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helloescapist · 1 year

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The Art of Sharing a Meal | Giyuu Tomioka

Word Count: 4285

Setting: Giyuu Tomioka x gn!reader (reader is a slayer), mutual pining, SFW

Content Warnings: no warnings here, just fluff all around

Summary: a day off is normally something to treasure, but for a work-a-holic like Giyuu, it's quite the struggle to navigate, as well as what to do with his spare time: music, gardening, sparring, and even cooking can be quite the challenge unless you're by his side.

[The artwork belongs to Koyoharu Gotouge!]

Steam rolled in waves off of the fire, the pots of the kitchen hut and modest. The care of the meticulously maintained cookware evident to have withstand the test of the pillage the kitchen had endured.

Pots placed throughout counters, knives awkwardly stuck in the chopping boards; peels of produce abandoned across the surface, forgotten in his enthusiasm. Chunks of daikon misshaped and awry, clearly abused and awkwardly handled in their preparation. The chunks uneven, and prepared at uneven temperatures due to the varying thickness. The pungent odor of kombucha seaweed miscalculated, and left on the stove for far too long. The remaining parts stripped of any potential savory umami, and left to wallow and slimy as the earth worms that he had met this morning. The seaweed containing the same degree of appetizing as the garden crawlers. Although unlike the soil caretakers, the kelp had long lost its benefits, seethed right from its properties. The distinct sear of overcooked salmon burned his nose, caught on the revealing hues of whites that it offered when he had sliced it. The skin awkwardly marred despite his best attempts, curiously dry despite the broth it soaked in. Composed of soy sauce and ginger far too overbearing and unbalanced and settled awkwardly and disproportion in sake. The rice wine oozing of booze and oppressive against the taste buds. Chalky on the tongue, and disappointing as the flavor punished his palate. The pucker of his lips as he forced down another bite; the disappointment evident on his features.

His meal had been in good company; afforded the rare day off at Ubuyashiki’s insistence. The leader had expressed his concern for the Water Hashira, expressed that Tomioka was well known for his adamant nature, overworked, and the man had suspected that such lifestyle choices had begun to bare on him. Weighted, and affecting his performance, he had reminded Giyuu that such decisions could impair is battle tact, reminded him that an early grave could be the result. One that very well, could belong to another rather than the Hashira, himself. A fate that Giyuu wished to avoid at all costs, and so, he had begrudgingly accepted Ubuyashiki’s care.

The dreaded reality of having a day off in the unusual opportunity to relax had weighed on him. The morning hours spent awkwardly wandering about the mansion, no longer contempt to stay in his room and play his usual games. His voyage leaving him displaced and a float. Tomioka had become increasingly aware… that he really did not know how to relax. The dawning conclusion had led him through a variety of paths, determined to seize his day off in a way that would benefit his work performance. Sharpen his mind, and ensure the safety of those under his care.

He had begun with Gyomei. The Stone Hashira had towered over him, eyes a wide and clasping his prayer beads as he regarded his peer. His features strained and stoic, had reassured Giyuu that such a rest was necessary from time to time as the foreboding man prepared himself for an upcoming mission while attempting to ponder Tomioka’s inquiry. Pressed a smile one that appeared to be sculpted from boulders itself, his steps heavy as he crossed the room. His shifting amongst belongings practiced, and precise as he found a flute and presented Giyuu with a book alongside it. His voice telling, as calm as any father figure could ever hope to be, he devlved to Giyuu that he had purchased the instructions in the hope that the hobby would bring Genya peace—the younger slayer had often been known to enjoy his playing, but as time had taught the Stone Pillar, he was uninterested. The book left with little choice to collect dust. The man had made the suggestion born of his own hobby, and the peace it often brought him, and so, the Water Hashira had set off to attempt sahkuhachi. It should have been an obtainable goal, at least the building blocks instructions Gyomei had left in his care before Giyuu had departed. The directions were formative, intended for small children beginning their journey, and yet, despite the effort Tomioka had placed into the flute, he had become aware that it was not working out well at all.

The yank of the instrument from his fingers, his eyes pressed together through forced breaths, the younger Shinazugawa had seized his opportunity, and forced the woodwind from Giyuu’s grasp. His eyes agitated; the scowl permanently etched into his features. He resembled his brother far more than he had his adopted father. The newer member to the corps had found him in the garden, drawn by the clear dismay of passing maids and kakushi who could be heard lamenting about the dying animal they had overheard. Informed Giyuu that his performance was hopeless unless he had intended to utilize it as some form of punishment in slaying. The bamboo strains threatening to snap between his fingers as he lectured his superior. Tomioka’s down casted gaze having shocked the man into an awkward apology, that sounded more like a backhanded compliment. Stumbled from fallen words, Genya had suggested something less detrimental to the health of other members, perhaps gardening. He had shared his own fondness for tending to bonsai trees. Work beckoning the young boy away, and leaving Giyuu to consider his suggestion.

Tomioka was not entirely unfamiliar to the world of gardening. Under Urokodaki’s care, Giyuu had the understanding of the basic necessities of farming. In the mountains, they were left with limited resources, and so Sabito and he had nurtured a vegetable garden, and even learned to identify wild vegetables in the forests and mountain sides. With such knowledge at his disposal, he understood that starting a garden would be a tall order for a single day off, and his efforts would be met with disappointment when he returned from a long mission. The Water Hashira’s garden would not survive without his care, and to expect other members of the corps to carry the weight was a burden he would not request, nor a task he would push off to the kakushi. Fist clapped against his hand; he knew what it was he needed to do. He had filtered through the mansion’s library, thumbed through various manuscripts, and care guides before locating what he needed. His feet carrying him as his eyes glanced amongst the pages and instructions before stopping before delicately maintained bonsai trees. Ones that Genya, the very slayer who had suggested the past time to him had cultivated. Just as Giyuu would struggle to maintain a garden, he had considered that the younger Shinazugawa likely faced the same obstacles in his cultivation and care. It would be a great show of appreciation to care for his trees in his wake, after all he had suggested such a pass time in the first place. Pages pressed between firm fingers in his left hand, sea drowned eyes that skimmed the instructions and eyebrows drawn. Clippers captured in his right hand, far too rigid for the proper technique. These instructions, much like the ones Gyomei had provided were intended for beginners, and surely something he could accomplish in a timely manner. The diagram had made it seem so easy. Snip after snip, the realization began to settle upon the demanding bellow. The familiar rage he had elicited as fast as the breeze. The demands to know what it was in the seven hells he was doing, or at least, what he thought he was doing. The seething anger that radiated from the Wind Hashira as he wretched the clippers from his hands, offered Giyuu another perspective in which Giyuu could appraise his work through, and… it wasn’t good. Quickly registering that meticulous was far more complicated he had been prepared for, and the evidence was left in bare branches. Jutting leaves at odd angles, and the once proud bonsai seemed humiliated at its appearance. Leaving the Water Hashira with the conclusion that… this was not the pass time for him before he dared to ask the older Shinazugawa what he would recommend. The query had landed as a challenge rather than a question. The Wind Pillar rash to act on his urges, the fist that claimed Giyuu’s top and yanked him to his feet. Eye to eye, curse after curse, threat after threat, the Water Hashira was at a loss. No matter how he approached the angle, he could not comprehend how a threat had been made, the pondering only eliciting further rage.

The commotion of feral growls met with confused bland statements shifted the kakushi from sight, quick to escape any damage that a sparring match would be sure to result in; the Wind Hashira was renowned for his fury. Their scrambling down the halls drawing the interception from Kanroji. The Love Hashira met them with concerned, immediately offering her assistance. She was well practiced in mediation. Her bounce in step as she intruded upon the pending scurry drew immediate dismay from Sanemi. The red of his face burning and horrified at the way she had pressed herself between them, determined to separate the two other pillars. Her affectionate smile revealing how blissfully aware at the way she had squished the agitated man. The flush of his skin staining the scars that danced across his face. Only able to manage another curse before departing down the hallway, leaving a storm in his path just as the one he had provided at his arrival. Left alone, and obviously confused at the Wind breather’s pardon, Kanroji tilted her head at Giyuu. Her eyes wide and affectionate, quick to inquire if the Water Pillar was alright, and when met with the nature of his dilemma, she had beamed. She cooed his praise, sung compliment after compliment at his hard work, and reassured him that Ubuyashiki was in fact correct. This would be wonderful for him. The smack of her hand meeting his back, intending to be as affectionate as the words she threaded together were met against the curve of his spine. The brute strength she bared completely slipping from her mind—she had nearly tumbled him over. His back ached, he had concluded. He was beginning to lose faith that a day off was relaxing at all, as he considered the woman’s parting advice. She had always enjoyed a meal best, on her day off. Although Giyuu suspected Kanroji always enjoyed her meals, she had assured him that food always tasted perfect on a day off.

Yes, his meal was in good company. A stewing match of disappointment that rolled into overbearing flavor rather than the subtle gentle one he had craved. The salmon pressed against his teeth, an uncomfortable chalky texture that dragged as he chewed. He struggled to throw it away, it seemed such a waste to simply toss it. He couldn’t imagine a proper reason to squander such use of ingredients, he had made this wreck. Giyu had determined... It would be cruel to offer it to Kanzaburo; he should be the one to eat it. He also imagined that… his old crow despite its withering age, would not accept it from the scent alone. Not that the swordsman could fault him for it. There was also the reality, that Giyuu neither had the resolve to request someone else prepare the meal, not that any kakushi were available today. Pulled away for various work tasks, the Water Hashira had been left to his own devices, lulled into a false sense of security. He had been familiar with the basics of cooking. Urokodaki had ensured he had the capabilities to prepare for food for himself; the demands of his work had ensured he was capable of securing food in the wilderness. His onigiri were simple, but edible, easily fitting into his pocket. He had been known to catch his own fish, and prepare them over a fire when missions led him far from towns and villages. He had truly thought of all the tasks, this was the one he would succeed at. His face drawn, eyes facing the mess before him, he had gathered the courage to press on. It was not as though he was at risk of poisoning himself—he was confident in that, and so, he steeled himself for another bite.

The mansion had been deserted for the most part upon your arrival. The halls devoid of the usual bustle, only the occasional kakushi rushed pass you, eager hands determined to complete their task in the wake of their comrade’s absence. Too determined to accomplish duties to properly acknowledge you, not that they had been disrespectful by any means. They were simply enthralled in their obligations to offer more than a nod in passing, their feet pattering hard against wood floors. Your report had been filed to the head of the household. Had ensured the details had been properly disclosed. It had not been an especially trying demon, but the demands on your body from the trip were tiring. Nothing you were unaccustomed to—the Wind Hashira’s sparing matched were more toiling, but you couldn’t deny the ache in your bones as you rubbed your neck, your feet a mere echo amongst the noise of the mansion. A lone figure with no immediate pressing duties to attend to. The head, Ubuyashiki had offered you the gentlest of smiles, relieved to welcome you home once again. The touch of guilt that followed was not out of place, he had often borne fatigue upon any member’s arrival. Remorse and regret were known to steal his appetite, and you believed that tonight was no different. On weary bones he rose, his wife the Lady Ubuyashiki quick to accompany his side. His weight pressed against her as he regarded her with the warmth of long-time lovers intertwined by fate and joined at the hits, a sweet sight one that you often relished in such pressing times. You had begun to rise yourself, quick to excuse yourself from the wed couple, who were clearly preoccupied in one another’s embrace, but were paused at the door. Your hand on the frame as you peeked over your shoulder, greeted by Amane’s knowing smile as the leader of the Demon Corps asked if you would be willing to shoulder, just one more burden before retiring for the night. At first, you had assumed that he was requesting tea—the lack of kakushi would mean that not all of his medical needs were priority. He had preferred it that way, but Lady Amane was more the responsive to his needs, often supplying anything her husband required before he had even known himself. No, the pleasant smile was not one that requested any personal needs, but rather, he requested you pay visit to the kitchens, “you will know before you arrive,” he had said with the faintest of chuckles. The disease clear on his throat before he allowed himself to be fully taken by his wife, bidding you farewell for the night.

He was right. The smell greeted you long before you had turned the corner of the inner rooms. What spices drafted through creeks and clung to furniture, you did not know.. Far more pungent than the fermented and dried fish that frequented some villages. In fact, you would rather welcome the horrible familiar stench of kusaya than face what lied ahead. The rare person you passed just as quick to evade the scene, unwilling to be wrangled into what mess awaited you. The pinch of your nose against your nostrils. The heavy wave of booze that carried as you peeked around the corner. This was where you had found him. Lost in a sea of mangled daikon radishes, askew across the counter. Awkwardly peeled and telling of his unfamiliarity with a kitchen blade. The nicks slammed into the cutting wood slab far deeper than necessary, fluid as his breathing style, and just as lethal. Steam of rice well prepared despite the surrounding circumstances, Slimy folds of unsavory kombu seaweed, unsalvageable. A rare sight for any cooking experience, and the slight burn of fish that had not only been over cooked, but had trodden into smoldered. Edges revealing signs of over temperature whether of neglect having been too focused on cooking the radishes, or inexperience, you weren’t entirely sure. Nor were you entirely confident that the man who sat with the stoic face upon his features was not in fact intoxicated for how heavily the sake measurement reeked. Curiously examining his bowl, trying to determine exactly what ingredients he had selected, and the peculiar regard the Water Hashira had for the meal before him. Pursed lips, hyper focused as he dared one more bite. I-It can’t be tasty. Your gaze swept over him, following every line of his face, unsure? His eyelashes fluttering, and there it was. The small bend of his eyebrow. Disappointed. The word was the only accurate description for what you had witnessed. The distant memory of Shinobu sharing her “disgust” over having witnessed Tomioka partake in his favorite food. Salmon and daikon. His time spent over the kitchen, eagerly attempting to make his own meal, and savor its effort. Only to eagerly disappointed. The queasy way he regarded his bite. Chopsticks having secured it, resolving… no, willing himself to partake another bite despite the illease on his features.

You could not stop yourself. Perhaps it was that your body had not yet settled from your fight out in the field, or the dinner before you had awakened your adrenaline. Preparing you for another battle, the chance of self-poisoning certainly seemed possible in the state before you, although whether you cared to face the sneaking suspicion, or not, his lapis lazuli eyes captivated you. Washed from the deepest shades of blues stranded at grape hyacinth hues. Straight face, and unwilling to crack, but the surprise somehow was evident. You would chalk it up to instinct, born of that adrenaline rush, and nothing more. “Ah, Welcome home,” he had stated, monotonous despite the way your thoughts whispered that you had caught him off guard. His eyes beginning to drift to your hand, having caught his own within their grasp. His own hands warmed from the kitchen while yours touched on small touches of the inclined weather that awaited the outdoors. The realization you had grabbed him so familiarly touching your ears and drawing your eyes to the corner of your lashes, releasing him. Warm and embarrassed, as you bit your lip. Studied the ruins of produce spread across the counter. Suspected that he had intended to clean as soon as he had finished his meal.

“You’ll give yourself food poisoning,” you returned.

His eyes catching yours before inspecting the bite between the chopsticks. Rotating his wrist in an attempt to determine the risk. Unsure of how to proceed, the Water Hashira was not exactly known for his conversational skills. Nor quick to admit that he needed assistance. You had been well aware of that for your time working together, his often-incompatible nature often setting awkwardly against the other members of the Corps, you were often partnered together. Not that you had ever minded, in fact, you enjoyed the small moments together. Enjoyed the small wrinkle he would get in his brow when he concentrated, the wiggle of his eyebrows would reveal when he was embarrassed. Likely a result of feeling he had pressed too far, inconvenienced you in a way. The first time you had witnessed it, was when he had caught you. Your footing met awkwardly against the mountain side, and the blood loss from a demon inflicted wound had grown too heavy on you. Dulled your senses, and caused you to slip. His grasp had been firm. Resolved to ensuring your safety, he had gritted his teeth when the wound was made. Revealed a level of rage you hadn’t recognized beneath the calm façade of his, and at the moment he dared to embrace you, his eyebrows twitched. Anxious, the smallest tint shift in his features as he searched your reaction. It had ended in you accepting a piggy back ride from him. Far closer than either of you two had ever dared to cross, much like now. Some part of you daring to push, after all, Ubuyashiki had requested your assistance. There would be nothing… more to meeting them. Just like there had been no underlining meaning to him carrying you to the Butterfly Mansion that day.

