#and I haven’t entirely nailed down who she is as rook just yet

[starfightrpilot]

in the corner contemplating the characters…

I’ve been kicking around a draft for a proper write up for Andy so I can show the class how I’ve kitbashed my action figures to fit her into the role of rook (as she was initially an oc for something else entirely and I would like to show you guys a peek behind the curtain) but then I put the Fritzlist on and immediately got taken somewhere else!!! Powers of a well-curated Spotify playlist I guess, rather than my usual method of throwing a hundred songs into a list to be played on shuffle and shuffle only. Her siren song… it calls to me…

I’m not going to tie myself to the mast, though

So I guess I’m just banging out more Helder: The Early Years as I continue to pick apart what her time at both The House of Grace and Stormhaven were like because I should follow the inspiration wherever it goes, and because some writing is better than none and this is all just for fun anyway — not like there’s deadlines or quotas I need to meet or anything

[sister-lucifer]

I loved your cat boy! idia post 😩👌 could you do more of that? (Also glad to see someone else who is also on the he/she Vil train)

Badly Behaved 

Featuring: Idia x Vil, Idia x Rook, slight Rook x Vil, Vil uses he/she pronouns, Trans Idia, Catboy!Idia AU, Idia getting punished, spanking, tail pulling, humiliation, panty pulling 

Not fully proofread! Let me know if you see any errors!

Even good boys need punishing every now and then.

Idia was no exception. 

He mewled desperately as he writhed on Vil’s lap, squirming about in his daze although he wasn’t trying to get away. After all, that would only result in more punishment. 

He laid over Vil’s legs on his stomach, oversized sweater pushed up past his hips, his dripping cunt just barely covered by his now soaked panties. They were hardly more than a thin string between his pussy lips, constricting around him and rubbing harshly against his clit whenever he moved. There was hardly any point in wearing them considering how little they covered, but they squeezed his cunt so deliciously. 

There was a time when Idia complained about Rook insisting he wore the purposely small undergarments he’d bought for him, but that seemed like an eternity ago now.

“Viiiiil! P-Please, I’m sorry!” Idia begged, voice whiny and high pitched. His blue nails dug hard into the sheets, tail thrashing about in the air. It seems his pleas fell on deaf ears, for Vil gave no response besides another hard spank. The slap reverberated off the walls, coupled with Idia’s yelp. 

A loud sob shook his body, another wave of tears welling up in his eyes. 

Punishments never lasted this long. They must’ve been really mad…Either or that, or Idia hadn’t been punished in so long he’d forgotten what it was like.

“No time for apologies now,” Rook spoke up, sitting in front of Idia and gazing down at him with pity. “This is what bad little pets get.” 

Idia whimpered in response. The only thing he hated more than punishments was disappointing his masters. 

And yet, he had done just that. 

Rook and Vil had only been gone for a few hours, but Idia couldn’t stand not having a cock to sit on or fingers in his cunt. He wasn’t supposed to touch himself without permission, he knew that, but he did it anyways. 

The truth was, he brought this on himself. 

“Maybe you’ll think about this next time you try disobeying us.” Vil added as his hand came down onto Idia’s ass once more, even harder than the last time. 

Idia cried out, back arching as he mewled. His tail stood up straight, frozen, and his ears pressed flat against his head. 

As Vil pulled her hand away she teasingly brushed against Idia’s barely clothed clit. He had been so worked up already that it was enough to have him trembling.  Idia practically face planted into the sheets, his entire body shaking like a leaf as he sobbed. 

Another hard slap made him tense and squeal. His legs twitched as he resisted the urge to pull away. 

Rook’s hand came down to pet his hair as he cooed condescendingly at his pet. 

“Aww, poor baby, can’t take the consequences? That’s too bad…next time don’t let us come home to find you knuckle deep in your own pussy.” 

Idia merely whined at the lewd scolding. 

He gasped as he felt Vil harshly grip his panties, unable to brace himself before she pulled upward. He could practically feel the anger in her grip. 

