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ellecdc · 3 months

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Come Back, Be Here (part 6)

p1 // p2 // p3 // p4 // p5 // p6 // p7 // p8

Sirius Black x fem!reader - First Wizarding War Order of the Phoenix - 5.1k

CW: mentions of past abuse/torture, amnesia, mention of Bellatrix's cursed knife (same injury Hermione received in canon), racism/bigotry, swearing x a million cuz it's Remus' POV, angst, hurt/comfort, use of Y/N

Synopsis: After sacrificing yourself to save your friend and Order partner James months before, you're found on the brink of death. How will Sirius react when he finally gets his love back, only to have you snatched out from under him again?

“Where the FUCK is she?”

The headmaster calmly placed his teacup back on its saucer as the two men came barging into his office.

“Ah, Mr. Black. Mr. Lupin. Please, take a seat.”

So, Sirius did; he took the seat, and he threw it at the wall.

“I am not fucking around old man. Where. Is. She? Where is Y/N?” He barked.

“I’m afraid I don’t know.”

Sirius stopped in his pacing.

“You don’t know!?” Remus repeated incredulously.

Dumbledore nodded.

Sirius picked up a spinning orb from the headmaster’s desk and sent it careening to the window. The windows – the damned things – were charmed not to break, but the orb did. As pieces of crystal shattered and scattered onto the floor, many sleeping portraits of previous headmasters began waking. A few stayed behind to watch the spectacle, whilst many left to find other portraits to haunt for the time being.

“That’s not good enough.” Sirius fumed.

With a casual flick of his wand, Dumbledore righted the chair Sirius had thrown. “Why don’t you have a seat, son?”

“I am not your fucking son!” He shouted back, kicking the seat over again.

“Mr. Lupin, why don’t you encourage your friend here to calm down?” The portrait of a previous headmistress asked condescendingly.

“Get fucked, ma’am.” Was his muttered response.

With a huff, the headmistress decided to leave as well.

“I am so sick of being played like some pawn in this gods-awful game of yours! We are children! You fucking groomed us as students and enlisted us right out of the gates, fattening us up like cattle for slaughter!”

“Now, Mr. Black-”

“I’M NOT DONE.” Sirius roared.

Dumbledore shifted his eyes to Remus, who kept his gaze firmly on him.

“You – you’re supposed to be this powerful wizard with years of experience. You defeated that Grindel-fuck back in the sodding dark-ages or whenever, yet somehow, this is out of your wheelhouse!?”

“Mr. Black, everyone learned from the Global Wizarding World with Grindelwald; Tom Riddle how to cheat death, and myself to enlist the help of others.” Dumbledore said.

“But you didn’t get help! You got soldiers, and we’re the ones fighting this fucking war for you! You get to sit here in this bloody castle with powerful ancient wards protecting you, drinking your tea, wanking to the portraits of the other headmasters in your spare time, while the rest of us get their fucking heads blown off!

“We’re the ones being captured. We’re the ones being tortured. We’re the ones being killed. We’re the ones with blood on our hands fighting for our fucking lives, everyday! Bouncing from safe-house to safe-house whilst never being safe. And you know! You’ve known there was a spy, you’ve had contacts on the other side, but you give us nothing. You just send us off on these fucking missions, blind, and we all have to hope that that’s enough. That we’ll live to see another day. That we’ll make it home to our loved ones.”

Sirius paused to catch his breath. “You will not get away with using her like this, not anymore, not by me.”

Dumbledore’s crystal blue eyes bore into Sirius’ stormy grey ones. After a few moments, he offered him a subtle nod.

“Where is she?” He repeated, quieter this time.

“Sirius, the truth is that I do not know.”

Sirius groaned. “How can you not know!? Fine, fine. Who is your contact? Apparently, someone who was in league with the Black’s for the stupid fucking house-elf to betray me like this. So, who is it? Narcissa? Finally tired of the bleach fumes from that husband of hers? It can’t be Bellatrix.”

Dumbledore pursed his lips as he considered Sirius.

“It’s not Bellatrix, is it?” He asked in quiet disbelief.

“No, son, it is not Bellatrix.”

“’Kay well, tell me who it is, then. Reg’s dead so you’re leaving me with dear old Cissy here.”

Dumbledore leaned onto his forearms on his desk as he peered at Sirius over his half-moon spectacles.

“A house-elf will always be the most loyal to the head of the house it serves.”

Sirius scoffed. “Yeah, well my house-elf just up and fucked-off with the love of my life so I’d say his loyalty doesn’t exactly align with...me...” He trailed off as something seemed to dawn on him.

“Unless I’m not the head of the house.”

Remus’ neck snapped as he whipped his head to regard his friend.

“The deed and the vault at Gringotts were all moved to you, Sirius, you’re the head of the house.”

Sirius never pulled his gaze away from the headmaster. “Goblins can be tricked, and deeds can be forged.�� He whispered. “But house-elf magic...”

Dumbledore leaned back into his chair.

“But Regulus is dead. He was pronounced dead – your mother offed herself because he was pronounced dead.” Remus argued.

“He was assumed dead.” Dumbledore corrected.

“Holy fucking shit.” Sirius breathed.

“Regulus has been in contact with me since this past spring. It appears that Miss. L/N was the turning point for him in this war.”

Sirius stared in bafflement. “What do you...”

“You may, one day, need to discuss with your brother. However, what he explained to me,” Dumbledore started. “Is that he had discovered Riddle’s secret of the horcruxes after becoming increasingly disenchanted by his rhetoric. He was intent on defeating Riddle himself, but came to me when he found Y/N.”

The colour drained from Remus’ face. “You knew? All this time.”

Dumbledore turned his gaze to the lycanthrope.

“You knew!?” He repeated.

“You must understand, I could not remove her from Riddle’s ranks without rousing suspicion from the other Death Eaters who knew she was there. We were also becoming increasingly aware of a spy within our ranks and could not jeopardize the intel by alerting the Death Eaters of our own spy.”

“I can’t fucking believe this.” Sirius cried out. “You let her suffer there so you could keep the upper hand!”

“It was for the greater good.”

“Fuck that!” Sirius barked. “Fuck that and fuck you!”

“You do not understand how differently this could have all played out without her, Sirius.”

Remus scoffed. “Oh the ‘could’s’, professor, really? We can sit here until our dying breath discussing all of the fucking could’s that could have taken place from the beginning of fucking time itself and it would mean nothing.”

“I don’t care what could have happened.” Sirius interjected. “You should have protected her. Protected all of us.”

Dumbledore looked between his two former students as he seemed to come to some kind of decision.

“The five horcruxes that Y/N brought us have been destroyed. I do not want to give Riddle time to realize that they are gone. I have discussed with our allies what will need to happen next.” Dumbledore stated.

“And what will need to happen next, professor?” Sirius sneered.

“It appears that Mr. Pettigrew told Riddle he would be the secret keeper by their next meeting.” Dumbledore said as Sirius swallowed bile rising in his throat. “I believe it would be best to lure Riddle out when he does not feel the need for an army.”

Remus leaned forward in his chair. “How do we do that?”

Dumbledore pursed his lips. “It would be best if Riddle remained unaware of our knowledge of Peter.”

“I think he’s going to figure it out when he misses their next club meeting.” Sirius scoffed.

“Unless he goes.” Remus murmured.

“Over my dead body do we release that rat bastard.” Sirius growled.

“I agree, Mr. Black, I do not believe we should entrust Peter. However, there may be another way.”

Sirius looked at Dumbledore blankly. “Tell me, headmaster, do you plan on breaking out some unforgiveables? Because short of imperio, I’m not sure-”

“Polyjuice.” Remus blurted.

Sirius whipped his head to his friend in shock, whilst a twinkle of pride appeared in Dumbledore’s eye.

“We could keep up the ruse.” Remus explained.

“I’ll go.” Sirius claimed.

Remus groaned. “Pads, do you really think you’re the best person for this job?”

Sirius looked at Remus with a look of ill-hidden betrayal. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Sirius, this is the most sensitive mission possibly anyone will ever have to take. You are passionate but you have a tendency to go in guns blazing and this is not the setting.”

“I’ll be fine.” Sirius argued.

“You are going to hear and see things that will infuriate and you will not be able to react. You will have to put your morals aside.”

“Rem, honestly, I grew up with the pureblood bullshit, I can handle it.” Sirius insisted.

“It nearly killed you, Pads. I was there when you showed up at the Potter’s.”

“Remus, I’m going.”

“Perhaps it should be me.” Remus stated as if Sirius hadn’t said anything at all.

“Are you insane?”

“Obviously the answer to that is yes but listen: no one would be able to use legillimency on me due to lunar magic, I stand a better chance at keeping a level head, and I’m perhaps just a touch less emotionally invested in this than you are.” Remus argued.

“Besides,” he continued, “I’ve spent my entire life pretending that I’m not a monster. I’m sure I can pretend to be one for a little bit.”

“You’re not a monster.” Sirius sighed.

Remus gave him a sad smile. “See? I’ve fooled you all.”

Dumbledore hummed. “I think Mr. Lupin may be right, Sirius. Perhaps you should trust him with this.”

“Of course I trust him, but-” Sirius started, turning to look at Remus. “I can’t lose you too.” He admitted quietly.

Though the sentiment caused a twinge of pain in Remus’ chest, he couldn’t waste an opportunity to razz his mate. “Awe, Pads. Don’t tell me you’re gonna miss me.” He cheeked as he pinched Sirius’ arm.

“Oh, sod off you wanker.” Sirius muttered and crossed his arms.

“I suppose it’s settled.” Dumbledore claimed. “Please await my correspondence with further instructions.”

October 29th

“I hate this, I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.” James could be heard muttering as he paced the family room of 12 Grimmauld Place.

“Why isn’t Dumbledore doing this himself?” Lily muttered darkly.

“I’m not leaving Y/N in his hands, not again.” Sirius murmured into his hand as he stared at the fire. “It should be me going. Remus, I should go.”

With a sigh, Remus stood from the wingback chair. “No, Pads. It’s too late to change the plan now. It’s going to be fine.”

Sirius shook his head and looked at the ceiling.

“She’s fucking strong, Sirius. And she’s got more people on her side this time. We’re gonna finish this.” Remus pressed.

The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed and everyone took a steadying breath.

“Be careful, Rem.” Lily tearfully murmured as she gave him a hug.

“I hate this.” James repeated just as quietly as he too hugged the lycanthrope.

Remus smiled at them both before he moved to Sirius, who had shifted his gaze back to the fire.

“We’re close, Pads.” He whispered.

Sirius nodded, keeping his gaze on the fire. “Thank you, Moony. For going after her.”

“She’s pack.” Remus said simply causing Sirius to let out a shuddering breath.

“Be careful.”

Remus nodded in agreement and took a swig from his pocket flask. He grunted slightly as he felt his body shifting and changing, but it was nothing close to the pain he experienced every full moon.

Sirius, Lily, and James all looked in various levels of disgust as Remus – now in the form of Peter Pettigrew – stood to his full height. “How do I look?”

The three friends looked at each other awkwardly before turning back to Remus...Peter?

“Fuck, this is weird.” James muttered.

“Yeah, honestly mate, I think you should go.” Sirius agreed.

Remus rolled his eyes. “You know I’m not actually him, right?”

Lily grimaced. “Yeah, yeah Judas. Get going.”

Sirius and James looked at her inquisitively, but Remus snorted a laugh offering everyone a wave as he stepped into the street. He walked a short distance to a hidden alleyway where he could apparate to the location of the Death Eater meeting. Remus sent one silent prayer to any god who’d listen.

Please let this go smoothly.

Lestrange Manor loomed dauntingly in front of Remus as he tried to muster the courage to walk up the brick path leading to the door. Purebloods and their gaudy houses he mused silently.

“Petty-Pettigrew!” A voice sing-songed behind him, causing him to turn.

Barty Crouch Jr skipped towards him merrily as if he were an alt-punk Dorothy on his way to Oz. He paused in front of Remus and tapped his cheek twice, slightly too hard to be considered just condescending and bordering on aggressive. “How’s our favourite little rat?”

Remus grimaced but tried to play it off as a smile. “Er, I’m-”

“Oh, Salazar. No, I don’t actually care.” Barty chuckled, looking back at his entourage like can you believe this guy? His friendly façade fell as he turned back to Remus. “Better have something for the Dark Lord today, otherwise we’ll find other uses for our little lab rat.” He finished with a slimy wink as he continued up the path to the manor.

Well, Remus thought, welcome to Hell, I suppose.

He followed Barty The Deranged and company up the walkway, fighting the urge to hum: We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz as he went.

If Remus thought the outside of Lestrange Manor was counteracting the anti-depressants coursing through his system, the inside of it made him want to grab the closest silver fork and end it all. He walked along what had to be a fourty-foot table trying to find the best seat before he realized that this was the wrong approach – every seat was terrible.

“Don’t be absurd, Pettigrew.” Mulciber sneered at Remus. “A lowly like you stands at the back.”

Remus fought the urge to roll his eyes and nodded, moving to stand near the wall by the door. At least I’ll be close if I need a quick exit. He also fought the biting urge to lunge at the sight of Fenrir Greyback. You’re here for a reason, Lupin.

Rodolphus, Rabastan, and Bellatrix Lestrange entered the...Remus didn’t know what the hell purebloods wont to call rooms like this...a grand room? A dining room? A reception hall? Whatever it was called, it fucking sucked, and it sucked worse when those three walked in. The brothers mostly regarded themselves with proper decorum, but Bellatrix and her certain flare seemed to suck the air out of the room causing everyone to stand a little more at attention.

Bellatrix Lestrange walked like she was the Queen of Hearts attending her own coronation. She smiled wickedly at those seated around the table, pausing briefly to share terse words with Lucius Malfoy, before then double-cheek-kissing his wife and her sister, Narcissa.

There seemed to be some sort of disagreement about who should sit in one of the two seats at the head of the table next to the Dark Lord’s seat (throne for all intents and purposes), but a silent conversation that passed between Bellatrix and her brother-in-law resulted in the latter finding another chair.

Voldemort walked into the room and those who had been sitting stood suddenly, falling deathly silent as Voldemort moved to stand at the head of the table. The sickening smell of dark magic accosted Remus who felt his eyes water; he swallowed hard against his gag reflex as a giant python type snake slithered its way into the room.

If there was ever any speculation that Nagini was the sixth horcrux before, Remus now felt confident that he could confirm it.

“My Lord.” Rodolphus said reverently as he bowed his head. Remus watched as the rest of the room did the same, and quickly followed suit – he wanted to throw up.

Remus’ plan of attack here was to be as non-descript as possible. He was here for one reason – tell Voldemort he was the secret keeper and plan a course of ‘attack’ on the Potter home in Godric’s Hollow – otherwise, he was to be invisible. He could not be invisible if he was angry, and if he listened too closely, he’d get angry, so...

He almost missed it when Voldemort addressed him.

“Now, I trust that you were successful in your task?” Voldemort’s voice echoed through the room, sounding more like an actor in a Greek tragedy than a tyrannical fascist leader addressing his followers.

A throat cleared before something hit Remus on the shin. He looked up and realised everyone’s eyes were on him.

“Oh erm, uh yes. My apologies...my Lord...” He tried to regain his footing. “Uhm, I was successful. I am officially the Potter’s secret keeper.”

Bellatrix barely waited until the end of the sentence to stand and begin cackling maniacally. “We’re going to kill the child! We’re going to kill the child!” She sang as she jumped and clapped her hands.

Voldemort hardly spared Bellatrix a sideways gaze as he lifted one hand – she fell silent and returned to her seat, continuing to smile and wiggle as if it were difficult to keep her obvious joy at bay.

“Though I appreciate your enthusiasm,” he began, “I’d like to eliminate this specific threat myself.”

By the end of the sentence, he was offering Remus a chilling smile. Remus worked to keep his breathing even as he tried to reciprocate it.

“Where is this hide away located?” Voldemort asked.

“Erm, Godric’s Hollow, m’Lord.”

“You will take me to them. You shall meet me in the town square at eight in the evening the day after tomorrow. We shall eliminate this threat to me once and for all.”

“Any threat to you is a threat to all of us, my Lord.” Alecto Carrow said severely which was met with a muttering of agreement from around the table.

“You will all be rewarded greatly for your dedication and loyalty to me.” Voldemort declared, and Bellatrix began a round of applause.

The meeting carried on and Remus ensured to take two more swigs of the Polyjuice potion to avoid turning back into himself prematurely.

A black cat had materialized beside Remus at some point throughout the meeting and appeared to make itself at home beside his left foot. The feline seemed to watch as Remus would lift the flask to his mouth, and he became increasingly paranoid that this cat somehow knew he was an imposter. Was this cat a spy? Was this a spy cat who somehow knew Peter was caught for being a spy for the Death Eaters and that I, as a spy, came to this meeting as Peter as a spy for the Order pretending to be Peter who was acting as a spy for the Death Eaters.

Fuck, Remus was losing it.

Get a grip you stupid bastard. He scolded himself.

The meeting appeared to conclude as Voldemort stood, and everyone followed suit. A few higher pointing Death Eaters seemed to congregate at the head of the table – Malfoy, the Lestranges, Mulciber, Snape, Nott, Goyle, and the Carrows encircled Voldemort.

Remus began looking for the door when he felt the cat brush up against his leg. He looked down to the black cat who was peering back up at him – the eyes were light, nearly blue but not quite – and they looked disturbingly familiar. The cat seemed to be cocking an eyebrow at him, if cats could do such a thing, as Remus considered it.

“What?” Remus whispered.

“Make a habit o’ talkin’ to rodents, do ye Pettigrew?” The sickening sound of Greyback’s voice permeated Remus' hearing – as well as his other senses. Suddenly, Remus was four years old again, waking to the sound of screaming that turned out the be his own as a wolf locked its jaw upon his chest. He ignored the stinging in his eyes as he thought of his mothers screams and sobs, begging the healers to do something – anything – to help her boy, whilst everyone murmured it’d be kindest to just ‘put the boy out of his misery’.

“I do, actually,” Remus said, lacing his words with venom. “I’ve found they often make better company than a mangey wolf.”

Greyback seemed taken aback as he considered Remus.

“Why you little-”

“Ah, there you are, Splash.” A posh accent commented from Remus’ other side. He turned to see the form of Narcissa Malfoy bending to pick up the black cat.

“Good work, Pettigrew.” She commented as Splash weaseled its way back out of Narcissa’s arms and took a few paces to the door. “Don’t let us keep you.”

Remus nodded at Narcissa, feeling off kilter at her cordial behaviour; he couldn’t imagine Peter ever making friends with the likes of her. He moved toward the door and as he walked, he realized that the cat had paused and was watching Remus before carrying on ahead.

Remus felt like he could finally take a deep breath once he stepped beyond the gated entrance of the manor. His peace didn’t last long when he realized the cat had paused again and was once again watching him.

“Seriously, what the hell do you want?” He muttered quietly.

The cat looked as though it rolled its eyes at him as he walked a few more feet ahead, turning back to Remus.

“Are you expecting me to follow you? I’m not as dumb as I look.” He commented again, though realizing too late that he may actually be as dumb as he looks, seeing as he was currently talking to a cat.

He heard a low growl emanate from the cat’s chest before it turned and walked away without turning back this time to confirm Remus was following it.

“It seems as though curiosity may kill the wolf today.” Remus muttered to himself as he begrudgingly followed the cat against every one of his instincts which were screaming at him to just get the fuck out of there.

The cat stopped in a densely wooded area and seemed to scan the are before turning back to Remus, who in turn stood and stared at the cat dumbly.

“I don’t see a pentagram anywhere, is this not where you plan to sacrifice me to the devil?” He asked as he too scanned the woods for potential threats.

“Salazar, you Gryffindor’s are bloody exhausting.” A voice rang through the woods. Remus whipped his head back towards the sound, and where the cat once stood was none other than Regulus Black.

“Holy fucking shit. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Regulus rolled his eyes, “and so eloquent, as always.” He muttered.

“What the fuck are you doing here? You’re supposed to be dead.” Remus seethed.

“Disappointed, are you?”

Remus gritted his teeth. “Where’s Y/N?”

Regulus’ eyes softened considerably, though his posture remained stiff as he considered Remus.

“Safe. That is all you need to know.”

“Fuck that, Black. Where is she?”

Regulus sucked in a breath, appearing to attempt to steady himself at having to deal with the likes of Remus.

“The Dark Lord’s followers became aware that she was not as dead as they had previously assumed. We could not risk them searching for her.” Regulus admitted.

“How could they have known she wasn’t dead? The only person who could have reported that to them is Peter and he’s a little tied up right now.” Remus said darkly.

“My cousin’s little art project on her arm was done with a cursed blade – the dark magic left a trace on her. When Yaxley tried to claim that she had died while trying to escape from his hold instead of admitting he let her get away, Bellatrix was quick to prove him wrong.”

“What?” Remus asked in shock.

Regulus rolled his eyes. “Good gods, which of you imbeciles did that old man send?” He asked before casting a quick finite over Remus.

Remus felt the Polyjuice potion wash away from his form as he stretched out to his correct height.

“Aren’t you wolves supposed to have superhuman hearing?” He asked condescendingly.

