#custom fishing baits

[duskylures]

Another one in the bag! https://www.duskylures.com.au/

#fishinglife #fishing #fishing lures #custom fishing lures #custom fishing baits #saltwater #saltwater fishing #boating #fishing baits

[lesenbyan]

I woke up this morning at, like, level 63FSH intent on finally getting to the 60 quest and getting to 70

I have logged out at level 81 and done every job quest and the every Facet of Fishing quest. also did almost every ocean venture. Once again, my life is fishing

#jay plays ffxiv; #honestly just trying to get to 90 to do ocean ventures for purple scrip #so I can finally get scrip gear for BTN/MIN #I finally got them the on hands bc I was still using level 84 for 'e #*'em #and like. LTW/WVR still have the level 80 scrip on hands so I think I'mma do custom deliveries or s/t to get gear for 'e #*them too #pinky why you you keep hitting enter when I'm trying to get my index to hit m #I need to write down ocean fishing notes so I know what god damned bait to use ever

[hunglure]

Drop Shot Finesse Fishing: A Beginner's Guide

Fishing can be a relaxing and rewarding hobby, but it can also be a bit overwhelming for beginners. One effective and beginner-friendly technique is drop-shot finesse fishing. This method is particularly useful for catching finicky fish like bass, panfish, and other species. Before shopping for drop shot finesse fishing lures look at the basics of the technique, from the equipment you need to the step-by-step process of using this technique.

1. Equipment and Tackle:

Before you hit the water, you'll need the right equipment and tackle for drop shot finesse fishing. Here's what you'll need:

Fishing Rod: A light to medium spinning rod (6-7 feet) is ideal. This will allow you to make precise casts and work your bait effectively.

Reel: Pair your rod with a spinning reel that matches its power. This ensures a balanced setup, making it easier to control your line.

Fishing Line: Use a 6-10-pound test monofilament or fluorocarbon line. Lighter line allows for better sensitivity and control.

Drop Shot Weight: A drop shot weight or sinker is the key to this technique. It's usually a cylindrical weight that attaches below your hook.

Hooks: Small, fine-wire hooks (size 1 to 4) are great for drop shot fishing. They keep the presentation natural.

Drop Shot finesse fishing lures: This is where the finesse part comes in. Choose soft plastic lures like worms, minnows, or creature baits. The color and size should match the local forage and water conditions.

2. Rigging the Drop Shot:

Once you have your gear ready, it's time to rig up your drop shot setup. Here's how:

Tie a Palomar Knot: Attach your hook to the line using a Palomar knot. Leave a tag end of about 8-12 inches for the drop shot weight.

Attach the Weight: Slide the tag end through the eye of the drop shot weight, then pull it tight. This will secure the weight below the hook.

Hook the Soft Plastic: Thread the hook through the head of the soft plastic bait and let it hang naturally. This creates a lifelike presentation.

3. Casting and Presentation:

Now that your drop shot rig is set up, it's time to get it in the water. Here's how to cast and present your bait:

Choose a Spot: Look for underwater structures, rocks, or vegetation where fish might be hiding.

Cast Gently: Make a gentle cast to your chosen spot. The goal is to drop the bait vertically rather than making a long-distance cast.

Allow It to Sink: Let the bait sink to the desired depth. You can use your reel to manage the depth by reeling in or letting out line.

Work the Bait: Use gentle rod movements to give your bait a subtle, natural action. Small twitches and lifts are often all you need to entice a strike.

4. Detecting Strikes and Setting the Hook:

Detecting strikes while drop shot finesse fishing can be subtle, so pay close attention to your line and rod. Here's how to do it:

Watch your line closely. If you notice it twitch, jump, or move to the side, it might be a fish showing interest.

Feel for any unusual resistance or a "mushy" sensation when you're working the bait. A fish might have picked it up.

When you think a fish is biting, set the hook with a quick upward motion of your rod. Keep the line tight and maintain pressure on the fish.

Drop-shot finesse fishing is a technique that requires patience and practice. You may not catch fish every time, but with experience, you'll improve your skills and start reeling in more catches.

#Worm fishing lures online #4.5″ brush hog fishing lure #Drop Shot Finesse fishing lure #Ribbon tail Worm fishing lure #Freshwater Fishing Lures Online #Worm Soft Plastic fishing lures online #5′′ chuck fishing lures #Custom Soft Bait fishing lures #soft plastic Critter fishing lure #fishing lures and baits online

[thebizzbaits]

Tailored Tackle Custom Fishing Bait Bundles

The Custom fishing Bait Bundles from Tailored Tackle, explore a world of successful fishing. This is where your customized fishing adventure begins.

#fishing bait custom bundles

[boxcutterbaits]

Tied on a 3/8 oz saltwater jig head. Designed to be cast and retrieved. Tied like a Lefty's Deciever fly. I made this for my own use. Took it out a couple weeks ago the day a big cold front was moving in. Only had a strike or two but the large pod of porpoises in the area might have had something to do with that. I have lots of other spots in mind to work this bait. I hope to post some catch pics in the coming months. I like the way it looks in the water. I will probably tie a few more in different weights and colors.

#saltwater jig #customlures #saltwater #fishing #jig tying #custom baits #boxcutterbaits

[skygoldart]

Cod Grian Cosplay Build!

The fish man himself, season 10 Grian!

Reference Sketch

Some notes:

I always end up changing somethings from the reference when making the actual outfit, although I stayed pretty close it it this time.

I initially drew him with a handlebar mustache and goatee to mimic the whiskers of a fish, however I switched to a fluffier mustache beard to match the guy from Frozen.

I also opted for my turtleneck shirt over the red sweater+collar to go for more of a fisherman vibe

Since Grian is usually drawn with parrot wings, I wanted to call back to that with red yellow and blue feathers on the bobbers.

The tail and fins

I wanted to lean into the “fish”er man design and gave him fish fins and a tail.

It’s design is based on a cod fish with striped fins based on the feathers of an osprey

To make it, I drew the tail pattern on a large piece of paper, cut it out, cut each section out of the respective fabric times two, sewed the two sides together, and lastly filled it with a ton stuffing.

The tail is heavy, but it’s fun to wack people with it.

The fins for the arms and beanie are made in a similar way, each hand sewn onto the beanie/bracers once stuffed.

The Overalls

I had originally planned for him to be wearing waders, but wanted to make the outfit more wearable for everyday wear without overheating. So I opted for some brown corduroy overalls instead.

To add a “wet” look to each pant leg, I briefly dipped each one into some black fabric dye before rinsing and drying.

The green pixels on his skin look like they could be kelp or patches so I decided to go with the latter and dug through my scrap fabric to find these green pieces.

I embroidered the edge of each piece with a unique stitch and placed them randomly on each leg.

The snails!

Of course we can’t forget about the snails

There are three snails for this project with two more eventually on the way (a plush pink snail, and a plush brown snail).

I made the clay blue snail first with polymer and attached tie tacks to the underside so I can use it like a pin and stick it anywhere on my clothes.

Same goes for the pink worm snail which is also made of clay.

The blue plush snail is based on a pattern from Etsy by willowynn with some slight modifications, mainly to the eyes/feelers, and doubling the size.

Facial hair

This was one of the parts I was the most excited about for this cosplay and the only part I didn’t do myself. I commissioned @basic-amoeba to make a custom ventilated beard, styled and everything. This part turned out so good!

Some final notes for this project

This cosplay took from Feb 20 to March 15th to complete since I was so determined to finish it before Grian changed his skin. Haha look at me now. He still hasn’t changed it.

Not pictured (cause why can I only add 10 photos 😭) is the mending book with a fish hook I made using scrap faux leather, cardboard, and some cut printer paper. I painted in galactic the word mending and sprayed the whole thing in my “enchanting” spray paint (a blue to purple iridescent glitter spray paint)

A small fun backstory to the fishing rod:

My grandpa is an experienced fisherman and has dozens of fishing poles. When I talked about this project with him, he brought me out to his workshop and pulled down the dustiest fishing rod there. He told me he had fished this fishing rod from a lake one day with the line and bait still attached. Can’t get anymore accurate to Minecraft fishing than that lol.

Obligatory cosplay photo:

#grian #hermitcraft #grian cosplay #hermitcraft season 10 #cod grian #fisherman grian #hermitcraft cosplay #cosplay build #cosplay #skygoldcosplaybuild #skygoldcosplaywip

[timeoveritasconsumofigmentum]

Yandere Fisherman x F!Mermaid Reader

Warnings: Obsessive behaviors, Stalking, Kidnapping, Implied murder(?)

A/n: I tried to use actual boat terminology idk if it’s right lmao, but enjoy ♡ (not proofread)

⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.

Mermaid!reader that loves to hang out with her marine friends during the bright afternoons. Exploring underwater caves, collecting the prettiest shells, telling spooky stories in sunken ships. Life was beautiful under the sea.

Mermaid!reader who was dared by Kai the stingray to go one of the many forbidden zones (the one infested with humans.) Despite her fear and uncertainty, she couldn't let that flat face call her a guppie!

Mermaid!reader who encounters dozens of dinghies once in the sunlight zone. Consumed with curiosity, she swam closer to the strange shiny devices hanging from the small ships. Yes the ocean floor collected the ships and it's artifacts, but she had never seen such a device.

Mermaid!reader who felt nothing but awe at the plastic fish that they(the fisherman) threw into the sea from their barnacle covered boats, fascinated by their unusual bright colours and shapes. Giggles at the confusion of her friends, their gurgles of excitement sending waves of bubbles along the currents.

Mermaid!reader who starts investigating with her marine friends but finds out the hard way what the plastic is truly meant to do and it breaks her heart. Dozens of her friends gone in a blink of an eyes, yanked into the unknown world. Mourns for the loss of her friends blaming herself for the lack of awareness, makes herself a promise that no other innocent being would be taken.

Mermaid!reader who helps fishes avoid the sharp hooks, warning all that wander too close that they could be snatched up and never seen again. Swears on Poseidon that no more of her friends will be stolen.

Mermaid!reader who actively tracks ships and fishing patterns. Herding the small guppies and airhead fishes away from the coast, sure they understood warnings but that didn't stop their curiosity or lack of awareness.

Mermaid!reader starts using her sharp iridescent shell to cut the fishing lines and collect the plastic bait, the humans obviously aren't using them so what's the harm in collecting them? Besides it would stop her friends from being caught up by the glittering they produced.

⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.

Yandere!fisherman frustrated from the sacristy of fish coming in. His profit and family business plummeting to the ground from lack of customers.

Yandere!fisherman swore he would get to the bottom of this. His grandmother didn't break every bone in her body for this business to die a sudden death!

Yandere!fisherman who now, never leaves his modest boat, camouflaging himself to stalk the waters every hour of the day. Waits for days with no activity, his sour mood getting even fouler. "If there's nothing there, then where all the bloody fish?!"

Yandere!fisherman who spots a large fin lift out from the water one early morning, a quiet splash following. Snatching his binoculars off the stern pulpit he spotted a human like figure bobbing around the water, clicks his tongue in frustration about to look away when splash! A pearlescent tail jerks out of the water, his eyes traveled along the long fin only to find it connect to the figure he saw previously. Wide eyes stare at the strange creature entranced.

Yandere!fisherman shellshocked from the discovery, sure his grandmother told his stories about how merpeople lived in these water but he just thought it was a bad eyesight and manatees! To think she was right. Wonder soon turned into animosity, so this was the creature causing a shortage of food?

