#a lil muddy but we take those

[mavkaradio]

work it

[fraugwinska]

Giveaway 2nd Prize Winner Piece

Hello my loves! Our darling @lil-glum, who won myy 2nd prize in the 1k Follower giveaway, has graciously allowed me to share the finished piece with you all! It was a delight to work with her - and her ideas were so good that writing this felt less like work and all the more like a treat! <3 So much so that I, in fact, went a bit overboard with the word count! ;> As usual: Minors DNI or I'll curse you to always have moist socks!

Paint the Town Red

For weeks now, Alastor had stalked out that little human like a vulture, circling high above the oblivious prey and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Revisiting the living world should've been a glorious occasion, since summonings were becoming so rare nowadays, but that moron who dared to call on him hadn't been worth his while - but she was.

Luck and curse had it that he didn't have to return to hell right after the laughably one-sided deal was striked, leaving him time enough to put a little glamor on to stroll around town in his earthly disguise, freshly brewed coffee in hand, and see what humanity had been up to since his demise. The world had become frivolous, no class at all, and Alastor had felt at ease knowing that he had lived at the peak of culture and manners, never to be bettered.

And then she ran into him. Deeply immersed in a book - not those audacious electronic devices people put their nose in every waking hour - she'd rounded the corner while Alastor gawked around, lost to the world captured on the yellowed pages. A head full of red, silky locks had bumped into his chest and the book as well as his coffee dropped, the former to be saved by his quick reflexes. A simple flick of his wrist, and the book was back in her hand, while his cup of java laid spilled in a muddy puddle between their feet.

"Oh! Oh no - I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" she'd said, pushing her glasses back her nose as she smiled up to him apologetically, and when Alastor met her eyes, something shifted. And just like that, the hunt was on.

"No harm done, darling. The coffee was poorly done anyway."

Since time was running out, he turned up his charm to at least get the girl's name and maybe another meeting out of the encounter, already planning on ways to return. Thankfully, she'd given it all too gladly, and promised to invite him for coffee as an apology for the spilled one. He'd taken the sound of her name into his hands like the greatest treasure, repeating it over and over in his mind as he was being dragged back to the afterlife tasting each vowel and consonant. Hunting down an indebted incubus and acquiring its asmodean crystal had been as easy as working out how to use it. And oh - did he use it.

His absence from his duties in the hotel became more and more obvious, but Alastor couldn't stop himself. It wasn't even the thrill of the chase that kept him going. Every time he saw her, it was as if her mere presence called out to an unknown part of him, as if her voice was a siren's call, as if her scent was a drug created just for him. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about her: The delightful way she laughed at his quips. The elegant way she spoke about her interests. The way she brushed her fiery hair back over her shoulder when she was nervous…

Alastor wanted it all, and he wanted her.

"Alastor, are you listening at all?" she smiled at him, pulling him out of his raging thoughts.

"My apologies, dear, I was merely...distracted. Please do repeat yourself." he cleared his throat and gave her a wide grin. The abandoned park they walked in was tinted in oranges, greens and browns, little specks of autumn's palette so becoming to her complexion.

"I was saying that I don't really feel like going back home yet. How about we take a detour - explore a little?" she proposed, pointing down to a small trail that led away from the main road, lined with trees and shrubbery, "There's supposed to be a pond around there, and I think it would be nice to enjoy your company a little longer."

Alastors ears perked up and his smile widened, threatening to mirror the one he always wore down in hell. She wanted to be alone with him, far away from prying eyes - that wonderful, naive thing.

"That sounds delightful, my dearest - lead the way!"

His mind was running wild with possibilities as he followed her down the path, watching her red locks bounce as she hopped down the sloping ground. How much she trusted him was as endearing as it was thrilling, and the urge to reach out and take her by the arm to pull her into his own grew with every step he took, the demon in him aching for a taste of her. He wasn't one to rush good things, and he wanted to enjoy this, make it last as long as he could, savor every moment of the inevitable fall.

She was chattering away happily, unaware of the obsessive way he watched her. Her hips swayed hypnotically, the hem of her wool skirt grazing her thighs ever so slightly, and Alastor wondered if the flush of her cheeks from the cool autumn air would be found elsewhere on her delectable body, too. He knew he had to control himself, but with his desire burning hot like the flames of his true home, Alastor struggled.

Finally, they reached the small pond and she turned around to him, beaming with accomplishment. The sight of it, of her prideful smile and trusting eyes so enthrallingly focused on him was too much, and whatever she was about to say was swallowed by his lips crashing into hers. His gloved hands held her face firmly as he pushed her against a tree, the bark scratching into the back of her coat. He had wanted this for so long, the feeling of her soft lips moving against his, her hands clawing at his shoulders, indecisive on whether to pull him closer or push him away. She gasped into the kiss and Alastor took the chance to push his tongue inside, swallowing her moan as apparently made up her mind, tugging at his coat as he finally devoured her.

It was entirely, decidedly too much: The warmth of her, the taste, the touches, the sounds, he couldn't get enough of it, couldn't get close enough. With ferocity, he got rid of every offending layer of obstructive clothing, reveling in the way she breathed his name, pleading to the deity that couldn't care for mercy and to him to ruin her. And he gladly granted her wish, benevolent as he was, his lips trailing down her neck, teeth nipping at her collarbone, tongue laving over her exposed breasts as his hands stroked up her legs, fingers disappearing under her skirt to brush against her core.

"Please, Alastor - oh!" she whimpered when he pushed a finger inside her wet cunt, the tight heat making him growl in approval. He wanted her to beg, he wanted her to cry, wanted her to break down before him and ask him for salvation. His glamor flickered, struggling to hold against the loss of control.

"Look at you, my dear, so eager, so wanting," he crooned as he pushed another finger inside her, watching her back arch from the tree, her body seeking out his hands like a magnetic pull. Brown hair slowly turned red, antlers sprouting from its crown, his modest gray coat faded into his signature crimson pinstriped frock, and she gasped into his hungry mouth as he let the grip on his magic go and revealed himself completely as the demonic overlord that he was. Alastor, the Radio Demon, laughed, licking along her jaw as he slowly increased the pace of his claws, earning another sweet sound of shocked pleasure from his little, confused human.

“Don’t let my true form deceive you, my darling - No matter what happens… I’ll make sure you see heaven.”

[demontonic]

Hi! If you’re still taking requests, may I ask for Kylo Ren asking female reader out on a date? He’s very shy and nervous and not sure she’ll say yes, but she does! He’s a murderous bean but we love him

i love my men murderous🫶🏼making this a modern college au because i cannot imagine Kylo Ren having a lil crushy crush on one of his generals

Kylo Ren - Would you?

You’d been aquatinted with Kylo for months now, you honestly would have never talked to him by yourself because his entire aura was intimidating. Both of you were friends of a friend whom you had told you found the brooding man insanely attractive and well, she took that as an invitation to take matters into her own hands. You couldn’t have expected anything else honestly she was just confident in friend making skills and after meeting him so were you. Though it seemed like a cheesy college rom com at this point you didn’t mind, especially with the way he looked at you. His eyes alone held so much of his emotion, for the most part he remained monotone and unbothered but eyes dont lie. Sometimes his fleeting glances made your heart flutter, and sometimes it made your entire body tense. Those brown eyes could be void of emotion, or full of enchantment gleaming with admiration. That’s all it was, he admired you for your beauty, charisma, even the way you viewed life itself, he was completely enamored of you. So today while you sat in the library studying for your semester finals, you were aware of every stolen glance. His every movement down to the way his fingers picked at the table, you knew he was ridden with anxiety.

“If you keep fidgeting like that I’m scared you’ll start vibrating in your seat.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to distract you.”

“If anything you’re keeping me company, especially since you stopped taking notes ten minutes ago.”

“Right, I guess my mind is somewhere else today.”

“Sharing is caring, what’s got you so bothered?”

What bothered him? What didnt bother him would be a shorter list, he was a walking ball of anxiety despite his cold demeanor. Not in the way that had him scared to talk to people, but in the sense he had no idea what he was soing with his life. He felt like his purpose was so unclear, like he was meant for something huge but also nothing at the same time. His mother was kind, brave, and hard working wheras his father was brute, carefree, and aggravating. Such combination in one household had caused him to lose sight of what he wanted because he wanted them to be proud of him. It was difficult taking into account the vast differences between them, it’s not like they were any less in love but it made his aspirations muddy. When he met you however it was like he had certain purposs, suddenly he stopped waiting for the praise to leave the mouth of his parents and started looking to you. Why he hadn’t quite understood until a week ago, you sat infront of the window while it was raining. The library was closing in an hour so the lights had dimmed, you were reading a book for your class and drinking some sort of tea. There was the answer, he could see himself spending nights with you just soaking in each others presence, enjoying the silence and peace between you two. It’d been there the entire time, you had barely spent time apart since you started talking, you just melded together so effortlessly. His heart was set but he didn’t know how to convey such intense feelings, he couldn’t possibly expect you to reciprocate his feelings but he could hope. Would you laugh? Would you push him away? Would you leave him?

“Would you stay… with me?”

“What?”

“Would-… if I told you something, despite what it is would you stay?”

“Of course Kylo, you can trust me.”

Hearts pounded in their cages, eyes locking with one another as time seemed to slow as the words formed on his tongue. Breathing slowed as your skin ran cold, the anticipation was suffocating as you waited for his confession.

“I love you.”

Relief washed over the both of you as his secret had been revealed and your feelings towards him were validated.

“I love you too.”

A smile, shared by the both of you, basking in the purity of the moment.

“Does that mean you’ll go on a date with me?”

“I’d say we’ve been on study dates for months, of course I will.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

check out my masterlist for more star wars fics!

[chr0macide]

Break In 2: The Novelette (Fanfic)

PART 1

got damn I finally finished this. Writers block was wilding on my ass so I hope this didn't turn out like shit lol. I drew a lil bit of art for this fanfic (I say "drew" but a lot of it is just textures from google edited together into a picture lmao). Just 3 pics but yeah I got bored and wanted to draw. Might make a separate post for them sometime so people who don't wanna read or scroll through this can see them.

I recommend reading part 1, there are some references and callbacks that you might not get if you haven't read it already.

Again if you see any grammar/spelling errors please tell me. don't let me just leave that shit in because that's hella embarrassing 🙃

oh also for those who don’t know, the premise of this fanfic is basically just me turning the game into a short story

TW implied sexual violence (not involving any main characters, relatively short section, but its there)

This one is about 16,000 words, alright lets do this

Chapter I – Unsafe Haven

A fork of lightning illuminated the woods as Prince drove down the trail at a snail’s pace. The deluge was so heavy that it was almost impossible to see through the windshield, even with the wipers on. He brought the car to a standstill and let the engine idle.

“We’re gonna have to wait the storm out,” Prince told the kids. “Can’t keep driving like this.”

Stephanie kicked the back of Prince’s seat. “Worst camping trip ever,” she grumbled with her tiny voice.

“Relax. We’ll get there,” the elder brother said, but the truth was that he may or may not have taken a wrong turn through the thick fog.

It had been almost a year since the four kids had butted heads with their not-so-friendly neighborhood mafia. Well, three kids and one adult; Prince had turned 18 a few months ago. They’d been holed up in their house for too long, paranoid that Larry and his mobsters might show up for a little payback. It didn’t help that there had been a string of missing person reports in the area. To their dismay, their own uncle had disappeared, not to mention that the mob boss himself had vanished soon after they’d deactivated him. He hadn’t been sighted since, though, so Prince and Monica thought an outing would help take their minds off of everything.

They had everything they needed. The weather report had been favorable, yet rain was battering their windows. Prince folded his arms as he heard another clash of thunder. His boredom was replaced with panic as the subsequent flash of lightning struck the tree closest to them.

“Everyone out! Now!” he yelled as the trunk splintered and started to topple towards them. The kids tumbled out of the car and ran off as the tree smashed into the hood. The car alarm screamed.

“Could this trip get any worse?” Monica huffed as she walked around their totaled coupé. She popped the trunk and rummaged around inside.

Prince reached out and pulled her away. “Monica, wait, the engine-”

He was cut off as the crushed engine spat out a plume of smoke and exploded.

The kids stared at their flaming car.

“Shit,” said Hadrian.

Prince sighed. “Yeah.”

They looked around. They thought they’d reach the campsite early in the evening, but the storm had stalled them for so long that night had already come. Prince could hardly see the path ahead of them. “You didn’t happen to pull a flashlight out of there before it blew up, right?” he asked Monica.

Monica looked at the first aid kit she’d rescued. “No.”

“Damn. Well… we shouldn’t just stand around, I guess. Come on,” Prince said to the others. They climbed over the fallen tree and set off down the trail on foot.

The muddy path squelched under their shoes and thorns snagged their clothes as they trudged forward. Prince knew they should hurry, but shrubs and tree roots obscured by the shadows threatened to trip them up and send them face first into the dirt if they walked too fast.

Prince pulled out his cellphone as they moved, grumbling in frustration as the rain impaired the touchscreen. He tried to dial emergency services. No signal. He almost bumped into a traffic barricade in front of him while he was shoving the phone back into his damp pocket. “The hell? What is this doing here?”

He felt Monica tug on his sleeve.

“Do you see that?” Monica asked, pointing into the trees. It took Prince a few seconds to figure out what she was talking about, but he spied a yellow light blinking in the distance.

“What is it?” he wondered.

“I don’t know… but look.” Monica gestured downwards. There was a gravel path leading away from the barricaded trail. It looked like they’d be taking a detour.

“Let’s see if there’s a building there,” Monica suggested. Prince was apprehensive about veering off the main path, but he had no clue how far the campground was, if they were even going in the right direction. Maybe this was a better option. He and the other kids followed her.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the origin of the light. Steel walls stretched into the trees. The faint beams of moonlight that made it through the leaves glinted on the razor wire resting atop the fortifications.

A control panel was affixed to the wall next to the heavy-duty vertical lift door. There was the light source: a yellow diode, flashing on and off in the dark.

Prince peered through the doorway. It was already open. “What is this? A military base?”

Monica knitted her brow. “Maybe, but why would they leave the door like this?”

“I don’t see anyone.” The place gave him an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach, but it was freezing, and his clothes were soaked all the way through. He stepped inside.

The dwelling had evidently been abandoned for a long time. One ceiling light persevered, shining weakly in the darkness. The floor was littered with trash and a sticky layer of dust coated the tiles. Corroded storage lockers lined one of the walls. The other was plastered with crappy graffiti.

Prince didn’t see anyone else. He beckoned the others inside. However, right as the last kid stepped through, there was another flash of lightning. The panel next to the door sparked and short circuited. Everyone flinched as the door slammed down with a loud bang.

“What the hell!” Prince exclaimed as he turned around. He gave the door a kick. It didn’t budge. The unlocking mechanism had failed. He tried tinkering with the control panel, but all he got was an electric shock. “Ow.”

Prince knew he wasn’t about to break through solid metal. The kids glanced around the room nervously. “Look for another way out,” Prince told everyone.

There was only one other door on the opposite wall. Monica made her way over and gently pushed it open, but it was just a stairwell leading even deeper down into the building. She shook her head at Prince. “Nothing here.”

Hadrian started to open the old lockers, searching for something that might be useful. He grimaced as he came upon one that wasn’t empty.

“Guys. Look,” Hadrian called out. The others crowded around. It was an all too familiar comedy mask that they’d hoped they would never have to see again. “I don’t think we’re in a military base.”

Prince’s stomach churned at the thought of running into Larry a second time. If he was uneasy before, he was on high alert now. In fact, he was so anxious that he nearly leapt out of his skin when something prodded the back of his leg.

The dog whined and sprang away as well before it ran away and cowered beneath a rotting wooden table. Its fur was patchy and matted. Muddy water was still dripping from it, but it looked like it might have been white underneath all that grime. It must have taken refuge here from the torrential downpour too before they arrived.

“A doggie!” Stephanie squealed in delight. She ran to pet it, but it growled and barked at her when she got close. “Mean doggie,” she pouted.

Prince paid no more attention to the dog. If there was a chance that there were gangsters prowling, he and the kids had to arm themselves. He didn’t see anything of use except a broken rack with a few rusty crowbars on it. He picked one up.

“Guess these will have to do.”

He tossed a couple to Monica and Hadrian.

“Hold up, you want us to go further inside?” Hadrian questioned as he caught the weapon.

“You got a better idea?”

Hadrian looked at the metal door, locked tight. “No,” he mumbled.

The group stood at the stairs. It was pitch black. A sense of déjà vu crept over Prince; it reminded him of the creepy basement back in his house. He dug through his pocket for his lighter and flicked it on, casting enough light down the steps for them to descend. The dog padded after them, though it still recoiled as Stephanie tried to touch it again.

They reached the base of the stairwell. Iron bars lined the walls on either side of them. It was some sort of jail. Prince thought the cells were all empty until someone stood up in the one right next to him.

Everyone yelped in alarm at the figure. Prince held his crowbar up defensively, even though the man was caged, but he looked familiar. He held his lighter up to illuminate his face.

“Uncle Pete?” Prince said, bewildered.

Pete waved. He grabbed the whiteboard attached to his belt. Hi Prince! Open the cell? he wrote.

“But I don’t have the key… oh, wait,” Prince said as he remembered that he was holding a crowbar. He jammed it in between the lock and the doorframe and broke the gate open. “But how did you get here?”

Mafia wanted some of my properties. Locked me up here alone when I wouldn’t transfer ownership, Pete scrawled as he stepped out of the cell.

“Oh, man. We were really worried,” Prince said as everyone wrapped Pete up in a group hug. “Wait a second. Does that mean there are mobsters nearby?”

No. Upper levels of the base are abandoned. Everyone is in lower levels.

Prince’s brow furrowed. Pete looked at him quizzically.

“The entrance malfunctioned. We can’t get out the way we came in,” Prince explained. Pete looked pensive now.

Only other way out is elevator on lowest level. Leads to south exit. Don’t know exactly where it is, but we would have to keep going down. Pete pointed at the other end of the jailhouse. More stairs. They were going to be seeing a lot of those.

The last thing Prince wanted to do was to delve into a criminal hideout, but they didn’t have any other choice. “How deep before we start running into mobsters?” he asked Pete as they walked to the staircase and descended further.

Pretty deep. Not sure about the exact level. I don’t th

Pete stopped writing as they reached the next area and looked around warily. It was some kind of common area, just as derelict as the previous rooms, but something felt off. Prince squinted through the dim lighting. The coffee table was caked with dust, but one handprint-shaped patch was clean.

Someone was in there with them.

Chapter II – Hackerman

Monica guarded herself with her first aid kit as a masked mafioso stood up from behind the couch and swung his crowbar at her. The plastic case cracked, but she retaliated with a jab to his gut with her own weapon. He clutched his abdomen in pain as Monica brought her weapon down on his head, knocking him out.

The guy wasn’t alone. Four of his buddies emerged from hiding while Monica was fending off the first, and they rushed the kids all at once. Pete hastily grabbed the crowbar that the downed mobster had dropped. He attacked one who was coming up on Prince’s side. He and Hadrian were kept busy by a couple of other mafiosos from the front. There was a brief scuffle before Pete managed to land a headshot and knock him unconscious as well.

Hadrian tried to lunge at one of his attackers, but the mobster hooked his crowbar around Hadrian’s own weapon and yanked it out of his hands. With nothing to defend himself, all he could do was shield his face with his arms. There was a crunch as the mobster’s crowbar met his forearm. He cried out in pain. “Fuck! Not again!”

The group withdrew further into the room as the remaining mobsters closed in on them. As their aggressors engaged them again, Prince fumbled and dropped his still-burning lighter amidst the chaos. The dust on the plush carpet ignited instantly. A blockade of smoke and fire materialized surprisingly quickly between him and the mafiosos.

“Come on!” urged Prince retreated through the next door. The dog darted ahead of him, spooked by the flames. Pete and the kids followed, but the mobsters had to fall back to the jailhouse to escape the inferno. It had been a quick fight, but Prince was shaking from the adrenaline. He turned to Pete.

“You said the upper levels were abandoned!”

Pete shrugged his shoulders and shook his head cluelessly. They are! I don’t know what they’re doing here, he wrote.

The blaze cast a flickering orange glow into the hallway they’d ended up in. At least this place looked empty. Monica made Hadrian sit on the ground and started fixing a splint to his arm. He sighed in defeat. They’d only just got here, and he was already out of the fight.

Prince cautiously opened the door next to them. A janitorial closet. He’d lost his lighter in the last room. They weren’t going to be able to see a thing once they left the fire behind, so he went inside and investigated the shelves.

He picked up a flashlight and brushed the dust off. “Lucky us.”

“See if it turns on first,” said Monica skeptically.

Prince flipped the switch. He smacked the flashlight into the palm of his hand a few times when it didn’t turn on. Nothing happened. “Damn it.”

He shoved the flashlight under his coat. Maybe they would come across some batteries later. As Monica finished patching up Hadrian’s arm, the group continued to the elevator on the other end of the hallway. Prince pushed the call button. “I don’t suppose this thing will take us out of here?”

Pete shook his head as the doors slid open. The control panel only contained deeper floors. His finger hovered over the button that would take them the lowest. They didn’t know precisely how far down the inhabited levels were, and he didn’t want to be jumped again as soon as the elevator reopened. He decided to select one of the higher ones. Better safe than sorry, Prince thought.

They said nothing as the elevator closed and took them downwards. They couldn’t see anything except the red LED display above the door. The floor number ticked into the negatives until it ground to a halt unexpectedly.

“Hold up. That’s not the level I chose,” Prince whispered. He could hear everyone shifting around in the dark as they prepared for the worst.

The doors opened. The person outside the elevator screamed and fumbled with his phone, almost dropping it. He clearly hadn’t been expecting to see anyone. Prince had his crowbar at the ready, but the guy was clad in a hoodie and jeans instead of one of the tailored suits that the mob usually wore.

“Uh… hi,” said Prince.

“Hey? You guys don’t look like mobsters,” the young man replied as he straightened his sunglasses.

“You don’t, either.”

“’Cause I’m not. What are you doing here if you aren’t one of them?” the stranger asked shiftily.

Prince shrugged. “We ran in here during a thunderstorm. Door malfunctioned. Now we’re trapped.”

The stranger buried his hands in his dark hair. “Are you fucking kidding me? The north exit is jammed? I snuck all the way up here for nothing!”

“You’re sneaking out? Were you a prisoner?” Monica probed.

“Ugh. Yeah, yeah, I was,” mumbled the man, who was now pacing around outside the elevator. “Name’s Helios-”

Hadrian snickered. Helios shot him a look.

“What? It’s a code name! I work for the government. I’m not supposed to tell people my real one.”

Hadrian rolled his eyes. “Sure, dude. Whatever.”

“OK, Helios… why were they keeping you down here?” asked Prince.

“I got abducted during the killing purge last year. They’ve been making me work for them. I’m a hacker,” Helios explained. “I managed to slip away from my station a while ago. They went batshit looking for me. It was a nightmare getting up here, and now I have to go all the way back down,” he groaned.

“Really? So you know where the south exit is,” Prince surmised.

Helios held up his phone. “Yeah. I got a blueprint of this place.” He stepped into the elevator with them, but he pursed his lips when he saw which level they had been heading towards. “Nah. That’s the first populated level. The guards would’ve rocked your shit. Get outta this thing,” he urged, gesturing for them to follow him into the floor they were at: a computer room. Most of the computers were powered off and missing keyboards, save for one, which had been plugged into one of the power outlets. Helios must have been using it.

