#even the like jagged teeth one that most people draw

[justa-moth]

im screaming to the masses and saying that all jrwi riptide fan artists need to give chip and gillion those like really cool top surgery scar designs

like i love seeing those t4t mfs with top surgery scars in general, but i wanna see more of those like super cool designs !!!!

LIKE OMFG IVE HAVING A VISION OF ONE OF THEM WITH THE DESIGN OF SAWYER FROM MONSTER CAMP !!!!

[yanderenightmare]

Since I just realized you also write for JJK, may I please ask how is Megumi in bed?👉🏼👈🏼 Thank you beforehand!

Fushiguro Megumi

TW: yandere, NSFW, noncon/dubcon, mental instability, mentions of injury, abuse, possessiveness, he's a bad one

POSSESSIVE DOM

He looks at you with the most deceptively pretty expression.

Long black lashes rest heavily, casting jagged shadows over the dark look in his deep blue eyes. That look of… you’re not entirely sure what, but you’d say you’ve seen it before on people who’ve found something they’ve been long in search of. A certain mix of relief and a building resolution to keep it close so as never to lose it. 

Coveting.

He would make you shy if he didn’t make you so scared. If behind that look of softness and adoration, there wasn’t something so very sick.

But Megumi makes you feel like a plant more than a person. 

He makes you feel so fragile. Not in how he can break you upon contact if he wanted to, but in how he handles you as though you’re but a dainty little flower, nothing but sheet-thin petals upon a brittle stem in the pot he’s placed you for your own good and protection. 

But you know better than to think he won’t hurt you if he feels the need to. The scars from when the hellhounds sank sharp unforgiving canines into your legs after hunting you down the first time you managed to run away from him never seem to heal - as well as the other million claw marks and nicks you have decorating your skin from the several additional failed attempts at keeping yourself from him.

It’s best you not give him the need to and stay put while he disillusions himself into believing that you’re truly his.

He barely speaks to you, barely regards you as something to talk to, eyeing you almost medicinally while stroking his hands up and down your smooth skin. Undressing you slowly - like it would be a shame to rush - like he’s worried he’d miss something if he went any faster. 

His soft fingertips glide ever-so-gently over your collarbones, feathering as though in mockery of what brutality he’s committed before, drawing the thin spaghetti straps of your dress down your arms until it slips off your hips into a little pool circling your feet.

He’s so silent you fear making a sound, scared it would annoy him while he concentrates on mapping every last bit of you under keen eyes, dragging his long digits upon your curves and over flecks of random beauty marks and scars he’s made that make up your fine body.

And it feels exactly like how one would handle a plant, holding it gently and eyeing it for disease or distress.

He’ll push his lips to your temple and give you a kiss, nose in your hairline while he breathes in and sighs heavily, his hands rubbing your shoulders while you struggle to keep your shaking to yourself and the tremble on your lip between your teeth.

He’ll stay close while undressing, eyes on yours while revealing his lean toned perfectly cut limbs, as though chiseled by a flawless hand and painted a fair unblemished alabaster like a statue carved in the image of a deity.

You feel spoiled next him, not ugly but... ruined.

You expect him to say something - he always looks like he might - but instead, he’ll just stare while laying you out flat with your back to the mattress. Kissing you tenderly and touching you just so. 

He might give himself away and squeeze your thigh a bit rough once sheathing himself, but it’ll quickly fall away to a gentle caress again while promptly coming to kiss the place as though to say sorry. Again, as though in mockery of all those times he’d done so much worse without even batting an eye.

He’ll be nothing but silent and slow, lipping at your skin without teeth. Touching you in the same fashion a shadow touches the ground - without a lasting print - just cold.

That’s how he is, most times. 

But there are days he’s different… 

Days you question if he’s at all the same person. As though someone or something else had been patiently lurking within the shadows inside of him, something that, on some days, grows tired of the dark and wants out to play.

On those days, you really do feel like nothing but a flower beneath a boot. Plucked - no, ripped from the ground - roots snapping beneath you while your stem’s strangled tight in a chokehold, soft juicy flesh so easily marred and marked when his teeth come out of hiding, making their presence known as he bites out distorted laughs that make you go so dizzy -reeling in shock- trying to wrap your mind about how in hell it can be the same man.

When he’s like that, he doesn’t treat you like you’re something to be neatly watered and nurtured but as though you’re something finally ready to be eaten.

He’s usually so calculated with everything, but it becomes as though his usual need for perfection loses all meaning, resulting in split-second impulses based purely on eager desires of wanton lust. And you can see it in his eyes -the pang of manic hunger- as though you’re something to be devoured.

It gives you such shivers, but it’s not really that he’s so rough that gets you…

What gets you is how loud he suddenly becomes. His arms snaked about your waist, holding you up with his hand on your throat, clutching it in a bruising deadlock as he rams into you from behind, his teeth on your shoulder and neck and cheek and ear -anything he can bite into and mark- growling all types of possessive words stating his claim on you. 

That if anyone ever dares try and take you from him, he won’t think twice before setting his hell hounds loose and making you watch as they tear the waste limb from limb, splitting flesh and breaking bones until only a lumpy puddle of pulp and blood is left.

And you, in his shadow, where you belong.

[nomsfaultau]

I just spontaneously manifested an au for you. So yk how the whole not-Tommy's character arc is hanging onto Phil being kind and protective? Yeah so what if he actually got into a family where that wasn't the case? For the purposes of this au, it's DadSchlatt au. So yeah, Schlatt and Tubbo. And Tubbo gets replaced by the demon kid. And not-Tommy/Tubbo then proceeds to learn that apparently the blood connection doesn't, indeed, force parents to protect their children. What happens next? Also it'd be fun if not-Technoblade and not-Wilbur still get to sbi and how their story goes on there without not-Tommy.

“Tubbo” picked the mark because it was easier to hide if he was already meant to have spiraling horns. “Tommy” had never expected blood protection to go further than not actively attacking children for the most part, so it wasn’t a shock to him. To “Tubbo” indifference was still godly compared to what he went through in hell. His guard was slower to lower, but also he didn’t have those hackle raising moments of confused wariness compared to with Philza. It would still be a process of slowly learning he didn’t have to be bracing for the hit all the time, and there’d be a degree of finding safety in the cover. “Tubbo” didn’t take Tubbo to be loved, though, only to have a disguise to hide in to avoid the consequences of various heinous crimes. So it kinda went exactly according to plan. Schlatt wasn’t a vigilant guardian, and it was far easier to slip out and cause havoc than with the overbearing Philza. Even better, Schlatt seemed unphased with the violence beginning to plague the land, not drawing his kid closer like Philza would’ve. 

He’d expected the family to eventually notice. “Tubbo” wasn’t particularly convincing, and grew lax with the secret. Why didn’t Schlatt notice? Weeks, months, years, how did he not notice his kid was long gone? Did he not care? 

I’m not your real son. 

“Tubbo” was amused when he finally said it, all jagged teeth and cruel entertainment. An impulsive reveal; he wanted watch for the horror to crawl onto the man’s features. 

You think I’d want you enough to adopt you?

And then Schlatt didn’t seem to remember the exchange the next morning, more concerned with his hangover. Or maybe he just really didn’t care. Either way was fine by “Tubbo”. He liked to toy with the idea “Father” might even like him better than Tubbo, given how passive and meek and pliant he’s been so long ago. Far less interesting than “Tubbo”. But either way Schlatt was useful, ensuring “Tubbo” was an expected, unremarkable piece of the village even as it plummeted into ruin at his hands.

Then one day, “Tubbo” grew bored. He simply walked off, never to be seen again. He didn’t kill Schlatt, blaming his sentimentality on the human having served his use. Because even neglected as he was, apathy was still the greatest kindness he ever knew. The demon integrated into the next family, and the next. Only briefly, once, did he wonder if Schlatt had even noticed “Tubbo’s” absence at all.

“Wilbur” and “Technoblade” were far far better imposters than “Tommy” and were scrambling as their delicate balance was bombarded. The ruse could go on for a very long time, not pressured and panicked about “Tommy” rocking the boat and killing enough people to scare Philza into becoming stricter and paranoid. They’d likely start getting along better, helping cover up for one another. “Wilbur” would additionally be intensive about being a good “brother” to the real Tommy, just like he’s desperate for Philza’s affection and attention. Overall they’re far more chill than “Tommy” and would be far less stressed. 

What eventually unravels the Not-Craft household in the OG is Philza’s unequal treatment of his children. Because part of the reason “Tommy” gets utterly showered in affection in the first chapter is because Philza is scared about the people going missing and is trying to protect his youngest kid. But the building resentment was based heavily on “Tommy” not being real, either, and getting that treatment. With “Wilbur’s” assumption that Philza knew and was still treating him the worst of the imposters, it became something that blew up. But if Tommy were real, and “Wilbur” again unraveled that Philza figured it out…it would just seem natural to him. Of course he loved his real kid more, but that’s didn’t mean he wasn’t treating the other imposters okay. “Wilbur” would be completely content to continue the illusion, although kinda rotting on the inside. Since “Technoblade” would never learn Philza knew, perpetually acting on the assumption he’d have sold them out if so, they’d never get their character development because they’d always dismiss any of Philza’s advice because they wouldn’t trust or respect him. Philza grieved his children, but had far more freedom than in OG timeline. Combined with a lack of transparency, he never developed empathy for the imposters. 

“Wilbur” wouldn’t see his death coming. Neither would “Technoblade,” but they wouldn’t be surprised, either. Just bitterly resentful. 

[lord-of-the-wasteland]

// making a pinned rq.

basic DNI: proshippers, pedos, racists, LGBTQA+ phobes etc. - oc, canon character interactions are all okay - doesn't have to be FN but FN is preferred since I might not know every other media - please keep interactions sfw I want to create a safespace for everyone to enjoy - no gore or death threats, bruises or small mentions of blood etc are okay but keep it mild - no drug addict/drug abuse jokes, I've heard them all and I don't find them funny so I won't react to them sry

appearance: he has a damaged left ear with two visible cuts and chunks from his ear missing. [visible even when masked] furthermore Donnie has a lot of scars hidden underneath his mask, noticably two bigger ones across his left eye, one across his right eye, two scars each one on the left and right side of his chin, one scar running across his mouth and one more on the left side of his cheekbone. his eyes have a dark sclera and are duo coloured, being red for his iris [outer circle] and yellow for his pupils [inner circle] his face is most of the times covered in black war paint around the eye area. [think of Mad Max Furiosa or the warboys] warpaint is often running across his mask, like straight down from his eyes. ear rings can be applied to his right ear. very optional however. can transform into a badass nitro-fueled monster form. this monster this bears something that resembles his mask and armor, wereshark and other monster elements are mixed into it but mostly shark. the monster form is taller and more massive than his human form, also angrier lol.

armor: either base style or oasis colours, I will probably sometimes draw superstyles or own colours as well just so you know. his mask has very jagged teeth, this is just the way I prefer to draw them anyway. shoulder pauldrons with large spikes on both sides. a tad bit bigger than the in-game model. he has clawed gloves with metal clawtips at the end of each finger. armor plated shoes with spikes on them as well bandages or barbed wire can be wrapped around any armor part. wasteland warrior symbol can be applied to any part of his armor, not just the chest.

personality: my Donnie is a bit on the more serious side and it's very hard / yet not impossible / to break his bad guy personality. he CAN be soft or sometimes even silly-coded, however it takes a lot to get through to him. please try and find out lmao. he's actually decently kind to his henchman / wastelander crew, he would not insult them unless they screw up big time. easy to provoke so please have fun with that given fact lmao. he's often out there alone and not really prone to stick around other people, occassionally he does enjoy a little company however just to talk to or wind down. he's also quite fond of hugs or other physical touch.

[rosescries]

32

He's been staring at you for the past hour. You can feel his gaze on you, heavy and unwavering. Not even a flicker to something else, you wonder if he's even blinked. You don't think he has. 

You sigh, leaning back in your seat and giving up on doing anymore work for now. There’s just no way you can focus with the intense stare he’s giving you. You turn your eyes from the screen to the skeleton on the bed behind you, his gaze still not leaving you even with being caught. 

You doubt he even really cares that he's been caught. 

You’d be intimidated by the stare, you think most people would be. Your boyfriend is a rather intimidating Monster after all, and likely would still be even without the rumors circling around about when his kind did Underground. Most Monsters are though. Humans often cross the street whenever a Monster is coming towards them. 

But your boyfriend in particular is built like a fucking brick house. He’s big, making you look like a child beside him. He towers over literally everyone in the room, no matter how tall they are or if he’s slouching. He’s as thick as he is tall too, sturdy and heavy. Half of his skull is gone, a jagged hole left behind and leaving cracks along the rest of it like a cracked egg. Both eye sockets have the cracks running through them, though one is empty. The other has a giant red eye light in it with a little black pupil inside it. 

But what draws most people’s attention after the hole in his head, is the sharp and jagged teeth in his mouth. Which looks like they could sever your arm from your body with very little effort on his part. You know that he actually can do as such, and will if given enough provocation. 

Pair his sharp teeth and intense gaze, which makes it seem like he wants to eat you, he makes for quite the imposing figure. 

But you also know he’s a massive dork, and would in no way want to harm you. He may want to eat you, but not in the way he did to Humans in the Underground. 

You let out a puff of air, giving the skeleton a pout. 

"How am I supposed to concentrate on work when you're staring at me like that?" You ask, leaning onto the back of your chair. Sans finally gives a slow blink, but his gaze still doesn't move from you as he processes your question. 

".... sorry," he says. Your pout lifts, a small smile tugging at the corner of your lips. 

“Was there something you needed?” You ask, tilting your head a bit. 

“... come here?” He asks, offering one massive hand to you. You contemplate the request for a second, then get up to walk over, letting him gently tug you into his embrace. You’re immediately pulled onto his chest, enveloped in his thick and warm coat. 

“What’s got you so clingy?” You ask, resting your chin on your arms crossed over his chest. He just rumbles, gently nuzzling you. “Not feeling very chatty today, huh?” 

Your boyfriend’s eye sockets just lid slightly, the rumbling in his chest still going in a contented purr. You hum, mindlessly drawing shapes on his shirt. 

“That’s okay, we can just lay here too,” you sigh, nuzzling your head a little deeper into your arms and contentedly closing your eyes. 

Sans lets out a breath, ruffling up your hair a bit. He fixes it for you though, then proceeds to just comb his massive claws through the locks. He scratches your scalp a bit with the dull ends, just the way he knows you like it, making you hum in contentment. His other hand barely moves, content to just rub his thumb up and down your back. 

His rumbling purr is practically a lullaby, letting you drift off into a half sleep. It’s peaceful, he seems more than content and you are as well. 

The sun shines down on you both from the window, gently warming up whatever it touches. He’s laying on a comfy, custom couch built for his size with you resting in his arms. You can hear Papyrus muttering to himself in the kitchen along with the slight clashing of pots and pans, a heavenly smell coming from the kitchen where he’s at. You can hear the chirping of birds outside the open window too, a slight breeze rustling the pretty white curtains you convinced the boys to let you put up. 

This is more than he ever wanted, more than he thought he was ever going to get. Sometimes he just gets overwhelmed by it all, he likes to hold you as close as possible when he does. The sentimental giant that he is. 

“I love you,” you murmur, making Sans’ purring hitch for a moment. It comes back with a vengeance though, nearly vibrating you in place. You giggle lightly as he almost desperately nuzzles the top of your head, grin soft and more than content. 

You look up at the skeleton with a soft grin, giggling again when you see his eye light is big enough to nearly fill up his entire eye socket. You reach a hand out and cup the side of his head, gently rubbing your thumb over the bone. His eye sockets close even more, the man nuzzling into your hand. 

“You’re so silly,” you whisper, just getting more purring in response. You just shake your head lightly, pulling yourself up enough to press your lips to his teeth. He cups the back of your head just enough to keep you there for a little longer, then lets you settle against his chest again. He happily goes back to carding his claws through your hair, twirling and twisting the strands around and around before letting them bounce back down. 

“... love ya.. too,” he eventually whispers, making your smile widen just a bit more. You just nuzzle a bit closer to him, letting out a contented sigh. 

Too bad the peace is shattered a moment later. 

“GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASSES AND COME GET SOMETHING TO EAT!” Papyrus yells from the kitchen. Sans lets out an annoyed huff, but does slowly push himself into a seated position. 

“Love you too, Paps!” you yawn, stretching out. 

“SHUT UP AND GET IN HERE ALREADY.” Is Papyrus’ reply, just making you shake your head. 