“A-Ah—! Vil, gentle! Gentle!” He begged, despite knowing there was no use.

“You haven’t earned gentle!” Vil replied, “Someone needs to show this pussy a lesson.” He tugged even harder, nearly lifting Idia’s knees off the bed. 

“Vil—! No! I-It’s rubbing my…m-my—!” 

The fabric rubbed harshly against his clit, making him squirm. There was no denying the way his soaking cunt squelched with each movement. 

“Your what, hm? Your what?” Rook asked, an obvious sadistic glint in his eyes. 

“My…m-my…” 

Even after everything Idia had done, he could never force himself to say such lewd things. He wanted to curl up from embarrassment. 

“Say it. Now.” Vil demanded. When Idia still gave no answer, Rook moved behind him. Without warning Rook’s gloved hand came down on him, nearly throwing him forward. 

“M-My clit—!” Idia choked out, “I-It’s rubbing on my clit too hard, a-and my pussy…” 

“Mm, I’ll say,” Rook purred. One of his fingers ran up Idia’s constricted cunt, making him shiver. 

“Please…” Idia begged, “No…n-no more…I’ll be good, I will…” 

“You promised you’d be good when you left, baby boy,” Vil said. “We have to make sure you learn your lesson.”

Finally Vil released her hold on his panties, letting them snap back into place against Idia’s skin. He was so dazed he hardly even flinched. 

There were a long seconds where nothing happened. Everything seemed oddly silent, and he knew Vil and Rook were coordinating something, but he didn’t dare look back. 

Then he felt the hand wrap around the base of his tail.

And Idia screamed.

For a hybrid like him, his tail was his most sensitive appendage,��especially the base. It could bring him ten times more pleasure than any stimulation to his cunt.

Instinctively he tried to move away from the sudden rush of overwhelming pleasure, but a quick bit of magic was more than enough to hold him in place. 

“Please, please—!” He cried, “I cant—! It’s too much! Let go!” 

But no such thing happened. 

Rook’s grip only tightened, quickly rubbing up and down the base of his bright blue tail. For only a few moments Idia could beg, and after that the only sounds he could make were incomprehensible babbling. 

Rook took great pride in the way he could make Idia scream, the way he could absolutely break him. He could read his emotions and body language so well he never had to worry about struggling to please him. 

Vil, on the other hand, felt just a twinge of guilt at Idia’s broken screams. He leaned over to Rook with a hint of worry on his face.

“Oh, Rook, don’t you think it’s just a bit mean?” She whispered, making sure Idia couldn’t hear. Although, she could practically be yelling and Idia still wouldn’t be able to hear it through the overstimulation.

“If he wants to stop, he’ll use the safe word,” Rook replied. “Besides, we’ve put him through more than this.” 

Rook rested his head on Vil’s shoulder, giving a feather light kiss to his neck. 

“Just enjoy our pliant little toy while we have a reason to punish him. I don’t want that sweet pussy ever forgetting this.”

Like my writing? I take requests! NSFW or SFW for any fandoms in my bio!

Please reblog! It’s free, takes two seconds, and really helps me out!

[writer-akihiko]

Can I request Leona winning Fem!Mc heart out of all of the dorm leaders? like they all propose to her and she chooses him?

A Lion Just For Me - Leona X Reader

This ask made me so giddy, I hope you appreciate this piece!

The day after your birthday, was undeniably the most chaotic day in NRC that they'd ever seen.

It was an all out war.

~○~

Leona as usual, was in bed despite the late afternoon. However, this time, he didn't want to be the lazy lion he usually was. Yesterday… on your birthday… He messed up. He planned the entire proposal during that time, and yet… he didn't. He didn't ask you.

"So… You didn't ask her?" Ruggie repeated, folding the scattered cloths on the floor. Leona groaned again, shuffling in the sheets.

"No… because I was too nervous…"

"Mhm… and you've been repeating that for the past 2 hours…" Ruggie sighed. The ring Leona prepared for you was left on the bedside, as well as a small paper with Leona's proposal script underneath it. He didn't know how he chickened out so fast. The date night was going so well… but perhaps it wasn't.

