#he'd start to dive more into the sea | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

arminsumi · 8 months

Text

I want to kiss you / キスしたい

G. Satoru

NOTE: i recently started learning to write in japanese for not much reason other than to occupy my mind with something new. this little daydream came to me and i can't stop thinking about it, i think falling in love despite a language barrier is one of the purest and sweetest ways to fall in love.

WARNINGS — it might be fem reader idk, kissing 👍, ur married w him at the end, not proofread lol i'm snuggled up in bed ok

Satoru cant speak english and you cant speak japanese; Suguru is the translator friend. You met him online years ago, who knows how. But you hit it off, and four years of friendship rolled by.

Satoru heard all about Y/n and saw you many times when Suguru facetimed or called you. You and him had many cute, playful interactions, ranging from making hearthands at each other to flipping each other off and laughing about it. Sometimes Satoru would be sat off-camera, overloading Suguru with things to translate, because he had a lot to say to you. One time, Suguru left for a few minutes to get a pizza delivery, and then Satoru got very quiet and the two of you blinked at your screens.

"Hi."

And then you two for some reason started laughing with your whole chests, Suguru walked in with a confused smirk. He joked, "Sooo... what did you and Satoru talk about while I was gone?" He asked, gentle accent coming through in soft waves. "The mysteries of the universe." You replied. Satoru was already diving into the pizza box, but he still listened to you speak; he wondered what you had said, maybe you used some fancy words to say that you liked him? He'd be lying if he said he didn't memorize variations of "i like you" after that. He was paranoid that he could miss you saying that you liked him.

You managed a slow, meticulously-pronounced nice to meet you in Japanese when you finally visited Tokyo. It was at the airport. You and Suguru had shared many hugs — good grief, you'd seen height comparisons many times but none painted a real idea of just how big these boys were. But Satoru? He was loudmouthed on a screen and surprisingly shy in person. Eventually he hugged you and didn't let go. He even got so comfy as to hang and cling to your body like you saw him doing with Suguru in countless photos and videos.

Though you could barely pronounce the little Japanese that you picked up, Satoru felt giddy to hear your pretty voice in his language. He listened to you like you were reciting love poetry to him, fists under his chin and eyes starry. But you were just saying basic phrases, boring things — nothing that articulated your thoughts properly.

He was far too embarrassed to try and speak any English when he first met you, even though after developing a crush on you he did start learning some English on the side. He knew quite a bit, but listening was so impossibly difficult it frustrated him like nothing else. He was also self-conscious of his English accent, though Suguru tried to assure him that he sounded very cute and almost oddly British.

So often instead of attempting to speak tiny phrases to you, Satoru threw a lot of hand motions and signals your way which got the two of you and Suguru laughing — poor Sugie, he was always translating even the smallest things you said even if you muttered them under your breath, because Satoru was eager to know every little thought and expression you had, even if you were simply commenting on the weather.

Once you commented that it was so hot, you were visiting during a heatwave-filled summer. Satoru raised his brows at Suguru expectantly, and you heard a familiar translation;

暑い。

It's hot.

There was such a frustrating language barrier between the two of you, it became more evident when you had finally flown over the sea to meet them.

Yet you and satoru fell in love silently and beautifully, your love flowing like a river in the most unexpected directions. You felt his affection emanating from his irises. You and him joked around, and talked — though you had no idea what the other meant most of the time. Sometimes the two of you gave up and you talked in English, he responded with Japanese, and it went on like that very comedically until Suguru came back to bridge the gap.

Lots of time was spent putting your heads together over your phone, reading translations of what you wanted to say to each other.

One day, when Suguru left the two of you alone in his apartment kitchen so that he could hop to the convenience store, Satoru typed something into the translator and let you read it. Your face warmed up.

キスしたい。

I want to kiss you.

He looks at you expectantly.

You type back to him.

Then kiss me.

それからキスして。

He blushed and hesistated, the two of you making electric eye contact for a while before he boyishly pecked your lips to test if you liked his kiss, but oh that's all the two of you needed to realize just how much you liked each other. You melted into each other like your bodies were made for nothing else but to embrace and be one. He shook a little, tentatively gliding his lips over yours. His hands nervously cupped your cheeks. With the way he handled you so carefully, you'd think you were made of porcelain.

Your reciprocation meant everything to him. His confidence flourished. The soft smacking, wet sounds got louder when he kissed you more passionately. Those gentle hands found their way to the back of your neck, and he softly pressed you closer to him as if he was scared you would pull away. What if you changed your mind mid-kiss? He was overthinking and you wouldn't have even guessed it, because you thought he was in the same blissed out dream state as you were. So high on kissing that the world fell away.

The two of you started smiling embarrassedly, grinning so hard that you couldn't continue kissing. Then the two of you just giggled against each other's faces — a subconscious realization swept him; laughter and kissing are their own languages.

Yes as years passed and you visited time and time again, your Japanese improved and his English improved. When you moved to Japan, eventually you adopted a messy mix of Japanese and English with Satoru. He liked showing off how perfectly he could pronounce things, and you liked showing off that you could write very neat kana.

Years and years and years passed and when you and him were married in your own little apartment, starting a life together, a very fluent Satoru reminisced about how the two of you fell in love despite barely speaking to each other.

"It was your eyes for me." You said.

"Oh really? It was your voice for me. I didn't know what you were saying, but it sounded nice." He said.

"Mmm I liked your voice, too." You said, snuggling your head on his shoulder. He basked in the attention, though it was common, it always felt special for him. The smallest hand touches and wrist kisses made his heart lurch.

"Remember when I always nagged Suguru to translate every little thing you said?"

"Yeah, you worked him to the bone." You chuckled.

"I just wanted to know what you were saying. I had such a crush on you, looking back now it was even ridiculous how much I liked you considering the barrier and all."

"Ooh, did you?"

"How is this surprising? We're married??"

"Oh yeah."

#🗑️ — trash #♥️ 𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔 — 五条悟 #gojo #gojo satoru #fluff #gojo fluff #gojo x reader #gojo satoru x reader #gojo x fem reader #satoru x reader #gojou satoru x reader #jjk gojo #satoru gojo

3K notes · View notes

icaberries · 4 months

Text

Something something 124ji regain their emotions and realize what fucked up lives they've lived. And if they want to honor their mother's sacrifice, they have to learn what it is to be human again, and that means leaving Germa.

They try to escape with Reiju only to get captured by Judge.

They're stood on an execution platform with weighs on their ankles and an endless sea beneath them. Judge fakes a story of them trying to mutiny and how he needs to make an example despite them being his children. Ichiji and Reiju both taunt him, a final act of defiance filled with overflowing emotions, and Judge lifts his spear to cut the ropes that will toss them to sea.

Only to get thrown off balance as The Thousand Sunny rams into the castle, steered by a furious Sanji. Before Judge can regain his balance, Sanji turns the wheel and pivots the helm to knock Judge down. Reiju almost sobs in relief, glad she'd remembered Sanji's den den number before they separated on Whole Cake Island.

In the ensuing chaos, Judge manages to cut the ropes for Ichiji, who plunges into the water as the rest of his siblings watch in horror as their brother sinks and doesn't resurface.

Sanji dives after his brother while the rest of the Strawhats jump Judge.

(Because while Sanji swore he won't let him die, his crew did not make the same promise.)

(Because Sanji cares more about saving his brother than fighting his father.)

Ichiji panics at seeing Sanji rescue him because with the weighs dragging him down, it will kill them both. Sanji already saved him once and he'll be damned if he lets his little brother die saving him.

But he doesn't know that Sanji once ignited his leg on fire underwater, and it takes very little effort for him to cut the ropes and swim them to the surface.

The two of them gasp as they break the surface, with Sanji holding onto Ichiji firmly. The sky is lit up with smoke and fire from the ongoing fight between Germa and the Strawhats. Somewhere in the distance, Judge screams before he falls silent. The fight was quick and with their King dead, Germa surrenders.

Sanji swims them to the Sunny, and the rest of the Strawhats help to pull them aboard. Ichiji barely regains his breath before Niji, Yonji, and Reiju swarm the two of them, crying tears of relief.

And the thing is, Sanji didn't know that they regained their emotions. He just received a call from Reiju asking for help, and he booked it. It's the sight of the tears and the forming blond hairs that help Sanji make the connection. Before he can say anything, Reiju is grabbing him and pulling him towards the crying pile. It takes very little for Sanji to start crying as well. He'd already resigned himself to losing and letting go of all of them, but to have them within reach and finally rekindling the humanity their mother sacrificed to save? Well, let's just say Sanji is very grateful to have accepted Reiju’s call.

#vinsmoke sanji #black leg sanji #one piece #vinsmoke brothers #vinsmoke siblings #vinsmoke ichiji #vinsmoke niji #vinsmoke yonji #vinsmoke reiju #my posts

159 notes · View notes

4sturns · 5 months

Note

I 100% think Chris a boob guy

hmm .. a boob guy chris enthusiast amongst the sea of ass guy chris enthusiasts.

NSFW CONTENT BELOW

i've been a firm believer of ass guy chris but honestly, after sitting down and really thinking about it i can get behind chris being a boob guy.

he'd try his absolute best to keep his eyes up, but when your cleavage is so visible and your boobs are being hugged so nicely by that shirt you're wearing he completely forgets what his original plan was.

he'd start stuttering while his gaze flickers between your eyes and your boobs. he's so obviously distracted that you cross your arms over your chest with an amused smirk on your face. clearly this makes it worse for chris as your boobs are propped higher on your chest, more skin spilling out the top of your shirt as his face reddens and he lets out an embarrassingly loud gulp.

but it's also not entirely a sexual thing for him either. sometimes it's just a comfort thing, similar to the way some of us rest a hand on a boob for the hell of it.

he'd definitely be the type to dive headfirst into your chest if you let him. uses your chest as his personal pillows, sometimes switching things up and resting a hand on one boob, squeezing occasionally as if it were a stress ball.

the amount of times he'd fall asleep with his head on your chest is almost laughable, although you find the warmth and comfort just as much as he does.

at the end of the day, he doesn't care how small or big your boobs are, boobs are boobs to him! same goes to your ass, even if he does prefer your boobs more, he'd never neglect showing your butt some well deserved attention regardless of shape and/or size.

