#Idoya

[poisonghoulart]

The Vengeful Valkyrie - a soul bond between two aasimars

[cidsin]

Art / Skribbles by me @cidsin Calendar project

the next batch of 10 :))) 

Day - Character 011 - Gilmoria (werewolf, Fianna) 012 - Hakaku (one piece oc, Fenrir Fruit) 013 - Hajnal (undead lady) 014 - Hinata (one piece oc) 015 - Hild (one piece oc, kid pirates) 016 - Idoya Botello (one piece oc, awakened boar fruit user) 017 - Nastascha (weretiger, Wofd) 018 - Ife (zelda oc, gerudu) 019 - Zuri (half dward half elf) 020 - Irvine Redfume (one piece oc, dancing fox)

[julas-little-spot]

Hey! Long time no see! I uh, forgot to post some of my art to Tumblr, so now I'll post them, one by one

Here's my OC, Cary Idoya :3 (he's a guy btw, men in dresses rule)

[lovecharged]

@aconites liked this for a starter.

this was new. whilst it wouldn't be the first time in pablo's long, long history that he had been caught red-handed - it was a first that it wasn't a bodyguard or a police offiicer, of sorts, but a beautiful woman. "well hey there," he smiles, charming as ever despite the absurdity of the circumstance. "you won't tell on me, will you? i'll do whatever you want me to..."

[kwimii999]

Previous updates : #1 - #2 - #3 - #4

Previous polls : #1 - #2

First off, thank you for 700 followers ! I'm honestly flabbergasted and I'm very happy that I decided to become a sims 3 creator. Sharing content to you guys means a lot to me, and I'm happy to see people truly enjoy what I put out !

It's time for another update

Most of the progress for this update will be focused on the noses, eyes, lips compared to the update #4.

Note : I put the progress of the project in pourcentages on my pinned post, you can always come around and check it out !

Why haven't the heads gotten too much progress so far ?

This project is really overwhelming, if I were to focus on the headshapes flavors at the same time that I was doing the 3 other parts (Lips, Eyes, Noses), I'd be like dead or something. For that reason, I only focused on doing the basegame compatible headshapes for v.2, which is flavor 1 [Check update #4]. That's basically the base of every other flavor.

What will consist the bonus presets ?

Some EA presets that I don't think look bad and that I adjusted to fit the proportions of the replacements ! They will not be default but non-default, basically custom presets. The previews for those will be included on the download post itself.

Part 1 : Eyes FINAL V.2 (Including World Adventures Presets) Sims : Julius - Idoya

Release date : 10th June

EA's Presets

My Replacements - Changes : Changed certain eyes from their " surprised " look and " Are your eyes even open ? " look + Their sizes were slightly reduced + their shapes were changed + changed eyebrow shapes as much as I could (sometimes it looked odd on male sims, so I couldn't do too much) + changed the distance between the eyes for certain presets to add diversity mostly for the townies

Part 2 : Noses FINAL V.2 (Including World Adventures Presets) Sims : Owen - Mélissa

Release date : 11th June + bonus presets

EA's Presets

My Replacements - Changes : Adjusted the height of the nose + Added many nose shapes as much as I could not completly accurate but enough to be a base

General fact about presets : male noses are much more larger and female noses tend to be smaller, therefor, some of my replacements may appear larger on male sims but pretty average sized on female sims.

Part 3 : Lips FINAL V.2 (Including World Adventures Presets) Sims : Nikolai - Edna

Release date : 12th June + bonus presets

EA's Presets

My Replacements - Changes : removed the smile for certain lips presets + Opted for a more straighter look + changed the shapes [5 big, 5 medium, 5 thin + wa] the idea behind this division is for the townies generation

Last words

Sometimes when you look at something for too long, things start to look odd and that was the case with me and these presets.

I'd love to get feedback on all 3 parts for version 3 for what can be generally improved or if you think this is nice !

