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feyascorner · 5 months

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1 | The Fangs Between Us

summary. “I would say good luck out there, but honestly? I hope you die screaming.”

Intimacy is not something you like to indulge in after your last lover nearly strangled you to death. Sometimes, you wonder if letting him ascend would mean he would still be here, by your side, rather than lurking the shadows of Baldur's Gate.

warnings. angst, comfort, slow burn, reader is a bard

pairing. Astarion x GN!Reader

parts. TFBU masterlist

a/n. very excited about this!!!! I have a lot of ideas on what to do w this plot!!! ALSO there is some material (pressuring??) in this specific chapter that may be a bit uncomfortable for some readers it's very brief, but it is there so please take care of yourself!

As dark spots blur your vision, you realize you can no longer breathe.

His hands–the slender pale fingers you’ve grown to love more than your own–wrap desperately around your throat, digging crescent-shaped indents into your skin. You’d always thought that if he were ever to realize you weren’t as precious to him as he believed you to be, your neck would be the one part of yourself he’d continued to cherish. The softness in which he brushed his fangs against the most vulnerable areas of your throat had led you to believe so.

But as you stare up at him with wide eyes meeting a murderous glare, you understand that you are wrong.

His crimson eyes gleam with an emotion you’ve seen plenty on his pretty face, but never toward a friend. Never to you. You’re going to die, you think. And it wouldn’t have seemed so bad to die at his hands if it were not for the hatred reaching his eyes.

You’re not sure who–maybe Karlach or Wyll–but someone tears him away from you. Your chest dares to tighten from the loss of contact, yet you desperately grasp at the air, hands flying to the tender flesh of your neck while Shadowheart rushes to your side in an instant with her eyes narrowed dangerously at the very man who’d made the dark blemishes.

They’re yelling. Everyone is. At you, out of panic, or at Astarion, you’re not sure, but you just stare at the vampire spawn who’s now unwillingly locked into a life cast into the shadows of the city. He doesn’t look at anyone else, either.

He says something and a few more muffled voices spit back before he throws the dagger you’d given him to the ground, turning to leave. Your hearing clears just in time to hear his parting words.

“I would say good luck out there, but honestly? I hope you die screaming.”

A pair of hands shake you awake, and you quickly remember the poor consequences to your back of falling asleep on the empty, narrow street beside the Elfsong tavern. You look up wearily, eyes in a daze as Shadowheart sighs irritably, brows furrowed in a way that tells you to ready yourself for a scolding. “Honestly, at this point, I’m just surprised you haven’t gotten robbed during the night yet.”

You force yourself onto your feet, leaning against the walls as you rub at the crust forming under your eyes. “I have nothing of value anyway. They’re better off stealing from some other poor bard who actually bothers to write songs.”

She raises a brow at this, scanning over your appearance. “Where is your lyre?”

“Sold it,” you shrug, dusting off the muck garnered at the sides of your pants. “Wasn’t much use to me anymore. Better off adding to the funds to rebuild the city, don’t you think?”

Shadowheart frowns, and it makes you look away shamefully. Thankfully, she quickly shakes her head and then paces past you. “Speaking of which, are you in any condition to help today? Gale’s promptly exhausted trying to cast mage hand at least a dozen times yesterday to rebuild the Blushing Mermaid. That foolish wizard nearly passed out by noon.”

“‘Course,” you offer a pathetic smile. “We’re nearly finished with the Baldur’s Mouth. I’ll catch up with you once I check on everyone there.”

“Very well,” she says. She purses her lips after a slight pause. “You should stop falling asleep on the street. Especially since there’s been quite a few murders recently around the city,” she checks to see if you haven’t dazed off, “I expect you to come home tonight–We’re making stew.”

“I will. Don’t think my back can stand much more of this anyway.”

Her shoulders relax the slightest bit, and she finally manages to catch your darting eyes. “Is it the nightmares again? They’re getting worse, aren’t they?”

Your throat goes dry, and you can feel your knees grasping at its remaining strength as you search your mind for a way to respond. You’re tempted to lie through your gritted teeth, knowing she’s fully aware regardless of what pathetic answer you offer her, but you opt to seal your mouth shut, shrugging.

The flash of disappointment in her eyes is enough to make you feel the knots tighten in your stomach. With a curt note, she turns to walk away, glancing back for one last time. “Don’t give him the privilege of occupying a part of your mind for so long. He doesn’t deserve even the dirty filth you have all over yourself.”

For the first time after he nearly killed you and you defeated the Elder Brain four months ago, you think she might be right about him.

Intimacy is not something you like to indulge in after your last lover nearly strangled you to death. Though after the pitiful look your companions gave you when you arrived back at camp and the aching truth in Shadowheart’s words, you find yourself feeling bolder than the last time you dared to call Lae’zel’s cooking inedible (which it was, quite frankly).

He’s handsome. A reasonably tall elf with pale blue eyes glinting with attraction as he stares at you across the tavern. Sharp jawline, long eyelashes, and long hair brushed back and away from his face. You only notice everything else after the silvery shade of his hair–not entirely white, but fairly close, or as close as you could get to it while still being blond. You were sure he was approaching you for your title–the famed hero of Baldur’s Gate–rather than for pure physical attraction, but you weren’t in any position to nitpick at the moment.

You just wanted to feel skin other than the unsettling feeling of your own.

“Seems to have taken a liking to you,” Shadowheart sips at her drink.

Lae’zel glances at you. “He’s tolerable to the eye. Not quite attractive by githyanki standards, but tolerable.”

You stifle a smile at their attempts to urge you forward and put down your drink. “You sure you two won’t be lonely without me?...Or kill each other.”

“You can leave them to me,” Gale smiles, pacing toward your table with his drink. “I’m sure a Hold cast or two would settle them down.”

Lae’zel snatches the cup from his hand. “You act as if you aren’t fresh out of cast slots, wizard.”

Shadowheart shakes her head, nudging you forward. “Go. We’ll be fine.”

“I won’t be long. Certainly won’t be overnight,” you assure her. “I can’t miss the stew, anyway.”

She smiles, and Lae’zel scoffs in the other direction. “Hurry, he looks almost demented waiting for your graces.”

You snort and offer a clumsy glance to the elf across the tavern before striding out the door.

Behind the tavern, he’s quick to press a desperate kiss to your lips, lacking the usual tenderness you experienced with Astarion. Or had it been tender at all? Even now, you’re unsure what parts of him had been to manipulate you and what parts of him had been his raw feelings. At the time, you’d embraced either with open arms–you’d embraced him.

The elf bites at your lip, which snaps you back into the waking world. And while you curse yourself for comparing the moment to him, you find that it’s impossible as you observe that this elf is slightly shorter than he’d been. And instead of his hands wandering to your hip or waist, they graze your behind, pushing you into him in a way that feels nearly suffocating.

And most glaringly, his lips are warm. Not the cold, yet soft lips of an undead being.

You’re grateful that he keeps his eyes closed because you can simply stare at his pale hair, longing for something you vowed to forget.

It doesn’t feel right. Not at all, and you hate yourself for it.

You shove him away, face falling as you realize you want to wipe his touch away from your mouth like it’s filth, and you do. Understandably, he appears puzzled, brows furrowing as you push yourself away from the wall, shaking your head. “Sorry, I don’t think I can do this.”

But as you try to walk away, his fingers close around your wrist like a death grip, sending shivers up your spine as you find that you hate the feeling of his skin. You hate the feel of your own skin, too. Why, you’re not sure, but he leans close enough for you to feel his breath on your cheeks and yank you out of your daze. “What’s gotten into you? I didn’t do jack shit.”

“I just can’t do this,” you hiss, tugging at your hand. You could just knock him out, but the hero of Baldur’s Gate punching people as they pleased wouldn’t look too good on your end. “Let go.”

“Well, you have to give me at least an explanation,” he snaps, grip tightening. It hurts. “Don’t pretend you haven’t been sending me looks all night.”

His words seem to snap the remaining patience inside you because you elbow his stomach, shoving him backward onto his ass before pressing your dagger that seemed to appear from thin air into his neck. You haven’t had to use the knife in a while, considering how your biggest recent foe was the stinginess of patrons when it came time to pay their tabs at the tavern. Though it belongs to you, it feels foreign in your hands because, for a time, it had a different owner.

One who used this very blade against you. The same one who taught you how to elbow someone hard enough to make them reel.

“P-Please, I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to hurt you.” You’d forgotten he was there. “Just let me go, please; I won’t bother you again.”

You drop your head, sighing loudly as you sheathe your dagger once more. You think you must really be losing your mind—threatening to slice open a civilian’s throat despite the significant power imbalance between the two of you. You’re sure the greatest threat he’s faced in his life is from petty theft or something along those lines while you—well, you’re you. It’d be equivalent to a full grown owlbear attacking a goblin with a half broken club.

So, as much as you want to make him bleed just a bit, you opt to step away. “Do that again to anyone—not just me, and I won’t be so forgiving next time. Understand?”

The tremble in his irises tells you enough. You sigh again, turning to leave.

You curse your luck. Of course you would have to attract the foulest person in the tavern on a night where nothing seemed to be going correctly. Or rather, the past four months that haven’t been going as you anticipated.

Getting rid of the tadpole meant you should’ve been free from the chains of someone else—and it had, but at the cost of losing something else. And that ‘something else’ was one you weren’t sure you were ever ready to sacrifice. It should have made you happy to see the Elder Brain fall, and to rid of the squirming feeling in your skull, but all you could remember was the churning in your stomach as you realized the last string tying you to him had been snapped.

You’d gone to every tavern, every bar, playing a tune at each one until the skin at your fingers split open, because he knew you’d be there. He’d known what your lyre meant to you. Yet among the sea of faces, not once had you seen the one you wanted.

As you walk around the corner, you wrap your arms around yourself. Though Summer’s quickly approaching, there’s still a chill in the air this late at night. You pull out your dagger once more, lifting it to the sky to examine its hilt against the moonlight, which glistens with what was once your pride and love. Now, it just looks dull, and faint.

You back feels too light, now lacking the lyre. You suppose you’ll have less of a hassle moving around now, since you don’t have to worry about the strings snapping, but it doesn’t soothe you. Still, you’d sold it for good reason.

An instrument is nothing without a player who can use it, after all.

So you turn your attention back to your dagger, the last crumb he’s left for you to hold dearly to your heart, and then to the trash can perched beside a nearby wall.

You’ve tried a million times before, and you’re not sure what makes you think you’ll be successive this time, but you swallow hard in determination to rid of the thing entirely. But just as you’re about to take your first step toward it, you hear a loud, halting screech muffled instantly.

It’s from the direction you came from.

You’re breaking into a silent sprint, the weapon in your hand ready to be used. You stop before you turn the corner, readying yourself for the worst. A murder? There’ve been more than a few occurring around the city, but you’d thought the Flaming Fist were investigating that already…You can hear your blood rushing in your head, but a crunch of bone and the silence that follows afterward is all you can focus on as your grip on the hilt tightens desperately.

Cautiously, you peer at the moonlit alleyway, poised to attack.

You nearly drop the blade.

Draped in the moonlight with his face hidden by a hood, he nearly glows, though you’re not sure if it’s just your mind playing tricks on you. His fangs are buried viciously into the man’s neck, whose legs and arms lie limply at his side while the life in his eyes slips away as if it were never there. And while you don’t dare to breathe, you stare with wide eyes, drinking in his appearance as if it would be the last. A part of you thinks it may be.

But as quickly as your heart begins to race, it calms. A drop of your stomach tells you it’s not him. You’re not sure if you’re relieved or how you know, but you can just tell.

The man finally drops the now lifeless body onto the ground with a thud, wiping at his mouth with the back of his dark sleeve. He turns, and you finally see one of Astarion’s brothers–the one who’d been at the flophouse, confirming your suspicions. Regardless, your guard stays up. “I thought you guys left for the Underdark.”

He snaps his head toward your voice, eyes wide. He looks a lot better than you’d last truly seen his face after Astarion nearly burned him against the sunlight in the flophouse. What had been his name, you try to recall? Pallet? Peter? It doesn’t matter, much. “You were at the flophouse.”

He cringes at the memory but nods. “Petras. You’re the one who stopped Astarion from killing us all, aren’t you?”

Your throat goes dry at that. You’d never thought about it in such a–vulgar way, and it makes your stomach churn, but he doesn’t give you time to respond.

“Dalyria, Leon, and I have decided to stay for the sake of the spawn hiding in the city sewers,” he explains curtly. “My other siblings are in the Underdark with most of the spawn, as you expect them to be.”

You stare at the corpse on the ground, expression twitching as you meet his eyes. “Why’d you kill him?”

He licks his lips, stained with the man’s blood. “I didn’t. Someone did the work for me. I just didn’t let his precious blood go to waste.” He pauses. “I’d put a few rats on betting that it’s Astarion.”

Your eyes go wide, your armed hands dropping to your side. “Astarion? He was here?”

You’d been here mere moments ago. Had he seen you? Was he watching you?

“Maybe. Judging from how quickly he ran away from the scene when he saw me, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Shoving your dagger into its rightful place on your back, you immediately turn to search for your former companion. He couldn’t have gone far. You’d been talking to the dead man mere minutes ago, and if the death occurred between now and then, he couldn’t have possibly gone more than a few buildings away–

“I never got to thank you.”

Petras looks at you anxiously, and as much as you’d like to cut the conversation short, the way he shifts nervously can’t help but keep you in place.

“There’s no need,” you reply, stopping to shake your head. You hadn’t done it for him or any of his siblings, for that matter, anyway. Not even for Astarion. Your choice to stop had been for yourself, to keep him by your side. Your brows furrow at the selfishness draping your thoughts—that you were willing to sacrifice 7000 innocent souls for the sake of protecting the one you loved. It was a lapse of judgement. Naivety. “It’s just how things turned out.”

He tilts his head but doesn’t push it any further. “Have you seen him recently? Astarion?”

“...No. He left after we—I killed Cazador.”

His eyes flicker with disappointment, and you wonder if he’s forgiven Astarion for what he tried to do in Cazador’s dungeon. “He’s always been good at hiding. Seems some things never change.”

You nod numbly. “I’ll let you know if I do see him.”

Though you doubt you ever will. Not after how things ended. But if there’s a slight chance, even the smallest of hopes, that you can bring closure to the sleepless nights you spend on the streets, staring up at a sky that no longer brightens the way it used to, you’re willing to wait until you’re shriveled up and old, while he remains beautiful.

“I don’t think he wants to see you right now.”

The painful clench in your heart doesn’t go ignored. “Have you spoken with him?”

“Once,” he says. “But it seems he doesn’t want to speak with us anymore either. You see, our conversation didn’t quite end in a happy family reunion. We did manage to ask him a few things—like asking if he was to be staying with you.”

“And?” You’re afraid to hear the answer, but your voice is far too hopeful.