Through pursed lips, shy and unwilling to accept the weight at your chest, and the way it fluttered as you wielded a small kitchen knife, you leaned forward. As though you were instructing a small child, one new to the kitchen, and eager to learn. Rotated your wrists, adjusted his hands over the daikon as necessary. You had tossed his failed attempt into the compost bin, reassured him that it would not be a waste this way—his guilt was heavy and noticeable as you laid out the necessary ingredients, and tools you would require to complete dinner. Successfully able to determine that his rice was salvageable, and well-seasoned overall. One less thing to worry about, only the main course needed completing then. Had complied when he requested you show him, noticed the way his ears tinted, the quip of his brow serious and focused in the way that you adored as you leaned over him, daring to touch his hands, and demonstrate the proper technique. Left to simmer, you secured the salmon and laid it before him. Reminded him that unlike his duties, the kitchen blade required a softer movement. One like a stream rather than a wave, and not to fight the gentle ease of his wrist as he followed your instruction. Slice after slice, dropping the salmon into warm water left in the wake of the cooked daikon, and just as quick to retrieve it—you would not allow this salmon to suffer the same fate as the fish before it. In death, it deserved dignity. Not the disgrace the other one had endured. Watched as he transferred it to cold water, leaned over the counter as you tested the daikon to ensure that it was manageable temperature. Perfectly cooked, but able to handle before dropping it to the pot once more alongside an embellishment of seaweed. He had listened eagerly to you explain the importance of moderation in seasoning, his eyes followed your movements as though he were witnessing a kabuki theater. Traced your silhouette, watched as the steam traced you form. Told yourself that it was merely his focus that drew his attention to you. Shy and avoiding meeting his peering gaze, one that threatened to wake the core of your soul and release words you dare not whisper. Distant, hopeful thoughts intrusive and homely in nature. Dreams of a home upon retirement. Time spent in the kitchen just like this. Reveal yourself to him in a way that you know. Together… No, no, focus on the ginger, you hissed to yourself. Your fingers grasping the ginger far tighter than you intended. Not that he hadn’t noticed, but wished to convince yourself he hadn’t. There was nothing more to this, nothing outside of orders you had received, you reminded yourself as you carefully ladled the broth into a bowl. Garnishing with warm slices of daikon that glistened into the light. The delicate hint of ginger that embraced the sake, perfectly balanced. The feeling of GIyuu’s eyes glued to your form, the way he regarded you. New. Soft, and delicate as the way you placed the bowl before him, a side of rice alongside it.

There, you had told yourself. You would leave the kitchen cleaning to him. It was after all his mess in the first place. You would pick up the necessary, slip yourself some onigiri, and sneak away before he had the opportunity to realize the depth you were carrying. The impending worry that those intrusive thoughts, ones that lingered for his touch. To share in more than just one another’s company. It needed to be avoided at all costs, but his voice had caught you. You had rarely been able to escape his gaze.

“Will you.. eat with me?” Small, quiet. That wrinkle of his eyebrows that whispered his unsureness to you. Likely questioning if he had crossed the line, so completely unaware that your heart had done so long ago. How weak you were to resist him. How could he ask such of you? Did he truly not know? How would you deny him? What excuse could you offer? How much longer could you pretend that it were merely the duties that had bound you to one another? Nervous bite of your lip and the blush that burned at your cheeks as you nervously secured your own portion, his head turned from your own as you questioned whether you should sit across from him or… beside him? How could he be so unaware?

Perhaps, as oblivious as you were to the smile that caught his lips. The press of your shoulders providing extra warmth despite the cold of the night beginning to settle in. The hush of goosebumps that quivered down his back as he leaned into your shoulder. The salmon and daikon was good. Perhaps, the very best he had ever enjoyed, but the company was even better.

If you are interested in trying Giyuu's favorite meal, I highly recommend Honey'sAnime recipe for a more traditional approach, or Naoko Takei Moore's elivated dish.

#demon slayer x reader #kimetsu no yaiba x reader #kny x reader #tomioka giyu x reader #demon slayer #giyuu tomioka

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katiethekwasolover101 · 1 month

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I need your opinions on Chapter 6.

Writer's block is STILL dragging me by the arse right now, but I knew I still needed to share Chapter 6 as part of the sneak peek.

Here it is so far... feedback is welcome :)

The Little Explorer

Not too unlike our Earth’s oceans, scattered across Aeseganora are mighty seaweed forests, consisting of kelp that grows tall, swaying in watery-like breezes as it stretches up so high that it almost reaches the sun.

In a distant kelp forest clearing, a sudden gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, and several strands of kelp began to shake perhaps slightly more violently than usual. The leaves upon the strands batted about, hitting each other as if they were fighting over each other’s personal spaces.

Suddenly, a white glowing swirling vortex appeared, and after a few seconds, a young sea otter tumbled out of it, landing on the seafloor with a thud.

The sea otter, Periwinkle, looked around the forest. His wide eyes began to sparkle in childlike wonder as they scanned the entire Aeseganoran landscape: there was so much for them to see - the colourful fish that elegantly swam around, the purple mid-morning sky, and the pretty and tiny coral outcrops which seemed like gorgeous flowers, amongst so many other things.

Certainly from just the first glance, it seemed like something he would expect out of a child’s fairytale - he had never seen anything like it while he was on the Earth’s lands.

He began to move himself deeper into the kelp forest, his curiosity growing with every step he took as he wondered what amazement lay within the curtains of kelp strands. He took gulps of the ocean-like breezes and the cool air, and felt the golden rays of sunlight which peered through the kelp leaves tickle his cheeks with warmth, which made him smile widely.

“Woah,” was all that Periwinkle had managed to say; the sheer beauty of this unknown world was just about so immense that it left him lost for words. “This is amazing…”

He gracefully held his arms out so he could allow them to embrace the fresh, watery Aeseganoran air as it tingled upon his fur. He watched as tiny sparkles of magic swirled around him like tiny bubbles in a glass of fresh water.

He allowed some of the sparkles to rest upon his paws, and even opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue and let a speck land upon it - it tasted extremely sweet and cold.

As he giggled lightly at how funny that speck tasted, something else came into his vision.

It was a beautiful butterfly, hovering in front of his face. Its wings had bold rainbow colours, which seemed to make them glow brightly as they looked ready to flutter away from the young sea otter at short notice.

“Hello,” Periwinkle said shyly, as he locked eyes with the tiny creature. At that moment, he felt as if he understood something that the butterfly was trying to communicate to him: not through words of any sort, but through its mere presence. “Where am I? What is this place? It’s so beautiful here.”

The butterfly made no verbal answer to his question, but it smiled at him to say that it understood what he was saying.

All of a sudden, the loud sound of laughter interrupted them, followed by approaching running footsteps, which made the butterfly’s smile dissipate and turn frantic.

“Run,” said the butterfly, as its wings battered against each other in terror. “Quickly, or they’re going to catch you. Go!”

Periwinkle did just that, bolting into the forest as far as his little legs could carry him, away from whatever supposed threat was in pursuit of him.

The strands of kelp were much closer together in this part of the kelp forest, and the seafloor was uneven, which made it difficult for Periwinkle to run very fast, especially with the roots. But he didn’t care about that - he was concentrating on surviving in this place. His body was also quite badly cut on the razor-sharp tips of the kelp leaves, his throat was burning, it tasted like blood, and his heart was beating so fast that it felt as if it was going to burst out of his chest - consequently, his temples were also beating.

It was almost as if he felt the same fear that the butterfly felt - that there was a real threat coming after him in this forest. And he felt it so deeply, so strongly, that he barely noticed somebody appearing, grabbing his arm and leading him away from the chaos.

Periwinkle frowned as he looked to the stranger who helped him. She was a sea otter, just like him, and she didn’t seem to be that much older than him. Coincidentally, her hair had a similar fringe to his mother Pearl’s, it reached down to her waist, and her face was also filled with concern.

“Are you OK?” the girl asked him, her eyes wide and kind as they met his.

Periwinkle almost laughed - what a question that was. “Yes I am. What was all that about back there?”

The girl looked ever so grave as she knew what he was talking about. “Oh, that? That was just kids causing havoc with all the little creatures, trying to capture them and frighten the life out of them.” As soon as Periwinkle heard that, he suddenly felt a wave of panic coming over him - he hoped she wasn’t talking about that butterfly. “Why would they do that? What’s that butterfly ever done to them, that they felt the need to scare it?”

“Well, they’ve probably never met it before,” said the girl, with a tone of surprise in her voice. “I’m guessing you have?”

“Uh… I guess so,” Periwinkle responded. “Although it wasn’t really a meeting - I simply looked into its eyes, and it looked into mine, and I just felt that it had lots to do with itself, that’s all.”

The two sea otters smiled at each other for a few moments as they strolled slowly and leisurely through the forest.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” she said, after a brief silence.

“No,” Periwinkle answered honestly. “One minute, I was in a kelp forest back in the Earth’s oceans, and the next minute, here I am. Walking in a strange new world.” “Oh, OK,” replied the girl, with a hint of understanding in her voice. “Just out of curiosity, what’s your name?”

“Periwinkle,” he answered. “But you can call me Peri.”

“Well, Peri,” the girl responded. “I’m Patricia. But you can call me Patty.”

Another silence followed, and the two sea otters realised that they both looked almost exactly alike - well, except for the fact that Patty was slightly taller than Peri, and she looked as if she was in her teenage years.

They both smiled at that realisation - although they also wondered how they could look so identical if they hadn’t met each other before until now.

“A little advice from a citizen of Aeseganora: it isn’t really the best idea for a young person to explore a kelp forest like this alone,” said Patty.

That made sense to Peri - a kelp forest as huge as this one would be extremely easy for a child to get lost in. But he wasn’t alone - he had that graceful butterfly, and now… this girl, whom he was sure he hadn’t met before, but he couldn’t help feeling drawn to her.

“Well, I can see why,” he answered. “But I’m not alone - I’m with you, so that’s OK, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess that’s fine!” Patty laughed, her cheeks turning slightly pastel pink with a hint of embarrassment as if she didn’t know that already.

There was yet another silence, and both pairs of eyes fell upon a particular strand of kelp, which had a stem as thick as a tree trunk, and leaves like the ones on land trees.

“Hey,” Patricia had an idea. “Do you fancy having a little fun?”

****************

Next thing that Periwinkle knew, he was up on one of the kelp branches of the tree-like kelp strand with Patricia, keeping a lookout for people who she described as Ruffians.

He wondered what on Earth she was talking about, and she told him it was just a game she and a few other kids liked to play that didn’t involve harming other creatures, like that butterfly.

They didn’t have to wait very long - there were four kids that they could see, hiding behind other kelp strands while whispering to each other. It was easy enough for both sea otters to watch them from their spot in their respective strand, high up, with their bodies hidden by kelp leaves, a few of which floated to the seafloor like the dying green leaves of autumn.

Patricia adjusted her grip on a branch above her to make sure that she wouldn’t fall, while keeping one paw on Periwinkle’s shoulder as his two paws operated a wooden pistol, which was filled with paint made from decaying flower petals and rotting fruits.

Their ears listened to the four Ruffians. As well as whispering, they were laughing their heads off and seemingly pointing fingers at the young boy; they obviously figured that he wasn’t from Aeseganora, which made their giggles eerily high.

Peri’s paws tightened, and his focus lasered in on the four kids. He took aim, and just as one of them - a gorilla - barked out another obnoxious titter, he fired.

The colourful liquid hit the gorilla square in the face, causing him to choke on the titter and to yell in confusion. As the other three looked up to that strand, they spotted the two sea otters.

“Patricia?” a giraffe said. “Who’s the midget next to you? I’m going to wring his neck when he comes down from there!” Peri knew that he was talking about him, so he blasted the giraffe next, before covering all four of them in the paint. Patty looked to him in admiration, before leaping to the ground from the kelp, landing with ease.

“He’s a newcomer,” she answered calmly. “And if you ever have a go at him again, I’ll make sure that nowhere in Aeseganora is safe for any of you.”

“Oh, really?” the third one - an elephant - sneered. “And how are you gonna do that?”

She made no reply to that. Instead, she smiled widely as her sidekick blasted more paint at them, making them even more covered in the stuff. They sputtered and gasped, but the duo didn’t back down.

“What is the need?” the fourth one - a hedgehog - shrieked, throwing her arms up to shield herself from any more oncoming paint.

Neither of the two answered that either, and Peri jumps down from the kelp, landing next to Patty, who put an arm round his shoulder. For a few moments, it felt as if the ground was moving beneath them, as they stared the four Ruffians down, making the whole thing feel like a scene from a movie.

The pistol was empty, so the duo turned away in order to go somewhere to refill it.

“Hey, freak!” the gorilla shouted at Peri. “Aren’t you going to introduce yourself, if you’re new here?” “Just call me Peri,” he called over his shoulder, not looking back. “And I’m not a freak or a midget!” “That’s right!” Patty said, quickly turning around and walking backwards. “And none of us like bullies!”

“Or Ruffians!” they said together, as Patty turned back around and squeezed her partner in crime as they headed deeper into the kelp forest.

#the heroes of aeseganora #octonauts above and beyond #upcoming fanfic #octonauts

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ronearoundblindly · 11 months

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The Stark Legacy (26)

Tony Stark's daughter (OC) x Bucky Barnes epic slowburn

Capacity, part of Book III: Power (see previous or series)

Summary: Tony works with Namor to pay Lil'Sam's debt.

Warnings for canon-level violence (hunt for an enemy). Also, this was originally written way before MCU's version of Namor came to screen, and the character is more like the comics' version. Rated Teen/15+ ONLY, please. WC 2.5k

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX—April 2039

I do not want to die here. I will not die out here, Tony repeated again, watching Namor emerge onto the tiny island beach with a fresh catch of kelp in hand, and for once, a surprise of actual fish. As a superhuman, Namor understood very little about nutritional requirements for ‘surface-dwellers.’ Protein from fish was a treat that night.

Tony had never gone that long in space. Now on Earth, he felt pummeled towards the ground at all times. His muscles struggled; his lungs grew tired. ‘One step at a time’ became a mantra he repeated over and over. Namor, surprisingly, allowed Tony his time to physically recuperate as long as his mind remained in spitfire condition, which was no easy task while cut off from radio contact on a remote island.

The buoyancy in the water helped. His muscles needed the rest. Tony abhorred eating in front of Namor, the challenge being to lift the weight of the food and repetition of minute motion without any aid from his suit, but the King of Atlantis seemed unimpressed by Iron Man’s shaking hands or slow rehabilitation in normal gravity.

Friday used low-power mode to ignite the pile of wood he’d assembled then minimized his suit for his daily physical therapy, using his own muscles instead of his iron-aid. His initial fear of dying due to dehydration evaporated when Namor summoned clean, fresh water out of nowhere into a stone jug solely for Tony, but the island fruit, kelp, and odd fish diet left much to be craved. However, he was alive. Score one for Tony.

“This mother fish had a good life, and I feel you will appreciate her death so you may live.”

Yes, old lady fish sounds scrumptious. “I do appreciate it—her sacrifice,” he replied instead, “thank you.”

Unlike many other nights, Namor joined Tony by the fire, staring into the flames, the stars obscured by thick clouds. Tony would never get even the simplest signal through that mess.

Every so often, Friday caught a transmission from Banner at HQ, but this pathetically remote, square-mile island couldn’t consistently ping any satellite. If Tony got Friday to boost the signal, he risked lowering his power supply. Namor had made it clear that he should be prepared to leave at any moment if the King received word of Tigershark, and Tony did not want to be stuck deep in the ocean, fighting water-breathers, when his O2 level went critical with little power. Within the last two weeks, there had been three sightings, but the pair had arrived too late.

Tony flipped the fish on the hot stone inside the flame, nibbling on yesterday’s dried kelp.

This was the first time in recent memory that Namor stayed top-side long enough for his hair to dry, curling gently around his ears. Despite the appearance of black locks and black eyes, when dressed with sufficient light on dry land, both were more chestnut, not so different from Tony’s before his hair had gone gray, before he started dying it back darker to stop references to ‘salt and pepper.’ Tony felt close to a panic attack every time someone uttered that phrase.

“I recognize him now,” Namor tossed into the fire. “I know why Tigershark came to Atlantis.”

Tony’s interest peaked though the king decided to extend the drama of reminiscing over a dance of gold and ember. He coaxed the seaman on, “and…”

“Todd Arliss, the sniveling, arrogant, swimmer from your country, regularly swam feats of endurance across unsafe waters. He caused dozens of other, weaker swimmers to attempt the same and fail. For months, areas of the seas were littered with bodies of men, women, and some children who died trying to emulate Arliss, yet he continued. One particular day, during some sort of human warrior show, a boy fell off a ship. That idiot Arliss stopped a professional team from rescuing the boy. He believed his show of strength was worth more than a minute of breath for the boy dying in the water,” Namor scowled while reciting his tale. “I sent a current to stop him. I snapped his spine against the ship and kept the boy afloat until a real rescue team came for them both. I should have drowned that fool.”

Tony remembered that feeling of regret so vividly. “So you made a demon and he haunts you. Been there.”

“You did. You made him, and now you know what—”

He forgot his cover. “Okay, first of all,” Tony blurted, too hungry and tired to hold his tongue, “I didn’t do anything to or for Arliss. That pompous—” He caught himself. “I’ve never met him, but I am partly, indirectly responsible for the technology that was stolen to change him, maybe. And second, he could not have become a water-breathing mutant on his own. We need who he’s working with. That’s the real evil.”

Namor considered Tony’s words without moving.

“Third,” Tony started again more calmly this time, “let’s review what we know.” Which would be a lot easier if I could talk to Banner. This is one of those times where listening would come in handy. If he hadn’t been off-world for so long, he would know the lay of the land better.“Actually, what do we know?”

“Tigershark—Arliss is not intelligent enough to do this alone. If you did not transform him, who did? No being in the ocean would dare give him that power.”

“If I could be on land, civilization land to speak to—” but Tony was stopped by the blazing eyes that met his.

“You will pay your debt, Stark.”

“Yes, but we need info. So bad guy on land needs to be tracked as we do on land. The fish haven’t produced any bubbles of wisdom have they?” Namor bristled, but Tony kept going. “Let me do this my way, and we can both get what we want—” he slapped the cooked fish onto a different rock to cool “—and some fries would be great.”