Such silly skeletons.

[threadsun]

JDA Asks: "DUDE I READ LIKE—

-JDA here-

I read you said something like your main Oc has some stuff in common with Doe or something like that I- Can I please, please, PLEASE ON MY KNEES RN, can I please see them? Or can you write some info about them??? LIKE IM SO CURIOUS NOW !!

-also the abbreviation (jda) was cool, thanks uwu-"

Yesssssssssss I get to talk about my fucked up lil freak!!!

Okay okay okay so I'm absolutely shit at drawing and I don't think I currently have any of the art my partner's drawn of him but I can try to give you some facts about him!

ngl I tried to write out their whole backstory and everything but it got too long and hard to follow ^^' especially since it changes somewhat based on AUs

So I'll try to give you some facts and people can ask more questions if they wanna know more about him >:3c

Name:

Generally known as Zander Cohen (or Z for short)

Known as Kitty Cohen for work

Sometimes known by various other names, especially for his... less than legal activities

Hebrew name is Ezra ben Yael

Pronouns:

Yes

Most people default to "he" if they know him as Zander and "she" if they know her as Kitty

But they go by he/she/it/they/whatever

As long as you're not thinking too hard about which one you use, he's happy. Just use whatever pronoun comes to mind first at any moment, even if it's the same one every time

Gender:

Yeah, sure! She'll have one of each, thanks!

She considers herself transfem and transmasc because she was raised as both a man and a woman

Generally their gender is just... intersex/queer/creature

Or like... whatever's funniest or most convenient in the moment (especially when it comes to flirting, he'll be whatever gender you find hottest~)

Sex:

Intersex

He can change his body at will, but naturally he was born with an intersex variation and considers that important to his identity

If you want specifics for horny reasons: he's got tits, pussy, and dick (it's half way between a clit and a dick, really)

He's sterile and has patchy facial hair that he usually shaves

Sexuality:

Bisexual and slutty about it

Very t4t and nb4nb, but he'll flirt with/fuck/date anyone really if they catch his fancy

Switch verse and very kinky

Species:

Half human, but fully golem

His human mother and golem father did some weird sex magic, which ended with him being stillborn and then brought to life with magic

His golem dad fucked off before he was born, but his dad's dad stuck around. He's also a golem who usually takes the form of a cat, and his name is Grandpa Moon

Zander is made of clay, and his life is given to him by the word "אמת" carved into his skin, like all golem. His happens to be on his lower back, like a trampstamp

He can't be killed in any way other than by deactivating him by erasing some or all of the word

He can, however, feel pain and will take a long time to heal from injuries and murder attempts. His best way of healing is pouring boiling water on whatever's injured and moulding it back into shape while it's soft

His body is a lil fucked up cause he doesn't fully know how human biology works, so his insides are not the right organs in the right order. It causes him chronic pain and various disabilities

Usually he keeps a human form that's curvy, chubby, and strong. He has freckles and curly hair that both reflect his mood. When he's upset, the freckles fade and his hair goes limp and straight. When he's excited, the freckles look like stars and his hair floats. When he's in love, his freckles and curls start to look like hearts, as do his pupils

He can change his form at will, and make himself look however he wants. Usually he just does this to tweak his appearance to make himself more attractive to people because he's very vain. He also uses it for kinky sex stuff, unsurprisingly

He has a golem form that comes out when his base instincts are activated. That form is about 10 feet tall, with sharp claws and jagged teeth with serrated edges. His eyes are covered in a black film that makes him only able to see vague shapes. His senses of smell and hearing become sharp enough to sense the blood in someone's veins

His golem form also has various shapes carved into it, almost like tattoos, that glow orangey-red like hot coals

He doesn't remember the things he does in golem form once he gets back into human form, if his golem form was triggered by his protective instincts

Being a golem, if he loves someone then he's magically bound to protect them with his life. If he thinks they're in danger, his golem form comes out and he can't stop it

Uhhhh can't off the top of my head think of more important facts about him being a golem but I'm sure there's more

General:

He's a sex worker, but the specifics depend on AU. Anything from full service to burlesque/stripping to online sex work

They were raised partially in a circus. They learned lots of skills there, including picking pockets, picking locks, using a bullwhip, sword swallowing, and various other sleight of hand/illusion sort of stuff

Charisma and charm are his weapons of choice, and he'll flirt his way into and out of trouble

She's autistic!! And also severely mentally unwell but like that's a separate thing

It's... borderline illiterate. It dropped out of school really young, and never bothered to learn to read past the basics

He's got a big ol' gap between his top two front teeth

They have committed murder before

He's been engaged twice and married once, he's married to @threadmoon's OC Nik (they/them)

He and Nik are polyamorous. Usually they'll only date people together (except women, Nik isn't attracted to women so that's all Z >:3c), but Z sleeps around plenty on his own too

She's got a minimum of 12 serious exes (there's 12 that have full stories) some of whom she's still friends with and some of whom she'd kill if she had the chance (and one she did kill...)

It likes to eat raw meat, it's not picky about what animal the meat comes from, humans included :)

He's usually just kind of silly and flirty and doesn't take much seriously, but when he gets angry he goes feral. His teeth and nails are his weapons of choice

He can get very obsessive over his partners~ Once you've got his love, it's very hard to lose, and he'll do anything for you~

They're sooooo normal, I promise, come closer—

[bigidiotenergy]

"Cleanin' my favorite knife."

Drawls his reply as non hurried hands returning to their work. That intoxicating black gaze finally lifts, focusing in on Quinn as he moves closer and closer. Already Billy could see the bursts of madness that were so quick to flash in the depths of the other man's eyes. And god.. It's such a drug to feel it again after so long.. That obsession. Dark, hateful and beautiful. It's like coming home and he swears he could feel the tip of a knife carving into the flesh of his rib whenever he pushes Quinn closer and closer to madness. See. What his stalker wasn't aware of yet.. Billy Russo might just be as crazy as him, perhaps even crazier. And his most recent relationship had left him more than a little..scarred. He was unhinged and feral. Sweet Quinn fed right into what he needed, what he wanted.

"Am I gonna need to clean it again later?" Oh the implications.

QUINN WAS BORN A TWISTED CREATURE. Only then further fed into as a byproduct of his environment growing up. There were very few people that saw just how grotesque he really was— and none of those people had driven him to this point of obsession. He was more than allured by Billy; the intoxicating gazes, the promises of threats, the way that he simply couldn't keep away. There'd been no choice in the matter, the way his obsession as grown. And in return— that same choice would be taken from Billy.

That knife isn't to PLUNGE into the other's chest. It's not looking to take his life. It's looking to possess it. It'd be UGLY, JAGGED, AS MESSY as all their other scars.

But the letters carved would be undeniable: Q U I N N.

The P.I. didn't know much about the other. A little too much information that was hidden that left red flags about his past. Quinn didn't know the monster he was feeding. But he only hoped... That those pearly whites would draw blood.

Quinn sucks his lip between his teeth when he seethes— implications darkening his cheeks. "D-Don't..." He breathes hard, setting one beer right beside him. The other beer reaches over Billy, making Quinn close the gap between them. He hovers over his obsession's face.

"T-Tease... me."

[percydreadful]

There's a new scar on Clove's chest.

It's right at the center of his ribcage, just below where the hard bone ends and dips into the soft flesh of his stomach. The thing is jagged, like it closed up something inside it, because it closed something within him. It's where the physicians had tried to pull the infection out of him, untangling lacey patterns from inside of him and ultimately watching them weaving themselves back into his flesh.

King Aurelius hadn't let him die though. And Clove is thankful, of course, very happy that he gets to see his little brother again. He wouldn't be able to stand leaving Arke alone- not alone, just without Clove.

The recovery takes weeks. Clove doesn't remember the first one, in and out of consciousness the whole time, the scale pressed under his skin, seeping into his very being, trying to assimilate despite the white lace fever. He's glad he doesn't remember, from what Arke tells him. That he'd find Clove curled in the fetal position, shaking and spasming as some new change manifested in him. That he'd been mumbling pleas into his pillows, begging for some part of the process to end. That for the whole day it took the horns to grow from his head that Arke couldn't look at him for long, couldn't keep seeing the dead eyed stare Clove had fixed on nothing in particular.

That one night while Arke was fighting to stay awake at his side, he swore Clove had stopped breathing.

Clove is alive. He's not well, not yet, but he's alive. He can walk without getting dizzy again, can use some of his lighter spells. He's been focusing more on art for now, sketching scenes from the palace, drawing whatever silly doodles Arke had goaded him into. It's just...

It's just most things feel different now.

His muscle memory is the same, miraculously. He hadn't even needed to adjust back into painting, into carving wood blocks to print someday.

He's too tall. His limbs feel a little too long. He keeps catching things from the corner of his eyes, keeps feeling his ears prick toward the smallest sounds, something in him telling him to pounce. He's learning to maneuver around claws, filing them down to the point he can still pick up a pencil. His teeth- his fangs keep catching on his tongue, the taste on his own blood a near constant these days.

The cravings.

He's been a vegetarian his whole life, being half satyr and all. He was never one to judge, though; people eating meat didn't bother him in the slightest. He's tried it before, gotten violently ill over it, but he hasn't hated it. But now it's like his teeth are aching for it, yearning for him to sink them into soft flesh and rend it.

Clove. He doesn't like this.

The worst is the way Arke looks at him sometimes.

It's not usually different, all things considered. Arke still knows that Clove is his brother no matter what, that he's still Clove no matter what. There are days, though, where Arke seems more cautious, that he sneaks around, avoids Clove like hes being hunted. And Clove knows why, he thinks, remembering those early days where his strength was sapping back into him and an electric shock went up his spine and back down to the end of his tail, forcing something out of his mouth and snapping his fangs together and he was something he really should not have been. Aurelius himself had needed to take Clove down, pressing a snout he wasn't meant to have into the ground, letting him shred his claws into Aurelius's impenetrable scales. He'd scared Arke. He never wanted to do that again, but here he is, something he doesn't recognize, something terrible.

This whole... thing.

This whole situation, to Clove, is like his early teenage years, regretting ever being given a body and having to live in. This time is worse. Definitely worse. This time he's got someone he can disappoint, this time he can't change anything, this time he thinks it's what'll finally end him.

[yandere-chocolate]

Yandere Red Son x Male Reader ~(Romantic)~

TW/CW: horror, stalking, obsessive behavior(seriously, it’s much worse than my other works), bad parents, far too much use of the word “peasant”, Red Son & his superiority complex.

(I recommend you’re one of my…older readers.)

“I was trying to blow off some steam on the peasant of this city after another attempt to help my family only for them to laugh at me.

Well, excuse me for trying to give us power! I apologize for trying to save us from rotting away in unimportance! I’m just a useless child, aren’t I? I’M JUST A BURDEN, A MISTAKE, A—

But I snapped out of it. Damage was done to the city. Fire was everywhere. Noodle boy & his just as stupid friend group would be here soon. But I didn’t care at the time. Because the most beautiful man I had ever seen in my life was right in front of me. He was trembling in fear at the time, gripping my arm, attempting to divert my aim. There were some trembling, crying, injured people behind him. He was trying to protect them, wasn’t he?

Normally I would laugh at a peasant’s feeble attempt to beat me to save some people, but this man was no peasant. Not with beauty like that. Not with bravery like that.

The fireball that I had formed slipped through my hand, dying out. Me & the man stared at each other for what felt like forever. Oh, how I secretly wished that were true.

The noodle brat came by soon after & I had to leave the lovely man. I have to admit, I wasn’t very good at winning fights back then. I couldn’t be humiliated like that again—not when he was watching. I don’t know why. Something just flared up inside of me just by looking at the other man. It’s insane, looking back on it now.

That boy was stuck in my mind for days—weeks after our brief encounter. I couldn’t tell if it was love or lust, but regardless I daydreamed about meeting him again. My favorite scenario to imagine was defeating the noodle boy & the other man falling for me—praising me. I still think about that one sometimes.

He consumed my every thought. I barely even cared my parents unsupportive behavior because all I could think about was him.

I tried to draw him, write about him, anything to give me the feeling that he was there. It was pathetic, looking back on it. Desperate.

After about 3 weeks of self-restraint, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to see him again. I needed to know his name, his voice, his smell, his behavior, his—

I’m getting off track again.

I sent out a bull clone to hide among the peasants & fine that boy that I had met. The clone had a camera on them so I could see my love on a computer I had at home.

His name was (Y/n). What a pretty name~ I couldn’t help but smile in happiness & excitement. I hadn’t felt this happy in weeks. Months. Years.

I had the clone follow him home. I found his address by locating where the cone was. I smirked as I wrote it down in case I forgot. The bull clone came back & I could barely sleep that night, all I could do was think about his name. About his voice.

I visited this man for the weeks afterwards. It’s not stalking! I’m just making sure there’s no…competition. Unfortunately, there was.

I was watching my love, as I usually do when I need to cool off, when I saw a PEASANT GIRL SITTING WITH HIM!

She was laughing at his jokes, touching his chest & arms, & breathing hIS AIR!-

My hair & eyes lit on fire as I grit my teeth. How dare she?! Does she think she’s worthy of even being in my husband’s? Future husband—but still a soon-to-be member of the great bull family! SHE SHOULD BEING BOWING AT HIS FEET, BOWING AT MY FEET FOR FLIRTING WITH MY LOVE!

I broke the camera. The flames in my hair and eyes quickly went out as I stared blankly at the camera. Some of the best photos I had taken of my darling were on there. The rage quickly set back in as I glared at the woman, still joking with (Y/n). Oh, she’s so dead!”

.

.

.

.

The writing ends here, with the exception of jagged scribbles of incoherent praises across the pages. Yet, despite your horror, you couldn’t stop staring. You should be completely frozen in fear, you felt frozen in fear, yet your hands still turned the pages of the small notebook, reading every. Single. Word.

“I bet you’re reading this right now, darling. I know you get home around ▇▇, but you only go up to your room around ▆▆ after you do your chores & watch a little TV. I personal hate the Monkie King show, but I’ll allow you to watch it after we get married. By the time your reading this part of the story, if my calculations are correct (which they always are), I’m already right behind you or coming upstairs—”

You finally stopped reading the horrific notebook & attempted to throw it across the room only for someone to catch it. You recognized them as Red Son from the Bull family. He was a villain that seemed to be defeated easily by MK. But MK isn’t here. It’s just you; a normal human vs. Him; the son of a very powerful & has pyrokinetic powers.

“Hey! Don’t throw my book!” Red yelled, proceeded to brush off imaginary dust or dirt of it. “It’s full of my favorite memories…~” yeah, like you sleeping.

You stood there, just hoping the son of DBK would simply spare you & walk away. Oh, but you knew that would be almost impossible to achieve.

Suddenly, Red Son was so much closer, staring at you with a loving gaze. Were you zoned out long enough for him to get this close?

He cupped your cheek & all you could do was stand still; frozen. He manipulated your head to face him.

“You look so pretty…darling…” his gaze trailed down to your lips. His breathing got ever so slightly heavier but his hair slowly began to move, eventually turning into a slow, graceful fire. Not a normal fire, no. A strange pinkish-magenta fire, with lifting hearts forming from the sparks. You could swear that you could see his pupils become hearts. He began leaning closer until he seemed to snap out of whatever lovesick trance he was in because his hair returned back to normal & so did his eyes.

“I should take you home. Right?… I mean, I have dated before, I’m Red Son! Son of the great demon bull king! But…” he looked off, nervous. “Yeah! You’re coming home with me!” He picked you up & carried you off, but you were in so much confusion & shock that you just…stayed there.

“You should feel very lucky! Not everyone gets the honor of getting married to a member of the demon bull family! I can’t wait to crush that noodle boy with you! You can test my machines! We can run the barbecue stand together! But we won’t serve these peasants! If they complain, we can just ignore them! I mean, it’s barbecue! What kind of—”

He droned on. You just felt…tired. You closed your eyes & sunk into his chest. You didn’t question why it warmed up when you did that because all the warmth did was pull you further into sleep.

Red Son kept on walking, despite his flushed face. He wasn’t used to this much affection. Or, much affection at all. I mean, all you did was lay your head on his chest.

Still, that small act only convinced him more that you two were meant to be. But now, a part of him thinks you love him just as much as he obsesses over you.

(That’s it. Btw, this is more so S1 & Revenge of the Spider Queen Red Son. Idk, I love this guy & naturally I wrote something about him because of that. Hope you enjoyed despite the…dark themes.)