“Any chance you can fix the door upstairs? I think it short circuited,” Monica inquired.

“No shot. I’m a hacker. Not an electrician. But like I said, I know exactly where the south exit is,” Helios responded. The group looked at his phone as he pulled up his map of the base. He marked the spot where the exit was. This place had a lot more floors than Prince had expected.

“This is going to suck,” he murmured.

“Tell me about it. We gotta go on foot, too, ‘cause this elevator won’t take us to the right place,” said Helios as he beckoned them out of the computer lab.

The corridors here were tight and winding. Their footsteps echoed through the metal walls, rough with oxidization and lined with rusty pipes. Stagnant water still dripped from some of them.

Prince grew anxious as he followed Helios. They’d been walking for a while without reaching any stairs or elevators. “Helios, where are you taking us? We’re still on the same floor,” he questioned.

“Relax. We’re making a pit stop,” Helios replied, waving Prince’s concern away.

“Dude, we don’t have time-“

Helios shushed him. They were in front of a door with a round window. Prince peered over Helios’s shoulder to see inside. He’d taken them to a kitchen, and Prince realized that they did, in fact, need to eat.

“How do you know there’s still food in here?” he asked the hacker.

Helios shushed him again. “I came here while I was on the way to the top level. Lower your damn voice. There’s someone inside,” he hissed.

Prince took a closer look through the round window. The oven was on. There was a mobster leaning against the countertop, facing away from them. Only one. “What is that guy doing all the way up here?” he whispered.

“No idea, but he’s alone. Just go bonk him,” Helios encouraged.

Prince moved forward Helios stepped out of the way. He put a hand on the door and gradually eased it open. Thankfully, the hinges didn’t squeak, so he crept inside until he was right behind the mafioso. Prince raised his crowbar.

The door clicked shut. The mobster whirled around at the noise. Prince faltered. His mouth hung open slightly in disbelief as he recognized the mafioso.

“Isaiah?”

Isaiah was scrambling for his own crowbar, but he paused when he heard his name. “Prince?”

Prince let his arm fall to his side. “What the actual shit? You’re still working for the mob?” he exclaimed.

“Why the hell are you in the base?” Isaiah blurted out in an equally baffled tone.

The door creaked as Helios edged it open. “Prince? You good?”

Hadrian pushed him out of the way with his good arm. “Nice to see a familiar face,” he said.

Isaiah looked even more confounded as Pete and the kids emerged. “Seriously, what are you doing here?”

Prince was beginning to get tired of recounting that. “There’s a storm outside. Ran in here. North entrance short circuited. Stuck. Explain why you’re here,” he demanded.

“Because I work here, dumbass,” Isaiah snapped. “You can’t just leave the mafia. They hunt deserters down… not to mention that I got fired from Builder Brothers. The owner found out I had ties to the mob, and now this is the only job I can get,” he muttered bitterly.

Prince scowled, but he supposed Isaiah had a point. “OK, I get it, but why is Larry still letting you work here? You helped us deactivate him.”

“He’s not in charge anymore. Haven’t seen him since that sewer brawl, actually. Someone else took over his duties,” Isaiah revealed.

Prince’s eyebrows shot up. “But a bunch of mobsters ran off with his body. It was on the news. They must have reactivated him, right?”

“Nope. He didn’t show up here, as far as I know. No idea what happened to him.”

The kids glanced at each other uneasily. “Who’s in charge now, then?” said Prince.

“Never met her, but her name is Mary Gearwise.”

“Gearwise? Let me guess, another automaton? Where are all these killer robots coming from?”

Isaiah shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I’m just a grunt… wait, aren’t you the hacker that escaped a while ago?” he realized, pointing at Helios.

The hacker looked at him warily. “Maybe. Your friend isn’t gonna turn me in, right?” he asked Prince.

“I ain’t no snitch,” laughed Isaiah.

“Then will you help us get out of the base?” Prince implored.

Isaiah’s smile faded. “Man, do you have any idea what they’ll do to me if I get caught with you guys?”

“Come on, at least help us until we start running into goons. You can wear your mask. They won’t know who you are.”

The mobster picked up his mask from the counter. He mulled Prince’s words over as he looked at it. “I guess so.”

The oven dinged. “On a lighter note… pizza’s done.” Isaiah grabbed an old mitt and pulled the serving board out and placed it on the countertop.

Prince had forgotten about the oven. “Why the hell are you making a pizza all the way up here?” Helios questioned incredulously, gesturing around at the soiled kitchen.

Isiah scratched his neck. “I got hungry, and I didn’t wanna share it with the other guys, OK? So I took a frozen pizza up here.”

“You were gonna eat a whole pizza?”

“Shut up. You guys can have some if you want. You probably aren’t gonna get your hands on food again until you make it out of here,” Isaiah told everyone.

As they ate, the dog nudged the door open with his nose and squeezed through. He’d stayed outside, but it seemed that the smell of cooking had enticed him. Stephanie held out a slice of pizza and tried to coax him closer. The dog gingerly took the slice in his mouth and devoured it ravenously.

Stephanie giggled. The dog let her pet him this time. She read the name tag on his collar. “Twado!” she squeaked. Twado wagged his tail.

The dog chewed on the empty pizza box as Isaiah looked at his watch. He pulled a flashlight out from under his jacket. “We gotta go. I better get you guys out of here while most of the base is asleep,” he said as he motioned for the group to follow him.

They reached a crossroad after a while. “Dude, the map says the closest stairwell is that way,” Helios contested, jabbing a thumb at the right passageway as Isaiah turned left.

“Your map is old. We never update those things. I know a short-”

Isaiah stopped talking mid-sentence as a rusty pipe on the ceiling ruptured in front of him. Scalding hot water hissed as it splashed against the cold metal floor and turned to steam. He didn’t fancy third-degree burns. “Damn. Guess we’re taking the long way around.”

They trailed through the narrow corridors behind the mobster in silence until Prince’s soles started to get sore. Too many stairs, but they eventually ran into a door.

Isaiah reached for the handle. “I think—SHIT!”

He jerked his hand back as the pipe next to the door burst as well, but it wasn’t water that erupted. Isaiah ripped his glove off and threw it to the ground as the substance ate through it.

“What the hell is that?” Price exclaimed.

“It’s the stuff we poured into the sewers last purge. Thought we shut off all the valves already. I need to quit coming up here,” muttered the mafioso. “Nevermind. There’s another way in this room.” He turned to the door on the opposite wall and pushed it open.

They were in an old dormitory. The entrance to the stairwell was on the other side of the room. “As I was saying, I think the next level down is… uh…”

Isaiah stopped in the middle of the room and went silent. He looked up at the entresol. More than a few doors were slightly ajar.

“Isaiah? Something wrong?” Prince whispered.

“The doors were shut last time I was here,” he whispered back.

It was another ambush. The mafiosos threw the dormitory doors open and jumped down from the entresol. Prince cried out as one of them landed on him. He lost his weapon as he wrestled on the floor with the aggressor and grunted in pain when he felt something sharp pierce his side. Twado ran over and clamped his fangs around the mafioso’s leg.

Isaiah hurriedly pulled his mask over his face as more mobsters jumped down and confronted him.

“Is that you, Isa-”

He silenced his colleague with a crowbar to the face before he could get his name out. The other two elected to simply charge at him and Helios without any pleasantries. He dropped his flashlight as they clashed.

Prince felt around for his crowbar in the dark as Twado dragged his attacker away. He heard a yelp Monica clocked the mobster on the head.

Pete stood in front of Hadrian and Stephanie as two more advanced on them. They laughed as they brandished their weapons. “Why don’t you put that crowbar down before you hurt yourself, old man?” one of them snickered. Hadrian covered his sister’s eyes.

Prince found his weapon as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He looked over at his uncle as one mobster seized his crowbar while the other delivered a strike to his head, but they turned around as he and Monica came up behind them. Prince tore the blade out of his side and drove it into one of the unsuspecting mobsters’ eyes. She screamed and reeled as Monica aimed a blow at the other mafioso, who sidestepped the hit, but now Prince was coming at him as well.

The mobster made a dash for the stairs, only to run into Isaiah. The two mobsters who’d been accosting him lay in a pile. Isaiah promptly sliced his associate’s throat open using a switchblade of his own. He clutched at the wound and gasped for air, but he could only cough and choke on his blood.

Isaiah scowled beneath his mask at all the noise his victim was making and shut him up with a sharp blow to the skull. He crumpled to the ground, still wheezing and spluttering while unconscious.

That was the last of them. Hadrian picked up Pete’s fallen sunglasses for him. He put them back on as Monica pulled Prince’s bloodied coat off.

“How bad is it?” Prince asked.

Monica grabbed the flashlight from the ground at held it up to inspect Prince’s wound. “Well, since you’re still standing, it’s probably not that deep. I’d put you on bed rest, but…”

She didn’t bother finishing. There was no time for bed rest in this place, of course. There was nothing she could do except clean it and stitch it up.

“They were waiting for us. How did they know you were here?” Isaiah wondered.

Prince shrugged. “We were attacked earlier as well on one of the top levels. I don’t suppose you have security cameras around here?”

“No. Not since…” Isaiah gestured at Helios.

“I knocked them offline while I was trying to escape,” the hacker said. “I know for a fact they’re still down. They couldn’t have seen you.”

Isaiah paced around the dormitory wordlessly as Monica sutured Prince’s wound shut, deep in thought. He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know what’s going on. We have to-”

He stopped talking as the mobster next to him stirred. There was a crunch as Isaiah stomped on his neck, killing him. Everyone else winced.

“What the hell, Isaiah? That’s not necessary,” Prince admonished.

“Yes, it was. He saw my face earlier. I told you I’m fucked if one of these assholes reports me.”

“He was already unconscious!”

Isaiah got up in Prince’s face, but Helios interrupted their spat before he could say anything. “You two better start getting along, ‘cause we need to make a plan,” he said as he nudged Isaiah away and planted himself between them. He gestured all around at the fallen mafiosos. “We’re gonna be running into plenty of these guys when we reach the bottom of those stairs.”

“Oh. Right. That’s what I was trying to tell you guys earlier. It’s a good thing we ended up in here, actually,” Isaiah said as he disappeared into one of the dorms. They heard him rooting around inside until he came out with a bunch of suits and masks slung over his shoulder, a little faded with age, but still wearable. He dumped them in a pile on the ground. “Ol’ reliable. Everyone put one of these things on.”

Prince pulled a duffel bag out of the pile while he was looking for something his size. “What’s this for?”

“That’s for Twado,” said Isaiah.

Twado gave him the side-eye.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. The boss doesn’t allow dogs in here. You’ll blow our cover if anyone sees you.”

The dog allowed Isaiah to lower him into the bag, but then the group encountered the same problem as last time. Stephanie was sticking out like a sore thumb.

“Maybe we can hide her in the middle of the group again?” Prince suggested.

Isaiah shook his head. “It’s not gonna work. The hallways aren’t wide enough.”

The mafioso drummed his fingers on the strap of the duffel bag. Nobody else was offering up any ideas.

“I know what we can do,” he spoke hesitantly. Everyone looked at him.

Prince blinked. “Well? Spit it out.”

Isaiah held up a hand. “Don’t get mad at me for it.”

Prince’s eyes narrowed.

“First of all, this base is part of a sex trafficking ring,” said Isaiah.

“You better not be about to say any dumb shit.”

Isaiah held up both hands now. “Just listen! We pretend,” he continued, enunciating the ‘pretend’ very clearly, “that Stephanie is one of the girls we abducted—”

“You guys take little girls for that?” Hadrian admonished.

“Look, man, I just work in the canteen. This place didn’t even have a human trafficking branch when I got here. As I was saying, we pretend she’s a…”

Isaiah trailed off as Prince stared daggers.

“Prisoner,” the mobster said slowly. When the elder brother didn’t throttle him, he kept talking. “The shortest path to the exit involves one of the, uh, filming areas, so that’ll be her excuse to be there.”

Helios looked at his blueprint. “He’s right. There’s gonna be another elevator at the end of the filming area’s hallway.” He zoomed in on the location.

Isaiah leaned over to inspect the map as well. “We can ride it to that detention level and act like we’re taking her to a holding cell,” he said as he pointed out a floor below the filming area, “but we can veer away towards the west edge of the base. That place is as deserted as the upper levels. We’ll make our way through there until we reach the lowest level. After that… it gets more difficult.”

“No kidding,” Helios agreed. “That’s where the boss lives. The whole floor is teeming with goons, but the ventilation shafts that far underground are so big that we can fit through them. So, we sneak over to where the elevator is. Get out of the vents while nobody’s looking. Ride it all the way up to the south exit. No sweat,” he schemed as he drew a path with his finger from their location to the exit.

Prince still looked vaguely pissed off, but he nodded. “OK. Fine. Sounds like a plan.”

Chapter III – Incident Report

Prince squinted as his troupe reached the bottom of the stairwell. The fluorescent lights were harsh on his eyes after they’d wandered around in the dark for hours. He scrunched up his face in revulsion as the smell hit him. The filming area reeked of stale sweat and perhaps other fluids that he preferred not to think about.

“There,” Isaiah whispered to Prince, pointing at the elevator on the other end of the corridor. “Hold onto Stephanie and walk in front of us.”

Prince took Stephanie gently by the hand and followed Isaiah down the corridor.

They were alone at first, but Prince was startled as a door next to them opened. A pair of mobsters shoved a girl into the hall with nothing but a worn-out blanket around her shoulders. She stared through Prince with dead eyes as the mafiosos forced her onwards.

The two groups didn’t speak as they passed each other, but one of the mafiosos brushed a lock of dark hair out of Stephanie’s face and leered at her with yellowed teeth as he strolled by. Prince’s hand tightened around his crowbar until his knuckles were white.

Time felt like it was passing agonizingly slowly as they walked. Prince’s face darkened as they passed another door. He could hear the sounds of a struggle inside. A scream pierced the air. He came to a halt as he unwillingly recalled the purge he’d endured. He felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced back at Isaiah. His face was concealed, but Prince could tell the mobster was stone-faced from his eyes. So was his family, staring back at him through their masks. The sight was unnerving, even though he knew it was only them.

“Keep going. There’s nothing you can do for her now,” whispered Isaiah.

Prince turned stiffly and continued on their path.

There were no more disturbances. They made it to the elevator without any resistance. Isaiah punched in the access code and pressed the button for the detention level.

Helios sighed deeply as the doors closed. “That was unpleasant.”

Nobody was in the mood to respond.

Isaiah spoke up as they neared their destination floor. “We have to get the Warden to open the entrance for us. There’s a one-way exit in the holding area that leads to the west edge. No one is allowed to use it, but the cams are off, so who cares. Just let me do the talking. And one more thing: the audio feed is still running, so keep quiet until we get out of there,” he told everyone as the elevator reopened. The mafioso took the lead this time.

The Warden was resting his elbow on the desk with his face in his palm. He’d been looking at his reflection in his dimmed computer screen as he styled his fiery orange mohawk with a free hand, but his lidded eyes followed Isaiah as he approached. He stared at the newcomers, uninterested in initiating a conversation with them.

“Markus. New inmate,” Isaiah said.

Markus turned his eyes to the computer on his table. “The boss didn’t tell me of any new arrivals today,” he replied flatly.

“We haven’t notified her about this one yet. You’re the first to know. Good for you. Open up,” demanded Isaiah.

The Warden lifted his head from his hand. He narrowed his eyes again, now in skepticism instead of tiredness. Prince put himself in front of Hadrian, hopefully obscuring the boy’s splint. “Why did a little girl need five people escorting her here?”

“What the hell am I being interrogated for? This is the rest of my patrol group. We just got back. Quit wasting my time and open the fucking door,” Isaiah snapped.

Markus sighed. “Whatever. Cell 047,” he told the mobster as he stood up. The guy was even taller than Isaiah, Prince realized, and he was wide enough that he had to leave his too-small tuxedo jacket unbuttoned. He entered a string of numbers into the keypad next to the entrance. The blast door screeched open. “Get out of my face,” said the Warden as he waved them inside.

Prince looked straight ahead. Whatever was behind all the steel doors lining the passageway, he didn’t want to see. Markus closed the entrance behind them as they walked away.

Everyone did as Isaiah had said and kept silent until they reached the exit. A lone spider was busy spinning a web on the doorframe. Tough luck for him. The door squealed as Isaiah opened it and beckoned everyone through.

“Alright, we’re in the clear,” he said after he shut the exit.

The concrete corridor ahead looked strangely sterile at first, but a thin film of dust had settled on the ground upon closer inspection. Nobody had been here in a while.

“Where are we?” Prince asked.

Isaiah took off his mask and looked back at him as they made their way through the hall. “It used to be the chem sector when Larry was in charge. Miss Gearwise decommissioned it after she took over. She’s more interested in biotech and cybernetics, apparently. Most of her stuff is on the bottom floor, though.”

Prince peered through the windowpanes in the doors as Isaiah let Twado out of the duffel bag. Glassware and machinery were set up on the tables as if the users had left in a hurry. Binders full of notes and documents were still open on the desks. Even the lights were still on.

“Looks like she couldn’t wait to shut this place down,” Prince remarked.

Isaiah didn’t look at him now. He just shrugged.

Prince wished the mafioso would talk a little more, because the silence here was even more eerie than it had been in the derelict upper levels. The laboratory looked too clean and orderly. It felt wrong for it to be deserted. He was almost glad when the blindingly white walls gave way to rough stone and steel floors as they moved yet deeper into the base.

They were surrounded by a mess of tubing and shafts as they walked. There were no walls here at all to hide the plumbing and ventilation systems.

“Where are we now?” Prince wondered out loud.

“Still in the chem lab. Larry wasn’t one for frills. He didn’t bother with dressing the place up when he expanded it downwards,” Isaiah answered.

“You know a lot about that guy. Didn’t you only know him for a few days before we took him out?” Hadrian remarked. Isaiah shot him a glare over his shoulder, but not before Monica elbowed her little brother. The last thing they needed was to piss their guide off, even if he might be keeping secrets.

The mobster’s dark irises looked black in the low lighting. “You know I hate it when people ask too many questions, right? I hear the other mafiosos talking about him sometimes, is all,” he claimed as he turned away.

Maybe it was for the best that he and the rest of the group didn’t talk much. The sound of dripping water and air flowing through the vents suited Prince just fine now, but after a while, his ears picked up something that was neither of those. Thumping? It wasn’t quite loud enough for him to tell.

“Do you guys hear that?”

Isaiah paused. “Hear what?”

They all listened, but whatever noise Prince heard had stopped now. “Nevermind. It’s gone.”

Isaiah pursed his lips in annoyance at the interruption and continued forward. Prince didn’t notice any more strange sounds, and he’d started to think he’d been imagining it until he heard it again, much louder this time. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked up. The rusted ventilation panel above them was starting to buckle. “Get back!” Isaiah whispered harshly.

The old screws snapped apart and the vent gave way. Out tumbled a stout man in a trench coat. He grunted in discomfort as he landed in a heap in front of the group. He scrambled to his feet after he glanced up and realized he wasn’t alone, but his panic was short-lived as he beheld the bizarre caravan in front of him. They stared back, equally perplexed. The guy looked like he’d been ripped straight out of a generic mystery film.

Isaiah had pulled his mask over his face once more, but he cautiously removed it again when he saw that it wasn’t one of his own associates who had shown up. “Who the hell are you?”

The man hesitated, seemingly reluctant to reveal that, but Pete pushed his way to the front of the gathering. The stranger’s face lit up.

“Peter! It’s been too long!” he exclaimed as he slapped his hand on Pete’s shoulder. “But what are you doing here?”

Pete scribbled a few sentences on his whiteboard. Kidnapped. My nieces and nephews are trapped here as well. North exit broke down. Looking for the other one.

“The north exit malfunctioned? How odd,” the stranger pondered.

Pete turned back towards the group and wrote again.

“Detective Bradley Beans,” Prince read out loud.

Bradley snapped out of his musings. “Hm? Oh, yes, that’s me. I was assigned to spy on the mob’s activities here. I’ve been using the ventilation system to stay out of sight, but…”

He eyed the broken vent.

“Perhaps I ought to lose a few pounds. Very fortunate that I was in the west edge.” Bradley picked his fallen umbrella up from the ground. “Anyway, Pete here was a coworker of mine before he retired. Good to see you again, old man,” said the Detective, patting the old man on the back.

“Wow. How long have you been hiding here?” Prince asked.

“Almost a year. I arrived soon after the last purge. I heard all about your battle with Mr. Clockturn. Very remarkable, though I wish the national guard would have moved in a bit quicker… kids shouldn’t have to wrangle crime lords,” grumbled Bradley, shaking his head. His gaze shifted to Isaiah. “Who is your, er, companion?”

“This is Isaiah. He helped us during the purge. And now he’s helping us find our way out of here,” Prince explained.

“I see. Well, there’s no use in dallying here, then. I was actually on my way out as well. Care to lead the way, Isaiah?” Bradley invited, motioning for the mobster to go on ahead of him. He did.

Maybe he shouldn’t pry, but Prince was curious. “So… you’ve been investigating the mob? What did you see?” he asked as they walked.

The Detective’s face grew serious. “One of the reasons I was sent here was to find out what happened to Mr. Clockturn after his body was taken. I already had a hunch that Miss Gearwise had a hand in his disappearance. The evidence I’ve compiled confirmed it. He’s in here somewhere.”

Trepidation rippled through the group.

“I haven’t seen him, but I overheard the personnel in the cybernetics sector speaking of him. The papers I managed to nick suggest Miss Gearwise has been performing experiments on him, and it doesn’t seem that he’s a willing participant.”

“What kind of experiments?” Prince questioned.

Bradley’s brow was crumpled in worry. “The documents didn’t detail their nature or purpose, I’m afraid. I went looking for some that did, but I came up empty handed… Miss Gearwise has put a lot of effort into keeping her activities secret. I suspect he’s being held in the bottommost level, but it was too risky to go poking around there.”

Hadrian rolled his eyes. “Sucks to be him, but what is he? Who is making these freaks?”

Bradley opened his mouth to answer, but then he frowned, stopping himself. “It’s classified info. I assure you that law enforcement has it handled.”

There was a door in their way, but it refused to open when Isaiah put his hand on the push bar. Prince looked at the keypad next to it. “Please tell me you know the code.”

“No need for that.” Isaiah dug through his pocket for his keycard and inserted it into the side of the pad. The door unlocked with a click, and he shoved it open with unneeded force. The mobster had been quiet, but Prince observed that he was becoming more and more vexed as Bradley recounted his findings. Cops and gangsters weren’t exactly friends, of course, but he thought Isaiah’s reactions were still a little over the top.

Isaiah went ahead, but everyone else was reluctant to enter the new area. A metal bridge was suspended over a wide pool of roiling red liquid.

Prince stepped onto the crossing uncertainly. The fumes stung his eyes. “Isaiah? What is that?”

The mafioso turned around. “This is where we made the chemical we emptied into the sewers.” His shoes clanked softly against the bridge’s metal lattices as he continued across. “We’ll be fine. Just don’t fall in,” he reminded Prince. He seemed pretty sure of himself, so everybody followed.

They heard heavy footsteps approaching long before they could reach the other side. Isaiah redonned his mask. “This is the worst possible time.” He looked back at the door they’d entered from.

