#so i decided to make it work at least a little bit

[batsandbirdbrains]

Ok Dick biting Hal as a kid has got to be one of my favorite headcanons of all time. Like atp it IS canon to me. But now I’m imagining Dick biting all the members of the JL at least once because they’ve done something that’s either pissed him off, or pissed Bruce off. Hal is obviously bitten first and everyone thinks he’s exaggerating or being a big baby about how much it hurts. Then Clark gets bitten because Bruce got hurt on a JL mission where Clark was supposed to be watching his back. And to be fair, Dick growled at him before he bit, which was far more warning than Hal had received. When Dick sinks his teeth - some of which are still baby teeth - into Clark’s meaty, Kryptonian arm, it shouldn’t hurt. But somehow Clark is tearing up as he lets out a pained howl. It takes both Aquaman and the Flash to remove Dick. Clark doesn’t use that arm for two days, wincing every time he jostles it. How and why Dick bites the others is up for interpretation. Eventually, once all of them have been bitten, they call a meeting about it. Not to get him to stop or anything, just to figure out why it hurts so fucking much. They’re all throwing out various theories when someone says “No seriously, what hell does that kid put into his bites?” when Dick emerges from the shadows and says, deadpan, “Vengeance.” before cackling evilly and disappearing. They all shudder before deciding to never piss him off or talk about his biting ever again.

Also now I’m kind of imagining Dick and Slade fighting for the first time when Dick is just a little gremlin and Slade is like “pffft as if this fourth grader could beat me” only to panic when said fourth grader sinks his teeth into him so hard that he still has the scar years later.

I'm imagining Bruce seeing how Dick's go-to attack is to bite people, and he immediately makes a specialized mouth guard for him. It perfectly molds to his teeth, but it's extra sharp and leaves a different imprint than Dick's actual bite. Mostly so no one can compare dental records or anything to the scars that Dick will no doubt leave on many, many people. It has to be updated regularly when Dick is still young because of him losing his baby teeth.

The first time Dick bites Superman is because he brought Batman back to the Batcave in terrible shape. They'd been on a mission together, it was supposed to be quick, easy, no big deal. And now Dr. Leslie and Alfred are working on him in the Batcave medbay, and Dick just turns to Superman with tears and rage in his eyes. And he launches himself at him and attacks.

Clark yelps as soon as he realizes ouch, he can feel that! What the hell!

"Dick! Dick, let go!"

"You promised you'd bring him back home safe!" Dick cries, but his words are muffled, his teeth still sinking into Clark's arm. "He got hurt!"

"I know, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Clark says quickly. "But he's going to be fine, Dickie, it's mostly just a broken arm and a concussion!"

Dick is growling and hanging off Clark's arm, until Alfred comes out and announces that Bruce is ready to for visitors. Dick unlatches quickly, then scampers over to Alfred, still sniffling. As soon as he catches sight of Bruce, he starts whining and crying and cuddles next to him on the bed.

Clark never makes fun of Hal for the ankle guards again. Dick really does have crazy sharp teeth. Clark's arm is bruised for days around the puncture marks, and he's left with a scar on his arm in the shape of Dick's mouth.

A few months later, Dick has started hanging out with Garth a lot. They become pals. Very good friends. Best friends, almost.

And Garth hangs out with him one day and looks so glum and down in the dumps and says how Aquaman was mean to him during training, but it's okay, it was Garth's own fault. That doesn't sit well with Dick. No one makes his friends upset and gets away with it.

The next time Dick accompanies Bruce to the Watchtower, Dick locks in on Aquaman and chomps right on his arm. Like eating a fish stick. Aquaman yelps and tries to pry him off, asking him what happened and what's wrong and why the hell is Robin biting him?

"Don't be mean to my friends!" is all Dick says before he stomps off to go back to Batman's side. Before he reaches Batman fully, he turns and locks eyes with Aquaman, making that creepy I've got my eye on you gesture. It sends a shiver down Aquaman's spine.

He bites pretty much every other JL member for various reasons between the ages of 8-11. When they eventually call a meeting for it, Batman just stares at all of them with an unimpressed look.

"Perhaps you should try not upsetting him," Batman tells them, then turns on his heel and leaves. Dick, who'd been hiding under Batman's cape, grins at all of them and sends a taunting little wave before the cape covers him up again.

Dick first encounters Deathstroke at the ripe age of nine. During said encounter, Dick is terrified. Deathstroke is talking about wanting to make Dick his apprentice, how he's going to steal him from right under the Bat's nose, and Dick panics.

And he resorts to biting the exposed skin he sees when Deathstroke tries to nab him by his cape.

He damn near bites Deathstroke's hand clean off at the wrist. It startles Slade so bad that he shouts, throws Dick off to the side, and is distracted just long enough for Dick to run away and get back to the Batmobile.

Dick is panting and a little freaked out as he relays the story to Bruce from the safety of the Batmobile as Bruce drives them home. Bruce reaches over and pats Dick's head, his own heart beating so hard in his chest.

"Good job, chum," Bruce says softly. "Use every weapon you have. Always."

Dick nods his head, wrapping his cape tight around him.

[shysuccubusstuff]

Helping Hand

Content: Non proof-reader; Android! Caleb + Overstimulation + Fake cum + Size difference + Dacryphilia + Praise kink + Aftercare

Summary: You chose to buy one of those new androids in the market, after all, with the little time you had, it was logical for you to get one! But after your birthday party, you can't help but feel like something has changed within Caleb...

Note: I'm finally done with exams but now my brain is dry... On another note, I have to keep on writing my novel! It has nothing to do with my usual work here, but I really should keep on writing cause I have so much ideas for cool characters! Wish I could draw them... I hope people get the ideas of how Android! Caleb lower half works...

Note 2: I just put some fake nails and writing has become so difficult... Had to use two pens towards the end...

Android! Caleb who opens his eyes and encounters your face. He was programmed to be cold, always following the orders of the person who bought him. At least, that was what he had learnt, as you soon rebooted his whole system, changing his personality to a softer and more "human" one. He is still quite confused, why would he need to have a personality for serving a human? Still, he couldn't help but feel a strange rush of electricity run through his system, maybe he had a strange type of malfunction?

Android! Caleb who becomes accustomed to taking care of you. He is always close to you, always waiting by the door of the house a few minutes before your arrival, food still warm and waiting for you to eat, the house completely in order from him cleaning it... Gosh, you could even feel all the tension leaving your body as soon as you entered your house. You allowed him to carry you to the bathroom, head resting against his soft chest as you let him undress you, letting your clothes carefully folded as he helped you get inside the lukewarm bath.

Android! Caleb who becomes your only caretaker. It took him less than a few days to get completely used to your body language, knowing exactly what you wanted, when you wanted it and even how you wanted it. He was basically reading your mind, always one step ahead, letting you rest your exhausted body on his bigger body, his soft hands caressing your hair as his mechanic heart kept pumping the blue liquid all over his system. You knew you shouldn't get so attached to him, but how were you supposed to stop yourself from it when he knew you like the palm of his hand?...

Android! Caleb who receives a strange update. It had recently been your birthday, so you decided to make a small party, nothing big, really. You invited a few of your friends from work, together with some other friends from when you were still studying, organising a small party at your house for all of you to drink and have fun while watching some low-quality films. It was around 3:00 when you started to feel your eyelids dropping, with your friends too focused on the climax of the film for them to notice, you chose to simply fall asleep in the cozy sofa, surely someone would wake you up sooner or later, right?

Android! Caleb who becomes much more... domestic. You didn't notice the first few days, still unaware of the strange update your friends had added as a "gift" for you. Yes, it was a bit strange for Caleb to always greet you with a hug and a kiss on your forehead, but hey, maybe it was something that they had added in one of the millions of updates Caleb had, maybe some client had complained about them being too stiff? Whatever, it wasn't as if you were particularly concerned about it, in fact, you did like it a bit...

Android! Caleb who finally puts his update to good use. It was late at night when you suddenly felt the urge to do it. It wasn't something particularly strange, with you being alone most of the time and all the stuff you liked reading and listening... What was strange was the moment the door to your bedroom was knocked. You quickly hid your naked lower half with the sheets trying your best to get your phone to hide the content you were seeing. "Caleb?" You whispered, heart beating rapidly in fear of having been discovered by him. "Pips? I'm sorry for disturbing you so late at night, but my systems have warned me that my owner, that is you, is currently in need of my assistance." You furrowed your brows, slightly confused about what was he even implying, still, you knew Caleb was unable to cause any harm to you, so you simply sighed, letting him enter without much thought. "So what was wrong, Caleb?" Caleb smiled, sitting close to you and petting your hear with his rough hands. "My system told me you needed my help, do you need it? I have been upgraded with the latest system, allowing me to help you in this kind of delicate activity." Still confused, you simply nodded, after all, the system tended to be right. As soon as you did so, Caleb removed the sheets that were covering your body, his huge hands lifting your legs with ease, getting them closer to your face, just enough for your slick pussy to be in front of his face.

"Caleb! Just-- Just what are you doing?" You tried your best to get him to let go of your ankles, squirming around with not much luck, with Caleb still retaining his sweet smile.

"I'm fulfilling my new tasks, you allowed me to do so." Caleb's arm moved, changing his grip on your thigs to keeping your body in position with just his arm. "Now, no more moving, pips, I need you to remain calm so I can help you appropietly." Caleb's tongue stick out, this time looking slightly longer than usual, his right hand making his way to your entrance as his mouth got closer to your clit.

"Wa--Wait a second! I'm pretty sure this was NOT included when I bought your model--!" Caleb stopped for a second, his expressions remaining as sweet as always.

"It wasn't. Your friends added it to my program in hopes of making you happier, they explained it to me and I agreed. I believed it would truly help you destress. I hope I will actually ." Caleb moved closer, spreading soft kisses all over your lower tummy, making a small path towards your pussy. At the same time, his hands started to glide towards your entrance, teasing it with his fingers by simply gliding up and down on it but never actually inserting them, simply coating his fingers with your lewd fluids. "Let me know if you feel any discomfort." Caleb's mouth slowly got closer, wet kisses being left around your clit as a way to tease your sensitivity, being unable to not smile after seeing your back arch from the sudden touch. Following the set procedure, Caleb slowly entered one of his fingers, circling your clit with the tip of his tongue and making you cling to the sheets, soft whimpers leaving your mouth even despite you tried to cover your mouth with your hands as a way to avoid letting even more shameful sounds escape. Suddenly, one of Caleb's hands moved, grabbing your wrists with ease and pinning them on top of your head. "I need to hear you so I can know exactly what you need." Caleb moved, his face now facing yours before diving himself into a deep kiss, his right hand still playing with your clit, making short circles around it regardless of your poor attempts of squirming away.

"Ca... Caleb! Too much-- it's too much!" You whispered, chest puffing up and down as you tried to recover from Caleb's kiss.

"My name is not the safe word, you should probably know that." Caleb suddenly switched positions, letting your back rest against his chest, his legs tangled around yours to avoid letting you try to close your legs, his lips kissing yours as he moved one of his hands to your chest, playing with your nipple as the other hand kept slowly moving inside you, searching for that sweet spot until you let a whimper escape you. "This must be your g-spot, right? Gotta make sure you enjoy this." Caleb kissed your face, peppering soft kisses all over your face as he slowly introduced another of his digits, his fingers constantly hitting that spot even as you kept trying to move away from him, with Caleb simply laughing softly against your ear, pushing his fingers even deeper inside. "You're so cute... Humans always react so vividly to the stimuli..." You could't help but feel embarrased, with Caleb's mocking tone reverberating inside your head as he kept forcing you to cum around his fingers, using his other hand to pinch and twist your nipples with just enough force.

It had been over 20 minutes since your sweet torture had begun, with Caleb moving and hitting the exact place you were craving, forcing you to close your eyes from the overstimulation. "Caleb~... That's enough... I don't think I can cum more..." Your voice sounded now raspy from all your whines and moans, with Caleb obviously ignoring them, simply cooing you.

"That's alright, then we can finally move to the main course, right?" Caleb finally let you move a bit, getting up and removing his trousers, leaving them on your chair before returning to the bed. "Let me syncronise my tools, alright?" Suddenly, Caleb's lower half changed from the usual plain surface to the shape of an erect cock, his . "Let me just..." Caleb got on top of you, lifting your legs and wrapping them around his waist, moving his hand to grab his cock and starting to rub it against your entrance, letting some of his self-lubricating fluid just for extra caution. "I'll do it slowly, open wide now, pips." You took a deep breath as Caleb's cock entered you, softly biting against his shoulder as a way to stay calm. "Such a good girl... Just a bit more." And you could simply whine, your insides already feeling as if they were about to tear as Caleb finally bottomed out. "So good for me..." Caleb caressed your cheek, kissing your forehead as he started to move, barely moving a few centimeters before pushing back in, nails digging on his back as he kept pressing his body against yours. "Just a bit more... It will feel so good in just a few minutes..." Caleb pressed your mouths together, sucking on your tongue before starting to french kiss you, a strand of saliva connecting you both the moment the kiss ended.

As the minutes passed, you were finally able to get used to his size, the slight discomfort changing into pure pleasure, making your eyes roll back each time he rubbed that spot. "You feel so nice wrapped around me... Let me help you a bit baby." Caleb lifted your body with ease, laying your body on your front before moving back on top of you, his cock entering you, the pressure of his weight making you bite on the pillow that was close to you, whinning as Caleb's hand made light pressure on your lower stomach, just enough for you to start feeling his length even more, each thrust making your walls wrap around his cock, the system of Caleb slowly getting overheated each time you clenched around him. "Be careful... My system may get a bit overwhelmed if you keep clinging so much to me..." That was of course easier said than done, after all, it had been such a long time since you had been able to feel so good... Still, you tried your best, taking a deep breath and hugging your pillow, a few tears falling down your cheeks as you felt your mind slowly slipping away.

"Too big... You're crushing me~..." You whined, the heat radiating from Caleb mixed with the feeling of having your insides scrambled being enough to make your head feel overwhelmed. Regardless of that, Caleb kept going, his hips bumping against your ass each time he forced his whole length inside you, his hands petting your hair whole he whispered soft praises against your ear.

"So good... Cum all around me pips, show me just how much you're enjoying this..." Caleb's raspy voice echoed inside your mind, the embarrasment of having your own android seen you so fucked dumb suddenly leaving, letting you only focus on how much you wanted Caleb to praise you... So of course you did just as he asked, your gummy walls pulsing around his cock as you felt a warm liquid filling you up, forcing you to cum for who knows what time, toes curling as you felt Caleb increasing his rhythm at the same time you came, then slowing down as he felt your breath become even heavier.

After letting you recover your breath for a few minutes, you felt Caleb lifting you up from the bed, carrying to the bathroom with ease and letting you rest inside the warm bathtub and using a soft towel to scrub you, removing all the sweat together with the mixture of his cum and all your fluids. He then left for a few minutes, returning with a huge towel, wrapping your whole body around it before taking his sweet time drying it. After that, all you could remember was te warm embrace of Caleb, mixed with the fresh smell of a new set of heet together with the citrusy smell that emanated from him.

