#or i GUESS one of those humane cat traps

[elsewhereuniversity]

Hey, Archivist. I was wondering if you could help me identify someone. I've been involved in theater, specifically tech, here for...Some Time, and recently there's been a bit of an issue backstage. Some little, for lack of a better term, gremlin seems to find it amusing to move props, make noise, mess with stage managers' scripts, and other ultimately harmless but incredibly annoying things. I've tried the usual offerings of snacks and trinkets - all of which have been claimed, but to no ceasing of the problem. I can't say I've seen the culprit, but if you can think of anyone, either who might find something like this funny, or who can provide more insight, I'd be much obliged. Tech week is coming up, and I'm not sure we'll make it through in one piece with this going on.

You need

box

stick (to prop it up)

string (to yank the stick away)

very fragile prop (to bait the trap)

big hammer (to hammer)

[urhoneycombwitch]

foreword: have u ever had a buddy so good you jack off with him <3 roommate!Eddie x reader fic for ya. link to roommate!Eddie mlist here

cw: drug mention, R wears a bra, has breasts (implied to be large enough to “spill”) + V, no pronouns used only petnames, nipple play, R is queer (talks about Molly Ringwald in a sexual nature <3), praise kink, mutual masturbation, but as friends, we’re all normal here okay, we Do Not talk about our hidden feelings in this one soz

wc: 2.3k

___

An unfortunate shift of the pillows supporting your body pulls you from the depths of sleep, consciousness surfacing, breaching with a soft huffy groan. 

Waking up on a normal day is hard enough. Waking from a good dream, one where someone’s head was between your legs and everything was swelling lush with heat? Now that’s torture. 

You burrow the cold side of your face under the covers, eyes still screwed shut in defiance of being awoken before the dream could pay off. There’s a heartbeat pounding near the apex of your thighs; with one leg stretched out and the other draped around the curve of your body pillow, your hips roll forward automatically, seeking friction.

The soaked front of your underwear drags against the pillow’s seam, catching your clit on the next glide of your hips. Another soft moan, breath fanning from your parted lips. If you can stay in this grey area of sleep and waking, maybe the horniness will swallow your mind back to the dream…

When someone’s hand brushes your bare shoulder, your movements freeze. Goosebumps prickling in the palm-owner’s wake, you blink against the morning light pouring in through your bedroom window and try to orient yourself.

Your head is nestled in the curve of someone’s neck, left arm tucked secure around their chest. Leg hitched over their waist, cotton boxers band digging at the plush of your thigh- something else solid and warm trapped against their stomach.

A snuffle from your human body pillow, and the waking world hits you sideways, all at once- Eddie. You’d fallen asleep with Eddie last night, after helping him play-test a new hybrid strain and dancing to records all evening, until you both collapsed in a heap of giggles. In your bed. 

Which means that you’ve been humping Eddie’s leg in your sleep. And the thick length trapped under your thigh belongs to him, too. 

Before you can even fully process or think up an escape plan holding the least amount of embarrassment for you both, Eddie’s stretching the arm that isn’t cupping your shoulder up and out with a long yawn. 

His hips shift, pressing himself into your leg unintentionally, and you can feel the moan that rumbles through his body- at your ear, vibrating under your hand on his bare chest. Eddie mumbles something incoherent and sleep-addled, pulling you in closer, nosing at the crown of your head.

“Uh-” your voice comes out half-squeak, half-croak, not fully pushing off Eddie but keeping your frame tight enough to roll away at a moment’s notice. “H-hey.”

Eddie’s palm smooths down the plane of your upper back, stopping at the wide band of your bra. He makes another noise, this time a bit less sleepy- and then he, too, freezes, all those points of contact along the length of your own body stiffening, muscles tensed with realization. 

“Oh, fuck. Shit.”

Eddie’s voice is like rocks on pavement, three shades of gravelly, really not helping your whole ‘wet as a river’ situation, one that he can probably feel leaking onto his bare leg at this point. He doesn’t immediately roll away, though; he remains in that freeze-mode, tense and poised, holding you against the span of his side still.

Well. As frozen as one can be with a throbbing case of morning wood.

“I guess we… fell asleep,” you say, carefully, adopting the same cat-like stillness, the pause before a big leap. “Sorry-”

“You’re sorry? I’m sorry. Jesus.” Eddie uses the hand that’s not cradling your shoulder to scrub down his face. This close, nestled into his neck, you can feel his loose hair tickling your cheek, the light scratch of his day-old stubble against your forehead when he speaks. “I’m gonna… go take care of this. And then maybe. Breakfast? Christ. Can’t think. All my blood’s elsewhere right now.”

You breathe a chuckle. His arm is still wrapped around you. 

“Yeah. Okay. Or you could just- take care of it. Here, I mean. With me.”

Eddie’s breath stops, actually stops, then stutters back into steady rhythm under your hand. “...yeah?”

He sounds unsure but curious, excitement bleeding into the edges of that one word as your thumb sweeps across the spot where his ribcage meets. “Yeah. Be doing me a favor, too- I was kind of in the middle of a… a good dream. Prob’ly me that woke you up, anyways.”

Eddie’s hand drops from your shoulder, slithers back to his own space, disrupting your head rest briefly- until you realize he’s doing it to make enough room for you both to stretch out flat (on your mattress that was barely designed for one full-grown person). 

“A good dream,” Eddie parrots, as you both re-situate under the thin cover of your floral-patterned top sheet. Shoulder to shoulder, skimming the heat from each other’s bare skin as you stare resolutely at the ceiling, there’s a frizzy mass of black hair in your periphery. A hint of a smile in Eddie’s voice as he asks, “What were you dreamin’ about?”

You can feel the rippling shift of his bicep as his arm moves, hand sliding unseen beneath the sheets- a sharp inhale as his hand finds purchase over the bulge in his boxers. 

In response, your own hand follows the contoured path to the spot below your navel, toying with the band of your panties before slipping underneath. Cupping yourself, feeling the heated slick coat your fingers before dragging it back up to rest your middle against the beating pulse of your clit- “Ah- um. Was dreamin’ about. Uh. Molly Ringwald.”

A few days from your latest John Hughes marathon, it’s the first feasible famous person that comes to mind. Luckily, Eddie just laughs, in a stilted gasp when his fist finds his aching cock- “Oh, fuck- yeah? Redheads do it for you these days?”

“Uh huh.” Maybe if you keep the focus on someone else, you’ll both be able to come out of this event unscathed. Walk away with your hands clean- er. Well. Nope. 

A better analogy is gonna have to wait, because your abdomen’s tightening with each pass of your wet finger over your clit, pleasure licking and sparking, the usual slow-build to orgasm forming with shocking rapidity.

“What was she doing?” Eddie, sounding strained and strung-out already (really makes you wonder how long you’d actually been using each other, in sleep, grinding and working the other person up), hand moving in long strokes- “In your dream, I mean. Licking you out? Did she use fingers?”

It’s not like you haven’t heard Eddie’s dirty talk before- in fact, you helped cultivate it, years ago when he was nervous for a third date and wanted some advice. You’ve coached him on sex techniques, he’s given his own expertise, you’ve both appraised the other's nudes, for christ’s sake- this is just a natural extension of your friendship. Your closeness. 

Eddie’s feeling awfully close, now, his arm bumping against yours with each pass of his fist over his dick, your leg periodically grazing the downy hair of his shin as your hips jolt upwards, into the electricity stemming from the pad of your finger. 

Choking on your words around a bright surge of pleasure- “Y- yeah. Her mouth. Fingers. All of it.”

“Fuck.” Eddie’s form lurches, doing a half-crunch forwards- risking a glance, you catch a glimpse of the sweat beading at his temples, the dark slant of his brow in concentration, jaw working through the grit of his teeth- “Why don’t you use some fingers, then.”

Like he’s got you under some sort of command spell (because you’re not touching the alternatives with a ten-foot pole), you obey, middle and ring fingers curling into the tight channel of your cunt. There’s a spot you hit on your front wall, gummy and responsive, muscles reacting on instinct by contracting and spasming around your fingers.

You’re close already, panting, head tipped back against the bottom sheet, neck bared, eyes squeezing shut at the wave of pleasure that begins to pulse insistently. “I’m- fuck, Eddie. Keep talking, please-”

“So good,” Eddie says, almost funny in how quick he is to interrupt your pleading. “So good for me. Sound so wet, too, bet you’re soaking…”

You are, in fact, rivulets of slick joining into one just under the globes of your ass, cooling and sticky, a bit uncomfortable but since it’s laundry day and you feel this good you can’t really bring yourself to care.

A half-gasp whimper as you writhe your pelvis up, again, chasing that edge, tantalizingly close, the wet noises from your weeping cunt and plunging fingers spurring Eddie on.

“That’s it, baby.” He’s encouraging even in his own heady fog of pleasure (must’ve had a good sex-talk coach), voice low and rough at your ear as he drops his chin to get closer. “Tell me what you need, hm? Lemme get you there.”

“Need you- you, to…” Frustrated by your lack of breath, in lieu of communicating with words you slide your fingers from yourself, seeking Eddie’s hand before you can overthink the action. You leave a trail of slick against his hip bone, and Eddie releases himself to give you his hand- moaning, cock twitching, as you coat your own heated wetness over his dry palm. 

This time, when you both get your hands back on yourselves, it’s with a tandem whine, Eddie’s ending with a hiss through teeth- “Fuck. Fuck, yes. So wet. So good.”

“Yeah?” Like you never left, your pussy molds easily to the shape of your three fingers again. Your other hand leaves your side to paw at your clothed breast, nipples peaking through the lace. “I gotta- I’m gonna take my bra off. Please.”

You don’t actually wait for permission, but Eddie gives it anyways as you slide the cups down, babbling encouragement- “Shit, sweetheart, yeah. Whatever you gotta do. So good for me, tellin’ me what you need. Good job.”

One day, you’re gonna regret telling Eddie you get off on praise, but not today; with one nipple pinched firmly between thumb and forefinger, your other breast spills to the side, resting against Eddie’s upper arm.

He groans, from his toes, fist slipping over his cock with ease thanks to your contribution. The sounds filling your small room are obscene, sex-dipped moans and glossy wet hand movements all reaching a crescendo as both your hips jerk up at the same time.

Keeping the same pace against your clit as Eddie’s keeping on his dick, the spark of pleasure has turned into a roar that swims up to your ears, a white-out of an orgasm fast approaching each time the heel of your palm slams into your clit. 

“Eddie- jesus, Eddie- Eddie Eddie Eddie-”

You’d feel sheepish about how desperate you sound if Eddie wasn’t matching your energy two-fold. His lanky frame thrashes when your speech devolves into a repetition of his name, keening as his fist staves off tipping over the edge with a tight ring at the base of his cock- “That’s it, baby, y’can do it, angel. Come on. Come with me. Please, please-”

With a final cruel twist to your breast, you come undone, orgasm spooling heat throughout your whole system, Eddie’s name unraveling in a long cry. Eddie follows you, fucking up into his fist, ropes of cum shooting to the top of the sheets tent he’d made, hunching against the spasms crawling up his abdomen. 

You ride the last of your orgasm out on the stretch of three fingers, releasing your nipple when the pressure turns to a twinge of pain. Under the covers, your bare chest heaves around the stretched elastic band of your shoved-down bra; with shaky, uncoordinated hands, you reach behind and beneath yourself to undo the hooks, flinging the offending clothing in the general direction of your hamper.

Eddie chuckles, breathless, bellows of his ribs nudging your forearm as he sinks back into his (your) pillow. “Christ. Good thing it’s laundry day.”

There’s no room for shame, no ounce of you that wants to dwell on what this could mean, right now- although there’ll be plenty of time for that later. As it stands, you’re both swathed in a quiet, post-sex bliss, neither wanting to disturb the peace. 

In a dreamy haze, you take note of little things- the drag of Eddie’s pinky against the back of your hand. The glint of his rings stored in a neat line atop your nearby dresser. A block of mid-morning sunshine from the window cast over the bed, prickling at your legs with warmth.

After a few minutes of this, Eddie sits up, mumbling apologies when you snatch the sheets to keep yourself covered. “You want first shower?”

He looks at you over his shoulder, down the lovely arc of his nose, brown eyes tender and staying on you for a beat too long. Squirming under his gaze, you find anywhere else to look (other than the pale slope of his back, smattered and dotted with freckles), shaking your head. “Nope. All yours.”

You flick your interest back to the ceiling as Eddie pulls up his boxers, grimacing at the mess he’s made of your sheets; before leaving, he bends to scoop up your tossed bra, snapping his own underwear to emphasize- “I’ll start this load before showering, then I’ll come back for your bedding.”

At your nod, Eddie leaves to clank around in the laundry closet; then there’s a rusty squeak of the shower handle, a subsequent rush of water, and Eddie’s pleasant husky humming floats down the hall through the open doors. 

You roll onto your front with a contented sigh, burying your nose in the pillow Eddie was just lying on- it smells like him, now, smoky and spicy and familiar. 

You spend the rest of his shower time coming up with a good excuse to save this pillowcase from being washed.

[sevi007]

My cat just sat on my lap and I'm emotional

For those wondering why: My cats have been with me for two and a half years. I got them from the shelter, and they were - SO scared. Still are sometimes. Their previous "owner" and I use that term with derision, had the genius idea to become a breeder, got seven female cats, they all got pregnant and gave birth around the same time, and he had - what, twenty kittens? And instead of selling those, he sudennly realized that that is too much work, and set about rounding all of them up and disposing of them.

My cats are two of six kittens who survived. They HATED humans. Touching was a no-go. One of them hid under my couch for two weeks during the day. I couldnt pet either of them for over four months. And while they have grown very close to me and trust me a lot, they never even so much as put a paw on my leg when I sat down, or walked across me. I guess it would have made them feel trapped? So I let them decide how much touch was okay.

So imagine me holding my breath when my cat suddenly put one paw on my leg, then the other, and then climbed straight into my lap to curl up there and fall asleep purring

[evilminji]

I just remeber a post from a while back ( >.>)

Remember the Dairy King? Ghosts that STAY for one reason or another, instead of moving on? I made a prompt about HAUNTS, but?

What of Haunted Houses? Haunted by what? Themselves. Their People are gone. They lay abandoned. Dead homes. Limnal places. Haunted and alive.

And yes, some of them are angry. Who wouldn't be? They did nothing wrong! Their People are gone, the world strange, and they have known nothing but neglect and suffering. They of course lash out.

Maybe they saw horrors, inside their walls. Abuse they could not stop. Death they could not prevent. Humans are terrible things to them. Painful. Ugly.

But there are also those, we must imagine, who are DESPERATE. Clinging. Covetous. Trapping any unfortunate enough to stumble into them, because they can not bear to be alone again. Ugly cycles of suffering and need.

Not all, of course. There are houses you would never know were Haunted. So comfortable and warm, they just feel like a hug. Blankets ready just where you need them, tables always set for just as many as arrive. If they have gardens, they can even feed you!

The problem? For there always IS some sort of concern.

You can't just... let ANYONE live in these Houses. These manors and castles, huts and homes. In the same way you can't let just ANYONE keep a disable eagle or tiger. And even beyond that? Guess who's voice is still cracking, just got a crown that doesn't fit, and needs to CHECK on these homes?

Because unlike other Ghosts? Most of these ones? Can't run away. They exsist where they exsist. Many in need of careful, patient, therapy and socialization. They're scared. People keep trying to EXSORSIZE them.

It hurts.

They don't understand why people are hurting them.

Why they are punching HOLES in their walls to "renovate" them instead of asking for things.

It HURTS.

And? If we want to do a cross over? I bet you two coffee and a doughnut, Danny meets Constantine and the Bats at one such house, in old Gotham. Where the last of one branch died and when then greedy mofo OTHER branch tried to turn their stately home into a McMansion? They nearly died.

Which, to be fair. Great Aunt Agatha DID warn them. "Leave the house be. She's a good girl."

But of course, things escalate. Building crews are lied too, nearly die. Batman gets involved. Breaks a rib. Now Constantine is staring down a Haunted House, who is very scared and just wants the bad men to go away. Wants her Aggy back.

And all DANNY sees is the equivalent of a terrified cat, cornered by a group of thugs, who is puffed up desperately to make themselves seem Scary(tm), all while those same group of thugs level WEAPONS at that poor creature.

Ghost king FROM THE HIGH BAR! With the FULL BODY FLYING TACKLE!!!

You get away from THAT HOUSE, you magical BASTAAAAARD! *SLAM*

@hypewinter @ailithnight @hdgnj

[bonefall]

Do you know what the other animals that were trapped in cages are? I think there's a zebra, gray wolf and honey badger but I'm not sure

I caught five unique animals in the passage, lemmie share all of my guesses;

Easy; giraffe! Though I wouldn't really describe them as "yellow," WC has a habit of "cartoonifying" certain popular animals so this is definitely a giraffe (such as the tongue-slinging frogs in ShadowClan, real frogs do not have chameleon tongues)

The next one, the zebra, is also pretty apparent;

For those who didn't know, zebras are smaller than domestic horses! That's correct!

The one that stumps me the most is definitely this "weaselbadger" animal, but I'm fairly certain it's a honey badger yeah.

As opposed to a European badger like the cats are used to, a honey badger would look a lot thinner and more "weasel-like." They also have a solid white stripe that separates their black bottoms from their ticked top-fur, and I can't think of any other animal that has a separated fur color in that way.

There's also a very large snake of some kind, "coiled" around a branch. So, something arboreal.

