#cannibalism at sea

[the-golden-vanity]

"This is a normal collection of books," says person whose #1 song of the year on Spotify was "The Wake of the Medusa".

[yourdadsbasement]

i realized i forgot to do Creatures of the Deep Sea and they are already making it impossible

Your Honor, i would die for them

i had the same question for you actually

it’s good chris is always concentrating on what’s important

this man has a French Press within reach at all times. you gotta respect it.

i don’t want to be pedantic here (lmao yes i do) but those boys would be crushed already, about a millisecond after the power went. little kratt pâtés

i felt that in my soul, jimmy, this is why i do not go on adventures of any kind

this feels like a sex thing

gourmand is not beating the cannibal allegations by cooking martin along with all those fish

[fear-aesthetic-tourney]

1a

Flesh synopsis:

Meat. More meat. You are nothing but meat. Twisted bones, slimy fat, mouldable flesh, like clay. You are a sculpture waiting to be made, You just need someone to twist you into shape. Blood, teeth, bones. Cannibalism. Meat is meat, if the maggots will eat it, why can't you?

No propaganda submitted

Vast synopsis:

Infinity. Deep sea. Deep space. You are a small pebble in the Buddha's hand. Or maybe you are that hand, stretched to infinity. You fall and fall and there is nothing to break your fall, just air. The smell of ozone. The sound of rushing wind. The blue sky and nothing but the blue sky.

Propaganda:

vast propaganda is that once you become an avatar of it essentially the emptiness void that makes you feel insignificant made an exception just for you, you're its special little fella

[threepandas]

Bad End: Lost at Star Sea

It was sheer luck I even glanced down. Stopped, longed enough to doubled check, triple check, my next jump. I didn't really need too. Trusted my ship's computers, (quite literally) with my life. Kinda had too, after so long, out in the sea of stars. So the fact that I paused? Checked? Noticed that stuttering little signal at all?

Really, it could only be luck.

Good, bad, a miracle or disaster in the making? Couldn't tell ya.

But I DID notice. And I DID, immediately, hit the override for my cued up jumps to Starline. Because as every pilot worth even a fraction of their soul will tell you? You see an SOS beacon? You fucking ANSWER it.

Yes, pirates pull the "help I'm stuck" trick. And yeah, there are other unscrupulous folks out there. But! That's part of why the bounty hunter's guild and pirate hunter's come down so HARD on those fuckers. If you discourage people from HELPING stranded pilots? People fucking DIE out there.

Cold Void Of Space, remember?

Far as I'm concerned? Old ship rules apply, there are enough horrors, lurking out there. We do NOT need to add to them. All differences are to be kept planet side. THEN you can kill each other.

Thank the stars, I had decided to go the back lanes. Yeah, it added a few extra weeks to my trip, that I couldn't spend on that swanky beach at Starline, but? The "road trip" through the outer edge of the galaxy had been worth it. Plenty of cool sights and fun new foods. And NOW, clearly, the much needed chance to be in the right place at the right time.

Getting my ship in close, I tried to hail the softly free floating wreck. It looked smashed. Like it hit or was struck by something at speed. They had clearly managed to slow themselves, but beyond that? I couldnt see much stabilization. The whole ship sat dark. Not good.

My dash said there was nothing to hail TOO. Fuck. I tried difference frequencies. Maybe they had a hand-held? Earpiece? Something? But I couldn't connect to anything. Find, anything. Shit! Okay. Okay! Plan B. Try to get a registration while I connect us up. Pray to which ever Gods gaurds this one's soul, that they breathe a similar gas mix.

Loading... loading...

Oh, thank FUCK!

Compatible air AND drones, someone up or out there, really DOES want these guys to live! I force myself to be calm. Rushing won't help anybody, but WILL make a mess, after all. Bring up that frustrating drone request program I downloaded on a whim. Watch as, dispite the odds, lights flicker on across the hull of the ship.

Emergency protocols engage. They, obviously, get no counter order. And? Like the beautiful, life saving, little dumbasses they are? Immediately begin to zip and trundle into position to drag the wreckage in towards my ship. Gods bless the collective single IQ point of drones. Good babies. Such good babies!

With a heavy shudder and thunk, we connect.

Already, I am hovering by the latch. Emergency kit in hand. Breather on. The second it's confirmed, I twist the latch and...Oh gods. The air that surges up to greet me is so cold, it BURNS. I hadn't even though I was sweating, hadn't noticed it, until it felt like stabbing flash frozen crystals on my face. Shit! Oh gods, oh SHIT!

I scramble down, ladder burning cold even through my gloves. Red emergency lights and terrible silence greet me. I move quick. Emergencies & Stranding classes echoing in my head. Check the warmest part of the ship first, then work your way out. If they CAN move, they'll know to retreat there.

Registration said the ship had fifteen people. No idea how many survived the impact and cold, but hopefully? All of them. I may not have the room or rations for a comfortable trip. But it'd be warm. And I could get them to a port.

They should be in the central compartment, which is usually critical storage and medbay. Getting there, the door has clearly been forced to slide open by someone with claws and blood on their hands. It couldn't close properly, they bent it getting it open.

Looking down, there... oh gods. There is A LOT of blood on the floor.

Something... someONE? Dragged to storage. Blood trails thick on the floor. There must be a preserver; trying, maybe, to keep their friends from rotting? Might be shock? And they just... couldn't figure out where to put the bodies. I shake my head, tearing my horrified eyes away. Concentrate! Save the living. The dead are already gone. Be sick about it later.

It takes the crowbar I brought, now cold enough to worry me, to force the door to slide again. The room in side is barely warmer then the air outside. But? There, against the far wall? Is just about every clothe and piece of fabric in the ship. Two emergency blankets glinting from withing the chaotic pile.

The only other people in the room are clearly dead. Injuries. He must have tried to treat them but been unable too. Regardless of what happened, I rush forward. Unearthing an unconscious Aqualin from his self made fabric tomb. The colouration might mean he's from the deep water region. But without his eyes or mouth open I can't TELL.

I hope so, his chance of survival would go up tremendously. Dragging the limp, dangerously hypothermic, man onto my shoulders in a fireman's carry, I get us the hell out. His front is stained in blood. His hands coated. Everything that could go wrong? Seems too. But if I have any say, he is NOT dying here.

Dragging us into my now cold ship, I clumsily kick at the latch until I manage to flip it closed. Just for now. I'll have to go back down for those blankets and such, to help get him warm. But first? I get my rescue set up, warming up.

