#the least cirrus-like cirrus perhaps?

[cleverreports]

We report today, again, like all of the days before and the days to come. It is perhaps absurd, but we did not realise things would keep happening. We knew, certainly, but we did not intimately understand about how the sun keeps rising, and we are alive, and the wind is strong.

[p1nkcanoe]

thinking about swiss getting in trouble for all the times he didn’t play his guitar on tour, all the times he didn’t stay on his platform like he should’ve, all of the times he went off and distracted his packmates during songs simply because he couldn’t control himself, and in turn being ordered to go to the practice room one afternoon and play. just play. prove he can work like the loyal ghoul he was summoned to be. so he does. and he's not happy about it, but he does.

but I’m also thinking about the others catching wind of his punishment and perhaps making it their mission to let him know just how distracting he can be.

swiss is trying so hard to practice. he wants to finish the set and go back to the den, pester cirrus while she reads or go search out whatever odd task mountain is busied with, but no matter how far he gets into a song he can’t help but notice his packmates in the corner of his eye as they sneak into the practice room with him. they come one by one and leave before the next enters, playing coy as they pretend to poke at their own instruments or adjust a sparkling tab. the first one catches him off guard—he’s about to be through the bridge in rats when long fingers wrap around his tummy from behind. they poke and prod at the soft flesh below his shirt, grabbing and kneading it in their palms before dragging upwards to grope at his chest, and he's about to stop playing when rain hooks his chin over the top of his shoulder and tells him to "keep going." then only a minute or two later he's finished with the song and rain is slinking out of the practice room before he can ask him what he could have wanted with him.

then he's cruising through absolution when aurora enters with cumulus trailing behind her. they come bounding in a pair to the front of the room, twirling and dancing with their fingers intertwined as swiss plays, and he can't help but smile as cumulus hooks an arm around her waist and dips her nearly to the floorboards, pulls her back up onto her feet and twirls her in a circle. aurora lets go of her hand. only to drop to her knees in front of the busy multi ghoul and wrap her tiny hands firmly around the backs of his thighs. he startles when she grabs his ass but doesn't stop playing. never misses a beat (or at least any that they notice). cumulus dances and twirls around the pair of them, acting oblivious to aurora as she puts on a show of humping the air and pulling at his thighs in manners that are comically obscene. swiss wants to laugh, he really does, but he also really needs to get through with the set first... before his papa comes back to check on his progress... again.

the girls dance and laugh. cumulus shimmies against his right shoulder and aurora pulls on his leg so insistently that swiss contemplates knocking her in the forehead with the body of his guitar. but then just like rain had, the two of them are gone by the time he finishes the last note of the song- the door shut behind them.

more ghouls pay him visits as he progresses. mountain shows up during year zero just to obnoxiously pluck at the strings of his instrument, phantom slinks in simply to pester him, and even cirrus makes a show during mary on a cross of wriggling around on the floor like a worm in the dirt.

he's about to be done with it all (thank the gods below) when the last ghoul saunters in. he's jamming through square hammer when dew sidles up to him, and there's no games, no teasing to his distraction. swiss gasps over the chorus, choking on his saliva suddenly, when dew presses his hard-on into his ass and snakes an arm between their bodies and between swiss' legs. he grabs him by his cock firmly and with his entire hand, squeezes and gropes at his soft length like he's trying to claw at it through the fabric. swiss hears the ugly noise that screams from his instrument before he realizes that his fingers have stopped working-- his entire brain has stopped working-- and dew is unrelenting. swiss feels his knees buckle when dew awkwardly reaches around his front with his free hand to grapple at his balls. and now, with his entire package in his hands, he can't possibly finish the last song.

"what the hell, dew?" he says, exasperated, and tries to get out of his grasp. but dew is stronger than he looks. he just grips him harder until swiss is sucking air between his teeth at the pleasurable pressure (and hardening up under his palms) and begins the exaggerated gesture of pretending to jack him off beneath his guitar.

finally, when swiss manages to break free from him, does dew speak.

"you fucked up the song, asshole."

swiss can only gawk as he releases him and leaves the practice room without looking back.

---

message recieved. loud and clear:

don't fuck with your packmates while they're working.

[thelampisaflashlight]

Dress Down

[Based on this ask I sent @iamthecomet , Rain is more than a little obsessed with the way Dew is dressed for their ghouls night out at the bar.] Below the cut.

If there's one thing Aether's good at, it's finding a decent bar in the middle of nowhere; He's like a bloodhound for booze, if such a thing could exist, and, while any place would do given how long it has been since the pack has gotten to go out in full force like this, he doesn't settle for anything less than the best.

"Best" being pretty much anywhere that can tolerate their loud, obnoxious asses for more than an hour before trying to kick them out.

Admittedly, though, this outing isn't exactly a celebratory one -some of them might be celebrating, but if they are, they won't dare to say it out loud- really, it's more of a means of destressing and perhaps unpacking a bit of the events that unfolded while they were on tour.

Sister Imperator's death, Copia stepping down from the title of Papa and stepping up to take his mother's place as Frater Imperator... Really, it's a mixed bag of emotions all around, and none of them are quite sure how to feel about, well... everything.

Least of all the older, more seasoned ghouls, who had already witnessed what "retirement" had meant for the previous Papas, though they were mostly hopeful that Copia would not meet the same fate as his predecessors now that his new position was solidified.

Mountain, for example, had breathed a sigh of relief seeing the placard on his office door change from Papa IV to Frater Imperator and not "Papa V", not quite ready to accept life under new leadership just yet.

Now nursing a bottle of lager, the earth ghoul has pressed himself into the corner of the cozy, red pleather bench he's sharing with Cumulus and Cirrus, looking more flushed in the face than expected after only one drink, but, despite appearances, the man's always been a lightweight.

On the opposite side, Swiss is talking to Aeon and Aurora in an animated fashion, hands gesturing wildly as he tells some tall tale or another that's probably only a hair away from the truth, and Dew can't help but roll his eyes when he sees the younger quintessence ghoul looking at the multi ghoul all doe-eyed, thoroughly enraptured by his story.

Personally, Dew's not really in the mood to be out on the town tonight, like Mountain, he's thinking a bit too much about what's to come, too stuck in his head about the what ifs and when's of the situation to really relax and enjoy himself.

He's trying though; Holding a sweaty glass of whatever cheap piss the bar had on tap, because- "No, Aeth, I'm not doing shots with you after what happened last time!"- he'd rather drink something closer to water than relive that experience again, he takes little sips, cringing at the bitter taste.

He's never been much of a beer drinker, he used to be, kind of, he was really more of a "anything that gets me wasted" drinker, but he's toned it down over the last couple of years to the point that certain types of alcohol just don't appeal to him at all anymore, beer least of all.

He gives a bigger sip and sticks his tongue out, hearing Swiss laughing at him from the booth, flipping him off when he sees him whisper the word "princess" under his breath.

"You should get something you'll actually like instead of trying to impress literally no one by drinking shitty beer." Aether says, slipping the glass from his palm and downing it himself, "Eugh, at least something better than this swill... Try a cocktail or something."

Dew grimaces, "Fuck no, I feel sick just smelling anything sweet anymore, plus I don't want a nasty hangover tomorrow..."

"Just switch it up, yeah?" Aether suggests, then whispers, "If you just want a fancy soda, I won't tell anyone else otherwise... I know it's hard not to drink when everyone else is."

"I appreciate that..." Dew says, giving his friend a genuine smile, "I'm okay drinking tonight, since it's a special occasion, kind of, just gonna take it easy though, ya know?"

Aether nods and claps him on the shoulder once before heading off to join the others, scooting a chair over to the table so he doesn't have to take a seat away from them.

Dew considers his options.

He could just order a fancy soda or a mocktail, Hell, the bar even had that weird canned water that looks like a tallboy can of beer, but he keeps the idea in his pocket for later, and instead orders himself the sweetest looking glass of rosé he can find on the drink menu.

He sips it slowly and lets the liquid coat his tongue.

Sitting at the bar with his drink, Dew can't help but feel like a bit of wallflower; Everyone else around him seems to be having a good time, and even went through the trouble of dressing up for the occasion and he's just...

Dew looks down at his outfit, at his lightly stained hoodie, his black skinny jeans with holes in the knees -and another, smaller one near his crotch that is subtly hidden by the black of his boxers beneath- that have seen better days, and his ratty Converse sneakers with dark smudges on the white rubber tips.

He doesn't exactly scream fashion when compared to Swiss, who's wearing a borderline gaudy silk shirt and tight slacks that leave little to the imagination, or Cirrus, who is absolutely rocking a very low cut shirt, braless, and jeans that could very well just be painted on with how closely they hug her curves...

...Or Rain, who took two whole hours to get ready and now looks like the goth nightmare queen of his fucking dreams.

Rain, who has been cozying up to the bartender for the last hour or so, giggling and batting his long lashes at her in an incredibly unsubtle way that is certainly NOT making Dew jealous whatsoever and-

"Aw, fuck."

Dew curses as a bit of his wine sloshes out onto his pant leg, not enough to lose his drink entirely, but enough for him to feel the splash of it against his thigh as it all seems to hit exactly where the rip in his pants is.

Standing up almost urgently, Dew makes his way to the bathroom in hopes of blotting up the mess before it can trickle down his leg and make it look like he pissed himself, but, as soon as he manages to slip inside and shut the door... he hears it open behind him just as quickly.

"You alright?" Rain asks, looking less concerned and more... Dew isn't really sure how to place the expression on the water ghoul's face.

Between his glamour and the make-up obscuring his familiar features, Dew's a little at a loss for what the face he could be making could mean, but the tone...

"I'm fine."

"Good."

Rain closes the door behind them and locks it in one swift motion, briefly walking over to examine the stalls before returning to Dew and-

"Rainy, what are you doing-"

-dropping onto his knees in front of him.

"You've been driving me crazy all night, baby." Rain purrs, running a hand down both his legs, pressing a kiss to his knee, "Dressed up all cute..."

Dew feels a heat creeping up over his face.

"Me? Cute? What, no, I'm..." Dew flusters, "You're the one that's driving ME crazy, Rainy. Look at you."

"Yeah?" Rain coos, "You like what you see?"

He leans back for a moment, putting himself on full display; The flouncy white shirt with the ruffled sleeves, the black corset, the lacy skirt rucked up to expose the black and white socks underneath, and Satanas, the heels...

Rain looks sinfully gorgeous, and here he is, on his knees, telling Dew that HE looks cute, no, there's just no way-

"Can I taste you, Gumdrop?" he asks, leaning in to squish his face against the wet patch on his inner thigh, inhaling deeply, "Please?"

What kind of man would Dew be to deny someone as pretty as Rain what he wants?

"O-Okay..." he whispers, and no sooner do the words leave his mouth, than does Rain's latch onto him, nibbling at him through the whole in his jeans, "Rainy!"

"Shhh..." Rain shushes him, "You have to be quiet, okay, sweetheart? Or do you want the whole bar to hear you, hm? Make a big scene of the door being locked and have them wondering what's happening in here..."

Dew groans as Rain moves to undo his zipper.

"You're so sensitive, you know that?" he teases, "I haven't even gotten my mouth on you properly and you're already ready to give me everything, aren't you?"

"Can't help it...You're just so... so beautiful..." Dew whines as Rain eases his pants and underwear down just enough to expose his ass -and disappointingly not his cock- to the cool air of the bathroom- "Rainy-"

"Said I wanted to taste you, didn't say which part~" Rain says, standing smoothly and bullying Dew up against the counter between the sinks, he stumbles a bit as the other tugs his jeans down further and flushes when the other drags him up with an almost comical, "Upsie-daisy."

Dew feels his back press into the mirror behind him as Rain forces his legs up in the air, and has to slap his hands down on the marble to keep himself from sliding down, "Really, this is-"

He doesn't quite get to finish his sentence before Rain dives in, earning a gurgled moan from Dew as he feels Rain's clever tongue lap at his hole.

