"That was kind of hot" and it's Krystll saying it. Have fun!
Alright, here it is, finally!
I could’ve used this prompt for a lot of different things, but I decided to do the unexpected thing and use it to write a Krystll and Zerie interaction. Please enjoy!
(Please note that I have not proofread this nor did I write this at a time when I was completely awake, so please forgive any errors.)
Words: 2,369
It was knocking that snapped Zerie out of his stupor.
He frowned and lowered his hand, picking up on the rap-rap-rapping of knuckles just on the outside of his door. Accompanying the disturbance of his quiet came an inquisitive drawl: “Helloooooo? Zerie?” It was Krystll’s voice, muffled by the door.
Zerie frowned harder than he had already been frowning for the past several minutes. Answering her would mean either rolling off the bed, forcing his legs to work one after the other, turning the knob and opening the door, or opening his trap and making noises in the form of the ever-curious thing known as vocabulary. Just considering either option drained him of even the dregs of energy he had left.
So, instead of doing the polite human thing and acknowledging Krystll, Zerie rolled on his bed until his face was firmly pressed into the fabric.
Unthinkably, his problem persisted no matter how hard he ignored it. “Are you okay in there?” Krystll sounded worried now as she tapped against the door some more. “Maroon asked me to check in on you…”
Oh. Wow. What a supportive little sibling Zerie had. Too bad that he didn’t show up in person. But, whatever. He just showed oh so much care for his brother!
Ugh. Even in Zerie’s misery, he couldn’t help but feel bad for thinking such things about Maroon. He seemed stuck in a spiral of hatred toward everyone and everything that entered his mind, no matter how briefly. He sighed deeply into his bed.
At least Krystll had gone quiet again. Maybe she had left. Good. Zerie could get through this alone.
The knocking abruptly resounded again, louder and more persistent than before. “I don’t think you understand how determined I am,” Krystll announced. “Do you KNOW how good I am at knocking? Well, buddy, if you don’t stop me now, you are about to LEARN the hard way! Knockity knock knock knock~”
“OH MY GOD, SHUT UP.” Zerie dug his palms into his bed and forced himself up, craning his back and whirling around on his bed. He rolled off the mattress and stomped over to the door, grabbing the handle and pulling it open.
He came eye to eye with Krystll, who wore a triumphant smile on her face. He scowled at her. “You win,” he huffed. Zerie stepped away from the door and returned to his bed, letting Krystll enter.
She slid in the room and shut the door behind her. “So, what’s up?” Now that they were literally behind closed doors, the provocative playfulness had left her voice. Zerie’s eyes flicked to hers; they were filled with worry.
Worry? For him? Jeez. He didn’t need worry. He’d be just fine. Zerie bit the inside of his cheek before answering. “What did Maroon send you here for?” he asked cautiously.
She shrugged, tilting her head, her curled hair bouncing and shimmering with the movement. “They noticed you weren’t doing too hot after everything,” she said. She reconsidered her words and sighed. “Well, none of us are, but we gotta look after everyone, y’know? Even if you’re fine, it doesn’t hurt to ask.”
Zerie frowned. “Well, you got your answer,” he retorted, crossing his legs and planting his hands on the bed, leaning into the pillowy fabric. “I’ll be fine. I just need some time alone.” For the moment, he was almost glad that Maroon himself hadn’t come to talk. He could picture his brother’s eyes narrowing, darting to meet his, their face carrying the expression they made whenever they caught him in a lie.
…but Zerie wasn’t lying, so why would Maroon call him out on it? He shifted uncomfortably and lowered his gaze. UGH. Stupid hypotheticals becoming real.
“...right.” Krystll sounded just as skeptical as Maroon was in Zerie’s hypothetical. She stepped away from the doorway and joined him on the bed, the mattress sinking with her weight. “Got anything to talk about?”
Zerie’s lips pursed together. How was he supposed to answer a question that he could say both yes and no to? He had plenty to discuss- what was difficult was trying to isolate a single topic from the tangled masses of his mind. The events of the previous days blurred together in a nightmare whirlwind, and he knew that he’d come apart if he even attempted to unfurl individual scenes and examine them.
…come apart…
Strange that Zerie knew what that felt like now. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to block the memory, but that only seemed to draw forth the images he was working so hard to avoid.
