#this is the only mermaid I’ll probably draw this month | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theonewiththefanfics · 3 years

Text

Give You Hell (one-shot)

Synopsis: When you’re in a relationship with someone famous while being famous it can be difficult. But not for the Reader and Harry, yet when her past comes knocking, she’ll make sure to know where she stands.

Pairing: Harry Styles x fem!Reader

Genre: fluff, some minor angst, like microscopic

Warnings: swearing, reference to past abusive relationship, but nothing explicit.

Word count: 3428

100% inspired by ‘All American Rejects’’ ‘Gives You Hell’

Dating someone famous while being famous yourself had pros and cons, much like everything in life. The cons mostly came from the outside, not from the inside. It was the opinions of others, thinking what they said mattered, the scrutiny of the press, hoping one of them would mess up, and they could run some bullshit article just so their numbers could go up, without a second thought of how the people involved felt, and it was some jealous fans who didn’t seem to comprehend the people they admired were actual human beings with feelings and thoughts and emotions and autonomy. But other than that, Y/N’s and Harry’s relationship was just like any other. Save for when their emotions bubbled over, millions of people heard them in songs. They’d met at the iconic yellow-suit-Harry Brit awards. She’d been right next to Hugh Jackman opening the show, a red glittering bodysuit with a black and gold ring-master jacket, a top hat adorning her head as she dominated the stage. If Harry had been sloshed at that point (much like he was later on, but who was Y/N to say, given how most of the night was a blur for her), he would’ve absolutely started drooling at the sight of her, and he was one of the thousands who stood up, hollering and clapping as she and Hugh ended their performance.

Much to his dismay though, Y/N wasn’t one of the people assigned to sit by his table, instead, she was a couple of rows behind, whispering something into Billie Eilish’s ear, the two erupting into uncontrollable laughter. He felt like a creep as he tried to catch every possible glimpse of Y/N, her smile making his heart race. She’d been on his radar for a while, had even thought about asking her to collaborate on a song for ‘Fine Line’, but at the end of the day, it was an album of personal discovery (and when one of his producers told him Y/N was halfway across the world in the middle of Norwegian woods for the next half-year working on her own music, he didn’t want to be a bother). But seeing her then, Harry wondered why he hadn’t reached out on his own, especially after at the after-party Lizzo had dragged Y/N to him and introduced the two. The following day, pictures of them dancing together, drinks in hands and drunken grins on their faces would sweep the web, sparking millions of rumours, but, at that moment, they didn’t care, nor did they care about what was written because as Harry twirled Y/N under his arm, as much as the connection was there, that night they went their separate ways. Even when they were drunk, they understood that about the other person, and wouldn’t accept anything else, but a sober and coherent ‘yes’. Sometime midday the next day, Harry reached out to Y/N through a DM on Instagram checking in on how she was doing, which then turned into a six-hour FaceTime call. “What do you mean you’ve never had a hangover?!” Y/N laughed at Harry’s almost offended expression. “I mean I’ve never had a hangover. I’ve never thrown up while drunk or after being drunk, my head’s never hurt – nothing. I mean I’m tired, but that’s because I’m still on New York time and got to bed at like five AM.” “You… are something else.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Is that something else something good?” Y/N didn’t know, but when Harry saw her eyes sparkle, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately knew – she was it. “The best.” “Well…” she bit her lip. “If I’m the best, would it be too forward of me to ask you out for a coffee?” What Harry didn’t know was that when she saw him smile as if those were the best news in the world, her heart skipped as well, and she knew he was the one. “Only if it’s my treat.” “But I was the one who asked you out.” “Yes, but you can pay for the second date.” Holding in her squeals of joy was tough, but she raised her eyebrow, giving Harry a sly smirk. “Already so confident there’ll be a second date?” Harry scoffed. “And a wedding!” Seeing Y/N throw back her head as she laughed, made all sorts of butterflies fly through his stomach. “Okay, Styles. I’ll take your word for it.” Three months into the relationship, the two were booked to appear on The Graham Norton show together, which was also the first time they’d appear officially as a couple at a work/outing kind of a setting since the rumours started floating, and a picture of Harry kissing Y/N outside of a hotel room had sort of confirmed that. “So, you two.” Graham pointed between Y/N and Harry with his cards. “Have started to date? Not to say anything Harry, but Y/N… I didn’t think boy-bands were your type.” That made her lean over in laughter as Harry gave everyone a shocked face, before slumping back and pouting, nudging Y/N with his knee. “That’s not funny.” “I mean it kind of is.” “She was twelve when she swore off boy-bands.” Graham nodded, taking a sip of his wine. “Isn’t that what you said last time you were here?” “Hey, it’s been ten years since I said that!” Y/N laughed. “Cut me some slack. All the people I was crushing on are married anyway… with kids… and could probably be my dads… I have issues, don’t I?” Everyone exploded into giggles while Harry shook his head, chuckling. “Love you with all of your issues.” He nudged her shoulder, and she nudged right back, taking a sip of her drink. “Yeah, give it a couple of months. You’ll regret your words.” The thing was Y/N was so wrong, and she’d never been happier to be so wrong. Each morning they were together, Harry woke up to her showering him with kisses or vice versa. As private as Harry was, his Instagram stories were now filled with pictures and small videos of them, of Y/N’s face half-covered by a blanket, glasses crooked as she smushed her cheek to his chest and watched a movie, or her eating breakfast while re-watching old Bones and Castle episodes with captions like ‘dunno how she keeps the food down’ and ‘she swears it’s just for research’, while her feed was full of candid Harry photos or her rummaging through his closet and showing everyone his immaculate style, and giving tips how others can recreate it (also she may or may not just use that as a reason to steal his clothes). Generally, people loved it, and their love for one another. It was refreshing to see them enjoy each other’s company, and not be afraid to do so, especially now, given how it was a couple of days before Y/N ended her tour in New York in Madison Square Garden, to which Harry had specifically flown out for despite being in the middle of filming for ‘The Little Mermaid’. Three AM blinked on the clock, as the two finally drifted off to sleep after five hours of a passionate reunion when her phone dinged, indicating a message had arrived. “Turn it off,” Harry grumbled into the skin of Y/N’s back. “’S too early.” She hummed in agreement, furrowing her brows as her palm blindly searched for the offending device, and she squinted her eyes as the light burned her retinas before widening in shock at the message. Harry felt her body go rigid, and he pressed a kiss to her neck. “Everythin’ alright, lovie?” “Uh – “ she stuttered, trying to process the words on the screen. “Uh, yeah. Yes, everything’s fine. Just… some last-minute changes for the show. They want something really big for the ending, and some of the propositions are just…” She could feel a smile stretch across Harry’s mouth. “Extravagant?” “You could say that, yeah.” “Sounds like it’s gonna be one hell of a show. Not that the others weren’t.” Y/N switched the phone off wiping away the message first and then turned to cuddle into Harry’s chest. “It most certainly will.” For the next two days, she was an anxious ball of mess, as her crew got everything ready, and her and her band rehearsed relentlessly before she asked all of them to gather at the studio to add a song to the setlist. “It’s gonna be a couple more hours, Hazza,” Y/N murmured into the phone as Harry had called in to check on her. “ ‘M sorry. You don’t have to wait up for me. I know you’re still adjusting to New York time.” “ ‘S alright,” he slurred, clearly already falling asleep but determined not to. “Can’t sleep without you anyway.” At those words, Y/N’s heart did that stupid flipping thing it’d been doing ever since Harry entered her life to stay, and a shy grin blossomed on her lips. “You’re exhausted, sweetheart. But I’ll tell you what - if you do go to bed, I’ll be sure to wake you up with a kiss when I get back.” “You promise?” She could hear the smile on his face. “Swear it.” “Alright, lovie. I’ll be waiting to cash in on that kiss.” “I’ll run to give it to you as soon as I can. G’night.” “See ya’ in a bit.” Y/N let out a shudder as she heard the call disconnect. She entered back inside the studio and clapped her hands, drawing the attention of her producers and band members. “Where were we?”

***

The hour before a show was always nerve-wracking for Y/N. It’s when the adrenaline truly started to rush, when her feet and palms got all tingly, and her ears and cheeks heated up. It was when their warm-up band exploded on stage, and the crowd got pumped up. But the best moment that night by far was right when she was about to run out, Harry had pulled her back by the wrist and kissed the living daylights out of her. “You’re gonna kill it tonight,” he muttered against her lips, words skimming her mouth and making her smile as bright as the sun. She seemed to do that a lot around him. It’s why he now dedicated Golden to her every time he sang it. “Thank you. For being here.” Harry flicked her nose. “Always. Now go. People are waiting.” When Y/N finally appeared on stage, pretty much glowing as brightly as the stage lights, her fans went wild, and even more so when she jumped, starting off the show. The whole time, her gaze flitted to backstage just to get a glimpse of Harry, and whenever she did, she saw him dancing, singing along, filming her having fun and some clips of himself as well, going absolutely ham to her songs. As the night was moving towards the end, usually, she’d feel euphoria from giving a great performance, after hearing thousands of people sing her songs in unison, now Y/N felt closer to throwing up and fainting. “So uh…” She pushed back strands of sweaty hair, hollers of people echoing in her head. “This is a very special show tonight. Umm… this is the first concert my boyfriend’s come t - .” She didn’t even get to finish the sentence before the cheers of the people interrupted her, deafening the girl even with the earplugs. “But umm… it’s also a special show because two days ago someone reached out to me, and uh… he… well, he was as important of a person once the same way Harry is right now, and he wrote this.” Y/N went over to where the piano chair was, lifted it and fished out her phone from it, revealing the message that’d been basically haunting her nights and days since receiving it. “Breaking up with you was the biggest mistake I ever made.” To her own surprise, her voice was steady and sure, unlike her hands which were trembling like leaves in a storm. “I know you look happy and in love, but I know it’s not true. I’ve known you for five years, I know how to see through the mask you put on every day just to make sure others are happy while you yourself suffer an inauthentic life. But you do deserve to be happy. And I’ll be waiting for you if you decide to give us a chance again. I’ll be at your concert in Madison Square.” She looked out into the crowd. “You wrote a song once for me. If you sing it, that’s how I’ll know you feel the same.” By the time she got to the end, there were no more shouts or screams, but confused murmurs. Y/N let out a shuddering breath, hoping that she could manage to do what she wanted, and everything didn’t fall apart. “The thing is, I’d like for Harry to come on stage, please.” She could see the fear in his eyes as he jogged to stand next to her, but he disguised it with an overenthusiastic smile as he waved over towards the raging sea of people. He’d seen the message, had seen her reread it more than fifty times by that point, and as sure as he was in their relationship, when someone who held such importance, no matter if good or not, in someone’s life came knocking again, you could never be too sure what would happen. Harry didn’t want to say anything, believing if it was important enough, she’d tell him. Guess that was it. “So, uh…” Y/N pulled Harry’s arms over her shoulders and grasped onto them, grounding them both. “This is for you.” Y/N looked over into the crowd before glancing over her shoulder, Y/E/C eyes meeting Harry’s wavering green ones. “And you,” she whispered so that only he could hear. “Hope you know I mean everything.” As the cords started playing, she felt Harry unwarp his arms from where she’d been holding them over her shoulders and a smile erupted on her face. “I wake up every evening,” Y/N sang, “with a big smile on my face, and it never feels out of place.” “And you’re still probably workin’,” Harry’s voice joined in, grin as wide as the Cheshire cat’s, as he now had a microphone in hand, the other placing earplugs in his own ears, “at a nine-to-five pace… I wonder how bad that tastes.” “When you see my face hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell,” the two harmonized, Y/N’s eyes locked onto the masses, imagining the face of her ex-boyfriend who had the audacity to send that message. “When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell.” Harry was looking at the crowd as well, now fully understanding the message and the person behind it, and although he lived by ‘treat people with kindness’, he couldn’t help but gloat at the fact he got to sing with the love of his life on stage, and basically serenade a break-up song to a person who didn’t know how to appreciate what he’d had. Y/N cocked her head to the side. “Now, where’s your picket fence, love, and where’s that shiny car? It didn’t ever get you far. You’ve never seemed so tense, love. I’ve never seen you fall so hard. Do you know where you are?” It was hard not to smile, knowing where she was and who she was with. Harry threw an arm over Y/N’s shoulders as she sang, giving a mock sad look, while Harry pouted. “And truth be told, I miss you… And truth be told, I’m lying!” “When you see my face hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell! When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell! When you find a gal that’s worth a damn and treats you well.” Y/N pointed towards where she imagined her ex was standing. “Then she’s the fool, you’re just as well, hope it gives you hell! Hope it gives you hell!” For a split second, the music slowed down, guitar strumming in the air, as Harry pulled Y/N by the palm and towards his chest. When the next lyrics came out of his mouth, he knew them to be true as he sang them to the man, he’d heard Y/N talk about, to the man who thought everything he’d done to her, every horrible word and deed was justified, to the man who thought breaking someone else down was the only way to bring themselves up. “Now tomorrow you’ll be thinking to yourself, where did it all go wrong, but the list goes on and on.” “And truth be told, she misses you,” Harry hummed, Y/N letting out a large laugh, holding onto his bicep, as he slightly changed the lyrics. “And truth be told, she’s lying! When you see her face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell! When you walk her way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell! When you find a gal that’s worth a damn and treats you well.” Harry sighed, shrugging his shoulders. “Then she’s the fool you’re just as well hope it gives you hell.” “Now you’ll never see,” Y/N took over the song. “What you’ve done to me.” She placed a hand over her heart. “You can take back your memories, they’re no good to me. And here’s all your lies, you can look me in the eyes, with that sad, sad look that you wear so well.” She dragged her finger down her cheek, giving a pout while Harry mimicked her stance before turning the mic to the audience. “When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell,” the crowd sang back with such vigour, Y/N was sure the whole ground was shaking just from their voices, and the clapping and stomping to the drum rhythm would bring the whole world down. “When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell! When you find a gal that’s worth a damn and treats you well, then she’s the fool you’re just as well, hope it gives you hell!” The two were jumping around the stage like madmen, adrenaline filling their veins. “When you see my face hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell!” “Hope it gives you hell!” Everyone else repeated. “When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell!” “Hope it gives you hell!” “When you sing this song and sing along, well you’ll never tell. Then you’re the fool, I’m just as well, hope it gives you hell!” Y/N grinned once more, placing her hand over her heart, meaning every word – she was just as well. She had amazing friends, a career that’d flourished, and a person who loved her more than words could describe. “When you hear this song, I hope that it will give you hell!” Harry crooned down the mic, knowing their happiness would, Y/N’s happiness would give him hell. And he enjoyed it, knowing how good her life was. “You can sing along I hope that it puts you through hell!” Her voice became the only sound as the last word echoed around everyone, her chest heaving up and down from the exertion, from all of the emotions running through her body as well as the overwhelming feeling of not only having Harry watch her perform but to end up performing with him. When his hands wrapped around her body, it startled her out from the daze, and the popping confetti startled her even more, as the rest of her band joined the two to take their bows, grins on all of their faces while they did so. “Not the song you thought I’d sing, is it?” Y/N laughed into the mic, Harry’s arms tightening around her waist. “There’s a reason I blocked your number, let alone you from my life. Don’t think I won’t do it again.” “But I would like to say thank you, to the asshole in question,” Harry said, making Y/N’s forehead scrunched up. “You let go of the best person ever; you had the honour of calling yourself her boyfriend, but instead, you chose to walk away. So, thank you for that. Because now I’ll have that honour and pleasure for the rest of our lives.” Yeah. It was one hell of a show.

Tags (crossed out wouldn’t take):

Everything tags: @lumelgy @palaiasaurus64 @supernaturalbaesduh @breezy1415 @crazy--me @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sea040561 @staryeyedgirl @deathbyarabbit @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91 @dalilx @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns @averyrogers83 @in-the-end-im-still-trash @gallifreyansass @dewy-biitch @avxgers @unlikelygalaxygiver @magicwithaknife @ollyoxenfrees @bnhvrdy @tvwhoresblog @celebsimagines @thatkindofgurl @sj-thefan @teenwolflover28 @lestersglitterglue @im-squished

Harry Styles tags: @sarcasticallywitty15 @breezykpop @girlboss99 @harrystylesdoesntknowiexist @alliyjane @sirtommyholland

A/N: I love ‘All American Rejects’ and have been listening to ‘Gives You Hell’ non stop. It’s the best break-up song ever, and you won’t convince me otherwise.

P.S. my tags are always open :)

P.S.S. please don’t repost my work on other platforms without my explicit written permission. reblogs are fine :)

606 notes · View notes

star-trekkin-across-theuniverse · 3 years

Text

Can’t wake up

It felt like you were floating. You were so sleepy, and you felt like you were floating. The white noise in your ears, was it the sound of waves lapping at the ocean shore? Because that would explain why you felt like you were floating. It was so peaceful and calm, being weightless and relaxed in your own personal sea of tranquility. You drew in a deep breath and sighed, allowing your worries and anxieties to wash away with the constant lapping of the tide.

Somewhere, on the shore maybe? You could hear a voice. Deep and clipped, a rumbling staccato buzz in the back of your head. Whoever he was was calling your name. The sound of the waves, the lull of the ocean - the pull was too great, and you couldn’t hear what he was saying. Just that his voice was strong and masculine.

The gentle tug of the waves was washing you out deeper into the ocean, but you didn’t fight it. You allowed yourself to float, buoyed by the water, eyes closed and relaxed.

“Come back to me!” The words cut clear through the static of the water, and you felt yourself jolt from floating to just laying. Had this man grabbed you? Was he trying to pull you back to shore? Were you in danger? From him? From the sea? The waves wrenched you from his hands, and again, you were floating. You considered listening for his words again, but the gentle rocking motion of the water lulled you back into relaxation and you could feel yourself drifting away from shore again.

“We’re losing her!” The man’s voice was starting to sound panicked, and again, you jolted into awareness, just for a moment. A shot of pain ripped through you as you felt him drawing you back to the shore. The waves dragged you back and you felt yourself flail and start to sink, just for a moment.

XxX

“We’re losing her!” Steve tore your tac suit open, baring your chest, and started chest compressions. “Get the medkit for me! I need the shears!”

Tony shoved the back toward him, and Natasha pulled it open, grabbing the shears from the top and handing them over quickly. While Steve sliced through your sports bra, Nat readied the defibrillator. Steve held a hand up to stop her from placing the pads, and continued the chest compressions and rescue breathing.

XxX

The floating sensation left you, and you felt yourself being dragged down by the undertow. You tried to paddle against the straining waves, but couldn’t so much as move your arms. You vaguely remembered your surf instructor telling you to swim with the current toward the edge of the riptide, and tried to manoeuvre yourself to where you thought the waves might be gentler, but you couldn’t. You broke through the waves, gasping, and finally fought against the drag until you were out of the rip and floating again. You rolled back onto your back, closed your eyes against the sun and floated.

XxX

You’d drawn in a deep ragged breath, and then fallen back unresponsive.

“Tony?” Steve asked. Tony dropped his visor and starred at you.

