#and without a light source it's completely pitch black darkness

[rileys-battlecats]

girl help I started writing down oc thoughts and have started contemplating the logistics of how a city carved into the walls of a ravine would have access to fresh water

[sukunasweetheart]

to satiate, seduce, and to sin.

HEED THE WARNINGS; fem!reader, half human(?) and half snake sukuna, its highkey yandere, mentions of eating people, DUBCON elements, dacryphilia, degradation, HEAVY smut, breeding, cum inflation, use of threats, squeezing/constricting, brainwashing, manipulation, body modification, trueform sukuna (two dicks), mentions of pregnancy and lactation.

Word count: 5k+

sorry guys, i kind of went all out with this one...

you are a researcher, and you’re looking for a rare specimen that most have assumed has disappeared or simply never existed in the first place. but recently, a few traces of activity from one has arisen, and you’re on the case to try and find him before he vanishes without a trace again. unfortunately for you, you decided to embark on this journey during the heat of his mating season... which leads you to making an interesting deal with him.

snake hybrids are and always has been extremely rare as a species - you’ve only seen them in books and blurry images. the information obtained on them - diet, habitat, behaviour - are also mostly just speculations. how they reproduce is shrouded in mystery. despite being half snake, they are much, much biologically different from actual snakes. many believe they are just a fabricated species.

you however, are confident that they are real, and that they’re still around somewhere. pursuing your passion for them, you’ve started another one of your many solo expeditions in search of any clues, or hopefully, one of them in the flesh.

and in this current one, you’ve seemed to hit a jackpot. you’ve been following this enormous snake trail for hours now. you’re really close to finding him, you’re certain.

after another hour or so of walking, a large cave can be sighted a good distance away, to your excitement. you tread carefully through the dirt, dead leaves and tree bark on the ground, making your way towards it.

standing at the entrance to the cave, you hesitate for a moment, heart thumping wildly. you’re so close. this could be a groundbreaking discovery, or it could be another false lead. you’re unable to see the other end of the cave at all, due to how ominously pitch black it is inside. good thing you brought a flashlight with you.

you put your backpack onto the ground and take it out, turning it on and off a couple of times to make sure that it was working. good as new. putting your backpack on again, you take in a deep breath before beginning to carefully make your way inside.

it’s awfully quiet. that’s usually a bad sign.

and if it weren’t for your flashlight, you would’ve needed a lot of time to let your eyes adjust to this darkness, as there’s little to no light that reaches into this cave. your footsteps echo against the walls, the noise bouncing off and heading down further, catching the attention of something lurking within the deepest end of this cave.

“hello?” you say boldly, letting your voice ring out, reaching out to whatever might be sitting in the dark before you. no answer.

you continue your walk, pointing your light towards the walls occasionally, and then the path in front of you to make sure you didn’t trip over anything. with every step, you start to feel more afraid. what if there’s nothing here? what if this whole trip and the expenses and the time you spent was all for naught? the thought of going back empty handed makes your stomach sink.

you halt altogether when your light falls upon something on the ground. a small creature...? no... it looks like...

the end of a large snake’s tail. 

in the blink of an eye, something wraps around your whole body tightly, rendering you completely immobile. your eyes widen and a frightened yelp escapes your throat, but you’re still holding on tight to your flashlight. a deep voice resounds in your ears, a voice that sounds so human.

“look at what’s wandered aimlessly into my den. a free meal. did you come in hopes to get devoured?”

you do your best to point your flashlight towards the source of the voice.

a man that has his arms crossed... looking closer, he has an extra pair that rests at his sides. a large mouth on his stomach. and from his waist down, he has the body of a snake. he stares down at you, amused. his giant tail coils tighter around you, noticeably more around the swell of your chest.

“...and a woman, no less. what do you want?”

your eyes continue to wander around his features, taking note of everything that stands out to you. glowing red eyes-- and just like his extra arms, he has extra eyes too! they’re a lot smaller than his main ones, however. oh, you’re so curious and ecstatic. so many extra features nobody had thought this hybrid would have.

“answer my question, vermin. who do you think you’re dealing with here? i’ll crush you until you’re choking on your own blood,” he spits harshly, wrapping around you tightly. you’ve come at a bad time. 

he’s in a rather sensitive mood right now, being so...pent up.

“i-i apologise... i’m a researcher. i’ve come this way to look for you,” you begin to speak carefully. “i wanted to prove your existence to the world. and it’s been a long while... but i’m finally here.”

he lets out an exasperated sigh. what a pathetic, insignificant goal you have. humans really love treading into places where they don’t belong, following their foolish curiosity, like a dog being lead around by its nose.

“i wanted an opportunity to observe you, if i may. just write some notes down... and a couple of pictures. would that be alright? please? it won’t take long at all.”

your eyes begin to wander again, being out of your control as you instinctively end up doing so, as if to prove sukuna right about your kind.

the scales of his tail... they have a very unique pattern to them, being adorned with beautiful shades of red and black. similar patterns run down his face and upper body as well. you’re itching to give him a sketch in your notebook. without thinking, you wriggle your arm out from his grasp and run your hand along them.

“ah... so magnificent. it feels exactly the same as a normal snake’s. i want to know more,” you mumble to yourself, loving the texture that runs underneath your fingers and palms. it makes him give a slight jolt, giving you a startle as you instantly take your hands off of him.

“i’m sorry! did that hurt? or...”

he narrows his eyes at you, staring into your innocent gaze as you blink back at him. a pleasant idea rises in his mind. his expression shifts into a gentler one, all too suddenly, as his tail loosens around you.

“...very well, then. i’ll let you observe me,” he relents, looking down at you with mischievous eyes.

“in exchange,” he very obviously gazes upon your physique lustfully, “your body is mine to use.”

being a rare species, its been a while since he’d had someone to breed with in the recent years. especially during mating seasons- it’s been frustrating, to say the least. he never thought he’d become so desperate as to resort to use a human for satisfaction, but he’ll take what he can get.

“huh?? i- well-” you begin to say, flustered by the sudden demand. your thoughts start racing, wondering if you were misunderstanding him, by any chance.

“do you mean...” 

“yes. i’m going to mate with you. although, humans can’t get pregnant from my seed. so there’s no need to be concerned about offspring.”

he says it so matter-of-factly that it startles you. you don’t want to know how he found out about that last bit of information... but you mentally jot down some notes about it anyway. so snake hybrids can’t crossbreed with humans despite being relatively similar in appearance... interesting...

you seem lost in thought again and sukuna grows impatient.

“so? what’ll it be?”

you shouldn’t agree to such an outrageous idea. it’s wrong, and... and researchers shouldn’t do such things with the subjects of their studies. and yet-

he notices you squeezing your thighs together, and grins. what an indecent woman. he’s never seen one so willing.

what can you do? you can’t afford to go back without any pieces of evidence. how would you prove your discovery? you fool yourself into thinking that you’re only doing this for the sake of your career.

“...alright. we have a deal,” you tell him meekly. you can also take this chance to find out more in depth information about... his reproductive system. what better way than to experience it yourself? ...you internally smack yourself in the face for that last part.

“where do you want to start?”

“i’d like to have a closer look at your upper body, please.”

his tail shifts to bring you closer to him. you make proper eye contact with him for the first time, and being so close to his face makes your heart thump faster. if you forget about the tail and all... he’s just a handsome looking man.

you grip onto your flashlight tightly. he has pretty eyes, too. you ask for his hand, and see that his nails are dark, and sharp. for someone who’s half-reptile, he feels oddly warm.

“i want to see your teeth next,” you tell him.

“don’t be surprised if i bite,” he responds, before opening up his mouth for you. you hope he’s only joking.

you inspect the inside closely, watching his snake tongue wriggle slightly, and his well-pronounced fangs that gleam as your light hits it. 

“are you venomous?”

“i can be. it depends.”

you ask him a series of questions, pushing your limits to get as much information as possible from him.

“and the mouth on your stomach?”

he brings you down so you can have a look for yourself. this one is much bigger, but pretty much has the same basic features as the first one. fascinating. when you touch the lower lip, he suddenly encloses your hand with his larger mouth. shocked, you gasp and retract your hand quickly, to find out that it is still intact. he chuckles sinisterly above you.

“p-please put me down so i can grab my things.”

he lets you go and you immediately begin taking various items out of your bulky backpack. you place your flashlight down onto the ground facing up, so that the light hits the roof of the cave and illuminates your surroundings a bit. you start off by writing down a few pages of notes.

...was a little hostile during the first interaction...communicates sufficiently in human language... was found resting in a cave...four eyes, and four arms, including an extra mouth on the stomach...

it was pages and pages worth of description, anything off of the top of your head. you’d have to rewrite and tidy it up later. a thought suddenly comes to mind.

“do you have a name?” you ask him.

“a well-asked question. i’ll have you pleading with the name ‘sukuna’ later on, once you’re done with all that,” he tells you arrogantly, watching as you scribble into your little notebook.

...the specimen goes by the name of ‘sukuna’.

next, you grab your polaroid camera and aim its lens towards sukuna.

“there’s gonna be a small flash of light,” you warn him.

“yes, i already know what those things do.”

the last guy that tried to take his pictures without asking first, suffered some nasty consequences. it was all for naught though, because he didn’t taste very good at all.

you take as many pictures as you please, and he patiently remains still as he promised. you take a look at the results and once you’re happy enough, you neatly set them aside and shove everything back into your bag. truth be told, your heart could leap out of your mouth right now, from how intensely it was beating.

you had felt his eyes resting upon you from behind the whole time, feeling the way he was watching your body with his lecherous gaze, undressing you with it. 

“all done?” he voices gently, voice dripping with sweet poison. nothing like the tone he’d used when you first arrived here.

“...yes. are- are we doing it straight away?” it was a stupid question to ask, but you felt the need to say something, anything.

"i might lose myself if i have to wait any longer,” sukuna confesses, slithering closer to you.

“wait! let me just- i’ll get myself undressed.”

you had a feeling that if he did it, he’d simply rip everything off your body. you need something to wear for the trip home. sukuna smirks at you.

“...go on, then. put on a show for me, will you?”

the phrasing flusters you immensely, but you work hard to make your trembling fingers work to unbutton yourself and unhook your bra yourself. your breasts bounce lightly with every movement, and sukuna watches with incredible restraint.

“nothing like watching a meal prepare itself in front of your eyes... it’s a shame you’re only here to satisfy my lust and not my hunger too.”

the thought of it sends a shiver down your spine.

you swallow on nothing as you avoid his eyes, taking your last bit of underwear off. you’re scared, but in a strangely arousing way. have you always been this perverted?

“i-i’m done...” you say with a small voice, instinctively attempting to cover yourself up to maintain some form of decency.

“wonderful. let’s start with a little taste, shall we?” 

sukuna picks you up effortlessly with his arms, and without any stalling, your pussy is pushed up directly against the mouth on his stomach, his hands placed on your ass to support you while you wrap your legs around his waist.

“i’ll need to get your holes nice and loose for me. better it be pleasure than pain, right?”

something wet and warm slithers out and rubs up on your sex.

you nod with gratitude, watching the large tongue in anticipation. your arms loop around the back of his neck, and you’re looking down as he laps at your clit, making you quiver against his strong grip that holds your hips in place.

you timidly moan, immersing yourself in the feeling of this once-in-a-lifetime cunnilingus, of this strange snake’s tongue that rubs up against your sensitive cunt without holding back. it slowly slips its way inside you, making your hips jump in surprise.

“you’re sopping wet. i don’t think i even need to do much for this one,” sukuna comments, enjoying your little reactions. you continue to only stare at the tongue going in and out of your hole. he cocks his head slightly to the side.

“why won’t you face me up here? afraid to meet my eyes?” he voices rather sulkily, lifting your head up by your chin. once you see his lustful expression, something in you throbs without control.

“hah! your hole’s clenching around me so lewdly. it’s being honest, unlike you.”

the focus seeps out from your gaze, and you begin to enjoy yourself.

“yes... you needn’t be so shy. relent yourself to me.”

he pulls your face in closer to his, and kisses you in a feverish manner, shoving his forked tongue into your mouth. you moan pleasantly against his lips, and one of his spare hands claws at your breasts, groping them without mercy.

his bigger tongue slips out of your sopping cunt, and sinks itself into your ass instead. the saliva it secretes does a good job at being a lubricant for it.

your own tongue savours the strange shape and texture of sukuna’s one - lapping up at his lips desperately, like you would to a lover. he likes your eagerness. his own cocks are beginning to throb and unsheathe from the slit on his lower half, unbeknownst to you.

something about you... is quite intriguing. timid and coy as you seem, you’re not hesitating to unmask your true desires; your obsession with his body. even now, you’re sucking on both his tongues with such greed, it’s hard not to be captivated.

when he breaks the kiss, a thick string of saliva still connects the two of you.

“a harlot, you are,” he tells you with a mean grin.

you look at him with teary, vulnerable eyes. the tongue that had been thrusting in and out of your ass slips out, leaving both of your holes twitching for more.

“i suppose you’re all set now,” sukuna tells you. he finally reveals his aching two cocks, twitching with the need for release.

so that’s where they come out from... they don’t look too different from a human’s, besides the ribbed tip-

“you like them? they’ll be sure to grant you a pleasure you’ll never feel from anyone else.”

you begin to brace yourself, your holes clenching around nothing. your chest rises and falls quicker, indicating your excitement.

he lines them up, and pushes them into you, at a steady pace. your body trembles, and sukuna has to keep you in place as you gasp and hold onto him for dear life. he stretches you so mercilessly. you feel him twitching inside you, as he forces his way against your clamping walls.

“haa...so tight. you fit me like a glove, sweetheart,” he pants, the term of endearment slipping out accidentally. perhaps he’s gone without mating for too long. he feels himself getting easily attached.

when he pushes the rest of himself in fully, reaching all the way, both of his cocks fit snugly inside and forms a bulge on your abdomen-- they press up against a certain spot within you and something seems to erupt in your mind. an unexpected orgasm rips through your body without warning.

you let a string of moans as you arch your back, your walls spasming around him as a result of this sudden climax.

if it were his normal self, he would’ve teased you harshly for reaching your high just from putting it in. but his current sensitivity causes him to also fall off the edge.

“f-fuck, if you keep squeezing me like that, i’ll-!”

sukuna grits his teeth, drool running down the side of his lips, as his cocks also begin to release-- giving him an intense orgasm for the first time in years. they pulse strongly inside of you, spilling spurt after spurt of his thick, hot cum, in large amounts.

he shudders against you, being lost in the pleasure, and begins to lift you up and down, using you like a fleshlight even while he’s still orgasming. the feeling of it bubbling up inside you is something obscene, like it should be forbidden to feel this good and drunk with lust, especially at the hands of a devil like this.

you lean forward to kiss him again, wanting to feel his groans against your lips, and needing a taste of his tongue again. he does exactly that for you, as if reading your mind. had you been one of his kind, he would’ve kept you as his permanent mate. he makes out with you for so long that you’re left gasping for air by the end of it.

“tch. i can’t believe i’ve stooped this low, cumming so quickly like a virgin,” he murmurs with half-lidded eyes.

“nngh...sukuna- i’m already so full,” you whine pitifully. you can feel his spend leak out of you, even though he still has your holes plugged up with his two dicks.

“that’s not good. i’ve still got much more to give,” sukuna teases, liking the way his name sounds on your lips.

“you’ll just have to withstand it.”

he begins to move in and out of you again.

lewd, wet slapping sounds echo throughout the cave as he fucks you in earnest, already mindlessly going after his next climax. you shiver in his arms, yelping each time the tip kisses your cervix. the double penetration doesn't help your case - as both of them rub up against each other within you, making your eyes roll back in ecstasy.

