#꒰☆彡꒱— karma writes

[trafficlife]

I Could Even Learn How To Love (Like You)

As the last greens on Limited Life, Tango and Scott are hiding from the yellows on the server. They bump into each other underground and temporarily team up, until they can naturally turn yellow. There is some tension, but not the kind that Tango anticipated...

word count: 2192

AO3 link

(inspired by this artwork)

"He's here! He's here, I can hear him!"

"No- No he isn't."

"Etho, don't protect him! This is for peace!"

"Well, he's not here, so you can just turn around and look somewhere else."

"You know, even with the mask covering half your face, you are terrible at hiding your facial expressions when you're lying."

Tango, several blocks underneath Grian and Etho, threw a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. He kept his low stance, mining through the stone, his fiery hair being his only source of light. He didn't think being one of the last greens on the server would be so intense. But at the same time, it was pretty hilarious, hearing Grian shout in frustration whenever Tango squeaked "polo" in response to hearing his name.

The commotion from Joel, Grian, the clockers, and the rest of team T.I.E.S. changed in volume several times, giving Tango's heart constant whiplash. If anything was going to kill Tango at this moment, it would be these heart attacks.

Tango heard stones breaking from above and bit back a gasp, deciding to move down. Unfortunately for him, his pick broke and he didn't have a spare on him. He cursed and sets down his crafting table, quickly crafting a new pick as the stone-breaking noises became louder and louder. 

Just as he was about to pick up his crafting table, he heard a hushed scream from above, then a thud as someone fell directly onto him. 

"Ow..." Tango opened his eyes and found Scott sitting on him, smiling sheepishly. Tango almost forgot how exquisite Scott's new outfit was. As one of the "mean gills," he went above and beyond with his aquatic theme. Coral and seaweed wrapped around his cyan hair and arms. A couple of scales were visible on Scott's skin as well. Tango assumed they'd be more prominent once Scott became yellow or red. He always went above and beyond with his designs, which was something Tango never really appreciated until now. "Ah, hey Scott. Nice to see you dropping in."

Scott rolled his eyes, crawling off of Tango. "Haha. Come on, we need to move. I have no idea where Martyn is but he's covering for me..." He took Tango's hand and helped him up, took out a pickaxe, and continued to mine. "I am hoping we can find a cave," Scott whispered, "and that nobody is in the cave ready to ambush us."

Tango nodded, following close behind, and covering their tracks with the blocks Scott mined. He and Scott never really talked in these games, save for some hellos. But Tango always wanted to talk to Scott, to apologize for taking Jimmy from him last season. He knew about the flower husbands, and how much Jimmy and Scott loved each other. But Double Life came along. And Tango was bound to Jimmy. And they fell in love as if 3rd Life never happened. Though Scott didn't seem to care, he was good at hiding his emotions, masking them with a smile. Who knows what Scott thought about the situation? 

But it was a terrible time to apologize now. Any noise they made would've alerted the group. It didn't help that they were outnumbered. Yet, Tango knew he couldn't hold his tongue much longer. And what if they never got the chance to be alone again? He took a deep breath, his tail flicking behind him. "Scott..."

Still mining, Scott turned his head to face Tango, making his face burn up. Void, he was pretty. But he couldn't get distracted this fast—just apologize and get it over with. "I'm sorry." 

Scott arched a brow. "For what?"

"You know... Jimmy."

"Ah." There was silence, save for Scott's pickaxe (which was much slower now) and the muffled commotion coming from above. How was it that Jimmy's name held so much weight? Scott managed a smile. "You don't have to apologize for that, you know. It was just the mechanics of the game."

"Really?" Tango was surprised. "I thought you'd be upset about that. It was kind of a shitty thing I did, taking Jimmy from you..."

Scott sighed. "Tango, if we were still at the beginning of Double Life, and I saw the message of you and Jimmy dying, I'd probably make it my mission to cause you hell."

"So... You hated that we were soulmates at first?"

Scott nodded, a little embarrassed to admit it. "I was upset, for a while. But then I learned I was teamed up with Pearl..." He shuddered, as though trapped in powder snow. Fitting imagery for the woman who often froze herself to spite Scott. "You know how that ended; I went off with Cleo and I felt good. And then I realized I have no reason to hate you. Yes, you 'stole' Jimmy from me, but you still made him happy. And I think that's what matters more—that Jimmy is happy."

Tango nodded slowly, his tail swaying behind him. He remembered watching his former soulmate go off with Joel, shouting "Sorry, rancher!" as he left. Tango would have been mad if Jimmy didn't look so happy. Tango always adored it when Jimmy smiled and he wanted to make sure that smile was permanent. And if it meant a slight change in scenery, so be it.

"Besides," Scott continued, "it's a new season and it's fair that Jimmy wants a change in pace. It's the only way we can grow."

"Right. We can't stay stuck in the past."

"Exactly!" Scott put his pickaxe away and leaned into Tango, his breath gently tickling the blaze's lips. "And, not to be self-indulgent, but I like to think I've grown." 

"I think I can agree with that," Tango whispered, eyes flicking down to Scott's lips.

"You know, Tango, I used to think about why Jimmy loved you so much. At first, it was because I was jealous. But now, I think I understand better now. Except..." There was a mischievous glint in Scott's green eyes. "There are still things I want to know about you."

Tango raised a brow. "Well, what do you want to know about me, Mr. Major?"

Scott leaned in closer, barely closing the distance between them. Tango's eyes widened, his tail curling up in anticipation. "Are you as good of a kisser as I've heard people say you are?" He whispered.

The blaze chuckled, cupping Scott's face in his warm hands. "Only one way to find out." 

Once their lips connected, Scott and Tango completely forgot about the yellow army coming to hunt them down. Tango could only focus on the softness of Scott's lips, the taste of sweet bread and saltwater—which tasted much better than Tango would've anticipated—and the slight roughness of the scales on Scott's cheeks. One of Tango's hands slid down to Scott's lower back, grabbing it tightly to pull him closer. He felt Scott's lips part in a gasp but he made no effort to break the kiss. Neither of them did. It was so intoxicating and passionate. The area felt much warmer, all thanks to Tango, but Scott didn't seem to mind.

Scott threw his arms around Tango's neck, and one of his legs around his waist. Tango flinched at the sudden motion but smirked against Scott's lips. He grabbed both of Scott's thighs from underneath and hoisted him up, gently pressing him against the stone wall. If Scott wanted to be this fiery, Tango could easily match him.

That was a similarity between him and Scott, Tango noticed: their fire. But the main difference was that Scott's flames were more suppressed, or at least less expressive. So when he did let the flame ignite, it was definitely a moment to remember. It was probably how he got so far in both Last Life and Double Life. Tango always admired Scott's passion and his desire to survive, as long as he could. He often played by his own rules to do so: refusing to kill the second time he was boogeyman in Last Life, choosing his own soulmate in Double Life, and killing Skizz much earlier than he should have this season. Tango loved that.

Tango loved him.

He wasn't sure what Scott thought of him now—he didn't elaborate on that—but he was confident that Scott felt the same way.

The two pulled away once they were short on breath, taking heavy breaths. Scott appeared dazed and his eyes were half-lidded. His face was flushed and he managed to smirk up at Tango. Tango pressed his nose against Scott's and whispered "Did that answer your question?"

"Yes," Scott gasped breathlessly. He played with Tango's green tie, loosening it slightly. "And suddenly, I find myself a bit jealous of Jimmy. He was definitely lucky to be soul bound to you." He huffed playfully. "I like me a man that can kiss me breathless."

"Well, now you got one," Tango rasped, going in for a second round.

Since they were hypnotized by each other's lips, neither Scott nor Tango were aware that the yellows were getting closer to them by the second. Even though the talking slowly crescendoed in volume, the two managed to tune it out. Scott was nipping at Tango's bottom lip, a muffled groan escaping the blaze's lips. He continued to hold Scott, refusing to let go of him, because nothing mattered more than what was happening now.

Until Grian's cackling disturbed the two, interrupting their moment. They quickly broke away and turned towards the noise. Of course Grian had to be the one to catch them. "Oh my God!" The avian poked his head through a hole in the wall, his wings flapping behind him. "Guys, I found Tango!" He called out in a sing-song voice, still giggling.

"Grian—" Scott's face was redder than Tango's eyes.

"Well, this also explains where Scott was the entire time," Grian teased. The rest of the group came over to Grian, who completely broke through the wall, so they could see the whole picture.

Joel leaned against Grian's shoulder, whistling softly. "Oh, Tim's going to love knowing that his exes hooked up." He smirked a bit, peering at the two over the rim of his glasses. "Though he might be upset that you didn't think to invite him." Tango bit his lip at the thought. That'd be something to look forward to.

"Oh, you guys found Tango?" Martyn was the next to show. He gasped upon seeing Scott and Tango before smirking. "Ohoho! Well, now I feel a little bad for interrupting."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Martyn, we all know that's not true."

Then, Skizz's voice could be heard from the distance. "I don't get it, why won't he just give me his time?!" He showed up with Impulse and Etho behind him. Skizz's eyes scanned the two, up and down. He pursed his lips and put his hands on his hips. For someone who was an angel, Skizz had quite the devilish look on his face. "Well, that makes sense now, he's clearly occupied with Scott."

"Skizz!" Tango laughed nervously, finally putting Scott down. "I-I was going to give your my time, I just wanted to get away from... Everyone else."

Impulse snickered. "Well it's clear you got distracted." Tango's tail flicked behind him as confirmation. "Alright, let's go back to the surface so Skizz can kill you, Tango."

"Well, who's going to kill Scott?" Grian asked.