“She’s got a heart rate. It’s slow. BP is low. Oxygen sats are crap. We need to get out of here and get her back to the compound. Nat, get us up in the air,” he ordered. Steve pulled the oxygen tank off the wall of the quinjet and attached a mask before attaching it to your face.

“I can’t find anything wrong with her, Tony,” Steve sighed, throwing a blanket across your naked form. “I don’t suppose that suit has a CT in it?”

“No such luck, Cap,” Tony shook his head. “We’ll get her in the cradle, she’ll be fixed up just fine.”

Steve entwined his fingers in yours and leaned against the bulkhead of the quinjet. “I hope so.” XxX

You washed up on shore with the changing of the tides, and felt your skin prickle against the sun. Fighting the exhaustion you felt from your swim against the riptide, you sighed and stretched out on the sand. You yawned and opened your eyes as you rolled onto your side, and saw a beautiful woman sitting on a rock observing you. She was stark naked, but had drawn her legs up against her chest. The sun refracted off her skin, which was gleaming ultramarine, complementing the regal blue of her ultramarine hair.

“I didn’t think mermaids had legs?” You asked. The pitch of her laugh felt unnatural.

“You tell me, I’m only here because you summoned me,” she replied. You propped yourself up on an elbow and looked at her, and then around the beach.

“Am I dead?” You asked.

“No.”

“What’s wrong with me then? Why am I here?” You asked.

“Your brain is protecting you.”

“From what?” You demanded.

“From feeling the pain.” She was nearly expressionless as you spoke, and refused to offer more information.

“What pain?” You were getting frustrated.

“Intercranial hemorrhage.” Her voice was soothing at least. “Now rest. Or you’ll never wake. Stop fighting and rest.”

“If this is a dream, I won’t get a sunburn?”

She laughed again. “No. You’re quite safe from that.” She rose and stepped back to the water’s edge. “Rest.” She dove into the shallows and when she resurfaced, you saw her tail breach and slap the water in acknowledgement.

You took her advice and laid back down, closing your eyes against the sun, and allowing your body to rest.

XxX

Steve sat beside the cradle, partially stripped out of his suit, just watching you. Nat came over with a glass of water and nudged him.

“Go have a shower, get some food,” she recommended. Steve shook his head.

“What if she wakes up?”

“I’ll be here. She’ll know I love her more,” Natasha teased. Steve scowled. “Steve, you won’t do her any good stinky and hangry. Go get washed up. There’s a chicken rice bowl in the kitchen with your name on it. I’ve got this.”

Steve sighed and pushed himself to his feet, leaving the quiet of the infirmary. Natasha looked down on you and flopped in the seat Steve had vacated.

“As much as I want you to wake up, you should probably save it for when he gets back,” she said to you. “But don’t even think about dying on us.”

XxX

“I want you to wake up.” The feminine voice broke through the wash of the waves, and seabird song. You groaned and opened one eye, thinking the mermaid had returned. There was no one around. You sat up, and took in your surroundings again. The island was beautiful, from what you could see. And your subconscious was ensuring all your needs were met. A small, but sheer rock face a short way down the beach was home to a waterfall that you could only assume was fresh water. There were coconut trees at the edge of the beach, and a few short bushes that looked to be pineapples. You could be quite happy here, you thought. “Baby, you’ve got to come back to me.” The same male voice from before echoed in your head. It was so loud this time that it made you dizzy, and you stumbled toward the shade. You might not get sunburn, but your brain felt scrambled from the heat. XxX

“Baby, you’ve got to come back to me,” Steve kissed your knuckles. “It’s been three days. Doctor Cho says all your scans have returned to normal. You’re okay. Wake up. Please.”

XxX

“Please.” It was a single word, but it held more passion and pain than you could ever remember hearing. You looked around the beach. The voices came in waves every so often, but usually quiet, just breaking through the gentle but persistent noise of the ocean waves lapping against the shore. If only you knew where the voices were coming from.

Since you’d washed up on the island, you’d searched the entire thing, looking for the ghost voices. They all seemed familiar, but you couldn’t place them. You flopped down against the soft branches you’d turned into a makeshift mattress and allowed your mind to wander, trying to place the male voice you kept hearing as you watched the clouds drift across the sky.

XxX

“Any change?” Tony leaned into the infirmary, holding a bag of dried fruit. Steve looked haggard. Tony couldn’t guess when the man had last slept, but he looked like he might not have shaved in at least a week. Natasha had stopped nagging Steve about hygiene when he’d told her to fuck off earlier in the week.

“Nothing.” Steve’s voice was devoid of emotion.

According to Dr. Cho, there was nothing wrong with you, but the vegetative state was persistent. Steve was grieving you, despite your textbook vital signs. He hung his head in his hands and his shoulders started to shake.

“Whoa there, Steve, Dr. Cho says she’s going to be fine. Let her brain rest. There must be more to it than the cradle can see. Tony rushed forward, not even thinking, and rubbed his hand on Steve’s back. Steve leaned into his friend and wept.

“What if this is it? What if this is all I get? Just a few months with her and now she’s gone?” Steve asked, his voice overwrought with sorrow. Tony patted Steve’s back awkwardly.

“This isn’t it,” Tony promised. “You need some rest, and a shower. And maybe a shave, although I have to say the beard is fetching. I’ll sit with her. If you come back in less than six hours, I’ll smother her myself.”

Steve glared at Tony, but pushed to his feet. “You wouldn’t dare. I’m only going because I owe Nat an apology.”

XxX

The male voice was different, and his chatter was non-stop. You wanted to find him and tell him to stick a cork in it, but as usual, there was no one on the island but you. Yet another fruitless search for the voices that haunted your island made you realize how lonely you were. Had you always been here? How had you gotten here? You remembered floating in the ocean, but where had you been before that? You sat down and struggled to remember. As you stared out at the water, you idly doodled in the sand with a small twig. The nattering man finally stopped speaking and you sighed in relief. You pushed yourself back on your feet and rose, looking down at the series of circles with the star in the centre. It had to mean something, it was the only thing you ever seemed to draw when you were thinking about things.

XxX

“Tony says the beard looks good. I never would have worn a beard before, but I kind of like it. It’s not fancy like his either. It’s just a beard.” Steve smoothed down the hair on his face and took a sip from his coffee. He picked up your hand and placed it against the hairs on his cheek, smoothing your hand down the scruff. Your fingers reflexively curled into the hair and you let out a soft sigh.

Steve leaned forward, “Come back to me. Please.”

XxX

“Please.” The anguish in the voice tore through your heart and you sat up. Had it never been nighttime since you got here?

“Please.” Your ears started to ring and your vision blurred. The ocean was placid, calm. It had never been so calm.

“Please, baby.” Memories rushed through you and you looked around at the island, no longer beautiful and friendly, but instead looking depleted and dangerous.

“Steve?”

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

@rampant-salamander @bolontiku @bkwrm523

#whump of july 2021

52 notes · View notes

not-xpr-art · 3 years

Text

Art Advice #10 - Art Language 101

Hi everyone!

I think that artists often forget that the ‘artist bubble’ exists with its own language that a lot of non-artists, or beginner artists, don’t understand.

Something that highlighted this for me is when my friends were constantly confused when I tag my work in progress sketches as ‘wip’ lol...

So I’ve writing this as a sort of ‘guide’ to some of the common terms and abbreviations that you may see art-y people talk about & feel too embarrassed to ask them what they mean!

This will probably be a post I’ll be coming back to and adding to as time goes on and I discover new terms btw!

(also feel free to send my suggestions to add to this in the replies or in an ask!)

Art Language 101

(these are in alphabetical order to make it easier for you to search btw!)

Abstract - This is artworks that don’t depict anything in particular. This is the opposite of Figurative, basically (scroll to see that definition).

Alpha Value - This refers to the opacity level of an image, so an image with an alpha value of 0 will be transparent, whereas 1 is opaque. This is often used more in editing, I believe.

Art Fight - A challenge essentially where you can sign up and draw other artists’ original characters & they’ll draw yours (and I believe there’s a sort of scoring system but most people I’ve talked to about it just use it as a way to share art with each other).

CMYK - Stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, and these set of primary colours are usually specifically used in printing. (not to be confused with RGB or RYB, which are two other colour systems).

Chiaroscuro - A term referring to paintings with extreme contrast of light and shadow (the Baroque artist Caravaggio is a well known example of this). (a note: Tenebrism refers to the extreme version of chiaroscuro, but is often less used).

Clipping Mask - This is a digital art term which refers to an area you’ve selected where you can only draw on that section. (It basically acts as digital masking tape, making sure you only draw in the areas you want.)

Composition - This is how an artwork is put together and where things go in the canvas in order to make it look ‘pleasing’. (Although not all artists go for a pleasing composition, and a composition can change the entire mood of a piece.)

Contour - This essentially refers to the outline of an image which can help give the image depth.

Contrapposto - Often used for sculptures, this refers to a person posing with their hip up and torso twisted slightly, since in Antiquity and the Renaissance it was seen as the most ‘natural’ looking pose to sculpt. (an example of this pose would be Michelangelo’s David).

Dtiys - Stands for Draw This In Your Style, a popular challenge where artists draw other artists’ work in their own style.

En plein air - A technique pioneered by the Impressionist painters in late 19th century, refers to painting things (particularly landscape) whilst outside.

Figurative - This means depictions of perceptible things, such as people, objects, places, etc.

Filters - These are often called ‘Blending Options’, where each option (such as multiply, subtract, burn, etc) will make the layer above effect the layer below in certain ways. These can be really fun to play around with if you’re just getting into digital!

Hue - This refers to the specific shade of colour.

Impasto - This is essentially thick layers of paint used in traditional paintings, often giving a piece texture and dimension.

Inktober - A popular challenge in October where people draw in ink for the entire month based on various prompt lists. Drawtober is another popular October challenge.

Line Economy - This is something that some artists adopt, the idea of using as few lines in a drawing as possible.

Mermay - A popular challenge in May where artists draw Mermaids.

Mesh - This is an overlay you can apply to an object in digital art, where you can use the mesh tool to easily manipulate the colour of it.

Motif - These are symbols that are commonly used in art as shorthand for meaning something. So for example, skulls in a lot of paintings in history are often used to reference death.

Naturalism - This refers to artwork that’s made to reflect nature, often seen as the opposite of Idealistic paintings (it basically embraces the wonkiness of nature and how things are often messy in nature). Not to be confused with Realism, which is similar but more interested in representation?

OC - Stands for Original Character.

Occlusion - This is a technique to create depth, where objects are hidden behind other surfaces.

Photorealism - A style of painting that aims to look like a photo. Similar to Hyper-realism, although that often goes for even more detail.

Relief - This is a sculptural term which refers to sculpture that sits on a flat base.

Render / Rendering - This is the act of drawing/interpreting a particular concept or image. It’s often used in art spaces as referring to detailed and complete images, but it’s honestly kind of just a fancy way of saying ‘drawing’ lol...

Radial Shading - This is basically the way a sphere, or other round 3D objects, should be shaded in order to make them look more realistic.

Realism - This is essentially an art style that wants to represent the natural world. It’s often seen as the opposite of ‘Stylised’.

RGB - Stands for Red, Green and Blue, and is usually used when you want to mix coloured lights together (and is also primarily the colour system that computers use). (not to be confused with RYB or CMYK)

RYB - Stands for Red, Yellow and Blue, typically what we know as primary colours and usually used when traditionally painting. (not to be confused with RGB or CMYK)

Saturation - This refers to the vibrancy/strength of the colour. Less saturated colours become greyscale.

Sfumato - Technique of shading specifically pioneered by Leonardo Da Vinci, it basically translates as ‘smoke’ and is about using shading to create no harsh lines but instead a smooth transition.

Specular - This is when an object is so smooth that you can see the reflection obviously, whereas less specular objects will have a diffused light reflection.

Stabiliser - Used in digital art, this is how you can control how ‘smooth’ your brush strokes are. It basically slows down the brush so you can take more time on a stroke.

Tangents - This is essentially a ‘rule’ in art that when drawing you shouldn’t have your lines intersect into the same point.

Stylised - Art that has a distinctive look to it, often specific to a particular artist, often associated with cartoons or animation. It’s usually seen as the opposite of realism, since it adjusts the real world to fit a unique style.

Uncanny Valley - Not specifically an art term, but one you often here associated with art. This is when art looks like a distorted version of reality. Hyper-realistic paintings can often have this affect, leading to some very creepy effects.

Value - This essentially refers to how light or dark a colour is. It’s often used in conjunction with Tone, but it’s a contentious subject which I’m not going to get into here... really all we need to know is that they both refer to the lightness and darkness scale of a colour.

Wip - Stands for Work In Progress.

Zine - Shortened version of Magazine, but often refers to smaller independent magazines or fanzines (including fanart, etc).

#art advice #art language #art language 101 #artist advice #advice #artist #note: i barely understand some of these so if the descriptions are bad i'm... sorry #i just want to give people a chance to vaguely understand some of these things #definitely give them a google if you want to know more detail! or ask me lol

18 notes · View notes

yandere-daydreams · 4 years

Note

since its may, you know what that means mermay, imagine being a fisher person that some how gain the attention of giant shark mermen, always following you no matter how far you go, just to get you're attention

I did make this a bit of a Pirate AU for My Hero Academia, if only because I can’t resist the temptation to shove Siren!Todoroki into every oneshot I can. Roll with it. The ends justify the means.

Title: Stranded.

TW: Implied Drowning, Blood, Physical Violence and Mentions of Canabilism.

Loneliness could do strange things to a person.

A month ago, you wouldn’t have considered yourself much of a dreamer. You would’ve laughed off the idea of sea monsters and fairies and anything could only be verified by a handful of eye-witnesses. You weren’t the type to talk to the walls or gaze out into the sea with anything more than mild loathing, and yet, you’d only refused to acknowledge Shoto’s existence for a day or two, three at most. Maybe he was a figment of your imagination, maybe he wasn’t. At the moment, he was real to you, and that was all that mattered.

If he was a hallucination, he was a lovely one. In the dim light of dusk, rays of orange and pink spread across his scales, just beginning to glow in the soft darkness. He was a predator, judging from the fiery red dotting his otherwise stark-white form, and a rather efficient one at that, the sharpened teeth poking out from thin lips always varnished with the blood whatever he chose to bring you, that day. Mindlessly, you leaned over the side of your lifeboat, letting your fingers skin through the surface of the water, drawing Shoto’s attention. You watched as he began to circle the disruption, a strong tail propelling him ever-closer. He wouldn’t attack, you knew that, by now. You almost wished he would. An injury would be proof of his existence, even if it came in an unpleasant way.

Just as Shoto was about to break the surface, a voice drew you to the other side of the rig. “The minnow’s back, isn’t he?”

You frowned, slightly, scanning over Katsuki. He was leaning against the opposite side of the lifeboat, eyes shut and head tilted back, his white tunic unbuttoned to escape the heat. Back on Izuku’s ship, the two of you hadn’t been the best of friends, but relationships didn’t matter when you were fleeing a sinking haul, attempting to escape a water-logged grave by whatever means necessary. He wasn’t bad company, either, just… quiet. Skeptical. You couldn’t blame him, you were a stranger as much as he was. “You really shouldn’t call him that,” You mumbled, turning your attention back to the swirling colors. “He hunts for us. It’s the least we could do to be nice to him.”

That got you a glance from the corner of his eye, but you were preoccupied, by then. Shoto had gotten over his initial shyness, and after a thorough investigation of your raft, he was making himself comfortable in the palm of your hand, rubbing his cheek against your skin in a sloppy attempt to gather as much affection as he could. You guessed he had to be partially human, in that aspect, desperate for intimacy from any source that would be willing to give it up. You just smiled, petting through long, wet hair as Katsuki shifted behind you. “It’s an animal who found someone to scratch behind its ears. It probably thinks it can, like, lay its eggs in you or something.”

You pursed your lips, narrowing your eyes towards Shoto. He mimicked the gesture, poorly, and you ruffled his hair as a reward. “Do mermaids lay eggs?”

“Hell if I know,” He grunted, beginning to sit up. “And hopefully, we’ll be rescued before either of us have to find out. If the fucker’s even real.” The boat rocked as Katsuki stood, carefully making his way to your side. The lifeboat dipped, but the wind was dead and the waves were calm enough for him to lean over with you, watching as Shoto temporarily drew back, slitted eyes flickering momentarily towards your companion. The bioluminesce below his pale skin grew a little brighter, and clawed hands came up to take your wrist, clinging to you protectively. You laughed, and Katsuki bristled, as put off by this action as any other Shoto had taken. “Because we are going to be rescued, soon, and your little pet isn’t coming with us.”

You didn’t respond, not verbally, but he must’ve seen the concern that spread over your expression, the doubt. There was a sigh, exhausted and drained, but soon, Katsuki’s head was resting on your shoulder, a small, reassuring sign, one that went further than any words of affirmation he could summon ever could. “It’s going to happen,” He assured, that mocking drawl absent from his weighted tone. “I know this trade route like the back of my hand. Eventually, a merchant is going to pass by and we’ll be on-track for the nearest island. We can figure things out, from there.”

“That, or our supplies run out, and we have to draw straws to figure out which one of us gets eaten first,” You counter, only half-joking. “I’ll even give Shoto one of your kidneys.”

“Fuck off,” He spat, but he was grinning, an elbow soon jabbing at your ribs. “You’re eating the fish before you’re eating me.”

Something in Katsuki’s voice must’ve bothered Shoto, the creature’s tail beginning to move a little faster, churning the water around him. He let go of your arm, sinking just below the surface, but he didn’t move to swim away. If you didn’t know better, you’d say he was pouting, getting ready to throw a fit like an unattended toddler. You nudged Katsuki’s side, nodding towards Shoto’s oncoming tantrum, hoping his goodwill would last. “You should try comforting him, this time. I think you two would get along, if you made an effort.”

He grunted, shooting you a glare, but with only the slightest bit of reluctance, he was rolling up his sleeves, mimicking the way you traced your fingertips over the surface, trying to lure Shoto upward. There was a moment of stillness, Shoto looking towards the display wearily, and you opened your mouth, prepared to tease Katsuki for the cold dismissal, only for your breath to hitch in your throat before the words could ever make it off your tongue. Without warning, Shoto lunged forward, his jaw closing around Katsuki’s wrist and jerking him over the lifeboat’s wall, or attempting to, at least, Katsuki barely catching himself. Reflexively, you scrambled backward, attempting to keep the raft balanced, but there was little you could do to help Katsuki as he grappled with the creature, cursing and clawing blindly, fighting, only inspiring Shoto to be more bold with his efforts. There was a hollow thud from the bottom of the boat, a final, wordless scream from Katsuki, and he was dragged into the sea, a cloud of something cloudy and dark following the pair as they spiraled downward.

You were too stunned to act, for a moment, but reality hit quickly and it hit hard, your heart racing as you frantically searched the water for a sign of either man. There was a faint light in the distance, but it was distorted, deep, already leagues away from the surface, and the only traces of Katsuki were scraps of clothing and strips of disembodied flesh, torn loose in the struggle. Time seemed to slow, your breathing labored, halting completely as Shoto rose back to the surface, alone.

