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arimiaromage · 28 days

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I do not trust wisely.

throwing out my thoughts before chapter 251 of d.gray-man releases. spoilers for up to chapter 250 below!!

disclaimer: I don't hate wisely. I really like him. but I don't trust him right now.

I don't trust his actions right now. before chapter 250, I was sure wisely was going to be the new "leader" of the noah now that the earl is somewhat out of commission, either outright or by pulling the strings/giving suggestions to other members. road wasn't really the leader of them but they looked to her for answers about the things they didn't because she was the one that had stuck around the longest (such as when tyki's scars are aching) and was clearly the closest to the earl.

wisely is already suspicious of nea before this...

and when he approached the earl, wisely made a few comments about it, urging the earl to leave.

but he has an extra thought in chapter 224 about how he specifically won't let him cross paths with nea ever again. not really sus, I mean nea did kill the noah and try to kill the earl and the earl is clearly Not Over It, so makes sense.

but as they leave, wisely and tyki have a very specific exchange.

not only did wisely apparently let bookman go before they could find out more info, but wisely seems to know full well about nea- possibly being the reason he let bookman go, before bookman could tell the others who the earl and nea actually are.

specifically, wisely says "even if you don't find it out from me, you'll find it out eventually" and thinks to himself how this information will hurt tyki. that, to me, sounds like he knows most of the secrets of mana/nea. otherwise, how would he know that it will be so damning to tyki?

that brings us back to chapter 250, where they're interrogating apocryphos. I suspect the main goal of this was to find the heart rather than information on nea.

however, apocryphos can't help but jab at the ignorant noah who are in way over their heads, letting it slip that tyki has some deep connection to nea. wisely of course responds naturally by—

—destroying apocryphos' head, preventing him from talking until he heals. he claims it's because there's no use in interrogating him any further, that they've already got as much info as they can. that marks the 2nd interrogation victim he's let loose before the rest are ready.

with nea and the mention of 35 years ago being brought up, there's still tension in the air and sherril isn't about to let it go. remember, he's still pissed about road being hurt so badly trying to protect allen (because she wouldn't protect nea, right?)

and here it's finally brought up that, despite road being the only true survivor (aside from the earl), wisely has more knowledge about the events due to his demonic eye. he's finally being called out for possibly withholding the truth from them.

and what does he do? deflect it immediately. "it's not my fault, it's the fault of the previous wisely!"

okay, let's really dissect this page.

he starts off with apologizing, saying that the reason the other noah can't remember the tragedy is because the knowledge was so devastating the previous wisely locked it away (I guess before he died?? how does that work).

specifically, "to know nea is to know 'mana'". wisely knows who mana is, whereas the other noah only know that nea called the earl mana which made him cry.

the part I think most important is this- how conflicted he looks when thinking about the earl. he's not thinking about the noah here, he's thinking about the earl's safety. about mana.

why is he so conflicted?

let's go over some more stuff real quick.

wisely knows tyki looks suspiciously just like nea

2. nea isn't just a noah, he's the earl

3. SOMETHING happened to adam to make him disappear/split into mana/nea and is most likely connected to the noah & innocence

with all of these things in mind, this leads me to believe this...

wisely is keeping the info about mana secret to get the earl to destroy the world

not really a big shocker, but let me explain. the goal of the noah is to see the end of the world and aid the earl in that, but we've learned that the earl acts somewhat as a ticking time bomb, as he is the one that brings about the end days.

that is the goal of all of the noah, but road has been apprehensive about it because the current earl is mana. she wants him to be safe, and when cross urged her to help him save mana, instead of scoffing at the idea she starts crying and saying she can't because she's a noah. she wants to save him but being a noah cancels that out.

but our wisely didn't grow up with mana & nea. wisely didn't witness nea kill their entire family, mana kill him in return, and quickly descend into madness. wisely has secondhand memories so he doesn't have that emotional attachment.

this is why I felt wisely would be the new "leader". he has the insight to know that the earl = mana and that nea is part of the earl but doesn't have the emotional baggage road has. this gives him the best opportunity to see the noah's goal to the end, to push the earl over the edge and make him destroy it.

how would the rest of the noah feel if they found out the earl they've known their entire life isn't 7000 years old? that he was raised as a human just 50~ years ago? that the earl can die?

and worse-

how would the noah feel if they found out a personality of the earl was the one what slaughtered them all?

it would absolutely fracture them, possibly worse so than the exorcists finding out about apocryphos. the man they trust as their leader, who they feel in their souls a deep connection to, isn't even actually him and the man that killed them was supposed to be their leader.

that's why I feel like wisely is still keeping secrets. if he does actually know who mana/nea are, then it doesn't make sense for him to reveal this info so easily. I don't know what he's going to do next as the scene cuts there with him supposedly revealing the secrets, but I have a fear he's either only revealed a small part of it or worse, created a new lie about mana/nea to show them.

maybe he's telling the truth??

there's always a chance I'm grasping at straws, but from what I've seen it just doesn't make sense to me for him to reveal "everything" about mana/nea to the other noah, ESPECIALLY TYKI, so quickly. sherril snaps at him and he immediately folds. we've seen such careful character motivations thusfar from everyone else and I doubt hoshino would stumble here, on such a pivotal plot point.

so yeah, I don't believe wisely when he says he's going to reveal everything. he has the best shot out of all the noah to bring about the apocalypse and it doesn't make sense for him to fumble that now.

thanks for being a lil shit wisely, love you

#dgrayman #dgm #d gray man #wisely kamelot #dgm spoilers #dgm theories

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lynnjacks · 7 months

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because i'm still obsessed with @murkoffhater and i's dbd outlast chapter au... i commissioned @hanighul to draw nea and miles! because i think they'd be worsties. like, once you get past all the "pensively telling you about getting my fingers cut off in an asylum and other traumas" nonsense, just terrible. and bitchy.