Yandere!fisherman who starts tracking the mermaids every move, determined to capture it. Thinks of the amount of money he would make by selling the exotic legend. He could see it now, towers of gold stacked to the clouds, a large home fit for a king, no longer having to break his back to scrape together enough money to pay his bills, his very being bathed in riches. Oh yes, he would have the sea beast . Dead or alive.

Yandere!fisherman after weeks of planning, decides it's time to capture the beast. Makes a custom bottom trawl, out of clear wire, adjusting it enough to fit the mutant, takes extra care to make it sturdy. As any good fisherman would do, he starts to track her movements.

Yandere!fisherman who writes in detail the spots she would mostly visit(the abandoned boats near the colorful reef seemed to be her favorite?), what distance she was most comfortable in(half a mile away from the dock but continuously inching closer) what time she preferred to come (right as the sun peeked out from the horizon.)

Yandere!fisherman finds out that the mermaid had been stealing the bait deliberately, his callous hands wrap around his booklet in fury wringing the innocent leather, another thing he had to worry about thanks to it.

Yandere!fisherman finally gets a glimpse of the creatures face. Is stunned stupid to see such beautiful features, every detail in her face seemed as they were sculpted by hand with utmost care. The blue hue of the water did little to obscure her beauty, feels something in his chest tighten but brushes it off.

Yandere!fisherman dreams now invaded by the unknown woman. Her opal like scales that seemed softer than cotton, the halo of hair that followed her whenever she moved, bright eyes filled with childlike wonder. Soft supple lips lifted into a small smile. The feeling in his chest returns.

Yandere!fisherman commences his plan at night, gently tossing the net into the water far away from his boat. Lies in wait, white knuckling the thick rope connected to the net ready to pull at any moments notice. Sees the beautiful beast nearing his trap, grits teeth "come on.." he jerks the net snatching the side of her body, her right arm and fin tangled in the thick plastic. Bubbles flurry to the surface panicked splashing accompanying it.

Yandere!fisherman who yanks the net forward creating small waves, the veins in his arms bulging from the amount of force takes large steps back bringing her closer. Has her a few feet away from boat when SNAP the net collapses into itself, her body freeing with every thrash. Let's out a scream of frustration watching the mermaid flee the scene quickly.

⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.

Mermaid!reader swimming back home in pure shock clutching her iridescent shell, unable to filter in the million of questions her friends asked her.

Mermaid!reader who thinks of all the fables and stories of humans snatching merpeople were true, she knew that much, but never did she think she would be one of the missing. She had been so careful, not following the same path or reappearing in the same spot.

Mermaid!reader stays cocooned in her shell like home for days, the soft hues of pink and yellow calming her soul. Small treasures displayed on weaved seaweed shelves warmed her heart, creating a bubble of peace in her rampant mind. The human objects she collected overtime glared at her, an uneasy feeling urged herself to stuff the objects deep in sand. To forget about them and everything about the surface. To forget about the existence of humans.

Mermaid!reader traces the angry marks that indented her tail, curling further on her kelp bed. Regrets taking the dare that made her get so close to the land. She could have been blissfully blind if she just stayed with the cities limits, unburdened with the knowledge of what the coast held. Shivering at the daunting feeling, she imagined what awaited her the moment she broke through the surface.

Mermaid!reader who wants to stay rooted right where she was but the other part who knew the truth, she knew she would have to go back and help her friends. But to go back was a death wish there was no telling that luck would be on her side once more, memories of her stolen friends flashed through her mind.

Mermaid!reader with her mind set, decides to go back. Asks around her city hoping to find out more about humans only to hit dead end after dead end. Deflated, swims to the coral library wanting at least to brush up on the human tales that once scared her when she was guppie.

Mermaid!reader who draws a map of sector starfish. Noting where she was almost taken, she tries to remember where her fish friends would go. They weren’t the brightest bunch so she knew they would be scattered through out the water. Despite the numerous problem she was faced with, she pushes forward.

Mermaid!reader who stays at the edge of the sunlight zone, worry seeps in her veins her tail thrashing in agitating. “It’s not a big deal..I’m just going back to the place where I was almost taken, it’s fine. It’s fine, I’m fine..”. She took a deep breath before releasing, groups bubbles tumbled from her mouth caressing her features. A soothing warmness settles in her chest at the feeling as she tried to the keep up with the uncoherent thoughts she had.

Mermaid!reader cautious of every little thing, swimming as slow as possible. Decides to split the area into smaller sectors, one sector a day. That'll keep her safe. Hopefully. Days slowly crawl by, her wavered confidence stayed stagnant riddled with the anxiety of ‘what if’s?’

Mermaid!reader shakes her head disappointed at the fish who swim merrily around the few hooks in sector starfish. ‘All those warnings floated away from them’ she thought glumly. Sees Kai the stingray stuck in a large net, doesn't hesitate to swim forward sharp shell in hand pushing away her dread.

Mermaid!reader determination set in her features she prepared herself to slash haphazardly trying to free her friend as quickly as possible. Let's out a scream of terror dropping her weapon, realizing her friend was already dead and gutted.

Mermaid!reader distracted by the horrifying scene set in front of her, she barely felt another net underneath the sand lift upwards speedily creating a cage around her.

⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖° ⋆｡𖦹 °.

Yandere!fisherman who is quite glum from the lack of appearance of his prize-bag of money. Rereads his booklet, noting she would appear most when the tides were rising. The perfect time when fish would trickle in like children at a sweets shop. Reinforces a seine net and buries it in the sand underneath his ship, is about to rise from the water when he spots stray stingray swimming away from his curious eyes.

Yandere!fisherman couldn’t help but to smile.

Mermaid!reader who's dropped onto the floor the modest boat unceremoniously. Starts to beg the burly fisherman to let her go, that she only wanting to keep her friends safe "Please! I mean you no harm! How would you feel if hundreds of your friends where snatched away from home and they were never seen again? Understand me" she pleaded, voice getting hoarse from lack of water. Her limbs ached from the drop, the tight net reopening the wounds on her shimmering tail and torso.

Yandere!fisherman after weeks of watching her from the boat can't help but to tune her out. Not that her voice wasn't as sugary as he imagined, but to finally be able to drink in her foreign features. Euphoria drenched his body, this was real.

Yandere!fisherman thinks of the dreams that haunted him each night, were nothing compared to reality. Entranced by every crease, mole, and scar that covered her very being, studying her features he memorized every little detail. Dark eyes taking in the strange clothing she wore, lingering on the open wounds on her opalescent tail.

Yandere!fisherman who feels cold at the thought of someone else feasting on her beauty. He was the only one deserved to look at her, he watched for months, weeks of planning and yearning to get to this moment. He knew her. She was his. No one was worthy enough to bathe in her beauty. "Shhh, it's okay. Oh, have I got some plans for you sweetheart. But don't you worry your pretty little head about anything, I’ll take care of everything.”

#my writing🪷 #yander x reader #yandere x you #yandere headcanons #male yandere #x reader #female reader #yandere x darling #yandere x y/n #x you #yancore #yandere prompts #yandere drabble #yandere oc #yandere x female reader #yandere oc x reader #yandere oc x y/n #yandere fic #yandere oc x you #yandere blurb #yandere scenarios #yandere darling #yandere writing #yandere imagines #yandere x reader #yandere fisherman #mermaid!reader

[jo-harrington]

Corrective Action (Eddie Munson x Store Manager!Reader)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: Reader and Eddie have been hanging out for a little while and a lot of people seem to think it’s ok to voice their opinion around her.

Previous Part: Interview Prep

Warnings/Themes: AU where the Upside Down doesn't terrorize Hawkins. Reader works at the Claire's at StarCourt. Eddie works at TapeWorld. Mutual pining and slow burn (yes still, always). Bullying, manipulative/helicopter parents, ACAB, all around shitty people that might trigger some things. Thick skinned reader who is sick of said shitty people. Sad boy Eddie. Hurt/Comfort. Pinky promises.

Note: I really hope this one is good guys, I feel like I wrote half of this in an airport wishing I was actually drinking (I did and I was, but I'm sober and kind of currently wishing I wasn't). If this is me fishing for compliments...I guess this is just yummy bait.

You can find my masterlist here for more featuring our resident Store Manager (in chronological order because I’m chaotic and I’m not gonna stop writing this way) and all of my other random Eddie Headcanons.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

---

It started with Stacey at work.

You were sitting at the little desk in the stockroom, working out payroll and the next schedule, when she came to clock out.

“Hey, good job today on upselling diamonds,” you told her, incredibly proud. While she was great at customer service, she really had a hard time getting customers to add to their basket. You had worked on coaching her and she was quickly becoming your best sales associate. “I’m proud of you, you’ve been doing so great!”

“Yeah thanks! All of these rich PTA moms I swear to god,” she rolled her eyes. “I guess my mom was only a hard ass if I asked her to buy me things though. If anyone else tried to sell things to her, she always caved.”

She continued going on about her mom getting all the upgrades when she got a new car.

“…Mr. Harrington almost started singing when she finally signed the lease.” She laughed but then sobered up, glancing around the stockroom to see if anyone else was around. Stacey cleared her throat. “Hey I’ve been meaning to ask…”

“What’s up?”

“Are you, like…dating Eddie Munson?”

It would have been an innocent enough question if not for her tone. Or the way she grimaced and scrunched her nose, as if just saying his name put a bad taste in her mouth.

Eddie had been wary of your interactions with Stacey from the beginning, you recalled. And when you had asked him why later on, he beat around the bush a little before giving in.

She was someone who had been in his classes for as long as he could remember, she was not a cheerleader but certainly one of the popular girls, and when her jock boyfriend got a job at the local insurance office after missing his chances at getting an athletic scholarship, she stayed behind too and made all of the local gossip her business.

And for some reason, even if he swore he never remembered saying more than two words to her at any given time, she made rumors about him her specialty.

You’d been at a loss. On the one hand, you knew Eddie dealt with bullies and rumors even if he never outright admitted it to you. But on the other, you had no reason to distrust Stacey. All you knew about the people you worked with were just what they told you and what you were able to witness while working together. And you knew Stacey engaged in all sorts of gossip. But Eddie’s name had never exited her mouth.

Until now.

“What?” You were so shocked at the entire scenario that you didn’t even realize she would take that as an invitation for her to continue.

“Well he’s been hanging around the store and I’ve seen you guys sitting together sometimes. But like…well, haven’t you heard?” She got closer and sat in the chair next to you. “He, like, sacrifices virgins in the woods and has, I don’t know, summoned demons before. He’s a Satanist, a freak.”

You bristled at the name-calling and the accusations.

“Stace—“

”And you’re new so of course you don’t know—“

“Stacey I’m gonna stop you right there,” you held up your hand and she immediately shut up and sat up a little straighter. “First of all, it is incredibly inappropriate to ask me about my personal life. About any aspect of it, outside of what I willingly share with you. I am your boss, I’m not your friend, this isn’t high school. We are all entitled to privacy and I am incredibly uncomfortable discussing this with you.

“Second, again not that you need to know, but no. I am not dating Eddie. Eddie works here in StarCourt and you make friends with people when you work at a shopping mall. That being said, Eddie is not only an employee at StarCourt, but also a human being and a neighbor to all of us—”

“Ew no he isn’t. He lives in that—“ she started but you weren’t having any of it.

“And because of that he deserves some respect. Calling someone a freak and spreading rumors isn’t respectful. Which leads me to the last point.

“One of the values of this company is integrity. Doing the right thing, even if it’s hard to do. And I’m sorry but bullying, under any circumstance, is not the right thing to do. So even though you are off the clock, you are still on company property and you are certainly not operating with integrity. I’m incredibly disappointed that I have to have this kind of conversation with you, but I will consider this a warning for next time.

