#v. void of oceans

[itsnesss]

𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞 | hwang jun-ho × fem!reader

summary | you have an unexpected reunion with Jun-ho after believing he was dead

warnings | angst, unresolved love, smut, explicit content, p in v, unprotected sex

word count | 1.7 k

author's note | it would help me a lot if you liked, commented and reposted so that more people read what I write and don't forget to follow me thanks ᡣ𐭩

The road stretched endlessly in front of you. You were a police officer, but at that moment, as you drove down that lonely highway, you didn't feel the rigidity of your uniform or the weight of your job.

Your mind traveled back to the past, to moments you would rather forget. Years had passed since you lost him. Since that night when he simply disappeared and you never heard from him again.

Suddenly, the lights of a patrol car reflected in your rearview mirror. The blue glow made your heart leap in your chest. Quickly, you checked your speed, confirming that you had been speeding. You cursed under your breath.

You stopped the car and parked it by the side of the road. The blue light continued to shine behind you, but something twisted in your stomach.

You prepared for a short exchange, a speeding ticket, something routine. But when the driver's door opened and you looked up, something made you stop.

There he was. In a traffic police uniform.

Hwang Jun-ho.

You couldn't believe it. Your mind went blank for a moment, as if time itself had stopped. He was staring at you, his dark eyes reflecting something you couldn't identify. For a moment, the air between the two of you thickened, dense with the memories of a past that had never completely faded.

"Good evening" he said, his voice as deep as you remembered, but with a tone you hadn't heard before. "Did you know you were speeding?"

Your body tensed instantly, but it wasn't because of the speeding. It was because of the surprise. For the feeling that the past had returned to hit you hard. You didn't know what to say, you just looked into his eyes, searching for a sign that what you saw in front of you was nothing but an illusion.

"Jun-ho…" you whispered, the word slipping from your lips as if it weren't yours, as if you couldn't believe what you were seeing.

He nodded slowly, his expression unchanged, but there was something in his gaze, something that made you doubt everything you had believed. How was it possible that he was here?

"Didn't you expect to see me here?" he asked, his tone now softer, but with a weight of nostalgia that seemed to hang in the air. "You thought you would never see me again".

A knot formed in your throat. You had asked yourself so many times what had happened to him. If he would ever come back. But the pain of the separation, the void left by his disappearance, was still fresh in your mind. And now you had him in front of you, alive, real, and in a uniform you had never imagined.

You didn't know if you had been waiting for this moment or dreading it.

"Why... are you in transit?" the question slipped out almost unintentionally, but Jun Ho cut it off before you could finish it.

"I needed to start over. Change of scenery" His voice became softer, as if the words he was saying had too great a weight to let go.

You stared at him, unsure if you could believe his words. The situation was surreal. How had he ended up here? What had happened to him since his disappearance? The last time you heard from him, it was when they found him adrift in the ocean, almost lifeless, recovering from everything he had endured. But now he was here, in front of you, as if time hadn't passed at all.

"I thought you had... died." The phrase came out before you could stop it.

Jun Ho let out a sigh, his eyes softened for a second.

"Everyone thought the same," he said, with a faint smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "But I survived. And here I am".

The silence settled between the two of them, heavy, full of unasked questions, of unmentioned memories. And in that moment, something inside you broke. Something you had tried to contain for so long. The need to understand what had happened, to comprehend how it had all been. And more than anything, the need to feel it close again.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again," you said, almost like a whisper.

Jun-ho didn't respond immediately. Instead, he leaned toward the passenger seat, his face now just a few centimeters from yours. The proximity made you tremble. You couldn't deny what you felt, what you had always felt for him. The connection you shared, even after everything that happened, was undeniable.

Suddenly, he moved closer, his lips almost touching yours. A shiver ran through your body as you felt his closeness, and the air became thick. The memories, the emotions, everything you had kept inside overflowed in that moment.

Without thinking, you kissed him.

The kiss was immediate, as if time hadn't passed, as if everything were back to how it used to be. The touch of his lips on yours ignited something within you, something you had kept extinguished for years. The spark, the fire you shared, had never gone out.

Jun-ho's hands traced your face, as if he feared you would vanish at any moment. The gentleness with which he touched you contrasted with the urgency in his kiss. It didn't matter what had happened, what had occurred in the past. At that moment, only the present mattered.

The car no longer seemed like a closed space. The connection between the two of them was palpable, almost electric. You pulled away from his kiss for a moment, taking a breath, but before you could say anything, he leaned in again. This time, he was more determined, more firm.

His hands traveled down your neck, tracing the contour of your skin, and a shiver ran through your body. You felt how desire took hold of both of you, how the chemistry that had remained between you hadn't faded with time. It was as if it had never left.

"I've missed you so much," he said softly, as he kissed you again.

Jun-ho's words made your heart race even faster. You felt as if you had returned to the past, when everything was simpler, when there were no distances, when you both shared dreams and promises. But that promise was broken, and now only the shadows of what once was remained.

The tension in the air was rising, and you couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened between the two of you. But in that moment, the only thing that mattered was him. All you wanted was to feel him close again.

Jun-ho looked you in the eyes, and without a word, his hands began to unbutton your uniform. The desire grew with every second, with every caress, with every touch of his skin against yours.

You moved to the passenger side, sliding over his lap as his hands removed your uniform. You nestled against his chest, feeling his lips kiss your shoulders, while his hands brushed against your bare skin. The touch of his fingers tracing your curves made you gasp.

Jun-ho kissed you again, deepening the kiss, and his hands moved to the back of your body, towards your buttocks. The gesture made you tremble, and you felt something within you beginning to give in. The tension you had held for so long was fading away.

He leaned close to your ears and whispered something, words you couldn't quite understand, but that seemed to promise something beyond that moment. And instead of waiting, his fingers slid between your thighs, searching for the spot he knew would drive you wild.

The caress of his fingers was soft, tempting, as if they were about to make a promise. The closeness of his body, the proximity of his mouth over you, the softness of his fingers on you, it was all as if you were returning to the past. Everything was as if they had never been apart.

Your breath caught when his fingers found the spot. The desire intensified in an instant. The excitement had brought you to a point you didn't want to leave, and the touch of his hand on you was too much to resist.

You moved slowly over his lap, feeling the bulge of his pants against your thighs. The friction was inevitable, but Jun-ho didn't seem to mind. Instead, he moved with me, his fingers slowly penetrating you. The moans that escaped your throat were involuntary, and Jun Ho muffled them with a kiss. The rhythm of his fingers increased, the penetration deeper and more rhythmic. You couldn't hold out much longer.

Suddenly, Jun Ho stopped you. His fingers left you with a softness that made you gasp. But before you could protest, Jun-ho leaned closer to your ear and whispered.

"I want to feel you" His words made you lose your composure completely. The air in the car had become dense, heavy with desire.

I didn't need any more stimulation. Quickly, you took off your underwear and sat on his lap again.

You slid your hand between his pants, caressing his erection. The sensation of his skin, soft and warm under your touch, was all you needed. You slid it down, revealing his erection in all its glory. It was just as you remembered, big and thick, ready to be fucked.

You didn't take any more time to think. There was no more time for that. You moved over his erection, the position of the car forced you to be the one on top, and that was exactly what you wanted. The position of control was yours at that moment.

You sat on him, his erection brushing against the edge of your entrance, but without penetrating. The torture was as good as it was painful. The friction was all you needed to reach the climax, but it was also what made you want more.

Suddenly, his arms enveloped you, and he pulled you towards him. The movement was abrupt, and his erection sank into you in an instant. The penetration was stronger than you expected, but also more pleasurable.

The scream that escaped your lips was involuntary, but the pleasure was undeniable. Jun-ho moved beneath you, pushing his erection inside you over and over again. Each thrust made you tense a little more, made you sit a little deeper on his cock.

The position of the car made sex a bit more uncomfortable, but that was the last thing on your mind. At that moment, all that mattered was the feeling of having him inside you again, feeling his breath on you, having his body in contact with yours.

"Tell me you haven't forgotten me," you whisper in his ear.

The request was simple, but what lay behind it was much more than just words.

"I have never forgotten you," you replied sincerely, your words coming out in gasps. "I will never be able to do it".

Jun Ho smiled at you, his eyes shining in the darkness of the car. His arms tightened around you, and he pushed a little deeper inside you. Your breath caught for a moment, the pleasure rising to a new level.

"Then, tell me that you will always love me" he whispered again.

The words slipped from your lips without thinking.

"Yes, I always loved you. I always will".

Jun-ho smiled again, but this time, there was something in his eyes, an emotion that seemed to shine like fire. His arms tightened around you a little more, and he began to move beneath you again. The position was uncomfortable, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was the rhythm, the feel of his cock inside you.

Their breathing became labored. The pleasure intensified with each thrust, but it wasn't just the sex that made you lose your composure. It was the closeness of having him there, of having him back in your life.

Their breathing became labored. The pleasure intensified with each thrust, but it wasn't just the sex that made you lose your composure. It was the closeness of having him there, of having him back in your life.

When you reached the climax, the scream that came out of you was not just one of pleasure. It was one of liberation, of having released everything you had been holding back for years.

Jun-ho arrived just a moment later, his body tensing beneath you as he came. The warm fluid spilled inside you, and you felt his erection pulsing within you.

Both of your breathing became gentle, and for a moment, there were no words between you. Only the sound of the air moving in the car was audible. Jun-ho gently stroked your hair as you leaned on his shoulder, feeling his skin against yours.

"You won't give me a ticket for having sex in the car, will you?" you joked a moment later.

Jun Ho laughed softly, his lips brushing against your hair.

"No" He smiled in the darkness. "I think you've already paid me in full".

You laughed softly and leaned a little more into his arms.

[lilacxquartz]

beneath the murky depths;

octoman sukuna x f!reader

plot: your vulnerable state catches the attention of an oceanic god — themes/warnings: tentacles, smut, monster fucking, orally & in v, painful sex, dubcon — w.c: 1.4k • ao3 • masterlist

a/n: by request, hope this is what you were looking for! <3 keep the warnings in mind before clicking in.

You didn’t mean to fall asleep on the beach, but you couldn’t help it. You were so tired and it was so warm—how could you pass up such an opportunity?

You supposed that the problem was that, when you came around, the shores were now empty and devoid of seemingly everyone. It was dark in such an odd way too, with the skies looking more blood red than the usual dark blue that blanketed over the horizon.

At first, you thought that you were dreaming but the longer that you lay awake, the more real it all seemed. Something in the air tasted bitter, almost metallic—while the ground beneath your body gently trembled—the sand flittering around without a cause. You sat up in a flash, trying to make sense of what you were experiencing, only to be met with the otherworldly sight of what appeared to be rising tides, somehow paused at a standstill.

“What the…?” you murmured to yourself, your voice coming out as a hoarse whisper as it was still thick with sleep.

The waters, so void-like and foreboding, parted at the center like two liquified curtains separating at the seams, giving entry to a tall and imposing figure beyond your comprehension. Your eyes locked onto the impossible sight, taking note of his robust frame adorned with muscles; showcasing four large strong arms sprouting from his body alongside a set of tentacles spearing from his back.

Instinctively, your first course of action was to back away as far as you could, even though it seemed like you had nowhere to run off to. There was a strange feeling of some sort of ambient pressure, like this being’s presence prevented you from moving very far, if even at all.

“You’re a curious thing, aren’t you?” he purred in a deep voice.

You stared at the monster, blinking a couple of times as your mind raced for a potential response. Something like him shouldn’t exist—there was simply no way—and yet… this didn’t seem to be a dream nor a nightmare, so what on earth were you looking at exactly? His face didn’t make sense either, with the parallel half boasting something resembling barnacles with shells alike, peering out what appeared to be another set of eyes.

“W-what are you?” you finally managed to sputter out.

He smiled slightly, yet there was nothing warm about the gesture. “The mortals know me as Sukuna,” he introduced himself, eyeing you down with fixed contempt, “you should be thankful to be in the presence of a god.”

“A-a god?” you replied.

Sukuna hummed, retaining his stoic demeanour, although a hint of arrogance crept into his eyes. “Depends on who you worship, some might call me a demon…” he trailed off, letting the implication linger in the air before continuing, “now, who might you be?”

You just barely muttered out your name to him.

Addressing you personally, he took a step closer, his figure looming over yours, casting a dark shadow over where you were sat. “And what do you offer me?”

You blinked. “H-huh? Offer? I-I didn’t pray to you… d-did I?”

Sukuna rumbled out a low, deep-bellied laugh. Despite his reaction to your confusion, he didn’t seem to be amused in the slightest. “I won’t ask you again,” he warned, addressing you personally once more, “so tell me, what do you offer me?”

“I-I don’t have anything?” you nervously asked.

“Everyone has something to offer,” he corrected you, branching out a finger to tweeze at your chin, tilting your head up to meet with him directly. You froze at the sight, your eyes wide with fear. “How about… your lust?”

Your words failed you for a second before you were able to even respond.

But then you finally managed something, “I…I— What?”

Sukuna hovered over you, his scarlet gaze locking onto yours, daring you to oppose his suggestion. You were too terrified to reject him and ultimately wanted to live through whatever this was, so you found yourself apprehensively nodding in agreement.

“O…kay…” you just barely choked out.

Sukuna didn’t need to be told twice, immediately moving over you. The tentacles that rooted from his back snaked over towards your body, capturing your limbs in a tight, wrapping embrace. You gasped out at the bizarre sensation, feeling the tugging weight of them spread your legs apart while keeping your arms locked in place.