Overall I truly wanted to finish v.2 because I've been working on these for days non-stop and it's starting to become a chore which could prevent me from giving it my all :(

[euphoriclusts]

whilst he might've spent a lot of time in places like this, pablo can say without question that the other man had piqued his interest more so than...anyone else had. at least recently. the way their bodies intertwine and their lips meet with such messy precision has him inwardly pleading for more, fingers grasping so firm against his hips. "you're a dirty boy, huh?" he questions then, breathless and hot against his ear as he rocks his hips into tate's again, one hand shifting to slip along the expanse of his abdomen, only slipping beneath the material of his shirt. "i'd certainly like to give it an avid effort...you want everyone to know what a dirty fucking slut you are, darling?"

closed starter for @euphoriclusts

This place was not Tate's typical scene for several reasons. Mainly it was how he was being more open that ever with this sexuality. Which somehow landed him the attention of a man who was too handsome for his own good. The moment he felt the other man near him Tate took advantage of the opportunity to dance with him making his attraction extremely clear. After a series of messy kisses and grinding his ass into the others crotch Tate knew what he wanted. "You wanna fuck me in this club," he smirked allowing his arms to wrap around the taller man's neck. "I bet you could fucking destroy me." He laughed curious to see if the other would take him up on such a brash offer.

[kariachi]

Some quick Pern AU fic. Devin, his dragon, their love of children.

~~

Werlanth’s wants to know where we are, I’ve told him it’s not his business. D’vin blinked.

“One moment,” he requested from the children gathered in front of him- the ones old enough to be ‘too cool’ or ‘mature’ to mob Fireth- raising a hang for their quiet. Dearest.

You know Werlanth’s. He’d whine at us about not being productive with our off time, which I’d have to relay to you, and that would annoy Werlanth which I also have to put up with. Not happening. We are staying here, peacefully, with the holdbrats.

He couldn’t truly blame him, he supposed. K’cyr was a various serious man who held tight to tradition, a personality that clashed horribly with D’vin’s own, and their dragons often got caught in the middle. Especially on days like this, when they went off to visit the children and lovers D’vin had scattered across Pern. Though he loved his own children and spoke of them often, their wingleader maintained the emotional distance common among riders. There were only so many hours in a day, especially now with the next Pass closing in, and children needed a lot of work, a lot of attention, that one didn’t necessarily have to spare if they wanted to maintain their own safety and the safety of Pern.

He and Fireth had long ago decided they were there to love not live, and so bent their schedule into knots and damn near mastered Timing It to spend time with loved ones as often as possible.

It was the cause of many an argument.

Don’t let Idoya hear you call them that.

They love it.

She won’t. Amusement came through from Fireth’s end of their bond.

Your taste in mates, Mine… D’vin smirked, ignoring the way the children snickered, and sent back images of Fireth’s favorite greens. He got no immediate response from the blue, but turned in time to watch him drop a wing over a laughing handful of children, including their Kalya, and snap his teeth in the vicinity of their Menya. Her laugh was audible even from partway across the field as she leaned forward to fearlessly drape herself over his snout. Fireth couldn’t manage to hide the fondness in his response. Remember, I have your daughters.

I have more. He couldn’t help a laugh of his own as Fireth gave the mental equivalent of a swat upside the head and turned his focus back on the cothold’s children. In his chest he felt a yearning to be over there joining in, but he shook it off. Once they and Fireth had worn themselves out and they’d gotten their afternoon nap in, all their friends had been called in by their own families, he would have the whole rest of the day to focus on them alone. For now, let them be caught up in the excitement of their fellows. If nothing else, all this would help ensure nobody got especially jealous of them.

“Alright,” he said with a shake of his head as he turned back to the older children, making a mental note to go to the older get he had at Fort his next restday, “now, where was I?”

“You’d made a bet with the brownrider-”

“-about which pair could catch the bigger fish, yes, now I remember!” Flashing a grin, D’vin slipped back into his best ‘I could’ve been a Harper’ mode. “It’s already dark out, but with our wingleader trailing behind us we immediately joined our dragons and headed out for Nerat- you’ll find some of your best fishing on Nerat’s coast. Oh, he and Neseth were so smug as we came in to land-”

[on-noon]

Find The Word Tag

thanks for the tag @talesofsorrowandofruin

taggging: @cljordan-imperium @vsnotresponding @midnight-and-his-melodiverse @saltysupercomputer

your words are: clarity, client, close, clean, & clutter

lord (life friends & friendship ends)

"Congratulations on your Kingship. If you need any advice on handling that authority, I can help you, being the lord of the largest, most powerful county," another says.

