#you're going hunting for bones? have a fun time

[yandere-sins]

saw your recent post. your thoughts on yandere naga! ghost and könig? 👀

I kept this ask for a bad day of mine because I knew it would make me happy to write about them ♥ Thank you for requesting!

Warning: Yandere, Implied Sexual Content

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Ghost

♡ I see him as this bulky, black-tailed snake with black scales creeping up his arms and hips and a massive skull pattern of white scales covering his back. He's definitely not in pristine condition, scars having slashed through some of those scales. However, all you can think about when looking at those scars is how hard it must have been to actually leave a wound on this guy. This creature must have fought battles that a human could only hope never to encounter, and wielding a knife or a gun doesn't make you feel safe from him either.

♡ One thing is sure, when Ghost emerges from the dark, it's over for you. He hunts from the shadows and throughout the night, breaking the bones of his prey before killing them. Despite being huge and probably hard to miss if you know what you're looking for, you don't see him coming when he hunts, a true killer on the prowl. You also don't hear or notice him stalking you through the forests, the thicket hiding him from the sun rays that might give away his presence on that fateful day.

♡ However, Ghost is patient and persistent once he has his eye on his prey. Small animals have long breathed a sigh of relief since they are not his preferred dinner anymore. However, if there are no deer or bigger animals to hunt, he doesn't mind grabbing a human to subdue hunger for a while. That is until he meets you. He usually goes for groups of men who he can crush with his tail and who will feed him for a few weeks, so Ghost doesn't need to leave his cave more often than necessary. But you're the best he could find all day, so it's no surprise that he stalks after you until you are far enough away from your pesky village so your screams can't be heard.

♡ Ghost loves the chase more than he likes to admit. It really gets his adrenaline pumping, his instincts warming up and tingling his desires. What little venom he possesses shoots into his fangs out of pure animalistic drive. When you finally catch a glimpse of his black scales reflecting the sunlight, all you hear is the cracking of tree trunks behind you as his body slams into them while he hunts you down. You might be smaller and more agile, but he has the advantage of reach, speed, and stamina. If he were to lunge at you, it would be over. He knows this, and yet, instead of simply grabbing you and snapping your neck, he lets you run away from him, leading you in circles by cutting off your paths until you notice something is wrong. It's adorable when you try to confront him with your puny knife in your shaking hands. One whose blade wouldn't even leave a scratch on his scales. When he rears up to his full size, he can watch the realization changing your expression into one of dread, and when Ghost licks the air, he tastes your fear, exciting him all the more.

♡ With one swift movement of his tail, he has it wrapped around you, your little knife plunging into his scales as you try to get him to let you go. It's barely leaving a chip on him while you feel your body getting slowly crushed. You are definitely not the type of food he was looking for. Your body is too soft and easy to snap compared to the usual mass he plays with. Most of the time, his prey is dead long before he can taste their despairing fear, but you are different, and Ghost can't stop licking the air for more. When he releases you for a moment, you make an adorable gasping sound as your lungs grasp for air, only to struggle again as he tightens his coil around you, squeezing down until your fear coats his tongue again. 

♡ Ghost does that a few times, releasing, tightening, tasting. It's as good of an amusement as any, and for the first time in ages, Ghost thinks about the fun of playing around and not being as lonely as a ghost in his part of the forest. He has seen cruelty beyond his needs for food and safety, so it's a nice change to have someone who struggles and fights him despite being hopeless. You might trash and scream when he takes you from his tail and throws you over his shoulder, but the little gasp you make seeing the skull on his back is music in Ghost's ears. He also gets to hear all kinds of sounds as he puts his large hands all over you since you wiggle around so much, finding even softer and squishier places on you that intrigue him.

♡ Soon enough, he drags you into the darkness of his cave and puts you down in his nest. It's not very comfy since he doesn't need it to be. However, he catches himself thinking that something as soft as you will need an equally soft place to stay. For now, you'll have to do with his body. His tail takes up a lot of space, so even though you quickly try to climb and escape the way you thought was the exit, Ghost just picks you up and sets you back down on top of him over and over, yawning as if it was but a mild annoyance while you try to stay alive despite being in his clutches. Eventually, though, he'll have enough of your activities, wrapping your legs in his tail and your body in his arms which are just as crushing. His scales rake all over your skin as he moves every feeling part of his to experience you. His hands wander out of curiosity about your legs and small stature compared to him, pulling at your clothes and slipping beneath them. He rarely thinks about companionship, but he considers it as he continues to taste the air around you, changing from pure fear to fearful arousal while his fingers grab onto your body like the hungry beast he is. Clothes are discarded easily, and as he sandwiches you between his tail and upper body, Ghost decides you are more useful to him alive than you'll ever be as a food source. For once, he'll have some real entertainment in his life ever since he grew out of his rebellious age. It's a more mature type of fun he hadn't considered yet with how rarely he takes an interest in others, and he's all the more excited as he drags his tongue over your body, tasting you for the first time.

♡ After that first encounter, he quickly decides to make you his mate. As such, he knows there are more important things than sleep and hunt he has to do now. Now, he has to protect and feed you (and fill you), find a bigger nest to accommodate your mateship properly, and occasionally hunt you through the forest since you seem to like it just as much as he does. (You never win, but it sure is exciting for him, terrifying for you.) But having been without a companion for so long, the thing Ghost enjoys the most is relaxing with you. For the first time in his life, he likes being awake so he can feel you sprawled out on his chest. He even takes you outside to lay in the sun or bathe in the river with him, carrying you around when your legs are too shakey after another successful mating session. Life finally has meaning to him, so he can't let you go back even when your eyes are filled with longing as you look towards the direction of your village. Because that meaning is you.

König (Got a bit long so I put it under the cut whoopsie lol)

♡ He is a curious fella that, unfortunately, suffers from his extreme size. It has made him an outcast and dangerous creature even with his kind. Since he needs a lot of food, he has been banned to the harsh mountain terrains so other nagas can survive without him cleaning out the forests of any living being. He rarely shows himself to humans. However, when he's in a feeding frenzy, everything is fair game, no matter if he regrets it afterward or not. I see him colored more in earthy tones, and though he is as wide as two men standing next to each other, his tail isn't as long, though still long enough to crush his prey comfortably by wrapping it around once. He has his fair share of scars and lost scales, but it gets very much overshadowed by his steeled muscles. Looks can kill is very much a motto from him. Otherwise, nothing about him is very prominent, allowing him to hide despite his size, especially between rocks and cliffs. Though, to be fair, if he had to fight anyone, he would easily win. 

♡ König might be shy, but he doesn't sleep as much as others of his kind, so he can actually experience things throughout the day while roaming his more earthy, rocky terrain. That also made him much more curious about the things that only happen throughout the day, like various visitors from the cities passing through the mountains he occupies. With a tail and strong arms, it's pretty easy for him to climb to any height, and he is intrigued by the humans he comes across since they are much less adapted than he is and still choose this path to travel back and forth. However, this terrain doesn't have much prey to offer. Thus he's plagued by hunger, which—mixed with his curiosity—makes him a dangerous entity to encounter, ready to snap at all times. Otherwise, he isn't openly hostile.

♡ It's very unfortunate that you had to cross the mountain while a storm brewed on the horizon, forcing you to take shelter in a cave. König didn't mean to follow you, but anyone rarely takes a detour in these parts of his territory. There's a moment of panic when he can't seem to find you as you hide from his sight, and he grows much more concerned about finding you than he should. You, however, get to see his tail slither by you a couple of times as you keep your mouth shut, hoping he won't find the entrance you ducked into. There's something blood-curdling about knowing there's a monster out there, apparently aware of your presence. You hope you can just hide until it loses interest. You're not that lucky.

♡ The rain makes it harder to taste you in the air, but König knows these mountains better than anyone. When he finally goes to the ground to spy into the cave, he couldn't see from high up his height, there is the human he was looking for. It's a relief to know you're okay, and his first instinct is to quickly shy away from your wide-open eyes staring at him. However, his tongue dips into the enclosed space, tasting the air. That, combined with those beautiful eyes he can't read, captivates him. You hold his gaze out of pure fear (which must mean he intrigues you too), your body shaking (König is sure that's because you're wet and it's cold), and when his tongue laps out again, he realizes that you must be scared and alone on this mountain while night falls. You're just a little human, after all. König feels bad for you, honestly. He should stay away, but seeing you so vulnerable tugs at his heartstrings. There's too much empathy in his big body to just leave, even though he knows he should. König can't help you, so why put you two in such a strange, precarious situation? He doesn't know how to make a fire, and you can't take the quicker way of falling and climbing down the mountain since you're so fragile. There are a hundred questions in his mind when he feels his stomach tighten with hunger. Thrashing his tail into the dirty ground, you jerk in surprise, and he slams his fist into his belly, refusing to acknowledge his beastly instincts. What would humans do in these situation? How can he help you?

♡  They huddle together. It's his instincts talking. The very same ones he's trying to ignore, but they are right. He might want to refuse the hunger that is making him salivate, but there are more instincts he usually keeps hidden. Ever since he left his birth family behind, he ignored the loneliness building inside of him, especially when the rest of his kind refused him as well. But not having used this ancient knowledge of his kind for so long, König doesn't know where this desire to protect and care for you comes from. All he knows is that you're cold, you keep looking at him "unafraid", and he doesn't really need food at the moment despite you looking very much like a snack. The sounds you make as he squeezes into the cave don't bother his hearing much, but he can't understand what you're saying, which is upsetting. Regardless, he keeps reassuring you that you'll be warm in no time as he pulls you against his chest and settles into his coils. At least he's feeling warm with your body snuggly against his.

♡ It's nice, he has to admit. Listening to your breathing, feeling your heartbeat. He didn't have much contact with anyone for a long time, so even though König has to hold you so he can make sure not to crush you under his body in this small space despite your wiggling, it's the closest to an embrace he has ever gotten. Strangely enough, this situation reminds him of his family and how infatuated his father was with his mate. How he, despite raising his children, was the only one allowed to huddle with König's "mother" and how his mate was his father's most precious possession. Having this kind of life companionship with another creature must be pretty nice. Someone who's warm and soft and who makes the air taste funny and tickles the rough patches on his skin. It would be nice to be less lonely on this mountain of his. To have someone he can explore with and build a nest for—just like his father did for his mate.

♡ König was planning on helping you get back on track once the storm and the night had passed, but he finds himself more and more attached to everything about you. Your tiny legs and the alluring scents coming from between them. Your little gasps and how nicely he can hold your body in his enormous hands. How vulnerable you are. And, of course, he grows attached to the illusions of companionship and killing the dreadful loneliness he was able to ignore until now. He doesn't really want to let you go by the time he had a taste of what you have to offer him. A living, breathing companion. Someone who can't tell him to leave because you don't speak the same language. Someone who has to accept his love out of fear that he doesn't realize you harbor for him. Though he fumbles and makes mistakes, König is keen on becoming a suitable mate for you, too, even if that means taking you to his burrow deeper inside the mountains. It'll be hard for you to leave on your own, but driven by his instincts, he can make it so you'll never want to go out without him. The thought of cozying up the place, preparing it for a family of his own, and then create this family with something as lovely as you are, gets his blood pumping, heart racing. Finally, he won't just have to still his curiosity from afar or become the monster everyone tells him he is. And suddenly, there are a million thoughts in his mind about everything his body and instincts know to do to a mate, overshadowing any doubt or questions he might have on how to make this work. Suddenly, there's only you, you, you, and his loneliness is gone. 

[hunnylagoon]

The Killing Moon

PT2 The Colour Wars

Ellie Williams x Reader

It’s the perfect night for mystery and horror. The night itself is filled with monsters.

Premise: Summer camp feels a little different. Could it be newfound feelings for your friend or creatures beyond the imagination stalking you? Either way, it’s time to win the Colour Wars.

Warnings: Raunchy humour / mentions of cryptids / creepy?

PART ONE: Camp Spirit

Hope everything is alright with you because I'm so stressed that I may be spiralling into insanity at any moment. I understand that I'm an adult now but I too need someone to scream my frustration to until my lungs burn and I'm light-headed. "Hey, I'm having like super bad cramps and my flow is super heavy so I can't play this game."

I look at the girl in front of me, she's around fourteen if I had to guess and has two blonde French braids. We were in the middle of the first game of colour wars -the treasure hunt- and this girl was sporting a blue shirt, I didn't know her face nor was she on my team and I hadn't even noticed that she had been tagging along with my group for ten minutes. "Who are you?"

"Laila."

"Why are you here?" I ask but Laila only answers me with a shrug and a sneer "Never mind, I'm not your counsellor and I don't care, go to the nurses."

"Can I go to the nurses too?" Olive peeps up behind me "I think I have a scrape on my knee.":

"Don't we all?" I look back at her "We gotta win this game, we're so close," We were, mostly because every time the blue team gathered treasure I would send out feral kids to ambush them and bring it back to me "We're gonna have all the treasure we can carry." The objective was simple; The directors hid treasure (Cheap jewelry, hats, clothes from the old theatre program, etc.) across campgrounds and we had to source it out, whichever team came back to the sports field with more treasure won.

"We've been out here for hours," Morgan groaned, you'd think that these girls had been sent to war with the way they complained.

"It's only been forty-six minutes."

Olive took a seat on a rock, Leah doing the same, it didn't take long for each girl to have firmly planted themselves on the ground and refuse to get up. Valentina grabbed a stick and began to scratch drawings into the muddy ground.

"C'mon guys, there's like fifteen minutes left, and I know for a fact that there is still treasure to be found." I know how ridiculous I must've looked at that moment, I had been wearing a purple 'royal cape' that was pilling onto my T-shirt and a cheap dollar store crown that kept slipping off my head.

"I'm so bored," Chloe drew out.

"Because you're being boring!" I exasperate. Never had I ever had a cabin that was so apathetic and unenthusiastic, they were a stark contrast to last year when everyone had sunshine running through their veins and mud smeared across their faces; those pitch black summer nights live in my bones.

"This isn't fun, can we play something else?" 

"No," I take a deep breath out, composing myself "You are at summer camp to be outdoors, you're developing important social, cognitive and emotional skills."

I'm met with blank stares from each and every girl sitting below me "I don't know what that means," Leslie said.

"It means we're going through puberty," Kim tells her.

"No," My eyes go wide "No, it means that you're figuring out who you are."

"Am I gonna get my period soon?" Valentina drops the stick from her tiny hands. 

"Maybe- I don't know," I thew my hands out. 

"What's a period?"

"It's where you bleed until you don't have any blood left and then you die," Kim says this so matter-of-factly like she has a degree in healthcare and has been teaching the health unit in PE for a decade.

"WHAT?" Chloe jumps up from her spot on the ground, looking around to see if she's already bleeding out.

"We're gonna die and you didn't tell us?" Leslie looks even more terrified than she did on the night of the camp legend.

Every girl was beginning to panic, fear was clear across their small faces. It's moments like these where I wish I was alone, maybe solo camping or back in my bedroom from high school, somewhere where only the moon knows how I rot and the sun knows how I yearn.

"Guys, calm down, a period isn't a bad thing and it won't hurt you," This was my attempt to soothe the ten-year-old girls who were contemplating how they would spend their last days on earth. The plastic crown slips off my head and I reach down to grab it and readjust it.

"Then why is it called a period if it doesn't end your life?" Kim asks, crossing her arms.

"I don't know but it doesn't end your life-

"Can we just go back to the soccer field until this game is over?" Tamar chimes in, looking like she rather be staring at cardboard boxes. 

"Fine!" I finally gave in, gathering all of the treasure that once sat at my feet into my arms. The amount of treasure was almost overflowing, I had stolen a bunch from some kids in Dean's cabin who were too scared to argue with me. 

"Am I going to die?" Leslie scurries up beside me and I look down at her, behind the thick lenses of her classes, she is holding back tears.

"Not for a very long time," I can hardly bend my neck to look at her with the amount of shit I'm hauling, the girls being little to no help with this. The girls trail behind me and I have to turn my entire body to look at them "If anyone runs off this time, I'm feeding them to the snatchers."

Suddenly they want to listen. The woods aren't scary in the day, just at night when they begin to whisper. As of now, I know the quickest way to every part of camp despite the identical trees so thick that you can hardly see the sky when you're beneath them. 

Leslie holds onto the bottom of my red Colour Wars T-shirt since my hands are full, Valentina holds onto Leslie's hand and all of a sudden I've become a mother hen with little chicks following me around. 

"If magic isn't real then why were people so scared of witches," Valentina asks me while she kicks a rock across matted fallen leaves and dirt. 

"Maybe magic is real," I say "To burn a witch is to admit magic exists."

"How do I become a witch?" Chloe appears out of what seems to be thin air on my other side, I can't see her since my pile of goodies is up to my chin and I'm afraid that if I move all of it will come tumbling down.

"Practice magic," That was my guess, I didn't know squat about witchcraft.

"How do I do that?"

"A real witch will figure it out herself," I say. When you've worked with kids for five years, you get to a certain point where you run out of creative answers. During my first year working here, I was sixteen and a CIT, terribly afraid to mess up because I hadn't lived yet. With each passing year that I've come back, I get more and more comfortable, returning to familiar faces and the smell of petrichor.

Chloe nods excessively like I've just said something extremely profound, I can see the gears turning in her head like she's already thinking of spells to cast. 

It takes a little less than five minutes until we're out of the woods, we emerge by the crafts cabin, the soccer field is in clear sight. The soccer field is built over a little mound, slightly elevated from the ground and on top I can see two piles of knick knacks and a pretty big sum of campers and counsellors alike waiting on the top. 

From the looks of it Tommy and Joel have already begun to count their respective teams mound of treasure, Tommy being on the amazing red team and Joel representing the awful/disgusting/foul/boring/untalented blue team. That might've been a stretch but there were no friends in the Colour Wars.

In what seems to be the blink of an eye a hoard of kids runs past me and my girls, nearly knocking me off my feet. I didn't even process that some boys with too much energy had stolen plyed my well earned (stolen) treasure from my arms leaving me with nothing but my cape and crown until Liza, a girl from the Grizzly cabin snatched the cape right off my back and none other than Ellie herself grabbing the crown off my head.

They were booking it to the soccer field "Go get our shit back!" I yelled ushering my girls to go after the kids who were at least three years older than them. Only two of them actually listened; despite how hard they were trying, Leslie and Chloe's stumpy legs couldn't take them very far, leaving me to be the only one in pursuit.

I summoned back all of my memory from playing rugby in highschool and jumped on Ellie's back, I didn't take her down but she stumbled. I was so desperate to not turn up empty handed. By the time I made contact with her, she had already thrown the crown ahead for Liza to catch. They ran up the soccer field, dumping the double stolen treasure into their hula hoop. Even visually they were in the lead now, thanks to my expert piracy skills and theirs too, I guess.

"I hate you," I slid off Ellie's back, my sneakers hitting the dusty ground. "My girls earned that fair and square."

She looks me up and down, bathing in my anger like some kind of prize "I know you stole it."

"How?"

"Because I know you."

"Oh yeah?" I cross my arms, taking a step closer to my friend "Do you know how I'm gonna kick your ass later?"