“Fuck off.” Remus spat.

“Now, now. There is no need for such language, Lupin; we are on the same side, after all.”

“Like fuck we are. You’re a marked Death Eater, and you abducted Y/N.” He spat.

“I think it should be obvious by now that I have clearly defected here, Lupin.” Regulus responded.

“Why?”

This seemed to catch Regulus off guard. “Pardon?”

“Why defect?”

Remus watched as Regulus stared hard at him, when suddenly a filmy haze seemed to overtake Regulus’ grey eyes and his face grew hard.

“I hardly think that is relevant.”

The two men stared at each other sizing one another up.

Remus felt conflicted. He knew Sirius hated his family, but Sirius never really could bring himself to hate Regulus – he was only a child, just like Sirius was. Regulus was a victim too. They were each dealt a shitty hand, but the way they played their cards were different. Regulus chose the path of least resistance by adapting and adhering to his parent’s wishes. Sirius rebelled, pushed back, and decided to fold, leaving the game altogether.

Sirius wanted to hate Regulus; when he got his Dark Mark, and then again when he died. But he couldn’t bring himself to, because part of it felt like it was his fault; Regulus took the role that Sirius himself was born into – and in many ways, Sirius felt as though he forced his little brother into this. And in the end, it cost Regulus his life.

But Remus, looking at Regulus now; having faked his own death, defected from not only his family’s legacy but also the reign of the 'Lord' that he had sworn himself to, all whilst helping the other side; how different were the two brothers, really?

Twin Renegades.

“Sirius is beside himself.” Remus admitted quietly.

Regulus seemed pained by this admission.

“I wouldn’t have given her back yet if I knew it wasn’t safe.”

Remus’ heart stuttered. “Wait, you – you’re the one who brought her to Godric’s Hollow?”

He was responded with a single curt nod.

“But, but how? How did you know? The house is...”

“Y/N. She had described to me what she called ‘location seven’. I apparated her there.”

Remus balked. Each Order team had several secret locations they would be able to travel to in case anything went sideways during a mission. Remus wasn’t as familiar, seeing as he was the only Order member who could attend his particular missions, but he had heard his friends discussing it before. Even Lily and Sirius didn’t know the areas of James and your secret locations; they were for your safety, and your safety only.

“Location seven was the cottage in Godric’s Hollow?”

“No, it was the wooded area behind it. I could feel the familiar sense of a fidelius charm nearby, so I brought her as close to it as I could before I ran, we...” Regulus heaved a sigh, “we had fought our way out, we’d barely made it.”

“Where is she now?”

“She’s safe.”

“Regulus.”

“I’m sorry, Lupin. You may not believe me, but I am. I... I saved her because I could not watch the woman my brother loved die in front of me. I saved her for him, but the other’s discovered I had rescued her, and suddenly it became much bigger than him. I couldn’t just return her at the time.” Regulus admitted.

“The last time you saved her, she was hardly safe. How do we know she’s safe now?” Remus pleaded.

Regulus grimaced. “Again, the others had known I had rescued her last time. This time, they do not know she is here. They do not even know I am here.”

“How is she safer with you than she is at home with Sirius? With us?”

“You moved five members of the Order plus an infant with a bounty on its head into one house. If they had gone searching for Y/N and found you, it would have been devastating for the cause.” He explained. “Listen; you will escort the Dark Lord to the Potter’s cottage in two days. He plans to attend with you as Peter Pettigrew, alone; he will show up unknowingly out numbered. He goes nowhere without Nagini, and we will be able to destroy the last horcrux before finally ending the Dark Lord’s reign of tyranny. She will be home to you soon.”

“What about you?” Remus asked.

Regulus’ eyebrows furrowed. “What about me?”

“When this is over, what about you?”

Regulus looked Remus up and down. “I hardly think it matters.”

“Of course it does; of course you matter.”

Regulus’ eyes turned stormy. “Do not pretend to know anything about me, Lupin. I have never once mattered; not to my brother, hardly to my parents until I was the last one standing, never to Dumbledore, and rarely to the Dark Lord, lest my family’s money benefitted his cause.”

“You matter to Sirius.”

“Enough!” Regulus shouted, seeming to forget himself. Remus was sure he’d never even heard of Regulus having ever raised his voice before. “Do not fuck this up, Lupin. We have one chance to end this.”

And with a quick spin, Remus was left in the dense woods alone. He hadn’t noticed how late it was until now, the darkness seeping into his bones leaving him chilled in the late October evening.

It didn’t exactly go well, but it sure could have gone a lot worse.

He walked towards where Regulus had been standing and noticed a small piece of parchment laying in the wet leaves. He picked it up and unfolded it.

“Stay safe. 1, 2, 3. V.”

It could have gone a lot worse.

October 30th

Regulus sighed – he felt exhausted from the meeting with Remus Lupin yesterday. He hated raising his temper, it made him feel like Sirius; it made him feel like a Gryffindor.

Regulus’ cat form pushed past a vine covered gate and entered a grandiose stone outbuilding before shifting back to his human form.

“Can Kreacher get master a drink before Kreacher leaves?”

Regulus sighed. “You should not return until this is over, Kreacher. My brother is surely not happy with you.”

The house-elf scoffed. “Kreacher is not afraid of blood-traitors. Besides, Kreacher serves the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black; Kreacher belongs at Grimmauld Place.”

“Underestimate my brother, Kreacher, and it will be your head on the wall.” Regulus muttered.

“Now cousin, do try to keep your patience.” Narcissa said as she opened the door to her hidden library located in a small building behind the gardens of Malfoy Manor.

You sat on a Victorian style settee in Narcissa’s library with a babbling Draco on your knee as you cast colourful butterflies above him, causing the toddler to coo and clap.

“We’re in.” Regulus announced, causing your head to snap forward and Draco to make grabby hands at him. “This ends tomorrow.”

Continue to part seven here.

369 notes · View notes

shiny-jr · 1 year

Text

✍︎ damnation [ the diviner ]

– Summary: When you commit a crime, you receive a punishment. This is especially true in your society. No matter the crime, your punishment is the same: banishment. But to where you will be sent in exile and how miserable will it be? No one knows, because no one has ever returned.

– Warning: Yes, this is a yandere thing. Gender-neutral reader.

– Characters: Floyd Leech, Jade Leech, Azul Ashengrotto.

– Note: I’m actually not super proud of this result. Out of the three out so far, this one is probably like my least favorite. Maybe that’s why I’ve been putting this off for a while and also rewriting Scarabia’s result a lot, just because I don’t want to feel like I did a bad job on it once I do complete it. Currently, at the time this is being posted, Scarabia’s result is like halfway done. Here’s to hoping its a good result.

– Pages: 40

– Not satisfied? Try looking here for the quiz to take it yourself and see where you end up banished!

The Hyena Chieftain | The Diviner | The Vizier’s Vassal

Damp. It was damp, and you awoke to the sound of crashing water. The surface you found yourself on was soft, comfortable. Sitting upright, you were surprised to see multiple blankets and pillows with mismatched patterns and some stitched with completely different colors. Around you was patterned fabric curving upwards, like a tent, but when you moved, this bed you were laying on swung with every movement. It was like a hanging nest, you realized, as you curiously removed part of the fabric wall that allowed you to step out.

It was somewhat dark, but there was just enough light from a huge gaping hole in the ceiling for you to scan your surroundings. There was a waterfall right in front of you, the water falling from the space above. You were behind the waterfall, in a hidden space with that hanging bed, lit candles scattered around, with lots of other little knick knacks and doodads that made it look like the home of one of those witches that collected crystals and other items. In one corner was a mirror, where you finally caught your reflection, it startled you. Instead of chains and a prison uniform, you wore long dark robes that pooled around your feet and a long piece of darker sheer cloth over your head and shoulders that made you look like a ghost that appeared in the woods and fog. For a second, your appearance actually startled you, because you didn’t recognize yourself.

What was this…? This wasn’t a prison cell, and if it was, it was a pretty neat one. With all those books on the small wooden shelf in the corner, you’d at least have something to occupy yourself with. But there were no bars, no guards, and no shackles… What exactly was going on? The last thing you remember was being banished and forced to go through a portal and… now you were here.

When you looked back up at the waterfall, you could see more light coming from the other side. With nowhere else to go and nothing else to do, you slowly made your way towards the source behind the barrier of water. Luckily you wouldn’t have to get drenched, because there was a small path of round smooth stones around it, tucked away and neatly hidden in a dark corner. One by one, you hopped along the steps, the sheer cloth flowing behind you until you were in front of the waterfall, now in a much larger, very spacious room, a cave, actually.

There were no exits or entrances, besides the hole in the ceiling and maybe someplace under the water. Speaking of water, it was much more prominent in this area compared to the space you had woken up in. There was a small dry flat where you could sit, but it was only a few feet big, before the water encompassed the rest of the space. Except for more flat round stepping stones, leading to the center where there was a firm pedestal holding up what looked to be a glimmering glass orb. Its glow gave off a dim light, shining off the rugged dew covered walls.

Entranced by the orb, you tilted your head, watching from afar as shapes appeared on its glassy surface. Balancing on your toes, careful to not fall into the water, you got closer to it until you were right in front of it. For a moment, you just wanted to reach out and touch it, but you didn’t. It felt like one of those things you shouldn’t touch, like a museum display that should be behind red rope and inside a glass case. But just because you were hesitant to touch it, doesn’t mean you could take your eyes off of it. Lowering your face towards it to get a better look, you squinted at the moving image it displayed, like it was some sort of screen.

Inside the glass, you could see a figure. But it most certainly wasn’t human. Their lower torso was that of a fish. A mermaid, or rather, a merman. He looked so real! With bright stunning red hair that defied all logic by somehow looking soft even when underwater, realistic looking flesh judging by his bare upper torso with only a satchel strapped around his shoulders, and his entire lower half consisting of a sparkling green-scaled tail that swished back and forth quickly to propel himself forward. There was even a little yellow and blue fish swimming beside him. How cute… It almost reminded you of the tale of The Mermaid and The Sea Witch.

“Yes, hurry home, little prince. Run back to dear old daddy and join the party.”

The sudden voice caused you to jump, turning your head up and gaze away from the orb only to see a large figure that had camouflaged itself in a smooth curved nook within the dark stone walls. You hadn’t even noticed them watching you! You adjusted to the darkness again, steadily able to make out the mass, and your eyes widened in shock as you did.

Hidden in the curve in the wall that acted as a cozy spot just an inch above the water, was a huge mass. First you saw sharp gray eyes, more focused on the orb than you. Then you saw his hair, beautiful wavy gray curls that reminded you of the waves of water. Slowly you noticed his skin color, his face was an odd gray like part of his thin torso but the rest of him… was pitch black. But he had no legs, in place of where he should have appendages to walk, he had large black tentacles with purple undersides. Like an octopus, exactly like the Sea Witch you were just thinking about moments ago––

“Waking up a bit late, aren’t we, angelfish?” Those eyes seemed to glow as his gaze flickered up to your frozen form. He appeared relaxed, tucked away and seated in the little nook, with his hands folded neatly in his lap. Before you could even consider a proper response, he turned his attention back to the orb, apparently much more intrigued with it. “Nevermind. Did you know, when I used to live in the palace, we had fantastical festivities and feasts. But now look at what they’ve done to me… banished!” Banished? Dramatically he leaned out of his corner, and you could finally see the light shining on him. Until he abruptly slid out of his spot, vanishing into the water.

You felt a slight sense of dread rise upon you when you frantically looked around and couldn’t see him in the dark waters beneath you. Just before you could react to your flight or fight instincts pushing you to run back towards the bigger piece of land, you felt a tentacle wrap around your ankle and pull you down. A yelp escaped your lips as half of you became submerged in the water, but you kept afloat by clinging to the small round stone piece you had been standing on before.

The octopus man was now across the stone from you and in the water as well, but you could only wrack your brain for escape plans or a way to beat this creature if things came down to it. However, it seemed that perhaps those ideas were unnecessary, because he scratched your chin gently as he cooed, “Oh, what would I do without you and the twins, my treasure? You, so helpful and supportive.”

Twins…? As in, the twin pet eels belonging to the sea witch? So this was really like the story? This was your punishment? Then that meant the theory your friends whispered about was true. Criminals would be banished to a fairytale. It was a ridiculous theory, something you adamantly refused to believe. Especially because some people would fantasize about going on mystical adventures or having a lovely romance with heroes and royalty. But how could you continue to refuse to believe when you were literally face-to-face with an octopus man? What did that make you then? If you remembered the stories right, the only others that the sea witch were close to was her pet eels and no one else. So how did you fit into this role? Let’s see, in the end, the protagonist won, that was without a shadow of a doubt. But the antagonists… the eels were accidentally obliterated by their owner when she went mad with new power, and the human prince with the mermaid princess plunged the sharpened bow of a ship straight through the sea witch. You shuddered at the mere thought of meeting a similar fate. You needed to get out of this somehow…

As the man in the role of the sea witch continued to scratch your chin affectionately, you were soothed a bit by the touch… That is, until his smooth charming voice became a shout,

“Those flimsy fishfolk will continue to celebrate in a few days time, but we’ll give them something to really celebrate soon enough… Floyd! Jade!”

You jolted back at his sudden increase in volume as he pulled his hand away and turned his attention to the magical orb still showcasing the swimming merman. You heard a hiss of pain and some mumbling from the orb, but it wasn’t coming from the red-haired merman.

“Keep an eye on that pretty little prince. He may be the key to the king's undoing."

You heard two different responses: an of course, Azul and a sure thing, Azul, both responses happening simultaneously. So the octopus man's name was Azul…

As soon as the orb flickered out, you climbed back onto the single stone and observed as a twisted sort of expression took hold on Azul's face. The type of expression that meant someone was plotting something terrible but the mere thought of it pleased them.

For a moment, you considered, didn't you know how the story would play out? Didn't that give you an advantage? This could be your ticket out. Without a second thought, you hopped back to the larger flat stone surface as you declared, "I had a dream."

In the midst of his pondering and scheming, Azul waved you off without so much as a second glance. "That's nice. No wonder you were lazing around all morning. Now, I have work to—"

"I saw you in it. And the prince with the king." You blurted out, which instantly stopped him from descending down into the murky depths. But he didn't yet look at you quite yet.

Entertaining the conversation, he hummed, "And, pray tell, what was this dream about?"

You hesitated. How should you word this without getting caught? You knew that if this Azul was anything like the sea witch, then he would be crafty and cunning. "I think… It was about the future."

Now that caught his attention. He finally turned around, raising an eyebrow with an intrigued smile, "Tell me more, won't you?"

"I will… but on one condition." You lowered yourself to kneel on the flat surface, using the cloth hanging around you as a cushion for your knees. When he swam closer and was peering up at you, you continued, "I'd like you to let me go." Living in a cave for the rest of your life, didn't exactly sound like a dream. Besides, you had much higher standards than these rags you currently wore and the old furniture behind the waterfall.

At your words, Azul appeared surprised before he laughed, "Let you go? Have you forgotten that you're my property? Remember, you signed the contract. In exchange for a chance to save your drowning loved ones, you sold your entire being to me, mind, body, and soul. So the knowledge in your mind, even in your dreams, belongs to me."

Yikes. For a moment, you forgot he was supposed to be the bad guy because of how pretty he was. But his multiple tentacles were a slap in the face, a reminder that he was not human. But at least you know now that whomever you replaced supposedly made a deal with the octopus to save others. But that knowledge did little to help.

From out of thin air, a golden contract appeared which he took in one tentacle to skim over. "According to our deal, your servitude to me is due to expire in exactly one year. However, since I do care so much for my treasure…" Well that's the fattest lie you ever heard. "I'm willing to hear your complaints and should you be persuasive enough, I may just change the contents of the contract."

Well, starting with the obvious. "I don't want to stay here in the cave."

"I allow you to roam and give you the freedom that comes with your job of spying on the humans for me." He responded quickly, efficiently. "Besides, don't I take such good care of you?"

That didn't work… Next, "I have high standards, you know. I want to live better than this."

"And you will receive your just reward if you stay with me. You'll get to live fabulously once I've regained all the wealth that was stolen from me!"

Ugh. Damn it. It seemed like he had an answer prepared for everything. You really didn't want it to come to this but you had no choice if you wanted to leave. "I can help you get the king's triton, then everything in the ocean will belong to you."

"I already planned on doing that." He grinned. God, that stupid confident smirk was getting on your nerves.

But! You had one more ace up your sleeve. Slowly you shrugged, eyeing the relaxed and amused octopus man, "You're right. I should've known you would’ve gotten that covered. Imagine that: ruling all the oceans and being all powerful… in the water. But what about the land? Sure, you may have the power to bring tsunamis and hurricanes, but waves and storms can only get so far inland. Will the ocean be enough for you?"

Instantly responding to your words, you could see his smile flatten as the cogs turned in his head. Apparently, just the water was not enough for him.

"Let's say… a kingdom on land is a good place to start." This was risky, but you really had no choice. If you could somehow manage to trick both the merman prince and human princess, Azul could use the merman prince as a hostage in exchange for the king's triton and he could take the land kingdom from the human princess. How would you do it? You had no idea. It was a work in progress, but it had to be done. When Azul finally gazed up at you with a contemplative expression, you added, "If I help you with this, with getting the king's triton and the nearby land kingdom, I want my freedom in exchange." You already knew how the sea witch operated. There had to be a catch, in case you fail. "If I fail… you can extend my contract."

Quickly he switched from contemplative to talkative, lamenting his worries, “Ah, but you’re priceless to me! As my only eyes and ears on land, how could I let you go? Yes, your proposition sounds attractive, but let’s reconsider this, shall we?”

Damn it! He still wanted more. What a greedy bastard… You wracked your brain for an answer, deliberating on what else you could possibly give in exchange to walk free. That’s when you had it. If you might be able to take the merman prince hostage for the triton, couldn’t you also utilize the human princess in more ways than just for her kingdom? Brightening up, you began, “How about a royal human to do your bidding? How’s that sound?”

Instantly his eyes widened and he couldn’t help but laugh incredulously as he leaned his head against his hand with his elbow propped up against the stone. “A royal? Serving me? Tempting. You drive a hard bargain, my dear diviner. You have a plan in that wonderful little mind of yours, don’t you? Okay, before we change the conditions of this contract, let me hear this plan of yours. Then, I’ll decide.”

You summarized your plan without divulging any bits of the future, not too worried about Azul turning on you because a pair of legs and a trusty ally were required for this plot to work. After describing the details and events that would need to happen as vaguely as possible, you sat upright and watched as he reflected on the proposal. Steadily his contemplative expression shifted, his lips curling into a grin as either something must’ve dawned on him or he came to his conclusion. “Hah, how can I say no to you, my dear? Very well. Because you’ve served me well all these years, I’ll grant you this wish.” Call you crazy, but he actually seemed the tiniest bit sincere when he said that part… In one tentacle, he summoned a quill but of fish bones, which he used to write on the golden contract in neat cursive penmanship. “In order to gain your freedom, you will have to seduce the pretty red prince so he will enter a contract with me to be with you, which will allow me to use him to gain the king’s triton. Then, you must also earn the trust of the human princess and lure her far enough out into sea so that I can take control over her land kingdom, and then she will be the royal that will take your place.”

That sounded good to you. Once you gained your freedom, you’d find a way to get far far away from the water. You’d take enough riches and belongings from the land kingdom’s palace to support yourself and live in splendor. Then, you’d go live a fabulous life somewhere miles and miles away from the ocean. Where this greedy sea sorcerer couldn’t ever reach you, even if he wanted to try and use you as a tool again. It was an ambitious plan, but you’d make it work. Afterall, you didn’t want to try and stick around long enough afterwards to see if the villains would die anyway even after a plot change.

After making the adjustments to the golden contract, one tentacle held it up for you to read and another held up the writing utensil. Azul continued to linger in the water, the rest of his octopus appendages under the surface while his arms were casually folded over each other and resting on the flat rocky surface. When you looked down at him, he flashed a smile and hummed, “This will be a beneficial transaction for both of us, won’t it? Doesn’t it remind you of when we met? You, stuck in the middle of the ocean from a shipwreck, begging me to help. And I, the saint-like man that I am, extended a helping hand to you where you signed the contract that would bind you to me for years. But it hasn’t been a miserable type of existence, has it? The twins should be thanked as well. They’re the reason I even considered accepting your plea, since they had enjoyed your company for years.”

Well, considering how neat and well-decorated the room behind the waterfall was, perhaps this mysterious character you’ve replaced was content here. But you weren’t. You only hummed in response, acknowledging his words as your eyes went over the lines of the contract.

At the very top, read: I hereby grant unto Azul, the Sorcerer of the Sea… one soul, in exchange for… The text went on in detail, describing how in exchange for the original character’s soul, they were granted the power of enhanced breath, giving them more time under water. It must’ve been written in haste, because the signature was sloppy and only read V. Div. Wonder what that meant. It was a temporary deal. Now, there was more written, more added on, to create the current deal you were about to make. It detailed the requirements you would need to meet in order to gain your freedom or increase your sentence as property of the sea sorcerer. There was another line, empty, for you to sign. Snatching up the utensil from his outstretched tentacle, you ignored his growing smirk as you hastily signed: V. Div.

