A nonhuman or enhanced whumpee strung up upside down. For a realistic human, this for long periods of time would result in unconsciousness and eventually death due to blood flow difficulties. Here however, whumpers take bets on how long whumpee can last.
Of course, to keep bets fair, whumpers need a way to determine when whumpee is actually out. There's a variety of ways one can check. Brushing its eyelashes and watching for a flinch, pulling the eyelid back to check pupils, use of smelling salts or ice-
Or they can hit it really hard in the stomach and listen for a grunt of pain. That works too.
"Oh I'm sorry. Did you think ya'll kidnapped me to sit around? Or would you rather being the one to wash peel and cut these carrots? No? Then step aside you're in my light."
"And then, later when the actual medic arrived, because why would she have a medic on standby during it, I thought she said I was expensive, they said-"
Looking up koi fish/ponds so I can describe a spot mer kevin is put in, and learning modern standards involve requiring either a waterfall or some other kind of mechanized aeration system, and subsequently when looking up how this would be manufactured in the pre-mechanized 1800s britain, Learning they didn't become a thing outside of japan until after wwII which is. duh yeah that makes sense.
but yknow what, thats fine. I'm already dealing with a merman and a magical compass, and a rich family with a thing for exotic pets. so how do I do the aeration system without resorting to like a magic crystal or something? If the japenese were cultivating them for hundreds of years surely theres a System for providing the oxygen they need, or at least determining if the natural landscape will provide it. (or are small waterfalls just more common than I think?) But all the top results skip over that so now I guess I have a decision.
either I decide it really doesn't matter and hand wave a natural waterfall on the property, say it's just magic, or do Research research that probably involves going to sources that will also try to sell me essential oils since most sources seem to all just say get a modern pump. or some very dry papers about water tables. either way this feels like I've already put more thought into a fictional world than I've characterized the mistress to have about real (to her) living things under her ownership. So I might just ignore this one, yeah.
Does a creature receiving oxygen through the water through gills, "breathe"
Yes
No
hyperspecific nuanced answer
Voting ended onMay 4
Context: I am being normal and not overthinking how many times I refer to my mer as breathing while his lungs are notably full of water. The party scene is going great.
CW: Guns, hostages, non human whumpee (mer man currently trapped in human form), minor whumpee (15 years old)
~~~
The ship creaked and groaned in the waves, just as it had an hour ago, before the guard came down, before Kevin turned the tide on him, and before thunder rocked the boat. The other prisoners were free now, the guard's keys used on each chain and shackle in quick order, his gun in Kevin's hand. He uncocked the flintlock with a click.
He didn't know what the commotion outside of this room was, but he didn't want to find out, he figured. He had a plan, and it required the other guards to come to him. He ignored the looks from the other now freed prisoners. He half cocked the flintlock with a click.
Eventually, the sound of heavy boots sounded outside the door, then it opened. Four men came in, not in the uniform of the men ferrying them to their execution, but as the murmur around him stated plainly-
"Pirates."
Kevin had already pushed himself away from the wall, and now, as the pirates fanned around them, guns and swords of their own raised, he stood front and center and pointed his own.
He had one shot, and there were too many of them to let him reload. His plan wouldn't work the same without relying on the loyalty of the crew to the man he already beat, but he could try anyway.
"Ay, now lad. Let's not be too hasty."
There was a look in the pirate's eyes, one that told him he was making the right call. "No. You point your guns at me, so I point mine at you."
"So you're not grateful at all that we just took care of your crown navy problem upstairs for ya'?"
Kevin smirked, nodding slightly to the guard chained and bleeding where he himself had been an hour ago. "I had it handled."
"Mm. How old are you, boy?"
"Old enough to pull a trigger."
"And old enough to count, surely. For I can count too. I count one gun on your side, and four on mine. And that's not counting the ones upstairs that would be summoned by the sound of gunfire."
Kevin stared him down. "So what's your point?" What do you want. I know what you want. Say it first.
The pirate grinned. "Not too long ago, we got a lead. That on a Marleyan prisoner transport vessel, there would be a man who would be of much greater value aboard my ship than in some titan's belly. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, boy?"
"Not a word."
The pirate made a show of looking surprised. "Oh, so you aren't the Mer from the north? I suppose we can just cross you off the list, then."
Cold flashed through Kevin's spine as the guns sweeping the others pointed at him in unison.
"Wait!" His voice came out like a squeak, and he cringed but continued. "Wait-"
"I'm listening."
Kevin scrambled for something to say, anything to get them to just turn around and leave him be. He couldn't think of anything, but he remembered what was in his own hand, so he aimed and pulled the trigger.
A cloud of smoke and a shockwave erupted from the gun, and he dived to the floor, not looking to see if he hit, only looking to evade the counterattack. He made for the door, hoping to slip past the pirates in the obfuscating smoke, and hide somewhere in the ship until his power returned.
But his hopes were dashed as a hand gripped him by his shirt collar and threw him to the ground.
His ears rang, but he saw as the air cleared a gun pointed at his face, felt the cold barrel press between his eyes.
"Now, let's try that again. Look at what you'd done."
The hand not holding the gun turned his head by his chin, making him face the other prisoners as he tried clawing for his release. Two were lying there, blood pooling around them, the rest cowering, some pleading.
"I told you, boy. You're outnumbered where it counts. So tell the truth. Are you the mer?"
The pirate was heavy above him, pinning him painfully secure with a knee in his hip. His tone suggested he knew the answer.
"You're going to kill me either way, aren't you." He knew what humans do to mers. He knew there was no capture that ended well for him, even if he hadn't just shot one of them.
"Mmh. Not exactly. If you tell the truth, though, one way or the other, it'll hurt less. And if you come quietly, we won't need to shoot any more of your friends, hmm? They can go safe and free, we have no interest in them one way or the other."
"You're lying."
"And you don't have a choice but to believe me, little fish. Tell me where my prize is."
The hand gripping his chin was bruisingly tight, the smoke still stung his eyes as he took in the situation. They were completely at these men's mercy.
He let his scrabbling hands fall away in surrender. "Please don't hurt them. It's me you want."