[darlingxs-blog]

YOUU . will write about daemon uhh idk hc idkk uhhh how would it feel like to kiss him . he clearly seems to enjoy „scaring” the player and not acting completely subservient towards you, so I like to think giving him more freedom or egging him on to do his own choices would be a . Way to bond w him

(I wonder how the others would react to him, if theyre able to comprehend him at all)

UHH besides that . maybe possibly perchance teasing Daemon? Finding some way to make him feel all tingly physically and seeing his form get all staticy and fuzzy? i need to kiss him and his . blue mouth UHHUDNFFHGGGHGHHHH

HEHSHSB OHDHHE WHY ARE YOU SO SMART OHDHEB GOOD LAWD YESSSEEHDHD

We kissing Daemon right on his static ass lips trust 😼🙏

Unfortunately I've never flirted with nor teased anyone ever in my life (I have no dating experience leave me alone) so the teasing is definitely going to be some very erm low tier shiz nit okay thank you byebye

A bug...

He's a love bug. Shhh keep it to yourself.

The bugged out dresser freaked you out a little bit, it started glitching when you tried to talk to Deenah but were met with a corrupted voice and a messed up text box and no show of Deenah, at all.

But you know what they say right, third times a charm. You walk up to the glitching dresser and shoot the little 'love beams' as Skylar Specs likes to call them at that dresser that freaks you out a little if your being honest.

"I don't bite." A glitched out figure of what you can't even describe appears in your view and you can't lie. He's...kinda hot. "I think. Did I?"

Feeling oh so confident with yourself and your abilities to tug at your household object's hearts you decide to work a little charm- no, let's be honest here. The words slipped out before you could even register what you wanted to say "you can if you want" seriously, what the hell was going on in your brain sometimes. "I don't think I want to" his distorted voice snaps you out of your self depreciating thoughts and makes you feel a little upset...he could have been at least a little nicer.

"And why not?" You reply back to the glitched out figure, if you started digging your own grave, why not make it deeper?

The silent buzz of static fills the air around you two before "chomp chomp" again with his distorted voice "munch munch" how serious he sounds and since you can't really tell his emotions by his expression all you can do is try to force down a laughter that threatens to spill from your lips.

Though, before you can say anything in reply. He's gone.

__________time skip cause I fucking can_______

You wake up the next day, before even getting out of bed you slide the rose tinted glasses onto your face and the warmth of Betty and her soft body snuggled up with you sweeps your stress away. You gotta thank Skylar for showing you this absolutely fabulous woman the first day you got these damn dateviators.

"Mornin' honey." Betty's arms tighten around you while bringing you in closer and you laugh sweetly idc if your a man, your a femboy now at her antics. You know just how much she doesn't like the mornings. "C'mon darlin' you gotta let me go." And she does, with a lot of reluctance before sitting up and grabbing your wrist with a much softer grip than she had on you before.

"You're not gonna kiss me before you go?" A pretty pout is on her lips and you just can't resist giving them a quick peck- just so she'll feel better...and you just really wanted to kiss her.

She hums and falls back against the plush pillows on your mattress holding one of the many throw pillows to her chest before shutting her eyes softly to squeeze in just a couple more minutes of rest.

After a quick stretch that pops your arms you turn your head only to remember the glitchy dresser, Daemon likes when you suddenly remember he is there even if you can't see him physically or at least that's what you think.

You walk up to the dresser and without even having to think about it for too long Daemon appears in front of you in a blitz. He looks...angrier than usual. That's none of your business though.

One dateable by one you've slowly been 'realizing' them as the Kind yet Anonymous hacker but it and today was the day you wanted to see what Daemon would look like if he was well complete.

"Daemon, something on your mind?" Sympathy etches on your features and he has to force himself not to jab at you for getting way too soft way too quickly. Someone could take advantage of that. "'Fine. Just do it." His layered voice is sharp, he doesn't want to waste time it seems.

You've busted your ass off getting your specs points to the max and now it finally pays off with your large harem of lovers becoming human right in front of your very eyes, like you did with the ones before the process of Daemon becoming human is much more...anticlimactic really, but you can't lie. Even with the features that would seem odd for just an ordinary human he still is quite fine- "can I kiss you" "What?" You blink once, twice, thrice before he says it again "I want to kiss you" bitch YES PLEASE DHHEBD

"Well, If you want too..." suddenly feeling very bashful you turn your head away, out of all the things you thought he would have said when he finally became human you have not conjured up a single scenario where that was the very first thing he said.

A hand that seems to generate a buzz of static across your skin and deep into your blood stream turns your head back to face forward and lips are pressed against yours. Daemon's lips are flat and almost freezing yet you've never felt anything that made you melt so quickly.

A hum of static fills your mouth and dances on your tounge like pop rocks and yet you don't feel anything at all, all the while you feel his desperation he has with every nip at your skin with the mouths that don't exist.

With every second that passes with his lips locked with yours the buzzing gets more intense, it feels like a straight shock of electricity and yet you don't feel enough pain to pull away in fact it only brings you closer.

Unfortunately, with your mortal body comes with mortal lungs that do need air to survive so you pull away with a huff that you regret. You really didn't want to let him go.

He looks down at you and your flushed face, chuckling like he isn't just as red.

___________________________________________

I had to stop it right there cause it was getting cringey, unfortunately I don't know how to write Romance 😔 IM SORRY but like I'm happy with this lowkey, kinda, a little.

On everybody's soul we YES WE are cracking Daemon.

[twisted-lemy]

I’ll Take You To The Garden Of Eden

4.5k words

Gnc!Reader x Leona Kingscholar

CW: None

A/n: To all my og followers who were promised a Leona rut fic, this is for y’all~ ❤️ and since today (or yesterday, it depends on when I post this) was my birthday I decided to double down and finish this for y’all as a little present from me to you! Hope you all enjoy!! ☺️

Yuu swears if Crowley ever, EVER, makes them go out and do janitorial work at the ass-crack of dawn again they’ll force feed him his stupid hat. They mean, what could’ve possibly have needed to be cleaned so badly that Crowley had to bust into their room at 5am to do it? Nothing, that’s what.

Here they are decked out head to toe in their janitor coveralls walking the empty halls of the campus while carting a heavy-ass buggy of cleaning supplies and, lo and behold, everything is already spotless—like actually fucking gleaming in the damn sunrise. And it isn’t just the main school halls that are already clean; the classrooms, the bathrooms, the cafeteria, hall of mirrors, hell—even the locker rooms where the late-night hookups happen are already clean too! (To their surprise.)

What even was the point of being out here? Hell if Yuu knows, but what they do know is that they are going to go back to Ramshackle, get back in bed, and go the fuck back to sleep. And if anyone bugs them—and yes, that does include Grim and the ghosts, they’ll go fucking nuclear. They’ve checked almost everywhere for this supposed “mess” that Crowley woke them up to deal with and they’ve found nothing, so forgive them for being a bit hissy about wasting their precious sleeping time.

Sorry Crowley, but also not. Go kick rocks, Yuu’s going back to bed and getting their rest, like they deserve.

And so Yuu turns around and begins to make their trek back to their dorm. Well, that’s what they’d like to be doing, if not for the weird noises coming out of the school’s botanical garden.

Yuu frowns, praying to whatever gods that preside over twisted wonderland that this isn’t the mess that they’ve been tasked with cleaning up, but deep down, they already know that this is it. So reluctantly, Yuu pushes open the double doors to the garden, preparing to deal with whatever is getting in between them and a good night’s sleep as quickly and effectively as possible—

—Only to have their nostrils assaulted with the heady smell of sweat and earth that hung heavy in the air. The smell was strong, strong enough to completely throw Yuu off their game, making them stagger in place.

“What the hell?” They say incredulously, their hands covering their nose. The smell alone makes them want to say fuck it and go home, cuz obviously the smell could only have one origin; someone is fucking in the botanical garden! And Crowley called them to sort it out!

‘There is a mess that I need you to clean posthaste. Come prefect, quickly!—their ass. What the fuck, Crowley?! First you have them clean up the school, the overblots, and now this?! What the fuck?!

Y’know what? No. They are not dealing with that. They are not the fun police, chasity police or whatever police anyone wants to call them. It’s not their job to go out of their way to separate young lovers from an intimate moment of passion at ass-crack o’clock! If Crowley wants to have that “mess” cleaned up he can do it his damn self.

They throw their hands up in exasperation. Really, this bugs them something fierce. How could Crowley go and call them out to do jackshit? At least all the other times he did it there was some actual shit to be done, but this time? There isn’t anything. And that annoyed them. (Almost as much as the sleep they’re losing)

Spinning on their heels, Yuu turns around and begins to walk out the door with only two things on their mind; a bath—to wash the smell of sex off them—and the sweet, sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

But things are never easy for them. Sadly, taking the easy out would not end well for them. So, against their better judgement and common sense, they suck up their complaints and u-turn back into the botanical gardens and begin wandering around, looking for the source of the stench. Funny how fast they decided to follow through with Crowley’s dumb request, isn’t it?

It took them zero time at all to find its source—or, should they say, It took zero time at all for the source to find them.

Two heavy hands roughly grab them by the shoulders and tackle them to the floor, one hand easily restraining their arms, the other harshly pressing their cheek into the soft dirt.

“The hell you doin’ here, herbivore?” The familiar voice of one Leona Kingscholar growled out.

Yuu sputters. “I was cleaning, jackass! Croweley sent me—and lemme go!”

They jerk wildly in their assailant’s hands to no avail. The bigger man pressed all his weight down onto them to keep them immobilized, much to their dismay.

“The damn crow sent you?” He clicks his tongue. “I shoulda known—I ask him to do one thing for me and and keep quiet about it and he goes and blabs to the nearest gofer to do it for him instead.”

They frantically nod their head in agreement, hoping to curry some of the temperamental lion’s favor. “Yeah, I get it, Crowley’s an asshole and can’t keep a sect for shit, now can you get off?”

Leona sniffs. “I’m already in a foul mood, do you really want to take your chances and order me around, herbivore?”

Do they? It’s not like they haven’t fought the lion beastmen at his most fearsome before and won but do they really want to fight him again? Yuu definitely could… but honestly? They really don’t want to do that at 6 in the morning before classes.

“Maybe if you got on your knees and sucked my dick I’ll let you off with a warning this time instead of knocking your teeth in.” He says in lieu of their response, his tone snarky.

Yuu deeply inhaled, then sighed. “Sure.”

Yuu feels the grip on them soften, just a tad. “Huh?” The snark in his tone was forgotten in the face of their calm, resigned acceptance of his offer.

“You heard me, I’ll suck you off if it means you leave me to my peace before classes start.” They state, flippantly. “I at least want to get a good extra two hours of sleep before I have to deal with school and me sitting here in the dirt, in this musty garden, isn’t getting me there any faster. Do you want your dick sucked or not?”

There’s silence, followed by their arms being relaxed and the heavy hand on the back of their head being lifted. Yuu revels in the feeling of no longer having their face smushed into the dirt or their arms constricted as they crawl to their knees and stretch.

Finally allowed freedom of movement, Yuu turns their head in the direction of their assailant. Sitting just a few coin tosses away was a disheveled Leona Kingscholar. He sits in his school uniform, though the orange vest signifying his status as a Savanahclaw student was nowhere to be seen, just his partially unbuttoned white dress shirt and black slacks—however, as Yuu takes a closer look at him, they can see where it all falls apart.

His signature braids that usually sit in his hair are missing, and his white button up is sweat soaked, basically see through—which explains why his vest was missing—and his pants…

“Oh wow,” they whistle, eyeballing the way his pants strained against his impressive erection, “Looking a little worked up there, aren’t we, Kingscholar?”

The man in question looks off to the side red faced. “Shut up! You gonna suck me off or not? Or do you want that ass whopping after all?”

They raised their hands in surrender. “Sorry, I’ll stop. It’s just, it’s not every day that I get to see the ever prideful and untouchable Housewarden of Savanaclaw look so… uh, how do I say this? Desperate? Needy,” they snap their fingers, “Desperate And needy?

Leona snarls at them, his teeth bared. “I’m in rut, damn it! I can’t help it!” He bites down on his venom and sighs. “I had asked Crowley to get some sedatives so I could ride this out, but instead he called you…” His voice dipped into a sneer at the end.

“Hey, newsflash, horny, I didn’t ask to be here!” They point to themselves. “And clearly Crowley can’t be trusted to do his job—you asking him for help was your first mistake.” Yuu then sighed, closing the distance between them and pushing Leona onto his back. “But, I guess I’m here to fix whatever this is now—seeing that the crow didn’t.”

They run their hands up down his body, getting a self-indulgent feel for his impressive form, before rising back up to his chest and kneading it through his shirt. Leona’s breath hitched as they made contact.

“E-easy now, Herbivore. You don’t know what you're messing with.” He says through grit teeth.

“I’ve messed with bigger and badder than you. Stop trying to act like a tough guy. Just relax and enjoy yourself.” They say, their hands still massaging his chest. “Should be easy for you, all you gotta do is sit back and look pretty, I’ll be the one doing all the work.” Like usual—but that last part goes unsaid.

Hesitantly, Leona nods.

“Good boy. Now,” they apply more pressure. “Relax~”

The lion beastmen bites his lip in retaliation, not deigning to give even the slightest hint of a moan or groan in Yuu’s favor. Not that they mind. They like it when they struggle.

In lieu of a response, Yuu’s hands slowly trails down his body, deftly unbuttoning his dress shirt as they did and exposing his toned upper body to the early morning air.

They whistle at the sight, taking in his impressive form and marveling at how his sweat soaked body glistened in the early morning sun. “Damn, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” they lean in close and rub their face into his hairy chest, breathing in his scent—earth and the sour smell of musk. The smell sent shivers straight to their dick. “I could get used to seeing you like this.”

As they once again went to take in his scent a familiar heavy hand landed on the back of their head, startling them. “Ey, Herbivore, I thought you were working on me?” Leona says between breaths.

They remove their head from between his cleavage and look up at him. “I am, but who said that I can’t get some pleasure out of this as well?” With that, they shoved their face back into his chest, though this time they resumed kneading his chest as they sat and huffed his scent.

Leona however, despite his red face and somewhat labored breaths, sits amused and unimpressed above them. To that, Yuu takes offense. While they already knew that Leona was a tough nut to crack, to think that he was able to remain somewhat composed even in a situation like this? It pisses them off, that even with the intensity of their touches, he still manages to hold it together—but that only inspires them to try even harder. Put in more effort, so to speak.

Shifting their head, they find themself face to face with one of the bigger man’s nipples. Licking their lips, they close the distance and begin lightly kissing it—and to that, the first unmuffled moan escapes the beastmen’s mouth.

The sounds coming out of Leona’s mouth as they kissed his chest was like music to their ears. Each realized moan and sharp expletive out of the lion’s mouth was like a drug to them—it gave them the energy needed to redouble their assault with extreme vigor, all to hear him come undone above them. Now, with one of Leona’s “weaknesses” discovered, they begin an assault, using their teeth to tease the nipple while alternating between gently roaming their tongue around his areola.

Leona shivered under their breath, his body shaking with barely controlled energy as they left mark after mark all over his chest.

Finally, the man all but shouts, “Herbivore stop before I ruin in my pants—“

And they stop, their lips leaving the shivering man’s chest. Leona getting his own this early on isn’t in the cards for him, not if Yuu has anything to say about it. They back away from the beastmen and sit cross-legged, arms folded. The other stares at them in annoyed confusion.

