#Summoner Aether build
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adollt · 10 months ago
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Finally Finished Dos 2, after seeing what they did with Bg3 I wish Divinity would get an addon with that level of writting but for gameplay I perfer Divinity 2 > Baulder gate 3. Finally Finished Dos 2, after seeing what they did with Bg3 I wish Divinity would get an addon with that level of writting but for gameplay I perfer Divinity 2 > Baulder gate 3. Im excited to play the game in multiplayer now
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I was expecting to have to kill fane but in the end we were both happy, albiet a bit confused
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It took me about 20 hours to beat, and there's many parts of the story that I did not do for next time. I can't wait to play with you again Divinity 2
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pomidaea · 7 months ago
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This took a while but here's part 2 of my ghoul designs, this time with Phantom and Aether
Part 1 can be found here
Headcanons under the cut:
Quintessence ghouls:
They often have two-toned hair and can be different shades of blue, violet, and gray
There is a slight glow that can be seen from their eyes and mouth, their eye color is the same as their tongue color
They can easily blend in around gargoyle statues as some of the statues in the ministry are inspired/modeled after previously summoned quintessence ghouls
The most "human-passing" among the other ghouls
Phantom:
There was an accident during his and Aurora's summoning ritual due to a build-up of quintessence magic, this caused the right side of his face to become deformed
Because of this, his face is partially frozen so he exaggerates his facial expressions to show his emotions
He makes use of quintessence magic to sense things on his blind side meaning he will know if someone sneaks up on him but lets them surprise him anyway to play along
Aether:
He's not the tallest in the pack but the buffest, he often has tasks in moving equipment and other things
He flicks his ears unconsciously when he's annoyed though it does help him hear things better
At one point, he was very self-conscious about his tooth gap but the others reassured him that he looked fine (Don't ask Dewdrop if he thinks Aether's smile is cute, he is in denial)
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graha-stan-account · 1 year ago
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Things I learned from Encyclopedia Eorzea III
Do with this what you will, ffxiv fandom.
G'raha and the tower appeared about 15 years after the Flood of Light. Ardbert and team were all already dead. "Our" Minfilia had already dissipated.
At the time, he looked like his normal self. He is described as a Mystel dressed as a mage, so we can assume people knew he was a "Mystel" at the time, vs. later when his appearance is only speculative.
A bunch of refugees clamored to the Crystal Tower when it appeared. He said yeah you can hang out here, the tower defenses will keep you safe.
And then fucked off for 4 years to survey the damage of the Flood of Light.
When he got back he knew shit was really fucked and ASAP started trying to figure out how the hell to get the WoL over for pizza
At some point he figures out he needed to address the WoL verbally for some reason for the summoning to work properly???
It doesn't.
He decides this shit is gonna take 5ever and I'm already having a quarter life crisis. I'm going to bind my aether to the tower. It's the one secret anti-aging trick that has doctors PISSED
It'll be great, like, he'll almost never age.
Downside, his body slowly becomes necrotic with crystal.
More time lost because he has to use aether to discretely animate his crystallized limbs and digits to keep their use.
At some point, early Crystarium dwellers get tired of asking him for his name (he won't give it) and him rejecting the crown they offer him so they start calling him the Crystal Exarch.
Exarch says OK and wheels out some Allagan nodes to help build what would become the Crystarium. Go ham, guys.
Since no one really recalls what the Exarch looks like in present day, G'raha likely began wearing a cowl after returning from traveling Norvrandt, or when his body begins to change. Those who remember are likely dead (age or sineaters) or sworn to secrecy.
The developing crystal, which he did his best to hide, prevented him from truly connecting with the others.
Sometime after this, an infant Lyna falls into his care.
Well technically the Settlement Council (because he was like hey let's have a representative government [not because I grew up in one or anything!]! I'll just be over here.)
But he was very involved in her upbringing.
Probably because he was close friends with her parents.
Who die tragically while serving in the Crystarium guard (Meaning that the guard is at least 30 years old, likely more, as her parents were known to have served in the guard since inception basically and Lyna is 33 in SHB)
G'raha was probably in his mid-eighties at this point, judging by Lyna's age in SHB (33) and that we know G'raha had the Crystal Exarch title for 9 decades + the 24 years he had lived before he entered the tower. (He is likely slightly older due to the intervening time between being awakened in the Bad Timeline and heading to the First.)
He FINALLY gets summoning to work something like 90 years later!!!!! Except it still doesn't! Five years before he could nab the WoL, he nabbed Thancred instead (oops). It took another 2 years for it to successfully transport a soul again.
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yestrday · 2 years ago
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— BLUSH BLUSH ! anemo | hydro | geo | pyro
⤷ yan! hybrid! zhongli, itto, gorou, albedo
summary ! these land-dwelling hybrids have devotion as sturdy as stone and they’re ready to prove it anytime! if you’re feeling shackled by your father’s chain, do not worry, for you have your trusty hybrids to keep you company. should you have any concerns, just come to them anytime. after all, you are all bound by a contract that will never expire~
content ! possessive behavior; obsessive behavior; yandere behavior; mentions of violence; mentions of biting you; mentions of blood; mentions of drugs; sadism; thoughts of corruption
notes ! woah!!!! i have posted an actual full update!!! woah!!! applaud please!
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in the neighboring country of your very own, legends say that a great dragon protected their lands in a time of tumultuous peril. were it not for the great dragon general and his army of mythical beasts, the people of that land would have succumbed to war and famine. he built the broken country from the ground back up, and introduced many kinds of craft to help them prosper. the land and its people did indeed flourish,  thanks to the wisdom of the dragon. but wise as he is, he ultimately decided that the humans must learn to rely on themselves, and so he and his army of beasts hid away, till they faded into nothing more but myths and stories…
you stare blankly at the gentleman who is calmly sipping his tea while he tells you this story, and venti's squawking laughter as he dies in the background. having let go of his human form, he sits comfortably with his scaled tail and his golden antlers out, and his black and gold hands gingerly cup the ceramic teacup. aether is beside you giving the man a deadpan stare. all the surrounding hybrids, save for a few clueless ones, give him the side eye. yeah, ZHONGLI is not fooling anybody.
unlike your other hybrids, it was you who came to him. your father had summoned you, much to the anger of your caring hybrids, and your servants had you scrubbed with scented soaps and dressed you in elegant pieces. aether accompanies you all the way to your company's building and soothes your worries away as you ride the elevator going up. the man accompanying you shoots a condescending gaze— the forgotten heir and their hybrid pet— and backing down after receiving aether’s dark glare. when you step into his office, you’re greeted by the apathetic look on your father’s face… and the handsome man beside him.
“this is ZHONGLI,” your father tells you, sounding bored as he resumes to reading his documents. “i heard that you’ve amassed yourself a following of hybrids of some sort.” you tense when you hear that, knowing the positions hybrids hold in this world. “what you do there is of no concern to me. ZHONGLI is a good and efficient secretary– he can help you control those beasts of yours. after all, i cannot risk having so many sources of harm around my child without someone to properly control them.” aether snarls under his breath at the mere implication of them hurting you, but you squeeze his hand. and so off you leave to your isolated villa, your back turning on your neglectful father once more.
ZHONGLI quickly proves himself to be quite the skilled hybrid. he can easily identify from just a glance on what kind of animal they are, as well as the specifications of their behavior, preferred environment, diet, and whatnot. he also helps you sort through your treasures— the jewels and antiques you’ve accumulated over time and tell you stories of these. he entertains you with new knowledge, helping you have a good grasp on the world beyond these walls.
he’s also very, very gentle with you. for the kindness you’ve shown these hybrids, you’ve gained a special place in ZHONGLI’s heart. oftentimes, he will pat your hair down as he recounts an old eastern fable, and straightens out any wrinkles in your shirt when he sees them. it pleases him to know that you are nothing like your father, but he knows that you’re still his blood-related child. if you had to go through any of the trials that your father had, ZHONGLI fears that you may grow just as cold-hearted as he is. so he makes sure to take the utmost care of you, so that you’ll never have to change from your kind and soft self.
ZHONGLI quickly becomes a trustworthy pillar that everyone can rely on. the younger hybrids tend to come to him for advice, and he sometimes even replaces aether as a substitute butler. but when it comes to fights, he only watches in amusement and sips on his tea. youngsters should let out some steam once in a while, he reasons. oh, and aether absolutely forbids him from touching the mora. that’s one thing no one ever trusts him with.
ZHONGLI’s pride and ego as a dragon hybrid has long dissipated since the eras have changed, but even so, it has always irritated him that your father tricked him into a contract. sometimes, when he looks at you, a dark urge dwells in the dark recesses of his mind. it’s a feeling he hasn’t felt ever since he was a young bloodthirsty general— that bloodlust and sadism. he knows you’re not your father… but what he does know is that your father has a great amount of affection he refuses to show to you. so what would happen if ZHONGLI were to… say, ruin you? to push you past your breaking point and present it to your father? 
he knows it’s not right to think such things of you, but you can’t blame him. ZHONGLI is sure you’d understand, like how you understand your every hybrid’s troubles. he’s done so much for you, after all. surely you’ll allow him to take a bite of you, and maybe more. you are a treasure, hidden away where no one can hear you scream. it doesn’t help that ZHONGLI is a dragon, heralded by legends as the mightiest of them all, and he wants to possess every single inch of you until you’re not yourself anymore.
he loves you, and he isn’t afraid to tell you. you are kind, and you are everything your father isn’t. his heart swells when you look at him and his smile is unstoppable when you excitedly chatter on about trivial matters. he wants to give you everything and more but it is in his blood to be selfish, and there’s nothing he wants more than to ruin you and your father too.
RELATIONSHIPS: zhongli and venti often get into passive-aggressive fights by covering up their insults with very fake compliments. poor xiao and aether often find themselves in the middle of this verbal war, but the two old men actually get along more than they’re willing to admit.
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ITTO makes himself known by destroying a wall and a room. it was a nice and peaceful day, enjoying a cup of tea before another session of studying with zhongli. but soon enough, the entire manor shakes as a loud explosion comes from one of the outermost rooms, and everyone rushes to see what happened. in the middle of all the rubble and mess is a snorting bull, a stab wound in his side. when it looks up at you, it's eyes grow wide.
everyone covers your eyes when the bull morphs and reveals a naked muscular man with the stupidest grin ever. "hello, little one!" his voice nearly booms, but it stills sound faint as blood dribbles from his mouth. "uh, haha, i know it's awkward to ask this of ya since we just met, but ya look like the master of this house. care to help me out here?"
ITTO apparently has gotten himself injured thanks to a gang war. according to his story, his gang pissed off some of the local ones when they barged into their territory ("anywhere's arataki itto's territory!" he corrects zhongli, but is promptly ignored) and he split up from his gang while running away ("strategic retreat!"). the adrenaline must've gotten to him, because he was a long way off from where he originally came from.
ITTO is loud and childish, but you've never had a normal childhood, so his presence is greatly appreciated. he drags you into his silly games— catching beetles with you to raise them into fierce fighters, shouting out cringey finishing moves during your card games— it’s always a fun time whenever he’s around, and he even manages to wrangle other hybrids into playing with him. a lot of people are exasperated by him, but they do like how friendly and stupid he is, so he’s one of the more popular hybrids in town.
stupid ITTO knows how strong he is, but that doesn’t mean he stops to think before pulling you into one of his bone-crushing hugs. gorou often yelps and tries to pull him off, nagging the laughing bull about his strength and carelessness. when he does loosen his grip on you, he does make for a great cuddle buddy— a set of firm abs behind you, muscled biceps wrapped protectively around your hips, and his head atop yours. sometimes you’ll fall asleep in his arms, much to everyone’s dismay, because then itto would fall asleep with you and everyone knows he has a grip like death.
ITTO’s foolish, but he’s kind and surprisingly wise at times. he’s wise enough to know the dark leer in his fellow hybrids’ eyes, and strong enough to be able to whisk you away from potential danger without any consequences. he tends to move you away whenever territorial conflicts arise between the hybrids, distracting you with a game or two. itto knows all too well how hybrids are treated in this world… he doesn’t want you being scared of them either.
that’s why he doesn’t warn you about the dangers of the other hybrids either. one, because he doesn’t want to fill your head with scary thoughts about them and two, well, he becomes a hypocrite. he may try protecting you, but even that’s hard enough for him. when you smile at him so trustingly, it just breaks his heart in two… and stirs up something dark and possessive within his heart. 
ITTO wants to cradle you gently, continue to play these silly games with you and have fun with the others for your entire life, but sometimes, you make it hard for him to be a nice man. he’s a big, big man— so big, in fact, that you won’t be able to do anything when he wraps that meaty hand of his around your head and muffles your screams. once he pins you to the floor and starts nibbling at your soft flesh, you’ll be helpless and weak, and it’ll only take him a second before he draws blood. he hates himself for wanting to violate you like that, but the thought makes him salivate.
you don’t know the real world like ITTO and the others does, and he wishes to keep it that way. concepts like innocence and pure are too philosophical for the bull hybrid’s taste, but he wishes to keep you safe. he’s been ridiculed, scorned, and cursed at for simply existing. part of him knows its paranoia, part of him believes it, and a small part of him wishes that you continue to hide in the haven you’ve made for yourself.
RELATIONSHIPS: itto’s quite friendly with the entire inazuman group, ready to loop them in for some fun whether they like it or not. due to his outgoing nature, he’s also made friends with the others as well, especially xiao, and seems to be oblivious to his mythical status with his laments about his poor, small figure. aether keeps a tired yet amused smile at his tirades, but makes sure to keep you away from him to avoid his bad influence.
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GOROU joins your family after being wrangled by the neck by itto, who had loudly proclaimed that he had found dinner. when he bursts in the front doors, there’s a yipping dog digging its canines into his hand. someone briefly mentions that bulls are supposed to be herbivores, but all you can think about how cute the puppy is. slowly creeping to the shiba inu, you gently stretch out a hand and start petting its soft fur. the small thing flicks its eyes to you and bares its teeth to growl, but a particularly good scratch has it whimpering timidly.
GOROU just might be the only sane one from the inazuman hybrids, minus thoma, who’s more or less subservient to you and ayato. he’s usually frantically running back and forth keeping an eye on itto (“humans are not to be held like that!”) and heizou (“do not try to eat kazuha again!”). when he’s not trying to keep it all together, he likes training in the open field out back, and his night time routines are often spent with other fluffy tail boys, who sit in a circle to groom each others tails. you’re part of this too, often finding yourself groomed by the others too. 
he’s a respected warrior, and he likes to help out around the house too. GOROU is fairly amiable and gullible, so he often plays the straight man of many pranks. he’s strict with himself and with others, but not a lot of people take him seriously, especially with ears and tail as fluffy as that. it’s quite troubling for him, and he doesn’t appreciate it when people stroke his ears out of the blue or ruffle his preciously groomed tail.
although young, he likes to present himself as respectable and responsible. after all, he wants you to trust him, to come to him whenever you need help! but it doesn’t help that whenever GOROU is engaged in a duel, his more base instincts come out and the heat of the fight rushes in his head. he’s growling and scratching the floor, he shoots with a precise aim but doesn’t neglect the use of all four limbs. you find it endearing how embarrassed he becomes when he’s finally relaxed after the duel and you of all people had to see him like that. while you coo and comfort him about how cool he was, all the other hybrids exchange  a look— that wasn’t about being cool, it was a show of primal instincts.
GOROU values your approval and affection more than anything in this world. it’s why he works so tirelessly to become a man you can rely on. he doesn’t allow himself to be clingy, but with some encouragement, he’ll immediately melt in your touch and he won’t let go. he sees you like a being near to divinity– if not divinity itself. your touch cleanses him, your voice soothes him, and should you give him a command, he’ll carry it out with perfect execution. he’s been demeaned as a brainless dog by society, an animal instead of an equal, but for you, he’ll proudly carry that title with blood on its name.
if you’re looking to gain more than what you currently have, GOROU is the perfect lackey to have. it’s not to say that all your dear hybrids are more than happy to follow your pursuit of greatness, but they all have their underlying agendas when it comes to you. meanwhile, GOROU’s wants and needs are all based on yours. he doesn’t need to have any other agendas— all he wants is for you to hold him for the night, bloody mess and all.
RELATIONSHIPS: gorou is usually yelling and running after itto, mostly failing to get him wrangled and disciplined. he’s only ever relaxed around kazuha and aether, who both patiently listen to his grumbles and complaints. the three of them are part of the unofficial tail society of the manor, who along with the other fluffy tail-havers like to sit in a circle and groom each other’s tails.
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there was once a time when common household products mysteriously disappeared from your cabinets. it whipped the servants into quite a fright, and rumors of a ghost haunting the halls were popular for a time. it was only when a servant found a small cavern in the side of the hill’s landscape, where the said products were organized meticulously, did they find the culprit— a handsome boy sporting feline eyes and a pair of fluffy ears and tail to boot. when ALBEDO meets your eyes, the wildcat hybrid smiles in a way that would make any romantic’s heart flutter.
“apologies for the inconvenience i may have brought you,” he says in a voice like a fairytale prince’s. “i should have introduced myself sooner instead of stealing from your cabinets. but as you can see,” he poi kntedly stares at the dozen wary eyes behind your back. “... i may have gotten a bit shy in the presence of such… intimidating companions.” 
ALBEDO is almost immediately absolved of all sin. who can get mad at such a pretty face? even your head maid who had been angrily fuming and ranting these past weeks immediately quickly turned all sparkly-eyed and accommodating as soon as albedo sent a charming smile her way. he becomes a quick favorite among the staff, because oh, he’s so nice to talk to! all these scary hybrids are either brooding or scheming or scarily strong and here’s this angel from above come to give them a sense of normality! he’s not nicknamed prince for nothing!
you always feel at ease around ALBEDO, and you like how gentle he is with you. his words are soft-spoken and carefully chosen, and he listens to your insecurities with a patient ear. he shares with you advice and his own perspective of things (albeit a bit flat on the social aspects), and he draws you little doodles to cheer you up. you both have a little game that you play where he draws on his sketchpad and you try to guess what it is before he finishes it. he always finds a way to trick you though, so you never guess correctly. he laughs quietly when you declare that one day you’ll figure it out, and pout when he ruffles your hair like a big brother.
ALBEDO likes how… warm you feel next to him. a favorite past time of his is accompanying you on your strolls and observe the wildlife with you. his hands squeeze yours as you point out the funny cloud in the sky or when you ask about a specific type of flora. if you’re sleepy, you often nap on his lap under the shade of a tree. he can feel his heartbeat racing as his fingers stroke your chin and trace your eyelids, and his big fluffy tail wraps your torso protectively. all he hears is the skritches of his pencil against paper and your faint snoring.
ALBEDO is… passive. strangely so, amidst a harem of dangerous hybrids. he makes it a point to never admit his feelings out loud. to verbalize such fantasies about you, the one who keeps him sheltered, it feels disrespectful to you. you’re too naive of the outside world, too innocent of the darker recesses of the human, er, hybrid mind. he wants to protect this innocence, because there’s too much darkness already in the world.
he hides away in his study, pencil against paper scratching away as his eyes zero in this unfinished portrait. he plans to make a portrait of your likeness, but none of these copies can compare to the real deal. an eye is too off, the nose too thin, the smile not pretty enough. he doodles some little yous on the corner of his scrapped portraits… and blushes furiously. he tears up the indecency and throws them on the fire.
is it so terrible to want to play with you a little? he may put on the big brother act now, but that’s mostly because he likes seeing the expressions you make whenever he praises you. your expressions are so interesting, despite them being like any other human’s. exactly what makes him so drawn to you? it’s a research topic he must explore one day. but for now, ALBEDO is content to play house with you for a little while, and shut away his more sexual instincts for a little while longer. there’d be plenty of time to experiment on you later, once he’s reached his limits. for now, he’ll let the potion simmer for a little while longer ♡
RELATIONSHIPS: albedo often shuts himself away from everyone and stay inside his lil old lab conducting experiments and the like, but once in a while there are people who drag him out. he often experiments on a disgruntled aether, who he bribes with mora. cyno thinks of him as a like-minded friend, but tighnari thinks that the way albedo stares at the jackal is much like a scientist staring at microbes under a glass.
