#ruby ravine

[twstinginthewind]

🌻 With RubyPunch? owo

Not pictured here: fifteen thousand freckles between the two of them. XD It always feels good to revisit the classics! Thank you friend🧡🧡

Tag list? Tag list!

@twst-the-night-away @oseathepebble @ice-cweam-sod4 @hythlodayus @cyn-write @thehollowwriter @twstchaos @the-trinket-witch @gloomyeiscue @tixdixl @boopshoops @valse-a-mille-temps @candiedwrath @comingyourlugubriousness @cyanide-latte

[twstinginthewind]

I told you I was impatient. Another one for OC kiss week!

This one is for the prompt "almost"; my lad Punch and sweet Ruby (who's borrowed from @transriddlerosehearts) would be able to kiss without that darned aquarium glass between them.

I was shown a couple panels/screenshots from mermaid melody and it had just the feel I was hoping for; thanks for the inspiration!

(Friends and mutuals - lend me your OCs for kisses? You can use mine if you wanna...)

[twstinginthewind]

POCKY DAY WITH RUBYPUNCH

Pocky Day party!

After the afternoon's board game club meeting, Punch found himself wandering the NRC campus instead of heading straight back to the dormitory. He loved early evenings at this time of year. The November air was crisp, and the slowly setting sun's light tinted everything with a layer of gold. The trees, ablaze in their autumnal glory, sent their leaves down in lazy spirals in the soft breeze. Punch took a deep breath, and smiled.

He had gotten a little packet of Pocky from his dorm leader at the club meeting; Idia had been absolutely horrified to discover that no one else knew about the "holiday" that was going on, but he sent little Ortho around with enough packs of the long chocolate-covered biscuits for everyone. During a game, Punch was regaled with a giddy story of how the snacks played a role in Idia's most recent dating sim obsession. His fingers brushed over the pack in his pocket as he walked. The game that the characters played with these sounded cute, but there was no way it was actually going to work, right? You couldn't accidentally kiss from sharing a cookie.

Right?

Punch's feet traveled automatically as he thought about it, and before he knew it, he found himself at the edge of the woods behind the campus. Red and brown leaves crunched beneath his shoes as he wandered. There was a little pond back here, and it would be a nice place to watch the sun set as he enjoyed the snack he got from Idia. He took a seat on a fallen log and sighed happily.

As he settled in, he saw a ripple in the water of the pond. He watched as a dark-haired head emerged from the water, bright eyes blinking in the rays of the descending sun. Pale, freckled hands followed, with a turtle clasped between them. Punch smiled; he recognized the figure, who was politely conversing with the turtle in a language he didn't recognize. He waited for a pause in the dialogue before calling out.

"Ruby! I wasn't expecting to find you here. How are you doing?"

Ruby jumped, almost dropping the turtle into the pond. His head spun towards Punch, and his expression lit up. "Oh! Is your meeting through already?"

"Yup." Punch chuckled. "Funny that you asked it like that. Almost sounds like you were waiting for me." He shifted slightly on the log, and pulled one of the biscuits out of the package. "... you want one of these?"

"I might have been waiting for something, but I won't tell." Ruby swam a bit closer, his graceful tail shimmering behind him. "What is it?"

"Kind of a cookie stick," Punch replied, shrugging. "Idia got excited over them being in one of his romance games, so he bought a bunch for our club."

"Cookies are romantic?" Ruby tsked and shook his head. "You land folks are strange, sometimes. But I do wanna try one." He moved to the edge of the pond, changing from merfolk to human form as he did. With a little touch of magic, he was dry and dressed in a flash, and made his way towards Punch.

Punch took one biscuit for himself, then held the rest of the pack out to Ruby. "Here ya go..."

Ruby held out a hand hesitantly. "I don't get how they're meant to be romance cookies, though."

"Ah." Punch swallowed. "Well? The way Idia explained it, two people share one. They eat it at the same time, from either end? And when they get to the center, um." His face flushed red. "You either back up and lose, get backed up from and win, or meet in the middle. And. Um. Both win. Because that's an accidental kiss."

"I want to try," Ruby said, unusually directly.

Punch's Pocky wobbled between his shaky fingers. "Like, now?"

Ruby nodded. Punch placed the cookie between his teeth. Ruby approached from the other side, and put his lips onto the opposite end. All was quiet except for the sounds of quiet crunching. They approached the center of the Pocky stick, and met there. And behind them, the sun touched the horizon.

[twstinginthewind]

How about a kitty-form Nana interacting with Ruby? owo

There were simply too many noisy people in the Heartslabyul dorm, and Nana was a little bit overwhelmed. She had spent a nice, quiet afternoon in the garden with her childhood friend, but once the clubs began to let out, the whole area around the dormitory began to fill with raucous voices and boys roughhousing with one another. Ugh. She bid a quick, polite farewell to her friend, then ducked into the rose maze. Whispering an apology to her trainer Lilia, she closed her eyes and shifted.

When she opened her eyes again, her vision was different. Colors rose and receded in what was, to her, a more familiar way, and she was lower to the ground. She sniffed at the air. Ah. The flamingo pond was the least crowded area... she raised her tail and started to make her way over there.

Her small feline form was able to slip through the crowds of students largely unnoticed. When she reached the side of the pond, she breathed a sigh of relief. The multicolored birds milled quietly along the edge of the water, which rippled in the wind. She stretched, letting the breeze ruffle her fur. She felt like she could relax here a moment before heading back to Diasomnia.

... wait.