“Th-the hell you doin’, herbivore” Leona pants, his chest heaving.

“Letting you come down from whatever this,” they make a vague gesture in Leona’s direction, “is. I can’t have you tapping out this early in the games and besides—”

As fast as they made space between the two, Yuu closes the distance and begins peppering Leona’s body with kisses and hickies, staring from his chest, down his abdomen, along his happy trail until they finally were face to face with his twitching bulge.

“—I promised to suck you off and I haven’t done that yet.” They say, a wicked grin appearing on their face as they pressed a kiss against the other man’s still clothed erection. ”You might wanna lay back, I’ve been told that my skills were a little too… much for the average guy to handle.”

Leona scoffs. “You think I’m anything like the average guy? Awful big talk from an herbivore”

They roll their eyes. He’ll end up regretting those words soon enough if they have anything to say about it. Yuu all but rips the belt from around the beastmen’s waist as they undo his belt, tear off his pants, and tug off the beastman’s (Leopard print. Really?) boxers allowing the beastman’s, admittedly quite impressive, cock to bound out and into the morning light.

“Damn, and I thought it was big before I took it out of your pants…” Yuu blanches at the sight of the monster standing proudly before them.

Leona, noticing this, smirks proudly and snarks, “What? Getting cold feet now? Herbivore?”

Their eye twitches.

Cold feet? Them? It’d be a cold day in hell before that ever happens—they mean, they’ve fought both Malleus and Grim’s overblots, god dammit. If they could do that and survive to tell the story then they can handle some dick. No matter how big, impressive… or generally intimidating the dick may be.

They shake their head and slip on a mask of indifference, easily masking their initial hesitation with a cool exterior. “Don’t get too full of yourself. I’ve sucked bigger.”

“Have you?” He questioned, a teasing lit to his voice.

No.

They haven’t.

That was a lie.

But Leona doesn’t need to know that, does he?

“Yeah, I did.” They lied, their voice dripping with a cool confidence as they gave his cock a few teasing jerks. “Jack’s a big guy, ya know? In height, muscle, and apparently, other things as well.”

Leona’s eyes twitched at that and his pupils narrowed dangerously into slits. His pride as a man somewhat attacked at the thought of being compared and found inferior to a freshman of all people.

“Why don’t you go suck his dick instead, since you wanna verbally slob on it here—” Leona yelps.

Yuu squeezed his dick, hard. “You asked and I answered truthfully.” Truthfully lying. “If anything, if I could handle him, I can definitely handle you.”

Leona scoffs and leans back, resting on his elbows. “Then do it already and stop talking. Show me these “skills” you boast so much about.”

Yeah, they’ll show him their “skills” all right. By the time they're done with him they’ll be the only thing he’ll be thinking about for the next few days. They snicker under their breath, their thoughts running wild.

Confident, they take the tip of his cock into their mouth, their tongue roaming around the head questioningly as its strong taste and heavy smell assault their senses. It was difficult, at first, to get a feel of what works and what doesn’t. Most of their usual tactics were rendered useless on a cock of Leona’s size—one that barely fit into their mouth.

But that doesn’t deter Yuu in the slightest.

They use their hands to make up for what they can’t do with their mouth, their left fondling his fuzzy balls and their right pumping his cock—and that made all the difference. Leona was panting like a racehorse, his chest was heaving, and his arms shook under the weight of his own pleasure—just barely able to support himself.

Yuu couldn’t see him from their place between his legs but man oh MAN could they hear him and what they heard sent waves to their ego. Serves him right for underestimating them.

“S-shit!”

Their thoughts abruptly stop and thier eyes blow wide open as the man involuntarily bucks up into their mouth choking them with his cock as the massive thing violently assaults the back of their throat. It takes everything in them to not gag—fuck, it takes everything in them to retain their composure and throw up on the man.

Yuu extracts themselves from the cock with a small grimace and a trail of slob connecting them to his cock, then they all but snarl, “Do I need to tie you down?? You about fucking chocked me, asshole!”

“Really? To me it looked like you took that small bout of deep throating like a champ.” He smirks and tilts his head, his face flushed red with tension. “Didn’t gag or anything. Now get back to work, I’m getting soft over here.”

They scoff, indignant to his words, then immediately getsssssszc back to work. This time, now that they, whether they wanted to or not, got a… feel for his size and what pleasurable acts he liked, they allowed themselves to be bolder with their advances. Slowly they lowered their head onto his cock, taking him into their mouth until his cock reached the back of their through again, but this time?

They aren’t stopping there.

No, stopping there would be pussy shit and they aren’t a pussy. This time, they kept going. Steadying themselves by placing their hands on the ground, they slowly push the cock, albeit hesitantly, past their uvula, down their throat and soon enough they find themselves nose deep in his bush—basically pressed against his pelvis. Yuu could feel Leona's girth press against their airways from their throat, rendering the process of breathing uncomfortably difficult, but the pain was so so worth it when they felt full body shudders start running down the beastmen’s body and heard his loud moan echo throughout the botanical garden unrestrained like the fierce roar of his animal counterpart.

“Shiiiiit, herbivore…” He sucks in a breath. “Your skills aren’t bullshit after all.”

Of course they aren’t. Contrary to how they hold themselves here in twisted wonderland and how “touch me not” they are with the people here, they were known for slutting it up back home between college classes and part time jobs. So naturally this is nothing to them and their plethora of experience and they’re just getting started.

Yuu’s hands rose from the ground and trailed Leona’s inner thighs, inching closer and closer to the beastman’s ass, but coming full stop before getting any closer. Inquisitively, they look up at Leona from their place. The man in question just gives an uncharacteristically jerky nod, understanding their intentions.

Now that consent is theirs, they resume, their hands continuing thier trek upwards until they reach his twitching hole. Yuu slowly prodded at the puckered hole with a finger, anticipating resistance considering how much of a tight ass leona could be but to their shock their finger slipped in easily. Laughably easy, in their opinion.

Now they know he’s good for it if he ever puts it on the table, good information, if Yuu says so themself, and that they don’t need to take baby steps in fingering him. Seeing that he’s probably taken much bigger to have obtained such easy access. (Yuu still can’t get over that. Like holy shit, the Leona Kingscholar has been bent before. Who woulda thunk?)

Finding his g-spot, his prostate, was easy and once they had contact they finally heard—no, felt, Leona come undone. Ragged breaths, unfinished words, a large range of sharp curses—in what Yuu can only assume is the twst’s equivalent to Swahili—to pitiful pleading. Y’know, the works. And Yuu had the luxury of hearing all of it as they made a full frontal assault on his g-spot.

Man, if they could magic up a second pair of eyes to glimpse even a fraction of his fucked-out expression, Yuu could die a happy janitor. Too bad they don’t have magic (Cough) but the obscene amount of pre forcing its way down their throat was confirmation enough.

“I’m getting close…”

They extract themself from his crotch and smirk at him. “You gonna cum for me, Leo?”

He nods jerkily.

“You wanna cum in my mouth?” They say, teasing, inviting.

Leona nods again, faster this time.

Yuu smiles at him, a hint of genuine enjoyment on their face—one that sent lava pooling in the beastmen’s lower gut and slick pre-cum oozing from the tip of his cock. He’s close. They can taste it.

And that sends an idea though their mind.

“Say… you’ve been so good about doing as I say up till now, so, why don’t I let you have a freebie? Just this once, seeing that you're at your limit now.”

He looks at them confused, too out of breath to verbally respond but his eyes speak for him and at that Yuu explains his reward.

“I’m gonna let you fuck my face until you cum.” They make a lewd gesture with their hand to their mouth. “I want you to gag me like you mean it. Just like you did earlier.” Leona’s eyes widened. They continue. “I won’t put up a fight either. I know a big strong sexy lion like yourself loves easy prey, so I’ll be Just That~”

Yuu grabs Leona's hands and places them on the back of their head, then lays theirs down on the ground in an act of submission. He stares at them, an unreadable expression on his face, but his eyes showing… worry?

“Don’t worry, I can take a lot of punishment.” They assure, then they say, “Now have at me! We have twenty minutes until classes start and I wanna get outta here before students start showing up!” Or Crowley asked them to do something else. But that ain’t either here or there.

“…You sure?”

Yuu responds by kissing the tip of Leona’s weeping cock, winking at him as they did and the effect is immediate.

Leona pushes himself to his knees and begins desperately thrusting into their maw. His thrusts are slow at first, as if he’s afraid of hurting them or going to far, but slowly that worry fades to the back of his mind as lust overpowered reason and his desire to finally have release—and also maybe have the luxury of painting the cocky herbivore’s mouth white with his seed has his thrusting speed gradually increase to breakneck speeds.

There is no warning between the wet noises of Yuu’s gags and Leona’s animalistic grunts of the soon approaching beastmen’s climax, only a loud roar was given as thick ropes of cum spewed into the back of their throat, dribbled from the corners of their mouth, out of their nostrils and onto their coveralls due to this continued thrusts. But he wasn’t done yet, no, just one orgasm wasn’t enough to satiate him. Not in his state.

His thrusts became more erratic—choking them with his cock—and the copious amounts of cum he produced somehow? All of it, forced down their gullet each time, and no, they did not spit any of it out.

No spitting here. Spitters are quitters and Yuu isn’t a quitter. (They aren’t—and the leakage earlier was Leona’s fault, not theirs. They take no responsibility.)

And it’s not like Leona would let them spit anyway. (Which they wouldn’t, just so you know) The beastmen kept at least nine inches in them at all times and that wasn’t even all of him, he held into Yuu’s head in a vice-like almost desperate grip as his hips bucked into their face, releasing one last monster of a load down their throat before pulling out his now flaccid cock and collapsing beside them in a sweaty heap.

“Holy,” they cough, a result of some semen going down the wrong hole during the face fucking. Their voice is raspy to their own ears but they take it as a job well done. “Uh, holy shit. You were pent the fuck up, weren’t you? Didn't know anyone could cum like that outside of porn. Heheh.”

Yuu collapses their back and glances at Leona. The man is breathing heavily with his eyes closed, a hand on his forehead.

Tentatively, they say, “You good?”

“…Shouldn’t I be asking you that instead, Yuu?” He says lowly, turning his head in their direction. “Is your throat ok?”

“I’ve been through worse.”

His eyebrow raises, then he smirks. “Yeah, like Jack?”

They nod, caught in a lie, but not willing to admit it just yet. “Yeah, like Jack. You should try him out for a test drive and see how your throat holds up after. Won’t be so funny then when you're the one sounding like Dr. Girlfriend for the next couple of business days will it?”

“Yeah, right. But seriously, are you doin alright? I don’t hold anything back.” He asks again, a concerned glint in his otherwise tired eyes.

Again, they say, “And I told you that I could handle a lot of punishment. This is nothing if not a minor inconvenience to me—the most bothersome thing is that I smell like dick, sweat, cum, and dirt now, but other than that, all is good.”

Yuu hobbles to their feet and stretches, then turns on their heels and begins to leave.

“You’re leavin just like that? You didn’t even get to off yourself though…?” The beastmen questioned, now in a seated position.

“Yeah, a shame, I know. I got classes and I need to get ready,” they groan then yawn, exhaustedly. “Double shame that I spent so much time on you, I missed my pre-class nap…”

“Why not skip classes with me if you're so tired? No one’s gonna keel over if you miss a single day of class.”

Actually someone might. That someone being Grim. Knowing him, he’ll fuck up a potion and somehow make mustard gas or devil’s bane or some shit. Really, anything could happen if they leave him unsupervised. Ace too.

And Deuce.

… Do they really want to go to classes today?

…

Yuu walks back over to Leona’s prone form and flops down beside him, laying down.

Leona smirks at them, his tail flicking. “Stayin after all, Yuu?”

They shrug. “I can’t be bothered to deal with anyone’s bullshit today without at least a full twelve hours of sleep first.”

Yuu cuddles into him and Leona reciprocates by throwing an arm around them.

There’s a moment of comfortable silence between them.

“I’ll pay you back for your help, Yuu,” Leona promised, breaking the silence.

“I look forward to it… and put your pants back on.”

Twsited-Lemy June 24 DO NOT REPOST

[formosusiniquis]

something green

inspired by @stevieweek day 2 prompt: cryptid | hospital, but this might not be enough stevie to qualify wc: 1.4k | T | cw: minor character death | tags: stobin hivemind

Their Robin part answers the phone when it rings.

They’re home, have been all week scouring the classifieds for a job that they think won’t be completely miserable. It’s been boring, but boring is a lot better than monsters and as the late-July humidity persists outside it’s at least a little bit better than anything else too.

“This is a call for Steve Harrington.”

They’ve not been that for a while.

“Speaking,” their Robin answers.

The voice on the other end of the line pauses, like it’s not sure it believes their Robin, but continues, “Your mother has asked we inform you that she’s currently receiving care at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis. She’s been in an accident, I’m sorry to say I’m not sure how much time she has left.”

“Is my father there?”

“He has been informed.”

“But he wasn’t with my mother,” their Robin finishes.

“I have a note that says he told the staff member who called, ‘he would be down from Chicago when he was finished with work.’”

“Thank you,” they say, and their Stevie means it. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

If the employee on the phone finds that strange they don’t have time to say it. Their Robin hangs up the phone with a finality that smacks of disagreement.

“Do we really need to go up to see Mother? Mom is making lasagna tonight and she never got drunk and told us that she thought about going to a special doctor when she learned she was pregnant with Richard’s baby.”

Mom’s lasagna is their favorite, but they’re more prone to regret now. “Call her and tell her we’ll be late. I’m sure she’ll save it for us.”

Mom always said that special occasions meant a dress, father said you don’t go to a business deal unless you’ve shined your shoes.

A hospital visit to see their dying mother, it’s hard to decide if any of those rules apply. But both parts of them are still in the boxers and the white undershirts they’d gone to bed in, so they make due with what they know and the pieces they’ve scrounged from the thrift store since the government check cleared.

They’re used to getting dirty looks when they go places. The perk of their Stevie part still looking beaten half-to-death is most people don’t bother with trying to finish the job. Their Robin finds a nurse who points to the private room Mother is being kept in.

It would be funny that even when she’s dying, Mother still demanded luxury, but then they’d have to admit their sense of humor has gotten a little fucked.

Their Stevie enters the room first, goes to the bed while their Robin stays closer to the door. They don’t need privacy from each other, but they know to others they’re something strange and off putting.

The hospital is one of the worst places they can imagine spending their final moments. The smell of antiseptic and bleach unable to bury the scent of death and bile, even in this room that only privilege can buy. Mother looks smaller than they can ever remember seeing her. Her face and chest a mottle of bruising, a strip of her blonde hair shaved away to make way for a wound the doctors have bandaged. Blood and something tinged yellow are already seeping through it. The machine beside her bed beeps, each one weaker than the last like even it is giving up.

One of their Steve hands brushes hers, gentle. Mindful of the IV going into the back of it. One of her french tips is missing, another broken in a jagged line. The hand reaching for hers is missing a nail too. She’d hate that.

“Mother,” they start. Her eyes are shut, not swollen shut like one of theirs, just closed. The spiderweb of veins is visible through the thin skin, and that’s worse. “Mother, I-”

Mother not Mom or Ma or Momma or Mommy.

