#male nokken

[alexisyoko]

🌿🪷 Ya boy presents you : the Näcken from Bramble (I also want to cosplay him). Stay tuned! Please visit me on DeviantArt, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest!

[virtues-end]

✦ virtue’s end — public demo update october 15th 2024

the start (and a whole chunk) of chapter 2! including...

travel to weynvordan, capital of burnesse

spend some time with your (new) companions

pick a pastime

get under shea's skin

have an unexpected meeting with someone from the past

receive your next job at the sanctum

and more....

check below the cut for more notes! and I do recommend restarting the game fully to avoid any errors. hope you all enjoy. :-)

virtue's end is an 18+ interactive dark fantasy novel set in a sunless, medieval world struck by catastrophe. you play as a helvling, a cursed monster hunter with a (barely) suppressed monstrous side, bound to serve a human Keeper as you travel through broken lands teeming with danger.

✦ play virtue's end

update notes:

added a toggle for relationship hints (can be changed in the menu)

added a toggle for explicit scenes (can be changed in the menu)

added relationship icons to the companion page

penrose can now be set to female or male

added convictions to chapter 1

changed the personality stat from 'kind' to 'amiable'

added nokken variation text to elexis' kiss

shea should no longer comment on penrose’s healing if the MC was the one to patch them up

updated the glossary/bestiary

plus a whole bunch of other stuff I probably forgot about!

[nina-renmen]

Bloodied Love

Yandere Homelander x supe reader pt.1

Summary: He never expected to have a soulmate. His mark was never there, so what happens once it appears where you touched him? A girl like you, not even human. You fed off of his kind, but that dosn’t deter him from the horrors he has planned. You deprived him of your love, and now he won’t let go of you…even if he has to kill you.

Warnings: This is a Yandere fic so there will be blood, gore, ect. There will be nsfw themes and scenes in here as well as drugging and other things. Reader is not a human but she’s a water and air spirit called a Nokken. Reader has a hatred for humans

A mysterious dark figure has yet again saved the city once more. Could this be a new hero on the rise? Stay tuned for more-“ 

A [skin color] hand pressed the big red button on the dainty remote. Though her strength was controlled she almost crushed it. “Looks like someone’s getting famous.” Y/n looked away from the black screen and towards her friend. Her milky white eyes began shifting back into their natural [eye color] shade. “I guess.” Y/n mumbled. Her sharp claws slowly retracting. Almost like bear claws. “Dosn’t really matter when we have hero’s killing innocent civilians.” Y/n stated, standing up she towered over her friend, “You know Ivan…I’m not even sure if this hero thing is what I want.” 

The shorter male who at the time was drinking a glass of wine had choked on the bitter substance. His black soulmate mark seemed to jump as he shifted quickly. The dark red liquid running down his chin as he scrambled to wipe it away. “What?! How come?” Ivan asked, his honey brown eyes widened. “It’s not because of that accident right?! Because if that’s it you should know that it’s not knew-“ 

“Thats the problem…I-“ Y/n paused as her radio began to go off. Signaling an attack. Ivan tilted his head towards the door as he looked down at y/n’s outfit. “You’re still in your suit. Best get going.” He said in a fatherly tone. Y/n smile but scoffed in order to cover it up. She walked out the front door. Her body taking her towards the site immediately.

She could still feel his blood on her. The blood of her comrades she worked with, the blood of Ivan. The gaze of his blood still lingered in his mouth. There was nothing left, only his half eaten head that lie in the ground. A horrified expression laid on his dead face. She didn’t feel that urge anymore. That burning sensation that told her to eat, eat, eat. 

She knew she didn’t want to. He gave her no choice!! He was out for her blood! He was out for her abilities! She was just big game to him. A long cat and mouse game that she was oblivious to playing. A bounty on her head! He only wanted the money, he was like all the other rotten humans in this world! All the dirty, disgusting, vermin-

A single drop was able to knock her from her thoughts. And then the camera flashing began as she stood at the foot of the plane. American press were taking pictures of her. Fans screamed her name, but y/n’s smile had not reached her eyes. For she held no pleasure in standing before these people. Her mother country, Brazil had sent their number one hero to help America. A oncoming agreement came from the two countries and a treaty was made. America gives them resources and money and they gave up…..her. But that did not mean she would abandon her past. Even if she were to live here for a few years before going back home. 

“[Hero Name]! How does it feel to be on American soil?!” One of the interviewers asked, shoving their mics in her face. They don’t really care, they wanted the money. They all only wanted money. 

Y/n’s eyes trailed down to meet the woman’s eyes. A flash of nervousness appeared within her irises. Her green eyes meeting y/n’s milky white ones. Y/n tilted her head to the side, examining if she even wanted to speak with the woman. “It feels just like home.” Y/n finally spoke up, flashing a polite smile towards the smaller woman. She stood at a tall height of 5’8, her form taller than most women she knew, and yet smaller than most men. 

“[hero name]! Can you describe your powers of being a Nokken?!” Another reporter questioned. Y/n’s hand twitched but no one batted an eye. They probably didn’t even notice. “A magician never reveals her tricks.” Y/n said in a happy tone. That same eye catching smile was forever carved in her face. And yet again her eyes did not match. But of course no human cared. Humans were easily deceived, they were easily eaten- 

‘Dont think like that.’ Y/n thought to herself. And almost immediately the attention was finally directed off of her. “It’s homelander!” A random person states the obvious. Y/n attempted to slink away but a strong arm wrapped around her shoulder. “Thank you for the love! But I wanted to welcome in the new hero everyone’s been raving about!” The blue eyed man exclaimed. Y/n made no attempt to look up at him, for she knew that if she did she might as well be provoked to hit him. And she doubted that would do anything. “Smile.” Homelander whispered but the muscles in y/n’s face remained locked in. A neutral expression on her face as she made eye contact with reporters. She wouldn’t be a fraud like the man above her was. 

“Thank you for the warm welcome but I best be going homelander. Maybe we’ll cross paths again.” Y/n says loud enough for the reporters to hear as y/n smiles and begins to be escorted out of the airport.

The cool air hit her. Rain drops fell from the sky, turning her once [skin color] skin into a sickly grey. Her hair turning into an inky black color. She was not only a water based supe but an air one as well. The combination brought on many fans and onlookers that wished to be her. Or dispise her. 

“You left in a hurry.” That same familiar voice echoed throughout the empty streets. People were off the roads due to the storm. Y/n looked over her shoulder, this time her milky white eyes meeting his bright blue ones. “Was I supposed to linger?” Y/n questioned, turning her body towards him. She stood tall, her form didn’t look weak. 

“Not necessarily, just….unusual.” He replied. “Usually supes stick around to talk to the number one hero in the world.” 

“In America.” Y/n replied, slightly cutting him off. 

“Pardon?” He questioned. The smile on his face was fake. It didn’t reach his eyes, it looked like a mask. A horrible one at that. 

“You are the number one hero in America. Who’s to say the world when you haven’t even stepped out of it before?” Y/n questioned. Homelander gave y/n an annoyed look. “Anyway Mr retriever, I best get going.”

”Mr retriever?” Homelands questioned, he took off one of his gloves in order to get the water out of it. 