#sturniolo triplets #chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #matt sturniolo #nick sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #sturniolo smut #sturniolo x reader #sturniolo imagine #sturniolo fanfic #chris sturniolo fanfic #chris sturniolo smut #4sturns anons

242 notes · View notes

spacexseven · 1 year

Note

Wait wait wait wait in mer au I have never seen you talk about mermaid darling

What if darling is the mermaid and idk dazai or chuuya or both maybe are the humans and discover darling

Or them still being well whatever they are in mer au (siren and sea monster from what I remember) and darling also a mermaid:D

CW: yandere characters, toxic relationships, unhealthy idolization, implied murder/violence, invasion of privacy, reader is referred to as 'pet' in siren chuuya's part. unedited

human dazai is thrilled. he can hardly believe it! expect to be met with a barrage of questions from him, some from innocent curiosity, but mostly him wanting to know uncomfortably personal information. he begs and begs for you to let him stroke your tail, just once? it’s so shiny, you can’t really expect him to not be mesmerized by it! he’s impossible to escape, as he makes a habit of coming to your usual spot every waking moment, preferring to creep up on you and watch you go about your day before making his presence known. even if you switch to another spot—still close enough to watch the people walk by—he’ll scour the waters for you. soon enough, he even starts taking out a little boat to see you farther away from prying eyes. dazai brings you trinkets, despite you being the one with access to more valuable and rare items, and he knows that even though you act all huffy, you’re entranced by the newest gadgets he proudly waves at you. ah, but don't worry! he knows how to keep a secret. after all, he can't have anyone else coming after you, can he?

eelzai (eel dazai) isn't exactly used to cute little things like you coming by these parts of the waters. most other mer creatures are far more sociable than him and tend to live in more populated areas, never wandering near his cave unless it's out of curiosity about the rumored sea monster that lived there. it didn't particularly bother him to know that he was more feared than liked, and honestly, your shocked expression was awfully cute. what was surprising was how you kept coming back. maybe you were curious about him, too, peering shyly into his cave and quickly jolting back when you heard the slow swishing of his tail in the water. he didn't mind the company, though you probably thought he had no idea that you came around. sometimes, he'd lay as still as possible, waiting for you to come a little closer. closer, until your face was right next to his as you studied him carefully. he hoped you would stay longer, trace a finger, but within a few minutes, you were gone.

so he planned accordingly for the next time, hiding in a dark corner of the cave, lying in wait for you to believe it was empty, and come wandering in. and right as you came near the center, far enough from the opening so nobody would hear the yelp as you got dragged away, he would finally be able to have a nice conversation with you.

it shocks human chuuya the first time he sees you peering at him from the water, so much so that he jumps back and maybe cries out a little. despite his initial reaction, you were more than happy to educate him about your species, and you eagerly entertain all his questions and requests. maybe you were just lonely. not that he minded your attention. chuuya answers all of your questions and carefully remembers all the details you tell him about your life and home just in case. sometimes, startled by the sudden sounds of footsteps, you rush back into the water, and something you brought to show chuuya falls out beside his feet, which he silently pockets and pretends not to have seen when you ask about it. but no matter how much you plead with him to let you meet more humans, his friends, he refuses. there was no way he was going to let anyone come near you. chuuya even decides to learn diving, just to surprise you with a visit one of these days, now that he knows your favorite spots nearby.

siren chuuya is used to the envious stares of other mers, wishing they were as refined as him in any way. he's not as used to admiration, but it wasn't that uncommon. the degree of your admiration, however, was far from normal. he didn't know how you came to meet him, but the day you saw him you had fallen into a trance (as you liked to say) and since then, were rarely seen apart from him. you adored chuuya, constantly complimenting him and praising him, openly admitting you wished you were as alluring or as pretty as him because no human ever looked twice at you, especially not when all they wanted to see were sirens and other mystical creatures. chuuya never tells you that he's glad you're not as popular as him, he never tells you that he hates the idea of any foolish human fawning after you, nor does he tell you that he's already had to take care of a few suitors who were after your affection, those stupid enough to come and ask him for help in wooing you. no, he lets you believe that you should be happy in your current position, and lets you gush over him more and more, over the moon at any semblance of affection or praise from him. he liked you trailing behind him with starry eyes, his little pet.

660 notes · View notes

rhysdarbinizedarby · 7 months

Text

How Our Flag Means Death transformed Rhys Darby into a merman

Take a deep dive into Stede and Blackbeard’s big underwater reunion, featuring Kate Bush and buckets of glitter.

Warning: This story contains spoilers for Our Flag Means Death season 2, episode 3, "The Innkeeper."

How do you turn a pirate into a mermaid? All you need is a loyal crew, a killer soundtrack, and lots and lots of glitter.

Our Flag Means Death season 2 reunites swashbuckling lovers Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) after their tragic parting in season 1. An injured Blackbeard is hovering near death, stranded in a purgatory-like dream world after his crew attempted mutiny. He plunges off a cliff, sinking deep into the sea, and it seems as if his past regrets will drag him into the darkness. Then, a light appears, and Kate Bush starts to play: It's Stede, carrying a trident and sporting a golden fish tail. Merman Stede coaxes Blackbeard back to life, and together, they swim upwards into the light.

It's a moment that's simultaneously silly and heartfelt, a perfect encapsulation of the show's signature tone. Series creator David Jenkins says he and the writers have wanted a merman Stede scene for years, and it comes at the, ahem, tail end of episode 3, written by Alyssa Lane and Alex Sherman and directed by Andrew DeYoung. The sequence itself isn't long, but it proved to be a monumental undertaking, requiring careful collaboration from the visual effects team, stunts, hair, makeup, costumes, music, and more.

"When you're working on smaller shows like this that need big visual effects, you have to be very resourceful about how you do things," visual effects supervisor David Van Dyke tells EW. "I feel like the underwater sequence was a really great culmination of all the departments really working together and maximizing our resources."

With the episode streaming now on Max, EW caught up with a few key members of the OFMD crew, who break down exactly how they transformed Darby into a merman — fish tail and all.

Gypsy Taylor's sketch of merman Stede for 'Our Flag Means Death' | CREDIT: GYPSY TAYLOR

A sailor's tail

Originally, the plan was to use a green screen to give Darby a CGI tail. But it was costume designer Gypsy Taylor who pushed back, arguing that she and her team could build a practical tail that looked gorgeous and functioned underwater.

"I was like, 'Please make my dreams come true!'" she tells EW with a laugh. "'I want to make Rhys Darby a mermaid!'" It helped that Darby himself was game: The actor served in the New Zealand army, so he's a more than capable swimmer. He volunteered to film as much of the scene as he could, even if that meant learning to swim with a monofin.

As she started to sketch, Taylor immersed herself in mermaid imagery, finding inspiration in all sorts of aquatic creatures. Ultimately, she decided on a subtle golden look, one that fit Stede's personality but still brought plenty of drama.

"I delved deep into the mermaid world, and I could have gone all rainbow and big and luscious," she explains.

"But instead I thought, look, if Stede turns into a fish, and it's Blackbeard's dream sequence of what he knows of Stede, then he'd probably just turn into a really sweet goldfish. So, that's where I started. He's just this sweet, loving little goldfish."

Merman tail construction for 'Our Flag Means Death' | CREDIT: GYPSY TAYLOR

For the actual construction, Taylor recruited her longtime collaborator and props maker Hayley Egan. Many fake mermaid tails are sculpted out of a single piece of rubbery silicone, but Taylor wanted to keep Stede's tail as lightweight as possible, so Darby could actually move through the water.

So, she fitted the actor with a stretchy Lycra base, and Egan hand-sculpted and attached about 3,000 individual silicone scales. The final steps were to add the enormous, flipper-like monofin at the bottom, before sewing on thin, gauzy strips of chiffon to give the tail more movement in the water.

A close-up of Rhys Darby's tail in 'Our Flag Means Death' | CREDIT: GYPSY TAYLOR

Taylor worked closely with stunt coordinator Jacob Tomuri to make sure the tail not only looked beautiful but functioned underwater, too. (She also knew that they'd have to film quickly, since the chlorine in the tank could corrode the tail over time.) She carefully monitored the tail's weight — but it still wound up heavier than she anticipated.

"We added a whole lot of weight accidentally by putting five kilograms of glitter in," Taylor admits. "I had to warn the stunt team. I was like, 'I didn't think glitter would be that heavy! But we needed a lot of it. And it's so pretty!'"

The tail required 5 kilograms of glitter | CREDIT: GYPSY TAYLOR

Egan constructed four tails in all: a stunt tail, a tail for Rhys to practice with, and two hero tails for use on camera. Egan assembled them at her workshop in Australia, but she had to stuff them into a suitcase to bring them to the OFMD set in New Zealand. All was well, until she got to New Zealand customs, and the agent asked her: "Are you bringing fish into the country?"

"She was in fits," Taylor recalls, laughing. "She was like, 'Well, actually… I'm bringing four fish into the country.'"

Once the tail was fitted to Darby's body, the makeup and prosthetics team came in to seamlessly blend it to his bare skin, adding even more scales and glitter. But although Darby moved gracefully underwater, navigating dry land proved to be a bigger challenge. Once the actor was encased in his tail, he couldn't move around set, so the crew borrowed a wheelchair from a local New Zealand hospital to transport him to the tank. (See the video below.)

"We'd all go up this ramp together, with him in his little wheelchair, and we'd just sort of dump him in," Taylor explains. "Everyone was trying very hard not to laugh."

Diving deep

Season 1 shot in Los Angeles, but for season 2, Our Flag Means Death relocated to New Zealand. Many scenes were filmed in a studio or on the life-size recreation of the pirate ship Revenge, but Van Dyke, the visual effects supervisor, wanted to take advantage of New Zealand's natural beaches and ocean views — particularly for the scene where Blackbeard plunges off the cliff.

So, the crew scouted a gorgeous spot near Bethells Beach, capturing drone photography and 3-D photogrammetry. "LA's got a ton of great natural resources," Van Dyke explains, "but you might have a guy sitting there on the beach in your shot, drinking a beer out of a cooler that yours truly has to remove."

The actual ocean scenes were shot in an enormous indoor tank. Underwater filming isn't exactly easy, but fortunately, several members of the crew had experience on a certain blockbuster James Cameron production. "Thank God Avatar shot out there because we had a lot of seasoned underwater veterans," Van Dyke says with a laugh. "So, they knew what they were doing."

The tank itself wasn't deep enough to look like a real ocean, so Waititi had to float horizontally underwater, and the image was later flipped to make it seem like he was sinking downward. Then, Van Dyke and his team came in to clean up the shot, adding depth and adjusting the trajectory of bubbles. He also worked closely with Taylor and hair and makeup designer Nancy Hennah, who had to ensure that Waititi's enormous Blackbeard wig didn't float away.

"Look, CG hair is hard enough, and underwater is even harder," Van Dyke says, explaining that Hennah's meticulous wig work saved his team hours of effort. "There were some things that visual effects had to help out with, but we didn't have to stick a CG wig on him. So, thank you, Nancy, for doing that!"

The perfect soundtrack

Music has always been a major part of OFMD's DNA, and season 1 brought memorably anachronistic needle drops like Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" and Leonard Cohen's "Avalanche." For the Stede/Blackbeard reunion, Jenkins picked an ethereal '80s classic: "This Woman's Work" by Kate Bush.

The song was always Jenkins' first choice for the scene, and it was written in the script, but music supervisor Maggie Phillips admits that she initially argued against it. Not only was the song originally written for John Hughes' She's Having a Baby, but it's been used in multiple TV shows and films, including Extras, Love and Basketball, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Even Phillips herself had already placed it in another TV show, using it for a terrifying execution scene in The Handmaid's Tale season 2.

Plus, Stranger Things had just propelled Bush's "Running Up That Hill" to become the song of the summer in 2022. "I mean, I was so excited that the kids discovered Kate Bush," Phillips says with a laugh. "Ultimately, my feeling is that whenever Kate Bush gets exposed to new audiences, that's great. But I was fully like, 'Don't use this song. There's too much baggage.'"

Rhys Darby on the set of 'Our Flag Means Death' | CREDIT: GYPSY TAYLOR

Jenkins pushed back, noting that the song suggestion came from Waititi himself, who's wanted to use it in a project for about a decade. Still, Phillips remained hesitant. "I was like, 'Okay, I still think this is a bad idea,'" she says. "And then I saw a cut of [the scene], and I ate my words."

Bush's dreamy vocals give the whole sequence an ethereal feel, and Phillips says she loves how the lyrics — "I know you have a little life in you yet/I know you have a lot of strength left" — take on new meaning as Stede coaxes Blackbeard back to life. "I saw it in a totally new context, and I love it," she says. "They actually recontextualize the song and make it work in a new way. I got chills watching it."