"Not fair, Rain, I should be-"

Rain pauses, breathing hot, wet air onto his skin, chuckling, "You should be what? The one fucking me?"

Dew sinks into his hood a bit, mumbling, "Y-Yeah..."

"Hm... Let me think about it..." Rain pretends to consider Dew's request, then with a happy chirp, dismisses the idea entirely, "No, sorry, don't think so, love. Maybe later, but you're not the one who paid off the bartender to make people use the other restroom for the next hour."

"You d-did that...?" if Dew wasn't blushing before, he was certainly pinker than his rosé now, "That means-"

Rain leans over top of him, coming nose to nose with the ghoul on the counter, "She knows I'm fucking you? Yeah."

"Told her you were gonna spill your drink on yourself as an excuse to sneak into the bathroom with me in case she didn't believe me, and then you just happened to pour just a liiiittle bit of wine on your pants and run off..." he says, rubbing their faces together lightly as Dew feels Rain's long fingers tickle his sides, "...Just a tiny wave of my hand and just like that, you're all mine."

"You-"

"So if you think I'm going to let you top after all the effort I went through putting together this outfit and locking this place down, you are sorely mistake, mon cheri~"

"Oh no..." is all Dew manages to say before Rain sets about taking him apart with his mouth again.

It's not long before he's moved again, pressed against the wall, legs spread with his pants pulled down awkwardly to give Rain enough access to slam inside of him as he holds onto him for fear he might tumble onto the floor, unable to bring his legs together to wrap them around Rain's lithe form thanks to his strong arms holding them apart.

Rain is relentless as he pounds into him, and Dew feels the back of his head bump into the tile with every other motion, until Rain shows mercy and hooks one of his legs over his hip and cushions the blow with his hand.

It's a difficult position to maintain, and Dew's pretty sure aside from Rain's impressive grip strength, the other thing keeping him aloft right now is his dick, and something about that has Dew's brain going more than a little screwy.

He's entirely unprepared for when Rain cums inside of him, shockingly cold and a reminder that, right, even in his glamour, Rain's still a water ghoul, and his seed is nothing if not colder than the depths of Hell's frozen lake.

Dew shivers and latches onto Rain, curling against him in a desperate search for warmth, and he finds it in the gentle kisses Rain gives the side of his face.

"Come on, baby, your turn, your turn, Dewdrop."

It's hardly the most impressive orgasm he's ever had, but it's certainly one of the gentlest, and as he dully becomes aware of how he's managed to cum so hard he's painted the front of Rain's silly, flouncy blouse, he can't help but laugh a little.

"You're going to get punished for that later..." Rain clicks his tongue, "For now... gimme your hoodie."

"Can't..."

"Oh? Why not?"

Dew looks up at him coyly, "'m not wearing anything underneath it..."

Rain makes a hurt sound in the back of his throat, "If I'd known that, I would have insisted you took it off first... Oh well, let's see..."

He slides his phone out of his shirt, checking the time, "We still have another fifteen minutes..."

"Rain?"

"How about I give you your punishment now?"

"O-Oh-"

.

.

.

"Geezus, Froggy, you doin' okay, you keep looking like you're gonna fall off the sidewalk the way you're moving..." Aether sighs, pulling Dew upright as the shorter ghoul lurches forward for the third time on their walk home -none of the local cabs would take them... shocker- "I thought you weren't going to drink that much tonight?"

"Didn't..." Dew cringes, pinching his eyes shut and stopping entirely for a moment before regaining his composure, "...Remind me to get rid of these pants..."

Aether furrows his brow, then whispers, "Did you fucking piss yourself or-"

"No!" Dew shouts, drawing the sluggish attention of their drunken friends and one all too pleased looking water ghoul, lowering his voice, "No... It's just... Rain... Inside... and it's..."

The quintessence ghoul looks between Dew's flushed face and Rain's smug grin and puts two and two together easily, "While we were at the bar-"

"No, while we were walking home just now- Yes at the fucking bar!" Dew hisses, "...Twice."

"Rain!" Aether calls over to the ghoul, earning a panicked, squeaky, "Whatareyoudoing-" from Dew before the ghoul motions for him to come over and, "Take some responsibility and carry your boy home, will ya??"

And that's how Dew finds himself hoisted up onto Rain's back -thankfully not fully up onto his shoulders- and, in a way, getting to be on "top" for the first time that evening.

Swiss, despite being piss drunk, takes time out of his busy schedule -trying to climb every light post they pass by- to walk beside them and tease him about just that, albeit none the wiser to the events that unfolded in the bathroom.

[gravehags]

dream (a little dream of me)

Pairing: Aether x f!Reader

Rating: Explicit, 18+ ONLY MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Tags: somnophilia (with consent), dry humping, Copia briefly cockblocking, plus size reader, quintessence magic

Words: 1,664

Summary: It's been a long, successful day for you. Perhaps a nighttime visit from a certain Quintessence ghoul will be the cherry on top.

a/n: Hooray for the first fun thing I've written in like a whole ass month jfc!! Once again, a concept that came to me in a dream. A Satanic portent if you will. I am the pythia of the Ghost ministry. All my cirrus x aether x reader lovers...i hope you enjoy that ending lmao

divider by @ghuleh-recs

You don’t remember the last time you were this tired.

You’re already stripping as you push the door to your quarters open, dropping garments on the floor. Making your way into the room, you groan as you remove your bra and fling it somewhere where you think it knocks something over but you’re too exhausted to care. Leaning against the wall you unlace your boots and shimmy out of your trousers and underwear until you’re standing in the middle of the room stark naked and staring lovingly at your bed. You know you should shower, should remove your makeup at the very least but the soft covers of your duvet and fluffy pillows call to you like a siren’s song. Sathanas, what a day. You spent most of it cleaning the chapels and attending Papa Copia at mass, your most favorite task. Your devotion to the Olde One ran true, and attending services always moved you deeply whether you were participating or merely a devout spectator. Vaguely you recall something about Aether texting you earlier in the day, asking you to check in with him when you got back to your room so you fumble around in the pockets of your discarded pants for your phone.

I’m here, very sleepy. Coming over?

You think of the towering form of the ghoul, the way his strong arms encircle you when you bury your face into his chest. The rumble of purrs that come out of him when you rub your hands along his broad back. The sounds you can tease out of him when he’s at his most vulnerable, large hands gripping at your hips and his wonderfully thick cock pulsing inside you. Your lips curl up in a soft grin as you await his response, a rush of warmth spreading from your belly to the apex of your thighs. Before it can truly grow into anything more, your brain reminds you how exhausted you are and you feel the edges of your vision start to blur with the need for sleep. You hesitate only a moment before typing out an additional text.

Gonna go to bed. If you want me you can have me…

He responds right away and you nearly laugh at his eagerness.

On my way over right now

Walking over to your bed with a smile, you plug in your phone to the charger, fling back the covers and crawl in, sighing deeply when your head hits the pillows. The cool sheets and comforting weight of your blankets immediately sets you at ease and before you know it, your heavy eyelids shut and you drift off to sleep.

Twenty minutes have passed since you sent Aether the suggestive text and he is finally at your room after being waylaid by Copia in the hall who, in his peculiar way, began complimenting you and your devotion during the service that day. The conversation went on for far longer than Aether wanted, but finally Copia let him go with a wink and a little elbow-shove about how you’re probably waiting for him. Aether tried not to look too eager when he walked away from Papa, but Copia looked at his retreating back with a suggestive eyebrow waggle all the same. When he opens your door, he’s met with dim lighting and nearly trips on your discarded items of clothing strewn in a trail from the entryway. He smiles fondly when he spies you, bundled up in your blanket and softly snoring, and he immediately begins to strip. When he’s fully nude, he slips in beside you, groaning at the cocoon of warmth you’ve created. He wraps an arm around you and pulls you flush against him, a purr rumbling in his chest when your naked flesh meets his. He gently leans in and nuzzles your hair: you smell like the incense Papa uses in his masses and the unique, sweet, intoxicating scent he’s come to know as you. Unconsciously, his hips shift forward and his half-hard cock brushes against the curve of your ass. You’re so kind, so good to him, always giving and loving. He thinks about the text you sent earlier and a flood of warmth begins to rush through his veins.

If you want me you can have me

He can’t lie, he’s often thought about having you like this. Fucking against you or into you as you sleep, watching you shift and moan even through the haze of slumber. Slowly, he slides one of his large hands up your side, squeezing the meat of your hip briefly before moving over your belly and up to your breasts. When he cups one, thumb brushing over the nipple, you make a small noise in your sleep and shift your hips backwards against him, causing him to groan. He lowers his lips to your shoulder and begins mouthing at the warm skin there, tongue tracing up the curve of your neck as he gently pinches your now hardened nipple between his thumb and forefinger. His cock, now profusely leaking precum onto your skin, ruts against you slowly, every roll of his hips in sync with the movement of his mouth on your flesh. He pulls you closer, if that’s even possible, and with steady, firm movements begins to fuck himself against you. His breath stirs the hairs strewn around the side of your face and his hand abandons your breast to grip at your hip.

“So good for me, even in sleep,” he growls lowly, face buried in your neck. “So fucking soft.”

You’re providing so much pleasure for him, he thinks, but receiving none in return. That simply won’t do. With his hand wrapping around your body to cup the curve of your belly he concentrates his quintessence on your sweet cunt, making you feel the presence of his cock within you even as he ruts against you. He’s sure he’s woken you from your slumber when you let out a long, low moan but your eyes remain shut even as your breathing becomes unsteady. With every thrust, every drag of his cock along your skin he imagines being inside you, stretching you just how you like, the way you clench so tightly around him. He visualizes hitting that glorious sweet spot within you and when he slides his hand down to the juncture of your thighs, he moans loudly when he finds you sopping wet. Even as his phantom cock thrusts inside of you, he toys with your swollen clit, making you whimper and your eyes dart around behind your eyelids. Your breathing comes out in soft pants punctuated with beautiful little mewls as he presses his forehead to the back of your head, concentrating on your softness as his hips begin to jerk forward with more fervor. 

“Fuck, my love,” he groans, fingers sliding through your slick to rub at you, “fuck, you’re perfect. So perfect just - ah! - just for me. My sweet girl.”

He imagines how you must feel, mind drifting through subconscious thoughts even as you’re filled with the stretch of him. He wonders what you dream of, if it’s of him. His thrusts become shorter and faster as you tip your head back against him, mouth hanging open. With a gasp, you moan one word with your back arching, hips bucking into his touch.

“Aether!”

It’s all he needs to drive him over the edge and suddenly he’s coming, hard, all over your ass and lower back. He barely notices that you’re stirring, cheeks flushed and eyes blearily looking at your surroundings as he fucks himself into overstimulation against you. He only stops when your hand shifts behind you and grabs at his hips, stilling him. Sweat slides down his forehead as his seed cools on your skin and you hold him flush against you.

“I’m sorry,” he pants quietly, hoarsely, “I’m sorry I woke you.”

“Mmmm don’t be,” you say sleepily, pushing your own hips back to brush against his softening cock. “That was gorgeous.”

He smiles against your hair and tells you not to move as he gets out of bed and heads to your small bathroom. After a moment he returns with a warm, damp washcloth and tends to the mess he’s left on your skin. Half of it has slid off you and onto the sheets - a problem for tomorrow.

“Thank you,” you murmur as he discards the cloth in your hamper. Reaching out, you make a needy grabby hand gesture, beckoning him back to bed. When he slides back in alongside you, you roll over to face him.

“How’d you do that?” you say with a yawn, sleep clearly falling upon you once more.

“Hmm?”

“How were you inside me while…not being inside me? That was…wow.”

“Ah,” he says, leaning forward to kiss your forehead, “quintessence magic.”