[toasts-httyd-hyperfixation]

Book Hiccup and Co potential scars n stuff

Finally getting to this post lol

Ok so like i said the other day i wanted to make a post talking about the various kinds of scars and other permanent damage Hiccup and Co could have gotten

Some of these are stated in the books, some are just whats highly likely, and others arent necessarily likely, or even really possible irl

But since this is a fictional series, adding a lil bit of spice, a lil bit of pizzazz to things ya know

Also not everyone scars the same, not everyones skin reacts to same to stuff

One person might get bitten by a dog and have little to no scarring, while someone else might get a big scar from a papercut

So you can go bigger, smaller, you dont have to include any of this at all

These are just what seem likely (and interesting) to me, for anyone who might want a bit of inspiration lol

Putting this under a cut because it might be long and also theres going to be images of various kinds of scars n stuff, as well as spoilers so

Alright starting with Hiccup

So in book 1 he was bitten on the calf by a dragon, probably not too deep, but definitely could still leave a scar

Likely would look something like these

----------

Book 2 the Skullion scratched his chest, and it says that the scar stayed his whole life

Probably looked something like these

maybe a bit bigger, more jagged if ya want, but definitely similar

----------

Nothing really happened in book 3-4

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Book 5 hiccup got a lava burn on his heel, could look like this

----------

Nothing really books 6-8

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Book 9 it said Excellinor scratched up his arm and hands so he could have a bunch of thinner scratchy scarring from that

Cant really find any good reference images for this kind of scarring:/

----------

Book 10 there was the whole Amber-Slavelands-Dragon, i talked about this here, also this is very good fanart :P

Honestly the acid scarring might cover up some of the legs scars from book 5, and book 1 depending on if it was shallow enough so

----------

Book 11 theres the Vampire Spydragon, the thing bit him twice so it definitely left a scar

Probably would look like these, except 2 deeper spots where it left its teeth

----------

Book 12 theres nothing really specific but Cressida does draw him with some scratches across his face so that could leave some scarring as well

I think these are in book 11 too but

----------

And those are whats mentioned in the books

He also probably had a bunch of random other smaller scars, whether from dragon scratches, bites, people trying to kill him, getting cut on branches, rocks, etc

-----------------------------------------------

Now as for things other things that also could have caused skin changes, not specifically just scars

Hiccup has at least 1 black eye from before book 10 to book 12

And while black eyes arent permanent, theres something called hemosiderin staining which can be

"Hemosiderin staining can essentially be regarded as a very severe form of bruising. Staining happens in areas where a significant amount of bruising has occurred as a result of severe injuries, hemorrhages or, in certain cases, after a particularly invasive surgery.

When damage occurs, the surrounding tissue is flooded with blood and a bruise forms. The more severe the trauma, the more blood that leaks into surrounding tissues, signifying a greater presence of hemosiderin."

And for the most part this isnt a permanent thing, but if it lasts for long enough, it essentially tattoos the skin, and so it pretty much just stays

"Over time, certain hemosiderin stains will fade naturally as the body slowly uses up the stored iron. This hands-off process can take several months or even years to completely remove all traces of the stain. Generally, stains that last more than 12 months cause permanent marks as the skin has essentially been tattooed."

And normally this happens in the lower legs, or places with poor circulation but

This is fiction and i think it would be interesting if something like that happened due to the repeated black eye Hiccup had

It could look something like this

Technically these are birthmarks but you get the idea

Actual hemosiderin staining can be reddish, brownish, bluish, look like an actual bruise, etc

----------

On the arm where the Vampire Spydragon bit him, could also consider some discoloration around where the teeth left in would have been, whether just a darker color, or some permanent purple staining

Also could be some purple at the ends of his fingers on his left hand, his left ear, just like some of the extremities on his left side ya know

I dont know if its realistic but I think itd be interesting

Like these

Except this wouldnt be because something wrong with circulation or a disease or something, just staining from the dragon bite

----------

And general there could be some hyper/hypopigmentation in various spots over his body, there are various causes for that, so its not particularly unlikely

----------

Thats about all i can think of for Hiccup so now onto

-----------------------------------------------

Fishlegs

We never really ever get told anything that could cause scarring but he has eczema, as well as rashes from allergies, so almost definitely he has scarring and discoloration from that

----------

Probably there would be hyper/hypopigmintation, Post-inflammatory pigmentation which is just another form of skin darkening, and something called Lichenification which is caused by chronic scratching and rubbing, looks like this

and it can leave pigmentation that looks like this

Heres a page that gives some basic info on all of these

----------

Also even in general Fishlegs probably has some rash, redness over his face/arms/legs that comes and goes in different areas due to the eczema and allergies

----------

For scarring there would the the usual eczema scarring, as well as probably those scars that can happen when you scratch at scabs and bug bites constantly and they get open and infected, the circle-ish ones, i cant really find a pic unfortunately but kinda like these

----------

Then there would probably be scarring from being in danger a lot, dragon scratches, bites, rocks scrapes, stuff like that

(Also because we know that whipping and generally hurting the slaves wasnt exactly frowned upon, theres the potential for some scarring from stuff like that, especially because of the fact that he's Hiccups best friend, people alvinandsnotlout might have been extra mean to him so)

----------

Thats pretty much it for Fishlegs so now

-----------------------------------------------

Camicazi

Again we never really get told anything that would leave scarring, and she doesnt have any skin conditions that were told

So she probably just has kinda the general scarring from viking life, being in a war, and also being a mischievous lil shit who likes to cause problems lol

----------

She also could have some hyper/hypopigmentation spots across her body

-----------------------------------------------

And thats pretty much it

This took a lil bit longer than i had intended :p

But i hope yall find this interesting, hopefully i didnt miss anything major but yeah

----------

Just some general stuff for references

This site has some pretty good pictures of a lot of different skin conditions, and articles about a bunch of stuff as well

This one similar to the last

This has a lot of random different scar pictures

This is a site for various textures and they have a section for human skin

I might add onto this if i find any other good sites but for now thats it

[chiwhorei]

gun bunny

pairing: mafia!s. aizawa x fem!reader

genre: mafia!au, quirkless!au, smut- 18+ minors dni

word count: 2.5k

warning: somnophilia, voyeurism, violence, attempted kidnapping, attempted assault, mentions of blood, mentions of guns and knives, degradation, age-gap (reader is 19 and aizawa is 31), spitting

a/n: hello! this is my contribution to the smut pile mafia!server collab, this is both my first smut pile collab (this is so late i am so sorry sksksksk) and my first full-length bnha piece, be sure to check out everyone else’s amazing work here! thank you to @10millionyearsdungeon and @messwriting for your constant support while i trudged through sad pal hours for a fucking month and crawled out of the pits of writer’s block

hymns: hayloft by - mother mother, i’m on fire - awolnation cover

Blood pours over decades like syrup, the tinny-sweet smell was distinct but all too familiar. A muffled gun’s buzzing frames 19 years of life. The barrel feels cool, sitting precariously by the highest angle of your cheekbone.

“I told you not to cause trouble, brat. Now I have to clean up your little mess.”

Aizawa’s body is tall and broad above you, holding you against him with a protective grip on the small of your back. Every word is sneering, punctuated with a growl-- you feel it reverberate against his chest.

The bullet is resounding even through the silencer; a deafening sound, final bell tolling next to smeared streaks of mascara.

Aizawa Shouta has always been around-- whether bringing your dad a hefty stack of reports to thumb through or loosening his tie in the parlor and toasting him to another job well done. A carousel of chauffeurs and bodyguards encircle you, but all are nameless faces except for the man that can make people disappear in an instant: Eraser.

Otsuka y/n, the only daughter of the most powerful man in Japan, is a weighty title against your shoulders. Your father’s reputation has cradled you for almost two decades, keeping you draped in fur and balancing on red-bottoms. He has more money, more power than God. To most of your father’s inner circle, you are the dutiful, angelic heiress to his blood-soaked empire. You play the part well enough, polite, temperate- your hands are painted red in culpability, but perfectly manicured.

Your father’s business isn’t a secret, no matter his attempts to shield you over the years. There’s only so many nights spent humming to the tune of cracking skulls in the next room before “investments in oil” starts to lose its validity. Whenever you ask him, he pats your head, smoothing stray strands of hair, “I do it all for you, bunny. Everything is for you.”

You decide not to think about rouge splatters of blood and bruises against his knuckles, ignoring the clicking of a loading gun before he leaves for the office.

It’s better this way.

“You can’t be serious, Otsuka.” Aizawa paces across the hardwood, heel to toe with Italian leather from one large bookshelf to the other. A familiar habit, you’ve seen the contemplative marching before and know it to mean one thing: Aizawa is pissed.

“Have you ever known me to joke around? Especially with y/n?” Your father’s elbows hit the table in front of him, the jagged scars lining his face seem even more intimidating when coupled with a harshly set frown. You perch on the side of his large desk, swinging your feet lightly.

“Oh daddy, I’m not a child. I don’t need Eraser to babysit me.” You huff, crossing your arms and providing a pout to your father’s hard expression. You hear the mumbled, “Don’t call me that,” from behind you, but decide against a response.

“He’s going to look after you while I’m in Musutafu. I have to handle some…” he trails off slightly, one of his hands coming up to rub against his bald head, “noncompliance, but I shouldn’t be gone for more than a few days.” His disfigured fingers curling around yours, you look up to meet his eye, “Be a good girl, bunny.”

You give your father’s temple a kiss, pulling back to smile sweetly. Your next words have Aizawa snorting, rolling his eyes far enough into his skull to be painful.

“I always am.”

A bend downwards at the hips frames your ass perfectly, the lace of your panties curls around your pussy tightly, hooking against the lips and showcasing your soft skin. Questions swirl in the bowl of cereal in front of him, all but forgotten as soon as a cup“fell” from your fingers and clattered to the floor. The taste, the smell, the feeling of--

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

Aizawa is ripped from the reprehensible desires of his senses to meet your eyes, your form still folded over on itself and displayed for Aizawa in the otherwise empty kitchen. You giggle at his scowl, snapping back up and smoothing out your skirt. Aizawa bites down on the spoon in between his teeth, he swears he can feel his teeth cracking. Better his canines than his will.

This only marks the beginning of a long week for your father’s right-hand man. The proceeding days turn to nights at a snail's pace. The past week has been inching towards disaster with every minute of alone time you could steal with Aizawa.

“Eraser, what are you doing up so late.” Your voice curls around his shoulder, the whine tugging him towards your open bedroom door. It’s late, far too late for you to be up to anything good.

You always like to push your luck, playing a game you know Aizawa won’t let himself win. Pressing firmly against the line but never pointing your heel across. Maintaining your immunity, feigning innocence behind a soft pout. Your appointed guardian isn’t fooled by any honeyed façade you build around his associates. He knows what you are at the core.

He tries to shake off your pull, but the way your voice lilts against the long hallway is magnetic. The past few nights have been the same song and dance, your disarming call to him as he trudges to one of the many guest bedrooms. Every night he gets closer, heavy feet and tense nerves guiding him towards your warm voice. He’s weathering a sea, you’re the siren hell-bent on his drowning.

“I told you not to call me that, little girl.” His response to your wanton call is shallow, the nickname is one he hates the sound of, especially rolling past your lips.

“Do you like what you see?”

Aizawa’s brows set harshly as he looks on to where you lie nestled in pillows and silk. You have nothing but a loose, light pink camisole to cover your body, cotton panties pulled down to your ankles with shameless intent. Your legs are spread wide for your viewer’s pleasure, two fingers brush against your lips, dragging lazily- up and back down.

Aizawa knows what you really are, a petulant brat.

You pull at the soft skin, spreading yourself to unveil the tight, clenching hole. He leans his shoulder against the jam, eyes drinking you in where his body shamefully wishes to be. The groan aching deeply in his chest is not lost on you as your other hand pulls the hem of your shirt upwards to catch in between your teeth.

The soft plush of your breasts bounces slightly, nipples peeking out from the folds of fabric, now fully exposed to the inky-black stare of your voyeur. There’s nothing left to his imagination now, the question that haunts sleepless nights, palming a large hand up and down his cock and imagining something softer and smaller. The picture of what his boss’s precious daughter would look like squirming under him becoming clearer beyond all reason.

Aizawa should turn heel and walk away, he should slam your bedroom door shut and count the days until your father’s return with a measured distance. He should walk away. He should-

A soft whimper drags him from contemplation and back to the writhing succubus center stage. Your fingers move quickly against your aching clit, drawing out babbled pleas to hit harshly against the tall, brooding presence at your door.

“I’ve had about enough of your games, bunny. Your father tasked me to keep you out of trouble, but you are the trouble.” Aizawa’s words hit your ears mockingly, but they sound more like an invitation than a warning, especially as his body inches forward, breaching the threshold of your bedroom inch by inch.

Two fingers slip past your lips, pushing in and drawing back slicked with arousal. You repeat the action, slowly, ensuring the boring set of eyes are trained on where you clench desperately; wanting to put on a good show with your bodyguard in the front row.

Aizawa’s head is swimming, dizzy and drunk. He wants to tear you apart, to lay claim to the twitching prize between your legs. If you struggle around two of your own much smaller fingers, it would be nearly impossible to wrap you around his thick cock.

That is, not without breaking you.

The heated pants escaping you pick up in canter, your audience winding a tight cord with his presence alone. Aizawa is unrelenting in his deep, unblinking stare, stepping towards your bed slowly. Once his body is looming over you, the coil in your stomach has turned into a hair pinned trigger.

“Such a messy little slut. Getting off to the attention aren’t you?” You’re rendered dumb at his comment, Aizawa barely has to press his thumb into your chin before your mouth hangs open. You look up with glassy eyes, fingers sore from working against your pussy, chasing a high you can only imagine how fast Aizawa could steal from you. His expression is as neutral as always, but the despondency doesn’t quite shadow the fire burning in his eyes. You watch him lean forward slightly, a string of saliva falling downward to land against your tongue. His spit feels hot, you can taste the remnants of cigar and mint gum as you swallow.

You come undone in a litany of cries, pleading with your captor. His hold is passive as he looks at you, watching you cum against your fingers, the squelching sounds make his mouth dry. The only source of hydration is at the apex of your thighs. Visions flash before his eyes, images of what the curve of your breasts look like as he’s buried tongue deep, lapping you up post-orgasm and pushing you over once more for good measure.

Aizawa retreats, lest he pulls you against his mouth while your cunt is still pulsating, he needs to escape before your knees are pressed to your shoulders. He slams your door closed harshly, leaving you with the taste of his contempt for you on your bottom lip.

You’re quick to sleep, body falling into the warmth of unconsciousness coupled with dreams of what a certain set of fingers would feel like against you. How the scars and calluses would brush against your most intimate inches of spongy flesh, how he would stretch you.

You can almost feel the soreness in between your legs and the heavy slap of something against your stomach. You can almost remember the whispered confessional swimming in the back of your head, the soft grunts from above your sleeping form. As sunlight stretches across your sleep-stiff body, your hand trails down over your naked skin, maybe you aren’t the only one playing games this week.

You could have almost sworn you had gone to sleep with panties on.

The car ride to your father’s bar was filled with unflattering tension. You had protested in vain that going with Aizawa wasn’t necessary, but had been met with a dismissive, “I don’t trust you to behave.”

“I’m not a child, Eraser. I don’t see why I couldn’t just sit at home.” You wobble behind your escort, heeled boots clacking against the gravel.

As you enter the building, a young mop of violet hair flanks Aizawa down with a stack of papers. The man is nameless to you but is familiar enough to be assumed under your father’s thumb.

Aizawa looks over the document’s now held in front of him with care, rolling up the sleeves to his crisp dress shirt as his eyes scan the pages. You note the shimmering silvered skin of a scar under his left eye, pronounced by the harsh lighting surrounding you. His hair is held up partially by a tie, the loose strands framing his face.

“Are you listening to me, little girl?” You're snapped back from watching his mouth curling around syllables to actually make out what they’ve been saying.

“Go sit down, I’ll only be a few minutes.” You nod along and turn to perch at the bar, but stop at the grip pulling you back for one final order. “Don’t get yourself into trouble.”

Aizawa leaves you to stew in the subtle brush of his pointer finger against the tender skin of your wrist, he rubs the skin subtly before disappearing to the back rooms.

The minutes ticking by are agonizing. Aizawa, usually the epitome of brief, has been gone long enough for the condensation on your glass to mar the wood below it in countless ringlets. You twirl the straw against the strawberry liquor, willing time to crank by faster with the action. The drink in your veins isn’t nearly enough to get you drunk but does make the opening of the front door unnoticeable.