Honestly, Tony was relieved that things progressed so quickly once he and Friday had access to what Banner and the team knew. He may not have had much time to chit-chat about, say, Sam, but that would have proved a distraction and possibly ruined the advantage of their freshest intel. Banner always had a way with tracking energy signatures; Tony called it ‘romancing the wave.’

Knowing the previous places Tigershark had been in the last weeks, Banner tracked anomalous weather buoy movement around coasts to narrow the mutant’s landfall location. From there, lacking social media or conspiracy theory postings about a shark out of water, he found city sewer plans for runoff pipes, dismissed pipes too small for a man-sized shark to wiggle through, and produced a short-list of convenient spots, such as abandoned warehouses or sparsely populated neighborhoods. Tony had never been so grateful for the well-oiled, well-funded machine that was his team.

Namor loathed hunting on land or spending any significant stretch out of the water. Tony loathed following a scantily-clad water-dude around. The man needed a super swimsuit with a lot more coverage, even climbing out of the tropical waters in between Belem and Sao Luis, Brazil. They didn’t have far inland to go and only four suspicious locations.

Incidentally, the first location was correct, which left the two shocked and off-balance, scrambling when the door to the condemned building flew off its crooked hinges. The rusted metal smacked Tony’s suit in the jaw, making a toe-curling scraping noise all the way up the helmet.

Tony’s visual feed flickered. “Wild guess, we found ‘em.”

The once golden-haired Olympian emerged tall, now crowned by a sharp protruding fin atop his skull, ribbed faintly up the length of his back. The taut, thick grey skin covering his streamlined swimmer physique peeled away at the mouth to reveal three rows of tiny razor teeth. Arliss was disgusting, but while Tony picked apart Tigershark’s mutant puzzle, the man-creature rushed him with two outstretched arms tipped with heavily webbed fingers and thick nails.

A high-pitched scream rang out from the open doorway. Namor bolted inside, leaving Tony with a ravenous monster from the deep lunging toward him.

Arliss’s flat jaw, squared full of extra teeth and a shrunken, useless tongue, chomped at Tony’s face. Tony clamped his Iron hands against each end of his mouth while Slippery Todd latched around his waist.

Tony wondered whether Sam had seen Todd like this and if she’d been scared. Had they threatened her to help them? Hurt her? Perhaps they lied, and Sam had no intention of turning a man into this…thing.

His boot thrusters forced them off the ground a few feet, and without traction from his smooth skin and partial wet suit, Tigershark began to slide. Tony forced his legs into a slingshot arch that slammed the dangling, foreign weight to the ground.

The transformation must have added flexibility to Arliss’s bones. He slithered upright with teeth bared again.

“Namor,” Tony called. “You want a crack at this guy or what?” Tigershark was gone by the time he turned back around. “Shit,” he mumbled. While he tracked the low body temperature of the retreating mutant, his display warned of more than just Namor and his betrothed inside. “Friday, send a heat-seeker and a track-dart for good measure.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Inside, Namor battered his trident against a cage. Two doors in lay the blue-skinned body of a similarly slippery-suited woman. Tony blew the locks between Namor and Dorma until something far stronger blasted him against the opposite wall. Right, Beach Boy doesn’t know how to secure a damn building. Good news though: Friday confirmed nothing was broken.

A lanky, middle-aged man with a fierce widow’s peak in a white lab coat flaunted a comically giant gun, one heavy enough to require both hands and balancing on his hip. The white coat bore a slice across the chest, red at the frayed edges; Namor had gotten a strike in. Rambo waltzed right past the Atlantean king. Sparks zapped across the gun’s wide muzzle. Energy weapon, origin unknown. Friday searched for analysis.

“Welcome, Mr. Stark, “the creepy doctor, assuming from the clothing, drawled in a thick accent. “I’ve been dying to know. How is our Harvard girl?”

Tony cocked an eyebrow, but Iron Man’s face gave nothing away.

“I was pleased to hear that moron of a king not only failed to kill her, but that my gift has borne the fruit of—”

“Your what now?” Tony half-listened, aiming a bullet at a tiny spot clear of the power source and the magazine within. He didn’t want to blow the whole place with a bad shot. “Look if ‘gift’ is a euphemism for,” an Iron arm swung past his crotch, “then you’ll have to book with a different therapist. Freud is available in hell on Tuesday. Please see the assistant.” Tony pointed, firing a small-caliber to disable the triggering system.

The doctor’s gun died, sputtering an electric swan-song before dropping. His target remained unfazed by the loss of his weapon, and less fazed still by Namor bolting out to the sea with Dorma in his arms.

The doctor grabbed his chest wound. “Oh please, Stark. Do you really not know? Are you that out of touch?” The bright white of his smile stood out against dark features.

Tony ignored him, dispatching two magnetic cuffs at Dorcas’s wrists. He recognized the face now, vaguely, from when Agent Hill handed him a file in a room above the Earth. Doctor Lemuel Dorcas, known associate of Harvard professor Simon Marshall. Sam? She really met Tigershark? She really is mixed up in all this.

“I’ll give you a hint,” the doctor continued, “What burns at 3000 degrees Celsius? What could stop a tsunami?”

This guy was the link, the connecting puzzle piece. The glow in Bucky’s arm. Sam has Extremis. Sam is infected with Extremis? No broken bones, no healed fractures.

The toothy grin shifted in thought. “You know, in a way, I have supported young Samantha’s development more than you yourself have. Does that make me a better father?”

Tony grasped Dorcas by the throat, but the doctor wouldn’t stop talking, spitting a few drops of blood with every few words.

“You fathered her, yes, but I gave her a way to leave you behind. I made her what she is now.”

Tony’s helmet popped open. “The hell you are—”

Spit flew red. “I gave her what she needed.”

“You gave her a virus. You made her sick.” Tony shook Dorcas, pulling against the magnetic restraints.

“I saw her potential, and I encouraged it,” Dorcas gurgled a laugh. “We helped her. Sam has friends now.”

“You sick son of a bitch, you put her in danger,” Tony screamed so close to Dorcas’s face he could rupture an eardrum. “Now I’m gonna put you in the ground.” Iron Man’s palm pressed into the doctor’s gut with bruising force. “Slowly. Painfully.” He fired, the ringing of the steel bars behind his target echoing off the walls. Tony released his grip on the man’s throat and let the body drop to the floor like a wet sack of potatoes.

Dorcas slumped, hands high and pulled at unnatural angles by the cuffs. His gurgling stopped, and Iron Man left him there to die.

Tony’s ears rang. A sharp pain stabbed him behind the eyes. His head throbbed. There was no sign of Tigershark aside from a tracker inside a chunk of flesh that appeared to be bitten off. Tony dutifully returned to the beach, but he did not go back into the water.

No one was around.

His mind turned over and over, his idea of his daughter being rewritten by the second. Child? No. Harvard? Not that type of student. His? He wouldn’t have done this. Would he?

The truth stung him deep inside. Tony absolutely had done it. He put toxic metal into his body, told no one he was dying, injected untested trackers under his skin, instigated a genocidal robot that almost wiped out the planet. He had done all of it in the hopes no one else would have to hurt—that was the lie he told himself. The motivations muddled and shifted: because it helps others, because you can, because it’s cool, sounds fun, challenges you, doesn’t challenge you, makes you impressive, saves lives, puts someone out of business, embarrasses someone. Vanity tied with charity in a bow. Philanthropy, indeed.

Tony watched the water with unseeing eyes.

“If I were an observant man, I would think you had an investment in this beyond my threat.” Namor returned from the sea to stand beside him. When Tony didn’t reply, the king relinquished, “go home, Stark. You have paid your debt.” Namor walked back to the surf, diving smoothly beneath the foaming crests.

“No, I haven’t,” Tony whispered to himself. His helmet shot back up over his face. “Friday, we’re going to headquarters.”

“Flight plan established.” The suit and Tony left the beach.

“Show me all files on Samantha Stark.”

“Yes, Boss. What year would you like to start with?”

[Chapter 27: Pigeons]

[Main Masterlist; Light Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

#the stark legacy #tony stark's daughter #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x oc #bucky barnes fic #slow burn #slow build #epic tale #avengers fanfiction #tony stark fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #comics namor #tony stark angst

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nuagederose · 5 months

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Dark Roots of Earth | Chapter Thirteen: City of Angels

ao3 link

The ocean was high as Alex led Christine away from the boardwalk and down towards the sand. She gripped onto the blue monkey with her free hand, and her purse dangled over her shoulder as if she was back in school and late for class. She tried to think of all the possible reasons as to why Kenny and Nelly were meeting one another there at the edge of the pier, and more so with Captain Howdy right nearby there as well, and yet she came up short with all of it.

She could scarcely focus enough as is with Alex leading her down towards the sand.

The sight of the sand made her flash back on the dream she had had, the one about their trek through the desert. Indeed, the memory of it sent a shiver up her spine, which in turn was accentuated by the ocean winds and the spray from the waves.

He took her down a narrow walkway which meandered down to the stretch of warm pale sands below the rim of the boardwalk. Christine dared not glimpse behind them lest one of the three of them look out and see them down there. But Alex took one look behind them at one point, and he slowed down a bit to a brisk walk down to the sand.

They reached the end of the walkway, and neither of them bothered to take off their shoes, but Christine knew that they need not be caught up in something as trivial as sand in their shoes.

A wave splashed down on the edge of the beach next to them, and she caught the smell of the salt and the kelp from within the waters. Alex slowed down enough to where she could catch up with him and walk next to him. At that point, the sand softened to where he nearly lost his balance merely taking a step. She realized they were only ten feet from the water, a much more narrow strip of beach in comparison to the one she and Eric visited out in California.

They finally stopped and kicked off their shoes and socks, to which Christine tucked into her bag; all the while, she kept a hold of the monkey in her arm. He smiled when he laid eyes on her.

“You are just not putting that little guy down, now, are you?” he asked her with a slight chuckle.

“I can’t afford to,” she confessed with a shrug as she fixed the strap on her purse.

He then took another glimpse behind them and nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“That was close,” he said, slightly out of breath. A big breaker crashed down next to them and sent a gentle sheet of spray over their heads and shoulders.

“Goodness,” she remarked with a bow of her head. Alex peered out to the waters right as a big long ridge rose up out of the horizon.

“Hang on a second—” he advised her, and he held onto her with one hand. He stood before her as if he was protecting her. And it wasn’t until the wave lifted up and crashed down on the beach in a massive shower of spray over their heads when she realized that he did protect her.

She burst out laughing at the sheer amount of water all around them, such that it reminded her of the downpour before her father’s apartment building. Alex took off his glasses and shook his head about. He gazed on at her as if he had diamonds for eyes.

“Good for the skin,” he assured her, and he showed her that crooked little smile. Tendrils of black hair stuck to the side of his face as well as his neck, as if he had just emerged from the ocean waves themselves. He folded up his glasses and tucked them into the collar of his shirt.

“We should’ve brought a blanket with us,” she confessed.

“Little picnic on the beach,” he declared as he hooked hands with her again. Her purse weighed down with their shoes, but she simply did not mind in the very least. She gave her ponytail a slight toss back: his body behaving as a shield allowed her to keep her hair partially dry, but something tickled her at the mere thought of the two of them being drenched again, especially after walking on the sand and running from the boardwalk. She thought about her father and Nelly back there, and a part of her wished that she had stayed out there on the boardwalk so Kenny would see her.

“God, what even…” she muttered, and Alex glanced over at her.

“What, your dad and Nelly?” he asked her. “Or my fiancée being there, too?”

“All of it, but especially with her being there as well. What were they even doing together.”

“I can hope it was all just a mere coincidence,” he confessed to her over the roar of the next incoming wave off to the left of them. She stepped to the side so he could do just the same as well, but that time, the wave crashed down without a big impact on the shore.

“It’s so easy to assume things, too,” he pointed out, and then he stopped and peered back towards the boardwalk. She followed his gaze over there: they were way out of sight at that point, and they were unable to see Nelly’s feathery blonde hair, even from under the bright afternoon sun.

“I probably should’ve just asked them,” she confessed with a shake of her head.

“You could always run up there really quick and see if they’re still there,” he suggested. “But then… well, you know how these things go.”

“Yeah, my dad and Nelly see me and they ask me what I’m doing here, and then it turns into a whole big thing,” she followed along. “And then what do you going to do?”

“I bump into my fiancée and I’m having to explain it to her,” he projected. “She sinks her claws into me and doesn’t let me go, especially when she gets angry with me. She turns into a cobra when she’s angry with me.” Christine swallowed and shifted her weight at the sound of that. “Then I see you and I go absolutely crazy because we were hanging out and having this whole afternoon planned together…” His voice trailed off, and he shook his head.

“Hey, you know what?”

“Hm?”

She held her arms out before her. “We’re on the beach.”

“We are!” he declared, and he led her closer to the water.

“You trying to make me wet?” she called out to him over the rush and roar of the waves.

“I am not trying, I really am making you wet!” he joked, and she burst out laughing at that. She held off to the side given she had that blue monkey in her arms.

All the while, in the back of her mind, she thought about telling him the truth about Chris as well as Ann. It nagged her, this feeling that she would have to reveal the truth about her past to him and give him some insight into herself. But she knew that it wouldn’t feel organic, and she wondered as to whether it would come to that point as well.

Small seashells emerged out of the wet sand down by the water, and Alex was eager to pick up a few small pink and white ones. She watched him tuck them into his pocket as she cradled her monkey before her chest.

“I should hand some of these over to you so we could have like necklaces or something,” he called out to her as another wave crashed down over his head and shoulders. She smiled at the sight of him getting so wet and slippery, and more so when he stooped down to pick up more shells. He seemed to have found the mother-load there in that particular patch of wet sand.

The whole thing reminded her of Chris, mainly from how he was so childlike in finding those shells. Indeed, a part of her thought about picking up some pieces of driftwood from the sand next to her.

And indeed, she did just that: she slipped the monkey under her left arm to protect it from the water, and she picked up a piece of driftwood the size of a small loaf of bread and in the shape of a single reindeer antler: the wood had been sanded smooth, and the branches twisted and contorted as if it had been a part of a vortex of stormy waters.

“The centerpiece!” Alex decreed as he came back within earshot, and he showed her a particularly large pointed pearly white whelk shell the size of his fist. She raised her eyebrows at that, while his face lit up at the sight of the driftwood.

“How appropriate is all of this,” he joked, and she snickered at that as well. She let her eyes wander down to the waist of his shirt, especially the way the wet fabric was sticking to his flesh. He was drenched, and the curves of his body had never been more prominent than right then. She kept her gaze fixed on him as he led her back to the dry part of the sand, his hands full with the seashells; he looked back at her with his brow furrowed.

“Something on your mind, Christine? You’ve been awfully silent.”

“I’m just thinking,” she confessed to him, and she kept on looking at his body.

“Thinking about a good time?” he teased her with another glimpse over to her, and she couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.

“And there’s that smile again,” she pointed out.

He showed her his tongue, followed by a slight hooding of his eyes, as if he was seducing her. His wet hair only added to the look on his face. Christine sashayed closer to him, and she rested a hand upon his chest. She stood up on her toes to reach his neck.

“You’re so cute,” she said as she gave him another kiss. “And I like you with wet hair, too, you look like a merman.”

“Big turkey of a merman,” he chided, and after some finagling with the shells, he rested a free hand on his belly.

“Mermen are supposed to have a little meat on their bones,” she remarked. “Besides, I just noticed that you’re losing weight, too.”

“I have, yes!” he declared. “Not a lot of weight, but I have lost a few.”

With the driftwood in her hand and the monkey in her arm, she was able to give his belly a gentle little pat, followed by a gentle massage with just her fingertips.

“Still as soft as ever, though,” she noted with a slight smirk and little gyration of her head. “Still as soft and pillowy as ever. Still makes me want to hold you and love you there.”

He bowed his head and showed her a sweet smile.

“You got your purse,” he muttered, and she slid it off her shoulder onto the sand between them. He set the whelk shell down before it, and then he took his spot on the sand next to it. He stretched out his legs before him, and she followed suit right next to him with the driftwood right next to her, and right as another big wave crashed down before them.

“Looks like we got here right as the tide started dying down,” he said. “Those two big waves were the last ones in line.”

“As well as that one,” she remarked, and she nestled up next to him with the monkey in her lap.

“Wish we got a blanket,” he confessed as he leaned back on his hands and let his long, soaked black hair sweep over his shoulders and his upper back: the gray streak seemed to shimmer under the sunlight, especially at the roots. It was as if it had been made of pearl.

“Really wish we got a blanket,” she said with another kiss on the side of his neck, a gentler one that time and one that made him breathe in deep. He slithered one hand around her to hold her close to him, and she rested a hand on his belly once again.

It was that moment she had completely forgotten why they had come down there in the first place. They were away from the city and with the tapestry of the ocean.

“We should go back to your place and have some fun,” she said right into his ear, like the ocean whispering the wind out from the whelk shell.

“Have some fun, and then come back here with a blanket for another round or two?” he asked her with a quick flick of his eyebrow.

“Mmm, it depends.” She kissed him on the side of the neck again, and he hooded his eyes at her once again. “It depends if you wanna keep seducing me with those beautiful, piercing eyes of yours.”

