#the last swordfish
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
sunnybluetown · 11 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
Is this... a dad joke?
16 notes · View notes
banditblvd · 3 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
I finished my current sketchbook last night and wanted to post some of my favorite doodles in there :-)
there's so so many more in there that I didn't take photos if so I'm probably gonna post a bunch in phases
so I guess sketchbook reveal 1/?
58 notes · View notes
raurquiz · 5 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
#Happybirthday @RealHughJackman #HughJackman #actor #Wolverine #Xmen #X2 #thelaststand #thewolverine #firstclass #daysofthefuturepast #apocalypse #logan #deadpoolandwolverine #vanhelsing #realsteel #chappìe #pan #thegreatestshowman #lesmiserables #Swordfish #TheFountain #ThePrestige
62 notes · View notes
grantayre-brush · 4 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
The duality of fish
12 notes · View notes
fish-fact-friday · 7 months ago
Text
Fish Fact Friday! 7-26-24
Swordfish (scientific name xiphias gladius) are the only members of their family, xiphiidae as other members are extinct.
Tumblr media
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swordfish
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Xiphiidae
15 notes · View notes
ying-doodles · 2 years ago
Text
Tumblr media
whale shark and friends! :>
(fish not to scale lol)
62 notes · View notes
Text
Just a few edited vignettes from The Last Swordfish, don't mind me...
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
13 notes · View notes
hallowshumour · 2 years ago
Text
Tumblr media
Swordcast - water/electric type.
A social fish pokemon who can swim at the speed of sound.
📡⚡️🌊🐟
10 notes · View notes
sugaroto · 2 years ago
Text
No I don't stress eat because of exams you do
4 notes · View notes
aromanticasterisms · 3 days ago
Text
did this event also at almost the last minute but this one was very fun :]
0 notes
dragonwithafez · 11 months ago
Text
im hungry and resisting the urge to just eat ice cream for dinner.... i have leftover pizza in the fridge. i should eat that. i ate that for breakfast/lunch and do not want it for a second time today. i guess i could defrost a piece of swordfish and actually cook but that takes so much effort...
0 notes
fishtrouts · 2 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
I couldn’t resist the art vs artist trend!!! What a whirlwind of a year 2024 has been!
So many moments of joy and excitement, challenges to face! I feel like I’ve grown so much, both artistically and as a person. To me, this year feels like a breakthrough!
Art-wise, I got more comfortable with backgrounds, and they started appearing so much more often in my comics. It’s wonderful to look back on them and still feel proud of those panels. This year also saw the introduction of new dragon characters with diverse personalities and shapes! We witnessed Hopper and Swordfish slowly growing into sliiiightly more regal-looking wyrms, both in appearance and personality. My style has definitely shifted to a more mature and refined place. This feels only natural, and I can’t wait to see how my art and dragons evolve in the year to come!
In 2024, I also launched my very own store, a pin pack of Swordfish and Hopper, and a dragon plushie! I posted more often than I did last year, but it’s my hope and goal for 2025 to share even more consistently.
Creativity isn’t something to force, so I won’t be too hard on myself if I fall short of this goal. Instead, I want to keep working on finding a balance between my art and life. It’s an ongoing journey, and while I know I’ll never achieve a perfect balance (because life ebbs and flows), I can keep moving closer to a version of it that feels right for me.
Here’s to 2025!! And lots more dragons!!! Thank you for sticking with me on this journey!
1K notes · View notes
raurquiz · 7 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
#happybirthday @halleberry #halleberry #actress #storm #xmen #x2 #thelaststand #daysofthefuturepast #dieanotherday #TheUnion #thecall #cloudatlas #johnwick #parebellum #extant #gothika #catwoman #monstersball #theflintstones #swordfish #robots #kingsman #thegoldencircle #Bruised
7 notes · View notes
kjupchurch-xx · 7 months ago
Text
Intoxicated
Tumblr media
March 16th, 2009
Today was my 21st birthday. My friend had set me up on a blind date with an actor, but didn't tell me who. She figured this would be the perfect scenario considering the hell I'd went through last Summer with a guy that was probably the biggest piece of shit on the planet. I haven't dated or been intimate with anyone since then, nor did I really have any interest in being. 
