#maybe i could have thought of a different way but eh i already drew the comic

[flickering-nightfall]

[thefuchsianeko]

As a "fun" design exercise I decided to mess with the Hazbin characters' designs... Not really "redesigns," but more so "refined-designs"-- Keeping their overall look or "essence" while trying to simplify them and clean up their colour palettes, as well as making sure they all look distinct from one another.

I tried to stick close to the original's style but I couldn't help using thick lines, lol. Along with the simplified shapes, it gives them an early 2000s cartoon vibe I think.

For the colours I tried giving them more unique palettes, as well as making sure that they had enough contrast (the colour value of this show tends to be... not great). Also the lineup at the bottom isn't my final selection, it's just a selection to get a better idea of how they all might look together side-by-side.

Eh, tell me what you think. I could keep editing these but like, I'm tired of looking at them lol. More info on each design (plus a speedpaint) under the cut. It gets wordy, sorry.

Charlie: Not much to say besides she needs more contrast in her colours. I changed her shirt to the same colour as her corneas (yellow) so it doesn't blend in with her skin. I wish her eyes were still black (not only does it bring better attention to her face, but it works better with the idea that she's a doll-- yknow, painted on eyes? Does that make sense lol). In retrospect, maybe it would've been good to try some browns with her colours? Idk. I kept her red since she's the princess of Hell, and Hell's main colour seems to be red. Oh also, I gave her some lines on her face and hands just to make her look more like a puppet/doll. The rest of her body would have the same kind of joints/segments.

Vaggie: Ok I know her hair technically looks more moth-like in her og redesign but... it just seems like too much? Yknow? It's kind of outrageous. Idk how well my solution works but I tried simplifying it. I simplified her bow as well and made her stockings more like leggings. Her X-eye now hides behind her hair. Her gloves are shorter. Also I took away that thing around her waist that.... seems to be a different colour than everything else??? Idk what's up with that. Sorry I took away her feet. I tried out some blue and purple with her, I think it looks nice. Only thought about keeping the red bow because I thought maybe it'll match her with Charlie. Also sorry I took away her boobs 💀💀💀

Angel Dust: So unsure about how I drew him... Specifically, his 2nd set of arms looks so floppy and tacked on, and his legs... Idk I'm not great at digitigrade legs but I'm pretty sure that's officially what kind of legs he has. His head is weird. I think I got the idea of giving him big feet from Meppity's redesign video (her redesigns are some of my faves). I took away his bowtie because... too many of these guys have bowties, and he already has a choker too. Also I had the funny idea of all the Hotel employees wearing bowties/bows of some sort, and Angel is a patron but not an employee... Anyway. Kept his gold tooth to link him to Val (who also has a gold tooth), and kept the dots under his eyes since I THINK they're supposed to be representative of his spider eyes? They can be taken away if need be, though. His gloves don't go all the way up and kind of look like dish-washing gloves again but, the way his gloves go all the way up and his sleeves go into them... it just looks so weird to me. Idk, maybe I should've just given him shorter sleeves, or even no sleeves at all 🤔 And honestly I still have no idea what's going on with his pants. Are they short-shorts? Underwear? Didn't change them anyway. For the colours, I made sure all his gloves were the same colour (still don't know WHY they decided to make his 2nd set not only a different colour, but the SAME colour as his skin/fur????). Turned down the saturation on his hot-pink, and gave his right eye the light pink instead of that almost-black colour (still kept his eyes different colours because I remember seeing a really old sketch page of Angel that insinuated that there was a reason for his eye being black). Made some of the darker parts straight-black just because I've been using that in all the other character's palettes, but this can be changed to his almost-black colour. Also tried a more purple palette to get away from all the pink, kinda really like it.

Alastor: I originally tried his coat with coattails, but wasn't sure about it and made it the original shape. Took away his monocle because fuck that it's unnecessary and clutters his face. Made his antlers bigger. Swapped out his shirt collar to be like the one Charlie's og redesign has, because the way it goes all the way up like that gets on my nerves? Idk maybe I just don't know anything about fashion design but it doesn't scream 30's-suit to me. You could probably take away the collar, though. I wanted to try a lot of darker colours for his palette since he's like... kinda the bad guy. Dark colours would work well for him. I'm worried about his arms getting lost in the black of his coat, but that's why his cuffs and hands are a different colour. Really wanted to give him more than just red so I spread out the yellow of his teeth; I like how it looks for his shirt, it also works well with his eyes to draw you towards his face. I also tried to (again) lessen the saturation of his reds and pushed them more towards orange to better match the yellow. Kept all the brighter colours to his upper body to keep your eyes there, too.

Husk: I think Husk was one of my least favorite designs when the pilot came out because he's a real mess of detail. His wings are the worst. His redesign isn't much better (like dawg why's he got these random-ass hearts everywhere). Simplified his wings to just have some circles and rounded shapes. Kept some heart shapes (like his nose, bowtie, and paws) but added a couple diamond shapes, too (mainly his suspender buttons and the shape of his white chest-fur). Really wanted to have more blatant club and spade shapes too (to add to the poker theme), but didn't want it to get crowed and decided the rest of the rounded and heart shapes worked well enough. Made his eyebrows shorter and more square-shaped. Didn't have many ideas for colours but knew that I wanted to try some oranges and yellows. Made his eyebrows a darker colour, and changed his eyes to yellow corneas with black pupils. Stands out more that way, I think.

Niffty: Did you know her name is spelled with two Fs? I didn't. I don't like it... Anywayyyy. Swirled her hair a little more, and took the yellow streak out. Added some fluff under her dress just to match her apron. Kept the dots on her shirt (though there are only two now instead of three) because I'm assuming it'll make sense later (like idk maybe she was shot to death and that's what they represent), but I wonder if you can take those away for a cleaner design? Gave her more rounded shapes. I said before that all the Hotel employees would have bows/bowties of some sort for these designs: Niffty's would be her handkerchief (yknow, it's tied into a bow in the back? That works right...? Eh.) I took away her cheekmarks 1) to clear up her face and 2) to make Charlie's cheek marks seem more unique and doll-like. For Niffty's colours, I (again) turned down the saturation on her pink. I wanted to try using some green and purple on her, since her inspirations include B-movie aliens and the song One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying Purple People Eater. Tried using different colours for her skin, since a lot of characters in Hazbin have white skin, and for Niffty specifically I think the white skin along with her white apron dries-out her look (if that makes sense?) Though I do agree her having yellow skin is NOT good if she really does end up being Japanese. I think pink skin works well for her, though. Oh! And again, it helps make Charlie's design more unique with her white skin, making her seem more porcelain. I made Niffty's eyes yellow like her teeth, and then used the same colour for her apron to unify the palette.

Cherri: Ok Cherri's design was my ABSOLUTE least favorite from the pilot, too many senseless details I HATE her ripped pants. So hard to look at. Idk if you noticed in the time lapse but I had to re-sketch Cherri because 1) her pose was too similar to Niffty's (I was making their poses similar to their official art) and 2) her hair was giving me trouble... I kinda hate how her hair hovers to the side like that? Tried re-shaping her hair and now it looks like she uses a TON of hairspray or something, lol. Took away her tattoo but kept her freckles. Took away the skirt thing(?) she's got on her pants. Took the symbol off her shirt, but added an X to her pants (can be taken away, though). Simplified the rips on her pants to just be ripped knees. put a heel on her left shoe so she doesn't look unbalanced/uncomfortable. Made her gloves shorter. For colours, I again took away her white skin for the same reason I took away Niffty's white skin (less "dried out" palette and makes Charlie look more unique/porcelain). Afaik Cherri's not Asian so yellow skin could work for her, though I also tried green skin. Since one of her themes is cherries I wanted to use reds, pinks, greens, and blacks. I tried some green for her clothes (and again her skin), and also turned some of her pinks more red. Made her hair darker for more contrast, and tried using some red for her hair instead of pink (I like the pink hair, but again... red like cherries). In general her colour palette was the hardest to figure out but I think I found some interesting things.

Sir Pentious: Sir Pent was my 2nd least-favorite pilot design by only a little 🤏. It's all his eyes. He's very hard to look at. I took away all the eyes on his tail, and turned down the saturation on the rest of the eyes EXCEPT the ones on his face (maybe I should have just made those reds much different colours, but it still looks a lot better with just the saturation down). Took away his stupid-ass goggles and made the face on his hat a lot simpler (combined the mouth with the hat band; it can still emote btw). Replaced his bowtie with... *quick google search* A jabot? It's supposed to be a jabot I think. I think that's what it's called. More 1700s than 1800s, but eh. Maybe I should've given him *quick google search* a cravat maybe??? Eh, eh, not a fashion expert but anyway. I thickened his mid-section so it eases into his tail better because, the way it is in the official design it always made him look like a slug to me? I looks too... squishy. Banana-slug-lookin' ass Also took away his red-tipped claws and made them straight black. For his colours, I think the grey and yellow works for him already, though I do wanna see how he'd look with more green or blue. Most of what I did colour-wise was the eyes, but also his suit; still grey, but trying both darker colours and pushing it more towards blue and purple. I wonder if I made his skin a little too dark? Is it kinda hard to see his features? Idk. Idk how I feel about these colours. Bleh.

[rotnow]

✨ Articles of Phantom Theives : The mermaid and the ship of fakes! ✨

NOTE : watching the actual episode of the anime is highly recommended Hello everyone! Huhu here! It's been a while huh? Well as I promised I have finished the chapter for this story! You are in a treat this time my friend, I have decided to write an actually full fledged story this time instead of writing bullet points. I’m going to be honest..this wasn’t easy. I had to constantly keep motivating myself and the amount of times I have went back and forth to looking at the episode is insane 💀 That being said, THIS IS A WARNING‼️ the end of this story might be lacking and I apologize for that. I’ll try to be better in the future! Hm..what else? Oh yes, Emily's outfit! Yes yes she is dressed up in knight armor (will be explained in the story) here I even drew it!!

Now without further adieu.. Let the story begin! Thank you for reading!!

———————————————————

Don’t get me wrong, Emily Oak loves parties. She enjoys socializing with different people and most importantly the food.

So why is she wearing a fully covered knight costume in the middle of a party?

Well dear reader, let me explain. So it started when Emily and DJ peacock were discussing their latest report on Kaitou Joker when a little birdie told them that Joker has sent an advance notice to steal Mr Kaneri’s Mermaid Crystal during his luxury liner party! Obviously both of them were stoked about this news but before things can get even more better it was also hinted that the mysterious phantom thief Spade (who has yet to reveal his identity) was also going to be appearing!

DJ peacock was too busy jumping around in excitement already having ideas on covering the underground news and to notice Emily's shoulder’s slow slump when she realized who Joker and this spade is stealing from.

“Hm? Emily what’s wrong?” “Oh um.. well good news! I can go to the party without being accompanied by inspector oniyama and the others!” “That's wonderful! How did you manage to do that at a short notice?” “Ok so here's the surprising news..”

Emily had to shut her friend’s gaping mouth before any flies would fly into it when she revealed that Mr Kaneri is her uncle. In her defense, the rich man is her FAR FAR FARR UNCLE. She hardly sees him that much anyway but she has a great opportunity in her hands and she could get a peek of what kaitou spade looks like as well! All it took was one greeting (and a bit of persuasion) and Emily had the invitation in her hands, ready to go!

And that's how she got into this situation, a fully covered knight armor costume in her uncle’s cruise attending his costume party. It's not like she doesn’t want her uncle to find her (ok she does) but she only really came here to see what Joker has up his sleeve this time and see kaitou spade, not be forced to write an article about how wealthy her uncle is.

‘Now that I think about it..this armor is making me sweat..’ the brown hair girl thought to herself while looking at the multiple paintings of her uncle on the wall. It was amazing how Emily managed to get such armor like this on rent, truly it was a snatch ... .except it was hot and heavy to move in!

‘Maybe I need water..yeah water might do the trick!’ She made her way to the buffet table that had the most drool worthy food on it. It looked so good she almost bumped into a waiter that suspiciously looked familiar to her. Is it just her or has she seen those blue eyes and strange hairstyles before? Eh it's hard to see through the helmet anyway.

A few minutes pass, and the mermaid crystal is now revealed to the guests by Mr Kaneri’s assistant, kaneko. The beauty of the treasure shown on television could not compete with the real deal! It looks stunning and amazing, and- is that Joker?! Emily paused in the middle of feasting on the delicious custards to see LITERALLY KAITOU JOKER OUT IN THE OPEN COMING DOWN FROM THE CEILING?! She couldn’t believe it! Has Joker already planned to take the mermaid crystal this early? Or has he already done it? How?!

As if she heaviness of the armor Emily is wearing didn’t bother her anymore, she instantly brought out her pen and notepad (guests who were beside her was looking at her weirdly like ‘did this knight just pull out a pen and paper out of thin air?’) preparing to make a beeline towards the fight breaking out in stage between iInspector Oniyama and “Joker”. Until that beeline was cut short, now Emily stood a good feet away from the mess of her uncle who was actually wearing a joker costume, shouting at Inspector Oniyama and her crew of attacking him. To the Oniyama’s defense, the costume looked TOO much like Joker.

Emily sighed at this and turned around to go back to her previous spot at the food buffet. She could hear bits of conversation of Mr Kaneri and oniyama’s conversation but she isn’t one to eavesdrop so-

“By the way, have you seen my lovely niece Emily? She said that she’ll be here at my party tonight!” Mr Kaneri boasted about making Oniyama tilt his head. “Your niece? Emily?” “Yes! Emily Oak! The famous journalist that wrote articles about the rotten Joker! You see I’m planning on convincing her to write articles about ME instead, because I’m so rich and famous it would definitely indeed turn heads!”.

‘You know what I think it's a great idea to hide in the kitchen for a while’ her legs guided her quickly into the kitchen. Big mistake, she was faced with four heads turned towards her. Emily blinked at two out of the four familiar heads, grinning behind her helmet at the sight of them. She pointed at them.

“Hachi! Joker!”

….

“WHO ARE YOU?!”

///

“I didn’t realize it was you, Miss Emily!” Hachi exclaimed as Emily took off her helmet and smiled at the ninja boy “Sorry for making you panic back there in the kitchen, it's nice to see you again!”. She didn’t get to spend that much time with hachi the last time they met (that being he was literally helping Joker steal something) but she can just tell from his adorable face he is just sweet. Hachi looked at Joker who was staring at the other two with bis hands on his hips

“Hey so what's up with Joker-“

“I’ev heard lots of rumors..so you’re the big up and comer, Spade”

Emily’s eyes instantly darted to the two, the time has finally come! She is now in the presence of the one and only phantom thief Spade!

“King, you must be this Spade’s apprentice”

Wait what?

Emily slowly puts down the pen she didn’t even realize she was holding (must be muscle memory) confused. Joker just continued to talk, “Unlike you, I’m already on my own. And I have my own apprentice! This is Hachi, my number #1 apprentice”. “A pleasure to meet you!” said the apprentice.

The journalist couldn’t help but smile softly at the way Joker is proudly introducing Hachi. To think this was the same Joker she met in the past when he was still new to being a phantom thief is astonishing! Oh how the times have changed. He was even defending Hachi when this apparent “King'' made a remark of how small the ninja is. Oh how it warms her heart to see this.

“By the way, this is Emily Oak! My journalist friend”

Aw he’s introducing Emily as well?

“She writes articles about ME, very good ones in fact. That just adds weight to how much I have grown” Joker smirks as he crosses his arms together looking like an athlete showing off his medals.

‘I should have expected that..’ Emily waves her hands in front of her when King and his friend turned to look at her as she tries to explain more about herself “I don’t only write about Joker of course”The brown hair female failed to notice Joker’s side eye beside her “I am also interested in writing about other phantom thieves. That's actually one of the main reasons why I’m here, to interview phantom thief spade”

King and partner glanced at each other for a moment before looking back at the journalist. “That’s very nice of you, emily. We would love to be in your articles, it might even be more popular than Joker over here” King said with the last few words a bit louder , irking the tophat phantom thief. “Hey!” “J-just who are you to Mr Joker anyway?”