"Me," Martyn declared. "I'm also low on time. Besides... I'd like to get some more details about what happened, in private."

Scott and Tango looked at each other in embarrassment. They should've seen this coming and they probably should've put up more of a fight. But they were already caught. Besides, it wasn't entirely a loss: they got to kiss each other, which was definitely their highlight of the season so far. "I guess I'll see you later? With Jimmy next time?" Tango asked, his voice a husky whisper.

Scott nodded. "Yup! Though this time, we'd like some privacy." He glared at the interrupters who just smirked and put their hands up defensively. Scott went back to the Coral Isles with Martyn, while Tango went back with his team. As for Grian and Joel, they had a lot of news to spill to Jimmy.

For Scott and Martyn, their trip back to the Coral Isles was silent. Until Martyn asked Scott a very important question.

("Does he kiss well?"

"MARTYN!"

"I mean, you were gone for a while, and you seemed to enjoy it! It's a valid question!")

Meanwhile, Team T.I.E.S. was quick to tease Tango for his moment with Scott.

("So you like fish, huh Tango?" Skizz said with a smirk.

"Fraternizing with the enemy... I wasn't expecting it but it's an interesting twist," Etho chimed in.

"Listen... I can explain," Tango said sheepishly.)

After Tango and Scott became yellow, Grian announced "IT IS TIME FOR YELLOW PEACE!" in the chat. Tango and Scott spent the first hour of their yellow peace with Jimmy, giving him many of the kisses that he missed out on.

[moonseekers]

i love the blood altar webtoon but why is the pacing so bad 😭

[darkbloodmoon]

god that was so bad.

[tangyangie]

imagine makeout sessions with karma .. there's an official ranking of the top 5 best kissers in e class made by irina herself and i could Not stop thinking about karma being third place

AND IRINA SAID AND I QUOTE

He's skilled at everything, but seems strangely familiar with this activity. There's nothing for me to improve on, which makes him boring to teach.

(not smut !!! probs just like.. lots of kissing lol)

kiss of death ☆彡

character: karma

description: makeout sessions with karma. that's it

notes: i just wrote this as headcanons because it made the most sense to me :)) i hope you like it!!

he's... got an interesting style of kissing.

he's very spontaneous with them. will probably kiss you in the middle of talking out of nowhere.

he's definitely the type to laugh and tease you between breaths. he wants you to get as needy as possible in the shortest amount of time.

likes to get you riled up and then simply leave. like, will eat your face for 2 minutes and then walk away, with you against the wall and extremely confused.

is the type to let his hands wander. he knows what he wants, and will waste no time trying to obtain it.

another thing he likes to do: he'll get close to you and hint enough that he wants to kiss you, and then you'll lean in and the most you'll get is a kiss on the nose.

like, he'd have one hand on your chin to tilt your face up, with his thumb on your bottom lip, he'd be staring into your eyes so intensely and then just -- stop?? just smiles teasingly and ruffles your hair.

now.. onto the actual kissing!!

he'd probably wrap his hands around your waist. unintentionally grips a little too hard, but you don't mind at all.

you might tell him to ease off a bit, but he hadn't realized that it was happening. of course, he doesn't stop. in fact, he'd probably do it harder!! just to tease you as much as possible.

karma starts off quickly. there might be one simply little kiss, but right after that, he's totally devouring you. will touch you in all the right spots so that you melt into his arms.

lots of heavy breathing from him. slight shakes can be heard from his voice sometimes.

hair grabber.

this man will push you against the nearest wall and run his fingers up to your head, tangling them as much as possible into your strands.

one time he accidentally got his hand stuck in your hair. it was a little awkward, but you mostly laughed it all out while he worked his way around your hair.

he likes to hear you speak. he'll probably speak so much in between kisses just to get you to say something. he loves to hear your voice, he just thinks it's so pretty.

soft whispering in your ear!! will reach one hand to the side of your face and move his lips to the opposite side, and then whisper something.

probably something to fluster you, he likes to see you shocked. he likes knowing he can still surprise you.

he knows exactly how to use his mouth. never uses a huge amount of tongue and doesn't let your teeth clink together (cause that's really awkward.)

he's constantly wanting to kiss you. has no shame at all. will probably kiss you deeply in public and then walk into a disney store.

will do anything possible to catch you off guard

but of course, he still likes the normal stuff. he still will kiss you at home, and sometimes, if he feels like it, he may be gentler with you. and cuddle. while you're kissing. and it's incredibly adorable.

all in all he really likes to kiss you

notes: i'm not gonna lie, the title reminded me of the darling in the franxx intro so that's all i could think ab when i was writing this 😭😭 i haven't watched it in forever

anyways i hope you liked it!! kisses mwah mwah

[2dboisloyal-devotee]

Nav rules

╔══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╗

Fandom

❗ = Excluded characters because either i dislike them or don't know how to write for them

➸ 1bitheart/1beatheart

➸ Assassination Classroom/Ansatsu Kyoushitsu❗Takaoka, side assassins, those four minor characters from the Big Five but I can group them to be one not separately in request ❗

➸ Alice in the Country of Hearts/Heart no Kuni no Alice

➸ Arcana Famiglia

➸ BLEACH

➸ BUSTAFELLOWS

➸ Brutal: Satsujin Kansatsukan no Kokuhaku/Confessions of a Homicide Investigator ❗The criminals❗

➸ Balance: Unlimited

➸ Cookie Run: Ovenbreak

➸ Danganronpa, only the big four franchise❗Hifumi Yamada, Haiji Towa, Monaca Towa ❗

➸ DDLC

➸ D.Gray-man❗Chaozii Han i hate this man 😂, Alma Karma, Cross Marian ❗

➸ Dandelion: Wishes Brought to You

➸ DSP/okegom (The Gray Garden, Wadanohara and The Great Blue Sea, and Ice Scream only) ❗Sal/Syakesan❗

➸ END ROLL RPG

➸ Hustle Cat

➸ ib

➸ Mekakucity Actors/Kagerou Project

➸ Mystic Messenger (except Saeran because I haven't played his route)

➸ Natsume Yuujinchou/Book of Friends

➸ Nightshade/Hyakka Hyakurou Sengoku

➸ Nurarihyon no Mago/Nura: Rise of The Yokai Clan

➸ Obey me!

➸ OMORI ^platonic only^

➸ OZMAFIA!

➸ Persona 3

➸ Princess Tutu ^platonic only^

➸ Trails in The Sky ❗Joshua, Estelle, Schera, Olivier and any other characters who already have their own canon spouse sob but platonics of them are allowed❗

➸ Saiki Kusuo no Psy-nan/The Disastrous Life of Saiki K (only season 1 for now)

➸ Steam Prison

➸ Undertale & Deltarune, ONLY the original, not from AUs or anything similar, I'm not too well versed in them

➸ VOCALOID

➸ Witch's Heart

➸ Your Turn to Die

➸ Yuppie Psycho ❗the Sintra family ❗

These are the ones I feel like I can work on it. But I do know many others already, just say the name and I'll think about it.

Masterlist

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩•••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

彡 Alice in The Country of Hearts/Heart no Kuni no Alice

Yandere Roleholders HCs x GN Reader Part 1 & Part 2

Nightmare Gottschalk

x Overworking GN Reader & side story

彡 Arcana Famiglia

Yandere Tarot Headcanons (Liberta, Pace, Debito, Nova, Jolly)

彡 BLEACH

Shinji Hirako

x GN Reader - Platonic Yandere HCs

Toshiro Hitsugaya

x GN Reader - This Wish I Hold

彡 Natsume Yuujinchou/Book of Friends

Natsume Takashi

x GN Reader - Platonic Headcanons & Scenarios

彡 The Disastrous Life of Saiki K/Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan

Saiki Kusuo

x GN Reader - Basic Yandere HCs

x GN Reader - Vs Teruhashi

x Disinterested Reader

x Ghost Reader

x Reader - Proposal

Teruhashi Kokomi

x GN Reader - Vs Saiki

彡 Trigun

Vash the Stampede

x GN Reader - Never Could Have Been Worse

彡 Yuppie Psycho

Brian Pasternack x GN Reader - A Solving Decade

彡 Miscellanious

Seto Kaiba as a Dad HCs

╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝

[kamijoxversailles]

I'm greedy so do all the mun thingies ♡ - karmas typist

ooc - pffft.... Greedy mun!!!! XD

¯\_(ツ)_/¯:  do you have any tumblr friends? if so, who are they?

I do! I consider several people my friends here, including, but ABSOLUTELY NOT EXCLUSIVELY @moonaeraa and @haidoneko. There are several others. I feel like I become friends with most of the people I rp with.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°):  relationship status?

Single and completely uninterested in mingling. 

ಠ_ಠ:  what is your biggest pet peeve?

When people drop casual misogyny and expect me to think it’s funny. They may not realize they’re misogynistic, but that doesn’t make it funny.

(ಥ_ಥ):  finish this: i hate it when…

I hate it when adults talk about their flaws or what they don’t like about their bodies, while children can hear it. Also, when they talk about how bad their children behave - WHILE THE CHILD HEARS IT! Yes, I’m looking at you, brother dear and sister-in-law!

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ:  what is your favorite animal?

PENGUINS!

(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ ☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜):  who is someone you can tell everything to?

My little sister, and my real-life friend Ingunn.

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ:  are you a hugger?

If I know the person, yes. If they’re a stranger, then no.

(╯°□°)╯︵ ʞooqǝɔɐɟ:  besides tumblr, do you have any other social media?

I have an instagram, nordlysfantasi. I am sorry to say it is very unorganized. I post what I FEEL like. I don’t have a system.

﴾͡๏̯͡๏﴿?:  how old are you?

