#working on the sea otter one now

[salamispots]

first 3 rug hooking things I did haha

#rug hooking #artists on tumblr #I still really like the swan one #was originally gonna be the gift one but I didn't like how the swan yarn was shiny #snail one was the what the fuck am I doing haha so loops are kinda all over hte place/uneven #star one was more relaxed/messing around with yarn #for the square diamond ones kinda wanna do more square ones and either connect them all #or just hang them on the wall next to each other so they look like one piece or something #fabrication #working on the sea otter one now #edit: oH also where I learned a bunch of stuff was from a youtube channel called ribbon candy hooking #videos are very informative and the lady is chill/has interesting comments

[hkpika07]

Fav sea creature from the midnight zone?

NOOOOOO THERES SO MANY COOL ONES YOU CANT MAKE ME CHOOSEEE

Some of my faves are the gulper eel, vampire squid, barreleye, blood comb jellies, the ghost shark aka the chimera shark, dumbo octopus, I think the glass octopus lives in the midnight zone. uhhhhhh theres more but i cant think rn.

Anyways the deep ocean is my favorite part of the ocean I love it its so cool and has so many cool guys. Like tripod fish those fuckers. I love them.

Go visit Monterey Bay Aquarium they have an exhibit on the deep ocean!!!

#red answers #IM SERIOUS GO VISIT MONTEREY RIGHT NOW I FUCKING LOVE IT THERE THEY HAVE ROSA AND YOU CAN PET AN ISOPOD #AND HOLD A HERMIT CRAB!!!! #and the skates there try to swim up the glass to meet you DO NOT PET THEM NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU WANT TO DO NOT PET THEM #Go on a weekday if possible there are far less schools of people #THEY HAVE A HAMMERHEAD SHARK THERE AND A SEA TURTLE AND OTTERS AND SO MANY SHARKS #IM GOING THERE WEDNESDAY I AM SO EXCITED #monterey bay aquarium my beloved i wanna work there one day #DID YOU KNOW THEY HAVE SPIDER CRABS!!?!? THEY DO THEYRE HUGE AND TERRIFYING #also penguins and birds if youre a bird person. the penguins are silly they swim towards the glass #BUT THE ISOPOD. YOU CAN PET IT. GIANT SEA BUG I LOVE YOU #also the otters i love the otters. they have pur queen Rosa. and she loves to spin for you and for people i love her dearly

[nariism]

Could you write Neuvillette blushes so bad when reader called him an otter.

a/n: hi anon! this is cute... yeah guys this is the obligatory neuvillette otter fic on my blog now, enjoy it ●ᴥ●

He shouldn't be feeling jealous. He knows how ridiculous it is to be envious of such a tiny critter, especially one that's been seeking equal amounts of attention from both you and him.

But he can't help it.

"Look!" You hold the otter up into the air, dangling it around in front of his face. The otter trills, curling up into a ball and giving Neuvillette what he can only imagine is the equivalent of puppy-dog eyes.

"Are you sure it is safe to pick it up like that?" Neuvillette murmurs, watching as you peer around the creature with a wide smile.

You're completely ignoring his concerns about scooping up a wild animal, unable to contain your excitement from finally having a chance to grab one of them. "It looks just like you. How cute!"

And he also knows that such a passing comment meant to tease him shouldn't make heat crawl up his neck, but it does anyways.

"How in the world does it look like me?"

Your fingers scratch at the top of the otter's head and it's horrible that all he can imagine is your hands doing the same to him.

You turn the critter around in the air like you're showing off your child, to which the man can only stare in confusion. "White fur, cute face. Even has blue streaks, like your horns!"

"I don't see it." (Correction, he refuses to see it.)

The otter makes another noise and licks his nose, clearly content with being the center of attention. He only scowls, cheeks flushing when he realizes how much you adore the damned thing.

"So adorable," you grin, cradling it in your arms. "Just- just...! So cute!"

He's pretty sure you're malfunctioning with the overload of cuteness. He fares no better, brain melting with every hard-struck realization that you might be calling him cute by extension since you're so insistent about the similarities.

"It..." he clears his throat, losing composure with the second-hand praises. "I suppose."

"You suppose?" You laugh, finally turning your eyes back to him. He almost melts into a puddle right then and there. "You're not jealous, are you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he immediately refutes, rosy all the way to the tips of his ears.

"Jealous," you insist with a smile, setting the otter back down into the water. It leaves a shell as a parting gift and disappears into the sea.

"I am not jealous." Neuvillette bends down to pick up the shell, unceremoniously shoving it into your hands. You know you've got him then, with his sudden lack of manners.

The Iudex can't be jealous. Especially not over something so silly. But his face is a mortifying shade of pink, both at your passive comments about his similarities to such an adorable creature and your accusations of envy.

Your free hand suddenly lurches forward and grabs him by the face, effectively holding him in place while he falls apart. There's a pretty softness in your expression as you look at him.

"Cute," you tease, and he's melting all over again.

(Neuvillette flops down on the couch that night, face down in your lap. You raise a brow, setting your book down to peer at him curiously.

He's unmoving for a pause, completely still to the point where you wonder if he just instantly fell asleep. But then he shuffles, turning onto his back to look up at you.

Ah, there it is. Something akin to puppy-dog eyes underneath his stone cold expression.

Your fingers scratch gently at his scalp as you continue to read, combing through his long hair. "Knew it," you muse with a smug expression.

He grumbles with red cheeks.)

© ALABOADOA 2023 — please do not translate or post my works to other platforms.

#— whispers in the wind ✧ #ummm am i technically a neuvillette account now idk #genshin impact #genshin #genshin impact fic #genshin fic #genshin impact fluff #genshin drabbles #neuvillette #neuvillette genshin #neuvillette x reader #neuvillette x you #neuvillette x y/n #neuvillette x gender neutral reader #neuvillette x gn reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x gender neutral reader #genshin impact x gn reader #genshin x reader #genshin x gn reader #genshin x gender neutral reader

[sensitive-neuvi-enthusiast]

I Thought I Lost You

♡♡-Request: Mermaid!reader wears a pendant to breathe on land. You go on a date with your boyfriend Neuvillette; what could go wrong?

Content: hurt/comfort, mermaid!reader, gn!reader, near death experience.

It was strange. To one day care so much for someone that you'd risk your life. Before you met Neuvillette, you stayed below the surface. Your tail cutting through the water as you swam, doing your daily routine of gathering sea creatures. Some for food others for your care, the days continued like this until one day; it was different.

In the distance, you caught sight of a man. Or what looked to be a man. He had scales too but his tail and form was….different. 

His swimming was ethereal, how easily he glided through the water. A family of otters swimming around with him. And for the first time, your heart beat turned irregular. You were scared at first, not understanding what it meant. But after talking with some friends, they told you that you more than likely were growing feelings for him. You took it to heart and worked your way up to speaking with him. He seemed just as nervous as you were. But he was always open for conversation. 

Eventually, you both confessed. Confused by your feelings but willing to try, he'd asked to kiss you that day. And you did.

Now? It's been five years and you couldn't be happier. There were issues at first, since you always lived below the surface and Neuvillette, you found, was extremely busy. Rarely having leisure time to visit you. So you decided to obtain a pendant, allowing you to breathe above water. There was a time limit to it and it even gave you legs in the process! As long as you stay dry. It was perfect. Before him, you never once thought about breaching the surface. Afraid of the outcome. But now you couldn't imagine not being able to walk among the shore and sun. 

"Your case. Is it truly that troubling?" You questioned, arms wrapped tight around his as you looked up at him. He gave a sigh, "I find most of my cases to be straight forward but this one…I'm unsure how I should proceed."

You gave him a smile, fiddling with your pendant. 

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. I trust your judgment and speaking of; why don't you choose where we have lunch today?" Your eyelashes fluttered, peering up at him. Giggling when the tips of his ears turned a bit red. "Very well, but I know you'll want somewhere with shellfish." You nod, allowing him to guide you into the city, you'd only been a handful of times. It was often too crowded for your tastes. 

"How about-" He stopped, his eyes slow to widen when he noticed. Even before you did, until you fell to the ground. Your tail sprouting as the struggle to breathe finally made you realize; someone took your pendant. Or knocked it off. You weren't sure who or when they'd managed, but now you couldn't breathe. Body twitching and mouth open agape, gasping. Your gills begging for oxygen from the water you swim through everyday. 

In an instant, you were lifted into his arms. The sky turning a dark gray as rain started to fall-it didn't make any sense but it was hard to dwell. Your vision getting blurry-you were going to die. That's all you could think. You were going to die.

Your hands tried to tug at him, you couldn't die without saying how much you loved him. But he wouldn't look at you. Refused to. His eyes hyper focused in front of him; he needed to get you to water. Now. 

"Neuv..-" "No." He refused. Refused. Refused. Refused. There. He could see water in his eyesight so he picked up his pace. 

"Please…" you gasped, "Neuvi-" your body was now airborne, being tossed into the water. Your eyes widened as you could finally breathe, even if it was an abrupt landing. "Please be okay…" you heard him muttering. His outfit soaked as he sat in the shallow part of the water. Rain falling down around him.

"Neuvi.."you said softly, breaching the surface. "Oh thank God." He let out a breath he'd been holding. "I thought I lost you…"

You smiled, "You could never lose me."

Navigation

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin neuvillette #neuvillette x reader #neuvillette #neuvillette hurt/comfort #lovelies requests

[chimielie]

cw: reader is a business major. read tags if concerned about canon deviation

kuroo’s schedule this semester is insane.

he’s working part time to cover housing because his roommate dropped out without telling him, he’s taking something like fifty labs all worth half a credit each (only a slight exaggeration), and, worst of all, there’s no time in his day to see you.

he misses you. you’re trying to buck up and not be needy, but he can see it in your eyes, in the way you always fall right into his arms every time you do see each other, like you need to sate your skin-hunger because you don’t know when you’ll see him next. he appreciates your understanding, but… he misses you, too.

he’d set up a fucking chart, made you fill in your weekly schedule, overlapping his, until he found a hole in both.

“it’ll have to be while i do homework,” he’d said, foot tapping anxiously, “is that okay?”

“of course,” you’d given him your easy, sunny smile, and he planted his face in your lap and moved your hand to muss his hair more.

now, he looks over at you fondly, lying on your back spread-eagle in his bed. it’s something you rarely get to do, since he’s usually crammed in it with you. you sleep holding hands, when you stay the night, locked together like sea otters drifting on the waves.

he’s exiled to the desk next to the bed, though, working through reactions of aromatics and sneaking longing glances at your prone form.

“do you wanna—”

“i’m not in chemistry for a reason,” your voice floats up from the bed, though your eyes stay peacefully closed. “do your molecule splitting or whatever yourself.”

“mean,” kuroo says, pushing his chair back and running his hands through his hair. “what if i was gonna say ‘do you wanna cuddle?’”

“mm, you weren’t,” you say. “i said that earlier and you were all, no, babe, i have to finish my lab workbook because the—”

“i know what i said,” he grumbles. “go back to sleep.”

“okay,” you say. “i believe in you. or whatever. good luck.”

“thanks.” he picks up his pencil again for a moment, then tilts his chair back, tipping his head backward, hands braced on the desk. his room is so small he’s almost touching the bed. you tilt your head to the side, eyes opening the slightest bit. “what am i even doing this for?”

“because it’s your passion, honey.” one of your hands rests on your stomach, just beneath the hem of your shirt. that’s where he likes to hold you.

“but you’re gonna be the one making all the money,” he whines. “and all you have to do is make a bunch of supply demand graphs all day.”

“yep,” you say brightly, “but i make those graphs so you can be my stay at home husband someday. so watch your mouth.”

“fine,” he grumbles, righting his chair. “that’s what i’m doing this for. to be your househusband.”

“that’s right,” you say encouragingly. “work hard, tetsurō.”

as he settles back into the flow of his work and your breath eases into the steady rhythm of the sleeping, he looks at you again, now facedown in his pillows, one arm curled around the space where he should be. the melody of a life taking shape rings in his ears; for a second, he can see it. a house with a yard, with a garden, with a kitchen where you kiss his cheek while he cooks dinner and where he spins you after a couple glasses of wine. light suffuses him; he gets back to work.

#then they graduate and kuroo can’t find work in academia for shit so you introduce him to a friend of a friend who offers him an office job #and whoops he’s a ceo with a background in stem. crazy. life comes at you (fictional characters) so fast #shorts! #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #hq!! x reader #this doesnt count as on the poll im waiting for the poll to finish and also i couldnt let the idea get away #kuroo tetsuro fluff #kuroo x reader fluff #kuroo tetsurō x reader #kuroo x reader

[izvmimi]

you inhale deeply, exhale, then propel your body backwards, allowing yourself to float peacefully on the surface of the lake.

well, as peacefully as you can with the commotion just several feet away from you, where your friend begs izuku not to let her go and he promises not to do her the disservice of letting her drown, then yelps with every slight movement he makes.