Petras gives you a look of pity, and you understand.

You understand that no matter how long you wait or how long you search for him, Astarion will not be seen when he does not want to be.

“I don’t think he wants to see you right now.”

For the rest of the night, you weep. You weep in the comforts of nobody but your own arms and nobody to hear you but the moon above.

Baldur’s Gate is by no means a city that sleeps. The past four months have been a restless cycle of rebuilding the city, and while you’ve done your part, no matter how much you do, it never seems enough.

“Oh, welcome, dear. Your friends have been a wonderful help for my house as of late,” the lady of the Highberry’s Home, Cora Highberry, ushers you into her house, still missing a roof and half the windows but appearing in better shape than most other structures in the city. She offers you a wine glass. “Do you have a preference?”

“Anything’s fine,” you smile, but just as you reach for the glass, it’s snatched away by a familiar wizard’s hand.

Gale extends Cora a gentle nod and that charming grin of his as he hands her back the wine. “While we greatly appreciate your hospitality, I’m afraid my friend here is in no condition to drink as of now.”

The playful roll of your eyes makes Cora laugh. “Ah, of course. But do know I’m so grateful for all your help. I didn’t imagine we would be building the home back for the orphans so quickly!”

“It’s the least we could do,” Gale beams. “Now then, my dear friend and I will continue working on the second floor, so just give us a holler if you need us.”

He whisks you away toward the stairs before you can wave goodbye to the woman. While you’d expect him to initiate conversation, he doesn’t say anything until you arrive upstairs, where you’re mostly alone beside the few other volunteers in the other room. You tilt your head when he finally paces past you toward one of the broken windows. “Gale Dekarios keeping his mouth shut for more than a few moments? The city truly must be falling apart.”

He cracks a smile at this, dusting off a few glass shards from the windowsill. “I’m glad to see you still have your sense of charm.”

“When have I ever lacked my charm?”

He doesn’t lift his head, pulling out his spellbook and flipping through a few pages while you survey the state of the room. “You didn’t return last night.”

You tense.

“It would be wise to be grateful Karlach’s still in Avernus with Wyll, because I’m certain she would’ve given you quite the scolding for daring to miss my world-famous Wizard’s Stew,” he says lightly, his tone morphing into something more serious when he shifts his gaze in your direction. “We’re worried about you, you know. Especially Shadowheart, even if that woman doesn’t know what gentle means in every possible level of hell.”

He’s silently asking you for an explanation, and your heart breaks at how gently he prods at your walls, giving you an opportunity to slip away again. But with how his eyes plead at you, you can’t imagine that would be possible anyway. Slowly, you perch yourself on the windowsill, looking down at the bustling crowd working together to rebuild the Highberry’s porch. They’re laughing—some face red with wine, while others scold them for it. You see a bard playing a tune you haven’t heard before, but it’s effective in lifting the mood regardless, and you finally glance at Gale.

“I met one of Astarion’s brothers yesterday.”

His face is grim. “I didn’t realize they were still in the city.”

“Me neither,” you sigh. “Some of them stayed. From what I could tell, they're mostly in the sewers, but they’re definitely here.”

“Did he seem…hostile?”

“No. He just asked me about Astarion.” You leave out the part about the dead body.

Gale’s brows furrow, but he doesn’t say anything, only silently urging you to continue. And you do.

“He doesn’t want to see me. Not ever, I think.”

There it is. The same gaze everyone seems to give you lately: pity.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” you hop off the windowsill, pacing across to the other side of the room. “If he doesn’t want to see me, I won’t. If he doesn’t want to talk to me, I won’t. I’m tired of waiting for him, Gale. I’m tired of waiting for someone who won’t ever come.”

And despite the puffiness of your eyes last night, and despite the way your eyes gloss over even now, you offer him a crooked smile. “I want to focus on the city now, for better or worse.”

Gale appears the happiest he’s been since returning a few months ago with the news that Mystra has healed him of his orb. “You thought well, dear friend. You should know how glad we are to have you back. We could certainly use more hands in the kitchen, as well, considering—well, you know how the rest of our companions are with cooking.”

Just as you open your mouth, there’s an ear-shattering scream from downstairs. The two of you meet wide eyes briefly before hurrying downstairs.

Only a few feet from the patio of the Highberry home, there’s a crowd gathering with hushed whispers and the weeping of a woman. And when you manage to push through the mountain of people, you finally see the corpse.

Cora Highberry sobs over what remains of her bloody husband, who, without a doubt, has the markings of two fangs punctured through his throat.

#astarion ancunin #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate astarion #bg3 astarion #astarion x tav #astarion #astarion x reader #bg3 x reader #fluff #angst with a happy ending #angst #bg3 x tav #bg3 tav #bg3 spoilers

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yourfatherlucifer · 3 months

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Shark Bait (Hongjoong)

Shark Hybrid!Hongjoong x Mermaid!Reader

Summary: Living in a world full of different creatures and humans, some mixed together, creating hybrids. You were just a mermaid though, an ancient tale from the sea. He was something every human feared, even merfolk feared. But you fell in love, how could it be so forbidden?

Warnings: Talks of species violence

AU: Hybrid

Genre: Fluff

WC: 900+ (unfinished)

Rated: PG-13 for violence

Nets: not tagging because I didn’t finish this story and I just want to get it out of my drafts.

“Mom, look at this thing I found! It looks like it was from the pirate era!” You shoved a goblet in front of your mothers face, “Must be some kind of cup?”

You pulled it back to examine it further. Your mother shook her head.

“Y/N, we talked about this, I understand you like your scavenging, you’re an adult you can do as you’d like, but please, take it somewhere else.” She folded her arms.

“I don’t like those human objects. They just bring misfortune.” Her tail swayed behind her.

You had rolled your eyes at him before clutching the found object to your chest, “And what misfortune do you speak of mother? It’s a cup.”

You loved living in the ocean, though, you had no idea what land life was like anyway. Still, you loved the shiny sea life, the coral, the seaweed, the little treasures you’d find at the bottom of the ocean.

Some you’d even bring to your little siblings, they’d love the gifts. Sometimes they’d even wanna go on a journey with you, but you or your parents would never allow it. They were still very young and there were dangers that lurked in the waters.

Despite being friendly with the sea life, there were still some that didn’t like you. The sharks for example, especially the great whites. They loved to harass the merfolk.

So you had to be careful when investigating ship wrecks, making sure there were no bodies. You always felt bad for the humans who got lost at sea, so you’d guide them back. However, there were always the bad humans, the ones that would try to capture you for your body, to take you as a trophy or a ‘pet’.

That didn’t stop you from loving your life and exploring. Your parents considering you to be adventurous, they always worried about you, scared you’d get hunted by a shiver of sharks. You never did though, you were always careful.

Your mother scoffed at you, she was almost seething with anger, "It doesn't matter, Y/N! You are always going into the dangerous waters without thinking! Just to get your stupid trinkets, that we have no use of! What, what are we gonna do with a goblet!" Her arms thrown up.

You couldn't understand why your mother was being like this, you were always safe, nothing had happened, ever.

“Y/N, please. Just listen to me. Your step father and I care for you and are worried of your adventures,” you could feel the ‘air’ turning somber, “I’ve never told you what actually happened to your father.”

After so many years, she was finally going to give you answers? And for what? Just to stop you from having fun? It isn’t right. You never grieved your fathers death, because you never met the dude. So what does his death have to do with anything?

Your mother took the goblet from your hands and brought you inside your cove home, "Listen, your father was the same way, he loved his little adventures, just as you do. That's where you got it from," she took a deep breath, "He'd always bring me little presents when I was pregnant with you."

She smiled as she recalled those delightful memories.

"But one day he didn't return. He was with some buddies, on yet another adventure for me presents. He wanted to some stuff for you to have."

You could see her emotions unraveling but continued to listen, "When he didn't return for hours, I was so scared. Then his friends came here. Without him."

"They told me they were attacked by sharks. Your father was the only who didn't make it. Said he distracted the sharks so they could get away."

At this point your mother had tears streaming down her face, even if you couldn't tell with the water.

When she wiped her tears away, she stared at you once again, "That is why I don't like your adventures. These attacks on our people are getting too common. I don't want to lose you, Y/N, you're all I have left of your father. I hated those trinkets after he passed."

Even after the talk with her, I still didn't care, I didn't know him. I was always careful anyway, never once have I come across a shark, maybe a nurse shark but they're friendly. It was the great whites, goblin sharks, tiger sharks and other sharks that were aggressive.

I had found another shipwreck, ways from the last one I discovered earlier, this looked fairly new, couldn't know exactly when it sank though.

It was a smaller boat, looked like one those humans partied on, what did they call it? Yacht, I think? Wonder how it got sunk.

Humans could be idiots when it came to anything.

I wedged myself inside, careful not to catch my tail on anything. There were a few shiny things, a small rectangle about the size of my hand, I think the humans called these phones, not too sure. It was useless underwater, so I just placed it back where I found it.

While searching for miscellaneous objects, I didn't realize the boat had been swarmed by sharks. My predator.

Once I had stopped searching, I turned to make my way out, only to be met with huge jaws, razor sharp teeth, and pale gray skin. A great white shark. The King of the seas.

I swam back further into the boat and in response the shark mauled the small entrance with its mouth, trying to get to me. Oh my god, I should've listened to my mother, now I am going to die just as my father did.

I cried out in fear, I didn't want to die.

As the shark approached me, something pushed it out of the way, I could hear shouts, "Back off! Didn't I tell you to stop killing the mermaids!"

You poked your head out in confusion, what was going on?

The figure swam up to me, I could finally figure out its features. It was a boy..about my age. He’s beautiful. However, he adorned a fin on his back and razor sharp teeth.

He held his hand up to me but I slowly swam back into the boat, “Hey! Wait, it’s okay! I’m not going to hurt you.”

He smiled, “My name is Hongjoong, I’m a shark-hybrid. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna do anything, I just wanna be your friend.”

UNFINISHED

#ateez x reader #ateez #x reader #Hongjoong x reader #Kim Hongjoong x reader

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madwomansapologist · 3 months

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doubt comes in | bg3 companions

Meet Kind!Druid!Tav | More Weirdos | AO3

synopsis: You knew exactly what would welcome you back to camp. The alluring smell of Gale's cooking, the awful noises of Lae'zel working on a sword that don't need to be sharpened, Wyll practicing his dance moves. You clearly weren't expecting to see yourself. Or to be forced into fighting the companions you swore to never harm in order to prove Orin was playing with their minds. [3.4K]

warnings: orin being orin. well, you, actually. "prove who's the real you" trope. i mean imagine the level of anxiety that scenario induces because you want me to act like me? kitten, mommy don't fucking know who she is. bg3 level of violence. a lot of blood. body horror should be a tag? tav suffers slashing damage, but orin suffers psychic damage. angst. happy ending. shadowheart x tav x halsin. companions (lae'zel, astarion, gale, wyll, karlach, jaheira, minsc). camp followers (yenna, scratch, grub). background (orin, gortash, mizora, shar, cazador, silvanus).

Reaching Baldur's Gate didn't made life easier, but Gods did it helped. Danger is near, sometimes closer than a kiss, but this city is still your home. They can try, but no one can take that away from any of you.

Mizora can bargain and dissemble, but no lie coming from her burning lips will ever change the fact Wyll would do anything for this city. He had his first kiss in one of those bars. Gortash is a threat, but did he started counting his days? Karlach is coming for him, and he had it coming. She can still remember the vinegar taste on her mouth after her first spree.

Shar had her time to mess with Shadowheart's memories, to turn goodness into fear and desires into guilty. Shadowheart is learning how to swin. Long ago, before Cazador could even think of looking at him, Astarion walked on those streets. Cazador can see him as a walking corpse if he so desire, something that fell into decay, but Astarion is alive and free forever and evermore.

The world is a freaking mess, but so be it. That won't stop you from living. That won't stop any of you.

"Soldier! Over here," Karlach called for you, up on The Blushing Mermaid's balcony. You dodged the drunkards and ran upstairs to their table. They saved a seat for you. They always do. "What took you so long?"

They're always teasing you for being so controlling with their gold. That was an act of survival, to save for what matters, but now that you reached the city... You're still controlling it, Silvanus knows Astarion would waste it all without noticing, but you can allow your party some luxury from time to time.

You put the bags under the table, careful to not let them see what was inside them. "Just lost track of time," you sat between her and Minsc. "Did I miss much?"

You turned around, looking for a waiter, but a glass was dragged from across the table towards you. Halsin, sitting across from you at the round table, had already ordered your favorite drink. He always knows what you want even before you say it.

Your smile was subtle, the glass already rising to hide your mouth. You didn't use words to thank him, but your foot met his under the table. You dragged it along his leg, a hidden affection. A secret between you two.

"Oh, yes, Boo. Minsc agrees, her smile really seens different," Minsc whispered. Boo moved on his shoulder, sniffing around. "What are you hiding, my gentle friend?"

Perfume of night orchids, clothes fit for a vampire or whatever Astarion means by that, a recently released tome of evocation, instruments to improve weapons, a music box for a dancing hero, owlbear cub plush, new whittling knifes, a book about adventures Jaheira wasn't part of but is still somehow the main character, and stone sculpture of a certain miniature giant space hamster. "Nothing," you answered.

Halsin chuckled. "There is nothing you can't do, my heart. Except by lying, I must add."

"I just bought a few presents," it sounded almost defensive. Alright, maybe you really were a bit too controlling of the gold. Just a bit. "I'll give them after dinner."

Karlach chocked on her beer. "Are you feeling well, soldier? Have anyone forced you to waste your precious gold?"

"There is a hero coming through to help you, my friend," Minsc hit the table with closed fists. Your drink almost fell on your lap. "Tell Minsc who forced you and his boot shall find your wrongdoer!"

Karlach and Minsc tried to see what were in the bags during the walk back to camp, and you protected them with your life. They started a game of guessing what you had bought, never realizing you weren't participating on it.

Halsin took the bags from you, and with his free hand caressed yours. He kissed your knuckles, then your forehead. You melted against his touch. "Is it duck related?"

You chuckled, eyes still closed. "Fuck off, Bear."

Finally at camp, Halsin followed you to your tent .You saw when Wyll walking out of his tent, hair dripping wet, and smiled at him. Karlach and Minsc sat by the bonfire, still arguing about the possibility of receiving an ax as a gift.

You told Halsin to close his eyes so you could hide everything. "Alright, done."

You walked towards the bonfire, but Halsin grabbed your hand and pulled you closer. You linked your arms around his neck, ready to stand on tiptoe. "It's on your black chest, isn't it?"

You sighed, walking away from him. He tried to stop you, but you dodged Halsin easily. "Of course not," you lied. And he could tell.

You used a branch to stir the fire. You had the feeling it would be a cold night. Yenna was near it, stroking Grub's fur, and smiled at you. So young, so innocent. So unfair.