While it's definitely a constricting snake, there isn't enough description about its color or behavior to tell if it's a boa or a python, nor what species it is. Since the largest reptile Ivypool naturally encounters would be adders, I also can't say if the "snake bigger than she could ever imagine" is actually that big.

If I'm making a shot in the dark though, the "small eyes" would make me guess it's a particularly old reticulated python. They're also common pet snakes, so it wouldn't be out of place at a skeevy ""Animal Sanctuary"" like this book is portraying.

(SIDE NOTE; I am satisfied with the portrayal of this particular zoo, which is clearly in someone's backyard and made from ramshackle planks and chainlink. I stand firmly against broad, untargeted "zoo slander" but I think the team did a good job in portraying this place as some crank's private collection.)

This next one, the "furry dog," is described with shaggy fur around its neck and shoulders, and then explicitly called gray when it attacks the human. Simple; that is a gray wolf.

While it's definitely a wolf, I'd need to see them describe the howl to tell you if it's Eurasian or American. American wolves lean harder on the first syllable and the call is more "shouty", while Eurasian wolves have a longer, more "melodious" songlike howl.

As for the "mane," that's a trait wolves can have. Some have larger neck ruffs than others-- usually influenced by climate. I don't know enough about wolves to tell you if that's purely genetic, or if it's influenced by the fact this individual lives in a place where it needs to develop a particularly thick winter coat.

(Also, funfact; the extinct British wolf was actually one of the largest gray wolf subspecies ever known. RIP British wolves)

And, lastly, of course, is the Scottish Wildcat.

Exactly as the book goes on to describe, they have blunt, bushy tails, green eyes, and tabby coats. They look like very large domestic cats!

[paragonrobits]

Talk to the people that fight the monsters in the dark, skulking in the alleys no one remembers and hiding behind suits and smiling faces in the expensive buildings, they'll tell you stories. They say there's a city block that doesn't belong to the city anymore.

Don't make trouble for the people there. The unspoken statement is that the people there aren't... exactly human anymore. They used to be. But there's worse things in the dark then men with the hearts of wolves or undying monsters that drink the blood of the living; worse than patchwork men that spread disaster in their wake and don't understand why. Sometimes, a terrible mystery ensnares someone, trapping them in promises and story and lies, and drags them away.

What comes back isn't human anymore. It's still a person, though. They reason and understand things, same as the humans they were, once. You leave them alone, the local Union rep says. They're no harm to no one, as long as you don't bring trouble to them.

Don't rat to them, you get warned. If someone who looks too good to be true comes around sniffing for their addresses, you just smile and nod and say you never heard a damn thing. Don't rat them out. Because the people in that place will know, and they'll find you, and your family. You try to throw them back into hell, they'll return the favor three times over.

But it goes both ways; if you watch out for them, mind your business and keep their secrets, they'll help you out.

The Union rep tells you a short little story; he says that most of the time, the people in that city block look the same as you or me. There might be a few signs; a girl with teeth unnaturally sharp and pointy, or a man who knocks on wood and it makes a noise like HE'S made of wood. But if things are going normal, you won't see what they really look like, just a kind of magical mask that hides them. But they got their fancy tricks, and they know all about escaping bad situations.

So if you do your part in the deal, they'll help you out. Pretty much anything; a single mother went down to them after some bad business with her ex came up and her kids went missing. Well, she talked to Pop Hammerfist, the big ol' dude that looks like someone carved a tree into a man. Her ex was on the news in the hospital a few days after, yelling about the trees following him, and her kids were back home safe and sound, and with the ex having already signed a few agreements to pay his damn alimony already.

Or a little boy with a missing cat came up to them and asked for help. If any of the real hunters or Union folk had heard about it, they would have stopped him, but the people in the city block didn't turn him away. They nodded, and listened, a few hours later came back with the little boy's cat, safe and purring up a storm. You help them out, they help you out; I hear that kid tells 'em stuff he heard. 'Spose there's a lesson in that. We're all in this together, long as we don't tear the boat down with us in it.

Reminds me of a story about the lady who brought the cat in, in fact. A big lady; has to go to special shops to get clothes that fit. Weird shiny teeth, too, with the weirdest damn braces I ever saw, if those are braces. You hear some funny stories about her, that when she comes knocking the whole floor shakes, but she couldn't be a sweeter lady. Nice to kids, loves cats, always help out. If she's got the weird habit of speaking in rhyme before she says anything else, well, we all got our promises, I guess.

Well, a while back, we had a Slasher. Yeah; the thing that happens when a Hunter goes bad, or someone just gets too much of a taste for murder. Killing opens up a soul, and some part of us leaks out, or something else gets in. This particular fellow liked to call himself a real genius; a real nasty piece of work that liked making elaborate death traps and leaving people to die. Well, we worked out he was there when they started finding the bodies, and by that point he'd already gotten the Big Lady.

...Yeah, that's the name of that lady I mentioned. Long story.

Well, we found what was left of him, and his death traps. The whole place was smashed to pieces by something big. Big and helliciously strong, I'd say. It was like the set of those torture horror movies got hit by a storm. And they found the guy, or. What was left of him. Looked like a wild animal had bit him up, or a jaguar.

Well, from what we heard, he got her all right. But she might have been a bit more than he bargained for. I'm not sure exactly what she did to him, but they were cleaning his blood and bone off the wall for weeks. They said his skull looked like something real strong had just slugged him, so hard he sorta splashed. Don't make me draw you a picture, pal.

But, yeah. Funny thing is, they said the fist mark was so big you'd need a person the size of an elephant to throw that kind of punch. And we kept seeing cats around the area. Really, really big cats.

..You remember about promises. You keep 'em with the city block folk, because they got all kinds of things keeping promises to them.

What happened to the Big Lady, you ask? Oh, she's still around. Helps out the local Union cell now and then. Good hand if you need brute force.

She don't much like having to handle anything that's got too much iron in it; steel is fine, but not real iron. She saws its an allergy.

...Yeah, I know how it sounds. But we got our funny ways, and she keeps her promises, so keep your nose out of it, yeah?

[awwfur]

WoF x TWST. Yuu, Grim, and the great seven.

Master post More WoF x twst AU! More info and rambles past here

(And size chart at the bottom cause I know WoF sizes are wack)

Makes the most sense to start with Yuu first, yea?

Yuu: They get to be human still! Yay them! In this AU I wanted scavengers/humans to be extinct. Why? To make Yuu even more outta place. There’s a bit more to them as a character, but I’ll save that for the writing of the AU.

Grim: I played with the idea of making him into some kinda cat-like fantribe. But settled on making him still very cat like but with more dragon like qualities. Also bigger. And I’m still playing with the idea of him having a smaller form closer in stature to him cannon size. (So he can still ride on Yuu and have something unique to him) He was really fun and really hard to figure out, cause I almost made him more wild cat looking, but I didn’t end up liking it.

(I don’t plan on giving the ramshackle ghost their own full fledged refs, or even just head shot/bust refs. Apologies to all.)

and now onto the seven! Who I’ve turned from Disney Villains into WoF villains/antagonists (they are in order of left to right too to bottom)

Queen Scarlet: “The Scarlet queen” I know that an icewing might have been more fitting, with all the rules they have. But! I went for color pallet. I’m also heavily bias. So Scarlet gets to be queen of hearts

Queen Wasp: “The Queen of Tribes” a big reason for picking Wasp over Blister in place of scar is the fact that, well, she did rule over the silkwings for a good 50 years give or take. And I have this head cannon that she’s fair more clever than she’s depicted in the books.

Albatross: “The great seawing animus” I REALLY wanted Ursula’s WoF substitute to be a seawing. And there was NO WAY I was using whirlpool. (If you know you know) also I have him holding the drawing for the summer palace

Blister: “The sister of Brilliance” If this clever villain wasn’t getting to be the Scar stand in, she was going to be the Jafar stand in. (And yes I drew her holding the eye of onyx. If you know. You know.)

Chameleon: “The beautiful shapeshifter” okay. Scarlet would have gotten to be the Evil queen stand in if I wasn’t dead set on making her the stand in for the queen of hearts. So I had to pick the next best character. That being Chameleon. I don’t have any big reason for him being the Evil Queen besides the fact he has those scraps of scroll to turn into a few other tribes (I can’t remember if there were more than the Icewing, Nightwing and skywing. Because I wanna say he had four tribes he turned into) and also I have him holding Darkstalker’s scroll

Queen Diamond: “The queen of Ice” another one who I just kinda picked the “oh ugh-this’ll do”. I mostly picked her cause of the spell she cast on foeslayer to keep her trapped. So I guess she gets to be the Hades stand in.

Darkstalker: “The Darkstalker” that title is subject to change. But since he already had one in the books may as well use it! Anyway, it only made since to make the most clever and powerful Wings of Fire villain be the Maleficent stand in. Drew him when he escaped from under the mountain because that pose felt like the most powerful one for him. (Although like scarlet I’m very bias)

welp that’s the WoF seven (shockingly hard to pick who would be who. Besides Darkstalker he was easy)

Size chart time!

The dragon examples are Skywings, and I’m of the belief that mudwings and nightwings are larger than skywings but I picked skywings to be the chart comparisons because not meany characters will be much taller or shorter than an average adult skywing. Well, besides the staff but that’s besides the point.

it also has Grim and Yuu because I feel it’s very important to know how tall these two are. (And if I give them exact measurements my brain won’t remember) I was also tempted to add in some kinda animal in here because we’re going largely with mega fauna and flora. But it made the chart crowded. But know I intend for even chickens to be larger than Yuu. (Or about the same hight not sure yet)

[n3onwraith]

I forgot to post that I drew Needles! You can't tell, I haven't made the HC doodles comprehensive yet, but hisbneedles hide under his skin and eject when needed, like those spike traps but millions of needles!

I'm gonna put all my HCs below the cut just to spare yall

He's def a natural redhead to me, but bleached it a lot before becoming an avatar

Technically, this would only be his human disguise thing. Full eldritch is reserved for attacking ppl and defense, which is rarer than attacking people, and in that form he's all lanky with all his needles out all the time like a fucked up longhorse and pincushion had a baby and it got possessed

He just has no sense of pain most of the time, at least related to intrinsic issues. Getting stabbed or shot hurts, but when his bones constantly break as Eldritch Needles or when his limbs fall off (like Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas) he doesn't feel all the pain, just a tinge or a pinch

Can remove his needles from his skin, but their 'slot' stays open until he puts them back or replaces them (like shark teeth, he grows them but can also swap them out for found ones) and he uses that to sew himself back together as needed

Lots of piercings, most home-done. Really only his lobe and one of three cartilage rings is professional, he did the rest as an angsty teen for fun

Was turned as a late teen/in his early twenties, and therefore his disguise stays looking that age because that's the only way he really remembers who he is and what he looked like. Eldritch Needles is just a fucked up skinsuit really, a puppet for what he needs to do, and Needles himself can't remember or guess what he would look like by now (bones, probably, with his luck, but he was taken as an avatar/eldritch in the 90s/early 2000s so realistically only around 40-50 or so)

Got in a ton of accidents as a kid, always was and always is banged up somehow

Flashes his needles and puffs up on instinct when things piss him off, has to stop himself from doing it around people

A gifted kid for the institute who ended up being neglected outside of schoolwork and what he could do (projection?)

Glitters in the sunlight even with the needles put away. Its just bcs he's got so much metal in him and the sunlight catches the slots weird enough to glint briefly

The jacket reacts the same way his hair and needles do, like an external organ, but it's only due to it being part of his avatar influence shit and its not actually a part of him. It goes dormant when removed or unwanted

Like a hedgehog hair-wise, it's harmless and like regular hair until it's Needle Time (TM)

Easily offended/angered, as seen in the 911 call, and likes to fuck with people. I'd guess older sibling if he had any, but the kind where you matured too fast and then slowed your roll so late you were the immature one (projecting)

Likes to be colorful but in a dull way. Washed out colors just suit him better in his opinion and let him express himself without drawing attention to himself and the fact he's not quite human anymore

Gap teeth <3 Wanted to get braces as a teen but didn't, still pissed about it because now he can't and it doesn't matter since hes not human anymore anyways. slowly learning to like the gap when his angel fangs don't get stuck in em

Didn't draw it but he has snake bites too, just rarely wears them. It's either angel fangs or snake bites but never both because they tend to snag for him

A parallel of both Nikola and Michael, kind of. He's got little bits that Norris, Chester and Augustus would recognize if they ever met him, like his speech pattern and penchant for never giving straight answers, but he's got his own thing going on more than the parallels ever could be.

Rip off Cheshire Cat. Alice in Wonderland, the animated one, was his favorite movie growing up for the colors, and when he got older for the story

[suratan-zir]

You know how they say that cats in the house keep mice away? It's also believed that mice will not settle in a house where rats live.

Welp, guess what. We have two cats, rats and a dog in the house. We also live on the second floor. And we have a mouse living in our kitchen wall. Assuming it's only one mouse, which is unlikely, I know.

I named the mouse Gronk. Gronk loves living on the edge. They made a hole in the wall directly by the cat's food bowl. I observed how Gronk came out of the hole, went to the bowl, most likely took some food and calmly returned back to the hole. He (she?) is beautiful, grey and tiny. If you know anything about me, I have an unhealthy obsession with rodents. My poor heart could barely handle the cuteness.

The problem is - our cat discovered Gronk first. He now knows there's mice and from time to time tries to find them. I don't want him to injure Gronk and leave him to die a painful death. We ordered some humane traps, but it will take days to get here. We used to have one, but I gave it to Savita… After that, every day she would send me photos of the mice caught in the house she was staying, untill the mice infestation on the frontlines became so bad that she got sick of trying to save them.

Anyway. I tried setting up a trap with a bucket and peanut butter. But Gronk is smarter than that. Hopefully Gronk doesn't give birth to twenty more baby Gronks in our walls while we wait for those traps…

[bored-storyteller]

Warning: none, mention of bones but very metaphorical

Tokyo Ghoul, Uta X Human!Reader

Moon

You feel a lump in your throat tighten as you walk around the dark room.

Usually the light is always on, waiting for you, no matter what time you arrive.

“Uta…?” You call, while inching forward, already expecting to get no answer. Something must have happened to him, you think just before all the anxiety melts away.

"I’m here. Take it easy…"

You sigh with relief as his soft voice reaches you from the bedroom.

Even if there is not a single light bulb lit, the lights of the city color the room with warm and elusive colors, urban lights of the suburbs of Tokyo, the living Tokyo of those who hide from the sun.

He's sitting on the bed, his back to you, the red iris looking at you over his shoulder is surrounded by an artificial yellowish reflection that makes the black background shine lowly. In the clutter of an underground artist's room, all that would be missing would be the smell of instant ramen or two in the morning frying, but you know there can be no such thing in a ghoul's house.

“The scent of your fear is all too inviting.”

Yes, the only smell of food that can be there is yours.

“I wasn't afraid.” You mutter.

"I wouldn't mind if you admit it."

Even if he is joking, what you have in front of you is a serious Uta.

You lie on your stomach, your head is close to his thighs and your gaze flees beyond the window where his is lost too.

“How was your night with your human friends?” He asks you, and you think for a couple of seconds to answer; it could be a trap, or it could be a good way to figure out what's going on in that twisted head of the most complex and absurd person you know.

"Boring?" You try uncertain.

"That's a lie, but I appreciate the effort."

A submissive grunt escapes you, but you soon focus back on him: “What about you? What are you doing?"

“I contemplate the moon.”

The moon. The moon adapts to him: so fickle, surrounded by darkness, variable, never the same but always itself.

Now, beyond the lights of the suburbs, it’s a thin segment, a germ that has yet to grow, a vaguely orange hue that could resemble a smile.

“It looks like a backbone.” Uta says, and you look at him with exasperation in your eyes.

"Seriously? We can watch a horror movie if you really feel like it.”

Now even his eyes seek yours, they feed on them.

You look at each other in the silence, both of you waiting for something, but then it's you who speaks: "Do ghouls and humans see the moon the same way?"

Usually it's you who gives this kind of answers, you who justify your nature in front of him, but this time you came first. This time he is the one who has to let you know what floor each of you are on.

"I guess you see a slice of melon, or the smile of the Cheshire Cat... instead I..."

“Even the poet and the scientist see two different things, that's not what I mean.”

Now you are sitting too; your left knee brushes his right. Uta looks at them for a moment without saying anything.

"Yes…I guess the moon is the same for everyone." He finally admits.

“And it's different for every single person in the world.” You add, bringing your meditation back to the satellite beyond the bright blanket of the city.

“Was it the melon or the smile?” He asks you after a while.

"The smile."

"Banal."

“I'm tired of being imaginative!” You retort pouting, now looking at his profile who has also turned his nose up towards the sky "and it's always better than your macabre taste."

“It could also be a rib.”

You puff. You rest your head on his shoulder and a yawn escapes you, it's been a long evening.

"Stop that."

"All right…"

Your fingers begin to trace the black lines on his arm, you almost don't look at them, your touch follows them, you know his skin almost as much as yours.

"Sometimes I forget that you belong to the world of those who see the smile of the moon..." He says quietly, and you're not sure you really heard.

He won't say anything else, and you know it. It's already so much that I've discovered that little thread of his soul, the one that's always tense when you go out with someone who's like you.

"The moon doesn't care about us." You say.

"How cruel."

"Or reassuring. Ghouls or humans, we are nothing before the universe."

You raise your head but you don't look at him, your eyes remains beyond, beyond humanity and all the worries that for better or for worse are destined to end.

"This is even scarier. In theory." He tells you, but you feel his lip piercing cool a tiny piece of skin from your neck. He will kiss you, or bite you.

