#bro i hope the colors didn't come out too bright fingers crossed

[solis-han]

Melinoës and Zagreus

Wonder how their reunion is going to go...

(Planning to play only when full game releases and been dodging spoilers left and right so please don't tell me anything story related in the tags)

Teary eyed Zag under read more I guess

teehee

[ca-8]

Yakko x Reader Scenario: When You First Meet

'This is it. The beginning of the end.' 

Gripping on the straps of her backpack, (Y/n) exited the bus and stared up at the water tower that displayed the famous Warner Bros. logo. As expected, it emitted a smug aura onto the entire area; however, surprisingly, there was a slight twinge of mystery to it as well. But she didn't have time to ponder about it, so she only gave it an uneasy look and headed straight for the entrance.

Her heart stopped. She knew the place was going to be busy, but it was like an entire New York City packed in one section! So many writers, producers, actors, large men carrying heavy sets, every type of person working in film was scattered all over the place. It was like an ocean, with the people as marine life doing what they're designed to do, and (Y/n) being the puppy that was abandoned at sea.

The moment it all settled in, an involuntary realization invaded her thoughts. 'I don't belong here.'

The young girl reminded herself to breathe and rushed over to a vacant wall, then pulled out her phone. She had already sent her mother about a thousand messages telling her she was here, but since she hasn't responded, a few more shouldn't hurt. Fingers rapidly typing away, she bit her lower lip, already wishing she had stayed on that bus. 

"Oh, you're just gonna love it!" Her mother's squealing voice had already filled her skull. "You're so talented, I know you're gonna fit right in."

'Yeah, standing around all day with a bunch of people I don't know while doing something I suck at is exactly how I wanna spend my summer.' She let out a soft sigh. 'It's fine. Just shut up and make her happy, (Y/n).'

Several attempts of calling and texting later, no response. (Y/n) sighed again, and her eyes wandered over to the bustling crowd. 'No way. Absolutely no way.' But if she wanted to get the day over with, absolutely yes way.

First, she walked up to a lady looking down at the clipboard in her hands. "Um, excuse me," (Y/n) said. 

The lady's head snatched up. "KYLE!" she yelled, her eyes now ablaze with fury, "YOU IDIOT! THAT GOES IN THE WAREHOUSE ACROSS THE STUDIO!" And like there was nothing but a breeze behind her, the lady stomped off to the poor soul that had to face her wrath.

The breeze took a step back and ran around the corner. 'Maybe I'll find someone else instead…!' (Y/n) stopped and spotted a man sitting on the steps that lead to the entrance of a small building. She swallowed whatever was left in her mouth and reluctantly approached him. 

"E-Excuse me, sir?" she stuttered, hoping her voice was louder than the last time. As she got closer, (Y/n) noticed he was chuckling, and his gaze was glued onto a small piece of paper. 

"I...I did it…!" he said. She yelped and shrinked back when he suddenly jumped to his feet. "I FINALLY DID IT! WE'LL SEE WHO'S REGRETTING THE DIVORCE NOW, MARGARET!" And with a manic laugh, the man dashed into the building. 

'...Or maybe I'll just find it myself.'

It wasn't too long before (Y/n) got herself lost. Despite the help of maps that were stuck to some of the buildings, all of them seemed exactly the same. It was like a maze, and with each passing minute, she was more and more convinced that there was no finish line. Even worse, her mother was too busy to respond to anything she sent her. 

'Oh, what should I do?' (Y/n) thought for the thousandth time. No matter how hard she pinched or held them, her arms refused to stop trembling. Not too long ago, the outside of the studio became deserted and she'd hate to walk in a warehouse and possibly interrupt something important, so asking for help again was out of the question.

...Or, perhaps it wasn't. 

A tiny, hopeful smile crossed (Y/n)'s face when she heard the sounds of frustrated grunts around the corner. It was the first time she was so relieved to see a stranger. 

And thank god that stranger was a security guard. Though she wondered why he had a giant net in his hand, she shoved the curiosity as far in the back of her mind as she could and reached up to gently tap his shoulder. 

"Um, excuse me sir?" she asked as loud as she could. 

His head whipped around, revealing angry eyes and a scowl that said he was ready to kill. But right as his gaze landed on her, it changed within an instant. 

"Oh, hello!" he said with a bright smile. 

(Y/n) blinked, cocking her head. ‘What was this guy up to?’

"I'm sorry to bother you, but do you know where (M/n) (L/n) is filming? I'm her daughter, (Y/n), and I'm trying to look for her. She's not answering her phone either."