The next sentence that came out of the king's mouth was like a golden buzzer for our girl. It's not everyday she gets information about Joker’s childhood heck even his life when he’s not doing his phantom thief stuff even! She has always wondered what Joker’s childhood was like. To grow up, training to become a phantom thief must be tough right? Who was his mentor? Did he live in a secret isolated place like in those spy movies? Or a hideaway buried deep in nature where the only access to get food was hunting?

Well at least now she knows that he and King were training partners under the same master. Just wait till her article fans hear about this!

Emily was too busy thinking about what she’ll write in the upcoming article, she didn’t mind the current argument happening with king and joker. Er..something about ‘that summer’? Eh, the girl was too far in her thoughts to even listen unlike hachi who was dying of curiosity.

“Hey, what happened that summer?’ Please tell me!”

“Shut up! I’m not like I was back then! No matter what you people do, that crystal will be mine!”

In response to Joker’s claim, King just confidently crossed his arms ``We'll see about that, you don’t want to underestimate the skill of phantom thief spade. Let’s compete to see who can recover the Mermaid’s crystal first!”. The monologue was accompanied with his partner’s chuckle in the background (very nice add on might I say).

Emily’s brain was busy functioning this situation at the moment. ‘Two phantom thieves’ + ‘compete’ = SCORE STORY!!! For a moment she squealed, making everyone look at her for a second. Joker smiled to himself when he noticed Emily’s expression, it's one that he has seen many times before and assumed she was already loving the idea of this.

Not wanting to let her upcoming article be a disaster (and his pride won’t allow it), Joker returns King’s confidence with a smirk “I have no intention of losing to you two”. Hachi shared the same confidence, ready to be alongside Joker to win this challenge.

…

“Wah, I’m so full..”

!

The five of them looked to see inspector oniyama nearby with his partners. ‘Oh crap!’ Emily thought to herself, quickly putting on her armor helmet. She didn’t want to be caught by none other than the police with phantom thieves, especially inspector oniyama! He doesn’t even know she’s here to begin with! Besides if he does then Mr Kaneri will know..and then- She shivers at the thought of being in an endless bound conversation with her distant uncle where most of the time it's just him talking about himself.

“You’re so under arrest, Joker!!” Inspector Oniyama yelled out, dashing towards the phantom thief. Joker and Hachi both stand in their place, barely having any time to make a run for it until the king's partner swiftly moves in front of them facing the police. ‘Eh?’ Emily thinks, now that she is thinking about it she has never been introduced to King’s partner yet..

Luckily inspector oniyama also wanted to know who was the person standing in between him and Joker as well, “W-who are you?!”. King wasted no time in introducing that, his partner is Phantom thief spade. Emily gasped at the introduction, ‘This is perfect!’ She thought, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to see the phantom thief spade in action right in front of me!’

“Evil glance!” A bright light shines from Spade’s single eye (the one thing that stood out from his bandaged head (weird choice design but…still cool)) blinding inspector oniyama, momo and ginko. Just like that, three officers were down on the floor asleep once the light faded away. Emily looked at the three unconscious figures in wonder at what just happened beside Joker “Woah..” “T-that was so cool!”. Spade looked back at Joker, “Now you owe me one”. The spiky haired phantom thief gritted his teeth “I didn’t ask for you to do that!”.

The journalist on the other hand, hummed behind her helmet, “Thank you for that, Spade and King!”. Joker whipped his head to look at her “Don’t compliment the competition!!”. Spade smirked and winked, “No problem, Emily. Well, we’ll be taking that treasure. See you then”. He and spade ran off ignoring Joker’s constant yells of not letting his childhood friend steal the treasure he’s targeting. Hachi looks on in determination and notices emily walking away to where the part was. “Hm? Emily, you’re going too?” Asked the phantom thief apprentice. The girl smiled sheepishly, admitting that she’ll be heading inside to where king and spade are “I don’t want to miss spade and king steal the mermaid crystal..” “How do you know they’ll steal the mermaid, we’ll do it first!” Joker huffed as he crossed his arms, hachi mirrored his movements. Emily chuckled, “You better do it fast then, goodluck you too!” She gave a thumbs up which was returned with smirks and smiles before running to the party leaving the other two behind.

//

Once Emily entered the party room, she tried her best to find Spade and King. No really, she did! Like literally looking up and down, the kitchen, the toilet, everywhere! Seriously what kind of training did he and joker do in the past that involved both of them being able to hide so perfectly well?!

She sighed to herself, the journalist was hoping to meet them for a quick second along for a little mini interview but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen. She glances at the bag behind her, there was another reason why she wanted to see them again..

She found a tranquilizer gun.

In fact she found it on her way to the party on the floor. ‘Is it theirs?’ She wonders, ‘or is it..someone else's?!’ The thought of someone in the party with a tranquilizer gone got her sweating…it even makes her sweat bullets because now she has the gun in her bag.

‘If anyone were to see me with this..’ Emily internally panicked at the thought of someone catching her with the tranquilizer gun. She didn’t want to go to jail yet!!

Fortunately the thoughts slowly go away as Kaneko and Mr Kaneri go up on stage to announce the winners of the- eh? There was a costume contest? Emily surely didn’t know that, but the prize must be amazing then if it came from a rich man like Mr Kaneri!

“The winner indeed will receive a year’s supply of Mr. Cookie!” Mr Kaneri announces as the projector behind him projects an image of his cookie brand. Emily sweatdropped ‘why did I even bother..?’, for once she assumed her distant uncle would give out an expensive prize, she wonders who the winner of the competition is.

Before the winner is revealed though, the doors to the entrance of the room opens and Spade stands there chuckling “kukukuku”.

Emily gasps, holding her hands in front of her helmet at the sight (the guests who beside her looked at her weirdly yet again). It's the big moment of the show! Spade is now going to steal the mermaid treasure. ‘But wait..where’s King?’

“Evil glance!” Light yet again appears from Spade’s glowing eye blinding everyone, including Emily this time. However instead of sleeping like what happened with inspector Oniyama and his partners, the girl didn’t feel herself growing unconscious. Once the light faded, Emily along with multiple other guests blinked in confusion. Obviously the guests are wondering what just happened but Emily was the most confused out of them. ‘Huh?? Why aren't I unconcious? Isn’t that supposed to happen?’ Emily thought to herself, as she takes a look at Spade who is unmoving from his spot. Looking more closely, Spade was indeed not looking too good. In fact he seemed like he was panicking.

‘WHAT IS HE DOING?! IS THIS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN???’ She looked in worry feeling bad for the phantom thief. This was supposed to be the moment where he and King (again where is he) steal the mermaid crystal..and it went totally wrong! How is she supposed to make this sound amazing but also truthful in her article? ‘Phantom thief Spade fails to steal the Mermaid Crystal’? Oh dear..

As if anything else could get worse, Inspector Oniyama along with Ginko and Momo bursted in immediately capturing Spade by dog piling! Great now Emily might as well write ‘Phantom thief Spade fails to steal the Mermaid Crystal AND gets dog piled by police’ as the title of her article!

There could only be one thing to do now.

That's right.

Visit the caged Spade alone.

You would think security would be tight but for some reason, Emily has no problems sneaking in to check up on the caged phantom thief behind bars. She still had to take precautions though so she kept her helmet on. There wasn’t even anybody else in the room, just her and Spade. The journalist made her way in front of Spade with the only thing separating the two was the bars holding the phantom thief in. “Spade,” Spade looked up to see a knight in front of him. For a second he thought it was just some random party guest that wandered into the room but soon realized it was the girl he met on the ship’s dock once Emily lifted up her helmet to reveal her face

“M-miss Emily? What are you doing here?” Spade said out loud, curious on why she decided to come visit a literal criminal. The girl replied with a hum “Since you’re basically arrested now and most likely to be going to jail as soon as this ship gets onto land, I want to spend these last moments of interviewing” she frowned at the last words. Emily felt disappointed a bit to see such a phantom thief like spade get caught like this but..it's not she could do anything about that. Spade’s body paused at the brown haired girl’s words, ‘This girl..wants to interview me? Even though I’m-‘

“Ok first things first I need to ask you about something” Emily reached to take something out of her bag. Spade titled his head wondering what it might be.

He expected many things but no once did the thought of a tranquilizer gun being an option.

Emily may not see it, but Spade was shocked to see the gun in her hands. I mean how did the journalist get her hands on it?! Did it fell off when-

“I just want to make sure this is yours and King’s…because I really hope it is since the idea of someone else on the ship with a gun like this wouldn’t ease my worries” Emily nervously chuckled and turned the tranquilizer gun to fidget with it. “Actually now that I think about it, this is my first time holding a gun” “Miss Emily please be careful on holding that” Spade warned the person on the other side of the bars, the last thing he wants at the moment is something to go wrong. She assures the phantom thief, while holding on to the gun loosely “Its fine I got this-“

“So this is the so-called phantom thief Spade!” A third familiar voice in the room called out behind her.

“AAAH!!”

Bam! Out of panic, Emily accidently shot a nearby crate with the tranquilizer gun and quickly put the knight helmet on her head. ‘Oh shoot! It's..’, she turned around to see a shocked Mr Kaneri clutching his Mr Teddy in his hands as if his life depended on it. ‘Oh no!!’ the journalist mentally cried out, quickly putting the tranquilizer gun in her backpack. She didn’t mean too, really! You all saw that! She doesn’t quite like her distant uncle but not so much to shoot him! Her eyes shifted towards the guard behind Mr Kaneri staring at her through his glasses.

‘Its over.’ Emily has accepted her fate, freezing on her spot. This is the end. She was caught talking to a literal criminal, almost shot someone and a guard was there to witness all of it. “Y-you-! You tried to shoot me! Guard! Arrest him! He indeed needs to be locked up with that thief as well!” Mr Kaneri pointed straight at Emily, who was only accepting her fate more when she realized her uncle doesn’t even recognize her. Great so she’ll be going to jail by her own distant uncle.

This is the end of Emily Oak’s life..

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The guard made no move to arrest Emily however instead he knocked Mr Kaneri out. No seriously, the journalist was now looking down at her unconscious uncle as the guard was tying him up. “What..” Emily gaped, not understanding what is happening right now. What was she feeling? Shocked? Confused? The poor girl could feel herself shaking a bit. After successfully tying up the rich man, the guard stood up to face Emily with a smile. She gasped when she recognized who the guard was.

“You're an interesting one, Emily. I didn’t even realize my tranquilizer gun was missing until the last minute” King let out a chuckle while making his way to let Spade out of the cage. He patted his partner’s arm as an act of comfort before looking back at her with a curious look, “Are you sure you’re not secretly a phantom thief?” Emily quickly shook her head at the question, “Me? No way, I just happened to find the gun on the floor as I was walking to the party. You guys must have dropped it” Besides, I don't think I can handle the intense life of being a phantom thief again, she mentally added. .

“So what are you going to do now?” “Continue our mission to steal the mermaid crystal of course! Don’t tell me you thought we’ll just let Joker and his apprentice take it from us.” “Ahaha of course not, I wish you luck for you two!”

King and Spade leave the room after bidding their goodbyes to Emily. Now it was just her and Mr Kaneri’s slumped, tied up unconscious body on the floor. He was even snoring- is he dreaming of something?! Emily shakes her head and smiles, ‘I've seen what Spade and King had done..perhaps it's now Joker and Hachi’s turn!’ She grins and makes her way to the party room.

The phrase ‘The show must go on’ fitted perfectly for what was going to happen next in my opinion. Despite just capturing a phantom thief, someone must have thought it was a good idea for the party to still continue, not that Emily minded she was interested in how things will turn out. Especially since she hasn't seen Joker make any moves to get the treasure yet. Speaking of the devil, as soon as the girl was wondering where her friend was, the lights turned off and there Joker was, standing on the stage with a confident stance.

‘There he is! Oh and since everyone knows that Mr Kaneri is dressing up as Joker no one is batting an eye’ Emily mentally noted how smart this trick was, it was just as easy as taking a candy from a baby. Joker seemed to not even hide his victory smirk as he approached where Kaneko and the mermaid crystal is. However he didn’t get to even touch the treasure. Somebody stopped him and that someone is none other then..Inspector Oniyama.

“So under arrest!”, he and a few other officers cornered Joker on the stage. The phantom thief was surrounded the only thing left to do was the inspector making sure this was the real deal or just Mr Kaneri (He secretly hoped it was the later).

“You’re a fool, indeed!”

It was the latter.

Emily was starting to get a headache, so that wasn’t Joker but her distant uncle? Wait but that doesn’t make any sense, she saw the old rich man asleep a few minutes ago… and what do you mean he won the costume contest?! She stared in confusion as Mr Kaneri cackled on stage, embracing the fact that he became the winner of his OWN contest.

But what’s that..?

Another Mr Kaneri appears on stage?! Commotion arrupts from everyone, this has turned into a mess!. ‘What..is happening??!!’ Emily looks back and forth at the two Mr Kaneris from her position in the crowd. Instantly, being the one and only japanese police inspector that is determined to catch his target criminal, inspector oniyama and his subordinates jump on stage to set the record straight on who is who.

In the end though, the mystery was solved when one Mr Kaneri realized the other Mr Kaneri was King. This caused both of them to take off their disguise and can you guess what happened next? Yeah, you’re right, they both got captured and taken to the cage Spade once was.

Ok let's be honest here, this whole story Emily Oak has witnessed so many twists and turns. She wasn’t even surprised to be asked to help distribute curry laced with whatever was in the tranquilizer by Hachi and Spade. You can say she was already tired and wanted to get over this. The journalist began pushing the trolley from the kitchen to the party room when she heard the little ninja beside her sigh.

“What’s wrong Hachi?” She asks wondering why Hachi was sighing. “Its just..I really want to know why Mr Joker seems to have a bad history with dipping sauce! But he won’t tell me one bit of it.” he crossed his arms, seemingly annoyed he can’t know. Emily chuckles and assures him, “Its ok, Hachi. It must be an embarressing past if he doesn’t want to tell you what it is. Everyone has their secrets after all.” The asisstant hummed, taking her words before realizing something, “Hey Miss Emily, why aren’t you with them?” “Them?” “Yeah Inspector Oniyama and the others, normally when there is a event where me and Mister Joker attend you always stick with the police force.” The brown hair girl titled her head as she continued to push the trolley with the curry pot at his question. Emily was considering on telling him the reason why she got invited to the party…but then the thought of the ninja telling his master that Mr Kaneri is her distant unlce. It would open so much opperunities, oppertunites that will lead to trouble.

“Everyone has their secrets, Hachi”

“What?”

Emily continued to push forwards, quickening her pace.

“MISS EMILY??”

//

“I am the true phantom thief spade!”

“What?!”

After putting everyone to sleep with the curry, the trio managed to save the two phantom thieves and are now standing at the dock of the ship just like what happened last time. For some explanation, Joker managed to snag the mermaid cyrstal before Spade and King could. Now this is the part where emily would write down what happened, and smile with a “I guess joker won again, I can’t wait to tell my readers!” UNTIL..

It was revealed that King was actually Spade the entire time?! And the “spade” was actually King’s assistant, Dark Eye?! This is the last plot twist the journalist could handle, she is going to lose it if it weren't for Spade giving a dramatic departure as he steals the treasure away from Joker in his airship….do all phantom thieves have airships?

The journalist continued to look at the distant blip flying away. So she has a story, she just expected it to go like this. Emily chuckles as she thinks to herself ‘This was a fun night..’

Joker and Hachi stop their current bickering (yet again it was Hachi asking about the summer dipping sauce and Joker refusing to tell anything about it) to stare at the girl. The spiky hair thief decided to speak first, “What are you laughing about?” “I was just thinking how fun this whole night was..I can’t believe I got to meet Phantom thief Spade. He sure is an interesting fellow”.

Joker huffed and crossed his arms “Don’t compliment the competition!”. “Yeah! And don’t worry we’ll win next time!” Hachi added with a determined smile shared with his master.

“I can’t wait-“

“JOKER!!!” “Give me back my treasure, indeed!!”