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halexxsam · 5 months ago
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currently can’t stop thinking about oversensitive!dewdrop.
he loves being edged, so much, but after his elemental transition, he can barely take it. Someone in the pack will have to let him cum at least twice before he will be able to hold off and take it.
if they thought he was jerky before?? both mountain and aether have to hold him down if rain decided to keep riding him after he cums.
god forbid swiss buckles his uniform coat on just a bit too tight, for his own entertainment, of course. Dew will suffer through the whole ritual, nipple piercings rubbing just deviously every time he moves. Afterwards, in the dressing room, swiss pulls him onto his lap in front of the whole pack and plays with his oversensitive buds, the whole pack cooing at him to just take it, honey. we know you love it, while fat tears roll down his face.
thinking about how when aurora was summoned, he wanted to fuck her so bad, but knew that he had to build up his stamina. mountain and rain tried to help him out, but when aurora found out, she bust in and rode him until he was a crying mess on their bed.
aether loves to watch him squirm, naturally. sometimes he will pull dew into his lap and make him warm him while he is doing paperwork in the infirmary. no matter how still dew sits, after about 15 minutes of aether’s fat cock inside him, he will cum without fail.
and sometimes, phantom and aether use their quintessence on him so that he simply can’t cum, and if that doesn’t drop him into subspace immediately….just desperate to be good for them and do as he is told (or just lay there and take it, not like he can change anything hehe).
as always, everything written is consensual! & if anyone would want to see one of these turned into a fic, sent me a message! or, feel free to write one yourself (in which case i would always love to read that too)
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goooofy-goooober1121 · 1 month ago
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TWST Boys and 2010s Childhood Things
Source: I grew up during the 2010s
Ask box is open! Please Feel free to Request!
Reblogs are always appreciated!! <3
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Heartslabyul
Riddle Rosehearts
Magic Treehouse books
Like idk if they're specifically 2010s things but I remember those being insanely popular when I was in elementary
If I remember correctly Jack was the levelheaded one so automatically he was Riddle's favorite character
Got frustrated with Annie a million times over for being impulsive
His favorites were definitely the "Learning From Heroes" books and I think his favorite out of those would be To the Future, Ben Franklin
Probably pretended that if he had a Magic Treehouse he would go back to the past to meet the Queen of Hearts
Trey Clover
Easy Bake Oven
OR
Those toothbrushes that would "play music in your head" while you brushed by vibration patterns
Tooth Tunes I think is what they're called?
I don't see why it can't be both
Definitely gets the Justin Bieber ones
Also somehow really skilled with the Easy Bake Oven????
Cater Diamond
Vine and Musical.ly
Was probably behind all those "RIP Vine" YouTube videos
Definitely had hundreds of those Musical.ly lip sync videos
Lowkey probably pretty big on Vine
Quotes vines ALL. THE. TIME.
He memorized all the sounds on Musical.ly
Ace Trappola
The FNAF Kid to Deuce's Minecraft Kid
Loredumps FNAF like it's his holy bible
This reminds me this one time I was doing health screenings at an elementary school for my high school's medical academy course
And I was supposed to check the vision of this one kid but he came up to me and was like
"do you like FNAF"
and I was like yeah I played it all the time and he just went OFF about how he loved Springtrap/Golden Freddy and all the lore and stuff
It was a very good conversation
I'm glad to know that today's children are not totally lost
Anyways storytime over that was Ace coded 100%
Also probably had those dumbass shirts like "I could be GAMING right now 🎮‼️"
Deuce Spade
The Minecraft Kid to Ace's FNAF Kid
Was deathly afraid of Herobrine
Tried to build the Herobrine summoning shrine (he saw a fake YouTube video) anyways
Also definitely tried to build the Aether portal
Wore Minecraft shirts religiously
Probably had a foam diamond sword at some point
Knows every Minecraft parody song by heart
Big fan of Stampy Cat and DanTDM
Probably got a virus downloading Minecraft mods
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Savanaclaw
Leona Kingscholar
Ipod touch/early iphones
Specifically just for music
LOVED to wear earbuds all the time
Will never admit it but he was a huge Bruno Mars listener
Idk why it just feels right
"The Lazy Song" became his anthem
Also consider: Animal Jam
Edgy ass lion or tiger avatar
He's rich so he was a member from day 1
Ran kingdom roleplays where he gets to be king always
Has every spiked collar under the sun and rubs it in people's faces
Ruggie Bucchi
He's a Nickelodeon kid
Spongebob (I know it's from before the 2010s but like it was still running and good during the 2010s so I'm including it)
Watched Victorious and iCarly religiously
Got WAY TOO INVESTED
Cried when Tori got stuck in that prison overseas and had to sing Michael Jackson songs to get out
Also really loved those old Goldfish commercials with the storylines
Jack Howl
Anything from the Razor brand
I'm talking scooters and bicycles
ESPECIALLY THE FLASHRIDER 360.
GIRL
THOSE WERE SO FUN
He thought he was the coolest kid on the block riding a tricycle that spun around and shot sparks out of it if you pulled a lever
Outdoors kid for sure
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Octavinelle
Azul Ashengrotto
Shopkins.
And I'm not talking about just a few.
BROTHER HAD A MONOPOLY.
King of trading Shopkins on the playground
Probably had all the ultra rare sparkly ones
Actually any collectable item was his and posted up in his little black market
LPS, Calico Critters, Pokemon cards, toy erasers...
Probably ran a whole shop, scrutinizing every single item offered to him for trade and drawing up "no take-backs" contracts
Floyd Leech
"Dank Memes" and ASDF movies
Somebody please take YouTube from him
EVERY WORD OUT OF HIS MOUTH IS A QUOTE FROM EITHER
It's like decoding a language that only he knows
Blasts 360 No Scope type shit
Huge fan of dubstep music
Fidget spinners too. Can't take him anywhere without hearing one whirring in his hand
Jade Leech
Chia pets and bug farms
I know chia pets were from like the 80s but they were still big in the 2010s
And as for bug farms he probably bought the ladybug farm and the butterfly farm
Cried when he had to let them go
Probably at some point had the Obama Chia Pet
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Scarabia
Kalim Al-Asim
The Wii.
ADORED Wii Sports and Kirby
Probably hurt himself trying to mimic the Kirby victory dance LMFAO
Also a big Mario fan
Probably forced Jamil to be Luigi while he went as Mario for Halloween
He gives me really big nintendo vibes ngl
A lot of light up sketchers
OH GOD HEELIES
Jamil starts growing grays at the ripe age of seven watching him roll down the halls
Jamil Viper
Just Dance and Cooking Mama
Uses Kalim's Wii to play both
Has gotten perfect scores on every Just Dance level ever
Uses Cooking Mama to get new recipe ideas
Big Smule fan too
Likes their piano game and the singing game
Jamil Viper breaks it down to Ra Ra Rasputin flawlessly
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Pomefiore
Vil Schoenheit
Rainbow Loom and Hot Huez Hair Chalk.
Brags to EVERYONE when he figures out fishtail looms
Has a Rainbow Loom bracelet for every occasion
Uses the hair chalk to color his hair whenever he feels like it
(That's where the purple in his hair comes from LMFAO)
So many chokers.
So many skinny jeans.
Also a massive Movie Star Planet player
Rook Hunt
Anything nerf
Anywhere he went, nerf darts followed
Definitely had the bow and arrow nerf
Probably kept a nerf super soaker in reserve for hotter months
SCARY good at aiming them too. Never missed a shot
Probably has crates of nerf darts "just in case"
ITS NERF OR NOTHING
Epel Felmier
Big fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid
HATES Manny and gets secondhand embarrassment from Susan Heffley
His favorite is probably either Rodrick Rules or The Last Straw
Someone once convinced him that the Cheese Touch was real and he was never the same
Doesn't know if he hates Rodrick or wants to be like him
Relates to Greg (just not on the, yk, being a horrible person front)
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Ignihyde
Idia Shroud
Club Penguin, Wizard 101, and Poptropica. Possibly Habbo Hotel too tbh
Hacked his version of Pokemon Go so that he didn't actually have to leave his house
Gaming Legend tbh
Probably ranked in the top ten on every server he got on
Had a million puffles and was a black belt in the Club Penguin martial arts minigames
Had a secret tumblr account at the PEAK of fandom culture and got really popular off it
Probably makes sad AMVs to like My Little Pony or something
Ortho Shroud
Slime.
Slime FIEND.
Unironically searched up "how to make slime no glue no borax"
His favorite is crunchy slime
But fluffy slime is a close second
Also I think he was a big fan of Kidz Bop
Had an earth shattering revelation when he first listened to the ACTUAL songs that Kidz Bop covered
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Diasomnia
Malleus Draconia
Talking Tom/Pou/Clumsy Ninja type games
"Lilia the little creature mocks me."
Cares for each and every one of them like they're his actual children
Probably has a spreadsheet of care times
Feels guilty whenever he taps on the screen and accidentally triggers the "You just smacked your virtual cat in the face" animation
Lilia Vanrouge
A mix of 2010s mom and internet culture
On one hand he LOVES to play Candy Crush
You look over at him and he's locked in on level 190282938
On the other his entire playlist is nightcore
Also I think he'd be way into Nyan Cat
Has a DeviantArt account (take that as you will)
Silver Vanrouge
Pillow Pets.
PILLOW PETS.
Idk if they sell them anymore but he definitely has a pillow pets blanket
His favorite Pillow Pet is a sheep
I also see him really liking Beanie Babies
He has a collection
Sebek Zigvolt
Ninjago, Bionicles, and Beyblades
Idolized Kai from Ninjago for sure
Had too many Bionicles to count
Pretended he was a Bionicle on the playground and has most definitely attempted Spinjitsu
Challenges EVERYONE to Beyblade battles.
You can't escape.
Carries his best Beyblades with him just in case
BEYBLADE BEYBLADE LET IT RIP
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geasthewritingrat · 14 days ago
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Omg wait, Swiss who can't tell anyone he loves them?? Swiss who gets real confused cause he knows he loves his pack but he just can't say those three little words :(
CW - mentions of sex, fear of love, fear of rejection
Pronouns used; he/him Swiss, Mountain, Dew | she/her Sunshine, Cirrus, Aurora | it/they/she Solaris/Umbra | they/them Rain | they/he Phantom | she/they Cumulus | he/they Aether
It's Rain that says it first, though that part's not much of a surprise. They'd always been more in touch with their emotions than the rest of the pack - Swiss and Dew theorise that's why they're allowed into ghoulette night when they're not. No, what surprised Swiss was how hearing them say it made his ears ring and brain feel like TV static. It was said so casually, as if it was the easiest sentence in the world. He didn't even know what response he gave - years later, Rain would gently tell him that he'd just let out a pathetic little whimpered squeak - but he hated the frown it brought to Rain's face. He'd fled, then, dashing into shadows while his heart raced so hard and fast he worried it'd explode.
Cumulus had been next, curled up on the sofa with the multi ghoul, idly chatting about everything and nothing. Anything that piqued their interests, really, until the topic of what Rain had said just so happened to come up. Of course Rain had told her, they were a pack, they didn't keep secrets! But the change in conversation had Swiss shifting, a movement so subtle it went unnoticed by his favourite little ghoulette until she'd uttered the same words Rain had. His throat felt tight the second they started their sentence, his breathing a choked gasp as soon as she'd finished. He'd been long gone before she even realised he'd moved, his habit of keeping eyes on every exit finally coming in handy.
He really hadn't ever expected Dewdrop of all ghouls to be the next in line to confess. They'd been going at it all night, brutal at first to get rid of all the energy they'd had building up all week, but then things took a softer turn. Dew had wormed his hands up to Swiss' cheeks, pulling him down to rest their foreheads together as he whimpered so softly. Poor guy could barely form words, let alone string a whole sentence together - but he managed it, gasped out an "I love you", and Swiss bit his lip so hard it bled, sinking his fangs in deep. That was the first time he'd ever left without aftercare, and fuck did it make him drop hard.
Mountain had been more pissed off than Swiss had ever seen when he'd said it, fangs bared and scent filled with such an intense anger that just a whiff of it made Swiss' head spin. He'd yelled at him for a while; cursing him for leaving Dewdrop, lecturing him for fleeing from Cumulus, snapping at him for making tears well in Rain's eyes. And Swiss just took it, listened to each bitter, biting word as if he, too, felt like he deserved it.
Cirrus didn't even say it. She traced the words into his skin with her pretty, clawed fingertips during one of their pack movie nights. It'd made Swiss tense immediately, sweat beading at his brow with each letter pressed into the flesh of his arm. But he couldn't move. Aether was laying against him, running his own fingers up and down Swiss' arm as they kept him in place on the sofa. Like he knew Cirrus' plan. If he had it in his panicked mind to focus, he'd've noticed that Aether had been tracing the exact same words in the language of the Pit. He ended up disassociating the rest of the movie, going on autopilot and returning to his room alone after it'd finished.
After she'd been summoned, Aurora latched onto him like a moth to a flame, always seeking him out and trying to get close to him. She'd babbled to Sunny one night about her love and admiration for her fellow multi, trying to find a way to tell him that was unique to the way she felt for him. When Sunny told her, with watery eyes, that the confession she'd given had been met with a stuttered apology and the turn of a body so fast that it'd left her hair a windblown mess, she refused to believe it. And when she did the same, she watched hopelessly as Swiss stumbled in his haste to get up, claws still wet with the fresh coat of paint and multicoloured hearts smearing against everything he touched.
Phantom hadn't lasted long, either. He said it repeatedly, sprinkled into every conversation while trying not to take it personally as Swiss dissolved into shadow each and every time he heard the beginnings of the confession. In all honesty, they'd've continued to say it even if they had taken it to heart - that's just the kind of ghoul he was. He loved and loved and loved, needing to share it with the ghoul he looked up to most, even if the multi could never believe them.
Hells, he couldn't even believe Solaris nor Umbra as they whispered those taunting words to him in the tourbus. It'd spoken so softly, their voice carried along a light breeze as they watched Swiss playing a game on his phone. He'd tried not to let it show that he'd heard it, hoping and praying to his beloved Sathanas that they hadn't noticed the way his shoulders tensed or the way his tail went so completely still, but she did. She did, she noticed, and it used their twin tails to form a heart every time Swiss walked past.
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ghoulangerlee · 10 months ago
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if it was a sin, but i'd feel whole, would you still take control? ; mountain/aether ; E
god here it is y'all. this took so many days haha. I have read over this and fixed as many of the errors as I found but if you see anymore, just let me know! I had to take a benedryl today bc of food allergies and ive been feeling it since then, ha. the hat man has been my bff while writing this bc i keep seeing him whenever i stare too long at the screen 😂
title comes from move it or lose it by the home team :)
You can in fact read this one on AO3 here if you'd prefer :')
this was supposed to be quick and dirty based on the small dick mountain and aether post I made but it developed a life of its own and seven thousand words later here we are! I hope you enjoy!
contains: ghoul ruts, possessive behaviors (minor), trans aether (cock and knot are used for him), knotting, resolved sexual tension, oral knotting, fingering, biting, overstimulation and oral sex!
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There’s a knock at his door—its late, and while it’s not uncommon, it does throw Aether in for a bit of a loop. He’s been off duty now for about eight hours, retired to his quarters for the foreseeable future (until band practice in two days time, they’re leaving to finish off some final shows soon, he and the other new ghouls summoned to replace Papa Emeritus the Third’s previous ones, he’s a bit fuzzy on most of the details surrounding it all.)  
There’s another knock, this time more hurried and the scratch of something against wood—bone maybe, rough and grating and Aether frowns as he slinks from his place in bed. “I’m coming!” he calls out, and the scratching stops suddenly.  
He's only mildly concerned as he approaches the door, magic building under his fingertips just in case, but when he opens it, it’s just Mountain, the new earth ghoul, a grimace on his face and fingers gripping tightly at the door frame.  
“Are you—” Aether starts, but cuts himself off when Mountain pitches forward all of a sudden and the thick scent of rut hits him like a ton of bricks.  
He catches him, though just barely, arms coming up to gather the earth ghoul close to his chest—Mountain is mostly glamoured now, though Aether knows he won’t be for much longer, and makes a slightly impulsive decision to drag the ghoul into his room, grunting under the almost dead weight.  
“Satan above,” Aether swears, mostly under his breath as he steadies his center and heaves Mountain half onto his shoulder, strong or not, all of the earth ghoul’s dead weight settling makes it hard to move him around—but eventually, he makes it over to the couch, lowering him down onto the cushions before focusing on getting Mountain’s legs up and over the arm of it, a mimicry of comfort, but Aether’s more hesitant to allow a ghoul he barely knows into his nest.  
Even now, he glances over at his messily made bed, the piles of blankets and pillows on it arranged specifically, a sort of protective feeling wells up in him that he tries to ignore.  
A low groan pulls him from his thoughts and almost immediately he looks over to Mountain who looks mostly uncomfortable on the couch, eyes barely open as he looks at Aether.  
There’s something akin to hunger in his gaze, but he chooses to ignore it.  
“First rut topside, huh?” Aether asks out loud, putting some distance between himself and Mountain, “Is this part of your cycle or unplanned?”  
He prides himself for the way his voice doesn’t betray anything, from first meeting he and Mountain had hit it off pretty well, there was intrigue there, as the earth ghoul had watched him oh so carefully, as if curious about him. There has been some probing questions, quiet discussions after practice, mostly about magic and teetering on the edge of life and death.  
Aether doesn’t want to admit to himself that he’s interested in what happens during an earth ghoul’s rut—being quintessence, he barely has anything of a cycle, and when it does happen, there isn’t much in the way of anything except pain and annoyance. Nothing too fun about it for him unless there was a partner involved—and most often, there hadn’t been.  
As he waits for Mountain to answer, he heads into the little kitchenette to get some water, it’s late so he suspects that Mountain has at least eaten at some point today, trying to remember the things that Omega had told him about what to expect when one of his packmates goes into rut or heat.  
(After all, quintessence ghouls are the equilibrium of the pack.) 
“’m not due for a rut until the winter,” Mountain finally manages to answer, his voice caught somewhere between his glamoured, more human voice and the one that Aether had heard when he was first summoned, all bass and full of static.  
It makes his teeth ache and his ears ring, but he turns with a smile, something small and gentle, he knows that any unexpected change of emotions could send Mountain spiraling, so he regulates, brings a bottle of water back over to the couch and lowers himself to sit on the edge of the low coffee table across from Mountain.  
“Early then,” Aether says, pausing somewhat awkwardly as he watches Mountain take the bottle from him and bite the cap off, guzzling down easily half of it with little thought, “Is there anything specific you need?” he asks, keeping his tone light, clinical, hoping he comes across more concerned than just curious.  
Mountain grumbles something, squeezes the water bottle in his hand once he’s downed the rest of it, drops of it soaking into the collar of his t-shirt, he drops the crumpled plastic to the floor and stretches his limbs, glamour melting away until all that’s left is a nearly eight foot ghoul stretched across Aether’s couch.  
His antlers curl from his hair, spanning more than the width of the couch, and Mountain makes a pained sound in his throat—t-shirt rucked up his torso, soaked in sweat.  
The noise digs deep into Aether’s core, and he feels the hair on his arms stand, he’s watching, curious—Mountain still hadn’t answered his question, the what do you need hanging heavily between them and the more the silence stretches, the more time Aether has to overthink it, to wonder if he'd propositioned a ghoul in a rut.  
He leans forward and grabs the crumpled bottle from the floor, stands and heads off to the kitchen to give himself something to do while he waits, he takes a few moments, grabs another water from the refrigerator.  
Just as the door closes with a soft squeak, there’s a groan from the couch and the sound of the wooden frame creaking under the weight of the nearly eight foot tall ghoul on it, “I need to...” Mountain begins, his throat dry, voice cracking as he speaks, and he stops with a groan, pressing his fist to his abdomen, “...need to knot something,” he mumbles, half out of it, “Hurts a lot.” 
Aether exhales and turns around, water in hand, “Is there someone you could go to?” he asks, and then frowns a little, “Or, someone I could bring here? I could find somewhere to go for the night.”  The idea of leaving his room and his nest alone during another ghoul’s rut leaves a bad taste in his mouth, he doesn’t want to do that, but it feels somewhat significant that Mountain had come to him of all people.  
Mountain shifts on the couch again, onto his side, at least the best that he can at his height and width, watching Aether with heavy eyes, he makes a pained sort of sound, presses his fist harder against his abdomen, “I — uh, I don’t know who else could...” he trails off, grits his teeth as if getting the words out were some gargantuan task, “I am...different, and anytime I try to take on a mate they...” his face screws up into something ugly then, “I’ve never shared my rut with anyone else.”  
The air leaves Aether in a rush and his grip tightens on the water bottle in his hand, “Oh,” he says, something like interest building in the back of his mind as he passes the sweating bottle to his other hand, “That’s...I thought that was just something that most quintessence ghouls do,” he says, trying for a light tone, but Mountain must sense something there, because his nostrils flare, eyes narrowing.  
“Quintessence ghouls don’t...experience that?” Mountain asks, tilting his head just barely, his antler scraping against the stone floor as he does so, “Heat, rut...” he trails off, hisses in pain as another wave of something overtakes him. “Like other ghouls?”  
Aether crosses the room again, though the whole time he feels like prey, under the watchful eyes of Mountain, who seems to be mostly trying to puzzle him out between bouts of painful cramps and he holds the water out to Mountain who takes it with barely a brush of fingertips, “Quintessence ghouls don’t have to have mates,” he says carefully, “We can sort of...produce heirs without them. Our heat and rut cycles are nearly nonexistent because of that, so we end up coupling for pleasure more than a biological need, I guess. My last cycle was several millennia ago.”  