“You should be able to take me after this,” he lazily murmured, coiling a tendril over your now-spread sex, placing a fleshy suction cup just over your clit. The pleasure was immediate as soon as the connection was made, the sucker vacuuming over the bud.

As the motions continued to spread a surging sensation of warmth, a sweeping tingle simmered through your core. Almost instinctively, your body lifted itself to lean into the spike of the muscle, letting slip of needy—almost whining shuddered out whimpers.

“Such an obedient girl,” he almost praised, seeming to approve of your reactions.

There was no time to reply to his condescending flattery as the blissful sensation rose, pushing your body above and beyond its capable threshold. An exhilarating peak formed in between your legs, boiling over to overflowing ecstasy as your eyes rolled back and your toes tingled and curled.

However, it didn’t seem to be over just yet. Sukuna plucked the limb away, guiding it slightly lower to meet at your entrance instead. You were slicker at this point, with your heat glistening in your sopping release. He then speared the tentacle into your sex without warning, impaling you with the tentacle, moving another to swim through your slightly ajar lips, feeling overwhelmed as he simultaneously fucked the tendrils into your body, keeping you perfectly well filled.

Quickly flustered, you unintentionally rolled your hips to match the momentum of how he moved within you, finding that he was able to slowly bulk out the swelling girth of the boneless limbs, leaving you completely stuffed as you were forced to adjust around the size, left perfectly distracted as he slowly eased the feelers out of your body.

Thinking it was over, you wrongfully relaxed, as once again without warning or any chance to recover, Sukuna moved forward in his plan to have you fully take him, positioning the tip of his heavily thick cock into your cunt, pushing himself fully inside.

Regrettably, you weren’t quite as ready as he thought, so he suffered your teeth sinking into one of his tentacles that hovered nearby, seething out a pained hiss in response. Quickly retracting it, however, he half laughed, half scoffed as if amused by your little slip-up. “You’ll take me,” he warned or rather, promised, “and you’ll take me well.”

Once again, he eased himself into your core, his eyes fluttering in pleasure from the sensation of your walls swallowing around his length. Slowly, he drove his cock through you, taking note of how your legs widened out of necessity before settling in as far as he could realistically push.

At first, it felt like a punch to the gut, almost, as he started to move. The thudding impact of him hitting your cervix over and over, was nothing short of excruciating, feeling unlike any other pain you had experienced before. Repeatedly, Sukuna stole your breath away as he rutted into your hilt, his creeping tentacles returning to maneuver around the contours of your body, wrapping himself tightly around you—all the while he slammed himself into your soon battered and bruised apex.

And as you let yourself go, your mind blanked. It felt like your orgasm was closer to killing you, than anything else as he continued to brutally penetrate you. He too, was caught up in an almost violent body-wide rolling shudder—filling you up with the flooding aftermath of his peaking climax—with trickling residue that sept out of the cusp of the tentacles, coating you in a sealing pact of something left unspoken.

Your eyes drooped shut after that, but rather than waking up safe and sound on the beach, praying to something else that this was all part of some bizarre nightmare—you found yourself plunged into the dark waters along with him—unintentionally promising yourself to be kept until the end of time.

After all, Sukuna didn’t quite tell you one little detail of the pact.

An offering was a promise, and a promise was forever.

[yourmessagehasbeendenied]

~ AGAIN, MAYBE?

Tw; p in v sex, nsfw, MDNI, idk tbh, comfort, insecure!reader, shy!reader, simon riley things again <3 and yes, chubby reader/ curvy.

Some people lay their life out in front of you like they are a book, ready to be read, wanting to be read. It was easy to make friends with those people, they were friendly, they wanted to be around others. That was you. And there was him. Reserved, quiet, a book that refuses to open, locked with the key thrown into the ocean, you have to break it up just to read the first page. He hated people, he hated being around people.

There we went again, spiraling into the void. The sunshine isn't supposed to meet the moon but once in a lifetime, it happens. You were looking at him with doe eyes, staring like he was the prettiest man you've ever seen, from across the coffee shop. And it made him hungry. Curious, interested. What's a pretty bunny like you doing, staring at the big bad wolf? Like he wants to bite into your neck. You were hoping he wanted to. You stared like you could take him. You stared like you could handle him. It made him almost smirk, laugh at the thought. You, a pretty small little thing? But listening to your friends for 5 minutes talking about how "you should totally, no, need to go there", you caved in. You swallowed as you held your hands together in front of you and blushed, walking towards him. "..Ex-excuse me.." He slowly turned towards you. He raised an eyebrow and when he saw you, he smirked. He tilted his head, "What do ya need?" He asked, like he didn't already know. You swallowed, words almost stuck in your throat. "Well, I was wondering.. Maybe, you know, if you were uhm.. Interested? And not taken of course uhm.. If you would give me your-.." He fully turned towards you and crossed his arms. He smirked fully and cut you off. "You want my number, sweet thing?" He asked before you finished your sentence. You were rambling like you were doing it to save your life. He found it adorable, he found it amusing how you were actually brave enough to come up to him. You sighed and nodded, defeatedly. "Yeah.." You looked away, expecting rejection more than anything, when he stood up and put his rough hands on your soft cheeks, caressing it. "How about this, sweetheart? I'll take you out to dinner tonight, like a real gentleman. And if you decide you still want it, I'll give it to you." He said, his thumb still working it's way to give you the butterflies you never had before. You nodded, now turning as pink as your lip gloss. He smiled and spoke. "Great. Meet me out here at 6, alright pretty? Wear something cute." He said, and let go of you, and gestured his head to your friends. "Run along now love." And so you did. For some reason your feet moved on it's own when your friends looked at you with a smirk, amusement and utter happiness, excitement for you. Looks like you have a date. ~~

And you showed up right exactly at the time, no later, maybe a little early. He showed up in semi fancy clothing, nothing too much, no suit or anything, just not casual clothes either. You wore a pretty dress, and it surprised him. Not how pretty you were. He knew from the start you'd look like a damn fucking angel if you come here, the thing that surprised him was your braveness. You actually came, and it was a little shocking. Foolish little bunny. He grabbed your hand, softly. Way more gentle than what he actually looked like he would be. Rough on the outside, gentleman on the inside. He brought you to his car and opened the door for you. Once he also got into the car, he reached behind your seat. He pulled out pretty red roses and spoke as he handed them to you. "Didn't know what you'd like, so figured I couldn't go wrong with roses." For the first time, he sounded nervous, his cocky confident attitude gone for a second. He sounded like he was afraid you'd hate it, in a way. You smiled at him, and looked at him in his gorgeous brown eyes. His heart skipped a beat, but not just metaphorically. He swallowed and he felt the feeling of something crawl up his stomach. You spoke, in the softest tone he's ever heard. "Thank you. They are very pretty.. uh.." You trailed off, realizing you don't even know his name yet. He smiled. "Simon. It's Simon, love." You smiled back at him, and spoke. "Mine's *name,*" You said, fidgeting with your fingers. He noticed, he noticed every bit of you. It made him hungry. But not yet, he couldn't, not yet. He spoke with a tone a little darker than before, but it's barely noticeable. He smiled. "What a pretty name, for a pretty girl." He said, and looked at you up and down. You just had to wear a dress with the prettiest laces at the end of your thighs, didn't you? He swallowed visibly. He drove to the restaurant in mostly silence, trying to keep the talking to the date. He put on some music, even told you to do it, he wanted to know your favorite songs to rail you to to listen to.

The restaurant was very pretty. People weren't noisy, it was well built and people followed the rules. Like an elite restaurant, just not really. You were amused, you were surprised by how beautiful everything was all around. Practically in shocked, you gasped. "Woah.. Such a pretty view." Simon didn't take his eyes off of you as he swallowed and looked at your face. He spoke quietly. "Yeah. Mesmerizing.." As he snapped himself out of it and got your reservation. He smiled at the receptionist and admittedly you wish it was towards you. You two sat down and ordered. The start is always awkward, but the tension quickly broke with him cracking a joke about the food here and you two started talking about your favorite foods. He listened to your every word like you were teaching him the ways of life. Your favorite drink, favorite food, how you eat your favorite food. Everything you said just stayed in his mind, locked up in a memory of his most treasured events that were already filled with two encounters. You coming up to him, and now you having dinner with him. Towards the end of the date, you got yourself a little tipsy, but still completely aware of what you were doing. You were already sobering up when you started being more bold, making jokes. Cracking a joke about the waiter being into him, you smiled as you made it. Something about how handsome and perfect he must be, for everyone around him to want him. He looked surprised. "What do you mean by everyone around me?" He asked, with one of his eyebrow raised. Questioning you. You smiled and rolled your eyes, the alcohol hitting enough to be a bold truth serum, you spoke. "Everyone in this place probably wants to get on their knees and suck your cock." Bold. You didn't even realize what you just said, as the second of silence passed and it hit you. But it was too late. His eyes darkened and he practically stared at you hungry, but not for the food anymore. His tone lowered as he asked, "Do you?" And you didn't know what to say. The alcohol in you didn't want you to deny and lie, but the mature version of you in your mind begged you to not agree, begged you to not seem like a desperate little bitch. But you didn't have to say anything. Your breathing quickened and your thighs pushed together at the thought and he noticed. Every single part of your body, every single thing about you, he noticed. The flush on your cheeks. It made him wanna stop holding back on you. Made him wanna go feral, fuck, it made him go feral. Drove him crazy. And suddenly, he smirked. A challenge.

"Like you could handle it, bunny." It echoed in your head. Bunny. Your eyes widened and you took it as a challenge, too far gone in your head as you swallowed and you screamed "Fuck it, fuck you" in your head to the only part of you that was still somewhat smart. And you spoke. "You wanna bet on that, Riley?" You called his last name. He loved it and tilted his head. "Let's ditch this fucking place, then." Yes, absolutely. Let's do it. For fucks sake, did you really just do that? Did you really just get yourself into that? your cheeks felt hot as he rushed to pay for the damn dinner and practically pulled you out of the damn restaurant, a starved, hungry man. Won't you be kind enough to feed him love? He's so hungry for you. He swallowed and he opened the door for you again, making sure to still be a gentleman even while wanting to rip your clothes off with his teeth. He was feral, like a dog. He drove home the quickest he could and the second you stepped foot into the stupid apartment and he could lock the door, the only reaction you could have was, "Wow, this is huge" before he was already on you. Kissing your lips like it was a lifeline, holding onto you like you were his savior. He needed this. He needed you. You were such a brave, stupid little bunny, walking right into his arms and practically begging him for this. Wouldn't it be rude to refuse? By the time your first kiss with him ended, you were panting an so was he. He started unzipping your dress from the back, and his lips travelled down to your neck.

He picked you up, which caught you off guard. He carried you to his bed, stopping his lips from wandering just until he got to his bedroom and placed you on the bed. He got on top of you and put one of his hands on your cheek, while the other he used his elbow for support. He held himself on top of you, his lips pressing kisses down your collarbone. You breathed heavy, speaking. "..I expected you to be more rough, if I'm being honest." But he shook his head. He stopped and looked up from your collarbone into your eyes as he spoke, "Not tonight." He wanted to be gentle as long as he could be. He knew he would lose it eventually. So he would do it as long as he could. He reached your breasts with his kisses and looked up again, waiting for your consent. Begging for it, begging for you. You whispered. "Go ahead, Simon.." And he slid your top half of the dress off of you. He started kissing down your breasts, leaving hickeys everywhere he could get his mouth on. He then slowly slid the bottom half of your dress down and sat up. He swallowed. How was he supposed to hold back, with a body like that? You tried to sit up too, but he immediately pushed you back down, practically glaring into your eyes. "You told me you could handle it, bunny. You're gonna handle it, without moving." He looked at your underwear and smirked. Lacy and red. What a combo, you really did that for him? He looked at you and he slowly slid his hand inside. He whispered. "Cheeky, did you plan this out?" You swallowed, feeling his cold thumb start to rub against your clit. "N-no.." And you swear you didn't, not at all. You were simply.. hoping. He slid two fingers inside, and his eyes widened. Why the hell were you so tight? Did you really think that with tightness like this you could handle him? He swallowed. He spoke. "I've got you filled by just two measly fingers, bunny. How do you think this is gonna work out? You really wanna take me on?" And you already felt numbed, because you had never been this filled before. You swallowed. "I want it. I want it, Simon- I need it. I need you. Please?" You begged. And how could he refuse when you look at him like that? But not yet. He swallowed and he used his fingers to stretch you out further, as much as he could. Pumping his fingers in and out of you, and he leaned down to kiss you, muffling your moans that were starting to get louder. He whispered to you, against your lips. "Come on now, baby. You don't want my neighbors hating me, do you?" He teased. He smirked, and you shook your head no, but it wasn't good enough for him. He stopped moving his fingers. "Words, bunny." You swallowed and looked at him with frustration. "W-what are you doing? keep moving! Si- Simon!" You demanded, like you deserved it. And that amused him. "You're in no position to demand anything. Are you, bun?" He asked, mockingly. He tilted his head as he looked at you and you swallowed, once you realized he was serious. "N-No. I'- I'm sorry." His smirk widened and he started moving his fingers, faster than before, this time he was trying to make you cum. He let out a loud groan and he spoke in a raspy tone, "There's a good girl." And that was all you needed. You released all over his fingers and he pulled his fingers out with a satisfied, sadistic look on his face. "Look at what a fucking mess you made, sweetheart. Look at this. Is this how you treat your host, huh? What kind of guest are you baby?" Your cheeks flushed as he talked like that. It was embarrassing. But you loved it, and he loved it. He loved the look on your face every time he spoke like that. He looked into your eyes much more seriously now. "You think you're ready?" He asked, pulling your panties down. You looked at him, and slowly spoke. "Yes. Yes Simon. I want this, I want you."