I looked over at her, "What is this guy even like?" I asked, finishing up curling my hair. 
She smiled, "He's tall, he's nice, he's super sexy and he's not American, if that gives you any hints." 
I shrugged as I sat my curling iron down, starting to put my eyeliner on, "It doesn't. But I mean, is this even someone I'd be remotely interested in?" I asked her, giving her a questioning look. 
She chuckled, "I'm positive you'll be thanking me by the end of the night." 
I rolled my eyes, "So he's an actor?" 
She nodded, bringing me a pair of ripped bell bottom jeans, "Yes. A very talented actor." 
I quickly changed into the jeans, "Is he anyone I know?" 
She walked to my living room, grabbing my keys to bring me, "Ummm... He's in that movie we watched when we were teenagers. I think it's called Swordfish or something like that." 
I gave her a questioning look, "Did you set me up with John Travolta?" 
She covered her mouth laughing, "You'll just have to wait and see. I'm not telling you anything!" 
She probably set me up with one of the extras, someone I most likely wouldn't even remember ever being in the movie. She knows I hate surprises, but I appreciate her for trying, even though the last blind date she set me up on was a complete and total dud. 
She clapped her hands at me, "Go! You were supposed to leave 5 minutes ago! He's going to meet you at RH Rooftop." She yelled. 
I grabbed my phone, made sure I had my keys and looked at her before heading out the door to our apartment, "I swear, if this is another dud, I'm going to kill you." 
She rolled her eyes, "I promise, it's not a dud. Just go." 
I rolled my eyes, closing the door behind me as I made my way down the hall, towards the elevator, then to my car in the parking garage. While making the drive to the restaurant, I'll tell you a bit about myself... I'm a Southern Belle, originally from South Carolina. I moved to NYC after obtaining a degree in journalism. I didn't have many opportunities in my small town, so I decided to move to a bigger city in hopes of pursuing a career as a reporter. I've been serving as an intern for a local publishing company, which has gone well for the most part. 
Callie and I are roommates. She also moved here for journalism, but moved here from Arizona. We met while working part-time at a coffee cafe and became roommates since the cost of living in NYC is astronomically high. She took a different career path, as a model which caused her to meet many different celebrities.She'd tried getting me into modeling with her, but it wasn't my thing. We shared a dog, Harley, who was a beautiful French Bulldog, that was treated as if he were our love child. 
As I arrived and finally found parking for RH Rooftop, I realized I was 10 minutes late. I quickly turned my car off and sprinted towards the entrance. I don't even know who I'm looking for or how to spot this dude. I approached the hostess stand, looking nervous as I skimmed the crowd of dinners wondering who Callie had set me up with. 
The hostess noticed me, "May I help you with something?" She asked kindly. 
I nodded, "Ummm... I"m here with a guy, but I'm unsure of where he's sitting. He's not American and is very tall. He's also an actor." I stammered, knowing I must sound insane. 
She giggled, "Can you tell me his name?" 
I pursed my lips, "Not really. I'm on a blind date, so I have no idea what his name is...or who he is." I chuckled nervously, scratching the back of my neck. 
She smiled, "Okay, I think I know who you're referring to. He told us he was expecting a blind date. Follow me." She said, grabbing a menu and leading me to the rooftop entrance. 
I followed behind, still curious as to who this would be. I'd probably shit a brick if it were John Travolta, but I'm pretty sure he's off the market. There was that computer hacker dude that was pretty hot too. As we reached the rooftop tables, she led me to a dark haired man that had his back towards the entrance. I couldn't make out who he was just yet and considering that was an older movie, I doubt I'd recognize him from the movie from the back. 