"keep it down over there!" katsuki yells on your behalf, but you're not actually annoyed yet - rather it's pleasing to know that there are still people around you as you try to lay weightless, warmed by the sun.

you've made it down here for just the weekend, as a last ditch effort to get some summer vacation before work and other responsibilities catch up to you again, and while katsuki had pushed for you to come alone, your free weekend aligned with your friend and thus he was doomed to a double date. the double date soon turned into a triple getaway, and finally a quadruple one, with izuku letting shoto know that he was invited to the lake (he was not), and shoto deciding to bring along his older brother and his wife.

it's a miracle katsuki still has hair left, but you'd love him bald anyway.

you can practically hear izuku's frown and the splash of bodies rapidly moving away. you're surprised his partner didn't fire back but she's probably too focused on not drowning to fight your temperamental husband.

"katsuki," you whisper.

"yes, princess?" his tone shifts immediately, as usual, and you stifle a giggle then reach for his hand.

"float with me?" the upturn in your voice makes the request polite, and soon the two of you are lying together like baby sea otters, hands linked together and looking at the sky.

katsuki can sense your quiet, and squeezes your hand tightly. he doesn't ask you to share yet, but the gesture lets you know that he's listening to whatever you have on your mind. you're not sure what you have on your mind yet. love, loss, friendship, future. it's all so much sometimes.

"there's a lot going on," you murmur.

katsuki's head turns to you which makes him lose his balance, and the surprised noise he makes as he moves to tread water breaks the seriousness. you start to laugh, which also throws you off balance, and then you are both treading water, facing each other. he looks so serious that it's almost absurd as he doggy paddles, waiting intently for you to tell him the problem he needs to fix. you can't help but laughing again and you throw your arms around him.

"wait tell me what it is though?" katsuki insists. you nuzzle your head in his neck, legs paddling to keep you afloat.

"i love you," you start.

he smiles.

"i love you more," he says, pressing a kiss to your lips. you bob in the slightly agitated water of the lake as you kiss, and you'll deal with your problems later, but for now, swimming with the love of your life and washing at least some of the stress away is enough.

#bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #thoughts: bakugou #daydreams: bnha #mimi's notes

[lilisgardensblog]

~Otter Neuvillette~

fluff, confessing to each other; ty for the idea anon🫶🏼

Ignoring the small drops of rain, you were taking an unusual detour to work by the sea to help you calm down. You were over your head buried in stress and the sea always helped you. Feeling the soft sand and hearing the sea were the best remedy for it. But beside the melody of the sea you heard something unusual. Like a soft...cry?

Looking around you saw it. A little otter with one of it's little hands hurt. You approached it carefully not to scare it. "Hi, little otter. Please don't cry, I'll help you." you said before petting the otter to help it calm down. And as the sobs came to an end so did the rain apparently. What a great coincidence. You were thankful for the rain stopping since it rained all night and all morning.

"Can I take a look?" you asked the otter. The little one looked into your eyes and let you see the paw. It seemed like a bruise made by a big maybe even sharp rock. But you weren't sure if it was a rock or some trash people throw in the sea. You sighed before talking to yourself "I really need to speak with Monsieur about this....Oh I should go ask him, I'm sure he knows more about otters than I do." You end your monologue and return your attention to the otter. "Well how about we pay a visit to Monsieur? I'm sure you'll love him...as much as I do." you whispered the last part, still shy about your unconfessed feelings. The otter rests happily in your arms as you return to the Court of Fontaine to look for Neuvillette.

After he was nowhere to be found at the Opera you returned to your house to take care of the now sleeping otter in your arms. You place the little one on your bed, the action waking the otter up. "Sorry for waking you.... sigh I need to find you a name. Hmm...how about...Ottie? Ottie the little otter sounds adorable just like you." you smile booping the little otter's nose. Ottie smiled back at you as you went to find some bandages to take care of that wound.

"Well now Ottie, can I see your paw again?" slightly unsure, the otter stretches its' paw for you to see. You carefully bandage it as Ottie tries to hold back a whine. "Sorry,mon cher, this will only last a moment." At your affectionate nickname the otter seemed to relax and you were quickly done with the bandages. "There! You were a good boy, mon cher. Maybe I should reward you." You giggle as you pick up the otter to peak its' nose.

But as soon as your lips touched Ottie's small nose, the little otter suddenly was standing in front of you, one head taller, with silky white hair and long blue horns and a visible pink coloring his cheeks.

"Monsieur..." you sigh and take a step back, almost falling over from the shock.

"Careful, mon amour!" Neuvillette said as he quickly caught you by the waist and was now face to face with you.

Both of you were speechless looking into each other's eyes before Neuvi retreated his hand and clearing his throat murmured a small apology. "Pardon me, y/n, I didn't mean to overstep any boundaries..." you nod as he keeps going "And thank you. For taking care of me... or Ottie as you called my otter form." He smiles at the adorable name, clearly enjoying it. "I have to apologize, if I knew it was you Monsieur I wouldn't have..."

"Hmm? You wouldn't have what now? Gave me the cutest nickname? Wouldn't have said your feelings back at the beach? Wouldn't kiss me?" he smiles while waiting for you to answer.

"Monsieur are you perhaps... teasing me?" You're a bit taken aback by this side of Neuvillette but certainly not displeased. "But...yes"

"Mhm, I see. What if I told you you're not the only one feeling that way, mon amour?"

"I'm not?You mean..?" you ask, your voice full of hope.

"Most certainly, I do feel the same, mon amour. I was merely...scared to confess...scared you won't feel the same. I'm not the best at expressing my feelings, but I am glad to find out you share the feeling."

You laugh and hug Neuvillette. " Monsieur, fret not, I am laughing at my own situation. But it's a relief laugh, I am glad we both share the feeling. Now... what shall we do with this feeling, hmm?~" You smile while resting your hands on his chest and looking into those lavender eyes. "Well I- I'm not certain of the next action, maybe marriage?"

"Monsieur, as I appreciate the boldness maybe a dinner would be appropriate before a marriage?" you smile at Neuvillette as he blushes embarrassed "Yes, that would be the best approach to a future together, wouldn't it?How about now?" you shake your head giggling "So formal, Monsieur.Let me get ready for our dinner then."

Before turning around to go change, you raise yourself on your tip toes to kiss his nose. You peak now blushing Neuvillette's nose and turn around on your heels to go change.

Finally after all those months, you and Neuvillette.... it feels surreal.

#neuvillete x reader #neuvillette genshin #neuvilette x reader #neuvillette #genshin impact neuvillette #neuvilette genshin #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact #genshin fanfic #genshin fluff #genshin headcanons #genshin imagines #genshin impact fanfiction #genshin impact scenarios #genshin scenarios #genshin x reader #genshin #genshin x you

[fuyuu-chan]

Neuvillette As Your Beloved Partner ~Headcanons~

Pairing: Neuvillette x Reader

Fuyuu-chan: My imagination rn is literally going wild hahahaha

Warning(s): This headcanon is literally a mess, Not proofread, it's also short hahahaha

Genre: Fluff

✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧

• Okay first of all, I don't think Neuvillette would tell you immediately in your early stage of your relationship that he is the hydro dragon, but of course he would tell you after a while when he thinks it's the right time to tell you, so you eventually find out about it.

• Once you know that the hydro dragon is actually Neuvillette, you got surprised at first and tried to process it but now that you think of it, it does rain when he's sad, you thought at first that maybe that was just a coincidence but apparently not.

• So whenever it rains in fontaine you immediately knew that Neuvillette is sad, so whether your outside doing stuff, you will go to his office because you knew for a fact that he's always there at the afternoon, well he feels tired and got affected after trials and you noticed it after being with him for a while.

• You will be there and comfort him and tell him sweet nothings and cuddle him.

• Now another thought of both of you holding hands while you both walk to your destination, and most of the people in fontaine always saw you both holding hands and can't help but look at you and neuvillette sweetly, everyone literally says that the both of you are the best couple in fontaine.

• You also visits Neuvillette in his office, but mostly you visit him at lunch break and you both eat lunch whether you bring food, go to picnic or have a reservation in a restaurant.

• You also visits him at his office at afternoon when your work finishes and spends some time there either reading some book or help him with his papers, when he's talking to someone and you happen to see Furina who is your close friend who loves dramas as well, you both would chat about stuff until Neuvillette finishes talking to someone at his office.

• And at times were Neuvillette are free you both hangout together with the melusines, you had gotten close with them even before you and Neuvillette got together and when they knew that you both is in a relationship they were all happy about it because they're two favorite humans (okay maybe not really about neuvillette but he's in human form soo) are together that all of them see you both as they're parents.

• At times that you are sad or stressed, Neuvillette will be there for you but if his currently busy he will try to make time for you but if he can't like his in a trial he will tell the melusine Liath to bring you the flowers he had picked and your favorite snacks with a letter from him, but most of the time Neuvillette is always besides you, he will hug you, comfort you, and cuddle you just like what you do for him whenever he's sad.

• He will actually give you flowers every week (but if you don't like flowers he will give you other gifts).

• Oh! Oh! OHHHH .... Okay okay, you both might as well go to the sea and go diving together as you both see some sea creatures and otters!! You also said to Neuvillette after going diving with him that he kinda resemble an otter despite being a hydro dragon, which he got confused but when you said that it's because of his hair now he kinda gets it.

• He also took a sea shell and pearls that's under the sea, a perfectly shaped one too, he also bought some chain for the necklace, and he started to make a sea shell necklace with one pearl on two sides for you and it's handmade by Neuvillette! Even though he can just buy some or order a custom one, he decided it will be more special if he makes it on his own!

• And he gave it to you as a gift at your Anniversary! And you gave him a otter plushie! It's basically a two otters holding each other, one is a blue and one is a (fav color), he said he will have the (fav color) otter because it represents you and you will have the blue one as it represents him, so whenever the both of you hug or see the otter plushie you both will remember one another. You also made him a handmade gift. (You can decide on what ever you want to give him).

• (A plushie may not actually exist in the original but please give me this one thing 😭😭 it exist to me alright)

• You both also go shopping together when there's no much work to do, like grocery and he will also buy stuff for you even though you told him that he don't have to, but he did anyways.

ฅ⁠^⁠•⁠ﻌ⁠•⁠^⁠ฅ

Please do not copy, translate, repost to any other social media platforms, Thank you

#fuyuu chan writes #fanfic #genshin impact fanfic #headcanons #neuvillette #neuvillette x you #neuvillette x reader #neuvilette genshin #genshin fluff #genshin imagines #genshin x reader #genshin x you

[suzdin]

Two for One: Chapter Four

Neighbor!Dave York x F!Reader x Human!Max Phillips

Series Masterlist

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, pre-vampire Max, pre-Equalizer 2 Dave, familial drama and angst, mentions of drug use/abuse, alcoholism!, stalking (don’t do it), voyeurism (so so much), invasions of privacy, mutual masturbation, sexting, oral (m receiving), dom!Dave, soft!Dave, dom!Max, softish!Max, public sex, work sex, some fluff, maybe?, SEA OTTERS!, murder, poison, asphyxiation, let me know if I forgot anything, watch me make up stuff about an aquarium I’ve never been to and also poison.

Word Count: 7,700+

Notes: Sorry this took forever because my brain is dumb. I just want to thank all of you for being so patient. I love you and hope you have a wonderful 2024. 💜 Enjoy and feel free to leave me feedback if you wish! 😊

(Not my gif)

—

You make Max exchange phone numbers as he’s leaving your apartment.

“No more showing up uninvited,” you reprimand him, the heel of your palm planted firmly between his shoulder and sternum as you push him into the corridor of your building, “I mean it.”

He cocks his head to one side, lopsided smirk twisting his lips, forehead wrinkling as he lifts his brows, pausing. He’s staring at your still very much flushed and sweaty face. “You sure about that, doll?”

Your skin heats even more. You hate to admit that his smarmy defiance arouses you in ways that it shouldn’t.

“Max. If we’re going to keep whatever this is ongoing, I’m going to need some compliance here. For my privacy.”

Max’s smirk only grows wider and he beams at you, his gaze sliding down your face to your lips, hands raised in surrender. “You mean so I don’t cross paths with him, is that it?” he asks, quirking one of his brows to the side, knowing you’re fully cognizant who he’s talking about. “Fine.”

“Tell me you’re not bullshitting,” you retort.

“Woman,“ Max begins, wagging a finger at you, “I assure you that I am in no way being deceitful.”

He hasn’t wiped that shit eating grin off his face the entire time he’s been standing in front of you, either.

You can’t help but roll your eyes. “Scout’s honor?” you press.

“Scout’s honor,” he replies, lifting his hand in a mocking salute.

You sigh and shove him back another step, his back almost flush with your neighbor’s door.

