PyrePostings

Sideblog for my writting drabbles, mostly whump, and mostly early drafts. Constructive criticism appreciated!

[pyrepostings]

Hello, you can call me Pyre. I'm cool with whatever pronouns. This is my sideblog for posting my original writing. I've been posting prompts (under the #PyrePrompts tag) and stories sometimes (#Free Birds and Fiddlers - Masterlist), (#Giving Grace - Masterlist), (Whumptober 2025)

My main blog is @pirefyrelight and the sideblog for spamming other people's prompts and stories I enjoy is @light-me-on-pyre.

[pyrepostings]

Ive been thinking about that living weapon prompt where the handler is the one to defect from the organization, and brings their favorite weapon along for the ride, and how that would challenge its training. (does it obey the organization or the handler? and then expanding on that)

I think its name should be celine. thats a cute name that also evokes power and control a little bit, like a badass super soldier should be.

the org takes children who havent aged put of the foster system, but arent the adorable little babies that actually get adopted anymore. they're malliable, especially if the govt cares even less about abuse in foster homes so tue org has to do the bare minumum the first few years to gain loyalty through 'good' treatment. (im thinking rules being clear cut is probably favorable to chaotically being punished for a foster parent or other childs poor mood, even if the punishment is harsher. theres a clear win condition. and in the early days because they're children as long as you validate that they are clearly Trying to follow orders you can reward winners of tests of skill with 'luxuries' like a blanket that Actually keeps them warm at night, and only need to outright punish outright disobediance. at least until you have them all obedient and you need to start cutting the chaff.)

Ive also been thinking about the stress relief officer story again. This might be a good chance to do something similar, with designating the lowest performers as whipping boys.

[pyrepostings]