Lae'zel and Jaheira carried pans with food to the large table Gale conjured, and nodded on your direction. "Fifteen minutes, cub," said Jaheira. "Weren't you on watch?"

You denied with a movement of your head. Jaheira isn't the one to get confused with watches, neither are you. After all, you both organized all shifts.

"Are you hungry?" You stroke Yenna's hair, ignoring Grub in order to not scare him away. Kneeled in front of her, you threw the branch far away. Scratch ran to catch it. "I have strawberry and hon..."

"What the fuck is that?!"

You turned to Karlach, your sword suddenly so heavy on your side. She looked perfectly fine. Following her gaze, you understood it.

Shadowheart had her spear on hands, back from first watch to supper. And besides her, with a hand on the half-elf's waist, stood you.

One thing you can't deny Orin: that bitch is creative. You admit, it was smart. Half of the party left with you, half stayed at camp. It was only a matter of chosing the right moment to appear, making sure to say only the right words, and everything would work on her favor.

Smart, until she wasn't anymore. Because instead of aiming your companions quietly without raising doubts, you are back now. She is surrounded by the enemy. Cornered by her own actions.

You smiled to Yenna, her scared eyes shone upon you. "I need you to close your eyes. Can you do that for me?" As she put her tiny hands in front of her face, you raised from the floor. The smile was still there. "Orin."

She was behind you, but you knew Karlach made Nyrulna find a way to her hands. He's not on your vision field, but you promise Silvanus you'll kill yourself right then and there if Minsc and Boo aren't ready to fight and die beside you. The golden light on your periphery in theory could be from anything, but you knew it was Halsin waiting for your command to transform and attack.

The things you couldn't see didn't surprised you. Quite the opposite.

Jaheira's eyes shone, and without hesitation she turned into a fire myrmidion. Wyll, before careless, casted an armor on himself. Lae'zel had her sword on her back, but her movements showed she was nothing but ready.

They were looking at you.

As easy as that you understood. You're always thinking on the great scheme of things, careful about every movement and choice so at the end nothing will stop you from defeating the Absolute, but this isn't a game of Go. Orin didn't proposed a bet, one where all moves matter and any choice could change the final outcome. No. This is as simple as tic-tac-toe. The results depends only on doing the right first movement.

Orin isn't surrounded here.

You are.

Shadowheart hesitated, the spear uncomfortable on her hands, her skin paler. She gazed at you, at that thing, and you could almost see the doubt replacing the new found glow in her eyes.

"You finally decided to show up again," Orin said. She could immitate your voice perfectly. Even the words were something that could've been said by you. "Now we don't need to hunt you down."

You kept on staring at Shadowheart, ignoring her stained words. "Lua, you know who I truly am." You drew your sword, the golden glow illuminating your face within the light of the setting sun. "Fight beside me, my love. Like you have always done."

"Don't fall for her theatrics," replied Orin. If you didn't knew better, even you would fall for her tricks. "She is playing with your mind. Trying to control it like many attempt to before. Don't allow it."

In a quick motion, her spear cut through Orin's torso. Orin, you, stumbled back. You stood in front of Shadowheart, protecting her with your body from the changeling's response.

All Orin did was to add pressure to the cut. "Get away from her!" A necrotic energy came from her fingers, the same you are so used to control. You shouldn't have left your shield on your tent. "My love, she'll only hurt you."

Jaheira aimed at you, lava dripping from her transformed hand, but didn't attack because of how close Shadowheart was of you. Karlach got further away, now with a better view of camp. Minsc had his sword in hands, just as Wyll had a cloud of darkness aiming at him. Lae'zel was in front of Orin, eyes filled with determination.

They moved faster than you wanted to. The board getting new possibilities, and you worst problems to deal with. What strategy can overpower hers?

"On sight, soldier," Karlach screamed from distance. You could picture the spear on her hands, ready to be throw right in Orin's eyes. "One word."

"Ckh. Enough," ordered Lae'zel. "Pull yourself together before I pull you apart."

"That changeling is playing tricks with your mind, Lae'zel," said Shadowheart. Light came from her fingers. "Don't let her fool you."

"I know my leader," was her response. "You should know too, cleric."

"Can't any of you see her true goal?" Your voice echoed through the camp. "She isn't just trying to end me. She could've done this before, we all now she had chances. Orin wants you to fight one another, to break our bonds and divide us. Stay still, stay alert, and she won't have a choice but to end her disguise and attack with her own claws. Patience: that's the only thing she does not have."

With the noise, Gale and Astarion came out of the kitchen. "Who is..." Astarion didn't even had time to finish.

"It's me," you yelled. You had even forgot about them. Just more players for a game that should be won alone. "For Silvanus, I even said goodbye to each and every of you befo..."

You swear you saw a smirk on your duel's face. She fooled you too. "You fucking bitch."

You barely had closed your mouth when red strings of energy passed right beside you. Shadowheart's illuminated fingers were surrounded by darkness now. Gale's work, you knew.

"She is right," Lae'zel's words made you breath easier. It was more than just a smart move, it was a great plan, but Orin won't suceed for a very simple reason: her main goal is to hurt, and yours is to prevent it. Lae'zel stepped closer, her longsword in hands and eyes on Orin. "The wizard shouldn't have aimed at the Shadowheart, neither was she supposed to fight."

A sign of trust coming from her of all people could convince them all. Lae'zel cares, deeply, and wouldn't do something without being sure of it. You glared at the others, hoping Lae'zel's words had calmed them down. And it did. Their eyes were softer towards you. But those weren't the eyes you should've been watching closely.

You didn't saw when she moved. Didn't noticed the smell of danger floating on the air so near you. Didn't heard anything that would've warned you to defend yourself.

But you felt as Lae'zel rip your chest apart.

So much blood. You never would've guessed a mortal vessel could carry so much blood. It stained the silver, dripping from the longsword, splashed her face. It ran down your body, penetrated the ground and its roots, fed the plants..

Red. It was all you could see. All you could think about. Your lungs only had space for it. They burned. Your trembling hands moved towards your ripped belly, your insides staining them, and held the sword. It cut your palms.

"Bloodlust won't solve our problems," someone said. You knew that voice. Was it yours? Lae'zel forced the sword down, then pulled it out of you. "The changeling's is all we need to spill."

You were on your knees. Did you fell? Were you kicked? Are you praying? You must be. You probably were. Who do you pray to? Have you ever prayed before?

Kneeled beside you, a woman talked to you. Her mouth moved, a red liquid dripping from her face and hands. Her touch was warm. She felt like home. Shadowheart. Her eyes reflected a golden light, but they dissapeared so quickly.

"Let me go!" She tried to fight Lae'zel's hold, but the warrior was stronger. "She'll die because of you. She'll die and I will never ever forgive you for that, you damned gith!" The screams turned into cries. "She saved me, let me save her!"

"It's me," the doppelgander said. She held Shadowheart by the cheeks, trying to get her to calm down. "Lua, love, it's me. Just me."

"Get out of me," Shadowheart spat on her face. Lae'zel pushed her away, trying to prevent Shadowheart from doing something she would regret. "Why no one here listen to me?!"

"Stop squirming," Lae'zel hissed. "Look into her eyes. Look and tell me you don't see our leader."

Shadowheart eventually stopped fighting, her body exausted from crying. The changeling was in front of her, you were in front of her. She smelled like you. Talked like you. Felt like you.

"Is that really you?"

"Of course it's me," lied Orin. "Please, look into my eyes. We were together all day. You know I haven't left camp. Please, please, trust me."

Spikes grew, surrounding Orin. She hissed, the ivy twining around her legs and tearing the skin open. Halsin were throw to the ground before he could end the healing spell.

"Halsin!" Shadowheart screamed. She almost escaped Lae'zel's hold. "No!"

"She was with us all day, Halsin," Wyll said as he paralised the druid. "We know it's her. Don't fight back."

That didn't stop Karlach from throwing her spear near the Blade's feet. "You fucking idiot!"

Mizora clapped, enjoying the show.

Jaheira burned Mizora before losing her wild shape. She will come back, she always does, but that never stops Jaheira. At least they will have some moments of respect.

She wandered towards Minsc. He kneeled on the floor, and for a moment she feared something happened to him when she wasn't paying attention.

"She told me not open my eyes," cried Yenna. "I can't open they yet. She told me not to."

"Have you ever seen my miniature giant space hamster?" Yenna didn't react to him. "No, Boo, she nee..."

Jaheira kneeled beside him, her hand resting on his shoulder. "You did well, cub," she forced herself to laugh. "You were so brave. Let's get you and your red cat something to eat, alright?"

A dry sound reached their ears, stopping every and each one of them. You fell to the ground, as firm as an empty sack, whimpers leaving your mouth as you slipped into unconsciousness.

No fighting. No yelling. A quiet end. A peaceful one.

So easy.

Astarion grabbed Gale's shoulders, whispering so the others wouldn't notice. "It smells like her," Astarion swallowed hard. "I know it."

"Are you really sure of that?" Gale watched you, saw all your blood spreading through the ground, and looked into his eyes again. "Because if you're not, if your guess is wrong, then it will be our guts on the ground. Do you really trust your nose that much?"

Astarion gave him a smirk, but Gale could see the fear he was trying to hide. "Will you cover me, darling?"

"What's your plan?"

"Please. If you think I have one, then you don't know me at all."

As the spike dissapeared, Orin held Shadowheart's face again. "Think of everything we faced together. The nautiloid, the grove, the shadows. Wasn't I beside you all this time? Have I ever turned my back on you?"

"No." That Shadowheart knew the answer. "Never."

She looked up to the moon, praying for assistance. When her eyes fell down, she saw the body on the floor. And what surrounded it.

Scratch sad down beside you. He nudged your shoulder with his nose, waiting for you to stop with that game. He didn't like it. It wasn't fun like the others. But as he moved your body, she saw something reflecting the sunset. A flask. Concentrating, Shadowheart saw the contour of something. Of Astarion's body.

Gale had blue rays of light coming out of his eyes.

"Exactly, my love," her cheeks were pinched. The long nails digged on them for so long. "I've never turned on you. Not when you tried to kill Lae'zel. Not when you lied to me again and again. Or when you showed us how low you would go for your goddess. Remember the fear on the Nightsong's eyes? Remember how I pretended not to know all you would do to her if I wasn't there? A cleric who doesn't know where to lay her faith, a torturer so easily deceived, a coward unable to make the right decisions. That's why you never turned on me, right? Because I make the decisions you can't. I carry all the guilty for you. Because it's easier when I control everything. Don't you like it? That you don't need to use your brain when I am around? Wouldn't you give your memories to me if I asked? I know you would. I know you will."

Your head fell. The bone cracking, the skin stretching. They could hear as it moved, as it turned into something else. The shoulders falling, elbows breaking in half, the spine bending until it touches the bloody ground. The last snap, deep and long.

And from a thin cloud of dust, Orin appeared.

"Look at it. Crawnling under my fe..."

Nyrulna wasn't near Wyll, deep on the ground, neither did it came back to Karlach's hands. With accurate aim, the trident pierced Orin's ribs. Her blood joined yours, and the pale body fell where yours once lay.

Taking your time, you walked towards her. Stepping on the changeling's stomach, you ripped the trident from her insides. "I will give you a glorious death," you growled. "I'll make Bhaal wish I was his chosen."

You kneeled beside her, pressing the trident against her neck, then lowered your face until her ear. "I'll make him regret ever settling for you," you whispered.

Her eyes shone. "How... you know," she could barely say anything. "My... sib..."

You squeezed her cheeks, shutting her up. Then you caressed it, getting her skin dirty with your blood. "I know shit about you," you replied. "But I can tell you would never be anyone's first choice."

Orin can believe she escaped, if it's that what she desires. That you were too slow to stop her from teleport to wherever she deemed safe. That you were all bark and no bite. The truth is that she was wrong about you from the start.

You like the hunting.

You dropped Nyrulna to the ground, and threw yourself into Shadowheart's arms. “She lies,” you whispered. "She deceives and hurts and maims. Nothing was true. You're nothing that she said."

Quietly, Shadowheart hugged you. She breathed in your scent, felt your touch, heard your voice. You, you, you. She cried against your body. You.

Looking at the rest of your party, you breathed in. "We need a code," you said. "If we ever get into this sort of situation again, we need to say..."

You bite your lips, trying to think of something. Something you wouldn't use in another situation. Something that would be unique, impossible to confuse the meaning.

"Gold," you chose. "Or the rest of us are allowed to go for the kill."

Lae'zel cleared her throat. "Fair enough."

if you enjoyed, please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡

BALDUR’S GATE 3 TAGLIST: @citrusbunnies

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

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sivyera · 1 year

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Peter Pan being obsessed with you would include...

@riaqiax for your little request :)

Peter would be definitely obsessed with you

I think he never actually felt love (tbh after all Wendy left him alone so) so that' why he would become addicted to the love you give him

he would be very protective over you and I mean very!

he would protect you more than The Lost Boys

I think at first Hook wouldn't even know that you are in Neverland because Peter would hide you very well

The Lost Boys would love you but soon they will realize that Peter is starting to be obsessed with you but they wouldn't know what to do with it

constantly touching you, be it your leg, arm or back

warm smiles and hugs

lots of kisses a cuddles

he'll teach you how to protect yourself with a sword or knife in case he's not around if any danger crosses your path, but that doesn't happen very often because he's always with you

sometimes you like to explore Neverland by yourself which Peter doesn't really like so he secretly follows you, stalk you

even before he brought you to Neverland he stalked you every single day

If any creature would try to hurt you in any way (mermaids, fairies,...) he will kill tem without hesitation

to be honest I think he will even kill one of The Lost Boy if someone of them say anything hurtful

he will never let you leave Neverland

he just love you to much

I will write some more of this, I just don't think this is written right, something is missing..

#peter pan x reader #peter pan 2003 x reader #peter pan 2003 #peter pan imagine #peter pan being obsessed with you #peter pan 2003 being obsessed with you #obsessed peter pan x reader #obsessed peter pan 2003 x reader #x reader

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aerkame · 4 months

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A Spell For a Hoard Part 1

Thought I'd give you guys a lil' treat before I go off to sleep (I need to fix my sleep schedule lol). Also because I wanted to do a little bit of world building. Let me know how I'm doing! Fandom: Welcome Home Finfolk AU Relationships: Implied Wally x Reader Summary: Wally completes a deal with the stranger to get what he needs.

Note: Sorry there will be a part 2, I just got too tired to keep writing xd

______________________________________________________________

Everyone knew what the finfolk were capable of, if you were knowledgeable enough that is. This world was full of all kinds of creatures; but some creatures like his own kind, the finmen and finwomen of the sea, were not as known as the more infamous species such as the fae, dragons, orcs, vampires, and mermaids. The usual creature that comes to mind when one talks about myths and folklore.