She grins "I look forward to it." Ellie leaves me with this while she walks up to the soccer field to revel with her team in their newfound victory.

"What does 'kick your ass' mean?" Olive padded up behind me along with the rest of the girls, except for Leslie who was bent over, one hand on her knee to support her while she clung to her inhaler for dear life. "Are you gonna beat Ellie up?"

"I think she means 'kiss her ass'." Kim said, turning her head to look at Olive "Like they're gonna have sex later."

"What's sex?" Chloe furrowed her eyebrows.

"Kim you need to stop talking," I tell them, hands on my hips, nothing but frustration etched into the forefront of my brain. I glance back at Ellie as Maria rings the bell to signal that the game was over. Softly, with hands gentle as rain, I will wrap my hands around her neck and strangle her.

"Listen up!" I announced to the eight girls in my cabin. To absolutely no surprise, blue won the treasure hunt, now we were setting up for a water balloon fight in the allotted section of woods that Joel taped off in bright pink flagging tape. "I physically and mentally cannot handle another loss, I will be very disappointed in each and every one of you if we don't win-

"That's not true," Daniel cuts me off "The point of today is to have fun, winning doesn't matter, just do your best." The both of us are standing tall on a rock while the campers sit around and stare up at the two of us like we had been mighty gods preparing to throw wine and bread at their little feet.

I eye Daniel from the side and look back to everyone "None of your hard work is going to matter unless you win so do you want to be a whiney loser like Daniel or be cool like me and win the colour wars?"

Everyone fell quiet for a moment as if a curse of silence fell upon us until Kim not-so-sublty yelled "Daniel's a pussy!" I was beyond the point where I cared about the girls cussing, the only thing on my mind was showing my very dear friend, Ellie how awful her team is and rub my win in her beautiful face.

"That's what I like to hear!" I smile "Now let's go win this!"

My girls erupt in cheers and Daniel almost shamefully steps off the rock. I had finally made a breakthrough with my cabin after slightly snapping at them after Maria announced that the red team lost. Maybe the treasure hunt wasn't my thing, but water balloon wars? I had won that every single year, even when I was still a camper. 

The objective was easy, be the last team with players, once you get hit you're out. Friendly fire is strictly against the rules as well as headshots, they had to be hit in the torso, once you get wet, you're out and have to leave the allotted zone to watch. 

We played in a patch of forest that was less dense than the rest, making it easier to run around. 

"Three!" Maria shouted, "Two!" She's standing in the middle of the zone, so everyone can hear her though no one can see her since the two teams are on opposite ends to make it fair. "One!" She blows her whistle and kids are already dunking their hands into buckets of icy-cold water balloons and setting off to the enemy end.

The CITs were responsible for keeping a consistent flow of water balloons and buckets spread evenly in the zone, I remember when I was a CIT and had to miss out on capture the flag to pick up every bit of balloon that at splattered across the ground. 

I had a balloon in each hand, making my way around the perimeter discreetly. I lock eyes with a younger boy in a blue shirt, he immediately turns to run, not fast enough though "Come back here ankle biter!" I yell, decking a water balloon at him, it hits him right in his back.

There was a boy in Sawyers's cabin, one of the wild ones with animal teeth that ran off of energy drinks and the huff of Sharpies. He tried to throw a balloon at me but it missed me by a landslide, his second attempt wasn't much better.

I however nailed him in the chest "You're out buddy!" I smiled, and he met this by giving me the middle finger. "Whatever carrot top, tell Sawyer I send word!"

I was way too good at this game. Every year I thought I could take on the other team single-handedly and every year I'm proven right when I'm the last one standing. After a prompt reminder from Joel that this was supposed to be fun for the campers and I was treating it like World War Three, I had to cool down a little bit.

We played this game straight after lunch so everyone was either hopped up with energy or sluggish from eating too much, alternatively, there was Ashlynn. She was wandering around, a black bleach-stained hoodie thrown over the top of the shirt for whatever team she was on.

Ashlynn had a can of Diet Coke in hand, where did she get it? I'm not too sure, my guess is that she stashed them under her bunk. "Hey," She sits on a log beneath the tree I was hiding behind. "You're way better at this than you should be, you know you're playing against children, right?"

"I didn't come here to fuck around," There weren't a whole lot of people left in the game, I just took out Abby and the only counsellor left on the blue team was Ellie, maybe Ashlynn but she didn't pose a threat in any way shape or form. 

"Do you have any nic on you?" She looked up at me, taking a sip from her diet coke, her shaggy bleached hair was one more dye away from being fried.

"No?" I furrow my eyebrows "I don't usually bring nicotine to a summer camp full of children."

Ashlynn almost looks like she's hungover but then again she usually seems that way "I brought a couple joints and I'm like ninety percent sure two got stolen."

My eyes widen "You brought joints? Ash, you're getting fired if Maria finds out."

She shrugs "I don't mind, I either smoke weed here or I smoke weed in my backyard." 

"Okay but if it actually got stolen then it's probably some little shit that has it, they're gonna say that you gave it to them and that's a whole case."

"It's legalized though."

"Yeah, not for children." I was taken away from the game until I saw the smallest bit of a blue shirt beneath Ashlynn's sweater, I didn't hesitate to drop a balloon on her. She doesn't seem to mind and from this reaction, I'm beginning to think she's the one who smoked those missing joints. 

I come out from behind the tree empty-handed and plant a kiss on her forehead as an apology for getting soaking wet "Love you, Ash, hope you find your weed." I tell her before jogging off. Ashlynn doesn't get up to join everyone else outside of the boundary, she just stays on the log and drinks her diet coke.

Dina is still in the game on my team as well as a few campers, I hear her voice yelling at children somewhere off in the distance. Sadly, the girls in my cabin were picked off almost immediately, I swear I will avenge their little souls.

"You're soaking Conner, get out of here," Dina scolded a kid on the blue team "You gotta play by the rules, so beat it shrimp."

"Nuh-uh," He said. Lord knows I hated this kid, last summer when I went to the bathroom during dinner Conner stole my food and denied it even though he was the only one in the mess hall with two plates, he then kicked me in the shins and waddled away.

"You gotta go, baby hippo," I tell him, his round cheeks are bright red from running and he's short-breathed. He shakes his head and with a final stern look from both Dina and I, he leaves. "Nice, who's left?"

"One camper on our team and just Ellie over there," She tells me "Like best case scenario, just go over there and seduce Ellie."

I raise an eyebrow "Nah, I'm winning with brute strength and incredible strategy."

"I'm guessing that going for the little kids first is your definition of incredible strategy?"

"Yup," I say, walking to a bucket to grab another balloon "Get ready, this could go south."

"God forbid we tragically lose our lives in a water balloon war," Sarcasm drips from her tone even though she grabs another balloon.

"I know, that would be awful," I say with full seriousness.

Dina is struck with a water balloon out of nowhere "Shit," She mutters, looking at her now dripping shirt. I don't think I've ever reacted so quickly to anything in my life, I throw a balloon at Ellie and it barely hits her, but it still does.

"Look, you're wet," I smile, brighter than I had this whole summer "You're wet, you lost!" I'm almost jumping around, I'm so unreasonably happy at such a stupid thing. "I won!" I yell trying to capture the attention of the CITs so my win could go on record. 

"Fuck yeah!" Dina gives me a high five then looks at Ellie "You lost!"

"You lost," I say in a sing-song voice "Red team wins," I grab Dina's hand and raise to the sky like she's just won a wrestling match "We win, you're all wet!"

"You're wet too, D," Ellie says.

"Yeah, but you lost!" Dina wraps me in a hug around my torso, pinning my arms down and shaking me back and forth.

"Ew, get off," I can't help myself from laughing "But seriously I won, put that on record."

"Wow they have their worst player guarding the flag," I say, we were nearing dinner now and everyone was getting tired out, not me though, I had a war to win. Capture the Flag was the last game and that game is my shit, I know I said that about every other game but I really mean it this time. 

"I always forget that you're way too into this," Ellie says, she's unmoving in front of the blue team flag, pole stuck into the ground. 

"Ellie, you need to let me win," I say "Or I will do unspeakable things to you."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" She teases.

"Whichever you want," I almost surprised myself by saying this but it just slipped from my mouth like wax off the wings of Icarus. Behind me, I feel a harsh slap on my back and swiftly turn around to see a pudgy kid with a huge smile on his face. 

"You have to go to jail," Conner says and if he wasn't a child who stood at 4'3 I probably would've hit him.

"Yeah, I know, Conner," I glance at Ellie who is biting back a laugh and gives an obnoxious little wave as Conner drags me by the hand towards the jail. He waddles along, clinging to two of my fingers, his hands are greasy and slippery, whatever reason, I'm not sure I want to know.

He takes me to a rope circle laid out on the ground, there's already a handful of people on my team in it. Conner drops me off there, sticking his tongue out before scurrying away as fast as he could (Which wasn't very fast). There's one blue team guard, I recognized him from Jesse's cabin. 

I'm far too bitter for someone playing a harmless camp game, I hold a grudge easier than I hold someone's hand. "Why are you here?" A boy from Miles cabin asks.

"Because I got tagged, Emmet," I say, agitated. "Why are you here? Because you can't outrun an eight-year-old?"

His smile drops "Yeah," He looks down at his shoes, kicking some dirt. 

"How are we supposed to get out and win this?" Another boy asks.

"Jesus," I mutter "How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Fifteen and you've never played Capture the Flag?"

He nods his head "I mostly play COD and Fortnite."

"Oh my god," I run my hands down my face, fighting the urge to gag "Someone from our team who isn't tagged has to tag us, they can only tag one person at a time and we get a free walk back to our side if we're tagged, to win the game you need to capture the other teams flag- you know what, I feel like this is pretty self-explanatory."

"So who's going to tag us?"

"Probably no one because a kid with Fortnite skills isn't really worth saving" I answer and he falls quiet. Harsh? yes. Necessary? No, but I was annoyed.

"Hey, Crawford," A voice says, she's standing a few yards back with one of her friends giggling.

"Oh, hey," The guy guarding us, coughs, deepening his voice "What's up."

"I can't believe you're actually playing this game," The girl sniggers.

"Nah, I'm just waiting for Lucas," He lies.

"Find him later, come hang out," She smiles at him.

Crawford looks from us to her, and with little to no hesitation, he goes with the girls. Once I see their figures retreat beyond the trees, I look around to see if there are any more people on the blue team around before stepping out of the rope circle.

"I thought you said we had to get tagged by someone else before we could leave," The boy says, looking around nervously as if he was buying pot in an alley.

"Are you a narc?" I ask.

"No?"

"Then we're good to go," I say, ushering my team out of the circle. The sun has just begun to set, casting an orange hue over everything and making it look like it had been touched by Midas. While the rest of my team runs back to our side where they are safe from being tagged, I have something else on my mind, Ellie Williams. 

I began to retrace my steps back to where Ellie waited with the flag and where I'm sure a bunch of overeager kids were patrolling to protect the priceless flag from the claws of the evil red team.  Ellie was never into these games until I was, the second I had the urge to win something, she was compelled to beat me.

Someone hadn't been looking where they were sprinting when they crashed into me at full speed, they would've knocked me down if they weren't the same height as an Oompa Loompa. She let out an 'Oof' while she fell to the ground "Chloe?"

"Hi," She looks up at me, and quickly the posse rolls around. All of the girls in my cabin, even Tamar and Morgan were actively participating.

Leslie ran up to me and hugged me around my legs "Hi, girls," I said with furrowed eyebrows. The past two weeks I had struggled to even get them to collectively go to breakfast without putting up a fight because they didn't want to. "How's the game going?"

"We know where the flag is!" Valentina peeps up, she has mud smeared under her eyes like war paint. 

"Yeah, but Ellie's there and I'm scared of her," Leah mentions.

"Well, we're all together now so we can strategize," A smile cracks onto my face.

"We should put a scorpion in her hair," Kim has a wild grin on her tanned face, her honey-blonde hair is tangled into a rat nest, with a couple of leaves in there.

"No, good idea though, we'll save that one for later," I point at Kim "I was thinking that I could distract Ellie while half of you keep the other guards away and the other half grabs the flag and makes a break for it."

Kim nods enthusiastically, Tamar doesn't seem thrilled by the idea but she doesn't object to it so I take her silence as a win. This is the exact moment I put on my invisible captain hat, giving each of my girls a specific role with the promise I would sneak them candy on Saturday if they pulled this off. 

With each passing minute, the sky got darker and darker, I wanted to finish this game until Joel and Tommy made the counsellors walk around with headlamps on to keep an eye on everyone. "Hi, El."

"What do you want?" She's been standing in the same spot for a little over an hour, her vexation was shining through in her tone. 

"To be done with this game," I say, prepping myself for the little heist "This is really dragging on and- I saw Crawford run off with some girls from your cabin."

"Who the hell is Crawford?" She furrows her eyebrows.

"One of Jesse's boys, I know it's an unfortunate name."

"Who did he leave with?"

"Uh," I rack my brain for their names "Cindy and the rude one."

She nods, immediately knowing who I was talking about from my vague description "So, when are you gonna run past me and steal the flag?"

"What?" I acted like her question was incredulous "Why would you think that's what I'm trying to do?" I'm so bad at acting, I'm behaving like one of those wasted middle-aged men who get pulled over on the freeway and pretend that they're stone-cold sober by making a bunch of hand gestures while they talk.

"You're awful at acting," She says, crossing her arms, I watch the veins tense in her forearm below her tattoo sleeve.

"Fuck," I muttered "Fine, I give up," I plop myself on the ground, my spine against the trunk of a tree, I look up at Ellie "Okay, I'm officially over these games."

She raises an eyebrow and I can tell that she doesn't believe me. "First of all, you're sitting in mud. Second of all, eleven years of bloodshed and you're giving up out of nowhere?"

"It's not out of nowhere, I'm just getting older," I say the second half a little quieter "I'm in college I need to stop acting immature."

We both fall silent, she doesn't know what to say to this. Ellie usually wasn't the best at comforting me in whichever situation, I remember back when I was fourteen and a wreck because my first dog died and all she could do was give me a hug and ask if I wanted water. 

"You’re not immature," Ellie says, unsure of what to do.

"Alrighty," I press my lips together in a thin line, equally diffident. "I'm just bored of this, it's gotten kind of repetitive."

"Then what do you wanna do?" She asks, in this light she's dimly illuminated by the setting sun. She looks like a sculpture carved from honey.

"Keep looking at me like that and I'll do whatever you want," I smile.

"Are you trying to flirt with me?"

"Is it working?"

"Not entirely," She says, behind her, there's a snap and just before she turns around I call her attention back to me. I saw Valentina, Chloe, and Olive emerging from behind trees, just seconds away from victory.

"Okay," I chuckle "Help me up?"

Ellie regards me for a second before taking my hand stretched wide. The second her hand clasps in mine I pull her down with all of my might and believe me when I say this is no easy feat, Ellie was sturdy. Luckily I caught her off guard and managed to pin her beneath me, I straddle over her torso, gesturing for the girls to run.

"Go!" I whisper-shout so others on the blue team can't hear me. Ellie grabs me by the waist and uses momentum to flip me over, now I'm the one with my back in the mud and she sits overtop of me. 

She had been so close that our lips brushed, and I had felt my heart stop, I almost didn't want to move just to see what would happen next but in utter panic, I reached next to me, a handful of mud and smeared it down Ellie's face. "You're so gross," She squeezes her eyes shut, leans back and begins to scoop mud off her face, I use this as my opportunity to wriggle out from beneath her.

It takes me a minute to get off my knees and onto my feet, by this point, almost the entirety of my legs are covered in mud, leaves, sticks, and probably bugs. I try to take off but my sneakers betray me and I fall face-first into the mud.

Of course, Ellie sees this and she's laughing so hard she needs to support herself, one forearm against a tree while her other is clutching her stomach. I scoop up more mud, almost squirming in distaste from the sensation of it caked beneath my nails but I still throw it at Ellie with perfect accuracy. 

She tenses up when I do this. Once again I struggle to my feet but this time I am victorious, I stay frozen in place for a moment to be sure I won't face plant again. When I'm sure that I won't fall, I bend down to throw another mud pie at Ellie for good measure than I'm off to see if my girls completed the mission.

When I finally got back to my side I saw my team already celebrating "Woohoo!" I yell and the crowd immediately falls quiet, regarding my current state. I probably look like a creature who's just crawled out of a stagnant swamp. 

"Why does she look like that?" Ashlynn whispers to Bowie who doesn't respond and from his red eyes alone, I know the reason why.

"C'mon girls," I smile "Bring it in!" I open my arms for my cabin to come in for a hug but they just back away from me with wrinkled noses. 

Tommy looks at me "Why are you dirty?" I knew he was getting sassy when he propped his hands on his hips "What happened in the ten-minute gap since I last saw you that has made you so filthy?" It wasn't malice in his voice but genuine curiosity, Tommy was a fun-loving guy for the most part.

I shrugged "I wouldn't know, mate, you tell me." His eyebrows furrowed as his confusion delved even deeper. He looked into my soul from across the clearing. Eventually, Ellie makes her way to join me, she's a little better off than I am though she's still grimy.

"Oh, great, you too," Tommy says, gesturing to his niece. 

Joel lets out a deep sigh "You two better shower before dinner."

I let the hot water run over my body, dripping down and consuming me whole. Ellie and I are the only ones in the showers, we're separated by nothing more than a divider though the steam is so heavy I wouldn't have been able to see her regardless. 

Since we were sent to grab a change of clothes and clean off Ellie had been almost silent, she wasn't even teasing me back or making a punchline when I had thrown out an obvious setup. 

After thoroughly washing the grime off of my body I turned the shower off, walking over the laminated bench where Ellie and I had out put our clothing only to find them missing. For a minute I thought I was crazy and had misplaced them but after awkwardly pattering around the shower house, I realised they were gone.

"Hey, Ellie," I say on the other side of her shower stall "Someone stole our clothes."

"You're hilarious," She deadpanned, not an ounce of amusement in her tone.

"Yeah, I know but I'm not joking."

I hear the water turn off in her stall, she pokes her head out and looks at the bench "Where did you put them?"

"I didn't put them anywhere," I say, in an attempt to sound convincing. "Someone took our shit," All that was left behind we're Ellie's Converse, knocked onto the ground and my carabiner with keys, a flashlight, and my shark keychain. 

"Fuck," Ellie mutters and looks around for a moment before her eyes land on me and she quickly averts her gaze, "Can you turn around?"

"It's nothing I haven't seen before."

"I hate you."

"I hate you too." I tell her though I do turn around "What's the plan here?"

"I'm looking."

"I already did, dumbass."

"Thoroughly." She adds.

I stare at empty shower stalls and white tile walls while Ellie checks every single spot that I already have. I can hear only her and the plop of dribbles of water splattering against the cold ground. The steam is still heavy and easy on my sharp lungs.

"I can't find them," Ellie says at last. "But I did find some clothes that look like they could've belonged to Adam Sandler.”

"Yeah, no shit," I turn around and see her standing there completely nude, she moves quickly out of my eye line and into a stall "You've changed in front of me a million times, what's different now?" I say, nonchalantly, walking past her.