I’ll be 29 years old on May 28th!

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻:  what are your thoughts on school?

An important and good thing. Education is good. I DO believe the system is flawed, and I think it is VERY wrong the way society is focusing on higher education as being the end-all be-all. Not everyone needs a doctorate, you know? We need waiters and hairdressers and garbage workers and grocery store people just as much (or, as this pandemic shows - MORE than!) professors and CEOs. 

| (• ◡•)| (❍ᴥ❍ʋ):  favorite tv show?

Supernatural! Also, I will admit, Botched. I am currently slightly obsessed with Botched...

(ง'̀-‘́)ง:  are you okay?

Right now? Yes. This answer would obviously change from day to day.

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:  ･ﾟ✧: sexual orientation?

Lesbian. I’m sex repulsed, though. I will gladly WRITE smut, but... I don’t want to touch or be touched in any sexual way. 

┬┴┬┴┤(･_├┬┴┬┴:  are you a people person or a loner?

I’m a people person with some very specific people, or with a wide range of people for a very limited time. I’m GOOD with people. I WORK with people. But except for my very closest friends, I prefer to spend my free time alone. Company I don’t choose myself tires me out VERY quickly.

ლ(ಠ益ಠლ):  do you have any siblings?

Hell yes! Three older brothers, one older sister, and one younger sister! 

ಠ╭╮ಠ:  have you ever self harmed?

Yes. Not in the ways most commonly shown in movies. But yes.

(づ￣ ³￣)づ:  have you ever been in love?

Only with fictional characters~

(☞ﾟ∀ﾟ)☞:  would you rather be hugged by a bunny or kissed by a doe?

Hugged by a bunny! I don’t like to be kissed or licked by ANYTHING.

(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻:  how do you let your anger out?

Crying. I cry a LOT. 

ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ:  are you active?

At work, yes. I work in a daycare. In my free time? Hmm. Uuuuh. Nope. 

ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪:  what are your favorite band(s)/artist(s)?

Kamijo, Versailles, Malice Mizer, Dead End, Buck-Tick, Galneryus, Emilie Autumn, Tori Amos, Priscilla Hernandez, Indica, Dreamcatcher. 

（╯°□°）╯︵(\ .o.)\:  who is your least favorite person?

My dad, my second oldest brother, and his wife (my sister-in-law)

♥‿♥:  tell us about your crush!

I suppose Kamijo is a sort-of crush. I’m lesbian, and not interested in him sexually, but DAMN, he’s handsome, and his voice makes me melt!

◔̯◔:  what time is it?

Right now, it’s 10:31pm.

◕‿◕:  what is your guilty pleasure?

Online, I have no guilty pleasures. I am proud to be me, and like what I like. In real life... Almost everthing I like is a guilty pleasure. I don’t show my art taste to my family, I don’t play my music for them, I seldom tell them what the books I read are about, I would NEVER tell them I watch Botched - a show about plastic surgery. I’d NEVER admit to them that I listen to kpop. My family are.....kinda snobbish. I come from a family that’s full of professional musicians, some of them metal and rock, most of them classical. I’m a classically trained pianist and singer myself. I’ve grown up having pop music and pop stars made fun of in my home.  I’m confident in many things, but when it comes to telling my family that “yeah, I DO like pop music, actually!” that’s just....that’s not gonna happen. Coming out as a lesbian was easier. They’re cultural elitists. 

◔ ⌣ ◔:  are you a virgin?

Virginity is a silly concept born of patriarchal values placed on a woman’s chastity. Most common definitions of virginity mainly mean - have I had a dick inside my vagina? The answer is no, so by that definition, I am a virgin. But I have had sexual experiences, so by less rigid definitions of virginity, no, I’m not a virgin.  So. Why don’t we just get rid of that whole concept, eh?

[trafficlife]

Kiss Me Quick, Steal Every Secret I Keep

Etho sees his hard task as a test of skill more than anything else. He thinks it's time he shows Tango what he learned.

Word Count: 3041

A gift for @acolorboom

The reward is none.

Etho stared up at the darkening sky, a collection of whispers flooding his mind.

The risk is great.

He held his breath and closed his eyes. He could only hope that the task wouldn’t be completely impossible.

Let me open the door.

At least, for the most part, Etho was good at completing his tasks. How bad could this one be?

Accept your fate.

The scroll appeared in front of him, an ominous aura radiating from it. He walked away from the Secret Keeper—it’s been a few weeks, yet it still gave Etho chills—to read his secret privately.

A few words stood out almost immediately: Grian, wither, warden, battle, deep dark. And surprisingly, Etho actually felt excited for this task. Would it be chaotic? Absolutely, but that’s what these games were made for. He was also very happy that Grian was tasked with the summoning wither—the last time he tried to bring a warden up to the surface, he ended up dying. 

Etho grinned behind his mask. An idea was already forming in his head: he wanted another person to come with him. But Etho didn’t need help. What he needed was an audience. And he knew exactly who would be interested in watching this.

****

“.... Hold up, you want me to do what?”

“I told you: I want you to come with me and see me bring the warden up to the surface.”

Tango blinked several times at Etho, trying to process the absurdity of this situation: Etho had walked onto the Heart Foundation island and almost immediately grabbed Tango’s sleeve and pulled him away from Skizz and BigB. Then, he tells Tango this plan, which pretty obviously seems to be a task. Tango slowly lowered his rose-colored glasses for extra flair and chuckled. “You- You realize this is a crazy idea, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you realize that this could go either very right or very wrong?”

“Yes.”

Tango pursed his lips, tail swaying behind him. “Well, lucky for you, I do like me some chaos! It would be very impressive if you also succeeded to lure the Warden up.”

“I hope I will. I don’t want to disappoint you.”

A surprised noise escaped Tango’s throat and he felt his face burn. The way Etho said that, with a voice sweeter than honey, coupled with a stare so intense but still so gentle, made Tango short-circuit. And Etho, the smug bastard that he was, knew about this. He walked over to Tango, leaning over his ear and whispering “I want to show you what I’ve learned from your game.”

If dying from being too flustered was a thing, Tango would’ve exploded then and there. However, he was already very close to doing so: his face, neck and ears exploded with heat and his pupils were blown wide. His tail dragged across the cherry blossoms, setting them on fire, but he was too flustered to notice. 

Etho chuckled softly and, oh, he was doing this shit on purpose wasn’t he? He stomped on the flames, leaving black petals on the ground. Tango blinked to look at Etho again, trying to hold on to what was left of his resolve. 

“Fine, then.” Tango purposefully ignored the way his voice wavered and he hoped Etho did too. “Show me what you got.” 

****

Somehow, Etho knew exactly where to go when heading to the Deep Dark. Not once did he turn around or hit a dead end; he kept going, as if the directions were seared into his mind.  He was so confident, it was both impressive and suspicious.

“How do you even know where to go?” Tango asked, as he set up a ladder for them to return to the surface later.

“I stumbled across the Deep Dark at one point while I was mining,” Etho said. “I figured I’d save the location, in case I felt like doing something… Well, crazy.”

Tango raised a brow. “Really… Sounds like a task to me.”

“Does it, now?” Etho turned to look at Tango again, the fabric of his mask twitching as he smiled underneath it. “Why don’t you guess what it is?” The question came out a soft, tender whisper that faintly echoed off the cobblestone walls.

Tango sucked in a breath.

Fuck.

That was the only way to summarize Tango’s racing mind: Fuck.

He was green so he couldn’t guess—both he and Etho were aware of that. But even if he wasn’t, would he want to guess? Absolutely not. 

Etho came to Tango, wanting him to see Etho bring the Warden up. And Etho wanted to make Tango proud and not disappoint him. The thought of it made Tango giddy and his stomach swarmed with butterflies. However, in the very back of his mind, a condescending voice hissed at him: This is only a task. He doesn’t really mean what he says. He wasn’t going to listen to that voice. But he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t having doubts.

“Tango?” Etho’s voice brought Tango back to Earth. “Tango, you good? You’ve been staring at me for a while… Are you thinking about what you want to guess?”

Tango slowly shook his head, swallowing thickly. “No… No, I’m not going to guess,” he responded slowly. “You know that I can’t guess either way, I’m still green!”

“Fair, fair. But if you had to guess, what would you say?” Etho asked, as he went back to digging.

“I don’t know, you have to bring the Warden up to the surface and make sure it kills someone? You do have a hard task and it’s not like this”—Tango gestured randomly— “is a piece of cake.”

It was time to summon the Warden.

Etho sighed. “That’s not it. If only it were that simple—” Sculk coated Etho’s pickaxe and the stone that he had mined. He raised a brow, shaking the sculk from his pickaxe. “Well… Maybe this’ll be easier than we thought.” He made a larger hole for Tango and himself, and the two of them crawled into the Deep Dark.

As expected, it was pitch black, the only light coming from Tango’s tail. Sculk was everywhere, creating web-like patterns on the ground and crawling up their legs. There were some shriekers visible, along with sculk sensors that were barely obscured by its surroundings. They swayed slowly in the distance, similar to how kelp does underwater. Tango took a deep breath, heart pounding against his ribcage. He met Etho’s gaze and they nodded in sync.

But before Tango could leap down, Etho gently grabbed his sleeve. “Are you going to be okay?” 

“Huh? Why?”

“We’ll need the water elevator.”

“Oh. Right…” Tango grimaced a bit at the thought. He couldn't take damage from water but it didn't make swimming any less unpleasant.

“We could also make stairs,” Etho suggested, “if that makes you more comfortable.”

“What, and risk getting stuck and dying to the warden? I don't want that happening to either of us. I'll…” Tango took a deep breath. “I'll take my chances with the water.”