#and for clarification: this is a lesbian and a gay man to me #outlast #dead by daylight #nea karlsson #miles upshur

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shewhoworshipscarlin · 3 months

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Walter Franklin Anderson

The grandson of formerly enslaved people, Walter Franklin Anderson, classical pianist, organist, composer, jazz musician, community activist, and academician, was born on May 12, 1915, in segregated Zanesville, Ohio. Walter was the sixth of nine children of humble beginnings.

Information regarding his parents is not available. Anderson, a child prodigy, began piano studies at age seven, and by 12, he was playing piano and organ professionally while still in elementary school. He was the only Black student to graduate from William D. Lash High School in Zanesville in 1932. Although a talented musician, Anderson was not a member of any of the school’s music ensembles, including the Glee Club or orchestra. Afterward, he enrolled in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, 100 miles north of his hometown, and received a Bachelor of Music in piano and organ in 1936. Anderson continued his studies at Berkshire (Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra) and the Cleveland Institute of Music in Cleveland, Ohio.

From 1939 to 1942, Anderson taught Applied Piano, Voice Pedagogy, and music theory at the Kentucky State College for Negroes (now Kentucky State University) in Frankfort. In 1943, Anderson married Dorothy Eleanor Ross (Cheeks) from Atlanta, Georgia. They parented two children, Sandra Elaine Anderson Mastin and David Ross Anderson, before the marriage ended in a divorce in 1945.

In 1946, Anderson was appointed the head of the music department at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, thus becoming the first African American named to chair a department outside of the nation’s historically black colleges. Two years later, Anderson was a Rosenwald Fellow in composition from 1948 to 1949, where his variations on the Negro Spiritual, “Lord, Lord, Lord,” was performed by the Cleveland Orchestra. Moreover, John Sebastian, the conductor of the Orchestra, commissioned him to write “Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra” for a performance with the same orchestra. In 1950, Anderson’s composition, “D-Day Prayer Cantata,” for the sixth anniversary of the World War II invasion, was performed on a national CBS telecast. In 1952, Anderson received the equivalent of a doctoral degree as a fellow of the American Guild of Organists. He left his administrative post at Antioch College in 1965.

In 1969, Anderson was named director of music programs at the National Endowment for the Arts, where he created model funding guidelines and pioneered the concept of the challenge grant. In addition, he spearheaded numerous projects and developed ideas at the then-new agency for supporting music creation and performance, specifically for orchestras, operas, jazz, and choral ensembles and conservatories.

Anderson was the recipient of four honorary doctorates in music over his professional career, including one from Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, in 1970. He retired from NEA in 1983. During this period, he became a presidential fellow at the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies and a recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize for Distinguished Service to the Arts. In 1993, the American Symphony Orchestra League recognized Anderson as one of 50 people whose talents and efforts significantly touched the lives of numerous musicians and orchestras. He was also a member of the Advisory Council to the Institute of the Black World at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/people-african-american-history/walter-franklin-anderson-1915-2003/

#historical #black history month #musician

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sniffanimal · 3 months

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it's exhausting and frustrating that I'm a paraeducator, working for the local school district, working 35 hours weeks with children with intense social and medical needs, and I can barely -BARELY- afford the apartment I share with a roommate. the benefits of my job far outweigh my desire to go to a better paying job elsewhere but still it's horrible that my job is considered "part time" so they don't have to pay better. I don't have the stamina to work a second job, and either what time? it's so nearly full time. I work 8:45-4 pretty much. it's a union job! and we're constantly bargaining for fair wages and the school district is like "it's really hard for us to afford both a raise for the superintendent and a raise for you. it's impossible to decide which so we flipped a coin and it said the superintendent gets a raise not you". there's a reason 15 years ago the turnover rate for my job was 8% and now it's 23% and at my specific school it's over 50%. believe me I'm a filthy socialist who believes in ubi and all like I don't think me having a difficult government job makes me morally better and deserving of higher wages than other people, but it just insane that making $21k after taxes a year isn't liveable and for a stressful, dangerous, legally mandated that my position be filled, unionized job. I feel like I'm going insane

I went to a protest with my parents unions (WEA and NEA) at the capitol, I work on a political action committee with my union, if I wasn't so inexperienced and fucking overworked I'd be on the bargaining committee. fuck maybe I should join it anyway. it's insane that my job legally needs to be filled and yet we feel as a union that we have no actual leverage bc the district just says no.