“If I hear talk like this coming from you again, there will be disciplinary action,” you concluded. “Do you understand?”

You hated to do it, you hated to put on the manager pants. You hated that Stacey’s eyes welled with tears the longer you talked and that she trembled as she finally nodded. But even if Eddie wasn’t your friend, you wouldn’t condone this kind of behavior. You held your team to an incredibly high standard and this wasn’t it.

You sent Stacey home and got back to the schedule with a sour taste in your mouth.

---

The next time, you were actually out with Eddie.

He had told you that the sunrise at the old quarry was second to none and when you confessed that you had never actually watched the sunset or the sunrise before, he immediately figured out the best day for you to go together.

He had put together a picnic with all sorts of breakfast foods, because apparently no one made pancakes, bacon, and eggs better than he did—

“Got an A+ in home ec, thank you very much. Didn’t help me get my GPA up but Wayne is pretty happy when I have breakfast waiting for him after a double shift.”

—and treats from the gas station since he insisted that you needed to experience all of the convenience food he loved. There was a thermos full of coffee and a boat load of blankets in the back of the van. He picked you up at your apartment, ringing the bell at ass o’clock in the morning looking way too energetic for someone who woke up so early.

“What do you mean? I never went to sleep!”

The radio was low as he drove you towards the outskirts of town; he’d also surprised you with a replacement of your old Boston cassette that you had nearly played to death, and he hummed along and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel along with Foreplay.

You reached a certain sign on the road signaling the quarry was up ahead, only for the tell tale lights and “whoop whoop” of a squad car to sound off from behind you. Eddie cursed and pulled off to the side of the road.

“Sweetheart can you grab me, uh” he motioned for the glove box. You’d already popped it open and dug through to find his registration as he pulled the wallet from his pocket. “Thanks.”

The crunch of gravel caused Eddie to look at this side mirror and groan a low, drawn out “fuck.”

“Munson,” the officer greeted roughly once the window was rolled down.

“Callahan,” Eddie replied. “Hopper got you on traffic patrol now huh?”

“Very funny,” Callahan deadpanned. “You know why I pulled you over.”

“Actually I don’t,” Eddie chuckled dryly. “License plates are up to date, I wasn’t speeding, and that tail light you busted last time you pulled me over is fixed.”

What the fuck?

"I don't like the tone you're taking with me, kid," Callahan spat. "Not a respectful bone in your body, any time I have to pull you over. It's for your safety after all. And the safety of the entire town."

How many times had this guy pulled Eddie over? 5? 10?

“Anyway, we just broke up a party over in Loch Nora about an hour ago, lot of kids high and wasted,” Callahan continued and there was no way you could have guessed the words that were coming out of his mouth next. “I know how you like to hang around parties like those, do a few deals. Maybe you decided to take advantage of some pretty girl who doesn’t know where she is.”

Callahan leaned down a little further and shined a flashlight into the van, directly at you.

“How you doing tonight miss? Can you tell me your name please?”

Your world was shaken to the core.

“Excuse me?” You scoffed, clenching your fists.

“You got your wits about you, or do I need to call an ambulance or something? Maybe your mom, if she needs to come pick you up?”

“I’m fine, officer, but I don’t like what you’re implying about my friend here.” You responded harshly. “Or about me. I am a grown woman, I am in this van of my own volition, with full mental capacities other than the fact that I’m maybe a little tired because I just woke up 20 minutes ago to go see the sunrise with my friend.”

Callahan stumbled over his words for a second, immediately backtracking as Eddie sat speechless in the driver's seat.

“We were never at a party in Loch Nora. Eddie didn’t kidnap me. Neither of us are drunk or high. So I’m pretty sure this is an unlawful traffic stop officer,” you concluded.

Both officer Callahan and Eddie looked at you with dumbstruck expressions.

“What, it’s true. So unless you have another reason to have pulled us over, officer?” You asked. “Can we be on our way now?”

He cleared his throat and handed the license and registration back to Eddie.

“Must have seen another van outside the party. An easy mistake to make,” he replied. “Got yourself a smart girlfriend there, Munson. Don’t fuck it up like you usually do ok?”

Callahan did another “whoop whoop” before pulling away and heading back to town, but Eddie continued to sit stiffly, refusing to move.

“You ok?” You asked, putting a hand on his arm.

“I can’t…he didn’t…” Eddie stumbled over his words. “I’m not like that ok? I don’t…I don’t take advantage of girls at parties. Fuck. Please don’t think—”

“I didn’t,” you assured him.

“Callahan always has it in for me, man,” He explained. “I don’t even know what I did. Caught me smoking weed on school grounds with the guys one summer way back and it was like a permanent target was placed on my back.”

“Small town cops with a big ego,” you explained, knowing fully well how douchebags like that were. “And you’re the resident bad boy.”

“You gotta stop calling me that,” he groaned in, what you believed to be, embarrassment.

---

And it kept happening.

Whispers when you went out for pizza, eyes watching you at the grocery store with pity or disgust, you didn’t know for sure. The one time you both stopped in Montgomery Ward on lunch to get a new dress (and for Eddie not to spend his lunch alone) and the saleswoman kept hovering as though you were about to steal.

Well, not you. Eddie.

No one usually dared to say anything to your face but you could still hear it. “She hangs around that Munson boy. Ugh such a troublemaker. Poor girl. Someone should tell her. He’s a trickster, that one.”

And no, you knew it wasn’t everyone. Just the busybodies who didn’t know what they were talking about.

You’d usually roll your eyes and continue on with your day. You could take whatever was thrown your way—some people just sucked and they couldn’t keep their mouths shut—but you knew how it affected Eddie. You could see it when you were with him, how deflated he became.

Your friend, one of the best people you knew, regardless of your stupid crush on him. He became distant, shrunk like he wanted to take up less space in the world.

You just about had enough of it.

And it all came to a head one day, a week after you hired Chrissy Cunningham as a part-time associate.

Her mother dropped her off after Cheer camp one day and wanted to see the new store.

You had a pretty solid parent policy that you made known to your teenage associates, just as your old store manager did when she first hired you at 16. Parents could come in and visit, shop, sure. But they weren’t going to interfere with the business. No calling to complain if the schedules conflicted with family nights. No calling in sick on their kids behalf.

“If you’re old enough to take on the responsibility of a job, you’re taking all of the responsibilities, ok? Even the not so nice ones.”

Chrissy, just like the others, understood.

Chrissy’s mom, on the other hand, had a bit of a problem with that.

You were nice enough when they first got in, getting to hear how the whole family was so excited about her first job, how it would look great on college applications come Fall. Chrissy, of course, had told you all of this in her interview; she was a sweet kid who clearly was trying to take on a lot and once you met her mom, you understood where the pressure was coming from.

Your mom was like that too, in her own way. Picking and picking and picking.

“Oh actually,” Mrs Cunningham started and from her tone you knew it was just going to be the beginning of a whole to-do. “I was meaning to ask if Chrissy could change her schedule? I saw you had put her on Saturday afternoons. But there’s a junior cheer team at the park district that she helps coach and they have meets on the first Saturday of the month.”

The too-big, overly-whitened smile was an unspoken threat of “you’re going to give me what I want or else.”

You explained that weekends were a mandatory availability for your associates who were still in school, but it didn’t mean they would always be scheduled. You had already told Chrissy that you would give her the days of her meets off, if she let you know the dates at least 2 weeks in advance. It was only once a month, after all.

That smile fell, like it always did, when someone like Mrs. Cunningham, like your mother, like all the other Stepford-wife types in town, didn’t get their way.

She tried once again to explain, this was important to Chrissy and she could trade Saturdays for another day. Maybe Thursday afternoon? Only if she didn’t have too much homework, of course.

But there was no way to know that when you were writing the schedule two weeks out, you argued.

"Then I guess you'll just have to find a replacement for her shifts if she can't come in," Mrs. Cunningham argued.

“Ma’am, I leave the responsibility of schedule and availability to my associates when I hire them,” you explain. “Not their parents. You said you were excited for Chrissy to have a job. It’s only been a week. If she thinks she can handle Saturdays—or even if she doesn’t—I’ll leave it up to her. School hasn't even started yet; let's just give it some time before we try to make changes ok?”

And as one does when they feel attacked, she went after low hanging fruit.

“I wouldn’t expect you,” she sneered, “to know a whole lot about responsibility…or planning ahead for the future. You work in this little shop; it's not even a real job. I’ll bet you didn’t even go to college.

“And Chrissy said you’re friends with the Munson boy right? That he shows up sometimes to talk to you. He’s never known a day of responsibility in his life. He’s…he’s a drug dealer, a troublemaker—”

“Alright that’s it,” you interjected. “This is a place of business—my place of business—and we’re getting busy, so I will have to ask you to leave Mrs. Cunningham. Unless you want to stay for a piercing, I do have paying customers to tend to. I will discuss the schedule again with Chrissy. I promise.

“But for now, thanks for stopping by, it was so nice to meet you.”

---

“God she was such a bitch,” you complained as you watched Eddie throw cardboard boxes into the bailer.

This was typical for lunches spent together. You would both run trash down to the loading dock and complain about work while Eddie smoked—allowing you to luxuriate in his secondhand smoke for a little while—and then you would head to the food court to eat and just…spend time together.

Listen to music, talk about movies or books or whatever else came to mind.

This friendship was still new, there was plenty to talk about.

You kind of hoped there would always be something new to talk about. And that you two would be talking and having lunch together for a long time.

Best not get your hopes up though.

Currently, you were recounting the interaction with Mrs. Cunningham, purposefully leaving out the way she brought him into conversation.

What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Right?

“Poor Chrissy,” you sighed.

“Poor Chrissy?” Eddie scoffed. “Yeah, really sucks to be on top.”

“You know, she might be on top at school—”

“And her family might be rich, and she might live in a big house, and she might only need to work so it looks good on college applications. See where I’m going with this?”

“—but it sucks to have a parent constantly shitting on you. Even if they do it for ‘your benefit...'.”

“Why can’t you do anything right?”

“I stayed at home with you kids and this is the thanks I get?”

“I can’t make you respect this family. But don’t you have any self-respect?”

Maybe you were just projecting...

“Speaking of Queen Bee, here she comes now with her lover boy,” Eddie said, batting his eyelashes dramatically, and then he made a gagging noise. You were exiting the service corridors and spotted Chrissy, who had clocked out for the day, walking towards the food court with a very clean, athletic-looking blond boy.

“Now if you wanna talk about a bitch, look no further than Jason Carver.”

He proceeded to tell you all about how Jason and Jeff were neighbors, how they used to be friends as kids. How they stopped talking once Jason started up with sports, and he started picking on Jeff once he made varsity.

“He had some macho, roided up growth spurt last year, and that paired with the self-righteous bible thumping meant that Hellfire was an easy target. Those meathead jocks picked on us before, sure, but…I dunno, Jason is a whole other level of cruel. 

“And he doesn’t hesitate to beat up the younger kids, but if I’m around…well needless to say they’re a little scared of me, they don’t want to take a chance that I’ll put a curse on them or something.

“I’ll do whatever I need to, I’ll be their villain, if it means keeping those kids safe.” He rubbed the sleeve of his flannel against his nose and sniffled lightly. “But it’s not like there’s anything I can do aside from that. I have to just sit there and take it, let my friends take it, because if I don’t…if I don’t, then I become everything they say I am. Angry, dangerous, a menace, a criminal.”