His joyful expression slowly melted into a confused one. "Uuhhh…(M/n) (L/n)?”

“Yes. She’s a part of Animal Kingdom? Do you know where that’s being filmed?”

“Oh! I know there’s a zoo around here called Animal Kingdom! I don’t think you’ll find it in a film studio, though.”

(Y/n) frowned. “...No, I mean the show. Aren’t they filming in a warehouse today? Do you know where that is?”

“Who’s ‘they’?”

Her eye twitched, and she was just about ready to drown the entire studio in the nearest ocean. “N-Nevermind, I’ll just-”

As if the universe wasn’t satisfied with tormenting her enough, the security guard suddenly launched up into the air and flew into the sky. Right before her eyes, the heavens were coated with explosives of every color that ever existed. 

“Oh my god!” (Y/n) yelled. ‘Who strapped fireworks on that guy?!’

“Oh, I knew you’d love it!”

Her eyes were ripped from the loud fireworks show as she was immediately smothered in a hug. “It’s so nice that another girl’s here! All the other ones here are either too busy or just keep shouting about a restraining order for some reason. I dunno, but anyway, I just know you're gonna love it here! Anyway, my name’s Princess Angelina Louisa Cantessa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the third! But since we're friends now, you can just call me Dot.”

This confirmed it. This was a trap set up by her mother to deliberately drive her insane, because how else can someone explain the nut jobs and talking dogs in pink dresses? 

A combination of those two things happened to be clutching her head and digging her face into hers. “...Huh?” (Y/n) mumbled.

‘Dot’ jumped off of her and smiled widely. “Sorry about Ralph by the way. I figured out you were coming at the last second and I really needed someone for your welcoming gift.” she said.

(Y/n) glanced up at the sky where the fireworks were slowly dying down. “Um...Is he gonna be okay?” she asked.  

“Of course he will!” her backpack said.

The teen screamed and threw her bag on the ground. A hand popped out and unzipped it with impossible ease, then a taller boy version of Dot jumped out, pulling up his long brown pants and flashing a grin. 

“H-...H-H-How did you…?!” (Y/n) stuttered, pointing at him. 

“What? Never heard of cartoon logic?” he said, approaching her. “And Ralph’ll be fine. His skull’s so thick, concrete’s the last thing that can kill him.”

“What-?”

“Anyhow,” he walked over to Dot and put an arm over her shoulder, “The name’s Yakko, this here’s my beloved baby sister Dot, and this is-” He stopped, staring at the empty space to his left. He leaned into Dot, whispering, “Say, uh, you don't mind looking for Wakko, do ya sis?”

Dot glanced at (Y/n) for an uncomfortable moment and suddenly shot her brother a glare. "I've got eyes all over this studio, Yakko," she warned, slowly stepping away.

Now (Y/n) certainly knew she didn't see pairs of eyes appear around every inch of her sight. 'Oh god, I didn't breath in drugs on the way here, did I? Actually, that would explain whatever the heck's going on.'

Yakko smiled as he watched his sister leave and turned to (Y/n). He walked closer to her, and she realized that his half-lidded eyes had a strange glint in them. “Sooo, your name’s (Y/n), right? A pretty name for a pretty girl.”

(Y/n)’s face heated up. ‘First I get lost, then see a guy get blown up, and now some other guy’s flirting with me? ...To be honest, this is still better than what Mom had planned for today.’

“So what brings ya’ here?” he asked.

“O-Oh, well, my Mom was supposed to give me a tour of the studio, but I’ve been giving that to myself all day. I tried finding her, but I’m pretty sure I’m nowhere near it by now.” Her eyes wandered over to the ground, but a realization made them perk back up and over to Yakko. “Hey, do you happen to know this place by any chance?”

“Know it? Please, my sibs and I live here, we know this place by heart and soul!” He mumbled something else, along the lines of “Basically made our hearts and souls”. 

Her heart jumped; finally, a piece of good news. “Really?” she said, a smile spreading across her face.

He nodded. “So where do ya’ need to go?” Before she could answer, he pulled out a piece of folded paper and moved in so close, their shoulders were smooshed together. Yakko unfolded it, and it turned out to be the biggest map (Y/n) has ever seen. “Well, from here, you’re gonna need to take a right and continue straight until you get to the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts exhibit. But be careful, I heard some of them escaped, and if anyone asks if you’ve seen any of them, don’t tell them I gave one to Dot as a late birthday gift. Anyway, you take a left from there, then a right where you’ll see the lot where they used to shoot Game of Thrones. Now this is only a rumour I’ve heard, but I think some of the producers are still on that set. If you happen to see them, do not, I repeat, DO NOT mention season eight, or maybe just don’t mention the show at all. Actually, don’t even look at them. As a matter of fact, you probably shouldn’t even go there at all, just keep heading straight until you get to the D.C. Universe lot. Then you just take left there, then a sharp right over over, then you keep going straight until you get to here, turn up over there, turn right there, and then you’re there. Did ya’ follow all that?”