He leaned in closer to her face as if he was about to kiss her, but he never did. She was engulfed in the salty smell of the ocean as well as his soft cologne, and she closed her eyes to relish in his scent, in the feeling and full lush tempting beauty of his body, in his power and passion, in the brief moment she believed that he really become a merman. She could feel it between her legs, and more so when he actually put his hand upon her knee to steady her in place.

“You did say ‘seduce’, after all,” he breathed into her ear, the whisper from a seashell, and a chill shot up her spine as a result of that.

Alex then let her go, and he picked up the shell from between them. He stood to his feet, and because his pockets were packed with shells, his jeans slumped a bit and as a result, his shirt rode up his body a little bit to show off some of that porcelain skin to her. He extended a hand to her.

“Come on,” he coaxed her; she picked up the monkey, followed by her purse, and she held onto his wrist with her free hand. He then scooped up the driftwood and tucked both it as well as the shell underneath his free arm. With a bit of difficulty given the softness and dampness of the sand, they ambled back up to the walkway to the boardwalk. Once they reached the edge of the sand, they stopped to put their socks and shoes back on to face the heat of the walkway and the wood of the boardwalk.

Christine put her arm around the small of Alex’s back as they strode on up to the boardwalk: she spotted the exit out to the front parking lot.

“Let me fetch the car,” he told her as he handed the driftwood back to her, complete with a light kiss on her lips. Christine watched him and the way he swayed his hips back to his car parked there at the curb across the street. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone walking on towards her. Alex turned around for a look back, and she turned her head on to see—

“Dad!”

“Chris! What’re you doing here?”

“Oh, just… hanging out. You know I love Coney Island and everything.” Her eyes wandered over to Alex, who flashed her a wink from right behind him. He then held up a hand to his ear and mouthed the words, “I’ll call you.” She swallowed and returned to her father. Nelly was nowhere to be seen.

“May I ask you what you’re doing here?”

“Same story,” Kenny replied with a shrug. “I came to Coney Island for a good time and some friends. You know, it’s part of the healing process.”

“Indeed, it is,” she said with an adjustment of her purse strap on her shoulder.

“Why are you all wet?”

“Oh, I went down to the beach. The tides were going out so I managed to find some good shells and also this big piece of driftwood.” She showed him the piece of smooth wood, and his face lit up at the sight of it.

“Wow! That’s a beauty.”

He then showed her a thoughtful smile.

“What’re you thinking about?” she asked him.

“Well, I was going to go back to my place, but I’m thinking of taking you out for a late lunch,” he said. “It’s been a while.”

“Indeed, it has,” she replied, and she peered over at the closest edge of the street, only to find Alex had gone back to the exit of Coney Island: she spotted him standing there with one hands tucked into his jeans pocket, and his other hand holding the whelk, and she remembered that he had the shells in his pants.

“What’cha looking at?” he asked her with a quick glimpse over his shoulder.

“Oh, I just… thought I saw someone I knew,” she told him with a quick gesture over to the gate. From a distance, she could see Alex flash her a wink.

The least she could do was call him once she returned home afterwards.

#dark roots of earth #dark roots of earth fanfic #as the seasons grey #as the seasons grey fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic with art #testament #testament band #alex skolnick #oc tag #traditional art #artists on tumblr #badgalnirvhannahart #Spotify

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mabith · 1 month

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Drowned Hopes by Donald E. Westlake - excerpt

When Andy Kelp walked into the OJ Bar & Grill on Amsterdam Avenue at six in the evening, the regulars were discussing the proposition that the new big buildings that had been stuck up over on Broadway, one block to the west, were actually spaceships designed and owned by aliens. “It's for a zoo,” one regular was suggesting.

“No no no,” a second regular said, “that isn't what I mean.” So he was apparently the one who'd raised the suggestion in the first place. “What I meant is for the aliens to come here.”

A third regular frowned at that. “Aliens come here? When?”

“Now,” the second regular told him. “They're here already.”

The third regular looked around the joint and saw Kelp trying to attract the attention of Rollo the bartender, who was methodically rinsing seven hundred million glasses and was off in a world of his own. The regular frowned at Kelp, who frowned back. The regular returned to his friends. “I don't see no aliens,” he said.

“Yuppies,” the second regular told him. “Where'd you think they came from? Earth?”

“Yuppies?” The third regular was a massive frowner. “How do you figure that?”

“I still say,” said the first regular, “it's for a zoo.”

“You need a zoo,” the second regular told him. “Turn yourself in.” To the third regular he said, “It's the yuppies, all right. Here they are all of a sudden all over the place, every one of them the same. Can actual adult human beings live indefinitely on ice cream and cookies? No. And did you ever see what they drink?”

“Foamy stuff,” the third regular said thoughtfully. “and green stuff. And green foamy stuff.”

“Exactly,” the second regular said. “And you notice their shoes?”

The first regular said, dangerously, “Whadaya mean, turn myself in?”

“Not in here,” Rollo said absently. He seemed to look at Kelp, who waved at him, but apparently Rollo's eyes were not at the moment linked up with his brain; he went on with his glass-rinsing.

Meanwhile, the second regular had ignored the first regular's interruption, and was saying, “All yuppies, male and female, they all wear those same weird shoes. You know why?”

“Fashion,” the third regular said.

“To a zoo, you mean?” demanded the first regular. “Turn myself in at a zoo? Is that what you mean?”

“Fashion?” echoed the second regular. “How can it be fashion to wear a suit and at the same time those big clunky weird canvas sneakers? How does it work out to be fashion for a woman to put on all kindsa makeup, and fix her hair, and put on a dress and earrings and stuff around her neck, and then put on those sneakers?”

“So what's your reading on this?” the third regular asked, as the first regular, zoo partisan, stepped slowly and purposefully off his stool and removed his coat.

“Their feet are different,” the second regular explained. “On accounta they're aliens. Human feet won't fit into those shoes.”

The first regular took a nineteenth-century pugilistic stance and said, “Put up your dukes.”

“Not in here,” Rollo said calmly, still washing.

“Rollo?” Kelp said, wagging his fingers, but Rollo still wasn't switched to ordinary reception.

Meantime, the other regulars were gazing upon the pugilist with surprised interest. “And what,” the second regular asked, “is this all about?”

“You said it isn't a zoo,” the pugilist told him, “you got me to answer to. You make cracks about me and zoos, we'll see what happens next.”

“Well, wait a minute,” the third regular said. “You got a zoo theory?”

“I have,” the pugilist told him while maintaining his fists-up, wrists-bent, elbows-crooked stance, one foot in front of the other.

“Well, let it fly,” the third regular invited him. “Everybody gets to say their theory.”

“Naturally,” the second regular said. He'd been gazing at those upraised fists with interest but no particular concern.

The pugilist lowered his fists minimally. “Naturally?”

“Rollo,” said Kelp.

“You got an idea that's better than yuppies,” the second regular told the pugilist, “let's have it.”

The ex-pugilist lowered his arms. “It is yuppies,” he said. “Only it's different.”

The other regulars gave him all their attention.

“Okay,” the zoo man said, looking a little self-conscious at being given the respectful hearing he'd been demanding, “the thing is this: you're right about those new buildings being spaceships.”

“Thank you,” the second regular said with dignity.

“But they're like roach motels,” the ex-pugilist said. “They attract yuppies. Little tiny rooms, loft beds, no moldings; it's what they like. See, the aliens, they got zoos all over the universe, all kindsa creatures, but they never had human beings before, because there weren't any human beings that could live under zoo conditions. But yuppies do it naturally!”

“Rollo!” insisted Kelp.

“So, what,” asked the third regular, “is your reading of the situation?”

“Once all the buildings are completely rented out,” the ex-pugilist told them, “they take off, like ant farms, they deliver yuppies all over the universe to all the different zoos.”

“I don't buy it,” the second regular said. “I still buy mine. The yuppies are the aliens. You can tell by their feet.”

“You know, but wait a minute now,” the third regular said. “Botha these theories end at the same place. And I like the place. At the end, the new buildings and the yuppies are both gone.”

With a surprised look, the second regular said, “That's true, isn't it?”

“Spaceship buildings,” agreed the ex-pugilist, “fulla yuppies, gone.”

This idea was so pleasing to everyone that conversation stopped briefly so they could all contemplate this future world—soon, Lord—when the yuppies and their warrens would all be away in some other corner of the universe.

#I know next to no one will read this or listen to the audio version but seriously #you're so missing out not reading Westlake and the first nine Dortmunder books particularly #you want to easily have autistic and aro/ace spectrum headcanons? so many opportunities!#but they're just SO funny and SO well written #and if you write then seriously Westlake is very worth studying #all the Dortmunder books have these bits in the bar they meet up with the regulars and they're always ridiculous and great #Donald E. Westlake #John Dortmunder #Drowned Hopes #also I kicked my cat off my lap to transcribe this for you #and the old audio editions are great and I can link you to them (the new ones are garbage and no one should listen to them)

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aphilosopherchair · 7 months

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Kelp diet must have played some part in Human's air nomadhood, which certainly has its downsides. On the other eight-trigram-palm hand, the troubled, wounded Earth all of us are stuck in need to go beyond taking sides. The real camp we need to join is Alternatives. Take up arms not by pulling up yet more rifles but by brainstorming and refining fresh ideas.

#avatar the last airbender #find your people #find your tribe #air nomads

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flyawaybooks · 2 years

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had some wild dreams this morning and I want to write down at least some of it before they are completely gone

had an imaginary phone conversation with a real friend about his new girlfriend (made up by my brain) and my aro/ace confusion (real). He ended up giving me solid advice , so thanks to my brain's version of my friend. wish I could remember the advice tho lmao

separate and far more trippy dream: it was the far future on earth and humanity had split into two major factions that lived on slightly separate planes of existence. One half had to live on submarines and had become symbiotically or perhaps parasitically involved with a certain kind of kelp. They were mad at the other half of humanity who had destroyed half of the world. also it was never daytime for anyone so that sucked. The other people seemed mostly normal, but they were stuck in this pocket dimension to hide from the kelp people. The kelp people could enter the pocket dimension, but couldn't get through the glass walls. I remember having insight into both sides of the conflict and seeing that both sides had legitimate grievances, but I did think that the kelp people trying to kidnap the glass pocket dimension's children was going a bit too far. also there was singing? truly a weird dream.

third dream which was more normal: I was a floating substitute teacher but the plans I was given in the morning were for the whole day, but I knew I had to cover for the other teacher later in the afternoon, so I left the room full of kindergarteners with their TA (?) to have a conversation with the secretary. but both she and the principal were at a district office meeting. so I went back with the kindergarteners and watched a very cool interactive musical explanation of how the -ly suffix works. it was a mixed sp. ed and regular ed class with like six or seven adults and it was super chill. I ended up leaving them to it and went to work with the other class, which was in a weird portable next to a horrible shack.

and those are the dreams I remember from this morning

#monica rambles

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autisticgayngel · 3 years

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Canonverse Castiel-centric/pining/loving Cas fics

some of these are Dean's POV and a lot are alternating POV, but all of them really delve into Cas's emotions and his love for Dean. All canonverse and all happy endings. Categorised by post-confession, pre-s15 curtain fic and other canon-era. Descending word count within each category. If anyone has any recs for things I should add lmk!

Post-Confession Fics

things happen (they do, they do, and they do) by sobsicles 28k rating E

Everyone has recced this, and for good reason, it's stunning. Cas gets back from the empty and Dean sort of lets him down gently and is very worried about breaking his heart. Despite this Cas is finally able to express to Dean how much he loves him and takes full advantage of this. He's earnest and sweet and so intense about it, but also incredibly hurt about the lack of reciprocation, though he tries to hide it. He does get the love he deserves in the end and it's so good!

closer (isn't close enough) by fleeceframe 18k rating E

Again, Dean's POV, but very much focused on how much Cas loves him. Has the gorgeous Cas line: “When you are hungry, you eat. When you are tired, you rest. When you are dirty, you bathe. But what are you supposed to do with love?”

My unintended by DeanaWinchester, Jeanne_de_Valois 10k rating E

Really good Cas POV, he’s obsessive and insecure but also deeply loving.

my heart a compass by lagaudiere 10k rating T

The empty torments Cas with visions of Dean and of the family he longs to have with Dean. Dean saves him.

I said show me something by ilovehowyouletmefall 7k rating E

Sparked by the debate about whether or not Dean thinks Cas can feel. Cas is hurt by Dean saying he thought he couldn't feel and vulcan mind melds to show him exactly how he feels about him. It's a really interesting exploration of both of their feelings and fears.

Gift by thisisapaige 2k rating G

Very sweet little fic of them trying to work things out once Cas returns from the empty.

Pre-s15 Curtain Fics

take the long way home by dothraki_shieldmaiden 95k rating E

Dean tries to retire with his family but finds himself alone as Sam and Jack take a road trip and Cas goes hunting in order to prove he's still useful as a human and to avoid thinking about his feelings for Dean. Really agonising and harrowing at the start as they both feel so rejected and miserable. Cas gets into situations where monsters use his feelings for Dean to attack him. Eventually, they're able to tentatively work out their feelings and settle down together and it's very sweet.

Morning Glory by edgarallanrose 26k rating E

Dean and Cas retire together. Cas becomes a beekeeper and Dean starts to use the honey he makes to bake goods, which they sell at the farmer's market. Cas is very much in love with Dean but it takes Dean a bit longer to work things out.

Other Canon-era

A Winter's Tale by NorthernSparrow 64k rating T

This one hurts a lot, so fair warning for that. Cas falls ill while human and homeless and is hospitalised. Dean finds the journal Cas kept as he struggled to survive in this time. Pre-Destiel but Cas does write a lot about his feelings for Dean. Sam and Dean shower Cas with love and kindess as he recovers. Also a destiel epilogue that is very sweet and fluffy.

In the Shadow of your Wings by Enochian Things (Salr323) 57k rating E

Cas confesses his love to Dean post s11 finale but the timing is terrible and Dean is very repressed about it all and breaks Cas's heart. Cas gets an Italian man of letters boyfriend in an attempt to get over it and Dean is insanely jealous (which Cas is oblivious to) but they all have to work together to try to save Sam from the BMOL. Dean eventually gets his shit together and treats Cas the way Cas has learnt to understand he deserves.

That Black Dog Ache by SaltyWords (agent4hire22) 28k rating E

This is very much Dean's POV but I'm putting it here anyway because it has a really intense love confession from Cas, which I'll include an excerpt of that drives me insane:

'“I listen to your music, and I close my eyes. I try to imagine I’m in the Impala, hunting with you. And, sometimes,” his throat jumped, “I lay on your bed. I think about what it would be like if I got to have a place on it beside you... If you ever let me get close enough.”'

Kelp!I Need Somebody by andimeantittosting (Saylee) 27k rating E

A really sweet fic in which Sam, Dean and Cas go to investigate a case on Jesse and Cesar's ranch. Switching POV with really good mutual pining as they tentatively begin to realise the other feels the same.

Being Dean Winchester by Anonymous 26k rating E

Set early s4, Cas has to possess Dean temporarily. While doing this, he has to work to hide his feelings from Dean. Cas is already obsessed with Dean and in love with him but is embarrassed by it and struggles to keep Dean from seeing all of this, especially when Dean wants to have sex with someone while Cas is possessing him.

Après by imogenbynight 24k rating E

Set after the angels fall in s8. Cas falls to earth in Paris and realises he's in love with Dean. Dean comes to get him and they find love together in Paris.

desiderium, lost by atlasian 20k rating T

Castiel confesses his love for Dean and Dean tells him to move on. Cas tries, fairly unsuccessfully, before Dean gets it together.

No Other Worthy Quest by MajorEnglishEsquire 15k rating E

Cas just loves Dean very much.

'“For fuck's sake,” his skin is heating. Cas can feel it. “Stop saying lovey-dovey shit.”

“I know,” Cas rolls his eyes. “It’s so mortifying for you when I want to tell you I love you. I’m using all my self-restraint, I promise not to embarrass you.”'

The Arrow by jscribbles 12k rating T

Valentine's day and Cas has been hit by a Cupid's arrow and is literally sick with love for Dean.

and all this devotion by dothraki_shieldmaiden 10k rating M

Dean gets hurt on a hunt and Cas takes care of him in a cabin. Very sweet, delightful Cas POV of him being very much in love.

Cuckoo And Nest by komodobits 10k rating E

Cas struggles to work out why Dean deems some things meaningful and some things worthless, and where he fits into this apparent dichotomy. Really gorgeous and agonising Cas POV that deals with their constant issue of Dean just wanting Cas to stay and Cas wanting Dean to want him to stay but they're both too afraid to express it.

Breathe by turningthepages 9k rating G

Dean and Cas platonically sleep together to help with Dean's sleep. Cas both likes the situation and longs for it to mean more.

First Date by aeli_kindara 9k rating T

Dean asks Cas on a date and they're both trying very hard to make it all work. The sequel is stunning too.

'Dean says, “We should do that. Go on a date.”

Something in Castiel’s chest fuzzes, like static on a TV, and stops.'

weights on my ankles by dothraki_shieldmaiden 9k rating M

After 15x3 The Rupture, Cas goes back to Rexford. While there, he thinks about how Dean hurt him all those years ago and how he hurt him more recently. Partly a 9x6 Heaven Can Wait fanfic-gap fic.

Let it Linger by OmniscientOranges 8k rating M

Cas starts sleeping with men out of jealousy when watching Dean pick up women at bars. The way the fic describes how in love he is and how hopeless he feels about it is both agonising and very sweet.