Uh oh

The three of them turn to see a very awake Mr Kaneri and Inspector Oniyama running towards them at full speed. Emily quickly puts on her knight helmet to shield her identity as Joker and Hachi…jump off the ship into the ocean?! She quickly looks down by the railing as she sees the two of them in the ocean. ‘What an exit..’

“Ah! Inspector! That was the knight that almost shot me earlier, indeed!”

Emily did a sharp turn to face her distant uncle, “WHAT?!” No way..is her uncle really going to make the police arrest her?!

.

.

.

.

Well I guess she has to exit as well

SPLASH!

[The end]

————————————————————

WOWEEE so there we have it folks! You have reached the end of the story! Damm that took long! So this is the chapter where Emily meets Spade for the first time, I quite think they will have a nice friendship with one another. Maybe he’ll spill embaressing secrets about Joker to her a bit and Joker will be like “I DID NOT DO THAT” but like yk he did. What’s that? The ending seems to be lacking? Well I warned you! I’m like running a race, I start strong, end tired and begging my friend to give me my water bottle. I tried my best either way though, I guess this is about 4000 words? This will be a rare case..I don’t think I’ll ever be doing something like this again..

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it and have a nice day or night‼️ ✨

-Huhu

[kitty-av]

Hey, so I'm bored and decided to do a bit of a minor redesign session for my Bois. My clone bois. I haven't done all of them, I basically just started. Anyway, here's Dante ( Skeleton clone from kindred spirits for the uninitiated) in his human form/half.

The ink stained the paper ( I smudged it ) so I put some blocks of colour behind him. It actually looks good. Anyway, as I was making these, I drew a tiny bow thing by accident and I realised that out of all my designs, he would look the most like Vlad's biological son, even if his colouring is way different ( I imagine he leans towards Maddie in his genes, he looks closer to Jazz than Danny ) so I thought it was a neat idea and wanted to try leaning into it.

The first draft I realised I did his nose wrong ( I love his lil hooked nose, it fits better) and from there it was just experimenting with the outfit and hair messiness.

Personally, I like the two in the middle best - again he looks a bit like Vlad and I realised it's a happy accident I could lean into - but I think any of these work. I could probably just assume he has more than one pair of overalls/jumpsuits but... Eh, I like toying with clothing.

Here are some minor sketches in my own style I did for fun! •^•

A part of me wanted to make it so Dante was actually made using Vlad DNA... But I actually think it'd be more fun if his grandparents on Maddie's side just had those genes, and he looks like Vlad on accident.

He's also basically the one I'd least like to tweak. My boi is beautiful already. But I do want to change something about the other two's designs. I suppose I'll post those when I do that as well.

Oh, and maybe I should draw a Danno or two to lure unsuspecting phans into the ' clones had lives actually, and that's a great sort of angst because Vlad's A+ parenting and Danny's lack of awareness of the fact all of them were conscious at some point leaves so much to toy and play with in terms of both fluff and angst ' pit! OwO

Who knows? Hope you have a pleasant scroll through tumblr •^•

[zeldaelmo]

Director’s commentary on Somebody That I Used to Know!! If you need/ want a specific chapter - rituals.

Ah, B, thank you! This story experienced a revival in the last few weeks because a friend was inspired by it and now toys with writing a sequel to it which makes me very happy.

A common trope in OoT fics is Link leaving for searching Navi and coming back in the middle of a ball several years later to sweep the ever waiting Zelda of her feet. It makes for a cute little scene, but after reading a couple of interpretations of it, my mind went down the 'and what if he doesn't?' road.

So I started thinking about Zelda waiting for him to fulfill his promise of coming back and he just... doesn't. What would she do after five years, after ten years, after thirty years? A why wouldn't he keep a promise? What would make him break it?

When I had the idea, I didn't plan doing anything with it anytime soon. I have quite some fic ideas like this: some hastily notes thrown together and saved on my discord server, waiting for the right moment to come. And then, @zelinkcommunity published the prompts for zelink week 2022 and the story fit so perfectly, that I dropped everything and started writing.

I usually write lighthearted stories. They have some angst to keep the plot going, yes, but overall they don't cut too deep. That's mostly because fandom is escapism for me and I want to have fun. This one is different and it was interesting to explore what I'm capable of in the right setting.

I wanted to show how having lived through half of their lives already affected Link and Zelda after all the trauma they went through. We see a lot of exploring the immediate effects of the games in fan fiction, but stories about how they affect the big and smaller life decisions are rare. And that's where the fun for me began: To work out how complicated life is. To show there's no easy answer to why Link didn't come back. To highlight that Zelda was a terrible queen because she projected her anxiety on her reign.

The story only gets Kudos every few weeks, because it's probably nothing most people in fandom search out nowadays, but if I have a super long comment in my inbox, it's usually for this one. Maybe it's the mature approach to OoT's tragedy or the respect for complicated characters and feelings, but something about the story resonates strongly with the people who read it. And I'm very happy and thankful about that.

My favorite scene from 'Rituals' is this here:

He fell silent, digging the tip of his boot into the hard soil around the fire. It took an eternity for him to look up again and when he did, his gaze was cold. It was the first time that she thought the missing eye made his face a tad harsh. 

"So instead of a hard-earned happy ending for us, you managed to create a version where I'm gone, one where I end up here, and one where I'm killed. Eh, good work, I'd say." 

Zelda drew a shaky breath. "Would you even have wanted a happy ending for us?" The words toppled from her mouth before she could quell the bitterness in them.

His gaze snapped away. 

"I didn't know that I would create different realities, Link," she continued, her voice now purposely soft. "We thought it was safe. I just… it wasn't your fault that you got dragged into all this and I wanted to give you the chance to live a normal life."

"I'm an orphan raised by a tree, Zelda. I never had the chance for a normal life." When she shifted on her seat, he buried his hands in his hair. "Sorry. I know you meant well. It's not that you choose to be part of all this either. It's just… this one moment was maybe the only one where we had a choice. And you made it for me."

Zelda couldn't tear her gaze from the way his hands dropped listlessly back into his lap. How had she never considered this? All he had wanted was to choose his own future.

"I'm sorry," she pressed out, and it didn't matter if she stole this choice from him or the other Zelda. 

His hand darted to hers, squeezed, and was gone again. "It is what it is."

[radioactivepeasant]

Snippet Monday: Jak and Daxter

Meddling Mar au: In Which Jak's younger self had no intention of staying in the past

The Rift Rider disappeared through the gate, and already Jak felt a sense of loss. There was, he decided, something darkly ironic about the kid turning out to be his own former self. It meant that he really was the only person who unconditionally cared about him. Kind of pathetic sounding when he thought about it that way.

"I should've warned him about Errol," Jak realized after a moment, heart twisting in his chest. "I didn't warn him about Errol!"

"Errol?" Keira looked confused.

"You couldn't, Jak," Samos said sternly. "If he knew and remembered the past, it would jeopardize the future. Everything must play out as fate has designed it."

Something cold wormed through Jak's gut as he turned slowly to face the sage. "You knew what was going to happen to me," he realized, "You were just okay with what they did? You couldn't even try to warn me?!"

Samos leaned on his staff and gave Jak a disapproving look. "I told you "be ready for whatever happens". It's not my fault you never listen to me!"

The dark eco was rising in him, depleted and exhausted though it was. Jak struggled to keep his voice level, and even so it came out as a low growl.

"You let me get into that craft knowing Errol was going to kidnap me off the street and experiment on me for two years. You sent that innocent little kid back in time knowing he's gonna suffer the same thing."

He drew away from his old mentor in disgust. "What makes you different from Kor?"

"Now that's going too far!" Samos gasped.

Behind him, Keira stood frozen. Numbly, she whispered, "Errol did that to you?"

Daxter grimaced. "You never noticed how that pea-brained peacock talked to Jak?"

"Precursors..." Keira dropped to crouch on the ground, holding her head in her hands. "Jak, I-"

Whatever she had been about to say was cut off suddenly by the glow of the Rift Gate intensifying. All at once, something shot out of the portal and over their heads, landing with a spectacular crash. They all whirled to find what appeared to be the Fisherman's boat from Sandover, with some extra bits welded on. It was all thoroughly smashed now, but Jak could have sworn he saw a Time Map affixed to the prow.

"Ah-ha, oof, that smarts!" a voice groaned from the wreckage.

Jak blinked. "Uncle Erasmus?!" He sputtered.

"Eh? Whozzat, who said that?" Parts clattered and a skinny arm appeared. "Pah! So much dust! I say, Mar m'lad, do you see my monocle down there?"

It was the Explorer! But what in the name of all the Precursors was he doing here?

Jak waded through the rubble and began tossing debris aside. His adoptive uncle's dusty face appeared only a moment later, looking older than he remembered.

"Who? Who? What?" The man squinted at Jak for a moment, then let out a jovial laugh. "Bless my soul! Jak! You made it after all!"

Erasmus the Explorer hauled himself up to slap Jak heartily on the back. "Poor form, y'know, leaving your poor old uncle without a word like that -- and not telling me about the tyke, wot! Look at you, lad! Barely grown at all in five years? What sort of rubbish have you been eating?!

"What the...five- five years?" Jak stammered, "It's only been two!"

Erasmus jumped like he'd been electrocuted. "Sink me!" He exclaimed, "Elocution? Verbosity? Sink me, things have changed!"

The older man turned to call towards the rattling still coming from the wrecked boat. "See here, you young rip? Keep practicing and you'll get to it eventually like your brother, eh?"

His what.

Out from under what used to be a bench seat popped a head of tousled green curls. Before Jak had time to properly feel relief, a scrawny child no older than eight or nine hauled himself from the wood and metal, brushing off his arms in annoyance.

"Yeah yeah, Uncle E. Or maybe you keep up practicing and you'll learn to say more than "I want food", huh?" The child signed quickly and fluidly, but with more than a little sass in his gestures.

"What the-?!" Daxter tightened his grip on Jak’s shoulder to keep from falling off. "Jak! It's- It's-!"

"It's the Kid!" Jak whispered.

His younger self looked up upon hearing Daxter's voice. An instant of confusion crossed his face, followed by recognition. Then his eyes narrowed.

In an instant, he'd shot across the space between them to land a vicious kick to Jak’s shin. Jak yelped and grabbed the boy's arm.

"What was that for?!"

"That's for sending me away with Grandpa Green!" The little boy retorted before winding up for another kick. "You're the worst brother ever!"

"Hey!" Offended on Jak’s behalf, Daxter leaped down to land on the boy’s head. "Show some respect, Junior! We busted our tails to find somewhere without any Krimzon Guards or metalheads!"

"Metalheads?" Erasmus interrupted, "Oh! Those creatures that have been trying to eat Sandover? Hm. The name's a bit on the nose, isn't it?"

Keira blanched. "What do you mean "trying to eat Sandover?!"

Samos hurried forward. "That's impossible! The metalheads didn't enter Sandover until the day we left!"

The younger version of Jak eyed Samos suspiciously. "Yeah, and you dropped us off the same day, genius."

Samos blinked and turned to Jak. "What did he say?" he demanded.

"Uh..." Jak stared down at the boy. "Did you set the Time Map coordinates to the last used jump, or the one before that?"

The green sage paled. "Did that shrub pick the wrong coordinates?" he gasped, "That puts everything in danger! The past- the future!"

Daxter groaned. "Oh don't tell me we gotta do more time travel to fix this! If I gotta defeat the Acherons again, so help me-!"

The smaller Jak -- the one the Explorer had called "Mar" -- pried Daxter off his head and set him down gently.

"Those dark sages? Uncle E told me how you guys beat them up to free the Lurkers."

The Explorer surveyed the cavern around them as the Rift Gate shut down and collapsed. He leaned on his walking stick and nodded several times in satisfaction.

"Never been to this place," he mused, more to himself than to the others. "At last! Places in the world I haven't been!"

Erasmus hobbled over to Jak and squeezed his arm affectionately. "Awfully glad I found you, young chap! Look after that rascally brother of yours, eh? I'm off on a new expedition!"

"Wait-! You can't-!"

Erasmus wasn't listening. Whistling cheerfully, he dug around the shattered boat and came up with a wicked looking harpoon. He settled it on his shoulder and all but sashayed into the tunnels.

"He's gonna get himself killed!" Daxter squawked, "There's still metalheads in there!"

Little Jak -- Mar? -- scoffed. "He's okay. I told Uncle E and the Warrior how you used to kill those. If you harpoon the gem from a distance, they can't get to you."

Well. Jak supposed that was fair enough. If Uncle Erasmus really had been watching over his younger self for five years, he would've had to have learned how to defend them from metalheads.

Samos began to pace, on the verge of panic. "This isn't what was supposed to happen," he mumbled, "He isn't supposed to- and he knows his name-!"

He turned sharply. "Jak, bring the boy, quickly! We must consult with Onin!"

Jak and Daxter exchanged meaningful looks. "Why? You can't throw him back in again, it's too late for that."

"Time will be thrown out of order! The timeline will fracture!" Samos tugged at his ears in distress. "Jak, you must trust me!"

Jak stiffened. He took a step back, placing himself between the sage and his time twin.

"I did," he said quietly.

No more blind trust. Whatever was going on here, Jak would figure it out without meddling seers and sages. He'd already gone through hell for them once. He wasn't about to let it happen twice.

"Dax, Kid, let's go."

He had no idea what he was doing, what they would do next. But it had to be better than staying in the ruined nest with someone who had for all intents and purposes betrayed him. He would untangle it all later, when they were somewhere safe.

They had time. The worst was over now, right?

[hoardlikegoldenirises]

in an act of (???) decided to basically redo my scorpion and carnorpion design from march almost entirely. i did copy and paste some of the stuff i had already done but i redrew a lot too so this took a few days...

the new claw design (and the carnorpion helmet) is based HEAVILY off of the Scorpion armor from Superior Spider-Man (which means it was probably designed by Ramos but I donʻt actually know, might have been a different artist)

gonna put a bunch of closeups under the cut lol:

accidentally made him hot (i already thought he was hot). based his face roughly off of Vin Diesel circa the first Fast and Furious movie lol

i sliiiightly changed the design of this helmet on both the back and front. there were aspects of the previous carnorpion helmet i liked more than the previous scorpion helmet so i kind of combined the two.

BEEF

i also added a quick doc ock for comparison:

Ock's neural implants are larger and more experimental than Mac's since he made them in like... 2005 at the latest, probably earlier than that and Mac's are made in 2007 by the Tinkerer using some of Ock's existing research, so basically Phineas refined what Ock had already done.

Mac's are also inductive (i don't... know if that's actually the right way to call it but it's at least similar; wireless energy transmission essentially) and don't require strong contact to transfer and translate nerve signals, whereas Ock's plug directly into his back into the sockets like that.

one of them is gonna have more back problems later in life than the other, that's for sure.

armor front

this part changed a lot compared to the old design but it also took me a lot of fiddling to get it to where i wanted... the whole gamut of inspiration... knightly armor... halo... metroid... in the end i went with the armor bikini, obviously, but there was a version without that.

back also took some fiddling. it's very similar to the old one though. this is basically where the tail attaches (or like, a cover if he's not using it, i guess) This DOES has plugs just because... I felt like it... more secure... etc... the opposite side of the plugs (inside) is smooth discs that take the signal from his back implants (which are exposed by open eyelets on his shirt) and then that signal goes into his tail as well as all along the gold parts of his special undershirt and through his suit to where he needs it—helmet, arms/claws, torso/tail

like so:

probably more padding in there than what i drew but... eh... it's good enough. probably uses some kind of conductive fabric or something.

gave him little thumb holes to keep the sleeves straight though... hehe

and yes i decided (a while ago) that he wears a jock strap with optional cup depending on outfit (probably no cup with the metal bikini but who knows, maybe it would help keep things more secure and protected lol)

here's the tail connected. this was a bitch and a half to get the way i wanted tbqh, especially since he needs to be able to like... bend his back at all... but simplicity definitely is the way to go for this kind of thing... i like what i ended up with a lot.

maybe it's not totally fool proof but i think it looks alright

the knife is only a few inches long but that's still probably enough to stab with.

here's a little closeup of my explorations of the tail. this is based off of photo references which is why it looks the way it does lol, basically looking at things like tension-based pulley systems and animatronics and thinking about how a mechanical tail could work. i think it turned out neat.