(Y/n) stared at his face, which was practically radiating with enthusiasm, and she felt her eye twitch again. “...No,” she said, shaking her head.

His smile dimmed, but it became just as bright as the sun again a split-second later. “Ah well, maps are gettin' old anyways,” he said, throwing the map over his shoulder. “WAKKO!!”

And, low and behold, another anthropomorphic dog popped out of nowhere, and (Y/n) was starting to question if there was an army of them hidden somewhere. But she had to admit, it was pretty cute how this one was dressed in an oversized blue sweater and red hat. 

“Tablet, please,” Yakko said politely, holding out his hand. 

‘You're not gonna walk me there-?'

Wakko suddenly held his head back with his cheeks puffed out, then leaned into Yakko’s hand as he forced out a small object from his mouth. After an incredibly uneasy moment, a tablet glazed in spit was in Yakko's grasp. While he praised the little guy, (Y/n) forced back the urge to vomit.

“E-Ehhhh…?” She couldn’t say anything else while her gaze frantically went back and forth from Wakko and the regurgitated tablet. 

“Oh! Where are my manners?” Yakko said. “(Y/n), this is my dear little brother, Wakko. Wakko, this here’s our new special friend, (Y/n).” 

“Hello!” Wakko greeted, who was suddenly in her arms. “You’re really pretty!”

“Ehh? Thank you? I guess??” she said apprehensively, and finally managed to make eye contact. Despite his...quirks, he's actually a little adorable... She let herself grin a little.

The moment of semi-peace was ruined when she took notice of Yakko’s narrowed eyes. “ALrighty, (Y/n)!” he said loudly, grabbing his little brother by the collar and gently setting him on the ground. “Animal Kingdom, right? Let’s get ya’ right over there.” He moved right beside her and taped the screen a couple times. 

“Um, what’re you doing exactly?” she asked.

“Doing what every person does to get somewhere nowadays.” He grabbed her waist and pulled her against him, and (Y/n) flinched from his touch. “Please keep your arms, legs, and personal items inside the tablet at all times.”

Just when she was about to question him for the hundredth time, he pressed the screen again, and her vision became nothing but white. Her body felt like it was launched into a tornado; a strong force of wind thrusted her back, and somehow, the boy’s arm kept her from flying off from his side. A second later, her feet were back on the ground, the sky was where it needed to be, and reality was back in place. 

Except for (Y/n)’s mentality. 

She stumbled around, trying to find her balance as the world unbearably whirled around her. Finally, she shook her head, and quickly turned back towards Yakko, whose face tried to tell her whatever happened was perfectly fine and normal. 

“What was THAT?” she yelled, staggering towards him and gripping his shoulders.

And he still had the audacity to have that 'why-are-you-freaking-out-so-much-we-do-this-every-Friday' smile. “Thank you for attending Warner’s Travel Tours! I would say my Agent Ralph’ll take your bags, but I left him alone with my sibs, so he’s probably in the middle of the Pacific Ocean by now.”

(Y/n) could only stare at him. Her mind was twisting and turning, trying so hard to make any sense of what happened but only making her headache grow larger and larger. And then, her thoughts just went blank.

She smirked. Then giggled. And a few seconds later, she had burst out laughing whilst holding her stomach. (Y/n) looked back up at Yakko, wiping a tear from her eye. “Th-Thank you…” she said, catching her breath. 

His smile had grown and she thought his white cheeks were red for a moment. Yakko had opened his mouth, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by a net suddenly covering his entire body. Ralph was behind him, his skin and clothes burnt and ears practically smoking. “You’re coming with me, Warner!” he said.

And yet, Yakko only grinned. Like physics was his enemy, he disappeared from inside the net and appeared sprouting from the security guard’s back, cheerfully waving at (Y/n). “I’ll see ya’ around, yeah?” he said, then ran around the corner with Ralph sprinting right after him.

(Y/n) giggled and reached for the straps around her back. But when she only felt the (f/c) fabric of her shirt, her smile dropped, and a deep sigh escaped her lips. “Great…” she whispered.

“(Y/N)!” 