He stood as he heard us approach and pulled my chair out, turning to face me, "You must be my date." He said with a smile, extending his hand to shake mine, "I'm Hugh." He said casually. 
It was the computer hacker dude, and shit, did he look good. Even 8 years later, he still looked good. 
I smiled, shaking his hand, "I am, I'm Kaitlyn." I said as I took my seat. He gave me another smile before going back to his seat across from me. 
"How're you doing, love?" He asks, smiling at me, keeping his elbows off the table. Hm, a real gentleman. 
I chuckled at his flattery, already calling me a pet name. "I'm doing good, everything's going great for me at the moment. How's things going for you?" 
He shifted, "I just wrapped up filming an origin movie for a character I've played for the last 9 years, I'm finally on a much needed break and no longer on a strict regime for my character, which I'm fully intending on breaking tonight with a milkshake." 
I giggled, "I see." I said as the waiter approached us. He was a young man who was obviously infatuated with my date. 
"Holy s-, I mean, I'm so sorry-" He stammered as Hugh began cracking up, "It's quite alright, mate." He said to the young man. 
The man smiled, "Mr. Jackman, I'm sorry. Wolverine is my all-time favorite X-Men character." Hugh smiled, "Can I please get a picture with you? I swear I'll keep it professional after." He asked.
Hugh laughed, "Sure thing, mate. I'm sorry, love, but do you mind helping our waiter out with a picture?" He asked, almost embarrassingly. 
I chuckled, "I don't mind." The waiter smiled, handing me his cell phone as Hugh got up to stand beside him, making a Wolverine pose as if he had retractable claws. 
He pat the man on the back and sat back across from me, "Thank you so much, Mr. Jackman. And thank you for taking the picture. My name is William. What can I start you guys off with to drink?" He asked. 
Hugh and I looked at each other, "I think I'll take a martini." I said, flipping through the bar menu. "No problem, William. I'll take a martini, and also, a chocolate milkshake. Large, William." 
I giggled at his serious tone making sure William understood Hugh wanted a large. "Coming right up, are there any appetizers you guys want to start with?" William asked before walking off as we both shook our heads. 
Hugh looked up at me, damn was he sexy, "So, tell me about you." He said, smirking. 
I pursed my lips wondering what to tell, "Hmm, let's see... I have a Frenchie, his name is Harley. I'm an intern for a local business. I have a degree in journalism. I moved here from South Carolina after graduating college for a better chance of a career in journalism." 
He nodded, taking my words in, "I've always wanted a French Bulldog. I also have a degree in journalism. I moved here from Australia many years ago, but I moved for X-Men." He said, forcing his accent deeper as he mentioned being from Australia. 
I chuckled, "You do have a very sexy accent. I actually didn't know you weren't American because your American accent is so convincing." 
He smirked, "I happen to think your accent is sexy too." He said flirtatiously, making me blush.
I laughed, "I literally sound like cornbread, stop." 
He laughed, "You do not. Even if you did, cornbread tastes good." 
Our waiter returned with our drinks and Hugh's large milkshake, and proceeded to take our order. I reached for the menus, but Hugh swiped them from me, handing them to our server. 
He winked at me, "Gotta be quicker than that, beautiful." 
I playfully rolled my eyes, "Tell me more about you." I said, resting my chin on my hands, giving him my undivided attention. 
He smiled, "What do you wanna know?" He asked flirtatiously. 
I shrugged, "Everything." 
He chuckled, "For starters, I have two children, Ava and Oscar. They are 4 and 9. I play cricket. I enjoy singing. Every year, I go back to Australia and do the polar plunge. I'm recently divorced. Anything else you want to know?" 
I smirked, "Have you been with anyone since the divorce?" 
He looked at, surprised at my question, but smiled, "No, no I haven't. I haven't been with anyone besides her since 1995." 