my protest sign tried to focus more on heartstrings and a reminder we work for the kids but maybe I should have just gone with a sign that has the superintendent's salary on it vs mine bc it's public knowledge what both he and I make

okay my rant is over I just really needed to yell into the void about my job. this is why I freelance commissions on the side. in a perfect world I would be able to spend my entire free time for art on art I want to make, not art that makes me money

#badger rants #idk im not gonna lock reblogs maybe people need to know what the situation is for paraeducators in a supposedly wealthy district #badger vs the workforce #then theres the stress of being an openly trans educator who works with vulnerable kids #im dreading this becoming an issue even though im certain my district would support me

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tartagliaxx · 2 years

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。MAYBE IT'S INTUITION (BUT SOME THINGS YOU JUST DON'T QUESTION)

━━ INCLUDES: ayato, gorou, heizou, itto, kazuha, scaramouche, thoma

━━ SUMMARY: sometimes it's a "eureka!" moment but sometimes, all you need is a little mundanity before realizing that your heart has been begging to love a certain someone for the longest time.

━━ CONTAINS: brief mentions of violence, reader is kidnapped to get under ayato's skin

━━ NOTES: posting new content? it's more likely than you think...

。 AYATO — “ cypressus custos | warden of the cypress forest ”

He knew he loved you when his carefully crafted façade melted under the fire that raged in his blood. His ever-present smile faltered as the paper he was holding crumpled at the intensity of his grip. The Commissioner of the Yashiro Commission knew very well the responsibilities and expectations that rest on his shoulders but as the dreadful report reached his ears, Kamisato Ayato found it easy to postpone his duties, rushing out into the field where you laid captured by his enemies. Very few would think it wise to play with the young man’s patience, knowing that the still waters could easily crash and break the bones of those who tried their luck against the waves but it appears that some people have yet to learn their lesson: he does not take lightly those who dared take from him, especially when it is someone particularly close to his heart.

。 GOROU — “ canis bellatoris | warrior's dog ”

He knew he loved you when a nightmare left him panting and disturbed and the first thing that came into his mind was making sure that you were safe. The logical part of his mind argued that no harm can ever befall you under the blanket of safety the Watatsumi Island offers you but the pounding anxiety in his being remained undeterred nonetheless. He found it unbecoming that a mighty General of the Army was now speeding through the quiet dirt paths of the village in his patterned nightwear but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Though ridicule from his peers may await him the next morning, all he could think about at the present was the dread that stems from the lack of your presence in his world.

。 HEIZOU — “ cervus minor | lesser deer ”

He knew he loved you when he hid the truth of his whereabouts from you with ease. Your birthday was fast approaching and while it pained him to do so, the esteemed Doushin of the Tenryou Commission smiled apologetically as he turned down your recent offer to have dinner together. He’d love nothing more, really, and any prior commitments, as long as they were not work-related, had always mattered less than short rendezvouses with you. Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford to miss the appointment he had with a glass blower whom he had commissioned to make your gift. What could he say? Some things are more important than the truth and the unadulterated glee that would soon cross your face was one of those few things.

。 ITTO — “ taurus iracundus | raging bull ”

He knew he loved you when his gang brought you up to fluster him into losing another match in TCG. Rather than being angry at their lowly methods to steal the victory from Arataki “The Ultimate TCG Champion” Itto, he only giggled before falling into a tangent about how “absolutely perfect you are and he’s a hundred and ninety-nine point nine, nine, nine, nine, nine percent sure that you’re the one for him because of course, the most stunning person in Teyvat should be with the handsomest, most friggin’ cool and awesome oni out there duh-“ His gang could only sigh before placing down their cards and mumbling lackluster “mhms” and “uh-huhs.” They know better than anyone that their boss man has so much pride for those he loves and when he starts talking about those he’s proud of? There’s no shutting him up until you or Shinobu take pity and decide to work your magic.

。 KAZUHA — “ acer palmatum | palmate maple ”

He knew he loved you when one cool autumn night, he found himself feeling lonely as he wandered about the mountain peaks of Liyue. The Crux fleet was stocking up on resources at the nearby harbor for their next venture in the seas and while that alone filled him with a sense of excitement, a lingering echo in the deepest crevices of his heart resounded loud and clear. An itch — or rather, a sincere longing that can only be satiated by catching a mere glimpse of your visage. Very rarely can you find the young heir of the Kaedehara clan resisting the direction of the wind but for the first time in a while, Kazuha was eager to come home. Alas, he'd probably only disappoint with how little tales he would be able to share with you so for now, he supposed he could busy himself with finding the perfect flower to press into a bookmark for you.

。 SCARAMOUCHE — “ kunikuzushi | country destroyer ”

He knew he loved you when thunder roared tremendously in his fury, shaking even the most stable of the earth but not once did lightning strike the trembling form of this pathetic, good-for-nothing subordinate of his. The balladeer is not one who hesitates and certainly not because his long-lost morality decided that it was the perfect time to resurface. Still, his fingers twitched in place and the venomous curses in his throat rumbled before dying down into more docile whispers. The thought that he, of all people, would show mercy unsettles him but he found that there is little that he could do when his treacherous mind posed him the question: “what would you think if you saw him?”