“It’s done then!” Azul cheered, smiling smugly as he snapped his fingers which caused both the writing utensil and contract to disappear.

You’d need to get to work quickly. According to the story, on the same day the sea witch is watching the mermaid princess was not only a day of celebration for the merfolk but also that very night was when she first saw and saved the human prince. Yet, a few minutes ago, Azul had said that the celebration was in a few days time. Which meant, you only had a few days to meet the sea prince and capture his attention. “I want to start work on the plan. Now. Do you think you can get the… twins to change the prince’s course? If they can drive him towards the shore, I might be able to catch his attention.”

“I see…” Imagining the scene that would play out, Azul chuckled and swam a few feet back. “I’m sure you can make an arrangement with Floyd and Jade. After all, they do adore you.”

So that was what they were called here. Floyd and Jade. You’d have to be careful not to mix them up, or they might suspect something would be wrong. What you didn’t expect to see was a flash of teal appear in the water. By the time you turned your head to it, it was already gone. Quickly you scanned the waters, growing a little nervous despite the fact that Azul seemed unbothered as he disappeared underneath the same murky depths the movement was coming from. When you carefully leaned your head closer to the water, you could barely make out the shape of more items below like a mirror, shelves of coral filled with glass bottles of mysterious substances, and openings that must’ve led to an underwater cave system. So Azul likely lived down there with the twins.

When you noticed a slow rippling water effect, you quickly looked up to see teal-colored hair with a pale, a very light shade of cyan, face. But it wasn’t a regular eel like you were expecting, it was half human. Just like Azul, but eel instead of octopus. He poked the top of his head out of the water so only his upturned eyes were visible. On his head, you noticed some strands of black had stuck to each other hung on the right side of his face. His eyes were particularly odd, the left was an olive-color and the right one was a sort of enchanting yellow. Several feet behind him, you could make out bits of what must’ve been his lengthy tail emerge from the water. His gaze focused on you intently, and he appeared to smile with his eyes. You assumed he was smiling, because you couldn’t tell since the rest of his face was hidden by the surface of the water.

Wait a minute… if he had a twin, wasn’t there supposed to be two?

When you looked down at the end of the water you were leaning over, you screamed just as that hidden second eel came swimming toward you at terrifying speed from right below you. Without so much as a warning, you were pulled into the water. Fearful of meeting your watery grave here, you fought in his grasp, which did practically nothing against his strong grip and large slippery tail that coiled around your legs to stop your squirming. You hesitantly, confusedly, stopped your flailing when this second eel let out a joyfully yet somewhat mocking laugh as he held your face above the water.

You barely had time to catch your breath from that mini heart attack, when you finally looked up at this guy. This eel did look extremely similar to the first, but there were a few key differences. This one had downturned eyes, the black strands were on the left, and his left eye was yellow while his right was olive. Yet some things they both had in common were their sharp nails on their webbed hands and their even sharper teeth.

“You let your guard down! Had it been anyone else, someone you couldn’t trust, I could’ve easily drowned you, you know? When will you learn? Humans just aren’t built for water. You got the whole legs thing going on. Look at me! I have feet! You should just let Azul turn you like us, right, Jade?” He mocked what you were guessing was his attempt at a human. It wasn’t a very good one.

You hadn’t even noticed that the first eel was already at your side as well, now both twins were right beside you and you were currently in the water. In the water you were practically at the mercy of these two. The first eel, who was called Jade, spoke more eloquently but you didn’t like his sly curved toothy grin. “It would be fascinating to see their legs twist and morph into a tail or other appendages of some sort, but that is ultimately not up for us to decide, Floyd. If our dear friend doesn’t wish to change and Azul wants to keep them human so they can continue to spy on land, then they will stay human. Although I would’ve enjoyed watching the excruciating transformation process.” You didn’t like the way he said that with a smile…

The other eel, who had been called Floyd, appeared irritated and was ready to say something when his twin pointed to something in his hand. To which immediately he attitude went from sour back to happy in a single instant. Talk about mood swings. Floyd’s deep frown quickly shifted as he held up a sizable clam. “We got you something!”

You didn’t have to worry about drowning… for now. You didn’t even have to waste energy kicking your feet continuously to keep you afloat, because the twins had positioned their tails as support for you to lean on. Now that they had actually let go of you, you didn’t think you were going to die right this second. Especially since one just offered a gift, and Azul would’ve probably interjected to save you, right? Right…? Nervously you smiled, about to accept the clam, “Thank yo––”

CRACK!

In the middle of your sentence, Jade placed a cold hand on your shoulder as Floyd took the clam in both hands and cracked it in half. You were stunned as he discarded one half and presented the other half to you with a proud grin. “There ya go!”

“Ha… Thanks…” You awkwardly accepted the half of the clam that was left. It didn’t fully register in your mind what this gift really was until you had it in your hands and looked down at it. In the half, were pearls. Lots of shining dark pearls that matched your robes. Beautiful pearls, the rare type, that could easily go for over a thousand for a single piece. At least, that was the common price back home. When realization dawned on you, you clutched the pearls close, eyes shining as you looked up at the twins with the brightest smile, “Thank you! Thank you! They’re beautiful!”

Both extremely pleased, Floyd giggled as Jade proceeded to reach for the pearls and spoke, “Allow me.” When you handed them over, he attached two of the orbs to small metal pieces that connected around your earlobe like earrings, and the rest he placed on a black string connected to tiny nets that held the rest of the pearls around your wrist like a bracelet. “They fit you quite nicely, if I do say so myself.”

Floyd flashed a grin, musing aloud, “Hm, what do you think they have for us in return, Jade?”

Your elated smile fell flat as you processed their words. They wanted… something in return?

“That’s a good question, Floyd. I can’t help but wonder as well.” Jade hummed as he pulled away.

Stupid! You’re so stupid! You shouldn’t have accepted those gifts! Judging by their toothy grins, they now expected a gift in return. It wasn’t fair! They gave you one gift, but you’d have to work to get them two gifts, one for each twin! What could you possibly gift something that can be appreciated by two eel-men, eels that you had next to no knowledge about? Wait… the land! They probably might be curious about land objects! Your frown shifted to a confident smug sort of smile as you gestured them closer. “I have an idea. If you guys can take me to the shore and somehow force that red-haired prince to come close enough to see me, I’ll make sure to give you both amazing gifts from the land! How does that sound? You can, well, I don’t care how you do it. You can scare that prince and chase him to your heart's content, for all I care! So, will you help me? Pretty please?”

You watched as the two eels exchanged looks. Their eyes glimmered with mirth and bubbling excitement, seemingly conveying something through their gaze. Must’ve been some weird twin telepathy or something, but you knew you had them hooked when toothy grins spread on their lips.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

You had been on the surface for a few hours now. Again, without warning, the two eels had dragged you under the surface, rapidly through the underwater tunnels that took a quick minute to navigate. When you reemerged on the other side, coughing out sea water, you cursed the twins. You were certain, had it been anyone else and without the gift of enhanced breath to hold in air longer thanks to the contract, you would’ve probably drowned during the short swim. And you know now for a solid fact, that Floyd and Jade enjoyed tormenting you so. You were tempted to just forget about the gifts in return entirely due to their stunt, but the thought of them being upset and doing something worse refrained you from doing so. Which is why you went a little further inland to gather random things and carry them in the satchel you brought, but when you came back what you didn’t expect to find was a merman. And not just any merman, one with bright red hair and a green tail.

You nearly dropped all your things when you saw him on a large rock out in the water, trapped within a net and seemingly unconscious. Oh my god, had they kidnapped him? The first thing that popped up in your mind is that they jumped him, but you’re really hoping that this was not the case. Leaving your stuff on the sandy beach, you quickly moved forward to wade through the water until you had climbed the rock his motionless body laid on. As swiftly as you could, you cut the net with a broken shard of glass, careful not to hurt the prince.

“Come on, come on…! You can’t stay here too long, someone will see you.” You hissed under your breath. He couldn’t die, not yet. Not when you needed him alive in order to win your freedom. A dead prince wouldn’t be much leverage against the king of the sea. You had no idea what the twins did to him. Thankfully, he didn’t appear hurt, but you hardly knew enough about sea-creature anatomy to be considered an expert, so you couldn’t be sure.

Pulling the net off of him and discarding it on the rock, you heaved it further up so he wouldn’t get trapped in it, before returning your sights to the merman. When you returned to his side, you knelt down to his level, removing the tiny cut pieces of net from him. As your gaze traveled up, you froze when you saw his eyes were open and gazing right at you.

He was frozen, but not in fear. On his handsome face was a sort of expression of wonder. His eyes were blue, as blue as the vast ocean, and they never looked away from you. Still defying the laws of logic, his captivating red hair was practically dry, soft and wavy as it curled down the side of his face and to his lower neck. You ignored the slow movement of his beautiful emerald green tail, trying really hard to not stare at the sparkling scales that shined in the sunlight. What people would pay for a real merman tail, especially one so stunning…

It was time to turn on the act. Slowly reaching forward, you placed a hand on his cheek and frowned in worry as you murmured softly, “Are you alright?”

His mouth opened, but no words came out. He gaped like a fish, slowly blinking, as if he truly didn’t believe his own eyes. When he steadily lifted his own hand to place atop yours that rested on his cheek, his tail began to move a little faster. Then, with no warning, he jumped back into the water.

You sat there, surprised, as bits of the water splashed onto you. “Um… okay. You’re welcome?”

As you stood up, gathering up the net and thinking about different ways you could use it, you felt as if you were being watched. When you looked behind you, you could see the sea prince shyly peeking at you from behind the rock. Just as you tore your gaze away from him, you heard his melodious voice,

“Thank you, for… for freeing me.” He had gained the courage to distance himself from his hiding place, having enough bravery to swim closer until his hands were against the large rock you stood on and he wasn’t hiding his face in the water anymore. The prince watched curiously as you bundled up the remains of the net. It seems he really was a curious one, because he couldn’t help but lean forward and ask, “What are you going to do with that?”

Surprised by his sudden interest, you shrugged. You had to answer, keep him intrigued. You’re hoping your theory was true: that he would fall in love with any human so long as they were interesting or good looking enough, since he must’ve never even seen one so close before. “I’ll probably use it to hold stuff, maybe as decoration.”

He looked astonished as he exclaimed, “I never thought of using nets like that! I should try that for my collection… Oh! I’m Rielle! What’s your name?”

When you hesitated to respond, he appeared nervous, as if beginning to regret telling you his name. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked? But that wasn’t the reason for your hesitance. The reason was because you were debating on whether you should use your name or not. Maybe an alias was better? You thought back to how Azul called you his diviner, and the signature under the contract was V. Div. After a moment, you finally swung the net over your shoulder and replied, “People just call me Diviner, or V. Take your pick.”

“Those are wonderful names! I think I’ll call you both of them!” Rielle responded cheerfully, floating beside you as you wade through the water. He must’ve remembered something, because his joy morphed into nervousness as he looked over his shoulder. “I, uh–– I have to go…! But… can I see you again? Please, Diviner? I’d like to get to know my savior! I know it’s a lot to ask, but I really want to see you again!”

Perfect. You had him, his cheeks painted with that pink hue was evidence enough. When you reached the shore, right at the edge where the waves brushed against your feet, you turned to him, watching as he lay at the very edge of the water, looking anxious as he awaited an answer. You smiled, nodding, “Of course, Rielle. I’d love to see you again!”

The prince broke out into the brightest grin as he threw his arms around your torso, almost dragging you into the water in the process as you had to kneel or he would topple you. The young royal was beaming. When you were on your knees and at his level, he held your arms as he explained, “I can’t wait! Let’s meet tomorrow, right here, at the same time! But you have to promise me, you won’t tell anyone about me.”

“I promise, you have my word. We’ll meet tomorrow. Here.” From your satchel on the sand, you retrieved a hairclip you had found on your scavenging adventure. It was old and rusted, but it was still pretty. When you reached forward, he didn’t move as you used it to decorate his hair. “Just to make sure, I’m giving this to you. So I’m depending on you to take care of it, and have it next time we meet.”

That always works, and it did this time too. Especially since you knew he collected and obsessed over human artifacts and objects. Rielle felt his own locks, and his cheeks turned as red as his hair. “I love it! I adore it so much! I’m never taking it off! I have to go now but… I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?!”

“Okay.” You chuckled at his energy, waving as he began to swim back into the depths of the ocean.

When he was a few feet out, he looked back at you with bright eyes and a wide smile, waving frantically as he called out, “Bye, V! I’ll see you tomorrow, I promise!” With a dive and a glimpse of his tail, he was gone, just like that.

You lowered your hand, sighing. At least that was over. You got him in your grasps now, all that was left was the princess. And if your theory was right just like last time, capturing the human royal’s attention would be even easier. Did all fairytale royals fall in love so easily, or was it just them? You never quite understood the attraction behind each of them.

“Bravo! Well done! I must say, your sweet tone and kind actions directed towards Prince Rielle nearly made me jealous! Your plan went well accordingly, I must congratulate you on a good show! Rielle really is quite… gullible and pathetic, isn’t he?” A voice from your golden shell necklace appeared to speak, like some sort of transmitter.

“Azul?” He saw that, which could only mean… You suspiciously scanned the waters, approaching slowly, until you spotted that familiar teal amidst the waves. You frowned at the two lurking about, and when you were close enough, able to feel the water but still far enough to run back to the safety of the land, you demanded, “What did you do to that poor guy? Do you know how worried I was? I thought I was gonna have to perform CPR on him and then I remembered that probably wouldn’t even work on a fish!” The two, amused by your words, laughed in response.

Floyd giggled, speaking in that shrill tone that could only mean he was in a good mood. “You’re so funny! But why’s it matter what we did? He’s alive, isn’t he? And you said to do whatever we want!”

“That’s true. You did say to do as we pleased. We merely did as we were told. Shouldn’t we be praised?” Jade hummed while eyeing the satchel at your side. “I wonder, did you carry out your half of the bargain?”

“For your information, I did. Go crazy–– Actually, I take that back. I said that last time and look what happened.” You tossed the twins the satchel of goods and treasures you collected, filled with random plants and other useless human items they might take an interest in. As the two rushed to claim their spoils, you gripped the golden shell around your neck while murmuring to the sea sorcerer, “I’m going to keep coming out here to meet with Prince Rielle, gain his trust and affection. In a few days, I’ll be going for the princess next. And I know exactly how I’m going to go about doing it.”

From the shell you heard an intrigued hum. “Oh? Do tell, my dear diviner.”

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

“Child’s play! This is mere child’s play! Even easier than winning a game of chess! It’s too easy!” Azul sang, seemingly in a very good mood ever since you returned to the cavern after successfully seducing the youngest prince of the sea. He had such a wild look on his normally calm and composed face, acting as if he’s already won with that cocky grin and laugh. When he looked at you, he smiled, a true one. Not one of those kinds he forged to coax you into doing something for him. This one was a happy sort of grateful one. “My treasure, you truly are irreplaceable. Even a royal human couldn’t possibly do what you do. I’m beginning to have second thoughts!”

You narrowed your eyes at the octopus man just lounging right past the waterfall. “Watch it. We had a deal.” You warned.

“I jest! Of course…” Before you could notice his strained smile, he switched the subject back to the matter at hand. “Picture it, my diviner. Darling prince, son of king triton, leader of the merfolk, falls hopelessly head-over-heels for human! It would send ripples throughout the entire ocean!”

“Maybe you should’ve opened a news company or something with juicy headlines like those.” You scoffed as you rummaged and organized the belongings of this room that previously belonged to the true diviner before you. You wonder what happened to them?

At your response, Azul laughed. Surprisingly, not another fake one that he used to make clients think they were funny whenever they said a horrible joke. And it wasn’t a concerning slightly maniacal type of laugh like from moments ago. “Perhaps I should, it could be profitable.”

You reemerged from behind the waterfall, walking carefully on the stones as the sorcerer perked up at your presence. “Nice. Glad I can give you an idea with that. Focus on the news later, please. For now, remember––”

“Prince Rielle will enter a nasty spat with his father and so, in his moment of great need, Floyd and Jade will appear to offer him a suggestion. That’s when he’ll come crying to me, begging for a way to be with you! Then, I offer him a deal he cannot resist, one that grants me power over him. That’s the gist of it, isn’t it?” He recited, looking over at you for confirmation. When you nodded, he continued to smile, but he eyed you a little strangely. “I find it a little odd how you know so much. Are you certain?”

Staring right back at him, you locked eyes, attempting to keep your cool and remain confident. If he saw you crack, he’d know something was up. “I told you, it was a dream. So far my dream was right, I say we keep going with it.”

“Yes, yes, whatever, we’ll continue with our chartered course. And by the way, I don’t believe you when you say the prince fell for you just because you’re a human that saved him.”

At his offhand comment, you raised an eyebrow, sitting yourself on the ledge by the water, closer to him to better engage in conversation. Placing aside the belongings for now, you demanded, “What do you mean? Of course that’s why he fell! Why else would he care?”

Upon hearing your confident response, he chuckled, shaking his head as he continued to scribble lines upon lines on his scrolls. “I’ve watched the princes for years, Rielle just happened to be the weakest of all the young royals. Of course you being human, the object of his fascination, and saving him, a hero in his eyes, helped, but that isn’t all. I’ve learned about the prince inside and out to fool him, and he tends to think that most only want him for his voice and for his status. Yet you know nothing of his status, and said nothing of his voice, plus you didn’t frown at his interest in human objects. That must’ve been a first for him.”

Considering his words, it made sense. In a way the reasons behind the prince’s affection made you feel a tad guilty, but it wasn’t enough to deter you from the end goal. Maybe if Azul was feeling merciful, he would spare him. Whatever the case, you wanted your freedom and still aimed to live a life of luxury later on. But slowly you shook your head, “It doesn’t matter. The point is, he’s in love and I have him where I want him.”

“How cruel.” He purred. “I believe I’ve thought up a fine fate for Prince Rielle… I think the sea king’s headstrong, lovesick son will make a fine addition to my garden.”

Right, his garden. Really, it was more like a sick twisted bed of weeds and unfortunate souls. As those words left his lips, you scrunched up your nose in disgust and leaned over the edge of the water to peer at the depths below. It was dark, so you couldn’t see it, but you knew it was down there somewhere in the underwater portion of the cavern. Based on what the three sea creatures had mentioned about it, you knew it was a portion of space where Azul kept those clients that failed to fulfill their contracts, which was essentially all those that ever made a deal with him. His victims, countless merfolk turned to ugly little polyps, forced to spend eternity as miserable little creatures trapped within the garden. What a horrible fate.

Glaring at the murky waters where Azul kept his secrets and deeds hidden from your prying eyes, you scorned, “You’re terrible.”

“Oh, how you wound me!” Azul cried dramatically as he held his hands to his heart… hearts? Didn’t an octopus have multiple hearts? Did that mean Azul has more than one heart? Weird…

As you silently wondered about the heart thing, you stepped away from the water. You didn’t ever want to get on his bad side and get turned into a polyp. Yet, you couldn’t help but wonder, the whole reason you were here was because the one before you failed to uphold their end of the deal, whatever it was. “Why didn’t you put me down there? Down in your garden?”

For a moment, Azul was quiet, which unnerved you. Why didn’t he answer immediately? He lowered a scroll he was reading over, and from the corner of his eyes he glanced at you. His smile now was… different. When one of his smooth but slippery and soft tentacles extended up and curled around your arm, you couldn’t move. Despite how Azul looked, he was much more capable physically. You had watched him juggle multiple tasks with ease by using his many appendages, and he had more than enough power to defend himself from unruly clients. The purple underside of his tentacle stuck uncomfortably to your flesh, preventing you from going anywhere. “Air-breathing little flora won’t exactly last under the salty waves and away from the sunlight. Besides…” The sea sorcerer smirked at you, “I like you as you are, you’re morethan just useful to me.”

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

A few weeks passed, and you continued with that vision of freedom within reach. You spent your hours busy, chatting with Azul and listening in as he lured in clients and trapped them, taking everything they had; entertaining the unsettling twins and listening to their reports and stories as they angered Azul by taking you out of the cavern to have fun in the hidden cove; meeting with Rielle, continuing to gain his affection and earn his love by talking about his stifling life as the son of the sea king and teaching him about the human things he adores. And finally, plotting. Plotting your meeting with the human princess.

The plan was simple enough. In the story, the human prince was saved by the mermaid princess after a storm hit his ship and caused it to sink. The mermaid returned the prince to the land, where he eventually regained consciousness. In his dazed state, he heard the mermaid singing and could just barely make out her face before she disappeared. From that moment forth, he becomes determined to find the woman who saved him, and is convinced that she’s the one meant for him.

Simple enough. All you had to do was insert yourself into the role of savior once again. Jade was tasked with making sure Prince Rielle didn’t see or approach the humans and the ship, while Floyd went with you to… speed up the process. You’ve learned that both twins were destructive, but Jade liked to appear polite and restrained at times, while Floyd was much more willing to wreak havoc with zero reservations. Besides, yes you had enhanced breathing but you couldn’t swim that far out that fast, which is why you required the presence of one of the twins because they were incredibly quick and strong swimmers.