Your back is facing the heavy wood, unaware of the two strangers now approaching until the curdling sound of one man’s voice hits the shell of your ear.

“Well, well, look what we have here. Why don’t I buy you a drink, princess?” Each man steals one of your sides, enclosing you into a tight, predatory huddle.

“This is my bar. I don’t need you to buy me anything.” You try to shake off the nauseating feeling of their bodies so close to you, gut twisting uncomfortably as one man’s breath crawls across your shoulder blades. They’re both so close. Too close.

“Wow, this little kitty cat’s got some claws, don’t she?” You feel hands curl around each bicep, a bruising grip right below your armpits. Your body is hoisted up, your balance off at the jarring upheaval.

Possible escape routes flash across your mind but all seem impossible. Would trying to shake off the still faceless strangers even work? And even if you sprung free, would you make it to the back office before they caught up? Should you try to scream? Would Aizawa hear you?

Before you can make any moves, you feel the flat side of a knife at your collarbone. A chill rattles down your spine at the contact, two inches of metal keeping your entire body compliant.

Their intent is clear, you’ll be coming with them, and by the sharp point of a blade digging into the first layer of skin-- you’ll be coming quietly.

A mixture of shock and disbelief compels your body into compliance, dragging you to the front door and closer towards an awaiting trunk.

“Your carriage, princess.” You hear the shorter man on your right, his voice at your neck sounds waterlogged through the blood rushing in your ears. Any protests die at the knife against your skin, digging in shallowly and pricking a small trail of red along your clavicle.

A sharp snap sounds behind you, like a piece of thin wood under a heavy boot. One of your captors falls in a pile next to you. You’re turned around to meet a familiar pair of venomous, black eyes, Aizawa’s words roll from his tongue with a growl.

You’re pulled at the wrist, stumbling back into the strong chest of your appointed bodyguard.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing with my bunny?”

all writing is dymphnasprose’s original content, please do not repost or modify. do no read my content as asmr.©️

[boop-le-snoot]

stephen strange x oral fixation selfship

it made me horny writing this goodbye. i chew on stuff when i am focused and if were dating you better be giving me your fingers to chew on, bubs. and lemme make-out in your lap for 102828 hours. 😤

cant wait for borders to open so i can go to germany and get my tongue split finally.

based on a sex dream. thank you benefits cucumber for being sexy as fuck.

"You're going to bite it clean off one day," his amused voice interrupted her thoughts briefly, causing the girl's fingers to stutter in-between flipping pages.

She raised her eyes upwards, unbothered by the apparent disrespect for each other's space bubble - neither of them was sure when or how they crossed the lines; perhaps, she was naturally that casual about touch and he didn't have the heart to react in any negative way. He craved it almost as much as she was ignorant of pesky things like societal norms and whatnot.

"Yes, Stephen" true to herself, she offered an exaggerated agreement, emphasizing his name, still worrying that damned, plump lip between her teeth. He could see the miniscule wounds, the healed scar tissue below the line of it. It was a long-time habit for her. "That's why I got my fangs filed," teasing, she smiled, baring her teeth. The inhumanly jagged incisors glinted at him mockingly.

"Kids these days," he continued the familiar banter, fighting the smile at the corners of his mouth. Stephen didn't pretend to understand why she decided that fangs and split tongue was something a human being should possess but he wasn't one of those people who told others what to do with their bodies.

Having thought about it more than strictly necessary, he had decided it did suit her, to an extent, to be as peculiar outwardly as she seemed to be on the inside. Stephen's attention slid back to his own book, he almost managed to ignore the tiny girl sitting in-between his outstretched legs, flipping through several tomes at a time.

Every now and then, a focused sigh would emanate from her and he would have no choice but to briefly cast a glance towards her; the little crease between her eyebrows betrayed the intense thought process she was in. Her foot was twitching against his knee, she never seemed to be able to sit still and even more so when her brain worked overtime.

She reminded him of Tony, which in turn, made him want to just wrap her in his arms and never let go. Just like the engineer, behind a wall of sass and snark, there was a gentle, sensitive person with a world full of colors.

Her lips were steadily turning crimson. The more she got into it, the more she chewed.

"Anything of value?" Stephen couldn't bear to look at it anymore.

"Nothing new," she replied absentmindedly, tucking a long strand of hair behind her ear. Feeling his eyes glued to her face, she raised her head in confused. "Huh?" The eyebrow arch, the exasperated face.

"Do you need a chew toy?" His own face must've mirrored her because her frown deepened.

The very tip of her tongue snuck out, running over her chapped lips.

He followed the movement with his eyes, tenatively reaching out a finger to brush against the puffy, sensitive flesh, torn between watching himself touch her and the miniscule flutter of her eyelashes as she very obviously tried to conceal her reaction.

A worm of malicious glee took a home in Stephen's chest; as much as she liked to act cool and nonachalant, sometimes they did catch her slipping: lingering looks and quiet sighs.

The corner of her mouth rising slowly, derisively should have been a warning enough. But he was just a man, burdened by his vices and at times, weak. Leaning into him not more than an inch or two, she wrapped her lips around his thumb, the dull scrape of her incisor causing his blood to suddenly run cold. Stephen's toes twitched as she readjusted her position, butt on her calves, a hand firmly planted next to his inner thigh.

As gently as she could, she chewed on his thumb, eyes drooping shut in a gesture almost pornographic. Stephen exhaled, noisy, a breath he didn't know he had been holding, at the seemingly innocent bite to his hand.

Breath hot on his hand, he had no choice but to watch the fine hairs on that arm stand up in response to her. Eyes laughing, she may have been mocking him, waving the ambiguity of their friendship (or was it something else?) as a banner of his stubbornness and her own insecurity.

"Like this?" Briefly pausing the gnawing, her tongue snaked out to scoop up the moisture at the opposite corner of her mouth, briefly enveloping his thumb in her hot, wet mouth strictly more than necessary.

"You..." Stephen was at a loss of words, which only prompted for her mischievous smile everybody was secretly afraid of grow.

"Me," she replied with a nod, resuming the slow, delicate gnawing.

It was a head rush. He was sure, if she'd wanted to, she could easily draw blood, pierce his skin with the gentlest of touches. The thought of it was what broke the camel's back.

The free fingers of his hands wrapped around her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his. "You're trouble," he stated, slowly pulling her in and giving her the time to pull away, should she change her mind.

"Mhm," denying the obvious wasn't in her nature. She obediently followed the movement, shamelessly wrapping her mouth fully around his thumb, shuffling closer to his chest with small movements until she had no other option but to hold onto his shoulders for balance.

He decided quite liked her on top of him, not like that was anything new. As the distance between them closed, Stephen easily slipped his thumb from her mouth, leaving a wet trail of spit on her chin and down her neck as he repositioned the hand from her front to her nape.

The side-smirk was still glowing smug in her face, too adorable for someone who just masterfully trolled a sorcerer twice their age. Stephen leaned in first, catching the plump of her abused lip gently between his own, eyes sliding shut at the sensation of the slightest, most reluctant tremble coming from the girl in his lap.

There were small cues almost all the time she was around any of them; now, Stephen could feel the hitch in her breath, the desperate clutch of her fingers on his collarbones as she displayed the reactions she denied herself out of spite on a daily basis.

His tongue slipped in without any resistance as the barest hint of a moan leaked into the kiss; he wasn't as patient as the girl in his lap, gathering her closer was a feat as quick as it was rewarding. The noises grew louder as she felt the results of her little games under her hips. All want and no finesse, her knees and calves landed noisily outside of his thighs, her center planted firmly over his erection.

Now, it seemed stupid for Stephen to ever have had thought that he stood a chance against her. The hot, wet and messy kiss was just the beginning.

[ririchanva]

Summary: Marinette gains a new ally in a student from Japan, although he’s not what he seems. Lila makes her move, proving to Marinette that her threat is real. But what she didn’t count on, was that Marinette would have a few friends that has her back. Although they are the most unexpected people. When Lila pushes too far by getting Marinette and her friends expelled, there is a certain hero that lends a hand. But wait? BECOME STUDENTS OF U.A.?

Chapter 1: Chameleon, Discoveries Made!

 ░ ❇┊Next┊❇ ░ ❇┊Masterlist┊❇ ┊AO3 ┊❇░

A/n: Like the new banner? Whew, had to have a while to draw it out. Yeah it does hint a few spoilers ahead, but oh well, it also places a lot of mystery on it. So yeah, this is. the REMAKE of the fanfic of “Quirks and MIraculouses” but changed the “Miraculouses” into “Miracles” instead. Plot-wise, there are some changes in there, and it will have a different lore on both fandoms so yeah, AU verse ahead. The chapter today is based on the Miraculous Ladybug Episode: Chameleon just like the original fic. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this one guys. Will be making updates mostly every Friday or Saturday so stay tuned~!

   Marinette was both confused and angry.

    Lila was back in school.

    How in the world did this happen?

    “Oh~ A seat in the front row~” Lila’s saccharine voice spoke up as she stepped into the class with Ms. Bustier, smiling sweetly, “You all remembered my hearing issue~! You’re such sweethearts, all of you~” And soon she was blowing kisses to everyone before taking her seat next to Adrien.

    Marinette folded her arms as she raised a brow, of course not believing a word she said, “You have a hearing problem, Lila?”

    Lila looked back at the girl and sighed pitifully, “Yes. I suffer from tinnitus. A constant ringing in my left ear.“ She reached over to her left ear as she pouted with sad eyes, “I’ve had it ever since sound of an airplane engine burst my eardrum on the runway when I was saving Jagged Stone’s lost kitten,”

     Marinette had to roll her eyes. She has got to be kidding! No one is believing this…right?

     “Isn’t Jagged’s pet a crocodile?”

    Lila just laughed, “Now it is, yes! He had a kitten until he found out he was allergic to it,”

      The Italian girl smiled until she scooted closer to a surprised Adrien.

      “And the best part is since you’re an excellent student, Adrien, you’ll be able to help me catch up on all the school work I missed while I was travelling with my parents,” Lila cooed as she was batting her eyes, “Would you do that for me~?”

     Adrien smiled weakly, albeit uncomfortably but remained polite, “S-sure thing, Lila,”

      Marinette wanted to argue, and of course she complained about it to Ms. Bustier but it was a no go. Especially when Lila was pulling the guilt trip card and made everyone look onto Marinette like she was some sort of villainess. Even Alya was looking unsurely at Marinette, not really speaking up in her defense. Although Marinette did appreciate Nino looking worried for her, but he also didn’t speak up. The same went for Juleka, but Marinette knew the shy girl hated confrontation. And Adrien? Adrien just glanced down and avoided eye contact with her.

   Marinette sighed as Ms. Bustier was ushering everyone back to their seats, and Marinette ended up stomping her way to the back of the class. The girl looked back to the front, seeing Lila giggling beside Adrien and having the time of her life.

    T-that little…

    Anger swelled up inside her, a boiling emotion of how this girl could lie through her teeth and get away with it? Especially when she was sitting next to poor innocent sweet Adrien!

   A clapping sound was heard as Marinette snapped herself out from her seething as she then spotted some boy in the front of the room handing a note to Ms. Busiter with a bored expression.

   “Class, it seems we have a new exchange student with us today~!”

    Marinette tilted her head as her bluebell eyes soon met the dark violet grey eyes of the new student, who looked like he hasn’t had a wink of sleep in ages. His dark purple hair seemed to be defying gravity, and he was dressed in a black leather jacket over the purple shirt of his that seemed tight around his torso, rugged jeans and combat boots. To Marinette, he looked like a bad boy in front of a CD cover of Jagged’s album.

   The boy looked at her and something in his eyes softened, the cold glare he was giving before was gone for just one moment before it was placed with guarded wariness. Strange.

   “Everyone, this is Hitoshi Shinso. He’s Japanese and has been travelling just like Lila with his father and will be joining us for the time being. Say hello to your new classmate everyone~”

  Everyone chorused their greetings as Ms. Busiter smiled over to Hitoshi once more in kindness.

  “Now since you are new, you should be seated in the front. But considering that we have just arranged seatings for another student here, I’m afraid you’ll have to sit with Marinette at the back. Unless you have problem with seeing or hearing?”

   Hitoshi shook his head, “No. The back is fine,”

   For someone that’s supposed to be a foreigner, his French was pretty good.

   Ms. Bustier smiled, “Good. Oh! And since Marinette is our Class Rep, she could show you around the school and help you get comfortable for the time you’re staying in Françoise Dupon,”

   Marinette wanted to protest, but her voice died down as soon as Hitoshi was looking back at her. Why was he looking at her like that? Did he…know her?

   Hitoshi just shrugged as he hoisted his backpack and took his steps up to the back, ignoring the whispers going on around him.

   “Looks like a dude that Juleka could get along with,” Kim whispered to Max.

    “If he didn’t look like an emo band reject, I would’ve considered him,” Chloe muttered to Sabrina, who was nodding her head in agreement.

    Lila just smirked inwardly. Fresh meat~

  Once Hitoshi reached Marinette, he sat beside her quietly, facing forward as Ms. Bustier told everyone to turn to page twenty three of their tablet reading.

   Marinette glanced at her new seat mate as she then leaned over, whispering, “H-Hey, er, do you have your own…?”

   “I might have to share with you,” Hitoshi spoke once more, Marinette surprised that his tone was soft and he turned to her with a small quirk of a smile, “If that’s alright…Marinette, right?”

   Marinette smiled in return, feeling the anger from before leave her completely as she nodded. Might as well be friendly to her new classmate.

   “Yeah. Nice to meet you Hitoshi,”

    “And this is the cafeteria~!”

    Marinette was gesturing to the doors leading to the place of food. Hitoshi hummed with a bit of interest, but then laughed as soon as Marinette’s stomach growled that made the girl blush with embarrassment.

    Considering that Marinette kept her word after Ms. Bustier told her to keep an eye out for Hitoshi and show him around school, the purple haired boy has stuck to her side in every class and the two have talked quite a bit. Marinette talked about her home life, about her parents and their bakery while Hitoshi talked about how he was travelling with his father because of some training.

    “What sort of training?” Marinette asked as they walked together inside the cafeteria, grabbing trays for their food.

    “It’s…kinda like a training for my mind and body. For my future career at least,” Hitoshi explained slowly, as he looked unsure of what to say, “My father isn’t really my father. He’s my mentor and he wants me to get into a course back home and soon. For now, I am in a general studies class in hopes to upgrade to the higher leagues,”

      “Sounds pretty rough. Are you aiming to be some sort of prodigy or something?” Marinette asked as Hitoshi chuckled.

   “I’m not that lucky,” He muttered as he hummed, “I have to work hard to get into that special class. It’s not all about just having natural talent,”

    ’Such big dreams. Guess he wants to go to those special classes to get ahead in life. That’s very admirable,’ She thought as Rose suddenly popped in between the two, grabbing a dish and then walking past them.

    “That’s for you, Lila~”

     “Thank you~ You’re so sweet~”

    “Here’s your appetiser, Lila!”

    “And I’ve got your main course, Lila!”

    “I’ll fetch your dessert, Lila!”

     Hitoshi tilted his head as he observed the crowd of their classmate surrounding that one girl and he narrowed his eyes.

    Lila Rossi.

    He had the displeasure of facing her that one time that Marinette went to the bathroom and he had waited for her. Apparently she was trying to gussy up to him and failed as soon as Marinette came back to him. Which resulted into Marinette grabbing his arm and dragging him away from her.

    “You’re from Japan, right? I bet we have a lot to talk about~ My mom and I travelled there one time for one of her trips and I got to meet some superheroes there? You know that Number One Hero, All Might? He’s basically my godfather,”

    Hitoshi concluded then, that Lila Rossi was a two-faced liar.

    Although it seemed Marinette had a lot to say about her once they were alone again, and he assured her that he wasn’t falling for her lies.

    Although that seemed like a weird answer since the blue haired girl looked at him in surprise.

    “You…You don’t believe her?”

    “Is there a reason that I should?”

    Hitoshi was even surprised when she looked like she was about to cry…in relief? He didn’t say anything that spectacular did he?

    “I’m sorry that I can’t my own tray,” Lila’s voice snapped Hitoshi back to the present as she was holding up her “limp” wrist with a sad look, “It’s almost impossible with this sprained wrist,”

     Well, he’s got to hand it to Lila. She was either a really good actress, or the people around her were total idiots.

“Is this normal?” Hitoshi asked as he looked to Marinette when Kim came in between them, grabbed some cake and rushed back to Lila’s side, “To be treating her like some sort of royalty?”