Not being as well known of a species has its perks though, that's how Wally found himself here.

No one batted an eye at the short customer that made their way through the crowded town and into a nearby tavern. No one said anything or had shown any suspicion when said customer went into the back of the employee's area and up the stairs. It was almost funny really. Wally could walk around with his fins and scales in full view and not one person would know what he really is. If anything, the average person would probably mistake him for a siren or a mermaid, perhaps even a hybrid offspring of a land-dweller and a mermaid. And yet, there are so many out there that pride themselves in being oh so knowledgeable on every creature to ever exist. What prideful idiots.

Staring at the door, Wally squinted. There were faint glowing swirls and lettering of unknown origin engraved into the framing and wood. It took a bit of thinking. Draconic tongue, a protection spell from what it looks like.

With a droopy eyed smile, he straightened his clothing before gingerly knocking, arm folded behind his back to keep the friendly appearance.

Clicks and moving gears could be heard within the locks of the door. It only took a moment before the glowing lettering disappeared and the door slowly creaked open. Two glowing red eyes stared at him from the dark of the room. Lightning flashed briefly, revealing the humanoid, but clearly, draconic figure sitting at the desk.

"Take a seat."

A female's voice rang out throughout the office, it was commanding and demanded respect.

Wally gave a warm but lazy smile as he stepped in, the door shutting behind with a slam.

"I didn't take you as the type for protection spells." His voice came out buttery smooth, innocent, and comforting to listen to. He sometimes wondered if there was siren somewhere in his family tree. Wally lifted himself up and kicked his feet slowly while seated in the the chair, one far too big for him. He didn't feel like shifting to be bigger though.

"Don't be daft, you and I both know it would be unwise of me to leave myself unprotected." Those red eyes glared down at the 'puppet' man. Void and dreamy half-lidded eyes stared back.

Wally tilted his head to the side cutely, finger to his lip as if in thought. "Oh? Is it because you're expecting dangerous company?"

Claws dug into the desk, splintering the wood. "Don't you DARE get those half-witted detectives involved or so help me!-"

Putting hand up to stop whatever was next, Wally bent forward with a widened grin. "Oh, I won't tell anyone, I swear it." He began to lean over the desk itself, resting his face into the palm of his hand with those same sleepy eyes.

"That is if you keep your end of the deal. Riiiight?~"

His words were sickly sweet, Wally having sang song the last part as if he were talking to a child. It was adorable to anyone else, but here, it was a clear threat.

#welcome home #welcome home finfolk au #welcome home au #finfolk #welcome home arg #wally darling #au #welcome home wally darling #fanfiction #wally darling x reader #wh wally darling #wh wally

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the-scarecrow-of-aus · 3 days

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Soooo...

Um, for mermay...

I was thinking of what might be fun to write for dcxdp, I thought I might be able to hash something out as I drove home from work earlier...

Listening to a random Spotify playlist that contained 'two' songs right after each other.. (this will come up later)

People know about pirate!batman right?

'Leatherwing'

My mind went about updating leatherwing to include all the bats and birds. Then it went to how I'd introduce danny.

Danny, who learnt he was a mermaid when he was 14, after being knocked overboard unconcious, into the port he fell, getting brained by a stray lumber spar, caught in fouled rigging and then dragged over the side by dead weight all on accident by his port-friend sam.

He didn't drown, but it took a while to wake up then realising you were staring at the underside of the ships keel.

not a good thing to discover when your parents hunt mermaids and other mythical creatures. "Dangerous creatures danno my boy, once you anger a mermaid best ready yourself because they don't forgive easily!"

Even worse when they're constantly travelling by ship with their benefactors: the GIW (the gentlemen in white).

A privately sponsored armada of hunters: whether their prey is pirates, mermaids or any creature they consider a threat, you don't want to be hunted by them!

So danny, doing his best to not be caught but still learn what he's capable of, learning how to use his voice to stun and enchant... finally he gets discovered freeing their captives.

He has to flee and flee he does, escaping them and striking out on his own.

(I assume jazz stays in Port and isn't aware of what's currently happened-away at 'college')

Sometime in the future though, constantly dodging his parents attempts to track him whenever he comes to a port, Danny happened upon captain leatherwings pirateship.

He follows them as a mermaid, watching them work. Sometimes they attacked a ship and other times they fled, being chased by pirate hunters but never caught! It was fascinating to watch despite the danger of being seen (he's seen).

At night he'd wrap himself around the rudder and hum or quietly sing listening to the ocean, hoping another mermaid would answer his call (he's never met another)

One day as leatherwing's ship, the flying fox. Starts to sail into port, danny hears them say they will put up a request for new crew (some leaving, some died).

Danny slips away ahead of them to shore, stealing some dry clothes (without holes to look presentable) and camps out at the inn by the docks looking for hire.

It takes some work but Danny gets hired on, excited to be among people again. He's introduced to the crew and does his best to fit in, it becomes apparent some of the long term crew are more then just crew, they act just like family...

Danny gets close to them, curious about their relationships with each other. One night (I'm picking cass for this but it could be anyone) he finds 'orphan-blackblade' sitting on the stern of the ship.

her feet through the railing on the back trying to hum a strange tune that sounds familiar, another of the crew sees Danny watching and laughs, 'orphan doesn't talk, but she sits on the back of the boat every night listening to the 'music of the sea' (you do the math)

That would continue building a relationship at a pace but now, we come to the part where danny is revealed.

leatherwing and the flying fox is attacked by the GIW who stumbled on them looking for danny with whatever dark magic's they use to track him. This coincides with a storm approaching and as the battle rages Danny gets pinned under water by debris and is forced to start transforming.

He breaks free and seeing the fight going poorly tries to help using his cry to shock the GIW, it works. This is where things get a little angst as the flying fox crew don't recognise danny as a mermaid...

Danny seeing the mainmast of the GIW ship coming down tackles orphan out of the way but in saving her gets attacked by her and everyone else forcing him to take her hostage to save himself and flee, whisking her away into the dark of the stormy sea.

This is where the songs literally came in:

Fish in a birdcage: 'rule #34'

(Awkward timing, forcing me to decide which was the priority: getting my ace asses mind out of the gutter or keeping my car wheels out of the gutter as I did some specific driving on the freeway to avoid some surprise gridlock traffic ahead!)

So play that song and imagine pirate!cass waking up in a cave of an unknown island being stared down at by an angry, shirtless, very familiar looking mermaid who you'd just stabbed...

My brain while trying to drive:

The second song was: fin- ship in a bottle

What comes to mind (as I was now stuck in gridlock) is an angry danny fighting back as leatherwing tries to find his daughter orphan after she was taken by a mermaid that suddenly attacked them during the fight.

He'd interrogated the GIW who invaded his ship, those who hadn't been able to flee in time as he chased after his daughter, they were hunting the mermaid and assumed he was on-board (a thought backed up by nobody knowing where danny had gone-they found his torn off shirt though...).

He tore the knowledge from them on how they tracked the mermaid, learnt the consequences of using the magic, forced them off the ship because they were now 'deadweight', cast the magic and set sail.

And now that he'd found him he was going to get his daughter back... But as said before, dannys angry and they fight...

- that's all I got at the moment.

The only other things I have is cass going non verbal in the cave and humming her song which could calm danny down as he recognises it as the song he sung when wrapped around the rudder at nights.

Cass stopping the fight between Danny and Bruce (and her siblings) threatening to beat both their asses

Ellie showing up as a mermaid, trying to find danny, she bumped into jazz and they've been trying to find danny for a while (Danny forgets to check in every now and then)

#dick in the comic was robin-redblade. what would the others names be?#dcxdp #dpxdc #mermay #mermaid!danny #pirate!cass #pirate batman #leatherwing #my writing #danny x cass #dead silence ship #elseworlds comics #danny phantom #sorry if this makes no sense. im tired from work #cassandra cain

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puntastic-artist · 1 month

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Howdy! I saw your tnmn pirate au and was wondering how the world is structured. How did these people from different walks (er swims?) of life end up in the same place on or near the boat?

OH SHIT Y'ALL ARE EATING GOOD TONIGHT BECAUSE I HAVE SO MUCH LORE FOR THIS AU

SO FUCKLE UP BECAUSE BECAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT

Right so lets begin with the setting and when and where everything takes place.

The AU is set in 1755, kings and queens rule many lands and was the golden age of pirates. The crew comes from multiple different backgrounds, poor, middle class, upper class, you name it!

Mermaids, Sirens (the doppelgangers in this AU), and Harpies aren't believed to be real, as the sailors who have seen them could provide no evidence. Cameras are a HUGE LUXURY item that none of them could even afford so not a single soul was believed. However some folks believed in these stories but have inevitably mixed them all up as time goes by (it's why nobody can agree on if Sirens are mermaids or bird people or just a type of mischievous creature of the seas), and as of the AUs present date nobody has gotten a sighting of any of these creatures.

Mermaids and Harpies only go to sailors, usually to mess with them a bit because a majority of the time they're just there to have fun. Sirens however? Their only goal is to satisfy their everlasting hunger by either; shape shifting into crew members so they can board, or luring them into dangerous waters and crash their ships against jagged rocks. Not many have survived sirens, as days if not months of being alone with nothing but rations and sea water will kinda fuck you up a bit mentally and physically, and to catch one you have to identify if they are or are not your crewmate.

Their shape shifting capabilities has ALSO added to the mix up of sirens, harpies, and mermaids and who is who. Sirens will eat mermaids to gain their power to sing hypnotic melodies, and eat Harpies for their ability to fly and their ability to create storms.

Mermaids and Harpies both have the capability to take on human forms! However this ability will usually mean they don't have the ability to sing or create storms. Sometimes if they're lucky they'll have both! But that's a rarity.

But back to sirens, due to the many sailors and pirates who see them, pirates and sailors have begun implementating and assigning an important role to certain members of the crew! The D.D.D or rather the S.D.S (Siren Detection specialist) is a person (typically a look out, medic, or first mate) who is made to run check ups and examinations on crew members to make sure no Sirens have snuck on board... Yeah uh these guys die. A lot.

Character lore!!!!

Right so lets get on to the lore for each of the (currently drawn) crew members!

Angus and Izaack

Angus grew up in the lower parts of the unnamed city they once lived in, while Izaack grew up in the upperclass as his father was a nobleman. Still the two did everything together growing up. To try and earn Angus some extra cash when he went out to swindle money out of unsuspecting upperclassmen, Izaack would take some "cheap" jewelry nobody would miss and give it to Angus to sell!

This tactic could no longer work as well when they became adults though because Izaack's parents would lose their money gradually. So because Angus was on the verge of living on the streets and his buddy was slowly losing funds, he came up with an idea, the two of them could take a ship, go on an exploration around the world to find hidden treasures, and return home and live the rest of their lives with new found wealth! So they snuck on a Navy ship and set sail. Should be no problem right? No. Angus and Izaack stole it in the middle of the day and now their whole town thinks Angus kidnapped the nobleman's son and there's now a bounty on his head. They're (somehow) making it work though! Angus is the captain and Izaack is the first mate!

The twins

Selenne and Elenois are actually insanely powerful and rich women! However they have tricked the local land population into believing they're humans, as they are a mermaid and harpy respectfully! They get their insane riches from stealing from other pirate ships or from shipwrecks and trade the valuables they find! They have made an alliance with Angus and his crew because they help each other out! Both twins live on land and have Margrette sew their outfits for them (she's their only staff member who is aware they are not human)

Nacha, Francis, and Anastacha

Nacha came from a middle class family who wanted her to marry a wealthy man and live lavishly, while Nacha wanted to explore the world, find true love, and be free from her overbearing family.

Francis is a mermaid who came from an under sea kingdom which... He's not very interested in going back to if he's completely honest. His kingdom was full of festivals, parties, and celebrations galore, Francis just wanted quiet.

The two met one fateful night and fell in love, they dated for a bit, Francis pulled a little Mermaid, and Nacha married him! However because Nacha married a low class man, who doesn't even fucking wear shoes, she got disowned. But to them, it didn't matter. They had Anastacha and were happy!

Slowly though they fell out of love and ended their marriage and relationship on very friendly and sweet terms.

Now Nacha and Anastacha live in a small cottage while Francis visits whenever he can and supports his daughter!

However Nacha and Anastacha were kicked out of the family will years ago. Nacha was struggling to make an income, Francis was trying to support in any way he could, and Anastacha felt completely powerless to do anything. So when Anastacha found Angus' boat hiding as they began to stock up on supplies she took the opportunity to set sail and return to her mother with riches beyond their comprehension, becoming a stowaway.

When Nacha noticed her daughter was gone she and Francis searched for her until they saw her on the pirate ship as it set sail and raced to rescue her.

Now all 3 family members, to their shock, are the new (and before Mia and Afton, only) members of the Cipprianni crew!

Mia and Afton

Their story is very simple! They're a simple, lovey dovey, newly wedded couple looking for adventure and excitement! As they want to spend the best years of their lives together in the most entertaining and adventurous way yet, joining a pirate crew! They promise to aid the crew in their endeavors for as long as they need, after all they have the entire ocean and skies to explore together, so why not get started?

IMPORTANT!

So really quick just because I wanna make it clear: there's no canon ships in this AU!!! Other than the previously established relationship of Nacha and Francis ofc, nothing is canon, if you wanna draw Francis with Angus or Izaack with your oc, I don't mind! Go for it! Have fun! Just because I draw a shit ton of DairyWheel doesn't mean you can't still draw your favorite ship.

Thank you for getting to the end of all this btw!!! It means a lot!!!

Can't wait to make more stuff for this AU!!!

ALSO!!!

Keep proshipping or anything of the like AWAY from my AU. I want none of it.

#punny answers #that's not my neighbor #thats not my neighbor #tnmn #pirate au #angus ciprianni #selenne sverchzt #elenois sverchzt #izaack gauss #nacha mikaelys #anastacha mikaelys #francis mosses #mia stone #dr w afton

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lurkingdoll · 7 days

Text

Mermaid Ghost

For mermay, I decided to draw all of 141 in a mermaid AU

For Ghost, I had a good idea of what I wanted to make him. I chose an orca and I know orcas are a pretty basic choice for Ghost but hear me out.

I was hyper fixated on orcas for a couple months last year and when I was thinking of what to do for Ghost, I thought Orcas would fit him rather well and not just for aesthetic reasons.

While wild Orcas don’t really attack humans, they are seen as a great danger to other marine life. When an Orca is nearby, a great white shark will flee their own hunting grounds for up to a YEAR because of how terrified they are of Orcas. And this fits Ghost well considering the way he was talking about by those Shadows during the Alone mission, with them saying they better not see him because if they do it’s already too late for them.

Orcas also tend to be pack animals and in this AU his family use to be his pack until they all died. The skull he wears in this AU is actually a chunk of his MOTHERS SKULL (like that one Pokémon I forgot the name of) and he eventually met Soap and Gaz and formed a pack with them.

