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[Drabble] Meet The 𝕄𝕆ℕ𝕊𝕋𝔼ℝ

    This drabble is a sequel to “Life On Rewind.”

             “𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣.”

                                           “Disgusting.”

                                                                                “Freak.”

The words echoed in his ears even as he tried to block them out, golden eyes squeezing shut for half a second before forcing themselves back open; he couldn’t afford to be blind in public, after all. Jaw set, those hidden fangs grit lightly together, occasionally nicking his own gums in an effort to stay calm, to ignore the insults that carried over from the crowd of people. 

       You would think that these East Enders would have better things to do.                                                                                         Apparently not, though.

The shop-keep’s voice was closer, but for some reason, that was the one that Snake could barely hear. It was like the less vile things being said had went under-water, the cruelty taking center stage even when it wasn’t. A quiet intake of air, and the snake charmer shifted to drop crumpled notes onto the baker’s counter, keeping his hands concealed by long black sleeves all the while, before snatching up the bread he’d come for. Small enjoyments in life, but it was one of the few items he still deemed ‘worth’ being in public for. 

Shopping for a few necessities shouldn’t have been this much of a hassle, but when you’re a broke half-human with anxiety through the roof, it turned into a full day event. Even when the actual trip didn’t take that long, the recovery time certainly did, and while Emily’s presence around his neck was a comfort, it still wasn’t enough to keep him fully grounded right now.

          “Creepy.”

                              “Abomination.”

                                                           “𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣.”

                                                                                             “Freak.”

Pale hands shook as he turned away from the baker’s shop, keeping his head down so that the collar of his jacket covered the majority of his cheeks - not enough to hide the patches of scales that vividly stood out against his skin, but it was an attempt. Emily curled tighter around him from her perch, striped pattern trying to distract from her half-human counterpart’s appearance, and a small tongue flicked out over one of his scales in comfort. The charmer sighed, free hand reaching to lightly pet the creature as he moved through the crowd.

Comments continued to fill the air, and the longer they went on, the more he had to bite back acidic replies. Speaking had never been a strong suit of Snake’s, and it honestly never would be, but in the right mind-set, he was more than capable of spitting venom back at people. Naturally, this was more trouble than was typically called for, and as Wordsworth would have said, they weren’t actually worth the energy. Trying to remember that, however, was a task these days.

Emily hissed softly from where she’d curled around him - gentle and apologetic noises, and occasionally something that would actually translate to English...

        "𝔽𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜.”

                  𝒥𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝑔𝓃𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂, 𝒮𝓃𝒶𝓀𝑒.

                               “Gross.”

                                       𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉.

                                                       “Monster.”

                                                              𝐼𝓉’𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉, 𝓌𝑒’𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝒽𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝑜𝓃.

Shaking in his movements, the half-human tried to nod along with her reassurances, boots falling heavily against the ground as he moved past people. He just had to get home, and then everything would be fine.

                                   Just breathe, keep walking, don’t listen to their shit.

Eventually, the snake charmer had managed to get back to his apartment, crouching to let Emily slither off him and greet their other companions before moving to the ‘kitchen’ - which was actually just a counter with a few scattered belongings, and not much else. Swallowing down the bile that had rose in his distressed state, he tugged open the plastic wrap and chewed at a piece of his bread. Toxin-dripping fangs gnawed into it, focusing more on the texture and being able to bite at something than he was the actual food, and after a long few moments, it was getting a little easier to breathe.

Shopping trips were never pleasant, but the more he went on, the more he hated them. The more he hated everything about all of this, actually. And, not to mention, the more he hated the general population. Every single one of them was cruel, heartless, ignorant and awful—

     “Mᴀʏʙᴇ ʏᴏᴜ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ɢᴏ ᴏᴜᴛ. Cᴀʟᴍ ᴅᴏᴡɴ.”

                “Why the Hell would g-going out c-calm me d-down, Oscar?”

                                                “Gᴏ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀʀ ᴏʀ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ. Hᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ғᴇᴡ ᴅʀɪɴᴋs.”

It hadn’t been a good idea, and there was a part of Snake that had known from the second Oscar had opened his mouth that his newest idea, however well-meant it may have been, wasn’t going to be a good one. But, for the sake of trying to get back into the swing of things, he had agreed, tugging his collar up extra high and trucking off to the nearest bar. 