"Maybe I don't want you to see me buck naked."

"I think I just heard something," I stop in my tracks.

 "not really the time-

"Why do you always think I'm fucking with you?" I ask, furrowed eyebrows.

"Because-

"Shh," I hush her trying to listen for the sound. I walked toward the entrance of the shower house there was a large wall in front of the door so no one could open the door to peek in, they had to go around the wall and properly enter, the same way most locker rooms were set up. I'm about ten yards away from the entrance when I see a figure poke their head out, just a quarter of its face, I can see their amber eye. They spot me in almost a split second and jet out in a blur, I hear the door open and crashing shut, their feet scrambling away. Just like that, I felt my blood run cold. 

"Fuck!" I yell, scuttling back towards the stalls "Ellie, there's fucking someone in here!" My heart is beating faster than I think it ever has before and I almost feel sick with the thought that someone was in here the entire time Ellie and I had been vulnerable and unaware. 

"What?" She steps out of the stall and looks around before she sees me. I'm on the floor, my knees to my chest and eyes wide. "You saw someone?"

"Yes!" I say throwing a hand out to gesture to the divider "They were hiding behind there and fucking watching us!"

"Shit," She says, walking towards the wall and looking behind it, she freezes too. Ellie turns towards me and the doubt on her face is gone "We need to find some clothes and get out of here."

"What?" I say "Did you see something?"

Ellie begins to open every single locker, tossing articles of clothing that people left behind on the ground. She wasn't exaggerating earlier when she said she found clothes that could've belonged to Adam Sandler. No wonder they were left behind.

"What was it?" I press again.

"Just some mud tracks, they were probably ours," She dismisses. "Now get dressed."

This doesn't ease me in the slightest, I'm so on edge that I haven't made a joke about Ellie and I casually being naked in front of each other. How ridiculous the pair of us looked didn't aid me in calming down; Ellie was wearing a black T-shirt about three sizes too large that read 'Ask me about my IBS' with a caricature of a man-eating cheese beneath it, this was paired with blue basketball shorts that had two white stripes running down the side. "How's your IBS?" I tease.

"It's a constant battle." At least she had her shoes, I had to wear flip-flops that hardly fit, so small I almost thought they belonged to a Barbie. While Ellie was moderately comfortable, I was not, I had to wear skinny jeans that were crudely cut into Bermuda shorts, matched with none other than an American flag tank top, how patriotic. 

"I'm almost thinking it would be better to go out in nothing," I say, looking at myself in the mirror. I glance over at Ellie, I know she's trying to play it off but I can tell she's shaken.  "You look so stupid."

"Damn," She says "I was just trying to show my support for those with IBS," Ellie jokes, trying to ease the tension.

The both of us are procrastinating on leaving the perceived safety of the shower house. I feel dread emanating from the woods, we will no longer be surrounded by four walls and engulfed by bright light. As we walk towards the entrance I reach for Ellie's hand, intertwining our fingers. "So we're going straight to the mess hall?"

"Yup," She says, giving my hand a little squeeze, it's her way of saying 'I got you'. I wonder if she can sense the panic pulsing through me or distress pumping in my veins. At the door I saw the tracks Ellie was staring at, they hadn't been ours. We walked in with muddy sneakers, these were barefoot prints, and whoever they belonged to had walked in many circles. I'm sick to my stomach once again, fighting the natural urge to vomit until I cry and my parents come to comfort me.

I click my flashlight on, but nothing lays ahead but forest and a beaten path. We stepped out into the darkness, it wasn't a far walk to the mess hall where everyone was gathered but that didn't stop my heart from racing like a rabbit moments away from getting snagged by a terrifying beast. 

My heartbeat slowed the further we walked, so far we hadn't been kidnapped by a pervert. I take a deep breath, trying to push overtly dark thoughts to the back of my mind, next to me Ellie is calm as a marble statue bathed beneath moonlight.

Each breeze makes me shudder despite the humid weather. Suddenly, regarding my current situation, the summer camp doesn't feel like home anymore. It feels like those abandoned houses up the road that my parents had carefully trained me to stay away from. The rustle of leaves is reminiscent of the laugh that belonged to creepy men who used to watch children at the park who didn't belong to them. 

I'm no longer met with the fresh scent of pine but something ancient, something rotted like it's been sitting in the back of the fridge for a decade. It reeks of shit to the point where I'm gagging on nothing like little hands of wind pushing on the back of my throat. 

My hand grows sweaty clasped to Ellie's though she shows no indication of being bothered by this. I hear a rustle somewhere around, whether it's in the trees or the bushes I'm unsure, instinctivly, I freeze. I look around, the gleam from my flashlight gliding across the flora, searching for something that likely isn't there.

"It's okay," Ellie says, her voice tender as a lullaby  "We're fine," She pulls gently on my hand to keep us going but I'm stuck in place. My flashlight is frozen on the body of a rabbit, Its white fur soaked through with red. I break my hand free from Ellie's grip and clasp it over my dry lips to choke down a cry. The entire skin of the rabbit's torso had been torn off on one side from the spine to the stomach, you could see its brown organs, the still beating heart, and everything that made it function was pooling out of it. If it hadn't been for its little head, beady eyes full of fear and perked-up ears, I wouldn't have known it was a rabbit at all. Whatever mauled it did a messy job that it hadn't quite finished like a dull axe to the back of the head. 

Behind the trees, I hear slurping, something wet and hungry. It wretches on what I assume to either be its newest feast or its saliva. It devours every last breath it has, the breathing is shallow and gruff like it's eating so fast it's choking on its meal, though it takes the time to slurp and swallow the remnants of whatever it's chowing down on. I see a pair of golden eyes glint behind a shrub in the cast of my light.

I reach for Ellie's hand again and run like I've never run before. She quickly takes the lead, so fast that she's nearly dragging me along. We don't speak but we understand each other clearly, we need to move. 

Trailing us, I hear heavy steps beating against the dirt pathway. I don't even need to look back to know that it's following u, its heavy, wet breathing is clue enough. I'm starting to feel a burning in my lungs, saliva builds in my mouth and I spit it down onto the pathway, heaving with every quick-paced step.

One of my too-tight pink flip-flops catches a rock stuck in the path and sends me tumbling to the ground. For just a moment I see a pitch-black figure wearing tattered clothing with amber eyes that glow light street lamps gaining on us; I could've sworn it had human hands and feet but I wasn't in my right mind, it's still enough to send adrenaline coursing through my veins. Without even stopping, Ellie pulls me back up and I kick off my other sandal, running barefoot on the trail.

My feet hammer against the dirt, rocks, and pebbles. I can feel the souls of my feet getting sliced and torn though I don't slow down, the sight of the mess hall in the distance makes me run even faster. 

"Hey!" Ellie yells, trying to capture the attention of someone in the mess hall. Her grip on my hand doesn't loosen, in fact, it gets tighter as she pulls me along. I don't know if whatever was chasing us is still there but I'm too mortified to check. 

I wave with my hand clutching my carabiner but it does nothing to garner any kind of attention within the mess hall. Our feet moving faster than we could form thoughts we ran towards the entrance. 

Ellie pulls the door wide open and pushes me in before slamming the door shut behind us. The very second my heaving body hits the floor, everyone's attention falls on us.

"Woah," Miles regards us with confusion before it morphs into a smile on his face "Did you guys just have sex?" He takes a bite of his sandwich, he looks like he got into Ashlynn's stash.

"Why do you look like Adam Sandler and Hilary Duff?" Dina furrowed her eyebrows next to Jesse, he looked like he was trying to work together some type of conclusion for why we were breathing so deeply and why my feet were bleeding. 

I look at Ellie and she meets my gaze, she no longer looks calm. There's a sense of dread written clearly across her features, that thing didn't seem animal, it didn't seem human either and I wasn't sure which was worse, the echo or the answer.  

A/N: Not much to say today but thanks for reading! Love you all.

TAGLIST: @wherearthepilots-blog @diddiqueen my tags are being so weird I’m so sorry if you weren’t tagged

[kyber-crystal]

learning to warm cold hands || ethan hunt

summary: after a particular mission, sunshine isn’t sunshine anymore, and it worries him. (aka a cliche angst to fluff fic with the following tropes: slightly sunshine and super sunshine, who did this to you, etc)

words: ~1.4k

warnings: angst, brief descriptions of violence, ethan being overly concerned for reader, but not much else asides from that 

a/n: first ethan fic (requested by a lovely anon, thank you!!) and second mission impossible fic! btw, this fic is kind of an AU? i don't have a specific timeline for when it happens, so you can squeeze it in wherever :)

“Y/N, status update?”

“Northwest exit, 430 meters. I have one on my tail. But you know I’m Usain Bolt 2.0! I can definitely outrun this doofus, I mean, I bet my mile time is way better than his. I could've gone to the Olympics, for God’s sake. The Olympics! Where are you?”

“Stay there, I’ll come find you.”

“Ethan, wait, you can't just tell me to—“ You don’t even get to finish before a an explosive sound echoes across the narrow alleyway. You make a sharp left turn but find that you’d just hit a dead end. The door was locked. Shit. You only had one bullet left and there was a guy who was definitely at least twice your weight—and over a foot taller, too—coming after you. You wouldn't even have enough time to reload.

“Y/N. Y/N—“

You don’t get to hear the rest of what he’s saying before the static fizzes out and you lose connection.

“Hey there!” You give the beefy man who’s now mere meters away from you a cheerful smile. “Lovely weather today, don’t you think? Too bad it’s going to rain tomorrow. I love the rain but I hate lightning, because I almost got struck a year ago.”

He doesn't look too happy at this, whipping his gun out without a moment’s hesitation. You squeeze your eyes shut and pray as you slide the bullet in and he pins you against the wall by your neck. 

He brings the gun to your head, and your weapon clatters to the ground. You curse under your breath. You can feel your airways constricting and there's a searing pain working its way through you. 

“You're not going anywhere, princess.”

There's a split-second; a microsecond in which he pauses. Very briefly. You don't think, just do—you knee him in the groin, hard, and quickly grab the knife that's sheathed in your boot. 

Saying one last prayer, you plunge the blade in, not even looking to see if you'd aimed right. He falls to the floor, stumbling, and you then lunge forward to disarm him. 

Another deafening gunshot rings out just as Ethan rounds the corner and finds you there, standing over the man’s dead body like the angel of death. A pool of blood surrounds your feet, and he doesn't think he wants to know if that's yours or his. 

“You made it out alive. Good job out there.”

Glancing over at him, you nod, but don't say anything. You toss him the data files without another word, and board the plane. 

“I'm proud of you.”

More strained silence. Huh, weird… he thinks. 

“Y/N, are you alright?”

No response. Ethan repeats himself again, “Are you alright? Did something happen?”

You strap yourself into your seat and tilt your head back, digging your nails into your wrist. Anything was better than being awake right now…

“Well, someone's uncharacteristically quiet.”

Still no response. Not even a snarky quip like you'd typically reply with. No nicknames, no bickering, no random fun fact you googled on the way over here. “Did you know that a pig can digest an entire human body, bones and all? That makes me think a little extra every time we pass through the European countryside and see one of them.” 

All he gets is silence from your end, and it starts to worry him. 

That’s when he follows your gaze downwards. You're clutching the left side of your abdomen, trying your best not to make a sound. 

His blood runs cold and his eyes darken. You can feel the pure rage radiating off him. 

“Did he hurt you?”

“No…shit…Sherlock…” you croak out. 

“You're hurt.”

No response again. 

“Y/N, what the hell happened out there and who did this to you?”

More silence. 

“Y/N, what did he do to you? How did he hurt you?”

After several more questions and several more failed replies, he forcefully moves your hand aside. Your shirt is stained a deep red and there's a gaping hole much bigger than Ethan wanted to see. 

“You got shot.” He sighs. “Luther, how much longer?”

“Hour and five, but we can get there in 38.”

“Hurry.”

“On it.”

Ilsa brings him a thick roll of bandages. He tries to be as careful as possible as he disinfects and wraps up your torso, but every so often, you wince in pain. 

“I'm sorry, sweetheart, just a few more minutes,” Ethan hurriedly apologizes. “Hang in there for me, okay?”

Once he's done, he sits down next to you and laces your fingers together, giving your hand a squeeze. You let out a shuddering sigh and slumped against him. 

He pretends not to notice your watering eyes, or the crescent-shaped marks in your wrist. Or the way your left foot nervously taps out the rhythm to yours and his favorite song. Or the way your tears leave faint red tracks behind as they slip down your cheeks. 

“I'm so sorry,” he repeats over and over again, “I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.”

You don't sleep a wink that night. On any other day in Paris, you'd walk down to the farmer’s market below. You’d pick out Ethan’s favorite fruit and a new beret to have him wear jokingly, and maybe grab a croissant or two. Then you’d drag him along to the Louvre and point out each painting one by one and explain in great detail why you loved them so much. And he’d listen, because he could live purely off the sound of your voice for the rest of his life. He was never one for museums, but you loved them, and because he loved you, he started to love them, too.

But it's dark out, and after what had just happened the other day, you don't feel safe enough to leave the apartment. You tossed and turned for over half an hour before falling asleep, but jolted awake just a few minutes later, shivering violently. There was no way you were going to try and go to sleep again.  

Ethan stirs awake, rubbing his eyes to see a dark figure slipping out the door. 

He's quick to follow you up the staircase and to the rooftop. You're standing there in just a T-shirt (was that his?) and shorts, and it's freezing cold out, but you're sweating and fanning yourself. 

“Y/N?”

You turn around at the sound of his voice. “Ethan…”

“What are you doing up here? I was worried about you.” He makes his way over to you and puts a hand on your shoulder, obvious concern on his face. 

You bit your lip and started digging your nails into your wrist again. 

“Talk to me, Y/N,” he pleaded. “Tell me what's wrong.” 

You shook your head, feeling the skin of your wrist beginning to sting. 

“Y/N, please. I want to help you. But I can’t do that when you won't talk to me, so please…tell me what’s going on.” 

“I’m so tired, Ethan,” you finally spoke after a long pause, voice hoarse. “I should’ve—I shouldn’t be here right now, I should be dead because I panicked and I…I almost died. The man, he put the gun to my head and I saw my entire life flash before my eyes. I could’ve sworn to God that the whole ‘thing’ about you seeing your life flash by like a film reel was just a myth but it wasn’t. It scared the shit out of me because I kept seeing the same thing over and over. I thought…”

“What did you see?” he asked, voice gentle. 

“I kept seeing your face. All I saw was your face.” You looked away, suddenly unable to make eye contact with him. Heat spreads across your cheeks. “I know I care about the whole damn team, but you—you’re my future, Ethan.”

He doesn’t say anything in response and instead, leans down to kiss you.

The sudden rush of warmth from his lips being pressed against yours makes you want to forget everything in the world and completely drown in him. This was home, you realized, and this is where I’m supposed to be.

And as the sun rises and spreads a brilliant pale glow over the horizon, Ethan can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, this was also exactly where he was meant to be. Not fighting bad guys, but rather, standing on the rooftop of a tiny building in the 4th arrondissement with you in his arms and your head against his heart. He thinks he could have a lifetime of this.

“You’re my future, too.”

tags (including those who may be interested! add yourself via this form, if you’d like): @mitchellpete @voguesir @fl0ating @lady-elena-adeline @the-multiverse-of-fandoms @ilsastrenchcoat @joyfullyswimmingface​ 

[ghouljams]

I'll get back to cowboy!ghost shortly, but I gotta get my fae!ghost thoughts out because the horror of him is scratching an itch. Also this is kinda long, so I'm popping it under a read more.

He lets you go after a week or so. Usually when he catches a heart he doesn't waste time eating it but something about you grows on him. He almost feels bad wiping your brain, especially when you start losing the good bits, and realizes he wants to get his hooks in you the proper way. So he gives you back to yourself and just wipes your time with him. Puts you on the street near your house and watches as you're picked up by a concerned cop.

You've lost a solid week or so of time, can't remember shit past going out with your friends, can't even remember leaving the bar. You go through rounds of questioning with the police, both of you growing more frustrated with your lack of memories. When they finally let you go your skin is buzzing with... something.

You feel out of place, like you fit into your skin just a little to the left of where you should. There's this itch on your back you just can't scratch and it feels like it's growing. You feel watched, you find yourself looking over your shoulder as you walk through the city. On edge, waiting for some other shoe to drop, but you have no clue why or what you're waiting for.

It takes a month or so to finally feel like you're right in your body again, for you to stop looking over your shoulder, but the feeling of being watched doesn't go away. And now you find strangers on the street watching you too, wide watchful eyes that don't seem to look at you but through you, at the itch. Sometimes when you catch your reflection out of the corner of your eye you can almost see it, the thing that creeps around your neck, the ghost that seems to be following you. Always gone when you try to get a good look. You're getting your morning coffee when everything feels like it snaps back into place.

Ghost's been watching you, learning your habits, watching you wear that gorgeous heart of yours on your sleeve. He's glad he left his mark on you before he let you go, swirling black shadows just under human perception, twisting his name against your very bones for the other fae of the city to know you're his. Now though, he's having too much fun hunting you. Too much fun keeping you on edge, watching you inspect your skin in the mirror where he knows his claim is. You're so cute when you're clueless.

You're getting your morning coffee when he finally makes his move. You struggle to find your usual card in your wallet and he reaches past you with a crisp bill between his fingers to pay for you. When you thank him, his smile is so familiar and yet it makes your blood run cold. There's a slight pain in your chest as he tells you it's his pleasure.

But that's alright the first hook always hurts. He's got plenty more to sink into you too, you'll have to get used to it eventually.

[bee-ina-boat]

heres a collection of concept art for the rest of the entities for the mythos au!! if you're wondering where the eye is, they've been drawn already!

they are all FAR from done. keep in mind these are all just my initial concepts and i plan to do in-depth design sheets as i go to explore their designs more.

IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS ON HOW TO IMPROVE THESE DESIGNS PLEASE THROW EM AT ME- MY ANON IS OPEN AND I READ TAGS I DONT CARE JUST!!!! GIMME!!!!!

(also au context: the magnus mythos is an au where the entities are all gods, similar to various religious mythology, rather than paranormal entities that feed on fear)

design thoughts for each of them under the cut

The Web - God of Fate (she/it): im pretty happy with her design atm, shes meant to be a half spider half woman thing and i love that for her. shes probably the one ive thought the most on so far given her importance to the story. i want her to wear silks and shiny silver jewelry that just sparkles like wet spiderwebs do, not sure if im gonna keep the veil?

The Dark - God of the Dark (she/he/it): probably my weakest concept at the moment. it doesnt do the dark any justice. i mean i like the cloak idea but i want them to be very tendrilly, all consuming, shadowy, but i dont know how to properly portray them :/

The Desolation - God of Destruction and Fire (they/it): i have a neat vision for them! i want them to be made of coal and ash and smoke, to be burning and glowing on the inside, and their body is decorated with melted wax to look like clothes. not quiiiiiite sure about how their melty candle dress is now? i want it to be less constrictive

The Stranger - God of the Unknown and the Whimsical (he/she/they/it): it's meant to be this. weird wirey creature hidden behind masks and a lot of fabrics, like the framework of a poseable plush doll? i like the way the masks look but im not so sure about the body.