“You look like one.” Y/n spoke as she patted his arm whilst walking past him. Homelandee furrowed his eyebrows. Who does this girl think she is? He’s number one- 

The blonde haired male could feel a burning sensation on his forearm. He glanced down, not thinking it’d be anything only for his eyes go linger the name, y/n l/n was imbedded into his arm. His eyebrows furrowed, whose name was this? As realization began to sink in that this was his soulmates name…where ever she was he’d find her.

[ryebread-x]

Nokken/Nixie! Sigyn variant

Drew this on a whim, but I made another variant of my Myth! Sigyn design. Though this time I based this design variant off of a Nokken/Nixie which is a water spirit in Germanic folklore that lures travelers,woman,and children to their death by enchanting them with a fiddle(though they aren’t always hostile spirits in some tellings). Nokken are mainly male, but some sources said they can be female too(they are also shapeshifters and in some versions present themselves as a white horse as well).

I tried not to make her look too much like my main Myth!Sigyn design. Though both are aquatic based. When it comes to Nokken! Sigyn’s personality, however, she more hostile and cunningly manipulative.

When it comes to her relationship with Loki. The two of them met when Loki got lost in Sigyn's territory. Then Sigyn saw them and was like, " Hey, you're really pretty, and I see that you're lost. Do you want to chill in my bog and listen to my fiddle?"

Loki surprisingly agreed, and from there, the two began to frequently meet up falling in love in the process. That being said, Loki is the only one to have ever made it out of Sigyn's territory alive. 😬

[pigeon-wishes]

A nokken is a male water spirit who plays enchanted songs on a violin to lure in people in order to drown them.

I adore these types of mythical creatures and so it only feels right to draw my interpretation of one!

[talesofmiddonmira]

Can you tell us more about the Nokken yet? They just seem so interesting :)

Yeah of course!

His name is Morrow, and he's a warlock. He lives with the other warlocks: Frowin and Nirine (and their dog, Omen).

A little context for the Nokken as a species: A Nokken is basically a male water/forest fae, the females are called Nixies. They become independent and capable from a very young age, typically leaving their mother to fend for themselves at around 3 or 4. They will use their unique magic to shapeshift/disguise themselves as common elves and find populated settlements to grow up in, learning languages and musical instruments. Once they reach maturity they return to the forests and live in or near bodies of water, using their learned skills to lure prey. They will eat nearly anything they can get their hands on- including others of their own kind.

So, Morrow here goes through some character development as you might imagine. He discovers that he has a calling for more advanced magical practice during his upbringing, so when he crosses paths with the warlocks later in life they befriend him and offer to teach him more.

Fun facts about him:

He was almost eaten by his own father

He plays the fiddle

He sleeps in a bathtub in the warlock's home

[elmer-kasprzak]

mythos au. the delanceys in this au are actually twins (marie is still older by like... three minutes), and they are both fae! specifically the scottish fae and they are super duper cool. they both live in the human world rather than with the fae. marie was a part of the seelie court, considered the kind and fair court. oscar was a part of the unseelie court, considered the tricksters and troublemakers. both courts have the tendencies that you would expect from fae, however the courts do matter when it comes to values and behaviors. oscar was banished from the fae world for reasons he refuses to talk about. marie left willingly, following her brother in his banishment.

elmer is a selkie! also specifically scottish, unsure why there are so many scottish guys in this au. selkies are typically female water spirits that have the ability to change into a seal using a seal skin that they shed every time they change between forms. this version of selkies are different than mythology, as some aspects have been changed. elmer is in college and swims for his school! his major is undeclared.

romeo is the coolest fr! he is a nykr (also named nokken (with the slashed o), nykur, naekki, etc), a scandinavian water spirit similar to the siren. typically male, these spirits are depicted as less violent than sirens in other mythology. they are shown to play the violin and lure women and children to the water. in some stories, they down their victims, in others, they are simply entertainment for humans. romeo's father was also a nykr, while his mother was human. he is a music major, and elmer's roommate.

davey is a human. there's not... much else about this. he's also in college with the group, although i'm not sure what he majors in yet. he's the lest developed character so far (aside from the very obviously unmentioned characters in this post), but expect more content from this au soon.

[lxnelysxul]

New bbys!

Name(s): Hyeon and Jae

Age: N/A

Species: Nokken

Fc(s): Hyunjin and Felix

Bio: Born in the waters of Jeju Island, both brothers live within the forests by a lake of their birthplace. Hyeon being the oldest and seemingly charming male, when feeling territorial or protective of his brother, he'll do whatever he can to keep his space or his brother safe. Please him and he'll let you go, if not then...too bad. Jae is the youngest and just as charming as his brother. The youngest is also known to being mischievous when it comes to being out and about, finding ways to keep their home safe or keeping them away from his brother.

He's Hyeon's 'sunshine' if you will. What they both find amusing is the fact that people are surprised by the sound of his voice despite having a young appearance.

Jae is the baby and Hyeon's only source of interaction despite their kind being solitary. Hyeon raised him since he was little after their parents disappeared via a possible death and so the elder nokken refuses to trust anyone. So either be afraid or don't when given the side eye.

They both now live at a lake house, content with their way of life; Hyeon doing art and dance while Jae does dance and singing. Occasionally Hyeon joins him too and they find ways to make money off of that.

[kim-monsterlings]

Edel - M Nokken x F Human (Reader) // NSFW

The pictures do not belong to me. I only created the mood board, with a thank you to @handy-dandy-monster-candy​ for helping edit the photos! Do not repost my work anywhere.

Content: NSFW/Lemon; mentions of moving home, selkie friend, light flirting, gifted flowers, bakery treats, slight angst, flirting with fae, kissing, receiving oral, penetrative sex (+ mention of protection), with a fluffy ending

Wordcount: 4302

Faebruary Summary: of your new neighbour and struggling to befriend him

Masterlist // Faebruary Masterlist

No more than twice before moving in had you met your soon-to-be neighbour. On both occasions – the first a tour of the cosy, ground floor apartment, and the second on the day of finalising the lease - he greeted you with the gentlest of handshakes, warmed by a tenderness born of restrained strength. He owned the building and lived in the flat across from yours, apparently for years now.

“Call me Edel. It’s my pleasure,” he’d said the first morning, with a tilted smile and a soft, almost musical accent. His voice distracted you the entirety of the tour so much so that the flat itself barely made an impression. Instead, you remembered Edel and the soft waves of long, dark hair, how the sunlight caught his cheekbones when passing large, bay windows. “You’ll love it here. I promise.”

Had you moved in for the neighbour with a crooked smile and his unimposing nature, a month from dragging indoors the last of your belongings, you would have been sorely disappointed. Even your first meeting left you wanting more; whether that came in a passing smile when crossing in the hall or more, you weren’t yet sure. With less than a couple of feet from his home to yours, you still couldn’t find it in you to initiate that new relationship, and now it felt like you had waited too long.

You didn’t need to wait any longer.

Moving entwined with an independence you had lacked. Now closer to work, closer to friends and with enough distance from home you really felt free, settling into a new routine preoccupied you for a month. That, and decorating with warmer shades of paint and softer cushions, so that now, curled beneath small window lights, you saw him.

The farthest end of your shared garden faded into outgrown woods, sheltering a lake so far only seen in the advertised photos of the property. Not a cloud marred the pale light cast over Edel’s bare back, shadowed by the hair loose against his shoulder blades. He left the back entrance of the building barefoot, never looking from the tree line before fading into it.