It doesn't really matter.

It doesn't matter if the ghoul's presence is so reassuring to the human, it doesn't matter if someone judges them. Their union is not that important, not under the sight of the moon.

[sunnysam-my]

Warning I get a bit politically and frustrated I guess.

One important message to you all. Keep your fucking indoors-outdoors beef outside of the adoption groups, post and shelters. I don't care what side you're on, do not bring it up, because by doing that you are actively harming the chances of the kitten/cat being adopted.

Here, let me explain to you a few concepts that so many people apparently can't graspt:

Not everyone can adopt any cat in need they see. That's just not possible.

Just because someone isn't trapping every single cat outdoors they see doesn't mean they're animal abuser or are single handly responsible for ecological damage.

Not every feral cat can be caught and castrated by a random person with no training or equipment.

Cats born into the wild are not homeless. Do not treat them like strays.

A feral cat is an outdoor, free-roaming cat that has never been socialized to humans and is living in a “wild” state. Because they're not socialized to people, feral cats are not adoptable. If you take them to a shelter, they will almost certainly be killed there.

In the eyes of the law of many countries feral cats born in the wild are not and, by the definition, cannot be homeless as the wilderness is their home. Taking them from their natural habitat and entrapping them in houses is wrong and in same place even illegal.

Feral cats, unlike strays, cannot live a happy life indoors. They often live in groups, called colonies, wherever they can find food. They are happier in their own territory with their colony family.

Stray cats on the other hand were once pets and are lost or abandoned. They will try to make a home near humans in garages, porches or backyards, because they relay on human help.

Not every wild-born kitten will be feral, in fact most won't, and not every feral cat can't be tamed, some can go through process of socialising to make the adoptable. That's not up to you to decided tho, unless you met the cat and know your shit.

Because people where I live (Poland) found this simple concept so hard to understand, animal shelters around me no longer accept cats from private people, only from organisations and authorities, since so many of them were people's outdoors pets and feral cats. This already makes it harder to help cats in need.

But the real problem I have is something that happens more and more nowadays and even happend to my family. A feral cat, who lives in our forest and we're trying to tame, gave birth to 7 kittens on our farm and left them in our care. Only two of 7 were feral and strong enough to live in the wild, so we tried to find homes for the rest. Upon mentioning they were born from a feral living close us we were blocked from every single adoption group. The reason? We apparently were 'abusers and breeders', because we tried to help kittens who would 100% died if left alone, instead of focusing on somehow finding cats that lives somewhere in the giant woods, capturing them with no equipment and driving with them 2h+ to make them go through abortion and castration that most of them probably wouldn't even survive. Yeah.

BTW we never found homes to those kittens, because of crazy indoor cat ladies that would shit on every single post of ours and got us blocked. Obviously we didn't leave the cats alone, considering only one in five feral kittens will live to five months of age. We were forced to travel with them 4 hours and keep them in our small house with 3 other adult cats that were not happy about the situation. Eventually we gave one to my Uncle, one was left at the vet to find home (she did), and the last one stayed.

So, for the love of God, regardless if you think cats should be indoors or outdoors DO NOT FUCKING ARGUE ABOUT IT UNDER SOMEONE "FOR ADOPTION" POSTS. Even if you're right. Do not try to bring feral cats to shelters. Do not make it some random person responsibility to deal with feral cats. If you really care about those outdoors, stray and feral cats then research the topic and try advocating for change with how we handle wild-born kittens and castration of feral cats, because right now, depending on where you live, the authorities will most probably only maybe check on them and give them food.

In case I haven't made it clear, I do not think feral cats should be just left alone, even if they shouldn't be adopted.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Part 1 and 2 of Morticia Reader with Yandere Rudra (Gomez 2.0), Tesla (Gomez 3.0), Shiva (+Wives), Hercules (Gomez 4.0), Thor, Lu Bu, Indra, Ares (Gomez 5.0), Hermes and Sasaki (I can see him screaming he gives up in part 2 and tries to run)

I also bet a 100 bucks Reader would scare Shiva and his wives with her stamina (Along with everyone else, questioning if she’s actually Human)

-Beautiful, dark, deadly, passionate, loving, unique, all were words used to describe you and all of them were true.

-You were like the moon against the dark night sky, surrounded by pitch black darkness, bright but eerie and quiet.

-You found enjoyment in the dark and macabre, but to you, they were normal, beautiful things, skulls, poisonous flowers, dangerous plants, death, how lovely.

-Many thought you were odd by the way you dressed and carried yourself, always wearing elegant black gowns paired with matching jewelry with spider or coffin motifs. However, sometimes you would wear different colors when it was warmer out, just a slightly lighter shade of black with an umbrella, you didn’t need any unwanted color in your complexion.

-Your tone was always even and deadpan, never showing emotions the way others do, so nobody could ever tell if you were joking or not about feeding someone to your kitty-cat, an actual lion that you kept around who was like a housecat with you and those he knew, but vicious and violent with strangers.

-Many made comments that you would be attractive if you were ‘normal’ but where’s the fun in that? It’s much more fun to keep others guessing- keeping them on your toes.

-Speaking of keeping others on their toes, if anyone was to visit your private greenhouse, they would need to watch where they step or risk losing a few.

-Your garden was notorious for being filled with poisonous and carnivorous plants, and not just little things like little Venus Fly Traps, no you had a giant 4 ½ foot one that would eat people if they got close enough if you hadn’t fed them yet!!

-However, due to their healthy fear of your garden, you didn’t have many visitors, which you liked, less of a risk of your babies getting trampled or damaged.

-Your lover liked you the way you were, you were unapologetically unique, and he loved it, you were so different from other women and that’s what drew him to you.

-At first he did think you were a little odd, intimidating was a word he liked to use, as you weren’t afraid to speak your mind and there was always an air around you, a silent warning, but as time went on, he fell hard for you.

-Rudra- Found you absolutely stunning, you were unapologetically different, something he admired deeply about you, you didn’t care what others thought about you, but you were also kind to them in return, offering kind words instead. He liked that you were calm, as he needed someone calm because he dealt with enough with Shiva’s antics and you were the perfect partner. He could just come while you were reading or knitting and kneel before you and lay his head on your lap and stay there for hours if you let him. He was respectful to you and demanded the same from others, he wouldn’t hesitate to throw hands with anyone who would dare insult you in front of him, even if you do tell him it isn’t needed.

-Nikola- He was a bachelor all his life back on earth, finding women to be something unobtainable, believing he would never be good enough for them, and when he first laid eyes upon you, he almost collapsed to his knees. You were beautiful- the very definition of perfection itself, he couldn’t look away from you. When you saw this stranger on his knees outside your garden, you came over to inquire if he was alright, thinking he had been poisoned by one of your babies before he tried to speak, but only a sound like a deflating balloon came out. He ran off, red-faced and leaving you confused, but you quickly understood when he returned the next day with a bouquet of red roses, unable to look you in the eye. He was rather cute, being so flustered, but you made it worse by taking his arm, asking him to walk with you around your garden. He would follow you into the pits of hell if you asked him to.

-Shiva + Wives- All four of them were thrown off by you at first, you were so different, so unique, but so ethereal looking, and Shiva led the charge, wanting to know more about you. Kali instantly liked you, seeing your home and garden, seeing all of the dangerous and poisonous plants you had in your gardens, and you grew close to her after learning she was a goddess of death. Parvati was a little slower to warm up to you, a bit intimidated by you, but she quickly learned that you were so elegant and gentle and while she was your opposite, the two of you got along easily. Durga found you hysterical, your sense of humor never failed to make her laugh after saying, “I long to be looked at like all women to, with fear in the eyes of men.” Shiva was instantly taken with you, wanting to make you his fourth wife. Shiva loved you the way you were, he wouldn’t change a single thing about you, but at the same time, he appreciated that you wouldn’t make him or his wives change for you either. You all had your own hobbies and likes and if they wanted to learn, you would teach them, and in turn, they would teach you when you would ask.

-Hercules- He actually met you thanks to your kitty cat, your precious cat had gotten out and Hercules returned him to you, after reading the tag on his collar. While initially worried about you, as you seemed to be a petite woman, he was stunned when he saw your vicious and violent lion turn into a total cuddly baby with you. Hercules was curious about you, wanting to know more about you, you looked so different compared to other people, dressing in all black, even in summer, and snipping blossoms off your roses, only wanting to keep the thorns. You had an air of mystery around you, one that seemed to grab him by the neck, dragging him into your web of darkness, but he was happy to follow you, wanting more of the mystery you were offering.

-Thor- Met you through Loki, after Thor mentioned he was looking for a plant that was poisonous, but was used to make a rare medicine, and Odin asked him to find some of this plant. Loki knew you would be the best person to come to and when they found themselves outside your greenhouse, Thor froze, seeing you for the first time. You were so dark and mysterious but there was something else about you, something dangerous, but you were calm and elegant, even when you shooed Loki away from pestering your carnivorous plants, “If you lose a finger I won’t be patching you up again.” Loki pouted up at you, “Don’t be so cold Y/N~~” Thor was the one who tossed the troublemaker out and you were a bit surprised but offered a small smile, “Now then, you mentioned you were after something in my garden?” Thor nodded, taken by your calm and stoic nature.

-Lu Bu- He had met a lot of weird people in his life and when he first saw you, you quickly went to nearly the top of the list. You were dressed like you were mourning someone, you surrounded yourself with weird curiosities and carnivorous plants and a freaking lion!! He had never met a woman like you before, however… you piqued his interest. He wanted to know more about you, finding himself insnared by you, you were kind and polite with him, finding his lust for combat admirable, as he liked to fight. You weren’t like other women who would panic and faint at the sight of blood, you seemed to enjoy it, finding beauty in death. You sure were weird, but you were very beautiful, and Lu Bu quickly grew attached to you, not wanting to let you go.

-Indra- He had no idea there was a woman like you out there, you looked so gloomy and elegant all at the same time, you were so beautiful, but also intimidating. He could see how other men would look at you in fear, but you seemed to love it, crave it even, and Indra was the only man brave enough to approach you. He fell quickly for you, you were mysterious, elegant, and insanely beautiful, you were also well worded, you could hold conversations for hours with him, and you were able to keep his attention. He was notorious for having a short attention span, he would lose interest quickly, you were the first woman who grabbed him by the neck and held on tightly and you weren’t letting him go, not that he wanted you to.

-Ares- He saw you walking around under the pale moon, holding a black lace umbrella over you, shielding yourself from the rays. You looked like a demoness, dark, beautiful, and deadly and Ares couldn’t tear his eyes away from you. He followed after you, following down the pathway after you and before his brain could comprehend what he was doing, he called out to you. You were so pale, so beautiful, you looked like the moon itself against the night sky, he instantly felt his throat go dry as he stammered before you, trying to form his words. When you smiled he instantly fell for you, and you quickly grew fond of this giant man, he was affectionate and loyal, he reminded you of a dog, but Ares quickly wormed his way into your heart.

-Hermes- Adored you, you were beautiful, mysterious and incredibly intimidating, how could he not love you?! Zeus found you to be a bit odd, but Hermes adored you, he found you relaxing to be around. The two of you could talk for hours about music and books, comparing teas and baked goods, and the two of you just vibed with each other. Hermes loved spending time with you, especially in your gardens, as you taught him how to tend to your precious babies, however, he was still hesitant about dealing with your kitty cat. Hermes loved to waltz with you, putting on music and he would happily dance the day away with you, feeling the happiest when he had you in his arms.

-Kojiro- When he first met you, Kojiro’s first words to you were, “Are you a demon?” which just made you laugh while he was red faced, stuttering out apologies to you, however you weren’t upset, you were flattered by his words, telling him that they were lovely. He was taken aback by your words, seeing that you weren’t bothered, and he quickly grew more curious about you, wanting to know more about you. You were gentle and kind, but also very wise and mysterious and he found himself wanting to be by your side at all times. Kojiro’s focus and determination while training was breathtaking, his hard work had such fruitful results, it was like your plants, they took lots of time and effort, and Kojiro was the same way. You adored him for his drive and he loved you for your mystery.

-One thing that (Love) learned, once you became intimate with him, you were not as gentle in bed as you were during the day, you were like a hellion, scratching at his back in the heat of passion, demanding more and more from him.

-In bed, gone was the elegant and levelheaded Y/N, instead you were a succubus, wanting everything he had to give you and even more, even willing to go as far as taking it yourself if he was unable to do so.

-He couldn’t understand it when you could be up and walking the next day like nothing while he could barely feel his legs, and if he could they were shaking.

-He loved it however, because you would drown him in your passion and your love, doting on him so gently in the afterglow, kissing him softly, whispering gently on how wonderful he was to you. He wouldn’t trade it for the world.

-(Love) looked down at you, seeing you still asleep, your hair creating a halo around you, you were his angel of darkness, beautiful but deadly.

-A soft kiss to your cheek roused you and you smiled gently up at him, “My love~ you were so- so unhinged last night. I’ve never seen you like that before. You were like some desperate, howling demon. How you frightened me~ do it again!”

-Rudra- He couldn’t help but grin, leaning away from you just slightly, paling sightly, “I’m not sure if I can move at the moment, my love. Maybe we can try later after some food.” You smiled softly and crawled over to loom over him before settling into his arms, “Well then, let’s get to feeding~” he put his hand on your forehead, pushing you back, “Oh no you don’t- you’re not tricking me again!” you pouted lightly, and he pecked your lips before getting up to go and get some food.

-Nikola- Stammered comically, unable to form words, his hands holding you back by your arms as you tried to lunge at him, “I-I need a break Y/N! I can’t keep up with you!!” you smiled down at him, watching him fight before you cooed softly, “Well then- we should work on building your stamina then.” He smiled weakly up at you before allowing you to rest against his bare chest, hugging you close, sighing softly, thinking you were going to give him a break until he felt your teeth and lips nibbling at his neck.

-Shiva + Wives- You stamina was inhuman, even for the four of them, and they were gods and you had drained them all dry. They couldn’t keep up with you! They all shared a look before Kali, Durga, and Parvati threw Shiva at you, “We’re going for food!” you licked your lips down at Shiva after straddling his hips as he panicked, “Wait! Don’t leave me here!! You traitors!!” their laughter was heard as they went to go and find food. Shiva looked back up at you, trapped before his eyes narrowed, “Fine- I’ll give you what you want!!” delight flashed across your eyes as he grabbed at your hips to get started.

-Hercules- He reached a hand up to cup the side of your face, stroking his thumb across your cheek, “Food first- we worked off our dinner and our midnight snack. If we want to continue we need to eat first.” He pulled you down and kissed you softly and you hummed quietly, pressing a bit harder and he instantly lifted you up with his strength, holding you above his head, “None of that now- you’re not getting out of this without eating first.” You pouted but agreed as he set you down beside him.

-Thor- He learned early on that you were insatiable, with a sex drive for days, something that he had to work on, to match your stamina, else you would suck him dry. Normally he wouldn’t mind it, but certain times of the month were you feistier than others, and he had to learn how to put you down quickly to save himself. However… you grew aware of this and now your stamina was matching his own and now he had to deal with the consequences of his own actions.

-Lu Bu- Has stamina for days, however in bed you were quickly proving to be almost too much for him, he was always up for a challenge, and you were giving him that, but after the third straight night of going from sundown to sunup, his poor back was beginning to feel the burn and he felt like he was going to fall apart. Just groaned and managed to hug you close, pinning you down and fell back asleep, leaving you unable to move, making you pout before you cuddled him and went back to sleep.

-Indra- Immediately put an arm around your shoulders, pulling you back down into his side, pinning you there, “I’m not moving for at least the next hour! I can’t even feel my legs! You’re gonna be the death of me.” you cooed softly, nuzzling your nose against his cheek, “You know how to flatter a woman.” He snorted with laughter, but was true to his word, he wasn’t moving, and he wasn’t going to allow you to move either.

-Ares- His eyelid twitched lightly, gawking down at you as you batted your eyes up at him, he couldn’t believe how much energy you had. He moved to stand to get out of bed and you lunged, wrapping your arms around his neck, pressing yourself to his bare back, “You’re not going to leave me all alone are you~~?” he sent you a weak grin, “Y/N- I literally can’t feel anything below my hips. It’s gonna fall off if you keep attacking me like this!” you cooed, running your nail down his neck, “You make me sound like some sort of fiend~ but you’ve never told me no.” he twitched under your affections, swallowing hard, he could sense his doom incoming.

-Hermes- Pressed a soft kiss to your lips and smiled as you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him down into you before he spoke, “If we’re going to do this, first we need some food, and I need an ice pack for my back. I think I pulled something going so hard last night.” You nodded, pressing your lips to his temple and he sighed in content, remaining there with you for a moment or two, basking in your affections for a few moments longer.

-Kojiro- His eyelid twitched before he instantly tried to roll over to run away but you lunged at him, hugging him from behind, “Don’t run from me my love~” he turned to you, his eyes wide and face pale, “I-I can’t do it!! I’m not a young man anymore!!” you licked your lips, looking like a hunter, “Don’t run my love~ I like to chase.” Anyone passing by your home could hear the scream of a man, begging for help, but then again, you didn’t have neighbors and you rarely got visitors. How lucky for you~

[the-trinket-witch]

PlayfulLand Theories before the event starts!