Maybe you didn't want a thrown-away spoilt prince like him. Maybe you didn't even deserve someone like him. Maybe… Maybe you wouldn't even want to marry him. Maybe… Maybe it was useless…

"Oh? How strange… Quite odd to see a sad Kingscholar…"

Leona for once sat up straight. He sneered at the two figures that were at his door. "Vil… and Rook… What the hell do you want?"

Vil, who was observing his nails meticulously, curtly replied. "YN LN huh? I wanted to confirm for myself if you were still pursuing her. I have to make sure after all because she's my bride too!"

"HAH?!"

Ruggie sighed. "They assumed your date didn't work out so I bet all the hot shots of the school are gonna propose to her."

"Not 'going to'. If I'm not mistaken… Al-Asim and Ashengrotto are on their way…"

~○~

You, as usual, decided to eat outside with Grim. He was having a feast as usual, and you were spoiling him with treats. You weren't your usual enthusiastic self though. There was a particular lion of yours that you missed… You hadn't seen him all day, so you wondered if he was alright.

"YN? Is that you?"

A sudden call broke your thoughts. Grim, who was still munching on his sandwich, was nowhere to be found… You looked up, meeting Trey and Cater's gazes. They both bowed deeply to you, and Trey extended his hand to you. "We're here to escort you to Riddle. He asked for you."

You followed, after quickly packing your things. You're sure that Grim would find you later… And you should go to Savanaclaw after this too for Leona. You went along with it, under the premise that it was an urgent situation.

To your surprise, it was a fairly elegant tea party, with Riddle at the head of the table. "YN! Cater, you should've announced her in!"

Cater said his half-hearted sorries, pulling a chair for you right next to Riddle. "What's the occasion?"

Riddle's face flushed, his hands fumbling through his pockets. "I… I tried to do things perfectly for you of course! Accept it cordially!" He said, a small box in his hand.

"YN, I love you, with all my heart," Riddle said, getting on one knee, extending his arm with a box revealing a red, heart shaped gem on a gold ring band. "Will you stand next to me, as the King to the Queen?"

"Riddle… I-"

The reply was quickly cut off by… Kalim and Jamil on brooms… How could this day get any weirder?! Kalim hopped off his broom, dashing to you as Jamil gently carried a silk pillow with a thin gold chain entangled with orange and green crystals intertwined with the chain.

"HOLD UP!" Kalim held his hands up, shoving Riddle aside from flying into an outrage. "I haven't had my input!"

Kalim was on his knees, the pillow handed over to him. He presented the bracelet to you, "YN, YN, my gorgeous desert lotus… I've waited for this moment. I searched for you throughout the school, but besides that… I want you to be my Zahra, YN. For now and forever."

"W-Wait…" You crossed your arms to prevent any jewelry slipping onto your hands or fingers. "Are you both proposing to me at the same time?"

"Yes," They said in unison.

"I ca-"

…Silver and Sebek just had to snatch you up. You didn't scream, it wasn't as if they were going to harm you. At least they got you out of that awkward situation… Now to deal with Malleus… You had the gist of what was going on, but your heart wasn't prepared.

"Silver! Don't drop Waka-sama's bride!"

Soon, you landed in another part of the school's field and Malleus was there, holding a wreath of what seemed to you as dark branches with speckles of green on the tips. The tips were pointed as the spokes, which made it look like a tiara…

"There you are, my human," He said, his tall figure looming over you. "This crown… If you wear it, you will be my queen of the Valley of Thorns and you will rule over all of Fae kind."

His hand circled your wrist, bringing his lips to kiss the front of your hand. "Please, consider my feelings… YN."

"Move back YN!"

On instinct, you did and before you knew it, the Diasomnia quartet were dumped with… water… Oh dear. Two pairs of arms snatched you away, leaving Malleus and the other three looking like pitiful drowned cats. Cat… Where is Leona?!