“Goodbye, Max,” you snip, turning to go back to the comfort of your apartment, when that gnawing southern upbringing decides to make a re-emergence once more, and you remember your manners.

With a sigh, you turn to give him one last glance, your visage softening in its regard. “Thank you, by the way. For the drink.” And you mean it, even if it’s likely all melted and weeping on the table by now.

You almost think you see his own features grow a shade softer, and before you can dwell on it, he’s suddenly shifting back into your space.

Your initial instinct is to flinch, to shove him away, because after Dave and him in a single day, your poor fucked out pussy can’t handle anymore punishment.

But he doesn’t grope or manhandle you. Max’s arms grapple you into a snug embrace, his hot breath fanning over your neck. It’s uncharacteristically soft for Max to show this level of affection and you would hug him back if he wasn’t clamping your arms to your sides.

“Thank you,” he whispers, keeping you ensnared for a few lingering moments before releasing you and taking a step back.

“Yeah… no problem,” you offer awkwardly, because what else do you say to that? “I’ll see you around. I work tomorrow, opening to two.”

Max nods, his usual crooked smirk making a reappearance. “See you then.”

“And hey?”

“Yeah?”

“Be nice to my coworkers. It’s the least you could do,” you remind him.

His smirk doesn’t fade, tongue swabbing the inside of his cheek. “I’ll do my best.”

You snort and shake your head, watching as he disappears down the stairwell.

——

After Max leaves, you spend the remainder of the afternoon and evening wallowing around your apartment, watching bad reality television and trying not to think about… well, anything, pouring yourself some vodka with whatever mixers you can scrounge up until your brain mellows to a welcome numbness.

You order take out for dinner because, fuck saving money at this point. Proceeding the earlier conversation with your mom, you aren’t even sure why you’re trying to get back to Texas anymore.

It’s far easier having several states between you, even if you do miss your grandmother and have a wicked hankering for some barbecue right about now.

You check Facebook periodically anyway, not at all surprised to see your mother asking for prayers and attention from all the faceless online entities because she did not receive the validation she sought from you.

You grumble and toss your phone down every time you read a new ‘woe is me’ comment from your mother and you wonder why you’re even torturing yourself like this.

Belly full of chow mein, you settle down into your bed for the remainder of the evening to distract yourself with some mind numbing television to go along with the buzz you’re feeling.

When your phone lights up, you sigh in indignation, expecting a text from your mother as you swipe open to the notifications.

Much to your delight, it isn’t your mother, and you let out the breath you realize you’ve been holding in.

Dave: Hey, you.

You smile. Relief washes over you as heat simultaneously slithers its way up your spine.

Dave decides to change to split screen, one side with the recorded footage and the other side with the current feed, and he watches as you smile at your phone, steadily stroking himself, his phone vibrating your response a few seconds later.

You: Hey, you. 😜

You: I was beginning to wonder if you’d made it to VA

Dave: Yeah. Long day.

Dave: You made it worth it, though.

You: Doubt that

That makes him chuckle. He knows you know that to not be true.

He continues to stare at you, your gaze glued to your phone as you await his reply. You’re sitting up in bed now, back against the wall, wearing a different but equally revealing top than the thin camisole you had on earlier, blanket pooling in your lap.

The veins in his dick pulse when he ponders if you’re wearing any pants under the covers, and his eyes flick back to the recording of Max eating you out, a soft, breathy moan escaping his lips. The pleasure on your face is telling.

Dave: You do, huh?

Dave: Maybe I should show you, then.

You bite your lip at his response, quickly punching in your reply and hitting send.

You: Aren’t you supposed to be spending time with your kids?

Dave: they’re in bed. It’s late.

His head lifts from the monitor momentarily—only as long as necessary—taking his headphones off to listen for any sounds of wakefulness from the bedroom. When he finds there is none, he turns his attention back to you, freeing himself from his sweats, tugging them down to his knees.

He quickly snaps and sends a photo of his rigid cock, colored a deep shade of mauve at the head, hand fisted at the base, dark curls peeking out from underneath his palm.

You swallow, your walls tightening and mouth watering at the mere sight of it, breath puffing softly past your lips. And you’re almost surprised how turned on you still are, despite the events of the past two days.

Max is just a phone call away, you tell yourself, quickly squashing that thought right out of your brain just as quickly as it arrives. You’d hate to risk having him spend the night with you. Besides, you should probably give yourself a break.

You: Jesus, Dave.

Dave: All for you, baby

Dave: This is what you do to me. I was hard almost the entire way here.

Dave: What are you doing?

You snicker through your nose at the sudden shift in conversation, deciding to play along anyway. Going back to the picture every so often to admire it.

You: Watching TV

Dave: Anything good?

You: Just reruns of 1,000 Lb. Sisters. It’s a good show, you should watch it

Dave: I would watch it with you if I was there.

Dave: if I could keep my hands off of you

Dave: Touch yourself.

You laugh when the conversation takes yet another rapid turn, but you barely give it a second thought the moment you feel your clit throb with need, firing off a response to Dave before breaching the band of your panties with your fingers.

You: Yes sir

Dave: good girl

Dave drags his tongue along his plump lower lip when he sees your hand disappear beneath the covers, his eyes darkening with lust.

Dave: show me

You throw the blanket back and he’s pleased as punch to see you’re only wearing panties. He watches intently as you shuck them off and toss them to the floor.

You open the camera app on your phone and begin recording, doing your best to get the shot right but it’s difficult to see much from your perspective. You take the video anyway.

Breathing softly, you slide two fingers between your folds and sink them into your entrance as far as you can manage, which isn’t enough and will never be enough compared to Dave or Max, before dragging them back out again to display the shiny coating of arousal on your digits for the camera.

You save the video and send it to Dave immediately.

Dave: Fuck

Dave: Can you get a different angle? I need to see it

He almost tells you to prop your phone up on the window sill by the bed, but he doesn’t want to risk you somehow finding out he’s watching you. It’s possible you would think nothing of it, since he has seen the inside of your apartment now, but he’d prefer not to take the chance.

You frown and stop touching yourself, looking around the room in consideration before scooting on your knees over to the window to prop the phone against the pane of glass.

You hit record and maneuver into position, spreading, lifting your eyes to make sure everything is in frame. Shockingly, it is, and this new angle is so visual and obscene that even your OB/GYN would be impressed.

You record a short video of your fingers circling your clit, letting out a soft, salacious moan.

You still feel very much used from Dave and Max in a single day, but you make sure to keep your own touches as light as possible.

You record about ten seconds of yourself and send it to Dave.

Dave: Fuck

Dave: Need to fuck that little pussy full of me

Dave: We’re getting you an IUD and I’m paying for it

Dave: Fuck

His eyes move back to the side with you and Max, at which point you’re cumming on Max’s face, and Dave’s balls tighten with longing. He remembers exactly how you taste when you hit your high, and his mouth waters in remembrance.

Any jealousy he feels is immediately snuffed out by how much he wants you. How much he needs you.

You: I can pay for it

You: [video]

He’s so distracted by watching Max making you cum, his hand pumping himself more rapidly, that he doesn’t realize you were recording again. Your fingers swirl your bud faster, your hips twitching and coming up from the mattress.

Dave: Jesus

Dave: It will be well worth the money to see my cum dripping out of that tight little hole

You: such things you say, Dave

He smirks.

Dave: use a toy

You: How do you know I have one?

Dave: dirty fucking sluts like you always have toys

Dave: do what I say

Arousal floods your core when Dave’s true colors bleed through, even over text. You can practically see his brow pulling into a hard, dark line; see the way his lips curve ever so slightly into a sadistic and hungry smirk.

You don’t dawdle, leaning crossways over your bed to retrieve your favorite toy from your bedside drawer — you have a few accumulated from your time with Jonathan, since he never got you off — a vibrator with a curve at the end for optimal g-spot stimulation.

You: yes sir

You: [video]

You: is this sufficient

Dave receives a video of you clicking on the toy and sliding it teasingly along your slick and swollen labia, pausing periodically at your clit, your moans quiet yet lewd. All for him.

Dave: fuck. Gonna have to fuck you with the toy in you like that

You: I look forward to it sir

Your words send a rush of heat through Dave as his vision subconsciously slips back over to the side with you and Max, who’s now railing into you from behind like a jack hammer, and he damn near cums on that image alone.

He wanted to kill Max for how he had treated you. But now, watching Max bring you pleasure, and how much you appear to be enjoying it, he can’t stop his thoughts from wandering. Would you let both men inside you at the same time? Would you like it?

Would Max take orders from him like a good boy?

That last thought admittedly gives Dave pause and he shakes it from his mind. He had done things in the military, sure, most of the men had, missing their wives and girlfriends. But that was a side of him he hadn’t acknowledged in years, and he shoves it down to the furthest recesses of his brain, returning his focus to you.

Dave: good girl. Now put in and make yourself cum for me

You slide the toy past your opening with little effort, and you’re so worked up it takes almost no time at all before you’re chanting his name. Dave watches, transfixed, pupils dilated and jaw slack, eyes drifting back and forth between the two images on the screen, a cry departing your lips as you reach peak.

You: [video]

You: Mmm wish it was you making me cum though

Almost like serendipity, you cum on the recorded footage at almost the exact same moment as he witnesses it in real time. He can’t hold himself back any longer, and he barely has time to pull his phone back out to record before he’s shooting like a geyser all over his hand and lower abdomen, thick and milky spend dribbling down the backs of his knuckles.

Dave: Fuck

Dave: [video]

Dave: wish this was all over your fucking face instead

You sigh and fall back, panting, opening the last text with a satisfied grin painting your lips as you watch Dave spill down his hand.

You: Rather it inside of me

You place the phone down and crawl off the bed to go clean yourself and your toy in the bathroom, smiling to yourself.

Several states away, Dave heads to the bathroom in his hotel suite to do the same.

But as the high starts to dissipate, your trepidation inexplicably returns, twisting like a knife in your gut. You like Dave. Probably a little too much. And you shouldn’t. Because the day will come when he hurts you, just like Jonathan did.

You do your best to swallow down your doubt and finish cleaning yourself up, traipsing back into the main room to retrieve your panties and slip them back on.

A new text message lights up your phone.

Dave: Soon.

Dave: Can I call you?

Dave sees you sigh and chew at your lip, one of your hands coming up to the back of your neck. You seem unsure.

Your anxiety triggers his own, making him worry if he’s moving too quickly for you.

You: Sure

Now clad only in his sweats, Dave takes in a prolonged breath, hitting the call button. It rings twice before you answer.

“Hi,” you answer quietly.

“Hi,” Dave returns and you can hear the grin in his voice. “Thank you for that. I needed it after today…”

He switches off the recorded footage and goes back to watching just you. You.

You’ve already moved back under the covers, snuggling up with your back facing the window, one arm drawn up under your chin.

“You’re welcome,” you reply after a beat. “I needed it too.”

Oddly enough, you did, despite how many times you’ve already cum today, which was a welcome end to a stressful day.

That makes Dave grin, and he feels a pang of want as he wishes he were there to hold you in his arms, to feel your back pressed up against his chest.

“I miss you,” he confesses with a soft, nervous chuckle. His change in demeanor doesn’t go unnoticed by you — a man of dual natures, an enigma. “Wish you were here.”

He chastises himself silently for saying too much, but it’s true.

You swallow down the coiling anxiety you feel.

“Yeah. That would be great,” you proffer gently. You change the subject as seamlessly as you can. “What are your plans for tomorrow?”

He notices, but doesn’t point it out. “Taking the girls to the aquarium.”

You actually do soften at that. You always loved visiting the aquarium as a kid.

“Oh, how fun! I love aquariums. I know there’s one here… I’ve never been.”

“I’ll take you sometime,” Dave suggests. “We’ll make it a date.”

Your skin heats and you take your welling emotions and stamp them down as deep as you can. “Yeah.”

“What is your favorite marine animal?” Dave randomly asks.

“What, why?”

“Curious.”

You think it over for a moment. “Sharks,” you reply, “I like sharks.”

You hear him chuckle. “Figured you for more of a sea otter type.”

“Sea otters? Do explain, Dave.”

Although you can’t see it, he shrugs. He’s still watching you, fixated on the way your fingers fidget with the covers.

“Women usually like the cute sea animals. And sea otters are cute,” he says.

“Because I’m a woman, I’m not allowed to like things that aren’t, by your definition, ‘cute’? That’s sort of sexist, don’t you think?”

He lets out a quiet laugh. “You’re right. My bad.”

“Your bad? Well, what is your favorite sea animal, then?” you press.

“… Sea otters,” Dave answers without any additional thought, and you can’t control the burst of laughter that erupts from you. It makes his heart vibrate with affection hearing the joy in your voice and watching the way your nose crinkles when you smile.

“Oh, fuck off!” you tease, and he can’t help but laugh along with you.

“You need to go to bed,” you tell him as soon as the laughter dies down.

