#he is a siren and i am crashed up on the rocks

[bunnakit]

Fluke Gawin in Save Your Tears Cover (w. Aye Sarunchana)

#fluke gawin #gawin caskey #🌸fluke gawin #aye sarunchana #save your tears #gmmtv #thai actors #had no intention of making this set but watched the mv and had to #he is a siren and i am crashed up on the rocks #i can also easily be persuaded to make a set of aye from this mv bc shes soooo so pretty #bunn gifs

[hobiebrownismygod]

Written in the Stars Pt. 2

Hobie Brown x SirenFem!Reader

Previous | Next

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"Over there!"

Hobie dodged out of sight, hiding behind a few empty crates as he waited for the police to run past him. The two badged men quickly walked around the corner, not even noticing the wicks poking out from behind the large boxes, a pair of eyes gazing at them from in between the cracks. Hobie waited for a few moments longer before appearing again, heading in the other direction.

He couldn't go back to his boat. Not yet.

It seemed like there were police at every corner, and he was unable to escape them and their batons. Osborne had been imposing a stricter curfew on the city, and officers were constantly patrolling the area where he usually kept his canal boat.

He knew if he got caught going back, the canal boat would be towed away, he'd be kicked out, and he would end up completely homeless. He refused to let that happen to him again.

That boat was his life. So he decided he'd wait as long as he needed to before it was safe to head back.

He made sure to stay in the darker alleys as he approached one of the many overpasses connecting one end of the city to the other, a bridge that hung tens of feet above the flowing water of the canal. He'd have to crash underneath it for the night. The police didn't care about the people sleeping under the bridge. They never did.

The darkness was eerily empty as he pulled himself down, shivering slightly in the cold as he pushed dirt around, cleaning up a small corner underneath the overpass. He gathered sticks to make a fire and tried his best to make the place as comfortable as he could.

As he hummed to himself, hoping to fall asleep quickly, he kept his eyes on the canal, water rushing down, waves crashing against the shore, just a few feet away from him.

He found the noise soothing, closing his eyes and tilting his head back as he listened to the chaotic, unpredictable rhythm. It was beautiful.

And then he heard it.

Four notes.

His eyes shot open and he swiveled his head around, searching for where the noise could have come from. He stood up, approaching the water and looking to the left, where the canal just began to connect to the ocean and a couple of large rocks stood in the distance, protruding out of the water.

Lying on one of them...was you.

The girl he saw just a few days back. Your head peeking out of the water at him, that pretty smile on your face. He wasn't sure who you were...he wasn't even sure if you were human.

But he just knew he had to grab your attention.

"Hey!" he shouted out, waving his arms at you like a madman, walking along the shore towards where you were. "Over here!"

Your head snapped towards where he was and you leaped off the rock, disappearing beneath the water.

His smile fell.

"Wait! Wait no come back!" he yelled, starting to jog over to the rocks, nearly slipping on the wet surface near the edge as he got on his knees and looked over. "Come back." he pleaded, searching beneath the waves.

For a moment...he thought he'd scared you away.

But then he saw your head poking out of the water again. His breath hitched in his throat as you slowly waded over to him, sleek arms pushing the water back as you swam.

"Hi." he said softly, afraid he might scare you. A moment of silence passed as you stared up at him and him at you. "Do you remember me?" he whispered.

You nodded. He grinned. "Really?" he leaned in a little closer, cocking his head to the side slightly. "I-uh, what are you?"

He watched as you copied him, cocking your head to the side as well. You giggled, eyes lighting up. "What am I?" You repeated, an endearing smile on your face.

He nodded. "You're...not human, are you?"

You shook your head no, eyes twinkling up at him.

"So...what are you?" he asked, eagerly leaning in a little more.

"I do not know what you humans call us...but we are known as Seireines."

He cocked his head to the side in response, thinking for a moment. "You mean a siren? You're a siren?"

You blinked. "If that is what you call us, I suppose that is what I am."

"Sirens aren't real" he said with a wide grin. "At least...I didn't believe they were. What're you doing in London?" he asked curiously.

"I...I'm not sure." You said softly, looking around as if you were noticing your surroundings for the first time. "I just remember swimming, as fast as I could, to get away." your voice sounded very far away as you spoke, recalling your last few memories.

"To get away from what?" he questioned curiously, sitting back and looking down at you.

Your eyes snapped back towards him. "To get away from you. Your people." You let out a shaky sigh, submerging your shoulders and bottom half of your neck under the water again, staring up at him sadly. Tears prickled the corners of your eyes. "The hunters. They were after us."

"Hey, hey, don't cry" he said, reaching his hand out and grabbing onto yours, pulling it out from under the water. "Why were they after you? What did they want?"

"We are different from them. They want to kill us, to study us. My people...my family...all taken. All gone."

His heart dropped as he watched you, tears streaming down your face. "Don't cry. Shh." he whispered, wiping your tears away and pulling you up a little out of the water. "Who are these hunters? What are they called? Do you know?"

You hesitated for a moment. "I remember them talking to their leader. They called him...

Kraven."

_______________

A/N

Sorry this is kind of short but part two!! I'm gonna turn this into an actual story probably so enjoy <3 Make sure to fill out the taglist form if you want to be tagged in the next ones, I've attached the link below!! Have a great rest of your week lovelies

Taglist: @therealloopylupin2099 @rinverse @l0starl @daydreaming-en-pointe @itsparis-07 @vileviale @puff-hugs @d0uble-tr0ubl3 @lauryn2558 @choccymilkdrinker @sunasslut69 @ask-1610-miles @ask-1610miles @axels-garden @eli21345 @miniaturesuitfox @spotconlon55 @riris-radioactive-panther @trash-panda-xoxo @0strawberrysorbet0

Taglist Link --> HERE

Masterlist Link --> HERE

#hope you like this!! #[silvia's requests] #atsv #across the spiderverse #hobie brown #spiderman atsv #spiderman #beyond the spiderverse #atsv hobie #across the spider verse #hobie my love #astv hobie #hobie spiderverse #hobie brown headcanons #hobie my beloved #hobie x reader #spiderverse hobie #hobart brown #spider punk #hobie x you #hobie x y/n #hobie brown x reader #hobie brown x you #hobie brown x y/n #hobie brown x female reader #atsv x reader #atsv x you #atsv x y/n

[writingmysanity]

Did I miss it?

Pairing: Zoro x reader

Word count: 1600

TW: drinking, reader is tipsy for sure.

A/N: Happy Birthday, Lissie!! Okay, lets try this again. My computer crashed half way through what I was writing and I lost… everything. I know I asked you a tough question the other day, and you answered lol much to your own pain – so here you go. I truly hope you enjoy. Thank you so much for being my friend and enabling me in my deranged thoughts in our messages. You're such a kind soul, and such a good mum.

I hope you’re spending your free time re-watching the video from Taz and resting. Perhaps thirsting. @stray-kaz

A/N continued: this is the first time i am writing for Zoro, I am pretty sure he is ooc here. i claim being out of practice.

=========

Despite how the shouts and cheers of your crew mates seem to linger around you, their laughter resting in the gusts of wind, the night is quiet. Their words are whisked away without thought or care into the night, seeming to echo back from the depths of the bay as nothing more than whispers. Obsidian waves lap at the hull of the ship, rocking the ship slowly to the tune of what your mother called the whiskey lullaby.

Taking a deep breath, you melt into the side of the ship, sinking to your knees to rest against the railing, still cradling your own glass to your chest. Moonlight washes over the deck, casting the whole of everything you can see with a blue-ish hue. The sight never ceases to amaze you, a gentle smile resting on your lips as you take in your crew, littered about the open space in various rather uncomfortable positions that make you laugh.

If you were a little less drunk, you would move to try and help them shift into at least more comfortable positions. But as things stand currently, you find you are unable to stand properly when the ship and your vision continue to move. Slowly, you shift to face out towards the water, slotting your legs through the railings to allow them to dangle, resting your head against the wood with a sigh.

Celebrations aren’t uncommon for the straw hats, and you have come to even enjoy their rambunctious energy since you joined the ragtag group of pirates. You are certainly still learning to accept their willingness to celebrate you, they certainly have made you feel as part of their family, safe and accepted,but something is missing.

A certain head of moss colored hair.

Not two weeks prior, Luffy had sent his first mate off on a special retrieval mission. Zoro had been nervous to leave, knowing he wouldn’t be able to be there for his crew, but also the certainty that he wouldn’t be able to be there for you.

Normally, he would have already crowded you away in the crows nest or back in the kitchen hiding behind the island, finishing off the last of the liquor with you, his attention solely on you. Those dark eyes locked on your form beside him as he listened to you drunkenly ramble about whatever seemed to have caught your fancy that night. The thought of not getting to celebrate with him weighing heavier on your heart than you expected it to.

You have long since stopped trying to deny your feelings for the swordsman, and though unspoken, you know he feels the same – though neither of you have tried to push it further.

Sitting in silence, you let the rush of the waters below over take your senses, the distant push and pull dancing beneath your feet coupled with the distant cry of a sea bird lifting from the oceans surface. So engrossed in your thoughts and the siren call of the sea, you don’t hear the steps rushing up the plank of wood connecting the ship to the harbor, nor the gentle bumps of the body stumbling up onto the deck as they make their way to you. You don’t hear any of it, until his voice startles you from your reverie, the depths of your thoughts lingering on him more than you would ever admit to anyone else.

“Did I miss it?” his voice is slow, measured as you yank yourself around with a gasp, nearly throwing your glass at him in surprise. At this, he chuckles, slowly moving to kneel before you, careful of his swords and your hold on the cup as he tugs it from your hand.

“Zo…” he nods slowly, gaze softening in a way that you've learned is meant only for you. “You startled me.” you confess, the drunken tilt to your words making him frown slightly. You're out here, drunk, and the only one awake.

“I noticed,” he states calmly as he slides closer, sitting beside you, relaxing at the near awestruck look painting your face, eyes wide and glassy with emotions you've yet to speak on, lips parted. “I’m sorry I’m late.” he starts again. “Did I miss it?”

“I thought you weren’t meant to be back until next week,” you stumble out, reaching for him, completely ignoring his question. Or not hearing it. Chuckling, again, he lets you tug him closer, one hand resting on his arm, the other taking the opposite hand.

“I took larger steps,” he half jokes, running his thumb over your knuckles with a gentleness no one else would believe he is capable of, your laughter earning one of his rare smiles. “Now, please answer me this time, pretty girl.” he asks slowly, catching your attention as he rests his free hand on your cheek. Nodding slowly, your eyes lock with his, immediately lost in the depths of the blackened seas washing in his gaze.

“Did I miss it?” he asks again, gently emphasizing each word. At this, you frown slightly, looking up to the moon, as if trying to discern the time. Between your addled brain, and your excitement at seeing him again so soon, you shrug with a crooked grin that leaves him dizzy.

“I don’t know,” you state honestly. “we can say no,” you offer, eyes softening as you match his gaze again, able to see that this means something to him. Sighing in relief, his shoulders sag a bit before he moves away from you, earning a soft whine. His shoulders shake at the sound, eyeing you amused.

“patience, princess,” he chides, pulling a box from the bag at his side, setting it in your lap. Its not big, it can fit in the palm of your hand, but it is expertly wrapped, a beautiful bow resting on top. Frowning, you lift it to your face, shaking it.

“What is it?” you hum, tilting your head at it. He huffs a bit, amused. He has never dealt with you when drunk, at least, not without the both of you being drunk together.

“Open it and find out,” his normal measured voice laced with an amusement he would deny later. Beaming up at him, you nod, tugging the bow lightly, watching it fall away with ease before tugging at the corner of the beautiful silver paper that gleams in the moonlight. Inside is a small box. There is nothing too special about it, a simple smooth brown box. Humming in curiosity, you tug it open, peeking in as if something would jump out before the top fumbles off completely. Inside is a thin silver chain.

Frowning, you tug it up, watching in awe as the charm swings to the end.

At first, all you're able to discern is that the charm is a silver circle. Clumsily, you grab at it, wanting to look closer, oblivious to zoro’s anxious shifting beside you. On one side, there is a compass etched into it, careful practiced lines marking each direction with a small brilliant emerald resting in the center. You stare at it for a moment before realizing you can feel the same raised edges on the other side.

Flipping it slowly, your eyebrows furrow as you try to read it, scrawled in perfect cursive.

Lets get lost together

head whipping to him, your eyes are wide, gaping at him. He shifts slightly, moving away from the railing now, eyes flitting between you and the necklace.

“Do.. do you like it?” his voice is quiet, all of his insecurities and internal doubts swarming him as you sit there, staring. After a minute of tense silence, he shakes his head, jaw tense as he moves to stand. “I knew it was a bad idea” he sighs, moving to take the offending item from your grasp, but you refuse to let go.

“you mean it?” your voice almost whisked away by the wind its so soft. This is as close to a confession as hes ever gotten other than a drunken “I like your face” or one of his pet names you’ve come to adore. He pauses again, uncertainty resting clear in his eyes as he nods slowly.

“Yeah,” his voice is quiet, watching as your demeanor switches from quiet and contemplative to bright and excited – the brilliance he finds himself melting for. Quickly, you turn, scootching the best you can, drunk and sitting, to turn your back to him while holding the necklace up impatiently.

“Put it on me,” you nearly demand before pausing, looking at him pleadingly over your shoulder. “Please.” shaking his head at your antics, he takes it from your hand gently, slowly shifting to his knees to raise it over your head and around your neck from behind. Once its clasped, he tugs it loose, allowing it to rest over your shirt, his touch lingering on your neck as he leans down slowly to whisper in your ear, the sensation making you shiver.

“Happy birthday, Princess.”

======

happy birthday, my friend. It was super quick, but I really hope you enjoy it or at least get a chuckle out of it. I hope your day is the best.

#roronoa zoro #one piece zoro #zoro x reader #zoro #one piece #one piece live action #opla #one piece netflix #opla!zoro x reader #opla!zoro

[endthedream]

a sweet melody

pairing: siren!haechan x human!reader (she/her)

summary: Insanity isn’t what she expected to receive when she joined her father and his crew on an expedition, full of men who think she isn’t capable of anything. But it’s all that she got after seeing nothing but endless water every single day. Maybe that’s why her mind started imagining a strange boy who finally shows her the appreciation she deserves. Maybe that’s why she ignores the way she can’t escape the trance he puts her in whenever he sings a melody for her. Or maybe everything is real, and the boy isn’t who he pretending to be.

words: 12.5k

story colour: green

some warnings:

it’s angst, the word “killing” gets mentioned a few times but nothing happens, heavy manipulation

masterlist of ‘nct dream as super natural creatures’

August 2nd, 1878

Day 25 on sea

I don’t remember the feeling of solid ground under my feet. Grass under my toes, touching stone walls or sleeping in a soft bed that isn’t rocking from the waves crashing against the ship.

I don’t remember the taste of air that isn’t filled with salt. The taste of anything other than fish.

I don’t remember not being nauseous every day, not fighting against boredom, not having to talk to myself in order to stay sane. Having to remind myself that I am me and this expedition isn’t pointless and could possibly make us rich until the day we die.

Father told me to write down my thoughts, he senses that I’m slowly losing my mind. But how can’t I? All I see, day and night, are endless expanses of water. No land in sight. We are miles and miles away from civilization. Alone with the sea and what lays beneath it. That thought can be frightening sometimes.

My brother called me a wimp, told me I should have just stayed at home and let the men handle it. I think he is the one who is a wimp. He’s scared of the power women can hold in a world that is overpowered by men. He doesn’t want me here, thinks I belong only at home like the other women in our city. But I don’t believe that even for one second. I have so much more potential than cooking and taking care of children. I’m an explorer, an adventurer, a researcher. I belong exactly here with my brother, my father and his crew.

I am so much more than all of them point me out to be and I know I can prove exactly that to them. I can prove that women can do all things men have been doing for years, maybe even better. I will prove it, even if it makes me go insane.

August 7th, 1878

Day 30 on sea

I miss my mother. I miss her comforting words, her warm arms and the smell of her perfume. Father misses her too. We talked last night while watching the waves under the moonlit sky. He told me he thinks she is watching over us, protecting us from unknown dangers. He told me that he thinks she is proud of us, especially me, for having the courage to explore the sea. I think he is right. Mother would have loved for us to do the things she always dreamt of doing. Exploring. She always wanted to know what lays beyond the sea, know the secrets behind it and write it all down.

Mother was the creative one in our family. She wrote poems, drew beautiful paintings and crafted useful things out of our waste. There was nothing she couldn’t do, no challenge she couldn’t face. I admired her for that, looked up to her and wanted to be like her. Father says that sometimes he sees a bit of her in me, a bit of her creativity leaking out of my aura, but most of the time I am like him. A big pighead who is way too nosy for their own good. But he also said that this trait will help me on our journey.

“We need people like you.”, he spoke as he looked into the sparkling reflection of the stars on the water. “People who are brave and people who are inquisitive. People who don’t stop when it gets too much and get driven by the passion of wanting to know what lays beneath the unknown. That’s why I want you here.”

“But why did you bring my brother as well? He is nothing like that.” My comment made him let out a quiet laugh, a sound I haven’t heard from him in a while.

“Because he can fight. We need people like that as well.”