“Eddie that’s terrible,” you grumbled, Chrissy’s mom and your own troubles forgotten. "You don't deserve to be picked on like that."

Eddie hummed in contemplation for a moment.

“Ok enough of them, do you want to share chili cheese fries?” He diverted. You hesitated, not wanting to drop the subject entirely, but also not wanting to push him. Eddie flashed you those big, pleading eyes, though, and you caved.

Asshole knew exactly what he was doing.

“Sure,” you smiled.

“And you’ll let me buy today,” he continued, holding his hand out before you could argue. “Because you feel bad for me you’re gonna let me do it.”

“What logic is that?!” You exclaimed. He giggled maniacally and motioned for you to find a table before he practically skipped to the line to order.

He was lucky that he was cute.

---

Chrissy approached you the next time she had a shift together; you were planning to pull her aside at the end of her shift to double check that she was sure about her availability and to go over the parent policy once again. It was kind of a relief that she took the initiative instead.

“I’m sorry about my mom,” she began timidly. “She shouldn't have come in here just to interfere. It's just that I do have a lot going on, and when I told her I wanted to work at the mall too...well, she just..."

"Chrissy, I understand," you interjected. "Really I do, you don't need to explain. I knew when I hired you that you had a lot on your plate."

"Thank you again, by the way."

"I just want to make sure that you're sure this is the right move. Do we need to look at your availability again?" you asked. "If your mom comes back to have this conversation again, I'm not going to stand for it. I need employees who are responsible for their own time."

"No I know..." she sighed. "I'll talk with her. I really do like working here."

"I like having you work here," you reassured her. "You're doing a really great job so far."

"R-really?" she smiled, eyes getting a little glossy. "Thank you. I'm trying. My mom...never seems to be happy with anything I do. If it's not what I do, it's how long it takes, and if it's not that, then it's how I look, and--" She was starting to breathe a little heavily and you sighed.

"Hey listen, I get it," you said gently. "Mom's...well, sometimes they can be the worst. They know exactly what buttons to push. And I don't want to sound insensitive because I want you to know you can talk to me any time, I'm here for you. But we are on the sales floor.

"I know your shift is almost over, if you want to take a few to go in back and settle down before you leave, you can," you encouraged her. It wasn't a busy day; you could afford to give her a few extra minutes to herself.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, Mindy will be back from lunch in a few and I can come and grab you if I need you."

Chrissy gave you a watery smile and then headed back into the stockroom.

There were a few minutes of restocking bracelets before the shop bell rang as a new customer walked in.

"Hey! Welcome in!" You greeted brightly, mindlessly, before looking up to find Chrissy's boyfriend standing there. He smiled and nodded in greeting.

"Hey, I'm here to pick Chrissy up," he explained.

"You're a little early," you laughed, trying to be cordial despite Eddie's words about him echoing in your mind. "She's just in back finishing up. I'll let her know you're here."

"Nah, that's ok," Jason shrugged. "I wanted to talk to you really quick."

You frowned at him and narrowed your eyes.

"Boyfriends unfortunately don't qualify for the employee discount," you stated lightly, hoping that this was the only thing he had to ask. "So if you have a little sister or something--"

"No, it's about Eddie Munson," he continued. "You really need to stay away from him."

Yeah. That was exactly what you were afraid he would say.

Ugh, you were really getting tired of this.

And it wasn't just that you were sick of people meddling, it was this boy in particular who was really rubbing you the wrong way. Gossipy sales associates with jock boyfriends, useless troublesome cops, nosy housewives, and well-meaning grandmas were one thing.

But a high school boy who was still wearing a letterman jacket in July, with a too nice smile and the audacity to have a savior complex when he was the one tormenting other kids?

That was where you drew the line.

You just wondered if you were willing to lose your job because of him.

“I'm telling you this for your own good. The crowd he’s a part of…,” Jason leaned closer as though it was a secret. “They’re a bunch of wastoids, listening to that devil's music, trying to lure virgins into the woods to sacrifice. And if you want to sit with the right crowd at lunch when school starts--”

You barked a laugh at this, right in his face, and he backed away looking confused.

Ok, so this wasn't "lose your job" worthy.

You mentally pulled on both your Disappointed Older Sibling and Angry Store Manager pants to gear up for this fight.

"Ok kid, real talk," you started, clapping your hands like a coach would. "I'm not in the business of yelling at teenage boys. And as flattering as it is that you might think I'm still in high school, there is no way a teenager would be managing a store. So there's point number one. Number two, don't assume a lady's age ok? At all. In either direction. That's a life lesson I'm gonna give you for free.

"Number three, and not that this conversation isn't...just really lovely, I need to get a point across and I'm sincerely doubtful you're gonna listen to me anyway. I just need you to understand that...like, whoever is hanging out with who, or going where, or doing what, is generally none of your business. Especially your girlfriend's boss. It's really disappointing that a nice boy like you is gonna cause his girlfriend to lose her job because he can't mind his own business."

And that was the punctuation at the end of the sentence to make him look nervous and a little sweaty.

You felt a little bad saying it, because no, you weren't going to fire Chrissy because of this dumb boy. But hopefully this would be a lesson learned.

"E-e-eddie was hanging around Chrissy the other day," he stuttered, looking extremely out of his element. Never been the person who had to face consequences before; you knew the type. "I saw him in here when I came to pick her up. She said...you were his friend and he was just waiting for you."

"I'm sure he was waiting for me."

"He always had crushes on the cheerleaders," he explained. "He was sniffing around this girl Julie a few years ago and she found out he was into this satanic stuff...I figured either you or Chrissy were next..."

"Oh buddy," you sighed. "And you figured if you came in here and told me not to hang around him, I would be spared...and Chrissy would be too?"

"See? You get it."

"Except that's really not how things work in real life or at a shopping mall, kid," you said. "Everyone is allowed to go wherever they want and talk to whoever they want. And I, as one of the managers in this building, am able to assess what is a danger to myself and my employees and Eddie certainly isn't one of them. Except for his corny jokes, he is harmless.

"You on the other hand," you continued, savoring the moment Jason's eyes got a little wider. "Approached me with a very distinct and threatening energy. So unless you want me to call mall security and make sure you are no longer allowed on the premises, I will need you to...re-evaluate your tone of voice and your intention of visiting.

"So, what was your name again?"

"J-Jason Carver, ma'am."

Ew. Ma'am. Ok you weren't that old. But you could deal with it.

"Jason Carver," your tone changed immediately, back to the sickening Store Manager voice you defaulted to on a regular basis. Eddie had called it unsettling before, to hear you go from your regular tone of voice to that. Jason's eye twitched and you grinned maniacally. "It's so nice to meet you. Chrissy was telling everyone it's your anniversary coming up?"

His eyes shifted slightly, and he laughed nervously.

"Ye-yes ma'am," he agreed.

"And what are you planning to get her as a gift?" you asked. He froze again. Ok, no gift; Chrissy definitely deserved better than that. "I think a necklace would be really lovely. Not from here, I can see you looking at the jewelry wall. But there's a really nice jewelry store downstairs that has birthstone pendants and stuff. I think she would really love something from there."

"I-I think that's a great idea," he nodded vigorously.

The door to the stockroom opened and Chrissy walked out with her bag in hand, ready for you to check it.

"Ok, I'm all set to go then, thank you so much for--Jason!" Chrissy smiled when she saw her boyfriend. "I thought you were going to wait for me downstairs."

He cleared his throat and composed himself.

"Figured I would come up and surprise you," he grinned smoothly. "Met your boss, she's...really cool, just like you said."

Nice save.

Ok maybe he wasn't as stupid as you originally thought.

Chrissy waved goodbye as they left, and Jason had the right sense to keep his mouth shut.

---

You waited outside Tape World as the mall started to slow down and get dark. There was a little coin-operated horse right outside of the store and you leaned against it and wondered, if it was a real horse, how fast it could take you and Eddie out of this shit hole of a town, away from all of the people who said horrible things.

You had nothing to complain about though. Eddie had to deal with it for years. He did so much to protect his friends...all you wanted to do was to protect him too.

The gate opened up and Eddie ducked underneath, grinning at you once it was locked and he was upright once again. He muttered a quick goodbye to the associate who closed with him before he approached you.

"Hey, it's only Thursday," he laughed. "Did I forget we had plans? I thought you opened."

"No, I was a mid," you shrugged. "But I stayed because..."

Should you tell him? You didn't want to upset him, or have him pull away from you, like he always did whenever talk of his reputation around town was mentioned. You wanted your silly, carefree, wonderful best friend not to have to suffer because of narrow minded people anymore.

"Beeeccaauuuuseee." He hums for a moment. "Because you knew that I was planning a Little Debbie taste test for Sunday and that all of the snacks were in the van right now?"

"What?" you laughed. "Oh my God."

"You said you were more of a Hostess person. I am trying to change your allegiance to the Dark Side of the Force." He stood taller, theatrically trying to mimic Darth Vader. "What better way than with a joint or two and a shit ton of snack cakes at the lake."

"Eddie!"

"What? Don't tell me you have never smoked before," he said in mock offense. "What rock have you been living under? I'm going to have to call your parents, young lady. They did too good a job raising you."

You stared at him for a minute as he laughed and you couldn't help yourself; you quickly closed the distance between the two of you and wrapped your arms around his waist. He went stiff for a second before placing one of his arms around your shoulders and his other hand on the back of your head.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly. "I mean, I know I did good with the Little Debbie, but you don't have to smoke if you don't want to. I was just kidding."

"No, it's not..." you sighed.

Hugging Eddie was nothing like hugging a girl friend--all squeezes and giggles over something silly and stupid--or hugging a relative--stiff and a little cold, your family not really ones for outward affection to begin with. He was just the right hug shape, his arms at the right height, the right length to wrap around you. His cheek at the right height to rest on the top of your head if he really wanted to (which you really hoped he did). His stupid waist that was perfect for you to wrap your arms around and soft enough that you could squeeze a little bit and he would actually give instead of just stiff and there.

An Eddie Hug was a perfect hug.

And hopefully your hug was perfect for him too, so that it wouldn't hurt him or scare him away as you told him...

"You remember last week?" you began. "You said Jason Carver is the biggest bitch I'd ever meet?"

"Y-yeah," he replied hesitantly, getting a little stiff in your arms, but he did nothing to pull away from you.

"Well, I met him and he is," you continued.

"What did he do?" Eddie asked, irritation evident in his voice. "If...if he did something, said something to you, I swear to God I--"

"I handled it," you cut him off. "He tried to scare me away from you. He said...well, it doesn't matter does it?"

"I'm sure it's what everyone says about me."

"And I told him he could get fucked," you said.

"What?!" Eddie finally pushed you away from him, hands gripping your arms tightly, as he laughed. "No you didn't."

"No I didn't," you shook your head. "But I might as well have. I think I scared him."

"Did you do the creepy voice?" he asked.

"Yeah," you giggled.

"I fucking hate that," he shivered.

"One day, Eddie Munson, you will answer the phone with a 'y'ello' and you will forever be turned to the Dark Side too," you mimicked his Darth Vader impression. "Just you wait and see."

"Never, I would sooner die!" He threw an arm across his eyes dramatically and turned away from you. After a moment had passed, he stood up straight again, hands fidgeting at his sides. "So, uh, are we cool?"

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"Because everyone tells you to stay away from me," he shrugged. "That I'm no good. That I'm a freak. I've been hearing it all my life. But I don't think I could stand it if I heard it from you too."