It’s always been Mother for as long as they can remember. Mother and Father. It’s hard for them to wrap their mouth around now that they’ve got Mom at home with her lasagna. They’re crying, just a little. The salty sting of tears prick at their Robin eyes.

She’s not going to get better and she’s always going to be Mother. She won’t get to become something different to them, like them.

“Mother,” they try again. Maybe this time the right words will come out. In English or one of the others.

Her spiderweb eyes flutter. They open just a crack. Bloodshot and hazy. “Is that my baby?” Her words are slowed, slurred together.

“Mo-”

Even open all the way her eyes are glassy and unfocused. Her hand tilts up to catch theirs. “My baby.” 

“Morphine,” they remind themself from the other side of the room.

Mother’s eyes track to where the sound came from, and back to the part of them that’s holding her hand. “I always thought there would be two of you,” she says. “The way you’d kick.”

The machine beeps tick higher. Intracranial bleeding, traumatic internal injuries, thrown from the car, intoxicated. Those were the things the nurse had told one half while the other was headed into the room.

She probably isn’t even lucid.

“When they said it was just one, I was sure you’d be a girl.”

“I’m sorry,” they say. They look over at their other half, not for answers but for the comforting reminder that they’re there.

Mother’s hand shakes as she lifts it off the bed, even with theirs beneath it, supporting the weight. The beeps get faster, louder, crying at the effort she’s putting forward. Her fingers are even colder than normal as they brush their face.

“Don’t be sorry, both of you, just as beautiful as I knew you’d be. My twins, my babies.” Her breathing is too fast, too shallow, too much of everything.

But the smile on her face is peaceful.

“I wish I’d been more for you,” she says.

“No,” they choke out from beside the door, tears running faster.

“I couldn’t see it at first, you looked so much like your father; and I missed it. I missed it.” Each word sounds more like an exhale. Each one is harder to hear.

They surround her now, a half on either side of the bed. Their mother is dying.

“Green was always my favorite, you look so nice in it.” Green dress, green button down, emerald and forest.

“I love you.” They manage to say it, gasp it out through the hurt lodged in their throat. She needs to hear it.

The beeps are fast, then slow, she says. “Love you two.”

The beeps stop, the machine whines. A long, loud sound that demands all of the attention in the room. The commotion starts, nurses and doctors flooding in.

But they know death by this point. They slip from the room, walking until there’s a seating area just to the side of a desk of busy nurses. They sit side by side, trying to find the state of whole they only ever feel when sleeping. Thigh to thigh, hand in hand, it’s close enough.

Their mother is dead.

They sit. Mom is at home, lasagna in the warmer; but Mother is cooling on a bed down the hall.

An elevator chimes, a clipped conversation at the nurses stand too quiet to hear, then. “Steven, what in god’s name are you wearing?”

Their shoes are shined, they twitch left and then right on their Robin feet. The white Chuck Taylors had looked better with the dress, they had decided while getting ready.

“What are you hoping to accomplish,” Father continues, his question after all had never really been a question. Much like this one.

“You were too late, I’m sorry,” they say, hoping they manage to sound consoling.

“The only thing to be sorry about is that whoever hit you didn’t do as well as the fucking car did. Christ, I just hope no one important has seen you looking like this.”

Dad said their attempts at makeup were avant garde.

Two separate instincts war within them. The one that’s snarky and snappish and fights demodogs and soldiers versus the one that knows the danger of the wrong idea being shared by the wrong person.

Love you two. Her last words.

They stand, hand in hand, united physically as they are in every other way. They walk past him, sputtering and spitting with a rage no father should have for their child. It will take all four of their hands but they can move their things out of their room to the other in the house where Mom and Dad love everything they have become.

And they’ll grab something green from Mother.

[hazard-haze]

Eddie and Volt headcanons (no player)

Soooooo

My brain has decided this shit is my new hyperifxation

And that these are my new comfort characters

But I heard that everyone was getting a hate ending with them and guess who got friendship with them first tryyyyyy! So uh, skill issue/j heres some headcanons for ya'll :)

-He doesn't do it often because he knows Eddie hates it, but Volt can 110% pick up Eddie and will abuse this power if he needs to

-Eddie is Volt's anger translator. It usually goes something like this:

Volt: "We are sorry you weren't satisfied with our service, but this is the best we can do and I'm going to have to ask you to leave now."

Eddie *passing by behind him*: "Pay your fucking tab and get out!"

-Volt cannot keep his hands still, he tries to play it off suave-ly (?) by just tapping his fingers and running his hand through his hair repeatedly but when he gets really excited or angry about something he will wave his hands with big, fast, eccentric gestures.

-Volt wears eyeliner, sometimes Eddie helps him put it on.

-Eddie is very talented at most things he does, fixing, building, mixing drinks (he can even do some tricks with shakers), and there's a plethora of odd things he's picked up throughout the years. However this makes him get pretty frustrated when things don't work out the first couple times he attempts something. While not the main reason, this is part of why he was so frustrated and irritable during most of his main plot. Volt sometimes has to remind him that it's okay to not have everything figured out immediately, or pull him from his work if he's starting to stress out or exhaust himself too much.

-On the topic of pulling Eddie from his work, that is a feat. Volt full well knows he can't just ask Eddie to take a break, usually he has to either ask him to do something easier as a favor, or blame the break on himself.

"Oh Eddie, I know your in the middle of something but could you wipe the bar down? I have no time before we open."

"Eddieeeee, I have no one to watch the new season of Cougar vs Cougar with! Would you take a break to and come watch it with me? Please! Just for a little bit! Just one episode!" (They got through like 2 1/2 before Eddie passed tf out)

-Oh yeah, Volt loves reality TV and Eddie pretends to not be at least a little invested.

-Eddie can draw. Volt cannot. Volt is very jealous of Eddie in this regard.

-Infodumpingggggggg. They infodump to one another without even realizing it, it is so much of how they communicate. They will ramble and bounce ideas off each other, mostly about the club but about other stuff too.

-On the flip side. They can also communicate by saying pretty much nothing, just through brief glances. I think it would partly be because they are literally split from the same thing but it's more in that way when you widen your eyes slightly at your bestie and that equates to like a full paragraph of text.

-Eddie is short af, Volt is tall af.

-Volt makes fun of Eddie for being short

-Like seriously ya know that audio that's like "I know we don't always see eye to eye" "that because your too short to do so"

-Eddie will get revenge. He can kick/punch really hard but he can also come up with some other very clever ways of revenge. Do not mess with the guy who has access to the tools.

-Neither of them really like just hard liquor. Volt likes sweeter drinks and Eddie likes quality craft beers. If either sees the other drinking something like scotch/whiskey they can usually assume somethings wrong.

-Volt has sooooo many ideas for the club, several of which are not exactly... possible. Eddie has to be the one to break the news to him that No Volt we can't break down the retaining wall of the bar and turn it into an inanimal fish tank. Why? Because without it the roof would collapse!

-Volt's love languages are physical touch and words of affirmation

-Eddie's love language is acts of service.

-Going deeper into that, Volt loves physical touch, as previously mentioned. Eddie however does not. But they make it work, Eddie can tell when Volt needs a hug or just to have someone next to him, Volt can tell when Eddie is getting overstimulated or just needs space.

-They both have their ears pierced. Volt did it for both of them.

-Eddie actually quite likes talking to people, I mean he's definitely tended the bar at some point, he just doesn't like talking to annoying people. He's sarcastic and his humor is a bit deadpan and he's more reserved, but he 100% can be very funny and hold conversations very well with patrons and even better with friends.

-That being said, bro does not chat while he works on maintenance. If anyone, including Volt, is working with him, he isn't saying shit unless its telling them what to do, or looking over their work. If someones lucky they get a "Good job."

-Neither have ever been a fan of the dark, but they especially would not be after the black out.

-They both hate silence, I mean they work in a night club, at this point it just feels unnatural.

-Kinda already mentioned this but Volt gets quiet angry and Eddie gets loud angry. If Volt goes silent, you know you fucked up. On the opposite end, it will sometimes be assumed that Eddie is mad because he's being quiet but that just how he is, if Eddie actually is properly yelling you know he's upset.

-Nerve damage babyyyyyy. It is all up Eddie's arms, contributes to why he's not super touchy because his arms get that awful pulling, itchy, pain when something touches them.

-Volt can get some nasty fatigue. The electricity fluctuates? Bro is immediately drained, head rush, migraine, the whole shabang.

-Not really headcanon but neither of them are good at admitting they need help or at accepting it when its offered.

-They both know each others triggers tho, and make sure to tell the other to rest when they need to. Neither take their own advice.

-Eddie hyperfocuses like crazy. If he sits down with his tools, something to fix and no one around he will not move from that spot for hours.

-Volt is always jumping from project to project, person to person, never slowing down. There's a lot to do in the breaker box and he is more than happy to juggle all of it.

-Both of them forget to sleep because of these facts. and eat (do they eat?). and talk to other things. and talk to each other. and-

-They would be cat people. Volt has definitely brought up getting an inanimal from Mateo but Eddie is always hesitant (even though he would 100% end up loving it to bits if they got one)

----

Ya'll I think I'm a loser. Instead of being out on a night off I am sitting in my bedroom writing headcanons about an actual breaker box in a dating sim that I'm not even attracted to, I just think their silly. What is my life T-T

[torrentialchaos]

so I’ve decided to make a little post for some tips and strategies about Noli for those who want to know how to get better at playing against him

for those who don’t know, yesterday a public server opened up that allowed people to try out Noli before he was officially released. I was one of these people. After playing against him for a bit, I feel like I have enough information to provide some tips on how you might be able to counter against him when he officially comes out.

Your main issue is of course going to be his first passive, hallucinations. If you see like some sort of coin icon appear on your screen, be careful. It means that you have most likely been afflicted with hallucination three and you might start seeing stuff that really isn’t there.

One thing I noticed about the Noli hallucination is that it never seemed to use any of its abilities. It just ran right up to me and attacked me and it almost didn’t seem to attack me until I got a little closer. If you do it that only appears to just be running around and stabbing you. It might mean that it’s just his hallucination chasing you and you’re not in any real danger.

I will put up a little video later on demonstrating how it works for some reason I’m just having trouble posting videos right now

The other thing you gotta worry about is his prankster passive, in which he spawns fake generators in all of the spots that generators do not spawn. There are of course, various ways that you can tell a real one from a fake one, but two of the major tells that I ended up finding were that it might take longer to open it up than normal or the text when going to interact with it will say “fix” instead of “repair.”

Then let’s talk about his active abilities. Void rush to me at least seems like it’s very easy avoided because he does play a sound when charging through and it’s really hard to steer. It’s basically just like guest’s charge.

Nova might be a little harder to avoid, and you also gotta be careful when being near a wall as the void star will also explode when we can contact with a wall.

And observant is of course, the major one you gotta look out for. If you hear a sound start to play get away from the generator as quickly as possible, as Noli might teleport to it. If you’re not prepared, he can take you by surprise and you might find yourself dead within seconds.

That’s all for now! Can’t wait for his official release and good luck out there gamers!

[batsandbirdbrains]

ok but give me bruce holding all of the kids to dick’s standard but not as robin, just as a normal kid. like bruce has always been a weird guy even as a kid and while he has a public persona he’s incredibly awkward underneath and does not interact with many people. alfred ‘let me help train my little orphan friend in martial arts and let him loose’ pennyworth is not much better. then they get dick who, by most means, did not have a normal childhood either. his new caretakers do not have any idea what normal children are like. so when dick gets excited and does 10 back flips in a row, they think “ahhh children must do that to show their happiness”. when dick is angry and throws massive hysterical fits where he bites people, destroys shit, and climbs onto chandeliers to sulk, not once do they consider that his reaction may be a bit disproportionate. when dick has depressive episodes where he can’t get out of bed, they think that this must be what other people mean when they talk about teenage hormones. when dick makes friends with almost everyone in the entire universe and then some, they think “well who doesn’t like children?”

but then comes along jason, and jason also did not have the most normal childhood, but it was closer to normal than what dick and bruce had. bruce starts worry that he’s completely fucking up while trying to parent jason, because jason isn’t reacting like dick does. to bruce, jason hardly ever emotes around him. bruce buys him ice cream and the kid doesn’t do a single flip. bruce upsets jason and doesn’t even know it until jason starts ranting about how he’s tired of giving bruce the silent treatment. bruce starts to worry because jason doesn’t have many friends but jason yells at him that he doesn’t need to socialize all the time (bruce considers looking into therapy - surely such little socialization isn’t healthy?) at least jason does flips sometimes as robin, which must mean that it makes him happy, right?

then jason dies and bruce is alone for a long time. tim comes along and bruce is still so stuck in his grief that he’s not really paying attention to tim’s behavior. when he finally manages to get better he realizes that tim doesn’t do ‘normal’ kid things either, but bruce just settles on tim having a weird childhood and being a weirdo in the same way bruce is.

over time his family grows more and more, and yet none of them act like normal kids. bruce starts to get a little concerned - the only besides dick that emoted was damian, when he was angry, and even that went away over time. he tries to nudge them in the right direction time and time again with little anecdotes about dick but it doesn’t seem to work. he’s met with eye rolls and scowls when he talks about how dick used to do flips all the time, when he talks about dick swinging from the chandeliers, when talks about all of dick’s friends, when talks about dick diving off a roof to knee a goon in the face. bruce is just trying to give his children suggestions on how to be normal, dammit!

eventually he brings up his concerns to clark, who makes a considering noise and says “i had that same issue at first. i was waiting for jon to do flips when he got older but he never did. then i realized nobody taught him. now he does them all the time.” because while clark did have a normal childhood, he’s also an alien and did not spend much time with children as an adult (beyond saving them) until dick came along as robin. lois sighs exasperatedly from the background. bruce is incredibly horrified and sad at the thought that he had been waiting forever for children to flip for him and they didn’t know how (mind you, they all definitely know how to flip, he’s seen them all do it at least once). bruce wonders how he can broach the topic without messing up the conversation and decides to enlist the other JL founders for help. diana wants her nephews to be happy, clark was always on board, barry remembers all the weird shit wally did as a kid and doesn’t question it, oliver doesn’t really care, and hal is too scared of everyone’s wrath to tell them all that dick is just a weirdo.

Dude the last line fucking killed me “and Hal is too scared of everyone’s wrath to tell them that Dick is just a weirdo” beautiful, wonderful, excellent. Hal always thought Robin/Dick was a fucking weirdo little kid/teenager/adult but could never say it bc somehow everyone loves the kid.