“What if I’d rather stay up all night talking to you?” he counters.

“Then I imagine tomorrow will really suck,” you quip back.

“It will be worth it.”

“Dave,” you begin in a more earnest tone, “I have work in the morning. Early. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

Talk…masturbate mutually. Either way.

Your buzz is starting to wear off. Dave sees you rub at your eyes as you reach for your cigarette pack with the other, lighting it up and taking a long drag.

He knows you’re guarded and he supposes he understands why. He hopes you’ll let your walls down sooner than later.

“Okay,” he sighs in resignation. “But I’ll be thinking about you all day tomorrow.”

You tap the growing head of ash against the edge of the empty plant tray you’ve been using as a makeshift ash tray.

“Me too. Goodnight. Have fun tomorrow, alright?”

“Yeah. I’ll try,” Dave replies honestly, and you exchange your goodbyes before hanging up.

He continues to watch you. And not just until you’ve finished your cigarette or gotten out of bed to — presumably — have one final pee.

He watches you plug up your phone and set your alarm. He even watches you as you curl into a fetal position, clutching one of your extra pillows against your torso, and he wishes it was him instead.

Soon, he reminds himself.

He doesn’t stop watching until he’s sure you’re completely asleep. And even then he lingers, only stopping when one of the girls — his youngest, Alice — rouses from sleep in absolute hysterics, loud enough to wake the dead. Something she had started doing around the start of the divorce process.

He sighs, slipping back into dad mode, swiping a hand over his sleep weary face as he shuts his laptop down and heads to the bedroom.

——

Like clockwork, Max is at The Beanery around 7:30 AM for his morning caffeine fix.

You’re grateful that it’s slow and that Audrey and Vincent are in the back room folding boxes and chattering away about god only knows what. Almost like you’d planned it that way. Like you gave them each monotonous side work on purpose.

You knew Audrey was working today and you wanted to stave off the inevitability of admission that you don’t really have the power to ban Max as long as you could. Or resist him, for that matter.

You’re also grateful that Audrey was able to hide your hickies and bruises using the expensive foundation she brought to work just for you, at your insistence, with the incentive that she could leave two hours early with pay today. A decision that would probably bite you in the ass later.

You didn’t tell her who or what they were from and she didn’t ask.

You receive a text from Dave mere moments before the chimes hanging over the door signal Max’s arrival, causing your blood to heat and your skin to pebble.

It’s an image of Dave in a steamy bathroom, fully nude, hand curled around the base of his stiffened cock, with the caption: Wish you were here

You respond with a very underwhelming selfie in your work cap and apron, to which he replies almost immediately: You’re fucking adorable

You can’t help the heat that crawls up your cheeks.

You slip your phone back into your apron and start cleaning the espresso machine when Max traipses in, strolling up to the counter like he owns the place.

Or like he owns you, more like it.

“Morning,” you greet, and the remaining traces of your flustered state swell once again the moment you see Max in his primped and tailored three piece, donning a flashy paisley red tie. You don’t think you’ve ever seen him not adorned in a suit, aside from when he’s naked.

“Your usual?” you query, starting on his Americano before he even has a chance to respond.

“Morning,” Max parrots, smirking as his eyes bore into you. “And add whatever you want for yourself, sweetheart.”

He’s certainly starting off early today, isn’t he?

“That isn’t necessary,” you say.

“It wasn’t a suggestion,” he tuts and slams his card down in front of you. When you go to retrieve it, he reaches out to grip your wrist gently, and your eyes snap up to meet his.

He can see the affect he’s already having on you just by proximity alone, his cock already growing rigid in his pants.

“Thanks,” you squeak out and ring up Max’s drink and yours with your free hand, running the card and handing it back to him.

“Good girl,” he purrs in a rich timbre. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you last night.”

And he really couldn’t. He doesn’t oft have a habit of bringing women to his place, opting for theirs or someplace else instead, but he couldn’t stop thinking about you in his bed, waking up next to him that morning so he could make you sing his praises first thing.

“Let me get your drink…” you tell him, attempting to take a step away, but his grip on your wrist holds true, tightening infinitesimally, thumb circling your pulse point.

Max leans forward, a single elbow rested on the countertop. “Or,” he suggests, his voice low and barely an octave above a whisper, “you can meet me in the bathroom in two minutes.”

His eyes flash and he releases you, shooting you a stilted grin before heading to the small bathroom in the corner.

At first, all you can do is gape in disbelief, your jaw slack. Did Max Phillips really just come into your place of business and ask you to meet him in the bathroom?

You turn to listen to the sounds coming from the back room; Audrey and Vincent seem to be prattling on about something, oblivious.

You sigh and resign yourself to curiosity, to self torture, checking to see that the coast is clear.

“Hey, Vince, listen for the front, please. I… I’ll be right back,” you call out and take in another prolonged breath.

“10-4, dinosaur!” Vince chimes back and you roll your eyes, rounding the corner of the counter and heading over to the bathroom.

As you approach, the door swings open and Max pulls you inside before you can even reach for the handle.

He barely gives you time to react before he’s locking the door and crowding into you, pushing you back against the wall and pinning you as his hips grind your thigh hard. He starts to grab at you, everywhere, pawing at your clothes, your body. His mouth finds your neck and when his teeth start to bear down, you protest weakly.

He doesn’t listen; or maybe he’s just so overwhelmed with his desire to be inside of you that he’s lost any semblance of composure.

It doesn’t take you long to realize you don’t want to do this here. Not at work and not when your body needs a break, still so sore and overwrought from the last couple of days, and you attempt to push him away. He only pushes right back, unwilling to hear your pleas, because he thinks it’s what you would want.

“Max,” you groan and you feel your resolve slipping although you shouldn’t, “not here.”

“Come on baby,” Max growls, gently nipping at your earlobe, “let me inside of you.”

He pins your arms above your head at the wrists with one of his hands while the other begins to undo your belt, moving swiftly, his breathing desperate and heady.

He hasn’t been able to get you out of his mind for two whole days and pining over a woman isn’t something Max Phillips does.

Your resolve is rapidly waning and just about gone, arousal welling up within you. But with your last remaining shred of dignity, you’re able to shove him away and grit out, “Max, lavender,” your safe word.

Part of you expects to be ignored regardless, as Max has a habit of doing whatever the fuck he wants, and what you suspect to be very few morals. To your surprise, however, he does stop.

He releases you and takes a tentative step back, lips parted, hurt and uncertainty twisting his features. With nothing to say, at least for a few brief seconds.

His eyes meet yours and he lifts his hands in surrender, a frown creasing his brows. “Fine. That’s fine. I just figured since you came in here…”

“Max, shut up,” you say as you step towards him and you’re the one undoing his belt this time, positioning him with his back to the sink. “I just didn’t wanna— I mean, I want a break, but let me just… do this instead,” you further explain as you successfully get everything undone, sinking to your knees in front of him.

Understanding settles over Max and he nods, eyes growing a shade darker as he watches you finagle his slacks and boxers down, hardening cock springing free after a moment.

Of course none of the tile on the floor is even, so you have to adjust slightly to prevent the edges from digging into your knees and make yourself more comfortable, your hands sliding down Max’s thighs as you look up at him through your lashes.

He gently places a palm atop your head, fingers curling into your hair. “That’s it, doll. Be my good girl, now.”

He has to stifle the loud moan that reverberates from his lungs as you spit directly onto his shaft and grip him in your fist to begin slowly jacking him off, swiping the flat of your tongue up his length, his entire body vibrating.

You pause at the head, circling it, lapping at the pearl of precum that collects at the slit. He grasps your hair with a firmer hold, tugging at the roots.

“Don’t be a… fucking tease… or I’ll fuck you anyway,” he warns and in spite of yourself, you moan, and almost break.

You grin to yourself and take him deeper into your mouth, still holding him steady with one hand at the base as you adjust to his size, slowly pistoning your head forward and back.

“That’s it. Ohhh yes, good girl, sweetheart, good girl,” Max pants softly.

You slide your tongue along the underside of his dick, pausing at the fold of skin at the head as you rock forward, causing his hips to shudder and you eventually bottom out.

He grunts and grips the back of your neck, holding you flush against his groin, the dark and manicured thatch of hair tickling at your nose.

You can smell and taste the soap he uses; woodsy and light, nothing over the top nor underwhelming, but he’s as clean and well groomed as you would expect a pretentious man like Max to be.

He releases you when your eyes start to water and you murmur a noise of protest, allowing you to take a short break for air.

“Come now, darling, you can do better than that,” he notes with a small pout.

You nod in agreement and wet your lips, placing your hands on his hips as you take him back into your mouth and his head rolls back with a sigh, hands going to either side of your face.

You bottom out again and manage to hold better this time, hollowing out your cheek bones and breathing through your nostrils, relaxing your jaw and throat as you do so.

“Good girl… good… fucking girl,” he praises, nary louder than a whisper, running his fingertips along your scalp.

You tremble at the attention, moaning as you taste more precum dribbling onto your tongue, bobbing your head faster—as fast as you can—to get the job done as expeditiously as possible.

He groans and grasps your cheeks tighter, stilling your movements, holding you exactly where he wants you, and without any prior warning, starts rutting into your mouth.

“That’s right, that’s right… you can take it, can’t you? You can take it,” he growls, and there’s little else you can do but let him use your body as he wishes.

You can get the job done quickly but Max can get it done faster, knowing you’re on a time crunch.

You slacken your muscles as much as you can, as much as your body will allow, breathing through your nose and trying not to gag, especially considering you can feel and hear him nearing his release.

He starts to sputter what mostly sounds like nonsense words to you, gripping your cheeks and neck tightly in his large hands, rutting into your mouth with wreckless abandon and all you can do is sit there with the uneven tile digging into your tender knees and take it, letting go of his thighs to find purchase on the vanity behind him.

Finally, his hips begin to catch and then eventually seize, and with a low, guttural growl he spills hot and thick into your mouth, and you accept everything he has to offer you, swallowing it all with ease.

“Good girl… good girl…” he puffs, chanting your name softly on his tongue.

You milk him of every last feasible drop and a line of spittle connects you as you pull away, bringing your hand up to swipe at your mouth and breaking the string in the process.

He’s still panting as he helps you to your feet; you move to step to the sink so you can clean your face and rinse out your mouth. Without warning, Max grabs you once more, different than only a moment ago, ensnaring you in another tight hug and pushing you against the wall.

“Max… hey—“

He hasn’t even pulled his pants up yet. He squeezes you, lips ghosting over your skin as he presses his nose to the soft space between your neck and skull, inhaling your scent. And just… holds you like that, in an embrace, not at all dissimilar to yesterday.

“Thank you,” he whispers against the shell of your ear, and you’re once again struck with his sporadic shift in demeanor.

“Uhh… you’re welcome,” you reply and he breaks the hug, a single hand coming up to cradle your jaw, thumb dragging your bottom lip as he stares at it, contemplative and fixated.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to return the favor?” Max asks.

“Um… no… I need to clean up and get back out there,” you explain, causing his hand to drop from your face.

“Yeah. Yeah, right,” he says, almost appearing crestfallen — almost — as he tucks himself and his shirt back into his work slacks, buckling his belt and giving himself a cursory once over in the mirror.

You turn away and ignore him as you smooth down your clothes, splash some water over your face and rinse out your mouth and when you’ve determined you don’t look super fucked out, you confirm with Max that you’re each composed enough, giving him one last glance as you step out.

You feel fingertips against the small of your back, almost like he wants one last point of contact with you before you have to go back to the real world.

And what you both step into is a sea of chaos, the lobby now bustling with people needing their various morning addictions, and you cast Audrey and Vincent an apologetic glance as you rush over to assist them.

God, you really need a cigarette and a stiff drink.

They pass each other a look when they see you and Max coming out of the bathroom together and you inwardly sigh because you had hoped you could keep all of this on the down low. Well, that plan was pretty much out the window now. And there was no saving it.

Max stands to one side and waits patiently as you rush through making his drink, passing it to him when you’re done and your skin burning as you feel his gaze dwelling on you one last time before he dips out for the day.

The rush stays steady for about an hour and you’re actually kind of thankful for it, as it helps to keep your focus off of everything that’s happened recently.

——

You’re walking home when your phone buzzes with a new text.

You take in a breath and fish your phone from your purse, hoping it isn’t your mother. Wishing it isn’t her. She had already texted you earlier that day to let you know Garrett was out of jail, no thanks to you, and you made a point of ignoring it.

You expect another dramatic text from your mother as you’re opening your phone, but you’re relieved to see it’s from Dave this time, thank god.

You open the text to see an image of Dave crouched down in front of the jaws of a rather large shark, Alice perched on his knee and Mollie standing to one side, all three of them smiling for the camera. You try not to let the sweetness and normalcy of it affect you, and you can hardly believe that this is the same man who had practically broke you and stitched you back together multiple times.

