#i appreciate constructive criticism!!

[1i2love-7myself]

top jaehyun x bttm male reader !!

the reader is also in nct 127 and they are born in the same year but the reader is younger than him and all that fans know is that they are always together like where the other is the other one is not far away type

Stay

Jaehyun and you were unable to cease yourselves from landing a touch onto each other's skin, speaking to each other or just having notions about each other.

But today was unusual. Jaehyun would usually stare at you for approximately 10 seconds then remove his eyes from you but... all he did was stare throughout the entire live.

Why? We all have knowledge of why... he was probably extremely horny and was in need to be inside of your warm heat.

That was happening at the moment.

Laying flat on your stomach, jaehyun's cock so deep inside the younger that you were unable to help that you were imagining the little things that were out at night also known as stars.

Moans after moans after groans after whimpers went straight to Jaehyun's cock that was rearranging your guts by each second. And to make things worse (better), he was super huge so after every thrust, your body would vibrate.

Focusing on every small detail, you eyeballed the action of him panting extremely hard as the bed would slam against the thin wall.

Drowsiness over powered you by an inch and by the second, your consciousness was beginning to fall in and out of slumber. You were in hopes to stay awake but, slumber kicked in quicker. Now at the moment you were out of it.

Jaehyun immediately noticed your lack in sexual mouth noises so to wake you up from your not so peaceful slumber.. his hips made a hard thrust inside of you, waking you up whimpering.

"Don't fall asleep on me, love... stay." Jaehyun whispered into your red tip ear. Who would say no to that?

[12neonlit-stage]

Sonic: crystallized AU _ Prologue . page01

[fo0lizsh]

Hi I saw Venus and IMMEDIATELY fell in love with them <333

( Venus created by @linked-maze)

[floatyhands]

thinking about dad

[laurrelise]

five, five, & five

should i have drawn brisket five instead. i know hes a fan favorite

[en-stbc]

nuzi as corpse bride before exams week 🗣️🗣️ (got lazy at the end sorry)

sketch ver cause i prefer it over my rendered one...

[asexual-cat-furry]

TF2 nationality headcanons

(I think of RED and BLU as separate characters, who might just happen to look/act alike)

RED Scout - american (Boston, MA) (his ma has irish ancestry, from Galway - I saw this headcanon somewhere and I love it)

BLU Scout - filipino-american (NYC)

RED Soldier - american obv (Atkins, AR) (I know that he's supposed to be from the midwest but I don't care. I headcanon that his dad is from Idaho and his mom is from Ohio. Also I think he's like 25% native or something because I think it'd be funny/interesting if he's not 100% White American™)

BLU Soldier - american obv (somewhere in Virginia) (he was raised by eagles in the Appalachian wilderness, so he barely speaks coherent english)

RED Pyro - chinese (somewhere in the south, but spent most of their childhood homeless in Shanghai) (they never told anyone and it's unlikely they ever will. The only people who know are Pauling and the Spies, but none of them will tell) (I know it's a popular headcanon but I never really saw them as mexican, sorry)

BLU Pyro - irish (Dublin) (their muffled voice is made harder to decipher due to their hardcore irish accent. BLU Demo can understand it best)

RED Demoman - scottish (Ullapool) (literally canon)

BLU Demoman - scottish (Glasgow)

RED Heavy - russian (somewhere in far eastern Siberia) (his family doesn't look white, especially Zhanna, so I think they're probably some kind of siberian people)

BLU Heavy - ??? (swedish? belarusian? idk man)

RED Engie - american (Bee Cave, TX) (I hc the Conaghers as a whole to be a mix of white & latino, so the Engies speak spanish as a second language and often just switch to it to exchange praise/insults/advice without others noticing)

BLU Engie - american (Bee Cave, TX) (RED Engie's cousin although doesn't have the Conagher surname actually)

RED Medic - german obv (Stuttgart) (jewish, although his family probably converted to christianity many years ago and either way they're not particularly religious, Medic is actually the "most religious" of his immediate family but that's just because he knows Satan exists)

BLU Medic - british-greek

RED Sniper - new zealander, half-māori (born in Auckland, raised near-ish to Perth)

BLU Sniper - australian, half-aboriginal (somewhere in the outback in Queensland) (the half-aboriginal thing is also a headcanon I saw somewhere and happily adopted)

RED Spy & BLU Spy - french (Paris) (they're twins)

Edit: Dang it I forgot the tags

[darkcademiasss]

Sentimental- @wolfstarmicrofic word count: 237 february 23

Remus knew sirius like the back of his hand, sometimes he wondered if he knew sirius more than he knew himself.