Our talk was over after that. He went to sleep, and I stayed up, watching the stars in the dark night sky and thinking about his words. Does he really want me here or is he just being nice to me because I’m his daughter? The others on the ship are not shy to express their dislike for me. I’m not taking it to heart since they care more about my gender than my capabilities. But I care about my father’s opinion. I care what he thinks about me being on this ship with him and if he thinks that I should have stayed at home like everyone else is telling me.

I hope he didn’t lie to me. I hope that his words were sincere, and he actually wants me to be here. Because I think it would shatter me if he didn’t.

I figured I should talk more about my current mental state. Every day I try not to show how much it affects me that even though there are so many people on this ship, I’m still alone. No one wants to talk to me, no one cares about my opinion, and no one wants me here. I spend most of the day watching the ocean, listening to the waves and the birds stopping by. When I see something, an animal or even just seaweed, I write it down and draw a picture of it. It helps me a bit, I think, but I’m not quite sure.

Yesterday a boy, his name is Jisung, let me help him prepare a fish. It was the first time someone had spoken to me without throwing an insult at my head. I haven’t seen him much around the ship since he spends most of the time in the kitchen with his father. But he seemed nice enough, even though as soon as another crew member approached us, Jisung ran away from me, not wanting to be seen with the “intruder”. I wasn’t offended by it, at least I got to eat a nice fish for dinner.

But I’m wandering again. My mental state. I do think I’m getting a bit… well, crazy. But who isn’t? Everyone on this ship is going through the withdrawal of feeling solid ground under their toes and seeing anything other than salt water every single day.

I think we all are slowly losing it.

August 15th, 1878

Day 38 on sea

The air was nice today. It smelled fresher than before, kind of like we entered a new world overnight.

It just felt so clean.

Maybe that’s exactly what I needed, some fresh and clear air, something that removed the mess inside of me as well. Father said that fresh air always helps with an occupied mind. I guess his thesis has been proven right.

I should listen to him more.

He is old and keeps to himself most of the time, but when he actually does talk, it has an impact. Just yesterday two of the men on the boat accidently- in a drunken manor- knocked over two wooden boxes full of fish we haunted, leaving us with not much left. Father was furious, I could tell by the look on his face, but he kept his calm image. He went up to the two men and instead of screaming, he just stared at them for a few minutes. I think his eyes were what intimated them the most.

“You realize what you just did?”, he asked them, and I never heard his voice being so cold. They just nodded their heads, eyes widened like they were deer’s getting hunted by a wolf. “You realize what that means for the two of you?” Hesitation lingered in their demeanor. Clearly, they didn’t know what consequences followed their stupid mistake.

“Since you prevented us from having a week stock of fish, I’m going to do the same to you. That means limited access to food, no alcohol anymore and you are going to clean the boat from front to back. I want to see it spotless. Are we clear?” Again, their heads nodded faster than the wind blowing my hair away. They hurried off after being dismissed, leaving me standing there as father let out a long sigh.

It must be hard, having to be in charge of a bunch of grown men who act like children. And it must be hard seeing your own children having to face some of their own hardships as well. I’m not saying my brother is having a hard time on this ship, I’m saying in general. Someone filled with that much piled up anger, like my brother, must have some troubles they can’t communicate themselves.

It’s not like I have never tried. Talking to him, I mean. I did, plenty of times. But he never listens. And he never talks. I think it is the masculinity they force upon boys these days. It starts in school when they are just little fellows and continues all the way into adult hood. It teaches them not to cry, to hide their emotions and be strong.

I think that is stupid. I think that as human beings we were created to show our emotions. It’s our darn right to let ourselves feel everything freely without having to hide it.

But my brother is taking it seriously, says that the people in school would make fun of him if he’s showing weakness. Weakness. That is stupid. I think that hiding your emotions and building up this wrong image in which you hide behind a made-up strength, is what makes you weak.

I told him that and he just said: “And that’s why you’re a woman. You wouldn’t survive a minute being a man.”

And you wouldn’t survive a minute being a woman either. But I didn’t say that. I didn’t want to make him more upset, and I especially didn’t want to start a discussion about men and women with him. It is pointless, because no matter what I say, he will never see us as equals.

I wish I were closer to my brother. I wish he wouldn’t have to think about all this stupid stuff. And I wish I could live in a world where I could freely express myself without having to justify my every move.

I wish, I wish, I wish.

August 19th, 1878

Day 42 on sea

We saw dolphins today. They were swimming right beside our ship, jumping high up into the air and whistling at us. It was a magical moment, watching them happily swim, eager to interact with us. I even got to draw a picture of them. And for a moment I forgot that my mind is constantly spinning in a spiral. I just sat there, enjoying the short moment of peace, before it got destroyed.

Some of the men on the ship, clearly drunk, threw bottles at the dolphins, slurring insulting words at them. The dolphins swam away shortly after, but the bottles stayed where they threw them, in the ocean. I was so mad that I went up to one of the men, yelling some pretty mean words as well.

“Are you out of your mind, you drunk filthy piece of shit? Not only did you hurt poor helpless animals that were clearly eager to interact with us, but you also polluted the ocean with your stupid bottles of alcohol. Are you really that messed up in your head to think this was a good idea? I don’t even get why you are on this god forsaken ship. You are clearly not good for anything other than drinking your days away and only caring about yourselves. And you call yourself a man. You are nothing but a pathetic little boy, wanting everyone’s attention. You disgust me, you pig.”

I can’t remember much afterwards, only the stinging feeling against my cheek, a foot against my rip cage and someone yelling to stop. I woke up not long ago. The ship is quiet, so I assume it’s already in the middle of the night and everyone is sleeping, but I’m too scared to look. My body hurts, every time I move only a slight bit, a crushing pain curses through my bones.

When I close my eyes, everything is spinning, so I don’t close my eyes anymore.

I don’t regret what I said to that man. I don’t regret standing up to myself. I had to endure a worse treatment for a longer time and could handle it. It is not my fault that he couldn’t handle a bit of critique. All I hope is that this pain will go away soon. The pain inside and outside.

I’ve been thinking, maybe a bit too much. What if I change my way of thinking? What if instead of letting the ocean hurt me, I will let it heal me? What if instead of letting the loneliness consume me, I will let it lead me? Maybe all I have to do to get better is to change the way I approach this expedition.

And now that I have written it down, I will have to do it. My mother always said words only count when you write them on a piece of paper. In that way it is like a contract, unbreakable. It is like an oath you swear only to yourself, and those should be the most precious ones. She said you should always keep the promises you give to yourself, because after all, at the very end you will always have yourself to count on. Mother was a wise lady. A wise and confident woman, that I always looked up to. She was never afraid to speak her mind and stand up for her beliefs, I admired that side of her so much. And I know my dad also admired that.

Sometimes I forget that he lost his wife, I forget that he is still grieving. Because it looks so easy for him. It doesn’t look like he is compulsively taken of on a ship to “explore the unknown” just to get away from home and the recuring memories of the woman he loved so dearly. It looks like he created a team of the best- that’s arguable- men out there and took of to explore. He looks like a hero, not a broken man.

He hides everything so well. I wish he would have taught me how to do that.

August 20th, 1878

Day 43 on sea

Dad told me not to move too much. He thinks my rips are badly bruised and I need a few days, maybe even a few weeks to heal. We don’t have a qualified doctor on this ship, so I am just putting ice on my ribs and hope they will magically heal.

My brother even came to my room to ask me about my well-being. That was the last thing I expected to be quite honest with you. My brother and I have never had the best relationship. He was never a reliable soul, always easily influenced by others. He is a follower not a leader and that shows in the way he behaves towards others, especially towards me.

“Are you fine?”, he asked me, voice unusually soft. I could see it in his eyes, the pity that lies in them. It looked like he actually cares.

“Forgetting the circumstances, yes, I am fine.” He let out a long and deep breath, a hand stroking back a piece of hair that fell into his eyes. I should have asked him if I should cut his hair for him.

“Okay.”, he just answered, nodding his head before standing up again. “If you need anything, just call for me.” Without looking at me again, he left the room. All I could do after that was smile. It was the first encounter since we were kids that didn’t end up with me wishing I would never have to talk to him again. He may not know how to express what he is really feeling and is scared of voicing his own thoughts, but this small conversation showed me that he may not be all too bad.

August 25th, 1878

Day 48 on sea

I am going crazy. I sit on my bed every single day. I draw, I write, and I stare at the wall.

I can feel my thoughts circle around my brain, nothing makes sense. No one visited me in the past two days, and it makes the urge to get up even worse. I didn’t really have someone to talk to from the beginning, but at least I got to be around some living beings. I didn’t have to bear my own thoughts for such a long time. Now I’m not only alone, but I’m also lonely as well.

I had a nightmare last night. I dreamt about the ship sinking. It was absurd because the men drunk too much and their bellies got so bloated, it made the ship sink. But that wasn’t the frightening part. As I tried to swim for safety, my arms already hurting, I started hearing voices. Not just two, must have been a hundred of them. All of them whispering to me, but I couldn’t understand what they were trying to tell me. I kept swimming and swimming, far behind I saw hills. The voices didn’t stop. It felt like they were entering me, taking over every part of my body. My head felt like it was about to explode into a million pieces. They got louder and louder until I couldn’t take it anymore. I stopped swimming, letting myself sink. The water engulfed my whole body, entering my mouth and filling my lungs. The voices got quieter and quieter until there was only one left, loud and clear, telling me to “wake up”.

That’s when I opened my eyes, sweat dripping from my forehead and my breath uncontrollably fast. I never had a dream like that. I never woke up so disorientated. I wanted to tell someone about this dream, have someone explain to me what the meaning behind it is. I wanted to know if I’m really losing my mind.

August 27th, 1878

Day 50 on sea

I am losing my mind.

This can’t be real. I am writing this down to make sure I am wide awake and not dreaming.

I woke up from a noise. At first, I thought I was imagining it, because lately I’ve been imagining a lot of things. I wanted to go back to sleep, being exhausted from, well, doing absolutely nothing all day long, but then I heard it again.

It wasn’t just a noise. It was a melody, a very beautiful one. It sounded like the gateway to heaven, like it was sung by angels. And it made me feel drowsy.

I knew I needed to rest more, but something about this melody pulled me in. It made me forget the throbbing pain in my body and the events that happened days before. All it made me want to do was reach it, engrave it into my skin. It made me want to never hear anything else.

I was in a trance, no thoughts inside my head anymore.

So, I got up, walked out onto the deck of the ship to find out where this melody comes from. But when I reached the deck, I didn’t expect to see a boy sitting on the railing.

But it wasn’t an ordinary boy. Oh, no. Not like the ones I’ve seen in my town growing up. I can’t describe him in any other way than captivating. His jet-black hair softly swayed in the night wind, covering his eyes every few seconds. His cheeks adopted a soft rosy color from the coldness, contrasting the tan of his skin. And his eyes were almost as dark as the night sky.

I don’t know why I stared at him for such a long time, and I don’t know why he let me.

“You’re here.” Those were his first words. The first time I heard his voice. A voice that made time stop for a moment. I couldn’t hear the waves crashing against each other anymore, or the cracking of the old wood the ship was built with. I couldn’t even hear my heartbeat pumping against my chest. All I could hear was him. “I was waiting for you.”

“Who are you?” That was not what I wanted to ask him at that moment, but the sane part of my brain must have sensed that something wasn’t right. Something about the way my body reacted to this strange man was dubious.

“Haechan.”, he spoke with a soft voice, turning his body so that he fully faced me. A smirk was placed on his lips, only intensifying his tantalizing physique. “And you are?”

“Y/n.” My name came out in a mere whisper, fearing that my voice might have broken if I spoke any louder. I couldn’t stop staring at him, still having been sure that my mind was playing a trick on me or, well, still is.

For days no one has checked in on me, no one has talked to me more than five words. I’ve been on this ship for way too long seeing nothing but the endless nothingness of the sea. My mind has been plagued with recuring thoughts, never once having a quiet moment. Maybe this is the final sign. Maybe this is it. I am insane. So insane that I’m imagining a boy sitting on the rail of the ship just so that I have someone to talk to.

“A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” Reaching one hand out, the boy signaled me to come closer to him. Every part of my body longed to take his hand and sit on the rail with him, but doubts started floating my brain.

“What are you doing here? How did you get on this ship?” Haechan, as I learned his name, just chuckled, a low sound that was so different from his honey voice. He looked amused at my asking, almost like he was making fun of me.

“Why did you come out here, Y/n?” I remember frowning at him, clearly feeling upset that he chose to ignore my question and ask one of his own. I felt upset that this boy, which I probably made up in my mind, didn’t show any respect for me at all. He, just like the others, ignores what I have to say, and I didn’t want to get treated that way, not after what happened last time.

So, instead of answering him, I turned around, heading back to my bed. But before I could even take a step, the melody I heard earlier started again. All the thoughts that I had in my mind at that moment flew away and I was, yet again, caught in a trance. It was like I couldn’t escape, even if I wanted to.

“It’s you.”, I whispered, but he still heard me. I knew that because the melody got louder, clearer. I closed my eyes, letting his voice enter every part of my body. I let it fill me up and shut me down at the same time. I let it rearrange my mind and mend my wounds, but I also let it cut me open and bleed me dry. I gave myself into the sweet penetration of his honey laced voice and wanted nothing more than to make all his wishes and desires come true. I would have given him the world if it was possible. My whole body felt like it was floating on top of a cloud, high up in the sky and there was no way of ever coming down again. I was trapped.

“Come closer.”, he murmured, voice deeper and almost impending.

“No.”, I quivered, suddenly scared of ever opening my eyes again.

“Please, Y/n.”, he pleaded, and I could nearly hear the desperation in his voice. “Just please look at me.” And so, I did. He was not sitting on the rail anymore, he was standing right in front of me. A small smile on his lips and one hand stretched out to me. “Come closer please. I don’t want anything else from you.”

And as I was about to take the step towards him, give in to his demand and the growing need inside of me to grant all his wishes, I heard a voice behind me, calling out my name and breaking the trance I was in.

“Y/n?”

Turning around, I saw my brother standing further away from me, dressed in his nightly gown. “What are you doing out of your bed? You should rest, your body isn’t fully healed yet.”

“I was just talking to…” But when I looked for Haechan again, no one was standing there anymore. It was like I was alone all along. “I don’t know what I was doing.”

Suddenly I felt all the pain rush back into my body, my bones burning with fire, and I let out a loud groan as I fell to my knees.

“Y/n.” My brother rushed towards me, helping me up with his arms around me. “For someone who always seems so smart, you really aren’t the brightest.” I couldn’t even laugh at his words, my mind was too focused on the pain all over my body.

“You must have been sleep walking if you can’t remember what you were doing up there.” My brother said as he laid me back down into my bed and reached into a bucket of water to put a wet rag on my forehead. “Sleep now, okay? I will stop by in the morning again and check on you.” All I could do was nod my head at him, exhaustion consuming my body. He looked at me one last time before he left my room again.

And now I’m sitting here, writing in my foolish dairy and reminiscing about the strange boy I met. I must have imagined him. How could anyone come up onto the ship? I didn’t see another boat, nor did any other member of the crew. And the possibility of someone appearing out of the blue is also not likely.

The only possibility that is left is that I am losing my mind. That I imagined all of it out of pure loneliness and frustration. This expedition should have been educational for me. It should have proven to all the men that I, as a woman, can do what they can do. That I can be an explorer, a brave one even, and that I have the ability to find something new. That is why we started this journey, because we wanted to discover unknown things.

But all I am doing now is proving everyone exactly what they think of me, that I am small and weak. That I am not an explorer and that I should have just stayed at home. That I am not brave and definitely not smart. I proved to them that I am fragile and well, mental.

But no one has to know about it. No one has to know what happens in my head or the things I imagine. No one has to know I am practically insane and desperate. I could just simply fake it. Isn’t that what everyone does? Faking confidence.

Maybe if I fake it long enough and convince everyone that what they are saying and thinking about me is wrong, I might convince myself as well. Maybe I can convince my brain I’m fine while pretending to be.

So, from now on, everything’s okay. I am not insane, and I certainly am not imagining weird things.

I am okay.

Everything is okay.

August 29th, 1987

Day 52 on sea

Everything is not okay.

Yesterday the boy didn’t show up again. I wasn’t exactly looking for him, since my father spent most of the night in my room making sure I wouldn’t ‘sleep-walk’ again, but I can’t lie and say I wasn’t disappointed not to hear his beautiful melody again.

I asked my dad if there is a word for the feeling of craving for someone, for feeling like the person took a part of you with them when they left and you long to be reunited with them. When all your thoughts are consumed with them, and your body is itching to be in the mere presence of that person. But also fearing the actual return of that person and the power they hold over you and your emotions. He told me it is called “withdrawal”.

“It is mostly referred to drugs such as alcohol.”, he explained to me as he tried to brush out the knots in my hair. “But I think it can be applied to humans as well. You know, sometimes we long for people we can’t have or people that aren’t good for us. We see the signs, but we ignore them. We give in to the sweet yearning and get hurt in the process. But if we don’t give in and the yearning grows stronger, we crave it even more. We think about the person every day, imagine their scent, their eyes, their voice. We imagine them being in a room with us, talking and laughing with us. We do the things that are most painful to us just to have what we long for, even if we know it’s not good for us. And it hurts, physically and emotionally.”