It would actually be Floyd helping you do most of the saving, you were just the pretty face to keep the princess captivated. Which he was totally fine with, because he didn’t have the patience nor the charm to act all lovey-dovey. If it were entirely up to him, he’d toss the princess on the shore and call it a day without even checking if she was actually still alive. Luckily, it’s not up to him. It’s up to you.

You watched the explosions of light and colors, fireworks being fired into the sky off the sailing ship. It was a familiar sight to you, but for a creature of the sea like Floyd, it was not so much. Clinging to his back as he swam along, you noticed he quickened his speed as his eyes were captivated by the light show. “Wow, it’s so bright! I wanna touch it. Hey, hey, you’re human so you know human stuff. What’re those?”

You chuckled at his child-like wonder, shaking your head. “Fireworks, they’re just lights used for celebrations. I don’t think it’s possible to touch them, and even if you could, you might get burned.”

A frown formed on his lips as he complained, “Whaaat? That’s stupid! I wanna catch some fireworks in a jar and take it home to show Jade. Then whenever I shake the jar, it’ll go boom! Making more of those explosions noises and flashing colors!”

Fireworks in a jar under the sea. Huh, that would actually be sorta cool. As Floyd approached the hull of the ship, you released your grip on the eel and grabbed part of the wooden hull. Quietly, you gazed down at him in the water and replied, “Tell you what, I’ll see what Azul and I can do about that for you if this mission ends on a good note. That sound fair?”

“Yeah! Yeah! I––”

“Shh!” Quickly you shushed him, watching as he lowered the rest of his face in the water. But from the sparkle in his eyes, it was obvious he must’ve been hiding a grin. The chattering and voices of those on board with the sound of the waves were loud enough to drown out most noises, but you couldn’t risk anything. “Let’s keep it down, okay? Or they might hear us.”

Floyd continuously gazed up at you, before murmuring, “Hey, when the ship goes down and you’re lookin’ for the princess, can I take one of the drowning sailors?”

For that you had to pause and stare at him, not believing what you heard for a moment. Actually, scratch that, you believed it. That was one of the twins you were talking about. The eel continued to peer up at you with impatience, as if itching to just start the chaos already. When he lifted his head and his mouth was no longer concealed by the water, you saw you were right. Big toothy grin. You sighed, “Fine. One sailor, but do it quickly and quietly, then you find me. Okay?” Better some random sailor be drowned or torn apart by the eel instead of you.

“Okay~! Thank you! You’re the best!” He sang with the brightest beaming smile. To think such a desire for a morbid reason could make him so happy… but you were not going to divulge further into the topic. You didn’t know what kind of fun Floyd wanted to have by tormenting some poor person. But enough of that, you had bigger fish to fry.

For now, you focused on climbing until you peeked past a sizable opening in the side right by where the floor would be. As you peered in, you could hear instruments like a flute and accordion, in rhythm was dancing steps. The candles on board the ship provided plenty of lights, stretching out the shadows across the board. It looked like some nice fun, as everyone appeared to be having a grand old time. There was even a barking dog bouncing around. Right–– you remembered that one, that big dog happened to belong to the princess.

“Max! Come here!” A voice called, whistling and calling the energetic dog toward them.

Target spotted. Off to the side, a little bit away from the dancing crowd, was the very princess you had been searching for. She was pretty, with long hair as black as the night and icy blue eyes. Although, she didn’t dress exactly as you imagined, not really resembling the pictures of princesses of old in your textbooks from school. The princess dressed like a commoner or even a simple sailor, with a loose white blouse, a red sash tied around her hip, and a long but simple skirt that ended just a few inches above her ankles. Yes, she was definitely pretty, but you still didn’t quite get what should’ve originally been Rielle falling in love at first sight with her. Maybe you’d never get it, and it was probably for the best.

“Whatchu’ lookin’ at?”

You gasped at the sudden voice beside you, shocked to see Floyd was so close that he was shoulder-to-shoulder with you. He had somehow climbed the hull when you weren’t looking, and now was curiously peering inside too. When you looked back down, you could see his lengthy tail hanging down the side. When you looked back at him, he was eyeing the humans on board with a mix of confusion and boredom. “Floyd! What are you doing here? What happened to the whole sailor thing?”

“Ehhh, I’ll look for ‘em later.” He shrugged, suddenly losing interest. Maybe that was for the best too. You didn’t need possibly more blood on your hands. Floyd continued to watch the dancing people, resting his cheek flat on the edge where you were both hidden by the shadows and behind barrels and other supplies. “Which one is the princess? I can’t tell. They all look the same to me.”

Hesitantly you used your head to gesture to the woman playing a flute and dancing around with the dog. “Her.” As soon as he honed in on her, you scolded him lightly, “And don’t even think about trying to jump her like you and your brother did to Rielle.”

A fit of giggling came out of him as he lifted his head and glanced at you, “Aw, why not? Why can’t she be the sailor I choose to go after?”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Those razor sharp claws on his webbed hands appeared extra shiny today. They dug into the wooden edge where you both were peering over, carving little splinters of wood off as he hummed, “Hm, I dunno… Maybe I should dare. It would make you stay.”

There was no sign of him relenting, and it was beginning to make you nervous. If Floyd wasn’t willing to help you by the time the storm hit, then you could kiss your freedom goodbye. It almost made you lose your composure, but somehow you managed to stay cool and continue with a soft smile, “What would Azul say if he found out the plan failed because you were feeling possessive?”

Rolling his eyes, he laughed before it turned to whining, like an angry tantrum, “I don’t care what Azul says! I think the contract was stupid anyways. It’s not fair that he gets to decide your fate just because he wants some lame old artifact triton! It’s not fair! No fair at all!” Before he could bang his fists against the hull in frustration, he grabbed onto you, and you felt his weight dragging you down. He was literally trying to pull you back into the water. You couldn’t call for help because the humans would see you and everything would go astray, so you could only desperately hold onto the side until you were yanked down into the sea.

The cold water hit you, sending such a shock through your system, but you weren’t drowning. With your head above the water, you turned to Floyd who kept close. What unnerved you was that he no longer had a dopey smile on his face. “What are you doing…?! You’re going to ruin everything!”

That didn’t seem to weigh too heavily on his mind, because he only scoffed and his frown deepened. “Who cares about some stupid sailors and humans anyways?”

For a moment, you wished you had Azul’s strength so you could defend yourself here. Because you knew, Floyd was much stronger, and the only reason he wasn’t dragging you back like a ragdoll was because he respected you or liked you… somewhat. In his own weird Floyd-way. “I’m human, Floyd.”

“Yeah, maybe, but you're not stupid. Or boring.”

In the distance you could hear thunder rumbling. Oh no. The storm was coming, and if you didn’t change Floyd’s mind, he wouldn’t help you at all. In fact, he might try to get in your way. The waves were starting to become rough and wild, but the eel diligently kept you above the surface at all times no matter how savage the sea became or how the rain began to feel like needles pricking your skin or even how harsh the wind hit you. “I don’t want to live in that cave my whole life! Imagine if you had to live there, and the only way out was to ask someone else to take you or let you out. Wouldn’t you hate that?”

By now he had to shout to be heard over the howling wind, and he didn’t seem convinced. “Hmmm… yeah, but it’s not me. It’s you. Besides, I like you living right there with us.”

When lighting struck the white sails of the ship, setting the sheets ablaze, you knew time was ticking by. Yet you couldn’t snap, because that would only cause Floyd to snap too. You had to stay calm and think, quickly think of a way to convince him to help you. “Azul probably doesn’t want me to leave either, he’ll probably have some plan in mind to trick me at the last minute. Besides, I know you and Jade probably won’t let me leave anyways, even if I really wanted to. But think about it Floyd, if Azul gets that old triton and the land kingdom, he’ll have everything! Even stuff like those fireworks.”

That seemed to have a bit of an effect. You could only watch the ship, half ablaze, crash into jutted rocks, causing many on board to jump and abandon ship. Meanwhile, Floyd was still considering your words. Until what felt like an eternity later, he gazed down at you and spoke. “I wanna see more fireworks with you.”

“What?”

“Is your hearing going or something?” Annoyed, he repeated it louder this time, “I want to see the fireworks with you.”

Finally he was relenting. Hurriedly you agreed, growing more desperate with every passing moment, your calm facade had already cracked long ago, “Alright, we’ll see the fireworks together! With Azul and Jade too, we’ll use enough fireworks to paint the whole sky bright! We’ll even fire some ourselves. Does that sound like a plan to you?”

You impatiently watched his irked expression shift, having to squint your eyes to see through the rain and high and low rising waves. Had it not been for him holding onto you still, you probably would’ve been swept away in the powerful currents. Then, you saw it, a smile tugging at his lips, and he began cheerfully again, “Sounds like a plan~!”

“Great! Mmph––!” With no warning, he dove under the waves, moving much quicker under the water but you could only hold your breath for so long when you didn’t even get an opportunity to prepare yourself. You felt the pressure of the water push on you, soaking you down to the bone, but you continued to hold on to the eel as he swam at an incredible speed. When you heard the muffled sound of an explosion and saw a burst of fire above the water, you knew you only had seconds left.

According to the story, moments earlier, the princess must’ve gone back on the ship to save her dog from the inferno. Her foot would become stuck in the floorboards as the dog she carried made it overboard to a rowboat. But right then, the fires would reach the stored gunpowder, triggering the explosion that would blow the ship to smithereens and knock the royal unconscious, throwing their body into the ocean below.

When you reemerged above the water with Floyd, you saw the sharp jagged rocks, the burning ship slowly sinking, the debris floating all around you, and bits of wood on fire falling down from the cloud of ash and smoke in the sky. The eel had spotted the human princess at the same time you did, and he zoomed right over to her drifting form slipping off a piece of the floorboard. As soon as you were close enough, you grabbed her, holding her tight with both arms as Floyd, not particularly interested in the princess and more intrigued by the shipwreck, held you with one arm.

“I think I want blue fireworks. Do they have blue ones?”

You can’t believe that during all this chaos and while you were still trying to save the princess, Floyd was still on about fireworks. Exasperated, but still trying so hard not to snap at him, you exclaimed with an incredulous sort of laugh, “Yes, they have every color, even blue! Can we please, for the love of god, Floyd, just get her back to shore and go home?”

Thankfully, Floyd didn’t cause any more trouble and the shore wasn’t that far away. You had found a secluded little beach, where you left Floyd in the water and dragged the girl onto the sand, away from the now calm tides. Before it was night when everything happened, but now it was the dawn of morning. You stayed beside the unconscious princess, checking for a pulse, which she still had. In the chaos, the ends of her skirt had gotten torn, she lost her shoes, but she didn’t appear to have any major injuries save for minor scratches and bruises. Slowly she breathed, a sure sign she was alive. Frankly, it was a miracle she even survived that explosion, and it was all for a dog.

Ah–– right. This was when Rielle was supposed to start singing, and the princess would slowly regain consciousness, and would see his face. That was not happening, you were not singing. You were not like that curious merman prince that had taken to happily singing to you whenever you met up with him. Slowly you placed your hand against her cheek, she was still as you quietly hummed, and after a few minutes, as the sun began to shine, she stirred.

A soft smile made its way on her pink lips as she unconsciously pressed her cheek into the palm of your hand. That’s when you noticed her eyes slowly, groggily, opened half-way, and her hand ghosted over yours. She was looking at you tiredly, she probably couldn’t see too well at the moment, but her blue eyes continued to gaze at you with growing awe. “You’re safe now, don’t worry.”

As soon as you heard barking in the distance followed by voices that were getting closer, that was your sign to go. You sprinted back to the water, diving in once deep enough and quickly being snatched up by two eels that took you somewhere hidden to spectate. You were led off to the side, in the shadows of some large boulders, out of sight, close enough to watch but far enough not to hear.

You recognized the large energetic dog that came bounding to its master, and you could guess that the person who followed and appeared quite messy was a servant of the princess that had also survived the shipwreck. The servant helped the royal up, looking incredibly relieved to see them alive. However, the princess, now more awake but still woozy, was frantically scanning the ocean’s surface and the beach around them. An amazed smile formed on her face as she stumbled forward away from the servant, saying something you couldn’t hear, but she held her hand to her heart. Still weak, the servant supported her weight and escorted her away, out of sight, with the dog following in tow.

When the humans and their pet were finally gone, you continued to stand beside the rock, glaring down at the twins. Specifically the one that’s caused you the most trouble so far. That’s when you broke your silence. “I hate you.”

“Awwwwww, I love you too!” Floyd teased, looking so very pleased with himself.

Jade glanced at the two of you, sensing something happened enough to annoy you, which made him smile. “It appears that things went swimmingly in my absence.”

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

More weeks passed, you finally had a moment to relax as you allowed the prince and princess to marinate with their feelings for you. Floyd was somewhere, probably with Azul. When you got back from the mission, the two had gotten into a spat over how the mission nearly failed due to the eel’s mood swings. Which was fine, as long as it didn’t involve you, you didn’t care. You were relaxing, laying on the hammock you set up away from the water but close enough to the waterfall to hear the quiet and calming sound of the running water flowing down into the cavern.

As you lay there in peace, attempting to rest your tired eyes for a few moments. You heard movement. Jade was likely lingering about, doing whatever those eels did in their underwater portion of the cavern, but lately he’s been taking to using your half of the space for his new gardening hobby. It seems he really took a liking to the foraged items you bring, specifically the mushrooms you found. You would consider taking some from his garden and using them in a meal, but Azul warned you that for some reason, Jade liked the poisonous kind, so you were no longer keen on risking anything by going ahead with that idea of yours.

“I should make you aware, the prince came for you a few days ago.”

You stopped using your weight to swing you back and forth slowly on the hammock, only when it stopped did you peek one eye open to look at Jade tending to the various different types of mushrooms growing in the darkest dampest corner of the cavern. “What?”

“Prince Rielle came earlier than you expected. It seemed that he had his dispute with his father already destroying his collection of human artifacts, and you being absent from your usual morning chats with him made him so sick with worry that it drove him to take the drastic measures you predicted.” Jade wasn’t facing you, he was using the freshwater you gave him to carefully sprinkle over his beloved shrooms. “I must commend your odd new divination abilities, they were quite accurate, but not entirely correct. The prince did indeed trade his voice for a pair of legs which he declared he would use to walk and search for you in the land kingdom. The only thing that can save him now, is a kiss from you. So do try to avoid that. I thought it strange that Azul was not entirely… content with the deal, for whatever reason. It seems something was on his mind.”

You narrowed your eyes, focusing intently on the back of his head so he must’ve felt your stare burning holes into the back of his skull. You knew that he knew you were watching, judging by his quiet chuckle, the quick rise and fall of his shoulders from his short laugh. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Isn’t it common courtesy to compliment companions? I only wish to have a nice conversation with you, my dearest friend…” For a second he paused, he continued speaking clearly and smoothly, but everything he said in that tone he always used sounded like a lie, a trick, words meant to put you at ease and lure you into a false sense of security. Yet, you didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not, you couldn’t trust him. While his twin preferred to cause turmoil with his stubbornness that caused frustrations and wreckages, Jade preferred to go with the flow, confuse and disorientate his victims. “I only wish to help you with your dream of freedom. By the way, you needn’t worry about the prince or the princess. I made sure the tides and his friends carried Prince Rielle to shore. He happened to meet Princess Erika, and last I checked, both were searching for someone and they had joined forces to search for their true love. It seems that Princess Erika has spent the last weeks searching high and low across the land for you, while Prince Rielle has been concerned for you and plans to find you as well. Of course, neither royal knows they’re in love with the same person.”

For a second, you had to refrain from sighing. Actions spoke louder than words. Yes, you were relieved that the two hadn’t fallen in love with each other and were still focused on you, but you couldn’t let them stay together for long. If only you could actually choose both of them and live off the wealth their two kingdoms acquire, but alas, you already made a deal with Azul. Well, that aside, Jade had called you his dearest friend. Part of you didn’t know if that was just sweet talk to get you to lower your guard, or if he was being sincere. Azul had once mentioned that the twins adored you, but if this was their way of adoration, then it was weird and you didn’t want it. But, you decided to test your luck and prod with a scoff, mocking his previous words. “Dearest friend, hm?”

“Of course. However, you’ve become much more interesting these past few weeks.” Jade finally turned to glance at you with a sort of smile that you weren’t sure how to describe. His fingers ghosted over his beloved plants as he recounted, “When we were children, Floyd and I had never seen a human until you. When we lured you out to sea, you didn’t cry or scream, you were calm and amused us with your words. So, we became friends. Azul didn’t meet you until later, but he didn’t hold the same high opinion of you as my brother and I did. It was only later, when you were in your hour of need and with a kind word from us, did Azul finally take an interest in you as a tool for his business ventures. And I can’t help but notice that his disinterest in you lately has changed. It’s as if… you no longer are the same friend I once knew.”

You felt yourself go still, keeping your gaze on the few stalactites on the ceiling above, because you felt him staring at you with those mismatched eyes. Ever so slightly, his tone shifted, losing its charming feel to it.

“Should anyone I trust and call my friend choose to betray me, there is a special treatment I’ve prepared just for them. In truth, I’ve prepared several options, but I’m sure I can imagine more on the spot.” The longer he spoke, the more the growing horror slipped through your calm facade, making it crack as he went on and on with a cruel toothy grin. “The prince you fooled traded his voice away just to be with you again, so one could cut off your tongue and say you match him in muteness. On the other hand, there’s the princess you saved, I could tie you to a sinking surface as you pray she finds you before it’s too late. Ah, but then there’s your ability to breathe underwater longer, as granted by Azul. Well… in that case, I could still watch you drown as you wait with your waning breath, chained to the bottom of the seas with only fear and your thoughts swirling about as you reflect on every moment you tricked me and my brother until your lungs reach their limit and implode––”

There was no other way out, you were trapped in here with this monster. The only way out was the underwater portions of the cavern which you couldn’t reach because Jade would catch you the moment your toes touched the water. You would starve in this cavern, that is if they didn’t use some other twisted magic to bring about your demise. You would die here.

Then, his smile shifted as he noticed your visible panic and fear, before he tilted his head and chuckled, “Heh, of course, this is all hypothetically speaking. You weren’t my friend to begin with, so I hold no ill-will towards you. But I must tell you, you’ve been of great company to me recently. When Azul placed a contract on my human companion, I saw them begin to wither with the lack of freedom and heavy duties. But I’m assuming that changed when you, my new friend, arrived.”

That kind smile of his unnerved you after everything he said. To think you had actually been hanging out with this guy before and having nice conversations with him a few days ago, you were blinded by the gifts he brought you… That’s when a thought came to you. You felt your heart stop as you hopped off the hammock and demanded with as much of a composure as you could gather after his freighting words, “Does Azul know…?”

“...” His silence unnerved you, you wanted to snap and just tell him to spit it out, but you knew then that if you did that, he wouldn’t tell you at all. For now, he’d only hang the answer above your head, use it to make you impatient and frustrated. That was what he wanted. After a moment of seeing you remain calm, he slowly nodded, “This is Azul we are speaking about. I’m sure even in your short time here, you realize that he isn’t a man that leaves any stone unturned or coral unsearched when it comes to important business opportunities for him. And this opportunity you’ve presented him happens to be the most bountiful of all.”

Jade was right. It would be more shocking if Azul didn’t know by now. Afterall, you could only resemble someone you didn’t even know for so long. And if he knew, he was likely plotting to keep you here. You knew how the sea sorcerer worked by learning about him with your time here and by knowing the fairytales.

By now, the eel had swum closer, apparently deciding that this conversation was much more interesting than his mushroom garden. “I’m assuming Floyd hasn’t yet realized, or else we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Oh no, you did not want Floyd finding out. You had no clue how he would react. You were hoping that he was more fascinated like Jade was, but you couldn’t even be remotely certain as to how that would go. Ignore that topic, you switched it to another person to be wary of, the one you’d be tied to for an eternity if you didn’t escape his slippery clutches soon. “Are you going to tell Azul?”

For a moment he appeared to ponder on the idea, and as he lifted his head out of the water, you saw that grin that placed you on edge. Now, you were too nervous to get close to him in fear of the malicious threats spewing out of his mouth earlier. You had a feeling that he wasn’t lying about all that. His eyes seemed to glow a tiny bit as he hummed, “Contrary to what most believe, I’m not here for the money or because I’ve known Azul for years. He even instructed me not to let you out at all anymore unless he approved, especially now that he’s gone to retrieve his reward from the prince. It seems he doesn’t want you seeing others. But I serve whoever presents more interesting opportunities for me. I wonder, what more wondrous things and moments can you share with me, my friend, hm?”

Oh my god, Azul was minutes away from getting the triton, that is if he didn’t have it already. You had to get out of here. Now. “Actually…” You were beginning to concoct a plan of your own. Perhaps you could still fulfill your contract, even if the sorcerer would get in your way. If you had to guess, the twins were meant to be an obstacle. However, if you could get them on your side, then things would go much smoother. “I have something in mind, if you’re willing? But it involves me leaving the cave.”

Jade smiled, “No, I’m not willing.”