Therefore he knew when sirius looked at the rose in his hand and looked up at remus, he knew sirius was going to get sentimental .

Sirius crushed him, putting his arms around remus and hiding his face in Remus' neck. Remus could feel his breath hitch when he felt sirius nuzzle his nose on the crook of his neck.

"Sirius'' he lightly whispered trying to fight the blush that was rising on his cheek

"Padfoot come on" he repeated when there was no reply.

Sirius finally released him, remus immediately wanted to pull him in again and never let him go but he settled on fisting his hands.

" you got me flowers" sirius muttered.

Remus could see he was on the verge of crying and started to panic did he do something wrong? Does sirius not like flowers?

"I- I uh i'm sorry if you dont like them, I can take them back. I just thought you'd like it" he stuttered nervously, one hand scratching the back of his neck.

"No no dont you dare these are mine, I'll keep them forever" he declared blushing then looked nervous before adding " it's just that ive never gotten flowers before"

Remus promised himself there and then that he is going to give Sirius black flowers for the rest of his life

[darling-renyuu]

and time can't stop me quite like you did; auron & rook

fic summary: just rook, and how red became their favorite color. a/n: this popped into my head and i had to write it down before i lose it forever. also, my rook's side of the whole thing (but hehe i hope you like it (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)) word count: 845 words

the first time was a well-hidden farce.

his hands were shaking minutely as he spoke words that meant everything and nothing all at once. ones he had rehearsed over and over and over in front of a mirror until he went insane - but he was not sitting face to face with his own soul. no, not at all.

he asked himself once: how can someone be so unknown and so familiar to him all at once? how can someone be so like and unlike him?

his red hair made his vision blur, yet why do his veins yearn to flow through them? when did red make him feel so alive? when did brown eyes feel so cold?

it's truly odd.

everything about him makes his blood thrum and sing songs of unwritten epilogues. like stars etched with scarlet thread in his skin, longing to return to the heights. he's ecstatic when sanguine fills his periphery until its all he could think about. words and jargon blur on his screen, forming a silhouette that makes his heart yearn.

the second time was an instinct.

he should have felt fear. that's what they've taught them in school, right? red means a warning. a blaring message telling you to stop and run away.

though, red feels warm amongst the candles. intimate, with the light dancing around his hair and making him glow. he knows from those brown eyes that his soul is cold and battered and broken down until poisoned shards remain.

with every drop of wine, he could feel himself pressing his ear to the shattered mirror to hear the faint thump of a heart. the edges bite into his skin, but he smiles.

he feels like a fool; a happy fool. one who bares out a piece of his being to let this blood-soaked dagger lodge itself into the softness underneath.

grabbing his chin was an instinct. he needed to brand himself into his memory just like he had for him. he wanted hazel eyes to tint his vision just like brown eyes had for him.

it was a gamble, a risk, but it was a calling. it was a glint of something more that went beyond silly fantasies and fiction. it was as if his offer could put words to paper and make them come alive.

and it did.

the third was an epiphany.

the festivities were nothing compared to the joy he felt when that red appeared once again. he realized that red meant something new; an intriguing vulnerability, like blood underneath hardened skin, coiled around barbed bones.

he wanted to catch a glimpse of the man in an ivory tower. the man whose walls were crawling with crimson-tainted ivy, his gardens filled with fire and fury.

and somehow, in between, where the heavens and the earth meet, he did.

speaking so candidly with him felt odd. like seeing snow on the beach. so, so strange, but beautiful.

it was if they were circling each other, entangling themselves in a song and dance where their eyes and skin communicate for them.

his lips, bitten until they looked like cherries; his cheeks, blooming in rose... and that addicting scarlet bleeding like ink into the sheets.

before he knows it, red has become his favorite color.

Rook's eyes blink open, groaning softly. His hips hurt like hell, but hey, at least last night's shenanigans weren't some dream that would fade in the morning...

The ceiling of Auron's penthouse greets him, and he snuggles right back into the covers like a darling thing.

Like some kind of rare event, Auron was still asleep. The sun greets his peaceful form, the invisible string tying his brows together was not pulled taut for once. Rook simply stops, focusing on how his arm fits snugly against his waist, how his breaths slowly synched with his.