Plus, Phillips adds, the scene got one particularly important stamp of approval: "We heard through Kate Bush's management that she was very pleased with the use and very excited, which made me really happy as a huge fan."

Our Flag Means Death airs Thursdays on Max.

Source: EW

#rhys darby #ofmd #our flag means death #taika waititi #behind the scenes #ofmd s2 spoilers

178 notes · View notes

astrolavas · 10 months

Note

Ok ok, but now is turn for the grimwalker HCs!! Give us the creature👀

!!!!! BET

once a grimwalker is "formed" they simply turn mostly organic, just like how palismen are live animals instead of wood (when activated). so even though the ingredients are still THERE technically, they appear as just like... normal stuff, so grimwalkers are mostly biologically the species that their ortet was, almost indistinguishable (hair is hair, skin is skin, there's blood flow despite there not initially being a heart, the galdorstone is there but it functions very similarly to a heart, etc etc) and yet sometimes the original ingredients' features somehow still "show up" in unique-to-grimwalkers ways. ㅤ

i imagine grimwalkers used to be like a more popular/frequent occurence in ancient demon realm. the process of creating a grimwalker was like a sacred magic ritual, only allowed in special cases (like maybe if a witch lost a child early and wasn't able to have another one, sth of the sort) so it was still very rare even back then and would have to be approved of by most of the community. however, then the tradition died off as ingredients started becoming more scarce, and most of knowledge about it was eventually lost to time. nowadays, grimwalkers are considered to be an extinct species as well as an urban legend/myth by boiling isles habitants, like a "supposedly extinct but there's no certainty if they ever even actually existed" situation (without taking hunter and his possibly-openly-a-grimwalker-in-the-future thing into account just yet). the books we saw hunter read in labyrinth runners have some right information but also lots of misinformation in them, since they're far removed from the direct source, based on only tidbits of actual info, and have been written by witches/demons, with no grimwalkers consulted (obviously); lots of it is speculation, and lots of it is wrong. (i imagine the only actual, entirely truthful info is in those scrolls and books we saw in belos' grimwalker lab, but even that isn't fully complete; and belos wouldn't have wanted to share it with the public anyway, for obvious reasons) additionally, i feel like grimwalkers have a sort of cryptid-like reputation in the boiling isles' pop culture. there are stories made up about them. there are teens making pink-eyed grimwalker ocs on the demon realm equivalent of deviantart and making up things like "grimwalkers can shoot lasers out of their eyes" or "they can raise the dead with their thoughts" LMAO. hunter gets a headache when he discovers all that. ㅤ

grimwalkers are semi-immune to boiling water. the selkidomus scales give them a lot of immunity so boiling water is not actually lethal to them but still, being exposed to boiling rain for a long while or full-on diving into the boiling sea may hurt a bit and prolonged contact with boiling water may leave them with blisters/burns. ㅤ

when grimwalkers' skin is wet for a long time, it gets somewhat scaley ??? scales-resembling texture ?? instead of just being pruney/wrinkled. when dry, their fingertips have a sort of wood-rings-y look. ㅤ

grimwalkers' hair naturally grows incredibly fast, but especially when they spend lots of time in the sun. plant magic may also affect its growth positively. ㅤ

grimwalkers' eyes are reflective and can glow/shine in the dark. ㅤ

when it comes to human-based grimwalkers (the golden guards), sometimes their ears would turn out rounder and human-looking, sometimes they'd look pointier but still not fully witch-like. belos preferred them to be round cuz obviously he preferred "caleb" to be human-looking, but with time he started modifying some grimwalkers' naturally round ears to be pointier just so that they could blend in easier and so they'd believe that they're witches too. he'd "mold" their ears during early creation or sometimes modify/cut them after, like he did his. (hunter's ears are naturally pointy and generally look like a witch's ears but, upon closer inspection, the details of his ears differ from a normal witch's ears juuuust slightly) (ears of the grimwalker that we saw in ftf were fully round because belos was counting on this one to be the golden guard post-day of unity, seemingly brought up as human and in the human realm) ㅤ

just like stonesleepers, grimwalkers often have a slightly sensitive spot behind their ears. ㅤㅤㅤ

palismen can somewhat sense that grimwalkers are also made of palistrom wood so they naturally cling to them more (big win for mr palisman enthusiast/carver hunter owlhouse!) ㅤㅤ

again, when it comes to specifically caleb-based/the golden guard grimwalkers, i can imagine that belos' first attempts were....... FAR from perfect. since i imagine he got all the information from different incomplete ancient scrolls, there were many things he had to come up with and re-discover himself. the very first grimwalkers he made probably didn't even survive for longer than a few minutes/hours. and when they did survive, i feel like the ingredients used were much more distinguishable at first too, not fully transformed into their organic counterparts; like for example some grimwalkers had more selkidomus-like or stonesleeper-like features, or were visibly wooden in some places, etc etc. i feel like belos didn't succeed in making a fully functional, stable and human/witch-looking grimwalker until he met the collector, and then did so thanks to their help. ㅤ

grimwalkers are already "harvestable" at early infancy and that's when you're "supposed" to unbury them, but they can technically emerge at any age (they just have to stay underground and age for the amount of time). i feel like there were also times when belos tried to speed up the process and age his grimwalkers up faster so that they'd be of use to him quicker, but that would also often result in the grimwalkers being unstable; so not really a good idea. (i envision that hunter was probably one of the youngest- if not the youngest- grimwalker belos had ever made, and that's also why he had high hopes for him lasting longer than the others; because he manipulated him since early childhood, starting in his most pivotal developmental years) ㅤ

i like to believe that the reason why flapjack was able to save hunter in thanks to them was because hunter's a grimwalker. if hunter had been a normal witch or a human, i don't think flapjack could do anything to help. (something abt the thing that hunter was ashamed of and hated abt himself ending up being the exact thing that makes saving him possible... you know?) ㅤ

for specifically caleb-based grimwalkers, i imagine that since they're mostly human in biology, they might also have issues with eating some particular demon realm food. not as much as luz of course, since they're not completely human + after years of living in the demon realm and basically eating ONLY demon realm food i can imagine your stomach would get mostly used to it, acclimated and all, but it probably still could result in some problems and discomfort. ㅤ

because of their stonesleeper lungs, grimwalkers are usually pretty still and motionless sleepers. they breathe very slowly when sleeping. ㅤ

you can't make a grimwalker out of a grimwalker. you can try, but the magic simply won't work correctly.

#i'm normal abt grimwalker lore...... GRHRGRRR i feel like i have so many more hcs that i'm forgetting rn #my toh talk #hunter toh #grimwalker #hunter #nicole answers #Anonymous

278 notes · View notes

lionheartedmusings · 8 months

Text

with mousey and bad together on the server, there's been a lot of talking about her as satan (it's been clarified by mousey that all she remembers is that she's a demon from hell) and her as bad's boss, and i wanted to do a bit of a deep dive on bad's demon lore through both a "pop culture" view and a more traditional biblical view.

in pop culture we've had a lot of mixing up of demon lore in general, with the prevalent idea that demons are creations of hell, and not all of them necessarily fallen angels or previously heavenly beings — it's a perfectly valid analysis, but i'm firmly convinced that bad's character is not just any demon, but instead very much a powerful demon that was once an angel.

let's start with what we do know of q!bad's personal history and slot things into their proper place. we know he's around 11600 years old (making his "date of birth" somewhere around 9577 BC. we also know he arrived in this world (which in this case we have to assume is whichever dimension qsmp is held in) in 9600 BC which means he lived the majority of his life away from his home — he was barely 23 when he "moved".

we also know that he didn't come to this dimension willingly, that he was summoned and in that summoning he caused serious destruction — it's been made pretty apparent that the man sunk atlantis, and frankly there's still a question as to whether he did it on accident or not, or the reason why he keeps it hidden. according to bonnie the horse, he sent them a lot of "salty souls" once, and bonnie has also dubbed bad "death of the sea". it doesn't matter whether bad is hiding because what he did made him famous, or because he feels terrible — what matters here is that one singular demon was able to cause the destruction and sinking of a whole civilization singlehandedly. he was also able to do it at a pretty young age.

we also know that bad has eaten souls before (as well as anything he can get in his mouth, apparently), that he's got a way to avoid being summoned (as he told dapper he'd let him know later) and that for better or for worse, he's immortal. so, it's safe to say that bad is an extremely powerful being that cannot be killed by any means, and who has enough control over himself to not only hide his true nature but also contain himself to the highest degree.

speaking of death, bad's relationship with it is very interesting on a few levels. we know he's employed as a grim reaper (and that being a grim reaper is completely removed from his origins, it's just a job) and that to one degree or another, he's acknowledged mumza as the goddess of death as being canonical to him as well (yesterday tallulah spoke about death as a beautiful woman, and bad confirmed to chat she meant mumza).

but what is a grim reaper?

traditionally, grim reapers (or those who served their role) were nothing more than physical manifestations of death with the purpose of easing humans from one plane into the next. they're friendly and kind, and historically for the longest time (up until the middle ages and the plague) they were positive figures, reminiscent at many times of angels.

now, onto angels. angels biblically are far from the cherubic vision we see most often — they're whatever they're needed for. they can be kind-hearted messengers, but they're also warriors and if need be, and they can be incredibly dangerous to humans. why did some fall? simple enough, they sinned. there are passages in the bible regarding the fall of angels and they're described as losing the war in heaven, being cast down with "satan" (while satan and lucifer are not entirely interchangeable and they're often considered two different people, biblically today they're presumed to be the same so let's just roll with it for now) into hell. other passages speak of angels who sinned against god and who await judgement in hell.

but what does any of this have to do with badboyhalo, you ask? well… more than it seems at first if you put it all together. on a basic level, bad wouldn't be considered your average demon — yes, he's full of mischief, has an odd moral compass, and can be incredibly violent, but he's also very kind, and very gentle, and very very loving. there are contradictions in his personality that could be discounted as meta… but the evidence continues to pile up. bad is full of angel iconography, from the actual halo in his name and in his preferred design, but his new build in his home is really beating us over the head with it — he build two statues that can only be described as holy warriors, dark and demon-y but with a golden halo and beautiful white wings.

then, there's "the chair". which is not a chair, it's very much a throne, but for whatever reason bad seems vehemently opposed to admitting that it is, in fact, a throne — it's huge, and full of dark and red blocks, fire… and behind it? huge angel wings. now, one could argue that they're bones, but there are details in the blocks that very clearly allude to feathers — the idea of white feathery wings is a direct parallel to angels, and i think it's very intentional.

who, then, is badboyhalo? i'd put my money on his personal lore being connected to the demonology idea of "the princes of hell" — angels who fell from the grace of god, and took up their kingdoms in hell. i'm fully convinced that bad is a prince of hell. now, which one? that's trickier, and not something we know enough to real pinpoint, especially when you consider that the identity of the princes of hell is pretty fluid — there's a lot of different texts who name different demons, so i'm choosing to simplify it until we get more information.

tl;dr - badboyhalo is not just any ol' demon, but a fallen angel — one of the "princes of hell".

a special thanks to @comradeboyhalo because this post was very handy!

#qsmp #q!badboyhalo #qsmp theory #qsmp analysis #qsmp badboyhalo #long post #this is..... too long and convoluted but here we go

144 notes · View notes

strongheartneteyam · 1 year

Text

Love song.