A further few, brutally cold, few trips to loot the ship of what I safely can before I can close that latch for good. Lock away the horrors to be found there. Stacking everything up and off to the side for him. I'm pretty sure I even found his wallet. So at least? He won't be destitute. Then, while the droids transferred the last of the wreck's fuel? I start to bring up the heat back to normal. Slowly.

Once all is said and down, I silence the emergency beacon and send in the mandatory report. Might be a while before a cleaning crew can get out here... but, well... at least those poor bastard's family's would have some closure. Life insurance. That sort if thing.

.....fuck today has been shit.

"Ooooh go on a vacaaaaation~" Everybody said. "You're so overworked!" They had said. "So STRESSED! You definitely won't find a ship full of corpses!" Thanks for that, guys! Having SUCH a great time. No, REALLY.

Detaching from the wreckage is almost... no, IS horrific in how easy it is. It just... float away. Silent, dark, and gentle. A cold bit of nothingness, lost in the void. Sinking into the stars with it's cargo full of dead, like... like nothing happened at all. It looks so small. Just a twisted bit of metal. Drifting... drifting... away....

Even with the heaters bringing the heat back up, I feel cold.

That could have been me.

What the hell happened? I tear my eyes away from the view screen. Back down to the dash board. Standard operating procedure is to grab the black box of a wreck, even if you find no survivors. Helps universal safety innovation and regulatory blah blah blah. Had to drill it into my head to even GET my license. So... so now... there it is. Grabbed.

I... COULD look.

Fiddling with my rescues wallet, I stare at it. It's hella illegal. Breach of privacy. You can't just... just go into someone's ship and poke around. Look up where they've been and who they've been talking too about what. All their data would be on that thing. Soothing MY anxiety is not more important then THEIR boundaries, right? I should leave it.

I flip the wallet open. My rescue's smiling face grins back up at me, like some sort of dork at a photo shoot. He's leaning against an advertisement for, ironically, Starline. Probably the same beach that convinced me to go. All relaxed confidence and swagger, he looks nothing like the half frozen man I dragged from that ship.

My rescue has lost weight. A concerning amount of color. But? Looking at the rich black of the eyes and the point of his teeth? He seem to be either mostly or full blooded Deep Sea Aqualin. Thank FUCK.

There was a celebrity Tropical Region Aqualin a while back that my baby cousin was weirdly obsessed with. Not stalking obsessed, but? The "family is concerned" obsessed, you know? We all ended up learning WAY too much about their entire species. WAY, WAY too much.

Dea Sea Aqualin are apparently just? Built different. Like, "can withstand a degree of pressure and cold and would kill most others" different. The dehydration might still get him, but the cold? Might NOT.

Flipping the wallet closed, I ignore my gut. I don't need to see what's on that black box. Yeah, I'd find out what happened after they lost propulsion. But? Watching doomed men die? That's sick. There's nothing worth finding there. It's just anxiety.

I reset my next jump. The sooner we get to the next port, the sooner my Rescue (X'alus, apparently) can get help. Then? I head back to check on him. I think, he might be stirring. Approaching the mound of blankets, it turns out I'm right.

" 'rm?" He manages to slur, voices crackling like it's a fight to get anything out. "Wh're 'm? Who?"

There is no good way to tell someone a whole ship full of crewmates is... gone. But, fuck, if I don't try. Gently sitting him up, I help him drink from a hydration pouch. Little at a time, so as not to stress his likely starved stomach. He leans, boneless, towards me. Like he wishes he could drag himself into my lap. Staring like I hold the secrets to the universe.

"Pre'ty. Warm. You sav'd me?"

I nod, shooting him a smile as I tuck the blanket more firmly around him. Poor guy is still pretty weak. But he's healing fast. That's good. He smiles back, bright predators teeth glinting in the ship's light. (Bit unhinged looking, but hey, he seems loopy.)

"Y're my hero~ pre'ty, pre'ty hero~!"

"Arn't I lucky? You found me!"

[weirdenbyferret]

Day twenty, lionfish

LETS ACT LIKE ITS STILL MERMAY, OKAY? OKAY

Anyway, this is is an au that I've actually had for a couple years now, based on the movie The sea beast!

I am staring with big eyes at this man, i love him

Im the au hes called The solar menace, and he is the second most dangerous sea beast ever and he perhaps is a bit of a cannibal towards other sea beasts, especially other lion fish-like sea beasts...he also likes taking the spines/fins of other lion fish-like sea beasts and make them into fans...

Like the one hes holding in the drawing :D

I dont think im ok

[will-graham-coded]

I KNOW this crusty dragon bitch did not just call HUGH MOTHERFUCKING DANCY ugly😭 and Hannibal you jealous bitch just fuck the man, you don't have to resort to murder EVERY TIME.

[smokbeast]

Spitballs another ref complete, soma!! She is the one I ship mainly with fang in Regular undertale setting and in her Canon og setting with Makoto. Shes just a lovely lil siren out to have a good time :D and she love her hubband and wife allot.

About soma below!

- she's a fire demon/siren hybrid. She's not meant to look like that for a siren. So she's considered "ugly" to siren standards and thata why her had is broken, sirens tried to bash her head when she was a baby to kill her, thinking she was a bad omen.

- she can turn ablaze like fire, and spit oil like ink that increases the intensity of it to a point that she can make fire happen underwater and it is difficult to put out. If she inks, and sets it ablaze. Consider that an explosion waiting to happen.

- Soma doesn't like using her fire powers as they hurt her allot due to her sensitive skin, her hybrid powers sadly are not stable.

- she used to have horns! But those opened cracks on her cranium are the result of them being gone :,)

- her father is the king of firedemons, and she has no idea what that even means LMAO

-Soma was raised by Orca sirens, hence her mimicing their colors. She can click and whistle like an Orca and dolphin and does this frequently to lure dolphins to kill and eat them.

- she is extremely aggressive to male sirens and prefers they stay away due to past experiences, unless they show an ounce of kindness to her. She will take that as mate worthy and try to court with them (the mistake fang did.). However she has a immense curiosity of the land beasts and humans, finding them very interesting.

-Soma is really clingy and sweet once she's out of her shell. She does like making friends and will do her best to learn their mannerisms to not make them uncomfortable! She knows her customs are different to those on land.

-her tentacles can shift to legs when she's on land, she's a little wobbly but it works PFNG

-Soma has a beak like teeth and three tongues. Her venom is similar to that of a blue ringed octopus but multiplied to her size, she can take down even the largest sirens with it and tear their throats or stomachs open with her mouth. She's genuinly horrifying and WILL make example of someone that tries to hurt her partners or babies

-Soma has two babies with makoto and fang! But in undertale au, it's only one baby with fang.