He Thought He Was Reckless by MajorEnglishEsquire 8k rating M

Cas plays up injuries so that Dean will coddle him. Self-woobification from the Angel of the Lord and it's so sweet!

Something to Protect by Sass_Master 6k rating G

Cas tries to work out how to make Dean feel less unsafe so that he no longer has to jolt awake. Sweet, tentative intimacy and Cas enjoying it so much.

lonely hearts. by outpastthemoat 5k rating G

Deals with Cas accompanying Sam and Dean on hunts and feeling incredibly lonely and longing to be with Dean. He finds solace in romance novels.

Some People Would Call This Romantic by almaasi 5k rating G

Human Cas goes to the beach and finds it rather overwhelming. Taking a romantic walk with Dean along the beach is also overwhelming.

The Tea is Decaf by mnwood 4k rating T

Really sweet! Cas and Eileen talk and gossip about Sam and Dean in the bunker at night over tea.

A Place to Rest by Inessencedivided 3k rating G

Dean and Cas talk through things after the Stuck in the Middle with You love confession. Cas cries some more.

White Noise by domesticadventures 2k rating G

Cas struggles with feelings of worthlessness in the aftermath of Lucifer's possession.

Receipts by surlybobbies 1k rating G

Cas writes little notes about how much he loves Dean on receipts from meals they share together. Dean finds them.

#fic rec #destiel fic #fanfic #spn #destiel #pining cas #fic

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juliasnrubs · 2 years

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Fantasy/sci-fi world building inspiration (part 2)

Dallol volcano, Ethiopia (volcano, neon yellow edition)

Painted Dunes, Lassen Volcanic national park (beige and pink sand dunes)

Lake Retbal, Senegal (a sea of Pepto Bismol)

Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah (a perfect mirror when flooded, optical illusion when dry)

Richat Structure, Ouadane Mauritania (Earth’s version of the giant swirl on Jupiter)

Black Forest, Germany (fairy-tale forest, creepy edition)(yes this is where the ham comes from)

Moss Swamp, Romania (the yassified version of Shrek’s swamp)

Giant Kelp Forest, California (pretty sure they went here in Finding Dory)

Yakushima forest, Japan (fairy-tale forest)

The Tarkine Rainforest, Tasmania (fairy-tale forest, Tasmanian edition)

Sequoia National Park, California (biggest trees in the world. Also where they filmed Star Wars)

La Chiva Beach, Puerto Rico (bluest beach in the world)

Honopu beach, Kauai (giant ocean cliffs in Hawaii)

Crystal Cave, Bermuda (millions of white stalactites over crystal-clear water)

Reed Flute Cave, China (giant cave, rainbow edition)

Waitomo Glowworm Cave, New Zealand (like glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the roof of a cave, but more magical)

Skocjan Cave, Slovenia (ENORMOUS scary-yet-awesome double-cave system)

Eisriesenwelt ice cave, Austria (largest ice cave in the world)

Krubera cave, Georgia (deepest cave on the planet)

#worldbuilding #moorkavia #writing #fantasy #scifi #scifi inspiration #scififantasy #star wars #travel #bucket list #placesyouveneverheardof #places

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hammer-n-tails · 2 years

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Woah i just noticed your bio said ”ask about my dnd campaign” so may i just… do that? like i know ive seen bits and pieces on my timeline, but if ever you feel like infodumping about it, pls feel free too!! id love to hear about it

ok buckle up!!!!

So my campaign actually just ended in February. Our party was the dragonborn cleric/rogue Krista, tiefling monk Bella, centaur warlock Eddie, and my half-elf sorcerer Brie. The campaign was heavily inspired by taz balance... The party's home base was a city called Astra, led by a council of four NPCs who each represented an element. Early on in the campaign the party discovered a cursed book that gave them nightmares of a really fucked up deer and spiral symbols while rescuing Barry Bluejeans Jimmy Jorts. The party then went through a series of element-themed arcs and slowly discovered pieces of a big puzzle.

The Air arc was first, and the party won a dragon race and did a heist against fantasy joe exotic (this was back in May 2020), recovering a relic that revealed that the gods of the elements, which the city of Astra historically relied on for their wisdom, had died in a horrible war. Meanwhile, they gave their Cursed Deer Book to one of the council members (Humboldt, my beloved retired gnome!), and set him up on a date with his coworker, a human wizard named Iris. I think they also discovered the mysterious Forest Clearing of five pillars outside the city at this point too, which they were led to by the Oracle (a dog, who talks but only rarely).

The second arc was Earth, where the party went on a rescue mission for Krista's friend and navigated a Home Alone-style orphanage and a crypt full of otherworldly cultists. They also came face-to-face with the BBEG in this one on accident, but all they learned was that he was a shadowy god in the astral plane with lots of spiral imagery, locked up in chains. The next collective deer nightmare was really confusing, because the deer speaking to them seemed to confuse them with someone they knew, and they also didn't have the book anymore. But, most importantly, the deer threatened to unleash the apocalypse and told the party that their time was running out, as the solar eclipse is in just a few months.

The next arc and my personal favorite was Water, where the party was sent after a passage into the Plane of Water on a hunt for clues about the Goddess of Water's death and how to stop the next apocalypse. This dnd campaign can fit so many pirates in it. The party got stuck in a time loop on a pirate ship, and each loop ended with the goddess Umberlee/the Kraken destroying the ship. The party had to deceive the captain (Bella's ex, the vampirate Edward Cullen. I shit you not) and return Umberlee's mermaid daughter to her to break the loop. After breaking the loop they were transported to the plane of water where they discovered the ruins of a triton city and murals revealing that the shadowy spiral god, Tharizdun, and the secret fifth elemental god (god of Void), had killed the other Elemental gods. The party met a triton soldier named Kelp (he's just underwater Link and this is underwater BOTW) who eventually gifted the party the Bond Blade.

God. Let me TELL YOU about the Bond Blade, my pride and joy. This sword is literally powered by love. You whisper a name of someone you love to activate it, with varying degrees of strength. It was made to kill Tharizdun. The elemental gods failed against their traitorous friend because he cornered each of them, killing them separately, and by the time he got to the Water Goddess who wielded the sword, it was useless to her as her strongest bonds were severed by death. Anyway, it's like a hilt with a broken blade and when you activate it it forms a beam of light like a light saber. On a crit (18 and up!) in it's strongest form, it deals like 12d12 damage. I fucking love this dumb sword.

Anyway. The party killed Vampirate Edward Cullen who turned out to have also been a Tharizdun cultist because why not. When the party returned home though, they discovered that their friend Humboldt (remember our little gnome friend from before? Did I mention he was originally based on Jack Black's character in Jumanji?) had fallen into a deep paranoia/agoraphobia because of this cursed deer book he's studying for the party. The party only discovered this because they found his girlfriend (and their boss) Iris getting stood up at Fantasy Olive Garden. When they pressed her for an explanation about why she was eating dinner alone, she broke down in tears about it under a zone of truth. The party confronted Humboldt, and it was, and I quote, "some silence of the lambs shit" level of creepy (I've never seen silence of the lambs). My little gnome blorbo was doodling spirals on his hands, actively being posessed by Tharizdun and immediately Not Remembering It, and cackling like a damn villain. Have you ever had a good DM Cackle? It's so fucking powerful.

The party and Iris want to help Humboldt and hear something about a "black rock" in the mountains. The party travels to these mountains and discovers, you guessed it, another cult! But this one is led by a tiefling woman and a - well, a false hydra. The party figured this out in the middle of a 5-dimensional trauma dungeon (the "initiation rites" that were supposed to break them emotionally). Conveniently, the dimensional dungeon was also taking place within the black rock, which is a giant eldritch cube floating in the middle of a volcano where this cult is based. This is some critical role level shit now. The party's like, level 15 by this point? After escaping the dungeon and killing the cult leader and false hydra, the party had to evacuate the erupting volcano and grabbed some black rock on their way out.

They get back to Astra just before the eclipse and prepare for ???? the end of the world??? The day of, Iris and Humboldt meet them at the Oracle's altar and then they all go to the Forest Clearing together... and shit gets weird. Humboldt goes full tilt posessed and Iris does too, and everyone's confused and sorta fighting them from completing a ritual. The ritual opens a portal, and out steps just about the worst thing you can possibly summon that's not a god - a Nightwalker. The nightwalker traps Krista, the party's healer (!), in the astral plane (essentially killing her). The party fights the thing, which was really fucking hard because I had FOUR NPCS in this fight (Iris, Humboldt - who very almost died-, a bard named Keats, and my girlie Brie) and the party still almost died. Shit.

To end the fight, Keats, who was Krista's enemies-to-lovers-but-platonic-soulmates love interest, decides to sacrifice himself to bring Krista back and banish the nightwalker. This is how the nightwalker works, folks. Krista and Keats met on the shore of the astral sea as they passed each other by out of/into death, and by the end of it we had the whole table crying. Krista vows to save him one day.

We haven't even made it to the final boss fight yet.

After some wild crazy magic happens with that one, the party figures out how to activate the pillars in the forest clearing. The oracle dog transforms into Ao, our ouroboros overgod, and reveals that the party are the reincarnations of the elemental gods. This was really fun because each party member actually emulated an element on their own, so it fit so naturally. I made them all cry again, but happy tears this time. This was what the whole campaign was working towards. This was the big reveal that I hinted to for ages! The party also learns here that Tharizdun was corrupted by a black hole, which he placed in his heart, on a desperate search for something to fill the Void that he is.

So Tharizdun, that guy? Big, shadowy eldritch horror chained up in the astral plane? yeah he gets out. It's the eclipse after all. They all knew this was coming to some degree, and I let each player pick something they specifically wanted in this big boss fight. One of my players requested that Magnus Burnsides fight with them... so the 7 birds answered the call. The party spends some time on a battle field, kills some eldritch cultists, invading giant space worms, and then Tharizdun rears his ugly deer-skull eldritch head. Magnus Fucking Burnsides helps them wail on Tharizdun with some really OP weapons. Folks, let's keep in mind that Magnus canonically Can't Die (yet) so this was uhhhh hard! I somehow got him out of that fight. Tharizdun corrupts Eddie our warlock (think TMA-style) and very nearly kills our monk Bella. Krista polymorphed Eddie to neutralize him and when Tharizdun thought his work here was done he popped back to the astral plane for safety, to watch the apocalypse from afar. The party found him though, but knew they couldn't kill him or it would either destroy the world or permanently corrupt Eddie. Tharizdun was so angry and bitter. He knew he'd been beat but he couldn't admit it, insisting there was no going back. It was pitiful. He was practically begging to be killed, and down to 23 HP, but Krista?? Pried the black hole out of his heart?? with the Bond Blade????

She literally. Used the power of love to remove the void of hate and nihilism from their oldest friend.

And then she stabbed Tharizdun where it had been before. This transformed Tharizdun into a new god, a void fawn of acceptance and joy, ending the apocalypse.

(this is the part where I cried the most).

After saving the world, the party celebrated by thowing a circus in honor of their old bard friend Keats. Krista eventually used a Wish to resurrect him, but in the way that she worded it, and using part of the black rock for the spell... his soul came back, but in the rock. Some FMAB shenanigans later and we have a warforged bard boy, back to live out the rest of his days with his platonic soulmate. Eddie settled down with his love interest, the innkeeper, and they lived a nice little cottagecore lifestyle afterwards, with Eddie meeting up with Humboldt regularly to talk out the trauma of their Tharizdun corruption arcs. Bella, on the other hand, broke up with her boyfriend, which was just. so fucking funny? And the campaign ended with our new void fawn friend frolicking in the forest clearing outside the circus celebration before disappearing, looking for new bonds to forge and stories to tell.

....All this because my friend wanted to try Lost Mines of Phandelver (or, "Here There be Gerblins") when covid hit the US.

#new campaign just started but we literally had 1 session so far and i dont want to spoil anything im planning on accident #but its set in the same world a year later with new PCs

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thevoilinauttheory · 3 years

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Fire

[ FFxivWrite2021 Prompt 2: Aberrant ]

The Five Part “In the Dreams of Ashley” series is done! Go read the others here! {Prelude} {In the Dreams of Ashley: The Wind} {In the Dreams of Ashley: The Fire} {In the Dreams of Ashley: The Water} {In the Dreams of Ashley: The Earth}

[ HEAVY CONTENT WARNINGS - THIS PIECE IS TO EXPLORE ONE OF MY DEEPEST FEARS CONTAINING: mentions of death/blood, regrets surrounding said death, nightmares, detailed suffocation, detailed description of burning to death, suicidal ideation ]

[ also decided to do a music theme this month and all of these will have musical accompaniment lol ]

youtube

To dream that you or someone is being burned alive suggests that you are being consumed by your own ambition. To dream that you are being burned by fire indicates that your temper is getting out of control. Some issue or situation is burning up inside you. If you are setting a fire to something or even to yourself, then it indicates that you are undergoing some great distress. You are at the brink of desperation and want to destroy something or some aspect of yourself.

“So how did you even get here?” Ashley shoved a dumpling into his mouth, having yanked it from the pot as soon as he realized it was ready. Ruta had set up a fire, a large heavy pot on top of it, filled to the brim with broth and vegetables. He didn’t question where she got it, or even how she carried it - though common sense dictated that she borrowed the pot from the fishermen in Isari, as well as bought the food; they *were* set up right outside it, of course.

“Hm?” Ruta had her mouthful already, slurping up what noodles were left in her mouth. It took her a good minute to finish chewing so she could talk; and in that time, Ashley had already taken to swishing thin slices of fish around until they were cooked enough to eat.

“Y’know, get here. Back in the cells, you said you were from Kugane… but, uh… no offense, but.” “Because I’m Xaelic?” “...Yeah, sorry. That’s rude of me to point out.” Ruta only laughed. “Yeah… I left that part of me in the Steppes. I was capable, but… I thought, as a kid, if they’re gonna leave me tied up to a tree, I might as well go my own way. What’s to say that it’s not going to happen again?” “Tied to a tree? Oof, that’s rough.” “Made it all the way to Kugane and ran into some nice folks who thought ‘who in the hells let this child run around on her own!’.” She laughed. “They adopted me. Real nice people.” “They still with you?” ”Hope so, it’s been a few years.”

He stared at the flames, leaning back on his hands after he filled himself up on food - thinking about her words, how everyone he knew would have moved on with their lives without him. “Where’re Colette ‘n’Hunter? They’ve been gone a while.” “I think they went ahead to scout for a boat. We gotta leave in the dead of night, if we want a chance at getting past those pirates. You know how to swim?” “Uuhh… I’m gonna say “I’ll figure it out”.” He laughed. “Grew up in a desert, don’t really have time to learn to swim.” “You might have to! If we have to jump off the boat and swim our way there. I’m sure Hunter wouldn’t mind dragging you with him - guy loves to swim.” “Does he?” “I mean… he’s told me as much, at least.” “Hm.” That grin on her face only told him how much she was judging him. “What! Leave me alone! Stop staring like that, gods, it’s weird.”

“Don’t y’think you’ve been “retired” long enough?” Ashley leaned back in his chair and kicked his legs up on the table in front of him; he stuck the tiniest crumb of paper under his tongue, then closed his eyes. “Nope.” “Kid, you have to *move on*. Shite like this? This happens all the time - you’ve been sheltered way too long--” “Who died and made you th’boss of my life, huh? If I’ve been sheltered, then y’leave me to be the little bitch I am until I’m *ready* to “move on”. You haven’t experienced what I have. I haven’t experienced what you have.” “How’re you going to make any money to live with an attitude like that.” “Off my savings? My life ain’t your business - you can either sit here and enjoy a drink with me, or you can piss off. I don’t care either way, I ain’t working yet.”

He didn’t really need the road down memory lane - but it helped ease the pain, just for a little bit. His boots crunched over the shells and rocks that made up the shores of the Ruby Sea, staring at the water as he strolled. He had always questioned why they had referred to it as “ruby”, there was nothing as brilliant or red about it… back then, of course. He had taken its beauty for granted. The crimson kelp that made up the depths against the sparkling reflections from the sun, everything was so… peaceful. To a degree. He couldn’t account for the Garlean control over the area, and had to be on his toes because of it, but it was nice.

He wished his friends were around to witness it - it was dark when they were able to see it, if one could even call it “seeing”, as much as it was a black pit of unknown they were diving into.

He made a stop in Crick - he wasn’t necessarily welcome, but he wasn’t unwelcome either. They regarded him with impassiveness there, letting him relax as he wished or needed to - which happened to be in front of a fire with a pot attached to it, boiling water. How much longer could he stand to be here? The memories were starting to hurt now, they ached, and suddenly he felt ill to his stomach. That was when he decided it was best to leave, standing up to turn back the way he came - watching the ocean once more with the unevenness of the shore beneath his feet yet again.

There was a fisher’s boat floating in the middle, a small Auri woman casting out a line with a basket of fish next to her. Living a carefree, or… mostly carefree life. Living life as she could, and it seemed she was doing well enough. She turned her head and made accidental eye-contact with him-- those eyes, that face.

“Ruta?” He questioned softly, then smiled brightly and waved. “Ruta! You’re safe! Gods be!” As he watched the woman wave back, his vision blackened - flashes of the body of his fallen friend bleeding out on top of her girlfriend’s, looking behind him as he ran.