“Are– are you sure?” Etho asked hesitantly. His concern was very touching, Tango has to admit. But the water was far less risky than the stairs. 

“I'm positive.” Tango smiled. “But, thanks for worrying about me.”

“Of course. Why wouldn't I? Now c'mon, let's go.” Etho leaped down from the ledge he made and crouched down. But Tango still sat there, Etho’s sincere words looking in his mind.

Why wouldn't I?

That was a good question, why wouldn't Etho worry about him? Tango couldn't even say he hated Etho, though they'd had their differences in previous games. Tango didn't know if he loved Etho either but, with how eager he is to spend time with Etho, it was becoming more and more obvious.

“Tango!” Etho whisper-shouted. “You coming?”

“Yeah- Yeah, hold on.” Tango leaped down, one of the sensors picking up on his movement. Thankfully, the shrieker didn’t set off prematurely. They lurked closer to a shrieker, like wolves stalking a sheep. Only they knew that the sheep could strike anytime. He met Etho’s gaze and nodded, communicating with his eyes. I’ll watch your back.

The ground cracked. A dark claw emerged from the fragmented sculk, followed by a low growl. Etho whipped his head towards Tango, handing him a water bucket and making sure none of it spilled. “Get up the ladder- pour down the water when you reach the top.”

Etho understood instantly and went closer to a sensor, making a swift movement.

The shrieker activated in sync with the sensor, the wail bouncing off the walls. Once it faded away, there was tranquility for a moment. They knew very well that the calm wasn’t permanent.

Tango nodded, holding the bucket with one hand and climbing the ladder with another. He shouldn’t have been worried about Etho; he was essentially an expert at this and was already on his way to winning Decked Out. But still, there was a lingering fear that Tango just couldn’t shake off. Maybe it was the nature of this game. If Etho were to get hit—which Tango doubted would happen—he couldn’t recover easily. And if Etho died, it’d set their progress back. Tango knew Etho was strong. Strong, quick-witted, charming, sensible… For goodness’ sake, Tango, this was a life-or-death situation, it was not the time to fawn over Etho.

Tango could feel the ladder shake underneath him, the heavy footsteps of the warden sending shivers up his spine. He knew Etho could avoid the warden but he didn’t want to delay him. The moment he reached the top, Tango took his bucket and poured it down, creating an elevator for Etho to go up. Tango leaned over the edge, eyes wide with anticipation. “Please, come up all in one piece,” he murmured under his breath, despite his confidence in Etho’s skill.

Suddenly, there was an explosion. 

It was mostly muffled but still loud enough to make Tango jump. And it sounded like it came from underground.

Tango physically felt his heart plummet to the pit of his stomach. No, no, no, no, no, please don’t let Etho be dead. Etho was only green but the thought of him dying made Tango sick with dread. He pulled out his communicator, frantically looking through the names, and-

He was honestly torn between sighing in relief and continuing to hold his breath.

Good news: Etho didn’t die. Bad news: Lizzie did. And Tango felt incredibly bad, especially since she’d be alone the entire game. 

 In the water, he saw a figure slowly rise to the surface and heard a low growl from below. Etho’s head popped out of the water, brushing his soaked hair back (which wasn’t hot at all, thank you very much!) and swiftly climbed out. “Warden- warden’s on its way. Stay close to me, I don’t want to lose you.”

Tango nodded, tail flicking behind him. The warden crawled out of the water, outstretching his limbs as its tendrils clicked. Tango felt Etho grab onto his wrist and pull him away, paying attention to make sure the Warden was following them. “We’re bringing him to spawn,” Etho murmured against Tango’s ear, his breath lightly tickling his skin. Tango’s own breath hitched but he still managed to nod. “By the way… What was that explosion sound?”

“Lizzie. She died.”

Etho winced a bit, some remorse flickering in his eyes. “Oh, gosh… That really sucks. We probably should’ve gone to her party, huh?”

Tango nodded solemnly. “Yup. But hey, we can make it up to her after the game ends! That’s the least we could do right?”

Etho chuckled a bit. “Ah, Tango, you’re always so thoughtful.”

Tango beamed proudly. “I try to be!” 

The warden was right on their heels, stumbling about and flailing its arms around. Somehow, Tango and Etho didn’t run into anybody for a long while. The moon was high in the star-speckled sky, shining down ominously as if it knew the chaos that would follow. Eventually, they saw Grian talking to Scar. Grian saw Tango, Etho and the warden waddling behind them, a mischievous smirk on his face. He was hugging something black to his chest and- wait, was that a wither skull?

Tango blinked several times, trying to make sure that he was seeing properly. What was that pesky bird planning? BigB, who had just approached Scar and Grian, seemed to notice what Tango and Etho were planning because his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. When Scar turned around and saw the warden, he was so startled he was pushing back on his wheelchair.

“Etho! Is this- is this central enough?” Grian asked, trying to stifle laughter from Scar’s reaction. He moved closer to the firepit, setting up soul-sand in a very suspicious position.

“Wh- Grian, what are you doing?!” Scar asked, having now noticed the wither skulls that Grian was holding. Scar scrambled to take the skulls from Grian before he placed them down but Grian was too feisty to let go. Tango watched the spectacle, eyes wide. He then turned to Etho, who had a mischievous glint in his eyes. Clearly, there was much more than he was letting on.

“Wait, Etho, did you know about—?” 

Tango was interrupted by a loud, raspy hiss, as a wither emerged from the soul sand, growing in size and flying into the sky, obscuring the moon. There was absolute chaos. The warden had stopped following Etho and Tango and went to chase the next player it detected, wither skulls rained down from the sky, and everyone was screeching “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” at the instigators.

Grian had the largest shit-eating grin on his face and Etho definitely had a similar expression under his mask. Tango, on the other hand, was biting his lip to keep himself from mirroring that expression. He should have been more scared by the wither but he really wasn’t. Partially because he was so close to Etho and that mattered more than anything. 

Mumbo and Jimmy seemed to be running towards the warden rather than away from it and they because of it. The sonic boom rang in Tango’s ears, in synchrony with the lighting that struck. First Jimmy, then Mumbo right after. The flash made Tango’s heart jump but Etho remained completely calm. 

“Where’s the wither?” Tango asked, running alongside Etho.

“Guys- guys, please.” Scar, in his wheelchair and somehow outpacing the wither, rolled up next to Etho and Tango, scared shitless. “Please, do- do you want to give me a hand?” The skulls rained down behind the trio like a meteor shower, plummeting into the Earth and creating rather large holes. The grass and the flowers began to wilt, shriveling up and dying as the skull drained the life out of them. “Please- I don’t know how much longer I can keep up with this—” 

Before Etho or Tango could respond, the two of them fell into a pit that Scar narrowly avoided. Scar went back to being chased by the wither, begging for others to come out and help him, by leading the wither directly into their bases. Honestly, the fact that Scar was able to avoid the wither for this long was incredibly impressive. 

Tango groaned a bit, bringing his hand up to his hair, accidentally elbowing Etho’s chin in the process. “Oh, sorry, I-” He immediately shut up when he noticed the position they were in. Etho was directly on top of Tango, nearly laying on his chest. Etho’s eyes were piercing through Tango’s, as if he wanted to read his soul. And Tango couldn’t help but wonder, would Etho know how Tango feels about him? 

Tango didn’t really want to get out of this position. And, since Etho didn’t move, neither did he. Their bodies were flush against each other, and Etho’s face was so close, his white hair was brushing against Tango’s skin. The mask slipped off of Etho’s face and-- if he lowered himself any more, their lips would be touching—

Oh, void, the realization that he was so close to kissing Etho made Tango’s face bloom bright red.

“Tango.” Etho’s voice was a hushed whisper and, to anyone else, it would’ve been completely muffled by the wither’s explosions. But Tango kept all of his focus fixated on the man who was laying on top of him, ignoring the wither and the world that was falling apart around them. And it was all because Etho was here, his world was right here. “I didn’t let you down, I hope.”

“Never,” Tango gasped instantly. “You could never let me down.”

Etho chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that.”And then he leaned in, closer and closer and closer until it was finally enough. His lips were warm against Tango’s, and it made him melt almost instantly. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been waiting for this forever. Tango’s hand snaked up into Etho’s hair and oh goodness, it was so soft. 

“Etho- Etho, the wither killed the warden!” 

“Etho, stop making out with Tango, and come press the damn button!”

Grian was shouting at them from… somewhere. But they were too busy to care.

 Tango, dizzy from suffocation, reluctantly pushed Etho off of him. “Gah… I had a feeling that part of this was part of a task.”

“Well… Not the part where I asked you to come with me,” Etho murmured. “I did that voluntarily. I was serious when I said I wanted to impress you.”

Tango couldn't stop the giggles climbing up his throat, a large smile on his face. “You did, Etho, you really did!”

“Are you talking about my warden wrangling, or the kissing?”

“... Yes.” Tango smirked. “I'm not going to elaborate. Go press that button!”

Etho nodded, lightly kissing Tango on the cheek, putting his mask on and leaving with Grian to the Secret Keeper. Tango lay there in the withered grass, hands on his cheeks and grinning. Nothing could ruin the happiness and satisfaction he felt at this moment.

… Not even the fact that Tango forgot to complete his own task. 

He'd make it up next session. But now he just wanted to make out with Etho for the rest of this session.

[trafficlife]

I Never Told You (I Still Love You)

Strike one was Etho saying "you own my heart, Joel" in front of half the server.

Strike two was Etho saying "I love you" in front of the other half the server.

Strike three wasn't what Etho said. It was what he did, when he appeared in that boat.

