･ﾟ

Terzo was ever so soft upon entering the room, where many would assume with the strength of Satan you were to become fertilized. He knew better; to theive your virginity was not the position he wanted. You belonged to someone else, but even so, he would never want to gain that kind of authority if one didn’t allow it. Alternatively, Terzo sat you on his linen sofa, making sure you were comfortable by adjusting the pillows behind your back and to your sides.

Though the air remained thick with your misery, suddenly it was easier to breathe. His kindness is the only source you received today, still, you expected nothing less of him. Terzo always remained tender regardless of his sexual nature which lured mindless members to his bed. The thought of him showing no signs of pursuing you was comforting, to say the least, but at some point, it will cost you. You both knew it. If you fail the church to produce his progeny, only Satan knows what happens next, and you know it doesn't involve just you and Terzo, but Copia as well.

Guilt would forever haunt Terzo. In a way, you guessed, it was comforting to know how much pain he felt because he understands your view. A friend is what you need most. Hopefully, he can return these feelings and aid you throughout this mishap. It will take time to convince the higher ranks of this opposition, considering their plans are following through quicker than expected. With Terzo being the closest to their level, he can explain the wrongness and find justice. Yes. Your hope is restored, but not completely. The first step is to get him on board.

Unknowing, he now kneels in front of you, scanning your face for, well, anything. Noticeably there was nothing. No hint of happiness wavered. The sadness shriveled into emptiness, despite your newfound faith. Exhaustion overwhelmed you above all else.

“They will be expecting of us.” He said firmer than he wanted to, only because he didn’t know if you’d be listening. You were. You didn’t respond, watching loose strands of hair fall perfectly over his eyes. Terzo’s gaze lowered, stopping at your lips before dropping to your feet. They were red; the silver buckle fastened tight around your ankles. A sign of struggle. They must’ve rushed you into your wedding attire. He could hardly think of what they’d put you through to get you fully dressed.

Attempts were made to run away, but the church knew all too well about your plans. Eyes were on you everywhere, eventually dragging you back from climbing out an opening. They tried so hard to be kind, but with all your scuffling, being hurt was inevitable. You screamed, cried, and screamed over and over again, pleading with tears and blood that it was all a dream. A joke. A misunderstanding. Everything was so utterly painful, you weren’t completely sure your voice was there.

And here is Terzo; gloved hands skimming cautiously down your leg. He adjusted himself, lifting your feet to rest on his thigh, allowing him better access to free you of these shackles. This kindness became too overwhelming as it was the first you received today. No tears slipped–all of it already spent.

You tried your best not to seeth at the pain, but as soon as Terzo peeled away your shoes, which had noticeably inaccurate measurements, a heavy sigh of relief released from your lungs. He put the shoe aside, then took his thumb to caress at the red indents. Your feet were severely bruised. You were lucky he got them off immediately. He continued to the next one, being just as careful to remove them.

This warmth was disturbing enough that you just wanted to shrivel up and collapse. Every nerve in your body was unwilling to move you to do so. Instead, you blankly stared into space, Terzo’s fingertips rubbing circles to soothe the bruising. Then, he stood slowly, for he thought any quick movement would startle you. His eyes never strayed away from you, but he was saddened by the fact he was staring at your scalp and not the lovely face he is overly fond of. Even in your state, devastated and distraught, he only wished to cherish what he married. Selfishly. 

He couldn’t believe it. He knew it was wrong, yet the feeling was always there, thriving as a sad little bud at the bottom of his heart. Terzo had to shake off this feeling. Perhaps a drink or two will help. As much as he wanted to reach out and tilt your chin upwards to look him in the eye, he gave you your space. He probably made you uncomfortable with taking off your shoes. This would be too much.

“I will make an appearance,” He told you, turning to take his leave. “Make yourself comfortable.”

The door closed shut, leaving you in the dim light of his room. You sat there for a minute before everything finally settled in. You are married now. Not to the man you love, but to his trusted friend. Maybe even a brother. It dawned on you. A sinking feeling washed over you until your breath was no longer there. A shiver ran down your spine as cold sweat seeped out of every pour. Your chest began to heave rapidly. Child-like sobs erupted from deep within. Everything felt small. Trapping. You clung onto everything and anything you could find, trying to find release. Suddenly your attire became too tight, slowly strangling your airway. You clawed with all your might to get rid of the thing, the last bit of tears straining your eyes. Thoughts of Copia flashed through your mind before darkness swallowed you whole.

･ﾟ:*𖤐*:･ﾟ

Terzo arrived on the scene, not expecting so many other guests to come bearing gifts. They were all thoughtful, most of them being baskets of sweets along with flowers, in the full bloom of purple.

Hyacinth.

They wore on their fake smiles, drinking away their last bit of sorrows and enjoying the feast laid out, originally to celebrate the newly wedded couple. No one seemed to bother to ask about your lack of appearance because they already knew where you would be. Terzo slowly grew with agitation, hating the pity. It became obvious that no one truly cared, and tomorrow everything would resume as normal. All of it was a facade to seem like they were indulged. People are selfish and cruel, only caring for their well-being. Thinking to themselves, thank goodness that wasn’t me.

Perhaps it was the alcohol mixed with his vexation that made him think this way, and as he sat silently observing the crowd, it only burned deeper. Was there truly no one who cared for you? Thinking back to the scars of your ankles, no one was patient with you. The anger continues to grow as he grips his glass of wine tightly.

How could you be kept with such inhumane people? Surely you had a friend. Yes, he’s seen you mingle with a few siblings before. Why haven’t they said anything?

The selfish feelings were returning. Terzo wanted nothing more than to steal you away, and take you farther than you’ve ever been. Maybe for himself.

No, he can’t think like this. There’s a denial of his true feelings. He will never say them. Not even with his dying breath. He’s no better than the cruel crowd. He’s just one among them. And dear Copia, a trusting ally for many years. Copia belonged to you, and you to him. Terzo would never hurt his feelings intentionally. Then again, he just married you. Was this really an accident?

Of course, it was, he thought, taking a swig of dry wine. Terzo stopped mid-gulp, deciding these intrusive thoughts were the result of his drunkenness. How many drinks did he have?

He couldn’t help but think of you. He shouldn’t have left you alone in the bedroom. How silly of him.

Upon this realization, he rose from his seat only to be interrupted by a sharp hand. Weary, he looked to see a ghoul, motioning for him to follow. Terzo complied, worried it had to do with you. No one would miss his disappearance, but he’d hoped to have a word with the Cardinal in private. This mistake needed to be sorted out quickly, Terzo knew that. The true question is whether he wanted to. 

Following through the dark corridors, at the end stood a strong figure, gray hair pulled back into a neat bun. Black eyeshadow painted around her eyelids, giving her stare a deadly feel. She looked at him intimidatingly. The ghoul left them to their private conversation.

Terzo greeted Sister Imperator graciously. She remained silent. He couldn’t tell what she was feeling. There was no sign of content or disappointment written across her face. Just the plain gaze and darkness of her eyes.

･ﾟ:*𖤐*:･ﾟ

Drunk and tired, Terzo returned to his room with no interruptions. His steps were uncoordinated and messy. There’d been an instance where he almost rammed himself into the wall by accident. Perhaps he should’ve kept track of his drinks. At this point, he wasn’t so sure he was going the right way anyway. These halls were too unfamiliar. Oh, but the exhaustion was too much to bear. He needed to lie down immediately.

Assuming the door was his own, he struggled to turn the knob. Not because it was locked, but his sense of perception was way off, he nearly missed the handle. Grabbing hold of it finally, as if his life depended on it, he kicked it open, tumbling down to his knees with a grunt. He hoisted himself up, confirming that it was indeed his room as he saw you lay uncomfortably on the couch. Closing the door, he stumbled over to you. There was a brief moment when everything became still. A fragile silence that could be broken to bits if he didn't move carefully. He only focused on your slow breathing. Again, this could be the result of extreme alcohol consumption, but seeing you sleep peacefully sparked a deep fondness.

His body began to sober up when he looked at you like you were his cure. Or maybe a drug. 

Suddenly he became aware of his closeness, but he could only focus on you. He wanted to know what you were dreaming, thinking, and feeling. To feel your breath on his neck or on his lips. The vision was intoxicating. He craved more. He wanted to be you in your skin, engulfed with warmth. He needed to live inside you. Provide you with the passion you deserved. And how lonely those lips of yours looked. To kiss them would be a blessing. Terzo became desperate, but he knew his limitations. So, bringing his arm behind your knees and under your back, he lifted you with tenderness and ease, carrying you to more comfortable bedding.

His private chambers wore a velvet red carpet, laced with golden edges and the typical floral design. Careful to not wake you, he placed you close to the edge of the bed. In an instant, your body relaxed against the soft sheets. 

There was an unsureness in his heart, slowly killing him as he brushed away the dried tears. He remained next to you, delicately pulling at the laces of your garments so you had more breathing access. It was entirely too tight. Having you lay on his bed was strange. Truthfully, it hadn’t been long since he had shared the bed with someone. Tonight that would change because most of them ended up bare under the covers. Regret might be the right word. Terzo didn’t want you to see him this way; a man whose only goal is to hurt others. Even today though, marrying you, disappointing the clergy, devastating his closest companion, and breaking the hearts of many others, could be the only thing he’s good at.

Terzo deserved none of it. His selfish feelings will cost him his soul. And as he sheepishly trudged away from your reach, with one last glance, he wanted the world to disappear. For now, Terzo will dream about the changes he wishes he could have made while you continue to dream about the life you could have had.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

𖤐 Chapter I, Chapter II, Chapter III, Chapter IV

other notes: This is just something I've been working on for a bit and never got around to posting. I hope it was OK! I'll try to post more frequently but life is kicking my ass rn

#cardinal copia #popia copia #papa emeritus x reader #papa emeritus iii x reader #papa emeritus iv #papa emeritus iii #papa emeritus iv x reader #cardinal copia x reader #copia x reader #the band ghost #ghost bc #ghost the band #papa emeritus iii terzo #terzo x reader #papa emeritus 3 #papa terzo #papa copia #papa emeritus 4

[yourdeepestfathoms]

I am requesting even more headcanons because the pool ones are all adorable

your wish is my command ;)

Ride the Cyclone Kids and The Beach

(in no particular order!)

(all platonic!)

The SECOND they arrive, the kids are like “omg, Ocean, it’s you!!!” and Ocean is So Tired Of It

Also Ocean, despite her namesake, REALLY doesn’t like the beach

It smells bad, and the saltwater makes her hair brittle and skin itch, and there’s sand, and things in the water, and it’s just not her favorite place to be

However, she tags along because she refuses to be left out

Ocean once again dons her rash guard to try to protect her delicate ginger skin (spoiler alert: it Doesn’t Work. we’ll get to that later)

Catch Noel out here staying on the bay the Whole Time

For once, he agrees with Ocean; the beach isn’t the most pleasant place to be

He only goes into the water to piss lol

Aside from that, the most he’ll get in is up to his shins

And that’s being generous

Meanwhile, Mischa and Penny are FLINGING themselves at the water

(I just think they would have a really cute friendship OKAY)

These two are usually ALWAYS in the water

Catch them out here wrestling wildly in the shallows

Ocean deadass tried to do homework while at the beach and only put it away when Mischa threatened to throw all her stuff into the water

She is allowed to read a book in the water, though

So she likes to sit in the shallows

Constance is both on the bay and the water, but she usually doesn’t go very deep

She’s perfectly content with the water, but the moment her foot touches something she’s oUT OF THERE

Her toe makes 0.4 seconds of contact with something slimy?? She’s gonna jump six feet out of the water and scramble for the shore

Sometimes she’ll just sit and talk with Ocean or help with Ricky’s sandcastles

Speaking of Ricky! He is a fucking MASTER at building sandcastles

Bro’s got a whole PALACE going on

Ricky, signing: seeing people dig holes in the sand really makes you realize we’re all just little animals

Constance: what

Constance likes to collect pretty seashells!

Penny also collects seashells!

The ones she deems the prettiest are divided through the group

(They all still have the shells she gave her somewhere in their rooms)

Mischa will pull the others on a boogie board through the shallower area

Penny will grab everything and ANYTHING she finds

Girl has No Fear

She once chased Noel around with a jellyfish because she wanted to show him, but he was freaked out

She also straight up grabbed a whole ass fish before

Constance: PENNY!!!! PUT IT BACK!!!!!!!

Mischa likes to pretend to drown to see if the others will come save him

Constance does come to his rescue Every Single Time

Noel doesn’t even budge

Ocean stands up in alarm, but she can’t swim, so what can she do? She’d probably legitimately drown if she tried

Ricky is too focused on his sandcastle to notice

Penny is also pretending to drown lol

Mischa and Penny both shake off like dogs

Mischa started it, Penny just mimicked him, so now they both do it

Some creeps were fucking with Ocean, telling her to take her rash guard off so they could “see that pretty body she has underneath,” and Mischa came SPRINTING from the water to chase them off

Not only that, though, but Noel shot up and started storming over, while Penny fucking grabbed the WHOLE SHOVEL Ricky was using like it was goddamn sword

Ricky threw sand

Constance was already comforting Ocean

Ocean acts like what happened didn’t bother her, but it Did

She appreciates the other kids stepping in, though

After that, Noel moves the umbrella and his chair to sit by her in the shallows

Not to keep an eye on her, if that’s what you’re thinking! Him? Being worried over OCEAN? No, no, no. He’s just getting closer to the nice view of the water! That’s all!

So, like, while reading a book in the water, Ocean kinda forgets to reapply sunscreen

Which results in the WORST sunburn on her legs and face and back of her neck

Like, oh my god, that shit was the color of a red Sharpie marker

Ocean is DISMAYED

Noel called it her “crab legs”

It’s SO PAINFUL

She gets sun poisoning because of it, poor girl!

#ask #once again i say #I LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!!! #ride the cyclone headcanons #ride the cyclone #rtc #rtc headcanons #ocean o'connell rosenberg #noel gruber #mischa bachinski #jane doe #penny lamb #ricky potts #constance blackwood

[afi-mukami]

Her Scent of Magnolias

Final Fantasy VII

AerTi

Teen and up

Tifa and Aerith have fallen from Don Corneo's trap into the sewer along with Cloud. The group will not be able to proceed until the broken water pump is repaired. While Cloud stays to monitor the meters, Tifa and Aerith have a moment to chat alone.

It is kind of funny how Cloud stares as Tifa announces that women can do the pump repair and he can meanwhile monitor the gauges. I could not help but smile. No doubt Cloud is used to being the hero and feels obligated to take care of everything. When I remember how Tifa and I had just saved him from falling into the sewage, laughter bubbles from my lips. I get it swallowed and hurry after Tifa back to the side of the drain.

Tifa's hips sway at the pace of her steps. The fabric of the black miniskirt is stiff and does not actually follow the movements but emphasizes her curvy body in just the right way. I would never dress that way, but it is hard to take my eyes off Tifa.

I do not remember having looked at her this way back then. Now she is capturing my eyes time and time again. I am not sure if that is good. I should not. I should focus only on the essentials, but I can do nothing for my wandering gaze and heart rate. That heartbeat was supposed to belong to only one person. Will I ever learn? And how many opportunities do I have?