Pairing: soft!Ao'nung x female!metkayina!reader

CW: fluff!!! <3, unrequited love (reader doesn't know Ao'nung loves her too), angst, kinda innocent/pure vibes

I got inspired to write this after looking at a lovely gift of Ao'nung smiling and remembering one of my favorite Evanescence songs, "You". The reader sings the song, but, in the story, the lyrics and melody are her creation. Also, I realize that this is almost an AU bc ao'nung is sweet af here and well lol he ain't in the canon version (unless he'd be like that for his mate only ahahah)

༄♡

After the eclipse, you were standing inside the ocean, with the cold water covering up to your hips, alone. You started to trace the waters with your fingers, while thinking about the silly boy you loved.

"Oh, Ao'nung, if only you knew.." The words echoed in the night

You had a little song that you had composed, Ao'nung being your inspiration. You were a great singer. It had been so since you were a little child. The people would ask you to sing for them.

The melody started to come alive, coming out of your throat:

And I can't sleep, I need to tell you... goodnight

When we're together I feel perfect

When I'm pulled away from you I fall apart

All that you say is sacred to me

Your eyes are so blue, I can't look away as we lay in the stillness

You whisper to me:

(y/n), marry me, promise you'll stay with me

Oh, you don't have to ask me, you know you're all that I live for

You know I'd die just to hold you, stay with you

Somehow I'll show you that you are my night sky

I've always been right behind you

That was all you had come up with until that moment, so, you sighed and stopped singing.

You were looking over to the deeper waters in front of you and thinking about diving in when you heard a familiar voice say:

"Now I know." It was Ao'nung, standing in the sand, smiling at you

He walked slowly into the water, eyes still on you, smile still on his face. You heard the water sounds his body made while he moved and waited, frozen in your place.

When he finally arrived right in from of you, he wasted no time and in less than a second grabbed you by the waist and started kissing you. He kissed you hard. You melted at his mouth and started kissing him back. Soft lip smacking sounds could be heard in the air, as he savored the way you tasted in his tongue. He held you tight, your body glued to his. You could feel his heart beating fast inside of his chest and so did yours. He breathed deep, lips still on yours. His tongue touched your lips and you opened your mouth. Ao'nung licked your tongue over and over, feeling you do the same to his. He finally let go of your lips, out of breath.

"Oel ngati kameie." (I see you)

He said, touching his chest

"Oel ngati kameie" You answered, looking deep into his light blue eyes. They were more beautiful than any part of the sea you had ever seen.

He smiled slightly, showing no teeth, and you smiled wide, your fangs touching your lower lip.

"You're so cute." He said, rubbing the skin of your cheek with his thumb

He leaned closer, still touching your face, and kissed you again. His lips were so soft, wet and warm. You felt like you were dreaming but it was reality, this time.

The lyrics that were missing to complete your song came suddenly to your head:

Now that you love me I love myself

I never thought I would say that

I never thought there'd be you

༄♡

My heart was hurting in a good way while I wrote this 🥲

Please, like and/or reblog this post if you liked it and leave a comment telling me what you think 💙

198 notes · View notes

wordy-little-witch · 2 months

Text

Oh God Oh man oh jeez

Okay so. Angst. But like.

I'll put trigger warnings for it but this occurred to me at work and I'm just losing my MARBLES but-

TW for mental health issues, SH topics, hurt/comfort

Buggy growing up on a pirate ship probably lead to more than a few bad coping mechanisms- add in the sense of inferiority, his general anxious demeanor, etc, he probably hid a lot of things, even from the people he trusted most- especially from the people he trusted most.

Buggy likely had anxiety attacks or panic attacks fairly often - at first, it was handled with care, but when it became a recurring theme, some started finding it troublesome or obnoxious. When Buggy got to a certain point, he'd slip away to handle it on his own.

The only ones who really noticed or even cared enough to follow after him were Roger, who rarely COULD follow, Rayleigh, who was also often involved in the fall out, and Shanks, who would try but couldn't always get to him. Eventually Buggy, losing his shit and alone, accidently gets hurt during one of the attacks, either by nails or smth else. And suddenly things start... feeling solid. Less blurry, less frantic. Everything narrows down to the sharp-sting-hot lines and the red on his skin.

It becomes smth of a crutch to him.

He takes to wearing wrist bands, gloves, he is a bit more feisty about privacy, but very few clock something being wrong. Only Roger, Ray and Shanks feel like something is slightly off. They notice things going missing, they see how Buggy flinches sometimes with certain movements, but there's nothing concrete. There's red flags but they can't see the flagpoles to chase them back to the source.

Buggy gets in the habit of cutting young.

And then suddenly there is a Devil Fruit on board. A map, a chance, a fortune - he loves this family but he feels they don't love him. He isn't LIKE them. He's not strong like them, fast like them, he's just... Buggy. He's always just been Buggy, and Buggy has never been enough.

He plans to steal away in the night, under cover of darkness, leaving the crew short some money, sure, but they won't have the added weight of himself. He is just an anchor to them.

But Shanks finds him.

Shanks startles him.

Shanks slaps his back, tries to cheer him up, and the fruit goes down his throat, the magic explodes in his stomach, he gets angry, so so so angry, he is seeing red and he's raging and he's falling and-

And he's drowning.

Oh.

It was a real devil fruit.

Well... one way or another... he wanted to leave.

Shanks jumps after him. Shanks saves him. Buggy is soaked, cold, coughing and dizzy, and Shanks is beside him, is warm, and he's tempted, so tempted to lean into it and so he does-

And Shanks is pulled away. He opens his eyes, and the crew is there. Someone had wrapped Shanks in a towel, was fussing over him, someone was cheering for his "bravery" and Buggy-

He's cold.

He staggers to his feet, dripping, and he stumbles towards his room. Roger tries to stop him, grabs his shoulders, but Buggy is dripping with more than just sea water even though the steady streams are just as salted, so he pulls away and he runs.

He dives into their room, grabs his knife, his knees hit the floor and he moves and-

He lost the fruit.

He lost the map.

He lost his whole hand just now too.

No pain, just a split over his wrist, surreal and impossible and he can't- he can't breathe, he- what-

He drops his knife, the hand reattaches and he curls into a ball, hands burying in his hair, and he cries - silent as the grave, he is sobbing, hiccuping and sniffling, pulling his hair and he can't, he can't he can't-

Arms wrap around him, big, warm, the scent of sea air and rum and spiced strawberries, and Buggy clings to his captain as he simply shatters.

Roger sees the scars on his limbs, but he doesn't respond beyond hugging Buggy a little tighter. He doesn't react as he helps Buggy change, as he wraps his kid in his coat and holds him close, as he stares at the far wall and wonders how long and why and why didn't I know?

He doesn't say anything that night - not to Buggy at least.

He does talk to Rayleigh.

He leaves both of his sons curled up together in his own bed, tucked in with his own coat, and he meets Shanks' eyes, nods to the hardened little fire burning within them, a silent conversation of look after him and I Will echoing in the wooden walled room, and he goes to the only other person who will understand the rage, the fear, and they hug one another in silence.

Buggy is not okay. He hasn't been for a very, very long time, but they refuse to let him slip through the cracks, even if they have to chisel their way down to him themselves.

And this? This action, this choice? It changes EVERYTHING.

#buggy rayleigh #buggy roger #roger pirates #shanks and buggy #angst #hurt/comfort #yes i am projecting #leave me alone #if i didn’t get it then my blorbo will

30 notes · View notes

perpetualexistence · 2 months

Text

Sea Monster AU: Poor Unfortunate Soul (2/2)

youtube

(Why this cover in particular? Mainly because the thumbnail is cool. Also, annapatsu's covers always slap without fail.)

So! It's been a while! Partially because this chapter ended up longer than anticipated. Partially because I got distracted with other AUs because the ADHD mind takes me where it wants to take me. I think it's just going to be safer to not have a set schedule for when these come out because that's apparently just not how my brain wants to work. But I could never forget about this AU! Bit by bit, it will get done, as you can see here!

But here we are! Welcome back to Noah making drastic life choices because Alejandro is a toxic manipulative bastard. Drastic enough to warrant more content warnings.

Content warnings: Murder, cannibalism, toxic relationship, body horror

Once more, the asterisks return for the most gruesome bits. I've got a safer summary of what happens in the asterisks at the bottom.

If you ever think I need more content warnings, please do let me know and I'll add them immediately.

Without further ado, time to dive into Noah's further exploration into magic!

<- Prev | First | Next (Soon) ->

With gills, Noah can now begin with proper magic. There's the spell that would make Alejandro smaller that he still needs to find in his book. There's also the problem of needing a back up plan. If he fails to shrink Alejandro, then Alejandro will kill him. He won't be able to talk his way out of it. He'll need the ability to fight back.

The book can sense his desire to defend himself. It flips to a page that promises a ritual that will grant his body the ability to do just that. It will even make magic easier to perform. Perfect. His only problem is the lack of details on the outcome. Try as he might, the book always flips back to how to cast the spell, and away from what happens after. Considering what happened the last time he tried to force something out of the book, he decides settling for this spell will be easier. The book throws him a bone with mention that this won't be as permanent as the gills, so that's something.

Noah's reading through the list of things he needs for the ritual. Rune knife, check. A bunch of salt, weird, but whatever. Flesh. At least a whole body's worth. The closer the attachment, the better the results. And to finish it off?

Consume the heart.

Noah's frantically looking at the alternative for flesh. He'd essentially need to alchemically recreate a human being. How many more ships would he have to sacrifice to make that happen? Countless, probably. People are already noticing the disappearances. There's no way he'd get all of this before he and Alejandro get caught. If Alejandro gets caught, people are going to go after him. Innocent people, sailing to their deaths because they have no idea about how Noah's been fighting to keep them off the menu.

So flesh it is. Time to kill a person. It's not like this is anything new. He already killed Chris. Even if that one was in complete self defense. And this one would very much be calculated. It'd be easier if he could just sneak away a corpse from one of Alejandro's feeding frenzies. But Alejandro's his ride there and back. There's no hiding a corpse from him.

So he's going to have to kill this one all on his own. In cold-blood. With his twig arms. At least he semi-knows how to defend himself.

Before he got Chef killed, Chef had insisted on teaching him self defense. Said his scrawny ass would have to worry about people just as much as monsters. Forced him to carry stuff with him. Noah did start noticing a difference, however small. Chef was gruff about it, but he did acknowledge it. All in all, Chef was pretty decent. He wasn't completely unreasonable. Not like Chris. Maybe-

No. Noah can't afford to go down that line of thinking. Chef loved Chris. He'd do anything for that man. Maybe Chef did know the true plan, and was still helping Chris. Even if he didn't, he never would have rested if he was allowed to live. Noah couldn't risk revenge killing. Chef had his uses, and now it'll make this job a bit easier.

He needs to kill someone on land. It has to be someone who deserves it. The closer, the better. Thanks to recent events, there's one person who comes to mind. The loan shark who has been hassling his family for years. He's back in town now, and Noah doubts anyone will miss him. He could use his hacking abilities to try to narrow down his exact location. Still, can't walk into a lion's den. He'll be really lucky to take the loan shark down. More than that? Absolutely not. Noah needs to isolate the loan shark, and have him come to Noah. That's going to require tact Noah doesn't have.

But he knows the perfect teacher.

Alejandro is incredibly pleased when Noah tells him that he wants to learn more about hunting. It seems that any concern about what he had been doing with Chef and Chris get quashed when Noah leans into murder. He has to lie about how it felt to kill Chris. Not as much as he thought he would. Chris had it coming. Noah just has to pretend the anger comes less from how he would have sacrificed the town and more from how he would have brainwashed Alejandro.

It's not like he's really lying about it per se. He would have felt bad to completely steal someone's autonomy away. Even if it had been Alejandro. Still, that doesn't dispel the worm of guilt as he swears he recognizes appreciation and fondness in Alejandro's eyes.