Everybody's excited for the New Twst Halloween Event coming to the JP servers, right? I am too. These bones been rattlin' since I found out. And my brain has been rotting with theories and predictions. Are they baseless? Likely. I would like to say I've seen enough of a pattern in this game to see a familiar plot coming down the pipe. Call it grasping at straws or pareidolia, but I'm having fun turning this all in my brain. Everybody in the Brainrot Buggie, we're making wild guesses and throwing shit at the wall to see what is right. 

(SPOILERS FOR TWST PLAYFULLAND EVENT, TWST CH. 6, BLACK BUTLER: BOOK OF CIRCUS. CW for Child Abuse, manipulation/loss of physical faculties, and general body horror)

Biggest takeaway from this theory dump: Fellow and Gidel aren't the main antagonists of this event. 

"But Trinket, they're the face of the event! How are they not the Big Bads?" I hear you wonder. It's because they weren't the Main Antagonists in their own source material. These two were:

Stromboli and The Coachman.

Assuming anyone reading has already watched the 1940 film, will note these two are connected to Honest John and Gideon/The Fox and Cat by their financial dealings. The Coachman in specific pays the Two for them to round up boys to bring to Pleasure Island to meet their fates. In most iterations of Pinnochio, Mangiafuoco/Stromboli and The Coachman are two separate entities. One adaptation, though, combines them. And while I will not delude myself to think it was an inspiration for the potential 'Actual Big Bad', an idea came to mind when thinking of the character from the 1996 The Adventures of Pinnochio, Lorenzini. A couple ideas, actually…

But before I get to that, where else in Toboso-sensei's work have we seen Charismatic Gingers in Circus Settings who are the bait-and-switch 'face' of a story arc?

That's right:

Joker. 

I guess not really 'bait and switch', but a lot of emphasis was put on him as a character when Book of Circus first came out. But then he and the rest of the Circus troupe began mentioning a man they called Father. Baron Kelvin. 

Before his obsession sparked for Ciel, he was a philanthropist who could have been considered a good man. But in the state we meet him in for the first time in BoC, he's a completely changed man obsessed with becoming physically appealing to Phantomhive, to the detriment of the children who had and would come under his 'care'. Their bones became the ceramic used to give prostheses to the rest of the circus. 

What if we're gearing up to have a similar figure 'pulling the strings' in this coming event? An amalgamation of Stromboli/The Coachman/Baron Kelvin…and Monstro the Whale? 

"Why Monstro? We already have a reference with Azul's cafe!"

Remember Lorenzini that I mentioned earlier?

He's also a combination of The Puppetmaster, Coachman, and Whale.  What if this Combination character… was a Whale merman? A merman looking for a different way to stay human, in a sense 'Become a Real Boy'? What if his transition to humanity has him stuck in one location out of the way? What if this is all a trap to sap the life/magic out of these boys so he can shirk his mer form for permanent legs? While it could be a stretch to say this is the case, lemme see if I can coherently explain…

@thecosmicjackalope posed the notion that the extraneous went characters might in some way be foils/parallels to the Overblot Gang. So far we have Idia getting a parallel with Rollo (two siblings dealing with the grief over the death of their brother), what if this is an event paralleling Azul and his dynamic with The Tweels? 

Shady fish men with (possible) varying degrees of disgust with their mer forms

Equally fishy business practices

Employ more physically capable individuals to do his 'legwork'

Plan(ned) on having the student body of NRC under their thumb of servitude

Employ magical tactics to entice and bind those they want into their grasp.

On top of all of this, what if his magic extends to both Fellow and Gidel? What if those two are just a regular fox and cat given sentience to do a whale's dirty work? Would they turn back after being defeated? That would explain the motivation, outside of just 'I'm getting paid handsomely to bring these boys in and not ask questions'. Even if this part is all thrown out the window, the idea that a shady Ringmaster lording over Playfulland just won't leave me. So then, what else can I guess about this event? (NOTE: THESE ARE ALL QUESTIONS AND THEORIES, not posed by much/any evidence)

The costumes/masks might specifically be used to control the boys. In a way similar to The Beast and the trees of Over the Garden Wall, thanks to @squidwen for the notion, maybe the masks progressively creep up on the NRC boys both subduing them, and eventually sapping them of life/magic? What if the incentive for the boys to act 'like jackasses' is how the mask takes root/grows? What if the end result (the host losing their life/stores of magic) their bones turn to wood?  What if the park is literally built of the Bones of Fairgoers Past?

Something I already began to theorize about when the announced SSRs came out was: why those three were picked.

Ortho we know shares A LOT of parallels/references to Pinocchio already. It's basically a given that he'd be a part of this. He is naive and fresh, so he could very well follow wanderlust wherever (by whoever) inspires it.  But why Kalim and Ace? Ideas for each:

Kalim:

He's a trusting person (played as 'To his own detriment')

A bit of a party animal

One to go with the flow, isn't quick to realize he's in deep shit til it's too late

Ace:

Brutally honest

Brother worked at a theme park. (Possible enticement to bring him in, on the promise of finding him somehow?)

One of the biggest liars of the cast-couple that with his immaturity and quick willingness to shirk responsibility, he's a prime candidate to pick off to someplace that promises leisure and fun away from school.

All three of the SSR boys are technically prime folk to lure off to the equivalent of Pleasure Island. Kalim with his weak will and shortsightedness, Ortho with his lack of experience both as a bot and now as a legit person, and Ace again because he has the most maturing to make for this arc. If anybody becomes a literal donkey in all of this: I can see it most likely being Ace. 

Assuming the rest of the Event Cast are only there on the premise of having drawn the short straw and not able to go to the Glorious Masquerade, I don't have any other theories for them. (Though I gotta say I'm digging the much more blatant Mad Hatter Ref in Trey's design.) A gameplay theory I had is that maybe we have to fight them to 'cut them loose', with eventually Ortho, Kalim and Ace being the 'final' bosses of the event, who defend the Puppetmaster in one final stand. 

For a TL:DR:

It's Book of Circus 2: Electric Boogaloo if it was written by Neal Shusterman (of Full Tilt fame). A Fishman wants to be a Real Boy, masks are terrifying, and Ace is an immature clown who's gonna get a lotta folks put in danger.

[coolsosha]

ObeyMe DEMON BROTHERS, but as Will Wood's songs!

i just love will wood, ok?

LUCIFER

♪She said, "It just feels inhumane to lose this much" / 'Cause when you leave, you know you take more than your love / Just one week of cicada days, we're losing touch / And I know it just feels inhumane to lose this much♪

Jeez, finding a song for him was tough, but i guess i did my best.

Apparently, "Cicada days" is about "that even the most painful losses can teach us something, as long as we persevere" according to some website. And i think it's pretty accurate.

I guess this song works well with all that Lilith death and Celestial Realm situation. Bro literally lost everything but still standing.

MAMMON

♪Please, policeman, no heel-to-toe / Oh please, let me go / Please, policeman, is it a test? / I won't know 'til I'm under arrest / Am I being detained / Am I under arrest? (Yes, you are!) / Read me my rights, please (No!) / I want my phone call!♪

So this song is about "dealing with life difficulties and feeling like you are trapped in a cage by circumstances". I thought that it, again, works well with Celestia drama and with fact that Lucifer was the one who chose everything for them. That would also work for Levi, but pppffft.

Also his brothers are often bullying him, so "feeling like in cage" might suit this well. No one takes him seriously and think that he is stupid, sad.

And oooobviosly Mammon might be in cage because he stole something expensive and hanging out in jail!)

other ones under the cut~

LEVIATHAN

♪One night one flung light through this place / So I run for cover, over, under, left the rind out on the plate / Little heart racing and praying, "Something, keep me safe" / I think it saw my face / Okay, one hungry day / Is nothing come what may♪

Okay, i have absolutely no idea what this thing is about, but according to some people this thing is about "Wanting to have someone near you and struggling with loneliness, but then accepting everything". Which gives some Levi vibes, since he is all "lonely worthless otaku".

But it's actually about a mouse, that's trying hard to live, wishes for cheese, hated just because of it's existence and naively hope that it will get to the cheese moon. It wanted to be friends with everyone, but eventually it gets trapped and killed. That's so hella sad and I've almost cried when i saw the clip, but, also it works well with Levi i guess. Poor dude wanted to be helpful for everyone, but everyone just left him(

All those hunger and cheese themes making me think of Beel, but no, it's not his song for sure.

SATAN

♪...Is there room for me in your cage?/.../ Animals are people too, but these people are animals/.../You might seem behind bars, but friend, this cage is inside out / It's awful out here, Socrates♪

AND

♪I wanna make my murder look like a suicide / But they'll all know, they'll all know / They'll all know that the body's mine / I wanna go anonymous to identify / But they'll all know, they'll all know♪

Ok so "Willard!" is pretty obvious. The singer loves animals a lot more than humans and wishes to be animal too. And Satan is definitely that one type of people who prefer Cats over people.

And "Cotard's Solution" is kinda more complicated. Its about struggling with your identity. Actually Will Wood's "Self-Ish" album has a few other songs like that, but i felt like this one was the one. Satan's identity struggle is a big part of his character as we all know. Since he is a part of Lucifer and all that stuff. And Satan's love for knowledge is also working well, since singer is trying to understand what life is and what it even means.

I was thinking about "Hand me my shovel im going in" or "2012", but i thought this one is better.

ASMODEUS

♪Where do you get off being so God damn beautiful? / Oh lord. Don't ask me what I mean /.../ I'll never know. I'll never know. I'll never know. I'll never know what it's like / What it's like to love you♪

In this song singer talks about extremely pretty woman, who he is in love with. He is ready to sacrifice himself for her, even if he knows that it's dangerous.

Part from UNOFFICIAL meaning interpretation that i saw:

"Overall, "White Knuckle Jerk (Where Do You Get Off?)" seems to be a portrayal of the intense emotions and confusion that can come with infatuation, particularly when it is unreciprocated. The woman in the song represents a sort of unattainable ideal, something that the narrator desires but cannot fully understand or possess."

I think this song works reaaaally good with Asmo. We all know how much Asmo wants to be the prettiest so everyone would love him. He is taking dietes to keep his form, uses a lot of skincare routine and overall trying to be perfect. Lets take that the "woman" is the ideal that Asmo is trying to reach, and he is ready to go on any sacrifices to be perfect the way how he wants it. So everyone will love him!

and i really like this song.

BEELZEBUB

♪Just like my parents in due time / Imagine me, just like my parents, yeah, right / 'Cause I've made more mistakes than simple empty moments /Each one as out of character as you know I tend to be♪

AND

♪Of the two things we do on our knees / Watch me fold my hands just to crack my knuckles / Well, here is the church, here is the steeple / Open the doors, see all the people / Alright, that's enough, let's get you home♪

I could find something that would suit him more so... uhhh.. "Becoming the Lastnames". Its just some cute song about how singer wants to create family, live happy and accepting responsibility for one's life. And hoping for the best, and working to create a lasting legacy for his family.

I mean, Beel is family guy. I just couldn't find anything better, sorry.

And about Kitchen floor... Well, that song is more about childhood dreams and adult reality, but its also about accepting your past mistakes and trying to work harder in future, so i guess it's not that bad????

Sorry Beel fans, i couldn't find anything better(

BELPHEGOR

♪Hold my hands, we'll dance the twelve step on my grave / I'd kill the man I am for one more chance to be yours, babe / No, I ain't begging, I'm just saying, it's an option / Don't let the latest be the last nail in my coffin / If you need me, I'll be in my coffin♪

AND

♪I am not the sunshine, I am not the moon at night / Well, who else could I be when I can hardly see? / I am not the sunshine, I am not the moon at night / I'm no one if I'm nowhere in between /.../ And if dreams can come true, what does that say about nightmares?♪

These two are just perfect match with Belfie!

The "Vampire reference in minor key" is about feeling dead inside and wanting for someone to save you. And we all know how dead inside own Belfie is.

And "Dr. Sunshine is dead" is about world not being black and white. And the whole Moon/Sun theme along with Dreams stuff is just perfect!

And both of them suit well with attic part! There is nothing much to say about these, they are just perfect.

I also thought about "Red moon", but i couldn't properly understand what it was about sooo...

Idk, tell if you want side characters version idk?

i enjoyed making this though~

[bringmefoxgloves]

i want to get more into saw/saw blogs b4 X comes out - what r some of ur fave saw blogs

Hi! You caught me at a good time (one where I have energy) so let's see if I can pump this out. I am in no way an authority on the entire Saw fandom so I will only be talking about my little corner of the internet. Please forgive me, my beloved followers, mutuals, and other owners of posts I have loved in this very small fandom-because I may forget some of you. The brain fog sometimes gets the best of me and if I did a full complete list, it would be.... It would be so long. This is in no way in order of best or worst, and sometimes I just have no words for why I love a person's blog.

@turnipoddity - Oh, what an artist! Every single post I see, love it. So excited to see an artist acquiring the Saw brainrot.

@bloodcoveredgf - Luna! Also just all around funny & good posts in addition to the Saw insanities.

@dracofelin - Jay has such good writing, and will make you love the ship of Mark Hoffman/Peter Strahm (coffinshipping).

@thefoulbeast - Simply put, Will's art makes me want to bite my own arm off. If you're interested in the video game Pathologic, his blog is worth a follow for that too.

@bathroomtrapped - I sometimes get the honor of previewing Larry's art mid-construction (because with all those colors and layers, it looks like building a house) and even half finished, it blows my socks off <3

@sawtrapz - Kaz, oh Kaz (!!!), Kaz gets my brain clicking about some of the rarepairs of this fandom and I will always spin your boygirl Adam in my head.

@cl0wnb0yyy - Will is just a great person in the fandom, also if you like Midnight Mass or NBC's Hannibal.

@ispyspookymansion - Kora looms large in the Saw fandom in my mind so it would be impossible to assemble this list without him.

@3razyswfangirl / @kiramillet - Kira's pixel art is amazing!!! Bunny <3

@tibby - Take a look through Tibby's saw meta. You won't be disappointed.

@allegedly-writer - Contrary to Jack's url, Jack can sure damn write! He just posted a fic and guess who it's for <3

@hansy-pansy-art - OUGH another amazing amazing artist. Also currently in a Red Dead Redemption moment, which I love.

@piddgeon - Speaking of RDR.... Mercury! Ah, just. (Chef's kiss) of a human being.

@samwis - Jami, who hears all my most insane horny thoughts who is such a mainstay in my corner of Saw fandom.

@romanromulus - Adam writes fics that will make you scream and cry into your pillow at midnight.

@tapeworrmart - Just. Ough. Art that I dream of one day hanging on my wall.

@vanilladella - a.m.'s art is my discord header. Enough said.

@carouselcometh - Remy is hilarious and also you need to read his series on Ao3.

@onehandkilling / @fatmasc - Shlomo... What do I say? Just go. Follow. Also threw in their fat fashion blog because YES!!!

@angel-trapped - Téa, you absolute legend. Origin of angelshipping (to me) (aka Lindsey Perez/Allison Kerry)

@sawtrapx - Liv, such a fun human being!!!

@starlightsailfish - Star's Saw Warrior Cats makes me dance in excitement.

@iinsawdious - Adrien is the best champion of the Adam & David (Saw 0.5) & Specs (Character from the Insidious franchise, also played by Leigh Whannell) are family hc. I love his enthusiasm!!

@adrianicsea - Adrian! Just. AH!!! Adrian's Sleeping with Ghosts series was perhaps my first introduction (outside of Adam romanromulus) to the sheer brilliance of Saw fandom writers.

@dodddraws - Dodd's art is.... I'm just at a loss for words, scrolling back through his blog. So much nsfw goodness.

@sawvhs - Rar's art is so so so iconic.

Okay I have to cut this list off here, jfc. There's others I should probably put on here but I'm getting tired and sweaty and my hands are hurting. Follow these people, check who they're reblogging from or who is reblogging them, go forth, prosper anon. Welcome to the Saw brainrot.

[marblesphere]

Vampire Soulmate AU! Gojo Satoru x Reader

!!Warning!! Tooth rotting fluff is here!!!! Mention of blood and biting! You have been warned!

“I refuse to accept you as our soulmate.” The boy in front of me hissed.

I blink, tilting my head. Not understanding why this boy suddenly jumped in front of me saying not accepting me as their soulmate, whether I was only walking my lazy huge Maine Coon cat. The cat who was just actually limping in my arms starts to stir. He hisses at the boy, I know he is glaring even though he is wearing sunglasses. Such a weird cat he is, he is so into the shades so, I just let him have it his way.

“...who are you? Did you hit your head?” I asked the most obvious question I would ask a stranger. His face and nose scrunch in disgust and anger. I didn't think I had ever done anything wrong to him, let alone met him.

“...disgusting human…” I can hear him muttering under his breath.

“I think you got the wrong person. I am not your soulmate.” I got up from the bench where I had been sitting with my cat. “Good day. I hope you can find your soulmate.” I bowed a little and walked no, cradled my cat back home.

This is a world where soulmates exist. Each creature will have a mark engraved in a part of its body after it meets its soulmates. I say creatures and not humans because… this world is a world where humans and vampires co-exist with each other. Albeit without humanity knowing anyway. But my guess is those who are in power must have this knowledge.

I haven’t met my soulmate yet. But I know that boy is not my soulmate and the fact that he is a vampire. What more, a hostile vampire. Better not associate myself with him, just in case he suddenly decided to kill me. A normal human's strength won't match a vampire after all.

And he must be mistaken about me being his soulmate. Because I already have a soulmate. I have met him in the dream, as unrealistic as it sounds. I have one soulmate. And it's not unusual to have more than one soulmate, in fact, one of my classmates has 5. Now, back to my soulmate, meeting him should have granted me a soulmate mark, but I didn’t have it yet. Might be because meeting in a dream doesn't count.