It feels clinical, explaining this to Mountain, while Mountain’s in his own rut, but Aether had always been good with compartmentalizing, with not being affected by these things, “Of course, I don’t mind keeping you company, talking things out, but we should really try to come to some sort of ah resolution for your situation. I can sort of...” he trails off, waving his hand as if to indicate brushing something away, “get rid of my own issues, but I think it's better if you uh earth ghouls consummate the rut or heat, right?”  
Mountain snorts, a great sound that ruffles the pages of a magazine on the coffee table, “Sure, yeah, consummate is the word for it,” he opens the bottle of water properly this time, though the cap is easily crushed between his fingers as he does so before he’s gulping it down like he was starving for it, water dripping from the corner of his lip and down onto the couch.  
“Is there someone you had in mind?” Aether asks, unsure why he feels like he has to keep pushing this, there’s something in the back of his mind, nagging him, telling him to call one of the other pack members, another earth ghoul, someone else before this becomes something well beyond his control.  
Mountain is silent then, crushes the bottle in his hand and drops it to the floor, his eyes trained on Aether’s face for a long time before he lets his gaze trail down the quintessence ghoul’s body, “Are you offering?” he asks plainly, fangs heavy in his mouth.  
Floored, Aether takes a step back, catches his leg against the corner of the coffee table but otherwise stays upright, “Me?” he asks, voice strained. “I uh.” He doesn’t know what to say or how to answer the question—unconsciously maybe he had been offering something, but putting a word to that out loud felt scary and big.  
“Historically I’ve never been good with sharing a rut or heat with someone,” Aether says, trying to aim for calm, but his voice cracks a little, there’s a warmth inside him, an interest that he’s sure Mountain can scent on him.  
A low rumble echoes through the room, full of bass, a small and sly sort of smile tugging at the corners of Mountain’s mouth, “Historically I’ve never shared my rut with anyone,” he says, there’s an ounce of suggestion in his voice, but underneath that, there’s hesitation too, a brief flash of worry in his gaze before it evens out into something heated once again.  
And Aether, he’s never been too good when it came to self-preservation—the reason he dove head first into the first summoning circle that opened up was due to lack of exactly that, so knowing this, he sighs and comes to sit on the edge of the coffee table again, “We’re going to have to talk first,” he says, “Just because,” he pauses and looks at Mountain, takes in his height, the bulk of him and presses his own legs together.  
He’s getting wet now, of course he is, the prospect of strengthening pack bonds, of having sex for the first time since being summoned fills him with a heat—Mountain isn’t too terrible to look at, a capable lover, from where Aether’s sitting, but there’s just. A bit of an issue with all of this. One that he’s hoping won’t be a dealbreaker once he mentions it.  
Mountain makes some kind of noise, it sounds mostly tortured and a tiny bit playful, but he manages to get his hands under himself and heaves upwards so he’s sitting on the couch instead of laying.  
His shirt is soaked in sweat and there’s some beaded at his temples, his face a bit of a pale gray rather than the warmer tone that Aether’s used to seeing, but he looks alert, his eyes clear as he looks at Aether, as he takes this seriously, “I’m listening,” he says, hunching a bit on himself, arm curled around his abdomen carefully, “This is important to you and I have a little bit longer before I get too stupid with my rut,” he says with a bit of a wince.  
Aether bites at his lower lip, nodding his head, “Of course,” he says, “You are...very big,” the words come out before he can think it through, eyes trained on the width of Mountain’s shoulders, now that he’s sitting up almost properly. “And, I’m only going to assume that other parts of you are ah, proportionate.” he flushes, folds his hands in his lap—there's something in Mountain’s gaze that almost makes him pause, but he pushes on, “Sometimes, it takes a lot for me to enjoy penetration, and in the past that has caused partners to not want to pursue that with me. And since you’re in your rut, I didn’t want us to fall into bed and things not be enjoyable for you.”  
Mountain’s quiet then, he’s quiet for so long that Aether almost backtracks again, tries to think of something to say instead, to fill the silence because the way Mountain’s looking at him is unnerving.  
“Well,” Mountain finally says, tilting his head a little bit, “If we’re being honest about things, the reason I’ve never been able to find a mate is because of me lacking in the parts that matter during a rut.”  
There’s a curiosity there, simmering under his skin, at the lacking that he mentions, his eyes falling down to Mountain’s lap almost unconsciously—his breath catching at the utter lack of any hint of his arousal.  
And he is aroused, that is. Aether can smell it thick in the air, a temptation—like a cold morning in the forest, stealing the breath from his lungs as he breathes in.  
Mountain clears his throat and Aether’s gaze snaps back up to his face, behind the bravado and the heat there’s something like insecurity in his gaze, “So, do you think it’ll be okay?” he asks, a sort of downturn to his lips as she speaks.  
Aether stands then, clears his throat and dabs at the sweat collecting in the hollow of his throat, “I think we’ll make it work,” he says, and then he puts space between them, even as Mountain makes a desperate noise in his throat.  
There’s shuffling behind him, the sound of the couch groaning, but Aether pushes through to his task, collecting more water and some snacks—easy things to feed Mountain once the rut burns through him, “The bathroom is through the door over there,” he says, motioning towards the opposite side of the room, “If this is the last chance you have until you’re too stupid with rut, I need you to go in there and shower first. You reek of the ghoul dens and I won’t have that scent stuck to my nest.” He says matter of fact.  
Mountain slowly rises from the couch, lumbers across the room to the bathroom, glancing back at Aether every so often as something warm settles in his stomach, and when he disappears into the room, he leaves the door open just a bit.  
Aether exhales when he hears the shower turn on, thankful that the ghoul rooms are large enough to accommodate an unglamoured ghoul, and for a brief reprieve from Mountain’s scent—though it sticks heavily in his nostrils.  
He carries his supplies over to his nest, picking and pulling at some of the blankets, rearranging things to make more sense for a coupling, humming quietly to himself as he works. It's not often he has to change things around for a bed partner, not often he has anyone in his best, even before he was summoned, and the small part of his brain that frets over the structure wonders if Mountain will be pleased enough with it when it’s all said and done.  
The water shuts off, and Aether opens the window by his bed to let in some of the cool night air, there are nerves building in the pit of his belly, but he pushes through and undresses most of the way, down to his underwear and debating if he should remove his shirt too before he hears the bathroom door creak, the sound of heavy footfalls following.  
When Aether turns, his breath catches—Mountain’s standing across the room, water droplets pebbled on his chest, a white towel knotted around his waist though it barely holds, his entire hip and thigh visible where the towel won’t quite meet.  
“Didn’t think it would be a good idea to put my clothes back on,” Mountain says, a flush arcing across his cheeks, “I uh used that neutral soap you have, maybe I don’t smell bad anymore?” 
He asks it so earnestly, so shy, that Aether crosses the room and reaches out, careful fingertips brushing over Mountain’s arms, feeling the rut and shower warmed skin, the thick muscle just under it bunch under his touch, fingertips roaming downwards until he’s lacing his fingers through Mountain’s, tugging him closer, a shuffle of a dance as he walks them backwards towards his nest.  
Mountain's eyes widen, his mouth opens a bit, fingers spasming around Aether’s as his eyes fall to the nest, his nostrils flaring at the heavy scent of Aether, of pack emanating from the bed.  
“Are you sure…?” he asks, his voice low, garbled, lust and rut rushing to his head as he looks between the nest and Aether, the careful branch of trust the quintessence ghoul is offering him.  
Vulnerability.  
Aether hums, dropping one of Mountain’s hands as he steps back again, using his now free hand to steady himself on the foot of the bed as he climbs up onto it backwards, knee walking across the sheets, pulling Mountain closer and closer and closer until the earth ghoul is standing at the foot of the bed, bare knees pressed against the mattress.  
“Are you sure?” Mountain asks, barely above a whisper, his throat clicking loudly as he swallows, “We haven’t even kissed—” he pauses, flushing at his words. “We can go back to the couch, if you’d rather, I don’t want to…” taint your nest, is left unsaid.  
Aether smiles at him, tugs a bit harder on Mountain’s hand, “This is me inviting you into my nest,” he says softly as he sinks back on his heels, legs spreading a bit more.  
Mountain’s gaze is drawn to the splay of them, the way his thighs stretch and dimple just below the hem of his underwear, he’s wearing briefs, a dark fuchsia color—heat tugging sharp and pointed in his belly when he sees a damp spot, the slight bulge of his cock pressing into the material.  
“Oh,” Mountain said, somewhat dumbly, as he finally climbs up onto the bed, folding his long limbs under him so he can sit properly, “I can uh, you know,” he feels nervous, even as the heat courses through him, a voice insistently whispering for him to take, mate, take. “I can glamour again, I think, if this is too weird,” he mumbles, sharpened teeth digging into his bottom lip as he looks down at Aether, even kneeling, still so much taller. “I know it can be a lot.”  
With a soft laugh, Aether brings Mountain’s hand up to his mouth, pressing a firm kiss to the back of it, “Not too big for me, big guy,” he murmurs, feeling coy all of a sudden, glancing up at him from under his lashes as shadows darken the room, seeping closer to the bed like a mighty dog, “I like you like this,” he promises, his form flickering for a moment, like an illusion.  
The air in the room goes colder, prickling against Mountain’s hot skin and he shudders, watches the illusion flicker out of existence as Aether sits, now unglamoured, in front of him.  
He's bigger too, wider, medium downy fur covering his arms and legs, the contrast of his gray skin making the cyan of his fur seem colder, his eyes solid black now with a constellation of stars floating in the void of it.  
“You can touch me,” Aether whispers, his voice sweet sounding now, filling the air in a way that feels almost like a kiss of death, and Mountain takes a loud and long shuddering breath.  
He shifts closer until his knees press into Aether’s, ducking his head down to scent just behind one of Aether’s ears, the soft fur covering them dragging sweetly across his cheek—it twitches, Aether exhaling his own sound as arousal flares up between them and tips his head to the side, allowing Mountain more.  
Though his hands shake, Mountain presses them to Aether’s chest, his skin cold to the touch in a way that makes him whine despite Aether wearing a shirt still.  
“Always takes a minute to get used to it,” Aether murmurs, rubbing his palm over Mountain’s forearm, soothing, “Glamour doesn’t just keep me looking human,” he teases on the end of a sigh, as Mountain finally noses his way downward, scenting just under his chin now, lips brushing over skin.  
“Smell so good,” Mountain mumbles, inhaling deeply, he wants to crawl inside Aether and settle down there, curl up in his scent and luxuriate in it until they become one. 
The fire beneath his skin burns with a fury, and his fingers curl in Aether’s shirt, tugging at it, “Off,” he manages to say, and together, they wrestle the t-shirt over his head and into the nest somewhere before Mountain’s hands find their place on Aether’s waist, digging his fingertips into the small of his back with a sort of animalistic sound, he crowds forward until Aether falls back into the nest with a soft laugh.  
Aether’s hands find Mountain’s hair, fingertips cold and nimble as he seeks out the base of his antlers—the sound falling from Mountain’s mouth a fury of low bass and static that makes Aether ache.  
“Need,” Mountain murmurs, crouched over him, one leg between Aether’s own, straddling one of his thighs, “Should tell me now what you like cause I’m not gonna be coherent for much longer,” he continues, mouthing where Aether’s fur fades into skin.  
A laugh, soft, even as Aether scrapes his nails against the seam where Mountain’s antlers grow from his skull, relishing in the sort of guttural sound that the earth ghoul makes, the way Mountain’s thighs flex around his own, “I like a lot of things, slow and not too deep, fast and rough—a good mate that’ll take care of me knows what I need when he’s got me under him, hm? I know this is your rut, but it’s really not about that, is it? You want to take care of someone.” he murmurs.  
Mountain makes a pained noise again, shifts a bit so he can rut against Aether’s thigh, “I’ll take good care of you,” he murmurs, a litany of promises falling from his lips as he tries to get friction against his own cock. “Please, let me show you, let me take care of you.” he whispers, nearly begs, as Aether’s fingertips continue to trace gentle circles around the base of his antlers—highly erogenous, “Please baby, please,” he finally breaks, begs, turning his head and pressing his face into Aether’s throat. “Want to take care of you. Show you I can be a good mate.”  
Aether stays silent for a moment, feels Mountain shake against him for a bit before dragging a finger up along the shaft of his left antler, “Show me,” he whispers as his other hand goes down between them, tugging at the knotted end of the towel and Mountain makes a great noise in his throat, the sound loud and unyielding as he reaches down in between them and shreds at the towel, yanking it away from his body and tossing it in a messy heap on the floor.  
Mountain shifts above him, warm where he’s straddling Aether’s thigh, the prickly fur decorating the insides of them mixing roughly in his and Aether doesn’t much look as he does reach between them, seeking out where Mountain’s hard and waiting, fingers wrapping around his shaft and—oh.  
Oh.  
He has to look then; he nudges Mountain back though the earth ghoul whines about it, but Aether shushes him, murmurs something about wanting to see him, though his mind is steadily focused on how small he feels against his palm.  
Aether lets out a shuddering breath when he finally sees Mountain, the ruddy head of his cock peeking just barely over the top of his fist, his hand closing around it so easily—a good maybe four inches fully erect—and he must stay silent for too long, because Mountain shifts uncomfortably, makes a sort of worried noise.  
“I know it’s—” Mountain starts, then stops, pouts a little, he doesn’t go soft though, not with the way Aether’s holding him, gripping him tight enough to give him pressure, his hand moving the tiniest bit as he breathes. “Aether?”  
There’s an edge to his voice, a bit of sourness to his scent and Aether’s quick to snap out of it, squeezes Mountain with intent this time as he whispers, “You’re perfect,” already feeling out of breath just from looking at him. “You’re going to take such good care of me, Mountain, gonna feel so good inside me,” he murmurs. “D’you have a knot?” he mumbles, hushed, in awe.  
Mountain makes a sort of embarrassed noise, his chest flushing as he tries to hide his face in Aether’s hair, “I do,” he mumbles, “Not very big though, probably won’t catch without some help.”  
Aether makes a pleased sound, a low rumble of a purr deep in his chest as he nudges his face under Mountain’s chin, pressing an open-mouthed kiss against his skin, “Gonna catch just fine,” he mumbles, feeling dazed as he strokes Mountain from base to tip, curling the palm of his hand over the head of Mountain’s dick. “You’re so perfect. The perfect size.” 
He bucks into his touch, hips jackrabbiting forward into Aether’s hand, “Satan,” he mumbles like a swear, mouth falling open—his hips move on their own volition, and all Mountain can do is making helpless little noises, fucking into the pressure around his cock over and over and over until he’s coming, shaking through it with Aether’s name on his tongue as he comes in spurts over Aether’s fist, getting the two of them messy.  
“Oh, oh,” Aether says, awed, “Felt good?” he murmurs, still stroking Mountain, feeling the beginnings of his knot, thickening at the base, “Look at the mess you made, baby,” he murmurs after a bit, pulling his hand away, sticky with Mountain’s spend, “I bet you have so much more to give though, don’t you?” he asks softly, hopeful.  
Mountain makes a soft noise, panting heavily as he turns his head to bury his face into Aether’s hair, “Wanna give you everything,” he mumbles, pawing at Aether’s sides, feeling the give of his waist under his touch, “Let me touch you now, taste you, please Aether.”  
Aether makes a soothing sort of noise, buries his clean hand in Mountain’s hair, “You’re already doing so well for me,” he murmurs sweetly, pressing his thumb against the base of an antler again, “Want that pretty mouth on my dick, baby,” he coos, smiling when Mountain makes a pained noise. “Go on, big guy,” he urges, lets his hand fall from Mountain’s hair finally as he settles properly on the bed, hooking his thumb in the waist of his briefs, pushing them down over one hip.  
Mountain pulls back, watches as Aether slowly reveals more of himself, there’s a constellation of navy, almost black patches of fur over his groin that he wants to follow with his mouth, so he shifts, shuffling backwards until he’s properly kneeling in between his thighs.  
“So pretty,” Mountain rumbles lowly, and, with a lot more grace and care than one would expect of a ghoul during a rut, he buries his face among the navy fur, inhaling the scent of Aether’s sweat and arousal, mouthing at each inch of skin revealed until he feels mad with it all, claws careful as he grabs at the other side of Aether’s briefs, pulling them down—easily getting them off as Aether lifts his hips in encouragement.  
One hand grabs at Mountain’s antlers and the earth ghoul makes a happy sort of noise, letting Aether direct him exactly where he wants—to his cock, pink and wet, hard and flushed with his arousal, soaking in the pleased, happy sound Aether lets out the moment Mountain’s mouth closes around it.  
“Yes,” Aether hisses out, bucking up into Mountain’s mouth—grinding into his face with a pleased sound, “Just like that, big guy. Feels so good, just like I knew it would. Got such a pretty mouth.”  
Mountain whines, closes his eyes and sinks into it, the praise falling from Aether’s lips washes over him until he’s feeling a bit dumb with it, his face a mess of slick and spit as Aether keeps grinding into him, fucking his mouth with sharp, pointed thrusts—each time he goes to pull out, Mountain makes a wounded noise and tries to shove his face in close again, trying to take in more—almost as if he were in heat and not rut, wanting, craving to feel the way Aether’s knot swells in his mouth.  
“So eager,” Aether murmurs, but it doesn’t sound mean, doesn’t sound exasperated like some of Mountain’s previous partners, it’s fond and bookended with a sweet little sigh as Aether tosses one of his legs over Mountain’s shoulder, allowing him to get closer.  
Happiness and contentedness radiates off of Aether, one hand cupping the back of his head while the other keeps him exactly where he wants him with a firm grip on an antler, “I want you to make me come,” he says, breathless, pressing his head back into the pillow under him as he rocks up into Mountain’s mouth, “Make me come and then you can get me ready to take your knot, baby.”  
Mountain makes another noise, something eager, as he grips Aether’s thigh in one hand, pushes it back towards his chest as he sinks his mouth further down on Aether’s cock, his face messy and slick as he buries as close as he can, tonguing at the beginnings of his knot, already starting to firm up in his mouth.  
He makes a happy noise, uses his weight to keep Aether in place as he sucks him off, feeling Aether’s thigh tremble in his grip—he makes a curious noise, sinks his other hand in between them, nudging a couple of knuckles against where Aether’s wet and warm. 
Aether swears, toes curling as he nods against the pillow several times, words taking a moment to form as he tries to rock down against Mountain’s other hand while simultaneously grinding into his mouth—he can’t though, not with the way Mountain’s holding him there, leg pressed up to his chest, keeping him open.  
“Please,” Aether finally manages to get out, tugs a bit harshly at Mountain’s hair, “Fingers, yes,” he breathes out, “Put one in me, baby, let me feel it. I’m so close.”  
He complies, presses one finger into Aether slowly, feels the way he goes tight around him, hot and slick like he’s in heat—something that makes Mountain’s mouth water a bit, drags him deeper into his rut, imagining spending a heat with Aether, satiating the quintessence ghoul in the same way Aether’s satiating him now.  
“That’s it,” Aether says, his voice going low, a moan catching in his throat as Mountain’s lips tighten around his cock, a wet heat that makes his knot thicken, he can feel it growing just inside the earth ghoul’s mouth, the pressure in his belly building as a slender finger works its way inside of him, pressing into his walls, testing, undulating, fucking into him with such care that Aether can’t help the way tears gather at the corners of his eyes, at the sweetness that Mountain’s showing him despite being in a rut.  
It goes on like this, for several, long minutes, minutes that feel like they stretch into hours and Aether feels so wrung out and loose by the time he’s shaking through his own orgasm, that he feels like Mountain could just slide into him without actually prepping him—a thought that seems to prolong his orgasm to the point that he’s kicking at Mountain, shoving him away bodily as he curls in on himself, turning onto his side and panting into the pillow, shivering.  
Mountain makes a sort of wounded noise, worry cloying his scent as he crowds up against Aether’s back, careful not to touch him too much, but still wanting to be close, nosing at the nape of his neck as he waits for Aether to calm down a bit, for him to stop shaking—and it doesn’t seem to take that long, but there’s a heat bubbling just beneath Mountain’s skin that makes time different, that makes his mind a little different, his eyes drooping a bit as he scents at Aether, trying to determine if he’s alright.  
Aether’s hand eventually reaches back and he drags Mountain in, closer to him, curling under the heaviness of his arm—their scents mingling together as he noses at Mountain’s knuckles, breathing still a bit choppy and uneven, aftershocks making his toes curl and uncurl. “Seven Hells,” he finally mumbles, feeling Mountain’s rumbling laughter vibrating deep in his chest, “I don’t think I’ve ever come that hard,” he admits quietly.  