    “More like a royal pain in the butt,” Marinette murmured but then gasped as she realised she said this out loud and Hitoshi chuckled, “Please forget I said that,”

    “Nah, I think that’s too funny,” The purple haired teased then spotted two people in class joining them in line. Alya Cesaire and Nino Lahiffe, huh?

    “So she was lying about that whole Tinitus thing?” Hitoshi asked loudly for the couple to hear, as Alya sighed tiredly and Nino looked confused.

     Marinette knew what he was doing and sighed as well, “Yes. It’s just so she could sit next to Adrien! And her sprain wrist is totally bogus too!“

     “I don’t get it Marinette,” Alya finally had enough as she looked to her best friend with a frown, “You barely know Lila. Why all the hate?”

    Hitoshi glanced over at Marinette, who looked troubled for a moment but then sighed in defeat.

     “Fine. I’ll tell you everything,”

     She quickly grabbed Alya and Nino from the line once they got their food, leading them to a secluded table while Hitoshi followed them quietly. Once they sat down, Marinette began her story. Hitoshi got the gist of it as she explained that she was suspicious of her and tried following her.

    “She lies with every breath,” Marinette firmly said, her eyes determined.

    Hitoshi gave a look, signalling that he believed her, but it seemed Alya had something else to say.

     “A good reporter always verifies her sources. Can you prove she actually doesn’t know Ladybug?”

     Marinette looked troubled for a second, and Hitoshi intervened.

    “Why don’t you verify it yourself?” Hitoshi retorted with a glare as Alya whirled at him in surprise, “I heard you run a Ladyblog and tend to get interviews from Ladybug from time to time. Are you saying you can’t just ask her if she knows Lila or not? What kind of reporter are you?”

     Marinette looked surprised that the new kid was…defending her? Something in her heart warmed that someone is actually making sense here. Even if he was being rude to her best friend.

     “Yo! What’s your problem, man?” Nino was quick to jump in and defend Alya, who was frowning deeply.

      “My problem is that it seems that you can’t seem to grasp that there is someone who is possibly a pathological liar and you can’t even bother to Google search to see if this Lila is telling the truth,” Hitoshi said calmly, “What if she told an outrageous lie that might get someone into trouble?”

     Nino folded his arms, narrowing his eyes, "What would you know? You've only been here for a day,"

     "You're right. I've only been here for a day and this Lila has been here for, what? Two months or so? But you'd rather believe her than your friend Marinette here who you seem to know longer?"

     Nino looked at a loss for words as Marinette decided maybe she should step in.

     “Okay, wait, you want proof that she’s lying?” Marinette asked as she was standing up and balling a napkin in her hand, looking to Lila and was about to say something until a hand grabbed her wrist, “Wha—?”

     Hitoshi shook her head as he pulled her back down, “If you play her game, she’ll rope you into a trap,”

    Marinette stared at him for a moment before Hitoshi stood up and was soon pulling her with him, despite Marinette’s protests. Everyone looked at them leave, including an angry looking Lila.

     Nino watched them go with a conflicted look, as Alya rolled her eyes upwards.

     “Honestly! He talks as if I have the luxury into talking with Ladybug! You know what! I’m gonna ask her next time I’m a little sneaky fox, if you know what I mean~?” Alya was about to turn and wink at her boyfriend, but paused as Nino looked troubled, “H-Hey? You okay babe?”

     “Huh?” Nino snapped out of it and looked to Alya, “Sorry, I…was thinking about what he said,”

      “He’s a little rough around the edges huh? Looks like he’s taken a liking to Marinette. But it’s pointless since the girl is head over heels with Adrien,” Alya chuckled but was ignored as Nino watched Lila getting up and excusing herself, leaving the cafeteria to where that new kid and Marinette went off to.  

     Nino stood up hurriedly.

     “H-Hey! Where are you going, Nino?” Alya asked her boyfriend worriedly, as Nino looked down at her and smiled.

     “No worries, babe. I just forgot something and need to get it from my locker. I’ll just be right back,” He waved and was soon walking out of there, leaving Alya perplexed.

     Once Hitoshi was in the locker rooms, he let go of Marinette’s wrist and turned to face her, “Did you actually think you could prove yourself by throwing something like a balled up napkin at her?”

     Marinette sighed, “What else was I supposed to do?”

     “How about we gather more evidence first before you end up being on the hating end of your “friends” ire?” Hitoshi shrugged as he leaned against a locker, “From what you’re telling me, she’s a dangerous person to be fighting against. Especially when it comes to manipulating and reading the room too well,”

     “I-I wouldn’t say dangerous…” Marinette said weakly, but then saw the look he was giving and sighed, “But…I do appreciate you looking out for me, even if we just met today. I think you’re the only person right now that I can trust,”

     Something in Hitoshi’s eyes flashed for a second, but he softened as he smiled, “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

      Marinette smiled and nodded, “Yes,”

     She then excused herself to freshen up in the bathroom and walked to the ladies room, Hitoshi telling her that he’ll wait for her. But as soon as she left, Hitoshi heard the door open and hid in an unoccupied locker out of habit, and saw Lila was walking into the ladies room where Marinette was. Alarmed, he was about to follow her until someone grabbed his wrist and dragged him near the boys’ room, now pinned against the door.

     Nino stood before him with a glare.

     “Alright, fess up. Who are you?”

     Hitoshi raised a brow, “Excuse me?”

     Nino scoffed and leaned back, letting Hitoshi have room to breathe, “Who do you think you are? Just saying stuff like how Lila is a liar and making a move on my best bud’s girl? Not cool dude!”

    Ah, it seems there is a misunderstanding here, Hitoshi would think as he then was grabbing Nino’s wrist and dragging him near the girls’ bathroom.

     “Woah, woah, woah! What are you—are you some kind of pervert, man?!” Nino was blushing as they were nearing the bathroom, eyes wide and looking around to see if anyone else is seeing this.

      “Quiet! And listen,” Hitoshi hissed at Nino as he looked at the door, as Marinette’s voice resonated behind the door.

     Nino made a face, and was about to retaliate when he heard Lila’s sweet voice turned cold.

      “I only tell people what they wanna hear~”

      Nino gaped in shock at the voice. Was…was this really Lila?

     As she kept on going, he had to peek inside and saw Lila cornering Marinette into a wall, her hands slammed on either side of her head as she leered down at the slight shaking girl. Nino felt himself growing angry. How could she?! He thought she was their friend and…and she had been lying this whole time?

      The promise of meeting a real big director she knew of from Hollywood to kick off his dream…was that a lie too??

    Marinette was right!

    Nino was about to storm in when Hitoshi was holding him back, shaking his head.

     “Why not?! Nette needs help!”

     Nette…how long has it been since Nino had called his childhood friend that?

      Hitoshi was about to argue when he glanced up, narrowing his eyes at seeing something. Nino followed his line of sight and saw a black butterfly with glowing purple linings and the boy gasped. The two moved away to hide just in time for Lila to storm out, flipping her hair and leaving the locker room with a triumphant smirk.

Nino saw the butterfly was flying towards the bathroom and his eyes widened, “Marinette!”

     Hitoshi was the first to move as he was soon kicking the girls’ door open and was opening his jacket open and looking down at his inner pocket but then paused as he heard some yelling.

      Looking up, he saw a blonde haired girl looking into the bathroom stall, saying something as another squeaky voice spoke up with her.

     "There's no way you'd let Hawkmoth take you!" The snooty looking girl shouted, but then softened as she looked pained to say it but gave it out honestly, “You're an Everyday Ladybug…no, you are Ladybug! So don't let that stupid Lie-La get to you and focus, idiot!"

      Chloe Bourgeois.

      Hitoshi remembered her in the front of his class along with—

      Aha…

      Next to the blonde happened to be Sabrina Raincomprix, Chloe’s right hand, also saying some stuff. Had…had she always been there?

      Shaking his head for now, he stepped forward and gained the attention from Chloe and Sabrina. Sabrina moved and immediately blocked his way, arms out like a shield.

     “D-don’t come any closer, new kid! Besides, this is the girl’s bathroom!” Sabrina chirped shakily, looking at the deadpanned look from the young man and almost shrank in slight fear, “P-please?”

      “Ugh, Sabrina, have a little more backbone,” Chloe flipped her hair as she narrowed her eyes, “Move it, loser. Or I’m gonna scream pervert!”

      “Wait, wait, wait! He’s not a pervert!” Nino was coming in as he was hiding his blushing face with his hat, trying not to look around, “Oh man, I can’t believe I’m in the girl’s bathroom…”

    “Lahiffe?” Chloe blinked but then was looking back when Marinette peaked out, sniffling as she then tilted her head, “Dupain-cheng, don’t…”

     “H-Hitoshi?” Marinette was wiping her eyes as she saw him, but then was surprised at seeing Nino here too, “N-Nino too?”

     “Er, h-hey, Nette…” Nino trembled with embarrassment as he kept his face hidden, “I…wanted to check up on you…a-are you okay?”

     “I’m fine…t-thanks to Chloe surprisingly. And Sabrina too,” Marinette gave a soft smile to the two, as Chloe was blushing and looking away and Sabrina offering Marinette a tissue, which Marinette happily accepted with a thank you.

     “How much did you hear?!” Chloe demanded, almost sounding…protective? And Hitoshi’s eyes widened.

     “W-we only heard about Lila, dude!” Nino was waving a hand up, still covering his face as he was averting his eyes down, “B-But other than that…nothing else? What are you even doing here, Chloe?”

    “W-well…” Sabrina looked to Chloe, who sighed, not wanting to explain.

      Chloe Bourgeois was many things. She was a popular rich girl, she was a hero...but being a patient person, was not one of that something.

      She was sitting on the closed toilet seat, bouncing her leg as it was crossover over her knee and arms folded, finger tapping away at the edge of her elbow as Sabrina was standing next to her as they were listening in on Lila and Marinette talking. 

    They were actually in here to touch up Chloe’s make-up while Sabrina would give her daily report about Adrien, but soon were interrupted with the slamming of the doors opening from Marinette and Lila. Chloe was about to step out and give Dupain-Cheng a piece of her mind when they heard everything. Lila lying to the class and threatening Marinette…Chloe couldn’t help but roll her eyes as Sabrina’s hand was over her mouth with wide eyes.

    Tch, of course Chloe knew that Lila was a liar. Anyone with half a brain could look up on the internet and immediately could dispels all of the lies the little witch tells.

     But tattling was not the Chloe Bourgeois way.

    At least...not when the Queen Bee could do something even better.

     Why waste her precious time? Lila was never gonna rule the school like she will. Chloe will let Lila have her fun before she takes her down herself and show this nobody who's boss.

     She must've zoned out because she ended up hearing Lila’s last words before she left, and Marinette was grumbling to herself.

    Sabrina looked to Chloe with a worried look, “S-should we go out now?”

     Chloe shook her head, “Not yet. Not until Dupain-Cheng leaves…”

      "I thought Chloe was evil! But Lila really takes the whole cake!"

      Chloe wanted to smack the baker girl honestly.

      ...Screw waiting, she was gonna give Dupain-Cheng a world of hurt. Worse than Lila.

      Well, that was the plan until she heard a squeaky cute voice replying back.

       "You mustn't let her get to you Marinette…"

      Who was that? Was Dupain-Cheng on the phone with someone?

       That couldn't be.

       It didn't sound like a person on the phone.

        “Is someone with Marinette?” Sabrina whispered, looking quite confused for a moment, “Who’s voice was that?”

     Chloe frowned in suspicion, but then jumped in shock when she heard a bang, then a "Marinette look out!" and "An Akuma!" from both Marinette's and the new person's voices.

       This was the time the blonde jumped into action. She was Queen Bee after all!

     “Chloe?! What—?”

      Ignoring Sabrina, Chloe swung her stall door open and was rushing to the next stall, kicking it open. Her eyes widened seeing the Akuma floating above the pigtailed girl and…the floating red thing next to her.

    …Ladybug's Kwami.

    How did she know?

     Duh, Chloe wasn't stupid. The thing looked like her dear Pollen. And who else would have a spotted creature floating like that with Ladybug's color schemes?

      'Ugh, ridiculous! UtterLY RIDICULOUS!'

      Shaking her head from the discovery ('Freak out later, action time now!'), Chloe tried to get Marinette to calm down as Sabrina appeared beside her and gasped, but soon was trying to also calm Marinette down.

     "Dupain-Cheng!" She yelled, trying to get the girl's attention.

    Marinette was having her hands over her head, trying to shoo the butterfly away but turned her head with fear in her eyes when she spotted Chloe and Sabrina…and the rest was history.

    Sabrina thankfully left the part out about knowing about Marinette’s secret and just soon stopped with when Hitoshi stormed in the bathroom, “A-and that’s pretty much it,”

      “Anyways, that’s all you need to know! Lila is a menace, and we’re going to stop her,” Chloe folded her arms coolly, as if her words were law.

     Hitoshi knew there was more to it than that, and he had a feeling that something else happened here. But he won’t pry.

      “Wait, what? You’re just gonna attack her?” Nino looked up at Chloe, but gasped as he realised where he was and soon was covering his face again, “I-I mean I’m all for exposing Lila for being a liar but…?”

     “If you’re too scared to, Lahiffe, then just leave it to us~” Chloe growled, but Nino was placing his hat back on and faced her.

     “I just heard the girl talk smack at my childhood friend! Of course I want to help!” Nino said bravely but then blushed as he was rubbing the side of his neck and turned to the door, “I-I mean…you were right Marinette. You were right about her all along and…I’m sorry I almost didn’t believe you,” He told her honestly as Marinette’s eyes soften.

     Suddenly all five teenagers heard the fluttering of wings and looked up to see that the Black Butterfly was still flying around as if finding another target. And soon it was leaving.

     “The akuma!” Nino yelped, but then he and Hitoshi were being pushed out by Chloe and Sabrina frantically, “W-what—What are you guys doing?!”

     “Out, out, out! This is the girls’ bathroom you know and we need privacy!” Chloe screeched, pushing them out and slamming the door behind them.

     Nino blinked but then paled as he saw Adrien looking like he was going to leave the locker room, and now was looking sort of confused and slightly mortified at staring at his frightened and equally mortified best friend. Hitoshi, on the other hand, looked like he didn’t do anything wrong.

     “Um…?” Adrien started, but Nino was soon grabbing his front of his shirt and shaking him in an almost comical fashion.

      “WE’RE NOT SOME PERVERTS OKAY!?!” Nino yelled desperately, shaking the poor blond boy as Hitoshi looked back at the girls’ bathroom.

      So…do Bourgeois and Raincomprix know too?

     But that wasn’t the problem now. He heard footsteps quickly coming their way and Hitoshi grabbed Nino and they both jumped into a locker, leaving a confused Adrien for a moment.

      “…Dude. This is kinda…?” Nino murmured as he was pressed again the other both, but frowned as he was hushed with a hand over his mouth.

     Hitoshi used his other hand, pointer finger over his lips to tell the other to keep quiet as they both saw through the slight opening of the locker that Lila returned and was starting to talk to Adrien. Then she kissed his cheek and he fell to the ground. Both boys’ eyes widened as they watched Lila turn into…Adrien?!

     And the real Adrien being stuffed into a locker before the fake Adrien escaped.

     Coming out from the locker, Nino gasped, “Lila has been akumatized!”

     “Nino. Go and hide,” Hitoshi murmured as he was going to race after Lila but then was grabbed by Nino.

      “No way man, we both stay put! Ladybug and Chat Noir will be here to save the day,” Nino said confidently but then paled, “Oh no, Alya!” He said in worry and soon left Hitoshi’s side and was gone.

     Sighing, Hitoshi opened his jacket pocket and looked down into it, “Looks like we’re up, Kaalki,”

     A familiar regal horse looking kwami poked out from the male’s jacket pocket, huffing slightly as they looked towards the human that was already placing what seems to be sunglasses turning into goggles over his eyes, “Are we going to battle, Sir Toshi?”

     “No. Just backup. Kaalki, FULL GALLOP~!”

     Ladybug sighed as she was chasing after Adrien of all people, having saved a mother and a child from being crushed by a bus. A lot has happened today, and honestly?

     She was sort of tired of it.

     Especially now that Chloe and Sabrina know her secret.

      “We’ll buy you some time and guard the bathroom for you. You go transform into Ladybug and save the day, okay?! Oh! And bring my Miraculous while you’re at it!”

    Who would’ve thought that those two would be the one to find out that Marinette was Ladybug? Well, she would have to worry about that later. Right now, she had to stop that akuma from running amok.

     “Ladybug! I saw the super villain running away!”