Joel knew then and there that he was fucked.

word count: 1068

ao3 link

Joel didn’t know what to expect when he walked up to Lizzie, Tango, Mumbo and Bdubs. 

He didn’t expect to spot a birch boat slowly rowing towards the group out of the corner of his eye. And the person inside the boat was—

Oh, for goodness sake.

He thought he could look away in time, pretend to not have noticed him, but mismatched eyes met his own and—

… Bloody hell.

Joel felt his heart thump against his ribcage, so loudly and so intensely he thought it would burst. In an instant, everyone else had vanished and the time froze. It was just him and Etho, staring at each other, being here together, communicating with their eyes.

Now, Joel didn’t completely know what he was communicating to Etho. But his mind was already filling the gaps: I still love you, I should have said it then, I never stopped loving you.

And, surprisingly, it was true. Joel couldn’t stop loving Etho, even if he tried. And he did try. But he failed miserably. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel part of his soul die, when he rejected Etho’s confession last week. And it made him wonder, did the soulbond not completely fade? Did Etho feel it too? Were they still soulmates, in spite of everything that happened? 

Joel was still staring into Etho’s eyes. He never forgot how mesmerizing they were, especially the left one. It reminded him of lava, scarlet decorated with orange specks. Underneath the sunlight, it shimmered like a ruby and underneath the pale moonlight, it looked almost. Either way, regardless of how his eyes looked, they were perfect. Etho was perfect. At times, Joel felt blessed to have had Etho as his soulmate because how could a man be so perfect, the ice needed to extinguish his fire, one of the few people willing to follow Joel and the path of destruction he’d leave.

… Gods, did Joel fall hard.

And he didn’t realize how deeply he had zoned out. Despite spending hours staring into Etho’s eyes in the past, he always got lost in them.

Etho had rowed closer to Joel now, gesturing his head towards the back of the boat. As if drawn to it, Joel immediately went in behind him, without uttering a single word. He kept his hands in his lap, fighting the urge to wrap his arms around Etho’s waist for both physical and mental support.

“We’re reliving the past now, Joel,” Etho spoke, finally breaking the barrier of silence separating them. Joel hummed in acknowledgment, eyes drifting around to take in the server. Tango, Mumbo and BDubs were far ahead of them but Joel didn’t care about them. He was just happy to be here with Etho, to finally be alone with him after all this time. “Remember the good old days? Just me and you, riding around in the boats?”

Joel sighed wistfully. “Ah, and the Relation ship…” He still remembered how quickly the ship went up in flames. All the work and heart and soul Joel put into building the ship manifested into a burning urge for vengeance. Yet, even though the symbol of their love disappeared, Joel and Etho’s relationship never felt so strong. 

If only they could still be the same as they were back then.

Etho nodded his head. “Back when you cared about me.” The bitterness in Etho’s tone could have killed Joel almost instantly. His heart twisted in chest, did he really think that? 

Well, of course he thought that! Especially considering how Joel rejected him the last game and just last week, the message seemed clear. But that wasn’t the truth, that wasn’t how he felt. Joel bit down on his lip, heart threatening to escape his chest, he had to convince Etho otherwise, he just had to—

“I still care, Etho,” Joel blurted out.

“You still care?” Somehow, Etho didn’t sound surprised. 

“I do care, Etho, it’s just…” Joel’s voice faltered. He knew what he wanted to say but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. He couldn’t say it, even though it’s been burning in the back of his mind since the end of Limited Life. There was never a right time to say it, he’d tell himself, even though it was long overdue.

“It’s just that we never see each other anymore?” Etho asked, finishing Joel’s sentence for him. It was partially the truth, but not exactly what Joel had in mind.

“No- well, yes. But I’m with the Mounders now, so…” Nice excuse, Joel, he scolded himself. He cringed a bit after saying it because it was so weak and pathetic and it shouldn’t have meant anything. Etho just nodded slowly, steering the boat towards a small ravine. “You better not be rowing me off this edge,” Joel warned. Subconsciously, he wrapped his arms around Etho’s waist for support.

Wow, he forgot how much he missed this. Joel relaxed himself and he felt Etho do the same thing, despite not appearing tense. It was… very comforting. How could he ever give this up? 

Carefully, Etho guided the boat over the edge and just barely made it to the other side. 

And almost instantly, Joel brought himself back right where he was before. He removed his arms from Etho’s waist, stood up, and quickly hopped out of the boat. “Well, that was lovely!” 

Etho chuckled a bit. “Guess that’s the end of the relationship!”

Joel forced a laugh and turned away from Etho without saying goodbye. He smacked his forehead several times, while muttering ‘stupid, stupid, stupid…’ Why couldn’t he just tell Etho that he still wanted him? And he had his chance, they were alone at that moment. He just lost himself completely, becoming completely tongue-tied. That wasn’t like Joel. Did Etho really have him on this much of a chokehold?

But if that were the case, why couldn’t Joel just say how he felt?

He was a coward, that’s why. He’d been trying to avoid Etho because he never knew what to say to him. Especially after Etho said “you owned my heart” and then later saying “I love you.” Joel didn’t even know if Etho was being serious.

Joel didn’t even know if Etho still wanted him.

And Joel wouldn’t be surprised if Etho didn’t still want him. It was probably better for his heart to believe that was the truth either way.

[trafficlife]

Dance Among the Embers (Revisit a Life I Still Remember)

Even though the Relation had burned, Joel and Etho's relationship became stronger in spite of it all.

And, because of it all, Etho finally understands why the universe made them soulmates.

word count: 1647

ao3 link

Etho had done this dance before, with the fervent flames as his stage. 

It happened so long ago but watching the Relation burn down brought back so many memories. Memories of a simpler time, when nobody expected to return for another round, much less two.

And Etho wasn’t usually one to dwell in the past. But the similarities were so uncanny, that it almost felt scripted.

****

It was a beautiful tree Etho had built in the center of the village. 

It was a dark oak tree, considered a rarity in this world, and Etho was so proud of his work. He didn’t think anyone would dare to burn it down the very first week.

That was his first mistake.

If given a match, almost every contestant would light it and throw it away, to let “nature” take its course. And usually, “nature” directed itself toward another contestant’s most precious symbol.

Something changed inside Etho, as he watched his tree disintegrate. He was bitter and cold and vengeance was making a nice home in his brain. But he didn’t take it too far. Apart from a few shenanigans, he knew to keep it cool. He knew how to play but, perhaps if he were smarter, he could've won. 

****

Etho glanced back at their work, lighting up in pride. "The ship burns, everything burns," Joel had declared. And he was certainly true to his word. The server had completely dissolved into flames, smoke, and embers billowing in the air. The wildfire spread fast, leaving nothing but destruction and ashes in its path. 

It was breathtaking.

Etho never felt so good being red. And he had Joel to thank for that. Joel earned a reputation for being unstable and violent, always bloodthirsty but never satisfied, desiring to cause as much mayhem as he could.  

The soulbond always united their emotions. But their current status amplified their emotions tenfold and Etho never felt Joel so intensely before. He never felt his soulmate's emotions like this. All the thoughts of vengeance and fire and bloodlust were as overwhelming as it was enticing. Joel would continue to play with fire, even if it meant getting burned, and Etho would follow him to the end of the game, to the ends of this world, even if he burned as well.

Some would call Joel reckless. Etho calls him beautiful.

They returned to the remains of their ship, the smell of burning dark oak lingering in the air. Etho watched Joel the entire time. Actually, it was more accurate to say Etho was admiring him. 

Joel's nails were painted with dried blood and his ruby red eyes were wide. There was a permanent maniacal look in his eyes, an indicator of his diminishing sanity. As terrifying as they were, Etho couldn't help getting lost in them, lost in Joel's presence as a whole. He drank in the sight of his partner, his soulmate, standing there like a God with the flames of his havoc in the background, and Etho was down here, worshipping him, and—

And… Man, was Etho in love with him.

Joel rolled up his sleeves, to reveal faint burns on his arms, and crafted additional flints and steels. Etho had seen the burns several times. Sometimes, he’d absent-mindedly take Joel’s hand and gently brush his thumb over the wounds, mostly for comfort. He didn’t think anything of the burns at first, just that they hadn’t completely disappeared from the previous games. But suddenly, his mind was racing with thoughts and more memories from the past. However, it was Joel's thoughts that Etho was seeing now.

This… Never happened before. 

Memories were seldom shared between soulmates. This only happened if they had an inseparable bond, outside of the tether that connected their lives. 

(Etho’s heart skipped not just beats, but an entire symphony at the implications of that. But if Joel felt that too, it was only the adrenaline and not the shared sensations.)

****

Joel was surrounded by the fire, his roof encased in an inferno. His skin was already scorched from his first death, red and covered with welts that hadn’t completely healed. But he couldn’t escape the fire. He couldn’t put it out fast enough. And he couldn’t heal fast enough. Actually, he couldn’t heal at all. He was too focused on putting out the fire, despite his roof already being a lost cause. Wherever he turned,  there was another flame to step into. 

Below Joel, watching the entire spectacle with a satisfied smirk on their face was Cleo, who was satisfied at first, until Joel mistepped and burst into flames. And he came back, like a phoenix rising from his ashes, but he was one step closer to his grave. 

Joel couldn’t believe that this was all over a missile, that didn’t even work as intended—

Wait. A missile?

Oh. Oh.

That was Etho’s fault, wasn’t it?

It was Etho's plan to fire a missile at the Crastle. He got Joel roped into it. The missile was disarmed before it could set off but Cleo was still furious. Like Joel, Cleo enjoyed playing with fire but was better at not getting burned. Like Etho, Cleo knew how to stay frosty but she was better at winning. Unlike the two of them, however, Cleo knew when to stop getting revenge.