“Living in slums has taught a lot,” Tifa says, squatting in front of a malfunctioning pump.

I stand a little distance away. I cannot be much of help; it would have been more useful if I had stayed to monitor the metrics. Tifa’s fingers run along the mechanisms of the pump as if she were an experienced plumber. The same fingers were very warm when they grabbed me earlier.

Crossing dirty splashing water along mere floating tiles did not directly feel like a good idea. However, Cloud got over without difficulty, and the trick went smoothly for Tifa as well. I half envied the physical ability of both.

I set off. The tiles rocked beneath me, but I got ahead. I swayed, wavered, I accelerated my pace. I already felt the tiles prune from under me. I plunged forward and could imagine how the stinking water would hit me.

Just then, Tifa grabbed my arm and snatched. I kicked the raft with my feet. Maybe I jumped or maybe I just fell, I do not even know. The next moment I collided directly against Tifa, and her arms wrapped around me. Tifa smelled of magnolias and was softer than she looked. As I straightened up, anxiety narrowed her eyes.

“May I ask…” Tifa starts and turns to look at me. There is a slightly reddish tinge to her brown eyes, I notice now. Anyway, I should have remembered it, but the details are surprisingly vague. They seem to flag out of my grip, especially if I intentionally try to grab them. I know how things should be, but at the same time I still forget. It is exceedingly difficult to explain.

“Of course,” I answer before I have time to drown in my own mind.

“How did you and Cloud really meet?”

He is a special person of Tifa. The one Tifa lied about when we last met. This time I am not pointing out a lie but telling an absurd story of how a handsome young man fell through the roof of a church. I omit the most absurd detail; it was not the first time. I still remember that time when the same thing happened, and I lost my heart. I knew so little back then; I was ready to give all away for just one blue gaze. Or one more. I should not have surrendered that way, but I cannot help but think of all the past moments that wrapped our destinies together. Without them I would not be who I am now.

There is something in Tifa's gaze that I cannot read. She closes me off and sinks somewhere far away. I squat next to her.

“Can I help with the pump somehow?” I ask.

Tifa smiles and the light comes on in her eyes again. Her nose twitches, and a smile reaches all the way to the gaze. Sewer hiking has tainted her careful makeup, but I can hardly look fresher myself. Even with the smeared eyeshadow, her lashes frame her eyes like petals the center of a flower.

“Push that lever down, and I’m trying to get this in place. When I say, lift the lever back up,” Tifa replies.

I work as directed, and Tifa continues to work on her own. Her hands move as if they were born for such tasks, but I have seen them under different actions. Tifa does not hesitate to defend herself. She is strong in a way I will never be able to be.

“Did you tell Cloud that we had met before?” Tifa continues the conversation.

I shake my head.

“Me neither.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. It did not seem appropriate. It's almost as if he shouldn't know it.”

I look behind us. I do not see Cloud who stayed back to observe the vibration of the gauge needles. I think Tifa is right. Cloud is not supposed to know about our encounter because it was not supposed to happen. Something has sprained, and I want to make that sprain worse. Is this the path I should choose?

“Now push it down,” Tifa says.

I grab the lever firmly and forcibly twist it down. Tifa sighs and shakes her head. Crank the lever up again. Tifa changes places and her side presses against my leg. She is warm even though the sewer is coolly humid. I smell the scent of one perfume, I recognize magnolia, even though this scent has been produced industrially. I wish I could one day grow magnolias in my garden.

Tifa's side rubs against my leg. Her bare skin between the top and the skirt. She falls to her knees and presses her head against the pump she is trying to fix. Her hand disappears inside of the pump at the same moment as our gazes’ glue together. Nutty. Her gaze is nutty. Warm and attractive but safe. There is stability in Tifa that is lacking in my own life. Where I live in constant cross-water and in danger of being caught in the wrong course, Tifa has grown stable roots. Of course, the roots can also be cut and crushed, but there is something charming about that stability.

The pump carries a metallic buckle.

“Now!” Tifa exclaims and jerks her hand away from inside the device.

I push with all my strength, and the lever presses down. My grip slips. I try to support the position by moving my legs, but the floor of the drain is slimy, and my shoes slip. I fall to my knees and stumble upon Tifa who grabs me. Our faces are almost stuck together, but she pushes me into a better position.

“Oops, I didn’t realize that lever is so stiff,” Tifa says.

I laugh and wrap my hair straightening around my fingers. “I'm just not very strong.”

“There are many kinds of strength.”

I squeeze my fingers around Tifa's biceps. Gently but firmly, so that my grip will certainly not slip. Tifa's eyes widen as she looks at me. I open my mouth, but just at that moment, the sewer around us is crackling. The world breaks down into strands and re-forms.

Tifa smiles and fireworks crackle behind the window. Our environment swings, the sky curves above us, and we move slowly upward. Numerous amusement rides, a theater, a chocobo arena are left under… I do not see them, I just see Tifa.

I extend my hand towards Tifa, and at that very moment everything is distorted and fragmented. Everything disappears…

“Aerith?” Tifa asks. Her hand lands on my cheek.

I blink my eyes. The sight is gone and evaporates farther and farther. I'm no longer sure what I saw. Was it past or future? Was it something that happened to me a long time ago or did it happen to someone else? I do not know. Everything is twisted into one big ball with no beginning and no end, just an endless journey. I know I should know more, but my memories are stuck in the depths of the ball.

“Is everything okay?” Tifa asks, and I nod.

“Yes. I'm only tired.”

“I’m not surprised. This has been quite a night and it is not even over yet.”

Tifa grabs me by the shoulders and strives to stand up. The area between the socks and the skirt flashes past my eyes, and I almost raise my hand. At the last minute, I stop myself. Tifa's hand appears in front of me. I grab it and let her drag me to my feet.

“Cloud is probably already waiting impatiently,” Tifa says and smiles.

I respond with a smile and a nod. When I let go of Tifa’s hand, her fingers swipe my palm.

I definitely need to get magnolias for my garden. Maybe next time.

#final fantasy vii #final fantasy vii remake #ffvii #ffvii fanfiction #tifa lockhart #aerith gainsborough #afi writes

[ashdreams2023]

Hello!! I was wondering if you are willing to do a part 2 in the fic Every Reality you did? The one where Stephen meets Variant daughter? It was so good! I really want to know what happens next 🥺. Can you make it angsty with lots of fluff?

Of course! SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER!

Stay

This headache was killing you, why in god’s name did you not agree to take painkillers when you had the chance.

It was like a hammer jamming into your head with each movement, no matter how small it was, you should’ve listened to your da-Stephen…it’s Stephen here, not your dad.

"Don’t move, the pain will get worse"

"Tell me something I don’t already know" you groaned placing your arm over your forehead. At least the coach was soft enough, you even got a fluffy blanket.

"Don’t sass me now young lady, you know better than to argue with you—sorry I didn’t mean to…just rest" Stephen rubbed the bridge of his nose and excused himself out of the room to the kitchen where America had found his stash of potato chips.

"You helped yourself I see" he said.

America swallowed then peaked at the living room where you laid "she looks beat up"

"Obviously, she’s lucky I came in time to save her, she never listens!" He sighed heavily then looked back at your laying form, this was hard for him.

America hummed then hopped on the counter beside the stove "you know she’s still your daughter and you from her reality is gone too"

"What are you getting at kid?" He knew exactly where she was getting at but he didn’t want to risk it, losing you once was enough but a second time might just be the last straw before he loses his sanity.

"Don’t be like this, she’s probably so scared and if she’s like your own daughter you might you know, comfort each other"

"And her other life, the reality she jumped from, what if she has a family other than that strange, what if I’m being selfish to keep her here with me?"

America’s eyes softened, she’s seen many versions of you two, different but still the same, you always followed your dad and he made sure you stayed safe.

"Why don’t you ask her then? If she wants to stay or find a way to go back" Stephen shook his head, christen is gone and now he has a chance to have a family again but it might affect the multiverse even more.

He can’t be selfish….can he?

"What if I’m doing the wrong thing? There’s millions of possibilities and I don-"

"Then try them all if you have too! You’re a sorcerer with great knowledge I’m sure you’ll figure something out but now, now you need to go and talk to your daughter"

Stephen swallowed, his throat felt dry and the water finish boiling on the kettle, he made some herbal tea and went inside to the living room where you laid.

He placed a cup for you on the coffee table and sat across from you wrapping both his hands around the warm cup "drink it, it will ease the pain a little"

"Ok" you pushed yourself up and winced from the pain in your head, the blanket fell on your legs. You grabbed the cup and inhaled the sweet smell of pomegranate.

You smiled softly at the warm liquid "it’s a while since I did this" you muttered soft enough for him to hear.

"Did what?" He asked.

"This…you, I mean my dad and I used to sit down and drink tea whenever he’s not drowning himself in work, it would be the two of us only"

Stephen looked down at the steam coming from his cup, he felt his chest tighten "you know…me and my daughter used to go ice skating sometimes, when she felt moody, she was great at it I was trash"

You snorted "I never got the chance, I’ll like to try though, even if he’s not really here anymore" your smile dropped a little and then you took a sip of your tea, it filled you with warmth.

"I could take you, I mean if you’ll want before….going back"

Your head shot up and looked at him with hopeful eyes "you mean it? We could go?"

The tightness hurt even more "yes, you just to ask and I’ll take you….anywhere" the hope in your eyes grew, the smile on your face made him want to be selfish and screw what anyone thinks.

"What if I…want to stay here, with you and America, I don’t have a family now and I really don’t want to be alone again, please sir"

Stephen sighed then placed his cup on the table, he scooted closer and put his hands on top of yours "I lost my daughter once and it was the saddest day of my life and if you stay I don’t want to lose you too but it’s up too, if you want to stay you can stay, I will love you just as much and try my best to protect you my child"

Your eyes stung from tears, you missed your father’s warm hands and soft words "I want too, please keep me dad, I don’t ever want to lose you again too."

#doctor stephen strange #dr stephen strange imagine #dr stephen strange #steve rodgers x reader #imagine #mcu #fanfic #father stephen strange #stephen strange

[praeteritus-memories-muses]

Name: Furina

Series: Genshin Impact

Continuity: Video Game

Age: 20 (physical appearance)

Height: 4'11"

Birthday: October 13th

Birthplace: Fontaine

Orientation: Bisexual

Species: Cursed oceanid turned human (formerly) Human (currently)

Occupation: Hydro archon (formerly) Director of Fontaine films and plays (currently)

Bio:

Created by the second hydro archon in the history of Teyvat, Focalor. Egeria, the previous hydro archon, was killed during the cataclysm 500 years ago and so Focalor was hand-picked by Egeria before her death as her successor. Yet the real Focalor would never ascend to the throne of the hydro archon, for she created a human clone and sealed herself within the Oritrice as part of her master plan to save Fontaine from the great flood and restore Neuvilette's power rightfully back to him as the original ruler of Fontaine, whose power was stolen from his past incarnation during the archon war.

The Furina spoken of here is entirely human, only cursed with immortality until the rest of Focalor's plan came into action for Furina to act out the role of archon to trick the Heavenly Principles into believing the prophecy reigned true when it did not.

As the 'archon' of hydro and justice, Furina is to be the symbol of justice and power despite having none of her own, Neuvillette works with her as the chief judge of all court cases as well as the hydro gnosis staying within the Oritrice for Focalor to use her powers as an archon within. An automaton, named the Oratrice, powers all the electrical lighting and other automatons within Fontaine and keeps the nation as one of the most developed in all of Teyvat.

Yet all is not happy for Furina, for she is drowning in loneliness and anguish over pretending to be someone she isn't for five-hundred years. Many nights, when she's certain no one is around, Furina will often cry over her own agony from a situation she never asked to be a part of. After all, she is human and it's a cruel fate to ask a human to do a God's work.

For as haughty, arrogant, rude and immature as she acts on the outside, Furina deep down is extremely insecure and lonely. She wonders why Focalors left all this on her shoulders, but has no choice but to keep pressing on in her masquerade to put this prophecy to an end.

Yet if there is one thing that Furina holds about herself, it is her strong belief in justice. She believes all people should face punishment for their crimes, and will often jump to conclusions in the courtroom which leads to her becoming flustered. She also holds a great love of theater and acting, finding plays about lies and betrayals to be the most equisite as it gives her an escape from the hell she must endure.

Thanks to the Oritrice, being Focalor who sealed herself inside so she could one day kill herself as part of her grand plan to destroy the hydro throne, Furina doesn't have to enact any form of magic or power so masking her own lack of power has been easy. From minor pickpockets to serial killers, Furina stays all day in the Court of Fontaine to watch every case. Although she grows bored easily when cases are not filled with shocking twists and dramatics, something Fontaine's court system thrives on during trials to feed the Oritrice.

However, after the crisis was adverted thanks to The Traveler and Neuvilette's rightful place was restored to him, Furina lives largely in isolation in a small house in the city of Fontaine. Her life is in constant danger due to 'lying' about being the archon of Fontaine, but she no longer dons a mask by pretending to be a God. She isn't happy yet, but maybe someday she will be.

It would only be thanks to The Traveler's help that Furina would receive a hydro vision from Neuvilette, and obtain powerful abilities thanks to being the creation of the last hydro archon of Fontaine. She summons hydro creatures to protect those around her, as well as holds great gifts with a sword.

She does later attempt to reinvent herself by becoming an actress thanks to 500 years of practice in the biggest acting role anyone could ask for.

[kurt-wagner-official]

Post #97: Fallen Angels issues 1-8

I've never read this miniseries before and I don't really know anything about it other than it stars Berto and a bunch of really weird new characters, which is more than enough for me. After all the stress and distrust of their recent arcs, this mini opens with the New Mutants just hanging out and playing soccer. But like all good things around here, it soon comes to an end when Sam trips and collides with Berto, slamming his head into a goalpost. On reflex, Berto lashes out with his power and knocks Sam unconscious. Ashamed, he runs away to his room. He goes to Max's office to ask for advice, but he's already taken Sam to the hospital. Berto sees his own student file on the desk and opens it to find a letter that Xavier had typed up about him saying that he fears Berto may follow in his father's footsteps. Berto decides that he's too evil a person to remain at the school, and he leaves a goodbye note and runs away. I actually really like how stupid and overdramatic this plot hook is, because kids are usually stupid and overdramatic. We've seen the New Mutants struggling with a lot of really complicated drama lately and struggle to figure stuff out, which can make us forget that even in really simple misunderstandings teenagers can also have way too hard a time figuring themselves out. As Berto walks the streets of Manhattan drowning in angst, he stumbles across a girl being mugged and jumps in- but his powers suddenly fail him, leaving him at the muggers' mercy.

Berto and his new friend are getting beat up when another girl, Ariel, opens the door to the building next door and the girl, Chance, runs in. Berto, whose angsty inner monologue has declared that "Cain is no more evil than I," just gives up, until Warlock appears and saves him, having tracked Berto down. He says that if Berto won't come back to the mansion, they'll be outcasts together. It's not the first time they've had an interaction like this, but it just always warms my heart to see these two interact. Berto is just always so openly friendly and affectionate to Warlock, it's adorable. Berto goes to check on Ariel and Chance, but the door leads to an empty room. Back at the mansion, Max is explaining the Berto situation to Moira, who he had called to help him out with all his end of term paperwork. She brought along Sean's daughter Theresa and Jamie Madrox. Max enlists Moira on therapy duty for the other kids, which is long overdue, and Theresa and Jamie head to the city to try to track down Berto and Warlock. But when they eventually find them, so does somebody else- a weird guy with pet lobsters, who tells Berto that he needs to come with him. Then the Vanisher shows up, and Theresa attacks him cause he's evil. In all the commotion, a door opens up and Ariel and Chance, who are friends with the lobster guy, tell Berto to come with them. He does, and Warlock and some of Jamie's duplicates follow, but when Theresa tries to she finds the door leads into a restaurant and the others are nowhere to be found.