And all the other Batkids feeling like Dick is just an impossible standard to live up to is so accurate. But would Dick even know about it? I feel like they wouldn’t blame Dick necessarily, but he absolutely grates on their nerves after a long lecture from Bruce about how they need to be more like Dick and now Dick is at the manor hanging out acting like nothing is out of the ordinary

[thetrialsandtribulationsofeb]

i’m in the mood to rank buck’s and eddie’s love interests throughout the show from the “best” (ish) to the worst, ‘cause why not:

1) ali - we didn’t see a lot of their relationship, and maybe that’s what saved her, lol. but, like, overall, i actually liked her personality, and she and buck looked good together. i also understand her reason for breaking up with him - not everyone can handle buck’s lifestyle. and she at least waited till he recovered a little bit before breaking up with him, so bonus points for politeness, i guess. (though i understand tatiana’s perspective on her breakup with chimney too.) also, the way she was gently stroking buck’s cheek as he was crying is living in my head rent-free

2) shannon - she wasn’t the perfect mum and she wasn’t the perfect wife, but i liked her personality. she was cute and kind and tried to make it work for so many years until she finally broke down. and i still think it’s mostly eddie’s fault, ‘cause he actually didn’t have her back. he wasn’t there for her when she needed him the most. and he still didn’t put himself fully into their relationship when they reconnected, even though she wanted to give them a chance again. so, yeah, i think she had the potential to be a good partner - not her fault she got caught up in this mess. they both were young and stupid and didn’t know any better until reality caught up (eddie not being able to love her the way he wanted to love her, and she wanted to be loved)

3) taylor - i kind of hated her in the beginning because of wanting to reveal bobby’s personal life in her video about the 118, but i started to like her in season 4. she actually had a fleshed-out and complex personality - one that didn’t match with buck’s, in a romantic sense at least. but they made a great team as friends and partners-in-crime. i also think she should’ve broken up with buck after he cheated on her. but, yeah, another case of two people falling in love with each other and ignoring all the ways they’re incompatible until it finally blows up in their face. i’d say at least buck learned what he doesn’t want in a relationship while being with her - but then he dated natalia and tommy, so yeah…

4) abby - look, i think she was actually pretty okay during their relationship. and i also don’t see the age gap as an issue, ‘cause buck was 26 at the time and already had a lot of life experience. like, it doesn’t count as grooming imo, so who cares that she was older. and it’s nice that buck decided to take things slow and learn how to be in a serious relationship, and she gave him that chance. ‘cause, yes, she maybe saw him as a boytoy, but she still also took time to learn about his personality. but obviously, they were never meant to last, ‘cause she was at a very different stage in her life. buck just built a castle on sand with the way he got so involved in their relationship. BUT, i will consider her a bitch for not breaking up with him properly and stringing him along for several months. like, i get your reasons, girl, but how about communicating them and letting the other person know instead of giving them false hope?

5) ana - she had more chemistry with ravi in that one scene than with eddie in all their time together… also, i can’t tell much about her personality. their relationship was just boring. but she is gorgeous

6) marisol - again, such a beautiful woman. eddie couldn’t care less though. he likes them blue-eyed. i don’t know whether i should respect her for her amount of patience or, on the contrary, feel pity for her. i’m putting her below ana ‘cause she managed to have even less chemistry with eddie than her

7) natalia - it took a long time to decide whether to put her in last place or not. but my dislike for tommy turned out to be stronger. her biggest problem was just her obsession with death. which is a weird reason to date someone

8) tommy - first of all, i’m still holding a grudge about hen and chim and how he didn’t do anything to stand up for them or at least let them know privately that he’s on their side, like chim did with hen when she first got into the 118. i don’t like people with sheep minds. secondly, he was definitely the one who saw buck as some hot prize/himbo and didn’t care the least about his personality. and at first i thought “oh, thank god for seeing that buck is into men and kissing him to finally let him know that,” but then he turned out to be the shittiest boyfriend in the world, and i was like, “oh, here we go, another meaningless relationship for buck that didn’t work out, because the person he’s dating doesn’t fit him at all”

also, this confirmed again that both buck and eddie’s problems in their relationships stem from them not really thinking about their actual wants and needs, and just doing it out of some internal pressure they put on themselves - which they call “going with their gut”

when in reality, it’s more like: buck tries to fill the hole inside of him with any relationship he can find, even if they’re bad for him, ‘cause he doesn’t like to be alone, and he thinks he needs to be of service to someone (he’s a helper and a fixer, after all - the unconscious trauma that was implanted in him basically since his birth)

and eddie tries to have that “ready-made” family he had with shannon (i’m actually obsessed with how he romanticizes his relationship with her by calling it “magic” when their marriage was ready-made too, because she got pregnant and they were pretty much forced to marry without figuring out first whether they even wanted it or not)

meanwhile, they choose each other over and over again because they actually want to

they have shared values, they understand each other like no one else. and even when it all goes wrong, they fix the problem and still choose each other instead of giving up on their relationship

and it’s mutual. that’s the key - they both want the same thing. each other, and the family they built with chris

so yeah

buddie canon when?

[nanenna]

And now I'm thinking about the actual plot I've been sorta playing with a little. I'll be honest, the reason I'm putting this all out is because I don't think I'm going to actually write it, but I wanna share the fun vibes. Anyway!

So getting some more BG lore out of the way: in the anime (the first season, at least, which is what I watched as a kid because it was new back then) Pokémon explicitly states that each region actually has more than 8 gyms, 8 is just the number of badges you need to fight the pokemon league of that region. So for this fakémon region (I'm calling it Justria after the Price of Peace) we're going to see 8 cities/gyms:

Gotham

Metropolis

Coast City

Middleton

Washington DC

Atlantis (an island just off the coast)

Central City

Fawcett

Amity Park

I'm debating on Amity Park though, I kinda want it to be like Lavender Town but I wouldn't know who to make the actual gym leader. Not Vlad, he's too busy running Dalv Co. and maybe still being the Mayor. Instead of being obsessed with Maddie... okay maybe he's still obsessed with Maddie but! Instead of being obsessed with making Danny his son he's now obsessed with getting his grubby paws on the fucking legendary the son of that bumbling oaf managed to catch. But back on topic: I might have Amity not have a gym after all, which means Danny 'n' friends need to go to the nearest city with a gym and/or pokemon center to register for their grand adventure.

That's right! It's a grand adventure, baybee! I was thinking my favorite thing currently for main DCxDP is Danny and Jason meeting while Jason was dead and then meeting again years later, so I'm going with something like: Jason and Danny meet while on their "congrats, you're 12! Now go wander around without proper adult supervision and get into lots of cock fights with your new pet seizure monster."

It's not uncommon for kids to go in groups, so I'm thinking Danny, Sam, and Tucker all go together. At some point they meet Jason at a pokecenter and make friends so they travel together for a while. Probably help fight off this region's version of Team Rocket, maybe split into 2 teams for part of it so Danny and Jason have to work together for a bit. Then after all that they come to a fork in the road.

Danny 'n' friends are going to head to Gotham to get the Aerial badge. Jason says he can't, that his family runs that gym so he's not allowed to challenge that one. Sadly they part ways, but they promise to keep in touch and to go challenge the League together.

Unfortunately things don't go so well for Jason. He and his Robin get into a bit of a tight spot, have a near death experience, and Robin evolves into Red Hood. It takes a long time to finally make it home and when they do everyone knows things went bad because Robins don't evolve into Red Hoods unless something went very wrong (or their trainer was an asshole).

Meanwhile Danny 'n' friends keep an ear out for Jason but they lose touch and stop seeing any mention of him (gyms keep public records of who's challenged them, and of course that's going to be displayed in the pokecenters). Danny holds out, but eventually they give up and go do their challenge of the League and Danny wins, hurrah!

Years later Danny and Jason meet again and reconnect. Phantom and Red Hood decide to play matchmaker. This is the part that's just vibes though. Like! Danny's retired, he did his whole challenge thing and it was fun but stressful and he's ready to focus on school and getting his dream job: astronaut. Jason is back in Gotham but he's been struggling to reconnect with his family and doesn't want to help at the gym so instead he's gone back to his roots and is doing charity work in Park Row Crime Alley. Romantic Comedy antics ensue.

DCxDP Pokemon-ish idea

Just a silly idea I've been kind of batting around while my hands are busy at work. Everyone is normal humans, their alter egos are their pokemon. So for instance: John Jones has a green Martian for his companion pokemon. The Kents give their children a Superboy or Supergirl for their first pokemon.

The Waynes traditionally give their child a Robin regardless of gender. Robin is the Eevee of this AU because there are several forms it can take. For instance: Dick's Robin evolved into a Nightwing and Tim's Robin evolved into a Red Robin. (This implies Bruce used to have a Robin that evolved into a Batman, which is of course what Damian is aiming for.)

Now obviously Danny's companion is Phantom. Not a Phantom, just Phantom. That's right, he's that kid that caught Zapdos thinking it was a Fearow. Danny comes home with his first pokemon showing it oof all "I caught ghost pokemon!" and showing off his brand shiny new legendary. He's ghost/ice type and knows all these cool moves! (I cannot be arsed to go find attacks that fit Phantom.)

Anyway! All that just to be backstory for this DeadonMain story idea: Phantom and Red Hood like each other, so it's up to them to get their trainers to hook up.

[cern1cal0]

🌒

[spotaus]

New Age AU (An Order to Things)

Hello hello and welcome back! I... write the first part of this like a month ago and then came back and wrote the rest over the past few days! Ancha and I were talking about getting some perspective on the rest of the Castle while Night is still adjusting to his new body, so here we are! A little mash-up of what the Knights have been doing on a regular day only a little while in to Night being small!

no edits, no rereads, fuck it we ball!

(@ancha-aus @mutzelputz and @papiliovolens hello again! Hope you don't mind the random @ and as always if it gets annoying just lemee know and I'll cease hehe!)

Oh, and a bonus shout-out to Ancha because I would've completely fumbled an entire section here, but she recalled something from one of my many strange rambles and saved my life in the lore continuity department :]

“Is everyone here?” Dust’s voice was steady and cut through the chatter of the room.

Horror watched as heads turned to face Dust, where he stood at the ‘front’ of the room. The room was actually curved, a nice oval that allowed a long, round, bar-like table to curve along the outskirts and sit up to fifty people along its run. Across from where Dust was standing was the door. Where Dust stood now, well, that was usually where the King sat. They had shifted the ornate seat back and away for the time being, since no one thought it’d be right for Dust to sit in it. Even if he was filling in for Nightmare today. 

Those seated, they were Nightmare’s council. Some seats had been barren since before Horror had arrived, a lot had been filled since then, Killer had told them that the population had seen a steep decline after he showed up. From what Horror had heard, it was probably for the best that it had been rebuilt almost from scratch. The council now was made up largely of common people. Monsters and Humans, each a representative from their own cities and townships who had both been chosen by their people and screened by the King himself. They weren’t proper or well-spoken sometimes, but they always seemed to have their people’s best interests at heart, so he figured the king didn’t mind it much. Actually, maybe their informal habits made them all the more appealing to him? Horror could never quite tell. Besides, he usually wasn’t present for these unless the farming representatives were present, and today they seemed woefully absent. Normally it would be Killer or Dust here where he was standing near the King’s seat. But, Killer was helping watch over the King while Ccino caught up on his own work, Cross was scheduled for training right now, and Dust was the one talking, so here he was. 

“Good.” Dust spoke up again, very shortly, as the group quieted. 

Horror noticed Dust had a booklet open on the table before him. Horror recognized the handwriting in the pages, even if he couldn’t read any of the words from such a distance. Those dizzying swirls were the familiar penmanship of their King. King Nightmare must have sent Dust with instructions, or maybe a list of topics to address. 

“Our King will not join us today. I am here on his behalf. Trust me, news will return to him.” Dust explained briefly, and neither of them missed the way a few of the council looked between each other. Nightmare had been out of the public eye for almost a week and a half now. “Any questions?”

Dust’s eyelights traveled to his left, where a hand was raised barely into the air. A human sat there, Horror didn’t recognize them, but it seemed like Dust did. He gestured shortly to him and said, “Damien?” As a prompt to get the man speaking.

As Horror had learned, it was customary to stand when you spoke at these events. Everyone, aside from the King, had a cushioned stool which tended to be easier to raise out of and sit on again. The human, Damien, slipped backward off his stool and rose maybe an inch higher than he had been sitting. 

“Sir Panther,” He addressed Dust with a slightly nervous voice, “We in the council are grateful for your presence and for listening to our pleas, but some of us present feel that the timing of our King’s absence poses a danger to some of our peoples.” 

Damien shoved a strand of dark hair out of his eyes, tucking it behind his ear as he continued with a surprising amount of confidence for someone who seemed to be questioning their king. “While we trust his decisions, we find that our people are growing restless and weary without plans in place to rebuild our shelters. The last flood which passed through was not four days ago, and the letter arrived today more frantic than the last. Is there any hope that we may soon be graced by the King’s presence once again?” He watched Dust’s reaction as he still stood.

Dust, though, had a pokerface of steel. As long as Horror had known him he was always a closed book. Or, maybe more like he had a bottle, but broke the top of the cork off inside the opening, so nothing ever made it out. That was Dust. Horror couldn’t even blame him, with all he was dealing with it was impressive how neutral he could remain. Horror had no doubt this Damien man had no idea what it was Dust was thinking at the moment. Was he happy? Upset? 

Before Dust could answer, another hand shot up, followed by a scrambling sound as this other figure, this one to the right, moved faster. This time, it was a monster Horror recognized vaguely, if only because he believed this was one of the few noble lines who got to stay after the ‘spring cleaning’ as Killer called it once. She was a bee monster, one who lived in the capital, but her family resided over some borderland city. She was younger and a lot quicker to speak.

“Mister Damien is underselling how dangerous the floods have become again, Sir Panther!” She hurriedly said. Across the room, Damien seemed to pale under the loud and shrill voice of this noble girl. Dust nodded to her, prompting a continuation of an explanation. “The floods rolled through my town too, though we had time to prepare thanks to their warnings so the damage was less severe. It sounds like, though, many houses were completely swept away, and among them were Mister Damien’s family home. He has two daughters, you know that? They ended up in my town when the water swept them there. That’s how I know.”

She seemed startled when Damien seemed to slump over his stool a bit, planting his hand on the seat as he looked to her. 

“My little girls? They’re alright?” He asked out of turn, his voice different. A bit weaker. 

The noble girl, was her name Marie? She nearly jumped forward as though she were going to close the gap across the room, her wings buzzing at her back. “Yes! Yes, they’re alright! My mother spotted them in our river and was able to scoop them up.” She replied almost excitedly, entirely blind to the sickly relief on Damien’s face. “Mother said they were very smart girls, they had a hold of a piece of wood and used it to float!” 

The two seemed to silently revel in the news, Marie proud to have shared it, and Damien grateful to have heard it. Neither of them was taking in the looks of worry permeating their fellow councilmen, though those nearest to Damien did extend hands of support to his shoulders. Comfort. 

“Mm. Good your family is safe.” Dust said, once again reminding the council of his presence. It had so quickly been forgotten in the exchange of information and startling news. 

Damien seemed to jolt at that, and he quickly made a bow towards Dust with a quiet, ‘Thank you, my Knight. Sorry, my Knight.’ escaping his chest in quick succession. 

“Glad you brought that up. The King isn’t sure when he’ll be back here.” He paused a second, “Sent me with a list of announcements. One was for your cities, got word same time as you.” Dust raised the little booklet off the table before him then. The leather cover, though Horror couldn’t see it he knew what it looked like, had the kingdom’s crest pressed into its surface. Dust didn’t glance at the pages, though. Just showed it off for a few breaths. “Said he’s sending out a contracting team. Capital’s best. They’ll be headed out and nightfall to Peechrey first. Build some drainage. Then rebuild the buildings. Move onto Pinoc after or split sooner, depending on resources. Time.” He debriefed. 

