#I NEED MORE 15 SKK

[etrevil]

Bones. I beg of you. Please sign a deal with the literal devil just to serve these flashbacks.

THIS PANEL ESPECIALLY BONES PLS DON'T FUCK THIS UP

MAKE SSKK CH. 88 WALK SO SKK CH. 101 CAN RUNNNNN 😭😭😭

[sabh0]

"If you want me to talk solely about the manga vs anime skk"

I do, actually.

Please.

Pretty please with a cherry on top.

PART 1.

Aight!! I will be just pointing out some differences/stuff that was deleted from the anime.

Under the cut

THE DUNGEON SCENE:

-When they first meet again in the manga, they throw some silly jokes at each other (like Dazai asking Chuuya if he's hiding a bald spot. And Chuuya just taking his hat off to show him he's, in fact, not balding)

-In the manga when Chuuya calls Dazai the youngest mafia executive, in his mind Dazai is wearing his ADA clothes but keeps the black coat and the bandaged eye. I think it's a very silly detail

-In the anime, in anger Chuuya actually cuts Dazai's cheek with his knife. In the manga, the moment he starts getting angry he jumps away from Dazai and then throws the knife to the floor, not touching him at all

-Manga Chuuya falls to his knees (basically standing on all 4s), having a lil crisis after realizing Dazai only stayed in the dunegon to meet him. He gets up in a while, just to yet again squat on the floor after Dazai yapps more

-Obviously the pigeon-stand scene: in the manga Dazai is laughing to tears at this, while in the anime he stays silent. (Tho i must say i find it funny that Chuuya gets angry over Dazai not laughing,, like he tried so hard and this guy just :| him)

LOVECRAFT FIGHT:

-This is not about skk but lord yall know that panel where Chuuya ie standing on all these Guild ppl being all like im gonna beat ur ass next. He's just standing normally on the floor in the anime. Aughhhhh this panel is so good aughhhh. Ok anyway back to skk

-When Dazai nullifies John's ability, in the anime Chuuya just kicks Steinbeck from behind. In the manga, skk perform that silly move where Chuuya jumps from behind Dazai. It just shows how even after 4 years of not working with each other, they instantly work together as well as before

-Skk arguing about who's walking next to who like some preschoolers ('dont walk next to me' 'its you who's standing next to me' typa thing) then deciding that they're gonna stay at least 2 metres away from each other

-The manga clearly shows Chuuya's expression when he's talking about 'being happy when Dazai left'. He definitely doesn't look very happy. (In the anime we just get some background drawings)

-Manga Chuuya's lil blush when Dazai compliments his taste in shoes 😭😭

-When Dazai asks for Chuuya's knife, in the manga Chuuya just goes 'oh sure lemme find it' and is actually ready to give him the knife. In the anime? Chuuya doesn't search for the knife, instead he just gets annoyed

-Anime deleted the scene where Dazai talks to Chuuya about recording Kunikida while he was cursed with Q's ability. Chuuya going bruh he also annoys ppl in the agency

-those two idiots calling each other stupid nicknames for half of a page

-Chuuya mentioning keeping a track of women Dazai made cry and threatening him with sending them Dazai's address????

-Dazai telling Chuuya that his intelligence will be consumed by his hat (im currently looking at my polish version of the manga so the translation may be a bit off but anyway)

-Before activating Corruption, they yet again call each other a bunch of stupid nicknames (ahah consider this a silly form of goodbye if anything happens)

-Remember my post about Dazai keeping his eyes on Chuuya at all times during Corruption in the manga? In the anime he looks either at John or at Lovecraft, no puppy eyed loser

-Just a mention that in the manga we see Chuuya sleeping while he's sitting, he doesn't flop passed out to the ground (until later)

Well i will stop there for now bc it's past midnight and umm this is gonna be long af if i continue with the rest so,, i will add the differences in the next skk interactions tomorrow or something muah

[yurislava]

now why did dazai say here he wanted to ask chuuya sth 🧐🧐...? WHAT WAS THE QUESTION SUPPOSED TO BE?! like I know it'd be probably another joke but what would he say hadn't he made that joke...

[skkpaws]

the 15!skk figures finally got released and THEY LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL ... i fear i have to buy

it also comes with new harakawa art ! these outfits look so good omg

animate , chuuya's on amazon , dazai's on amazon

EDIT: the links above are just where i got all the images from, but the figures are available on GoodSmile and AmiAmi (and probably more places)! I ordered mine from AmiAmi which does not charge you until they release in December, which may be a good option if you need to save!

[mncxbe]

15 + 16 with Skk (but pls poly I need that jshdhd)

15 — Your two faves take your virginity + 16 — Your two faves get competitive about who can fuck you better

ღೀ๋࣭ ⭑𝒄𝒘: virginity loss, deepthroat, threesome

"I told you she wasn't ready, idiot. You always rush into things."

"Don't worry, Chuuya, she's getting there. Our baby just needs a little easing into" Dazai's thumb pressed against your puffy clit, rubbing slow circles on the little bundle of nerves as he pushed himself deeper inside you. The stretch was borderline painful and you dug your nails into Dazai's bandaged shoulders, letting out huffed breaths. "'samu it's– you're too big"

"Relax, bella. Just breathe, you're almost there." he cooed and sure enough you managed to calm down your breath. It didn't take long for Dazai to fully slide his cock inside you and start rolling his hips into yours. The burning sensation melted into sheer pleasure with each of your boyfriend's deep thrust– your back arching off of the mattress. "D-dazai I feel so full" you whined, your mouth falling into an o as the man snapped his hips against yours.

"So good, baby, you're taking this dick like a champ" he smiled, looking up at Chuuya "Bet you're jealous you couldn't fuck her first, eh?"

Chuuya huffed in amusement, his lustful gaze falling on your features. "Nah... I don't need to be jealous. I know I'll make her cum twice as much as you do anyway"

"Is that a challenge, Nakahara?" laughed the brunette, his eyes sparkling with a fiery glint.

Chuuya's gaze never left yours as he lowered his briefs, moving closer to the bed while Dazai helped you scoot closer to the edge. Your head hung off the mattress now and you opened your mouth, lolling out your tongue so Chuuya's dick could fit inside your mouth.

Chuuya grunted when his tip reached the back of your throat, pushing past your gag reflex. With a hand pressed on your chin, keeping you steady, he started moving his hips. "That's it, princess, get my dick nice and wet"

"Don't think you need any prep, Nakahara. She's soaked" chuckled the brunette, spreading your legs even more for Chuuya to see your glistening folds, as if the squelching sounds you made weren't proof enough.

"Oh, i know she is" hummed the redhead, giving your neck a gentle squeeze. "But I know how much she loves sucking me off, right baby?"

Chuuya pulled out of your mouth, giving you a moment to breathe as you nodded. And oh, when you looked up at your two boyfriends and saw the way they eyed each other– a silent dare, smug smiles tugging at their lips, you knew you'd be in for a long night.

𐙚prompt list

[calmlb]

Domestic skk where Chuuya gets home after a long day at work, only to find the apartment empty, with no Dazai in sight.

The lights are off, not a sound to be heard, but Chuuya can feel Dazai’s presence— some kind of sixth sense they’ve both been cursed with since they were 15.

Chuuya slowly removes his coat & shoes, letting his eyes rove over the empty kitchen & living room, till his eyes finally catch the top of a familiar head of mussed, brown waves.

Tension he didn’t realize he was holding releases at the sight, & Chuuya takes a deep breath before padding around the couch. It would do no good for his own stress to add to Dazai’s, if tonight was indeed one of those nights.

As Chuuya rounds the sofa, he finds pretty much what he expected. Dazai is curled up against the armrest, looking small despite his gangly limbs.

What Chuuya hadn’t expected was for Dazai to be fast asleep— soft breaths puffing against the expensive fabric of the armrest.

Chuuya blinks in disbelief, but can’t help the fond smile that steals across his face. Dazai always has such a hard time sleeping, so finding him like

this was a welcome surprise. Especially compared to the more somber situation that Chuuya was worried he’d be faced with.