Giving Grace - Rewards

CW: Noncon, multiple whumpees, lady whumpee, whumperee, BBU setting, Conditioned whumpee, and a halfway conditioned whumpee

~~~

Sawyer stirred to the buzz on his pets wrist, and the shifting of the mattress as it got up. What a perfectly well trained pet he was, off to make breakfast and let his master snooze.

He was woken up properly with that soft mouth between his legs. He trusted lazily into it as he finished, petting Logger's curls. "Mmh, good boy. Get up here when you're done." He patted the bed beside him, and Logger dutifully licked him clean and crawled up beside him to accept his embrace.

"You're such a good pet."

"Thank you, sir."

Sawyer ran a hand down his pet's body, resting his hand on its thigh when it opened itself up for him. He kissed the back of its neck. "You've done such a good job helping to train the girl, too. I think you both deserve a little reward."

"Thank you, sir. What would you like me to do?"

"I'll be staying in town for work this week. After chores and dinner, put her in the lace collar and bring her here. Cuddle her, touch her a bit, but don't hurt her. I want her to relax in bed more, and this should make everyone happy."

"Do you want me to fuck her?"

"Heh, only if she wants it. Unless she's difficult about the cuddling in my bed, then drag her down to the cellar and fuck her in respect position and let her sleep down there. Make sure she knows you're still getting the bed either way. Then give her a fresh chance the next night. Understood?"

"Understood, sir. Um, question?"

"What?"

"How long do you want me to go, if I have to punish her?"

Sawyer grinned, his perfect little pet. "As long as you like, call it your reward this week." He smiled against his pet's skin as he felt its jaw move, a question it was deciding to ask. "You can cum in her if you truly think I would let you if you could hear me." He pulled his pet in for a kiss. "I trust you to know by now what I would and wouldn't allow from you. And I'll be watching you, hmm? I'll make sure you know you've done bad before you make it a habit."

"Of course, sir. Thank you, sir."

Sawyer had cameras around the house, in the early days so he could keep an eye on his new and untested pet while he was away, to make sure it followed the rules. He didn't even have them recording after a time to save storage space when he was satisfied behavior wasn't a problem, and would just check the live feed on occasion. With the new pup in training he had turned recording back on. Logger knew where most of them were, he would look to them occasionally as if he would get a response or permission from them. Gracie seemed to be in the dark except for the one in the basement. Which was all well and good, he did want that one to relax in bed more.

He squeezed its thigh before patting it on the ass. "Alright, get up, get dressed. I'm hungry."

~

Grace grit her teeth at the cold stream of water. It was more bearable now to shower outside, now that she was allowed to actually hold the sprayer and wash herself off, rather than being leashed to the floor and hosed off and touched.

The temperature was much more manageable when she learned to flicker the stream over one arm before sustaining it for a moment, then repeating on the other, then the outside of each leg, then the more sensitive thighs and armpits and chest, making sure her back was sufficiently desensitized to the cold before soaking her hair with it. A process she never thought she would have to follow so specifically back when she could control the temperature of the water.

She wordlessly handed the sprayer off to Logger while she soaped. There was a time when it would have been embarrassing to shower like this, under the open sky behind a shed in the woods, with a man next to her sharing the sprayer, but over the last year that had become the least of her concerns. It's not like her body was a secret to him anymore.

To It, the pet who did anything its master wanted. When told to jump, it only asked how high. Sickening. Its like it never realized it could Just Leave while Sawyer was at work, he wasn't here everyday. Logger had keys to the house, to the training collar, hell to the Gun Safe, and still he never thought to leave, only help his master keep her trapped here. She took the sprayer back to rinse off the soap.

Back inside, with all the dirt and bugs of the garden washed off, she only had the skin crawling feeling of only being allowed a set of Sawyer's old shirts to wear indoors to deal with, but it was better than nothing, that much she had been made aware. They made dinner, which really wasn't a two person job if they weren't making something for Sawyer. The meals they were allowed when on their own usually came out of a can or something equally cheap and easy.

Logger still made her kneel before Sawyer's chair to get her collar taken off and get permission to eat, even when he wasn't here. "You should still practice until it becomes habit," he said when she had tried fighting it. She wished she could at least take the collar off herself, but she was told no to that as well, and put in the shock collar as punishment when she had tried.

With dinner eaten and cleaned up, she was allowed some level of free time. Logger tended to stay in the living room, so Grace found a corner in the pantry to hide in and read a book off the living room shelf she stashed in there. Well, it wasn't really hiding, since Logger knew where she was, but it was a corner she could wedge herself into that was away from Logger. He always came in to tell her when it was time to get locked in the pet crate in the living room to sleep.

But this night was different. When he came for her, he didn't let her go straight for the crate. She stiffened as he put an arm around her waist and-

"Hey, wait. Sawyer said we can have the bed tonight."

The bed. A shiver ran through her. She knew what the price of the bed was.

"No, hey, look at me." His voice was soft, trying to be calming. "It's not like that. You've already earned it, you've been so good lately."

Was there a way out of this? Couldn't he just let her go to her crate as usual?

"Shh, it's ok. C'mon, you'll feel better under the sheets." He wiped her face where a tear had fallen.

"Do I have to? He's not even here." Although the bark collar hadn't been used on her in weeks, her voice still came out as a whisper, as if to avoid setting the shock off.

Logger leaned in close. "Yeah, you kind of do. Please, it'll be easier."

She took a step back. "Please don't."

"Gracie, please. It's a reward, I'm not going to fuck you, ok? It's just sleep. You did good work in the yard today, but you're probably sore. Please come with me."

She did hurt, all over from several days in a row now of all day in the yard and a thin mattress to sleep on in the small crate. She looked at him, he seemed sincere.

She nodded, and let him lead her to the bedroom.

She sat on the edge of the bed, scared to go in, scared of what accepting this gift would mean. She stared straight ahead as Logger came around to sit behind her, the mattress dipping under their combined weight.

