chaos-academia

[kingkat12]

the mark of death (roman godfrey x reader)

WARNINGS: angst, blood, bodily harm, the title oop

summary: Roman has been gone for too long tonight-- what happens when you eventually find him?

word count: 1,379

a/n: happy halloween!! this is definitely a genre i don't dabble in very often, so i apologize in advance... this is taking dark!Roman to the next level, but i'm feeling experimental, so hope you'll enjoy!!<33 but beware pls pls

"Why?" Roman's voice was low, on the brink of breaking, as his grip around my throat held me pinned against the cold brick wall behind me. "Why would you come down here? I told you-- I tried to keep you safe, and you leave me with no choice now! For fuck's sake!"

This was probably the worst night of my life so far. Everything suddenly made sense-- everything. The nights Roman would disappear and come back with bloodstains on his clothes, the way he'd act around me when I was on my period, and the one time I caught him eating a completely raw piece of meat in the middle of the night with a crazed look in his eyes.

I thought he was odd. That he maybe had some weird cravings. That the blood on his clothes was from nosebleeds, that he perhaps had a weird period kink he didn't want to share-- I had pushed it all away, focused on my love for him, but it all made sense tonight. 

I initially thought he was cheating on me, which compelled me to check his location. I tracked him down to this alleyway when he didn't answer his phone. It was about three in the morning, the sun had yet to rise, I was worried out of my mind-- but I found him crouched over a dead man, and his face was covered with red, dripping blood as he finally turned to me.

Having my boyfriend's bloody face up in mine was something I never thought would happen. Roman's pupils were completely blown, and I could see the uncomfortable twitch of his jaw— probably due to the extra set of teeth that had ripped through his gums to abide the killing of his prey. 

Why hadn't I caught onto the fact that he was a upir? Why, why, why?

The smell of iron stained the walls of my nose, making me want to throw up. I sniffled, my eyes darting towards the lifeless body of the man a few steps away from us.

My fingers were digging into Roman's hands, nails leaving crescent shapes in his skin as I attempted to claw my way out of his hold. Despite my trachea being left untouched as of now, my breaths came out in short, laboured grunts, fighting him. "Get-- off!"

Roman groaned, pressing his body further up against mine; "Answer me!" A mix of fear and anger swam in his deep green eyes, the anguish present in the breaking of his voice. "Why did you come down here?!"

I was about to burst into tears. I would've, if I wasn't so scared. "I was worried!" I yelled, holding back my building sobs. "You've been so weird recently, I just-- hah, wanted to find out why! I was worried, Roman! But now I see it's been obvious, all this time!" 

With widening eyes, Roman let out a shaky breath. "It can't have been obvious," he breathed, jaw clenched. "No one has found out. Ever... And no one can know."

Fuck-- I was terrified out of my mind. "I'm your girlfriend, Roman, you could've told me!" At this point, I was kicking at him to get away as tears pressed up in my eyes; it was clear that I shouldn't have done that. In a swift motion, the grip around my throat tightened, his free hand reaching down to pin my body further against the wall to stop my thrashing. 

That was it-- "Fuck you!" I cried, the wave of choked tears finally rushing down my cheeks as my fear heightened in my chest.

Roman didn't find any pleasure in this. "Stop it," he hissed. "Stop moving, you're making things harder!"

"What things?!" My hands went to his jacket, bunching up the collar in my hands in a panic. "It's just me! I love you, please-- Let go of me!" 

"I told you to stay home," Roman echoed, his grip around my throat lifting just a little. I could see the guilt in his eyes, the horror, but I watched as it distorted into what I could only classify as instinct. "I told you... Why don't you ever listen?" With his last words, he pushed me against the brick wall, causing a sharp blow to my head.