I bit my lip, raising my brow with a giggle, "So you're not a douche bag then, noted."
He smiled sweetly, "No, I'm not a douche bag." He said softly. 
I shifted in my seat, taking a sip from my martini, "What are you hoping to come from this?"  
He shrugged, "I really don't know, love. I have no expectations, whatever happens, happens. What about you?" He asks, his eyes burning through me, almost with a lust. 
I smirked, "I kind of go with the flow. Whatever happens, happens." 
He bit his lip, "I like that." 
As the night went on, we ate our food and drank a few martinis. Both of us, feeling a little tipsy and beginning to ask risque questions as he moved his chair to my side of the table, now beside me. 
"So tell me, what are some of your turn-ons?" I asked with a smirk, sipping my 3rd martini.
His one hand moved to my thigh under the table, "Does it count if I say you?" He smirked, looking me in the eyes. 
I bit my lip, "Do you want to um...get out of here?" I asked him quietly. 
He grabbed my hand, "C'mon, love." and began leading me towards the entrance of the rooftop bar to head back downstairs and to the sidewalk. "Let's go to my car." He said, leading me to an SUV.
As we got to the car, he rushed towards the backseat, opening the door, motioning for me to climb in. I climbed in, sliding to the other end as he quickly slid in beside me, shutting the door and pulling me onto his lap, slamming his lips against mine as he roughly gripped my hips.  I felt him begin pushing his hips upwards, grinding into me as I reached behind us, positioning myself upwards, tugging at his belt. 
"Take this off..." I muttered against his lips as he bit my bottom lip, I pulled away and slid my top off as he helped me, tossing it into the seat beside us, leaving me in my bra and jeans. I slid off of him to remove my jeans and underwear as he undid his belt and jeans, his hard dick exposed. 
"Come here." He said, almost demanding, as he grabbed my arm, bringing my lips back to his as I straddled his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck as I lowered myself down onto him, taking every inch. 
He moaned against my lips, "Fuck, you're tight." He said lowly as he sucked on my bottom lip, nibbling at it. 
I began bouncing up and down, roughly, my moans filling the car. I felt him reach up and grab my breasts, that were covered by my bra, squeezing them. "Shit, your cock feels so good inside me." I cried out. 
He pushed my bra down, exposing my breasts as he popped one of my nipples into my mouth, nibbling at it and sucking as he started thrusting his hips up to meet mine. "Oh fuck!" I yelled as he moved his hands to my hips and started thrusting hard into me. 
"We gotta be quick, we're in a parking lot." He chuckled as he began moaning again. 
I could feel my orgasm coming, I grabbed his chin, forcing his face back to mine, crashing my lips onto his. "Cum for me, baby." He said huskily, moving his lips down to my neck, sucking and biting softly. 
I felt my eyes practically roll back into my head as I let myself go, my juices flowing down his throbbing cock as he spilled his load inside me. 
"Second date?" He asked, out of breath, laughing. 
I nodded, catching my breath, "Definitely."  
232 notes · View notes
candiedspit · 6 months ago
Text
Smear Frame (1992)
The night I got home from the hospital, we had peas and squash and good chicken. Nobody spoke. The radio spoke for us; vitamin deficiencies, lights spotted across Vegas, another building demolition. The first couple of days, I stayed in my room throwing a ball against the wall, doing long division in my head. The television playing a documentary about squid brains. On the third night, mama asked what I was planning to do.
You can be a thing in the world, she told me.
We were in the kitchen, the evening light staining the windows above the sink.
You do have a choice, she continued. But you choose to suffer like an idiot. Even the rabbit knows better than to follow the wolf.
Learn something, Jane.
And she left the room. I held her words in the belly of my chest, going over them again and again. That night, I got dressed in my trench coat and went out to the middle of town. The lights were buoyant and fresh, amazing slashes, amazing range. The moon was pinned against the skies like a cop’s badge. I stepped into Lousy’s which was a bar I had been to before. I liked it because it was dark and cold. I often pretended I was in a cave or in some sort of comet, minutes away from approaching the quiet tendrils of earth.