He hadn’t returned when you retreated to bed, no matter how slow you walked, peeking back and hoping for another glimpse. With a fresh coffee in hand the next morning, a blur drifted by, the slender form of your neighbour emerging from the woods. In this light, warmer and clearer for your prying, a slight sheen glistened over his bare body, curls where his hair before rested straighter. Steam no longer rose from your mug when you finally looked away, but it was harder to force Edel from your mind.

Retaining the picture of the slight hue beneath falling water led you into your favourite bakery hours later. Favourite not only because your best friend owned it, but now for its proximity to your home, too. This infatuation thrived in the space of a month alone, then being for the soft touch of his palm to yours a, his quiet laugh at your persistent questioning the flat before he answered each with enduring patience. It was more than that, now, and when your close friend found you in her doorway, the dappled pelt draped around her shoulders reconciled with your neighbour’s night passed in a lake, and his melodic way of speaking.

Isla’s loose braids of pepper hair rested along her coat, flyaway strands wisping around her dimpled cheeks when she grinned. Since your moving, where before you would only see one another on occasion, you would pass with a wave, either beckoned by her or entering with some time for catching up, just to make up for the distance no longer between you.

Though, not today, and without a word of pleasantry you said, “I think my neighbour is fae.”

“You mean Edel?” With Isla so close and her recommendation an incentive to renting the flat, her knowledge of the area was invaluable, even in muffling a laugh behind a cough. Her lips still curled when she continued, “he’s a nokken. Didn’t you know?”

She asked like your drawn eyebrows and frown hadn’t been answer enough. “Like fae? Water fae?”

“Distantly fae.” As Isla reached for your favourite treats, the light caught her pelt. “You seem to attract us.”

Her teasing warmed through you as she handed you the warmed bag. She refused payment, though didn’t turn you from the tip jar on the promise of seeing her tomorrow. 

This hadn’t changed anything. You loved your home and living with a nokken hadn’t – wouldn’t, change that.

Knowing what he was, tonight you crept nearer the windows at the faint creaking of doors opening in the hall. The same silhouette left and without the marring confusion or worry for him leaving so late, you tiptoed closer. On a darker night, the moonlight illuminated his muscles tensing with each step further from where a human would choose to rest.

Halfway gone, he faltered, a misstep bringing pale light to cast from his chest to his low hips. Hair darker than the shadows clinging to him tangled about his slender frame when his head tilted. With the slight wind fluttering his hair, it would frame his sharp features beautifully tied back, but then his eyes reflecting white light pinned you. Only then had you the sense to duck.

That shame clung to you long after retreating from your lounge. Maybe he hadn’t seen you, rather only the curtain swaying as you fled, but he had sensed you all the same, turned right to where the the netting tucked back for you to follow him down to the trees. If not for the signed lease, the mortification nearly had you packing your things.

Even as temptation tickled you with a shadow passing your window, you smothered it. Where you curled into the counter, kettle boiling, was far from view had he ever been able to see into your home; he couldn't through net curtains, but reminding yourself came with the sting of shame from last night.

Hiding from him worked until gentle raps came at your door. If he had come now to question your staring, to challenge your urge to watch him walk deeper like he belonged in the night, no defence would rise to your lips.

Edel braced himself on your doorframe. He'd just returned from the lake: hair curling now, the loose trousers cloying to his thighs. That little defence you had ready - an apology, really, drowned beneath the breath fleeing you at his fingers brushing your cheek.

“Come with me."

What little knowledge of fae you now cherished alarmed you, but not so much you didn't move from him. "To the water?"

"Wouldn't you like to?" Lake water followed the muscle of his chest, ending at the darker hairs of his abdomen. Edel's smile burned when you found him looking down to you. "Is that not why you watch me?"

"Call it curiosity," you said, though your breath trembled. He had seen you.

His warm hand fell from your cheek. "Tomorrow, then?"

With a noncommittal, "maybe," and a shared smile, Edel left you to collapse back against your closed door.

No invitation called you to the lake, but a water lily laid outside your door reminded you of the nokken across the hall. The cheaper rent - now, you knew, from fear of living with a creature like him, one related to fae - blessed you not only with a blossoming friendship, but fresh flowers brightening your home with his returns.

Each night on his path to the woods, Edel would pause. Sometimes that was all, just a second's hesitation, but other nights, he would turn and find you half-hidden. Those nights you treasured for the slight tipping of his head to the trees in an extended invite.

You never accepted, and he never stopped offering.

It wasn't so much the fear of entering unfamiliar waters with a nokken hindering you but that you would embarrass yourself. The bright lilies started your day warm, and to follow him would cross a line you weren't ready for; but one you so badly wanted to cross.

The soon familiar routine and its floral scent hadn’t seemed anything more than pleasantries, until a night you replaced the water for the flowers after waving Edel down the garden. Out of love for Isla when she waived a cost, you returned a tip, but you hadn’t offered anything for the flowers nor the smiles from your neighbour. Your friend would never claim a debt against you and while, you doubted Edel would, hoped he wouldn’t, the accumulation following weeks living on his property could amount to any kind of debt, if he chose to claim it.

What better way to appease fae, than with gifts in return?

"Fae like sweet things," Isla told you that afternoon. Sugar coated her fingertips from a long day, a slight dusting along her coat tucked at the back counter, never far from her. She gestured back to the shelves of recipes lining the old bakery.

That wasn’t all that you wanted, though. Isla waited while you fidgeted, seeking the right words. Of course fae liked sweet things, but you wanted Edel to like them, too. Not solely for their purpose in repaying a debt but for who gifted them.

“Like?”

"Bake him something sweet and the effort is gift enough. Try this."

Your friend scowled at the note tucked into her tip jar on handing over a recipe, but waved you out with a smile. The honey-sweetened scent lingered in your home with the flowers after meticulous effort, wafting with you into the hall.

Edel’s breath formed your name, your bodies brushing from his step taken out of his door. On time, too, and the flowery perfume rose from him, stronger and somehow sweeter. His gentle hands rose to your arms, thumbs rubbing slow circles. He was all that stopped you from trembling.

Through a warm accent, he asked, "have you come to join me?"

"Another night, maybe."

"Maybe," he echoed. His eyes fell to where you lifted a warm box. "Those smell lovely."

"They're for you. For the flowers."

"For the flowers," he whispered. The gentle embrace broke like he planned to accept your gift, but instead he brought a foot of distance between you. "You do not owe me anything. If the flowers created such an impression, I am sorry."

The forced tilt to his lips came and went before you could explain, and you stood in the hall long after the backdoor swung open and shut again.

He hadn't returned the next morning. No flower graced your doorstep but when you were just stepping indoors from work, the blur passed your window earlier than each night before, and your stomach dropped.

The tentative friendship fractured further come morning, at a time your absence was known. No flowers came when you left, but the backdoor closed as you turned down the hall. Your distraction allowed him time to leave without your seeing.

So when you finished a painfully long week of waiting and hoping to cross paths, you waited some more. You would go to the water as he had always hoped but going at a time when he was there hadn't been harder. He went to avoid you and by chance after waking late in the night unsettled, finding a glimmer of moonlight disturbed by your neighbour fading banished all remnants of sleep.