"i-i can't... it's all too much," you mumble, the bulge in your abdomen continuing to disappear and reappear with every thrust of his.

"you agreed to let me use you. no going back now," sukuna tells you with a grunt, brows furrowing when you tighten up around him again, threatening to milk him dry. it drives him mad.

"and i'll be sure to use this slutty body to my heart's content."

his previous loads makes for an even better sensation, making you nice and slippery for him. creamy, white rings are already starting to foam up at the base of both his dicks.

"it feels too good- too big- too big-" you babble, fresh tears piling up in your eyes as he continues to pummel into you, fingers digging into the flesh of your ass.

when the tears begin to roll down your cheeks, sukuna darts out his tongue and gets a taste.

"sweet..." he mumbles.

the urge to cum spills over, and he's releasing inside of you again. his seed repaints the walls of your womb and ass as he groans against the shell of your ear, making you dizzy with arousal.

"oh- my god-" you manage to let out, as you feel yourself getting filled up again.

"you're taking me better than anyone else has before...like a good little whore," sukuna compliments breathlessly, continuing to pump you full with his seed. he's never felt better. his head feels all fuzzy and the edges of his vision is a little blurred, as he focuses only on your sweet little face, lost in a state of euphoria. he leans into the crook of your neck, and darts his tongue out to taste your skin, desperately resisting the urge to sink his fangs into you.

as fast as he empties himself, his cocks fill up again even faster.

"sukuna...i feel... like i might burst," you pant, referring to your poor abdomen.

"...is that so?" he tells you, carefully sliding both of this cocks out of you. you feel a little relieved from the fullness, but also a bit empty simultaneously.

you gasp and jerk your hips when his large hand suddenly applies a bit of pressure to your stomach. everything that he'd stuffed inside you comes dripping out in large globs, falling into a little puddle on the ground.

"there we go," sukuna grins maliciously, watching as you tremble in his arms, enjoying this sensation of his cum oozing out of you... like the freak that you are.

"such a waste. i'll just have to stuff you full, over and over..." he whispers against your ear.

"nngh- sukuna... sukuna..." you chant, hips shaking as he re-inserts himself into you - both of his veiny cocks throbbing once again, aroused by witnessing you indulge in your pleasure.

he sighs erotically, as your plush walls welcomes him back inside, allowing him to slip inside so easily from the amount of slick you're producing.

you might actually go insane.

...sukuna uses you like a fleshlight for god knows how long. by the end of it, you're surprisingly still conscious, despite being ruined irreparably. fucking with such a sinful snake should've dragged you to the deepest pits of hell-- yet, being with him felt so heavenly.

"you ended up being more durable than i thought, love. i'm pleasantly surprised," he praises you, embracing your limp body closely.

"...might be worth trying on you..." he seems to speak to himself.

whatever it is that he's talking about, you're in no state to be pondering. you breathe heavily, eyes half-closed, trying to calm yourself after being so overstimulated for a period of time.

"rest easy. i'll keep you warm throughout the night."

his words hit you like magic, and the fatigue seeps into your consciousness, making you fall asleep in his arms.

-

your pillow...feels a little too firm. and- scaley? it's warm, though. and this texture is addictive.

when you open your eyes, you find yourself laying in a tangled pile of sukuna's long tail - your bare body covered with the clothes that you'd taken off before...

"you're awake. did you enjoy groping my tail in your sleep?" sukuna asks, recalling to the moments where you nuzzled against him with a perverted smile on multiple occasions.

flustered, you immediately want to voice your denial but your dry throat prevents you from doing so. you hold onto your own neck, coughing. he looks at you with a raised eyebrow.

eventually, you're able to point at your backpack that's still sitting towards the side of his cave, which he grabs for you. you rummage your bag for your bottle of water that you'd stashed carefully, and you take a big gulp from it.

"sorry. throat was parched," you tell him, your voice still a little hoarse.

"right. forgot how sensitive you humans were," sukuna says nonchalantly.

"but still, you sufficed better than i expected," he adds on, with a smirk. he reaches out and brushes the back of his fingers against your cheek.

the praise makes your heart race, and you recall your memories from yesterday. it feels like a fever dream. this will be a secret you'll tell no one.

and that brings you back to reality. you remember that you need to get back home. there's a mountain of things you need to do! but... somehow, the thought of leaving made you feel a bit melancholic. will you ever see him again?

"you know... i originally intended to eat you after using you for sex."

the sudden phrase makes your blood run cold.

"...but i changed my mind. that would be such a waste of potential."

potential? potential for what?

"...look into my eyes, sweetheart."

"sukuna, i... i need to return home," you bring up carefully.

his tail tenses up, making you feel even more nervous. it coils around you tighter, and lifts you up to him. he gently grabs your face, lifting your chin up.

you can't help but do as he says - like taking his orders had been ingrained into your muscle memory - and once your pupils meet his, escape becomes infinitely more impossible.

"you don't wish to leave. you want to stay here," sukuna coaxes you, eyes gleaming red. your mind becomes... clouded. his voice rings in your head. it hurts a little, but you can't look away.

"but...home..." you protest for the final time, eyes turning blank. the words leave your lips like the last spark of a dying light.

"this is your home, my love. i am your home."

he takes you in his arms and nuzzles against your neck. a tongue darts out and licks a stripe against your skin, making you shiver. your arms snake around him, like you can't get enough.

"tell me again, sweetheart. where is your home?" he whispers darkly against your ear.

"...my home...my home is..." you drone on, still having some urge to fight back against his manipulation. he embraces you tighter, and possessively lets his teeth nibble on your earlobe.

"my home is you..."

the phrase gives way for a gleeful smirk to form on his face.

"wonderful. i'm glad you feel the same way," sukuna emphasises, withdrawing his face from your neck.

"now, let your tongue out for me."

you do it without question, and he leans forward to capture it with his mouth, initiating an intimate kiss. tongues roll around against each other, and you feel yourself sink deeper into him. when he pulls away, you're left breathless, a string of saliva still hanging off between. he takes it with him, by giving a soft lick to your lower lip.

"how amusing...this ability of mine isn't even that potent. had your determination to go home been stronger, it wouldn't have worked. makes me feel pleased, knowing that you had a strong desire to stay with me."

"sukuna..." you cling to him lovingly, making his heart give a tug. it makes him want to mess you up. but your fragile human body couldn't possibly handle that. which is why...

"i'm going to grant you a snake's tail. to make you completely mine," he suddenly confesses.

"is that... possible?" you still ask questions, even in a state of hypnosis.

"for me, it is. i didn't bother correcting you when you mistook me as one of those common hybrids, but i'll let you know now. i'm something more akin to a god."

he doesn't elaborate further. the new piece of information shrouds his species with even more mystery. perhaps it should stay that way.

it's a risky process, and you might end up losing your life. but he believes you can endure it.

"i'll be honest. it'll hurt a lot, love. but my venom will soothe you. i'll numb the pain."

within the next few seconds, his fangs sink into the side of your neck.

some additional dot points and what happens after;

so you do survive the ordeal, and you wake up a week later after being essentially modified to become a snake hybrid yourself

memories are hazy, but youre still sound of mind and you eventually get used to this new body with sukuna's help

he did tell you that humans can't carry his seed, but now that you're also a half-snake, you can...

now he has a permanent mate that he can use whenever mating season comes around

he doesnt have to lift you up when he wants to fuck you anymore, it can be done in a missionary way, where both of his dicks can fit into your snake cooch at the same time (its still a bit of a stretch tho, hes so big)

whenever he mates with you, both of yours and his tails coil around each other's, like how real snakes do (itd be cute if a heart would be made with the tips at the very end)

there are still some human aftereffects on your body, like when you get pregnant, you start lactating... he has the privilege to drink it all up himself when they get sore and full, since his young won't be needing any of it anyway

at first, you intensely miss your human life, weeping pitifully in the darkness of the cave,,

he gets you curled up against him, licking your tears away, and then kisses your forehead, promising you that he'll protect and love you forever, since youre his one and only mate...

"convincing" you that there is nothing to miss about being human.

Masterlist

[malleleothreesome]

Femdom!Reader x Sub!Malleus Draconia

💚 summary: Malleus grovels before you as you sit upon his throne in the Diasomnia dorm lounge ༶༶༶ 💚 warnings: afab fem reader, no pronouns (use of you/your) but Malleus does refer to you as his Queen. Malleus has two cocks, consensual bdsm scene, all actions taken agreed upon offscreen prior to starting and are within Malleus' boundaries, collar & leash, you use him as a footrest, use of good/bad boy, you slap him (it doesn't hurt), punishment: you masturbate in front of him, edging (him), orgasm denial (him), face sitting cunnilingus, vagina stretching spell, breeding, creampie, aftercare ༶༶༶ 💚 word count: 4.5k words ripped from my tortured soul

Oh, how easy it was to turn the powerful, brooding future King of Briar Valley into a needy, desperately loyal little puppy. Completely dependent on your attention—and your touch. Who could have known he would fall so deeply—and wretchedly—in love with the first girl who didn’t run away? After centuries of Malleus walking alone under the dark void of night, you came and filled the sky with bright, twinkling stars. From the very second he was met with your crinkled, smiling eyes—a far cry from the usual look of dread—he was yours, and yours alone. Without a second thought, you’ve folded him into your sweet embrace, promising eternity. You’ve taken it upon yourself to fill his days with love, companionship, happiness—things he has indeed always deserved, but all of which, until now, were missing entirely.

You were inseparable. When he wasn’t tending to Kingly duties, he could be found close behind you, clinging to your comfort and familiarity. Malleus always admired your confidence, strength, and what seemed to be sheer fearlessness. You packed a lot of spunk in that tiny, mortal body of yours. You were determined to get the other students to accept him—you would have done it by force if you’d had to. (You didn’t have to. You were far too clever for that.) 

He was your plus one, always. You introduced him with such adoration, that any preconceived ideas of him were pushed aside without much thought. If someone dared question his presence, you’d make an example of their rude presumptions. All the while, Malleus towered sheepishly behind you, blushing, and elated. You were the only one in his life who truly saw him.

Dominance was Malleus’ birthright. His ability to command inferiority and trepidation from every single person in a room was an unwanted side effect that had been passed down for generations. Dominance is a role he was forced into by his Kingdom—it’s all he’d ever known. But then, there was you. The way you stand up to and for him with no fear or hesitation. The way you simultaneously treat him like he’s Just Some Guy, and also the most precious treasure in the world. Watching you take the lead makes his heart race—and loins ache—faster and deeper than anything before. He was absolutely desperate for you to take advantage.

So there you were, sitting on Malleus’ throne in the Diasomnia lounge, in the depths of the night. Everyone else had retreated to their rooms. The Prince of Thorns was kneeling before you, his alabaster face enveloped in the faint purple and green glow that danced around the throne—the only source of light in an otherwise pitch black room. Your feet—costumed in 6-inch, dagger-like heels that might be lethal to both body and soul—rest heavy on his shoulders. If only Malleus’ ancestors could see their tyrannizing heir being used as a footrest by a common human…

Your lingerie is devoid in the places it matters most—a corset that leaves your breasts propped up and completely exposed, panties with a slit that perfectly frames your exposed, wet cunt. So close, yet so far away. A flick of his forked, serpent-like tongue slips out of his mouth. His eyes get lost in the view. For you, he would reduce himself down to just a tongue—how he yearns to be useful. His twin cocks create a prominent bulge against his tight, leather pants. You keep a short, firm grip on the leash that connects to the patent black collar around his neck. 

“What are you looking at?” You ask rhetorically, taking your right foot off his shoulder and placing the toe of your stiletto against his forehead, forcing his gaze to meet yours. You let it linger there, making a point: The feared crown Prince of Briar Valley is beneath you.

His heart stammers and he gulps, lips parted but unable to form an answer. A low moan escapes his throat, eyelids fluttering closed—this is pure ecstacy. Unfiltered submission. Total loss of control. Absolute surrender. It was intoxicating. He had no control of his body, and he could hardly form a coherent thought. His cock muscles begin to flex against his pants, as his desperation to create friction shows face.

But it’s not time for relief or release. You yank his collar, forcing his face toward you. “Bad boy!” you purr, through gritted teeth, slapping him hard across the cheek. “Did I give you permission for pleasure?” 

His eyes roll back, hand instinctively rushing to his cheek. Not to tend to the wound—to relish in the feeling of your touch. The slap didn’t hurt, but the sheer audacity of the move was almost enough to make him cum right then and there. In his long life, no one had ever dared challenge him in such a way. You loved how your precious Malleus showed his emotions so plainly on his face. A strong wave of arousal flooded your nervous system as you admired his flushed face. His eyes had gone hazy, drool glistened on the corners of his mouth, which had curled into the lewdest smile you’d ever seen. There was no doubt—he was getting off to this.

You yank the leash again, forcing him out of sexual gratification. “What a shame.” You look down at him with so much contempt that he winces. You almost wanted to break the scene and comfort him, but these were the rules. This was what he wanted. 

You continue to follow through with your punishment, reminding him of his place and purpose in the bedroom: service and obedience. You take a deep breath and sigh. "I was really looking forward to using that pretty face of yours to make myself cum. Guess I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.”

You remove your feet from his body, bracing them on the seat of the throne and spreading your legs in one smooth motion. His pout transitions into a dropped jaw as your free hand crawls down your stomach to spread your labia apart. You hold his eye contact and you see his slitted pupils dilate. You begin to draw slow, sensual circles around your clit.

Every neuron fires off in delicious agony, screaming that he should be the one pleasuring you. His heart aches—he vowed to himself that his Queen shouldn’t have to lift a finger as long as he was around. Malleus was holistically devoted; your pleasure has become his entire purpose. 

He dedicated his days to chasing the high of your smiles and his nights to getting drunk off of your moans. He didn’t deserve to revel in your precious light, but you let him in without a second thought. That was just the type of person his beloved human was, and for that, he would serve you until his last breath. 

But now he had to sit idly and watch as you enjoyed yourself without him. What a beautiful torture. A fitting punishment. Perfect for stripping away his ego, forcing him out of everything he knew, all while reminding him of his subservient status. As much as it hurt him… he craved moments like these.

Malleus studies your movements carefully, internalizing every detail of how you pleasure yourself. The way you slid your middle finger up through your delicate folds, gathering the slick of your own arousal for lubrication. How you alternate between light flicks on your clit and flat, rapid rubbing with two fingers. The way you allow yourself to become absorbed in your lechery. 

You’re sure to drag out Malleus’ punishment, taking time to honor every part of yourself. You explore every surface of your body, through your hair, teasing your hardened nipples on the way back down to your cunt. What a naughty tease. How beautiful it was to watch your vulva swell as you got closer and closer to orgasm. His heart raced, breath running ragged as he became consumed by theories of what you could be thinking of to bring yourself closer to the edge. Were you thinking about him? What dirty fantasy about him would transform your pleasure, forcing you to the point of no return?

Whatever it was, you couldn’t fight it. Your eyes widened, and Malleus watched as you wrapped his leash around your wrist to grip the armrest of his throne, holding on for dear life as you rode out the high of your orgasm. Malleus made a tight fist with his right hand, digging his nails into his palm to prevent himself from cumming too, just from the sight of you. There was no bigger turn-on than seeing you receive the pleasure you deserve. It had been weeks since his Queen had allowed him to cum. His balls were desperate to release—even a nipple poking through your t-shirt was enough to feel like he was edging. 

Currently, it was taking every fiber of his being not to slip up. He was ever careful not to take any action that his Queen would consider stepping out of line, lest his orgasm be denied further. But that look on your face… every sound of pleasure from your sweet lips… every involuntary twitch of your legs and each curl of your toes—safely filed away in his mind to replay when his Queen finally gives him permission to cum.