(this is not how ock's current tentacles work fyi—ock's current set uses a pneumatic bellows system similar to Festo's bionicmotionrobot, and his previous set i'm not sure; symbiote system was hydraulic and used the symbiote as a lubricant though)

legs are almost exactly the same but i got rid of the lights cause they're just armor and not neurally linked. there's mac's face with the visor up too lol

since i put it way up top i'll put it here again—

claws and gauntlets have been pretty updated. especially the pincers though. you can see below a few pictures down i based it very heavily off of the Superior Spider-Man design. hefty, good shape, etc. i like this 500x more than the pincers i tried to do last time. and i didn't even do any of the hard work xD

here's how his arms fit into the pincers though.

they're pretty hefty.

anyway as for carnorpion

well first here's an alternate version without the thigh highs cause i couldn't choose

it just feels so... naked with the thighs bare... and not even in a slutty way. is very meaty though.

obv i also copy pasted a chunk from the old version on this but i still redrew a lot of it... TBH I'm still not sure I like it XD but it's fine. I like the claws at least. but those are just the Superior claws with teeth. turning into a crab i guess.

This Incident Is Looming btw. Next chapter (ch 4/may) if all goes well 🤘

the scar he will have after carnage is created (not before)

put the left doodle from march on the main armor pic but it would actually apply to carnorpion, not the green armor lol. plan is that i am maybe drawing more from Superior than I originally was gonna and am probably gonna have Doc Ock punch Mac's face jaw off.

AS Doc Ock though. lol.

Did I mention I based this helmet off of Superior Spider-Man's Scorpion? Cause I did. I liked the lenses... and then I was like hmm this might be good for combining organic with armor... so it's very very very similar to his helmet in Superior, but different colors:

honestly I probably should have just lifted the entire helmet wholecloth, it's so organic and weird... (and here you can see the claw inspiration as well) (arguably the torso thing on carnorpion in my drawing are also based on this...) (I know I drew a whole fucking thing but what if carnorpion was just this but red)

anyway i didn't include the uh... coin slot.

(genuinely: what IS that?????)

white base version (might actually prefer this helmet's aesthetic tbh but it's not very organic.)

the idea here is that the carnage symbiote is not (yet) bonding with mac directly but rather through/with his armor, so the Tinkerer makes like, this bonus set of armor that acts as essentially a substrate/base for the symbiote to build off of... which is why it's that weird bluish yellowish white color.

though idk maybe they'll just bond... really it's shrug city rn i'm still figuring so much shit out for this plot lol it continues to escape me

also the knife is probably bigger? idk. i can't eyeball stuff like that very well so i can't tell if it's any bigger lmao.

was also thinking this could be an opportunity for a more portable tail that doesn't require putting on an entire suit of armor (but which comes with all the pieces just in case, probably?) and so i also designed an extremely unreasonable harness to secure it to mac's bod. so of course that means: lots of straps.

slutty slutty straps

the yellow parts are just the induction/conduction stuff... gold discs, gold thread, idk.

hm i should have put some little elastic straps crossing that hole in the center. oh well, not like he'd be walking around in this without a tail strapped to it anyway

i realized in retrospect i didn't include any actual securements/connections ON the spine part underneath this but it's fine just pretend I drew those. I DID add even more straps for this under the pretense that it's being strapped onto the existing straps to keep it from wiggling.

reduce the lights to one on top and one on bottom cause the pieces of the spine are laid out kind of odd so doing lights on every one looks weird cause some are smaller and doing lights only on the one interfacing directly with his back looked weirder because they skip some rows just because of placement. looks fine like this though.

uses the same understuff as the regular suit though (the shirt with the gold bits i put up in the green suit)

all in all i think it's fair to say that mac's shit is way more of a hassle to put on and off than ock's

here's a bonus carnage. i like when carnage looks like this the best. i think the less uptight/the more bonded they get, the closer to this face carnorpion would get, but keeping some of the spikes, claws, and tail...

that's it lol

i still don't know if i like the carnorpion stuff entirely but i like this green armor muuuch more than my previous design from march.

[re-ikrmso]

 DAMNN. THIS SHIT LATE LATE THE LORE HAS BEEN OUT FOR LIKE MONTHS //sob//  but damn. IF IT AIN’T PURPLED AND PUNZ! he really is dream’s right hand man...claiming about how awful torture is one moment and then turning  around to “WOULDNT IT BE FUN THO>>> TO TORTURE QUACKITY???” LIKE DAMNNNN. also, all of those lines in black are taken directly from the last nevadas final lore stream! damnn i loved watching the two mercenaries start each other down like two rabid dogs. my god though punz...

but yea smh it was really hard to get designs down espiaclly for ARMOR OGHGH. I will talk about deisgn.  mostly. So after my revalation that there netherite armor doesnt actually have gauntlets, i said fuck that and decided that only certain people have gauntlets (people adept at fighting, or the richer members of the server). and also, see those different helments and details with armor! i’ve decided that every armor set someone wears is actually slightly different from the other!  also if you pay attention dream’s claws/gauntlets are like. unpractical to high hell? idk if thats should leave any implications or if i should just keep it as “omg cool design” but if i were to attach anything behind it, then c!dream is a fucking freak and enjoys the challenge. also he thinks it looks cool on him. other people would have a  lot more practical gaunlets/gloves though. maybe.

More on c!punz’s art, i don’t think it realy matches him but i already drew the expressions. i could imagine  his expressions to be ones that c!dream would make so its a happy coincidence in a way. i kinda wanted punz to look unhinged to a degree though considering how ‘heated’ up he was getting over c!dream being tortured. also i made his helment pointer to try and imitate horns but its kinda meh. i kept his little medal thing on the outside (cause damn it looked so plain otherwise) and helped to kinda identify him.

For c!purpled i really reallly wanted to draw his hair out (sorry punz, maybe another time) and his little suit! though with his apprehension //forgive me if im wrong i dont watch a lot of purpled/punz lore// i believed that purpled initally thought punz was hired by quackity to kill him. and with his little suit its all crinkly and wirnkled and the tie is becoming looser and hes just. disheveled. but hes still a fucking mercenary i gotta give him that respect. Also, with the purpled alien headcanon, i was like eh. but it was also kinda cool so i was like “wow what if the alien stuff wasn’t like. that obivous” so i put his antenas onto like the back fo his head (he has like 4 in total, 2 short farther up and w longer farther down) but i didnt want to draw all the antennas cause it would look awkward.also, you know those black “bags” under his eyes? those aren’t bags. the dark grey under his eyes are the bags. HELL YEA. I was looking at purpled’s avatar and i was like haha what if those black marks above is eyes were like actually part of his skin. and so here we are. //put them under his eyes instead cuase it looked better.// im also planning to make purpled’s eyes like. different and im planning to make it stick. art consistecy isnt my forte but im gonna keep purpled’s eyes in that shape and that color

Also wow, anime eyes! kinda. i just wanted to fill up the empty space and i was like “wow purpled has nice eyes its unfair that punz gets nothing” so here we are. when looking at punz’s pfp i noticed his like...eyelashes were thick so imma keep em thick. the man fuckign applies mascara or eyeliner or soemthing. also kinda cool contrast. 

[markfaites]

HELP IM BACK, somewhat- hehe i didnt post in a long time cause my phone was dying.... so i had no memory storage to.... download... this app again- AHEM ANYWAYS!!! fed myself with tons of deltarune-related stuff to prepare myself for the chapter 3(it would be so fun if it will be released right on my birthday lma)

uhm sooo what do i say here after being gone for a year or so?...

helo. im happi...ur..hea...reedink fhis.🤓!!

I HAVE IMPROVED AT NY DRAWING SKILLS... ASTRONOMICALLY. somehow. your buddy Mark wasnt slacking off the whole year now was i👹

it feels like october is ALWAYS a big month of some big events, waiting for THREE funny thingies to come!! drones, deltatraveler section 3 and delta..rune... chapter 3- hold up did the deltatraveler creators do this... intentionally???? COME ON!! oh, now im just writing my thoughts out-text here, like i always do.... well, some things never change‼‼

oh yeah also QAITING FOR MYSTER SKULLS FINAL EPISODE TO COME OUT... the last one came out in october.... holy... moly.... dont tell me all of those 4 funny thingies will... JUST BLAST ME UP ON MY BIRTHDAY!??! NOOO THIS WILL BE TOO MUCH FOR MY POOR LITTLE FANBOY HEART TO TAKE!!! and yeah i am into murder drones cause N is my exact doppleganger... even if he is yellow(i hate yellow. grrrr....) but hey!! he even has an angsty teen half emo half edgelord mega cool and very lovable gf!!! i cannot argue with that! its like the one who designed N's personality... just... traced it from meee.... hmmm... EH i dont mind being stalked by some animation studios, knowing my kinn list is taller than the biggest skyscraper in the world, i could say i am used to this. AND YES I HAVE ALREADY DREW MYSELF AS A DRONE!! and even if i dont like violence or murder or anything like that because it makes me sick, robo-me is... a murder drone. cause hey!!! N is also one and he is my robo-copy!!

alsp im studying japanese with duolingo now. is that a good idea? will i be able to learn fluent japanese from there? idk, but i hope i will get to a level high enough that would help me start self-educating myself in japanese, just like i did with....other...languages.....AHHEM...... phew! anyways, maybe when the times get even better, i would be able to find what to post! and yeah i have quite a ton of drawings that piled up over the years.... but its all private stuff! its all people that i know or something very VERY personal that i dont share with... anyone!!!! maybe i could cherry pick some stuff from there to post over here like robo version of myself or... maybe other stuff. but the half-realistic ralsei drawing will DEFINITELY go here! whow, i love drawing my kinns. theyre just so... me that.. its just an urge at this point. isnt it also this way for you too? you just see a character that you either heavily relate to, or theyre just outright your copy, pasted in a different looking body with a slightly different voice (LOOKING AT YOU PEOPLE!! N, RALSEI, ARTHUR, DAve, papyrus, steven, simon... AH JEEZ I HAVE TOO MANY STUPIDLY IDENTICAL TO MYSELF CHARACTERS THAT I HAVE A VERY HUGE URGE TO DRAW BECAUSE THEYRE LIKE ME! well, im like an extroverted version of simon muhehe) and you just... go "damn... this is... just me but in another coating! i wanna draw them. i relate to them." I AM HORRIBLE AT EXPLAINING!!

[theshelbyclan]

Love Language

Summary: Tommy doesn’t say ‘I love you’.

(Gif by @nofckingfighting​)

A/N: Sweet anon asked: Hello i love you're writing! Can i request a tommy one shot imagine where the reader (his girlfriend or wife) finds out in his office, one of the locked drawers has everytning shes ever given to him? Maybe like love letters or random flowers everything he keep 😍🤍 thank you so mych. This request was so amazing to me, because you it made me feel like you understand this character so well? Either way, it made me think, and this is the result. It’s kinda different but I hope you like it! Words: 1448

***

“Tommy?” “Hmm,” the preoccupied reply came. You sounded defeated, against your best efforts, “I love you.”  “I know.” 

***

There’s blood on his shirt. It’s the first thing you noticed when he walked in. Not the mud, not his eyes, not his energy, just the blood on his shirt.

“Who’s is it,” you asked as casually as you could. Tommy lit a cigarette in reply. “Are you okay?” “Yes,” he drew out the ‘s’ like he usually did when annoyed or tired. “Who was it?” you continued. “Y/N,” he held up a hand, “not tonight, eh? Not with the hundred fucking questions tonight, alright?” You remained silent for as long as you could bear, “Just need to know you’re safe.” “You knew who you married,” a low voice replied. “I did.” Tommy stood up again slowly started to walk away.

“Do not,” you hissed, “walk away from me.” “Y/N, what the fuck do you want from me, eh?” he raised his voice, “This is me. This is who I am. And I’m doing it all to give you everything you want. To keep you safe. Alright?” You leaned forward and tried to lock eyes with him, “What I want, Thomas Shelby, is you. In one piece, preferably.” “I know,” he lowered his voice again, “And I understand.” He waved a hand like he was about to say more, but didn’t. “It’s because I love you,” you emphasized. He nodded slowly, “And that’s why I’m doing all of this.”

***

You were sitting at your desk writing. Some people seemed to think that being married to Tommy Shelby was a fulltime job and it could be if you’d let it, but not for you. Even before Tommy you’d been a writer, a journalist and an author of short stories. Neatly you typed them out and send them to the publishers in question. It was the one thing in life that always offered you solace.

“You spelled ‘enthusiastic’ wrong,” you husband commented helpfully after having popped up suddenly behind you. You ripped the page irritably, “Says the man who never even went to school.” “Life taught me how to spell, Y/N,” he sort of joked. “Life taught youhow to spell ‘enthusiastic’? Can’t remember the last time you were ever enthusiastic about anything…” He raised one eyebrow slowly, “How about ‘sarcasm’, can you spell that? Or ‘devil’, how about that, eh?” You pouted theatrically, “Sometimes I’m not even sure you take me and my work seriously…” “Oh, I take it seriously,” Tommy took a drag from his cigarette, “I know it’s enough to keep my wife away from me.” You smiled back at him when he did, but still a pang of hurt went through you: you’d give up everything just to have him say ‘I’m so proud of you sweetheart’. Just once.

***

“Come on,” he whispered. You looked up. “Come on,” he repeated, cigarette hanging from his lips, “let’s go upstairs.” “Why?” you asked, as you already started to follow him. Once inside the bedroom, he started undressing you with surprising tenderness. “Tommy,” you breathed, “look at me. What is it you want?” As a reply without words he gazed at your body, like he was drinking in very detail and getting drunk at the mere sight of it. “You and me, Tommy,” you said in between kisses, “remember it’s you and me. Fuck the rest of them. Fuck your family. Fuck the whole world. I love you and you love me. It’s you and me and nothing can ever come between us, right?” As he took off his own shirt, he gently pushed you down onto the bed.

“You and me, right Tommy?” you repeated, a little breathless as his head disappeared between your legs. “No,” he finally spoke, “you.”

*** Thomas Shelby had a long day of dealing with renegade family and dangerous enemies, so when he got back home, all he wanted was his wife and some peace and quiet.

“I cooked,” you said as you lingered against the doorpost. Tommy looked tired, worn-out, dead almost, with his head in his hands, “even told the cook to take the evening off,” you commented while your voice sounded flat. It was funny, because your emotions were all over the place, but your exterior just didn’t show any of it.

He slowly lifted his head, “You did, eh?” “Thought you might like it…” you fidgeted in spite of yourself. “I pay that cook for her to actually fucking cook,” he grumbled. “Fine,” you snapped, “I’ll feed it to the dog,” and you started to walk away. “Wait…” “What?” You didn’t even really turn around. Tommy sighed again and for a moment it was like he noticed the disappointment in your eyes, “What did you cook?” “Mint leaves. Your favourite.” And then a minor miracle took place and Tommy Shelby actually smiled a little.

***

“You were late today. I waited.” “I’m sorry.” “Are you?” “I am.” “Do you love me?” “Yes.” “Tell me.” “I do. Every day.” “Not with words…” “No, not with words.” “Tommy, tell me again.” ***

You were still half-asleep in Tommy’s arms. His eyes were closed and his breath was steady. Outside, the sun wasn’t up yet, but it wouldn’t take long now.

Next to you, there was a gun on the table. Tommy had just taught you how to shoot. He’d shown you over and over again, even though you’d protested. But he said you might need it one day. On the other side there were his cigarettes and whiskey. His medicine. His comfort. His eyes were closed and his breath was steady. But for how long? How long would it be until he’d die by his own gun, or get killed in some fight? Or met some other girl, prettier and smarter than you? As if he could read your insecurities, he shifted in his sleep and hugged you even closer to him. Thomas Shelby might not be perfect or a gentleman or eloquent when it came to expressing his love, but he did hold you at night.