In all your nights of peeking through curtains, Edel had never shivered. It was cold. It was windy and dark and you had never been so far down the garden, spurred into the trees by the persisting ache in your chest. It eased when you neared the lake, but replaced with dread as you knelt on a small, wooden platform jutting over the bank.

The water was unforgivingly dark. An unholy screech tore from you when something skimmed your hand hovering against the surface. Edel rose faster from the water to steady you than you could comprehend, cold hands gripping you by your ribs before you toppled forward.

His thumbs stroked in slow circles as you forced yourself to calm down. "You deserved that."

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, your heart a weight in your throat. "I miss the flowers."

"Oh?" His head tilted, bringing long hair to cling to his chest in slight waves. "The flowers and their debt?"

Each word hit like a crack to your ribs. "I'm sorry."

When his hold left, it felt like more of a rejection than his avoidance, until he sighed. "It's late."

"It wasn't just repayment. It was a gift, too." He hadn't looked up again. "I promise I've not be waiting, either."

Edel breathed a laugh. "How did you know to come now?"

"I saw you leaving."

His lips rose as you seemed to lie, but before you could remedy it, his palms flattened to the deck. He rose on the strength of his arms alone until water lapped at his hips. It was when he continued to lift himself that the absence of any clothing had you staggering back.

Old wood groaned beneath you but it was quieter than when you said, "I can walk back alone."

At first unsure, his fingertips brushed yours. You hadn't looked back - he was standing, dripping, bare, but curled your hand with his until you muffled your surprise at the touch of webbed skin, as timid a touch as his following whisper.

"You don't have to."

The walk would have been silent, had you not asked to suppress the rising fluttering in your chest, "why aren’t you cold?"

"Are you cold?"

"Freezing."

Edel squeezed his hand to yours. "Then dress warmer tomorrow. Goodnight."

Tomorrow came so soon, with a soft tap to your door all it took before you were smiling up to find him leaning close. No lily, but he reached out to take your hand again.

"Before we go," he murmured, and you rested against the closed door, angled back below him. "Do you know how long this apartment was left empty? Before you?"

His face fell when you shook your head. "I knew it was empty for some time, but…"

"Two years. Over twenty-six months." His touch softened when he released your hand, revealing the thin webbing tickling you. Edel's lips twitched when you traced along it with your fingertip. "Do you know why?"

You hadn't the heart to say it, only nodding.

"Those lilies were gifts," he began and stared at your hands sliding together. "I may be folk, but I have no malicious intent in luring you to the lake. I only ever sing in the shower or beneath the water. If I ever-"

"Never," you said. Irrespective of whatever threat he thought of he posed, you didn't care.

"I'd love your company."

When you tugged on his hand, he fell in step. "I'd love yours, too." 

Late in the evening, Edel would meet you in the hall. Until you shivered or tired, you would spend the time on the deck while he floated in the water. The lilies returned after he ventured back to the lake, but without fail, he walked you back the short way to your door. His touch would pull on your hand until falling with a smile always soft on parting.

What little progress made found its way back to Isla when she urged you in, with instructions to offer him the same treats he before refused; not as a gift like they had been, but something you wanted to give him. You promised to meet him later, after you had warmed the honeyed puddings, even holding your ground when his frown tugged at your heart before leaving. Carrying them down to him was worth it, if only for the rising nerves in your chest - the good kind.

The scent teased him from the water. Edel extended a hand to draw you closer before his bright eyes widened. "Not in trade?" 

"Not in trade,” you nodded. “I promise."

"While I do believe you," he murmured, and your throat tightened as he lifted himself to your height. "If this is not in trade, give me something more."

His breath fluttered against your face. Your fingers curled against the edge of the platform. "Like?"

"One kiss." Edel's hand stroked from your crossed leg up, rising to your waist. "If you would like to. As a gift."

The wood might have splintered beneath your hands when you lifted your chin. Water dripped from his hair, cold to your face but the heat of him, his hand tight against your hip, lit a fire in your stomach.

It lasted no more than a passing second before water rose back to his chest. Edel grinned from the lake, his lips fleeting against your knuckles still locked tight to hold yourself from following him in.

He no longer left bare down to the garden since your accompanying him, though the night you first saw him, he hadn’t been either. Whether he dressed anticipating your stare choked you, but freed you to turn once to your door. Edel stilled at the kiss his cheek and you were inside before he could fully utter your name aloud.

His cheek tasted of the sugar form your honey treats.

Another week, you would have celebrated the weekend, but nothing helped pass the time until it was late enough his door opened. Edel hadn't closed it again before you were there, breaths fast and smiling up.

"I'm coming."

"Good," he breathed, before lowering himself to steal a light kiss. His hand tugged on yours. "Now?"

Though this had been why you were restless all day, having him soften, both hands rising to your cheeks to lift you closer, nearly made you faint. He whispered your name and kissed you so gently, you tiptoed and sought him again.

This time, he lingered. With your foreheads together, he ran his hands along your arms. "I've never kissed someone into stupor before."

"Don't tease," you gasped. He was still sweet on your lips and he carried that same floral scent you loved, clouding your thoughts.

"Was I not clear?" He kissed you again but lifted himself so you could see the warmth to his pale cheeks. "It's you I want, not just company."

"Me?"

"You."

"You want me?" Edel hummed, his touch tracing up your arms again. "Prove it."

He gasped and as he stared after you, inching backwards over the threshold, it felt like too much of an overstep. Then it passed and he followed you, the door closed and locked behind him.

His lips rose crooked. "Go on, then."

The apartment mirrored yours in layout and later, by his side, you would marvel at the softer hues in his decorating, more greens and greys, but you were running beyond the lounge, past large windows to an open bedroom door.

His arms came around you and aided in slipping free your clothes, until his bare chest warmed your back. "I'm to prove I want you, yes?" The heat of his palm stroked down your stomach. "Is that right?"

"Yes," you gasped, trembling already at his hand slipping lower.

"Kneel on the bed for me," he whispered to your throat and you were helpless, only hesitating at the end. Edel circled the bed and when he turned, your stomach fluttered at him tying his long hair up. His chin tipped in an unmistakable invitation. "Come here, beautiful."

His hands on your thighs lifted you closer when you gasped, astride his chest and swallowing hard. He kissed your inner thigh, undeterred by your small whine.

"Wouldn't this be better if I laid down?"

His tongue ran over his lips. "Please."

"If you need to stop," you whispered, though the strain of withholding yourself from bringing his flushed lips to where you ached most nearly overcame you. “Edel?”

"If I need air, I will tap your thigh. I won't, though," he teased, and guided you to kneel around his head, so grateful his hair had already been knotted back. "Come here…"

You lowered yourself evidently not fast enough, as Edel let free a groan and drew in a slow breath. The headboard trembled with your clutching it tight, knuckles aching like last night on the lake's platform.

One, slight touch of his hot tongue to your slit had you gasping, forgoing any inhibitions and rolling down against him. Edel made as many sounds of contentment and circled his thumbs into your thighs, parting your folds for him to lift his face higher.

"Do you… do you need me to-"

"Closer."