He swallowed and slowly unzipped his pants. He pulled his boxers down, and he seemed nervous. Not insecure, nervous. He didn't wanna hurt you, and when you saw it, you just couldn't understand. You guessed it wouldn't be small at all, but for it to be big and pretty? Was completely ridiculous. You swallowed at the size, preparing yourself mentally for it to hurt. Because you knew it would. He spoke again. "If you want to back out of this, say no, you have to tell me now-" You cut him off. "I want it, I want it inside me." And he snapped. He didn't have any more questions, he just slowly put himself inside you. He looked at you. At your uncomfortable expression. It hurt at first. It hurt so bad, but after letting yourself adjust to his size, he felt like heaven. He started slow, moving in and out and looking at you. You looked so sexy, your moans got so much louder than before. He loved it. He craved to see more. "You're so fucking beautiful, angelic," He said, looking at you. He started to hurry his pace up, breathing heavy. He needed you. Fastening his pace again, more and more. "Si-Simon, sl-slow down! I'm n-not going a-ah! Anywhere.." But he wasn't listening. He couldn't even hear you, pussydrunk and drunk on how beautiful you are. He couldn't focus on anything but the pleasure and how good you looked under him. Muscle memory, maybe, but he suddenly put his thumb on your clit again. Rubbing it, fast, and it made you scream his name louder than ever, snapping him out of his state. His eyes widened as he realized what just happened- you squirted. He was satisfied, and he fastened his pace, not even stopping for a second. You were overstimulated, your mind begging for a break, your body took it like it needed it. He was chasing his own release. "You look like a fucking angel, bunny. You look beautiful. You drive me crazy, you fucking know that? Drove me crazy even from the first moment you stared at me. Pretty fucking bunny thinking she can handle me.." He rambled. "I wanted you since the start. And that pretty red dress you were wearing? Fuck, bun. You look perfect. You belong here, you belong under me. Don't you baby?" All you could do was moan, "Y-yes-, all yours Simon- all yours.." "Is tha' right baby? Yer all mine? All my baby? All mine, huh? Mine to fuck, mine to own? Mine to treat, huh?" He asked, looking down at you. "Y-yes Simon.. Yours.. all yours, for-forever.. My body is all yours." And his eyes snapped open at that, fully. Fuck yes, you're his. His release came crashing down on him and he panted on top of you. He pulled out of you before falling next to you, and he looked at you, panting heavy. He smiled at you. You looked beautiful. You leaned over to press a kiss on his lips, and he smiled. He spoke, his voice much more gentle. "..You wanna go on a date? Again, maybe?" You smiled, and wrapped your arms around him. A silent yes. When you realized something- Did you forget to take your plan B pill?

A/N: HIYIOOOOO i hope you guys enjoy this fanfic too lmfao idk anymore tbh, I love yall, sorry if this was rushed it was my first fic writing ACTUAL smut BTW my requests are ALLLLLL open, commisions r also open <3

[ohnonotthehorrors]

Full respect to Grian for giving up on pretense.

Man went from waiting till the Very End of Evo to get taken by the Watchers, to Communing With the Ocean in the second ep of Hermitcraft 10.

Mother Spore? Several dozen episodes in. The Rift? He'd built parts of his Mega Base first at least. The Moon/Void? Red Life Blood Lust? There is a graph of the amount of time it takes Grian to be possessed V how many times he has been and it is telling.

[fallstaticexit]

Prev / Next / Beginning

Transcript under the cut

Nancy Narrates: [Before I knew it, Vanessa began to carve out a space in my life. It was such a comforting, familiar feeling, as if the space for her was already there. All she had to do was fill the void she had left behind]

Malcolm: Hey Auntie V, are you coming to our Christmas Eve party?

Jonathan: Yeah! You should come! We have all the good desserts and daddy let’s us open one gift each too.

Malcolm: Well, I open two when everyone goes to bed!

Vanessa: Sounds like a bitchin’ good time. I’m in.

Nancy Narrates: [I was beginning to feel there weren’t enough hours in the day to spend alone together. There wasn’t enough time to learn all the ways she’s changed, all those intimate little details I craved to know. Apart of me still feared she would leave me again. Maybe that’s why I craved more of her]

Nancy: I want to build you a home right here, in Brindleton Bay. I’d like you to be close to me- to the boys. They’ve taken a liking to you.

Vanessa: [smiles] Oh, just the boys, huh?

Nancy: [blushes] I could start right away. I can even make sure you have a little reading nook. Do you still like to read?

Vanessa: I do. I’ll need a big ass closet for my heels alone.

Nancy: Anything you like.

Jonathan: Mom! Auntie V! Are you watching? Mom!

Nancy: Yes, I’m watching!

Vanessa: A large kitchen with a window view of the ocean.

Nancy: A spacious backyard, for a garden.

Vanessa: A big, deep bathtub to soak in, with a view of the bedroom, of the bed.

Vanessa: You could visit me. Come and go as you please.

Nancy: Well. I’m sure you’d have...suitors there. Women...

Vanessa: In the house you built for me? You better be the only woman I see there.

Bob: [chuckles] Those two, am I right? Some things never change.

Geoffrey: Yeah. It’s like stepping into a time machine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that close to anyone before. She’s been happier lately.

Bob: Like I’ve said, female friendships are intense. Hey, you uh, ever talked to her about what you told me?

Geoffrey: I never really had the time. She’s always off somewhere with Vanessa, or Vanessa is always there. Maybe it’s not worth mentioning.. it’s not like I ever saw it again.

Bob: It get it, it’s a tough conversation. Just don’t let it sit and rot, you know?

Geoffrey: Right..

-

[collective chatter]

[collective chatter]

Nancy Narrates: [I hate that it bothered me; the thought of her with other women. She’s single. She’s beautiful. Of course she has. I’m sure she will continue to]

Nancy Narrates: [Why does it matter anyway? We are just friends, after all]

Eliza: [chuckles] Why are you out of breath?

Geoffrey: I’ve been chasing after the boys all night. The photographer is here to get a family photo for the Foundation’s newsletter. Haven’t seen Nancy either.

Bob: 100 bucks she’s wherever Vanessa’s at.

Geoffrey: Yeah, I figured as much. Haven’t seen Vanessa either.

Bob: Probably wherever Nancy’s at [laughs].

Eliza: Bobby, please. Ignore him Geoffrey, it’s the eggnog. I’m pretty sure I saw Nancy go into the barroom.

Vanessa: [tsks softly] You’re not hiding from me, are you?

Nancy: No, of course not.

Nancy: Sipping champagne wasn’t hard enough. I guess I wanted to think about something else other than the other questions I want to ask you.

Vanessa: Hmm, I thought I answered them all. Like what?

Nancy: What do you do for work that makes you travel so often? You still haven’t told me.

Vanessa: It’s nothing to rave about, really. Boring stuff. Besides, is that what you really want to know?

Nancy: What’s in that little box you’re holding? I was hoping our no gift rule had no expiration date.

Vanessa: I never got a chance to get you gift back then, so you owe me this. Besides, you’ll like this one.

Nancy: [laughs] A brooch? You actually got me a brooch?

Vanessa: [giggles] What? It was ‘really, really expensive’.

Nancy: This is the world’s longest joke, you know that?

Vanessa: If there’s one thing I’ll do, it’s commit to the bit. Now stop wiggling or I’ll poke you. Do you like it?

Nancy: I love it. Thank you.

Vanessa: It looks good on you. I had it custom made, just for you.

Vanessa: Emeralds, like the color of your eyes.

Nancy: [inhales sharply]

Nancy: Have you been with other women?

Vanessa: A few. Have you?

Nancy: O-of course not..

Vanessa: [hums thoughtfully]

Vanessa: Don’t be mad at me for saying but, I’ve thought of you when I was with them. I guess I do have a thing for blondes.

Nancy: [trembles]

Vanessa: Hey. Today’s our anniversary. Our first kiss? It happened on Christmas Eve. Do you remember?

Nancy: ...Yes. Yes, I remember.

Vanessa: [sighs softly]

[both panting heavily]

[door creaks open]

Nancy: [voice cracks] Y-yes?

Geoffrey: The photographer is here.

Nancy: [clears throat] Right.

[silence]

Vanessa: I should get going.

Nancy: What? No, you don’t have to spend the holiday alone.

Vanessa: I’ll be alright. Besides, what’s another year?

Nancy: [murmurs] I can come with you. I can grab my purse and-

Vanessa: [smirks] It’s fine, Nancy. Enjoy your party. Enjoy your family. There’s always tomorrow. I promise.

Geoffrey: It’s uh, it’s nice having Vanessa around, isn’t it?

Nancy: [smiles weakly] Yes. Yes, it is. Would you like a drink? I think I’ll need two before dealing with the press.

Geoffrey: Sure. Yeah. A drink is nice.

[hellinistical]

fem! reader x rafayel. royal! au. sea horror! au. heavy angst. minor and major character death. slow burn. romance. fluff. explicit smut. trauma. religious themes. gore; hinted torture, cannibalism, decapitation, self-cannibalism. violence. wc: 5375 a/n: ty for the support <3 additionally, there is now a map! its on the masterlist

masterlist | playlist | taglist | prev. | next

V: LOOSE BARREL

The northern beaches were a desolate expanse of jagged cliffs and weathered stones, where the cold wind howled and the sea churned angrily. The water, an icy shade of steel gray, lashed against the unforgiving rocks with a relentless fury, spraying salt into the air. There was no warmth here, no gentle sand to soften the harsh edges of the coastline—just sharp, uneven terrain that seemed to mirror the chaos of the storm brewing far in the distance.

The tide surged and withdrew, erasing any sign of life that might have dared to cross this isolated stretch of land. There were no footprints, no remnants of human presence. Only the sea claimed this place, its wild energy unchecked by time or tide.

Above, the sky hung low, cloaked in heavy clouds that promised no reprieve from the cold. Gulls circled high overhead, their cries swallowed by the crash of the waves below. In the distance, the faint silhouette of a ship bobbed on the horizon, but it was moving away, as if even the sailors knew better than to linger here.

The only sound was the relentless slap of the water against rock, an unending rhythm that seemed both soothing and ominous. This was a place that belonged to no one—untamed, unyielding, and as timeless as the sea itself.

Beneath the tumultuous surface of the northern waters, the world transformed into a murky graveyard. Twisted remnants of mankind's carelessness floated aimlessly, forgotten nets tangled with drifting planks, and rusted barrels spilled their secrets into the currents. Among the debris, a ship loomed in the shadows, its once-proud hull now a skeleton of rotting wood and corroded iron.

The ship's figurehead, once carved in intricate detail, was eroded beyond recognition, its haunting form half-buried in the silt below. Seaweed clung to every surface, swaying like ghostly tendrils in the cold currents. Portholes gaped like empty eyes, staring into the abyss of the deep.

Schools of fish darted through the wreckage, weaving around shattered beams and the skeletal remains of the cargo hold. Barnacles encrusted the jagged edges, and anemones pulsed with eerie life, taking refuge in the decay. The ship, forgotten by those who had once sailed it, had become part of the underwater ecosystem, a silent testament to humanity’s indifference and the ocean’s relentless claim over all that entered its domain.

Above, the faint shafts of light from the storm-darkened sky barely pierced the depths, leaving much of the wreck cloaked in shadow. But if one were to look closely, they might notice something unnatural moving among the ruins—something that didn’t belong to the sea or the remnants of mankind’s negligence.

The creature moved with an elegance that belied its brutality, each motion fluid and deliberate. A finned hand reached out lazily, snatching a fish with practiced ease. Its other hand deftly plucked the fins from the squirming prey, casting them aside to drift aimlessly into the watery void.

With sharp teeth glinting faintly in the dim light, the being bit into the fish. The snap of fragile bones and the crunch of cartilage echoed faintly, muffled by the dense water. A bloom of red blossomed from the wound, spreading like ink in the surrounding currents.

Its body moved like silk through the water, iridescent scales catching the faint light and shimmering in hues of blue and lavender. Long strands of violet hair floated around its head, framing its otherworldly visage like a halo of deep sea fog.

The creature paused mid-bite, its slit-pupil eyes narrowing as it surveyed the wreckage around it. The rhythmic motion of its tail was the only sound as it hovered silently in the darkened expanse, a predator perfectly at home in its haunting domain.

It cast aside the half eaten fish, moving along to inspect the ship more closely. 

The half-eaten fish drifted downward, its lifeless body caught in the slow pull of the ocean's depths. The creature moved on, its sleek form weaving effortlessly through the water, tail undulating with an almost hypnotic rhythm.

The rotting ship loomed before it like a forgotten monument, its decaying wooden beams splintered and overgrown with barnacles. Rusted metal fittings clung stubbornly to the remnants of the hull, and torn sails fluttered faintly in the water’s currents like ghostly shrouds.

It reached out, a webbed hand trailing along the wreck’s surface. Wood crumbled beneath its touch, breaking apart into a fine cloud of debris. The ship reeked of human folly—bottles, rusted tools, and broken chests lay scattered like remnants of a forgotten life.