Painfully, painfully alone.

You didn’t say anything, you didn’t move, but Shoto didn’t seem to care, staring up at you expectantly. If he could smile, he might’ve, but you couldn’t seem to focus on the thought.

Not when those jagged, awful teeth of his were coated in a fresh layer of red.

754 notes · View notes

svtntntn · 3 years

Text

part of your world (2/2)

little mermaid!au

inspo: the little mermaid, both the disney version and the classic fairytale but make it somewhat similar and different at the same time

a/n: a long overdue piece

you long for life above the surface and get your wish when you make a deal with the infamous witch of the sea

[ part one ]

——

"The First Kingdom's economy is built upon the sea it lives by. For years, the source of income and wealth here has relied on fishing and creating inventions using hydraulic power." Soonyoung drones about the history and economics of the First Kingdom but you're barely listening to him and he knows it.

You wobble on your two feet as the ground changes from bumpy, embedded stones to the familiar warmth of the grainy beach sand, your grip on Soonyoung's hand being the only anchor keeping you upright as your eyes focus strictly on placing one foot in front of the other. His other hand holds your shoes for you as your face contorts in fascination of the different textures, his eyes darting between you and the street in front of you both in order to properly guide you around town. He stays on the main street's stone and mortar road while you drift off into the sandy edges of the beach.

The baby steps you started with have definitely improved since the day you washed to shore, your coordination becoming much more easier to manage and balance at the same time. The amazed smile on your face doesn't slip by unnoticed by Soonyoung, who watches you with a matching wide smile.

You'd be walking alongside Chan but given his role as king-to-be in less than a month's time, he was commanded to attend a strict schedule with his mother and father.

So much for fulfilling the sea witch's bargain.

You shake your head at the thought of becoming trapped by the evil witch and glance up at your surroundings, taking in the fresh air and the open stretch of land around you, reveling in the sights the water could never give you. There's a putrid scent in the air and you squint as you sniff around, noticing a man standing at the end of the nearby pier, his body bent over a large barrel off the end of the dock.

You smack Soonyoung's shoulder repeatedly and point in the mystery man's direction, your hits becoming more and more aggressive once Soonyoung snaps out of his reverie. "Huh?"

You make an 'X' with your arms defiantly and motion the man dumping but the more time you try to explain the situation, the more time is wasted. As he tries to comprehend your actions, you're already rushing over to the pier, your bare feet scratching against the worn wood of the docks.

You yank the sleeve of the man dumping waste into the water, pulling his arm back from pouring the barrel of waste into the ocean. "What the—excuse me, Miss! Let go of me!" He sets the basin down on the ground in disgruntlement.

He starts yelling at you as you try to argue back, narrowing your eyes at him as you mime through the motions of an argument with him, his voice overpowering the lack of your own. Soonyoung reels you back and quickly placates the man for a moment, a meek smile on his face.

"Excuse me, sir! Sorry, I apologize for her—she can’t.... you know?" Soonyoung makes a talking motion with his hand, before whispering to the townsperson. "She lost her voice not too long ago—it's a very fragile situation, really. Her voice before though?" He scrunches his nose fondly before shaking his head, "I actually couldn't tell you." He deadpans.

You smack his shoulder and point at the nasty waste barrel, "but sir, if you could please stop dumping your shop's waste into the oceans, that would be much appreciated. The ocean is not the place to throw such foul items away, it'd be much better if you're able to throw it away by the proper waste and recycling site. Please sir, for the good of the country! For our economy, for the creatures living below us! You wouldn't want to be feeding your family poisoned fish, would you?"

The man grumbles and carries his barrel off the docks, giving you a dirty look once he passes you. You keep your head held high and avoid him, relaxing only when the townsperson leaves you and Soonyoung alone on the pier.

"(y/n)," Soonyoung tips his head back in resolve and lets out a deep sigh, "you can’t keep going up to people and stopping them from trashing the waters." He mutters to you, kneeling down and carefully putting your shoes on for you. You two begin walking off the pier and starting for the main street into the marketplace, waving to the kind men and women manning their stalls and bow in respect to them. "Some people aren't as kind or obedient to the kingdom's rules."

You give him a mean glare as you hasten your step, making Soonyoung trip over the cobbled streets as you basically drag him by the arm, "(y/n)! (y/n), slow down! Why are you so mad? It's just not as strictly enforced as other laws, there's other issues going on in the kingdom."

You desperately want to shout at him—how the environment is crucial to our basic living, how would you like it if people just dumped waste on your bed or in your food—but you can't.

Your feet come to a complete stop as Soonyoung catches himself from falling over, unlinking your arms to cross your own across your chest. He slowly catches his breath before turning to you, "Hey, turn that frown upside down."

He tries to pull the corners of your lips into a smile but you refuse to budge, "(y/n), c’mon." You shake your head and close your eyes, the pout on your lips making Soonyoung bite his lip in disbelief. "Ok, there’s not much I can do personally considering this is not my kingdom, but I'll talk to Chan about the waste and the dumping. Maybe he can enforce stricter laws and their consequences."

Immediately, one of your eyes opens and peeks at him, scanning him up and down to call his bluff. Soonyoung gives you a smile and starts walking along the street, turning around and finding you frozen to your spot with your pinkie finger reaching out towards him. "Pinkie promises? What are we, in grade school?"

You narrow your eyes towards him and he sighs deeply, capturing your pinkie in his and falling down on one knee in front of you in grand fashion, "I, Kwon Soonyoung, promise to talk to Chan about the unforgiving, despicable acts of waste mismanagement going on in the kingdom by the sea. If I fail to do so, I am at the mercy of (y/n)'s silent, yet deadly wrath. So help me," he winks up at you and you shake your head with a smile, nodding to the agreement of his promise to you.

You ignore the way your heart races at the slightly embarrassing but genuine and grand fashion of Soonyoung's theatrics, not even caring who is staring at you two in the street.

Soonyoung pulls your interlocked fingers to his lips but you pull your finger out of his before he can kiss your hand. "Happy now?"

He stands up and brushes the gravel off his pant legs before reaching for your hand again, "Ready to circle back? Chan's probably waiting for us."

"5, 6, 7, 8—stop! Keep your form straight and proper, remember to engage your center, Chan. Don't puff your chest out so much, relax your shoulders. No, press them down!"

Another crack of a cane against the ground reverberates through the courtyard, distracting you from your solo adventure around the castle. You begin to peek into the courtyard of the castle's garden from a window, using the ruffled curtains to hide yourself from view.

Chan's arms are wrapped around a young woman you've noticed with him before, one of his many tutors everso ardently by his side. Another woman—this time, a much older woman sternly looks on at the two with a sour expression, her wooden cane deftly smacking the ground before she shouts at the pair—or Chan, moreso.

You watch Chan and his tutor move in sync, watch them move with such grace and control, skating all over the courtyard in one fluid, continuous motion. It was as if they were swimming, flowing through the water with such poise and elegance you've only witnessed when you were down below.

"Ah, etiquette and dance lessons.” Soonyoung's voice shocks you, causing you to jump behind the curtain and nearly knock over a porcelain vase off its pedestal. You clutch the vase close to your chest and stare at Soonyoung. "Not fun when your teacher is nearing death and smacking you with her cane every two minutes. Chan's gotten it easier considering she strikes the ground instead of him."

You raise your eyebrow and Soonyoung points to the woman past the glass pane, the same woman that's been reprimanding Chan. "That’s Miss Kwon, Chan’s dance tutor. She's more like a crazy dragon lady though."

You hear the same surname and try to draw a line between the elderly woman and him.

"No relation, I would know," Soonyoung promises, a curious smile on his face as you let go of the curtain. He mimics an old lady voice along with her mannerisms, making you shake your head. "What were you peeking here for? You've danced before right? Don't tell me you don't know how to dance…" You don't make any sort of movement or denial. "Wait, you have never danced before—how?"

You slowly shake your head, shrugging as you peep through the curtain again and stare at how the woman and Chan float around the open garden, how their moves effortlessly flow together.

Suddenly a hand is wrapped tightly around yours and you're pulled into the empty foyer of the castle, the newest pair of shoes Chan purchased for you squeaking against the floor.

"I'll teach you, don't worry. I won't yell as loud as she does." He winks, unbuttoning his jacket and rolling up his shirt sleeves. You awkwardly tug at the hemline of your borrowed dress, the length concerning you as you yank it lower.

"(y/n), let me." Soonyoung brings you close to him and ties his jacket around your waist, covering you modestly before straightening his own posture and grinning at you, "ready?"

Soonyoung takes your hand in his and places your hand on his shoulder, gently wrapping his other hand around your waist. You immediately tense up being so close to him, preparing to move when he does but he freezes, waiting for you to relax. "Don't be so stiff—dancing is all about letting the music carry you, letting the song move you. Don't think about it too much."

You nod and shake out your nerves, staring down at your hand in his, already knowing your palm must be drenched in a nervous sweat before you feel a hand tip your chin up, "Don't look at your hands or your feet, just keep your eyes on me. I'll guide you."

Soonyoung slowly instructs you to move one leg back and you do as he says, taking another step back with your other foot once he shifts towards you. The multitude of simple directions guides you around the foyer, your hair swaying to and fro to the melody of the silent song Soonyoung sings.

His eyes are a deep set brown shade, full of warmth and comfort, you think to yourself, mindlessly staring into the dark orbs. Everytime you sway to the right, his face is lit by the pure rays of sunlight entering from the high windows of the foyer, his eyes sparkling with specks of orange around his pupils.

You're so focused on his eyes that you don't even register the change in Soonyoung's next set of instructions, nearly face planting on the stainless, pristine tiles. Reflexively, your hands scramble to reach out in front of you, waiting for the impact but you open your eyes and realize Soonyoung's arms are safely clasped around your waist.

"You're safe, (y/n). I got you." Soonyoung chuckles, bringing you up to your feet. "Let's try that again. This time, don't get distracted, okay?" The soft look in his eyes nearly hypnotizes you again but you nod feverishly and readjust your frame.

You avoid his eyes this time as you concentrate staring at his ear instead, your mind solely listening to his voice and the different directions carrying you all around the room. Soonyoung snickers at your intense staring contest with his ear, giving you one last instruction before pausing in the center of the room. "This last move is simple, I'm gonna lift you up into the air. All you just need to spread your arms wide, got it?"

He slowly moves his hands down and you tense up, immediately smacking his hands off of your waist, "I'm not going to try anything, (y/n)! What, are you ticklish?"

You give a warning glare as Soonyoung keeps eye contact with you, "I got you, I got you. These hands aren't going anywhere else. I’m not gonna let you fall, I promise."

You purse your lips and hold out your pinkie to him, smirking when he rolls his eyes and winds his own pinkie tightly around yours, "Have you no faith in me, (y/n)?"

Before you know it, you're floating in mid-air as Soonyoung's strength suspends you up above his head. He tells you to spread your arms wide in the air like a bird and you can't help but laugh at the mere thought of acting like so.

You are—yet, were as opposite as a bird as you could be.

As you're suspended in mid-air, you can't help but think that it feels like one of those moments you dreamed when you were younger, the ones that your friends gushed in between lessons when they talked about the stolen moments with their crushes—the moments where their breath was taken aback and their heart stopped and felt like it was going to explode all at the same time.

Soonyoung sets you down on your feet and his hands linger around your waist, his eyes stuck on the amazed smile on your lips, "That wasn't so bad was it?"

——

The bell tolls loudly in the background as a gavel hits the base of its platform, the beat echoing into all corners of the grand chamber as the chatter and cacophony dies down. "Everyone, everyone—thank you for your input and I truly do appreciate your feedback in appearing here today. But I'm afraid because there is no unanimous decision, we will have to reconvene in a day's time. Please stay safe and recharge and refuel before you leave the premises."

Chan keeps a poised and regal demeanor even as the older political heads grimace and sneer silently at him, painting a faux smile on his face as they filter out the room. He can already imagine the curses and insults they're chanting in their heads as they leave, wanting nothing more than to retaliate back at them.

Several figureheads on his side shake his hand and promise their allegiance to him and his future agenda before they leave the room, giving Chan assurance as well as room to breathe and relax—just slightly.

The minute the last of the politicians leave the room, Chan collapses and sits back in his chair, slouching and stretching his limbs. At the sound of the chamber doors opening and closing, Chan peeks one eye open before shutting his eye closed again, "Jeonghan, I'm not in the mood to talk right now."

"I'm not talking politics with you, I'm already drained from that three-hour session." Jeonghan groans as the young king-to-be lazily yawns, mumbling incoherent words under his breath. "So who is that girl hanging around you and Soonyoung?"

Chan turns his head in an awful attempt to avoid the royal but Jeonghan nudges him in the leg, "I asked around and people are saying you found her on the beach? In the ocean?"

"You come all the way from your kingdom to ask me about (y/n)?"

Jeonghan isn't even surprised with the slip-up of the mystery girl's name, smirking instead. "(y/n), (y/n)... that's a nice name. Very uncommon around these parts."

Chan opens one eye when the door to the conference chamber is pulled open but relaxes when he notices Soonyoung's figure race to Jeonghan. "Jeonghan! I'm surprised to see you here, all the way from the Fifth Kingdom. When did you arrive here?"

"When the soon-to-be-crowned king calls for a very important meeting with all the royal figureheads in the surrounding area, you simply have to answer at his every beck and call." Jeonghan teases.

"Was Seokmin here?" Soonyoung murmurs quietly whilst distractedly glancing out the window towards the ocean. He spots on you walking along the shoreline, splashing the water with your feet and dipping your fingers into the crystal clear water.

There's a small smile on his lips that only Jeonghan notices, to which he slyly takes a peek out the window as well.

"Seokmin wasn't, actually—he mentioned something coordinating his kingdom's festivals or something of the like." Chan sits up and runs a hand over his face, "you worried about him? Worried he’s doing a terrible job?"

"The Third Kingdom's three-day sun festival started yesterday." Soonyoung notes fondly, ignoring Chan's questions. He pauses and glances off into the distance. "You should send some flowers over, that’s what your father did last year."

"I will." Chan affirms before checking his agenda and glancing at the time. "I have five more minutes before I have to head down for another meeting, so please let me be." He closes his eyes in an attempt to rest before another storm of politicians and advisors hound his ear till lunchtime, but his royal guest and best friend continue their ramblings.

"People have been gossiping around town and in the castle about her, that she must be one of those ocean lovers or something. Like those people, 'one with the sea.'" Jeonghan raises his hands to quote the rumors and shrugs, "but I heard that she's the reason that there is a new bill on anti-dumping laws in the ocean? About how there's going to be a new task division focused on cleaning the toxic waste from the sea? Is that true as well?"

Chan stirs in his chair, but Soonyoung cuts in with a look towards Jeonghan. "The toxic waste is something that's been on the kingdom's list of reforms for ages. And people shouldn't be gossiping about her, end of story. She's just another person like you and me, a person shipwrecked from her home and trying to find her way back."

"Back to the sea, exactly what everyone's saying! Don't you think it's suspicious that she always focused on the ocean? Walking on the beach, cleaning the waters, protecting it? What if… what if she's a siren? A mermaid of some sort!" Jeonghan devises, tapping his chin with his finger. "Remember those myths your mother used to tell us, Soonyoung? When she used to read to you and Seokmin and I? What if—"

"What if what? She’s going to lure us to our deaths? Kill us as we sleep?" Soonyoung scoffs, "Han, those were fantasies, those were children's stories. They’re not real. (y/n) doesn’t have a tail, she doesn’t have a voice to kill us with, she doesn’t even need her voice to seduce you or me or anybody—she could probably do it on looks alone! She's definitely not a siren, she can't be a siren."

Soonyoung freezes when he realizes what exactly he just said, his eyes stuck on Chan as he waits for some sort of teasing or reprimand from him and Jeonghan.

But to his surprise, Chan's eyes open and merely check the time before excusing himself to another meeting and Jeonghan raises his hands in surrender. He looks out the window one more time and notices you sitting in the water, serenely still as your legs point straight in the direction towards the sun, your dress damply clinging to your skin.

The long fabric flounders out past your feet while the rest cling to your legs and upwards, giving Soonyoung an illusion of you as those childhood creatures, those fantasies he forgot about long ago.

You couldn't be, there was just no way.

It's only when you stand up and start to walk back to the palace on your human legs does he shake himself out of the thought.

——

You wave to the drifting boat as you stand on the wooden pier with Soonyoung by your side, watching Chan sail off onboard a ship to a neighboring island just around the corner. Another one of his kingly duties in maintaining international connections and treaties meant he was going to be away from you.

Meaning another week with Soonyoung by your side.

Not that you could complain about him anymore, nor did you want to—he was by your side more often than Chan and that was something you had to be careful about.

The stipulations of the sea witch's agreement said you were to marry a prince of a royal degree, which was something Soonyoung definitely did not retain.

Unless there was something he wasn't telling you.

But how could he be a prince if he spent literally every waking moment with you—where were his royal duties, his army of diligent assistants and servants by his sides? His booked schedule with chamber meetings with far-off royals and politicians and figureheads of different kingdoms?

Where?

You shake your head as you direct your questioning gaze towards the ship and back to Soonyoung, silently asking him why he wasn't accompanying his best friend on the ship.

Soonyoung seems to read your mind and shrugs, "I don't like ships. What? I can't not like something?"

You mimic his same actions and shrug your shoulders with your lips pursed, remembering back to the time you saved him and Chan when the ship underwent the dangerous storm. He didn't look like the type to refuse adventure or to have motion sickness onboard a large boat—he was there, ruffling Chan's hair and watching the sailors in merriment with his broad, toothy smile.

The same smile you saw when he danced with you in the main castle's lobby.

The same kind of smile you wanted to see at the end of the day, the kind that made you feel at home.

You're too caught up in your thoughts that you nearly miss Soonyoung's retreating figure already nearing the main street of the kingdom, bowing to passing elderly men and women and helping them carry their baskets to their open stalls.

You rush to catch up to him and take one of the handles of the large basket from him, splitting the weight between you too as the elderly woman talks about the newest products within the marketplace and all the gossip between the stall owners.

Soonyoung continues to help the townspeople setting up their stalls and opening their shops to which they pinch his cheeks affectionately and offer him their special of the day, "I-it's alright! I'm happy to help, really it's alright."

You manage to help pull him away from the kind vendor with a thumb pointing back towards the market and a smile on your lips, tugging on his arm and looping it through yours as you both wander around.

With your arm through his, him leaning close to you to explain the different products and shops within the small neighborhood, and the blushing smiles on both your lips just as people push you two closer together when passing by, anyone could think you and Soonyoung could be a young, newlywed couple.

As you two wander through town, you and Soonyoung end up back by the main road near the ocean's shores and stop to notice children skipping rocks down the water. The grey pebbles hop along the water before sinking further down in the ocean, the young kids cheering before another competes against the previous.

You and Soonyoung walk further down the street before Soonyoung goes closer to the bank and picks up a stone in his hand. "Skipping rocks is a skill."

Your attention is captured as Soonyoung fondly shakes his head with a grin.