“Told you,” Mountain mumbles, deep and mostly inhuman now, “Wanna give you everything,” he punctuates the statement by grinding his hips forward against Aether—the hard line of his cock nudging at the back of his thigh, “Everything,” he repeats, the word catching in a whine at the end. “Let me, please.”  
Aether shushes him, pets over his forearm, “Think you can do it like this, baby?” he asks, “I’m feeling a little boneless right now, comfortable,” he murmurs with a purr, “A couple fingers and then you can fuck me, okay?” he asks, pressing a kiss to Mountain’s knuckles.  
It takes a moment for Mountain to catch up, but he makes an excited noise—and Aether mourns the loss of the arm curling around him disappearing, but is mostly okay with it when Mountain slides his other arm under Aether’s head, cradling him like he’s something precious as he carefully presses one finger into him.  
Aether moans, arching back into it, eyes fluttering closed as Mountain seems to take his time with this, letting him get used to it—fucking his finger in and out of him a few times until Aether’s whining, turning his face into Mountain’s arm and asking for the other one, a pleased gasp leaving his mouth when he complies, presses two fingers into him, slow and careful, his body opening up around them so easily.  
He thinks, somewhat dumbly, that if Mountain were to pull out and fuck into him now then he’d be happy, he’d be content, but instead, Mountain seems laser focused on fingering him, curling and pressing them over and over until Aether’s shifted a leg further out, giving him more space and Mountain’s thumb grazing over his cock once more, where he’s starting to get hard again.  
He’s sore in the best ways and it feels like hours, before Mountain nuzzles behind his ear and makes a curious noise, unable to get the words out proper, but Aether knows, he knows and he nods, reaching behind him to find Mountain’s cock, wrap his fingers around him and stroke him a few times, he’s hot and hard and so perfect—almost like he was made just for Aether.  
“Come on, big guy,” Aether murmurs, giving him one last squeeze before he lets go, bends his knee and lays mostly on his stomach, giving Mountain a good view of everything, of how wet and pink he is, where his fingers sink into Aether with such an ease, “S’yours to take now, baby.” 
Mountain makes a noise, something animalistic, growling as he pulls his fingers out and settles over Aether, pressing his face into the side of his neck as he reaches down to guide himself closer, to press into Aether—and they both moan, nearly shout as Mountain’s cock sinks inside, as his hips settle so quickly against Aether’s ass.  
“Fuck,” Aether says in a wheeze, clawing at the bed sheets under him, “Mountain, please, you can move, you can move baby.”  
It takes very little encouragement from there—the rut and their mingling scents going straight to Mountain’s head as he sets a brutal pace, fucking into Aether as if his own life depended on it, and at this point, maybe it did, maybe there was no Mountain without Aether; maybe after this he could no longer exist without having a taste of this regularly, of having Aether under him, moaning loudly into a pillow, trying and failing to fuck himself back onto his cock each time Mountain pulls out. 
He’s so used to seeing Aether so well put together that seeing him like this, seeing him give into his baser instincts and let himself be fucked makes Mountain want to keep him here, to have him as a proper mate so he can be the one that gets to see this, so he can be the one who satiates all of Aether’s needs.  
Mountain’s teeth sink into the back of Aether’s neck and the quintessence ghoul goes limp underneath him with a moan, he thinks Aether says his name, slurs it out as he clenches down around him tightly, his voice going a bit pitchy as he shouts—coming again so suddenly that it has to hurt, but Aether’s scent stays pleased, stays happy and content and doesn’t get sour so he keeps going, keeps fucking into him, growling lowly as he feels his own end hurtling close, his knot thickening and catching with each gyration of his hips.  
When it does finally catch, when time is syrupy and thick in his head and Aether’s voice suddenly breaks and he squirms under Mountain, knot locking them together, he can’t help himself, it takes only a few more humps of his hips and he’s coming in thick ropes, filling Aether, filling his mate.  
Aether makes a soft noise, his face flushed and his eyes wet as he grinds his hips back, he’s overstimulated and everything feels both like it’s too much and not enough at the same time, he tries to ask for something, for Mountain to continue moving for anything, but he can’t get the words to come out—but then a hand, careful fingers close around his cock, around his knot and squeeze and Aether cries out again, spasming around Mountain as he comes one last time, the pressure around his knot making him light headed.  
Mountain snuffles and carefully loosens his grip on the back of Aether’s neck, presses his lips there in a sweet kiss, the coppery scent of blood making him whine a little, but there’s no distress coming from his mate under him, the two of them reeking of contentment and each other—so he doesn’t move, not until his knot and Aether’s both deflate and then he carefully pulls his hand away, shushing the quintessence ghoul when he makes a noise of discomfort.  
His rut has settled for now, and as he shifts his hips back, pulling out carefully, he immediately pulls Aether into his arms, uncaring of the mess of sweat, come and slick between them—he always goes a bit quiet after a rut, used to being alone, but he tries, for the sake of his partner, nosing his way into Aether’s hair to breathe him in for a moment as he tries to find words.  
“Need something?” he manages after a few minutes, cracking his eyes open and spying the water that Aether had put by the bed before everything. “Thirsty?” he asks, but doesn’t wait—rolling the two of them closer to the other side of the bed, grabbing one of the bottles and trying to tear the lid off.  
“Easy there, big guy,” Aether says, his voice is wrecked but he sounds happy, and an arm, though it seems to take great concentration to move, reaches out and takes the water from him, uncapping it with a bit of a struggle. 
Mountain’s there, though, steadying his arm and helping Aether sit up just enough so he can drink from the bottle—and then he’s pressing the bottle to Mountain’s lips, encouraging him to drink.  
The nest is sort of a mess under them, but Mountain doesn’t think that matters much right now, not when he shuffles them away from most of the mess and curls around Aether again—Aether who’s looking a bit less out of it, his eyes soft as he stares up at Mountain.  
“You know,” he mumbles with a little grin, after they’ve both drank more water and Aether’s wrestled a clean blanket over their bodies, “We never actually kissed first,” he says with a little laugh. “Did this whole thing backwards.”  
Mountain stares down at him for a moment, his mind a bit fuzzy—his rut isn’t quite over yet, but he thinks that maybe in a day or two, he’ll freak out about how comfortable he feels, and the lack of shame he has when openly thinking about how he wants to woo Aether, about the way he cups Aether’s face gently in one hand and presses their lips together in a soft, sweet kiss.  
It doesn’t turn into something heavy; it stays sweet and when it comes to a natural end, Aether’s smiling, “Oh,” he says with a little laugh, “I didn’t realize you felt that way, big guy.” 
There’s a flush high on his cheeks, but there’s nothing Mountain can do to hide the feelings of contentment and something else that’s pumping through the bond he has with Aether—they're pack but it all feels like so much more, but Aether doesn’t push, just pulls him into another kiss, brief and light.  
“You’ve been so good to me,” Aether whispers against his mouth, “So perfect for me, Mountain. Like a good mate, knew exactly what I needed, baby.”  
He whines, mildly embarrassed by the broadcast of his emotions, half expects to be teased, but it never comes, and instead they kiss again, for longer this time and all Mountain can taste is happiness in Aether’s smile.  
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bigsexiest · 1 year ago
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Phantom x Swiss sad fic w comfort at the end
For some reason, I was feeling angsty today, and Phantom is such a sad little sop to me.
word count: 2.1k
Summary: Phantom thinks he's been forgotten when the other ghouls are preoccupied with their friends, so he hides away. Swiss figures out he's missing and goes to find him.
When all the touring ghouls returned to the ministry, they were met with hugs and tearful “I missed you”s. Even Aurora, anxious about being left out, was dragged along by Cirrus and Cumulus to meet Sunshine. Phantom wanted so badly to run over with Rain and Dew to meet Aether, but he didn’t want to intrude. And anyway, if they wanted him to follow they would’ve asked.
He watched as Swiss walked over to the ghoulettes, immediately falling into friendly banter as if they’d never been separated at all. Phantom stood awkwardly to the side, wondering if anyone was going to turn around and invite him into their circles.
As the groups of ghouls started leaving, Phantom was struck with a feeling of deja vu. When he had first joined the tour, he had been freshly summoned in the ministry and then quickly shipped away with Aurora to start his job. Aurora was sweet to him, but he yearned for a pack. Dew making a point to ignore him was painful, but the ambivalence of the other ghouls was heartbreaking. They all eventually warmed to him, but Phantom still wondered if they harbored the same feelings about him.
He wondered if he could do anything to make them mad. Something that would make them so mad that they began ignoring him again. The thoughts hurt him, but they also gave him comfort. Whenever he did something bad, he used the thoughts to make himself feel better. It helped to picture the worst thing that could ever happen and know that whatever did happen would most likely be better comparatively. 
Phantom knew he hadn’t done anything bad. At least, he thought he hadn’t. Rationally, he knew the other ghouls were probably preoccupied with greeting old friends, and they’d find him eventually. He hoped.
In the back of his mind, though, a thought had started to chip away at his resolve. A small voice growing louder the longer he stood watching all the other happy ghouls. It grew angrier as more ghouls left the room with their friends, probably looking for a place to snuggle and catch up on lost time. 
The voice was telling him he was worthless. The voice was calling Phantom whiny, and bothersome. That none of the ghouls actually liked him, they only put up with him because they felt bad for him.
Phantom started to believe the voice. He had understood why Dew had gone to Aether, and he had expected Swiss to go with Aurora, they had become rather close. But he thought maybe Rain would show him around the place. It was a large building and Phantom did feel a little overwhelmed. But no, all the ghouls had found their closest pack members and Phantom was left alone on the outskirts. 
Phantom didn’t want to bother anyone asking for directions to the ghoul den. Instead, he decided to walk through the halls until either he found it or found somewhere cozy to hide. 
He just wanted somewhere dark where he could wallow in his own loneliness. He knew eventually someone must come looking for him. But he’d started to wonder how long that would take. How long until someone noticed he wasn’t standing in the background like he always was. 
He wanted to cry. Phantom just wanted a space where he could disappear for a while and not have to worry about anything. He wanted a space where nothing could hurt him, for at least a few hours. He’d probably fall asleep and feel better once he’d woken up. It had been a long drive back to the ministry and he was probably just being dramatic.
Once he had found a sufficient storage room mostly empty apart from a few large boxes, he happily shut the door behind him and climbed into a small cabinet. It was long enough for him to curl up comfortably, but it was still snug enough to offer him the support he wanted. He felt safe enough to let go of his composure.
Phantom let his limbs fall free of the tension that had been straining him and the tears he had been holding back fell. He let all of the loud sobs escape. His tail came up between his legs and the small spade at it’s tip slipped into his mouth, giving him more comfort. He drifted off into a deep sleep, hugging himself tightly.
Swiss had been enjoying his lunch with the girls. He was starving from the ride home. Aurora was an easy friend for Sunshine, since they both had the same job. Swiss was purring with satisfaction that the little air ghoulette had warmed up so nicely with the others. He had been worried for the new ghouls. He knew firsthand how scary it could be meeting new people.
He had been wondering about Phantom. Swiss thought he saw the little quintessence ghoul following Rain and Dew to Aether, but he had lost sight of him as the girls were introducing Aurora to Sunshine. He was sure they must’ve shown him around the ministry first rather than taking him straight to the dining hall. Technically there was a kitchen in the ghoul den, but the ghouls sometimes found it easier just to visit the ministry dining hall and eat with the humans.
Swiss had decided to put it out of his mind and to focus on the food in front of him. There was no reason to worry, so he happily took another bite and listened to the story Sunshine was telling about Aether. It was something funny, but Swiss immediately forgot about it when he saw Dew, Aether, and Rain walk into the room noticeably without Phantom. His brow furrowed and he waited for them to pass by to stand up and walk with them. 
Dew was less holding Aether’s hand than hanging off his entire arm, but Rain was just casually holding onto Aether’s right hand. Swiss grabbed onto Rain’s free hand.
“Hey guys,” Swiss wanted to be direct, but still friendly, “nice to see you Aether, what happened to Phantom?”
Rain stopped walking and turned his head to look at Swiss. “I thought you were gonna show him around.” He looked concerned. Aether and Dew had also stopped and looked over. Dew looked puzzled.
“No, I thought I saw him walking in with you guys, I was busy with Aurora.” Swiss was very confused. If none of the guys had shown him around, where was he now? 
Swiss figured Phantom could’ve figured out the way to the den on his own, but the thought didn’t make him feel great. The ministry was a big place, and the little bug could’ve gotten lost. Even if he did find his way to the den, how would he know which room was his? Swiss hoped his room smelled enough like him so the little ghoul could find it to hide away there until Swiss arrived.
“I saw him standing near you guys, I thought he was just waiting for you to finish introducing Aurora to Sunshine.” Dew stepped towards Swiss away from Aether. His voice sounded worried, but Swiss felt a flash of anger towards the fire ghoul. If he had seen Phantom by himself, why hadn’t he chosen to include the little bug?
But then Swiss saw the way Aether leaned forward to place a comforting hand on Dew’s shoulder. Of course Dew wasn’t paying attention to Phantom. He had just been reunited with his mate.
“I’m sure someone found him, everyone knows you guys returned today.” Aether was always good with reassurance, and Swiss could feel a touch of quintessence magic helping to calm him down. Now wasn’t the time to get angry, now was the time to find Phantom.
Aether, Dew, and Rain had agreed to help Swiss find Phantom. Aether separated from them to go find Omega to let him know Phantom was missing just in case someone brought him to the infirmary. 
Rain offered to check the ghoul den. If Phantom wasn’t there, there was a possibility another ghoul had seen him somewhere.
That left Dew and Swiss to search the rest of the ministry. Dew was going to check the upper levels quickly, while Swiss spent more time on the ground level. Phantom was more likely to either stay on the ground level than go upstairs.
Swiss was making swift progress through the rooms. The ones in use by humans or ghouls were easy, everyone fell victim to his easy charm and let him know they hadn’t seen any quintessence ghouls.
He had been trying to use his nose, looking for the little ghoul’s sweet citrus scent. Occasionally he thought he’d get a whiff, but then he’d immediately lose it amongst the other scents. He wished his nose was as good as Dew’s or Cirrus’s. It was his hearing that was much more sensitive.  
It was a good thing he had both of these senses. When he entered a small dark storage room, he wouldn’t have thought anything of the largely barren place, but something was off. The place smelled of Phantom, but it had faded in intensity. The scent was still present, but it wasn’t as bright as it normally was. Swiss wished he had spent more time telling Phantom how addicting he smelled. Swiss could spend days with his nose against Phantom’s neck, just huffing it in. He couldn’t decide if it smelt more like limes or lemons, and on some days it threw Swiss for a loop by being more orange-ish. He loved it.
The scent wasn’t the only giveaway. Swiss could also hear soft snoring coming from a cabinet at the end of the room.
Swiss quickly went to the cabinet and opened it up slowly, not wanting to startle Phantom. The little quintessence ghoul was sleeping curled into himself, facing away from Swiss. He noticed Phantom’s tail was tucked and he had his claws tightly clutching into his shoulders. It was an obvious attempt at self-soothing.
Swiss wanted so badly to grab the little ghoul and just hold him. He had really fucked up. As badly as Swiss wanted to comfort the ghoul, he was also worried about Phantom’s state of mind when he would awaken. What if Phantom didn’t want comfort? What if Phantom was angry? Swiss was ready to accept whatever responsibility fell to him. He would happily grovel in sorrow at the feet of Phantom. It was all his fault.
Swiss decided to rip off the bandaid and wake up the sleeping ghoul. Sitting on his knees in front of the cabinet, he reached out a hand to softly shake Phantom’s shoulder.
At first the quintessence ghoul didn’t respond. Eventually he woke with a flinch, seemingly unprepared to be disturbed. He quickly flipped to see who had found him, and broke down in tears once again.
Swiss wasn’t exactly expecting this, but he grabbed the little ghoul nonetheless. Lifting him out of the cabinet from under his arms, Swiss cradled the lanky ghoul in his lap against his chest, gently shushing him and telling him it was alright.
“Little bug,” speaking softly, Swiss asked, “why didn’t you come with me?” He just wanted the little ghoul to feel safe.
Phantom sniffled, his head resting just beneath Swiss’s chin. “I thought you didn’t want me.” 
“Why would you think that? Of course I want you, my sweet creature.” Swiss’s heart felt like it was snapping in two.
Phantom looked up at Swiss’s face, wanting to see if he was being genuine. “You all seemed busy with your friends, I didn’t want to interrupt you.” Phantom raised a hand to wipe at his tears.
“I thought Dew was going to show you around, but Dew thought I had you.” Swiss wanted to make sure Phantom knew no one had forgotten about him. “It was a huge misunderstanding and we were all looking for you the second we realized.”
“Really?” Phantom’s eyes went big with amazement, and he smiled for the first time since Swiss had found him. Swiss was happy to note that his scent had started to become sweeter as well.
“Yes, of course, little bug. Let’s get you to the den so they can all see you’re safe.” Swiss was beaming as well. He was glad Phantom didn’t seem too torn up. When the others all spent time cooing over him, Swiss was sure everything would be better.
“Can we nap in your room after?” Phantom asked jovially, sounding as though he’d forgotten all about the whole situation that led to him sleeping in an empty storage cabinet.
“Of course, my little cuddle bug,” Swiss said as he stood up, picking up Phantom bridal style, ready to carry the ghoul all the way to the den.
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thehypnone · 11 months ago
Text
Say It One More Time
WC: 10k
Relationship: SwissAlps
Tags: Love Story, Friends To Lovers, Mutual Pining, Falling In Love, Soulmates, First Kiss, Miscommunication, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mating, Insecurities, Suggestive, Fluff, Cuddles, Anxiety, Self-Esteem Issues, Referenced Panic Attacks, Retirement, Fear Of The Future, Jamming Sessions, Nightmares, Literal Sleeping Together, Cuddle Piles, Pack Dynamics, Building A Home, Cooking/Baking Date, Domestic Fluff (old married couple coded), Growing Old Together
The story of Swiss and Mountain. From the beginning to the end. (But not really.)
Notes: Commissioned by the amazing @jimothybarnes! Thank you for letting me basically ramble about my faves fgfhdsgf
Read under the cut or on AO3.
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Mountain joined the Ghost project in…trying times. So much chaos all around, there was not a moment of peace and the earth ghoul despised it. He thought he would be begging to get sent back to the Pit after one tour leg.
He did not.
Still, he never thought life like this was for him. He always doubted he would ever be really happy. Dewdrop’s elemental transition changed things; first it took away all hope, but then returned it double as he survived it and made full recovery—at least a physical one. That is when Mountain started seeing the human world a little differently.
He started wanting to have a life there, to settle, and that alone guaranteed him success already. Once his mind was set it did not take long for him to see it all changing in front of his eyes.
Or rather appearing in front of his eyes.
In the shape of a rather good looking multi ghoul.
Mountain has to admit he has found Swiss very attractive since the moment he stepped out from the summoning circle; even though he was slightly underweight and generally neglected when he did. The more time he is spending Topside, the more handsome he gets and, frankly, it is slowly getting out of hand, if you ask Mountain.
He is simply ridiculously gorgeous.
Over half a year since Swiss crawled out of the Pit Mountain has to admit that the amount of time he spends just…looking at him may be slightly concerning. So many times Dewdrop or Aether, who know him the best, had jabbed their elbows into his side teasingly and called him a creep. They never once told Mountain, though, how happy they are to see him thriving and blooming just like his element as he and Swiss get closer.
They are growing a friendship—a meaningful, deep connection.
Despite Swiss’ chaos contrasting Mountain’s calmness they found a common language in music and nature and soon enough it turned out the multi ghoul’s loudness is not all that he is, and the rest is easy to balance.
He and Mountain love working in the greenhouse or in the gardens together just as much as they enjoy jamming out in the rehearsal room with wide grins on both their faces. Swiss could not be happier, whatever it is they do together. Nobody has ever tried to get to know him, to overlook the complete mess that he seems to be at a first glance.
Mountain does and the multi ghoul doubts he is aware how important it is to him. Today the multi ghoul got an idea on how to show him. Or at least try to.
He pops his head into the greenhouse after lunch, knocking so as not to startle the earth ghoul; not so much asking for permission to come in.
“Hi, are–uhm, you busy?” he asks, getting startled himself instead, at the sight of Mountain shirtless. He turns and a small knowing smirk grows on face.
“No, not at all, just finished my work.” Mountain says and stretches. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to go for a walk and…” Swiss has some trouble remembering what he initially came there for as he struggles to rip his eyes away from the slight sheen of sweat on the earth ghoul’s chest, “uh, I was wondering if you’d go with me? I want to show you something.”
“Yeah, I’d love that! Give me just a minute, I’ll get this to the den and I’ll be right back.” Mountain points at a box filled with…something before picking it up. Swiss only nods and hangs his head to hopefully hide the blush on his face at least a little.
