#the assbutt himself will definitely try to blame me for it

[rohirric-hunter]

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[dickspeightjrs]

Do It For A Dollar (au / 1.5k words / college student!cas / actor!dean)

Prompt 18 from my ‘30 Destiel Prompts’ for @breathingdestiel

ao3 link

The warm heat of the New York summer clings to Castiel as he walks along to his favourite coffee shop. (It’s his favourite for one simple reason - it’s cheap and he’s a broke college student.)

Despite the air conditioning of the shop welcoming him in when he arrives, Castiel decides to take a seat under the awning outside. As a student, struggling to pay for college, and all the other costs that come with simply being alive, Castiel has to find entertainment in the smaller things in life. One such entertainment is buying a coffee and sitting, just watching people go by. 

It’s a beautiful day outside so there’s plenty of people for Castiel to flit his eyes over as they walk past, going about their days. He’ll likely never see them again and that thought alone fascinates him immensely. The idea that your life can seem so huge and overwhelming and yet there’s seven billion of them walking around the planet at this moment. Seven billion perspectives. 

Castiel’s eyes follow a bobbing balloon, clutched in the hand of a small child babbling to his mother. As the balloon disappears out of eye shot, Castiel’s focus is snapped to what looks like a couple of trailers pulling up and some guys with cameras jumping out. It looks as though they’re filming something across the street. 

That was something Castiel had found it odd getting used to about living in New York. There was always some movie or show being filmed around the city. If he didn’t see it himself, he always heard about it. He’s at college to study film after all. 

He squints against the beating sun, to try to get a better look. People watching is sure to get a whole lot better if the people he is watching are celebrities. 

A couple of minutes pass and Castiel is starting to lose hope that he’s actually going to see anything before he leaves. He’s just about to get up from his seat when he chances a glance across the street again. 

It seems something must be starting as there’s a rather hyper looking man holding a microphone and talking into a camera. The man must be introducing someone as he suddenly holds out an arm to bring someone into shot. 

Oh god, it’s Dean Winchester! That man is a legend in film and he’s only thirty. Castiel had been hoping that they’d study some Dean’s movies and performances in his classes. There is so emotion Dean can’t portray with intense accuracy and believability. His latest movie was a heart-wrenching story in which he played a monster hunter who fell in love with his angel best friend, only for them to be ripped away from each other in a scene that left Castiel breathless. 

The man with the microphone is now shouting things at people on the street, while Dean seems to just be standing next to him. Castiel can’t quite make out what the man is saying but members of the public seem to be bewildered and are walking away quickly from the mad man - Castiel can’t say he blames them. 

Both men suddenly pick up the pace, jogging down the street until they stop abruptly and a microphone gets put in another strangers’ face. This person looks confused until they do a double-take and spot Dean. Finally, Castiel thinks, everyone should know who Dean is. The stranger says something that makes Dean throw his head back with a belt of laughter. 

Gosh, that man is truly beautiful. Castiel doesn’t imagine they’ll come over to his side of the street and he is definitely much too nervous to pretend to casually cross the street as if he had no idea what is happening there. Instead, he decides that, if Dean is still around after they finish filming whatever this is, he’ll pluck up the courage to go over and say hi. (To brag about it in class tomorrow, if nothing else.)

“Would you kiss Dean Winchester for a dollar?!!?” Castiel hears the hyper man’s voice shout to the next unsuspecting member of the public. He snorts to himself. There’s no doubt, he would do a lot more with Dean for a lot less than a dollar, if given the chance. 

Whatever game the two men seem to be playing carries on for a while longer. Castiel sits and watches them film for a while, plans to leave forgotten in favour of watching Dean. 

Dean looks like a nice person. When the microphone man shouts at people and even pushes some away, Dean always makes sure to catch them before they leave and give them a hug or handshake. And Castiel can’t help it every time Dean laughs, he lets out a little laugh too, though he covers his mouth so the people enjoying their coffee around him don’t think he’s strange. 

Eventually, it looks like filming is winding down. The camera guy drops his camera from his shoulder and walks off back to one of the trailers. Now the spotlight is off him, the mad man’s energy has left him and he’s just taking in quiet tones with Dean. They must be saying goodbye because Dean claps a hand on the guy’s shoulder and shakes his hand before heading towards the trailers too. 

Castiel drinks the final drops of his coffee and Dean doesn’t return. Figuring he’s missed his chance to say hi to Dean (not that he’d have worked up the courage anyway), Castiel picks up his things and throws his coffee cup in the trash. At least, he got to see one of his favourite actors in the flesh, not many people can say that. Plus, he couldn’t stay for longer, he’d already spent too much on coffee to keep his seat outside, which wasn’t good for his student budget. 

Compared to the walk to the coffee shop earlier that day, the weather is now cooler under the setting sun and Castiel relishes the reprieve from the heat. His mind begins to wander to other things, mostly his new short film he’s got to work on for school. 

Just as he’s about to cross at the end of the street, he hears someone shout from behind him.

“Wait!” 

Castiel frowns and turns to quickly look over his shoulder, though he’s not actually expecting the person to be shouting to him.