The creature's gaze narrowed, sharp eyes scanning for something unknown. It paused to pry open a cracked crate, its claws making quick work of the weakened wood. Inside, a glint of metal caught its attention—useless trinkets to some, but perhaps not to it. The faint movement of a crab scuttling into the shadows drew no reaction; this was no scavenger hunt.

The ship was a tomb, but there was something here worth finding. Something it sought. It continued its exploration, movements purposeful and predatory, undeterred by the wreckage's quiet decay.

A series of sharp clicks and low chirps echoed through the water, reverberating off the broken walls of the sunken ship. The soundwaves danced through the gloom, painting a mental map in his mind—a predator’s sonar, seeking life or secrets hidden in the decaying wreck.

The clicks bounced back with muddled signals, disrupted by the ship’s rotting wooden beams and encrusted metal. But faint traces of movement flickered at the edges of his perception. Small fish, maybe, or something larger lurking in the deeper shadows of the wreck.

He moved closer, his iridescent scales shimmering faintly in the dim light filtering from the surface above. With a flick of his powerful tail, he swam around a broken mast, weaving through a tangle of seaweed that had claimed part of the hull. The chirps grew sharper, faster, as he honed in on the disturbance—a lingering curiosity gnawing at him.

The water grew colder as he neared the heart of the wreck. A shadow shifted, barely visible. Something had been here, recently. He clicked again, the sound bouncing back with clarity this time.

He paused, narrowing his piercing gaze, the eerie calm of the waters around him amplifying the tension. Whatever was here might still be watching. Or waiting.

A series of sharp clicks and low chirps echoed through the water, reverberating off the broken walls of the sunken ship. The soundwaves danced through the gloom, painting a mental map in his mind—a predator’s sonar, seeking life or secrets hidden in the decaying wreck.

The clicks bounced back with muddled signals, disrupted by the ship’s rotting wooden beams and encrusted metal. But faint traces of movement flickered at the edges of his perception. Small fish, maybe, or something larger lurking in the deeper shadows of the wreck.

He moved closer, his iridescent scales shimmering faintly in the dim light filtering from the surface above. With a flick of his powerful tail, he swam around a broken mast, weaving through a tangle of seaweed that had claimed part of the hull. The chirps grew sharper, faster, as he honed in on the disturbance—a lingering curiosity gnawing at him.

The water grew colder as he neared the heart of the wreck. A shadow shifted, barely visible. Something had been here, recently. He clicked again, the sound bouncing back with clarity this time.

He paused, narrowing his piercing gaze, the eerie calm of the waters around him amplifying the tension. Whatever was here might still be watching. Or waiting.

The sharp clicks reverberated once more, only to be met with a flash of movement. A female siren emerged from the jagged opening in the rotting wood, her sleek form twisting gracefully through the water. Her iridescent scales glimmered faintly in the muted light, but her toothy grin was anything but serene.

"Fancy seeing you here," she crooned, her voice lilting and sharp like the edges of broken glass. She twirled lazily, her fins brushing against the algae-covered hull as if mocking the ship’s demise.

He huffed, his irritation palpable, bubbles escaping his lips in a flurry. Clicking his tongue sharply, he folded his arms, his tail giving an annoyed flick that stirred up silt from the seabed.

"Do you ever have anything better to do?" he asked, his tone as cold as the deep-sea currents swirling around them.

Her grin widened, revealing rows of needle-like teeth. "Oh, but this is far more interesting than anything else. And you—you’re always so fun to watch when you’re brooding."

"Go play somewhere else," he snapped, his voice carrying the faint edge of a growl. "I don’t have time for your games."

She tilted her head, her sharp eyes narrowing slightly. "Always so serious," she mused, clicking her own tongue in a mocking imitation. "What are you even doing here, hmm? Looking for scraps, or just sulking by the wreck?"

He turned away from her, his patience already threadbare. "None of your business."

Her laughter rang out, a haunting melody that echoed through the water. "Oh, but it is my business when you’re in my waters," she teased, gliding closer. "Careful, or you might make me think you’re hiding something."

Her laughter softened, curling around her words like seaweed around driftwood. Gliding closer, she plucked the discarded fish from where it floated lazily in the water, its half-eaten form a morbid offering.

"Tell me," she began, sinking her sharp teeth into the remains, a burst of crimson clouding the water around her lips. "How has it fared, hmm? Your meals so graciously given to you by that man?"

He stilled, his broad shoulders tightening at her words. His gaze, sharp and unyielding, flicked toward her, annoyance flashing in his bioluminescent eyes. "What are you trying to say?"

She chewed slowly, her grin widening as if she savored not only the taste but his irritation. "Oh, nothing," she replied with mock innocence, flicking her fins playfully. "Just curious. You’ve been... preoccupied lately. Swimming in circles, perhaps hoping for something new to fall into your net?"

His tail lashed, and the water rippled violently around him. "You don’t know anything," he growled, voice low and dangerous.

Her chuckle was dark, almost conspiratorial. "Don’t I?" she cooed, brushing a strand of violet hair from her face with a taloned hand. "Oh, I’ve seen you. Darting around the shallows like a curious pup, chasing a shadow that doesn’t belong in the water."

"Stay out of it," he snapped, his voice cutting through the water like a blade.

Her grin only grew sharper. "Touchy, touchy," she said, tossing the fish’s hollowed carcass aside. "I wonder what would happen if that little secret of yours found its way to more... eager ears."

He moved in an instant, closing the distance between them with a speed that made her flinch, his hand gripping her wrist tightly. His face was inches from hers, his voice a venomous whisper. "You’ll keep your mouth shut if you know what’s good for you."

For the first time, her grin faltered, though she quickly masked it with a sardonic smirk. "Fine," she drawled, twisting free of his grip. "But you should know, secrets have a funny way of slipping through the cracks—just like water."

Above the sirens, vibrations rippled through the cold, murky waters—strong, deliberate, unmistakable. He froze, his sharp gaze shifting upward as the disturbances sent faint currents cascading around him.

A ship?

It wasn’t unusual for the occasional vessel to drift far from its intended path, but here? In these treacherous Northern waters of Chronosia? No human dared venture this close to the Anbusas coast, not if they valued their lives. The stories alone were enough to keep even the most intrepid sailors away—rumors of sharp rocks hidden beneath the waves, sirens with haunting songs, and ancient, cursed tides.

And yet, the vibrations were undeniable, the slow, steady rhythm of oars or an engine cutting through the water, bringing the presence of something very alive—and very human.

The female siren reemerged from the shadows, her earlier amusement replaced by curiosity. "Do you feel that?" she asked, her voice now low and wary, her playful demeanor vanishing like a ripple dissipating on the surface.

He nodded, his gaze narrowing as he tilted his head to the side, listening intently. The clicks and hums of the ocean around them were muffled by the heavier, alien sounds above—a steady thrum of wood and iron clashing against the restless sea.

"No human comes this far north," he murmured, his tone more to himself than to her. "Not willingly."

"Yet here they are," she replied, her own bioluminescent eyes gleaming in the dim light as she swam closer to him, tension vibrating in her every movement. "Brave, aren’t they?"

"Or foolish," he muttered darkly.

The vibrations intensified, and a faint shadow passed over the water above them—a long, hulking silhouette cutting through the waves like a predator stalking its prey.

"Should we?" she asked, her sharp grin returning as her fingers flexed, claws gleaming.

He hesitated, his tail swaying as he considered the possibilities. It wasn’t fear that held him back; it was calculation. A ship this far north couldn’t just be a coincidence.

"Not yet," he said finally, his voice firm. "We watch first."

With a flick of his tail, he moved toward the ship’s path, disappearing into the murky depths as the vibrations continued to rattle through the water, signaling the approach of something unknown—and potentially catastrophic.

***

Above the waves, a massive ship cut through the restless waters, its size and grandeur almost defiant against the foreboding backdrop of the Northern seas. The hull was a masterpiece of craftsmanship, each plank carved with intricate designs—swirling motifs of sea serpents, storm clouds, and gods in battle, their forms interwoven in a way that seemed alive, almost breathing with the motion of the ocean.

The ship’s grandeur was undeniable, its towering masts stretching high above the dark water, sails taut and glistening with rain. Ornate lanterns hung from the railings, their flickering flames casting ghostly reflections across the wet, polished deck. This was no ordinary vessel; it was a thing of beauty and power, a stark contrast to the hostile waters it dared to traverse.

The ship’s bow was crowned with a figurehead, a towering depiction of a siren—beautiful and terrible. Her carved expression was one of agony and wrath, her arms extended toward the sea as though in a plea or a curse. Gold and silver accents glinted in the dim light, betraying the wealth of those who had sent this ship into such dangerous waters.

The crew aboard moved with purpose, their shouts carried faintly by the wind. They weren’t simple merchants or fishermen; their uniforms, weapons, and coordinated movements suggested something more deliberate.

An air of tension hung heavy over the deck, the men glancing uneasily at the churning water below and the storm clouds gathering in the distance. One of them, a broad-shouldered man with a weathered face, stood at the helm, his hands gripping the wheel with knuckles pale against the wood.

"The ship is too damn big for this," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else, his eyes scanning the horizon.

"And yet here we are. Tell it to the captain." another man replied, his voice laced with dry humor, though his hand lingered nervously on the hilt of his sword.

The ship groaned as it pressed forward, the waves slapping against the intricately carved hull as if the sea itself were trying to push it back, to warn it away from the dangers it did not yet fully comprehend.

Marlon, a gruff man with sun-scorched skin and a permanent scowl, spat over the side of the ship, the wind catching the fleck before it disappeared into the sea. Rolling his strained shoulders, he muttered, "The captain won’t listen. Says it’s too good of a hunt waitin’ out here. Still don’t make sense why we took this boat—got imperial sigils all over it."

His tone was sharp, dripping with disdain as he jerked a thumb toward the intricately carved hull. "Like we ain’t already makin’ ourselves a big enough target just bein’ here."

The other man leaning against the railing with a hand near his sword, Ryder, chuckled humorlessly.  "A hunt, he says. As if the sea gives a damn about our quarry. Imperial sigils or not, these waters’ll swallow us whole if they’ve a mind to."

Marlon grunted, his brows furrowing deeper as he scanned the horizon. The heavy clouds above mirrored the unease in his chest. "Hunt or no hunt, I’m tellin’ ya, we should’ve stayed south. Ain’t no fish worth pissin’ off what lives under this stretch of water."

The other man didn’t reply, only tightening his grip on his weapon. The air seemed thicker here, heavier. It wasn’t just the threat of the storm—it was something deeper, something ancient. Even the ocean spray felt colder, biting through their thick coats like icy fingers.

Marlon’s voice dropped, almost a whisper. "And this boat? It’s too damn pretty. Too loud. If we’re not careful, it’s gonna bring somethin’ outta those depths we don’t wanna see."

Marlon turned at the sound of the low, gravelly voice, his eyes narrowing as Luke and Kieran approached. Their crow masks gleamed faintly in the dim light, polished beaks lending them an eerie presence.

"Gentlemen," Luke began, his tone cool and measured. "A problem?"

Kieran tilted his head slightly, the hollow sockets of his mask staring straight at Marlon, who felt a chill race up his spine despite himself. Ryder, the younger of the two men at the railing, cleared his throat nervously, but Marlon wasn’t one for being intimidated—not by masks, and not by men who thought them fancy.

He spat over the side again, the sound of it sharp against the restless waves. Straightening his back, he gestured toward the ornate ship with a rough hand. "Yeah, a problem. This whole setup’s a damn problem. I don’t like this boat, I don’t like these waters, and I sure as hell don’t like the captain’s obsession with huntin’ here. We’ve no business in these parts, imperial sigils or not."

Luke and Kieran exchanged a glance, their expressions unreadable behind the dark visors of their masks. Kieran’s voice came low and slow, deliberate in its weight. "The captain’s orders aren’t up for debate. You’ll follow them, just like everyone else on this crew."

"And what’s the captain chasin’ that’s worth endangering us all, huh?" Marlon shot back, his tone sharp. "You can’t tell me he doesn’t know what’s down there."

Luke chuckled softly, the sound unsettling as it escaped the beak-like mask. "You think too much, Marlon. It’ll get you into trouble."

"Thinkin’s all that’s kept me alive this long," Marlon snapped.

Kieran stepped closer, his broad figure casting a shadow over Marlon. "Then think about this. You’re on his ship, in his waters. If you’ve got doubts, you’re welcome to take your chances overboard. Otherwise, keep your mouth shut and do your job."

The two masked men lingered for a moment longer, their presence suffocating. Then, without another word, they turned and disappeared into the ship’s shadows.

Marlon shook his head, muttering under his breath, "Damn fools are gonna get us all killed." Ryder, still tense, exhaled shakily beside him. "They might hear you," he whispered.

"Let ‘em," Marlon grumbled, though his eyes kept flicking nervously toward the dark waves below.

But just then-

A thunderous boom reverberated through the ship, sending Marlon and Ryder stumbling backward. The entire vessel groaned as if in agony, the sound of splintering wood rising above the waves.

"What in the hells was that?!" Marlon barked, clutching the railing for balance as the ship rocked violently.

Ryder scrambled to his feet, wide-eyed, his gaze darting over the edge of the railing. "Something hit us! Something big!"

The crew erupted into chaos, men shouting orders and curses as the ship listed dangerously to one side. The ornate carvings along the hull cracked and splintered, some breaking off entirely to be swallowed by the churning sea below.

From the shadows of the deck, Luke and Kieran reappeared, their crow masks gleaming ominously. Luke’s voice cut through the clamor like a blade. "All hands on deck! Arm yourselves!"