“Alright, I’ll wait here,” he mutters, hoping Mountain hears it as he has already walked out of the greenhouse. Swiss paces around the place waiting for the earth ghoul to return and takes a moment to appreciate all the work he does there. He is also happy to notice the plants he himself tended to and how they are flourishing. He smiles with pride.
Swiss is not used to anything thriving after it has been touched by him; that’s Mountain’s skill. His heart warms at the thought that the earth ghoul made him thrive just as he did the flora under his care and changed him; made it so he can bring good into the world, too. That is the greatest gift the earth ghoul could have ever given Swiss.
Soon enough he comes back and they set out into the woods.
“You probably know about it, it’s not like it’s super hidden,” Swiss says, “but I never heard anyone mention it and I just came across it one time and…I dunno, I just like it and wanted to take you there.”
Mountain nods with a smile; intrigued and charmed by the fact that Swiss has possibly found a place no one else knows about and he deemed the earth ghoul special enough to share said spot with him. 
They walk for some time—sometimes in silence, sometimes chatting away about various things—before Swiss stops. If not for Mountain's connection to the element they are currently surrounded in, he would be confused; there is nothing there at a first glance, but he can feel there is something.
Swiss takes one more step towards something that looks like a fallen tree resting against a hill and peels some of its branches away to reveal an entrance.
It’s a cave.
Mountain follows the other and they crawl through the tight space and into it. It’s huge and beautiful and the earth ghoul is enamored.
“Swiss, this is–woah, it’s gorgeous here,” he gasps and he is not overreacting. The cave really is something magical.
“So you didn’t know about it?” Swiss asks, slightly surprised. An earth ghoul not knowing every single inch of the local grounds?
“No,” he chuckles. “I heard from Ivy there were some caves around but I never went looking.”
Swiss does not answer, he only grins; proud of himself. He lets Mountain look around for as long as he wants to—the multi ghoul is already familiar with every single nook of the cave.
“There’s a raspberry bush over there,” Swiss says after a few moments, pointing at the other side of the cave where some light is coming from its top. “They’re really good.”
“Let’s see it,” the earth ghoul winks and follows Swiss to them. Before they get to the berries, Mountain crouches by the bush and places his hands where it pierces the ground. He closes his eyes and murmurs something under his breath. Swiss knows what he is doing; thanking the earth for such a gift.
It may just be Swiss’ imagination but the bush seems to brighten when Mountain stands back up.
“You have to teach me that sometime,” he says and the earth ghoul nods before picking up a raspberry and popping it into his mouth. He moans at the taste; they are good.
“Thank you for bringing me here.” He smiles at Swiss. “I really appreciate you.”
The multi ghoul returns the smile with a rosy blush dusting his cheek.
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One evening seemingly changes everything. In reality, it changes nothing.
Another tour leg, another city, another show, another venue, another bar to let off some steam. Everyone has a drink or two in their hands, holding onto their human disguises and having fun in pairs or small groups. The music is loud, the lights are bright and it absolutely reeks of sweat, but it doesn’t bother anyone too much.
It’s the charm of such places, really.
Even Mountain is fine with all that; even though he’s not a huge fan, he’s content sitting in a dark corner with a mocktail and watching his packmates.
He sighs. Who is he even trying to lie to? Himself? Lucifer?
He’s watching Swiss.
Beautiful Swiss, laughing and smiling so brightly Mountain thinks he missed his destination; he should have been an angel, not a demon. The earth ghoul zones out staring at him as he laughs amongst their pack, as he dances and sings and Mountain can not help but think Swiss is the most perfect thing in the world, and…
Oh.
Oh.
He’s in love with him
Fuck.
Mountain can’t look at him the same after that realization. He ran away from the bar and avoided everyone for as long as possible—a whole ten hours—not knowing what to do with himself. Now that he knows what that feeling warming up his heart every time Swiss smiles at him is, the earth ghoul only knows need.
He needs him so bad.
He needs to hold him, to kiss him, to be held by him, to be kissed by him. He needs to be devoured and to devour and it feels like the longer none of that happens, the more breath he loses, and it does not take long for Mountain to feel as if he is suffocating.
Little does Mountain know, that he is actually a fucking idiot.
Swiss feels the exact same way; burning for him.
He’s not even discreet about it—he’s painfully obvious, actually—but Mountain is so focused on the doomsday scenario of getting rejected that he’s blind to the signs Swiss is throwing his way. Right under his feet.
It’s another few months before any of them do something more direct than stare yearningly at the other, and it’s not even either of them's idea. It’s their pack that all but pushes them into a tight broom closet and threatens not to let them out until they kiss. Or fuck.
Metaphorically, of course.
What they actually do is a whole scheme of talking them into it. They play a little dirty, they have to admit; showing one of them the messages that were never supposed to see the light of day from the other one, and the other way around.
They just have to make them believe it isn’t one big joke; neither Swiss nor Mountain have enough faith in themselves to accept that someone they see as absolute perfection could even consider…loving them. Oh, how wrong they both are.
Favorite method of Aether’s became getting Swiss high and filling his head with the images of a beautiful future he and Mountain can share if he only stops being such a cunt. He does not even need his quintessence for that.
“Mount’s a romantic, you know?” Aether sighs—slurring a little on purpose, so he seems more high than he actually is after only taking a few hits and feeding the rest to Swiss. “He loves spoiling people he loves and he gets all into it.”
“Mhm,” Swiss hums, sprawled out like a starfish on the quintessence ghoul’s bed. “He’s real sweet.”
“Yeah, he really is,” Aether confirms. “He likes giving gifts. He makes a lot of stuff and then gives it to people. It’s one of the ways he shows affection.”
“I got a few things from him,” the multi ghoul notes. “He grew a flower for me.”
Aether wants to scream at how stupid they both are.
“That’s cute,” he says instead. “What kinda flower?”
“A rose, orange and red.”
Aether face-palms himself. “That’s really lovely.”
“Yeah…” Swiss sighs dreamily. “I’m not so good at…being sweet.”
“Bullshit. You just do it in a different way.”
“Meh.”
“You help everyone,” Aether explains, trying to direct the conversation onto the multitude of times Swiss helped with or did something for Mountain. He also might pull up an article on love languages on his phone and force Swiss to read it, but that’s plan B. “I think that’s how you show affection.
“Huh…I guess it is.”
One evening it all comes to a climax. Swiss is returning from chores with Cirrus and the air ghoulette is laughing at how heart-eyes he gets the moment she so much as mentions Mountain.
When they get to the den they notice said earth ghoul resting in the common room on his own. Swiss tries to turn on his heel and run away—not in a state he would wish Mountain to see him—but Cirrus is done with them jumping around each other.
“Oh, no, you don’t, loverboy!”
She pushes Swiss into the room and Mountain notices him right away. Well, if he can’t run away, maybe he should just…go for it, like the air ghoulette advised him to.
Mountain is looking at him questioningly as he just stands there, contemplating, and he decides he can not make it worse. At least he hopes so.
Swiss walks up to the earth ghoul and plops down onto the couch next to him.
“Hey, can I ask you–” he starts, but Mountain speaks at the same time.
“Hi, I was actually–” 
“Oh, you first, but–”
“So I wanted to–”
“I was wondering if–”
They both pause this silly exchange—blushing bright red—and take deep breaths before speaking again.
“I want to kiss you so bad,” Swiss blurts out, tired of the thoughts that could not be let out jumping around in his head.
“Yeah…” Mountain sighs and giggles to himself before cupping the multi ghoul’s cheek and bending down to kiss him, indeed. Swiss melts into it and nothing else but the two of them exists anymore in this chaotic world.
If their pack that is looking out of the windows cheers as they watch, Swiss and Mountain will never know.
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Ghoulish nature is a curious thing.
There are many strange things about it—at least to humans—but it’s understandable considering they are quite literally demons from the pits of Hell. One thing that humans are always particularly amazed by is mating.
It’s not as common as it is sometimes believed. It’s unlike human marriage; that is something frail and all but an act—it does not influence one’s very core.
Mating does.
The spirits of ghouls that mate split and twist together and bind them with a bond unbreakable.
That is why some deem it too dangerous.
Swiss and Mountain, even if they are not aware of it, have both dreamed of committing such an act.
Swiss, who despite his confidence always feels out of place, wanting to experience the comfort of being someone’s, of belonging. Being owned, even.
Mountain, who despite his metaphorical wealth always feels like he’s lacking something, wanting to have someone to be there for him, to choose him.
For years they have both been scared of bringing it up, fearing the other would laugh in their face or push them away.
At the end of the day, neither of them bring it up, really.
“You stink!” Dewdrop announces one day as he storms into the common room where Swiss and Mountain are lounging comfortably on a sofa. “You’ve both been stinking up the place for days now and we all decided to keep our mouths shut because you’re cute, but I’m done with it! You know you should keep away for a while after mating! Besides, how are you just laying here and not fucking twenty-four seven!?”
The pair looks at the agitated ghoul with confusion.
“What the hell are you on?” Swiss snorts.
“We aren’t mated,” Mountain adds.
Dewdrop’s jaw drops as he realizes they really are clueless.
“Except you are, idiots!” the fire ghoul yells. “Last friday, did you fuck?”
“Dew, that’s–”
“DID YOU FUCK!?”
“Fucking Lucifer, yes, we did,” Swiss laughs. “So what?”
“Oh, let’s see! Whoever was topping, did you happen to knot and bite the other one?”
“Well…yes, but we’ve done that so many times before, and–” Mountain mutters, now calculating in his mind.
“SURPRISE, you’re mated! I don’t fucking know how you managed to do it by accident, but you did, so I wish you a happy mated life and now get the fuck out to the woods, I have to air the den out.”
Mountain is the first to stand up—or rather shoot up—but he does not wait for Swiss. No, he runs out of the common room, leaving the remaining two ghouls confused.
The multi ghoul swallows the growing lump in his throat as he follows, albeit way slower. As he leaves he can hear Dewdrop swearing under his breath as he slams the windows open. Swiss is about to cry. Did Mountain…he claimed him by accident and ran away when he was made aware. Does he regret it, does he not want him? Does he not love him?
The multi ghoul wraps his own arms around himself as he leaves the Abbey. He does not know where Mountain went to, but he is sure it’s not to the cave in the woods. Swiss hopes so, at least, wanting to have that space for himself.
Indeed, he does not find his mate there, but it does not make anything better. Swiss crumples to the floor with his claws digging into his sides as he sobs.
He thought he finally found home. He thought that after hundreds of years of loneliness and abuse he found love, but now…it seems it was all a lie. He spends the night curled up in one of the nooks of the cave; with stone digging into his cold body.
Mountain does not sleep.
He ran and ran until he ran out of breath and collapsed somewhere by the other edge of the forest. He cried, realizing how many mistakes he has managed to make.
He knows Swiss, knows his insecurities. He knows what the multi ghoul is now surely thinking.
That he hates him.
The truth is that Mountain panicked once it hit him that Dewdrop was right. Some instinct must have overtaken that last friday and the earth ghoul claimed Swiss without realizing. He did not run away because he regrets it, he–well, he does regret it, but only because he did it without Swiss’ consent.
They have never even talked about it and he just did it to him; Mountain feels like a monster. What if it’s something Swiss never ever wanted to do?
It doesn’t matter now; if he wanted it before, now he certainly wants nothing to do with the earth ghoul. Not only did he violate him, but he ran away like a coward after.
He has fucked up beyond measure.
It’s a few days before either Swiss or Mountain emerge from their hiding spots; though still not knowing what next step to take. They are both clueless that they’re getting closer and closer as they’re trying to return home; only realizing once they bump into each other.
“Fuck, sorry, ‘m sorry,” Swiss mutters and immediately turns on his heel to walk away.
“Please, don’t go,” Mountain begs, voice cracking. The multi ghoul snaps his head back with his brows furrowed in confusion.
“Why?”
“I’m an idiot, I–I panicked,” the earth ghoul whines, “I didn’t know what to do so I ran, I’m so sorry, my darling.”
“Why?” Swiss repeats.
“You never agreed to it.”
Swiss’ eyes widen.
“That’s…that’s it? You felt bad for claiming me because I didn’t say you could do it?”
“Yes, darling,” Mountain breathes out. “I know what you must’ve been thinking and I’m so, so sorry for making you think any of this was on you. I love you so much, Swiss. I always have and always will.”
The multi ghoul stares at the ground, swallowing thickly. Mountain is all but shaking with anxiety; not knowing whether he is about to be rejected for good or not.
It all dissipates when Swiss throws himself at Mountain, jumping up into his arms. The earth ghoul grabs him as he stumbles backwards and clings to him for dear life as their lips meet.
“I love you, too,” Swiss cries into his mouth. “I’ve always wanted to be yours.”
“Fuck, Swiss, can we–uh, can we pretend it isn’t done yet?” Mountain mutters. “I want to do it properly. Will you let me?”
“Yes, my love. Let’s do it properly.”
It is a few more days before they actually leave the woods.
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Swiss always complains when he and Mountain have to work not only separately, but also in the opposite sides of the Abbey. It’s cruel and, frankly, homophobic—as Aeon likes to joke, having picked the phrase up from Tik-Tok.
The multi ghoul would much rather work with Mountain, or not work at all, and he tried to use an argument that he’ll be much more productive with his mate by his side, but one time was enough for Sister Imperator to know it would make them both way less productive. Swiss will not agree, of course—at least not out loud—but he realizes that defiling something they were about to clean was not a great way to prove they could work together on a daily basis.
Anyway, knowing his mate is close enough keeps him as calm as he can be without being in his arms. Swiss can never wait for the work to be finished so he can fall right back into Mountain’s hold, of course, but at least he can survive the hours leading to it.
M: hi my heart, i finished my chores early so ill be in the practice room if you need me, see you soon <3
Swiss grumbles reading the text from his mate. How on earth does Mountain always manage to finish all his work hours before the others? It’s truly unfair, he thinks. It is definitely not caused by Mountain actually doing what he is supposed to instead of getting distracted with a multitude of other things as Swiss happens to.
S: alright, ill catch u when im done, love u
Groaning at having to be away from Mountain for another hour, at least, he gets back to work. Thankfully he’s been left alone in the room without many distractions. Still, an hour is way too long, so when Swiss shoots his next text, half an hour later, he may or may not have forgotten about some of the tasks yet to be done.
S: i’m done, my love, still practicing?
Lack of an answer is an answer enough for Swiss, so he bolts in the practice room’s general direction before someone can notice him ditching chores. He catches Mountain’s scent just before he gets to the sound-proofed door and takes a deep breath, inhaling the smell of fresh grass, blooming flowers and pine. He can not hold back the smile that grows on his face as he enters the room.
Mountain is—as usual—fully immersed in music, smiling to himself and moving his entire body to the rhythm as he plays. Swiss closes the door behind him and hangs by it, watching his mate all heart-eyed for the next few minutes. Only when the earth ghoul finishes up another song and pauses to check his phone does he look up and notice Swiss.
He chuckles, “How long have you been standing there?”
“A little bit.” The multi ghoul shrugs and makes his way over to the drum platform. “I like watching you play.”
“Creep,” Mountain teases before closing the remaining distance between him and his mate and wrapping his arms around him, sweat and all.  “Missed you.”
Swiss is immediately purring up a storm, nuzzling under Mountain’s cheek and breathing in the scent he loves so much. “Mhm, I missed you, too, my love.”
“Let’s get something to eat,” the earth ghoul proposes, “and then we can take a nap.”
“Okay, but…” Swiss sighs, “in a moment. Wanna stay like that just a minute more.”
“Of course, my heart.” Mountain smiles against his hair. “However long you need.”
Ideally, Swiss would never pull away. He would stay glued to his mate for eternity if he could. Alas, just standing there is neither comfortable nor really fun, so eventually he does. He grabs the earth ghoul’s hand instead and they go back to the den, talking about their day. Soon enough they reach the commons and head for the kitchen first.
“What do you want to eat, my love?” Swiss asks, already rummaging through some cabinets. Mountain hums as he trails a hand over the multi ghoul’s hip before he wraps his arms around his waist and glues himself to his back.
“You,” he rumbles, pressing a kiss under Swiss’ ear.
“Maybe later,” he laughs and turns in the other’s arms. “You can get a taste, though.”
Mountain would never deny, of course; he grabs Swiss’ chin and tips his head back gently to lick into his mouth with near reverence. The multi ghoul sighs into it, sagging in Mountain’s arms. He hooks his hands under Swiss’ thighs and picks him up to sit him on the counter before stepping in between his legs to get that much closer and kiss the breath out of his mate.
“So sweet,” he breathes between kisses, “could just–eat you up.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” Swiss giggles, “but maybe some actual food first, hm?”
“Fine…” Mountain rolls his eyes as he pulls away, making his mate grin widely. The earth ghoul turns to the fridge and grabs a yogurt. “Want some, too?”
“Yeah, gimme.” He scoffs at Swiss’ grabby hands and pulls out another one before shutting the fridge. The multi ghoul is already waiting with two spoons.
They chat some more as they snack, spreading some Abbey gossip as two ghouls do. Soon enough the empty yogurt packets end up in the thrash and they move to the living room.
Mountain sits in a big armchair in the corner of the common room, sprawling himself out in the deep plush to get comfortable. Swiss plops himself in his mate’s lap once he gets the go-ahead and curls up against his chest, rubbing his nose up and down Mountain’s neck. 
“I love you,” He mutters. The earth ghoul kicks up a low, rumbly purr and wraps his arms around Swiss, holding him close.
“I love you, too.” Swiss starts his own purring and it is easy to fall asleep enveloped in the comfort of having each other so close.
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Mountain has learned how to fight his anxiety relatively well long ago. It’s not something that can just be cured or gotten rid of, of course, but he manages it as well as one can.
But if you can’t get rid of something permanently, it will resurface every now and then.
The earth ghoul has always struggled with low self-esteem. He used to lack any confidence, always preferring to hide behind his drum kit.
It changed a lot over the years.
Mountain’s pack and Swiss helped him a great deal; proving every single day how kind, smart, beautiful, and most importantly loved he is. It took him years, but he finally believes it all and now he knows his worth.
But doubts creep back into his brain, sometimes.
That he’s not good enough, that he’s worthless, that he’s useless, that he’s a burden, that he’s unlovable. All lies, of course, but it’s hard to ignore a nagging voice inside one’s head repeating it all over and over again.
Whenever it does speak up, Mountain goes to Swiss.
Today has just been…rough for the earth ghoul and he finds himself in a not-so-good headspace around dinnertime. He had seen Swiss barely half an hour ago but he feels like spiraling and he knows he should not wait until he’s down there.
But on the other hand…Swiss is probably busy now, he can’t just go and bother him and–
No. Swiss loves him, he won’t–
Mountain squeezes his eyes as if it can get him rid of these awful thoughts and goes to find his mate before they change his mind and force him to hide.
It’s happened before, many times. There were times when he would panic so hard he would run to the woods, blend in with his element and not emerge for days—convinced nobody had even noticed he was gone.
They always did and they always looked for him.
He gets to the den, unsure if Swiss is there at first, but he catches his scent quickly. It leads him to their shared bedroom and Mountain tries to compose himself a little bit before knocking on the door and entering. Swiss is doing something by the closet—probably taking care of the freshly washed clothes.
“Hi, my love,” the multi ghoul grins as he sees him. He is always an image of pure joy when he sees him.
“Hey,” Mountain responds quietly, dragging his feet as he comes closer.
“What’s wrong?” Swiss asks, having immediately picked up on the sadness in his voice, the sour edge in his scent, and the slump of his shoulders.
“Nothing, can I just…” Mountain sighs and drags a hand down his face as his voice cracks, “can I get a hug?”
“Oh, baby,” the multi ghoul coos with a sad pout on his face, already coming towards him with open arms—all but running to comfort him, “of course you can, come here.”
Mountain melts the moment these strong and warm arms wrap around him. He sags in Swiss’ hold and hides his face in his neck. He can not hold back a dry little sob that breaks its way free at the newfound comfort.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” Swiss mutters, “I’ve always got you.”
It doesn’t take long for the comfort of Swiss’ embrace to make Mountain’s tears fall. He lets out a choked sob and hides further in his mate’s neck.
They stand like that for a while; just being. The multi ghoul holds his mate close and sways them side to side a little, letting him cry out whatever it is that has been bothering him. He does not need to know, not if he can help without that knowledge.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” he repeats, rubbing his back. “You’re alright.”
Moments like these always make Swiss think about how he has seen Mountain when they first met. A huge ghoul with a stoic presence and yet a kind smile.
He thought his name was fitting not only because of his height. He thought the earth ghoul was unshakable, unmovable.
Swiss was pleased to find out Mountain is all but the definition of a gentle giant.
“Do you want to move to the nest?” Swiss asks once he deems his mate calm enough to move. He nods into his neck and the multi ghoul kisses his hair before gently maneuvering them over to their nest without untangling their limbs. It is not very easy and they end up having to pull away at least for a second.