Chuuya removes his hat & gloves, laying them aside as he crouches in front of the couch. He shamelessly studies his partner while he can’t be teased for it.

Dazai looks peaceful— cheeks rosy with sleep, & unfairly-long lashes dusting his faint spattering of freckles.

Those freckles felt like Chuuya’s little secret, because the only way to know they existed was if one got close enough to see.

And it was no secret that Dazai didn’t let people get that close.

Chuuya finds himself brushing a finger over those freckles, following the perfect slope of Dazai’s nose, tracing his high cheekbones down to the contour of his smooth jawline.

Chuuya pinches Dazai’s chin between his thumb & forefinger, tilting it at just the right angle to press a gentle kiss to Dazai’s forehead. He bites his lip to hold back a laugh at the way Dazai’s nose scrunches at the disturbance, but he really doesn’t want to wake the brunet. He obviously needs the sleep if he fell asleep here, still in his work clothes.

Why is Dazai out here? If he knew he was this tired, why not at least lie in bed?

Chuuya absently brushes Dazai’s bangs away from his eyes as he leans into the touch, releasing a contented sigh.

Oh. Chuuya’s eyes widen. He was waiting up for me.

Or, trying to, at least.

This time Chuuya doesn’t stop the warm chuckle from slipping past his lips. He presses another soft kiss to Dazai’s temple, then carefully scoops him into a princess hold. He carries his sleeping partner to their room, smiling as Dazai nuzzles his face into Chuuya’s neck.

His partner really is such a cat.

Chuuya sets Dazai down on the bed, careful not to wake him, & draws the blankets up under his chin, just the way Dazai likes it. He doesn’t bother getting him into comfier clothes— obviously, he was comfortable enough to fall asleep as he was.

Chuuya does change his own clothes, though, & brushes his teeth before turning off the light & slipping into bed next to Dazai.

He turns to wrap himself around Dazai from behind, but before he can, he finds himself with a face full of mackerel.

Soft hair tickles Chuuya’s chin as Dazai snuggles into him again— always seeking out the nearest heatsource.

“I thought you were asleep, you malingerer,” Chuuya scolds quietly.

“Shh, I am asleep,” Dazai whispers, nose digging into Chuuya’s breastbone as he tries to burrow into his partner’s chest.

Chuuya rolls his eyes, but he can hear the grogginess in Dazai’s voice that tells him he wasn’t faking it. He doesn’t fight the urge to bring a hand up to card through Dazai’s fluffy waves.

Dazai doesn’t grant him a response other than to press himself even closer to Chuuya, so that they’re practically melded together. Chuuya smiles, pressing one more, languid kiss to the crown of Dazai’s head— pausing to breathe him in— before closing his eyes & letting sleep overtake them both.

Chuuya version

[chocsra]

"I Can't Hear You, Speak Up!"

15! Chuuya x fem! reader

content: you stain your skirt and a certain mafioso comes to help you, swearing, periods/blood, fluff, pre-relationship, mutual pining, teenage romance

Reader is fem! mention of periods

based off a reddit story 😭

Please give some more ideas and characters for fanfiction, I love teen skk btw

12:13

It's been about 8 minutes since you left an important mafia meeting, excusing yourself to Boss to go to the washroom.

Yet now you stare at your bloodstained skirt and underwear, sighing to yourself in defeat. "No pads either.." You mutter, digging your palms into the luxurious marble sink in thought. Theoretically, you could tell Boss that something happened and you taught an underling a lesson while you were out, or you could be frank about your period; which was something really embarrassing considering you'd have to stop the meeting infront of a bunch of grown criminal men for hygiene products.

So you hid behind the ajar white bathroom door, calling out 'hello?'s and 'is someone there?'s everytime a gust of wind made the slightest creek. "11 minutes.." You leaned your head on the steel door, trying your best to cover your skirt.

Then you heard it.

A quiet murmuring coming from the hallway outside the bathroom, you sighed in relief and poked a leg out of the door; the shadows covering half of your face. There he was, Chuuya Nakahara walking around the hallways like there wasn't a highly significant meeting going on; he had a scowl on his face and his fists clenched like something had happened, muttering about 'killing that bastard'.

"Ahem." You cleared your throat, peeking out to the ginger boy, he spun around in mutliple possible directions the noise could have come from. "Huh?!" the short boy shouted, before locking his blue eyes with yours. "The hell? Aren't you supposed to be in the meeting?" He cocks a brow, folding his arms over his chest. Chuuya seemed to be all dressed up for the day, wearing his signature fedora, choker, white dress shirt and black slacks; but a new large raven overcoat that reached his ankles was loosely thrown over his shoulders, even a new silver hat chain.

"I need something from here, that's why." You purse your lips into a pout, crossing your arms behind the door. "Why are you here anyway?" You ask curiously, slowly easing into the topic, the stylish boy only scoffs with irritation. "Got kicked out, all cause of that fuckin' mackerel." Chuuya rolled his tongue across his inner cheek in annoyance, of course you knew who he was talking about; Dazai, his only friend, you think? You did see them attempting to act serious as they kicked each others leg under the table, maybe he deserved it.

"So then where's Dazai?" You question, tapping your shoe against the marble floor. "He got to stay because he was important, or some bullshit!!" Chuuya shouted again, gritting his teeth harshly. "Woah, calm down." You motion before pausing, "Can you just get a girl, please? Like Kouyou or something.. I don't know." you ask politely, a light blush tinting your cheeks; the redhead's eyes only furrow at your request. "I told you already, I got kicked out, Kouyou's inside. What do you need anyway? I'll just get it for you." He feigns a sigh, shoving his hands in his slacks pockets.

You inhale in annoyance, before stepping further into the washroom, "Nevermind, forget it." you dismiss, causing Chuuya to clench his fists even more. "Just tell me, damn it." He scowls in annoyance, before noticing the blush creeping on your cheeks, and the fact that you did not turn around once from facing him. It all clicked together. "Oh, uh-" The boy paused, red tinting his ears and nose. "You want that thing?" Chuuya asks, causing your eyes to light up at seemingly the only boy who knows what hygiene products are. "Yeah, that!"

He then fishes out something from his pocket and hands it to you, you were a little confused as to why he'd keep pads in his pocket, until he placed a silver safety pin in the palm of your hand. "What is this?" You ask with a blank, despairing face; Chuuya only blushes more at your reaction. "Your.. your skirt ripped, right?" He stammers, making you internally facepalm. "No, no.. pads." You whisper the last part awfully quiet, making Chuuya lean his ear closer to your face, his hands still in his pockets.

"What?" He asks, knitting his brows. "Pads, tampons.." You repeat again, motioning with your hands. "What the hell? Speak up!" The boy scowled, leaning even closer to your face, you almost wanted to push him from inching so close to the girl's bathroom; and the close proximity of his breath tickling your lips.

"Pads!"

You shout in his ear with a frown, Chuuya stepped back at the loud noise, now blushing profusely. "Oh shit, my bad- I just thought your skirt-" You cut him off, crossing your arms. "It's fine! Just please get them, damn.." You brush off with a scowl, seeing the boy scurry off to the hallway.

And after a few minutes of agonising silence, you hear loud shouting coming from Mori's office.

"You can't just go thru Rintarou's stuff!!" A high-pitched girl yelled.

Chuuya quickly hushed her, the loud sound of rummaging through drawers audible. "Shh, shh! He's gonna hear us, shit!"

"I don't care if he hears us! Just let me colour!!" Elise then countered, throwing what you assumed was a crayon at him.

The boy soon rushed to the bathroom with multiple types of pads in his hands; night, day, winged, super. "What the hell is winged?! Does it fly to you or somethin'?!" Chuuya yelled, making you laugh. "Did you really fight Elise for this?!" You laughed, taking them all from his hands. "Shut up!"

And as you finished thanking and mocking him, about to spin around and leave to a stall, he tapped your shoulder.