     Ladybug looked over to see a child pointing at the merry-go-round and nodded.

     “Thanks!” Ladybug smiled as she spun her yo-yo and jumped down from the lamppost she was standing on, “Don’t stay here, okay? It’s dangerous!”

     Ladybug soon approached the merry-go-round, frowning a bit as she called for the akuma to come out. She didn’t even realise that the akuma she was looking for was now sneaking up behind her.

     “LOOK OUT LADYBUG!”

     Chat Noir came in between the Akuma, Chameleon, and Ladybug then ended up being kissed instead, passing out as the Chameleon turned from the little boy into Chat Noir. The fake was trying to get the real Chat's ring, but Ladybug stopped him.

     “Looks like it’s down to the two of us Ladybug—“

      But the fake Chat blinked as he suddenly felt the ground drag him down to the ground and almost swallow him up, making Ladybug’s eyes widened. How…did that happen? It was like a hole just appeared under the akuma and trapped him halfway down the ground.

      “Looks like I’ve caught the purrpatrator!…Ugh, maybe I shouldn’t have opened with that,” A voice spoke in a drawl and Ladybug looked up in shock at seeing a…horse themed hero?

     The purple hair…why does that look familiar?

     “Er, are you…new?” Ladybug asked slowly as the stallion like hero grinned cheekily.

      “You can just call me Kirin,” He stated with a dramatic bow, head low with a hand over his heart.

    He soon straightened himself out as he looked to the struggling fake Chat growling and trying to get themselves out.

     “You seem to be good at capturing bad guys, huh, Kirin?” Ladybug had her hands on her hips as she then looked to the very stuck Chameleon and sighed, “But now I just need to figure out where their akuma is…plus I haven’t used my Lucky Charm yet…”

     “Well, you can do it now so that everything will be fixed. That is how your power works right?” Kirin asked as Ladybug narrowed her eyes in suspicion of him but nodded.

    “Right…LUCKY CHARM~!” She announced as she threw her yo-yo in the air, the scattering magical ladybugs floating around her to drop—, “A knife? What am I supposed to do with this?”

     “Oh. I have that covered,” Kirin was then pulling out what seems to be a clam shell and Ladybug’s eyes widened.

      Her instincts of red with black spots were activating from the Lucky Charm, to the clam shell, and right back to Chameleon.

     “I have the solution. Kirin, hold their head,”

     Kirin saluted as he was soon holding the fake Chat Noir’s head and Ladybug took the clam, shoving it at Chat Noir’s lips, who looked surprised. A bright light surrounded them and soon Chat was no more and in it’s place was a clam shell that seemed to be making noises.

     Picking up the shell, Ladybug giggled, “We should be friends~ Not anemones~”

     A groan was heard as the two heroes looked over to the real Chat Noir waking up, yawning then looking around in confusion, “W-what happened?”

     “We captured the akuma. Just need to de-evilize it and we’re good thanks to our new friend here,” Ladybug gestured to the horse hero, who just nodded in greeting.

     Pushing the jealousy down for now, the cat hero looked at the new male hero up and down, he then grinned tightly, placing his hand out, “Pleasure to meet you horse-y boy. Welcome to the team~!”

     Kirin raised a brow but took his hand to shake, refraining from rolling his eyes at feeling the other trying to tighten his grip as if to intimidate him. Please.

     “The name is Kirin. Pleasure to meet you alleycat,” Normally, Kirin was pretty good with cats. Loves them even. But he supposed there’s a first for everything.

     Ladybug soon was using the Lucky Charm to pry the shell open, seeing the dark looking pearl and hummed, “Now we break this and see who the villain is today~”

     “You might know them. They’re a familiar face,” Chat spoke up with a tired sigh, as Ladybug looked confused.

     Crushing the pearl in her hand, she watched the butterfly come out and soon was doing her thing to purify the butterfly. Once that was done and she called out her Miraculous Ladybug to undo everything, she was surprised to see Lila in the place of the clam shell.

       “Lila?”

     “Ladybug?” Lila replied back in surprise.

    Ladybug calmed down as she smiled softly, “At least now you can say that I saved your life for real. Truce?” Ladybug said with a chuckle, placing her hand out to Lila, who looked unsure.

     But the Italian girl soon slowly  looked at the hand, then to the heroine’s face, and then smiled back, “Thanks Ladybug,” And soon shook her hand, “I’d be honoured to call you my friend,”

     “Heh, happy to hear that,” The spotted heroine rubbed her head sheepishly, but then turned serious, “Er, hey some advice? You don’t have to lie and pretend to be something you’re not. People will like you for just being yourself,”

     “You have my word, Ladybug,”

     With a wave, Ladybug, Kirin and Chat Noir waved to the girl and left. Lila waved at them, but soon her smile fell as she glared at the three heroes with hate in her eyes. Soon, she’ll get her revenge. And the next time, she won’t fail.

     “You go on ahead Chat. I need to have a talk with our new buddy here,”

      Chat Noir wanted to argue, but sighed, nodding his head and pole vaulted his way home. Ladybug soon turned to the Horse Hero and folded her arms.

      “Now then…did the Guardian of the Miraculous give you your powers?” Ladybug asked directly, as Kirin sighed.

     “Yes. In fact before this, I had the Rabbit Miraculous. But I gave it back to him and thus he granted me Kaalki in her place,”

     Ladybug looked surprised. She did notice that the supposed watch that was supposed to be the Rabbit Miraculous holding the kwami Fluff was missing, but Master Fu said that the original “Master” was keeping it safe until the time was right. So was this guy was Fluff’s owner?

     “I’m guessing that we’re to meet Master Fu together huh?” Ladybug asked as Kirin nodded.

     “Should we go now?”

     Ladybug was about to answer before she felt her earrings beep, and her eyes widened. Right! She’s going to transform. Also, she forgot she left Chloe and Sabrina at school.

     “Er, meet me around four at Master Fu’s place. You know where that is right?”

      Kirin nodded once more, “I do. So I shall see you then,”

      “Yes,” Using her yo-yo, she made her way back to Françoise Dupont.

    As Ladybug left, Kirin was soon sliding himself down some fire escape of the building, landing himself in an alleyway and breathed out.

    “Kaalki, Dismount…”

      A bright light surrounded Kirin as Hitoshi Shinso stood in his place, reaching into his jacket and Kaalki landing onto his shoulder. Pulling out what seems to be baby carrots in a plastic, he soon offered one to the Horse Kwami and the being thanked him before chomping on it.

     “So, are we telling Lady Marinette that you are the stallion of a hero?” Kaalki asked as Shinso let them hide into his jacket pocket along with his Miraculous and hummed.

    “We’ll have to today. If we’re gonna work together in the future, we’re gonna have to learn to trust one another…”

     “Does that mean you’ll tell her everything?”

      Shinso kept quiet as he then sighed, “Not everything. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to tell her. Then again, maybe not if I play my cards right. After all, the future is not set in stone…”

      Ladybug soon landed herself back into the girls’ bathroom of the school, de-transforming back to Marinette and knocked onto the door of the bathroom, smiling when Chloe and Sabrina opened it up.

     “The job’s done?” Chloe drawled with a bored face.

    Marinette nodded, “Yeah…er, you two okay?”

     “We’re fine Marinette,” Sabrina chirped with a smile, nodding her head.

Now that everything has settled, Marinette soon realised the problem right in front of here. Well, two problems actually.

‘With Chloe and Sabrina now knowing my secret, what should I do?’ Marinette thought in a panic.

     Chloe saw this and as if reading her mind, she was waving her hands in front of her chest and looking frazzled, “If you’re thinking I’m going to blab to everyone that you’re Ladybug, then you’re wrong! As if I could ever say that I've been messing with the Ladybug! Do you know how embarrassing that could be!? Me?! Bullying Paris' darling superhero?! Ugh, ridiculous! UtterLY RIDICULOUS!'"

     Sabrina laughed and looked to Marinette, making a zipping motion, “We promise not to tell anyone your secret, Marinette. But hey! This is really cool that we actually know a superhero in our school! Isn’t this awesome?”

     “Yeah…awesome…” Marinette murmured with unsureness.

     She blinked as she felt a vibration from her pant’s pocket. Grabbing it quickly, she soon saw it was a text from Master Fu. And told her to bring Chloe and Sabrina. He knows.

     ‘Well so much for trying to find a way to erase their minds of finding out about me being Ladybug,’ Marinette thought with a sigh as she looked to the two, “Anyways, we should…talk, about what you two found out. And we should do it in a place that is private and away from anyone else knowing. So after school we head out,”

     “Right. Which reminds me, you still didn’t give me Pollen and let me help out today!” Chloe whined with a pout, as Marinette patted her shoulder.

     Marinette was starting to wonder if she should maybe bonk Chloe in the head and hope she has amnesia about today. But the three soon were going out of the locker rooms and returned to class.

     As they wanted for Ms. Bustier to come back, Marinette was sitting on the stairs with Chloe and Sabrina when she spotted Lila once more surrounded by their classmates.

    “Of course Ladybug saved my life~! She never misses the opportunity to rescue her best friend~!” Lila giggled softly, Marinette seething inside at Lila yet again lying and everyone eating it up.

     “Didn’t your Tinitus give you vertigo when you went up the Eiffel Tower?“ Max asked in confusion, but Lila was waving him off with another sweet giggle.

     “Oh no~! Ladybug knows me so well, that she brought me an earplug to stick at my right ear~!“

     Marinette was about to say something but Chloe beat her to the punch, already smacking her fist into her other hand.

     “Her right ear? DID SHE SERIOUSLY MESS UP HER LIE? Ugh, what a ridiculous witch! At least keep your damn story straight! We’ve got her now~!” Chloe was soon marching over to Lila, Sabrina squeaking as she followed after her.

     Marinette was about to follow as well to maybe stop Chloe from maiming Lila (even though she actually wanted to see the blonde go on a tirade at the liar), but was stopped at a concerned voice.

     Adrien.

     Normally, she would be swooning at the fact that he was talking to her. But somehow her smile fell as Adrien was telling her to take the high road and do nothing.

     “As long as you and I both know the truth, does it really matter?”

     And…with those eyes looking at her and giving that sweet smile…of course Marinette fell for it. How could she resist? And so, she just softly smiled and shrugged, agreeing with Adrien.

     But a certain DJ wasn’t exactly thrilled of hearing the words his best buddy had spoken.

    Nino peeked from under the stairs, wanting to wait for Alya since she said she was going to ask Lila into doing another interview about Ladybug, but ended up overhearing what Marinette and Adrien were talking about. 

    Well, of course he knew Adrien wasn’t exactly an expert on the real world just yet. The guy was practically home-schooled and mostly learnt things from books and probably a lot of manga (Nino had once heard Adrien reciting how he was going to win the love of his life with a story he read in an anime, and Nino had to to tell him frankly that way was borderline creepy). But…to tell someone to stand by when there was not only a liar, but a bully?

    Nino can’t let this go.

     Maybe he should talk to Adrien more about Lila. But…Adrien knew Lila was a liar and is not saying anything. It hurt Nino that Adrien didn’t tell him that. Nino just knew that Adrien was going to tell him the same thing he told Marinette. But it’s worth a try.

      Nino watched as Marinette was dragged by Chloe and Sabrina, the bell ringing to signal their last class is about to start. Well, guess he should head to class as well and catch Adrien later. He was soon coming out of his hiding and spotted Hitoshi already heading up as well. Where had the dude gone since the akuma attack anyways?

     “Yo!” Nino caught up to him and walked beside him, grinning, “Er, sorry for ditching ya to find Alya. I mean, I was worried about her, she's my girlfriend after all. Especially when I saw the akuma attacking her and her journal for her Ladyblog. Thankfully Ladybug fixed everything,” He laughed as Hitoshi kept quiet.

    Okay, he knew that they weren’t the best of friends…but still…

    “Hey man, if this is about me getting all agro on you before, then I’m sorry,” Nino said solemnly as he sighed, fixing his hat while having a look that screamed he was guilty for yelling at him before, “I know you were just helping Nette out and…I appreciate that,”

    Hitoshi finally looked up as they entered the class, but his eyes were glancing up to the back of the room. Nino raised a brow and followed his line of sight and saw Adrien sitting next to Marinette instead.

     “Wow! It’s pretty cool back here!”

     Marinette was giggling as she looked at the oblivious model with hearts in her eyes.  

     Nino smiled. Well, good on Marinette getting to sit next to her crush. He looked back to Hitoshi and was surprised to see hostility in his eyes while staring at Adrien.

     ‘Was the dude jealous? Does he like Nette?’ Nino thought frantically, but then realised…it didn’t look like jealousy at all. Then what was it?

     Hitoshi sighed, as he then looked to the empty seat next to Lila, and inwardly cringe. Nino saw this and felt sympathy for the dude and as Ms. Busiter was starting roll call, he was raising his hand up.

     “Yes, Nino? What is it?” The ginger haired teacher smiled softly, as Nino was placing an arm around Hitoshi, surprising the Japanese boy.

     “Er, hey Ms. Bustier~! Considering that Adrien has moved seats, is it cool if I can be seat mates with my man Hitoshi here?”

     Caline looked surprised, “Um, I don’t mind…but is there a reason?”

     “Oh well, I kinda realised that it’s not a good idea for me to sit next to Alya since we’ll just end up chatting through class and never get any work done,” Nino chuckled, as he then looked to Hitoshi and winked, “Besides, my boy here needs more guy buddies, don’t you think?”

     “Well, this is really nice of you Nino! And thank you for making our new friend here feel so welcome~” Caline was clapping her hands in pride of her student, nodding, “Very well. Alya, move to the front here with Lila and Hitoshi and Nino could sit behind them,”

    Alya looked confused at this, staring at her boyfriend as if to ask what was going on, and Nino was leaning over to whisper to her.

    “Sorry babe. Gotta be a good friend to this dude because, well, he’s the new kid. You know what’s that’s like right babe?” Nino explained as he winked, “Besides, you’re too darn distracting~”

     That seemed to appease Alya for now, giggling a bit as she nudged him, but moved her stuff and sat next to Lila.

    Hitoshi and Nino sat next to each other in their seats, as Bustier continued the roll call.

     “Why did you do that?” The purple haired teen asked, raising his hand showing that he was present, before turning back to Nino, “I could’ve handled Rossi myself,”

     “Hey, that’s what friends do? I saw how you looked uncomfortable sitting next to her and I don’t blame ya,” Nino said quietly with a shrug, only wanting Shinso to hear this only, “But since we’re allies now into protecting Marinette, might as well get to know one another and have each other’s backs right?”

     Hitoshi’s eyes softened for a moment as Nino was lifting a fist up, giving a grin.

     “Friends?”

     He pursed his lips for a moment, and Nino thought the guy was going to ignore his fist bump. But soon Hitoshi looked…almost shy, as he lifted his own fist up and gently bumped their knuckles together with a nod.

     “F-friends…”

     Nino was almost reminded of the time Adrien first came to school, and beamed brightly. Wow, guess the guy wasn’t so bad after all. Looked like the dude didn’t have much friends in his life time. And so, Nino Lahiffe was about to change that~!

    Marinette sighed as she was exiting the school with Chloe and Sabrina, who were chatting about…well, something, the pig tailed girl couldn’t really tell. She looked over and saw Nino and Hitoshi were waving at Alya leaving with Lila, and Marinette had to look hurt.

     Since when did Alya and Lila get close?

     Nino saw Marinette, Chloe and Sabrina and waved, approaching them with Hitoshi trailing behind him, “Hey guys, you heading home?”

     “Actually, Lahiffe, we’re going to go shopping together. Just us girls,” Chloe flipped her hair back as she huffed, hands on her hips.

     “Wow, you three sure are close now,” Nino tilted his head and grinned, “Well, I’m taking my buddy Hitoshi here to go sight seeing around Paris. Was gonna ask if ya’ll wanted to come but if you guys have plans…”

    "As if I would be caught dead going on some cheap tour around the town on foot. No thanks," Chloe was waving her hand as a limo came in front of them, glancing to the side for a moment to see Lila coming back around to approach them.

     Quickly, she grabbed Sabrina and Marinette's wrists and dragged them to the limo, and told her driver to step on it and left. Nino looked confused but soon realised why the three girls left. And he didn't want to take a chance for the liar to talk to them either.

    “Nino, where are we going first?”

     Nino looked over at Hitoshi, grinning,, “Well~ First off, I suppose we go straight to Andre’s! He has the best ice cream in the city you know?”

    Suddenly, Hitoshi’s phone vibrated and he picked up, looking at it and then frowned. Nino wondered what got his new friend to have a face like that before Hitoshi placed his phone away and looked to Nino with a relaxed smile.