"Thanks. I'm sorry, but I don't need any advice on that," I say.

linger

not found. fun fact: in my main fantasy world, where most of my fantasy stories except for Countdown to Magic take place, the country specific magics are dying out! It doesn't affect any stories yet, and no-one knows about it. (this has been going on for a while, Zadaf might have noticed though, he's got the best chance to)

loyal (life friends & friendship ends)

Lirok says something. I feel guilty that I don't know what it was, he swore his life to me, and I can't concentrate.

All the noble heads stand up, one by one, in the historical order of the houses, each giving the same oath, swearing over their loyalty and subjects, last is Mazathaz, swearing over only their loyalty.

loose (life friends & friendship ends)

At dinner, I sit with Arrath, Idoya, and two more people from Oranth, Edur, and Arantxa at a table in the corner. "Hey, Lirok, do you want to join our team? We need five people for a full team," Arrath says.

"Sure. Team for what?" I ask, starting my meat pie.

"For the International Tournament," Arrath says, "It's a competition with two teams from each country, we're the only Oranth team, though. The teams compete and try to get tokens from the other teams. The rules allow pretty much any method to get the tokens, manipulating the environment, negotiation, magic, straight out fights. Honestly, the rules are oddly loose, as long as you stay in the arena and only use what you fit into your backpack"

link (Archives of Flying & Falling Through War)

24/10/97 Today was Mariyah’s birthday, so we threw her a party. Ronthe baked a cake, I made some little birthday decorations that are common in Santil, Calvi found a flute and played some music? It was really fun. We also did a video call with Mariyah’s family, that we all pooled our money to pay for (those interplanetary links can be so expensive). Her family seems so cool, honestly. They have stronger accents than Mariyah though, and so the rest of us really had trouble when she introduced us to them. And then they went and talked in what I thought was a different language, but Mariyah said is still Standard, just how it’s spoken where she’s from. If that’s the case, I guess she really is making herself much more understandable.

[alfa-institut]

Comentarios de Idoya sobre la formación en EXPRESIÓN DANZA -2014

[poisonghoulart]

Last sword for Swordtember, the clockwork chainsword belonging to my paladin Idoya

[leblogdemarinaetjeanmarie]

MARDI 16 JUILLET 2024 (Billet 3/3)

Vous devez sûrement vous en souvenir, nous avons déjà fait paraître sur le Blog des vidéos de cette célèbre et très particulière chorale (créée en 2020 pendant la pandémie de la Covid), la première qui en a inspiré beaucoup d’autres…

Celle-ci, leur dernière création, est en rapport bien sûr avec les JO de Paris qui vont commencer d’ici une dizaine de jours.

Regardez-la jusqu’au bout et si par hasard vous aviez un enfant, un petit-fils ou une petite-fille qui a participé à cette création (on ne sait jamais…), même s’ils sont plus de 200 « body-tapeurs », tous les noms sont mentionnés dans le générique de fin. Nous avons trouvé ça très bien.

Pour finir : tous ceux qui ont eu le privilège de faire une croisière sur le Club Med II ne pourront pas rester indifférents à la musique.

_____________________________

« CONQUEST OF PARADISE » (Vangelis) pour Percussions corporelles (Body Tap)

Vidéo publiée sur YouTube le 5 juillet 2024

Interprétation : le Chœur des Colibris du Collège Saint Michel Garicoïts de Cambo (Pays Basque)

Direction artistique : Nelly Guilhemsans

Image & Réalisation : Michel Jakobi

Drone : @paysbasquedrone

Image : @tomajablon, @maxime_manenc

Son et mixage : Patrick Fischer

Bravo aux 210 Colibris :