Her eyes narrowed. The pattern of ripples on the pond wasn't right. The wind was blowing from the west, and the ripples were moving away from a southern point. As she watched the surface of the water, a dark-haired head began to emerge from below. Two bright eyes peered out; one red and one orange, but shining more like water than flame. The figure glided through the water smoothly, pausing occasionally to give admiring glances towards the rainbow flamingoes.

Nana's interest was piqued. Who was this mystery swimmer? She padded closer to the pond, and jumped up onto a stump for a better look. The boy had some sort of pendant around his neck, she saw as he pushed his hair back from his face. And then when he tipped backward, her mouth dropped open in surprise.

This wasn't a boy! This was a merman!

She must have made some sort of noise, because he turned his head towards her and smiled. "Oh, another little one is here!" he exclaimed, and started to make his way to the edge of the water.

As he emerged from the water, he changed form, into a human shape. Just like I do, Nana thought as he hastily dressed.

"Don't leave, kittycat!" he called out in an almost musical voice, and came over to her, carrying his shoes. "I didn't know there was a cat at this dorm. I knew about the flamingoes here, and the little hedgehogs, but you're a new one." He held out a hand to her, fingers curled underneath. "Hi..."

Nana stretched her neck out towards him, and gave his hand a sniff. He reached out and scratched behind her ears, and she relaxed into the scratch. "There, see? I'm a friend," he said quietly.

Nana purred in reply. This kid seemed all right; the birds weren't even disrupted by his presence. He could be a friend to her for now.

[twstinginthewind]

I dare you to do RubyPunch next with that picrew- òwó

"If Azul makes you wear this nonsense again, Rue, I swear to the seven I'm gonna have to figure out how to beat up an octopus."

[twstinginthewind]

[Sacrifice] Ruby is the sender- gimme that sweet RubyPunch angsttttt

I love you prompts

It wasn't every day that a normal human was able to visit the cities of the Coral Sea, but arguably, the human students at Night Raven College were not exactly what one would call "normal".

Also not "normal" was showing up for a date with your boyfriend while wearing a full divesuit and scuba gear, but Punch had long since abandoned the idea of anything in his life resembling any form of normalcy. He ignored the stares from the other students as he made his way across campus; goggles strapped across the top of his head, flippers held over one shoulder, and a small waterproof plastic container holding a gift for Ruby's grandmother, who he hoped would be all right with learning that her beloved grandchild was romantically involved with a land dweller.

He stepped into the chamber, and saw Ruby leaning against the wall, waiting for him. He gave a small wave as Punch walked in, making Punch's ears go pink. "Right on time! I'm really glad you said you could come for a visit with me."

"I'm glad I could finally come. I wanted to make sure I'd be able to manage without one of Azul's potions, you know? So, scuba lessons." Punch laughed. "You know what they say. Modern problems require modern solutions...."

"I can't say I blame you." Ruby looked down at the toes of his boots and sighed. "Azul's been really touchy lately, especially when you come around the dorm. I'm sorry he is the way he is..." He began to undo his bootlaces, preparing to enter the water.

"You don't have to apologize for him," Punch said, pulling a flipper on over his foot. "Anyway, let's not worry about anyone else. What we have is a way to do this, so let's go and enjoy ourselves."

"Right!" Ruby beamed, and took Punch's hand. He led the taller boy over to the mirror, and took a deep breath. "Are you ready?"

Punch placed the goggles over his eyes, and put his breathing tube in place. He nodded, signifying his readiness. They stepped through together, hand in hand.

They emerged into a beautiful clear sea. A large, colorful reef stretched out alongside them, and sunlight filtered down in bright beams around them. Ruby had shifted forms as they came through, and his tail shone in the light. He let go of Punch's hand, and did a few happy twirls in the water, laughing like a bell. "Oh, it feels great to be under the sea!"

Punch nodded again, breathing slowly through the scuba mask. He pointed briefly at Ruby, then circled his open hand in front of his face once.

Ruby caught the compliment and blushed. "I'm beauti— Punnnch. That's sweet. I'm just comfortable like this! That's all. Now, come on. My grandmother's place is this way..."

They swam together for a short distance, with Ruby pointing out different landmarks (seamarks?) along the way, and chatting animatedly while Punch nodded and gave simple sign replies. They hadn't gone far before a shadow passed overhead, making Ruby freeze.

Punch tilted his head. He couldn't tell what had happened.

Ruby's eyes tracked the shadow, fearing the worst. His expression dropped further as he realized that he was, unfortunately, right. They had stumbled into a shark's territory. He knew he was quick enough to get away, but Punch was clumsy in his diving gear, and would be an easy target for the big predator, which was starting to circle closer to them.

Ruby put both of his hands upon his boyfriend's shoulders and looked Punch in the eye. "I don't really have time to explain, but I have to send you back." He quickly glanced up, a fearful expression on his face. "We just ran into some big danger. When I give the signal, you start heading back to where we came in, fast as you can. Don't look back."

Punch nodded, and then signed back. And you?

"I'll follow as soon as I can," Ruby lied. He leaned in, and kissed Punch on the forehead. "If I'm not back in half an hour, go talk to the Leeches. Send them in for me, okay?" He paused, watching the shadow grow ever closer. He at least knew the tweels would find him, whatever state he would be in. "And... and hey. I love you. Now, go!"

Punch stayed still for just a second, absorbing what he just heard, cursing that he couldn't say it back, then began his swim back, as fast as he could. Before he could draw the shark's attention, though, Ruby swam up. He waved his arms in the air, attracting the huge creature's attention.

"Come on, you bastard. I won't let you take this from me."

[twstinginthewind]

Pssst- Nette, draw our boys- You've been wanting to draw RubyPunch for a while, anyway~. owo

I have been. So I did. <3

Nerd + Mermaid is a classic combo, in my opinion.