I let out a pained sob, attempting to kick him once more. Enraged, Roman grabbed my body, dragging us both down to the ground, his tall body hovering above mine as I cried against him. "Don't!" I cried, shutting my eyes in fear. "Don't, Roman, I love you, please don't!--"

"Shut up!" He loomed above me, visibly torn as a drop of blood ran down his chin and onto my cheek. I shivered in disgust, squirming in his grip as I sobbed; "I won't tell a soul, I swear! I promise, I won't! Just let me go, you won't ever see me again!"

Roman sighed, his brows drawing together in conflict and heartbreak. He didn't want to do what he knew he had to. "I told you," he breathed, his grip around my body tightening. "I told you to stay home. I didn't want you to see this... It's not safe for anyone to know what I truly am."

"It's-- It's okay!" I tried. My breath hitched as I forced my eyes open, realizing I was pleading for my life. "It's not your fault, Roman, just let me go! You have urges, I understand, but I swear, I promise, I won't!--"

My desperate ramble was cut off when he leaned down to kiss me. I nearly threw up in my mouth; the taste of blood, the smell of iron, the way he forced his tongue into my mouth-- I had never been this nauseous. It felt like the kiss lasted for hours, days, as I pleaded with the heavens above for it to be over soon. Those plush lips that I never wanted to leave me before, were now causing me discomfort I had never felt in my life-- I wanted him gone. I didn't want to be here anymore.

This was a goodbye, wasn't it? 

When Roman finally pulled away, I was sure my face had turned blue with the lack of air in my lungs. I could see in his eyes that the game was over, that he had already made up his mind.

I let out a scared, broken sob, feeling the sticky blood stain my mouth as my tears ran down my face. "I love you," I truly had, with all my heart. "Don't do this. Please don't."

It was too late. I saw it in Roman's eyes, the way they hollowed out as he hovered above me like an animal with its prey. "I'm sorry," he breathed. "No one can ever know, not even you--" Before he could finish his sentence, Roman's jaw started cracking open, almost against his will. The sounds alone were enough to terrify me beyond limits-- the cracking of his bones made me squirm in fear, and my horror didn't subside at the sight of his sharp teeth. 

A look of dread streaked him as he fixated on the blood around my mouth-- he had marked me. The mark of death. 

I let out a scream when Roman's sharp teeth sunk into me, tore through the muscles of my neck, drained me of every drop of life as I clawed at him, fighting with all my might. It lasted a minute, and I felt the rain on the ground seep into my clothes, making the fight one I knew I couldn't win. 

Even worse, was the feeling of his tears against my neck, his hard breathing, the slight tremble in his hands as he held me down— I love you too.

Despite his all-taking sorrow, Roman was meticulous. He had done this before. So, as my arms fell limp against the cold ground, he slowly retreated from my dead body with shaky steps. He covered his bloodied mouth with his hand, suppressing the urge to throw up.

"Stupid girl," he breathed, squeezing his eyes shut in horror. "Stupid. Stupid."

Roman bent down, his tears staining my shirt as he wrapped his arms around me, dragging my body down along the dark alley. He didn't get very far— with a sob, he succumbed down on his knees, holding me against his chest. 

No one will ever know.

[wiwpai]

This guy shows up on your dashboard and looks at you like this, what do you do

Also they have an important announcement to make

[otaku553]

Fire (part 3)

<- (PREV) (NEXT) ->

(Spade Pirate Sabo AU Masterpost)

[macksartblock]

weird timing but s1 dads and their bastard fathers (and frank)

[stuckinapril]

I genuinely love not having a crush like I’m not over here feeling physically sick over some mid guy being dry to me I’m literally chilling

[zorosdimples]

as a joke, you dress up as your boyfriend—nanami kento—for halloween.

you wear a blue button down, khaki pants, his signature tie, and you slick your hair back. to finish the look, you don a stern scowl.

when you surprise kento with your “costume,” he says nothing, his focus zeroing in on your face.

“do i always look like that?” he finally asks.

you frown, confused. “you wear this outfit to work every day, ken.”