That article he read pops up in his mind again. The one about a pair of heartbeats synching when being in close proximity. Would theirs do that too? Would the silence be adorned with two heartbeats, seemingly fitting into the quiet as one?

He swallows, resting his cheek back into the pillow. He laughs softly to himself, thinking of all the ways Auron would chide him when he wakes up. Maybe something about "watching him in his sleep" or something.

And yet, even if they were entwined a few hours prior, he longs to touch. To feel, once again, the hum of his pulse against his fingertips. One that his soul is willing to echo.

He slowly brushes a finger against his cheek, his breath catching in anticipation. He knows he doesn't need to be so soft. His heart says otherwise.

And so, with a swipe of his thumb against his cheekbone, he lets out a breath with a quiver. His hazel eyes catch the sunlight. If ever Auron were to awaken at this moment, he would see red in the color of love; a subtle thing, something cautious and curious, blooming in the cracks.

for the fourth, time stops like it never had before.

writing belongs to @/darling-renyuu. please do not repost. art belongs to @/jackieeleanor.

[eldrith]

I’ll get around to the 11 or so anons that just popped up in my inbox telling me they didn’t like my a golden cage fic or the way i write eventually 🫶🏻

but fr im gonna take a step back with the discourse and answer other stuff,… maybe ill pretend i never posted anything on this fucking website for a bit lmao😭 peace and love

[agent-toast]

is it too early for an art redraw?

original:

a lot of text below \/

so things have changed since i first got into the ieytd fandom in late september/early october, my phoenix went from he/she/they (which was what i meant by 'any' pronouns cause at that time i wasn't aware of neopronouns sorry :>) to he/they with sometimes she/her. this has nothing to do with the '>:(( fem phoenix is bad' thing, all phoenixes are equally awesome.

i think i mostly used she/her as one of phoenix' pronouns because i'm afab and it'd feel easier rping them that way. but idk now i feel like my phoenix is more bigender/multigender using he/they? it's just what i'm comfortable with now. and it fits with the way i draw them androgynous but also fem but ALSO masc haeha

why am i gender questioning my favourite fictional characters now sjskd

anyway art stuff in the past i used more of a red-orange colour but now it's reddish maroon because that's cool >:)

and maybe it's just me but i think the proportions are slightly better? idk leave ur thoughts in the tags/comments

also i switched the sandwich and the lighter hehe

[birthfan]

Your 3 weeks over due with twins. Your absolutely massive with babies you can’t hardly walk but when you do you have the best/ biggest waddle ever. You work for the best real-estate companies around and your the #1 Realtor at the company. On a Saturday you get a phone call from your boss begging you to work an open house because the others can get it sold even though your on leave already. You agree but are very disgruntled but you slip into a loose sundress (only thing that fits) put on your heals and go to the house open it up and start letting customers in. ****As expected the open house brings dozens and dozens of shoppers *****

"hmmm of course everyone would hnnng decide to come today" I mumbled to myself as the potential buyers kept coming in, it was to be expected on a Saturday. "mmmnn it's almost like she wants me to pop out hnnng this baby in front of them" I thought to myself; my boss had called me up that morning offering triple my month's salary for working on this open house, apparently no one else was available but the overdue woman who was going to be induced the next day, whatever, I needed the money for the hospital expenses.

"excuse me miss, about the second floor.." a customer approached making me put on my customer service smile as I held my contracting belly, I'd been having contractions all day and they were starting to get closer and stronger, but I tried my best to keep a straight face, if it all went well I could just drive to the hospital once everyone left.

"well it's better if I show you" I said leading the customer towards the stairs, every step made me want to push, the baby felt so low and heavy and the pressure was unbearable; we finally reached the top of the stairs.

"huuu as you can hmmm see th-the s-second floor ba-haa-bathroom is..." I tried my best to best to describe the house as the contractions were now on top of each other making me pant and wince as I talked.

"Ma'am I'm sorry are you alright?" The customer asked worriedly "ooh d-don't you worry about me, I'm fi-" I was unfortunately interrupted by a loud splash as fluids gushed of my womanhood soaking the carpet beneath my feet.

I squatted deeply as I could feel the baby's head passing through my cervix causing me to push "hnnnnnng haaaa" the customer freaked out and yelled "OH MY GOD!" Catching the attention of everyone in the house.