The place was lit rather dimly, which to be fair was a good sign. Apart from maybe the bartender, who didn’t comment as Snake ordered his drink, nobody was going to notice his strange features unless they got too close. Considering his antisocial habits, that wasn’t likely. Maybe, he mused as whiskey swirled in his glass, this would actually be enjoyable—

                                        “Hey there, sweetie.”

Golden eyes flashed to follow the voice, catching sight of a young woman who was likely only a few years older than him. Pretty enough in appearance, and she did have a kind smile; he may have even been briefly interested, if it hadn’t been for her voice. For the fact that, for all the kindness that pretty face showed, he recognized her from earlier. 

                                                                             'Monster.’

A frown curled onto his lips near immediately, and another quick sip of whiskey was taken, gloved hand clutching the glass a touch tighter than before. It was obvious that she didn’t realize who he was, hadn’t noticed his abnormalities under the dim lights of the bar, but this kindness... it was just another facade, another act in the show of life.

                        “H-Hello...”

Singular, but even that much felt forced right now. He hadn’t come here to chat, especially not with someone as awful as this girl, but here he was, and causing a fuss right now.. that would just mean public confrontation — no thank you.

A few drinks passed after that, and the woman continued to chat with him - probably too drunk to really be speaking with a stranger in a bar, considering that even when she shifted closer to flirt, she seemed to miss the irritated flash of his fangs. What an ignorant fool...

Before he knew it, she was talking again, hand curling around his arm and tugging drunkenly.

                                                              “Come on, lets get out of here..~”

                                                “W-Why?”

                                   “Oh, don’t play games like that, gorgeous~”

                            'Monster.’

          “Fine.”

Twenty minutes later, maybe a little more or a little less, Snake found himself in a hotel room with the cruel harlot that had been so quick to pine for his attention. He’d kept his head down the entire walk, collar pulled purposefully into place, but it wasn’t like the creature was stupid - this wouldn’t go anywhere, not once she noticed just who she had invited back here with her.

                               But that was fine.                                           He really wasn’t here for that anyways.

The girl slipped into the connecting bathroom, making some passing comment about ‘freshening up’ that was probably supposed to be seductive. He waved her off, waiting patiently for the door to click shut before reaching up, tugging the laces of his jacket out of place to take it off and toss it onto the dresser. Golden eyes glowed softly in the dark of the room, something that should have set a much different mood than it currently did. Leaning back against a wall, the snake charmer waited, counting silently to himself, fingers twitching at his side.

It wasn’t long before the bathroom door opened and, once it had, Snake reached out, curling an arm around the girl’s waist to pull her close. At first, this was met with intoxicated giggles, arms wrapping around him in return, a half-naked body pressing up against him... That is, until she looked up, until baby blue’s met toxic gold, until his lips went from smiling to curling into a feral snarl, fangs flashing dangerously.

                                                        ‘Monster.’

                                                                                      “Wha—!?”

His free hand slipped up in a flash, gloved fingers pressing into her throat to cut off the words of panic. Far too easily, the woman was turned in his grip, his other hand clamping over her mouth, and his pale lips ghosting over her skin as he spoke. The hesitation was gone from his voice, venom coating the words, quiet as ever but much, much darker now.

             “Meet the monster...                                  That people like you helped to create.”

Fangs sunk into her throat, and near-instantly the taste of blood filled his senses. Golden eyes fluttered shut, and the low hiss that left him seemed to echo in the small hotel room. There was something uncannily special about the blood of humans, something intoxicating about it that the typical prey just couldn’t quite live up to. It had been ages since his fangs had ripped into human flesh, since he’d held any desire to hurt somebody like this, but from the moment it occurred, it was familiar and natural once more. 

                              A predator can’t really change its nature, after all.

Her shout was muffled part by the asphyxiation to her neck, part by the gloved hand sealed over her mouth - like the silent screams that had so often plagued him, nobody was going to hear her cry for help. She tried to fight, struggling in his arms and pushing at his chest, whimpering against the hand that helped to silence her. An admirable thing to do, in most any other situation, but in the case of being trapped in a predator’s jaws, it’s typically better not to struggle. After all, her attempt only served to remind him that, for this particular instance, the human was the prey - and what predator in their right mind was about to let go of that?