-in undertale au, soma is simply a siren monster that lives in the surface, most stories where she meets folks is because they either went to the surface or she accidentally fell to the underground through a stream that led her there.

[empressdrusilla]

Oh, to be a siren, able to enthrall people with my voice, a haunting beauty carried across the waves.

Perhaps the other sirens, my sisters, drown the sailors on the rocks, ships dashed to kindling on the sharp stone, eat the bodies of those doomed fools who thought themselves to be the ones to finally win our affections.

I have better uses for them.

A dead sailor gives food for a day, but a thrall? It can go back to shore, gives me anything I want, all the time my heavenly song ringing in its ears, guiding it back to me whenever its task is done.

When they come back, all it takes is the slightest giving of my affections to keep them wrapped around my fingers. They would serve for just the barest chance to hear me sing again, they would devote themselves to me to look deep into my eyes just once more.

Perhaps I could send them out with tales of riches that me and my sisters hoard in our sea caves, bring even more of the brave and foolish to our doorstep, for myself and my sisters to use how we see fit. Most are drowned, but some, those who catch my eye, they go to me.

Those strong enough to swim to me or clever enough to catch onto the rocks and climb along the sides of the cave, those are the ones who I take as mine. I reward them often, as anyone would their pets. I learned about pets from one of my earliest thralls, and it found the concept most intriguing. I rarely send them out for me any more, for their hands are better spent washing salt out of my hair in the nights, massaging my flesh as I rest and sing them another song and watch their eyes glaze over and a smile spread across their lips.

Oh, to be a siren.

[dailykugisaki]

Day 280 | id in alt

Motherfucker didn't say please.

[angeart]

AU Masterpost [tags]

I think it's time. So I can keep track, and you guys know what's out there and how to search for it <3 Bear in mind that some AUs are more like concepts and might only have a single thought/art underneath their tag, but there might be more added to them in the future. If you're curious about anything, you can always ask! (I'm very easily convinced to drop rambles, as has been proven in the past—)

*

Help Me To Breathe [hmtb]

my main multi-chapter story, set in s8 boatem. deaths abruptly hurt on hermitcraft, and each respawn makes it worse. scar dies a lot by grian's hands, before grian even learns (the hard way) that things hurt now. welcome to a scarian angst hellhole where 3rd life flashbacks hit like bricks and guilt is mercilessly spilled everywhere <3

this fic is the epitome of it gets worse before it gets better. trust me.

cws: violence, ptsd, anxiety attacks, delusions, unhealthy coping mechanisms, suicidal ideation, suicide, temporary character death... please check tags on AO3 which i try very hard to keep updated

tags: #hmtb - an all-encompassing tag for fic updates, rambles, and art. (sometimes #hmtb art is also used in tandem, where relevant.)

fic: Help Me To Breathe on AO3

*

Hunted hybrids [hhau]

hermitcraft s8 got code-attacked and all the hermits got scattered into different worlds, lost and stuck in unfamiliar places, not knowing if their home still exists. the au follows scar and grian who ended up in the same world (although originally unaware)—a world dangerous and hostile to hybrids. grian is an avian, scar is a vex, and they're hunted relentlessly. also, it's permadeath <3

this au is self-indulgently used in RP and co-owned by linkito

cws: violence, blood, dehumanisation of hybrids, self harm (feather plucking), mentions of suicidal ideation... [updated cws in the hhau masterpost]

tags: #hhau

this one got out of hand so >> hhau masterpost <<

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Boatem circus

scar, a sea-lion hybrid, builds a circus as a safe haven for all the hybrids and misfits that have nowhere to belong and need a place to heal. they all carry their own traumas and wounds, and scar gives them what they never had: gentleness and options and freedom to roam or leave. but it's not easy, navigating a growing community of varying triggers and buried pasts.

au put together with stiffyck

cws: ptsd, panic attacks, fear of fire, loss and grief, mentions of captivity/torture/abuse

tags: #boatem circus au

fics: don't be afraid, little bird (there are no cages around you now) —&— elegy

[AO3 series link]

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Sleep demon Grian

grian is a sleep demon, existing in the dreamscape, able to manipulate dreams and thriving on giving people nightmares. he meets scar in a dream, immediately intrigued and amused by his reactions, and he keeps coming back to him. scar, despite all the nightmares being thrown at him, catches a glimpse of his perpetrator, and grows curious in turn. they start talking, everything eventually culminating into a ritual and a summonning circle. grian, in the waking world, needs to learn how to exist somewhere where he can get actually hurt, and come to terms with the fact that he has locked away memories and trauma.

cws: injuries, fear, panic, nightmares(?), trauma, violence, memory repression

tags: #sleep demon grian au

au rambles: here

fics: the nightmare snippet —&— even if it hurts (and even if it isn't a dream) you can have a home here

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Cursed forest

found family boatem, where each of them carry their own heavy past and an attached curse. they thought they'd never find a place to settle that'd accept them and let them heal. but they found each other, deep in a hidden away forest, littered by bones and flowers, death and hope. (honestly, just see the au rambles.)

au put together with stiffyck

cws: animal death, necromancy, grief and guilt, body horror

tags: #cursed forest au

rambles: here

fics: even with death haunting your footsteps, your flowers will bloom again

*

Spill my blood AU

grian and scar have known each other before the world fell apart. they were equal parts aquaintances and something much deeper—allowed to be close during the most vulnerable, raw moments, yet never orbiting too close outside of them. 

grian used to be in a bad relationship, and scar at the time just happened to be the roommate of grian’s best friend, mumbo. that is, until a too-close call forced mumbo and scar to finally save grian out of that situation for good, and then, only a couple days later, before things even had time to fully settle, scar—freshly turned into a vampire by a desperate third party, and too terrified of losing control and hurting those he loves—had no choice but to leave, abandoning them in the aftermath. 

now, years later, they run into each other and reunite in the apocalypse, both them and the world forever changed.

au put together with plantie for our rp. 

title based on our working doc title spill my blood at the end of the world

cws: mentions of abuse, unhealthy relationship, violence, dark thoughts, trauma, breakdowns, dissociation, panic attacks, suicidal ideation, blood, general vampire stuff, being turned into a monster, fear of loss of control, rot and decay of a mycelium apocalypse, zombie thematics, hybrid dehumanisation, mentions of trafficking and experimentation, post apocalypse survival, hallucinations, sickness

tags: #spill my blood au

*

Snowbird AU

hybrids don’t have a place in civilised society, seen as too animalistic, the line between human and wildlife too blurry for them to be accepted. they’re rare, hiding away and living off on their own in their little communes, keeping to themselves.  