And another strange thing is, I can’t remember the face and name of my soulmate after I have woken up. But I do know that I knew his name and face when I was still in the dream. Thus, I can say for certain that vampire boy is not my soulmate. He doesn’t have the same soothing wavelength as my soulmate in the dream. And the lack of a wisteria smell that my soulmate emitted.

This strange ability of being able to discern which one is vampire and human is an ability I have had since I was born. My parents didn't know about this and I refused to tell them, afraid I would be treated differently. But they have perished in an aeroplane crash, and as their sole daughter, I will inherit their assets when I hit 18. Right now, my parents' lawyer is the one managing their assets. My school fee was paid monthly and I was given an allowance every month, enough for me to save.

And this huge cat, I decided to adopt him since this cat somehow likes to loiter around my house. The lawyer agreed to my request of raising him, since living alone is quite lonely. This lazy but like-to-be fashionable white cat has the most gorgeous blue eyes I have ever seen. It's like a universe trapped inside his eyes. And he is warm too. A perfect heater for winter. ~”~

‘They are so persistent.’ I frowned as I looked at the entourages in front of me. Apparently, they all claimed to be my soulmates. 7 soulmates, all male. Well, this still counts as normal. I mean there was someone with 10 soulmates and the genders are mixed. So, seeing a girl kissing a girl, a boy kissing a boy, or a girl/boy kissing the opposite gender or sometimes having a harem is normal.

I have explained to this persistent vampire harem that I am in fact not their soulmate because I don’t have the soulmate mark. But the youngest of them, the one who met me first, said his soulmate mark was completed after meeting me. And now they speculate my soulmate mark might be late in manifesting. All my explanations and protests are entering one ear and leaving the others. None of them is taking me seriously.

With the stress of being followed everywhere and not being able to meet my real soulmate. The stress is taking a toll on my body. “...Does he hate me? Is that why he doesn’t want to see me? Or maybe because I am not up to his standard?” I sighed softly on the bed, knees drawn up to my chest, feeling depressed for myself. The huge cat which I named Neko lets out a small whine as he with his liquid body somehow manages to settle down on top of my knees. Two of his paws are looping around my neck and he is purring and licking my cheek.

“It tickles.” I buried my hands into his fur. “Thank you.” I appreciated his antics to cheer me up. “I hope I can meet them soon.” I smiled. ~”~

Those bees finally found their real soulmate, a human girl just like me. I am not really interested in how they found them. The problem is, not only they didn't blame themselves for their mistake. They even turned hostile to me, claiming I was a villainous woman who enslaved them.

I wonder what was inside their heads, I have kept explaining to them that I was not, never have and never will become their soulmate. Now these working bees are demanding me to apologize to their dear soulmate. Because I stole the ‘affection’ that was supposed to be given to her.… I have never met such shameless vampires. I thought they were all supposed to be more dignified and arrogant. Not like this… I guess, no matter what species, shameless creatures still exist.

I am quite bewildered that they still have this much time to harass me every single day, courtesy of the youngest who is in the same school as me. And then, their rabbit-like soulmate will become a peacemaker, trying to mediate for us.

Not thanks to them. The first time it happened, I was quickly dubbed as a soulmate snatcher by classmates. I was also invited by the broadcast club, their real aim was to harass me but I explained to them that I never claimed to be their soulmate. I have also explained to them they have made mistakes.

My friends and some students also testified for me, that I have never even once been the first to come to Kunnugi Naoki, the youngest of the bunch. It was always him who came to me. The first and last time I willingly went with him was to meet his brothers, I thought they would be easier to talk to. But no, I was very wrong. They were all the same.

Finally, after this broadcast incident, the rumour died down a little. The peace and quiet returned a little. ~”~

“I am late.” I quickly rushed out of the school. I fell asleep and completely forgot I had a cat to feed at home. I hope he will be alright. As I step out the school gate, an unnatural huge gust blows, making me instinctively close my eyes. When I open my eyes, a pair of scary red eyes stare back at me. The thing literally stands so close to me, so close that I can feel its sickening breath.

Startled, I quickly took a few steps back. The man… or thing in front of me is not normal to say at least. Bloodshot red eyes, sunken cheeks, unusually sharp teeth, drooling… and it smells so bad. “Blood…”

An alarm rings in my head. “Vampire…” I muttered, body trembling. I quickly dash in a circle, trying to put a distance. But it quickly zooms in, its long claw grabs my arms and throws me back. My body aches in pain. I struggle to get up again, but the vampire now stands in front of me. Ready to kill or drink my blood dry. Its claw goes down to me and all I can do is wait for pain and death.

*Ting*

Something deflected the incoming sharp claw. “You will be alright now.” Someone caged me in their arms.

“...you are…” I came face to face with a tall snow white haired man with pretty eyes. A loud screech from that abomination is making my ears hurt.

“Close your eyes and ears.” His hands clasped atop mine as he guided me to close my ears. “Don't worry. It will be over soon. Until then, don't open your eyes, okay.” He buried my face in his chest.

'Wisteria flower smell. It feels so calming.' I took a deep breath and inhaled his scent.

“Hai~ you can open your eyes now.” I blinked open my eyes at his playful voice.

“Is it gone?”

“Yep. Let's take you back home first, okay?” He lifted me up in a bridal style and then I am in my house again.

“Eh?” I blinked owlishly. I was put on the sofa while still in a daze, but my eyes didn't leave my soulmate even for a bit.

“Nice to meet you, my soulmate.” He grinned.

“...soulmate…” I mumbled.

“Yes. I am your soulmate.” He showed me a mark on the back of his left hand. A circle with a swirly mark inside. The same mark then appeared on the back of my right hand.

“...soulmate…” A tear suddenly rolled down. That one tear sends him into a panic.

“...why didn't you come sooner…?” I cried. “I know we met in the dream… but… I thought…I thought you didn't want me.” I sobbed into his shirt.

“No no no. Of course I want you. I want you very much. I live only for you. I can't bear the thought of losing you. You are my one and only soulmate.” He hugged tighter. “Sorry, Rai-chan. I didn't mean to make you sad. You do know that I am a vampire, right?”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“I was thinking hard about how to break this news for you. I know you can discern between human and vampire. And I don't want you to hate me.” He whined at the end of the sentence.

“And when I finally made up my mind to tell you, there's this unknown vampire who suddenly declared you were his soulmate.” He grumbled. “Not to mention, your first impression of him is so bad that I was afraid you would be disappointed if you knew I am a vampire.” He patted my head.

“So, I decided to continue staying as a cat for the time being.” He finished his explanation.

“...You are Neko?” I blinked.

“Yes, I am.” He shot me a Cheshire cat grin. Then, plenty of memories of how I told him that I was excited about my soulmate, when I checked whether he was male or female, how I bathed him, how we bathed together, how we literally slept together every night while hugging him and how I sometimes decided to change in front of him, sometimes even naked while picking my outfit for the day.

“...” I am so embarrassed. “I am going-bwahh!!” I was attempting to run away and locked myself in my bedroom but that attempt was splendidly thwarted.

“Nope~ you are not running away.” I was caught by my middle.

“Uh….um…Neko…” My eyes swam.

“Satoru. Gojo Satoru.”

“Then… Can I call you Satoru?” I mumbled bashfully. Then I heard it, the sound of purring. The man literally purrs.

“Yeah. I like it. I like the way my name came out from your lips. You definitely should call me Satoru every single time.” He nuzzled his cheek to mine.

*growl*

The sweet atmosphere broke away just like that. “Sorry…” I screamed internally.

“Don't be. I will whip something quick for you. So stay here.” He put me back on the sofa.

“Ah.” My hand quickly grabbed the hem of his sleeve. “Ca…Can I watch?” To be honest, I just want to be sure that this is not a dream. That my soulmate is really here. I can see a blank expression on his face. “So-sorry. I will just stay here.” My hand released his sleeve.

“So cute~~~” Satoru suddenly lifted me up. “How much cuter you could be.” He spun me.

“Sa-Satoru…”

“You want to watch? Of course it's okay!” He nodded. “You can watch anytime you like. In fact, I can even do that naked ap-” I clamped his mouth shut.

“No. I will die of blood loss.” I objected, feeling the burning sensation on my cheeks and ears. I can feel his mouth twitching and his pretty eyes curved into crescent moons. Somehow, I know he is saying let's save that for later. ~”~

Satoru then told me a little bit about vampires. There are 3 types of vampires. Lesser vampires, bitten humans that turned into vampires, they are easily lose control of their bloodlust when exposed to blood.

Dhampir. Most vampires in existence are in this category. They are the children of pure-blood vampires and humans. They differ themselves by how thick their vampire blood is.

Pure blood vampires, vampires that have existed since the start of ancient times, are rumoured to be coming from the demon world or another world.

The normal routine after this is bath and sleep. No, we didn't bathe together. I was burning the whole time while he would just smirk. That's why he was always so attentive when I had nothing on. I hope the Earth will swallow me whole to save me from this embarrassment.

After putting on my pyjamas, Satoru already waiting on my bed. “...Are…are we sleeping together?” Yes, I am asking a dumb question. I know we have done it. But it was when I didn't know he was my soulmate and he was in cat form.

“I won't if you don't want to.” His eyes softened. “Or I can just turn into a cat.” He offered.

“No…It's fine.” I shook my head. “Can you…stay like this? Of course if you feel comfortable.” I quickly added. “I just…” I heard footsteps shuffling close.

“Rai-chan, look at me.” His soft voice coaxed. I find myself following his request. “If you wish for this, I won't deny it.” He smiled. “I could never deny your request. You are my most important person. My soulmate. If it's within my power, I will grant any wish. Even if it's impossible, I will still try for it anyway.” He took my hand and kissed my knuckle.

“Then… I want to sleep together.” I looked at him in the eyes. “I…Part of me is thinking that this is just a dream. When I wake up, I will be alone again. Well, Neko should be with me, but…” A long finger shushed me.

“Then, let's sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, you will know this is not a dream.”

“Thank you, Satoru.”

“You are very welcome.” ~”~

The next morning, I woke up wrapped in a blanket as usual. I quickly scrambled out searching for any trace of my soulmate. The only clue is the side next to me is still warm. But it's usually warm because Neko slept with me. “A dream? It was just a dream?” Disappointment filled my heart. Of course it was just a dream. My soulmate must hate me, that's why they didn't bother about me.

“Neko,” I called for my cat. I need him for my comfort. “Neko,” I called again, usually it will come on the first call. Then I heard sounds coming from the kitchen, my feet automatically broke into run to the kitchen. There, I find my soulmate is stirring something in the pot.

“Ah, Rai-chan, good mor-” I crashed myself to him. “Rai-chan?”

“I thought…it was a dream…” I sobbed. “You weren’t there…”

“Sorry, Rai-chan. I was going to stay until you woke up. But you have school, so I thought I would wake up early to make breakfast and lunch for you.”

“Oh…Sorry…” I released my grip on him.

“You don’t need to say sorry. I was wrong for not leaving you a note. Go, freshen up yourself and we will eat breakfast together.”

“Okay.” I nodded.

“If you want me to come with you, I also won’t mind.” He grinned.

“I…I will go alone.” I blushed and avoided his stare.

After a delicious breakfast, Satoru said he was going to go to school. “Okay, let’s go.” I smiled at the prospect of him walking me to school. But… a nice black car has been waiting in front of my house. “Eh?”

“Let’s go, Rai-chan.” Satoru opened the door in the co-driver seat for me.

“Okay…” I obediently entered the car and he took the driver's seat.

“From now on, I will send and pick you up.” He beamed.

“Ah… It’s fine. I can manage on my own.” I quickly declined. Seeing him like this suddenly made me realize that he must be working too when I was not home. What if his boss got mad at him because of me?

“You don’t like me sending you to school?” His smile dropped.

“No…. It’s not that. I suddenly realised that you must be working too, and you have been spending a lot of time with me. I wonder if your boss will get mad at you.” I fidgeted. “Sorry…”

“…Why do you always have to be this cute?” He sighed. “This makes me want to stay with you 24/7. What if pests start chasing you? I don’t think I can keep my calm.”

“They won’t. They have their own soulmate.” I shook my head.

“Well yeah. That doesn’t stop some people chasing other people’s soulmates.” He replied.

“That’s true….” I nodded slowly. I think I have seen some news like that. “I will be careful.”

“Then, I will be sending and picking you up every day.” He grinned. “If you were going out with friends, please tell me.” He patted my head. “And don’t worry about my job. I am the boss, so I can be as late as I want. My subordinates know that I am wooing my soulmate.” He smirked when I blushed at the word wooing.

“Oh… I see…” I cast my gaze down, hoping he wouldn’t notice my burning face. The ride to school is in comfortable silence. One of his hands is playing with me, assuring me everything will be okay.

We have finally arrived at my school. “Thank you, Satoru.” I smiled.

“And before I forget.” He suddenly leaned close to me and pressed a kiss on my forehead, down to my cheek and then neck and then suddenly to my lips, and I almost fainted because of the shock. “An omamori.” He rubbed my lower lip. And I don’t know how I bid him goodbye and got out of the car.

When I finally came back to reality, it was already lunchtime. “Ah, she is finally back to the real world.” One of my friends, Tori giggled.

“Sorry…”

“No worries. We are glad that you found your soulmate. So, how many?” Yae asked.

“One. But he is more than enough.” I answered. “To the point that I wondered why such a good soulmate is really mine,” I mumbled.

“Because you saved a world in your previous life?” Yoru giggled.

“Well, whatever it is. Since he is your soulmate, he better take good care of you. Though by the looks of it, he already did. Today’s lunch is also something he made, right?” Yae guessed.

“Um… He seems like he can do anything.” I chomped my lunch. “So delicious, the breakfast was too.” I smiled.

“So, how does he look? What kind of job does he do?” Yoru gushed excitedly.

“He is tall, much taller than models. His hair is so fluffy, that I feel like burying myself in warm snow or clouds. And then, his eyes…” I trailed off.

“Yep. She has gone again.” Yae deadpanned.

“Hehehe. From now on, we can have dates with our soulmates. I am so excited.” Yoru giggled. That day lunchtime was the day when we talked about our soulmates. ~”~

“Are you having fun today?” Satoru smiled as I put on my seatbelt.

“Yes. We have fun talking about our soulmates.” I replied without much thought.

“Oh? Then, what did you say about me?”

“That’s…” I just remembered that I am going to talk about my soulmate in front of my soulmate. “Secret…” I mumbled.

“That’s too bad.” He grinned. “What do you want to eat today?”

“Curry,” I answered quickly.

“Okay, curry it is then.”

Blissful, is the exact word that I describe my life now. Every day is nice and fun. Sleeping in each other embrace and waking up from it. I don’t want to trade this precious routine away. ~”~

“Good morning.” The door opened, revealing the real soulmate of Kunnugi siblings. “Hisaki-san.” She made a beeline to me. “I heard you found your soulmates. I am happy for you.” She giggled.

“...thank you.” I nodded.

“We can talk about our soulmates now.” She gushed excitedly. I look at my friends with a confused face.

“Umm… I prefer not to disturb your quality time with your soulmates.” I smiled politely.

“Of course not.” Apparently, she didn't understand that I don't like to associate with her, and she couldn't take a no for an answer.

She barged into our circle at lunch, bringing her soulmate. Well, only the youngest is still in school. So, only him with her now. She suddenly shoves her way between me and my friend, taking a spot beside me. “Hisaki-san. Let's eat lunch together. Today, Hibiki made lunch for me. I tell you, it's super delicious.” She opened her bento box and showed it to us.

“Oh, I see.” I smiled politely, slowly inching away.

“Oh, yours look delicious too. Did your soulmate make it for you? I never thought your soulmate was good at cooking too. Maybe we can have a nice home cooking session together. Let's have a taste.” She suddenly took one of my meatballs. “It's delicious. What are the secret ingredients? Is it love?” She giggled.

“Kurokawa-san…”

“No need to be so polite, we are already friends. Not to mention, you also know my soulmates already.”

“...that was a misunderstanding. And it's not polite to eat people lunch without their consent.” I frowned a little.

“It's just a meatball.” Her soulmate sneered.

“Then as her soulmate, you can buy her a meatball. Are you so poor that you can't afford one?” I retorted back.

“You!” He stood up, glaring at me.

“What?” I also looked up at him.

“Disgusting human. If not for Yuriko, I have already tear you to pieces.” He hissed.

“That's rich. Coming for someone who mistook his own soulmate.” I sneered. The atmosphere is so tense that a knife can even cut it. “You can enjoy your meal here, Kurokawa-san.” I packed my lunch and walked away from the rooftop, my friends then followed suit.

We changed to another place to eat lunch. “That girl… is she holding a grudge against you?” Tori frowned.

“And her soulmate is also strange. Disgusting human. Is he implying that he is not human?” Yoru blinked.

“Don't tell me the rumour about vampires is real?” Yoru gasped. Lately, this kind of rumour is in trend. A rumour of vampires living in the midst of humans. The recent serial killing mimicking vampires is also very concerning. All the victims are having 2 punctures on their necks.

“About that girl… it's better if we don't get involved with her.” I told my friends. “As you have seen, her soulmates have a weird hatred for humans. And you see how they treat me even if they are the ones who made a mistake.”

“That's true. Instead of apologizing, they made it clear that they were blaming you for their mistake. I suppose there's something wrong in their brains.” Tori nodded.

“You also need to be careful. Her 7 soulmates are all troubles. Remember to call us if something happens. Or better yet, I hope your soulmate is also aware of this.” Yoru added.