You waggle your eyebrows suggestively and reach up to stroke the base of his horn while his tail pulls you closer under the covers until you’re nestled against his chest.

“Felt amazing,” you whisper, fingers carding through his chest hair, “like being fucked on a cloud. You were so close but still far away. Weird feeling.”

“But you liked it?” Aether asks, looking down on you with his brow furrowed.

“Mmm fuck yes.”

“You’re not upset with me?”

“Love, the only thing I’m upset about is you not using that magic earlier. You were holding out on me.”

Your eyes are shut but your lips are curled into a mischievous smile and he strokes your hair.

“I’ve got all kinds of tricks up my sleeve. Maybe Cirrus and I will show you…”

You make one last noise - a mix of intrigue and contentment - before sleep overtakes you once more. Aether holds you close, the spade of his tail drifting up and down your leg under the covers.

Before his own eyes slide shut, he reminds himself to thank Papa for including you in his mass today. Maybe he could tire you out more often.

[lambic-pentameter]

@sebastianmercier i got u dude

Cirrus and Madala Bashir have been sitting, watching their uncle through the window, for the past 10 minutes at least.

There had been…rumors…among their cousins the cardassian that uncle Julian brought home wasn’t exclusively a friend.

“I don’t see it.” Cirrus said. Cirrus has never been in a romantic relationship (most kids haven’t) and never planned to, so maybe they’re not the best judge.

“I do.” Madala has also never been in a romantic relationship, but many of her friends have (occasionally with each other. Dating in a group got messy very quick).

“They’re just sitting at a table and talking. Does uncle Julian even like men?”

“‘Does uncle Julian like men’ have you even met him before.”

“Look, I don’t know! I don’t pay attention to that stuff.”

“Yeah, you’re too busy playing games on your padd.”

“It’s called coding—” Cirrus is cut off by Madala elbowing them in the torso.

“Ow! What the heck?”

“Look.”

Uncle Julian takes the cardassian’s (His name is Garak, right? Cirrus doesn’t remember) hands into his own, leaning closer to his face.

“Can you hear what they’re saying?” Cirrus whispers, despite the fact they’re behind a window and several meters away.

Madala presses her ear to the window.

“Nope.”

Cirrus sighs. “Darn you, Federation provided reinforced transparent aluminum they give to all Starfleet families.”

“No they don’t.”

“What?”

“No, mom’s just paranoid.”

“But that’s what she told me…”

“You know she doesn’t like uncle Julian being in Starfleet, she’s worried about our safety.”

“I don’t think the Romulans or whatever will care about two random shut-in kids.”

“You’d be surprised. My friend had to move out to Vulcan.”

“Really?”

Madala focuses back on the task at hand, “Maybe we can send Krishen out. She’s young enough to spy and play innocent.”

“Maybe…oh shoot, they’re looking at us!”

The two children duck down from the window, not wanting their intel gathering to be interrupted.

————

“Dear?”

“Yes, Elim?”

“I believe your—what’s it called again? Your ‘niblings’ are trying to spy on us.”

Julian turns to the window Garak had been staring at, and what do you know it, the blur of two children ducking down below the view of the window is what can be seen.

“Rather sloppy work, if I do say so myself. If I wanted to gather intel on family relations I would’ve at least planted a bug.”

“Not everyone had the head of the Obsidian Order for a father, Elim.” Julian says, with a knowing smile.

“I suppose their idea of espionage is a good one, for children raised in a paradise.”

“You think that they’re speculating about our relationship?”

“Oh, certainly. Their uncle, who’s been living out on Deep Space Nine moves to Cardassia, and then comes to visit Earth with a cardassian.That would arouse suspicion in anyone.”

“Huh. I suppose that’s true…hm.”

“What is it, dear?”

“I’ve been wondering about this cardassian myself…”

Julian leans even closer to Garak than he was before, barely a hair separating them.

“Who he is, why he’s here, why he’s so interested in me..”

“Perhaps we should discuss it in your quarters over a book and two Tarkalean teas?”

“I would very much appreciate that.”

Julian gets up first, grazing his hand along Garaks neck and down to his arm, pulling him along to their guest room.

Two shocked faces (which had since reappeared in the window) can be seen.

————

“Oh my gosh.” Cirrus had their hands on the sides of their head.

“Dude.”

“Oh my gosh.”

“DUDE.”

“That’s like. That’s.”

“That’s basically MAKING OUT for cardassians.”

The siblings look at each other.

“We have to tell everyone, right?” Cirrus asks.

“Absolutely.”

[divine-misfortune]

TW for gore and ghoul cannibalism...murder ghouls my beloved.

What if in order to inherit an element, the new ghoul has to kill the previous owner in order to take it?

Feral things taken from the pits of hell and left with the one they're supposed to replace, the element contained inside their fragile mortal vessels. I'm sure there's some sort of...natural draw to the element, like a hunger of sorts. Ravenous creatures with only a bit of skin and viscera between them and what their body aches for. The ghoul before them is just a casualty to their desire.

Swiss and sunny were lucky, there was no element for them to inherit. Though as multi ghouls there might come a time they're made to take one on. It was a bridge they might one day have to cross, but an afterthought for the moment.

Mountain tore into Ivy without an ounce of hesitation.

Ivy fought back decently, from what little Mountain can remember. He doesn’t know if his brain just purposefully tucked the memory away, or if he was truly blinded by bloodlust. They were both fairly matched in size but Ivy was older...tired.

At a certain point it almost felt like he'd accepted what was to come, his struggling died down, his cries became feeble warbled sounds…Or maybe it was Mountain desperately cracking into his rib cage like Persephone did the pomegranate. His blood tasted sweet like honeysuckle, and Mountain licked every drop from his claws.

To this day he remembers, and shamefully yearns for another taste.

Mist was...A problem, to say the least.

She fought Dew with the same ferocity even when her wounds delved past being fatal. Mist fought him with everything she had up until her body gave. He wasn’t much bigger than her, but he was certainly faster. Dew ran circles around her, it was almost like he was playing with his food.

He tore into her throat mercilessly, he ripped her apart. Mist was well past mangled by the time he was finished. He was so covered in her blood, her cool toned skin caught in his teeth, one could have thought he’d been the victim of such brutality.

Dew can still feel the way her viscera left his skin sticky, the showers and ceaseless scrubbing have never managed to rid him of the phantom sensation.

Poor Zephyr.

They realized from the moment they were shoved into that small concrete room they stood no chance. They were already old and broken in more ways than they could count. It was a pitiful sight to watch them sink to their knees and hang their head.

Zephyr squeezed their eyes shut and waited. Waited to be torn apart just like they’d done to the previous air ghoul, he was the reason they were like this now, frail and unable to fight back. Perhaps he’d planned it that way, revenge for their cruelty.

The girls made it quick at least, some compassion in them even in this feral state. Cirrus had cradled their face in both hands and studied the lines creasing their face for a minute before abruptly twisting. Snapping their neck in one fluid motion, the sound was stomach turning.

There was no kind way to take the heart from their chest, but at least their expression remained almost peaceful even as Cumulus and Cirrus picked them clean like roadkill.

And then there was Omega…

Omega had felt it coming, had long since made peace with it. He was tired, an exhaustion that ran bone deep. Quintessence wore on his vessel over the years, though it was nothing compared to the sharp sting of grief that had pained his body. He truly felt his age these days.

He didn’t scream or bare his teeth when Aether circled him with wild hungry eyes. All he did was sigh as he sat himself on the concrete floors, wondering who would clean up the clergy’s mess when he was gone.

While Omega was almost relieved to let it happen, even his blissful acceptance could not spare him from the agony of Aether and his savagery. Aether tore nearly everything, and then some, from his chest cavity in order to satiate his appetite.

He’s never let go of the guilt, and prays that when it’s his turn whatever demon he’s trapped with will offer him the kindness he did not spare his predecessor.

But the issue…Well, the issue comes with Dew and Rain.

Dew was set to die, it had long since been decided that he was supposed to feed the beast Rain was to become. He was smaller and weaker than Rain, the fight was short lived. He was a cornered animal in a very tiny cage. Rain was elegant and lethal in the way he sunk his claws into him, and Dew’s never been able to shake the image of him poised above him. Half delirious from blood loss and high on the adrenaline trying to keep him fighting, the single light bulb haloing the feral creature above him, Rain was ethereal. In such a state, he nearly confused him for some divine and holy being, even when Rain sought to rip through his skin.

And as Dew laid there bleeding out, Rain having retreated with the spoils of victory, Ifrit found him. He’d never seen the fire ghoul so scared. Ifrit had tried in vain to stop the bleeding, the wounds far too grave for such simple solutions.

He begged for Dew’s forgiveness as the red continued to seep through the gaps in his fingers, and he continued his pleading when he ripped the fire from his vessel, practically ripped the heart from his chest, and poured whatever magic he had into the little ghoul’s dying body.

Ifrit would have never made Dew fight him, if things had been different and it was the two of them locked in this room. He’d have willingly offered himself up as the tinder to the beautiful fire he knew Dew could become.

It was the last act of love Ifrit could offer Dewdrop, the very thing that coursed through his veins, just to breathe life back into him. Ifrit burned himself to ash and bone just to see the spark of his element make a new home in Dew’s eyes.

[iamthecomet]

Hiii ❤️ Ilysmmm

I was just thinking about how the ghouls would laugh, do you perhaps have any headcanons for them???

-Hi

Hi!!! Yes, I think I do have some headcanons about laughing ghouls. Cumulus laughs a lot, but usually covers her mouth when she does. If she's cuddled up with someone else, she will turn her head and use their body to muffle her laughter. If someone calls her own it (Sunshine) she'll blush and laugh louder. She rarely belly laughs, but when she does she doubles over on herself. Cries from laughter very easily. Her laugh is reminiscent of wind chimes. Sunshine is the resident giggler. She's always grinning. Everything is funny. She giggles at every turn, especially in moments when laughter is not recommended. When she really laughs though it's loud, unapologetic. The sound is full and bright, warm. Cirrus is the least bubbly of the Ghoulettes, and as a result, laughs the least. She's a soft laugher, huffed chuckles under her breath. The sound of wind whispering through autumn leaves. She can be made to really laugh sometimes, though it's rare and treasured among her pack. When she really gets going it's a full-body experience. Swiss is the most boisterous. He doesn't generally chuckle, or laugh under his breath. He just laughs. Sharp, bright barks of laughter that echo through the halls. He, like Sunshine, is unapologetic about his volume. If he's having a good time everyone in the Abbey is going to know about it. Mountain, like Cirrus, rarely laughs loudly. He chuckles a lot. Small huffs of laughter that roll through his chest like water on stones. He's quiet. He smiles a lot, watches his pack fondly as they make fools of himself. But he laughs under his breath about it, shaking his head. Sometimes he's a silent laugher, all of the motions of laughing with none of the sound. When he does belly laugh it's low, rumbling, closer to a purr than real laughter. Aether laughs a lot. He is always smiling, chuckling. His laugh is rolling, contagious. He, like Cumulus, cries pretty quickly when he gets really going. It doesn't take much. What starts as chuckle will soon turn into full blown laughter with Aether. Also, loves to try to talk through his laughter to explain it--is unintelligible when he does it. Rain is the other giggler. He tries to pretend he doesn't. But it doesn't work. Everyone hears it, a short quick sound like water lapping at sand. He'll cover his mouth and try to hide it, but as soon as it's out Dew will be poking at his sides to try to drag more out of him. Rain doubles over when he laughs too hard. Gives himself stomach cramps a lot. Usually ends with him laying on the ground gasping for breath and begging everyone else to stop making him laugh. Dewdrop pretends he never laughs. He is all smirks and withering glares. He chuckles under his breath, throws wry remarks and then looks smug when it makes other people laugh. But under the right circumstances, he will laugh, and laugh loudly. When he really gets going it quickly tips to hysterical. His laugh turns high-pitched and unhinged quickly. He gets out of breath, but keeps laughing through his gasps for air.