"Hey, relax, ok?"

His arm snaked around her torso into a hug, before she felt him put something soft around her neck.

"No, please," he grabbed her wrist when she reached up to take it off. "please just let me sleep in the crate, I'll be good there, please don't do this."

"You know the rules, we have to wear the correct collar for the activity. You're sleeping in the bed, you wear the ribbon. Its not even too tight, see? I can fit two fingers in. You're fine."

"I don't want to sleep in the bed, please let me go, Logger, please."

He held her face and forcibly turned her head, so she was forced to meet his eyes. His tone had been a casual practical one until this point, now taking on a deadly seriousness. "Your master is giving you a gift-"

She struggled hard to get out of his grip, but he overpowered her, pinning her to the bed with his full body-weight pressed against her.

"Your master is being kind and giving you a gift. Be grateful for it, accept it. He is giving us the bed to sleep in. That's it. I'm not going to fuck you here. Not tonight, not this week. But if you can't accept his gift, there will be a punishment."

She struggled again, freeing a hand this time to strike him. He seemed largely unfazed by the frantic blow to his chest, and only settled his bare groin more firmly to the bed between her equally exposed legs as he adjusted his grip on her. She could feel him getting hard, before abruptly pulling her up from the mattress and marching her out of the bedroom.

She was grateful for a moment, but he did not bring her to the crate in the living room. Instead he dragged her to the basement steps.

"Can you stop struggling while on the stairs, at least?" he hissed in her ear.

"I'll be good on the bed, please, not the basement, please."

"You had your chance. I warned you, and then you hit me. That's two rules broken. You know, most handlers would consider this level of struggle to be resisting punishment, a third offense."

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and he threw her to the ground in the center of the room. "Respect Position, now, or you'll be holding it all night."

She winced as she kneeled on bruised knees, not in any less pain from how she fell. Bowing deeply, she closed her eyes as she pressed her forehead to the floor, hands shaking as she folded them nicely in front of her.

"Shirt off, then maintain position"

She complied, and registered that the ribbon was gone from her neck.

He approached, shirtless now as well, and knelt to slip a thick kevlar collar under and around her neck to replace the ribbon.

"No, please, I did it. I got into position!"

"It's just a tether. Move forward, stay on your knees."

He dragged her forward, until he could lock the short chain to the drain in the floor. She shivered from the cold concrete floor on her bare skin, but she didn't dare move now. If Sawyer was here, she would be worried about a belting or caning to her exposed back, but Logger didn't seem to be authorized to give the kind of punishments that left a mark. Usually she would be put in the cage, possibly denied food for a time. If Sawyer wanted her hurt, he would do it himself when he returned. Whatever Logger was about to do, she could handle it.

He settled behind her, and clipped the shock clip to the collar, the prongs digging into her throat. She shuddered, but didn't let out a sound.

"Knees apart, pup." He said into her ear, pushing them apart almost gently. "This will only hurt as much as you make it."

She closed her eyes and tried to keep her revulsion in check, at least while the shock clip was active. Logger was rarely as rough as his master, even now it was hard to tell if the fingers caressing between her legs was a small merciful attempt to cause less pain, or something to elongate the torture.

He lined himself up all the same, and set a pace into her. His breath was hot and wet on her neck, and her thighs burned with the effort of keeping her hips up where he had pushed them to.

She held position, despite the pain. The more she complied, the sooner it would be over. Even when the shock clip registered her ragged breathing and sent a wave of electricity through her, she held still in Logger's embrace.

"Breathe." he reminded her, and pressed his lips to her shoulder as he resumed pace. Right. Breathe. Breathe softly, breathe steadily. In, hold, out, hold. Slower, repeat.

It ended with a shudder and a moan from him, and he pulled out leaving cold air in his wake.

"You can release position." She collapsed on her side, curling herself into a hug. She flinched at what she then realized was the oversized shirt being dropped on to her. "Get some rest, there's still work tomorrow. And then you'll get another chance to accept your master's reward and join me in the bed."

And he left her, on the cold floor in the dark. She couldn't get the shirt on with the collar still chained to the floor, but she covered herself as much as she could, and tried not to think about if this was worth it.

[pyrepostings]

Writing Masterlist

Free Birds and Fiddlers

Story features the Attack on Titan universe, but not the characters of the canon story. You don't have to have seen/read it to know what's going on.

I have been working on it off of Tumblr and once I get more connect-y bits done it will make more sense. It might take awhile. In the meantime, a bullet point summary tag game I did recently might help.

General content warnings: Torture, non-con, psychological whump, suicidal thoughts and actions, death, and restraints.

featuring blurred character roles such as carewhumpers, whumper-turned-whumpee (and its reverse), and the narrator isn't 100% reliable.

Backstory:

WWE: Better out than in

Main Story:

To Pin A Songbird

Interrogation

WWE: Fear / Breaking point

John Gets a Bath

WWE: Nightmare

Sunset Execution

WWE: Claustrophobia / “Get me out.”

WWE: Nothing behind the eyes: Force feeding

WWE: In Hot Water

A Game Of Cards

Blood in the Snow

Medwhump May 23. Resisting Treatment

MedWhumpMay Alt 6. Self Inflicted

Letting Go

Medwhump May Day 30. From The Brink Of Death

WWE: Struggling to stand

WWE: The whump morning after

WWE: It's every day bro

Whumptober: I warned you

Eyedrops: Part 1

Eyedrops: Part 2

The Lavender Desert (<- also a not terrible summary chapter, at least to this point)

Kevin Asks For Help

Prodigal Son

Whumptober: Public Display

Whumptober: Finding Old Messages

Nightmare Aftercare

Whumptober: Search Party

WWE: White and red handkerchief: Can't speak

WWE: Panic attack

Whumptober 2025: As The World Caves In

AUs Below The Cut

Free Birds and Fish:

A Pirate's Prize

The Compass

The Party

Doctor's Visit

The Bargain

Evil AU:

Spit-Shine

Hauntings and Harpists:

Prologue

Meeting Up

Lyres and Lyricists:

Waking Up

Dragon AU:

Collars

[pyrepostings]

The Bargain

Free Birds and Fish

Cw: nonhuman whumpee, captive whumpee, mentions of possible off-screen death, age of sail setting/whalers, dehumanization