The Vast - God of the Above (she/he/they/it): im not so sure about his design at all im gonna be real. i want them to look like the atmosphere and be covered in clouds and have mountains for feet and an ocean cape but i feel like it might be a bit?? idk??? im just not that happy with it :/

The End - God of Death and Time (they/it): ugh i love this concept sm, making death read as less scary and more divine is so fun. theyre based on a seraphim and a sand timer,

The Buried - God of the Underneath (she/he/they/it): ANOTHER OF MY FAVORITES!!!! i love them. theyre inspired by hermit crabs!! and they have silver chains holding their shell to them. they look so endearing with their lil lopsided eyes ;; <3

The Flesh - God of the Body and Meat (she/he/they/it): i have so many ideas for the flesh y'all- im very excited to do a concept sheet for them. theyre meant to have no skin, just exposed bone and muscle, large limbs, hooves, exposed heart underneath a ribcage, teeth that close around their abdomen. white bandages that wrap around like clothes. a teeth/horn crown? i dont quite know whether to go for a more animalistic look or a more human one? like- theres so many ways to go with him idek!!!

The Hunt - God of Predators and Pride (they/it): see, i like this design but i feel like its too werewolf like? yknow? thats cool!! but itreads more monster to me than God :/

The Corruption - God of Nature, Rot, and Disease (she/they/it): i love this weird bug thing. this one i was really inspired for (mostly because. corruption aligned. so obviously im gonna think about this one alot) theyre this weird bug thing, the veil is inspired by the one from the art on the wiki! i want to maybe make them a bit more gross and weird because nature is like that sometimes, a moot on tiktok suggested that i add animal bones!! and i think thats SO smart im absolutely going too

The Spiral - God of the Incomprehensible (it/its): this weirdo is so hard to pin down istg. i imagine them as this spiral thing. body is kindof liquidy, arms are spindly and long, multiple shifting faces, overall just constantly changing and moving and like!!! how am i meant to draw that??? when my brain cant even wrap my head around what its supposed to look like yknow??? bruh jrdbhgfjdldgfh- that being said i think the main problem with the design is that it just gives me too many Michael vibes!!! is it the hair? the arms? its probably both.

The Lonely - God of Solitude and the Self (they/it): i like what this one has going so far! theyve got fog hair, fog tears, their body is meant to be splotchy like turquoise marble, i vibe with it so hard. not so sure what to do with their outfit tho :/

The Slaughter - God of War (he/they/it): another one of my more stronger designs i think! centaur with weapons sticking into them, face concealed, medieval armor and antlers- it vibes

the extinction isnt drawn because i literally have no idea what they should look like aside from color palette-

once again any and all suggestions will be taken!!!! i need ideas!!! plese!!!!

[pynkgothicka]

Dark! Arkham Knight! Jason Todd x Fem! Reader

a/n: Ive finally created a way to do personal work and requests at the same time!! My hiatus is over as now I’m going to be pumping works out more often!!

Tags/Warnings: NONCON, breeding, creampies, VIOLENCE AGAINST READER, Yelling, stalking, Cocky Mista Todd

A friendly reminder that all my works are dark fanfiction! Please if you do not like that do not read them! This is your final warning before hitting the keep reading button!!

🐉

Something wasn't right.

The Arkham Knight had been chasing you for what seemed like ages. He was so determined to get you, and you had no clue why. You should’ve known to leave whenever you were told to, but you had to be stupid and missed the buses. If only you learned from your mistakes, you wouldn't be where you are now, cornered in an alleyway with this militarized robot on your tail.

He seemed closer than ever now, finally in view. The only source of light being his helmet. He stopped his chase and slowed down to a slow walk, the sound of his boots hitting the ground with every step he took. A taunt nonetheless. You backed closer into the wall trying to disappear. His steps stopped, and leather touched your face forcing your head up. You still kept your eyes shut, not wanting to face the man who's been hunting you for game. 

"Look at how scared you are… You scared I'm gonna hurt you?" His robotic voice echoed in your ear. All you could do is nod. "Now why would you think that?" His gloved hand trailed lower, fingers grazing your collarbone. One dug its way in, feeling your bone, as if some kind of awkward massage. 

“Please, dont hurt me…” You begged out, finally opening your eyes to look at just how close he was to you. The automated voice within his headpiece, his heavy breathing echoing all around you. Just another way his mere presence taunted you.

“Scarecrow certainly was right, you're one of the pretty ones, it's sad that all that is going to waste. Just for a pitiful job.” That's when you felt it, the barrel of a gun right in your abdomen. The metal was cold, yet stung. 

You were going to die here, and no one would even recall or remember you.

He seemed hesitant, to say he's killed people all night. You couldn't comprehend it, why isn't he getting it over with?

“I don't have to kill you though, now do I? Scarecrow just wants you gone, he never said ``indefinitely dead.” He looked off to the side as if he was weighing his options. “ We can't have anything happen to the cloudburst tonight, and you're one of the few people who worked on it.” His gun slowly moved away, the sting of the cold metal disappearing.

“You're not going to kill me…?”

“Nope, it seems as if you've gotten the better of me. However, I do want to have a bit of fun first.” 

He pushed you further into the wall, your flimsy clothes getting torn off in the process. He was trying to get everything off as quickly as possible. 

 You cried out as he popped off your bra, your chest flying out. He pinched at them laughing when you squealed out. 

 He pulled down his military pants along with his boxers, cock popping out. He was leaking pre. “This is what a night of stress and muder does to you. And just the sight of you has me like this, now go ahead and touch it.” You shook your head as he finally let go of you.

“N-NO I don't want to.” You choked on your own tears.

“You don't want to?! Oh sweetheart you just don't know do you?”

The Knight grabbed at your hair and banged your head against the wall. You screamed out in pain collapsing to the ground, head in hands. You touched your head, the tips of your fingers coming back red. It wasn't anything life threatening but was still there

 “I when I tell you to d something, you better fucking do it! You hear me!?!” He growled at you hysterically.

“Yes! Yes…” You cried out. He laughed at you stroking his cock, precum leaking on your bruised body.

“This is just turning me on even more! Now sweetheart, get back to it.” You reluctantly grabbed at his girth stroking him, his juices coating your fingers. He groaned out, helmet glowing in the night. His hand fell on top of your own speeding up your pace

“That's it, get it all nice and wet. In a minute this is going straight inside those sweet little guts of yours, I hope you're not a virgin… who am I kidding if I just happen to take that too and kill Batman, god this would be the most awesome night don't cha think?” You kept silent, tears falling down your face even more.

He was right.

You were a virgin.

The Knight grabbed you by your hair once again and pulled you back up, forcing your legs to wrap around his waist. “And would you look at that, you're already dripping!” he dug his fingers inside you, scooping out your juices. He then smeared them all over your face, a mixture of cum and tears painting you.

“I don't think you’d mind it if I Slipped in real quick?” He grabbed the base of his cock, rubbing the head in between your folds. The noise it made disgusted you, why were you so aroused with how he was treating you? Are you the monster here?

He bottomed out inside you, your head falling back in a breathy gasp. He was huge, and you could feel him splitting you apart.

But he didnt care.

He instantly got to work bouncing you on his cock, nothing else mattering. His gloves holding you closer to him by your back. Your walls clamped down on him in a instant, The Knight let out a breathy moan pushing you into the wall in a sex filled frenzy. 

It was almost passionate if he didn't beat you up beforehand,breaking your walls down where you would be susceptible to him.

“Shit I’m about to cum so deep inside those guts, fucking-”He paused chasing his high before stopping and you knew instantly what happened as a new found warmth filled you. You fell slumped against his shoulder. “Look at that, just bred you baby…”

“No… I dont… I cant-” He shushed you quickly,hitting a button on the side of his mask. It came up in a set of gears and mechanics. He leaned in kissing you passionately. 

“Shit, I’m going to have to keep you for sure… You cant be running around while I kill that freak of nature huh?”

[softmangoes]

cabin fever | eden x defiant!pc

18+ only

summary: you finally slip free from your leash. eden finds you not long after.

includes: defiant!fem pc, captive to lovers, violence, animal death, pov switches, blood, first-aid, a very touch-starved eden

author's note: this is my very first DOL fic and of course it had to include my favorite forest husband. this was so fun to write, so please let me know what you think! 🧡

-

the large man pushes you back into the cabin before he falls to the floor with a dull thud. his hunting jacket is dark with blood flowing from an angry gash in his shoulder. you watch him, your knees stinging from scraping against the wooden planks, but he does not get back up.

behind the strands of his dirt-caked hair, you see one of his eyes trained on you.

"is this what you wanted?" he says, voice strained. "to run away?"

a part of you still wants to. with him in this vulnerable state, you're pretty sure you can.

ever since he had first dragged you into the cabin, you had spent hours weakening the leash with a flint arrowhead you managed to find near your post. finally, after days of being fucked against your will, you managed to slip free out of the cabin and into the woods.

it had not taken him long to notice you were gone. in your desperation, you did not think things through. he was a hunter, after all. of course he would find you.

and when he did, he had yanked you from the forest floor, kicking and screaming, gripping you so tightly that your shirt had ripped and your skin became bruised with his fingertips.

and now he's here in front of you, half conscious. you look at him, panting softly and bleeding out onto the floor. despite the pain he must be in, he's still staring at you.

"get away from her," he had growled to the onslaught of snapping teeth. "she's mine."

you had watched the wolf lunge onto him, sinking its teeth into his skin. in the scuffle, he had lost his grip on his rifle. you picked it up, the metal cold in your hands, before training its sight at the writhing struggle between beast and man.

in that moment, you could have ended it all. but before you could pull the trigger, you heard a sudden snap of bone. the great wolf went limp, its last breath a pained whine. with a huff, eden pushed its body off of him and took you by the collar.

"you had your chance," he said, voice hollow. "but i won't die that easily."

right now, you could get up. he could watch you leave. in his current state, it would be impossible for him to follow you.

a part of you wants to hate him, but there's something in the way he looks at you - like he's afraid, ashamed even - that makes you get on your knees and crawl to him.

"what...?" he manages.

"don't make me regret this," you say before tearing off a piece of your shirt and pressing it to the wound.

he does not cry out. blood, warm and red, wets your fingers but you do not stop. you feel his hand wrap around your wrist and for a second, you think he's going to snap it just like he did with the wolf's neck, but he just keeps it there. his palm is rough with calluses, his knuckles silvery with scars. you keep the pressure steady all while he watches you silently.

once the bleeding has stopped, you wipe your hands on your shorts and go to the kitchen to retrieve a jar of poultice and a jug of water. on the first night you spent in the cabin, you remember that he had applied some of it to cuts you sustained during your time in the forest. they had healed quickly after that.

gingerly, you unbutton his shirt to expose the wound. seeing him bare isn't anything new to you, but this was different.

"an hour ago, you wanted to kill me," he says. it's a statement, but also a question. you don't give him an answer.

his chest is sticky with drying blood, but you manage to peel away most of his shirt from the gash. he winces as you do this, grunting softly under his breath.

at the orphanage, you would bandage the little ones whenever they came crying to you with cuts and bruises. one time, robin had slipped into your room, tears in his eyes, as he held up an arm marred by a deep cut from biking too fast down a hill.

all of them had hissed in pain from your ministrations while trying to heal their affliction, but not eden. he was silent, giving you nothing else more than breathy huffs.

you wash the wound with water, watching as dirt and debris flow away. once it's clean, you apply the poultice, tearing off another strip of your shirt to wrap it around the torn flesh.

there is no fear you sense from him, no anxiety at this angry wound - only a weary resignation. it's an exhaustion that you can't help but find familiar.

--

eden was not afraid of death, but he had a hard time trying to figure out why he was still alive.

hours later, as the dawn light filtered through the window, he felt rather than saw your attempt at giving him first-aid.

it was shoddy work, but satisfactory: the result of the exhausted desperation he saw in your eyes as you worked to patch him up for reasons he could not understand.

but why?

at this point, the pain had significantly lessened due to the poultice and he could finally gather his thoughts. eden expected that your kindness would end at the last knot tied for his dressing. if there had been any moment you could have chosen to fled, last night would have been perfect.

instead, he was surprised to see your sleeping form curled up in front of the fireplace. something like relief made him relax at the sight of you, dirty but uninjured. but there. still there.

--

"you didn't leave," he says, his eyes still closed.

you blow into the wooden cup, sending curls of steam into the air. it's a simple broth you made with mushrooms from the barrel, herbs from the garden, and leftover rabbit bones and gristle leftover from a previous meal - nothing special, but nourishing enough.

"open your mouth," you instruct, bringing a spoonful of the hot soup to his lips.

earlier, you had somehow managed to prop him up with some cushions without disturbing himself and his injury. it had been a challenge - the man was so huge - but whatever was in the poultice must have kept him asleep.

he opens his mouth and lets you feed him, groaning in satisfaction as he swallows. a lock of his hair falls over his face, so you push it away and let your hand rest on his jaw to ready him for another serving. the pad of your thumb presses against a slash of soft scar tissue.

"are you okay?" you ask when his breath hitches.

eden's eyes open. they bore into you, wary. you can feel them shift from your face to your bare skin. the events of last night had ruined your shirt, so you were only in a pair of shorts and a sports bra.

"i'm fine." he licks his lips. his gaze falls on the old scar sliced across your neck, a memento from bailey. it's something the hunter would stare at often whenever he would take you. "just give me more."

hours later, you're still not sure why you're keeping him alive. perhaps you felt sorry for him, a man all alone in the wilderness. perhaps it was because if you left, there was hardly any life for you to go back to. at this point, you were definitely behind on your weekly payments, and bailey would not let that slide without making sure you would regret it.

you dip the wash cloth into the warm water, wringing it before gently wiping the hunter's face. blood and grime disappear to reveal scattered scars, a mole, and tawny skin made golden by hours in the sun.

in the weeks you had been held captive by this man, you had never seen his face this close. his features are strong - a sharp jaw, a nose that looks like it had been broken once, and cheeks framed by long locks of dark hair.

despite all the reasons he's given you not to think so, you find him beautiful.

you don't want to admit it, so you tell yourself that the heat that spreads across your face is not from seeing the strong, corded muscles of his bare chest, but the fatigue earned from another day of caring for him.

that was it. that was all.

--

when he comes to, eden sees an angel. her skin is sweet, warm. her touch is gentle, a perfect palm pressed against his forehead. she is beautiful, ethereal. a blessing.

she is everything he has never deserved.

when she opens her mouth, soft lips like fresh petals in the spring, she says, "eden, you're burning up."

the sound of his name is nothing short of salvation.

"fuck!" she says, voice drifting off into the distance. "fuck fuck fuck!"

something like glass presses against his mouth. he turns away.

"why aren't you swallowing it?" she curses. the next thing he sees is her tipping a small amber bottle to her face.

then: warmth. soft petals press against his lips and he gasps at the closeness, at her scent encompassing all of his senses. a tongue probes at his teeth and he opens himself to receive her offering.

sweet liquid fills his mouth: valerian, oregano, echinacea, honey. the taste is similar to the antibiotic tincture he keeps in his pantry.

he takes his good arm and steadies her against his body, pulling her deeper into the kiss. she makes a sound like she's surprised and he feels her hands cup his jaw. he does not deserve any of it, but he wants more. he wants all of her.

"eden," she breathes, pulling away. the angel wipes her wet mouth with the back of her hand, scarlet coloring her cheeks. she rolls off of him.

the absence of her warmth is agony, but before he can call for her, sleep takes him once again.

--

the next morning, you're on top of eden with the flint arrowhead pressed against his neck.

you do not think about the kiss. you do not think about the way he held you as you forced the medicine into his mouth.

in fact, you could end this. right now, you could take the cabin for yourself. there are enough provisions to last you until you find a way to figure out how to live here. all you have to do is -

"do it," he says, eyes clear and watching you. they look like storm clouds. like morning fog. like the water of the crystal lake where he found you.

you pause, hesitant.

for the first time since he brought you here, his eyes soften.

"someone did that to you, didn't they?" he asks, voice thick with fatigue. "they hurt you."

somehow, you know he's talking about the scar on your neck. you remember bailey pinning you to the wall, his pocketknife carving your skin after you bit him for daring to lay his hands on robin.

"i know what that's like," he says, averting his gaze. there's a note of shame in his voice. "to feel helpless."

you see the silvery scar along his jaw.

and then you break. because in the end, you are both just two animals with the same wounds.

you toss the arrowhead away and it clatters on the wooden floor. then you replace your hands at his neck with your mouth against his.

there's a moment of hesitation before he kisses you back, hungry and desperate.

"more," he growls, and you obey by pulling your bra off over your head.

you lean over him and he takes your breast into his mouth, lapping slowly at the soft bud of your nipple with his warm tongue. you mewl, tightening your thighs around his torso.

when he sinks his teeth into your skin, you gasp, taking his hair into your fist. it's going to bruise, but you don't mind.

"more," he says again, licking between your breasts. you feel his fingers tug at the waistband of your shorts and after a moment of shuffling, you oblige.

he grips your thighs as he lowers you down to his face, his breath hot against your wet slit.

moments after he brings his tongue to your clit, you come shaking and whimpering.

although he's fucked you more times than you can count, this is different.

before, he would never take your pleasure into account and would ram into you until he was satisfied. even then, it would not be enough for his appetite. he'd pull you to him for more, no matter how sore or hurt you were.

but now, he's licking small circles in this part of you that aches for his touch, pulling you deeper into him as you shudder. it's exhilarating. you can't get enough of it.

"eden," you breathe, your voice trembling from coming undone once again.

"mm?" he pulls away. his eyes are hazy with lust - storm clouds rolling through the sky, rumbling with thunder.

"i want you inside of me," you tell him, ready for the lightning.

gently, he guides you onto your back. the floor is still warm from his body, the cushions you placed a few days ago soft against the back of your head.

he sheds his shirt, careful not to undo the dressing. you help him unbutton his pants. there's a scar on his hip and you think about biting it.

"are you sure you'll be okay?" you ask, worried that the wound would reopen. "i don't want you to get hurt."

"i'll be fine," he says, trailing kisses along your neck. "as long as you're here to take care of me."

there's a gentleness to his voice, an implied question. you're tempted to say yes, but you're not yet quite sure.

eden presses into you, his length brushing against your clit. you grip his arms, his muscles tight under your fingers, as you moan.

"let me hear them," he breathes. his voice is soft, tender - this is not the roughness of the man who became your captor. "you were always so quiet before."

eden groans, thrusting himself into you with one long slide. his dark hair cascades over you as he lowers his body to meet yours.

"take me," you say, biting your lip at the sheer pleasure curling hot within your core. you buck your hips towards him, meeting him at the hilt. "all of me."

it's his turn to gasp. you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling his face to yours as he rocks his hips into you.

you kiss the scar on his jaw, tangle your fingers in his hair. the scent of him is earthy, like the forest. you wouldn't mind getting lost in him.

eden huffs, pleasure building within the both of you. you're holding him like that when you begin to come, his name whispered between your lips.

it's not long after that he climaxes, too, burrowing his face into your neck once the shaking stops.

there are a few moments of silence. you hear nothing else but the wind howling outside.