My face turned a deep red as I turned towards the stairs to see that almost everyone had flocked at their base where they could see my soaked panties under the skirt of my sundress.

I pushed again feeling my lips bulge under the now almost see-through panties "hmmggaaah" I groaned as I slowly stood back up and asked the customer that I had accompanied "huuu c-could you lower m-my underwear haaa?"

They blushed deeply as they lowered themselves in front of me, went under my dress and lowered my drenched panties down to my ankles "th-thank you" I pant out before I hear someone say "Call an ambulance!!!".

Another customer went up the stairs "I think it's best if we get you down miss" he said as he reached me and the other customer "Y-yeah th-that seems like a good idea" I wrapped my arms around both of their shoulders as they helped me down.

Every step was torture as the movement of my legs caused the baby's head to slowly open me up, by the time we reached the bottom of the stairs another contraction hit me "mmmmmmnnnnnggggggghh" I grunted as the baby almost crowns.

"quick get her to the couch!" a customer yelled as my two helpers lead me to the expository couch. As I sat one of the customers opened my legs up and made me put my feet on the coffe table.

"She almost to a full crown I don't think the ambulance will make it in time" she said with a soothing calmness in her voice "alright hun listen to me, the next push is going to hurt like hell, but I need you to keep going until you can, okay?" She said.

I nodded as I tried not to think at all the people watching me in this sorry state. I felt a powerful contraction and began pushing "hnnnnnnnn" "alright good keep going" "nnnnnhhhhhaaaaaaa" "the head is at a full crown, keep pushing" "aaaahhhmmmmmmnnnnggg" I moaned as my pussy felt like it would split apart in front of everyone as I pushed.

"gggggggAAAAAH" "alright nice job miss,the head is halfway out, with the next push it should come out no problem" the woman said smiling softly at me as she lead my hand towards the top of my baby's head to feel it.

As my fingers felt my baby's hair and wet head I could feel myself begginning to cry from joy "oh my god that's my baby" I said tears streaming down my face.

The woman smiled "yes it is and in a minute you'll finally be able to hold them in your arms" she said, her fingers helping my lips stretch, as my body prepared fr another contraction.

As soon as it hit I pushed "hmmmmggaah" I grunted as the head popped out spraying fluids on the couch "amazing hun, let me just check for a cord" she said, all the other customers looking amazed at the head dangling in-between my legs.

"hmmm quick I gotta push" I whimper as the woman checks my baby's neck "alright you're good to know, push to your heart's content" as soon as I heard those words I pushed as hard I could, feeling the shoulders stretch my vagina again as they slowly came out, with my baby sliding out of me into the woman's hands.

"haaa haaa haaa" I panted, my body exhausted from having to birth my child. The woman handed my crying baby to me "it's a boy, how do you want to call him?" She asked as I began nursing my baby as the remaining fluids still leaked out of my sore womanhood.

I look at the woman and ask "what's your name?" She looks puzzled "huh Jessica" she answers, I smile to her and answer "then I'll call him Jesse"

[darbadore]

Scythe posting after half a year of inactivity. May migrate to tumblr tbh

[laurrelise]

hi hello

shortly after i watched season 4 i doodled five and i recently stumbled upon it again

and uh

quite a mess we got goin on here

i actually drew it before i forced myself to overcome my tiny fear of drawing digitally + started studying anatomy and clothing structure so the poses are super awkward, the proportions are off, and it looks just kinda bleh

so i redrew it

and i’m trying to decide if i should color it or leave it as it is ..

[plushietheplushbearcreature]

Sun and Freddy are not friends.

[waywardsalt]

rough rough draft of chapter 1 of the bellum x linebeck fic

Though the storm had passed and the sun finally shown upon the sea again, Linebeck felt gloomy. He leaned against his ship’s rope railings and stared at the horizon. The night before, the pounding of the rain had put him at ease. Now, the bright afternoon had brought back that familiar anxiety. After some thinking, Linebeck pushed himself away from the railing and resolved to begin his morning chores.

                As the only person on his ship, it was up to Linebeck to take care of it- and he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. He knew his beloved steamship like the back of his hand, and he collected a bucket as he blinked the last of the sleep from his eyes. Firstly, he gathered seawater to dump into the engine’s storage tank. The ship was drifting at the moment, but once Linebeck would turn it on, the heat would build up in the engine and the water would boil and evaporate and build up steam to get the wheels moving.