It turns out Ariel and Chance are members of Vanisher's gang of thieves that Tabitha (Boom-Boom) recently left. So is the lobster guy, whose name is Gomi, and Don and Bill, his lobsters that he talks to psychically. Vanisher wants Berto in his crew, the Fallen Angels, and because he's decided to embrace his life as a tragic villain, he accepts, on the condition that Warlock can stay too. The Jamie dupes stick around too, to keep an eye on things. Jamie Prime and Theresa, meanwhile, have no idea were everyone went off to. Jamie suggests they get dinner while they wait for his dupes to bring Berto and Warlock back to them. We get some more hints of Jamie's past; he lived on a farm as a child, and when his parents died, he just kept living there with dupes as his company, which fucked him up in ways he doesn't realize. It's also time to start getting origin stories from the new guys, starting with Gomi. He's not actually a mutant, but a cyborg. He and his lobsters were test subjects for college kids obsessed with superheroes, and they gave the lobsters sentience and Gomi some psychic powers. Eventually the three of them ran away and joined up with these guys. We don't get much info on Ariel yet, just that she's not a mutant, but an alien, and she can open portals through doorways. To demonstrate, she opens one into then X-Factor building to check on Tabitha, who's bored and decides to go through and rejoin her old friends. Just then, Theresa and Jamie arrive and demand an explanation. But as they're taking the conversation outside, Ariel opens another portal, and everyone's on an alien planet.

They immediately get attacked by an alien dinosaur, except for Vanisher, who vanishes. Berto gets a sudden boost of power and beats the dino single handedly, while Ariel and Chance run off in search of their targets- two mysterious mutants on this planet. They don't find anything except Vanisher, who says he was just on his way to check on them, and they head back to the camp, where Theresa and Jamie are flirting while Tabitha sits there pouting in jealousy. Berto and Warlock have also wandered off, where they run into Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur, the mutants Ariel was looking for, and bring them back to the camp to introduce them.

Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur (two previously established characters with the powers of being an ape man and being a sentient dinosaur, respectively) decide to come back to Earth with everyone cause why not. At this point, the characters seem to realize that their book has no plot and they're only halfway through, so they hang out in the living room for half an issue until Vanisher says the new mission is go steal a bunch of food so the dinosaur doesn't eat them. They all wander off in pairs. Theresa points out to Jamie that they are completely failing their mission of recovering Berto and Warlock, and Jami says they probably can't convince them to come back so it's better to join the gang of petty thieves to keep an eye on them. No wonder these guys haven't gotten membership in any of the big teams yet. Eventually, Tabitha and Gomi run into a rogue Jamie dupe who doesn't want to rejoin Prime. They kidnap him and bring him to Theresa and Jamie, and they all have a little philosophy debate about the nature of life. It's mostly a gag, and implied to be because of the way everyone's powers have been acting weird, but it actually lays the foundation for a ton of Peter David's work on Jamie down the line. The scene is broken by tragedy when Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur, who got bored, show up to hang out with everyone, and Devil Dino steps on Don the blue lobster.

The next issue picks up after Don's funeral, where Berto and Warlock comfort Gomi and Bill and Berto gets one of his best moments ever talking about how all lobsters go to Heaven. Devil Dino is wracked with guilt, and Berto takes this as another opportunity to wallow in his own "evil nature," saying Devil Dino is a better man than he. Ariel and Chance have a cryptic conversation about their evil plans for all the mutants they're collecting. Bill gets into a fight with Devil Dino, which Berto breaks up, before suddenly everyone's mutant power disappears and comes back. During the disappearance, the rebel dupe stays separate from Jamie, and they decide to stay separate as brothers. Everyone's freaking out about all the weird power stuff recently, and they assume it must be X-Factor stalking them, so when Ariel suggests she take them all to her home planet, they all agree, to her delight.

Everyone's hanging out on the planet Coconut Grove, which resembles a mall in a cartoon more than anything else. The guy in charge, Unipar, keeps following them around wiggling his fingers evilly, making cryptic comments about how he likes mutants. I'm starting to think this is the guy Ariel is working for. Jamie's rogue dupe is getting even weirder, and has now split into another dupe that doesn't want to be absorbed, leaving us with three different Jamies. Vanisher calls a meeting to discuss what the hell they're all doing, when suddenly all their powers start going crazy again. Jamie, using the mini Cerebro that Moira gave him to track Berto, discovers that the reason for all this is Chance, who it turns out is a mutant with the power to turn other mutations on and off. Unipar shows up to collect the mutants, including Chance, to Ariel's anger. To Chance's horror, Ariel eventually lets them take her only friend off, before she too is captured. It turns out she's also a mutant, with the power of persuasion, which explains why everyone keeps acting weird when she wants them to. But it's tragic news for our heroes, who are now all captured.

Everyone except Bill, the green robot cyborg, who sneaks after his captured friends and starts plotting revenge. A lot of writers have tried to replicate the cool badass Wolverine Alone moment from the Dark Phoenix Saga, but this one just set a bar that none, including the original, can never touch. Everyone else is stuck in a cell, where Unipar tells them they'll all be dissected to uncover the secret of mutation, which the Coconut people almost never achieve. Warlock does get a nice moment; his mutation is to have the capacity for compassion, but even with dampeners on the cell, he still cares for Berto. He asks Theresa why, and she says that love is a learned behavior, and he doesn't need his mutation any more. The scientists kill one of the Jamie dupes and drag the other two and Berto off. Then, Bill shows up, beats up all the guards, and frees them. After some debate, they decide to take Chance and Ariel with them. Elsewhere, the distraction of the riot gives Berto and Jamie and chance to break free. The independent dupe sacrifices himself and lets the other Jamie absorb him to heal both their injuries, and there's a big teamup where Chance masters her powers to boost all the other Fallen Angels. Ariel convinces Unipar to let them go, and they all head back to Earth. Berto finally realizes that he really sucks at being an edgy villain, mainly because he keeps being supportive and protective of everyone around him. He decides to return to the New Mutants, which delights Warlock. Theresa and Jamie decide to stick with the Angels for a while and try to guide them on a path of good, which I'm sure will work great. And that's it for the book.

This was one of the weirdest books I've read in a bit. Not because the plot was incomprehensible but because it mostly didn't exist. For being the lead character, Berto didn't really do all that much, but for the time he was on the page, we got to see a new side of him as a reluctant leader, something that doesn't really come up when he's with Dani and Sam but will become a bigger part of his character in the 2000s. And like I said I'm always happy to see him hanging with Warlock. It was nice for Jamie to have a bigger role in a book, even though he doesn't yet much resemble the great character Peter David turns him into. Most of the other characters weren't that great, except Gomi and the lobsters, who are now some of my favorite deep cut X-characters ever. If Marvel ever hires me I'm resurrecting Don. When I was reading about this book I found out that it was originally going to be published when Berto disappeared for a while during SWII, but there were delays and it got rewritten for this point in the series, which makes that whole thread make a lot more sense. I'm not at all against weird books with no plots, but this one definitely could have been a few issues shorter. I wish Jo Duffy had stuck around the X-office longer, cause she's a good writer and with a little more time to adjust to this franchise I think she could have written a great ongoing X-book. But alas, this is the last we see of the Fallen Angels. It was nice, but I miss the main New Mutants book and I'm glad to be headed back.

#wes reads xmen

[akatsuki-shin]

Thinking about this HuaLian drawings by STARember... 😳

Young sailor Hong-er had just joined a pirate crew. On his very first sail, there was a storm and he was thrown off the ship. His crewmates couldn't pick him up and everyone, including he himself, thought that he was about to drown to death.

As he was dragged down by the rapid current, Hong-er suddenly felt someone - or something - pulled him up. His consciousness was fading, but he could still see, before his sight went dark, that it was a beautiful mermaid with gentle dark eyes and long black hair, a contrast to his fair skin.

Once the storm passed, his crewmates found Hong-er stranded, but safe, on a nest of big coral reefs - to which they could finally send a small boat to pick him up. They were astonished and asked him how he survived. Hong-er wasn't sure if he should tell them about the mermaid who saved him, so he only said that he was lucky to have gotten a hold of some floating plank, which he used to stay afloat until he reached these rocky areas and climbed to safety.

During that time and age, superstitions were common, people often believed legends and myths as truths to be sought. Some years later, there were rumors saying that the mermaids hid an abundance of rare treasures that they had amassed from the sinking ships. If one could bring back this treasure trove, it would be equivalent to all the wealth the world could offer, and one would live blanketed in riches down to their seventh generations.

As mermaids were generally seen as the enemies of sailors who often seduced men on the sea to crash their ship and drown them to death, many people began to get on board with it and the rumors itself grew wilder and wilder by the day.

Some said that eating a mermaid's flesh could grant one with immense power and immortality, some also said when mermaids were taken out of the water, they would turn into extremely beautiful women - and really, which men wouldn't love to have beautiful women by their side?  

In any case, it did not take long for these hearsays to become obsession and thus, a widespread mermaid hunt began. People started to race one another, fighting and killing off each other to fulfill this baseless ambition.

The pirate crew that Hong-er was part of certainly wasn't an exception. He saw with his own eyes how his crew mates devised various traps to lure the unaware sea creatures, catching them heartlessly as if they were merely going on a fishing trip.

No matter how much he disagreed in his heart, Hong-er, who was still just a young man and a mere lackey, couldn't do anything to stop them. He could only swallow down his grief and disgust whenever he saw his crewmates killing off the pitiful half human, half fish creatures, blocking off his ears in frustration so that he would not hear their heartrending screams and cries when these barbaric pirates killed them off one by one when the mermaids refused to talk and lead them the said secret treasure trove.

That is, until one day, he saw a familiar face amongst the mermaids that his crewmates had captured.

Even if many years had passed, there was never a time when Hong-er did not remember that stormy night when he thought his life was about to be swallowed down by the raging sea, when that certain figure swam against the mighty current to pull his helpless body out of death's embrace.

It was that very same mermaid who saved him that day. The moment he saw this creature being caught and was about to be subjected to the same torture the previous mermaids had undergone, his eyes went dark and he attacked his own crewmates, attempting to release all of the captured mermaids back into the sea.

Nobody would've thought that this skinny little lackey, whom they had been ordering around the ship like some slave, could be so vicious. He injured a great number of the pirates, tore off the massive nets huddling all of these mermaids, and urged them all to jump back into the sea.

But of course, this action was not without consequence. Not only did he suffer major injuries from battling dozens of his crewmates all by himself, losing an eye in the process, Hong-er was then branded a traitor. They beat him up until he could no longer move or speak, then tied him up to a huge rock. Just like that, the bloodied Hong-er was thrown off the ship to his death, this time for sure.

Yet there was no hint of regret on his face. In fact, Hong-er felt very much at peace. Even if it was only for a brief moment, he could meet his beautiful savior once more and pay him back in full. Closing his eyes, a smile appeared on his lips. He prayed in his heart for the kind mermaid to be able to live freely and happily with his people in the vast ocean, unrestrained by the greed of humans.

He had no idea that from the distance, a familiar shadow was swimming towards his sinking body.

The merfolks treasure trove was a big issue and remained so for quite some time, but for the men of the sea, there would always be new legends, new myths for them to gossip about while drinking in the taverns, to fight each other off while sailing on the ships. Rumors came and went like the changing of seasons, but it was not until ten years later that an alarming story began to spread among the seamen.

On the high seas, whenever the mermaids started singing, a "Ghost Ship" would appear quietly through the fog and mist, approaching unsuspecting ships with all of its otherworldly magnificence. The crewmates weren't rough and dirty pirates, but men and women so beautiful they looked like fairies instead of humans, as if it was not a ship that was sailing, but a palace instead. The captain of the ship was a gallant young man dressed in red, a rare, peculiar scimitar hanging on his waist. It was said that he had only one eye, and he was known by the name Hua Cheng. Beside him, there would always be an extremely beautiful person donned in white, and the two were never seen to be apart.

But who could testify how accurate these descriptions were? Everything was a mere hearsay, for every single ship who came too close to the Ghost Ship, bewitched by its glory, would disappear without a trace. Were they sunken? Were they eaten? Were they spirited away to the ghost realm? Nobody knows. This Hua Cheng and his Ghost Ship were like a harbinger of death disguised as gold and flowers.

Hence a warning was soon spread amongst the seafarers, "If you hear the mermaids' singing, turn around and never look back, for it means the Ghost Ship is sailing nearby, and those who laid their eyes on Hua Cheng and his beautiful companion in white would never live to tell the tales."

As for whether the merfolks really did hide a treasure trove equivalent to all the wealth in the world, or whether their blood could grant power and immortality, or whether they could turn into the most beautiful people out of water, who knows? Maybe skinny little Hong-er had a clue, but unfortunately he was no longer a creature of this world.

#tian guan ci fu #heaven officials blessing #tgcf #HuaLian #Hua Cheng #Xie Lian #Hua Lian Pirate AU #mo xiang tong xiu #mxtx #STARember

[charliemotha]

behold! i didn't see any otgw icebergs, so i made my own :)

if you think i should add something, lmk!!

Explanations under cut :)

First layer:

▪︎Beast!Wirt au - very popular au in which Wirt stays in the Unknown, possessed by the Beast to some extent.

▪︎Bad End Friends - Crossover AU of Beast!Wirt teaming up with Ice Finn from Adventure Time and Bipper from Gravity Falls; sometimes other 'bad end' au characters are thrown in such as a glitched Gumball from TAWOG

▪︎Irl Copies of the For Sara tape - Limited copies of the For Sara tape were sold at two points. They have yet to sell for a third time. (🤞🤞🤞)

▪︎Tome of the Unknown (pilot) - The Pilot of the series. Can be watched on YouTube.

▪︎Wirt Staying in the Unknown - In a scrapped ending, Wirt was to stay in the Unknown, saying that facing your real problems was scarier than staying there.

▪︎Mystery Kids - Crossover AU with other child-late teens aged characters from sources based on mysterious and supernatural themes such as Gravity Falls and Psychonauts.

▪︎Quincy Endicott's grave - Quincy's grave can be seen in the graveyard that Sara and the others are hanging out in.

▪︎Original Beatrice Voice Actress - Beatrice had a different VA in the pilot, Natasha Leggero. Melanie Lynskey voices her in the actual series.

▪︎The Woodsman's Daughter is Named Anna - The comics have several issues focused on his daughter, in which her name is revealed to be Anna.

▪︎Jason Funderburker's Ax Murderer Story - At the gathering in the graveyard, Funderburker is telling a story about a man with an ax; this story is believed to have influenced the existence of the Woodsman.