The Warden’s huge shadow approached. He kicked the entrance open and stepped onto the bridge, followed closely by four of his pals. “I knew you guys were up to some bullshit,” he muttered as he motioned for the other mafiosos to charge.

Markus looked like he could drop all of them on his own, but Prince knew they wouldn’t make it to the exit before their assailants reached them. His fist clenched around his weapon. He might be able to shove the big guy off the bridge if he was deft enough…

Isaiah had different plans. He jammed his crowbar through a joint in the bridge and gritted his teeth as he strained to pry the two sections apart. Realizing what the mobster was doing, Prince knelt down to help out. They jumped back as soon as they heard the rusty screws break.

Markus held out his arm to stop his cronies from going any further. The bridge section in front of him slanted dangerously towards the corrosive liquid far below.

The Warden shook his head. “Back up. I have a better idea,” he said as he ushered the other mobsters back into the hallway.

Isaiah’s eyes widened. “MOVE!” he shouted as he bolted towards the exit.

Too slow. The lock engaged right before he touched the door. He punched it in frustration. “Damn it!” he roared as an alarm bell rang through the chamber.

“Isaiah? What does that mean?” Prince asked as the hazard lights on the walls blinked on. He looked at Monica as she tapped his shoulder and saw that she was staring at the red liquid under them. It was rising. He looked up at Isaiah again.

“The doors seal automatically when someone brings the liquid level up.” Isaiah pointed at the console attached to the wall. “We have to reactivate the drawdown system, but I don’t know the passcode,” he explained hastily.

Prince’s gaze darted between Isaiah and the keypad. “Won’t your keycard work?”

“Fucking look, man! There’s no slot for the keycard here!”

Helios pushed him out of the way. “Let me see what I can do,” he said as he fished a USB drive out of his sling bag and inserted it into one of the console’s ports. Prince heard him typing as fast as he could while the caustic chemicals hissed and simmered against the bridge’s supports.

“Uh, Isaiah? Aren’t the beams corrosion resistant?” Hadrian asked, his voice quivering.

Isaiah kept his eyes on the framework beneath them as it sizzled. “Yeah…? But we were never allowed to bring the liquid level this high back when the chem lab was-”

He stopped speaking abruptly as the scaffolds creaked and the bridge started to tilt. Everyone shuffled around anxiously, inching towards the locked door. Twado ran back and forth across the bridge frenetically, but there was nowhere to go.

“Quit bunching up like sardines! You guys are gonna collapse this thing faster,” Monica warned. “Helios? How much longer?”

“Chill. I almost got it,” the hacker replied as the bridge continued to waver.

Prince heard something snap below them as the console beeped and the alarms shut off. They all let out a collective sigh of relief as the liquid began receding, but the support beams were already done for. Helios was nearly flattened as everyone barreled through the exit. They heard the bridge splash into the chemicals behind them.

Markus had been watching them through the window on the other door. He slammed his fist against the wall as he saw the intruders escape before moving out of sight.

“That was a bit too close for comfort,” Bradley breathed.

Isaiah glared at him. “Yeah. It was. The vent you guys are looking for is right at the end of the tunnel.” He said, jabbing a thumb behind him. “Find the elevator yourselves. I’m outta here.”

“What? Come on, man,” Prince implored, reaching out to stop him. “At least point out the right shaft-“

The mobster shrugged him off. “No! You guys have dragged me too far into your shit,” he spat. “And Markus saw your faces, you know. He’s probably on his way to tell Miss Gearwise all about you, so get going,” he finished, waving them off. Isaiah turned away into a connecting corridor and left them alone.

Chapter IV – Interlude

The apertures of Larry’s optical sensors contracted in discomfort as the lights switched on. He heard Mary’s high heels clicking softly against the floor as she stepped into his view, a lab coat thrown over her viridian dress. The disgraced crime boss struggled in his restraints, but that hadn’t worked before, and it wasn’t working now. Mary tittered at his efforts as Larry sighed and went limp on the operating table.

“Good evening, Larry. Or morning, rather. I think it’s past midnight,” she laughed, her tone maddeningly cavalier in contrast to what she was about to do. A glower was Larry’s only response.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that.” Mary walked out of his field of vision and opened one of the cabinets in the operating room. Larry could only listen to her preparing the necessary apparatus, her tools clinking against the steel tray. “All I’ve done is try to help you, and all I get in return is insults and vitriol.”

A few wisps of steam seeped from the ventilation slits on Larry’s face. He’d heard Mary voice her false concern for him too many times. “Who do you think you’re fooling?” he growled.

Larry heard the flames roar indignantly in Mary’s firebox. The tools on her tray rattled as she set it down on the stand next to the surgical table forcefully. She wasn’t smiling any more as she walked to the head of the table. She placed her hands on either side of him and leaned in.

“Stop behaving as if you don’t understand me, Larry. You were deactivated by a pack of children and allowed the purge to end early. You are worthless to this organization as you are. You were weak and I fixed you, whether you and your overblown ego can admit it or not,” she hissed, her breath blisteringly hot against his metallic skin. It would have been painful back when he’d still had flesh to melt… but that was a long time ago.

Larry clenched his fists at her words. His claws grated against the palms of his hands. “Overblown ego? You’re the one who painted your casing,” he spat, sneering at the Mary’s conceit.

Mary smirked, her moodiness fading as abruptly as it had appeared. “Ha! Am I vain for taking care of myself? You look like you haven’t been polished in years,” she taunted. The bright lights glinted on her pearly white coating as she stood up straight and returned to her tray of implements. “But I think that’s enough small talk.”

She reached out and loosened the buttons on his shirt. Larry snapped his metal jaws at her hand, but she pulled away before he could catch her fingers in his teeth.

He heard Mary pick up one of her tools. A mechanical buzzing filled the operating theater. He strained against his fetters again. This was the moment he’d been dreading for so long.

Mary loomed over him, the ghost of a smile on her lime green lips. The surgical lamp formed a halo of harsh fluorescent light around her as she brought the metal cutter to his chest.

Chapter V – Judgement Hall

Prince let his arm fall limply to his side as he watched Isaiah disappear around the bend. Helios patted him on the shoulder once the mobster was out of earshot. “We’ll be fine without him. I told you I know where the elevator is. Let’s go,” he said, gently urging Prince to start down the other hallway.

Helios led them now, and he walked fast. There was no telling how long they had before Markus tipped the boss off to their whereabouts. They didn’t have any trouble finding the vent, but Helios didn’t have anything to open it with. “Anyone got a screwdriver handy? I, uh, left mine in my hoodie when we got changed,” he admitted.

Bradley searched his overcoat for his screwdriver, but he gave Helios an odd look as he did. “Agent Helios? Is that you?”

The hacker’s jaw tightened. “Just get the vent open, old man.”

Prince cocked an eyebrow. “You guys know each other?”

Helios looked at Bradley disdainfully as the Detective knelt down and unscrewed the panel. “This asshole was one of the guys who arrested me a few years back. I used to be a part of Anonymous.”

Bradley’s face grew sour at the hacker’s enmity, but he ignored him.

Oblivious to the tension, Hadrian’s eyes lit up. “Whoa! You were in Anonymous? That’s cool as fuck!”

“But you work for the government now,” Prince pointed out. “How did that happen?”

“They gave me a choice when they brought me in. Work for them or go to the slammer. I think it’s pretty obvious which one I chose.”

The last screw clinked to the ground. Bradley moved the vent cover aside and gestured wordlessly for Helios to enter first.

Stephanie faltered in front of the opening, her face blank. She’d been growing quieter and quieter as they ventured further into the base, retreating into herself, but Prince didn’t know what he could do except keep her close. He crouched down to her level and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Monica and I will go in front of you, OK? Just follow us. We’ll be…”

He stopped himself. He didn’t know when they were going to be home.

“We’ll be out of here soon. I promise.”

She nodded silently. The eldest siblings went first. Stephanie slowly clambered into the duct after them.

The passage was wide enough that they didn’t have to crawl, but they were almost bent double as they wormed through the cramped shaft. Prince almost thought he could discern distant screams, but maybe it was only the air rustling in his ears as it rushed through the tunnel around them.

He followed close behind Helios, whose nose was buried in his phone, examining the map as he walked. Prince could see the rooms they were passing through the narrow slots in the vent panels. Dorms. Armories. Warehouses. Computer labs. Workshops and laboratories. He paused as they passed an office.

Monica nearly bumped into him. “Prince? What’s the hold up?” she whispered. Helios halted and glanced back to look at him quizzically as well when he heard him stop walking.

Prince peered through the ventilation slits. “It’s an office. I see Markus.”

Helios and Monica crowded in next to Prince to take a look for themselves. Markus wasn’t alone. They couldn’t make out the conversation, but the Warden was speaking to a woman noticeably taller than him. Her hair, tied into a bun, was unnaturally reflective, and so was her pale opaline skin.

“It’s the boss,” Helios murmured.

Bradley piped up from the back of the lineup, careful to keep his voice low. “We don’t have time to dawdle here, then. We’ve got to get to the elevator before they figure out where we are.”

Prince lingered for a moment longer. Mary didn’t look too pleased with whatever the Warden was telling her. She glanced towards the vent. Her emerald LED eyes met with his for a instant. Prince’s blood froze in his veins.

Mary’s eyes flitted back to Markus before he could react, though, and there was no change in her hard visage. Maybe he was mistaken. She hadn’t seen him. He told himself so, at least.

“Dude? You okay?”

Prince was brought out of his thoughts by Helios’s voice. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Uh, Bradley is right. Let’s hurry up,” he stammered, suddenly very eager to get moving again.

Helios didn’t delay. They weren’t far from their target now, and it wasn’t long before he spied their exit elevator from behind a vent.

“There!” he whispered, but he hesitated. “I don’t see anyone, though. Is this place always so empty?”

The hall was dark and devoid of mobsters. Nobody could answer Helios’s question, of course. Prince wished Isaiah was here to tell them whether it was shady or not. Either way, this simplified things. They didn’t have to figure out how to get out of the ventilation system without looking suspicious.

They couldn’t reach the screws from the inside of the vent, so Helios stuck his crowbar in between the wall and the panel and pried until the cover snapped open. Everyone squeezed out, but when they stood before the elevator, they saw that none of the buttons or indicators were lit. Prince pushed one. Nothing happened.

There was a shrill bout of audio feedback as the intercoms in the hall switched on. The corridor reverberated with a woman’s bitter, derisive laughter. “Don’t bother. I already disabled it. You won’t be going anywhere, boy. You and your friends have broken into my base and caused me a lot of trouble.”

Prince was too cowed to respond. Monica spoke instead.

“We didn’t break in! Your shitty door malfunctioned and trapped us inside. We don’t even want to be here. Let us leave,” Monica demanded.

“I don’t think so. After all, how many of my guards have you massacred?” Mary reminded them.

“Oh, please. You talk like these kids were the instigators,” Bradley rebuked.

“Detective Beans! I knew there was an informant in here. And now I don’t even need to hunt you down,” Mary gloated. “You came here looking for Larry, didn’t you? You can forget about that. I doubt you’ll be living long enough to see him.”

The blast door at the other end of the hallway opened up. The lights blinked on. The group realized that they weren’t as alone as they thought. They could see the silhouettes of mobsters through the windows lining the corridor, glaring at them through their uncanny purge masks.

“This should be fun,” quipped Mary. The intercom switched off with a thunk.

With no other choice, the group hesitantly made their way to the door. Heat radiated from the adjoining room, though it turned out that calling it a room was an understatement. The cavern was gigantesque. The walls on either side were thick metal. The jagged granite on the opposite side of the entrance was left unrefined, save for the wall of the control room and the mezzanine that Mary was standing upon, glowering down at them from high above. Molten lava churned below the metal platform ahead of them, linked to their door by nothing except a rickety rope bridge. Prince was reluctant to walk across. The thing didn’t look like it would hold their combined weight.

There were footsteps from their rear. The mafiosos were skulking towards them now, brandishing their weapons, compelling them forward.

They were boxed in, so Prince took a tentative step onto the bridge. The boards creaked as he walked onto the platform. The bridge gave way and fell into the lava after everyone had crossed—one of the mobsters had severed the ropes with his knife behind them. Prince looked up at Mary, wondering what her plan was. He couldn’t see much more than her glowing eyes in the darkness overhead.

“Ah, we meet at last… though it seems that some of your allies have deserted you,” Mary laughed. Her voice was shrill and tinny compared to Larry’s baritone, but it echoed through the cave all the same.

They glanced around at each other. She was right. Prince hadn’t been paying attention, but Helios and Uncle Pete had not followed them in.

“No matter. My subordinates will deal with them,” she continued. With that out of the way, Mary looked the gathering up and down as she leaned on her crowbar. “You’re aware there were firearms in the supply depots, right? I know you passed a few of those on your way here,” she told them, quirking an eyebrow.

Prince wasn’t too sad that they’d missed the guns—the rounds would probably ricochet right off Mary’s casing anyway—but Mary’s jeering was making him more annoyed than afraid. “Did you bring us in here for a fight or to talk shit at us?”

Mary narrowed her eyes at his provocation. She beckoned one of the operatives inside the control room. Markus came out and handed her violin to her. She placed it beneath her chin and drew her crowbar across the strings, producing a poignant melody, and Prince immediately heard burbling from the pipeline at the edge of the platform. There was a thin scraping noise as the valve’s handwheel turned on its own.

Everyone retreated towards the other end of the platform as lava spilled out of the pipe, but it streamed until they were backed up to the very edge. Any closer and the heat would start to sear them.

However, as they teetered on the edge, the valve screeched shut and the lava flow spluttered out. The group glanced around at each other, both relieved and confused.

There was a discordant twang Mary’s music faltered. Bewilderment crossed her sharp features. It appeared that she didn’t know what was happening, either. She started to play again after a moment, but the valve made a stubborn scraping noise, refusing to reopen.

Mary scowled deeply. She played a different tune this time. The lava started to drain, but their respite was short-lived as she thrust her violin back into Markus’s hands and jumped down from the mezzanine. There was a resounding bang as her high heels met steel, sending a tremor across the platform.

“Let’s dance.”

Chapter VI – Gearwise

Clang. Whirr. Prince had heard that once before, but now he was ready for it as Mary bolted at him, buzzsaws unsheathed. The blades whined in his ear as he rolled out of the way. He managed to keep all his blood inside him this time, at least for the moment.

Prince didn’t waste time in retaliating, lunging at Mary with his crowbar as she retracted her saws. She didn’t look as tough as Larry. He thought he might be able to take her down the old-fashioned way, but he was quickly disillusioned as his weapon bounced off of her casing harmlessly, barely even chipping her paint.

Mary responded in kind, and her blow sent him off the edge of the platform, but he managed to grab onto the rim, narrowly avoiding a fiery death. Winded, he wheezed and gasp for air as he gingerly dragged himself back to safety… well, relative safety. His ribs were aching like hell.

Hadrian started towards the automaton, but Bradley held an arm out to stop him. “Don’t be reckless. Your arm is injured. Stay out of this and keep your sister safe,” the Detective told him, nodding at Stephanie. The girl held onto her brother’s leg tightly.

Twado rushed at Mary instead, gnashing his teeth, evidently furious at her for striking Prince. She must not have wanted her gilded crowbar to touch the mangy thing, because her lip curled in disgust as she delivered a swift kick to his side. A few of the kids winced as they heard a crack. The dog yelped as he slid across the platform and lay still. Bradley hurried over to check on him.

The dog had diverted Mary’s attention. Maybe Monica had the chance to turn her wind-up key. She tried to edge around the automaton while she was occupied with Twado and reached up to grab it, but she’d barely touched her fingertip to the key before Mary turned abruptly and snatched Monica by the wrist in a crushing grip. She flung the girl at Prince as if she were as light as a ragdoll, and Prince had only just climbed back onto the platform when Monica collided with him, sending both of them off the edge again.

Prince caught the rim of the stage again. Monica could only grab hold of the cuff of Prince’s jeans. He tried to pull himself up, but it was impossible this time with the added weight.

Bradley stood up from where Twado was—the dog seemed fine now—and ran towards them as they dangled from the rim, but Mary sauntered into his path.

Mary opened her mouth, probably to expound another snide remark, but she was cut off before she got so much as a word out. Bradley wasted no time in striking out with his umbrella. Prince thought the guy was about to get knocked out cold, but he must have been even stronger than he looked, because Mary staggered marginally as she blocked the hit with her crowbar.

“That’s another charge of resisting arrest, Miss Gearwise,” said Bradley through gritted teeth. She just laughed wryly.

While Bradley engaged the automaton, Twado bounded to the edge of the platform and grabbed Prince’s sleeve with his teeth, slowly and steadily towing him and Monica up.

Bradley tried to bring his umbrella down onto Mary’s head, but she caught it in her hand. The Detective tried to yank it out of her grasp. She held on.

He recognized too late that he had no way to parry her crowbar now. Mary swung for Bradley’s skull. He reacted quick and tried to evade the blow, but it still clipped the side of his head, knocking his hat askew. He stumbled backwards and clutched his temple, dazed.

Mary grinned viciously and raised her weapon to finish him off, but the look was wiped off her face as someone wrenched her wind-up key. She hissed in displeasure and froze up for a moment as her gears seized, but her disorientation didn’t last long.

The automaton spun around with her smirk replaced with a look of acute loathing. She lashed out and raked Prince across the face with her sharp fingernails before he could respond, leaving several long, bloody gashes behind. A guttural snarl escaped from Mary’s lips as she did, as if it was gravely insulting that the boy would even try to lay his filthy fingers on her key.

She didn’t have time to assault Prince any further, though. Bradley had already come to his senses. He adjusted his hat. Mary glanced over her shoulder as she heard the Detective’s footsteps on the steel stage. She saw movement from the corner of her mechanical eye. Monica and Twado were flanking her from both sides. Even the injured Hadrian had grown tired of being sidelined and was now advancing towards Mary as well.

The automaton whirled around and feinted at Bradley, just to keep him away. She must have realized that at least one of them would get their hands on her wind-up key if she tried to fight them all at once. The mechanisms in Mary’s legs clicked as they engaged. She leapt onto one of the tall stone pillars surrounding the platform, perching on it gracefully.

The group stared up at her. Prince spread his arms in a challenge. “Get the fuck back down here, you bitch!” he roared, his face still bleeding. Mary said nothing. She simply smirked and licked a few drops of blood off her manicured nails.

Monica pulled some gauze out of her first aid kit. Prince irritably tried to shrug her off—“I’m fine”—but she managed to press it onto his face and stem the flow of blood.

Bradley pointed at Mary with his umbrella. “Mary Gearwise, I have reason to believe that you were involved in the disappearance of Larry Clockturn. I demand you reveal his whereabouts at once!”

Mary threw her head back and cackled. “You want to know what happened to Larry? Fine. I’ll show you.” She looked over at the control room and nodded at Markus. He pulled a lever on one of the panels.

There was a harsh grinding sound as the wall to their left slowly parted. They hadn’t noticed it when they came in here, but it was actually an enormous sliding gate.

Everyone backed away as it opened. It might have been some sort of depot, though it was hard to tell though the darkness. The light from a pair of LED eyes pierced through the shadows.

Big ones.

Raucous metallic scraping filled the air as the goliath activated and hauled itself from the ground, exposed gears and levers ticking loudly. Its rugged plating caught the orange glow of the lava beneath.

“What the Hell is that?” cried Prince as the clockwork behemoth took a step forward, making the entire cavern quake.

“It’s the new and improved Larry Clockturn, of course,” Mary declared. Markus emerged from the control room and tossed her violin to her. She started to play again. At the sound of her music, the aperture of the machine’s eye dilated and blazed brightly. Its gaze zeroed in on Prince.

Bradley understood what was happening first. “Prince! Get out of the way!” he hollered.

Crimson light flooded the room as Larry discharged his laser. Prince dived out of the way just in time, but he could still feel the scorching heat against his back as the beam passed him by.

It melted through the steel flooring like butter. The scaffolds holding it up groaned as they started to bend. Prince scrambled to his feet and stared up at Larry as his laser fizzled out. The automaton’s optical receptors contracted to the size of pinpricks and darted around frantically. He seemed almost afraid, but the look vanished almost as soon as it had shown up.

Prince didn’t have time to think about what that meant. The two halves of the stage were dipping away from each other.

The group was separated. Twado leapt across the gap before it became too wide and grabbed the back of Stephanie’s shirt in his mouth, who was slipping down the incline, and lugged her over to Prince and Hadrian. The eldest brother pulled Stephanie into his arms as their half of the platform swayed dangerously above the lava.

Bradley and Monica were trapped on the other side. They looked across at them helplessly. The columns holding them up had thankfully stopped buckling, but there was nowhere to run.

Mary grinned in morbid anticipation as Larry prepared to bisect the platform a second time. His eye dilated again. However, the LED flickered as his laser failed to charge up all the way. Bradley retreated as the beam struck the ground in front of him, but it wasn’t hot enough to melt through the metal.

Mary’s smile faded slightly. “My apologies… I thought I had already disabled his free will. He appears to be resisting my commands. How cute,” she crooned as she drew her crowbar over the strings of her instrument once more.

Larry’s components creaked and juddered as he tried to move, but his gears had locked up. His eye flashed on and off, refusing to even begin charging this time.

Now Mary was scowling. She glared into the control room. Markus shrugged and shook his head at her. She turned towards Larry again just in time to see a masked mafioso clamber onto his shoulder. Mary’s eyes widened in outrage as he thrust his crowbar through a gap in the giant automaton’s casing and triggered his emergency shutdown mechanism.

Chapter VII – AWOL

“Helios.”

Helios frowned. He looked around, but there was no one else in the hallway with him and his troupe. Just the mobsters staring at them through the windows.

“Helios!” the voice hissed again. Oh. It was coming from behind him. Helios slowed his pace and glanced back discreetly, lagging behind the rest of the group. Isaiah was peeking out of the vent they’d come in here from. He beckoned the hacker over.

Helios peered around again. The mobsters seemed to be fixated on the others. He slipped away and reentered the vent before anyone noticed.

“Isaiah? I thought you were done with us,” Helios whispered.

“I changed my mind. We have to move,” Isaiah replied. Helios trailed him cautiously.

“Why? Where are we going?”

“Mary called almost everyone in the base to the primary control room. Her lab is pretty much unguarded, so I decided to snoop around a little bit. I found Larry. Deactivated. Chassis ripped wide open,” Isaiah recounted, knitting his brow as he recalled the scene. “I found the blueprints for his new body.”

“New body? What are you saying?”

“I’m getting to that part! Mary cut his heart out. She made him a new body that she could control. The thing is giant. She’s using his heart as the energy source, and the heart is him, so his original body isn’t gonna wake up without it. She’s going to use the new one on your pals. They have no chance.”

“And we’re just letting them walk into the trap?”

“I need them to stall her, and she was going to lock the base down and have her lackeys kill them anyway if they didn’t show up. I have a plan. Larry’s new body has computerized parts, not just clockwork ones. It helps her control him, but it also means he can be hacked. I’m taking you to the lab. There’s a console there that she used to test him out. It’s got the blueprints in it and everything. I think you can use it to access his network, but you have to deactivate the lava pipeline system first… we don’t want your buddies getting their legs burnt to a crisp before they even see the big guy. I need you to get him to stay still long enough for me to reach him and trip his e-stop. Got it?”