。 THOMA — “ rubeum scutum | red shield ”

He knew he loved you when he would subconsciously pause his duties at the mere mention of your name. Truthfully, he ought to take down the laundry before the rain starts to fall from the murky skies but as competent as he was, he couldn’t help but listen in as a few of your shrine maiden friends talked about your recent endeavors in Sumeru. A deep longing and a youthful giddiness clashed and fueled the rapid tha-thumps of his heart. It is not every day that Thoma hopes that he was not the Kamisato Clan’s reliable housekeeper but for the briefest of moments, he knew that there was nothing he couldn’t give if it meant being able to bear witness to your radiant smile instead of the cobwebs he should’ve been cleaning by now.

taglist / be added or removed here

@genshiningg @serenareiss @cloudybillows @abblebabble @scaraslover @ttaechi @sugarysylz @favonius-captain @kageyama-i-want-tobiors @lowilaufeyson @starforecasts @pumpikun

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lboogie1906 · 10 days

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Maestro Dr. Walter Franklin Anderson (May 12, 1915 - November 24, 2003) the grandson of enslaved people was a classical pianist, organist, composer, jazz musician, community activist, and academician, was born in segregated Zanesville, Ohio. He was the sixth of nine children.

Information regarding his parents is not available. He began piano studies at age seven, and by 12, he was playing piano and organ professionally while still in elementary school. He was not a member of any of the school’s music ensembles, including the Glee Club or orchestra. He enrolled in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and received a BSM in Piano and Organ. He continued his studies at Berkshire and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

He taught Applied Piano, Voice Pedagogy, and music theory at the Kentucky State College for Negroes. He married Dorothy Eleanor Ross (Cheeks) (1943-1945). They had two children.

He was appointed the head of the music department at Antioch College, becoming the first African American named to chair a department outside of an HBCU. He was a Rosenwald Fellow in composition, where his variations on the Negro Spiritual, “Lord, Lord, Lord,” was performed by the Cleveland Orchestra. The conductor of the Orchestra commissioned him to write “Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra”. His composition, “D-Day Prayer Cantata,” was performed on a national CBS telecast. He received the equivalent of a Ph.D. as a fellow of the American Guild of Organists.

He was named director of music programs at the National Endowment for the Arts. He was the recipient of four honorary doctorates in music over his professional career. He retired from NEA in 1983. He became a presidential fellow at the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies and a recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize for Distinguished Service to the Arts. The American Symphony Orchestra League recognized him as one of 50 people whose talents and efforts touched the lives of numerous musicians and orchestras. He was a member of the Advisory Council of the Institute of the Black World at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

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lizard-shifter-noms · 9 months

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Wayward Waters Chapter 5

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Hello everyone! Chapter 5!

time to explore more of the world!

this Story contains Vore, Dont like dont read.

have fun reading!

and as always Reblogs are appreciated! (Also ASK’s are open so feel free to bother me!)

AO3 Link for those that prefer the layout there;

AO3 Wayward waters

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I missed home, but right now i had no idea where the fuck i was.

Only that I was on some island with a big ass eel pit that injured one of the Crewmembers of the ship I had landed on somehow.

And now I was sitting on a slope in my Giant form with a Birdlegged Maniac who was used as a pillow by a sea serpent.

In all honesty? Fuck.

The last I had seen of my friends was in the storm that had thrown me off the ship I was supposed to be on and now one of the guys that found me and said he'd help me was out of commission.

I glanced over to Jamie, who had given up trying to remove Imugi’s head by now and was just lying there.

They looked sad, but not sad sad, rather the kind where one tried to hide they were sad.

I looked around for anything helpful but the only things I saw were more rocks, some sand and a few palm trees which were barely the length of my under arm.

Palm trees hmm…

A VERY stupid idea came into my head.

I slowly stood up so as not to startle them and walked over to the nearest tree, a dingy little thing that had broken almost in half by the storm.

Wouldn't make it for long now anyway and was only holding on by a thread.

Good thing too, Robin would never forgive me if I ripped out a healthy plant.

I positioned myself so that they couldn't see and tried to get the tree as quietly as possible, which was only half successful.

“The HELL you doing over there? I swear if you do something shady I will get the paint bucket we have on board and pour it into your nostrils!”

That had to be the weirdest threat I had ever received, and I lived in the same castle as Nea.

Man, I even missed her too, how absolutely stupid.

Whatever, I put the tree in my hand so it looked like it grew out from there before turning around.

Holding the hand with the tree up so it could be easily seen.

“Look, Palm tree”

Jamie made a choking noise before starting to full on laugh, keeling back over while Imugi looked confusedly at them before slinking back into the ocean.

“Your jokes are so bad I don't even know why I'm laughing at them!”

I just shrugged.

“Maybe they're funny because they're bad? Or your sense of humor is just as bad as my jokes”

Jamie made a noncommittal noise and I sprawled out on the grass where I was.

“Yo Kitty cat, how tall are you? You're like as tall as Imugi is long”

How tall i was? Well human form was around 5’10, for the giant one i could only guess.