"Here, uhm.." The redhead took off his overcoat and draped it over your shoulders to cover the stain. A pink blush spread on his cheeks, you only did the same. "Thanks.." You grasp onto the coat, walking inside the stall.

And even as he waited for you to come out of the bathroom, walked you back to the meeting room, and parted ways with a meek wave and blush; you walk into the room with a big smile on your face, only seeing that the meeting was already empty and done.

Fuck.

Even so, it wasn't all that bad; even if the incident happened weeks ago, there would always be a certain redhead giving you a casual nod or wave if he saw you wandering the mafia's hallways or available in meetings.

It made you want to make him steal pads from Mori's office and give you his coat all over again.

Double fuck.

[skk-fan-page]

I promise I took my meds, hear me out: this

Can give us insight into this

So: before we get into what it means, I'm going to tell you why these things are related. 15 is probably the best text we have when it comes to dissecting their relationship, and in 15, dazai says 2 things that relate to both raging romantic tension and also dogs.

This, as well as an arguably more loaded section:

This. Now bear with me, I really did take my meds, this second excerpt is almost a one to one copy of the dog treats panel. For those of you who have read 15, you'll know that this scene is the set up for chuuya being forced into the mafia. They duel, the "treats" (the sheep) appear, and then they disappear, and only when dazai walks away do both the dog and chuuya realize theyve been ensnared in a weirdly elaborate trap for someone who's supposed to not want anything to do with them.

Not only that, but it establishes that not only does he call chuuya his dog, but "his dog" is part of his future plans, and part of the reason he even has future plans.

Part of the reason that dazai wants to live at that point is to spend time with chuuya.

Now: with that we get back into the dog treat "duel".

First, I'll let you read it and draw your own links, as long as you promise to leave them in the notes

As a bsd reader, you'll probably know that dazai's plans often revolve around knowing what the other party will do. This is easily reflected in the dog encounter, because dogs don't know anything, and thus their behavior cannot be influenced to an unpredictable point. If you offer a dog a treat, you can count on that dog eating the treat. The problem is that dazai can't connect that motive to the dog's actions, because he specializes in dealings with egotistical people who rank highly in organizations who have massive flaws they overlook. Take him outside of his comfort zone, and he struggles to tilt things in his favor.

This analysis overlooks one teensy massive character trait that shapes the character: Dazai is the type to step on a rake, hit himself in the balls, and stick the landing so well that everyone thinks it was on purpose.

You can only tell what's "the plan" versus what is just improv by how hard he tries to sell that he's in control.

With this new lens, seeing how hard dazai tries to assert "the difference in [his status]" with the dog almost entirely colors the interaction as some sopping wet loser loses at his own game that he started against a small animal.

And now: how does this effect the skk reunion and how does it reflect on their previous relationship?

Well, I'm going to pull out some "oh holy shit... I mean, I meant to do that!" Moments

This man is going back and forth like it's his job. He doesn't know what to expect because chuuya is far beyond his comfort zone. Hes everything that should make him predictable, and yet he never is. Every time he's taken aback by his target not reacting the way he "should" he pulls another trick out from his sleeve. Even literally, in the lock picking case. Whenever he needs to try to assert that he totally planned this, he goes for another trick.

As with the dog, when dazai walks away, the only thing chuuya was left with was a distinct sense of "this guy needs friends." They're both low stakes interactions that are born from dazai not expecting something and not knowing how to regain control of the situation.

This implies that dazai just doesn't know how to deal with a straightforward person and thus can never predict what chuuya will do, because he runs on an unswayable internal logic that makes him as difficult to manipulate as a human can possibly be.

As a partnership, they're constantly confusing the fuck out of each other, because dazai is weird and eats dog treats, and because chuuya cannot be understood with the logic dazai excels in.

They know each other but they can never hope to understand each other.

[welivetodream]

✨ My BSD hot takes/unpopular opinions ✨:

1. Identifying BSD characters as Queer, is not problematic. STOP being so Heteronormative. Gay characters are not gonna kill you.

If I see another "BuT tHe ChArAcTeRs nEvEr SaId tHeY aRe GaY" I would bomb you 💣/j

2. Skk/SSKK/Fyolai/other popular ships, exist because people like it. If you don't ship them, don't engage with their content. Not all shippers act crazy and toxic. Stop blaming everything on shippers.

3. Atsushi/Kyouka is problematic, stop justifying it with "only 4 year age gap". Kyouka is a CHILD, ship her with Kenji if you want. Atsushi, like a normal 18 year old would never look at a highschool freshman and date her. Even if they date in the future, he knew her when she was younger and they had a sibling like dynamic. Lucy is a way better love interest to Atsushi (Don't know if this is an unpopular opinion tho, but I saw some people justifying it 😐😐😐)

4. DAZAI IS NOT EVIL. HE IS FAR FROM EVIL. He is, despite being super popular and the face of BSD, the most mischaracterized and villified character. Morally grey characters exist??!!!

5. Mori is a way worse person than Dazai ever was.

6. PM members get a free pass for any heinous crime they commit by being hot or babygirl-ified (still love them tho, we do not often discuss how bad their actions have been, you can like criminals and acknowledge they are criminals in fiction. I would add DoA to this too, but it's worse with the PM)

7. Akutagawa's abuse of Kyouka shouldn't be forgotten just because Dazai abused Akutagawa.

8. Mori emotionally manipulated and abused Dazai when he was a teen. Just because it wasn't physical, doesn't mean it was nothing.

9. Atsushi is NOT a soft boy, he is way bitter, salty and sarcastic than we give him credit

10. Poe is important to Ranpo and their friendship/relationship is wholesome as hell

11. Ranpo and Yosano's friendship is way better than them being in a relationship in the future

12. FukuFuku is better than Fukumori (imo!!!!)

13. Buying real authors work after watching BSD is actually a really good thing, since more Gen z kids (or other people) will read classics

14. There are layers to Atsushi and Akutagawa relationship/rivalry, and they have the MOST important relationship (not meaning romantic, just in general) in the entire canon.

15. Kunikida and Yosano could be a power couple

16. Fyodor is not a great villain (yet)

17. Nikolai CARRIES the DoA

18. Sigma shouldn't be in the ADA, he needs a happy home, family and some time to adjust to normal life

19. Q and Elise are both underused characters and could become a great dynamic

20. Ango deserves more love, the amount of pressure and stress he deals with is INSANE

21. It's OKAY if everyone joins the fandom for Dazai or skk (I did at first too!!)

22. Higuchi is annoying as hell. I do not get her hype, I like her but not as much as most people (just personal opinion, do not flame me 😭)

23. Everyone in The Guild is forgettable or boring (except Fitzgerald, Poe and Lucy. I like Louisa, but I forget her all the time)

24. Hetero ships are just not that great/interesting in BSD to me 🤷🏻‍♀️ (except maybe AtsuLucy or rare pairs) and female characters are not best utilised, I wish they play more major roles (can't wait for Agatha to arrive!!)

25. Some fan theories/arts get the story better than "canon" stuff at times. Fanon is NOT always the worst (sometimes enjoyable when the canon gets too dark or sad)

26. Toxic ships are okay in fiction as long as they are legal. Humans like toxic things, we consume it like junk food 💅🏻

(These are all personal opinions of mine and do not matter. Feel free to disagree. But, do not hate or be toxic!!!! 😇😇😇😇)

(PS: I compiled all these because of posts I have seen in, Reddit, Pinterest, Twitter and sometimes Tiktok. These aren't really abt you Tumblr folks. I meant to post this on reddit but did not have the courage or mental strength lol)

[carline-k]

The One and Only Vampire I Would (not) Faint On

Chrome x F! Commandant.

Synopsis: How are you going to explain to Chrome– who seems to really like his vampire coating– while you are excited for him, that you fear vampires? Can you make an exception for this one vampire to not allow yourself to lose your mind (and consciousness)? Oh, how you wish it would be that easy.

a.n.: Being someone that was wounded by a certain vampire anime “romance” (you know what you are), I must say vampires alert my fight-or-flight LOL. Mainly because of that Nosferatu became my least favorite coating of his, but I still love its design, really (the splash arts on his memories certainly… *nom*. Just thinking about it flutters my heart, again). Legit, it’s now on rerun and I am contemplating whether I should just buy it for his handsome portrait dkadlskadald ;;; Also, this could be just a piece of my oc/chrome stuff but i just want to make it as skk in general.