“no,” he says, shaking his head. he walks up to you and cups your face, running a warm thumb where your brows furrow. “do i always looks so unhappy?”

you drop the act immediately—he can see the worry that paints your features. “god no. it’s just you have a kind of…grumpy resting face,” you explain, balling your fists in his shirt. “but not with me,” you admit with a smile.

after a moment, your boyfriend replies: “i see.” he punctuates the statement with a soft kiss to your forehead. “i’ve never been happier than when i’m with you.”

[raiiny-bay]

summer '93

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

saw @chez-cinnamon's absolutely BANGER butterfly!Howdy design and couldn't resist! two fluffy flutterbyes <3 solidarity

[ymechi]

Who is the real Creator?

-TW: cult, yandere, impostor au, mentions of hunt

-Gn reader and darling (please tell me if I mess this up message me and I will fix it)

plot idea (This was inspired by another post but i can't find it ToT):

Reader is friends with Darling. Sometimes Reader helps Darling with dailies, grinding and building the characters.

Somehow reader ends up in Genshin Impact but it's in Darlings world.

Reader is mistaken as an entity that is trying to take over and harm Darling as they have been controlled by Reader before and do not like it.

The Reader is hunted down and shunned it all comes to a stop once Darling descends and stops the hunt. Misunderstandings are cleared and Reader is finally safe from the crazy Acolytes.

All should be fine now except it was the Reader who created Darling's account and gave it to them.

This is part 1, Part 2, part 3, part 4

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reader wiped the sweat on their forehead with the sleeve of their robe. The Sumeru weather was rather hot this midday as the sun was at its peak. With nothing better to do Reader decided to dust off the front of their house.

It was more akin to the size of a cabin and rather isolated yet Reader loved it as it gave them the privacy and security of four sturdy walls. A place entirely of their own *they could control* and it was far enough they did not have to suffer the company of people.

Reader was rather thankful for the Dendro archon to gift them this place.

After what they have been through it was more than deserved, no?

They did not really know what to think of Nahida. On one hand, she had not tried to kill them or hurt them, she was one of the few people who did listen to their side. On the other hand, she was an archon and Reader's experience with the other was not. . . They had no words to describe it. It was plainly a negative horrible experience that still haunted Reader as they slept at night. Their only solace was that the mess of the events that happened months ago was over and that they were a Free person once again.

It does not help that occasionally the archon would give them an intense blank stare that did not suit her young face. Whenever she stared at them like that Reader wanted to bolt through the nearest exit but the stare was gone as quickly as it came.

Reader continued to dust off the porch collecting the dust and dead leaves on a pile they had left the dustpan inside of the house. Just when they were about to head inside to grab it they saw two familiar figures. There was no doubt that the floating figure and golden hair belonged to the Traveler and Paimon, the latter already giving a wave.

Reader gave a small smile and returned the wave.

"Reader! Long time no see how have you been?" said Paimon.

"Hi Traveller, Hi Paimon sorry you had to come and see this mess, I have been fine hopefully you guys kept out of trouble?"

Paimon answered with a sheepish smile.

The Traveler greeted them and Reader ushered both of them inside the house towards the kitchen and made them sit while they prepared some tea.

"It looks like you settled in nicely Paimon is happy for you Reader."

"Thank you Paimon, yeah it's been really nice here."

Reader put the kettle on the stove and almost forgot how to be a proper host.

"Oh right, I have some leftover cookies! Let me grab that."

"You don't have to overexert yourself Reader," said the Traveler with a gentle smile.

"No- no it's fine I was trying a recipe the other day and I made too much, you guys have to eat it all by the way or else it's rude"

"Well, then we would be bad guests if we don't eat right traveler?"

The traveler did not reply and gave his floating companion a deadpan expression. It was rather amusing to see how to see in real life rather than the game - this is not a game anymore stop that.