I ordered a Shirley temple and sat at the bar watching the bartender spin and shake and serve drinks.
What’s the drink with the longest name? I asked.
A terrible, unearthed bitter and lame dirt tonic, he said.
I mused on this for a while and eventually someone spoke to me. An older woman wearing red and large earrings asked me what time it was. I shrugged.
Maybe sometime around midnight, I said.
Don’t you have a watch? She asked. What kinda man doesn’t have a watch?
The question of my masculinity continues to come under fire, I laughed.
So, what’s your problem? She asked. Why are you here at maybe sometime around midnight?
I got out of the loony bin last weekend, I said. I’m trying to map out the world again.
How long were you in there for?
Six weeks, I said.
Do they zap your brain? She asked. I had a cousin like that, always in and out of those places.
How is he doing? I asked.
On the side of the road, she said. Begging for cash, not hiding the bad time he’s having.
That’s admirable. But no, they didn’t zap my brain.
Did they strangle you with Valium?
I was never sedated, I said.
Who put you there?
My parents, I said, I was seeing the holes in the plot, could see the failing strings in the fabric of the universe, the whole picture. I stoped eating, stopped sleeping. All I did was play chess with spirits and paint my nails over and over again. I showed the woman my hands. See? They’re clean.
The woman was quiet, sipped on her drink. I continued.
It was sorta nice, I admitted, not speaking to anyone but sounding out the idea.
Being taken care of like an infant who can’t speak. You get medication in the morning and you moan about the news. Someone starts screaming. Someone stops screaming. You go into a dreamless, milky sleep. And your roommate mumbles in his sleep, sweet robotic poems. And you don’t have a pencil so you commit them to memory; a fog roars, abstain, chapel, chapel, chapel. And you disappear from the world. Headlines float around every day and you wander around the unit making funny faces to entertain yourself and someone calls you and they ask how you are and you tell them you can’t wait to go home. And then you get home and the world is indifferent.
Cheers, the woman said.
And we clinked our glasses. Around three, the woman stood up and gave me her number and shook my hand and left. I kept the slip of paper in my coat pocket. I went out to walk by the river-end, watching the rising of the waters, the night reflected on the surface, dark rivulets. A sort of vile peace.
A couple of months afterward, I found work at a fish market. Slicing trout in half and packaging swordfish into white papers. The work was mindless, bleeding work. Nobody spoke to me. I smoked cigarettes. When I got home, the house smelled of blood.
A while later on, I called the woman. I was on my way home from work. I had not spoken to another human being in ten hours. I had forgotten what my voice sounded like. I could see myself getting slower by the minute. Words died in my head like vermin. The woman answered within four rings. I explained who I was. The boy in the trench coat. It was nighttime and we spoke for a while. You were drinking a tall martini and every so often would dive into your purse to fix your lipstick.
You sound different, she said.
I feel different, I said. I feel like an aspirin. I feel like a headache that won’t resolve.
Where are you? She asked.
By the river, I said. I like seeing the water enunciate. Where are you?
She told me she was making tea for her husband.
He’s not feeling well, she said. I’m doing what people say to do; ginger and saltines and warm baths. But he’s persistent with his pain.
Some people are, I said.
The clouds are fragrant tonight, I continued.
It’s getting late. I can see my mother checking the time, fidgeting in the kitchen then checking again. It’s something I relish. Getting home late. The worry she must feel. The worst things happen in your brain. Perhaps I fell down a flight of stairs. Perhaps I cut my hand open on a knife and I’m in the hospital bleeding out beneath the fluorescent lights. She has a feeling but doesn’t want to endorse the feeling in case it becomes a truth. And when I arrive at last, the feeling subsides and instead is replaced with a mute disappointment. I am the one she loves but not the one she missed.