He didn’t clearly remember the moment, but he remembered being burned alive by the force of the sun. He remembered every single particle that made up his body being ripped apart and incinerated, every fraction of an inch of his existence destroyed on a sun’s whim. To describe the experience as painful was to call a hurricane a breeze- the agony that had enveloped him in that single moment was beyond human comprehension, yet it seemed etched onto his very soul. There was no way he’d ever be able to describe it to Krystll, nor to Midnight or Hare. The only one who understood was Maroon, the one who’d shared the same awful fate.
And then… the events of what happened directly afterwards were wispy in his mind and fraying at the seams, but Zerie could recall the emotions running through him in that instant perfectly. They resonated so profoundly throughout his mind that the mere reminder sent searing anger and wild triumph scoring across his brain.
He knew for sure that he’d been less than human then. Zerie had come to doubt that he ever was human, especially recently, but that experience seemed to confirm his suspicions. For a fleeting instance, he’d become a weapon, a stitched-together blade that was rough and frayed at the edges. All the better for rending flesh, for ripping violently and letting things snap at your will. All the better for throwing yourself headlong into danger just for a chance to cut, and cut, and saw, and tear and rip and cut and maybe, just maybe to pierce–
Zerie had become a glowing white inferno, a beacon that arced through the air. They’d become an arrow, nocked and shot, but had never hit their target.
As a weapon, he’d failed miserably, but as a person, how was he supposed to feel about that?
Now that he knew what it was like to be inanimate, did he ever have a chance to go back to feeling like a person?
“Z-r–?”
And was he just supposed to explain these feelings to someone?! Was he supposed to be able to describe what it was like to force one’s own body to come back to life and rearrange itself?
“Z—e!–r-ie?! A—y– ok-y?”
And how, just how, does one even begin to touch on the fear that…
“Zer-e! Y–r han-s— are-yo- ok-y–
…that maybe he’d rebuilt himself imperfectly? Why did the thought linger in his mind that all of his pieces were there, but they didn’t fit together the same anymore?
–erie!”
Had he… degraded? Decayed? Rotted? What if he was broken beyond repair–?!
“Zerie!”
His thoughts unraveled as he came to, facing Krystll’s worried gaze directly before him. He stared back, unsure what she wanted, and still stunned from his wandering mind.
“Your hands,” she said gently. “Well, your fingertips. Are they okay?”
“What do you mean?” he frowned, and looked down at his hands splayed on the bed. Yes, ever since that incident (he had to swallow hard and clench his jaw to keep himself from thinking about it again), his fingertips had blackened and his nails had hardened. He supposed it wasn’t dissimilar from Maroon’s hands… but, curiously, Maroon’s hands had been that way before they’d ever met.
And curiouser still… Maroon’s very hands used to corrode everything they came into contact with.
Cautiously, Zerie lifted his hands from the bed.
He’d left behind five perfect black circular imprints on the bed, all positioned where each of his fingers had been.
He sucked in a sharp breath, clutching his hands close to his chest. A second later, he jerked them away, arms shaking, hands dangling limply at the wrists. He held them far away from his body, or as far as he could without ripping them off of him, but the mere act risked his own touch rotting his very skin.
His fingers twitched, trembling in the air, as if they had gained a mind of their own, anticipating the next thing they brought to decay. Zerie’s lip curled in disgust and his teeth gritted at the very thought of his own body betraying him in such a way. No, no, if he were to be made a weapon again, it would be at his own discretion, not the result of some natural poison–
“-hey! Hey.”
Once again he was brought back to attention thanks to Krystll’s interjections. Zerie flinched in surprise as she suddenly pressed her palm to his and threaded their fingers together. “What are you doing?!” he demanded, eyes growing wide. “Didn’t you see what happened to–”
“The bed? Yeah.” Krystll gave him a hard-eyed look and only squeezed his hands tighter, brushing away all of his concerns. “Calm down. Eyes on me. Let’s take some deep breaths, okay?” Slowly, she started to draw in a breath.
Zerie didn’t bother following her lead; he leaned away, desperately trying to tug himself out of her grip. “I-I could hurt you,” he blurted, eyes darting away, almost fearing that he’d see her wither and crumble right before him. “Y-you’ve seen it with Maroon! Everything he touched corroded-”
“And it got better, didn’t it?”
Zerie shut up.