***

“Tommy?” you shouted out through the house, “THOMAS!” “Fucking hell, woman,” his head appeared around the corner, “What is it?” Slightly embarrassed by your own volume, you said, “I can’t find the scissors.” “They’re in my desk somewhere,” he put on his cap and added, “I need to see a man about a horse. I’ll be back in ten minutes.” You made your way to the desk that was always so tidy and neat. So you did as any sensible woman would do and turned over everything in search of a pair of scissors. Nothing. Angrily you threw down a pile of papers. And that’s when you noticed it. One drawer hadn’t been opened at all. When you tried it, you found it locked. But you were a girl from Small Heath and no locked drawer could stop you. In less than twenty seconds you had managed to force the lock en slid the secret hiding place open. Inside there were more papers, neatly stacked and tied together with pieces of string in different piles. Breathlessly you took them from the drawer and examined them one by one. “Still looking for those scissors, eh?” a low voice grumbled in your ear and you practically jumped from fear. “For fuck’s sake, Thomas,” you mumbled as you tried to hide the papers you’d just found. Tommy was eyeing them already, but didn’t say a word.

So you went back through them, “These are the letters I wrote to you, when you were in France. I thought you threw away everything. Your medals, everything…” He didn’t reply. Tears sprang into your eyes as you examined the second pile, “And these are all my short stories. Did you cut them from the papers? Did you really keep them all?” You quickly went through them and they were all there, from the very first one ever published, “And these, my articles…”

Tommy cleared his throat once and cast his eyes down when you looked at him. Lastly there was a small box. When you opened it, you found, “The rose I wore, when we were kids. The one my brother stole…” And now you couldn’t find the words, “I hardly… I didn’t even know you… back then. Why?” Tommy grabbed his case and started searching for a cigarette. “Tommy,” you insisted, “I had no idea. Why did you keep all of these?” “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” he smirked lightly. You stared at the content of the secret drawer and decided that nothing was ever obvious when it came to Thomas Shelby. “Well?” you questioned. “I love you.”

*** Masterlist

[sageinacage]

Hey idk if ur prompts are open, but if they were, would you maybe want to do a Wilbur vs Charlie in who can wreck Tommy better like thing? 👀👀👀

"Friendly" Uno summary: tommy gets a bit too sassy in a game of uno with him, charlie, and wilbur. a/n: i was originally gonna write this in the dsmp but i literally just couldn't figure out how to do it without it being super ooc KSDFSKJ also just pretend charlie came to visit them in the UK LOL warnings: swearing, playful teasing/mocking (they're playing uno its bound to happen BAHAHA /lh) w/c: 1.6k IRL, Platonic

~

“C’mon, give me a green!” Wilbur growled, continuously picking up cards from the middle pile. He and his two friends, Tommy and Charlie, were playing a friendly game of Uno together on the floor of the living room. Well, “friendly.”

“HAH! Aww, poor Wilbyyy, so bad at Unooo…” Tommy cooed, his face painted with the biggest shit-eating grin. Wilbur scoffed, finally putting a green card down. “Tommy, every day you remind me of all my mistakes.” Wilbur jested, smirking at Tommy’s surprised face. “Yeah? Well-”

“Aha, draw four Toms!” Charlie interrupted, Tommy looking down at the middle pile to see a colorful “+4” card right in front of him. After a dramatic groan, the boy drew the cards. “You are horrible to me, Mr. Slimecicle.” Tommy pointed his finger in Charlie’s face, the dirty blonde only shrugged, chuckling at his antics.

Wilbur put down a red card, smiling at Charlie’s huff. “Really, the only color I don’t have?!” He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Don’t be all grumpy, it’s how the game works, yeah?” Wilbur gave a smug smirk, watching his friend reach for the pile to scout for a red card.

After more banter, the game started to move more smoothly… until they decided to start stacking “+2” and “+4” cards. The pile of them now added up to 14, but they still kept going. “Holy shit, this better not end on me!” Wilbur sighed, placing his final card he could stack. “Me neither.” Charlie agreed, placing his last card that could be stacked.

“This game is against me! I swear to god, this is rigged! You’re both cheating.” Tommy cried, huffing to himself while he started to pick up the 18 cards they all stacked up. “Tohohommy!” Wilbur broke into laughter, leaning his head back as high-pitched giggles left him. “We aren’t cheheating, you juhust suhuck.” Charlie snorted up a laugh, patting Tommy’s back as he whined again.

“You two are both big stupid bullies. You should be thankful I’m even playing a little card game with you.” Tommy huffed, making eye contact with Wilbur. “You’re so sassy today, n’awww- don’t tell me someone’s grumpy over just a ‘little’ card game!” Charlie teased, causing Wilbur to smirk at Tommy. “Yeah, are you up past your bedtime?”

“I hate you both so much. I will fight you both and win- at the same time.” The blonde claimed as he slapped a card down with enough force to accidentally push the card pile down. “Baby rage.” Wilbur scoffed, earning a dramatic gasp from Tommy. “I AM NOT A BABY!” He shouted, Wilbur and Charlie breaking into giggles again.

“That’s something a baby would say!”

“CHARLIE.”

Wilbur covered his face, laughter building up from his chest, Charlie following right in his footsteps. Tommy furrowed his eyebrows, grumbling. “You guys are assholes.” He spoke in a more playful tone, indicating that he wasn’t genuinely upset.

“Yeah, are we, Tommy?” Charlie put down his cards, looking at the boy. “Compared to how you’ve been treating us this evening, I don’t think we’re that bad.” Wilbur raised an eyebrow, also placing his cards down. “B- Bullshit! You guys are twats…?” Tommy cowered a bit at their growing smirks, putting his cards down as well.

“Twats, are we?”

“Wilbur, I don’t like his tone.”

Both men stood up, still with suspicious smiles on their faces, causing Tommy to stand up as well. “I d- don’t trust this.” The boy shuddered, backing up until he hit the couch, falling back onto it. “Don’t worry Charlie, I can take care of this.” Wilbur nodded, towering over Tommy.

“No, I think I can do it, I can definitely do it better.” Charlie stood next to him, an innocent smile plastered on his face. “Yeah? Well do you know all his tickle spots? No? That’s what I thought.”

Oh. Oh. So that is what this was about.

“I’m called the tickle monster around here for a reason, Charlie!” Wilbur kept on going, placing a sassy hand on his hip. “You clearly haven’t met me then, yet!” He quipped back, looking down at Tommy; whose face was bright red and a nervous but excited smile on his face.

“Let’s have Tommy answer then. Who’s better at wrecking you, Toms?” Wilbur smirked down at him, the blonde just covering his face. “D’awww, that’s not an answer! Hmm, how about this. Wilbur, we’ll team up and Tommy will answer that question when we’re finished.”

“Deal.”

“Wh- what? Guys… guhUHUYS-!” Bubbly laughter already took over Tommy as Wilburs fingers kneaded his waist. “What’s up? Wha’tcha need?” Charlie chuckled, walking two fingers up his ribcage. What they weren’t expecting was the loud squeal that left Tommy.

“Looks like I already found a tickle spot, Wilbur!” Charlie exclaimed, gently pinching around his top ribs, causing the boy to let out yet another squeal. “Wow, do you want a medal or something?” Wilbur snarked back sarcastically, glaring at the dirty blonde before massaging his thumb into one of Tommy’s hip bones.

“Wiiihihill! NOHOhoho!” Tommy tried to twist left to right, but that damn feeling on his hip bone just wouldn’t secede. Charlie furrowed his eyebrows, seeing that Wilbur was back in the lead. He reached his other hand around and formed it like a claw, and then vibrated it into the other side of his ribcage as he kept up the prodding on the other side.

“CHAHAHARLIE! QUIHIHIT IT!” Tommy absolutely shrieked, unsure whether to attempt to push his hands away from his ribs, or to cover his face and obvious blush was creeping up on his cheeks. “Gotta admit I’m the better tickle monster first!” Charlie giggled, making little ‘tktktktk’ noises right in Tommy’s ear.

“N’awww, Tommy!~ You have just the sweetest giggles, and I know they’re because of me and not the slimy boy, is that right?” Wilbur teased, moving from his hips to the sides of his belly, scribbling his nails over the area. Hiccupy laughter began to emit from the boy, him kicking his legs into the couch behind Wilbur.

“He’s now all hiccupy! That’s so cute!” Charlie exclaimed, grabbing one of Tommy’s flailing arms. He sniggered to himself as Tommy’s laughter turned more high-pitched at the sudden vulnerability, a wide smile on his face nonetheless. “Uh oh, Tommy… someone’s in trouble now!” Charlie teased as he wiggled his fingers over his exposed underarm, not making contact now.

“DohoHOHON’T! WIHILBUR- *snort* HEHELP!” Tommy’s laughter grew an octave at his own snort, shaking his head as Charlie wouldn’t stop the stupid anticipation. “There’s no way I’m helping you, Toms. I mean- unless you say that I’m better at this.” Wilbur smirked, deciding to try a new spot as he turned around, fluttering his nails under Tommy’s knees.

The giggles it made Tommy produce were different. They were more flustered it seemed, almost like Wilbur just found a certain melt spot. “Tommy, you’ve gone all soft now! Let’s change that, shall we?” Charlie chuckled mischievously, his fingers crashing down and lightly scribbling into his underarms.

Feeling both his death spot and melt spot being tickled at the same time was definitely a different feeling. “NOOOHOHO- *hic* PLEHEHEASE!” His voice began to sound slightly strained, so Charlie retracted his hand in response. “Looks like I found your worst spot, eh?” He smiled, but it was more of a fond smile this time- compared to all his evil ones.

“Hmmm, Charlie. What if we worked together, just once?” Wilbur offered, and Charlie gladly nodded. “What do you need from me, boss?” He smiled playfully before Wilbur went in to whisper something into his ear. ‘What were they planning now? My demise?’ Tommy thought curling up on himself.

In one swift movement, Tommy found himself leaning onto Charlie being held in place with one of Charlie’s arms, and Wilbur looming over him with a grin that did not look friendly. It looked quite evil, in all honesty. “You ready, Toms?” Wilbur cooed, wiggling his fingers at the boy. The blonde whined, looking away from him. “N’aww, don’t want to watch the show, Tommy?” Charlie cooed in his ear. Just their words and actions alone made him want to squirm and laugh, and they haven’t even done the tickling yet.

A moment of silence fell onto them, Tommy still looking away, until a big raspberry was blown right beneath his belly button. The boy arched his back, a shriek ripping out from his throat as he weakly pushed at Wilbur’s head; but the stupid sensations just kept on going.

“YOHOHOU WIHI- *wheeze* WIHIHIN! ENOHOHOUGH!” Tommy managed to get out, his laughter nearly going silent. Wilbur sat up, rubbing Tommy’s tummy to help get rid of the tingles that still lurked around. “Who won? I didn’t catch it.” Charlie’s voice was gentle, but it was obvious there was some smugness there.

“Yeah, who won? You never stated a name, Toms!” The taller boy crossed his arms, smirking down at the boy. Tommy just let out a whine and covered his face, cuddling into Charlie as all the tickling wore him out. They both internally cooed at him, finding his snuggly antics so fond and wholesome, because for god's sake- it’s Tommy! You rarely find the boy getting all soft for anyone.

“Let’s just call it a tie, shall we Charlie?”

“Yeah, for now, that is.”

[matbarzyy]

Edge of Desire

A/N: Well, writing this has been... insteresting to say the least. This is obviously just a lot of smut, if you’re not comfortable with that please just stay away from it. I drew that header the other day just because I wanted to make a quick cute thing for this fic, I kinda like it so here it is.

Word count: 6025

Warnings: smut, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it kiddos), a little dominant Mat, overstimulation, overall just pure filth

Summary: Basically plotless smut

.

“You went shopping?” Mat’s head perked up from the back of the couch when he turned around to see you carrying a few bags.

He knew you almost always brought something back for him, whether it was a shirt that you figured would suit him well or a few of his favorite chocolates. It was only his second day back in New York after visiting his family for two weeks while you were stuck working and couldn’t travel, so he knew he could have expectations.

He looked a little different than the last time he was home, having taken some time to let his beard grow. You had seen the beginning of it before he left, but it was grown enough to look good now.

“Mmh,” You barely answered, walking away into your shared bedroom without another word.

At that, Mat frowned.

You normally always told him what you bought, you showed off new outfits or excitedly rambled about why you absolutely had to get this new book. He pushed himself up from the couch and trailed behind you, knocking on the open door quietly before looking down at the bags.

“Got anything nice?” He forgot about your silence the second he spotted the lingerie brand logo he knew all too well. “Can I look?” Mat reached for it, not waiting for your answer because he was used to you letting him.

“No,” You snatched the bag away from him. “Be patient,”

“But-”

“No buts. You came back late last night when I was tired after work and you were tired from travelling,” You had gone straight to sleep, both of you wanting to cuddle and do more but far too exhausted for it. “So I’m going to cook us something nice for lunch, and then maybe I’ll let you see what’s in that bag,”

“What’s the plan after lunch?” Mat had a feeling he was about to like your answer.

“You can pick whatever you want, as long as it involves no other people and absolutely no clothes,”

Mat ate so fast you almost scolded him for not trying to enjoy what you had spent time preparing a little more. You made something light, knowing you wouldn’t want a stomach full of food when you were about to have sex. You knew he appreciated the efforts, and he definitely loved the food, but he was more excited about what was to come after that. You had changed after cooking, and he was sure you were wearing some new set under the silky blue robe you had loosely tied around your waist before you sat with him.

“I’ll tidy,” Mat took both of your plates to the dishwasher and hurried to put everything away. He gave the counters a quick wipe, knowing you’d tell him off if he didn’t clean properly, and a minute later he was standing in front of you still sitting at the table. “So?” He bit his lip, bouncing on the ball of his feet.

“Someone’s eager,” You pushed your chair back and got up slowly, letting the anticipation build for a little longer.

“Someone’s had to go without touching you for way too long,”

“I know, me too,” You soothed him as you took a few steps closer, setting your hands on his chest and angling your head up for a kiss.

Despite the urgency in Mat’s words, his touches were soft. He liked building things up slowly, teasing until you pleaded and begged for what you needed most.

“Can I take that off now?” He murmured into your mouth, hands at the knot on your waist. You wore this often enough at home that he knew he’d get it undone with one pull, but he still awaited your words.

“Yes, anything you want,” You looked up at him, pupils dilated with lust while Mat took in your words. You did say earlier that he could pick the plans, but this was just the confirmation he had been waiting for to take control.

“Anything I want, eh?” He pulled to undo the knot and took two step backs to admire you. “I don’t know if I want to spend the next hour leaving kisses on every inch of your skin or if I just want to bend you over the kitchen counter and keep you there until your legs can’t hold you up anymore,”

“I can’t handle a lot of teasing,” You let the material fall off your shoulders, watching Mat’s eyes trail over your whole body as you slowly exposed more skin.

“Me neither baby,” He nearly groaned when the material fell to your feet. “Fuck this is pretty, it’s such a shame that I’m about to rip it off you,”

“Don’t rip it,” You protested softly, coming close to him again to feel his warmth. There was a time when you would have been self conscious wearing so little with him fully dressed, but you had grown comfortable around him over the years. “I wanna wear it again,”

“Oh yeah?” His hands found your hips, running over your skin in a way that made you shiver. Mat smiled, he loved watching you react to his touches.

“Mmh, under a pretty dress next time there’s some charity dinner. It’ll be a nice surprise for you at the end of a boring evening,” You could already picture it, you had been in that situation many times before. Mat was sweet, he had patience, but those events weren’t worth the effort, and you had to lift his mood at the end of several nights.

“I like that,” He nodded, leaning down and capturing your lips with his once more.

Warmth flooded through you instantly, getting you to squeeze your legs together as you pressed yourself against Mat’s body. He tightened his grip on you, keeping you there as he deepened the kiss and snuck his knee between your thighs. You whimpered into his mouth quietly at the gesture, it was one of your favourite things.

Mat knew you liked to rub against his thigh whenever you made out, it had always been a thing between you, but it still made you swoon every time he remembered to do that for you.