“Sorry, I’m–I’m a mess,” the earth ghoul mutters, wiping tears and snot from his face as Swiss gets comfortable against the headboard. He opens his arms again once he is settled. Mountain falls right back into his embrace.
“You’re my mess, baby,” Swiss chuckles and kisses his forehead before poking his nose with a finger, making him giggle wetly. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.”
Mountain cuddles up to Swiss’ side with his head over his heart and their hands clasped together. Their tails wrap around each other, too; Swiss’ tapping lightly against the mattress as he purrs. It relaxes the earth ghoul and he can feel the tension leaving him as he gets heavier against him.
Mountain is half asleep when Swiss speaks again. He does that on purpose; knowing that as sleepy as he is, the earth ghoul will not argue.
“You’re the smartest, kindest, most beautiful person I’ve ever met,” Swiss tells him. Mountain can only listen and breathe softly into his neck. “You give my life meaning, I love you so much it hurts sometimes and I need you, my love. I’m a part of you and the best part of me is you, Mountain. I don’t know what your brain was telling you earlier, but whatever it is, you know it’s not true and I’ll spend years proving it to you, okay? Do you understand me, sweetheart?”
It may not be so easy to believe all that Swiss is saying right away, but the one thing Mountain will never dare doubt is the multi ghoul’s devotion to making him believe.
He nods weakly in agreement just before he falls asleep in his arms.
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Swiss always feared that retirement was going to bore him to death.
What would he do with his time? Stuck in the Abbey all year long with no opportunities to travel and have fun, really? How would he—a creature that lived on the adrenaline that playing shows all over the world provided—survive not touring? Sure, he would have his mate and his pack and they could play together in the rehearsal room as much as they wanted, but it would not be the same without both exhaustion and excitement of the real thing.
The multi ghoul could not see a point in living like this and he was scared.
He did not think he would be able to return to his old life after getting a taste of something bigger. He has spent countless nights worrying and coaxing himself into pointless panic attacks.
Now that the time to leave the Ghost project behind has come, Swiss realizes it may not be so bad.
Sure, it has only been a few months—no more than some breaks they had between touring—and he already feels a hole in his heart that is never fully going to get filled. But it is not so bad.
He thinks he has Mountain to thank for that.
When touring was the only thing for him, he used to think life would lose all meaning without it, but now it is Mountain that is Swiss’ life. He’s not scared anymore because he has his mate.
His life is full even though a big chunk of it was ripped away.
It’s slower now. They can sleep in every single day if they wish. They can go for week-long walks into the woods. They can do anything they want, really.
The only thing that matters is that Swiss and Mountain are together.
Mountain does not really miss touring—having had more than enough of it—but he doesn’t consider it all bad memories. Quite the opposite; all these years going around the world with his pack are the best of his long life. He misses the good moments, both on and off stage.
That is why he never declines when the pack asks him to join them in jamming out like the old times. It always feels good to climb his platform and sit behind his fancy drum kit again, to overlook the rest of the musicians as they run and jump around the stage.
Just like the old times.
They all still play a lot, but it is usually on their own, in their bedrooms. Each of them also spends a lot of time teaching both their instruments and elements to the new generation of ghouls summoned to continue the Ghost project.
Dewdrop—to everyone’s surprise—seems to have found his calling as a teacher; he loves it, and both he and his pupils are doing exceptionally well.
Aether and Aeon are switching between teaching the new quintessence ghoul guitar and quintessence, introducing them to the infirmary already.
Rain and the new water ghoul spend as much time in the lake as over their basses, just like Mountain with his pupil in the greenhouse and behind their drums.
The ghoulettes are—as always—rather secretive about their doings, but the old one’s voices can often be heard overlapping with the new trio’s.
Even Swiss has a pupil—a multi ghoul as chaotic and joyful as he is; perfect fit for replacing him.
But sometimes their pack meets in the rehearsal room purely for their own enjoyment.
Mountain turns to the right and relies solely on his muscle memory as he watches his mate on his platform—dancing and singing and laughing and playing. It hurts him sometimes, the fact that even if he does not, Swiss clearly misses it. Mountain would let him tour for decades if he only could, even if he would not go with him. He wishes he could give that to him.
Swiss looks at it differently now.
Yes, he misses touring terribly, but he does not regret being forced to retire. His life Topside until now was full of…everything, really, and now it’s time to tone it down, to go slower.
The rest of his life is for Mountain and he could not be happier about that.
They all get lost in the music again. All of them, Dewdrop, Rain, Aeon, Aether, Cirrus, Cumulus, Aurora, Sunshine, Swiss, and Mountain.
The ghoulettes are all dancing on two platforms, holding hands as they fill the room with the beautiful sound of their combined voices. Dewdrop keeps chucking picks at Aether. Aeon leans against Rain, nuzzling up to him like a car.
Swiss seems alone, but it could not be further from the truth. In that moment he feels less alone than ever.
Mountain can only smile and thank Lucifer for sending all these amazing ghouls his way when life was rough.
For sending Swiss his way when life was rough.
Their fun ends too soon, with the entire pack exhausted, but content. They slowly filter out of the room, thanking each other for the amazing time they had.
“Did you have fun, my love?” Swiss asks, coming up the platform behind his mate.
“I did,” Mountain sighs as the multi ghoul drapes himself over his back, not minding the sweat dripping off of him. “Did you?”
“You know it, baby,” he laughs. Mountain hums before turning on his stool and sweeps Swiss off of his feet. He yelps as he ends up in his mate’s lap with his arms around his neck. They both laugh like they are the happiest people in the entire universe.
They are the happiest people in the entire universe.
Mountain leans in to rest his forehead against Swiss’, knocking their horns together. They close their eyes and breathe the same air for a moment.
Despite all the little things they miss, their life could not be more perfect.
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Swiss does not think his nightmares will ever go away. They have become less frequent over the years since he has been summoned, but once in a while—when he least expects it—something will hit him again. The less often they happen, the more frightening they are, though, and sometimes it takes the multi ghoul as much as a week to recover.
He wakes up gasping and sweating bullets for the first time in a few months and his first instinct is to blindly pat around for Mountain. He finds him, of course, and lets out a shaky breath of relief as he grabs his limp hand, but the dream still leaves him unsettled. The earth ghoul shifts in his sleep after being smacked a few times, but does not wake up.
Swiss was all alone again. Alone and cold in the Pit, but not like it was before he got summoned. He was alone then, yes, but he was also clueless. This time he was left with memories, knowing he had a pack and a happy life that suddenly was gone. Lacking and missing something is so much worse when you know exactly what you have lost. He felt like he was never going to experience the warmth of being loved again and it was horrible.
But he is awake now. He is awake and Mountain is right there.
Swiss stares at his mate; watching his chest rise and fall rhythmically and his nose twitch. It’s completely dark in their room, but his water part allows him to see well anyway. Mountain looks so peaceful and the multi ghoul’s heart feels like it is about to burst with the amount of love he has for him in it.
At some point the earth ghoul turns onto his side and unconsciously reaches out for Swiss, flopping an arm over his lap. He chuckles wetly and lays back down to snuggle into Mountain’s chest, his face slotted right over his heart. The tears that have been lingering in his eyes fall when his mate’s warmth envelopes him; falling in cold drops onto Mountain’s skin. This and Swiss’ heart pounding against him wakes him up.
“S’iss…’r you okay?” he slurs, all syrupy with sleep as he nuzzles into his hair.
“Yeah, baby. You’re here, I’m okay.”
“Nightmare?”
“Yeah,” Swiss sighs, cuddling up even closer. Mountain wraps his own arms tighter around him.
“I’m here,” he assures. The multi ghoul nods and tries to focus on his mate’s heartbeat and go back to sleep, but he can not quite shake off the fear that the dream has filled him with. 
What if it is his future? What if he will be sent back before others? What if they will be sent back together but won’t manage to find each other? What if it will all be different and everyone gets sent back but him? Being alone Topside would be as bad as being alone in the Pit.
The worst part of his dreams is always that they are not completely unrealistic.
He sits up again, thinking Mountain has managed to fall back asleep and intending to just stare at him for the rest of the night and assure his brain all is fine. The earth ghoul did not, though, and he rises with Swiss.
“Wanna talk about it or just…be?” he asks as he intertwines their fingers.
“I don’t know, I just–didn’t have that one in a while and it got me all messed up.”
“I understand, my heart.” Mountain kisses his forehead and adjusts them, all but manhandling Swiss so he is in his lap, curled up smaller than it should be possible considering his actual size. “It’s okay, I’m here. Everything’s okay.”
He is, but…their family is bigger than the two of them.
“Do you, uh–do you think we could go check on the others?” 
“Yeah,” the earth ghoul mutters, “yeah, of course.”
Swiss nods with gratitude and crawls out of their nest. He grips Mountain’s hand tightly as they leave their room and go down the corridor, intending to check their packmates’ bedrooms one by one. Mountain pauses before they can open Rain’s door, though, and his ear flicks.
“What is it?”
“Let’s go to the common room,” the earth ghoul says without actual explanation, but Swiss trusts him. He trusts him more than he trusts himself, so they do indeed go to the common room. Swiss looks with an anxious stare at each door they pass without checking, but Mountain just drags him along; albeit gently.
When they reach the commons Swiss understands.
Their whole pack is there, cuddled up in one big pile on the floor lined with tons of bedding. They are all snoring away, tangled in a way that makes it impossible to really notice where one ghoul ends and the other begins. Dewdrop is curled in a little ball on Aether’s chest; his face shoved between the other’s pecs. Rain is on his side, snuggled up to the two with his tail wrapped around the fire ghoul’s leg. Aeon is spooning Rain and drooling into his hair. Aurora is laying perpendicularly to him; her legs are thrown over the quintessence ghoul’s middle. Her head is resting on Cumulus’ stomach while Cirrus’ head is in the crook of her neck. Sunshine is sprawled half on top of them two.
The multi ghoul smiles and kisses Mountain in a way that expresses more than words ever could. He understands.
“Do you want to join them or get back to our room?” The earth ghoul asks.
“Here…” Swiss mutters, “but you don’t have to, your back will–”
“I’ll stay. I’ll always stay.”
Swiss doesn’t have it in himself to disagree; he nods and finds a spot where he and Mountain can lay down with the others. They slot in perfectly right next to Aether and the moment they get comfortable someone’s—most likely Dewdrop’s—tail drapes itself over them.
“You will never be alone again, my heart,” the earth ghoul whispers, kissing Swiss right below his ear. “No matter what happens, we will always be together.”
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A couple of years into their retirement, Mountain and Swiss start to fantasize about having a space that would really be their own. Moving out of the Abbey isn’t an option. Not because of the Clergy’s control or some binding magic. Well, not unless the bond between a pack is considered magic, but truth be told it’s as close as it gets.
They simply don’t want to leave their family.
They would hate being unable to see them at least every other day, being unable to have cuddle piles; they would miss them terribly, even if they would not travel far. They are older now, though—especially Mountain—and the chaos is sometimes too much. That is why they started thinking of their options.
The Ministry’s grounds are big.
Swiss and Mountain share not only the element of earth in their cores, but also deep love for it, and when they are offered by the Clergy—or rather Copia himself, always the one to spoil his ghouls—to be provided with supplies to build a house in the woods, they accept without a second thought.
They begin planning immediately.
They have to have a little patio to drink tea in the mornings and to lounge with a book or guitar on. They need a big kitchen to cook and bake together as much as their hearts might desire. There must be a speaker system all over so they can have music they so love surrounding them at all times. Their bed has to be big and sturdy for…obvious reasons.
Thankfully both Mountain and Swiss are good at drawing.
They spend hours online, looking for inspiration and appliances they are going to need. They plan and draw everything, spilling their shared dreams onto paper.
Once it is all done, they insist they can do it all by themselves, but Copia does not agree. Not because he does not trust them, but because he loves them so much he only wants the best for them—he hires an actual architect and construction team for them.
It does not dull their excitement to bring their drawings to life; only now they are sure their house will last years. And they still do participate in the process, of course, but while the professionals are working on their cabin, Swiss and Mounty focus more on its surroundings.
They must have a garden, too.
They divide the space around the house into three parts and surround it all with magical hedge to keep away animals that might want to steal some of the things they plan on growing. The middle part they leave empty—apart from some flowers just to keep it in their style—to later on equip with chairs, tables, a swing, and anything that they might come up with that would make it a place that one wants to spend time in.
The other two parts are divided into growing fruit, vegetables, and even some grain. Whatever is possible, and considering Mountain’s power it is a lot.
Swiss and Mountain are standing there one evening, holding each other in a place that will soon be their patio, after the construction team has already left. They watch the sunset; sky painted oranges and pinks just behind the house that is steadily growing. It is as if Lucifer is congratulating them on the peaceful life that is just around the corner.
“We should get a cat,” Swiss hums into the space below Mountain’s jaw.
“What?” the other laughs quietly, slightly surprised by the proposition.
“Yeah, like a little kitten. They’re so cute.”
Mountain thinks about it. Yes, they are cute and now that they are about to have their own little home it would be precious to have something—someone—to raise there. They can not have kits Topside, so a pet would be the next best thing.
“Yeah, we should,” he mutters after a moment. Swiss pulls away and looks up at his mate, beaming. “What? Were you joking?”
“No, I just didn’t think you’d agree,” he giggles and stands on his tiptoes to kiss the earth ghoul. “I want a little calico girl.”
“Whatever you want is yours, my heart,” Mountain whispers and brings his mate closer. Swiss purrs at his warmth and he knows the earth ghoul means it; Mountain would bring the stars down from the sky and rip out his own veins to wrap them in if that would be Swiss’ wish.
The building of their house takes just short of a year. The final step is, of course, furnishing and decorating it, and the pair invite their family to help with that. The younger ghouls may not be aware, but in the Pit there is a certain tradition regarding couples that mate and leave the pack to live on their own. The pack or packs that the ghouls come out of build shelter for them to live in as a sign of the claim they still have on them. Not a possessive, objectifying one, but an affectionate one. It is simply extending the whole pack’s protection over the ghoul’s mate and their potential future kits.
That tradition is not cultivated by ghouls that get summoned Topside, and it would be especially senseless considering how unusual Swiss and Mountain’s pack and life is. So they come up with their own version.
Each ghoul of their family has a part of their cabin to decorate as they see fit.
It ends up being a patchwork style that would absolutely horrify any professional designer, but Mountain and Swiss could not be happier with how it all turned out.
Once their house is ready to move into, they walk into the fresh space and stand in the middle of it with proud smiles. They did it and it is not only their house now; it is their home.
“I think we should…initiate it,” Swiss says after a moment of just taking it in.
“As in…baptize?”
“Well, yeah, but I wouldn’t say that’s the right word for what I have in mind.”
“Oh…oh.”
The little kitten held against Swiss’ chest seems to agree as she meows loudly.
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One of the things that have become a habit for Swiss and Mountain is their little kitchen dates—Mountain baking while Swiss cooks next to him.
They have them often, now that they have so much time to spare on their hands, and it never gets old or boring.
 They plan their whole day in advance, prepare their recipes and make a list of groceries they need to get. Most of the ingredients Swiss needs to make dinner can be found in their garden, and most of the ingredients Mountain needs to bake dessert can be found in the pantry they have worked years on supplying. For anything else they make a trip to a local grocery store, holding hands and mirroring the smiles older ladies send their way.
A spacious kitchen with a lot of working space was one of the priorities when they were planning their cabin; they needed space to be able to cook side by side comfortably. Besides, the two-in-one living room and kitchen turned out to be the place they spend most of their time, followed closely by their bedroom and the outside.
Both Swiss and Mountain are usually clean about their cooking and baking—that is until one of them starts a food fight. They each have their favored bowls and spoons and dishes and rags. They have a silent agreement about the division of the counter, too, but that one blurs more often than not.
The pair prepare everything; they wash the vegetables and eggs, measure the dry and wet ingredients separately, and pick out all the utensils they’ll need. The last step is putting on their matching aprons they got as a gift. They switch them sometimes, but usually Swiss wears the one saying big spoon, while Mountain’s says little spoon.
They always have music on put through the speakers scattered all over; the type depending on their mood. Sometimes it is quieter, sometimes they turn it into a full blown cooking party with the music loud and their dancing energetic.
Today, though, they are enjoying the peace of it; they are humming to the soft music Swiss put on, swaying their hips as they work. 
“How’s it going for you, my love?” Swiss asks, bumping his hip into Mountain. He looks over his arm into the bowl clutched between his hands and hums, unable to recognize what it is that his mate is working on.
“Alright,” Mountain says. “It’ll need a moment to rise before I bake it.”
“You won’t tell me what it is?” the multi ghoul whines jokingly, poking his mate’s arm with his horns.
“Nope,” he giggles, “you’ll see.”
“Fineee…” Swiss is not one to accept such mortifying defeat without a fight, though. He turns back to his own station and waits for Mountain to let down his guard before he strikes; shoving his fingers into one of the other bowls and pulling back with them covered in some kind of cream.
“Swiss!” Mountain throws his arms up; acting offended even though it’s a regular occurrence. “You menace!”
The multi ghoul only giggles as he skitters away to lick the cream off of his hand out of the other’s reach. It is sweet and kind of fluffy; that is probably what Mountain was beating the eggs for earlier. It’s delicious and Swiss tell his mate as much.
Mountain shakes his head and huffs as he goes right for Swiss’ own cooking and dips a finger in a warming up sauce in Swiss’ favorite green pan.
“Oh, you!” he laughs and walks up to him to wrap his arms around his waist from behind. The earth ghoul can not even pretend he is mad at him when Swiss kicks up a low purr and nuzzles his face against Mountain’s back. He can't help but set everything down and turn around to steal a kiss from his mate, too.
Thankfully nothing on the stove needs urgent attention; they can take their time loving on each other during their little break. They hear a little meow behind them and they pull away to look at someone who loves interrupting.
“Hi yourself,” Swiss laughs, turning to their cat Aira. He reaches out for her and she nuzzles her little fuzzy head into his palm. Mountain shakes his head but he can not deny their little lady is so adorable it is impossible to deny her affection. He comes closer, picks her up, and immediately brings her to his chest.
“Cat thief!” Swiss accuses. Mountain only shrugs; it can not be denied.
Aira is purring loudly all relaxed in the earth ghoul’s arms as he hops onto the clean end of the counter. Swiss mutters something about unfairness under his breath as he returns to his cooking, stirring something and poking a finger in to taste it.
He focuses on and gets lost in it all over again and Mountain watches him intently despite his attention seemingly being focused on the cat. He is not in a rush; his dough has to rest anyway. The earth ghoul is grinning at his mate by the time the alarm he set goes off and he has to put Aira down and get back to work.
In the evening they eat what they made, sitting on the opposite ends of a small table that’s just barely wide enough to fit their plates. They devour the meal so carefully and lovingly prepared by the multi ghoul; Mountain always praises the food and Swiss himself to the heavens. Not long after, Swiss does the same to Mountain and his dessert as he picks every single crumb from his plate and licks the cream off of his fingers.
Providing for each other is one of the love languages they share and love indulging and it fills them with more and more affection every single time; until they feel like they are about to burst with it. That is a part of the reason why every single one of their kitchen dates ends up the same—with them making love in a significantly different way than cooking for each other; kneading something else than pasta or cake dough.
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When you have someone you love by your side, time goes by simultaneously slow and fast. It is slow when you look into your beloved’s eyes and get lost in them, when you enjoy every single second spent with them. But at the same time no amount of time feels enough. No matter how many years you have spent with the one you love, it will never be enough—in that way it all moves too fast.
It is different for ghouls; for any being that is considered immortal. Nothing can really come to an end for them and while living forever may feel like a terrible sentence, it does not have to be.
Swiss and Mountain are not afraid of eternity.
For them it is a gift. Not many have the chance of never running out of time. So many humans do and it is something neither Mountain nor Swiss can even imagine experiencing.
The curse of humanity is a horrible one.
They know how lucky they are and even though the ghouls being demons are called the damned ones, it could not be more wrong a description when it comes to Swiss and Mountain.
They are the blessed ones.
They have lived a big, full life already and there is still so much waiting for them.
The bonds of their pack loosen a little over time, mates distancing themselves to focus on each other—it is a natural way of things, even for a pack as unusual as theirs. Most of them stay in the Abbey—they of course spend more time together—but those who don't, hear from each other every few weeks and meet ever less often.
It is a little sad, if you think about it, considering all that they have been through together over the years.
But again, it’s different for ghouls.
They aren’t tied to one lifetime; they have multiple, and they divide them fairly.
Ghouls do not die. When—and if—they or somebody else decides their life Topside must come to an end, they simply turn into ash. Their spirits, something we could call a soul, retire back to the Pits, to the very place they were summoned from. Down there it is as if they never left, but their minds and hearts know otherwise. They are filled with memories and affections of what was and with them they continue their endless existence in Hell. It is not torment, it is not eternal damnation.