It wasn’t all too long before the venom from his fangs went into effect, destroying the blood chemistry and causing the girl’s nervous system to completely glitch out. She twitched in his arms, whimpers of pain losing their coherency, and he didn’t have to wait much more after that point. Soon enough, she slumped against him, her heart failing under the weight of the toxins...

Pulling back from the bite, the charmer’s forked tongue flicked over his own lips, then over the wound on the corpse’s throat, hissing softly. There was a moment of nothing, and then he dropped her onto the ground, swallowing the remaining blood that had pooled in his mouth. It wasn’t like anyone could link this back to him, not really - most people didn’t even believe in such a creature’s existence - so there wasn’t any reason to worry about ‘covering up the crime.’ If this, for all the horror behind it, could even be called a crime.

Instead, he merely shook his head, stepping over to the dresser to grab his jacket. Gold eyes locked on the reflection in the mirror, taking in the way white hair had fallen out of place, the scarlet liquid that still smeared his lips and had dribbled down his chin. Distant voices called in the back of his mind, his family and friends telling him that these harsh of methods weren’t necessary, but he couldn’t bring himself to care anymore. Licking her blood from his lips, he reached up to absently wipe the rest away, and then tugged his jacket on, adjusting the collar. His eyes flashed, taking one final look into the mirror, and a single thought echoed over the rest:

                                                          ‘Monster.                                       That’s what you asked for, gorgeous.’

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[Drabble] Life On Rewind

It was never supposed to be like this again - feeling like a complete freak, alone in a world far too cruel for someone so soft spoken. Joining the circus, that was supposed to mark the day that all of those terrible thoughts stopped; it hadn’t been a perfect existence, but he hadn’t been alone, and by God, those people loved him to pieces. Slowly easing away the shell of fear that the previous humans in his life had caused, opening his heart to the prospect of a family, taking care of him... They had done so much for him, and so he wasn’t supposed to ever feel like this again.

But now they were gone. The snake charmer’s entire world had went up in smoke, like an explosion in the middle of a hurricane, like one of those dreams that abruptly twists into a nightmare from Hell. Gone without a trace, all except the fact that their disappearances lined up with Smile and Black’s own. It was only logical to blame them, to assume that the two events coincided somehow, but as logic was the start, emotion easily followed. A hate formed, starting in the back of his subconscious but quickly pushing to the forefront of his mind, and before he knew it, there was a plan in place.

Killing them, or at least Smile, that should have given some sense of justice to the situation. At the very least, it should have eased the hatred that had so swiftly flooded the circus performer's system...

Unfortunately, none of those events went according to plan; Smile survived and, in the end, had the nerve to offer that Snake stay with him. It would be for the best, the kid had told him, if they worked together - despite their differing reasons - to find the missing cast members of Noah’s Ark Circus. And for just a moment, Snake may have even bought that load of garbage. However, after a bit of dwelling on the subject, it was easy to tell that something was off about the entire story. Maybe his family had been kidnapping children, but there had to have been a reason for it, and even then, the idea that they’d simply went into hiding? It didn’t add up; they wouldn’t have left him alone like this - Joker wouldn’t have left him alone like this! Not without some kind of warning or explanation! 

Declining the invitation to stay with Lord Phantomhive, though the charmer had a hard time thinking of the boy with such formality, that went smoothly enough. He’d given a half-hearted promise that he wouldn’t be attempting to murder Smile again, at least not any time in the near future, and with that, he’d been on his way. There was something remarkably inhuman about Black, the butler, and so for now, attempting to kill his Master seemed pointless. Even hatred can be logical, and so despite the fact that his newfound detest burned brighter than ever, Snake had left without much other comment. For the moment, it simply wasn’t worth risking his own neck over. Though, for the sake of honesty here, that inhuman butler was the only thing keeping Snake from ripping Smile’s throat out with his own fangs right about now...

Returning to the circus, that’s probably what he should have done after putting the whole ‘murder Smile’ plan on a shelf. And he did return briefly, making sure that the second string members had figured out replacement acts. Unfortunately, he couldn’t relax there anymore; every tent was another memory, and the longer that his family was gone, the more the others wanted to say that they wouldn’t be coming back. He didn’t doubt that, but hearing the rumors, it made the half-human nauseous every single time...