“Yeah, I think I can do that.”

“Good.” Isaiah stopped in front of the spot where a ventilation panel used to be, but he must have broken it open already while he’d been sneaking around. He climbed out and showed Helios the console. “This is the place. Try to do this quietly. There are still a couple guards outside the door,” he whispered to Helios. The mobster thrust a two-way radio into his hands. “Use that to tell me when Larry is immobilized.”

Helios nodded, but Isaiah was already reentering the vent, leaving him on his own. The hacker cracked his knuckles and got to work.

Chapter VIII – System Reboot

Prince watched as Larry shut down and toppled backwards. It reminded the boy of when he’d beaten the automaton in the sewers, but the ensuing impact was much, much louder this time when he hit the ground.

Mary threw her violin at Markus. “Deal with that traitor!” she thundered at him. The Warden reentered the control room and sent some of the operators away. They ran through the door, heading for Larry’s depot. The masked mobster was standing on Larry’s chest now, trying to pry one of the plates open. It had to be Isaiah.

“What are you doing, man? Mind getting us off of this platform?” Prince called out.

Isaiah glanced up at him and held up a finger. Wait.

Prince turned around as a mechanical hum filled the cave. He’d expected Mary to jump down and confront the group, but she was still glowering down at them from the stone pillar. The noise had to be coming from her.

The temperature in the formerly stifling cavern was dropping fast. Prince looked up as a raindrop hit his face. Were those clouds?

“She’s got a weather machine built into her!” Bradley realized as lightning struck the ground right in front of him. An indoor tempest was brewing.

Isaiah got Larry’s chassis open and heaved the metal plate away until the gap was large enough for him to fit inside. His gaze scanned the internal hardware until he spotted the automaton’s clockwork heart. It was strangely amusing how such a comparatively small gadget had been powering a giant robot. He lowered himself through the gears and circuitry until it was within reach and gingerly disconnected the tubes and cables holding it in place. The ticking of the mechanism’s gears slowed down as he removed it. An iridescent mystery liquid sloshed around inside the heart’s windowed ventricles as Isaiah climbed back out of the chassis.

The lava sizzled as rain pattered against it. Prince could feel the electricity in the air before lightning hit the spot where he’d been standing moments before. “Dude! What’s the situation?” he yelled at Isaiah.

Isaiah was too absorbed in his task to respond. He’d already dragged Larry’s real body into the depot before he’d gone to fetch Helios, but he didn’t have a lot of time. He was screwed if the other mafiosos made it here before he had Larry operational. Isaiah sprinted to the corner where he’d left the automaton with the heart in his hands and stooped down to set it back in Larry’s chest cavity. It clicked into place.

The mobster stuck his hand under his suit and felt around for the brazing torch and rod he’d brought with him. He fumbled with the hose for a second before he inserted it into the fuel cylinders on the ground and lit the torch, carefully soldering Larry’s tubes and pipes back onto his heart.

A gale was beginning to pick up. Bradley rolled out of the way as a fork of lightning targeted him again. The wind buffeted him, but perhaps that was a good thing.

The Detective opened his umbrella. The motor inside it began to rumble. He held it up and let a gust carry him towards Mary. She took a swipe at him with her crowbar as he neared, but he veered out of the way and landed behind her. He grabbed her key and twisted it counterclockwise a second time before Mary could do anything about it.

Mary winced as she turned and swung her crowbar wide, striking Bradley in the side. He grunted in discomfort and tumbled from the pillar as the vent cover above Mary popped off and smacked against her head. Pete jumped through and landed on her, casting her down from the pillar as well before he reentered the ventilation shaft and vanished again.

Bradley drifted to the floor with his umbrella and gently touched his feet to the ground next to Monica. Mary hit the ground on the other end of the platform with a crash. She groaned in discomfort as she heaved herself to her feet, but her grousing quickly became a snarl as she stalked towards the Detective.

Pete soon emerged from a vent in the depot. He hastily scrawled something across his whiteboard as he rushed to Isaiah: HURRY THEY ARE ALMOST HERE

Larry’s golden eyes blinked on as Isaiah made the last connection. He sat up immediately and wrapped his huge hand around the mobster’s throat. Isaiah dropped his brazing torch to pry the automaton’s fingers away.

“Get your hands off of me, you asshole! I’m trying to help you!” Isaiah snapped.

Larry’s eyes widened slightly, as if he was surprised to hear Isaiah’s voice coming from behind that mask. The automaton glanced down at his chassis, still wide open. He reluctantly released Isaiah and lay down again. “Get on with it, then,” he spat, still glaring.

Isaiah picked up the sheet of metal that Mary had cleaved away from Larry’s casing and placed it over his chest. He picked up the torch again and slowly ran it along the seams. The automaton tensed up at the searing heat, but he held still.

Isaiah had barely finished when Larry shoved the mobster away and got to his feet. He’d secured the plate just in time, too, because the mafiosos that Markus had sent came charging through the depot doors as Larry buttoned up his shirt and picked up his crowbar.

The mafiosos skidded to a standstill when they saw the reactivated Larry standing before them, tall and terrible. He swung his crowbar into the closest one’s abdomen with quite a bit more strength than necessary, burying the curved end in his innards. There was a nauseating squelch and a strangled yelp from the mobster. A section of his viscera came out with Larry’s crowbar as the automaton pulled it free. The others turned tail and ran back the way they’d came as their comrade collapsed into a convulsing heap, too afraid to even try to fight him.

Isaiah made a disgusted noise. “Ugh. That was overkill,” he mumbled as he kicked the whimpering mafioso into the lava. Larry paid him no mind. He turned to the platform. Mary wasn’t the only one who could leap high. He cleared the gap easily and landed right behind her.

The platform shook as his shoes met the steel platform. The scaffolds finally buckled, sending his end of the stage plunging. He was prepared for that. Mary wasn’t. She lost her balance as the platform sank slowly into the molten rock.

Larry grabbed his tormentor with both hands and hurled her into the lava.

Chapter IX – Exit Path

The mafiosos could only watch as Mary disappeared into the molten rock. Markus stared in disbelief until there was a stir in the control room. The mobsters began quarrelling… then they drew weapons on each other. A brawl broke out.

They were fighting amongst themselves. Prince realized as a splatter of blood hit the windowpane that Larry’s old goons must have wanted him back in charge.

Bradley unfurled his umbrella again before the gale storm died down completely. He took Monica’s hand. They both glided into the depot.

The Detective grabbed hold of the metal plate that Isaiah had removed from the behemoth earlier. “Help me move this thing,” he called out to the others.

They lugged the plate towards the edge of the pit and pushed it outwards until it met Prince’s half of the platform. It wobbled precariously, but they held it down as Prince crossed the improvised bridge with Stephanie in his arms. Hadrian and Twado followed from behind. Larry jumped back into the depot as well, landing disconcertingly close to the group. The kids shrank away as Bradley stepped in front of them protectively and pointed at the automaton. Larry raised an artificial eyebrow.

“Larry Clockturn, you are under arrest for-”

Pete bonked the Detective on the head with his whiteboard.

“Ow. What? He’s wanted for hundreds of felonies.”

The elevator is still disabled. We need his help finding our way out, Pete wrote.

“Yeah, I know a different exit,” Larry muttered, but he nonetheless looked mildly annoyed when the group started following him.

They trailed behind the crime boss—well, ex-crime boss—hesitantly. “We still need to get Helios,” Isaiah mentioned. Before they reached the door, however, they heard the sound of metal scraping against metal. Larry turned back towards the platform.

Mary was clawing her way back up, her pearlescent façade burnt away by the lava, revealing her brassy gold casing. Patches of paint still clung to her, scorched black. She glanced back at Larry warily as she climbed high enough to jump back onto the pillar, then onto the mezzanine. The mobsters had already fled the control room, but she ran inside and disappeared from sight. Fury flared in Larry’s golden eyes as he barreled through the depot doors to pursue her.

Everyone ran out the doorway after him. They were back in the corridor with the disabled elevator, but Larry ran in a different direction.

“Where are you going?” Prince yelled. The automaton didn’t reply.

“There’s an old mineshaft leading to the surface in this direction,” Isaiah answered instead. “It’s always been sealed, but Mary must’ve opened it to escape. There’s no other way.”

They came upon the control room where Isaiah had left Helios, but Larry didn’t wait up as they pushed the doors open to find him.

“Helios, we have to…”

Isaiah trailed off. The room was empty.

“Helios?” the mobster called out. There was no reply. He tried contacting him with his radio, but the hacker didn’t respond to that either.

“We have to move before we lose Larry. Maybe Helios escaped already. Come on,” Bradley said as he ran back outside.

They caught up with Larry as he arrived at the gate to the mine. The blast doors were already open. Mary was on the other side of the decaying tunnel, hovering over Helios, watching him as he knelt in front of the keypad next to the elevator and desperately tried to crack the activation code. She seized the hacker in a chokehold and turned towards the group as she heard Larry’s heavy footsteps approaching.

“Come any closer and he dies!” Mary screeched at them. Larry didn’t seem too worried about that, but Bradley grabbed his arm to stop him from advancing.

“Let him go, Miss Gearwise. We just want to leave this place,” Bradley tried to reason.

Mary laughed, her eyes wide and manic. “Leave? You’re the ones who intruded upon my base in the first place. Slaughtered dozens of my agents. Do you know how much time I spent working on Larry? You brats have ruined everything,” she hissed as she tightened her grip around Helios’s throat. He scrabbled uselessly as her arm, eyes bulging as Mary crushed his windpipe.

Prince gritted his teeth. Mary’s words sent his thoughts racing. The gang of mobsters they’d encountered in the upper levels, even though there was no surveillance there. The door that had malfunctioned and trapped them. The lightning storm outside that had driven them here in the first place, even though the weather forecast had predicted clear skies. Mary’s weather machine…

“No. You lured us in here,” Prince murmured.

Mary narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?” she snapped.

“That’s why you knew we were here when the cameras were offline. You caused that storm outside. You took that tree down with your lightning. You had that barricade set up on the trail, so we’d come here for shelter,” Prince spoke louder. “You made the door short circuit with your lightning instead of shutting it remotely so we wouldn’t get suspicious…  and rigged those pipes to blow and cut us off in the upper levels, so we’d walk right into those mobsters. You knew we were here the whole time. You set us up!” he finished, jabbing an accusing finger at Mary.

Mary’s lips slowly curved into a smirk as Prince spoke. “Clever boy.”

“Why?” he demanded.

“I needed someone to test my creation on, and you are the ones who deactivated Larry. I couldn’t leave you alive,” Mary stated. Helios wheezed for breath as she loosened her grip ever so slightly.

Bradley shook his head. “Rubbish. I know for a fact you never cared for Larry. It was the Headmaster who ordered their deaths, wasn’t it?”

Mary’s eyelid twitched at the mention of her superior. She ignored the Detective. “Larry, tell me the elevator’s code and I’ll let Helios go,” she said as she nodded at the dilapidated cage elevator and tightened her stranglehold on the young man.

Larry sneered and tried to press forward. Bradley held him back. The automaton’s gears clanked in frustration as he lifted his crowbar to beat the Detective away, but Isaiah elbowed his way to the forefront of the group before a fight could break out. “How about you think about someone other than your fucking self for once?” the mobster whispered harshly as he shook Larry’s shoulder. The automaton griped inaudibly and hardly budged as Isaiah jostled him, but he got the point.

“0625,” he begrudgingly told Mary.

Helios gasped for air as Mary finally removed one arm from his neck and punched the code into the keypad. The rusty elevator doors squealed as they parted. He tried to break away from her grasp, but he yelped as she grabbed the collar of his jacket and yanked him into the elevator after her. “Oh, no, you’re coming with me,” Mary muttered venomously.

“Hey! You said you’d let him go!” Prince yelled angrily from the other side of the tunnel.

Mary just flashed a grin at him and waved at him as the doors shut. The elevator creaked and rumbled up the mineshaft.

She was gone.

Epilogue

There was nothing to do except wait in morose silence for the elevator to return underground. Prince kept starting at the entrance to the mine, worried that some of Mary’s loyalists might show up, but none did.

The mood relaxed a little bit as Twado stood on his hindquarters and pawed Larry’s legs, whining for attention. He’d been too preoccupied to pay attention earlier, but now the automaton reached down and ruffled the fur on the dog’s head. “Glad to see you too, Twado.”

“He knows you?” Prince asked, surprised.

“He was my guard dog when I ran this place. But he looks like Mary had him thrown outside,” he muttered, shaking his head at Twado’s grubby coat.

The elevator doors squeaked open as the carriage arrived. Prince picked up Helios’s sunglasses from the floor. One of the lenses was cracked. He slipped them in his pocket as the elevator closed and started to carry everyone to the surface. Maybe he’d get to return them eventually if the hacker was still alive.

Isaiah went to sit on an old crate, but Larry pushed him aside. “Is that coal? Finally,” said the automaton as he ripped the lid off and shoved a handful of the stuff into his jaws. The kids watched with profound bewilderment.

“What? You didn’t think I was actually spring powered, did you?” he chuckled. The wind-up key on his back rotated ever so slightly. “This is just a kill switch. I have a steam engine.”

I thought your heart was your energy supply? wrote Pete.

There was a whoosh as the fuel caught aflame in Larry’s firebox. “It’s for emergencies. When I run out of real fuel.”

“It seemed like it was working fine before,” Prince remarked.

“You people ask too many damn questions.”

“No kidding,” Isaiah muttered.

Bradley answered instead. “The heart works too well. It will grind his gears to dust if he relies on it forever.” Larry scowled at him, but the Detective didn’t seem phased. “What are you going to do now?”

Larry was caught off guard by the question. “What do you mean?”

“I thought you’d retake control of the base. Why didn’t you?” Bradley added.

The automaton laughed bitterly. “Give me a break. Do you have any idea what they’ve been doing to me down here? They can fuck themselves.”

“You’re just now realizing that? You were just fine with their shit before you were the one getting tortured,” Isaiah scoffed, but his temper dissolved into a sulk as soon as Larry shot him a look.

“OK, time for you guys to tell us what your problem is. You said you joined the mafia during the last purge,” Prince cut in, pointing a finger at Isaiah, “but you keep acting like you’ve been here a lot longer than that. What’s the deal?”

Neither Larry nor Isaiah answered, but Bradley looked back and forth between the two of them a few times. “Isaiah is your son?” he surmised.

Isaiah grimaced as the Detective said it. Larry punched the wall next to Bradley’s head, rocking the entire carriage and leaving a dent in the metal. Stephanie clung to Prince. Twado barked and scurried around as the lonely light bulb flickered and swayed on its wire above them. Bradley was looking pissed, but he didn’t retaliate—this was neither the time nor place for a fight, and Isaiah surely felt the same, because he walked between them and stared Larry down until he backed off.

“Guess that was a yes,” said Hadrian. Monica thumped him on the side of the head.

The mood was somehow even more sullen now. Larry had withdrawn to the corner of the elevator. He looked lost in his thoughts, but they couldn’t stay silent forever.

“What do we do?” Prince asked.

“I would call in a raid on this base right now, but we’d have to find some cell signal for that,” Bradley said.

“It’s not a good time,” Larry argued. “The next purge is in eight days.”

Hadrian groaned. “The next purge? You guys do that every year?”

“Shut it. I’m not finished. We need to get somewhere safe. You’re all in even more danger than last time if the Headmaster put a hit on you.”

That name again. “Who the hell is the Headmaster?” Prince questioned.

“He’s the one pulling the strings in all this. It was him who turned Larry and Mary into these,” Bradley responded, motioning to the automaton. “And those two aren’t the only ones who have been subjected to the procedure. I don’t suppose you were privy to his ultimate plans, were you?” he asked Larry.

 Larry scowled at the question, but there was a hint of melancholy on his metallic features. “No, I wasn’t. But that’s not important right now. I know where a safehouse is,” he said as the elevator finally reached the surface. Everyone stepped out as the sun peeked over the horizon. The storm had died out into a light sprinkling of rain.

A couple of miscreants crouched in the dense trees and vegetation, concealed from view. One of them observed the new arrivals through his binoculars as they exited the carriage.

“Well, what do ya know?” said one of them.

“What? Luke, what do you see?”

“Mr. Clockturn made it out… but he looks to be defecting. What a shame, what a shame,” replied Luke, though he didn’t sound very saddened with that.

Brooke laughed. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. Are we gonna take him down or what?”

“Don’t be rash, Brooke. He’s not alone. The meddlers are with him, and there’s gonna be a better opportunity soon. The next purge is coming right up.” the boy said as he stood up. Brooke snatched his binoculars and took a look at the group for herself.

“Come on. Those shrimps have nothing! We can take them,” she protested.

Luke shook his head and started walking away. “No. Last thing we need is to blow our first major assignment.”

Brooke grumbled in discontent, but she acquiesced and followed her brother deeper into the woods.

“Fine. Let them think they’re safe… for now.”

[felikatze]

yall know i take heroes for a grain of salt unless it suits my agenda,,, but man brave robin's forging bonds is all over the place

namely in how the whole grima thing is handled

it swings HEAVILY in favor of the "grima is possessing robin" angle yet it ALSO ties grima's awakening explicitly to robin's emotions, which, why would that matter if he's possessed?

the phrase "blood of the fell dragon" comes up a lot. also iirc first time a grima calls robin a vessel? grima sure doesn't in awakening itself (fp notwithstanding), and also only female grima does it??? either by intent or happenstance it seems that f grima is gunning for the possession angle where as m grima is more on the emotions angle

like there's dissonance going on about the plain text of the conversation ("grima will take control of robin") and the themes of the conversation ("this can be averted if robin maintains hope, and even the grimas could become robin again if they find it")

ok let me just. compile.

obligatory disclaimer: i am in HUGE favor of the reincarnation angle and vocal disliker of the vessel angle but only my fellow grima stans know that and i cant expect everyone to have in depth knowledge of my grima takes. i am gonna Try to be a lil objective here

tldr intsys needs to stop being apolitical and just PICK A SIDE within the grima trenches already. add to this the timeline confusion of depths of despair, yeah, Grima in heroes is very muddy.

ok so i took a whole BUNCH of screenshots and they're all in german because (points at map of where i live) but that tends to follow english closely. expect minor translation differences ofc

C Support

This one is pretty plain in just the grimas waltzing up to robin going "hey grima is gonna possess you one day lmao. get scared"

Choice quotes from this one:

1. Robin: W-who are you? No, oh no... Could you be what becomes of me under the fell dragon's influence?

2. F Grima: Know your place, mortal. You are nothing more than Grima's vessel.

Yah. I can argue abt the validity of heroes lore all I like but within the convo itself this is just plain text.

B Support

So this is where the first doubts creep in. F Grima continues her spiel about Robin saying that "Grima's blood flows in those veins without a doubt." I wont reiterate every single time someone does this bcuz Image Limit, but it is primarily F Grima and Brave Robin.

1. M Grima: The knowledge of what you really are will haunt you forever.

2. F Grima: That is all we had to say to you. Take our words to heart... other Robin.

Here we get into my preferred angle. Not only is M Grima saying that being Grima is Robin's true nature, but F Grima directly acknowledges that she and M Grima are both also Robin, which is an odd choice if it's just Grima possessing Robin speaking. Cuz then the person speaking would not, in fact, be Robin.

Then, when the two Grimas are alone and giggling at their rehearsed performance, F Grima says this:

1. F Grima: Maybe the created discomfort will be enough to awaken the Fell Dragon.

2. F Grima: Maybe soon, monstrous flowers of ruin will bloom from the sown doubt.

So this is getting into the logistics of how Grima will awaken (inevitably, of course /s). In Awakening itself, a read of Robin as the vessel would have you believe only the rite at the Dragon's Table is necessary to do so. Here, however, F Grima says it's Robin's despair that will cause Grima's return, which she has already sown the seeds for.

In fact, causing Robin to doubt himself to sooner awaken Grima is explicitly what the two Grimas approached him for. This is their goal! But why would that even be necessary if all that was needed was for Validar to brainwash Robin and drag them to the Table? No despair needed! Robin's emotional state is irrelevant in that scenario.

You can argue of course that emotional weakness would make it easier for Grima to take control of Robin,,, but that never comes up. It's always Robin loses hope = Grima awakens.

A Support

Here, Brave Robin mentions being of Grima's blood a whopping three times in a row before Chrom can cut in. The Grimas words weigh on his mind and he's looking for reassurance from his boyfriend.

Brave Robin: The blood of the Fell Dragon could awaken within me one day... Doesn't that scare you?

Chrom's response here is notable. (Images cut for the damn 10 image limit on mobile)

Chrom: The day could come, where I, too, fall prey to my own despair. But even then I'm sure that I wouldn't stray from the right path with you by my side.

Again, Grima is not framed as a possessive force, but as Robin's own despair and hopelessness. Chrom would have no ground to compare the two if the former was the case. How would you even compare your own depression with your friend being taken over by a hostile spirit?

This is the dissonance I was talking about.

S Support

Robin, emboldened by Chrom's support, confronts the two Grimas.

F Grima: As long as you live, the Fell Dragon can take possession of you at any moment.

Robin says he has the blood of the demon dragon with the weird as hell "those veins" line. Who says that??? Did yall forget possessive pronouns exist. Just say "my veins" dear boy

anyway.

Robin: It's true that the blood of the Fell Dragon runs through these veins. But that circumstance only calls for more discipline on my part.

Robin: The knowledge of my nature only makes me more determined to never betray my allies' trust.

Here we have both in the same speech! Here, whether he succumbs to Grima is entirely put on Robin and Robin's determination. As well, he says that it's "his nature." Like yeah, this could mean "his nature as Grima's vessel", but that would be a weird use of the word nature (in the meaning of personality and disposition).

Like, again, the focus is on Grima as a result of Robin's emotional state. The two are directly tied and correlating.

To end of, shrortly beforr the Grimas leave, Robin says to them

"Maybe you can escape the Fell Dragon's fangs and walk your own path one day."

Like yeah the literal meaning is again "maybe the robins can be saved from grima" but it can also be taken in a metaphorical sense of "maybe the robins can free themselves from the role of grima."

i'm just generally befuddled. i do like the thematic thread of "robin will never become grima if he keeps hope." but the possession stuff is so entirely literal. but then why - god i already said this.

Grima loving hours incoming! Feel free to skip i just love them.

The one upside for this, for my terminal Grima brainrot - Grima's motivations in this are so tasty to chew on. I mentioned before, the Grimas approach Robin with the intent of making him despair in the face of his inevitable destiny. But Robin doesn't, refutes them - he says that if he changed, so could they.

This is fascinating, cuz I think brave Robin terrifies them for this exact reason. He's just oblivious, he's the one who'll change, just see - yet he doesn't. He is the living proof destiny can change. Here we see again, Grima as hopelessness. They need destiny to be inevitable. Because then it's not a choice to be hopeless anymore. Things couldn't have gone better. What if Robin's bonds weren't meaningless trifles, though? It's a challenge to everything the Grimas had to accept.

But look around. This is Askr. People meet other versions of themselves by the dozen - with different fates and circumstances.

Grimas' reason to speak to Robin really just seems scared of change. The final take away from the S support for Robin is that maybe they can change too, after all. Grima is terrified of change! Of hope! Of becoming Robin again! Because then what was it all for? Why did they have to suffer so much? Isn't it unfair? Isn't the thought that you could've gotten luckier unbearable? Grima is my sopping wet meow meow, if you couldn't tell.