“It’s only your fingertips that are affected,” she continued. Krystll lowered their interlocked fingers to Zerie’s lap and opened their hands. She cupped Zerie’s palm in hers, using her thumbs to trace the ridges of his sooty fingernails, keeping eye contact. He shuddered, suddenly realizing that he could not feel Krystll’s touch at his fingertips- had his nerves died at the black spots? “And with Maroon, the black gunk went up to his wrists before they could hurt people with it. Even then, he wore gloves, and later it went away.” She smiled, her eyes gleaming softly. “You have nothing to worry about. It’s not going to hurt anybody.”
Zerie’s eyes fluttered back to hers, his hands still shaky. “Wh-what about…” his voice trailed off, but he knew whatever excuse he came up with would easily be refuted by Krystll.
She smirked. “Okay, let’s challenge this train of thought. Let’s say it gets worse and you start rotting everything you touch.” Krystll let go of him with one hand, and held up a declarative finger. “Well, first of all, you have a super cool sibling that’s already been through what you’re going through and is happy to give you advice and help you. Right?”
“...right.” Zerie swallowed hard.
“But let’s say that’s not enough. What then?” Krystll raised a second finger. “Well, then you have a super smart boyfriend that knows all about how your soul works and can probably whip something up to save everyone. Yay Hare! Say it with me. Yay-!”
“Yay Hare,” Zerie finished. He was smiling now. He shook his head at Krystll, who only reciprocated the grin.
“And thirdly, if even that doesn’t seem to work?” Krystll lifted her third finger. “Well, you have a super badass girlfriend who’ll agree with me on this front: That’s kinda hot.”
“WHAT.” Zerie immediately yanked his hands from Krystll’s, giving her a dumbfounded look.
“Y’know?” Krystll gestured at him.
“N-no?!” Zerie narrowed his eyes at her, perfectly perplexed by whatever she was trying to convey. “No, I don’t know! What the HELL?! Why’d you say something like that?!”
Krystll huffed and crossed her arms. “Because I’m right! C’mon, you know Midnight- hell, you’re dating her- but we’ve known each other for years. She’ll definitely think that this is hot.” When Zerie didn’t reply, she side-eyed him. “Admit it: you think so too.”
“No I don’t!”
“Oh, really? You don’t think that someone fighting so hard to protect their loved ones and degrading themself in the process isn’t at least a little hot?” Krystll frowned at him.
“...okay, maybe a little,” Zerie conceded, rolling his eyes.
Krystll’s face split into a grin. “Then I’m right.”
He just scoffed and pushed her away from him. “What you are is a weirdo.”
“A right weirdo!” Krystll laughed, stumbling away. She stood from the bed, brushing off the spot Zerie had shoved her, and beamed at him. “I got you feeling better, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Zerie rolled his eyes, then reminded her, “But only ‘cause Maroon asked you to. You only get some of the credit.”
“Whaaaat.” Krystll’s face fell as she was drifting toward the doorway. “That’s not fair!”
“Too bad.” Zerie stuck his tongue out. “If you have a problem with it, fight with Maroon to get a bigger chunk of credit.”
Krystll hummed, the tune ominous in her throat. “Maybe I will,” she mused. “I bet I can get him to concede… without… well, you know,” she added, shooting Zerie a glance.
He just grinned. “You go do that.”
“Alright.” Krystll pulled the doorway open, spun through it, and waved her fingers at Zerie. “Bye-bye! Love ya!” With that, she shut the door, and Zerie was alone again.
Only now, the solitude wasn’t so pressing, nor did Zerie feel so bad about himself. He fell back on his bed again, his breath escaping him in a whoosh. It was amazing how Krystll always seemed to find the right thing to say; it was a testament to the existence of her natural charms. He was glad that the grudge he’d held against her had long faded by now- hating her wouldn’t have made the scene that just played out go as well as it did.
Speaking of which… Zerie lifted his hands up and took another look at his black-clawed hands.
Huh… I guess Krystll actually was right. I guess they are kinda hot. Damn. Okay.
2 notes
·
View notes
Hi I am here to ask about your OCs forever and ever. Pick a group of OCs and give me a bunch of random facts about them. Preferably little and seemingly unimportant facts like what their hobbies are or favourite foods or what their childhood dreams were. Little things yknow
Sounds good! How about we talk abouut- drum roll please- the Ambivalent Souls squad!
(They’re on the brain since I started watching Death Note and I’ve created an au that’s Death Note but with those OCs. Yes I have art I will be sharing later.)