Joel and Etho didn't know when to stop. They didn't want to stop. They'd put an end to this when the universe puts an end to their relationship. And Etho hoped that wouldn't happen for a long time.

“I know what you’re thinking, Etho.” Joel’s voice snapped Etho out of his thoughts. Now that his bloodlust was satisfied (for now), he sounded much gentler and his voice was softer. “Thinking about the burns you gave me, right?”

“Well- Yeah.” Etho walked over to Joel and took his hand, gently running his fingers over the burns. They melted into his skin so well but they didn’t diminish his beauty in any way, shape, or form. In fact, they only enhanced it.“I don’t think I ever apologized for causing them.”

Joel smirked. “Don’t have to. I got burned so many times, it’s honestly ridiculous. Remember Dare to Flare?” 

Etho chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, you gotta give it to Tango. He knew how to make it sound enticing.” 

“He did, he did. And, well, you know me. Always looking for a little danger to spice things up.”

Etho raised a brow, intertwining his fingers with Joel’s. “Maybe that’s why I’m your soulmate,” he hummed, “since I’m so dangerous.”

“Yeah, right…” Joel leaned his head against Etho’s chest, the flames from afar continuing to spread and inch closer to them. “I think I’m the dangerous one here. Dangerous and tall and handsome—”

“And crazy,” Etho interrupted. “You are literally up to my chest right now.”

Joel rolled his eyes. “You could at least pretend. Plus, you can’t say you don’t find my craziness at least”— he rested his hand on Etho’s shoulder—“A little attractive.”

Etho shrugged, mischief glinting in his eyes. “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.” He lightly grasped Joel’s hip, taking a step backward. Joel reciprocated, a grin slowly appearing on his face. His eyes glittered slightly, like polished gemstones in the light, and Etho’s heart fluttered at the sight. 

They swirled around, the flames in the distance catching up to them. The fire was their stage and, as opposed to succumbing to it, they controlled it, together. It was a dance with death, but Etho and Joel were taking the lead. They’d take this world, hollow it out, and burn its remains while dancing on its ashes. Etho never thought he wanted this. Then again, he never thought he wanted Joel. But the universe proved him wrong.

And he didn’t mind that. 

Etho couldn’t keep his eyes off Joel. He didn’t want to because how had he spent these past few games, not giving Joel anything more than a second glance? How did it take him this long to notice Joel, to notice how seamlessly they worked together? And how could he not admit that he loved Joel, that he’d do anything he asked of him?

Void, did Etho fall for Joel. But he didn’t just fall hard. He fell directly onto bedrock.

Lost in a daze, Etho leaned down to kiss him but was stopped by Joel’s finger. “What, did you forget about the mask?” Joel asked, lips curled up into a smirk.

Ah, right. Etho forgot to take off his mask so often, it was as though it became a part of him.

“Yes, I did,” Etho said as he pulled down his mask. “But you distracted me.”

“Ah! So you do find me attractive!”

“I didn’t say that.”

“I think you did.”

Etho tilted his head, slowly closing the gap between them. “I haven't made my case yet.”

“You don’t have to. I already won, just by being my intelligent and handsome sel—” Joel was interrupted by Etho’s lips, pressing against his own. Etho smirked against Joel’s lips. The message was clear: I’m the winner here. 

And Etho had won, as cheesy as it sounds. Though the Relation ship was reduced to ash, their literal relationship felt stronger and more fortified than before. And to Etho, that was a better prize than making it to the end of this game. Now, don’t get him wrong, winning would be nice. But even if their allies backstabbed them, even if they burned together because that was their destiny at this point… That didn’t matter to him.

What mattered was that they were still together, still strong.

And they were both aware that, as the captains, they would both go down with the ship. As long as they went down together, and took the world down with them… it would still be a perfect ending to their story.

[trafficlife]

Breaking Point

It took three seconds for Grian to convince Jimmy to push off the minecart. It took two seconds for Jimmy to fall to his death, a trail of lightning following his path. And it took less than one second for the remains of Joel's sanity to disintegrate completely.

word count: 1363

ao3 link

It happened in a blur. Too fast for either Joel or Grian to process.

They knew Jimmy could be a bit of a klutz but this was the worst time for his clumsiness to kick in. Yes, he fell off of Skynet multiple times—all the bad boys were guilty of that—but it didn't matter too much: back then, he had enough time on his clock, and more than enough time to make it up.

But the last grains of sand had fallen, drowning the canary in the sandstorm.

The lightning struck, sealing Jimmy's fate. But he was dead before he even hit the ground.

Everything that followed the canary's final words was akin to static to Joel's ears. He felt his communicator buzz repeatedly in his pocket. There would be a lot of commotion considering this was the fourth time in a row Jimmy was out first. But Joel didn't want to see the messages. He didn't want to believe it.

He dug his fingers into his palms which would be drawing blood, if not for his leather gloves. This wasn't part of his plan. This wasn't supposed to happen. Hell, it should've been Joel who died first, not Jimmy!

Joel had been thinking about sacrificing himself for a while. Everyone was aware of Jimmy's curse. Joel thought he could break it, that he could free him from this cycle. The universe proved him wrong.

And he hated it when the universe proved him wrong.

His head was reeling, blood pumping through his veins, eyes narrowing and flashing red, like a warning. When Joel was red, everyone knew to heed his warnings. But this time, it was somewhat different. The bad boys were anchoring him, slightly diminishing his violent urges. But now one of the chains had snapped, and Joel was already floating into the torrential waters.

Grian seemed to notice, and he gently put a hand on Joel's shoulder. Joel flinched and turned to look at the avian. Grian's eyes were wide with concern, contrasting Joel's narrowed, maniacal ones. "Joel, breathe! Please... Try to relax."

Joel scoffed, shrugging Grian's hand off his shoulder. "That's much easier said than done, Grian, and you know it." He turned away and began walking in the opposite direction, aware that Grian was hot on his heels. "How?! How could he just bloody fall off the bridge?!"

"Joel..."

"I mean, we've all fallen off Skynet, but this isn't the first time Tim pushed off a minecart! Why wasn't he more careful?!"

"Joel—"

"I cannot believe this. This wasn't supposed to happen, I was supposed to prevent this!"

"Joel!"

"WHAT?!" Joel snarled, whipping his head back towards Grian. The avian froze, like a deer in headlights. He remembers this expression, from Last Life when he teamed up with Joel. He remembered his wild expression, his battle-ready stance, his shrieks and cackles as blood dripped from his weapons and hands, staining the ground he walked on.

He remembers Pearl’s blood dripping down from Joel’s axe in Double Life. His chestplate was stained blood, eyes twitching as his lips formed a vicious smile. “You think you’re unhinged, Pearl?! You have no idea!” 

Except for Etho, due to their former soul bond, Grian was probably the closest to knowing what “unhinged” really was for Joel.

There were so many words that could describe Joel on his red life: feral, deranged, unhinged, unstable. But surprisingly, Grian thought "broken" was the most fitting.

Becoming a red life was always Joel's breaking point. From his sanity to his restraint, everything went off the edge and shattered once it hit the bottom. Joel was a living storm, wild and untamed. But inside of that storm, were all of the fragments that made him whole, that kept him sane.

This was a different case because Joel was grieving. Before, he was just broken beyond repair; now, the grief shattered what was left of his fragments, making it impossible to put him back together.

(Even if he wasn't grieving, Joel wouldn't be easy to fix anyway.)

Joel saw the fear in Grian's eyes and he just crumbled. He choked back a sob as hot angry tears rolled down his face, resting his forehead on Grian's shoulder. Grian frowned, gently caressing Joel's head and wrapping his wings around him in a feathery hug. Joel clung onto Grian's red jumper, his nails threatening to rip the fabric. "I can't. I just fucking can't, Grian..."

"I know..."

"I was going to sacrifice myself for him," Joel whispered, though Grian was aware of this fact. "I should've let him kill me, at least a couple more times."

"How much time do you have left, Joel?"

"3 hours and 20 minutes." He took a shaky breath, glancing up at the avian over the rim of his glasses. "I could've given him an extra 90 minutes. Probably 2 hours." Grian nodded slowly. He wanted to protest that giving Jimmy 2 hours would kill Joel but they both knew that. That was what Joel wanted.

"You tried so hard, Joel," Grian murmured. 

Joel huffed. "Obviously I didn't try hard enough." He let go of Grian, hands still balled up in fists. He really needed to punch something, to let go of some of his emotions. “Sorry, I... I need to be alone.” 

“No need to apologize.” Grian gently squeezed Joel’s shoulder reassuringly. “We’re going to be okay. We’re going to come back from this.” Joel didn’t believe that. But he still appreciated Grian for saying it. It sounded more believable coming from Grian, than it would if it came from Joel himself.

After Grian left, Joel looked down from Skynet, where Jimmy fell. Even from so high up, he could see the scorched patch of grass from the lightning. 

It disgusted him to look at it.

He then went back into the remains of their base, which accurately represented Joel’s current mood: a mess, barely staying together, incredibly hopeless. His breathing was irregular and ragged and he grinded down on his teeth. Joel took a deep inhale.

And then he screamed.

It was loud, ear-splitting, and it only reinforced Joel’s insanity rather than help relieve it. He dug his fingers into his curly dark brown hair, doubling over as if shot by an arrow.

Then, Joel chuckled darkly, but it quickly devolved into a despair-filled cackle. Joel threw his head back, his sunglasses flying off in the process. His pupils were dilated and angry tears rolled down his cheeks. The cackling made his throat ache and his bloodlust had never felt so overwhelming before. He punched one of the windows, shattering it completely. Some of the shards had pierced through his glove, blood soaking through the fabric  and dripping down his wrist.