Linebeck knelt at the lowest edge of the deck and dunked the bucket into the water for the ninth- tenth? - time. He’d have to do some extra engine maintenance before he got moving. He’d been traveling during the entire storm, likely pushing the engine to its limits. But after the water gathering, Linebeck checked the hull for barnacles and scratches, checked the railings for damaged rope, checked his food and water supplies, barely giving himself a moment of rest while he went through the familiar motions.

Since he began sailing, Linebeck’s life had been altogether monotonous and unpredictable. His ship was one he had designed himself, and knew better than anyone else how to take care of and operate it. He had no desire to take on a crew, and knew from experience that they’d only hold him back- trying to teach new people how to work his ship was incredibly tedious and often led to them making mistakes and doing more harm than good. The last bastard he’d temporarily hired and bothered to teach about his ship- Linebeck scowled and shook his head. Not even worth thinking about, now.

The storm had replenished his fresh water supply. It had been bad enough to obscure visibility across the sea, so Linebeck had done some fishing. If he cared for gods, he would have thanked one that he made it through without getting sick.

He didn’t need a crew. Linebeck hadn’t had a long-term crew member for what- seven years now? They just made him feel uneasy and he could never muster up the patience to put up with them.

Or maybe he kept finding the wrong people. That had certainly happened before. He was never particularly good with other people. Linebeck was almost certain that he’d made a good few new enemies just in the last month. His eyes scanned the horizon as he walked back out onto the deck. Linebeck tightened his grip on his mop’s handle. He was totally alone. And yet his skin prickled with unease.

“…No point worrying,” he mumbled to himself. He started mopping the deck, forcing himself to keep his eyes trained on the wood. His last chore of the morning was always the most soothing. He moved slowly and rhythmically, beginning at the prow and slowly making his way back to the cabin. His ship was small, though large enough to be comfortable for him. The deck sloped upwards a few feet from the cabin and plateaued, about a foot higher and better to accommodate the rooms and machinery beneath.

The air was warm and humid; Linebeck brushed his hair out of his face and behind his shoulders. He considered removing his coat, but he was nearly done mopping- no point in wasting the time. The heat was never a big issue for him. He was perfectly suited to the sea, and Linebeck felt more than confidant handling every aspect of this life on his own. No problems whatsoever. No good reason for the anxiety that refused to leave his mind.

Maybe there was a good reason, the same reason why he kept scanning the horizon.

Finished mopping the deck, Linebeck turned to admire it. The storm had cleaned it well enough, but now that the sky was clear he wasn’t just going to cut out part of his morning routine.

With everything done for the morning, Linebeck gathered up his mop and the bucket and moved to put them away. The bucket would be dumped out and left with other containers in the storage room, the mop left in the engine room… and then the engine would need to be started up. The nearest inhabited island was two days away (with good conditions), so while Linebeck had no need to get going right that moment, he felt safer with the engine running.

To get the engine started, Linebeck pulled a lever by the wheel up and waited a moment as he heard the hissing of steam start, and then stop. He knelt down in front of the storage tank. Enough water for the day, that was for sure. He withdrew his matchbox from a pocket in his coat and struck a match, humming idly to himself as he tossed it in the space below the water. It would only be a few minutes before the ship could get going; over the years, Linebeck had gone back and forth on the design of the engine, and managed to make it especially efficient with different materials and methods, and was quite proud of it. While the water heated up, he shut the tank door and sat back, resting a moment.

He’d gotten… some sleep last night. He’d dreamed briefly, and didn’t feel as terrible as he usually did. Some sleep. Better than no sleep at all. Linebeck laid down on the floor and stared up at the ceiling. He stared at the winding pipes at the tops of the walls and then shut his eyes. If he was lucky, he could perhaps find a few minutes to nap. Just a few minutes…

The ticking of the machinery around him slowly faded in as the engine properly started up. The sound melted into with the noise of the ocean outside, and Linebeck felt his anxieties ease. The familiarity of his daily routine eased his mind like nothing else.

The next island was north of his position… Linebeck let out a long breath. He’d have to at least position his ship facing north, and get started within the hour. He sat up and stretched. If he got started now, he could reach the island by late tomorrow. The engine was ready to go, and Linebeck smiled to himself as he fiddled with some of the smaller levers and switches, listening to the subtle changes in the ticking and clicking around him.