Well, that didn’t go according to plan. But you can’t say you didn’t try. Your last resort now, before Azul could return and somehow force you to remain as some eternal slave, was to escape on your own. You did your part, didn’t you? Sort of… You seduced Rielle so he entered a contract with Azul, you seduced Erika so she was always by the water now looking for you, it was the perfect set up for Azul. You did essentially everything he wanted you to do.

When the eel disappeared into the waters, that’s when you took action. You weren’t going to risk swimming and getting lost in those underwater tunnels only to get caught by Jade, oh no. If you couldn’t escape below, you’d escape above. With all the nets you had gathered from your scavenging and the time you had alone behind the waterfall, you made a fine sort of escape to climb, if you do say so yourself. It was definitely long enough to reach the very top where the water was coming from. So when Jade was nowhere to be found, you tied one end of the net to a hook and tossed it to the top. Pulling on it, testing its strength so it wouldn’t drop you down into your own personal prison, once you deemed it sturdy, you began to climb. You couldn’t manage to escape last time in your world, but now you could, and you’d get the freedom you desired.

Once at the top, you heaved a giant sigh of relief, part of you not believing it was that easy to get out. The only reason you got out with no issue was because Azul wasn’t present to open his hand and beckon you to come closer, with the magic shell necklace dragging you forward. As you picked up the pace to a run, you tried to remove the necklace, smash the shell, something–– but it never budged. The necklace was the shackles tying you to the sea sorcerer. You could only hope that it had some limit, like it wouldn’t work if you’re several miles away from this place. At this rate you don’t care where you went, you just had to get away before he became too powerful and dangerous.

Hey, on the brightside, maybe with his new power over the sea and part of the land, he’ll lose interest in you entirely! Yeah! If you were in his position and had control over the entire ocean and a whole kingdom on land, you wouldn’t care for anyone else, not even a human who had helped you get to that point. If you were Azul, you’d forget all about the human and instead focus on your newfound riches and power all at your disposal. That placed you at ease, and cleared your mind enough to allow you to focus on the most important matter at hand: your escape.

You needed to get far far away, go somewhere new and start with a fresh slate, seduce some lords or heiresses, maybe even a king or queen, and begin the life of luxury and wealth you deserved. You found your ticket out on a boat preparing to set sail. Yes, it was risky, but according to the tale, the sea witch never sunk any ships. The ships she had been impaled with and tried to use were all older vessels that were already at the bottom of the sea. So, you would be good. With ease you snuck onto the ship as the crew was nearly done loading the cargo. You blended in as one of the people onboard, only feeling better when the ship officially left the port.

The sun was setting, but you could enjoy its fading warmth on your skin and listen to the waves that rocked the ship gently like a cradle. The sky was painted a deep purple, the orange and red fading the more the sun inched down the horizon, making it darker and darker. For the first time in a while, you were at peace, you felt free already. There were no eels to torment you or no octopus to pester you, not even the merman that sang about love or the human princess––

“Excuse me?”

The sudden voice caused you to snap out of your train of thought. Slowly you removed your arms from the edge where you had been leaning, and you glanced back, prepared to smoothly slip your way out of this one should it be someone questioning who you were and why you were on this ship. However, as soon as you turned your head and quickly flashed your practiced smile, it dropped just as fast as you put it on. There, standing behind you, was the human princess, gazing at you with those beautiful icy blue eyes.

“I’m sorry, but you look so familiar…” As her eyes stared intently at your face, she visibly brightened up, a smile forming on her lips as she spoke hopefully, “We’ve met before, haven’t we? I knew it!” Taking your hand in hers, she continued to peer up at you while going on joyfully, “You’re the one! The one I’ve been looking for! What’s your name?”

It took everything not to just jump overboard right at that second. In your head, alarms were blaring, but you somehow managed to keep in your mess of emotions as you forced that smile back into place on your face. “It’s… V.”

“V… V!” She laughed, embracing you tightly, much to your surprise. “I’m so happy I found you! I wanted to thank you for saving me, but I couldn’t find you anywhere, no matter how much I searched! To think that you would end up here, on the ship I prepared to search for you on! I couldn’t find you in town or in the woods or anywhere! So I figured the only other place you could be was maybe in the water, maybe you lived in the coves or caverns! And here you are!”

You needed to get off this damned ship––

“Well, well, there you are. I was worried for a moment when you were nowhere to be found.”

At the end of the ship, near where the captain was supposed to be steering, was the very person who you were running away from, your captor and now, based on his new accessories, the new king of the sea. The five sharp white shells stringed with tiny pearls decorating his silver hair like a halo, made him look like royalty. It must’ve been a crown. In between his slim fingers, he tightly held the large golden triton. The triton glimmered like a giant knife in the fading light now blocked out by an increasing number of gray clouds heavy and pregnant with a storm. He had spoken loud and clear, causing everyone on board to notice his presence, making all onlookers gasp in horror at his inhuman appearance.

When his eyes turned to you, you felt a chill travel down your spine. There was no escape.

His black appendages curled around him in an unruly mass, taking up a considerable amount of space. Although he may have looked like a monster to everyone, including the princess standing protectively in front of you, you might’ve been in awe if you weren’t so fearful of losing your freedom. Part of him was beautiful, but his endless greed and this sort of crazed look in his eyes made him look frightening.

“You left our cozy little abode, but you led me right to the princess, so I can’t be cross with you. I couldn’t ever stay mad at you, my precious treasure. But… I was prepared to give you everything your heart could desire, my dear diviner. The world would become your oyster. I’ll lift shipwrecks off the ocean floor and empty them of all their treasures for you. I’ll summon storms and waves to drown any enemy you name. I’ll use all the magic in my disposal, all the magic in the world, just to amuse you and keep you beside me longer. Everything… Everything would have been yours…!” He stopped his growing rant, taking a deep breath, a forced sigh as he breathed, “But at least I’ve found you.”

Your necklace! He was still tracking you, he did still want you for whatever selfish reason. And now, he had the triton in hand. Which meant he must’ve already encountered Rielle again, and forced the king to give up himself in order to replace Rielle’s name in the contract. Who knew what he did to Rielle? He likely used the triton to end him swiftly, to make sure no one would get in his way.

Azul eyed the princess with disdain, “I no longer want that useless girl. No princess or even a prince could ever live up to your worth.” Without warning, he started crawling, and fast. With no legs, he couldn't run or walk like a human. So he crawled like some desperate creature, clawing his way forward with his tentacles dragging behind him, terrorizing all those on board and making them run and part ways for him to continue forward like a train at high speed. When he closed in on them, it only took one appendage to slap away Erika like she was nothing but an annoying buzzing fly in his way.

At inhuman speed, he grabbed you as you fought in his slippery grasp and screamed, “I have nothing more to give you!! Why can’t you just let me go?! You have everything!”

“Not everything, angelfish.” He chastised, wasting no time jumping into the sea until you were both under the cold water. When he tapped your chin with the sharp end of the triton, he instructed, “Breathe. Let’s make another deal, this one you will want to hear out.”

Hesitantly, unsurely, you breathed, watching bubbles emerge from your breaths, surprised to see it worked. It must’ve been the magic of the triton he touched you with. That’s when you finally spoke, snapping, “Why would I make another deal with you, you lying cheat?”

For a moment, he actually looked hurt, before he snapped back. “That’s amusing, coming from you. You were ready to run away before our deal could properly be completed!”

“I did everything you wanted, you had all the pieces! You won’t grant me the freedom you promised! I know how you work. You’re a sham! You planned to keep using me as a tool!”

Pursing his lips, Azul paused before replying, “Yes, I did. But that was before. That’s when I believed you were the V I knew before, but then I noticed you were acting strangely. Your so-called prophecy dream, your words, your actions, it was all off. You weren’t the same person.” As he spoke, his appendages let go of you, but they remained lingering behind and around you, trapping you in like a cage where your only option out was him. The sea sorcerer. “I saw it clearly. Those wretched little royals don’t deserve you! Prince Rielle is gone, and I ordered Floyd and Jade to sink Princess Erika’s ship, they get to do as they please with the humans on board. You won’t be seeing neither the princess nor the prince anymore, they won’t be pestering you. Onto more interesting topics. You’re something special, something otherworldly, am I wrong…? I read it in ancient texts once, about how sometimes there are people who mysteriously replace someone, and those people are not from anywhere known. You were banished from your world, just as I was banished from my home. They forsake us because they fear us, but we’re better now. You know what it’s like to be looked down upon, and you loathe it, don’t you?”

When he saw you were frozen, hanging to his every word with familiarity flashing in your eyes. The judges looked down at you, and the mere thought that everyone back home was watching your last moments at the trial with disdain… You must’ve been a criminal because the court said so, right? At that moment back then, you wanted to prove everyone wrong. You weren’t just some lowly nobody that should be forgotten and left to rot. You had worth, and skills, looks, personality, everything that could outweigh anyone.

He knew he was right. “I’m right, and you realize that. I said I don’t have everything. There’s one more thing that can make me the happiest man in the world. And that is… you.”

You felt his tentacles against your back, forcing you closer and closer to him until you were inches away from his face, his eyes gazing at you with a mix of greed and pleading.

But his voice, his assertive voice, was losing his confidence. The more he spoke, the more frantic and desperate he sounded, making you believe that even though he was pleading, you wouldn’t exactly be granted a choice in whatever he was about to offer up to you. “Let this be our final eternal contract. Be mine not as a tool or property, but as a partner. W-With you, we can rule not only the entire ocean but every inch of land too! I know what you want, I see it in your eyes and I know it because you’re like me…! I need you...! You need me! You don’t want freedom, you want wealth, power, and glory!" Slowly, steadily, all his appendages wrapped around you, constricting you, binding you in place. There was no real choice, no freedom, that was an illusion. The only choice he was offering was him. "Join me, sign the new contract, and you can have it all… But only if you choose me. Come on now, make your choice, we don’t have all night, my Dear Diviner!”

#twst #twisted wonderland #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere twisted wonderland x reader #yandere twst #floyd leech #twst floyd #yandere floyd leech #jade leech #twst jade #yandere jade leech #azul ashengrotto #twst azul #yandere azul ashengrotto #octavinelle #damnation twst au

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max-the-many · 3 months

Text

"Like it in your little crystal-sphere? Sorry dude, but you'll get you body back eventually, I promise. And until then I'll take good care of it" I smirked, adjusting my new crotch with wide spread legs.

I had an eye on him for quite a while. Saw him first at a football game. So it was as easy as going to team-events to see him again. I quickly got fixed on wanting to play with him.

His name was Jake. Bit by bit I prepared, did the necessary chants, preparing myself, the ingredients, collected bits like a towel he used, laying on the side of the field, a paper cup he drank out of and stuff like that.

Along with that I prepared him, slipped in drops of tinkture in drinks, brushed certain totems on items he might wear, prepared places he might be, the area I saw him sit frequently.

And bit by bit I felt the border lowering down, built up a rudimentary connection to the point where I sensed, that it might be time.

That evening I knew, he would be alone. He lived in a small house, like a kind of frat-venue with several other guys, some from the team, some others.

While preparing my leap I had noticed that there was one might when everyone seemed to have some kind of weekly obligation. Everyone but him. I teally couldn't be more lucky.

Nontheless I kept an eye on the house. But when the last one left I didn't waiste one second until I crossed the street, up to the house with raising thoughts.

I rang, felt my heart up to my throat alrhough this wasn't the first time I did something like that. But the excitement was still on.

When I heared rushibg steps down a staircase my hand gripped more closely around a tiny bottle in my hand, a crucial part of what was to come, filled with a dark green, viscous liquid.

Everything seemed to slow down, the steps, the sound of the door handle beeing turned, a klick, the door slowly opening, revealing his surprised face before I flung the bottle, throughing out the liquid all over those pretty features.

He stumbled back, lifted his arms to his face, to that sticky liquid clinging to every pore, soaking in along with a strong scent entering his nostrils, the recipe perfectly matched to him.

With a look around I entered, pushing him further back as he struggeled, cuffing, choking on that tinkture until he slowly went down, losing his conciousness as I unpacked my bag, preparing that final step, placing the ingredients, not few of them prepared with his residue, finally putting my most valuable possession besides his head before I started to chant, closing my eyes, focusing on him, on me, raising my very essence, longing for that connection to send it over, feeling it oozing out every pore of my body, drifting over to soak into his, pushing him out to be captured by that orb of crystal.

I woke up merely minutes later. The feeling of his body flushing through my mind, filling me up with raging excitement until I got on my feet. I did it! I took him! That pulse, that new feel.

Besides me there still was my former self. Not me. A mere hust now that I left him again. I would eventually turn him back, give him his self, unbind it from the item I transfered his self into like I would do with Jakes as having him in that crystal isn't meant to be permanent.

With my former body I wasn't in a rush. I would get the item eventually leading him up in Jakes room for now. To be honest, I craved some fun since his basic body functions are fully operating at that state. And let me tell you - I did choose him for a reason...

#male possession #edit

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maxwell-grant · 7 months

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I’ve noticed once or twice among the pulp hero’s a dude with a crystal ball mysterio helmet in a dark suit. I can’t help but notice that what the Orb look is baller, it’s really distinct from other pulp characters he’s getting grouped with. What’s this guys deal and why is he so different from other pulp dudes?

(Meme on the left by Questionposting)

Ethel Knapp, twenty, stood in her furnished room and peered at the gas jet. For ten minutes she had been peering at it, trying to summon the courage necessary to turn it on—without a lighted match above it. She had no money. She had come to Great City from her home in Ohio to work. She had no work. She had no way of returning to her mother and father. But she did have a way of saving herself from further hunger and humiliation.

The gas jet.

She raised her hand toward it. Startled, she paused. A faint rustling sound came into the room. Looking down, she saw an envelope creeping under the door. She took it up, bewildered, and opened it. Inside lay money— currency held together by a band of silver paper—banknotes totalling $200!

“I can’t bear to see suffering, Angel. I can no more help trying to alleviate it than I can help breathing. If there were any other way of taking money from those who hoard it, and giving it to those who desperately need it—if there were any other way than stealing, I’d take that way. But there isn’t.” - The Sinister Sphere

This is The Moon Man. Moon Man was created by C. Frederick Davies and appeared in 38 stories from 1933 to 1937 and was a cross between The Shadow and Robin Hood, a black-clad urban avenger with a unique costume who stole from the rich to provide for the poor and was viciously hunted by law enforcement and the criminal underworld for it, not helped by the fact that his true identity is that of Stephen Tatcher, the 25-year-old police sergeant and son of the police chief, engaged to the daughter of his worst enemy, a lieutenant constantly trying to get Moon Man in the electric chair.

There's three main things that set The Moon Man apart from the other costumed pulp heroes and Shadow imitators from his day: Number one is that, despite looking a lot like Mysterio, he actually had much more in common with Spider-Man than even The Spider himself, in that he was mostly an ordinary schlub driven to help others who had to constantly pull off precarious balancing acts to keep his job and his secret and his life. 2nd being that he is a far more socially conscious character than pretty much all of his contemporaries, dealing with economic inequality, white collar crime, and grey areas where business practices and law enforcement intermingle with criminality to trample the lower class. He's a Depression-era Robin Hood and the stories are dead serious about it.

And third is that The Moon Man is no gentleman thief or dark avenger: He does none of this for the sake of personal fulfillment or revenge, he isn't tabling fights with gangsters to occasionally do an afterschool special or make a half-hearted gesture at social commentary, this is just what he does as a baseline. He is far less preoccupied with fighting crime than he is saving people in bad circumstances, and the stories are highly preoccupied with the people he saves, and the circumstances that The Moon Man is saving them from. For a weird guy in a creepy mask who goes around in a black coat with a gun in hand, he's an unexpectadly compassionate and soft-hearted (even mopey at times) character.

A chuckle came from the silver‐headed man. “You’ve distributed the money, Angel?”

“Yeah. Got it out right away. And it certainly was badly needed, boss.”

“I know… You realize why I selected Martin Richmond as a victim, Angel?”

“I’ve got an idea he ain’t all he seems to be.”

“Not quite that,” answered the voice that came from the silver head. “He’s quite respectable, you know. Social position, wealth, all that. But there’s one thing I don’t like about him, Angel. He’s made millions by playing the market short, forcing prices down.”

“Nothin’ wrong in that, is there?”, Dargan asked.

“Not according to our standards, Angel; but the fact remains that short‐selling had contributed to the suffering of those we are trying to help. I’ve taken little enough from Richmond’s kind, Angel. I must have more— later."

Dargan peered. “I don’t quite get you, boss. You’re takin’ an awful chance—and you don’t keep any of the money for yourself.”

A chuckle came from the silver globe. “I don’t want the money for myself. I want it for those who are perishing for want of the barest necessities of life. What would you do if you saw a child about to be crushed under a truck? You’d snatch her away, even at the risk of your own life."

“Don’t think I’m questioning you, boss.” Dargan hastened to explain. “I’m with you all the way, and you know it"

"Yes, Angel,” said the Moon Man gently, “I know it. You’re the only man in the world I trust. You know what it is to suffer; that’s why you’re with me”.

The Moon Man lacked much in terms of budget or resources, partially because all of his money went to people in need, and he was under constant threat from the law and underworld alike, each more bloodthirsty than the other in how badly they wanted to mount his Argus helmet on a platter (he didn't even make the helmet himself, he mail-ordered it under his detective arch-enemy’s name). His father is a police chief with a weak heart, which adds an extra pressure to Stephen's secret in that it being revealed will not only lead to his father being fired, but likely dying from shock.

He picks hide-outs with creaky stairs as his main line of defense against intruders, his only line of defense is a gun, he pined over the love of a stubborn lady who initially detested his alter-ego, but eventually learned his secret and grew into a stronger person and even partner as they got engaged. And he only has one other ally he can trust:

He’d gone bad in the ring. A weakened arm made further fighting impossible. He found it just as impossible to find work. He’d drifted downward and outward; he’d become a bum, sleeping in alleys, begging food. Until, mysteriously a message had come to him from the Moon Man.

Some day Ned Dargan was going to fight again. Some day he was going to get into the ring, knock some palooka for a row, and become champ. And if he ever did, he’d have the Moon Man to thank for it…

His main sidekick from the start, scarred ex-boxer Ned Dargan, was rescued by Moon Man from homelessness and starvation, and he was frequently named “Angel” as it was Dargan’s job to distribute the money, the narrative often filling the reader on the background of the recipients to make them not just anonymous victims, but real people with problems readers in the Depression era would have likely identified with. When we first meet them, Dargan tells him about a steamfitter with a sick daughter who needs money to pay for his kid's treatment, and a pair of kids with a recently deceased mother whose uncles can't afford to take them in and who will go to an orphanage without help, and The Moon Man promises money for all of them.

The main issue with the stories is that they do get a bit repetitive, but they're also fairly short and quick to read, and the strength of the concept, the assertive characters, the compassion, and the class dynamics that usually remain subtext in these kinds of stories, here becomes much of the text itself.

The Moon Man had a remarkable amount of continuity and consistency for a pulp hero, and only picked up more and more enemies that would constantly frame and target him with no additional allies. In fact, circa the end of the run, both his fiancé Sue as well as Angel are well acquainted with the Moon Man’s secret identity by this point and constantly beg Stephen Thatcher to give up his double life, warning him of increasing danger from both the cops and the mob, and in the last story, Blackjack Jury, he's pressured to give up his identity for good by the two and by how precariously his father's job hangs on him being able to capture Moon Man. The story and the character's run ends without revealing what decision he took.

Steve Thatcher lowered his head as though stubbornly to butt an obstacle. A wild scheme— his! He knew it. But, also, he knew the world— cruel and relentless—and he could not stand by and do nothing to save those who were suffering. The mere thought of letting others perish, while nothing was done to save them, was unendurable.

Beyond the written law was a higher one to which Steve Thatcher had dedicated himself—the law of humanity.

And if he were caught? Would he find leniency at the hands of Gil McEwen and Chief Thatcher? No. He was certain of that. Even if McEwen and the chief might wish to deal kindly with him, they would be unable to. The Moon Man now was a public enemy—his fate was in the hands of the multitude. Steve Thatcher would be dealt with like any common crook—if he were caught.

He remembered Ernest Miller’s daughter, who must go to Arizona or die; he remembered Frank Lauder, who must be cared for; he remembered Bill and Betty Anderson, who must have help.

“It’s got to be done!” he said through closed teeth. “Damn it, it’s got to be done!”

