#ghouls are just big cats

[esttillie]

Mountain: *Barges into the common room* GUYS, RED ALERT!! FIERCE GHOUL ON THE LOOSE!!

Dewdrop: *Scratches the window from outside* You can hide, but you can't run.

Swiss: GAAH!! QUICK! GIVE HIM RAIN, MAYBE HE'LL CHASE AFTER HIM!

Rain: wait, WHAT?!!

Aether: *Shoves Rain outside and locks the door*

Rain: BITCH— *Makes eye contact with Dew*

Dew: *Demonic croaking*

Rain: *Backing away slowly* Heeey, Dewey! Hah, w-what a nice jacket you have! Where did you—

Dew: Run.

Rain: *Sprints screaming across the lawn*

Swiss from inside, watching the chase with Mountain and Aether: Phew, we're safe!

Rain, still running: WHO IS SAFE?! COME FUCKING HELP ME!!!

Mountain: *Wiping away a tear* I'll miss him so much!

Aether: *Patting his back* Shhh, shhh, It's part of nature...

Rain, from afar: I HATE ALL OF YOU!!! *Gets tackled by Dew*

All of the three: Oof!

Swiss: ... You know, I'm kinda hungry right now-

Mountain: -Yeah, me too.

Aether: Yeah-

[vampirecatprince]

Okay- but the poll I just reblogged really points out something that I've always loved about CATS and because of the fact that it was my very first fandom and heavily influenced how I approach fandom in general- but I absolutely adore the fact that you can have the exact same script and choreography and just with some changes in costume and actor you can have two completely different reads on a Jellicle?

Honestly- I wouldn't be surprised if half of the reason Ghost resonates with me so much is because it's actually very similar to CATS when it comes to how loose the canon is and the fact that the majority of the text is really just an excuse to look at attractive talented performers performing and 99% of our fan "canon" is just a massive collaborative group writing project.

[ghcstcd]

I'm working on other art but I'm just thinking about big boy Aether easily holding Dew in his arms. I'm also thinking about that one shot captured where Swiss is holding Aether. Big man wants UPPIES.

[s8nicpanicc]

Nameless ghoul headcanons cus why not

- Water ghouls are the only type of ghouls that will actively avoid touching other ghoul's necks and sides, it's just force of habit because they themselves have gills there. Dew retained this habit.

- Quintessence ghouls are basically space ghouls in my book. Alien demon thing. Cus of this, they're actually a lot lighter and even a big one like Omega could easily be lifted up.

- The understanding of good vs evil is a human thing, so ghouls don't really get that distinction completely, though they can get pretty close. Think similar to animals, even if they themselves have a human level of intelligence.

- They can and will cuddle aggressively, it's both for protection and warmth.

- Humans don't really seem to have the heightened sense of constantly looking around their surroundings, but ghouls do since they came from the pit. Once ghouls warm up to certain humans, they'll often hang around them almost protectively on instinct. Think of it something similar to the way cats constantly bring dead animals and lick you because they think you're a huge helpless kitten.

- Speaking of which, the reason the ministry has different types of ghouls is because they balance each other out. It might still be chaos but ghouls tend to lean into certain personality types like fire ghouls having way too much energy.

- They beg for food. All the time. Doesn't matter if you already fed them. They're smart enough to ask the new initiates until eventually they're told to STOP feeding the ghouls THEY ALREADY ATE.

[unhinged-simp]

Hey, can you write more hcs for TD characters courting mc? Really love your work

Taiga, Ritsu, and Zenji courting hcs

Yes of course! Thank you for the wait!

Sorry for the disappearance, I got a bit busy so it took a bit to finished! You didn't specify any characters, so I just put them in a generator and it gave me them.

Spoilers for the Hotarubi chapter(Zenji's under the cut)

Honestly it's a surprise that Taiga even remembered that you existed, and especially so that he's courting you. He doesn’t even ask if you want to be courted, he just starts doing so.

You find out pretty soon that Taiga means to court you though.

His texts with you were filled with pickup lines, misspelled words, and the occasional ‘who is this?’ if he doesn’t remember.

His gifts are almost cat life, as he brings you dead anomalies and raw meat. He doesn’t care much for romantic gifts, like flowers unless you give him some.

Dates with Taiga mostly happen at the casino with him gambling while you watch. There is a chance you could convince him to come to your place for a home date.

He doesn’t really care much about boundaries, unless you make it a big deal.

He's super into physical touch, he likes having you in his lap and using you as a pillow for his naps.

Taiga is super into kisses and making out. Though make out sessions often means that you'll have multiple bite marks near and around your neck.

When you first get marks from Taiga, the other ghouls were concerned, now it's just kind of a regular occurrence.

Taiga would invite you over to the casino to watch him gamble, since he secretly considers you his lucky charm.

Ritsu is one of the best when it comes to courting. Although he’s very by the book.

When he learns he can’t ask your parents, he asks you instead.

His texts are usually formal and polite, usually asking you if you wanted to go get dinner or lunch, or asking about date times.

He texts you in the morning and after work ends.

Ritsu mostly gives flowers to you, but he does give you jewelry sometimes.

He's more traditional when it comes to dates, preferring fancy dinners to any other.

Ritsu is very respectful of your boundaries, if you don't like to be touched, he wouldn’t touch you. 

He's not that big into physical touch, but if you wanted to cuddle him or kiss him, he would let you. Though he wouldn't like it when he's working, as he considers it unprofessional.

He would like you to give him kisses every morning before work and class. 

You’d invite him over for little parties on the weekends.

He first thought about courting when Haku brought it up. He’d start courting you without asking you first.

When he started doing random things, like giving you things or texting you everyday, you were confused. So you went to Haku.

Haku found out that Zenji was trying to court you, and chewed him out a bit about not letting you know. And so, Zenji went to ask you.

Zenji texts you everyday, wishing you a good morning, wondering how your classes are, and how your day has been going. He uses those sparkly good morning gifs every morning.

Zenji loves giving you flowers, although he can only give you flowers he finds in the grass since he's you know.

Dates with Zenji usually consist of listening to him play the biwa in various places, or stargazing occasionally. He's content with just sitting beside you and watching you eat.

Zenji is the most respectful person when it comes to boundaries. Since he can’t touch you, he's content with just looking at you.

He longs for the day he can touch you.

Whenever you talk to Zenji, other people stare at you like your crazy, but you ignore them.

[danieyells]

Tokyo Debunker WickChat Icons

as of posting this no chat with the Mortkranken ghouls has been released, so their icons are not here. If I forget to update when they come out, send me an ask!

Jin's is black, but not the default icon. An icon choice that says "do not percieve me."

Tohma's is the Frostheim crest. Very official, he probably sends out a lot of official Frostheim business group texts.

Kaito's is a doodle astronaut! He has the same astronaut on his phone case! He canonically likes stars, but I wonder if this is a doodle he made himself and put it on his phone case or something?

Luca's is maybe a family crest?

Alan's is the default icon. He doesn't know how to set one up, if I were to take an educated guess. . . .

Leo's is himself, looking cute and innocent. Pretty sure this is an altered version of the 'Leo's is himself, looking cute and innocent. Pretty sure this is an altered version of the 'DATA DELETED' panel from Episode 2 Chapter 2.

Sho's is Bonnie!!! Fun fact, in Episode 2 Chapter 2 you can see that Bonnie has her name spraypainted/on a decal on her side!

Haru's is Peekaboo! Such a mommy blogger choice.

Towa's is some sort of flowers! I don't know flowers well enough to guess what kind though.

Ren's is the "NAW" poster! "NAW" is the in-world version of Jaws that Ren likes, and you can see the same poster over his bed.

Taiga's is a somewhat simplified, greyscale version of the Sinostra crest with a knife stabbing through it and a chain looping behind it. There are also roses growing behind it. Basically says "I Am The Boss Of Sinostra."

Romeo's is likely a brand logo. It looks like it's loosely inspired by the Gucci logo? I don't follow things like this, this honestly could be his family's business logo now that I think about it.

Ritsu's is just himself. Very professional.

Subaru's is hydrangeas I think! Hydrangeas in Japan represent a lot of things apparently, like fidelity, sincerity, remorse, and forgiveness, which all fit Subaru pretty well I think lol. . . .