“Please,” You gasped when his lips travelled to your neck. You needed to catch your breath from the kiss, but Mat didn’t seem to care. He hadn’t gotten to touch you in too long, and he was about to make up for it. It was still relatively early in the afternoon but you both knew this would last until night fell. “Please,” You whimpered again, running your fingers through his hair and tugging lightly as he sucked on a particularly sensitive spot.

“Baby,” He chuckled breathlessly. “What are you begging for? I haven’t even done anything yet,”

“I’ve been thinking of this since you got back, I just really need to come, please,”

“Oh love,” He gently backed you up against the kitchen counter. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll have ruined that pretty makeup crying because of how sensitive you are,”

“I don’t care, I want it,” You sounded a little whiny, but Mat did always like it when you were desperate for him.

“Mmh, promise you’ll take it all like a good girl? Even when it gets too much?” He traced his thumb over your lips, pulling your bottom lip down and letting it pop back in place.

“I promise Mat,” You gasped a little when his hand made you part your legs.

“Good,” He cupped your pussy and felt you rock against his hand.

You were already overheating, but Mat didn’t hesitate to push your panties to the side and slide two of his fingers inside of you. The moan that left your mouth made his breath hitch in his throat.

“Fuck I missed those moans,” His blood rushed straight south, and he pulled his fingers away with a groan. “Look at you already dripping down my fingers,”

“You feel so good,” You had no idea how he did it, but it never took more than a few touches for you to become a mess.

“C’mere,” Mat cupped the side of your neck to hold your head still as he brought his glistening fingers up to your mouth. You didn’t hesitate to suck them in, cleaning them with your tongue with your eyes still trained on Mat’s. “Gonna make you come,” He slid the hand that was on your neck down your body to your ass. “And then I’m gonna watch you suck on my cock just like that,” His fingers went deeper into your mouth, making you gag.

You didn’t get to say anything back when he removed them, satisfied with how well you were behaving, because he immediately used them to rub over your clit through the fabric of your panties. You caught onto his shoulders to stay up on your feet, biting back another embarrassing moan until two of his fingers found their way into you again.

“You’re so fucking pretty,” Mat mumbled against your skin, his face hidden in your neck as he bit and sucked to leave marks on you. His fingers were doing more than enough for you, curling into your sweet spot and rubbing it over and over again, but you couldn’t help and think of how amazing his lips would feel sucking on your clit rather than your neck.

Just the thought made you clench, and you felt Mat grin against your neck.

He knew exactly what he was doing to you, you had spent countless nights exploring each other until you both learned the best ways to tease and make the other come undone. His fingers curled rhythmically as he moved them in and out of you, the heel of his hand grinding onto your clit.

It was all you’d need and he knew it, his lips on yours muffling your whimpers as he kissed you. There was a type of need in that kiss that came from the distance. Mat never liked spending time away from you, because as much as he could catch up on sex by spending the whole day making you come, he couldn’t catch up on the moments he had missed. He couldn’t catch up on hugging you tight and congratulating you when you got a promotion, he couldn’t catch up on sitting in a bath with you after a stressful day, he couldn’t catch up on making you laugh while acting like a dork in the kitchen and distracting you from cooking.

“Mat,” You whispered against his lips, nails digging into his shoulders.

“I know,” He breathed out against your mouth, giving you one more kiss before he pulled away enough to look at you. “Come on baby,” He sped his fingers up, watching you fall apart and spill all over his fingers.

It was the strongest orgasm you had since he was gone. Nothing you did to yourself could feel as good as Mat’s touch.

He worked you through it despite the way your hips moved and how hard your pussy clenched. If you hadn’t been pressed between him and the counter you would have never been able to stand, and Mat knew that. He pulled his fingers out slowly while you calmed down, falling into his arms while he gently held you to his chest.

“Better?” He asked, watching you nod eagerly. Your mind was still fuzzy from your high and you were blissfully relaxed. “Come over here,” He guided you towards the couch, letting himself fall into it with his thighs spread wide open.

You didn’t need to ask to know he wanted you on your knees.

He pulled his shirt over his head without a word, messing up his hair and somehow making him look even hotter while he let it fall next to him on the couch. You were patiently waiting, looking up at him with your hands in your lap while he shimmied out of his jeans to make it easier for you.

Your lips found his inner thighs first. You started low, close to his knee before you worked your way up the strong muscles and left some purple ovals there to remind him of this for the next few days. Mat leaned back into the couch with a satisfied hum, his head hanging low to watch you.

His cock was very obviously straining against the fabric of his boxers, and you didn’t make him wait much longer before cupping him with your hand, using the other one to caress over his thigh. Mat grunted quietly, licking his lips when you looked up at him and giving you an encouraging little nod.

You obeyed wordlessly, bringing your lips to kiss him over his boxers, working your way up to his waistband. There, you hooked your fingers into it and moved back to pull the material down his legs. His cock stood proudly, waiting for your attention, and Mat slid a cushion to the floor before you could kneel back in between his legs.

“Thanks,” You whispered, lips attached to his inner thigh on a spot you knew was sensitive while your hand gently began to stroke his cock.

A loud exhale fell from his lips, and you followed up with a lick of the underside of his cock from his base to his tip. Mat’s thighs clenched at that, filling you with pride. He affected you easily, but so did you.

Your tongue swirled around his tip, tasting the precum that was leaking from him before you sucked with a hum. Your saliva was slowly making him wetter, allowing you to take more and more of him into your mouth to hear the beautiful moans he could never contain when you went down on him.

You felt a little bold, so you tried to go further to feel him hit the back of your throat, but it only made you gag. You had to pull off for a second, coughing a little before you went right back to his cock.

“Take it easy,” Mat pulled your hair back so that it wouldn’t fall in your face, and he used his gentle grip to guide you. “Just like that baby,” He moaned when you focused on sucking on the head of his cock, moving your tongue around him before bobbing your head and slowly sinking down further.

Praises fell from his lips continuously, accompanied by little moans that increased when you brought your hand to tease his balls and followed by sucking on them too. You could tell he was getting close, you were always good at getting him to the edge fast when you sucked him.

His eyes never left you, they were on your every time you looked up at him, darkened by desire. You were so beautiful like that, always so eager to please, and the enthusiasm you put into you made things ten times better for Mat. He loved hearing how much you liked it, hearing you beg for it, feeling how wet you could get just from sucking him.

“Fuck baby, stop,” He forced himself to groan. He was dangerously close, and he could have finished right there in your mouth, but he wanted your pussy more than that.

The way his hand pulled on your hair turned you on, he was never harsh with it but he always used it to guide you. It reminded you of the night you spent together before he left, your ass up in the air with your chest pressed into the mattress while Mat held your hair to make you arch your back.

You went back to kissing his inner thighs after one last suck, obeying him and waiting to see what he wanted you to do next. Mat spaced out for a second, trying to regain control of himself but getting distracted by how good your mouth felt on him.

“Maty?” You asked quietly, looking up at him and awaiting his instructions. You would gladly take him back into your mouth if that was what he wanted, you just needed his permission to do so.

“C’mere,” He patted his lap and motioned you up, his back resting against the couch while you settled yourself over his thighs. “That’s a very pretty set you got baby, but it’s kind of getting in the way now,” Mat’s hands travelled up your ribs until his thumbs could brush over your nipples through the lace. “I think it’s about time it comes off,” He watched your nod and shook his head lightly. “I want words,”

“Yes,” You replied, reaching behind your back to unhook your bra and let it fall somewhere by the couch.

“God you’re beautiful,” Mat sighed as he took in the sight of your chest, lightly pinching your nipples and rolling them to hear you gasp. You often felt self conscious around him, you never got to work out as much as he did, but his almost constant compliments boosted your confidence.

He was never short of kind words and praises for you, and you returned them as often as you could, whether it was through touches, looks or words. His lips soon followed his fingers, attaching themselves to your chest and littering it with pretty red marks he was sure to spend time admiring for the next few days.

His teeth bit and tugged gently, never stopping until a little whimper had fallen from your lips because of the bit of pain that came with the pinching. You weren’t always in the mood for it, but if the way you rolled your hips against him was any indication, Mat would say today was one of the days he could bite a little harder.

Your panties were completely ruined from the way you were dripping, still wearing them even though they were in the way of everything you wanted to do with Mat.

“These need to fucking go,” He practically growled when he felt the material against his cock. He was done playing, he needed to get rid of anything that was between your bodies.

“Mathew don’t-” You barely had a chance to say anything before his hands were at your sides, grabbing onto the delicate lace and ripping it apart.

You pouted as it fell to the floor, but the hunger in Mat’s eyes was too strong for him to care. He could buy you a new set later to make up for it.

“Come on baby,” He cupped your ass and pulled you onto him, getting your pussy to rub hard against his cock. Your eyes rolled back at the perfect friction you felt on your clit, but you didn’t get a chance to feel it again before Mat lifted you and placed the head of his cock as your entrance.

You sat down on him slightly, feeling him stretch your walls a little while his hands caressed the sides of your thighs and waist.

“You’re so big,” You winced as you moved down, holding him tighter and turning your head to hide it into his neck. No matter how many times you were with him, it always took you a minute to adjust to his size. Mat wasn’t small by any means.

“Come on baby,” He gave your ass a gentle squeeze in response. “You’re almost there,”

“Mmh,” You hummed your assent, slowly sinking down on him further until you were so full of him tears brimmed in your eyes.

“Fuck yes,” He moaned, feeling your ass meet his thighs. “You’re doing so good baby,”

His hands guided you to move slowly, making you roll your hips rather than lift yourself so that he could stay all the way inside of you for a little bit longer. The clenches of your pussy around him made his moans mix with yours, deep sounds that went straight to your core and made you drip over him.

Your bodies were closer than ever, Mat’s chest pressed against yours and your head in his neck while you clutched his back and lifted yourself to give him what you knew he was patiently waiting for. Your nails digged into his back, dragging over his skin and leaving scratches he’d tease you for but secretly loved. He liked leaving hickeys to mark you as his, and he enjoyed being marked as yours just as much.

The whole team knew how well he could fuck you just from the marks they saw on his body when they showered after practice, which earned you a few misplaced winks from Tito whenever he said “easy tiger” as a joke.

“I don’t know how long I can hold on,” You whimpered, lifting your head as well as you could to look into his eyes. Your hips followed a steady rhythm, lifting yourself off his cock and sinking back down fully every time to feel all of him.

It felt so overwhelmingly good that tears began to slowly roll down your cheeks, small whines escaping you every time he pressed against your sweet spot.

“Look at you,” Mat cupped your face, leaning forward to kiss the tears off your cheeks. “Such a good girl fucking yourself on my cock like that,”

“It’s so good Mat, I missed it so much,” You got wordier than usual. He was always the one with the dirty mouth, whispering sinful things to you as a joke at first until he realised how much it turned you on. He had kept on doing it ever since, using it to make you react or to hear you give him the go ahead with anything he might want to try.

“Yeah? Tell me exactly what you missed.” He mouthed at your jaw for a second, giving it a little nip that made your whole body tighten in surprise.

“I missed your cock,” You gasped while he nodded, encouraging you to keep on talking. “Missed you filling me with your cum,” You fell forward against him, nuzzling your face into his neck and pressing your chest to his to feel closer again. Mat’s reaction to your words was loud, and he followed his moan with a newfound grip on your hips to guide you to keep bouncing your ass. You knew you’d have bruises in the shape of his fingers in a few hours.

“Faster,” He ordered you, panting and pulling your hips down hard to accompany his statement.

“I’m so close,” You choked out, barely holding on. The slow start had already gotten you close to the edge, and speeding up had your body trembling with anticipation of a release.

“Don’t stop,” His moan almost made you come right there and his abs clenched while his thighs trembled as he approached his high too. He didn’t want you to come first, he needed a release he could ride out without worrying about making you overly sensitive. He had long plans for the night, but there was only so much your body could handle.

You struggled to keep up with the rhythm he set, whimpering your way through every thrust while Mat grunted into your ear and began lifting his hips to meet your movements. You fell apart right there, unable to stop it any longer, and he followed right after you. He whimpered quietly as he filled you, feeling you squeeze around his throbbing cock rhythmically.

“That’s my good girl,” He breathed out the words he knew you always craved to hear. You’d do just about anything for him to tell you that.

Mat smoothed your hair back, the tenderness coating his movements contrasting with the way he was treating you a second ago. You’d both need time to come down, and he never wanted you to get away from him.

You remained close for several minutes, neither of you wanting to accept you’d have to get up at some point. This was the closest you had been able to get in weeks, you weren’t ready for it to be over yet. You had missed everything about him, but a lot of it was simply his presence.

You had missed getting to hug him every day, his smell on the bed sheets, the lingering scent of his body wash in the bathroom after he showered, the sound of his humming when he made you coffee in the morning, the warmth of his skin when he was cuddled up against you. You could still talk when he was away, but nothing could make up for that.

“Can you move baby?” Mat eventually whispered, hands trailing up and down your spine. He wasn’t too comfortable, and if he was only going to hold you he’d rather just do that in bed.

“Mmh,” You got up on wobbly legs, feeling your wetness and Mat’s cum drip down your thighs.

He noticed too and reached forward to catch it with his fingers before bringing it straight back to your pussy. He cupped you with his whole palm, a strangled noise coming from you while he rubbed against your slick folds gently, mixing your fluids and watching you struggle to keep standing.

“I can’t stand,” You leaned to rest your hands on his shoulders, your chest so close to his face that he couldn’t resist. He sucked one of your hard nipples into his mouth and grazed it with his teeth, chuckling when your knees buckled and you almost fell over him.

“Bedroom, now,” He decided as he pulled away, dropping his hand and carelessly wiping it on his thigh as he got up. You were about to make a mess on the bed anyway, he’d worry about it later.

You fell back on the bed and adjusted a pillow behind your head, smiling without bothering to hide yourself. Mat fell in love all over again at the sight, he didn’t get to admire you much at the start of your relationship, you were too self conscious, but after all the time you had spent together you were now comfortable around him. You still had your insecurities but you never felt the need to hide.

He crawled on top of you slowly, resting enough of his weight on top of you to pin you down while making sure he wouldn’t crush you. Your legs were parted to accommodate him so that you were both settled comfortably with smiles on your faces.

“I love you,” You rubbed your thumb over the back of his neck, craving more affection.

“I love you too,” Mat kissed the tip of your nose. “So much,” He knew you liked him handling you roughly from time to time, but you needed love and reassurance.

You had talked and set limits about what was safe to try a long time ago when you started getting a little kinky together, but it hadn’t been enough. You spent too much time thinking of the physical aspect of things and forgot about the emotional side. Everything Mat did had been discussed, it was all supposed to be okay, but you quickly found out you weren’t into it by how fast you blurted out your safeword one night. You liked him being dominant, yes, but you didn’t like feeling used.

Mat was too freaked out to try again for a while, he had done no harm but he was scared he would, so he put a stop to it for some months.

It took more talks and fine tuning to get back into playing like that. All you needed was his reassurance, so you both switched things up to a dynamic that had to do with praise and made sure to take time in between rough moments for softer ones.

Mat was always careful, he knew he’d be pushing your limits tonight and he needed to make sure he could do that safely. Giving you kisses and repeating how much he loved you was his way of making sure you’d feel safe and relaxed.

You knew he’d never hurt you, and that he’d never let you feel self conscious about a single thing.

Your hand moved from the back of his neck to his face while you observed him, committing this image to your memory. He looked different than when he left. He was just as pretty, but the beard changed his face and you had been waiting so see what it’d be like in person.

“You like the beard baby?” He smiled softly, watching the way your eyes took him in.

“It feels different,” You let your knuckles run over his cheek, feeling how rough it was from the usual soft shaven skin or light stubble.

“Good or bad different?”

“Good, but I don’t know if it’s better than usual. You look beautiful either way,” You were getting lost in his eyes, your body blissfully relaxed against the mattress now that he had helped you calm down.

“How about,” Mat paused for a second to place a kiss on your palm. “You let me know how it feels against your thighs and pussy, mmh?” Your eyes widened at his words, and he watched the way your lips parted slightly. “You want that baby?”

His eyes looked so innocent, so soft and gentle, and it only made his words more powerful. You were already about to explode just from the way he talked, you’d last absolutely no time with his mouth on you.