“What a good boy you were. I know that was hard for you.” 

You sit back up on the throne, leaning towards Malleus’ face, smiling sweetly as you let your smug, cunning eyes tell a different story. You know you’re driving him mad—and you’re goddamn proud of it. You lean even closer, lifting his chin with your blood-red, manicured fingertips. You can’t help but giggle as you poke and prod, rubbing his pale, soft cheeks with your thumb, dragging your fingernail along his pointed ear. His blush deepens. You lift his upper lip up with one teasing finger, admiring his cute little fangs. 

“How adorable you are. My perfect little obedient pet. My perfect lover. I love everything about you.” 

You settle back into the chair, cheek resting on your fist, face arranged in a coy little smile. 

“You may speak.”

A faint, “T-thank you, m-my Queen” is all he can muster before dropping eye contact and falling silent again, cheeks sizzling. He doesn’t know how to process your earnest adoration.

“Aw, is that the best you can do? I can only hope you have more to say when giving a royal address, or appearing before the faerie courts. Let’s hope the domestication of a future King isn’t grounds for dethronement. By a human, no less.” 

You both know Malleus remains ever-so-diligently authoritative when it comes to his duties to his Kingdom—it’s one of the reasons you felt so honored how eager Malleus was to lower himself for both of your pleasure.

“You know, I don’t like punishing you when you’re a bad boy. I want to take care of you, too.” You yank his leash in a final act of correction, watching his upper body stumble forwards once again. “Don’t make me do it again, or I swear on the Seven you will not like what follows. Now lay on your back. I’m not even close to being satisfied.”

Without hesitation, Malleus falls to the floor. Another place you shouldn’t find a powerful crown Prince: laying on the cold, hard, dirty ground. He wears a stupid smile on his face—he knows what’s coming. Rolling your eyes, you get in position; feet framing his eager face, offering a direct bird’s-eye view of your plump, glistening cunt. Slowly lowering yourself into a squat above his face, you purr, “beg for it.”

He can smell the musk of your pussy and his cocks throb painfully against his pants. His heart races, eyes once again hazy with arousal, mouth completely agape. His body twitches—he’s already edging. I guess a month of being denied orgasm will do that.

He looks up at you, eyes watering, lip quivering, hands in tight fists as he fights the urge to touch himself. He closes his eyes, savoring the warmth radiating from your cunt, and deeply inhales your scent. A deep, warm exhale swirls around your clit—still sensitive from your first orgasm—which sends a surge of electricity through your entire nervous system. You can’t help but shudder.

The corners of his lips curve upward, his ego is beginning to show itself again. You yank his leash upwards, meeting his eyes with a narrowed stare. Malleus knows the drill. He doesn't want his Queen's kindness to turn cold, after all. He gulps, all arrogance vanishing in an instant. You relax your grip.

A pathetic whine accompanies his plea: deep, smooth, and dripping with arousal. "Please," he begins. His eyes are wide and his lip trembles, desperate to satisfy his Queen. "I will worship your beautiful body. I will show you my love, my loyalty, my devotion, with the entirety of my being. My tongue will show you my adoration and gratitude. Please..." he begs and whimpers, more pathetic with each word.

"You're drooling." You wipe his mouth with your thumb, smearing it across his lips and forcing them apart. You stick your thumb into his mouth, on which he sucks hungrily. You can't help but smile—he really is greedy for your love. "Such a filthy, desperate, pitiful, whiny boy."

His eyelids flutter and he moans, loving how your words make him feel. His cocky, confident demeanor completely dissipates as you degrade him. He's a complete mess, completely dependent on your words and your touch. The second your finger is out of his mouth, he begins begging again, more frantically. "Please. Sit on my face. I want to be useful. I want to make you feel good. Please, please, use my mouth, I want to make you cum. I want to be covered in your essence. I want to taste the sweetness of your arousal. I want to drink it up, and breathe you in. I want to be completely engulfed in the warmth of your cunt. Please, my Queen. Use me for your pleasure. Let me worship your pussy.”

"You may."

Those two words felt electric. Malleus' heart raced and his cocks leaked and his eyes rolled back, lost in the euphoria of this moment. His arms reach around to squeeze the sides of your thighs, pulling your dripping cunt to his face before you could change your mind. A demanding action like that normally wouldn’t have been allowed, but you were already losing yourself to pleasure. 

He pressed his nose into your pubic bone, licking at every inch of skin he could reach. Malleus wastes no time giving his Queen exactly what she wants. His tongue strokes up and down your pulsing pussy, lapping up your wetness and savoring every taste. His eyelids flutter in carnal ecstasy and his mind floats away, primal instincts taking over. Breathing deeply through his nose, practically drowning in your scent, a moan escapes his lips. He licks faster, swirling his tongue around your clit. He looks up, moaning again as he takes in the view: the plump undersides of your breasts bouncing lightly with every lick, fire-red fingernails squeezing your right nipple, your head thrown back in unmistakable pleasure. His moan pulsates against your soaking wet pussy, intensifying your pleasure to something even more carnal. Your pelvis—suddenly with a mind of its own—thrusts and grinds against his tongue.

He's hungry and messy, but he knows exactly how to please you. You run your fingers through his dark, sweaty bangs, pushing his hair back to expose the gorgeous scales hidden on his forehead. You hold onto his horns like a saddle, taking back some control.

"You're such a good boy, Malleus. Keep going." His long, forked tongue is immediately thrust inside of you, desperate to gather up every bit of slick from your last orgasm. You can feel his thick tongue prod against your sensitive, contracting walls as he eagerly laps up your sweet, musky juices. His tongue could do things a mortal man couldn’t dream of. You grind down harder, pushing his face further into you.

Arching your back, his tongue continues to devour you, licking and sucking with primal desperation. He licks the entire length of your vulva and then sucks his way up your labia, finishing his trail with a wet “pop,” leaving your clit swollen and throbbing. He revisits your labia with his entire mouth, sucking it taut and letting it go. The sensation of the blood rushing back is divine, and your whole body shivers. You’re so close. His fingers dig into the soft flesh of your plush thighs, holding on for dear life as his adrenaline pulses through every blood vessel.

Your moans are music to his ears, and he wants more. He sucks on your clit, circling it with his tongue, flicking and licking up and down, positioning it safely between the fork of his tongue. It's too much, but you want more. He vibrates his tongue, sending shockwaves up and down your spine. Your leg muscles twitch and your breath catches. He can tell that you're almost there, and his cocks throb harder than ever. He’s desperate to cum when you do.

"Don't cum." You read his mind. "If you obey me, I'll let you cum in my womb."

He moans loudly, and his hips involuntarily jerk upward, trying to find friction in the air. His cocks are dripping, his pants soaked with clear, sticky precum. He feels so hot and needy, it's almost painful. But he loves it. The idea of finally releasing into you—his Queen. His love. His entire universe. If he could cum right now, he'd fill you to the brim, and then some. He'd give you the family you've always wanted. He'd make sure you'd never want for anything else. He'd give you everything in his universe, just like he promised.

Malleus can't help but whimper as you pull his hair, forcing his mouth back against your pussy. "Focus," you remind him. You can feel him nod, and then his tongue is back to work, licking, sucking, and flicking your clit, vibrating his tongue and moaning against your folds, the sound muffled by your flesh.

"You're such a good boy," you praise him. His eyes roll back and he moans even louder, sending vibrations up through your pussy. "Mmm... that's a good boy, Malleus. Such a good boy." He's getting sloppy, moaning and whimpering and bucking his hips uncontrollably. "You're so needy. Just a little more... a little longer. I'm close. Don't stop. Make me cum."

You feel his fingers digging into your flesh, his whole body is trembling. His face is red, and tears stream down his cheeks. His cocks ache—he won’t be able to hold on much longer. 

For his finishing move, he pulls your clit between his lips and begins to suck, swirling his tongue around, and then flicking the tip. He vibrates his tongue as hard and as fast as he can, sending shockwave after shockwave straight through you until you’re completely uninhibited. You shudder and convulse, completely lost in orgasmic ecstasy. “MALLEUS,” you scream, cumming so hard that your juices squirt into his mouth and run down his chin. He shoves his tongue deep within your pussy, feeling your walls contract around him, lapping up the sweet, sticky liquid as it releases. He's in Heaven. His eyes are closed, breathing ragged, his chest heaves. He's panting, covered in sweat. His cocks twitch, and his balls ache, but he wouldn't dare let himself go over the edge. His prize awaits. 

You crawl away from this face, legs wobbling and mind scrambling to catch up. Looking back at him, you see smudged eyeliner, swollen lips, and a face glistening in your juices. His chest heaves, cocks leaking with desperate arousal. He looks so pitiful, completely lost in the throes of carnal desire. He meets your gaze, his eyes out of focus. Small, desperate whimpers escape his lips. He's desperate for your touch—and you love seeing him this way.

You slowly undo the buttons on his shirt, one by one, taking the time to appreciate each reveal of toned muscle. He's so beautiful. Pure. Innocent. Perfect. You run your fingers down his chest, feeling the smooth, firm skin, and the rise and fall of his chest. His nipples are hard, and you can't resist. You tease them with your red, stiletto fingertips, feeling him shudder under your touch. He's so cute when he's aroused.

"M-my Queen..." he mumbles, and you know exactly what he wants. You kiss his chest, he moans. Arching his back, his hips buck forward, and a frustrated groan exits his airway. You kiss his nipples, playfully sucking, then a quick nibble. He cries out, body trembling, cocks twitching with excitement.

"Patience, my love," you coo. "You’ll get your reward."

You trail kisses down his torso as he squirms beneath you. His cocks are painfully hard. By the time you reach the waistband of his pants, his entire being is begging for you to take them off. In the same moment you’ve tugged the zipper down, his cocks spring free, bouncing against his abdomen. They're hard as rocks, covered in precum, and twitching with need. He's whimpering, and you know he can’t hold on much longer. 

Slipping his pants down, you free his legs of their final constraint. You look up to find him gazing at you through half-lidded eyes, breathing heavily. He's so beyond ready for release. You climb back up him, straddling his hips, careful not to make contact with either cock—you don't want him to cum just yet. Not before he fills you up, and makes you his.

"I want to take both of them. I don't want to waste a single drop." This is new. Usually it’s one cock inside of you while you jerk the other off or rub it against your clit. Two at once require a bit of fae magic. He nods, shuddering. Reaching up, his fingers brush against your pussy. His gasp is voracious—he felt how soaking wet you are. His hand glows green and he pushes two fingers into your tight little pussy, his magic spreading inside of you. It tingles in the best way. You feel like you're being filled up with warmth and love and ecstacy. Your body buzzes, pussy throbbing. As his magic begins to take effect, he adds two more fingers, your pussy eagerly and willingly stretching to accommodate his entire fist. Euphoria courses through your veins.

“Give yourself to me. Fill me up with every last bit of you. Make me see stars.”

Finally, permission. 

In one swift motion, Malleus removes his fist and plunges both pulsing, throbbing, needing cocks inside of your enchanted pussy. Within an instant, Malleus can't hold back any longer. He erupts, and a guttural moan escapes his lungs as his orgasm hits him like a freight train. His whole body convulses, hips jerking violently, pumping his hot, sticky, viscous essence deep within your womb. Your eyes roll back, feeling his thick, warm cum paint your insides. The sheer force of his orgasm pushes you over the edge, and you cum for the third time that night, your walls clenching around his cock, milking him for every last drop. The feeling is almost indescribable—both of your aching bodies become one, pleasure and cum filling you to the absolute brim. He pummels you again and again, your eyes rolling back, jaw slack, holding on for dear life.

He's continues to cum—it's been a month, after all. His moans are desperate, his breathing ragged. His hips buck, and his body trembles. His fingers dig into the flesh of your ass cheeks, pulling you flush against him. He can't get enough. His head spins thinking about how badly he wants to impregnate you. To breed with you. To have you bear his children. To make you a mommy. He imagines your beautiful, swollen belly; a physical manifestation of the love you share.

After what may have been eons, his orgasm finally subsides. His vision clears, and he's met with a glorious sight: you, above him, blissed out and dripping with cum. His heart swells, his love for you now deeper than ever. You allow him to kiss you, after seeing him yearn for it. You taste his love, his desperation, and his complete submission to you. It's divine.

You collapse, falling on top of his chest. Lay there together, breathing hard, you both come down from the most intense orgasm of your lives. His cocks soften, and slip out of your overflowing cunt. Your body shudders. It feels strange to be empty again.

“Bathe me," you command him.

"Anything for my beloved."

You both stand, legs wobbly. With a flick of his wrist, Malleus uses his magic to clean up, restoring the room to a pristine state. Before you can protest, Malleus scoops you up, and in a flash, you're back in his dorm room. The green teleportation fireflies fade as he carries you to the bath. You relax into his arms. With one, strong hand, he turns the water on, making sure it's just the right temperature, cuddling you until the water fills. Sleepily, you disconnect the leash from his collar, leaving his collar fastened around his neck as a sign of ownership.

Malleus carefully slides the straps of your corset off your shoulders, unlacing the back and letting it fall to the ground. He kisses along your clavicle, leaving goosebumps in his wake. He kneels before you, slowly pulling your panties down. Watching them fall, he can't help but blush, remembering the way he'd seen them just moments before. Your nudity is absolutely mesmerizing.

You step into the soothing water in the tub, and Malleus steps in behind you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you onto his lap. He's so good at caring for you. He washes and scrubs every inch of your skin, finishing with a scalp massage. His movements are soft and intentional—full of love and adoration. He wraps his arms around you, holding you tight. You let your eyes close, listening to his heart beat, feeling the warmth of his skin.

"Thank you for tonight. It was perfect," he coos into your ear.

"I'm so happy you trust me so much with your fantasies." You feel him smile as he buries his face into the crook of your neck. "Do you feel more comfortable in your submission?"

"Every time, it gets easier. I've never felt this safe or this loved. I am forever indebted to you. I love you, now and always."

"I love you too, Malleus. Now and always."

His hands rest on your lower belly. One day, it will swell with change, and you'll bear his heirs. You'll live your life together, and you'll rule his kingdom by his side. He can hardly wait—he’s already vowed to serve and protect you and your future children with every bone in his body. But for now, he takes pride in knowing you choose to be with him. To show him that his submission is not weakness, it’s power. It's a privilege. And more than anything, it's love.

You fall asleep like this, in his arms, dreaming of your future together. He holds you close, cherishing the moment. You're his everything—now, and always.

This was my first ever fic! If you enjoyed it, it would mean the absolute world to me if you told me either in the replies, in my ask box, or in the tags! Please know you have my endless gratitude for reading my fanfic — thank you for supporting my passion. I have been a long time lover of fanfic and I am absolutely honored to finally contribute to the community I care so deeply about! I hope you had a great time! 💚 Erica Malleleothreesome

[pomogando]

Sirens Call

An Illumina x Reader

Content warnings: hurt and comfort, depictions of blood and gore, implied torture

(1600+ words, oneshot, romantic intended but could be read as platonic)

You were never one to believe in the deities.

Not as in believe in their existence, there was no denying that, but as in their impact on normal men. Why should you concern yourself with a beings problems of who you will never meet?

That's why you left lost temple after all.

Crossroad was much more peaceful compared to that shithole. Your apartment had a good view of the ocean which was never really visible in Lost temple.

But the rent was terrible, you didn't know anyone, and if you're being completely honest you miss the food of your home faction,

but it was home.

You guess.

You decided to try something new one day, copying a recipe online that claimed to be '98% authentic.' You were much more skilled with sweets compared to more savory options. Hopefully, this would turn out better than the usual boxed dinners you bought, you spent more money than you're used to spending on ingredients.