"Eddie," you started, worrying at your lip for a second. "I know how soul crushing it is to constantly have to hear how bad you are, how you're never gonna live up to whatever expectations others have of you. But listen to me, and listen good: you are absolutely wonderful.

"A wonderful neighbor, a wonderful coworker, a wonderful friend. Who cares what other people think about you; who cares, even...what I think about you?"

"I care," he shrugged.

"But it doesn't matter how many people tell me that you're bad, I'm never gonna think that about you ok? You're so many things but you're also just...good. Ok?"

"Ok," he nodded, eyes getting progressively more watery by the second.

"And don't you start with the self-deprecating shit around me anymore either," you weakly swatted at his shoulder and his torso, and he laughed. "I can't take it. Only one of us can be a miserable piece of shit, and I'm older, so I have dibs."

"You're not a miserable piece of shit," he chuckled. "You're wonderful too."

"No more of this...sad sackery then? From either of us?" you asked and held out a pinky to him. "You can't break a pinky swear."

Eddie wrapped his pinky around yours tightly.

"No more. Upon punishment of death."

---

Next Part: Standard Operating Procedures 1.04

Tag List (can I call you guys the Sales Associates? OMG, that's what it's gonna be): @gaysludge @storiesbyrhi @tayhar811 @spookybabey @word-wytchh @maidenofartemis @dreamlandcreations @wickedbelle

Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list! I'm sure I missed some tag requests, but I have been out of town with shoddy internet access so blame that, not me.

#Eddie munson fluff #Eddie munson x reader #Eddie munson imagine #store manager verse #stranger things imagine #stranger things drabble #Eddie munson fic #Eddie munson stranger things

[julfr]

Some more Dredge, fishing and other items

What’s what under the cut:

Custom Aberration fishing rod I don’t have a creepy and slightly disgusting name for

Necklace with shark teeth from Aberrations

Fishing tools or something idk. Also lockpicks

Fishing tackle box. Like hooks, line and bait and such

The Handkerchief, now with less dirt and grime of unknown origin!

The Ring, restored with more gems

The Book of the Deep

The Necklace, polished silver with emeralds

Blackstone Isle Key

The Music Box Key

The Music Box, it has been opened

Sinew Spindle. Idk how hand reels work but I added a handle and a spinning crank thing

The Pocket Watch

Knitted Wool Socks. To keep your feetsies warm :)

Damascus steel earrings

Tendon Rod. I love aberration stuff

Medicine. A pill bottle

Box of matches, light stuff on fire I guess

Journal/Notebook/Ships log?

Fish encyclopaedia

#my art #DREDGE #items #these are all at least a month old and I forgot to post them #the relics I posted separately already but I have too much fun drawing random stuff from video games #and changing some things #some items belong to a character of mine I hop to post more of #the socks are based on a pair I actually have and they’re very comfy

[jupitercomet]

Caught in a Riptide: Part One

summary - For the entirety of his life, Jake has heard stories of the Galveston mermaids. And, for the entirety of his life, Jake has never once believed them. He knows the ocean well enough to know that there isn't anything beneath the waves than the underwater world he's come to love. But when a bad wipeout sends him tumbling in the water's depths, Jake is forced to confront the idea that the legends he's heard all his life might not just be stories.

warnings - fluff, surfer au, mermaid au, language, surfing inaccuracies probably, descriptions of drowning, no use of y/n, Jake is 6'7" because I said so

this blog is 18+, minors please do not interact

word count - 3.2k

caught in a riptide masterlist

“You’re late, dude.”

The somewhat rusted bell tinkles above the door as Jake makes his way inside the wooden shack. He was hoping that there would be customers to distract his best friend, someone asking about surfboard wax or if Hangman and Coyote’s does board cleanings. He is not gifted that unfortunately, instead the surf shack is almost entirely empty—except for Bob, a regular who probably came out of the womb knowing where everything is at all times and Javy, who is looking at him with an unamused expression.

Jake lets an innocent smile stretch across his lips. “Or you’re just early. You’re a shoe in for employee of the month.”

“Bro, you promised that you’d take this seriously if I went into business with you,” Javy remains unamused, tossing Jake a uniform t-shirt that he catches in one hand. “And of course I’m getting employee of the month, you’re my only competition.”

Jake crosses to the employee side of the counter, ducking down to switch his t-shirt out with his uniform. Ultimately he’s sure Bob probably wouldn’t have minded, but it’s the principle of it all. Sliding the light blue cotton over his shoulders he pops back up to defend himself more to his best friend.

“I am taking this seriously. I just went for a morning surf and lost track of time, that’s all. Won’t happen again,” Jake promises, folding his old shirt up and shoving it in one of the shelves under the counter.

Javy lets his eyebrows raise slowly, placing his hands on his hips, before letting out a sigh. “Yes, it will. Just, next time, text me or something, okay?”

“Aye, aye,” Jake salutes, ignoring Javy’s eye roll as he glances around the shack. “Have we been this empty the whole day?”

“Pretty much,” Javy replies offhandedly, before suddenly looking up from the receipts in front of him and grabbing Jake by the collar. “But that does not mean we’re closing early.” Silencing Jake with a look, he continues. “You know that, any day now, it’ll be the start of the busiest week of the season and I’m not putting up with that monster hunter bullshit by myself.”

Jake groans at the reminder. Every year at the beginning of the summer, Galveston Island becomes practically infested with self proclaimed monster hunters searching for the elusive mermaids rumored to live along the Gulf of Mexico coastline. They came in hordes, clogging up beaches and clearing out boat rentals. But they also flocked to Hangman and Coyote’s, practically clearing them out of underwater cameras, sunscreen, and fish bait.

Jake had heard the stories of the Galveston mermaids, growing up on the island it was inevitable. It was common knowledge in his elementary school, and Jake didn’t fully care about it because he knew it wasn’t real. He let kids whisper stories over lunch or excitedly recount what they saw while building a sandcastle on the beach one afternoon because, just like his dad had told him, it was harmless. But it was when Lacy Lancaster started bragging that she was a Galveston mermaid too that Jake had to protest.

“You’re not a mermaid.” Jake wrinkled his nose. “Mermaids aren’t real.”

Lacy put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes accusingly at him. “And how would you know?”

Jake knew because his dad took him surfing all the time. He went to the ocean every day and spent hours on the waves. And not once, in all of that, had Jake ever seen a mermaid. 

He’d seen strands of seaweed that wrapped around his leg. He’d seen a jellyfish too, and two little points that looked like dolphin fins far out against the shoreline. Once he even saw a seal basking on a rock. But Jake had never seen a mermaid and, therefore, he could be certain they didn’t exist.

As they moved on to middle school, Jake remained in Lacy’s class and noted that she had entirely stopped claiming she was a mermaid, now too old to make-believe such things. And given that the only mermaid he might have known was now decidedly not one, Jake felt confident there were no such thing as Galveston mermaids. And for a guy who spent every waking moment in the ocean, Jake likes to think that he’s pretty knowledgeable on the subject.

But that kind of thinking didn’t deter any tourists from flocking to the beaches with cameras and nets and crazy stories of killer sirens and missing sailors. Jake tries not to complain though, because they are quite good for business, and he got his revenge for them taking up all the best surfing spots by upping the prices at the surf shop whenever they came.

With one more glance at the almost empty shack, Jake grumbles. “What am I even supposed to do?”

Javy gestures to the receipts piled on the counter. “You can make sure that these all check out, math wiz. I’m gonna make sure Phoe’s doing good in the back.”  

Jake pouts, looking down at Javy’s fingers curled around his collar, before a grin lights up his face. “Then give her this for me, will you?” Wrapping one tanned hand around his best friend’s chin and the other around the back of his head, Jake presses a sloppy, wet kiss to his cheek.

Javy shoves him off with a glare and a shout of protest, wiping his cheek with his arm sleeve. Jake doubles over in cackle—loud enough to catch the attention of Bob, but all that man does is google the FDA approvals on sunscreen brands so he probably didn’t even notice—tears filling in his eyes as they cinch with laughter.

“Whatever man, if you want to get smacked in the dick, that’s a you thing,” Javy scoffs.

Jake’s laughter halts abruptly. He hadn’t thought about that. With Javy’s fingers no longer wrapped around his shirt, and the threat of Natasha’s wrath hanging in the air, it only takes one look between the two before Jake is situating himself in front of the receipts with a nervous thumbs up.

Javy snorts, turning on his heel to head to the back room. “That’s what I thought.”

Jake waits for Javy to entirely disappear from the front of the shop before he pulls the calculator app out on his phone, typing numbers quickly as he keeps his place on the receipt with his index finger. Jake himself will admit that there’s not a lot of things he’s good at, but he’s always had a knack for math and Javy has always been more than happy to pass anything arithmetic related onto him.

Jake gets through about three receipts before the bell above the door rings again. He doesn’t bother looking up from his fourth receipt—not when Natasha and Javy are both exiting the back holding cardboard boxes. From the sound Natasha makes, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who’s entered the shack anyway.

“Fuck off, Rooster.”

“Hey!” The brunet holds his hands up in offense, continuing to walk farther into the shop despite Natasha’s protest. “Is that anyway to talk to a paying customer?”

Javy doesn’t look up from where he’s unpacking a box of sunscreen chapsticks to boredly call out, “Don’t curse at the customers, Phoe.”

“He’s not a customer, he’s a pain in the ass,” Natasha argues, still glaring at Bradley.

Jake snorts when the brunet grabs a random Gopro from one of the racks and drops it next to the cash register. It rustles the receipts a bit, but Jake only shakes his head in amusement when he realizes Bradley has chosen the most expensive underwater camera they sold.

“For your information, I am a customer,” Bradley challenges, keeping his eyes on Natasha as he pulls his wallet out from his board shorts. “I’m catchin’ a mermaid.”

Natasha scoffs. “Yeah? And when are you doing that?”

“When are you going surfing next?” Bradley grins cheekily and both Jake and Javy groan loudly.

If he weren’t so annoyed by it, Jake would almost be impressed with how long Bradley’s been pursuing Natasha. Ever since they were in high school, Bradley was coming up with elaborate ploys to get her attention, like dramatically confessing his love to her on lunch tables or somehow learning her locker combination to fill it with an absurd amount of balloons. Each attempt was met with a glare and Natasha’s middle finger.

Now, even years later, Bradley hasn’t slowed down in the slightest

“What is that supposed to mean?” Natasha narrows her eyes as she places her hands on her hips, reminding Jake vaguely of Lacy Lancaster as he inserts Bradley’s card into the chip reader.

“Well, I was talking to a few of those mermaid catchers and they said mermaids look like the prettiest girls in the world,” Bradley wiggles his eyebrows. “So should I wait until we get in the water or should I just take a picture of you now?”

Jake doesn’t have to look up to know that Natasha’s flipping him off. Ripping off Bradley’s receipt, he waits for Natasha to stomp back to the back room—with a distinct “Call me a fish again and see what happens, asshole” as she did—before handing the slip of paper and Bradley’s card back to him.

“I don’t know how you’re still at this,” he tells his friend honestly, ducking down to grab a bag for the waterproof camera.

Bradley just shakes his head knowingly as he takes his card and receipt back. “You’ll see. One day— Holy shit! That camera was $500?!”

Though their busiest week was just on the horizon, Hangman and Coyote’s was slow for the rest of the day. Their only purchases were a family buying four bucket hats for the beach, Bob finally picking out a brand of sunscreen, and Bradley buying an underwater Gopro and then promptly returning it. With the sun beginning to set, and there being no sign of any more customers for the day, Javy went back on his claim earlier in the morning and decided to close up shop early.