Haku's is a riverside? I wonder if this is near where his family is from? It looks familiar, but a quick search isn't bringing anything up that would tell me where it is. . .

Zenji's is his professional logo I guess? The kanji used is 善 "Zen" from his first name! It means "good" or "right" or "virtue"!

Edward's appears to be a night sky full of stars. Not sure if the big glowing one is the moon or what. . . .

Rui's is a mixed drink! Assuming this is an actual cocktail of some sort, somebody else can probably figure out what it is. Given the AI generated nature of several images in the game, it's probably not real lol.

Lyca's is his blankie! Do not wash it. Or touch it. It's all he's got.

Yuri's is his signature! Simple and professional, but a little unique.

Jiro's is a winged asklepian/Rod of Asclepius in front of a blue cross? ⚕ Not sure what's at the top of the rod. A fancy syringe plunger maybe? It's very much a symbol of medicine and healing, so his is also very professional. Considering he sends you texts regarding your appointments, it might be the symbol of Mortkranken's medical office?

These are from the NPCs the PC was in the "Concert Buds" group chat! The icons are pretty generic, a cat silhouette staring at a starry sky(SickleMoon), a pink, blue, and yellow gradient swirl(Pickles), a cute panda(Corby), and spider lilies(Mina). Red spider lilies in Japan are a symbol of death--and Mina of course cursed the PC, allegedly cursing them to death in a year.

[forlorn-crows]

𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚 1: 𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

pairing(s): aeon/swiss words: 656

✿

He’s barely visible under the fuzzy gray blanket that’s pulled around his body. With his legs tucked up against his chest, fabric cocooned around him, he looks like a kit drowning in a terry cloth towel after a bath. Only Aeon’s round face, screwed up in concentration with the ends of his hoodie strings between his teeth, and knobby hands, plunking away at his new basic smartphone, are visible to Swiss. 

In simple terms, he’s too cute to handle. Swiss’ fingers itch to grab and poke, squish the cuteness right out of him. Aeon grumbles something about the tiny keyboard, big pointed ear twitching as he stabs at the screen, and the multi ghoul cannot stand it for another second. 

“Whatcha doin’, bug?” he calls from his chair opposite the couch. 

Aeon chirps, peeking up from the screen. His hair sticks up on top when he lifts his head. “Hm?”

Swiss is going to scream. “I said ‘whatcha doin’’?”

“Well,” he spits out the hoodie strings, shifting a bit. “I’m trying to figure out this . . . texting thing. But Dew keeps sending me funny little faces after I accidentally send him random letters. The keys are so small, how do you do this?”

“You’ll get it, just takes some time. At least you have smaller thumbs.” Swiss wiggles both of his in Aeon’s direction. “That’ll help.”

Aeon huffs, corners of his mouth turning down, lower lip sticking out; he pouts. He’s pouting. Why must Copia always summon the adorable ones? And why can Swiss just never keep his hands off of them?

The frown remains in place even as Swiss hops out of his seat and sits down beside the newbie quint. Swiss shakes his head and chuckles. “Why’re you so damn cute?”

Aeon side-eyes him. Scoffs a little and rolls his eyes. “Cute?” he accuses. 

“Have you seen yourself?”

“I mean, yeah, I look in the mirror everyday—”

“No,” Swiss laughs, “right now. With your blanket and your little phone and that pouty face.” The multi ghoul pokes him right in the cheek, emphasizing said frown. 

“You make me sound like a child,” Aeon grumbles and flinches away, sticking his tongue out as he locks his phone and shoves it into the couch cushions. He pulls the blanket even tighter around himself. But there’s a smile tugging at his lips, even as he continues to side-eye Swiss. 

Once again, he is going to scream. “You make me crazy,” he admits stupidly, shaking his head. “I just wanna,” he makes a vague grabby-hands motion, indicating his frustration, “ugh, I just wanna scrunch you up and put you in my pocket, baby.”

“Front pockets are preferable, please.” Aeon grins suddenly, showing off his fangs. 

Swiss blinks. Momentarily stunned to silence—an incredibly rare feat for this ghoul.

“You little—” He springs into action, leaning close and poking his thick fingers everywhere: his neck, behind his ears, the dimples in his cheeks. Aeon squawks in protest, but that does nothing to stop the onslaught. He growls playfully and grabs his cheeks, squishing and smushing and squeezing. 

“‘wiss,” the quint attempts to complain—keep it together, really—through pushed-together cheeks. “‘top, bhat’re you—”

“I’m sorry, but you’re too adorable to live,” Swiss explains. “Gotta stop you before you reach mach cuteness or everyone’ll die.” Aeon whines, removing his arms from the blanket to swat at him to no avail. Swiss is quick to release his cheeks, grabbing his wrists instead and pinning his arms to his chest. 

“Gah, what the fu—” Swiss cuts him off with a cross between a snarl, a growl, and a weird noise a disgruntled-slash-scared cat would make, completely dramatic and unserious, diving in to his neck open-mouthed so he can graze his skin with the front of his teeth repeatedly with fake bites. Aeon can only toss his head back and giggle ferociously and against his will. 

“Gonna eat you,” Swiss growls. “C’mere.”

“Why are you like this?!”

𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 ✿

[arcaneacolyte]

May I Present: The Ghouls as Quirks My or My Close friends' Animals Have Exhibited:

**Alpha**: Favorite game is "oh look how sneaky I am, stealing the thing you're doing/playing with so I can play with it" but gets SO mad when it's done to him.

**Omega**: Can't help but make the "stinky" big cat face when he smells something he doesn't like. He can't hide it if he tried.

**Mist**: If she touches a texture she wasn't expecting, she basically jumps out of her skin and onto the nearest elevated surface.

**Zephyr**: Despite having good night vision, has *terrible* lowlight vision, so if they see something at dusk that's unfamiliar? Instant hackles up and growling. Turns out it's just a garbage bag.

**Ifrit**: Upon first meeting someone, is all guard dog and grumpy and "Don't touch me", but once you scritch around his horns and ears, he loves you forever and will trail after you wanting more pets, tail wagging.

**Aether**: Very friendly, but if someone he knows puts on a hat or changes their silhouette in any way? Stranger Danger, who the fuck are you?!

**Dewdrop**: Must be in an hot bed, in an hot house, in an hot climate. Will steal any coals he finds to either eat or rub his face against.

**Mountain**: If he hasn't worn shoes in a while (which is usually any time outside of touring) and he has to put some on, he waggles and high steps weird for a while because he can't feel the ground.

**Rain**: Thunder and lightening or fireworks? No problem, unbothered and can sleep like the dead. Balloons in any form? Pure Evil and must be destroyed.

**Swiss**: Literally an escape artist, cannot be contained if you tried. They put a camera in a containment room to try to see how he escapes and they still can't even figure it out.

**Phantom/Aeon**: No eye self preservation. Doesn't close his eyes when water gets poured on him, will not shut them when you threaten to poke them. It's so bad that he's had multiple eye tests to see if he has poor vision, but his vision is perfect.

**Cirrus**: Got one of her nails cut down too close to the quick ONE time and now refuses to get her nails trimmed and will run or fuss if its determined she needs a trim. Has to be asleep or put under sedatives to get them done.

**Cumulus**: Is completely fine with getting a bath or shower, but hates going out in the rain. Also, to her, water is water no matter how gross it is and she WILL try to drink it if she's thirsty enough.

**Sunshine**: Will get excited and get all up in other peoples' faces, then suddenly panic and get upset that their face is too close to hers. She might snap at them because of it.

**Aurora**: Has very sensitive ears and gets very upset at loud noises, but has a hard time self regulating and the only thing that will help is the Ghoul version of a happy hoodie. Unfortunately she doesn't think she can move her neck while she's wearing it, so she turns her head like 1989 Batman.

[miss-multi45]

OK hear me out, I had an idea : what if reader presented herself as innocent, nice, you know like big doe eyes and all. So the ghouls assume she is a poor innocent lamb in need of protection. UNTIL one day, some guy just takes it too far with her and just as the ghouls are about to jump in to protect her, she becomes ABSOLUTELY FERAL and maims the guy.

How would the ghouls react, do you think ?