There's a part of him that wants to reciprocate. There is. It's the part of him that remembers that Alejandro is the first person he ever got close to and vulnerable with. That recognizes that their relationship has to be more than that of convenience. Why else would Alejandro insist on learning everything about Noah and hanging out even when not hunting? He gushes over romance novels and is jealous of Noah's dog, for fuck's sake. Neither of those things would obviously make him more endearing to Noah if that was Alejandro's goal. It's why they are so endearing.

Yet here Alejandro is. Gushing over his newfound appreciation for the craft of killing. How the yacht incident is forgiven. Forgiven? Like Noah was the one in the wrong for saying no to Alejandro one time? For having a nice night out with people that weren't Alejandro? My god, it wasn't even about the no, was it? It was that Noah could have a positive interaction with anyone except Alejandro. Enough to prioritize himself over pleasing Alejandro. The eel is possessive, and he got jealous, and innocent people had to die for that.

Noah is an object to Alejandro. A pet, if he's feeling generous. He's made that very clear. Alejandro will accept nothing less. So Noah can't give him that choice. He'll shrink Alejandro, and make him the pet instead.

It's the only way he anyone feel be safe.

So he plays up the monstrous version of himself that Alejandro wants. It's easier than it should be. Good. That makes it more believable. He uses the fact that his relationship with the loan shark is personal to excuse wanting to do the kill and take care of the body himself. He never outright says it, but he implies Alejandro as an inspiration for his change in tune.

He takes solace in the fact that all of this is still a lie. It has to be.

He gets in touch with the loan shark through nicking his mother's phone. Not one of his prouder moments, but that ship has sailed, sunk, and rotted away long ago. With the added guile he's learned from Alejandro, he's able to trick the loan shark into coming to a place near Chris's beach house. He's going to pay off the rest of the debt in person to make sure they don't have to do this ever again.

Noah is going to bring a suitcase full of cash that he's saved up from selling off his stolen goods. He needs a reason for the man to get close enough so Noah can stab him with his ritual knife.

Noah would love it if he could just put a bullet in the man's brain without having to get close to him. There are multiple problems with this. One, Noah would need a gun. Two, knowing how finnicky magic is, Noah would have to make a gun. Three, Noah would have to learn how to use the gun. Four, Noah might be searched for weapons. It's a lot of time and effort that Noah's not willing to spend.

The nice thing about magic ritual knives is that, once attuned, they can be summoned at will. So no worry about being caught with a weapon. So, time for the actual stabbing. It's not too hard to find the motivation. He remembers the time he called his oldest sister 'mom'. He was only about four or five at the time. He only knew his mother existed in theory. She just used home as a place to sleep in between jobs. The eldest siblings had been forced to pick up the slack of parenting by necessity. He didn't understand why his sister had sobbed and run to their mother. He could hear the words they shared. But he wouldn't process a child mourning the loss of their childhood until years later.

He knew their father was the one truly to blame for leaving them all to this situation. Noah would twist the knife into his father's back if he could. He'll settle for doing the same to the leech that took advantage of their situation and was still attempting to suck them dry.

***

He's more present for this murder than he was for Chris's. It feels like he's watching someone else in his body, but he's aware enough that he is controlling his own body and remembers this. He wants to remember this one.

Once the loan shark gets close enough, it's a knee to the groin. Noah's fighting to win. A summoned knife to slash him across the neck. Noah misses. The shark didn't fall as fast as he thought he would. The shark uses two hands to grabs him by the wrist and attempts to pull the knife away. Not good, Noah can already feel himself losing that battle.

With a flick of his wrist, the knife glows. It switches from his right hand to his left. He goes for a stab into the side. With luck, he can puncture a lung. He's not used to using his off hand. He doesn't hit a lung, but he does get him in the side. He pulls the knife out quick. Blood pours out from the wound Noah just made. The shark is bleeding now. Not enough for Noah's liking. Noah notices his knife glow, and sees that the blood is being sucked into the runes. That's concerning. But Noah doesn't have time to process that.

Not when the shark takes advantage of his self-made distraction to tackle Noah. Noah goes down quick. He drops the knife in the tackle. The shark is strangling him while he still has the strength to do so. Made even worse by the fact that the shark's fingers are digging into Noah's gills, too. He's gagging, and choking, and he needs to end this now.

He tries to wrestle the shark's hands away from his throat. It does nothing. His strength was never going to be a match for the shark's. He can feel the shark's nails dig into his gills. Now he's choking both on air and his own blood. Spots are dancing in his vision. They're broken by a soft glow. The knife. The knife!

Noah stops trying to stop the choking. Instead, he summons his knife to his hand once more. This wasn't how Noah wanted the bastard to get close, but it'll do. He's right on top of him. The shark is so focused on Noah's throat that he left Noah's arms free. He uses both his hands to make the knife pierces the shark right through his neck. The shark slumps over Noah. Shock? Death? Noah's not sure. He isn't taking chances.

He wriggles out from underneath and stabs him in the throat again. He swore he saw a twitch. Again. The breath of life attempting to work its way through the hole in his throat. Again. Glassy eyes reflect a face Noah can't recognize as his own. Again. Noah's throat feels raw. Was it the choking or is it his screaming? Again. Laughing, or crying? Again. It doesn't matter. Again. It must be done. Again.

His arms tire. The deed is done.

Clean up feels like it takes forever. Still, for all this work he's put into this, he can't afford to be sloppy now. He drags the corpse back. It was a risk hunting his prey so close to his beach house. But the farther he has to take it, the more he'd risk being spotted. So close it is.

Some tension leaves his shoulders once he's inside. But it's not over yet. He drags the corpse all the way to his cove. He dumps the sack of flesh into the water. He dives in after it.

The cool water soothes his aching gills. Right, he'd forgotten about that. He takes a moment to run his hands gently across his gills. At least his scarf will hide the bruises. He cleans the blood off. He hopes that'll be enough because that's the extent to his knowledge on how magic gills work.

Now for the ritual proper. The water is salted, the circle set, incantations spoken. Now, for the body. It's in the center of the circle, but that's not enough. He has to commit one more vile act to see this through.

No time for holding back. He's doing this so no one else has to. At least the earlier cut makes it easier to cut through and reach the heart. He cuts it out and holds it in his trembling hand. There's no going back after this. Then again, there never was.

He closes his eyes and bites into the heart. It feels softer than he expected. Leftover blood bursts onto his tongue. The iron taste makes him gag. He rips away the bite. He chews. He goes for another. His teeth are sore. This one feels easier. His teeth are sharper. The iron loses its sour tang and becomes sweeter. He'd be lying if he said he was never curious about why Alejandro always insisted on eating Noah's kind. He thinks he gets it now.

Oh god. He thinks he gets it now.

He consumes it as quickly as he can manage, before the rest of his thoughts catch up with him. Everything glows, and his body is racked with pain. He passes out in shock.

***

When he comes to, the circle is empty. His body feels heavier. He kicks his feet to try to get back to the surface to gather himself...but he can't. He looks down to see eight tentacles, amber with rings of blue and black, where his legs should be.

On instinct he tries to swim away, but he's not used to wielding eight lower limbs rather than two. Most of them smack at each other in an attempt to replicate legs to swim. Noah's fucked up. He's fucked up so bad. 'Won't be permanent' was a lie that he fell for and now he's given up the humanity he was struggling so hard to keep and why can't he just have his own fucking legs back-

And suddenly he's looking at his legs again. He blinks as he processes the new yet familiar sight. Okay? Okay. This is, maybe that was some kind of stress and magic induced hallucination? They had looked so real though-

And the tentacles are back. Of course he wouldn't be so lucky. At least the 'won't be permanent' thing wasn't a complete lie. He just has to learn how to control the changes. And control the tentacles. Just like the gills. And just settle into his new life as a half-octopus. Cecaelia? Merfolk.

Like Alejandro.

Oh. A body to defend himself.

Well.

He can work with this.

[Noah fights against the loan shark. He wins, and drags what remains back to the beach house he 'inherited' from Chris. He performs the ritual successfully and passes out due to shock.]

20 notes · View notes

antibioware · 10 months

Note

ok i'll bite. have you read any one piece fics, and are there any you would recommend?

you're so damn lucky One Piece is a fandom full of shit fanfictions because last time someone asked me a question like this, they ended with a 50+ fanfictions rec list.

Anyway, I'm gonna divide the list between gen/pairingless fics and fics with a romantic pairing.

NO PAIRING:

for all the love and gold (don't just do as you are told) by guiltylights

Nami asks Sanji to reduce the amount of money spent on grocery shopping.

Blood of the Covenant by kiite

Zeff never wanted a kid. A restaurant, sure— but he hadn’t planned for the kid. (Or: a brief look at Sanji’s childhood, through the eyes of the man who raised him.)

triskelion by razbliuto

Sink your fangs in, sister, and don't let go. — The Boa Sisters, still breathing despite all odds.

[this one is insanely good, literally made both me and my girlfriend cry]

UV by razbliuto (Viola/Doflamingo, Viola/Monet)

There's only a one letter difference between ultraviolet and ultraviolent. — Viola, and the art of unforgetting.

[while this one does have pairings, it's less a romantic story and more a deep dive into traumatic relationships in Viola's life. This is my absolute favourite OP fanfiction and it's heavy, be warned]

that certain calmness by grainjew

Because Sanji's rebellion has always been service, and there is nobody he would rather bow to than his captain.

you are not immune by pheenick

It starts with a rather gut-busting sneeze that’s concerning enough to bring all conversation juddering to a halt. Sanji blinks, absently patting his chest before furrowing his brow at a strange thickness congealing in his throat. Another sneeze. Fuck.

Customer Service in the Food Industry by Maldoror_Chant

They were starving. That was reason enough for Zeff to open the Baratie's doors and feed them, whoever the hell they were. Then he offered them a job, because the waiters and most of the other cooks had all jumped ship again and these guys looked kinda tough and not likely to scare easy. He didn't care if they were refugees of the World Government, he didn't care about their past, he didn't care what else they could do as long as the dishes were cleaned, the soup served, the vegetables chopped and Zeff's rules respected. Oh, and the pigeon had to stay out of the kitchen. That was a must. Give the Health Inspector the wiggins otherwise. Oddly enough, it did not turn out to be a complete and utter disaster. Strange things happen on the seas.

[CP9 post-Water 7 start working at the Baratie, the concept is so funny]

nothing to do (with you) by guiltylights

Judge thinks that Sanji is a failure of a son. Zeff doesn't think that much of Judge at all.

the mortality of kings by guiltylights

Zoro and Sanji, the right and left-hand men of the future Pirate King.

breathlessly, live (there's a place for us) by guiltylights (modern AU)

'You don’t have to prove anything, you know,’ Nami says finally. Sanji frowns, puzzled. ‘I’m not proving anything?’ ‘No Sanji, I think you are. It sometimes feels like you’re doing this more for your own sake than for mine.'

we slept on the ocean last night by Origamidragons

It starts like this: Luffy can’t sleep alone. (Pirates have nightmares, too. The Strawhats, as always, find a way through.)