     “So what’s your favorite ice cream?”

[dothwrites]

(--or Awful First Meeting + Arranged Marriage!) ❤️

Castiel paces the length of the grand foyer. Normally looking at the stained-glass windows can bring him some sense of peace, but not even the jagged, multi-colored splashes of light across the white marble floor can please him today.

"If you don't stop, you're going to wear a hole in the floor," Hannah says. Her voice is mild, but the slight snap holds a hint of disapproval.

Castiel rolls his eyes and doesn't stop. There's no reason for his older sister to be here, other than for baby-sitting purposes. It's almost insulting that his mother thinks that he can't handle this meeting by himself, if Castiel wasn't halfway convinced of the same thing.

"It's not like they're barbarians," Hannah continues. She opens a tablet and starts to scroll through a page. "Lawrence is fairly sophisticated, technologically speaking. They're not near our level, but then again, who is?"

"Amazing that other people have accused you of being a snob," Castiel murmurs.

Hannah makes an undignified face at him before turning her attention back to her tablet. "Anyway, I'm sure it will be fine. You'll meet the delegation, make nice, and make arrangements. Tonight, you'll host the dinner, and tomorrow they'll leave, and you won't have to see them again for a whole other month. And after the wedding... Well, as long as you make the required public appearances, I'm sure that your conjugal duties won't be too difficult."

When Castiel doesn't immediately agree, Hannah lowers her tablet. "Castiel," she says, her voice turning softer and more sympathetic, "if you don't want to go through with it... I could speak to Mother. Tell her... I don't know. I'll think of something."

As heir apparent, Hannah has more sway with their mother than Castiel ever will, but he doubts it goes as far as this. The royal wedding has been planned for years, and only a minor global conflict could end it.

Not that Castiel hasn't thought about starting one, just so he could get out of this.

"It's fine," Castiel says. He hears the unmistakable sound of engines pulling in front of the palace. His stomach drops to somewhere around his knees before it rockets back up to lodge somewhere in his throat. "It'll be fine," he repeats, clenching his fists by his side.

His ceremonial clothes feel like they're two sizes too small. Castiel yearns to do nothing more than loosen his tight collar, but before he can reach up, the front door opens.

"May I present the delegation from Lawrence," drones the voice of the crier. Though he announces the delegation with the same disinterested tone that he takes with everyone, Castiel doesn't think that he's imagining the small note of malicious glee.

Overcome with the sudden need to vomit, Castiel swallows. Seconds later, a tall figure comes bounding through the door and up to him.

Castiel likes to think of himself as indifferent to the aesthetic purposes of most people, but this man is enough to catch his attention. He has sandy hair, bright green eyes, and a smattering of freckles across his fair skin. His shoulders are broad and his waist trim. His legs are bowed, but somehow that only draws attention to his toned thighs.

Castiel has never been so immediately attracted to another person. He feels like he's accidentally skipped the last step and now he's crashing to his earth. His previously reliable stomach is performing all sorts of unorthodox movements. Castiel swallows and idly wonders if he's about to be sick.

"So, you're Castiel," the man drawls. His eyes move over Castiel. Every part of him gives the impression that he thinks Castiel could do much better. As a prince, Castiel isn't accustomed to feeling inadequate, but this man makes him feel pathetically small.

"Welcome to Lebanon," Castiel says, his tongue thick and clumsy in his mouth. "I hope your stay here will be--"

"Let me stop you right there, pal," the man interrupts. "I'm not looking to enjoy the natural beauties or wonders or whatever of your country. I didn't really have any choice in coming here, so I've just got to grit my teeth and get through this. Same as you, I'm guessing. So do us a favor, save the small talk, and look pretty for the pictures."

Color floods Castiel's cheeks. He's never felt so humiliated in his entire life, and he grew up as the punching bag for a mother who was constantly disappointed in him.

Why was the treaty made with Lawrence? It's not as though Lawrence has anything that Lebanon particularly needs: though rich in natural resources, it's a little bit of a backwater. Its citizens are uncouth, as evidenced by this specimen standing in front of him. But for whatever reason, the treaty was made when Castiel was a child, selling away his future to... To...

"Dean! Please don't tell me that you're torturing people already!"

Castiel turns towards the newcomer, feeling pathetically grateful for the interruption. The man walking towards him is one of the tallest men Castiel's ever seen. His floppy brown hair shakes into his eyes, and he tosses his head to clear his vision. He's dressed similarly to the green-eyed man, but his smile is friendly, and when he walks up to Castiel, he extends a hand in greeting.

"I see that my brother didn't bother to make his introductions. I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother Dean. We're Lord John's sons, and we're here as escorts."

Another figure appears in the doorway. Castiel looks past Sam and Dean and swallows as his heart tries to jump into his throat.

The woman standing in the doorway is petite and blonde. Her dress is attractive, though it's not the fashion in Lebanon. Still, she's beautiful enough that she could wear almost anything and still manage to look glamorous. Her smile stretches across her face as she walks towards him, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. Still, the curtesy she performs is exquisite.

She stretches her hand out. Knowing the protocol, Castiel takes it and kisses the soft skin on the back of her hand. As he does so, he sweeps his thumb over her palm. Interestingly enough, her hands have callouses more designed to a hunter than a lady.

"Castiel of Lebanon, may I present Lady Joanna Beth Harvelle of Lawrence. "

Castiel forces a smile as he looks at Joanna Beth Harvelle, his future wife. He holds out an arm and tries not to grit his teeth at the wrongwrongwrong feeling that settles over his skin as she places her hand in the crook of his elbow. Surprisingly, Dean, her escort looks about how Castiel feels, his handsome face twisted into an expression of mingled distaste and fear.

This is his marriage. This is his duty. And he'll see it through, no matter what.

[leroyzboots]

you and i are trying, together.

part two.

The amount of unease that can fit into Tommy's more-than-human-less-than-god body is honestly surprising.

Tommy paces back and forth on the floor of the Lambda lab, his Beyblade whirring between his fingers and his precious immortal dog following behind him with love.

They'd arrived at around half past midnight, but it's now early morning and there's been no sign of the other two members of the science team.

Bubby leans back in their chair, crossing his knee-high laced boots over their knee, and bounces the other one out of anxiety.

"Tommy," he barks; "you're scaring the other scientists."

Tommy glances down and realizes that the Beyblade is whizzing madly in the air around his hands, suspended from nothing.

"D-dammit," He mutters, snatching his toy back and returns it to his pocket.

"They sho-should have been back by now."

Tommy stops pacing for a second and stares down the Coomers with his father's intensity.

"Surely, Benrey could have used teleportation?" Harold chimes in, his knuckles bruised slightly from his repeated stims.

"I think that's what he meant, dear," Bubby replies, patting their husband's shoulder affectionately.

"Yes, exactly!"

Tommy throws his hands into his pockets, huffing out his frustration.

"The f-fact that they're not...back yet! Means something has gone-"

A enormous thud echoes from the the floor, a piece of tile juts out slightly and scatters the scientists nearby.

"Wrong," Tommy finishes miserably, drawing his gun and preparing for Xen's creatures.

Beside him, Sunkist snarls, her hackles raised in warning.

The tile cracks and shoots into the air, with accompanying gunfire from below, and a hatch busts open from the hole.

Tommy aims to shoot, but immediately lowers his gun upon seeing Mr. Freeman's tired but happy face, followed closely by Benrey, the bags under his eyes looking darker than usual.

"G-Gordon!!"

Tommy rushes forward, embracing them both, and the knots of tension unravel in his stomach.

Benrey snuggles just a little closer into Tommy's coat, and Tommy releases Gordon to pull Benrey into a full hug.

--

Tommy planned on never admitting it to himself, but these two were the people he loved the most.

Benrey..he'd known Benrey for years.

It started when Benrey was just out of training, and Tommy had completed his certification to become a top scientist.

Benrey was 19, maybe 20 at the oldest, his hair pulled into a ponytail that ran down his back.

They weren't close, then, Benrey had been assigned to guard the G-Man's adopted son.

Benrey couldn't die, and Tommy's line of work was dangerous enough to need protection.

So it all worked out.

They barely exchanged more than a few words to eachother until that one night, that one fucking night and Benrey is tripping over himself in tears, blood pouring from the wound on his back and he's clutching Tommy, pawing at his shoulders.

Benrey trembled like he's made from glass and will break if he falls, and Tommy gripped the back of the others security vest so tightly the kevlar nearly rips in half.

And that's saying something.

That night they sat together and they're closer in distance than they've ever been, Tommy's warm and gentle hands bandaged the wound above the numbers tattooed onto Benrey's tailbone and Benrey spilled everything.

Between sniffles and the occasional sob, Benrey confessed, about the tools that somehow hurt him beyond regeneration, leaving a scar, about the men and their evil sticks of lightning that would seep into his bones and fill him with pain so intense he felt like he would break in half.

Tommy nearly broke in half himself.

He felt helpless, and so he went to the only person he knew would make the ones who hurt his first and only friend pay dearly-

His father.

Oh, Tommy had never seen the G-man so angry.

Black Mesa was a research facility, for god's sake, dedicated to the study of alien life and the progression of the human body.

So when Tommy's dad realized that the prototype imprisonment he had resolved several years ago had resurfaced with an even uglier face, he sent scientists who had never experienced fear in their lives tripping for the door in yelps of terror.

And that had been the end of it.

Benrey continued his job as a security guard, people who had previously been made in the facility were hired back on as scientists in new departments such as mixology and cybernetics, and Black Mesa cut its ties with the military.

Black Mesa, Benrey explained later in his own broken way to Tommy in the quiet breakroom during lunch hour, had been trying to create the perfect human being.

There were thousands upon thousands of prototypes that had been created, and Benrey had been the last.

But there had always been something wrong with the ones they created, whether it was serious physical or mental deformities, or simply a sense of fucked up little creature that ended up resulting in the insane amount of scientists with the ability to grow in size, and the security guards that always had a few too many rows of teeth or glowing eyes and severe anger issues.

They weren't always grown in tubes, Tommy learned, but they were always branded with their serial number on the base of the spine.

The one before him, Benrey quipped with a mouthful of sandwich, had been born to a prototype and a normal human employee, before they stripped them out with a memory wipe and sent them into normal society.

The anxious feeling that haunted Tommy in the years that followed had something to do with that piece of information in particular.

Something told him that the military and the alien planet they were studying wouldn't let go of Black Mesa kindly.

Mr. Freeman confirmed that.

He's in the hallway, on his way to get a soda, when he's met with a newer employee, only worked here about 4 or so years.

He seemed kind enough, if a little loud and stubborn. And alright, maybe it hurt Tommy's feelings when Gordon called him a freak, but that was pushed aside with the Resonance Cascade.

Tommy knew that this was it, this was the boot boys' revenge for cutting them out of the picture, but there was something else, distinctly and unsettlingly alien about the Cascade.

The whole of Black Mesa fell into shambles, with creatures of Xen integrating into their carefully built walls and lives, and Tommy kinda freaked, okay?

He'd seen Dr. Coomer around, always greeting him with a wonderful "Hello!!", and was met with a thrill in his stomach when he introduced another prototype as his husband.

Those two had been with him, in the observation room when the project exploded around Gordon and Benrey-

he wasn't supposed to be in the test chamber, what if it seriously hurt him?-

And maybe that was when Tommy realized he was in love with Benrey.

Over time, he felt a sense of conflict slowly building as he made friends with Mr. Freeman.

He seemed to hate Benrey, they hated eachother, but Tommy liked one and loved the other so he became their middle ground.

He was convinced to himself that Benrey liked him as well, until that room, that dark, dark room, and suddenly Benrey is kneeling in a puddle of Gordon's blood and Bubby is screaming, sobbing, blubbering his apologies to anyone who is listening as the soldiers drag them away and Benrey-

He says it, he says those words and it breaks Tommy's heart into a billion pieces-

"Because I love him, okay?! I'm fucking- whoop-de-doo, in love with Gordon god. G-goddamn Freeman, okay?..."

And then Benrey teleports, and he's gone, and Bubby is gone and Dr. Coomer leaves him in the cold dark sewer by himself.

Tommy cried.

Burying his head in his coat, he cried hard and long, alone on the rocky floor.

And then Mr. Freeman crawls out of the pipe, and Tommy can't help it, he holds him.

Gordon reeks of sewage and his bloody hand smells of copper but Tommy doesn't care, and alright, maybe that's when Tommy realized he's in love with Gordon too.

Alright, Tommy can deal with that.

Something Tommy can't deal with is the fact that his instincts are going fucking haywire.

Tommy's always been very perceptive when it comes to time, maybe he can't stop time like his father can, but he's definitely got a certain sense of time and reality as it surrounds him.

Being able to reach out and touch and feel certain areas, but not control them, and all of time is wrapped around him like a blanket.

So when the floor crumbles away below them and Benrey and Gordon fall deep into the recesses of Black Mesa's hellscape, Tommy freaks the fuck out.

A deep, inherent concern lays nested in the pit of his mind like a pile of cottonmouth snakes, hissing madly and snarling that something, something, is absolutely wrong with how this is supposed to go.

Tommy has a sinking feeling that something terrible is going to happen.

--

Man, Benrey really hates this place.

The scientists of the Lambda lab asked a simple request of the Science Team- go through the portal to Xen, get rid of the Nihilanth, bring back some weird space shit.

Easy as pie.

Right?

Wrong.

Benrey feels sick, feverish on this planet.

As he follows behind the group, his legs feel leaden and heavy, and he tugs at the collar of his uniform, which feels uncomfortably tight around his neck.

He's sweating, unusually warm beneath his helmet, but shivering as though chilled to his bones.

There's a tug, deep in his torso, pulling him along, but it's a nasty, oppressive feeling that makes his limbs feel like noodles.

He swallows nervously, eyes darting across the fetid, blood colored planet of Xen.

The sour smell clogs his senses, and as they trudge deeper and deeper through the portals, away from the floating rocks with little gravity and past strange barrels of highly toxic looking liquid, the heavy pull in Benrey's chest only grows stronger and more sickly.

They push through a final, puke-green portal, and the feeling inside of Benrey swells to near explosion.

A cave, with jagged and dark stone running up the walls in wicked cracks, a deep red flush to the area.

Water is flooding Benrey's boots, a putrid and decaying smell to the liquid, and it only adds to Benrey's fatigue.

The creature before them could only be the Nihilanth itself, and the very sight sends such a fucking shudder down Benrey's spine.

It's disgusting, twisted and pulsating flesh running down what must be its face, beady eyes in a cadaverous socket.

It looks like a fetus, a failed attempt of termination long after the allotted time.

It speaks, and the chorus of voices that accompanies it gives away the fact that Xen isn't just the planet-

It's the entire race.

"So. The humans have finally decided to be rid of us."

Gordon looks tired, beaten, but pulls himself upward and grunts through the pain of his broken shin.

"Get your video game dialogue out of the way," he says, with a dismissive wave of his gun-hand.

"I'm about done with this alien shit."

The Nihilanth laughs, a hideous and painful sound, and tilts its head in curiosity towards the little group of vagabonds.

"But you have brought us the very thing we need, Mr. Freeman."

Gordon groans in frustration, turning back to his friends with his teeth grinding against eachother.

"Why does it know my name?"

Xens' audience shrieks with delight, and the Nihilanth's barely feasible mouth twists into what can only be guessed as a grin.

"Xen knows everything about you, Mr. Freeman."

Benrey sways on the spot, his boots splashing the strange water, and the scene before him blurs.

"Whadda....what the hell are you..talking about, man?"

Xen's creatures seem to roar with laughter, and beside Benrey, Dr. Coomer throws up his fists protestingly.

"Xen has been all knowing, all seeing since time begun. As we grow, so do our minds, until we are forced to repopulate. Regrow."

Beneath their feet, headcrabs scuttle ominously, causing Tommy to jump backward with surprise.

"But human beings became a problem for Xen. Their flimsy bodies failed, burst open upon integration."

Benrey is only just awake enough to process this.

"The scientists of Black Mesa were so eager to learn of a new planet. So Xen took influence, and under the guise of building a perfect human being, created what Xen needed."

Gordon scoffs, his shoulders shaking as he laughs scornfully.

Xen reacts strongly, a collective hiss rising around them.

"Do not laugh at us, human."

The headcrabs stay at a distance, but raise their pincers and click them menacingly as the Nihilanth's speech continues.

"Xen required a human being who could withstand radiation, a being who could lose blood en mass and not perish."