You didn't have the patience (or the time for that matter) to make your own tortillas, store-bought was just fine.

You chopped up some peppers, fewer than he would've used. Your caretaker always preferred to make his own sauce that was way too hot for your tastes.

You couldn't help but notice every thing you did wrong, your cuts also weren't precise like his was. You struggled with squeezing the limes and dropped one of your avocados on the floor. You threw the bits into the blender and turned it on, swearing as you dropped a bit of parsley on the counter. Unfortunately it seemed your apartments shitty electricity seemed to have failed at this moment, buzzing and weeping before leaving you in the dark with a half mixed sauce and an overwhelming smell of lime.

Turns out the water was off, and the wifi, along with the damn a/c. You washed your hands with a water bottle and a dream, not wanting to rub chile into your eye like when you were younger. The same old towel you've always had dried your hands.

Crossroads was pitch black which blended into the starless night sky. That was strange. Crossroads was well known for never failing structurally; you could hear annoyed neighbors conversate amongst themselves.

You should've just ordered takeout.

The only source of light this dark night was a particularly ominous bright star. Staring at it gave you a headache; it might be time for bed.

Though, before you could even finish your next thought the blender came back to life screaming. It was about to fall to the ground as you caught it, a bit of sauce falling on the ground. The lights started to flicker next. Then the a/c froze you and then the tv was blaring that one soap opera you hated with a passion.

You left the now unplugged blender on the counter haphazardly as you ran for the tvs power, but as if things couldn't get any worse you felt the ground beneath you rumble. You fell to your knees as everything suddenly turned back off, diving you back into the night. A loud thump behind you and a groan. You turned around and saw something that might've been a blessing; or maybe not.

A deity of light, the intensity of the light was harsh but strangely warm. It's like a piece of the sun fell onto your balcony. The sun was curled up into a fetal position. The sun looked pitiful as its wounds dripped ichor onto your floor. The sun was breathing heavily as if someone tried to snuff it out.

You watched in awe, when suddenly the deity of light unhinged its jaw to release a primal, strained scream at a decibel you've never heard before. You should've gone deaf. The scream was a warning, an overwhelming dread filling you from head to toe. Your head was spinning as you felt tears form without you realizing.

Yet, for some reason you only stepped closer.

Their lone wing was clipped down to nothing. Their body covered in lacerations. Someone made a futile struggle of killing a god, but a part of you thought maybe that wasn't the goal despite how deep the gashes seemed to go.

Despite the odds against them, they were healing, slowly, but they were healing. The skin mending on its own like a seamstress would mend a sweater. All were mending except for a nasty bite near the shoulder that seemed to drip with a green liquid. You had a feeling it was slowing things down.

They didn't even seem to notice you.

You don't know why, maybe because you thought you couldn't contact anyone else about this even if you wanted to, you ran to your bathroom and pulled out whatever looked useful for dealing with wounds. You definitely didn't know what you were doing but there's no way you could've made things worse.

In spite of your preparation, you hesitated as you stepped close to the cowering figure; their breathing was ragged and seemed torturous, the star writhing with each breath. Their hands curled up into fists as a searing pain wad across their entire body.

You hesitated, but eventually got closer to the cowering figure and spoke in a shaky voice

"Can I... touch you?"

The angel did not respond, still curled up into a ball. It was as if it didn't hear you.

"I'm… just going to clean your bite mark. I hope that's okay. You can tell me no."

Silence filled the air.

You hastily wet your towel, stepping closer and careful not to cause more pain. You hesitantly begun to lightly dab the bite wound clean of the venomous green liquid. Only to be practically forced to the ground as the being of light let out another animalistic scream, shielding their body with whats left of their wings. The voice was strained but stern, spoken as a command that one couldn't refuse.

"Don't touch me."

Yet, hypocritically, it seemed to wrap its arms around you. Your body being pulled in close as it breathed heavily in your arms. You felt the ichor liquid spilling on your clothes but you felt as if you had better things to worry about.

Perhaps they didn't realizing they were clinging onto you like a scared dying animal. Blood loss could alter a mind, and maybe Gods had the same fear- maybe an even greater fear- of dying like mortals. Your thoughts were clouded as you tried to focus on what's in front of you as you gently wrapped your arms around their quivering body as ichor stained your skin. You would give them the comfort they would never admit to craving.

And the sun would let you.

You didn't know how to comfort people, but if the sun was bothered by it they wouldn't speak. Your soft, coddling reassurances of safety and warmth filled the ears of a deity twice your size. "You're going to be okay."

You could feel their blood drenched claws on your back as they kept their arms wrapped around your waist but they seemed to be careful not to harm you. The wounds on their back were being closed shut one by one, it was almost as if it was never there in the first place.

The bite wound seemed to finally be on the process to repairing itself aswell.

You opened your mouth hesitantly "do you have any more bite marks?" They only grumbled something inaudible in response, so you quietly scanned their body as best as you could.

"I just want to help you."

The deity seemed to flinch at those words, quietly pushing itself up from the ground to face you, they slowly opened their eyes as if they had been blind their whole life.

Their eyes were like a piercing blade. Eyes that would've made the bravest crumble into submission. Eyes that have probably seen many die in agony. Eyes that probably didn't care.

And yet, why did you feel your body relax as if you rejoiced with a long lost lover?

"Your eyes.." your voice was a soft whisper, music to their ears."They're like stars."

You would help them see again.

You put a hand on their cheek. Almost in a trance. Their eyes widened, you couldn't tell if it was fear or relief.

As quickly as that moment arrived, it quickly left. The star jolted up from your lap, unable to keep it's eyes off you as it made a run for the window to vanish into the night sky. Strangely, you could've sworn you saw their pale cheeks tint with color.

It felt as if you had just woken up from a dream. The only sign they had ever been here was the bloodied handprints on your back.

You didn't even notice when the lights came back to life as you sat there in shock and guilt.

The next, unpleasant morning. You tried your best to scrub your floor clean of blood. It seemed ichor was hard to get out even with a strong bleach. It would look jarring, but you decided to just place a rug over the spot. You didn't want to tell anyone what happened last night, not like they would believe you.

When you got your stained shirt out of the wash, you noticed something fall out onto the floor. A pale white feather. Somehow completely clean, it was practically glowing. Despite its delicate look it was tough and didn't tear. You ran a finger along the edge and it felt like gentle blades.

You had a feeling that it wasn't here by chance.

[bio1]

Hey everyone, finally finished part two of my transformers Earthspark horror themed fanfic.

If you haven't read act 1, please check out this link.

One last thing, thank you so much for @billie-jay for helping writing and editing of this story. Couldn't have done it without them.

Now let's begin.

Warning: this story contains body horror, blood, and descriptions of graphic violence.

Act 2: rotten to the core

The Terran siblings' optics were the only source of light in the now otherwise pitch black dugout. After the dreadful clicking of the lights switching off, the room was now eerily quiet once again.

“We didn't kill it.” Nightshade finally broke the silence, stating the obvious.

"No, you didn't."

A voice replied, taunting the young bot. Well, perhaps calling it a voice would be too generous. Whatever responded spoke in a manner similar to rusted nails scratching at granite. Its pitch and tone managed to fluctuate in a manner that just barely could be recognizable as words. It was a sound that shouldn't be possible, as if scrap metal could somehow speak. It went beyond uncanny. Hearing something that otherworldly felt downright violating.

What clever children you are, deducing my traits so quickly.

Most don't last long enough to find out that.

Whatever monitors still remained attached flickered on, although they broadcasted nothing but static. When their adversary spoke again, the static shifted in time with its voice.

"My, such a colorful collection. So bright and shiny, sturdy with youthful vigor. Small you might be, but your remains will a part of something far bigger than you could ever dream."

Twitch, with all her remaining energy, was not having any of this cryptic nonsense. She stormed up to the monitors and put her face meter inches from the screen in a confrontational manner.

“Get away from my family, NOW!” She boomed, slamming her foot onto the concrete floor.

The dying power on the monitor only showed one thing, the white enormous eye of their torturer.

"Oh my child, it's far too late for that."

Twitch stepped back, trying her absolute best now to show how terrified she truly was. Too late for what?! What was this thing implying?

“You're bluffing! You haven't gotten to them yet!” Nightshade answered back for her. “Now how about you save us all time and tell us what you want!”

Twitch wasn't sure what her sibling was getting at. Did they want to give into this thing's demands? And how could they know that their family hadn't been harmed yet?

"If you're already awake, I thought we might as well have a little fun."

It was pretty obvious the creature was trying to be creepy, but neither of them knew whether or not it fully understood the context of what it just implied.

The dugout was completely silent and nearly pitch black, the abyss around them only just illuminated from both of the bots glowing optics.

“Nightshade! What do we do?! Our family is out there with that… that thing! I don't even know which way the exit is anymore, it's too dark…”

“There’s no reason for alarm, the dugout has a backup generator in the barn.” Nightshade tried their absolute best to remain calm for her, despite the gravity of the situation weighing on their mind as well.

“I'll go check on everyone in the house. In the meanwhile, you can start up the generator.”

“Wait, shouldn't that be the other way around? I can actually fit in the house, and you would know how the generator works.”

“Because I can grab everyone in one trip. It would take too long for you to back and forth. Plus, turning it on is rather simple.”

“Nightshade, I've seen the things you make, and none of it is simple.”

“It's literally just a red button labeled ‘generator’.”

“Nevermind, I should be able to handle that.”

Both of the bots carefully exited the dugout. With neither spotting the monster, Nightshade and Twitch split up, their goals both in sight.

Twitch approached the generator, optics darting around herself in paranoia.

“It's okay, Twitch. Just a few more steps.” The red mech assured herself, voice still shaky.

She stood in front of the machine, just barely out of arms’ reach. A chill ran down her metallic spine. Thoughts of what occurred earlier in the night ran through her mind. She kept imagining that if she pushed the button, something would come to remove her head from her shoulders.

“Twitch! HURRY!”

The loud voice booming from the doorway startled the poor bot. It was Nightshade, already back with their human family in tow. They were peacefully sleeping, blissfully unaware of the danger around them. Nightshade dashed into the bunker, leaving Twitch to finish their task.

With a deep sigh, she pushed the red button, the lights around her flickering on. Twitch turned back to join their sibling before stopping dead in her tracks. Something was pushing itself through a gap in the barn wall. A black, pulsating mass with gray armor grew larger as more of its amorphous form forced its way into the room. Five huge tendrils sprouted from a centered metal lump. It almost looked like…

“A hand.” She breathed, the terrifying realization overcoming her.

A monster hand, almost bigger than her entire body.

She drew out her swords as the hand flexed its grotesque fingers.

The monster, noticing her presence, immediately lunged at her. She barely had enough time to dodge or before the gnarled fingers could ensnare her. The hand instead grabbed hold of a solid wooden support beam directly behind her. Smaller tendrils unwind themselves from the fingers joints, constricting the beam completely until the pressure caused it to cave in. An entire, solid cylinder of wood, crushed by a single movement into dust. The hand, realizing it has missed it's intended target, reared around with gelatinous eyes protruding from its finger joints, searching for Twitch.

"Hold still !"

“How about no!” She yelled before jabbing her blade into its wrist. The palm of the hand writhed in pain, fingers bending backwards as it struggled to pull the foreign object out. The wrist was almost jammed like a metal rod between two gears.

Twitch grabbed the handle of the embedded sword and twisted it clockwise, separating the hand from its wrist. A spray of oily fluid landed on her optics, muddling her vision. The hand writhed in pain for a moment, finally curling up on itself.

A distant sound of pain could be heard, but Twitch felt like she had no time to celebrate as she went to join her family. The young bot slammed the vault door shut as soon as she made it to the bunker, not wanting to take any more chances. Nightshade has laid the siblings’ organic family into individual sleeping quarters.

“Twitch, are you alright?” Nightshade asked, concerned. Their sibling’s face was drenched in the black, oily blood of their adversary.

“Yeah, I just had my hands full.” she responded confidently. Though her words had the cadence of a joke, Nightshade didn't seem to pick up on it.

“Seriously, what happened?” They prodded further.

“That monster tried to crush me. Sort of like this.” Twitch crushed one of the emptied energy drink cans as a demonstration.

“But it doesn't know who they're messing with, and I manage to cut their hand off.” She smiled proudly, but residual unease from the near death encounter still hung to her tone. This bravado was an attempt to force her mood to improve, and it wasn't entirely working.

“Here, to wipe the oil off.” Nightshade handed her a large cloth.

“Oh, thanks.” She cleaned her face up, before looking down at the now dirtied rag. “Wait, isn't this Robbie's shirt?”

“Yes. I borrowed some spare clothing from all of the family and store it here, in case of emergencies.”

“Borrowed? He told me he couldn't find this shirt for months….” She held out the soaked t-shirt in front of her, rancid oily blood dripping off it onto the floor.

“Emergency preparedness is more important than a diverse wardrobe.” Nightshade took the soiled garment and threw it into a basket. “That'll come off in the laundry. Probably.”

In the corner of Nightshade’s sensitive optics, they picked up some movement on the now activated surviving monitor. The pair raced over to see what it was. Out of the darkness of the forest above, something jumped into fame! The figure startled Nightshade badly enough that they fell to the floor. After recovering from the near spark attack herself, Twitch realized what it was.

“Oh, it's just a deer.” She gave a sigh of relief.

Nightshade got a good giggle from the pair of them getting so startled by a cute little buck. Twitch had mentioned she cut off the monster's hand, right? Surely, it wasn't coming back…

Gazing back at the screen, something reached out and snatched the poor animal. Their monitor’s audio played a sickening crack the moment after. It was the unmistakable noise of snapping bone.

The culprit emerged from the woods, towering above even the tallest of trees. In one gnarled hand, it carried the limp body of the deer, whose neck.was now bent at an unnatural angle, clearly dead.

The other hand was missing, leaving a stub of black tentrals.

It was clear this wasn't some kind of wooden monster they had thought of earlier. This was far worse.

This monster appeared to be wearing the outer armor of a Cybertronian, held together by mangled tendrils and rusted metal sheets. Its abdomen, neck, and joints were made of thick, wiry tentacles twisted together like ropes of licorice. Long, clawed fingers clutched onto the rag doll deer. Its face, seemingly normal at first glance, appeared to have enormous spotlights for optics, surrounded by deep black rings. It was as if it had carved holes in whatever unfortunate mech’s face it was using to fit its massive eyes.

The abomination was mostly gray, with any remaining colors on its shell muted and drained. It reminded Nightshade when they learned from Bumblebee that when a Cybertronian dies as a result of having their spark extinguished, theus body will lose its color. All that's left behind is a gray, empty shell.

The monster lifted the deer so that it was held directly in front of its ghastly face. Instead of simply opening its mouth, it split its own jaw completely in half. Row upon row of sharp yellowed greeted their prey, before sinking into the buck’s head. It antlers sloughed off and fell to the forest floor. The poor deer's head barely gave any resistance to the creature’s bite, getting chomped away easily as a stalk of celery.

Twitch immediately felt sick, the urge to vomit filling her despite not even having a stomach.

Nightshade starred, wide-eyed with morbid curiosity, unawall to tear away their gaze.

With one of its clawed fingers, it easily gutted and flayed the remainder of the deer with the precision of a surgeon. It swallowed each limb whole, not even stopping to back a breather between each bite. The deer's torso was impaled on the tallest tree around, seemingly leaving it for later.

Full enough for now, the metallic corpse leaned over, resting its damaged arm on the forest floor. Slowly but surely, the severed tendrils twisted and grew, sprouting forward from the site of the injury. Soon enough, it had a brand new hand, identical to the original.

All of the damage the siblings had inflicted on the creature was undone in a moment.