                             He couldn’t stay there, not really. 

A small apartment in a less than pleasant area of London, one not far from the East End where his family had once lived, that’s where the snake charmer now called ‘home’ - though it wasn’t much of one. His companions, apart from a couple that still kept watch over his old tent at the camp of Noah’s Ark Circus, they stayed there with him. He couldn’t function without them, after all, and besides, it helped to quell the loneliness a little bit.

Times were tough for everyone. The second-stringers weren’t well known and their acts were sub-par in comparison to the old stars of the show; they were barely making enough money to stay afloat, and it wasn’t like Snake had the means to help them. He wasn’t stable enough to be around that many people, and it wasn’t like he had a ‘nest egg’ that he could use to pay for their expenses. Everything had went down the drain, and he couldn’t even help the family’s friends...

He hadn’t been like this in ages, scared and alone and full of hate towards the majority of the human population. For years, Joker or one of the others had been there to keep him from being frightened, to keep him from feeling alone, to remind him that not all humans were bad people...

                                                             Not anymore.

Life had taken as many wrong turns as it possibly could, and just as his companions were eating mice, that’s about the point that he’d reached as well. Fresh blood wasn’t something that he’d tasted in ages, and it likely should have turned his stomach to think of what his family would have said about it, but it wasn’t even difficult to adjust to. Actually, after getting past the initial shock of it all, getting over the fact that his life felt like a tape set to ‘Rewind’, he didn’t mind that part of the changes that had occurred. 

Chalk that up to yet another thing that, if they somehow were alive, Snake wouldn’t be telling his family about later.

                     “...But really, what are the odds of that?”

Softly spoken words, they came out in the form of a sigh, finally allowing a bit of his internal monologue to slip into the real world. Sprawled back on the  mattress he’d been using as a bed, he frowned until his fangs bit into the inside of his own mouth, then sighed again, forked tongue flicking out irritably. He’d been laying around the apartment all day, dwelling on everything that had happened, and the longer he did so, the more his companions hissed in concern. Though they had been quiet for a while now, so—

    “𝔖𝔫𝔞𝑘𝔢, 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔡𝔡𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱?          𝔜𝔬𝔲’𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔮𝔲𝔦𝔢𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔲𝔰𝔲𝔞𝔩 𝔱𝔬𝔡𝔞𝑦.”

                                   “𝐵𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒾𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓈 𝑜𝒻𝒻 𝓊𝓈, 𝒮𝓃𝒶𝓀𝑒.”

                                                                 “Tнαт’ѕ wнαт we’re нere ғor!”

A low hiss fell from his own tongue, golden eyes narrowing at the three of them. They stopped, but it was easy to tell that they weren’t happy about it; if his companions were good at anything, and they were actually good at quite a few things, it was speaking their minds. Especially when around him, somebody that could actually understand their commentary and respond to it.

     “Wordsworth, it’s n-nothing we haven’t already d-discussed.                        The odds of the others b-being alive... slim t’ none.”

A pause followed as the snake charmer rolled over onto his side to look at the other two properly, forked tongue clicking against his fangs in thought.

                                “I’m out of ideas, Emily.                                       And I know, Keats, but I’m s-still out of them.”

The three animals hissed in unison, but it wasn’t exactly words this time - just concerned, apologetic noises; something he could understand the meaning of, but nothing that he could translate into actual words for them. Rolling onto his back, the charmer reached to snatch another mouse from the ground as it attempted to scamper away; the foolish little creature must have thought that the predators in the room were too distracted to notice it. Panicked chitters filled the room, and a quiet scoff was the only response Snake offered to the poor thing. 

                                            “I need a drink...                                                                                     Here, Wordsworth.”

Tossing their prey in the viper’s general direction, Snake pulled himself from the mattress and stalked into the connecting kitchen, snatching that dusty bottle from the counter.

Joker’s whiskey... He’d taken it from the ringleader’s tent, to deter the younger second-stringers from going in there and rummaging through things. The hope had been that Joker would show back up and they’d have a drink together, laugh over the absurdity that he would have ever left Snake alone. But after this long, that hope was a fleeting one, and as the bottle was spun open, as amber liquid burned the half-human’s lips, he found that it didn’t matter. If Joker was alive.. somehow, somewhere.. then he could always replace the whiskey later.