He walked swiftly through the night - The Sinister Sphere

The Moon Man is public domain and has seen some usage in modern pulp stories, but (as far as I can find) never really with the same bite that makes these stories appealing, and it's not difficult to see why the character, despite a fairly respectable run and a striking costume, remained mostly obscure. He certainly wouldn't have had any kind of 50s paperback revival without being heavily edited or rewritten entirely just in case somebody was maybe trying to trojan horse any commie talk somewhere, in a character whose main mission statement was addressing economic inequality and getting in trouble with the police over it. And nowadays, with Mysterio being so popular and "Moon Man" taking on a wholly different noxious meaning online, The Moon Man would require a slight overhaul of costume and a complete overhaul of his name, and unfortunately that entails almost making him a different character

The Moon Man stories were adapted into a short comics run circa 1940-42 where they completely overhauled his costume and changed the names, titling him The Raven, but otherwise kept the stories mostly the same. I don't have much of anything to say about him, but there is one additional bit of strangeness that followed The Moon Man's largely unsuccessful transition to comics: The Moon Man was never published in Brazil, but there was a Brazilian superhero in 1962 (which still predates Mysterio) with the exact same name and headpiece. Created by artist Gedeone Malagola who, upon being denied the opportunity to publish his own Phantom stories, simply erased the character’s head, added a cape and used a penny to draw a translucent globe for a head, creating a new hero in turn named Homem-Lua (Moon Man). The character lasted for a couple of years as a back-up on fellow superhero Black Ray’s magazine, before it’s end.

The only detail given about his past is that he was born in Brazil, initially operating near his headquarters in São Paulo before becoming a globetrotter. He lacks explicit superpowers, but is feared by criminals around the world and considered to be an immortal who’s been active for over a century, as many supporting characters in the stories claimed that their grandparents had met the hero. A master of technology who flew around in a personalized jet and was able to call upon the aid of indigenous tribes around the world, who believed him to bear the mark of a godlike entity or be said an incarnation of said entity (as a plot point it's as racist as you'd expect, but also gets a bit funny when you consider how the most famous of moon-themed superheroes this side of Japan, Moon Knight, would pan out 15 years later)

He's mostly a fairly cut-n-dry Phantom clone with some oddities here and there, namely: In one adventure, despite the character being supposedly a human, it was said that all who gaze on his face would die. He was never unmasked in the entirety of his run, and he had no compunctions about executing his villains, whether it was by burying them under a stone idol, breaking dams and letting them drown in the ensuing floods, exploding them, or outright sinking daggers into their chests. It's a very stark contrast to the pulp Moon Man, who preferred to avoid conflict entirely and would only use his gun as a last resort. Ultimately, they bear no official connection, but the strangeness of sharing the exact same name and trademark headgear. It's as if one ends where the other begins.

In some ways, I'd argue the original Moon Man is the purest wish fulfillment pulp hero of The Great Depression, because although eventually he'd take on more bizarre villains, the bulk of his stories are about this regular guy who goes around patching up wounds left by the Depression in a case-by-case basis and (barely) outfoxing and surviving repeated attacks from the powers that be only because he hides his true face from the world. He has no extraordinary abilities or resources, but he makes do as best he can with a ticking time bomb hanging above him.

As unfortunate as the character's present circumstances may be I absolutely think he's got what it takes to be striking and memorable and resonant in ways a lot of his fellow costume avengers aren't, and hey, the guy's public domain, so, if anyone wants to take a shot at reviving him or simply plopping him into a story, add another weird chapter to his history, nothing's stopping you. I simply have to believe there's an audience out there who may fall in love with a well-meaning bleeding heart trying his best who, with nothing but theatrics and smarts and a fishbowl helmet for a head, is driven to fight capitalism instead of Spider-Man.

With a strange, uncanny knowledge the Moon Man selected his victims. Those victims had climbed roughshod to power; some within the law, and others outside the pale. And the Moon Man called on them with a very definite and grim plan— for he walked in the eternal danger of a double menace. If the silent figure had any face at all, it was the face of the man in the moon!

#replies tag #pulp heroes #the moon man #pulp fiction #c frederick davies #superheroes #brazilian comics #golden age comics

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heartfullofleeches · 11 months

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May I request Apricot skinny diping with reader at the lake? Perhaps a reader who's afraid of water or just straight up can't swim, but apricot motivates and helps them.

(suggestive? Maybe? There is nudity so-)

A million times did he ask you to join him at the lake. Once did you agree.

To give him credit, the lake was a gorgeous at this hour. Quiet, tranquil; peaceful - Just you, the cow who treasured you most, and that big, luminous orb in the sky. The sand was dyed milk white, crystalized by the moon's glimmer and waves crashing at shore. The lake appeared bottomless from where you stood. It would seem that taking one step in would drag you to murky depth beneath its sparkling surface. Your legs tremble at the thought; a firm hand place center to your back. You jump at his touch. Apricot bites back at laugh at your reaction, coursing his reach up to your shoulder.

"Easy. We don't have to go in just yet. We're just going to walk over and stick our legs in - sound good?"

"Yeah..." You nod to confirm your answer, and assure yourself you're ready. Apricot leads you over to the docks, taking your hand as you cross over to the smooth wood. Your heart retreats to your stomach as they moan from the weight, but a kiss to your temple helps you a few steps further. As you sit down at the end, Apricot grabs your ankles and takes off your shoes for you. He sets them behind you and takes off his before facing the water, squeezing your hand

"Ready?"

You don't give him answer. Easing your feet in, Apricot follows right along. The dark water circles around your calves, frigid bite bleeding into coolness as you swish your legs through.

"I'm glad you finally came down here with me, Y/n. I do this pretty much every night and day, but it's always better with company - and you're the best in town. The whole world probably... I gets pretty lonely down here, but then I think of you and I'm back at home. I was have tempted to just throw you over my shoulder and drag you over, honestly!"

Apricot laughter dies out as your legs stop moving. "Sorry. Probably not the best joke to make right now. I would never do a thing to hurt you, but I wanna help you come out of your shell.... Is it cool if I take my clothes off?"

You look up to see if he's joking, but from tone alone you can tell he's serious. "Why?"

"I want skinny dip with you. It's my favorite way to unwind from a stressful shift, and the water on your bare skin might help you get used to it. Like a bath."

"But I can't swim."

"I know that, silly. I'll hold you the whole time. As long as I'm around, you'll always be safe."

You look back down at the water. A swirling abyss awaiting to swallow you, soul and all... but Apricot comes here everyday and he's still alive. He's the lifeguard. If there's another to trust in this situation, it would be him. You breath in - and out.

"Okay."

Apricot's tail flicks your side as he smiles. "You won't regret this."

He peels off his sweater and kicks off his shorts, catching them before they fall in the water and throwing them behind him. Underwear weren't an issue for him as never worth them unless the town sheriff got on him for public indecency. He helps you out of your shirt, holding the fabric up to his face as you work on your bottoms. He folds it and sets it down as he slides into the freezing water to cool his heat seeing you in this state of undress. Your body basked in the pale moonlight looked like something from out of a painting from his viewpoint. He waits for you to fully undress before raising his arms out. You grab onto one, nails sinking deep as you dip in the water. You glue yourself to his bare chest as the water rises up to your neck, bodies aligned as he uses his free arm to paddle backwards. At a fair distance, he brings his arm up to stroke your back once more and soothe your shakes.

"You're doing great. I got you. Just let your body relax and leave everything to me."

Apricot couldn't let you go. He wouldn't, not when he was so close to having you as his to hold and to keep for good. Your breathing his sharp against his collar and he swallows the groan the hot air brings, but you slowly loosen in his arms. You drift, his body your raft as you float out into the endless night. Apricot pours handfuls of water over your neck to fill the dead air and strides his fingers through your hair. His eyes are half shut, but you can feel him looking at you and you know that look of softness and tranquility is for you alone.

"How you holding up?"

You turn your head, switching to the other cheek as you plant your face in his soft chest. "It's...nice out here."

"Would you come with me again? Maybe every night - and the night after that?"

You laugh for the first time that night and it's the sweetest thing he's ever heard. "We'll see."

"Good enough for me."

Apricot straights out and scoops his arms under yours as his soaked locks fall over your shoulders and your lips connect with his. He hikes your leg up to his waist, parting with a smirk.

"Wanna see how long I can hold my breath when we get back to shore?"

"Definitely."

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere imagines #yandere headcanons #yandere insert #yandere scenarios #yandere x you #yandere blurb #yandere oc #male yandere #Milk farm tag #yandere fluff

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agentc0rn · 4 months

Text

A list of Indigo Disk Revisions

Typed down a rough batch of ideas, which I won't be able to put into complete writing or drawing, but can't stop imagining (will keep editing and adding stuff as some thoughts are some incomplete).

Made a pretty long list lol so get some snacks ready if you have time to spare. Disclaimer: did this just for fun, bunch of indulgent thoughts. Indigo Disk is a whole lots of fun, but I think its potential could have been explored more.

Each time you beat the elite four, there is a brief flashback of them interacting with each other and Kieran.

Lacey = bumps into kieran while organizing stuff at the League Club Room, Kieran orders her to make sure that everyone follows the new rules and stuff since he became president.

Amarys = notices Kieran's change and asks if he is okay, to which he replies coldly with "yeah, I'm fine." She states his sister's concern, but he brushes off with a cold shrug.

Crispin = asks kieran if he wants to hang out at the cafeteria, but kieran declines, saying he has stuff to do. Students pass by them, whispering about Kieran.

Drayton = congratulates Kieran for beating him, but he goes up to and him says: "Was that all you really got, ex-champion?"

You get to meet Briar in a small class event (invited by her), and there she discusses terastal energy and its history. She's not only a history techer but also the one in charge for assigning students to test their strengths with terastalization.

As you progess, you can visit a lab room in blueberry academy where you can find Briar's research, books, documents about terapagos, Heath, and such.

Once the second elite four is defeated, Briar asks you to come, taking notice of your rumored streak of success. She begins to recount her time at blueberry academy and her travels across different regions before introducing the origin of the terastal energy orb as a whole and Terapagos. At some point, she gives you a reason why she wanted to be a teacher, part of it is her interest in the terastal phemenon and its connection between Unova and Paldea, the other is to bring the truth through education (her family name and reputation became infamous and she is determined to bring the facts to the surface - hence the publication later on). She has some grudge against the public for that and becomes increasingly hellbent as we would soon encounter the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero.

After beating the last elite four, Briar invites you once more to the lab room and divulges a secret with you - she has the indigo disk (entrusted by Geeta who recieved it from the OTHER PROF who bailed out from the research years ago, having no need for its use any longer even from a remote distance) and mentions a mission that you are formally invited to, but she would only explain everything about it after you defeat Kieran.

She briefly explains about The Indigo Disk; it is not just some mere storage item but a special object imbued with the power/properties of Terapagos that enable the activation of the elevator to the lower level of the area zero. That disk was made by Sada/Turo but the other parent took off with it in hopes of diverting the obsessed prof from their grand project, but failed anyways. (this idea is half-baked tbh but still put it there cause i like it)

Then Carmine and others meet you, asking what Briar told you about. You explained to them until midway, Kieran comes and does the thing where he expects you to battle him soon and leaves, etc.

Briar observes the championship battle match alongside Carmine.

Afterwards, issues emerge in Terrarium - the terastal core thing begins to destabilize or something (it reacts to terapagos' awakening)... Overgrown crystals slowly take over, causing people/wild pokemon to evacuate. Cyrano requests an emergency meeting with the Elite Four, Kieran, us and Carmine. Briar joins also.

We met additional support, consisting of Geeta and the other parent (who also introduce themself). They report that there is an influx of paradox mons flying out of Area Zero due to a strange phenomenon (gradual awakening of terapagos). After the meeting, you recieve a call from Nemona, Penny, Arven and Clavell who all wanted to check in with you.

Briar proceeds to delve into mission(just like in game) of exploring the deeper level of area zero and investigate the source at hand. She invites the Elite Four, but they all declined due to the reason of attending to their duties and keep watch over the terraium dome, thus leading to the formation of the same group in the game.

Before they leave, they all give you some parting words - advice, encouragement - you name it.

Once you arrive at Area Zero, you will meet Geeta and the other parent. They explained that Terapagos' awakening is partly caused by various factors - ecological ones mainly the increased population of the paradox mon (time machine), seismic activity, Glimmora eating off the crystals (the protective covering) and arrival of people (Heath, the profs, and now us). You will then engage in some double battles with the squad as you encounter some paradox mons - including the new ones - and continue your descent down to the deepest level of A0.

Along the way, Geeta recalls her venture to area zero years ago when she went to check in with the prof's research. She does not remember all the details but remembers finding and treating an injured Glimmora (her own), before falling into a trance of sorts and seeing someone, which she informed the Prof about. She also answers somewhat the mystery of the plate and symbols - there was once a a small civilization, "theorized" to be survivors of the expeditions during the age of exploration who chose to remain there. The steel plate was made likely to record their presence and memories of the empire they long served (landmarks/settlements aka the towns) as a we-were-here or a warning message for those who would come by it in the distant future (again, half-baked idea but wanted to put this out there). Additionally, the four symbols may have been reference points of the four seals (based on the theories on youtube).

The other parent then asks you about Arven after hearing about your part in saving Paldea and admits their fault and regret for abandoning him. More dialogue ensues (you, Kieran, Carmine, etc). Carmine mostly talks to you, asking you about area zero and your life at Paldea.

When you go to the area where the crystalized tree stands-you and Briar undergo a trance and meet Terapagos (?). It reacts at Briar due to her resemblances with Heath as well as you for holding the indigo disk (yes you can eject it rather than it being stuck in the machine); it needs the indigo disk to recover parts of its power. Once both of you recover, others come along and asked what happened out of concern. This only fueled her ambition to seek out terapagos.

Briar forces you to keep going despite going against the guidelines and plans of letting Geeta and the prof go first and deal with terapagos, claiming it was crucial for her to obtain information firsthand while using you and the kitakami siblings as her dirty assistants (and reckless as Kieran says).

Then like the game, Kieran, sees an opportunity and pulls at the gem, which Briar nags on, convincing him that she understands how he feels about being misunderstood. Carmine and us try to interfere, but then terapagos awakens. Same thing happens. Boom. Kieran captures it in a master ball.

You battle it and Briar encourages Kieran to terastalize it, causing it to go berserk. Crystals slowly emerge as well as crumble from the ceiling.

By the time Geeta and the other prof come to aid as they finish battling the stella-type mons, Terapagos transports all of you into another room, not the chamber, but rather, the same place where Heath met - an out-of-the-world, temporally and spatially displaced setting. It takes your indigo disk, absorbing it and transforms into the stellar form, overflowing with tera energy. You now engage in a tera raid style (like in the game).

Briar goes nuts by going on a rave, something like this: - "finally, the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero reveals itself at last! You cannot fathom how long I have been waiting for this! I can share the truth and prove how wrong the world was!"

Then, Kieran has his shining moment and helps us beat terapagos. However, the earth continues to rumble and crack underfoot. Briar stands there, continuing her tirade or something as the cave is collapsing, but Koraidon helps us get out of it and back to the elevator site (at the end, she departs her role as a teacher and faces some legal consequences for endangering the kids and receives some help, all off-screen).

(the crystals from the terrarium also stop and "dissappear" due to the end of terapagos' rampage).

#pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon sv #the indigo disk #pokemon dlc #indigo disk #ac rambles #briar was underutilized - don't mind her not being evil but she would have been better being morally grey...#got questions for the black crystals lore-wise #the absence of the other prof lol #and the area zero plate #seen others' ideas like terapagos being a guardian + geeta as host which is cool #but I wanted to go in a diff direction to not copy theirs #i could also make this into an AU i suppose

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folightening · 3 months

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Force a divine blessing...

Hetalia - Engport "Calypso & Davy Jones" AU that isn't actually based off anything but vibes Warning for slight gore? It isn't graphic or much, warning just in case Arthur learns that when you force a blessing out of divinity, you get more than you were asking for.

Waterfalls that rose rather than fell surrounded the hidden palace. Plants the likes of which he had never seen on the surface covered the ground around the shining pathway, gently swaying as if underwater. Where all the light was coming from so far under both ground and sea, Arthur didn't know.

"Stay here and await my return."

The business he had in that palace would be best taken care of without his crew.

Arthur walked across the shining courtyard. The magic in the air tugged at his hair, swirled around his legs, and seeped into him. It was a friendly magic he didn't doubt could turn volatile in a heartbeat like the waters it came from.

Arthur pushed open the doors and strode into the glistening hall. Something was in the hall with him. Arthur could feel it's presence the moment he stepped in. Where it was hiding he wasn't certain. Or maybe it wasn't hiding at all; he was in it's domain, deep under the sea. A creature such as this could very well be in everything around him.

"I am Captain Arthur Kirkland. I come seeking a blessing."

Legend stated if you found the palace, the Lord of the Sea would grant you a blessing. Or you could force one out of it with the orb safely tucked in his pocket.

"I don't grant blessings to mortals so easily."

Of course not.

"I risked everything to find this place. I am not leaving until you give me the power I need to stop Carriedo."

"I care not for the petty squabbles between mortals."

That did not deter him.

"Carriedo dares call himself the Master of the Seas." With that so-called invincible armada. "It would be in your best interests as well."

"So that you might call yourself master of my waters instead?" A loud laugh echoed around. "You mortals are all the same. Power hungry, desperate to claim and control everything you touch. Yet you know pathetically little. I hold no concern over any human claiming to command me."

Arthur knew he had no argument. For all he boasted, Carriedo could never truly be master of the seas. This creature was the seas and had no master.

"What do you ask for payment?"

"Are you truly so desperate?"

"Determined."

There was silence and Arthur worried the creature had deemed their conversation finished. Then a roaring vortex of water and sea foam formed in front of him. Arthur stood his ground and waited. This was a test. Creatures such as this enjoyed testing mortals. He couldn't play his hand too soon.

Unexpectedly when the vortex died a man stood in its place. He was beautiful, but when these creatures took a human form it usually was.

Arthur held his ground as the man strode up to him, steeling himself for whatever test was about to be inflicted on him. Cool fingers gripped his chin and he met the man's gaze. Wild magic danced around and through him, Arthur saw the wild untamable sea in the man's eyes, and was nearly overcome with urge to tame him. Those eyes narrowed, continuing to stare into Arthur. Finally he released him with a sneer.

"I refuse to grant you anything. Leave."

The hard way then. Arthur sighed and reached into his pocket. Ancient magic was not something to be trifled with. He truly had hoped it wouldn't come to it but alas, some things needed doing.

"So be it."

Arthur dropped the orb, loudly proclaiming the creature's name - it's true name, the ancient address unknown to most - over the shattering crystal.

"You will grant me what I desire," Arthur commanded.

The scream was inhuman; the constant form shifting dizzying. Arthur kept his focus on the magic before him. Any lapse in focus could ruin everything. Translucent, rippling chains burst from the creature and pierced into Arthur. For a brief, glorious moment he felt tremendous power surge in him. The chains fell heavy into place before dissolving into more water on the floor.

In front of him the creature was slumped on the floor, gasping for breath. The human form almost dragged sympathy from Arthur, but he shoved it away.

"You refused to negotiate. But I now have what I came for."

The creature snarled and within moments Arthur was surrounded by water. Suspended, trapped, and not drowning. But no matter how he tried he couldn't make a sound.

"You come into my home... You dare..." He hissed, eyes glowing an unsettling green as he stood. "Fine then, have my power."

Arthur swallowed and tried to move, mounting terror and dread drowning him how the water should have been. He was angry; Arthur should have found something for protection. He should have anticipated this outcome. The orb's magic prevented the creature from killing him but that didn't mean it couldn't hurt him.

"I'll take something in return," he purred.

His fingers stroked Arthur's cheek: sharp nails leaving a tingling path over his jaw, down the side of his throat, and to his chest. Arthur's heart beat loud in his ears, his eyes widening.

"As you have bound my soul with yours, I claim what makes you human. My power and freedom for your humanity."

Arthur stared dumbfounded at the bloody beating heart in the creature's hand. Was that- His...

"You have no need of this. A fitting trade for one such as yourself."

Arthur dropped to the floor with a gasp. Intense pain he'd never felt before hit him all at once and he could do no more than stare at the ceiling. He could feel his chest fixing itself: bones painfully arranging themselves back to their proper location, muscle and skin stretching to return to normal.

Even so the pain overwhelmed him and as he lost consciousness he heard the creature address him again:

"Enjoy your command of the sea, Master."

#hetalia #engport #aph england #aph portugal #hws england #hws portugal #Arthur should've been careful with his wording now he's stuck with him #is blessing the word I'm looking for here? because I'm having second thoughts and searching was unhelpful #fol stuff

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raevil · 5 months

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⸻ RAEVIL’S LIGHTSTICKS !

active since 2016, RAEVIL raised up a storm with their controversial yet very popular debut! during their first two years of promoting, GLASSHOUSE occasionally teased about their upcoming lightstick, but refused to officially announce anything. finally, after almost three years since their debut, the company informed that their first lightstick was in the making.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ — ib. /frmjudy & /venusvity !

EVILBONG VER. #ONE : released on august 15th, 2019.

officially called EVILBONG, RAEVIL's first lightstick was complimented for looking sleek yet fitting their concept to a t. the lightstick features a white dome, with the group's unofficial logo in the centre of a circle surrounded by vines. right underneath the orb, there is a brooch with a 3d serpent design, which fans connected with RAEVIL's second single, SERPENT, which was released a year before. the handle has the group's name engraved into it, and there's an option for NEMESIS to buy a special version where they could submit their name / alias to be engraved at the back of the handle.

after the lightstick dropped, there were so many photos and selfies of members holding it and waving it around with lights turned on. the lightstick's manual came as a mini booklet, with members featured inside, showing how to use the lightstick with different modes. they were made to look like they came out of a comic book, which fans loved to see because it was the first time the group did something so cute since their debut.