I turned around to look at him, inspect his face and read what he was feeling when he said those things. “It sounds like you have experience with that feeling.” My father just shrugged and at that moment he looked older. He looked like an old man who has been through too much in his life. A man who deserves a break.

“I’ve been around much longer than you, dear. There were mistakes made and hearts torn, but it all worked out at the end.”

“How?”, I ask, curious as to how such a sad feeling still turned into something good.

“Because I got you, and your brother. That’s my happy ending.” I wanted to cry. I wanted to storm into his arms and never let him go. But I didn’t do any of those things. I just smiled at him, nodded my head and hoped that was enough for him. Because while his words filled my heart to the brim with love, my body still ached, not from the pain but for the boy I only met once in my life.

That’s why I tried to ignore the melody a few hours ago when it started again. Father went back to his bed a few minutes before, wanting to get some well-deserved sleep, leaving me alone in my room. I, as well, wanted to get some rest, but then I heard it. It was loud and clear, and more beautiful than I had remembered it to be. Almost immediately I felt my whole mind switch, forgetting the conversation I had had with my father. All that was in my head was him, Haechan.

I wanted to see him, no, I needed to see him. I felt lost without him, so empty and incomplete. I felt like my world wasn’t spinning correctly, time was going backwards, and the stars were falling out of the sky. Nothing felt right anymore. Not until I was with him.

I reached my door, but before I could open it something woke me up. Not from a dream, but from a trance. A smell, a very familiar one. It took up all my senses and brought me back to reality.

I realized what I was about to do and quickly sat back down on my bed, not daring to even set a foot on the floor anymore. It was frightening, what I felt just then. The longing I felt, just from one simple melody. I don’t know this boy, why would I feel so strongly about him? Why does he have so much power over my emotions?

His melody got louder. For a moment my head felt like it was exploding. He sounded sad, sorrowful. It broke my heart into pieces hearing him so vulnerable, longing for me the same way I was longing for him. But I didn’t give in. A part of me, I don’t know which one, knew it was wrong to see him again. So, I stayed on my bed, legs tightly pressed against my chest and my hands on my ears, trying to cover his despairing voice.

10 minutes ago, it stopped. It just went away, like it was never there in the first place. Curiosity almost got the best of me and wanted to check if he really left, but I was too scared, I still am.

I don’t know what he is doing to be, why he is here and why he is targeting me. But I know that whatever he is doing, it can’t be with good intentions. A person that makes another person feel such outrageous things, can’t be here for anything good.

Maybe it shouldn’t matter so much. Because, after all, I made him up. He isn’t real so whatever he is doing isn’t going to hurt me. I think my mind is reflecting this pain on me to make sense of why it’s slowly decapitating. It’s trying to distract me from the actual damage in my brain.

At least that is the only logical answer to all of this. Because anything other would be, well, crazy and I’m not crazy. I might lose my mind, but I am not crazy.

August 30th, 1878

Day 53 on sea

Maybe I am a bit crazy, and reckless, and irresponsible and plain stupid.

“You left me standing here for a long time yesterday. I missed you, darling.” But I couldn’t help myself but visibly relaxing as I heard his voice again.

It was all I could think about all day long. Him and his melody. I wanted to feel it again. Feel it in my veins, feel it shutting out all the thoughts in my head. I just wanted this bothering craving to go away. I think it got so bad that even Jisung, someone who barely talks to me, noticed it.

“Are you okay? Don’t you like the food?”, he asked as he watched me stare at the food in front of me.

“Oh, sorry. It’s not the food, don’t worry. I just didn’t get much sleep last night.” I gave him a little smile, grabbing a fork and shoving some food in my mouth.

“Is there a reason behind it? I hope it wasn’t me.” Jisung looked a bit guilty as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I spent the whole night cooking because I also couldn’t sleep. I hope I wasn’t too loud and kept you awake.”

“Oh, so that was what I smelled yesterday.” Internally, I couldn’t help but to be grateful for the boy sitting in front of me. After all, was he the reason why I didn’t give in to see Haechan. But I couldn’t tell him that. I was already glad someone decided to speak to me, I didn’t want to ruin it by my insanity. “But no, that was not what kept me up. I mean I smelled it, but I just had too much going on inside my mind to rest.”

The boy just nodded his head, shoving a fork full of food in his mouth. “Care to share some of your thoughts?”, he says with his mouth still full of food. He looked like a child in that moment, with his eyes wide and his mouth dirty with crumps.

“Just thinking a lot more about my mother lately.”, I told him, only half lying. Mother has been on my mind a lot lately, but that obviously wasn’t the reason why I couldn’t sleep. “I miss her. I mean I always miss her, but being so far away from home just makes me miss her more. You know, I see her everywhere. In the books I read, the words I write. I see her in the ocean, feel her in the air and smell her in every scent. It’s bizarre.”

“No, it’s not.”, Jisung disagreed, putting his fork down and propping his elbow up on the table to lean his face on his hand. “I miss my mother too. I mean, she isn’t dead, but her and my father are no longer together. She left with my sister, my father kept me, and I haven’t seen her in three years. I miss her too sometimes. But I think I miss the things she did for me more than I miss her. When I was a child, I always had trouble falling asleep so she would always tell me a bedtime story. I think that is why some nights I can’t seem to fall asleep.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Jisung. Next time you have trouble sleeping just get me. I can also tell you bedtime stories.”

He nodded yet again, showing me another one of his smiles. “Thank you, Y/n. And you know what? I think you are really brave. I wanted to say that to you earlier, but I never had the guts to actually do. I think that we can all be grateful that someone like you joined this expedition. We really need more smart crewmates on this ship.”

But I don’t think I am that smart anymore. I don’t think I even deserve to be called smart anymore. Because every single thing about the decisions I make is anything other than smart. And as I looked into the deep brown eyes of the boy in front of me, that only got confirmed.

“No answer? No ‘I missed you too’?” His voice had an alluring tone, soothing all the wounds inside me and doing things to my body I am too embarrassed to admit. “What a shame, sweet girl. I was pretty sure I could sense your longing for me yesterday. Maybe I was wrong.”

I didn’t know what to answer. And I honestly am glad I didn’t, positive that my voice would have come out in nothing but a pathetic whisper. Haechan was walking closer to me again, reaching his hand out again to hover over the skin of my arm but never touching me.

“Can you feel that?”, he whispers, eyes never leaving mine. “Can you feel the goosebumps slowly forming on your skin, the shiver down your spin?” He waited for me to answer him, but all I could do was nod. “Words, sweetheart.”

“Yes.” I answered him, voice cracking with that one simple word. “Yes, I can feel that.”

“Good. That is exactly what I want you to feel.” He took a few steps back again, so he was leaning against the railing. “Why did you decide to come here tonight? Couldn’t get enough of me?”

I just shrugged my shoulders, not really knowing myself what the actual reason behind me coming to see him again was. “Why do you keep calling for me?”

“Calling for you? How exactly am I calling for you?” Cocking his head to the side, still wearing a smirk on his lips. But I don’t want to get too detailed about his face, still feeling a bit embarrassed of the things I felt in that moment.

“The melody your singing, it’s for me. You are calling me with your melody.” A chuckle left his lips, melodic like his voice.

“How can you be so sure of that? What if I just like to sing pretty melodies?” His question sounded so innocent and for a moment I was uncertain about my statement, fearing I might have misinterpreted everything. But I knew what I was feeling. I knew that his melody was meant to be for me and no one else. I know it might sound crazy, but the thought of him singing this melody, my melody, for someone else felt unsettling.

“Because if you sung it for someone else, they would stand here instead of me. No one else is responding to your melody, only me, so it must be for me.” For a few seconds there was nothing but silence around us. Haechan wasn’t saying a thing, seeming like he was thinking about his next words. And I didn’t say anything, fearing that if I might, he would disappear again.

“You’re right.”, he finally spoke up. “It is for you.”

“But why? Why do you sing this melody for me?”

“Because I wanted to meet you, Y/n. From the moment I first saw you, I knew I got to have you. I got to be with you. I craved nothing more than to talk to you, to simply be blessed to be in the mere presence of you. I am longing for you, the same way you are longing for me, my love.” I couldn’t believe what he was saying to me. His words filled up my heart, and I started feeling lightheaded.

He was craving for me. He wanted to meet me. Everything that I am feeling towards him, as strange as those emotions are, he is feeling for me as well. His words were the most beautiful, heart wrenching thing I have ever heard in my inter life. I felt lucky to be seen this way, to be wanted this way, never actually having had someone tell me that before.

He really went all this way, just to meet me. Singing this melody, coming up this ship. But isn’t it a bit strange as well? I remembered not seeing another ship anywhere nearby. Where did he come from? How did he see me? Questions started filling my mind again, shaking me awake.

“What did you mean when you said you wanted to meet me from the first time you saw me? When did you see me?” I could see his body tensing up. Maybe he wasn’t expecting such a question.

“I can answer your question, but first you have to come with me. Please, Y/n. I will tell you everything, just please come with me. I don’t want to be apart from you anymore.”

“Haechan.” I looked at his hand, which was reaching for me again, motioning me to take it in mind. “Where do you want to take me? I mean there is no other ship anywhere near.”

“Y/n, just trust me, okay? Come with me and I will make the thoughts in your head disappear. I will make everything heal for you.” His hands hovered over my arms again, almost as if he couldn’t touch me. I wanted him to. I wanted him to touch me so badly. But I could see that something in his eyes had changed. They were darker, more desperate and demanding, and I knew it was my time to leave.

“I can’t.”, I told him, taking a few steps back. “I have to get up early tomorrow.” And with that I left, not once looking back as I walked back into my room.

I don’t know if what I did was right, or if I upset him with my behavior.

All I hope for is that he isn’t mad at me and will forgive me when he comes back. If he comes back.

August 31st, 1878

Day 54 on sea

He did in fact come back.

“Missed me?” There was something more gentle in the way he was talking to me today. Something more reserved.

“What if I did?” That made him smile, not smirk like he normally does. Haechan showed me a bright honest smile. And all I could think about was that he never looked more ethereal than in that moment.

“Then I will be highly pleased, my love. You know why?” I shook my head as a no, waiting for him to continue his sentence. “Because I missed you too?”

“You did?”

“Of course, I did. You were all I could think about all day long, pretty girl.” He stayed a bit further away from me too today and I wondered why. I asked myself if he didn’t want to be close to me again or if he felt rejected after what happened yesterday. “I couldn’t stop thinking about your sweet smile, your beautiful eyes and your lovely voice. I couldn’t wait to see you again.”

“Why don’t you touch me?”, I said out of the blue, catching not only myself, but him off guard as well. “You never touch me. You only hover your hands above my skin. Why?”

He smiled again, sweet and kind. “Because if I touch you once, I will never be able to stop again.”

“What if I don’t want you to stop?” He only shook his head, turning around to face the stars instead of me. But I didn’t want him to look away, I wanted him to look at me, because when he does look at me, I can feel again.

“I am sorry about yesterday, you know? I am sorry I was too intrusive, I let myself get caught up in my emotions.” I had to process his words, that being the last thing I thought would come out of his mouth. Never once had a men apologized to me for anything. I am so used to getting treated like nothing and it being normal in a society like the one I grew up with. Never once has anyone cared so much about me to consider my emotions and apologize for a mistake.

“Thank you.”, I just whispered, trying to swallow the tears. “That means a lot to me.” I decided to join him at the rail, watch the stars with him for a little while.

“Do you know that I think you are not real? I think I am imagining you, because for the past weeks I have been slowly losing my mind. Seeing the same things every day, not talking to anyone and having to deal with all those thoughts in my head. I think I started imagining you so I could just stop time for a while.”

“But I am real.”, he said, looking deep into my eyes. “I am real. You are not insane, and you are definitely not imagining me. I can prove that to you. Just take my hand and you will see.”

“Why does that feel like a trap?”, I asked him, watching his face, trying to read his emotions. But it stayed the same. His smile didn’t butch for a second and his eyes still held the same gentleness.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, Y/n. There is no trap. I am just offering you evidence to your lingering questions about your own sanity. I am just trying to be nice to you, but if you don’t appreciate that.”

“No, no I do. I am grateful for your kindness. You just sounded so demanding, and it made me doubtful.”

“I am so sorry, my sweet girl. It was never my intention to make you doubt me. That will never happen again, okay? All I want is the best for you. Nothing more.” I just nodded, eyes facing the wooden floor of the ship. “I am going to tell you the story of why I so desperately wanted to talk to you, since I didn’t yesterday. Maybe that will cheer you up a bit again.”

“I wanted to talk to you because I was mesmerized by you. Because there are not a lot of people out there like you. People so willing to learn and to explore. I never met a woman like you, someone so strong minded and independent. I loved how you never let anyone talk bad to you and I love how despite the negative things the men on this ship say about you, you still stay here. You prove to them every day that you are capable of being on such an expedition and that you are more qualified than they could ever be. And I just knew I had to talk to you, I had to have you in my life.”

And it was like he knew what I needed to hear. Like he knew my deepest darkest thoughts and all the things I was craving to ever be told by someone. It was like he spoke right into my soul and built up this newfound strength. I felt empowered, I felt loved. But yet again, I was also wondering how he could know all those things about me.

“Why do you know all that, Haechan?”

“I told you already, Y/n. I was longing for you.” It didn’t make sense. His answer didn’t make any sense. Was he avoiding my question? Or maybe he understood the question wrong, thinking this was an answer that would satisfy me. But it didn’t.

“That doesn’t answer my question. How can you possibly know about all those? We just met.”

I could hear a sigh leaving his lips, the long and frustrated kind. I am familiar with those, having heard them a thousand times from my father and brother. And I asked myself if I, yet again, upset him with my question. If I should have just kept quiet and appreciated his kind words and moved on from the topic.

“And yet again you don’t appreciate my kindness. All I do is be nice to you, proving to you that I am real and trustworthy, and you still doubt me. Don’t you know how much that hurts me? Do you?” His voice rose visibly, nostrils flaring and eyes growing wider. Haechan wasn’t looking like himself at that moment. He almost looked inhumane.

“I am sorry, Haechan. Please don’t say that. I do trust you. Please, I’m sorry.”, I started begging him, reaching for his hand, which he pulled away. “Please.” Tears filled my eyes and my whole body started hurting again, like it was slowly breaking apart from the inside out.

“You hurt me, Y/n. I don’t think your apology can fix this.”

And this time it was him walking away, disappearing into the darkness, and leaving me standing at the same spot, mourning for him like I had just lost a person to death.

September 1st, 1878

Day 55 on sea

I could see the surprise on his face when he saw me standing there, waiting for him this time, not needing his melody to be called. But the look of surprise quickly faded away and a smirk replaced it instead.

“I see you don’t even need my melody anymore.” It almost sounded cocky the way he said it.

“I wanted to be here first so I could apologize to you.”, I spoke the words with so much sincerity, wanting him to believe me and see that I genuinely mean the apology. “I am really sorry for hurting your feelings yesterday. It was never my intention. All I want to do is make you happy, Haechan, and I am so sorry that I failed to do so.”

He looked at me for a few seconds, brows raised, before he shrugged his shoulders. “What will you do if I don’t accept your apology?”

I didn’t hesitate when I spoke my next words. “I will beg for your forgiveness. I will beg until you accept my apology. I will do anything you want me to.”

“Anything I want you to?”, he asked, and I just nodded my head at him, desperation fulling my actions and probably written all over my face. “I will hold onto that one.”

“Does that mean you forgive me?” Haechan shrugged again, taking a few steps forward into my direction. Looking at him in that moment, I didn’t think he looked hurt. Normally people have this look on their face when their feelings got hurt, quivering lips, wide and sad eyes, body folding in on itself. But Haechans eyes were almost narrowed, and he was towering over me, almost like he was looking down at me. My father once told me people do that to prove their dominance over the other person, but I don’t think that was what Haechan wanted to do in that moment. Or was it?

Maybe Haechan is just like my brother, a person who has to hide their true feelings behind a stone-cold face to demonstrate strength. Or maybe he just didn’t want me to see him hurt by me to make me feel less guilty. Because I was and still am feeling bad for making him feel that way yesterday. I still regret my words and wish I would have just shut my mouth. I should do that more often, shutting my mouth in some situations. It would have saved me from a lot of things.

“I’m still thinking about it. Maybe I will tell you my answer at the end of the night.” That gave me some hope. Even though he didn’t yet accept my apology, he still wanted to spend time with me and that was more than enough for me.

“I saw you talking to that Jisung guy again today.” Haechan was still towering over me, hands in the pockets of his pants and eyes narrowing in on my face. “What is so intriguing about him that you talk so much to him?”

“Did you watch me?”, I asked him, shock lacing my voice. Jisung and I only talked in the kitchen today. I was hungry since I overslept in the morning and didn’t have breakfast. When I walked into the kitchen to grab myself something, Jisung was standing there, preparing the fish for dinner. We spent some time together, me eating my food and him cooking more. There wasn’t a lot of conversation, we just basked in the presence of each other.

“I asked you a question first.”, Haechan voice got lower again. I could only describe it as sinister. There was an undertone in that one small sentence, something that told me I should not say the wrong thing. So, I took a moment to gather my thoughts, fight through the mess in my head and find an answer that will satisfy him.