PAIRINGS:

Burning Man by neonglaceon (Zoro/Sanji, multiple chapters, M rating for sex scenes)

“You’re lucky, Zoro,” she had spat, eyes turned up towards the sky, like she was trying to hold in tears. He'd never seen Kuina cry before. He’d never seen any expression on her face other than her teeth gritted in determination or her grinning in victory. “I want to be the greatest swordsman too. But girls grow up, and their bodies become weaker than men's. I’m never going to be the greatest.” Kuina tells him this, and Zoro can barely comprehend the words she’s saying. He thinks of the countless hours he’s spent training by the river bed, the green locks of his hair left on the floor after Koushirou helped him shear it all off, of the people he thought of as family a lifetime ago calling him by a name he despised. Zoro puts a hand to his chest, where he’d hastily wrapped bandages earlier that day, remembering how his body had begun changing and he didn’t understand why- “You’re lucky to have been born a man, Zoro,” Kuina finishes lamely. Zoro sees red.

[This is THE trans man Zoro fic and one of my favourite zosan fanfics, I suggest to pay attention to the trigger warnings before reading]

and then the sun came out by demonzoro (shrinewreck) (Zoro/Sanji, M rating for sex scenes)

Maybe there is something to be said that the first time they kiss, they kiss on a sinking ship. As if to say: this too, is inevitable. The waves are gnashing above the sea’s bottomless maw, and the timbers of the sinking galleon groan their own dirge – as far as this space of sea is concerned, the world is ending. Then there they are, balanced on the cusp of it, concerned only with how they exist relative to each other. There’s an awful devotion to it, and it shouldn’t be romantic. But Sanji is hopeless. He’s always wanted a love like this.

Be Hungry For Me byJacknessofHearts (Sanji/Usopp)

It takes more than years for Sanji and Usopp to confront their feelings. It also takes a lot of good food.

Don't Look Back byJacknessofHearts (Nami/Vivi)

Nami and Vivi and saying good-bye.

[This is the best namivivi break-up fic]

Like Ink Through Her Veins by grainjew (background Nami/Vivi)

Vivi manages, away from her crew. Usually, managing means ruling a country, reading the newspaper, and checking up on her father. Sometimes, though, it means sneaking out of the palace at midnight and getting drunk with passing pirates.

[while this isn't a pairing fic as much as it's a Vivi-focused story, the romantic pairing is important enough to the story to finish on this side of the list]

poison and wine by Origamidragons (Nami/Vinsmoke Reiju)

Nami isn't expecting to run into Vinsmoke Reiju plotting a murder at the same high-society party where she's planning a heist, but, well. Two birds, one stone.

You, Drowning Between My Arms by ginger_snappin (Sanji/Usopp, M rating )

Again and again, Sanji is forced to relive the day after he rejected Usopp.

[God I fucking love "stuck in a time loop" fanfictions, especially if they have characters as well written as this one]

salvage by hongmunmu (background Sanji/Usopp)

Franky offered Usopp a place in his family. Leaving Water 7 on the Thousand Sunny, Usopp considers who he is, why he left, and why he's there now.

[fic focuses more on Franky and Usopp's student/mentor relationship than romance, but as before, it falls more on the pairing fic side of the spectrum]

free and alone, together bysrididdledeedee (Alvida/Boa Hancock)

In which Alvida arrives on Amazon Lily, and everything changes.

Easy as Anything, Simple as That by Trixree (Sanji/Luffy)

“Luffy? What’s the matter?” “We’re gonna’ have a wedding,” he says incomprehensibly. Which—no. Absolutely not. Haven’t they had enough of weddings, lately? Nami's certainly had enough for a lifetime, thanks. “What are you talking about? What wedding?” she demands as coherently as she can while running on only two-and-a-half hours of sleep. “Mine and Sanji’s,” Luffy declares.

a glance that holds the world and all its seas by JacknessofHearts (Sanji/Usopp)

It's the big party after defeating Hody Jones. Usopp gets Sanji away from all the mermaids. (Honestly, Sanji, these nosebleeds are disgusting.)

Inevitable by LibbyLune (Zoro/Sanji, M rating for violence)

A closer call than usual makes Sanji give a precipitously timed confession, and waiting for Chopper to let him out of the infirmary makes waiting for a response much worse than he could have anticipated.

To Argue and to Cherish by modeoheim (Zoro/Sanji)

On a small island, on a lovely night full of music and fun and food, Zoro and Sanji accidentally get married. It is as ridiculous as it sounds—or at least it is at first, until Zoro finds being married to Blackleg Sanji isn't as bad as one might assume.

Variations On A Theme by rainsometimes (Franky/Nico Robin)

Four short interconnected pieces in which Franky does not save Robin from drowning. Although he’d like to.

stolen things by Origamidragons (Nami/Vivi)

A catalogue of things stolen by, for, and from Princess Vivi of Alabasta with regards to a certain thief, as documented by her long-suffering captain of the guard.

But Patience Boasts by Augment (background Zoro/Luffy)

Sanji and Zoro have very different love languages.

NSFW/Just Porn:

Little Things by KuriKuri (Zoro/Law, NSFW)

“Yeah, well,” Zoro says, “I thought you’d say no.” “Why would I say no?” Law asks, the corners of his lips tugging down in a frown. “Because you’re a control freak,” Zoro snorts, looking away from the sake bottle to meet Law’s eyes instead. “I thought control freaks didn’t drink.”

eager baby, blue by torkz (Nico Robin/Jinbei, NSFW)

Jimbei is training, and Robin is not immune to huge, handsome men in blue.

go back to sleep by itsmylifekay (Zoro/Sanji, NSFW)

His skin tingles with an unfamiliar sensation and he shifts, mind becoming more alert as he takes in his surroundings and the strange, lingering warmth on his arm. If he concentrates hard enough, he can feel the fading shape of long fingers pressed into his skin. “Go back to sleep, stupid marimo,” he hears. Sanji is standing close by, pulling on the last of his clothes and straightening his tie. His voice is low in the softness of the early morning and Zoro grunts at the words.

#long post #one piece #one piece fanfiction

64 notes · View notes

leupagus · 6 months

Text

It's all fun and games until Hardy reminds everyone he is an undead eldritch horror

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

She put Daisy's remark about "true love's promise" out of her head for the next few days, pushing hard against the case; against Katie Harford and her stupid certainty; against Tom and his stupid certainty; against Hardy himself, although that was about as effective as punching a brick wall. Besides, he was looking bedraggled enough without her nagging.

It was a different sort of bedraggled than she'd seen during the Latimer case, or Sandbrook. There was none of the stretched-thin-ness, as though he were about to give out at a moment's notice. Now it was a coiling sort of tension in his movements, as though he were waiting for the chance to strike. It might have bothered her once; but sat across the table from Leo Humphries as he proudly recalled all the women he'd terrorised, the brutality he'd forced on young Michael Lucas, she was almost impatient for it to start.

And then it did.

"Makes you feel in control," Humphries said, smiling and serene. Ellie watched him closely and hardly noticed the room darkening, as though the lights had been submerged. The shushing pulse of the sea, never far off, grew louder. "For that moment, there's nothing else. Just you in charge. There's a moment where you're in harmony with the world, and it's just… beautiful."

"It is, isn't it," said Hardy. Ellie'd been focused on Humphries throughout the interview, his lawyer and Hardy on the edges of her vision, so it wasn't until the lawyer gasped that she realised something was wrong. She looked over at Hardy, who—

But he wasn't a who, in that moment. The thing next to her shifted and pulled at Hardy's bones from within, skin stretched and sagging in ways no living creature could withstand. And then it stood up, taller than Hardy; taller than the ever-shrinking room, stooped and looming.

"Power over someone, it's such a pleasure," it hissed. The cups of half-drunk water began to bubble and seethe; the recorder made a ghastly hissing noise and sparked out. "Someone pathetic and helpless, who can't even scream for help."

The lawyer made a dive for the door but Hardy was too quick for Humphries, arms twisting as they stretched across the room to pin him into a corner with one blue-grey hand clapped over his mouth, its fingers blackened with rot.

"But there's greater pleasures than that, Leo Humphries," said Hardy, through a mouth ruined and twisted, the jaw hanging at an unnatural angle. (Not unnatural, of course — nothing more natural than than a corpse.) "You can have all of them. I'll show you every one. Do you want that, Leo Humphries? Just ask me."

The hand lifted away and Humphries collapsed to the ground. "Please," he babbled, trying to crawl still further away, though there was nowhere left to go. "Please, please, no—"

Ellie was on her feet, grabbing at the thing beside her; even as she did she wondered why. What she could possibly do? Did she even want to? Wasn't this what she'd imagined — the rapist forced to endure horrors, fear and pain, with no hope of escape.

But instead it was Hardy who pulled himself back. Slowly, like the receding of the tide, the room expanded and lightened until it was real again. Ellie now held handfuls of cheap suit jacket, and Hardy's form contracted and folded in on itself until he looked almost, very nearly, human.

The door, still open from when the lawyer had escaped, fell off its hinges and landed with a clatter on the floor.

"You just had to ask," Hardy said, as Humphries shivered in the corner.

It was well past dawn by the time the paperwork was done. IT assured her that the confession had been recorded, even if there'd been a glitch toward the end of the interview that fried the device. The accused had been remanded to custody and his lawyer had requested a transfer — she was moving to be nearer her mum and dad, she said, in Northumberland. "I don't think I'll ever be back here," she said, her smile waxy and fixed. "Not ever. My firm will be in touch to provide him with new counsel."

Ellie finally left the station with enough time to get home and help the boys get ready for school, before going over to Trish's and telling her the news. Instead she sat down on the front steps, breathing carefully in and out and trying not to cry, or vomit, or scream.

He followed her, of course he did. Was she supposed to be afraid of him now? She'd been afraid of people before, even with her badge and her taser. For the past few years she'd been afraid of her own husband, though not as afraid as she'd been of herself. But as Hardy came closer she felt her heart unclench, the furious grief in her stomach dissolve.

"Ed Burnett's gone," he said. "And Jim Atwood." He paused; she could picture him now, looking down at her. "You okay?"

What a question. "No."

Hardy sat beside her, uncomfortable and comforting. "We have him now. That footage will send him down."

He was right; even if the confession didn't hold, even if Michael tried to change his story, those horrific videos had a solid chain of custody. Leo Humphries would stay in prison a long time.

Not long enough.

"He is not what men are," Hardy said. "He's an aberration."

"Is that what you are?" she asked, finally looking at him. "In there. Was that the real you?"

He didn't seem angry or offended. "It's all the real me, Miller."

"Is that why you told me about the iron and the wood and the ashes and everything?" She curled further into herself. "So if you go too far, I can—"

"I'd hope you'd arrest me first," he said. "Or at least talk to the Chief Super." When she didn't say anything, he shook his head. "It's my responsibility to not go too far, Miller. Not yours or anyone else's. Just mine."

"Then why tell me?"

"Because I trust you," Hardy said, as though it were simple as that.

Perhaps it was.

She untucked her hand from under her arm. He didn't move away as she put her hand to his jaw; the skin was cool and damp, as though he'd been standing too close to the spray of the ocean. "I don't know if you should," she said, holding back a shiver. It was too cold for June. Hardy's doing, maybe. Summers before him had been warm and grey, full of lazy mornings on the beach interrupted by a friendly pattering of rain. But there wasn't a cloud in the sky today. "I don't know if I'm worth it."

"You are," Hardy said, his voice low and soft, barely louder than the wind. The stubble on his cheek rasped against her palm.

Ellie shook her head. "I would've let you kill him. I think I even wanted it." She let her hand drop. "But I trust you, too." It felt like a confession. Or a promise.

#it's at 7K now btw #lmaooo fuck my LIFE #me @ God: really? this is what I've been inspired to write for the first time in a month? REALLY?#broadchurch fic #broadchurch motherfuckers

34 notes · View notes

apomaro-mellow · 1 year

Text

Part 1

Steve was at least given the privilege of cleaning himself up and dressing before being brought before his father in his study.