She gasped as a pair of arms squeezed the life out of her. Her mother spun her around to face her gleaming smile, which was immediately replaced by an apologetic frown. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get your texts! That scene took forever, but I’m glad you found your way here! You’re so smart! Anyway, I know we don’t get as much time now, but there’s still so much we’ll be able to see!...”

She rambled on and on and on and on. Her daughter’s shoulders slumped and she followed her to where she wanted her to go, but the frown on her face didn’t last long when she remembered the fun she had just a few seconds ago. ‘Maybe this summer won’t be that bad.’

[mywonuderful]

WEi reaction to you wearing their shirt

anon’s request: Hey hai! Idk if this is categorized as smut but I think it's not too explicit so I wanna try hehe. Can I request WEi's reaction towards us only wearing their shirt? Thank you! ><

a/n: sorry this took longer than expected I was finishing up with finals when I got this request but nonetheless, I did this in bullet point form instead so I hope you don't mind it! thank you for requesting anon!

main masterlist

Daehyun

i just want to say how smol he looks when all the members team up to make fun of him

but regardless of that let's say he's over at your place to watching a movie together

"hurry up! the movie is going to start without you!" he yelled from the living room

you were in your room, changing into something more loose and cozier for the m o o d so you just grabbed whatever came into your sight without giving much thought

you walked out into the living room where Daehyun was sitting on one end of the couch, arm resting on top of the armrest

he glances over his shoulder as he heard your footsteps approached and did a double take as you stood in front of him. he doesn't move, eyes fixed on you and then the shirt you're wearing before you looked down, cheeks turning pink as you realized that you were wearing his shirt

"is that-"

"i just grabbed the first thing i saw" you said in a hurry as he tried to hide his smile and his blushing cheeks

the commercials were finally coming to an end as the opening scene started playing. You motioned him to scoot over but he doesn't budge.

"the movie is starting..."

"nevermind the movie, that can wait. let me admire you in my shirt for a moment." he reached for the remote, pressing pause before gently pulling you to sit on his lap as the both of you exchanged soft eyes and chuckles.

"you should start wearing my shirts more often"

Donghan

you were at the boy's dorms as they didn't have any schedules for the day. everyone was scattered around the living room, doing their own things as they spend their time relaxing.

Yohan suggested to open the window because of how bright the sun was shinning but you couldn't help but to feel goosebumps on your skin as the afternoon breeze brushed your skin.

you stood up from Donghan's embrace as he was sharing his advice on some new device that Seokhwa wanted to get and headed to his closet. opening the door to his walk-in closest was racks of shirts from different style, colors and fabrics. you tapped your chin, deciding what to wear before you felt a pair of arms hugging your waist.

"welcome to Donghan's closet, what can I do for you today?" he rested his chin on top of your shoulder was in hummed, eyes scanning the line of clothes

"hmm, maybe something warm" you commented before the weight on your shoulder was gone as you were turned around to face Donghan. "it's a little chilly with the windows opened" you added in your defense before he gave you the 'i told you to dress warm yet you come here wearing a t-shirt' look

"I can't even tell if you planned this or not anymore" he sighed in defeat as your cheerfully smiled.

"Well I guess I would be lying if I said I didn't like you taking my clothes anyways." he confessed as the two of you laughed before he helped you picked out a sweater

Yongha

I apologize for my lack of knowledge in (combat) gaming in advance as I only know super smash bros and street fighter

"what took you so long? I'm going to start the game without you!" was the first thing you heard from Yongha as you set foot into their dorm.

he was starting at the edge of the bed, legs crossed as he choose his characters, eyes not even taking a glance at you. you pouted at his actions as you purposely dropped you bag on his coffee table, making a loud thud

still no reaction from him :/

feeling disappointed, you sat beside him as the two of you went for a couple of rounds (?) of super smash bros

"c'mon Y/N, I swear you're not even trying" the screen showed your character in defeat as his won. He fell back on his bed, letting out a irresistible smile.

"okay okay how about this. next game, loser of 2 of 3 pays for chicken." he sat back up, hoping to get you some determination on actually playing the game when his eyes widen from taken notice of what you were wearing, his face changing from his smooth honey skin to a shade of a tomato.

"is that my sh-"

"finally someone is taking a notice." you grumbled as he placed his controller down before hugging you, nuzzling his nose on your neck to hide his embarrassment. "you know I can never back down on a deal. Let's get it over it." you picked up your controller, already knowing that you can't stand a chance from Yongha

but to your surprised, after 3 rounds, you won 2 of them, making Yongha the loser of his deal

"I won! Chicken is on you!" You cheered as you jumped on his bed. He sat there, staring at the screen dumbfounded from reality.