Only, when his eyes fall onto the source of the voice, they immediately go wide in shock. 

Dean Winchester is standing in front of him, green eyes filled with… nerves?

“Uh,” Dean says, as if he wasn’t expecting Castiel to actually turn around, “I noticed you watching us film from across the street. And I guess I just wanted to say that you look cute when you’re laughing. You shouldn’t hide it.”

When Castiel’s brain finally decides to reboot itself, he replies. “I was only trying to hide it because I didn’t want to look like an idiot.” 

“I’m sure you could never do that, man.” Dean says, a small smile creeping at the corner of his mouth. 

Castiel blushes and looks down at the pavement. 

A comfortable, happy silence falls on them. 

But then, Castiel frowns when he sees Dean reach into his back pocket. He tilts his head in confusion.  The confusion doesn’t clear when Dean pulls out a dollar. 

Castiel gives Dean a questioning look. 

Dean clears his throat and holds out the dollar to Castiel. “Would you kiss Dean Winchester for a dollar?”

Castiel makes an unattractive snort of laughter at Dean’s gesture. He places his hand over Dean’s and gently pushes it away. 

“I don’t need a dollar to want to kiss you, Dean.” He whispers, finding courage from the kind eyes Dean is showing him. “Plus, it’s a little crowded on this street, and people are starting to watch.” He flicks his eyes around them where some people have started taking their phones out to film Dean Winchester talking to this random guy on the street. 

Dean deflates slightly under the attention. 

“But,” Castiel says and notices Dean brighten up again, “if you wanted to find somewhere more private and, perhaps, put that dollar towards dinner, maybe we could talk a little more about that kiss.” 

Dean’s smile could rival the beaming summer sun. 

*  *  *

Two years later, Billy Eichner (turns out shouty microphone guy had a name, who knew?) presents them with a gift at their wedding. 

Unbeknownst to them until that moment, some of the crew had noticed Dean run after Castiel on the day they met and they’d filmed what they could from afar. 

All their guests chuckle when they see Dean try to offer Castiel a dollar to kiss him. Dean groans and hides his face in Castiel’s neck. Castiel runs a comforting hand down Dean’s back. 

“In your defence, it was incredibly adorable.” Castiel says. 

“Ugh”, Dean groans, “that doesn’t help, Cas.” He lifts his head to look at Castiel in the eyes, pouting like a sulking child.

Castiel smiles at his grumpy husband, and places a soothing kiss to his lips. 

Yes. He definitely didn’t need a dollar to do that for the rest of his life. 

-

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it Ivana! Sorry it took so long, I had a whole other idea before this but scrapped it because I couldn’t make it work lmao

If you’re not familiar with ‘Billy On The Street’ go look it up on YouTube. It’s hilarious. 

-

TAGS: @eccentriccas @starrynightdeancas @credentiast @imbiowaresbitch @starclaire @cockleslovesdestiel @bend-me-shape-me @destielfactory @dea-stiel @wendeano @wingsandimpalas @aggressivedean @flowersforcas @chill-legilimens @pancakesofthelord @saltnhalo @caslikescoffeeandfreckles @assbuttboyfriends @jhoomwrites @breathingdestiel @simplymisha @thekingslover @aelysianmuse @2musiclover2 @cas-you-assbutt-dean-needs-you @50shadesofsubtext @destielle 

(let me know if you’d like to be added/removed from the tag list, we don’t have to be mutuals!)

[asherranceoftheheart]

Masks - JSE Drabble

Character/s: Chase Brody, Marvin the Magnificent Warnings: Angst, Anti Masterpost of my Stories AO3 edition of the Post

Tag List: @the-rampaige @iris-the-asparagus @sqxxddygremlin @awkward-bullshit @jaysflight @assbutt-of-the-readers  AN: Chase why u gotta be so rude @egopocalypse I blame you for how bad he got oh my god

Flick on… Flick off…

“How do you think you’re gonna die, Marv?” Blue eyes glowed with the light of the flame coming from the lighter that Chase had been playing with for the past minutes of silence he and his prisoner found themselves in.

The magician didn’t reply. He merely glowered at Chase, body heaving with the efforts he made earlier of trying to escape the chains that were wrapped around him. His eyes and hands began to glow green as he attempted to use his magic to break his bonds but a massive shock went through him; electric shocks shooting up and down his spine until he let his magic dissipate and he slumped in his position on the floor, body twitching and shaking occasionally from what it just suffered. Faint wheezing breaths escaped him and was the only sound that disturbed the silence of the room.

Chase just watched his squirming with a serene smile. The father patiently waited for the other man to lose all of his energy and didn’t react to any of the magician’s goading or taunts. He kept flicking the lighter on and off and the sharp sound grated itself against Marvin’s ears and felt like needles scratching inside his head. He watched with cold eyes as Marvin’s irritation started to give way to desperation and panic as the truth of his situation finally started to sink in.

“You know Marv, you’re right! Magic really is a neat trick. Thanks for teaching me the basics and giving me access to all of your books,” Chase’s smile widened into a toothy grin as his eyes sparkled with devious delight. “It was really enlightening.”