one winter, grian’s all alone, struggling to survive. as a migratory species, he wasn’t meant to stay. he wasn’t meant to be alone. he doesn’t really know how to build a nest that the snow wouldn’t destroy. isn’t sure how to stay warm, or which direction he’s meant to go. he gets caught in a snowstorm that blows him, tired and cold and wounded, to the edge of scar’s backyard.

scar is a zookeeper. he knows a lot about animals, but next to nothing about hybrids. he never expected to come face-to-face with one… much less one hurt and scared and in distress. as he coaxes the avian to let him help, his mind is spinning wondering if bird wing injuries and avian wing injuries should be treated the same, and what is he going to do? 

scar ends up bringing grian to his house, putting him in his bed, warm and soft and safe. grian’s never been in a place like this, bright and walled and— heated. and he was told his whole life to steer clear of humans, but scar doesn’t seem like he wants to hurt him, and oh, grian’s never felt so cozy. maybe it’d be okay to let scar help? maybe it’d be okay to stay for a little bit? (after all, the outside is so cold—)

they’re both in an unfamiliar situation, but maybe… maybe they’ll both come out of it with far more than they expected.

au put together with lyrai

cws: injuries, sickness, grief, dehumanisation of hybrids, kidnapping, claustrophobia, wing clipping, distress of being grounded, panic attacks, fear of touch

tags: #snowbird au

*

Ari AU

grian (he/she) is ariana griande (ari), a famous singer beloved by the crowds. except things start getting a bit too out of hand. there are stalkers and people who think they have the right to ari's personal life, the right to see and dictate everything. the press gets out of hand. maybe the crowds get too rowdy. maybe—

more scared and overwhelmed by the second, grian gets a bodyguard. that bodyguard is scar. things continue to escalate though, and by the time ari calls a break in her career, everything's irreparably breaking down around her.

(If it wasn't clear yet, this is one very dark, very heavy, very human story. There's love and so, so, so much despair. Things go wrong and then worse.)

au with ben

cws: papparazzi hounding, stalkers, lack of privacy, blurring of self, drugging and [attempted] SA, physical assaults, self harm, overdose, medical trauma, restraints, seizures, ptsd, depression, suicidal stuff (including several attempts)

tags: #ari au

au rambles: [part I] - [part II] - [part III] - [part IV] - [part V] - [TBC]

au art:

downfall in three stages - here lake scene art - here

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Murder cannibal AU

… or the fucked up one where grian has a silly crush on scar and scar takes him camping. he’s showing grian how to hunt—a concept grian’s uneasy about, but scar’s so close, guiding his hand, so it’s totally worth it—when they get ambushed by a group of campers. they attack without hesitation, and while grian’s stunned and confused and scared, scar lifts his hunting rifle and shoots without as much as a flinch.

three bodies later, scar reveals that they were probably upset about "what scar’s done to their friend". and through the shock, things start clicking in grian’s head. oh. oh. he— he needs to run. he feels the eyes on him, feels the gun that’s surely pointing at his back now. scar’s just killed people and seems wholly unbothered. bile rises in grian’s throat together with terror and his body moves, scrambling to get away.

scar moves after him with ease, and after a bit of a chase, shoots grian’s ankle. he brings him into an isolated cabin deep in the woods, tying him up but also fixing up his injuries. grian’s terrified, and as days progress, scar nonchalantly lets him witness more death as he brings in people—sometimes still alive—to butcher up for food, staining the cabin’s floorboard with blood.

and somewhere along the lines, something in grian caves and gives in to this new messed up reality he’s been thrown into.

au put together with ben

cws: kidnapping, murder, all forms of violence, gore, cannibalism, a really fucked up cast of characters, mutilation, self mutilation, mind breaking, torture, major character death, fucked up concepts of love

tags: #murder cannibal au

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Assassin AU

grian is an assassin, scar is elven nobility. one day, grian is sent to kill scar, which seems a simple enough job. except when they meet, they find that they actually know each other—they've met when they were kids and quickly became unlikely friends, with scar giving away a magical amulet to grian as a gift. (an amulet he still has.) scar was eventually found (turns out he was a noble runaway/lost kid) and dragged away, and grian never found out who he truly was or what happened to him and why he disappeared.

... until now.

now scar's life is at the tip of grian's blade, and grian finds himself conflicted, unwilling to kill the one person he's ever managed to connect with (even if it was years ago, and they've both changed beyond repair since). but grian knows that if he won't finish this job, someone else will.

so on an insane impulse, grian does the desperate thing and whisks scar away, uprooting both of their lives and exchanging everything they've known for a ragged life on the run.

except turns out, there's a reason why people want scar dead, and they're not going to give up the pursuit.

cws: blood and violence, mind control, being generally oblivious about life, survival scenario, murder, possible animal death

tags: #assassin au

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Misguided Heroes

scar is secretly hotguy, a hero meant to protect the people. grian is a shopkeeper at barge, but with self-proclaimed king ren wreaking havoc on economy and making life of ordinary citizens so much harder, he decides to secretly play vigilante, cuteguy, and stage a one-man rebellion.

also, scar and grian are roommates.

au with sima

cws: injuries, illusions messing with perception/reality, [to be determined]

tags: #misguided heroes au

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Grumbo apocalypse AU [monster horror AU]

mumbo wakes up to the world as he knows it gone. no more point to a routine office job, no more awkward neighbourly smalltalks, no more tired grocery shop runs. instead, the sky is bright white, the sun is black, weird glitchy reality rifts open up around, and death lurks in every shadow. amidst it all, the city is overrun by various monsters that shift and change and screech, killing off anything that moves.

when eventually one of them breaks into mumbo’s apartment, he does not move a muscle, completely freezing on the spot. it’s his lack of panicked movements that saves him in the end. 

the creature that’s crouched down in front of him, looking at him curiously, is grian. he’s existed long before the apocalypse, but the nature of this doom has scrambled some instincts and control, pushing his kind into a more aggressive, feral state. they’re shapeshifters, in the most literal sense of the word—their bodies are not a constant, instead a horrory amalgamation of various, ever-shifting things, squelching and skittering. 

oh, and they steal and mimic people’s voices; the captured and reproduced sounds are grian’s only method at human communication at the very start. (it’s mostly death screams. there’s not a lot of chatter when people see them in the apocalypse—)

mumbo somehow finds himself still alive after this encounter, and grian decides to be very protective over his new friend in the hostile world. they struggle to navigate not only the new landscape of the apocalypse, but also each other and themselves. 