The next he knew were flames - and only flames. His whole body was searing, the heat too much for his skin. He tried to pull his foot from the ground, to try and run for the ocean, but he could not move. He stayed in place and it only seemed like the relief of water got further and further away the more he longed for it. It started with his legs, that’s where his eyes turned to next. One foot stood solid in the slowly creeping fount of lava, threatening to take the next one over. What happened? How did he get here? There was no way he would have done this of his own volition, was there? But no, he did - he stepped right into it, a wonder, no, a *knowing* of what the consequence would bring. A solace in knowing that this would be the price he paid for his inadequacies.

Even as he tried to change his mind - tried to scream for help that could not hear him, the fire climbed only higher. All he could do was cry out in pain as he watched his clothes set ablaze, and his skin begin to blacken and peel. The pain of it all, the searing pain of his skin melting from his bones wasn’t even the worst of it; it was the agony of seeing it happen slowly - the scent of the hairs and flesh charring; the popping, bubbling, cracking noises that followed until he was swallowed whole by it. Each scream, each breath, he was forced to swallow the flames until they choked him - then each cough cooked his lungs; his vision was nothing but reds and oranges until it had gone black, and what was left of him could only fall to try and drag itself to an escape out of pure need for survival. Only to be overtaken by the slow and searing pain of pure fire covering the entirety of his body - the last he heard was not the crackling of his bones like tinder, but the paddles of a boat hitting the still water as it passed right by him.

His awakening was a slow one this time, feeling the tears that had dried against his cheek. He woke up next to the flames of the dying fire, left alone by the people of the town around him. He was disoriented, confused. When it finally settled that it was a nightmare, he let out a heavy and relieved sigh.

Not quite the same as the last, but no less painful and terrifying.

#ffxivwrite2021 #prompt 2 #aberrant #about: Ashley Tucker #virtues and vices #was debating on whether or not i wanted this week to be dedicated to maximiloix and caromont #or to do this idea that i've been neglecting while i had the chance to #and was thinking 'maybe i'll have another prompt to do this one'#then i was like #knowing me #i'd lose my chance #so i decided to write this one

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phoenix-manga · 4 years

Text

The Serpent and the Octopus [pt.4]

It was quiet… too quiet. Azul and Jade feared the worst when they were busy trying to lecture Floyd. ‘Trying’ because they failed to realize that their visitor and the eel twin snuck off, panic ran through their veins when they looked back only to be met with a bustling crowd but no princess or twin in sight.

‘SHIT!’ was the only word both thought at the same time as they retraced their steps to try and find them but to no avail.

Azul: Where’d they go?!

Cried Azul as he scanned the crowd for any sign if the eel and oarfish.

Jade: Knowing my brother, he’d go to the place he wants to go. It’s possible they’ve gone to the shipwreck zone…

Jade started to drag Azul to the location as fast as he could.

While Jade recalls going to the sunken ships several times, he is aware that there are sharks swarming around that area. He’s kept track of the time when sharks hunt around those grounds but Floyd doesn’t know that, he doesn’t remember things when he loses interest. Jade is more than aware of the fact that sharks would roam about the shipwreck zone at this time.

He hopes his brother and the princess are alright and still in one piece, because if they are then he and Azul would kill Floyd and Cerule. Royal status be damned, he’s had enough!

Azul: (This is why I hate royals!)

Was the only thought in Azul’s mind.

Meanwhile, Floyd and Cerule were still busy rummaging through barrels and debris for some interesting objects.

Floyd: Ugh, nothing but junk here too!

Floyd tossed a broken metal to the floor and slumped next to the barrel he was rummaging through.

Cerule: Really? Because I think you can make something out of it if you try hard enough

Cerule tries to reassure Floyd as he was getting irritated that the ship, they’ve searched is devoid of anything good. But he just responded with a huff and urged Cerule to move to another ship. As he tried to swim through an opening, his tail was caught by a fishing net and he struggled to pull himself out to no avail.

Floyd: Ce-chan! I’m stuck!

She rushed to his side and helped him pull but despite both of their efforts, Floyd’s tail wasn't budging at all. Cerule spotted the metal piece Floyd had tossed and picked it up to cut the net finally freeing his tail.

Cerule: See, what did I tell you? If you can use it then it isn’t junk!

She stuck her tongue at him to tease him, Floyd just rolled his eyes and was about to retort until he felt the beam behind them was about to collapse due to cutting the net that was supporting it. He grabs her in time to avoid being crushed by the debris.

The sound alerted the shark in the area and it started to swim around the ship, looking through the windows until it spotted the two mermaids. Cerule noticed it was getting dark and as she looked at the window, she could feel herself freeze when she spotted the shark charging the ship.

Cerule: FLOYD, SHARK!

(CHOMP!)

Immediately they swam up to the deck to narrowly avoid the onslaught of teeth about to chomp down on them. The shark started to struggle trying to spit out debris wedged in his teeth, giving them more time to escape the ship and into open water.

They started to swim towards the way they came, Cerule looked back to see the shark was zooming in towards them at great speed, she pushed Floyd away into some seaweed.

But that left her open to the shark’s tackle that sent her flying towards some rocks, she hits her back hard, knocking the breath out of her. She could barely pull herself to swim away when she sees the shark swimming towards her slowly, as if to mock her helplessness. Floyd comes out of the seaweed to see what is about to happen, he throws a rock at the shark to keep its attention away from her.

Floyd: Hey! Catch me if you can, you beast!

He mocks the shark to follow him away from Cerule. While he was busy leading the shark away, Jade and Azul managed to arrive in time to see Floyd being chased by a shark.

Jade: Floyd!? What on earth-!!!

Jade and Azul didn’t have time to process what they were seeing when they began to split up because Floyd was heading over to their direction.

Jade: He’s not going to keep up the speed! What can we do?!

Jade was starting to panic for the safety of his brother and Azul doesn’t have anything on him other than maybe trying to ink the shark, but with how fast it was swimming he can’t guarantee that he’ll get a clean shot.

Floyd was starting to get tired from all the fleeing that he failed to notice that he was swimming near a bed of sea kelp which got his tail tangled. He struggled as hard as he could but his tail wouldn’t budge.

It was hopeless as the shark was gaining speed and closing the distance, he closed his eyes and waited for the shark to gobble him up. But when nothing happened and he didn’t feel any pain, he peaked for a bit to see that a large pointed rock had pierced the shark’s side.

Cerule: Floyd! Over here!

He looked up to see Cerule with her tail wrapped around a broken rock. She swam down and cut the kelp with a sharp stone nearby. She was struggling for a bit since the kelp was a bit tougher to cut and the stone was fairly dull.

She needed to get him free because the shark was slowly shaking itself out of its shock. Suddenly, a cloud of ink covered the shark and Azul and Jade started to tear the kelp quickly. Managing to free Floyd from the sea kelp’s grasp.

Azul: You two are such a pain in my ass!

Azul yelled as he used his tentacles to hold onto Floyd and Cerule while he held Jade’s hand to swim towards safety. When they were back at the Coral Sea, Azul was about to give a verbal beatdown to Floyd and Cerule but before he could get a word out, Cerule beat him to it by bowing and profusely apologizing.

Cerule: I am so sorry! I know after what happened I can’t take it back with an apology but… This was the first time I’ve ever been able to go out like this! I was so caught up with doing something exciting that I forgot about the consequences!

Azul blinked as he processed what she just said before she added more to her apology.

Cerule: I won’t tell my father what happened today but if you need to yell at someone then please don’t yell at Floyd, I should have refused but I didn’t!

She almost had a convincing stone face if it weren’t for the tears leaking out of her eyes. For a few minutes there was an awkward silence between them, until Azul couldn’t help himself as he laughed at the sight, she was far different from the royals he had seen.

Azul: Ahahahaha! Out of everything that I thought you would say, I never expected you to say something like that! But this situation is clearly both of your faults so don’t expect me to deny that it was your-

Floyd: OWWW!

They stopped and looked to Floyd to see that he had a cut on his tail. The cut wasn’t too serious but it was quite large and it was stinging because of the salty seawater seeping into the wound.

Cerule: You’re hurt!

Floyd: I just realized it now, after my adrenaline wore off… the seawater is making it sting

Floyd held his tail between his hands and tried to put pressure onto the wound but it ended up hurting more.

Cerule: Wait, I can heal it!

Cerule swam over to him and started to cry, they were confused at what she was doing at first until they heard her mumble an incantation.

Cerule: Mother of the sea… Hear my voice… Tears into shiny luster… Healing gems that glimmer… Tears of the Sea!

As soon as her incantation was over, her teardrops turned into a handful of white, shiny pearls. She took the pearls and crushed them into powder then rubbed it all over the wound, shock was evident on their faces as the damaged tissue began to heal until not a trace of the wound was visible.

Floyd: Woah! It doesn’t hurt anymore? I didn’t know Ce-chan could use healing magic!

Floyd wiggles his tail around still in a daze of what he witnessed.

Cerule: It’s my unique magic, Tears of the Sea! I can turn my tears into pearls and use them to heal injuries! Although I had to use a lot of it because of how large the cut was…

Cerule explained while rubbing her eyes that were a bit swollen from crying. Azul’s gaze darted from Cerule to Floyd’s tail. It was rare to encounter people who had powerful healing magic as there were not many who possessed the ability to heal. All of Azul’s annoyance and frustration with the situation turned into realization.

Perhaps this encounter was fate for him, after all he did want to study to become the best magic user like the sea witch. He wondered to what capabilities could those pearls possess and if he could use them to make a very rare potion that no one ever heard of. This was a golden opportunity.

Azul: Princess… I thought of a way you could remedy the events that you caused today… If you promise me to give a bottle of those healing pearls in exchange, me and Jade will allow you to explore exciting places.

Cerule: You will? T-thank you-

But Azul raises his hand to stop her.

Azul: But… as long as we all go as a group so that this incident won’t be repeated

He says sternly, earning an enthusiastic nod from her.

Cerule: Of course!

At the proposal, Jade and Floyd looked at Azul as if he had grown two heads, what came over him? Wasn’t he upset just a moment ago? But with the way he had this calculating gaze meant that he saw an opportunity. However, for the first time this didn’t sit well with Floyd.

While Floyd was thankful that he wasn’t getting scolded, he was a bit conflicted because as much as he would have wanted to see the merfolk getting tricked, Cerule has made her spot in his friend circle and if he was going to make her sign a contract then he might just try to talk him out of it.

Floyd: Azul! What are you saying?

Azul: I’ve given it some thought; we should have listened to Floyd from the start so that we may never have gotten into this mess. So, I propose that if you provide me with a bottle full of those pearls, we will accompany you to plenty of exciting places in exchange. It’s a fair deal, no?

If it was only for the pearls then Floyd might have not needed to worry, he relaxes a bit at this.

Cerule: Sounds fair! We have a deal, Azul! Thank you!

She rushed over to hug him, which he was one thing that he wasn’t expecting. He felt a small tingling emotion that he couldn’t exactly describe, part of him felt that she was violating his personal space but at the same time he could feel her gratitude and it was very uplifting for a second. Just for a second… With a beet-red face he pushes her away and reminded her of keeping distance.

Azul: Y-Yes well… Now that we have an agreement, let’s head back to the school, it's getting late

Cerule happily swam alongside him, Azul heard snickering behind him and he saw the twins looking at him with an amused grin on their faces. He knew exactly what they were thinking and they couldn’t be more wrong.

He sent them a warning glare, but they ignored it and whispered among themselves on how Azul was getting soft for the princess. He convinced himself that he wasn’t getting soft! Azul saw an opportunity and didn’t want to waste it, that was all it was.

Yes… just an opportunity…

Once they arrived back at the school, Azul managed to convince the teacher that the princess was given a tour around the city and how grateful she was to enjoy sightseeing. The teacher thankfully bought it and didn’t question him on what actually transpired.

Soon enough, the day ends and Cerule had to go back home with her father. The teacher and the entire class were lined up when the Serpent King arrived at the school to pick her up.

She snuck behind Azul and slipped a bottle of the pearls into his hands that were folded behind his back before quickly swimming to her father’s side. She gave him a bright smile before turning to her father.

Serpent King: I thank you for the courtesy you’ve shown and for looking after my daughter. But for now, we must bid you all farewell…

His thunderous voice rumbled in the surrounding area that left some of the merchildren in shock while some were in awe.

As the king and the princess left, Azul stared at the bottle of pearls in his hand. The pearls were sparkling brighter than the pearls made by oysters, it could very well be compared to stars.

When he got home, he swam to his room towards his desk and hid them in his drawer, his thoughts drifting back to Cerule and the odd events that transpired which led to him becoming ‘friends’ with her. He thought to himself that she was the one who said they were friends but she was just an opportunity he took advantage of.

Just an opportunity… or so he thought.

Timeskip to the Atlantica museum where Azul was offering to tour the Ramshackle duo and their friends as an ‘apology’ for the overblot incident. He places the edited picture on the wall, his eyes catch another photo.

It was of a familiar serpent with red and white hair, smiling happily as she held hands with an octopus who was shying away from being in the front. Azul sighs as he walks away to join Yuu and the others.

Azul: (Come to think of it, she’ll be visiting Octavinelle to send me another bottle of pearls again…)

[END]

#phnx #dca #dca stories #diamond crown academy #azul ashengrotto #jade leech #floyd leech #twst oc #twisted wonderland

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emotionally-imbruised · 5 years

Text

A Tail of Their Own

In which Y/N is a mermaid and Harry doesn’t know what to do.

Word count: 9.2k

Keep going. Don’t look back, just keep going.

Despite how many times Y/N repeated that same phrase in her mind over and over again, she still had to fight the urge to look behind her. Were they close? Did she lose them? No, there’s no way they would have given up on pursuing her so quickly, and that thought alone made her swim even faster.

There were two of them that much Y/N knew. She had seen them both, a merman and merwoman lurking about nearby whenever she left her reef to go meet with the royals, but never really thought anything of it. Never thought it would lead to this.

Open water was never the best form of protection, but Y/N knew that if she kept pushing herself, she might be able to get away. She was tired though, swimming nonstop was draining, and it was getting to the point where the young mermaid was unsure of how much longer she could keep going — but she continued to push herself.

As if Poseidon himself had heard her thoughts, a large underwater grotto appeared in the distance, making Y/N swim towards it faster than she’d ever swam before. She didn’t realize just how close to the land she was getting at that point, but nonetheless, the cave provided temporary solace, and that was one thing she craved.

Once inside, Y/N almost let herself collapse in exhaustion. While gripping onto the rough rock walls of the cavern to prevent herself from sinking down to the ocean’s floor, she quickly let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding before continuing on. She had to keep moving.

She dipped through various nooks and crannies to get deeper into the cave. However, the further she went, the less she could see. Her surroundings were becoming much darker with each passing second, and Y/N knew she’d have to stop. With a large gulp, she froze at the entrance of what resembled a black hole of some sort; deciding it’d be best to stay where she was rather than to keep going and possibly come face to face with a sea creature that could be residing in the same hiding place.

Just as Y/N was considering her next move, voices started echoing through the grotto.

“Do you think she went in there?” A male voice asked, and caused Y/N’s heart to plummet into the pit of her stomach. They caught up to her.

“Of course I think she went in there, where else would she go?” The other mermaid snapped at her partner as panic took over Y/N entirely. The two of them began calling out her name, taunting her, stating how things would have been easier for all of them if she hadn’t run (swam) away from the royals. But what other choice did Y/N have? There wasn’t one, because if there were, she wouldn’t have been in such a predicament.

Y/N looked around for where she could go and frowned at the limited options she had. Her first other option was to go into the black hole, which she ultimately decided against because it would more than likely just make everything worse. The second option was to go back the way she came. Back through the cave, and towards the two that were there searching for her. It was dangerous, yes, but maybe there were other ways in the cavern for her to go around and avoid them altogether. It was a risk she knew she had to take, so with another gulp, she started swimming towards them.

The way the other two wouldn’t stop bickering with one another actually gave Y/N a bit of an advantage. She’d listen to their voices as an attempt to pinpoint how far away they were, and it actually was working right up until she came to a dead-end. Right after taking a sharp left when she felt the others were too close for comfort, Y/N found herself in a small den-like area with no other place to go. The large rocks surrounding her were slick and covered with kelp, which hid any different possible escape route she could take and left her stuck. She bit down on her bottom lip nervously and went to turn back around, but had to halt her movements when one of the other mermaids spoke up again.

“Hey fish face, I think she went this way,” the female said from what sounded to be just on the other side of the rock wall Y/N was instinctively pressing her back against.

“What makes you think that?” The merman asked, seemingly just as close.

Although Y/N wasn’t exactly a fan of the way the kelp felt slippery and slimy against her skin, it did provide her with a bit of camouflage and kept her out of sight. She stayed still and waited for any indication that the other two had gone a different way, but much to her dismay, the two swam right into her view, and she was finally able to get a good look at them.

The first thing that caught Y/N’s eyes when she first saw them before fleeing her home was the deep red colour of their tails. She had only ever seen a handful of mermaid’s with a similar colour of tail, so naturally, it caught her attention. But now that she was really studying them, she picked up on other physical similarities the other two shared. Both had jet black hair, pale skin, deep brown eyes, and many other features that were alike. The two had to be related in some way, Y/N decided.

“Look at this,” the other mermaid spoke up again as she swam a little further, coming to a stop and reaching down to pick up a shiny object Y/N hadn’t noticed to be there before. “Think it’s hers?”