P.S : I love all your writings <3

gonna go with the idea that reader's a ghoulette in this. thank you for the ask, sweetheart.

a/n: cw/tw: gore and mentions of sexual stuff

A noise between a trill and a growl comes from the ghoul's throat when the guy starts making comments about how he'd like to see you in pretty white lace lingerie, but before creep could touch you, his blood had painted your body like the lingerie in his imagination...

swiss

fanboying.

screams "OH FUCK YES GIRL!"

and parades about the ministry with you in his arms bridal style meanwhile there is still blood on your body.

he doesn't care less about the blood, he's a fucking ghoul.

he just wants to brag about you to the entire ministry.

sodo

raises his eyebrows in slight shock, but then walks towards you with his hand raised for a high five.

tail is wagging, and he gives you head scritchies which makes you purr and nuzzle against him.

disposes of the body which means the ghouls and ghoulettes ate the dead body.

what? sometimes they eat people..

rain

slightly shocked by the sudden blood spray, but then he just shakes himself off like a cat and drags you away from the scene to craft an alibi.

sticks with leaving the guy outside to rot while he makes hot chocolate for the ghouls and they all watch Rite Here Rite Now in the ghoul den.

phantom

he got angry when the guy started making comments about your boobs, like really angry, asking if they were warm and squishy.

how dare he, phantom, the ghouls, and the ghoulettes were the only ones allowed to know that and see your plush boobies (lol) in all their glory.

so he wasn't at all upset when you clawed the incel's neck open with those dazzling claws of yours, watching as he slumped onto the floor with a sea of blood gushing out.

you kissed over his dead body.

mountain

anyone who doesn't respect the lovely ladies of the ministry and the entire universe is automatically on mountain's kill list.

happy when you killed the shithead and growled at his dead body, that's his girl.

cleaned you up while you were swinging your legs and gave him smoochies.

aether

was standing behind the fuckface ready to take him out when you beat him to it.

leaned over his body, examining the injuries.

"good punch." he said before walking away with your bloodied hand in his.

omega

watching from a distance, leaning forward on a bench with his hands clasped together.

he was growling under his breath, his eyes flashing with bloodlust whenever the man smirked suggestively at his pretty little ghoulette.

proud when you tore him to shreds yourself, like yes queen girliepop we love to see it.

aurora taught him that slang

alpha

we all know he's teasing, smug and possessive.

which means he's walking towards you, and when he reaches you he grips your hip with one hand and your waist with the other.

chuckles when you swing at the guy, resulting in blood spraying all over you and alpha, but alpha didn't give two shits about the blood. he was just proud of his girl.

ifrit

the guy's digging himself a grave, teasing a cute and innocent ghoulette like you when he didn't know you had a big, bad, and sexy ghoul mate waiting to sink his teeth into his neck.

he was incredibly flabbergasted when you dealt with it yourself, and walked over to your with his hands slightly raised in disbelief.

gives you the most amazing head that night as a reward for your good work.

aurora

she was sat on a bench, sipping her strawberry boba while holding your blueberry boba in her other hand.

she had just gotten her claws done with you, as you were having a girls day out.

screams "THAT'S MY FUCKING GIRL SLAY THAT MAN QUEEN!" when you kill the dude bothering a clearly lesbian ghoulette.

cirrus

leaning against a wall when she saw the bland concrete being splattered with ruby red blood and thought something had happened to you.

but no, it was just her pretty little pillow princess tearing a man to shreds for making inappropriate comments and gestures to her.

walks over and kicks the dead guy, then swings you over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes back to the ministry.

cumulus

what the fuck??

she left you for two seconds, TWO seconds, and a guy was already trying to get in your pants?

satan on a fucking enchilada, human men were annoying.

but all that irritation was killed at the same time he was, and she just stood there in a proud girlfriend stance.

mist

UGH, this is why the only men mist hangs out with are the ghouls, brothers of sin, and the papas.

has a visible expression of disgust on her face when the fuckhead starts talking about how he thinks that women were made to serve their husbands, and you had the same expression as her.

so you quickly shut him up with claws to the chest which cut through his heart in no time, prancing over to your girlfriend and giving her an innocent peck on the cheek.

[skele-bunny]

So I seen this post about ghouls just being demonic cats but it made me start thinking LMAO it reminded me of red pandas doing that when they get scared.

Swiss is hard to scare. You can't sneak up on him whatsoever. Since he's a shadow walker he can physically feel someone approaching constantly, and if anything he's the one giving out all the spooks! Just pops his head out to scare someone. He's done it to Rain too many damn times. He'll just turn his head all creepy as the other approaches him with that big smile. "Yesss?" Literally fucking boogyman that has glowing eyes under the bed.

Rain who's susceptible to getting scared easily, but always gets his revenge when they go swimming. See, the fun thing about sirens is you don't know they're there until they're right on you. Cirrus just floating before feeling hands yank her down, screaming only to be cut off from the water. Rain just in a giggling fit as she whines about her hair being wet and coughing out said water. Loves grabbing ankles and hearing shrieks.

The others know better than to scare Mountain as he goes STRAIGHT to fight mode. Aether scared him once during movie night, right at the climax and Mountain shrilled like a teenage girl and whipped around, and socked Aether right in his jaw. He felt TERRIBLE afterwards and just held him so tight EJJSJD. Then Phantom didn't know any better when he hid under the table and grabbed Mountain's hoof... It's impressive that quintessence can reattach teeth after being horse kicked!

Cumulus and Dewdrop who LOVE banding together to freak the others out. When you have a ghoul that loses his face when he's in a true form and a ghoulette that can set the mood juuuust right with ominous wind and croaks? YEAH. Imagine the pure scream Sunshine did when she looked up to see a faceless being staring down at her from the corner of her room. Ohh those two didn't hear the end of it for DAYS.

But also!! Dew who's very sensitive to being scared. Loves horror movies, loves the darks, and gore. But a person scaring him? He'll stiffen up instantly and eventually just start silently crying. Fists clenched SO tight and just staring at the other before he's able to break from his trance and just yell how it wasn't funny, but he'll eventually start laughing about it, too.

Cowbell and Special who are masterminds during Halloween and Halloween only. They're very sweet during the day as it's usually trick-or-treating time with the kits, children and siblings of sin, but nightfall? Ohh it's free range. Bell is tall as FUCK. She knows that very well. Have you ever seen a giant skeletal being standing in the treeline just staring you down and eventually stalking you the further you go in? Phil using the fact he can seperate himself into two... Ever had the shadow in your peripheral look like it's going to touch you but the moment you turn around nothing's there, but then when you turn back around it's right in your face? YEAH!!!

[hypnoneghoul]

May I request Phantom taking big boy Mountain for the first time, and maybe we get that tummy bulge because he's slight and mountain is just so.. big

yeah i wrote exactly what it says on the tin

“Phantom, are you sure?” Mountain asks—again—holding the writhing quintessence ghoul relatively still in his lap. He whines and nods furiously.

“Yes, Mounty, yes, please,” Phantom begs and Mountain can’t deny that it gets him all hot and bothered. He already is all hot and bothered, has been since the younger ghoul pressed himself against him and started spilling filth into his ears, begging Mountain to finally take him to bed. To fuck him stupid, break him in half.

Mountain is a strong ghoul, but he’s not invincible.

“Fuck…okay,” he sighs. It turns into a moan when the all too eager Phantom grinds his ass down onto the earth ghoul’s half-hard cock. He grunts and hooks his arms under the other’s thighs to hoist him up. He yelps and giggles, making Mountain smile. “You’ve been spending too much time with Swiss, you menace.”

Phantom only smirks.

Soon enough they reach the earth ghoul’s bedroom and he’s dipping his hand into Phantom’s pants as he’s straddling his lap. “We have to prep you nicely, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Done,” the quintessence ghoul mutters and just then Mountain’s fingertips are brushing against his hole, slick and loose. His cock twitches and he swears under his breath.

They work together to undress themselves without really parting—Phantom planted himself firmly on top of Mountain and it doesn’t seem like he intends to leave his spot. Rather clumsily, but they manage, and the earth ghoul truly drenches his fingers in lube before bringing them back to the other’s asshole.

“Don’t wanna hurt you,” he mumbles again and Phantom whines, but nods. He arches his back like a cat, pressing his chest against Mountain’s and tucking his head under his chin as the earth ghoul pushes his fingers in, one by one until he has four in. Phantom really did a good job of stretching himself and Mountain has no doubts he aided himself with quintessence.