He paused when he heard up an unfamiliar noise. Linebeck stilled his hands, suddenly feeling cold.

Without thinking, Linebeck kicked the engine into proper operation and after a moment, the wheels on either side of the ship started turning and he quickly steered the ship in the opposite direction of that odd sound. He heard it again, from outside his ship- the unmistakable sound of cannon fire, and Linebeck was not brave enough to stop and check to see if it was aimed at him.

It was usually aimed at him, anyways.

Linebeck steered his ship away and locked the wheel in place; he felt his heart pounding in his chest as more muffled canon fire reached his ears. One sounded closer than the rest, and he managed to tear himself away from the wheel and run up to deck. Running away was nice, but he needed to know where to run away to.

It seemed like he was getting chased more and more. Linebeck figured he ought to start a list of the crews that had it out for him; that was something to do once he was safe. He stumbled out onto the deck and leaned over the rope railing, staring at the southern horizon. Sure enough, he could see a pirate ship in the distance heading his way, and the wind was in their favor.

Linebeck gripped the railings until the rope started to dig into his skin. The hell did he do to them? He recognized the decorated sails as the sails of the ship that’d been pursuing him before the storm. Their captain was one he’d cheated out of several hundred rupees in poker- or was that a different crew? No time to think it over while they got closer and closer. More cannon fire rang out, and Linebeck jumped back as the cannonball splashed into the water dangerously close to his ship.

Sailing in a straight line was a terrible idea. Better to leverage his steamship’s advantages and focus on disrupting their aim. Linebeck wildly looked around. No rocks or islands in sight. His best hope was to run for it and hope that either they’d run out of cannonballs or the wind would die down. He raced back inside.

He was just one man; why did all of these pirates decide that being slighted by him once marked him as the biggest threat to them on the entire Great Sea? Pirates were so petty. He flinched when he heard a muffled splash and felt the ship rock. Linebeck gripped the wheel tightly and started turning the ship west, his sweaty hands almost slipping off. He gritted his teeth as the cannon fire sounded closer and the ship rocked again.

The last time he’d been pursued like this, a cannonball had burnt his hull and cost him several days of sleep. Linebeck turned the ship far enough around to spy the pursuing pirates again; the moment he heard the cannon fire again, he spun the wheel to sail in the opposite direction. Turning was slow, but his ship never stopped moving. He’d had nightmares about one of the wheels being damage, and Linebeck felt weak in the knees just thinking about it.

As the pirate ship slipped out of view, the waters around his ship were more violently disrupted, and Linebeck yelped as his ship was more violently rocked by the waves. There was no cannon fire, no sound of a cannonball hitting the waves- and the water was clearly churning too violently for it to have been a cannonball. He clung to the steering wheel for dear life, his knees nearly buckling underneath him, and the cacophonous sound of an especially large wave made him wince. The ship rocked again, but still no cannon fire. Instead, Linebeck picked up a new muffled noise.

…Splintering wood?

The wood of his own ship was fine, there was no motion asides from the violent waves rocking his ship, but the distant splintering continued, and with it, faraway screams. For the second time in barely five minutes, Linebeck’s curiosity prevailed over his fear. On shaky legs he stumbled up onto his deck- slick with water that had poured onboard, and nearly fell over the railings when he reached them.

The pursuing pirate ship was being torn apart by something. Something had pulled the main mast down and split it in half, tearing through the sails and ripping the vessel in half. Linebeck squinted, hardly seeing anything that could be causing it, then caught a glimpse of what looked like a thick black rope curled around the prow, tearing it clean off and dragging it into the sea. The way those ‘ropes’ moved; Linebeck slowly slid down into a crouch as he realized that a sea monster was what was attacking that ship.

One pirate jumped from where the prow had been, likely trying to escape and swim away, but a black tentacle shot out of the water and grabbed them midair and yanked them below the water. Linebeck felt frozen to the spot, more than grateful that he wasn’t the creature’s target, but he feared that if he took advantage of the chaos and sailed away, he would be attacked next.

The pursuing ship began to sink, and the sharp cracking of wood was piercing as it reached Linebeck’s ears. The hull was torn in two, more tentacles appearing to crush them into unsalvageable wreckages. The fear that shot through Linebeck urged him to straighten back up. He started to hurry back into the engine room, but stopped in his tracks as the tentacles withdrew back into the water.