Soap and Gaz were both very cautious of him at first because they are both the type of mermaids orca mermaids are known for EATING, but orcas are actually picky eaters and Ghost only really likes the taste of sea lions and whales so they don’t really need to be worried.

Ghost is basically the leader of the pack until they meet the Price and I’ll go more in depth on him when I get to his part.

Ghost’s main role is to protect and provide for the pack. He will usually shadow them whenever they are out doing anything just to make sure neither of them get offed and he will sometimes just leave for days at a time and return with a weeks worth of food.

#art #artists on tumblr #digital art #call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty modern warfare 2 #call of duty modern warfare 3 #cod #cod mw #cod mw2 #cod mw3 #simon ghost riley #Simon Riley #ghost #cod ghost #ghost cod

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mekiiiii · 1 year

Text

ethereal beauty

summary: a mermaid? they exist? unbelievable, alhaitham thought until he saw you while reading. a couple of peering eyes that would somehow come to a promise of "let us meet again one day"

a/n: this is probably ooc but im trying to write as close as i possibly frikin can (s/c)=scale color bc ur a mermaid babe

content: mermaid!reader x alhaitham, childhood friends, (forgotten) promises, fluff, many MANY timeskips, brief mentions of alhaithams late grandma, siblings? you have siblings, ur a dancer but also a scholar? idk what im doing, gn reader, i use mermaid more as a gender neutral term u can think of it as merman too!, ooc alhaitham🤷

pt2

(lowercase intended)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

alhaitham, a sharp kid, a mere boy who inherited his late-father's enjoyment for reading...

now was going to the docks to fetch some things for his grandmother, when he noticed a slight unusual glimmer in the water. usually it's just the light from the sun to the water, but this one was different. it appeared more vibrant.

must be his imagination, he thought.

a sleepy alhaitham, despite his fatigue, he couldnt rest no matter how much we wished. he looks into the deep night and waning crescent moon. he deeply contemplated attempting to sleep, only to release it would end in failure and waste time anyways, he recalls in a book that sometimes night walks help people sleep, so walk he did.

...

he quietly walked, slipping from his grandmother's abode to the just to the docks of sumeru city. despite the bustling city, it has gone quiet around midnight. taking a seat near the edge of the dock, he stared into the waters, reminiscing of the intriguing sparkle of color he thought he saw, and then.. he saw it once more?

this time under the light of the crescent moon..

his eyes wandered from the book in his hands and to the waters of the quiet city. staring intensely as if he was.. looking for something..

a quiet swish of water was noticed and if not heard by the boy, out of his intense staring, his gaze seemed to soften but his eyes were wide in disbelief.

a pair of glowing (e/c) orbs peered at him, slowly rising a bit more out of the water, he noted down the noticable features of the mermaid.

a beautiful shade of (h/c), (s/c) scales, elf like ears that are decorated with said scales, and of course, curious eyes.

with a slight tilt of your head, he could tell you were curious or if not, confused. unlike others, you were yet to be taught that humans could be dangerous. some with bad intentions hidden by pure facades.

you sent your greetings, only for alhaitham to tilt his head signalling confusion just as you did.

quickly realizing he didnt quite understand, you simply said,

"hello.."

the quiet tone of your voice, the unfamiliarity of his first language was understood by alhaitham.

"hello, what's your name?"

"(y/n)"

"alhaitham, that's mine."

you and alhaitham have been friends for many years now. despite your, differences in both language and life. you both have a somewhat mutual understanding of each other.

alhaitham has been busy as of late, he seems to be a bit more down lately. has something happened? is he okay? he can tell you anything, he knows that right? the anxious feelings invade your mind and fill your thoughts.

"y/n."

the quiet tone of your name shook you, but of course, you quickly hummed in response. alhaitham hasn't spoke as much, but it will always be appreciated.

"i got accepted into the akademiya, meaning we won't be able to meet for the time being."

"oh?"

he nodded,

this would upset you, if it weren't for the fact that you as well had your fair of work needed to be done. helping your brother find a partner, crowning him, helping him find an assistant that would benefit his future kingdom. as well as your sister, who you would need to finish the final preparations for the declaration of her lead of the army she dreamed of leading, as well as helping her plan her wedding.

you were busy, so was alhaitham, but what could be upsetting him?

"well, can i ask you to promise me something?"

"it depends."

"haha, real funny,"

"whats the promise?"

"let us meet again one day."

you swear you heard him laugh a bit.

"alright."

you rarely came out of the water completely, let alone walked around. however, your brothers assistant has requested you fetch something for them, as they are too busy to do so themselves and apparently, it was at your brothers request.

you walked around in a dancers outfit, customized to match nilou's. you and her have been good friends for awhile and you both deeply enjoy each other's company.

you walk from different booths and stands, finally finding the item your brother requested. finally about to go back under the waters and to your abode. you're practically daydreaming about going home and resting in the comfort of your space... being able to have some personal time to your self and-

"Ugh."

you bumped into someone... falling on your butt in the process.

looking up, to see a man with grey hair, cyan eyes with a nice hue of orange towards the iris, and disappointed frown.

you couldve sworn you've seen that face before..

"apologies." he sighed.

then it clicked.

"alhaitham?" you spoke while he was walking away.

"hm?"

you couldnt believe it, it was alhaitham, as in the one you knew as a kid? the one who read you his books, taught you the language of teyvat, promised to see you again?!

"long time no see!" you grinned

"huh? who are you?" he said genuinely confused..

you stood there in disbelief, how could he.. your childhood friend, the one who agreed to the promise, forget you? his childhood mermaid friend..

"uhm? we were childhood friends 'haitham"

"were we?"

he couldnt have seriously forgotten..

or could he? maybe this was an act for his entertainment? but he actually looked puzzled, not as if he was trying to play a game or some sort.

"hm, maybe i was mistaken, apologies."

you couldn't take the embarrassment any longer, feeling the eyes of the people around you reminded you of your errand.

who would have thought, a mermaid royal advisor would end up being a scholar, sent on a mission t understand the world above, the very life they live.

nearly forgetting that your dearest childhood friend, alhaitham, was graduated from the akademiya..

let alone a scribe and the current acting grand sage. let's just say your disbelief was to the stars and beyond.

you don't think he recognized you, or even noticed you were in the akademiya.

the akademiya was easy for you, you were all knowing and all your project topics were based on the ancient ruins under the sea, let's say you easily handled this.

but with an upcoming test you find yourself in the library studying day and night.

..not really studying more like revising of what you had gone off of.. the test was more of your general knowledge and to see what you've learned from your years of study.

and of course, you were still a breathing, living, functioning being. therefore who could blame you if you just so happened to pass out... catch a little bit of a cold... and wake up in an entirely different room a week before the test..

not that anyone could blame you really...

"sleep is needed for the human body to function, you know that right?"

who could that be, you wonder....

nah who are you kidding, it's alhaitham.

"where am i," you attempted to get up before being slightly pushed down.

"at my house. don't get up, you're sick"

oh,

you furrowed your eyebrows as if trying to process what he said, well not if trying, you were processing what he said.

you're "sick" but you've never gotten sick in your life, no matter how much you overworked, under-slept, or how stressed out you were. you were never sick, but this time you are? how could this be?

this thinking was certainly turning your brain to mush considering you were answering alhaithams questions subconsciously.

"if i recall, you've said we met before and that we were childhood friends."

"could you refresh my memory?"

you stared into his eyes, it looks like his gaze was softened, not too focused on the sight in front of him.

subconsciously, you ruffled his hair, something you used to do when you were kids. alhaitham looked puzzled on why or what you were doing, wanting to move away but hesitating, it's as if he was letting his guard down.

only just a bit though..

"im y/n, dont you remember? the mermaid?"

he seemed to remember now,

"y/n? but why are you here?"

"for fun." you yawned.. "so sleepy.."

your hand slid down to his face, eventually falling back to your side, signaling that you were gonna fall asleep once more.

taking note of your drooping eyes and your body relaxing, he rubbed your scalp as if trying to ease you into sleep..

and it worked.... you thought you heard him say something, but you were much too tired to hear it.

but you did hear a few words.

"sweet dreams, y/n"

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vodika-vibes · 8 months

Text

The Mermaid and her ARC

Summary: Five years after your father mysteriously vanishes, you decide it's time that someone goes looking for him. And you get help from a handsome ARC Knight.

Pairing: Knight!Fives x Mermaid!Reader

Word Count: 6044

Warnings: Mentions of Torture

A/N: So far, this is the longest fic of this particular AU, but it's valid because it's Fives, lol.

Tagging: @the-bad-batch-baroness

Divider by saradika

“Stay away from the Land Dwellers, they’re dangerous and will only hurt you.” Your mother speaks these words daily, sometimes multiple times a day, and it’s getting harder and harder to listen to her.

And your mother knows this. She sees the way your gaze wanders to the glimmer of sunlight, barely seen at the depths at which you live. She watches as you collect trinkets that fall into the water, and turn them over in your hands as you work out what it’s for.

And you know your mother fears for you. For your safety. She fears that one day, like your father, you’ll go to the surface and never return. So she holds you close, restricting your movements, and ensuring that you always have guards around who will stop you if you wander too far from your mother’s embrace.

You are a princess for a kingdom that spans leagues, and you’ll never see it all because your mother confines you to her palace and her gardens. She shoves you in lessons from the time you wake until the time you fall asleep, and while you know that this is her way to protect you…you are growing to resent her.

You swim through brightly lit halls, effortlessly skirting around wizards and warriors alike as you approach your mother in the throne room. Your mother favors you with a warm smile, and you settle several feet away from her, watching as she finishes conducting her business.

Your mother is…resplendent. With a golden tail and nearly translucent golden fins, she’s easily recognizable as the Queen of your people. And if the golden fins weren’t enough to prove her identity, she’s also clad in the finest, and most delicate, jewelry that your craftsmen can make.

And while you look a little like your mother, with a similar build and hair color, you look much more like your father’s more northern appearance, with your tail looking more dolphin-like than your mother’s koi fish.

Often you feel out of place among the more delicate mer-people of the south, though it’s been many years since anyone has made a comment to you about how different you look.

Not to mention you’re always cold, no matter what temperature the water is around you, so you have to wear jackets and tunics just to stay warm.

You smile when your mother swims over to you and engulfs you in a tight hug, “Oh, I am so pleased to see you,” She croons, even her voice sounds like delicate bells. “You don’t often have interest in affairs of court, my dear.”

“I still don’t have any interest in the affairs of court, mother.” You reply as you allow her to guide you out of the throne room and down the long hall that leads to her quarters.

“Oh?” Your mother shoots you a curious look, “Is something wrong?”

You’re quiet for a moment, “I was just thinking,” You say as you slow to a stop in front of the portrait of your father, and you reach up and touch the painting, “I miss him, mother.” You admit as you drop your hand.

“Oh, my soul.” Your mother presses a kiss to the top of your head, “I miss him too.”

Your father had been a handsome man, tall and broad, with a booming laugh that could be heard all across the castle. He loved fiercely and loudly, and you never felt too big when he was around simply because he was always larger than life.

“You don’t act like it,” You say quietly.

Your mother stills and she scowls at you, “Just because I don’t allow my grief to control me, daughter, does not mean that I do not miss him. He was my husband.”

“You speak of him as though he’s dead, mother! You have since the day he vanished!” You twist out of your mother’s embrace, “I just…can you not send someone to the surface to look for him? He might yet live!”

“No. Absolutely not!”

“Mother-”

“I said no!” Your mother takes a deep breath to try and get a handle on her anger, “I said no,” She repeats, her voice calmer, “This is not up for discussion. Is there anything else you need?”

You press your lips into a thin line and flicker your gaze up at the picture of your face. He beams down at you, pride and love shining through, even though it’s nothing more than a painting.

“No, mother.” You offer her a stiff bow, “I’m sorry for bothering you.” You flip in the opposite direction and swim away. You slip through the crowd of people who congregate in the throne room, somehow invisible to them in spite of your title, and you swim out a window and down to the garden.

Your best friends, your cousins, perk up as you swim over to them. “Well?” Your youngest cousin asks, his eyes wide as he swims over to you, “What did your mother say?” He asks.

“Mother has no intention of looking for father.” You reply bitterly.

“But…that’s not fair!” His older sister said as her fin flicks with anger, “You are meant to just live without your father?”

“So it would seem,” You coil your tail under yourself, and you smile when your younger cousin attaches himself to your side and lays his head on your shoulder.

These cousins are from your father’s side of the family, and so, like you, they aren’t delicate at all. They’re visiting you while your mother and their father negotiate some trade.

“You could go on your own,” Diona, your older cousin says thoughtfully as she pins you with a furious stare, “You know how to take a human form, right?” She demands.

“Of course,” You reply with a frown, “Father taught me when I was a child. He used to bring me to the surface, until mother found out. And she put a stop to it.”

“How are you meant to learn about your neighbors if your mother forces you to isolate!?” Strom demands from where his head is laid on your shoulder.

“Mother has no intention of negotiating with Surface Dwellers,” You say gently, “And she thinks your father is foolish for doing so.”

Diona folds her arms and sniffs, “Maybe that’s why Uncle hasn’t returned. Your mother is awful.”

“She’s still my mother, Diona.” You warn as you bare your razor sharp teeth at your cousin.

“Please don’t fight,” Strom interjects, as he swims between the pair of you, “Diona, we’re meant to help her, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Diona unfolds her arms, “Look, just…tonight, sneak out of your room and go to the surface. Once you’re on land no one will come after you.”

“You may have a point…” You mumble thoughtfully. You run the plan, if you can even call it that, over in your mind. It will work, assuming you’re able to get to the surface. “Okay, I’ll do it.” You finally say and your cousins flash nearly identical grins.

“I’m going to go now, and toss some human clothes for you to wear,” Diona says cheerfully, “Don’t tell anyone where I am.”

She’s gone for less than an hour, and only moments after she returns, the three of you are collected for a political dinner with your respective parents. It’s a painful meal, with your mother chiding you for eating the food set aside for your cousins and aunt and uncle, rather than the food that the chef made for them.

Which, naturally, starts a fight between your aunt, who accuses your mother of trying to starve you, and your mother, who snaps that eating meat all of the time isn’t healthy for a young mermaid.

Luckily, you’re able to steal some of the fresh fish that your cousins were allowed to eat, before you escaped from the growing fight at the table.

“Your mother really makes you eat plants and calls it fake meat?” Strom asks as he swims next to you.

“She says that my carnivorous tendencies are unhealthy,” You reply with a sigh.

“No wonder you’re cold all of the time, and no wonder you’re so much smaller than me,” Diona says from the other side of Strom, “You’re starving all of the time.” She shakes her head.