“Yes,” You managed to whisper loud enough that it reached his ears, and Mat wasted no time.

His lips fell to your neck to add marks to the collection that was already blooming on your skin. He was all too aware of the kind of moans he was sometimes about to pull out of you just from that, and he wanted to hear them. Your fingers found purchase in his hair, threading through the strands and gently guiding his head down to your collarbone to get him towards the place you actually needed him.

Mat caught on easily, smiling against your skin and spending a little less time on your chest than he normally would to focus on trailing down to your inner thighs instead. He could spend hours kissing, licking and nipping at your sides until you writhed underneath him, but it would only make you too impatient.

The sight of his head between your legs was enough teasing for you already. No matter how much you enjoyed the shivers that ran down your spine when Mat kissed the sensitive skin of your inner thighs, nothing beat the actual waves of pleasure that crashed over your body when he sucked on your clit, and you were desperate for him to do just that.

His mouth hovered over your pussy for a second, letting you feel the warmth of his breath while he looked up at you. You were staring at the ceiling, chest rising and falling fast in anticipation. Mat almost moaned knowing he was the one who put you in that state. Instead, he pressed a kiss to your folds and let his tongue come out to lap at your wetness.

He hummed against you and made you shiver before moving your legs to let you rest your heels against his back. Your knees remained spread wide open, letting him access any part of you he wanted. Mat was a little busy to actually see you, but all he could think as he smothered his face in you was that you were the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Let me hear you baby,” He lifted his head and rested his palm flat on your stomach in anticipation of having to keep you down. “Don’t hold back, I wanna know how good it feels,”

You looked down to meet his eyes when you saw he wasn’t doing anything, and he gave you a soft smile that had nothing to do on his face in a position like this one. His lips parted around your clit, his tongue gently teasing it while he kept the eye contact going. He gave you a tentative suck, earning a quiet moan from you that filled him with satisfaction.

“Good girl,” He mumbled into your pussy before his eyes fell shut and he truly dove in.

Your head fell back and you were thrashing in his arms a second later, unable to keep your hips still and fisting the bed sheets tightly in your hands in hope of anchoring yourself. He was alternating broad licks and sucks with tiny kitten licks that made you squirm, but you only really lost it when he pushed two fingers inside of you.

The wet noises that were coming from his mouth and your pussy were sinful, as were your moans that spurred him on to devour you until you couldn’t think anymore. Mat was eating you out like it was the last time and his fingers curling against your sweet spot had your muscles quivering with pleasure.

“You like that baby?” He barely came up for air, face glistening with your wetness, but you couldn’t even think of letting him have a break.

“Don’t stop,” You whined, a hand flying to his hair and pushing him back down. He made a startled noise but didn’t object, diving right back in with his tongue out to lick over the most sensitive parts of you. “I’m so close, you’re doing so good just please, please don’t stop,”

Your back arched off the bed as he picked up the speed with his fingers, eagerly sucking and flattening his tongue over your clit the way he knew drove you absolutely mad. Mat loved pleasing you, and if you weren’t currently pushing his face down he’d lift it to tell you how much he wanted you to come on his fingers and tongue. You were seconds away from it either way, he could tell from how hard he had to hold you to force you to keep your legs open.

His one arm could only do so much when his other fingers were buried deep inside of your pussy, and you tried your best not to tighten your legs around his head too much when your orgasm hit you. It made your whole body go tight, your walls squeezing so hard around his fingers that he struggled to keep moving them to ride you through it. He moaned in unison with you, proud of himself when he felt the way your body reacted to him.

His tongue moved on you slowly when you began to whimper, breathing slower and letting your legs fall down on the mattress. He tried to avoid your clit, only lapping up your wetness to clean you up although he couldn’t resist teasing it a little just to hear the cute overstimulated noises you were making.

You came down with a blissed out smile on your face, threading your fingers through Mat’s hair and massaging his scalp with the little strength you had left.

“Satisfied?” He rested his head on your thigh, looking up at you with a smirk.

“Mmh,” Your mind was too foggy for you to form many words. “Almost,”

“Almost?” He couldn’t believe it, thinking you would have at least needed a break before you asked for another round.

“Can’t be satisfied until you are,” You nodded, referring to the way he had subconsciously been rutting his hips against the mattress while eating you out to get something out of it.

Mat bit hip lip, wondering how much more you’d be able to handle. You would have said it if you needed some time, but you sounded like you were already waiting for him to fuck you again. He had plans for it, positions he wanted you into because he knew it made him hit you at the perfect angle, but he needed you to be able to hold yourself up.

So, instead of giving in to what you both craved, he got up from the bed and went to retrieve two water bottles from the fridge. It would give you just enough of a break to get ready for what he had left in store.

You both knew the day was still far from over.

.

Please reblog this to share it with other people and let me know what you thought!

[wesimpforxiao]

Say My Name and I’ll Be There: 9.1

Author’s Note:  Short chapter.  My anxiety has gotten really bad and I’m busy so I could use some virtual hugs haha

"You dared to deceive an archon?"

The bellow hung heavy in the morning air, but Childe didn't flinch.  "Oh?  If my memory serves me correctly, you were all for my plan."  A slight excitement rushed within his chest at the thought of the possibility of fighting an archon today.  The joy he would feel! To have the privilege of testing his strength against a former god--

"Don't play games with me," Zhongli growled, his infuriated gaze sliding to the brat that was more than amused at his ill-composed state.  Archons, the consultant was trying so hard not to summon a meteor this instant--something his past self would've done without a moment of hesitation.  "You nearly--"

"I never claimed to be one of the good guys, sensei."  

Zhongli bit the inside of his lip until he drew blood and his eyes glowed a threatening yellow that was far too similar to the Exuvia.  He so desperately wanted to run Childe into the ground, to pummel him with the same spears that defeated Osial himself.  To do so would mean the complete and utter destruction of the harbor that sat below them, as they were on the hill behind the Liyue Qixing's headquarters.  The sun beat down on them harshly as if to mirror Zhongli's rage.

"I have my own agenda to fulfill, in the end."  Something somewhat apologetic flashed in the harbinger's eyes before he looked out to the vast sea, still unflinching from Zhongli's threatening aura.

"You have broken a contract.  A breach in trust.  Do you know what this means for you?"  I'll end him right here.  As a cost for the Tsaritsa to pay for breaching--No.  Zhongli took a deep breath to quell the raging tides of fury that swirled in his being.  No.  The Tsaritsa broke no contract.  I willingly gave Xiao after being played like a fool by Childe.  That's right.  Anger consumes all rational thought; Zhongli could not allow himself to make the same mistakes.  To do so would surely destroy any concept of safety for you and Xiao.

"I will fight to the death if you see it fit, Mr. Zhongli."  The corner of his lips curled slightly upwards after hearing the anger in the consultant's voice, but they downturned again as he turned to face the man.  "But, as I see it, I have learned from that...experience in Fontaine."

Zhongli's hard gaze remained unwavering as stone.

"Mezzetin..."  Childe returned to his view of the ocean.  "...has been in too dark of a place as of late.  I had deceived you in an effort to protect her from your yaksha; his presence seemed to have too negative of an impact on her.  So I thought, for her benefit, I would recruit her into the Fatui for her own safety.  From Xiao, and from the unrelenting forces of Snezhnaya.  She wouldn't have to live in fear of us as long as she was with us.

"But then another side effect showed up and I realized I had made a mistake for deceiving you, Mr. Zhongli.  I was mistaken to think that the yaksha was the problem instead of the distance between the pair.  That, dear sensei, is why I brought her here for the Lantern Rite."

While he's speaking from the heart, he is still being untruthful.  The archon stood unmoving, rage reigniting a little until a memory of Guizhong flashed in his mind.  He wouldn't bring her to Liyue without another motive.

"I'm speaking honestly, Mr. Zhongli."  Childe didn't even hold his signature smile across his lips; he was dead serious.  "While this excursion most definitely benefits the Tsaritsa, I only brought Mezzetin for her own wellbeing."

Zhongli still wasn't buying it, and he approached Childe until he was at his ear.  His low voice had to have dropped an octave lower while he maintained his composed but threatening demeanor.  "The next time you cross me or seek to harm those in our group, you will join Osial below Guyun Stone Forest."

The threat was enough to send a slight chill down Childe's spine, as reluctant as he would admit it, but the harbinger grinned darkly nonetheless.  After all, how could a measly chill overpower the thrill of battle he always got?  It egged him on, but...he did consider Zhongli a comrade more than a means to an end for the Tsaritsa.  One that he didn't want to lose, even if he was still pissed that the consultant had deceived him for being a human and not the Lord of Geo.

The archon began to brush past Childe, when the harbinger gripped his shoulder to keep him in place.  "Mark my words, Mr. Zhongli.  When the time comes, you will be relying on me once more."

What?  Zhongli rotated his head, but Childe had already let go of his shoulder and started to walk off.  He would've perceived the statement as the threat that it was, if it weren't for the different fluctuations in Childe's voice.  Was that melancholy he sensed?  Guilt?  Uncertainty?  Zhongli narrowed his eyes as he watched the harbinger scale off the mountain with his glider.

Perhaps that was enough to get through to him, Childe thought to himself without peering over his shoulder.  He didn't dare say too much.  The Tsaritsa will get what she needs for her war; what's it to her if he moves a few chess pieces across the board himself?  This is the only time he would ever allow to make such a daring exception.  As long as you and Aether didn't try to intervene down the line, then maybe he could bring you freedom...

That was a cry for help, Zhongli found himself dumb-founded. Childe's figure was now a spec in the distance and near touchdown in the plaza.

.......................

"Will you two cut it out already?!" You had thought that the subject had long passed, but apparently Aether had no mercy teasing you as he had always teased Paimon.  "We didn't do anything! How many times do I have to say that?"  You drew a deep breath to keep up with your mouth.  "Or do I have to whack it into you?!"

"Hm, dunno, Paimon thinks denial is even more suspicious than silence!"

"Ugh, why did you have to go and say we 'slept together...'"  Your head dropped into your hands in an exasperated manner, eyebrows furrowing together with the threat of an impending headache.

"Mortals make too large of a fuss over such trivial matters.  It was really nothing," Xiao scoffed at the traveler and the weird floating thing he still couldn't figure out.  It was then that he remembered your odd behavior in bed this morning, and how you were exhibiting the same redness now.  "Though...I do have a few questions.  Why do humans flush red at the most random of times?"

"EH?!"  Your hand instinctually flew to his mouth, nearly covering up--except the yaksha caught your wrist before you had the chance to prevent him from saying anything else that could be perceived the wrong way.  "What are you--?!  Just stop talking!"

"Like now," Xiao noted aloud, completely oblivious to the dumb-founded shock--or what could've been exasperated horror--on Aether's and Paimon's faces.

"Think of it as a defense mechanism," Childe approached the group, completely lacking the tension from earlier.  "Or as an indicator for lying."

"'Lying?'"  Xiao looked unconvinced as his eyes met yours.  You definitely didn't flush red when lying.

"Well, in some settings," Childe let out a chuckle before plopping his hand atop your head.  It wouldn't be inaccurate to think that Xiao nearly summoned his weapon and thought of slicing his hand off right then and there.  "Are you ready to go?"

"Go?  But you said tomorrow."  Lips pursed into an irritated pout as you turned to face him, nonchalantly pushing his hand off of you in the process.  "And Zhongli said something about a possible del-"

"The matter is settled."  Was it just you, or was his smile a little strained?

"And if we don't let you take her back?"  Aether stepped forward.  A few pedestrians glanced his way while passing the group.

"Oh? Is this your way of asking me for a fight? I'd be happy to humor you."

"You can't take all three of us at once," the boy took another step forward, this time lowering his stance as if he were ready to lunge at the harbinger.  Paimon egged him on.  

"Will you two stop with this macho contest?"  Your growl seemed to snap them out of it.  "No one is fighting.  I left with the harbingers to prevent that from happening."

"If the lady insists." Child winked at Aether, who scoffed in turn.  Then he faced you once more.  "As for the sudden change in our depart, I simply changed my mind.  Meet at the Northland Bank.  You have one hour."

.....................

"One hour?!?!" You were still fuming over the smug smile that had tugged at the corner of Childe's lips after the three of you parted from him.  "What...What am I supposed to do in an hour?!  I swear I'm gonna--"

"Paimon thinks we should take him out now!"  

"Why are you so bloodthirsty when it comes to Childe?"  Aether reminded her to keep her voice down, suddenly conscious of the stares you were all getting.

"Why aren't you?  He's lied to us, hurt us, and now he's hurting our friends!  Paimon simply can't accept that!"

Aether had long since tuned Paimon's voice out and was focused on you and Xiao instead.  The lack of eye contact between the two of you made it blatantly obvious there were some things to discuss privately. "We'll let you have some alone time."

"Huh?  Why're you leaving?" You spun on your heel with a confused expression, whirling to a stop once you faced the boy.  "Shouldn't we all be together before I--"

"You'd rather not be alone with your boyfriend before you leave?"  A confused, innocent tilt of the head sent you into another wave of embarrassment.

"B-boyfriend?!"

"Hold up!  You're telling Paimon you're embarrassed by THAT even though you two--"

"Boy...friend...?" Xiao's face twisted in clear disgust as if he had eaten something sour, the words being carefully sounded out. You were his companion.  What is this 'boy friend' term being flung around all of a sudden?  "I've lived for a millennia and you dare refer to me as a child?  Have you no respect for the adepti?"

"U-um!"  Your stammer caught the attention of his narrowed eyes, and his gaze softened slightly.  "Just ignore them.  It's not a bad term or anything of the sort," you sent a pleading glance Aether's way so he wouldn't reveal the meaning of the word.  Boyfriend...ah, I guess he is now...!  Despite your heated cheeks, a flutter of excitement pressed against your chest at the thought and you broke eye contact with the yaksha.

"Yeah, you two need to talk about that," Aether laughed before turning serious.  "Be careful.  If you need help, Xiao can hear you, right?  You just need to pray to him and--"

You nodded, "I know," and gifted him with a grim smile.  "Don't worry about me.  Focus on finding your sister.  I'll figure out a way to deal with the Tsaritsa sooner or later."  You pulled him into a tight hug, yanking Paimon out of the air to envelope her in one too.  "I'll come back."

"That better be a promise you won't break."

"I swear it on my Granny's grave."  The three of you released one another and stepped back.  You waved them goodbye as they ran in the direction of the funeral parlor before turning to Xiao.  "So..."

Xiao crossed his arms and shifted his weight onto his other foot, closing his eyes in a somewhat pensive manner.  "Is there anything you wanted to do before you leave?"

[hellyeahbakubby]

“just a drawing” | sero h.

♔ -  Running an NSFW art patreon, the reader has lost their motivation. Maybe Sero can help them find their inspiration, or be it. {wc: 1870} pairings -  sero hanta x reader tags -  SUGGESTIVE ONESHOT, mentions of sex, nothing explicit but be warned, fluffy bf sero, like I want boyfriend sero, pls, gimme a/n - thank you for requesting this, I had a really fun time writing it, and even though it took a while to put out I hope you enjoy it :) masterlist ▬ WARNING: SLIGHT NSFW, nothing explicit or graphic but proceed responsibly if you are under the age of 16.

For weeks now, your inspiration had abandoned you and your motivation extended to nothing more than staring at a blank screen. The hundreds of suggestions from your avid followers had begun to pile up and the hope you had of actually drawing something had been lost. None of the characters that usually stirred you to create were giving you any enthusiasm and you feared that you’d lost your spark for good. 

“Hey,” Hanta greeted you as he entered the room, munching on his lunch, “Whatcha up to?”

Flicking around to face him, you instinctively flipped your tablet to your chest as if to hide the screen. “Just some drawing,” you replied as if you’d actually made any progress

“You’ve been doing a lot of that lately, huh,” he said leaning again the doorframe, digging his fork back into his dish, “Working on something big?”

“Uh, not really, just drawing,” you lied, smiling up at him. He smiled back. You sighed, you were getting nowhere with your drawing. Sitting there, lying about your progress to your boyfriend was just dumb. “Except I haven't been able to draw for weeks. I’ve lost my mojo for good.”