I began to call the woman—whose name I never bothered to ask for, I wanted to name her myself���often. When I was on my lunch break barely eating a tuna sandwich. When I was smoking cigarettes. When I was in my room reading the newspaper and playing with myself. When I was half asleep.
Once, I was naked in bed with the radio on, and there was a sullen exasperation in my stomach. I felt as though I knew when I was going to die and if I focused long enough the date would come to me, would emerge from the foggy brain matter and I would be freed. I had been thinking of death for weeks. Death was my babe, my habit. I had visions of my own death. Dying struck by a moving car and being stuck in the tire. An aneurysm so I’m alive one moment and exploding the next. Being stunned by a bullet and feeling my cells gasp in unison.
Death is an orgasm, I told the woman one night. Death is a great, wondrous love. You go into the light. You feel peace for the first time in your pathetic silly little life.
You sound twisted, the woman said. Death is what you avoid, everything you do, you do to put death out. Your bravado is not going to protect you from what will happen or what has happened.
That winter I was sleepless. I slept for thirty minutes at a time, watched the sunrise slur into my windows, made tea for my parents and gutted samurai fish and wrapped tuna and walked around town, dreaming of poisonous gas. Sometimes, I choked on my visions.
One afternoon, I felt a pop in the back of my head and walked out of work during my lunch break. And walked straight home. When my mother saw me, she placed me on the couch and pointed a flashlight in my eyes and placed a cold towel on my forehead. I mumbled for the angels.
I had been in the hospital for two weeks when I called the woman, I had been blotted out and cast into a week of sleep. I was feeling alright.
What kind of dreams have you been having? The woman asked,
I don’t dream, I told her. I stumble in and out of sleep like a newly born calf. I feel like I’m full of milk, a white calmness in my arteries, a saline stillness.
Come see me, I said. Come see my blue scrubs and bandaged fingers and dirty acne and limp, sedated gait.
I will, she said.
It was New Year’s Eve when she came. The nurses had hung up garlands and the television played the ball drop in New York City; that mirage a thousand light years away.
We were given virgin champagne and the nurses counted down with us and the woman was there, her hand on my back.
Focus on living one breath at a time, she said. Count the breaths until you forget you’re even counting.
The year turned over onto her stomach. That night, I laid down and recounted the poem again.
Chapel. Chapel. Chapel.
155 notes · View notes
no-less-than-a-god · 11 months ago
Text
“May I ask a question?” The Lamb’s voice carries easily through the Afterlife, and if The One Who Waits hadn’t just watched them die (an attack that they were too weakened to dodge, an arrow piercing their chest), he would have startled at how it echoes around them; Aym and Baal didn’t have such foresight, and both of them jerked, ears flicking and tails fluffing up for only a moment before calming.
“I have told you, Vessel,” The One Who Waits answers, as the Lamb grows close. “You are free to ask anything of your god.”
“Who are these two?” the Lamb asks, and gestures to the disciples on either side of the god. Having been directly referenced, both of their ears prick up, and they stand as straight as they can, alert and curious.
“They’re my disciples,” The One Who Waits replies, “gifted upon me as kits.”
He does not mention his sibling’s name, or the fact he knows it was them. It hurts to think about it, even now.
“Do they have names?”
The god makes a motion with his chained wrist, and addresses his keepers. “Speak freely, and introduce yourself to the Lamb.”
“Baal.”
“Aym.”
“Are you two brothers?”
“Yes,” it was Baal who replies, his brother’s head tilting as he answers. “Twins.”
“Who’s older?”
There is a pause. Both disciples look upon each other silently, before turning back to the Lamb they towered over.
“I think,” it was Aym who speaks this time, as he points his staff towards Baal, “he’s older.”
“Huh…” the Lamb trails off then, before speaking up again. “Who’s better at fighting?”
“I am,” both of them reply simultaneously, and then shoot each other a look.