Damien and Marie were still standing, their discussion was seemingly not over. Questions unanswered. 

“I- I am grateful that our King has already prepared, it was foolish of me to assume, yet…” He took a breath, maybe trying to put together a thought. “Drainage? Should the repairs not occur first? What of those with no home?” 

Valid question. If Horror were in this guy’s shoes, he’d probably be asking the same exact things. Dust seemed unbothered by the extra questioning and simply nodded along.

“Would, but it’s flood season. King said drainage first so repairs’ll stay sturdy. Just one fix instead of twenty.” Dust explained with a little shrug. “Those without houses? Take them in. Neighbors help neighbors, till we fix the big issues. Least we can ask.” The way Dust said it wasn’t forceful, or mean-spirited, yet it seemed to make Damien stand down. 

“I… Understand, my Knight.” He said briefly. 

It seemed he was about to sit when a hand raised from beside Marie. A human woman, one which Horror did fully recognize. Chase. She was one of the people who Crop had introduced him to during the call-outs for farmers willing to experiment with farming methods. That had been Horror’s first big project at the King’s side, and it had been going well so far. Slow, but well. 

“My Knight, if I may offer.” She received a nod of approval from Dust. “My village is small, an’ about an hour’s ride by horse to yours, but my people live on a plateau and would be more than willing to house any of yours who might need a place to stay for a time. We’d just ask for an extra hand with the harvest when time comes around.” She suggested, looking to Damien for an answer.

Damien looked right back at her for a few breaths, a little stunned. Horror had found, unlike many of these people, that the farmers who he and Crop had managed to gather for the experimental farming? They were good people from tight-knit communities. Visiting their small villages and farms reminded him much of home each time. Keeping crops and animals requires a lot of fortitude, wit, and compassion. More than anyone gave them credit for, usually. In moments of crisis, if he couldn’t be here with his family, he would choose a farming village over all else. …It seemed like Chase was living up to the high praise Horror hadn’t even realize he’d assigned to her years ago. 

“A-are you certain that is all you would ask in return? I fear that Miss Marie was correct in stating that the damages are far worse than I first described. We have at least fifty, perhaps more, who would be needing shelter and resources. We cannot push that upon your people for only a favor of labor.” Damien seemed like he was taking the cautious route. 

Horror couldn’t necessarily blame him, he wouldn’t want to be the reason his town was indebted either. Though, he did have half a mind to defend his colleague. She wouldn’t offer something like that if she and her folks couldn’t handle it. 

“ ‘Course that’s all I’d ask! We got plenty of space, as long as a few of your folks wouldn’t mind taking turns in the lofts. Plus the food shouldn’t be an issue. We mostly export the extra we don’t need to other towns for trade, but there should be enough surplus to feed that many extra mouths.” Chase belted those words with a pride that Horror had seen on many of the farmers lately. Her chest puffed a bit as she placed her hands on her hips. “Plus, don’t hurt that we’ve got the Knights here listenin’ to us make the deal. If I tried anything tricky with it I know Sir Lion over there wouldn’t let me weasel my way out of it!” 

Chase nodded her head in Horror’s direction. He didn’t expect for any eyes to turn to him during this meeting beyond the nervous glances every once in a while. He figured it must’ve been shocking to see him here the first time, and it probably hadn’t gotten much easier for them since. He found himself, regrettably, making direct eye-contact with Damien. The man looked frazzled still. Like he was regretting bringing up the topic at all. 

“Mm. She’s right.” He agreed, hoping it sounded half as light-hearted as he’d meant as it echoed from under his mask. “It’s… also a fair trade. Harvest season gets…” He lifted a hand a bit, searching for the words he was looking for. “Busy. Messy, when there are too many fields to harvest and not… not enough skilled hands to pick. Risk losing a lot of crop to…” Again he paused, but for a shorter span. “Over-ripening. Or drying out. Been trying to find a good way to gather it all for a few seasons now, right?” Horror finally broke his stare with Damien to glance over to Chase. 

She seemed to be beaming from over where she stood. She ran a hand through her short-cropped black hair with a slight laugh. 

“Exactly, My Knight! So, not entirely an unselfish offer, but we scratch your back, you scratch ours! It’d do us a big favor seein’ if getting more hands to help would really gather it all or if we’re gonna need to downscale.” She went between the two, though after looking to Horror again, she seemed to realize that the both of them had gone off-topic from the point of the question. The farming meeting was set for about a month from now, this was the civilian-based meeting. They could save shop talk for then. 

In her resounding silence, eyes all turned. Not to Damien, but to Dust. Normally it’d be Nightmare making this choice, of course, but instead? Today it was him. 

He seemed to look at the parties in question. He was calm. At some point he’d opened the little journal, but kept it flat on the desk away from any prying eyes of the council. He seemed to consult it shortly, and the room’s silence spanned on for nearly a minute as he seemed to debate silently with his thoughts. 

Then.

“Since the offer is made, it falls in guidelines for aide. The King trusts all of the council, but Chase still needs to draft a contract.” He finally announced. “Movement can begin if Damien agrees. Sign the paper later. After the King looks it over.” He said with hardly a moment more of hesitation.

Damien’s mouth was agape for a moment, before he nodded. 

“I- Yes. Thank you My Knight, Miss Chase, Miss Marie. I will agree to your offer to aide, and we will discuss the specifics after the meeting adjourns.” He finally decided.

Chase seemed thrilled. The woman was surely happy to have a whole new town’s-worth of new able-bodied souls to help her manage her crops, even if it was just for the harvest for one season. Horror and her both knew that this would put her ahead of schedule from the other farms by a bit. More progress did mean more attention from him and Crop, more notoriety for their village, and more trade incoming and outgoing. Plus, Chase was the kind of woman who insisted a little bit of manual labor was healthy for the soul. She was already getting her hands on that parchment used by all the council members to plead their cases to be reviewed by the King. 

When all was quieted and both Damien and Marie also seemed to have begin writing, though theirs were on regular paper (letters maybe?), Dust allowed a moment of quiet before he reintroduced their topic for the day. And… was immediately interrupted by another raised hand from a new corner of the meeting room.

.

“How… do you do it?” Horror asked quietly, lifting his axe from the sling along his back. 

Dust glanced at him. Horror could tell, the tilt of his chin meant he wasn’t following.

“I mean. Talk in front of all those people. Think of good answers to their questions so quick. You’re so calm.” He clarified. 

“Mm.” Was all Dust said for a second. 

They’d been out of the council meeting for a few hours now. Dust had rushed off post-meeting to see Nightmare. As much as they all knew Dust was the king of paperwork, especially contracts, Nightmare had made him promise to let him at least read over each one so his stamp was proper. (They all knew that meant he’d take the fall if anything went wrong for either party, too.) So, despite their King being so tired and busy with his whole… being a teenager thing? He was still triple-checking legal documents in his study. 

When that was finished Dust had gone off to check the stables and now he was back inside. In the training room, to be more specific. He’d been trying to make sure his magic was under control. His storm. Horror figured he was nervous, with Nightmare being so young now. They all needed to be on their toes. Horror had wanted to come with him, because he needed to sharpen and polish his axe. And ask him that question.

“Black Market boss.” He replied evenly, tugging his hood over his head a bit farther than it usually sat. 

Of course Horror knew about that. It had been very obvious when he’d first showed up. Back then, Dust was still wandering around in his shackles and being used as a walking map to find every black market location. Sure, he figured that the stress of a job like that, plus the paperwork involved, had to have prepared him for something like this, but… Horror was the last one to forget that past of his. He meant something else. 

“Didn’t mean that.” He said with a little huff. “Meant. Like. You think how the King would. I could… make choices that I liked. But. Not the same way Nightmare would. You know? You think of everything.” He elaborated a bit more.

Dust stood beside him as he plopped down onto one of the benches to the side of the training room. Dust would need all the floor space to practice his spells, and sharpening and cleaning his monster of an axe didn’t need much space at all. 

“Same morals?” He replied deadpan with a shrug. 

Dust was already moving out onto the big open floor to begin his summons, but he clearly heard it as Horror let out a laugh, because his steps got a bit lighter.

“You ass! I saw you send me a look about the Cherris rep. You wouldn’t have… said yes to her on your own.” He accused, almost playfully. He liked when his small friend set his shoulders. It meant he was trying not to laugh about something. Dust didn’t turn towards him.

“She asked for… a lot. Already gets a lot of support.” He replied shortly. 

Quickly after his words, Horror was graced with the vision of Dust’s magic igniting across the room. 

It was always in bright flashes. Sometimes manifesting as crooked, broken, brittle bone attacks with an electric taste in the air and a scorch mark left on the floor. Others, it showed up like a streak of lightning arching quickly from Dust’s fingertips or from the sky to strike wildly in any direction. It always had this deadly purple hue to it, and his one eyelight always flashed with vibrant colors just for a spilt second before it would fade back to that pale white/greyish color he sported normally. 

Dust didn’t like to talk when he was fighting or training, unless it was Killer. It seemed that would be his answer for now, which didn’t really help his curiosity in the slightest. It almost made him wonder more, but lucky for the both of them, he wasn’t a very pushy person. If Dust didn’t want to talk about it, there would be no talking. 

So, Horror took this time, with the ambient zapping noises of his fellow Knight’s magic as his soundtrack, to properly care for his axe. It was a nice, calming, repetitive task that helped chase away building headaches and distract him from worrisome thoughts. It was times like these when he could really take a moment to think about things he hasn’t in a while. Like, for instance, his family back home. 

Almost two weeks ago, only days before the King’s reverse-ascension, he’d gotten a letter from his mother. It was written in their foreign tongue, the only writing all the family could recognize and the only language which most of them spoke. It had detailed how his brother was doing well, managing their own experimental patches well and how his studies to learn more of Orchan, the dialect spoken by the people here, had been going by quickly. He was already planning to send a letter to him apparently. Though, his mother had insisted he not mention that when they meet again because it was meant to be a surprise. It also sounded like their old farm dog had finally had her last litter of puppies. They were going to move her into someone’s house and off the fields soon, once this batch of pups grew old enough to protect the livestock on their own. Horror knew how much that old dog deserved a nice retirement treat. Warm bed and shoes to chew on when she’d get bored. 

He ran a cloth along the broadside of the axe blade, away from the sharp bits for now. He liked getting the side shiny enough that he could spot a silhouette, but not enough that he could see his own reflection. 

…Honestly, he wanted to visit his family. He wanted to visit his family with the King in tow, though. The plan had been to ask him about another visit soon, because his entire village adored the King just like he did. His mother once swooned to him about how ‘awkward and kind’ the King was when he sat with everyone at dinner. His dad liked the way Nightmare tried to hold back his joy at the taste of their home-cooked meal they’d served to him. The King’s poker face had hardly broken for a moment, but the curling of those tendrils of his had been hard to miss. 

He just thought it’d be nice to bring Nightmare along. Plus, then, his family would be much less likely to try and baby him. He’d be on the clock as a guard, even if the King wouldn’t say so. 

It would have to happen another time, though. Maybe he’d invite Crop instead. Have him examine ground zero for this entire project of theirs? That’d be nice, it’d keep his family occupied by talking technicalities with Crop… but then Horror wouldn’t get nearly enough time with Crop all to himself… Maybe-

“Worried for him.” 

Dust’s voice snapped Horror out of his thoughts with a jolt. 

Dust stared at him, only a little apologetic at giving his large friend a heart-attack. He was stood right past Horror’s axe. He must’ve stopped polishing a while ago. Dust looked like he’d worked up a sweat, the room felt at least 10 degrees warmer, and the floor and some walls had distinct scorch marks all along the stone in various locations. How long ago had Dust stopped training? He hadn’t even heard the zapping end, so lost in his own head. 

“What?” Horror asked, confused now. 

Dust frowned slightly, though he tugged his mask back over his mouth. 

“Been learning his process for years. Only doing it now because I’m worried.” He said. 

He moved to sit beside Horror on the bench, and Horror twisted to look at him. Waiting for any more insight into Dust’s thought process. 

“He looks tired. Can see the bags under his eyes. Missing words too. Trouble focusing, looks confused sometimes.” He explained. “Don’t think he’s dumb, real genius kid. Just… the whole “13 year old brain” is getting to him. Don’t think he’s sleeping much either. It’s a lot.” 

Dust looked a little pained to be saying it outloud. Horror knew he was just speaking his mind. Trying to find a good way to say that he was rightfully worried for the King’s wellbeing. 

Ever since the incident, Horror hadn’t been around the King much. Not by choice of course, every bone in his body wished he could just wrap his young employer up in his arms and make him go out to the courtyard to play catch, just like he used to do with his older cousins as a kid. It just… it just made sense for him to remain vigilant and focused. Ccino and Killer and Dust seemed to have things covered with the King’s personal interactions. Horror and Cross had just been tasked with keeping face and continuing training best they could. Nightmare hadn’t even been coming to supervise trainings. So, Horror could barely say anything to Dust’s description.

The only thing Horror knew was that Dust wasn’t one to worry unneededly. Like, when he and the King returned with that Mage. Error? He’d seemed worried about the kid, but after a few days he relaxed again, because it was safe and that kid seemed genuinely happy. If Dust thought something was up with the King, Horror would believe him without doubt.

“Mm. Good thing. You learned, I mean.” Horror replied carefully. “Probably a lot like…” Hmm, maybe he didn’t want to say that out loud. Would that be rude?

A beat of silence passed between them.

“Yeah.” Dust just said quietly. 

Of course Dust knew what he was about to say. Comparing the King’s rewind to his own skull injury. Granted, his happened when he was a kid, but even now it made things harder. Harder to think, to remember, to see, to process things. He’s had time to get used to it though. Nightmare was just hit by similar issues so suddenly, and no physical wound to soothe either. Their king was smart and prepared. Horror could bet he didn’t want to lose that feeling. To lose… everything he’d been doing here. Just like that. 

“Don’t want to, though.” Dust’s voice was still quiet and even. 

Horror tilted his head at him curiously. 

“Talk. In front of others.” He clarified with a shrug. “Was nice being a Knight. Quiet before. …But I want to help. King’s too young to act alone.” 

Dust sighed after those words. 

They all could have said the same things about themselves in the past. Horror remembers the first time Dust discussed his early days out on the streets. He was too young to put himself into those situations. Then again, Killer had been too young for any of the shit he was put through. Same with what he heard from Cross. Even he shouldn’t have really been the sole communicator for his entire family in his youth. There had been a few close encounters in those early years thanks to angry customers. 

There was no time to really think back on it, though. In the moment now, Dust was right. The King was having that crisis in real time. They all needed to face the music and help take on some of the weight, especially after all Nightmare had done for them. Was still doing for them. 

“Think there’s… something I can do? To help you with the meetings?” He paused, and Dust didn’t say anything so he continued. “Or help the King?” 

He hadn’t exactly been doing much. Killer and Dust had taken on most of the responsibility, and Ccino… that poor guy, Horror wasn’t sure how he was managing everything he was. Killer gave them a breakdown once of all the shit he technically oversees as the ‘Head of House’ and stars was it way too much. And Cross was still a rookie, so he got why Nightmare hadn’t assigned any big stressors to him. Horror was capable though, and he hoped the King wasn’t-

“Next few weeks. He can’t meet the farms. I dunno how he runs those meetings.” Dust once again sliced through his thoughts with his even tone. “ ‘sides. You stayed, didn’t do your missions. Watching out for Cross. Think Night likes having us close. Already helping a lot.” 