“Uhh dunno? Like thirty feet? I can't exactly measure myself easily like this”

I heard shuffling and turning my head to look. I saw that Jamie had taken the measuring rope which had kind of started all of this mess with Ronan.

“Well then, hold still and I can check! We already went through so much chaos to get this stupid rope that we might as well use it!”

Well, fair.

“Yeah, it would be nice knowing how tall I am exactly, Is the rope long enough for that?”

They shrugged.

“Only one way to find out, also this thing is like fifty feet or so if not i can still measure twice and use math to figure it out”

They walked up next to my head with one end of the rope, setting it down on the same height as my scalp.

“Can you use your thumb to hold this end to the ground? I think id just drag it away if i tried”

I nodded and pressed the end of the rope into the ground while Jamie walked along my side down to my knees, counting the feet as they went.

I did wonder how tall I actually was, so far I had just estimated myself to be around thirty feet but I wasn't sure if that was accurate.

Probably not.

I did my best not to move as Jamie walked along my side, both to not mess up the measuring and to not startle the Bird Legged weirdo.

“FORTY FIVE FEET!”

I sat up abruptly at Jamie's shout, seeing the sun already low in the sky.

“What? Forty five? That's fifteen more than I thought!”

Huh, then again I had never really had anything to accurately measure myself with.

“Yeah! Forty five! You must be bad at math!”

“Does math have anything to do with me misjudging my height?”

Jamie flicked the rope and started coiling it up.

“Well according to some nerds everything is math somehow, So who cares?”

Well, I was the first to admit that there was a lot I didn't know, but everything was math? Who came up with that?

“Well, what now? Are we stuck on the island? I'm sure my friends worry about me and I'd like to get to them as fast as possible! And Ronan needs an actual Medic!”

Jamie tilted their head at me, and for a painful second I was reminded of Oakley, god I missed all of them.

Especially Robin.

“Well, bringing Ronan to a doc, an actual one not whatever Imik and Akeem are doing would come first, but the doc is also back at our base and we need to go there anyway for the map n’ shit.

So i guess now that our Captain’s injured well probably go there faster anyway, so i guess you get your wish”

Harsh, but true.

“Well i did want to get home as fast as possible but not like that, i hope he'll be okay, he will be okay right?”

Jamie just shrugged and waved to follow them, which I did, slowly.

“I'm sure he'll get over it, it's not the first time he got bitten by a electric eel, just never so many, also he managed to get through a fuckton of other weird injuries, so yeah hell be fine, he don't got enough brain for it to be damaged further anyway”

So Ronan would be okay in the end, good to hear.

“Hey! So you can shift into that fuzzy thing and into a giant right? Do you have anything more portable than that? Well be faster if you're not so fucking oversized”

Well, yes, but I hadn't done so because I hadn't trusted them thus far, but if we could go faster…

I waited for a moment that Jamie was looking forward to the boat and then turned the Gem on the bracelet, shrinking down to my human size.

The next time they turned to face me I was already back in my human form and they let out a startled screeching noise that grated in my pointy ears.

“You could do that the entire time? What the fuck! You should have done that sooner!”

“Well, i didn't know you guys, and i'm less likely to be stabbed as a giant creature, also the entire thing with my second heart starting to work and i didn't know if shifting would fuck it up even more”

“...Fair point, let's get back on the ship and jumpscare Imik!”

“What? Why? And why Imik?”

“Cuz Akeem can't be scared, also it's funny seeing Imiks Webbed ears Flare up in alarm!”

So just for fun then, yeah that was okay.

“Well, as long as it's okay I don't see why not, but shouldn't we focus on getting Ronan to the Doc you mentioned?”

Their face lost the mischievous touch.

“Ugh yeah fair, let's go on board and toss Imugi the Halfter so she can tow us away from the island”

They walked up the plank to the Boat and I followed behind,

almost slipping one time as the wood was slick under my feet and the Orange tinted sky made weird shadows.

“If you fall in i will laugh”

“If I fall in, I will make sure the splash hits only you!”

As stupid as being stuck away from my friends was at least the banter with Jamie was a little funny, they were gruff sure, but not malicious.

“Come on Kitty cat! Help me toss the tow thing to Imugi!”

I followed them up to the front of the boat where a variety of stuff was bolted down or straight up Built into the ship, like the box in the front.

The Box looked to be lockable and Jamie yanked out a weird construction of rope and metal, the front part reminding me of the thing they put into the mouth of a horse to ride it.

Then they tossed the front half into the water and hooked the part still on the ship into a pair of curved metal things that were bolted to the boat itself.

So that was the thing Imugi used to tow the boat! Interesting.

“Did you know that Imugi is named that because Ronan kept her in a mug for the first two weeks of her life? Apparently she was TINY! And ‘IN MUG’ became Imugi at some point”

What? That sea monster used to fit in a mug? A bucket I could maybe believe, but a mug?

“She was that tiny? Wait, why was she kept in a mug?”

Jamie shrugged.