▪︎Full Versions of Songs in the OST - A handful of the songs are cut down for their appearances in the series and can only be heard in full on the OST. The most notable example is Old Black Train , which is actually 2 minutes and 15 seconds long, but is only in the series for about 15-20 seconds.

Second Layer:

▪︎Sara is named after the Fleetwood Mac song - Listen to it here :) it is notable that it includes lyrics about "drowning in a sea of love" and that Sara is "the poet of [the singer's] heart."

▪︎OTGW Reanimated - a reanimated project for the first episode. Got taken off of YouTube, but can be viewed on Dailymotion.

▪︎Baby Wirt Audio - In the For Sara cassette, there is a small section of audio that can be heard in about the middle of the recording of Wirt's father talking to him as a baby.

▪︎Funderburker/Funderberker - The two Jasons's surnames are spelled slightly differently to avoid confusion.

▪︎The Brothers Never Ate or Needed to Rest - Although Greg expressed being hungry, neither of the boys actually ate anything (outside of one spoonful of bland potatoes and inedible items such as dirt and leaves) and never laid down to rest, only sleeping when night came.

▪︎Book on Interior Design in Wirt's Room - In Wirt's from, a book on interior design can be seen laying on the floor, backing up the knowledge he displayed when analyzing the interconnected mansions.

▪︎Mad Love was Based on a Dream - The plot of Mad Love came from a dream that Pat McHale had about house hunting. In the dream, while exploring one of the houses being shown, he ended up wandering into someone else's home.

▪︎Beatriceoftheday - A blog dedicated to our lord and savior Beatrice, known for its strange shitposts and intense praise of the titular bird girl.

▪︎Wirt is Jealous of Greg's Popularity - Shown in the Circus Friends issue of the comics, Wirt is jealous of Greg's ability to make everyone laugh and have fun. This may factor into his dislike of his brother.

▪︎Greg was Feeding Fred at the Tavern - At first watching, one may be confused as to where all the food Greg was gathering went, why Fred was wearing lipstick and why he was refusing to talk to Beatrice. Shown in a deleted scene, this all explained, as Fred tells Beatrice that he didn't talk to her because Greg was feeding him.

▪︎Elijah Wood Voiced the Crazy Driver - Exactly what is says on the tin, the nutty driver was voiced by Wood.

▪︎Cloud City is Heaven - A popular theory that Cloud City actually represents Heaven.

▪︎Greg is Greg Universe - A headcanon/theory that has mostly died out that Greg is the same Greg in Steven Universe.

▪︎Bee Beatrice - Beatrice was originally cursed to become a bee, but was changed into a bluebird to match better with the seasonal autumn theme.

▪︎Pat McHale Voiced Wirt's Voice Crack - Wirt's voice crack when asking the Beast Are You? was actually done by McHale, not Wood.

▪︎The Other Actors Harassing Elijah Wood When Singing Wirt's Song - In order to make the performance as awkward as possible, the other actors were asked to yell and demand Wirt to sing. This can be heard in the episode.

▪︎Come Wayward Souls Has the Same Melody as O Holy Night - The song shares a cadence with "O Holy Night", and can be sung to its tune.

▪︎Black Turtles Origin/Purpose - No one knows why the black turtles exist, and McHale has said that they're just one of the unexplainable things of the Unknown.

▪︎Anna Never Left the House - In the aforementioned comics, it is shown that Anna had never left the house, living on her own until the Woodsman's return.

▪︎Sailor Suit Greg - Greg originally wore a sailor suit, but was changed later on to his current, Johnny Appleseed inspired outfit .

▪︎Beatrice Missing Being Able to Flip People Off - In the Art Book, Beatrice's introduction states that one of the reasons she hates being a bird is because she no longer has hands to flip people off with.

Third Layer

▪︎Jason Funderberker is Visually Based on a Teen Pat McHale - As seen here, Funderberker was designed after McHale.

▪︎Babes in the Wood is Based on an Old Alice in Wonderland Cartoon - You can view the original 1923 cartoon here! Starts at 4:25.

▪︎Wirt and Sara are Dipper and Mabel's Parents - A popular AU/hc where Dipper and Mabel of Gravity Falls are the future kids of Wirt and Sara.

▪︎The Tune of Wirt's Song is Improvised - In addition to the aforementioned harassment, in a further attempt to make the performance as awkward as possible, Elijah Wood was not given a tune to sing, only the lyrics.

▪︎Wirt's Costume Origin - As said in the art book and on his tumblr, Wirt's cone and cape come from an attempted rock and roll persona from McHale's teen years.

▪︎Greg is Based on Pat McHale's Son - It has been claimed that Greg is based on McHale's son, but Greg existed before him. The similarities are simply coincidental.

▪︎Old Scratch - The original name of the Beast.

▪︎The Beast Killed the Woodsman's Wife - Shown in the comics, The Woodsman's wife was mortally injured, with her attacker implied to be the Beast.

▪︎Wirt and Greg Staying in the Unknown Until Christmas - Another scrapped ending, in which the brothers stay in The Unknown until Christmas, with their absence unexplained.

▪︎Tome of the Unknown (original plot) - Early concepts had the Beast ( then known as Old Scratch as mentioned earlier ) scattering the pages of the titular book for the brothers to collect. Each page would come to life and the brothers would explore each story.

▪︎Dante's Inferno Comparisons - Check out these videos for full analysis!

▪︎Wirt Panty Shots - In the aforementioned Circus Friend comics, Wirt dons a dress as part of a disguise. Later on, he rips off the bottom half off, revealing that he is wearing bloomers.

▪︎The Beast's True Form was Inspired by Trypophobia - As stated in the art book, The Beast's hole-filled appearance was inspired by Trypophobia, the fear of many small holes.

▪︎The Fight is Over is About Drowning - Give the lyrics another read.

▪︎The Beast Last Minute Design Change - The Beast had a very different design, and it was changed into the current one at the last minute.

▪︎Gnome in Cloud City Representing Wirt - Many people believed that the Gnome with the lantern in cloud city was a parallel to Wirt, or a glimpse into his future. However, this was debunked.

▪︎Send Me a Peach - This song is included in the ost, but isn't in the actual series.

▪︎Fred and the Highwayman's Backstory - The comics expand upon the story of Fred the Horse and his involvement with the Highwayman.

Fourth Layer

▪︎Babes in the Wood Title Origin - The name of this episode comes from an old story of a pair of children getting lost in the woods, dying, and being buried in leaves by robins.

▪︎poorlydrawnotgw - This was a blog created during the poorly drawn series meme period. It consisted of poorly drawn and very strange shitposts and has since been deactivated. I was a part of it as mod Goopy Wirt and only have a handful of images saved from it.

▪︎Read and Listen Book Lost Audio - A read and listen book was created, with the book being read by Greg's Frog, who would stop every now and again to talk about being a frog. The pages can be found online, but the audio is currently lost.

▪︎Skinless Witch - A scrapped episode concept involved a skinless witch that kidnapped Greg and rode him like a horse.

▪︎Gentleman Burglar Wirt - A scrapped concept in which Wirt breaks into a woman's home, who is charmed by this young man who has come to visit her.

▪︎Animal Transformation - It was originally planned for Wirt and Greg to be turned into a bear/dog and a duck and remain that way for several episodes. This was later used in the comics.

▪︎The Unknown is influenced by Wirt's mind/interests - The Unknown is influenced by those who walk in it, in this case, Wirt. This includes the old timey mystical nature of it, as Wirt has been stated to have an interest in old folk tales.

▪︎Good Guy Beast/Black Train Scrapped Concept - In an earlier draft, the brothers were on a train, heading to what they assumed was death. They jump off, ending up in the Unknown. The Beast tries to get them back on the train, which turns out to be heading back to life.

▪︎Evil Woodsman - At one point, the Woodsman was intended to be under the influence of the Beast and tried to sabotage the brothers's attempts to return home.

▪︎Lorna Reading the Tome of the Unknown in the Epilogue - In the epilogue, Lorna can be seen reading the titular book from the aforementioned scrapped plot.

▪︎The Beast was Originally the Devil Himself - The Beast was first designed as a devil-like character, the aforementioned Old Scratch.

▪︎The Brothers Never Went Home/The Hospital is Part of The Unknown - a theory based on the fact that the edges of the screen are still blurred at the end of chapter 10, the rushed narration, and the lack of consequences of nearly drowning.

▪︎Beatrice Seeing Wirt Nude - In one of the comics, Beatrice accidentally sees Wirt while he is washing his clothes in the river.

▪︎Sara is a Descendant of Lorna - A theory that Sara is a distant relative of Lorna.

▪︎Exists in the Same Universe as Clarence and Home Movies - The most well known piece of evidence is the overhead shot of the town matching the town that Clarence is set in. Wirt and Greg also have a cameo in another episode, and one of the final episodes shows Brendon Small of Home Movies runs a movie rental store in the town, connecting all three series together.

Final Layer

▪︎Beast x Wirt - Also known as Poetree.

▪︎Candycone - Greg x Wirt.

#otgw #over the garden wall #iceberg #iceberg meme #iceberg image #otgw iceberg

[nightwingshero]

WIP Tag

I was tagged by @minilev and @simonxriley, thank you!!!

Tagging: @strafethesesinners @water-writings @pen-in-hand @theknifegame @chyrstis @smithandrogers @lilwritingraven @chuckhansen @fadedjacket @geronimo-11 @scungilliwoman @shellibisshe @witchofinterest @witchesconstellation @aceghosts @archetypesinthefog and whoever wants to share!

So...my Far Cry 5 babes are coming back.

Wren’s first Baptism and, if you look closely, Randy’s cameo/debut. 

“Don’t kill her! John wants them alive, use the bliss bullets!” Bliss bullets? I pulled my pistol back out, taking aim from around the tree to return fire. I didn’t understand what they were talking about, all I knew was I needed to get the hell out of here, and quickly. I was outnumbered and injured, clearly at a disadvantage. I was trying to come up with a solution, anything, that would help me get out of this mess. A panic attack was beginning to work its way in, and I fought as hard as I could to keep from hyperventilating. I reloaded and my vision swam. Reds and greens becoming vibrant, making anything solid turn blurry. Small lights danced in my vision, I couldn’t tell if they were stars or lightening bugs, or something else entirely. Was I going blind? I began to feel tired, my body becoming heavy. I stumbled from my cover, my mind trying to tell me that that was a terrible idea, but I suddenly couldn’t remember why.

“Ow.” I said as I landed on my knees, my hands palm up as I began to attempt to study them. My body teetered off balance, and I tried to catch myself, rocks and twigs cutting into the very palms I was looking at merely seconds before. I heard cheering far away, but I couldn’t remember where I was or whom I was with. I finally collapsed, my body now too much to hold up. My arms and legs were jelly, my brain like static. My eye began to close as I felt hands lift me. I tried to reach for something before everything went completely black and I was gone.

 “This one?” a male voice echoed as I fought against heavy eyelids to see a blurred night sky. I saw a man in the corner of my eye with a wool sweater and messy hair, pointing to something on the ground.

“No. This one.” Another male voiced, his voice deep and well-spoken. Had it been any other situation, I would dare say it was soothing.

The scruffy man found his way to me, leaning over as he studied me with confusion. “Doesn’t seem very worthy.”

“It is not for us to judge.” The other man came into view, and he was much more put together than his companion. His dark hair was neat, and beard trimmed. He donned a trench coat, giving him an air of importance. “Deliver her unto the waters. The Cleansing begins tonight.” The grungy man reached for me just as I faded back to blackness.

The falling out with John that leads to the Atonement

“I warned you, Wren. I told—”

“Yeah, you told me to stay away. And maybe then it’ll keep the resistance from Jacob’s region, right? That’s what it’s all about, right?” I demanded as my heart tugged painfully. His brow furrowed and suddenly, just like that, I was looking at a mask.

“My brothers mean everything to me, Deputy. I’ll do anything for them.”

“Except open your heart, right?” I sneered as I ignored the jab that I felt at him using my title. “Joseph asked you to love, but you can’t, can you? That’s what he had said to you that night you almost drowned me. ‘You have to love them, John.’ How’s that going for you? How’s Hudson?” He said nothing for a moment, just stared at me. That only made it worse, my insecurities screaming at me, forcing my panic and anger to grow.

“She’s right where you left her.” He replied lowly and my breath staggered as I felt the preverbal punch in the gut. I clenched my fists as tears pooled in my eyes.

“Right. That’s on me. How stupid of me, right? It was so easy for you, wasn’t it?” His brow furrowed a bit before he hid his confusion once more, but it was enough to keep me going. “That’s all it was to you, some fucking game. The ultimate conquest. Get the Deputy to fall in your bed, make her fall for you while the resistance suffered for it. I should’ve fucking known better.” A flash of hurt crossed his features and my mouth went dry as I regretted it immediately. But he only just glared at me and took a step forward.

“What happens between my brothers and I is none of your concern. I wanted you to join—”

“Oh, right. How could I forget about that? Manipulating me by luring me into your fucking bed—”

“I didn��t hear you complaining!” he snapped.

“No, I suppose you didn’t because for once in my fucking life, I believed that someone could fucking love me!” I screamed. “I thought I finally found someone who didn’t ask me for anything, who didn’t want something from me. God, I was so fucking wrong! You’re just like them! You manipulated and lied to me to try and get me to join this stupid cult of yours, so your brother wouldn’t kick you out!”

“I have never lied to you!” he snapped, and he took another step forward as he pointed at me. “I may be a lot of things, but a liar is not one of them. And don’t you dare use Joseph against me. You don’t know anything—"

“Oh?” I laughed bitterly as I took a step forward, forcing him back a step. “I know that you’re scared, John. So fucking scared because Joseph tied our fates together, and I’m still running around causing hell. You were so scared that you fucked me, manipulated me, thinking that it would keep me on a leash, but guess what? It didn’t work, did it?! No! Your brother is fucking insane—" He caught me off by chuckling, dark and bitter. He looked at me with a twisted smirk, anger burning in his eyes. There was a darkness coiling, I could practically taste the wrath coming off him in waves, and I knew then that the line had been crossed.

“What if Joseph was right? Did you ever stop to think about that?” He taunted lowly. “Everyone thinks he’s crazy, but he’s not. Look around you, the world is on the brink. You can feel it in your bones. Look at the headlines. Look at who’s in charge!” he yelled suddenly, making me jump a bit. He grabbed his key, making a show of it. His knuckles turning white as he held it tightly, I thought for sure it would break. “You want this key because you think you’re saving people, but they’re already safe. We have a plan. You don’t understand. You don’t believe. You don’t CARE!” He screamed as he turned away from me, knocking a stack of files to the floor before placing his hands on his hips. His heavy breathing making his shoulders rise and fall rapidly. “So fucking wrathful, you’re looking for every reason to unleash it on anyone who gets a step too close. I don’t think you care about anything else. It doesn’t fucking matter to you, it never did. Our fates being tied…what consequences that come with it. You’d rather let it consume you, even after everything. You’d rather have the emptiness than…this…and that is disappointing.”