The main cast consists of Maroon, Zerie, Krystll, Hare, and Midnight!
As much as I would like to discuss their favorite foods, here’s a fun little fact about them.
None of them can eat.
Well, hypothetically, Hare, Krystll, and Midnight could eat. They just haven’t in several years because they no longer have the need to. It’s an interesting perk of being vassal to an eldritch being- several body functions are deemed unnecessary and negated in order to maximize a human’s efficiency!
Even though they’re not working in the Syndicate anymore, it hasn’t occurred to them that they could just eat things. But if they ever do rediscover it, I think Krystll would have a real sweet tooth and Midnight would like sushi. Hare doesn’t have much of an opinion on food (mostly because he’s permanently his taste buds after experimenting on himself too much).
As for Zerie and Maroon, they just don’t have a digestive system. They’re not human. It’s as simple as that.
Out of the squad, the one with the clearest hobby is Hare. He dedicates himself to the continual study of study alchemy. Unfortunately, his hobby has severe drawbacks, namely the fact that he tests each and every experiment on himself. He’s poisoned himself several times by now when experiments have gone well so at least he has a higher poison tolerance than usual.
Krystll is in the process of rebuilding her life and she’s trying to discover something she’d like to do. She and Midnight like to walk around town and go shopping and do other girl things (such as shoplifting when they remember they’re broke). Krystll does have a casual interest in soccer, but hasn’t ever tried her hand (or, rather, foot) at it.
Maroon, Midnight, and Zerie all agree that sparring each other is as good enough as a hobby as it gets. Of course it’s productive- they’re honing their techniques and tackling each other to the ground and looking badass while doing so!
Maybe it was clear from this group’s unusual lack of direction for life, but most of them have their childhood dreams crushed if they even had them at all.
Maroon looks back on his life and realizes that he’s had no idea what he’s been doing ever. They appeared in the world one day and chose violence. Maroon has matured definitely, but their life has been a constant push and pull to come to peace with herself and figure out exactly what she wants to be (the answer, turns out, was to be gnc as fuck.)
Zerie has always had a course laid out for him and was planning to follow that to the very end of his life. And then he met Maroon. And in the best (and most traumatic) possible way, the entire plan fell apart. Now they just want to have a life that has Maroon in it.
THEY ARE SIBLINGS THEY ARE SIBLINGS THEY ARE SIBLINGS DO NOT SHIP
Krystll is recovering from her guilt and trauma left behind from the Syndicate. As the first to move on, she wants to guide Midnight and Hare through it. She likes to look at this like she’s taking her life back for herself rather than whatever the future has planned, but MAN she missed some key developmental years there.
Hare experiences an odd disconnect from his experiences in the Syndicate, thanks to the fact that at one point his memories were completely wiped. Before that, though, he dedicated his entire life to serving the Syndicate. Now…? It feels like that dream belonged to an entirely different person. He doesn’t know what to do other than atone for what his past self did. The road to recovery is especially tough for him.
Midnight has little qualms about leaving the Syndicate, considering she was never really wanted. Her goal remains unchanged: she wants to travel. Although they know the vast expanse of the multiverse, they want to explore all the beautiful things one world at a time.
Wow, all those random facts said NOTHING about what the story is, huh? That’s cool. Let’s have a fun fact lightning round!
Hare fears the ticking of a clock
Maroon is named after his favorite color
In the original story, Zerie was a prince, but that’ll probably be reworked
Both Zerie and Maroon can make inhuman noises such as growling and purring. Same with Midnight, but for different reasons
Krystll’s name is pronounced “Crystal” and Hare’s name is pronounced “Ha-ray”
Kyrstll’s hair is naturally iridescent and that’s thanks to how her soul works
Hare’s voice claim is Jeremy Jordan- specifically in his performance as Varian from Tangled the Series. However, a case can be made for Zeno Robinson as Hunter :)
Maroon can naturally tell if someone is lying but has trouble reading expressions and body language
Zerie is excellent at reading expressions and body language and gauging how someone feels at the moment. However it is hard for them to discern why the other is acting that way
Maroon and Krystll used to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Now they’re just friends. It’s complicated.
Zerie, Midnight, and Hare are in a polycule
Hare has a wide range of knowledge of how to wield a large variety of weapons, thanks to the fact that he’s the only one in the group without intrinsic magic
2 notes
·
View notes