“He isn’t interesting to me.”, I tell him, keeping my voice clear and loud. “He is just the only person that talks to me when you aren’t here. There is nothing more to it.”

“It didn’t look like that earlier, sweetheart. I thought the two of you looked very cozy in that kitchen, sneaking glances at each other.” He let out a sound similar to a ‘tsk’ and shook his head in a mocking manner. “Am I not enough for you anymore? Do you go around and search for other men when I’m not around? Are you so desperate and needy for attention?”

“No.”, I whispered, feeling even the small last bit of confidence leaving my body. Haechan has a way of making me feel weaker and weaker, draining every last thought out of my head and making my body his. “No, Haechan.”

I felt my legs give him, sinking to my knees. My body felt so heavy but at the same time so light. Haechan kneeled down in front of me, lowering his head so he was looking right into my eyes. “You can’t talk to other men, Y/n. You are mine only, do you understand?” All I could do was nod my head at him, but that didn’t satisfy him. “You belong to me, right, my sweet girl? I need you to say it.”

“I belong to you.”, I mumbled, not having the strength to fully open my mouth.

“That is right. You belong to me, your body belongs to me and even your mind belongs to me. You are all mine, pretty princess.” He took up all my senses. I could only see him, smell him, hear him, feel him everywhere. Like only he excited in this world and no one else.

Haechan leaned forward, his lips brushing the skin of my ear. I could feel his warm breath on my skin, and it sent shivers down my back. “Now come with me, darling. Take my hand and come with me. I will make sure you remember me forever.”

I reached for his hand, fingers brushing against each other, but before I could close them around his, a bright light shined a bit further away from us. Everything happened so fast after that. I heard footsteps, a voice and suddenly I felt empty. Haechan was no longer kneeling in front of me and right as I wanted to look for him, my body gave in, and I fainted onto the cold wooden floor.

I don’t know how I got into my bed, and I don’t know who brought me into my bed. All I know is that the moment I woke up again I craved Haechan even more than I did before and I know that the next time he asks me to come with him, I will do so, without any hesitation.

September 2nd, 1878

Day 56 on sea

Everything changed today. Everything I thought I knew, everything I thought I felt. A lie.

I can’t stop crying. My tears are flowing like an endless waterfall. I’m a mess, a disaster. How could I let this all happen? I thought I was smarter than this. I thought I was stronger than this. But I was blinded. I was corrupted, manipulated, used.

I feel dirty, like I haven’t washed in weeks. But I just did. I spent a long time trying to scrub away the dirt I felt, trying to scrub away the shame I felt. I put everyone, especially me, in danger with my reckless behavior, with my blindness, with my incompetence. I am a failure.

I spent the whole day ignoring everyone around me, not even looking at anyone that passed me by. I wanted to desperately prove to Haechan that I only want him and no one else, that everyone on this ship doesn’t matter to me. All that matters is him. I was hoping he was watching me again, being proud of me.

But unfortunately, there was one person I couldn’t avoid even if I tried to.

“You wanted to speak to me, father.”, I said as I entered my father’s office room. I have never been in that room, not once over all these weeks. The room was scattered in books, empty bottles and maps of the sea. I always imagined the room to be neater, at least that was what my father always seemed to be. But my mother told me once that your room reflects the mental state you were in. Maybe my father was also struggling with his sanity.

“Yes.”, he answered me, looking up from his book. “I wanted to see how you are feeling, after your little incident yesterday.”

“I’m feeling fine, father. Must have been me sleep walking again. There is nothing to worry about.”

He just hummed, his face showing the uncertainty he felt because of my words. My father mustered me for a few seconds, waiting for even a little muscle to twitch in my face to show him if I was lying. But I kept a straight face, looking him right into the eyes. “I am thrilled to hear that. And we will find a way to fix your nightly problem.”

Father went back to reading in his book, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, the curious part of me wondered what he was so engrossed in. I always loved the books my father reads, knowing that they are filled with new knowledge. “What are you reading?”

He held up the book, showing me the cover. “Knowledge about the mysteries of the ocean.”, I read out loud, furrowing my eyebrows at the title. What an odd book, I have never heard about that. “What mysteries are listed in the book?”

“Oh, just some fisher men tales. Mermaids, kraken, leviathan, sirens. All those tales which warn everyone on ships about the dangers of the sea.”

“Sirens? I have never heard of them. What are they?” My father turned his book around, showing me the page, he was just reading. On it was a drawn picture of what looked to be a half bird, half fish creature. My stomach started to turn, the longer I looked at it, frightened by its appearance.

“This book says that sirens are mythical creatures, half bird, half fish. Through their angelic singing they lure in fishermen to kill them. It is said that their voice lures them in, but their face is what makes the fishermen stay.”

“Their face?”, I asked, not believing that for a second.

“They put you in a trance with their voice and make you see whoever you most desire. They are insidious, malicious creatures, feared by everyone who ever entered the ocean. They are dangerous, Y/n.” He looked me in the eyes, as if he knew something I didn’t. As if he wanted to tell me more with the last sentence.

“Do you really believe they exist? To me that just sounds like fishermen making up excuses as to why they didn’t bring any fish home.”

My father let out a long sigh, head shaking. He turned the book back to him and stared at the picture for a few more seconds, before closing the book again. “You could be right, Y/n. I mean you have always been the realistic one in this family. But as long as there is no proof that they don’t exist, I will have to believe those tales. It’s better to believe and find out they don’t exist, than to not believe and find out they do exist.”

I couldn’t stop thinking about his words after I left his office. They kept spinning around my head, swirling and clashing against other thoughts. And they were connecting. My thoughts were connecting together, and suddenly there was only one thought left. One person in my mind, and not for the reasons he had been in my mind for the past few days.

But I didn’t want to admit that. Not even to myself. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t true. Those useless tales were nothing but fiction, made up stories to save the fishermen from embarrassment and disappointment. Nothing more and nothing less.

Because I knew Haechan. I knew he wasn’t capable of something like that. He wasn’t a creature designed to prey on innocent people. Or was he?

I couldn’t help but smile as I heard the familiar melody, as I felt it sink deep under my skin and erase everything inside of me. I loved the pain it inflicted on my heart, the way the melody ripped me apart into a million pieces. I loved how for the first few seconds everything stopped being important to me. Breathing, feeling, living. Nothing felt important for a few seconds. Nothing but him.

Haechan leant against the rail of the ship, hands in his trousers and a smirk on his lips. It almost felt like a déjà-vu. I remembered how I felt when I first saw him. Feelings that were once so innocent and unfamiliar are now unconditional and fierce. “My pretty girl.”, he whispered, and I felt the weight on my shoulders lift. “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?”, I asked, taking a few steps closer to him. I was craving his closeness, his touch. I needed him to touch me, anywhere. I didn’t mind where.

“Ready to come with me.” My head was clouded, brainwashed by his beautiful voice. But wasn’t that exactly what my father told me, what he warned me about. “I can see your doubt in me, sweetheart. What is it that is plaguing your beautiful mind?”

“Do you plan on killing me?” I don’t know why I asked him that question. I don’t know how I got the strength to break out of the haze, even just a little bit.

“Killing you? Why would I kill you?” His eyes darkened and I could see his body language changing. I could see all of him changing. Haechan let out a chuckle before walking into my direction, stopping when he was right behind me. Brushing my hair back, never once touching me, as he leant down to whisper into my ear.

“I really wanted to kill you at first, my sweet girl. I wanted nothing else but to rip you apart.” My body shut down, letting me fall weakly to my knees just like the day before. I couldn’t keep my eyes open for more than five seconds. Haechan kneeled down in front of me, yet again and placed his hand on my cheek. Finally, I could feel him. I could feel the one thing I craved most, his touch. But it didn’t feel how I imagined it to. Instead of lifting me up and making me basked in comfort, it made me flinch. His touch made me want to never see the light of day ever again. “But how could I kill such a beautiful thing? You are my precious girl, aren’t you? So sweet and special.”

I wanted to run, get away from him. I wanted to do anything but to stay with him, but my body didn’t let me. My body stayed down on the ground, heavy and useless. “Does it hurt, love? Does my touch and my words hurt you?” He didn’t need an answer because he knew. He knew how every bone in my body felt like it was on fire as soon as he muttered those words. He knew all I wanted was to make this growing pain stop. “Just come with me. I will make the pain stop.”

When I looked up at him, I saw only a glimpse of him. His skin was pale blue, scales all over it, and his teeth were sharp and long. This wasn’t the boy I met a few nights ago, the boy who made me feel like I was floating on the clouds and the boy who gave me a reason to live. This was a creature, a monster. A siren.

“Go away.”, I croaked out with the last strength I had left in my body.

“Oh no, you poor thing. Don’t be like that.” Not even his voice sounded like the sweet melody I once heard. It didn’t give me sweet pleasure anymore, it only gave me pain. “You love me, or have you forgotten? Have you forgotten all the feelings I inflicted on you? Have you forgotten how good you felt when you were with me? I can make that come back. You just have to come with me.”

“Go to hell.” I didn’t know that this simple sentence could mean the end of my life because the next thing I felt was a sharpness going through my body. And I knew this would be it. This would be the last few seconds before I was gone.

“Y/n!”, I heard someone shout, loud and piercing. I opened my eyes, only to have my vision be blurry. I tried to move, look who that voice belonged to and if I was imagining it again. “Go away and never come back, or I will have you killed and each and everyone of you creatures on this planet.”

I took a hurtful breath and it felt as if my lungs were filled with broken pieces of glass. My eyes tried to stay open, but I didn’t have the strength. “No, Y/n. Stay awake. Please don’t leave me.”

Whiteness surrounded me, filling me up and taking me in. Silence. I heard nothing more than silence. I tried looking around, kicking and fighting as I was trapped in nothing but endless vastness. Far away from me I could see something, or someone waiting for me. I tried to walk towards it, reaching my arms out to grab it, but I never came close.

“It’s not your time yet, Y/n.” And before I could question those words, my eyes opened.

It took me a few seconds to regain my vision, seeing the familiar walls of my room. As I remembered just what had happened, I felt panic filling my body, my breaths coming out faster than normal and my mind spiraling in wild circles.

“It’s okay, Y/n.”, I heard the voice of my father first before I felt his arms around my body, pulling me tightly into him. “Your safe. Nothing can hurt you anymore.”

I looked up at him with wide eyes and my mouth agape. I felt like a little kid again, crying in the arms of my father after having a bad dream. Just that this wasn’t a dream. This is reality.  

“It’s okay. We are on our way back home. That creature will never find you again, we made sure of that, okay?” My father held me with so much delicacy, fearing he might break me. “You’re safe. I won’t let anyone, or anything hurt you again.”

And I believed him. There in the arms of my father I believed his words. So, I closed my eyes, let the sleep consume me and hoped that this promise would be one he could keep.

September 10th, 1878

Day 64 on sea

I let the salt air take away all the scars of the past weeks as I watched the soft waves flow under the setting sun. This was the first time in eight days that I had the courage to leave my room. I couldn’t face the place where everything happened. The place where I almost lost myself.

I closed my eyes and imagined the soft grass under my toes, the chirping birds in my ear and the blinding sunlight in my eyes. I imagined biting into a sweet apple, feeling the fresh morning air on my skin and smiling at the veracity of the moment.

“Daydreaming again?”, I heard a voice in front of me, making an actual smile appear on my lips. A smile I haven’t let myself show in a long time.

“What brings you out here? Shouldn’t you be in your bed, sleeping like everyone else is?” Jisung just shrugged his shoulders, his hair softly swaying in the wind.

He showed me a sweet smile, sitting down beside me and taking one of my hands in his. “I am not going to ask you how are doing, since everyone else does that every day.” I nodded at him, grateful for not hearing the repeating question out of his mouth as well. “But I am going to ask you if you still feel the withdrawal, you told me about.”

My eyes filled with tears again and I tried my best to swallow them down. “Yes.”, I mumbled, looking down, too ashamed to let him see me this way. To let him see me so weak and pathetic. “Yes, I still feel it, every day. I long for him, and I know it isn’t right. He isn’t who he showed me to be. I know I was blinded by a trance. I was blinded by need. I know what I am feeling isn’t right and that he wasn’t right. But for a few seconds, for a few seconds every day, it felt real. For a few seconds every day I could just be. I could be me. I could forget the pain and my thoughts, and I could breathe.”

Jisung just nodded his head, not letting go of my hand, but he didn’t say a word. I appreciated that. I appreciated the quietness of him. Because as opposed to the others, he didn’t lecture me on my feelings. He didn’t tell me how it is wrong to feel the way I do and how I should have seen all this coming. He didn’t try to tell me how to move past this, or how to continue living my life. Jisung just stayed silent.

“Why are you awake?”, I asked him after a few moments, breaking the silence he gifted me.

“I couldn’t sleep. And the last time I told you about my sleeping problems, you told me you could tell me a story, like my mother did. A bedtime story to make me fall asleep.” I let the tears that still lingered in my eyes roll down my cold cheeks, as I nodded my head. “Will you tell me one?”

“Yes. Yes, of course. I will tell you any story you want.”

And so, I did.

I told everyone my story.

Bonus

“What took you so long?”

Haechan swam into the cave, brushing past everyone that was looking at him with expecting eyes. He ignored them all and just kept swimming.

“Answer my question.”, Jeno spoke louder this time, but Haechan just kept swimming. He didn’t care that everyone was waiting for him, waiting for him to fulfill his promise, to fulfill all the promises he had made for the past weeks.

“We had a fight.”, he told Jeno with a shrug of his shoulders, nonchalant about the other one’s questions. Haechan could see the disappointment and anger in the faces of everyone in the cave, and he couldn’t care less. He knew what he was doing was right. He knew it was necessary to go through all these lengths to get what he wanted, what everyone wanted.

“A fight?”, his friend repeated, skeptic lingering in his voice. “This isn’t a game, Haechan. We put our trust and time in your hands. How long until this plan of yours backfires? How long until they notice that their ship hasn’t been moving in days? How long until they discover us and put an end us?”

“Jeno.”, Haechan’s eyes piercing into the older boy, voice clearly stating a warning. “Have you lost all your trust in me? I know what I am doing.”

“Are you?” Everyone was looking at the two, anticipating the outcome of this long-awaited conversation. “You were the one promising us you were going to get us this girl. You were the one convincing us how much you were craving her and how much we should as well. And we have given you time, but all you do is play around. This isn’t a game, Haechan. This will determine our lives. Without her, we will not survive, and you are very well aware of that.”

“This is where you are wrong, my dear friend.” Haechan turned his body, facing all the sirens watching him. “This is a game, and I am the leader of it. This girl we are talking about is different from everyone we have ever had. This one is special. She isn’t easily fooled by my tricks, by my voice. She has a smart mind, that one.” A wide grin appeared on the siren’s lips, making him almost look crazy, and his eyes narrowed on his friend yet again. “This one will bring us everything we have ever dreamt of. And it will work. The game I am playing, the fight we were having today, it will all work in the end.”

“How can you be so sure of that?” The question lingered in the quiet of the cave, the eyes of everyone looking at Haechan, faith and trust all in his hands.

“Because it is all going according to plan.”, he announced, voice thick with pride and confidence. “It is all going according to my plan.”

#lee haechan #lee haechan imagine #lee haechan imagines #lee haechan angst #lee haechan nct 127 #lee haechan nct dream #lee haechan nct #nct dream imagines #nct dream x y/n #nct dream x reader #nct dream fanfic #nct imagines #nct 127 imagines #lee haechan x reader #haechan imagines #haechan x reader #haechan x y/n #lee haechan x y/n

[yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt]

Goldenheart choices

1. Pirate or surfer Ambro and mermaid Bal au

2. Tinker fairy bal and human ambro childhood friends au

3. Fae Bal and Hunter ambro, (if you want smut? Top ambro, bottom bal with vines as bondage)

4. Riririkinzi's little mermaid au drabble (angst, fluff, or smut)

Ok so I chose Pirate/Mermaid (movie ver.) And let me tell you this was SO much fun to write!!!! I might continue it into something more long-form on my AO3, is that something anyone is interested in?? Thank you for the request anon! I hope you don't mind all the creative liberties I took ❤️

--

Ballister lifted himself up onto the rocks and sang, his brilliant black tail flicking the water beneath. It was the curse of the sirens that they should be forced to sing, forced to lure the sailors who would linger among them, enraptured, until succumbing to starvation on the barren seabanks of their island. The sirens did not wish to see their beloved muses suffer for them, but if any ship was able to resist their call and pass them by, or if any sailor managed to leave their island, they would all dissolve into the salt of the ocean. So he sang with his brothers and sisters, as beautifully as he could, desperate to lure any ship that came within earshot of their island, to preserve his family. Siren voices carry for well over a mile.

Just as usual, the ship crashed on the rocks and the surviving sailors were thrown to the sea below. They would need to retrieve them. Of course it would be easier to just allow the sailors to drown, but just as the sailors were enraptured by the sirens, so too were the sirens captivated by the sailors. It was nice, sometimes, to have their company, but in addition to that, sirens could not reproduce with one another. To keep their island alive, they needed to rescue the humans.

Diving below the sea, Ballister saw what appeared to be the Captain, based on his attire. He was young to be a captain, with blond hair that whipped and floated in the water. Ballister wrapped his arm around him and carried him to the surface, ushering him to the rocky shore.