~~~

Kevin had been put in the koi pond, as he was much more as of late. He figured he preferred it, or at least he preferred the different set of pros and cons to the basement cell. The variety, if you will. Watching the other fish was certainly a better view than cold cinder-blocks, especially now that his friend had been taken from him. He still wished the armed guard standing post on the edge was enough assurance to the mistress he wouldn't kill the other fish or try to run, and they could stop keeping him in the muzzle and chains.

He heard a voice he was actually hoping to hear, relaxed and unhurried from across the garden. After a head poke above the water to confirm, he dipped back under, to re-emerge in front of the guard. It was one of the more lenient ones, Quinn, who might actually bend to his request. He pulled himself up onto the edge of the pond, awkwardly with his hands behind him, and let out a soft whine and rubbed the chin of the muzzle against his shoulder, hoping he'd understand.

Thankfully, he did, unbuckling the muzzle and letting Kevin spit out the bit that suppressed his tongue, still holding him by the chain while the restraints were loose.

"What is it?"

Kevin coughed through the tickle in his throat, that usually still came when switching from gills to lungs. "I need to speak with Adam. Without his mother or friends, if possible."

Quinn looked past him, to the young man on the other side of the courtyard who was too involved in conversation with his friends to pay the two of them any mind.

"Are you asking for this to happen now?"

"Preferably. Please."

Quinn studied him for a moment. Kevin had really grown to hate being stared at, but he held still until the guard nodded, standing up from where he had knelt to be eye level with him.

"Alright. But if you try anything stupid, you are not my priority to protect."

As if it was Adam's orders that he was chained down and muzzled, as if it was his throat he'd rip out the first chance he got. No, that honor was all his mother's. With any luck he would be able to reason with the young man who might have some sway where Kevin needs it. "I understand. I'm not going to do anything stupid."

Kevin watched as Quinn went over to and said something to Adam, and Adam said something to his friends who went on without him. Kevin slunk back into the water, wishing he had asked for his hands free, but didn't know how he would have phrased that he was asking for it for the intimidation factor of not appearing to have no physical power afforded to him. He regarded the situation and decided to slip them to the front. No one liked it when he did this, but with the muzzle taken off there was nothing to force them to stay behind him, and Quinn probably wouldn't do anything too punishing unless he resisted correction, which hopefully wouldn't happen until after the discussion he was after. Still, he decided to leave them under the mildly murky water for a bit and hope no one consciously noticed.

"So what is all this about?"

"The mer wished to speak with you."

"Is that right?"

Kevin fixed him with the stare he knew made people uncomfortable. Prey instinct, perhaps.

"I have a deal for you."

"Oh, so it can speak!"

His tone was mocking, but Kevin pushed that aside.

"I want something from you, and in turn I'll give you an opportunity to gain favor with your mother, and possibly others."

"Oh?" He sat down cross legged at the edge of the pond. "Do tell how a creature like you can give me that?"

Kevin was already planning on sacrificing quite a bit of pride for this deal, but these slights were not making it easier.

"You're planning on taking on your family's shipping business soon, yes? You likely already have connections, or experience?"

"Mhm, some."