The despair quickly caught up to him. He sank to his knees and sobbed, having exhausted all of his fire. Only disdain ran through his veins. He despised this wretched world for being so damn cruel. He despised himself for not trying harder. He should have tried harder, he should have.  

It felt so… bad.

And, for the first time in any of these games, he hated feeling bad.

Eventually Joel stopped crying, tears still rolling down his cheeks. He began carefully plucking the shards from his skin, gritting his teeth. “Stop crying, you fool,” he hissed to himself. “Not like it’s going to magically bring Jimmy back.”

As angry as he was, and as angry as he’d be for the rest of the game, Joel couldn’t let his time go to waste. This has to mean something. And he knows that Jimmy wouldn’t want him to give up. 

He looked up at the clear sky through the shattered windows. Jimmy probably logged off by now. But deep down, Joel hoped that he was watching, to see that Joel wouldn’t quit on him.

Joel was never much of a quitter anyways, though he felt particularly close to doing so now. 

The universe proved him wrong once, but he’d be damned if it proved him wrong a second time. 

(Yet the universe knew that Joel’s insanity would lead to his downfall, once again. It was very good at leading him on.)

[trafficlife]

drown me in your love

The last time Tango and Scott were the last "peaceful" colors on the server, it was Scott who died first. Now, the tables have turned and Tango died first. Which meant he was red, and his emotions amplified tenfold… Including his love for Scott. Yet, Tango didn't expect to be able to satisfy his bloodlust and passion in one fell swoop. But this game was known for being unpredictable.

word count: 1925

ao3 link

(inspired by this artwork)

TangoTek fell from a high place.

Now, the first thing Tango should've said when respawning was "damn it Martyn!" Or "I need to get some time back."

Instead it was "Where's Scott? I need him!" in response to opening his communicator and seeing that Scott was the last yellow.

It could've been up to interpretation, but Tango already knew it didn't mean "I need to kill him" or "I need his time."

Tango needed to hold Scott in his arms, to kiss him until he was gasping for air once they pulled away, but quickly going in for more. Maybe it was possible for Tango to bring Scott down to red by suffocating him with his kiss. It'd probably kill Tango as well but that would be quite the way to go, drowning in the kisses of the person you loved.

He needed to gently rub his thumb along Scott's cheeks to feel his scales, and feel the aquatic man shudder at the touch.

Tango didn't realize how far his thoughts were spiraling until he saw patches of grass that were scorched by his fiery tail.

Oh.

Oh dear.

In the words of Scott Smajor himself, "oh Jesus."

Being red meant that all emotions and thoughts were intensified, making it difficult for some players to think straight. Of course, being a red life didn't affect everyone the same way. Some people were completely consumed by their bloodlust (such as Joel and Pearl); other people were able to weaponize their bloodlust, wielding it like it was a sword (this also applies to Joel and Pearl).

Tango and his bloodlust just co-existed. He didn't need a kill to be satisfied, and really only acted when he wanted to. It didn't mean he was immune to the intense emotions that came with being a red life. And of course, because the universe definitely wants to see him make a fool out of himself, that included his love for Scott

The fact that Tango and Scott loved each other wasn't a secret. After all, pretty much half the server walked in on them making out before turning yellow (Scott blamed Grian for that). Jimmy was very happy to hear that his ex-husband and his ex-soulmate were hitting it off and even messaged Tango during the short-lived Yellow Peace and asked "isn't Scott a great kisser?" (Tango almost burnt down a forest while figuring out how to respond while still appearing sane).

Tango inhaled sharply, staring down at his communicator. Scott seemed to be hanging with team T.I.E.S and Martyn, probably since they were on okay terms with each other. But that meant Scott wouldn't be alone, especially if Martyn is trying to protect him.

Tango knew for a fact that he could never beat Martyn in a fight. PVP was not his specialty.

He opened the chat in his communicator to send Scott a text. But where could they meet up? Wherever they met, it couldn't be anywhere around Skynet, should the bad boys feel extra bad and drop more TNT minecarts. The T.I.E.S base was their safest bet; it seems that the other members were busy, so Tango and Scott would be alone together.

The smell of smoke snapped Tango out of his thoughts. His tail dragged along the grass, leaving a scorched trail behind him. He yelped and stomped on the flames, scolding his tail for having a mind of its own. "Calm down, Tango. It's literally just Scott... And he's going to be hunted down by the entire server for his time." Tango chuckled to himself. "Guess I'm not the only one who wants Scott..." He bit down on his lip, a wave of heat creeping up his neck and blooming on his cheeks and ears. "... This man is going to be the death of me."

"Not unless I kill you first, Tango!" A sing-song voice called from behind him, followed by a bang! from a firework.

"Scar- Scar, don't!" Tango shouted, pulling out his bow to fire back. "I had nothing to do with it!"

"You're a part of T.I.E.S, you must die," Scar responded smugly. He looked up to Bdubs and Cleo, who were standing on top of a mountain. "Get him!"

"NOPE!" Tango rushed through the dark forest, with the Clockers' arrows beating down on him like hail. He had just turned red, couldn't he get at least a few minutes of peace? "Nope-nope-nope, WHERE IS MY TEAM?!"

He pulled out a piece of bread to eat it, turning around to make sure Scar wasn't on his tail.

That was simultaneously a bad and good idea.

An arrow hit him right in the chest, causing him to wince and stumble backwards, falling into someone.

Now, who could he possibly fall into?

Definitely not the cyan-haired Scottish fish hybrid currently being hunted down by the rest of the server. Definitely not Scott Smajor, the person that Tango found himself falling head over heels for. Definitely not the person that Tango was raving about not even a few minutes ago.

Fate was such a funny thing.

Tango's breath hitched as he stared down at Scott. His scales were more prominent on his skin, cyan fins replaced his ears, and there was a tail swaying on his side. Thankfully, Tango didn't have Scott laying directly on his tail. Scott smirked a bit, his cheeks a soft shade of pink. "Hey, Tango. Nice to see you dropping in."

"Hey- That's my line!" Tango did his best to ignore the cracks in his voice as he smiled down at Scott. They were so close, it was driving Tango insane. Scott could probably hear his heart thumping against his ribcage.

"Do you need help with anything?" Scott asked, pointing to the arrow in Tango's chest. "I thought I heard you screaming 'no' earlier."

"Ah, yeah. The Clockers are trying to find me, but..." He leaned in a little closer to Scott, tail swaying in the air. "I don't really care that much. 'Cause they led me into you."

Scott raised a brow. "It sounds like you missed me."

"I might've."

"More like you missed my lips, with how much you're staring at them."

"Ah, I... Might have?"

Scott chuckled, the sound music to Tango's ears. "If you really wanted to kiss me..." He brushed his fingers along the nape of Tango's neck, causing him to shiver. "You could've just asked."

"I was hoping we could be alone..." Tango's thumb brushed against Scott's lower lip. "But at the same time, pretty much everyone knows about us. And half the server walked in on us last time—"

"Just shut up and kiss me before the other half of the server walks in on us—"

Tango quickly obeyed, swallowing the rest of Scott's words for himself. This kiss felt much more passionate and heated than the previous ones, thanks to Tango's additional (blood)lust. The blazeborn refused to waver in his advances, his hands all over Scott's face. One moment, they were caressing his cheeks and thumbing his scales, the next they were tangled in the coral and seaweed in his hair.

For a nanosecond, Tango parted his lips in a smile before he began softly nibbling on Scott's lower lip. Scott's breath hitched, as he wrapped his arms around Tango's neck to pull him closer. The taste of Scott's lips was still so delectable, still so addicting. At this point, Tango was going to swallow Scott whole.

However, he felt Scott flinch and shudder underneath him as if he were taking damage. If this were Double Life, Tango would've assumed that Scott's soulmate got into an accident. But it was just them now and there was no explanation, unless Tango was accidentally hurting Scott.

Tango pulled away from a reluctant Scott who whined insistently and tried pulling the blazeborn in for another round. He took one of the fish hybrid's hands, inspecting it for burns or cuts. "Tango..." Scott rasped, still struggling to catch his breath.

"Sorry," Tango murmured. "I thought I was hurting you. It seemed like you were taking damage."

"No- No, you weren't"—Scott took several deep breaths— "you weren't hurting me." His fingers were entangled in Tango's golden hair, chest rising and falling as he recollected himself. Tango watched him, waiting for Scott to recover before diving in for more. The last thing Tango wanted to do was kill him—

Wait.

Was that what he was taking damage to?!

Oh.

Oh.

In all honesty, the thought had crossed Tango's mind in the form of a joke. He did not think dying from asphyxiation via making out was possible but a lot of things didn't make sense in this game.

He snapped out of his thoughts, at the feeling of Scott lightly tugging at his hair. Tango chuckled seductively. "And I thought I was impatient... But you do realize, I could probably kill you and bring you down to red if I keep kissing you, right?"

Scott nodded eagerly, eyes half-lidded but full of desire. "I know. And, well, if I'm going to turn red... I'd rather die at your hands. Or, your lips."

"That's making me wonder, what the death message is going to look like..."

"Only one way to find out," Scott whispered as he pulled the blazeborn down into another kiss. Their lips were permanently locked this time, with the only key being Scott's death. It was a good thing that drowning didn't take too long so they had some time before Scott disappeared.