"don't run," he says. so quiet, just barely louder than the crackling of the fireplace.

your bodies are warm and sweat-slicked, glistening with the glow of your embrace.

"i'll protect you." his lips trace the scar on your neck. "i'll provide for you." his mouth brushes yours. "all you have to do is stay." when he lifts his face, you see his eyes shining in the firelight. he's desperate, and you get the sense that he will not ask again.

you think of the life you had before you were taken - the beatings, the stealing, the lying you had to do in order to survive. was it really worth going back to? could you hope to build a new future, one warm with firelight?

your hand finds his. his fingers are strong, callused, but they're gentle. they could be yours, if you want it.

to your surprise, a blush colors your hunter's cheeks. in this moment of tenderness, you find your answer.

"i'll stay," you tell him, like it's a promise. like it's a vow.

[adventuringblind]

Eat His Heart Out

Oscar Piastri x Reader

Genre: Ghoulverse fluff

Summary: When the summer break leaves the ghouls trapped inside out of fear, Oscar has to find a way to get food (Featuring Carlando).

Warnings: Gore, Blood, Murder, Ghouls consuming human remains, mildly sexualized at the end,

Notes: First ghoul fic!! Head the warnings please before you read! This gets graphic and ghouls eating humans is the central plotline. This was not a request but you're welcome to make one as it's an option in the request form.

Side Note: You can search the tag oscarpiastri.ghoulverse to learn more about ghoul Oscar and how I envision him :)

Masterlist // Request Form // My Website // buy me a Ko-Fi

They'd been raiding London the entire summer break, looking for those like them. Monsters pretending to be human. Demons who can't control their urges.

It's not their fault they were born this way. They don't want to have to hear people shriek as they crack their bones and slurp their organs.

Oscar wasn't born this way. He'd been turned at such a young age that he had no choice but to accept this part of himself. The part his parents are disgusted with.

After Mark took him in, he promised he'd learn to provide for himself. To never lose control like he'd done in the past. The Aussie had seen the fear in his sister's eyes as he'd finally snapped and ripped into a boy who was harassing them. He'd been nine at the time.

Mark brought him into a world where he could be himself. Oscar had never felt more alive than when he was eating with his tribe. Tail and Horns out for anyone to see.

Now the tribe is hidden away. The curtains drawn so nobody can see inside their home.

Lando and Carlos had come to visit them over the break. They'd been planning to do something fun together to make amends after Oscar's incident with Carlos on track.

Now, Lando and Oscar's mate are seeking comfort in each other. Curled up in the corner together. Dark eyes droop with pain.

They've been on the brink of ravenous. Unable to suppress the growing instincts that come with the hunger. The primal need to hunt something courses through his veins.

Carlos had apologized the day he arrived. The older ghoul had been Oscar's only source of reason.

He can feel his mate hurting. Carlos can feel the ache is Lando's stomach just like Oscar can with his. They aren't going to make it much longer.

"We need to hunt." Carlos sighs, looking at the two knocking on death's door. "Are you with me?"

Oscar doesn't hesitate to follow Carlos' lead. Finally able to sate the intrusive thoughts.

He pulls the female into his lap and presses his nose to her neck. Her scent drives him insane and calms him all at the same time. The tribe teases him relentlessly for always wanting to be able to smell her. It's not his fault he was blessed with amazing sense of smell.

She smells cold and depressed at the moment. "You're leaving."

"Gonna find us something to eat. I'll be back before you know it." He tries to remain positive. The sirens outside make it difficult to do so.

"Promis to come back safely?" Her fingers dance against his face and caress the length of his horns. He leans into the comforting touch. It only solidifies more that he needs to take care of her.

"I promise." He reciprocates the affection by kissing the tips of her horns then her lips.

Oscar leads Carlos out the fire escape. The quickly descend the stairs and duck into the alley that is currently dark.

It feels strange seeing Carlos looking human again. They both grimace shifting from their natural state into the uncomfortable human form they can all take.

There is a thrill to hunting that Oscar has never been able to shake. It's not his first choice for obtaining food. The less messy ways are always easiest. Hunting just brings that sensory inducing adrenaline.

They take advantage of the first person alone. He's armed with a lighter and looking ready for a fight. It always ends the same way.

Oscar lunges, too fast to be dodged. His teeth extend and glint in the moonlight.

The lighter in the man's hand drops to the ground.

The smell of fear drips from the human, slow and seductive. The sound of Carlos chuckling is the only thing making him see some kind of sense. "What's so funny?" There's a sarcastic twang in his voice. Rubbing salt in the wound of this man who knows he's about to die.

"Didn't know you liked the hunt."

Oscar shifts again. His tail, freshly groomed about to get messy again. The dagger like end aches to stab into something. "Don't we all, Carlos?"

His tail stabs through the chest of the man. A squelching sound and tang of iron makes his mouth water.

Him and Carlos get to work carving the man into pieces. They siphon his blood into water bottles and throw it all into bags to carry home.

The beautiful thing about being ghoul? They don't have fingerprints in this form. All of them has the same one. Generic so they can't be caught.

The only thing left when they leave is the blood-stained ground and bones. The body now carved away and placed safely into containers to bring home. Another thing their strength is good for, hauling a kill back.

The streets are clear on the way home. It's eerily quiet and puts Oscar on edge. Carlos keeps eyeing him with skepticism. The Spainard shakes his head no around every corner.

Oscar's nose may be good, but Carlos' ears are even better. He's had time to home in his skills more than Oscar has. If Carlos hears nothing, then something is wrong.

They pick up the pace home despite the overwhelming exhaustion. Oscar prays to whatever will listen that the two they left behind are still there.

Oscar takes the fire escape stairs three at a time. Clambers through the window in a way that should be painful. Carlos is hot on his heels.

The scent of blood overpowers any trace his mate may have left. That much is evident when she appears before him, hissing and defensive until she realizes it's him.

Hair matted with gore, blood covering almost every inch of her. Yet Oscar couldn't be happier when she collapses into her arms.

Lando is dragging a body across the floor when he notices them. He eyes tear up when he spots Carlos.

The apartment itself is in shambles. Four bodies lay mangled across the ground. Blood splatters decorate the beige walls. It smells mouthwatering.

They sit in the middle of the floor, teeth now able to sink into the flesh of their prey. Oscar's mate is draped over his lap, purring more with each bite.

"Are we going to talk about what happened?" Carlos looks at Lando with a playful smile.

The Brit shrugs. "They came inside and threatened us. They aren't even government officials, just some mangey ghoul hunters." Lando's nose scrunches up with disgust.

"They were waiting for you to leave, I think." Oscar can feel the female shiver against him. He runs his fingers down her horns, and she relaxes once more.

"At least we won't have to worry about food for the rest of break!" Oscar hums. The warm fuzzy thoughts of curling up with the girl on his lap and not leave the house again makes his tail wrap around her and pull her ever closer to him.

"Do you think we should clean up the house?"

"Absolutely not."

She pauses and considers something. Her own tail tapping her chin as she thinks. "Should we at least, I don't know, clean ourselves?"

Oscar looks at Carlos and Lando who are wrapped up in each other and not paying attention to them. "Only if you let me lick it off you."

"Deal!"

[slasher-dasher]

I would like to know what a slasher relationship would be like with a hybrid fem witch/vampire. Sorry if it makes no sense, English is not my main language

(No worries!! This was very fun to write :D Idk if you had any specific slashers in mind so I picked a couple :> )

Slashers with a Witch/Vampire S/O (fem)

︶꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷♡꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦︶

Bubba Sawyer:

Keeps a spare bucket of blood for you if you need it, though it might be a little old. He gives you small bones to use in wards/spells too

He's very concerned every time you step outside. He thinks one second in the sun is going to make you turn to dust, so be prepared for a very worried Bubba when you come back inside

He likes watching you work, he even learned to make a few wards himself just by watching! Whether they work or not, he has no idea, but he had fun and you seemed to enjoy them

Gifts you flowers he found around the farm (there's some grass in there too but he's trying his best)

Anytime you wear a dress or a skirt you've basically put a love spell on him, he'll be all over you in an instant

Jason Voorhees:

He's very cautious at first, but slowly warms up to you. His mom was very strict about anything she considered to be "witchcraft", so don't expect him to be too on board

When he does warm up to it, he'll bring you anything he can find around camp that he thinks you can use. Sticks, flowers, a grungy pillow, water, leaves, an old blanket, it all goes to you first

Tries to make sure you have enough blood to drink from trespassers because his is a little... stale (his words, not yours)

Thinks it would be very cute if you had a witch hat, and tries to make you one out of sticks and spare materials he found in one of the camp sheds. It's very small, but a perfect altar decoration. You are also the perfect altar decoration ;)

Pyramid Head:

The residents of Silent Hill are already so strange that you're basically a normal person to him

Doesn't mind the vampire part of you or the witchy part of you, and often gives you pointers on where to look for certain ingredients for spells and which creatures would be best to drink from

He will help you hunt because he knows it can be difficult, just stick by him and stay out of danger while he gets your dinner

Do not bite him, he will see it as an attack.

As long as you're not putting yourself into harm's way and the residents aren't bothering you, he's content with letting you do anything you want, especially when you skip around Silent Hill without a care in the world

Thomas Hewitt:

Also keeps a bucket of blood around for you, and he tries to keep it as clean as possible. He doesn't want you getting sick because of him

You spend most of your time down in the basement with Thomas. Half because he doesn't want you out in the sun for too long and half because he uses it as an excuse to spend more time with you

Will lift you up and carry you inside if you start burning up, you'll get a reassuring headpat too

Bite him as much as you want! He doesn't mind, he thinks of them as lovebites!! Plus, it's almost therapeutic for him

Defends your craft until the end of time, especially when the rest of the family doesn't seem receptive of it. He reminds them how well you've accepted their way of life, and the least they can do is respect yours

Let him help you!! Teach him some spells!! Give him a grocery list of ingredients you'll need, no matter how simple!!! He loves helping you in any way he can

[darksaiyangoku]

RWBY: Grim Tales

The Hunt

Blake walked forward to the castle gates. Surrounding them were several skeletons, hissing and rattling their bones. She couldn't help but smirk. It had been a long time since she had some fun. Drawing Gambol Shroud, Blake leaped into action. The skeletons raised their bone weapons and tried to attack her, but Blake was too fast. She dodged each of their strikes with graceful speed, her jet-black hair flowing.

Blake: Hah! *slices two skeletons in half*

The skeletons stood their ground to continus their attacks on Huntress to little success. Blake was easily reducing these grunts into piles of worthless bones, not even bothering to shift Gambol Shroud into its gun form. With fhe last skeleton falling, the castle gates had finally opened. Blake walked inside the courtyard, still keeping a firm grip on her sword. Cold laughter could be heard all around her.

???: You seemed to have made quick work of my undead army, dear faunus. I must say that I'm impressed.

Blake: If that's what I call impressive, then I feel let down. Your army of rattling bones didn't put up much of a fight. Hell, Ruby could beat them. No gargoyles? No ghosts? Ghouls? Not even any giant bats?

???: *laughing* You think they were here to stop you? Oh no, they were merely a distraction. The one who is going to end yoir life tonight is me!

Purple smoke appeared in the center of the courtyard followed by tremors. The smoke melded into large, purple robes and standing before Blake was a large, hooded, skeletal figure with burning red eyes. Blake backed away slightly.

Blake: Lich.

Lich: Long time, no see my dear Blake. You're looking ravishing tonight.

Blake: How are you still alive? I destroyed your soul-container years ago!

Lich: Oh that? *laughs* A clever decoy that my dear sorcereress provided to lure you into a false sense of security. I used what little magic I had to create an illusion and used my time to grow stronger. Now that I've returned, let's continue our battle from lobg ago! *snaps fingers*

A circle of black mist surrounded them, staggering Blake slightly. The Lich wasn't messing around, he really had improved. The undead monstrosity lunged its large hands towards Blake in an attempt to crush her. Luckliy, she managed to dodge in time. She tried to parry his second blow, but got knocked to the ground almost immidiately.

Blake: *grunts*

Blake stood up, determined not to lose to the Lich. She parried several more of his punches, but she could not find the perfect opening to land a strike of her own and Gambol Shroud was beginning to chip away. It seemed like all hope was lost. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a wolf's howl and looked up. Above the rook was a blonde-coloured werewolf. He leaped down and clawed onto the Lich's back, making him scream in pain. The Lich shook himself wildly until he threw the beast off. In a weakened state, he reverted to his human form.

Blake: *sighs* Jaune, what took you so long?

Jaune: *stands up and chuckles nervously* Sorry I'm late, I had to get you something. *picks up spellbook* You left this back at my house.

Blake: Oh... *blushes* whoops.

Jaune: It's alright, sweetie. I hope you weren't having too muvh fun without me. *turns to the Lich* Who's this creep?

Blake: No one of consequence. So what's the play?

Jaune: I'll block his strikes and you attack with Gambol Shroud. That should weaken him a little. Know any spells that can take him down?

Blake: Holy Light, but it's weaker at nighttime. Still, it should causw him a bit of pain.

Jaune: That's what I like to hear! Okay, I'm going in!

Blake: Wait!

Jaune: Hm?

Blake: *kisses Jaune's cheek* Good luck, babe.

Jaune: *smiles and blushes* Alright, YAAAAAAH!!! *leaps into action*

[littlest-dark-age]

Day 15 : will nature make a man out of me yet?

Werewolf steve chasing your little cottontail

tw for hybrid!reader, werewolf steve, primal play, chasing/hunting, cnc, degradation, cream pie, size kink, fear play, please let me know if I missed anything

tagging @randomoutsiders @omenhel

The scent of wet dirt and leaves surrounds you, your tall ears flickering in every direction as your feet pound against the dark earth. Sweat drips down your brow bone as you glance around, seeing nothing but trees among the darkness. 

"C'mon. We both know you can't outrun me! Besides, I can smell you. It makes me want to sink my teeth in your soft flesh." Echoes throughout the open space, it's still miles away yet it still feels like he whispered it in your ear. 

Your breath catches in your chest, knowing he isn't lying. He'd be able to hunt you down on scent alone even if you weren't leaving footprints leading him right to you. 

It feels like fire is lapping at your legs as you push yourself to run faster, go farther, escape. Chest rising with every pant as your lungs are burning from the inside out, yet you ignore it. Knowing what waits for you if you stopped, knowing the monster would sink his teeth and claws into you just as he said he would if you did. 

The sound of a branch snapping has your head turning, fluffy ears twitching as you desperately look around. Terror chilling your blood as if ice were flowing in your veins. Looking around again, yet everything's looking just as it did miles back. Each tree looks the same, roots covering the forest floor, moonlight shining down just enough for you to not trip last second. Unable to tell where you are, where you've been and where to turn next. 

The forest feels eternal, and it is. This is where he wanted you. The beast wanted to drive you into the darkness that he saw best in. Wanting for you to be forced to admit that you're nothing but his prey. Weak in his domain. Forcing you to realize that he will always find you and take what's rightfully his. 

Thoughts of how to escape his grasp fly through your mind, each and everyone having a fatal flaw that wouldn't allow them to work. He could easily climb a tree you crawled up, or even just tear it down. It's obvious that you won't be able to simply make it out of the forest, your legs would give out before then. Backtracking would just lead you right to him. There's no escape. There never was. Your legs slow as if they have their own mind at the realization. 

He was just toying with you, the entire time. Giving you the false hope of not being caught despite knowing how it would end. He wanted you to realize how helpless you really are. Proving that you're just a little bunny, ready to be served to a snarling wolf on a silver platter. Watching as he drools over you. 

"Why'd you stop running? Don't tell me you're already tired! Thought you rabbits have stamina! Well at least we've had a little fun, isn't that right, bunny?" Rings out too close for comfort, as if he's right behind you. 

Shivers run down your spine as goosebumps spread over every inch of skin and your ears stand pin straight on top of your head. You can smell him now. Musk drowning out the smell of the trees and petrichor, smothering you with the thick scent. 

You feel his eyes staring at you, as if your soul was on display, yet you can't see him no matter how hard you try to spot him. No matter where you look, you're unable to get so much as a glimpse of the wild beast. 

He's toying with you, again. Letting his horrid presence be known but not being visible. Lurking in the shadows just as he was before the chase started. His low growls fill the air of the forest, practically reverberating off the tall trees that seem to reach the heavens. 

The sound of bark being ripped crackles out, his claws shredding it right off of the trees as your ears flicker towards the tree it stripped from. 

A rush of heavy footsteps slap against the cold dirt, not giving you the time to even turn around as dark hairy arms wrap themselves around you and squeeze. Hot breath tickles your ears from his hunched position, sniffing at the fuzz. 

"I finally got my prize. Gonna let me play with you?" Steve growls out, voice deeper than usual due to his current beastly state. 

His tall frame dwarfs you, even as he leans down to paw at your waist. Broad shoulders and 7'5 frame practically cocooning you in his arms, sharp claws tearing the fabric of your shirt as if it were made out of paper. 

"Please…" You whimper out, unable to tell if it's sweat or tears rolling down your face. 

"Please." Steve mocks, gruffly laughing as he tugs you up into the air. Holding you with one arm while the other rips your clothes to shreds. 

"Look at the little bunny, did being chased by the big bad wolf make you excited?," he lowers his voice as if he's telling you a secret ", it made me excited too." He begins to rub his cock against your thigh. 

The feeling pulls whines from your chest, feeling how much hunting you turned him on. Every huff from his warm body oxidizes in the cool air. His chest presses against your chest, reminding you of how much bigger he is. How easily he could simply maul you. The thought of it excites you more than it should as his rough touch sends tingles up your spine and makes you squirm in his hold. 

He grunts as you shift, pressing your knees against your chest and pinning you against his own. Tearing off what little cloth is left before he grabs your waist, claws grazing across your soft skin. Your little tail rubbing against the patch of hair leading up to his broad and hairy chest. 

"I wanna fuck your pretty guts. So I will." Steve growls out, drool dripping onto your chest. He reaches up and scoops the saliva onto his large fingers before holding it out in front of you. 

"Spit." He commands, and you quickly slobber all over him. Heat rushing to your cheeks and ears at the degrading action, how quickly you're giving into his demands. 

He rubs his slick fingers around your hole, making you look like a mess. You whine at the wetness as the chill in the almost winter air becomes more apparent. Steve's heat starts to surround you as he lines up his cock with your spit slick hole. 

"Wait, it's too big. You're too big, it's not gonna fit, hold on-" you begin to tell him

"Shut up. I'm going to make it fit." Is the only warning you get before he starts to push in. You feel his groan vibrate through his chest and rumble through your own. 

A moan claws its way up your throat at the feeling of him bottoming out. He wasn't lying when he said he'd be fucking your guts. 

Steve closes his eyes and just soaks in the warmth of your velveteen walls wrapping around him. The way you're squeezing down on him, he'd think he was in heaven fucking the prettiest angel. Although, part of him still thinks you're the prettiest thing to exist. 