“This isn't happening…” Twitch’s voice was barely a whisper, her entire body fighting back the urge to retch.

"A Valiant attempt, little one, But not good enough."

The creature's unnatural voice made the static on the monitor worse as it spoke. How it had heard her from so far away was a complete mystery.

The thing bent forward to show its back, smaller tendrils poking out of the monster's armor. They wriggled and writhed, pulling themselves from the beast's back. Falling out from the cracks in the metal, two smaller creatures collided on the ground before standing up. They superficially resembled Cybertronian protoforms, but were differentiated by the claws and soulless eyes of the original monster.

"Go get me the green one. The red one is yours… consider it a treat."

It pointed towards the camera at the base of the tree. The pawn-like monsters listened, immediately making their way towards the barn.

"I'll be seeing you shortly, Maltos."

It bowed at the camera, before walking backwards out of site, into the woods.

“We are sooooo screwed.” Twitch mumbled, once the whole ordeal had concluded. “How did it find that tiny little camera? And when did it learn our family's name?”

“Don't worry, we, um…” Nightshade’s usually calm demeanor was shaking, the panic getting to them as well. … ‘“We should be safe here.” They placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, metal clicking as they touched. Twitch immediately swatted their hand away, turning in place to face them.

“Safe?” Her optics went wide, sparking with a furocity Nightshade had only seen a few times before. “Safe?! You just saw that thing make more of itself, Nightshade! We are anything BUT safe right now!”

They knew she was right, and that their reassurance was an empty gesture she had easily seen through.

“I’m sick of this.”

She drew out both of her swords.

Nightshade looked visibly shaken from Twitch's outburst, justified as it might be. If they could cry, they would be tearing up.

“Twitch, I-”

Twitch cut them off again.

“I'm going out there to defend what I love!”

Even though Twitch was running off fumes, she would fight an army if it meant keeping their family safe.

Nightshade rubs their optics before putting a hand on her shoulder once again.

“Not by yourself. I'm coming with you.” Nightshade informed her with an uncharacteristically stirred tone.

“You need to stay here, with them.” She pleaded. “I've got more training than you. I can handle this.”

“With all due respect, there isn't a chance you'd survive going head to head alone with our advisory here. I doubt even Optimus could take that monster down by himself. I get why you want to stay back, but we won't be of any use without each other.” They leaned in, giving Twitch a big bear hug.

“We're doing this together,” said Nightshade.

After a moment of hesitation, Twitch nodded firmly.

“Together.” she replied, hugging them back.

They made sure everything was secured before drinking what was left of the energy drinks in hopes of staving off the creature's parasitic exhaustion. Venturing out of the dugout, they double checked to guarantee the door was locked behind them.

The bots stuck close by to one another, Twitch leading slightly ahead. Just as Nightshade got an arm's length away from their sister, something jumped on their shoulders and wrapped its arms around their neck.

It was one of the odd gray things that the creature had produced. The thing was about Twitch’s size, only barely taller than the average human. Nightshade was able to pull their assailant off them, slamming it against the dirt.

Cracks formed on the monster's armor, its left leg was bent in the opposite direction.

This seemingly didn't slow it down, however, as with a high pitch grunt it snapped its leg back in place before charging at the green mech.

“NIGHTSHADE! Go high, I'm going low!” Twitch changed her hand into a blaster before taking aim and firing. The laser shot hit the monster's bad leg, blasting it off from the knee down.

As it stumbled, Nightshade talons struck against its face. This almost completely destroyed one of its eyes, leaving a deep gash. They knock it back with a powerful upcut to its jaw, sending half of its pointy teeth into the air.

As it fell backwards, Twitch raised one of her blades. She sent an aggressive slash on its shoulder. The sword moves in a round arc, cutting its torso in two like a knife through warm butter.

Both halves of the body fell down. Horrifically, even though all the monstrosity had left was a single arm, it continued to drag itself towards them. The thing seems either unaware or unbothered by the fact that its insides were being scrapped across the ground as it moved.

Nightshade backed up a good distance from their pursuer before running back at it, full sprint. With one solid kick, they sent its head flying over the house.

“Goal!” Nightshade cheered, twisting around to check on Twitch. Their little joke seemed to have worked at lightening some of the tension, and she smiled back at him widely. “That was awesome, Nightshade!”

As the small monster's corpse finally fell still, the siblings celebrated by high-fiving each other.

Their victory was short-lived, however, as an enormous hand rapidly grabbed Twitch from around the house. Nightshade ran after it, coming to stand in front of the Goliath.

“Let me go!” Twitch remanded, taking a shot at the thing’s chest, leaving nothing but a small burn mark. It retaliated by squeezing her tighter. With its other hand, it picked up her swords before tossing them away into the woods.

“You! After all this… chaos! What more do you want?” Nightshade yelled as loud as their vocal processor would allow.

The creature flexed its long neck towards the ground, gargantuan eyes boring holes into Nightshade's very being.

"It appears your human masters didn't raise you with any manners, child. But for future reference, it's not considered polite to ask such questions before being given a proper introduction."

It gave a devilish, cocky smirk. A sickeningly smug expression from a creature who had known it had already won. It was just toying with its prey now, watching them squirm and suffer for its own amusement.

"You may call me exquisite corpse. I've seen how smart you are, I assume you can guess how I earned such a title."

Nightshade wasn't even sure how to respond. This thing's manner of speech was infuriatingly civilized, clearly in an attempt to further provoke them.

"As for your question, I am after you in particular, little owl."

“Me?!” They blurted in response. “And what makes you think I'm going to go along with this?” Nightshade challenged, trying not to let their confusion and fear show.

The haughty grin on Exquisite Corpse’s face never faltered.

"Oh, I suspected resistance from you, child. There's a good reason I made my powers known to you from the start."

It leaned in even closer, its massive face just inches from Nightshade. Bits of blood and refuge from the deer it had previously consumed clung to its metal fangs.

"You know what I'm capable of. You know what I could do to not only her..."

It shook Twitch around in its hand, causing the red bot to yelp in shock and discomfort.

"...But to your entire clan if I wanted. So now that you're aware what's at stake, I don't think you'll put up any more struggle when I tell you to come with me."

“Don't even think about it, Nightshade!” Twitch barked.

"I didn't say you could talk, fly!"

It screeched, pressing its claws against her even further. Twitch's body creaked as she tried not to scream from the pain. It was clear that if Exquisite Corpse's grip got any tighter, those claws would rip right through her.

“Stop!” Nightshade begged. “Please, just put her down…”

"Oh, I'll do a lot more than that. Do as I say, and your entire family will get left out of this unfortunate little affair. "

It leaned its empty hand in front of the bot.

"How does that sound, owl?"

The lights in Nightshade's optics streaked, making their vision go blurry. Tensing up, they reluctantly grabbed a finger of the giant hand back, shaking it.

“I accept your terms.” they solemnly said, biting their lip in anguish.

"I knew you were smart. Very good."

It tossed Twitch to the ground, the minion pawns standing behind her with baited breath, held back only by their obedience to their master like a dog on a leash.

Exquisite Corpse gently picked up the owl, exhaling a deep purplish smoke in their face. Nightshade immediately felt more tired than they ever had in their life. As their body went limp for exhaustion, they heard one final exchange from the monster to its servants.

"She's all yours."

As they walked off towards the woods, the last thing Nightshade could process was Twitch's, violently screaming out for their sibling to help her.

To the continued…

[mysticstronomy]

DO SHADOWS APPEAR ON THE MOON'S SURFACE??

Blog#325

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

Welcome back,

The moon is utterly familiar. We see it all the time, in the blue sky during the day, among the stars and planets at night. Every child knows the outlines of the moon’s lava seas: they trace the Man in the Moon or, sometimes, a Rabbit.

This familiarity goes beyond appearances. The moon is actually made of Earth. According to modern theories, the moon was born some 4.5 billion years ago when an oversized asteroid struck our planet. Material from Earth itself spun out into space and coalesced into our giant satellite.

Yet when Apollo astronauts stepped out onto this familiar piece of home, they discovered that it only seems familiar. From the electrically-charged dust at their feet to the inky-black skies above, the moon they explored was utterly alien.

On the next sunny day, step outdoors and look inside your shadow. It’s not very dark, is it? Grass, sidewalk, toes–whatever’s in there, you can see quite well.

Your shadow’s inner light comes from the sky. Molecules in Earth’s atmosphere scatter sunlight (blue more than red) in all directions, and some of that light lands in your shadow. Look at your shadowed footprints on fresh sunlit snow: they are blue!

Without the blue sky, your shadow would be eerily dark, like a piece of night following you around. Weird. Yet that’s exactly how it is on the Moon.

To visualize the experience of Apollo astronauts, imagine the sky turning completely and utterly black while the sun continues to glare.

Your silhouette darkens, telling you “you’re not on Earth anymore.”

Shadows were one of the first things Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong mentioned when he stepped onto the surface of the moon. “It’s quite dark here in the shadow [of the lunar module] and a little hard for me to see that I have good footing,” he radioed to Earth.

The Eagle had touched down on the Sea of Tranquility with its external equipment locker, a stowage compartment called “MESA,” in the shadow of the spacecraft.

Although the sun was blazing down around them, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had to work in the dark to deploy their TV camera and various geology tools.

“It is very easy to see in the shadows after you adapt for a while,” noted Armstrong. But, added Aldrin, “continually moving back and forth from sunlight to shadow should be avoided because it’s going to cost you some time in perception ability.”

Truly, moon shadows aren’t absolutely black. Sunlight reflected from the moon’s gently rounded terrain provides some feeble illumination, as does the Earth itself, which is a secondary source of light in lunar skies. Given plenty of time to adapt, an astronaut could see almost anywhere.

Almost. Consider the experience of Apollo 14 astronauts Al Shepard and Ed Mitchell:

They had just landed at Fra Mauro and were busily unloading the lunar module. Out came the ALSEP, a group of experiments bolted to a pallet. Items on the pallet were held down by “Boyd bolts,” each bolt recessed in a sleeve used to guide the Universal Handling Tool, a sort of astronaut’s wrench. Shepard would insert the tool and give it a twist to release the bolt–simple, except that the sleeves quickly filled with moondust. The tool wouldn’t go all the way in.

The sleeve made its own little shadow, so “Al was looking at it, trying to see inside. And he couldn’t get the tool in and couldn’t get it released–and he couldn’t see it,” recalls Mitchell.

“Remember,” adds Mitchell, “on the lunar surface there’s no air to refract light–so unless you’ve got direct sunlight, there’s no way in hell you can see anything. It was just pitch black. That’s an amazing phenomenon on an airleuss planet.”

(Eventually they solved the problem by turning the entire pallet upside down and shaking loose the moondust. Some of the Boyd bolts, loosened better than they thought, rained down as well.)

Originally published on universetoday.com

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, August 26th, 2023)

"WHAT IS THE GREAT SILENCE??"

[centaurianthropology]

Late on the train to 'Midst'

Hello all, and it's time once again for me to try to infect you all with my weird niche interests. In this case, it's a podcast that was recently(ish) picked up by Critical Role, which is how I heard about it. But I can say right now that those folks who still follow me from the Magnus Archives day are probably going to enjoy this one. Hell, I think a lot of my followers might, so let me pitch 'Midst' to you.

The Podcast

'Midst' is a narrative podcast with three narrators. So rather than a strict script, it's three people with great voices telling you a story, narrating actions, slipping into and out of different character voices, all set over a really well-engineered sound-and-musicscape. The episodes are loosely outlined, but the actual scripts are improvised between the narrators, weaving in and out of each other's narrations and 'yes and'ing their way into a greater whole. It may sound a little confusing, but I found it surprisingly easy to follow along with. And each episode ranges from 15 minutes to a half-hour, so it's an easy listen. The second season has just begun to release over at the CR YouTube channel (there were 2 seasons out before CR picked it up and is releasing remasters, so beware spoilers if you go to the tag here).

The Setting

Okay, unless you're a nerd like me, the technicalities of the podcast might not mean quite as much to you. But the setting is where things start to get really interesting. This is a space western. Classic, but definitely also not classic. While the vibe is pure space western, with a feel that's vaguely akin to 'Firefly' or 'Trigun' or 'Cowboy Bebop', the actual setting isn't so much space as it is the Un.

The Un is somewhat liminal, a vast sky filled with light from an undetermined source, filled with clouds and glittering mica shards which defy gravity and can slice through almost anything in their way (though they can be deflected). On the largest of these shards some people have set up homes. And elsewhere in the Un are islets, tiny planets that make up the habitable universe of 'Midst'.

There doesn't seem to be a proper central authority in the Un, but the closest thing they have is the Trust, a cult based around the worship of what seems to be a space western stock market, in which all of its members have their deeds (and themselves) weighed and judged. And those people in the Trust, the Trustees, wear their morality literally on their sleeve. Those deemed 'good' either from good deeds or (far more often) from inherited goodness or goodness based on their position in society, have white Valor beads adorning them. Those deemed immoral, or (again more often) in debt have Caenum, black beads denoting how much they owe the Trust. Those Trustees in debt seem to exist in something close to slavery, constantly having to do more and more work to try to break even. And the entire Trust society is built on their backs.

Below the Un is a velvet black fog so thick it lays like an ocean at the bottom of this universe, its surface an obsidian mirror. This is the Fold, a place where a dark mist can penetrate through anything and bring with it Tearrors, events in which the fabric of reality itself seems to tear itself apart. People and things die or go horribly (or sometimes not horribly) wrong thanks to the Tearrors. These Tearrors can be kept at bay with a weird sort of lightbulb, which is how folks can stay alive in the Fold without completely coming apart at the seams.

And there, at the Meridian, half in the Un and half in the Fold, rolling through both to create perhaps the only place in this universe with both a night and a day, weird as both are, is Midst. A small islet of red dust and weird plants and animals. A place where people live and work and die. A place that feels a lot like a western.

And with that, we have our setting. And within this setting are vast array of characters, but for this particular story, there are three protagonists. Each of them is solely narrated by one of the three narrators, and it is around them that the story and the world of Midst unfolds.

Lark

Lark is perhaps the protagonist we know the least about, but she's also the protagonist who feels the most classically western for this space western. She's a monster hunter living on the outskirts of society on Midst. She sells hides, and she has few friends and fewer words. She's gruff, dangerous, and has lived long enough that she's got a dark past and has seen some shit. She also has a red glove that apparently kills anything it touches, which is cool.

Lark is intelligent, grounded, but is also largely a mystery at this point. She's also got a hound dog named Landlord, who is the best, and is the only character who is apparently guaranteed not to die.

Phineas Thatch

Look at this wet cat of an armored man. Everything about him screams try-hard, wannabe, senpai-notice-me energy. If Lark is the western character, Phineas is the space character, hailing from the Trust. He is in debt, but also the Adsecla (second in command) of an elite group of cop-soldier-celebrities. The media follows them everywhere, which is something of a problem for a guy who is terrible with people and the media in particular. Phineas is a decent guy, fairly good at his job, but nothing he ever does is good enough, and all his best instincts are being systematically squashed by the cult he has fanatically devoted himself to. There is no one who believes in the Trust more than Phineas, even as it's griding him down to nothingness.

If you like a character who is pathetic even when he's doing cool things, who never wins, whose struggles all seem to come to nothing, and you can't quite figure out if the universe just hates him or if he's his own worst enemy (it's probably both), then Phineas is the character for you.

Moc Weepe

Look at him. Just look at this weird, alabaster, spidery guy. I know that I and many of my followers love a bastard man, and Mr. Weepe is a grade A bastard man. He is a co-owner of a cabaret on Midst, and he oozes his way through every scene he's in with some of the best lines and worst actions of the podcast. He has the power to be both alluring and repellant, he's got an absolutely delightfully bizarre voice and and even weirder laugh (and yet is also part of a really cool musical number), and he is both terrifying and pathetic all at the same time. This asshole contains multitudes. And a lot of those multitudes revolve around screwing someone over for his own gain.