“But you better be here early tomorrow,” he warns Jake, the blond already stripping his uniform shirt off and making his way to the back exit where his board had been propped against the wooden shack. “And are you sure you wanna go surfing right now? The sky looks pretty nasty.” Javy glances up at the dark gray storm clouds rolling in.

“As if that’s ever stopped him before,” Natasha answers for Jake, matching Javy’s worried look with a knowing one.

Jake only gives his best friend a silly shrug, already itching to get back on the waves. Javy had a point that the sky didn’t look great, but Jake knew what he was doing and he certainly wasn’t going to be scared off by a couple storm clouds. 

“I’ll be fine,” he waves off Javy’s worry. “I’ll come in after I hear thunder.”

Javy raises his brows, unimpressed.

“As soon as I hear thunder,” Jake amends with an innocent smile.

Javy just shakes his head, throwing his hands up as he grabs his keys from the counter. “Whatever, man, you can’t say I didn’t try. Just don’t get yourself killed please.”

With his best friend’s begrudged permission, Jake lights up, already racing to the back door. With the weather looking to be as bad as it did, Jake knew the beaches would be practically deserted and there was nothing quite like a sunset swim to clear his mind.

“How could I?” Jake shouts over his shoulder, sticking his tongue out. “Who else would annoy the shit out of you if I was dead?”

With that, he makes his exit, grabbing his board and starting his short walk back to the beach. Like he suspected, the sandy shore was empty, the storm clouds only rolling closer and closer but Jake paid them no mind. He’s been surfing since he was five, a little rain hardly scared him.

He plants his feet in the sand, feeling it between his toes as he takes a few deep breaths. He can hear the waves crash against the shore and the few cries of a seagull. The air is just right too, it feels like it’s going to rain, but it’s still warm, a gentle breeze brushing against his bare shoulders.

Jake takes a few steps until he starts to feel water underneath the soles of his feet and a small smile makes its way onto his face. Like it always does, the ocean calms him instantly, staying fairly mellow as he wades farther and farther into the water. Once he’s up to his hips, Jake plants his board onto the surface of the water, hopping up onto his stomach. There’s a light stretch to his arm muscles as he starts paddling farther out, inadvertently getting closer to the coming storm.

Jake knows that his friends probably think he’s an idiot for still trying to surf in conditions like these, but truly they just don’t understand it the way he does. All of his friends know how to surf, and all of them like it, but Jake’s the only one who loves it. Jake took to surfing like birds take to the sky. It was second nature, the only place he felt truly at home. Jake surfs like it’s in his blood.

Ever since he could say the word, Jake was obsessed with catching waves and spending his days on the ocean. And then he started competing and it meant driving himself to near exhaustion with crack-of-dawn wake up calls and nonstop surfing. Jake knew that he was put on this earth to surf. And it was the reason that he took a chance and dropped out of college at the beginning of his sophomore year to open a surf shop with his best friend. Javy had been just crazy enough to do it with him and the two made a life for themselves that was better than anything Jake had ever imagined. 

Jake needed surfing and the thing he hated the most about all the monster hunters, and tourists, and whoever else found themselves on the shore of Galveston was how much space they took up. They disrupted the water and got in the way and, while it was true that it was the busiest season for Hangman and Coyote’s, it meant that Jake’s surfing was cut down significantly. And so he knew his friends thought he was crazy for trying to surf in a near storm, but the tourists were coming any day now and this might be Jake’s last chance.

Now far enough out that he can start seeing waves form, Jake sits up on his board letting his calves rest in the water as he waits for a wave to approach. With the clear scent of rain in the air, the waves were getting bigger than usual and Jake watches excitedly as one starts heading his way. Lifting himself up to be able to jump on his board easier, Jake waits until it’s just close enough before hopping up onto his feet. He lets out an excited laugh as he rides out the wave, speckles of water splashing at his skin.

The wave takes him back to shore and his board can barely hit the sand before Jake’s racing back out to the water again. This is his favorite kind of surfing - no pressure, no worries, just him, the ocean, and his board. And Jake knows he shouldn’t push his luck, that he’s caught a couple waves and had his fun and the storm is only looming closer, but it hasn’t even started raining yet! He’ll get out when he hears thunder, just like he promised Javy.

After Jake’s fourth time coming back to shore, it starts drizzling and Jake knows it’s a perfect time to stop. But there’s this gut feeling he has that some big kind of wave is forming. Jake figures it’ll be his last one, one final wave and then he’ll have to wait for the tourists to leave. As he paddles out, the storm suddenly picks up, pelting him with rain but Jake keeps going. One more wave.

There’s a sudden flash of lightning and then a boom of thunder that follows too close after for safety and Jake knows he promised Javy he’d head back. And he almost does. But then he sees the wave that’s forming. 

Just like he suspected, it’s big. The kind of wave that makes him feel like he’s flying. Jake decides that he won’t turn back just yet. He’ll surf one last wave—his favorite wave—and then call it. 

Blond strands plaster to his forehead from the rain and he wipes them back with a large palm so that they don’t drip into his eyes. Lining up to catch the wave, he feels an itch all the way down to his toes. Flexing his fingers against his board, Jake waits for the wave to get closer. Hopping up just when the force of it hits him, Jake lets out a loud laugh that can barely be heard over another roar of thunder. 

The rain’s picking up—more than Jake expected it to—and suddenly it’s mixing with splashing sea water and getting in his eyes. His inability to see messes with his balance and Jake starts wobbling on his board as he tries to clear his vision. Jake’s foot shifts as he tries to stay steady, but the pelting rain is just replacing any water he’s wiping away from his closed lashes. Jake’s foot shifts again.

It all feels like slow motion.

Water wraps around his foot as it slips off the board and force of the wave completely pulls Jake under. His temple hits against the side of his board, disorienting him as he plunges in the water. Jake tries not to panic. He knows he’s strong enough to fight the current and break through the surface of the water but as he starts fighting against the wave, he realizes he’s ended up trapped underneath his board.

He tries to push against it as the water whips him around, but the polyurethane board feels like it’s led against his hands, entirely unmoving. The injury to his head and his continuing lack of oxygen are dulling his senses and Jake starts to feel his fight draining as he remains trapped under his board and the large wave. His blinks begin to slow and, despite his best efforts, his lips part and allow ocean water into his mouth. Black dots fill his vision and Jake wishes that whatever was dulling his senses was also dulling the fire in his lungs because he can hardly focus on the way it seems that his surfboard leash is unstrapping from his ankle.

The last thing he remembers thinking before he starts sinking farther beneath the waves is that it almost felt like a person had taken it off of him.

I don’t have a taglist but feel free to follow my library @jupitercometgold​​ if you want to be notified when I post

#jake seresin imagine #jake seresin imagines #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin fluff #jake seresin au #hangman imagine #hangman imagines #hangman x reader #hangman fluff #hangman au #top gun maverick imagines #x reader #caught in a riptide #buggy’s got a pen

[sanctum-of-ramshackle]

🦈Rocking The Boat🩸

[Synopsis]: Azul offered MC/Yuu to perform a gif at the Monstro Lounge and let them choose what kind of performance they would do. Except he didn’t console with them as the Octo-schemer learned too late.

[Gender Neutral Reader]

[WARNING]: Foul language in the song and best advise to lower your volume when listening to the song.

[A/N]: This is one of my favorite songs from Ice Nine Kills when I first listened to their album, “The Silver Scream.” I highly recommend to lower your volume settings since the song can be loud in some parts and wouldn’t want to damage your ears.

[Ice Nine Kills - Rocking The Boat (ft. Jeremy Schwartz)]

[Monstro Lounge]

MC/Yuu: Are you sure you want me to perform?

Azul: Of course! You must have songs from your world many never heard of until now. It should bring more customers in.

MC/Yuu: Alright, but fair warning: it can get loud. Best to give a disclaimer if there’s anyone who may be sensitive to hearing and flashing lights. We also need a heads-up to any Mer-shark people who are present during the show.

Azul: Why would you need to add that?

MC/Yuu: You’ll see.

[8:30 p.m.]

Jade: Evening everyone. Tonight will be a grand show starring The Prefect from the Ramshackle Dorm. Before we start the special night, there will be warnings of high volumes and flashy light effects. We may also warn Mer-Shark civilians of the show.

Mer-Shark People in the audience: Why would they warn us?

Jade: They informed me it is a song about a great white shark that kills people.

Mer-Shark People: Oooh yeah.

Jade: Now, let the show begin.

[The lights dimmed and smoke effects cover the stage. Then reveals MC/Yuu, with a microphone in hand and inhales…]

MC/Yuu:

SHARK!!!!

Coast guard, this is the Orca. Do you read me?

Four and a half miles due east of Amity Island

This is an official distress call, over

We all know a place

That appears so sublime

But if you dive a little deeper

You'll hit the real bottom line

The head of the town is out there flashing his teeth

A telltale sign about to surface

That there's a monster lurking underneath

They're thrashing around but found

They can't contain the leak

'Cause I've got a fish to fry

That's feeding on the weak

So cast a line for every life they took

It's time to set the-

Lilia, as the supporting lines: Hook!

We're all just floating in a shallow grave

Lilia: Buoyed by the blood of the masses

They'd rather sell out that instead of save

We're all so starving that we've taken the bait

Lilia: You think we would've learned from the past

That the predator will soon become-

Lilia: The prey!

We all know a place

Where the calm flees at night (night, night)

And safe is just a shadow

So we swim towards the light

If this voyage of valor

Put us on deck for death

We'll compare scars with each other

Until our very last breath

Lilia: Yeah!

They're thrashing around but found

They can't contain the leak

'Cause I've got a fish to fry

That's feeding on the weak

So reel it in with every trick in the book

It's time to set the-

Lilia: Hook!

We're all just floating in a shallow grave

Lilia: Buoyed by the blood of the masses

They'd rather sell out that instead of save

We're all so starving that we've taken the bait

Lilia: You think we would've learned from the past

That the predator will soon become-

Lilia: The prey!

Coastguard, this is the Orca again

We need you out here now

The boat is under attack, it's a great white, over

Roger that, ETA fifteen minutes, over

In fifteen minutes we'll be fucking shark bait

Last chance to make amends

Lilia: So try to stay afloat

With sharks like you among us

Lilia: We'll need a bigger boat

Sold us down the river

Lilia: So the rich could stay rich

But now you've been caught

Lilia: So smile…

You son of a bitch

Sinking with the burning embers

Should be any sign of doubt

That this tale will be remembered

And the tide will forever flush them out

We're all just floating in a shallow grave

Lilia: Buoyed by the blood of the masses

They'd rather sell out that instead of save

We're all so starving that we've taken the bait

Lilia: You think we would've learned from the past

That the predator will soon become-

Lilia: The prey!

[After the song was finished, the audience applauded and whistled.]

[After the show]

Azul: Prefect, that was…

Floyd: AWESOME! Shrimpy surprised everyone tonight.

MC/Yuu: Thanks, but you can compliment Lilia for his vocals.. It wasn't easy screaming the parts and had to practice. It woke the Ghosts up because they thought a Banshee came by.

Azul: The song came from your world and based on a killer shark.

MC/Yuu: Yeah, from Steven Spielberg's movie "Jaws". I still get excited to watch parts where Bruce gets his victims in the water.

Azul: You scare me sometimes, Prefect. You really do.