You: looks fun

A few minutes later you receive more texts, popping up as you get close to your apartment’s wifi. The first is a video of the girls in front of a shark tank, babbling at a nurse shark, and then a second video of a reef shark swimming overhead in a tunnel, with the caption: sharks for you

You: Cool. I love them! See any sea otters?

Dave: no 🙁 But we saw penguins! 😍

You cover your mouth with your hand as you snicker at his reply, typing in a quick response.

You: Penguins? How feminine.

Dave: Okay smartass

You: Just dishing out some of what you were serving last night, Dave

Dave: Watch it, sweetheart, or you’ll really see what I can dish out when I get home

You: Promise? 😜

As you enter your apartment building and Dave texts back with I would love nothing more, you try to keep reminding yourself you aren’t falling for him.

——

With the girls dropped off safely with Carol, at the house which is still in his name, that he still pays for, Dave shoots you a quick text before pulling away.

Dave: I’ll be back in town in a day or two. I have a work thing

He fishes out a burner phone and punches in the address for your ex, Jonathan, who lives on Long Island. Which is good — perfect, really — as it’s en route back to Boston. A quick rendezvous there to take him out and then straight home. Or what he could consider his home, nowadays.

You make it feel like home to him.

The hit shouldn’t take long. It was an ideal situation, if he was being honest. The woman Jonathan had left you for had pulled the same trick on him as he had on you, leaving him high and dry after he had up and moved states, and now he lived alone in a small garage apartment at the back of a property that was flanked on all sides by woods.

Perfect.

He would be arriving long after nightfall, and he would bide his time in the woods until it was late enough to slip in and out undetected.

Dave did not care that Jonathan really wasn’t a bad person, aside from being the asshole who broke your heart. He couldn’t give two shits, really. He only wanted to take retribution for Jonathan’s slights against you, on your behalf, because you were too kind and gentle to do it yourself.

As he pulls onto the highway to begin his journey north, he can’t get your beautiful face out of his mind.

——

It turns out Jonathan is a night owl.

Dave has been in the trees at the perimeter of the property for hours. A single window at the back of the apartment shines a pale yellow, denoting lingering wakefulness from his mark. It’s the only available illumination aside from a lone street lamp near the front of the property.

And aside from his phone. He’s been watching you off and on all night, to pass the time. You’re alone, and have been for days now. You haven’t had Max — or anyone else for that matter — in your bed since the last encounter, which means you stopped seeing Max entirely or you had simply taken to fucking elsewhere. Max’s apartment?

He isn’t sure which, yet.

Currently, Jonathan is getting stoned and painting. Dave is far from being an art expert, but even from his vantage he can see the strokes on the canvas are broad and messy; calling it abstract would be a stretch. Infantile, maybe. He couldn’t have been the artist of the painting you have hanging in your apartment—the style and technique just wasn’t right.

He wonders, not for the first time, if you were a gifted artist as well as being a gifted writer.

Jonathan orders a pizza at 9:09 PM and it’s delivered at exactly 10:00 PM. He spends an hour eating, his motor skills slowed due to being so fried, attempting to masturbate after that — much to Dave’s abject disgust — gives up, and goes back to painting.

Dave can feel his patience growing thinner by the second. You’ve already retired to bed so he no longer has anything to occupy his mind as he waits. He would prefer to strike while Jonathan is sleeping, but it’s either now or never; anything close to daybreak would be too risky.

Given up on being discreet, he slinks like a cat out of the woods at around 12:30 AM, head on a constant swivel, gun holstered at his hip in case he needs it. He’s hoping he doesn’t.

He’s opted for the more difficult to trace route as the actual means of execution — a syringe with 100mg of potassium chloride, the same drug used in prisons — tucked away neatly in the pocket of his black hoodie.

The nearer Dave draws to the apartment, the louder the indie rock music Jonathan is blaring becomes, a band Dave doesn’t recognize. That’s a good thing, though, it will work in his favor when he picks the lock at the front of the building, arguably the riskiest part of this entire mission, due to its proximity to the street.

He reaches the second story landing and pulls his lock picking kit from said hoodie, adjusting the black beanie away from his eyes as he finds the right tools. He manipulates them into the lock, ear pressed to the thin door so he can better hear what he’s doing.

The music continues, and so far as Dave can tell, he hasn’t been detected.

He pops the lock within minutes and the door slowly shimmies open, his hand going to his hip on instinct as he pushes the door the rest of the way with the toe of his boot.

He’s met with a short entryway that veers off to a dimly lit living room. So far, Jonathan hasn’t noticed him. He’s on another planet entirely—exactly where Dave wants him. Thank god for brain altering substances.

Dave stalks forward and soon arrives at the opening of the main living space which is littered with various articles of trash and other clutter, skillfully dodging as much as he can so as to not alert his presence, or give detectives anything to go on.

What he finds is Jonathan hunched in front of a canvas, paintbrush perched between nimble fingers, painting god knows what, because Dave sure can’t tell, his back facing him. The sheer abundance of luck at his mark being in such a vulnerable and unawares position is so goddamn sexy Dave can hardly keep his dick in check at the presentation.

But even with Jonathan being as preoccupied as he is, it would be imprudent to dawdle, so he doesn’t.

He quickly closes the space between the two of them, one arm coiling like a large python around Jonathan’s throat and the other disabling his limbs.

Jonathan looses a low bellow, most of which is drowned out by the music and the reduced flow of oxygen to his lungs, nearly knocking over the easel the canvas sits on in his rush of panic, but thankfully does not. In Dave’s experience working cases for the CIA, signs of struggle are often harder to hide than one would think.

He attempts to fight back, body trying to twist away, but Dave is larger, stronger and more experienced in disarming than Jonathan is in fighting…well, anything…so it isn’t as difficult as Dave had feared it would be.

It isn’t exactly a cake walk either, and Dave knows he needs to get him to the ground as soon as possible to fully disable him, arm tightening around Jonathan’s throat as he wrestles the smaller man to the floor. He puts Jonathan in a sleeper hold, adding a second arm for leverage and bringing a leg up to ensnare his lower half.

“Just let it happen. Let it happen and it will be easier,” Dave grits against the shell of his ear. “Don’t fight me.”

He doesn’t listen, of course, hellbent on breaking the grapple, and failing. That pesky self preservation always did aggravate Dave as much as it excited him.

Jonathan’s vision starts to blot away, music fading to a low and persistent hum, his body finally giving in to the asphyxiation now that the adrenaline was a fleeting thing.

This is exactly what Dave needed to happen, and as he feels Jonathan’s body growing slack in his clutches, he removes the syringe from his pocket, biting the lid off and grasping it between his teeth as he readies the needle.

It isn’t hard to find a vein due to Jonathan’s heightened sense of agitation and panic, inserting the needle into the soft flesh of his neck and sinking the plunger before he can struggle away, flooding his bloodstream with the full dose of potassium chloride.

Within moments, attempts to free himself devolve to little more than faint body tremors, and Dave doesn’t release him until his body has fallen completely motionless and limp in his arms.

He checks Jonathan’s pulse a moment later and when he’s satisfied he’s gone, he drags the corpse to the recliner on the opposite end of the room, manipulating him into a position that makes it appear as if Jonathan succumbed to cardiac arrest.

Once done, he finds Jonathan’s cellphone and begins to thumb through the recent calls and text messages.

He finds you in there, as well as a string of messages to you begging your forgiveness and for your return, which have gone wholly unanswered by you. Dave smiles to himself. You must have blocked him after the breakup. Good.

He knows there’s a very real chance cops will question you regardless. But Dave decides to delete the messages and any other snippet of information he can find about you in Jonathan’s phone anyway, just to be safe.

As he repockets the empty syringe, he gives the room a final comb to ensure that not even a hair is out of place. When he determines everything is satisfactory, and that he hasn’t left behind any evidence or traces of DNA, he turns to make a hasty retreat.

He leaves the apartment exactly as he found it, making sure to lock the door behind him, leaving nothing out of place, no loose ends unraveled.

He jogs down the stairs and makes the mile long trek through the woods to return to where his car is parked, working up a sweat even with the cooler air but not at all concerned about it, pulling the beanie off and tossing it to the passenger floorboard when he finally makes it to the car.

Palming himself through his dark jeans, he pulls onto the road, with you being the only thing on his mind as he begins the arduous six hour journey home to see you. You.

And he can barely fucking wait.

——

Taglist: @ohheypedrito @kateispunk @awilderi @survivingandenduring @heavennumber2 @alwaysmicado @oberynslady @kellybelly1978 @cosmic-li @chronically-ghosted @morallyinept @annieispunk @xxjigglynatxx @daddy-dins-girl @onmysluttyknees @guelyury @gwendibleywrites @missladym1981 @anoverwhelmingdin @yorksgirl @shotgun-shelby

Please let me know if I forgot you, it wasn’t intentional 🥺

💜💜💜

#pedro pascal #writing #fanfic #smut #author #romance #pedro fanfic #dark romance #max phillips #dave york

[autumnywinter]

thoughts on yandere merman elliott. NOW /hj

FDAIURHFAUIHFUIAHFIAHEI

I forgot how much of a monsterfucker I am 😭 here's a lil scenario I made in my head. Also since these are all headcanons, I now headcanon Willy owns a truck for the sake of convenience. Just like I headcanon Elliott's cabin is bigger and has more furniture than it actually does lol.

Also I kinda imagine merman Elliott to be slightly different from regular Elliott. Less naturally charming and more comparable to an eager to please golden retriever.

You often fish at the dock by the sea, and Elliott curiously watches you from a distance. He's wary of any humans that aren't Willy, but something about you enraptures him.

He asks Willy about you, being the only human who knows of his existence. Willy tells him what he knows about you, thinking it's sweet he has an obvious lil crush on you.

The more Elliott learns, the more he becomes obsessed. Slowly but surely, he'll work up the courage to talk to you, when it's darker out and you're the only human at the beach. If you freak out, he'll apologize profusely and try to calm you down.

Once you start talking more regularly, Elliott starts begging for you to join him in the water. He'll take it as an opportunity to cuddle you and float around with you on him like a sea otter with its baby

But soon that won't become enough for him. When you start getting more busy, he'll become upset.

What are you doing instead of spending time with him?? Who are you talking to instead of him???

He starts begging you to take him to your home with you, but of course you shut down the idea pretty quickly. He's offended and hurt, but doesn't let it show.

Then he gets an idea. If he could convince Willy to put him in the bed of his truck and drive him to your house, then everything will work out! He could easily convince him that this was already something he talked out with you beforehand.

And his plan works! He shows up on your doorstep.

Y/n:

Elliott: Hello!! :) Are you happy to see me, my love?

Y/n: You gotta be kidding me...

You reluctantly welcome him into your home, and Elliott is fascinated with everything, but most of all, you. He's clumsily crawling up the couch and pulling you into his arms, getting upset when you insist he sleeps in the bathtub.

He's also extremely fascinated with your anatomy. That's what he insists anyway, when he's being a little too touchy.

Most nights, you'll wake up with him holding you, tail wrapped around you as much as it can be, just to hold you close to him.

Whenever you leave, he either dramatically mopes or gets slightly accusatory, whether you're dating or not. As long as you reassure him, he'll let it go, but he'll always be a hater of whoever you choose to spend your time with when you both could be cuddling and watching tv with him instead.

Very fascinated with human media and inventions. Learns a lot of songs he views as romantic. 100% hums 'I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire' to you.

When you do start dating, he becomes even MORE clingy and flirtatious. Praises you for the smallest things, giving you at least a 1000 kisses a day.

Since he learns how to use phones, he's often calling Willy. Tells him to collect some seashells and drop them off while you're gone. He totally makes a necklace out of them and gives it to you, a matching one for himself to show you're officially mates now!

He's not very dangerous as a yandere already, so as a merman he'd be even less so, but he still is just as possessive and obsessive.

He has a harder time masking his creepy behavior since he's never interacted with anyone to really tell him off, nor has he witnessed others doing the same. May ask Willy for more ideas on how to woo you.

Overall, he's still a romantic and possessive/obsessive as ever. Just has much less shame as he normally would.

#answered ask #yandere #yandere elliott #elliott sdv #sdv elliott #stardew elliott #stardew valley #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #sdv #yandere merman #can imagine elliott kicking his nonexistent legs as he rants about how amazing you are over the phone #and willy exasperatedly listening to it all with his fuckgin nokia or something

[icypenguin]

★~ Aquarium date ft. Wriothesley!

HELLOOOOO I know u guys like wrio so much im gonna make another one hehe :p also im not sure if anyone has made something like this before? but if so, please lmk! this will take in modern au, please enjoyyy!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

- aquarium date with wrio wont be that often, it is a pretty big date and he’s often busy with work! but ofcourse he lets his darling pick any date for the weekend.

- you both love admiring and talking about opinions on the sea creature. he would always have his arm around your waist or shoulder.