Edel's groan came when his lips softened against your clit, gentle at first before he focused there, mindful of how you clenched and what made you whine, then what made you gasp. The flattening of his down dragged, coaxing your cries louder. He drew on the coil burning in your navel with each stroke of his hot tongue, down until he curled it against your aching centre and tasted you around him.

One hand fell low, tugging at his hair to keep him close. Every flick of the muscle prolonged the tingling running down your spine, down to your toes curled on the sheets.

Soft palms gripped your thighs in aiding you back once your moans eased to harsher breaths. Edel settled you over his lap, but your body already so sensitive against him made you tingle again. He faced you with a glistening smile, one tended to by his tongue before you chased after his moan.

"Is that proof enough?"

Your forehead rested to his, breathing deep. "Proof?"

"Proof of how much I want you." He laid kisses along your throat and when you thumbed the waist of his trousers, his eyelids fell low with a hummed moan. "Say no."

"No."

His cheeks were flushed, hair curling at his temples from your body around him, so unlike the weight to his dark stare. "I'd like to prove my want with you sitting like this-" he rolled his hips up against you, and both of you shared a moan. "Is that what you'd like?"

Edel relinquished himself to you. Only in trousers, you caught yourself moaning just from reaching to stroke his length. He stretched from the bed for protection as you inched closer again. The tint of blue to his body tempted you closer, wanting nothing more than to already have him.

Edel kissed the heat falling from your cheeks down to your throat as you undressed him. The tint to his body captivated you, down to the blue hue to his dark head. He stretched back from the bed for protection, though trembled with the pad of your thumb tracing up the veins running along his length.

That shared thought brought his hands to your hips, your body lifting above him. His cock pressed to you, slick and aching, and you clenched around him when taking him deep. That sensitivity hadn't faded and dizzied you, adjusting still when he kissed you.

"I was right. My pleasure," he said, before his body moved against you, his cock dragging along your fluttering walls.

My pleasure, he'd greeted you on your first meeting, but you disagreed. Every arch of his body brought him deeper, and every kiss enticed another whimper until you were trembling so soon around him again.

"So beautiful," he whispered. His hand cradled your face, thumb running along your parted lips as he peppered touches along the column of your throat. "Everything I've ever wished for."

"Edel-"

He gasped with you as you tightened your legs around his hips, clinging to him at the returning pressure in your abdomen. The lake could wait. You wanted to spend forever in his arms, letting your head fall back so his tongue could trace down to your collarbones.

Edel grunted from your hand unravelling his hair, only to draw his lips to yours as his thumb graced your flushed clit. One firm stroke and you cried loud, your rhythm faltering as your orgasm overcame you. He continued to rub your nerves, an arm banded tight around you until he moaned your name and stiffened.

Until your breaths eased, you clutched each other close. The gentleness in his care as you rested by his side was no different than any other time, tucking an arm beneath your crown as you lazed in his hold.

You woke alone.

The bedsheets were cold, tousled and bathed in the same moonlight he had left you for. No light came from his lounge as you left in his trousers and your shirt.

The night wasn't so cold, but quiet. Each step nearing the lake matched your racing heart, and it rose to a crescendo finding him waiting in the water, reaching out to hold you when you undressed. Even if the night hadn't been cold, the water was, so you curled tighter to his chest.

"You left."

He waded deeper, kissing your temple. "I'd have been by your side before you truly woke."

"I'm awake now."

Edel breathed quietly against your hair. "I wanted you to feel free to go."

"Is that what you want?" If not for the water strengthening his embrace, you would have turned away. "For me to leave?"

His lips curled down, though he looked beyond you. "I'd rather now than later."

"Was I not clear?" Edel's shoulders softened from beneath his jaw. "It's you I want, until you want me gone."

Where his lips had been hours before, he kissed your throat, soft against your flitting pulse. It was promise enough as he cradled you to him, holding you all the way back to his bed, and neither of you planned on leaving soon.

[thepinkseat-askthemoonbunny]

I want Mags to meet a nøkken during his wanderings one day and they just have a full out music contest, Mags with voice and the nokken with his fiddle. And then Mags builds a house by the lake and they become music buddies and hang out every day.

From what I researched, Nøkken are Scandinavian male water spirits that tend to inhabit fresh water like ponds and rivers. They’re kinda like sirens but they don’t sing, instead they play enchanted songs on their violins that lure women and children to their deaths. In some versions though, they’re not evil and don’t attract people on purpose…people are just drawn to the beauty of their music. Sometimes he’ll even give fiddle lessons if you’re willing to pay his price.

[aggravatetheaxe]

some thoughts about my huldufolk au for dethklok...

overall, i think it'd be fun if they were still a band, in some kind of world where these creatures can be in a band. monster universe or something! but also fun to think about in a more historical context

pickles the draugr

i was thinking specifically he'd be a sea-dwelling draugr... classically they guard their barrows but there are some recorded mentions of sea draugr, and he would totally be a mariner if he were a norseman. always wandering etc.

in norse custom where you were buried and how you were buried was INCREDIBLY important so a burial at sea is like... so incomplete, which fits his lifestyle. and revenants/draugar are typically Like That because they have unfinished business or because they were really angry people, which fits. also the sea draugar look grosser than the land draugar, which is fun.

i can just see him with his braids falling out and bound up by salt, and that's why he's balding and has dreads. and he's constantly spewing sea water and of course drinking because, norse. and i can just imagine someone gliding over the ocean and all of a sudden this grody, barnacle covered corpse claws his way up onto deck and won't leave until you appease him with alcohol and gambling

troll nathan

LOOK UP john bauer trolls (there are some here but honestly just google john bauer trolls)! he'd basically just look like himself but with curly ears and some different proportions, but he's huge with a curtain of long black hair. trolls also tend to be solitary, preferring to live alone or in small families. imagine oscar and rose as trolls!!

they also sometimes have the ability to shapeshift, and i think it'd be cool if he could shapeshift into some kind of water creature, maybe a shark? also, trolls were said to be able to smell the blood of christians, which... lol

trolls turn to stone in direct sunlight, too, so he'd have to avoid it - which would lead to many hijinks, i'm sure

nokken skwisgaar

nokken skwisgaar is pretty straightforward ... nokken are lovely water spirits (mainly in lakes and river) who use enchanting violin playing (or guitar in this case?) to lure good christian women to their deaths (or maybe just to kiss them)

i see no difference. love is love 👍

dwarf murderface

murderface as a dwarf makes me happy bcause dvergar are stout and notoriously grumpy, which is just him, but they're also expert craftsman, especially when it comes to martial weapons, which !!!