Art below was commissioned from this artist! @/maltmochie (go check them out!)

Lastly, Happy Halloween and hopefully you have fun reading this!

“Say… do you guys really have no other option for the coating options other than vampire?”

The rustling noise of the paper suddenly stops, replaced by the sound of a cup being lifted, a chugging noise, then a small ‘tack!’ sound produced by the collusion of the cup’s bottom and a certain researcher’s table. A tired gaze stares into the person that just threw the question. ‘A-kind-of silly question’, according to him.

“I beg your pardon?” Asimov says while his hands continue the previous halted move, arranging the stacks of paper that are almost never absent decorate his table. A drawing of a vampire-themed coating, or its proper name “Nosferatu”,  is settled between them, but soon gets picked up by you, who is currently sitting right beside him. Your eyes scan the drawing for the ninth time, flying your attention from the drawing board after checking it briefly back to a certain blonde construct who is busy on the other side of the lab, with Ayla checking every inch of his new coating to see if there’s a dent or any places that are still lacking or needing further adjustment. Once again, your eyes land on the drawing board, re-reading the name and the description of the coating.

Nosferatu.  Theme: Paradise Lost. Status: Completed, Accepted by the User: Chrome. Description: Drink a glass of redness in the dark night in admiration of all beings. No longer accepted by the light, he will still protect you quietly in the dark.

As much as those description lines send your stomach on somersault due to how romantic it sounds, it is still a weaker feeling compared to what you feel right now. You then look back at Asimov, almost forgetting to answer his previous question if not for the small cough he just let out to grab your attention back to him.

“Hmm, well… Halloween has waaay more varieties of monsters, no? Uhh, for example…” You wave your index finger, thinking hard, trying to come up with a “better” idea, per se. “Demon lord, witches, mages, puppets, grim-reapers, and so on.”

“And a vampire can still be categorized as a creature that is fitting for a spooky event, no?”, he argues back. You internally curse, despite expecting this kind of answer from him. ‘His point is absolutely valid, of course, but…’

“Well, it is. But isn’t it too… cliche and predictable?” a pause, “Corny?”, another pause, “Yeah. It’s totally repetitive and boring!”, you finally exclaimed as you nervously tap the drawing board. For the next whole 15 seconds, both of you suddenly enter what seemingly to be a staring contest, one is waiting for the other party’s response, while the latter is staring in disbelief at how dumb you sound right now. He then breaks the silent first. 

"You seem to be bothered by that. Don't tell me…” He leans closer, bringing his face right in front of you as he mutters those words in whispering and low tone, keeping his sharp gaze to you. You instinctively gulp, having a slight suspicion that he already has everything figured out.

“... you are scared of it?"

Like a deer caught in the headlight, you just freeze there, eyes widened, before trying to deny the man’s conclusion as fast as possible to refute his (very true) claim.

"No! No way! What makes you think of that? I – I mean… well, I AM kind of scared, isn't that the whole purpose of a spooky creature? To spook people? Does it not  count as a success as it invests fear in me– I mean people?!"

"...sure."

"..."

"..."

"So you are scared."

"...yeah."

"But it's Chrome who will be wearing that coating." That sentence alone is enough to spread red color on your cheeks. He knows about your feelings of the blonde construct (a bit too much as you keep babbling about Chrome on him). So much for being one of the close friends of yours since the day you worked with him, or just because he is a great vessel for pouring your heart’s content due to his tight-sealed lips when it comes to personal matters. 

"Does that make any difference?" You exhale, slightly pinching the bridge of your nose. Those vampire series “romance” that you watched during your teenage days slowly emerge back in your mind, sending shudders and unpleasant memories. It's unbearable to even watch 30 seconds of the clip of it nowadays. Whoever made that abusive-romance vampire series where they keep sucking the poor girl’s blood and declare that as love, is a totally lunatic– or a masochistic author, to be more precise. Or rather, it's just the fact that it’s just not your cup of tea, but it does become your personal hell nowadays. Everytime you try to overcome it, you feel like you want to sink to the nearest pond to cleanse your soul. You tried many times, only to end up with nightmares later. Does this man really think your crush could make you suddenly forget the fear? Deep down, you really hope so. 

"No, it unfortunately does not make any difference to me. It just reminds me of some stories I read because my friend suggested that it ended up giving me nightmares for like... weeks..." You summarize your reasoning to Asimov, who now has leaned back to his chair with crossed legs.

Asimov just hums, seems unbothered by your distraught. After all, the coating has already reached its complete stage, there's no way an opinion from one person could change the initial plan anyway. The user himself had no objection, since he and his teammates seemed to have arranged plans for their own team’s theme for this year’s halloween.

You glance once again at the drawing board that displays the 3D model of "Nosferatu" coating, rotating it around to give it more look. "Though, it does look great, artistically. I just feel.. too disturbed by it. Look at those red eyes… and pointy… uh, wings? And nice cravats, too… still…”, feeling more and more uncomfortable, you lightly shake your head, then slightly move closer so what you are about to say only reaches Asimov’s ears.

“But, Anyway, please don't tell this to Chrome! He already worked hard with WGAA to come up with this coating, he doesn’t have to worry about my feelings, since I know he is pretty self-aware about this kind of stuff, even with his normal frame. I will state this: this is my dumb secret that I will take into my grav–"

"Commandant?"

A familiar voice from behind almost made your heart jump outside your body as you yelped in surprise and nearly spilled Asimov's coffee had it not been held down by a firm mug-cast (thank heavens, you don't want to spend more money on fixing his computers stuff). You turn back, trying to gather your scattered mind after your freak out to regain your composure before embarrassing yourself further in front of Chrome. Well, you tried.

"CH–CHro–Chrome?! Wah– uh, Hello! Uh, do you need something?" 

Ah, shit. The voice you just let out really betrays your effort to appear undisturbed right now.

Standing before you is Chrome, which unfortunately for your poor soul, is currently still using the Nosferatu coating you were discussing with Asimov. Red eyes stare into you in surprise due to your previous freak out, a hint of worry is visible on his face. But to your certain fear, that expression is not registered in your head, busy keeping yourself together, to not make the person you adore find out about your silly discomfort. Your hand unconsciously reaching for something on the table, trying to find something to hold your dear life for, something that might become a distraction that offers small comfort to your shaking hand.

“Sorry, did I disturb something?”

“A-Ah! No, not at all! Don’t worry, Asimov just told me a scary story that made me so engrossed that I … didn’t realize you were behind me.” 

“I see.”

Seems like he is buying it. Fearing the situation plummet down into awkward silence, you decide to shoot a question. You let out a small cough to compose your voice before continuing, “Do you need something from me, Chrome?”

“Ah, right. Yes, I do need to ask something from you, Commandant. Ayla says this coating is 100% done, but I was wondering if you have any thoughts on it?”, he answers, his right hand plays with the cravat part of this coating, appearing to be a bit flustered after shooting that question at you. His currently red eyes glance at you, Asimov, Ayla, then back at you. 

“Uh, my thoughts? Um… I don’t think I understand what you mean…”

“Is this coating lacking something? Your advice always offers new insight, and I think it is just right to ask you about it right now before the finalization.”

Looks like the habit of discussing various things with him backfired at you for this case. “Uh… well…” You think hard, gripping something hard on your left-hand, which is the drawing board you just grabbed on. It helps you to tear your gaze from Chrome to look at the drawing, finally for the tenth time. The gears in your head are spinning fast, hoping something can come out as an idea to throw at Chrome so it can send him away from you. But nothing came up. So you resort to the easiest way, just answer something that screams 'OK'.