“Good night, Diona. Good night, Strom.” You say, rather than replying to your cousin’s comment. There’s nothing to say, she’s right. They both wave at you as they veer off to their quarters, and you continue up towards the tower you claimed as yours when your father disappeared.

“Heading to bed, Princess?” One of the guards asks cheerfully from his position near your bedroom door, there to keep you from wandering, rather than to keep anyone from getting into your room.

“That’s the plan,” You reply as you swim past him, “Good night, Indra.”

“Sleep well, Princess.” Is the immediate reply as the door clicks shut behind you.

Your bedroom is small, considering the fact that you’re a princess and you should have a much larger bedroom. But this tower used to be your father’s workroom, the place where he crafted spells and sigils. It helps you feel close to him.

And, after five years, you know your father’s tower better than anyone in the palace. Which means that no one other than you knows about the secret tunnel that leads outside the palace walls.

You swim around your room, gather the things that you’re going to need. A bag of credits goes in your bag, as well as several pieces of jewelry that you can sell if you need to, and finally a picture of your father and you in your human forms.

You look around the room one more time, exhale slowly, and then pull the tome that opens the secret passage under the tower. You swim in and make sure that the passage closes behind you, and then you follow the long, winding, path beneath the palace.

And then you slip out from behind the large boulder that hides the entrance to your father’s tower. You take stock of where you are, and you make sure there’s no one around, and then, with a powerful kick of your tail, you ascend.

You follow the path your cousin set, and before you know it you’re working the magic to shift into your human form, and you carefully walk from the water to a small shack.

Inside is a simple outfit, a long sleeved tunic and matching trousers, as well as a pair of simple slip on shoes. There’s also a fluffy towel, which you immediately drape over your head to try and dry your hair, and a ribbon to tie your hair back.

“What the actual fuck,” You turn to the left, and your head cocks to the side when you see a man standing there. “You…you just…came out of the ocean…?” He points at the water, “What the fuck?”

You blink at him, slightly bemused. He’s tall, with dark curly hair, and he’s staring at you wide eyed. You notice that his hand is twitching towards a blade on his hip, though he doesn’t grab it.

And then, as if suddenly realizing that he’s staring at a naked woman, he blushes bright red and spines around, clapping his hand over his eyes, “Sorry, sorry! I’ll let you dress.”

You release an amused noise, and turn to start pulling on the clothes. It doesn’t take you long, it has only been five years since the last time you wore human clothes, you don’t quite pull the shoes on yet though. You know from experience that walking will be hard for a bit. “I’m dressed now,” You call over to the strange man.

He turns back around and he approaches you as you start pulling your hair into a tail. He walks over to you, and then drops onto the sand next to you, and you notice that he has a five tattooed on his forehead. “You’re a mermaid,” He breathes out, sounding awed.

You turn on the sand and regard him thoughtfully for a moment, and then you smile, “I am.”

“I had no idea that mermaids lived so close…” He pauses, “Oh, uh…I’m Fives.”

You smile brightly at him, and introduce yourself, offering him your hand. He’s so distracted from staring at you, his lips slightly parted, that he doesn’t notice your hand right away. But when he does he blushes red and quickly shakes your hand.

“Um, so…what brings you here?” Fives asks, once he finally manages to stop staring at you.

“My father went missing five years ago, and I’m looking for him.” You explain, “We looked everywhere in the kingdom, so the only logical solution is that he’s somewhere up here.”

You dig around your bag and pass the photo to him, “This was taken shortly before he vanished. Father used to bring me up here to just have fun.”

Fives takes the picture and looks it over, “Aww, cute.” He breathes out, his gaze lingering on the teenage version of you for a moment, before his gaze drifts over to the man in the picture, “Hm…you know, he kind of looks familiar.”

You perk up, “He does?”

“Yes, but I…hm…” He taps the picture a few times, “Ugh, I can’t remember.” He hands the picture back to you, “So, mesh’la, where do you intend to stay while you’re playing human?”

“Oh,” You don’t recognize the strange word, but it doesn’t feel like an insult, so you don’t press him, “I was going to sleep on the beach, and then find somewhere better to sleep tomorrow.”

“That’s…no.” Fives pinches the bridge of his nose, “You are a young woman, you cannot sleep on the beach.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not safe!” He sighs and stands, and then offers you his hand, “Come on, you can crash at the ARC barracks. My brothers won’t bother you, and we’ll help you find your father.”

You take his hand and allow him to drag you to your feet. You sway unsteadily for a moment, and Fives lightly grips your shoulders until your legs are a little steadier. Once you’re sure you’re not going to fall, you pull the shoes on and grab your bag, and grin up at Fives, “Alright, lead the way!”

You’re still a little unsteady as he leads you away from the ocean, but the longer you walk, the steadier you become, until you’re able to jog to keep up with Fives longer strides.

“So, what’s an ARC?” You ask as you cheerfully spin on your toes and move so you’re walking backwards in front of him.

“You’re going to fall, mesh’la,” Fives warns, though there’s a wide grin on his face as he watches you essentially dance next to him, “And an ARC is a type of Knight. We’re the best of the best.” There’s a hint of pride in his voice, “Do you have anything like that where you come from?”

You spin again, a delighted giggle slipping from you, you just can’t do this kind of stuff underwater, “Oh yeah. Mother’s Royal Guard.” You roll your eyes expressively, “More like mother’s royal babysitters, but-” You clasp your hands under your chin, “I still managed to sneak out.”

“Sneak out?”

“Mother doesn’t want to look for father. And she believes that all land dwellers are evil,” You grin at him, “I don’t agree, obviously. But my mother also seems to think that I’m not very clever, on account of being big.”

Fives stares at you, more specifically the top of your head that just reaches his shoulder, “I hate to break it to you, mesh’la, but you’re not big at all. You’re actually kind of…average, height wise.”

“Really? That’s sweet of you to say!” You chirp as you finally stop spinning and fall into step next to him.

“It’s the truth,” He replies with a shrug, “Turn here,” Fives presses his hand between your shoulder blades as he escorts you towards the palace. No one stops the pair of you as he guides you to a door. He enters a code, and guides you down a hall and then pushes open a door.

“Here we are. I share this room with my twin brother, Echo.” He nods to the identical man sitting on a bed, looking between you and Fives and then back again, “My bed is closest to the door, and you can use that one near the window.”

“Uh…Fives?” Echo asks, “What’s going on?”

“She needs our help, Echo.” Fives explains, he digs through his closet and tosses a tunic at you, “here, this is long on me, so you can use it as a sleep shirt.”

You look at the shirt, and then at Fives, and you shrug. You immediately grab the hem of your shirt to pull it over your head, only to have both Fives and Echo lunge across the bed to grab the hem of your shirt, holding it down.

“You can’t just strip in front of us,” Fives said hurriedly, “It’s not proper.”

You sigh and shake your head, “Humans.” You mutter, “If I turn around will it be okay?”

“Uh…yes?” Echo asks, as both he and Fives release you. “Fives,” He hisses, “Why did she say humans like that?”

“She’s a mermaid.” Fives says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, he very pointedly looks in another direction as you slip into the overly large tunic he gave you, and he only looks back when he hears you settle on the bed with a happy noise.

“So…” Echo says, slightly awkwardly, “Why is a mermaid in our barracks?”

“My father is missing,” You explain patiently, “Fives said he’ll help.”

Echo stares, hard, at Fives, who just shrugs, “It’s something we’ll start tomorrow, vod.” Five says, “Get some rest, mesh’la.”

You lay down on the impossibly soft bed, and you cheerfully tug the blanket up over your nose. And you fall asleep to the sound of a whispered argument between Fives and Echo.

********

Five days later, you’re no closer to finding your father than you were when you first arrived. Though now instead of it just being you, Fives, and Echo looking for your father, the entirity of ARC is helping you look.

And you also have your own room, now. So you no longer have to share.

“Where are we going, Fives?” You ask as you walk down the street next to him.

“I heard a rumor about a blacksmith who saw someone matching your father’s description.” Fives replies as he gently tugs you out of the way of a cart.

“Recently?” You ask hopefully.

He grimaces, “Sorry. But with any luck the blacksmith will be able to point us into the right direction.” Fives leads you to a massive open air shop, where a woman is hammering out a piece of metal. “Don’t touch anything, mesh’la.”

You nod at him, and follow him into the shop. The woman ignores them for a bit, and then she dips the metal into water, and pulls off her face mask, “ARC Fives, need another new sword?”

“No, ma’am.” He replies politely, “Was actually wondering if you could help us with something else.”

“What’s that?” She asks as she walks over to them.

You hand the picture to her, “This is my father, he vanished five years ago.” You explain.

“The owner of the bar said that he pointed him in this direction, to you specifically,” Fives adds, “If you can remember anything-?”

The woman takes the picture and stares at it for a moment, “You know, I actually do remember this guy. Massive guy, taller and broader even than Alpha. He wanted to order something for his little girl.” She glances at you, and something like sympathy crosses her face, “That’s you then?”

“Yes, ma’am,” You reply.

“Hm. He said that his little girl was being picked on, something fierce, by her classmates, and he wanted something to make her feel better. You say he vanished after he visited my shop?”

“He did, yes.” Fives says quietly as he lightly places a hand on your shoulder.

“I wish I could help you,” The woman says quietly, “I didn’t see where he went when he left.” She pauses for a moment, “Hold on a second.” She turns and vanishes back into her shop, and reemerges with a small box, which she opens.

Your eyes widen as she passes a delicate looking bracelet into your hands, “What’s-?”

“It was a challenge. I’ve never made jewelry outta steal before. But-” she shrugs, “It’s yours kid. Your Da paid for it in advance, and I’ve been waiting for someone to claim it. I hope you find him, kid. I really do.”

Fives gently fastens the bracelet around your wrist, when he notices you having trouble with the clasp, and then he thanks the blacksmith and guides you out of her shop. “I’m sorry, mesh’la. I really thought that she would be able to help.”

You shake your head, “We learned something, at least.” You reply as you blink the tears out of your eyes.

Fives gently brushes his fingers across the bracelet, “Your father loved you, mesh’la.”

You release a shaky laugh, “Yeah, He did. Does.”

“Come on, let’s head back to the barracks and see if anyone else learned something.” Fives says with a sigh.

You walk in companionable silence through the crowded village, and follow the cobblestone path that leads to the palace. But as soon as you’re outside the village proper, your steps slow.

“Mesh’la?” Fives slows as well, “What’s wrong?”

You frown, unable to quite put your finger on what the problem was, “I…I think somethings wrong,” You say slowly, as if testing the words to determine if it’s true or not.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t-” You trail off as you focus on the sensation. You were never a natural at magic like your father, but you can recognize the familiar way that the magic twists around you.

Teleportation.

Panicked, you reach out and place both of your hands on Fives’ chest, and you push. He stumbles back as the magic coils tightly around you, and then pulls.

Magic rushes around you, moving you from one place to another, though the magic is harsh, unlike the soothing magic of your people. And then you stop moving as suddenly as you started.

You fall, and gasp as you're plunged into frigid water.

The water fills your lungs, and you instinctively coil your magic around you, allowing you to return to your mermaid form. You cough some water out of your mouth and the tattered remains of the trousers you were wearing sink to the bottom of the water.

You open your eyes, and realize that you’re not in the ocean, like you worried, but rather seem to be in a massive tank of some kind. A simple glance upward proves that the tank is sealed off, and you have no way to escape.

“Will you be more agreeable now, your majesty?” A silky voice hissed from outside of the tank. You swim closer to the glass and peer out into the room. The person speaking, a man with red and black skin, is not speaking to you. Rather he’s speaking to someone in a tank that’s identical to yours.

You lift your gaze to the tank and there, looking every bit as regal as the last time you saw him, is your father. His chin is lifted, and there’s a look of fury on his face. “If you think that kidnapping my child will force me to give you my magic-” your father growls.

The red and black skinned man sighs, “Unfortunate.” He turns towards your tank, and as he gets closer you realize that he has horns on his head, “Good afternoon, Princess.” He sounds polite, if nothing else. “I am Maul.”

You swim away from the glass, and wrap your arms around yourself, “Let me go.” You say, though there’s uncertainty in your voice.

“I can’t do that. You see, your father has something I want, and I’ve spent the last five years trying to make him give it to me.” Maul says, very reasonably, “You’ll help me get what I want, won’t you Princess.”

You shake your head and back away even more, “No. If my father is keeping it is from you, then he must have a reason.”

Maul closes his eyes, and releases a sigh that sounds genuinely grieved, “Surely you can be reasonable, Princess.”

There’s the sound of glass cracking, and Maul’s head whips around, “Stop speaking to my child, fiend.” Your father’s voice booms across the small room.

Maul turns his attention back to you, “Your father is stubborn, and because of his stubbornness, he’s been separated from you for five years.” He speaks to you gently, as though he’s speaking to a child.

Your back bumps against the glass at the back of the tank and you clutch your hands to your chest, “You kept him from me, not him.” You whisper.

Maul’s face goes flat and he turns to your father, “You raised her well,” He concedes, “I thought for sure that I would be able to get her to convince you. Very well, I suppose I’ll have to use force.”

There’s a flicker of something on your father’s face, “Baby. Baby, go to the center of the tank and take off any metal you’re wearing.” His voice is calm, at odds with the words coming out of his mouth.

But, your father’s never lied to you in your life, so swim to the center of the tank, and obediently unfasten the bracelet around your wrist, allowing it to fall to the bottom of the tank.

And just in time too, as you hear the crackle of something, and you look up at the top of your tank, which lights up with electricity. And slowly, the tank lowers into the water.

“...oh.” You squeeze your eyes shut, and curl your arms around yourself and you prepare for pain.

The pain is almost more than you can bear. Your muscles seize up and you sink towards the bottom of the tank. You’re lucky, the water in the tank is moving, so you can still breathe, which means you’re in no danger of drowning.

Not that you’re able to actively think about that, the pain is so blinding that you’re not able to think of anything. It’s like ten thousand white hot knives piercing your entire body simultaneously.

The pain stops as suddenly as it begins, and you’re trembling at the bottom of the tank. “That hurt, didn’t it.” Maul almost sounds apologetic, “It never has to happen again, so long you convince your father to give me his magic.”

You choke out a silent sob and curl in on yourself, but slowly, painfully, you shake your head.

Maul sighs again, sounding just like your mother at her most disappointed, and slowly lowers the electrified wires into the water. Your screams echo across the small room, and your father, in the tank across the room, looks away.

*******

Your days start going in cycles, there’s pain, and then there’s not pain. The pain always lasts longer than the not pain. And you’re starting to develop burns on your fingertips and fins.

You turn pain-filled eyes to your tail, and carefully examine your fin. You won’t be able to swim with the damage…and you’re not sure the damage will heal without magical aid.

One small mercy is that Maul doesn’t seem overly inclined to let you, or your father, starve. So you get a proper meal two times a day. And those few hours when Maul isn’t around, you and your father are able to talk.