Canals ran through this island of boulders, allowing the merfolk to interact with their human pets for however long they had. There was some freshwater springs, but no food. Sirens didn't need to eat.

He rested his hand on the Captain's chest and pressed until all the water was out of him. The man coughed and sputtered. He met Ballister's eyes. "You. Were you the one singing, with the beautiful voice?"

Ballister cradled his head and smiled. "I was singing with my brothers and sisters. We each have our own song. They harmonize when we sing together, but each one is a melody on its own."

The captain blinked. "What was your song?"

Ballister opened his mouth to sing softly. The man's eyes widened. "That's it! Your song is the one that I heard!"

Ballister blushed. "You only heard mine? We were all singing."

"I heard the harmony when we got closer. You all sounded lovely. Are you a mermaid? Or a siren?"

"I'm a merman," Ballister said with an annoyed albeit amused lilt. "But I am also a siren. They're the same thing, you know."

"Oh." The man looked over the stones and into the water, his eyes widening as he caught a glimpse of Ballister's tail. "You don't look like you'll try to eat me."

Ballister laughed. "We don't eat sailors! We don't need to eat. We live forever, unless we are killed or captured. I am a Guardian, I protect the island. You seem to be a pirate, but you don't look like you're going to brutally pillage me."

"Heavens no!" The Captain laughed nervously. "We aren't those kinds of pirates. I was the heir to a corrupt, powerful fishing company. They were exploiting their sailors and stealing from the public, so I rounded up some sailors and now we take down their fishing boats. We don't hurt anyone, we recruit those who want to join us and bring the rest home. Anyway, do you all have names?"

Ballister snorted. "Yes, and mine is Ballister."

"My name is Ambrosius. Hello, Ballister." Ballister just smiled and nodded. They weren't supposed to remember the humans' names. It made things too hard.

The siren's eyes widened when a warm hand, with a skin far more textured than his own cupped his face. "Has anyone told you that you are so beautiful, Ballister?"

He blushed and sank a bit deeper into the water. "I am frequently told I have a lovely voice."

"No," said the human-- the Captain-- Ambrosius. "That's not what I mean. Your voice is beautiful, but that's not what I mean. Something about your eyes. You're just the most gorgeous person I've ever seen. Not something I thought I'd ever say washed up on a boulder to a half-fish man, but I mean it."

Ballister laughed, but something inside him twisted. The siren's seductive magic lies solely in his song. He cannot keep a human captivated unless he is singing. He wasn't singing, but this man still looked at him with that look in his beautiful almond eyes.

Ballister had already decided that this human was going to be his. But now, he was starting to feel sure that he didn't want to let this one go.

#nimona #ambrosius goldenloin #goldenheart #ballister boldheart #ballister x ambrosius #nimona 2023 #mermaid au #yywihh fics #fic request #nimona fanfic

[barblaz-arts]

Hey, I tried to message you this, but my phone is dumb and sorry if I spammed you! But I love your work, and I don't want to take any credit, but here's my fanfiction on your work of how Vega and Elosie met.

"Hey, Vega! There's where you've been hiding!" I feel my right ear flick at the annoying voice. We're literally five feet apart he doesn't need to shout.

He giggles to himself and I feel his body drape over my shoulder and I harshly elbow him at the contact.

He whimpers briefly and then chuckles as he covers the brusing area with a hand. His drink in the other sloshes a little as he staggers back.

"Piss off, Duke. I already came to this annoying function, because I gave your mom my word that I'd watch out for you at school," I growl as I look over toward the pit.

The natural collection of jagged rocks in a circle created a perfect pit for, you guessed it, parties hosted by drunk dumb teens in the middle of the black forest. The area keeps the bonfire large but safe from spreading to the forest and its great to keep the crowd together, but apart enough so loners like me can observe safley at the tree Iine.

The various teens shout and laugh as the light causes some eyes to reflect in the dark. The myriad of smells clog up my nose. Doesn't anyone teach them there's a thing as too much perfume?

He pouts and the flames reflect in is dark glasses. Tomorrow his baggy grey sweatshirt will be gone and the purple and black Nevermore uniforms will decorate the halls of the newest supernatural generation.

"You know you didn't have to come. My mom wouldn't have known," he rubs his hand on his neck.

"An Addams never breaks a promise," I snarl as I watch the untouched contents of my cup swirl. That, and mother would totally kill me.

I know mom would be upset too and her disappointed puppy eyes are one of the few things that I would make me rather be trampled on by an angry mob.

Now. That's a party.

Duke shakes his head,"You're not having any fun, are you?" He runs a hand through his wavy hair causing it to be even more of a mess.

No. None at all. I'd rather be sniffing around school for hidden things that weren’t on the freshmen tour. Like the hidden society that mother claimed was so easily spotted it was a joke.

"The seniors throw this Homecoming party for new and returning students. It's a tradition to go. Even as irritating as it is." I reply.

"Vega," he sighs. He takes my cup and throws it over his shoulder.

"Your littering." I state as I walk around him and pick up the plastic. I hate it when people defile mother earth.

"Listen, leave. I'm safe here. Just because my mom is your godmother doesn't mean you need to stick around a place that's making you miserable."

I can feel my brow twitch, "I am not. Plus this isn't nearly as fun as you say it is."

He pushes down his glasses and his green eyes reflect the orange flames, "Don't make me use my siren voice."

I stiffen and growl, "Don't you dare. Yoko would kick your ass if you did that to me."

He smirks and puts them back on, "Maybe. But seriously, I'll be fine! Go run around in the woods and dig up a grave or something!"

"YO!" We all turn our heads as a large gorgon holds out a whimpering girl, "Looks like we got a normie crashing the party!"

A few whistles and snarls of irritation echo off of the rocks. The boy throws her down in front of the flames and Duke winces as the girl face plants in the dirt. The crowd approaches her with manic glee.

Someone turns off the music and the cracks of the fire are the only sound.

I know the smell of bloodlust. I usually salivate at the feel of it but this time? It's not worth it to someone whose innocent.

The gorgon jumps down to her feet and crouches. His hat rattles and his eyes grow to slits. "Why are you here, human?"

She whimpers, "S-someone was-s following me and I heard the music-c."

He laughs, "What and you expect me to believe that you'd cross into Nevermore territory willingly?"

"My phone died and I got lost!" She tries to defend. She crab crawls away. Her wide blue eyes scan the area for any allies, "I was at a party and-d,"

A few watch on with smirks, other with disinterested and some in awkward uncomfortableness. The town is still split but not as bad as it should've been.

He stands up and laughs, "You should’ve stayed with your kind."

"Vega." Duke hisses. But before he can grab my hand I leap the impressive distance down.

The gorgon pauses as I calmly stroll forward.

"Mind if I take her off of your hands?" I put my hands into my pockets, my nails have already grown into claws and I smirk putting my enlarged canines on display. I can't help but feel a little excited.

I've never got to fight a gorgon yet.

"And, who are you, Barbie?" I blow one of my neon pink strands out of my face. And I see Duke push his way into the front of the crowd.

My smirk turns into a malic grin and I take my hands out and crack my knuckles together, "Do you wanna find out?

"Don't." Another large male steps next to him and the way his eyes reflect, werewolf.

The gorgon looks to his companion confused. The wolf eyes me and I maintain eye contact.

I'm not sure who the new player is but I'll be more than happy to fight him as well.

The only werewolves I've interacted with were family. And no one wants to fight the Alpha's daughter.

"She's an Addams," the boy says. I cringe as the loud whisper overtakes the area.

"An Addams?"

"Oh, great. Another one."

"Like as in Wednesday Addams?"

"I thought her mom was human?"

The gorgon huffs,"Take the human. You'll do way worse than we ever could."

I make sure to keep eyes on them as I slowly approach the girl, "Are you okay?"

She nods and I wait as she gets up and she grimaces as she puts weight on her right leg.

Duke steps forward and lifts his cup, "Come on Nevermore! I thought this was a party!?" Soon the crowd joins in and I nod my head in appreciation. The music blasts back on. And soon everyone returns as dumb teens instead of scary monsters.

He shoots me a thumbs up and I look to the girl as she looks to the wall of rocks with a frown.

"Hey, can I pick you up?"

She looks over with wide eyes. "Huh?" Dirt covers her face and clothes. There's a few scrapes that are bleeding.

I clear my throat and point to her leg that's she's gingerly standing on. She blushes, "Oh. Yeah, sure."

I crouch and look over my shoulder and try to give a friendly smile, "Get on!"

She gives me a confused look before strattling my hips and I stand with her piggy backing.

"Alright I'm going to jump."

She tightens her grip, "What!?"

I bend me knees and she goes, "Wai--!!!"

I stumble as we land on top of the Boulder. I laugh trying to calm her down, "Wow! You sure are light, aren't yah?" I can feel and hear her heart pounding out of her skull.

She gives me a quizzed smile, "You're weird."

"Thanks!"

I look into the woods as try to see which way is town. Unfortunately, we're upwind and no lights or car noises are coming through the thick compass of trees.

"I came from that way. I think." She points in a direction and I decide to take it.

The walk through the woods is quiet and surprisingly, I find myself starting to relax. I like the solidarity that the woods provides. I walk for some time as my gently swaying makes the girl relax and she puts her chin on my shoulder.

"Is it true?" The girl whispers. I flick my ear as I look out of the corner of my eye she looks away from my pointed ear.

"That you're an Addams?" I feel my arms stiffen. I never cared for the purgatory that comes with my family. I'm quiet proud and don't care for others opinions. Still it's annoying.

She quickly covers, "Not that I care! It's just that I heard from my Uncle Lucas of your mom and how she made a statue explode."

I roll my eyes. That was Thing actually, but not that she needs to know.

"I'm Eloise. Eloise Johnson" She says. I carefully go over a log. She twitchesat my silence and goes, "You know this is when someone would tell me their name in return."

"Vega." I state. I pause as we come out to a field. There's wild flowers everywhere and I feel a smile grace my lips.

It's so pretty. I look as I count the flowers, black eyed Susan's, different asters, and numerous lillys.

I stop and close my eyes as the sweet nectar and fresh air enters my nostrils. The girl behind me seems to be enjoying it too.

I look up at the clear sky and stars. I smile when I see the stars that copy my name. Then, I remember that the town is south of school. So, I go in the opposite of Polaris.

"There was something there. You know?" Eloise whispers so quietly I even have to strain my superhearing.

"It was supposed to be fun. I made myself go out l, cause I promised my mom I'd get into trouble to stop her worrying. I'm also a loner at my normie school. I've never had many friends but everyone was going. So," she shrugged,"Then, the cops came and everyone panicked. I just ran. But when I stopped, I had no idea where I was, and then my phone died. I used the flashlight setting to try to find my way back. I wandered around in the woods for a long time and then this loud crack happened." Her hand tightens on my shirt, "I know you shouldn't run from a predator but I was just...something told me to just run."

"You're human. Not your fault." I try to comfort. She snorts with a watery chuckle.

I stumble out of a thick pair of bushes and end up on asphalt of a road. I turn and see the generic Welcome sign to the town.

I lower down and she takes the sign and slides off of my back.

"You think you can go the rest of the way?" I ask. I look to her leg and she brushes some of her red hair out of her face.

"I suppose I can. Thank you."

I nod and she says, "It was nice meeting you, Vega Addams!"

....

" Can Vega Addams report to the principals office?"

I pick my head up as my cheeks are stuffed of breakfast sausage. I glare at the box and ignore of the student body stares.

Ugh. I quickly inhale my food and then walk to the school's office.

The secretary politely opens the door for me and I pause as principal Barcaly turns around with Sheirf Walker standing next to her. His eyes red and bags underneath showing little sleep.

"Morning Miss Addams," Principal Barclay drawls, "You make take a seat."

"I'm in trouble." I sit and cross my legs waiting for the adults to tell me what I supposedly did.

Mr. Walkers rubs his five o'clock shadow, "Depending."

I raise a brow. Principal Barclay sit and folds her hands on her desk.

"Did you escort a Miss Eloise Johnson home the other night?"

I tilt my head to the side, "Yes, she was lost and I took her to the town sign."

"It that all?" Sheirf asks. I smell the coffee and desperation waving off of him. I try my best to not scrunch my nose.

"Why?" I can feel my heart pick up.

Principal Barclay and Sheirf glance at each other. After a moment.

"Eloise was found dead this morning."

The author shared this to me in my dms too but I figured you guys might wanna read it too :)

#long post #not canon but i really appreciate this

[jellybear455]

Let me heal you - Neteyam x reader (Part 9)

a/n: Guess what? Stop guessing this is the second last chapter! Also wayyy too many of these are ending with Stela passing out. Gotta work on that.

Characters are aged up.

Warnings: a LOT of spoilers (don't come at me for it), Lo'ak being a shxawng, violence, injury

Readers name is Stela, and uses she/her pronouns.

Word count: 1365

Previous part

Next part

--

Passing out was not fun. I hope to avoid it in the future. Two times is enough.

When I pushed through the foggy, dream-like state of half-consciousness and forced my heavy eyelids open, the first thing I notice is the pounding of my head, and the bright light reflecting off the water. Then it is my wrists, bound to a railing. Beside me, Lo’ak kneels, stock still. Tsireya and Tuk struggle on my other side. The tulkun murderer has his gun pressed to the back of Lo’ak’s head, and is gazing out to sea, where a flock of Ilu are gathered, carrying an army of Metkayina.

The murderer says something in English. He speaks into a small device, one that I recognise as Lo’ak’s, which he used to call his father earlier. One Ilu, holding a slightly bluer Na’vi, inches forward. It is Jake Sully. He barely makes it halfway before Bayakan leapt out of the water and soared through the air.

The Avatar raise their guns, shooting at him in a panic, but do not pierce his armour. A laugh bubbles up and out of my throat as the tulkun lands on the ship with a crash, flapping his fins. Sky people are knocked down left and right.

Raising his gun, the murderer staggers to his feet beside me. I kick him, hard, in the back of his knee, and he is on the floor again. He glares at me, holding us his weapon again, before becoming distracted by an explosion rocking the boat. Bayakan dives back into the water. Avatar and sky people abandon the deck in favour of joining the battle, and the four of us are left unsupervised.

I scan the deck, eyes locking on the knife I had dropped before. This is our chance to escape. I stretch out my leg, attempting to grasp it between my toes. Tsireya watched intently, and Tuk urges me to hurry. Just as I grip the knife, a second explosion sounds, and the boat begins to rock violently.

“No, no, no.” I mutter, watching as the knife slides away.

The ship lurches forward, and crashes into a rock, soaring into the air. Tuk screams, and Lo’ak is thrown into me. Sky people are thrown overboard, and we are saved by the restraints holding us to the bar. The boat hits the water again, and we hit the metal deck, hard. I cry out in pain, for my knees are surely bleeding. The ship tilts at an abnormal angle, and sirens sound. We are sinking.

“What do we do?” Tuk cries, tugging on her restraints, and searching for any way to escape.

“We wait,” I said, pressing my shoulder to hers in what I hoped to be a comforting way. “Someone will come to get us. Be brave, little Tuk.”

As if on cue, Neteyam hurls himself over the side of the ship, brandishing a knife.

“Brother!” Lo’ak shouts, and Tuk cries with relief.

Neteyam frees Tsireya free first, sawing quickly at the bonds. Tuk is released next, and he pushes her towards Tsireya, urging them to get as far away from here as possible. He slices at my restraints, then Lo’ak’s. His arm goes to my waist, guiding me to where Tsireya and Tuk disappeared to. Lo’ak runs in the other direction.

“Lo’ak, what are you doing?” Neteyam calls.

“They’ve got Spider. Come on.” He says, taking a gun from the Avatar lying nearby. Neteyam does not move. “We can’t leave him.”

Neteyam hissed, then turns to me. “Go. Follow Tsireya. I will find you.”

“No.” I do not know what spider is, but I will not let Neteyam out of my sight again. “I am coming, my Teyam.”

He is silent. Then, he presses his lips to mine. The brief touch is not enough. “Fine. Stay close.”

Soon, we are shimmying along the pipes on the ceiling of the boat. My head and knees throb, but I do not care. The sooner we find the spider, the sooner we can get out of here. Below us, a group of sky people rush through. Among them, is a young boy, wearing a cloth and blue war paint. The spider is a human boy.

Neteyam drops down on top of one of the sky people, throwing him over the railing. Lo’ak follows suit, taking out another. I hit the floor, unsure. I watch the three boys take out the sky people. Then, I spot one on them raise his gun at Neteyam. I dive, knocking the weapon out of his hands and ripping off his mask. I single punch to the face knocks him out cold.

Looking up, I see Neteyam, his eyes sending me a silent thank you. I nod in response. He helps me up, and we face the Spider.

“Thanks guys.” He says with a nod. His Na’vi is clear and fluent, as though he has been speaking it all his life.

The moment is over quickly, as Lo’ak spots the murderer stalking the ship, and raises his gun. Neteyam shoves him along, his hand in mine, and we take shelter behind a wall as shots ring out. He takes Lo’ak’s gun and fires. I do not know if he shot anything, because he is ushering his brother over the railing and into the water. The spider goes first, and Lo’ak follows, swallowing his objections.