- i feel like he would LOVE stringrays! he would definitely love xingu river ray (or you could say polkadot ray hehe) and perhaps he would love tiger shark too!

- you both will get those matching crab, octopus or sea turtle headbands! he would be a bit shy wearing it at first but whenever he does anything with you, he’s always full of joy.

- you would definitely watch sea animal shows together! i’d say his favourite is the orca one, he even took a picture with them! most people will take the front seat but wrio prefers the middle row seat, he doesn’t want to get wet by the splashing..

- at the touch pool area, i would say he loves touching the starfish and stingray! he secretly wants a stingray but.. yeah…

- you both will eat at the penguin restaurant! you can feed penguins there and eat with them! (wrio thinks if you’ll have a date here, the penguin will steal your attention).

bonus!!!

- you will also buy those matching sea turtle/shark/dolphin/seahorse/stingray bracelet! he’s still wearing it until now.

- he keeps the pictures he got from the date and display it at his office. his favourite is the one where you were holding an otter while he was feeding it when a pelican got on top of his head. he always grins at the thought of it again.

~ smal drabble ~

a squeak from the otter was heard, you were holding it in your arms as wrio was giving it some fish. “it wants more, wrio!” you chuckled seeing the otter eats its fish with joy. the staff got ready to take a picture of the cute scene in front. “look at the camera! 1, 2, 3 cheese!” “cheeeseeeee!” “chee-ow!” a click from the camera was heard before you could do anything else. after a click of flash, you looked wriothesley confusingly “what’s wrong, darling?”, the otter in your arms were also cofused. “T-THERES SOMETHING ON MY HEAD!” you failed to notice the pelican on his head, but as you did you giggled while watching wrio getting all tensed up. “maybe he likes you!” you continued giggling. “y/nnn this is not funnyy!” the otter in your arms looked as confusing as ever as the pelican sets foot on the bench you were sitting on and sniffed wrio’s hand. just then you understand what was happening “oh! the pelican wants some fish too!” “o-oh..”. he looks at the pelican oddly and gives him a fish. the pelican flew away after so, and you both giggled at it. the staff watching this feels no worry as long as their tourists are happy.

~~~

thankyou so much for reading this! i hope this all makes sense and im so sorry if theres any mistakes hehe. i hope you enjoyed it and advices are accepted, thankyou!

#genshin impact #genshin x reader #wriothesley #wriothesley fluff #wriothesley x reader #genshin wriothesley #wriothesley x you

[irradiatedsnakes]

the Big TMA Furry List

this list with commentary/choice rationale below the cut :] i wrote a lot of thoughts down do please check it out.

jon: common raven

martin: tan jumping spider

sasha: southern flannel moth

not!sasha: red postman

tim: jackson's chameleon

melanie: eastern copperhead

georgie: triceratops horridus

basira: domestic cat (calico shorthair)

daisy: domestic dog (german shepherd)

elias: barn owl. jonah: eurasian eagle owl.

gerry: domestic dog (black doberman)

annabelle: white-booted racket-tail

jane: cabbage white

michael: spiny softshell turtle

helen: common hermit crab

oliver: black vulture

peter: risso's dolphin

mike: caelestiventus hanseni

jude: black kite

agnes: ???

nikola: stealing major's carousel horse

jared: american dog tick

breekon&hope: Hog and/or Bear. you get no more information

dekker: mouflon

gertrude: great tit

leitner: domestic cat (persian)

manuela: gray long-eared bat

rayner: olm

salesa: sea otter

simon: dodo

elaboration below !

jon: common raven

this was a choice i made before i even finished listening to the podcast back in 2020. jon's 1000% a bird to me, and the curious nature of corvids works well here. plus, i think a bird so universally ominous as a raven works perfectly as a horror protag :P i used to draw raven!jon with a couple troodon traits, mostly just cus it was fun, but i wanted to make my designs more grounded for this iteration. made them plantigrade, didn't get silly with body styles like i have with mp100 designs.

martin: tan jumping spider

if you've been here for a while you'll know that my furry martin has gone through about two million iterations. he started off as a european pine marten, to bold jumping spider, to chinese pangolin, to nine-banded armadillo, finally to nurse shark.

out of all of these the spider and the shark are my favorites. i wanted to go back to the jumping spider though- the design is really fun and i wasn't able to get the expressions right, but i'm more confident in my skills now and i'm having fun with the design. i may revisit nurse shark at some point. i switched from bold to tan jumper- i originally chose bold just cus they're my favorite jumper, but their stark black/white and iridescent aqua coloration just doens't work for martin. so, the tan jumper!

sasha: southern flannel moth

another old choice. species chosen because of a friend's fic, pharos by right (another i'm planning to reread now that i'm dipping my toes back into tma..)! southern flannel moths are poofy and orange, and their caterpillars are those super painful teddybear ones. i really like the design.

not!sasha: red postman

wanted to have her be another lepidopteran, and with all the many examples of mimicry among the group i thought red postman was a fun choice. doesn't look anything like a southern flannel moth, but that's sort of the point.

tim: jackson's chameleon

yet another choice from the oldtimes- most of the main characters are, i've mostly switched around the more secondary chars. first suggested, i believe, by @/ofdreamsanddoodles. i think there's something very fun about chameleons being basically a living mood ring & tim's Descent s1-3 showing physcially not just through the worm scars but through like, constant stress coloration during s3.

melanie: eastern copperhead

one of my favorite choices. i have a young copperhead specimen named after her. this one is quite vibes-based, but i do really like the copperhead as a viper that is not deadly. and i'm always a sucker for the "animal perceived as scary and violent that in actuality only strikes when under extreme stress" thing in furry assignments.

georgie: triceratops horridus

another favorite choice. visually, i really like how this works out, and trikes as a social and protective animal works well. she's literally got a shield on her face. horridus was chosen because i like the shape of the head and horns better than prorsus.

basira: domestic cat (calico shorthair)

got a little cat/dog thing going on for dasira. i like the inversion of the usual cat/dog dynamic with their unhealthy devotion instead, and visually it just works very well for them both.

daisy: domestic dog (german shepherd)

yeah i know this one's an exceedingly obvious choice.

elias: barn owl. jonah: eurasian eagle owl.

it's the institute logo! it's him! barn owl for elias specifically because of its very sleek look, designing him went fantastically. also, i can make the eagle owl's face disk work as a mimicry of ben meredith's muttonchops, which i think is a fun design bit to give to magnus.

gerry: domestic dog (black doberman)

certified gerryguy @/gerrydelano's choice. to quote a discord message from 3 years ago (sorry ron): "i feel like.........my INSTINCT is some kind of canine because like. the whole symbolism thing about being either an obedient or rabid dog. something something muzzled all your life. being a dangerous figure if people only see the silhouette but you just want scritches and nobody'll get close enough to you." black dog symbolism + breed which has ears cropped and tail docked, unecessarily molded for a Purpose which the dog has no say in

annabelle: white-booted racket-tail

sort of my original choice- she used to be part white-booted racket-tail, part anna's hummingbird. kept with the racket-tail cus it's fun and very cute. i've had a couple people express surprise that she wasn't a spider, but i think that's way too obvious. hummingbirds, though- they steal the webs of spiders to use as material to make their nests, but can sometimes become trapped in the webs and eaten by the spiders themselves. which is probably the metaphor-via-fursona-assignment i'm most proud of in this whole list

jane: cabbage white

the cabbage white is a butterfly whose caterpillars are routinely parasitized by the parasitoid wasp the white butterfly parasite. in case you're not familiar, parasitoid wasps lay their eggs on (usually) caterpillars, which hatch on the still-living caterpillar, devouring it from the inside before eventually emerging from the consumed husk of the host. also, i really liked the image of parasitoid wasp larvae emerging from an adult butterfly, rather than a caterpillar.

michael: spiny softshell turtle

for michael and helen, i wanted to choose animals which were, in some way, their own home. turtle is an obvious choice- and spiny softshells are a favorite of mine, and sufficiently strange-looking.

helen: common hermit crab

see previous entry. also please google "hermit crab without shell"

oliver: black vulture

bit of an obvious choice, but i adore vultures so i had to. black vulture chosen because i think the monochrome color scheme + straighter face work better than a turkey vulture for him

peter: risso's dolphin

i really like the idea of a cetacean for peter and the lukases as a whole, a famously social animal for the seemingly contradictory nature of this lonely-but-huge family, plus with so many cetaceans being endangered getting that lonely angle (risso's specifically are not, though, as peter is lonely through his own choice, not by circumstance).

mike: caelestiventus hanseni

it's a dimorphodont. he feels like a pterosaur to me, and i like the idea of a vast avatar as a usually short-flying arboreal species, for the unnaturality/contrast of it.

jude: black kite

black kites are one of the species of kites known to intentionally spread fires by picking up burning sticks to flush out prey.

agnes: ???

the only one i'm still undecided on. will update.

nikola: stealing major's carousel horse

i can't top that

jared: american dog tick

great choice from @/magnusarchivememes. Takes Your Blood And Gets So Big

breekon&hope: Hog and/or Bear. you get no more information

vaguely russian animals that are large and imposing but remain somewhat generic. which is the hog and which is the bear is not consistent.

dekker: mouflon

dekker has very much mammal vibes to me. the mouflon is a neat species of wild sheep. i think the noble, imposing but kind image of the ram works well for dekker as that sort of true-good hero figure, and mouflons in particular are very nice looking with good shapes. the statement giver in distant cousin describes dekker as "though he was slightly shorter than I was, it seemed like he towered over me." which i think this sheep works well with.

gertrude: great tit

i wanted all the main eye avatars as birds, just like how i give them all glasses. just a fun little treat for me. great tit was chosen for gertrude as a kind of classic british bird, and as tits in general are VERY fiesty despite their round and adorable appearance. i really like this image of a great tit posing with a dead mouse like it's a hunter with a trophy deer. the cheek markings also work really well to bring to mind the image of old person jowls.

leitner: domestic cat (persian)

vibes. also i like the idea of him as a spoiled domestic animal. if i remember correctly, this was also @/ofdreamsanddoodles' suggestion

manuela: gray long-eared bat

she's a bat. what's to say. WELL actually okay there's the perception of bats as blind but actually having quite good vision which i think meshes in a fun way with the dark, and the way manuela does her sciency stuff.

rayner: olm

i mean, yeah

salesa: sea otter

largely design-oriented, suitably scruffy. ocean animal with strong social bonds, it was a slam dunk soon as i thought of it.

simon: dodo

how couldn't i, come on.

#tma #furry tma #save

[beedoes-stuff]

now that cyril and dove are together…

you have Cyril, who…

will be lovingly/actively encouraged forced to get a proper amount of sleep whether he likes it or not

will show up to meetings with tiny lil braids in his hair done by dove (im rlly holding on to this one)

will have the pleasure of finding different colored post it notes all over his office in obscure places (courtesy of dove) ranging from sweet nothings to random facts (ie: “i love being around you” to “did you know sea otters hold hands so they don’t drift apart”)

will get sent pictures of inanimate object duos like salt and pepper shakers or a fork and a spoon with a message below it saying “us ❤️”

will be afraid things won’t work out because of how hard it is for him to express his feelings

will never have to be alone again bc dove sticks to him like a magnet

#reverie audios #reverie cyril #reverie dove #your honor they are in love #or at least going to be #your honor they are soulmates #your honor they find each other in every universe #in some way #anyways #head full of these two #don’t know what to do #so take this #🫶

[ashensgrotto]

Never Had a Friend (Like Me) - Part 2

Original art piece by pfbatakopd on twitter (Used only for Header. Do NOT REPOST ORIGINAL ART)

Part 1 Part 2 (You Are Here) Part 3

YandereSoulmate! AU:

Part 1 (Am I Feeling Love?)

Part 2 (Protective)

Part 3A & Part 3B (Poor Unfortunate Souls)

Characters: Azul Ashengrotto X F!Reader

Word Count: 9,105

Synopsis: A chance for redemption comes in the form of a wish…

Author’s Notes: Ok, here we go. I received an anonymous message in my inbox for the next part of the Yandere!Soulmate series and I was actually going to work on it - but with the arrival of GloMas, working on the next part of ‘Raison D’être,’ wanting to finish “Weren’t You Aware, Angelfish?”, AND the holidays, time got away from me and I forgot about Scarabia’s segment for a short while. 