"thats not fair." he whined as you sat back down. he pouted his lips as you squished his cheeks. "I was distracted by you wearing my shirt."

"well now I guess I know what your weakness is when it comes to playing games"

Yohan

he planned a little date with you to go strolling down the city streets. you decided to wear something causal and went with a pair of jeans and his t-shirt that you tucked in.

you were waiting at the spot that the both of you agreed on meeting as you glanced at your phone for the time. you were early by a few mintues.

from a distance Yohan was making his way over when he turned in and saw a familiar figure but couldn't tell if it was you since it was the back.

you hear light footsteps approaching before you lifted your head from your phone, turning around check who it was

*cue fading starlight by annyeong bada*

he stops at his steps as you stood in front of him, eyes widen from since he didn't expect it to be you

"ah, why is it so bright all of a sudden?" he squinted his eyes, trying to cover your brightly shining appearance as your playfully punched his chest from his cringe-worth line. he looked at your outfit as you did the same to him, before looking back on your own, seeing the same thing

"isn't that my shirt?" the both of you said at the same time before he raised an eyebrow at you as you were about to explain yourself.

"your shirt? I was looking for that shirt for the longest time!" he pointed at his t-shirt you were wearing. You looked down at it with guilt before he pulled you into a hug. "I'm just joking, love."

"hey, didn't you say you always wanted to try couple pairing?" you suddenly recalled him mentioning it as he looked down at you.

"well, I guess we truly are meant to be having that we wore the same thing without even planning it."

Seokhwa

you promised Seokhwa to help take some photos for him for his Instagram post and so here you are, getting ready to head out to the shooting shot that he suggested. Since you were only taking pictures, you didn't try out on dressing, knowing that Seokhwa finds you looking effortless in anything you wear

you made your way over to the spot as he stood with a few of his members as they all finished their schedules today.

you quietly went behind Seokhwa before jumping in attempt to scare him. he turned around to meet you with a smile before pulling you into a hug his members pretending to throw up

"it's that-"

"that looks familiar"

"Seokhwa's shirt?"

"So she can wear it but not me?"

all the members started to take notice of you wearing his shirt as your unconsciously covered your body with your arms

"hey hey hey, but in all seriousness when you take it?" he turns to face you as you let out a cheeky smile

"last week when I came over and you were too busy fanboying over Apink, mister hardcare pink panda" you crossed your arms, narrowing your eyes at him as he looked away, pretending now to hear.

"I'm sorry love." he kissed your forehead "but you know i'll always be the biggest fanboy for you? Especially when you're wearing my shirt, it's making me hard to keep my fanboying to myself." He bent to whisper into your ear as a flushed creeps past your face and ears

"a little heads up but if I let my fanboy self out today, it's on Y/N" he confessed to his members as they all broke out into fits of laugh and teasing

Junseo

my bias wreaker in WEi because he's t h a t handsome and my self confidence drops because of him

after 2 weeks of their recent comeback which meant hectic schedules and performances, you finally have Junseo for yourself as he was over at your place for a sleepover. You were cuddling in his arms as he showed you pictures of places and food he wants to try and visit in Jeju.

"We have to visit the Sunrise Park if we every get a chance to visit Jeju." you hummed in response as he took notice that your eyes were getting tired. "Do you want to sleep?" you nodded in response as he kissed your nose. He got up to use the washroom as you changed out of your loungewear into your pajamas before hopping back into bed. He got out and crawled onto bed before joining you.

you faced each other as you traced his features with your finger as he playing with your hair when he noticed you wearing his shirt, making him sit up.

"is there something wrong?" you followed and sat up as you saw his face tinting into red.

"is that your pajamas?" he pointed at what you were wearing before you feel into a shade of pink, getting caught red-handed for wearing his clothes.

"a-ah... I'll wash it and-"

"come here" he cut you off as he laid on his side, facing you as he patted the spot beside him, telling you to lay beside him. you silently followed. "you can keep it. I think you look better in it than me" you let out a muffled chuckle

"I only wore it because I missed you." You admitted into his chest, feeling regret as the last words left your mouth.

"what? I couldn't hear you clearly?" He lifted your chin for you to look at him. He has a smile that you knew you wouldn't escape unless you repeated your words.

"you were busy for the past 2 weeks... So this was the closest thing I could get from having a breakdown from missing you" you shyly mumbled as he stroked your back, making your eyelids get heavier and heavier.