“Orphanage probably wouldn't have taken kindly to a sea monster in the house, he left after Imugi got to big to hide, somehow got a boat and a bunch of idiots to help him out”

“You're also one of those Idiots, you're aware right?”

They waved me off.

“Yeah yeah, whatever, to get on this ship you gotta have a few screws loose anyway, and even more so if you end up staying”

Well, at least they were self aware.

There was a sudden tug on the boat and I leaned over to see what it was.

Apparently Imugi had found the tow thingy despite the Ocean getting dark before the sky and was slowly dragging it through the water, Boat and all attached.

Jamie hopped down from the railing and walked towards the stairs, the movement of their legs reminding me of a strutting pigeon.

Yeah, I'd better never mention that, as funny as the mental image might be.

I followed them down the stairs back onto the deck.

“Do we need to steer the boat if Imugi is towing it?”

“Nah, she knows where to go, she's not stupid she’ll know that with one of us injured the best thing to do is go Home”

Well, that was relieving, I doubted Jamie could steer properly, or even if so that they would do so in a normal way.

The sound of a door opening drew my attention while Jamie walked up the mast to the crows nest again.

Turning my head around I saw that it was Akeem, who softly closed the door behind him.

He looked at me unblinkingly for a moment, could he even blink? and then carried on past me as if nothing was amiss.

He opened a hatch in the floor and pulled out an Telescope, hit the mast one time and then tossed the thing up where Jamie caught it in their claws with a single leg.

Impressive, I had to admit that.

Despite their insane shenanigans they managed to function pretty well as a team.

Once again I was made aware of my own friends not being here with a pang.

I hoped i could go home soon, they were nice yes, but i'd rather go back to Tunstead and the Castle in Kamerasca.

Akeem then turned to me and I once again wondered if the guy had to blink at all, him being completely, well, Stone faced.

“Ronan is alright for now, we will head to Kariba Island as fast as possible to get him proper treatment, then after we have brought him to a doctor we will see that we find you a way to get home”

“Thank you so much, can I help somehow? I'm not good with boats or medicine but i can move heavy stuff”

The stone man shook his head.

“We are alright for now, should we need your help i will let you know”

With that he left again and went into the boat.

Huh, thus far I haven't set a single foot into the ship itself, eh whatever.

Also Kariba Island? Hadn't heard that before.

I wondered where on the map that was and what the island itself looked like.

Eh, I'd find out soon enough.

Soo… what to do now? I was stuck on the ship with nothing to do, and I did not want to sleep just yet as i was not tired.

I did not like that, it gave my brain time to think about Home which made me miss it all the more.

I Looked up the mast to the crows nest at the top.

One could probably see pretty far from there.

If Jamie could climb it with sweater covered hands then surely i could climb it normally!

I went up to the wooden structure and tried to jump up as far as possible only to slide right back down despite my best efforts to hold on.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Came Jamie's voice from above and glancing up I could see their head looking down at me.

“I'm trying to climb! Maybe I'll get lucky and see something I know!”

As unlikely as it was, it would at least distract me from thinking too much.

“Well you're doing a shit job at trying to get up here!”

“Help me then!” “Nah, watching you struggle is funnier”

I rolled my eyes at the retort and tried again to get up, only to slide down again while I wrapped my legs around the mast and held on with my hands.

“How the fuck do you do it? And with fabric covered hands no less?!”

“Hah! I'm just used to it! Tell ya what! If you can get up here with no help I'll give you one of my shiny pebbles!”

I was about to retort that I had no use for shiny pebbles when I saw what Jamie was holding up.

A whole ass Ruby the size of a thumb, partially obscured by the sweater which still covered their hands.

Even in the weird light of the late evening it was clearly visible, especially against the blue fabric.

Well, admittedly i had no need for it seeing as i lived at the castle but damn if that wasn't enticing.

“Where did you even get that?”

“Sometimes I help Imik crack open Boxes from sunken ships! So I get to keep some of the stuff!”

Huh, true sunken ships might contain treasure but one had to get lucky to get anything good.

“Alright, I'll get up there somehow!”

I tried to scale the smooth wood again and this time managed to get a little higher than before but fell down regardless.

“One should think that a guy able to turn into a giant cat could climb better than that!”

Well, true, but the Ardua form had claws…oh wait.

Jamie also used their claws to climb! Granted their bird-like feet were already better for climbing but maybe I should use my nails instead of trying to hold on with only my hands.

Yeah, I think I figured it out.

I slipped my shoes off and put them in one of the bolted down boxes so they wouldn't get lost and then went back to scaling the mast.

This time it worked! Without shoes and using all of my nails to grip better I actually managed to climb slowly up!

“Now you look like a monkey instead of a cat! Good thinking though!”

I looked up for a moment at Jamie's dumb comments and saw I was a little over halfway up by now.

Only a little bit to go!

I went at it and was nearly to the top in no time, noticing it was nearly dark now, damn how slow was i at climbing?

Then my hand slipped.

Before I could slip more or even fall Jamie's clawed leg had gripped my upper arm.

They pulled me up on the horizontal beam and I hung there for a moment like a piece of fabric.

“Ugh”

“Ayy you made it! Congrats!

You don't have to lay there like a wet towel though!”