“My Teyam!” I shout over the pinging of metal on metal.

“Go!” He yells back.

I run and throw myself over the railing. Shots ring out above me, but I am home free. Neteyam crashes into the water behind me. Lo’ak whoops in celebration, and I can not help but laugh. I can see Tsireya approaching on an Ilu. I turn to face Neteyam, and my grin fades. He is struggling to stay afloat, and the water around him is stained red.

“No!” I rush to him and pull his arm across my shoulders. “He is shot! Tsireya, help me.”

Lo’ak mounts the Ilu, pulling Neteyam across his knees. The rest of us hold on to what ever we can as the Ilu tears through the water. Fear settles into my chest as we come to a halt by some rocks and pull Neteyam up and out of the water. What if I cannot heal him? Or if I lose consciousness before I can finish the job?

Lo’ak screams for his father, who scrambles to reach us, immediately rolling Neteyam over to check for an exit wound. Blood seeps out the back of his chest.

“Get out of the way,” I command, placing one hand underneath Neteyam and one on his chest, either side of the bullet wound. He groans from pain. “I know, tìyawn (love), I know. Just stay awake for me.”

“Syulang,” Neteyam mutters.

“Sh, my Teyam. Do not speak. You will be alright.” I told him, ignoring the tears running down my face as my hands began to glow.

Neytiri collapsed on the other side of him, a sob escaping her. I remember how she comforted me as I cried. I can comfort her now, by keeping Neteyam alive. My hands get hot, and my vision is blurry. If it is from the tears, or my powers, I do not know.

Neteyam gasps for breath. “I want to go home.”

“It’s okay, we are going home. We’re going home.” Jake reassured him.

“Stay with me, my Teyam.” I urged, fighting to stay awake.

“Stela,” He panted. “I…”

The light disappeared from his eyes. I scream ripped at my throat. No, no, he would not die, not on my watch. I poured every ounce of my power into him, begging for Eywa to help me now, even if it killed me instead. Neytiri sobbed from beside me, and her grief only fuelled me. I couldn’t see, and I couldn’t feel anything except for Neteyam and the slow beating of his heart. He would not die. He would not. I screamed again, battling the to urge to sleep.

Then, gently, he began to breathe. His heart rate sped up and gasped in relief. Then, the heat in my hands disappeared, and I let myself go.

--

Tag list:

@sloppierjewel

@inutheangel

@nopenopebutyepyep

@directioner5life

@yogirlfriend

@casuallydogobsessed

@yzulu

@fanboyluvr

@mashiromochi

#neteyam x reader #neteyam #avatar #avatar twow #avatar the way of water #jake sully #kiri #tuk #tsireya #anoung #quaritch #spider #neytiri #ronal #tonowari #tulkun #avatar x reader #x reader #lo'ak #fanfiction

[saltiestblkgirlofall]

A Song of the Moon and the Sea [Chapter 1]

Summary: Even amongst her hidden people, there were stories of sirens and seductive creatures, lurking beneath the murky depths of the ocean. She had put little stock in her mother’s tales, until a battle forces her to land near a sea serpent’s domain.

Notes: So. Here I am, simping for the damn fishman. And who is surprised? Absolutely no one, least of all myself. I had to hop on the Namor bandwagon, it's only right. (Although I just wanna talk about that moment, and by talk I mean fry him up and serve him with butter sauce before licking the sauce off AYE) A lil bit of housekeeping: I write OC content. If you don't like that, adhere to the golden rule of fandom: don't like, don't read. And more than that, I write black female OCs exclusively. I, a Afro-Caribbean woman, write for myself first and foremost, I just post in the void. If you would like to be tagged, LMK. This story will (hopefully) have Saturday updates and be less than 10-15 chapters. Takes place in the same continuity as Spark.

Word Count: 1.75k

Warnings: Namor is his own warning and you can see the seeds for an obsession planted in his chapter.

177X

The crash had broken the still of his watch.

Namor had observed from a distance as something plummeted from the skies and crashed into the surf near the small, uninhabited island. Sense told him to leave matters be, to return to his people. He had heard the distant sounds of a battle, beyond the roar of the storms. Even at a distance, he could see flashes of light, hear unfamiliar screams. It had been less than a year since some stinking surfacer had washed up onto the shores of the island. Namor followed, intent on killing then dumping his body in the ocean. 

Only for the man, in the tongue of the hated invaders, to begin babbling about ‘angels’ and ‘demons’. From what he could glean before putting him out of his misery, his ship had been attacked by angels. They had ‘stolen’ the ship’s human cargo, brutally murdered the captain and then sunk the ship. 

He had sneered and stabbed him through the neck, before returning to the sea. Let the beasts of land have this carrion. 

Now…he wondered if that thing hadn’t just been babbling out of fear and pain. 

Through the darkness of the night he spotted something. A person. Small and feminine, wearing black armor and a pale mask which covered their face. A pair of long, silver white wings extended out from their back.

As he drew closer, the figure drifted down from the surface of the water, sinking like a rock towards the tranquil ocean floor. He was able to reach them, extending his arms. The tides gently pushed the body into his grasp.

What was this creature? This thing? Whatever it was, he should drown it. Clearly it did not possess the means to breathe underwater, as he did. 

Yet he rose, bringing them just above the water so that they could breathe. It was a woman, small and solid, based on its shape alone. The black and silver of their clothing, soaked through by the saltwater, glittered in the moonlight. 

After several moments, they choked, spluttered, and he saw water drip from the small gap between mask and face. Curious, he thought to himself. 

From behind the mask, he could see eyes the color of the moon staring back at him. They were bloodshot and confused. When she spoke, it was with a liquid accent, as smooth as seaglass. 

“Who are you?” She breathed. 

“My people call me Ku’Kul’Kan.” Her eyes widened behind the mask, ever so slightly. “But my enemies call me Namor.” He heard her sharply inhale, gasp, and clutch her side. When her hand came away, there was silver blood on her hand. He ignored this, focused on her eyes for a moment. Eyes were windows to the soul and he could see fear in them. Abject terror and flightiness. But something intrigued him. Reaching up, he made to take her mask off.

He grasped, and tried to pull, as she grabbed at his wrist, weakly trying to extract herself from his grasp. She struggled with all her might, and it did not even phase him. He cocked his head curiously and reached down, grabbing the smooth surface of the mask. He pulled. It did not give.

Her soft hands squeezed his wrist and she groused, “It won’t come off, even if you attempt to rip it from my face.” 

“And if I killed you?” Namor purred, a threat woven through the sensually intoned works. “Could I remove it then?” 

—

The woman was silent from the shock. Her heart beat wildly against her ribs, like a bird fighting to be free of a cage. She could see her second’s disapproving expression now, his lips parting to tell her that she should not have sent the others away. Now here she was, in the grip of a man dripping in lunar stone, jade and precious metals. 

“You have nothing to gain from killing me.” 

It was a bluff. Breathless words thrown out by a woman who did not believe them. The man holding her stared silently, watching, waiting with his cruel, deep brown eyes. And then he smiled thinly, baring perfect white teeth with sharp incisors. The winged warrior squirmed in his grasp, but he held her fast and tight.

Would she see Valanca’s gates again? Or had this meeting only sealed her unpleasant fate? Her intent had been for this to be a straightforward raid. To destroy one of the surfacers’ grim, black boats, rescue their victims, and then return through the Moon Gate. Now she was at the mercy of…whoever this mysterious man was.

Her vision swam, body laboring from the numerous injuries she had sustained.

“No.” He finally answered. His smile remained the same, but his gaze grew just a shade warmer. Is he amused by me? She thought. “Although perhaps I may have nothing to gain from your harm, I would lose nothing by killing you.” The smile on his face grew sharp to the point of becoming threatening. Her chest began to ache, and true terror filled her body. He held her tight, preventing her escape. His physical strength far exceeded her own. “What do you think, my lool ujo?”

“Lool ujo?” She tasted the words on her tongue. “What are you talking about?” 

“I have told you of my name.” He said. “What of yours?” 

“…” The woman’s blood crawled. When her mother yet lived, she’d told tales of the surface. Of sirens which dragged even their kind down to the murky depths of the ocean. Never fly too close to the ocean, my child. Her mother had warned her, imploring her with large, dark eyes. 

“Cyrianthe.” She mumbled. His body felt firm and warm against hers. There was power in names and yet here she was giving hers freely, as though under compulsion. “My people call me Cyrianthe.” 

“Cyrianthe.” Her name sounded like sweet blasphemy upon his lips. Sensual in his musical accent. “And tell me, Cyrianthe. Why should I release you?”

“Because I mean you no harm.” Her voice was small, but steady. Firm. “I simply wish to rest and then return to my home.” 

“What makes you think I should let you go, hm?” Her mouth became dry, as though cotton had been stuffed into her throat. In his mind, she had already seen too much. She flailed, and the feeling of her wings smacking him caught him off guard. He dropped her, and Cyri took the opportunity to get away. 

—

Namor watched as, without a glance back, Cyrianthe swam (flailed) to the shore. It was clear she didn’t know how to swim, but he admired her tenacity. Her wings beat loudly against the water, not so graceful now that the feathers were saturated by the sea.

She crawled upon the beach, briefly removing her mask to retch up seawater and bile, but still, he could not see her face. Without bothering to replace it, she promptly collapsed halfway out of the water, wings spread wide. 

If she was left there, the surf would drag her back out to the ocean. And given her exhaustion, she was likely to drown. He watched, he waited, he sighed and swam towards the shore. As he emerged from the water, he took the opportunity to study her. 

She was wearing vibranium, but it felt different from that found in Talokan. Her black clothing felt soft, but when he pulled, it did not give, as though made of steel. Despite her pittance of strength, it was clear that she was a warrior of some sort. Kneeling down, he hefted her gentle weight into his arms, careful with her wings, and walked further up the sands with her. 

When they were clear of the shoreline, he placed her back down upon the white beach and stared. 

A high forehead, hair concealed by a wrap. A broad nose from which blood the color of molten silver dripped and plump lips, with high cheekbones. Her skin the color of freshly turned earth. Her brow was tensed in pain. The rising sun gave her skin an ethereal glow. 

Between her wings lay a sheath, and he pulled forth a sword with grooves etched into the sword. Slashing it downwards, he was shocked when it lengthened, becoming more akin to a bladed whip, blue-white energy crackling and sending a light shock up his arm. He turned the blade this way and that, admiring the craftsmanship. Carefully avoiding stepping her outstretched wings, he stepped around to Cyrithin’s head. 

Carefully, he turned her over onto her front. She didn’t appear to be bleeding there. Her chest rose and fell gently, and she let out what sounded like a moan of pain. He frowned, until his eyes trailed up to her wing. It was bent at a strange angle. Ah, he thought. It must be like sitting strangely on one’s leg or arm. 

He pushed her back onto her stomach, and her wing flopped onto the sand, free once more. 

The light caught on her hand. He leaned over her. And grinned at the sight. He crouched down for several moments, then stood back up and returned to the water—he had what he wanted. 

—

It was hours before she showed even the minimum signs of life. 

Namor watched as, an hour after sunset, she finally sat up. She looked around, as though dazed. 

Slowly, she staggered onto her feet. Her wings spread, silver from tip to tip, the great mass of feathers and bone engulfing her smaller body. The pale and cold light caught on her inhuman appendages, colors dancing against the glossy sheen of the feathers as she flapped once, twice. 

He couldn’t bear to tear his eyes away. 

She launched herself into the air and he dipped back beneath the waves as she flew over the ocean. 

She swooped low over where he hid, as though she could see him—sense him. Circled once. Twice. 

And then as quickly as she had appeared, she vanished into the dark, cloudy night. As though she had never been there at all. He peered at the knitted bracelet he had taken from her wrist—made of some fiber he could not put name to, embedded with pale stone. It looked worn—well loved. A little smirk curled his lips. It was a memento. A treasure of some sort. It must hold some value to her. 

The moon flower will come again, he thought, eyes fixed upon the night’s sentinel rising into the sky. 

And when she did, he would be waiting.

Translations:

lool ujo: Moon Flower

Taglist: @chaneajoyyy @muse-of-mbaku

#namor #namor fanfiction #namor x oc #namor x black!oc #namor imagine #black panther fanfiction #namor x cyri #oc: cyrianthe #a song of the moon and the sea

[candiedspit]

Locking myself inside a star

Mikey’s Clam Bar was a hole in the ground. 

Then, Joliet was a wondrous, sultry shit hole. The best kind of nightmare. I was twenty five and penniless. I was looking for somewhere to crash. I saw a poster looking for a singer at the bar; I went. When I tried out for the bar’s owner Sam, a tall balding man with intense hand motions, always at the end of a cigarette, I didn’t know what I was doing. I was a dirty fling. A blink and you miss it sorta thing. A good anesthetic. Good for quick fucks and reckless nights. 

Sam was looking for a singer; didn’t have to be good, but had to carry a note and be nice to look at. I was scrawny and weighed less than a spare tire. I sang him a rendition of an old gospel song I heard as a kid, my voice slow and dark as molasses. Glitter stuck beneath my eyelids from the previous night. Sam took a moment, arms crossed. 

Then, he sighed and told me I got the part. 

I’d start for twelve dollars a night, paired with his piano man. I thought I’d stay there for the summer, make some cash and then flee when autumn rolled through with her fires and amber. 

But it’s been two years. 

And every night, you can peek in through the filthy glass and see me in my black gown, head shaved, skinny muscles shining beneath the lights. Singing like a grieving cat. Swaying like a tulip in spring wind. As the customers slurp oysters and get drunk as all hell on the cheap beer. Sometimes, a couple will get up and dance in the middle of the song. Sometimes, nothing happens. And the song finishes. I smoke a cigarette out back until the next set. 

It was Tuesday; winter again–here, the winters are like curses, you can’t outrun them, you can only endure them–naked skinny trees and ferocious wind–and all the people want to do is drink. I did my set, a few disco songs slowed down to the rhythm of syrup, splattered in my signature glitter and black dress. Sometimes, when I sing I feel like a tropical bird; a blur of colors. Everything melts. Like turning down the volume on a picture show. And there is nothing–no ticking stove, no bad neighbors, no frigidness, no ocean to cross–but the noise streaming from my mouth. All of my coos and mutters and aahs. I live for that feeling. I would do anything for it. 

Do you believe me? 

In between sets, I went out back to smoke. A man followed me; a large, pink faced daddy wearing a white shirt and a brass wedding ring on his left hnad. He stood by the door for a moment as I stared back. 

I like your voice, he said at last. 

His voice was like honey falling into my mouth. 

Yeah? I asked, tapping my cigarette with my thumb. 

He smiled and sat beside me on a crate. 

Yeah, he said. You sound like a drunk siren. Like, you’re lost and stranded on a rock and the seas are rough and all you can do is sing. 

All you can think to do is sing. Am I wrong to say that? 

I shook my head. 

That night, I fucked him on my dirty pink sheets. What’s the saying about the bull in the china shop? He was gentle as a neon light. He touched me like he knew me. Afterwards, we smoked through my pack and watched Yogi Bear until our eyes burned. 

What were you like as a kid? He asked, watching me as I crushed a cigarette into the carpet. 

I was a little shit, I said. A toy car running on nuclear power. Nothing could calm me down. My parents were beside themselves. 

What do you do? He asked. When you’re not singing?

This, I shrugged. I go out, sometimes. 

Out where? He asked, lighting my fresh cigarette. 

I don’t know, I said with a cough. Clubs, whatever. 

I can imagine you, he said. In the club, dancing. I can see you there. You’re like a fire. 

A fire?

Just, he said. You’re a light. I like lights. 

He put his hand on my leg. 

Where does your wife think you are? I asked. 

Out, he said. I told her I was going with a friend to watch the game. 

For a moment, it was quiet. And I studied his face, the flashing light from the television turning him blue, red, pink. He had serious features. A strict, long nose and pursed lips and smooth cheeks. What was he doing here? I couldn’t figure it out. 

How old are you? He asked. 

Twenty seven, I said. 

God, he said with a chuckle. 

He stroked my face. 

You’re at the starting line, he said. You could do anything, be anything. So what are you going to do?

I don’t know, I said. I’m going to cross the ocean. 

The ocean?

There’s an ocean, I said. And I have to cross it. So, I’m doing it. 

He kissed me on my head. And then on my mouth. And I kissed back. Of course, I kissed back. And we kissed for a while, for years. Trading spit and tongues and heat. I liked the feeling. I liked being touched by him. 

I wish I could help you, he mumbled between kisses. Nurse you back to earth. But I don’t know how to do that. I wish I knew. 

When he left in the morning, as the yolk of the sun came out of dawn’s shell, he turned off the television. And didn’t say anything. I sat on the bed, watching the birth of morning. I listened to the silence; the weight of nothing. I sat with it. And wondered. 

I went back to the bar that night. He wasn’t there. I sang my song as though I was shadow boxing. The polite smattering of applause wounded me. I sat out back with my cigarettes and bony knees and sliver of moonlight. 

I sat there waiting for the thing which never comes.