You don’t talk about a lot, though. The pain lingers, so you talk about easy things. School, your mother, his tower…nothing serious, but he seems relieved to hear anything you have to tell him.

Once more, like clockwork, Maul steps into the tank room. He looks thoughtfully at your father, and then at you. “Today,” He says, “I’m going to apply the current to your tank, and I’m going to leave it there until either your father gives me what I want, or you die.”

You look away from him, and he scoffs, “Remember, you brought this on yourself.”

And then the pain starts.

And, just as suddenly, it stops.

Maul’s face contorts in rage and he turns to your tank, likely to apply the electricity himself, when the door to the tank room explodes inward, knocking Maul to the ground.

Men in white and blue armor burst into the room, and for a moment you feel like you’re going to cry. A handful of the men, led by Captain Rex, chase Maul out of the tank room, and you can hear the sound of fighting in the halls.

But you don’t focus on that, because kneeling in front of your tank is Fives. His helmet is laying somewhere on the ground next to him, “Mesh’la, I’m sorry I’m late.”

“N-not your fault,” You whisper as you slide across the ground closer to the glass, “You still came.”

“Okay, me and Echo will find out how to get the top off this thing and-”

“Fives,” You interrupt, so very gently, “I can’t swim.” You gesture, weakly, to your tail, motioning to the severe burns that would likely leave you unable to swim.

He stares at your tail for a moment, and then closes his eyes. You can see his mind racing, “Okay. Okay then. Move to the back corner, mesh’la. We’re going to break the tank.”

You nod and slowly do as he asks. Fives waits until he’s sure you’re in the back most corner, and then pulls a bottle from a pouch on his hip. He flings it at the front of the tank, and then both he, and Echo, jump up onto the sides of the tank.

The bottle shatters as soon as it hits the tank, and for a moment nothing happens, and then the glass of the front of the tank just…dissolves, and all of the water bursts into the hallway.

You end up halfway out of the tank by the time the water stops moving, and it takes all the strength you can muster to topple yourself out of the tank and onto the hard stone ground.

You manage to push yourself into a sitting position, and then Fives is in front of you, kneeling in water with his hands on your shoulders. He pulls a blanket from somewhere and wraps it tightly around you, “I need you to turn back into your human form, mesh’la.” His voice is low and frantic, “We can’t stay here.”

You shudder and nod. Your magic coils around yourself and slowly you turn back into a human, though the pain is even worse when you're human. A pain filled sob escapes your lips, and Fives pulls you close. “I have you, mesh’la. I have you.” He pulls you into his arms and cradles you close, “Echo, did you get his majesty free yet?”

“Almost…got it!” The water drains out of the other tank, and as soon as the water is waist level the Mer King takes his human form, and gratefully accepts Echo’s aid in getting out of the tank.

“How did you find us?” The King asks, as he worriedly glances at his daughter.

“Tracking spell,” Fives said, “The Court Wizard made two of them, one for ner mesh’la here,” He lightly jostles you, “And a second one for any merpeople in the nation.”

“We weren’t all that surprised when it turned out you were in the same place. Made a fair bit of sense, honestly.” Echo says as he hands the king a pair of trousers, “It’s all I have, sorry.”

“No, this is fine.” He pulls the pants on and carefully follows the ARC out of the tank room, and then out of the building as a whole.

You cuddle closer to Fives, trembling and hurt, but feeling safe for the first time since you were taken.

**********

One week later, you’re sitting in your room, much upgraded since it came out that you’re royalty, sitting in a massive bathtub in your mer form, as Fives gently adds the healing mixture to the warm water.

“The Court Wizard says that this will help with the pain, but he’s still working on something that will repair the damage,” Fives explains, “He’s reaching out to other nations to see if anyone has any ideas.” He hesitates, “But-”

“But don’t get my hopes up,” You finish quietly.

“It’s too soon to give up, mesh’la,” Fives says just as quietly, “Have a little hope.”

“Have a little hope, but not too much?” You ask, a small smile on your lips.

“Exactly,” Fives replies with an answering smile.

“What’s going to happen to me?”

“Well-”

There’s a knock on the door, and then it clicks open and your father steps into the room, followed closely by the King of Mandalore, Fives’ father, Jango Fett. “I think we’re better suited to answer that,” Jango says smoothly.

“King Jango,” Your father says, “and I have been talking. And he’s agreed to allow you to remain under his protective custody.”

“Until we find out for sure if you’re able to heal or not,” Jango continues with a nod, “If you are, then you’ll be free to stay here or return to your own kingdom.”

“And if I don’t heal?”

“Then you will be an honored guest of Mandalore unless you decide to live elsewhere.” Jango reassures.

“We’re going to have an official embassy in the palace, little one,” Your father says, “So you won’t be lonely.”

“Mother will never stand for it.” You point out, wincing as you shift your tail slightly.

“Unfortunately for your mother, I am King.” Your father’s smile is like ice, “As it happens, I need to have words with her about proper nutrition.” He pauses, and he looks at you, “Are you going to be okay, sweetheart?”

You tilt your head and look at Fives, who flashes a small grin at you, “I think I’ll be okay.” You finally say, “I have Fives after all.”

Fives’ grin becomes blinding, “Well, I’m happy to look out for you. We can always use a Sixth member of Domino-”

“You are not adding a Princess to Domino Squad,” Jango interrupts with a sigh, “Because then all of the other squads will want a princess too, and I’m not dealing with that.”

Your father looks uncomfortable, “Sweetheart-”

“Dad, really. It’s okay. At least this time everyone knows where everyone is.” You flash a slightly crooked smile.

He looks at you, and then at Fives, and then back at you. He looks a little wounded, like he’s just realized something and he doesn’t like it. And this time you laugh.

“Dad,” You shake your head, “It’s not love. Not yet, at least. We’ve only known each other a few weeks after all.”

Fives meets your gaze and something warm crosses his face, “It’ll be fun to figure out though, yeah?” He asks.

And you smile back at him, “Yeah, it’ll be a blast.”

Your father sighs, and he walks over. He leans in and presses a light kiss to your forehead, and then he pulls away and shoots Fives a pointed look, “Behave.”

Fives makes an offended noise, “This is a medical treatment, your majesty. There’s no funny stuff going on over here.”

You giggle and your father shakes his head, before he turns back to Jango, “Well then, I suppose we better finish ironing out the details of this treaty.” He says.

And Jango just sighs, before the two older men leave the room.

“...so…how long do I have to sit in this?” You ask Fives, once you’re alone.

“30 minutes. Don’t worry, I brought cards and a book.”

You smile at him, soft and warm, “My hero,” there’s no teasing in your voice, and you're rewarded with a small grin and a blush.

“Only for you, ner mesh’la.” Fives replies, his voice tender.

What you said to your father, about it not being love, was true. It’s not love. But it’s only just not love. And now you have the time to figure out if it’ll work or not.

#star wars #tcw #arc trooper fives x reader #fives x reader #star wars au #star wars fanfiction #x reader fanfiction

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feyascorner · 5 months

Text

Preview | The Fangs Between Us

summary. “I would say good luck out there, but honestly? I hope you die screaming.”

warnings. angst, comfort, slow burn, reader is a bard

pairing. Astarion x GN!Reader

parts. 0, TBA

a/n. This is just a preview of the multi-chapter fic I thought of :)) I'm not sure if I'll be able to continue writing it yet, but I'll definitely try lol. It takes place after the game!!!

As dark spots blur your vision, you realize you can no longer breathe.

But as you stare up at him with wide eyes meeting a murderous glare, you understand that you are wrong.

He says something and a few more muffled voices spit back before he throws the dagger you’d given him to the ground, turning to leave. Your hearing clears just in time to hear his parting words.

“I would say good luck out there, but honestly? I hope you die screaming.”

She raises a brow at this, scanning over your appearance. “Where is your lyre?”

“Sold it,” you shrug, dusting off the muck garnered at the sides of your pants. “Wasn’t much use to me anymore. Better off adding to the funds to rebuild the city, don’t you think?”

Shadowheart frowns, and it makes you look away shamefully. Thankfully, she quickly shakes her head and then paces past you. “Speaking of which, are you in any condition to help out today? Gale’s promptly exhausted trying to cast mage hand at least a dozen times yesterday to rebuild the Blushing Mermaid. That foolish wizard nearly passed out by noon.”

“‘Course,” you offer a pathetic smile. “We’re nearly finished with the Baldur’s Mouth. I’ll catch up with you once I check up on everyone there.”

“I will. Don’t think my back can stand much more of this anyway.”

Her shoulders relax the slightest bit, and she finally manages to catch your darting eyes. “Is it the nightmares again? They’re getting worse, aren’t they?”

For the first time after he nearly killed you and you defeated the Elder Brain four months ago, you think she might be right about him.

#astarion ancunin #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate astarion #bg3 astarion #astarion x reader #astarion x tav #astarion #bg3 x reader #fluff #angst

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twopoppies · 1 month

Note

Good morning Gina and Happy Weekend!

Disclaimer: I do not believe Harry and Louis are in a romantic relationship but I am also not about to criticize others that do. With that said, I am SO incredibly glad I at least looked into the relationship because I fell in love with the fan fiction in this fandom. It has been a lot of fun to read so many incarnations of the characters of Harry and Louis and the other boys as well.

With all that said, my perceived idea of who these guys are, based on the interviews they give is somewhat different than how they are usually (not always) portrayed in fan fiction and I was just curious if anyone else felt the same way or if I am a minority in this thought. Were many of these perceived personality traits shown in fan fiction formed at the beginning of 1D and just continue to carry on?

Harry: fan fiction: sensitive, loving, selfless, principled and unaware of his own magnetism. Somewhat insecure.

My perception: Calculated, strong businessman and very self aware.

Louis: fan fiction: strong, leader, selfless, a ball of pure sunshine at times. Likes to be the center of attention.

My perception: insecure. Still trying to find who he is. Loves to be center of attention. Does not like to follow others, sometimes to his professional detriment.

Niall: fanfiction: All around good guy. Loving, supportive, but almost shallow at times. The trusty sidekick.

My perception: Much more layered, very comfortable in his own skin.

Liam: fanfiction: strong, calm, peacemaker

My perception: Hot mess of anxiety and insecurity. I want to hold his hand in therapy.

Zayn: Fan fiction: Liam’s other half, whether as a romantic interest or a soulmate of sorts.

My perception: haven’t paid enough attention to him to form one.

Anyway, was just curious how others perceptions of the boys in real life is the same/differs from how they are usually portrayed in fan fiction.

For everyone: if you haven’t read it yet, go read Danger I can’t Hide by Celtic Sky! For me, hands down, the best historical fan fiction I have ever read.

Gina, thank you for your time and for keeping up with the fan fiction for everyone in the fandom. You have no idea how much it is appreciated!

Hi, darling. First of all, Danger I Can’t Hide is one of the best stories I’ve read, fic or otherwise. I would publish that book so fast.

In regards to everything else, I think what you’ll find is that the fan fiction changed as Harry and Louis’ public narratives changed over the years, as well as just changing with the times. For example, there was a period of time around 2012/2013 (IIRC) where Louis was very often portrayed as having intense internal homophobia and Harry was the pining friend who Louis finally admits his feelings to. 2013 also saw the rise of bisexual/internalized homophobia Harry, Uni fics and “Dark Harry” fic partly because the boys were getting older and because frat boy Harry was being pushed. 2014/2015 You’ll see a lot more mermaid/pirate stories because Harry grew his hair out.

Early days nothing was tagged and there were a lot more PWPs written. Then there was a period where BDSM, Daddy Kink, and rimming was in every fic (I think this mainly started after Ren wrote the driving instructor fic). When Fine Line dropped there was an increase in fics where mostly Harry, but sometimes Louis, was trans/non-binary etc.

I think what you’re picking up about how they’re written may depend in part of what authors you’re gravitating towards (for example, I can’t stand the “ball of sunshine” characterization of Louis. For me that’s just not who he is and I think I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a fic where that’s how he’s written). I agree with your perception of who Harry is now (although I think there’s a lot more to him that what you listed), but I wouldn’t have said his main characteristics were that he was calculated or a strong businessman back when people were writing fic about the boys 2011-2015. Additionally, I do think many authors idealize both of them as well as their relationship, which is often fun to read, but doesn’t always make for the most interesting or complex stories.

As for the others, in many Larry fics they’re just used as fillers and aren’t really well developed characters. Niall is often fun-loving and gives good advice, Liam works out a lot and has golden-retriever energy, Zayn is quiet and cool and an artist of some sort. None of that gives you much of a sense of who any of them are IRL or in a book. Personally, I don’t tend to write them into my fics except very peripherally, but there are many good fics where the rest of the guys are given bigger roles and are more fully developed.

Last, there aren’t a lot of authors who consistently write the guys as older men (the age they are now, or even aging them up), so what you may be coming up against are authors writing young versions of these men you know, but also many people just take the five of them and mold them into the characters that make their fics work best and don’t really care if they’re getting the characterizations “right”. If you’re talking about canon, that’s a whole other kettle of fish, but barely anyone writes canon these days, so I can’t really speak to characterizations there.

Sorry this got so long. Clearly I’ve got lots of thoughts. I’m also on the airplane and I’m really bored. 😂

Glad you’re finding my fic recs helpful ❤️

#fan fiction commentary

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teecupangel · 5 months

Note

Wait, idea I don’t think you’ve touched on, Mermaid!Desmond with Altaïr. I got nothing else, just MERMAID.

I don’t think we ever had a mermaid AltDes idea before. I mean, there was an ask about Fairytale style AU with Beauty and the Beast for AltDes instead of Little Mermaid.

As like with all the other old asks, I can’t find it here anymore XD

Okay, so for this AU, let’s set it in modern-ish day where Altaïr took over his grandfather’s company after his death and made it successful but he’s… ‘bored’ with his life.

He spent decades ensuring the company didn’t go under after his grandfather’s death, had to deal with one of the people he trusted trying to take over the company from under him and an amicable divorce that left him a bit hollow and… a bit distant with their two adult sons who have their own lives now.

Darim had told him that he should take a vacation and leave the company to him for a few months, get some fresh air, travel…

Altaïr believed it was his own son telling him that he needed to take a step back.

After Abbas’-

Well…

A lot of people were wary of him. They were worried that he would take them down as well if they were to just breath too close to him.

Or too loudly.

Altaïr was sure that it was because he had been full of rage back then.

Abbas’ betrayal had come as a surprise.

They never saw eye to eye on a lot of things but Altaïr never expected Abbas to go that far, trying to drag his name and even his family into the mud just to find a way for him to rise on top.

Altaïr had simply enacted vengeance upon him the way he was raised.

And that led to…

Well…

His older son telling him to take a break.

So here he was…

In this isolated beach house that had once belonged to his mother, left in disarray after decades of neglect.