Elaia B, Mathilde FDS, Fleur, Eneka F, Julen G, Adélaïde, Mikela, Joana P, Estebe, Bixente, Louane, Antton A, Kaitlyn, Maika, Paul M, Matyas R, Paul U, Dioni, Joan, Titouan, Timéo, Laida, Oihana I, Anaïs FDS, Noémie, Lucile, Idoya Z, Txomin, Aida, Mailis M, Ambre G, Dénaïs, Léana, Maëlwenn, Océane, Uma, Rémi, Julia HP, Lilou L, Uhaina, Emilia, Nahia L, Elaya, Lisa C, Julen C, Jon, Xalbat, Aponi, Naia E, Intza F, Vassili, Enzo L, Jérémy, Nahia N, Xana, Nolan, Jona, Annabelle, Oihana L, Iliana, Lylou, Sarha, Clémence, Maddi, Antoine, Elisa, Léna, Oihana L, Anaïs M, Julie, Damien, Mahé, Antton O, Lucie C, Xan E, Mathilde L, Hodei, Julia P, Anaïs M, Julia L., Samuel, Marion, Alizia, Elaia B., Enora, Delphine, Lola B, Kilian, Kanèle, Charlotte, Ilian, Nohlan, Dylan, Charlie, OIhan D, Ana, Andrea, Antton H, Emma R, Ibaia P, Gabriel R, Luken C, Maialen C, Ethan, Xan D, Léa H, Marine, Lisa E., Tiago, Nahia LG, Anoa, Itxaro, Gabriel F., Jean-Claude, Lukas, Maitane, Lara, Emma G, Maialen RI, Lana, Maelys, Luna P, Ilona, Romane, Ioneka, Céleste, Leana, Mathilde J, Fani, Ambre A., Eneka B, Joana C, Tiphaine, Robin, Emma P, Ambre C, Esteban, Eztitxu, Sara, Melina, Gabrielle, Lilwenn D, Alaya, Morgan A, Naia C, Morgane E, Xan V, Lou, Alizée, Ainhize, Nahia H, Anaë, M, AnaeS, Louis, Lola L, Louna S, Mila, Jade, Lisa B, Augustin, Julene, Clément, Loan, Emma L, Stella, Margot, Ilouna E, Laura, Luna P, Oihana V, Angelina, Milia, Nina, Ainara, Lilwen P, Elia, Tonia, Enaitz, Julen D, Lola E, Jon E, Evan, Jon O, Nathan O, Maiana, Célia, Louna DG, Nahia P, Lucie E, Lola G, Zoé T, Intza Z, Pauline, Louise, Luma, Oian, Enzo L, Nolhan B, Leila, Kélia, Axel, Julen D, Ruben P, Zoé L, Ilona R, Yuna L, Martin, Shana, Nathan S, et Lalie.

[julas-little-spot]

Warm-up animation I did a few days ago ft. a new OC I made

[lovecharged]

open for: w/m/nb (25+) plot: they’re having an affair, in the same circles. he’s with someone else publicly, your muse wants to test him on that. note: he is a vampire in his main verse, but if that is not something that suits you, he doesn’t have to be here. made on: legacy, can use beta.

“are you trying to make me jealous?” a brow cocks, and he doesn’t know whether to be impressed, aroused or irritated. suspects it’s some concoction of the three. his head tilts as he watches them closely, he’d been around for a very, very, very long time -- yet nobody seemed to get under his skin quite like they do. they challenge him, and they’re not scared to rile him up and that is far more attractive than he’ll admit. “in front of her?”

[12endigital]

Seis camiones con 150.000 kilos de tomates para celebrar la Tomatina de Buñol

La empresa Citromed en La Llosa de Castellón ha cargado los seis camiones que han transportado por la tarde los 150.000 kilos de tomates que se usarán este miércoles en la Tomatina de la localidad valenciana de Buñol. “Tienen que estar lo suficientemente maduros para que suelten su jugo y no hagan daño a la gente durante la batalla de tomates”, ha explicado Idoya Mecho, responsable de…

[arealcrow]

nightmares

3k, d&d (saltmarsh)

After a harrowing night on a smugglers' ship, Sendoa's dreams haunt him. Also: he checks in on a friend.

The brig smells like rusting metal and rotting wood more than anything else. Some days the smell of rust comes from his own blood. His cell is small and cramped, there’s barely enough space for him to move around in, and the shackles on his wrists are a heavy reminder that even if he had space, there’s nothing he could do. At least it’s mostly quiet, just the occasional sound of boots on the wood above him. They leave him in peace most of the time. It’s a hungry and aching peace but it’s better than the days where they try to get him to talk. 

Sendoa doesn’t sleep well after the night they take the smugglers' ship, and not just because he misses the gentle sway of the ocean rocking him to sleep. The first night, he wakes up every three hours in a cold sweat. The sound of wood creaking echoes in his ears, and remembering the small space he'd spent months in makes him feel restless even now. As quietly as he can- which is not as quietly as he’d like- he slips out of bed and sets about starting his day. 