Grima fan hours over, back to complaining.

another layer of confusion for the setting of this is is... when is this robin from, exactly?

so brave robin is said to be the tactician of the "newly crowned" exalt, matching legendary chrom's time period. This gives us precisely two options, each with their own issues:

This Robin is from the two year timeskip after chapter 12, where Chrom assumes the throne after Emmeryn's death.

This Robin is from a post canon ending wherein Chrom becomes exalt for realsies (likely only viable for a Chrom ending).

The issue with the first one is: Robin wouldn't know that he's fellblood at this point? He starts suspecting it in chapter 13, obviously because the grimleal hierophant has his exact name and face, as well as Validar's attempt at telepathy. He'd have to be from after the timeskip if that is the case.

Of course, he could be hearing this for the first time from the Grimas. In that case, his reaction is extraordinarily mild. And his first words to them are "Could you be what becomes of me under the fell dragon's influence?" If he's hearing this for the first time, what a wild conclusion that is to make. Again, he'd have no clue he's fellblood, that this is even a scenario that could happen at all.

The issue with the second option is that Robin... would have nothing to be afraid of? He would have already confronted the self that became Grima and defeated it. At which point this whole forging bonds becomes an entirely redundant character arc that really would just be inferior to the equivalent moment in Awakening itself. Robin cites himself as proof that the Grimas could change, indicating a post-canon mindset, but then, why do their words initially get to him so much?

I don't think he'd just be second act Robin either - Chrom would've already been Exalt for two years at that point, which makes the "newly-crowned" comment odd.

All around I'm.. mildy disappointed with this one. As stated just now, it's a redundant arc that doesn't show us anything new about Robin.

Looking at Soren's - that one really took advantage of the Heroes setting to display Soren's growth as a character. The interactions between him and Ranulf were great and funny, and the way he opens up to his younger self shows that Ike's kindness affected him.

Corrin also got great moments with Gullveig. It was amazing to see a post-revelations Corrin who succeeded in ending a war through communication, and how she carries it forward into solving conflicts now, no matter how dire, by extending compassion to the summoned Gullveig. I haven't finished her own storyline yet, but I already liked seeing her interact with Azura and Lilith.

By comparison, this is a scenario that literally already happens in the game itself. It elaborates more on Grima as a metaphor for hopelessness, yet muddles the logistics of it by not committing to either option to what Grima is in relation to Robin.

All around. Love Brave Robin! Great outfit! He's very cute! Another win for gay marriage! His forging bonds? Mehhhh.

Despite the ongoing discussion of "What timeline even IS this??", at least Depths of Despair gave us something new in a bad timeline chrobin dynamic. this is heroes goddammit. get crazy with it.

i would literally kill for robin-idunn interaction you would not believe. could you imagine brave robin and spring idunn interacting,,,, i am crying just thinking about it.

FEH has done a great deal to really uplift Grima as a character and add more depth to what the game gave us, both in backstory crumbs and the motivation department, so seeing them fumble the bag here is just disappointing. Can they get their own lore together already?

[capnkerfufflez]

I contain multitudes, so i made a uquiz for some of my quintessential sonas for fun

i dont really expect people to take it, but man i love an excuse to draw some of my boys i don't give much love to brief descriptions and the result descriptions under the cut

here's the link outside of just embed btw : https://uquiz.com/hkfS0R

in image order and i marked the number and color of the background above we have :

1 [red] E : non-fandom sona I use to vent mostly - "Conceptual Chaos Junkyard" / "CC Junkyard" so he's mostly negative traits of myself turned up to 11. He's the overly emotional and sentimental and over-reactive side of the duo between him and G.

"[[ oh baby girl, I'm so sorry for you, get some help ]] Everything you've ever done blows back up into your face, you don't know what you're doing wrong?! Or well, you've figured out a few things wrong with you, but you can't figure out how to fix those things about yourself…"

2 [red/orange] Knox S. Consumer : kinda a minecraft sona? - "What's Minecraft is Yourcraft" / "Yourcraft" He's in general a minesona, at least when I first made him. In Yourcraft he is the sona/character version of an oc that's a minecraft youtuber/streamer and who is very distinctly not me, so Knox falls into an odd character category where's he's both my sona and an oc's sona. He's an old grouchy wizard type, but breaks character often to help friends

"[[ you may think im stretching on this one, but i assure there's more obscure ]] You know so much yet so little. The type of guy that can recite so many video game lore details and fun facts across all subjects, but will fail to realize that they really did mean it calling it "cream cheese," it is actually a cheese. You are very smart though, with your intelligence only rivaled by your stubbornness."

3 [red/pink] Dong : pokemon not a big surprise, but he's a pokesona of sorts. He's a Mareep that's specifically paired with my friend's Wooloo "Ding," he's somewhere between a pokemon in the anime and pokemon mystery dungeon in terms of personification, he's very bitey.

[[ haha dong ]] Lil gremlin guy. You're the typa bitch to fucking taunt people bigger than you and when they get pissy you go 'oh im just a lil guy a lil birthday boy.' All talk no bite. well, maybe a lil bite, like consensually or deserved.. BUT the point is you take no responsibly of the misdeeds you may or may not do !

4 [orange] Bibbly : double life / life series Bibbly is the character I made soulmate's with my friend cause we were watching other people make sona's and pairs with their friends too. Bibbly is based off of a drawing I did based on a more literal interpretation of one of my minecraft skins (specifically my 453 skin), "Bibbly" coming from "Biblically accurate." Personality wise he varies a lot cause in conception and most practice he is an utter coward, very reliant on my friend's character, though in other interpretations I make him a lot more jaded and no-bull shit but also those are usually what is supposed to be later in his development and/or away from my friend's character

[[ telephone game of sonas ]] You are a recursion of self analyzation. You try to map out your intricacies only to have your theories on yourself become rules. And once you've realized its a set habit of thinking. You know trouble and you avoid it the best you can.

5 [muddy yellow] Clart : minecraft sona ? - "What's Minecraft is Yourcraft" / "Yourcraft" Similar case as Knox, where Clart is my sona and the sona of one of my oc's who isn't me, but for Clart he and the oc, they align closer with who I am so it's not quite as weird a case. Clart is very easy going and cares a lot, he isn't particularly notably in Yourcraft as he's not really someone who develops more a character that help's the other characters develop

[[ straight up gooping ]] You just want a break, things to be nice and easy and do menial tasks and be with your friends. You give all you can, not because you feel you need to, you just want to and you can. You know pain and cruelty, you choose to be kind.

6 [yellow] [453>- / 453 / The cooler Casey : a general sona He's a more stylized, exaggerated version of myself and usually a lot more malicious for the fun of it. In his "lore" he is a shapeshifting sand.. thing, it depends on the specific backstory I'm going with. He is generally very energetic and bitey and evil for the sake of it cause man villains are fun when they are having fun and he is having a blast

[[ creature !! ]] You are the coolest sexiest mother fucker out here! or you sure pretend to think so. A whole fucking jaw breaker flipping between god-complex and inferiority-complex, who knows what's at it's core (probably inferiority). You love to be an edge case, probably the type of guy to make a fan character concept that's over done but do it with a twist. No fear of ocs coming off like a mary sues just cause YOU know how cool and really clever they are really even if they give a bad first impression.

7 [lime/green] Casey : general sona / how i draw myself This is just me, like, just how I draw myself, it's as general and genuine as I can manage which my not really be all that accurate maybe but oh well

[[ oh fuck u are just like me frfr ! or like at least closest approximation ]] You are only human. You love your friends more than the world and you try to be worth all you're given. You have some self esteem and self image issues, but maybe if you shove your ocs full of enough of your issues you'll solve some.

8 [green?] Caddle : general sona / fursona / the one i use for sexual stuff Caddle is a cow-adject shapeshifter. He is the sona I use the most when it's anything sexual, usually paired with my partner's fursona, but he's supposed to have other buddies too that I never really draw. I've got complicated feeling on sexual stuff and myself in relation to it, so he gets those feelings dumped into his character too. But aside from that he is a fun character especially to draw cause inconsistency is baked in and I love him dearly, he is very lazily chill with a big heart, he's also a rodeo clown even though i dont draw a full on clown get up for him much

[[ honka honka we got certified clown ova here ]] You are silly, a goofball even, one may even argue a jokester. You may present all goofs, gafs and dick jokes, -and by all means you do genuinely loving goofing gaffing and dicking- but you are a person with complicated wants and thoughts and feelings. Wants and thoughts and feelings you hold close to yourself, you do not know how to voice, so more often than not, you don't.

9 [bluish green] Gilon Kurt : lesser sona Gilon is a sona that I made just on a whim off of a twist on my name with "fluffle" being a the name for a group of rabbits, he's "Capn Kerfluffle." And then I made him a rival to my main fursona in their story and he gained a personality outside of me as they so often do

[[ rage rage murder rage !!!! ]] You have worked so hard for what you have and yet it is never enough. There is always something else to achieve more to earn, people clawing for what you have. You can have no peace nor solace, relax? chilling? never heard of her!! There are experiences to be had!! People to meet!! Friends to continuing loving!!! And you'll fight for it all, fight until you die!!

10 [cyan] Yeode : minecraft sona [real] Yeode my beloved, she is my darling rock-based robot made to search villagers that learns to live for herself kinda. A lot of her kindness and softness and story comes from backstory for just me playing minecraft ig who is a lot less kind in practice.

[[ yippee !!! ^.^ ]] You are a people pleaser to your core! You are born and molded by your attachments and use to others. Even in their absence you still live on for them in part.

11 [saturated blue] G : non-fandom sona I use to vent mostly - "Conceptual Chaos Junkyard" / "CC Junkyard" similar situation to E of mostly negative traits, but the other side of it for the most part. she is full of anger and malice at being stuck with little control over her situation and takes it out on E

[[ oh sweetheart, no ]] You think yourself a "bad bitch" a "girl boss" even. Emotions are not your strong suit. You have a hard time managing your own feelings, let alone dealing with other people's. You may not always be right, but you work hard to try to be.

12 [less saturated dark blue] D. Base : minecraft sona, specifically in magic mods / heavily modded minecraft he came about from when i was testing a modded server with my friends there was something that would crash my game if i entered specific chunks, and in those 'dead' chunks was my silk worms so i made dBase as a character for the friend server and he is supposed to be that glitched silkworm i got in testing, uuh end then that server slowly broke too, so i like to think it was somehow also his fault; while i did get to play on the server i got really into a few magic mods, mainly mana and artifice so he is not only gitchy but a magic man

[[ grub ]] You think of yourself highly, not perfect, but damn good. You've worked your ass off for the skills you've obtained and are happy to show off when they are even slightly relevant. Your "fuck it we ball" attitude somehow works out for you most of the time, though some collateral damage to others.

13 [light blue] Clerk James : fursona / used to be mascot character to note if you see other art of him there is a stark difference between the silly goofy Clerk that's my sona and the asshole angsty backstory version of him before he got so very concussed; current Clerk is very sweet and very dumb, he's the "capn" of a pirate themed ferry though also goes on some genuine treasure seeking adventures pg pirate style

[[ consider it the post-drownings one, don't worry ]] A mix of poor memory, self-doubt, and self-hatred that results in a potent blend of guilt for things you aren't really sure you deserve to hate yourself over, being it maybe not or fault or maybe never really happened. Aside from that you're upbeat and a bit stupid in a silly lil guy way. You're just a lil guy!

14 [purple] Cassio Inerta : homestuck / trollsona - "retroll" he is baby, very sweet and well meaning but oh so very problem avoidant and low empathy mostly from being sheltered; in retroll he is canonically in-universe a self insert of myself watching the plot go down and has a made up boyfriend given to him who loves Cassio by virtue that is what the boyfriend was made for, but kinda just puts up with Cassio, a projection of how i felt and feared in some previous relationships

[[ explicitly cannon self insert huh ]] You are a suckerrr for romance. You want and want and want so badly and you feel and in every instance you are given a taste it feels unreal. it feels unearned. It feels disingenuous. But you need it so bad. You don't know shit about anything, so terrified to fail you're terrified to try. But little by little you keep trying.

15 [magenta] Carcumber : a sona based off of my friend's previously-main sona's species so my friend's main sona and mascot character was a "lavamander" though the species had other character with other elements such as ice and sound waves and species had name trope of two favorite foods combined; Carcumber's name was Carrot + Cucumber but my friend changed main sonas and has since renamed most to just a single food name hence the opening statement for the quiz, i dont remember if he had an element associated, if he did i think it was "cart" or "car" or "money" or something stupid like that, and his is a used car salesman, similar energy and pathetic-ness of spamton

[[ oh man do i gotta change his name now that's that not the naming scheme? ]] You are passionate about everything you do! Cause if you aren't you don't do them! You exaggerate yourself to the point the mask becometh you.

god ya that's a lot of em and i have more sona's than just that, but most fall similar to others or i dont use enough to care

if you read it all thanks so much i love u :D

[no6secretsanta]

Stubborn Symbiosis

Hi @ulkonja - as much as I wanted to write some Safu angst I could not help but yield to the sweet siren song of “spicy Nezushi” - I hope it’s to your liking even though the spice might be a bit different than you expect, haha. HAPPY SECRET SANTA!

Post-canon, established relationship, T-rating (though certainly a lil spicy)

—-

“This was the first park we built after everything,” Shion began, unlocking the gate on a black screened-off area. “…There was a learning curve. Please watch your step, Nezumi.”

“But of course,” Nezumi allowed, making a mental note to store anything embarrassing to replay vengefully in his head later— it had been a long week and he deserved petty rejuvenation. 

Behind the (surprisingly intense) padlock sat dirty water in a hole. It lounged at half the depth intended, judging by the three-foot muddy drop that awaited anyone unfortunate enough to approach. There were barely any fish or plants, but the species that had survived did look surprisingly healthy. This somehow was a functioning pond— if only out of spite.

“I can’t believe you haven’t shown me this,” Nezumi whispered, awed. “This is monumental.”

“You know, Nezumi, when someone is giving you a tour of the new city they are helping build, most will lead with their successes, not their failures,” Shion huffed. “You should be more understanding.”

“Afraid I’m all out of that,” Nezumi replied. “I think I’ll pitch a tent here— fancy some camping?”

Shion rolled his eyes, but Nezumi could tell by the way his mouth quirked that he was trying not to humor his sarcasm by laughing.

“I can’t believe the committees’ delicate fingers managed to pick up a shovel.”

“Multiple shovels actually,” Shion supplied. “They did work hard, even though they didn’t really know what they were doing. All of this was due to the …effort of our volunteers. Their hearts were in the right place.” 

“Ah, yes, effort— the most important of all resources, right next to enthusiasm, whimsy, and glee.”

Shion shot him such a tired look that made Nezumi want to peel away his polite office posturing like the wrapping paper on a present.

“Truly, I can’t imagine putting a fence around something so selfless— the new city deserves to see such humble beauty everyday!” 

“We didn’t intentionally hide it. It’s important to wear our mistakes as loudly as our successes, but… well.”

Nezumi leaned in. This would be good.

“Well?”

Shion shut his eyes, admitting, “We actually received too many complaints from people who accidentally…fell in. There’s a ladder but— stop laughing, Nezumi! I know how that sounds, but this was a serious problem. We didn’t want to risk anyone actually getting hurt by the committee’s first volunteer-driven nature project!”

There were actual tears in Nezumi’s eyes. He struggled to catch his breath. “You should have brought me here months ago, Shion. This is groundbreaking, or it would be, if they could actually break through— wait, pardon me, did they try to plant cattails? There’s barely any water— you think they’d try to fix that first.”

“I really wish they did,” Shion’s voice carried the weight of endless meetings. “They thought decorating around the pond would improve everything that was wrong with the foundation. At the time I was busy with other responsibilities and incorrectly assumed our volunteers had consulted with and were working with experts in park creation. We do have nice parks, you know. Functional ones.”

“Those did not look like this,” Nezumi emphasized. “This is something transcendent. An exercise in futility, an art piece, a— ”

“—A necessary learning experience for a new city,” Shion finished. “When our funders saw what it looked like, well. You couldn’t pay someone to take the land of their hands. They wanted it razed.”

Nezumi’s smile fell. “I can imagine.”

Shion was still looking at the water, and Nezumi put one and two together.

“So, Shion, when you said you had land in the city, this is what you meant?”

“Yes,” he mumbled, ever stubborn. “So if you could stop making fun of me for it, that would be great.” 

This guy… Nezumi snaked an arm around Shion’s waist in tender mockery. 

“There, there. You made the right call preserving this place. Books shall remember you as Shion: noble savior of cattails.”

Shion grunted, batting Nezumi’s arm away— but he wasn’t lying, actually. Nezumi loved it here. This place was perfect: born from the city, yet growing honestly in spite of it, beautiful in its own odd, stubborn, baffling way. A lot like…

Shion leaned down to attempt to fish a plastic bag out of the water— he couldn’t quite reach it. He was so close, but clearly too proud to ask for assistance. This was the greatest day of Nezumi’s life. 

“Something to say, Shion?” Nezumi drawled, patiently waiting for Shion to snap at him or fall in the pond.

“It isn’t that funny,” Shion grouched, finding his third option— petulant grumbling.

“You are, though. Can’t believe all this luxury belongs to you,” Nezumi eased back, using a stick to lift the bag into Shion’s hand without any further teasing— a peace offering. “Here, unlike your committee, I am capable of using simple tools.”

“Thanks,” Shion replied flatly. “I’m sure that skill has been very useful in your life.”

Nezumi laughed, coaxing Shion closer in a playful side-hug. When Shion leaned into the embrace a new-yet-familiar heat warmed him to the tips of his toes. He still couldn’t let this drop without one more dig, though.

“Hold onto me,” he whispered dramatically, lips brushing Shion’s ear. “I heard on royal authority it’s a steep drop.”

Shion threw the bag at his face.

—

An hour later Nezumi was sitting with his toes skating above the water. Shion had dropped a lavender pill the size of a quarter in the liquid which dissolved with a sizzling sound and cleared away most of the murk. Good thing, too, as the very important city official was now waist deep in ugly pond and wading with devoted purpose.

Shion’s white hair seemed even fluffier in the spring light. Dressed down to his boxers, his red snaking scar was on full display. It dipped in and out of the liquid as he plodded around like a damp, sexy duckling. Nezumi had eyes— he was using them to the fullness of their potential. 

For all his embarrassment, Shion was good at this. Obviously deeply familiar with the malicious and weird ecosystem in the lake, he was encouraging it to thrive with brief, expert contact. The still-too-low water now shimmered and the stubborn surviving plants were greener and more lush than they had any right to be.

Shion prattled on about the impressive resilience of bacterial life with relentless enthusiasm. Between assurances that the pill wouldn’t harm any of the creatures living in the water, he managed to work in detailed explanations of how the bacteria wouldn’t harm him, either. 

“Orchestrated symbiosis, Nezumi,” he rambled, smiling wide. “We’ve made a lot of advancements.”

Nezumi hated that this was kind of turning him on. Shion really had no right to be so hot and so dumb and so infuriatingly brilliant at the same time. Something was seriously wrong with him, but Nezumi absolutely needed to get this conversation into more suggestive territory. 

Shion hadn’t gotten the memo unfortunately. He had a lot of opinions on water-based illnesses.

“There’s skin rashes, infections….Oh, that’s not even taking into account the parasitic organisms that can survive in water like this,” he babbled, looking altogether too perky for any of those words in that order. 

“And yet here you are,” Nezumi’s voice was a low purr— he was nothing if not determined in the face of impossible odds— “…Swimming.”

“Well, yes,” Shion replied with absolutely zero heat. “I have a great immune system!”

Nezumi questioned his place in the universe. “You’re the most frustrating person I have ever met.”

“I thought that was pretty logical, actually,” Shion countered, granting Nezumi a generous view of the wet skin of his back as he partially climbed up the ladder. “I’ve already survived the worst possible parasitic infection I could, after all.”

“That’s…” Nezumi began, and then gave up. There was no way to make this one sexual. “Not an incident I’m looking to repeat.”

“Me neither.”

At last, the conversation had finally waned— time to encourage a shift. Nezumi leaned back on his elbows. “You know, Shion—”

“—If anything, you’re far more likely to get sick than I am. I have more natural immunities,” Shion interrupted, and oh god, he was still thinking about parasites. “Well, probably anyway.”

He paused to shake the ladder, really testing the rusty metal in the loudest way possible. Wet, rhythmic thuds against the earthen wall filled the air. After a solid minute of this he released the bars, satisfied with their sturdiness. Nezumi pinched the bridge of his nose, and breathed out very slowly. 

There was no salvaging this. He surrendered.

“Nezumi?” Shion asked.

 “Yes?” he replied, without any actual irritation. Shion was Shion, after all. “More enticing facts about parasites for me?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to get in the water. You might not have my immune system, but if you get sick, I’ll take care of you.”

Nezumi opened his eyes, not expecting this opportunity, but refusing to let it skate by. 

“Will you now?” He drawled, carefully tilting his head back to show off the pale skin of his throat in a way he knew was alluring.

Shion’s eyebrows drew together, a puzzled expression on his face. Not exactly horny but this was a step above damp ladder shaking, at least. 

“I mean. Yes? I have medicine.” 

An awkward pause. Nezumi waited patiently, holding Shion’s gaze. He half-smiled at the slight flush that had begun to spread across his face. Finally, he was catching on. 

“What else do you have?” Nezumi asked, baiting the hook.

“I’m not entirely sure what you mean by that, Nezumi,” Shion floundered. Something stupid fluttered in Nezumi’s chest. “I didn’t really mean anything by that comment. I just thought it’d be nice to look after you.”

“Please tell me you’re not the type to fantasize about me catching the plague, Shion,” Nezumi teased, voice lowering. “You always did like playing nurse.”

Shion broke his gaze, abruptly shy. His ears were bright red. There it was. 

“Nezumi, I…” 

“Mmhm?” Nezumi replied lazily, drumming his fingers on his thigh. 

“Are you trying to initiate something? This is a very weird place to do that.”

Now it was Nezumi’s turn to choke.

 “It isn’t that weird— we’re in relative private, and you own this ‘park’. Besides, the screen walls are dark and there’s a lock on the gate. You mean to tell me you’re not interested?”

“It isn’t that, Nezumi,” Shion argued, a little too quickly. Got him.

“Then why don’t I join you in the water?” Nezumi drawled, running his hand up his thigh to the base of his shirt. Swiftly, he pulled it over his head. 

Shion, to his surprise, barely reacted. His face was a disturbing neutral.

“Actually, I don’t know,” Shion said, voice flat. “You made fun of me a lot before and I’d hate to throw off the pond ecosystem by doing something so irresponsible.”

 That move never failed him; Nezumi’s stomach dropped. “You’re serious?”

“Not at all,” Shion said, swimming over, a pleased, sparkling, vengeance in his eyes. “Sometimes I want to tease you too, Nezumi. Now take your pants off, please.”

“Asshole.” Nezumi glared, even as his shaking fingers fumbled with his fly. “How is it that you’re perceptive only when it doesn’t benefit me?”

“I recognize your techniques by now, even if I don’t always pick up on them immediately,” Shion teased, tilting his head in a slightly clumsy way that very much matched Nezumi’s own bedroom look earlier. Nezumi flipped him off before shimmying out of his pants and underwear. Shion’s grin melted into something sweet and approving. 