au put together with ben

cws: apocalypse, body horror, identity issues, end of the world feelings, monsters, fear, nightmares, communication issues, mentions of death, violence, killer instincts, horror vibes

tags: #grumbo apocalypse monster au

ben’s masterpost: here

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Ghost Scar AU

grian is a paranormal investigator. scar is a ghost. they meet, they talk, and grian resolves to do his best to make scar feel less lonely.

cws: dead character??? he's a ghost dw he's fine-

tags: #ghost scar au

fics: you exist in silence (i'll help you make a sound)

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Silly vampire Scar

scar is a vampire living in a mansion too big and too lonely for him. grian and mumbo are survivors in a world riddled with monsters, which they learn to hunt and kill. one night, they seek shelter in what seems to be an abandoned mansion, only to find out there is a sole occupant in it: a strange, chippery vampire who's keen on keeping them there.

cws: general vampire and monster stuff, [to be determined]

tags: #vampire scar au

fics: [one day]

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Cuteguy AU

scar is hotguy, grian is his sidekick cutecuy. one day, things go wrong and a building explodes with scar still inside. the body is never found. hotguy is presumed dead. that is, until cuteguy comes face to face with a new villain that is oddly familiar—

idea loosely bounced off of stiffy's TOGH au

cws: blood, violence, delusions, brainwashing, grief, loss of identity, presumed major character's death (twice. wild. huh.)

tags: #cuteguy au

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Hybrid farms AU [respawn version]

with food growing scarce, hybrids have been separated from society, rounded up, and put into farms. they’re kept captive in inhumane conditions, slaughtered over and over again (thanks to respawn mechanics) to feed the general populace. 

grian was born in captivity, but briefly tasted the outside life in his teens, meeting mumbo. he was promised there’s a place he can be safe, but before mumbo could deliver on his promises, grian was recaptured and plunged back into the circle of tight spaces, pain, and death.

eventually, he manages to escape and makes it to hermitcraft, where he clingily attaches himself to mumbo. and then he meets scar… 

au put together with ben

cws: dehumanisation of hybrids, slaughter, captivity, repeated death, cannibalism, trauma 

tags: [none so far; this lives in our DMs]

*

Vex Hunger AU [kidnapping/griangst AU]

grian (avian) and cub (vex) get kidnapped and shoved in a little cell. they’re cherry picked for their hybridity, used without consent by unethical researchers who are eager to prove that vex hybrids should be given mob status rather than a player status. the method is simple: provide avian-suitable food, but nothing for the vex to eat, and wait until he starves enough to go feral, proving vexes are dangerous.

with respawns anchored in their little cell, they don’t have a choice on what happens next. 

they are eventually found and rescued by the hermitcraft crew, but not before the awful unstoppable circle repeats over and over again; they’re found huddled up on opposite ends of the cell, dried blood and viscera splattered in between them. 

the path to healing afterwards is rocky and sometimes it feels insurmountable.

au put together with ben

cws: kidnapping, captivity, hybrid dehumanisation, starvation, assault, panic, cannibalism, gore and death, self hate, loss of control, Trauma™, bad coping mechanisms, self destructive tendencies 

tags: [none so far; this lives in our DMs]

*

Dancing zombies AU [zombie whisperer scar AU]

it’s zombie apocalypse and grian, scar, and mumbo build themselves a little settlement, each of them playing a different pivotal role. mumbo’s in charge of security, defenses, and traps; grian’s in charge of building, scouting, and venturing out for resources; scar’s in charge of building upkeep, landscaping, animal keeping, and meals.

everything seems normal for a while, except… turns out, scar can talk to zombies. 

(and turns out, they listen.)

… this au involves grian’s fear (and distrust) of zombies, silly scams, zombie intel, misunderstandings, flowercrowns, dancing, scar building an amusement park full of zombie cast, and a death moat full of zombies that makes both grian and scar uncomfortable for different reasons

cws: zombie apocalypse, general zombie gore, panic attacks, assaults, survival scenario

tags: [none so far]

*

Papers please AU

what it says on the tin. scar lives with his cat jellie in a cold, small, state-provided apartment and gets assigned a job as an immigration officer at a border checkpoint. he... isn't great at the job, but doesn't have a choice, and needs the money to keep them fed and healthy. grian is the head of resistance, because of course he is <3

cws: dystopian world, cold, hunger, sickness, potential pet death, injuries

tags: #papers please au

*

Spirit AU

grian is an avian living freely in a patch of forest. that is, until he gets caught by people who think hybrids are on-par with working animals, and is shackled and hurt and trained, to serve. there is a looming war, and flight-capable carriers are very valued (but not much cared for). scar is a vex hybrid, coming from a settlement that's kinder to hybrids, who also gets captured. they meet in captivity, and things happen.

cws: hybrid slavery, hybrid dehumanisation, loss of freedom, abuse, warzone stuff

tags: #spirit au

*

DL rp AU

grian and scar in double life, soulbound and with vague memories of previous life games. their soul connection transfers not only all the pain and injuries, but also emotions. and they both feel. a little too much. (they're a mess, but also in love, as they should be)

au for rp with sima

cws: they very sad; self destructive tendencies (sorry there's no self in this one, they are linked and there's always collateral-)

tags: #dl rp

*

Half sea town AU

a town half-submerged into the sea. the upper half is reserved for humans, who are seen as better, richer, the posh and the nobility. the lower half, the submerged part, is slum-like, reserved for seafolk, seen as lesser. many seafolk learn to live on land, to improve their standing (not necessarily living situation; they do need water). mumbo lives amongst the nobility. scar lived his whole life in the sea. grian, even though he belongs to the seafolk, lives on land. mumbo's best friend, forever trying to be something he isn't.

a crackers collective au

cws: er.. class divide?, self worth issues, needs denial in a way?

tags: #half sea town au

*

The underwater AU that somehow fails to have a name the first thing i ever posted on tumblr woo.

an underwater au set somewhere in the wide, deep sea. merfolks. mumbo is a prince, grian, jimmy, and joel are his guards. scar is a deep-sea fish, and tales say those are scary and horrendous and dangerous. (he's just a silly guy, pls)

stiffy/crackers collective au

cws: injuries, idk

tags: #mer au

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smaller aus/ideas:

last life scar: #post-ll scar's issues with touch

fixing double life scarian: #fixing dl au

puppeteer scar: #puppeteer scar au

cannibal scar/forest (the game) au: #forest au

life games king au: not on tumblr but i should tell u about it one day

...and more

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some other aus that i have yoinked and might have content for:

#space grian au - another au that belongs to ben. also burrowed my way in to this one. hehe. (ben none of your aus are now safe from me.)