"Azul?!"

The Tweels presented you to Azul, who was waiting for you by the balcony. If you listened closely, you could hear Sebek yelling at the senior Octavinelle twins, most likely for drenching Waka-sama.

Azul was not the sharp, calm and collected Dorm Leader you saw on the first day of school. He was blushing, his cheeks pink and his hands shaking as he held a pearl necklace, with an octopus charm in the middle.

"YN, this is very ungentlemanly of me, but I had to get you away from that Fae," He defended himself, as you looked beyond the balcony to see if the Diasomnia Quartet were alright.

"Don't blame Azul," Jade bowed to you.

Floyd bowed as well, tipping his hat to you. "It was our idea~"

"A-Anyway!" He coughed, catching your attention. "This necklace… Angelfish, if you accept my love, please wear it. It's a symbol of our union, and in your terms… you and I would be married. If you truly love me then-"

THWIP!

An arrow got in the way between you and Azul. And… you were carried off by your waist by Rook. "Ah~ Fabulous shot from me, but unfortunately I must play with you another day Roi d'Effort!"

Vil and Epel in the garden, with a very annoyed Epel. Actually… you were very much annoyed too. You kept your composure though, they were your friends too. Vil wasn't wearing his uniform, instead wearing a pure white coat where the ends extended to the ground, mimicking a dress. Well… you'd be lying if you weren't stunned by his beauty.

Vil had a small purple velvet box in his hand, and the moment Rook released you from his arms, Epel took your hand and guided you to the centre of the garden. Vil was already waiting, and when you were by his side, he revealed a lavender coloured gem encircled by a silver band.

"YN, my little sweet potato," He took a deep breath. "I understand that we have differences, but you complete me. I want you to be by my side, to complete each other for I love you, LN YN."

You took Vil's hand, closing the box. "Vil, I know-"

"I have to interrupt this moment."

There was Ortho, pushing aside Rook and Epel. Epel at this point didn't care, but kept his tongue shut as Rook warned you and Vil him.

It was not as quick as Ortho, who had a grip on your waist, and soon, you were flying. The flight was short though, as Ortho landed to where you remembered having your lunch. You didn't know what he was looking for, but Ortho called out the bushes.

"Idia-nii… Please get out of the bushes."

After some time of rustling, Idia pops out of the bushes, his hand gripping to an expensive looking box. He tumbled on his steps, and you rushed to help him up. "Idia! Are you okay?"

He opened the box, with a dark blue gem sitting in the middle of the box. "Y-Yeah… but I… I might feel better if you accept my proposal, so… Marry me?"

Idia this time… was interrupted by the other Dorm Leaders rushing towards you. Riddle and Kalim were still butting heads, and so were Azul and Vil. Malleus was glaring at Azul, and Idia was glaring at the rest of them for interrupting his proposal. It blew up into an argument about who had the right to propose, and who was being selfish.

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM MY GIRLFRIEND!"

There was only one person you knew who could roar like that, and that was…

"LEONA!"

With tears at the corners of your eyes, you ran and jumped into the arms of your lion. He spun you around, laughing as he finally had you in his arms, where you belonged. He set you down, not hesitating to get on his knees.

"YN, my little herbivore YN… I'm sorry I was such a coward yesterday," He said, opening the box with a golden ring inside. "I meant to do this. I'm sorry for doubting myself, and I'm sorry doubting your love. I'd never run from you again, so will you marry-"

He never finished his sentence, as you tackled him to the ground. "Yes! Yes yes yes Leona I'll marry you!" You laughed. Leona, for a time in his life, cried tears of joy, swinging you around as he boasted about his success to everyone.

When your feet met the ground, you turned to the Dorm Leaders. You bowed to them, "Everyone… I appreciate your feelings, but Leona's the one for me," You said. "I… I'm sorry I never noticed any of your feelings, but please support my love as I would yours."

They all nodded, some with a few tears, and some with smiles on their faces.