The mermaid held up a silver hairpin with a seashell on the end of it, which caused Y/N’s eyes to widen and her hand to immediately reach up to touch the now single hairpin that still remained in her hair. She let her fingers trace over the small metal starfish at the end of the pin before sighing in defeat, accepting the fact that she had just lost part of the unique hairpin set her mother gave her when she was a little girl.

Part of her wanted to just push away from the wall so she could snatch the item back and continue on her way, but that was too dangerous, and Y/N knew better. So instead, she watched the two mermaids examine her pin before deciding to resume their search further into the cave.

Y/N remained unmoving from her spot for a few moments until she felt it was safe enough to continue on. Once she was brave enough to go, the mermaid made her way out of the grotto entirely and tried to think of a plan. Surely she didn’t have much time to find another place to hide because soon enough, the other mermaids would give up their hunt in the cave and swim back out as well.

Unsure of where she could possibly go, Y/N swam along the outer part of the grotto, muttering a quick sorry as she went through a bloom of jellyfish and accidentally startled an old sea turtle from its slumber. Once she was a reasonable distance away from the cave, Y/N finally noticed that she was in much shallower water. She had paid no attention to how close the shore was getting during her escape and cursed herself for being so careless because now her options were even more limited.

Luckily enough, there wasn’t any sign of the other mermaids just yet. Maybe she actually managed to lose them, but regardless, Y/N knew she had to keep going.

The water became much warmer as Y/N got closer to land and provided her a comforting feeling, which eventually allowed her to relax.

Y/N knew these waters quite well, and if she was correct, Y/N was about 98% sure she was just off the coast of California. However, there was no way to actually tell so with one final glance around to see if she was still being followed or not, Y/N decided to swim to the surface to confirm her theory.

One thing Y/N knew very well about the ocean, was how deceiving it could be. She knew more about the earth’s bodies of water than any human did, having explored them herself extensively during her short 23-years of life -- and even then, there were still parts she’d never seen. Areas she’d never consider going to because there was no way of knowing what it’s deepest depths held, and frankly, sometimes it was best to be left that way.

Y/N was also aware of how peaceful the ocean can seem from the surface above, for the surface hides everything that is below it. However, that illusion works both ways, and soon enough Y/N found herself caught up in a severe storm she didn’t even know was happening once she broke through the intense waves.

Strong winds and heavy rainfall made it almost impossible for Y/N to make any sense of where she was. Massive tidal waves formed, then crashed in the distance and created a wicked tide that involuntarily pushed her closer and closer to shore. In the distance, the lights of the city bordering the coast could just barely be seen due to the poor weather conditions, which ultimately resulted in Y/N decided to just go back underwater until the storm passed.

Taking an unnecessarily long breath, Y/N dipped beneath the waves again and started swimming away from the surface entirely. However, after only making it a few feet, a panicked noise sounded from nearby and caused her to refrain from going any further. She wasn’t that deep in the water, so the undertow was still quite aggressive from the storm going on above and continued pushing her in the direction of the shore. But, Y/N still waited a minute to see if the noise would occur again, and unsurprisingly, it did.

The mermaid looked in the direction the sound had come from and saw a fully grown elephant seal swimming around in distress near the surface. Upon further observation, Y/N noticed that above the seal was a large torn up fishing net, and tangled in it was a seal pup. The entire scene was hard for Y/N to look at, and she knew she had to help in one way or another.

Cautiously, Y/N swam towards the adult seal and waited for it to notice her. Once it did, the creature became visibly calmer and looked back up at its tangled pup; almost as though it silently pleading for assistance. With a simple nod, Y/N then swam back up to the surface and got to work.

It was challenging for her to get a good hold of the net for with each wave, everything was shifted. The pup would whine each time it was pushed further from its mother, which only broke Y/N’s heart even more as she watched it helplessly struggle against its restraints. Without giving much thought to what she was doing, Y/N carefully wrapped her arm around the pup to bring it under the water entirely and close to her chest.

Parts of the net brushed against Y/N’s skin and tail as it slowly began surrounding her beneath the water, but she paid no attention to it as she focused on freeing the little seal all while trying to keep herself from getting swept away in the tide. Eventually, she was able to rip a large enough hole in the netting so that the pup could free itself and swim away to be reunited with its mother.

Y/N couldn’t help but smile as she watched the two seals greet each other excitedly and look back towards her as if to say thanks, before swimming away and disappearing into the depths of the Pacific. Just as she was about to do the same, Y/N moved no more than an inch only to find that she was now completely encased in the fishnet. There was no longer an open spot in the netting below that would allow her to swim away, which left her panicking slightly.

The way the net continued moving in the harsh waves, made it even more difficult for Y/N to find a way out; and she could also feel the material tangling around her even more whenever she struggled against it. Without any other options, Y/N let herself float to the surface in hopes the net would untangle itself in the process. However, that didn’t happen at all.

Once she breached the surface again, Y/N realized she was now extremely close to land. Even in the dark, she was able to make out a massive pier in the distance and the large rocks below that the waves continued crashing into. The subtle panic Y/N had already been feeling reached an all-time high as the shore kept getting closer, and she still was unable to remove herself from the fishing net.

The waves seemed to be getting more extensive and aggressive. Each time they crashed over Y/N and unwantedly moved her around, she felt the chances of her getting out of her predicament grow slim. She was above water one second, and beneath it the next; spiraling out of control and with no way out.

Despite how helpless she felt, Y/N still fought to free herself, and after a few more moments of struggling, she was finally able to rip another hole in the net. A sigh of relief left her mouth as she tore the hole more so that she could squirm away from the tangled mess just like the seal had, and she was almost able to do just that... until her fin got caught again at the very last second.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She groaned to herself as she started flipping her tail around in attempts to get the net off all over again; feeling more than fed up with everything at that moment. Y/N was pretty well on the shore at that point. If she swam down just a little bit, she’d be able to touch the ocean floor seeing as it really wasn’t that deep; which she decided to use to her advantage.

Y/N let the tide take her a little closer to shore all while keeping her eye on a large rock that was fast approaching. Once she was close enough, she reached out to grab ahold of the stone to keep herself still against the current as she removed the last part of fishnet, but unfortunately, missed it completely. There wasn’t even time for Y/N to curse herself for missing the rock for the next thing she knew, she was coming face to face with another one, fast. She couldn’t even react to the oncoming foundation, let alone look for a spot she could possibly grab ahold of for the next thing Y/N knew, she was crashing into it.

Pain rippled through her entire body as she came in contact with the sturdy piece of earth, causing her to tumble around uncontrollably with no hopes of stopping... that was until her head came in contact with something hard, and everything went black.

Y/N thought she heard voices, which is originally what made her eventually come to her senses. However, she had no desire to open her eyes just yet.

The sound of seagulls annoyingly squawking at one another as they flew overhead made Y/N’s head throb even more as she rolled onto her side and let out a loud groan. She hid her face into the crook of her forearm to block out the beating sun, shifting again uncomfortably as she felt the damp sand sticking to her skin.

She was no longer in the ocean but was near it. The tide was much calmer compared to how it was the night before and provided some temporary relief as it brushed against the tip of her tail before fading back into the waves.

The fact that Y/N’s tail was still visible and hadn’t been replaced with legs yet like it usually would whenever she was out of the water made her think that maybe she hadn’t been on land for too long. Regardless, she couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it anyways as she remained unmoving from her spot.

A nagging thought in the back of her mind told her over and over again that she should move before she was seen by a human, however, she ignored it. Her escape route was no more than ten feet away from where she laid, and if a human did find her, she’d be able to escape back to the water with ease.

A few moments passed before Y/N heard the voices that originally woke her up again, and opened her eyes in red alert.

“Do you think she’s dead?” A male voice asked, followed by the sounds of various grunts as two sets of footsteps approached where Y/N was laying.

“Mitch!” A female voice hissed aggravatedly. “You’re a downright knob sometimes, you know that?”

“Well, she isn’t moving!” The man defended.

“Well, maybe she needs help!!”

Help. Did Y/N need help? She couldn’t decide as she listened to the two people grow closer before nervousness took over her, and she finally decided to get the heck out of there.

Slowly, she sat up and got a good look at where she was. The pier she almost crashed into the night before was way off to the right, proving that somehow she’d drifted to her current spot after losing consciousness. It was a tranquil area of the beach, didn’t seem to have any public access but yet, here were two people climbing over the large rocks towards her anyways.

The pair must’ve seen her from the nearby trails. There was no one else walking the paths as Y/N looked over at them, but she was able to spot a few different places where someone just walking by could easily see an unconscious mermaid lying in the sand… Oh shit.

Y/N started to panic then, cursing herself for not listening to her nagging thoughts and just going back into the water. What if they saw her tail? Humans were not supposed to know about mermaids. It was that simple. But… here she was, tail and all, with two of them way too close for comfort.

Just get in the water.

It was the only solution. Y/N knew that… and she was about to start scooting back towards the ocean to do so until something caught her eye and caused her to freeze.

A ways off the coast was two people treading in deep water and looking directly at her. If Y/N hadn’t known better, she would have assumed it was just two humans being risk-takers and going further out into the water than they were supposed to. However, that wasn’t the case, and Y/N was well aware that she now facing the two mermaids that had spent the entire night chasing her.

She couldn’t go back in the water, she just couldn’t. But could she expose what she was to these two humans who were no more than a minute from seeing a creature they’ve only heard from in fictional stories? It was a stressful call to make, but with a deep resentful sigh, Y/N stayed put.

The voices of the humans grew much louder as they got closer to where Y/N was sat. They were still bickering, but both became silent once they climbed over the last bit of rocks and saw everything.

Y/N didn’t even want to look at them. She already felt sick to her stomach just thinking about what could possibly be going through their minds right now seeing a full ass mermaid on display. But, they didn’t leave. Almost as if they weren’t disgusted or afraid.

“Oh my god,” the woman said and slowly reached down to grab ahold of the man's arm to steady herself as she stumbled to a stop. “Am I- is this real?”

Her words caught Y/N off guard, and she finally decided to look towards the couple. They both stared at her in awe, but also made no move to run away in fear and warn the other humans. So, Y/N took that time to study them a little.

The woman had longish brown hair that was tied back into a ponytail to keep away from her face. She wore a simple white T-shirt and a pair of jean shorts, and wouldn’t stop smacking the man's arm while pointing towards Y/N.

“Do you see this?”

The man was entirely still. He too was wearing an effortless outfit that was paired with a black baseball cap and some dark sunglasses. His expression was unreadable as he reached up to rub his thumb and pointer finger over his scruffy moustache in thought, before turning to walk away.

“Not my problem,” he muttered as the girl looked at him in utter disbelief.

“Mitch, we can't just leave her here. We gotta tell someone.” The woman said, and Y/N’s anxiousness returned.

“No, no, no, please don’t,” Y/N pleaded as she started shaking her head. However, as she did that, the pain in her skull began to throb, and she had to still her movements as she waited for the soreness to subside.

The couple watched the mermaid hunch over in agony, observing the way she gripped onto her head in attempts to relieve whatever pain she was feeling. After a moment, Y/N stilled and let out a few exhausted breaths.

A wave of concern washed over the woman as she started climbing down the rocks and cautiously approached Y/N, despite the man telling her not to.

The sudden presence beside her caused Y/N to jump, but she didn’t move away from the woman. Despite being afraid of humans, she didn’t feel threatened by this particular one.

The woman took in Y/N’s current condition with an emphatic look. Various cuts and bruises were littering her skin, with a nasty looking gash on her rib cage just under the white seashell bra she wore, and the remnants of a torn-up fishing net wrapped around her tail. To put it nicely, she looked like she had gone through hell and back, and the woman thought that maybe she could use some help.

She crouched down slowly and locked eye contact with Y/N, visibly being able to see just how tense the mermaid was before taking a deep breath and finally speaking up again. “Are you hurt?”

Although slightly hesitant in doing so at first, Y/N nodded; not removing her hand from where she applied pressure to her temple to keep the discomforting ache at bay.

“What happened to you?”

“Got caught in the storm last night while I was too close to shore,” Y/N explained and gestured to all the seaweed and other debris that was scattered around her. “Looks like I wasn’t the only thing that got washed up.”

At this point, the man had joined them as well but continued looking at her with a blank expression. “So, you’re an actual mermaid?”

“Well, kind of,” Y/N explained, her face contorting in pain again as she nodded and the throbbing returned.

“Hit your head pretty hard, huh?” The woman asked with a slight frown, before widening her eyes at her statement. “Not to say that you’re crazy or delusional or anything of that sort. Just that you seem to be hurt and you keep clutching your head and...”

The woman’s sudden worry of being offensive made Y/N chuckle and she soon decided that she liked these humans. “It’s alright, I knew what you meant. But yes. Hit it hard enough to knock myself out and end up on land.”

The two of them nodded slowly in understanding, very clearly still trying to wrap their heads around the entire situation, but still actually listening to what Y/N tells them.

“So, uh,” the man started and shifted awkwardly from one foot to another. “Do you need help getting back to the water? I don’t really know what to do in this situation.”

“I-.” Y/N cut herself off as she flickered her gaze to the two mermaids in the distance and swallowed thickly. “I was actually thinking of staying on land for a bit. You know, uh, until I feel better.”

“Can you be on land? Is that a thing?” The woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, I can function just fine on land,” Y/N explained. “There’s a reason why you humans don’t know we exist. We’re very good at blending in.”

“Ok, and do you need to go to the hospital?”

“No, I just need to get away from here I think,” she continued before glancing back to the man and woman. “I think sleep will do me best.”

“Alright, you can come with us then,” the woman stated as she stood up straight and ignored the glare the man was giving her. “Once we figure out this whole tail situation, that is.”

“Sarah.” The man snapped quietly and looked at her disbelieving as if Y/N wasn’t there. “Where exactly do you plan on taking her?”

“Harry’s,” she stated with a shrug, earning a scoff from the man as she looked over her shoulder at him. “Not like we can bring her to London with us.”

“I know that, but we can’t just leave her there.”

“Why not? I don’t think Harry will mind.”

Y/N watched the two converse, unsure of who or what they were talking about but just brushed it off and let them continue. After a few moments went by, she decided to clear her throat and remind them of her presence.

The two snapped their gazes to her and waited for her to say something. “Would uh, would either of you have a towel by chance?”

The girl, Sarah, nodded before reaching into the large bag she was holding and pulling out a vibrantly coloured beach towel. She handed it to Y/N before turning back to Mitch and continuing their discussion.

While they weren’t looking, Y/N started drying her tail off. Her scales were only damp by this point, so it took her way less time to actually rid her body of any water resting on it. Once she was done, Y/N wrapped the towel around her lower body and waited.

It had been a while since she’d done this, but Y/N recognized the familiar tingling sensation she only felt whenever her tail was about to turn into a set of human legs. The feeling of her scales fading away only to be replaced with skin, muscle, and bone was always strange to her. She never watched the actual transition for it wasn’t the most pleasant thing to see, hence the towel covering her entire lower half, but soon enough the whole thing was over, and she was left staring at a pair of feet where her tail fin once resided.

Neither Sarah or Mitch had noticed what had just gone on as they continued disagreeing on where they’d take the mermaid, but that soon changed when Y/N stood up from the ground and they both fell silent again. Slightly more shocked than before.

“Uh when we turn into our human form, we don’t have any clothes,” Y/N told them and tightened the towel around her waist so nothing would show. “It’s a bit of a downfall, I guess.”

“What is happening right now?” Mitch whispered as he leaned into Sarah a little bit, while she just shook her head.

“That’s,” she started, but paused as if to gather her thoughts before continuing. “I don’t even know.”

“Would either of you have some extra clothes by chance?” Y/N asked, slightly embarrassed.

“You can have these,” Sarah responded and pulled out another pair of shorts and a T-shirt from her bag, ripping off the tags before tossing them to Y/N.

“Thank you.”

Sarah and Mitch turned their backs to Y/N so she could have a bit of privacy as she put the clothes on. Once she was done getting dressed, she removed her shell bra and hid it behind a rock; hoping that maybe she could find it there later on need be. She then unwrapped the towel and folded it up, holding it tight against her chest before turning back to face the ocean.

The two other mermaids hadn’t moved from their spot and continued staring at her. Only the top part of their heads remained above the water, which left Y/N feeling very uncomfortable as their gazes burned into her. However, she didn’t waver. She stared right back at them and dared them to do something. Neither of them did, nor did they break eye contact until a voice spoke up from behind Y/N.

“Ready to go?” Sarah asked with a warm smile as Y/N turned to look at her.

“Yeah, let's get out of here.”

The three of them started heading towards the trails again and make way to a nearby parking lot. Y/N had no idea where they were taking her, but it seemed safer than being in the ocean with those other mermaids lurking off the coast. There’s no way Y/N would have been able to avoid them in her current state, so this was ultimately the best option, which made her less anxious. However, she still had a terrible feeling of it all when she glanced back to the water just in time to see two crimson red tails disappear beneath the waves.

It was a short drive through Los Angeles from the beach to the house Mitch and Sarah were soon pulling into the driveway of, but seemed much longer to Y/N.

With it being quite some time since she had last spent more than an hour or two on land, and in more than one place as well, Y/N was quite intrigued. She watched out the car window with an amused expression as she observed the palm trees, buildings, and people they drove past; taking it all in and smiling when she’d see something completely out of the ordinary.