Marvin swallowed around the lump in his throat as Chase finally dropped all pretenses and the shield binding his magic down, and the older ego could see the corruption and dark magic practically oozing out of the pores of the other.

“Y-You were supposed to use that magic to help protect yourself from Him not join Him! Did you become another one of his loyal, mindless little puppe—” Marvin jerked back, heart hammering against his chest when Chase jumped off the table he had been sitting on and started walking towards him. “Stay away from m— Don’t touch me!”

He flinched away from Chase’s fingers as it reached out to his face. He closed his eyes tightly and waited for the pain.

Seconds passed by but…

Nothing.

“Huh. Anti was right. You really are a scaredy-cat without your mask.” Chase snickered.

Even without opening his eyes, Marvin could see the boyish grin lighting up the younger ego’s face. In the past, it would have been an endearing sight coming from his normally down brother but now…

A finger hooked itself underneath his mask. His breath hitched when Chase started taking off his last line of defense. His eyes snapped open and pleading turquoise eyes met cruelly glinting baby blue eyes.

“Please, no.” He begged, his pride and haughty mask completely tossed aside.

Chase merely smiled down at him and then plucked off the mask from his face. Marvin could feel his breath quickening and tears burning at the corner of his eyes the longer he felt the cold air sting the bare skin of his scarred face.

The younger man looked down at the mask, turning it over in his hands before dropping it to the ground where it made a loud clack. Chase slowly raised his feet on top of it as if taunting him, and Marvin immediately knew what he was about to do.

“Wait—!” Marvin screamed but Chase’s smile just gained a cruel edge to it before he stomped down on the magician’s most prized possession with all his strength.

It shattered within contact, making that loud cracking sound that broke a part of Marvin on the inside. He stared unseeingly at the shattered pieces of his mask.

“Oops. Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen,” But there was no hint of remorse or apology in Chase’s voice. There was only condescending amusement at seeing him break so easily. “I still don’t get why you’re so attached to that thing, Marv. It looks like it belongs to one of those cheap masks section in the grocery.”

He was numb. He couldn’t muster up any strength to make another sound.

“... You’re so pathetic. Breaking over such a little thing? No wonder Jack didn’t think much of you from the start,” Marvin could only watch as Chase grinded his foot against the remaining pieces of the mask until they turned to dust. “Hey Marv, you were about to ask me before if I joined Anti as one of his own right?”

A hand grabbed the unresponsive man’s chin and forced him to meet Chase’s eyes which had flickered over to a familiar green color.

“Yeah, you’re right. I did join him. But there’s one thing you got wrong though,” Chase tilted his head to the side and poked Marvin’s nose. “I’m loyal, sure. I’m also his puppet, there’s no doubt about that. But Anti prefers a puppet who could think for himself as his General, you know?”

Marvin felt his heart stop at those words. Jackie had been complaining about another magic using villain who called himself General was manipulating the minds of the people in the city with some of the darkest magics he has ever seen. They had some suspicions that the General was working together with Anti since the glitch didn’t seem to bothered by the villain infringing on his territory.

“You were the one who hurt Jackie to the point he was unconscious for an entire week.” It was whispered with the same hollowness that Marvin could feel in his heart. Horror and disgust tasted bitter in his tongue as he remembered Chase being so devastated at Jackie’s horrid injuries.

But that had all just been faked.

Chase giggled and allowed him to drop his chin back to his chest. The younger ego made a tiny spin in front of him  and practically chirped, “I’m quite the good actor, aren’t I?”

And he is… No one suspected that he would be completely on Anti’s side, not when he expressed complete disgust and hatred at the mere mention of the glitch in their presence. He kept their spirits up as much as he was also swamped with stress and having to fight back Anti’s attempts of taking the channel.

“Why?” was all Marvin could ask. He wanted to understand. He needed to understand.

Chase clasped his hands behind his back and tilted his head to the side.

“Why?” Chase mused, he paced in front of Marvin as he thought of his answer. “Well, I’m sick of being weak, Marvin. I’m sick of being treated like I’ll shatter any second now just because a small breeze passed through me. So when Anti came to me, telling me that he can teach me, can help me grow stronger, can stop me from feeling like utter shit every single day while the rest of you are off, hiding away from him while I’m trying to keep the channel up, I decided to take his offer.”

He crouched down so that they were face to face and the smile Chase had on earlier had faded away into a blank mask.

“While all of you weren’t there, he came and then he took. Simple and easy,” Chase simply said before straightening up again. “I’d love to chat more with you but I still got videos to edit, people to brainwash, and maybe a certain doctor to hunt down for my King.”

Marvin jerked at those words, he has to find a way to warn the others about Chase turning his back on them. They don’t even have a single idea—

“Oh and Marv? Feel free to try using your magic. This beautiful room was made by mine and my King’s ideas. I asked you how do you think you’re going to die earlier right? Well… Since you didn’t answer, I guess I should tell you now.” Chase patted Marvin’s hair before entangling the strands around his fingers and yanking the magician’s face up to meet his smiling eyes. “You’re going to die here, all alone and completely forgotten by everyone. Every second that you spend in this room, you’ll feel your magic being sapped out until you’re nothing but a cold, empty shell of yourself. You’ll die here, in the dark, and no matter how loud you scream or beg, nobody will come to save you. Not the hero, not the doc, not the mute, and most definitely, not the community.”