My heart broke, shattering into pieces as the silence hung heavy. I took a step back as the tears fell. I turned, grabbing my gear, and ran out the door. I fished out the keys from my pocket as I jumped into my jeep. My fingers shook as I fiddled with my seatbelt. I jumped as I heard the slam of my passenger door. Turning I saw Randy as he put his seatbelt on, giving me a quick nod once he was settled in. I wanted to ask but thought better of it. I just needed to get the fuck out of here. I started the car, put it in drive, and slammed on the gas. Something in me wanted nothing more than to turn around, to apologize. I wanted him, wanted to take it all back. Kiss him until we were both forgiven, everything forgotten. But I couldn’t. There was nothing to go back to.

“Deputy!” Jess called over the radio. “We’re heading to the Jessop Conservatory. You coming?” I looked at Randy and he looked back. John was expecting me to go to Jacob’s region. If he were to send anyone after me, he would send them there. For once, I was thankful for Jess’s timing. I sighed as I picked up the radio.

“Yeah, I’m coming.”

Wren’s fight with Faith

“He had to choose, you know. Between saving a Herald—the sister of the Baptist…or you. He chose you.” I turned back with eyes wide, and her tears finally fell. “I thought the Father was taking from me in the beginning, taking who I was away from me. But that wasn’t true. He was giving me the chance to help others the way he had helped me. He offered me salvation. And I want the same for you.” She tilted her head slightly. “I know you see John in the Bliss; I’ve known for a while.” She looked back over my shoulder once again. “If you kill me, Wren, you will have to kill the others because that’s how it has to be. There would be no going back, the choice would be made. It would hurt him; it would hurt John deeply and put things so far into motion that you won’t be able change it. You know this, don’t you?”

I look at the river, flowing swiftly and offering a soothing melody. “Yes,” I whispered. “I can feel it.”

“Which is why you’re standing here in front of me.” She whispered. “I know that you feel it, and we both know that Jacob would be next. Instead of just hurting one side, you will hurt both. You will ruin John, while destroying yourself in that process. One path will lead to John, the other to heartbreak. Is it worth it? Because if it is, continue. Kill me, I won’t fight you. But you can go back, it’s not too late. It’s not too late for both of you.”

#oc: wren blake #ch: john seed #ch: faith seed #far cry 5 #my ocs #tag game

[whereisten]

Fish Out of Water

A Chenle fic that’s part of our Halloween Series!

Summary: You work at Neo City Aquarium. One night, you meet a peculiar but pretty boy named Chenle who claims to know you.

Pairing: Merman! Chenle x female reader

Genre: romance, fluff, angst

Warning: none

Word Count: 5.5k

(A/N: hiya! This is a little late and not proofread so I apologize 😭 I hope you enjoy! Thank you so much for all of the support for our stories!)

_______

[June 2020]

Your family was well known for their rehabilitation and release program at Neo City Aquarium. Your grandparents founded the aquarium and formed ties with wildlife rehabilitation centers in your hometown to expand their work into rescuing local marine life.

Following your high school graduation and having just turned eighteen, you were finally allowed to participate in dolphin rehabilitation. At the beginning of the summer, you joined your parents on a rescue mission to save a dolphin that'd been stabbed in a failed hunt for its meat.

You were tasked with nursing the dolphin’s wounds with the team of veterinarians and veterinary assistants. Socializing with wildlife animals wasn’t encouraged but you found yourself attached to the dolphin. You got to swim him when the rehab staff wanted to check his energy levels and confirm he was near his re-release into the ocean. You named him Happy for his smile and he was affection towards you whenever you fed him fish. Naming him Happy was a secret you shared only with him.

“Are you excited for your first dolphin release?” Hendery asked.

Joining Hendery, you entered into the dolphin pen at the beach, where Happy and three more dolphins were waiting to be released. Hendery was a college student who was interning with the rehab team.

You nodded. “Yes.” You were about to cry.

Hendery’s smiled faded. “What’s wrong?”

You couldn’t wipe your eyes because you’d been immersed in saltwater. You weren’t about to miss this release because you got salt in your eye. “Nothing. It’s just...I’m going to miss him.”

Hendery laughed. “I get it. My first release was emotional. Lucas, an intern from last year, had to hold me while I sobbed, begging the dolphins to come back and visit.”

You sniffled and smiled. “That’s so sweet.”

Hendery put a hand on your shoulder. “You’re okay. Happy is eternally grateful to you.”

“Yeah...I- Wait, how did you know I named him-”

“Your voice carries,” Hendery teased.

You splashed him. “Did you tell anyone?”

Hendery shook his head. “Don’t be embarrassed. I named these guys: Jisung, Sungchan, and Shotaro.”

“Those are human names!” You gasped.

Hendery raised an eyebrow. “Of all the names you could give a majestic dolphin...You named him Happy?”

“Okay, fine. To each their own.” You shrugged him off.

You were in charge of opening the pen that would grant the dolphins their freedom. These releases were so important because these animals were wild, meant to be free to explore the ocean to their hearts’ content. Because of global warming, people’s constant neglect for the environment, and animal cruelty, animals like Happy were negatively affected. Your family’s mission was to educate and rehabilitate. You planned to carry this mission on because the environment’s troubles weren’t going to go away for a long time, you were sad to say.

Releasing the dolphins meant that they would get a second chance to live freely and happily. You hoped no one and nothing would hurt them again.

As much as it pained you to say goodbye to these patients...They weren’t patients anymore.

“Okay, guys,” you addressed the dolphins, “It’s time to go home.”

You opened the pen and the dolphins quickly rushed out. They jumped into the air and whistled.

Happy was the only one who lingered and looked at you.

“Go on, Happy!” You encouraged him. Your tears fell but you were ecstatic. This was such a fulfilling moment.

Happy dove beneath the surface and joined the rest of the dolphins into the deep ocean.

_______

[July 2020]

When you weren’t at the rehab center, you worked at the aquarium as a tour guide. You were giving a tour for the governor and his family. Your family hoped to get more government funding for the aquarium so you could expand the rehabilitation center.

The kids were so wide-eyed and happy to be at the aquarium, seeing the fishes of all kinds of colors and the whale shark that loomed overhead.

The governor was hosting a private party at the aquarium tonight. The Neo City Aquarium boasted monthly sleepovers for anyone who wanted  to sleep with the fishes...

Literally, not figuratively.

The children ran around while the adults mingled at the buffet area that was set up for their party. You helped run the event with your parents. Your mom was helping out with the caterers. Your dad was schmoozing with the state’s elite.

You took a break and walked through the underwater tunnel. You stole some champagne from the party and sipped it lightly.

Someone tapped you on the shoulder and you almost spilled your champagne on the floor. “Agh!”

You turned around and found a boy who grinned from ear to ear. Donning a cerulean tux, he was handsome. He had soulful brown eyes, a boyish smile, an unforgettable eye smile, and his soft, straight brown hair that nearly reached his eyes. He couldn’t have been much older than you.

“C-can I help you?” You winced, feeling like you were caught doing something you shouldn’t have.

“Y/n, it’s me!” The boy said enthusiastically. He couldn’t believe he was here with you.

You frowned. “I’m sorry...I don’t…”

His smile faded but it returned full force as he tried to convince you. “It’s me, Happy!”

“Huh?” You tilted your head in confusion. “How do you know about Happy?”

He said it slowly, “I am Happy…”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that...If you’ll excuse me…” You weren’t getting anywhere with this guy, even if he was your type from a physical standpoint.

He lightly touched your arm. “You saved a dolphin off of the Nakamoto Coast two months ago…”

Now you were listening.

He let you go and explained. “I know that this is going to sound crazy but I was the one you saved that day.”

You furrowed your brows. “What are you talking about…”

“The dolphin you saved has a scar on his underside. It’s shaped like a lightning bolt, almost…” He raised his shirt to reveal his lower abdomen. “Like this…”

It was shaped exactly like Happy’s scar. You dropped your champagne flute. It was a good thing it was made out of reusable plastic. “I…”

He offered you his hand. “Please come with me.”

“Where?” You hesitated.

“To the beach,” he said, “I want to prove to you that I’m not lying.”

You shot him a look. “You better not be. If Hendery put you up to this…”

“You can tell him that Jisung, Sungchan, and Shotaro send their love...I’ve met them in my travels. They liked their human given names so much that they kept them,” he said.

How the hell did he know about those three dolphins?

Now you were curious.

You’d excused yourself from the party. Your mom was thrilled because she thought you finally landed a boyfriend at the ripe old age of eighteen. Like you didn’t have the rest of your life to find a partner. That’s even if you needed one.

The aquarium was located right on the beach so you didn’t have to walk very far. You took off your heels and held the pair on your left hand. Chenle took off his blue dress shoes and did the same. His look had been one color, matching the deepest ocean blue.

You’d reached the shore, where the water reached your toes. “You’re gonna try and drown me here, aren’t you?”

He laughed. “Are you kidding? You are the last person I would drown.”

Did that mean he was capable of drowning people? You laughed nervously. “Thanks?”

He wasted no time and ran into the water with his suit on. You started. “Wait, dude, what are you-”

The water began to glow a bright aqua green. You squint your eyes to see where the boy had gone. The light faded quickly and instead you saw a dolphin tail break the surface.

The boy who brought you here had just turned into a dolphin.

He was telling the truth: he was Happy.

You put a hand over your mouth and simply watched. He jumped into the air and made clicking noises.

“Happy?!” You exclaimed.

Once again, the beam of light appeared. It was brighter that you had to shield your eyes. Happy was gone and the boy’s upper body reappeared.

Along with an aqua green fish tail.

“I...I…” You started.

He made his way back onto shore and regained his nightwear as a human. He was back on two legs again. “I know you named me Happy...It’s a nickname I’ll always treasure in my heart. But my name is Chenle,” the boy said...

Excuse you, the merman said.

“You’re...you’re a merman…” You said.

“Yes…”

“But...you’re also a dolphin…” Your head was about to explode.

“I can transform into any aquatic being...Well, except for clownfish...I can never get the right shade of orange for them…” He started.

You shook your head. “If you were a merman...then why didn’t you transform back...all the time you were here?”

You started remembering just how much you’d told Happy...Chenle...about your life, your aspirations, about how some of your friends were moving away for college, and how you hoped you wouldn’t let your family down…You even made goofy faces at this guy.

You turned away from him in embarrassment.

Chenle continued. “The attack severely injured me...Had it not been for you and your family…I would’ve perished. I did not have the strength to transform back until you released me.”

“Oh…” You said.

He smiled. “I can’t thank you enough. You saved my life.”

You shook your head. “Oh, I didn’t do anything. The doctors and the rehab staff did everything.”

“But you were with me,” he said as he laced his fingers against yours without you realizing it. “You were the one who cared the most. The one whose face hasn’t left my mind since I was released…”

Your face felt warm. “Well, I…”

This was crazy. First, Happy was a dolphin. Then, Happy was a man. And THEN, Happy was a merman.

Someone must have laced your champagne with something. You passed out from the shock of it all.

“Y/n!” Chenle yelled as he caught you from hitting the sand.

A few minutes later, you felt like you’d awoken from a deep, uncomfortable slumber. You felt yourself wrapped in the arms of someone strong, warm…

Wet.

Your eyes opened and you found yourself in the water. What the-

“You’re awake! Thank Poseidon!” Chenle said as his arms were wrapped around you. He looked down at you, drops of water falling off of his slicked back hair. He looked absolutely glorious under the moonlight.

“Chenle, what are you-” You started as you shrugged yourself off of him.

Chenle shushed you. “Y/n, take it easy. I used some of my healing magic to help you wake up…”

“Healing magic?” You asked.

Chenle nodded. “Yes.”

You looked at him carefully. “I can’t believe you’re real…”

He sighed. “Really? You still don’t believe me…”

“No, I believe you...It’s just…A lot for me to process.” You said.

You still wondered if you were losing your mind.

You and Chenle talked for hours that night. He actually used magic to dry you and your dress. He was able to walk on land because of the full moon. That was why it took him a month to come see you and explain himself.

Chenle was the prince of the underwater kingdom, Atlantis. The mythical kingdom had proven to be real. Chenle told you all about it. How his parents ruled the seven seas in harmony. The merpeople had all sorts of abilities. They can transform into other marine life. They can heal. They can control the weather. They can manipulate water.

It was during the full moon every month that merfolk had the opportunity to walk on land to understand humans and their lifestyle. Chenle turned eighteen last year so he’d explored the human world a couple of times already. He was able to learn how to walk after the first couple of visits, apparently.

It was his first time visiting your hometown after being rescued. He’d only wanted to see you because you’d been so kind to him. He knew everything about you and he’d fallen in love. He couldn’t wait to see you again.

“So you’re a prince…” You started.

“Yes…” He answered.

“Then how come your...royal subjects didn’t come and find you?” You asked.

Chenle chuckled. “Actually, they watched me from afar…”

“What? Really?”

Now that you thought about it...You remembered pods of dolphins close to the shore the entire month Chenle had been at the rehab center.

“Yes...And they were relieved to see that I was in good hands. The entire kingdom wishes to invite your team down to the palace to bestow medals of honor to each of you.”

“Wow,” you said, “That’s...incredible...Too bad, we can’t breathe underwater or else I’d be the first to join you.”

He hesitated before he asked you the next question. “Actually...If you did wish to see Atlantis...I could make that happen.”

You gasped. “What?!”

He laughed. “Yes. So long as I’m in saltwater, I can use my magic.”

“I’ve noticed…” You said.

“y/n!” Your father called out to you.

Apparently, he’d been kept out of the loop about your “date”.

“Dad!” You started as you got up from the sand.

“Who is this boy?” He demanded as he walked over to you guys with his loafers still on.

Shocked at your father’s hostility, you said, “Dad! It’s Ha-”

You turned to Chenle and he raised his eyebrows.

“This is Chenle, my-”

Chenle continued, “I’m her friend from school.” He got up from the sand and stood beside you. His demeanor changed then. “It is nice to meet you, sir.” He extended his hand out and gave your father a firm handshake.

Chenle acted like he’d been fully employed with an MBA and a six-figure salary. That must’ve been his prince personality coming out.

Your dad was taken aback by how confident Chenle had been. “It’s nice to meet you, too...May I ask why you and my daughter are out here so late?”

Chenle continued, “I apologize, sir. I hadn’t seen her in a month...And I missed her so I came to see her.” He looked at you then, a meaningful look on his face. You knew he was being honest and you felt your heart sway, then.

Your father cleared his throat. “Well, that’s very nice of you, Chenle but...it’s 2 in the morning...It’s time you called it a night, you two.”

You both looked at each other then, disappointed. It wasn’t like you could call Chenle up on his phone. You wondered if technology could factor into Atlantis...Or if they even needed it. You doubted it.

“Okay, dad,” you said, “Do you mind?” You motioned for him to leave you and Chenle for a few minutes.

Your dad shot you a look, feeling quite overprotective of his only child. He relented when you gave him the same unwavering look. “Alright. Good evening, Chenle.”

Chenle nodded and your dad walked away.

“So much for the trip to Atlantis,” you said as you crossed your arms in disappointment.

“Next time,” Chenle said, smiling down at you, adoring the way you pouted.

_______

[October 2020]

You met Chenle at the beach at nightfall several times since the night you first met at the aquarium. It was your turn to get to know Chenle more since he knew most things about you with you knowing.

He admitted to some embarrassing secrets, like how, during one of the times he visited land, he’d talked to a betta fish in a tank located inside a convenience store and everyone looked at him like he was insane. But what was most embarrassing for him was that he failed to realize that he couldn’t communicate with freshwater fish.