Ohh this was a bit higher than i had originally thought.

I clung to the wood and tried not to think what kind of injuries I'd get should I fall from up here.

I also tried to calm my breathing and erratic heartbeat.

Well, heartbeats now, at least they were in sync now.

I decided to stop looking straight down and instead looked at Jamie.

Huh, they had made the vantage point into an actual nest, sticks included.

There also was a variety of knicknacks lying around, including some valuable looking things like gems and gold.

They held out a mishmash of shiny and glittery things in a cracked wooden bowl, still covering their hands with the blue sweater.

I wondered what was up with that but decided against asking.

Not my business, and there might be a reason as to why.

“Well, ya made it! As promised you get to pick whatever you want from the shiny stuff in the bowl!”

I continued to cling to the wood with all of my limbs but still peered into the bowl that Jamie held out to me.

There was the aforementioned ruby of course, which glinted despite the sun being almost gone by now, but also a variety of other stuff, some of which were fossils?

One in particular caught my eye, It looked like a crystalized sea star about half the size of my thumb.

The crystal itself was a pretty shimmering opal with hints of green and blue as well as orange.

Well, that would be one hell of a souvenir, and Fable said he liked stars so it would be perfect.

I pointed at the crystalized sea star, still clinging to the wood to not fall off.

Instead of handing the thing to me directly Jamie stuffed it into a little bag with a long cord and put it over my head like some sort of necklace.

“Now you don't lose it!”

“Thanks? I think”

They shrugged and leaned back in the surprisingly roomy nest-like build.

“Hey?”

“Hm?”

“How the fuck do i get down?”

They sat up again and looked down to the deck.

“Uhh, i just slide down or climb down, not sure if you'll manage that though”

“I'm NOT doing that, especially not now that it's getting dark! Please tell me there is some other way down?”

They stared at me.

“Well, only other way down would be to just fall, but i think that's worse for you”

Yes, yes it was.

“Oh fuckdamnit, what do I do now?”

“Eh, im sure Akeem will think of something tomorrow, or Imik though he's better at diving”

I looked at them with a deadpan expression even if most of that was probably lost in the slowly encroaching darkness.

“And what am I supposed to do now? I don't think I can cling the entire night to this piece of wood!”

“Uh, right, gimme a minute to make some space”

They haphazardly shoved anything pointy into one corner of the nest and then pulled me into it.

Despite being only four feet four at most they were pretty strong i had to admit that.

No wonder Imik asked for help cracking open old boxes.

I just flopped face first into it right where I was, shoving a handful of seashells away from where my head rested.

“I think this was a stupid idea, but quite frankly i don't care right now”

“You're laying there like a wet cat, have some dignity Kitty cat”

I just rolled my eyes at them and pulled my legs into the nest as well.

“Whatever, after climbing im too tired to care, you can wake me tomorrow you overgrown chicken”

With that i faced down again and used my crossed arms as a pillow.

It was only a minute later that I felt a clawed foot on my back, and then another.

Jamie settled on top of my back with what sounded like a very quiet chirp.

I was pretty sure for an onlooker they looked like a broody hen right now.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“You're warmer than the floor”

“Then get blankets or something, im not a fucking matress”

“You are now!”

With that they settled where they were and I could literally feel them poofing up like a little bird.

I gave up with a sigh, it wasn't worth the energy, Besides, it wasn't hurting me.

“Whatever, but if you fall of because i move its your own fault”

“Yeah yeah, i've fallen down before, its no that bad aside from the sprained toe i had once”

I just grumbled something into the floor.

“Hey, you good?”

“...i miss my friends, the last they saw of me was when i went overboard”

“Oh… well we are headed to get a map or whatever, or maybe there's a faster ship that will take you onboard?”

I just grumbled something into the floor, suddenly feeling worse than ever about being so far away.

“Hrmmmm”

I buried my face in the sticks so Jamie wouldn't see the tears in my eyes as I thought about what my friends could be doing right now.

Were they searching for me? Or did they already think I was dead?

Robin would surely push for a search but Rikaad, well, he usually only thought logically, and searching for me when I might be dead and he had something else to do wasn't logical.

He still had to stop the deserter fleet from Maringand and try to deal with the pirates.

And Arthur had no idea what even happened, he probably thought we were all on the boat doing stupid stuff.

My hands gripped one of the surrounding sticks and squeezed it till it broke.

As I buried my face even deeper into the sticks, which weren't as uncomfortable as expected, I felt Jamie move off of me.

They did not say anything but I could sense them right next to me.

Suddenly there was the sensation of a hand raking through my hair.

The hand was coarse, almost scaly and the fingers seemed to be tipped with claws.

Jamie's hand? No wonder they hid them in the sweater, people aren't nice to anything they deemed dangerous, and claws definitely counted as that.

I didn't move, or even make any attempt to glance at their hands to see what they looked like exactly.

The only thing I did notice was the number of fingers, five.

So definitely not like Oakley.

I kept lying there unmoving as Jamie detangled my messy hair somewhat, picking out salt and other stuff found in the sea that had gotten stuck there as I fell into the water in the storm.

The word preening popped into my head for a second.