“Wait—! Chase, fuck—” The chains clattered as Marvin attempted to reach out to Chase when he started walking away. He didn’t even know why he was trying to get the other to reach reason not when he knows now just how tightly Anti’s strings strung around his little brother. “You don’t have to do this!”

“On the contrary, of course I do! Once you’re down, Jackie’s gonna be too busy trying to hunt outside for you to pay attention to what’s happening on the inside. Then I can take down the Doc and Jamie so that Jackster would be completely helpless.” Chase cheerily said, walking with a skip on his steps. “Once we got you guys down well… I can lay down the world on my King’s feet. Happy twenty-two million subscribers, right?”

The door opened and Chase paused before he completely exited the room. He looked back, his eyes completely green much like His at this point, and gave Marvin that happy smile that previously filled him with contentment and now only incited feelings of disgust at himself and the other, remorse for not seeing and preventing the other’s fall, and hopelessness when he sees the shadows grin victoriously behind Chase.

“Goodnight, big brother. You’ll see the others soon enough.”

With those last words, the door closed behind Chase and Marvin was swallowed up by the darkness.

[anarchist-puppet-on-strings]

Property Gets Branded

SUMMARY: He doesn’t think he’s ever felt so terrified in his entire life—there’s just something different about losing control of his magic and having an anxiety attack compared to staring such a monstrous beast in the eyes and knowing he’s to blame for this. His jaw dropped and found himself unable to make a noise, every muscle frozen up in sheer horror.

Oh, he is so fucked.

Tag list: @assbutt-of-the-readers (let me know if you want to be added)

Dim candlelight danced across the floor, the shadows of the dark warehouse pushing and recoiling. It’s an eerie sight but he supposed that's the energy ill rituals should give off.

Getting over the chain link fence surrounding the abandoned warehouse was difficult—especially in combat boots—but Marvin did it somehow. Here he is, standing inside a circle of lit black candles and jagged, angry looking runes with an ancient tome opened to the last few pages. Inside the circle were more runes drawn in charcoal but this time they were significantly smaller and more numerous than the ones outside the circle. It’s ominous and screamed danger. Not like he particularly cared.

“And now I need a blood sacrifice…” he muttered under his breath, before dogearring the page and setting the book down. He tiptoed around the candles and stood in the middle.

It said a ritual dagger would be preferable but all he had is a boxcutter, so he guessed the ritual had to deal with it. Why'd you even need a specific dagger to draw blood? Blood is blood, right?

Dragging the blade across his forearm hurt more than he thought, and he couldn't help but hiss through his grit teeth. He made sure to angle the cut away from his blue veins. He squeezed the flesh around the cut to milk some more blood out and watched as the red and cyan drops fell onto some of the runes.

He stepped back outside the circle and picked the book back up, ignoring the lingering ebb of pain on his arm.

“Next step: chant the incantation and pour as much magic as you can into the summoning spell. If you're lucky, a nearby demon will be attracted to the blood and magic and come visit you. The process could take anywhere from up to a minute to a few hours, so remain vigilant.” Marvin frowned deeply. So the demon had to choose to come to him based on his magic and blood? That’s… annoying.

The chant wasn't anything particularly difficult—if you counted Latin easy. His magic reacted to the language easily, he could feel it swelling in his veins and intertwining with his words. The atmosphere grew lighter, magic filling the empty warehouse and permeating the air. As soon as the last word fell from his lips, the magic flow halted abruptly and the silence returned heavier than before.

Seconds ticked by… seconds turned into a minute… a minute turned into several…

Every muscle in his body was tense, magic bristling. His breaths had to be forcefully regulated otherwise he might lose control of his magic in his worry. After several minutes, his shoulders slumped forward and he let out a shaky exhale.

He left the summoning ritual, staggering to a nearby wall and slumping against it, hands shoving his mask up and dragging down his face as he groaned loudly.

“This is fucking insane. What am I hoping to accomplish with this?”

Well, obviously he’s trying to find a demon that could remove his shitty curse. And now that he’s thinking about it, this was a very stupid idea. Literally every warning about magic had been ignored to do such a thing. Hell, he even snuck off without Spades and Clubs! Well, it’s a good thing nothing happened, because that meant he could bail before anything decided to show up.

He let a gentle gust of magic blow out the candles before he shoved them back into his bag. Scuffing some the runes off with his battered tennis shoes was harder than he thought but eventually it’s destroyed enough that some poor bastard couldn't recognize what had been going on.

A wave of dizziness washed over him, forcing him to tilt dangerously and squeeze his eyes shut. His stomach gurgled unhappily, a pang of hunger hitting his gut. Wrapping an arm around his middle, he let out a shaky exhale. Okay, next order of business is to get something to get his stomach to shut up. Then he’d… do whatever. He’ll cross that bridge once he gets to it.

Just as he recollected himself enough to begin to head out, the building’s energy shifted. What had been a neutral energy quickly turned into a violent buzzing—it kind of reminded him of angry bees. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and gooseflesh broke out on his arms. His magic curled up, clearly spooked by whatever is coming.