The sun outside has only barely started to approach the horizon, its first rays of the morning barely light up the clouds littering the sky. It’s more than enough light for him to start preparing for breakfast. There’s a jar that usually keeps bread starter on the counter, and when Sendoa opens it he’s unsurprised to find it’s heavily depleted from all of the baking his mother had been doing over the past week. Inside there is just enough to start a small loaf for just the two of them without fully depleting it.

He watches the sunrise through the kitchen window as he works. The golden light slowly creeps over the horizon and coats the coastal town in early morning warmth, driving the clouds from the sky. As he kneads the dough, he recites a small prayer to Pelor, for strength and radiance throughout his day, and for blessings of safety for his family.

When Idoya pads sleepily into the kitchen a few hours later, she finds a warm cup of tea waiting for her. 

"Oh, Sen, this is wonderful. Thank you, dear," she says, voice still hoarse with sleep, and settles down on one of the stools at the kitchen island.

"Of course," he says as he sets a plate with toasted bread, two eggs, and small cups of jam and butter on it. "You've been cooking for the community all week, it's the least I could do." 

Though his tone is light, he means the words very seriously. Idoya is a ball of energy- he takes after her in that way- and she's always directed that energy towards helping those around her. It's the least he can do to try and keep her off her feet and relaxing for a little longer.

"You're so sweet," she smiles and her eyes light up with affection. He gives her a small smile back and quickly turns to fix himself a plate. Even from his family, praise makes him feel uncharacteristically shy.

"Just for you," he says, and they both know he's not being entirely truthful. Idoya knows how attached Sendoa can get, when he lets himself. She knows how many nights he spends grieving the friends he lost at sea years ago.

“How was the potluck?” he asks, before she can praise him further. 

“It was lovely. I brought plenty of things home for you to try,” she says matter of factly as she spreads jam over her toast. She levels a look at him before adding, “You were very missed, and not just by me.” 

“Thank you, mom,” he says, bowing his head, “I’m sorry again for not going.”

“I know, I know,” she says and sighs, resigned. 

“It was important, promise,” he sips his tea, thinking on his words carefully before he continues, “We found smugglers off the coast, and took care of their ship. Turned over the things they stole to the guards, and everything. Though, I think we get to keep the ship.”

He waits for the surprise to pass from Idoya’s face before he continues.

“And there were people on the ship, captives that the smugglers’ had taken,” he starts, and then stops to reassure his mother when he sees worry spread on her face, “They’re okay now, we got them off the ship safely. I- uh- was thinking about checking on them both? I knew one of them, from when I was in the marines. I’m.. worried about him.”

It takes her a few moments to process what he’s told her.

“I’m glad they got off that ship safely, as I’m glad that you did,” she says, her worry about him plain in her eyes. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

He smiles down towards his cup of tea, and she reaches forward to ruffle his still sleep mussed hair.

“That’s my little ray of sunshine.”

“Moooom, stop-”

-

The faces of his captors blur together, either from the haziness of the dream or the fog of repressed memory, he can't be sure. What stands out is a wide and wicked smile, like a cat that's got its claws sunk deep in a mouse. The shifting faces of the figure in front of him melt between memories of his captors before solidifying into his captain's blood splattered features.

Sendoa jerks awake, gasping for air. 

"What the fuck am I doing?" he says, the words coming out airy and quiet. 

It takes him minutes of sitting there in the early morning light to catch his breath again. He huffs a sigh when he realizes that the amount of light filtering into his room already means it’s definitely too late to try and get more sleep. The sound of his mom puttering around the kitchen reaches his ears as he wakes up fully and comes into his body. Moving on autopilot, he dresses for the day and says a quick good morning to his mother and grandmother. Breakfast is laid out on the kitchen island, and he tries to be as quick and unobtrusive as possible as he packs up a basket of food. He grabs enough of the bread, fruit, cheese, and tea for two servings.

“Not staying for breakfast?" his grandmother asks. Sendoa can’t help but think she resembles an osprey sitting on a cliff as her piercing eyes watch him. "And I came all this way to see you."

Out of respect, Sendoa doesn’t point out that she lives next door. 

“No, sorry, got plans today. Gonna visit a.. friend,” he’s not sure if it’s too forward to call someone he’s only worked with before a friend, but he cares for Duri and the word is out before he thinks further than that, “I wanna make sure he’s doing okay.”