Slowly, he pulls out. Forcing you to feel every inch before slamming it back into you. Using his grip on you as leverage, Steve forces your hips to meet his. The sound of skin slapping and obscene wetness begins to fill the dark forest, for anybody passing to hear. 

Grunting with every thrust of his hips, his grip on you forces his claws to scratch against your soft skin as it pulls a whine out of you. Whimpering, you latch onto his big forearm and brace yourself with it, head tossed back into his hairy chest. Head swimming, you can't tell where he ends and you begin anymore. Your very essences overlapping and intertwining. 

"Tell me how much you love it. How much you love me." Steve huffs out, hips never slowing down and practically churning your brain with his cock. 

"I love you! Love you so much. Love it when you fuck me, so good, hah." The words pour out of you without hesitation, meaning every word. You can feel the knot in your stomach tangling with every messy thrust. 

Suddenly you feel his sharp teeth dig into the skin of your shoulder, not quite breaking it as the pain mixes with pleasure. With new vigor, he slams you down onto his cock to meet his thrusts hard enough that you know you'll have issues walking after. 

Moans and whines flow out of you as if they're water, and Steve is drinking in every one like he was just in the desert for a millenia. He wants to devour you whole, and you'd gladly let him so long as he doesn't stop fucking you like this. 

A particularly hard thrust forces your head back against and your eyes to roll almost all the way back as Steve's wolfish laughter at your reaction vibrates his chest. You feel him begin to twitch in you as the knot in your stomach bursts into a thousand threads of pleasure coursing through your entire body. 

Steve thinks he sees your soul leave your body as he bottoms out again, his own orgasm shooting over every inch of him. Teeth clamping down on your shoulder, blood quickly beginning to trickle down your chest. Thick cum running back down onto his balls and smearing on both of your already messy skin. 

Slowly he eases up on the bite on your shoulder, chest heaving with heavy breaths. A claw reaching up to your face to tilt your head back as he takes in your hazy eyes before pressing a gentle kiss to your spit slick lips. 

"C'mon back to me bunny. We're finished, gotta go back to the cabin so daddy can clean you up good. Gonna have to wrap that shoulder." Steve purrs out, leaning his sweaty forehead against your own. Weakly nodding, you nuzzle your nose against his. 

As gently as possible, he pulls you off of his cock. Softly apologizing as you whine due to the sensitivity. Steve quickly tucks you into his large arms, cradling you in them, and begins to walk back to the little cabin on the edge of the dark forest. Whispering promises of warm baths and cuddled in bed. 

[dovithedarklord]

Age of Monsters

Pairing: OFC x Simon "Ghost" Riley, OFC x König

Tags: Slow Burn, Slow Build, Enemies to Lovers, Alternate Universe, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, POV First Person, Not Beta Read, Medical Inaccuracies, Military Inaccuracies, AFAB OC

Trigger Warning: The story will contain violance, blood and smut in detail. Please, keep that in mind!

⚠️MDNI⚠️

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Summary:

50 years ago, the world was turned upside down by the appearance of a virus, and monsters destroyed most of the known civilization. For safety, humanity has retreated to colonies all around the world, where life is lived according to strict rules and in fear of monsters. Fortunately, the virus caused something other than just the emergence of mutant monsters, it also awakened the Hunters, who have been heroically protecting the colonies ever since. Leona Woods spends her days in Colony 17 hiding from her duties as a Healer, but her carefree life soon ends when one of her evenings doesn't go as planned. And when karma finally catches up, she is forced to join Liquidation Unit 141 to fulfill her duties.

Or

Life in Unit 141 isn't nearly all sunshine and rainbows, especially when a certain masked Hunter tries to make it even harder. However, the excitement only increases when a new danger appears, which threatens not only the life of the unit but the safety of the entire world. And Leona must decide whether to choose her own interests or the survival of her new team and the world.

The world in the story is inspired by the Guideverse.

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Authors note:

Leona ends up in a nice mess after eating her dinner too carelessly. She has no idea how quickly fate will catch up with her.

The story moves quite slowly, so please be patient! 141 boys won't appear in the first chapter just yet, but they will;) I have pretty much covered all the characters in the tags, but the list could expand in the future. (I proofread myself before posting, so sorry if there are mistakes! I write the story in my language first, and I translate it after. English is not my first language, so help is welcomed! Just be nice, please! )

I'll post more chapters, but if you're interested you can find the story on AO3: Chapter One

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I lazily stir my cocktail with the small wooden stick in it, as an absentminded distraction, my eyes run through the room enveloped in a flood of colorful, flashing lights. The bass of the music vibrates through my every muscle and bone, and I can almost feel the rhythm in my stomach, sending pleasant shivers through me. This is the thrill of the hunt, to be exact.

The people crammed into the small hall are pressed together like herrings, and the air smells of sweat, cheap perfume, and alcohol. My gaze wanders through the blissfully ignorant dancers from the force of habit, since I've done this a thousand times, I know exactly what I'm looking for. I’m searching for an exact type, a fool who seems lively enough to have just enough energy for a busy weeknight fun, and just as easily swayed by a seductive smile. I'm lucky because it seems like everyone wants to celebrate today, and that might be the reason behind today’s unusual crowd in this club, which is located in a hidden corner of the city. Usually, I would have to choose from a much smaller selection, but today on The Day of the Great Escape, everyone felt the need to paint the town red. Even if someone doesn’t give a damn about the important holiday, this day is still one of the few occasions when even those doing the most menial jobs are given a day off to be able to honor the memory of the first great Hunters who appeared fifty years ago. What an idiotic habit. If they knew the easy lives of those publicly funded mercenaries and executioners… they wouldn't be so grateful that they occasionally venture outside the green zone to kill a mutant monster or two.

Raising my glass to my mouth, I take a generous sip of my sweet cocktail and enjoy the way the alcohol sold at the price of gold pleasantly burns my throat. Like any other luxury item, alcohol is also a treasure, of course, only if you don't want to go blind from the crap concocted at someone’s shady basement. I feel my frustration awaken in the back of my head when I think about the near fortune I spent on the cocktail, but I push the annoying thought away, thinking that in worst case scenario I will not only get my usual snack from tonight's victim, but also the content of their wallet. If I'm lucky, the unfortunate bastard will have a few credits on them. Almost on cue, I catch a glimpse of a guy on the edge of the dance floor who stands out from the ring of people around him like a scarecrow on a cornfield. Judging by his movements, he's not the least bit thirsty, and as I watch him almost tripping over his own feet during his clumsy dance moves, a satisfied grin crosses my lips. Got you.

I down the last remnants of my nauseating drink, and I jump off the bar stool with light movements and throw myself into the crowd of dancers. I make my way toward the cutie I've chosen, not taking my eyes off of him for even a moment, and I feel my heart beating excitedly as I get closer and closer. As the adrenaline spreads through my body, all my senses sharpen, like a wild animal waiting to pounce on its victim. Tonight I'm bubbling with anticipation and impatience more than usual because it's been a week and a half since I caught the last sweet little boy for some private fun… and my appetite is coming back fast. With dull, but steady force.

As I finally arrive behind the boy, my fingers twine on his arms with a butterfly-light touch and travel sensually up to his shoulders. Despite his apparent drunkenness, the guy visibly flinches in fright, and this one tiny movement makes my mouth dry with anticipation. He looks puzzled and surprised as he turns towards me, and as he glances down at me, all my nerves and senses are attuned to him. And as the inviting warmth of his body travels from his hot skin through my fingertips, I can already see the intricate network that weaves through his body in my mind's eye, with his pulsing heart in the middle beating to a fierce rhythm. I don't need to use my ability to know that I don’t have to try hard, because as soon as the first shock wears off in a fraction of a second, he arranges his features on his sweet boyish face and pulls his mouth into a lazy grin. Bingo.

"Hi. " I shout over the music blaring around us, and I conjure up the flirtatious smile that I have perfected over the years, which I know will immediately sweep such simple-minded fools off their feet. Obviously, it also helps a lot that even if the higher powers that supposedly exist have already cursed me with my fucking abilities, they at least put conventionally attractive features on me. It would be foolish to deny that I am charming, and I am neither modest nor delusional enough to try to lie to myself about it. It would certainly be a more attractive quality to blush and protest against such facts in order to score good points in the eyes of other people, but if there is one thing I have learned it is that in this new order, you won’t get far with modesty and goodness. That fair world has been gone since the first mutant monsters slaughtered an entire city, or maybe it never even existed.

"Hello... " The guy greets me too, and as he turns towards me welcomingly, ready to flirt, my hands clasp around his neck with a swift movement, and I snuggle up to him with my whole body, promising salacious adventures. It doesn't escape my attention how his pupils dilate almost on command, as my breasts press against his chest and my nails run through the back of his neck teasingly. I can almost feel it in my mouth how the heat of his desire starts to build and a tingle fueled by lust travels through him. It's ridiculously easy for me to turn him on, but he’s exactly the type of easy target I usually hunt for. He's just drunk enough to not be able to think clearly but be up for action when a pretty girl approaches him. He's just healthy enough to withstand my snacking but weak enough to not be able to resist. Not that he'd stand a chance against me.

I’m not wasting time on talking anymore, because I can tell from his heated gaze and his fast-beating heart that I could climb on him even here if I wanted to. But I was always shy when it came to my private life. I like it better when we enjoy these intimate moments together without any pesky interruptions.

I remove the presence of my naughty little body from the guy, and as his dark eyes fill with disappointment, I hold back the laughter that threatens to burst out of me with all my might. I grab him by the arm, and I just give him a teasing smile over my shoulder as I point towards to the exit with my head, and his quick to understand what I’m implying. He follows me without a question as I lead him out of the dance floor with purposeful steps towards the back entrance of the club. He stumbles along like the fool he is, with a distinct look of puppy-like longing spread on his face. And I send tiny sparks of my energy into his body through his skin, which boosts the already present alcoholic stupor in him even more, because I never leave anything up for luck. We should look like just a simple, carefree young couple who after finding each other in the heat of the night, are heading somewhere, anywhere, to relieve their needs. Which is true. But I suspect that this little cutie and I are not thinking about the same needs as we are galloping towards the exit.

And as the back door opens and the cool fresh air of the night hits me, the all too known impatience that usually comes at this time takes over me. I've been feeling that painful tension in my stomach for days now, which indicates that I can't wait any longer and I have to find someone to help my little problem. I hate the feeling when I squirm in bed with a heated body, trying to fall asleep, but every part of me aches and pleads for me to just finally satisfy my hunger.

As the guy finally exits the club behind me the door closes behind us with a loud bang. The dim light filtering in from the street only vaguely paints his features, but I can make out enough to know that by now my machinations got him ready for the finale. I don't like what I am, but I love my abilities. If the members of my species weren’t treated like objects or animals for slaughter, I wouldn't be frustrated by all of this shit.

I drag the now completely dazed guy towards one of the corners filled with cardboard boxes, forcing him to back up against the hard concrete, trapping him with my arms over his shoulders. The sight could look quite comical, a girl who is at least half a head shorter, pinning a grown man to the wall with a gesture taken from a romantic movie, but I know that out of the two of us, I am not the prey. But he is.

"I like girls who take initiative. " He says, his words smeared by alcohol and from my little tricks echo in the darkness of the alley. I pull a lazy little smile on my face as I kneel down in front of him, and I’m quick to unfasten his belt and unbutton his pants with my hands. I can almost hear how the air catches in his throat, and when I look up at him and see the stunned look that blooms on his face, I release my laughter. My God. It gets me every time.

"Then it's your lucky day. " I answer, and I feel my voice deepen and get filled with the longing caused by my hunger. He swallows his Adam's apple bobbing as my hands start to pull down the rough fabric of his pants from his narrow hips with excruciating slowness. Goosebumps rise on his skin when I grip the lean muscles of his thighs and I involuntarily lick my lips as the pulsating veins appear before my eyes. I nudge his legs apart and he obediently spreads them wider, and I lean forward to smooth my lips on his now-exposed skin. A shiver runs through him as I follow the line of blood vessels branching under his skin with my tongue, and I mark the place where I plan to eat my meal with a small seductive kiss. I give him another boost with my energy so that he gets even more stunned, and he tilts his head back with his eyes closed, his breathing speeds up desperately, and all the while he doesn't even notice how I make a small incision on his thigh with the small blade I dug out of my pocket. The first drops of blood emerge from under the pale skin, and I, like a thirsty pilgrim left in the desert, throw myself on the small pearls that surface. I press my mouth tightly to the wound, and my teeth tingle painfully as I swallow the first sips, but I know, that even if a stupid bastard like him would discover a bite mark, he could easily put the pieces together and get me caught. So I’m momentarily satisfied with the way the metallic taste of blood fills my taste buds, and my whole body trembles as the familiar heat sweeps along my spine. I sigh with relief, as the hunger gnawing at my insides begins to ease, and the torturous feeling that has been twisting my stomach for days is replaced by the euphoria, which is hard to put into words, that rears its head in my body with each meal. My energy begins to throb excitedly in my veins, and my head is taken over by a daze similar to alcoholic intoxication, which makes my limbs quite light and weightless. Despite this, my fingers grip the thighs of my victim even harder, who stiffens under my hands, groaning in confusion. It must not be a pleasant feeling, but none of them have died yet from the tiny little blood loss I caused. The next day, they are as good as new, and they easily mistake the minute sickness that I cause for the evil aftereffect of a hangover. After all, who doesn't feel like shit after drinking through the night before?

I get lost in my meal, and the intoxicating taste of blood obscures my senses and leads me to a fleeting state of ecstasy, and I know that it is almost time to stop because there is a level of blood loss that can’t be attributed to the fatigue of a hangover. However, before the thought can ripen in my foggy mind, searing pain shoots through my scalp, and I hiss as the unknown force grabs my hair and pulls me away from the subject of my feast. My brain can't get out of its stupor right away, so it is not particularly difficult for me to lose my balance. I arrive on the damp concrete of the alley with a loud thump, and I blink wide-eyed at my assailant from the sudden surprise. The unknown man walks over to the guy slumped on the floor with a worried look, who just as all my victims do, passed out after my little dinner.

"Roy! Roy!" Tries the stranger as he talks to the knocked-out guy, and I pull myself up to my feet. I wipe my mouth glistening with blood with the back of my hand as I watch the potential friend of my dinner trying to breathe some life into the poor kid. When he doesn't succeed, he turns towards me and steps in front of me menacingly, grabbing the collar of my sweater. "What the fuck did you do to him, you bitch?"

"We played a little." I declare easily, and as my eyes focus on the boy sprawled out on the dirty ground, an evil little grin curls on my lips. "And it seems I literally blew his mind with my professional technique."

"Don’t fuck with me! " The guy snarls at me dangerously and shakes me by my clothes, which makes my funny mood disappear almost immediately. Based on how his face gets contorted in anger, it becomes clear that my lip service won’t get me out of this situation, and I'm cursing to myself as I assess the possibilities. Although there are no cameras in this alley, I can guarantee that this bastard will be able to give an accurate description of me if I just let him slip out of here. If I don't do something now, he's going to call the enforcers, which is a literal death sentence for me. Because, even if I lie that I indulged in little more perverted pleasures than necessary, they will immediately suspect that something is wrong. And if they find out what I am... that can't happen.

But before I could create a concrete plan in my mind, the guy loses his patience and raises his hand, preparing to put some sense in me. However, before he could hit me, I target his knee with a firm kick causing it to dislocate with a loud crack, and as he loses his balance, his grip on my clothes loosens too. The roar that erupts from the guy is muffled by my hand fast on his mouth, and taking advantage of the situation, I throw myself at him and knock him off his feet. His head hits the ground with a sickening sound, but that’s not nearly enough to make him unable to attack. It seems that the adrenaline is starting to work in him too, because his hands suddenly slam down on my neck and wrap around it with a vise-like grip. A stifled cough breaks out of me as the pressure of his fingers slowly squeezes my trachea, and then it becomes completely clear what I have to do to get out of the hot water I got myself into.

I press my hands firmly on his head and, while struggling with shortness of breath, I concentrate the energy bubbling in me towards the man. Tears well up in my eyes from the effort, but I can still feel the blood vessels in his brain, and I clench my teeth as I begin to increase the pressure in them. I almost see the image of the tiny, spider web-like system swelling up and getting dangerously close to bursting like an overinflated balloon. The man's grip around my neck loosens, he grabs my wrists now and tries to pry my hands off of him, but he has no chance. Pure desperation takes over his features, his eyes widen and his body begins to jerk wildly underneath me, but that doesn't deter me from finishing what I started. Because if I show even an ounce of mercy, I'll get the short end of the stick. If I don't kill him, I'll be exposed and dragged off to be used like fucking battery for the rest of my life. I’ll lose everything I have, but most of all, my freedom. If I don't end it now, I'll suffer the same fate as the other Healers and I’ll be used by some Hunter until I die. I can't let that happen. I WON’T let it happen.

Rage and anger fill my consciousness, and suddenly a red mist swallows everything in my sight, which makes me focus only on the suffering of the man below me fighting for his life. My fingers claw into his skin, and for a moment the thought runs through my mind about how it would feel to crack his skull and see his bones break under my grip. A painful snoring sound leaves the man's mouth, his mouth fills with bloody foam, red liquid begins to flow from the corner of his eyes drawing vivid lines on his deathly pale skin, and I tensely observe his death throe. A few minutes stretch into an eternity as I watch the last sparks of life disappear from his eyes, and the vague emptiness of death takes their place. Suddenly the man freezes, his limbs going limp under me in surrender, and as a last soft gurgling moan leaves his lips, I know it's over. The frantic rush of his blood ceases under my fingers, and his heart, which until now was hammering restlessly under his ribs, is now silent.

I kneel over the dead body below me panting, and I pause for a moment to look at my "creation". I'm not surprised that I don't feel any remorse, because I left the guilt and shame behind me a long time ago, in that dark little corner of my mind, where there might still be a drop of tenderness left. I can still vaguely remember the panic that came over me the first time I accidentally killed someone. I will never forget the young guy’s face, the freckles dotting his nose, which shone almost sickeningly dark on his skin pale from blood loss. The frightened whimper that left those lips that slowly turned blue forever embedded itself in the tangled webs of my memory. But everyone else who stood in my way looms as vague, unrecognizable spots in the depths of my brain, and it doesn't bother me one bit. A normal person might be affected by so many lives lost in vain, but I learned a long time ago that these are all luxuries that the likes of me cannot afford. That's why I still feel nothing but pure frustration and anger for making such a simple mistake. I didn't pay attention to the friends. You should never target a victim with friends, because after a while they always show up worried. It's understandable, of course, but it's just an unnecessary problem for me.

A strained sigh leaves my lips as I stand up, dusting off my clothes, and I step over the body lying motionless on the ground. My night didn't turn out exactly as I wanted, and as a sharp, migraine-like pain rips through my head, I'm already sure that my dinner tonight was wasted. Small snacks like this are just enough to satiate my hunger, but not enough to pump me up enough to stop me from being cranky after using my powers to such an extent. I should have eaten a lot more for this. Fuck. In a few days, I'll be able to play this whole little charade again to find a fool to drink from. And I can throw away a bunch of credits again to go to one of the clubs and have an alibi drink.