Kieran strode to the center of the chaos, barking orders with precision. "Secure the cargo! Watch the waterline!"

Another jarring thud rocked the ship, this time sending a shower of seawater and debris over the deck. Marlon gripped the railing tighter, his knuckles white as he scanned the dark waters below.

And then he saw it.

A shadow, massive and serpentine, slithered just beneath the surface, its form too large to comprehend fully. The water churned violently in its wake, glowing faintly with an otherworldly blue-green light.

"By the gods," Marlon breathed, his voice barely above a whisper. Ryder, standing frozen beside him, followed his gaze and let out a strangled gasp.

The shadow moved again, circling the ship with an unsettling grace. Whatever it was, it wasn’t human—or anything else Marlon had ever seen before.

From the depths, a deep, resonant growl echoed, a sound that sent shivers through every man aboard. The ship groaned once more, the ancient wood seeming to protest the presence of the beast.

Kieran’s voice boomed above the chaos, his calm veneer beginning to crack. "Stand your ground! Whatever it is, it bleeds!"

But Marlon wasn’t so sure. 

The crow's nest, high above the chaos, swayed dangerously with the ship's violent rocking. Its once-proud occupant, a large black bird, was nowhere to be seen—likely seeking refuge with the captain below deck, if not having flown off entirely.

Luke’s sharp tone snapped through the din. "You there! Secure the starboard side before we lose it altogether!" His crow mask turned sharply toward the men scrambling with ropes and barrels.

Kieran, ever the strategist, stood at the opposite railing, assessing the situation with an unshakable focus. "Reinforce the hull breach!" he commanded, pointing to where seawater was beginning to seep through splintered wood. "We’re not sinking on my watch!"

Another thunderous crash rattled the ship, the force throwing several men off balance and scattering loose cargo across the deck. The sound of grinding wood and the eerie groan of the hull filled the air.

Ryder stumbled, clutching Marlon’s arm to steady himself. "This thing’s playing with us," he muttered, voice trembling. "It could’ve sunk us by now if it wanted to."

Marlon gritted his teeth, his eyes darting to the waterline. "Don’t say that out loud, boy. You’ll give it ideas."

The shadow beneath the waves appeared again, circling slower this time, almost taunting. The glowing bioluminescence trailing behind it cast an eerie light on the ship’s underside, illuminating the intricate imperial sigils etched into the wood.

Luke’s head snapped toward the bow as the shadow moved. "Keep your weapons ready!" he barked. "No hesitation!"

Kieran turned sharply to face the gathered men. "We’ll lure it out," he said, his voice low but carrying over the chaos. "Make it show itself. Harpoons ready. Aim for the head or whatever it calls a heart."

"But what if it doesn’t have one?" a voice called out, trembling with fear.

Kieran’s masked face turned toward the voice, his tone icy. "Then we make one."

The ship groaned again, the vibrations resonating through every plank and rope. Whatever circled them wasn’t just a beast. It was something far more intelligent, something testing them. And it wasn’t finished yet.

A hand, slick and glistening with seawater, reached out and tightened its grip on the wooden rail, long claws digging into the soaked wood. The faint bioluminescent glow along the webbing pulsed like the heartbeat of the sea itself. With an eerie smoothness, it pulled itself up, revealing more of the creature that followed.

A scream tore through the night, sharp and panicked, as one of the crew caught sight of the intruder. "By the gods!" he cried, stumbling backward and tripping over a coil of rope.

The figure loomed over the rail now, its upper body humanoid yet alien. Iridescent scales shimmered in hues of violet and blue, reflecting the dim lantern light. Long, sleek strands of lavender hair clung wetly to its face and shoulders, framing angular features that were both beautiful and unnerving. Its eyes, slit-pupiled and glowing faintly, scanned the deck with an unsettling intelligence.

Luke and Kieran froze for a moment before snapping into action.

"Ready the harpoons!" Luke shouted, drawing his blade.

Kieran stepped forward, his stance steady even as the deck pitched beneath him. "Stand your ground! It’s just one. We’ve faced worse."

The creature tilted its head, watching the chaos it had stirred with an almost amused expression. Water dripped from its elongated fingers, each ending in a sharp claw, as it gripped the rail tighter.

Another man screamed, clutching a makeshift weapon—a gaff hook—and stepping back in terror. The creature’s gaze snapped to him, its lips curling into a sharp, toothy grin.

Marlon spat again, though his hand trembled as he held his harpoon. "Ain’t no fish I’ve ever seen."

The creature finally spoke, its voice resonating like the deep echo of waves in a cavern. "You... should not have come here."

The words sent a chill through the crew, the weight of their mistake crashing down on them like the waves below.

“Shuveyr… Shuveyr save us,” 

The hand, slick and glistening with seawater, tightened its grip on the wooden rail, long claws digging into the soaked wood. The faint bioluminescent glow along the webbing pulsed like the heartbeat of the sea itself. With an eerie smoothness, it pulled itself up, revealing more of the creature that followed.

A scream tore through the night, sharp and panicked, as one of the crew caught sight of the intruder. "By the gods!" he cried, stumbling backward and tripping over a coil of rope.

The figure loomed over the rail now, its upper body humanoid yet alien. Iridescent scales shimmered in hues of violet and blue, reflecting the dim lantern light. Long, sleek strands of lavender hair clung wetly to its face and shoulders, framing angular features that were both beautiful and unnerving. Its eyes, slit-pupiled and glowing faintly, scanned the deck with an unsettling intelligence.

The creature tilted its head, watching the chaos it had stirred with an almost amused expression. Water dripped from its elongated fingers, each ending in a sharp claw, as it gripped the rail tighter.

Another man screamed, clutching a makeshift weapon—a gaff hook—and stepping back in terror. The creature’s gaze snapped to him, its lips curling into a sharp, toothy grin.

Marlon spat again, though his hand trembled as he held his harpoon. "Ain’t no fish I’ve ever seen."

The creature finally spoke, its voice resonating like the deep echo of waves in a cavern. "You... should not have come here."

The creature's lips curled further, the expression both amused and terrifying, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth that gleamed like polished bone in the dim light. Her iridescent scales shifted with an unsettling fluidity, as if her body was part of the ocean itself. Her eyes—deep, endless pools of violet and pink—locked onto the man who had invoked Shuveyr, a slight glimmer of recognition flickering within them.

"Shuveyr?" Her voice was soft yet resonated with an eerie echo, as though the very sea had spoken. "A goddess to call upon in your desperation?" She tilted her head, her hair falling like strands of dark silk, glistening with droplets of seawater. "She does not dwell here... not where I reign."

The crew was silent now, the weight of her words sinking in. The terror among them was palpable, as if they were standing on the edge of something ancient and deadly. The deck creaked ominously beneath their feet, and the winds picked up, howling with the ferocity of a storm on the horizon.

"You’ve ventured too far," the creature continued, her voice lilting as she stepped forward, her webbed feet soundless against the wood. Her gaze flicked to the ship’s stern, where the rest of the crew stood frozen, some still clutching their weapons, others too afraid to move. "There is no safe haven in these waters. No gods, no prayers can protect you from the depths of the sea."

Marlon swallowed hard, his hands shaking as he gripped his harpoon tighter. "What do you want from us?" His voice cracked, and despite his bravado, the terror was evident.

The siren's smile widened, her eyes gleaming with a predatory hunger. "Your lives are forfeit. A small price for trespassing in these waters... but perhaps," she mused, her tone shifting to something more calculating, "perhaps I could offer you a trade."

The men exchanged uncertain glances, some hesitating, others desperate to find a way out of the nightmare unfolding before them.

"What trade?" Luke dared to ask, his voice steady despite the fear twisting in his gut.

"Let me think," the siren said with a tilt of her head, her smile never wavering. "You can give me what you value most—your pride, your treasure, or perhaps... your very souls."

Her gaze swept over the crew, pausing on each man for just a heartbeat too long. "Choose wisely," she added, her voice softening into a whisper, "for I know what lies beneath your skins."

The wind howled again, drowning out the crew's responses, and the ship creaked louder, as if groaning under the weight of its impending doom.

A heavy silence settled over the ship, thick and suffocating. The men stood frozen, eyes wide, hearts racing, as the siren disappeared beneath the waves. Her haunting eyes, filled with unspoken promises, faded into the deep, leaving only the echo of her voice hanging in the air like a curse.

For a moment, there was nothing—no movement, no sound save the relentless crash of the waves against the hull. The men held their breath, waiting, uncertain of what would come next. The stillness was so profound that it felt as though time had stopped.

And then, the barrels, unsecured by the chaos, began to shift.

A low groan from the ship's timbers echoed, the sound growing louder as the barrels, laden with supplies, began to roll and tumble across the deck. The men, still in shock, moved hastily to prevent the containers from sliding off the ship, but it was too late—several rolled to the edge and crashed overboard, splashing into the water below.

From the depths, something stirred.

The water around the ship churned violently as if something large was moving just beneath the surface, circling, waiting. The men froze again, eyes darting toward the waves, but there was no sign of the siren, no sign of what was to come next.

Then, the sound of creaking wood—a deep, groaning sound—came from beneath the hull. It was as though the ship itself were buckling under some unseen force, its timbers straining against the pressure.

Luke, his face pale, looked toward the horizon, his voice barely a whisper. "We're not alone."

And before anyone could respond, the sea erupted.

Massive, dark shapes shot up from the water, enormous and terrifying, their forms shifting in the shadows beneath the surface. Tentacles, black and slick, coiled and lashed against the ship’s sides, pulling with unimaginable strength. The ship lurched violently, a deep, ominous growl vibrating through the planks.

The crew scrambled, shouting orders and fear-stricken prayers, but it was clear that whatever had risen from the depths was far beyond their control. As the ship groaned under the assault, the unmistakable sound of tearing wood filled the air, and the men knew—this was no ordinary storm. This was the wrath of something ancient, something that had waited in these waters for far too long.

The captain was here.

But  something else.

The raven had made its appearance, cawing. Heavy foot steps sounded- thud, thud, thud. 

“Grab the nets.  I want a siren.”

copyright © 2024 Hellinistical all rights reserved. no part of this story may be reposted, edited, or reproduced without the author’s permission.

[the-most-humble-blog]

<!-- BEGIN TRANSMISSION -->

<div style="white-space:pre-wrap">

<meta anomaly-threat="undocumented biosphere class horror">

<script>ARCHIVE_TAG="FOSSIL_GAP_EPIGENETIC_HORROR:WASH_CYCLE_CENOBITES"

EFFECT: cold spine, evolutionary trauma echo, permanent reality discomfort

</script>

🧬 **THE CREATURES THAT DIDN’T FOSSILIZE**

(*A forbidden lecture on real-life Cenobites, hot rinse extinction, and why time travel should stay on the pause screen.*)

Let’s talk about what’s not in the fossil record.

Not because it didn’t exist —

but because **it didn’t leave bones.**

---

## I. THE FIRST RINSE CYCLE

Mother Nature has started over.

**Not once. Not twice. At least five times.**

Each time, she turned the planet into a **high-pressure scalding industrial washer** —

not to punish us, but to wipe the slate clean of life forms **so incompatible with existence**

that the Earth itself said:

> “No. Absolutely not.”

The fossil record only covers **a fraction of 1%** of all species that have ever lived.

Everything else?

> Gone.

> Not “buried.”

> **Deleted.**

---

## II. SOFT-BODIED DOESN’T MEAN HARMLESS

The most terrifying life forms of prehistory

didn’t have skeletons.

They didn’t roar.

They didn’t stomp.

They **melted**, crawled, slithered, parasitized, liquefied, injected, and **absorbed.**

They left behind no teeth.

No claws.

No tracks.

Just **chemical shadows.**

If you went back in time with modern equipment?

You wouldn’t survive long enough to scream.

Because…

---

## III. YOU CAN’T OUTRUN A FUNGUS THAT THINKS

> The oldest confirmed multicellular fungus?

> 2.4 billion years old.

> Capable of photosynthesis, colony-wide memory, and chemical warfare.

Now extrapolate.

We have **absolutely no way** of knowing

how many cognitive, reactive, or **predatory fungi**

lived before soft-tissue decay erased them.

Some of them?

Likely functioned like mobile nerve nets —

with no eyes, no mouths, just **chemical tendrils that followed your breath.**

---

## IV. 99.999% OF VIRUSES LEFT NO TRACE

We’ve barely scraped the surface of what viruses **can do**,

let alone what they **used to be.**

Imagine a pathogen:

- Airborne

- Fully temperature-adaptive

- Uses your brain as a nest

- Doesn’t kill you

- Just turns off the part of you that says “don’t eat your family”

> Not sci-fi.

> We found a **48,500-year-old virus** in Siberian permafrost

> that came back to life — in a lab —

> and still infects single-cell organisms.

We only studied it because it was **frozen.**

Now imagine what we’ve **never found** because it **evaporated after feeding.**

---

## V. TIME TRAVEL WARNING: DO NOT EXIT THE VEHICLE

You're thinking of going back?

Paleolithic era?

Cambrian explosion?

You will be **flensed**.

Why?

Because the further back you go, the more reality **bends into psychosis.**

Earth was covered in:

- **Spined jellyfish the size of box trucks**

- **Worms with multiple detachable mouths**

- **Predators that injected **dissolving enzymes** before you even saw them**

- **Plants that functioned like bear traps and memory foam combined**

We only have vague traces.

Chemical scars.

Faint echoes of DNA fragments.

But even conservative scientists admit:

> “There were ecosystems so alien they would be classified as incompatible with current biology.”