His grandmother gives his mom a long, suspicious look at his hesitation, who simply shrugs her shoulders. He’d told her of his plans to check in on Duri’s well being already. He didn’t tell her about the nightmares, or about how jumpy he’s felt since that night, but he knows she can see the fatigue in his eyes. His memories and thoughts weigh heavy on him. Whatever conflicted feelings he was having about his crew mates, she was content to let him process them in his own time. If he needed her help, she was there.

“Very well, then,” Naia says, and sips at her tea, “You’d better take something sweet as well, to round the meal off.”

“Oh! I know!” his mother disappears into their pantry and then reappears holding a small jar full of deep amber. “Evelyn brought us some fancy, imported honey at the potluck. Take that with you, as a gift for your friend.”

Before Sendoa can even think to refuse, his mother is already packing the honey into his bundle for him. Once her mind is set on something, she rarely takes no for an answer; especially not when it comes to her kindness.

“Okay, I’ll take him the honey. Thank you, mom. I’m sure he’ll enjoy it,” he says with a small smile, and packs the bundle of food into his back.

“Of course, hun,” Idoya places her hands on his shoulders when he stands up again, holding him still so she can press a kiss to his cheek. “I hope you have a good time. Don’t stay out too late, okay?”

“I won’t, I’ll be home before sundown. I promise.” He leans down to give her a kiss on the forehead, and then heads out into the bright morning.

He still isn’t entirely sure how long Duri was on that ship, but even a short time in a space like the one they found him in must have taken its toll. He also isn’t sure what happened to the ship that Duri had been on beforehand- had he been the only survivor? The other person being held captive didn’t seem familiar to him, so he clearly hadn’t been captured with Duri. Seeing your crew go down around you is another thing that he knows from experience can weigh heavy on someone’s shoulders.

As he walks, he supposes that the specifics of the hardship don’t matter that much. The comfort he’s trying to bring is what matters.

It occurs to him only when he’s already standing in front of the door that he’s pretty sure is Duri’s, that he didn’t give any warning that he would be stopping by today specifically. He’s also not entirely certain he’s at the right place. The directions he was given were from a few days ago and he hadn’t written them down until he got home that night, he could have misremembered. Or Duri could have misremembered; captivity can scramble the brain.

He stands there hesitating too long. When the door in front of him opens, Duri almost walks right into him. 

“Oh-!” Duri looks surprised to see him, but pleasantly so, “Sendoa, hello. I, uhm- what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see how you were holding up,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. He holds up the basket, “I brought breakfast. It’s okay if you’re busy though, I can come back-”

“No, no,” Duri’s eyes dart to the basket of food and then back to his face, “Your timing is great, I was just going out to get something for breakfast. Please, come in. Make yourself at home.”

After being led into the apartment, Sendoa does just that. He puts water on for tea, and then sets about unloading his basket. The food is carefully arranged on two plates; he makes sure the plate he prepares for Duri has the nicer looking pieces of fruit. The jar of honey has a wooden dipper with the shape of a bee carved on the end tied onto it with a ribbon, which he takes and places in the jar for convenience. He sticks to small talk until the tea is ready; just asking about how Duri’s morning has been going, chatting about the weather and the ever bustling activity at the docks. The intrusion into Duri’s space doesn’t seem to draw any complaints, only curious eyes on him as he putters around the kitchen. It’s only after he places a plate and a cup of tea in front of Duri that he’s ready to start prying.

“How have you been? Since that night on the ship?” he asks, watching carefully as Duri sips the tea. His eyes are focused, probably unnervingly so, like he’s trying to tell if he’s been eating and sleeping enough just by looking at him.

“I’m doing better, now that I’m on land,” Duri says with a small, almost sheepish smile.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Sendoa says, returning the smile. “How long were you on that ship?”

“As a captive? Thankfully not as long as Oceanus, only about a week. But I had been hired on by them before that as a healer. And no-'' he sees the look on Sendoa’s face, “I didn’t know they were smugglers. I thought they were merchants, it seemed like a standard job.”

“So how’d you end up locked in a closet?”

“Well, when I realized they were, in fact, not merchants, I was making plans to turn them in once we got to port. Unfortunately we didn’t make it that far before they realized what I was going to do.”

“I see,” Sendoa resists the urge to call Duri a fool, affectionately, both for not realizing what kind of ship he’d been hired onto, and for getting caught. “Well, I’m glad you weren’t stuck there longer. Though even a week was miserable, I’m sure. And I’m glad they didn’t throw you overboard, or something. The seas would have lost a good man.”