MODEL NAME : EVILBONG ( VER. #ONE )

LIGHTSTICK POWER : AAA SIZE x 3EA

USAGE TIME : UP TO 3 HOURS

LIGHT COLOURS : JACK-O'-LANTERN ( #e17958 ) & OUIJA SPIRIT BOARD ( #dcd4d1 ) ー FANDOM COLOURS + TEARS OF BLOOD ( #cd0027 ) FOR DIFFERENT LIGHT MODES

LIGHT MODES : ON + FLICKER + DIMMING + REVERSE + ROTATION + CONCERT MODE + OFF

CONTENT : OUTBOX ( 95mm x 95mm x 300mm ) + STRAP + MINI BOOKLET MANUAL + STICKER SET ( 1EA ) + MEMBER PHOTOCARDS ( 7EA ) + RANDOM MEMBER POLAROID ( 2EA ) + A THANK YOU NOTE FOR PURCHASING ( WRITTEN BY MEMBERS THEMSELVES )

REALBONG VER. #TWO : released on october 30th, 2023.

released on the group's seventh anniversary, REALBONG is significantly more popular than EVILBONG, which says a lot, considering the first lightstick received almost a million pre-orders not even two weeks after being announced. the second one doubled that during the same period, making it the most wanted lightstick from GLASSHOUSE artists. the new design is made to look like a dome cage instead of their simple look and the lights are coming from the crystal inside of the cage, made to look like a torch once turned on. instead of their signature serpent brooch, REALBONG has an intricate design that no one seems to guess correctly as to what it is. the buttons to use the lightstick are in the back instead of the front, are easy to use and fans are able to swing it around with no worries they'll accidentally press the lightstick off.

this time, instead of a booklet manual, the fans received a simple QR code printed on the box, which, upon being scanned, would bring them to GLASSHOUSE's official website, where they'd be able to watch private video instructions of RAEVIL members showing how to turn it on and the modes it has. the idea of getting such an interesting manual received considerable attention, that it prompted someone to leak it on social media for people who don't have their lightstick or are not even their fans.

MODEL NAME : REALBONG ( VER. #TWO )

LIGHTSTICK POWER : AAA SIZE x 3EA

USAGE TIME : UP TO 5 HOURS

LIGHT COLOURS : JACK-O'-LANTERN ( #e17958 ) & OUIJA SPIRIT BOARD ( #dcd4d1 ) ー FANDOM COLOURS + TEARS OF BLOOD ( #cd0027 ) & PALE FACED ( #ffffff ) FOR DIFFERENT LIGHT MODES

LIGHT MODES : ON + BLINK + FLICKER + DIMMING + REVERSE + ROTATION + CONCERT MODE + OFF

CONTENT : OUTBOX ( 100mm x 100mm x 305mm ) + DUST BAG + STRAP + QR CODE + STICKER SET ( 1EA ) + MEMBER PHOTOCARDS ( 7EA ) + RANDOM MEMBER POLAROID ( 2EA ) + A THANK YOU NOTE FOR PURCHASING ( WRITTEN BY MEMBERS THEMSELVES )

#ficnetfairy #⸻ ˚₊ ❝ extra 𝖨 it's 𝗈𝗎𝗋 perfect sacrifice ❞#kpop oc #kpop au #fake kpop group #fake girl group #fictional oc community #fictional idol group #kpopfanfic #idol oc #idolverse

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runnning-outof-time · 2 years

Text

Where Do We Go from Here? | Tommy Shelby x Reader

Request: yes by anonymous

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x reader

Summary: If Tommy Shelby thought he could win over (Y/N)'s heart after being the reason she got sent to prison just because he got her out early, he was dead wrong...or was he?

Warnings: language, smoking, allusions to past abuse, prison, violence (typical to series), season 3 spoilers

Word Count: 2589

A/N: this was such an interesting request! I really hope that you like the route that I took the story in! Also, I pulled some inspiration from an episode of The Sopranos for the ending interaction. Enjoy! :)

I’D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! - YOUR THOUGHTS & COMMENTS HELP ME WRITE!

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in stories similar to this one!

"When the police get in, do not resist. You go with them, you do not say anything!" Tommy's words boomed over the other chaos in the room. Everyone was screaming and scrambling as the sound of coppers' whistles could be heard outside.

(Y/N) sat frozen in her chair as she watched the pandemonium go on around her. She couldn't understand how it'd come to this. They were supposed to be celebrating. Celebrating outsmarting the Russians, celebrating the safe return of Charlie, celebrating the disgusting priest being dead. But the scene unfolding around her was the complete opposite.

"Miss (YL/N), you need to stand up," a copper's voice broke through her thoughts and finally made her look away from her lover, who was standing at the desk getting smacked by Arthur's wife, Linda. Good, she thought, he fucking deserves it. She looked up at the man in uniform and let out a sigh. There was no use in contesting it now. Without a word, she stood from the chair and allowed the man to pull her hands behind her back so that she could be walked out of the meeting room. She then was lined up facing the wall alongside the other members of the Shelby family that had met the same fate.

She stood there for what felt like hours before another copper grabbed hold of her hands and swung her around. He then began walking to the door of Arrow House. Before she was taken out, her eyes fell onto Tommy's. He was staring straight forward, and there seemed to be no life behind his crystal blue orbs. She didn't know if she wanted to scream at him, or beg him to make them not take her away, so she just stayed quiet. She held her gaze on him as she was dragged out of the house. Not once did he look in her direction. He just kept his eyes focused on the wall in front of him.

(Y/N) was loaded in the back of a truck along with John, Polly, Linda, Arthur, Michael, and Esme. No one said anything as the truck began driving away. Everything was black too, so no one had any idea of exactly where they were going. Of course, they knew that they were going to prison...Tommy had pretty much spelled that out to them. Now, all they could do was wait for the fate that had been essentially dealt out to them by the very person that they followed and trusted.

A little over an hour later, (Y/N) found herself behind the steel bars of a jail cell. The room was cold and dark, and although she hadn't been explicitly told how long she'd be in there, she already knew that it would be a while. Conspiracy to commit, and accessory to the murder of Father Hughes. Tommy's words had been replaying in her head since she was removed from the truck. She didn't know when she'd see the outside world again, or if she ever would.

"Get up, (Y/L/N), you're being released," the prison guard's voice broke through the silence that (Y/N) had become used to.

"I...I'm what?" she questioned with widened eyes as the man unlocked her cell and slid the door open.

"Your sentence is over. It's been exonerated. You're free to leave now," he spoke in short sentences as he waved the woman out, "let's go," it was obvious that he was impatient.

(Y/N) carefully stood from the metal slab that had been her bed for the past several months before she slowly walked over to the man waiting on the other side of the gate. "What about the others?" she asked as she followed him to wherever he was taking her.

"They're still serving their sentences," the man informed her, his eyes still focused ahead of him.

"But I'm..."

"You're being released on the request of Mr. Thomas Shelby, who has spoken to the judge of our high courts and created a deal with him," he cut her off, already knowing what she was going to ask, "now if you could please refrain from any further questioning and get changed so that we can release you," he instructed her, opening the door to a bright room that made (Y/N) squint as she walked into it.

Sitting on one of the benches was the same outfit that she was wearing the day she got brought into this terrible place, and for a moment, she wondered where they'd stored it after all of this time. She had to have been in there for at least five months, and now...just like that, she was able to go. All because of the doings of the very man who put her in there.

She returned to the guard waiting in the hallway after she changed from the bland uniform that all of the inmates had to wear. She glanced at him, and that was all he needed to start walking down the hall again. He then stopped in front of another door and unlocked it, opening it to some more brightness that made (Y/N) squint. Then she realized that it was a door to leave the prison. That the outside world was now opened up to her once more.

"Go on," the guard's impatient voice made her realize that she'd been standing there for a few moments without making a move. She nodded her head and walked through the door, flinching as it was closed rather loudly behind her. She was free. And now she didn't know what to do.

Then she saw him. He was standing a few feet away from the prison's door, leaning against his black car. He was dressed in black, his long coat foreboding and his peaked cap pulled down over his eyes. (Y/N) sighed as she walked closer to him. He surely was there for her. Why else would he be standing outside of the same prison she’d just been released from?

"Well if it isn't my knight in shining armor..." she trailed off, hoping that her words came out in the spiteful nature that she was intending them to, "the man who was both my imprisoner and my savior," she finished her snide remark as she stopped in front of him.

"Hi, (Y/N)," was all he said, but it was enough to make her blood boil.

"Oh fuck off, Tommy," she snapped at him.

"Can we not do this here?" he asked her, hoping that she'd calm herself down.

"Why not? You don't want everyone to hear about how much of a bastard you are?" she implored, her eyebrows raised.

Tommy sighed and shook his head, flicking his cigarette to the pavement before he walked to the driver's side of his car. "Get in the fucking car," he ordered her as he opened his door.

(Y/N) huffed and stood in her spot for a moment, contemplating if she wanted to fall back in line with his orders that quickly. Then she looked around. There was nothing else in sight except for the cement walls of the prison she'd just been released from. This meant that she had no other choice. Her eyes fell back onto Tommy, who was looking at her intently as he waited for her to do what he'd said. She held her stance for a few more moments before she begrudgingly walked to the passenger's side door and opened it. Tommy said nothing as she slammed it, and that was his cue to turn the car on and drive away from the prison.

"Stop the fucking car, Tommy," (Y/N) tried again. It had to have been the third time she'd said the sentence. But he wasn't listening. "Where're you taking me?" she asked him, looking in his direction with a glare on her face.

"To my house. I'm not letting you get out in the middle of fucking nowhere," he answered her, keeping his eyes fixed on the road.

(Y/N) let out an exasperated sigh when she heard what he said. "Of course...of course you're taking me to your house because you'll be in control there. And you always want to be in fucking control," she threw her hands up in an exasperated manner as she spoke, shaking her head and turning her gaze out the window as the drive continued in silence.

Soon enough, they were back at Arrow House. Tommy killed the engine and opened his door, glancing over at (Y/N) to see that she hadn't moved. Instead of forcing her, he simply shut his door and began walking to the front door of the mansion. (Y/N) watched him walk away before she sighed and finally opened her door. Tommy's stride was slow, so she caught up with him rather quickly.

"I'm not going inside your house," she told him, moving to stand in front of him so that he wouldn't be able to walk any further. "So whatever you have to say to me, you're going to say it out here," she put her foot down and spelled out how things would proceed to him.

Tommy sighed and looked down to the ground. "I don't know why you're mad at me," he said in a low voice, but (Y/N) heard his words well, and in hearing them, a switch flipped in her head.

She might have been angry before, but now she was furious. "You don't know why I'm mad at you?!" she asked incredulously as her eyes widened. "Tommy, what the actual fuck? Have you got nothing in your head any more?!" she continued on her rant that was fueled by disbelief. "Have you forgotten that you got me arrested? That you're the very reason why I was stuck in that prison for over five months?!"

"I just got you out though...got you off your sentence early," he pointed out, as if that was supposed to right all of the wrongs.

"You still put me in there, Tommy!" she exclaimed, "you put me in there after you knew exactly why I went along with Michael. You knew all about my brother and his history with the church. You knew about the terrible things that he went through. I didn't fire the gun...Michael did that, but I wanted to be there to see that that bastard of a man got what he deserved. And you let me do all of this. You said it was ok for me to go with him, that it was ok that I was around those things..." she trailed off, shaking her head as she dropped her gaze to the ground, hoping that he wouldn't see the tears that had fallen from her eyes. "I thought that you cared for me, Tommy. I thought that you cared for me like I cared for you. Who else was there for you after your wife died, huh? Who stayed up with you all those nights to try and ease the pain that you felt from suddenly ending up alone? Who fucking slept in your bed with you and promised you that things would get better?" she paused again, fire now back in her eyes as she spit her words out through her tears, "it was me. I did that. I was always there for you, and this is how you repaid me. I guess I'll just always be some fucking secretary to the company," she shook her head as she ended her lament, wondering just what he would say in response to it.

"What do you want me to say, (Y/N), huh? I fucking said that these people were crazy. I gave you a fucking way out; told you that you didn't need to be affiliated with us anymore," he started off with his rebuttal.

"Still only just a fucking secretary," she shook her head with a pitiful laugh, honestly not surprised that he didn't even comment on the relationship that they shared together. The relationship that had gone on for two months before it was abruptly stopped by the coppers coming into the meeting room that day five months ago.

"Well what the fuck do you want me to do?! Tell you that I love you?!" Tommy raised his voice and his eyebrows, his words coming out in an exasperated manner.

"That would have been fucking nice," (Y/N) huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she shook her head.

"I love you," he told her outright then, and if it weren't for the current circumstances, she probably would have swooned and jumped into his arms. But it was too late for that. There was no way that he could reverse the things that he'd done...undo the wrongs that he'd committed.

"It's pathetic, Tommy, really. It's pathetic that you think that all you have to do is say those three little words and I'll fall back at your feet once more. That I'll tell you that I love you too, and it'll make everything right again. That's not going to happen. I'm not going to give in to your sweet talking anymore. If I've learned anything in my time away from all of this, it's that..." she couldn't finish her sentence because Tommy had leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, hard. Their teeth clashed as he tried with all of his might in this last ditch effort to get her back on his side.

(Y/N)'s wide eyes met his as they pulled away. She didn't know what to say at first because she was completely stunned by his sudden actions. She searched his eyes as her mouth gaped slightly, her lips still able to feel the residual touch of his. "Don't do that," she spoke firmly then, her tone immediately telling him that he'd fucked up once again. "I...I gotta leave, Tommy. I can't be here anymore," she stated, her eyes dropping from his as she shook her head and stepped away from him.

"You're not walking anywhere," he called out to her as she kept walking down the gravel driveway.

"Then call me a fucking driver. I refuse to sit in a car with you, or be anywhere near you from here on out!" she yelled back to him, the tone of her voice telling him that her words were not up for discussion.

Tommy dropped his head in defeat. He knew that he couldn't contest her decision, and that her mind was already made up. She wanted nothing to do with him anymore. So he stepped inside and asked Frances to get a driver to the house so that (Y/N) could be taken home. Frances was slightly shocked by his request, most likely because the older woman was the only one who knew about the relationship that he and (Y/N) shared, but she went forward with filling it anyway.

(Y/N) waited down by the brick pillars that stood proudly at the entrance of the driveway for the car that would come to take her home. She couldn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks as she left behind something that, at one point, she thought was so good. But she knew she had to. She knew that there was no going back to him after what he did to both her and his own family. Now she just needed to figure out where to go from here.

Tagged: @alreadybroken-ts @magicalxdaydream @cloudofdisney @the-anxious-youth @look-at-the-soul @golden-hoax @elenavampire21 @peaky-cillian @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy

MASTERLIST

#tommy shelby #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby x yn #tommy shelby imagine #peaky blinders #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders fanfiction #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders x reader #fanfiction #fanfic

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fourphoenixfeathers · 1 year

Text

[Warning: violence, loss of self, dehumanization]

Fight. Bleed. Ignore the noise. Kill. Survive. Stay out of the fog. The fog makes it worse.

The fiend trembles with pain and rage. Bodies fall, only to flake away into purple dust that burns its eyes and eats its mind.

Don't look up. Don’t look at the void. The void looks back and sees it and is all around it and is inside it.

Its rage overflows and it burns like a blood-colored flame. It rains destruction on the simulated horde, crystalized hatred and agony pouring from the arm that doesn’t belong to it.

It might be screaming. It can't hear over the noise in its head.

The fighting stops. The red bleeds out of its vision. For a moment, it is empty and quiet and still.

Then the orb beeps and fighting starts again.

The ally is back. Freight. The fiend doesn’t have a name, but it feels right that she does. It doesn’t remember what Freight means. The jellyfish doesn’t mind. The name stuck.

She watches it fight from outside the bubble. She lingers in the fog, wrapping toxic tentacles around enemies too far for it to reach. She knows it hates to chase them out into the poisonous air. The orb accepts her kills as the fiend’s.

Pause. Follow the orb. Heal.

It goes to activate the orb again. It cannot stop it cannot stay still it must keep going. It doesn't remember why.

Freight pulls it back. Stop fighting. Rest. It squirms in her hold. Its head rings and pressure builds and its claws glow with unreleased energy.

She wraps a cool limb around its head and drapes another over its shoulders. The noise stops and the rage drains out and it can breathe. It is quiet. There is nothing alive in the simulacrum except for the fiend and Freight.

And then there is sound. Not from it. Not from the ally. Not from the orb. Somewhere else. It stands and looks out across the simulated plain. Green light cuts through the abyss, lightning arcing into the sky from a distant battle.

It stands. This is the first time it has seen anything like this. It needs to know. It brushes Freight's arms away and she follows as it throws itself into the fog.

Outside of protection, the void digs into it. It burns all the way to its heart where poison has wormed inside over days, months, years of exposure. It wrestles with the pain, forcing the corruption in reverse, healing the damage it caused. It rails against the injustice of the thing that has twisted him beyond recognition, invaded his body and mind and soul. It has become a part of him, it cannot hold him back anymore.

Freight warbles behind him as he nears his destination. A safe zone. There is another safe zone. The circle is filled with strange wriggling things that call to him. Some kind of distant familiarity. He has seen them before.

The moment of clarity is broken by the roar of a great beast. The fiend turns away from the circle and fights. It's sloppy. It can't focus on healing and battle at the same time. Freight covers his weakness, tearing apart anything that comes close with the ferocity that evades it now.

It doesn't realize when the battle is over. A voice is yelling. It has been outside for too long. Every inch of it burns. It hisses through its teeth and turns back to safety.

"Stay back."

The figure in the circle stops it dead. The source of the green light. The familiar voice. The cannons on the person's back are raised and ready to fire. It does not care. This person is not a threat.

"Maglev. Discharge."

The figure points at one of the eels drifting in lazy circles around the safe zone. The creature does not heed the order. The fiend does not move, save for its incessant trembling.

"What are you?"

It tilts its head. It was someone, once. It was someone to this man. This man is someone to it.

Who did it used to be? Who is he? He can't remember. He taps his claws on his helmet, the rhythmic sound ringing in the crack that exposed his only remaining eye to the air. For a moment, it drowns out the buzzing in his head. It is enough.

"Emmmmettt," he croaks. It's the only thing he's ever said outside of Freight's name. His voice is quiet and harsh like the death rattles of the countless creatures he has killed. The fog threatens to steal the word away from him, just as it has stolen everything else. It fails.

Emmet falters. His weapons fall back to standby and he rushes forward, dragging the fiend into the bubble. The relief is so powerful, he shudders as they cross the threshold.

"Ingo? Ingo is it really you? I can't-" Emmet babbles and holds him in his arms.

Ingo. He is not Ingo. He is Ingo. He doesn't know. Emmet decides for him.

"Have you been here this whole time?"

He doesn't understand, but he nods. He manages to whisper something that sounds vaguely like "always".

Emmet is crying. Ingo-Not-Ingo brings his left hand up and rests it on Emmet's helmet. He feels like there shouldn't be anything in the way. He should be able to touch him. But he is grateful for the barrier. His claws leave shallow scratches on the hard surface.

Emmet puts a hand over his. It's cool to the touch.

"I am Emmet. I found you. I am going to get you out."

He doesn’t know what “out” is, but he feels something when he hears the words, the conviction in Emmet's voice. For the first time since he can remember, he feels hope.

[Art by @raynavan] [First] [Previous] [Next]

#submas #risk of rain 2 #ror2 #ror2 void fiend #ingo #emmet #violence #dehumanization #loss of self #HOO BOY #i woke up this morning and chose violence #happy ending i promise #<- not a lie thats not my style #reunion #rae writes

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gren-arlio · 10 months

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I did it. I finished translating Schezo's storyline in Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon...for the most part.

So why don't we do a story, gameplay, AND character retrospective?

Hey everyone, Gren here.

As the story ends, my work doesn't. Schezo's route as a whole (as of July) isn't FULLY done. I'm still missing some stuff like small differences in talks, minor talks I missed, menus, etc. However, the main story route is about finished, minus the things I mentioned.

Which is why I'm posting this huge blog today. Finished it much earlier than I thought.

For those who don't wish to read post after post, I thought it'd be a decent idea to just throw it all neatly into one ultra large post that, while a long read, is simple enough to understand and gather. (Trust me, there's like 70+ paragraphs of this stuff.)

The game was pretty fun to translate, I won't deny it. Learning about the characters and more about what they are was super fun.

This post will cover the following:

The story of Schezo's storyline itself, and the gameplay revolving around it.

Some characters that properly got screentime. So characters like Mamono, Cockatrice, and all characters who basically say a single word and such won't be included. Some mentioned will be the ARS Trio, Draco, Witch, Succubus, and Satan.

Atmosphere of the game itself. The tone that's given usually and how the games OST (which spoilers: Is really good,) helps.

Hopefully, this is both enjoyable to read and helpful. For the people who've been here for a while, have fun reading the THIRD super large pinned post, easily the longest I've done.

Welcome to the Story, Gameplay, & Character Retrospective of Schezo's storyline of Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon.