He should be the least sympathetic of the protagonists. Lark is a cool and aloof badass. Phineas wants to be a good man. Weepe? He wants to be rich. He wants to be powerful. He is also constantly plagued by a mysterious medical condition that seems to have been brought on by exposure to an extremely severe and almost-lethal Tearror. He is somehow, weirdly, sympathetic, at least up to a point, and not nearly as clever as he thinks he is. What can I say? I am predictable, and Moc Weepe is definitely my favorite of the protagonists, even if he's demonstrably the worst.

I won't spoil the plot, as that's part of the fun. I can at least spoil the first scene, which is also the finale of the first season (they loop back to explain how they got to this event throughout the run of the first season): we are on Midst. All three protagonists are there.

And the moon has just exploded in the sky.

[gladumfdoodles]

i don't know why i didn't think of this before, but i can totally post snippets of what i'm writing on tumblr

so uh have this piece of the atlantis au from chapter 7 (which will be posted tomorrow!)

word count: 387

oh and if you're seeing this without knowing what the atlantis au is, it's an au that @talkinowlaboutit and i have been working on based off of the atlantis movie from 2001. you can find the art on their blog and the writing here!

It was a low groaning sound that woke Scar up in the middle of the night. It was pitch black out, the only source of light being the specks glowing in the ground and around the city, and he blinked sleepily a few times before rolling over in an attempt to fall back asleep. He had almost managed it when another groan emerged from the dark, accompanied by a rattling sound. It sounded similar to rocks scraping together, but it was paired with the almost human groan of something alive. 

He pushed himself into a sitting position, then scooted to the edge of his tent, lifting the flap to peer outside. Nothing. There was nothing out there. It was probably just someone snoring…in a weird…gravelly way…

The sound echoed off of the walls of the cave again, sounding almost angrier this time, and Scar slowly wrapped his hand around his cane, using it to help drag himself out of his tent and into a standing position up on the squishy ground. With his other hand, he picked up the Watcher’s journal. He wasn’t sure why, in all honesty, it wasn’t like he was going far, but something about its familiar weight comforted him. 

As he walked along the shimmering ground, it rippled, sending waves through the darker soil as he stepped past the tents towards the ancient city. The sound bounced off of the ruins, and it would be easy to mistake it for shifting rubble. But no, there was something alive about it.

He took a few more steps forward, and a rattling sound reached Scar’s ears, surprising him into stopping. He crouched down to see a little tendril of some kind of plant poking out of the ground, waving from side to side. It was glowing faintly, just like the ground, and when he reached out to touch it, it made the same rattling sound again.

“Well hello there.” Scar whispered, leaning forward to examine it better. “What are you?”

The low groan echoed from in the city again, this time sounding much closer. Scar turned to face the sound, then froze as the lights around him vanished, plunging him into darkness. He was completely blind, unable to see anything. He stumbled backwards a few steps, just as the groaning sound turned into a roar. 

[consult-sherlockholmes]

do u like the stars? and the moon?

They are quite beautiful. Would be quite boring if the night sky would just be a completely dark canvas without any specks of light and variety. It would just be a dark void staring back at you from the sky, could be unsettling, as the night would be completely pitch black with no light source at all. And without stars we wouldn't exist at all, given the sun is a star, and without sun no lifeform would be able to have evolved or exist at all. I do enjoy the warmth of the sun as well. And the moon is very fascinating as well, it's changing phases, having mystified and mesmerised humanity since centuries, inspired many mythological stories. It has also influenced the life on earth quite much, given that some rhythms of nature are based on moon cycles. The moon also impacts our life directly with it's gravitational pull on the water, resulting in changing tides.

[stuffedwriting]

Nia’s Diary: A whisper woke me up. My name. It was right in my ear. My heart skipped a beat, no, that’s not right. It’s more like my heart shook, I hate that feeling, the jump of surprise that feels like I was just electrocuted for a second.

I sat up in shock, looking to see the source. I would have played it off as a dream’s last word but then I saw the entrance to my cell. It was completely black but with some reflection of some unseen light even though the cell was pitch black. Curiosity, -as it always does- took over me and I reached my hand into the inky doorway. It passed through unhindered so without hesitation I slipped my entire body through. To my astonishment I found myself in the halls of the asylum. With no real guide I simply wandered.

The halls were the same dull white that I had been through countless times. Then I turned a corner, everything was inverted, black with white outlines, shadows revealed, all else hidden. Bewildered, I continued my stride. With a sudden sound of a bump I turned my attention to the origin of the noise, an open cell with a figure in a straight jacket repeatedly knocking its head against the wall. Abruptly it stopped and slowly moved to look at me. Why am I so intriguing to these things? It stared at me. They always stare. The inner and outer parts of its eyes were swapped, the white parts black, the pupil white and the iris a dark gray. Then it ran up to me, my breathing quickened as we were face to face. It pulled its head back and headbutted me, making me fall backwards on my butt. Reopening my eyes from the recent contact and pain I saw it return to its room and continue slamming the wall with its head. I stood up, rubbing the impact spot to ease the pain and continued down the hall with the new pulsing pain on my forehead.

Passing through the negatively colored hallway I turned another corner and found myself near the therapist offices, the dark surroundings returned to their regular light hue. I don’t know how I got there. The way to Doctor Hacken’s room was a completely separate way yet here I was. My curiosity, given a new task, made me try the handle of the office door. To my surprise it opened. Immediately I felt the stinging gaze of staring flowers. I clenched my fists, despising the image and throwing it on the ground, shattering the glass of the frame. Then I took the paper and ripped it into as many pieces as I could. Satisfied with the horrid thing’s destruction I snooped around, looking in the drawers of his desk. Nothing too interesting. Some pens, notes, I didn’t need to look through them. Just a hundred different ways to say that I’m bat-shit crazy. Unsatisfied but with no will to continue I left to take the long road back to my room.

It was longer than I anticipated. It was as if I was walking for hours. I would see the end of the hallway, blink and see that it had stretched back another significant distance. Still, after who knows how long I finally reached my cell, passed my body through the tar door and crashed onto my bed, exhausted.

Thankfully it was a dreamless night, I didn’t need to experience a nightmare in my waking and unconscious mind in a row, though as I entered consciousness I questioned if my past experience was real but everything was confirmed when I stared at my reflection above the sink, a bruise right in the middle of my forehead.

First. Prev. Next.

[undrsk0re]

Walking home

Ash just gotout of work a little bit later

MiM au by @moonlightsmasquerade

Im hoping to god i wrote cesar right ówò

Itd been a week.

A week sinced hed moved there and he was already starting to feel paranoid.

Ash had presumed that mandela county was having a monster movie competition. It wouldve explained all the people who looked less like people and more like creatures from the depths of his subconscious. Everyone hed ask about it replied affirming his belief. But now and again, itd feel off. And tonight was one of those nights.

Ash was walking home from working at Mandelatech. The air felt like it was coated in frost and not even the full moon in the sky could pierce the pitch blackness of the streets infront of him. He pulled out his phone, turning it on and turning on the flashlight, his phone becoming an ivory beacon, combined with the phone screen reflecting off his face, his location was... obvious. And it was probably not the best odea to be this easy to spot. But, as far as he could see, he was completely isolated in the dark.

"...huh.", he muttered under his breath, looking around and shining his phone in different directions, the light dispersing the black haze around him.

"Its...real quiet out here."

He couldnt help but feel a little bit unnerved by the eldritch silence around him. Every howl of the wind startling him just a bit more, sounding more and more wolf like with every gust that passed through his hair. The tense feeling in his chest growing more intense and suffocating, as if something was curling around his ribcage, ready to snap it clean in half. He could hear his breathe stuttering and fracturing with every step and was almost sure that he was shaking.

"I'll be home soon, ill be fine". He was taken aback by how shaky and silent his voice had suddenly become. There was nobody around, why was he whispering?

"Alright ive only got a few more kilometers to go and ill be fine. Its not that big of...a-"

He trailed off. His thoughts replaced by a concerned silence as he swore he could feel a presence somewhere. He darted his flashlight around, all his hair standing on end and his eyes quivering in their sockets. But nobody was even there. He kept checking around him, growing more and more nervous as he kept seeing the same buildings around him, cleared by the beam of light from his phone. Until he eventually realized that he was worrying about a non existent issue.

"Ash, what the hell..??"

He facepalmed, as he started to rationalise his situation and calmed down.

"God. I probably looked so dumb doing that. There was literally nobody there and i still panicked. Wow. "

He reverted his direction towards where he was going before and kept walking, not noticing the pair of blood red glowing circles observing his every breathe. Advancing slowly and without disturbing a single atom in the air. Ash started feeling tense again, he couldnt shake that feeling of being watched, but he tried to sonder on his way home. His paranoia grew, his eyes rattling and his breathing felt heavy and glasslike. Every now and then he'd catch a glimpse of the silent sentry watching on, but he tried his best to ignore it as a hallucination. Until he heard a voice call out to his from the dark.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing out here?! Its dangerous, yknow"

Ash flinched, losing balance and swiftly turning around to the source of whoever spoke from the night, his phone beam breaking the shadows obscuring everything around him. Unveiling who he was being spoken to by.

His hands trembled, threatening to drop his phone onto the hard pavement, and sweat ran down his face as he stood, locked in eye contact with whoever he had encountered.

It was a person? Ash couldnt tell for sure. His hair was inky black and his eyes gleamed like a cars headlights. But the most unsettling thing about this person was how, bat-like he was. As far ash could see, this guy had bat like ears and possibly had wings, and his fangs looked like white daggers that reflected the light of his phone.

"Who- who are you??"

"I should be asking the same question! Why are you out here?!"

"Im going home from work-? I got out abit later than usual"

The person sighed, clearly concerned about ashs safety.

"Its dangerous out here at night yknow! You have no idea what could be lurking!"

Ash became more unsettled

"What do you mean, what to do mean by "what could be lurking?!""

The person didnt really elaborate

"Nevermind, its not too important. Just get home quickly.", he stated, firm in his tone, only making ash more curious and concerned

"...what-"

"Dont worry about it"

Ash could only think about that as the person walked away into the pitch black, before quickly continuing down the street, gradually walking faster and faster as time went on, practically sprinting down the street by the time hed gotten home. Forcing the door to his small home open and hurrying inside before slamming it shut again.

He was home. He had the time to ponder what had just happened.

He collapsed on his bed, turning his phone off, letting the flashlight keep shining as he processed the events of the last few minutes. Especially the strange bat man who'd warned him about dangers in the dark

"What the hell did he mean by that-", he murmured to himself, twiddling his thumbs together and slowly growing more paranoid. "Why did he look like a bat-. No, wait. He looked like a vampire. Ive never seen someone wander round in movie makeup. Was he filming..?" A small thought popped into his head. What if it...

"Nono...that...couldnt have been a real vampire could it..? Vampires arent real"

He started thinking a bit harder. Everyone else in town had weirdly realistic special effects and costumes too, that he couldnt put logic to. The thought of being wrong scared him, and he tried to shove his paranoia to the back of his subconscious. Monsters arent real, he kept repeating in his head, hoping itd relax his nerves. But it was futile.

He could only bring himself to mutter one thing.

"Im starting to think that something isnt right about this film festival"

[scribe-of-stories]

Once upon a time I had a nightlight in the neighbor's lawn

I live on the second floor of an otherwise average suburban home, a rented room from a childhood friend. It's quite spacious, more like a loft than a room; and curiously it has the only round window in the house. A port-hole looking thing with six frames crossing it, colliding in the center and forming a wooden circle in the middle of the glass. It also happens to be the only window in my room facing the street.

You'd be hard-pressed to really see anything out of the window. Between the frames and the height of the wall it sits at, it really only shows the tree line and sky. That said, you can stand right in front of it and get a rather pleasant view of everything bellow. I've rather taken to giving the view a few moments of my time here and there. Usually when it rains, or when the sun is setting, or late at night.

And from my window, perfectly in frame, is a lamppost across the street. Tall, black metal, dome of glass with no framing; bright white light that really doesn't travel so far. Feels more like a light house warning everyone "hey there's grass here" rather than doing anything to properly light up the yard. It's pleasant though. Only one of its kind I've seen in the neighborhood, and the only source of light outside of a house at night.

A couple months ago I was up late at night, as per usual, and decided to brave the downstairs for a cold glass of water. Now to access my kitchen I have to cut through the dinning room; and the dinning room has large windows looking out the front of the house. I didn't notice it till I was on my way back up. It was dark outside. Strange, the lamp must be dead or something; that's a shame.

I went back upstairs, spent time on my computer, paid it no mind. But then I heard rain on my roof. "Oh, lovely, night rain is beautiful." So I go to the window to look out and enjoy the scene. And I see it: the short white light and the tall black lampost. Huh, must be on a strange timer. But obviously this all doesn't really stand up to reasoning. It's like 2 am right now, and I got my water well after midnight. I've seen the lamp on much earlier in the day.

So I go downstairs again. The front door is glass, and it's pitch black outside. Maybe a bad angle; but no! I come into the dinning room and there it is: complete darkness outside and the pitter patter of rain. I remember a sort of panic setting in. Something was wrong and I had no clue how to fix it. If there even was something to be fixed. I checked multiple times throughout the night and got the same result. Through my window I could see the lamp, but from nowhere else.

I didn't sleep that night till the sun came back. But it was still there when I woke up, and gone again when I was downstairs. There was a day or two that I thought that this was it. This was going to become my quarter inch. I was going to obsess over this till it lead me down dark paths and into the bowls of hell.

But the attic door never lead somewhere new, the only night time noises in the house were the cats, and the only scary things in the walls were the electrical wiring. I've come to the conclusion that humans, or at minimum myself, are rather capable of coping and turning anything mundane. Not to say the lamp went to the background, more so that I grew used to it. I imagined where it was when I passed it on the road, often saying hello or goodbye. I came to treasure the view from my room, something literally no one else had.

I've spent more time looking out my window the past few months, basking in the light of my own little anomaly. Which is why I was watching when someone else finally noticed the lamp. He, or maybe they or it would be more precise, walked right up to it one evening. It came out of the darkness and into the lamps' light as if apparating into existence. Long coat, rimmed hat, vaguely human looking but a human wouldn't be tall enough to reach the lightbulb without a ladder. Much less reach through glass to touch it.

It's touch took the lamp's light, and the lamp hasn't been back since. Now, I don't think it saw me watching, but I don't know. The darkness outside seems worse. Morning brings with it the sun's light which takes away my fear. I find myself incapable of sleeping till then. Once upon a time I had a nightlight in the neighbor's lawn, but now I can't shake the feeling that whatever took it is still out there.

[ask-the-good-creeps]

The Inevitable, The Between

The pitch black that closed in from all sides was oppressive, suffocating...the dim beam of yellowish light from the one small, old flashlight didn't stand a chance. The smell of damp earth and rotting wood permeated the cool air as they moved deeper into the mineshaft; the silence of the place was broken only by their breathing and footsteps. Toby was certain that if they stopped walking it would be quiet enough to hear their hearts beat.

“I thought she only went a quarter mile in,” Masky spoke barely above a whisper, but his voice still echoed around them.

“That would be too easy.” Hoodie sighed. The tone in his exasperated voice may have been mostly sarcastic, but he had a point. Kate was a wild one – it would be unreasonable to expect her not to at least explore the parts of the mine at risk of cave-in. The male proxies had been searching for her here in near-silence to avoid a catastrophe like that, but they'd yet to catch sight of her in the small amount of light they had.