Right. When Dust says it like that, it made his whole lot of nothing sound like everything. Sometimes he forgot Dust was an older brother. Horror chuckled a bit, and he could’ve sworn Dust’s cheekbones rose ever so slightly with the twitch of a hidden grin. He should’ve known better anyhow, Dust always knew just the right information. It was why Night hired him in the first place. 

“You’re doin’ well. Keeping things moving smooth. I’m sure the King appreciates it.” Horror voiced, before he sighed and hoisted himself to his feet. His axe was definitely done. He’d sharpen it another day. “Maybe,” A grin appeared on his face. “When he’s better, we can assign Kills to talk instead.” 

In hardly a moment, a silent moment, Dust was at his side now standing. He raised a doubtful brow at the suggestion. 

.

What is he doing? What is he doing?  

Oh, this felt so, so odd! He wasn’t- he shouldn’t! Well, he was ordered to, but still! He-

“Cross?” 

Cross jolted as he looked up from where he had made a poor attempt at excusing himself from the group outside. He’d insisted he had important business, he was sure he sounded convincing… until he’d walked through the nearest door. Which happened to be one of the weapon storage closets out amidst the training grounds. 

Now, as he turned to face the person who had spoken, he found that there was someone standing in the doorway. A familiar someone. A human with an impressive beard and dark tanned skin and scars tracing across his cheekbones ever so faintly and kind eyes with a few wrinkles under them. From age or stress, Cross wasn’t entirely sure. 

This was Captain Rogers. The King’s first in command who watched over all the royal guard as well as castle security. The man who had personally guided the batch of recruits which Cross had snuck in with during his spying mission hardly two years prior. The man who, he had swiftly learned, had seen through him very quickly and had purposely placed him with Shep as his guide. That damn liar. Captain Rogers was sharp, and skilled, and trustworthy. 

As far as he knew, the Captain had been around longer than Killer. At least, that’s what Killer had told him when he asked. He also had mentioned, and Cross had noticed, he was friends with the Head of House. Cross guessed that made sense. The captain had ensured Ccino be introduced as an important person within the castle very early on in their work here, and he had been proven very very right. 

Maybe it was that reputation Cross had seen true with his own two eyes during his stay that led him to not ask the Captain to leave as he eased his way into the weapons storage and gently closed the door behind him. He wasn’t a threat. Especially if the King trusted him with Ccino. He could know that much. 

“I’m not looking to disturb your business here, but I wanted to see if I could be of any assistance.” The Captain offered loosely. 

He’d been kind since Cross was pardoned by the King and allowed to train. His first few weeks when he fought against the Captain’s own soldiers? He and the King had both been patient with him. Something about being in combat like that again… it had brought out the worst in him. An old wound reopening in his chest like an empty chasm. He was pretty sure the King never explained to the Captain why they would suddenly stop mid-round, but Cross figured he could see the change as well as Nightmare could feel it. They’d only kept that up a few weeks until he was deemed too high of a skill level to continue training with the soldiers. He’d been moved to private training with the Knights not much later than that. Only saw the Captain in passing ever since. 

If nothing else, that time under his guidance had taught Cross that he was a man who knew how to speak with others. With security for himself and what he does, a pride in his work. He didn’t act maliciously. Perhaps only in jest or retribution to those who deserved it. He wouldn’t follow Cross in here if he hadn’t noticed him acting weird. 

That mortified him.

“Thank you. For the- for the offer, Captain Rogers.” Cross replied hurriedly, realizing he’d already been staring for a period of time that felt too long. “Though I’m not sure there’s anything that can be helped.”

The Captain was silent for a few breaths, but he did wander deeper into the shed to join Cross before the stand which he had decided to stop at in his rush to get out from the scrutinous eyes of the soldiers out there. He turned away. He could easily see the reflection of the Captain on the steel surfaces of the longswords he’d stationed himself in front of. Of course he’d stopped near the long swords. He was so predictable. 

“I’m not so sure about that, kid. I’ve seen time again how the helpless can be helped in these recent years.” He said quietly. Part of Cross knew that, with their ranking, in some ways they were meant to be equals. It never seemed that way, though. Maybe that was why Cross’ nerves were on fire. “So if I can help, I’d like to offer it to you.” 

Yeah. From what Cross had seen of the people in this castle in these two years, it made sense to him now more than ever that Nightmare would keep people like the Captain around for so long. 

Wait…

“Have you… spoken with our King recently?” Cross had to know. 

After all, he hardly saw Nightmare interact with his own soldiers. He devoted much time into his Knights, but those in lower rank hardly saw him. He didn’t seem to know their names as well as he did the servants. Did he leave all business up to the Captain for the sake of trust? Was there something he had been missing? 

He saw as the Captain glanced towards the closed door, and his eyes skimmed the rack of weapons. Checking for any signs of life in the reflection. His eyes only landed on Cross, staring right back at him in the shining steel. 

“Not directly, no. Though I have heard word from Ccino as to how he is fairing. Seen him pass by in the night a few times. He seems to be doing well, considering it all.” He voiced, his voice almost dropping to an inaudible whisper. Cross had to stop breathing to be able to hear him. “I know you see him regularly. I’m glad for that.” 

Cross nodded, mostly to himself. Yes, he figured that the Captain would know. Why else would he agree to let Cross back out among his men so easily? The King was in danger if he didn’t train these monsters. 

He took a slight breath from the silence, drinking in the scent of cleaners and musty wood.

“I wish Killer was in charge of this…” He muttered to himself, dragging his hand up to his skull to place pressure to his sockets with the heel of his palms. 

And he nearly jumped when the Captain let a laugh fall from his mouth. It was subdued, but hardy enough Cross practically felt it bounce around in his ribcage alongside his racing soul. 

“You truly believe Sir Killer would have better luck with something like this?” The Captain questioned, a slight smile still present after his raucous laugh had scared Cross to the bone. “No ill will, of course. Just… think on it. Truly.” 

Cross, part of him, felt an indignation on Killer’s behalf. For a moment he wondered if the Captain was being rude towards the Knight. The oldest of them, the most skilled, the one who stood at King Nightmare’s side. Though it only took half a second for him to recall. No, he was actually right. He couldn’t picture Killer out there on the training grounds, trying to teach swaths of people at a time. To dodge, too. Killer was a very aggressive fighter and only fled when he truly needed to. Even then, most of that work belonged to his beloved steed Granite. Killer was not the type to teach fighting lessons to a crowd. 

Though, he wondered how the Captain had come to a conclusion like that. Cross had heard that Nightmare had sparred with the Captain before. Only a few times, not even close to the kind of intense training which the Knights had to go through. That he had been training. Before Night’s change, of course. From what he’d been told. The Captain had only lasted hardly a minute. One, very impressive, minute, but still. There was no way he’d ever sparred against Killer.

“No… You are right, Killer wouldn’t be the best option here.” He admitted. “Though I get the feeling that one of the Knights would be a better fit for this sort of training…”

Of course, it went unsaid in the silence which followed that, well, the other Knights were too busy to do something like this. Dust was leading every meeting Nightmare had scheduled, and planned to continue for as long as he was needed. Killer was busy staying by the King’s side and taking on the King’s usual commoner communications. Figuring out what little issues were good to be dealt with how. As well as ‘cleaning out’ the dungeon. Cross was pretty sure they didn’t keep as many criminals as they had in the past, even when Cross was among the cells those two years ago it hadn’t been very crowded. He had a feeling that the more dangerous and violent of those below the castle had been swiftly dealt with by Killer’s blade. Horror he was pretty sure was preparing. The two of them had spent a lot of time by each other’s sides those first few days, when the King was asleep or waking for only short periods before returning to sleep. After, though, Horror received his orders to cancel his missions and prepare for the upcoming harvests which would need to be guided and recorded over the fall. Cross… Cross had only been asked to continue his training with Horror when their schedules fell in line, and to work with Killer to settle any local matters. 

He didn’t mind it so far, there had been very little to do, though. He worried he’d been sidelined. Sent to do the unimportant tasks because he wasn’t capable enough. Nightmare had smiled at him, but he seemed distressed. Cross was too, then. 

There was no way the King had chosen him to do something like this. Teach others. He couldn’t do that. 

“Well, it is a shame that you think like that. You were recommended to me for this training, you know?” The Captain crossed his arms. “By several someones, actually. Training the soldiers may have been my idea, but you were who many pointed to when I asked for assistance.” 

Cross blinked at those words in confusion. 

Who could have possibly suggested he do something like this? 

“I find that hard to believe.” He said. He’d meant it to sound a bit more joking, but it looked like it’d come out more genuine. The Captain furrowed his brow in response, and Cross attempted to backpedal, raising his hands a little. “I mean! Kidding! Just kidding!” Though his awkward chuckle obviously wasn’t contagious. 

“Look, Cross.” He huffed after those words. “If you really don’t want to do this, I can always ask for a hand from someone else. I bet Horror would do it in your stead if we reached out to him.” He offered. 

Was- was the Captain really just going to let him slip away from this? He was kind. Incredibly so. 

He wondered how it would feel to just accept. Hand off the stressful duty to Horror. Horror knew these people better anyhow, they had trained early on before Nightmare decided to offer him a position as Knight. Horror still spoke with most of them regularly. Cross, on the other hand, evaded eye contact like a kicked puppy. It would be so easy to just let Horror take over before he had to do his meeting things for the harvest season. It would be so convenient. So easy. 

“No. I’ll do it.” He said quickly. 

The Captain raised a brow, but Cross was already moving past him. Towards the door. 

“Sudden change of heart?” The Captain questioned from behind him. 

Cross took a deep inhale. One to center himself as he outstretched his hand and placed it on the knob leading back outside. 

“I don’t think I’m any good at leading or teaching, thinking on it makes me sick to my stomach… but the idea of making the others take on another responsibility is ten times worse.” He practically spat. 

No, he was not happy about this. He shoved open the door to the shed and drew his sword as he walked back towards the warm-up field where the soldiers had occupied themselves by whacking dummies with their weapons. He wanted nothing more than to turn away, out of the beating sun and watchful gazes of these people who he once hid among. He couldn’t though. Not when everyone else had some way to help. If this was Cross’ new duty, he’d do it with all the confidence he could muster. 

… Besides. They were training for fast-reaction magic attacks. He was literally the only choice for this. He’d just have to make his own training regime this time around. He could do this. 

.

Killer had done a lot of odd jobs in his past. Most of them involved stealing. Or threatening. Or killing. He had to get his name from somewhere, after all. Even so, running into town to pick up Ccino’s fabric order hadn’t been something he’d ever expected to be on his resume. 

The King was having one of his rough days. Killer hadn’t often been able to see them first-hand back in the day, but he knew they were very much there. The days he would lock himself away in his study, the Head of House the only one allowed to enter, bringing with him a cup of tea or a platter of small snacks. Staying inside for hours at a time on occasion. Killer had often guarded the door if nothing else, but the walls were thick. He couldn’t often hear the low murmuring voices within. 

Now, that the King was miniscule, Killer had been allowed to spend more time around both the King in his private spaces, as well as around Ccino. He was grateful for both opportunities. Though, today the King had looked exhausted. He’d been up for a few days trying to make that magic spell he found work, to make his eye cyan again. He wasn’t saying anything, but Killer figured it was draining his magic more than he wanted to admit. And earlier, when Dust came to deliver those reports from the meeting, Ccino had asked the two of them to stay for a while so he could collect a delivery. Only… Nightmare nearly flung himself out of his seat when he heard Ccino suggest he was leaving. The King didn’t outright say anything, but all of them knew those wide sockets were pleading. A silent beg to stay. Which was quickly followed by stray tears that he hastily noticed and covered with his sleeves. 

Emotions. He hadn’t thought the King had been such a crybaby before. Maybe he hadn’t been. Killer couldn’t blame him though. If he had to go back to being 13, with the awareness of his 13 year old self? Yeah. No. He’s pretty sure he wouldn’t make it a day. It was just that he was a crying a lot. The slightest little things would make his sockets well with tears, and then he’d try to insist he was okay and didn’t need help. Even when he would still bury into Ccino’s arms the moment they came in contact. 

That was what had happened. Ccino returned to the King’s side, and the King immediately clung to him, muttering apologies. Insisting he go out anyways. What he reacted poorly and should be able to handle himself.

Killer had looked to Dust, and Dust had just nodded at him. 

“I’ll go get the order.” Killer had offered stupidly, a little too eagerly, into the open air. 

Both Nightmare and Ccino had seemed startled, but when he promised he wanted to run into town anyways (he hadn’t) they relented and Ccino gave him the details. Dust offered wordlessly to stay and watch over the King and head of House in Killer’s absense. He knew Killer all too well. He’d have to thank him with a drink sometime.

Those tears. They just made him uncomfortable. He wasn’t good with emotions, especially not sadness. He doesn’t know quite how to fix crying. It’s not his thing. 

It just made sense for Ccino to stay and Dust to watch over them. His big brother senses must’ve been strong today, and his patience plentiful. 

He’s run to the shop, of course. A tailor shop owned by a pretty skeleton just off from the capital square. He hadn’t seemed excited to see Killer, even with that mask. A nervous energy rolling off his shoulders as he reluctantly gathered items from behind the desk and packed them carefully into the bag which Ccino had sent him with to carry the items. He’d asked about Ccino. Whether he was okay. Killer had just told him that Ccino was busy so he was running errands. They hadn’t had much more to say beyond that. 

Now, he was back in the castle, ready to present Ccino with his prize, and see if the King had been able to calm down at all. 

“My lord?” He called out as he opened the door to the study with an easy swing of wood on heavy hinges. Slipping inside was no problem, but he’d be stupid to deny that he was confused when he didn’t spot the little monarch sitting behind his too-big wooden desk piled high with paperwork. 

“Killer,” He sure knew that voice! His head swiveled until his vision fell to Ccino, sitting on one of the couches. Dust was nowhere in sight. “Perfect timing. Dust just left to meet with Horror to train… How was your trip to town?” 

Ccino, polite and reserved as always. It made Killer’s gut twist just a little. At the distance. His soul certainly wriggled in place as he made his approach, bag clutched by one hand at his side. 

“Not bad. Could’ve done with a little more action!” He joked, though as he got closer, he lowered his voice and the laugh trying to come to him simmered back into his cheshire grin. “Your little friend from the shop asked about you.” 

As Killer rounded the largest couch to stand just across the low table from Ccino, he noticed what he hadn’t prior. The King was curled up with his back to killer, arms loosely hugging to Ccino’s middle, his face buried against Ccino’s apron. A blanket normally tossed over the back of the few chairs within the room was covering him, and someone had tucked him in tight, like a bug in a rug. Even more charmingly, one of the cats took up the rest of the space on Ccino’s lap. That little calico, Princess. Her back was pressed to the back of Nightmare’s skull and she seemed perfectly content to roll up into a perfect little bun on her master’s lap. 

And despite the adorable scene, Killer didn’t miss how Ccino seemed to perk up at the mention of his friend. So they were friends, then. 