“L̷ȩa͢vi͞n̡g wi͠t̛hoút͏ me?”͏ A distorted, broken voice asked from behind him. Just hearing it was enough to make his magic cringe.

Marvin spun on his heel, eyes wild. Standing there, shrouded in nearly palpable static, is most certainly a demon. It’s definitely taller than him—probably twice as tall—with unproportional stick thin limbs. Its scaly black skin is tight around its bones, unnaturally long claws tapping the concrete inanely. Its mouth is crammed full of pink stained teeth, translucent black saliva dripping from its jaws and splattering on the ground. Neon green eyes littered the creature’s body, masses of the blinking welts smattering its cheeks and neck. It’s hunched over, spine bent like a quadruped animal. Its body glitched violently, pieces scattering into millions of pixels and magnetizing back together in a different order.

He doesn’t think he’s ever felt so terrified in his entire life—there’s just something different about losing control of his magic and having an anxiety attack compared to staring such a monstrous beast in the eyes and knowing he’s to blame for this. His jaw dropped and found himself unable to make a noise, every muscle frozen up in sheer horror.

Oh, he is so fucked.

“̶S͜ur͘p͟rise̕d ͢I sh͘owe̕d͏ up̀?”̨ It asked, stalking forward, knuckles supporting half its weight. It seemed more like a wolf circling its prey. “Ho͏ẃ c͏o҉u̢ld͏ ̸I ͢no̵t w̵it҉h̴ ̨suc̷h ̷p͟ower̷f̷u̸l ḿa͟gic͠ çàl̡l̷i̵ng t̴o ͢me͏?”҉

Marvin wished he could move—wished he could teleport back into the alleyway he called home—but he’s rooted to the spot.

It cocked its head at an inhuman angle, large eyes blinking owlishly. ”̡Wha̶t’s ͞w̸ro͜ng͞?̸ Ca̢t g̨ot your̨ ͡t͝ong͘ue͘?́”͞ Its grin spread at the joke, rows of jagged fangs exposed in some sick smile. “Oh͘! I͡s i̛t̶ ҉ho͞w ͡I͟ lo̸o͢k҉? Wo҉uld̀ you̕ li͝ke me ̀t̵o s̕híf́t̀ ̡in͜to s̵om̕et̡h̀ìn͟g ͜e̕asi͞e͟r t̕o ́l̷ook ͏a̕t?̵”̡

He swallowed, nearly choking on saliva before nodding hesitantly.

Suddenly its body tensed and froze up, glitched, and then burst into a cloud of pixels. When it reformed it no longer looked like an eldritch being—it’s a human.

Oh, great; it’s kinda hot.

It’s still taller than him—probably half a foot or so—with bones showing through pale skin. It had spiked dark green hair, neon green and black eyes, black plugs, pointed ears, a crooked nose, black claws, sharp teeth, a laceration that went from ear to ear and wept liquid static and code. It wore a black shirt, black ripped skinny jeans, black combat boots.

All in all, the definition of intimidating.

“B҉e͜t̢ter?̵”

Willing the heat in his face to go away, Marvin nodded.

It bared its teeth in another poor smile. “̨Gǫòd.̕ I̛t's͡ ̢ņot ́a̕s̨ f̴u̷ņ ̕ẃhen ͝yo͜u҉ c͝an҉'t str̛ug͘gle.”̛

Well fuck. That wasn't good.

It prowled forward—oh where the fuck did the knife come from—eyes predatory. “I ͝do h̵òp͜e͟ ́yơu̕ ҉s̷tru͢gg͝l҉e; th͢e st̛ronger ̸o͟nȩs̨ p̀ųt̢ u͢p ͢more̡ ͜of ̴a͜ f̧i̸g̨ht̕.͠”

“W-wait! I wanted to… I want to make a deal?” He choked out, backing up, magic flaring to life and resting in the very tips of his fingers. It’s stuck. Of all the fucking times—

It stopped in its tracks, head cocked at that same unnerving angle. “̶Òh rea͘l̸ly̡?̵ W̕h̨a̵t couļd y̶ou͡ ̨possi͝b͞ly g͟ai̷n̴ fr̶om t̛hat?̛”͢ The malicious glitter in its eyes sent shivers down his spine.

His throat is dry and the words were lodged under the lump in his throat. All of a sudden it’s hard to find the words and get them out.

“͝Hów͟ ̡a͘bóu��t͘ this?” It lunged forward, tackling him and pulling him to the ground. His startled shrieking swear only spurred the other on.

Marvin didn't even stand a chance against the demon.

The heel of its palm crushed his airway, knife pressed to his jugular. His hands came up to grasp at its wrist, clawing desperately at the exposed skin. He could feel skin catching under his nails, some kind of tingly, hot liquid caking the underside of his nails. Within mere seconds, the pressure on his neck had him choking and wheezing. Damn his fucking shitty ass lungs.