As much as I did not want to admit it, the sensation of claws gently scratching at my scalp was strangely soothing.

I maneuvered my arms to be around my head so I could hide my face even better.

Just as Jamie didn't want me to see their hands, I didn't want them to see the silent tears running down my face.

God, I missed my friends, even Nea.

Despite having a person next to me who I was on good terms with, I had never felt lonelier.

Maybe because I finally knew what it was like to have friends and didn't want to lose that.

I tucked the arm with the bracelet under me and shielded my face with the other.

I stayed like that and let Jamie mess with my hair until I fell asleep, not once giving in to the temptation of looking at their hands as curious as I might have been.

I was who knew when later awoken to shortness of breath and a slap to the face.

I sat up abruptly, panting and gasping for air.

I looked around frantically, not recognizing anything as my sight refused to focus, leaving everything blurry while hyperventilating.

I gripped at my chest, feeling both of my hearts beat wildly and making the thumping sound echo in my ears.

Then I got a second slap to the face and my eyes finally focused somewhat.

“Whh?”

“Man you almost fell off! Are you okay?”

I looked at the person talking to me, noticing frizzy hair and a blue sweater.

“I- uh, Jamie?”

“Yeah! Who else could get up here?”

My brain was working too much and too little at the same time and I felt nauseous.

“Dude calm down, i don't want to slap you a third time”

I rolled over and dry heaved, actually glad to not need to eat right now.

“Do I need to get Imik or Akeem?”

I shook my head, still feeling awful.

There was no mistaking the way my limbs shook and my mind reeled with Images id rather not remember.

“No… im- im fine, just give me… some- some time okay?”

While I never had one prior it didn't take a genius to figure out I just had a panic attack, and even now my hearts were beating like mad in my chest and I felt weak, trying to steady my breathing.

“You don't look fine, what the fuck happened?”

I could sense them poofing up next to me while I leaned my head on the rim of the nest.

I closed my eyes tightly to try and banish the Images of corpses on a bloody field and an Injured Fable.

When that didn't work I opened them as looking at the ground way below me was better than those images.

“Hah… Panic attack, when i got tossed overboard i left the medicine from Oakley in my cabin”

“PANIC ATTACK? You don't think mentioning something like that beforehand would be a good idea? You would have fallen off hadn't I grabbed you!”

I groaned and tried to calm my shaking limbs and racing hearts.

“I never- never had one before! Didn't think i- id get one”

Suddenly a hand shoved my chest down again and a pillow was shoved under my head.

“Lay down dumbass, i'm going to get Imik”

“Wh-?”

Before I could say anything they had started climbing down already.

So instead I let my head sink onto the pillow and tried to calm down, repeating the breathing exercises I had shown Robin so long ago.

Breath in four seconds.

Hold for seven.

Then out for eight.

God, all of this sucked.

At least without needing to eat, I didn't have the problem of throwing up.

The random dry heaving wasn't any more pleasant though.

I rolled onto my back to the best of my ability and just stared at the blue sky, my vision still a little blurry.

I decided to lay there with shaky limbs until Jamie came back.

I felt absolutely awful, I never wanted this again, but I had no hopes of this being a one time thing.

I dug the heels of my palms into my eyes in an attempt to make the flashes of Images stop, not keen on reliving the moment Oakley Burned like a dry leaf.

Or the time Fable fell into the river after he got shot in the foot.

I rolled to my side and tucked my knees to my torso, dry heaving again which caused uncomfortable muscle spasms in my abdomen.

My two hearts were still beating wildly, but at least they were in sync now.

For the moment I just lay there trying not to get another panic attack and waiting for Jamie or whoever else to help me get off this stupid mast.

While I lay there I could hear the sound of metal thunking against wood and I closed my eyes tightly as it happened again, curling up and putting my hands over my ears as the sound came again, being horribly reminded of the sound the Arrows had made when they hit flesh.

Luckily the sound stopped as I was about to start hyperventilating again, but I still couldn't bring myself to move, staying where I was, curled up and with shaky limbs.

I was vaguely aware of Jamie being back and Imik also somehow being up here.

Akeem was probably too heavy.

I tried to look at them through my unfocused eyes but only saw blurry shapes.

“Its okay, calm down”

I heard one of them speak but through the white noise in my ear I could not tell who it was.

I flinched away when I felt a hand touching me.

“AKEEM! TOSS ME THE STUFF!”

Stuff? What stuff?

The blurry shapes moved and I could make out one of them leaving my line of, very blurry, sight.

Judging by the amount of yellow I could make out it was Imik.

He held a stick or something under my face before breaking it in half.

I smelled something weird, like an overly sweet plant but with a slight hint of rotten leaves.

It made my head swim and my thoughts blur together into a deep thrum.

My limbs feel heavy as well and I lost whatever little focus I had in favor of the fogginess.

Shortly after that my entire vision went black and I was back to being unconscious.

NEXT / PREVIOUS / OVERSIGHT

#sstc #lizards writing #vore story #giant/tiny #Sea of Barmea #mentions of panic attack #mentions of injury #mentions of death #ocean #Ship #sea serpent #sea monster

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