A sense of dread washes over the Science Team, and Tommy instinctively puts himself in front of Gordon.

Bubby ignites his arms protectively.

"Let me guess," Gordon growls, revving up his minigun limb; "you needed me?"

Xen's creatures wail in joy, and Benrey takes that as a yes, and reaches for his gun, when something big and poisonous and slimy wraps around his ankle.

"Xen requires Benrey."

Benrey yelps as the Nihilanth drags him underneath the water, bubbles of Sweet Voice trailing from his mouth as his back bounces on the cragged floor beneath the surface.

The Nihilanth swings him into the air, and Benrey splutters, ears waterlogged under his helmet, which slips from his head and falls to the ground with a splash, Benrey's short black hair now dripping wet.

"Look at you, our once perfect vessel- a mewling, pathetic dog."

Hung upside down by his ankle, Benrey gasps in pain as Xen shakes him repeatedly, and for a brief, sickening moment, Benrey is forcibly reminded of the Finding Nemo movie Tommy showed him-

He feels like a fish in Darla's little bag.

"Bark, bark, bark but no bite. You were made with Xen's own blood and yet you cannot even protect those you are infatuated with."

With that, the Nihilanth throws him to the far wall, and his skull cracks on the rock.

It doesn't heal, and Benrey slumps down, struggling to stand, his eyesight swimming with tears.

"You think the Freeman human loves you? You cost him a limb. You would be perfect save for your one flaw- you kneel before a man you could kill with no effort, and you beg him to love you as you love him."

Benrey shakes, kneeling, and whimpers as he chokes out a sob, not trying to disguise his tears.

"You truly are nothing."

"No."

The word is tiny, barely audible.

Then again, louder, with a crack of his voice but more than enough power-

"No. You're wrong."

Gordon pulls himself to full height, scowling so deeply the age shows on his face.

"Benrey is everything to us. To all of us, but especially me."

"Y-yeah! We're not afraid of you!" Tommy chimes, and Sunkist howls with approval.

"If you or your alien bitches thought we'd just leave him here, you're just as stupid as you look."

Bubby grins wildly, cracking their neck from side to side, his bright and eager eyes flashing beneath their glasses.

"Don't fuck with the Science Team!" Coomer bellows, and Bubby cheers beside him.

"Now I'm only gonna tell you once," Gordon beams, turning away from his family to draw his gun-hand and point it at Xen's Nihilanth.

"Piss off."

Gordon fires, and the accompanying screams of headcrabs and peeper puppies echo across the cave, and Benrey is overtaken with an aching, sweet feeling he usually associates with Gordon.

It's love.

Benrey smiles fondly as his knees buckle and he falls to the ground and submerges in the murky waters.

--

Benrey wakes up and immediately is struck with a massive goddamn headache.

He closes his eyes and pulls the pillow over his ears, but the pain is there and clearly is not going anywhere, so he's going to have to ask for an aspirin or some shit.

Sitting up makes him so nauseous it's not even funny, so he decides it's not worth it to stand.

A loud snore startles Benrey enough to yelp, and he glances around for the source of the noise.

Sitting hand in hand on the floor, against the wall opposite his bed, are Gordon and Tommy, both bearing signs of wear and both dead asleep.

Gordon is clutching Benrey's helmet so tightly to his shirt it looks uncomfortable, and Tommy is curled protectively around Gordon's shoulders.

They're half dressed, like Black Mesa decided that the HEV suit and a bloody lab coat was not appropriate clothing but also did not have a whole lot of options for back up wear.

Benrey guesses this based on the fact that Gordon's not really wearing pants and Tommy's wearing a t-shirt that says "Birthday Girl".

Something about the fact that they're holding hands hurts Benrey, just a little.

His heart aches for a moment as he remembers the warmth of Gordon's hand and the feeling of a hug from the Beyblade enthusiast who was his best and only friend for a very long time.

Benrey shakes his head, decides he's going to repress it, and yawns.

God, his head hurts.

Benrey figures that if he stands, he's going to trip and probably break something, and since he doesn't trust his regeneration ability right now, he's not risking it.

Instead, he picks up his pillow and heaves it at the two scientists as hard as he can.

Tommy jolts awake, blinking, then smiles widely upon sighting the guard.

"Benrey!!"

Tommy shoots upward, and makes the distance between the wall and the hospital bed in one step, leaving Gordon to slump over and yell in surprise as he hits the floor.

Benrey's pulled into a crushing hug, and he wheezes for Tommy to be gentle.

"S-sorry!" Tommy cries happily, pulling back to take in Benrey's face.

"It's..it's g-good to see you awake."

Gordon stands, still holding the helmet, and wanders over to where Tommy is perched on the edge of the bed.

"You've been out for hours," Gordon adds, gently reaching out with his left hand to ruffle Benrey's hair.

"We were starting to get worried."

Benrey swallows his funny retort for once, instead choosing to spit out some clear blue song in response.

Tommy reads it almost immediately, and excuses himself to get medicine.

Gordon takes his spot on the bed, and just looks over Benrey.

Benrey feels like he's being scrutinized, with Gordon's soft green eyes just roaming over his face.

"Alright. Fucking. Get the questions outta the way," Benrey mumbles irritably, sticking out his tongue.

"I know you're fuckin. Curious about the shit Xen said."

Gordon laughs sweetly, setting the helmet down on the bed next to him and runs his fingers over it fondly.

Benrey takes a note of his new right hand, a grey-black prosthetic that clicks when Gordon moves his knuckles.

"I don't really have any questions," Gordon grins, adjusting his shirt.

"Other than, are you okay?"

Benrey's taken back by this one.

Not only did he cost Gordon his hand and almost his life about thirty billion times, but everyone (including him!) also just found out that Benrey was made with Xen DNA.

He's essentially Gordon's enemy in every sense of the word, and Gordon is asking if he's okay?

"....did the Nihilanth hit your head or somethin', man?? What the hell kinda. Question is that one??"

Gordon's smile softens massively, and it makes Benrey's heart melt into a little puddle in his stomach.

"Benrey, you saved my life a whole shit ton of times back there."

"Yeah, I also almost got you killed," Benrey interrupts, but Gordon doesn't pause.

"I've been thinking about a lot of things while you've been asleep, and I've been talking with Tommy a lot too."

Benrey's happy puddle evaporates into a heavy leaden ball inside of his chest.

"I don't need to hear this, dude."

Gordon looks a little confused, so Benrey keeps going.

"You're. I know you heard the shit Xen said about...."

Benrey pauses, unsure if he wants to say it out loud.

That'll finalize it, forever.

He takes a breath, then with a great effort, says it out loud.

"I love you. Have since we were kids, have since I first met you. Xen was...right. They were fucking right, you're happier with Tommy because he's never hurt you or..fuck. Fuck, man, you don't feel the same and I'm done pushin' it on you. We uhh, clear?"

Gordon covers his mouth with his hand, and for a split second Benrey thinks he's made him cry, but Gordon bursts out laughing, clutching his stomach and snorting in between giggles.

"B-Benny, you idiot, I am in love with you."

Maybe it's the sudden affectionate nickname, or the fact that Gordon said he loves him.

But Benrey blushes, hard, and pink-to-blue sweet voice bubbles out of his mouth in surprise.

"Whuh?"

Tommy walks back into the room, bottle in hand, and pauses at the sight in front of him.

"Oh, are w-we doing conf-confessions now?!"

Before Benrey can even speak, Tommy drops down beside him and kisses him on the cheek, putting him and Gordon's hands in his own.

Tommy doesn't say it, but Benrey gets the point.

"Fucking- FINALLY!!"

Benrey just might die for real.

Bubby leans in the doorway, a smug grin on his face, elbow resting on Dr. Coomer's shoulder.

"Ah, young love is beautiful!"

Tommy and Gordon laugh cheerfully at Dr. Coomer, and Benrey buries his face sheepishly in the blankets.

--

It takes a few days, but Benrey recovers pretty well from the Nihilanth.

He's thought a lot about what Xen said.

And he's decided that they were very wrong about him.

His love for other people isn't a flaw, it's his best quality.

He can and will protect the people he loves with his life, no matter what.

And he knows that the people he loves will do the same for him.

With time, Gordon learns not to flinch at the sight of his right hand, or gag when he drinks a soda.

Benrey learns to accept hugs and snuggles from Tommy, and figures out the jokes that Gordon likes and doesn't like.

Tommy is always there to patch up Benrey's injuries, and learns better responses that don't involve soda when Gordon needs to vent.

So Benrey feels safe, and knows that he's not the only one who's trying to be better.

Benrey and them are trying, together.

[cdroloisms]

more of the mutually assured destruction duo, post-prison this time! this one was really fun, thinking about what this dynamic might be like in the future gives me SO much brainrot, im so excited. this one’s also a little dark, so make sure to read the warnings + tags !! :D 

tw: implied prison abuse, starvation, toxic relationship, touch starvation, manipulation, panic attack, trauma, blood, injury

Dream hasn't been the same since he escaped prison.

And it's ironic, because Wilbur hasn't even been around, has been in hell for fuck's sake playing Competitive Solitaire for nine-odd years, but even he could've seen the self-destruction hanging like a cloud around the other's head from a million miles (and several months? years?) away. Perhaps, he thinks wryly, you can only see the signs when you've lived them, or maybe red flags don't raise alarm when you’ve painted the entire figure in blood, but it doesn't really matter, in the end, because the final result is the same.

Still, it's just a little funny when he's stopped in the middle of his journey through the Nether, not a piece of armor on him per usual and an unused netherite sword slung over his hip.

"Hello, Sapnap." The kid is standing in front of him, eyes gleaming in badly-hidden anger and desperation, smoke rising from the mottled red-black skin on his hands. "Fancy seeing you around."

"You-" Sapnap sputters, unable to speak as his face flushes red in frustration, and Wilbur smiles at him condescendingly. The expression on the other's face is one he's seen before - one Tommy had been particularly inclined to give him in the past, when his emotions raged so heavily that there was nothing for the pressure to do but build, too thick and heavy to force themselves out of his throat. "You're monsters," Sapnap manages, finally, and Wilbur quirks an eyebrow.

At least we're self-aware, he thinks, the all-too-familiar twinge of irritation at Tommy's - and apparently, Sapnap's particular brand of reckless naivety pulsing at the base of his skull. He lets none of these thoughts show on his face as he cocks his head to the side, smiles wider - and Sapnap, just like Tommy, takes the bait.

'Why are you smiling?" He looks achingly young - they all do, really, their expressions and reactions dripping with a sort of innocence and sincerity that dissolved from Wilbur's own face somewhere around the fifteen-hundreth game of poker, and it really does feel ironic, how quickly the outside world can fall apart compared to the unending constancy of the void - but he digresses.

He didn't know Sapnap well before his whole death thing, and as much as he wants to use his partner to get information on the other members of the server, he doesn't really think Dream is really even lucid enough for that - the man clearly hasn't been thinking clearly, not for a long time. It doesn't matter, though, because you learn to read people when your life becomes nothing but running the same broken-edged memories over and over again in your mind and smiling jaggedly over the same few card games - Wilbur had always been a people watcher, and Sapnap's feelings are stamped on every corner of his face.

"Monster, huh," he says, saying the word slowly, rolling it over his tongue like he's tasting it for the first time, watching from the corner of his eye as Sapnap squirms, "Interesting word you've got here. You use it often?"

Sapnap bristles, smoke curling from his nostrils - "It's what you are, dickhead."

Rolling his eyes internally, Wilbur keeps up the act, humming as he fiddles idly with his cufflink. "I mean, if you really believe that," he rocks forward on his right foot, stifling a smile at the way the younger draws back, "But really, it's all a matter of perspective." He twists himself around, pivoting around his heel, beginning to walk in an arc around Sapnap's left side, watching as he spins around, shoulders drawn up to his ears. "What do you think?"

"I think that you're full of shit," he says, voice flat, and Wilbur laughs. It's genuine, really, because well - Sapnap's different. He's fun; the entire server is, after so long in the void. You can only spend so much time with the same two people before they drive you a little up the metaphorical wall, but Sapnap's reactions are fresh and new and different, still saturated with vitality that hasn’t been leached out by the same deck of cards in the same scarred hands shuffled and reshuffled for eternity. He's interesting, and new, and most of all, predictable.

"Say, Sapnap," he continues, blowing over the other's anger, knowing that it'll only make the frustration build more. He lets his hair flop lazily over one eye, lets his smile grow wider, lips pressed together in amusement, turns his face so that it's lit eerily by the lava lake beneath them. "If we're monsters for, I don't know, setting off a few stacks of TNT," he waves his hand flippantly, watching the muscle of the other's jaw jump in poorly-hidden rage, "What does that make you for what you did to Dream?"

Sapnap's eyes go wide, and Wilbur knows he's struck the jackpot. He lets his lips part to reveal bared teeth, jagged and glinting in the light. "I'm sorry, did that hit a nerve?"

The kid's mouth opens- closes- emotions warring on his face, fists curling and uncurling at his sides, lip trembling. "We- we had to-" his hands come to his face, palms digging into his eyes, and while he's not looking, Wilbur draws his expression back a bit, becoming softer, more welcoming. When Sapnap looks back up, his eyes are shining, hands shaking still; he steps forward, then rocks back on his back foot like he doesn't know where to go. "What do you mean?" he throws the words like they're meant to be a threat, but by the end his voice has devolved into something high-pitched and keening, overflowing with desperate grief that Wilbur latches onto like a starving man (ha) with his last meal.

"I'm sorry, it does seem rather insensitive for me to assume," he resumes pacing around the other, voice lilting, soft, "I just mean, it seemed pretty obvious, don't you think? I don't think I've ever seen someone so skinny, really, but I guess that is what happens when you get starved,"

"Shut up-"

"Not to mention the whole panicking thing, I mean, he's like Tommy sometimes with all of the fucking shaky breathing and mumbling around like creepers, not that I'd know what all of that's about," he watches Sapnap through half-hooded eyes, darkly amused, "and pickaxes, oddly enough, but oh well. Who am I to judge?"

"Shut up-"

"And all of the scars - I thought they were from you, honestly, he told me about the whole 'taking his last life' thing, but then he jumped into lava one day - I guess there wasn't much to do in that cell, huh? He didn't even scream, it's really pretty fucking incredible - I thought I'd actually have to break him down a bit, but really, you've made my life so much easier-"

"SHUT UP-"

Wilbur watches with a too-wide grin as Sapnap finally, finally charges, a netherite sword appearing in his hand as he races blindly ahead, tears shining on his cheeks, his words more pain than thought as he brings the blade down-

A blur of purple, the sound of crumbling netherrack and metal meeting metal, flesh hitting flesh - Wilbur moves smoothly out of the way as Sapnap crashes to the ground, an armored figure bearing down an axe against the shield he's raised between them.

Dream, hair tangled and long, wearing armor that is far too heavy for his skinny frame, every inch of him shaking in panic, should hardly be a threat - but this is Sapnap, weakened by Wilbur's sharp words and crippled by the shock of seeing his former best friend's face again, eyes still unfocused from the rage and tears that had clouded over them moments before, so he can do little but raise his shield as the netherite slams into it, again and again. Not a word falls from Dream's lips, but he brings down the weapon at a ruthless pace - ever since he's been free, his attack style has changed greatly from the defensive style he used to favor, even to Wilbur's untrained eye - there's no skill, no art to the way he attacks anymore, just the fearful ferocity of a dog trapped in a cage for far, far too long.

He finally kicks Sapnap down the netherrack cliff that they're on, the other man left to nurse his wounds below them - Wilbur doesn't bother sparing him another thought; Dream's far too weak to cause any permanent damage. Instead, he approaches his partner, weapon, with a smile, watching, satisfied, when he whirls around with a manic expression.

"I'm alright, see?" he croons as Dream's shoulders move up and down with his heaving breaths, eyes fever-bright, teeth bared. He brings a hand down on the other's shoulder and watches as he flinches at the movement, breath hitching, every muscle freezing, knuckles pale on the handle of his axe, before moving again, stumbling forwards, hands reaching for Wilbur's head and stopping halfway. Wilbur tips his head forward, lets the shorter brush his face with trembling fingers, checking his unmarred skin for blood through the purpling bruises already forming on his cheek, and thinks how powerful he is to have a god at his beck and call, a perfect attack dog brought to heel, death itself obediently at his side.

Dream hasn't been the same since he escaped prison, and as Wilbur runs his hand up and down his back, feeling the way his spine arches at the touch, at the fluttering pulse under the skin-and-bone wrist under his fingers, he thinks how fortunate he is to be the first to notice.