"My mother taught me and my brother how to skip rocks, and how to get the most skips out of a single pebble." He tosses the smooth stone in his hand before sending it down the water with four, nearly five skips in its wake. "Anything you throw must be thrown with intention, focus, and power. This advice can be applied to any object, but for the sake of everyone’s health and well-being, let’s keep it to rocks on the water."

"If you intend for it to skip decently far, you have to focus on the rock skipping that far and then you wind your arm back, turn your body forty-five degrees and..." Soonyoung reenacts his own words and again, the stone skips five ripples down the path. "Your turn."

You try once and the rock breaks the surface and sinks in its one spot, the small ripple echoing out from the landmark till it fades out. You pout before grabbing a bigger rock this time, rotating it with a single hand as you focus on your well-intended target.

"Hey hey hey, it's alright. Take it slow, you’re winding your arm wrong, think of the pathways that your rock will take from location A, your hand, to location B, the water." He comes behind you and wraps his arms around your own, his body molding to your tense frame.

You can't help but think back to your dance lesson with him, his hands wrapped around yours, guiding you around the room, and just his entire being being far too close to yours. You steady your breath and relax slightly as your heart beat skips faster and faster.

Soonyoung helps you skip the second pebble in your hands and he grins, "See! Three skips, not that bad. It takes more practice... Seokmin and I—after so many days, we could get rocks to skip across this entire pond and reach the other side! We'd just stand at opposite ends and skip rocks back and forth." As you turn your head to listen better, your cheek presses against his and he then realizes how close he is to you and quickly separates himself, "ah, sorry."

His hand is still on your wrist when he pulls away and once he realizes, he sheepishly lets go, mumbling another apology. You don't respond as you stare out into the distance, your body carrying you closer to where the cerulean waves meet the sand, your toes feeling every grain of sand beneath your feet. The refreshing waves feed into your soul, the chill of the water heightening your senses and you just wish you could open your mouth and sing.

But given the current situation, you simply lower yourself and sit right where the water washes on the sand, bending your knees and resting your head on them. Soonyoung apprehensively sits down next to you, removing his shoes and pushing them aside, "so… any reason you love the water?"

You look at him blankly. "I-I mean… you're always here: by the shoreline, by the water's edge, and you always turn up here on the shore. Don't you hate the one thing that separated you from your family?"

That was my own choice, you think. You press your lips together and shake your head, wrapping your arms around your legs tightly and staring up at Soonyoung in question.

He picks at a water-logged branch on the sand, picking at the thin, fraying stalks, "I don't hate the sea exactly, I just… My mother—she was on a ship visiting her own mother, my grandmother but... the ship never made it there." He gulps and blinks away his watery eyes. "It was too dangerous to try and send out another search party after a couple days, so they just gave up."

"I only go across the waters if I absolutely have to… and Chan tries to distract me when I'm on there but even the last time I was on a ship, it didn't end so well." Soonyoung mumbles, his eyes avoiding yours. "After that, I just… keep my distance."

You nod your head and place a hand over Soonyoung's, a sad smile on your lips as he blinks away the glassy stare in his eyes. He flushes and gives you a grateful nod, "my family's been doing well for themselves since it happened… I mean, my brother—technically stepbrother, but we're very close—he's doing well. We mourned together but I wanted to leave town and he let me go. I chose to come here to hide from the memories, the pain, the everything and yet, I'm just one step closer to the thing that took my mother away."

Tears leak from the corner of his eyes and he lets out a slight groan when you rub his shoulder reassuringly. "Sorry, I didn't mean… to overwhelm you with too much." You ardently shake your head and instead wrap your arms around him comfortingly, motioning your hands in small circles on his back.

You lay your head on his shoulder as he takes deep breaths, calming himself and laying his head on top of yours. The waves lap back and forth against the sand in a delicate lullaby, the hum of the waves crashing into each other serenading you to sleep.

Moments pass and you're just so comfortable where you are with him by the water, you're thisclose to falling asleep on Soonyoung's shoulder right before he taps you gently, waking you up with a soft smile.

You stand up slowly and blink away the tired haze from your eyes, not even realizing Soonyoung's wrapped his jacket around your shoulders till you curl into the warmth of the sweater to hide from the chilling winds.

"(y/n), let's go back home." He carefully tangles his hand in yours, tugging you back towards land, back towards the roads leading back to the castle.

You trail behind Soonyoung's dancing figure sleepily, watching him joyfully bend and glide to a song that only he knows. His rambunctious amount of energy keeps you focused on the walk ahead as the night grows longer. The street lamps drown his body in a hollow, yellow light, illuminating his moving silhouette with every turn and hit he commits to.

"(y/n), join me!" Initially, you shake your head while clinging to Soonyoung's jacket but he stops in place, refusing to budge with a persuasive smile as he holds your hands in his.

You slip your arms into the sleeves of the jacket with a bite of your lip and try to replicate the same amount of grace and fluidity he has in your moves, basking in the glow of the streetlights and reaching above you towards the moon. You jump carelessly along the street's path and without a single care in the world—until you land your foot in an awkward position against the road.

You crumple to the ground and there's an aching pain in your ankle, a shot of lightning echoing in the ball of your joint. You cry out, but there's nothing but a strangled groan from your lips that catches Soonyoung's attention.

He quickly rushes over to you and frantically dotes over your foot. "Are you okay? Is it your ankle? Did you just land weird? Can you move it?"

You whimper slightly as you lift your foot and roll it around in a slow circle, the pain still resonating beneath your skin but not feeling it hurt too, too much.

"You might have just landed on it weird, so it might just ache for a bit." He rests your ankle down and plops himself on the road with you, folding his legs underneath himself. "We can just stay here till you're ready."

You try to fight him and prove to him you're alright to walk but putting weight on it hurts even more, causing you to collide back down and into Soonyoung's lap. The sudden weight into his lap surprises him, but his arms reflexively wrap around you.

"(y/n)..." He clears his throat and your warmth in his arms puts him at ease for some reason, confusing him all the while his heart races as you're frozen in his embrace. Soonyoung gulps and he can't help but flicker his eyes down to your lips and back up.

Soonyoung can feel himself gravitating towards you, his head tilting ever so slightly and his eyes slowly drooping closed. You pause before closing the distance, your lips brushing against his tenderly as your hand presses against his chest softly.

The sensation grows a field of butterflies in your stomach, your heartbeat racing as Soonyoung cradles your cheek in one hand, his lips gently fighting against yours in tandem.

"W-we… I can’t do this." Soonyoung stammers while he abruptly stands on his feet. "I’m sorry." You nod remorsefully as he helps you up to your feet, adjusting his jacket on your shoulders before sending you a tight smile. Soonyoung offers his arm to you and you loop your arm through his, staring at the road ahead with your head cast down.

"(y/n)! Soonyoung!" Chan lights up when he sees you both enter the castle doors, "I was about to send out a search party for you both!" The tension between you two is present as Soonyoung wordlessly moves past Chan and up the stairs. "Everything okay?"

You nod and motion to going upstairs to your chambers for the night, rubbing at your head and eyes wearily to escape the questioning—not that you can answer much.

Once you crash into the warm embrace of the cushy blankets and pillows adorning your bed, you want nothing more than to fall asleep just as you are, hugging the jacket around your shoulder closer to you and falling asleep with a smile.

——

The internal battle in your head rages on as you're dressed to the nines in a glowing blue gown, your hair pinned up and decorated with shining diamonds and dainty pearls. Your reflection reminds you of who you were a month ago, as the body of the navy dress clings to your figure and flares out at the ends of the fabric, mimicking the tail of who you once were.

Chan's grand coronation ball granting him the throne meant it was the last day of the month, the last night to relish the two legs you were bewitched with, the last time you'd be able to stand on land.

There was no way you'd be able to fulfill the conditions of your contract, to marry Chan and become his queen? Not when you were in love with someone else. It'd be wrong. It'd be downright unfair and cruel.

If tonight was to be your last night on land, you'd spend it cheerfully, you'd spend it as if you were coming back the next day.

You wipe a single tear trailing down your cheek and turn to the room you called your own over the past month, everything neatly in place and just as the moment you entered it. Your satchel rests on the covers of the bed, the flap pushed back and exposing your treasured items brought from home. You rummage through and find the necklace you unearthed forever ago, the star pendant still as brilliant as you found it under the water, if anything it was shining brighter than ever.

You clasp the necklace around your neck and rub the star thoughtfully with your thumb, a sigh escaping your lips as you notice the picture peeking out of your satchel.

The family in the photo beams up at you and you're instantly reminded of the day you found it under the waters, smothering the photo into your satchel just as Seungkwan went on reprimanding you. You stare at the two boys in the picture, both proudly smiling with shaggy dark hair and their mother grinning proudly with her arms around their shoulders.

You hope you'd do the woman justice in wearing her necklace, in keeping it safe around your own neck rather than having it lost in the sea forever.

A thud knocks on your door and you see Soonyoung on the other side when you crack the door ever so slightly. He clears his throat, "(y/n), would you do me the pleasure of accompanying me down the staircase?"

Through the ajar door, you notice Soonyoung dressed up with tons of medals and pins adorning his chest, one of which is a gold plated crest of a shield right over his heart. The crest reminded you of the one you had seen all over the flags inside the castle, except that was Chan's family's royal crest that had been passed down from generation to generation, signifying their noble heritage.

This one on Soonyoung’s chest looked completely different from Chan’s but yet very similar.

"(y/n)? Are you ready?" Soonyoung waves his hand in front of your face with a small smile, laughing at your blatant staring. "What? You've never seen me all dressed up? Are you implying I look like a slob when not like this?"

You yank the door open and lightly hit his shoulder, taking offense to the words he's putting in your mouth. "I'm kidding!"

Soonyoung stares at you in amazement as you shut your door, a smile on his lips, once he quickly bows and offers his arm to you, "May please I escort you down?"

You curtsy in your gown as best you can and loop your arm through his own, matching his pace before you two stop at the top of the staircase, an announcer waiting by with a microphone in hand.

Just the sight of the hundreds of people standing about in the ballroom with their eyes on you makes you feel right at home—or right back in your home. The amount of times you’ve been required to attend your kingdom's royal balls or sit in the royal booth with your father during simple processions and proceedings has conditioned you to straighten your spine, square your shoulders and smile abashly at the string of politicians and powerful figures in attendance.

But the unfamiliar eyes of all the land people, of royalty above the surface has you quivering.

"And now presenting Pri—"

You block out the announcer's voice just as Soonyoung nudges his elbow and turns his head towards you slightly, his voice whispering in your ear, "These steps are steeper than normal when you have hundreds of people watching—take your time. You got me."

Just a single look at him loosens all the tension in your body and you can't help but feel unafraid with him by your side.

"—escorting Lady (y/n)!" You present your best smile at the sound of your name and Soonyoung nods to you to start walking down slowly, going at your pace and maintaining a strong anchor for you to rest on.

He switches hands with you to rest his arm slightly above your waist, his fingers hovering right at your hip but not touching you at all as you both make it to the floor and bow to the royal public and wait along the side.

All the bodies surrounding you seem to be of royalty from all over the country, men and women dressed up in their best clothes and glistening crowns and medals adorning their sashes. They all hold themselves rather highly, some smiling out of courtesy and relaxing their faces once you make eye contact and some holding stern looks of regality and nodding in acknowledgement.

There's a thunderous round of applause when the crown prince to the throne is announced and Chan makes his way down the golden staircase with the woman you remember from his dance lessons on his arm, an adoring smile on his face and his shoulders proudly square.

The woman is elegantly dressed in a matching gold and white dress that captures her as a beautiful queen-to-be, a radiant, mature aura that plays off Chan's charms.

You turn to Soonyoung while connecting your eyes to Chan and the future queen, to which he whispers, "Chan's tutor's the second daughter from another kingdom, a lesser known kingdom, but a kingdom nonetheless. Since she's always been by his side, they've been fond of one another and Chan needed a queen, so there you have it. Proposed last night in the drawing room."

For some reason, the news isn't that all heartbreaking to you. If anything, you feel… elated for Chan, happy for him and his new queen.

Chan’s suit looks tailored perfectly to his figure, golden pins and medals strapped to his chest next to his family crest plated right over his heart. He welcomes you with open arms before bowing to you, "(y/n)! You look... magnificent."

You blush under his gaze and Chan quickly greets Soonyoung before being swept away by the masses of royal men and women wanting his attention for a talk or a dance. Just as the royal coronation starts and the music begins to fill the hall, a man steps in front of you with a bold smirk.

"Excuse me, Lady (y/n)." The strange man bows before you and takes your hand in his, kissing the back of your knuckles daintily. "I am Prince Mingyu of the Second Kingdom, would you be so kind as to honor me in a dance?"

You look at Soonyoung and he nods, staring into your eyes reassuringly. "It’s your choice." He leans in closer to your ear, "Mingyu’s a good man, I trust him. Just be careful because he’s rather clumsy sometimes."

You snicker before calming your laugh, taking Mingyu's hand and swiftly moving to the center of the room, joining other couples in the song and dance of the night.

You manage to get through the dance with nods and smiles answering Mingyu’s abundance of questions for you, most of which he answers himself talking in circles. You know your eyes are not focused on the man dancing with you at all, moreso trying to find the one man you wished to be dancing with, the man who taught you how to dance and skip rocks, the man who managed to take your breath away in a matter of weeks.

The song ends thankfully and you bow to Mingyu for the dance, him regally floating off to find another partner and you making a straight line to collect yourself a glass of water by the tables.

As you linger on the outskirts of the ball, you overhear the politicians and figureheads speak and laugh freely, sipping on their flutes of champagne as they gossip about the newest, ongoings of the world and who's courting who behind closed doors.

Their etiquette and speech reminds you of royals back in your kingdom under the surface, all the merpeople with their high-ranking titles and grand personalities. You've had to sit in on countless dinners and balls and ceremonies recounting every small detail about the northern kingdom and their lack of sustenance growing in their fields, the southeastern kingdom's gossip about their prince flirting with all the royal princesses in the east, and most of all, your own kingdom's issues about all the toxic waste and malicious dumping from the surface in your territory.

At least with Chan passing the newest set of anti-dumping laws on his land, your kingdom can rest peacefully without inhaling toxins polluting the waters or finding waste settled outside their homes.

And in at least two hours, you'll have to leave the surface and become a prisoner to the sea witch for all eternity to come.

"(y/n)? Are you okay?" Soonyoung clears his throat and you nearly choke on your water as he appears before you. You nod and he warmly offers you his hand with a grand flourish of his arm, "(y/n), may I have this dance?"

With your hand in his, Soonyoung leads you straight into the middle of the dancefloor and formally bows before you, stepping up to you proudly and wrapping one hand around your waist and the other in your hand.

Once you take Soonyoung's hand and place your other on his shoulder, you're well aware of all the eyes on you, all the whispering and confused glances thrown in your direction. "Hey hey hey, eyes up here. If you're gonna step on my feet, at least look at me."

You immediately look to Soonyoung with a shake of your head and he smirks, "Then prove it to me. Time to show off those dancing skills of yours."

Soonyoung carries you around the room and leads the way, a proud smile on his face as you keep up with the rhythm of the music, the enchanting melody playing in both your ears. He squeezes your hand in his and you can see a slight blush on his cheeks when he makes eye contact with you, the tips of his ears a flying red color.

He leans in closer as you spiral into him, your back pressed against his chest and his hand holding yours tightly, "(y/n), you're beautiful."

Your heart flutters as he spins you around once more and gently releases your hand from his, bowing to you once again as the music dies down and there's a round of applause for the musicians coming from all around.

Soonyoung claps in unison but his eyes never leave you, a fond look of amazement and wonder before you as your heart skips a beat again. You can't help but want to melt into him and forget about what's to become of you, but you can't.

His smile contorts into a look of confusion as you stand there silently before you shake your head and wrap your arms around him tightly, pouring all you can into this single hug, this final encounter with Soonyoung.

A tear trails down your face as you pull away from him, a smile blooming on your face. Soonyoung immediately wipes them away and holds your face in his hands, "(y/n), what’s wrong? Is everything alright? Why are you crying?"

You notice the clock ticking away behind him as an announcer commands the attention of the entire ballroom, averting your eyes to him and his announcement of the crowning ceremony commencing in several minutes.

Your feet carry you out of the center of the ballroom and towards the outskirts of the room, ignoring Soonyoung's calls for your name, looking extremely concerned for you as a man walks up to you two. "Sir, Prince Chan is requesting your presence across the room. The crowning ceremony is going to begin soon."

"I'll be there in a moment." His eyes never leave yours even as he dismisses the man, his hands holding yours. "(y/n), what's wrong?"

You shake your head and his expression doesn’t change, still asking you softly what’s wrong. The staff from before returns and reminds Soonyoung sternly of the time before he pulls you further aside.

"Stay here?" Soonyoung squeezes your hand, but you shake your head apologetically. "Please? I'll find you right after the ceremony, promise. I have something to ask of you."

You try to shake your head no but Soonyoung’s eyes plead with you to stay. "Promise me, (y/n)?" He holds out his pinkie to you and you let out a smile despite the tears leaking out. You decide to carefully wrap your finger around his and just as the staff pulls his shoulder once more, Soonyoung nodding as he backs away compliantly, "I'll find you."

Soonyoung disappears into the crowd and the world feels so much colder, so much smaller once your hand falls to your side. The bells toll once again and you can't escape the ticking clock reminding you of how much less and less time you have left.

You begin to make your way towards the main exit of the ballroom, the ends of your gown gathered in your hands tightly before you hear your name called out behind you. You search around for the voice but it’s not at all familiar to you as someone races up to you and formally bows.

"Yes! Lady (y/n), correct? I apologize for the commotion but I wanted to have a moment of your time before you left, it’s a pleasure to meet you," a man chastely presses a kiss to the back of your hand before standing up straight once more. "I heard you’re a woman of few words and yet you’ve managed to steal away my brother’s heart. And that’s saying a lot considering he says a mouthful."

You tilt your head in confusion at the brown haired man, his face unfamiliar to you. His formalwear is almost identical to the ones you've seen all night, save for the crest over his heart that looks almost exactly like Soonyoung's. "Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Lee Seokmin, I'm Soonyoung's brother—technically stepbrother, but we're very close."

Seokmin endearingly rambles as you tensely chuckle, your eyes distracted staring across the room at the clock nearing the last fifteen minutes of the night. He clears his throat to gather your attention and your eyes snap to his.

There's something about his eyes that seem very familiar, but yet you can't recall him at all.

"Pardon me, but where did you get that necklace?" Seokmin's eyes are glued to the pendant around your neck. "That star, it looks… beautiful."

Your hand goes to the necklace and you press your lips into a small smile, vaguely noticing the glazed look in his eyes as you take a defensive step back when he reaches for the pendant.

"Seokmin, what are you doing?" Soonyoung cuts in front of you defensively, pulling you behind him in concern. The clock's hands shift once more as you look in confusion between the two men.

"Sorry, I-I thought…" Seokmin pulls Soonyoung away from you and whispers to him, "her necklace, it looks exactly like Mom's necklace! Did you even see it? I'm sure that's her necklace, but I haven't seen it since the day she left. It should be sitting at the bottom of the ocean."