The fish hybrid whimpered as Tango slipped his tongue into the kiss, starting to shudder underneath. Scott gripped Tango's hair more rougher, as if trying to take him down as well. Tango wasn't affected by the drowning—either because he had a larger lung capacity or Scott had a smaller one (now that he was a fish hybrid). Tango cupped Scott’s scaled face with one hand, and his hip with the other, making comforting circles to lightly massage them. Tango relished in the muffled line that escaped Scott’s lips, though it was slightly strained from the lack of oxygen.

Eventually, Tango face-plummeted into the grass once Scott disappeared. His communicator buzzed a couple times in his pocket and he pulled it out, biting down on his lip. How was he already missing Scott's lips? He stifled a smirk upon reading the chat.

Smajor1995 drowned whilst kissing TangoTek  <Skizzleman> HAHAHA  <Bigbst4tz2> thats one way to go to red lol  <SmallishBeans> way to go tango!  <Inthelittlewood> of course its tango who brings scott to red  <Grian> YESSSSSS  <Grian> I WAS HOPING SOMEONE WOULD DIE LIKE THAT  <Grian> this is legendary  <Ethoslab> thats the best death of the season  <ZombieCleo> me killing etho several times in one session is a close second  <Ethoslab> thanks gem  <Ethoslab> i mean cleo  <SolidarityGaming> when can i be next  <SmallishBeans> tim please you're already low

Yup. That was the best death of the season. If not for the death game setting, Tango would definitely do it a thousand times over. And he had a feeling that Scott wouldn't be upset with it either.

Tango pulled out his clock to find that he had gained 30 minutes and was now yellow again. Which meant the target was slapped on his back again.

Then again, Jimmy did say he wanted to be next. And he was already low, so why not kill two birds (or a blaze and a canary) with one stone?

<TangoTek> jimmy <TangoTek> want an extra 30 minutes?

[trafficlife]

another snippet from my upcoming smalletho fic!

“I was wondering when they’d send a new person to me.” The voice was devious and deep, sending shivers up Etho’s spine. “Not sure why they continue doing that. You’re all free food to me.” A whoosh came from the tree, like an unfurling scroll, followed by flapping. So he has wings, Etho noted. Again, another detail that Scar conveniently forgot to mention. “... Joel.” “Aw, you know my name. How sweet.” “That’s basically all that I know about you.” Joel chuckled again, tilting his head. “Well, I’ve heard quite a lot about you, Eefo!” Etho snickered a bit at how his name was pronounced. If not for the fact that Joel was a very threatening vampire, Etho would’ve found it adorable.  … Okay, maybe he still found it adorable but nobody needed to know that. Joel continued to attempt to pronounce Etho’s name, slowing down his speech and still failing. “... Eefo. No, Eefo. Ee- Eeeefo…” Joel huffed, wings flapping in frustration. “These bloody fangs, fucking up my pronunciation…” 

[trafficlife]

smalletho fic you say?👀👀👀👀

👀👀👀👀👀👀 indeed! smalletho fic idea that hit me like a sledgehammer two days ago!

SO. etho is a skilled assassin that's tasked with killing joel, who is a very bloodthirsty vampire, because all of the other assassins died to him

and since i am too excited to keep this to myself, i'll give you a snippet from the beginning! i am a little over 1k words in and i haven't even gotten to the part where etho meets joel

Etho was a mess. Well, physically he was. Maybe mentally as well, but he’d deal with that another day. His senses were completely overpowered by scarlet blood, thick and abundant and everywhere. It was on his face, his clothes, his dagger, his victim. And now it was pooling onto the pavement, creating a thick crimson puddle for Etho to stare into. A twisted mirror, that puddle of blood was. It was a reminder of how far Etho had come. Whether or not he was proud of his progress, he wasn't entirely sure. Etho couldn’t stare at himself much longer. He didn’t want to come to regret this line of work, when he was just so good at it. He’s been an assassin for four years. And in that time, he quickly climbed the ranks, becoming sought after by hirers and potential victims that wanted to kill Etho before he killed them first. And yet, even after four years, he was still astounded by how much blood his dagger could draw. Blood dripped down from the jagged blade, dripping onto the pavement and creating a path as Etho walked away. It was a path that Etho knew extended far past his victim, past the borders of his town. He had been traveling on this path for so long, he forgot where he started, nor did he anticipate reaching an end. Get the job done, collect your rewards, and run. That was Etho’s new motto, as it was all he could do. But no matter how far he traveled, no matter how much he ran, he was just running in circles. Etho fell into a cycle with no real way to escape. Even if he stopped this line of work, it didn’t mean he’d live peacefully. He had several targets on his back and became extra cautious of potential traps and hidden assassins. It was a dog-eat-dog world and Etho knew he wouldn’t stay on top for long. But somehow, the risk of getting murdered didn’t bother Etho as much as it should. He was more concerned about if, in the future, he could deal with the bloodbath he showered himself in constantly.

[trafficlife]

🌷joel smallishbeans for the fic game!

fake title (just for fun): if you knew me then, would you run away from me? (a bit gory)

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All Joel could do was scare people away.

It was the only way he could stay safe and defend himself, in a place where he had to be violent and survive. Even if it ate away as his sanity, leaving nothing but a shell of who he was.

Sometimes Joel didn't know who he was anymore. He'd been in this state for so long, he swore he could see red if he went without killing. And he went a few days, probably a few weeks, without spilling some blood and it was driving him up the wall.

He couldn't take it anymore. But he knew damn well that nobody would ever trust him. He has no choice but to be alone, until he can force someone to join him.

Well, fine. Joel already felt like he was already six feet under the ground, meaning he was six feet closer to hell. Might as well rope someone down to make the journey less lonesome.

--- -

send me a flower emoji + a character name, and i’ll make up a fic about them that doesn’t exist and include a snippet from that nonexistent fic!

[trafficlife]

another snippet from my smalletho vampire/vampire hunter fic! this one is... pretty suggestive im gonna be honest. really putting the lust in bloodlust. and also mentions of blood + stabbing so you have been warned

One of Joel's hands was firmly grasped around Etho’s wrist, holding it in place to the trunk, forcing him to drop a dagger. His other hand was around Etho’s throat but it didn't stay there for long. Slowly, Joel’s fingers slid down the length of Etho’s neck, stopping once they caught onto Etho's shirt collar and pulled it down. Joel’s fangs barely hovered over Etho’s neck, yet he still shivered from the close proximity and the vampire’s cold hands.

Before Joel could sink his teeth in, Etho pressed his blade against the vampire’s neck. Joel’s breath hitched but Etho didn’t know if it was from the sharp blade threatening to cut him, or from the overwhelming and abundant scent of blood.

Etho and Joel both caught their breath, as if the other couldn't easily take it away. A golden opportunity for both of them, yet neither of them took it. With each passing second, they only inched closer to their respective goals; Etho’s dagger gradually pressed further into Joel’s neck, and Joel’s fangs gradually sank into Etho’s neck.

“Not bad,” Joel murmured into Etho’s neck, fangs tickling his skin. “You put up a pretty good fight.”

Etho nodded wordlessly, still trying to catch his breath. Joel’s nails firmly gripped Etho's shirt, as if wanting to rip it and expose more skin. “What’s the matter, Eefo?” Joel purred, licking the blood droplets that dribbled down Etho’s throat. “Bat got your tongue?”

Etho’s breath hitched, tightening his grip around his dagger. He used it to begin carving a line in Joel’s neck, connecting the dots to create a bloody constellation. In response, Joel sank his teeth in further and started sucking the blood, eyes rolling into the back of his head as he did so. His wings flapped calmly, signifying his satisfaction. “Right now, the”— Etho exhaled shakily—“the bat’s tongue is…. Very focused on my neck.”

“What? You want my tongue inside your mouth instead?”

Etho shook his head, dragging his blade downwards to cut Joel’s shirt. “Not a fan of the taste of blood.”

“You aren’t? Gosh, you’re missing out…” Joel traveled to the other side of Etho’s neck, bit down and groaned, relaxing his shoulders and loosening his grip around Etho’s wrist. “Mmh… So good… Eefo, you… Ahh, you taste so good…”

Now, Etho was going to ignore the fact that Joel was very aroused by the blood and murmuring comments and praises that sounded awful without context. Etho stopped moving his knife, just pressing the tip into Joel’s flesh. He just had to hold on for a little bit longer, then he could leave. He started to feel dizzy, but that wasn’t much of an issue. Eventually, Joel dropped his hand completely from Etho’s wrist, placing it on his shoulder instead.

[trafficlife]

Yknow, Cleo strikes me as the type to buy herself🪷, but she'd love it if someone else bought her flowers

fake title: how long you gonna wait, for those azaleas to burn? (shadowrot with a hint of ✨angst✨)

----

"Cleo, wait!"

Cleo turned their head towards the pink-haired fairy that raced towards them frantically. She scowled a bit at the sight. What right did Lizzie have, approaching her?

"Cleo... Please, you don't have to go."

"I already burned down your beloved fort, Lizzie," Cleo spat. "I don't want to overstay my welcome."

Lizzie frowned a bit. She fidgeted with her hands, which were placed behind her back. Part of Cleo thought that the fairy was going to stab them. "We just barely started getting close."

"Yeah, well... I would have liked to get closer to you, Lizzie. But I guess we can't have that."

Lizzie averted her gaze. Wordlessly, she brought her hands out from behind her back and held out a bouquet of azaleas. Cleo stared at the fairy in confusion, balling her hands into fists. They were torn between cherishing the flowers or throwing them into the inferno that engulfed the fairy fort.

"At least... I want you to have these. As a memento, of what we could have had."

Cleo's gaze softened a bit, but she didn't let her guard down. Her heart twisted at Lizzie's kindness. She was still willing to forgive the zombie, and maybe even run away with them. It was beautiful and heart-wretching and Cleo wished things could have ended better.

----