“I beat you last time we sparred,” Aym says.
“But I had beaten you thrice before that,” Baal counters.
“Twice,” Aym corrects.
“Thrice,” Baal insists.
In a sudden move, Aym pounces on his brother, staff brandished. “I’ll show you who’s a better fighter!” he yells, and the two throw themselves off to the side, bickering and fighting.
Both the Lamb and The One Who Waits watches the brothers for a few moments, before the Lamb looks up at their god.
“Apologies, I seem to have caused that,” they say.
“They fight, it happens,” the god replies. He does not stop his disciples, or reprimand them from fighting in front of his vessel. Instead, he watches with amusement.
“It’s entertaining, most of the time,” he adds. “I’ve been keeping track of who wins.”
“Who’s winning, then?”
Beneath the veil, The One Who Waits begins to smile, and he turns back to the Lamb.
“They’re tied.”
-------------------------------------
“May I ask what happens to the offerings I give you?”
“My disciples eat the fish.”
“You don’t?”
“I cannot.”
“Would you like me to send other things, then?”
“The fish is adequate, Vessel. You do not have to.”
“Do you know what fish they prefer, then?”
“Aym prefers swordfish; Baal prefers tuna.”
“And you?”
“...It’s been too long for me to remember the tastes, but I remember being partial to salmon the most.”
-------------------------------------
“Does it hurt?” they ask, sitting among the ethereal ground. The One Who Waits watches them, as they peer up at him.
They look so small.
“Does what hurt?” he asks in return, although he has a speculation.
“The shackles, the chains. Being bound.”
The One Who Waits remains silent, contemplating, before he speaks honestly. “They have pained me for so long, I take no further notice. I have been forced to grow used to the unbearable agony; it no longer affects me as greatly as it once did. Is there a reason you ask, Vessel?”
The Lamb, The One Who Waits surprisingly finds, is silent. They’ve looked away from him, and suddenly, they’re standing up.
“I’m ready to go back,” they claim, and there’s a tremble at the end of their voice.
Ignoring that they failed to answer his own question, Narinder raises his bony arm, chainlinks clinking together, as he resurrects them.
Later, watching through the crown, he sees the Lamb descend upon the stone statue of Heket with their oversized hammer, smashing it to pieces.
Even as it rebuilds itself, the hammer brings it all down in a fit of rage, until the Lamb is doubled over with fatigue, panting and sweating.
Eligos brings their demise two days later, and neither god nor vessel speak as the Lamb looks upon The One Who Waits.
Thank you, he wants to say, for your rage. For caring. You did not have to do that, but you did. 
But he says nothing.
-------------------------------------
“Do you know how to play knucklebones?”
“I’ve watched the rat play it, many times. And I’ve watched you play it, many times more.”
“But do you know how to play?”
“I do not.”
“Can I teach you?
“With what dice, Vessel?”
“I have some in the crown. I can teach Aym and Baal too, if they want.”
“I’m sure they’ll enjoy it.”
-------------------------------------
“Have you always had a veil?” the Lamb asks, resting in their god’s hand. They had requested to lay down, after a painful and quite literal run-in with an explosive fiend. They sit up, a curious tilt to their head.
“I acquired one not long after my ascension to a Bishop,” The One Who Waits replies. Nearby, the sound of staff clacking together continues as the twins spar. “There were complaints of my gaze being uncomfortable. Unnerving.”
The Lamb pauses, before they softly ask, “May I see?”
“The veil?”
“Your face.”
A century ago, a request as such would have given him pause. He would have declined, and sent the Lamb away.
Instead, he slowly brings his arm up, and leans down. The Lamb ducks under the veil, and for the first time, the god and vessel make true eye contact.
Red meets white. The One Who Waits looks, unblinking, as the Lamb stares back into his eyes.
Something touches his nose, and it twitches involuntarily at the unfamiliar sensation. It takes the god a few seconds to realize it’s the Lamb’s hand.