Not if they can find the one they linked their soul to.
When the time comes—whether it be tens, hundreds or thousands of years—Swiss and Mountain will find each other again. One single day they will spend apart; not more, not less.
And maybe they will find others, too.
Rain and Dewdrop, who will have left earlier to rid the water ghoul of the pain tied to his mortal vessel. The ghoulettes, all four of them, who will have enjoyed what the human world has to offer for as long as it is enjoyable. Aether and Aeon, not mated, but linked by something as strong; a brotherly bond like no other.
Maybe they will find older ghouls also. Alpha and Omega, Zephyr and Ifrit, Mist and Delta, maybe even Chain himself. Maybe the Emeritus brothers will be there, too, if the old rumors of them being favored in such a way by Lucifer turn out to be true.
For now, it is all a mystery; a riddle that is not to be solved for centuries or millennia. There is only one certainty in all of it.
Swiss and Mountain will always be together.
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azure-lily24 · 11 months ago
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Kill Bill
Listened to Kill Bill by SZA while writing this so the title was fitting I think?
Context: Hurtful things said (if you squint), mentions of killing and death and probably toxic relations, reader with feminine qualities
A/n: I saw a fic of the person writing Sylus playing a game of predator and prey with the reader (him being a stalker-) and kinda decided to see what other "dark" themes I think this man could do. This is my own spin on things and this does not relate to Sylus's actual in-game character. Please remember that :)
Reader is their own character, not mc, enjoy :3
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The building shook with great force as an explosion was heard from above. The guests were startled and started to panic and rush to the exit. Those who had malicious intent decided to act upon it with the disturbance being their distraction, cutting down innocent people of power and those who hold such status in the world.
You, whoever, stayed in the shadows and supervised the people with ill-intent and used your evol on them. Focusing your attention solely on the person and muttering under your breath.
"Stop. Pain.."
The person who was sneaking up behind an innocent woman, froze and their eyes widened. Placing the person under a mental spell, their mental image changes to show their stomach gutted and their insides sprawled all over the floor. They clutched their stomach in pain and kneeled down on the floor. Smirking when the fool was reduced to laying in a fetal position while their mind plays tricks on them, you hear one of the twins speaking in your ear piece, "Hey boss lady, you might wanna leave the building, it looks like it's gonna collapse in probably less than a minute"
You were just about to respond to Kieran, who spoke through when Luke also spoke up, "And don't worry! Boss and Miss hunter have already left the building" I sigh to myself but soon I start hearing loud thuds and look around to see the decorative pillars falling down and poor unsuspecting guests who haven't left yet either get caught under the pillars or narrowly escape them. You curse under your breath and quickly run to the exit.
Ignoring cries of help and pain, your heels clacking on the soiled marble floor as you were a couple of feet away from the exit, but suddenly a pillar fell and one of the beautiful ice sculptures that was on a table near the exit fell and ice shards flew everywhere. Thankfully it was just ice, but some of the shards flew and cut some of the panicked guests, including you.
You quickly dusted yourself off and ran out the exit. But you were too late...
~~
Sylus appeared with her outside the building just a couple of minutes before. He looked down at her as she held the aether core in her hand, well the vessel of it.. As the building was starting to collapse, the twins appeared in front of him, prepared to leave the scene.
While Sylus was occupied with her, the twins were muttering among themselves.
"Where's boss lady?" "She should've made it out by now.." "You don't think someone's got her, right?" "Definitely not, she's nearly on the same level as the boss"
Miss hunter turned her attention to the twins and questioned them, "Who are we waiting for? And what are you two talking about?"
The twins stop talking and stare at the girl. Sylus, on the other hand, summons Mephisto and sends him out to try and search for you among the nearly collapsing building. The crow leaves and the girl watches as he leaves. She turns to Sylus and asks the same question.
"Sylus, who are we waiting for?"...
~~
Weeks have gone by since that day of the auction. Mephisto had failed to find you before the building had collapsed. The twins were devastated because you were their friend who they could banter with whenever Sylus didn't need them nor you.
Sylus, however, seemed indifferent on the outside yet there was a strange empty feeling inside.. He didn't have anyone to nag him about being holed up in his office, nor did he have anyone to workout with whenever Miss hunter was away..
But most importantly, he lost his enforcer, his right hand person.. the person who kept him alive.. well.. mentally..
He sighed to himself as Mephisto appeared to inform him that Miss hunter was here again
~~
It's been almost 2 months since that day happened.. you stood in front of a mirror and took off the bandages and looked at the scars the stitches left. Scars ran up your arm and down the side of your body where somehow, a fool was still alive and picking off innocent folk and you just happened to be a target. If you weren't so distracted from wiping away the ice shards and all of the poor guests left behind that were screaming and panicking, you could've heard them and dealt with them with ease, but no..
~
Nearly being slashed open, you just managed to escape them and escape the building. Scrambling down each floor level, you barely made it a couple of meters away when the building finally collapsed, kicking up dust and killing all of the remaining guests trapped inside.
Your body felt like it was on fire as you tried to stop the massive gash on the side of your body from killing you of blood loss while you looked around to see if Sylus and the twins were still around. You tried contacting them through your ear piece but somehow it was swiped from your person.. probably from either the escape out of the building or the encounter from the foolish idiot that tried to kill you..
Looking around more, you spotted your bike that was still here and yet.. the others were nowhere to be found when suddenly you hear the voice of that hunter girl who appeared just two weeks ago..
"Sylus, who are we waiting for?"
Her innocent looking eyes gazed up at him as he shook his head and started walking to the car they arrived in. My eyes widened as I realized that Sylus was leaving me..
Rage started to rise but the pain was overpowering.. I quickly and carefully moved to my bike and sped away, leaving the others and leaving the scene.
~
Toss away the bandages, you slip on your jacket and head out, remembering that Sylus would be attending a banquet where he would buy out from an arms dealer. You smirk to yourself and decide to show up and announce your return from the "dead"..
Putting on your helmet, you walk out to your bike and sped off, leaving Linkon City, where you were hiding from Sylus and go to return back to the N109 Zone..
~~
The familiar red tinge and the dark sky of the N109 felt welcoming to you as you rode through, speeding up now that you were out of the beautiful night sky of Linkon City.
You pulled up to the place and put on an elegant mask that fit well with the black dress you wore, as well as a jacket to cover up your scar. Looking around and smirking when you see a familiar car parked not too far from you, signaling that Sylus was here and the possibility that he brought that girl with him as well. This just made your plan even better..
Walking inside and showing your invite, the bouncer allows you in and you look at the extravagant place. The ceiling had a starry sky, and the people around wore colors you would see in a galaxy. Those who wore masks were either body guards or those who would rather keep their identity a secret in hopes to avoid being targeted by undercover killers..
Walking around and greeting other guests who attended, you spot two familiar crow masks that were nearly hidden in the shadows. You smile as you turn and start walking towards the twins.
They looked surprised to see an unknown guest walking towards them and move to push them away, but you smirked and spoke,
"Why.. I'm hurt.. 2 months have passed and you two don't even look a bit happy to see me? Maybe I should just leave again.." The twins were shocked to hear your voice and Luke reached up to inform Sylus of your return when you grabbed his wrist and shook your head. "Keep my presence a secret and maybe you two will be spared from me~"
You chuckled as they nodded and kept their mouths shut, scared but also confused of why you didn't want Sylus to know that you were back.
Walking away from the twins, you spotted the hunter girl. She was idling around and chatting with those who would entertain her. She wore a dark purple dress with blue and black accents, and every time she would move, you could see the glitter that would imitate stars. You sigh to yourself and already know that Sylus had probably bought that dress for her.
You walked up to her and smiled, talking in a voice that's a bit higher than your normal tone. "Hi miss, can I just say your dress is absolutely stunning, where did you get it from?"
She smiled and shook her head, "I got it from the place at the Grand Center and it was a gift from my partner." Anger started to rise from that word she used to describe Sylus, but I kept my emotions in check and nodded.
'I knew Sylus for nearly five years and yet she's only been around for two, almost three months and this shit happens', you spoke out in your mind and sighed.
"Well since it seems like your 'partner' has the pockets, might I strike a deal with you?", you held out your hand, knowing this girl probably doesn't have enough knowledge to know when a woman is being shady, unlike men..
She looks at your hand and tilts her head in curiosity, "A deal for what?"
You smiled and beckoned her to follow you, "Come with me and I'll show you, I would rather prefer if not a lot of people saw the protocore I've acquired." You internally smirked as she nodded.
'This was too easy~'
You felt a pair of eyes on you as you led her out into a corridor, away from public eyes. You stopped once you were sure no one saw the two of you leaving the main floor and turned to her. She looked at you with curiosity as you reached into one of your jacket pockets and pulled out a protocore. It was a larger core from the usual ones you would see. You looked up and saw that her eyes had widened and she looked at the core in your hand in awe.
"That's incredible!, where did you get it from miss?", she asked with so much excitement, it reminded you of a child who had just seen the biggest candy store in the world.
You opened your mouth to reply when suddenly, an oh-so-familiar voice was heard and a certain snowy grey haired man appeared from around the corner. He looked beautiful in the suit he was wearing, a black suit with blue and red accents and bits of embroidery showing stars.
"It's a fake.. no protocore would ever form like that.." Sylus spoke in a condescending tone to try and intimidate me. I only scoff and tilt my head, putting a hand on my hip.
"Are you calling me a scammer, sir?", I smirk and the fake protocore in my hand shifts and turns into a small blade. The hunter girl backs away and Sylus glares at me and waves a hand, holding me in the air with his power.
"You would be a fool to try and lay a hand on her..", Sylus slowly starts to close his hand, the force of his evol increasing as he strangles me in the air. I smirk and focus all of my attention on him..
"Pain.."
His eyes widen and I am released from his hold. Landing on the floor as Sylus holds his head in pain as his mental image changes and burning pain clouds his mind. He lets out a groan as he tries to fight, yet I keep my focus on him and smirk while doing so.
Miss hunter looks scared as I do, looking worried as Sylus kneels down to the floor and looks up at me with pain in his eyes. I cross my arms and release him from his mental torture. I take off my mask as he recovers and stands up from the floor.
"Long time, no see.. missed me?" I smirk as Sylus looks shocked for only a second but quickly composes himself. Miss hunter shared the same reaction as she quickly recognized me. "If only you waited just one more minute back then.." my bottom lip pokes out to pout, as if I were mocking him.
Sylus sighed in annoyance and pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you were alive all this time.. why were you hiding these last two months?"
I smirk and played with the small blade in my hand, "You tell me, how would you feel if you were probably on the brink of death and saw your boss leaving you behind, huh?" I shrug off the side of my jacket that hid my scar and proudly show it to Sylus. "A clean cut from my arm.. to my waist.. nearly dying and yet you had the nerve to busy yourself with a little girl whose purpose has already been fulfilled..". I turned my gaze to her and glared at her and spoke,
"Burn.."
Her eyes widened as she cried out in pain as a burning sensation clouded her mind. Sylus quickly waved a hand, bringing you closer to him and holding your throat in his hand. You smirked as he looked at you with such anger.
"Why so serious? After all, she resonated with you and got the aether core, therefore, she's useless now.." you smiled as she cried out in pain again, begging you to stop it.
"Call it off, or else you'll actually die this time.." Sylus threatened yet your eyes widened when you realized what he had said. Miss hunter cries in relief when released from her mental torture, keeling down on the ground as tears fall from her face.
Sylus unhands you. You back away and look at him with a look of betrayal and anger. "Seems you couldn't cut off a loose end, but don't worry.." you spoke as you looked down. Sylus glanced back to check on her but that painful feeling returned and soon, when he looked up at you, the small blade was no longer in your hand. He turned and saw it lodged deep into Miss hunter's heart...
"I took care of it..."
~~~
(WOOOOOOO I wrote this in the span of two hours while Sylus held me at gunpoint from 30 minutes of that- also while I was writing this, I realized that reader's evol seemed quite similar to the blonde girl Jane from Twilight. Anyone else thought of that or was it just me?)
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ghoulelegy · 3 months ago
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Et Tu, Ghoulé?
An Ides of March Ghost crackfic.
WC: 700ish
Summary: Papa Copia wants to re-enact the assassination of Julius Caesar.
Read on Ao3! :3
It was a perfectly normal March 15th—until it wasn’t.
The Nameless Ghouls were engaged in their usual activities:
Arguing about whether pineapple on pizza was blasphemy or enlightenment.
Seeing how many times they could spin Phantom in a chair before he barfed.
Summoning small demons for sport. (Last week, they got one named Gregory. Gregory was still here.)
And then, with the force of a thousand badly tuned guitars, the door EXPLODED OPEN.
"GHOULS!" Papa Emeritus IV roared, dramatically backlit despite there being no actual backlight. His cape was billowing violently even though there was no wind.
Phantom screamed. Swiss choked on his drink. Aether didn’t even look up from his phone.
Papa threw his arms wide. “Today, we honor treachery! We honor bloodshed! We honor—”
"Your Roman Empire thing again?" Swiss interrupted, wiping beer off his shirt.
"IT IS NOT A ROMAN EMPIRE THING—"
Dewdrop groaned. "Dude, you talk about Julius Caesar constantly."
“I DO NOT—” Papa paused. “…Okay, maybe, but that is beside the point! It is the Ides of March! The anniversary of the most iconic betrayal in history! And we shall honor it the only way we can—”
Aether sighed. "Lemme guess. You want to reenact the assassination."
Papa grinned. That was never a good sign.
"WE SHALL REENACT THE ASSASSINATION."
A collective groan of suffering.
Aurora perked up. “Oh, sick! Do we get weapons?”
Papa beamed. “Yes! Ashley, bring forth the blades!”
At that exact moment, the doors BLASTED OPEN AGAIN, revealing Ashley, being suffocated under a mountain of Party City bags.
“THEY HAD A SALE!” she screamed, before collapsing under the sheer weight of capitalism. Foam daggers spilled across the floor like an avalanche of poorly made LARP gear.
Cirrus picked one up. “These are… aggressively soft.”
“PERFECT FOR DRAMATIC STABBING!” Papa announced, holding his arms to the heavens.
Mountain, who had not spoken in three hours, finally looked up. “So… we’re doing community theater?”
“NOT JUST ANY COMMUNITY THEATER!” Papa boomed. “The most METAL community theater EVER! NOW GATHER, MY LITTLE SENATORS! HISTORY AWAITS!"
Fifteen Minutes Later
THE SCENE WAS SET.
Papa, draped in a bedsheet toga, was fully committed. He had rubbed ketchup on his chest for dramatic blood effects. The Nameless Ghouls were armed with foam daggers and bad intentions.
The stabbing began.
“ET TU, AETHER?!” Papa shrieked, clutching his chest as foam daggers gently bounced off of him.
Aether sighed. “Dude. It’s literally not hurting you.”
“SHH! I am acting.”
Swiss had taken creative liberties.
"SORRY, PAPA… BUT WE MUST OVERTHROW YOU… FOR THE RIFFS!"
He struck an aggressive power stance and began shredding an air guitar solo.
Aurora had gone feral.
She was dual-wielding foam daggers and spinning wildly like a bloodthirsty Beyblade, occasionally bonking herself in the forehead but refusing to stop.
Phantom had fully lost the plot. He was making lightsaber noises.
"Pew! Pew pew!"
Rain had completely given up.
He was sitting in the corner, eating chips and watching the chaos unfold like it was a Netflix special.
Cirrus and Cumulus were cry-laughing.
Mountain had left the room, the building, and possibly the continent.
Then… for reasons unknown…
Cumulus, with deadpan seriousness, walked over to the speaker system, plugged in her phone, and hit play.
"SAIL AWAY, SAIL AWAY, SAIL AWAY…"
ENYA.
BLASTING AT FULL VOLUME.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!!" Papa screeched, furious at his own assassination being underscored by soft rock.
Sunshine yelled, “BANGER ALERT,” before roundhouse-kicking a chair for no reason.
Then, the door BLASTED OPEN AGAIN.
A hush fell over the room.
Sister Imperator stood in the doorway.
She looked at the scene. The foam daggers. The ketchup. Aurora standing on a table screaming “VIVA LA REVOLUTION.”
She closed her eyes. Took a deep breath.
And muttered, with all the weariness of a woman who has dealt with too much nonsense for too many years:
"I hate this band."
The Aftermath
Sister Imperator scheduled an 8-hour rehearsal at 6 AM as revenge.
Ashley is now banned from Party City.
Swiss will not shut up about "overthrowing for the riffs."
Aurora was last seen sprinting through the venue with three foam daggers and yelling "NO GODS NO MASTERS."
The Ides of March is now an annual Ghost holiday.
Copia still has not gotten his Party City deposit back.
Final Thoughts?
This band should not be allowed to have access to history, props, or free time.
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miasmaghoul · 5 months ago
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So I got one particular kink request that mentions maybe needing an OC. I have an idea for this already, but it occurred to me that I've never told you guys about my actual OC. I'm sure most won't care, but I do, soooo...
Everyone, meet my ghouly guy Jasper!
Jasper is an earth ghoul, but more in a rock direction than a plant direction. He was summoned near the end of Terzo's reign, and lives in the depths of the abbey with the other service ghouls. His assigned tasks mostly revolve around building maintenence, and he usually goes unseen due to a preference for working at night. He's not a fan of crowds anyway, so it all works out. The last thing he needs is a gaggle of siblings ogling him while he repairs cracks in the walls with nothing but a palmful of finely crushed stone and a little burst of magic.
He keeps to himself in the off hours too, preferring to hang in his dorm with something immersive; a good book (preferably horror or mystery), a video game (loves single player RPGs and cozy games like Stardew Valley), doing a puzzle (jigsaw, crossword, or really any sort of word game) or listening to music while staring at the ceiling. His dorm sits beneath one of the band's equipment storage rooms, and it's not uncommon for one or two of the band ghouls to hang out and play something every now and then. He has very sharp ears, and if he closes his eyes he can usually tell who's fucking around (or just fucking, let's be real) in there.
If he does need to participate in group activities, he enjoys the company of his fellow earth ghouls. They aren't a rowdy bunch (except for Pebble, though they still get on well enough), so he'll have no problem meeting Mountain in the orchard for a joint and idle chitchat, or having a quiet lunch with Ivy in the rose garden. He also finds himself drawn to air ghouls - he had a huge crush on Zephyr, but their Whole Thing with Mountain told Jasper to keep his distance. They still made great friends though!
His first roommate was Aether, before he was recruited into the band and moved to Dew's room. They got along very well, and Aether taught him a lot about many, many things. The abbey, the world Above, human-shaped vessels and what they can do...many lessons were taught in that cramped dorm room. Jasper has it to himself now, but still he leaves Aether's side clean and organized. Just in case.
Aether tried to teach him to play guitar as well, but never got the hang of it - coordination was an issue, as was the fact that his finger strength kept breaking the higher strings. He prefers to sing anyway, in a voice that could go straight to your bones. The one exception to his 'no crowds' rule comes when it's time for a celebratory mass, where he will don a ceremonial robes and join the choir in worshipful song. Mostly he just sings in the shower though.
He has an extremely dry sense of humor, always heavy handed with sarcasm, but is also able to pull a pun out at the drop of a hat. Loves to banter and tease in his own way, though it can take other ghouls some time to adjust to his mannerisms. But if something hits him just right, really tickles, then he's cackling like a hyena with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Loves to hunt with Mountain; the pair of them have spent many night tracking everything from rabbits to bucks with nothing but claws and fangs, tearing into their prizes with unabashed, feral pleasure. Jasper will take pieces of their pelts and fashion them into little pouches or decorative pieces to store on his one crowded bookshelf. There are a few hand-carved pieces of antler there too, none of anything identifiable, but at least he'd tried!
He eats normal human food too, as most ghouls do, but he has a guilty pleasure - red clay, harvested from the banks of the stream that cuts through the forest. If anyone finds him gathering it he says he's trying his hand at pottery, but in reality he's squirreling it away to dry so he can have a nice crunchy snack afterwards. Aether walked in on him with his mouth covered in clay dust once, and he has yet to live it down.
Now, some rapid-fire physical traits and preferences!
Jasper is intersex, presents on the masc side of androgynous, and uses he/him pronouns (though they/them is okay too). Demiromantic pansexual, far more willing to share his body than his emotions. Kinky as all hell, but he is a ghoul after all.
He is 6'2" (188cm), narrow and lanky.
He's pale, doesn't particularly enjoy being out in the sun, (Mountain call him a cave dweller), but if he does spend a day tilling in the gardens or the orchard it'll bring out the freckles on his face and arms.