“I don’t think there’s anything lacking from this design, Chrome. I think it’s perfect!! Right, Ayla?” you exclaim as you pull the girl behind him into the conversation. As an artist, Ayla is the most knowledgeable one to convince someone about art, so you hope Ayla can indirectly cooperate with your compliment.

The girl’s eyes light up, very happy to hear your statement. “I know right, Commandant~! See, Chrome, there is nothing to worry, even the commandant thinks it’s already perfect~! Did my words not convince you enough that you need to confirm it to the Commandant? That’s a client’s dissatisfaction in my dictionary!” Ayla teases, but you know she means well. Chrome just nervously laughs as he shakes his head. “Please don’t take it that way, Ms. Ayla. I just have the habit of discussing a lot of stuff with Commandant, so this is normal. I am sorry if it offends you,” he replies. That earns a laugh from Ayla, telling him she is joking and doesn’t mind it.

“Then that’s great! We can now finalize the coating to the WGAA then! Let’s go there, Chrome!” pulling his shoulder eagerly, she tries to push Chrome to the door, urging him to follow her back to the WGAA department, looks like Ayla herself wants to release herself from another commission. The pushed man complies, but before walking through the door, he looks back at you. “Commandant, do you want to come with us?” 

You shake your head. “No need, I still have something to discuss with Asimov right here.” Well, it’s half truth. ‘Sorry Chrome, I would love to, but right now I feel like I am about to pass out due to fear.’ 

As the lab’s door closes, a loud sigh fills the room. Finally, once again there are only the two of you in the lab. You let yourself collapse at the chair, the feeling of breathlessness throughout the previous conversation seems to take the toll out of you. This is really bad. How are you going  to face him on the festival day when right now you are already struggling to keep yourself steady? You have heard this coating is related to the Strike Hawk’s plan for a stage play revolving around the theme called “Paradise Lost”, and Kamui mentioned briefly a few days ago that, “it will make you feel like you are really there to witness the horror of these creatures!” with a confident voice. That’s the last thing you want to feel. Only one idea that appears in your head to avoid such a situation and cause the most minimal damage to your pride and Chrome’s feelings.

“... I think I’ll find a way to make myself sick on that day.”

Scoffing, Asimov looks back at you, “You are crazy.”

“It’s better than hurting his feelings by avoiding to stare or even look at him. And it’ll be twice the nightmare if I see his disappointed face finding out that I am struggling to like his new coating. No way I’ll stain his memory with that. No way! No way!!!”

“Okay, I get it. Suit yourself.” He sounds like he just wants to escape your endless worry right now, and you can’t blame him.

Resolute with your decision, you feel a bit better, and suddenly aware that it seems you already bother Asimov enough. Getting ready to leave to go back to your dorm, you stand a while on the door, pressing the buttons, before looking back once more.

“You don’t happen to have a poison to make up a sick condition only for a day?”

“Get the hell out of my office.”

Well… isn’t it just great?

Turns out, you can’t get sick at all, or rather, you can’t find the window of opportunity to do so. Not without getting an angry-slash-disappointment gaze from Liv instantly making you feeling extremely guilty about it as you put back the ice cream you sneaked earlier back to the freezer (her wrath when it comes to your health is something you wish to avoid, just like your current predicament with Chrome’s coating). Because of that, you can’t consume too much ice cream or iced drinks to at least land you into a “getting sore-throat” situation. 

Another attempt was you begged Lucia to cook for you once, to present you with a delicacy that you know very well can send you to the ER of Star of Life, but her frame needs a lot of monitoring lately, which makes no time for her to do such things. Lee even helped you a lot with paperworks, making no rooms for you to stay up late. Hiding a huge stash of documents from him in your room was a futile attempt, in which you were getting scolded instead as he mistaken that action as your bad habit of being a procrastinator at day to work alone as a night-owl.

So here you are now, sitting in the theater room that you once used for the Romeo and Juliet stage play a few years ago. The place is crowded with some of the other squads, anticipating the upcoming play that is presented by Strike Hawk themselves. You sit among the audiences, your team, Cerberus, Dark Aries, and other task forces, even the Engineering and Purifying Force are invited, and to be honest, it’s such a rare sight to see all of them in this kind of mood, the always present grim and tired look evaporated from everyone’s face, putting aside the the endless war with Punishing Virus on Earth that never stops to keep everyone on guard.

“I heard Kamui planned this play, Commandant.” Lucia that sits on your left speaks as she reads the pamphlet she’s currently holding that contains the overview about the stage play.

“‘Planned’ is a generous word for him, Lucia. I am certain he was spewing ideas like bullets and Chrome is the one that has to gather it one by one to arrange it into a more decent plot.” Lee replies, which earns a chuckle from the three other members of Gray Raven. Remembering their constantly-bickering dynamics, it is not a surprise for Lee to have that kind of idea.

You take a look at the pamphlet that you have been holding since entering the theater, reading its synopsis for one more time.

‘Paradise Lost’, where it accepts creatures that are banished from light, engulfed in the eternal darkness not to suffer, but to celebrate a rebirth in an endless banquet.

Below the description is the list of the cast's name, which consists of all members of Strike Hawk. Except for Chrome, you are still in the dark about the roles of his other teammates. Continuing downward, there’s like a bunch of star-shaped designs that usually can be found on advertisements (this design choice is very Kamui, you think). 

‘Interactive! Immersive Play! Comedy! Scary! Romance!’

Looks like you missed that part of the pamphlet before until just now. “Interactive and Immersive?” Liv comments as she pays attention to the same part of the pamphlet with you, “Does that mean they will ask audiences to play along with them?” 

“Like those magic shows when they invite the audience to join them on stage, probably?” You reply, as she then nods and lets out a small hum. “I guess that’s the possibility, Commandant. Looks like it’ll be fun!”

Fun, huh? For some reason, you have a bad feeling about it. The possibility of something pops in your head but quickly dismissed as the lights of the room turn off, alerting you and all of the audiences that the play is about to start. 

‘I’ll just cast aside and try to enjoy the show, I guess…’ 

Silence fills the room for a moment, before dimmed light starts to brighten up, followed by an ominous toll of bells and melodies of music– consisting of organ and violin from what your ears can pick up– fills the air. Briefly, you feel like you have stepped into a world engulfed by darkness, standing in front of a mansion– a building that could be a magnum opus of an architect but left abandoned and claimed by underworld creatures that stumbled across it, turning it into their abode.

The scene continues to play out, painting the atmosphere and places to create what you call worldbuilding, getting to each scene with a tidy pacing, and it’s now starting to introduce the mansion “residents”. Wanshi, the first one to get the spotlight, is currently laying on a coffin, and seems to take the role of the classic undead creature from Chinese tales with the yellow charms attached on his forehead. For a heavy sleeper like him, this role sort of fits him perfectly (or he suggested it for an easier role that doesn’t involve him moving a lot). 

The next spotlight lights up at the center of the stage, drawing all of the audience's attention to Camu that is sitting on a prop that looks like a throne made of swords and skulls, wearing an outfit in which you can describe as the role of someone with high ranking, possibly a ruler of a realm. He sits with crossed legs, showing his authoritativeness. Kamui props himself right next to him, grinning like his usual self, wearing an outfit that is sculpted to look like a skeleton, with a mask sitting on his head– you are still unsure what to call his role.

And finally of course, the person you currently want to see the most and least at the same time, standing at the highest point of the stage, a massive ring-shaped stained glass window emits a bright light, making his figure very imposing. You can’t miss the sharp red eyes of him, for a moment it feels like those very eyes land on you, giving you goosebumps all over your skin. Your breath hitched for a moment.

“Commandant, are you feeling okay?” A whisper from Lucia distracts you, as she squeezes your lower arm with her hand lightly, a soothing gesture from her. Crap, did you display signs of stress just now by being fidgety or something else? Not wanting to distract any audience with your voice to reply to Lucia's question, you just nod to assure her you are fine, well, for now. Lucia seems to buy your answer as she nods back and returns her focus back to the stage, as you do the same.