“What did you tell him?” Ccino asked, his voice quiet. One of his hands was settled gently atop Nightmare’s side, the other was free and tucked by his side. 

Killer chuckled quietly, sitting on the opposite couch as he plopped his delivery silently to the table before Ccino. 

“Nothing bad. Told him you were busy so I was out on a grocery run. Everyone knows you’re a very busy man.” He teased. Was it okay to tease him right now? Was Ccino going to be mad with him?

Well, if he was, he didn’t seem to say anything about it. Instead , he peered at the bag, then smiled a bit. 

“Well, thank you for running out, my Knight.” He returned, eyelights shifting back down to his charge who rested in the comfort and safety of his lap. …Killer had to admit to himself that he was a bit jealous. “When I have the chance, I plan to visit our tailor and ensure that our King has a wider wardrobe, since it seems he truly won’t be returning to his previous form anytime soon.” 

Right. They were still trying to keep everything under wraps, so Ccino couldn’t just send a servant with measurements to see the seamstress halfway across castle grounds. He probably had to go himself. Especially because, as Killer had quickly learned, Nightmare is particular about things. The texture of his meals, the feeling of his clothes, even the temperature of his sheets in the night or the brightness of a candle. Though, he rarely voices his discomfort. Ccino was just a master of noticing the little ways the small King would squirm or tug at his top or squint at a candle just a bit too strong for his newly sensitive eyes. He wanted to learn how to do that so well. 

His only good news on that front was that Nightmare still made a lot of the same gestures as before. His little, silent commands to Killer. At ease, be alert, with me. He was fond of still being familiar with their own little secret code they’d unintentionally invented over the years. 

“It really wasn’t a big deal. Besides, our little Lord said that it’d be better for the city to see the knights are still active, right? With Dust and Horror out of commission for day-trips, I’ve gotta pick up the slack!” he joked, leaning back comfortably into the couch and sighing. “Next time you need a break, we can always try and ask him to supervise a training for us. Maybe it’d make him feel a little better?” he suggested,

Nightmare, small as he was now, still couldn’t deny a duty which called for him. Especially, Killer assumed, from his Knights. A little of that old normality would probably be good for him. Make him feel like not much had changed. Even though… it definitely had. 

Ccino smiled a bit at that idea, his hand gently petting Nightmare’s ar. His chest rose up and down ever so gently. 

“He cherishes training with all of you so dearly. Maybe he would enjoy a small break from all of these worries.” He agreed quietly.

[skitskatdacat63]

Fernando Alonso & His Relationship With Cards

I'm sure we're all familar with the cards on the back of Fernando's Vegas GP helmet by now, but did you know his relationship with cards goes a lot deeper?

I. Magic Tricks

You've probably seen or heard someone at least mention Fernando's propensity for card tricks. As far as I can tell he was doing them(publically) as far back as 2003 all the way to as recently as 2018. Even once performing a card trick, with a condom and a teddy bear(!??!?!??!!), in front of Valentino Rossi who said "How was that possible?"(x)

But how did this start? According to James Allen, "Fernando admits to having been heavily influenced by his grandfather, a mercurial figure, who taught him magic and card tricks, still one of his passions away from the race track."(x) And I'm not sure the validity of this one, because I couldn't find an actual source, but apparently he once said: "My parents are responsible for the two things I like doing most - driving and magic tricks. They bought me my first go-kart and a magician's kit."

In several interviews he described it as his hobby off track, and that he loved learning new tricks and surprising others in the garage with them! So clearly cards are pretty important to him both as a hobby but also to who he is as a person since they've been with him just as long as racing has.

II. Card Symbolism in His Helmets

This is the reason I originally made this post, but I thought I should also explain the origins of his card fascination first. As I said, we probably all remember the cards on the back of his helmet in Vegas, but did you know that wasn't the first time he had cards on the back of his helmet?

From 2008-2013, he used to have a pair of cards on the back of his helmets. The symbolisms of the cards themselves as well as the evolution of their design is really fascinating to me! Even more so with the recent development of the card choice in 2023.

Fernando said he wanted to reference his two titles in some way on the back of his helmet and after his friend sent him several ideas, he decided on having two cards(an ace of clubs and an ace of hearts, sometimes pictured with 05 and 06 on them as well), saying: "I picked the cloverleaf [the ace of clubs - Ed] to give me luck, but the only pity is that it doesn't have four leaves!"(X)

2008.

Here's the very first appearance of the cards! They're displayed flat, with the 05 and 06 clearly visible

2009.

Very similar to 2008, but with a slightly different design, and they're maybe a bit more straight with less shadow?

2010.

This is the first major change! I was sad they didn't have the years on them anymore, but then I realized they're sparkly to match with his signature lightning bolts on the top of the helmet!!

2011.

Honestly I'm still somewhat unsure if this is the actual 2011 helmet? It's pretty difficult to find clear photos of the back of helmets from older seasons. It's easiest to find them on replica sites or auction sites so I'm not 100%? But anyways, I like that this has the championship years on the underside of the cards

2012.

This is when I started getting weirdly emotional about the helmets. Do you see how they've progressed from being a centerpoint to being curled up and sad at the bottom of the helmet? Not listing the year anymore??

2013.

Same thoughts as 2012. And after this season, they cease to exist (just like his ferrari chair in the garage, WOAH CALLBACK), until cards make a reeappearance in his Vegas helmet, albeit in a different form

2013 Monaco(Honorable Mention):

For some reason 2013 helmets were easier to find proper pictures of, so I happened to witness this absolute beauty. The creativity of this helmet genuinely blows me away??? Wanting to keep the card motif, but making sure to incorporate it into the rest of the puzzle piece design?? Mwah! There was another special 2013 helmet but they didn't change the cards at all so I really applaud this one

2023 Las Vegas(The Return of The King):

The magnificent return! But look! The cards are different cards! Instead of being two aces, it's now an ace of hearts, a four of hearts(his driver number of course!) and, the, now iconic, representation of himself as a Joker. I literally could not believe my eyes when this helmet was released and I saw the Joker card, what a fucking silly old man....I really wonder if he felt nostalgic having cards on his helmet again or if he didn't think about it all and was just like, "ah cards because Vegas!!!"

III. Why Does This Matter?

*The rest of the post was factual, this is moreso my personal thoughts on the symbolism of the cards/designs

This post spawned from me recently watching the 2010 Bahrain gp and noticing "hey wait a minute...are those CARDS ON THE BACK OF HIS HELMET!?" It's a really tiny detail that's unfortunately covered up by the HANS device pretty much whenever he's wearing the helmet, so it's really difficult to spot! But I became fascinated with the fact that he had cards on his helmet before that recent helmet, and now here we are!

There's something to me about how the design of the cards evolves over the course of six seasons from the cards being front and center to being smaller, more folded up and closer to the bottom of the helmet. As I said, the 2012-2013 ones genuinely made me depressed because it feels, symbolically, like his hopes for getting another Ace are becoming more and more unlikely and falling away until they eventually fall falt and fade away entirely after 2013 and disappear for basically a decade.

But when they return? They're not the same cards! Instead of representing Fernando's championships, they now represent him as a person, displaying his driver number and his persona of being a Joker!! Though I do think it's interesting he happened to keep the Ace of Hearts, even though he talked more about the Ace of Clubs before. I'm not sure it's actually this deep in reality, but I like to think that it's him not letting his championships(and the lack thereof) define him, but rather letting who he is as a person shine and be the centerpoint instead! But on a sadder note, as @suzuki-ecstar said to me, maybe the Aces aren't there anymore because he's lost all hope for a chance at a third Ace entirely :(

[watsonbee]

I’m so sorry you’ve been struggling with motivation lately, I know how awful it can be trying to piece together even a bit of motivation and creative energy to write literally anything lol, plus the crushing pressure to make it amount to impossible standards is draining to say the least *_* but I truly do hope it gets better ♥️♥️

And I’m honestly not trying to blow smoke here but even if this creative rut last longer than expected I want you to know that you’re writing is fantastic.

I’m trying to think of some super poetic way to convey what I mean but all of your works are undoubtedly kick ass =] everything from the way you describe things, the ridiculous way you’re able to set a scene and atmosphere with words, to the characters themselves, is fully fleshed out and astonishing in such a real way. It’s hard to describe but your writing always feels like a decadent cake with all the fancy boops and bits on it but it’s also filling like a five course meal???? Idk if that makes sense??😭

I can tell from the way you hold your stories you really do love your characters (despite all the evil things you put them through /j) and even if you decide to post something in a few weeks to a few months, or even if you keep all your evil little writings (/j) in your drafts forever just never stop writing. You really do have a talent so don’t psych yourself out—don’t compare it to past or future or others’ writing—just write what you feel like.

I don’t mean to come barging in with this long ass post but this is something I’ve had to tell myself over and over again multiple times ^^^ your writing is worth being written no matter the time, place, or assumed quality. One of the many things that makes your writing amazing is because it’s distinctively you. Please don’t forget that.

Sincerely, a stranger from the internet (I don’t really do the whole interaction thing a lot so I hope this is all coherent and I used the tone tags correctly lol)

maybe ‘all dolled up’ for conditioned whumpee’s bingo card? thank you if you choose to!

[masterlist]

CW: pet whump, dehumanisation, burning (mentioned) Today must be the special day, and the Ashtray is vibrating with excitement. This is what all his previous existence has been leading up to. He was made for this.

Some workers come in, clasping a beautifully shimmering golden collar around his neck. He doesn’t move, even as it strains against his throat as he painfully swallows. It is wonderful. To be adorned with such a collar, more expensive than some of the other, lesser objects, is all the praise he needs. 

Ashtray is gorgeous and pure. Untouched. He is a fast learner, something that can’t be said for every Companion Object. His Handler said, it made him special. 

A different pair of workers enters his pen, holding a flowing blue gown and ribbons of the same colour to decorate his hair and wrists. Glowing on his porcelain skin.

They talk in hushed tones, but Ashtray doesn’t try to listen. Ever since they transferred him, he hasn’t understood a single word. Even his Handler now talks in a tongue he can’t comprehend, and Ashtray doesn’t know what happened, what he did Wrong.

He can’t be that bad, because if he was Bad, he wouldn’t be decorated, he wouldn’t be sold in such a celebratory manner. 

When the workers are satisfied, they clink an equally golden chain to his collar and lead him to the next room, where his Handler waits for him. He grasps the chain and pulls Ashtray close, nearly making him trip. But Ashtray is Good, so he gracefully catches himself. 

For the first time in what must have been weeks? Months? Ashtray understands a single word. An Order. 

Handler Thorn holds Ashtray, struggling not to choke as the collar constricts his burned throat, up to his face, and whispers in his ear, „Behave.“ 

Despite the underlying threat, Ashtray feels a rush of warmth blooming on his chest. He knows he will behave. It is written in his DNA. Ashtray cannot exist if he doesn’t behave. The two are intertwined. 

His Handler leads him through the big black door, that he has never consciously passed, not even when they transferred him. This time, he is awake and aware of every motion. 

At first, Ashtray blinks against the blinding light. Then his eyes fall upon the person he was created for. He steps towards her and immediately drops to his knees, in one perfect, fluid motion.

His Mistress wears an elegant, silky black suit and bright red heels, complementing her blushed lips. She is everything his soul yearned for. 

When she opens her mouth, her voice washes over him like a warm shower. His heartbeat quickens, a blissful feeling spreading in his chest. For the first time since he opened his eyes, Ashtray feels Whole. Fulfilled. 

His Mistress crouches down gracefully and holds his face in her flawlessly manicured hands. Lightly, she twists his head left and right, looking for any blemishes.

She finds none. Of course. 

Her satisfied grin rushes through his veins like a drug. 

Ashtray is glad, he lives up to her high standards, despite the last-minute change. He can still feel the remnants, his throat an open sore. Though Ashtray has gotten used to the constant burning of a cigarette, the feeling of the soft, sensitive tissue of his mouth and throat boiling, while strapped to a table, is a memory Ashtray struggles to contain. 

His only saving grace is the knowledge, that it will never be repeated. There is no need, when his voice was forever swept away by the scalding water poured into him. 

It is good this way. Another step to perfection he always strives for. 

Why would an Ashtray need to speak when being pretty and useful is all he needs to be?

Taglist: @whumpsday, @2in1whump, @sodacreampuff, @webbo0, @toyybox, @whumpshaped, @clickerflight, @itsawhumpsideblog, @piniatafullofblood, @katwriteswhump @opaldream16, @whumped-by-glitter, @whump-queen, @electrons2006, @vampirewhump @saffitaffi, @silly-scroimblo-skrunkl, @thatbigbrownbird let me know if you want to be added or removed :)

[cassiskurocorner]

Try not to make Sebastian have heated eye contact with another man challenge (Impossible edition)

[vaguely-concerned]

I feel that during the first coffee date walk through the market, rye has a fraction of a millisecond's kneejerk trauma freakout of '...wait. wait. am I really catching feelings for a rich boy again. with how that went down last time. am I truly that stupid' (once derogatorily referred to quite openly at a party as 'young master anaxas' pet mortalitasi' to which the young master anaxas only grinned and shrugged and STILL you don't break up with his smug controlling ass for good for six more months because you have a desperate bottomless yearning pit where your self respect should go, twice shy lol). and then he actually looks at lucanis standing next to him getting harding spearmint to help with bad dreams and generally being so quietly thoughtful and sweet through the prosaic yet necessary medium of grocery shopping it makes me feel a little unwell to truly contemplate. and rye is like '*the softest fondest eyes anyone has ever turned on anything* ...you know what. I suspect we don't have to worry about that repeating, I think we're probably safe. I am comfortable being this level of stupid. (slowly dawning marital intent even at this stage)'.

(part of the reason rye buys NONE of illario's bullshit at all right from the beginning is that he's basically vaccinated against this exact type of dude after that relationship lol. charming suave guy who in the beginning pays you a lot of lavish attention and takes pains to make you feel special every time you're in a room with him -- but shallowly and mostly, it slowly dawns on you, when there's something he wants from you (and he's often doing it at the expense of someone else, raising you up to put someone else down and you won't believe this... it can turn into a seesaw at a whim. yay). and beneath that there's just a seething pit of resentment and inferiority complexes and bitterness left to fester until he can make it everyone else's problem and that IS going to start to bubble up between the cracks with you too if you stick around for long enough. no thank you been there done that wasted my youth and potential on it and all I got was this lousy shiny set of new emotional intimacy issues haunting me for life! trust me illario I HAVE, as it were, chosen the wrong dellamorte before, which is exactly how I know I didn't this time. go get him lucanis I've got your coffee

hilarious mental image: rye and illario sitting quietly together while everyone else is busy milling about during a cursed dellamorte family dinner (the vibes are so bad. you know the vibes are bad. sitting as still as you can and hoping for calm skies is your best bet without lucanis or teia favourite child privileges to work with) and rye out of the blue gazing thoughtfully into nothing over the edge of his glass with half-lidded eyes to go 'you know. you remind me a lot of my ex. not in a good way' and illario with absolutely no shame and hilariously also something that's the closest he ever gets to real sympathy going 'yeah, I get that a lot'. best talk those two ever had, unironically. their bond leveled up to its final form that day. *soulsborne boss defeated text* MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING REACHED)