#fiction #my poetry #for anon :)

[brightdarkness-2013]

Chapter 1: Three am idea I had to write down

Jazz lived like he would live forever. Like nothing bad could ever happen to him. He had no problem with bending and breaking rules. No real reason to worry about anything. A prank here and there was no problem. Homework not done? As long as he was passing it didn't matter too much to him. He did fine on the tests anyway. Speeding ticket? Well they'd have to catch him first and he knew from experience that if he kept driving and got home, so long as his parents weren't there, he could could get away with it by just not answering the door and making sure the car was locked up in the garage. They couldn't snoop and they'd get bored of knocking eventually. It was pretty easy to ignore them with music blaring in the background while he played video games. Arrive late to work? The managers and other employees liked him and with a smile and an apology and he usually got off. If he did get fired well it was a part time job and people were always coming and going in those places. He could always get another. Yes things were lined up just fine as far as he was concerned. The pestering about what he was going to do after high school was always a pressure he had no issue ignoring. It didn't really matter yet. He had a little over another year to go to figure that out.

His walk along the pier on his way home had been rather typical besides the threat of rain and wind. He had his collar raised up to his nose as the wind batted at him. Bringing droplets of seawater hitting him from his right. He hadn't heard a thing over the wind and music pounding out of his headphones, but the splash of color that didn't belong out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He glanced at it then did a double take. Out in the water on one of the rocks was a figure. Water crashed against the rock and washed over the figure. He paused and squinted. Black and white with a few splashes of red. It didn't appear to be moving. It took him several minutes to realize that it was a mer. Grabbing his phone from his pocket he pulled up his camera to zoom in and get a better look.

Walked back the way he came to see around the high edges of the creatures resting spot he struggled to get a good view. It was blurry, but from what he could tell it appeared to be hurt. Great. Now he had to call the rangers. The MWPA or Marine Wildlife Protection Agency. Were a great group and all, but damn did the rangers get touchy. You'd think they were cops from the way they interrogated and lectured people. Then again he could always call the cops and let Them deal with the rangers. With a sigh he paced back and forth as he cast glances at the mer as he waited for them to pick up. It still hadn't moved. No sign of any others in the area either. No other mers circling and guarding from what he could see.

"Hello? West end police department, is this an emergency?"

"Uh, yeah. There's this mer down here by the pier. I think it's hurt."

Dealing with the cops and all of their questions was never that fun either. The rangers at least just asked for a location and came. No twenty questions, but the lectures on marine life when they got there were just as bad. Jazz decided to hang up after they asked about it's condition and if it was acting aggressive. They were just wasting everyone's time. He watched the still mer for another few minutes before the tell tale sirens in the distance told him they decided to act. So he left things how they were. It wasn't like he could do anything for it.

It was a couple of months later before he even thought about the mer again. The complaints of fishermens traps being raided and the gossip that followed was what got him heading down to the pier again. The mer wasn't there. Not that he had expected it to be on the rock again. He snooped around where he knew the traps for fish and crabs were laid. Surely Danny or Blaster as he was called by his friends was the stepson of one of the fishermen. He was a nice guy, but had spats with MWPA every once in awhile, but he doubted he'd care if Jazz pestered his traps. The traps were being raided and the only evidence that there had been anything there was the scratch marks on the traps and a few scraps. So he watched and waited. Walking and occasionally checking the traps. There was nothing for several hours. Then as the sun sank one of the ropes holding the traps moved. Just a twitch. Then it shifted more. Jazz, not wanting to waste the opportunity peered into the inky water. He couldn't see a thing so he tugged on it not expecting to get a forceful tug back.

It was cold and dark. Water rushing around him. He pushed off the bottom, the water tugging at him, and something brushing against him he broke the surface. Wasting no time he clawed at the side. Water beating against him and making it difficult to pull himself out. He rolled onto the dock with his heart pounding. Well now he knew it was there and they hadn't caught it.

444444444444444444 cause why not fours for a line break?444444444444444444

Jazz fell onto his bed heavily. Steam raising from his skin after the burning shower he'd used to warm back up. During said shower he had come to the conclusion that the mer was stealing from the traps. It was hurt and the cops had either decided not to call the rangers and lost it or it had avoided the rangers and they had assumed it left the area. So now the things was taking from the traps since it couldn't hunt due to its injuries. A quick search told him mers usually ate early in the morning and late at night like a lot of marine life. So the next morning with some day old sushi that his sister had gotten and never finished he went back to the pier.

The water was much clearer with the sun. It didn't take long for him to spot it. It didn't blend at all against the the rocks and warm looking sand. The light blue the water gave off didn't help much either. Not with the natural red edge at the end of its tail. It was still. Not a fin twitching. The wing fins were held stiffly against its back. It simple was watching him with a careful and even mildly irritated stare. Like it was trying to determine what Jazz's intentions were. It's body was lined with cuts and wounds. One of its wing fins were torn and the long fin that traced down to its tail appeared to be broken judging by the way it was bent. Still no sign of a pod.

"What happened to ya? Looks like you picked a fight with something ya shouldn't have." Jazz settled on his stomach as he leaned over the side. The mer didn't even twitch. "I guess you can't hunt like that, but ya can't keep stealing. You're really starting to piss some people off and they might just start trying to hurt ya despite the MWPA. So I guess since they're too incompetent to catch ya I'll have to feed ya until you can leave. I don't have much, but I'll start getting more."

Jazz opened the box and threw one of the pieces toward it. It didn't move.

"Oh come on. I know it's not great, but it's something. Look. There's hardly anything in the trap today anyway. What even is that? It's Tiny."

Not even a twitch.

"Fine. Spoiled brat. But don't come crying saying you're hungry later." Dumping the boxes contents into the water he stood. "I'll see ya tonight."

With that he left.

Next

#merformers #merprowl #Mer!prowl! #jazz #transformers #fanfic #brightdarkness

[inactiveblog2023]

Progeny. pt 1

wc: 1.1k cw: character death, blood drinking

On February 13th Vincent the human died.

He'd spent twenty-two years alive before it all came crashing to a devastating halt. Quite in the literal sense. One simple oversight from the undertrained teenager operating the controls and sheer negligence of whatever safety inspector the park had employed was all it took for the ride to go to shit and doom everyone on board it.

He might've screamed, but he wouldn't know; all individual sounds were lost in the roar of the world around him. The rushing wind... the screech of wheels... the discordant chorus of shock and terror.

Then he was flying. Free falling. The ground didn't forgive him for it. 

Everything went black for a split second before it exploded back into existence.

Swamped by pain of the highest calibre,  he laid there on the cool grass, gasping in air that tasted of smoke and copper.

His left hand stung with the leftover phantom touch of another; the stranger he'd been riding with, torn from his side so hard that it burned. He had tried to hold on to them but the crash's momentum had proven superior, and gravity took no prisoners. Their screams still rang in his ears. He hadn't even known their name.

Warmth pooled from his chest and abdomen and seeped past the tears in his clothing, making the fabric stick to his skin. In the distance he heard people shouting, their voices far enough to know that he had landed some ways away from the fray of activity and destruction.

He tried to lift his head, to survey the his injuries, but the pain was too great. His vision swam.

High above him Surge's metal structure was a shadow, overlaid by ghost-grey smoke. It loomed like a beast, broken but still standing - unlike him. He shut it out by closing his eyes, tears running down his temples, his breath coming fast and shallow.

Blood bubbled up from inside his throat and a cough rocked him, causing agony to tear through his chest. He would've cried out if his mouth hadn't been fast filling with blood.

I'm dying. The certainty of that thought was shocking. I'm dying right now.

Vincent wasn't religious, had never believed in God, but right then he prayed. Prayed to live to see another day. For there to be an end to the pain. For someone to save him.

Seconds later, the sound of footsteps approaching. His eyes snapped open and fought to see through the blur of pain, salt and fumes. A silhouette appeared, obstructing his view of the smoky sky.

The figure - a man whose features Vincent couldn't discern in the dark - crouched down to inspect him.

"You're the only one still alive," the man said in a soft, accented voice. "But not for long. These injuries of yours are quite fatal, I'm afraid."

Vincent tried to respond - to ask for help - but his mouth produced nothing but a wet choking sound. The man reached out and gently swept the hair from Vincent's face, the strands wet with blood and sweat. Those cool fingertips lingered on his forehead; the only thing that didn't hurt.

The man sighed sadly. "Such a waste."

Please, Vincent wanted to say. Please. But his voice was traitorously absent.

There were now wailing sirens in the distance but he knew it was hopeless. He could feel himself fading, the world growing dimmer by the second.

"Although, maybe..." The stranger leaned down, face becoming clearer with proximity. His eyes had an unnatural shine, bright enough for Vincent to see his reflection in them.

Hands slipped beneath Vincent's prone form. As he was lifted from the ground there was a flash of excruciating pained, and he heard his spinal cord snapping before everything below his neck went numb.

"I am sorry," the man now cradling him murmured. "It will be fixed soon."

And then they were moving fast enough to mimic the rollercoaster. Nausea rose, and for a terrifying moment Vincent though that he would choke on his own vomit, but none came up his burning throat.

When the man came to a stop they were no longer near the Surge. Or anything else, for that matter.

In the far distance, Wonderworld's lights gleamed from in between the gaps in the trees. All those lights... They were so pretty. Vincent blinked his heavy lids, vision losing focus. His teeth began to chatter. He was suddenly so cold. 

"All right, child." The man knelt in the earth, still holding Vincent in his arms, and tugged down his right sleeve. Blood bloomed when the man bit into his own wrist. It dribbled over Vincent's lips and chin as the man held it over his face. "Drink now."

Vincent's mind was too foggy to question or resist and so he parted his lips and the man's blood fell into his mouth, mixing with his own. He swallowed it with a grimace.

"Good," the man rumbled. "Take more."

His open wrist pressed against Vincent's lips with insistence, almost smothering him, and being unable to move his head Vincent had no choice but to open his mouth wider and choke as more blood trickled in. It was salty and bitter, but cold instead of heated like blood was supposed to be, and it was doing something to Vincent's body that he couldn't understand. As he drank, an anomalous sensation began to spread and build in intensity.

Confused and frightened, a small whine left Vincent's nose.

"Shhh," the man hushed him softly. "Almost done."

The man pulled his wrist away a moment later, that same hand then slipped beneath Vincent's chin. Helpless, Vincent stared up as his head was tilted back.

The sky was darker here, Dahlia's light pollution less prominent. The trees were black jagged shapes in the foreground. 

It wasn't the worse view. It was quiet nice, actually. Peaceful. Vincent wasn't so worried now. Everything had become fuzzy, the numbness in his limbs allowing him to sink into the inevitable. His life was over, so why bother fighting? 

Then something cool and wet was at his neck, then something razor-sharp was slicing into his flesh. Fresh pain bloomed and a scream tried to escape, but it was halted by a hand clamping down over his mouth.

Fuck, when would this night end? 

There was a nauseating pulling sensation. Tears burned in his eyes and sobs interrupted his hitching breaths until there was no longer the energy for them.

Gradually - or perhaps not gradual at all - what little life he had left was siphoned from him, and he succumbed to the darkness.

On February 13th Vincent the human died, and Vincent the vampire was born.

#redacted asmr #redacted audio #redacted vincent #redacted william #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 writer #ao3 fanfic #writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr #vampires #whump #whumpblr

[silver-tooth-the-panther]

(This is a gift for @leviathanverse. They made a really cool siren AU for Demon Slayer and we thought it would be neat if they somehow interacted with my Half-Demon! Tanjiro AU! So here you go buddy!)

When Worlds Collide

Warnings: swearing and a panic attack

“Oof!” Akaza roared as his large body landed on a pile of rocks. He raised his head and growled in anguish. “What the hell?” Akaza growled as he rubbed the top of his head. His large siren tail grazed against the sharp rocks.

The moon shone brightly against his light blue and yellow scales. “Where the hell am I?” He looked around only to see nothing but trees behind him and an endless ocean in front. “Did I crash into these?” Akaza lifted his tail as he started to think about what happened.

It had been a long and nasty fight at sea. Akaza was being tracked by an expert sailor the Muzan wanted dead. The sailor was quite young, yet formidable and he wore the hanafuda earrings that used to belong to the best demon slayer known to mankind. The needle fish siren wanted to dispose of the boy after failing his last mission to retrieve the Blue Spider Lily.

This was no easy task however. The sailor was incredibly determined and hit poor Akaza with everything he had. The siren was able to do some damage to the sailor’s ship, but he mostly took the hits himself.

Then, a great storm struck the area. The sailor and his crew were able to get away, but the siren wasn’t so lucky. Akaza ended up getting caught in a vicious vortex that must’ve sent him here.

“That damn sailor!” Akaza growled as he clenched his fist. “He won’t get away with this!” The siren looked around him once more to see a few lights on the ocean. They were searching boats! “Shit!” Akaza hissed. “I better go into my bipedal form.”

The siren pulled himself off of the sharp rocks and onto the soft ground. Then, his bones started to crack as his body started to change shape. The siren’s body shrunk to the size of a normal person and his siren tail split off into two legs. “Much better.” Akaza sighed.

Akaza was dusting off his new legs when a strange voice called out to him. “Lord Akaza! Lord Akaza!” The voice was familiar and awfully chirpy. “Urogi?” Akaza swiveled his head towards the dark forest. Suddenly, the familiar bird demon flew through the trees and landed in front of Akaza.

“Oh, Urogi!” Akaza chuckled softly. “I’m so glad to see a familiar face.” Urogi took his hand and he looked at Akaza with an odd worried expression. “Well I’m glad that I found ya! Lord Tanjiro wants to see you!”

Akaza raised an eyebrow in confusion. Lord Tanjiro? Was he a new moon? “Who’s Lor- woah!” Before Akaza could say anything, Urogi started to drag him through the forest. “Come on! We don’t have much time!” Urogi yelled as he ran through the woods.

Akaza’s mind felt dizzy with confusion. Lord Tanjiro? Not much time? What was this bird demon talking about? He didn’t say much during the time that Urogi was dragging him. The poor siren was just confused.

He was suddenly thrusted in front of a small house. “Hey! Don’t drag me around like that!” Akaza hissed at Urogi. “Sorry, but this is urgent!” He opened the door and jumped into the house. Akaza quickly followed the bird. “This better not be some sort of tri-“

He realized he was surrounded by endless doors and rooms. Akaza’s jaw dropped as he looked around. “W-where am I?” Urogi shot a look of utter confusion at him. “We’re at the Infinity Castle..You’ve been here many times before.”

“Huh?! I’ve never been here!” Akaza hissed. Urogi tilted his head, even more confused. He then shook his head. “Just follow me.” Urogi then started to fly through the endless doors. “Wait!” Akaza started to chase after the bird.

The endless doors stayed the same as they ran. Sometimes though, Akaza would occasionally look inside one to see what looked like bedrooms. His head started to spin now. He had no idea where he was or what was going on.

They eventually reached a room where a bunch of familiar demons were. Gyutaro and Daki were talking with a strange manticore demon. The other three Hantengu clones were chatting amongst themselves, Douma and Enmu were talking as they huddled with Rui. One thing was common with all of them, they were incredibly worried.

“What’s going on? Why’s everyone so worried?” Akaza’s voice softened as he walked through the room. “Haven’t you heard?” Urogi turns back towards him, worried. “Strifles is missing.” Akaza was even more confused. Why would they all create such a fuss over a non-ranking demon?

A loud roar came from the front of the room. Everyone turned their heads to face their noble leader. “Good evening everyone!” A gentle and kind voice called from the front of the room. “Kokushibo’s gonna be a bit late today, but he’ll be here shortly.”

“Who is that?” Akaza mumbled to himself. He decided that the best way to know for sure was to push his way through the crowd. “Get outta my way!” “Upper Rank Three coming through!” “Pardon me, Miss Daki.” “Excuse me!” The other demons grumbled and growled as Akaza made his way through.

“What the hell, Akaza?!” Sekido yelled as he shifted to the side. “Oh get a gri-“ it was then that Akaza saw someone who he would never expect to see. “Lord Akaza! That was incredibly rude!” The boy with the hanafuda earrings was here! Standing right in front of Akaza! The only differences were that he was taller and had the eyes of a demon.

“Wha-what’s going on?” Akaza said weakly. He felt like his whole world was crashing down. “Well if you weren’t being so rude, you would’ve known by now.” The boy said in a stern older brother voice. “Yeah! Don’t disrespect Lord Tanjiro!” Gyutaro hissed menacingly.

Lord Tanjiro? Strifles? Infinity Castle? What the HELL is going on? Everything seemed like it was spinning around Akaza. “Y-you aren’t the Demon King!” Akaza’s fists shook nervously, but he stood his ground. Tanjiro raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? I was the one who revived you.” He said calmly.

“I NEVER DIED!!” Akaza roared as he dug his feet into the ground. All the other demons just looked at him, confused. “Did ya hit your head on those rocks, buddy?” Urogi asked. Akaza just shook his head. “You all must be crazy!” Even more confused mews and growls came from the demons.

“This has to a nightmare. It has to be!” Akaza mumbled to himself as he clenched his fists. He then leaped directly at Tanjiro. Luckily, Douma and Urogi caught him and held him in place. “You did this! I’m gonna make you regret it! I’ll kill you!” Akaza roared.

“Woah! Woah! Slow down big guy!” Douma held on tightly to the struggling demon. “Get off of me! I’ll fucking kill you all!” Akaza snarled as he struggled to get loose. “What the hell is happening here?!”