“I̷f̶ yo̶u mak͜e ̵a ̨d̢e͝al͢ ͏with ͞me, i͡t’́l̴l ͞be on ̧my ͞t͝e̷rms͢ o̶r̸ I͜’͘l͞l ͠r͠i̶p͞ ỳoúr s͞p͝in̴e̢ ̧out ̴y̡o̸u͠r̴ thr͞oa͝t͢. ͏G̵ot͢ ͏ìt?̶” It snarled, face inches from his own.

All he could do is writhe in panic. He didn't register the static from the demon’s neck wound dripping onto his body. Finally—finally—his magic overcame the block and surged forward, cyan fire sparking to life and clinging to the demon.

It howled, recoiling violently, and Marvin gasped when he felt the blade of the knife nick under his jaw and send warmth spilling down his neck. It wasn't enough to kill him… hopefully. It'd be just his luck it caught and tore an artery.

Seeing the demon trying to put out the fire would've normally made him laugh had he not been gasping. His lungs and throat burned and no amount of air was fixing it. He gently touched his hand to his neck, wincing at the soreness there. That’s definitely going to bruise.

“M͟ày̛b͠e͝ yo͜u ͏a̸re̵n̕'͟t͟ a͘s̸ st̴up̕id a͟s ̨y̡ơu loo͝k҉,̨”͏ it hissed. The burns the fire caused vanished with a single glitch.

Oh… that's quite unfortunate.

"I'l̴l̵ g͡iv̢e͟ ̨yo͢u͡ ̛óne ͡c͝h͟an҉c̴e,́" it snarled, circling around Marvin like a shark. "I'l͝l sp͠ár҉e ͜your l̴ife̕ ҉if̡ ̶ỳou s͡e̴l̡l y͞o͝ursel͟f ̴to͘ m̧e.̡"͏

The magician stiffened up, eyes tracking the demon's movements. He knew he couldn't take the beast on himself based on that recent display of power, but taking this deal could end up being a fate worse than death.

"Why... why should I? I wanted to make a deal with you," Marvin said, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice.

"I͜'͝m͞ n͝ot ͠a̕ d̵ȩm̀o̴n ̨wh̶o plays ̵fa͞ir,"͝ it growled, teeth bared. "Yòu táke̶ ̴this̀ ͘déal n̵o͡w or̴ I'l͝l b͞reak ͟y̵ou int̷ǫ p͢i͡e͏c͠es a͞nd ͝m͢ak͝e͝ you a͢cc̴e̡p̵t i̢t.͡"

He paled, heart thumping in his throat. So it’s either certain death or prolonged death? What a shitty situation he's gotten himself into. Why does this always happen to him? He already knew which one he’s going to choose but weighing his options... what’s stopping the demon from killing him when he made the deal? What did the demon want with him anyway?

"How do I know you're not just going to off me once I agree?" He asked warily, eyeing the monster suspiciously.

It scoffed. "Yo̸u͟ r͜eall͟y ̧th̴i̷nk ́I̶'m̧ ̷g̀o͡i͏ng thr͞ou̧g̴h́ a͘ll th̵i̶s͞ trouble t̀o͡ o͞ņly ̕k̷il҉l ҉yo͜u any͞w̧ay͝?̷ No̕,͜ ͢I͞'̷ll be k̡eepin̵g y̛ou ҉alįve ̵f̛or as͏ l͟ơn͡g͡ ͡as̴ ̴y͘óų ̸çoope̡ra͟t̕e͠. ͜Mage̛s ́a̧re rar҉e no͞wad̕ays͡, es҉pe̴c͘ially the ͟str̛on̵ger ̢ones͟." It cocked its head. "T̡hough͞ ͞I̴ ̷a̸m̴ qu̵i̷t̷e̢ c̸uri͢ous ab͏óu͟t̡ ̶tha̸t͏ ̸n͟asty ̧littļè ̡cuŕse͏ y̸ou ͝ha͏ve.̢"̡

His blood ran cold at the knowledge it knew about his curse. Maybe… maybe demons could just sense magic on others, especially since it’s a darker type of magic? He chewed his bottom lip, magic squirming inside him in discomfort. He didn't like the implications of that statement but...

"O-okay..." Marvin muttered, shoulders slumping forward in defeat. He could see its eyes glittering in triumph. It grinned, the teeth seeming to take up half his face.

"͠Very͟ ̧goo͠d.̨"̀

Like everything in his life, this had failed spectacularly. He couldn't even manage to summon a fair demon to make a deal with! All he got was an asshole with a god complex and absolutely nothing to help him remove his curse! And to top it all off, he sold himself to it to save whatever’s left of his shitty life. Fantastic. Absolutely perfect.

His cynical thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

"̢Y͞o͏u͟ stop̶ped͡ ̸pay͞ìn͢g ̸a͏tt̢en̛t̛ión.͢"̸

The demon stalked closer, its arm with the knife in hand swinging at its side. It walked with intent, drawing uncomfortably closer and closer to the vulnerable magician. Its eyes were... its eyes were shifting with static. And not just static either: it’s like those old technical difficulties screen that popped up and nearly blinded the viewer with bright, neon colors. A bar of yellow, cyan, green, magenta, red, and dark blue covered with a thin layer of static. They shifted, colors bouncing from one bar to the next, forcing his brain to try and keep track of the moving colors.