"YN…" Leona pulled you in, slipping the ring on your finger. "Gosh I love you…"

[amvlett-aa]

bUCKLE UP FUCKERS I THINK I’VE FINALLY FIGURED OUT A PROPER WAY TO FIX THE NARRATIVE THAT IS HEX’S ENTIRE ARC 

and to a lesser extent gwen’s owo

after several fucking years 

this gets really fucking long even for me 

Since this is all on this blog now and tumblr deleted a lot of shit I’ll break down my imagined arc for him really fast from os- to the beginning of ov especially cuz some of my followers deb haven’t seen ben 10 past the original series so here we go

i just really want all my concepts in one place so this might get a lil long ahhhh

Hex and Charmcaster used to live in ledgerdomain, Adwaita the turtle bitch with a flaming mana head attacks and Charmcaster’s dad and Hex’s bro is all like I’m gonna protect my fam so he sends Hex with a nine year old charmcaster to Earth and 

spoiler alert 

spellbinder fucking dies 

Hex is torn by this and spends the next several years of his life trying to find the power to defeat Adwaita, and even made a few failed attempts but survived Adwaita’s wrath. He eventually started to dive headfirst into some dark magic and it completely corrupts and changes him to the hex we see today, with grey skin and a giant ass tat on his face, don’t get me started on his eyes and his million other tattoos 

He runs into ben on his quest with power, ben, gwen and granpa max ruin his day a fuck ton and then charmcaster gets involved. Hex was not a good caretaker to her and as her vengance and rise to master magician...ism she betrays hex and yeets on out despite getting fucked again by the amazing tennysons 

The two have a heart to heart and live together again before Charmcaster and Gwen go fuck up Adwaita in the arc i can’t quite remember other than INFINITY BULLSHIT SOMETHING SOMETHING EVIL BAD GUY WHO KEEPS CHANGING INTO DIFFERENT FORMS SOMETHING SOMETHING ALIEN X 

Gwen chooses not to tell hex about his neice and he spends a lot of time failing to find her and falls into a depression for what I think was for at least a year before he discovers Friedkin University and it’s giant library, and it’s secret summoning circle 

so he does whatever he can to get a job there and gain full access to the library, which includes donating his entire collection of rare magical books to the library and he nails a job as a professor 

i yada yada’d over a lot of stuff and i feel bad but this is where we get into the nitty gritty so if you just wanted my summary then leave no w 

So instead of the episode starting with Hex and Gwen already knowing who the other is and it gets weird, we could have Gwen joining this professor’s class because she heard from a lot of people that his class was good and he knew a lot about his topic and of course Gwen being an Anodite/magic caster herself she enrolls in the class, with Hex using a fake last name like Castere 

i can’t remember what it used to be i’m sorry 

and the minute Gwen sits down to see the class  here come in hex and she is fucking shocked 

and hex probably saw the student list and he is looking hella smug knowing that she’s somewhere in his classroom 

and when he starts asking questions of course gwen answers and answers correctly  and tension builds in the room as they back and forth with his increasingly difficult questions and Gwen answering them perfectly, and the two are staring each other down 

and when hex asks his final question Charmcaster of all people is in his class and interrupts gwen and answers it 

and it throws the both of them off guard 

Hex has to pretend she’s a student and does the whole “Ah yes our Charming young student is correct” 

they go through that dialogue about the Staff of ages and Hex finishes class early, disappearing in a cloud of smoke  Gwen tries to chase down charmcaster but not yelling through the entire classroom to do it 

gwen in her secret lair with kevin use spells to check for... spells or mind control and find none yet are suspicious of the fact that both Charmcaster and Hex are there so 

they call ben and rook and the next few parts ensue 

the thing with helena sucks and i hate helena 

hex runs off and bumps into the team where he gets slammed into the nearest tree by a fucking alien turkey and he gets interrogated 

hex manages to talk his way out of Ben’s hold by saying he hasn’t done anything wrong and has no reason to detain him and of course hex is right because he’s done his time and has every right to be here 

he gets interrogated anyway and is asked about charmcaster and they go through the dialogue over charmcaster that hex goes hey i don’t know why she’s here but i’m glad she’s alive which the former he’s totally lying about 