"It should be, shouldn't it…" Soonyoung mumbles decisively, he turns to you but you've already disappeared. "Where did (y/n) go?" Soonyoung scans the room and hurriedly rushes out to the steps of the palace, looking left and right for you. Seokmin follows him and stands on the steps, staring at Soonyoung's panicked state. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing!" Seokmin raises his hands innocently. "All I said was that her necklace looked familiar, that it's beautiful! I didn't say anything else to her… she looked out of it for some reason, is something wrong? Where do you think she's gone?"

Soonyoung has a stroke of realization as he rushes down the stairs of the palace, ignoring his brother calling his name as well as Chan's staff shouting for him. He nearly rounds the corner before running into a security detail posted outside the castle's doors, about to run off into the street but pausing when he notices a weapon on his belt.

"Can I borrow this?"

——

You slowly make your way down the sandy banks of the ocean, the creme-colored moonlight lighting the way as the sand filters through and around your feet. The water that flows around your feet is shockingly cold, but the chills send a sense of familiarity through your spine.

Off in the distance, you notice a cluster of water take form and there she is, the sea witch to whom you bound your soul to. She gives you a resounding welcome, "Why there she is! The future queen uniting both the land and sea at once—cheers to a bright future! Oh, wait," she despicably pauses. "Something isn’t right here, is it? Tell me what happened, princess." She asks in faux innocence.

You grit your teeth and keep your head low, staring at your toes curling around the wet, sticky sand and watching the water wash over them. Above you, there's a blanket of rain descending from the sky, a light mist turning into heavy raindrops. "Silly me! How can you tell me if you don’t even have a voice, here—open up." A whip of water wraps around you and your head is tilted back, your vision filled with the sea witch pouring the essence of a golden tube into your mouth.

Your throat immediately feels dry and raspy as you gasp for air, the whip of water releasing you and your knees buckling under you in shock. You begin to cough and you hear the audible sound of your voice coming through once you pop your ears.

"(y/n)! (y/n)!"

You hear a disruption in the cacophony of the waves around you, turning your head to see Soonyoung rush into the water, his decorated jacket abandoned on the sand as the waves angrily slosh around his hurried footsteps. His white shirt is already soaked from the downpour of rain and the water crashing back and forth from the shore.

"Please, just one moment! One moment and you can take her." Soonyoung pleads, tears in his eyes as he desperately reaches for you, his hands practically clawing his way through the water. "Please! If she’s already doomed to be yours, let her have a chance to say goodbye to me! Please, I beg of you! Just one minute with (y/n)."

The sea witch scans Soonyoung and you swear there's nothing good in the brief twinkle in her eye but you're dropped from her grasp and into water. "Fine, peasant boy. One minute and that’s it." She sneers, "Say your goodbyes."

As you resurface from the water, there's a heavy feeling beneath you and there's a flick of your tail breaking the surface and keeping you afloat. You swim your way back up the shoreline, your tail a shimmering cobalt shade in the dim moonlight. You're immediately wrapped into Soonyoung's arms as he stands solidly in the shallow water, attempting to pour your warmth into his shivering body. "Soonyoung—what are you doing? You shouldn’t be here. You should be back at the castle."

His eyes light up the very second your voice trickles out of your throat, the saccharine melody familiar to him. "It's you. It's always been you."

Although your voice sets him at ease, he can still feel his heart race urgently, his time with you ticking. "I knew something was wrong earlier, everything tonight felt like you were saying goodbye but I can’t let you go. Not when I just found you."

"It’s been you all along, you saved me then and you’ve saved me now, (y/n). I-I love you, I know it’s too much too fast, but I can’t deny how I feel about you. Every touch, every look, everything spoke a thousand words and you didn’t need to say a single one," he confesses. "You can’t leave—not now. I don’t know what kind of deal you have with her but I don’t care."

He carefully shifts away a damp lock of your hair matted against your skin, staring into your eyes tenderly, as if a single blink and you’d disappear right in front of him.

"Marry me." Your eyes widen in shock as he breathes out his proposal to you, "I-I don’t care if you’re a human or a mermaid or a squid or a fish," you tearily laugh at him as he stares at you in amazement, "I want you, voice or no voice, legs or tail, I don't care—I want all of you if you’d have all of me. Marry me, (y/n). In sickness or in health, hell—even if you disappear right now, I'll forever cherish the moment you've said 'yes' to me."

"But—" You shake your head in disbelief and Soonyoung wraps his hand in yours, his eyes locked solely on you. The tears welling up in his sharp eyes meld with the raindrops falling all around you both and just staring into his eyes, your breath is taken away. "Yes Soonyoung—for rich or for poor."

"For underwater or on shore, I’ll forever be yours." He finishes his vow by holding up his pinkie finger to you, making you gasp in delight once you connect your finger with his.

Your lips touch his and suddenly all your worries melt away, all your tears feel the same as the raindrops striking your face and you’re suddenly stuck in a world where it’s just you and him—the man you completely and whole-heartedly fell in love with.

There’s an agonizing pain that pulls your attention away from Soonyoung and you feel it down in your tail, the same excruciating feeling of your tail splitting into two. You dare to look down and there’s the water rising and falling on the skin of your bare legs, the sea foam prickling your newfound limbs with their sudsy bubbles, the icy droplets of rain pounding against your skin.

You don’t even have a moment to rejoice when a voice tears you apart, "W-what? How did you��" The sea witch plunges toward you and disdainfully picks you up by the shoulders with the creation of two large waves. "H-he is not the crown prince of this kingdom! You betrayed me, Princess!"

Soonyoung stands above the water and madly screams, "I am a prince! I am Prince Kwon Soonyoung of the Third Kingdom, successor to my late mother’s throne! I am and always have been!"

"How dare you!" The suction of the witch's tentacle rapidly wraps around your ankle and drags you back into the water, your hands fervently reaching out to Soonyoung.

Soonyoung rises from the water and lunges himself towards the sea witch, a dagger aimed toward her before a tentacle takes a hold of him by the waist.

"You really believe that small dagger is supposed to hurt me? You fool!" The sea witch snarls as the knife drops into the water, washed away into the waves.

"Maybe in exchange for your legs, dear Princess—I’ll take your dearly beloved. I’ll take him on a tour of your home! Yes! The King would surely want to see what kind of man you’ve chosen to marry! A land dweller! The ugliest of men—no, a monster among men!"

"They’re not monsters—they never were! The only monster here is you!"

Soonyoung points at the hilt of the small blade being carried closer to the shoreline, "(y/n)! The dagger!"

You quickly push yourself up to your feet and run towards the blade, your legs feeling rigid and sore from your recent transformation. There’s a cold, slimy limb wrapped around your ankle and you fall to the ground, seeing one of the sea witch’s tentacles tethering itself to your leg and pulling you away from the sand, away from the base of the dagger. "Princess! You made a deal! Don’t you know if you break the rules, there are consequences?"

You turn and see Soonyoung wrapped in her clutches, his body bound by the sea witch’s limbs and yet, he still is trying to kick and claw his way out to get to you. Your heart crumples as he struggles against the powerful waves and you can't bear to even think of him captive under the sea witch's rule, yanked down to the waters you resided.

"Y-you’re right. There are consequences to broken rules." You breathe out, steadying yourself against the heavy descent of rain falling all about you. "I’ll go with you if you let Soonyoung go. I'll honor my contract to you."

Soonyoung calls out your name and violently thrashes about, the frigid rain blending his tears into watery raindrops. "It’s okay, Soonyoung." You approach him as he's lowered in front of you and you reach out to touch his cheek, "it's okay. I'll be okay."

You press your lips against his, pouring everything you can into him before you feel a slimy tentacle wrap around your legs and drag you into the water, now a spiraling whirlpool into the deeper trenches of the ocean. The farther the sea witch pulls you, the deeper the whirlpool becomes, and the more the debris gathers into the sea.

The sand and gravel around you rushes into the whirlpool and there's a glow of something in the waters—the handle of the dagger glittering against the sea witch's bewitchment of the waves.

You stretch yourself as far as you can, wriggling your fingers in reach for the dagger as the water floods itself around you. You kick your legs angrily and push off the tentacles, launching yourself for the knife and wrapping your fingers around the handle firmly.

Another arm wraps around your shoulders and you instinctively fight against it, puncturing the slimy arm with the dagger precisely. The sea witch screams vehemently and you take the moment to swim closer and puncture her in the chest.

The dagger settles into the sea witch’s body and suddenly the whirlpool settles as well, black liquid trickling out of her wound as she crumples into the waves, her entire being seeping into dark seafoam and melding with the ocean waters.

Your body desperately urges you for a mere second of air as you work and fight your way up from the trenches, shutting your eyes and letting your mind take over once you break the surface.

The ocean now reflects the color of the navy blue skies, a cloudless night since the sea witch's evils have died off with her. You bob your head above the water and start for the shoreline when you hear a familiar voice yell for you, a voice desperate to find you.

"(y/n)!" Soonyoung's voice is hoarse as he stands waist-deep in the waters, waddling deeper as he rushes towards you.

"Finally." You gasp as you wrap your arms around him, a sense of relief filling you up as you drink him in again. He holds you close to him and clings to you like the very water you come from, that you need to survive.

"Finally, my queen." Soonyoung grins as lifts you out of the water, your laughter clear as night whilst his arms stay wrapped securely around your waist as you slide lower and closer to him, a smile on your lips once you kiss under the glow of the moonlight.

The water surrounding you and him is all but calm—the moonlight flickering against the splashing of water towards one another and the peals of giggles and whispers between you both.

Your feet are dancing against the wet pavement as Soonyoung's jacket rests on your shoulders, his sash tied to keep the article from revealing your ripped dress and his fingers interlocked with yours. The medals on his jacket are hanging on by their single pins, some misshapen and fallen off, but you know he could care less about it. You cling to his arm and stop in your tracks, "you know what I just thought about?"

He tilts his head just enough and his face is illuminated even in the dark, his brown eyes focused solely on you, along with a questioning hum on his lips.

"Before I left the coronation, you promised you would find me… and you did."

If you could keep that exact smile on Soonyoung's face forever, you would. If you could hold his hand forever, you would. If you could be with him forever, you would.

Maybe this is what it meant to be part of this world—to feel this, to feel this way towards someone, towards anyone.

Soonyoung tugs you closer and smiles into you, "I always will."

#Seventeen #seventeen scenarios #soonyoung scenarios #Hoshi scenarios #seventeen au #seventeen imagines #kwon soonyoung scenarios #kwon soonyoung imagines #hoshi au #hoshi imagines #my work

62 notes · View notes

abbydramarambles · 4 years

Text

The REAL Ending CLOY

This is my headcanon and you can’t tell me otherwise. The epilogue in Switzerland is set a few years after the events of that piano concert. They have already found a way to be together more permanently. To me the house doesn’t seem like a vacation house, it seems like a home home.

There is that photo of Se-ri on the bridge, not something one would frame for themselves. RJH definitely lives there. Check out the north Korean coffee kettle and other souvenirs as well. This is the sort of stuff one would have in their home.

The only thing holding RJH to North Korean is his parents, the fact that they could be killed if he were to defect. After they die, he has no reason to stay. We’ve already been shown that he is resourceful and would know exactly how to get out. Not to mention that everything in north Korean runs on money, if you have connections like Se-ri and RJH do....anything is possible. And to me these two people with all their power, well they would find a way.

Dan’s mother travels out of the country a lot as well for business. I think the 2 weeks is the longest trip Se-ri takes while RJH’s parents are alive. It’s not the only trip of the year. I doubt her employees would be saying “you’re going to Switzerland again??” if it was a once a year sort of deal they wouldn’t think she had a man. They even say “it’s lasting a while this time”. Come on who in the world would think it’s a relationship if their boss goes to switzerland for 2 weeks a year. It’s her favorite 2 weeks of the year because of it being uninterrupted time.

Well with her wealth and his determination, and connections via his family, I'm sure they'll find a way eventually, either it is his parents passing away (since it has been about 6 years between him going back to NK and the epilogue meetup), or him somehow getting a long term mentoring position at Switzerland. You’re telling me Dan’s mom a department store owner can swing to Europe anytime, and Se-ri who created a whole scholarship for her man can’t swing something in collaboration with Papa Ri?

I got the impression the student performing his song on stage was a full-time student in Switzerland. RJH is not studying abroad but is teaching NK scholarship winners. Seri has been traveling back and forth a lot but these two weeks are the longest continual time they have together.

When Seri first sees him in Switzerland she asks how dangerous his journey was, and he didn’t answer, just said he got on the wrong train but reached his destination. “Destination” implies a final location to me, not just a two-week stay. For two people who find it torturous to be apart for even a moment, destination would not have been thrown around like that. It could’ve taken his Dad some time to manage the politics to make a permanent teaching position with the National Symphony. He did see his son cry in the car after leaving her. That man is powerful, the 3rd most powerful man in North Korean. A political manipulation genius, a man always one step ahead of the others. He got his son and 5 people in and out of South Korea. You best believe he can make it happen. He’s not going to sit back and leave his only son living without his only dream. Plus RJH was never a flag waving patriotic North Korean anyway. He already expressed that he wanted to stay with SeRi in South Korea, have a child that looks just like her. It’s kdrama script writing 101 to not have your lead character mention a deep desire such as this one unless its foreshadowing or serves a larger purpose. And Park Ji Eun is no noob writer.

Let’s look at the way the show itself references fate and destiny. Regardless of how impossible it may seem, these two always managed to find each other again. Fate is pushing them together and is on their side. I don’t think fate wants them to meet 2 weeks a year. Fate didn’t make them meet in Switzerland, in North Korea, in South Korea, and in Switzerland again for 2 weeks a year for the rest of their lives. I can’t entertain that. A lot of people think that the epilogue on the hill and when she meets him for the first time again in Switzerland with the parachute are the same time frame. I don’t think so. I really do think the piano concert is the ending and the picnic is the epilogue. It’s years from then, when everything has been sorted about how to be together permanently and it’s a window in to happy every after. Just look at their body language and expressions in the last scene, they are totally at peace and seem to have gotten everything they wanted. Even the music radiates peace. Listen to the lyrics of Sigriswil that play as the camera pans out “wandering this strange night, won’t you be here by me? now I hold your hands, with you I’ll be alright...how does it feel, my friend? It’s been a long day and night” THEY ARE NO LONGER WANDERING ALONE THAT IS THE POINT. period. It was a “long day and night, but now I hold your hand” ... how does it finally feel to have your happy ever after....my friend. IT REEKS OF OPTIMISM and closure. In film making the atmosphere says everything about what is unsaid in the script.

You best believe he won’t leave a stone unturned to be with her, see her grow old and live in the house of dreams with their twins. Just the fact that he vocalized this thought in the show leads me to believe that it did indeed happen.

Believe in what the show is telling us to believe. What it’s showing us, not telling us even. That love will always find a way.

Cloy’s ending also reminds me of very heavily of (spoiler) that of “my love from the stars”. It was written by Park Ji-eun, the same writer as CLOY. So yes they are forced to be apart in that show too, but he finds his way back and each time they meet its for longer and longer and its implied that one day it will be forever. If an alien could find a wormhole to make it back to his love interest, north korea isn’t looking too bad. Same thing with her other star crossed lovers show “legend of the blue sea”. The mermaid finds him again against all odds and they live happily ever (plus a baby). Hey I’m just saying that the precedent has been set on how this seperation works through our writers own works. Having seen all of Park Ji Eun I know exactly how she structures her endings. It’s almost always the same. The mermaid made it back, the alien made it back...north korea is where we draw the line? They’re only apart for awhile till they figure it out, and they work hard to do so.

Whatever this image is from TVN left it unaired. They shot something they had to pull back. My crack theory brain says she looks a bit pregnant. Actually, that ain’t even a crack theory, I stand behind it. Son yejin is so slim, and judging by the material of the dress it just wouldn’t fall like that unless they were trying to make her look pregnant. Like LISTEN, just LISTEN to me. They put in the effort to get the actors in these outfits we have never seen before, they even gave seri flowers...whY?? There are no other purely promo shots that didn’t have footage attached. The only ones I can think of are the ones they took in front of a greenscreen for the photoframes inside their house. THIS WAS A REAL SCENE THAT WAS DELETED. South Korean dramas pre-film certain scenes (like the swiss ones) and live film the others to make slight changes to the storyline based on audience reaction. During airing there was quite a lot of political backlash a la north korea.

There are some stills TVN released that weren’t screencaps. But ALL of them were in outfits relating to scenes we have seen, such as this one. It just would make no sense for them to go out of there way to get this image on the jam packed expensive swiss schedule and not just do greenscreen in korea like they did for all the other promo material UNLESS it was a real scene.

So you want more evidence for plot points that indicated the original, unaired, together forever in Switzerland ending?

Let’s look at some details, at one point in Episode 14 when Jeong Hyeok's father is meeting with the bad guy Senior Colonel who tries to use photos of Jeong Hyeok in Korea as a bargaining chip, he says "You should retire quietly. Using your health as an excuse won't raise any suspicions." now whilst this may be a casual reference to him being old and that health issues are plausible, it's also possible Jeong Hyeok's father has had some long term illness they've not mentioned which would add to why it wouldn't raise suspicions.

The main reason I thought of this is it would sort of line up with some other details, in the finale when they're deciding whether to send them back or not, at the NIS briefing they mention how the North has requested keeping it quiet and confidential, they mention "They want the confidentiality term to be five years. They're being sensitive about it because one of them is a high-ranking officers son". Then if we fast forward toward the end when Se-ri is receiving the timed messages, a year passes after her birthday message from Jeong Hyeok, after that scene we see Jeong Hyeok having his farewell meal with the townspeople and preparing to leave after being accepted as a pianist for the National Symphony Orchestra, presumably around the same time as Se-ris birthday given that scene was right before. Se-ri then comes up with her Switzerland Music academy idea probably a few weeks or month or so after she read RJH's text about meeting and then it tells as it's one year later, Se-ri waits but doesn't meet him and returns home, her mum says "It breaks my heart to see you return in disappointment every time" which if that's a correct translation it means it's been more than once by this point. Add up this entire timeline....guess what it comes out to. FIVE YEARS. That’s how long it takes them to sort out a permanent solution for their problem.

When he chooses to defect it will be much easier for him considering he’s making trips to Switzerland already. All he would have to do is walk into a South Korean embassy in Zurich. They have an open door policy for North Koreans, he doesn’t even need to cross the DMZ again.

You want even MORE proof? Okay my friend, I’ll bite. Why are there photos of a couple with children?? Honestly come on I really don’t have to say more.

They had to leave the ending open. Due to the political situation, they couldn’t exactly show RJH, a North Korean, defecting. Pretty sure our buddy Kim Jong-un would not be chill with that. However ridiculous it is, the show had multiple attacks on it while it was running by political parties saying it violated the “national security act”.