Chenle was courageous and kind. He told you that the reason he turned into a dolphin the day you found him was because he’d gone to help rescue a pod of dolphins from being hunted. In the process, he’d been struck. A Good Samaritan reported his injuries to the rehab center and that was how you met.

Chenle was second in line for the throne for his older brother would soon be crowned king of Atlantis.

Today was the day you would go to Atlantis with Chenle.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

You replied, “I...think so…”

You both held hands as you stood in the water together.

“Trust me,” he said as he winked.

You sighed. Chenle explained and showed his process for helping you breathe underwater.

Chenle had the ability to create an air bubble shaped to your person that surrounded you and kept your oxygen intake high.

In August, you’d tested the air bubble 12 feet under the surface and in September you worked your way up to 1200 feet under the surface.

Each time, it worked seamlessly.

However, you were going thousands of feet underwater so you were freaking out a little. You tried to not show it.

Chenle took your face into his hands. “You’re safe with me.”

You nodded, meeting his beautiful eyes as they glowed the same aqua green from the first night he revealed his true self to you.

You both dived down and Chenle extended his hands out, enveloping you with the clear air bubble.

You were able to maneuver yourself with your legs, like you were the one who swam.

Diving down with Chenle was always an adventure but now that you dove deeper and faster, you saw more of the wildlife and greenery underwater. The ocean was a force to be reckoned with but to you, it was also the most beautiful part of this planet.

Holding Chenle’s hand, he controlled the speed in which you traveled. He wanted to entertain you with the most gorgeous sights the ocean offered. He loved the awe and admiration in your eyes. He wished to always make you happy.

Chenle moved you two faster because your hometown was hundreds of miles away from Atlantis. You two didn’t have a lot of time until sunrise when you needed to get back.

And Chenle would have to retreat. Humans couldn’t know of the merfolk’s existence.

You finally saw it: the kingdom of Atlantis. The buildings stood tall, looking almost like modern-day apartment buildings. The merfolks swam alongside fish and other deep sea creatures. As the people recognized Chenle, a group of armed mermen approached you two.

“Who is this, Your Highness?” One of the armed guards asked.

He continued, “Jaehyun, this is y/n.”

At the sound of your name, all of the guards bowed deeply before you. “y/n, the savior of our prince.”

You put a hand over your mouth. “Oh, no, please don’t do that…”

Chenle laughed. “Alright, let’s go greet my parents.”

“Wait, you parents?!” You exclaimed. Chenle never mentioned meeting his parents.

The guards escorted you to the palace doors. They were heavily guarded by the biggest jellyfish you’d ever seen so no one could break in or break out without getting severely injured. The doors opened and the castle was beyond your wildest dreams. It was translucent and the towers ran high, shaped like icicles. It glowed with a magic of its own with all colors of the rainbow glowing, depending on the angle from which you looked at the structure.

You entered into the palace and into the grand throne room where the king and queen of Atlantis stood. Chenle was the spitting image of his mother. It was in the eyes and the smile.

You bowed. “Your Majesties.”

The queen and king looked at you in adoration.

“We can not express our gratitude enough for saving our son,” the king said.

The queen continued, “Whatever your wish is, we can make it so.”

“Oh,” you said, shaking your head, “That’s okay...In fact, I wasn’t the only one who helped the prince...I don’t deserve anything.”

Chenle looked at you then with so much love and respect. “You deserve the world, y/n.”

You nearly choked. “Chenle...I mean, Your Highness, I-”

Another young man entered the throne room and greeted Chenle by rubbing the crown of his head. “Little brother, you’ve brought a girl home to mummy!”

“Kun, gah, knock it off!” Chenle asked as he pulled himself off of his brother.

Kun resembled his father more but he was also handsome. You realized he was the crown prince and bowed. “Your Highness.”

“Y/n, it is an honor to finally meet you. I’m amazed that the wedding festivities haven’t begun.”

“Wedding?!” You asked and shut your mouth, thinking you spoke out of turn.

Kun and his parents laughed. Chenle sighed. “You’ll have to excuse Kun. He has a flair for the dramatic.”

Once you finished your time with the royal family, Chenle took you to the highest point in the castle. You two looked over the palace. You could see the darkness of the deep blue sea that laid beyond.

“Chenle, this is nothing at all like I imagined it. It’s...a dream,” you said.

Chenle held your hand. “You’re a dream, y/n.” He took it and kissed it.

_______

[December 2020]

You haven't seen Chenle since your visit to the kingdom. Every night that you could visit him, he was never there. You started to wonder if something had happened to him.

You even started to wonder if you’d dreamed his existence this whole time. You cried to sleep some nights, missing him. Longing to see him again.

It was New Year’s morning a few hours before daybreak that you sat alone on the beach, resolute that this would be the last time you would wait for him.

That was when he appeared.

“y/n…” He started.

“Chenle, what happened?” You asked. “I thought you-” You broke down in tears on the shoreline.

It wasn’t a full moon that night so he couldn’t run up to you and hold you like he’d wanted to do since last he saw you.

“y/n...Kun… he died,” Chenle said, trying to fight back his tears. As he was not the crown prince, he had an image to maintain of being strong for his subjects. Strong for his parents.

But with you, he broke down. Hard. Kun died during his travels along the eastern continent. He’d been intoxicated from an oil spill. His body was recovered by the royal guards and he’d had a royal funeral. The kingdom has been in mourning since then.

You didn’t care if you got soaked. You ran into the water and held him. You cried with him. Because of the negligence of your people, marine life suffered. That always pained you but to see it hit so close to home now, you were livid.

You held each other for as long as you could. Daybreak would occur anytime now but you imagined that most people would be at home asleep, nursing hangovers or recovering from being up all hours of the night. You wanted to be with Chenle for as long as you could help it.

“Chenle...what does this mean for you?” You asked.

He sighed. “I am the crown prince and...y/n...I will be wed.”

You pulled yourself away from Chenle’s embrace. “What?”

“It is the custom of my people. My parents are stepping down from the throne. As the crown prince, I must get married and produce a royal heir.”

You put a hand over your mouth. Marriage and a baby? You’d only finished your first semester of college. Chenle was on his way to becoming a king, a husband, and a father.

Now, you had to shove down your growing feelings for Chenle. Because you’d fallen hard. And now this was the sign you needed to know that you two had been from completely different worlds. It would never have worked out.

So you swallowed your pride and said, “I understand...You came to say goodbye.”

Chenle’s eyes widened. “What? Goodbye?”

Your eyes become glassy. You tried so hard to keep yourself from crying. “You’re spoken for...And I’m sure your wife will not be keen on you coming up to see a human woman…”

“y/n-” Chenle began as he tried to hold you again.

You moved away from him. “Don’t. Please.”

Chenle put his arms down and looked at how defeated you looked. He wanted nothing more than to make you his wife. You would’ve been his first choice in the long run but now that Kun had passed, he was crown prince and with that position, there were responsibilities.

He had originally planned to wait until you were both older to ask for your hand in marriage and try to convince you to live with him in the palace...Somehow...But he knew that you belonged to the land...He could never ask that of you. So he kept his dreams to himself. He simply enjoyed being in the moment with you.

But, you were right, he realized. He couldn’t be with you like this anymore.

Chenle cried before you. “I’m so sorry, y/n...I love you.”

You froze. “What?”

“I’ve loved you since the moment you made that dolphin noise…” You both remembered your first days together, when Chenle had been Happy the dolphin. You were playing around with the other interns and you tried to make a dolphin noise to get Happy’s attention. Everyone laughed at your impersonation and you covered your face in embarrassment. Chenle thought you were adorable.

“Chenle, I love you, too,” you said. You started falling for him the day he appeared to you at the aquarium. But you fell for him when he showed you the ocean, told you his stories, and made you laugh. You both showed each other the best of your worlds and you hated that this was how you would part.

Chenle held your face and you wrapped your arms around him. You kissed each other for the longest time before you bade each other farewell.

_______

[July 2036]

It was moonrise. The sun had just set and night had fallen. You walked hand in hand with your four year old son. You walked along the shore you’d ingrained into your memory. The shore where you met with Chenle so many times. You hadn’t seen him since your last farewell so this beach once again became a happier place to be.

“Mommy! Mermaid! Mermaid!” Your son pointed out to the ocean.

“Sweetie, that’s probably a dolphin,” you said as you looked out into the water and recognized an aqua green fish tail.

Your heart nearly stopped.

Chenle, older and more handsome, swam closer to the shore and watched you. You looked just as beautiful as he’d met you. You had a more determined and confident look in your eyes. You become who you were meant to be. He could see it.

“Mommy, that’s a mermaid!” Your son said.

“Chenle,” you started.

Chenle walked out of the water, now in his human form.

“Wow!” Your son exclaimed.

“Just like your mother,” Chenle said to your son as he knelt down to greet him. “What’s your name?”

“Finn,” he said.

“Hi, Finn. My name is Chenle.”

“Hi, Chenle!” Finn said.

Chenle got up and met your shocked expression with his radiant smile. “It’s been a long time.”

You nodded. “It has.”

“Have you been well?” He asked.

You nodded. “Have you?”

“Yes,” he said, “Shall we sit?”

You and Chenle sat together with Finn playing right beside you. Chenle told you he’d married the daughter of one of the family’s royal advisers. She’d never loved Chenle either. They both entered the marriage as partners for the sake of the kingdom. They produced seven heirs, seven daughters.

Chenle’s wife had a lover, a man she’d loved since before she’d married. She’d told Chenle about him. Chenle also took on a couple of lovers over the years but you were all he thought about.

You’d done what you set out to do. You graduated college with a degree in marine biology. You went to veterinary school and graduated with high honors. Now, you were the leading veterinarian at Neo City Aquarium’s Rehabilitation Center. You’d met your husband Jeno through a mutual friend. You two hit it off, dated for three years, got married, and had Finn.

Chenle surprised you with the news that the condition of the ocean had improved in the years since you’d met. It was because of generous people like you who advocated for the respect of the seas that Chenle and his people could help their kingdom thrive. The temperature of the ocean overall had improved and oil spills and pollution were the lowest they’d ever been.

You two were happy in certain ways. But it pained Chenle to see you’d been happy with another man. A part of him that he hated so much wished you’d waited for him. It was a selfish desire but he couldn’t help it.

You knew from long ago that waiting for Chenle was a dream that you could never entertain so you pushed forward with your ambitions. You wanted to do what you could to protect the ocean. You loved it as much as Chenle had. It showed in your work with marine life and in your advocacy to combat climate change.

“Mommy, where is Daddy?” Finn asked.

You remembered that Jeno would be here at any moment. You checked your texts and Jeno told you he’d pick you and Finn up in ten minutes.

“Ten minutes, sweetie. That’s soon. Let’s get ready to go,” you said. You looked at Chenle’s eyes. You knew this was another farewell. Even if it was less devastating than the first. Both of you still harbored a little bit of pain over what could’ve been.

“Goodbye, y/n.”

“Goodbye, Chenle.”

“I’m happy that you’re happy,” he said.

“I’m happy that you’re happy,” you echoed.

He gave you a beautiful, polished conch shell. “Perhaps you can make a necklace out of it. I want you to have it. It’s a gift from my parents and I.”

It was a beautiful shade of cream with traces of pink. “Thank you.”

Giving you one last longing look, Chenle got back into the water and smiled at you before he dove into the water again. A tear escaped your eye but you quickly wiped it away.

[July 2076]

Your children had their own children now. You and Jeno had divorced when Finn was 19, Dylan was 17, and Kai was 14. You split on amicable terms. You simply fell out of love with each other. Jeno could always tell you couldn’t get over your first love. No matter how hard you tried.

What gave you joy was your children. And like you, they’d all been invested in the aquarium and the center. They kept the legacy on.

Your daughter Kai had gotten married today at the beach. Everyone was celebrating on the makeshift dance floor on the sand. You stood at the shoreline alone, feeling the water hit your toes. You enjoyed the sensation every time.

You saw his aqua green tail. You couldn’t believe it. You must’ve been seeing things. You’d recently retired. You were as bright and alert as that of a healthy fifty year old’s but perhaps your eyes were now deceiving you. You had been in your seventies, after all.

Chenle, as gray as you were but as handsome as he’d been the first time you saw him, beamed at you.

You told your kids about Chenle. Finn remembered meeting him. Your eldest son knew it wasn’t in his imagination so he begged you to tell him about Chenle, Atlantis, and the ocean. Kai and Dylan had also been curious. Now your three children watched as you met eyes with Chenle.

Your three kids walked over to you. Kai put her hand on your shoulder. “Mom...go be with him. We support you.”

“But Kai...Your babies…” You started. You didn’t want to leave your children so abruptly. Even if they were older now and independent, you wanted to be there for them in whatever they needed.

“My daughter is my first and last, I promise you that. You promise to come visit, right?” Kai laughed. She’d had her daughter with another man a few years before her marriage today. She’d named her daughter after you.

Dylan started, “Mom...You’ve given us so much love and support...We want you to go after what you want. Who you want.”

You fought back a sob and hugged your children. “I love you three. You are the loves of my life.”

“We love you, too,” Dylan said, wiping his tears with his jacket sleeve.

Finn waved at Chenle. “Hi, Chenle! I knew you were real!”

Chenle laughed. “Hi, Finn!”

You hugged your children tightly and walked into the water. Chenle had his arms wide open for you and enveloped yourself into his embrace. With his magic, you became a mermaid. You sported a radiant fuchsia tail. You both waved to your children before you dived deep into what always felt like home.

[Fin]

Come back tomorrow for another spooky story...

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[smeraldos]

Love by Daylight (1/2)

➸ characters: Seokjin x Reader

➸ genres: Sailor Moon!AU, fluff, sort of e2l

➸ tags: sly friends, petty enemies/secret crushes, running away from the mortifying ordeal of being known

➸ words: 2K+

➸ summary: The day you find out who your suave partner in saving the world is, you're absolutely, positively, without a doubt sure you'll be over the moon. You'll be so happy you'll think you're dreaming. Turns out you're right. You do think you're dreaming. Because this? This can't be real. You're being pranked. Someone, somewhere, is going to jump out and say you're on Candid Camera. (Please.)

>> PART 2

When the lights fade and the facades fall, this is what you’re left with: Tuxedo Mask without a mask, you without your moonlit glamor. Tux the civilian is handsome, you can tell, and this is it—the moment you’ve been waiting for.

He lifts his face.

The youma's words come rushing back: Let the truth be known, the city’s deepest secrets shown.

Tuxedo Mask is none other than Kim Seokjin.

Suddenly, you’re reminded of a crystalline city; people bowing before you; Seokjin taking your hand, your matching rings gleaming in the light. Was it a memory or a dream?

You stand there, dumbfounded, until Tux/Seokjin dons his mask and brushes past. “Come on, Sailor Moon,” he says, sensible enough to use your alias. “The coast is clear. We’ve got a fight to finish.”

☾

“Why does it have to be Seokjin?" You whine, collapsing into bed and disturbing your sleeping cat. (In your defense, he was on your pillow. Which you’ve told him numerous times not to lay down on because his fur would shed.) Luckily, Agust is acquainted with your dramatic side and simply gets up to move.

“Well, why do you have to be Sailor Moon?” He points out. “It could have been someone less bothersome.”