Rook tells him about how she’s unstable yada yada yada hex leaves and they debate whether Hex is actually turning good or not and where their priorities should lie and they decide charmcaster because as they have no fucking clue where she is and what she’s doing 

we get to the honestly really good next few minutes of dialogue between hex and charmcaster

like the last bit of good writing before we see hex get turned into a fucking totem so she can use his library to find the staff 

gwen drop kicks charmcaster and a fight ensues, where she discovers charmcaster turned hex into a totem and gwen, being the hero she is, tries to steal hex back with her

does she trust him? No 

but he does he deserve to be turned into a totem to be used for whatever plan charmcaster has for him? also no 

they mange to kick charmaster out through the library but charmcaster manages to grab the totem from gwen before she gets sucked away into where ever Gwen sent her to 

and at least then GWEN GETTING THE FUCKING LIBRARY WOULD AT LEAST MAKE MORE SENSE I MEAN COME ON but instead of it being her responsibility to the library its her responsibility to try and get it back to its original owner where she is starting to think maybe he was actually trying to become a good person  

three??? several??? a lot of months pass and hex spends a lot of time with Darkstar the bitch and Adwaita the jackass 

we can all assume hex tried to strangle adwaita at least once without success 

ANYWAY 

we start the ep with kevin moping about his magic stolen car that i forgot to mention but its not important and gwen is spending her time in the beginning of the ep researching how to get hex back because he deserves to be free man 

ANYWAY THAT GOT MESSY  GWEN LOOKS FOR THE CAR, FINDS IT AND OH NOOOO IT’S A FUCKING TRAP AND SHE GETS TURNED INTO A TOTEM AND ZIP BAG TIME 

where she encounters all her enemies and at least she has more reason to try and zap hex because well he still might be evil and he is way too damn close and oh nope we got no powers 

shenanigans ensue and while in the bag  hex and gwen get to talking because honestly are either one of them going to talk to darkstar or adwatia and she soon gets to learn about Hex’s real motives behind going to Freidkin and then finally they decide, hey maybe if we work together we can get out 

and they come up with the idea of a trap when charmcaster sticks her hand in the bag to get the charm 

and THEY WORK TOGETHER TO GET OUT OF THE BAG 

bonding ensues and it begins the start of a uh 

teacher student relationship???  at least not evil magic man vs smart kickass anodite girl 

is all of this perfect???? probably not but  its better than what the show gave us hopefully 

also we don’t talk about that one weird romance ep with ben other than hex and charmcaster were literally 10 feet away from each other and should at least have gotten a drama shot between them but whatever who am I to judge the writing of omniverse other than the entire essay i wrote here 

[kiruuuuu]

Thank you both for the prompt, first anon and second anon ♥♥ If anyone missed it or has an atrocious short term memory, these came in as a reaction to this post and to @spacecreatorart‘s marvellous art here! Please enjoy :) (Rating G, fluff/humour, ~1.8k words)

.

“- effects are hardly anything groundbreaking, the CGI isn’t actually that well done but the film is fun enough”, Mute finishes yet another of his annoyingly informative rants. Whenever they watch anything together, he somehow manages to conjure up facts about it out of thin air – Rook has tested this ability on various occasions and even drunk, Mute is a fountain of fun facts about any series or film in existence. Normally Rook doesn’t mind listening to him spewing knowledge as he’s curious by nature, but today is… a little different.

“I have to pee”, Rook announces.

“Can you get some more popcorn on the way?”, Glaz replies before turning back to Mute. “I liked the premise but it wasn’t really that scary, I saw it as more of a comedy.”

Rook is glued to his spot on the armchair. The other three are lounging about, Twitch sipping her ginger ale while spread out on the beanbag chair and Mute and Glaz lazing on two different ends of the couch, all of them relaxed, visibly having enjoyed the film and looking forward to watching more. Rook still isn’t moving. It’s only eight, they started early because some of them are planning to go out for drinks later, Rook definitely not among them, and yet he’s frozen and his knees are weak and just thinking about the long way to the toilets makes him nervous.