The pirate ship’s remains slowly sank, survivors clinging to any floating pieces. Linebeck stared at the water around his ship. That… thing had stopped. That sea monster that he and those pirates had the misfortune to disturb.

That sea monster- Linebeck had researched every possible hostile creature that had been seen on the Great Sea, and that certainly had to have been one of them. He grabbed onto his railing again, feeling too sick to move his gaze from the sinking ship down to the waters just below him. He stood at the end of the railing, steady on the sloping deck despite the way his limbs shook and his heart hammered in his chest.

There was a sea monster in these waters. It had just wiped out an entire pirate crew in hardly a minute. From what Linebeck could recall, that pirate crew was rather prepared and experienced, and their ship certainly wasn’t some glorified piece of driftwood. This wasn’t just an overgrown gyorg or some other typical sea monster- he was at the mercy of the kind of sea monster that had stories passed around. The kinds that endured for decades or even centuries and were either worshipped or feared. He’d never seen a regular sea monster that had those kinds of tentacles and was that quick and deadly.

One of the stranded pirates was suddenly and violently pulled under water. Linebeck lowered himself back down to a crouch, staring at the now-empty patch of water. After a few moments, a faint red hue bloomed from deep under the surface.

I’m going to die.

The thought seemed to echo in Linebeck’s head. It wasn’t a thought he was unfamiliar with, but it was much, much more frantic now than ever. He was going to drown or be eaten. Even if he got out unscathed, his ship likely wouldn’t, and that sounded just as bad as if he got injured. Linebeck shakily stared down at the water mere feet from him. Every tiny wave and ripple in the water heightened his anxiety, and his mind raced. Another pirate was pulled under the water, eaten, and the waters were still for a moment. Then, there was a subtle ripple further away from the wreckage and closer to Linebeck’s ship.

How do I get out of this?

Linebeck’s terror forced him to his feet, and he raced into his ship’s cabin. That monster was more than capable of catching up with that pirate ship, and Linebeck stumbled on his way down the stairs as his ship rocked slightly.

This monster was capable of killing and catching him with ease, and it tore apart that pirate ship with ease, and it was eating the survivors, and Linebeck was up next if he didn’t think fast. His feet brought him into his ship’s cramped kitchen, and he stood still in the doorway for a moment. His fear and quick-thinking seemed to crash into each other, and his mind went blank as he stared around. Linebeck switched his attention from his utensils to the fish he’d recently caught and had yet to clean to the cupboards. Why the hell had he run here?

The sea monster killed all of the pirates. It was probably chasing after him now. It tore apart the ship, and… ate the pirates. Ate the pirates. Linebeck stared at his recently-caught fish. There were a pair of smaller amberjacks he’d picked up during the storm, a seabass he had a few different plans for, and then a large loovar he’d been planning to sell. He suddenly felt itchy looking at that loovar. He was going to sell it. It was a large, pristine loovar, with sleek, undamaged scales and was over five feet long and took up the entire counter that fit in the narrow kitchen. It was valuable and would net him a good sum of rupees at the next island he docked at.

Linebeck’s ship rocked again, violently enough to knock him off balance. The terror finally mixed with his quick thinking and he grabbed and yanked the loovar off the counter, stumbling a moment under its weight. He slung it over his shoulder and hauled it up the stairs, his shoulder aching before he was even in the engine room. Goddesses, his coat was going to reek if he made it out of this alive.

He paused to grab his mop and tuck it into the crook of his elbow and stumbled a bit, stubbornly keeping the fish from touching the floor. The ship rocked under his feet again, and Linebeck shuddered and hurried out onto the deck. The water around his ship’s hull ripped every few moments, and Linebeck didn’t hesitate in letting the loovar drop onto the wood. He kicked it off the deck, and it fell unceremoniously into the water and floated barely a few inches from the hull- too close.

With the mop he prodded at it and sent it floating slowly away from his ship. And so, Linebeck huddled at the edge of his deck, leaning against his mop for support. For just a moment, the waters were still. The loovar bobbed on the water’s surface and the sunlight glinted off its scales. Linebeck exhaled slowly. For all he knew, the monster could have already left. He could probably grab the loovar if he was careful.

Linebeck started to reach back out with the mop, but drew it back as the water around the loovar suddenly started to ripple. The rippling grew more furious, and the water began to bubble and small waves started rushing out from around the fish- a dark shape was just barely visible deep in the water. The shape rushed to the surface, and Linebeck only got the quickest glimpse before falling backwards onto the deck as the largest waves yet set his ship violently rocking.