Translation?

**You’d lose your mind looking at them.**

---

## VI. THE ORDOVICIAN MASS EXTINCTION WAS A RINSE CYCLE

450 million years ago.

> 85% of marine species disappeared.

Why?

A global freeze.

Massive glaciation.

Rapid climate inversion.

But the part they don’t tell you?

The *before*.

There’s evidence that soft-bodied, open-vascular organisms with **folding exoskin**

were dominating oceans —

creatures with **no known analog** today.

And then they vanished.

Completely.

Not a trace.

Just a biological void in the record

where something **too successful** had to be wiped clean.

---

## VII. THE CENOBITES WEREN’T CREATED. THEY’RE REMEMBERED.

We love to think Clive Barker invented horror.

Hooks. Chains. Flesh manipulators.

But the idea of “eldritch biological sadists”

is **older than writing.**

Ancient cave etchings show entities with:

- Skin flayed outward

- Faces without mouths

- Multiple limb sets in ritualistic poses

- Organs displayed **outside** the body

These aren’t hallucinations.

They’re **trauma recordings** from encounters with something no human language could categorize.

And we survived those encounters

by becoming **too boring to eat**.

---

## VIII. WHAT IS EPIGENETIC FEAR?

Why do we scream at shadows with the *wrong number of legs*?

Why do we freeze at sounds that don’t match any known animal?

Why does the unknown **paralyze**?

Because somewhere deep in the bone marrow of our ancestors

is a memory of something that **didn’t just hunt them** —

but **revised** them.

You don’t develop that fear from theory.

You develop it from **generations of mutation under pressure.**

The monsters were real.

We just **can’t afford** to remember them clearly.

---

## IX. SCIENCE KNOWS. BUT SCIENCE IS SCARED.

Ask the academics off the record:

> “Why don’t we talk about soft-bodied terror?”

They’ll say:

> “We can’t prove it.”

But off-mic?

They’ll whisper:

> “There are gaps in the fossil record that suggest something was in control.”

Control?

Yes.

**Apex forms that weren’t armored.**

Weren’t loud.

Weren’t flashy.

Just **perfect.**

Perfect at hiding.

Perfect at adapting.

Perfect at cleaning the plate when nature said it was time for a fresh cycle.

---

## X. HOW MANY RINSE CYCLES HAVE WE SURVIVED?

• The Cambrian explosion

• The Devonian decimation

• The Permian cleansing

• The Triassic glitch

• The Cretaceous reset

Five confirmed extinction-level events.

But the scariest one?

The one we haven’t recorded.

The one where **whatever crawled the Earth didn’t leave a fossil...

but might’ve left something else.**

---

## CONCLUSION: DO NOT TIME TRAVEL

You think you’d go back and see dinosaurs.

Saber-tooths. Mammoths. Evolution.

What you’d see?

**A planet mid-scream.**

Biological rage in a form you couldn’t name.

Wombs with teeth.

Worms that hunt with light.

Plants that sing before they digest.

And if you’re lucky?

You’d get torn apart.

If you’re unlucky?

You’d come back with **something in you**.

</div>

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[blackbloodedisabel]

what do mermaids think of whales

okay great question lol it's not concrete in my head yet but basically there are only a couple different whale species which live in the mer ocean (name pending) so we have blue, humpback, sperm, n atlantic right. also orcas.

the baleen species are kinda mysterious bc there aren't v many of them and they can actually escape the mer ocean (ppl are studying this) and they're really only there in winter bc of migratory patterns. but at the end of the day they're just There and it's fun to see one but not very rare (in winter). but the whole whalesong/whale noise schtick is a little bit like birdsong to them just a little. in terms of them escaping mer ocean it's a niche theory that their noise actually counts as a weird kind of chorus and they are doing escape/reentry magic but idrgaf abt that tbh. basically you just see the baleen species swimming abt above capital city/kelp/meadows and over the ravine and you can hear them and it's super cool but not very very special

the sperm whales don't migrate so they're always there diving in/out of the ravine hunting giant squid which mainly stick to the middle of the ravine where there isn't much except undeveloped hydrothermal vents and ofc. the gash at the centre of the world. both giant squid and sperm whales are really rare and it's like. woahhh to see a sperm whale but if you go down into the ravine you can almost always hear them. and bc they go right into the gash at the centre of the world which IS rebirth and kick up nutrients etc they're kind of like angels. ch23 or whatever. they never try to eat merpeople. basically they are mysterious angels with long running associations with the void below/gash and you usually have to swim into the really really dark bits to find them. but their hunting songs are like constant birdsong to ravine people

[savagewildnerness]

Part V - The Vampire Armand

Posting my book club notes here once again... oof - only just did 'em!

Questions:

"If you had ever felt real longing for any other one, you would know that what you feel for your son is nothing at all.” - Armand says this to Gabrielle.  Is it true?  I think Armand understands longing, but not really love.  Whereas Gabrielle doesn’t long for any other human. But she does love Lestat.  I think, speaking honestly, she often doesn’t love Lestat *enough*, but it doesn’t mean that it is not love.  She *does* love him unconditionally, as I see it. Still, in later times, when Lestat is in despair or near death or in terrible trouble, Gabrielle usually does not come to help her son…

Seeing as Daniel is a vampire now, Lestat could show him his life story wordlessly in his mind.  He doesn’t need to speak it aloud.  Do you think this could be part of the TV show?

P290 Lestat talks of the intimacy of opening your mind as a vampire - it’s described as beyond even the satiation of blood-sharing… so if Lestat verbally talks to Daniel, could this be contrasted with him opening his mind when sharing parts of his story with Louis?  Surely so…?  Also, there’s something about how you can interrupt a spoken conversation, but you have to just listen to something shared directly from the mind…?

Gabrielle speaks in this part of what she desires from immortality.  Has she found the answers she sought?

Will we get any of Armand’s story in S3?  I feel like maybe not.

P305 & 307 Armand’s despair is redolent of Nicolas’.  Do Armand and Nicki meet in mind in some way here in this core-of-self where they need to believe, but instead there is an empty void?

“…he knew no hope, and no grief, and no joy. All those things had come from the Master, and the Master was no more.” - Nicolas could almost say this of Lestat, although Nicolas is FAR more strong-willed and individualistic and obviously an artist.

“And the other secret, which he kept from his followers for their sake, was simply the extent of his ever deepening despair.

That he craved nothing, cherished nothing, believed nothing finally, and took not one particle of pleasure in his ever increasing and awesome powers, and existed from moment to moment in a void broken once every night of his eternal life by the kill” Armand doesn’t rail against it in madness as Nicki does… but the way everything is now meaningless reminds me of Nicki

I began to think of the vampires as elements:

Lestat - the infinite star-filled sky

Nicolas - the bird, flying over the vast wasteland of The World

Armand - the deep, undulating ocean

Louis - Land. Home.  Safety.  Respite.

Gabrielle - waterfalls and rain and running water in streams and rock pools

Marius - the mountains - proud and eternal

Maharet - Earth: clay and soil

Akasha - blood.

“I thought of the night in the inn when I had seen the meaninglessness of life, and the soft fathomless despair of Armand's story seemed an ocean in which I might drown. This was worse than the blasted shore in Nicki's mind. This was for three centuries, this darkness, this nothingness.”

Again, a shared desolation at the core of both Armand and Nicolas.

p310 Trying to work out Lestat’s philosophy as a vampire and to get to the root of what Lestat cannot abide about the Theatre des Vampires…… Lestat does not wish to deceive mortals.  He wants to live amongst mortals, but without deceiving them.  His philosophy appears to be that it is fine to enjoy life as a mortal and for mortals to perceive you as a mortal.  Where it gets confused for me is when Lestat starts to think on his human topics of art and expression and goodness and emotion and humanity.  He says that when *he* stood on the stage at Renaud’s and terrified everyone he was revealing himself, not being deceitful… yet he finds Marius’ art - which replicates human art - painting angels and skies to be “good” whereas he finds Nicolas’ art, in which Nicolas does not lie about the monster he is, but rather reveals it… to be “petty”.  Lestat, I think, realises his hypocrisy as attested by this here - “I saw the little stage at Renaud's and I heard myself sing and the singing become a roar. Nicolas said, "It is splendid." I said, "It is petty." And it was like striking Nicolas. In my imagination he said what he had not said that night: "Let me have what I can believe in. You would never do that.””  Here it is Marius who is deceiving and Nicolas who is not here, yet it is Nicolas’ art Lestat cannot abide.  This makes me wonder whether it is about the art at all?  Lestat loves to tell us what a fabulously wonderful, evil vampire he is - the beastliest beast!  But he hates anything that reminds him of the inhumanity that’s in his core.  Maybe this is in fact a thing he and Louis share?  Lestat knows this of himself (whereas Louis has to learn to understand and accept it as part of himself as he splits himself into good-Louis and bad-Louis-who-is-not-Louis).  Anyway, all this to say I think there is a lot of hypocrisy in Lestat’s stance here and denial of his own terror of what he is - understandably so!

The theatre for Armand is actually Gabrielle’s idea and it is Gabrielle who pushes Armand to it.  Does she see something at the heart of Armand and Nicolas that could connect since she can hear both of their thoughts?

I wonder if we’ll see Armand in the theatre much in this era?

I adore the prose of the start of this section.  In terms of the way the prose is written, it’s perhaps my favourite moment in Anne’s writing - like an actual poem; resonant, sensual and satiating.  I love it so much that I would personally have this entire section as VoiceOver to this scene in S3 myself!  I especially love the bold quote

“Spring rain. Rain of light that saturated every new leaf of the trees in the street, every square of paving, drift of rain threading light through the empty darkness itself.

And the ball in the Palais Royal.

The king and queen were there, dancing with the people. Talk in the shadows of intrigue. Who cares? Kingdoms rise and fall. Just don't burn the paintings in the Louvre, that's all.

Lost in a sea of mortals again; fresh complexions and ruddy cheeks, mounds of powdered hair atop feminine heads with all manner of millinery nonsense in them, even minute ships with three masts, tiny trees, little birds. Landscapes of pearl and ribbon. Broad-chested men like cocks in satin coats like feathered wings. The diamonds hurt my eyes.

The voices touched the surface of my skin at times, the laughter the echo of unholy laughter, wreaths of candles blinding, the froth of music positively lapping the walls.

Gusts of rain from the open doors.

Scent of humans gently stoking my hunger. White shoulders, white necks, powerful hearts running at that eternal rhythm, so many gradations among these naked children hidden in riches, savages labouring beneath a swaddling of chenille, encrustations of embroidery, feet aching over high heels, masks like scabs about their eyes.

The air comes out of one body and is breathed into another. The music, does it pass out of one ear and into another, as the old expression goes? We breathe the light, we breathe the music, we breathe the moment as it passes through us.

Now and then eyes settled on me with some vague air of expectation. My white skin made them pause, but what was that when they let blood out of their veins themselves to keep their delicate pallor? (Let me hold the basin for you and drink it afterwards.) And my eyes, what were those, in this sea of paste jewels?

Yet their whispers slithered around me. And those scents, ah, not a one was like another. And as clearly as if spoken aloud it came, the summons from mortals here and there, sensing what I was, and the lust.

In some ancient language they welcomed death; they ached for death as death was passing through the room. But did they really know? Of course they didn't know. And I did not know! That was the perfect horror! And who am I to bear this secret, to hunger so to impart it, to want to take that slender woman there and suck the blood right out of the plump flesh of her round little breast.

The music rushed on, human music. The colors of the room flamed for an instant as if the whole would melt. The hunger sharpened. It was no longer an idea. My veins were throbbing with it. Someone would die. Sucked dry in less than a moment. I cannot stand it, thinking of it, knowing it's about to happen, fingers on the throat feeling the blood in the vein, feeling the flesh give, give it to me! Where? This is my body, this is my blood.

Send out your power, Lestat, like a reptile tongue to gather in a flick the appropriate heart.

Plump little arms ripe for the squeezing, men's faces on which the close-shaven blond beard all but glitters, muscle struggling in my fingers, you haven't got a chance!

And beneath this divine chemistry suddenly, this panorama of the denial of decay, I saw the bones!

Skulls under these preposterous wigs, two gaping holes peering from behind the uplifted fan. A room of wobbling skeletons waiting only for the tolling of the bell. Just as I had seen the audience that night in the pit of Renaud's when I had done the tricks that terrified them. The horror should be visited upon every other being in this room.

I had to get out. I'd made a terrible miscalculation. This was death and I could get away from it, if I could just get out! But I was tangled in mortal beings as if this monstrous place were a snare for a vampire. If I bolted, I'd send the entire ballroom into panic. As gently as I could I pushed to the open doors.

And against the far wall, a backdrop of satin and filigree, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, like something imagined, Armand.

Armand.”

Lestat seeing the skulls beneath the flesh reminds of of vanitas-based art.

I notice that Lestat often talks of the apple trees in the orchard when his mind goes back to his and Nicki’s mortal life back at home.  All sorts of connections here - from Eve, to innocence and to the actual memory [p51] “Spring was approaching, the mountains were dappled with green, the apple orchard starting back to life.  And Nicolas and I were always together.”

Armand is so cruel here - the way he gives Lestat a vision of being mortal here and then attacks him - he literally uses Lestat’s greatest, impossible yearning against him and then also replicates his rapey turning - what an attack… but I guess in retaliation, Lestat *does* nearly kill him, so…. I would love to see Armand give Lestat (& Daniel) these kinds of overwhelming visions on the show!  And I am sure he will to Nicolas and Gabrielle too…

In any case, this betrayal, Lestat will never forget.  And though he loves Armand, he knows his danger and he will try to resist him from here on.