“I still think this could benefit you, Nezumi.”

Damn him. “I suppose we’ll have to find out. Step aside, Your Majesty, I’m coming in.”

“It’s—”

“—A drop, I’m well aware, I think I’ll manage—”

“—Wait, Nezumi!”

Nezumi had survived much longer falls, but the frantic way Shion’s hands hooked around his waist was definitely something new. The fall wasn’t even intense enough for Shion to actually catch him—  Nezumi’s feet hit the soft sand of the pond floor in seconds— but that was clearly his intent. The stupid thing in Nezumi’s chest squeezed, and for a moment, he felt oddly weightless, held by Shion in his dumb, half-empty, pond.

“Nice try,” he offered, tilting his head. They were close enough now that he could only fondly stare into one of Shion’s concerned eyes. “I didn’t think you’d actually try to catch me.”

“Well, I didn’t want you to twist your ankle,” Shion replied, warm breath tickling Nezumi’s cheeks. “That happened to—”

Nezumi kissed him, as if he could do anything else. Shion’s fingers curled against his back and scarred-but-healing bodies pressed as close as they could in the damp. 

“Glad you tested out that ladder, I think we’re about to give it some use.”

Shion’s voice was all curiosity. “Wait, how?”

“We could theorize, but I think you’ll enjoy the practical application much more,” Nezumi teased, fingers linking with Shion’s under the water. “Besides, it sounds like I need to show you some new techniques.”

Shion’s wet palm slid against his, displaying all the clumsy confidence Nezumi couldn’t get enough of, as they sloshed forward. 

“I think I can show you a few too, Nezumi.”

Nezumi laughed, pulling him in.

“Maybe next time. I feel like teaching you something for once. Pay attention, okay?”

[light-end-dragon]

Chapter 4

(Sound of the tavern door opening.)

Bartender: Welcome….

Men: Gyaaahha! 

Right as we opened the door, we were assaulted by the overloud guffawing from a group of men. I jumped at the unexpected sound, Bradley just wrinkling his nose.

Bradley: Ugh, look at this vulgar lot. Even Mithra has better manners than that.

Cain: True, he’d never make that much of a racket. Master Sage, don’t get separated from us.

Akira: O-okay….

Said group of men had taken up seats at the most central table in the bar, making it easy to see the source of the clamor. Their table was piled high with a lavish feast, like they were celebrating something.

However, the remains of their food was scattered everywhere, and several of them placed their muddy boots on the table. No matter how happy they seemed, just looking at it gave me an unpleasant feeling.

Akira: (If this were Shylock’s bar, he would’ve kicked them out already. I wonder why this bartender isn’t saying anything…) 

There were a number of other customers dotted along the wall, far away from the noise. They seemed to hate it too, but like the bartender, said nothing.

Bradley took a seat at the counter, leaning over it towards them.

Bradley: Yo, figured I’d stop by for a drink. Bring somethin’ good for me and this guy here, and juice for the squirt in the back.

Bartender: Most certainly. Are you travellers?

Bradley: Somethin’ along those lines. Pretty classy joint you got here, huh?

Bartender: …I am very sorry. I have already spoken to them several times, but as you can see…

The bartender’s posture crumbled, and I followed their gaze around the interior of the building. I could see things that were torn or broken all over, most likely because of this gang.

Cain: Man, these guys really are garbage….do they come here that often?

Bartender: Yes, they are my most unpleasant repeat customers. Granted, they probably only recently drifted down to these parts.

Bartender: I have no idea how they earn that amount of money, though. They’ll come here, raising a clamor for a few days, then disappear, and repeat the whole thing again.

Bartender: They themselves say they are mercenaries, but….theres no fighting here, not even conflicts between local lords. So I have no idea how on earth they’re earning anything. 

The bartender shrugged while serving us our drinks, then left to go take orders from the guests near the walls.

Cain merely took his drink, and was uncharacteristically silent as he took a swig, staring in the mens’ direction.

Cain: …Master Sage. Tell me about those guys; how they look, how many, what they’re actin’ like.

Akira: Huh? Oh, um….there’s a man with a scar on his cheek…he’s the most self-important looking, so he’s probably the leader.

Akira: If we’re going by appearance alone, he looks older than Oz or Figaro. He’s pretty tall and muscular. 

 Akira: There’s two others there about the same age as him; one of them is really well-built too, and the other is kind of unkempt-looking.

Akira: There’s one more there that’s younger than those three. He has long bangs, and the other two seem to bully him a lot. He looks a bit scared of them as well.

Cain: Okay, I’m gettin’ the picture now…thanks.

Cain: Okay, I’m gonna head over and talk with those guys a lil bit. They sound like the kinda guys who would know about some pretty awful things. 

Akira: Huh?! Wait, no, it’s dangerous!

Bradley: Whatever, just get goin’. Don’t fuck it up, got it?

Akira: Huh?!!!

Cain: Of course, of course. I’ll leave the Sage to you; come in at a good time, kay?

Without batting an eye, he clapped me on the shoulder and then headed over. Still worried, I leaned over to whisper into Bradley’s ear.

Akira: Is-is this really okay? Cain is very strong, but he’d raise a huge clamor if he drew his sword now, and he can’t use magic…

Bradley: Haha…yer real full of questions t’day, Sage. This is jus’ like what happened back when we started livin’ at the manor. 

Bradley: Picture me, the great Bradley Bain, feared bandit of the North, a terror to kids in their dreams, jus’ sitting at the table, eatin’ my food. Then, Mr. Central knight comes in.

Bradley: An’ what d’ya think he did as soon as he laid eyes on me? 

Akira: I..don’t know. What..did he do?

Bradley: Came straight over, flung an arm ‘round my shoulders, an’ said, “Yo, what’re you eatin’ there? It seems pretty good.” 

Cain: -Yo, what’re you eatin’ there? Seems pretty good.

I then heard Cain’s friendly voice, repeating almost verbatim what Bradley just said. 

He didn’t put an arm over any of their shoulders, instead leaning towards them in a familiar manner.

The men, however, grew angry at some strange young man suddenly approaching them.

Unkempt Man: Huh? The fuck are you?

Leader-like Man: You got the nerve t’ act all friendly with us??

In the sudden chaotic atmosphere, the young man with long bangs startled, his shoulders tensing up. 

However Cain, widening his eyes with surprise, just brought both his hands up in surrender.

Cain: Ah-my bad, my bad! That was pretty damn rude of me to just say hi like that. I’m sorry for interrupting your meal.

Cain: It’s just..you guys look like regulars, and you got some really fancy stuff laid out on your table, so I figured you might know what the best thing to eat here is. 

Cain: It’s my first time around these parts, and this particular tavern. If it’s okay, I’d love to hear your recommendations.

The group of hoodlums all glanced at each other, then back at Cain, who was offering them a handshake with an honest expression.

Despite being taken aback by his behavior, they still shook his hand,  glancing warily at the knight.

They did not seem to notice that Cain’s left hand rested casually on the hilt of his sword the whole time.

Bradley just shrugged as he drained his glass, standing up and stretching after putting a sizeable amount of silver coins on the counter.

Bradley: Barkeep, keep an eye on this one, will ya? Sage, you keep lookin’ too. Come over when its good.

Bartender: Thank you very much for your generosity; please leave it to me, sir.

Akira: W-wait, when you say good…..

Without stopping, Bradley just took large strides over to where Cain now was.

(Sound of fabric being grabbed.)

He then grabbed Cain by the scruff on his neck, much like he would a misbehaving puppy.

Cain: Gck-

Bradley: Oi. Ain’t I always sayin’ to stop wanderin’ off on your own and botherin’ the hell outta strangers?

Cain: Sorry, sorry, I kinda got excited. 

Bradley: Ugh. …Well, suppose it’s my bad for my partner here, he’s always like this. He’s jus’ bein’ a brat, so don’t think he’s got any ill will.

Leader-like Man: …..I guess…..

Bradley: Listen, I ain’t good with apologies so have a lil somethin’ on us.

Bradley: Though while we’re here, might as well ask for any interestin’ tales ya got of these here parts.

Bradley: We’re in the middle of travellin’ right now; any bit o’ gossip’s a help.

(Sound of a chair being dragged over.)

Pulling a chair over, Bradley flopped down on it with a heavy weight. 

At some point he must’ve taken out his magic tool, because unlike Cain and his sword, it was set down nearby as if it were a dare. 

Perhaps unconsciously, the gang of men then watched how Cain was going to respond. 

(Sound of another chair being dragged over.)

He too just pulled up a seat while giving a pleasant smile, falling in line with Bradley like they really were travellers who trusted each other.

Cain: What he said. That’s kinda also why I was askin’ for recommendations; I’d love to hear what you know.

The cheerful smile, the overbearing attitude, the innocent, endearing nature, gifts to make yourself be admired; all of it was calculated. All of it, a part of their plan. 

[marleysfinest]

getting in b4 u hit 200 so im first on the list but girlie u know what I want do I really gotta ask

((But also just fluff but if we kiss a lil that'd be ideal idk))

oh you know I got the ezekiel goods for my bb!

there isn’t a cloud in the sky, and the sun is almost too hot on your skin. almost. it’s a picture-perfect june afternoon; birds chirp in the nearby trees, the trickle of the fountain is but a faint whisper in the background, and in the distance an ice cream truck makes its rounds to eager boys and girls. but the most prominent sound, the most beautiful sound, comes from your husband as you both lay on the grass; your head softly resting on his stomach as he reads to you.

“O Helena, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!

To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne? Crystal is muddy. O, how ripe in show

Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow!”

zeke reads with such gumption and conviction, but you can’t hold back the grin or slight huff of a laugh that escapes your nose.

“what?” he asks, resting his book down slightly.

“remind me again why you’re reading this?”

“because I’m a seasoned and cultured individual,” he replies instantly. if you didn’t know any better you might have said he sounded wounded by your interruption. “that, and grisha’s back from his great english vacation. he sent me a photo in front of the globe and I know he’s gonna act up about it.”

you roll your eyes and crane your next to look up at him.

“gotta get one up, huh?” you ask. he averts his gaze from you almost bashfully, and lifts the book back up.

“I lost my place…” he mumbles in a sulk. you roll onto your front and rest your chin on his chest, taking a second to enjoy the way it rises and falls with his calm breathing.

“sorry. I think you were at the part where you tell me you love me?”

zeke rolls his eyes and discards the heavy book to one side with a thud against the lush grass. he enjoys these displays of faux annoyance and displeasure, knowing full well it always gets a rise out of you, and indeed you were always happy to oblige.

“c’mon,” he beckons, “get it over with.”

you grin from ear to ear as you shuffle up, bringing your faces just inches apart. he stops you just shy, resting a palm on your cheek as he brushes a rogue lock of hair from your brow. he takes a second to explore your eyes with his own, those thunderous oceanic eyes showing off a soft expression he saves only for you. after he drinks you in, he softens his hold on you and leans in, planting his lips on yours.

“I do love you, but that’s not the point,” he mutters, “now let me read. get comfortable again, it was helping me enunciate.”

[ghastlybin]

My skz concert experience that nobody asked for.

I just want a place to detail my memories while some are still fresh in my mind. Lol.

March 27, 2023.

First off, it was raining when we were going inside, hella stairs, was about to (and tempted) to water slide down the steps to our seats.

The girl next to me was kinda rude and kept giving me dirty looks but it’s okay because I’m on my way to her mom’s house as I type this ;)

Tour is titled Maniac. Of course they were gonna play Maniac. It was secured on the setlist. It was so fcking epic though.

THE SPIDER LEGS DURING VENOM WERE SO FCKING RAD.

-okay the notes are out of order from this point on lol-

Felix basically taught us about the water cycle after Muddy water. Science class 101

Chan: “Let’s give a round of applause to the kids for how good their english was!” (He said Something similar to this)

My mom: “this mf did not call them kids knowing they are around the same age”

It’s in their name, lol

So for context, skz played a game team vs team (who can get louder screams) and Changbin’s team lost- (btw it was team muddy water and I couldn’t hear the name of the other team because ppl screaming lol but for the sake of this, I’m gonna say Changbin’s team lol)

Changbin: I took my shirt off and still lost. I’m never taking my shirt off again.

Chan: We already take everything off

[Either before or after, fever dream goin crazy rn]

Seungmin: LOSERS 😆

Seungmin said the crowd barking makes him feel tough.

I forgot to press record for Easy and gave my phone to my brother and noticed it wasn’t recording until after the song 💀 It’s okay, it’s in my core memories.

A piece of confetti fell on me during haven and I fcking screamed as if it had Changbin’s number on it or smth 😭😭😭 my most down bad moment of the year thus far. Lmao.

I saw Changbin smile and was done for the night.

Felix kept winking, mf made me forget who I belonged to. (Joking, joking haha)

Minho is so fcking fine. Dude was GLOWING. I’m so close to blocking them on everything since he wants to be THAT fine.

Minho & Chan performed Drive. My mom knows btw so it’s not like she was gonna scold me as if I wrote the song. She caught on when Chan was like “the city is pretty big and open”. Not necessarily mom-friendly but we’re gonna let that slide.

Chan said Red lights was an adorable song. Everyone and their families SAW the ribbons, honey bee.

Phone gave up when I tried getting one last picture lol. Pfft. She went on a strike but it’s okay, that lil bitch. (Talking to my phone)

Idc I was showing out for Seungmin. The whole fcking crowd was. We do not play when it comes to Seungmin. And I will continue to show out for Seungmin.

Hyunjin sang Ice cream and I did not deserve to hear it, the mf is so pretty and I love Ice cream and I am unworthy but it’s chill, we ball.

Still kinda upset Minho dropped the ps4 controller in the little movie thingy. I’m sorry but those are expensive, I know y’all are rich but that hurt my soul ily still though.

Btw if I’m wrong & it wasn’t Minho, I will take the L. But PLEASE let me know. Like I said, fever dream is going crazy rn and I’m only writing these notes as I remember them. PLEASE let me know if I’m wrong.

I miss Jeongin already. His English (as is the others) is hella good and you could tell he and the others took the time to learn it so I hope they know they did great. The crowd chanted ‘I.N’ and he smiled and I think y’all should continue to do that.

The effects were so fcking cool and Jisung- I could feel his energy from where I sat. He never comes to play, and I hope he (and the others) sleep well tonight and that the sleep hits good.

Felix is the rizzly bear. Count rizz-ula. The rizz-ologist. Dude has W rizz. How the hell did he pull everyone in the venue in 2 seconds?

Felix also said he wanted to live here… honey, ily, but I can guarantee you that you do not. Respectfully. It’s a dumpster fire. Respectfully.

Felix also said “I didn’t even say anything yet” when the crowd screamed before he could speak just because he came on the big screens. Lmao.

Changbin was standing infront of one of the big screens while Seungmin was talking and my dumb ass saw Seungmin’s face zoomed in and tiny Changbin in the corner beside Seungmin’s face and I thought they had editors that shrinked Changbin. No one said I was smart okay LMAO

Idk how to explain it but seeing Changbin felt like drinking water after waking up at 3am. And before y’all (whoever decides to read this) are like “is that good or bad?” It’s good. Don’t lie. I know y’all like quenching your thirst.

BITCH THEY PLAYED HAVEN AND LIKE IDK IF YALL KNOW THIS BUT THATS THE SONG THAT CHEERED ME UP THROUGH A BAD TIME IN MY LIFE AND HEARING IT LIVE???? AND HEARING CHANGBIN’S VERSE (don’t get me wrong, I am ot8 as fck but Changbin is my ult-) I was about to cry. Like I’m about to rn actually. Literally I would’ve loved to hear ANY skz song live but this is the one song I hoped for and they supplied. So yeah.

THEY PLAYED HAVEN AFTER MY PHONE DIED HHHHHH I HAVE NO EVIDENCE BUT IF THERES A VIDEO ON YT OR ANYWHERE PLEASE LEMME SEE :((((

I even avoided ‘setlist spoilers’. If that’s a thing.

They made us bark (respectfully, I refused to bark 😤), they made us meow (I also refused to meow 😤), but I did NOT pass up Haw’ing to Chan’s Yee. I will never pass up a yeehaw, as a certfied yeehaw. However, Chan has yee’d his last haw. (Joking)

Oh yeah Chan asked if any of us rode a horse before and if it was for fun. I know we are yeehaws but bruh, that’s yeehaw to another level. (There were a good chunk of ppl that said yes. Respect.)

I COULD SEE CHANGBIN FROM WHERE I WAS SAT AND THATS ALL I COULD EVER WANT. HE LOOKED SO HAPPY AND HANDSOME. I’m about to get really down bad so I will pause and suppress it.

I collected some of the confetti because skz were shooting it out of cannons. That’s like the closest thing to merch I was able to afford.

Skz (multiple members) were like “hey, if we come back, will y’all come back too??” And ofc my broke ass said yes. Chan’s buying my ticket though so it’s secured. Sorry y’all.

FAM goes hard live. I also loved the backgrounds for each song. Production team was NOT lacking.

The band that played behind them, they are so talented too. Miroh is already a hype song but this band, we let them cook and they SERVED.

My ear drums are still vibrating but I will not complain. I knew what I signed up for the second I put myself through ticketmaster hell <3

My throat also took a nosedive off a cliff. I was about to pass out just to make Seungmin happy. When he says make noise, I’m using my voicebox until it’s begging to rest.

My arms are tired. Like FATIGUED but the lightstick stays up when they say “put your hands in the air” bye.

Also happy birthday to the stay two rows in front of me :) (I saw your sign) 💜🫶

Seeing skz always feels like hanging with friends. I know that’s very delulu of me, but yeah, the past two shows I’ve seen them in, they were always very crowd inclusive and like, idk, I felt safe and like nothing bad would happen.

I have hella PCD now though. Goodnight. I will add things as I remember them lol

[socaprince]

SOCA THERAPY - SEPTEMBER 1, 2024

Soca Therapy Playlist

Sunday September 1st 2024

Making You Wine From 6-9pm on Flow 98.7fm Toronto

The Moment (Dr. Jay Plate) - Muddy

TGIM - Lil Natty & Thunda

Stagga Dance - Lil Natty & Thunda x Muddy

Sound Check - Mad Skull x Wetty Beatz

Carnival Jumbie - Problem Child

Start (Kerry Stink Edit) - Dat-C DQ x Skinny Fabulous 

Starta Pack - Tionne Hernandez

Pampalam - Faith Callender

Explore (Radio) - V'ghn x Travis World

Addicted - Jab King x Travis World

Not From Here - Lavaman x Travis World

Take Jam - Adam O x Asa Banton

Jouvert Morning - J Fiyre

Engine Room - Olatunji

Sunshine - Blaxx 

Hold A Strain - Kernal Roberts

Thunder - Kes The Band

Mon Bon Ami - Angela Hunte

Human - Machel Montano

I'll Be Ok - Rupee

Soca Therapy - Patrice Roberts

Good Vibes Only - Alison Hinds

Fete Junkie - Leonce

Real Love - Nadia Batson

In The Center (BD Did It) - GBM Nutron x Farmer Nappy

Delilah - Kash

Formation - Father Phillis x Konshens

Jump - Machel Montano x Fatman Scoop x Papa Jay

For All Those - Statement

Live Yuh Life (Like Yuh Playing Mas) - Kes x David Rudder

TOP 7 COUNTDOWN - Powered By The Soca Source

Top Soca Streamed in USA on iTunes (Reggae) from Aug 3-20

7. Road Revenge - Khalifah

6. Saint Lucia Kings - Mantius

5. West Coast - Shwayze x Common Kings x Kes

4. Carnival Contract - Bunji Garlin

3. Unforgettable - Kerwin Du Bois x Patrice Roberts

2. Bicycle Ride (Soca Remix) - Vybz Kartel x Bunji Garlin

1. The Tape - Dash

Come Home - Nailah Blackman x Skinny Fabulous

Run Wid It (SMJ Refix) - Mr. Killa

Is We - Patrice Roberts

Born So - Problem Child

Bun Up - Shal Marshall

Shake Your Pamapalam - Asa Banton

Strictly Local - Asa Banton

Do Something Crazy - Asa Banton

Famalay - Skinny Fabulous x Machel Montano x Bunju Garlin

Anxiety (Muv Short Edit) - Patrice Roberts

Glory To Soca - Wety Beatz

Heads High (Jes Refix) - Kes The Band

Soca Or Die - Destra

Technically - Farmer Nappy x Destra

Reflection - Coopa Dan

Where I Am - Freetown Collective

PAN MOMENTS 

(2024 Toronto Pan Alive Champion) Inventor - Pan Fantasy

TANTY TUNE 

(1986) Parkway Rock - Rootsman

Shake It - Sound Rev

Hot Gyal Anthem - GBM Nutron

Arch - Rhea Layne

Holiday (Clean) - Problem Child 

Bye Bye - Miguel Maestre

Energy Killers (Road Remix) - Kerwin Du Bois

Cyah Hear Yuh - Patrice Roberts

Cyah Hear Yuh (Dr. Jay Plate) - Patrice Roberts

BYE x2 - Saddis x Jus Jay

Bare Good Vibes (DM On The Edit) - Shal Marshall

Forever Grateful - Mikey Mercer x Dj Spider

God Got Me - Marzville x Dj Spider

Play Date - TH3RD x Dj Spider

I Like That - GBM Nutron

Like It - Mr Blood x Dj Spider

Til Morning - Grateful Co x Dj Spider

Best Ride - Coopa Dan x Dj Spider

Shake - Ovadose

Wicked Waistline - Skinny Fabulous x The Fatha

Look Up (Caribbean Ceiling Challenge) Dj Cheem x Young Chow

Fair Sa - Hypasounds

NORTHERN PRESCRIPTION

Wkness 4 Sweetnss - Hndfll

My All - Nadia Batson

Round & Rosie - Nailah Blackman

Follow Dr. Jay @socaprince​ and @socatherapy

“Like” Dr. Jay on http://facebook.com/DrJayOnline

[fivelakesinwriting]

Umm can we get a jj fic that's just making out while a movie plays in the background...? Like a makeout sesh not leading to anything...?

I love your writing and think you could make it so cute...😊😊

Author's Notes: It was hard for me to pick a movie, but I ended up picking one that I thought fit for JJ, and is a personal favourite (also shout out season 2 for the lil' homage) If this was your request I hope you love it. Please let me know what you think if you have a moment! Thank you xoxoxoxo

Warnings: Brief mentions of Maybank home life, Otherwise fluffy! Just kissing, and touching.

Requested? YES! Requests for OBX are OPEN!

*My work is not to be transferred, copied, translated or reposted to any other sites without my permission. Please see my masterlist for all other works and warnings. Thank you! xoxo

Slow. JJ Maybank could do slow. He could be the King of taking things slow. He could keep his hands to himself and keep his....in his pants for as long needed, if that's she wanted. He would be the most gentlemanly Pogue to ever walk the Outer Banks.

It was their Friday night routine. A movie at her house, too many snacks and then they crashed on the couch. Her parents were fine with him staying there, they knew it was the best place for him. And they trusted him, surprisingly. So they didn't care about having a giant, blonde boy sprawled out on their couch from Friday to Sunday.

Her dad always greeted him with a smile, and a pat on his shoulder when he let him in the front door. Always asked him how he was as he let him inside, telling him to kick off his shoes and make himself at home. It was always foreign to JJ, but he did it anyways.