It was huge, easily half the size of his ship, and a stunning yellow. For the split second he saw it, Linebeck couldn’t discern any detail, but he didn’t miss the mouth full of sharp teeth that engulfed the loovar. Linebeck had fallen onto his back and didn’t dare move as the sea calmed down, the blurry image of the beast burnt into his mind. He stared up at the sky and realized that the fear in his chest had eased. Had he appeased the creature? The rocking of his ship slowly stopped, and he felt he was in no hurry to get up.

There was a slight splashing, and Linebeck jolted upright. He stared off the edge of the deck, at where the loovar had been floating. It stared back at him. The sunlight glinted off its yellow body, greenish in some spots, and golden in others. Under the water, the rest of it was just a murky shadow. In its mouth, encircled by those teeth, was an eye that stared back at him, the tiny pupil within a burning yellow and orange, surrounded by deep black. A monstrous eye, and one that Linebeck could’ve sworn he’d seen somewhere. Something about the thing’s unblinking gaze made a sense of visceral horror return to Linebeck, and before he could think it through, he scrambled to his feet.

The creature didn’t move in the water, but its eye followed his movements. Despite the hammering of his heart, Linebeck couldn’t tear his gaze away from that eye. His limbs felt locked in place, and his breathing came in in ragged gasps and he realized just how bad his situation had gotten. There was no way that loovar was enough to save him. He’d seen the way the creature had torn apart that pirate ship. He’d seen the way it had grabbed and killed those pirates. There was nothing keeping it from killing him next.

Then, without any sound but the sounds of the water, the creature sank down into the ocean and out of sight.

Linebeck immediately hurried back into his cabin, just barely remembering to snatch up his mop.

He wasted no time in getting his ship up and running again, and set a course for the island before even thinking of relaxing. Linebeck anxiously surveyed the sea as he steered the ship away, but spotted nothing out of the ordinary.

…Maybe the loovar had satisfied that… thing. Linebeck tried not to think much about it. But his nerves were still shot by the encounter, and he stiffly steered until the sun began to set.

He didn’t anchor the ship until stars glittered in the sky. Linebeck moved gingerly around his ship, half expecting that monster to return. But the evening was quiet, and Linebeck eventually felt relaxed enough after doing his rounds. He collected every book he had that mentioned sea monsters and went out on deck to read and rest.

Linebeck rested against the prow. He set the books in his lap and started flipping through each one, quickly skipping through what turned out to be a catalogue of common seafaring enemies, and finding a short collection of short stories based on powerful creatures around the world. As the sun dipped further below the horizon, Linebeck finally reached a much more informative book- one that had been gathering dust at the edge of the shelf- and flipped through more slowly, inspecting each illustration. Dragons, sentient plants, fish creatures, and Linebeck slowed down upon reaching the chapter reserved for deities. It didn’t take long for him to turn a page and find a familiar illustration.

It was little more than a collection of sketches, but that eye was unmistakable. Linebeck leaned over the book with a small spark of triumph in his heart. He was right- it was one he’d heard of before, a creature named ‘Bellum’. Apparently a powerful, demonic sea monster.

Linebeck felt a faint shiver down his spine and he sat up and stared off across the sea. He shut the book and gathered up the rest. Back in the cabin, he locked the door out, and hesitated with his hand on the knob. That nearby island was his destination, a small island with a small town that he’d been for. He needed supplies, needed to restock on food and parts and whatever else eluded him at the moment.

He double-checked the lock and silently headed down into the storage room. Linebeck left the volume with the information on Bellum on the table, and put the rest back on the bookshelf behind the thin bar that kept them from falling out.

Bellum.

Linebeck turned and stared at the book on the table. In the dim light of the few lit lanterns in the room, the book seemed almost ominous with its dark cover and elaborate spine. Where had he picked this one up? Was it one from home, or something he’d bought on a whim a while ago? Either way, it was worth reading through and taking notes on- even if the information he wanted seemed to only take up two pages.

Linebeck idly rubbed his hands together. The only indication of his lingering anxiety was the thin layer of sweat on his palms. Most sea monsters were known through shared stories and rumored sightings. Once he got all he could from the book, he could start asking around at islands. With any luck, though, he wouldn’t have to see that thing again.