His cock kicks at the thought. He pulls his digits out and wipes his hand on the sheets. They’ll need washing anyway. “Okay, iris, I–”

“Put it in, Mounty,” Phantom whines, looking up at him, and Mountain doesn’t even feel bad for folding immediately. Who wouldn’t if the quintessence ghoul looked at them like this?

Mountain growls and puts his hands on Phantom’s hips, trying to not think about how small he looks between them. A little more and he’d be able to just about squeeze him whole. He pulls him up, grinding his little cock into his stomach and positioning his own dick at his hole. The quintessence ghoul’s eyes widen a bit when he feels the sticky tip against him.

“You ready, honey?” he asks. Phantom doesn’t respond—at least not verbally. He presses his ass back and moans all high pitched as the head of Mountain’s massive cock pops into him.

“Fuck,” the earth ghoul swears and clenches his jaw. He’s holding Phantom with one hand under his ass and he’s trying to make him go slow about lowering himself, but the young ghoul is eager. Probably too eager for his own good. “Careful, honey.”

Phantom whines and nods, slowly going down inch by inch, feeling himself stretch out further and further on Mountain’s cock. It’s maddening for both of them.

He’s about halfway down when he winces and whimpers in a worryingly painful manner and Mountain instantly freezes. “Iris? You okay?”

“Yes, fuck, but it hurts,” the quintessence ghoul cries out, squeezing his eyes shut. Mountain’s own are dragged to a single drop of sweat beading at the younger’s brow. “You’re so big, shit.”

“We can–” the earth ghoul grunts, but Phantom cuts him off, near in panic.

“NO! No, ‘m good. Let’s keep going,” he pleads and Mountain has no choice but to trust him. The quintessence ghoul takes a moment to breathe and adjust some before moving again, lowering his hips until he’s fully down, with Mountain truly balls deep in him. “Oh, shit. Fuck, I– hah, I did it!”

The earth ghoul can’t help but giggle at how proud of himself Phantom seems. The younger ghoul plants his hands on the other’s shoulders and pushes himself up to fully sit on him and–

He watches as Mountain’s eyes fix on his belly before rolling back into his head as a wretched noise falls from his open mouth. A second later Phantom feels warmth pumping into him and his own jaw drops as the realization hits.

“Mounty, did you just–”

He only whines loudly as he goes limp under the quintessence ghouls. His sight seems to have returned to him and he doesn’t drag his eyes away from where his massive dick—that is now already softening—is protruding from Phantom’s stomach in a prominent bulge.

[skellyflowers]

Tour Bus Cuddles

Masterlist

Phantom x reader 

The European leg of the tour has been going fantastic so far. I was excited to be on the road and get the opportunity to travel around. However no one mentioned how hard being a Tour Manager Assistant would be! 

When Phantom dragged me into Brother Kevin’s office to nominate me as the new assistant I thought he was being a clingy boyfriend. He told me that he would miss me. I would miss him too. I was going to work on a schedule for us to still be able to still talk while he was gone. I wasn't expecting this. When Phantom first mentioned Kevin needing an assistant it was during our pillow talk so I didn’t take him too seriously.

I was surprised that Kevin made me his new tour assistant, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was because of how hard headed Phantom is. Kevin has me in charge of checking in the band at any hotel we stay at, ensuring the Green room has what the ghouls need and running last minute errands. 

However this show is in the biggest arena so far. So I have to cover way more ground than before helping the ghouls and completing my pre-show checklist. And to make things more complex two of the main stage speakers have been damaged. Lucky us the crew as backup speakers, they are not as loud but they are just as good. Unfortunately for me that means I need to help load the new speakers off the crew truck and bring them half a mile from the parking lot to the arena. 

When it is time for a sound check I can’t feel my arms and can barely pay attention to what the merch team is telling me. It doesn’t help that Phantom likes to keep me up after shows and work out his leftover adrenaline. I love him and we always have a great time together but it is going to be hard to do my job if I can’t feel both my arms and legs.

I’m in the Green room sitting on the couch when the ghouls come back after they finish the sound check. Phantom closes in on me and sits in my lap like a little cat. He starts to purr like one too. I smile at his actions and start to scratch at one of his horns, he starts to purr even louder.

“I missed you babe.” Phantom says.

“It’s only been 30 minutes, Bat.”

“30 minutes too long.” he pouts, cuddling into my neck.

“GET THAT CUTE SHIT OUT OF HERE!” Dew yells, startling me.

“Shut up, like you aren't going to come to me and beg for attention.” Rain says, rolling his eyes.

Phantom doesn’t get off my lap until it is time for the ghouls to get on stage and Mountain picks him up. We hold hands and walk from the Green Room to backstage and give a kiss before he gets on stage to the screaming crowd.

The show is amazing, just as all the others have been. When the final bow is taken and Papa has said the last goodnight I help the crew take down the stage and pack up so we can get on the road as soon as we can. The process is smooth and we are able to pack up the crew bus in under an hour. A new personal record.

When I get on the ghouls’ bus I am exhausted. I am happy to be the first on the bus tonight. Papa could herd the ghouls perfectly without my help but I felt a little guilty about texting him that I went straight to the bus and crawled into the first unclaimed bunk I found. Ghoul shepherding is part of my job.

I started to fall asleep when I heard the bus door open and close. I hear footsteps shuffle around until they stop in front of the bunk row I am in. I also hear sniffing? The curtain separating me from the mystery ghoul in the bus slowly opens. I’m surprised that I see Phantom, eyes bright and tail wagging.

“This spot taken?” He asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

I let out a quiet giggle and scoot back as much as I can. Phantom gets a big smile on his face and crawls in next to me. He turns my body so he can be the big spoon, his second favorite cuddling position. If it was always up to him I would be laying on top of him at all times. I find his hand and lace our fingers together and he starts purring against my back and plants a kiss on my neck.

“Did you have fun at the concert?” I ask.

“It was fun, Swiss fell off his stage. But I missed you.”

“Maybe if you teach me to play the guitar Papa will add me to the band.” I said as a joke.

“That’s a great idea. We can start tomorrow.”

“You are so silly, Bat.”

“It is a good idea. We could spend more time together.”

“You never leave me alone. You're the reason I got this job.”

“And I will never give you a moment's peace.” He says, giving me a squeeze.

“We can talk about it in the morning.” I say, with a yawn. “Love you Phantom.”

“I love you too, My Angel.” kissing the back of my head.

I let his purring lull me to sleep as the other ghouls get on the bus and settle in for the overnight drive to the next sold out area.

[lovelytsunoda]

still alive | pato o' ward

summary: pato's girlfriend really likes halloween. in fact, it's her whole brand. especially since her dad starred in 'scream' and 'scooby-doo' and 'five nights at freddys'. like seriously, this holiday was made for her

pairing: pato o' ward x lillard! reader

yn.lillard just posted to her story!

yn.lillard just posted

liked by patriciooward, matthewlillardofficial, indycar and others

yn.lillard its the most wonderful time of the year

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patriciooward my skeleton gingerbreads are cooler than your skeleton gingerbreads

-> yn.lillard say sike rn! we all know mine are better. i can call my dad and he can be the deciding vote

-> patriciooward no need, i ate them all already anyways :)

-> yn.lillard i love you you big dork

-> patriciooward i know. but do you love me as much as you love billy loomis?

-> yn.lillard see it sounds odd when you remember that to me, he's just uncle skeet.

davidmalukas you got the pumpkins i got the paint and the hocus pocus dvd. what do you say we all meet at yn's dads and have ourselves a pumpkin painting party?

-> yn.lillard you just want to drink beers with my dad and uncle skeet, don’t you?