“I have told him about this. That's why he is sending and picking me up after school.” I smiled.

“That's good then.” ~”~

“Satoru.” I glanced at the vampire who is having the time of his life just by having me sitting on his lap. Usually, it's the other way around though.

“Yeah, sweetness?” He hummed, putting his chin on the top of my head.

“Are you hungry?”

“We just ate dinner, sweet. I am not that hungry. But if we are talking about sweets then I am in.” He grinned.

“...No, I mean. Doesn't your race survive on blood?” I spoke cautiously. “I haven't seen you drink any of my blood…” I could feel his hands on my stomach stiffen. “No…. Forget I say anything. I am sorry.”

“I am not angry.” He sighed. “You don't need to apologize for every single thing, sweet. There are a lot of misconceptions about vampires. I can't blame you for not knowing it.” He turned my body, so we were face to face.

“Unlike the common knowledge that a vampire needs a lot of blood to survive. We can survive with the tiniest amount of blood, but it still depends on what kind of vampire they are.” He started his explanation. I look at him, indicating I am listening attentively.

“We just need a few drops of blood, granted that we are not injured. Even so, there is blood transfusion as a solution. There are some hospitals that do that. We have adapted to eating human food that was mixed with a few drops of blood. But the lesser vampire easily lost control when exposed to blood. That's why the law forbids vampires from turning humans into vampires. Because all of them will end up losing control of their own bloodlust.”

 “Then, what kind of vampire are you, Satoru?” I blinked.

“Me? I am a pure-blood vampire. I can survive without blood for a long long time.” He grinned. “That's why you don't need to worry.” But I still frowned at that. “What's wrong, sweet?”

“It's just…”

“Just…”

“Since you have been living for a long time means you had maybe drunk some blood.”

“Do you not like it?” Disappointment is evident in his eyes.

“No. I am not disappointed that you drink blood to survive. It's not like you chose to be born this way.” I shook my head. “This is just…my selfish thought….” I uttered softly.

“I don't like it when you frown or upset, sweet thing. Please tell me?” He eased the wrinkle on my forehead.

“...just…don't like the fact you drank other humans' blood aside from me,” I grumbled.

He is stunned for the second time. Eyes wide, jaw hanging open, hands frozen. “Um…just treat me like I didn't say anything.” I squeaked, the embarrassment finally settling in after I listened to what I said just now.

“Nope, you are not running away again.” Big, strong hand trapped me in a safe hug. “Seriously, when I think you can't be cuter than this, you just have a way to make yourself cuter and more adorable.” He sighed. “What should I do to you, hm? I just want to lock you up somewhere safe so you don't need to see ugly things anymore.”

“But the safest place is here. Right in your arms.” I spoke in the softest voice. No wait, I actually didn't mean to say it out loud.

“That's it. You are not leaving my lap anymore. From now on, your seat is here. No matter where we are, your only option is sitting here.”

“What if we have a movie date outside?”

“Still here.”

“But this will obstruct other people.”

“It's still here. I can rent the whole movie theatre then. Problem solved.” ~”~

The serial killer was caught. The morning news reported this. The man apparently is an occult maniac that is very obsessed with a vampire and tries to mimic how vampires preyed on their prey in the legend. “...That man is a human…” I mused.

“...”

“What's wrong, Satoru?” I noticed how he looked very solemn hearing the news.

“No… it's nothing. Might be my imagination.” He smiled. “I will send you to school now.”

“Okay.” I take my place in the co-driver seat.

“Rai-chan, your seat is here.” He patted his lap.

“...I can't sit there when you are driving.” I sweatdropped.

“Ehhh?”

“Don't 'ehhh' me. I don't want to cause an accident.” I looked at him sternly.

“Can't be helped.” His large hand naturally found mine to grasp. “I will make do with this.” He pouted but obediently started his car.

An omamori kiss, as I'd like to call it, is another routine that has settled down in my life. Satoru made a point to do it every day to prevent a mishap befallen me. Like the lesser vampire accident. Of course, per my request, it's a forehead kiss. I'd faint if he did it on the lips. I was fortunate that I didn't faint the first time. But because of that I have been in a daze for half a day. Very dangerous. ~”~

“We are going to that sweets shop in a shopping district today, do you want to go with us?” Yoru asked.

“Ah, that one with its famous Mont Blanc. Want.” I nodded my head quickly. “I will tell Satoru first.” I pulled out my phone and sent him a text message. A reply was sent back within a second with an okay emoji and to call him when we finished hanging out.

“Your soulmate?” Yae smirked.

“Yeah. So he can pick me up later.” I nodded. ~”~

Enemies meet on a narrow road. We are not exactly enemies, but I think I am considered to be enemies from Kunnugi siblings' perspective. “What a coincidence, Hisaki-san!!” Kurokawa waved to me.

“Urgh…” I don't hate her. But I don't like to be close to her and her soulmates. We have a mutual dislike for each other.

“Since we are all here anyway, let's sit together. Keita-san has a reservation in their private room. It's big enough for all of us.” She beamed.

“Tsk.” I heard some of them click their tongues, the loudest being the youngest.

“We shall decline.” Yae stepped in front of me. “We are not so insensitive that we will intrude on your quality time with your soulmates.” She smiled.

“Besides, we are having a girls' day. The point of having this day is just gossiping about our soulmates. It would be weird if you joined us gossiping about your soulmates who are right here.” Yoru added.

“Not to mention, your soulmates are quite hostile to our friend. We won't feel safe. Sorry. Please enjoy yourself.” Tori finished.

“Oh…” Her smile dropped. “I just want to have more friends.” She sighed sadly.

“You should choose your friends carefully.” Kunnugi second whom I forgot his name patted her head.

“Some people just like to be centre of attention while stealing other people's soulmate affection.” The fifth snorted.

“Coming from a group of people that mistook their own soulmate. That's rich.” I rolled my eyes.

“You-”

“Don't forget. You are the one who suddenly came up to me and said I am your soulmate. Not the other way around.” I looked at the youngest. “And you all refused to believe me when I said I was not your soulmate. You were the one who recognized the wrong person.” I grumbled bitterly. I have had enough of their harassment.

“That… we are sorry for causing you trouble. We are partly to blame.” The oldest smiled, trying to mediate.

“You are not partly to blame. You are to blame for the whole incident. Raika did nothing wrong.” Yae growled. “She patiently explained to you that she was not in fact your soulmate. You guys were the ones who didn't heed it. Because of you, she has to suffer harassment from school.”

“But she agreed to come with us,” Fourth argued.

“Only because I thought the older siblings were more rational to listen to my explanation.” I gave a snide comment. That finally shut them up.

“Okay, we are sorry for our misunderstanding. But please do know that Yuriko genuinely wanted to be friends with you.” The third one finally said.

“Bragging into other people's circles and eating people's lunch without consent is the sincerity of her being friends with us?” I frowned. “Then, I am sorry. It's difficult being friends with someone like that.” I said. “We won't be intruding on your quality time anymore. Please don't mind us.” We turned our attention back to our cakes and started chatting.

After the unpleasant meeting, we tried to wash the bad aftertaste with more cakes. “We should really go on dates with our soulmate together,” Yoru suggested.

“Let's just go on the trip.” Tori gave another one.

“I like that. We should definitely go!!” Yoru is getting pumped up. “Let's see. Our winter holiday is almost here. Why don't we plan this today?”

“But… we should also make sure our soulmates are able to take some days off,” I said.

“Hmm… Yoru and my soulmates are college students. So, I don't think they will have any trouble getting days off. But… Yae and Raika's soulmates are working people.” Tori mused.

“I will ask first.” I smiled as I dialled his number.

“We should set the date first,” Yae said.

“Our winter break starts on 26 December. We can go on the trip on the 26th or 27th.” Yoru said.

“How many days our trip will be?”

“3 days and 2 nights. We can go on the 26 and come back on 29 or maybe 30. We can make it in time for the new year.” Tori said. “How about that?”

“Let's check it with our soulmates,” Yae spoke. And with that, we check on our soulmates.

“Sweet, are you done?”

“Not yet, Satoru. Actually… Can you take days off from 26 to 30? You see…” I explained to him our winter break trip.

“Yeah, I can do that. It's my sweet request. How could I deny it?” I could hear the grin.

“Oh… Thanks, Satoru.”

“No problem.”

“We will decide the details first. I will let you know later.”

“Mmhmm, okay, Sweet. Call me if you are going home. I will pick you up.”

“Okay.” I bade him goodbye and hung up.

“How was it?”

“He can.” I smiled.

“Yugito is available too.”

“Ren is the same.”

“Suguru said it's fine.”

“This means all of our soulmates are able to participate.” Tori smiled.

“I am so excited.” Yoru giggled. We decided to choose what kind of inn should we book. Of course for transportation, we will need to ask our soulmates first.

“Satoru, about our trips. We need two cars. One for our luggage and the other for passengers. Can you…”

“As long as you are in my car. I will be delighted too.” He grinned.

“Thank you.”

Next day we discussed our itinerary again and finalized it. Satoru and Yae's soulmate, Geto Suguru-san will bring their cars. With Satoru's car catering me and luggage while Geto-san's car is for passengers. ~”~

“We have arrived!!!” We exclaimed in front of our lodging. To be honest, Satoru and Geto-san recommended this lodging to us. We thought it would be so expensive. Who would have thought it was quite cheap. But somehow, I felt like they were doing something behind our back. Not to mention that Geto-san and Satoru are best friends in and out of business.

The room arrangement is of course we stay with our soulmate. Satoru refused to budge on that. He said he would have insomnia if he was not sleeping beside me or something along the line. The wooden lodge is very big. Big enough for all of us. There are actually a perfect number of rooms for each pair. How strange.

After we put the luggage into our room, we are going to have lunch first and then all out playing on the snowfield. The men are cleaning up while we, the girls, have a snowball fight. Eat hard and play hard. By the time we finished, red noses and ears were the same traits we shared.

“Go and take a hot shower before you catch a cold.” Yugito sighed helplessly at his soulmate.

“You too, Sweet.” Satoru looped his muffler on me.

“Hehehe.” I just giggled at him. After a hot shower, we started to prepare dinner while the guys had their showers.

“I just know this trip will be the best!!” Yoru, who is sitting down on a chair, raised her arms and feet.

“Who would have thought that Yae and Raika's soulmates are best friends,” Tori commented.

“It was a surprise for me too.” I giggled.

“I had a hunch he seems to know that you are Gojo-san's soulmate from the start.”

“Well yeah, Satoru couldn't shut up about his soulmate. Every business or non-business meeting becomes his time to show off.” Geto-san rolled his eyes.

“Somehow… I am sorry for his behaviour.” I sweatdropped.

“Like you were the one to talk.” Satoru came out. “Don't tell me you forget about how you kept rubbing the fact that you met your soulmate first.” Satoru pouted as he gave me a back hug.

“What's this? A fight? Soulmate showdown?” Yugito-san cheered.

“Yugito.” Yoru sighed. Yugito-san's comment must have sparked something inside them. The best friends begin some sort of competition in which one can make their soulmate happy is the winner. ~”~

“Rai-chan, come here. I want to cuddle.” Satoru called as we were finally resting in our room.

“Wait a minute.” I buttoned up my pyjama and exited the bathroom. Satoru is wearing a long sleeves grey knitted sweater as his pyjama, along with gray comfy pants. I crawl on his lap and settle down there. “...'toru…”

“Hm?”

“You smell good…” I mumbled.

“Smell like what?”

“Wisteria flower.”

“You like it?”

“My favourite.” I gave him a sleepy smile.

“Then, I will need to keep myself clean every day.” His chest rumbled because of his soft chuckle.

“Yeah… you do that,” I mumbled, nuzzling his chest and shifting to a more comfortable position.

“You are so adorable, sweet.”

“Mmnnn… I am your sweet after all.” I slurred.

“Yes. You are my sweet.” A light kiss on the forehead and I was out like a feather. ~”~

“Good morning.” I greeted the early morning people with Satoru trailing behind me. I am usually one of them but after having Satoru kept me warm every night. I just hope morning never comes and want to sleep longer. The best heater I could ask for. Everyone needs one in their home. But this one here is mine.

“Good morning, here.” Yae handed me a cup of warm milk and chocolate for Satoru.

“Thanks, Yae.” I smiled and sat on the sofa.

“Good morning. Should we check the ski course today?” Yoru smiled.

“Okay.” I nodded. “I want to try snowboarding.”

After morning routine, we checked the ski course.

“Hisaki-san!!! We met again!!!” I sighed loudly when I heard that voice again.

“...fancy meeting you here, Kurokawa-san.” I was so close to just ignoring her.

“We must be fated to be friends. If not, why do we keep meeting like this.” She giggled.

“I didn't want to meet you though,” I mumbled.

“Don't tell me you stalked us?!” Again, her soulmates came up with something weird.

“I have much more important matters to attend to, like spending time with my soulmate rather than stalking you. You think too highly of yourselves. You are not worthy to be stalked.” I grumbled.

“That's right. Besides, we are here on the trip with our soulmates.” Tori supplied. We are really fed up because of them.

“Then, let's all play together. The more the merrier.” Kurokawa clapped her hands.

“Sorry. I don't think your soulmates will welcome us. You see how hostile they are to me. For our and your comfort and safety. I still think it's better not to go with you.” I declined.

“But…” Her smile dropped.

“Yuriko is asking you nicely, all you need to say is yes and come with us.” The third sibling growled as he extended his hand to grab me.

“Is there something you need with my soulmate?” A much larger hand grabbed his instead and my back was covered in the familiar smell of wisteria.

“Satoru.” I smiled.

“Satoru…? Gojo Satoru?” They gasped.

“You seem to know me. But I don't know you. Now, what were you trying to do with my soulmate?” Satoru growled as he tightened his grip.

“Gojo Satoru.” The Kunnugi eldest came. “Please forgive my younger brother. He didn't mean any harm.”

“Didn't mean any harm?” Satoru raised his brow. “He clearly wanted to hurt my soulmate, yet you said he didn't mean any harm?” He snorted. “Have your eyes gone blind? Because mine sure haven't.” He mocked.

“Hisaki-san, I apologize on behalf of my younger brother. I will make sure he won't disturb you anymore. He is just eager to please our youngest soulmate.” He said to me.

“...as long as you guys won't barge into my circle anymore. Kurokawa-san might genuinely want to make friends with me. But her soulmates were clearly hostile to me. I am sorry, being friends with someone whose soulmates are being rude and shooting lasers every chance they get because of their own mistake is very hard.” I emphasized the most important words.

“And I heard you guys didn't even apologize to this poor lady even after all of you had done.” Geto-san quipped and stared at them expectantly.

“Sorry, Hisaki-san. Those were our faults. We should have listened to your side of the explanation instead of pushing our own opinion. We were… a little too excited…” Kunnugi eldest admitted it.

“...I… don't care about that anymore. Please, just leave us alone. I don't want to get into an argument every time. It's tiring. I just want to spend my time with my soulmates and friends. That's all I ask.” I sighed, leaning back into Satoru.

“Of course.” He nodded. “Let's go.” He dragged them away. When I couldn't see them anymore, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you alright? Should we go back to the lodge?” Satoru asked worriedly.

“No. I want to play with everyone. Besides, you promised to teach me snowboarding.”

“Okay. But tell me if you feel sick.” Satoru patted my head.

“Yeah.” I nodded. The rest of our vacation is problem-free. Though we do see them, they didn't approach us, with Kurokawa looking at us as if she wanted to join us which we ignored. ~”~

It's finally the start of our third semester and Valentine's Day. I am so excited for this year's Valentine. Hehehee, of course it's because I can finally give my homemade chocolate to my soulmate. Well, aside from the exciting valentine, there's also some bad news. More and more similar vampire cases pop out. What more, mysterious destruction of properties. Satoru seems to know what's going on, but he doesn't say anything. And I also didn't pry. Because I have a feeling that all this peaceful routine that I am enjoying will be ruined in an instant.

“Satoru, I am going to Yae's place. You stay at home and don't go anywhere. I…I will give you something nice later.” I mumbled shyly at the last part. It's not like he doesn't know what nice thing I will give to him later.

Satoru with his Cheshire grin only nods at me excitedly, crystalline blue eyes shine brightly. “Of course I will wait for you. I am not going anywhere.” He grinned. Today is 13th February, the day we are going to make chocolate for our respective soulmates. Satoru knows I know he knows that I am absolutely going to give him my homemade chocolate, hence the Cheshire grin.

“I am going to be a good boy, so you promised to give me nice things later.” He purred. My cheeks warm at his voice, utterly devastating and I nod my head slowly. “Today's omamori.” He leaned in for a forehead kiss as usual…or not. Lips pressing with lips, Satoru sneaked his arms around my waist to pull me closer. His tongue gently pries my bottom lips for an entrance and then skillfully wades itself into my cavern.

The kiss is gentle, yet there’s a subtle hint of hunger, sucking all my breath away until I have to separate myself because of the lack of oxygen. I would most certainly slump on the floor if not for his steady hand supporting me. I feel weak, my knees are weak. I could only limp in his arms for a few moments before I could stand up on my own again.

“Today’s omamori is with extra protection.” He whispered lowly. My head is still dizzy from the kiss. He chuckles when he sees the state I am in just because of his one kiss.

“Me…meanie…” I puffed my cheeks, trying to look angry. Not that it helped at all, seeing how starry-eyed I must have been, there was even a tear in the corner of my eyes.

“I will wait for you, or I can pick you up later.” He hummed, putting me back on my feet.