I pull the corner of my mouth in distaste as I remember the poor state of my wallet, and if possible my mood becomes even more gloomy as I realize that unfortunately robbing my victims will not be an option tonight. That way, if I'm lucky, enforcers will see this as nothing more than a tragic consequence of a night out where one of the unfortunate dudes had fun with the wrong stuff, and the other drank just a little bit too much. But if I take their credits now, then robbery and murder will also enter the picture, which would be true, but I have no need for any unnecessary excitement.

So I take one last look at the two guys, straightening my sweater, and I head towards the exit of the alley to enter the street swimming in flickering lights, making my way home. Every muscle in my body screams for sleep, and as the knife-like pain in my head increases, I want nothing more than to rest and forget this miserable night.

⃰

My fingers drum nervously on the table, adding a fast and restless rhythm to the background noise of the machines humming softly in the lab, the whole thing resulting in a symphony that slowly drives me crazy. My eyes are fixed on the radio lying on the counter next to me, and although now the monotonous female voice from the other side is talking about general news affecting the entire colony, I still keep replaying a scrap of information that barely reached two minutes over and over again, as if an old and broke record player had stuck in my head, on which the needle keeps jumping on the same tune.

The previous night, I threw myself into bed with the firm belief that everything was fine and that I had no reason to worry about anyone paying enough attention to the deaths of two insignificant civilians in a party district. One would think that the enforcers have their hands full with monitoring smugglers and petty criminals selling illegal drugs, or supervising food distribution units, but no. Of course, in a city where it is common for someone to disappear or die, where the law-keeping organizations are struggling with a shortage of people, the biggest news is that two random young dudes were found in an alley under questionable circumstances. Out of thousands of similar cases, the wretched news providers just had to pick this one, which was described exactly as desperate and terrifying as it should be to get some clout. But it couldn’t be further from the truth. Similar atrocities happen daily, it's enough if someone doesn't buy from a good dealer and stuffs themself with goods made from all kinds of crap in a basement. Or it's enough if someone has more food stamps than the others, and if someone feels even a tad bit jealous of this, then the unlucky fool will be found on the street the next day knocked out because of those few pieces of paper. And I make one mistake and these hyenas immediately feel the need to overanalyze it under a magnifying glass.

A thousand thoughts run through my head, and in every one of them, I try to figure out why the officials believe that this case is different from the others they encountered until now. Why did the interviewed spokesman emphasize the fact that this case shows such an unusual pattern that they are forced to carry out a thorough investigation? I can theorize a thousand possible mistakes, and I could find a solution to all of them almost immediately, but the doubt that crawls into my brain just can’t seem to leave and I can’t help but feel that this time I really was careless.

There were no cameras in the alley, nor in that shithole of a club, so there was nothing that could have recorded my face. Due to the holiday, there were too many people in the club to give a good personal description of any of us. And my dinner last night was far too drunk and dazed to remember anything substantial about me. They won’t go far with the information that a pretty little girl dragged him away. There are thousands of cases like that in this cursed city. They could have found my DNA or my fingerprints on one of the bodies, and they can find me based on that, but I can bluff that I just wanted a nice little threesome with the guys, and when they offered me some weird substance, I walked away. There is no way to prove that this is the case, nor is there any evidence to the contrary. And they can't bring me in without solid proof. And anyway. Who would believe that a short, weak young woman could knock out two grown men?

Almost instinctively, my tongue wanders to the line of my teeth, and as it runs along the plastic, I clench my fists nervously. They can't possibly suspect anything about who I am. There's no way in hell they'll find out I'm an Extreme. They won't test DNA because it's an expensive procedure, and they won't do any further research for a simple murder case where NOTHING points to an Extreme. They won’t be able to reveal my identity, even if they end up linking me to the case somehow.

I have been hiding my identity since I was thirteen years old, and no one has a chance to see through my disguise, which I have perfected over the years. Although an Extreme would be easy to recognize, because who the hell wouldn't be able to see when a person has vertical pupils and razor-sharp canines? But I have this under control. Cheap contact lenses, and even cheaper removable veneers, and the problem is solved. And the scent of my energy could only be smelled by a professional, high-ranking Hunter, especially what is left of it now. Everything seems ideal, the realistic part of me knows that the chances of me being exposed are small, but the stress hormones working inside me plant the doubt that small enough is still not zero. It will never be zero.

The sudden window that pops up on the computer screen jolts me out of my thoughts, which were moving strongly towards gloomy suspicion and tense fixation, and for the first time in my life, I turn quickly toward a finished result. It's not like I'm careless in my work, after all, to maintain a normal life, you have to be thorough and a good worker bee. But suddenly anything seems like a good distraction, and I honestly thank the fact that I still have six hours of work left, because it may distract me from the chaos raging in my head.

I take one last anxious glance at the radio, which is already playing some melodious song by an unknown band, and then I turn to my computer instead. I don't have to worry. Like all sensations, this will pass in no time. Everything will be fine. Nothing will happen. NOTHING.

⃰

But when I get home a few days later, two strange men are waiting in front of the door of my small apartment, and I already know that nothing will be fine. I quickly assess the two figures, and it immediately becomes obvious that although they are not wearing uniforms, they are clearly enforcers. They turn their heads towards me in unison, and the neon light of the lamp on the ceiling paints the dark expression gliding across their faces in an eery glow. Only two words flash in my mind; They know.

Still, I force a mask of honest surprise on myself, and as I move towards them with slow and deliberate steps, I try to take on the role of a meek, defenseless, and more importantly naive young woman with every movement. It's ridiculously easy because I've been forced to play it all my life, but now I'm analyzing almost every fiber of myself with tense attention, as the two men silently size me up.

"Leona Woods?" Says one of the enforcers, and his hoarse voice echoes hauntingly off the dirty walls. "We hoped we were in the right place."

At first glance, it may seem like the situation about to unfold is completely harmless, but as the taller man pulls his hands out of his pockets, but it does not escape my attention how a metallic glint appears for a fleeting moment under his jacket. They came with weapons, and from that, I can immediately conclude that they did not show up for a simple chit-chat. They won’t be playing a pleasant game of question-and-answer with me as witnesses, but as a suspect, and the recognition creates an unpleasant pressure in my stomach. Calm down. Take it easy. They may be suspicious, but they don't have anything in their hands.

"What can I help you with?" I ask innocently, and I mix just enough incomprehension into my voice to make my little play look authentic. I arrive in front of them with a faint little smile on my lips, every cell radiating I am indeed just a simple civilian. Someone who may have been involved in a very sad misunderstanding, but is in no way capable of killing or even injuring someone.

"We’d like to ask you a few questions." Says one of the men, and as he flashes his official ID card, my eyebrows rise in feigned surprise. "If possible, we'd rather not talk to you here. Could you let us in?" My new guest points towards my front door with his head, and I fish out my keys from my bag accompanied by a cooperative nod. I concentrate on keeping my fingers from shaking with every fiber of my being, as I insert the key into the lock because nothing would give me away faster than them seeing me upset. And it's a difficult task, because with every second the tension raging inside me increases.

"After you." I open the door, and as soon as I turn on the light, the two men march into my small apartment after a quiet "thank you". I hesitate for a minute, but finally, the door closes behind me with a soft click, and after slowly kicking off my shoes, I follow the two enforcers into my modest little living room. The faces of the two strangers do not reveal anything, as they peer into the living room and take a quick, but rather detailed look at the room. And I follow their every movement, like a startled stray dog surrounded by dogcatchers. What an apt analogy.

"Take a seat." I gesture towards the thousand-year-old sofa in the middle of the room, and after giving one last look at the furniture of my modest apartment in search of some kind of clue, they silently take the seat offered to them. I follow their example with measured calmness, and I try to sit down in the armchair opposite them as carelessly as possible, smoothing out the creases in my pants with my hands, so that at least I can reduce the growing restlessness inside me. "What did you want to ask me about? " I ask with sincere curiosity, and I consciously try to banish any doubt, anger, or malice from my voice. It is quite obvious that these two men are not simple enforcement officers, because they behaved like two hounds on a hot scent just waiting for the opportunity to pounce from the get-go.

"Three days ago, two men were found in one of the nightclubs in sector H. Thankfully, one of them only lost consciousness, but unfortunately the other victim was already dead by the time they were found." Begins one of the enforcers, who seems to be the older of the two with his graying hair and crow's feet around his eyes. "We have reason to assume that you might be able to provide us with useful information." He states pointedly, and before I can even think about opening my mouth to speak, his companion pulls out a couple of black and white pictures from his jacket’s pocket.

My gaze lingers on the older man for a moment, so it doesn't become clear to them that I want to look at those pictures so much that every muscle in me goes rigid with desperation. And when I finally turn my eyes to the photos resting on the table, I feel my blood run cold. Until now, I was sure that there is no chance of them connecting me to the case, but even I don't have any ridiculous objections to the way I recognize myself in those goddamn pictures. While there may not have been a security camera in the alley, I must have forgotten that the fucking motel across the street must have one installed for the safety of its clients. And this camera isn't the kind that captures people as blurry, smudged blobs. No, this fucking camera recorded me pulling my pretty little ass out of that dark hole in such sharp detail that it occurs to me for a moment that this coincidence could only have happened in my honor.

"I was there on that night." I confirm the facts shown in the prints, it would be completely unnecessary to deny what is in the photos lying on the worn surface of the table because it's clear as day that I’m the one unlucky idiot on them. "But I'm afraid I can't help you with anything more." I smile faintly, just enough to not seem obviously unfriendly, despite the fact that a burning lump is forming in my throat and the gears in my head are immediately starting to turn, wondering what chances I have to get out of the shit in which I seem to be sinking up to my neck.

"I'm not so sure about that, unfortunately. " Answers the older enforcer, and fishes out his communicator from the pocket inside of his jacket, on which a very interesting hologram image appears after he presses a few buttons. I recognize almost immediately what is written on the investigation document, and I have to hold back the small disgusting smile that wishes to appear on my face with all my might. As I expected, they apparently found my DNA on one of the victims, and thanks to that the lab result which proves the sample found matches my DNA is staring at me in a faint blue light. Calm down, you expected this.

"I met a handsome boy that night, but flirting and having sex is hardly illegal." I remark innocently, and as my eyes fall on the two men, I allow a small, light superiority to creep onto my face. But as the man flicks the hologram lightly with his finger, all my joy disappears like a speck of dust in the wind and is replaced by shock, and I can no longer control my face where genuine terror settles in.

"It isn't, indeed. But hiding a Healer, or rather an Extreme Healer status, and killing people are." The enforcer gets to the point, and his eyebrows furrow grimly on his forehead, as his gaze wanders meaningfully from the hologram to me. A nerve-racking silence settles in the room for a moment, as I try to comprehend the data presented to me, and every brain cell fights against the denial of reality. Because the inscription "Status: EXTREME" appearing in all capital letters on the last page of the lab result cannot be a figment of the imagination. Because all of this would have to be a nightmare, and this situation is clearly real, because my pulse pounding in my ears, the gnawing, visceral dread creeping into my stomach can't just be the work of a dream. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to come with us to the headquarters."

This one sentence is enough to make the future immediately appear in my head. They’ll drag me, brand me, and put me on the market like a horse so that whoever is the fastest can take me. I will join some unit with Hunters, and every single day I will charge and heal a different stupid bastard each time until one day I inevitably become useless and they get rid of me. And then, if I'm lucky, I won't vegetate as a houseplant in a research institute, but maybe someone will take me in and turn me into a whore. This is the fate that awaits most Healers, and I am not so delusional as to believe that I will be lucky enough to be one of those rare cases where the Hunter will not treat me like an object. Especially as an Extreme. I'll be the real gourmet meal. They will be able to use me for a long time. If they don't take away my blood supply, like the opportunity to recharge from ordinary Healers, they will be able to leech off me for years and decades. No fucking way.

As if I had suddenly found enlightenment, the fear of death disappears from my face with disturbing speed, and I nod with a careful movement. Standing up, I obediently walk toward them, raising my hands in front of me, and it doesn't escape my attention as their eyes glide over my figure cautiously. It doesn't matter that they are suspicious, they are not prepared for what comes next.

The older man orders his companion with just a silent gesture, and I patiently wait for the guy to stand up and step in front of me with the handcuffs unfastened from his belt. But before my new trendy bracelet could snap on me, I grab the man's arm emerging from under his jacket and send a significant amount of energy into his body, causing him to suddenly sprawl on the carpet with widened eyes and a loud thump. It takes the other enforcer a moment to realize what's happening, but he reaches for his gun too late, because I'm already there in front of him, and my nails are digging into his skin with force as I press my palm into his face, causing his head to drop back, and his body to fall on the cream-colored fabric of the sofa unconsciously.

I don't waste any time, I tear open the door of my apartment and I bolt out almost immediately in desperation. I run along the corridor with the agility of a chased wild animal, and when I reach the staircase, I take the steps two at a time. There's only one thing in my head, that I don't care how, but I'm going to escape from here because there's no way I let myself get caught. I'll break out of this fucking city myself if I have to, and wind my way through the monster-infested red zone until I get to the nearest colony. They won't catch me. NEVER.

The small shards of glass scattered on the pavement sink painfully into my bare feet, as I throw myself onto the street and continue running without any consideration. The pain appears only as a distant, dull pang in the hidden corner of my brain, because now even I have bigger problems at hand than how much damage I'm doing to my leg. The biting night air burns my lungs as I sprint breathlessly through the unusually desolate neighborhood, but I don't waste precious energy trying to figure out why the street is so empty on a weekday evening.

And I don't even have time to think about this any longer, because before I can turn into the side street behind one of the blocks, a sharp, shooting pain rips through my back, and whatever hit me, the force of the impact is enough to make me stagger with a startled squeal, and I fall to the ground like a rag doll. My hands ache excruciatingly as they get stuck under me in an attempt to cushion my landing, and my nose is hit by the familiar smell of blood as the concrete scrapes the skin from my palms. Despite the burning sensation, the narrow object sticking out of my back worries me more as I touch it. It dawns on me that it might be some kind of tranquilizer dart, but by the time I can congratulate myself on my foresight, I can already feel my limbs turning heavy like stones. The image of the street swimming in colorful lights blurs in front of my eyes, and no matter how hard I struggle, I can only whimper softly, as I try to fight with my last strength against the temptation of the darkness that falls on me.

"Forgive me, sweetheart. But you're not goin’ anywhere from here." Someone speaks up not far from me, but I hear the voice muffled as if my head has been submerged under water, and it only travels to my ears as dull and distorted fragments. Halfway to losing consciousness, I catch the sight of booted feet swimming into my field of vision. I want to come up with some kind of witty remark, but before even a sound can leave my mouth, the darkness engulfs me. Fuck.

[merakiui]

Mera~

I hope you are well today!

Do you happen to have some spare change? And when I say change I mean headcannons? My simple simp mind is wondering how some of the Yan boys would treat a chubby darling?

Sorry if you've done this, I'm still digging through your blog.

-Rolly Polly

OOOO yes yes!!! I absolutely have plenty of spare change!!! Forgive me for not writing all characters, but I had the most thoughts for the ones listed below!!! :D

I must mention my beloved tako first. He adores every inch of you, even your chub! Especially your chub!!!!!! He refuses to hear any negative talk regarding your body; he absolutely loves it. In Azul's eyes, every part of you is all he could ever ask for! He's obsessed with you, so naturally he'd be obsessed with your body as well. He's always hyping you up in private, lavishing you with so much genuine praise and adoration. Though he has a tendency to be deceptive with others, he will never lie when it comes to his love for you. So when he says you're perfect, he sincerely means it. (Also, he is a big lover of thick thighs. <3)

The tweels also lavish you in so much praise and love (so much it's actually very overwhelming at times). Your body is such a pleasant contrast to theirs, where they're all rough edges and bones and lanky limbs you're so soft and curvy and absolutely wonderful! Floyd loves hugging you because you're so fun to squeeze; he could stay attached to you forever; it's so comfortable to just cuddle against you. <3 often you'll find yourself sandwiched between both of them hehe. Eel sandwich... orz I think they'd like to be crushed between your thighs, but Jade likes it the most! I also think he would want you to wear lots of lingerie. Of course he won't force you if it makes you uncomfortable (he politely insists), but if you're locked in the twins' room and they're your only source of communication both he and Floyd are going to pull all the stops when it comes to convincing you. Jade likes how you fit into lacy frills and so does Floyd; you're just so adorable. They love you, love you, love you!!!! If you're self-conscious or can't see yourself in a positive light, they'll fuck you in front of a mirror every single night to prove to you that they only see their beautiful darling.

Vil is also similar. I think mirror sex is a guarantee with him because it baffles him if you can't see your beauty (naturally he has to show you, and what better way than to sit in front of the mirror and have you pinned on his cock while he presses kisses into every inch of your skin, whispering the sweetest praises). Vil always speaks the truth when it comes to beauty, so you know he will never, ever lie to you. He knows for a fact that you are beautiful and perfect in every way. And he gives such good advice when it comes to fashion! If you want to try a new style, he's the first one to help you pick statement pieces and pair various accessories for an outfit that accentuates all of the features he loves so very much.

AND ROOK!!!! OOOOHHH MR. ROOK HUNT!!! He puts Azul to shame. If you think Azul is the best hype man, you're so wrong. Rook is so infatuated with you. Like Vil, he's also so shocked if you can't see just how perfect your body is. He loves to hug you from behind, to feel all of your plush curves beneath your clothes, to bestow the softest, sweetest touches to you, as well as giving you lots and lots of compliments. Rook also never lies when it comes to beauty, and he thinks all bodies are beautiful. Naturally, your body is also beautiful. Omg he's just so in love with you... T_T <3 he may be holding you captive in one of the many villas his family owns, but ooohhh does he adore you to the moon and back. He waxes so much poetry about you. He's also another one who helps improve your relationship with your body if you're self-conscious (and also another lover of mirror sex hehe)!!! He's just so loving and sweet and supportive and 100% obsessed. After all, you are the most beautiful in his world.

OMG AND TREY!!!!!! AAAAAAA OTL he loves you so much. He thinks you're so precious aaaaa omg!!!!! >0< he's always so sweet and supportive. Also another one who will help you overcome your self-consciousness. I think Trey likes to fuck you in missionary so he gets a view of your pretty body (and also so you're unable to hide yourself if you're nervous or self-conscious during intimacy). Aaaa he's just so genuine. How can you not love him when he's a big sweetheart who also knows how to bake delicious sweets (all in your favorite flavors)? Sure, he may be unhealthily obsessed with you. But details, details!!!!

[lilith-little-world]

Hello, it's me again ^^ Since Wukong dislikes going out in public, why not have a date indoors?

For their date, they could try out popular beauty products like facial masks and lip scrubs together.

Nice to see you back, and that is so cute. This shy mf would be the one to set it up. Getting the products and knowing how to use them. I can already see Wukong and the reader just having fun and chilling.

Also sorry for this to be late, just got a little more busy than usual. I'm trying really hard to do daily updates, but my mind is finally reaching that writing limit. I will update the majority of the week so don't worry too much.

This is kind of rushed and I didn't look through it properly. So there might be some grammar errors or things not flowing correctly.