-> matthewlillardofficial how does friday sound?

user they give such black cat orange cat energy

patriciooward added to his story!

yn.lillard

halloween horror nights

tagged: patriciooward, elbaoward

liked by patriciooward, yourbestfriend, skeetulrich and others

yn.lillard its a hot ghoul summer!!! #hhn24

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elbaoward please tell me you got a video of pato screaming when the clown on stilts came up behind him

-> yn.lillard of course i did, i'm the best girlfriend ever

-> patriciooward delete that

-> yn.lillard what are you going to do to make it worth my while? 😏

patriciooward repeat after me: pato you are the sweetest most loveable man on planet earth. god created men and then sent me as an apology

-> yn.lillard someone has a big ego (i love you too sweetheart!)

alexanderrossi so where is this video of pato

-> patriciooward GONE

-> yn.lillard ill send it to u when im done jumping his bones

-> matthewlillardofficial YN YMN LILLARD

user theres so much hot in this post i dont know where to look

Pato O'Ward talks victory at Milwaukee, summer break with his girlfriend and the first time he met future father-in-law Matthew Lillard

yn.lillard and patriciooward

tagged: patriciooward

yn.lillard hey google, play i miss you by blink 182

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yourbestfriend i realize there was a specific lyric you were trying to reference there but it is not coming across right bestie

-> yn.lillard ok let me be more specific *clears throat* HELLO THERE THE ANGEL OF MY NIGHTMARES THE SHADOW IN THE BACKGROUND OF THE MORGUE

patriciooward we can live like jack and sally if we want and we'll have halloween on christmas ❤️

-> yn.lillard and in the night we'll wish this never ends, we'll wish this never ends

user oh that boy is so whipped

skeetulrich kid why did i just get a text message from lover boy here asking if i knew your ring size?

-> yn.lillard YOU WHAT

-> patriciooward no reason!! totally not planning something!!

-> matthewlillardofficial ahem. do we need to have a talk?

-> patriciooward nope! all good here!

yn.lillard just posted to her story

[location tag: calgary, alberta]

MESSAGES BETWEEN YN AND HER FATHER

daddy

I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. And remember, I still have the Ghostface costume so if you ever need me to get rid of him, just give me a call.

yn

DAD! I promise you'll never have to do that.

daddy

Good. I'm looking forward to having him as my son in law.

[ghcstcd]

thank you sm for aether happy trail + chest hair it’s all i can think about <3

You're so welcome. I decided that Omega can't be the only slightly fluffy one.

[lazyneonrabbitt]

🎃 Mister Uruk

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Modern!Adar x reader

Pure tooth rotting fluff with single mom reader, and single dad Adar.

I heard someone say "Halloween meet-cute and, I guess that works for this one

October was only a couple hours away from ending and parents roamed the streets with their children dressed as pirates, mummies, witches and ghouls.

Almost all little ones were back home already and now the older kids ran in groups, racing who collected the most candy over the night.

"Mommy, mommy please I wanna go there!" Your ever so persistent daughter had convinced you to let her go trick-or-treating after the younger kids' usual time 'because the big kid costumes are so much cooler' and made you wear simple black cat ears and drawn on whiskers along with a full black outfit, to match her spooky witch costume. It was clear she was the main event and you were just her sidekick.

But you had to agree wirh her. You were tired of hearing the parents with sticks up their asses complain about all the in your opinion harmless pranks the older kids pulled the day before on Devils' night.

And thus you let your daughter drag you to the large house at the end of the street. No one went near the house, not even delivery drivers dared to pass the gates so thr sons these days always went to pick up their takeout dinners. The house had an eery look to it with its dark walls, original stained glass windows and garden full of atrange plants the mysterious old man who otherwise barely left the house tended to with great care. The scarred, lanky man with the permanent scowl on his face if he ever needed to go outaide the gates

More often you only saw his sons at stores or around town, being the slightly more accepted ones of the family.

About a mother nothing was known, not even the rumors about the family ever had a mention of her.

You had seen the sons roam the streets, donning iconic slasher masks and scaring even the toughest kids around.

"Sweety, don't feel bad if no one opens the door, okay? The old man doesn't like visitors." But your words fell on deaf ears as she practices her elaborate scene in her head, passing the open gate that surrounded the freestanding house.

At the front door you rang the bell amd stepped back, letting your daughter take the spotlight and watched her wiggle her fingers in excitement, no doubt repeating her rehearsed lines one last time before the door opened with a creak.

In the opening appeared the man everyone spoke of but nobody really knew, with his black jeans and shirt hugging his figure. Out from under the fabric peeked scarred skin, from the sides of his head down one side of his neck and reaching all the way over one arm and hand.

His dull blue eyes stared down at your daughter, who instead of doing her little show stood with eyes wide and mouth agape. "Woah.."

"What a cool costume!" She jumped up and had a mile wide smile on her face.

You visibly cringed at her unfiltered thoughts being yelled out like that and gave the man an apologetic look, mouthing 'sorry' as his eyes landed on you. But he didn't respond, just grabbed the bowl of candies he had by the door and lowered himself to sit on his haunches to be at eye-level with your daughter.

"Oh? What pray tell does a witch seek at this house? You are not here to turn me into a frog, are you?" His eyes flickered back to you for just a short moment before his attention went back to the child in front of him, who promised she would leave him be, but only for a grand offer of treats. You chucked at her schemesWith her arms she gestured greatly and held out her bag.

"But of course, your magic majesty. Anything to keep my current form, I have grown to like walking on two legs and speaking like humans do." In his large hands he took a pile of candy and put it into the little witch's bag.

Wigh big, blinking eyes she stared at the man. As well as you, who for the first time really saw him for who he really was; a kind and friendly guy at the end of the street.

"I see you think, little one. You wonder. Was I not always a person? Maybe I was a simple house cat like your pretty familiar over there. Or a dog, a bird or a fish." His hands moved a lot as he talked theatrically to entertain the young girl to the best of his ability.

"Or maybe.." He slightly ducked his head, brows pulled in a frown and pulled up his shoulders.

"..A child eating uruk!" With a quick move he threw up his hands like claws and bared his teeth with a growl that had your daughter jump back with a squeek and a fit of laughter.

Content with his theatrics he stood up again, reaching back inside the house and offering a delicate bag of spooky themed chocolates. "For adults only. No alcohol for the little ones."

The smile he offered you as he brushed his long black hair away from his face had heat rise to your cheeks.

With a thanks you bid him farewell, returning a sweet smile as your daughter happily trotted down the path, looking back and waving "Bye, mister uruk!"

Back home you helped your daughter to bed and cleaned yourself up before changing into some comfortable clothes and laid down on your couch.

Some horrible cheesy monster movie was playing. The kind where the lady fell for the not-so-monstrous at heart creature the town hunted.

The bag of chocolates sat on the side table beside a cup of still steaming tea. They called out to you, you were so curious about their taste. There was no label on the bag that was tied with delicate black and orange ribbon. They looked handmade.

And they tasted delicious! The taste of liquor was evident but not overwhelming, a perfect balance of flavors in the small pumpkin shaped confection.

Adar watched the little witch and her mother walk off his property from the wooden chair on his small porch. The bowl of candy sat on the ground beside him as he lit a cigarette and smiled to himself.

It wasn't often such a young child graced his doorstep on holidays like this. Especially with all the crazy talk going around about him and his sons these last years he was even more surprised you let her walk up to his home and so closely interact with him.

He treated his very few visitors of the night kindly, the teens all wowed with the vast amount of candy he gave out compared to the other stuck up households.

When his sons finally returned home he had retreated back to his favorite chair and sat in front of the tv. The cheesy monster movie not even registering as he fondly recalled the little witch girl and her beautiful mother.

November first was cleanup day, where the community parents assisted in taking down large decorations and removing toilet paper and eggs from houses and share leftover homemade treats. It was always a fun time for the most part, besides the usual posh mothers not lifting a finger. You overheard them complain about certain people not showing up for the fifth time today and decided to move along further down the street.

You arrived at an elderly couple's home thay had such nice flowers in their yard all year round and now laid covered with foilet paper and yarn.

"Hey, let us help you out." The old man's sons appeared from the sidewalk and quickly came to assist, chatting and clearing one yard after another in record time.

You enjoyed working with them. They were kind and lots of fun.

"Oh, thank your father for the chocolates. They're really tasty. Had to put them away before I finished the whole bag in one go last night." The boys said they'd forward your message and everyone went back on their way.

"Dad, please go out more." "Yeah holy shit that lady was so nice, totally oposite of your cranky ass." "You should ask her out if you like her enough to offer her chocolates."

The doorway out of the kitchen where Adar found himself was blocked off by his sons.