They came to fork in the tunnels and had to choose between a mostly boarded up path and an open one that was in a similar state of repair to the ones they'd been travelling through. They all knew which one they wanted to traverse, but they also knew which one their fellow proxy most likely chose. Toby swept the light along the ground as he walked closer, and the light footprints in the dust next to an opening in the worn wooden barrier confirmed that Kate had gone through that way. She hadn't been heard from in at least a week, and now the others feared the worst.

Toby handed the light to Hoodie and crawled through the opening. There was quiet for a moment, then his hand came back through, silently requesting their only source of light. It was handed to him, and Masky and Hoodie were left in complete darkness as the youngest proxy carefully explored on his own. They could see the light for a few moments through the gaps of the wood, but it disappeared quickly as Toby seemed to turn a corner in the tunnel beyond.

In the deafening silence that followed, they heard him stutter as he swore. They couldn't do anything without light but wait for him to return. Soon enough they heard his footsteps returning and saw the light once more, and they both felt relieved.

“What's wrong?” Hoodie asked him.

“D-dead end,” Toby replied.

“No Kate?” Masky asked.

“N-no.”

“That can't be right. There're no footprints leading away from here – she has to still be that way.”

Toby replied again in the negative and explained further that the tunnel only went one way with no branches, and following it lead to a wall of dirt and rock. He hadn't seen any sign that Kate had even been there and was wondering if maybe the footprints were a trick to lead intruders away from where she actually went.

Just as they were discussing taking the open path of the fork, they heard a metallic clanging. They fell silent as it continued, clang clang clang...clang clang clang...

The sound was coming the boarded tunnel. Masky and Hoodie joined Toby on the other side, and they followed the sound to the dead-end Toby had mentioned. The sound was echoing so much here it was difficult for them to locate the source; after scanning the light around for a few minutes, they spotted it.

Near the bottom left of the debris pile that blocked the tunnel was arm. The arm was swinging something against a metal rod to produce the sound, and as it paused in its rhythm again the proxies recognized Kate's knife in its grip.

“Fuck.” That word summed up what they were all thinking. Masky was the first to approach; he put his hand on her forearm and gave it a light squeeze to let her know that they'd found her...but how to get her out from under the rubble?

“We can't just start digging. We don't know where the weak spots are and one wrong move will have us trapped just like her in a new cave-in.” Hoodie was speaking more to himself than the others here – they all knew the dangers of the situation. They couldn't take the time to leave and come back with help or better equipment, either...Kate had already been stuck here for a few days at least and there was no guarantee she'd last much longer. While the other two were thinking, Toby pulled a thread from the end of his sleeve. He gripped the end of it in between his fingers and started to hover the remaining length of it over cracks he could see near Kate. Eventually he found what he was looking for; the gap she was breathing through.

He carefully lifted the larger stones and placed them on the ground while scooping off handfuls of dirt and pebbles where necessary until Kate's head was freed. She coughed and took a few ragged breaths but didn't speak. Masky felt her pulse in her neck and listened to her breathing for a moment.

“Her lungs may be damaged in some way. We'll need to get her to the MedLab as soon as possible.” Masky may not have been a doctor, but nobody needs a license to practice common sense. Hoodie explained that they needed to find some way to keep the area stable while they worked on getting her out, and Toby suggested the wooden slats that covered the opening to this area.

The youngest proxy took Hoodie and the flashlight back down the tunnel to start gathering them; there wasn't anything else they could work with. Masky waited in the darkness with his fingers on Kate's throat. Her pulse was rapid and shallow, but not as concerningly so as it could be. Her breathing, on the other hand, remained strained and noisy. He was almost thankful for the pitch black around them – it was remarkably unnerving to see Kate in a weakened state like this. The only other time he could remember her as anything but brutally strong and stone-hearted was the night Slenderman had first introduced her...

The beam of the flashlight came into view again, and with it were two proxies each carrying five or six long wooden slats.

“They're old and rotting. I'm not sure how well they'll hold, so we'll have to work fast.” Hoodie set down the wood against the wall as he spoke. He pulled a canteen from his pack and handed it to Masky while he assessed the rubble more carefully. Masky offered the water to Kate, who drank down the entire container greedily. She coughed a little and rested her head on the dirt as she continued to wheeze. Anyone could see that she was fighting to remain conscious.

“Do we have a plan?” Masky asked. Hoodie answered affirmatively and started giving instructions to the other two. They stabilized the area the best they could and started the strategic removal of debris.

It only took twenty minutes, but the tense silence felt like it lasted hours. Eventually they had pulled her free. She groaned quietly as Masky felt her torso for potential broken ribs.

Kate found herself fading in and out of consciousness from that point on. She was vaguely aware that she was being carried but couldn't keep her eyes open long enough to register by who. She could hear the voices of the other proxies, but they sounded too far off for her to understand what they were saying.

When she couldn't hear them anymore, she found herself surrounded by an inky darkness that stretched in all directions. She could see herself, as if she was emitting a pale light from her skin; but nothing else was there. She heard nothing, not her breath or her footsteps. She was walking but didn't feel like she was moving anywhere. Her movements were slower than usual, like there was some resistance in the air she had to fight through, but she didn't feel like she was restricted. She felt like she was there, but not there. Someone, but no one. Something, but nothing.

Then the atmosphere changed. Suddenly her footsteps echoed around her. The ground felt solid again, and she was moving at her normal speed. She was still unable to see anything around her, but she could hear things. Far-off screams of terror seemed to be coming from everywhere at once, but the sound of a large growling creature coming closer was much more prominent.

She couldn't see it, but it sounded like it was circling her. The growling gradually transformed into a throaty chuckle.

“You aren't afraid.” The beast spoke. Her silent glare was response enough, though she wasn't sure if she was even looking in its direction. The voice was as ubiquitous as the shrieks in the distance.

“You don't want to stay here, do you?” It hissed. It still received no verbal answer; Kate didn't know what it was after, and she didn't want to contribute to this conversation until she had an idea of its motives.

“This place is dark and unfriendly to your kind. Let me take you back to the living world,” it coaxed her. She could feel the malicious energy in its words – it wasn't hard to detect that this entity had ulterior motives. She was curious about what it meant by 'back to the living world'. If she wasn't among the living, where was she? The monster seemed to sense her apprehension, and it chuckled again. It felt like it was approaching, but she still couldn't see it.

“Let me guide you home,” it continued. Kate felt her pocket for her knife, but it wasn't there. She frowned upon realizing that she had no weapons at all on her person.

“VOICE YOUR AGREEMENT, MORTAL!' The creature suddenly roared in frustration and sounded like it had begun to charge at her. She braced herself in a fighting stance. She'd never go down without fighting.

A bright light suddenly shined from behind her, and for a split second she saw the face of the most horrifyingly grotesque entity she'd ever encountered as something wrapped around her waist and pulled her out of the darkness.

She woke up in a cold sweat under a light blanket. She hadn't had a nightmare in over a decade. It felt so real that it took her a moment to process her new surroundings. She stared at the white tiles of the ceiling above her as her breathing began to return to normal, and she realized that the harder she tried to remember that ghastly face the blurrier it became in her mind. Once she'd calmed down, she looked around her.

She was in a bed that was surrounded by a blue curtain. The smell of antiseptics and cleaning fluids permeated the air, and she took note of a quiet, steady beeping next to her. Once she saw the monitor displaying her vitals, she accurately guessed that she had woken up at the MedLab. She'd only been here once before.

Kate sat up carefully in the creaky cot. Her entire body was sore and a quick glance downward made her aware of the dark bruises on her chest and stomach. It was unpleasant, but nothing she couldn't live with. She stood shakily with a bit of effort and turned off the machine. Once the IV, clips, and cords were removed from her she pulled the curtain aside. She was alone. The doc must be out.

She was wearing scrubs instead of a hospital gown, but her feet were bare. She didn't know where her clothes were, but she didn't want to wait here and ask. She left building 1609, left the medical complex altogether; and she started to make her way through the woods toward the proxies' cabin. They should have some spare clothing and a knife to loan her, assuming they weren't holding onto hers for her.

It didn't take long. She chose not to knock; as soon as she walked through the door, she was met by a bewildered Toby. They stared at each other for a moment, with him seeming to want to say something.

“You should s-sit down.” He finally mumbled. She continued to look at him without saying a word, until he showed notable signs of discomfort. Then she took a seat in a recliner.

“Do y-you n-need any-anything?” He stuttered nervously.

“Clothes.” She answered simply. He regarded her warily, and she mistakenly thought he was afraid she'd hurt him.

“You need to r-rest f-for another few days.” He answered as his neck jerked to the side with an audible crack. The firmness in his voice surprised her, but she didn't yield a reaction.

“I'm fine. I just-”

“No, you're n-not!” He cut her off, “You l-literally died! B-Boss had to resurrect y-you!” He'd never raised his voice to her before. The shock of that was almost enough for his words to be lost on her...almost. She'd seen the other proxies die and be brought back before, but it had never happened to her. She'd never needed it...until now. Her mind started to wonder, and whisper: that wasn't a nightmare.

“I guess that explains the hell beast.” She shrugged nonchalantly, despite the unease she felt beneath the surface. Toby's brows were furrowed as he looked at her with a mix of concern and confusion.

“The what?”

“The creature in the dark we see after we die. What, does it drag you to hell or something?” Her words didn't change Toby's facial expression, and he didn't answer her. He didn't have to say anything for her to realize that the others must not have had the same experience.

“Where are my clothes? And my knife?” She changed the subject again, but Toby just shook his head. He refused to let her leave, instead fetching her a blanket and making her a bed on the couch. She still needed to recover, and he was going to make sure she did. Normally she wouldn't allow him to boss her around like this, but she'd never seen him this way before. She did still feel tired...

In the end, she got under the covers and settled in; and the other two proxies had plenty of questions for Toby when they saw her sleeping there the next morning.

//The poll results called for a story regarding the proxies, and we don’t see Kate as often as the others so I wanted to focus on her a bit. I’ve been dealing with some writer’s block as of late, so sorry if it isn’t as good as y’all were expecting. Thanks for all your support! c: //

[blueberrypancakesworld]

The tugging sound of blood

Warning : blood, nightmare, fluff, angst

Masterlist, next part

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darkness passed over her mind. A dream innocent and yet involuntarily holding her. She didn't know where she was but only darkness was her friend and the only support she had.

She searched around her but only came across cold pitch-black walls. A sound like a dripping sounded from the darkness. As if someone had not turned off the water heater completely and it would drip until someone came and finally closed it. Slowly and carefully she felt her way through the cold.

Goosebumps gripped her body and the cold crept into her bones and seemed not to let her go. Only when she stepped on something she was slightly startled.

Bending down and groping for the object, she picked it up. She held it in front of her face but she did not recognize a single bit. So her fingers groped along the something. It was cold and seemed empty.

There must have been something liquid inside, because she felt her fingers sticking slightly when she apparently found the opening. A metallic smell emanated from the something and slowly she became aware in the dream what it was. A blood bag.

,, Michael?" she called out uncertainly, not knowing what to expect. She held the bag in her hand and continued walking through the darkness. Her fingers, sticky from the blood, gripped the blood bag tighter. She continued walking before she felt it getting warmer. The darkness gradually receded and a wooden door revealed itself to her. It was made of dark ebony with golden ornaments. She grasped the knob and opened it, anything was better than staying in the darkness, or so she thought.

Light dazzled her even if it was not particularly bright, the candles were a bright source of light. But she could not make out much for the twitching shadows seemed too threatening. It seemed a castle of endless corridors, endless doors and endless candles. She was afraid that the wax would burn down faster than she was out of the castle. Horrible.

She walked on, and despite having been in the castle so many times, it always seemed to be a little different. When she tried to reach for a candle, the yellowish white wax melted and the hot mass stained her hand. It didn't hurt much, but it burned into her.

So she went on and how long she did this she did not know. The candles, however, seemed to be her own companion and her only one. She was alone. But perhaps it was not a human being who inhabited this castle. Maybe it was something else, something dark, something that should not have existed.

She continued walking when she felt a sting, she stopped, the pain was burning. As if she were permanently under fire. She looked around but only the darkness and the flames looked back at her.

Only when she looked down at her did she see the long white silk nightgown. Red. Blood red it flowed down from her thigh. Her fingers pulled the nightgown up and she shuddered. A bite.

As if sharp fangs had bored into her thigh and sucked blood. The bite was not particularly deep, but enough that her blood flowed out. The marks seemed somehow human and yet. The point and sharpness of the fangs would have been enough to reach the flesh out. A growl.

Abruptly she spun around and saw that darkness was closing in on her. The candles went out without any protection, leaving her alone. ,, Oh no, please don't," she muttered before she began to run for her life. She ran, she ran as fast as she could. She saw the candles go out, they were faster. The flames went out in front of her. They left her alone in the darkness. The blood on her leg flowed down from the effort and left a small trail.

But it was all the same because when she saw the candles go out in front of her, she was enveloped in darkness. She couldn't hear the growling anymore, the only thing that reached her ears was her irregular breathing and her rushing blood. Her heart seemed to be completely out of action, the player was missing.

Her body slackened and she stopped. Her hand clasped her neck and tried to calm herself. ,, My heart," the voice reached her ear and she stiffened. The cold hands enclosed her body from behind and pulled her into an embrace. It was cold, he was so infinitely cold. As if he were dead. ,, Michael" his name came over her lips like a whisper. As if she were afraid to speak louder and anger him. She dropped the blood bag in horror when she felt his cold hand on the bite wound. He stroked it gently but with a certain pressure.

When she felt him take his fingers from the wound and apparently lick the blood from his fingers, she felt a shudder.  A twitch went through her body as she felt him at her neck. Her eyes flew to the blue bright to Michael. There was no darkness, no candles and no castle. ,, Just a nightmare," she said and her fingers moved to her neck. ,, Are you sure?" Michael asked again and concern came into his gaze. She felt his cold fingers on her hand.

He held it tightly before giving a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. ,, What time is it?" she deflected the topic to escape the nightmare from her body. ,, Um, it's almost five," he said, slightly puzzled, looking up from his wristwatch. She sighed slightly and rubbed her eyes.

Not much had changed she still sat leaning against Michael and he hadn't moved either. The blanket had fallen slightly from her body, revealing the two of them. ,, I have to go to work," she mumbled and rose when she felt Michael holding her. ,, Are you sure?" he asked, smirking, causing Y/n to raise her gray eyes in wonder.

Y/n went to her bag and pulled out her cell phone before looking at her duty roster. Instead of her morning shift, it now said that she was scheduled for the noon shift. ,, What did you do?" she asked curiously. ,, I would never take advantage of my position to make your life easier, would I?" he said mischievously and smiled slightly.

She gave him a smile before disappearing into the kitchen, but paused. ,, As long as you don't have a blood bag with you, we'll have to go to the hospital," she said, looking worriedly at Michaell.

The black-haired man sighed and something like frustration about his illness arose in him. ,, Well, let's go to the hospital," Michael said, slowly getting up and sending a message to someone on his cell phone. ,, I'll be right back," said Y/n who went to the room and then to the bathroom. She felt her joy that she could spend at least some time with Michael.

As she slipped into a pair of jeans and a simple sweater, she heard the ticking sound of Michael. He seemed to have gotten up from the couch and was now walking around with his crutches. Only when she heard a crash did she rush out of the room. Michael was leaning against the couch and one of his crutches had fallen off. He coughed violently and it broke her heart. ,, We'll take you to the hospital," she decided and picked up the crutch.