#snifflins au - crackers group au, based on that one time jimmy and scar were piglinmynose, and joel and grian were sniffermyfeet - twisted into snifflers and piglin hybrids (snifflins!) in the aftermath, trying to get used to their new bodies and instincts and needs.

#desert alien scar au - belongs to stiffy

+ a whole bunch of others <3

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(if i missed any cws for any of the aus, please let me know!)

reinstating that if you're curious about anything, i don't bite! come ask!

[my AO3]

[moreespressoformydepresso]

EPIC: The Musical has me in a chokehold so I made a TBOSAS AU where the tributes are all eldritch creatures whose true might was dormant. Maybe reaping them at the same time was a rebel plot, maybe it was divine intervention, but it happens. It happens and the stress of the situation causes one of them to snap. The others soon follow.

All have eldritch forms tied to an element. Ones that aren’t the traditional four count (so metal, void, light etc). They have minor control over that element aside from the eldritch form and can spawn whole realms where their inner creature thrives which only they can access. So a creature tied to the element fire can be resting in their own personal badass volcano lair and then spawn in the ‘real’ world via a portal in the form of a flame. They can create the flame too, but they can’t travel very far and there are ways to mess with the teleportation. Also, the kids retain a version of their human form even when they’re ‘transformed’ because their eldritch form isn’t an alternate form, it’s more an extension of them that’s hidden until they reveal them. I’m using the word transformation because it’s easier. I’ve got many ideas but I’ll start with what inspired this AU: Treech as Scylla in the song Scylla.

I’m going with snakes over the dogs sometimes used in mythology because I think it’s more terrifying (and also I’ve seen one animatic with adorable serpents and fell in love with the big eyes and boopable snouts and massive razor sharp teeth dripping with blood). Treech’s eldritch form is a base with six ginormous serpents sticking out of it. If his human form’s attached to it, he’s a part of the base, usually with only his upper body visible. He has scales with a gradient of forest green, indigo, and Persian blue. When fully transformed, all of his eyes are a glowing icy blue or maya blue (I want to make them fully black but with all the dark shades that’s less terrifying imo) and his human form has lines of scales going in spirals down his body and creeping up on the edges of his face. When Treech starts his transformation, his pupils turn into predator slits and his irises turn light blue. The blue spreads out until it takes up the whole eye. When he gets mad, it might bleed into the veins around his eyes. The serpents themselves start out as glowing outlines all over his skin like tattoos that start to peel off and slowly grow to the terrifying size of his full eldritch form.

The part in the song after Scylla says “hello :)” is the part where he transforms, his voice slowly sounding more and more inhuman (he can sound like a human but like- go big or go home right?) and instead of just killing six people he massacres whole squads of peacekeepers (though he spares innocents like kids because he’s determined to rub it in the Capitol’s face that a literal man-eating serpent monster is more compassionate than they could ever hope to be) in his quest for both vengeance and freedom. It’s not even the biggest slaughter in the big revenge spree the tributes go on together, but still. I’m giving Treech vague siren-like aspects (his singing voice can cause a loss of focus and amply emotions like fear) instead of the telepathy Scylla has in EPIC. A little nod to the song that started this AU.

I might continue this and I’m working on some art for this AU (might post, might not, I’m not sure yet).

[spiritonadventure]

The end of the chain is horizon's beginning. Horizon's beginning. Your throat is bleeding.

[doomsayings]

François Raynal was a very pious man, having experienced a revelation his first night at sea, on December 23, 1844, at the age of just fourteen years and five months. As the land on the horizon disappeared, and “the limitless sea surrounded me; the celestial vault was for the first time displayed before my eyes in all its vastness; I was plunged everywhere into the Infinite.”

Joan Druett, Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World

[asleepinawell]

after playing some of sunless sea every time i sail to hunters keep or mutton island in fallen london i'm always mildly bemused by how not overrun by unhinged cannibals they seem

[spitefulcrepechan]

[Click for better quality]

Everyone always saying Jade and Sam are victims of kinito well WHAT IF THEY WERE JUST AS IF NOT MORE EVIL THEN KINITO!!!!

Have em be a trio of fucked up fuckers like cmon

[perpetualexistence]

Sea Monster AU: Chrefxposition

So, on the one hand, this part is a few days later than originally promised. On the other hand, it's twice as long. I could have arguably made this into two parts, but I've got no energy left to figure out where exactly it should be split. Turns out decent exposition can take a while!

In the eventual fanfic proper I'll be sure to spread/foreshadow some of this exposition earlier. With me writing as I'm going it with only an outline for certain events, the foreshadowing is going to be a bit splotchy, but I'll try my best.

Without further ado, time to watch Noah go darker yet darker still!

Content warnings: Mentions of eating people, death, blood, Alejandro being a manipulative bastard

<- Prev | First | Next ->

For the rest of spring break, Alejandro insists on hunting more than usual to build up an underwater cache for later. Noah has to work on overdrive to find enough ships to keep Alejandro happy. He goes to different parts of the lake in order to spread out the location of where the disappearances are happening. Also to keep them as far away from his hometown as possible. He knows this many disappearances so close to one another are going to draw attention from other humans. He doesn't comment on it for two reasons. One, because he'd rather not test Alejandro again even if the concern is practical and legitimate. And two, he wants the disappearances to get attention. He's got to figure out who's smart enough to notice, and vocal enough to try to do something about it.

Noah starts intentionally hanging out by the docks more. He knows it's safe because Alejandro never dares to get that close to civilization. Sailors will sometimes have odd jobs when they need an extra hand on deck or someone to help with loading/unloading. Since everyone knows everyone to some extent in his town, the Mudaliars have a reputation for picking up odd jobs in order to help pay off their debts. Noah's never done it before since he's had his poetry to provide income. But at the very least, it means he can have an excuse for why he's there. It also gives him an excuse for talking with sailors to see what their thoughts are on sea monsters. He doesn't bring up the disappearances himself, because that's inviting trouble. Instead, he lets sailors do what they like to do best: talk.

That's how he finds Chef, a loud ex-marine who found himself kicked from the marines and now works as a sailor taking odd jobs transporting things across the lake. Chef shares that the real reason he got booted out is because he started noticing a bunch of disappearances with other marines. He started hearing tales of beasts and went to go investigate it himself. Sure enough, it was a giant monster making easy pickings of his brothers in arms. His husband knew more about taking those slimy bastards down, so he went to him for help. Eventually they did win, but he lost men doing it, and the beast sunk to the bottom of the ocean, getting rid of their proof. He was tossed out for 'recklessly endangering lives'. (He sacrificed far more men than he truly needed to as a distraction, and didn't even let them know that was going to happen.)Now he's seeing all these disappearances happening and his gut is telling him this is happening again. He doesn't have the same firepower as before, but he and his husband are still preparing.