That Friday, though, they were alone. Her dad didn't open the front door to let him inside, or tell him to kick off his muddy boots. It was his girl who opened the door for him.

"Hey, gorgeous." JJ smiled as he leaned against the doorjamb with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Hi, baby." She beamed up at him before she stood on her toes and tossed her arms around his shoulders for a tight hug. He pressed a kiss to the side of her face and then followed her inside the house, kicking of his shoes as she looked back at him expectantly. He didn't think he would ever get used to that.

"So, what movie did you bring me tonight?" She smiled at him as she flopped on the couch, her knees hung over the arm.

"Thought it was your choice this time." JJ replied as he grabbed her feet, pulled off her fuzzy slippers and wiggled the tips of his fingers against the arch of her left foot to make her squeal.

"You don't pay attention to the movies I pick." She giggled with a kick of her foot away from his tickling fingers.

"I will this time, promise. Pay attention to whatever rom-com trash you pick." JJ scoffed as tossed his backpack down beside the couch, then placed his hands on the arm of the plush piece of furniture and leaned over her legs.

"Well, you're in luck. Because I didn't want to watch a romantic comedy tonight." She smiled as she opened her arms, reaching up to him and inviting him to lay in her arms.

"No? What were you thinking?" JJ responded as he accepted her invitation and laid his body on top of hers, spreading his weight on his hands so he didn't crush her.

"Maybe a scary movie? I know you like those." She grunted as his chest dropped against hers, her hands resting on his shoulders.

"Well, you're in luck. I brought one just in case you picked something lame." JJ grinned as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her nose.

"I don't have a VHS player, JJ." She teased as she reached for the soft wisps of blonde hair beneath his solid blue hat.

"Shut up. I didn't bring a VHS." JJ scoffed, a blush creeping up his neck and colouring his cheeks. He pushed himself up from the couch, reaching down to his bag and pulling out an old DVD from the island video rental store he never returned. If that place was still around he would probably owe more than the HMS Pogue was worth in rental fees.

He popped the disc in the player, then turned on the television, making sure his frame blocked her eyes from seeing what the was putting on. He always liked it to be a surprised. Her exaggerated whines were his favourite. The way she'd toss her body into his when he put on something from the 80's that she swore she didn't like, but would watch in a trance the whole time. He knew her better than she thought he did.

A smile crossed his face as he pressed play then slowly backed up towards the couch to take up his usual spot beside her. He rested his arm over the back of the couch and let her cuddle up close into the side of his body, her knees against her chest.

"I knew you'd pick this one! It was only a matter of time!" She giggled as she grabbed the collar of his shirt then turned her body so she straddled his lap.

"Goonies are like Pogues. We never say die." JJ shrugged with a lopsided grin as he placed his hands on her hips. He thumbed at the belt loops of her shorts and let her toy with the ends of his hair.

JJ's girl only smiled as she twisted her fingers into his hair as it poked out of the bottom of his hat, leaning her body into his as the movie started in the background. He wanted to make a smart remark about how he had been trying to get her to watch this movie for months, and she was distracting him.

But he really didn't mind the distraction. He had seen the movie probably a good two dozen times. Maybe more.

JJ placed his hands on her backside and tugged her closer against him, the heat from her body engulfing him. He pressed a kiss to her cheek as he slid his hands in to the back pockets of her shorts, letting her play with his hair.

"You smell really good." JJ mumbled against her cheek, then began to press kiss after kiss along her jawline down her neck.

"Thanks, baby. You smell good, too." She replied with a smile, her hands resting on his shoulders as he pressed a prolonged kiss to the side of her neck.

"No. I don't. Been helping my cousin work on his car all day. I smell like oil, and grease." JJ laughed as he pulled his head back and looked at her face.

"What's wrong with Ricky's car now?" She questioned as she traced over his strong shoulders, her eyes on her fingers.

"I think a list of things that are right with Ricky's car would be easier to answer." JJ scoffed as he pulled his right hand out of her back pocket and placed it on her thigh, his calloused fingertips tracing his own patterns on her soft skin.

"You're a good cousin, JJ." She stated softly before she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

JJ released a slow exhale through his nostrils as he reached his right hand up to place it on her cheek. A low groan rumbled in his chest as she shifted in his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck to pull herself close him. She was so warm in his arms, and she smelled so good - like the flowers outside of that library he used to visit as a kid. Fresh, but a little sweet.

"Take this off. I love your hair." She whispered as she pulled of his hat, placing it on the back of the couch then pushed her fingers up the back of his head and into his hair.

JJ smiled then leaned forward to kiss her again, not ready to let her go. He sealed his lips to hers in a firm kiss as his hand wrapped around the back of her neck, his own fingers twisted in her hair. He couldn't remember the last time he had spent so much time with a girl just touching her, kissing her, or learning who she was.

"JJ." She mumbled into their kiss, her eyes closed as his fingertips circled the back of her neck.

"Yeah?"

"My parents won't be home next weekend." She whispered as she dropped her forehead to his and smoothed her hands over his biceps, his skin warm and still a little sweaty from a day outside working on the car.

JJ leaned his head back on the couch and raised his eyebrows at his girlfriend. He had been with enough girls to know what that statement meant. Or what she was asking him, without really asking him. JJ placed both hands on her backside as he mulled over her statement for a moment.

"Where are they going? JJ questioned as his hands traveled from her backside to the sides of her thighs, her skin so soft and warm beneath his palms.

"A vow renewal on the main-land for some of their friends from college. I thought, if you wanted, you could spend the night." She didn't look at him as she answered, rather pulled her index finger through the collar of his T-shirt.

"Of course I want to. I always want to. But, you know that we don't have to, y'know, do anything. I'll spend the night next weekend just the two of us. But there's no like, expectation. We can just hang out and watch movies. Or I can build you a fire in that nice pit outside your dad never uses. Whatever you want." JJ replied, and he meant every single word. He could, and he would, wait for her.

"And if I happened to be naked?" She questioned as she thumbed at a piece of lint on his shirt, her eyes on his chest.

"Then I guess I'll be naked, too." JJ grinned before he pressed his lips to her cheek.

She held his face in her hands, her fingertips on his jawline, and turned her face to press her lips to his. JJ released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding in his chest and wrapped his arms around her middle again, keeping her flush against him. He licked at her bottom lip, the corners of his mouth turning up into a small smile as she whined a little and let his tongue slip inside her mouth. She reached to the back of his head, tugging on his soft, messy blonde hair as he dragged the tip of his tongue along the roof of her mouth. JJ breathing out a laugh as she rocked her hips on top of him.

"You make it hard to take things slow sometimes, pretty baby." JJ muttered as he removed his tongue from her mouth and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"M'sorry." She whispered as she twirled a strand of his hair around her index finger, her forehead against his.

"Don't be. You're worth the wait, and I kinda like just kissing you." JJ breathed as he placed a hand on the back of her neck once more to bring her lips to his.

In the back of his mind, JJ made peace with the fact that he wasn't going to get to show his girl one of his favourite movies that night. He figured there would probably be ample opportunity to show it to her again, and if she found herself in his lap again the next time The Goonies were on a treasure hunt...

Well, he wouldn't exactly mind then either. Whatever got her close to him.

Hotties:

@rafecameronspolo @barrysjumpsuit @barrysmanbun @vintageobx @fashion-fasting @drewstarkeysbitchh @babeyglo @pogueslandia @rottenstyx @whcclxr @soph0864 @beauvibaby @plutooryectors @futuremrsstarkey @multifandom-obsessed @siriusstwelveyears @drewstarkeysbitchh @mackenzielovee @glodessa

*tag list is open, please let me know if I forgot you or you would like to be added/removed from particular posts. I've removed the people that don't pre-populate :(

Please let me know what you think if you have a moment! Thank you so much xoxo

Requests for OBX ARE OPEN!

[zeeroweenies]

❝  WANNA PLAY PSYCHO KILLER ?❞

ft. baji

cw ✞ dark ; consensual non-consent ; predator/prey ; knife play ; fear play ; creampie kink ; use of ‘mr. killer’ ; degradation ; throat fucking ; drugging ; chase scene ; blood play ; impact play ; doll nickname ; bondage ; no aftercare. minors dnr/dni or blockeddd.

wc ✞ 4.2K

the first piece for my kinktober event, a lil late but we move 😍

You can run but you can’t hide.

Those were the words that rang in your head as you ran for your life.

The hooves of your feet came into contact with the earth repeatedly as you hit the ground running. The resonant crunch of dried autumn leaves leaving behind proof of your detrimental situation. The atmosphere that surrounded you was a continuous void of pitch-black that made you sprint aimlessly into nothingness, a tiny flashlight gripped in your sweaty hand being the only object illuminating your path.

Your efforts— although admirable— are to no avail with the ominous presence stalking behind you, tall, masked, and hot on your heels wielding sharp silver that glimmers in the pale moonlight, engraved letters cast along the blade forming the word scream.

Hm, surely he’ll make you scream next.

He already did, though not in the way he wanted; sweet fear radiating off of your short, skirt adorned body when you cried into the dead of night for help for the first time while he marched behind you, legs pedaling as you made an attempt to escape from him. But he’s not running, oh no. What kind of predator runs after his prey? Instead he’s taking his sweet time, steps leisurely and confident waiting for you to fuck up like all of the killers he’s seen in the movies do; arousal and blood shooting straight to the figure’s dick at the golden opportunity of you making a mistake. And just like out of some cliché horror film you do.

“Oh fuck!”

Making the age-old rookie error of looking over your shoulder to get a glimpse of how close the killer is from catching them, feet getting caught up in the mix and tied together as a result and flashlight cartwheeling through the dirt before tumbling to the ground face first with a hard thump. The impact of the earth on your cheek leaving a nasty bruise.

He could catch you now, he had full advantage. You were hurt, cornered, vulnerable. If he took his dig now he could have you by your pretty little throat, tear that tiny skirt apart and do whatever he pleased with you. But that wouldn’t be any fun.

A rush of blood throughout your skull makes your head ring with intense pain and your skin goes numb, barely being able to make out a distorted laugh not too far away from your position as you slowly begin to gain your senses back. Dizzily, you push yourself onto your elbows with a groan, micro-clumps of dirt returning to the earth as you hear a rustling in the cornfield followed by a gravelly voice.

“Don’t scratch up that pretty face, babydoll.” The killer’s lips pull wide into a smile through his mask, sharp canine-like teeth baring in the moonlight when he pulls it up to reveal his sinister features.

“Gonna have it all bruised up before I get to fuck it.”

The spheres of your pupils blow wide at the statement, wide enough that they could pop. His words strike dread through your entire body. And soon you’re lifting yourself from the ground once more, albeit wobbly— making a run for it again as you quickly dash to the nearby abandoned structure that’s close to the cornfield, hearing near-maniacal laughter in your absence.

This is gonna be fun. Maybe not for you, but he’s about to have a ball.

“Ready or not,” a wicked grin almost penetrates the figure’s mask as he pulls it back down, cock straining hard against his trousers before he begins to stalk you down again.

“Here I come.”

The depths of the cornfield pass you by rushingly as you sprint, wind tossing them about through the air making sharp thorns leave burning cuts on your soft thighs and brown stains on your worn dirty-muddy Chuck Taylors.

Almost there.

Your movements are fast, tits bouncing and nearly spilling out of your frayed tank top with a knot tied through the middle, finally reaching your destination although scathed with countless scratches and bloody cuts littered across your once flawless body. You had to leave the flashlight, fuck it— you don’t have time to go back for it now.

“Fuck, fuck, shit.” your chipped manicure comes to twist at the icy doorknob. Locked. Your head whips back as you jiggle the metal in desperation in search of the mysterious figure but he’s nowhere to be found, supposedly obscured inside the tall stalks of corn.

Your sight scans the area, pupils jittery as you look for something, anything that you can use to maybe smash the window with. To your avail, a brick conveniently lying on the porch catches your eye, and you silently release the breath you hadn’t known you’d been holding. Just your luck— perhaps you should be blaming that luck on something else, or maybe you wouldn’t have gotten this far.

The concrete mass feels heavy in your hand as you draw your arm back, letting it go without a second thought as you bring it forward in the same breath.

Crash.

“One, two, I’m coming for you,” a chirp resonates from your rear, and your head spins quickly to see your boyfriend catching up to you. But he’s not your boyfriend right now, he’s not supposed to be.

He’s supposed to be a serial killer like straight up out of a horror movie, a psycho. And you’re his prey, a ditzy, dumb little slut who’s friends and boyfriend just got picked off one by one with him saving you for last.

Your hand reaches for the opposite end of the broken window before unlatching the pesky lock, swinging the creaky door open with the shattered crunching of glass beneath your sneakers following behind you.

“Three, four,” he sings when he finally ascends the threshold, kicking the measly slab of wood open with one boot. “Better lock the door.”

Quickly, you dart upstairs after some internal debating, immediately finding a bedroom to hide in.

There’s a mattress: sheets soiled brown, deflated pillows resting against the head that’s just barely held up by a deteriorating frame and rusted springs penetrating the memory foam. Talk about a death bed. Then there’s a window, broken. Torn curtains flailing about freely in the night’s cool breeze that nips at your skin.

For a moment you think about choosing the option of crawling underneath the bed, but he’d be able to weasel you out quickly. Just like how the killers do in the movies. And with the faint but familiar crunch of glass crushing beneath a black pair of combat boots you know you don’t have much time to negotiate this decision. So you choose the latter, alternatively bolting to the nearby closet and shutting yourself in it.

The acoustical creak of floorboards make the tiny hairs on your body stand up as if you’re about to get struck by lightning, heavy footsteps through black combat boots nearing as your breathing picks up.

Everything is dark, light from the moon held up by the sky shining through the broken window like a night light.

“Five, six… grab your crucifix.”

A bone-chilling series of whistles with the deafening sound of a blade slowly being dragged across the crumbling wall nears your location, stopping at the threshold before letting it graze the edge with a sharp ding making your hand shakily but quietly fly to your mouth in apprehension to silence your dense breaths. “Seven… eight—”

He taps the rotting wood with the steel, smiling. “Aw fuck, guess that’s not the right movie is it, baby?” Mask now resting above his roguishly handsome face and tone condescending in attempt to draw you out of your hiding spot, boot loudly tapping the floor while leaning coolly against the doorframe. One, two, three.

This was a scare tactic, it had to be. You’ve seen it in the movies more times than you could count, how the antagonist would try to get their victim to show themselves by giving them a startle, making it easy for them to launch their attack. Couldn’t be any different in this scenario.

“I hearrr youuu,” a sing-song tone that sends chills down the length of your spine, legs beginning to wobble at the chance of being discovered.

Could he? Shit, maybe he could. The beat of your heart was hammering in your chest so loudly, like a prisoner trying to flee their cell, that perhaps he could hear you, sense your presence even in the lifeless abandoned home.

His eyes search the room as he emerges fully into the space, spinning the black leather handle of the knife skillfully between his fingers. When his head turns in your direction, to the closet, you can feel your heart stop and you have to force yourself to keep from breathing too hard or your ass would be as good as grass. He curiously takes a step toward the door, hand slowly and consciously reaching for the small wooden knob before—

Bump.

The focus that was once on the door is now turned to the bed where a loud noise went off. A wry chuckle falling almost mockingly past his lips before he slowly stalks over to the bed. Knife in hand, taking three steps forward and stopping before the foot before yanking back the tattered cover, “Gotcha.”

Except there’s no one there to get.

The edge of his blade finds his temple to scratch it as he straightens back up to his former position with a low laugh rumbling the base of his chest, lowering the mask over his face. Slowly and wearily exiting the room with cautious steps, “Tricky slut.”

A few moments pass before the wooden door is slid open again, your heated face streaming with tears you had no idea were there, forcing back sounds as you tread lightly, feet moving across decaying wood flooring gingerly and considerately or else you’d surely be a dead woman.

Your breaths and pathetic sniffles are quieted to a silence when you finally peek your head past the door’s entry, seeing Kei round the corner of the abandoned hallway while muttering something under his breath. “Where are you, you little bitch.”

Several moments pass before you can even think about mustering up the balls to step foot out of the confined closet.

You finally proceed to emerge into the hallway fully once you think he’s gone, the pounding in your heart calming as you wipe your tears and give yourself a dull, lifeless smile; a pat on the back for making it this far. It’s just like in the movies. Beat the final level, outsmart the trickster at his own tricks and come out as the victor. In the end, killers really aren’t that smart. Guess this means you win.

“Found you.”

The smile vaporizes from your face the moment the dreadful words and dark voice float through your ears. He came quick before you even knew it or could hear him, materializing out of thin air behind you and the spots of your vision going black when a thick cloth material is pulled over your eyes. Another wet cloth being forced against your nose and mouth accompanied by a strong unfamiliar scent that paralyzes you, burning the hairs of your nostrils and intoxicating your senses causing your head to feel light and your knees weak.

Incessant screams are muffled by the bag blanketing your face, cries of help and no all subdued by the cloth and Keisuke’s utter strength manhandling you to another part of the barren house.

“You fucker! Get off! Get— off—!” You still struggle though you feel yourself losing the fight, missing hit after hit due to the drugs that asshole fed you that’s actively coursing through your system, kicking, wrestling, and scratching whatever exposed skin you could. Piece of shit, he’s not playing fair. “Shh, sleep for me… That’s a good girl.”

Feet moving against your own accord and squeaking against the hardwood as you thrashed blindly in a vice like grip. It didn’t register in your brain that you were being taken to a lower area until you felt yourself being dragged down a flight of stairs and having your hands bound roughly, head full of cotton with your limbs becoming limp as cooked vegetables. And that’s when everything went black. Pitch.

In your quiet state, everything swirls around you. Colors, vision, voices, all slurred and distorted.

That drug must’ve had you knocked out for a while, because the bag leaves your head the second you gain consciousness again, ruffling your hair in the process as your vision returns to you. Pretty lashes damp with tears and mascara blotted as you actually come face to face with the male for the first time. His frame is tall above you as you sit below him at your knees and wrists aching from rope burn. Even in your situation, you couldn’t help but study how handsome he looked. Black bomber jacket covered in horror embroidered patches sewn into the breast with straight-leg jeans and infamous combat boots to complete the look. Yeah, he looked like a killer if you ever seen one.

“Fuck, you’re a crafty little bitch. Can’t believe you had me chasing your skank ass all over the place, actually had me thinkin’ you were gonna get away for a second,” he smiles wryly as if he’s got you cornered like a wounded animal, rambling on and on about things you can’t comprehend as you just sit there. Defeated. Wrists raw and beginning to draw blood from the tight rope that bound your arms taut behind your back, leaving you helpless, defenseless, and weak. You don’t even think you have enough strength in you to fight back at this point.

Is this the part where you beg for your life? For him to not kill you?

Your eyes go glassy and dry from the amount of time you’ve forced yourself not to blink in disbelief, stinging when a tear finally forces its way out of the pit of your eyes and flows freely down your face as you struggle to form a proper sentence. “Why are you doing this?”

The ravenette’s rant is interrupted by your sudden query just when his ice gray irises connect with yours, baring his sharp white canines in all their fanged glory and laughing dryly at the question, laughing at you.

“Cause I can.”

Most pyschos have a motive— a reason for doing the fucked up shit that they do. Michael Myers, Jigsaw, even Billy fucking Loomis had a motive, their very own personal rationale or last staw that finally made them snap. But this one, he’s just a sick fuck.

Those three words only make you tremble in place, causing more tears to fall, pushing you to say anything that’ll appease him if it means he’ll let you go in one piece. “Please let me go, I-I won’t tell anyone, I swear! I’ll do anything, Anything you want!”

He smirks, leaning into you, “Anything?”

“Anything!”

The length of his dick presses at the front of his jeans at your desperateness, giving you a once over and surprised at how suddenly compliant you are before he straightens again, “If you wanna live,” fingers skillfully unbuttoning his pants and tugging his zipper down, hard cock springing free against gravity as he grabs a fistful of your hair before jerking you towards him roughly, “You better suck my dick like your life fucking depends on it, cause it does.”

A wave of arousal shoots through your body, and then your pussy. You shouldn’t have been getting off to his sick shit, but you obey him nonetheless, your cunt too. Pathetically scuttling on your knees against the cold concrete floor of the dim-lit basement as you grovel below him, wrapping your swollen lips around the head of his dick the second he holds it up to your mouth, getting your teeth out of the way in an effort to take him deeper, lolling your tongue across the underside of his length all while trying not to gag.

You move at a lazy pace for what seems like thirty seconds, probably due to your catatonic and shaken up state, before you feel two huge hands yanking at the roots of your scalp to pull your hair with harsh force.

The skin in your knuckles drains blood from squeezing your fists so tightly when the taller male forces himself all the way down your throat, making a small whine vibrate around his shaft and causing your eyes to snap tight, jaw going slack and allowing him to violently fuck your throat.

“Look at you, you’re disgusting.”

Your mouth’s warm, wet, and practically sucks him in, the tip hitting your esophagus. It looks so fucking pretty stretching around him each time he slams into it that he almost feels bad knowing he’s the cause behind the near pained expressions etched across your gorgeous fucking face because he’s using your throat like he doesn’t care about you getting off. But come on, there’s no way you’re not getting off when you’re making a fucking mess all over his boots like you are now, needy little hole drooling slick all over the expensive leather and leaving a wet spot on the freezing concrete, humping him like a slut in heat when he tells you to grind on it or he’ll fucking kill you, and looking up at him through lust-crazed and fucked out eyes.

That’s right, look at me you nasty fucking slut.

He drives his hips into you a few more times. The wet, sloppy sounds of your mouth are enough to have him cumming, heavy balls slapping against your chin and masses of spit coating your chin and dripping onto your shirt, fucking his cum down your throat and groaning loudly as the slightly bitter taste of semen floods your senses.

The pain in your scalp lessens when your hair is released, chin now being held in his strong grip as you’re forced to meet his cold stare. “Swallow.” You immediately comply, lest you want to meet the end of any more cruel punishment, the liquid travelling all the way from your throat to your stomach.

“Can.. Can I go now?” your breath and words come out shaky. “I did what you asked, please…”

The long-haired male thinks over it for a second, still hovering over you.

“I’ll tell you what. If you say, ‘please Mr. Killer, don’t kill me,’ maybe I’ll think about letting you go. Maybe.” It’s either that, or you clean up that fucking mess you made on his brand new boots with your slut mouth. He’s being merciful, he thinks, letting you off easy.

“Please…” your weak response earns the hardest slap you’ve ever received across your face, leaving a hot mark that stings in place as Keisuke leers down at you, lips tight.

“Do better.”

“Please Mr. Killer,” you sputter a cough, leftover cum and spit leaking from your mouth while you beg harder, “Please don’t kill me,”

A twisted grin befalls him, “Don’t worry baby, m’not gonna kill you yet,” he says before manhandling you onto your stomach, your panty-covered pussy hidden by the tiny skirt you sport before even that’s flipped up, leaving you open and exposed as you’re pulled up onto your raw knees, cheek freezing against the hard ground.

He thinks your pussy’s the prettiest thing he’s ever seen aside from your face, wet puffy lips spilling from between the string of the pink lace thong. You don’t even try to shield yourself, it’s not like you can anyway, wincing and whimpering when he pulls the seat taut with his index finger and lets it snap painfully against your clit. “That hurt?” he asks, cooing and tone full of faux sympathy as he stands to his full height, pressing his boot against your cunt with force and grinding it against your clit, squishing and slick sounds confining the spacious room. “Yeah? How ‘bout that, that hurt too?”