The ending was clearly cleverly re-edited to be less explicit so the viewer can read between the lines but the show-runners can protect themselves from lawsuits and public sentiment regarding a sort of maybe illegal situation. If you believe they met for two weeks a year for the rest of their lives, you don’t know RiRi Ri-eally well ;)

#crash landing on you #cloy #yoon se ri #ri jung hyeok #ri jeong hyeok #hyun bin #son ye jin #kdrama #binjin #dooly #riri couple

857 notes · View notes

monstersandmaw · 4 years

Text

Leyil’s Christmas (nsfw)

Edit which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

Hello! Happy Christmas folks! I hope you’re having wonderful days, whether you’re celebrating or not, and I’d like to offer you a little thank you for being such a fabulous bunch of people.

Content: fluff, a chilly and grumpy merman, and some nsfw Wordcount: 2112

Also check out this stunning artwork by the immensely talented @ilustrariane of Leyil

( Part One | Part Two (nsfw) )

___

You heard the distress call way before you realised that it was snowing.

Bolting out of your door into the late morning light, still wearing your pyjamas (because hello? It’s Christmas Day?!) and a long coat, you rushed to the lake shore to find Leyil lying out on the ice, looking like a landed carp, howling miserably at you.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s so cold,” he whined. His claws scratched and scrabbled pathetically on the thick ice as he stretched out towards you, the tiny circle of his breathing hole visible just behind him.

“You’re lying on your belly on bare ice, of course it’s cold!” you scolded him. “What did you expect? And I thought your kind hibernated for the winter anyway? I haven’t seen you in weeks.” And you’d missed him too, and all his shy but somehow still sassy humour. He’d recovered well, and had nearly fished the little lake dry while he’d been recuperating, but things had calmed down now that he was healthy again.

“I… I should be hibernating,” he grumbled, rolling over onto his back and whining. “I just… You were talking about Christmas and snow and you seemed so excited about it…”

Your eyes went wide and you sank your hands onto your hips, astonished. “So you waited up for weeks just to see if the hype was worth it? You’re worse than a kid waiting up for Santa.”

He fixed you with his deep green eyes and shrugged. “I suppose. What’s Santa?”

You ignored his question, a plan already forming in your mind. “Well? Was it worth getting frozen on ice like a market-day catch?”

“Not so far…”

You rolled your eyes. “You want to come in and warm up?”

He blinked slowly, his third eyelid raking horizontally across his weed-green eyes. “You’d be ok with that?”

With a nod, you sighed. “Stay there. I’ll get the wheelbarrow.”

He’d been in the wheelbarrow a number of times before, exploring your tiny smallholding as you’d showed him the chickens and how to plant artichokes, but the metal of the barrow would be cold against his back so you nipped inside and flung a lurid, red tartan rug over it and then hurried back to where he lay on the thick ice of the pond.

“Tell me you’re not actually stuck to it,” you said and he shook his head.

“’M just cold,” he slurred. His skin was pale as the snow on the ground, and his black hair stood out in stark contrast, sticking pathetically to his scalp and his shoulders. It had grown even longer since you’d rescued him that summer, and somehow it made him more attractive to you. His body had filled out a little after the months of starving homelessness he’d suffered since his shoal had been forcibly moved from the lake, but his frame was still birdlike in its delicacy.

You’d got the hang of hoisting him up by his armpits into the wheelbarrow by now, and it was never elegant but it worked well enough. His siren’s tail was long, but he grabbed hold of the iridescent fluke and hoiked it out of the way while you wheeled him towards the house.

“I’ll run you a warm bath if you’d like,” you said. “Now that I’ve got the boiler running reliably, I’ve got more hot water than I know what to do with.”

“Really? Hot water?” he asked, practically wiggling out of the barrow in his excitement at the concept.

“Keep still, you overgrown eel,” you laughed and he dutifully promised to behave.

Leaning to one side, he trailed his clawed fingers through the six inches of snow, raking four furrows in the perfect whiteness, and he sighed. “I’ve never really seen snow before,” he said dreamily. “Normally we just sleep at the bottom of the lake until the water warms up enough for us to start hunting again…”

“The novelty wears off after a few days,” you muttered. “I’m fed up with scraping it off the truck so I can drive into town. You’re going to have to haul yourself into the house,” you added as you neared the steps. “I’m not sure I’m strong enough to push the barrow up the steps.”

“That’s alright,” he smiled before slithering out of the barrow like a fresh catch into a soft bank of snow, which made him yelp, but it had to be warmer than the water and the ice back out on his frozen lake. Using his powerful torso, he dragged himself easily up the steps to your little farmstead and you shoved the front door open for him.

He’d been inside before, and he immediately made for the sofa, curling himself up on it with a luxuriant sigh. It was only as he lay back and opened his eyes again that he spotted all the decorations. “What… What’s this?” he asked, pointing at the tree covered in baubles and glittering cut-glass decorations.

It took a while, but you explained the concept of decorating the house to celebrate the festivities, also showing him what Santa was, and he gasped when he saw the cut-glass mermaid’s tail you’d bought at the market the week before.

“Let me see it,” he begged, holding out his long-fingered hands until you brought it over to him. He turned it over and over in his hands, grinning dangerously until he finally asked, “Why do you have this?”

You shrugged, embarrassed. “I thought you’d never come indoors in the winter, so I wanted something that would make me think of you while you were asleep in the lake…” you admitted.

His pale cheeks flushed, the scales darkening in colour on his shoulders too, and you grinned.

“You like it?”

“Mmm” he hummed, offering it back to you.

Feeling brave, you leaned down and as you took it from him gently, you left a kiss on his cold cheek. His hands flashed up and grabbed you, drawing you close until you toppled down onto the sofa with him. It took a bit of adjusting, but finally you lay practically on top of the entire length of his body, and he grinned, nipping playfully at your neck. “It’s still strange to me that you have no gills,” he murmured after he’d raked his dangerously sharp teeth over your skin, following the gesture with a broad lick of his tongue. “And your skin is always so salty…”

“Hey,” you complained, but you realised it was probably true in comparison to his.

“I like it,” he smiled. “And you’re so warm…”

After a while, however, he started to shuffle. “What’s wrong?” you asked.

“I’m drying out…”

His fear of drying out again was completely understandable after having spent so much time begging near the chlorinated fountain in town. “Let me run that bath for you…”

His face did something complicated before he hid it behind a smile. “Thank you,” he said.

“I asked you here,” you said as you stood and headed towards the little bathroom next door. Your farmer’s hut was a very simple shack really, with an open plan living room and kitchen on the ground floor, and a bathroom at one end, and the staircase that led to the rafters on the second floor, where your low bed sat. And that was it.

Lying back in the tub a while later, Leyil let out a deep groan of pure joy. “This is wonderful,” he said, humming softly. Your ears began to buzz as his music filled your mind, and you remembered then that he was no ordinary merman, but a siren.

As if he too recalled that, he suddenly stopped, apologising.

“It’s ok,” you said as you sat on the floor beside him while his tail flopped out at the other end of the old tub. “I know you’re not going to lure me into a stupor and eat me by now.”

He surprised you again by taking up your hand from where it rested on the edge of the bath, and pressing a soft kiss against your knuckles. “Not everyone is so generous to my kind, you know?”

“I know.” Letting your fingertips play along his glacially pale arm, up to his shoulder, you watched as he shivered and then rolled his head back against the curve of the end of the free-standing bathtub.

“Leyil,” you breathed. “You’re so beautiful…”

His breath hitched visibly and his chest heaved once. Taking that as an encouragement, you worked your way down his white marble torso, playing lightly over the base of the fins at his hips until he whimpered and gripped the rim of the bath in a white-knuckled grasp.

“You want me to stop?”

“Never!” he gasped, his face flushing swiftly with embarrassment, right down to his prominent collarbones.

“Never?” you asked playfully and he groaned.

“You know what I mean…”

You did. You watched as the slit in his tail began to swell slightly, and as you ran your fingers inside the rim of the opening, you discovered a slickness that had nothing to do with the warm water.

“Ohhhh,” he sighed, and water sloshed over the side onto the tiles and into your lap as he bucked.

You didn’t stop.

In a few minutes, his slit began to pulse beneath your touch, and the tip of his pale blue cock began to emerge. Leyil was gasping and moaning, not holding back the power of his voice, and you began to touch yourself in a matching rhythm.

“Leyil, look at me,” you hissed as he arched his spine powerfully, fins flaring, neck on show as he tipped his head back again with a loud moan.

Leyil’s eyes rolled open dazedly and he fixed you with an unfocused look. “What?” he murmured. “Oh spirits, look at you…” he added when he took in the sight of you touching yourself. “Let me sing for you? Let me… please?”

You nodded and his cock slid all the way out, writhing idly in the warm water. It was ridged and slick beneath your fingers, and so hard that every time you slid your hand up to his arrow-head tip, he let out a panting whimper. “Sing for me then,” you murmured.

His song was like nothing you’d ever heard. Sure, you’d caught snatches of the refrains he sung to himself out in the lake as he hunted or patrolled the edges of the body of water that was now his own, and he’d even sung gently for you that time you’d nearly drowned wading out to apologise to him for some empty words spoken in anger, but he’d never unleashed the full power of his siren’s voice, and never just for you.

As you worked him harder, your fingers gripping him firmly, working him from base to tip, he called a wild, ululating song, part chorus of moans, part love melody, until your vision blurred and your chest felt like it was going to explode.

“Leyil, I’m close,” you said, still with your other hand tending to your own body, even as you worked him closer and closer.

All his fins fanned wide again as his back arched and he yelled. His cock broke through the surface of the water and you came hard at the sight of him, his song filling your head like a summer day. As your concentration was broken, so your attentions on his painfully-hard cock slowed, and he choked something in disappointment, but when you recovered, you found him watching you, his voice silent now but his eyes still speaking volumes.

With a trembling finger, you ran your touch around the inside of his swollen, slick slit, and he jerked wildly again, more water slopping over the edge of the bath onto the tiles. You repeated the gesture, leaving his cock untouched for the time being, and as he began to tremble, shake, and almost convulse, you wondered if you could make him come from this alone.

After the fifth time stroking his sheath, you felt it contract and pulse, and he bent forwards, his abs tensing, almost folding himself in half, and he screamed his pleasure so loudly that your ears almost hurt. He covered his chest in his release as he twitched and flailed, voice cracking with the force of his orgasm.

When he finally slumped back into the half-empty tub, he was spent and exhausted, his eyes closed, his mouth open, and his cheeks flushed pink.

“Happy Christmas, Leyil,” you smiled when you saw the state he was in.

“Definitely worth it,” he slurred without opening his eyes. “Happy Christmas…”

___

Don’t forget that I’m doing 12 full length stories - a new one every day between now and 6th January - over on my Patreon, which is the equivalent of a whole year’s worth of stories in just 12 days!! The first one went up today and is a whopping 10k words long!

—

I really hope you folks enjoyed this one! Don’t forget to let me know if you did enjoy it by leaving a like and/or reblogging it!

For all early releases, character art and bios, upcoming story info, and much, much more, join me over on Patreon!

You’ll have access to stories before anyone else, and you’ll get instant access Patreon-only content as well, including polls and an exclusive monthly story for those on the Pixies and Goblins tier or higher!

#merman #siren #exophilia #merman x reader #gender neutral reader #male merman #merry christmas

1K notes · View notes

starsartattempts · 3 years

Photo

A very late posting this time (since I told myself to do one every end of a month), but I haven’t forgotten! I just needed a while because apparently I just gave myself too much to do. I drew this on the 30th or so, so I did keep my schedule up, only the coloring and stuff took me a bit.

So, as you all know, it had been may, which also at least some people call mermay. I just knew I had to do something in reference to that, and when choosing who to draw I couldn’t decide (one part tells me to do Wildfire because he’s so little known, another to do Starfire because she’s just... well, her, and so on), and so I got to the brilliant idea ‘hey why not just do all three of them!’. Obviously, this was a choice that I really shouldn’t have made, it took me forever and I had to draw them all much closer together than intended (especially Blackfire, she was supposed to sit somewhere in the distance and just angrily watch from afar) since I wanted to fit them all onto one page.

Those outfits are very much based on my versions of the three from the mermaid-dollmakers of azaleasdolls.

Blabber about what I like or don’t like about this below the cut.

I probably should have started the figures somewhat higher on the page, then I would have been able to finish their tails too, but oh well.

Also, I really need to get better at eyes. I mean, I need to get better in general, but it feels like I often ruin the eyes and I should fix that. Maybe I’ll take next month to just redraw eyes from references a few times, or something.

The hands were a fight, as they probably always are, and of course more so since I had to do 3 times as many. Well, 2 and a half I guess, since Blackfire’s one hand isn’t visible.

I’m still very unhappy with perspectives or angles or however I should call it. I hope that with doing some every now and then I’ll eventually get better at it, but, I still very much dislike whenever I try anything that isn’t straight front view, or perhaps exact side.

The latter version of the pic is with a quickly created background, not very proficiently done or anything (if I’d have cared, I probably should have added some bubbles or fish or something in the background to make it more look like happening underwater), just a quick blue background for the water and a shape to somewhat depict the stone that Blackfire’s sitting on.

My scanner was kinda odd when scanning this. I chose a high dpi because the program offered (the one I’ve used so far when I scanned drawings didn’t recognize the new scanner that we’re having by now) and played around with the settings a little. It feels odd though, kinda too bright and too undetailed for a really good scan of my pencil creation. It still caught everything well enough for using it, though, so I didn’t bother any longer.

Random fact: My version of Wildfire here is actually intended to be shirtless. I absolutely didn’t dare trying to draw a body though, as in without a simple clothing to cover it with and having to only draw the shape, so he got a quick shirt-thingie here.

#Starfire #Blackfire #Wildfire #Teen Titans #Ryand'r #myArtAttempts

9 notes · View notes

write-1t-bop-1t · 4 years

Text

Plucked (Pixie Virgil/Dlampr) Part 1:

Summary: Virgil, a small and anxious pixie, goes out alone to scavenge for food only to find himself in the hands of a tall and not-so-gentle human intent on bringing him home as a gift to his boyfriends.

Words: 2670

(Warnings: Anxiety, treating people as pets, kidnapping, Character blacking out and other person thinking they died) - I stretch my arms as I yawn out, popping my back in the presses. I lean back and use my hands to rub out my sore wings, having slept on them weird. They flutter a bit as I try to wake up, the morning light shining through one of the small windows in my tree home hits them causing flashes of rainbow light to bounce off the walls.

A small smile crosses my face as I pull off the thick gray long sleeved shirt I wear to bed and change into a simple black tunic, the tunic itself being a little loose around the sleeves and neck, not that I really cared.

I walk across my dark hollow I call home, the whole room only being about a foot long and a half in human measurements. Sure it’s small, but I’ve never really liked large spaces, they make me feel overwhelmed.

There is a shard of broken mirror resting against the dark oaken wall, and I glance at myself in its reflection, taking specific notice in my hair that I try to tame with my fingers, not being very successful. I had given my brush to my cousin a few days ago for him to fix, and am yet to get it back from the forest fairy.

“Damn Emile…” I mutter to myself, cursing the kind fairy as I continue to struggle with my hair. The handle had been broken a small while ago, but it still worked its purpose. Which unfortunately wasn’t good enough for my green winged friend.

I don’t have great luck in flattening it down, and only seem to tame it a small amount. A few stray black strands continue to stick out, causing me to let out an annoyed sigh. I also notice a small amount of dark purple peeking out from my roots, reminding me that I need to get Emile to cut and re-dye it for me. I’ve never been too great at things like that, and last time I tried I almost cut my ear off and also left my arms up to my elbows dyed black. It didn’t wash out for a full month, and I got quite the earful from my older cousin, who acts more like my parent.

Always telling me to be careful, avoid humans, elves and other large creatures, never fly into Fae circles, stay out of the rain, remember to eat, and blah blah blah.

He’s way too protective of me, but I guess he has a reason to be, him being a fairy and me being a pixie. It’s easy to tell the difference, since fairies are two inches taller then pixies and it’s a well known fact that pixies are much more fragile than fairies. And much more rare, which is why I live in the middle of a dense forest, while Emile lives a little ways away and has to fly to see me.

I give up on trying to fix my hair and it’s not like anyone is going to see me. But thinking of my older cousin did remind me that I’m almost out of food and water. It rained a few days ago, but almost nothing ever reaches the mossy forest floor through the trees, and whatever did has dried up by now, meaning I have to go out to get supplies.

“Uuuugghhh….” I groan out as I rub my face. I hate leaving my house, I wish I could just stay here forever. But a main reason I picked my home to be here is it’s not too far from a small pond, hidden between some trees. But an even bigger plus is what’s right across the pond, where large berry bushes sprout. They hold all types of berries, making it the perfect spot to get food all year round.

It's secluded enough that no real predators are able to get to it, but just in-secluded enough for me to be able to walk there in about 20-30 minutes. I could fly but that draws too much attention to me, and I prefer walking over flying anyways.

I wish I was a fairy if I’m being honest, like Emile. His wings and body are much larger than mine, as I stand at a small 4 inches while he stands at a whopping 6. His wings are a light green color, looking like butterflies and they allow him to glide through the air instead of mine, which are thin, almost completely see through. They shimmer when light touches them, and they hold thin silver highlights that seem to emphasize their fragility. I always try to tuck them away, knowing of the horror stories of pixies who had gotten caught by humans, their wings torn off and used for jewelry or a collectors item, while they get thrown into a cage to live out the rest of their lives.

Another thing I happen to be jealous of is Emile’s skin tone. He holds a nice peach color that often ends up tanned due to him spending so much of his free time outside with the other creatures of his small section of forest. Pixies are known to be on the paler side, but I am almost sickly pale due to almost never getting sunlight, along with the patches of light and dark purple littering my skin, the most prominent ones being on my forearms and on both sides of my face.

I sigh again, putting on some platform shoes Emile had made me, grabbing a large bag I can throw over my shoulder, along with another bag stuffed inside to hold the water as I get ready to leave the house.

I put a small cloak on as well, using the hood to cover my hair, and to make it easier to camouflage, since I happen to pop out against the brown and lush green environment of the forest.

I use my feet to push up and leap my way up and out of the small room, my wings being open and fluttering slightly to help my balance.

There is one thing that Emile was jealous of me for, and that was the fact that even though pixies aren’t great or fast fliers like fairies, we can jump significantly higher than almost all fairies and on ground we are incredibly fast on our feet, which is another reason I prefer walking to flying.

I jump over the wall of my room and use my wings to lower myself onto the mossy forest floor. I stretch out my wings again before looking up and rubbing my eyes, trying to get used to the bright light coming from above the tree line high above. The sun feels warm against my skin, and it’s only slightly humid.

“I really need to get out more.” I say to myself as I adjust my bag and begin the trek towards the pond. I stick to walking near the trees instead of the few natural open paths, making it easy to leap up incase of any dangerous animals came towards me, and partially because I’m paranoid.

Wouldn’t be the first time somethings tried to eat me….

I continue walking, humming a quiet tune to ease my mind, as I always feel anxious walking outside by myself. I end up being alert the whole time, feeling as though I’m being watched. Of course I’m not being watched and I know that. No sane person would ever just walk into an enchanted forest, everyone knew that. Not to mention where I live is a good way into the forest, miles away from any human or elf towns.