The Oracle|| Concept Oneshot 5||

You went up the stairs, Almond following behind. Today was tiring, you had to run around the city trying to prevent the Lady Bone Demon from getting a certain lantern that you're currently holding. You have been hiding this item for a while, it honestly surprised you that this was their first time trying to steal it away. Expecting them to hunt you down the moment they caught wind of you having the item. At least you got the lantern back.

 

You reached the door ready to end the exhausting day. Glancing at the keypad lock, you put in your code and walk into your current abode. Ready to see the huge mess that those two left, you came face to face with Wukong- well a few of his clones.

Almond barks and goes up to one of them, trying to bite their tail. 

“Shoo, get away you, mutt.” The clone says, nudging the small dog with his foot.

“Heeey, you came back a lot sooner than we thought.” The other clone says nervously. Like if he was a little kid that got caught by their mother, making a mess.

“Okay, so what's going on exactly?”

“Are we even allowed to say anything? We did want to surprise her.” The clone was holding Almond, staring at the other.

“I knew this was going to take more than 2 clones, just great.”

“You two better start answering if not I'm not letting Wukong in here.”

“Alright, alright, cool it, we both know he will cry and stay by the door all night.” The clone grabs the folded clothes that were on the bed and places them in the wardrobe drawer.

“Then come on, tell me, I'm really tired.”

“Yeah, we know, that's why he wanted to help you relax and not worry about anything else. So he sent us to clean and fix up the room.” The clone places Almond on the bed, going back to sweeping.

“That's- is so very sweet, but what is he getting?” 

“That we can't tell you peaches, he really wanted it to be a surprise.” 

“Ah, right, I can wait for him then.”

You close the door and watch the two pick up. They were nearly done with their tasks before you came. Soon the room was back to its original state. 

“Well, I'm guessing you two are going to disappear soon?”

“Yup, that's how it works. Don't worry we’ll just leave a few hairs so it won't be a mess.” The clone says, trying to reassure you.

“After what you guys did, you can leave a mess here anytime.”

“Don’t tell him you said that, he might get jealous.” The other clone said. They both chuckled before saying their goodbyes and went up in a cloud of smoke. Like they said a few hair strands fell. 

You sigh and go to the back of the room where a large safe sat. You open it and place the lantern in there. Taking the bracelet off, you took a deep breath and focused. Your hands softly brush the metal door, and sparks of gold and white light flash. A circle with a lotus appeared before disappearing. The barrier won't keep them out for much longer but as long as you buy enough time for your friends then that's all it matters.

You went back to lie on the bed. Almond slowly made her way and snuggled on top of your stomach. It was quiet and calm, you like it after a hectic day. There was a soft knock on the door before it opened. The sound of bags straining to hold whatever items were in them broke the serenity of the room.

“Welcome home honey, thank you for cleaning up! Why it's no problem, don't even mention it!” Wukong says while trying to mimic your voice. 

You however just whine and mumble out a thank you. 

You're tired, not rude.

He went off to the table and started to take things out.

“So what's the surprise?”

“Hmmm, let's call this a date.”

“Oh?”

You finally sat up and noticed how he was lighting a scented candle. 

“Remember today was date night and it was my turn to plan it. I'll be honest here, had no idea what to do but then LBD came out of nowhere. Like I was gonna let the demon ruin this day for you.” 

He set up the table with a platter of cheese, ham, crackers, grapes, and a bottle of wine. You get up and walk towards him, extremely curious about what exactly he has planned.

“I know this isn't on the same level as our usual dates, but I thought it would be fun, I guess.” 

He doesn't look at you. Wukong kept his eyes on a random corner, nervous about your reaction. While you go through a plastic bag filled with skincare products. A mix between expensive and cheap. It caught you by surprise, and you couldn't help but laugh. You pull out what was obviously a cheap fox facial mask that definitively shouldn't go on the skin, let alone on the face.

“I'm calling dibs on this. I'll go get a small bowl of water and a small towel ready. Finish setting up the table.”

You went to the ‘kitchen’, and grabbed a foam bowl and filled it with water. Quickly popping into the bathroom to grab a towel before heading to the table. In a short time, Wukong set out the products and moved the Tv to the table. Chairs on the other side from it, giving it a perfect view as he put on a show. You sat down across from him ready for a ‘homemade spa treatment.’ Wukong hands you a sky-blue headband that has clouds scattered around, with a big bow. Matching his buttermilk yellow headband with suns, and also has a bow at the center like yours.

“Alright let’s start with the cleanser.”

“Wukong, you have done this before, haven't you?” You took a grape from the platter.

“Just some basic stuff, after all, how do you think I get to look this good 24/7?” He says with a smirk.

“I thought it was immortality.” 

“That too.”

“Hey, let me see that real quick.” 

You took the bottle from him and squirted some on your hands. It had an obvious scent of peaches. Without hesitation, you put your hands on his cheek. He yelps as you rub in the cleanser, quickly dipping your hands in the bowl of water before going back on your onslaught of rubbing. Moving his head around harshly. The cleanser foamed up from being activated by the water, it didn't take long for his face to be covered.

“And done! Sunshine, have I told you how beautiful you're looking right now?”

He didn't say anything, instead just wetting his hands and pouring the cleanser. However, he rubs your face with a lot of force, unlike your ‘delicate’ touch. You let out a small scream as he manhandles your head around.

“Ahhh, Wukong! I'm sorry, okay, I thought it was funny.”

“I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just helping you apply it just as you did it to me.”

After a few more seconds, he stops and you both stare at each other. The only sound coming from the tv. You whine pretending to be hurt, exaggerating your sad mood.

“So mean…” You mumbled. 

“I could say the same thing.” He states, damping the hand towel.

“Hmph, I was trying to help you put it on.”

“Your little pouts won't work on me this time.”

Wukong wipes away the foam, leaving his skin wet and ready for the next step. You took the towel away from him when he handed it. Wiping away the cleanser, your skin feels refreshed. It had been a good while since you did anything for your skin.

“Okay here, we have a few choices. We can do a clay mask, a safer but boring paper facial mask, or cheap animal facial masks that can possibly burn our faces?”

“Sunshine, sweetie, I think we both know what the right choice is here.” You said as you grabbed the fox mask.

“I know but I just wanted to ask.” He said, grabbing a cat mask.

The masks were cold and slimy but you both looked so funny to the other. You grabbed your phone and took a few pictures of the moment. Sending a few to Mk and Mei.

“This is quite nice, we should do this more often.” You took a sip from the wine bottle before handing it to Wukong. He takes off the mask and chugs the bottle down.

“I'm glad you liked it, peaches. Though I am sorry I couldn't come up with anything nice for our date.” His speech slurred slightly.

You grabbed the small jar that holds the clay. You dab your fingers in it, you slowly and softly smear it on Wukong's face. He didn't yelp, instead he hums and smiles. Leaning into your touch.

“Nah it's fine, I'm happy how our date night turned out. Anyways it doesn't matter what we are doing, as long as I can spend it with you, I'm fine with anything.”

“Awww, you can be so sweet sometimes.”

“I'm sweet every day and second, excuse you.”

Wukong laughs loudly, finding your reaction hilarious. You, however, did not.

“Alright no more alcohol, you're getting drunk. That's the last thing, the celestial and the mortal realms want.”  

“You make it sound like a bad thing and I am not drunk.”

“Your slurring of speech says otherwise, here.”

 

You grabbed a grape and fed him to him. However, he was annoyed but kept his mouth shut. 

“Come on, don't give me that face. Remember this is a relaxing date night.”

“And how can I relax without some alcohol?”

“Oh I see, I’m guessing I’m not enough huh? I don’t make you relax?”

You have never seen him panic so fast. 

“You know that's not what I meant! Of course, you are more than enough! You just like to get under my skin.”

You ignore him as you take off the mask and glance at the remaining things on the table. Eating a cracker with cheese and ham one last time before focusing on the items.

 

“Honey, I won't drink any more wine and eat more to sober up a bit.” He takes a few more grapes and pops them in his mouth. Trying to show off. You didn't even peek at him, not once.

A few whines escape from him before he grabs the damped towel and wipes his face off.

You took the under-eye patches and the paper facial mask. It stuck to your face, clinging onto the skin. Feeling a little weird but nothing too crazy. You really need some sort of skincare routine after this. 

“You know, I love you! Please don't ignore me.” He said, whining.

You glance at him and smirk.

“I love you too, now let's watch the show, you put it on for a reason.”

“Don't scare me like that, I thought you were actually upset.” Wukong tears up to your surprise.

 

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that.” You cupped his cheeks, messing with his fur.

 

“That clay mask did wonders, on your skin. It looks so soft and smooth, truly worthy of the title, Handsome Monkey King.” You gave him a soft smile.

“So you're finally admitting I'm handsome huh?” He smirks, getting rid of any traces of tears. You roll your eyes.

“Yes I am, I find you very attractive, very handsome, and charming.”

“Good, 'cause I was getting worried for a second.”

You laugh and lean back in your chair. Some scenes play on the tv, from Monkey Cop. You always wondered what the show was about before you transmigrated, since it appeared so much in the background. It wasn’t too bad, a good show to kill time with.

“I’m the ‘fated oracle’, you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“That means I need to worry ten times more.”

You stay silent, not knowing what to say. In a way he was right, and worse of all you have no idea what you are doing. 

“I’ll be fine, everyone's future is bright and happy. That's what I know for sure.”

“We just have to get there.”

“We can worry about that later, right now at this moment. We are relaxing.”

“Heh, yeah.” 

You take off the mask and patches. Feeling your skin reaching its limit. The cold air slaps your sensitive skin. 

“Ah, man, my skin never felt better.” You grab the last item, a lip scrub. 

“You know, how much money have people given you? Cause from what I figured out, there's DBK, Princess Iron Fan, dragon pony girl, and me. I also know for sure that it's a lot of money, at anytime you can always buy these certain items so why haven't you?”

“You see, my dear sunshine, I am lazy and after being thrown on the streets, I didn't want to waste money on expensive and unnecessary things.”

“Babe, I can buy you a literal house with electricity, water, food, and actual good wifi. You don't have to worry about that kind of stuff. Anyways you are not alone anymore, there is no need to do everything by yourself.”

“I know, and I'm very lucky and happy to have all of you guys. It means a lot to me, thank you.”

“You don't have to thank me for anything. I want to help you because you're someone important to me.”

“Aww Wukong, you can be so soft and sweet sometimes.”

“-And I take back everything.”

“Nooo, sunshine, come on.”

“Nope.”

“Will a kiss make it better?” 

He stays quiet, raising an eyebrow.

“So you don't want a kiss? Alright then, usually you jump on any opportunity for one.” You smile, while behind your back, you open the lip scrub and smear it on your index finger.

 

“Will I actually get a kiss?” He questions, trying to see if you were joking or not.

“Yup a nice kiss for my significant other.” 

 

“Then a kiss will make everything better.”

“Good.”

You lean forward and grasp his cheek. Wukong eyebrows furrowed, sniffing the air. The sweetness of the lip scrub was intense. Not knowing what you have planned, you spread the scrub on his lips.

“What the fuck?” He tries to pull back, confused about what was happening. You took your chance and gave him a quick peck. Only lasting for a few seconds, too fast for him to register the kiss.

“Wait a moment, that's it? That doesn't count.”

“It does count.” You lick your lip tasting the scrub, it was sweet as its smell.

 

“That did not make me feel any better. It made me feel worse. Come on, peaches, give me a good kiss.”

“Nah. Not my fault you weren't paying attention.”

“Yes, it was!”

“I remember it differently.”

Wukong rolls his eyes and groans. You laugh at his act. 

“This date was lovely, Wukong.” 

You finally gave him a better kiss. Lips touching, making it last a while. Pulling away, not before licking his lips. Wukong yelps from the sensation of your tongue.

“The scrub tastes so good.”

“I don’t think you should be eating that.”

“Then they shouldn't have made it taste so sweet.”

He licks his lips.

“Oh your right, very sweet.” His eyes narrows at you.

“I'm pretty sure I licked most of the scrub...” Your face turning red.

“Correction, you taste very sweet.”

“WUKONG!”

_______________________________

And then they fucked-

As if, alright I'm gonna pass out now. Remember you can always send in questions about the story or request something.

Love you, guys!

“Oh-”

“I don’t think you should be eating that.”

“Then they shouldn't have made it taste so sweet.”

[moorishflower]

10 Sandman Fic Recs!

I was struck by the absolutely heady and incredible thought that I have reached a. 800+ followers, and b. can place upon your dashboards the fics of friends and also people with whom I would enjoy being friends, and who I think should get more attention. There's going to mostly be Not the Big Fics in this particular list (I will rec all the big ones I'm readin later!)

Therefore, in no particular order, and containing everything from gen, to Dreamling, to Hobrintheus (or w/e the name for it is lol), ~fic recs~

I'm so sorry that you have to have a body by Taxonamie (AO3, Gen, Teen & Up)

A different take on Dream's capture; Dream's POV.

I DO love some good old body horror, and this fic does SUCH a good good job of really exploring what it'd be like for something that's supposed to be Endless to suddenly be trapped in a continuously dying and rebirthing flesh suit. EXTREME Lady Amalthea vibes. Immaculate.

2. Holy Palmer's Kiss by quentintoo (AO3, Dreamling, General Audiences)

Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.

I'm pretty sure this was the fic that sparked my intense obsession with longing and like, hand-touching and hand-kissing. Scintillating and sweet.

3. to sleep—perchance to dream by fishydwarrows (AO3, Dreamling, Explicit)

Hob Gadling remembers the night of 1889 well. He dreams and dreams of ways it could've been different, but dreams are often a way of escaping a more terrible reality.

For me THEE Hob whump fic, because if you're going to have an immortal why not make him miserable for a time? Mind the tags, but the payoff is SO, so good. I've read this, I think, at least a half-dozen times.

4. Heat Wave by spqr (AO3, Dreamling, Explicit)

“Sounds like you’re horny to me,” says Matthew.

Somewhat similarly, this for me is THE "Hob Gadling fucks and fucks severely" fic. Everything spqr writes is solid gold, but Dream being Endlessly Horny for his good old friend is both amusing and SCREAMINGLY hot.

5. Eros in Pragma by Delta_Pavonis (AO3, Dreamling, Explicit)

In all his long centuries never had he really done something like this. It was exciting and terrifying and exhilarating and too many emotions all mashed together. He felt like his skin was vibrating. Deep breath in. He could do this. He wanted to do this, desperately wanted to, a desire from deep in his bones. And yet… long breath out. Hob walked over to one of his bedside tables and opened the drawer. There was only one item contained therein and he removed it with shaking hands. The silver buckle jingled softly.

Here's a fun fact! I neither read nor wrote a lot of D/S before I got into Sandman, and now I do, and it's almost entirely because of this fic!

6. I have lately learned the difference by Chthonion (AO3, Dreamling, Mature)

While Dream is imprisoned, Hob dreams of prisons, until, one by one, all of them take the same shape: a glass cage. Hob doesn't realize why until he meets Dream again, and the dreams don’t stop afterward. Trauma, connection, and adventures in accidentally mixing two people’s subconscious demons together in the dreamscape.

This is just. SO good. I love anything that explores Dream's trauma wrt his imprisonment but chooses to do so through Dream's mindscape, and this delivers in spades. Let Hob Gadling smash more snowglobes 2k22.

7. point-set triangulation by therm0dynamics (AO3, Hob/Corinthian, Teen & Up)

Hob knows he is dreaming. He also knows he’s being hunted.

The dynamic between Hob and the Corinthian is FASCINATING -- they're truly mirrors of each other, both hungry for humanity, both wanting, both bound up in cosmic Endless bullshit. This is fairly tame, for the Corinthian, so if you're squeamish I can assure you that this is more psychological than visceral. There's an absolutely smoking hot sequel, though.

8. the pleasant punishment by romanticallyinept (AO3, Hob/Dream/Corinthian, Explicit)

“All right,” Hob says, fairly evenly, he thinks, for what he’s been presented with. “Would someone like to explain what’s going on?” Dream has the decency to look slightly abashed, as if he only just realized that he showed up, unannounced, in his friend’s flat, with a nightmare in tow. But it’s only slightly, because he’s still Dream. “I would not ordinarily involve a human in the discipline of one of my creations,” he says, inclining his head slightly, “but you are no ordinary human, Hob Gadling.” One day, one day, Hob will learn to keep his fool mouth shut.

Hey you know how I said I didn't used to be into D/S dynamics

Well if you weren't either, give this one a try. Gentle dom!Hob punishes a recalcitrant Corinthian while Dream watches. Surprisingly tender, incredibly sexy, lots of feel good subdrop soothing afterwards.

9. A Dream of Stars by jehannaford (AO3, Gen, General Audiences)

After the events of Watership Down, Fiver has a dream and is offered a choice. A very short story.

This is super short, super sweet, and super poignant. It's like 200 words, and it's worth every second of your time.

10. as long as this body shall endure by andunetir (AO3, Dreamling, Explicit)

Hob loves eating pussy. (He knows he shouldn’t be thinking about this at school, but it’s free period and the Year Elevens are more than capable of supervising themselves, so sue him, he’s bored.)

There's not a ton of fic that explores gender through Hob's point of view, but this is one I keep coming back to again and again. Trans!Hob gives me ALL kinds of life, and this is a fascinating exploration of immortality and transness. Also, again, it's super hot.

[brighteyedjill]

Shadow and Bone: Enter the Fold

Netflix dropped a Shadow and Bone game yesterday, so fingers crossed that's a good sign for news of a season three or a Six of Crows spinoff. It's your average mobile game RPG, and you play as the Darkling, Alina, Sturmhond, and Jesper. There's some cute Malina bits in Alina's chapters, and Tolya and Tamar are fun with Sturmhold, but I'm here for the Wesper. So if you're interested in Wesper and you don't want to play several hours of mobile game to get it, here's a few fun excerpts (spoilers under the cut):

Jesper's outfit! Could be brighter, but it's distinctly show-like.

At the start of Jesper's story, he's stashed Wylan in a hotel while Kaz, Inej, and Jesper take care of the crime, because Wylan's too soft for that.

But don't worry, you can visit Wylan at his hotel while you're on the lam, and you have the option to sweet talk him! If you do...

You get to "spend some time together." Yowza.

In Chater Two of Jesper's story, Wylan gets to tag along for the adventures! But I bet he sometimes wishes he didn't.

Priorities, Jesper! There's a surprising amount of Milo love in this chapter. Like, an NPC asks Jesper if he lost anyone when the Darkling destoryed Novikribirsk, and he has the option to tell them about Milo.

Next, they're on a con that involves Jesper passing as nobility, so he gets some spiffy new clothes.

Wylan digs them. As they continue the con, they do a lot of camping. Which results in such situations as chemical misuse:

questionable hunting choices:

and snuggling in front of the fire:

I'm near the end of Jesper's story, but have gotten stuck on the game's terrible quest structure. (Go to a place! We're not telling you where it is or how to find it, though, so better look through the whole map you've already uncovered to figure out what we meant!) I'll add more screenshots if there's any more cute interaction.

In the meantime, enjoy these little nuggets of Wesper joy.