“Hey,” you retaliate. “You’re the one who came to me. You could have given anyone the Lunar Key.”

“I didn't have a choice.”

“What do you mean you didn’t? You could have walked away and picked someone better, just like that.”

He scoffs. “Not when it’s the Queen.”

“Queen-schmeen." You flop back onto your bed, the springs creaking in protest. "I bet Her Royal Highness is on her throne right now, all nice and comfy. She couldn't care less."

Agust doesn't reply.

At first, you think it's because you've won and nothing else can be said, but when the silence stretches on, you know something is off. You sit up to see Agust no longer curled into himself, but sitting. He stares out your window into the night, his normally keen eyes empty. "She's dead."

Judging by his somber tone, she'd meant a lot to him. "I'm sorry," you whisper.

Agust sighs. "No need to apologize, kid. She was your mother, after all."

"My mother?"

"Not now," he amends. "But she was a long time ago, when you were the princess of the moon and Seokjin the prince of the earth.”

☾

The next morning, you head to school on time.

Your mom—present day mom—was surprised to see you up early, and Jeongguk called you out like the bratty brother he was (wow, no morning run today?), but the truth was you couldn’t sleep.

Last night, Agust recounted your past, how the dark eclipsed the moon. Although the queen tried her best to protect the kingdom, it was to no avail. Seokjin died in the fray, and you fell shortly after, helpless to save your beloved. In the end, the queen sacrificed herself to give you and Seokjin another chance at love, her people another chance at happiness.

A chance to rebuild the Silver Millennium.

The thing was, you didn’t know if that was what you wanted. Not that you’d want the Dark Kingdom to reign, but you weren’t sure whether you wanted to rule in your mother’s stead. Or marry Seokjin. Past you might have wanted to, but the you now could barely stand him. And neither could he. Or so you thought. You’d gotten along just fine with Tuxedo Mask, even grown a crush, but that wasn’t enough to warrant a marriage.

“Hello? Veen to Selene*?” Someone nudges your shoulder, and with a start, you notice Mina looking at you in concern.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“Nothing yet, but it looks like you’ve got something on your mind. What’s up?”

You’re about to tell her when you see Seokjin approaching, his uniform blazer neatly pressed.

“Morning, ______,” Seokjin says. “Mina.”

“Morning,” you reply, ready for whatever biting remark he’d say next. But once Namjoon comes up, he leaves. That's it.

Even Mina, who hardly sees the two of you interact, notices. "That's the first time I've seen you guys polite. It's weird. What happened?"

After a discreet look around, you grab her by the elbow. “He's Tux,” you hiss, but Mina doesn’t look the least bit shocked. Her face breaks out into a giddy grin, like a child who’s finally tall enough to get on the big kid ride.

“You knew?” You ask, a little hurt she didn’t tell you.

She pouts, squishing your cheeks together. “Don’t be mad. You don't know how hard it was to keep it a secret.”

◑

You don't blame Mina, for the most part. It would have been better if you hadn’t known who Tuxedo Mask was, and vice versa. You felt like Cinderella running away from the ball, her beautiful dress giving way to rags and ratty shoes. If the prince caught up to her then, she’d probably be humiliated.

Just like you are now.

Tuxedo Mask has seen you at your most embarrassing moments, fighting to have the last word (or milkshake) as Seokjin, and also at your best, saving civilians with grace. You've only wanted him to see the best of you, for him to think of you as the perfect wonder-girl heroine everyone else saw you as, but he's seen almost every side. You don't know what he sees in you now, if anything. And frankly, you don't want to know.

"Have you ever thought that maybe he's thinking what you're thinking?" Mina asks. "You've seen all the good and bad in him, too."

"But it's different when he doesn't have a crush on Sailor Moon!" You say, exasperated.

"Oh, I wouldn’t be sure about that if I were you."

Seokjin thinking of your alter ego that way is embarrassing, but considering he's also Tuxedo Mask...now your face is red, you can feel it. Red as roses in bloom. "You're joking, right?"

"Why don't you wait and see," Mina replies, as cryptically as when she was Sailor V and you hadn't known any better. Having sympathy for you, she gives you a warm smile. "Don't stress out too much, Moon. You're amazing either way. Just talk to him."

◑

You think there's some reconnaissance to sort out first. When you walked into Crown Arcade and saw Seokjin talking to Jimin pretty intently, you didn’t want to interrupt...okay, who were you kidding? You chickened out.

But Jimin is his best friend, so he'll know how Seokjin feels the most, right? It's the next best alternative to actually speaking to Seokjin, which, well, you aren't ready for. Case in point: you've done the impossible and made yourself scarce. You aren’t about to break your streak now.

So the instant Seokjin leaves, you walk up to the counter. Jimin looks up from sprinkling a milkshake. "Hey. The usual?"

"Yeah, just double on the chocolate."

"You got it," he says, passing the drinks he finished making to a server. You watch him blend milk into ice cream, then reach over for a new cup to pour the mixture into later. It's all done with practiced ease, and you marvel at how quick he is, not to mention how beautiful the finished milkshake looks after. The chocolate is perfect, the whipped cream a cloud of snow drizzled with dark syrup.

Jimin slides it over with a grin. "Mademoiselle."

"Why, thank you," you say, digging in with gusto. This is exactly what "stressed is desserts spelled backwards," meant: Jimin's milkshakes never fail to kick your worries down a notch.

"Good?" He asks.

"Mhm," you mumble, more to your milkshake than to him, when the thought that you haven't paid yet crosses your mind. Oh gosh. You pull your purse onto your lap, but Jimin chuckles, stopping you.

"I've got it covered. Besides, I heard you weren't yourself lately."

"Really?"

He shrugs. "From the way you're devouring that, it's kind of hard to believe…"

You take an extra large mouthful to prove his point.

"But you only lay on the chocolate when you're bummed," he finishes, and you’d protest if you hadn’t made it a habit to drown your sorrows in his milkshakes. They were just too good to resist. Not to mention Jimin is a great listener. Your girls, although you love them, aren't always the best. You'd catch the moment they crossed over from attentive to "Is she done yet?" but with Jimin, you've never had that issue. Turns out you have a different one.

"I hate how perceptive you are."

He laughs. "You're just predictable."

"You know what? You can take back your milkshake and go back to work," you say in a fit of grumpiness, pushing the glass back to him.

"Are you sure you want me to do that?"

You meet him eye to eye. After a minute—a long, impressive minute might you add—you take it back. "Fine. What do you want to hear?"

"Anything you want to tell me. And if it's something you can't share, please tell someone you can. It's not great to keep things bottled up, trust me."

You sigh.

"Here's the deal," you begin, feeling a little weird telling your old crush about your new one, but marching through nevertheless, "I met someone on...online. He's nice and funny and understands me even though he's different. I just click with him, and eventually, I want to tell him I like him. The thing is, I don't really know who he is. We've been chatting on Discord and his profile picture is Tuxedo Mask, but he can't be Tuxedo Mask. Or maybe he is, who knows?"

Jimin laughs. If only he knew.

"Anywho," you continue, "I meet him and find out he's someone I actually know...but he's a pest. He always gets on my nerves and it's like he's a completely different person! I don't even know how that's possible, but apparently it is and it's just so frustrating."

Jimin doesn't speak for a while, which is fine by you. You take the time to jam spoonfuls of chocolate and cream into your mouth.

"You know," he finally says, amused, "that sounds a little like the plot to You've Got Mail."

"That isn't funny.” You huff. “Joe Fox was a jerk and I don't know why they played him off as charming."

"Isn't that what you think of the guy?"

"I never said he was a jerk."

"But you said he was a pest."

"That isn't the s—" You pull at your hair. "Ugh. I don't know anymore."

"Did you talk to him?"

"And what? Spill my complicated feelings?"

"No, just talk to him. You don't have to confess right now. Just air out the laundry and see where you guys are at. Chances are, if you're confused, then he's confused, too, and there's no way either of you can get out of it without talking to each other."

"I can't talk to him, Jimin. I avoided him for three weeks! He's going to hate me."

"He isn't," Jimin says firmly, and you wish you could have the same conviction. "Sure, he'll be upset, but if he's really someone who cares, he'll listen. Look, during that time you avoided him, did he try to reach out?"

"Well, I told him I didn't want to talk and he stopped asking."

"So he'll listen. If it turns out he hates you, give him a piece of your mind and I'll give you triple chocolate milkshakes on the house."

When he puts it like that, talking to Seokjin doesn't seem as dreadful. "You're not just saying that?"

"Have I ever said something I didn't mean?"

You get your answer when someone comes trudging in, holding up a bag from your go-to fast food joint. "Jimin! You better be grateful I drove all the way downtown to get you these burgers. Since when did you like ______'s favorite, anyways?"

"Since now," your traitor of a friend says. You glare at him, which he conveniently ignores.

"You're the best," he tells a surprised Seokjin, leaving with a pat on his shoulder. "Enjoy your meal!"

>> NEXT

...

note:

*Venus to Selene, like "Earth to [insert name]?" but replace Earth with Venus and [name] with Selene, Greek goddess of the moon

#bangtanarmynet #seokjin x reader #seokjin x y/n #jin x reader #jin imagine #seokjin imagine #seokjin scenarios #jin scenarios #jin fluff #seokjin fic #seokjin fluff #seokjin fanfic #seokjin au #jin au #bts imagines #bts fic #bts scenarios #bts au #sailor moon au #my fic

[xbaepsae]

the ebb and flow | part eight

“Of course, in your final moments of life, only he would occupy your thoughts.”

[demigod!jeongguk x demigod!reader]

genre: percy jackson!au, mythology!au, demigod!au, enemies to lovers!au

word count: 1.1k

rating: pg-13

warnings: language, near-death experience, vulnerability 

a/n: oof. sorry this chapter took so long to get out. hope you all enjoy it anyway! xoxo

→ series masterlist!

the fifth summer – in which he saves you

For as long as you can remember, you’ve never been too fond of water.

The first time you stepped foot into a big body of water—also known as, the community pool a few blocks away from your childhood home—you cried. For some reason, a lot of water terrified you. You tried taking lessons once, but your instructor couldn’t even get you to step within five feet of the pool.

And your father never forced you to go back.

Over the years, you’ve tried to lessen the fear. And for the most part, you’re not scared of water anymore. You can sit in pools and be on the beach just fine. The only thing is, you still haven’t learned how to swim.

It’s like your body is just incapable of doing so.

There are only a select number of people who know you can’t swim—Namjoon and Haru, to name a few. Which is why they tried to talk you out of doing the canoe races. The weather is always unpredictable, as you never know what the gods are bickering about. And your friends were right: something bad was bound to happen, which is why you should’ve listened to them earlier.

But your stupid ego always seems to be in the way.

As you sink further down into the depth of the water, fear and anxiety begin to fill your veins. Is this really how you’re going to die? Being a demigod means life isn’t certain because danger always lurks in the smallest of places; however, drowning has never been on your list of possible causes.

What a way to out of this world, y/n.

You could already see Charon waiting for you on that boat of his, ready to take you across the river and into the Underworld. A part of you wondered if he’d laugh at you—laugh at the pitiful way you died. Then again, you’ve heard enough stories to know his expression always remained stoic.

Maybe you’ll even end up in Elysium, though you’re not sure you’ve done enough good in the world to deserve a place there. All you’ve been concerned with these last few years is how to get Jeongguk back.

Jeongguk.

Of course, in your final moments of life, only he would occupy your thoughts. How rude and inconsiderate of him. You should be thinking about your sweet friends or your father—but no, the only thing you can see is Jeon Jeongguk’s stupid face in your mind.

Still, you do find it a bit ironic now; you’re terrified of water—literally drowning at the moment—and he’s the son of the sea god.

Life sure does work in mysterious ways.

***

Jeongguk’s POV

All the screaming makes him turn around.

Jeongguk takes a glance behind him, where Athena’s canoe wades only a few feet away. Most demigods feared weather like this—the wild winds and restless waters only promised destruction. But it doesn’t bother him.

This is his father’s domain and Jeongguk feels at ease.

Until he counts the members of Athena’s canoe and realizes that one person is missing—more specifically, you. For the first time in a while, he actually feels his chest tighten in fear. Where did you go? There isn’t anywhere to go—not for miles. Except—

“Oh my god, she can’t swim!”

One of the younger campers on your canoe screams this, and Jeongguk feels something hot settle in his stomach. Without a second thought, he dives into the water.

It doesn’t take him long to spot you, and it seems your half-sibling was right—you really can’t swim. As odd as that sounds to his ears, he swims to you anyway. At the sight of your closed eyes and limp body, a weird sensation tugs at his heart. Why do you have to look so damn vulnerable right now?

Jeongguk realizes then that he’d rather take your fire—the way you’re always challenging him and the anger you possessed—over this frail girl any day.

He wraps his arms around your frame easily, pulling you back to the surface without much difficulty. Lifting you into the canoe, he watches as your half-siblings rush to you. After they take one look at your pale complexion, one bursts into tears while the others rush to perform CPR.

For once, Jeongguk feels useless as he moves back into his own canoe that has pulled up beside Athena’s.

“That was impressive.”

Turning, Jeongguk notices another canoe has pulled up—probably wondering what all the commotion was. His eyes settle on the voice, and he tries not to roll his eyes. But when it concerns the son of Hades, he often cannot help himself.

“Don’t start getting any ideas, Min,” he scowls.

Yoongi has the audacity to smirk. “You said it, not me.”

“I did what any person would do.” Jeongguk doesn’t know why he’s being so defensive. He’s never this defensive.

“Right,” Yoongi hums. “Because saving your sworn rival is totally normal.”

Jeongguk wants nothing more than to rub that stupid look on Yoongi’s face away. Just because he is amicable with the son of Hades—a fellow demigod of the Big Three, and therefore someone he could relate to—it doesn’t mean he isn’t opposed to inflicting a hint of damage. Though, before he can do such a thing, there’s a coughing fit coming from Athena’s cabin.

Relief fills him at the sight of you coughing up water. That’s a good sign. You’re going to be okay.

“Let’s get her to the infirmary,” someone says, and Jeongguk watches as your cabin rushes back to shore.

The rest of the canoes soon follow; even though the weather is starting to clear up, and the winds aren’t as brisk anymore, there’s no point in continuing the races now. Not after what everyone just witnessed.

Once they’re back on shore, Jeongguk jumps out of the canoe and his feet seem to move on their own accord—towards the Big House. Towards the infirmary. What? He shakes his head and decides to go in the opposite direction.

“I saw that slight hesitation, Jeon.”

Jeongguk looks behind him, where Yoongi casually gives him a look. He realizes that Yoongi really seems to be getting a kick out of tormenting him today.

“You saw nothing,” he says, turning back around and towards the cabins instead.

Yoongi moves to match his pace, and Jeongguk looks down at the boy donned in all-black. He has no clue why the dress code doesn’t apply to the son of Hades. “Keep telling yourself that. Denial is normal.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Yoongi laughs. “I guess we’ll just have to see how this unfolds, don’t we?”

#armiesnet #btsbookclub #btswriterscollective #jungkook x reader #jungkook x y/n #jungkook x you #jungkook fic #bts fic #kpop fic #bts #bangtan #jungkook #bts percy jackson #percy jackson au #mythology au #demigod au #drabble series #the ebb and flow #xbaepsae

[series-musicals-otherfandoms]

It's 4:30 am and i just can't stop thinking about Inej being Kaz's reason.