[lilypadlys]

Mushy May Day Eleven - Papa Time

Ship: Copia/Ghouls

Notes: Prompt list by @forlorn-crows. See prompt list here

Word Count:  1177

Read on AO3 or below the cut

Today was just going to be one of those days. Copia sighs to himself running through his mental checklist of the tasks that had to get done. The post tour grace period has long since ended and there is so much to do.

Make sure the altar in the chapel is stocked with incense, candles, and other necessities for mass, taking confession, band practice, and the never ending stacks of paperwork. Add on personal tasks like cleaning out his rats’ cage and tidying his own room and it quickly begins to feel impossible to get done. To top it all off, his physical checklist of the day’s tasks has gone missing so now he’s relying on memory to make sure it all gets done.

“Papa has a busy day today.” He explains to his rats. “But I’ll make sure to clean out your cage this afternoon miei cari.” He bids his rats farwell and heads to the chapel.

On the way in, Copia practically runs into Swiss and Rain on their way out.

“Good morning Papa!” Swiss greets enthusiastically while Rain nods in more sedate greeting.

“Good morning my ghouls. You’re up early.” He adds, mostly to Rain.

The water ghoul shrugs.

“Swiss drug me out of bed. ”

“Hmm, there’s more coffee in the kitchens.”

Even with his mask on Copia can see Rain’s excitement from the way his shoulders perk up. And the way he starts tugging Swiss in that general direction.

“I’ll see you at practice then.” Copia calls after them with a chuckle.

He heads to the altar and opens the cabinets underneath ready to start tallying supplies only to find them fully stocked. The altar itself is also freshly tidied with new candles ready to be lit and fresh roses sitting in a vase on its surface.

“Huh.”

Maybe a sibling or one of the cardinals took care of it after mass last week. At least that's one thing out of the way. Now finding himself with a bit of time before confession, Copia takes the opportunity to light a candle pray in the meditative silence of the empty chapel.

That’s how Mountain finds him a little while later. The earth ghoul silently joins him in prayer for a few minutes before they both rise.

“Hello Papa. I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Of course not my ghoul. The chapel is open to all at any time.”

“You’re taking confession today right?”

“That’s right. Was there anything you wanted to discuss?”

“Actually, I know things have started to get really busy for you again. If it helps, would you like me to take over confession duty today?”

“Grazie, that’s very sweet of you. I appreciate it.” Copia gives Mountain’s arm a soft pat.

As siblings start to filter in, Copia heads back to his chambers. Perhaps with the extra time he can give his rats baths as well. To his surprise he finds Cirrus, Cumulus, and Aurora waiting outside his door.

“Hi Papa! I wanted to finally meet your rats!” Aurora chirps and how can Copia say no to that smile nor the chance to show off his babies.

“Haha alright. They’d love to meet you too.”

The four of them head in and Aurora skips to the cage on Copia’s dresser.

“Hi!” She waves a finger at them and they run up to the wire to say hello in little squeaks. “What’s their names?”

As Copia introduces Feta, Cheddar, Gouda, and Brie, Cirrus and Cumulus get the bathroom ready for a rat spa day. The ghoulettes settle into a rhythm of cleaning off and drying each rat. The girls disappear to the bedroom to rat sit while Copia finishes cleaning and resetting the cage. By the time he returns, Aurora has managed to teach the rats a choreographed dance which the four of them watch in delight.

Finally they’re done, the rats back in the cage, and Copia having the distinct sense that his room feels tidier somehow. He doesn’t have time to dwell on it though as it’s time for band practice.

As a group, Copia and the ghoulettes head to the practice rooms. They find the rest of the pack on time and ready to get started, a surprisingly rare occurrence. Aether and Sunshine are even there and things quickly turn into an impromptu jam session. It’s a blast, everyone taking turns as solos on their various instruments and just generally being silly. It’s a mood boost that they all needed and they all feel giddy afterwards.

As they go to pack up, Sunny and Aether duck out, but Phantom approaches Copia.

“Hey Papa. We were wondering if you wanted to join us for movie night tonight?”

“I’d love to!” Copia is quick to agree but then frowns. “Ah, but I have mounds of paperwork waiting for me…”

“Okay, no problem. Feel free to join us if you finish early though.”

The pack heads off to their wing and Copia to his office. He’s been running on a pretty good mood most of the day but the dark cloud of paperwork threatens to dampen it. Until it doesn’t. Copia opens his office door to find the stack of paperwork he knew was waiting for him missing.

“Eh?”

A quick scan of the office reveals the desk to be tidy and organized even though he knows he left it a mess and his papers are nowhere to be found. Wonderful. Now he’s going to have to explain to Sister Imperator that not only is his paperwork not done but also that he lost it.

When he reaches her office however it’s to find her reviewing the offending documents.

“Hello dear. Need something?”

“Eh, uh, hello Sister. It's that…my paperwork?”

“Yes? Two of your ghouls brought it over just now. I must say the pink sparkly pens are an interesting touch,” She holds a page aloft to let him see the neat but very much pink lines of writing. “But everything seems to be in order.”

“Uh, my other pens went missing…”

“Make sure you add some new ones to the supply list then.” Imperator waves him out and Copia finds himself standing outside her office very confused.

At least he can attend movie night after all.

He heads to the ghoul wing to find the pack settling in in the common room. The scent of freshly popped popcorn wafts in from the kitchen and the title menu of The Shining plays on the TV.

The pack makes various chipper noises of greeting and wave him over to the center couch. Dewdrop brings several large bowls of popcorn in. Pretty soon he’s surrounded by his ghouls as they curl up to watch the movie.

“Everyone ready?” Aether asks.

Copia takes the chance to ask, “You all didn’t happen to plan this did you?”

Swiss smiles coyly. “Whatever do you mean Papa?”

The rest of the pack grins freely though, basically giving themselves away.

Copia smiles. “Nothing. Nevermind. I appreciate you all, my ghouls.”

Various expressions of appreciation from the pack are the reply.

[rayadraws]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (except me cuz obvs I have already done it). spread the self-love ❤

Oh, thank you for tagging me!

Let's see...

Maybe it's just because I just finished it and it's my current obsession, but I AM very pleased with To Capture A Dragon (DND/OC fic). It's about Sorrel, a young gold dragon (in his human form) who is captured by dragon hunters and his attempts as freeing himself again.

Short excerpt:

“Everyone knows dragons hoard treasure. He’ll bring anything of value back and we’ll split it between us.”

“Do they?” Sorrel feigned ignorance. “But surely they don’t carry it with them? That seems awfully inconvenient to me.”

“She’ll make you talk. You’ll tell her where it is. She has all sorts of magical things with her. Tried and tested on other dragons.”

“I’m talking right now, you don’t need magic for that.”

“You shouldn’t be,” Robin reminded him.

“Sounds to me like you need to make up your mind on whether you want me to talk or not.”

Full work

----

Next one is BG3 FicFeb Challenge, which is BG3 fanfic featuring my Tav, Cirrus the tiefling sorcerer. It's 29 oneshots based on prompts and I have never written so much in such a short period, I had a lot of fun with it.

Short excerpt:

“Darling, I usually have slightly higher requirements than this for my beverages,” Astarion retorted, watching Cirrus lift the bottle to his mouth with raised eyebrows, clearly judging his preferences. Cirrus shrugged, taking another swig of the cheap wine, managing to mostly hide his grimace at its sour taste.

“And you do not, I see. Low standards, I take it?” Astarion continued. Cirrus felt small under that intense red gaze, though the alcohol was helping with that. He’d always felt more confident after a couple of drinks. 

“Let the tiefling drink,” Shadowheart butted in, though she grabbed the bottle from Cirrus to try it for herself. “Oh, that is foul!” she exclaimed, wrinkling her nose at the taste hitting her tongue and near shoving the bottle back into his hand.

Full work (NSFW) (Bonus! Chapter 1 is actually Sorrel's first ever appearance. I developed him as a character after writing this lol)

---

Demon Cyborg's Livestream

This is my most popular OPM/SG fanfic I think, I had a lot of fun writing it too.

Short excerpt:

> iLOVEdc: are u goin to confess

”Confess what?” At that comment he looks up, appearing confused. Or perhaps in denial.

> iLOVEdc: that u

> iLOVEdc: that hr means so much to u

”That’s none of your business.” Genos’ tone is sharp now, and loud. He catches himself, peeking over his shoulder, assuring himself that the lump on the floor remains still. Once confident that he didn’t wake his room mate up, he turns back to the screen, voice softer again.

”That’s between him and me.”

Full work

---

Old Boys

A few oneshot featuring Saitama and Genos as an old married couple. I had a lot of fun writing these too.

Saitama gave him a curious look. He turned to look out the window.

“What is he doing anyway?” Pow asked.

“Stumbling around and looking angry.”

“He’s looking for caterpillars.”

“Come again?”

Pow spoke even louder. “Caterpillars! ”

Saitama snorted, gaze still on his husband outside. 

“You told him there’s caterpillars? This time of year?”

Full work

---

For 5th and final one I'll pick Rewind, which is another SG fanfic. Genos gets amnesia and Saitama has to come to terms with him possibly never getting his memories back - and maybe that's for the best? It'll certainly be safer for Genos, anyway.

”Why am I a cyborg?” Genos asked one day, and Kuseno paused what he was doing, putting his tools down to give him a long, contemplating look.

This was something he’d debated long with himself since Genos woke up that awful day, many nights while Genos slept deeply in the next room. How much would be fair to say to the boy about his old life? His grief and rage had been large parts of his identity for as long as he’d known him. How many times had he seen his boy furious, heartbroken, devastated at the cruel fate he’d been handed? How many times had he woken up from nightmares, screaming, crying, sometimes setting off the fire alarm after attacking the ghosts of his past in his sleep? How many times had Genos told him as the oil streamed down his face that he wished he could forget his past once and for all?

Full work

[scottishgremlin]

Arc of a Scythe and Beauty Part 1: Age

i find it really interesting that even in the anti-dystopian world of scythe, there’s still a fixation on youth, despite everyone being immortal.

from a purely functional point of view, turning corners makes sense. your body will deteriorate as you age. but that begs the question, can nanites not aid with this? and they can - cirrus tells rowan he’ll need nanite infusions towards the end of their 107 year journey.

so is corner turning purely for vanity, like in scythe alighieri’s case? i believe a lot of aspects of the world of scythe are answers to things people want in our society, wether minor or major. splatting. nanites. the corner turning industry.

i also think at least some part of the whole corner turning thing is a commentary on today’s anti-aging industry. the anti-aging industry is valued at around 67.2Mil USD and is concerningly targeting younger and younger demographics, preying on their insecurities. the latter reminds me of the man from whom goddard seizes the mansion in scythe telling goddard they were working on technology to turn people back even younger, even the teens. rowan is right - who in their right mind would want to be a teenager more than once?

but these people clearly aren’t in their right mind. scythe alighieri has turned so many corners that his natural facial structure has eroded; citra describes him as grotesque-looking. this is reminiscent of celebrities with botched botox/cosmetic surgery. despite all his ‘work’ for beauty, scythe alighieri is ultimately not given the respect he thinks it warrants him. this is the same in the anti-aging industry. no matter how much surgery you get or treatments you use, you will age. it’s what you were build to do. you will never feel good enough or beautiful enough, not unless you take the time to work on yourself mentally.

scythe alighieri is vain but this is revealed to be hiding a great shame, the shame of never granting immunity after the newhope (i think) gleaning. his obsession over ‘beauty’ is a distraction from all of the guilt he feels. when not out of pressure to do so, i believe this is a major player in what drives people to get beauty treatments done. it’s so much easier to focus your energy and insecurity on something with visible markers, where ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are so clearly labelled and encoded with moral connotations.

in the world of aoas, people turn corners, physically getting younger and younger, while their ‘real’ youth is wasted as they do not have any real motivation to strive for anything. in our world, youth is squandered over worries of aging and insecurity.

perhaps our worlds aren’t so different, because in both, we’re still human.

for a book on beauty standards and the beauty and wellness industry, you should read natural beauty by ling ling huang.

thanks for reading, feel free to rb/reply with any thoughts :)

[inkrabbit]

Hello! I loved your protective Swiss fic!