"There's a specific ship and crew I want to know the status of. Last I saw them they were in distress. Not imminently, but in such a way that likely requires aid. I want a ship to go out if they never made it back, to rescue, or inter them. And I want to know which was done."

"Hm, that's easy enough. But how will you go about your end?"

"I am willing, for this price, to submit in some ways to your mother. She wants a docile pet of me, I can start trying. You can tell her it was on your initiative you found a way to tame me."

"And why do you think this has any sway with me?"

"I don't know where you stand exactly, but I know there's a power struggle between you and your siblings. I know Erick also has an interest in the family business, I'm sure he could-"

"Enough of that, I see what you're doing. What ship? And you said to send one after them, where are they?"

"The Bronze Lily, headed by Captain Elsa. She's a whaling ship, contracted through a company in Felixstowe. Specific location is difficult, if they're still out there then they've been adrift for some time now. Their main mast was damaged in a storm, and the ensuing post storm calm does not push remaining sails. I landed in Cleggan, after heading roughly a week as straight due east as I could."

"And you want me to find her off of that?"

"Yes. Though I don't expect results. The terms of our deal are you to convince the owner of the ship to send out a rescue or recovery with this information if they have not returned, and if they have then a confirmation of that. Either way, a letter in his own hand, to me, and I will start breaking for your mother and not contradict your involvement in that. And if you rescue a lost ship, I am sure that will not harm your reputation with the captains in the business."

"Lost ships don't tend to get rescues."

"She's a money maker. Her crew is experienced, lost few whales once the harpoon was in. If you can give him this much, he'll send a rescue. They'll certainly make up the cost themselves."

Adam sat back a moment, in thought. "How were they so valuable?"

Kevin shrugged, ignoring the past tense. "A variety of factors, I suppose. Bring me a member of the crew alive as a bonus, and maybe we can discuss it."

Adam stood. "Hmh. Fine, don't bother talking to Erick, you have a deal."

"Good. I'll probably be here."

After Adam had sauntered off, Kevin tried to slink back below the water, but was unfortunately noticed.

"Hey! No, get back up here."

Kevin considered for a moment being difficult about the muzzle, fighting Quinn and making him fetch another guard to force him out of the water and the thing over his face, but decided against it. If he wanted it taken off for conversations like this, he had to let them put it back on when it was over.

He swallowed his pride with a growl and pushed himself back onto the bank.

"Hands," Quinn commanded. Kevin huffed and gave him his wrists so he could unlock one cuff and lock it again behind his back.

"What did you mean, breaking for her?"

"Exactly what I said."

Kevin had too much pride to just follow orders without hesitation or complaint, to not fight the cruelty done to him here. The only reason he let Quinn re-cuff him now was because the guard had loosened his restraints on his request in the first place, likely against orders. Quinn was the one guard who showed him this kind of mercy at all, Kevin didn't want to discourage that. It still burned inside him, the itch to pull away and claw and bite.

But for the mistress and her other keepers, he loathed to be her docile pet. He is not some bauble she can show off to her high society friends, despite how much she wants this to be true. He would never let her break him down fully to be reshaped into that pet.

But he had to acknowledge that he couldn't do this forever. The guards who hit, hit hard, and when he had searched for a cure to the compass's connection all those years ago, all that came up was unfounded rumor and snake oil solutions. A taut line is easier to cut, so he had to claw himself some slack. He had to get them all to lower their guard while he still had the will and strength to fight back and escape.

"For that crew?"

He doesn't know if he can. He knows he doesn't want to break like this, but if he has to to save them, to even just find out if he's too late, he will.

And, if he played his cards right, this would improve conditions overall before he made a breakout proper. But to answer the question-

"Yeah."

Quinn slipped the muzzle over his face again with a hum of acknowledgment, pressing the bit to his lips. Kevin once again was tempted into being difficult about it, and once again decided against it, for all the reasons he had already been heeding, and letting the cool metal slide into place over his tongue. Agitating the water with his tail and pulling away the moment the grip loosened wasn't being difficult, after all.

With the straps secured around his head and the chain connecting it to his hands, he was once again allowed to slink back into the shallow pool, to watch the unencumbered fish swim lazily about from his little niche in the stonework.