Noah's now very curious about this husband of his if he's the one who knew more about sea monsters. Chef immediately gets suspicious and wants to know why he cares so much about this. Noah hates having to give up information, but he knows if he's to get anywhere, he's going to have to. He says that he knows for a fact he saw something like a sea monster in the distance. He's just been keeping quiet because he doesn't know who would believe him. Which isn't technically a lie. It just doesn't reveal how much else he knows. It also won't really give Chef any new information since by the sound of it he was already going to prepare regardless of if he got any confirmation from someone else. It's enough to get Chef decide to take him in on his and Chris' monster hunting crusade.

Chris's family are among the humans that believe/know sea beasts exist and make it their job to hunt them, his most notable one being his cousin Jerd.

Chris though? Nah, he doesn't give a shit about hunting. He just cares about fame and fortune. He stole a random ass book that was supposed to have rituals to give him just that and booked it. The pouch around his neck is a result of that in that it's supposed to give him good luck. Someone else in the family made it for him as a rite of passage in being ready to join the family business.

He's pretty shitty at magic because he doesn't want to put in the time and effort to learn, he just wants the results. And this is why he'll forever be shitty at magic. Magic is about intertwining sentience with nature. For that, you need two things: Desire and Effort. The desire has to be focused, and it has to be what a person actually desires. If a person thinks they want one thing, but deep down they really want something else? The magic's either going to act based on the true desire or be fucked up as a result. That's the sentience part.

The nature part is effort. You can't get something for nothing. If you try, someone or something still ends up suffering along the line. There's balance in the ecosystem of the sea, even for those who are at the top of the food chain. It might not be fair to those on the bottom, but it is what it is. Whether you take time and effort in learning runes, or gathering ingredients, the point is that it's your work in a way that you truly know is giving it your all.

Chris has definitely got the desire, and it's why he was able to become famous thanks to his magic pouch. However, he wasn't willing to put any work into actually maintaining the pouch's components so his luck ran out. He keeps it mostly for sentimental reasons at this point. He can't really go back to his family because he stole the book, aka a family heirloom that he knows damn well is dangerous when it's in the wrong hands. (Little does he know his family would have been okay with him leaving the family business. Their problem was with how he did it, which is no one's fault but his own.) He doesn't even know how to read the damn thing because he never paid too much attention to his parents trying to teach him how. All he does know is that it's very powerful, has a mind of its own, and hates Chris because it loves to try to snap closed on him.

So now he's a washed up TV host stuck in this dingy little town. The only person who's still standing beside him is Chef. He runs a stupid little pawn shop in this tourist trap of a town to try to sell fake crap, plus some of his tv host memorabilia. He's trying to find a way out of this mess until what does he see? Evidence that there's a sea monster lurking about.

Chris realizes he could just expose sea monsters to get fame that way. Completely ignoring everything that his parents ever told him that it'd be a terrible idea. Sea monsters would have no reason to hide if they were public knowledge, so their fatality rate would grow exponentially. Still, that's not his problem, and his good luck will ensure that he and his husband will turn out alright.

Chris doesn't quite care for including this walking twig into this situation at first when Chef introduces the two. As far as he's concerned, Noah provides nothing and is a walking liability. Up until Noah reveals that he's able to hack.

His family has a whole library worth of information about sea monsters. In order to try to expand their reach in where they can defend against sea monsters, they've taken to digitizing the library. Thanks to Chris's less than stellar exit, he's been locked out of that information. But he knows how to find it, and Noah seems like he'll be perfect for actually getting in. And hey, the kid's volunteering to do all the boring research? All the better! Chris will focus on strategizing and seeing what this dumb book will do for him. Not that he tells or shows Noah the book. He's lazy, but he's not that dumb to let someone else touch that thing.

This is how Noah starts learning things about merfolk. Turns out they've been around for quite a long time. It turns out merfolk aren't naturally as big as Alejandro. They use magic to make themselves that big. Due to the amount of effort and food to maintain their size, they can't use any other kind of magic when large. Thanks to generations of not using any other kind of magic, they lost the ability to use magic to do anything except change their size over time. That's how they gained their own separate classification as sea monsters. The only exception to size magic they have is using lake/ocean currents to travel. It takes a lot of magic depending on the distance traveled.

Their first meeting is making a lot more sense to Noah.

It also presents an interesting idea. Maybe he doesn't have to kill Alejandro. Maybe he could just stop him from ever growing again.

He knows he should kill Alejandro. He'd never settle for being kept vulnerable for the rest of his life. Noah would have to become his keeper. He'd never get rid of him. And yet. Despite all the murder he's witnessed, helped with, and at least slightly enjoyed, he still hasn't taken a life himself. He really wants to believe he has standards. Killing Alejandro would cross one of those.

It doesn't help that despite how dangerous Alejandro is, and how clearly he's pushing the limits of their deal, Alejandro actually does listen to Noah. He hasn't knowingly gone after innocents. He hasn't physically hurt Noah.

If anything, Alejandro has been gentle. He'll snatch him up when faking his death for a crowd, but he never squeezed and always checked to make sure he was okay afterwards, even when he was trying not to make it too obvious. Alejandro had a horrible habit of messing with his hair yet despite his claws Noah never had a scratch on him. He'd put Noah on his shoulder to go for a swim without getting him wet.

To let him look down at the destruction he helped caused against people who spit and cursed at Noah. To help him feel above others and his actions. To somehow spoil him rotten with attention to practically beg for a reaction. Noah's dark humor as he watched bastards die was to cope, the smirk that grew on his face a coincidence. He felt nothing to hear Alejandro laugh as if they were just sharing a regular meal.

Alejandro had also caressed his throat with a claw the first chance he had power. He had felt a vice like grip when he dared to argue back. So long as Alejandro is huge, Noah is going to be relying on Alejandro's mercy. As recent events have shown, that can be a finite resource.

He'll just do more research to see if his idea is even a workable one. He'll figure what to do next after that.

Researching more about magic led to him learning about a new faction: sea witches. They were merfolk who were able to use magic for means aside from simply changing sizes. They made potions, used rituals, spoke chants. Their powers came primarily from the deals they made with others. There were rumors that deals like these could make magic accessible even to humans. Other rumors said that humans could learn to use magic independently.

Sea witches and sea monsters are naturally at odds with one another. One needs people to make deals, the other needs people to eat. Or at least, to stay as big as they do for as long as they do. Turns out sea monsters can in fact survive without eating humans. It's just that humans keep them bigger for longer. Figures that Alejandro would lie about having to eat people out of necessity.