Keeps his hair very short, almost shaved, on the sides and back, but shaggier on top. Easy to let flop over his forehead, or to slick back if he needs to look "presentable". It's thick and copper colored, looks redder in the sun, and he's always running his hands through it. If he shaves the sides down, he likes to carve little designs into the remaining fuzz. His horns are stone-like, only a few inches long, starting at his hairline and angled backwards. (When he's unglamoured they become twin rows of stalagmites in all sizes, sharp as anything.)
His face is angular, with sharp cheekbones and a pointed chin. His ears stick out, the left one more than the right. His eyes are steely gray, a touch sunken and perpetually accompanied by dark circles. Has a thin scar that runs down his forehead and through his left eyebrow, from the time he tripped and fell through one of the glass panels of the greenhouse. His nose used to be narrow and straight, but after an evening spent drinking Terra's moonshine his bedroom floor changed that. (He's a clumsy guy, what can I say.) He doesn't mind the crookedness, though he does sometimes wince when he sneezes. Wears glasses for everything except to read.
Piercings: double lobes in both ears, with a helix on the left and a daith on the right. Used to have his septum done before the nose incident, chose not to re-do it after that healed. Nipples (prefers barbells or shields). Bellybutton (blame Aether).
Tattoos: his elemental symbol on the inside of his left wrist. An intricate sigil at the top of his spine, extending down between his shoulder blades. A black and gray snake that wraps around his right calf, it's head on the top of his foot.
Wears a simple silver ring on his right middle finger and a pair of complementary chains around his neck. One holds a cage-style pendant surrounding a piece of raw obsidian, the other small crystalline vial of something that DEFINITELY isn't blood. Enjoys painting his nails, and will keep his claws glamoured just to flash his color of the week. It'll be chipped after two hours, but he doesn't mind.
For clothing, he keeps it simple. Service ghouls all share a uniform - a black tunic, slacks, white-tipped Oxfords and a simple black mask - but in his off time he likes baggy t-shirts and comfy pants. Or no pants, he kinda hates pants. Keeps a few nicer pieces for the rare occasion his uniform isn't formal enough, but they mostly sit unused in the back of his closet.
Finally, he is terrified of spiders. Many spider-related pranks have been, and will continue to be, pulled on him.
Aaaand thats all I've got off the top of my head lmao. I've never written down anything about my weird rock boy, he just lives in my mind and now, maybe, in yours. Will he ever be fully fleshed out? Will he make an appearance in any future fic? Find out next time, on DragonBall Z!
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ghoul-slime · 1 year ago
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Mushy May Day 5 - Animals (Aether/Dew)
Day 5! Honestly shocked I made it this far. As always, thanks to @forlorn-crows for organizing this and to @ghuleh-recs for the dividers!
Day 5 - Animals (Aether/Dew), no warnings, 1093 words
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Aether is wrapping up his shift in the infirmary when he gets the text, mood lifting the moment he sees Dew’s name pop up in the notification. It had only been a few days since the band went back out on tour, and Aether was already missing his little fire ghoul something fierce.
When he opens the message, he’s greeted with a photo of Dew dressed in full costume, holding up a tiny orange kitten in his hands. Dew has sent a handful of other photos, all of the same kitten. Eating treats out of his hand, playing with a little catnip mouse, curled up and asleep in his lap. In the background he can see the rest of the pack sprawled out on the carpet of the green room with a tiny army of kittens and puppies.
Papa must have arranged for an animal rescue to visit the venue that day. Those were always some of their favorite days on tour, Aether thinks nostalgically. It was a great way for them all to de-stress after weeks on the road cooped up in the tour bus or boring hotel rooms. Getting to spend the day with playful little puppies and curious kittens did wonders for everyone’s morale. Dew especially. He was always the last ghoul to give up whatever animal he’d been cuddling with for the duration of the visit. 
Aether’s phone dings, and with it another handful of kitten pictures, along with a message from Dew.
His name is Chicken Nugget!!!
Aether smiles to himself. Three whole exclamation points? Dew must be having a good time with the animal rescue’s visit. He can’t wait to hear about it during their nightly call.
Aether texts back and tells him so.
Dew answers with another picture of himself holding Chicken Nugget up to his face, the tiny little kitten mid cheek-rub against the edge of one of Dew’s bug-eyed helmet goggles. 
Aether sets the photo as his phone wallpaper immediately.
That night when they talk, Dew can’t stop gushing about the kitten.
“Aether, I’m in love,” Dew says dramatically.
Aether gasps in mock outrage. “Wow, should I be jealous?” he answers.
Dew snorts. “Yes actually. I wanted to take him home so bad, but Papa said absolutely no way, no pets on the tour bus. I guess he has a point though,” Dew concedes, sounding more than a little bit sad about it.
“We bonded though, Aeth!” Dew exclaims, excited again. “He picked me over everyone else and he looked so sad when I had to give him back. I felt like I was abandoning him...” Aether can just hear the sad little frown on Dew’s face through the tone of his voice.
He listens to Dew talk about Chicken Nugget for the rest of their call. The fire ghoul has always been a little animal lover, but this is the first time Aether has seen him get so attached. It’s completely adorable, Aether thinks, though he’s sure that Dew will have moved on from it in a day or so once they get back out on the road. 
He’s completely wrong. Dew brings up the kitten every night during their calls for weeks. Worrying about what will happen if he doesn’t get adopted. Worrying about what will happen if he does get adopted, that he couldn’t trust just anyone with his little Chicken Nugget. 
Another month passes and Aether can hear the exhaustion in Dew’s voice building each day. It’s the first time since they’d been summoned that they’d been apart for so long.
“Lonely out here sometimes,” Dew says one night as he dozes off in his bunk on the phone with Aether. “Miss you…” he trails off. 
Aether’s heart aches. There’s still months of touring left. It’ll be nearly winter before he and Dew are reunited. That night, Aether makes a decision.
In the morning, he’s convinced himself he knows what to do. First things first, he has to make a few phone calls. He takes out his cell phone and dials.
Papa? Dew’s not around you right now, is he? Good. Can we talk?
An agonizing two months later and Aether finds himself standing anxiously outside the abbey, waiting for the tour bus to finally come rumbling down the road. To deliver his precious pack and beloved mate back into his waiting arms.
Dew is the first one off the bus, and he flies into Aether, nearly knocking him down in the process. He takes Dew’s bags in one hand and Dew’s hand in the other and leads him into the abbey, listening to him talk about the long flight and the even longer bus ride back home.
Once they’re inside, Dew makes a beeline toward the kitchen. But before he can escape, Aether tugs him back gently by the hand.
“Come here, I want to show you something first,” Aether says softly.
“Aeth, can’t it wait, I’m freaking starving,” Dew answers, rubbing his stomach to emphasize his point.
“Nope, can’t wait.” Aether takes Dew by the shoulders and steers him down the hall towards their shared bedroom. “Come with me.” 
Dew looks back at him suspiciously, but lets Aether guide him toward their closed bedroom door. When they get there, Dew turns the knob and opens the door slowly, unsure of what he’s going to find there waiting for him.
And then he sees it. A tiny little orange ball of fluff curled up in the middle of their nest. Dew gasps, immediately covering his mouth with his hand when the sound wakes the kitten from his nap. Chicken Nugget takes one look at Dew, stretches out his tiny paws, and lets out an excited little mewl.
Dew rushes over to the bed, scoops up the kitten, and cradles him to his chest before turning to back Aether with wide, glassy eyes. “How did you?” Dew’s voice cracks just a little bit.
Oh Satan, if Dew cries, he is definitely going to cry too, Aether thinks to himself in a panic.
“Don’t ask, it was a giant pain in the ass though,” he laughs, wiping a stray tear threatening to spill from his eyes. He pulls Dew in, careful not to squish the little purring kitten between them, and kisses his forehead. “He’s here now though. He was waiting for you. Both of us were waiting for you.”
Dew lets out a sob, and that’s it, Aether is crying too. Chicken Nugget, on the other hand, couldn’t be happier, purring away and kneading Dew's sweatshirt with tiny little claws.
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dragons-bones · 9 months ago
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FFXIV Write Entry #15: Lux Solaris
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Prompt: deodate (free write) || Master Post || On AO3
A/N: Spoilers for Dawntrail.
---
It was in the heart of the Meso Terminal, before the throne of the Queen Eternal, that Synnove discovered just what the fuck had been going on with her Dreadwyrm Protocol.
The Protocol was the most strictly-maintained of all her spells, the one most rigidly bound off from every array in her grimoire with pages of page-blocks to ensure its core programming didn’t leak into any of the carbuncles. It was also the spell that had seen the fewest modifications—in fact, beyond locking out Galette and then ensuring the smooth linking between it and her Phoenix Protocol, it was otherwise unaltered from what Prin had given her years ago. It was a perfectly functional spell, did exactly what it needed to rain down untold destruction, and if Synnove never had to manipulate the Dreadwyrm’s aether again in her life, it would be too soon.
(Too, there was the fact Synnove was still mad as hell that Prin hadn’t exactly divulged just what the spell it had gifted her had been. The coding had been so alien to her eyes that she hadn’t recognized it not being a mere variation on Allagan egis, and, well, she always did her initial testing with Galette—
IDENTIFY THE ENEMY YOU WISH TO ANNIHILATE.
—suffice to say it was a good thing she’d gone out to test the damned thing on Seal Rock when the island wasn’t being used for wargames. Bad enough both she and Galette had spent the next sennight coming down from the resulting panic attack.)
But that meant she was keenly aware of when the Protocol began to behave oddly. It was how she had first noticed Phoenix’s aether beginning to strengthen, back on the First, which in turn had led to her and Urianger and Alphinaud and Alisaie losing their collective minds as they build out a demi-primal array from scratch.
The past few moons hadn’t seen quite as a drastic change in the Protocol as had been on the First. No, it had been far more subtle; strange bits of…not stagnation, but frequent shifts toward umbral polarity, even a faint hint of Light at some points. Less rage had filtered through the Protocol, that millennia of hatred barely tempered by its filtering through a mere demi-primal that always accompanied an activation of the Dreadwyrm Protocol, instead more of a cool, calculating regard.
And now, here in this space made of levin and electrope, Synnove had activated the Protocol, and what had answered was not the lesser form of the Dreadwyrm.
This demi-primal was white as Light, and its draconic shape was more closely aligned with what a son of the First Brood would have looked like, and not the warped abomination he become under Ascian influence. Its head lacked eyes, however, and strange crenellations crested its head and neck. A crown of Light wheeled above that crest, and its wings—
—its wings were gods-be-damned fucking SWORDS.
It was only a heartbeat between the activation of the Protocol and Ivar becoming the control core of the demi-primal. Synnove could feel her youngest son’s bafflement in the back of her mind, and knowing he was all right was about the only way she didn’t panic in the middle of a battle.
And then, in a cool, crisp voice, echoing with multiple tones through her mind like clarion bells:
LIGHTWYRM SUBROUTINE NOW ONLINE. SUMMONER PRIME LOCATED. DESIGNATION: SYNNOVE GREYWOLFE. REFULGENT LUX GRANTED TO SUMMONER PRIME. SUNFLARE GRANTED TO SUMMONER PRIME.
“What,” Synnove said intelligently, “the fuck.”
The demi-primal stretched its right wing, and one the Queen Eternal’s attendant drones slammed into and broke into pieces. Synnove, jolted back to awareness, dodged through the chaos to return to the safety of Heron’s back and rejoin the battle properly.
“Synnove, what the fuck?!” Rere somehow made the question a part of the ballad she was weaving to bolster their attacks.
“I don’t know!”
ANNHILATION TARGET DETECTED. QUERY: SUMMONER PRIME, DOES THIS UNIT HAVE PERMISSION TO ENGAGE?
“Yes,” Synnove said, already casting a Ruin III spell. “With extreme prejudice!”
The strange not-quite-a-dragon seemed to regard the Queen Eternal. And then it opened its mouth, and R O A R E D.
PROTOCOL: EXODUS ACTIVATED.
Light filled the Interphos, the same brilliant radiance that had answered Hydaelyn’s call during Her test, deep in the aetherial sea. And then it exploded, and the Queen Eternal howled her rage.
“SYNNOVE WHAT THE FUCK.”
“I DON’T KNOW!”
--
“So, I think I know what the fuck.”
Nearly a moon after successfully saving the world—again—the mages of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn (sans Urianger, who was still off somewhere with Thancred, and he was going to be outraged he’d missed this) clustered around the table in one of the conference rooms of the Baldesion Annex. Synnove sat cross-legged on the table itself, fist propping up her cheek, Galette around her neck, and Ipomoea primly loafed in her lap. The Highlander knew she looked as she always did after a research binge: hair a disaster, clothes wrinkled from being slept in, circles beneath her eyes.
The only thing missing was chalk dust, and that was only because she’d been up to her eyeballs in unspooled carbuncles for the past damned moon.
Krile reached forward and tapped at an Allagan projection device built into the table. It lit up immediately, copies of a subset of arcanima array now floating in the air for easy view.
“Let the record show we’ve got a segment of the Dreadwyrm Protocol on display,” Synnove said tonelessly.
G’raha, acting as the meeting scribe, chuckled quietly, but did as requested.
“This bit is the manifestation coding, it’s basically the mathematical image of the Dreadwyrm that the Allagans put together. What’s on display now is what Prin gave me. And this—”
Ipomoea blinked her eyes with an audible shuttering sound. The array changed.
“—is what it looks like as the Lightwyrm Protocol.”
“Well, that’s a significant change,” Alphinaud said slowly, his eyes wide. “I can see the similarities that we can assume are for ‘dragon,’ but what commands for unaspected aether are now for Light.”
“I want the bits that make the sword wings,” Alisaie said. “That is inspired work.”
Alphinaud barely restrained a sigh, glancing heavenward instead for strength as everyone else chuckled.
“I can see where the commands are branching off to affect spells like Astral Flow,” Y’shtola murmured thoughtfully. “Still following the framework you created for demi-primals. But you can still access the Dreadwyrm Protocol?”
“Mmm,” Synnove said. “But have to do this one first. Then in sequence, it’s Dreadwyrm, back to Lightwyrm, then Phoenix, then the cycle repeats. I can’t say I’m not too mad about that, s’nice not to have my trauma shoved in my face whenever we need some extra firepower.”
“Probably has to do with balancing the Light aether, though I can’t figure out how just yet,” Krile said.
Synnove inclined her head. “That’s my theory at the moment, but I’ll need to do more testing. Regardless, that brings me to this.”
Ipomoea blinked again. A different array now floated above the table, causing everyone to frown.
“Is that a message array?” Alisaie said. “Like the Arcanists’ Guild uses for courier work on their carbuncles.”
“It is very similar,” Synnove said, and gently tapped Ipomoea’s head. The sapphire carbuncle twitched her left ear a perfect fifteen degrees, and the array display zoomed in. “You all see this bit of sigilwork and equation here?”
Murmurs of ascent.
“The one time I saw this,” Synnove said, enunciating clearly, “was in Elpis. When Venat sat down with me and the girls, and showed us the full spell frame for her traveler’s ward.”
Five pairs of eyes just stared at her. Synnove raised her eyebrows, waiting. She’d had her moment of garbled cursing three days ago when she’d found that damn signature.
“Are you telling us,” Y’shtola said slowly, “that this new Protocol was made by Hydaelyn Herself?”
“My dearest, darling friend and partner in magical crime,” Synnove drawled, “that is exactly what I’m telling you.”
Krile was covering her face with her hands. “Oh, great good gods, we’re going need to put this under the strictest lock they have in Noumenon,” she groaned.
G’raha was still frantically writing. “I’m not wholly sure I’d trust it to stay safe even there,” he said. “My vote would be to store it up at Bestway Burrows, or perhaps with the Watcher.” He glanced up at Synnove. “This is more for my own amusement than any record keeping, but what did Rereha say about this particular revelation?”
“She said, quote: ‘Oh, cool, Mom decided as a last hurrah that she could get in a last round of one upmanship on the Ascians and design a better dragon.’”
Alisaie and Krile were both giggling before Synnove had even finished talking. Alphinaud didn’t try to stifle his sight this time, while Y’shtola and G’raha exchanged rueful looks.
Synnove merely shrugged, ignoring Galette’s resulting grumble. “She’s probably not wrong.”
“Oh, the loporrits are going to adore that,” Krile said around her giggles. “Sword wings.”
“Sword wings,” Synnove said. And grinned.
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hulloitsdani · 4 months ago
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Fighting for your life with heroes against brand new ones that sweep your team. Henrietta lore? That power she must keep in check? Summoner just won't die. Only in some timelines. and badly. Sharena. Ragnorok?!?! Loki's shenanigans.
Thank you stranger! In no particular order, let’s go through these
First off, OH I LOVEEEEEE BEING IMMEDIATELY PROVEN WRONG ABOUT LOKI. FINALLY. THANK FUCK. The validation I felt when the question of her motives was IMMEDIATELY brought up this book. I don’t care that my read was wrong— what I truly wanted more than anything was something of more substance to read into. As for actual predictions, my bets are that her aims are on bringing about Ragnorok and the end of the gods. For fun. As a treat. For the silly.
As for the actual state of the game, idk man, I play this game weird. I’m both free to play and entirely causal, so it’s entirely up to luck if I ever have any relevant units. In my many years of playing this game, I have never managed to +10 merge a unit that wasn’t a grail unit. So I don’t tend to play game modes where that matters much, with the exception of aether raids sometimes. I like clearing the challenge maps and making the story mode levels really difficult by using strictly Askr trio.
For events outside of that, I have a lot of fun using about one team per six months and trying to creatively use them and their base skills to solve whatever new bullshit is added. The game is clearly not built for you to do that, but I like the challenge it poses. I got really lucky on the CYL7 banner and got all four of the guys from that event. Brave Robin, Corrin, Soren and Gullvieg was my go to team for wayyyy longer than it should have, especially with zero changes to their kits and no merges. Hell I didn’t even have dragon flowers on half of them because Askr Trio building has long stolen most of flower supply. But god was it fun. I know how that group of units play off each other like the back of my hand. And considering how most people tend to just be frustrated with this game’s gameplay, it feels like I must be doing something right. I am constantly broke tho, so rip.
On the lore side, Henriette and Gustav are such a fascinating two for one package for me. Marketable plushies often bought together please don’t separate. The :) to his >:(. They’re both are great rulers and loving partners, but fumbled a bit in their parenting in ways that make total sense. For you see, I am a firm believer that everyone walks out of their childhood at least a little fucked up. Even the best parents are still human. And I adore Askr’s royal family unit, because it digs into that idea! Henriette and Gustav weren’t abusive or harboring malicious intent, but they were neglectful and lacking in ways that cannot be denied. Which is extremely cool! More of this please and thank you.
Looping back to the quote in question, to be perfectly honest, I would be pleasantly surprised if we ever got answers for her day of devotion alt voice lines. However, Gustav having a wife with the power to kill him easily would be so fucking funny. Like father, like son. If your romantically coded life partner can’t theoretically ensure your body is never found, what’s even the point. She doesn’t even need to be secretly divine or anything— I would be satisfied with her being something as simple as an abnormally strong mage. She can accidentally fold people like an omelet if she’s not being careful. Which, now that I’m putting that into writing, might contribute to her relationship with her kids.
Speaking of, Sharena!!! My best friend Sharena!!! I’ve got a multitude of thoughts cooking for her, but currently the one at the forefront is making home girl jacked as hell. Not joking. Dead ass. We all know the role she plays on a personality level— she’s the heart. The emotional glue that keeps these loner trickster types together and in check. But considering that this is the theater of war and everyone else has a role to play, I think it could be interesting if she was the beefiest fighter in the Askr trio. She’s able to dedicate the time fully to that craft, you know? She’s not balancing the responsibilities that arise from being the Order’s commander, tactician, or right hand man/history buff. Not to mention she was trained to fight by Bruno, who presumably played the role of group muscle before her. Therefore, when it comes to feats of physical strength, Sharena should be the Order’s go-to lady! I think it would be neat! She deserves the ability to easily carry her commanding officer and beat Alfonse’s nerdy ass in an arm wrestle.
Last but certainly not least, summoner bad ends! What could possibly go wrong? A lot, apparently. And it happens much more often than you’d expect.
See, I don’t think it’s that the summoner cannot die. Polar opposite, if anything. Each success is built upon the littered corpses of millions of failures. This idea loops back to the alternate version of Askr the group finds in book 3. In order to defeat Hel, they must loot the corpse of a dead world. By its very nature, not every summoner has an alternate corpse to loot. At least half of all realities where the summoner exists results in death and ruin by book 3 ALONE. This is saying nothing of all the dangerous odds they must beat from then to book 9. Just pulling one example off the dome, in order to defeat Gullveig, they had to die a truly eldritch and inconceivable amount of times. But we the audience don’t bear witness to that. We get to see the one world with the one summoner who is hitting those fraction of a fraction odds. The universe’s luckiest bastard. Others are not so lucky.
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