I have always envisioned them with flat or smashed noses and metal skin, which i think aligns with murderface well!

in norse myth, they evolved from maggots that writhed on ymir's dead flesh, which i think kind of reflects how murderface thinks of himself :(

huldra/ulda toki

i realize these are usually female spirits, but i just think it fits toki so well, so let's just Trans his Gender, shall we? i also discussed him maybe being a seal-woman or a pesta sort of being, angel of death style, but i think i like huldra toki most of all! (ulda is what the sami call them)

they are beautiful women (or men in toki's case) with long hair, cow tails (or fox tails in swedish folklore), and hollow backs like tree trunks. the hollow back in particular reminded me of toki because his back is so mutilated from abuse

they are also known for playing harps, so another string instrument! and toki is a guitarist, so that fits!

essentially, in myth, their "pure" beauty and innocence is seen as "seductive" but they often guide the people they lure into the forest to their demises, and not always on purpose. when angered, they're known to be brutal, vindictive, and terribly strong. when respected, they offer help and advice. all very toki!!!

in sami folklore, a human and an ulda can make ulda children; in norwegian tales, there are also male huldra, but unlike the women, they are ugly. so either of toki's parents could have been huldra/ulda. to mirror the abuse toki suffered in this AU, he might have been trapped in the world of humans, unable to go to the forest, for an extended period. maybe that's when his back began to rot?

some further undeveloped ideas. these are less scandinavian and more broadly norse because i got caught up in my special interest djkhsfdfgd:

charles is human. could be a priest or monk of odin, or some other kind of agent of him. probably a sorcerer. i could see him as a christian priest or monk who gets swept up in things and converts - and the interesting thing about that is that, with him being the deadman in canon, odin has domain over death, and odin killed himself to gain magical knowledge - which is exactly what charles did!!!!

MMA would probably be a raider... since he and his brother were raised to be killers, it would make sense. a viking, warlord, BIG christian-killer. possibly with some jotunn blood - i could see him being related in some way to surtr, the fire giant that helps bring about ragnarok

magnus is human. i can see him being a sorcerer, maybe a necromancer? we know magnus has a hard time letting things go ... he keeps beating a dead horse and living in the past, which is basically what necromancy is. that magic is definitely looked down upon; hel would not be happy. (the problem is, in norse culture, if you're a sorcerer you're automatically a fruit. i mean he IS a fruit, it's just funny.) i'm envisioning him stepping off MMAs boat evilly, totally thinking he's the brains of the operation...

also side note on that: magnus has one eye, odin sacrificed an eye for wisdom ... parallels. maybe magnus was a human who was permitted to hang out with the huldufolk for whatever reason (and be in their band lmao), but there was a falling out with nathan? and when nathan took his eye, magnus gained his magic but lost his friends?

i need to think of stuff for the others (kinda wanted to make abigail a valkyrie idk...) but!! these are my thoughts so far.

[virtues-end]

Absolutely love your game and how complex you’ve allowed us to make our characters. Currently playing a male nokken who hates himself and hates Shea and reacts by alternately being too aggressively mean/ angry(he flicked off one little girl, saved another then insulted her doll lol) and hiding behind a toxic arrogant facade ( I also like how you can be disgusted at your body, especially paired with being a nokken having to deal with self disgust and also other’s attraction to you ) he’s currently been kissed by Elexis and been surprisingly healthy about it and then decidedly unhealthy in the shea intimate scene (which by the way is so so well written, the tension between the characters palpable, and oof with the betrayal right afterward) rambling now but I love your work

Thank you so much!! I really love thinking about how different helvlings might react to certain situations (if/else statements are my best friends, lol), so I'm always delighted to hear about people's playthroughs, and what you might've gotten up to. :-)

[kiame-sama]

So ever since you suggested it the Monster version of the bunny story has been stuck in my head. So do you think you could do something with that during this October even if it is a headcanon? It's been stuck in my head ever since you suggested it off handedly. Also it can be whatever you want I would put the dice Emoji but I don't feel like looking for it.

Okay, quick summary of Bunny + Monster idea; Yandere!Chrollo=Drider Yandere!Illumi=Naga Yandere!Hisoka=Harpy Reader=Bunny-Girl (like a Neko, but a bunny Neko) Kind of like a Monster Musume world.

- Odds are, your misadventures began with the feeling of being hunted while you walked home, making your flight instincts kick in. Ducking into a nearby abandoned building was a bad idea, however, as you almost immediately became entangled in golden spider silk. Naturally, you struggle your little bunny heart out and just wind up more entangled before going into a state of shock, as it is rather easy to scare the living daylights out of a bunny.

- Chrollo is going to be the first to attempt to interact with you as you are stuck in his web, but that small attempt will be cut short by an irritated Hisoka who claimed you were his since he had been hunting you for a while. Illumi is next to show up and inform the two that he has been hunting you for days, so you are technically his prey.

- It goes from just prey to a mate as the three become obsessed and rather yandere for you, only hesitantly agreeing to share you. Suddenly you are this very small bunny in a very big world with three very deadly mates who have no intention of leaving or letting you leave them. You also get a rather intense introduction to the Phantom Troupe and the Zoldyck’s, so there will be little resting for your poor bunny heart.

- You are a prey animal surrounded by predators, it will take a while for you to become adjusted and accustomed to the omni-present feeling of being watched/hunted.

- Illumi has a habit of winding his coils around you and holding you still while you both sleep, he will unconsciously tighten these coils so do ensure to tell him if he starts squeezing you too tightly. He is a naga, so part snake, but he has both the constrictor and venom behaviors where typical snakes are either one or the other. Mild dose of his poison is paralytic and he enjoys using it on you whenever it is his turn. He will also wind his tail into a nest made of his coils for you to ensure you remain safe. (Your little heart almost stopped when you met his parents, terrified out of your mind and all instincts telling you to run as fast as possible away. Kikyo finds it adorable.)

- Hisoka has fairly typical bird behavioral patterns. He will construct a nest to make himself comfortable (This can be with blankets, clothes, or even twigs depending on what he has available to him). He is a Harpy, so part bird of prey and wings where his arms/hands would be, with sharp as hell talons on his bird feet. He has a habit of laying on top of you and spreading his wings to cover the both of you like a built in blanket, especially if he has constructed a nest for the two of you to sleep in. Luckily, birds of prey tend to not interact with others all that often, so you don’t have to worry about any unfortunate meetings with equally terrifying family/friends (other than Illumi and Chrollo, of course).

- Chrollo is very similar, yet also very different from his spider counterpart instincts. He is a Drider, so a centaur with a spider body instead of a horse. Typically, only the females eat their mates, so you have little to worry about from him in terms of safety. He is *Extra* so of course his spider silk is gold and nen-infused instead of the typical silk spiders spin (Male and female driders can make webs). He is venomous as well, but small doses of his venom act like an aphrodisiac so he often uses that for your mutual benefit. He will spin webs to sleep in wherever he goes, so be prepared to be cocooned on said web when you two finally wind up sleeping. The Troupe fear and respect Chrollo, so don’t worry about danger from them, but a good portion of them are also predators so that might upset your prey instincts. (Phinks=Naga, Uvogin=Werewolf, Shizuku=Banshee, Machi= Fairy, Feitan=Vampire, Franklin=Elemental, Shalnark=siren, Nobunaga=Nokken , Pakunoda=Kelpie , Kortopi=Poltergeist, Bonolenov=Shade).

- You are bun-bun. Never forget this. Loud noises are no fun for you, thunder-storms are horrific, primary response to anything is to run like hell, easily go into shock, your ears display your mood so you have a tough time hiding it. You have the innate prey sense of when a predator is watching you or is nearby, so you will often thump your foot on the ground (Bunny code for ‘DANGER’ to alert others) when you are around either of the three or their family/friends. Your kind can live alone, but it is easier for you to be with at least one other creature to allow you any time to relax. Bunnies are VERY good at multiplying, so do take proper and extensive precautions.

[tenthgrove]

Hulker gelato is a transmasc king and we love that for him

We do!