"well, you can forget about that shirt because I'll be the closet thing to you."

[corvid-knight]

Demon Eyes - chapter 23

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13740258/chapters/33289857

You're grabbing frantically at the handle to your truck's door when somebody grabs you from behind, hands clamping down on your shoulders and spinning you around.

No! Your mind is a weapon, your mind is a fucking sword, Bro can take you but you're sure as fuck going to hurt him as much as you can before he does, make him kill you instead of—

"Shit, Dave, stop!"

D. It's D, you realize that as he hisses instead of trying to say anything else to you, his face screwing up in a pained grimace. He doesn't let go of you, though. Doesn't bear down harder to try to inflict enough pain to get you to stop either.

He's bleeding too, from a cut almost hidden in his hairline at his temple. You remember the scar there; when you were a kid you were unreasonably fascinated with it, always wanted to touch it, give him little-kid kisses there because even if Bro never did that shit you knew that you kissed things to make them better. You never knew how he got it, but now you have an idea.

"Hey—" D starts.

"No." You try to jerk back, out of his grip, and nearly just go into a spiraling vaporlock of panic as your shoulders hit the truck. You can't retreat, he's got you cornered, you can't—stop. Stop. Stop. "Fuckin' let me go, D, let me go, this is my fault, I can't—"

"It's not your fault, kiddo, and you're not going anywhere but back inside." He's got his voice back down to comforting, reassuring, calm despite the fact he's bleeding—and not just from the little cut on his head; you can see a darker red stain working its way through his red shirt. "C'mon, we need to figure this shit out, it's—"

You lose the rest of his sentence, because he pulls you forward a little and tries to wrap his arm around your shoulders, brushes against that fucking tattoo, and your mind goes pure white with panic. The next thing you know you're on your knees on the lawn, doubled over and hugging yourself, and your left hand hurts like hell.

Your ears are ringing. You can't fucking breathe.

"Dave."

Hal. That's Hal.

He's kneeling next to you, and you force yourself to straighten up enough to look at him. You can't read a single fucking thing off his face, which most likely means he's scared out of his mind, and there's a bloodstain on his shirt, about at the bottom of his ribcage. About where Dirk was injured, you think. Fuck.

"I need to go," you tell him, wishing you could force your voice to be louder. "I need—"

"—to come back inside and let us handle this logically," he finishes before you can.

"No!"

"Yes. What are you going to accomplish this way, Dave?" For a second, somethingflashes across the shikigami's face, there and gone too quick for you to read anything but pain in it. "Are you planning to sacrifice yourself in hopes that he'll abandon his designs on the rest of us?"

"Fuck yes I am!" Let him fucking kill me. Let him take me and have me for whatever the hell he wants, as long as he leaves all of you out of it, you think, and immediately get a flash of denial from Karkat.

It hurts, but you slam the door between his mind and yours shut. Cut him off as completely as you can. You can't let him follow you.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Dave," Hal says in that eerie-calm voice that he uses instead of showing any kind of emotion when he's upset. It takes you a second to remember what he's responding to.

"You can't tell me I can't—"

"Bullshit I can't. You're my fucking brother, you know that." Hal crosses his arms and frowns at you, the expression only lasting a moment before his face goes blank again. "I'll die before I let that bastard touch you again."

He'd die for me. "Don't you dare—"

"It's not going to come to that if you don't make us protect you from a distance! You're a thousand times safer here, with us, where we can fight with you instead of just trying to protect you." The shikigami's calm mask slips again, and you get a look at his frustration for a second before he groans and closes his eyes. "Please."

"Running ain't exactly gonna help," D adds from behind you. Even as you twist to face him he's moving, stepping over to sit on the ground next to Hal.

Shit. There's more blood on his face now, his lip bruised and split.

You fucking punched him.

That realization almost makes you curl up onto yourself again. "D, fuck—I didn't—I'm sorry, I'm so fucking sorry—"

D just looks baffled for a moment, then shakes his head and impatiently wipes at the trickle of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "My fucking fault."

"My line." You don't even know if he's going to understand what you mean by that. I'm supposed to say that. I'm the one that gets hit and deserves it, not you. I'm the only one who oughta be bleeding.

"It was a fuckin' lie when he made you say it, man; this is different."

"Hit you. I hit you."

"Yeah, 'cause I grabbed where I got no fuckin' right grabbing." He sighs and shifts, one hand going to the dark spot on his shoulder for a moment. "Dave—"

"You're bleeding."