It had been Sef’s idea, suggesting he might be less bored if he has a project of his own.

So he starts to repair it slowly, takes a walk on the beach after every meal…

Sometimes he even fishes.

It is during one of those walks that he sees him.

At first he thought he was just one of the rare visitors or tourists who didn’t know that the beach near his house was

(1) private property

(2) not really a good beach because it was full of sharp rocks

He was sitting on one of the rocks a little away from the shore, his lower half being hidden by the waters.

The tides had been a bit stronger than usual back then so he called out to him to tell him to get back to the shores, not really in the mood to have his family’s beach be part of an accidental drowning of the idiot kind.

He looked back and Altaïr froze.

There was something… strange about him.

Altaïr couldn’t place it.

He was beautiful.

The kind of beauty that was dangerous.

With golden eyes the same as him.

Unorganized Notes:

Desmond is a merfolk and it’s neither confirmed but there is something about him or the way he speaks that seems to have a slightly hypnotizing effect. (which points to the idea that Desmond may or may not actually be a siren, not a merfolk)

Desmond didn’t bother to hide the fact that he doesn’t have human legs and thinks Altaïr’s reaction to be funny. He keeps coming back to the shore to talk to Altaïr. Once he learned that Altaïr is staying nearby, he stays by the shore in front of Altaïr’s house.

Altaïr thinks there’s something more than Desmond’s “I ran away from home” excuse of appearing in his family’s beach but he didn’t press, enjoying Desmond’s company.

Desmond and Altaïr slowly grow closer as Altaïr fixes his mother’s beach house.

Later on, Altaïr starts to fix the basement and finds a hidden door that leads to a underwater cave. Desmond finds the other end of the cave and they start to wonder why Altaïr’s mother build such a thing.

They later find out the beach house was build by Altaïr’s great grandfather from his mother’s side.

Desmond finally explains that the reason why he ran away to Altaïr’s beach is because he heard stories of a mermaid who disappeared around these parts.

“They say she made a deal with a witch to gain her freedom.”

It seems that Altaïr’s great grandmother was the mermaid of those stories who didn’t make a deal with a witch, instead falling in love with Altaïr’s great grandfather and staying with him.

Up to you if the way they did it is with the great grandmother mermaid staying on the underwater cave to be with her human lover or there is some kind of spell involved that is in one of the books in the house that can exchange a merfolk’s long life for the mortal life of a human.

Or because Altaïr does have merfolk blood in him, he can actually transform into a merfolk himself.

In all honesty, I just want to write an idea of a middle-aged Altaïr for an AltDes for once XD

#sef or darim (or both) could visit #after altdes has happened #and they think their father is hiding a young paramour from them #cue misunderstandings and shenanigans #ask and answer #no usual tags because #altdes

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tyrantisterror · 4 months

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Sea Bishops & Sea Monks

Ok, so, two of my favorite obscure medieval sea monsters are the Sea Bishop and the Sea Monk - basically what you'd get if mermaids were Catholic. The above examples are particularly monstrous, but sometimes they look a bit more civil.

And you know me, I love obscure monster from myth and folklore, especially when they're really weird and kinda goofy. So obviously I've been trying to figure out how to adapt these two into my fantasy setting. The obvious route would be to make them specific variants of mermaids, but that feels a little underwhelming, so I thought on it and waited for a bit.

Well, inspiration hit recently.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it, but I've been playing a new video game called Baldur's Gate 3, and one of the side effects of that is that I've been reminded that squid people are pretty fucking cool as a concept, and, as it goes, that made me want to figure out how I could put my own twist on the trope. And as I was thinking of how I could make a squid person that stands out from other pop culture squid people, it occured to me that having a squid head... kinda makes you have the same silhouette as a person wearing a bishop/pope hat. Like some sort of... sea bishop. And sure, design-wise this would be a bit more of a departure from the source material than I usually take when making a Midgaheim version of a mythic creature, but a lot of the key features - the big head, the bishop hat, the flowing cape, the spindly legs - are still there, just in a remixed way.

and fuck you, I want squid people dammit

So these are Midgaheim's take on Sea Bishops - roughly human-sized relatives of krakens, who use magic to help them breathe and walk on land and are prone to disguising their inhuman anatomy with flowing robes. They're very smart and can be dangerous enemies when provoked.

While digging up pictures of Sea Bishops to see if my take was justifiable enough by the loose standards I adhere to with Midgaheim beasties, I found that fucking terrifying picture of the Sea Monk you saw at the top of this post, and immediately my brain went, "Oh, that's a shark. That's a shark that's trying to look like a human so it can get close to you. That's fucking terrifying." And, well, it's pretty hard to lose that mental image once you have it, and it basically made Sea Monks feel more concrete in my mind. They're human-imitating magic shark people. I made mine a bit less horrifying (by basing them on one of the cutest animals on earth, the great white shark), but there'd be at least a few other species of Sea Monk beside my example here, and at least one would have that ghastly "deep sea creature dragged to the surface" look of that medieval drawing up top.

#Midgaheim #Sea Bishop #Sea Monk

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scribble-dribble-writes · 6 months

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The pearl

<<<Prev(At what cost)

Pairing: Buggy x female mermaid reader

Word count: 2100

Warnings: none

Content: sorry for the delay but here is the final chapter!!

---

The power contained within your fingers broke loose making shivers run down your skin and for the first time, you were grateful for the scales on yours hands. They glowed in iridescent blue like metallic armour made just for you. Theodora sunk her poison tipped nails into anyone who dared cross her path. Eleanor was ready to fight side by side Helge who had his own sword raised. Buggy was by your side, his hands twisting his blades as though he was impatient and tired of this constant nuisance.

“What do you say we wrap this up quickly, get your crown and go out for dinner?”, he leaned towards you, a dangerously smile on his lips even at a time like this.

“Then it’s a date.”, you smiled back at him. It was something to look forward to that this fight didn’t seem daunting anymore. He knew how to get you to be at your best and he didn’t fail to ease you now.

You walked towards Theodora to stop her path towards the throne as your band of friends split up to contain the crowd and guards. Helge was being targeted for treason. Buggy was the wanted pirate and you were the imposter. Somehow, hearing those very words made you want to dig in your heels and stand your ground more firmly. Because you were done running, of being driven from the place that was supposed to have been your home.

“I warned your parents.”, she grinned with glee.

“To either forfeit the crown or to erase their history.”, she shrugged her shoulders without remorse.

“And it looks like they were too fond of their child to play the game.”, she lunged at you as you stepped back.

“Sometimes, not everyone is a psychopath”, you held your hands together as your palms faced her to blast a bolt of blue fire.

It made her hiss as she caught the tail end of the flame. As you dodged and she attacked, you realised how close you were to the throne. Her eyes set on the price she wanted while yours was on your friends, making sure they were all alive. But when the moon was in place, it sent down a crackle through the dome that it got everyone's attention. It was time, the moonlight that streamed in began to glisten as it took new form.

You set up a wall of fire around you to prevent her from coming any closer but you heard Buggy yelling your name.

His blades were not in his hand, his arms were held down by the guards, his bandana ripped away making his hair run down in a ragged mess. But his eyes were on you, telling you to sit on the throne as he got dragged away to the balcony. They were going to throw him over to the lagoon below that held fresh seawater that filtered in. It would kill him.

You had no time to think. It was down to the same decision as your parents. It was him or the crown. The blue flame wall faded and you watched Buggy get hauled up, his eyes never leaving you, instructing you to do what was part of the plan. But the moment the flame wall vanished, you stepped away as Theodora lunged at you. Evading her grasp, your feet carried you towards the only thing that mattered.

The guards threw Buggy over the balcony and you jumped after him, his eyes widening as time froze, you watched him plummet below and yet he wore that smile, the joy of knowing that you were coming after him.

He hit the water hard as he fell into the deep pool and you dove straight in. You watched his eyes close, his hair resembling the water as it fluttered along with his sinking body. Your legs had gone and your tail swirled behind you, giving you the strength to grab him and propel yourself along with him as you carried him back to the surface.

He weighed down on you and any thought of the crown had vanished, your worst nightmare had occurred and now you were trapped in it. You broke to the surface and there no sign of movement in him, no one else was around as you swam to the edge to prop him up on the stone platform. You hoisted yourself up and your tail would take a while to transform. So you crawled to him, his lifeless body resting gently as though he was asleep. Your fingers shivered as you turned his face to yours. He wasn’t breathing. You tapped his cheek as you pushed yourself up over his chest to try and pump out the water in his chest.

“Don’t you dare die on me, clown.”, you said frantically as you masked your panic. You continued till when he coughed up the water lodged in his throat, you stilled.

“Would never dream of it, doll.”, he coughed as he finally gave you a smile

Your heart stopped for a second before it began to beat again making the blood rush to your cheeks as you slumped over his chest. All your fight now replaced with relief as you felt his heart beat beneath your palm. His hands held onto you tightly around your waist as though he had been terrified. He didn’t have to confess, you knew. You rested on your elbows as you saw his face. You pushed away the wet strands of hair from across his face as you leaned down to kiss him. And he returned it as though he was gasping for air. He held the back of your neck and his lips sunk into yours as though this was the kiss that had brought him back to life. He didn’t need to breathe. He only needed you.

And so there you laid, your legs slowly taking form as your pirate captain kissed you blind having come alive again.

You made your way back to the throne room quite certain that you would not be let in. That you choosing to save your love would have now resulted in your family history being destroyed. But the rogue guards had been captured as Eleanor instructed her troops to reinstate order within the castle.

“My queen.”, Eleanor took a bow.

“My king.”, she turned to Buggy.

You weren’t sure what had transpired for such a greeting to take place.

“Your crew were pivotal in protecting the people from Theodora’s guards. I am forever indebted to you, your Highness.”, she spoke as she looked at Buggy.

“I thought they had left.”, he sounded a bit surprised, the soft smile creeping up on his face as he reached for your hand. His crew, his family, they had not run off but instead had stuck around for him just like you had said.

Eleanor smiled shaking her head as she turned to you.

“He’s waiting for you inside.”, she said, a solemn look on her face.

“It is my honour to be in your service, your majesty.”, she said again before she left.

Buggy tugged on your hand as he led you into the now cleared out throne room. Helge stood by the throne where he was looking at a stone sculpture.

But it was Theodora, her form turned to stone, on her head glistened the crown.

Helge turned to see you, a relieved sad smile on his face as he walked up to you. He embrace you before anything could be said, you felt him sigh and you returned his hug. He needed it more than you.

“I don’t understand.”, you said looking at the frozen form of Theodora.

Helge inhaled deeply as he looked at his mother again.

“To think I lost my father, your parents, you and this kingdom because of her greed, makes me feel sick and angry. I deserved better. I hope I am better than her.”, he looked away but you knew where his worry was stemming from.

You took his hand in yours to get him to look at you.

“You are better. You are not your mother, Helge.”, you said to which he gave you a soft smile as he nodded.

He stepped away from you as he reached up the statue to grab the crown.

“The truth behind the moonlight crown, is that it chooses it’s ruler. The wrong ones get turned to stone.”, he turned to you and the metal gleamed as though it recognized you.

You took a knee and bowed your head, Helge leaned down to place the metal around your head. The cold whirled around your head before it felt snug, it felt like it was a part of you. Not heavy, not insignificant, just right. You stood up to the proud smile on Helge’s face and the pure look of admiration in Buggy’s eyes.

Against all odds, you were home.

“Come on.”, you pulled on his sleeve as he trudged behind you.

“You know how I feel about blindfolds.”, Buggy remarked.

“You don’t have to work this hard to pique my interest. I’ve seen everything.”, he spoke and you gasped.

“Not even being King can rid you of that mouth.”, you complained as he came to an ubrupt stop to tug you to him. His hands holding your waist in place as his lips found yours without having to look.

“This mouth?”, he murmured as pulled away.

“It’s useless arguing with you.”, you smiled almost forgetting the purpose of bringing him here.

It had been a year now you had both ruled together but it was the moment of a very rare event. Buggy’s knowledge of the sea had helped for trade to boom on the island. The harbour was always full with merchants and entertainers. Everyone flourished and the houses within the castle were at peace. Helge married Eleanor shortly after you tied the knot with your pirate.

There were no more loose ends to tie except this one. You had brought him to the one place that was hidden to everyone else. Only the royals knew the location on this very peculiar treasure. It was on the side of the island but beneath the water such that it was built into the core rock. But the thick glass walls made for a pretty view into the sea that brimmed with life.

You knew how he longed for the ocean, it was only fair he got to see it too. You positioned him in front of the glass as he chuckled at your happiness as you fluttered around him. You pulled on the ribbon that covered his eyes and watched him take in the sight in front of him. The water so clear the light from the surface filtered below. Sharks lurking past along with schools of fish swimming over the corals. He could look at nothing else as the edges brimmed with tears.

“Even my dreams fall short to this.”, he whispered.

“I’ve wanted to bring you here even since I knew about it.”, you told him to which his fingers reached for your waist as he pulled you close to him. To engulf you in a hug, his lips kissing you on the edge of your shoulder.

“But you will always remain my most beloved gift that life has bestowed on me.”, he held you for a second longer before he let you go.

You intertwined your fingers with his and tugged him down a hallway that his face lit up with curiosity once again.

“Now where are we headed?”, he asked.

“To retrieve your treasure.”, you said as you turned the corner to come face to face with the hidden clam. Makara’s myth.

The clam sat in the middle of an enormous room that was extravagantly made. Buggy reeled you to him as his smile said everything you needed to know. He placed you in-between his arms as he rested his chin on your shoulder so that you both could witness this moment. The clam began to open slowly and from within it the crystal pearl held a purple glow that lit up the entire room. In full view in was unlike anything you had ever seen. So when you moved to get it for him, he stopped you.

“Do you not want the most rarest artefact to exist?”, you smiled at him. Certain that it would be a great item to add to his collection.

“Nothing is more rare than you. And none of these things could compare to the joy you give me.”, he twirled you so that you could face him.

“But the lights are too pretty waste this opportunity.”, he whispered as he pulled you to him.

He held your hand out and danced slowly as he led you gently. His clothes made of the finest silk, his makeup not needed to cover his face anymore. He was his truest self without his doubts and fears.

Not an act anymore.

It was how your life was, after the struggle and the chaos was this undisturbed peace where neither had to run. You could just be. So you swayed as he held you.

You were where you were meant to be.

---

Tags:

@lotr-got @juhdoche @wooyoungsrightsock @mysingularitybts @yuriwk

#one piece buggy #buggy the pirate #buggy #op buggy #captain buggy #buggy the clown #live action buggy #opla buggy #buggy one piece #buggy x reader #buggy x female reader #buggy x y/n #buggy x oc #buggy x you #live action buggy the clown #buggy fluff #buggy for pirate king #buggy fanfiction

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