However, because you all seem to enjoy this and want to know if the tako has redeemed himself - I figured I would work to get this part done. Now, warning - Pompefiore’s part is going to take a bit of time to complete because I will have to wiggle my way through my memory bank and replay a few parts of it (which is approx 76 chapters in length for those players who haven’t made it that far into the game yet) since I’m working so deep into Ignihyde’s chapter right now (which is a doozy - I’m still in chapter 67-tower 1, oof help).

This one is also going to be split into three parts - I promise it will not be a long wait for the second & third parts as this is my Christmas gift to all of my readers <3

Thank you all for your continued support!

Warnings are as follows: yandere behaviors, manipulation, imprisonment, & hypnosis

***

… Mister Kalim, sir, have a wish? Or two? Or Three?

I’m on the job, you big nabob.

You ain’t never had a friend like me.

***

“Well done, Jade,” Azul praised, “How did the ‘talk’ with Kalim go?”

It was the first night of being in Scarabia in the vacant room the Grim and (Y/N) had originally been held hostage in. Apparently, it was routine in Scarabia to have all of the students locked within their dorm rooms - hence the reason as to why the concept was foreign to both Grim and (Y/N) as the two of them never felt the need to lock their doors at night (though Azul did while (Y/N) had lived in Octavinelle for security purposes - but he would never tell her to begin with.)

True to his word, Azul started sniffing around straight away, using Jade to talk to Kalim while he and Floyd distracted Jamil with a game of mancala.

“It was just as you expected, I’m afraid,” Jade answered, placing his hands behind his back as he gave his report, “It’s very likely that Kalim is being magically mind-controlled to make him act out erratically.”

“That would explain the sea otter’s rapid changes in behavior,” Floyd nodded in agreement.

“But how is that even possible?” Grim asked.

“Grim, that’s like asking how you can stomach twenty cans of tuna in twenty minutes,” (Y/N) answered, looking toward the trio, “I’m assuming it’s similar to your ultimate magic, Jade.”

“To an extent, yes,” Jade nodded in agreement, “The closest you might get would be with Ruggie’s ‘Laugh with Me.’ That ultimate magic allows Ruggie to manipulate a person’s body to do what he wants them to. There’s also hypnosis magic that works in the same sense, but it takes control of a target’s mind and requires a far higher degree of skill and power. Very few mages are even capable of using it because of the amount of skill required to even cast it.”

“You gotta have skills and power on par with Azul for that,” Floyd added.

“But even I would be hard-pressed to control living creatures with their own egos like humans,” Azul argued, “I still prefer to give them the chance to think it over before signing one of my deals.”

“But I doubt anyone in Scarabia is half as good as you, Azul,” Grim piped up, “Even Kalim’s big signature is just a glorified waterspout…”

“Grim, ‘Oasis Maker’ is a very talented frame of magic,” (Y/N) sighed, looking at the others, “Though, I do agree… even Jamil’s score levels are relatively average on the school’s grading scale.”

“I wouldn’t be too hasty to make assumptions,” Azul chidded, “There’s an old saying in the sea that we have in the sea which states ‘a clever hawk hides its talons.’”

“So the brings us to the big question, who’s controllin’ sea otter and why?” Floyd asked.

“I’m afraid I won’t be much help there,” Jade shook his head, “I couldn’t get any answers from him.”

“Speaking of which,” (Y/n) asked suddenly, “What exactly… does your signature spell do?”

“Oh? Have you seen it before?” Grim asked curiously.

“Only once - I think we had a patron at the lounge that was behaving quite, um… indecently?” you admit, “It was like he suddenly just spilled what was on his mind as soon as Jade got close to him.”

Jade sighs, “My unique magic is one that would make most people guarded around me if they knew what it did, specifically - I’m not a fan of revealing it, but (Y/n) hit it pretty hard on the nose. It’s called ‘Shock the Heart’ - it allows me to force the truth out of a target that might be hiding something. The drawback is that the spell can only be used once on a target - once I use it, I can’t use it on them again, and it only works on those with a weak mental vulnerability or loosely guarded minds. Those like Azul who are weary, or have high resistance to magic, are effective against the spell - hence my signature spell is very limited in scope.”

“It works great on guys cowerin’ in fear or bawlin’ like babies,” Floyd grinned, showing off his row of sharp teeth.

“The way those two smile scare the daylights outta me,” Grim looked at you, “I still can’t believe you lived with these three for three months!”

“They’re not that bad,” you mumble under your breath, “...mostly.”

Azul coughed, “Jade, what were you able to find out? If anything?”

“Kalim’s always been the type to open up to others - it’s one of the reasons why he was selected to be the headwarden. Thus, my spell worked on him flawlessly - however, when I asked him if he knew the name of the student using hypnosis magic on him and if he would tell me, he claimed that he must never tell anyone. He made some sort of promise to this student long ago, so he couldn’t reveal it.”

“Oh how hysterical!” Azul snorted, “Your signature spell was thwarted by Kalim’s strength of character!”

“It would seem that way,” Jade admitted.

“And here I thought the sea otter would sing like a canary,” Floyd hit his hand over his forehead, “Just when you think you know a guy!”

“...I would assume that it’s a promise he keeps close to his heart,” you think out loud.

Azul looks at you, eyes widening, “(Y/N)! You genius angelfish! That’s it!”

“What’s it?” you ask.

“I have an idea,” Azul answered, “I have a hunch at who our little serpent schemer is… and how to pull him out of hiding, but first - Floyd, I’ll need your help.”

“My help?” Floyd looked flabbergasted.

“Yes, I need to borrow your signature spell.”

Jade, Floyd, Grim, and you blinked in surprise.

“Azul, pardon me for asking,” Jade spoke after a moment of stunned silence, “but why in the world are you asking for Floyd’s ‘Bind the Heart’?”

“Because I intend on using myself as bait,” Azul answered.

“Azul! You can’t!” you could contain yourself at the thought of Azul stepping in harm’s way.

“(Y/n), listen to me,” Azul took your hand, “This won’t be like the last time, I promise. I’m one of the strongest mages here right now, so I have to do this. Floyd’s ‘Bind the Heart’ will allow me the protection from hypnosis when we have to face off against our little viper. I don’t intend on him gaining control over anyone any longer - not even you.”

“I hate to admit it, but Azul is right,” Floyd answered, scratching the back of his head, “As much as I hate to admit, it would give us an advantage as well.”

“What do you mean, Floyd?” Jade asked.

“I’m always goin’ off about how great my signature spell is an’ showin’ it,” Floyd shrugged his shoulder, “So, if I swap something with Azul an’ give him my signature spell - no one will know that he has it, least of all our target.”

“But you’ll have to feign ignorance, all of you,” Azul answered, “If you can’t, this trap won’t work - this is the one shot we have.”

“Alright, though I’m not really seeing where this is going…” Grim sighed, resting his paws on his hips.

“You will eventually, Grim,” Azul answered, “Now, Floyd. Are you ready? I’ll give you something that will be an adequate replacement for the time being.”

“Sure, octy - whenever you’re ready.”

“How many times must I…? Never mind.”

Azul closed his eyes and took a deep breath as magic began to gather around him.

“The song ceases, the sun sets… I extend my benevolent hand to you poor unfortunate souls… Now, to business! It’s a Deal!”

***

Azul always knew how to practice patience - it was something he learned over the years during his searches for his soulmate. He may have been desperate during his childhood years, searching every day and night for that special someone that was destined to stay by his side, but that didn’t change the fact that he was preparing for this moment specifically.

All day, Azul kept one eye on his target, watching them as he, Floyd, and Jade began to slowly rile him up with their constant assistance toward Kalim - helping the Scarabia housewarden with memorization spells, training routines, and homework that had been assigned over the holiday weekend, keeping him busy and away from the one person who was to be held responsible for the mess the dorm was now in. By mid-afternoon, the trap was set and Azul walked down the hall towards the kitchens with the suspect beside him.

“The students' completion rate for these assignments is up fifteen percent from yesterday,” Azul commented amicably, “Those are some statistically significant results, in my opinion. Believe it or not, (Y/N) and Grim both told me that Kalim was going through some rough patches, his mood swings pretty drastic - even compared to Floyd’s… but he’s been acting pretty calm since we arrived. Isn’t it wonderful that Kalim’s regained the faith of Scarabia’s students, Jamil?”

“...No. No, it isn’t,” Jamil hissed quietly.

“It’s not?” Azul feigned surprise.

“No offense, but I can’t let you people stay in Scarabia any longer,” Jamil stopped and glared at Azul hard, “It’s time you went back under the sea.”

‘Got you,’ Azul thought before asking, “Where did this come from, Jamil? Have I done something to offend you?”

“...You made eye contact with me. Fool,” Jamil’s wicked grin spread across his features, “The one you behold is your master. When I ask you a question, you will answer. When I give you a command, you will assent. Snake Whisper.”

Azul felt the magic coiling around him, a small murmur of ‘Bind the Heart’ rejected the magic - now… it was time to play.

Azul feigned pain until he could see you and Jade hiding out of the corner of his eye, making sure that the two of you could see everything - his cell phone held securely in Jade’s grip as the stream began. He feigned falling into Jamil’s magic, opening his eyes to reveal Jamil’s control over his mind and body. He slightly slumped his shoulders, giving the illusion that he was no longer in control.

As he did so, Jamil began to rant - playing right into the octomer’s hands

“Because of you, all my carefully laid plans have gone up in smoke! All I needed was a little more nudging from those two dimwits and the students would’ve kicked Kalim out,” Jamil growled, “Do you have any idea how much painstaking effort I put into laying the groundwork for that?”

Azul did not respond, though he wanted to give a few choice words to Jamil about calling his sweet angelfish a ‘dimwit’ - but he would have to wait for that.

“Azul - you returned all your contractually stolen powers back to their rightful owners recently, right?” Jamil asked suddenly.

“Yes, master,” Azul responded, thinking, ‘Where are you going with… ah, I see…’

“Tch. So much for using you as my own personal genie of the lamp,” Jamil scoffed, reaching up and rubbing his chin, “Your unique magic is quite a valuable asset… but it would be hard to keep you controlled long-term.”

“Master,” Azul’s voice spoke up, “I remember the contents of the contracts.”

“What?” Jamil looked at Azul in surprise.

“I remember all the secrets of the people I made contracts with - their troubles, their weakness, their desires.”

“What a… twisted collection. I see I made the right choice not to make friends with you,” Jamil smiled cruelly, “Tell me, does this intellectual cache of yours include the headmage’s secrets?”

Azul grinned internally, baiting Jamil even more, “Of course, master. I know one thing he would never want others to learn. Do you wish to know his secret?”

“Oh, abso-lutely!” Jamil’s smile broadened, “Once I have the headmage’s weakness in my grasp, I’ll finally be free. I’ll kick Kalim out of school and become Scarabia’s housewarden myself!”

“... And there we have it.”

Azul watched, a knowing smirk appearing on his face as Jamil whipped around to face Jade, his face contorted in confusion.

“So you finally show your true colors!” Grim pressed his paws onto his hips as he glared up at Jamil from between you and Jade, “I bet you thought you were real slick, pullin’ the wool over our eyes!”

“H-how… how much..?”

“All of it,” you answered, “Start to finish.”

“And live streamed to the world from Azul’s smartphone,” Jade waved the phone at Jamil as footsteps entered the hallway with many Scarabia students appearing, “Azul’s Magicam livestream presently had five thousand active viewers. It’s currently trending under the topic: ‘A Certain Magicians’ School’s Dirty Little Secret’.”

Voices began echoing around Jamil, the students of the Scarabia dorm demanding to know the truth and why Jamil - their own vice warden - would deceive them.

“Y-you… you’ve got it all wrong!” Jamil shouted, his fear and apprehensiveness growing.

“Don’t even try to talk your way out of this one,” Jade folded his arms across his chest, “The mind control magic you used on Azul is hard evidence.”

Everyone looked at Azul - who kept his silent slumped state, continuing to pretend to be under Jamil’s magic still.

“Jamil, it’s been you all along,” Jade continued, pulling everyone’s attention back to him, “You’ve been using your signature spell on Kalim and making him throw Scarabia into chaos!”

Jamil tsked, smearing, “I was trying to avoid escalating matters, but you leave me no choice - Azul, I command you! Subdue and restrain them all!”

“Yes, master,” Azul answered, taking a step forward.

You took a step back with Jade, Grim darting behind you as you looked at Azul pleading, momentarily forgetting that Azul wasn’t really under Jamil’s power, “Azul, no. You don’t want to do this. Please! Snap out of it!”

“Pleading with him won’t help you, (Y/N)!” Jamil laughed, “He’s my loyal minion now.”

‘And… now,’ Azul took another step forward, before spinning around and pointing his cane at Jamil, “You wish I was.”

“What?!”

Azul looked over his shoulder and winked at you, relieved to see your smile as he turned his attention back toward Jamil, “You told me the funniest thing earlier - allow me to return the favor. You think I’m an arrogant mage, but you were sorely mistaken. An embarrassing misjudgment for the vice warden of Scarabia - the dorm that is supposed to embody the spirit of mindfulness.”

“I know I made eye contact with you! I had you in my control!”