This'll be a very long one, so take your time with this. Hope you enjoy.

Story of the game:

The story itself, for Schezo's story, is fairly simple all things considered. It begins with Schezo clearing a Dungeon, telling us that the layout of the place changed every time he went outside, forcing him to retry several times. All of the work was worth it though, as he acquires the Space-Time Crystal, a powerful item that'll make Schezo all the more stronger. However, the crystal instead absorbs his power, and Schezo gets warped away.

Woken up by the encounter, Schezo notices he can barely use his magic, questioning why this happening. However, Fufufu, a traveling merchant, comes up to him to talk about the new amusement park in the area; Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land, a place said to give a special item for magic if all 6 attractions are completed. Schezo wonders if he can regain his powers from doing this, and after getting a map by Fufufu to go to Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land, Schezo heads out to regain his powers.

(The map itself.)

Schezo runs into Arle first, who's not even there for the treasure itself, and is there to enjoy herself and have fun with Carbuncle. Schezo realizes that she's telling the truth, as she's unaware of a treasure to start, and after getting teased, leaves.

Then he runs into Rulue, who's accompanied by the guy we only remember for Quest, Minotauros. Schezo and Rulue begin arguing right off the bat, and Rulue says she's here to get the magical item to get magic, to beat Arle with it, and to win over Satan. Schezo calls the plan stupid because it overlaps with HIS plan, and he gets chased off by Minotauros. Schezo then laments that he has to deal with these two women again.

Throughout the journey, Schezo meets various characters we know and love, and keeps hearing a voice, a mysterious one who never tells their identity, yet explains where each magic orb (the Macguffins of this game.) is, leaving Schezo confused.

After collecting all 6 orbs and defeating Satan, the owner of Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land, a huge tower appears from the sky, The Ultimate Tower, a gauntlet of every single area in the game. There, he meets the real main antagonist, Doppelganger Schezo, who mentions that he was both the Space-Time Crystal and the mysterious voice, and the two duel.

In the end, the real Schezo emerges victorious, as the doppelganger's body begins to crumble. Doppelganger Schezo explains how he was behind all of this, much to Schezo's shock, before Schezo himself tries to steals his doppelganger's powers.

Yet Doppelganger Schezo says otherwise. Schezo has gotten much stronger, so much so that absorbing Doppelganger Schezo's powers won't do him any good, before The Ultimate Tower begins to collapse due to Doppelganger Schezo's lack of power.

(Doppelganger Schezo admits he's the Space-Time Crystal)

An explosion occurs, destroying the amusement park. Schezo stands in all the destruction, unhurt from it all, thinking about his final fight, realizing he's become stronger and better than his formal self.

Arle and Co. appear, all seemingly okay from the blast. Schezo deduces that everyone was okay because of Doppelganger Schezo saving them all, much to his surprise.

However, they're not exactly happy with the real Schezo as a whole. In fact, they're really upset at the fact that Schezo destroyed the amusement park, especially Satan and Arle, and chase him down for various reasons. Overall, it's a fun, simple, but occasionally serious story that's easy to grasp.

Now of course this isn't the entire game, there's a ton to explain for that section. For a lighting round of things that occur:

At the start of the game, Skeleton-T goes from a Boss to working at shops before getting evicted by Succubus. This changes when you beat her.

Draco is still pretty dumb at times, not even checking if Schezo has the tickets to enter. He just says "Yeah I have em lmao" and she let's him into the dungeon.

Serilly is supposed to be a boss, but can be completely avoided if you become her friend.

Kikimora plays a semi-big role as the usher guiding Schezo around. She also kinda dislikes Succubus.

Witch chases Schezo after she meets him for one goal: To get his clothes. One track mind does wonders to people.

There's obviously a ton more, but I'm picking the interesting stuff. Like most Madou/Puyo games, it's not serious at all besides a few scenes with Doppelganger Schezo. Madou games aren't exactly serious, contrary to popular belief. It's full of light hearted and goofy fun.

So what about the gameplay?

I mentioned this in an older post, but it's similar to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. (Best game I could relate it to.)

Every move and action you do is considered a "turn" and as such, the enemies move with you. As such, you can use this to your advantage, or die because Witch decided to do a long-range attack. As of typing, the menu translations aren't really...done, yet, neither are the moves the bosses do. Might have to do those someday for Extras.

(Witch doing Firestorm, decided to translate this one on the spot because it's convenient.)

Schezo is unique in this game because he's the only one to run solo. In the other two routes, Arle runs with Carbuncle, and Rulue goes with Minotauros. As such, you're on your own, and have no one to help ya out, but Schezo himself is quite strong, so don't worry.

Floors are obviously a big thing in this game, and they can range from 5 floors at the start to 100 at the final place. With places that have 10 floors, you fight a midboss who get their own dialogue with the protag of the route. At the 10th floor, the boss appears, usually with very comedic dialogue before the fight. Or be Serilly and just not fight if you become her friend.

Speaking of characters, time for my favorite part:

Character Personalities and Changes:

The characters are most of the time quite different from what we're accustomed to in the more modern Puyo games, but they're also fairly different from their older Madou counterparts. It's a fairly balanced mix of both sides, leaving to either well rounded characters to pretty one note characters.

So let's begin with the ones we all know and love: The ARS Trio.

The good ol' Arle Nadja, Schezo Wegey, and Rulue.

This'll only cover their versions in Schezo's Route, so please keep that in mind. They may be different in the other routes. If they are, lemme know.

With that, let's start with the man himself:

Schezo Wegey:

Schezo starts off as the Madou version we're used to, a man trying to make himself even more powerful by absorbing power, though this time the plan backfires pretty badly. He's cold, not wanting to get a partner because he thinks they'll slow him down, reflecting his gameplay. However, throughout the game, he slowly changes into a more caring person, but still the Schezo we know in Madou.

Take when he first meets Kikimora, for example. Schezo asks her a question that she couldn't answer, and he immediately calls her useless, causing her to get very upset. However, midway through the game, a similar scenario happens, leading Kikimora to cry, but Schezo apologizes and says to stop crying. It's a small, yet noticeable change.

The same goes for his friendship with Serilly if you choose to be her friend. At the start, Schezo's already hesitant to fight her, as she doesn't exactly seem like an enemy. After giving her advice, she happily leaves, but Schezo questions why he even cares about the girl to begin with.

At the Endgame, Schezo can meet up with Serilly again, and they have a genuine conversation about how Schezo has changed since they've last met, and Schezo questioning himself about how much he's changed. After Serilly herself gives advice, albeit in her own way, they can talk one more time, and Schezo properly thanks her for the advice she gave, even if Serilly feels like Schezo's being more distant. In a surprise twist, Schezo actually tells her that he's here for her before internally realizing he's changed drastically. While it's a major moment for Serilly herself, it also shows the huge changes Schezo went through.

And the last change is with him and Arle. At the start, it's the typical, Arle teasing him and him defending himself while trying to get her power. Hell, he tries to after a whole misunderstanding and gets blasted by a beam from Carbuncle. However, you can meet with Arle at the Endgame, before entering the Ultimate Tower. After Arle teases Schezo yet again, he snaps and properly yells at her, prompting her to call him a jerk and leave. Schezo, shocked at his own reaction, asks for forgiveness from Arle, and that he shouldn't have been so ticked off by a few words. It's unusual of Schezo to apologize, let alone to Arle, yet it's a defining moment in his route. He's even glad that she and everyone else is okay from the explosion from Doppelganger Schezo.

However, he's not perfect. He still very much bickers with Rulue, gets annoyed with Arle and many of the midbosses, and gets annoyed at Witch at every moment she's around. He's still very much Schezo, but he grows a lot throughout the game. In my opinion, it's one of the best written Schezo's out there.

Arle Nadja:

Arle isn't too far from most of her older and even newer iterations. In Schezo's route, she's only at Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land to play around, unaware of the treasures hidden in the park until the end of the game. In a weird way, she's blissfully unaware of what's going on, merely there to enjoy her day and have fun.

However, like stated in Schezo's bio, she can still be snarky and angered. When Carbuncle blasted Schezo, Arle was surprised, but said Schezo deserved it for being a pervert. She openly insulted Schezo on an occasion or two because he was internally thinking that all of his issues begin with women. (Yes. This is real and is an actual piece of dialogue.)

Rulue:

As per the usual for the R of the ARS, Rulue kinda got shafted in Schezo's route. Lot of her talk is with Minotauros, and she's fairly stagnant as a character. Her goal is simple: Get the magic item before Schezo so she can beat Arle and win over Satan, the classic.

She does it decently, but besides that and arguing with Schezo and/or Minotauros...she doesn't exactly do much in his route, which is fairly unfortunate. But what can ya do, really? She's still the Rulue we know and love today.

Side Characters:

With the ARS Trio out of the way, we may as well speak about the other side characters who got a fair bit of screentime. For this, I'll be going in the order the videos I translated went through. Be warned though, when I say "Endgame," I mean "Yeah the videos I saw kinda went through them all at the end of the game," so if they're not exactly AT Endgame, you know why.

With that out of the way, the first character is...

Kikimora:

Yeah. Not kidding. She plays a fairly big role in the game itself, as she works usually in the Information Booth, giving tips and tricks as an usher and leading the player (I say player because she's in all routes.) around Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land. Later in the game, she teaches Schezo how to see traps with a certain scroll, which is invaluable to the player. Fun fact: She isn't really a boss in Schezo Route. Dunno about the others.

Schezo meets her where she usually is and talk about the amusement park as a whole. When Kikimora can't answer a question Schezo asked, he's quick to call her useless, much to her sadness. However, she still helps Schezo out.

Kikimora is fairly honest, giving the same advice to everyone she meets, though is prone to being upset by people making fun of her, which can lead to her crying at times, to being annoyed at the fact Succubus was running amok and luring guests in. She even admits when she doesn't know the answer to a question, which is commendable. She's surprisingly well developed as a character, and I've grown to like her a lot more. She really doesn't speak about cleaning much, if at all, contrary to the Nexus. You learn something new every day.

Draco:

Draco is about the same from all of her other renditions, without the obsession with beauty that we usually see from her. In her first encounter with Schezo, before even the dungeon she's supposed to guard (Fire Mountain), she asks Schezo if he has tickets to enter the place. Schezo says yes without showing them, and Draco flat out believes him and leaves, making Schezo confused on how easy it was to do that. He did have the tickets, but even I'd be flabbergasted.

The boss fight encounter is fairly goofy. Draco is glad Schezo arrived, and waited for him. Schezo's flustered, trying to say that "Women..." Before getting cut off by Draco saying who cares if it's between man and woman, and that she's ready, making Schezo more embarrassed. Finally, she mentions that she's ready for the match, making Schezo feel stupid for thinking of "That". Absolute lunacy.

You then run into her after the fight, training to beat you next time, which I believe you can in the Endgame via a place I forgot the name of. Battle Palace I think?

Speaking of Endgame, you run into her again, telling Schezo that if he didn't look so moody all the time, he'd be even more popular with women, a statement kinda backed up in-game and in the manga, where Honey Bee kinda had the hots for him. Schezo says he's not really interested in women, causing Draco to ask if he's into men, which he quickly denies. She ends up confused, asking how a good-looking, popular guy like Schezo doesn't understand women, leaving as Schezo is surprised that he's popular. She's funny in this game.

Serilly:

Serilly has the current award besides Kikimora as the most well developed side character for absolutely no reason. At least in Schezo's route, she has such a large character change, least in Puyo standards as a whole.

Schezo first meets Serilly at Water Paradise, before entering the dungeon. Seeing Schezo, she's the version we know for the most part, afraid of Schezo and asking if he's there to bully her, which mostly confuses him more than anything. However, Suketoudara comes around (he's the exact same guy we know,) and asks her to dance, and she agrees, both leaving Schezo more perplexed.

She appears as the boss, thinking that Schezo was there to bully her, but Schezo surprisingly says otherwise, that if she doesn't want to fight, he won't fight either. Serilly takes this as Schezo wanting to be her friend, and asks him the all important question.

Schezo (In the run) said yes, why not. Serilly is genuinely baffled by him saying yes, like anyone would, really, and asks if he really wants to be her friend. Schezo says to quit not caring about herself and that the life she's living isn't exactly fun or happy. He mentions that if Serilly decides to walk (or swim) the path she's currently going, her life will never be happy, and if she's able to change, then Schezo will be her friend. In shock, she agrees and just...leaves the dungeon. Yeah, no boss fight. Nuts. Schezo then questions why he even cares for her, which is more a Schezo thing.

He runs into her again at the Endgame, and Serilly asks if he's there to see her, which Schezo replies with no, but he's here to ask a question: Is she afraid of him still? Serilly says no, she isn't anymore and has no reason to, leaving Schezo in a midlife crisis about how much he's changed, and to most likely the players and I shock, SERILLY gives advice to Schezo, telling him that the way he's thinking now isn't the way he usually thinks, before apologizing. Schezo takes the words to heart and thanks her for telling him that.

And with the final encounter, Serilly worries that Schezo is going to go far away, and she begins to cry about it. Schezo tells her that he's literally right there in front of her, and that he's not planning to go anywhere, and tells her to stop crying, which she does with her new confidence...making Schezo question why he did that and he really has changed.

She changed...quite a good amount compared to the usual Serilly. And I adore it, easily the best written Serilly we've gotten.

Succubus:

Yeah, if this post taught you anything, it's that for some reason she of all characters get development. Can't believe it myself, trust me. Besides the obvious change of how she looks compared to her Puyo self, her role in the game...is kinda odd tbh.

She starts off not named yet, mostly coming from a poster saying that she'll "Take people into a world of pleasure," that Kikimora really doesn't like at all, asking who in the world she is and why is she even trying to this, but Schezo is...let's just say curious, about her, and goes to see her.

Meeting her, Schezo is for some reason surprised to see her there, and Succubus is saying what she advertised, which in reality is becoming her servant, which Schezo says no to, even when she adds "benefits". Take that as how you will.

An odd thing to mention is that she appears in the (not released yet) Extra episodes as a boss, once again trying to get Schezo to become her servant. Thought I'd throw this here.

After that, you meet her again at... you guessed it, Endgame. But what she's doing is quite different; She's an usher now like Kikimora, guiding guests to attractions. Though she does take this opportunity to tease Schezo and such before explaining what she does. It's a small change, but it's...certainly a surprise to me and maybe a few others.

Black Kikimora:

Unlike her original counterpart, Black Kikimora doesn't exactly get a lot of screentime compared to Kikimora. She gets introduced in a pretty unique way compared to everyone else, even though she's a midboss. She gets introduced by Kikimora... kinda showing her off via giving Schezo a VIP pass to somewhere after beating Succubus.

Black Kikimora leads Schezo to a special room, where they... learn how to use traps to their advantage. Schezo completes this, and quietly remarks that she looks kinda ugly (gotta disagree,) and gets smacked by a broom.

Schezo then sees her again at the Horror House, trying to enter, and tells Schezo that he can enter. Before trying her best to open the doors and...not doing well. Sadly her midboss isn't too special, just Schezo asking why she's here and her not exactly answering it.

However, like many others, Schezo sees her again at Endgame. This time, she's quiet again, like usual, before Schezo AGAIN calls her ugly before getting yelled at. And their final talk? They're quiet until she yells "Say something!" and Schezo says he won The Quiet Game, before she gets salty, leading to Schezo asking why.

Overall, while it's not much, she still has something going for her. I like it.

Witch:

Witch... My third favorite character in the series behind Lagnus and Lemres. You're definitely a weird one in this game. She's first mentioned by Skeleton-T in the Horror House inside the dungeon itself, saying she had some of his tea, leading Schezo to ask who the hell she is.

When Schezo meets her as a boss, she's...fairly happy to see him, saying she'd "Love to have it," while saying "Ah, you..." and the I Want You shenanigans. Schezo, as expected, is perplexed, smeckledorfed, even confused on what Witch even means. She's starts to beg Schezo for "It," and she finally says what she wants from him... His clothes. And if he doesn't give them, she'll just rip them off. I can't make this lunacy in my dreams.

HOWEVER. Even though I haven't released it yet, in the extras, you find her after fighting Succubus... again. And after giving Schezo not one, not two, but THREE hearts in 3 different text boxes, what does she want this time? Take a wild guess.

His cloth-

Nah, for once its normal. A grimoire. But the clothes would be nice too. Schezo gets upset, saying he's NOT stripping for her, but gives her the grimoire she wants, the Meteor Grimoire, her unique spell and stuff. What does she give?

The fucking Areiado Grimoire. Schezo's signature spell before leaving while saying she'll get the clothes later. Even Schezo's shocked.

Like every boss, you can see her at Endgame, but she's in a unique spot. She's hanging around Arle, Rulue, and Satan like she's part of the team. Draw your conclusions as to why.

Schezo runs into her again before entering The Ultimate Tower, and she STILL thinks Schezo is cool, giving him another one of those hearts in text boxes, saying that the treasure and his clothes will be hers, and she'll be working extra hard for it. Schezo... doesn't really want that, though.

And at the final encounter, Schezo literally says, "Here we go again..." but instead, she asks if he's looking for the treasure too, which he says yes. But this time, Witch says that everything that's beautiful is hers, from the treasure to his clot- Are you kidding me

One track mind and STAYS committed to that goal? ...I have to partially respect it. It's absolutely ridiculous yet hilarious. I know Schezo's a pervert on accident, but at this rate, I think Witch might be genuine. Or is stupid committed to a goal.

And finally, Satan:

(Just hit the 10 image limit.)

Satan is honesty kinda similar to how he is in the other games. Which is quite shocking, I thought he'd be a little more goofy in this game considering how everything is in Schezo's route. However, he's fairly well written in this game, which is always a pleasure to see.

You don't ever see him until near the end of the game, as Schezo assumes the mysterious voice he keeps hearing is Satan, when in reality it's Doppelganger Schezo. Satan acts pretty grandiose in his fight, saying that he's glad Schezo got this far and is ready for their fight to be the final event of Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Land, and from the gameplay, he goes one hell of a fight.

After defeat, he stands back up pretty quickly, shocking Schezo, who thinks he's a monster when in reality, he's just the Ruler of the Underworld. Differences, folks, they matter. They start to bicker about the magical item, which Satan genuinely had zero clue about, but tries to say that he totally knew about it.

After the Ultimate Tower rises, Satan is about as surprised at Schezo that it exists, and Schezo asks if he even knew what was here. Satan tries to explain, but he obviously can't, being left behind.

However, this moment is fairly interesting. You can meet him at the start of the Ultimate Tower, and speak to him. There, he genuinely wishes Schezo good luck and not to be super confident, as that'll make him slip up. Like I was, Schezo was shocked that he's hearing this from SATAN of all people, the guy he hates, and thinks he's gone mad.

Satan is at the final scene as well, along with Arle/Carbuncle and Rulue/Minotauros, incredibly upset that Schezo basically blew up the entire amusement park. Like any sane man would be.

In this game, he's fairly goofy like his modern self but is occasionally serious. Honestly, it's a solid version of Satan.

Finally done with characters. Time for the final section of this, Atmosphere and the OST:

Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon has a very...fun atmosphere, owing to the fact that its a literal amusement park. Each area is incredibly vibrant, so full of life, colorful even. The colors pop out, when in places where it's supposed to be more gloomy, and I think COMPILE did a fantastic job with it. I won't go into complete detail of every area but a few highlights:

(...That I can't show due to the 10 image limit.)

Water Paradise is incredibly pretty, the water itself looks really good, the paths taken pop out, and the boss stadium itself is incredibly pretty, with all the water around the bridges while Serilly...floats? Swims? One of those things.

The Horror House probably has my favorite look in the game. It goes from a graveyard to inside the actual house, all ending up in the boss stadium, an almost church-like area with seats scattered about.

I like the look of Fire Mountain. It looks like you're genuinely inside of an volcano, lava basically everywhere but practically useless because you can't go on it.

The game knows when to look good, when to give you that visual quality. But that's only half the battle, really. Music is another majorly important part on what makes a mood. And they nailed it.

Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon has one of the best OST'S I've heard for a Madou/Puyo game. Most of the songs are genuine bops.

To give a few:

(Puyo Puyo Dungeon Still Never Ends:)

youtube

(Hi, Honey:)

youtube

(What A Lucky Find:)

youtube

(The Final:)

youtube

(And finally, Fiend Empire:)

youtube

If I could drop the entire Playlist, I would, but we'd be here for a while.

So, all in all:

Translating this game and learning a ton about it was a blast, even if it was difficult. The game itself is very good, besides the Ultimate Tower taking forever with 100 floors and such. The artstyle and look of the game is charming, you get to learn about some other characters for once, and along with an amazing atmosphere and one of the best OSTS in Madou/Puyo, I'd say...

Yeah. Try it out. Just hope the translation makes sense.

Few quick things before we're done here:

This doesn't mean I'm done translating. Quite the opposite, even for Schezo's route, I got a lot to do. I'll be making "Extra" episodes to show off the things I missed, starting most likely next week of the release of this post.

If you want something translated, like a scene or the sort, lemme know. I'll try to help.

Most of the character talk is my opinion, it's fine to draw your own.

With that ending, that'll be all. Thanks for reading.

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