           “Here’s to us...                         ...I’m n-never going to be myself with you gone, y-you know.”

       A bitter chuckle, another sip of whiskey.

               “I know...                                ‘N-No reason to st-stutter if it’s just you’, right?                                                           Can’t seem t’ help it these days...”

       A pause to blink back unshed tears.

                                       “Everything’s s-so f-fucked up without you...”

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This is just a friendly reminder that this blog is still under construction.

[Out Of Acts;]

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Tag Dump: IC Specifics

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Tag Dump: Inner-Circus Relationships

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[Drabble] Date Night (Peter & Wendy)

It was just another night at the camp of Noah’s Ark Circus...

The performance had been spot-on, the audience left in absolute awe as it nearly always was, and despite the tiring acts they’d put on, the circus performers were all in a good mood from it. Still, this did little to settle the heavy weight that they all carried, and after the show was over, dinner went by quietly. After all, there wasn’t much to talk about in their dark little world, not when everyone was content to ignore the problems surrounding their lives. So, a long evening of performing, a peaceful dinner, and then everyone split up to retire to their tents.

Well, everyone except Peter and Wendy.

For them, tonight was something a bit different than most: Date night. An evening spent together, to toss away a couple’s worries and just be together. It wasn’t something that anyone in the circus got often, but the trapeze artists made a point of it, whenever they could at least.

The funny thing about it was, had anyone else known the two’s plans, they would have assumed it was Wendy’s idea. After all, she was the calmer of the pair, and certainly the sweeter, and that aside, it was just expected that the female of the two would have been the one to want something like date night...

This wasn’t the case in the slightest. Rather, Peter had been the one to originally prompt the idea of date nights. Wendy had always been his number one, and there wasn’t even a number two on that list as far as he was concerned. That aside, he was sick and tired of always fussing, always being the small bubble of cruelty in their group; at the end of the day, what he was really tired of was having to fuck-face—and there really wasn’t a better term for the expression that so frequently ended up glued to his features—over what was going on... An evening to just forget about it, throw it all to the side, and spend time with his fellow trapeze artist was, in his book, not a lot to ask for. 

So the idea had been prompted, and over the past few months, the couple had done everything in their power to make such a thing possible at least once a week. Usually, this was just like tonight - after a show and an awkward dinner, when they both just really wanted to r e l a x.

Collapsing onto the beat-up grass, Peter let out a tired sigh, fingers tapping against the ground impatiently for just a few seconds before Wendy arrived at his side, taking a seat with a touch more grace than her partner had shown. The boy’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her a bit closer, and for a couple solid minutes, there was nothing but silence between the pair of little ones...

Eventually, the silence was broken by Wendy, who had upturned her head to look at the stars above them, a small smile curling her lips.

                                        “You were right, Peter...                                                                             This is nice.”

And it was, because for all the world, this is what the two had needed in their lives. Sure, everything was a little bizarre around here, and things were far from perfect in their makeshift family, but... this was nice. Just the two of them, under the stars, Peter’s arm wrapped around her small shoulders, with nothing to worry about—if only for this short while—but each other and the starlight on their faces.

So for the first time in a long time, a genuine smile appeared on the boy’s face, and after shifting so that Wendy’s head was propped on his shoulder, he nuzzled into her hair. The reply, when it came a few breathes longer than expected, was in a softer voice than any of the other performer’s would ever hear it. After all, in such a cruel would, gentleness had to be saved for his number one.

                                        “Yeah...                                                     Love you, Wendy.”

A quiet giggle, the press of tiny lips against the fabric of his costume, and then Wendy’s own murmur filled the silence just as briefly as their other comments.

                                        “I love you too, Peter...                                                                              Always.”

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“Looks like there’s a touch o’ truth to the saying that folks aren’t always as they seem. Ye’ve got such a little body … yet your stage names are ‘The Queen’s Watchdog’ and 'The Aristocrat of Evil.’ Must’ve 'ad a rough go of it, eh, Smile?” -Joker

Kuroshitsuji Aesthetics  {7/∞}

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Tag Dump: Joker

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Tag Dump: Snake

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Tag Dump: Dagger

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Tag Dump: Beast

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Tag Dump: Doll

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Tag Dump: Wendy

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Tag Dump: Peter

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Tag Dump: General