"Good to hear the townsfolk like you more than me. I thought we knew that already." Adar kept his focus on the coffeemaker, begging it to work faster so he could pretend to be busy at least.

"Yeah right. 'Liking' us is all fine and dandy but she was all blushy and shit when we mentioned you only giving those out to special folk." With fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, Adar slumped against the counter, a deep sigh leaving his lungs. "I'll think about it. The going out more part, not the dating."

Weeks passed and like clockwork you kept running into the old man and his sons, quick hello's and how are you's shared.

Until one day it was just the old man, no sons with him at the store. You could see him staring in confusion with the basket hung off his arm.

"You look lost." You spoke carefully as to not startle him. His eyes found yours quickly, the grocery list crumpling as he fidgeted with the corners of it.

"I hate to admit that yes, I think so. It's been a while and nothing is in the same place as it was back when I still shopped myself." The words flowed like he never expected they would, talking to a stranger. Or well, not entirely stranger.

"Come, walk with me and we'll do the full store so you can get familiar with it again." You took him along and by the time you reached the register you had managed to make him smile and laugh with you. Much to the annoyance of the townsfolk who just scoffed as they passed you, but you happily ignored all of it.

"I should thank you, for making me look less of a fool. I am Adar, by the way. I realized I never told you my name." You gave yours in return, shaking his hand and letting it linger for a moment, complimenting his home and well kept garden.

Adar felt the looming pressure of his sons' voices telling him to ask you out. But he would never willingly set foot in public dining places that were known to indulge in rumors about him.

"Would you maybe like to come by for dinner once?" He cursed himself out in his head for it, his sons would not leave him be when they heard about this. And of course you agreed with a stammering, blushing mess of an answer and day suggestion.

You agreed to meet over the weekend for dinner at Adar's place.

Saturday came around fast and you were pacing around in the chaos of your exploded clothing cabinet in search of an outfit. To the point of your smartmouthed daughter barging in, who already had her clothes picked out by you and put on. "Mommy you look pretty in anything. Do this one!" She held up a top that matched the color of hers and without any idea what else to wear you agreed.

So you arrived at Adar's place with your daughter for dinner, simple one time thankyou dinner. That's it. You tried to convince yourself of it, but it wouldn't settle.

Aaron, the eldest son answered the door and led you to the diningroom where Eric, the youngest was setting the table and Adar busied hinself in the kitchen beside it.

"Good to see you made it in time. You look nice, miss."

You thanked him and looked into the kitchen where Adar came walking out with bowls of food in hand.

More and more appeared. Meat, two sorts of potatoes, different veggies and salad with dressings, gravy and sides enough for a week.

You couldn't help but stare in awe, not even noticing your daughter sneaking a single fry out of the bowl close to her and snacking on it.

"Please, enjoy the food." Adar's gruff voice spoke to start dinner, and swiftly there were bowls being passed around and people ate.

"Man, it's been ao long since we ate like this. The last time--" Eric's words were cut off by a smack on his arm by his brother, earning the boys a confused look that Adar answered to with heavy heart.

"The last time we ate like this their mother was still with us. It was before we moved here." You let out a soft sigh at a memory of your own resurfacing.

"Yeah, I understand the feeling. Last time I ate like this I had my parents over, and my ex's too. I announced my pregnancy that day, for the first time to my ex as well.. He left after a week of trying to get me to, you know." You made a gesture with your hands and the hint was clear to the adults in the room.

The rest of dinner was had while sharing funny tales and laughing over past adventures, soon all hanging back in your chairs with how good the food was.

Dishes were all done as a team, and finished in no time. The leftovers put in boxes for later and new drinks poured. For a while you chatted there in the kitchen while your daughter had joined Adar's sons who went to watch a movie.

Soon it started getting close to her bedtime, but she refused to go home before the movie had ended. Except the boys had put on the extended version of the first Lord of the Rings movie and it was only fourty-five minutes in.

"Well, now tou gotta stay." The boys had claimed the large couch and your daughter sat curled up in the huge lounge chair, lazerfocussed on the movie. So you and Adar shared the smaller couch.

The movie was good, that was a given, but after a while the boys retreated and your daughter had fallen asleep. To Adar it was clear what his sons were doing, and somewhere he appriciated it. It was just you two now with the little one snoozing in the chair.

"It wouls be a shame to turn off the movie halfway. Another drink?" Adar had that week finally dared to admit to hinself what he had denied for so long. He was lonely, and while his sons may have been pushy, their plans had led to something good. So when he came back with new drinks he sat closer to you, hoping you wouldn't mind and enjoy his advances.

When Adar came back and settle next to you your head screamed at your heart to not act immediately, but to no avail. You carefully settled against his shoulder and soon you two were cuddled up against each other. By the time the movie had ended neither of you wanted to move away.

"I can feel you think, but as much as I feel the same as you it's better for her if you take her home to sleep in her own bed." With heavy hearts you both went on to end the night, sharing contact information and agreeing on a second movie night in the process.

"So, did you at least tell her you like her?" "Come on, you have to!" As soon as the front door closed Aaron and Eric were at the stairs.

"I did not, you scheming brats. But we did agree on another movie night, at her place." The boys cheered and high-fived ine another at the plan. "And the two of you are babysitting her daughter."

The second night, you saw remarkably less of the movie. Limbs tangled, curled up in a thick blanket you only had eyes for each other. Neither of you found a bed that night and woke up on the couch regretting it with every cramped muscle in your bodies. Yet you laughed about it ovee breakfast.

And then by the time the third movie night was planned to happen you were all back in Adar's home. The men just finished up redoing their old study, that was now painted and decorated under your daughter's command. It was her new bedroom after all, and Adar had stupidly promised her to make it perfect for her, and she was very clear about her wishes.

That night when you brought her to bed she just would not settle, and eventually plopped down on her bed to question you.

"Now that we live with mister Adar, does that mean he is your boyfriend now?" Her big, wondering gaze turned into a frown. "Aren't you too old for boyfriends?"

You faked shock at her calling you old. "I'm not too old for boyfriends!" You crossed your arms with a pout. "Besides, Adar is even older. Isn't he too old for girlfriends then too?"

With her fingers at her mouth she made a diaplay of thinking about it. "Yep." She stated simply. "Old people have husbands, and wives."

"Really now? That's what you think?" God, that child had opinions..

"No no, she makes a point." Adar's voice suddenly appeared from the open doorway. "An old man like me talking about his girlfriend has a bit of an eery feeling to it, no?" An amused smile tugged at his lips. "I don't think I would mind being a husband once more, even if it's not on paper but just in title." He strolled over to the bed where you were trying to get your daughter to sleep. "If your mum agrees, tomorrow you'll wake up with two new older brothers, and only if you wish so, someone to one day call dad."

With each of Adar's wordsthe sparkle in her eyes grew.

"So, what do you say, missus? Girlfriend, or wife?" Two sets of eyes stared at you now. One patiently waiting on your answer, and one who, if she stared even the slightest bit harder, she'd develop laser eyes.

"Hmm, I never had a husband before. I think I'd like to give it a try." Happy cheers from beside you quickly turned sour as Adar nuzzled your cheek and kissed the corner of your mouth. It took seconds for her to crawl under the blankets and disappear. "I'm sleeping! You can go now!"

"Come on, my dear wife. Let the child sleep so she can have brothers by morning."

[greyfics]

even if it's handcuffed, I'm leaving here with you.

- °•. ✦ .•° -

pairing: the ghoul (cooper howard) x reader fic type: enemies to lovers, no smut, mild spice + eventual fluff slow burn meter: ◈◈◇◇◇ word count: 3.8K inspo: TPD lyric prompt list, reblogged on main reader type: assumed wastelander background, gender neutral, 'I don't need a knight to save me', assumed negative views of BoS, assumed gun for hire cw: strong language, violence, reference to fictional drugs, mild dismemberment summary: reader is a gun for hire who has gotten themselves into a bit of trouble in the form of a moderate bounty with a local segment of the brotherhood- and cooper howard knows he can get all the drugs he needs for what seems like an easy job.

- °•. ✦ .•° -

"We can do this all day, darlin'. Even if it's handcuffed, I'm leavin' here with you." you feel the pressure of a pistol barrel pressing against the base of your skull from behind, and a disgruntled, defeated sigh slips through your lips. The game is up- you're out of ammo, down to the ripper hanging from your side, and 'gun against the brain-cage' is the indisputable checkmate.