[pyrepostings]

re writing the snippet i just posted for the actual chapter, and realizing how cat coded I'm making his thought process. "this is the one guard who's being nice, I'm going to encourage that behavior by not scratching the fuck out of his arms again even though i still Really want to" and if i were to show quinn's thoughts they would be "he's not raising as much as a fuss about fixing his cuffs as he would be with the other guards, my strategy of aproaching slowly and letting him come to me as much as possible is coming to fruition"

two boys who both think they're training the other. however, one is objectively the one in chains and a muzzle, so.

[pyrepostings]

Definitely changing this actually, but I liked it in isolation if out of character for the moment(at least for him to say out loud), so here. take it as a prompt or something idk

~

"What did you mean, breaking for her?"

"Exactly what I said. She wants me to be a docile pet. I am not one of those. I am not meant to be some bauble she can show off to her other high society friends. But she wants me to be. She wants to break me down until I let myself be reshaped into that. I don't know if I can. I don't want to. But if I have to, I will."

"For that crew?"

Mainly, yes. But even if his friends weren't a factor, he had to start sucking it up soon. A taut line is easier to cut. He needed to start giving in soon, making them lower their guard while he still had the will and means to fight back and escape.

And, if he played his cards right, this would improve conditions overall before he made a breakout proper. But to answer the question-

"Yeah."

[pyrepostings]

Caretaker holds whumpee gently by its face. "Listen to me. What he wants doesn't matter anymore, ok?"

"Yes, sir." It's only what she wants that matters now, and she wants it to forget him. It would try.

[pyrepostings]

you're telling me you collered these greens?

[pyrepostings]

a whumpee covering its own mouth to muffle its cries, terrified someone will hear them.

[pyrepostings]