“I…I will call you later.” I mumbled.

“Okay, be safe, Sweet.”

“Um…” I nodded. ~”~

We finished making the chocolates. After being put in the fridge for a few hours, we will take it back home. For now, we are waiting for them to chill, so here we are, gossiping about our soulmates again.

“So, how far have you gone with your soulmate?” Tori wriggled her eyebrows. I almost spit out everything I am drinking.

“We…almost have gone all the way,” Yoru said bashfully.

“Oh? How about Yae?” Tori turned to her.

“Hmm… we didn’t really go all the way. But we do sometimes have a bath together, just relaxing ourselves. It’s a very nice way to de-stress actually.”

“Ba-bathing together?” I squeaked at how nonchalant Yae sounded. I mean, I get it, they are doing nothing sexual but it’s still intimate nonetheless.

“Heee? How about Rai-chan? Don’t tell me you have gone all the way?” They smirked mischievously.

“H-how about you tell us about you first?” I countered.

“Me? Ren and I have gone all the way to the third base.” Tori strikes a v pose.

“Eh? Really?!” We (mostly Yoru and I) gaped at her.

“How does it feel?!” Yoru asked excitedly.

“…You are seriously asking that?” Tori sweatdropped but relented when she saw Yoru’s unyielding face. “Well, it’s very pleasurable.” Tori scratched her cheek sheepishly. ��I have heard that some might feel pain. But for me, all I felt was pleasure.” Tori answered. “Now, let’s get back to the main topic.” Now her face changed again, their eyes suddenly glinting while turning to me.

“Eh?” I blinked.

“Tell us.” They literally shoved their faces to me.

“We… the farthest is only kissing…and sleep together…not doing anything…” I cracked under pressure.

“Kissing, eh?” Tori smirked.

“What kind of kissing?” Yae followed suit.

“Forehead? Cheek? Lips? Tell us!” Yoru finished.

“…l-lips…”

“And? Was it a deep kiss? Chaste kiss?”

“…th-the one with to-tongue…” I shrank smaller. ‘Someone, help me…’

“Hehe…Our Raika has finally grown up.” They acted as if they were my mother. “How does he do? Was he a good kisser?”

“Th…that’s secret!!!” I yelled.

“So cute, so cute.” The three of them started patting my head while crying fake tears saying I have become a woman.

“St-stop!!!!” An alarm suddenly rang, indicating 3 hours had passed by since we put our chocolate into the freezer.

“Oh, our chocolate is done.” Yae got up to take them out. I am saved from further interrogation. We then wrapped our chocolate and decided we were done for the day.

“Who come to pick you up?” Yae asked.

“Tori and I are going to walk,” Yoru answered.

“Let’s have Satoru take you home.” I frowned. “There are a lot of weird things that happened recently. I’d hate if you two got caught up in strange things.” I said.

“If you are really worried, we’ll take your suggestion.” Tori smiled.

“Yep. We have more chance to tease you and Gojo-san anyway.” Yoru nodded.

“Please, no more…” I cried.

Satoru picks us up and agrees to take Yoru and Tori home. On the way, these two are basically poking fun at me. Satoru laughs along with them gushing how cute I was. I think I’ve never been so red in my whole life.

“So, Rai-chan, I have been a very good boy. Where’s my nice things?” That’s the very first thing he whispered to my ears right after we entered our house.

“The chocolate is for tomorrow. Today… for today…just be satisfied with this!” I gave him a kiss on the cheek and ran away from the crime scene. ~”~

14th February, I woke up quite early for today. The excitement of finally giving my soulmate my homemade chocolate is the cause of adrenaline. I smile softly as I watch Satoru who’s still asleep and tip-toing to the kitchen. Just for today, I want to make the breakfast for him. I hum a random tune as I busy myself in the kitchen. Just as I was about to finish, a big shadowy figure loomed over me and leaned his weight on me. “Rai-chan…” He murmured sleepily as he pressed kisses to my shoulder.

“Good morning, Satoru. The breakfast is almost finished. Wait for me over there.” I giggled.

“Want to stay here.” He mumbled sleepily.

‘So cute.’ “I don’t mind.” I started to plate the breakfast. Just a normal Japanese-style breakfast.

“Smells good.” Satoru sat down in his seat. I take the seat opposite of him. “Rai-chan, your seat is here.” Satoru pouted.

“It will be troublesome to eat like that, Satoru.” He is still gung-ho about me having to sit on his lap everywhere.

“But Rai-chan~~~”

“After breakfast, okay Satoru? Today is Sunday, we can relax for the whole day.” I smiled.

“…It’s a promise.” He sulked.

“Yes, a promise.” I giggled. And yes, I fulfilled my promise to him by letting his lap become my personal seat for the whole day. Right now, we are just watching some kind of movie. But I am rather distracted by my soulmate rather than the movie and it’s become kind of a game where I try to subtly get his attention.

But either he doesn’t notice it or pretends not to, he is not paying attention to me at all. I finally let out a small whine and he eventually shifted his attention to me. “Oh? We are done playing?” He has this irresistible cocky smirk on his lips.

“Meanie.” I pouted as I realized he was playing pretend.

“Because you are so cute trying to get my attention. If I gave in sooner then I couldn’t see much more of your cute antics.” He chuckled.

“Booo…” I puffed my cheeks as I poked his chest repeatedly.

“Sorry sorry. You were so cute.” He laughed. “I am sorry, Rai-chan. What should I do so you will forgive me?” He caught my hand and pressed his forehead against me.

“…Ki-kiss… I…I want a kiss…” I fidgeted nervously.

“A kiss it is then.” Satoru grinned and swooped down, capturing my lips. A kiss turns into kisses and then into French kisses. A fuzzy warm feeling is coursing my whole body. His kisses are intoxicating and I am addicted to them. The first kiss might have caught me off guard, but now I don’t think I can go on without his daily kiss anymore.

“Ah!” I snapped out of my stupor because I remembered something important.

“Rai-chan?”

“Wait here!” I got off his lap and went to the fridge to get the chocolate. “Here.” I handed him the chocolate shyly. “Happy Valentine, Satoru.” Red-faced me murmured.

“Rai-chan, do you know how much I am restraining myself not to just glomp you and attach you to my hips so you won't ever leave my sight? Seriously, how can you be so cute, hm?”

“O-oh…” I put the chocolate on the coffee table and spread my hands. “You can glomp on me.”

“Right away.” Instead of literal glomping though, I got a tight hug, it's quite suffocating but not unwelcomed at all. In fact, I am literally melting because of his warmth.

After the long hug, Satoru is trying a new type of kiss. He popped the chocolate into his mouth and proceeded to kiss me, passing the chocolate. The chocolate melts as it is passed around, it's a romantic notion but, actually quite messy in reality. Saliva mixed with chocolate dribbles down from my mouth, but Satoru licks it away. “Mmmnnn~ sweet.” His eyes crinkled with mirth.

“The chocolate or me?” I didn't know what kind of demon possessed me when I asked that, even going as far as smirking at him. Maybe the heat in the moment? Or some of his personality rubbed off on me? Or maybe I awakened something?

“Of course it's you, sweet. You look so hot when you take charge.” He purred. The usual soft affectionate eyes are full of hunger that can swallow me whole. I gulp at the raw emotion and my body suddenly feels hotter. “I won't force you, sweet. You can take your time slowly. I can wait.” His hunger subsided. “For now, I am satisfied with just kissing. So let me kiss you a lot, m’kay?” He gave a rakish grin. And the kissing session continued. ~”~

“Hehehe.” I skipped happily as I finally managed to buy the super rare menu from a certain famous sweets shop. I am hoping to share this with Satoru. Satoru said he would be late today working, so instead of going home, I am going to his company.

“Kon'nichiwa.” I greeted the receptionist onee-sans.

“Ah, Raika-chan! Welcome. Are you going to see Boss?”

“Yes. Is he in his office?” I nodded.

“Yes. He is in his office. I will call him-”

“No. Let's make it a surprise.” I giggled. “Though I doubt I can pull it off. He knows it every time.” I pouted. Few days after Valentine, Satoru brought me to his company, because he said he needed his energy booster, namely me, to keep him motivated throughout the day. All I do is literally coop in his office doing my own homework. Sometimes, I give him a massage or make tea or feed him sweets. I want to help him with his work but as expected I don't understand a thing. The nice secretary, Yume-san did teach me a little thing here and there.

“Good luck!” Receptionist Onee-sans, Kairi-san and Kirie-san encouraged.

“Hehe, thank you. And here, it's a secret from everyone.” I gave them sweets that I had bought specifically for them.

“Isn't this…”

“Yep, from that Sweets & Sweets.” I nodded.

“Raika-chan…” Their eyes are glassy. “You are a really good girl.” They cried. “Boss must have saved a planet in his last life to get a soulmate like you.”

“Tell me if someone or Boss makes you unhappy. We will bite him and tear him.” They said seriously. Yes, this company is run by vampires. All of the employees here are vampires. To be honest, they are not really different from humans. They even have human-like temperatures. The only difference is they are unnaturally beautiful.

“Will do.” I giggled as I took the private elevator straight to Satoru's office. When I arrived at his office floor. Yume-san, his secretary, is typing something. “Yume-san.” I knocked softly on her door to get her attention.

“Raika-chan.” A soft smile graced her features. “Boss is inside. Should I call him?”

“No. This is a surprise.” I giggled.

“I see. Good luck.” She smiled back.

“Thank you.” I nodded. “And here.” I gave her the sweets. “It can be paired with your favourite latte.”

“Oh my, thank you very much. I don't have time to line up buying this, I have been dying to taste it. You are my saviour.” She quickly opened the box.

“Hehe, next time if I am lining up, I will chat you so I can buy yours too.”

“Then, I will take your word for it.” She grinned. “Now, I better make my latte and enjoy this.”

“Hehehe. Then I will go bother Satoru.” Yume-san gave me a thumbs-up.

Again, I stealthily crack open the door, silently watching Satoru who is immersed in his work. “Are you playing spy, sweet?” I jumped in shock when I heard his voice. I whirl myself and smash my face onto his chest. And then we are inside his office again. He is teleporting again.

“You knew.” I sulked.

“Yeah, the moment you step into the company.” He grinned.

“Not fair.”

“I put a bounded field to keep some pests away. They will know this is my territory and won't mess with it. There's also one around our house.” He giggled.

“Ah, so that weird feeling when I stepped into our house is that.” I nodded convinced. I am already used to it, but the first time I do feel a little weird, as if I cross over a thin film.

“So, why did my angel come here today?”

“I bought this.” I showed him the box.

“Oh?”

“I heard it's very delicious, so I bought it. Let's share. Ah, I will make some tea first. I need plates and forks too.” I pranced around and came back with tea, plates and forks.

“Rai-chan, feed me.”

“Yes yes. Come here.” I smiled indulgently while cutting a small piece of his cake and feeding it to his awaiting mouth. “Is it delicious?”

“Very much so.” He gave me a hum of content. ~”~

This is one of the rare days that Satoru couldn’t come to pick me up and I am going to his company again. “See you!”

“Yes. See you!” I waved to my friends. I take the usual road to the company, but the road is unusually quiet. This makes me alert. I quicken my pace while speed-dialling Satoru. ‘Something is coming.’ I ran and ran and ran, no matter where I turn, I will always come back to the same street. ‘Bounded field?’ My heart raced.

Something scary is after me. I can feel it. I take off, running everywhere to shake off the chaser. It was persistent but so was me.

“Hisaki-san?” I turned my body to the source of a familiar face.

“Kuro…kawa-san?”

“It’s really you? What are you doing here Hisaki-san?” She blinked. “No…if you are inside this bounded field, then you must be one of my opponents too.”

“Opponent? What are you talking-” I quickly dodged to the side. “What are you!”

“Because you are my opponent, Hisaki-san. It’s too bad, but I can’t lose to you. Not when my soulmates are fighting for my sake.” She hardened her eyes. The problem is, I don’t understand what’s she talking about.

“Hyaaah!” She lunged with me with a small dagger in her hands.

“I don’t have time for this. You can play by yourself.” I frowned as I backed away slowly.

“I won’t let you-!” Whatever word she was going to say was cut off by an explosion from the nearest wall. The thing that has been chasing me is here. A vampire.

“Oh, looks like another one is here.” The male vampire looked down on us from the shoulder of a monster he had been sitting on. “Oh my, you are Kunnugi’s soulmate. I was planning only to eat that little girl. But if I also can get you then Kunnugi siblings will also bend to my will.” His magenta eyes shone.

I take off running in the opposite direction while trying to call Satoru. But inside a bounded field, any electronic device is useless. I can only hope I will quickly run out from the bounded field.

“You can’t run from me.” The amused voice of that vampire rang out and another monster appeared, breaking through another house to block me.

“Tsk.” I glared.

“Oh my, what a brave glare. You look much more amusing toy than that Kunnugi’s soulmate.” He chuckled. “I wonder what kind of face your soulmate will make when he sees your mangled corpse. Well, that’s the fate of a foolish human who stumbled inside this bounded field. If you want to hate. Hate your unlucky destiny.” He sneered.

“That so? Then hate your own unlucky destiny to even look at my soulmate.” Just as the voice landed, the vampire’s head separated from his body along with the monster.

“Satoru!” I ran to him, literally throwing myself to him. Satoru hugs back tightly.

“Are you okay, sweet? Are you hurt anywhere? I was so worried when I felt you suddenly went missing.” He fired the barrage of the sentences.

“I am fine. It was a little scary but I know I will be fine.” I said. To be honest, Somehow, I knew I would live back then. I was so confident I would survive this.

“Sweet, how can you be so brave, hm?” I felt his hug loosen a bit as he placed his chin on the top of my head.

“Because I know you will come for me,” I replied.

“You really… trust me that much…”

“Of course. If I don’t trust you, who else I should trust?” I looked up to him.

“…I guess you are right.” His hands cupped my cheeks and pulled me into a soft kiss. “Then, I will have to live up to your trust.” He grinned. Sadly, our touching moment was interrupted, by none other than…

“Gojo Satoru.” It’s the Kunnugi siblings.

“Tsk, annoying pests.” Satoru pulled me tighter.

“You know what does this mean, right?” The eldest of Kunnugi siblings narrowed his eyes.

“Of course I know. Unlike you, I am not stupid.” Satoru answered him sarcastically.

“Then, we also won't hold back.” Kunnugi eldest said.

“What are they talking about?”

“Nothing important, sweet.” He said softly. “Let's get you home, yeah. Enough jump scare for the day.” He grinned and we teleported.

Satoru drew a hot bath and cooked a delicious meal for me. All for the sake that I will forget today's jump scare. “Satoru.”

“Yes, sweet? Do you want a dessert?”

“I am sorry.”

“Why are you saying sorry for?” He tilted his head.

“I…don't know the details. But from Kunnugi eldest words and tone. I… made you do something you hate, didn't I?” I smiled bitterly.

“You misunderstood something, Rai-chan.” He knelt in front of me. “A very big misunderstanding.” He guided my hands to cup his face. “I know from the moment I dispose of that trash, I will be dragged into this pointless fight. I could have chosen not to. But I still do it anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because, those old geezers will definitely push this matter to me no matter what.”

“Can I know what kind of matter it is?”

“Of course.” He smiled and explained how at the top of the vampire hierarchy is the strongest vampire that will be crowned as king or queen. 100 years ago, there was a queen that reigned over them but she suddenly disappeared without a trace. So, they hold a competition again. Vampires will pit against each other with one of their soulmates acting as a master. The rule is simple, a master can have a number of servants (vampires that will fight) to fight against other masters. In fact, the master can even join the fight itself. This was what the previous queen did. She, as a master joined the fight with her only soulmate and reigns supreme over vampires.

Each master was given a candidate mark upon entering. The mark will disappear if the master concedes defeat or is killed. The last one standing is the winner.

“That means… I will be your master?”

“Yeah.”

“Can we just surrender?”

“You can.” He smiled.

“But…”

“But?”

“I hate the fact that we have to surrender.” I frowned.

“Why?”

“Because, Satoru is the strongest and the coolest.” I puffed out my cheeks.

“Rai-chan.” I was caught in a tight hug. “How can you be so loveable like this? I must have saved a planet in my previous life.”

“I am also lucky that Satoru is my soulmate.” I giggled.

“That makes the two of us.” He chuckled. ~”~

A new mark appeared in my hand, this must be the Master mark Satoru talked about. What I am going to do is no different than usual though. I will stay clear of the fight. I don’t want to surrender, but I also don’t want to actively participate in this pointless power strife. After counselling with Satoru, we decided not to do anything but still took precautions for my safety.

It has been a few weeks since I last saw Kunnugi and his soulmate in school. Today, when she arrived at school after her absence, I noticed her change. “…She became vampire…” I mumbled. Her appearance didn’t change greatly, but there are some noticeable changes, and the aura she emitted is obviously different from a few weeks ago.

She was like a rabbit, now she is like a hare… okay, so not much difference. But still a difference nonetheless. Well, as long as she doesn’t cause any trouble for me. Unfortunately, I know it will be the case soon.

“Hisaki-san, can we talk?” She came to my class one day.

“Okay.” I nodded.

“Great, please come with me.” She smiled, pretty haughtily, I might add.

“Rai-chan…” Yae frowned.

“It’s okay. She won’t be doing anything to me.” I assured her. ‘For now.’

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Kurokawa Mayuko led me to the rooftop.

“I guess you have heard about what happened that time.”

“…Yes, I had heard about it.”