They all turned their heads to see..Akaza being accompanied by Kokushibo. Everyone’s jaws hit the floor. Two Akazas?! How?! Urogi and Douma instantly let go of the other Akaza and the poor siren merely fell to his knees. “Who a-are you?” Siren Akaza said weakly. “I’m you!” Akaza yelled

Siren Akaza faced the ground and started to grip his head tightly. “No no NO! This can’t be happening! Where am I?! What is this place?!” His breathing grew heavy as the room spun around him. He had to hold back tears from flowing down his face. “How will I get back?”

“I think I might know what is happening.” Kokushibo approached the panicking siren. “Lord Tanjiro, we all know how Strifles went missing yesterday.” Everyone nodded their heads. “Right..” Tanjiro said calmly. “What if he got transported into another universe?”

Tanjiro’s eyes widened as the room was filled with gasps and murmurs. “So basically, you’re saying that this different Akaza might have accidentally swapped places with Strifles?” Kokushibo nodded. “I believe so, yeah.”

Siren Akaza shot his head up. “Would you know how to take me back?!” His voice was desperate. He hated to sound that way, but he really had no choice. Kokushibo shook his head. “I don’t know a way that will one hundred percent work, all I’ve heard are theories.”

Siren Akaza turned back to the floor. “Great! Just great!” Tanjiro’s eyes filled with worry and sympathy as he approached the siren. He then gently wrapped him in his green and black checkered haori. “Hey. It’s okay. We’ll get you home.”

“Why would I trust you?!” Siren Akaza growled. “Because you really have no choice.” Akaza said flatly. “Besides, we want Strifles back!” Siren Akaza shot a look at him. “Do you have a plan?” Most of the demons shook their hands.

“Why don’t we start where you landed? That makes the most sense to me!” Urogi chirped happily. Siren Akaza stood up and looked directly in his eyes. “Sounds like a great idea, Urogi!” Tanjiro beamed. “Alright everyone! Let’s follow Urogi.”

The bird demon started to head towards the entrance of the Infinity Castle and all the other demons followed suit. Tanjiro waited for all of the demons to leave before placing a comforting hand on Siren Akaza’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you home.” Siren Akaza shook it off. “Yeah, you better.”

To be continued..

#half-demon! tanjiro au #demon slayer #demon slayer tanjiro #douma demon slayer #akaza #demon slayer akaza #Leviathan demon slayer AU #demon slayer urogi #sekido #demon slayer gyutaro

[elfriede-airmid]

The Sirens Are Calling

Trigger warnings: Death, suicide, sexism, men, stinky men.

The strong salty air fill my lungs, crystallizing in my throat as I exhale. I am encased in a world of rainbow fluorite, the border between sky and ocean barely visible with skirts of laced foam dancing across the surface. Waves crashing against the rough wooden boards of the ships, soaking it to the bone deep within its marrow. It pushes against us, cautioning us to go the other way and yet we continue. Our oars claw at the oceans flesh, forcing our way over her mighty depths. Thunderous sounds of hushing and crashing all around me with accents of men attempting to talk over it. They had a goal now, and they are sure to see it through. The captain holds strong at the back, commanding his men this way and that. In the background of this orchestra, I hear a thrumming of noise, like a swarm of bees. “Keep hold onto the boat, little nymph. We are passing between Aeaea and Scylla” Rasping, his voice rough from shouting over the ocean. Curiosity took over me: “What is this noise that the men are talking about?”

My head pressing to the right against his chest. He smelt awful like all the other men on the sea, but you get used to it.

“Can’t you hear them, little nymph? The songs of beauties just over on that island.”

A man ran up, joining the conversation: “Sirens! Beautiful and lovely sirens. Don’t you hear their song?”

“I still don’t hear it.”

…

Reaching the shore, rocks scraping on the bow. Men were reeling in excitement, ready to board the land. Talks of meeting the fair maidens and the fun times to be had were said by all. Passively observing at the edge. Turning my head to the cloud-shadowed land, seeing rich green grass and jagged teeth of volcanic rock. I feel uneasy, I realise the thrumming that I heard before was the siren song. It wasn’t a thrum now. As we rowed closer the thrumming transformed into the voices of women.

And it was not a song.

It was a warning.

A pleading.

And then as we board ashore, it morphs into an orchestral cacophony of terror.

They didn’t want us here. They were screaming for us to leave, tearing their throats to let out those screams.

Looking, I see over a hill, heads peeking out, the sirens watch as the sailors clamber up the rocky beach, digging up the once undisturbed pebbles as they move forward towards the women. And once they are on the green carpet, they pause, halting in their tracks in what seems to be uncertainty. I sit on the roughened boat, watching. All of a sudden, the men turn in frustration, in disgust, muttering amongst themselves. The orchestral screaming continues as the women run and tumble up the hill in desperation.

“They are monsters. How could they have fooled us.” The Captain panted in anguish, climbing back on board.

“Their faces contorted, and the hair of their body like feathers of a vulture. They were unproportioned, nothing like our dear Aphrodite”

In disbelief, I turn towards the women.

They did not look like monsters, and as they stood at the cliff, I saw their hair flow with the wind. They look like me, their skin like mine, with blemish that only adds to their skin, like carved vines on a statue. They are not even unproportioned; they were set as any one of us. No claws, no fangs or scales, nothing that screams out like a monster. They herd each other together and watch us from above, even from here I can see the tears that soak their long tresses and bejewel their skin.

And then, one by one, they plunge. Down the cliff, wind rushing to keep them up with its weak force as they collide with the rocks below. Their blood staining the dark green ocean, intoxicating it with red wine. The screams grew quieter with each fall as I watch in horror and grief. My chest contorting, my heart pounding and my head reeling at the horror behind me. I continued to face the cliff.

My stomach is laying against my pelvic floor and the bile dances in my chest. Stinging tears well in my eyes and spill over in a flood. I cannot breathe as if the fair maidens grabbed it on their fall.

And when all went silent, I jump from the boat.

Knees and hands colliding with the pebbled shore. Running, I feel the rich green grass cushion my feet as I follow them to the cliff. Chest heaving and tight from the exertion and emotions, I don’t even look down as I follow the fair maidens.

My sisters blood calls me as I join them in the mythic ocean, adding my blood and my essence to freedom of the vast sea.

#literature #fantasy story #fantasy writing #historical fantasy #sirens #tragic story #classical mythology #greek mythology #greek myth retellings #reinventing myths #feminist piece #a critique on men #all women are beautiful #original story #fantasy fiction

[cjb-160]

I am

I am Marylin Manson and Julia Jacklin I am Tolstoy and T.S. Elliot

I am tanned leather, brass, and lucite I am hotel suites, vip parking, and charges to the room I am white gloves, table cloths, and fine china I am reservations, and plane tickets I am the resort, and the last resort I am lamb skin, and alpaca. I am 3000-thread-count sheets

I am first dates, milkshakes, wedding cakes, and roller skates I am the beauty and the beast

I am the warning light on your dashboard I am the water in your gas tank I am the squad car tailgating your for 3-miles I am the window you roll-up when driving through that neighborhood I am the longest red light you've ever stopped at I am the new coffee shop, bar, boutique hotel I am the {insert local hangout spot here}

I am the crack in the houses foundation I am the crack, the house, and the Foundation

I am the day before World War 3

I am Doo-Wop and Hip-Hop I am baby Jesus and methuselah

I am the bottle of urine beside your bed I am the pistol.

I am the addict in the attic.

I am the needle and I am the thread I am the pawn shop you gave grandmas ring to I am the long pull on your vape between shifts.

I am the 9-5 and the 6-10. I am the check in the mail I am the pit and I am the bull

I am the artificial flavor in your chewing gum I am the friend that was too young to die I am the fellow and I am the ship I am Othello and Hans Christian-Andersen

I am the side effect worse than the symptom I am tea parties and vineyards I am the used condom on the sidewalk I am the heat death of our quantum existence

I am…too abstract?

I am too black but not black enough I am queer but not gay enough. I am qualified but not good enough. I am big-nosed, bald-headed, unwashed, and unbothered. I am untethered.

I am the creation and I am the demiurge I am the igneous and I am the firmament

I am the Borg

I am the paper your suicide note was written on I am the last time you saw your father I am the last thing he said to you I am the couch you let him crash on for a few months I am the new security code you created when he left

I am the storage unit you change clothes in before and after work I am the blanket you’re wrapped up in while asleep in your car

I am the gift that I never see you wear I am the pot calling the kettle… I am the "come get me," text at 3am I am the "you up," text you left on read I am the unsaved number in your phone

I am the abomination and the salvation of creation I am the mustard and I am the seed

I am the last ps5 at Walmart on Black Friday

I am Mozart and Chopin I am rock, roll, and Rachmaninoff I am Coltrane and Gillespie

I am the kidnap and I am the torture I am the human and I am the traffic I am the sex and I am the worker I am the murder and I am the manhunt

I am Samson’s dreadlocks

I am the dog bark that wakes you from that fever dream

I am the fever dream

I am the con and I am the science I am the jack and all of his trades I am the Coke and I am the cane

I am the stop sign behind that big ass fuckin tree. I am the cop. I am the ticket.

I am the vegan recipe book you haven’t opened yet I am the first parallel park in that city you moved to I am the popping sound in your kneecap

I am the fake number she gave you

I am the burning cross on your front lawn I am the white hood I am the "whites-only" section I am the assailant and I am the victim

I am the rotten avocado on your kitchen counter I am the clown and I am the circus I am bibles and black holes

I am holding your sweater I am the first kiss I am the divorce papers

I am the Sailor and I am the Siren I am the solitary onion ring in your order of French fries I am the diet that starts tomorrow

#poetry #writing #marylin manson #julia jacklin #french fries

[henchwife]

Cyberpunk Helsinki Player Character Overview

Started playing a Cyberpunk 2020 campaign with the gfs. The setting is modified, and the campaign takes place in Helsinki, in the mostly-lawless Humanitarian Zone.

The characters:

Maxx Machina is the group's Solo. She was an edgerunner until she lost her team. She cashed out, got a mindwipe, and moved to the HZ. She's been making ends meet as a bouncer, and has befriended the elderly couple who run the convenience store near her, the Parks. She has a pair of cyberarms from military service, and has fitted one of them with a DIY cybergun because she felt like it was Missing somehow. She lives in a tiny apartment and drives a shitty van, both of which the party make ample use of. (She got the van cheap from a liquidating sex shop. She painted over the old design, but it's still visible. She tells herself she'll deal with it. The check engine light has been on since she got it and she's afraid to check it.) She is a fucking UNIT and is one of the more functional party members. (I am playing Maxx)

Loco Supreme is an acrobatic courier with cyberlegs. She and her mom were hit by a minibus, and she turned to the local mob to handle the medical bills. Her mom is in stable care, but Loco works as a thief and a courier to repay her debt. She occasionally records her routes and posts them online (Streaming doesn't exist, but she wishes it did). She met Maxx by attempting to pickpocket her. Maxx more or less adopted her, and Loco often crashes at her apartment. She's a gremlin with a tendency to wander.

Astrid "Citrene" Siren is our Fixer. She's a rich, fast-talking socialite with a fixation on woo, especially crystals and rocks, which she will share with anyone whose vibe she wishes to improve. Her parents don't much like her, and her business school professors don't approve of her (lack of) method, but her stonk witchcraft is the only thing keeping her family afloat. Though she comes from a nicer corpo neighbourhood, she prefers couch-surfing and clubbing in the HZ, and is another frequent resident of Maxx's apartment. She is not especially tech-literate, and still uses AOL. She's not all there, but what's there is pretty good.

Cordoba Bloodbath is our Techie. She's a resident of the rough end of the rough end of town, Wall Street. She lives up in a shack, the few utilities she has access to are rerouted from other dwellings. Cordoba thinks she's cut from a different cloth than most people, and that she just hasn't gotten her big break yet. She befriended a sick, retired techie, and he mentored her in surveillance, security, electronics, and software as thanks for looking after him. Neither would admit it, but they both appreciated the kindness. After parting ways with the old man, she started taking work, either through his contacts, or her own searches. She only has one drone, but it's a drone that's seen ample use. She met the group after Citrene put out feelers for a budget drone surveillance service. She thinks she has to be scary and dangerous to have agency and respect, and tries very hard to look it, with mixed success. Maxx chauffeurs her in the van.

#Cyberpunk Helsinki #Hellsinky

[wonderloste]

“ for gods sake, don’t do this! don’t you dare make me lose anyone else! not today! ” - larvette

&  RE  :     my inbox is a circus, i am the clown    /    @galaxiasus.

SUCH A BITTER PILL TO SWALLOW  ,  STARING DOWN THE EYES  of what should be her enemy  :  Alice Liddell, Larry Johnson, the soul that all of Wonderland longed for with bated, desperate breath. Were it he would find his way to the singular person in the entirety of this world who wanted nothing to do with him, who wishes beyond every wish and every hope that they had never met. His heart rages in time with the horrified sea, its waves crashing against the jagged edge of the cliffside rocks she stares down at in pathetic bids not to look him in the eye. Her legs feel weak, body covered head to toe in gashes and bruises  :  rope markings around her wrists and ankles, phantoms of the injuries left behind from the night’s escapades. They tell the stories her voice doesn’t, ones that he doesn’t want to hear, but this is their mutual REALITY  -  he chose this. You should have left, she wants to scream, but the anger doesn’t rise in her, not like it does in him.

It’s not anger, some part of her corrects  :  he isn’t mad, not at her, it’s deeper than that. He’s terrified, she reckons. Scared out of his fucking mind, because this is a bloody nightmare, falling in love with someone like her. Equal parts tragedy and fate, he’s looking himself in the mirror in a way he’d never wanted to, but it’s so much worse than it had been in his world. She knows this only from the words of his own mouth, his attempts to relate to her, but he can’t.

She wants to jump. She wants to dissipate into seafoam, disappear from this world, never look back, forget that he ever existed, that they ever met, that he ever sat in that damned garden with her and tried to convince her that there could ever be anything in this dark, empty world worth living for. Love, light, hope, moonlight, waves, none of it is worth anything when the fates of those who yearn for them are to die.

“Your heart isn’t my responsibility,”  she starts softly at first, guilt and sorrow deep within the tremble of her voice, but in spite of it, she rounds on her heels to face him, a drowned rat standing at the precipice of her fall.  “You can’t possibly expect me to take on your suffering! I cannot handle MY OWN! You can’t makes promises to me  :  your FATE is to DIE! There is no future for us! We AREN’T REAL, ALICE, and you can’t SAVE me!” Her voice raises in volume, melodic and hypnotizing  :  once she realizes it, she winces, instinctively taking a bothered step backwards. In doing so, she stumbles, her body jerking to the side as she nearly slips off the edge into the pointed rocks that lay below. Her breath hitches in her throat, something not unlike fear of her own crossing her normally empty expression. It’s disgusting, how quickly he shoots forward to try to grab her and in her panic, she screeches, trying to evade him, in a way that nearly sends her fully over the edge.

But she is a siren ‘pon land  :  he is more agile than she, who is so sickly and frail  ...  before she can fall, he’s successfully grabbed her and yanked her to the side with him. The way they tumble to the ground is ungraceful and hard, nearly knocking the air from her lungs as her back hits the rock, only for his body to fall atop her seconds after.  “GET OFF!”  She thrashes and kicks, arms thrown out to push him off her, but although he scrambles to scoot back and give her space, he notably does not let go of her shoulders. She’s panting, weak, as she suddenly keels over, palms sprawling on the wet rock to keep her body from collapsing back to the ground.

In the end, it’s half him holding her up as they sit together, Larry’s intense gaze fixated on her once he’s caught his breath. Somewhere between the violent cracks of thunder and lightning that split the sky, her pants turn to sobs that wrack her entire body and fruitless though it may be, her nails claw at the muddy ground in a desperate, painful attempt to drag herself back to the edge of the cliff  :  though it will not matter, she tries, under her nails break and bleed and he has to lay half on top of her as he holds her to keep her from crawling off the side.

If he were anyone else, maybe she could hope, maybe she could believe him, in his little promises, in his begging and pleading and not todays. But he is Alice and she is the Mock Turtle  :  he is meant to be sacrificed to this world, and she is meant to forever dig her grave within it, unending.

☛ Why? ☚  She signs weakly against the rock ‘pon which she has now collapsed, cheek pressed ‘gainst mud, soaked through to her very bones. He hovers atop her, but she does not look up at him, finding solace instead in the blood-stained dirt.  ☛ Why? ☚  Why is he doing this to me, she begs for an answer, though she does not ask her question. In the end, she does not know whether the question is directed at Larry, who hugs her now in a silent, desperate attempt to soothe her pain, at the Jabberwock, who has so unintentionally stolen from her the only chances of happiness she has ever had since being trapped on these lands, or at the White Rabbit, who has so cruelly broken her.

#stares at my hands......... #luna......... Y #ʚ o. in character ɞ ⁄ you’ll lose your mind wandering for hours‚ may even decide to start talking to flowers. #suicide tw — #ʚ c. mock turtle ɞ ⁄ facing the storm‚ i'm cast out at sea. i'll drown eventually‚ so don't save me. #self harm tw — #◟ ❥ larry + yvette : i don't mind spending every day out in the gardens in the pouring rain. › galaxiasus.