"We all are." Hal shakes his head and jerks his shirt up, displaying a long, shallow cut running along his left side, almost parallel to his ribs. "Dirk has one on the other side, along an old scar from a sparring match with Bro. Rose's nose started bleeding; he slapped her for calling him out on something when she was eleven—"

"I remember." You grabbed his hand before he could do it a second time; he ended up apologizing, blaming it on being a little drunk, and then broke two of your fingers once she was gone.

"—your neck's bleeding and from what I can see of your shirt, you're a mess everywhere else as well, worse off than any of us." Hal folds his arms, uncrosses and recrosses them, eyes going blank for a moment as he considers. "It's only injuries that he inflicted that reopened—other than mine; I never met him in person, but this effect could be a carryover from Dirk being my base programming—and only on those of us related to him by blood. Otherwise Jake and Roxy would have the wounds too. Shit...I hate reflective necromancy."

"I have no fucking clue what that is," D says.

"It's stupid. Stupid is what it is. Dave, you need to come inside before the neighbors call the cops on us."

No. "I'm leaving."

"Like fuck you are—"

"Like fuck I'm not, D!"

"Take a fucking second to think, Dave." D grimaces and yanks at the buttons to his shirt, getting it open and gesturing at the newly reopened cuts there. There's not all that many—one thin line along his collarbone, the larger cut on his shoulder that's bleeding through his shirt, a gash just above his navel that was probably awful when it was new and is still messy now—but they're noticeable as hell. "It's not just you he's after."

"He wants me more—"

"Yeah, maybe, but what's running gonna do? I'll tell you what it'll do: split us up. Give him less of a problem. Only thing it does is hurt all of us, man, come on."

You've closed yourself off so you can't feel D's pleading, but you can sure as hell see it, hear it in his voice. He's the only one out of all the Striders who doesn't hide shit, keep emotions behind a mask, so you know that his need to get you back inside and safe isn't just a ploy. He's sincere about wanting you to stay.

But.

"I'm gonna get all of you killed."

D and Hal glance at each other. It's the shikigami who answers.

"No," he says, and he says it firmly and irrefutably, "you're not."

Damn.

When Hal gets to his feet and offers you a hand up, you take it.

Roxy, Rose, Dirk, and John aren't in the kitchen. Jake and Karkat are, though; the former's standing over a map spread out on the counter rather than the table, the pendulum in his hand making unnaturally wide arcs over it.

The demon's standing just behind him, one hand on Jake's shoulder, concentrating just as fiercely on the pendulum as Jake is. When you cautiously drop some of your mental barriers, you can feel the divining magic rolling off both of them, generated by Jake and directed by Karkat.

Fuck, are they looking for Bro?

"I wouldn't know how to fucking start." Karkat's voice is low, not quite a growl, and he doesn't take his eyes off the pendulum. "I met him once, that's not enough to scry for him. This is for someone else, a guy I've tangled with before..."

He pushes an image at you, one that's got the quality of a memory almost forgotten. It's blurred and warped to the point where you can just pick up the impression of someone probably taller than D, a silhouette that becomes a skeleton when the lights shifts, a smile that isn't a smile.

And purple. The whole memory is eerily purple, a color that's a quality of light.

"Dave, wait—" Karkat starts as you try to drag more detail out of the image. That's as far as he gets, though, because the whole damn memory goes bright purple, and you both wince.

There's the small tap of the pendulum hitting the table.

"Got him," Jake announces, letting the pendulum's chain slip through his fingers. The little crystal weight stays right where it is, though, balanced point-down on the map as if he's still holding it steady.

"Great." The demon shakes his head as if to clear it, leaning over to get a better look at the map, then nodding and turning away. "I'll—"

"Karkat—" You grab his arm before he can take one fucking step toward the door, bracing yourself for an angry snarl. "Don't you fuckin' leave me."

He doesn't growl at you. In fact, as soon as you touch him he stops, immediately turning to you and shaking you off his arm just so he can take your hands in his, meeting your eyes. "I'll be right back—"

"Fuck that!" Shit. You're too fucking close to tears, to just breaking down right here in front of D and Hal and Jake, begging him not to go. "I'm coming with you."

"I'm going after another demon."

"So? We've hunted together—"

"This fucker's the kind of demon you leave alone because you can't kill him, Dave."

"And you can?" He's leaving you. Even if he says he's coming back, even if he believes it (and he does, you can feel that he believes he'll be back more-or-less unharmed), Karkat's about to walk out the door and you don't fucking believe he'll come back. Please. I can't, man, I can't handle this shit if you're gone—

"Dave, shh." I won't be gone, he thinks at you, and wraps his arms around you to pull you in close, kissing first your forehead and then your lips, giving you reassurance and love and a promise that for today at least everything will be okay. "Listen to me."