“Please, I’m a competent mage and you know it,” Azul frowned, keeping his cane pointed at Jamil, “I always prepare for the eventualities before I act - right Floyd?”

“I think you let your guard down a little too soon there, sea snake,” Floyd appeared, his voice sounding more baritone than before - almost like a tuba was speaking.

Azul snickered softly as your eyebrows raised up into your hairline, “That’s… what you exchanged with Floyd for his signature spell?”

“Pretty cool, huh?” Floyd said with a grin.

“Shall I explain it?” Azul asked, keeping his focus on Jamil, “In exchange for a vocal adjustment, Floyd gave me his unique magic, ‘Bind the Heart’ - it jams or blocks an opponent’s magic and diverts it elsewhere. Hence - I used it to evade your mind spell, then pretended to be in your hold and got you to spill your intentions while you gloated.”

Jamil gritted his teeth, glaring at them as Kalim appeared, the housewarden asking politely to tell him that it was true, that Jamil would never do anything like that, that it was just blackout spells because of how tired he was. But the silence from the vice warden was short-lived.

Azul felt you stiffen beside him, your hand suddenly gripping Azul’s overcoat, “(Y/N)? What’s wrong?”

You met his gaze and Azul knew.

An overblot was approaching.

He turned to Jade and Floyd, “Jade, Floyd, ready yourselves.”

“The one you behold is your master… When I ask you a question, you will answer. When I give you a command, you will assent! Snake Whisper!”

At Jamil’s command, the Scarabia dorm turned on its guests and its headwarden.

Azul was quick to pull you and Grim behind him as a shield of water protected the three of you from a rain of fire, “Mediocre, nothing! He’s easily one of the top mages in the entire school - to say nothing of Scarabia.”

Floyd grumbled, “I keep squeezin’ em but they keep gettin’ back up - are they zombies or somethin’?”

“That’s just part of ‘Snake Whisper’,” you explain, as if your eyes are seeing the internal workings of the spell, “It forces a target to continue to obey the commands - like a puppet on a string. Even though they might feel pain and are internally trying to avoid as well as fight the spell, their minds and bodies are not completely their own anymore.”

“Jamil! Please stop!” Kalim begged as he blocked an attack, “You can have what you want! You can be the housewarden! I’ll go home to my family!”

“What? You thought that would work? My spell won’t be broken so easily,” Jamil snickered as black ink and heavy energy surrounded him, “Not as long as you exist in this world… Kalim.”

“Jamil! You’re courting danger!” Jade begged, eyes widening, “If you keep using your signature spell, you’ll exceed you blot tolerance-”

“SHUT UP AND DON’T ORDER ME AROUND!”

The air became heavy as a dark shadow came over Scarabia. Azul pulled you closer as several dark shapes began to shift - the housewarden of Octavinelle watching in horror as a creature appeared before them. Hovering above the ground in ancient Viziar garb of black and red was Jamil, cloaked in darkness with hair that now took on the shapes of small black vipers - a dark shadow that took on the form of a dark genie hovering behind him, as if awaiting his command.

“He’s overblotted!” Azul gritted his teeth, “The negative energy is swelling up… Everyone! Steel yourselves!”

“I have no need for an incompetent king or a con artist,” the twisted voice of Jamil spoke, “Your personality flaws give me ADEQUATE cause… to send you packing on a one-way trip to the ends of the earth! So long! Ex-Housewarden Kalim! A-hahahahaha!”

The next thing Azul knew, he was airborne.

#twisted wonderland #yandere azul ashengrotto #azul ashengrotto #yandere azul x reader #floyd leech #jade leech #yandere #twst azul #twst floyd #twst jade #yandere x reader #tw yandere #tw: yandere #yandere azul ashengrotto x reader #octavinelle #scarabia #kalim al asim #twst kalim #jamil viper #twst jamil #twst grim #tw hypnosis #tw manipulation

[tangledbea]

A Comprehensive Guide to the Thugs in Tangled: The Series

When I watch shows on my computer, I usually have the subtitles on. Because of this, I have learned the names of some of the series thugs who are never addressed, or even never have speaking lines, because the subtitles will inform me who just laughed or grunted or screamed. I've also learned some of them through supplemental reading material.

So, without further ado, here are the names of Corona's criminal Underworld (and surrounding areas). I am including the names of those that we all know perfectly well. After all, it's a comprehensive guide. (Some of them are still unnamed, but I'm going through the episodes when I feel up to it, and will update this post as I discover new things.*)

*Last updated: January 11, 2024 9:23 AM PST

Lady Caine and Her Crew

Lady Caine

The leader of her own band of thugs, with a personal vendetta against King Frederic and Rapunzel, she disguises herself as the Duchess of Quintonia in Tangled: Before Ever After as part of the plot to get inside the palace during Rapunzel's coronation. Implied past linked to Eugene.

Pocket

Lady Caine's right-hand man. He's also on the prison barge in "Peril On the High Seas."

Axel

Lady Caine's favorite horse and Maximus' #1 nemesis and rival. He's also on the prison barge in "Peril On the High Seas."

Otter

A hired thug who works for Lady Caine during Tangled: Before Ever After. He's also on the prison barge in "Peril On the High Seas."

Bandana

A hired thug who works for Lady Caine during Tangled: Before Ever After. He's also on the prison barge in "Peril On the High Seas."

Dwayne

A thug who idolizes Lady Caine, but also works on his own when not directly hired by her. Helped her escape prison in "Max's Enemy," and had a third of the focus in "Day of the Animals." He's not a very good thief.

Skull Ruffian

A hired thug who works for Lady Caine during Tangled: Before Ever After. (Because his design was based on an old character from a previous version of the movie, I personally call him Crowley.) He's also on the prison barge in "Peril On the High Seas."

"Unnamed" Caine Thug 1

A hired thug who works for Lady Caine during Tangled: Before Ever After. Can be spotted in the background in Vardaros. He's also on the prison barge in "Peril On the High Seas."

"Unnamed" Caine Thug 2

A hired thug who works for Lady Caine during Tangled: Before Ever After. He's also on the prison barge in "Peril On the High Seas."

The Baron and His Men (and Daughter)

The Baron

A criminal kingpin who operates out of Vardaros. He hired and exploited Eugene and Lance when they were children, and did the same to Kiera and Catalina. Has a personal vendetta against Eugene for "stealing his prized Stalyan." Is bitten by a highly venomous spider at the end of "Beyond the Corona Walls" and isn't seen again until "Flynnpostor," but now is disfigured from the bite.

Stalyan

The Baron's daughter and Eugene's ex-fiancée. She attempts to force Eugene to marry her in "Beyond the Corona Walls". Teams up with Rapunzel in "The Eye of Pincosta" to get a priceless gem that will ensure the freedom of Eugene and everyone else Rapunzel is traveling with during season two.

Anthony the Weasel

The Baron's right-hand man, and our first introduction to this branch of Eugene's past in "The Return of Strongbow." He's sent to collect Kiera and Catalina on behalf of The Baron in "Big Brothers of Corona," and attempts to take over Vardaros in The Baron's absence in "The Return of Quaid." He's also on the prison barge in "Peril On the High Seas."

Cutter

Sent to collect Kiera and Catalina in "Big Brothers of Corona," he's also one of the thugs to jump Eugene, Lance, and Shorty in Vardaros.

Arkus and Farkus

Twins who work for The Baron, they were sent to collect Kiera and Catalina in "Big Brothers of Corona," and are also at the forced wedding of Eugene and Stalyan. (I am admittedly not sure which is which, since they're always seen together.)

"Unnamed" Baron Thug

One of the thugs to jump Eugene, Lance, and Shorty in Vardaros. (I personally call him Dante, because I think he looks like a Dante.)

Separatists of Saporia

Andrew/Hubert

The leader of the Separatists of Saporia, his goal is to take over Corona in the name of his ancestors, after a marriage between Saporian General Shampanier and Coronan King Herz der Sonne joined the two kingdoms under the name Corona. Introduced in "Under Raps" as Cassandra's love interest, he quickly shows his true colors when he attempts to kill her in order to get the Book of Hearts, which includes maps to all of Herz der Sonne's underground tunnels. Is later to be shown having succeeded in taking over Corona in Rapunzel's absence along with the rest of the Separatists and Varian.

Clementine

A Separatist magic-user who cast a memory spell on King Frederic and Queen Arianna to aid in taking over Corona.

Juniper

A Separatist who helped take over Corona.

Kai

A Separatist who helped take over Corona.

"Unnamed" Separatist of Saporia

A Separatist who helped take over Corona.

Independent Criminals

The Stabbington Brothers

Patchy and Sideburns (nicknamed "Burnsie"), these two have a long-standing history with Eugene and Lance. It's possible that they, too, were taken under The Baron's wing, but that's never canonically confirmed. They hold a grudge against Eugene for double-crossing them with the Lost Princess' stolen crown. They appear in the movie Tangled, "Cassandra v. Eugene," "Peril On the High Seas," and for the final time in "The Return of the King," though a teenage version of them appear in "No Time Like the Past," when their bodies are inhabited by a time-traveling Rapunzel and Pascal.

The Daylight Thieves

Petunia and William are only seen in "Vigor the Visionary," where they are preying upon the town Fortuna. They pose as Kiera's parents, after a case of mistaken identity, since they took over their house, where she found them. Though Eugene and Rapunzel realize who they really are, they arrive on the scene too late to save Kiera and Catalina, since the girls have rescued themselves from the situation.

Dale

Introduced in "Fitzherbert P.I.," Dale disguised himself as The Giovanni, a renowned Italian portrait painter who comes to Corona to paint Rapunzel's first official portrait. He's caught by Eugene before he can escape with the priceless painting of Corona's former king, Robin the Eleventh. He's also on the prison barge in "Peril On the High Seas," where we learn his real name.

The Collector

Hired by Anthony the Weasel in Vardaros during his attempt to take over in "The Return of Quaid". Never says a word, and we never see his face.

"Unnamed" Thug

First seen as a background character in Vardaros, "Peril On the High Seas" is the only other time I remember seeing him.

#Tangled #Tangled the Series #TTS #reference #Lady Caine #Pocket #Axel #Otter #bandana #Dwayne #Skull Ruffian #Crowley #The Baron #Stalyan #Anthony the Weasel #Cutter #Arkus and Farkus #Andrew #Separatists of Saporia #clementine #Juniper #Kai #Stabbington Brothers #Patchy Stabbington #Sideburns Stabbington #Dale #The Giovanni #The Collector

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Hi! I’m currently working on a big, detailed Blackfish rebuttal, which means lots of rabbit holes. I recently started rereading John Hargrove’s book (ugh). He talks about how the original Shamu died of pyometra and septicemia, claiming that it was something that, apparently, would almost never happen in the wild. The obvious implication here is that captivity caused these conditions, and/or that such is common with captive orcas. However, obviously septicemia can be caused by a variety of things, wild or not. As for pyometra, he doesn’t provide other examples of captive orcas suffering pyometra, nor have I been able to find other examples described in peer reviewed literature. It seems that that isn’t particularly common in cetaceans period, whether they’re wild or not, but I’m also not a marine mammal veterinarian. Since you’d know better about cetacean medicine, I was wondering if you knew anything more about this.

Ooh, that'll be interesting! I'd love to read it!

You're correct that Shamu is the only reported case of pyometra in a killer whale, wild or captive. The CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine makes no mention of pyometra in cetaceans, although it does occur in both wild and captive pinnipeds and has been reported in sea otters and sirenians. Pyometra is typically the result of bacteria migrating up the vaginal tract into the uterus, which at certain times is more susceptible to infection due to normal hormonal fluctuations. Theoretically, anything with a uterus can get pyometra, though some species are more commonly affected than others.

I would hedge to bet that pyometra is rare in cetaceans because of their truly unusual reproductive anatomy. Females have a lot of redundant tissue in their vaginal tract, creating "false cervixes" and overall making it a lot more difficult for anything to reach the uterus.

See all those extra recesses around the cervix?

I did find this case report on a necropsy of a wild short-beaked common dolphin. Pyometra was one of many nasty issues afflicting the poor girl, so it can indeed occur in nature. Since this individual was suffering from co-infections of bacteria and cetacean morbillivirus, she was clearly immunocompromised. It's highly likely Shamu was as well.

Overall, pyometra of cetaceans (including orcas) appears to be quite rare in both the wild and managed care. Shamu was the very first orca intentionally captured for public display, nearly 60 years ago, and only survived six years in captivity before her death at approximately age 10. Virtually nothing was known about killer whale husbandry at the time, so it's not at all unreasonable to assume that poor husbandry, nutrition, and stress negatively impacted her immune function to the point she succumbed to pyometra.

However, it's a weak argument on Hargrove's part to compare the SeaWorld of today (with multiple orcas now in their 30s, 40s, and 50s) to the SeaWorld of the 1960s, and their very first whale at that. Especially using a condition that has not been reported in a captive orca since.

#orcas #killer whales #dolphins #shamu #cetaceans #marine mammals #vet med #pyometra #answered asks #ihazyourkitty