Up to this point, you'd been pretty successful in shaking off the swathes of bounty hunters and jet-scrounging raiders that'd been on your tale since you became an enemy to the brotherhood- which, nowadays, seemed to be a pretty fucking easy feat to accomplish. The rusty knights were getting a little big for their oversized, several-tonne boots- and you had never been a fan of self-asserting authorities using their power in the name of 'order', especially not when they could hardly organise their own little sectors across the expansive, sparse remains of the USA.

As good with a revolver as you are, today it seems your luck has ran out and your karma has caught up with you, because you've finally met your match in a ghoul with a face so smug you wish you at least had a chance to slap it before losing the game of cat and mouse you'd been playing for a couple days now across Junktown. Your face collides into concrete and a quick click combines with the feel of steel against your wrists, The Ghoul's threat having evolved into a promise.

You spit a ball of blood and saliva from your mouth, wrought up by the hard impact with the ground below, "Alright, you win this round you freak- I'll come with you, just get these off of me." You hear a smirk from above, "Now how stupid do you fuckin' think I am? No, I gave you a chance to come willingly, you chose to shoot me in the leg. Lucky I ain't returned the favour." He gives you a light, sharp kick in the side with the tip of his boot, "Up. We got a long way to travel, and sooner we get there, sooner I get paid. I'll be reminding you now that I only get a bonus for bringing you alive, so make my life hell and I'll live without the extra caps." "Not exactly easy when my-" you hear the chick of a safety being cocked, and awkwardly shuffle back until you can jut sharply up onto your knees and slowly stand, turning to glare daggers into your now captor. The Ghoul's expression remains stiffly affixed with the wry, smug facade he bears: relaxed, squinting eyes peeking out above a thin, ever-upturned lip- you swear to yourself to you'll smack that smile off his face- but by all accounts, beneath the withered, decaying skin that had festered in his ghoulish transformation, the man had the stature (and admittedly, the jawline) of a filmstar.

You shake off the irritable possibility of monster like this getting lucky with the gene pool as a calloused hand secures a vice grip on one of your wrists and tugs you in suit as it's owner sets into motion, dragging you away from the remnants of an old civilisation and towards a military base miles away you are all too acquainted with.

You had been so caught up in the wild ride of adrenaline that came with being on the lamb that you briefly detached yourself from the catalyst of the chase- but as concrete and clay inevitably crumbles away to distant sandy dunes and cacti, the dread stirs in your stomach like a plague. It was easier to wave off the consequences of your actions when you weren't being marched towards the gallows to face them- it wasn't like you made an attack on the organisation. You kill one knight trashing up a town in the name of redundant technology, and suddenly you're on a hit-list. You know The Ghoul probably doesn't know this, and you know for certain that even if you tried to give the man a sob story he wouldn't care. This was it. "You about to be sick?" You snap from your pessimistic daze at the sudden interruption of silence, "No. Why?" "You look like you just ate a mouldy iguana, that's why- and I don't want sick on my boots." You let out an irked groan, and sharply snap your head to face the horizon in the opposite direction to your captor. You hope this will satiate his sour jabs for the time being-

Your hope is crushed five minutes later.

"Go on then. I'm bored shitless and I'm outta jet, so spill." He says with an almost theatrical exasperation in his voice, "Spill what, exactly?" you coldly respond in a mute tone, focus still fixed on the horizon to the west, "Well what's the big story? Someone's always gotta be the victim when they got a bounty on their head, so what's the tragic tale behind 'Y/N', huh?" the muscles in your neck and shoulders tense up at the mention of your name- you weren't exactly a known associate or long-time rival to the brotherhood, and the wanted poster you had wrestled from the stiff fingertips of a raider last week only had a sketch and a scrawled account of the incident. You falter for a moment before replying, but ardently avoid taking the bait, "If your plan is to get me to tell you how we got to where we are right now just so you can mock me, then I think I'd rather carry on enjoying the view, if you don't mind." The sweet-toned sarcasm at the end of your sentence seeps with venom, and the hostility it implies does not slip away from your adversary.

This time, his laugh is a soft, whisper of a chuckle- something spiteful, foreboding- followed by matching words, "You should hear what your little community had to say about you for a couple caps and a promise not to shoot anybody- well, anybody else-" his words cut into something personal, then- and though you would normally know that attacking someone with your hands cuffed behind your back is never going to end in your favour, at this moment you couldn't care less as you swing your leg round in a swift roundhouse motion, and raise your knee towards the only place you can think to leave a mark-

You hit your target, but instead of howls of pain you are met with a split second of awkward silence as the ghoul cocks his head, unimpressed, before slamming it into your own, sending you staggering back a few paces-

Before you can reorient your vision, a heavy dull force plummets into your ribs- the sand cushions your blow slightly better than the concrete you met face-to-face with an hour ago, at least. Your arms, however, are not grateful to be pressed beneath you as a familiar, withered hand pushes into your throat, putting as much pressure on your trapped limbs when your upper body presses back as it does on your esophagus, halting your air supply as he lowers himself down to a kneel and fixes your gaze onto his,

"If I wasn't already a walking corpse, that could've really hurt- not a very nice thing to do to someone just tryna have a little bit of light conversation now, is it?" All you can do is glower through eyes blinded by the sun, which gleams behind the shadow of the ghoul's head, bearing on it a smile tweaked with frustration- you need to breathe- you can't keep this up, your heartbeat is louder than the sun in your eyes and-

The pressure releases. You turn your head to the ground and suck in air between dry, heavy coughs, and after you've finally steadied your breath, you find a minor fleck of relief in being hoisted up from the ground this time instead of scrabbling to get up at gunpoint. You wonder, perhaps, if this is some small act driven by guilt- perhaps this man had a conscience once and a set of values beyond doing what it takes to ensure one's own survival. You were a gun for hire yourself, so it would be hypocritical to criticise your captor for his line of work- mostly, you preferred to stick with jobs guarding merchant caravans and to take out bands of raiders harassing the cities you passed through, but you never questioned the legitimacy of the requests you received, or the cargo you oversaw; you had settled for a little while, having stuck around the same little settlement for a few years now and had started to develop some semblance of a connection to the people there-

or so you thought.

You know you're going to be walking for a while- so with a resigned breath, you begin saying what little there is left to say about your present situation, "Well, you probably know most of what I can tell you from the sounds of things, but I guess there's nothing else for me to do right now, and the horizon is the same no matter where you go around here. I guess you could say we're in similar lines of work, but that's not really what got me in trouble with The Brotherhood. They think they can rock up in a power armour with a logo on it and wreak havoc as they please because it's for 'the greater good', but they leave towns half-destroyed when they pass through. I didn't want that to happen to... well, I didn't like the sound of that happening where I was. So, dude gets out of his power armour and starts waving guns around screaming about some piece of pre war tech or the other, and I tell him with... a strong choice of words, to get going. He starts running for the power armour, guns blazing- and I just have better aim, I guess. Not even like I got paid for killing him, either. Maybe that would've made this whole thing a little bit sweeter."

Your profession leaves a silence hanging in the air for a little while after, but it feels appropriate. The dunes filter sand from the far west to respond to your story- the horizon quivers, but only through the illusion of heat; the sand dries your eyes before they have reason to shed tears. A loaded sigh escapes the ghoul in front of you, and the clasp on your wrist softens but for a moment before stiffening to pull you onwards, "Yep, well, caps keep you going a little longer round these parts, but money can't solve all your problems." "You should tell that to the Brotherhood. They seem to be doing pretty well for all the wealth they've hoarded- can even pay big time bounty hunters to do their shitwork from the looks of things." You retort, but after a moment follow up with, "Wish I could say I was upset about it but hell, if I were you, I'd turn me in too."

You hear that soft chuckle again, but when you turn around to catch a look at the face that matches it, you see relaxed muscles and a far-off stare- he won't let you go, but he has let his guard down but a little bit- perhaps when we get closer to my story's end, he'll even let me walk to my death with my hands unbound.