"I thought I made it abundantly clear-"

"But I didn't go out in a ship", Steve said, quick to defend himself.

"Diving into rocks isn't what I would call a grand back up plan either!"

"I know how it looks, but-" SLAM

Steve stopped when his father's hand came down onto his desk and couldn't help but flinch.

"No, you don't know how it looks. To have the crown prince, first shirking his duties to go out to sea and then nearly drowning before the sun even rises. What it looks like is either you're trying to run away or end your life."

Steve shook his head but didn't speak. It wasn't either of those things. But how could he say what it really was? His father would have him locked up for trying to make contact with a sea creature.

"I've been too lenient. Given you too much freedom. Starting today, your studies and training will increase. And I will be attending as much as I can."

Well, that part didn't sound too bad...

"And you are to never go near that ocean again."

"That's-! How am I supposed to never go back?! We literally live on the shore."

"Those are my orders. You are dismissed."

"Father!"

"I said dismissed!"

Steve's fists clenched and he stood there for a moment, shaking, before bolting out. He slammed the door once he got to his room and flung himself onto the bed. Keeping him from something so close was a tall order, but he believed his father was capable of it. He was the king after all. He'd probably sooner shackle Steve to the bed then let him near a puddle now.

Through his sobs into his pillow, he almost didn't hear it. But there was an audible hissing nearby. He looked up to find he wasn't alone. There were two rather large snakes, coiling up in the middle of the room. Steve quickly grabbed the dagger under his pillow, ready to fight when the snakes began to speak in tandem.

"Don't act so brassshhh."

"We have come with a proposition from our massster."

"A....a what? Who is your master?", Steve asked, dagger still raised.

"He'sss been watching you and sympathizesss."

"He wants to help."

"It's what he doesss."

Steve was skeptical, but he was also running low on options. Even if his father let up, going to the ocean by boat or by cliff hadn't gotten him any closer to finding the owner of the voice.

"Okay, I'll meet with them and see what they have to say. Where are they?"

"Follow ussss."

They slithered through the room and towards the window that Steve realized was now open. They went out and down and when Steve looked out, he saw the vines that covered this side of the castle had grown thicker and more sturdy. Enough for him to climb down and follow the snakes. They took him through the thick of the wood, so dense that sunlight got weaker and weaker.

The snakes led him to a gave with red gemstones embedded into the walls, giving it a bright glow in the darkness. The light from the stones seemed to beat like heart.

Steve entered, but kept from touching them. They looked sharp as knives. They got to an opening at the cave that widened into what appeared to be a living space. And also a center for witchcraft. Steve saw someone moving about on the other side of the room, a clawed hand running across the spines of books on a shelf.

"Uh", Steve cleared his throat. "Hello? I-I was told that you could help me with my problem."

"Yes", the person turned to reveal a nose-less face. Strange vines, or where they tentacles? protruded from them. And Steve realized there were odd, moving vines all around. "Ah, the prince with the ocean obsession."

"It's not the ocean, really. It's-"

"The merman with the hypnotizing voice."

"Yes! But how did you-"

"It's my job to know. People have come from all corners of the world, pleading 'Vecna, I need this', or 'Vecna, I want a spell for this'. I'm very much a charity."

"So, you'll help me?"

Vecna moved around the room, grabbing various things with his vines as he did. "I will."

....."How?"

"You want to find him, don't you? I will give you a spell that will turn you into a merman for three days." Vecna began pouring the ingredients he had into a large cauldron in the middle of the room.

Three days didn't sound like a lot, but Steve was sure he'd know them as soon as he heard him speak. "Alright. Deal."

"Not quite. We need to discuss your payment."

Steve crossed his arms. "You said you were a charity."

"You can't get something for nothing."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Okay, what do you want?" As a prince, he had a little money to burn. And he'd pay any amount to meet his mystery guy.

He didn't feel the vines creeping up on him until he felt something tickling his ears. He cringed and slapped them away.

"Those."

"My ears."

"I require no flesh. What I want in exchange for my magic is your hearing."

Steve touched his ears. "But if I can't hear, how can I find him?"

"He's seen you, hasn't he? After he saved you? Let him find you. And true love is the strongest force in the world. I daresay you could find him deaf and blind. But I'm only asking for one sense. You find him, he confesses his love, and then you two can live out the rest of your lives in bliss."

It all sounded too good to be true. Which was what had Steve still hesitating.

"What happens in three days if I don't find him?"

Vecna pretended to look for another ingredient to toss in so that he could hide his expression from Steve. "If you don't, then you become one of my treasures. Vecna's claws made a clinking sound against the gems on the wall and then Steve understood why it seemed like they were beating like hearts. They were souls. Ones that couldn't come up with whatever sum was needed and paid with their lives.

If Steve didn't succeed, he would become one of them. But if he gave up now, that was all he would be in essence anyway. A shiny jewel in his father's crown. Even if he would be working against time and without the one sense he was sure of, he had to try.

So he nodded. And held out his hand for Vecna to shake. He swooped across the room like a shadow and grasped Steve's hand, then wrapped his vines around his body. It was a horrible sensation but Steve fought his instincts not to struggle. He was brought closer to the cauldron, bubbling and filling the room with a green vapor.

"I want you to focus on his song", Vecna said. "On the sound of his voice."

That wasn't hard to do. Even with leagues of water separating them, it had sounded beautiful. Last night when he heard them above water, it had been the sweetest sound. He closed his eyes and let himself get lost in it. When he opened it, the caludron looked seconds from exploding and Vecna was grinning, and all the vines around were slithering in excitement but he couldn't hear any bit of it.

As jarring as that was, what was happening below his waist was even more shocking. He only had time to see his pants begin to rip and the start of his legs fusing before the cauldron reached its tipping point and exploded. Steve himself was thrust into the air and he was afraid of hitting the roof of the cave. But he kept going higher and higher, through the trees until he was above even them.

And there it was. A mer's tail, in shimmering blue. He had but a moment to admire it when he felt himself fall back towards the ground. He had been shot right above the ocean and while it wasn't as bad as hitting rock, falling from that height had shocked his system.

He knew he had reached the ocean floor; could feel the sand under him. But he didn't fully come to until he felt someone strongly nudging him. He blinked his eyes only to come face to face with the most handsome man he had ever seen.

Part 3

#apo writes #stranger things #fanfiction #steddie #reverse little mermaid

81 notes · View notes

my-favourite-zhent · 16 days

Text

New Tricks - Chapter 18

Status: Work In Progress

Version: 1.01

Pairing: Rugan x AFAB!OC

Rating: NC-17 (This chapter PG-13)

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Summary: Misadventures of Rugan and the original Zhentarim Gate's crew before and during the year of three sailing ships.

Notes: Update schedule has been slower of late but I'm still chugging along.

Posting this a little later than promised. I was mostly happy with the first pass but it needed some smoothing over here and there.

As always my lovely betas @fistfuloftarenths and @dustdeepsea gave me a lot of great suggestions as well as grammar checking (I can't place a comma to save my life) and I'm endlessly grateful to them.

Be sure to check out fortune in brief minutes tell and Gods and Monsters.

Table of Contents

Read Here on AO3 or below the cut.

Winter in the Gate had passed quietly enough. While Rugan usually enjoyed the break that the end of the caravan season provided; this year he found himself bored and restless.

There wasn't as much to do in the offseason. Inspect the wagons and storehouse for rotting boards, grease the wheels, feed the horses and oxen. Maybe shake down a shop keep or two that were behind on their protection money if you were really bored. Their coffers were usually empty this time of year regardless, so it was really more of a sport for Bellar. Logistics were mostly handled by Zarys and Amnos, one of the senior caravan agents. Rugan occasionally read the prepared notes but too much gave him a headache. He knew the routes and their complications by heart now besides.

That left a lot of free time, but his appetite for whoring had been somewhat diminished, and Brem had accused him of getting on in years.

“Told you to take better care of your knees, old man,” he had said.

“I'm not five years older than you, Brem.”

“Ah, but I do stretches.”

Garias had laughed at that, and Rugan had waved them both off.

He'd taken Olly out on some small delivery jobs for Danzo over at Sword Coast Couriers in Rivington. The bulk of Danzo’s business was legitimate, but the real money maker was the more illicit deliveries. It was a well kept secret that the Couriers were a front for the Zhents. Much of the inventory Rugan's crew brought back from Elturel passed through Couriers before its final destination.

Caravan season was over however, so available work was of a simpler sort. Small things about the city and surrounding suburbs. A little Silk Root here, some forbidden artefact there. A lot of weird shite for that fucker that ran Sundries. Though the trips were short, it was still frustratingly cold and wet in the Gate. More than once he had run his hands over the wool of his cloak appreciatively. He had been considerably warmer and dryer this year than last, and he knew who to thank for that. Olly still wore Rugan's old cloak, but not nearly enough layers underneath.

“Last time I went to buy a wool shirt in my colours someone kept singing the sheep fucker song.” Olly complained when Rugan chastised him for it.

These Men of Zhentil Keep , a sea shanty that Rugan was well acquainted with from his days in Luskan. The lyrics were… less than complimentary.

“Olly if someone sings that damned song you smash their face in.”

“You said not to start fights in the Gate.”

“That's not starting a fight, lad, that's finishing it.”

By the middle of Ches the roads had thawed and the trade routes were back up and running. Rugan was thankful for the distraction of work. Something to do, places to be. Simultaneously he felt a strange sort of anxiety being away from home, though he didn't dig much deeper into the why of it.

Still it was with great relief that he returned to the Elfsong after the first run of the season.

The inn was a sight better than other drinking spots in the lower city. The Mermaid, despite being above ground, was the very definition of a dive bar. You were more likely to have your pockets picked or a bottle smashed over your head than you were to have a pleasant evening. There was that bard’s tavern as well, the Singing Lute. But it was cramped inside, entirely too personal, with only one exit, and the staff’s demeanour left something to be desired.

But the Elfsong? Thanks to its popularity among tourists it was almost as nice as anything in the upper city. The herringbone floors were stained a lovely dark colour something akin to kathei. The walls were properly plastered and had wooden panelling to match the floors. Larger than the Lute, the Elf Song had multiple entry points in case of trouble. As well as isolated booths along the far wall, each equipped with plush emerald green curtains should one desire more privacy.

The other perk of being a tourist destination was an ever changing rotation of beautiful tourists and adventurers passing through. Rugan had spent many nights at the Elfsong, and had as yet to actually pay for a room.

He had come straight from the warehouse where the Zhents usually stored their caravans and goods. Too impatient to bother stopping by the boarding house to change out of his leathers.

“Expecting a bit of trouble there, Rugan?” Alyn, the bartender, had asked as he approached the counter.

“In your fine establishment? Perish the thought.” He flashed a smile as he took a seat.

“Some girl was in here the other day looking for you.”

“For me?” His heart leapt in his chest.

“Aye, left you a letter, here.”

Alyn reached from a small stack of letters tucked to the side of the bar and flipped through them. When the barkeep handed over the envelope it had Rugan's name in that familiar looping scrawl. Izzy's handwriting.

“Is she still here?” He asked hopefully.

“‘fraid not, said she had business out of town. Asked me to give this one to a passing caravan or ship but haven't had the time to go down.” In Alyn’s hand was another envelope in that familiar hand, this time addressed to Corra.

“I can do that for you.”

The man eyed him for a moment. “I suppose you are a friend of hers,” he said, before handing over the letter.

Rugan snatched it eagerly, getting up from his seat and making his way towards one of the sheltered nooks.