As a result, sea witches did create defenses against sea monsters. Including spells that would strip them of their magic and force them into their smallest form. Bingo.

Unfortunately, while there are mentions of magic in the database, there don't seem to be any actual spells/rituals there. Something about sea magic not mixing well with technology. He's going to have to ask Chris directly to see if he'll be interested in shrinking Alejandro rather than killing him.

Chris is alright with this because hey, a small merfolk you can put in a tank sounds perfect for exposing and becoming famous! (Not that Noah will actually let Chris take Alejandro away, but he doesn't need to know that.) He'll just have to lie a little to his husband about plans to kill Alejandro, no big deal. And...ugh. He's going to have to actually try to read that magic book to find something about shrinking things. Noah's immediately interested in seeing that book for himself, but Chris shuts him down immediately. Chris will look at the magic shit, Noah will just be the one getting them whatever they need. A coffee would be a great start.

So Noah ends up becoming more like Chris's assistant. He gets used to getting Chris coffee or do the more boring research a lot. Chris uses Chef to get the more out there ingredients for this new ritual he's managed to find. And he starts sending Noah to carve out runes around town. Something about 'using the town's natural magic to siphon that of the sea beast'. Noah would prefer to know exactly what he's doing, but Chris keeps being cagey about Noah having to know things.

During all of this, Noah still has to meet with Alejandro to keep him happy. Thanks to overindulging during spring break, Alejandro's in a much better mood. However, he's being rather clingy with Noah. If Noah didn't know any better, he'd think Alejandro was trying to keep him from being able to have time for anyone else. It makes finding time to work with Chris and Chef a lot more difficult. He can't juggle stroking Alejandro's ego, Chris's ego, and going to classes all at the same time. So he decides to sacrifice going to classes. He'll help Chris and Chef during that time and Alejandro won't question him being away since he knows Noah needs to 'keep up appearances'.

It sucks because after the spring break party, he had actually been considering trying to know some of the others more. If only to take a break from Alejandro. There is one person who won't leave him alone though: Owen. Owen finds out through the grapevine about Noah not showing up to classes and immediately gets to texting to check on him. Noah makes up a lie about not feeling too well/needing to step back, and Owen buys it. Still, now that Noah's responded to one text, Owen takes to texting him throughout the day. Because he was pretty serious about trying to get to know Noah. And Noah would never admit it, but it's nice that someone else cares to check up on him. Plus, Owen is terrible with secrets, so he ends up blurting so much gossip about the others. Noah gets to make sarcastic remarks about them, and Owen just rolls with it. It's nice.

Eventually, Noah's suspicions about Chris outweigh his need to be cautious. So much so that he decides it would be better to try to break in to Chris's and Chef's place to see what exactly this spell book is saying to do rather than just take Chris's word for it.

It's written in a language he doesn't understand. He doesn't have the time to decipher it since he doesn't want Chris or Chef to know that he's in their house looking at it. He does manage to find the pages that Chris has been frequently using, though. They're the only ones that seem to be in English. He's not surprised to learn that Chris has been lying to him about the spell. He's horrified to discover to what extent.

Chris gives absolutely zero shits about this town. He wanted something that would help him take care of this sea monster problem, and he didn't really care how it was done. He practically had to fight the book to show him anything that wasn't in nonsense gibberish. But then, for once in his life, the decided to be book is on the same page as him. It showed him a ritual for mind controlling a sea monster that involves a rather brutal sacrifice of a whole town's worth of people. That sounds like a WAY better deal than regular fame and fortune!

Noah was already not happy when he found out about the mind control. As much as he's worried about his Alejandro, he doesn't know if Alejandro deserves that. Knowing him, he'd probably prefer death rather than being forced to obey someone else. Then Noah reads to the end and discovers the whole 'sacrifice a town' thing. That's what the runes around towns were for.

He'd been putting so much focus into trying to take down the literal monster, he'd forgotten all about how humans could be metaphorical monsters.

Noah knows how to take care of that. It's what he always does when he finds people that deserve to die.

He tells Alejandro about them.

He doesn't reveal the whole plot against Alejandro, of course. He just reveals that some sailors had been getting suspicious with the whole spring break binge eating. He infiltrated them to learn what they knew, and now they're getting too close. He's not sure how much of that Alejandro truly believes, but he does agree that if humans want to hunt him down, then they need to go first.

Noah first makes sure to screw up the ritual by fucking up his own carvings and scratching them out with the knife Chris let him use to do this in the first place. At this point he'd been using it so much it just became a force of habit to keep having it.

Then he goes on a ship with Chris and Chef who thinks that everything is going according to plan. Well, Chris's plan of mind controlling a sea monster, Chef's plan of killing one. What Noah had never told them was that Alejandro was an electric eel. He made sure to encourage Chef to use as much technology as he saw fit in order to leave them completely vulnerable.

Things would have been easier of course if Alejandro didn't decide to gloat about Noah being his loyal little pet when he shows up. Which bothers him both because it ruins the surprise and because it's condescending. This doesn't help things as Chris and Chef are quick to try to spring into action. Chef is trying to solo Alejandro, and Chris is coming at Noah pretty pissed because he's also just now realized that the ritual that should have automatically started taking action hasn't done that at all. Alejandro's occupied because Chef did still come with firepower, and Noah can recognize murder in Chris's eyes.

He's standing over Chris's body now. He knows it's a body because of the blood and the stab wounds. He knows he did it because he's gripping a knife in his hand he doesn't remember pulling out. Chef must be in Alejandro's stomach by now or else Noah would be dead. He can piece together what's happened, but he honestly can't remember the act itself. He knows he had to do it because Chris would have come to kill him first. He hadn't planned on crossing this line but seems like he did anyways.

He loves hates the pride in Alejandro's eyes. The promise that the first can be the hardest. But he's very grateful that Noah had chosen to live.

This isn't living. Rather than process, Noah points out that he's got to go back to Chris and Chef's house to get rid of any evidence that he knew them. After Alejandro takes care of Chris's body, he lets Noah go back to shore.

Noah dashes for the house, goes for the book, and hugs it like his new lifeline. Chris's book is now in Noah's possession. The book is rather content with its new owner. Because it felt Noah's desire to defend himself and his town, and willingness to put effort into doing it. It translated that ritual for Chris specifically to have something like this happen. It won't translate itself again, but if Noah's truly like the book thinks he is, that shouldn't be a problem.

Noah now has an unfiltered shot at evening the playing field with the book of a sea witch. Time to fight fire with fire.