“Oh, we can watch the original to the Ring or the Grudge next”, Twitch suggests with sparkling eyes, “I’ve seen both and they’re great.”

“Ask Ghost Boy over here whether that’s alright with him.” Mute points in Rook’s direction and the two other pairs of eyes follow the indication. He must be very pale because Twitch’s expression immediately grows concerned.

“Julien, is everything alright?”

“Splendid”, he lies through his teeth and forces a smile, “does, uh, does anyone else need to use the bathroom? Maybe?”

Mute is the first to start laughing. “Are you – are you fucking serious? You’re too scared to go alone?”

“Listen”, he begins but realises soon that there’s no coming back from this since Mute hit the nail on the head, the long hallways freak him out and the flickering lights and all the doors and he’s not going to go alone, he’d rather piss in a bottle than wander through the corridors when the base is this deserted already and fine, he’ll let his friends mock him if only it means he won’t have to venture out all on his lonesome.

“You’re adorable”, Glaz says with a grin. “We haven’t even started with the really scary ones.”

“Are you afraid of the ghosts haunting this place?” Mute raises a meaningful eyebrow. “Hm? Just imagine how many people must’ve gone through training here at Hereford only to end up dying in the field, being executed or just bludgeoned to death, dropped in a pit and forgotten. And what about the ones who died here? You’ve heard the stories from Mike.”

“This isn’t funny”, he murmurs but Mute quite obviously disagrees as he’s wearing a sickeningly gleeful expression now.

“Maybe they shuffle through the halls when we’re not here, looking for meaning in their undead life, rotting and festering corpses, the combat gear falling off of them in pieces – and they can still fight, you know, probably have more experience than we do, so if they see you and if they’re hungry, you’d better run – and they’re always hungry.”

“And maybe”, Glaz adds, “they’re clowns.”

Rook rolls his eyes and refuses to admit that the prospect of hearing dragging feet while stumbling about in the darkness is now not only going to strike fear into his heart but also make him run away screaming. “You guys suck. The only stupid clowns in this building are you.”

Even Twitch is joining in now, stabbing Rook in the back: “All I got from this was two zombies eating a clown, asking each other ‘does this taste funny to you?’.”

“Hey, I’m not making fun of your weird phobias either”, Rook pouts and earns a collective snort.

“You superglued a rubber spider to my hand while I wasn’t looking”, Twitch reminds him with a sour smile.

“You hung up a bunch of fake snakes in my room”, Glaz contributes.

“And you always make me order on the phone.”

“To be fair”, the Russian addresses Mute with a chuckle, “hearing you switch from your usual snarky self to a stuttering teenager as soon as someone answers is pretty entertaining.”

“I’ll go with you, Julien”, Twitch butts in before a fight can break out on the sofa. “I can get the popcorn and you don’t have to die of fright. Alright?” He just nods meekly and pulls her up on her feet before they step into the hallway. “At least you’ll have Elias keeping you company later, right? So you don’t even have to be alone.”

She’s right and it’s the only reason why Rook agreed to watching scary films on Halloween of all days – if it’s on his mind, he sees shadows flitting about everywhere, feels someone’s gaze in his back yet never catches anyone looking at him, has the odd sensation of being followed. It even goes so far as for his brain to make up noises, like the one he just heard at the end of the… wait a second. “What was that?!”

Twitch frowns and stops walking when she notices her companion is petrified, both unwilling and unable to take even one more step. The corridor is long, some of the doors ajar and the lights relatively low which is why Rook has no idea how she can look this calm. “I don’t know. Something. Come on.”

He’s shaking his head insistently, jumps when there’s a different noise now, coming from directly behind them. Slowly, he turns around, catches a glimpse of movement and then all of a sudden, someone – or rather something – steps out into the long corridor, moaning and moving decidedly inhumanly, and all that Rook sees is a mouth full of needle-like teeth, blood-spattered clothes and fucking clown make-up.