“No drink?” Called Alyn after him but he simply waved at him dismissively, not even bothering to look back.

Another couple were also approaching the same alcove but he quickened his step to cut them off. When the man made to reproach him Rugan put his hand on the pommel of his dagger and stared him down.

“Do you think my company's one you want to be disturbing, mate?” Rugan growled. The man took note of his leathers and Zhent black and yellows before raising his hands up in defeat and dragging his clearly offended date away. It now seemed it was a bit of luck that he hadn't bothered to change.

Pulling the curtain shut, he sat down and hastily opened the first letter.

Zhent,

I hope this letter finds you well. The barkeep tells me you're away on a job.

I've my own to run north of the Chionthar so I won't be far, I expect to be back in a month. I hope we can have that drink then.

If you won't be here please leave a letter for me.

Izzy

Just as in her previous letter there was a red imprint of her lips at the end of the letter. He ghosted his fingertips over the mark. Even if there was a slow start on the next run he could be back in a month's time easily. Only a month till he could see Iz. He felt a rush of excitement at the thought.

Rugan considered the other envelope addressed to Cora. It was closed with a wax seal. If he was careful with his dagger he could open it and reseal it without her being the wiser. After a moment's consideration, he brought out the blade.

This letter too was in Izzy's familiar looping hand.

Cora,

I apologise for asking this of you but I need a letter of credit. The idiots on the boat dumped some of our cargo overboard during a bad storm as a ‘tithe to Umberlee'. Just my luck the tithe included some of my tools.

I've commissioned a new set in Rivington and paid half upfront but I don't have the second half and I won't be back from my next job for a month. The blacksmith says they'll finish in a tenday and expects payment by then or they'll sell it to someone else. I know I was supposed to save that necklace for times like this but I already pawned it back in Uktar. You may scold me freely when next we meet.

Please make the letter out for fifty gold pieces to the address below:

Rugan recognized the smithy in question and committed it to memory before carefully replacing the letter in its envelope. There was a candle on the wall sconce and he used that to warm the seal just enough to close the letter.

He sighed and ran his hand over his hair. Uktar was when he and the lads had come through Crimmor. Had she spent all of her savings on him? No wonder she hadn't been able to winter in the Gate. Maybe if he had offered to put her up… But no she couldn't have stayed at his. It would've been—well, he never brought girls there.

Gods, he was glad Sal wasn't here to see Izzy's letter to Cora. Rugan would never be able to wipe the smugness from the wizard's face if he knew its contents.

He tapped his fingers on the table pensively. Even if he gave the letter to a ship’s captain, no guarantee it would reach Cora in time. Fifty gold was no small sum for him, but it was something he could manage, especially if it were for Iz. Before he could give it much thought his boots were already carrying him to Wyrm’s Crossing.

+++++

The dragonborn at the Rivington General was a nice enough lass. Her scales were a lovely bronze that turned to an iridescent green at the sharp edges of her face. She cheerily accepted his coin with no questions asked. Said her name was Exx… Exvik? Ah it didn't matter.

“You'll apologise to her for me won't you?” She asked as she put his coin away in the register.

“Whatever for?”

“I accepted the commission without consulting Gyldro first. He didn't like that, that's why he's being difficult about the payment.”

“Ah.” Rugan got the feeling Gyldro was always difficult. He briefly considered taking the coin back and threatening the balding old bastard into finishing the work but held off. No, didn't want to chance causing trouble for Iz. He left the smith's shop with both his coin purse and heart considerably lighter. Only one month till he would see Iz.

+++++

“Another job?” Rugan found it difficult to keep the irritation out of his voice.

“You should be glad of the coin.” Zarys replied silkily. “I know how you boys always run low by the time caravan season starts.”

He'd only had the five days of rest rather than the usual ten before Zarys had recalled him to the warehouse.

“We won't be back in time for the Elturel run. Ulgoth’s Beard and back will be more than five days, especially with the way last night's rains have muddied the roads.”

“There's been delays with the Elturel shipment anyways. I expect it'll be at least a tenday late.”

Then he'd also be at least a tenday late to his meeting with Izzy. Inwardly he cursed his rotten luck. Must’ve caught Beshaba’s eye with his unusually good run of things.

“I've plans,” he protested, though he knew it was futile.

“I had plans, they changed. Expect yours can do the same.” Her voice always had a seductive quality to it when she was threatening someone. Like the bait in a steel trap.

“Any other objections?” Zarys asked, an undercurrent of warning in her tone.

“None at all.” Rugan replied, masking his anger with a disarming smile. He needn’t have bothered with her, Zarys knew him too well, but it came natural all the same.

#rugan #bg3 rugan #rugan bg3 #zhentarim #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 rugan #bg3 fanfic #bg3 fanfiction #new tricks #bg3 smut #bg3 fanfic: new tricks

12 notes · View notes

sharks-n-bones · 4 months

Text

TINY DIAMOND FLOOD AU TIME BABY LET'S GOOOO

When the world started flooding, Tiny wasn't concerned at first. No one else was worried about it, maybe the rivers overflowing was normal

Tiny wasn't worried until all of Pop Village flooded and they had to relocate. Pop Village was their home, and now it's all underwater

He tried asking why it was flooding. Asked his daddy, aunt Poppy, uncle Branch, hell he even asked grandpa Peppy! No one knew though, and if the grown ups didn't know, then this probably hadn't happened before

Next thing he knew, everyone was building boats and rafts to survive on the water. How much was everything gonna flood if they needed boats? Tiny helped his dad where he could with the boat building, but a lot of stuff was either too big or too heavy for him, so he'd usually either chill in his daddy's hair, ride around on someone's shoulder or he'd chill with Mr. Dinkles

- Finally the boat they'd be on was built, and Tiny and Guy moved into their new room. They set out on the sea, and Tiny forgot his worries because the sea was so big! And they got to explore it!! This was an adventure, and he was excited for it

- As the months passed, everyone still sang and danced and hugged and had fun on the ship even while working! They'd stop and islands and gather more wood for cooking and fixing stuff, fruits to eat and then they'd all relax and play in the waves. Tiny got a bit taller as the months passed, but not by much. Maybe a couple inches (troll sized inches tho if that makes sense)

- It was one of those days where they'd found an island, gathered some resources, and were now relaxing in the water for a bit before they'd get back to work. His daddy was floating on his back, and Tiny himself was body surfing and laughing as the waves tumbled him back to shore

- He was about to try and catch another wave when he felt something slide across his foot. He yelped a bit and eyed the water, trying to see what had touched him

- Suddenly, a huge fish (huge to tiny, at least) came up and bit his leg! Tiny screamed and used his free leg to kick it because ow it hurt!! He managed to get his leg free and started frantically swimming for his daddy, yelling for him about the fish

- Guy swam towards him just as rapidly, and just before he could grab Tiny, Tiny felt teeth clamp down around his chest and arms before he was dragged under the water

- Tiny thrashed and kicked and did anything to free himself. He could see his daddy trying to dive after them before the fish turned tail and swam away with Tiny still fighting for his life in its mouth

He kept hitting and kicking the fish but it wouldn't let go! He managed to get an arm free and the sight of the holes in his arm nearly made him pass out

The fish passed a sunken tree, and Tiny managed to grab a stick as they passed and quickly stabbed the fish’s eye with it. The fish freed him, and he swam to the surface with all his little might

He breached the surface and immediately started coughing for breath. He spotted a piece of driftwood and managed to climb on top of it. The adrenaline from almost being eaten wore off, and Tiny tried not to cry

His whole body hurt. So bad. It hurt to move and it hurt to lay down on that wood cuz it pressed against the bleeding holes in his chest and arms and leg and it hurt

- He looked around, trying to spot the island or the ship or his daddy but it was all gone. Just ocean, as far as his little eyes could see. Tiny cried

- It hurt his chest like crazy to cry, it made the injuries pull painfully, but he couldn't stop. He was almost eaten and now he's lost in the middle of the ocean and he was scared!! Tiny didn't like being scared

- Eventually, he had no tears left to cry and night was approaching so he grabbed onto the edges of his little piece of driftwood and tried to lay in a position that didn't hurt so bad

- A couple days passed like this. He was so tired, he hadn't slept ‘cause he was so scared of falling off his little piece of driftwood and either drowning or being eaten, so he stayed awake

- He was borderline delirious. He was dehydrated, the sun was beating down without mercy, and the driftwood was covered in so much blood, Tiny would've been shocked he was still alive if he had his wits about him

- Then, something big blocked out the sun. He was fished out of the water and someone cradled him so gently and he fell asleep the moment his sleep deprived brain realized he was safe

- He didn't know how long he slept, but it felt like years. When he woke up, his body still hurt but not as bad, and he was covered in bandages. Someone rescued him

- Tiny looked around the room he was in. It looked like a bedroom. He was on a bed that fit him perfectly, with a soft blanket and pillow. There was an adult sized bed next to his, a desk, what looked like a woodwork station and two doors. One closed, one open

- Tiny called out for whoever his rescuer was, and a teal troll with dark greenish-blue hair and big goggles on his head came out the open door

- The man, JD, told him how he found him and latched his wounds. He asked why he was floating in the middle of the ocean, and Tiny told him what happened. JD seemed concerned about him, and Tiny couldn't tell if he hated it or not

- They hung out a lot after that. Tiny was on bed rest but a few days of that and he couldn't take it anymore, so JD made him a little staff to help him walk around with while his wounds healed

- When he could walk around without the staff and without worrying that his wounds would reopen, JD turned his staff into a spear and taught him how to fight with it so he wouldn't be almost eaten again. He also taught him how to fish and how to do a few things around the ship

- They talked a lot. Tiny would tell stories of his dad and aunts and uncles, and JD would tell stories of his brothers. He said that he was searching for them, and that he'd help Tiny find his dad

- This guy had a lot of brothers, from what he told Tiny. One of them, he said his name was Bitty B? The way he told stories of Bitty B kind of reminded him of Branch. That wasn't possible though, so Tiny didn't say anything

- One day, JD came into the bedroom and said he'd spotted another ship at an island. He had Tiny hide in his hair to be safe while he went to talk to them. Tiny held tight when JD swung himself onto their ship

- They were talking for a bit, when JD suddenly shouted for Baby Branch! Tiny’s eyes widened and he immediately poked his head out of JD’s hair. When he saw his family, he grinned before realizing his dad wasn't there. Before they could even be excited that Tiny was alive, he asked where his daddy was

- Everyone went silent. Tiny’s brows forrowed and he jumped into JD’s waiting hand. They shared a look. Surprisingly, it was Branch that spoke up. He said that Guy was in his room, and that it wasn't a pretty sight. He led the way and JD followed and Tiny was so, so concerned. What did Branch mean by that?

- They got to his room — their room — and Branch spared a crestfallen look at Tiny before letting the door swing open

- JD walked in and Tiny’s eyes widened. There was Guy Diamond, his daddy, laying in bed and… grey… he was grey. The sun shine into the room from his window but his skin didn't sparkle anymore. He was curled in on himself, facing away from them, and he looked so sad and grey and Tiny wanted to cry.

- He called out to him, his voice cracking slightly. He saw Guy jolt a bit, as if surprised, and he quickly called for him again. Reassuring him he was there and alive

- His dad bolted upright in his bed and turned to look at him. Seeing his dad's face made Tiny want to sob. There were bags under his eyes and tears on his cheeks and he was so grey. When his dad laid eyes on him, fresh tears filled his eyes and he sobbed, rushing out of the bed and taking him into his arms.

- "Tiny!!"

16 notes · View notes