Eventually they bought over the cookies and poured the tea. Reader was rather proud of themselves for once. Paimon did not hesitate to dig in and they were rather delighted that their cookies were being enjoyed. The Traveler sipped his tea calmly. Reader smiled and blew on the hot tea before also drinking it.

"I see you have been reading about the history of this world?"

"Yeah it gets rather boring just cleaning here, the Dendro Archon dropped by and gave me some books, she's smart since I don't really know much about this world."

"Yeah! Despite looking so young Nahida is really perceptive and wise, Paimon is kind of jealous."

Aether looked at his companion with a playful look and Reader knew he was about to tease his companion. They tried to hide a smile behind the teacup as they took a sip.

"Ohh! Paimon almost forgot! Darling asked us to deliver a letter!"

Reader's smile tensed a little. Aether's previous playful look was gone and he looked at them with concern. Reader held the teacup more harshly than necessary. It was fine they did not need to be babied. They gave Aether what they hoped was a reassuring smile.

Reader was still confused about how to behave around Darling. That person was their best friend, they had been friends since before Reader could remember and all the way to adulthood sharing an apartment. Yet knowing that the person you trusted the most was behind your suffering, even indirectly? It hurt like shit. Reader could not even meet Darling properly since one of their cursed "acolyte" or whatever the hell they called themselves always trailed behind Darling and Reader refused to be near any of those acolytes who actively tried to kill them before. So both were at an awkward standstill.

Isn't it supposed to be bros before hoes? What the hell Darling.

Paimon gave them the letter and Reader tried to thank them without sounding off.

Looking at the letter Reader wanted to scoff, what were they a 1800s paramour?

They looked at Aether they did not want to be rude and read the letter while they were in a conversation. Reader thought it would be the equivalent of reading chat messages while in front of friends, which was impolite. Aether gave them a smile and a nod, and Reader felt a bit at ease.

They opened the letter.

Huh.

They were a little taken aback by how normal this letter was. Reader looked up and Paimon was looking at them rather curiously but tried to hide it by staring at her tea.

"Darling says they are a bit overwhelmed being the creator and all otherwise they are fine it seems."

"Ohh Paimon would bet it would be super stressful taking the position of the creator like that, Alhaitham was so busy as acting grand sage," she brings a hand to her head mimicking it as if it was heavy, "Paimon imagines there is a lot of paperwork."

Reader laughs, it was nice to hear Paimon light-hearted take.

"Yeah Darling mentions that."

Reader does not mention the worries of their friend(?) in the letter or their stress that is something private between them. Things change yet Darling still confides in them Reader is not sure how to feel about that as they sip their tea.

The rest of the day goes smoothly as they all converse about Paimon and the Traveller's adventures in the newest nation, soon it was time to say goodbye and Reader did it with a smile.

.

.

.

"Come on where did I put it?"

Reader said in a frustrated tone as they barrage through the books on their shelves. They know they had the book somewhere for the class. The professor on that topic was someone who always made snide comments on the failure of students and whatnot and Reader did not want to have to deal with that.

"I hope I did not come at the wrong time?"

"Lord Kusanali! I did not see you there, sorry for the mess."

It felt like deja vu when the Reader said that, remembering the time the Traveler came to visit them.

Nahida smiled and shook her head. From the open door they could see Wanderer standing outside. He looked a bit grumpy then again he usually always looked grumpy, a shame for someone with such a beautiful face.

"Please call me Nahida Reader I like to think we know each other well enough now."

Reader gave Nahida a sheepish smile and wrung their hands together it was a nervous tic.

"Sorry everyone calls you that or well Dendro Archon I did not want to disrespect you I sort of owe you a lot"

"No it is we who owe you a debt -," She looked rather sad, and seeing Reader's expression she changed topic rather quickly, "I came to talk about your recent activities I am very happy to see you being more active and joining classes."

"Ohh, Thank you," Reader paused a bit before answering, "I used to be a student. . . before I came here so it's nice having something familiar."