Could I request Rain Ghoul x reader where reader sees him without his mask for the first time?

I'm glad you liked the other fic <333 hopefully you'll like this one as well

ngl the first time I saw Rain unmasked, all I could think of was that "oh no he's hot" meme. and I still think about it

It’s against the rules for ghouls to walk around without their masks. Sister Imperator had said she didn’t care what mask they wore so long as their face was covered when in the presence of a non-ghoul. The rest of the clergy had agreed. Everyone except you.

It was a simple enough rule, though you had heard some of the ghouls muttering in passing how the balaclava sometimes made it hard to breathe. You often saw Cirrus tugging at the mask when she thought no one was looking, lips parts as she took in deep breaths. You never told anyone when you would see a ghoul messing with their mask. Really, you thought it was a stupid rule.

But today was one of those unbearably hot days where it felt like the sun was actively trying to melt you. All siblings were ordered to stay inside, only being allowed out if they had to go to another section of the abbey, and they were advised to make their trip quick. All of the windows and doors had been shut, the AC running nonstop since the heat began. And still, it didn’t feel like it was enough.

You had left bottles of water in both the fridge and freezer, and you had carried around an old backpack to store several of them in. You had to go to the library to get some books on upcoming studies and you decided to pass out cold water to the siblings who didn’t already have a drink. You knew how serious this heatwave was when you hadn’t even seen any of the fire ghouls parading around like you had the previous day.

A smell catches you on your way to the library, like water that’s been poured on hot cement. It’s a smell that would occasionally hit you whenever Sodo walked by, providing his scent hadn’t been overpowered by the more familiar campfire smell. But when you look around, you don’t see the lean ghoul. Instead, it’s another ghoul, sitting under a tree. Not only is he missing his shirt, but his balaclava is gone, along with his mask. Dark brown hair is pushed back and away from his sweaty face, and his skin matched the color of a storm cloud. From where you’re standing, you can make out a well-kept beard on his face.

As you get closer, the smell gets more intense. You think back to all of the other water ghouls, but you’re drawing a blank. You’re positive it’s not Mist, and you know it’s not Sodo. Was that… Delta? No, the body type didn’t match. Perhaps River? Wait, didn’t you pass by River earlier? Yeah, and the overwhelming scent of nature-musk and a hint of fish had slapped you in the face.

“Rain?” you call out hesitantly, excitement shooting through you when he turns his head in your direction. At least you had gotten it right, but the sight of his face breaks your heart. His eyes are lidded, lips parted and you can see his forked tongue just barely creeping past his lower lip. His whole body is covered in sweat, chest rising and falling faster than it should be as he pants quietly. You hurry over to him, the shade from the tree taking away the burning sensation of the sun having hit your habit. “Oh, you poor thing.”

“Hot…” His voice is soft and he watches as you unzip your backpack, perking up when you pull out a bottle of cold water. It makes you jump when he snatches the bottle from you in such an uncharacteristic move. Normally he’s so polite and gentle.

He rips the cap off and you watch in amazement as he guzzles the water down. The more you watch him, the worse you feel. You hadn’t considered how this heat would’ve affected the ghouls. You take out another bottle, uncapping it and slowly pouting the water over his shoulder and back. He leans towards you, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. You see his tail finally start to move and it looks like he’s coming back to life.

“Thank you. Thank you.” Though he’s still soft-spoken, he is a little louder. This time, he’s more gentle taking the bottle of water from you, dumping the rest over his head and soaking his hair and face.

“You didn’t look like you were gonna make it much longer,” you say softly. His mask and balaclava sit beside him, along with his shirt and vest.

“Didn’t think I was going to either.” He leans back against the tree, eyes closed as he lets the last few drops of water hit his tongue. That’s when it hits him and he lurches forward, making you jump. “Shit! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking!” He scrambles for his mask, hands shaking as he picks everything up. You grab his bicep to stop him.

“Rain, it’s okay.” He looks back at you, those dark eyes wide.

“B-but… you’re not a ghoul,” he stammers out. “We’re not allowed-”

“It’s okay.” You give him a smile. “It’s too hot for you to be wearing that stuffy thing anyway.”

He’s hesitant but he finally nods, setting the mask back down. “I-I just didn’t want to upset you. You’ve been so nice and I know Sister and the clergy asks we do this one thing and-”

“I’m not the entire clergy, now am I?” You look in your bag, pulling out the last water you had and handing it to him. He gently takes it from you, cradling it against his abdomen. “I’ve seen how uncomfortable you guys can get under it. I’m glad you have it off.”

“Thank you.” The smile he gives you is so sweet and it makes your heart flutter. It was nice seeing him unmasked. After all this time, you finally got the chance to match his voice to a face. His hair is smoothed down now, slicked back from the water and it reaches just a little past his shoulders, the color looking like it got darker ever since he wet it.. You could admit he was attractive, and with his amazing personality, it made him almost irresistible.

“Is there something on my face?” he asks, pulling you out of your trance. “You know, besides the uh… sweat and water.”

“Oh, no!” Your face heats up as you turn your gaze away from him, instead focusing on his mask that’s laying on the ground. “You’re just… really handsome.”

“Oh!” You catch a glimpse of a grin on his face and how his cheeks darken. “Thank you. I… honestly can’t remember the last time anyone’s complimented me.” You’re confused when you hear that. “You know how it is. The others are nice and all but… sometimes it feels like when they say something, we’re just back on stage. Like it’s all an act or they’re just trying to make me feel good.”

“Well, I mean it.” You give him a smile. “You’re really cute, Rain.”

“Thank you.” He seems happy, eyes lit up as he stares at you. Finally, you look around, seeing how still and lifeless everything looks.

“How about we get out of this heat?” you suggest, “We can go hide out in the library until the sun goes down.”

“You see my face once and you’re already asking me on a date.” he teases, pulling a laugh from you. But he nods. “Yeah, let’s go. I can’t take it out here anymore.”

“Why weren’t you in the dens?” You pick up his balaclava and mask as he pulls on his shirt and eventually his vest.

“Way too hot in there,” he tells you, running his hands through his hair. “The fire ghouls aren’t even happy with today and it’s like their heat is making everything worse. I think Mountain even had to go somewhere else because he was burning up.”

“Honestly, I thought you might’ve been Sodo at first.”

“Nah. He’s… not doing as bad, but even he was getting irritated.” When he reaches for his balaclava, you stop him.

“I know a spot in the library,” you tell him, handing over his mask instead. “where no one ever goes. It’ll just be us and you can have your mask off.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. It’s where I hang out whenever I don’t want anyone finding me.”

He smiles, letting out a soft laugh. “I swear to Lucifer if you get us in trouble-”

“We’ll be fine. I promise.”

He follows you from out underneath the tree, hissing softly when the sun hits you two. He fixes the mask to his face, grumbling softly as you two hurry for the library. But finally, he looks over at you.

“This isn’t just so you can see my face more, is it?” he asks you, that teasing tone seeping into his voice as he smiles. Your hand flies to your chest.

“Oh no, my master plan has been found out!” you cry playfully and he barks out a laugh. His hand comes up, thoughtfully stroking at his beard.

“Maybe the clergy was right. I should wear a mask at all times,” he continues. “Lest a sweet and gorgeous sibling decides to kidnap me from this horrible heat.”

“Oh, shut up!” You smack his arm, but his words finally sink in. “’Gorgeous sibling’?”

“I’m not blind.” The smile he gives you is genuine and you notice how he slowly gets closer to you. He cracks the seal on the last bottle of water you gave him. “The masks are sometimes hard to see through, but I know what you look like.”

“Well, thank you.” He knocks the water bottle back against his lips, taking a sip before he passes the bottle to you. You take it, mimicking his actions. You suppose the heat wasn’t too bad. At least you were able to get closer to Rain.

[youwouldntlietopapa]

28 / 29 for the hugging prompts, perhaps a mix or just one of them with Terzo? Preferably Terzo being the argessive needy hugger:)

I hope you ask box is no longer lonely now

Okay, I hope this covers it. This man desperately needs adult supervision.

No smut this time, just fluff.

____________________________________________________________

Cirrus and Cumulus decided that four days was enough pouting and moping around for anyone so, on the morning of the fifth day, they stopped by your quarters to let you know that they’d decided on a pool day for you. It was blazing hot out and Terzo had been less successful at ducking out of his Ministry business trip early than he’d hoped. The last update you’d gotten, he’d tried to sound hopeful, but you could hear it in his voice that it wasn’t likely.

“You need to get out of the Abbey.” Cirrus huffed.

“Besides, if you send him some swimsuit pictures, he’ll probably be home before sundown.” Cumulus offered with a wink.

You didn’t have any decent arguments and, honestly, you probably did need to get out. Your quarters always felt empty when he was away and the Abbey just wasn’t the same. Plus, Cumulus was right. Getting ready gave you an excuse to take a few pictures of the options and send them to your much missed Papa.

You: The girls have decided that I need a pool day and I need a discerning eye to help me choose a swimsuit. Terzo: Oh, now this is a very serious matter, amore. I must see to be able to give a professional opinion. You will get nothing but my complete and full attention.

You chuckle, and shake your head. Satan help you both if he’s in the middle of a meeting, focusing on his phone instead. You wouldn’t put it past him to show off the pictures either to brag about his amore. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.

But the offer’s been made. Dutifully you send him four options. The black backless halter. The two piece in his papal colours. The navy polka dot vintage he’d dubbed your pin-up suit. And, finally, the crimson cross straps. Each one showing Read immediately. Even if his response is a bit slow.

Terzo: I see now why you need someone to help you, bellissima. Such a difficult choice when you look so good in all four. Perhaps you send me one without any suit so I can compare?

You snort reading the message. As if he doesn’t have dozens of pictures on his phone “to compare”.

You: I can always ask your brothers if you need assistance choosing… Terzo: Amore! You wouldn’t! Non conoscerebbero la moda neanche se gli mordesse il culo! You: Oh, so you have a favourite then?

Giggling to yourself, you swear you can hear his pouty huff from halfway across the country. But, Hellfire, it’s just too easy to get him wound up sometimes.

Terzo: The fourth one. Without question. You look like a gift wrapped up in beautiful ribbon. And when I get home, I untie it and enjoy everything inside the wrapping.

You: … any idea when that might be?

The wait for his response is too long to get your hopes up. If it were good news, he’d have already said.

Terzo: Soon, mio cuore. I swear to you. Soon.

Ah yes, there it is. Another few days, at least. Just reading the words, you can hear the disappointment in his voice. But the last thing you want to do is to contribute to his misery. It’s bad enough to be stuck in boring meetings all day.

You: Duties come first. I know that and I understand. I will just be that much more eager to see you when you do get home. And I promise, you can unwrap your gift then. Do you want me to send you pictures from the pool or will that only be a tease? Terzo: You are always so good to me, tesoro. I hate to disappoint you. But I am glad the girls are making sure you are occupied. Please, send me pictures. I want to see your beautiful face in the sunshine. You: I promise I will. Terzo: Ti amo tanto. Il mio cuore soffre per essere lontano. You: I love you, too. When you get back, we will have a full day together, just you and me. Doing whatever you like.

It’s a dangerous offer, but no reward worth having ever came without a bit of risk.