When I made the au (inspired by @dicksoutformtl's ask) I honest to god thought hulders could be male but apparently they're traditionally an entirely female species.

Now poor Gelato is basically playing on hard mode because on top of the normal shit hulders have to do to hide their backs he's also got to navigate passing. I like to think he would have found some magical method of changing his body, so now his main problem is explaining himself to other hulders.

Funny thought, but what if Gelato had a lifelong hatred of Nokken because he was jealous of the fact they could shapeshift so easily? Lol, imagine being a hulder and discovering the new husband you were planning on killing after marriage is not only a) not a human but b) the one fucking creature you hated in particular.

Man just spends the first 6 months of this marriage he now can't leave sulking next to a lake.

[legend-collection]

Nixie

The Nixie, Nixy, Nix, Näcken, Nicor, Nokk, or Nokken (German: Nixe; Dutch: nikker, nekker; Danish: nøkke; Norwegian Bokmål: nøkk; Nynorsk: nykk; Swedish: näck; Faroese: nykur; Finnish: näkki; Icelandic: nykur; Estonian: näkk; Old English: nicor) are humanoid, and often shapeshifting, water spirits.

The related English knucker was generally depicted as a wyrm or dragon, although more recent versions depict the spirits in other forms. Their sex, bynames, and various transformations vary geographically. The German Nix and his Scandinavian counterparts were male. The German Nixe was a female river mermaid. Similar creatures are known from other parts of Europe, such as the Melusine in France, the Xana in Asturias (Spain), and the Slavic water spirits (e.g. the Rusalka) in Slavic countries.

Pic from The Spiderwick Chronicles

United Kingdom

English folklore contains many creatures with similar characteristics to the Nix or Näck. These include Jenny Greenteeth, the Shellycoat, the river-hag Peg Powler, the Bäckahäst-like Brag, and the Grindylow.

At Lyminster, near Arundel in the English county of West Sussex, there are today said to dwell "water-wyrms" called knuckers, in a pool called the Knucker-hole. The great Victorian authority Walter William Skeat had plausibly suggested the pool's name of knucker (a name attested from 1835, Horsfield) was likely derived from the Old English nicor, a creature-name found in Beowulf. Yet the waters at the pool were badly muddied by a local antiquarian named Samuel Evershed, who from 1866 tried assiduously to connect the pool with dragons and thus with the tale of St. George and the Dragon. Any authentic water-sprite folklore the site may originally have had was thus trampled down by Evershed's enthusiastic inculcation of the local people in ideas about water-dragons.

Scandinavia

 Näck, Nøkk

The Scandinavian näcken, näkki, nøkk were male water spirits who played enchanted songs on the violin, luring women and children to drown in lakes or streams. However, not all of these spirits were necessarily malevolent; many stories indicate at the very least that nøkker were entirely harmless to their audience and attracted not only women and children, but men as well with their sweet songs. Stories also exist wherein the Fossegrim agreed to live with a human who had fallen in love with him, but many of these stories ended with the nøkk returning to his home, usually a nearby waterfall or brook. (Compare the legend of Llyn y Fan Fach in Wales.) The nøkker were said to grow despondent unless they had free, regular contact with a water source.

The Norwegian Fossegrim or Grim, Swedish strömkarl, is a related figure who, if properly approached, will teach a musician to play so adeptly "that the trees dance and waterfalls stop at his music".

It is difficult to describe the appearance of the nix, as one of his central attributes was thought to be shapeshifting. Perhaps he did not have any true shape. He could show himself as a man playing the violin in brooks and waterfalls (though often imagined as fair and naked today, in folklore he was more frequently described as wearing more or less elegant clothing) but also could appear to be treasure or various floating objects, or as an animal—most commonly in the form of a "brook horse" (see below). The modern Scandinavian names are derived from nykr, meaning "river horse". Thus, it is likely that the figure of the brook horse preceded the personification of the nix as the "man in the rapids". Fossegrim and derivatives were almost always portrayed as especially beautiful young men, whose clothing (or lack thereof) varied widely from story to story.

The enthralling music of the nøkk was most dangerous to women and children, especially pregnant women and unbaptised children. He was thought to be most active during Midsummer's Night, on Christmas Eve, and on Thursdays. However, these superstitions do not necessarily relate to all the versions listed here. Many, if not all of them, developed after the Christianizing of the northern countries, as was the case of similar stories of faeries and other entities in other areas.

When malicious nøkker attempted to carry off people, they could be defeated by calling their name; this was believed to cause their death.

Another belief was that if a person bought the nøkk a treat of three drops of blood, a black animal, some brännvin (Scandinavian vodka) or snus (wet snuff) dropped into the water, he would teach his enchanting form of music.

The nøkk was also an omen for drowning accidents. He would scream at a particular spot in a lake or river, in a way reminiscent of the loon, and on that spot, a fatality would later take place. He was also said to cause drownings, but swimmers could protect themselves against such a fate by throwing a bit of steel into the water.

In the later Romantic folklore and folklore-inspired stories of the 19th century, the nøkk sings about his loneliness and his longing for salvation, which he purportedly never shall receive, as he is not "a child of God". In a poem by Swedish poet E. J. Stagnelius, a little boy pities the fate of the Näck (nøkk), and so saves his own life. In the poem, arguably Stagnelius' most famous, the boy says that the Näck will never be a "child of God" which brings "tears to his face" as he "never plays again in the silvery brook".

On a similar theme, a 19th-century text called "Brother Fabian's Manuscript" by Sebastian Evans has this verse:

Where by the marishes boometh the bittern, Neckar the soulless one sits with his ghittern. Sits inconsolable, friendless and foeless.

Waiting his destiny, – Neckar the soulless.

(The source has "bloometh" for "boometh", but this is clearly an error; a bittern is not a plant, but a bird, and it is known for its booming call. A "ghittern" is a guitar. The spelling "Nickar" vice "Neckar" is sometimes used.)

In Scandinavia, water lilies are called "nix roses" (näckrosor/nøkkeroser). A tale from the forest of Tiveden relates that a father promised his daughter to a nøkk who offered him great hauls of fish in a time of need; she refused and stabbed herself to death, staining the water lilies red from that time on:

At the lake of Fagertärn, there was once a poor fisherman who had a beautiful daughter. The small lake gave little fish and the fisherman had difficulties providing for his little family. One day, as the fisherman was fishing in his little dugout of oak, he met the Nøkken, who offered him great catches of fish on the condition that the fisherman gave him his beautiful daughter the day she was eighteen years old. The desperate fisherman agreed and promised the Nøkken his daughter. The day the girl was eighteen she went down to the shore to meet the Nøkken. The Nøkken gladly asked her to walk down to his watery abode, but the girl took forth a knife and said that he would never have her alive, then stuck the knife into her heart and fell down into the lake, dead. Then, her blood coloured the water lilies red, and from that day the water lilies of some of the lake's forests are red.

In horse form

In Faroese, the word nykur refers specifically to a supernatural horse, described in one Faroese text thus:

The nykur dwells in water; at the bottom, down in the depths, he has his lair; from here he often goes onto land and it is not good to meet him.

Sometimes he is like a beautiful little horse which seems to be good and tame, and thus he lures people to draw near to him to pat him and stroke him along the back. But when they come to touch the tail, they become stuck fast to him and then he releases no-one, but he drags them with him to the bottom of the water.