Part of her still worried that these two may try taking her to a hospital, which Y/N knew would only end badly, but those thoughts went away when they turned down another road and started driving through a lovely community. The houses were large and very fancy looking, nothing like she’d seen way back when she actually did live on land, which left her awestruck.

The house the three of them came to a stop at was no exception either. It was just as large as the others, but it wasn’t as flashy. There was much more of a simplistic vibe to it but was still absolutely stunning.

Mitch and Sarah lead her into this house, unlocking it with a key they had all while continuing their conversation about whether they should actually be doing this or not. Y/N however, was too amazed to be bothered by anything they were saying.

The inside of the house was even more stunning than the outside. White marble flooring went as far as she could see, only disappearing at the doorway to another room and at the edge of the large staircase that leads to the second floor. Beyond the foyer, she could see what looked to be a kitchen at the other end of the hallway. Dark hardwood flooring that matched the colour of the stairs met the marble and covered what she could see from the room. Some giant windows let the sunshine through brightly. That alone paired with the various pieces of artwork and photos that covered the walls gave off a warm and welcoming feeling, which Y/N liked a lot.

Mitch and Sarah stepped further into the home and walked towards the kitchen. Y/N however, stayed put. She brushed her bare feet against the mat she was standing on, not wanting to trail any sand through the house before finally stepping onto the cold marble.

The pictures on the walls are what caught her attention first. They displayed different things and places, some being very random, but still beautiful nonetheless. She then migrated towards the staircase, looking up to the next floor as she went. What could possibly be up there sparked Y/N’s curiosity, but she knew she was in no place to explore some stranger's home.

“You can go up there,” Sarah’s voice snapped her out of her trance. “There are a few bedrooms up there, you can choose one to rest in if you’d like.”

“Oh, that’d be great. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Sarah smiled before handing Y/N a large bandage. “This is for the cut on your ribs, might want to cover it up before it gets infected or something.”

Y/N nodded as she took the bandage from her. “Thank you again. For everything.”

“You’re quite welcome,” she told her nicely. “Now why don’t you go get some sleep, yeah? You must be exhausted from the night you had. Mitch and I may not be here when you wake up, we have to go, but our friend who lives here should be back soon. He’s very kind. I’m going to try to explain everything to him, but he’s not someone you should be afraid of by any means.”

“Ok,” Y/N responded, trusting everything she’d just been told. “I’ll head up there now then. It was nice meeting you, Sarah. I’m Y/N, by the way, and please do thank Mitch for me as well.”

“I will. Good luck with everything, Y/N.”

The two then parted ways as Y/N went upstairs and Sarah returned to the kitchen. Once she was on the second floor, Y/N opened the first door on her right and crashed onto the large bed that resided in the room; not bothering to take a look at anything in it as she made her way to the bed.

The throbbing hadn’t gone away. There was still a dull ache in the back of her head from where she hit it before being washed up on shore, and it didn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. She tried to ignore it though, and focus on the comfort she was feeling by resting in the large bed she took over rather than think about the pain.

Still refusing to open her eyes, Y/N rolled onto her side and curled up into the mountain of fluffy pillows in attempts to actually get some rest. The faint scent of cologne engulfed her in a somewhat comforting way when it mixed with the familiar smell of saltwater that still remained in her hair, and with it, she was soon able to fall asleep... not hearing the conversation that ensued downstairs.

“He’s going to lose his shit once he gets home, Sarah,” Mitch started as soon as his girlfriend stepped back into the kitchen of his best friend's home. “We should have just left her, or called the cops, or something.”

“If we called anyone it would have created a bigger mess than this already is,” she argued. “Mermaids aren’t real, or so we thought. Could you imagine what would have happened if someone found her that didn’t want to help? Who knows where she could’ve ended up?”

“Again, that wouldn’t have been our problem.”

“We couldn’t just leave her, Mitch. There was a reason she didn’t go back into the water. I don’t know if you noticed too, but she kept looking at something off the coast and looked terrified whenever she did. I think she was trying to avoid something.”

Mitch sighed. “I did notice that I just couldn’t see what it was.”

“Exactly,” Sarah reasoned. “Things could have been a lot worse for her if we didn’t help. And don’t worry about Harry, I’ll talk to him. I’ve already messaged him and leave him a note on the door as well. But for right now, she needs to recuperate, and we need to get to the airport. I think Harry will be just fine.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

Y/N wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but when the sound of the front door to the house opened and closed, she figured maybe she should get up. Slowly, she let her eyes flutter open to the pitch-black room. There was a bit of light shining under the doorway from the hallway outside of the bedroom, and she could only assume it was the two kind people who had helped her and brought her here returning from wherever they’d gone off to.

Heavy footsteps could be heard coming up the same wooden staircase she climbed up just hours ago and towards the room she was in. Although she wasn’t scared per se, Y/N still held her breath and waited for the door to open and reveal who she hoped was Mitch and Sarah. However, those hopes were crushed when the door burst open and in walked a complete stranger.

He had short curly brown hair and some of the prettiest green eyes Y/N had ever seen. His outfit was rather simple, very casual, and similar to the clothes Y/N saw other people wearing during her short time on land, and it suited him very well.

The two of them just stared at each other for a moment as Y/N slowly sat up and leaned against the headboard. She was completely unsure of what to say, but luckily for her, the man beat her to it.

“Who are you, and why are you in my bed?”

Y/N didn’t know how to react. The way the man stared at her so intensely made her want to shrink away and never be seen again, but she didn’t. Instead, she straightened her posture and looked right back at him. “I was brought here.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that,” he replied and held up a piece of paper. “Found this on the front door when I got home after getting a very long, questionable text from Sarah.”

So this is the friend Sarah told her about the owner of the house. He was rather handsome in Y/N’s opinion, but so far he was not as kind as Sarah had made him out to be, and that made her nerves return. “I-I.”

“You’re a mermaid?’ He asked in disbelief, becoming slightly more aggravated as he watched Y/N shake her head in agreement. “What the hell were those two on when they found you?”

Y/N could tell he was not happy, which she understood why, but she also really did not like the way he was speaking to her and decided to address that. “I… I don’t like your tone.”

“Pardon?”

“I said, I don’t like your tone,” she replied firmly. “Sarah said you were nice, but I’m finding that hard to believe.”

Was this girl, ok? Sarah had told Harry in the message she sent that the girl in front of him had hit her head. Was that why she thought she was a mermaid? Also, why did they think to bring her here of all places? Clearly, she didn’t recognize him or know who he was, but there’s still no way that she’s a mermaid.

Harry couldn’t quite wrap his head around the whole situation, but regardless, he could see her point in the way he wasn't exactly calm in addressing the issue at hand. So, with a deep breath, he calmed any odd feelings and worries he had.

“I’m sorry. I could have handled that better.”

“It’s alright, I’m sure you weren’t expecting a stranger to be asleep in your bed once you got home. I know I wouldn’t.” Y/N explained and instantly felt better when a smile started tugging at the man’s lips.

“Not exactly a regular occurrence, no,” Harry chuckled and took a good look at the girl. Her hair was matted, indicating that it had been wet at one point and furrowed his eyebrows at the marks and cuts that covered her skin. It was evident that she had been through something traumatic, but Harry decided he shouldn’t dig for any information and decided maybe if he addressed everything calmly, he could eventually get her out of his home and get her the medical attention she might need. “Sarah had said you were hurt, do you need to see a doctor?”

“No, I think I’ll be fine,” Y/N responded and slowly climbed out of bed. She walked towards the man and let out a surprised gasp at how tall he was. Y/N had always considered herself to be an average height whenever she walked around on land with humans, but he made her feel much shorter. She then made eye contact with him again and quickly shook her head, free those thoughts. “Sleeping helped a lot, but uh, if you didn’t mind… I could really use a shower.”

Harry’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at the girl's words. If she really was a mermaid, could she even take a shower? How did any of this work? But then again, Harry knew mermaids didn’t exist, but he decided to play along with the story he’d been told about the girl standing in front of him.

“You’re sure nothing will happen?” His question had a serious tone to it, and Y/N wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it. “When you’re in the shower, that is.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Harry started with a sign. “Well. You’re a mermaid, right?”

Y/N nodded.

“Don’t mermaids, I don’t know, don’t you… you know, turn back into a mermaid once you’re wet?”

“Oh! No. Well not in the sense that you’re probably thinking,” she explained, earning a skeptical look from the man standing in front of her. “I mean yes, technically mermaids will turn into their mermaid form when they’re in the water or are wet. However, we either have to be fully submerged in water, or if we’re on land and say it’s raining, we usually have about two minutes before anything would happen. I, on the other hand, have a bit more time than that because I’m not a proper mermaid.”

“Proper?” Harry asked, still processing everything else she said, but that specific part standing out. “There’s such a thing as a proper mermaid? And you’re not one of them?”

“It’s a long story,” Y/N mumbled in response. It was a complicated story too and was something she just didn’t want to get into quite yet, so, she did what she did best; avoided the situation entirely. “Anyways, um, would you mind showing me where the shower is, please? The dried saltwater is making my hair a bit grimy.”

He just stared at her. There still was a large part of him that didn’t believe any of this could actually be real. Maybe this girl was lost? Confused? Whatever it was, Harry was still unsure of why Mitch and Sarah would bring her here and make it all his problem.

Y/N watched as the man continued staring towards her blankly. Although he was looking right at her, he wasn’t making direct eye contact, which leads Y/N to believe that he must’ve been in deep thought. His gaze just wouldn’t move away from her though, and after a moment of silently shifting her weight from one foot to the other, she cleared her throat in attempts to gain his attention back.

“Oh, uh yeah, this way.”

Harry didn’t bother showing her the rest of the house just yet and opted on taking her to his en suite so he could be nearby if she needed anything. Once he showed her how to turn the water on and where everything was, he set one of the clean, large fluffy towels onto the porcelain vanity top and gave her, her privacy. Once he was back in the bedroom, he flopped onto his bed and groaned. What the fuck was he supposed to do now?

The way the water shot from the shower once Y/N twisted the handle to the left, like she had been shown, caused her to jump slightly and gasped at the sight. She wasn’t expecting it to be so... aggressive, but nonetheless, she waited for a bit of steam to rise to indicate the water was warm enough for her to get into.

Once the entire bathroom itself was a bit warmer, and condensation started forming on the large mirror above the vanity, Y/N took off the baggy T-shirt and shorts she had been given to wear and was about to finally get into the shower. However, something caught her eye.

On the wall near the shower was a black square. It had various knobs and dials, something Y/N had never seen before but was instantly intrigued by. To the top right of the contraption, there was a button that said ON/OFF to which Y/N decided she should most definitely press.

Another surprised yelp left the mermaid's mouth when the noise started blaring from the device, and she instantly moved to turn it down with the knob that was labeled Volume. As soon as the sounds were down to a comfortable level, Y/N let it sink in that it wasn’t just any noise that surprised her, it was music. And Y/N loved music.

She listened for a second before her eyes widened in surprise; she knew this song but wasn’t sure how. Maybe it was from floating near houseboats while they played that tune, or simply by being near the shore while she was observing people. Whatever it was, Y/N recognized the song, and it brought a great sense of comfort to her, which finally lead her to get into the damn shower.

Harry’s eyebrows raised in alert as soon as the music started blaring from his en-suite. He wasn’t expecting In My Place by Coldplay to just randomly start playing but assumed the girl had simply just found the stereo in there and decided to let her be.

He hadn’t moved from his spot on the bed and didn’t have any plans to. His phone dinged with a notification from where it had been lying next to him and with another dramatic groan, he rolled over to see what it was; eyes widening once he saw it was a message from Sarah.

Sarah

Don’t be mad. x.

Harry scoffed, of course, she’d be so nonchalant about all of this.

Harry

There’s a girl that thinks she’s a mermaid in my shower right now, Sarah.

Sarah

She is a mermaid! You can even ask Mitch, he was there too. And she needed help, H.

Harry stared at the phone screen for a few moments, just thinking of how he could possibly respond to that. He zoned everything out as he let this all really sink in and didn’t realize that the song playing from the washroom had changed, or that it had changed again.

He was utterly unaware of just how much time had passed until a loud gasp, followed by an even louder thump sounded from the en-suite. Harry instantly sat up and waited, waited to see if he had just imagined the noise or if it had actually happened. After another moment passed, he got his answer when a hushed and timid voice called out.

“H-help, please.”

There was no way of predicting what was on the other side of the washroom door, but when Harry scrambled off the bed and across the room to hesitantly push it open so he could step inside, he can wholeheartedly say he was not picturing the scene that unfolded once he did so.

The water from the shower was still running, and the music continued playing. Harry kept his eyes closed because he knew that with the large glass walls of his shower, he’d see something that he wasn’t meant to when it came to the girl that was in there. “What happened?”

“I stayed in the water for too long,” Y/N whimpered as she tried to sit herself up against the bottom of the shower wall without flinching in pain from her fall. “C-could use your help, please?”

Harry didn’t want to open his eyes, but when he did, his mouth dropped open. The girl wasn’t completely naked like he would have expected if it were under any other circumstances. Instead, her lengthy hair covered her exposed chest while the bottom half of her body now had a tail. Stunning shades of pink, purple, blue, and green all shimmered against the water that covered her scales, and Harry just simply could not look away. He’d never in a million years expect to find himself in this type of situation, but here he was, with a mermaid in his shower.

Y/N watched as he took in her appearance. For some reason, the way he looked at her made a blush burn at her cheeks, but also make her want to just disappear. She was so embarrassed and cursed herself for not paying attention to just how long she’d been in the shower.

The defeated sigh that left her mouth is what snapped Harry back to reality, and in a quick second, he was at the shower, swinging the door open and reaching in to turn the water off. He then let his gaze fall down to the way the mermaid clutched onto her right elbow and saw how red it was already turning, quickly assuming she must have whacked it when she fell over.

“Do you-,” Harry started to ask if she needed help getting out of the shower but stopped himself. Of course, she did. She was a mermaid.

Cautiously, Harry bent over to snake one arm around her waist and the other under her tail so that he could pick her up bridal style and lift her out of the shower. The girl’s scales were slick against his skin, and he feared he might drop her, but she soon wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pressed her chest against his own to prevent that from happening.

Y/N instinctively nuzzled her face into the crook of the man’s neck, feeling more stupid and vulnerable than she had in a really long time, but as she inhaled the smell of his cologne, the same one she’d spent hours basking in as she slept, comforted her. Despite how embarrassed she still was. “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Harry replied before gently setting her down on the raggy white bath mat outside of the shower. He could sense how she was hesitant in letting go of him, but she eventually did, and he was able to move away slightly. His clothes were soaked, but Harry didn’t care as he remained crouched down and really got a good look at the mermaid. He started at her face, noticing just how stunning her eyes were and not realizing how his eyes had a similar effect on her earlier. His gaze then trailed down her body, still thankful her hair was covering her chest and preventing this situation from becoming even more awkward, before finally landing on her tail again. “Wow, you really are a mermaid.”

“Told you I was,” Y/N grumbled as she leaned back against the cold glass shower, before instantly crossing her arms over her chest once she realized she still wasn’t wearing anything.

“Right,” Harry responded with a sigh. “So, what do we do now? Do you stay like that forever?”

“No,” Y/N chuckled. “I’ll have legs again soon, but would you mind passing me that towel first?”

“Oh, yeah,” Harry answered before reaching over to grab the towel that still rested on the vanity. He didn’t say anything else as he handed the girl the item and sat back to watch as she unfolded it and placed it over her body before speaking to him again.

“See, the thing with being a mermaid is that we can control water,” Y/N started to explain. “Move it, manipulate it… we can do it all. However, like I said, I’m not a proper mermaid, so I’m not as powerful with the water as I am compared to a regular mermaid.”

“Regular mermaid,” Harry mumbled as he watched her wave her hand over her tail and witnessed the water droplets remove themselves from her scales. He shook his head in disbelief as the water gathered together in one large form right in front of him before looking down and realizing this was how she was drying herself.

Y/N watched the man with an amused expression as all the water was removed from her body, and the burning sensation of her transition returned. She still refused to look down as her tail turned back into her legs and focused on moving the ball of water she created instead. With another small wave of her hand, the water moved through the air and over to the massive bathtub that was in the corner; watching as it burst and crashed into the porcelain below and eventually went down the drain. Her gaze moved back to the man, who was busy looking between her and the bathtub in utter disbelief.

“You think that’s cool? You should see what an actual mermaid can do.”

“What? How?” Harry stammered and slowly stood back up, reaching his hand out to help the now human-looking girl up as well while her other hand kept the towel in place. “This is a lot to take in. And you’re not even a real mermaid?”

“I’m not, no,” Y/N confirmed. “My mother was human, I was born on land. But we can talk about that another day. Thank you again for helping me, um, I’m Y/N.”

Harry continued watching her with wide eyes but felt the tension leave his body as she reached out her hand and smiled at him softly. Slowly, he reached out to shake her hand before finally speaking up again.

“M’Harry. S’a pleasure to meet you Y/N, but I’m going to need you to fill me in on everything.”

Y/N nodded in understanding, before motioning towards the bedroom again. Harry went first and gathered her one of his t-shirts and a pair of track pants to wear before the two sat down on the edge of his bed and talked all night long.

#harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles writing #harry styles preferences #1dff #harry styles au #mermaid!y/n

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