The Lamb smiles, gently. “Your eyes. They’re a pretty red.”
The One Who Waits’ ear flicks.
“Like camellias. Or fresh blood. It’s nice.”
“Vessel,” the god whispers, because they’re so close. “I ask you to stop talking.”
The Lamb leans against The One Who Waits’ nose, and all he can smell is them. “And I ask,” they reply, their smile growing, “is that I can continue praising my god’s bea-”
“Lamb-” The One Who Waits interrupts, and it comes out soft. Something warm curls in his chest, around his unbeating heart.
“What shall become of me, if I don’t stop talking?” the Lamb asks in a whisper. 
A purr threatens to rip itself from the god’s chest.
“I’ll send you back to your followers,” The One Who Waits replies.
The threat is empty, and both of them know it.
-------------------------------------
“Was Kallamar your elder or younger brother?”
“Elder.”
“And Heket was younger. Does that mean you were the middle sibling?”
“Yes, I was in the middle. Two came before, and two after.”
“May I ask what it was like, having siblings?”
“I assure you, Vessel, my experience with siblinghood is most definitely different from the norm.”
“I rephrase: May I ask what it was like for you, having siblings? May I know more of my god’s past?”
“Draw close, Lamb, and I shall tell you.”
-------------------------------------
“Shamura spoke to me.” 
The One Who Waits flicks his ear, half because of hearing his sibling’s name on his lamb's tongue, half because they sound nervous.
The Lamb continues speaking. “They told me something. A name.”
The god freezes. He stills so suddenly, not even his chains clink. It's silent.
He knows what name Shamura had spoken. He wasn't watching the Lamb during their crusade, but he knows.
He remembers, faintly, his name uttered in vain, in fear and disgust. In hatred, or indifference.
“Were they telling the truth?” the Lamb asks. “Is your name Narinder?”
Reverence. How long ago did someone last say his name with such reverence?
“It is,” he replies, and he pretends his voice doesn’t tremble at the end.
“Can I call you that?”
The answer comes at once, without thought or hesitation, “Yes.”
“Much easier to say than your title,” the Lamb smiles a little, “right, Narinder?”
His own purr surprises him, and he watches as the Lamb’s smile grows into something soft, something fond.
Off to the side, Baal and Aym shoot their master a strange look.
-------------------------------------
“What do you plan to do, once you’re free?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve been trapped for almost a millennium, Narinder, surely you’ve thought of something?”
“I’ve had ideas in the past, but they’ve changed. Now, I’m unsure.”
“I can help you think of something, if you want.”
-------------------------------------
Narinder, The One Who Waits, has dreamed of freedom for centuries. All he’s wished for, as time passed in his eternal prison, is that he could be set free.
The Lamb’s arrival to him, covered in chains and looking ragged, had filled him with ecstatic bloodlust.
They were it, his key. With them as his final sacrifice, he’d be free.
That thought would keep him gleeful, a comfort. With their death, he’ll find his freedom.
But something changed.
Now, the thought fills him with dread.
With their death, he’ll be free.
For the first time since he was shackled, his dreams aren’t filled with revenge, with tearing himself free and escaping.
For the first time, he becomes weary of his own domain.
He doesn’t want the Lamb to die.
He doesn’t want the Lamb to die to free him.
He wants them alive. He wants them to stay, sleeping against his claw and chest, saying his name, peering under his veil.
He doesn’t want the Lamb to die.
Which is why, when they bow to him, his crown in their hands, he cannot find the words he’s dreamed of saying for centuries, the words he’s supposed to say.
It’s why, fists clenching, he says, “No.”
Good afternoon, I woke up and chose violence today! More specifically, I decided today I would write short fragments of interaction between narinder and the lamb during their vessel years
also. lore :)
anyways if anyone's curious I listened to "Home" by Pinkshift while writing this
245 notes · View notes