The whole play continues, and the plot is actually pretty simple. It displays scenes on how each resident of the mansion interacts with each other, from the sleepy-as-ever the undead Wanshi, that no matter how many times Kamui nags him, still able to find the opportunity and places to rest. One scene also gives Camu the time to shine, he exclaims the words of darkness and victory as he stands proud at the rooftop of the mansion, screams of praise from the underworld creatures celebrating his triumph. Chrome is pretty isolated. When it’s his time to receive the spotlight, he stands near a window, holding a glass that’s filled with dark-red liquid. Blood or a wine, you can leave that to your imagination. The glass then being brought to his lips, slowly sips on it as he takes his sweet time to taste the beverage. 

There’s a slight smirk on his now red-stained lips.

The same color can be spotted on your face if the lights in the room are not dimmed enough to conceal it. Calm down, Calm down.

As time goes, you begin to grasp the story as well. After the many scenes of them claiming their possession and ruling many creatures, all of them want to hold a banquet in order to celebrate their victory on the night where total lunar eclipse happens, the so-called “Blood moon” night, where their whole plan to flood the land with darkness and reaches their final stage of ruling the entire land. A curse spell will be casted, pulling every living being that’s left to join them on the banquet, bewitching them to enter a new world, leaving the earthly concerns that have been shackling them. 

The stage changes, now being set up to show a grand banquet hall, red roses adorning every corner of the stage, with chandeliers hanging and reflecting the “moon” light, which when combined with the light of purple flames from the lanterns on the wall, setting the banquet in gloomy red-and-purple atmosphere, yet still grandiose. How can something so scary appear so aesthetically appealing? At the center, Kamui finally exclaims as he extends his hands to the direction of the audience.

“Shall we start to welcome our esteemed guest as our dance partner?”

…Dance Partner? 

You look around the stage, scanning your eyes expecting to see some side characters emerge from the curtains or between audiences, where they might pretend to be one before their time to perform arrives. 

Nothing. 

Does this mean…? No wonder you feel like something is missing as it finally clicks. You totally forgot the so-called "immersion play" the pamphlet mentioned. So the “immersive” means they want the audience to participate in a dance for their banquet scene? Your eyes wander around, seeing how Wanshi, Kamui, and Camu already picked their partners from different spots, some cheers and squeals can be heard from the crowds that surround them. 

And how is Chrome walking in your direction, his steps as perfect as his usual self, but his face is showing a confident smirk, which for a moment makes you think it’s very unfitting to him? If someone puts a mic close to your chest, it will surely pick up the loud thumping it’s making right now.

Like the Romeo and Juliet play both of you enacted back then, he reaches his hand to your right hand, bringing it close to his fanged-lips (for a moment you really thought you’ll lose your hand right then and there), kissing it so lightly. The difference is, this time the hand kiss leaves a chilling sensation at the back of your hand. Is it the Nosferatu frame’s design that’s grasping the characteristics of a vampire, whose body lacks warmth, or is it your skin that is currently getting cold from the nervousness and fear?

You feel another tug on your right hand that he has been holding, pulling you as it is prompting you to stand on your feet, and your currently numb body does exactly that, robotically following his lead. He guides you to walk carefully on the stairs to the center of the stage, approaching one of the spotlights with a chandelier decorating the ceiling.

The scenery around you, for a moment, reminds you of how you have been practicing and participating in many dances with Chrome all this time. At the start, it was just because it was required in order to attend some ceremonies, banquets, or whatever higher-ups social parties in which both of you were invited. It started solely for that reason, but deep down, at least for you, this is merely an excuse to be closer and spend any free time you have to fill your days with him. All those missions and practices tighten bonds between you, just like this position where he carefully wraps his other hand to your waist to lock you in place, waiting for his next move.

Chrome clearly plans this with how he adjusts everything– the pose, the beat of the music, the movement– to make sure you feel familiar despite the sudden situation he’s putting you through right now. The counts of the dance-steps you both have grown familiar with, the sways he leads your hand and body, the warmth that grows as you come chest-to-chest with him. For some minutes, you let your mind wander off to just think of this as one of those banquet dances.

Illuminated by the spotlight, both of you just sways around, light steps decorating the floor, the world blur into colors like butterflies surrounding two lovers in a sacred ritual.  

It goes for a while until the music fades out, slowing down everything you just experience and finally it comes to a halt. Now you both just stand there, still under the spotlight, though now you are completely unsure what to do. A sudden sensation of cold lands on your neck, making you flinch a bit. You cast your gaze to your side, seeing how Chrome’s hand is now touching the side part of your neck, then look up to find Chrome slightly bringing his head down, catching his eye that’s still glinting briefly, before closing the gap between you and leaning himself close to your ear. At first, you hear a rushed whisper of ‘Sorry, give me a moment’, before registering what’s happening.

The strands of his hair tickle your face as he buries himself into your shoulder. His warm breath fans your neck, but the same cold sensation from his fingers remains unmoved. A small smooch noise could be heard clearly due to his mic, and it finally hits you. He kisses your “neck” through his own hand, where his lips come in contact with his own fingers that’s shielding your neck, and from the audience's perspective, it looks like he actually kisses your neck. Like a vampire trying to get the taste of its prey. That action instantly makes you feel like you are thrown into an icy pool and a sensation of cold water a.k.a cold sweat starts to seep into your palm.

The theater erupts into a sea of squeals from the audiences. Some girls are having a good time watching this tale unfolding right now.

It remains for some time before he pulls back, now filling your view with only his face that appears imposing with the lights of the stage framing his features. The cold fingers that touched your neck are now moving to touch your chin, twisting your head  to face the owner. 

“A fine lady stranded– or rather, walked willingly with me into my abode, danced with me without questioning anything until now? Amusing.” He recites, displaying a face of amusement followed by a low chuckle.

His hand traces your chin, exploring your jawline before landing back to the neck, brushing it tenderly, “Skin so delicate, and it makes me want to claim you as mine once I mark you. Though, from the time we spent until now, you don’t mind that, do you?” He says, now smirking as he is entertained with the idea of it. “Tell me with your sweet voice, fine lady, do you want to spend an eternity with me in this endless-banquet? I promise an eternity full of euphoria, more than the seventh heaven could offer you.”

…

…Wow.

Since when can Chrome make such a face and say such playful words?!

His lines render you silent for a full five seconds, then your lips let out  high-pitched sputters with incomprehensible words. The whole event brings bewilderment looks and excited cheers from most of the audience, Gray Raven included (you swear from the corner of your eyes your team would react as if you are about to get kidnapped). People inside the theater won’t expect the usually composed commandant to be stupefied, remaining frozen on spot over a cheesy-flirting. It’s unsure whether you are freezing from the fear or from the lovestruck– no kidding, it’s both.

As you are about to reply (to be honest, you just can’t think of anything else other than using “huh?” to at least make the scene continue to flow), Chrome cuts you up, aware of your bewilderment, with something he had planned as impromptu in case the “dance partner” is not responding. He gets closer even more, breath fanning your left cheek.

“Should I give you a foretaste of it, to let you know how intoxicating it is?”

He opens his mouth, showing a full view of fangs with a sadistic look. Red eyes shine brighter as it stares at you like a feast. A sight that will swoon most people who are familiar with this concept of story, but unfortunately, you are not among them. It sways your stomach, dropping it to the ground like being dragged down by a roller coaster instead.

Your feet turn cold as the world suddenly twists around you, dark spots fill every corner of your eyes. The last strength of your feet that’s been supporting you vanishes as you proceed to smooch the cold stage floor with your body.

The last thing you heard was a bunch of screams of your name and the feeling of a pair of cold hands cradling your figure before completely drowning in darkness.

The warm feeling of a blanket and fluffy pillow envelopes you, giving you a sense of comfort. You struggle to open your eyes, your head feels so light whilst you try to collect your consciousness. The white ceiling and familiar decorated walls surrounding you are the signs that indicate you are currently back in your room. Did you feel so exhausted that you straightly fell asleep after the stage play? But you didn’t remember how it ends or you or when you and the others leave the theater–

Oh.

You fainted. On stage.