“Oh, you’re too kind, really,” Duri looks around at the spread of food and tea between them. It’s all very kind. “I’m glad to be out of there. It was fortuitous that you and the others showed up when you did.”

A look passes over Duri’s face like he’s considering something, and a moment of silence passes before he speaks again.

“So,” Duri starts, and gives Sendoa a curious look, “How did you end up on a crew with pirates?”

Sendoa can’t help but laugh a little at the question, one he has asked himself multiple times over the past few days. 

“In my defense. Or I guess their defense. There hasn’t been any piracy while I’ve been around. Nothing egregious anyway,” he has to think on that for a second, and then add, “At least not recently.” 

It’s not a very reassuring answer, and the look on Duri’s face is one of worry.

“Most of them I only just met, it hasn’t been long. They helped clear some house that was giving the guard trouble, that led us to the ship- and you,” he leans back in his chair, considering the group. 

“Susie’s just a kid. I’m not really worried about her. Well, I am, but not in the same way as the other two. Ny is… I think he’s alright,” the memory of a shadowy tentacle makes him add, “Mostly okay, probably not dangerous to us anyway.”

“And the captain?”

“Hadrien’s another story.”

Duri raises an eyebrow at him. 

“First time I met him was when I was a marine, just some pirate on the other end of my blade. Slippery, though. His ship escaped our grasp back then and I didn’t think twice about it until he showed up here,” he says, eyes distant as he recounts his thoughts, “He’s very, very good at what he does. Which is mostly killing, but he’s good with the group too. And a little too good at talking. I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him, and I feel like I could probably toss him pretty far.”

Duri nods, seeming to agree with his conclusion, “He seems like bad news, like he could become a problem if no one’s there to stop him.”

Sendoa nods as well. He doesn't like letting the pirate out of his sight. “He’ll make a problem or one will find him, that’s the feeling I’ve been getting.”

“Well,” Duri sits up a little bit, “If he becomes a problem, it sounds like we’ve got an otherwise seaworthy crew. I’ve seen mutinies before, I’m sure I could lead one.”

Sendoa’s not sure how serious he’s being, even still he laughs softly and says, “That sounds like a plan. I’ll just throw him overboard for you, and make Susie the captain instead. She’s already got the hat.”

Duri laughs as well, and Sendoa feels less tense than he has in days. The weight he’s felt, carrying his doubts alone, feels like it has started to lift from his shoulders. It’s easy to talk to him about this, reassuring.

“Thank you for breakfast,” Duri says, once a comfortable quiet has settled between them. 

“Oh, yeah, you’re welcome,” Sendoa says, shrugging a shoulder and looking down at his cup of tea. “Really it’s nothing. You should come over sometime and I could make you a real meal.”

"That sounds very nice," Duri says after only a few seconds of hesitation. That sheepish smile is back on his face, which only encourages Sendoa.

"Then it's settled. I'll make you dinner. I'll make whatever you want, so think about it a bit."

“Whatever I want?” Duri asks, raising one eyebrow challengingly.

“Whatever you want that I could reasonably get ingredients for,” Sendoa counters, grinning.

“Alright,” Duri leans back in his chair and sips his tea thoughtfully, “I’ll think about it.”

-

There's one small porthole he can stand by and lean his face against- when he has the energy- to feel the sun on his skin and let fresh, sea air clear his senses. A small mercy in captivity. One he carries with him when he finds freedom again. 

After the pirates ransom him back to the Navy, he spends a month in a hospital, stuck under the healer's careful eyes. The warmth of the sun and the sound of waves crashing against the shore keep him looking forward, keep it from feeling like another cage. More than one cleric suggests he go home, and end his time in the marines. Still, he requests placement on another ship. He can’t go home- doesn’t go home for another year, when his mother finally begs him to.

The sun’s comfort was with him that night on the smugglers’ ship as well; it’s healing mercy keeping him standing and his shining blade smiting down smugglers.

With his grandfather’s sword clutched tightly in hand as he kneels in a sunlit courtyard to take his oath, Sendoa prays. He prays Pelor’s strength will be with him as he wields the light to strike down his foes. He prays for the courage to defend those in need of protection, and for the clarity to mete out mercy to those who deserve it. 

[portanchor]