✨[Reblogs helps creators and creates for more content]💫

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst #Ice Nine Kills #Octavinelle #Ramshackle #Azul Ashengrotto #Jade Leech #Floyd Leech #twisted wonderland mc #twst mc #twisted wonderland yuu #twst yuu #Ice Nine Kills Fan!MC/Yuu #Ice Nine Kills Fan!MC #Ice Nine Kills Fan!Yuu #twisted wonderland scenarios #twst scenarios #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader

[duskylures]

#trout #fishing #fishing lures #fishing baits #fishing trout #custom fishing lures #custom baits #freshwater fishing #saltwater fishing #fishing bass #soft plastic baits #fisherman #fishinglife

[siderealscribblings]

99 Years, 6 Months, 13 Days

It took Furina roughly an hour to get dressed every morning and roughly thirty seconds to get naked after her bedroom door was closed. 

Her shoes landed in a basket near the closet for her melusine housekeepers to sort out in the morning. Her jacket landed on a peg on the dresser (much to her satisfaction) and her white ruffled blouse landed next to her shorts in the hamper. She had been in three layers all day as an uncanny heatwave descended on the capitol and she was in dire need of a wash and a change of clothes before Neuvillette returned home. 

With each shed scrap of cloth, she could feel the weight of her duties slide off her shoulders until she was humming under her breath as she slid under the spray of a piping hot shower. She couldn't resist groaning as warm water rolled over her aching shoulders, washing away a day that consisted of eighteen exhausting appointments without so much as a madeleine to nibble on in-between.

By lunch she was feeling absolutely despondent, exacerbated by the fact that Neuvillette was tied up in litigation and couldn't eat with her as had become their custom. Furina had allowed herself a three minute sniffle-fest in the coat cupboard before pulling herself together and pulling through the rest of her day with as much grit and faux-determination as she could muster. But now that the day was done, she allowed herself to indulge in a long shower and watch the sunset through the window overlooking the lake. 

I guess I have a lot to be grateful for, Furina thought, closing her eyes as she traced her fingers through her hair. It didn't always feel that way; not when so much rested on every word she spoke and every slight gesture. Not when the one thing she really craved continued to dance tantalizingly out of reach. 

"Furina?" Furina snapped out of her trance as she heard a soft knock and her name called through the door. 

"I'm finishing up!" Furina called back, switching the shower off and shaking her hair out. "Go ahead and get started without me!" 

Furina dripped on the carpet as she perused her wardrobe for something to wear for the evening, settling on a pair of calf-length cotton bloomers and a half-buttoned sleeveless top. It was nothing racy by any stretch of the imagination, but it was certainly more skin than she had shown Neuvillette in previous years. The memory of pure, pulsing Hydro energy snaking over every inch of her naked skin never failed to make her shudder; after being caressed in such an intensely intimate way, she felt no shame in being less than fully clothed around him.  

Furina considered her selection of bras, chewing on her lower lip for a moment before tucking them back in her wardrobe and slipping the top over her head. Three buttons held the top of her blouse together; two weeks ago, she stopped buttoning at two. Today, she stopped at one, watching her pale skin flush with warmth beneath the collar as she tugged it open just a little. Just far enough that someone might accidentally catch a peek if she were to accidentally lean too far one way or the other.  

One couldn't be hasty when trying to catch a prize fish, but one also had to properly bait the hook.

Read More...

#the games of divinity #my writing #neuvifuri #furilette #focalette #i stg it's not a rickroll #:) #Chapter titles to come ENTIRELY from Jesus of Suburbia Lyrics

[batfamhyperfixation]

If Bruce feels the Batfam needs a refresher on the rules or some of the kids are acting out, he makes them all sit in a room together and play a gimkit for it (for those who don't know what gimkit is, it's basically interactive Kahoot where you get little people you can customize and you get put in a game together, the common themes are snowball fight (competitive, you answer questions to get snowballs to throw at people and the person with the most kills at the end wins) and fishing (more independent, you answer questions for bait to then use for fishing to then get money from it and whoever has the most money at the end wins). The kids all love it and he found it is far more productive way of teaching them the rules instead of lectures cause they are all competitive so they all learn the rules to give them an advantage in the competition.

#Steph and Cass make weird gimkits they make the entire batfamily play #like the one where all the answers are blank and players gotta click random ones and hope for luck when playing #also bernard and tim will make random gimkits for each other. gimkits on random topics are the way they show affection. #and alfred and bruce team up together to make gimkits before galas to help the kids memorize the information on people #and dick'll make gimkits with family secrets and gossup. those gimkits have caused so many fights and family drama that they are now banned #bat family #batfam #batkids #batfam headcanons #batfam hcs #batfam hc #batfamily headcanons #any time they play snowball. jason hunts for tim specifically and pumbles him with snowballs repeatedly the entire time

[opalescentdreamscape]

AAAA alright I'm still having Thoughts over a COD 141/Stardew Valley crossover AU. Probably going to do one guy at a time, so let's start with the reason I thought of this AU to begin with: John Price. (Post under a read-more (hopefully) bc it's a long one.) (Also y'all can see one of my last posts where I reblogged my original ask to another blog about this idea if you want a lil more context, lol.)

He moves to town just so he can live by the river and soak in the peaceful surroundings. He isn't the boss of anyone but himself here, and due to the money he made as a captain in the army, he can comfortably retire and just... relax for once. Until three days goes by and he's going stir-crazy in his new, barely furnished house. So he wanders around the forest for a bit, but doesn't forage because he's unfamiliar with most of the vegetation he's walking through. Then he meanders his way over to the beach and meets Willy, who immediately sells him on a good fishing rod and starts talking about all the fish John can catch in the river not ten yards from his front door.

"Just wait until fall comes around and you'll be up to your shoulders in salmon." Willy chuckles. John perks up at that, and within the month he becomes the best customer at the fish shop, constantly bringing in fresh catches to sell and buying tons of bait. He even buys the most expensive fishing pole Willy has in stock once he learns about the eels and tuna that he can catch from the beach during the summer, among other more elusive fish. One day, Willy mentions crab pots, and John starts buying those up too, catching himself crab and lobster on good days.

This is where he comes into contact with the farmer. Y'see, the farmer also likes to go fishing, although they normally only do it on rainy days, which is why they haven't met John yet. He stays in on rainy days and grumbles about old aches and a wound in his shoulder that hurts something fierce with the bad weather, so of course he hasn't met them. But one day, he finds them searching through one of his crab pots.

"Y'know, I get that we're in a small town and all, but stealing is still a crime." John huffs at the farmer, noticing a very large crab in the bucket they're carrying. My damn crab, he thinks. The farmer tilts their head at him, obviously confused.

"It's a good thing these are my crab pots then. I believe yours are those ones." They point down the stream a little ways, where another couple pots lie at the edge of the water, and John pinches the bridge of his nose.

"I swear I put mine here. I would've marked them, but I wasn't aware anyone else in town used those crab pots. Name's Price, by the way." He holds his hand out to shake, and the farmer grips his hand with more strength than expected.

"I'm Y/N, good to meet you, Price. Tell you what, since we aren't sure which is which, I'll give you the haul from these pots and go mark those other ones as mine, and it can just be water under the bridge, yeah?" They smile and pass their bucket to John, who hefts the crab with a grin.

"That's pretty neighborly for someone you just met, but we can split this crab to even the deal. Ever had char-grilled crab legs?" Even though he thought the farmer had been stealing at first, their honest reaction and complete willingness to overlook his initial attitude garnered his interest. He ends up following along while the farmer takes all their crab pots out of the river and off the beach, letting them borrow his pocket knife to scratch their initials into the lid, and they talk about food and fishing.

Eventually, they become better friends. They continue to chat about the wildlife in the valley, and start sharing more than just fishing tips and the occassional crab. The farmer starts contributing fresh produce to John's pantry, and John shares the various catches he gets every day. They tell him about the different foods he can find in the forest, and he tells them a few tricks he learned about killing different monsters in the mines, though he refuses to talk much more about that kind of thing, preferring to avoid discussions of violence and war. He doesn't ever offer to join them when they go mining, and they don't pry or try to cajole him into it. He's here to relax, after all.

Winter hits eventually, and with it comes down the full force of John's aching body. He ends up practically bedridden for 3 days after the first snowstorm hits, and who else is there to check up on him but the farmer? He tries to deny their help at first, grumbling that it's just his old war wounds, just (and I quote) 'an old man's pain', but the farmer is determined to help him out. They show him Lewis and George's tricks for aches and pains, cook some great meals, and talk him into playing some board games when thkngs get too quiet. One day, he asks about their other responsibilities, and the farmer reminds him that none of their usual crops can grow in the winter, which makes their days a lot less eventful than normal.

"This is helping us both out, alright? I have nothing to do besides go in the mines during the winter, and if I'm being honest, sitting here beating you at chess is infinitely more entertaining than getting beat up by a bunch of monsters. You're doing me a favor, John, whether you like it or not." John can't help but laugh at that, and it's a low, rumbling sound. The farmer can't help thinking that they want to hear it more, and they do as the months go by.

#fanfic #crossover au #fanwork #stardew valley au #cod 141 #john price x reader #fluff #gender neutral reader #cod/stardew valley au #that's a fun tag to be writing out lmao #why stardew valley and cod you may be asking #it's because I'm autistic and these are my two biggest hyperfixations right now lol #idk what else to tag

[bimrsadler]

In Hot Water

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x female reader/bounty hunter reader

Summary: You let Arthur go once but second guess your generosity when you find him in the saloon after a jail break. As he heads to the bath, you find that it might be the perfect opportunity to bring him in — or see where the night leads

Word count: 2,500

Warnings/tags: smut, mild fluff, unprotected piv, oral (f receiving), d/s undertones, sub arthur, praise kink, dirty talk, language, enemies to lovers if you squint, arthur is a little shit but not for long wink wink

Notes: okay second time trying to post this, sorry it took so long but the format kept breaking when I added the read more, hopefully that’s fixed now. Anyway, my mind has a hard time not going to smut with this prompt lol so that's what I went for, tiny bit of fluff too. Thank you though! Fandom content has died down a bit but there's still some amazing creators around ❤️

The laughter and tall tales of boisterous men filled your ears, surrounded by a perpetual haze of smoke as you sipped your drink. You would recognize him anywhere, and all of the saloon became background noise as you did.

The outlaw stood tall at the end of the bar, stoic and minding his business, you watched as he kindly turned down the working girls to nurse the whiskey in front of him.

He left you with a “yes ma’am,” and a boyish grin on your last meeting after informing you’d let him go, but didn’t want to hear about any more chaos from the Van der Linde gang.

It was uncharacteristic of you to find sympathy for a bounty. The world was filled with bad people and those who hurt others — and Arthur Morgan had most certainly hurt others. But as you approached from the cover of trees and observed him putting bait on the line for the small boy beside him, your judgment clouded.

The world wasn’t black and white; you also knew this. There was tell of the gang operating with standards and you found enough reason to consider that perhaps some of them were only trying to get by. The scene witnessed at the lake certainly seemed to indicate that. Maybe it was better to give people a chance to change.

Jack (as you discovered was his name) was clearly enjoying his fishing trip with “Uncle Arthur,” and the only thing that could ruin that was you. Arthur ruffled his hair and complimented the necklace the boy had made for his mother before turning to see you. His approach was cautious — but polite.

He knew you were a bounty hunter and told Jack to keep playing while he spoke with you. You weren’t about to haul him in in front of the boy and maybe Arthur guessed this, but something told you it wasn’t right. Heavy emphasis was put on not being as kind if you heard of any more robberies however; Arthur indicating he understood.