Nahida looked at Reader with a beam and they continued to talk about the classes Reader took and whatever they taught about officially joining a darshan. As Reader turned around briefly they missed the glossy and contemplative look the Archon gave them.

They finally found their book and with the Archon (and Wanderer) in tow headed towards the Akademiya. Turns out they did not need to find the book the moment the professor saw the tiny Archon he went pale faced and Reader had to hide a smile. Wanderer was not so subtle as he loudly snickered.

.

.

.

It's been so long I hope you are doing okay I do miss you. . .

Reader folded the letter and looked out the window. The night skies here were clear no city lights and pollution that distorted the view. The stars shined without care, Reader felt a sudden chill and headed towards bed covering themselves in the blankets. They still looked out towards the sky.

"Miss. . . I guess I do miss you."

.

.

.

After everything was said and done Reader laid in the bed alone in the infirmary. There was a nurse and a doctor and whenever they came Reader would shake like a flame about to be put out easily by a gust of wind. They could not handle human interaction anymore. Once Darling came they were alone. Darling had cried and Reader had cried before an acolyte Came over and Reader looked at Darling horrified.

Why was Darling with those psychopaths did they not know what they were capable of? They might hurt Darling she needed to get away-

Reader must have gone into hysterics because soon the nurse came and injected them with something.

It was later told to them by the Dendro Archon herself in person that Darling was the creator. The cause of the hunt was because of Darling their childhood best friend.

Reader hugged themself.

Reader asked if they could speak to Darling but the Dendro Archon said the acolytes would have to follow them, they did not trust Reader in this condition.

As if they were not the psychopath who tried to kill an innocent person Reader thought.

Reader did not want to meet Darling if it meant having to meet the acolytes.

Reader was so so tired and just wanted to sleep.

.

.

.

Sumeru's climate was rather weird to Reader who never lived in a tropical climate before. It seemed to rain and while hot at the same time. Reader who grew up in the north much like Snezhnaya's climate was confused as it only rained in the cold autumns rarely do you get rain in summer but they adapted quickly.

Yet something felt off this particular day, they tried to distract themselves by doing dishes. Outside the rain was still going on but Reader noticed how eerily quiet there was no rustling of the winds or a single bird finding shelter in the trees. They quickly wiped their hands and strode towards their desk.

Reading was always a good distraction nothing beat reading while it rained, they remembered how they would sometimes turn on a raining asmr video as they read fanfics. The silly memory brought a smile to their face. But just as they saw down they heard a loud knock. Reader jumped up from their seat.

Their chest felt heavy. Unless it was Nahida, the Traveller or the Wanderer who in the early days delivered groceries to them, no one came to visit them they doubted it was a robber why bother knocking then? Maybe it was someone lost or seeking shelter from the rain both options sucked they did not want to entertain people yet, they wrung their hands together. When someone was in need they could not look away anymore.

They ran towards one of the dressers and bought a spare towel and scurried for the entrance door. With hurried and clumsy motions they opened the door and there-

Was Darling.

Darling looked. . . distraught, they were a mess from the last time they saw each other. Gone was the intricately styled hair and neat robes instead their hair was a mess and their clothes wrinkled. Even their face looked pale and it looked like Darling had not slept in days. Most notable was the lack of acolyte trailing after them, Reader almost expected to hear Zhongli's "I will have order!" followed by a meteorite striking Reader down and their cabin.

"You- Wait are you alright what is going on? Why are you alone? Did something happen?"

Darling still looked distraught and everything seemed really wrong, perhaps they should have been calmer when they asked their questions they did not need two people who were on the verge of panic.

"R-reader I-I," they paused before breathing in, "I bleed red," they said as if that single revelation could destroy them.