- °•. ✦ .•° -

After trudging on in silence for a while, head bowed to your fatalistic contemplations, you find as you drag yourself out of the pit in your head and look over the horizon once more that the scene has changed: the atomic orange dewdrops spattering the sky not long ago have quickly to faded into a bruised overhanging shadow of violent, lavender, crimson; twilight approaches, and you're still surrounded by desert hills and illusions.

One of these illusory quivers catches your sharp eye, a dark blip that has appeared somewhere in that distance; it's moving, but it isn't close enough for you to determine whether it's just a trick of the heat or whether it's something heading in your direction. Your brow furrows, but you say nothing yet.

Within a minute, the object comes into better focus- or, rather, the creature. Your heart skips a beat, and you open your mouth to utter some kind of warning, managing to rasp, "Get the handcuffs off of me." "Now, darlin', I thought we managed to get past this already-" "No-" You tug your bound wrists, pulling the ghoul into your side- his other arm steadies itself against your shoulder before slipping up to your jaw and dragging it to face him, his own clenched and unaccompanied by a smile this time- the pallid complexion of your own face gives him enough pause for you to blurt in a fruitless, strained whisper, "Deathclaw."

If The Ghoul's skin could have paled more than it already had in his lifeless state, then it might have at that moment. The tight grip holding you against him slackens completely and you thud onto your ass as he draws his guns and casts you a playfully pitiful glance from above, shrugging and saying, "Sorry, darlin', guess I forgot to pick up the keys." He steps in front of you as a curse rips out of your throat in the sudden panic that ensues, and you try to muster enough brain cells in this moment to figure out a way of not dying, prematurely, and becoming just another skeletal curio.

There's the back-up plan, the 'if shit goes south' plan that you still hadn't gone through with because of the possible dismemberment that it might entail- but you had not been unarmed when you had been restrained earlier, and the phantom hum of a ripper blade always strapped to your waist as your last resort. You won't be able to wield it with any competence with your hands restrained as they are, but you can hit the power button from your current position-

Though, usually, you'd prefer to do it when the blade was already in your hand, not digging into the side of your leg.

shredded leg is better than deathclaw snack. Your astute analysis confirms your decision, and with a grunt and a whack, the blade starts chugging into a steady whirring action by the will of the dregs of an energy cell embedded inside- the next couple of seconds are far too long.

The blade begins it's excursion into your thigh as the gunslinging ghoul whips around at the sound, eyes wide at the sudden display of spraying crimson. You scream, struggle to try to align the cuffs without jerking your shoulders out of place. The deathclaw bounds into the mid-distance, closing in upon it's approach- it caught your scent before you could even see it's silhouette-

The tip disappears as your leg reflexively jerks, responding to the dancing jig of the chainsaw blade- you see pathetic sparks as the thing bounces off of the cuffs- strong enough to sever a leg, too rusted and battered to cut through metal. Your plan is failing. Your leg is bleeding. The cowboy falters as the deathclaw closes further-

You make a snap decision: fingers are easier to fix than legs.

You twist your wrist, and the pain just melts into the already existing burn emanating from your leg- a bloody, three-fingered stump slips from it's cage, and you swing your still-cuffed hand around in a fluid movement to drag the ripper from its sheath within your leg, snapping the cord that ties it to your waist-

You hear a frenzied firing of a revolver, but the approaching thunks are unimpeded- and though you know your leg may give way when the adrenaline finally dies, and though you know you need to find the two fingers you lost before sand vipers snatch them up and you're known as three-fingered y/n for the rest of your life- you launch yourself from the ground on your good leg, and stagger towards the approaching beast.

You grew up in the wastelands. You grew up in a settlement up here that, like any of the rest, was constantly plagued by critters and beasts- and if you were taught anything by the survivors that surrounded you, it was the following:

If you can't blow the bastard up, get 'em in the belly.

The deathclaw- a baby, thankfully- has it's gaze fixated on the man that had in the past half a minute become it's primary aggressor- so when you stumble forward, low and bleeding, with what to the creature is just another indistinguishable bit of metal in your hands, it does not see reason to change the track of it's jump.

As it launches itself above you, you pray to lady luck that you hit your mark.

An ear-splitting yowl and a sudden muffled crash tells you she's listening, for once.

Finally, after a few ragged breaths, the adrenaline wears off and you feel the weight of your body pressing into the wounds that liberated you- and the blueberry sky fades to black as you become weightless. This time, your fall is of your own accord- and this time, something stops you from hitting the ground.

- °•. ✦ .•° -

When you come to, you do not open your eyes at first- awake though you might be, your body is heavy with exhaustion. Before your encounter with the ghoul, you had been on the run for weeks, and in the last twenty four hours had not had time to stay put long enough to sleep. Coupled with the rough journey and the blood loss, you couldn't move if you wanted to. That being said, in those few dark minutes, a few things of note still catch your attention.

There is a faint crackling to your side, and the lulling warmth of a fire that brushes in waves against your face- and though you feel the silky grains of sand cushioning most of your resting body, your head lays higher up, neck leaning up to a more elevated surface- your attention snaps to the light sensation of fingertips absently grazing your neck in a repeating pattern, and the distant hum of an old country song embedded into muscle memory. The surrounding sensations are a strange comfort for all the brutal imagery this post apocalyptic world usually beholds; but it is brief, as your neck tenses, giving away your lucidity. The hand pauses, lifts- settles somewhere to the side.

When you dare to open your eyes, you are unsurprised to see the question-begging smirk and sharp eyes peering down from above, "Have a good nap?" You bolt upright, and immediately regret it when the bending of your leg snags one of the stitches you didn't know had been sewed into you until just now. Defeated, you flop back down, turning your head to the side to gaze into the dying embers of the fire beside you- praying you can brush off the flush of blush creeping into your face to the influence of the fire. Eventually you garner the courage to speak, "Feels like I've only been out for an hour." He snorts, shaking his head, "You went down around sunset, and it'll be sunrise in a couple hours." This catches you by surprise, and not just because of the amount of time you've lost, "What happened to getting your caps as soon as possible? Lost a lot of time waiting." He frowns, but does not lose his grin, "You trying to get yourself killed? 'Cos you've done a damn fine job of that so far. No, I've just been doing some thinking." "Congratulations. I'm proud of you." His eyes narrow into slits and he tuts at your sarcasm, following your gaze into the fire, "See, it could be argued that I would've been minced ghoul splattered n' buried six feet under the dunes if you hadn't gone all psycho slicing yourself up like that to get that baby deathclaw where it hurts." "That was a baby?-" "Anyway, guess my point is I might be willing to do a lot of things, but I still got my principles- only human thing I got left, probably. So I'd say I owe it you to not kill you at least. When you can walk, we'll go east to- well, to what's left of Shady Sands, and then you can do whatever the fuck you want."

You consider his words, and not knowing how to express appreciation or what to begin to make of this mysterious stranger and his obscure appeal, you find yourself rejecting this suggestion, though you don't know why- and so naturally, you dig yourself into a hole, "Well, you could also say that I would have died of blood loss if you didn't stitch my leg up." He studies you then for a minute, before shrugging and clasping your hands together at the wrists. You begin to stammer indecipherable protest and with a smirk he pulls you up, your hands still held rigid in your lap by his own, his head resting on your shoulder as he murmurs, "Now, I'm starting to get the impression you want me to march you up to our friends at the brotherhood just to keep my company." If he can't see the warm hue in your face now, he can certainly feel the heat flushing through your flustered face- you fight against the feeling, if only to make sure you stand a chance of winning this little exchange,

"Says the man who watched me sleep all night." You feel him shrug your comment off as his grin extends, "I might look like a monster, but I was a gentleman once upon a time. Like I say, I got principles." He lets you slip forward out of his grasp when you move to shuffle yourself around. As you do, you feel for the first time you are looking at him properly, sincerely- face to face, on equal grounds, with no threats of death or necessary facades of false confidence. After soaking in as much as you allow yourself to without losing yourself to curiosity entirely, you crossing your arms across your chest, and reply,

"Well, I have principles too- and if you're oh so graciously not turning me into the brotherhood then I still I owe you, so I guess I'll just have to stick around until you nearly get yourself killed again- that's all. No other reason." The ghoul rises, resting a hand on his pistol,

"You tell yourself that, darlin'- I'm gonna enjoy this change of scenery, I think."