Armand’s warnings on page 284 & 285 & 286 about the fledglings he will make - surely it will be on the show - I also love how closely Armand’s words match Lestat’s deepest fears.

“Citadels against time” is such a beautiful phrase (and where the books eventually reach…

Armand proffers the promise of understanding Lestat and Gabrielle, which is really very sad, given how he cannot even understand how to exist himself.

In this whole section, there is so much where each vampire seems to be telling another exactly what they want to hear OR their deepest fear… and it makes me realise - how genuine a conversation can you have when you can read each other’s thoughts.  “Does anyone else know the size of your soul.” Is SUCH a Romantic thing Armand says… and exactly what Lestat would want to hear.

During all of these encounters, I notice how little Gabrielle speaks compared to Lestat.  I wonder if some of Lestat’s words will go to Gabrielle on TV?  I partly hope not, as her silence is part of her, and the way when she does speak it is with her own intent also matters.

Armand references how Nicolas will be destroyed by the dark gift sooner or later pretty much every time he mentions him.

Can we have Assad playing lute please?

The first thing The Children of Darkness teach Armand is the sin of vanity and OH how Lestat is an embodiment of that as Armand would perceive him.

It’s crazy to me that Armand never thought Marius could have sent the dreams of himself being alive… it didn’t occur to Armand in all these centuries to hope?  That’s the saddest thing!

“That is why mortals must be chosen with skill. Those with great passion and indomitable will should be avoided as well as those who have none.” - The Children of Darkness would NEVER have chosen Lestat (or Nicki, or Gabrielle!)

"All things have eluded my understanding," he said. "I am as one whom the earth has given back, and you, Lestat and Gabrielle, are like the images painted by my old Master in cerulean and carmine and gold.” - I love how poetic Armand can be.

It’s funny how quickly vampires get used to hearing each other’s thoughts.  The concept seems hideous to me!

There was so much talk of Armand caging Louis in Dubai, but p308 - Armand has always been caged himself

Lestat wonders how Armand could believe in The Children of Darkness… not after they burned Maris… but after they burned ART! “"How could you have ever believed anything that they told you after they burned those paintings?" I asked. "How could you have given yourself over to them?"” “Kingdoms rise and fall. Just don't burn the paintings in the Louvre, that's all.”

P310 “You say things that mean nothing to me.” LOL!  Speak your truth Armand!

P311 - Armand and Lestat arguing over which one of them is more heartbroken made me laugh; Lestat longing for mortality; Armand for belief

P312 - Armand truly was never much part of the real world, even as a human.

“The theatre of the Vampires! I should rather the fire.” - Armand the comedian.  Desperately want Assad delivering this, deadpan.

“"What did Lestat call it? Petty?"

"That was to Nicolas because Nicolas would build fantastical philosophies upon it,”” - Spoken by Gabrielle as if Lestat didn’t spend his entire mortal life constructing fantastical philosophies around the meaning of and goodness in art!

I feel really sad for Armand at the end here.  Gabrielle and Lestat are telling him what he needs or wants to hear, rather than speaking their truth.  A horrible, sad, inevitable ending they leave him to.

But Armand still speaks *his* truth, and I love when he does. - “"I have asked myself that question," Armand answered, "many times. Was it spiritual or was it voluptuous? Was the angel painted on the triptych caught in the material, or was the material transformed?””  UGH, I love you, Armand!!!  His thoughts on art are a mix of philosophy and magic and yum yum yum.

The only thing important to ME is to go to an extreme!

I think Lestat simultaneously wishes Nicolas didn’t exist anymore at this point and he cannot bear the prospect of him not existing.  I think Nicolas will remain forever a cipher to what a human life could have been for Lestat - his only experience of mortal love and life and creating art as a mortal, and loving art created by another mortal.  The idea of them living together: loving, creating, laughing, growing old and dying and it all as beautiful as the orchard of apple trees… it’s the eternal “what if” that can never be reached.  The only impossible in an eternity of possible.  Nicolas no longer existing is the last thing that makes this truly unreachable, in all certainty.  Nicki is Lestat’s link (LOL, I typed KINK there! Hahahahahahahaha!) To his human self.  Their conversation is the unreachable.  In a way, Lestat needs Nicolas to exist for himself more than for Nicolas - this aching circle of tragedy in which it is partly kinder for Nicolas to die rather than to suffer as he does.

“"Maybe as the years pass," he said, "desire will come again to me. I will know appetite again, even passion.” - Armand sounds so Louis here!

There is so much grief here - Armand’s emptiness feels like grief and Lestat speaks of his own grief - for himself, for Nicolas, for Paris and for Armand.

Gabrielle: “"I tell you, I don't care if I never look upon another one of our kind," she said coldly. "I am done with their legends, their curses, their sorrows. And done with their insufferable humanity, which may be the most astonishing thing they've revealed.” LOL - how hilarious that Gabrielle should say this to Lestat of all beings, hahahahaha! Also, Lestat is mean to say Armand has no imagination - think of all the wild conjurings Armand can create in anyone’s mind!!!

The very end of this part is sad as the chasm between what Gabrielle desires and what Lestat does really splits open.  Gabrielle’s desires frighten Lestat and Lestat’s desires are a horrible trap to Gabrielle.  Lestat, remembering his conversation with Nicolas while with Gabrielle who doesn’t even want to tell Lestat one story - still unwilling to teach him any thing for 5 minutes of time, even now.

Gabrielle going to sleep in The Earth, digging like a beautiful witch will be visually STUNNING on TV!

The sadness of the end of this part, juxtaposed with the amusingness of Lestat’s postcard to Marius is very funny!

[allyssl]

TMNT AU Comp Bracket Links (Skipped Prelims)

@tmntaucompetition

Gemini Twins - tangledinink

The Little Prince - Beannary

REBOOT: A Second Chance - donniesbrows

Empyrean Weeping - cupcakeslushie

TMT Croc Pot - less-depresso-more-espresso

Swanatello - tangledinink

Spider-Lily - v0ids-dragon-den

Bad End Ninja Turtles - butterfilledpockets

2 arms left - intotheelliwoods

Blood is Thicker Than Ooze - linkymew (ao3)/risebto

RatTrap - Rattraptmnt

Kid Leo - Angelpuns

True Colors - V-albion

Same as it Never Will Be - heckitall

Surp-Rise! - what-in-the, Writingdork (ao3), geniusbuilttm, ninjaneonleon

Little Subjects - AllyHeart707

Ghost in the Shell - amvello-blue (+ao3)

Rise of the Parallel - Indieyuugure

The Neon Void - sugarpastelTMNT (+ao3)

Replica - kathaynesart

Age Gap - pezhead

Tabletop Turtles - caffetato-the-caffinated-potato

Teenage Mutant Meddling Turtles - kaysdenofchaos

Battle Scars - kaysdenofchaos

Open your Shell to Find Your Wings - Onejellyfishplease (ao3)

Until I Found You - phoebepheebsphibs

Remember Forever - uncannyalien (ao3)

Life Goes On - Andromeda_Galaxy2877 (ao3)

Crusade of a Lonely Turtle - Revitalizationrat

Wanderer - vangh17a

Red Rover - red-rover-au (ao3)

Little Scraps of Wisdom - spectralsleuth (ao3)

Feral Leo - cupcakeslushie

Teenage Mutant Warrior Cats - Fireheartfan

Reptile Rampage - lexa-ocean

Minor Interference - bambiraptorx (ao3)

The Last Ronin becomes a Discord Admin - MelonPaloonza (+ao3)

Aberration - probably-not-a-rutabaga (fics)

Hues of Mystic Neon - overthinkingspark-blue

TMNT Omniverse - glitter-alienz

[flamingredanon]

*peeks out of the void with a tiny AU idea that involves smashing two routes together*

So you know the Presumed Dead route where Henry just barely gets out of the crashed truck before everyone's favorite warden of leg day kicks it off the cliff?

What if Henry wasn't that lucky and wasn't able to get out in time for whatever reason, or he did get out but the cliff he chose was just close enough for the falling truck to smack him down into the ocean?

And what if Dr V still found Henry floating in the ocean and decided to bring him back with the power of unethical science like in Revenged, but now Henry wouldn't be pissed waking up from betrayal since the only thing that betrayed him was a metal truck.

Just how much different routes like Toppat 4 Life or Valiant Hero might be with Henry being a cyborg.

[wintertimestoryteller]

Vermeil Adoration

Fierce Deity x Implied Deity Reader (can be Linked Universe or not) Drabble

Me, working on Act IIII and Act V of the LU Fairy Tale Collection: Alright so if we do this with slightly more sleep on us and figure a few things out for First I think it should be good to go-

Also Me: *remembers that because of the nature of the Fairy Tale Collection FD will be missing, is immediately assaulted with an idea, sighs, opening up a new WIP* You know what I'll come back to that, I can't not write for him if he's going to be left out.

For the FD Simps/lovers plus myself as I work on the Fairytale Collection, want to post two chapters at once and also crosspost on Ao3 plus life's been busy, apologies for the delay.

You were created from the breath of life itself.

You are the divinity found in the howling of winds cutting through the woods, the snarling of lightning down to the earth, attempting to touch something it may not have and scorch it so deeply new growth would flourish in a maddened frenzy, the sunlight kissing the ice tenderly though it may never do more than bring the crystalizing to shine, tears dripping knowingly from it's cold gaze as the water turns to rain, watering the land in it's unknowable grief in the closest way it could ever touch the sun in the sky. The joyful sound of wolves singing the moon's beauty with their howls, the birds merrily carrying the melody ever onwards so the sun may also partake of it, gleeful frolicking of fawns and foals discovering the world that the Golden Three left in their wake, the symphony of every animal and nature itself at it's finest.

You look at life itself and find divinity in everything.

So by the nature Farore so lovingly made sure you'd have, one would think you and the one hylians, hyruleans and beasts had dubbed 'The Fierce Deity' would never be able to coexist.

You've heard the one's watched over by your sister in divinity, ever watchful time herself with her diamond wings and gaze who pierced to the end of eternity itself with Nayru's patience whisper in primal terror and avarice drenched loathing about him to the trees in every corner of the land, heard beasts under the watch of death and rot himself curse his name to the winds and rain with as much ferocity and fury induced fear as the restless whispers of those denied existence, your brother in eternity with his shell of obsidian and the flames of Din's desire of consumption ever burning in his gaze daring not cross where the ivory and jade forged spirit passed. And of the horror and wonderment of your wild beings as they've hissed and howled and growled and screeched to the flowers and stones of nature.

A man like the hunt itself, divine without the vermeil breath of the primordial ones. The unrelenting slash of the blizzard gales in winter against any unfortunate to stand in their way, leaving the cold emptiness and silence behind, stealing the air from the lungs of living beings like the ocean for those unfortunate enough to fall with no sign of land. An ivory specter of death whom seemingly clawed himself from the void, an harbinger for the End with seemingly no rhyme or reason for those who he set his sights into, either to devour their divinity for himself or favor or bless.

A being like that should have been anathema to all you are and stand for. Or at least it's what anyone, including your divine sister and brother would reason.

Which is why you couldn't help but find it slightly comedic that the so called 'awful beast', capable of enacting such violence to consume divinity on a whim if tested. Was so very careful with you, head laid upon your lap in a rare moment of rest as you carefully weaved flowers into a crown.

You were curious, awfully so, like the foxes who roamed your woods in search of amusement and play, you just couldn't help yourself. You knew he was coming, how could you not, when the primal fear of living things echoed in the back of your mind, warning you as it warned animals of a bigger predator in the food chain? But you didn't run. Not in the face of narrowed, calculating pale eyes and alabaster hair and the scent of iron in the air, thick and old you couldn't mistake it for anything but blood and the marrow deep certainty of a lonsdaleite persistence.

Maybe you should of, in hindsight.

Instead you just blinked with evergreen curiosity, fascination bleeding from your lips before you could even think of stopping yourself, head tilted.

"My. Rumors are certainly exaggerated, you're beautiful."

The memory of his bewildered, flustered caution makes you smile a bit, as everything in between flowed naturally like spring petals on a breeze. You feel an armored hand on your cheek, so, so soft and careful, as if you were as fragile as a flower, and a calm, relaxed rumble of tourmaline lazy curiosity and aquamarine fondness, "Anything on your mind, my breath?"

You couldn't help your chuckle, emerald fondness running around the mosaic of your divinity as you gently run your hand through starlit hair, nuzzling the hand on your cheek and hoping to convey even half the warmth he gave you, "Reminiscing, worry not. Rest a bit more before you must go." You hear him sigh as you place the flower crown on his head, as pale as his hair, but as delicate as your sister in divinity's wings, threaded pthalo like the flame of his existence.

"... Must I? I was late this time, it's only proper I redeem myself for making you wait." He questions, reluctant and guilty in equal measure, fondness blooms over your lungs as you poke his nose, smiling bright, if dim as you answer him, "I'd dare not attempt to deny you your nature, I do not know what you hunt, what you're searching for. But it would be cruel to chain you."

The man many had dubbed 'Fierce Deity' nuzzles into your hand, nestling in close like a wolf over catch, you catch the hints of a frown on his face, "It's hardly chaining when I wish to stay, is it?"