He watched your shoulders slump at the admission and couldn’t help but feel sympathetic to your cause. He knew just how much you admired creativity and to have lost your own would be weighing on you more than a bit. “I’m sure it won’t be forever, babe,” he said coming to sit in the chair beside you. Turning in his chair so his body was facing you, he placed a warm, reassuring hand on your knee. “Maybe instead of just sitting staring at your screen, we should go get you some inspiration. Yeah?”

You stared down at the device in your hands, the blank screen. Hanta went back to chewing. He watched your expression avidly. You were always so cute which only made seeing you so down worse. So used to your usually happy attitude around him, he wanted to fix whatever was bugging you. 

Taking a deep breath in, “Yeah,” you said. He grinned.

“Nice. Why don’t we just go for a walk? And since I’ve got patrol tonight we can grab dinner after. Sound good?”

“Yup.” Even if you didn’t manage to find any inspiration you were grateful to be spending time with him. Since his schedule wasn’t exactly a typical 9 to 5 he was often working resulting in you being able to spend less time with him.

“I’ll finish my lunch then we can be off,” he said, “There’s a new park across the city that I saw last night. It’s beautiful, plus lots of flowers and stuff that might spark something.”

You smiled up at him. “Sounds good.” He was so considerate. You’d really lucked in with this one. And although you really needed to post on your patreon, maybe drawing something basic for yourself first would help get you back in that mindset. Leaving your tablet behind you went to get a drink before you left the house.

Hanta had been right. This park was beautiful. The grass was greener than you’d ever seen in person. The trees that edged the park created an atmosphere that separated the park from the outside world. It was its own little world. And the flowers. Hundreds of them. All different colours and types. The variety was astounding. You blinked a couple of times, making sure what you were seeing was real. It was captivating.

“Cool, huh?” he said with a cheeky smirk. Watching your expressions made him chuckle. He was secretly relieved that your mood had taken such a dramatic change.

“Real cool,” you said softly, nodding. You turned back to him and smiled. Throwing your arms around his neck you pulled him into a suffocating hug, kissed his cheek. He returned the hug with a laugh, wrapping his own arms around your waist in turn. Holding you in place after you loosened your grip he looked at you, thoroughly enjoying the spark of joy in your irises. “Thanks, babes,” you said.

“Anytime, doll,” he said before placing a kiss on your nose, “How about we go walk around and you can get some photos, eh?”

“Of course.”

Not a second after you’d taken his hand and begun to walk down the path when you heard someone call out from behind you. Both you and Hanta turned to look.

“Cellophane! Wait! Please!” A young woman ran towards the both of you, only slowing to halt right in front of you. She looked utterly exhausted, panting heavily. 

“You’re… you’re my favourite Pro,” she managed to get out, standing up straight and looking up at Hanta with a look of admiration you’d never seen before. “Would you mind taking a photo with me?” she pleaded.

“Oh, sure,” he said with a smile, letting go of your hand to stand beside her as she pulled out her phone, “It’s nice to meet you.” She blinked at him in awe, her cheeks reddening.

“You too,” she squeaked out. Holding up the phone as he leaned in to get in the frame, she snapped a couple of photos. 

You were oddly surprised by how you felt watching the interaction. It wasn’t jealousy or any sort of possessiveness. You knew that it was just an interaction between a fan and a hero so it wasn’t like she was gonna make any moves, or rather that he simply wasn’t interested. Instead, it was almost like a realisation. You were that lucky person, that lucky fan, who got to hold him, who got to be held by him. Your life was someone else’s fantasy, it was your own fantasy. There it was. 

You knew exactly what you were going to draw to get your rhythm back. 

“You good there?” Hanta asked returning to you as his fan walked away, every now and again turning back as if making sure he was real. “You look a bit zoned out.”

“Always,” you replied with full sincerity, squeezing his hand. His lips curled up at your response.

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine, just thinking,” you said, taking his hand again.

“About me?” he joked.

As Hanta retrieved his hero costume, preparing himself for the night of hero work ahead, you returned to your drawing room, knowing exactly what the finished work was going to be. You were one hundred per cent assured that this would cure your art block and although you had no intention of posting it, you were both anxious and excited for the one person you’d show it to, to see it.

Peeping his head around the doorframe, he grinned at seeing you already back to work. He did feel responsible for your returning motivation and was delighted with his achievement. 

“I’m off now, babe,” he said. You got up, placing a kiss to his cheek for good luck before pulling his face towards your own. Pressing your lips to his, you relaxed momentarily into his arms. He was so warm, all-encompassing. You felt so safe with him, so secure, so free of judgement. He was everything you’d ever wished for and so much more.

“Be careful,” you said, running a finger down his cheek.

“Whatever you say,” he gushed, leaning to kiss your forehead.

“See ya later, handsome.”

Walking him to the door, no sooner than he was gone you were back at your desk, sketching out the picture already finished in your head. You were almost surprised you’d never thought to draw something of this flavour before. God, just thinking about it made you flush. He was a well-known, well-desired Pro-hero; surely you weren’t the first person to concoct such a lewd creation of him. And well, it wasn’t like you were a stranger to him. You knew him up close and personal and you knew exactly what made him tick. You’d never post such a thing but you couldn’t think to draw anything else now that the idea was in your head. Not to mention you couldn’t help but imagine his reaction when he saw the finished product. 

Stretching your muscles, you turned in your bed, waking slowly. Hanta wasn’t beside you despite having said he’d return at around four am but it didn’t worry you. He usually fell asleep on the couch, even after telling him countless that you didn’t mind him waking you when he came home. You made your way down the hall, careful to miss stepping on the floorboard that always groaned under your weight. If Hanta was indeed asleep on the couch you didn’t want to wake him. You knew how much hero work took out of him, especially if he’d had a busy night.

Creeping into your drawing room to continue working on your piece your heart plummeted to your stomach when you saw the empty space on your desk where you’d had your tablet last night. Come to think of it you didn’t remember going to bed which could only mean that Hanta had moved you to your bedroom after you’d fallen asleep midway through drawing. Oh god, that meant he had your tablet.

“Fuuuck,” you heard him drawl from behind you. Frowning you spun around.

“What?” you said before you saw your tablet in his hands and you felt heat rush to your cheeks. 

“That’s my line right, babe?” he teased, tongue between his teeth, “At least that’s what I’m saying in this drawing, aren’t I?”

“I…” you couldn’t find any words.

“No, no. Your line’s ‘Oh please, god’ and then I think you’re meant to moan.” 

You opened your mouth to reply but you didn’t know what to say.

“It’s a really good drawing, just not what I expected.” He returned his gaze to the image in front of him. Although he was hiding it really well you noticed the pink tips of his ears.

“You… inspired me,” you said sheepishly.

“Clearly,” he said grinning again, “Just not in the way I thought I did.” You scowled at him.

“I just needed something to get my motivation back.”

He looked up. “Huh? Oh, I’m not complaining. I just didn’t know you drew this kinda stuff, makes sense why you hide your drawings from me. I mean bondage? Heh. Kinky.”

“Stoppp,” you begged, one hand on your face in embarrassment. You inhaled, trying to steady yourself. “It’s just a drawing,” you said defensively.

“Pretty sexy drawing though,” he mumbled. You looked up at him. His flushed cheeks said more than his words as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

“If I knew what you wanted I would’ve given you a different kinda inspiration.” He was definitely as nervous about the whole thing as you were. He placed the tablet on the pile of boxes by the door. “I mean I’m happy to help you out.”

“Really?” you replied softly, “That’s sweet of you.” You sent him a sly grin and he swallowed quickly. He reached out, grabbing you by the hips. 

“‘Just a drawing’,” he said mocking what you’d said earlier, “You gonna show me your others.”

“Maybe later,” you said in his ear as he lifted you onto your desk,

“Right now I’m feeling the inspiration for something different.”

[teawaffles]

The Conspiratorial Bullet: Chapter 7, Part 2

“Mr William James Moriarty?”

Having been politely addressed by his full name, William responded with a gentle smile. It could even be called divine: strangely, the sight of it quietened Kevin’s tumultuous heart.

However, there was still the matter of the live bullet. In place of Kevin, who was yet unable to organise his thoughts, Andy frowned.

“William. Why are you here?”

“That isn’t the right question to ask, now is it? Rather, how did I find out that this terrible sight was entirely of your making? — I think that’s an appropriate question.”

“This is, all made up……?”

Kevin absorbed those words, and then called out to Andy.

“What’s the meaning of this!? Was this all contrived by you!?”

But Andy shoved him aside, as if he found his presence galling.

“Poppycock! This young man doesn’t know what he’s saying! You used that gun to murder Helena — that’s the undeniable truth!”

“Guh……”

Kevin groaned. Andy’s words had cut to the quick, and the resultant guilt instantly plunged him into despondency. But as he hung his head, William asked him a question.

“Mr Kevin. How did that gun come to be in your possession?”

“What’s this? You’re an outsider, so don’t butt in.”

“Lord Andy, please stop talking for a moment. Well then, Mr Kevin: what’s your answer?”

At William’s dignified voice, even Andy, who’d been about to make a complaint, fell silent. Kevin’s gaze landed on his revolver in the old man’s hand.

“That…… It was given to me for use during the game. At the time, I thought it was a toy. After that, I got embroiled in a fight and lost it, then picked it up again.”

Then, William posed him another question.

“When you picked it up, how did you know it was yours?”

“Huh? You didn’t have to ask that: the gun has a card with a number attached to it.”

“I see. So you knew from the number on the card.”

William looked at the number 8 written on it.

“In that case, if a malicious third party were to take that card off your revolver and tie it onto a real gun, would you have noticed that?”

“……Huh?”

At that significant remark, Kevin looked at the gun once again. He shook his head.

“No, it would be impossible for me. I wouldn’t have noticed. After all, that toy looks exactly like the real thing.”

“That’s right — and Lord Andy used that fact to switch your gun with a real one.”

“Wha……!?”

His deduction had left Kevin speechless. Right away, Andy refuted the idea.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Why would I ever do such a thing?”

“The reason has been eloquently illustrated by the bargain you tried to strike earlier. You wanted to drive Mr Kevin to ruin by falsely accusing him of the murder of his child — and on top of that, you wanted to steal the profits from his business.”

“W-What malarkey is this?!”

William ignored his howls of rage, and continued.

“You probably drew up this scheme when we proposed this game. Because it uses guns that look just like the real thing, you could stage an accident in which one accidentally fires live ammunition. Moreover, the toy guns are marked using cards tied with string — making it easy to swap one for a real gun.”

Kevin paled.

“Then, was Lord Andy aiming for me to lose my gun?”

“Indeed. You thought that you’d lost it of your own accord, Mr Kevin, but that’s not the case: at some point, Lord Andy deliberately knocked into you, or did something similar in order to get you to drop it. After which, you found Miss Helena — perhaps Lord Andy found her beforehand, and led you to stumble across her. Then, he got you to shoot her. After that, he blamed you for the murder in order to sow guilt, such that you would act exactly as he wished. That’s the entirety of his plan.”

“…………”

Yet again, Kevin was speechless at that horrific scheme William had so eloquently described. However, Andy — who was now under suspicion — clenched his fists as he trembled all over.

“Kevin-kun, don’t listen to him. Everything he said is no more than speculation. It might sound like I did it, but there’s no proof, none at all.”

“——Then allow me to make my statement.”

Suddenly, a cheerful voice could be heard addressing them from above. Then, a man jumped down from a tree beside them.

He landed gracefully on his feet, and bowed politely to the three men at the scene. From his blindfold, Kevin realised who he was.

“……Mr Herder?”

“Indeed. For today’s game, I have been entrusted with the duties of both explaining the game and refereeing it. My name is Von Herder. I hope you may pardon me for startling you with my sudden intrusion.”

After introducing himself once again, Herder turned to face Andy.

“Well then, I have an important report to make with regards to the matter you’ve been discussing thus far…… After Lord Andy got separated from Mr Kevin, he picked up the dropped gun, untied the cord, and retied it onto a real gun he had concealed on his person — that, I personally witnessed. That may come across as a contradiction, seeing as I’m blind, but I’d appreciate it if you could let that slide.”

“Although he took on the role of referee, I asked him to pay particular attention to both of your movements,” William added.

“Hold on — this Herder guy is one of your men, isn’t he? Then he could very well be spouting lies to match your story.”

Andy was quick to raise his objections, and Herder cocked his head as if he were troubled.

“Right where it hurts, huh. So you’re saying that a testimony from one’s own circle is inadmissible. Moreover, when the guns were being handed out, we can’t rule out the possibility that pure bad luck resulted in a real one being mixed in with the others.”

“That’s right. So your statement can’t be used as evidence.”

Andy cracked a victorious grin, but Herder continued.

“However — from what I recall, Lord Andy: when you swapped the guns, you put Mr Kevin’s revolver in your breast pocket. If you were to leave it concealed in the undergrowth, there was a risk it would be found, which is why you kept it just in case. Well, if you had left my precious item on the ground like that, you would be guilty in a different sense.”

“………!”

Instantly, Andy’s face tensed up. If what Herder said was true, that meant he had another toy gun hidden on his person. That, would be physical evidence that the guns had been swapped.

Although he’d tried to proclaim his innocence, Herder’s observation left him no choice but to give up. Exasperated, Andy groaned.

“I should’ve been more careful……. Did you see through my plan from the start?”

William nodded openly.

“We specifically furnished a game that would aid you in laying a trap for Mr Kevin. In short, Lord Andy: this game was a stage to prove your malice.”

A stage to prove his malice. Upon hearing that, Kevin thought back to the “plan” Albert had spoken of at the start.

“Even without this game, you would’ve found some other way of coming for these two members of the Curtis family, now wouldn’t you?” Herder added.

“Two? So it wasn't just me they were after — but Helena too?”

Kevin looked at the girl in the distance. She still lay crumpled on the ground. He’d been worried for her safety for some time now; but for some reason, William and Herder just calmly stood where they were, with no sign of concern for her. Perhaps they had taken the rational approach, inferring that it was already too late — or maybe there was another design at work…….

For a moment, Kevin detected a sense of incongruity in their attitudes. But William spoke up, and his attention shot back to the conversation.

“Mr Kevin’s ruin, and Miss Helena’s death. The conspiracy to bring about these two ends has continued since the attack on the department store the other day.”

“Since that incident?”

“Yes: Lord Andy hired men to raid the store.”

Then, William raised two fingers.

“He had two objectives. The first, was to damage the store’s reputation by staging a disaster there.”

Kevin readily agreed with that view: ever since that catastrophe, customers had kept their distance, and he’d even been forced to close up shop as a result. As for the second objective, Helena, who’d been caught up in the incident, had given him a hint about that.

Sensing that Kevin had also come to that conclusion, William waved his fingers as he continued.

“Next, his other objective was to kill Miss Helena. In all likelihood, it was due to his involvement in her father’s disappearance — in fact, she holds an important piece of information regarding that case.”

“Eh!?”

Yet again, an astonishing fact had been brought to light, and Kevin found himself sinking deeper and deeper into confusion.

“That case…… Lord Andy was involved? What’s more, Helena knew?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Do you really think I did all that?”

Again, Andy’s face turned red with rage, but William paid him no mind.

“From the time he first met you and your business partner, Lord Andy wanted to destroy you both, and take away your profits if he could. He first set his sights on Helena’s father; Lord Andy probably thought that if he were to vanish, then you, Mr Kevin, would also withdraw from the scene due to your timidity. However, you took him by surprise when you resolved to continue the business. Hence, in order to bring about your ruin with certainty, Lord Andy resorted to this act of violence.”

“Shut your gob! You’ve just been saying whatever you pleased! This is nothing more than speculation! If you’re going to spout all this nonsense, then bring out the evidence!”

Andy stamped his feet as he yelled.

Certainly, as he’d protested, they had no way of presenting evidence for this missing person’s case — because the girl who was supposed to be their key witness, had had her life cut short right over there.

However, William glanced at the fallen girl, and spoke in a serene voice.

“Understood. Well then, let us have her make her entrance.”