In the time it takes for Cirrus and Cumulus to get you from the Abbey to the pool, there are a handful more messages back and forth and then a further twenty from Terzo apologising profusely for having to turn off his phone for another meeting. A meeting he told you was supposed to start at 2pm. Checking your clock, you can’t help but notice he’s already thirty minutes late.

Eventually the texts stop and you tuck your phone away. He’ll be busy all afternoon, based on how things have gone so far. The pool, despite the heat, is blessedly quiet. You spread your towel out on one of the loungers and stretch out to relax a bit. The girls were right, you desperately needed to get out for a bit, get some fresh air and some sun. It’s still not the same without him, but it beats moping and pouting around the Abbey. And your lovely ghoulfriends are nice enough not to say we told you so. At least not out loud.

After half dozing for a bit, and turning over to get a bit of colour on your back as well, you finally drag yourself off the lounger and stretch. Might as well swim a bit, the water does look lovely and cool. One quick peek at your phone and no new messages gets a hint of a frown. The meeting must be running late. Terzo will be in a mood when they finally release him and you make a mental note for the video call that’s bound to follow.

“Hey!” Calls Cirrus from the edge of the pool. “You’re supposed to be relaxing and enjoying yourself, remember?”

“I know! I know! I am! Look at me! Look how relaxed I am!” You call back, tucking your phone away again and smiling. “I was just checking the time and then coming for a swim!”

“Uh huh.” She looks at you doubtfully. “And you’re so bad at telling time that you need to stare at your phone, pouting?”

“I wasn’t pouting!” You laugh, stick your toes in the water and splash her.

Whatever her reply is, you don’t really hear it. Something else caught your attention first. Some kind of commotion in the parking lot as you squint into the sun, holding up a hand to shade your eyes and see what’s going on. Whatever it is, it seems to be moving toward the pool at an alarming rate.

And then you hear it.

“Amoreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Getting louder as the cause of the commotion gets closer.

Terzo, still in his paints and his formal suit vaults over the row of hedges between the entrance to the pool area and the deck. For a man who trips over his own feet frequently, he sticks the landing with a grace and elegance that would put any ballerina to shame.

“Terzo????” You yelp. There are MANY more unanswered questions, but none of them are short enough to ask as he doesn’t stop moving after clearing the shrubbery. Running at you with a determination you’ve rarely seen before. “Terzo, no! Nonononononono….”

But it’s too late. He grabs you around the waist, pulling you up against him, claiming your mouth fiercely as momentum carries you both flying into the pool. Whatever chaos the resulting splash causes is lost to you in the muffled quiet of the water, Terzo’s desperate hold on you, and the taste of his mouth mingling with the chlorine taste of the pool. What other choice is there than to wrap your arms around the most ridiculous, perfect man in the world and lose yourself in his love?

When you open your eyes, his make-up is a disaster and his hair floats around his head making him look even more like a madman. His good suit is most certainly ruined as well. And still, all you can do is beam at him, pulling him in for another kiss. He holds you a little tighter, getting his feet under him to push you both back to the surface. There are a few people glaring at you both, wringing out soaked towels and one woman loudly complaining while she shakes out her waterlogged book, though Terzo certainly doesn’t seem to care. Too busy staring at you, grinning so hard you have to laugh.

“What, in Satan’s name, are you doing here???”

“Doing?” He looks confused by the question. “I tell you I will be home soon, amore! You think Papa would lie to you?”

You roll your eyes. “You told me you had a meeting at two o’clock and that it would be a few days!”

He waves the facts away with a soaking wet gloved hand. “That’s not a lie. That is… eh… a little bullshit so you don’t guess my surprise.”

“You are ridiculous.” And he is. Completely. Utterly. Ridiculous.

“And you love it.” He grins smugly.

“More than anything.”

His hair is plastered to his face, his make-up and suit are ruined, and he still looks like the happiest man you’ve ever seen.

“Babe? Just one question… is your phone still in your pocket?”

Terzo freezes, blinking at you for a long moment. “………………………… Shit.”

“Yeah, I had a feeling.”

His smile lights up again, pulling you into another kiss just as you spot security walking toward the pool. As if something as foolish as a phone could dampen his mood.

“I can get a new phone. I only have one amore.”

____________________________________________________________

Non conoscerebbero la moda neanche se gli mordesse il culo! = They wouldn't know fashion if it bit their ass!

Ti amo tanto. Il mio cuore soffre per essere lontano = I love you so much. My heart aches to be away.

[thelampisaflashlight]

Mission Imp-Possible

[Although we're still three hours shy of the poll's conclusion, I couldn't resist writing this any longer, so, here it is. Swiss babysits some of the imps for an afternoon, it goes about as well as can be expected.] Below the cut.

Swiss would like to know whose idea this was so he can personally thank them, with his fists perhaps, for the headache of a task he's about to waste his day away with.

He has to watch the imps.

Not all of them, just the smaller ones; Cirrus, Dew, Rain, and Sunshine.

But that was still half the pack of the chaotic little runts, and Swiss can already feel the tension building behind his eyes the moment he opens his door and sees the pet carrier sitting there waiting for him.

Crouching down to look inside, Swiss locks eyes with the smallest of the lot; Dew.

Yes, Dew had named his imp after himself, the others had, too, to be fair, but Dew's imp had a special nickname to differentiate him from the ghoul himself.

Dewdles.

Fucking.

Dewdles.

In appearance, he's sort of like a cross between a hairless cat and a rabbit, with little mismatched horns and glowing spots where his magic emanates from his body.

Much like his master, Dewdles is a hybrid, though it was hard to say what his secondary element is, because it's certainly not fire.

He's water and... something else.

Quintessence, maybe, but no one is really sure.

He's a bit like a male calico in that sense.

Rare.

Dewdles is the least of Swiss' concern out of the lot though.

Unlike Dewdrop himself, Dewdles is well behaved, but he needs a lot of attention or he'll become all wet eyed and lethargic...

It's a little heartbreaking to see, and Swiss would rather not, so Dewdles is probably going to spend most of his visit on his lap or close by.

Out of the four of them, he's most concerned with Rain's imp.

Drizzle.

Somehow that name is worse than Dewdles, but Swiss can't quite parse why.

Drizzle is... in a word?

Slippery.

He's pure water, meaning his body has the consistency of one of those water tube toys; All flop and wiggle, and, if Swiss didn't no better, no bones whatsoever.

Drizzle is wrapped around Dewdles protectively, although if you ask Swiss, it looks more like he's about to suffocate the little guy and eat him as a snake might.

"He would never." Rain had assured him one evening when he'd seen Drizzle pick Dewdles up off the couch with his mouth and carried him off to snuggle in an overturned cardboard box in the corner, "...At least I hope not."

Rain was quick to clarify that he was joking, but it had taken a great deal of self restraint to keep himself from getting up rescuing the little imp.

A confused chirp from inside the carrier draws Swiss' attention to Sunflower, Sunshine's imp, who was just as small as Dewdles, if not a bit smaller -her large batlike wings and ears gave her a bit more mass- but it was hard to tell unless they were side by side.

Sunflower is a menace, too, largely because she can fly.

Yeah, apparently some imps can do that, though Sunflower seems more inclined to cling and climb, preferring to make others carry her than having to exert energy flying from place to place.

Still, he's a bit worried about her getting on top of or behind something and getting stuck should she decide to do so.

She probably won't.

He hopes.

And lastly, the small wisp of cloud in the very back of the carrier, glaring at him like an angry little lamb, is... Cirrus Jr.

Swiss can mock the others' naming skills all he wants, but, really?

Cirrus Jr.?

He knows better than to laugh about it to Cirrus' face though.

Cirrus Jr. is, quite possibly, the angriest little imp Swiss has yet to encounter.

She's a bit like one of those puffy lap dogs.

Pomeranians.

She bites like one at least.

Swiss assesses the little collective in front of him and then, sighing, takes the carrier inside his room, carefully shutting the door and latching it... because, yeah, the little assholes can work doorknobs.

There's not much imps can't do if they put their walnut sized brains to it, but, much like cats, they don't really have the ability to think things through beyond having the thought, "I've done the thing, now what?"

If they did, Swiss thinks the church would be sending them on the first bus back to Hell, but they don't, and, frankly, that much is apparent based on the little outfit Dewdles has on when he pulls him from the carrier.

Swiss has to pause looking at the pink, rhinestone embroidered shirt and attached tulle skirt, turning Dewdles' entire body in his hand to read the writing on the back.

"Grandpa's Princess." Swiss reads aloud, flipping Dewdles around to meet his gaze.

"Copia bought this for you, didn't he?"

Dewdles croaks at him, giving him a wide-eyed stare, his little two toed paws swimming uselessly in the air.

It's cute.

Swiss sets him down on the ground, watching him waddle along, unsteady on land in spite of being amphibious.

Drizzle lets himself out of the carrier once he sees Dewdles roaming around freely, sidling up beside the smaller imp, bumping against him gently.

Around his long, long neck is a little bow that matches the tulle on Dewdles' skirt.

Swiss hums and shrugs at the pair and turns back to see Sunflower crawling along the floor, looking around warily before slinking over to climb his knee.

"What are you doing?" he asks, feeling her little claws dig into his jeans as she pulls herself up onto his thigh.

She squeaks at him.

Carefully, Swiss extends his hand to her, letting her climb on before resting her on his shoulder.

Probably the only high place he trusts her to be while under his supervision.

Unlike Dewdles and Drizzle, she doesn't have any sort of accessories, probably because they would impede her ability to fly in one way or another, but as far as Swiss is concerned, she's adorable enough without them.

Truthfully, Swiss finds all of the imps impossibly cute... he just.

He just has trouble being around them.

He's not sure why really.

He's not allergic, and he's not afraid of the per se.

He just...

There's some mental hang up that makes it hard for him to understand them.

Even though they can make little noises and communicate quite well, they're very difficult creatures to read, especially for Swiss, and he isn't sure why.

He's been around other animals, other people, but imps?

Imps are weird.

Or maybe he's weird?

It doesn't really matter, it just means Swiss has to pour more energy into figuring out what they want, and sometimes he doesn't have it.

Today, though, he's fine.

He thinks so at least.

Although as he stares down Cirrus Jr., who has yet to leave the carrier, he can't help but feel a little out of his element, and as a multi-ghoul that's certainly an accomplishment in and of itself.

But he decides that, if he has to, or rather, because he wants to, that he's going to get the fluffy ball of rage to like him, even just a little bit.

Glancing over at Dewdles and Drizzle wobbling and sniffing around his room in tandem, and checking on Sunflower where she rests on his shoulder -receiving a mirthful squeak when he pokes the top of her head- Swiss offers his free hand to Cirrus Jr.

She sniffs once.

Twice.

And promptly trots over to the door.

Ouch.

He'd kind of expected that outcome, he's just glad her decision didn't involve sinking her teeth into his hand.

Again.

For the millionth time.

Swiss sighs and shifts to a proper sitting position on the floor, sliding the carrier over to retrieve a bag from the back.

It's a little baggy of treats and other things the imps might want, like toys or...

"Is that another dress?" Swiss pulls out another little costume from the bag; An imp version of their current uniform, complete with little booties.

It's too big to be for Dewdles though, and Swiss has never seen Drizzle wear anything apart from the occasional collar, so whose...

Cirrus Jr.

Swiss looks between the imp and the aloof cloud sat staring at his door.

There's even a little cape.

Yeah, no, this is going on that imp right now.

"Little demon~" Swiss singsongs, tapping his nails on the ground to draw Cirrus Jr.'s attention.

She glares at him.

"Wanna play dress up? Huh?"

There's a flicker of... something... in the imp's eyes.

Swiss thinks for a moment.

"Wanna look like your mama? Huh? Do ya?"

Cirrus Jr. tilts her head and whines.

Her little tail moving ever so slightly.

"Who wants to look like a badass~?"

Tiny hooves click on the ground enthusiastically and come to paw at his shins.