Doctor's Visit

Free Birds and Fish

CW: nonhuman whumpee (merman), injury aftermath, generally defiant whumpee, dehumanization

~~~

Quinn entered the courtyard in the late morning, the doctor at his side. He brought breakfast, mushed up tuna mixed with gravy. Judging by how hungry the merman must have already been last despite how little it ate, he figured it would be a good idea to prepare something easier to eat. It needed to start eating something soon.

The doctor beside him had little in the way of experience with merfolk, if his reaction at seeing the creature was any indication. But it wasn't its mer specific anatomy Quinn was concerned with. And the doctor was skilled and practical when bandaging the claw marks it left on his forearms last night. As long as the mer complied, an examination wouldn't hurt things.

The creature was curled in a corner it seemed to favor during the party last night. It was watching them approach through those milky green lensed eyes.

"Hello, Quinn." One of the night guards greeted.

"Hello, Peter. Peaceful night?"

"Yeah, didn't move much. Per usual though."

"It didn't come up to eat?"

"No. I offered, but if it's not hungry, then it's not hungry." It was said with a shrug and a tone which made Quinn doubt how much effort was put in to offering.

Regardless, the contents of the jar in his hand would be more nutritious than the pudding from last night, and the doctor was here to help with any pain or damage that might be preventing it from eating.

"Well in that case, we should get started. Up here, doctor."

Quinn led the doctor with a gesture up the stone steps to the top of the tank, before pausing to make eye contact with the merman. He didn't know how much it could hear through the glass, so he opted for visual cues. He unscrewed the jar and pulled out a spoon and stuck it in, before following the doctor up.

"You're hungry? Do you want breakfast?" Quinn swished the jar in the water to get its attention if he didn't have it already, before setting it on the top step in the tank, a few inches into the water. The water surface reflected the morning light and it was difficult to see in detail into the tank from above, but he saw the shape of the mer move.

It surfaced to grab the jar and immediately push itself to the far side in one quick motion. Quinn noted the hands, still bound, were in front of it now. But he would have been more concerned if it went all night and didn't pull that maneuver.

He also noted that it didn't raise its neck and gills above the water. Its attention darted between Quinn and the doctor and the food in its hands.

Ah, yes. Introductions.

"Kevin, this is Dr. Martin Henderson. He's here to look at your throat, and see if there's more damage to it than we thought there would be."

"Kevin? That's a mer name?"

Quinn shrugged. "It's what he said it was. Typically, he's actually rather talkative when he's not gagged. He seems to understand speech as well as any human."

Quinn looked back to the mer, whose eyes were now narrowed even further into slits. "Though, understanding and obeying are different things."

"Fascinating." The doctor crouched close to the water. "Hey, little one. I'm here to help you, ok? If you come over here I can get a look at you."

The mer opted to take a small bite of the fish with a glare instead. Well, as long as he was eating, even if out of some kind of spite.

Quinn sat back on the ledge. "Don't worry doctor, give him a minute. He'll come over when he realizes you're the one with the medicines to relieve the pain he's probably in." He said it more for the mer's benefit than the doctor's, and he noted satisfactorily the way its ear fins twitched despite no other change in demeanor.

Eventually, after several slow and careful bites of breakfast, it approached them. Quinn observed silently as the doctor carefully got it to sit at the edge of the tank so its chest was out of the water, only stepping in to give it a rag to wet its gills with when it indicated.

The doctor listened to its lungs through its back, looking confused for a moment before asking it to take a breath in, which triggered a coughing fit when it did. It sounded a lot like it did yesterday, wet and breathy and weak, like it hurt.

Quinn tensed when the doctor moved to look in its mouth. He knew this was the logical next step of the examination, but the doctor had yet to be acquainted with its predator-sharp teeth. But Quinn reminded himself that the mer usually only lashed out when it felt trapped, and it had submitted itself for the examination. He rested his hand on the baton on his belt, but he let the doctor work.

The mer seemed uncomfortable throughout, but complied, nodding or shaking its head to questions, letting the doctor touch its neck. Quinn noted how it reacted well when the doctor let it pull away, in response to pain or just for a water break.

"So what do you think, doctor?"

"I think if he was human he would be dead, so it is hard to give any definitives on recovery. There is definitely still water in his lungs, but he has his gills to fall back on, so I'm not worried about suffocation. His throat is definitely bruised, but assuming there's no merfolk specific limitations on what he can eat, normal remedies are soft foods for a while, hot tea with honey, that sort of thing. Oh! May I have the jar lid, please?"

Quinn handed it over, and the doctor mixed some of the tuna with a dose of something out of his medical bag and gave it to the mer, which sniffed it suspiciously.

"That's for the pain. It's a little bitter, but it will help." He gave Quinn the bottle and a dosing schedule, telling him to give a little less than he would a human until he knows how it affects him. "Call on me again if he takes a bad turn, but I think he'll live. Try to encourage him to breathe deeply when he can, but not to force it. I don't want his lungs to atrophy with disuse, but coughing can further irritate the throat. Nausea is expected with the medicine if hes not eating anything with it, so try to mix it in with something to administer."

The mer crinkled its nose at the taste, but managed the few bites on the makeshift plate.

"So, pain management but otherwise waiting it out?"

"And rest. Now that it's a more reasonable hour, I'll see if I can borrow any books on merfolk biology from any of my colleagues to see if i am missing anything. In humans, I would worry that water in the lungs means infection, but given a mer's natural environment, I'd be surprised if they weren't more adapted for it. Still, watch for fever too."

"I understand. Thank you, doctor."

"Any time. It's a pleasure to see such a unique patient."

And with that, Quinn led the doctor back to the front gates, stopping in the kitchen for some tea with honey on the way back to his post.