I stop my humming abruptly as I hear a ruffle of leaves above me to the right, and my eyes shoot over to the area immediately. My breath stops as I try to stay as quiet and still as physically possible. After a few minutes of nothing happening, I let out a shaky sigh, allowing my muscles to relax.

It was probably the wind. Or a bird.

I shiver at the thought. Birds are the worst and one of the only predators a pixie can’t just fly away from.

I start speed walking towards the pond. Being by the large open water always calmed my nerves. There were no fish or kelpies and thank god there aren’t any mermaids or any type of aquatic animals living in the deep water for that matter. But I have seen a deer or two around the area, along with the water spirits that inhabit the clear waters. They let me take water as long as I give them something in return, which is normally a berry or two extra I grab from the bush on the other side of the lake. It’s not a lot, but I think they know I can’t carry much as it is.

I see the pond behind some long grass and my face lights up, as my anxiety seems to melt away. I always was at my calmest at the pond and my paranoid nature would be put on hold until I got home.

I smile as I walk towards the body of fresh water coming towards the edge, easily seeing my reflection in the clear surface.

Pixies and fairies can’t exactly swim, and if even a little water gets on our wings we become temporarily grounded and unable to fly. I don’t really worry about that when coming here, I mean, now anyways…

I slowly got over that fear a year or so ago,

I had been giving the water spirits berries in exchange for water for a while at that point, until one day I had gotten frightened and lost my footing causing me to fall straight into the depth below. I thought I was going to drown….

That was until I heard soft, echoing voices and the light above the water became brighter, the next thing I knew I woke up on the grass next to the pond and my satchel filled with fresh water. I made sure to put double the amount of berries into the pond that day…

I pull out my spare bag and unscrew the lid near the top before lowering it into the water and waiting for it to fill.

A few stray ripples in the blue water come towards me, causing small waves against my bag. I smile at it, making small talk. From anyone else’s view it would seem like I’m crazy and talking to myself, but I know that the water spirits appreciate conversation.

Once my bag is full I pull it away from the water and screw on the lid, while thanking the spirits.

I use my cloak to dry off the outside of the pouch before placing my water bag inside my larger bag. Sure it’s heavy, but I don’t have anywhere to be at the moment, so I’ll take my time.

I sigh and begin the tiring trek around the pond. It takes longer than I would like to get to the berry bushes, but the sound of the soft water makes for a quiet and calming walk. Around this time of year, the path to the other side of the pond is extended. While the rain might not make it through the forest where I live, it does here, making the edges of the pond muddy and dangerous.

I walk deeper into the forest, making a big semi circle around the muddy area. I decide to walk deeper, enjoying the fresh air and the small breeze that causes my hood to almost fly off, but I fortunately catch it and pull it back onto my face.

I walk a straight line between a few of the trees, a content smile on my face, while starting to hum quietly to myself again. I close my eyes for a second as I walk, a hand crossing over on the strap of my bag, but when I open them slightly I notice a large dark shadow covering me. I look up quickly to see a large hand coming towards me.

Out of instinct I immediately drop my bag and jump backwards just in time for another hand to rush at me and I barely make it out of the way. I use the hand to push myself into the air, my wings immediately getting to work as I go to fly upwards, trying to put as much distance between me and the stranger.

‘Crap!-’

I don’t get more than a few feet before I narrowly avoid another hand, this one coming at me so quickly that instead of grabbing me, it barely manages to snag my cloak with it’s nail, but it lets out a loud ‘riiiiiiiiiiiip’ that seems to echo out into the otherwise quiet forest.

That momentary distraction is all it takes for the two large hands to harshly cup around me, shadowing me into darkness. Once it grips on I start to struggle, thrashing and screeching in it’s hold, my feet kicking against its palms. This only seems to anger it as its grip tightens to an almost suffocating hold, I whimper as the grip pushes my arms together, my chest feeling like it’s going to explode as tear prick the corners of my eyes.

My wings sting against the calloused hands and I can feel him start to move quickly causing me to bump around against the mini prison, murmurs of someone's voice heard somewhere outside as my vision starts to swim, so I do the only reasonable thing I could think of.

I bite down. Hard.

I draw blood easily and the second the hand opens I launch myself out towards the light ahead of me, adrenaline and fear fueling my movements as I see the hand try to reach out to me before I see it pushing down, taking me with it.

All I see is the hand and the forest floor rushing up to greet me before I’m slammed onto it, the weight of the hand crushing me and knocking the wind out of my chest before everything in sight is covered in black pools and eventually nothing….

I groan from my place on the ground, having tripped over my own feet when reaching for the winged mini-person. My boyfriend Logan was always fascinated with fairies so when I saw it just walking around I figured it would make a great ‘I’m-Sorry-I-Accidentally-Lit-The-Bathroom-On-Fire’ gift.

I hadn't expected the thing to bite me though. Or sting me, I don’t know which one it was but it hurts like a bitch. I hope they're not poisonous…. But then again if they are, my boyfriends will have to take care of me….. I shake my head to get rid of the thought, looking around for the little thing that has caused me so much trouble.

I look to where my hand is planted on the ground, and I try to keep it steady as I wipe a bit of dirt that had gotten on my green throw over that Patton had made me bring incase it got cold.

I scoop up the little being with both of my hands in a little pocket, making sure not to crush it and bring it up to my eyes before slowly opening my hands, allowing me to look at it.

I can see it’s pale skin, dark messy hair and clearly ripped cloak, along with some patches of purple throughout their body. But the most striking part are its wings, not like any fairies I’d ever heard of, and once the light catches them they seem to burst with colors…

“Logan is going to love this!” I mutter to myself.

But then I notice something else strange. The once feisty and screeching fairy wasn’t struggling, heck it wasn’t moving at all!

My body jumps when I realize this, and I nearly drop the little person, my eyes widen in panic as I end up blurting out,

“Shit! Did I fucking kill it!?”

51 notes · View notes

elecman108 · 3 years

Photo

Man, I forgot to post 90% of my art here for the past while. I’m gonna do an art dump in this post under the cut. Enjoy the bonk emoji if you don’t click the read more, and man am I dumb and forgetful lmao.

Includes: OCs getting names, a Sonic impression, a D&D map, homosexual energies, a sheep floating in the astral sea, a birthday drawing I already posted, Hex Maniac Ender, D&D Characters, D&D Characters as Miis in Miitopia, Little Hater Axel, local Demon in the consciousness of my D&D character yelling at him, illegal plants, a necromancer being cute, an actual event that happened in a D&D game two days ago, and Mermay drawing.

That’s everything in here as a TL;DR, I guess. Enjoy your day!

I’m gonna try and sort of have them in chronological order, oldest first, but I may end up putting them in the wrong order. If I do... Whoops, I guess?

[04/14/21] - This isn’t really new art, but I started to work on giving the four OCs of mine without a full name full names... I have not finished this bit, though. So Hunter and Akira have full names, and Warlock and Assassin only have temporary names. This may end up like Seven where I put in their names as a temporary name (7th OC I’d made at that time) and it just kind of... sticks. Lmao.

[04/20/21] - Alone on a Friday Night? God, you’re pathetic. I didn’t colour this one because it was a half-attempt at a meme image I still like it, though, so I might end up colouring it. It’s gonna appear again whenever I do my “unfinished drawings art dump” at some point probably in... June? I know I said I’d post them last month but forget it, lmao, it’ll happen eventually.

[04/20/21] - A D&D Map! This was to help me visualize the layout of my D&D character’s ship he used to be on. Also for my DM if they ever put us aboard the ship. The little fella in the corner is just there to vibe. This map is made of free to use assets from This Website, so while I’m gonna say DONT USE MY MAP WITHOUT PERMISSION, feel free to make your own!

[04/26/21] - Lesbian Day of Visibility drawing of yours truly, the disapointment! That’s... really all I have to say about this, honestly. It was just for that one day and that was it, lmao. I mean, I accidentally lined it in dark pink, so.. .That’s different, I guess?

[04/30/21] - Do Astral Seas dream of Ensorcled Sheep? Does the City know what Sheepleb is going to do? What crimes he may commit? Who knows! This was fan art of Critical Role ep. 134 if I remember correctly, right at the end when they jumped into the portal into the astral sea and Caleb was a sheep. Using my knowledge of the German language, I knew the word for “shit”, and had to use it.

[05/07/21] - This was already posted, but it’s going in here to dilinuate that it was drawn at this point. Also, aside from playing Miitopia, this is all I have to show for myself until the 12th.

[05/12/21] - Hex Maniac Ender challenges you to a Pokemon Battle! WIll you win against my team? My sis, who loves fairy types, pointed out to me that there’s a fairy girl and hex maniac duo, so I’d be the hex maniac. I spent... Over a week drawing this, because I basically had to redraw the Hex Maniac art from scratch in a higher quality size, and then draw myself over it. So... You can excuse the low-effort background for once. It was basically this, and then my birthday doodle from May 1st to May 12th, and then I took a break to draw up several D&D characters quickly for fullbody references.

[05/12/21] - Remember this art I made several months ago? I finally added my other two completed characters! I have three more named but without character sheet D&D characters, so for now this is just Kara, Axel, Golden Shadow, Kau, Cecillia, and Miri. Kress, Tempest, and Melia will have to wait until I make character sheets for them to be posted, and... For when I probably make more D&D characters. I have at least 9 additional, incomplete character ideas floating around, so... I’m never gonna be done this art, huh?

[05/12/21] - Speaking of D&D characters, did you know I’ve been making them as Miis in Miitopia? So here is their finished full body art next to their Miitopia self! Some of them look a little off (Golden Shadow, Cecillia) because of limitations of the editor and shading issues, some of them look a little off (Kau, Kress) because this is a human face canvas that I’m using to make a non-human face, and some of them (Melia, Axel) look REALLY GOOD. Common traits among my D&D characters include green eyes and tall. You wanna know why? Because I am tall and... despite having red eyes, I do have green eyes under the coloured contacts.

[05/15/21] - More D&D stuff! This is based around my D&D group’s current Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign where our Goliath Fighter, Nioh, ends up getting a little bit of hate for being cocky, and our little (well over 6′) hater, Axel, is just a man full of irritation. These are the tallest two characters of the group at the moment. Someone send help. Nioh belongs to one of the other D&D players, Axel (and his stupid additude) belongs to me.

[05/15/21] - This is what me playing D&D feels like. Me, the demon entity trapped inside the head of my D&D character, yelling at them to do things while the dice decide that they’re gonna get bopped a hundred times by a yeti and somehow still survive. This is also a reference to our first or second game where I just ran off like sixty feet to one side of the battle map to fight a Crag Cat and was just in Gay Baby Jail until like two turns later when I could run back to the others. I also drew him not in his winter gear even though this is a bit from when we were atop Kelvin’s Carin in an icy cave, so maybe that’s why he’s at low HP.

[05/15/21] - Melia has good gardening tips, such as Use A Mars Mii Trap To Hide A Body Because They Are Endangered And It Is Illegal To Dig Them Up. I love her a lot, because she’s the youngest of four, all four sisters based around the different seasons. She’s based around Autumn, so she’s all orange and yellow and brown and is so cute. Also she’s Chaotic Neutral, as if she didn’t need to be mildly more threatening.

[05/15/21] - Cecillia is my Tiefling gal who lived in a very northern town plagued by cold weather and snow, and Axel is my Pirate guy who spent most of his time further south on the high seas and warmer weather. So, naturally... I’ll use the guy more acclimatized to the hotter weather in the campaign where we spend 99% of it in the snow. She uses Tarot Cards as her spell focus, and I decided to sneak my other D&D characters onto her Tarot cards so naturally, Axel is The Hanged Man, given his backstory and personality. She’s a very cheerful and friendly Tiefling Necromancer of the Hexblade, so she’d for sure take care of those around her to ensure their success. Especially if they’re on her Tarot Cards, and their spirit comes to her aid when she asks for them.

[05/16/21] - Content Warning; Ryma thinks too much into local stupid moron’s lack of knowing how to answer a question and thinks too much into the reputation of Pirates. Poor Axel, man doesn’t know how to socialize with people who aren’t pirates and is used to being hostile towards everyone, so when he’s asked a question that his answer to is “uhh... no?”, he panics and ends up making a mistake that leads him to think that Ryma can read his mind. Ryma belongs to another of the D&D players. I guess me drawing all those spicy Cow Costumed OCs earlier just brought me to drawing Axel being a bottom in this, huh?

[05/16/21] - It’s Mermay, which means more OC drawings! Here’s Theo after drinking some potion that turned him into a mermaid, and Seven, tiredly, collecting his stupid boyfriend so that Lailah can fix the fact he’s turned into a mermaid. Mer!Theo is based around his sword’s colours of indigo-purple with red accents, which looks a little weird since Theo is the Blue one of the group, but... it looks cool, I guess. Seven’s just the same outfit as always, just no gloves this time.

And that’s it for the art dump! This was, frankly, MASSIVE. I’ll try and remember to upload both on Twitter and Tumblr at the same time, but... Ah... I have been drawing a fair bit. Just mostly sketches and linework that I haven’t finished and may not actually finish. If they’re not completed, I’ll dump them all into something at the end of the month or whatever. Maybe you’ll get the old sketch of the Axel face in panel 3 because in the sketch phase it was an Ahegao face, in the clean sketch it was a lip bite, and in the linework and final it’s just horny face. lmao.

Top ten things I have to remember for drawing: AXEL HAS A SCAR AND GREEN EYES. I remember his eye colour now, but if you look at his fullbody ref, he’s got brown eyes. And, naturally, I keep forgetting to put in his scar. He has more, but most of them are located in areas covered by his clothes. So if I ever draw him shirtless I guess I’ll have to place them somewhere.

Also maybe finish the reference sheets I have left to finish so I can post more of them, since I have two “Pets” completed (Roko and Mona’s nameless pet), but I have to do up Hunter, Warlock, Assassin, Akira, Myuut, and Stella. I’m betting when I do complete two more, it’ll be Hunter and Akira. Those two are the most fun to draw, at least.

#the disappointment speaks #drawings by me #OCs #D&D #art dump #Miitopia #of all of these drawings I gotta say the most cursed is censored bottom!Axel and the most blessed is Cecillia's lap nap #I drew a lot of D&D stuff lately! Most of my OC stuff has stayed in the sketch stage so #I guess that says something about what I've been prioritizing in my drawings?#Also that drawing a twunk as a twink is incredibly funny and cursed. love my pirate boy

4 notes · View notes

ultraglittercat · 3 years

Text

Drabble 141

Movie Night (AU)

Rapunzel and Eugene were getting their house ready for an evening with friends. They'd picked out a movie called “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles”, a nice family comedy. She knew family togetherness was important to all of her friends, and she wanted something low-key that wouldn't upset Varian, who was still adjusting to 'life on the outside'.

Varian and Quirin had been in a horrific car accident the previous year, and Quirin had been in a coma for months. She knew Varian's past year had been difficult, feeling alone and abandoned, he'd resorted to breaking and entering her father's home, angry at the Mayor of Corona for his poor road conditions. Fred had pressed charges despite Varian's young age, and the poor boy had been sent to juvie. It had taken ages for Rapunzel to convince them to release Varian under supervision and some people, like his parole officer Cassandra, still didn't quite trust him.

Cassandra was a very strict, by-the-book law officer, but as one of her closest friends, Rapunzel had seen the kindness hidden in Cassandra on a few occasions. She hoped Cass would enjoy their evening. She'd just gotten a text from Cass saying she was on her way and that Varian better be on his best behavior.

There was a knock at the door, and Eugene raced to get it while Rapunzel straightened some pillows on the sofa.

“Lance, buddy! Good to see you.” Eugene and Lance did an elaborate handshake that made Lance's daughters groan.

“Hey, this handshake was considered very cool when we were kids.” Lance insisted.

“Yeah, but that was like 50 years ago.” Kiera joked. Catalina giggled.

“It was not that long ago!” Lance protested.

“Hi girls. We're not going to start the movie until everyone's here, but I left paper and art supplies on the table.” Rapunzel offered. The girls took off like a rocket towards the crafts table. Lance smiled. By the end of the night he'd have more drawings to pin to the fridge.

“Are we the first guests to arrive?” asked Lance.

Rapunzel nodded. “Yes, but Cass is on her way, and so are Varian and his father, Quirin. We're going to have a lot of fun. Eugene chose a really good movie.” Rapunzel smiled.

“Remember when we were kids and we used to sneak into movie theaters?” Lance recalled. Catalina and Kiera poked their heads up, wanting to hear more about their Dad's 'criminal' past. But Eugene elbowed him and he quickly backtracked. “But we were wrong, of course! It's much better to pay for movies.” Lance corrected. He was saved from further embarrassment by the next arrivals: Varian and Quirin, carrying a large plate of food.

“Hey guys. Um, Dad and me made nachos for the party.” Varian grinned nervously. He was still getting used to the idea that they were all friends and had forgiven him. If he didn't have Quirin with him, he probably wouldn't have even showed up, but everyone was glad to have him there.

“Thank you, that's sweet. The girls are already making art and you can join them if you want. I hear you draw a fantastic Iron Man.” Rapunzel prompted.

Varian blushed. “I just like drawing armor and robots.” he mumbled as he took a seat next to Kiera and Catalina.

“He does very well in art, math, and science. You know Varian took an aptitude test and qualified for college classes. I think it's a better fit for him than high school, the students are a little more mature and don't pick on him so much.” Quirin told Rapunzel.

“Is college really better than high school?” Catalina wondered.

“It's a lot bigger, and you have more choices of what you can do. I like the chemistry lab and math department.” Varian answered.

“You would like all that nerdy stuff.” Kiera teased, but she was secretly glad Varian was enjoying school again.

The kids busied themselves for half an hour with art, while the grown-ups talked. They collaborated on a big drawing- a TIE fighter vs a mermaid and some monkeys- when Cassandra finally showed up.

“Hi guys. Sorry I'm late, I got held up in traffic.” Cassandra apologized. Cass was still wearing her police uniform, even though she was off-duty. Varian stopped drawing and stared at her, eyes wide. “Hey, kid. You keeping out of trouble?” Cassandra wanted to know. Varian nodded hesitantly.

“He's been doing great, helping fix the pipes in the Old Corona Housing Projects.” Quirin was quick to praise his son.

Cassandra's expression softened, just a little. Only Rapunzel noticed. “That's good. Just make sure you keep track of how many hours he works, and whatever else he does between classes.” Cassandra told Quirin.

“I'll do that.” Quirin agreed.

Rapunzel saw how Varian tensed up, and wanted to shift to a more neutral topic. “Now that we're all here, we can watch our movie. We'll let the kids have the sofa, while the adults can sit in chairs.” Rapunzel said.

“Yay, movie time!” cheered Kiera and Catalina, who left in such a hurry their drawing fell to the floor. Varian picked it up and handed it to Lance before taking a seat next to the girls.

“What movie are we seeing?” Cassandra asked.

“Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.” Eugene replied.