While she supported Michael and he gradually caught himself, he mumbled something about the limo being there. After the two of them made it into the hallway, they went into the elevator as fast as they could. His body is giving way, she thought and her heart contracted painfully. ,, Don't make such a worried face" he said and gave her a weak smile. Out of the elevator, the two walked to the black limo. While Y/n helped Michael get into the car, she had to pull herself together not to cry in the whole situation.

She slammed the door on Michael while she got in on her side. The driver drove off and Michael's hand clasped hers. They were so close at one moment and yet it seemed that Michael could be torn away from her at any moment. ,, Everything is going to be all right," she said, feeling her voice was strained. He was paler than usual. He seemed thin and in so much pain. She knew she had to make the attempt with Michael and Martine to get Milo.

A short time later the car stopped in front of the hospital and they went inside. Michael leaned more and more heavily on her. She could also feel how light he was. They passed the reception and some other doctors.

But the questioning looks or the getuchel ignored both. ,, We'll have it in a minute Michael " she said hurriedly as they were in the ride down. But Michael didn't answer, his eyes showed strain as if he was trying to ignore the pain and think about something.

Y/n pushed open the door to his lab and sat Michael on the couch before hurrying into the blood chamber. She tore it off the chopping board before gathering the rest of her things. With that she hurried to Michael who had managed to free his arm.

She was scared and yet knew what she was doing, so she set the door before the blood started to run into his body. ,, Thank you my heart" he said and closed his eyes to recover a little. Her fingers gently brushed a strand from his face and she felt it tremble slightly. But why did he forget to take his blood?

She was about to stroke his hand again when she saw her image reflected in one of the glass panes. He forgets because of me she realized suddenly and shocked.

She released herself from Michael's hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek. ,, I'm working a bit, I'll be back," she said as an excuse to cover her brittle voice.

Michael nodded weakly, but continued to sleep, and Y/n averted her eyes. She hurried out of the lab and into the bathroom in the lower level. She pushed open the door and locked herself in one of the stalls. Her thoughts scrambled, her fingers buried in her hair, and the first tears began to form.

She was the reason for Michael's carelessness. He would never have forgotten to take his blood beforehand if he wasn't busy with her all the time. Then his illness that could kill at any moment could destroy their love.

She knew she would have to calm down by the time her shift started, but the pain and the knowledge that it could all be over in a heartbeat was painful. Only when she came out and looked at herself in the mirror did she try not to look too beat up before she stepped out and took the elevator up.

She didn't know if her friend was on shift, but if she was, she hoped she would meet her. In the nurses' station itself, it seemed to get quiet as soon as Y/n stepped inside. Those who didn't disappear immediately seemed to watch her closely. Only when she had put on her clothes and gone out did she sigh.

So she started to concentrate on her work. She managed to do all this until noon, when an announcement went through the hospital. ,, Doctor Martine and Doctor Y/n please come to Doctor Michael Morbius immediately," the announcement ended and her thoughts automatically returned to Michael.

She took care of the patient before going to the chairs. ,, Do you know what he wants?" she heard Martine's question coming towards her. ,, I just have a feeling," Y/n mumbled before the two women got into the chair. By the time they got down to Michael's lab, the doctor was feeling better. ,, Thank you for coming so quickly," said Michael, who was sitting in his chair and looking at a screen. ,, This will be our station. It may look like nothing, but that's not the point, the important thing is that we have our station inside," Michael explained and Y/n saw that he looked completely professional.

Quite different from sweet, calm, nervous and so infinitely affectionate when he was with her. They looked at an old cargo table big enough for their experiment but not too big to attract attention. ,,Your friend is a multi-millionaire and that's what we get," Martine grumbled, but seemed satisfied with what they had. ,, When do we leave?" Y/n asked, hoping it would be as soon as possible. She would hardly be able to watch Michael's struggle for survival. ,, Tonight we will meet at the harbor. There we will be picked up and taken to the ship.

After that we have a few days time more Milo could not get out for us " said Michael and Y/n was both relieved and slightly stressed. So quickly she had not thought that it would go. But as long as it helped him, any time would be fine. ,, All this equipment?" Martine looked over the expensive machines. ,, Milo has already placed everything, the only thing missing is... the test object". It had become quiet between the three of them and everyone seemed to be on their own. ,, I will send you a limousine that will take you directly to the port," said Michael, and it seemed that the most necessary things had been discussed.

Martine excused herself as she received a new patient and the two were left alone. ,, What's troubling you?". ,,What do you mean Michael?" she asked, not quite knowing what he was getting at. He made a welcoming motion and Y/n approached the doctor. He leaned his head against her side and seemed glad for her contact. ,, You were crying...why my heart?" he said softly and again she thought he seemed nervous.

So strong and yet so vulnerable she thought before lightly stroking his head. ,, I-I blame myself...that you forget to take your blood because of me" she confessed and looked away from him. ,, Y/n don't, please don't, if anything it's my own fault and not yours. You brought me the joy in my life that I forgot everything I wanted to spend every free minute with you" he confessed and looked up at her while his cold hands were on her hips. She bowed slightly as she saw Michael look briefly at her lips. A kiss a symphony. A brief moment of love and comfort.

They parted and the two just stayed together for a few minutes. Both knowing that this would be one of the few last moments. ,, It will work, won't it?" she asked hesitantly and her fingers clasped Michael's hand. ,, You won't lose me, my heart," he said and gave her a kiss on the hand.

She stayed with Michael for a while before going back to her shift. She admitted that the work was easier for her because even though she still had doubts about the experiment, she trusted Michael and his knowledge. He would make it, he had to make it.

Unfortunately, when she looked at her watch and her shift was over, she didn't see Katrine. But she would write to her because she would not break her promise of secrecy.

She came out of her elevator and opened her door and immediately started to gather a few things. As she put her things down and went to her room, her eyes caught the dried rose petal. Milo was her boss Michael's oldest and longest friend. She would just avoid him as best she could, or so she hoped.

She grabbed a bag, picked out some clothes from her closet and threw them into the bag. The nervousness was inside her and she hoped that everything would go well. She probably wouldn't be able to forgive herself if he died.

After she finished packing her bag and adding some papers she decided to take a quick shower, anything was better than sitting around waiting for something to happen.

It was getting darker and with every minute she looked out of the window expecting the limo to arrive. She jumped up when she heard the hupppen she took the bag closed the door behind her and climbed with a pounding heart in the elevator. She put the bag in the trunk, got in and was glad that the driver knew where to go.

The lights of New York passed her by like in a movie. But she wasn't in a movie, she was in reality and in a few hours she and Michael and Martine would be anxious for him to make it and put his illness behind him. They drove for a few minutes and she played nervously with her fingers. Only as the houses diminished, the streets became fewer, the lanterns fewer and the light dimmed did they approach the harbor. ,, We are here, Miss. Y/n " announced the driver and she thanked him briefly before getting out and taking her bag.

The large ship that appeared in front of her on the dock looked almost threatening. It threw a risky shadow and she had an uneasy feeling. ,, You're here," she heard Michael say, and she winced slightly as the other two emerged from the darkness. Michael was standing with his crutches as always, but in the darkness even his light eyes had a dark glow to them. A glow with determination.

The determination to live and to conquer death. With one last look, the three of them started moving towards the ship. They did not know that these were the last normal hours of peace and love before the darkness swallowed them all.

[specialagentleonkennedy]

Umbrella Corporation file #72538904.

File author: Dr. Annette Birkin.

Subject: Leon S. Kennedy.

Date: Jan. 4th, 2016.

Timestamp: 3AM.

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On Dec. 17, 2015. Sgt. Nikolai Zinoviev radioed in for a emergency medical helicopter to be deployed to [REDACTED] in Siberia, Russia, to recover a victim that had sustained severe bodily damage.

Upon arrival, the on-site emergency medical team took over and began a eight-hour long surgery to reverse only a fraction of the damage. Nine more surgeries would need to be done in order to fully reverse the damage inflicted on the subject.

2----------------------------------

On Dec. 23th, 2015, the subject began expressing agitation to light, screaming for the room to be dark. A nurse preformed a technique used by animal handlers and covered the subject's head with a towel, at which point Agent Kennedy immediately calms down. Two other nurses rushed in and shut down every light source in the room.

After a quick examination, it is made aware that Agent Kennedy has developed a Tapetum Lucidum over his eyes, causing them to have a frosty glass appearance.

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The tapetum lucidum is a biologic reflector system that is a common feature in the eyes of vertebrates. It normally functions to provide the light-sensitive retinal cells with a second opportunity for photon-photoreceptor stimulation, thereby enhancing visual sensitivity at low light levels.

However, the tapetum lucidum the subject has is almost greater than in normal species. [This was proven in a test by placing Agent Kennedy in a pitch black room and was instructed to read the letterboard on the wall, to which he preformed flawlessly]

In other words, Agent Kennedy has developed the biological equivalent to night vision goggles, possibly in thanks to the Las Plagas parasite.

4----------------------------------

The Las Plagas parasite inhabitanting Agent Kennedy's body has been dormant for at least twelve years, awakening from dormancy in response to the subject's execution.

The parasite, while only half the size of the other Plaga recovered from Spain, actually exceeds the capabilities of its larger relatives. It survived being removed by latching onto the stem of Agent Kennedy's brain and biologically melding into the nervous system of his body, whereas it's larger counterparts are located in a subject's chest and feed off the host's body before completely taking over and mutating the host's body.

5----------------------------------

After further research, it is concluded that the Plaga has turned Agent Kennedy into a new form of Bio-Organic Weapon, or B.O.W.

Tests were conducted by Dr. Albert Wesker, whom many have known by now to be a form of B.O.W, as he possesses both the Uroboros parasite and the [REDACTED] virus.

The following test results confirm Agent Kennedy's abilities;

•Enhanced Strength. (Subject is capable of lifting up to three times his body weight, and withstand impact from outside forces.)

•Enhanced Stamina and Speed. (Subject is able to outrun a standard-issued military Armored Personnel Carrier or APC, going at 75-89 MPH.)

•Superior Agility. (Subject is capable of preforming gymnastics without any formal training and with cat-like reflexes. However he is unable to dodge Wesker's physical attacks.)

•Enhanced Healing and Regeneration. (Subject is capable of healing injuries twice as fast as a normal human, and is able to reattach severed limbs.)

•Enhanced Senses.(Subject's current five senses; taste, touch, scent, hearing and sight are augmented by the Plagas parasite.)

•Sixth Sense. (Subject has developed a sixth sense due to the enlarged pineal body in the frontal lobe of the brain, as shown in a CT scan below. possibly due to the Plagas parasite now attached to his brain stem and nervous system.)

6--------------------------------------------------

This "Sixth Sense" is a new advancement in B.O.W. creation, how the Plagas parasite managed to do this is unknown, but will be explored in future research.

A normal pineal body is only five(5) millimeters. However the pineal body in Agent Kennedy is the size of a normal chicken egg.

Common Sixth Sense abilities include but not limited to;

•Telekinesis.(Ability to move physical objects with the mind.)

•Telepathy.(Ability to communicate with the mind.)

•Mind Reading.(Ability to read another person's thoughts.)

•(MINOR)Mind Control.(Ability to influence the thoughts and behavior of another person.) IMPORTANT NOTE; THIS ABILITY MAY ONLY BE USED IN DIRE SITUATIONS!

7---------------------------------

SIDE EFFECTS.

Overuse of physical and mental abilities will cause side effects such as;

•Fatigue.

•Hyperventilation and trouble breathing.

•Temporary blindness and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.

•Stiffness in muscles and joints, accompanied by physical pain.

•Headaches and Nausea.

•Lethargy and difficulty swallowing.

The side effects listed above can be treated with a round of medications, fluids and therapy. However if left untreated, the subject will begin to decline into a state now referred to as "Feral State".

8----------------------------------

WARNING SIGNS OF "FERAL STATE". (LEARN THE SIGNS! STAY SAFE!)

The warning signs of "Feral State" are listed below. These include;

•Excessive drooling or foaming at the mouth.

•Pale or ashen gray skin tone, with visible veins.

•Bloodshot eyes and chapped lips.

•Unnaturally sharp, durable nails.

•Excessive staring and stalking.

•SHARP TEETH!

•Abnormal severance at the corners of the mouth.

•Audible TMJ. (a condition in which the joints of the lower mandible click and pop.)

9---------------------------------

This warning was put in place in response to the aftermath of which Agent Leon Kennedy experienced symptoms after overusing his abilities, but left them untreated. Which resulted in the deaths of nine guards and three assistants after Agent Kennedy lost control, attacked, killed and devoured his twelve victims, after which he returned to a normal state, but expressed deep remorse and agony upon learning of his harmful actions, resulting in a emotional breakdown and had to be sedated. He was not held accountable for his actions.

10---------------------------------

It is unknown where Agent Kennedy's place in Umbrella will be, but Wesker has high expectations for him, as do I and many of the others here. The B.S.A.A. may have discarded him, but Umbrella will make him better. As we always do.

-Dr. Annette Birkin. [END FILE]

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[skyclanpo3]

SkyClanPo3 - The Dark Forest

Subject to changes and additions as the story develops. Updated 06/01/24.

I personally never understood why the Dark Forest seemed appealing to cats. The landscape seems very depressing, and I always wondered how Crookedkit mistook it for StarClan. If the club you wanted me to join smelled of rot and was generally gross, you’d have a pretty hard time convincing me to stay. I want to portray the Dark Forest as appealing and alluring to those who seek power, and to be beautiful in an unsettling way.

I imagine the Dark Forest to be a chilly dense forest at midnight, with a pitch-black sky absent of the stars. About half of the forest is marshland, evenly spread throughout the territory, and the branches of the trees start very high up, making it difficult to climb to safety. The heart of the forest (where most events take place in the series) is a rather large clearing with a massive boulder resembling Fourtrees without the titular trees. There are rivers and streams dispersed throughout the forest, and a large pond a bit north of the clearing. If you kept walking in a direction, you’d circle back around after about a day.

Scattered along the forest floors are bioluminescent mushrooms with spores that float in the air like fireflies. There appears to be mist at the edge of the forest, but the mist moves farther away as you walk closer to it. The forest is almost silent, save for the ripples of the rivers and streams. The only source of light is the full moon above that shines just a little dimmer than it should, mostly covered by the leaves. Overall, the forest is a little eerie and a bit unnerving, but it’s rather easy for a new member to grow accustomed to the territory.

StarClan cats faintly glow, are slightly transparent, and have stars in their pelts. Dark Forest cats do not glow, are more transparent, and the edges of their bodies wisp away a bit like smoke. A Dark Forest cat can choose to walk alone or interact with the other residents. Residents can’t kill each other, if a killing strike was dealt to a spirit the wound would quickly stitch itself back together (but not before the cat felt pain and blood was spilled).

A major drawback to the Dark Forest is that while they can observe the Clans similar to StarClan, they can’t send physical signs or omens, and can only communicate through dreams. In order for a Dark Forest cat to walk in the dreams of a living cat, the living cat must either be frustrated or dissatisfied with their life in the Clan or seeking power beyond what their Clan can provide them. The only exception to this is that Dark Forest cats can reach out to their relatives in the living world, but the cat can reject the spirits and seal the Dark Forest from their dreams.

What allows cats to continuously visit the Dark Forest in their dreams is the agreement of the living cat. A Dark Forest cat could ask a seemingly innocent question (example: "do you want me to help you get stronger?"), and if the dreaming cat agrees, a “contract” of sorts is formed, sending the living cat to the Dark Forest whenever they sleep. In order to nullify the “contract”, a cat has to stop wanting to visit the Dark Forest when they sleep and completely reject everything they’ve learned within the forest. Unfortunately, this requires a confrontation with the Dark Forest cat training them, which could turn deadly.

(added june 2024: an idea of what the dark forest looks like. this image is from the pokémon sword and shield glimwood tangle livestream)