[pyrepostings]

That moment when you go to fulfil a 'look whose scrolling tumblr instead of working on their wip!' post but you realize you have 4 chapters at the top of your wips that are basically done as first drafts go, written from your phone, and now they're all ready for the Computer Edit with spellcheck and a feeling of professionalism with a bigger screen.

uuughhh fine,,, i'll Get Up and go to my computer and post something ig

[pyrepostings]

I rewatched sao abridged this last week and you know what that means! Thats right I'm ignoring my wips for a new exciting, "what if they were in the show i just watched" au to daydream about.

other than the obvious, "what happens when you drop a bunch of actual swordsmen/swordswomen into a full simulation death game" where they form a guild that functions almost seamlessly like their main military unit (other than like. in this case ig brazen vs scouts vs mps would likely all be one guild and just be seperate squads? gunna be honest i don't have a lot of actual firsthand mmo knowledge. but given what i see on a narrative level this sounds right) imagining hyjinks such as

the Bard Bois Trio trying to relearn instruments in the game and being frustrated when there is clearly much less accuracy on that art form. "can you at least focus on drilling your combat skills??" "oh come on I am, I just need some wind down time" "Oh shut up I can See your music skill leveling faster than your damage threshold" (<- how leveling works, right?)

the entire guild just so frustrated not being able to duel weild. they can in the 'real' world, i feel it would be so very frustrating to not be able to equip a second sword. their interaction with kirito is mainly to ambush him to find out how he got his duel weilding.

they would fuck so much with alfheim online. actual wings? gimmie gimmie

[pyrepostings]

ok thinking about alfheim a little bit more.

so the flying thing is tricky for new players because they have never flown before and need to actually imagine their wings as new appendages, right? what if you had a cast of new players who, say, were already in the 'real' world, already adept at attack on titan style odm gear?

They would already have a framework for how 'flight' looks and feels and operates. all they have to do is imagine they're in their gear and off they go. It is for this reason I believe that my fbaf cast would take a very early dominance in alfheim. but! theres a downside.

They are imagining the gear they are comfortable in, not what they're actually wearing. their movments and flight patterns would resemble their odm movements, staying near the ground, near trees, now looking like they're taking big leaps rather than truly flying as they slingshot around. I'm sure many would adapt, but if an enemy takes the fight to an open feild or simply just Up, that would certainly put them on the back wing. (kevin for instance, I think I like the idea of making him afraid of Actual heights. he won't want to clear the tree tops.)

so they would feel most comfortable in forests, looking like shadows slinking across the ground while other players go up high to the open and unobstructed skies.

uhh possibly unrelated, what was canon sao's deal with the spriggins again?

[pyrepostings]

I rewatched sao abridged this last week and you know what that means! Thats right I'm ignoring my wips for a new exciting, "what if they were in the show i just watched" au to daydream about.

other than the obvious, "what happens when you drop a bunch of actual swordsmen/swordswomen into a full simulation death game" where they form a guild that functions almost seamlessly like their main military unit (other than like. in this case ig brazen vs scouts vs mps would likely all be one guild and just be seperate squads? gunna be honest i don't have a lot of actual firsthand mmo knowledge. but given what i see on a narrative level this sounds right) imagining hyjinks such as

the Bard Bois Trio trying to relearn instruments in the game and being frustrated when there is clearly much less accuracy on that art form. "can you at least focus on drilling your combat skills??" "oh come on I am, I just need some wind down time" "Oh shut up I can See your music skill leveling faster than your damage threshold" (<- how leveling works, right?)

the entire guild just so frustrated not being able to duel weild. they can in the 'real' world, i feel it would be so very frustrating to not be able to equip a second sword. their interaction with kirito is mainly to ambush him to find out how he got his duel weilding.

they would fuck so much with alfheim online. actual wings? gimmie gimmie

[pyrepostings]

I just had surgery, so heres some fun things!

intubation makes your throat sore, which you might already know. But it's not too bad, truely far from the worst pain you'll be in waking up. but it Is sore, and you'll notice later that day that you arent swallowing spit as well or regularly you think? its tickling your throat, but no matter☝️. the body know what to do. Just give a little cough and that will clear things up-

thing number two. If the surgery was on your abdomen, like mine was, it will be handily located near the lungs. The thing about coughing is it is a very rapid contraction of the lung muscles, which puts a mild bit of stress on the surroumding area. This tends to hurt if the sourrounding area is injured, like say there was a scalpel involved recently.

thing number three. when an action causes the body pain, the body tries to avoid this action. In this case, holding back coughs, or holding back the strength of the coughs. If the lungs don't spasam so hard, the rest of the everything wont hurt as much. makes sense.

Thing number four. Unfortunately you do really need the full normal power of the cough to really clear the throat. which means this half assed pathetic attempt accomplished nothing and your throat still tickles. So you try again, this time maybe putting a hand on your stomach will help? No luck, everything feels like its being held together with string and youve just ripped it all up, all for your weak pathetic little coughs, and your throat Still tickles.

thing number five. the hot pack they give you while youre waiting for the anesteiologist and youve already put your phone away is nice and has textures in there that one can find if one is true of heart.

[pyrepostings]

Quinn shrugged. "It's what he said it was. He's actually usually rather talkative when he's not gagged. He seems to understand speech as well as any human."

Quinn looked back to the mer, whose eyes were now narrowed even further into slits. "Though, understanding and obeying are different things."

[pyrepostings]

"If you hop your cuffs one more time, I'm putting you in a straitjacket."