So i wrote a little kanej fic. Hope you like it 💜💜

Reasons

Kaz Brekker didn´t need a reason. He had never had the need to explain himself, everyone was too afraid to contradict him, and that´s just what he wanted; so it wasn´t a surprise when they all agree to infiltrate a guy´s house no questions asked.

No one except Kaz knew what this was about, they were already rich because of their last job, so it couldn´t be about the money; nevertheless, neither of them brought it up at the time, they just assumed it was some kind of message or part of a bigger plan the boy had in mind; also, they trusted him getting them in and out of the ice cord, this would be easy.

The gang started prepping, Kaz said it had to be done that same night, so there was no time to waste. Wylan took a few of his new improved smoke bombs, Jesper cleaned and charged his guns, Inej sharpened her knives, Kaz revised the plan and polished his cane and Nina just ate some waffles.

“What? You can´t expect me to rob someone with an empty stomach” She said

“We are not robbing anyone, I just need a distraction to enter the house, this is about sending a message” Said Kaz

“Pay up, I won!” Said Jesper with a big smile on his face “I told you it wasn´t about the money, not even Kaz is that greedy”

“Don´t be so sure. If I see something I like I’m going to take it, it just isn´t the main goal tonight” Said Kaz with a serious face

“Ok, back to the plan, you´ll need all of us for distraction? just how much security is there?” Asked Inej looking at him with a confused face.

“It shouldn´t be that much, but I want to be discrete until i´m at his office”

“Can we at least know who is this person?” Asked Jesper.

“You don´t know him, he’s new to town. His name is Henry Anderson, and he tried to scam me; I just want to make clear that he shouldn’t mess with me” Kaz’s expression darkened.

“Okay, what´s the plan?” Wylan asked from the couch.

“You and Jesper will distract the outside guards, there won´t be more than four, while Nina, Inej and me go into the house; once inside Nina will manage the two guys guarding the office where Inej and I will enter. If everything goes according to plan, we’ll scare the guy off and be back home an hour and a half later”

But of course it was easier said than done.

The first part of the plan went smooth, the problems came when they reached the office. Where Kaz thought were only going to be two guys now stood four armed men, but they had come too far to back off now; Inej went first, throwing two knifes, each of them landing perfectly in an eye of the first two guys, while at the same moment, Nina and Kaz knocked the other two out. After this they heard speaking down the hall.

“Go outside and wait for us there, this won’t take long” Kaz said to Nina, who nodded and disappeared around a corner; the boy then straightened his coat neck and he and Inej entered the office, but as soon as they opened the door they knew something was wrong.

“Mr. Brekker, I’ve heard much about you. I must say I was getting a little disappointed you didn’t stop by sooner to introduce yourself”

While he said this, six large men appeared from nowhere and held their arms behind their backs, holding them in a position almost like a bow, which made them have to move their heads and look up to see Anderson who was standing straight with a smile on his face. Then he looked at his watch and said.

“I would love to stay and hear of all the reasons I should be scared of you, but I have a date, so my guards will take care of you; see you later”

And with that he left.

Though the corner of his eye Kaz could see a man with a knife getting closer, Inej must have seen it too because she made a quick move trying to get free from the man’s grip, but he was too strong, the man with the knife stood in front of her and said.

“What a shame, if you weren’t a thief we could have had so much fun”

She spat on his face and the knife buried in her shoulder; she let a scream out her lips but it didn´t last long because the man holding her arms hit her with a bat one of his friends lended him, knocking her out.

Right there was where he realized, he did have a reason, Inej was his reason, and she was hurt because of some stupid revenge, 'because of him' he thought, but there was no time to feel bad about himself, he needed to get her out of there. Almost two seconds later Kaz was carrying an unconscious Inej in his arms, he had no idea how they'd escape or how many guys he had left behind bleeding on the floor; his head was blank, the only thought being 'please saints, i don't like you and you don't like me, but if by some miracle you can hear me, save her, save her and i won't ask for anything ever again', then, almost as an answer he saw Nina running towards them.

"Saints, where were you? What happened?!" Said the grisha, he could hear the fear in her voice.

"We were ambushed. I don't know if they knew we were coming or if they were just lucky; but there were a lot of them, they stabbed her on the shoulder and knocked her out with a punch at the head" With every word Kaz felt the need to reenter the house and kill everyone that was still alive "is it bad? Can you do something?" He hadn't meant to, but his voice came out desperate.

"The knife wound doesn't seem too deep, but i really can't tell for sure, the light here sucks. We need to get her to the safe house"

At those words they started running; Kaz's leg hurted like crazy, but he didn't stop or slowed down at any time 'Please be okay, please just stay alive', he knew that Inej had had far worse wounds, but seeing her unconscious and bloody never got easier.

Moments later they were back home, Jesper and Wylan were already there and jumped when they saw them coming running through the door with their bleeding friend.

"What the hell happened?!" Asked Jesper

Kaz and Nina ignored him and placed Inej on a table.

"Okay, i need towels, water and bandages, now!"

Jesper and Wylan exited the room to find the things Nina had asked for.

"I was right, the wound isn't that deep, but I'm a little worried about her head, if she doesn't wake up in less than an hour it could be serious; even so, the only thing we can do now is wait" She combed Inej's hair with her fingers "Please tell me you punched the guys who did this" She said

"I left them all bleeding" Said Kaz without taking his eyes of Inej's face

"Good"

Half an hour later Nina finished bandaging the wounds and went to the kitchen to make some coffee. Kaz was left alone in the room just watching her, saying a silent prayer to the saints he had never believed in. He knew Inej would laugh if she knew what he was doing, he liked that thought, Inej smiling, watching him with her bright eyes; he saw her hand laying on the table and couldn't help but to grab it, a flash of water came to his mind, but he concentrated on Inej, she kept him from drowning, kept him safe, and he had failed her, but the thought only lasted a second, replaced by the sweet sound of her voice.

"Hi, how long have I been down?"

Relief filled Kaz's body and he smiled, though when he realized his face went serious again.

"It's only been about an hour. How do you feel?"

"I've been worse. Did you get what you wanted? Did you scare the guy off?" She asked.

"It doesn't matter now. I'll go get Nina, she was very worried"

"Wait" He felt a pull and remembered her hand was still in his, he froze at the realization, but then turned around, she started talking again, never letting his hand "Thank you"

"I told you, I'll always come back for you" At this words she blushed a little and he thought it was the prettiest thing he had seen. Then Nina walked into the room and the two of them let go of their hands.

"Oh thanks the saint you're awake, i was getting worried" Said the redhead

"Thank you so much for patching me up" Inej said, still a little pink on her cheeks.

"No problem, but you owe me even more waffles now"

#kaz brekker #inej ghafa #kanej #six of crows #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #nina zenik #matthias helvar #the crows #crooked kingdom #shadow and bone netflix

[creepsmcstuffins]

Living with a Irish Fae

I live with a Dullahan. No, it's not some grotesque headless horseman that throws its head at you or takes its spine whip and snatches you up into a skeletal wagon. Nor does it throw a bucket of blood on you when you get too close to it.

Sorry, if you think that, but its.... Rather HE is just an asshole. Who eats all my food, leaves the lights on, terrorizes (not really though) my dogs and shits with the door open to the bathroom. He's am Irish bloke, with a smart damn mouth. And yes he does, indeed, own a horse. His horse is better company than the loud asshole that lives with me. His horse is a black stallion that goes by the name of Caboose. A friendly boy, and I even get to ride him, when the dullahan isn't working.

Cullen O'Houlihan. That's his full name. He's a bastard man. But I'm sure your wondering how we met. Well, I'll take you back a bit.

My name is Ebonie Brown. And I was driving home one morning after working a long 10 hours. The old country roads that I drive are usually empty. Save for the occasional deer or possum in or on the side of the road. And maybe if a neighbor, I say that lightly, left one of the gates open and a cow might be grazing along the road. In the early hours of the morning, the sun could be seen peeking over the mountains. I live in a heavily mountainous area, where a lot of agriculture is farmed. Mostly corn, if I'm honest. The sun was leaving the sky pink and red, lovely hues that I enjoyed seeing.

Without warning, a horse was in the middle of the road, barely smashing into the animal, I turned the steering wheel, swerving away from the horse. Not completely hitting it, but not missing it either. I hit its rear, or what seemed like a hit. Spinning out and luckily not going into a ditch or being bent around a tree, I got out.

"What the hell!? I could-" the horse still stood. Like nothing happened! Though it... It shimmered like a... Phantom of some sort... it... looked at me, with... Big black eyes... Empty hollowed eyes, black as night. It snorted at me, black smoke pooling out from its nostrils. I took a glance at the rest of it, like it's head, the body shimmered. Black shadows enveloped it, shifting at the horse moved his neck to look at me better. I shivered as it moved.

"Uh... nice horsey?" I asked, more of a whimper, and holding my hands up. In defense, hoping this... Nightmare wouldn't decide I was food... or something... Jumping at a rustling sound, coming from the tree line near where I was standing. The horse let out another snort. And a... A man came out. Tall... tall as shit. Im a 5ft 2in woman, a little overweight, if I'm honest. And he was a giant! At least 6ft... He was wearing black armor, accompanied by an obsidian sword and a spine whip.

I know. I know, I said that he doesn't use the whip, but let me continue.

This man... He didnt have a fucking head. Scratch that, he had a head, he was just holding it in his arms. The head looked at me. At my eye level. He had brown thick hair, and golden eyes. The eyes were shimmering like the horse's eyes and body. The head had gold light flowing from it and the body had a purple aura pouring from it. Power, dark power came from both, the horse and its rider. I stepped back, and stared at the head.

"The fok you starin' at?" It spoke, thick Irish accent prominent, "You ever seen a man at night like this, ya idiot!?"

I was speechless, frozen. I didn't expect the head to talk. It frowned at me,

"Well!? Don't stand there gapin' like a fish! SPEAK!!" His voice rang out loud and even made some sleeping birds flutter past us. The horse snorted, pawing at the ground. The head looked at the horse then back at me.

"You hi't 'em?!" He barked at me, snapping me out of my stupor,

"N-no? I.. I mean... he... i..." I stuttered, still not moving. The head huffed and the body moved, reattaching the head to itself.

"Whats your name?" He crossed his arms, and leaned his weight off to one side, the sword swinging as he shifted his weight.

"Ebonie... Brown." I spoke slowly, eyeing the sword more than the whip. Then looked back up at him.

"Well I'm Cullen O'Houlihan. And you hit Caboose. You hurt his feelings. Now. You owe us." He smiled evilly at me. I frown, starting to drown in whatever shitty possibilities he had in mind. The male bent down and smiled at me,

"Well Miss Brown. Where ya live at? I'm gonna need a place to rest m' weary 'ead." I shutter, and nod, getting back into my car. He mounted his horse and followed me home. We arrived at my mother's home... Thankfully she and my sister were sleep still. I parked and got out.

"Uh... what are you gonna do with... Your horse? He-"

"He'll be fine out here." Cullan yawned and dismounted. And strode up to me.

"Cute lil' house. Your Ma?" He nodded at the house. I nodded,

"Yeah. Come on... I only have one bed so..." I walked to my door, and unlocked it.

"Oh?" I could hear the smug look and smile on his face,

"Care to have a night with an Irish lad then?" He bent close to my cheek. I could feel Cullen's breath. It was cold, like a frozen wind, on a snowy December night. I hit him with the screen door.

"You can sleep on my dogs bed. I don-" Cullen barked out a yelp of surprise, rather than pain. I smirked and walked into the door. Slipping my shoes off. He followed, having to bend a bit to get through the door.

"Well. This is... not what-"

"Shut up. If your staying the night-" He threw a bag of money, gold rather at my head. And shot me a look, that said "that aught to be enough." I rolled my eyes. His armor melted, and transformed into comfy pajamas. Cullen gave a stretch and looked at me.

"Bed? I'm quite tired." I nodded, pointing at my room. Walking through the doorway, he plopped, face first into the bed. Snoring before I could walk in after him. I sighed, stupid bastard was supposed to sleep elsewhere. It's fine I guess... just for one night. I slipped in next to him, careful not to get to close to him. I pulled my plaid blanket close and then reached over pulling another blanket over Cullen. I huffed and fell asleep.

I woke up to clattering and a scream, I shot out of my bed. Cullen was looking for whatever, not stopping to look at him I rushed outside, snatching my gun and pulling the slide, loading a bullet into the chamber. My mom was screeching at the black (non shimmering) horse standing in the garden. Caboose was eating her cucumbers... I lowered my gun.

"Shit...." Cullen followed me out, spoon in hand, eating out of my applesauce jar. He was snickering.

"WHO ARE THEY!?" my mom yelled at me, pointing at Cullen and Caboose. I held my hand up and she stopped panicking.

"This is..." I paused... I didn't know what to say! What was I supposed to say!? As if reading my mind, Cullen stepped forward, pushing the jar into my hands.

"Hello!" His voice clear and friendly, he stepped forward and extended his hand,

"Im Cullen! Cullen O'Houlihan! Pleasure to finally meet you Miss Boyd! I'm your daughter's boyfriend." He smiled widely and as charming he could.

My mom took his hand and her eyes grew clear, as if I had mentioned this random ass man before.

"Oh! Cullen! I remember Eb saying something about you! Wonderful to finally meet you!" She smiled at the man, then scolded him,

"You need to move your horse though! He's eating my garden!" At a snap of Cullen's fingers, Caboose, the nightmare horse moved.

"So sorry about the inconvenience. I'll make sure he stays out of the plants Miss." He walked back over to me, flashing me a look. And he plucked the applesauce jar from my hand, and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. And pressing our cheeks together.

"I hope you don't mind me crashin' here! I've got rent money for us." He pulled out a stack of money from his pocket and held it out to my mother. She gratefully took it and nodded. Leaving us alone outside to stare at Caboose who was eating the weeds next to my old red Chevy. Cullen didn't move, but stood still smirking at me, and gave me a pointed look.

"Well, Darlin'," he drew out the word, "Darlin'", "I guess your stuck with me." He kissed my cheek, his lips cold. And walked off. I sighed, now I have a.... I realized I didn't know what the hell he was. I turned and followed him inside,

"What-"

"A Fae. Specifically a Dullahan." He mused. Ok so he could read my mind. Cullen looked at me and smiled, sitting in my spinning computer chair. I opened my mouth again, he spoke, this time in my head, smiling that stupid ass Cheshire cat grin,

"I'm here cause I'm curious. Tired living in the fuckin forests and meadows of Ireland. But the civilization was a bit much for me and Caboose, so I opted for a cooler area. The mountains was what he and I agreed on. You just happened to be unlucky to come across us. I found a dead dog in the road where you "hit" Cabose. And I wanted to give the poor thing a decent burial." Cullen finished his story and plopped the empty applesauce jar on my computer desk.

"This is my new home.... But if you move, I'll move with you."

So... I guess that'd the first thing? To write about... for now. My new boyfriend is a Dullahan. A legit one... his... head is floating over here now. I gotta go... I'll write again soon.

#creepypasta #dullahan #entry 1 #original post #original story