"Huh?" Reader replied dumbfounded

[kordeliiius]

A Cut From Every Cloth

Series of vintage photo mockups to commemorate Tarsier Studios turning 20 this year, featuring the main members of their pantheon in cultural clothing

Outfit descriptions and references below

Little Nightmares

Six - Japanese hakama, haori, and hair ornaments Mono - Swedish Dalarna suit Runaway - Embroidered Baju Melayu with headwrap

LittleBigPlanet Vita and Tearaway Unfolded

Sunshine - 19th-century Yorkshire dress with bonnet and lace shawl Atoi - Scottish tartan kilt and flat cap Sean - Regency-era suit with cybernetic motifs Flounder - Ringmaster uniform with Russian punk rock motifs Marianne - French folk dress with gothic accessories Otis - Appalachian denim overalls with decorative trim

The Stretchers, Statik, and Fists of Plastic

Red medic - Mexican serape wrap and sombrero Blue medic - Zoot suit with fedora and metallic accessories Dr. Ingen - Victorian pinstripe suit Hero - Hainanese bamboo dance costume

The City of Metronome

Ten - Irish-inspired coordination with walking hat and Galway boots New - Bai and Hmong Hoa-inspired outfit with traditional headdress and Hong Kong embroidery

[lorebird]

In which Ford struggles so badly to relate to other people that he wonders if he’s really human at all. The more isolated he becomes, the harder it is to reconcile with his own humanity.

[jadecantcreate]

in the whitchlite carinval. straight up “caking it.” and by “it”, haha, well. lets justr say. My chad

(some gideon exploration & little doodles)

[demonstenes]

In the darkness of the room I hear you gently breathing, And I think this is my doom Because my heart is leaving. When you softly scrape my neck With the harshness of your hair, I must double-triple-check That I am really aware, That it is not all a dream, And through accident or luck, However odd it may seem, In this bed we are both stuck. Not awaiting the next day I hope always here we stay.

Day 1: There's Only One Bed

(a sonnet written from Morph's pov)

@morpherine-events

[hydralune]

had a great time with the mystery event 👍

[gloomysoup]

i was just going thru some notes i have for brainstorming purposes and came across something i forgot ab

picture it w me, if you will:

no upside down modern au, alpha!eddie/omega!steve (bc apparently that's where my brain always goes)

steve is drunk at a party and either billy or tommy (also drunk) takes advantage of him. he ends up pregnant, kicked out, b/t wants nothing to do w any of it. steve's mom (bc we appreciate one good parent in this house) sends him money every month in exchange for pictures and updates of child w/o his dad's knowledge.

eddie meet him at some kind of organization event for underprivileged kids that he volunteers at bc he was that kid and knows how important they are. at first, he thinks steve is another volunteer & is absolutely enamored by him. but once he sees steve's kid run up to him, he decides to back off bc he assumes this means steve is in a relationship. he keeps seeing steve around and silently pines the whole time bc he's accepted that he'll never have him.

until eddie is at the library, hosting d&d. the party joins a few campaigns, and he gets to know them a little. he likes them, they're good kids (teenagers, technically). one day steve brings his toddler to the library bc they like to look thru the picture books on steve's days off. he also knows that the party goes to d&d that day and wants to say hi. when he leaves, eddie asks the party if they know him, and they explain that steve used to babysit them and drove them around a lot when they were in middle school. he uses this as an in w steve, resolved to just talk to him once and maybe be his friend.

he asks ab the kid's other parent simply for small talk purposes, wondering what they're like and why eddie's never seen them around. steve explains that he's a single parent; the kid's father was an asshole that didn't want to face the consequences of his actions.

cue eddie desperately doing everything possible to impress this child so he can prove to steve just how serious he is ab being w them. i like the think of it in the same vein as your moms new boyfriend trying to make you like him, even tho you already do and there's no need for him to try That Hard. but much more ridiculous and dramatic in true eddie munson fashion.

[ccbatman]

actually so sick how they made steph into a martyr for everything wrong with gotham when she lived her whole life trying to prove that she was everything right