“Stop, you’ll get me dirty!”

“Dirty? This pussy’s fucking filthy, look how wet it is,” he marvels at the strings of slick connecting the sole of his boot to your soaked panties, “I don’t think a disgusting slut like you can get more dirty than this.”

All of a sudden he’s crouching behind you, and you feel something sharp— albeit cold, dragging along the curve of your ass and under the fabric of your panties before a ripping sound cuts through the tension-thick air, a light scream pulled from you at the same time.

That’s… It’s his knife.

And before you know it, the other end is slipping through your slit with ease, your pulse quickening as the now wet handle prods your hole, “W-What are you doing… stop it!”

“Stop? Or keep going?” he quirks an eyebrow, noticing the way your little whore mouth says one thing but your pussy’s doing most of the talking, fluttering around the edge of the handle and trying to suck it in as he presses it in deeper, a desperate whine slipping past your wet lips.

“You want me to stop, and yet this pussy’s all wet.” He derides, letting the handle pop from your entrance before spinning it on his fingers to the blades side, cutting your hands free and yanking you onto your feet while you struggle like a baby bird finally leaving the nest as the stronger male slams you against the nearest wall.

“You’re a fuckin’ liar, you don’t actually want me to stop. You want me to keep going, hold you down and fuck you like a worthless slut. You want me to use you like a cumdump, right?”

You shake your head no, but your cunt throbs, thrashing in place still without the burden of bound wrists but no use with his hard cock now pressing into your cunt, lewd moans unable to be kept back as he starts off with an unforgiving pace already.

Poor you, lucky him.

He can barely focus on your walls gripping him when you keep tussling about in his hold, continuous movements making him force your head back with a rough tug to your hair. “Keep moving and I’ll fuckin’ kill you.”

“No, p-please! Please don’t!”

“Shut your trap, or these sweet insides are gonna make a mess all over the floor.” He presses cold steel to the bottom of your stomach, almost deep enough to cut, threatening. “And I’m not talkin’ about that pretty pussy of yours either, baby.”

He continues to pummel into your willing cunt, bratty protests dissipating into pleads of more, and keep going as your walls relax and tighten around him in intervals, milky transparent cream collecting at his base with each brutal push and pull of him into you.

Your boyfriend— the killer. The two of you had gone through a lot of scenes together, ranging from vanilla stuff to darker kinks. But nothing you’ve ever done has been as intense as this. This… this was fucked up on a whole different level. Something as taboo as this was either bound to get you outcast by your peers if anyone knew about it, or burned at the stake for getting off to something so foul and perverse.

And yet you tell him to keep going, to stuff your pussy with his dick, to fill you up with cum and use you as nothing more than an object for his pleasure.

It’s getting close, your orgasm. Hanging over your head as your walls clamp around him, breaths getting heavier and moans getting louder with your chipped nails clawing at the gravelly wall as his fingers hook inside your mouth, ass moving back against him to try to fit more of him inside you, cries for help non-existent. Though there’s no need to beg for help when it feels good, does it?

A rough hand slaps over your mouth, muffling your whines and whimpers.

“Shut the fuck up and be the cumdump you were made to be.” Your eyes roll back into your skull so hard that they’ll probably get stuck, feeling his load spill into you at the same exact moment you cum, fucking you through the aftershocks of your orgasm as your eyes shut tight and allow him to use what’s left of you. Your breath feels shaky as his cum leaks from your hole, whining and lids fluttering as your body deflates.

The knife in Baji’s hand finds a home in his back pocket so he can catch your limp form, crumpling in his arms as you flash him a hazy, fucked out smile.

His slightly blown pupils scour your face for any signs of dissatisfaction or fear, even though there seems to be none. “You okay, babe?”

He’s always been such a worry wart.

“That shit was fucking amazing,” a weak reply finds its way past your lips, groggily and crazily moving your hands about like you were describing some kind of mind-blowing experience.

“I’m taking your crazy ass home,” he kisses away the sheen of sweat that glistened across your forehead. “Need to get you cleaned up, I think those drugs are fucking with your brain.”

You give him a hum in compliance as he scoops you up with ease, “Okay, Mr. Killer.”

📂 : @lovncity @misslovingpearl @haitaniproperty @bbyspiiice @shawtybethicc @shounenmangaslut @zvkoo @animeangel21 @motherkhal @rougedoll @lilwaifuvert @generationaldaffodil @alia232 @forbaji @cyb3rmlf @toruskithes @peachwrldsblog @dabismissingcumsock @frozen-phoenix17 @sunarintarousslut @hxricane @lalyloopsy @m-marsz @fairyhvpen @ewaiyana @99tcs @flwersajou @vilesinx @cyberdeanpiegiant @unfortunately-tia @christian-do @izukine @nsprinx @a$tr0bab13 @sangwoahonthebeat @kimoraa18 @sinningforrory @tojigal @riyahrocks @lovemoreworrylessv @ctrl-alt-dlete @gojocumslut @chososrealgf @matsukashi @hakk-ai @astralfics @risano @hanmashuiji @messofavs @cutiebuginette @izuoyarmin @mikaa7 @hiddensideofmoon @mrszoomet1 @uhitsniyahig @zyn-th @iheartdabii @jaegerluv @chosos-angel @faepixie @chidwhoriii @levierenandarminsslut @ryugamii @abbyy-cxm @yumijaeger @qudvxnkanx @nezsded @bruised-lips @lucacangettathisass @thethyri @hunniiibunniii @jjkyuuslut @nyctosin @steponmiya @hybristophilaa

if i couldn’t tag you it’s probably due 2 ur visibility settings, i’m sorry :( also couldn’t tag the rest cause i hit the tag limit, also sorry!

[the-possum-writes]

Green Knight (Fern), prompt 12, full moon. Non-binary/gender-neutral reader goes for a walk with GK, it’s a full moon, and things get a lil risqué in a clearing. Everything else is up to you!

🍁[Halloween Prompts] 🎃

12. Full moon

A/n: Oh hey it's you! ☺️ Won't be needing to tag you in this one hehe, good day.

🔸Character: Green Knight (Fern)

🔸Fandom: Adventure Time

🔸Tags: Suggestive content, Gender neutral reader

🔸Wordcount: 708

🔸Taglist: @watchingfromthefloorboards

Small talk is non existent between you and this green knight. Your muddy boots on the other hand, chat with the forest soil as you stomp through crunchy leafs and twigs, the trees eventually thin out into a clearing, unraveling the full moon that was hiding behind tree foliage looming over your head for the past hour.

While GK carries most of the scavenged goods on his back it doesn't slow him down in the slightest, he walks past you with a grunt. "What's the hold up? Move it." he commands from under his helm, but you ignore him, in exchange for plopping down on the nocturnal grass.

"We've been going on at it since 8am, let me catch a break." you insist but the knight isn't persuaded.

"Gumbald wants this stuff by dawn," his tone reminds you of a pushy ex manager.

"If he wants it so bad he can come for it! even better just take my part and go on without me."

The crickets singing in the background is comically fitting when he doesn't snap back, eyeing your burlap bag with consideration before giving up with a sigh. Raising the visor from his helm like a sign of peace, "Ten minutes." he states, dropping his own share of scrap metals as he joins you on the ground. You stare upwards, admiring the celestial object floating in the night sky, its complete body bright enough to illuminate the clearing. When walking through the forest you could only see glimpses of its light, but now that it's in full view it's nothing but relaxing.

"9 minutes." your friendly knight interrupts your train of thought.

"Oh glob, what are you an alarm clock? Enjoy the scenery dumb dumb, you've been cooped up inside Gumbald's lab I thought you'd appreciate it.." you snap back, but the way he avoided your line of sight was a telling sign that you pinched a nerve. "...Sorry."

"No need, you're not the one who shredded me to pieces." his tone softens, leaning back as he preps up his upper body with his elbows. "He brought me back and gave me this cool armor, the least I could do is scavenge and deliver stuff on time." Green Knight stared at the bag he was carrying before redirecting his gaze at the moon.

He so pretty like this, the moonlight reflecting his armored body, so many spikes hiding a soft interior.

You scoot closer to him, not caring if it left grass stains on your bum. He's worth it. "Hey. How about we pretend nothing of that exists? just for the next 8 minutes." not only did your body get closer to him, but so did your hand. Gently encasing it over his, the pointy gear felt uncomfortable in your palm but he reshaped it so that it was his normal hand intertwined with yours. Gk wiggles his fingers for a bit, feeling your  tender skin against his grassy one before gripping it tight. Oh how he would cherish the touch of those hands on him, so warm, so comforting. The moon remains as the only witness during the first kiss, soon followed by another, and many more after that. An ever growing want surfacing between the two of you with each lick and involuntary whine, your hands going up to his chest as if he were a life ring keeping you afloat from drowning further, if the moon could talk it would call you out for lying. I mean, you're already tipping on the edge here. Your knight in shining armor coaxed you onto of him, knees already on either side of him as you  mount him like a trusty steed.

With a final breath you pull away from Fern while a trail of saliva glints in the night light, giving the young man a taunting smile as you remind him. "It's already been 10 minutes~"

GK makes an audible groan, sounding more annoyed than anything. "Forget about that." he pulls you in for another smooch but you lean away. "But what about Gumbald?" you continue to ruffle his grass blades.

Your Green Knight grabs a hold of your legs, pulling you closer to him as he states. "Gumbald can wait!"

That's the spirit.

[introloves]

andjkfndmmfnf alpha bokuto in a rut n omega reader walks into his room wonderin what’s goin on,,, yea thats the tweet 🥰🥰

lmao probably too early to b writing abo but here we go, this is rly dirty i’m so sorry hdjdhs

— a/b/o + alpha! bokuto + ruts + omega! reader + water sports kinda? mentions of excessive arousal + big dick bokuto + size kink + lotsa cum, like a lot

you don’t realize the unmistakable haze of an alpha in rut until you’re standing outside bokutos door.

your eyes have glistened over, pupils dilated, breathing just a touch bit heavier.

‘what am i doing?’ you ask yourself through the muddy mess that is your mind.

‘what’s that smell?’ you inquire, while reaching for his doorknob and twisting.

‘it smells so good.’

the door creaks open, and you’re hit straight in the chest with an aroma that sparks a deep throbbing want right between your legs. it catches you off guard, almost throwing you sideways.

“y/n? what the fuck are you doing here?” bokuto’s voice is feverish, lowly growls cutting every syllable in a harsh display of restraint.

it’s so very dangerous for a lil omega like you to be so close in his space while he’s in rut.

you blink twice, finally fighting the allure and pull you stupidly submitted to.

“kou! i’m so sorry!” you whine, watching him get up off his bed, thighs glistening with sweat, bulging under his shorts, you can see each clench of muscle in his torso as he makes his way to you. your eyes can’t leave the imprint of his cock, length of it bobbing with each step, right between those thighs of his.

you’re fucked, this little slip up is something akin to a fatal mistake, you’ve surely sealed your fate with this.

because once an alpha makes contact with an omega during a time like this, especially one as mouth wateringly tiny and supple as you, the need to claim and mate and pump them full of cum pushes any other logical judgment down.

you’re scared, ashamed at the steady stream of slick already flowing down your legs when he stands before you, you already know he’s a big man, but with the submissive pang in your tummy, making you weakly shy away, he looks like he’s doubled in size.

“it’s okay.” he breathes, licking his lips, hands reaching out to touch your face.

“it’s okay. not your fault.” bokuto growls, bending down to swipe his nose at your neck, the sound of your wetness dripping on to the floor makes his eyes widen, the last string of sanity snapping.

his last coherent words to you are a rushed:

“i’m sorry.”

before he picks you up, hands hauling you onto his hips, smearing all that slick down his sides.

it makes it hard to keep a good grip on him, he can feel your hands tighten around his shoulders, but he’s got you. bokuto would never let his little mate fall, he was born to protect and please you, made to hold your weight up, made to keep you safe.

it’s all crazy, you’re not mated, unclaimed, and he’s thinking about you like you’re already his. you’re just his roommate, someone that he has been harboring a crush on for so long. it wasn’t supposed to be like this, the both of you are so good about keeping distance during ruts and heats, this small little slip up so detrimental to the relationship the two of you will have.

but it’s not like either you or him are complaining, youre melting in his embrace, letting him set you on the bed, letting him take your pants off, letting him hook his fingers into the waist band of his shorts.

you want him so bad you can’t think of anything else, nothing other than the way his big cock is presented so nicely to you, the sheer length of him bending under his own weight.

he can see you flutter around nothing at the sight of him, it has him absolutely keening at the way your cunt already gushes out streams of clear slick in preparation for him. he knows you’re made for him, knows your cunt is already dilating to take him better.

he can’t wait, slides in with a fever simmering in his balls.

koutarou all but howls while fucking you, a crazed fucked out gasp leaves him when he cums already, not even three pumps in, but it’s not enough to satiate the thrum of arousal. his head drops down to your neck, whining at the way it burns to still be this hard and unsatisfied.

he fucks the cum he just dumped inside you out, pooling it with your own slick right at the junction of where your ass meets the bed.

“fffuck, koutarou, fuck!” you squirm, gripping his neck, biting down on his shoulder to keep your screaming down just a little.

it takes him cuming another two times, all but bathing you in it, before he realizes that it’s your own orgasm that’ll get him where he wants.

so he folds your legs up, pressing you into the bed, keeping both legs still in one hand while the other paws your clit furiously, drunk on giving everything he has to make you cream around him.

it works, you’re all but kicking him, legs twitching as you cum around the sloppy pistoning of his big cock.

“oh, oh, ‘m cumming.” you scream, shutting your eyes when you feel him spurt hotly inside.

it’s enough, finally he feels his dick soften, finally he can rest.

bokuto plops down, almost crushing you with his weight. round muscles pin you down on the bed, you can’t move and you’re sure if your body wasn’t made for the rough fucking of an alpha you’d probably be dead.

it takes him another second to unfold you, gently unsheathing himself from the mess that’s your sloppy, wet, sticky cunt.

you’d talk all about the dynamics of your newly blossomed relationship when he wakes up, you think, joining him in how fast he’s knocked out.

[milogreer]

HELLO here are my incoherent thoughts on these kick ass playlists 💖 this is even longer than part one because i'm soooo normal about blake, milo, and morgan specifically. obviously. have fun 😇

elliot

this side of paradise takes me out EVERY TIME. ENOUGH

okaayyyy fourth of july? closing this playlist now-

RIBS?? rubs temples

frame the halves and call them brothers….

RUN BOY RUN IS MAKING ME SICK

no fuckin way you put sufjan’s fourth of july on here too. HELLO?

blake

sorry in advance ‘cause i fear. i will be very insane about this one. 2 hours and 45 minutes??

okay so i already said in previous tags that ‘the red means i love you’ made me grind my teeth together but i’ll say it here too. cause it’s true.

“i can fit two people under my skin […] you crawled up in there and joined me within” LOVE this song grrrr

monet issues ……… okay i am listening. “spent too many years finding myself in the wreckage under rubble, i got myself in trouble” “blood doesn’t mean a thing when you cannot fucking breathe and you lose yourself completely” IM DONE LISTENING.

STALKER’S TANGOOO A CLASSIC. no notes.

“and i found jesus, what a liar, so i trade licks with muddy waters” COME ONNN

FUCKIN SLEEPWALK?? holy shit i haven’t heard this song in ages. fuck this one is so good

stoppp stop stop saint bernard??? this song makes me CRAZY

an unhealthy obsession ✔️ another classic yandere song. “you’ve got those eyes that drive me crazy and i’ve got eyes to watch you sleep” 💀

THE WAY MY JAW DROPPED ON IDLE WORSHIP

BACKSTABBER OMG. i legit haven’t heard this song since i was a teen. fuck yeah. bonus points for the basement line gdkjghfkl

“i hear voices, i see visions / these spirits are your prison” ‼️‼️‼️

of course we must have meant to be yours. what yandere character playlist is complete without it

cold cold cold YESSS. GENIUS. “as the darkness falls, it fills up both my eyes / my life before me like a flash in the night” YES

this is love is going to make me start throwing things for REAL. “everyone that tried to fix me knows that i can’t change a bit / i’ve got no shame, got no pride, only skeletons to hide” RRRGGGG

sitting with brutus for a long time. many thoughts. also “as i set to face it, i’m unsure / should i embrace it, should i run? what motivates me, hatred? is it love?” GOD

‘bad idea right?’ mhm mhm nodding sagely

MY WAY OF LIFE. YOU GET ME.

AND SUPER PSYCHO LOVE WOOO. i love yandere songs <3

this took almost my whole lunch break but it was so worth it. tysm for this i can’t wait to be even more mentally ill about blake than i already was by listening to this in full lmfao

sam/darlin

oh my fuckin god francesca.... "how could you think, darlin, i'd scare so easily?" "my life was a storm since i was born, how could i fear any hurricane?" STOP.

thank you for putting lil nas between two hozier songs bc i needed the reprieve honestly before de selby (part 2). this is sick

save a horse ride a cowboy my beloved <3

YOO FIRECRACKER. josh turner <33 ik sam is literally southern but it's still so fun to me when there's country songs on his playlists 'cause i feel like country songs are never on character playlists :') i love this

no but this is full of gems... tongues & teeth, we'll never have sex, arms tonight, the night we met, until i found you, i found ?? it just keeps going. NORTHERN ATTITUDE?? LITTLE LION MAN. CEILINGS. i have to get out of here actually

I'M DYING AT SHAKE IT FOR ME. how is this song from 2011 i feel SO OLD

sam

pleaaase please not family line again 🫠

bdg covered lay all your love on me??? this is sending me to the MOON

MMM ain't it fun is so so good. thinking

i think you had believe me in one of your other posts abt sam but mannn MAN. MAN I LOVE IT.

seeing jaymes young on playlists gives me ptsd like i KNOW whatever song it is is gonna hurt. and it did here too 😔

david

kind of really obsessed with this cover of make a man out of you

bahaha true love by p!nk 😭 sooo real. i love this song

[sees yellow by coldplay] HEY 🫵🏼 stop that!!

SAINT BERNARD AGAIN BRO. CMON

i don't know welcome home son by radical face but i know enough radical face to be afraid of that song LMAO

asher

hard times is such a banger for ash, like ... this energy with these lyrics >>>

wow i only know a handful of these actually 🫣 LOVE scrawny for him sm AND ELECTRIC LOVE<3

milo

MY MAIN MAN. RGHH. something so personal abt his cover having a cross necklace *_*

good old fashioned lover boy EXACTLY EXACTLY. i'm literally always saying this

listening to i can't handle change like this 😐🧍🏼‍♀️ why would you do this to me

hmm i wasn't sure abt sweater weather at first but actually yeah... yeah

oohh nothing is so sweet 🥺 like giving me a cavity sweet. i love it

wait i've been listening to this one as a real playlist and why did it take me halfway through everywhere i go to remember this wasn't just my liked songs LMFAO

rolling from would that i into bad idea right has me CACKLING. kind of a genius pick! really fun song from either POV honestly

WOMANIZER IS SO TRUE like sometimes i'm sorta picky abt referring to him as some kind of playboy but like . he's CHARMING. we all know this. he sure as shit knows it

oh fuck shut up and drive?? between this and animals on david's playlist i'm gonna act UP

hey speaking of nickelback LOL she keeps me up is such a fun song

HAHAHA VIOLET?? "looking through the peephole on the door of my apartment" STOP that's so funny 😭😭

hmmmm. slides habits onto my blake playlist.

us putting teeth on our milo playlists🤝 god this song rules

what the fuck did troye sivan put in this album?? "i feel like my mother might like you" 🥺🥺

jealousy jealousy !! "i think too much 'bout kids who don't know me" SHH. HUSH. finding out even milo gets self conscious was like a kick in the head

OH MAN CLASSIC IS SO GOOD.

vincent, vincent/lovely, & porter

speedrunning all them in one go cause i'm not super into these guys RIP

two birds is SICK it is sick and twisted on every playlist i've ever seen or put it on

extremely satisfied to see electric love on here LMAO opportunity knocked and you answered!

STOP WITH SUFJAN'S FOURTH OF JULYYY OW

strawberry wine ....... 🫠

oh my god and through me (the flood) wtf.

LITTLE TALKS. good god i was just shot back to my sophomore year of high school

oohhhh the busted wine bottle for porter's cover >>>

ok the first four songs on porter's KICK ASS. brutus in this context gives me goosebumps like crazy ("if you want i'll call you king, but why do i lie awake each night thinking instead of you, it should be me" GEEZ)

first time??? okay. i'm glad that's the end of this because that's so mean 😭

geordi

this luigi's mansion remix goes so hard

FUCK ABOUT IT >:0 my best friend sent me that for them a few weeks ago!! sick and twisted but so so tasty

songs i can't listen to is going to make me WEEP. AHHHH

literally the first line in i love you so gets me every single time for him 😐 and it's all downhill from there

vampire?? VAMPIRE? dog. you can't do this to me.

DIAL DRUNK YOU CANTTT DO THIS 😭😭

okay my girlfriend is a witch is making me giggle so you're forgiven LMAO

never mind you put be nice to me on here. "there's very little left of me and it's never coming back" WE'RE SO OVER

morgan

^ me rn opening morgan's playlist knowing i'm to blame for it. i’ve had dinner between morgan and geordi so i have ENERGY.

i only know once in a lifetime from the meme but “letting the days go by, let the water hold me down” ✔️✔️✔️ same as it ever was‼️‼️

DEAD MAN’S PARTY YESSS THE VIBES!!!!

ooohhhh what’s the time where you are !! i rly liked this one when i first heard it on milo’s (i think) & it fits rly well here too :0

murder on the dancefloor ✍🏻✍🏻

I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU EXPECT STARING INTO THE TV SET 🎶🎶 FIGHTING FIRE WITH FIRE

argh i have GOT to listen to more of duo’s music ….

GIRLS ON FILM 👯‍♀️🎥

mad world??? “the dreams in which i’m dying at the best i’ve ever had” ??? this isn’t fun anymore 😐

you worry too much, you make yourself sad ‼️ you can’t change fate but don’t feel so bad‼️

OK OK I’M DONE. DOG THESE ARE SO AWESOME. the effort you’ve put into them is NUTS and they’re so gorgeous !! i had a blast listening and reacting to them hehe ty again for sharinggg and i am NOT sorry for inspiring the morgan playlist 😌💕

my redacted audio spotify playlists - pt one

alrighty gang, here we are! ive been teasing it for a while, but im finally making a post with the links to my redacted audio playlists.

the ones i have public are the only ones that will be included, i dont have my listener character ones public rn only because theyre based on my interpretations of the listeners and are very special to me.

anyways, lets get on to the fun part! btw, some of the songs on the ship playlists might skew a bit towards a gendered-ish feel. thats just based on my interpretation of the listener characters. the songs can still work in a gender neutral sense.

included in this; guy/honey, guy, the D.A.M.N. crew, gavin/freelancer, lasko/coworker, gavin, lasko, damien, huxley, elliott/sunshine

i will be reblogging this soon with the rest of the playlists, have no fear hjkfagfh

the playlists

━━━━━━

guy/honey

guy

the D.A.M.N. crew (mainly polyDAMN)

gavin/freelancer

lasko/coworker

gavin

lasko

damien

huxley

elliott/sunshine