"...I am." You're also holding onto him, probably too tight. No fucking way are you letting go.

"I can take him, alright? I swear—"

"You don't know that—"

"Listen, Dave. I can beat this asshole in a fight. And if I'm wrong about that, if for some reason I can't? He's not one to give anybody a nice, clean death." Karkat pulls away the slightest bit, waiting for you to look him in the eyes. Give me three hours. Hal knows the spells to summon a demon back; even if I fuck this up, I'll still be alive in three hours.

Fuck.

If shit goes wrong, he'll be tortured. You know that without having to ask. You don't fucking want that to happen, you don't even want to think about that happening.

But...

" 'kat."

"Dave."

"Promise me." You'll come back.

He doesn't even hesitate. "I swear." And you can't read any doubt in his eyes.

Karkat kisses you again, very carefully. When he goes to pull away from you, you let him.

As soon as the door shuts, Hal sighs and shakes his head. "Dave?"

" ...yeah." Fuck, you're scared.

"You need to get cleaned up."

"Yeah."

When you still don't move, the shikigami sighs again and puts one hand on your shoulder, steering you out of the kitchen. "Right. Come on."

Fuck, I don't have to be functional until Karkat comes back, you think, and almost just start crying from the relief of the thought as you let Hal lead you into the bathroom.

It's about an hour and a half before you can feel Karkat at all.

In that time, Hal gets your wounds cleaned off and bandaged up. Even though most of them were pretty fucking bad when they were fresh the first time, they're just shallow cuts this time, just deep enough to sting and bleed. Same for everyone else's; the only worrisome one was Rose's nosebleed, and that was only a problem because like you, she has a history of not being able to get that kind of thing to stop.

D coaxes you into eating some of that damn cake, and even if you're mostly just trying not to visibly panic, you're pretty glad that you do that. Somehow sugary shit does make things a little better.

The fact that you end up on the couch, leaning on Dirk on one side and with Rose pressed up against you on the other, and with one of D's stupidest movies playing, also helps. There's a thread of guilt in your mind, that you feel almost okay when Karkat's out handling the dangerous shit, but you can try to think around that.

And you do a pretty good job of it, for about an hour and a half. Then you feelKarkat in your head, a jumble of victory and irritation and anger, and Dirk looks over at you because you just went almost limp with relief next to him for a second. Before he can do more than open his mouth to ask if you're okay, you're off the couch and on your feet, heading for the door to the backyard.

D, John, Dirk, and Roxy are right behind you; the others stay in the house. You're sure there's some tactical reasoning behind that, but you have no idea what it is right now, and you're not planning on asking.

Karkat's standing on the edge of the concrete slab in the backyard, scowling at the permanent binding circle John and Hal set up. He's closed the circle, drawn in the two symbols deliberately left blank when they laid the design down in colored concrete, but the demon inside isn't even testing his boundaries, just standing there calmly with his hands by his sides.

For a second you think that the demon in the circle is manifesting his true form. Then you step up next to Karkat, right at the edge of the circle, and realize that no, he's in his humanish form, but every visible inch of skin's been tattooed, white bones on a black background as if he's under an x-ray.

He tilts his head, brushing back bone-white dreadlocks as he regards you with eyes that'd actually look human if not for their luminescent purple irises, and you bite back a wince as you realize that his lips have been sewn shut.

Greetings, Second of the Two.

This demon's mental voice is far louder than Karkat's ever was—this is a true telepath, not the weirdly abled empath you are. Powerful. Scary.

"Second of two what?" John asks in confusion.

The demon just shrugs, eyes never leaving you. The First seeks you. Or he will.

"We don't want your fucking games, Kurloz," Karkat growls.

My title is Speaker to the Dead.

"I don't give a fuck what you want to be called. I know you're mixed up in this shit; I saw your fucking mind shit in Dave's eyes." For a second, Karkat's form flickers to his demon form, fully manifested. It's a threat. "Where the fuck is the bastard you raised?"

I've raised nothing, Vantas. My talents have been...utilized.

"Same fucking difference. Talk."

Kurloz makes a soft noise, muffled by the stitches. Laughter.

"You know what I fucking mean!"

I do. He nods, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opens them again, they're pure glowing violet, fixed on you, holding you in place so there's no way you can look away. And this may surprise you, but I'm amenable to an exchange of information.

And he holds out his hand.

And before Karkat can stop you, you reach through the circle, break the circle, and take it.