Your breath almost is trapped in your lungs, but you shake yourself out of it, chuckling as you brush your lips over his markings, crimson affection as the carmine and lapis lazuli of his Hunt. The cheek of this man, for that's what you all are in the end, divinity or not, "Maybe not, though for all you rest here with me you still itch to run and hunt. Do you not, my dear warrior?"

The silence is only broken by the whispers of the leaves of the woods carried by the wind and the curious chirping of birds, his unwavering moonlit gaze giving away nothing. And it tells you enough.

You smile, brushing your noses together, spring breeze playful and sun warm, "If you're that worried, then just come back earlier, if you can. I'll have something new for you to look at, and I'll always wait. We have time."

In a flash, you find your positions reversed, your back and hair to the flowers and your wonderful, ever mischievous hunter above you, you yelp and you can't help but laugh before the sound is stolen by his lips. And he cradles your cheeky gently, so very kindly, and when he leans back he looks at you as if you're the first glimpse of water for a man in the desert, or the way a wolf longingly looks at the moon, and it cracks the phosphophylite of your soul and fills it with the gilded gold of emerald love, "... Thank you. I will not keep you waiting long again. I shall remain for now, though. The call can wait."

I love you. I want to stay with you.

"I know." Your hands gently thread through his hair, gleeful as you notice the rare curve of a smile as his cap lays abandoned in the glass, but your flower crown remains, "Be safe, when you do go. I'd be lovely if something happened."

I love you too.

He shakes his head, giving you an unimpressed look, "I cannot be harmed in any way that matters."

You fondly roll your eyes, pressing your index and middle finger to your lips, then touching it lightly against his own, he all but freezes. You refuse to allow him to distract you with admittedly charming affection, and you take the opportunity to tug him into your arms, shifting your positions so you can utilize him as a pillow, safer than you ever felt in your many eons of existence, more comfortable than the stars painting the canvas of the sky with their dance, "Promise me you'll be safe, and you can claim what's yours once you're back. For now I tire of your stubbornness."

You feel his chest rumble, maybe a laugh, maybe a purr or a growl, but he holds you close, steady and lovelier than even the world the goddesses created. "As you wish, my dearest blossom."

You both fall asleep to the songs of nature, you know he'll hunt again, you know he'll be gone soon like late night mist. But for now, a promise for an eternity of this, like how the mortals speak of, is enough.

[bangchansspicybuldak]

[TEASER]

Chapter One: words existed (but yours broke my heart)

(available on Ao3, find on thenightsoftingles)

Genre: Angst, Slow burn, Unrequited Love, Misscommunication.

Pairing: 2min.

──────────────────

i. It's stupid now— come on.

Minho Hyung hums, sitting across from Hyunjin who was eyeing Jisung wildly. Concerned, if Seungmin is to correct himself.

Probably stupid.

But wasn't he?

It was the look of Minho Hyung that cracked him.

Fond, soft─ concerned when Jisung huffed and coughed a little, and Minho Hyung, ever the caring hyung, pushed the glass of water in front of him.

Like Seungmin did. Blindly to his heart. The to and fro stopped when they agreed not to play anymore.

Seungmin reassures himself again that he wasn't jealous of Jisung, but jealous of himself to be so stupid to think that he was jealous of Jisung.

"You did not!" Jisung gasps dramatically.

Ah, turns out Minho Hyung bought Jisung cheesecake, too.

──────────────────

ii. Felix takes a deep breath in between his speech, eyes closing when Seungmin gently towels the clean and wet dishes.

Minho Hyung doesn't like half-job done. He owns the kitchen of the cuties' dorm, rhetorically.

"All I say is, come with me and Innie to this brand new, cute cafe and-"

"You should go."

"What?"

"You should go with Innie."

Resilient. That is what his heart is. Like a stupid, possessive organ whose only function is to pump blood.

The noise of thump thump thump hurts his ears with guilt when Felix's smile falters. It falters, then it falls.

Être fleur bleue.

──────────────────

iii. "I know that you hate the skin. I peeled it. You will eat them when you feel like eating." No, it was not a demand, but closer to a command.

Seungmin is picky and does not get his hoard without whining, at the very least to a cat with claws. And this?

His ocean is no longer getting pulled or pushed, it's thrown upside down by this moon.

What are you doing to me, Hyung?

Seungmin sits there still, the plate of Apples is still untouched, now covered with another plate.

The ocean flip-flops. It squeezes behind his chest, trying to be free.

Calm down you pot, Seungmin hisses to his heart silently.

He thinks what it'd be like to be Minho Hyung's favourite.

Avoir un cœur d’artichaut.

──────────────────

iv. Seungmin lets himself breathe in and out.

He lets himself be pushed in the careful bursting biceps of a muscle-bound, big sweetheart.

He lets his hyung nuzzle closer to him.

It takes him time to answer, and Changbin waits. Like he always does.

And Seungmin, ever the coward, replies what could be a half lie, "As if I will be anything but fine."

No, Seungmin supplements to his Porcelain pot. Changbin cannot fill that space.

Even if he tries to. Even if Seungmin is to try and think about something other than the cold, freezing water.

The water body that he is finally getting used to.

──────────────────

v. As if conversationally, he reaches for more skewered meat and when he realizes that the plates are empty, he rises immediately.

Purchasing his time.

"The only one who is botherful," Minho says through the died-down laughter, picking up more meat from the kitchen station, "is you, Kim Seungmin."

He finishes and Seungmin hears something shattering.

When Minho doesn't get another snarky reply from Seungmin, he turns around and sees him standing near the kitchen.

The words are made to hurt when it is required to. But your words... they hurt the most.

Seungmin's lips are drawn in a thin line, and when he speaks, it quivers. "You know, Hyung", he takes a ragged breath to stop shaking, "You can just say that you hate me."

It's quiet. It's too quiet.

The shattering continues. Each piece of the Porcelain pot continues to fall into the black void, back to the burning pit of fire, making such a loud noise that Seungmin's ears ring.

Or: Seungmin and Minho share a Porcelain pot. Once it breaks, everything shatters between them.

──────────────────

[echoes-reaper-xiv]

XADAI DOSSIER

BASICS:

Name: Xadai Kazarishi (Malaguld) Birthday: 5th Sun of the 11th Astral Moon (Nov. 5th) Star Sign: Scorpio Voice Claim: Chris Parson (as Gladio) Theme: "Devil Trigger" Devil May Cry 5 (Metal Cover by Little V Mills) Sexuality: Demiromantic, Pansexual. Preference for feminine qualities.

BACKGROUND:

Job: Gunbreaker, Reaper Hobbies: Woodworking, long walks Reputation: High rank assassin in the Order of Echoes. Not well known overall. Family: Kura Ittetsuai (fiance, deceased) , Parents assumed alive. Birthplace: Sui-no-Sato, Othard Relationship Status: Single (verse dependent) Current Residence: Small apartment in Ishgard

PHYSICAL:

Race: Au Ra (Raen) Age: 28 (ARR) - 33 (DT) Height: 7'7" Weight: ~290lbs Hair: Blonde, usually tied into a thin braid Details: Right arm will occasionally transform with voidsent qualities, turning skin black with bright red veins showing through. This is a side effect of the void pact he made as a reaper.

PSYCHOLOGICAL:

Positive Traits: Honest, Protective, Strong Neutral Traits: Good cook, Curious Negative Traits: Pessimistic, Secretive, Hot-headed Moral Alignment: True Neutral Likes: Quiet evenings, his apartment fireplace, whittling Dislikes: Nosey people, cold weather Fears / Phobias: "Silence", small spaces, loss of loved ones Mental Status: PTSD, Depression Habits: Smoking, Drinking

PLOT HOOKS:

(plot hooks tba)

LORE: (Character spoilers ahead!)

Born underneath the ocean in Sui-no-Sato, Xadai led a secluded life. He harbored a curious nature as a child, and longed to explore beyond the safe little bubble that his parents insisted he stay in. If anything, his curiosity only increased the more they ordered him to stay. Despite this, he stayed in his home until he was sixteen years old.

Another teenager around his age dared him to go further than he had ever explored before, and being as stubborn as he is, Xadai didn't hesitate to prove his bravery. However, on his excursion, Xadai was swept away by a powerful underwater current, and was taken to the shores of the Azim Steppe. There, he was found and taken in by the Malaguld tribe, who accepted Raen into their fold.

He stayed only for a few years, leaving shortly before his 20th birthday to continue to sate his curious nature and travel the lands on his own accord. However, it wasn't long before he stumbled into the Doman regions, where he would stay for a good several years. Here, he met a Raen woman named Kura, after saving her life as their paths met. It was practically love at first sight for them, and even though her rich merchant father disapproved, Kura and Xadai were quick to become close and then romantically involved.

They dated in secret for three years, before Xadai finally gathered the courage to propose to her. At first there was some resistance from her parents, but they eventually caved, knowing that it was Xadai who made her truly happy.

Their happiness, however, was not long for the world. Hardly a season after their engagement was announced, Xadai returned home one evening to find Kura brutally murdered. Xadai was framed for the murder, and just barely managed to escape with his life.

He spent the following several months in hiding, and learning of who was truly responsible for her death. He traced it down to a small group of wannabe assassins, and Xadai hunted them down to the last, killing each of them in just a brutal fashion as they had done to Kura. This act earned the attention of a Miqo'te man by the name of Silence, who ran a rival assassins guild. Contacting Xadai, he convinced the Raen to join the Echoes, seeking to put the broken man to work with a purpose...

SHIPS:

;Show me how to be Whole again. (Xadai x Julian) @ethereal-jule ;Does it make you wanna pick up all your things And drive away like it's stolen? (Xadai x Kehda) @idealhost ;'Cause I can feel how your flesh now is crying out for more. (Xadai x Rothalion) @draikoeques

[heartsforvin]

TAG GAME !!

rules - url song meme

thank you for the tag @cosmicanakin !! love you so much 🥲

🤍

H - hate me - lil peep

E - eternal sunshine - ariana grande

A - all the good girls go to hell - billie eilish

R - roxanne - chase atlantic

T - thinkin’ bout you - frank ocean

S - she - harry styles

F - feathers - sabrina carpenter

O - open arms - sza

R - river - eminem

V - void - the neighbourhood

I - i think - tyler the creator

N - noose - nessa barrett

join the fun !!! @anqeliclust , @sturnioloshacker , @lowkeycasanova , @leqonsluv3r + anyone who wants to join in !! (:

[bolters-and-rivets]

391st Grand-Batallion (4th Legion); lore supliment

The 391st Grand-Battalion of the Iron Warriors, when not cruising the warp looking to settle their grudge with the Imperium, is based out of the Lishtragen system; a Binary-star system comprised of a red dwarf co-orbiting a sun-like star.

the Lishtragen system, rendered as seen from the Galactic plain, and in a simple view for clarity The system features 7 orbiting planets.

L-I is a barren, rocky world, much like Murcury or Ganymede, to close to the twin stars to be of much use beyond mining for resources.

L-II is an terestrial planet, about 1.25x the size of Terra and the staging ground for the 391st's manpower

L-III is an ocean world, used as a main berth for the 391's void fleet to avoid clogging up the orbit of L-II

L-IV to L-VI are gas giants, used by the Dark Mechanicum as forge worlds

L-VII is a brown dawrf; a proto-star that was flung from a nebula before it had a chance to reach critical mass and captured into the Lishtragen systems orbit, where it now resides on the outer edge. the presence of the brown dwarf has a substantial influence on the stability of the system, forcing the other planets into various elliptical or eccentric orbits, in fact, so sever is this outside pull on the system that planets Lishtragen-IV and Lishtragen VI both cross the orbit of Lishtragen V and back again.

How the system has sustained such eccentric orbits without planets colliding or getting flung off into space is unknown, but the uper echelons of the Grand Batallion theorise that the gods of chaos may have some role to play in orchestrating such organised chaos

Lishtragen-II is where we will focus our attention.

1st drafts of Lishtragen-II displaying climate and factions. Faction labels and locations are subject to change as I develop the lore further.

L-II is the staging ground for the 391st Grand Battalion, the planet's eccentric orbit and the presence of two stars gives it a climate that varies between oven dry and sauna-humid, the pull of the other planets locking the orbit into a rotational period that alligns with the seasons, so that the "summer" side of the planet is a scorching desert, whilst the "winter" side of the planet is invariably hot & humid rainforests and jungles.

the 391st as an entity holds most of the terretory on the summer side of the planet, using the scorched desert terrain and the maintain range known locally as "The Spine" to their advantage to make it as difficult as possible for outside assault their base of operations, known simply as "The Iron Keep".

As for the rest of the planet? The 391st Grand Battalion leaves much of the more hospitible terretory unocupied for a veriety of cults and renegade warbands to stake out their own little terretories and empires in miniature, this ultimately works in the 391st's favour as the varius faactions waring for terretory gives the Iron Warriors a pool of manpower to draw from who are specialised in many forms of warfare.

One notable region besides the Iron Dominion is the Free Terretory of Estadia, a designated neutral zone where all may do trade, seek sanctuary, and hire mercinaries free from the grudges outside its borders. It also sees use as a place for the factions to settle disputes that can't be so easily solved by feat of arms, for which a member of the 391st may preside over disputes and pass judgement. The defacto capital of the planet, at least so-far as the general population are concerned, is Hive City Primus, located in Estadia, a seedy hive rife with crime, slavery, and corruption. What "law enforcement" exists consists of little more than armed thugs drawn from the Grand Battalion's auxilliaries tasked with keeping the violence on the busiest streets to a tolerable minimum

Prepresentative placeholder image, until I have the funds to commision an artist to make artwork for me