Yet there he was, mere days after his cohorts sprung him from jail for “disturbing the peace.”

The bartender approached Arthur with the beer you ordered him and gestured your way. You winked and reveled in the faint “ah shit,” expression that came over his face with the realization of who you were.

“This you, Mr. Morgan?” The thud of your hand slapping his wanted poster on the wood of the bar caught a side-eye from customers nearby.

Arthur quickly grabbed and folded it in his satchel without saying a word.

“Thought we talked about this?” You placed a hand on your hip and raised your eyebrows while waiting for a reply.

“If I recall Miss, you said no robbin’,” a smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. “Didn’t tell me no fightin’.”

Cocky sonuvabitch.

“I don’t like being made a fool, cowboy.” You ran your hand along the rope at your side.

“Never said ya were.” Arthur savored a drink before facing you with his hands on his gunbelt. “But that weren’t me,” he leaned in close enough that you could smell the beer on his breath, “it was Arthur Callahan.”

“Now,” he tipped his hat and grinned smugly, “if you’ll excuse me ma’am.”

Watching in disbelief, Arthur sauntered upstairs toward the bath, not once looking back at you.

A fool. You certainly felt it. In your two short meetings Arthur had made you feel a million things, all of them confusing. Enamored, curious, angry, and worst of all — flustered.

He was strikingly attractive and surprisingly gentle when he thought no one was watching. Even as he whispered sarcastic remarks in your ear, your heart raced with the thrill of a man like him being that close to you.

Whether or not he intended to, he charmed you. It was infuriating.

Marching up the stairs, you ignored the whistles of drunk men you’d normally put in their place. No plan had occurred to you but all you could think was Arthur had the upper hand and that just wouldn’t do.

A slight steam crept past the cracks of the wooden door as you knocked. “Need some assistance in there?”

Arthur took a moment to reply — from being caught off guard you hoped, “sure, sounds good.”

Hesitating, your hand hovering over the doorknob, mind racing with nerves. What happens next? He’s playing along, still not taking things seriously…

You clasped the doorknob and opened with as much confidence as you could muster, hoping he wouldn’t notice the hitch in your breath when you saw him. His broad shoulders rested against the back of the tub, well-toned arms gently grabbing the sides. You felt a warmth spread in your belly as you admired the water dripping down the curves of his chest.

You never expected to be alone with him unless it was while putting him in a jail cell.

Pushing down the unexpected desire, you crossed your arms and leaned against the door.

“Thought you was a bounty hunter Miss?” He cocked his head while running his bright eyes up and down your body, the drawl in his voice equally maddening and arousing.

The more he pushed, the more you wanted to bring him in. This back and forth was something you’d never experienced though, and much to your shame and surprise, it was fun.

You walked slowly towards him with authority. “Oh I am a hunter and you Mr. Morgan, Callahan, whatever you’re calling yourself — are the bounty. Seems you’re forgetting that.”

“Right now I’m just a man tryna enjoy a wash,” he asserted, but the nervous adjustment he made to the bubbles as you came closer did not go unnoticed.

Taking a knee beside him you leaned in and locked onto his icy eyes, “I could bring you in right now.”

“You could,” Arthur lowered his husky voice and taunted, “but I don’t think you want to.”

“Oh? That so?”

“Mmhmm. I’m as vulnerable as I ever been right now. You coulda drawn that gun on me the second you close the door,” Arthur adjusted to a sitting position, the heat of his face reaching yours. “But ya didn’t.”

Working quickly, your nimble fingers showcased one of your talents as you wrapped the rope at your side around his wrists in an intricate knot before cutting the excess.

“You’re right, you are vulnerable right now and let’s be honest; you coulda stopped me from putting this rope around your wrists…but you didn’t.”

Arthur was still now, save for his chest rising with heavier breaths. “Pretty good with that rope, Miss.”

“Oh I’m good at a lotta things.”

Before you could comprehend it, your lips were together and the massage of his tongue on yours sent your hips forward with carnal urgency. Patience was necessary though — your urge to frustrate and tease Arthur was just as strong.

Standing up you stripped slowly, showing each inch of you with drawn-out intent. He watched patiently, a dreamy and almost innocent look on his face.

His gaze turned hungry as you stepped into the tub, straddling his thighs so that you were just out of reach of where he wanted you most. Placing lights kisses accentuated with flicks of your tongue against the hot skin of his neck, you ran your hand down his chest, playing with the hair as you did.

His throat fluttered as he let out a soft groan, “you like that huh?” He nodded with his eyes closed in concentration as you continued. Your fingers danced tantalizingly between his bellybutton and manhood, teasing circles in the curls there.

“Bet you’ve thought about me a lot since the day we met,” you paused before wrapping your fingers around his base, stroking once to the tip. “Bet you thought about this.”

Your movement drew an unrestrained moan out of Arthur, making you wonder how pent up he was. “And what if I did?”

“Well I’d say that was pretty bad Arthur.”

“I…goddamn.” Arthur thrust into your hand with your quickening pace. “I am bad man sweetheart, you knew this,” he said with a breathy chuckle.

In your firm grasp Arthur was already twitching and fighting back expletives with each stroke, somehow forgetting that you were still in control.

“Well in my line of work bad men get punished,” you remarked before pulling your hand away and leaning back with a devilish grin.

Arthur’s chest heaved as he gasped at the sudden removal of pleasure, “guess that’s only fair…”

Leaning over him you ran your fingers through the darkened locks of his wet hair, breasts above his flushed face. “I think deep down you wanna be a good boy though, don’t you?”

He licked as lips as he stared up at you, “yes ma’am.” There was no hint of snark or sarcasm in his voice now, if anything the hushed tone of his voice came across as dutiful.

He leaned closer slowly, waiting for any protest as he hesitated. Receiving none, he took the mound of your breast in his mouth, sucking and flicking his tongue. The ache in your core was unbearable and composure crumbling away.

“Wanna use that smart mouth of yours somewhere else?”

“Oh I’d like that,” the water splashed lightly as Arthur lazily pumped his cock.

Standing above him, you placed your thumb and forefinger on his strong chin and tilted it upward. “No touching yourself. Understand?”

He nodded in agreement before inquiring, “can I touch you?”

You pulled him by the rope between his wrists to a sitting position as you placed your leg open on the side of the bath. “We’ll see…”

Arthur smiled up at you as he placed a tender kiss on your clit. His movements started slowly, testing the waters of what felt good and finding his confidence when you let him know.

He worked his warm and wet tongue against the sensitive bundle of nerves, moaning into your folds as you tugged his hair roughly. “Is that good darlin’?”

“Yes you’re doing so good — don’t stop.” He pushed his tongue in further as you writhed against his face, rolling bliss moving through your core as you fluttered around nothing.

Arthur pulled away enough to plead breathily, “let me touch you sweetheart.”

You stepped into the circle of his bound hands and moved them up to the swell of your backside before pushing his head back to your pussy. Arthur massaged your ass with needy squeezes as he lapped at you, his hips rutting in the water.

Letting out quiet gasps, you attempted to keep your sounds between to the two of you with trembling legs. “You’re gonna make me come…”

Arthur gazed up as your climax ripped through you, riding against his tongue until the last pulse of pleasure subsided.

Laying back lust drunk and spent, Arthur let out a satisfied exhale. “Have I… been forgiven yet Miss?” He licked his lips slowly with a sly grin.

Stepping outside of Arthur’s restraints, you once again straddled him; this time with the lips of your heat on the underside of his aching length. Dragging yourself unhurriedly along him you teased, “I think you’re closer…”

Arthur stiffened beneath you and let out an amused huff, “I’ll say I’m close…”

The joking and almost sense of comfort that Arthur had in your presence otherwise should have bothered you, but instead it brought your guard down. Here he wasn’t intimidating or angry and you couldn’t help but give him an unhurried kiss, smiling and stroking his short beard.

Arthur let out small moans as he instinctively rutted against your already swollen and over sensitive folds, gliding with your slick.

Kissing below his ear you whispered, “want me to take you inside me?”

“God yes…”

You rose to observe the disheveled and desperate man underneath you, face flushed red despite the heat of the bath being long gone. “Can you beg for me Mr. Morgan?”

Arthur stuttered as his deep voice cracked, “ca…call me Arthur, please?”

“Can you beg for me…Arthur?”

“Please take me darlin’, need ya so bad,” Arthur whined.

Hovering above him you teased the head of his cock with your opening, “yeah? You want this pussy Arthur?”

“Jesus…yes, please?”

You took Arthur deep inside of you in one swift movement before stilling yourself to enjoy the fullness. You both expelled gasps of needed relief, Arthur’s cock flexing inside of you with each word of praise you purred.

One hand grasping the side of the tub and the other planted on Arthur’s sturdy chest, you rode hard, Arthur sloppily trying to keep pace while bucking upwards.

With each slam of your ass against his thighs the sound of splashing water and skin on skin filled the small room, Arthur’s grunts growing louder and louder.

You noticed his wrists writhing and straining against the ropes, forearms flexing forcefully. “Shit…slow…slow down girl, I’m gonna…”

Halting your movements altogether, you kept Arthur from his release. He held his breath and shivered, control barely in his grasp.

“You did say to slow down,” you stated with feigned innocence.

“Said to slow down, not stop.”

“If I recall…what was it you said earlier? ‘you said no robbin’. Didn’t tell me no fightin’.’”

“Isn’t that right…,” you paused and squeezed around the hard length inside you, “…Arthur?”

“’m sorry sweetheart, promise I’ll be good for ya.”

Unable to keep yourself away, your lips crashed into his, gently nipping while you rushed to untie his binds. When they were loose enough, Arthur finished the job for you; pulling himself free with a growl as he wrapped his strong arms around you.

He didn’t feel like your bounty nor you like a hunter any longer. Whether you would ever see each other again or engage in your game of cat and mouse wasn’t of concern. In that moment all that mattered was the fingernails digging into your skin, the hot breaths panting against your neck, the pleasure and the closeness. In that moment you were just partners, lovers.

Arthur bucked into you with an iron embrace as you gasped into each others mouths, his breaths uneven and sharp. “Fuck…’m close…” He was a whimpering mess, volume increasing with each urgent thrust.

Cooing in his ear you clasped your hand over the gunslingers mouth, “come for me Arthur.”

Pulling his throbbing cock out, you brought his release in the same way you previewed it before, rubbing your slick heat along the sensitive skin until hot ropes spilled onto his stomach and dispersed into the water.

The teasing and taunting culminated into the wanted man shuddering beneath you; his neck exposed to you as his head tilted backwards, lips quivering into your palm with primal groans. His intimate noises were muffled but powerful — all yours.

The moments passed with a gentler embrace than you expected and the feeling of tender fingertips scratching your back. Anxiety washed over you in the realization that you wanted to see him again, to know him better and enjoy his company. You found yourself wishing he would just be cold to make it easier, but instead he joked that he might get himself in trouble more often if it meant seeing you.

Eventually the two of you quietly got dressed, occasionally exchanging flustered glances.

“Just so y’know, I am grateful bout what ya did,” Arthur spoke with sincerity. “Jack’s a good kid…and we do ride with good people,” he paused before adding, “…well some more’n others.”

“I’m just trying to make a living Arthur, same as anyone. But I try to be fair.” An ache was growing in your chest at the thought of what would come next.

Arthur moved closer to you, shirt unbuttoned and hat in one hand as he brought the other to stroke your cheek with his thumb. “Y‘know, the way ya carry yerself? You might make a good outlaw.”

"And you might be good as an honest man, Arthur Morgan."

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