Consciousness fully returns to you, as you come to a realization that you really did mess up there. The sense of panic quickly fills your heart and urges your body to leave the bed and rush back to the theater. So you just do so, sitting up and mentally preparing yourself to apologize to everyone, especially him. Only for a hand to hold you firmly on your wrist preventing you from moving any further. You look to your left to the individual that apparently has been in the room, sitting quietly beside your bed this whole time.

“Chrome?”

Sitting there is the blonde-construct, back at his usual frame. His hair is strangely down, not the usual slicked-up hair you are so used to seeing these days. The realization dawns on you shortly though, as he once self-consciously asked if leaving his hair like that will make him appears weary (he was afraid you misunderstood it as he is too reluctant to see you that night, which you waved off and lightly joked how you would like to see it more often if it’s possible).

This time you can conclude that he is really in a very down mood.

For a moment, both of you just stare at each other, too lost in the thought of how to begin the conversation. In the end, Chrome is the one that takes initiative.

“You fainted, Commandant.” He jumps straight to the point.

“That I did…” is all you can say. 

“I have been informed about your situation from Asimov.” Oh, the beans have been spilled. Guess you don’t have to explain it anymore? Still, you feel guilty– extremely guilty– about this. Avoiding his eyes, you cast your attention to the blanket, fiddling with your right hand as the left one being held by the man beside you. Noticing your silence and your unwillingness to look at him, he grows anxious as well. 

“Commandant, please look at me…”

“...”

“Is this coating… really that bad? Do you really dislike it that much?” 

“NO!” Your voice finds a sudden strength to deny his absurd claim. Your hand tries to grip his wrist, keeping him to stay before drifting himself into negative thoughts any further.

Godness, that’s a very harsh assumption. Did Asimov just tell him you are disliking his frame, leaving no further explanation? Oh. 

He likely wants you to explain it to Chrome by yourself, giving you the opportunity to talk about it, which in some ways you are glad to have, though right now it’s too straight to the point to your liking after the whole chaos you just made. You are unsure whether to ‘accidentally’ spill his favorite coffee at the nearest sink for the badly provided information or give him a bag of expensive coffee as a thank-you gift for forcefully pulling you and Chrome in this conversation. 

“No, please trust me Chrome, it’s gorgeous, magnificent, perfect!! It’s just…It’s just on me…”

Pulling your legs to your chest, you try to hide yourself, at least your face, obscuring your eyes as you feel you are about to embarrass yourself any further in front of him. His hands clasp your left hand, a small gesture that turns into a silent reassuring for you to keep going.

“I can’t help but to feel my body shaking to the core and feeling myself shutting off due to my fear of… you know…” Finally, a confession escapes your lips. Who would have thought the first confession you tell him would be this? But you really just want to tell him the truth, your reason, and your feelings, as it is what you must do for him. “But I am fighting it. I don’t want my selfish fear to affect you.” 

‘You have given me a lot all these years, I should not ask too much.’

Your feet are surely shaking so much, an icy feeling spreads despite the warm blanket still wraps around them. You don’t want him to feel guilty and feel the necessity to act based on your opinion. It’s stupid, really. You are aware of his personality, one of them being the amazing leader that always comes with the most optimal answer, and it’s something you have always respected and learned a lot from him as there are times where you feel you are not good enough to be one for Gray Raven.

You thought it was just a one-sided feeling of admiration to him, but apparently, you became aware of his opinion towards you as well. The ear-studs that he once felt insecure about and asked if it looked out of place, are now being kept on his final Glory frame adjustment. That’s the point where you start to feel a bit self-conscious when it comes to discussing stuff with him. Including this whole problem.

Feeling suffocated enough after hiding your face, you slightly turn your face to your left, eyes peeking at his face but quickly turn to the bed sheet or floor, whatever you can land your gaze on right now. “When you performed that role so well on the stage, just like the pamphlet said, it is so entrancing that… for a moment I felt like I was actually about to be taken away by an actual vampire…”

Only your voice fills your room right now as Chrome listens to your explanation, his hands that’s still holding yours, softly tracing the back of your hand with his thumbs, successfully soothing your racing heart. One could say it’s also a way for Chrome to calm himself as well, given hearing your entire rambling just now increased his worries about you, yet at the same time, relieving as it’s not because his Nosferatu coating looks hideous that you hate it.

But truthfully, Chrome could craft any scenarios from A to N when he reviewed the scripts for the past few weeks, from anticipating random impromptu from Kamui to guiding dialogues when the other party confused on what to say, but none of them prepared in case you out of nowhere passed out on stage.

A small cough grabs your attention, pulling your unfocused eyes now at Chrome. “I am glad to hear your explanation, Commandant. I assure you don’t have to feel guilty about it as well. But please…” His grip on your hand tightens a bit, before continuing.

“Don’t hide such things from me in the future. I understand you think it as a burden, but I assure you it’s not. We have been solving harder obstacles, this is not something impossible.”

He is right. War rages over, yet both of you still pave the same path, reaching for the glorious day that one day must come.

Sheepishly, you chuckle and finally let out the breath you’ve been holding. “Thank you Chrome, and I know you said I don’t have to feel guilty, but I still want to say I’m sorry.”

“Ah… Apology accepted. You can relax now, Commandant.”

Finally, it feels like a huge weight left your heart, now the sense of relief washes over you. You straighten your feet, now turning yourself to face him as you sit on the edge of your bed. Now the tension is over, you just want to dwell on idle chit-chat with him. So, you bring up today’s performance, before the whole fainting stuff, of course. 

“Like I said earlier, your performance, Wanshi, Kamui, and Camu were so impressive. With big missions and little free time you guys had, there were barely any mistakes during the play. It was as if Strike Hawk was an actual theater kids group. And costumes too, especially yours, Chrome.”

“Really? Doesn’t my ‘nice costume’ points be reduced from your perspective?” He teases. 

“I mean, kind of. But, objectively, it surely is well-crafted. Every gaze seems like they are all over the heels for you!” You beam, the smile on your face as you cheerful state is back mirrored on Chrome’s face for a moment before it turns into a slight sad smile. Did you say something wrong? Before your mind once again flies everywhere, his voice, slightly whispering, reaches your ears.

“But it’s meaningless if it’s not from you.”

His rebuttal catches you out of your guard, like getting splashed with cold water. 

“I want you to see me in that light as well. I will feel content even if it is just from you.”

“Ah… I… I see.” You stammer as blush starts to decorate your face. Deep down, you feel like you know what he implies with those words, and because of that, you come with a new objective, it’s a way to make it up after all.  “Then, let’s work it out together, Chrome. Help me go through this?” It’s your turn now to wrap your palm on his, though you need not to plead, as you are certain the person in front of you will give a certain answer.

“That we will.”

Reassuring smiles decorates both of your faces.

“But, also… Chrome?”

Now it’s his turn to wonder what you are about to say.

“About those lines you said to me, I haven’t responded, have I?”

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, you wrap your hand on his neck, hugging him as you sink your head on his shoulder.

“Wherever you take me, that's where I'll follow you. If it's an eternal banquet where you and I will have a happy ending, I will succumb to darkness just to be with you.”

The hands that wrap around your waist is all you need to know that he understands. Shortly, a small peck from his lips lands on your neck, a small gesture mimicking a vampire marking its prey– or rather, his lover.

“Then so be it.”

“I was wondering, are there any reasons for you to pick me out of all the audience?”

After exiting your room, then settling at the kitchen bar to enjoy a cup of iced-water, Chrome explains the concept of his role.

“Kamui said you sometimes fangirl over villains in the video game doing ‘evil stuff’, so… I thought by doing something that related to that, one of them I read from a Golden Age novel about how evil vampires catch their prey, you would react the same. He said you will surely love it.” 

That just makes you rack your mind a bit, trying to remember the time which this information took place. Now it makes a lot of sense.

“I guess he mistook me fangirling over an evil-prefect that wants to rule the world in one of those visual novels we played and generalized it as I like everything that screams ‘villain’. Can’t blame him, though.” Shaking your head, you think you have to tone down your fangirling in the future, especially in front of Kamui, so he won’t take things too far in the future. 