“Oh, I love that. With the big fat guy who breaks stuff and is obnoxious! Can you imagine knowing somebody like that?” Lance said, reaching for the nacho chips and double-dipping them in cheese sauce.

“I think I can imagine it.” Cassandra said dryly.

“He's not the only character in the movie, you know. There's also the really uptight entitled guy who rudely judges people.” Eugene gave Cassandra a pointed look.

“C'mon guys. Set a good example for the kids. We're about to start the movie, so no arguing.” Rapunzel laid down the law. She pressed play on the remote, while Eugene dimmed the lights. Soon everyone was laughing at the antics of Steve Martin and John Candy. There were a few highlights: Steve's f-bomb riddled speech got gasps from the girls who were never allowed to talk like that, and the pillow scene at the motel made everyone chuckle. But what really appealed to everybody was when Steve finally got home and invited the homeless John Candy to join his family for Thanksgiving dinner. The credits rolled, and Rapunzel turned off the TV.

“That was really good.” Catalina approved.

“Yeah, I never thought they'd be friends.” Kiera added.

“It's got a good message about welcoming people into your life.” Lance smiled. He'd grown up lonely in the orphanage, with only Eugene as a friend, and he was so glad to have adopted the girls, giving them the sort of loving family he'd dreamed of as a kid.

“Thanks for coming to movie night. Will we see you guys for Thanksgiving?” Rapunzel asked.

“You couldn't keep us away!” Lance laughed.

“Um... are we invited, too?” Varian asked nervously.

“Of course, Varian. We're all friends here.” Rapunzel told him.

Varian thought about it. Like the movie characters, he hadn't always had a perfect friendship with Rapunzel, he'd yelled at her for things that weren't really her fault and done desperate, illegal things to try and save his father, just as Steve had tried everything to get home on time. He could really relate to the movie, which in hindsight was probably why they had chosen it.

“Yeah, we're friends.” Varian said softly. Quirin put his hand on Varian's shoulder, and Varian smiled, a bigger smile than he'd had all evening.

The End

I've never done a modern setting for Tangled before, it was fun. I miss going to movie theaters, but a movie night at home is just as good, particularly if you have friends over.

16 notes · View notes

amphtaminedreams · 4 years

Text

A/W 2020 Fashion Month & Top 20 Collections: Before Vogue Went Blank (Part 4)

Hi all,

Welcome to part 4! It’s gonna be a bit of a shorter one because I wasn’t sure if I could fit the last few collections into my part 3 since I also want to include a ranking of my favourite F/W20 shows. I have so many ideas for what I’d like my next few posts to be (there’ll probably be a bit of gap between them as I would like to try and get some fiction writing in too) and I need help and recommendations on one post in particular so I thought I’d open by explaining that if anyone would like to send me suggestions! The post is basically going to highlight the often under-appreciated personal style of PoC, and I’d also like to make sure I include all types of bodies and genders and ethnicities (other than white girls, as we get enough credit as it is, all a tall, skinny blonde woman has to do is wear some light wash jeans, heels and a blouse and high fashion Twitter are posting non-stop about how incredible her style is)! This can be a celebrity, a model, an influencer or even just one of your friends if you think they deserve some hype too! Obviously there’s only so many photos I can include but I will make sure to look at any suggestions, though of course I’m gonna be biased towards the grungier looks; I gave Dolls Kill a pass for a long time because I thought the brand had changed and become more responsible over the last few years but since Shoddy Lynn’s thoughtless Instagram post during the protests last month and then her lacklustre response video, I say fuck that “goth is white” bullshit, alternative black women are hot af. I’ll also make sure to include a list of my favourite black owned clothing lines I’ve seen people talking about on Twitter and Instagram so again, if you have any suggestions feel free to inbox me. Other than that, I have a couple of lookbooks planned and after, either a post about my favourite shows for style inspiration OR a lookbook depending on whether I have the clothes to do it already/can source a few things from Depop-Depp-I’ve made a commitment not to buy anything new for the next couple of months and I want to stick to that this time round! I’d also like to do a general collation of my favourite summer outfits, an almost scrapbook-y kinda post, and another post on some of my favourite fashion icons (I’ll probs end up repeating a lot of the women from the post I was talking about above but I’ll try and include different outfits to keep it varied!).

Now, into the final part, and the top 20, starting with Tory Burch (I’m really pissed off because I added an unnecessary E in after the R and now Tumblr is once again being stupid and not saving any of my editing changes-also I said on the next post instead of in in the last paragraph and my anal-retentiveness is kicking into high gear).

You’d think it’s a kinda anti-climatic one to open with but I do like this collection! It reminds me a bit of last season’s Miu Miu but more so of Brock’s general aesthetic, though with more layers and in some ways to its detriment, a lot more wearable. Looking like something from a bygone era is part of what gives Brock its mystique, but Burch’s designs are practically made for the Chelsea born and bred lifestyle blogger who dresses for a cold spell in the Coachella valley all year long and treats trawling Pimlico’s furniture shops and meeting their girlfriends for coffee like it’s a full-time job. She’s probably born into money and doesn’t work all that hard but hey, she looks angelic holding a bouquet of flowers and in 2020 we all low-key want her life, right? It’d go against my ethics but...*whispers* it would be nice to be that girl just for a couple of days. It is a gorgeous collection, with a lush colour palette and an ever graceful variety of prints and textures, and it toes the line of being accessible and being worthy of a fashion week spot with dexterity. 8/10 and it only loses marks because it’s safe for the brand.

When it comes to Valentino, they’re a pretty reliable favourite for me, and this season’s collection doesn’t break tradition; this one is slightly grittier than usual too which is a big win for me. Whilst the usual sophistication and delicate details are there, quirky embroidery, sequins and tulle, we also get a lot of leather and more black than usual, which I pray doesn’t a herald a return to people thinking “I only own black clothes and listen to Artic Monkeys” is a personality trait. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but there seems to be a lot of aquatically inspired pieces in this collection too; the 3d roses resemble scales to me (and are a really unique texture), and the way the tulle is placed kinda reminds me of fins and has a mermaid on land feel. It wouldn’t surprise me, since Valentino does tend to draw from nature quite a bit. Highs for me were the Valentino red tulle piece and the tulle pieces in general, of course with the embroidered florals as well which the basic bitch in me always looks forward to. The few lows were concentrated in the leopard print section, a print that for me is really overdone and reminds me of recent Dolce and Gabbana. It was cool when layered with the matching coat but I otherwise could’ve done without it.

Vera Wang is another one of my reliable faves-I think I like this collection even more than the last, it really is a fucking DREAM. The overly floral pieces I wasn’t too keen on but I’ll ignore that on the basis that as with Gucci, the tulle-harness combo is everything I look for in a dress and more. I know manic-pixie-dream-girl is a bit of a slur (not a slur slur but you know what I mean) in terms of the associated character, but this 90s Courtney Love grunge twist on that aesthetic is gold, fully realised big anarchist fairy energy (which is a screen name I’m surprised I don’t see more often and which I might now steal). These dresses were made for someone like Zoe Kravitz or FKA Twigs on the red carpet, and if god forbid I somehow ever ended up on one, I would go to the ends of the earth to be wearing one of the dresses from this collection. Aside from the dresses, I appreciated the moody doesn’t-want-to-be-at-the-family-function teenager inspired sleeves and the 2014 Tumblr Cruel Intentions style knee high socks. Love, love, LOVE it.

So, Versace started off strong with the all black looks-the cut outs were cute if impractical and the fit and flare trousers in particularly were really well fitted (from a distance, at least). I hated the film Red Sparrow but the visuals were very cool, and this section reminded me of that, like a high fashion collection based on Jennifer Lawrence’s character. There were some stunning colour combos in the Ashish like hyper-floral part too, and the houndstooth, marble and Versace tile prints were sick. The black jumper with the flowers on reminds me of a jumper of my nan’s I always wanted that my aunty ended up donating to a charity shop after she died not knowing I liked it. Gutted (not just about the jumper obviously, looool).

HOWEVER, as with many 91 look collections, it was sloppy at times. A lot of pieces I at first liked (I.E the silver dress we saw Kendall Jenner in, included above) are kind of unfinished up close. There was also a big varsity inspired section which was nice at times but got pretty repetitive and occasionally looked like it could pass for Jack Wills or a bad Michael Kors collection. On the whole, it had both its pros and its cons which puts it directly in the middle of the pack.

Victoria Beckham’s collection is near the lower-middle quartile when it comes to plotting the highs and lows of the F/20 collections. The pieces are pretty and accessible, I’d definitely wear them, but they’re predictable and mostly a rip-off of other brands who did something similar in a more interesting way. Though her collections are never really experimental, this one is particularly safe, and she and whoever helped design this season’s pieces were clearly avoiding the edges of the box like a child playing the floor is lava. It’s alright, and I hate coming towards the end of the post with negativity, but I have to be honest, and this just doesn’t really interest me beyond a “yeah, that’s nice” glance.

Vivienne Westwood, on the other hand, is always interesting whether I would actually wear it myself or not. Despite the mix and matchiness that is essential to the deconstructed look, which being the basic bitch I am I often struggle to see past, there were some gorgeous pieces and eurgh, I could really talk about that Bella Hadid look all day. The contrast between the exaggerated femininity of the waist cinchers against the androgyny of the less structured, oversized pieces is a really interesting one and the colour combinations work beautifully together. I also love the idea behind the collection, which is, in the words of Andreas Kronthaler about “rites of spring, and the good and the bad, and conflict, and the good prevailing over evil”. Ahhh, I hear you say. THAT’S what’s with the garlic necklace. Can I get another pat on the back for summing up this collection as “vampire slaying uniform” in my notes? I mean, that’s kind of a good vs. evil situation, isn’t it? I know it’s hard to ignore how hot vampires always are in TV series and movies but just think of the true forms of the ones off Penny Dreadful and remember THEY DRINK BLOOD (I personally think being a vampire would be really cool, just need to work out how to do it “ethically”).

Lastly, Zimmerman, and I really can’t say how happy I am to end on a positive note because this collection was stunning. Not without all the characteristically ornate, indulgent and painstakingly detailed efforts we’ve come to expect from Nicky and Simone Zimmerman, these looks (in an icy winter themed colour palette as well) are the offspring of a sophisticated flower child and a 70s glam rocker and I think with this sentence I’ve finally put my style aspirations into words. Honestly, give me the money to produce a modern day Almost Famous and I’ll make my character this no-nonsense intersectional feminist front woman of a fictional Haim-like band who sings with the voice of an angel but is rock and roll as fuck and eats men for breakfast and I’ll put her in this collection and (deep breath) it would be ICONIC. There. Got to the point eventually. Am I talking about a 2020s version of Steve Nicks? Possibly. After all, I do have a framed illustration of her on my wall. But regardless, I need those lace-up velvet BOOTS, that mesh dress with the celestial embroidery, the flame detail pieces, the white pussy bow blouse with the eyes on it. Everything is sooo dreamy; when I was looking through the collection for my favourites, I saved pretty much every. single. look. IT’S EVERYTHING I STRIVE TO BE. WHY CAN’T I AFFORD ZIMMERMAN GOD DAMN IT!?

See, I’ll be going on about Zimmerman in a couple of paragraphs again because it will be very high in my top 20, which I’m so glad is a top 20 BTW. I know I said it would be a top 10 in my last post because I thought that was how I structured it last time but I double checked and it is 20, which is a relief; once again, picking only 10 collections would be very hard. SO! Let’s get into it!

1. Gucci

I hate being predictable but Gucci once again holds the top spot for me. How could I not love this? I would say that I hope Alessandro Michele fucks up next season so I don’t come off as a boot licker but when the boots in question are platform Mary Janes and knee high socks and they’re underneath tulle with BDSM inspired harnesses on top...maybe boot sole doesn’t taste so bad after all.

2. Zimmerman

Well, I did say it wouldn’t be long until you were seeing the same outfits again, so at least you know my word is good.

3. Moschino

Wow, as if putting Gucci first again wasn’t bad enough, Moschino’s also a non-mover. But...Marie Antoinette this season and Picasso last? And this campy? It’s like Jeremy Scott reached into my brain magician-into-a-top-hat-style, picked out an interest of mine at random, and tried to communicate this to me through the medium of design with THE most chaotic energy humanly possible. I an only commend the man, because he succeeded, and I approve. It’s weird because before I always saw Jeremy Scott’s designs as tacky and yet I’ve loved all the collections I’ve reviewed, so I must ask...are the collections getting less tacky or am I getting more tacky? Much to think about.

4. Vera Wang

The battle armour of a punk princess. Not very good at protecting against knives, arrows, bullets or...anything really, but I’ve never really been the kind of person to get into physical fights (apart with a bouncer who tried to push me down the stairs once at an ABBA night but I was really drunk and she was mean, alright!?), so who cares? Nobody can make you do anything in dresses this pretty.

5. Lanvin

I’m a few years behind everyone else but I’m still on the Mad Men hype train and I don’t ever want to get off. All I wish is that Betty Draper had *SPOILERS* divorced Don’s detty arse earlier and rode off into the sunset in that white Bella Hadid coat with the red lip to match (or the checkered one above will do).

6. Etro

As long as she remains the queen of dreamy bohemian fashion, I’m not gonna do Etro dirty by putting her any lower than this ever again on the basis that she’s not conceptual enough which ashamedly is what I implied in my last ranking-yes, Etro is a she because just as most women deserve more from men, she is beautiful and deserves better than my previous disrespect! I said what I said.

7. Dilara Findikoglu

I see your Thom Browne and your Commes Des Garcons and I raise you my “weird”-though-not-actually-that-weird-at-all-can-we-all-just-dress-like-this-on-a-day-to-day-basis-please? fave, Dilara.

8. Paco Rabanne

Battle armour that actually COULD protect you against knives, arrows, and bullets. Maybe. Well, you’d hope so anyway for the price.

9. Rodarte

Suddenly my phobia of spiders has evaporated. And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that these ones are diamond encrusted, what are you on about?

10. Alberta Ferretti

The colour combinations in this collection were stunning. Honestly. I just picked a really bad pic to illustrate that. Go read my first post to see (grifting 101: complete)!

11. Charlotte Knowles

I saw Bella Hadi wearing a Charlotte Knowles two piece, so I bought a Charlotte Knowles two piece.

LMAOOO, I wish.

12. Balenciaga

It’s occurred to me a couple of posts too late now on the basis that Tumblr is being a dick and won’t go back and let me edit stuff, even little typos, but I’m now wondering if there’s a link between the climate change theming of the show and the exaggerated structures of the pieces? Ya know, the whole abundance is killing the planet line of thinking? I know analysis isn’t exactly on brand with these silly mini captions and that oversized and exaggerated proportions is one of Balenciaga’s running motifs anyway buuut just a thought I had! And sidenote: I do believe overconsumption is killing the planet! The way I phrased that made it seem like I’m a climate change denying dickhead! That I am not! Maybe if I shave my head, legally change my name to Steve, get a British flag tattoo on my bicep, and spend every waking moment in my nearest Spoons I’ll get there but it’s not on the agenda quite yet!

13. Christopher Kane

If fashionable robots took over the world, they’d raid Christopher Kane’s studio and fry us all with laser beams whilst wearing his dresses.

14. Fendi

Siri, play Vroom Vroom by Charli XCX.

15. Olivier Theyskens

Mandarin collar. Mandarin collar. Mandarin collar. NEXT TIME I WILL REMEMBER WHAT THE PROPER NAME IS INSTEAD OF NEEDING TO GOOGLE IT AGAIN. Come on brain, you’re supposed to be good at this kinda thing, make it happen.

16. Elie Saab

Blair Waldorf’s wet dream. Add in some platform boots and chain jewellery and now it’s my wet dream too.

Because Chuck Bass is creepy as FUCK and maybe it’s because I watched Gossip Girl at the ripe old age (lol) of 21 and most people watch it as teenagers but I don’t know why YOU WERE ALL SO OBSESSED WITH HIM! He tries to sexually assault Jenny who is about 14 in the VERY FIRST EPISODE. I think I went off on a tangent here but it had to be said. You girls have no taste.

Don Draper was an absolute dog, but he was played by Jon Hamm, and he might be one of the finest men on the planet. What’s your excuse, Chuck and Blair enthusiasts?

17. Miu Miu

As someone who has probably been/met many a spoilt brat in her time, I appoint Miu Miu as the official sponsor of the Spoilt Brat™ aesthetic and yeah, that’s something I just made up but I’m on the money here. Imagine one of those “daddy, can you get me a pony?” types all grown up. Are you telling me you don’t picture her in Miu Miu? Because that sounds like a lie.

18. YSL

The war flashbacks I get of the Friends episode where Ross tries to get out of those leather trousers aside (I know it’s PVC her not leather but they have the same sheen, you can’t deny it), these outfits turn me into the irl version of the heart eyes emoji. It’s not like I think this is the best collection I’ve ever seen, YSL could def push the boat out a bit in terms of experimentation, but there aren’t many people who wouldn’t look hot as fuck in one of these pieces

19. Balmain

I didn’t like ALL of it, but the looks that I did like were amongst the ones that stuck out to me most when I was reflecting on the collections I’ve reviewed: the breast plates and silk capes and the scorpion detailing are real chef’s kiss moments.

20. Marques Almeida

Miss the collection that gave us this coat off the list? Never.

SO!

That is the end! Wow! I started saving the photos for this review back in late January/early February or whenever it was that the first fashion week began and now it’s mid-fucking July!? I don’t know if that speaks more to my incompetency or what a state the last few months have been. I’m not gonna write a super long ending paragraph because you’ve heard enough from me already and it’s 2:30am and I’m being hassled by Trump supporters on Twitter (literally just for stating that it’s a privilege to be able to pursue a career you truly have a passion for rather than having to be practical about finances first) anddddd I’ve got a closing shift tomorrow so I should probably log the fuck off and remove my clown makeup before it’s time to start my shift, lol!

Quick recommendation before I wrap this up, there was a really interesting debate on ITV literally a few hours ago on the Stephen Lawrence case that I thought I would recommend (they also showed the 1999 dramatic portrayal of events afterwards) about racism in England and whether or not much has changed since the murder. I didn’t catch the whole thing but from what I did see, there were some really strong points being made and I think it could be a good thing to sit and watch with your family members if you want to get talking about the Black Lives Matter movement and aren’t sure how to broach the topic. I bring it up because I feel like most middle-aged white people trust ITV so they’re less likely to turn their noses up (lol, I wish I was joking) at it and maybe go in with a more open mind. I’d like to keep the conversation about social issues going so if there’s anything you’d like me to get some information together on and make a post about-I read yesterday that there’d been arrests of THE PEOPLE PROTESTING the way Breonna Taylor’s death has been handled. No, not the police officers responsible for her death, the people simply pointing out that those police officers have done wrong. It’s a ridiculous situation and just shows how deeply embedded a police officer’s supposed right to kill and to use force is in upholding the American status quo. I wish I could end the post on better news, but let’s hope that next time I post, there is some, and as always thank you for reading til the end if you did get this far! I really don’t have all that many followers on here but do et me know if there’s anything I can reblog or share to help.

Lauren x

28 notes · View notes