Thoughts started worming their way into his head. Just fleeting ones but they distracted him.

K͢e͟ep w͏atc̴hi͜n̕g the̛ c̡òl̨o͜rś. R̨el̨ax.͟ Y̧ou'͞r̡e̕ s̀a̶fe. N͟o ̷pai͝n.͡ W͢o͝n't hur̵t.

He blinked, struggling to keep his focus on the situation at hand.

Where were the thoughts... coming...

The eyes were... it's pretty. He's never seen anything so beautiful. He wanted to stare at them forever. He didn't know why he was panicking before. Why'd he need to be upset? He’s safe.

S̶ubmi͠t͏..́.̡..̀ ̀r̵e̡l̸ax̀.́..̴.. ̧giv͟e ͜up͞....̸.̢ ̛l͞e̴t ͠g̸o ̶of ͝y͡ou̶r m̢a͜gi̧c̶..... c͢oơp͘e͘ra̢te..̀.̡..̧ s̨ubm̴it͜..͢. rel̛ax̛..͜. ̨g̸i̷v̡e̴ u̵p̴..͝.͝ ́l͏e͞t ͘ģơ of y̸o͡ur̕ magi͞c͘.́.̷.̕ co͠ope҉r͡a͡t͝e..́.͢ su͞b̸m̀it,͏ ͡re̷lax,͏ ģive ̴up, ̶let̢ ͞g̨o of̵ y̶ou̕r ͘m̴agíc̵, ̕coo͠p̴èrate.͠ ̨Su͠bmit r͢e̢l͝a̢x ͟g͜iv̕e̶ u̵p l͝e̶t g̕o ́o͡f̷ yoùr mag̛ic͘ coopér͘at̛e̴ s͟u̕b͡mits҉u̕bmítg͞i̷v̧e͜up̴subm̕i̷t̵s͜u҉b̡mi͢t͟submitgive͏u̕p͜gi͜veup̶g̷i̸v̶e͟up͝—͡

Marvin was stuck standing still when the demon closed the gap between them.

"̛No͞t ̀so͜ ̧śt͠r̛on͘g͠ ̀a͞n͠ym͠oŕè, ͢eh?̛"͟ It asked, examining the magician curiously.

Everything felt... detached. Like he’s there but not mentally. The static curled around his consciousness like a blanket. He’s unable to move but the whispers in his head soothed his worry.

N͠ot͝hi̕n͢g ba͡d̸ ͟w͜i҉l̴l͘ h̕ap̶pen. ̕Yoư’͜re s̴afe. An̵ţį wil̸l p͟rot̕ec̢t͞ ̧ỳo̡u.̛

Weird... he didn't recognize that name but it had to be the demon's.

The creature—Anti—seemed to be satisfied with his work, a smug smile gracing his features. Seeing him smile made Marvin's lips twitch up, eyes wide and unfocused.

A hand came up and fingers ran carefully across his mask before they dipped down and stroked his cheek delicately.

"̸I ͢wońde͡r̛... ̧wha͠t'͜s u̵nd̕érne̵àt͠h͠ th͡a̕t ͠m̀as͏k ͟o̷f̕ ̶y͠our̛s̶? It̡ ͘l̴oo͜ks͜ ̧q̵u҉ite̛ rid͘icul҉oưs͜. I'́m s͢ur̴e you w̴o̧ul̸d̢n'̧t m͏i̶nd̶,̢ r̛i̸ght͡,͘ ki̶t̀t͟en͝?"͘ Anti's voice is sweet—saccharine.

He hummed uncomprehendingly, unfocused eyes staring forward dazedly.

The mask was removed and dropped to the ground, countless pieces shattering across the cement.

"҉I c̨a͏n̡ s͝e͘e͢ ̧w͝h̴y̷ you͠ wear̢ i͞t̕…҉̷ t̴hóse ́sc̶a͜rs ͏a͏r͘e hi͏deous̛.̧"͞ He remarked, eyes glittering with glee as he looked upon what Marvin tried so hard to hide from the world—and himself.

The voices couldn't calm him down now. Panic spread through his body like wildfire and he thrashed in whatever trance had him pinned down.

His mask is gone, his talisman is broken, he’s exposed, it’s staring at his face—

Anti dragged his claws over the scars with featherlight touches, tracing the edges and watching how the magician twitched and shuddered. The moment he let his claws sink in too deep and rip open skin, Marvin used the last of his mental power to surge through the now screaming voices and regain control.

A burst of magic and the demon was gone in a flurry of glitches. The sound of static appeared behind him and then something yanked on the hood of his cloak, sending him stumbling back into a body. An arm coiled around his waist and held him in place.

“́No̴ẃ t́h̶at̸ ̛y̵ou’r͠ȩ m̸y̶ ͞p̀r͝o̶per͏ty͡–”̧ Anti drawled nonchalantly—as if the previous hadn’t happened—trailing the knife down Marvin’s jawbone–“I͘’͘ve͢ ̀g͏òt͝ ҉to ̡b̀r͠a͞nd͝ you.”