The very first thing he does is scream in panic and has no brain capacity left to realise just how high pitched it is; the second thing is starting to run. He turns tail and books it, ready to outrun this monster, escape this fucking building and run to the SAS living quarters because he’ll be safe there. Instead, he collides full force with Twitch, making her scream, and together they tumble to the floor in a heap of flailing limbs and panic. He tries not to let this deter him from getting away, begins crawling blindly and only then the laughter and the soft words register.

“Julien, Julien, please. It’s me. It’s okay. What are you doing?”

At first he can’t place the voice because there’s no logical scenario in which this person should be here, but when he peeks over his shoulder, the nightmarish, grinning mouth has disappeared and given way to a wide smile which can only be Blitz. Next to him, Twitch groans and slaps at him in dismay. “If you reacted this way on a mission, we’d probably all die. Get off me!”

Even a few seconds later, after the frightening apparition who really turns out to be none other than Blitz has helped them back up, Rook is still struggling to slow down his breathing and his pumping heart. Fortunately, Twitch doesn’t seem eager to gloat and instead takes pity on him, excuses herself for the sake of popcorn and leaves him alone with his lover. Who is grinning like a fox. “Shut up”, Rook snaps at him, “that was not okay.”

“I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to startle you”, Blitz replies softly, peels off one of his gloves and cards a soothing hand through the young man’s hair. “But I’ve been working hard on this outfit and wanted it to be a surprise for you – Dom told me you love the design of scary clowns, so I did my best. How do you like it?”

That fucking - “I hate it. I hate everything about it. I absolutely despise clowns, mon cœur, and had you asked literally anyone else, they would’ve told you. Don’t ever do this again, goddammit, my knees are still weak.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.” Blitz actually looks sheepish and disappointed and yet Rook wants nothing more than to tear off every single part of his costume.

“Why do you have this anyway? Why did you think this was a good idea?”

“I love Halloween”, he replies timidly and okay, at this point Rook really can’t be upset at him anymore. With a sigh, he pushes his lover back into the room he came from – Blitz’ own room, so Rook really could’ve guessed who it was – and makes out with him for a while, both to cheer him up and to calm himself down. Regardless, the outfit doesn’t get any less terrifying, not even if he stares at it for a while.

“Alright, but I don’t”, he grumbles and snuggles up to his German who gladly uses the opportunity to lightly massage his back and pull him closer, clearly intent on making it up to him. “But it’s not your fault. I’m fine as long as you don’t leave me.”

“Well”, says Blitz and his tone of voice indicates nothing good, “I was planning on going out with the others dressed like this in about an hour. But you can join us and I’ll hold your hand the entire evening, if you like.”

Rook is about to give him the puppy dog eyes and whine about being scared when he’s alone (which wouldn’t even be a lie) but halts all thoughts upon hearing voices. Very familiar voices. He twists out of the hug, puts a finger to his lips and motions for Blitz to pull his balaclava back on. Blitz complies, grinning, obviously aware of Rook’s spontaneous plan, and they exchange a series of gestures, nudges and waggling eyebrows as they wait for the two people to come closer.

As soon as Blitz throws himself through the doorway with a truly frightful snarl, Rook peeks out after him so he doesn’t miss anything. He catches the momentary surprise on both Montagne’s and Bandit’s faces, the two previously deep in conversation, yet whereas Montagne’s expression remains slightly shocked, Bandit’s turns to genuine horror – he lets out a terrified shriek which somehow ends up even higher pitched than Rook’s but instead of running away, he jumps into Montagne’s arms without hesitation. The gentle giant catches him competently, holding him bridal style as Bandit keeps screaming and at this point, Rook barely manages to hold back his laughter.

So much for appreciating clown designs, he thinks. Maybe Halloween wasn’t so bad after all. And maybe he should go out for drinks after all because he bets everyone is dying to hear just how heroic Bandit acts in the face of danger.