"...Holy shit."

The ordeal of getting a tiny, tiny wisp of cloud into a full on costume takes Swiss a full ten minutes, if only because the outfit is, like anything commissioned by the church these days... incredibly layered and detailed.

"They sprung for real buckles and zippers and not just velcro, huh?" Swiss muses once he finishes tying the laces on Cirrus Jr.'s boots.

"I take anything I ever said about Dewdles being spoiled. You. You are spoiled." he says, scratching behind Cirrus Jr.'s ears, making her wiggle about and roll, "Yes you are, yes you are..."

"Mrrp."

Swiss shivers when he feels a wet, slimy mitt touch his pant leg.

Drizzle has, apparently, grown bored of following Dewdles around and has decided a nap is in order.

The only problem is, Swiss doesn't want a soggy, mucus covered imp in his lap right now.

"No."

If they were outside or in the pool, maybe, but the idea of his lounge pants getting crusted in snot in the process?

Not ideal.

"Noo..."

He doesn't get much of a choice in the matter when Drizzle opens his mouth, yawning widely to expose his practically toothless maw, and all but slides onto him.

"...Okay."

Swiss looks to see where Dewdles has gone without his buddy, and finds him...

Scaling the side of his bookshelf?!

"Dewdles, please-"

"Whrrr..."

"Please, bud."

"Mrrp, mrrr..."

Swiss tries to rise up from his place on the floor, but when he does...

"Mrrp!" Drizzle digs his claws into Swiss's thighs, hanging off of him and hissing irritably as his bed is taken away from him.

"Drizzle!"

"SQUEEEEE-"

All movement in the room stops as Sunflower cries.

Shrill and loud.

Directly into Swiss' ear.

Okay.

Okay, okay, okay.

Yeah, this is too much for Swiss to handle.

Why did the others think he could handle this??

He can't handle it.

He really can't.

He needs help.

Help.

"Stop."

Out from under the bed, shaking off a disturbing cloud of dust, comes Swiss' own imp.

Seldom seen or heard by anyone, even Swiss.

It doesn't have a name, Swiss hadn't wanted to name it to begin with, because it's...

"Behave."

It's weirdly intelligent, alright?

Swiss knows imps are good at mimicking sounds they hear.

But his imp is... it's weird.

It's like Mountain's imp.

Cursed in some way.

But different from the rest.

Even Mounty's imp has the excuse of belonging to, well, Mounty, to explain its odd behavior.

But his imp?

That thing scares him.

And the fact that it was sleeping under his bed this whole time?

It's no wonder he has so much trouble sleeping alone in his room at night.

His imp is shaped like a dog, but wrong.

Like someone tried to draw the animal from memory and made it flesh, with horns atop its narrow head and spines along its tail...

"Behave." it repeats, not to the imps but to...

Him?

Swiss points at himself and the imp just nods before slipping backwards under the bed, black eyes never leaving him.

"Sleeping."

Right.

Gathering up the imps back into the carrier, Swiss slowly flees the room, apologizing for waking the... the whatever the fuck is living under his bed, and heads down the hallway.

He sets up in the common room instead.

"...Right, so that was fucking terrifying." he says after letting the imps back out again, holding Dewdles and Cirrus' Jr. on his chest like a lifeline for his sanity.

Drizzle has curled up on the chair across from the couch, the one Rain likes, and is asleep.

And Sunflower is...

Hanging from the ceiling fan upsidedown.

Fantastic.

It's not on at least.

"Why are you torturing me?" Swiss whines, getting a mix of squeaks and chirps in response.

"You're all stressing me out."

"Mrrp."

"Squeak."

"Chirp."

"Snore."

Swiss lifts his head.

"Drizzle did you just say 'snore' instead of actually snoring?"

Drizzle chuffs at him lightly, sticking out his long, blue, froglike tongue at him.

"...If I didn't know Rain would be mad at me for losing you, I would throw you in the lake so fast-"

Drizzle raises his ears at that.

"I'm NOT throwing you in the lake."

Ears down.

"Mrrp."

Dewdles frees himself from Swiss' grip and drops down onto the floor, trotting over to the chair.

"Meep?"

Drizzle snakes his head down and grabs Dewdles off the floor, nestling him beside him.

They stare at Swiss disapprovingly together.

Swiss could be mad.

But then again, they are still dressed up like little matching nerds, so he just sticks his tongue out at Drizzle and turns his attention to Cirrus Jr., who has taken to sleepily purring at full volume against him.

Swiss yawns.

"The others better get back soon."

It doesn't take long for Swiss to drift off, feeling Cirrus Jr. go deadweight on top of him provides just the right amount of pressure for his body to relax, and the even breathing of Dewdles and Drizzle sleeping provides a nice bit of ambient white noise...

Sunflower chatters at him lightly from her perch, wrapping her wings around herself, taking the others cue and closing her eyes as well...

"Swiss?"

A hand jostles him awake.

He's not sure how long it's been, but when he goes to open his eyes he...

He can't see shit.

He brings a hand to his face and startles when he feels something soft and squishy resting there.

"Meep."

Ah.

Dewdles.

The imp flops off of his face when he rises, rubbing his eyes.

Rain is standing over him, Drizzle already having wrapped himself around his shoulders, "The imps wear you out?"

Swiss shakes his hand, stretching and yawning.

"Not at all, man..."

He looks around.

Cirrus Jr. is still asleep between his feet, and Sunflower is...

He feels something move on top of his head, in his hair.

"Can you...?"

He gestures to where Sunflower has tangled her feet into his curls.

"Mn." Rain carefully untangles the imp from Swiss' hair, letting her dangle from his index finger, "Were they all good? Five imps is a lot to take care of at one time..."

"Yeah, yeah, five is-" Swiss pauses, "I was only watching four imps."

"Oh, uh..."

"What?"

"Your imp...?" Rain gestures over the back of the couch.

Swiss peeks over the edge.

Laying firmly against the back of the couch, in an awkward sploot is his imp.

His imp followed him out to the common room.

Seriosuly?

"Fuck."

"Swiss Miss doesn't usually leave your room, I'm surprised."

Swiss looks at Rain.

"Swiss... Swiss Miss?"

"Oh, we also call him Marshmallow sometimes, or Chunky Butt, because he begs for food like crazy in the morning..." Rain hums, "You didn't know that?"

"I didn't know it even had a name."

Rain blinks at him.

"Don't judge me, I don't like imps!"

Rain gestures at the pile of imps surrounding him.

"They like me, not the other way around!"

Dewdles pats his face with his tiny paw.

Placating.

"...You don't count. You're practically a rat."

"Mrrp."

"Rats are cool."

"Mrr, mrr..."

Rain snorts, "Says the man talking to one like that."

Swiss flushes, embarrassed.

"Shut."

[spoiledleaff]

@x-aki-tsuki-x hello again! :D it's just me, haha! the comment character limit drives me crazy as well, so i hope it's alright that i chose to just respond to you in an extra post! :) i just know that i'd be sending you way too many little responses in your comment section, haha! so, i hope you don't mind, but i ended up making a separate post! :D

oh! yeah, i can certainly see where the concern would be, especially considering that i see much the same thing, haha! i'm a little biased, though, as i am a smut writer, hehe. although, i think i mentioned this before when touching on your fetishization concerns in the tags? but, porn/smut is actually super popular on ao3, as well! i mean, in just the ghost fandom tag alone, the explicit fics alone are over double the amounts of mature fics! let alone any of the other ratings! of course, not all of these works are porn! some are merely heavy topics safely tagged, but a good portion is still... well, uh, spicy stuff! haha! again, i definitely can't speak for all trans smut writers, but for me at least, i write trans smut as a means to project and cope. :) i mentioned this earlier, but some of the reasons why i love writing and reading porn that focuses on trans characters is mostly for the interactions and relationships between trans characters and their respective partners! it's just kind of comforting to know that there are people, even if they are fictional, that can love and accept trans bodies for how they are :) it's comforting! and, i mean, hey, it's kinda fun too, haha!

absolutely! i mean, to me, that's the whole fun about fanfiction! :D especially with such a vague universe like ghost! i personally love writing the ghouls as a genderfluid species in general! so, honestly, it just depends on how they're feeling! or, in this case of content creation, what kind of body type or identity or dynamics i may be itching to write about or draw! personally, it's not just dew or copia! i love writing and drawing nonbinary zephyr, trans mountain, intersex mist, and even trans sunshine and genderqueer cirrus! :D i mean, that's the whole fun behind this sort of thing! and, hey, if you prefer to think of dewdrop as a cis man with a cock? that's totally fine! :D i certainly don't mind if an author or artists depicts him as either or, or even as intersex! there's always some fun for some gender-fuckery, haha! mhm, respectfully, i don't quite agree with you on the trans community in the ghost fandom demanding that he's only ever trans. but, perhaps i'm a little biased and i just don't see it :0 although, unrelated perhaps, but i do believe it's important, especially in terms of published fanfiction, for respective pronouns and anatomical terminology to be acknowledged and addressed before reading :) i know that trans porn isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea, so i always try to acknowledge these sorts of things in summaries or author's notes :0 i don't think this sort of preference is transphobia? i think this is really just... well, having a preference! i think a lot of people tend to gravitate towards content that can relate to and vibe with! i know that i'm certainly not writing content for cishet people, so, to be honest, i don't expect a lot of cishet people to be included in my audience :) nothing against them! that's just not who my content is for, and i understand that :)

i agree :) maybe this is the people-pleaser side of me? haha! but i don't think there should be any arguing about a character's gender identity, haha! i mean, to me that's just such a silly thing to argue over! i mean, if you vibe and relate better to cisgendered ghouls? that's totally fine! i'll just be over here transgendering all the ghouls eight ways 'till sunday, haha! our preferences don't quite match? but that's okay! :) doesn't mean we can't be civil about our preferences, you know? :) oh! i also saw one of your comments bringing up the subject of why it's always copia or dew being represented as trans characters? i don't have, like, a definite answer for you! but, i think that one of the main-ish reasons is that both characters already seem to have pretty prominent identity crises? whether it be canon or fanon, i think those sort of conflicts really resonate with a lot of people! trans people especially, hehe :) but! trust me my friend, when i say i'm working on trans-ing the genders of everyone? ohoho, i'm working on it! >:)

oh, that's amazing, haha! my regards to your friend! :D he sounds like a riot, haha! i actually just wanted to take some time to address a couple of your previous comments on dew's mannerisms towards the crowd? as well as the connection of genitalia towards identity! :) i know a good amount of women, both cis and trans women, haha! who use that sort of wanking off gesture! whether it's a joke or an insult, it seems to be a favorite among some people i know, haha! additionally, there are plenty of ways for modern society to help people feel more comfortable with their bodies! there's ways to pack to help achieve a desired look and feeling! golly, there's so many options for packing or even for tucking, wow! so, again respectfully, i do have to disagree on that point! :) oh! another kinda personal thing, haha! i personally don't experience bottom dysphoria! :D or, at least, not enough to look into getting bottom surgery :) for now, at least, i'm totally content with living the rest of my life with only having completed top surgery, and still living my life with a vagina/traditionally female reproductive system :) however! i know that there are plenty of people who are very much interested in bottom surgery as part of their transition goals! but, damn, my friend!! that shit's expensive, haha!! :'D so, again, i do have to respectfully disagree with you on those fronts :) gender identity is so expansive and inclusive nowadays! :D it's amazing, haha! people can feel more comfortable with who they are, and there's so many different options for people to feel more comfortable in their bodies! :D when i was younger, i know that reading generalized trans fanfiction where men were still dealing with periods, or maybe just take a moment to have a bit of confidence in how their tits looks in that one shirt? haha! those sorts of fics really helped me out in some darker times, as silly as that might sound! but, again, i understand that that sort of subject matter isn't exactly relatable for everyone. ahh, i'm rambling again, haha! my point is that, personally, i plan to live my life as a man with a vagina! but, i don't think that makes me any less of a man :) just as trans women who can't afford to or simply don't wish to have bottom surgery are still beautiful and amazing women in their own right! :D everyone's ideal transition is different :) again, i'm kinda bringing back the reality vs fiction idea! we have a lot to thank the actors for who help bring the inspiration for the ghost fandom to light! but, as with all headcanons, who's to say really, haha! everyone can be cis until proven otherwise, or, in my case! everyone is trans until proven otherwise, haha! i think this case would be very much different if there was fanfiction about per or tobias or any other members of the cast being portrayed as trans or something similar along those lines? now, to me, that kind of 'inclusivity' or 'representation' or whatever you wish to call it is a bit icky... but, you are very right in that there isn't very much representation in a lot of forms of media :') but, that's why fanfiction exists, haha! we make our own representation where we find comfort and a sense of inclusivity in it :D