His eyes went wide, heart stuttering to a stop. His magic instinctively swelled, prepared to prevent such a thing from happening only for the static in the air to grow denser, smothering it.

“A̶h̸ ah ah,̸ noǹe͜ ̡of͞ ͟t̢hat̢,̕” Anti chided. “̕Now̧…͟ wh͘ere to ͘p͘ut́ it͝…”̶ Marvin tensed at the hand that reached up and carresed his jawbone reverently. “Ḿaybe̸ yo̢úr ̸che̡e̸k?͠ O͢r...”̧ the hand trailed down, claws digging into the side of his neck, pricking skin. He couldn’t help the pitiful whimper that escaped him. “Yo̵ųr neck? ͢H͘m̵mm...”

The magic inside screamed, boiling to uncomfortable temperatures. His face was flushed so hot he’s worried he’d pass out before whatever the hell happened next.

“A̶ctu͏al̸ļy... I t͟h͢ink̵ ̀I’l̶l͜ m͏ake̴ i̡t̡ b̢i͝gg̛e̕r ̨t̨his̛ t̷i҉me̷. D͢o͜n’̵t̢ ̕w̛ant ̛a͏n͏y͡ ̧o̧th͞e͏r f̕u̕çks ̸to͏ưch̡i͢ng ẃhat̸’̨s͢ m̡i̶n͝e̷.”̸

His heart sank into his stomach.

It released him. “T͟ur͘n ̸a̛round̢. Ag̵a͞in͟s̢t the͝ w҉a͟ll͞.͝”

The magician obeyed, fearing what would happen if he didn’t obey. The stone wall is cool against his forehead. When he felt his cloak and shirt being shoved up, he reacted immediately, thrashing only to feel the knife being dug into his back. He stilled after that.

“̶Stay. ̨F̕uck̸i̕n̕g. ̛Still̢. ͘Or I͜’̴l͏l m̴ès̡s ̴up̡.”

His hands shook against the wall, every instinct in his brain screaming for him to move, to get away—

The first cut drew a startled gasp out of him, pain flaring up in the middle of his back. The next cut came relatively quickly, so he had to grit his teeth. Tiny noises slipped through his teeth, and within a few seconds his jaw is aching. Thankfully, it only lasted a minute or so. Once Anti was done(?), it retraced the lines, sinking the knife deeper into the original cuts. Tears that had been collecting in his eyes spilled down his cheeks and his jaw gave up, letting a pained sob out.

“͘Re͟alĺy?”͝ Anti asked, voice amused as it drug the knife down the previous cut. “҉Th͘ís isn’͜t͝ ̴e̶ven th̸at̷ bad. ͝Gųes̢s we’l̨l҉ ̧h̀av͢e̡ ͡t͜o ̷w̕or̢k on͘ ̸it̵.”̀

Guess we’ll have to work on it.

Dear gods, this was going to be a regular occurance. The thought made his eyes sting more.

He wasn’t sure how long this process lasted but then the knife is removed, and he sagged forward, choked gasps and sobs breaking the silence. The wounds throbbed and he cried out when Anti traced the lines, smearing warmth in its wake. It’s letters.

ANTI.

“̴T͟h҉er͘e̡ w̴e͞ g̨o. ͡M͡u̷ch b̡ette̡r͡, ͞hm͟m?́”̕

Fingers curled in his hair, tugging his head uncomfortably to the side. Bloodied fingers stroked his cheek tenderly, making him cringe. Seeing Anti suck his blood off its fingers only made his empty stomach roil.

“Q͡uit̴e̡ ̨t҉h̵e͟ ͠p͢re҉t͟t̸y ̀do͞ll̴.̢..”̶ the demon murmured, clearly lost in thought. Marvin wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear that but his cheeks flushed, and he cursed himself for getting flustered over such a creepy comment. “D͜on̴’t q͠u̶i͡tę k̢n̢ow͘ wh̢at́ ͟I͢’l̸l dò wi̡t̛h ̸yo̷u y҉et̢, bu̷t͘ ̸I͝’̕m ͠su͠r̷e ̛I’͝l̶l̢ ̴f͏ind͘ a pur͡po̸se fo͝r ỳou̴ ̧soo̸n.”

That look…. Marvin’s seen that look from people he’s met on the streets. Just like always, it made his insides twist.

Anti blinked, mind coming back to reality. It withdrew its hand and backed away. “Wel͟l,̀ ̢I͞ neęd͢ to ͜b̵e g͞oin͞g҉. I ͏e̡x͞pect̨ ͝yoư t̕o ̡lea͡rn͜ ̸how͢ to lis͠t͜éń b̵e̴tter̷ n͠ext̴ t̛i̵me.͡“͟ ͞The air warped, its figure glitching violently before disappearing.

The static lifted as soon as it had come and the oppressive atmosphere shifted back into its neutral one.

He’s alone.

His legs shook violently and he slid down the wall, the remains of his mask littering the ground around him, cursing colorfully when the wall rubbed the fabrics into his wounds.

What the fuck happened. What the fuck happened? Did he… did he really make a deal with a demon...? And not fucking get his curse removed? Gods, he truly is stupider than he thought.

For the first time in a long time, Marvin bowed his head and cried.