You still have one more question though. The heaviest question.

“Did I destroy the entire play after I fainted?”

Chrome knows beforehand you will ask about this, quickly answer you to cast away your worry. “It was in fact almost becoming disastrous, but I ended up just doing anything that came to my mind.”

“And that is?”

“... Remember the time where I carried you escaping Hetero-Hive Mother?”

“Yeah? By– Ohhh…” 

You can picture it somehow, very clearly. You just hope next time you are conscious to fully tuck that memory inside your head.

[lavender-bundle-blithe]

yknow what. Human Abilities AU where people's abilities are just... their own person. similar to a modern au but the abilities are also there but as actual people ^^ starting with sskk and skk! (am i making it into yin-yang w|w and double black m|m? maybe. i dont know myself. i think.)

byakko would be the strict but motherly protective tiger that i headcanon her to be. very protective of atsushi since he still goes through hell in an orphanage, and really, she has no filter but is nice enough to place one on for... five minutes. voice claim... ethereal but monotone. my girl's blunt. ex: tigress from kung fu panda rashomon would likely act similar to aku in a sense, but... more teasing. she likes to rile byakko up, but those happen on, like, a good day. which is one out of... two-three weeks. but similar to byakko, she's protective of the siblings very much, and can and will spoil those two with sweets since the whole slums situation. now her voice claim would likely have an elegant voice compared to byakko, yet both have the same bite. ex: yae miko from genshin impact but toned down. --- how these two interact... hm. probably how atsushi and aku were from day one in canon, they hated each other. but it could go two ways: where they catch fists or egged on by rashomon's teasing... "or is she threatening?" <- byakko. but after some time, from hating each others guts when on site and also not, it more or less evolves to them... liking each other's company. byakko helps rashomon regarding seeing things in other perspectives, however blunt they are. and rashomon helps byakko with the social cues. neither of them are the talkers, but when its just them two, no words would be spoken and yet they just understand what they need.

now for no longer human, whom i shall call "null". null is... silent. the silent eerie character that rarely talks but is just... there. not much cues in his blank and expressionless face, and his posture is solemn and tight. he acts much similar to 15!dazai but more melancholic. he took the brunt of whatever happened in his and dazai's childhood, he's a lot more mature than that. his voice claim would be a deep voice, could be heard as monotone or angry to strangers, but with those who's familiar with him, it's just... calming. ex: the horse from the boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse. for the tainted sorrow, or more or less arahabaki... he's basically a chuuya but more destructive, and he doesn't want to slow down. but when it comes to null, its either that he has to be in pace with the other or he can and will drag them. they don't care. but of course, others wonder why he cares so much for null if its said that he doesnt care at all. now some might say that no one could manage to understand him, others would say that he might speak riddles. a sort of ethereal tone, and it's oddly pitched. possible ex: sphinx from dragons dogma 2. --- this one's different, how they interact. basically: arahabaki would try and egg null on, get them riled up, but for the sake of proving the man wrong in his own point. it's unfortunately that both null and dazai have that sense of not being human. and while chuuya has his own way in showing dazai he has a life worth living, arahabaki's situation is a more difficult one. because null's more observant and quiet, the man likely has several scenarios going through his head on what's to happen, and has definitely figured out what arahabaki's planning on doing and avoided it with some certain word of phrase. so, arahabaki turns those words against null. two can play that game. but while arahabaki helps null with that, null helps with arahabaki's destructive and explosive tendencies, managing to defuse a situation in mere seconds and get them out of trouble. they're looking out for each other, and they have their backs.

[etrevil]

Kids that regularly terrorize a local arcade and its on-goers with their extravagant bets and weird displays of mutual "abhorrence"

[sabh0]

Hello tumblr folks sab tried to learn how to draw cats (failed) to share her cat skk design headcanons witj yall

(under the cut muah)

PM Catzai:

-burnt black, short and rough fur (seems like it's dirty and unhealthy...?)

-wrinkled whiskers

-very skinny

ADA Catzai: (god i need to redraw that one he looks atrocious)

-lighter, brown fur (sun bleached, tho there are still some dark parts)

-fluffier, longer fur (is bro a bit healthier??), tho it constantly looks disheveled from jumping into riversband stuff (stupid wet cat)

-long legzz

-not as skinny as PM version

-no more wrinkled whiskers

'15' Catchuu:

-ginger cat yeah

-very fluffy but disheveled

-short legs, tho has unnaturally big paws (have yall seen baby lynx stompers) (something similar)

-big ears just because (smh they make him look bigger)

-has that sheep wristband

'22' Catchuu: (this one also will need a redesign ig bc currently bro looks like a fox trying to be a cat)

-didn't grow much oofie

-got a bit fluffier, tho now his fur is kept brushed and tidy

-fur started turning black in some parts (seems like it's getting darker each year for some reason)

-has a collar

[poe-tat]

Back to our regular chaos- ft. 15 SKK and 22 SKK

yes, this again-

I need laughter okay and this is hilarious it must be shared-

anyways

15 SKK

Dazai and Chuuya: *More arguing and fewer insults in between*

Mori: They will get better when they're older

Kouyou + the rest of the PM: Uh Huh okay boss whatever you say...

22 SKK

Dazai and Chuuya: *More insults and fewer arguing but the same as 15*

Mori: They-

Kouyou: "Will get better in the near future"? That is never going to happen let it go already!

[wiwiurikawa]

OMDDDDDD UR THE ONE WHO DREW THE KITTY BSDD THINGYSSS??? (i humbly request smt that has been requested probably all the time. teen skk)

I'm really glad that you like my doodles. Actually I never drawn before chuuya despite his popularity. I also never read 15 novel (I have it in plan, i just need to end untold origins) so I'm gessing their interactions. I drawn chuuya only in more realistic style and also I never drawn them in teeneag years. So everithing(like most of my drawings ) is experimental. Hope you enyoy.

chuuya: why is that emo here?

Dazai: merry me

[zukkaoru]

I think i forgot to send you some the other day and i definitely meant to so. Hi<3

15 + skk or kunizai (or kunichuuzai) up to you!

23 + chuuran

hello! i come bearing gifts!! chuuran first and the other one is under the cut bc it is. slightly more m-rated lol

chuuran + a kiss influenced by alcohol

This is a bad idea.

Chuuya knows this is a bad idea. But their common sense is clouded by alcohol and Ranpo was staring them down with those stupid green eyes, like he was trying to undress them from across the room, and fuck.

Chuuya groans as he bites down on their lip. They have him pinned against the wall, but that hasn’t stopped Ranpo from acting like he still has the upper hand. Like this is exactly what he wanted.

Chuuya knows they’ve played directly into his trap, but it feels too good to stop now.

“You are so goddamn annoying,” they grumble between kisses, voice nothing more than a harsh whisper against Ranpo’s smiling lips. “I hate you.”

“Mhm,” Ranpo hums. “That must be why you want me so bad right now.”

“Shut the hell up.”

“Make me.”

And oh, that is a challenge Chuuya most certainly will not back down from.

-

skk + a kiss along the hips

“Chuuya…” Dazai murmurs, tightening their grip on his hair. They don’t pull him back, though, so Chuuya continues carefully unwinding the bandages wrapped around their thigh.

“Is there something you want?”

Dazai whines.

“Sorry,” Chuuya smiles, “I can’t understand you if you won’t use your words.”

“Chuuya!”

Chuuya laughs. Having finished with the bandages, he tosses them aside. Then, he presses his lips to Dazai’s hip bone. Too soft to fully satiate them but enough to soothe them for the moment. “Be patient,” he instructs. “It’s not my fault you feel the need to mummify yourself.”

“Chuuya’s being so mean!”

Chuuya kisses them again through a teasing grin. “I think you like it, though.”

Dazai doesn’t argue. When Chuuya glances up, he finds their face is flushed all the way to the tips of their ears.

They’ve only just started, but he’s having so much fun already.