Sometimes he encounters people in human form, as a handsome youth, to lure young women to himself, and promises them joy and gladness in his hall if they want to go along with him. But if they get a suspicion of who he is, when they are giving themselves away, such that they can call him by his true name — nykur — then he loses the power over them and must release them and go along into his waters.

It is said that the nykur can equally well change itself into the form of all quadrupedal animals, except that he does not know how to create the horn-points of a ram or a male lamb on himself.

But when he hasn't changed his form, he is like a horse, and it has come about that people gain power over him by carving a cross into his back and then they have been able to have him drag great stones by his tail down from the mountains to homesteads or houses. Some are still seen in H��savík in Sandoy and on Eiði in Eysturoy and the big rocks that are gathered together there bear witness to how strong he is. At Takmýri in Sandoy, lies one huge rock, which they wanted to have him draw to Húsavík, but his tail broke here, and the stone remains there. One part of the nykur's tail, which was attached to the stone, is visible on it still.

The equivalent term in Continental Scandinavian languages is bäckahäst or bækhest ('brook horse'). It has a close parallel in the Scottish kelpie, and the Welsh Ceffyl Dŵr.

The bäckahäst was often described as a majestic white horse that would appear near rivers, particularly during foggy weather. Anyone who climbed onto its back would not be able to get off again. The horse would then jump into the river, drowning the rider. The brook horse could also be harnessed and made to plough, either because it was trying to trick a person or because the person had tricked the horse into it. The following tale is a good illustration of the brook horse:

A long time ago, there was a girl who was not only pretty but also big and strong. She worked as a maid on a farm by Lake Hjärtasjön in southern Nerike. She was ploughing with the farm's horse on one of the fields by the lake. It was springtime and beautiful weather. The birds chirped and the wagtails flitted in the tracks of the girl and the horse in order to pick worms. All of a sudden, a horse appeared out of the lake. It was big and beautiful, bright in colour and with large spots on the sides. The horse had a beautiful mane which fluttered in the wind and a tail that trailed on the ground. The horse pranced for the girl to show her how beautiful he was. The girl, however, knew that it was the brook horse and ignored it. Then the brook horse came closer and closer and finally he was so close that he could bite the farm horse in the mane. The girl hit the brook horse with the bridle and cried: "Disappear you scoundrel, or you'll have to plough so you'll never forget it." As soon as she had said this, the brook horse had changed places with the farm horse, and the brook horse started ploughing the field with such speed that soil and stones whirled in its wake, and the girl hung like a mitten from the plough. Faster than the cock crows seven times, the ploughing was finished and the brook horse headed for the lake, dragging both the plough and the girl. But the girl had a piece of steel in her pocket, and she made the sign of the cross. Immediately she fell down on the ground, and she saw the brook horse disappear into the lake with the plough. She heard a frustrated neighing when the brook horse understood that his trick had failed. Until this day, a deep track can be seen in the field.

Germany

The German Nix and Nixe (and Nixie) are types of river merman and mermaid who may lure men to drown, like the Scandinavian type, akin to the Celtic Melusine and similar to the Greek Siren. The German epic Nibelungenlied mentions the Nix in connection with the Danube, as early as 1180 to 1210.

Nixes in folklore became water sprites who try to lure people into the water. The males can assume many different shapes, including that of a human, fish, and snake. The females bear the tail of a fish. When they are in human forms, they can be recognised by the wet hem of their clothes. The Nixes are portrayed as malicious in some stories but harmless and friendly in others.

By the 19th century Jacob Grimm mentions the Nixie to be among the "water-sprites" who love music, song and dancing, and says "Like the sirens, the Nixie by her song draws listening youth to herself, and then into the deep." According to Grimm, they can appear human but have the barest hint of animal features: the nix had "a slit ear", and the Nixie "a wet skirt". Grimm thinks these could symbolise they are "higher beings" who could shapeshift to animal form.

One famous Nixe of recent German folklore, deriving from 19th-century literature, was Lorelei; according to the legend, she sat on the rock at the Rhine which now bears her name, and lured fishermen and boatmen to the dangers of the reefs with the sound of her voice. In Switzerland there is a legend of a sea-maid or Nixe that lived in Lake Zug (the lake is in the Canton of Zug).

The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang includes a story called "The Nixie of the Mill-Pond" in which a malevolent spirit that lives in a mill pond strikes a deal with the miller that she will restore his wealth in exchange for his son. This story is taken from Grimms' Fairy Tales.

The legend of Heer Halewijn, a dangerous lord who lures women to their deaths with a magic song, may have originated with the Nix.

Alternate names (kennings) for the female German Nixe are Rhine maidens (German: Rheintöchter) and Lorelei.

In a fictional depiction, the Rhine maidens are among the protagonists in the four-part Opera Der Ring des Nibelungen by the composer Richard Wagner, based loosely on the nix of the Nibelungenlied.

The Rhine maidens Wellgunde, Woglinde, and Floßhilde (Flosshilde) belong to a group of characters living in a part of nature free from human influence. Erda and the Norns are also considered a part of this 'hidden' world.

They are first seen in the first work of the Nibelungen cycle, Das Rheingold, as guardians of the Rheingold, a treasure of gold hidden in the Rhein river. The dwarf Alberich, a Nibelung, is eager to win their favour, but they somewhat cruelly dismiss his flattery. They tell him that only one who is unable to love can win the Rheingold. Thus, Alberich curses love and steals the Rheingold. From the stolen gold he forges a ring of power. Further on in the cycle, the Rhine maidens are seen trying to regain the ring and transform it back into the harmless Rheingold. But no one will return the ring to them; not even the supreme god Wotan, who uses the ring to pay the giants Fasolt and Fafner for building Valhalla, nor the hero Siegfried, when the maidens appear to him in the third act of Götterdämmerung. Eventually Brünnhilde returns it to them at the end of the cycle, when the fires of her funeral pyre cleanse the ring of its curse.

Descendants of German immigrants to Pennsylvania sometimes refer to a mischievous child as being "nixie".

[guardianoftheotherside]

Darksiders vs Nokken

*Nokken-water spirit in Scandinavian mitology. He was shapeshifting as a young hansome male who play beautyfull music to drown people in lake.* Sorry for long absence but I make something special for halloween.

War: Red horsemen seeing Nokken will be at first hostile to him. He didn’t know what and who Nokken is but he didn’t kill Nokken as soon as it isn’t a danger. . When it comes to Nokken’s music he is neutral. Oppenly he never liked music but deep inside he like it.

Death: He know what Nokken is and what he can do. Until Nokken is in water playing his music Death let him life.

Fury: She didn’t know Nokken but she like his music. She never dmt it but she like listening his playing.

Strife: He is facinated by Nokken even when he didn’t now that he is a supernatural being. Nokken’s musi is too slow for him. If someone tol him what Nokken is he probably be more fascinated.

Azrael: He probably be amazed by beauty of music playing by Nokken on his violin. If he know about Nokken in human culture his fascnated probably be bigger. For sure he be visiting the lake  more often.

Lilith: She probably be flitrting with Nokken and listening to his songs with fascination.

Hunter: He know about Nokken and be as far at lake as it is possible.