“Well, I am just going to give you a piece of advice. You better surrender the battle royal. It’s not something for a human like you to participate.”

‘…So, she did cease to be human…’ I have known from the time I saw her entering the school after her absence.

“And another one since I consider you as fellow Vampire’s soulmate.” She leaned down to my ears. “I am the true soulmate of Gojo Satoru.” She smirked at me.

“…??”

“Don’t you feel weird? He has lived for a long time, but didn’t have a soulmate until he met you?” She snorted.

“…” I frowned.

“He had a soulmate.” She continued. “But that’s not you.” She giggled. “I supposed you had heard about the purpose of this battle royal. Let me tell you the truth then. The Queen that reigned supreme over the vampire is none other than Gojo Satoru’s soulmate.” Her smirk widened at my shocked face.

“Yes, but she suddenly disappeared. She was presumed dead. And I am her reincarnation. I suppose you know what I mean by Gojo Satoru’s true soulmate is me now.”

“But it’s the fact that I am his soulmate now. We also have our soulmate mark. This world has recognized us as soulmates.”

“Fufufufu.” She giggled. “We’ll see who he will choose, his true soulmate, his queen, his everything or you, a little human girl.” She then sashayed away, leaving me alone in the rooftop. ~”~

I know I shouldn’t think about her words deeply. Whoever his soulmate in the past is not my problem now. Besides, I have never heard about changing soulmate… But Satoru is a vampire, who has been living for a long time. There is a possibility that will happen… and what if… he chooses her instead of me… What will I do then…?

The realization hits me like a truck. Will I be alone again? After living together with Satoru, I don’t think I can survive alone again. ‘No no no. There must be some misunderstanding.’ I shook my head, “Let’s ask Satoru.” With that resolve, I go to his company.

“When are you going to tell Rai-chan the truth about our queen? Your soulmate?” I stopped dead in my tracks, my mind was reeling with the conversation I had with Kurokawa.

“She doesn’t need to know about that. It’s not important.”

“She is your soulmate, you know.”

“Suguru, I don’t want her to know about that horrible truth. Once is enough.”

Satoru is right. It’s not important anymore. I am his soulmate now. Not the queen of vampires or whatever. But why… why my tears are not stopping?

‘You are my one and only soulmate.’

“Rai-chan!” The door burst open and I saw Satoru’s worried face.

“…you liar…” I whispered. His hand stops midair, eyes blown wide and he fumbles. I take the chance to run away. Run away from that place, from him and from the harsh cold truth. ~”~

“…-chan… i-chan… Rai-chan!!!!” I weakly open my eyes to that desperate yell. A visage of Satoru, yelling out my name desperately.

“…Sa…toru…?” My voice is weak, my mouth is sore and inside my mouth is sticky with a strong copper smell.

“Rai-chan! Hang on! I will take you to Shoko right now!”

I don’t know who this Shoko is, probably his acquaintance or friend. “…It’s okay…” I shook my head, tried to.

“It’s not okay!”

Ah, I remember meeting one of Kurokawa’s soulmate and then he… I lift my hand, trying to wipe the tears on his face. “Don’t…cry…” Satoru grabbed my bloodied hand.

“I will teleport us now!”

“…No… this is my punishment…for calling you a liar…”

“I don’t care what you call me, it’s fine if you hate me, as long as you live.”

“…Satoru… thank you…for being…my soulmate… Now, you…are free…” I smiled one last time to him. Yes, I am thankful, even for a short time, I have a wonderful soulmate.

“No no no. You can’t leave me again! I won’t allow it!” Satoru looked now limp Raika. He knows he has to do it now, either risk her dying or bear the burden of her hatred. And he will choose the latter. “I am sorry. I know you don’t like that kind of life. But I’d rather you hate me rather than see you dead. Sorry, Rai-chan.” Satoru then bit into his arm, and fresh blood spilt out from the wound. He takes a big gulp and passes the blood to Raika.

*Thump*

All Satoru feels right now is a relief because her heart is beating again. “I need to go to Shoko’s now.” ~”~

“…”

“Rai-chan, you woke up!” I can see Yae and Suguru’s face.

I blink and try to sit up. “Ah, be careful. You are still healing.” Suguru spoke softly.

“It’s fine…” With Yae’s help, I sit on the bed with a pillow propped behind me. “Where is Satoru?”

“Satoru, Rai-chan is calling you.” Suguru looked at the door. Then, tear-stricken and nervous Satoru, along with his now messy suit is hovering in the doorway, hesitating whether to enter or not.

“Satoru, I want a hug.” I held out my hands and Satoru zoomed in quickly, enveloping me with his big frame.

“I will leave you two then.” Yae and Suguru gave us some private time.

“You are alive… I am glad…” I can hear him sniffling a little.

“I am sorry, Satoru.”

“It’s not your fault.” Satoru pulled back a little and shook his head. “I…didn’t want to tell you the truth… It’s not your fault.”

“It’s alright now. I am fine.”

“I… I will tell you all you want to know. So, please promise me you won’t suddenly run away anymore. I… I am fine with you hating me…”

“It’s not fine.” I huffed.

“Rai-chan…”

“I don’t want to hate you.” I scowled. “Besides, it’s not your fault that somebody suddenly decided he wanted to kill me. It’s just an unfortunate incident.”

“Rai-chan… by any chance…” I give him a big smile.

“I am back, Satoru.” Once again, his big frame swallows me whole.

“Welcome back, Rai-chan… Please don’t leave me again…”

“I won’t.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” I hooked our pinkies together. “Oh, and I am sorry for calling you a liar.” I scratched my cheek. It’s my own fault that I was deceived, I shouldn’t blame this on Satoru.

“I am also sorry for not telling you sooner.” Satoru shook his head. “I know you hate being queen because it’s a lot of work. You also said that you want to live as human… that’s why…”

“That’s why you three worked together and erased my memories when the opportunity arose. Though it was really unexpected opportunity.”

“Rai-chan, you are absolutely not allowed to put yourself in danger. Do you know how scared I was when I saw you took that blow for me!”

“Sorry, my body just moved on my own. By the time I realized it… well…”

“Please, Rai-chan. I don’t care if I was hurt, but I can’t bear to see you hurt.”

“That’s no good, Satoru.” I sighed. “It goes both ways, I also don’t want to see you hurt. That’s why I took the blow. Instead, let’s make a promise, that we won’t die no matter what happened. At least until our time is up. No matter how badly we are injured, we will stay alive together.” I showed him my pinkie again.

“Okay…” Satoru smiled and we made the promise. “Then, this is an oath.” Satoru suddenly stole a kiss from me. “I promise you, I absolutely won’t let anything happen to you from now on.”

“And I promise you that I will make sure that both of us will live until the world decides we lived long enough.” The two of us then share a laughter.

“So, I take it, it’s alright now?” Suguru and Yae came in.

“Ah, Suguru, Yae-chan. It’s not nice eavesdropping on lovers’ intimate moment.” Satoru pouted as he shielded me from them.

“Shut up, Satoru.” Suguru rolled his eyes playfully.

“Welcome back, Rai-chan.”

“I am back, Yae, Suguru.” I smiled.

“Well, what are you going to do now? You two participated in the battle royal, no?” Suguru questioned.

“No problem. I won once, I will win it again. Besides, she dared to name herself as my reincarnation and even started to put her paw on Satoru. Of course I will have to put her in her place now, don’t I?” I smiled while seething.

“Allow us to serve you once again, Your Majesty.” Yae and Suguru knelt down.

“I will allow it.” I smiled. ~”~

After a round of check-ups from Shoko, I was officially discharged. I got an earful from her, however. Shoko instructed me to eat a lot of meals which contain blood drops. However according to Shoko, due to my life as human for the past 100 years. My body changed somewhat. I can eat normal balanced food of humans instead of the special meal for vampires to survive, meaning I don’t need any more blood, well, I can drink if I feel like it.

“Satoru?”

“Hm?”

“Here.” I showed him my neck.

“Rai-chan?”

“You gave me your blood, didn’t you? and knowing you, unless Suguru or Shoko forcefully fed you, you won’t touch blood that isn’t mine.”

Satoru slowly sniffs my neck and lets out a purr. “From now on, I can give you blood. Seems like my body has adapted to the way of humans.” I laughed. The two of us usually feed on each other, but we do sometimes need an external source from bank blood. But the taste is not the same, so we refrain. Fortunately, we are also pure-blood vampires, so we can survive with the tiniest amount of blood.

I can feel Satoru’s fang gliding on my neck, searching for a certain sweet spot and then they sink in. “♥”

The feeling of ecstasy runs through my whole body, spreading fast. I can never get enough of this familiar sensation. Satoru licks every drop of the blood, it’s blasphemy to even let a drop be wasted. The punctures I have on my neck, quickly closed as though it was never bitten.

“Haaa…haa…” Satoru let his head drop on my shoulder, arms encircling my abdomen. He is drunk because of my blood and I am drunk because of the rapture he had given. The two of us stay like that until we come down from our high.

“Rai-chan.”

“What?”

“I love you.”

“I know. I love you too.” I shifted so I could see him face to face.

“We will be together forever.”

“Yes, forever.” I snuggled deeper into his embrace. ~”~

It appears that Kurokawa is absent again. I heard from Suguru she is dominating the royal battle. ‘I see, she wants to save me for the last.’ My mouth quirked up. ‘Must want to see how I cry in a heart-wrenching manner when Satoru choose her over me.’ I snorted. Too bad, I have my own plan of surprise.

A week later, I was confronted by Kurokawa and her seven soulmates. “Hisaki-san, long time no see.” She smiled haughtily, lifting her chin up.

“…W…what do you want?” I backed up.

“You should already know what I want.” She smirked.

“I won’t give you Satoru.” I glared.

“That’s not about what you want or don’t want, human girl.” She snorted. “To be completely honest, I am glad that you survived the last attack. I truly want to see how this will play out in the end.”

“You spoke as if you are not human anymore.” I frowned.

“Good observation.” She giggled. “I am indeed had ceased to be human. I am after all the reincarnation of the vampire queen. It’s my destiny to be a vampire, to be the ruler of the vampire clan.”

“You know it’s forbidden for vampires to turn humans into vampires,” I said.

“Yes, but it’s a different story if they are soulmates. As long as soulmates give their consent, they can turn their own soulmate into a vampire. Of course they will be responsible for training their bloodlust and will accept the consequence if the turned soulmate lost control in public space.” Kunnugi eldest explained.

“…” I didn’t give any rebuttal for their explanation.

“Rai-chan!” Satoru suddenly appeared.

“Satoru!” I rushed to his embrace.

“Gojo Satoru…” Kunnugi siblings are openly glaring at him.

“Satoru-kun…” Kurokawa called and looked at him longingly. Goosebumps broke onto our body and a desire to kill is simmering in my body.

“Don’t call me my name. We are enemies.” Satoru growled.

“You got it wrong, Satoru-kun.” Kurokawa looked as if she was hurt deeply. You know, I really should give her an Oscar award as the female lead and best-supporting award for us. Because despite all of her nonsense, we are still able to make this play.

“I am the reincarnation of your true soulmate. Your queen.” She looked at him with glassy eyes.

“No! Satoru is my soulmate. We have the soulmate mark! The word dictated us as soulmates!” I cried out. I can feel Satoru holding himself back from just glomping and cooing about how cute and precious I am. You see, his mouth is twitching.

“Do you really forget what we have gone through as a couple?” Kurokawa ignored my outburst and kept talking to Satoru. “I know… I know that when I died, I ceased to be your soulmate, and now that I have reincarnated, I have my own soulmates. But the feelings we shared in my previous life are not a lie. I do not wish to fight nor harm you in any way.”

“But you will harm my soulmate.” Satoru glowered.

“As long as she surrenders and promises not to get in my way, I will guarantee her safety,” Kurokawa said.

“I never got in your way!”

“Then, let Satoru choose. Let him choose which one is more important for him. You, his current soulmate or I, his true soulmate.” Kurokawa said as if she was giving out salvation.

‘I will make sure to settle this score later.’

“Satoru…” I looked up at him, looking at him pleadingly. “You can’t go… you are mine…” I hugged his mid-torso tightly.

“Rai-chan… I…” I peer up to him, puffing my cheeks as big as I can. “How should I continue this play if you look at me with such a cute face.” Satoru sighed.

“Because…” I pouted.

“Okay, let’s end the play now, shall we?”

“…okay…” Well, the continuation of this play should be Satoru hesitating and then still choosing me in the end while saying some cheesy line from shoujo manga, but yep, seems like I already don’t care about that.

“Satoru-kun?”

“Don’t call me that. It feels sickening.” Satoru growled.

“Your lost.” I grinned as I snapped my fingers. Bloody spears spring up from the ground, literally stabbing themselves to the unsuspecting 8 soulmates.

“This!”

“Not so fast.” With another snap of fingers, a barrier enveloped and electrified them. “The previous queen’s reincarnation.” I walked closer to Kurokawa. “You sure pretty confident about it.”

“That’s because I am.” She spat. “What are you?! You are just a human girl!”

“Human girl? Heh…” I laughed lightly. “You guys must have been born after the previous queen’s disappearance. And the one who told you such must be Kenjaku.”

“!!!” Their faces told me what I needed to know.

“The first thing I must to settle the score with him after all. Let’s not forget that he tried to harm Satoru.” I made a mental note to myself. “Let me show you what the previous queen looks like.” I smiled.

“Rai-chan.” Suguru and Yae brought up an old painting which was covered in a piece of cloth. Then they pull down the cloth, revealing an old portrait painting of me, exactly 100 years ago.

“You lie!!!!” Kurokawa shrieked.

“Well, whether you believe it or not, it’s not a problem anyway. Since I am going to win this battle royal.” I smiled. “Now, choose… Either you surrender or die.”

“I won’t surrender.” Kurokawa gritted her teeth.

“Suit yourself.” I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly. “Suguru, Yae. I will let you guys vent out your pent-up stress.”

“We are honoured, Your Majesty.”

So, I am watching the play on the Throne Satoru provided. “…” This might take a while and I am beginning to doze up. Their screams make a good lullaby.

“You sleepy, love?”

“A little.”

“Should we go home?”

“Not yet.” I shook my head.

“We…we surrender!!! Please don’t hurt our soulmates anymore.” Kunnugi eldest finally broke.

“Ah, he broke.” I yawned and stood up. “So, how about it, Kurokawa-san?” I smiled at the girl. How pitiful, she is trembling like a little mouse now.

“I…I…I…I…”

“Speak clearly.” Yae squished her cheek roughly.

“I…I su…surrender…pl…please…no…no…more…” She sobbed.

“That’s great. You should have surrendered from the start.” I nodded happily. Then a loud gong echoes, it’s the sign that the royal is finished. Those old men should come to greet the victor anytime now.

Numerous black cars stop near us and old men come out of the cars. “Yo, long time no see.”

“Greetings, Your Majesty.” They knelt down.

“Oh, you still know I am your ruler? Why are you playing with the royal battle then?”

“…”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty. You were missing for 100 years. We thought it would be better for…” Blood spurted out from his body which had been missing the upper half courtesy of Satoru and it then dropped with a thud.

“So, what are you going to say?” I smiled at them.

“…Welcome back, Your Majesty. We will take care of the rest. Please rest easy.” They said in unison.

“Make sure your explanations please me or else…”

“Yes! Your Majesty.”

“Let’s go.” I hummed. “Ah…” I halted my footstep. “Don’t kill them yet. I still want to play with them.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

The throne room is still the same, nothing changes from the moment I was ‘killed’. Now, dressed in imperial clothes with a sceptre leaning on the throne, all my subjects are kneeling down in front of me.

“100 years ago… You better fess up who sneaked Kenjaku in or I will annihilate you all.” I crossed my legs and propped my cheek on the back of my hand.

“Your Majesty, we have killed the traitors. But Kenjaku has been missing for 100 years, right after the attempt of assassination.”

“Tsk. What a slimy bastard.” I clicked my tongue. “Search him out. Even if he is in the corner of the world, drag him back here.” My eyes glowed.

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

“And, bring them here.” 8 prisoners are entering the throne hall, lining up neatly. “Since Kenjaku told you the nonsense about her being my reincarnation. You guys must have met him somewhere. Where is he?”

They gulp because of my pressure. “We don’t know… That man suddenly came up one day and told us about the previous queen and then went away just like that.” The eldest said.

“When was it?”

“Few weeks before.”

“So, he must still be in nearby.” I frowned.

“Rai-chan. It’s not good frowning. Your forehead will wrinkle.” Satoru poked his finger on my forehead. “Don’t worry about Kenjaku, we will definitely find him.” Satoru smiled.

“…okay…” I sighed. “Then, what should we do to them?” I gestured to the prisoners.

“It’s up to you, My Queen.”

“You still haven’t tortured us enough!? You monst-“

Again, fresh blood spurted out from the missing upper half of the body of Kunnugi youngest.

“Kyaaaa!!!!!” Kurokawa shrieked in fear and trembled.

“The punishment of being audacious in front of the supreme ruler is death.” Satoru’s eyes glowed eerily.

“Suguru, use your manipulation to get everything about Kenjaku out of their brain. After that, you can just let the familiars play with them.”

“You!” all of them tried to lunge at me, but the chain they were wearing sent electricity instead. The smell of burning flesh fills the throne room.

“Take them out,” Suguru commanded a few vampires to drag them out.

“Now then, I am going to take a nap.” I stretched my body. “Let’s go, Satoru.”

“Okay, Rai-chan.” Satoru smiled and followed me back to our house, enjoying our time together before having another meeting with Suguru tomorrow.