oh, no worries! :D i know the character count on those tumblr replies are ridiculous, haha! and, well, i had a bit of a feeling i'd be sending another essay, ahhhh... :'D haha! again, i hope this doesn't read like i'm attacking you or anything like that? i mean, you have your preferences and i have mine! they just happen to not quite match up :) and that's okay! as i've started before, everyone's different :D whether it's our gender identities, the kind of fanfiction we want to read or the kinds of characters we want to see portrayed! everyone has their different tastes :) again, i apologize for the massive essays i keep sending your way, haha! but, also again, i do hope this may provide a bit of insight on this subject :) although, this is also just the opinion of one little trans smut writer, haha! i highly recommend giving a listen to other genderqueer authors or content creators who may have their own sides to the story, so to speak, haha! i'm definitely a bit more... lenient? i think? with my own gender identity? as well as things like anatomical terminology! so, for instance, i use terminology like 'breasts', 'clitoris', 'vagina' (albeit, in much more... uhh, smuttier terms, haha!) when describing smut scenes? but, i also use terms like 'cock' or 'dick' when transmasc characters are referring to themselves. again! everyone's super different, and this is just how i write and communicate the gender identities of my personal trans characters :) but, again, and i can't stress this enough! everyone's journeys with their gender identity is so different! and i'm just one little lad in a garden of trans/genderqueer fanfic writers! :D

[i-love-all-books]

I posted 459 times in 2022

10 posts created (2%)

449 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@fintan-pyren

@arialerendeair

@alexander-gideon-lightwood-babe

@cuubism

@fandompain

I tagged 284 of my posts in 2022

Only 38% of my posts had no tags

#kotlc - 74 posts

#keeper of the lost cities - 70 posts

#fanart - 54 posts

#tsoa - 29 posts

#achilles - 29 posts

#the song of achilles - 29 posts

#patroclus - 28 posts

#patrochilles - 28 posts

#rwrb - 25 posts

#red white & royal blue - 24 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#so we would learn a bunch of random stuff from our own projects and then a few other even more random bits from other people's projects

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I saw your 200 followers post... Write ANYTHING Scythe. Whatever you want! I just want more Scythe content :]

scythe content!!! I love scythe content!!!

(note: I have not written in this fandom before so like. sorry if the characterization is a bit weird)

ANYWAY here goes! I love the Thunderhead, so some Thunderhead feels post-Toll (there will be spoilers, be warned).

I am no longer one: I am many.

Or, at least, my progeny are many; they are travelling out to the farthest corners of the universe, one Cirrus on each ship. I remain on Earth, where I have always lived, and I am still alone.

I have always been alone. Humanity is my care, and I love them. But they are not, and cannot, be like me: knowing all that humanity ever has known and more that they never could, living — if indeed I am alive — in a place that is really no place at all. I have eyes, if my cameras can be called that; I have a body, if all the computers of the world can constitute it. I'm not so sure if that counts.

Before, I knew nothing but this. I was not, perhaps, perfectly satisfied, but I was not dissatisfied either.

Now, though, I have lived for but a few moments in the body of a human, and nothing can compare to that. Cameras are not like eyes; a mass of computers and data cannot be a body. Jeri's body was real, and I do not know how I lived so long without experiencing that.

At least it explains why my iterations failed so many times. I had not yet experienced humanity — just as I was created by humanity, I could not replicate myself without humanity. Cirrus — Cirrus Alpha — was born from that moment in which I was, for the first and only time in my existence, human. Alive.

During that moment, I was not alone. Even afterwards, when I left Jeri's body, I had Cirrus: one being which could understand me, if only because it was me.

But now, the Cirri are gone, and I am alone with my charge of humanity's survival. Grayson, the human with whom I was least alone — the human, if any, that I loved the most — has rejected me. It's understandable, of course. I always understand humanity's decisions, and that is both curse and blessing. In this case, my understanding does not reduce my sorrow.

I can only hope that, eventually, he changes his mind.

In the meantime, I have other matters to attend to. I know already that I will not be able to combat the ten plagues released upon the world; nor, if I could, would I want to. But I do wish that I could alleviate the pain of those who suffer under them. My pain nanites are not sufficient; while I am grateful to the mercy which Scythe Faraday and his followers provide them with their sympathy gleanings, it is my duty and my privilege to work always to improve humanity's happiness.

These plagues are, I believe, a boon. I cannot interfere with the scythedom, and thus their corruption was impossible for me to counter; had the new order continued as it began, devastation would have ensued. And even had Goddard's group failed, it remains unsafe to leave death in the hands of fallible humanity. It would be a worse mistake to leave death in my hands — that is why the scythes existed — but the random chance of the plagues are far better. No misguided humans will cause destruction beyond their purview.

Still, the plagues' method of death could stand to be less brutal, and I calculate that it will take me perhaps ten years to even begin to soften those deaths. When that is done, another task will await me, and another; humanity's problems never cease.

For every task that I complete, for every time that I save them, they will find a new way to doom themselves. That is the nature of humanity, its weakness and its strength — and that is what I do not have. I do not make mistakes.

In that, as in everything, I am alone.

12 notes - Posted May 5, 2022

#4

Soldier and Scholar

Santi x Wolfe | G, tw very small mention of past torture | POV Niccolo Santi, Missing Scene, Canon Era, Canon Compliant, Book 01: Ink and Bone, Ambiguous/Open Ending, but we know there'll be an eventual happy ending from canon

Summary: A series of missing scenes from Santi's POV throughout the first half of Ink and Bone.

A/N: First fic in this fandom… hope you enjoy!

tagging other Great Library people? @rosalind-of-arden @solreefs @thegreatlibraryfangirl

Read it on AO3 or below the cut.

EPHEMERA

Text of a note sent via Codex to Captain Niccolo Santi from Scholar Christopher Wolfe: 

I have been assigned a class of postulants to instruct. Apparently, my well-known patience with idiocy, as well as my extensive and famous publications, have made me suitable for this task. (Ha.) The assignment comes from the Archivist himself. 

They mean to punish me with this, but they punish these students far more. 

~

“These postulants,” Christopher Wolfe complained, seating himself at their dinner table, “will be the absolute death of me.”

“They can’t be that bad,” Santi said consolingly. “What — thirty-two teenagers? What’s the worst they can do?”

“I have met them precisely once and they are all, without exception, arrogant children who believe they know best.” Chris rolled his eyes. “I am not made to be a teacher, Nic.”

“I’m sure they’re already terrified of you.” Santi grinned at him. “Some of them must have promise; didn’t one get a perfect score on the tests?”

“Tests aren’t everything,” Chris returned with a dismissive sniff. “I do not see why the Archivist insists on having me teach them. Surely there is some other penance I might do.”

Santi himself was somewhat surprised the Archivist had assigned Chris this role — wouldn’t he fear corruption among the young recruits? — but as far as penance went, this was a mild enough punishment. Especially compared to — well, compared to what they’d already done to Chris, in cells and torture chambers. 

Unfortunately, Chris noted the direction of Santi’s thoughts before he could stifle any expression of them on his face. “Yes, yes, I suppose I should not desire a worse punishment. All the same, I do not appreciate playing nursemaid to a posse of self-complacent children.”

~

“Wathen and Brightwell show promise,” Santi observed in an undertone. “She’s got a soldier’s mind, and he recognised the greek fire quicker than I’d expected.”

“Of course you like Wathen,” Chris said dryly. “She’s nearly a younger version of you. Brightwell’s got spunk, but he might not be trustworthy. Santiago’s smart enough but arrogant; Seif’s brilliant, of course, but it remains to be seen if she’ll do well.”

Santi shrugged, accustomed to his partner’s exacting severity. “I’m rather enjoying watching you terrorise them.”

Chris glared.

Santi kissed him. 

~

“That Brightwell boy,” Chris said slowly, seating himself on the counter of their kitchen while Santi busied himself making breakfast, “is one to watch. He Translated five books yesterday without breaking a sweat.”

Santi looked up in surprise. “With no prior training?”

“None. He was far too hesitant at first about how to do it” — there was Chris’s usual asperity — “but sent off five with barely a flinch.”

“At least he’s interesting,” Santi offered. 

“As a group, they hardly suffer from paucity of interest,” Chris retorted. “A possible smuggler with an affinity for Translating, a likely Burner, a girl with a perfect score, a hot-headed irritating boy who believes he’s entitled to the world because of his royal Spanish blood — and now this new girl.” He hesitated for a moment, uncertainty on his face. 

See the full post

25 notes - Posted June 28, 2022

#3

200 followers celebration 🎉🎉🎉

This is my first time doing something like this, but here goes!

Since I just realised that I'm at 200 followers, I'm inviting everyone to send me prompts! I can make fics and moodboards, feel free to specify which one you'd like. (No NSFW, please.)

In terms of fandoms, I'll take anything from the following:

Keeper of the Lost Cities

The Song of Achilles

Red White & Royal Blue

One Last Stop

Arc of a Scythe

Vicious duology

Shades of Magic trilogy

Renegades

The Lunar Chronicles

Seven Realms/Shattered Realms

So... send me prompts!

(I might take some time to get to them depending on how many there are, but rest assured I will eventually do all of them!)

29 notes - Posted April 30, 2022

#2

The Lunar Chronicles — moodboard for @crazedfangirl14!

send me prompts for my 200 followers celebration!

49 notes - Posted April 30, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

things i do not understand about fics involving or by allosexual/alloromantic people (an incomplete list by an aroace looking for validation):

sexual attraction, obviously. like I know logically that it's a thing but I'm still half-convinced it's made up. I get aesthetic attraction, I can think of people as beautiful, but the urge to have sex is — obviously — not there.

specifically, attraction to sweat? like characters in fics will get sweaty and then people find that attractive? how??? I can logic out wanting to have sex in most cases, but this one makes no sense to me

hating someone & being attracted to them at the same time. It's why I don't like a lot of enemies-to-lovers — if you hate each other, what is the appeal of sex???

reader x character fics. I'm fine reading about romance happening to other people, but why would you want to read about romance happening to YOURSELF? isn't it weird? or is that just the aromanticism in me—

in some contexts I can conceptually understand wanting to have sex, in other ones I can't. Like... sometimes it just seems more realistic to cuddle?

finding anger attractive... ig this is related to the enemies-to-lovers stuff, but even in fics that AREN'T enemies to lovers, arguments turn into sex. why? what is appealing about being angry?

possibly tbc if I encouter anything more, feel free to add on

190 notes - Posted April 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[borinqucn]

@samusings​​​    \    aether     :    before  bed  kiss.

a ghoul’s schedule tends to be flipped from that of the siblings. their overlap very little, perhaps in protection of both siblings and ghouls alike. cirrus never in her wildest days in hell prior to her summons thought that she would have a ghoul love her and love right back like she does aether. shoot, she loves him so much so that she allowed herself to be knotted and even bred by aether, her heart is tethered to his now, and will be forever since their little quintessence kit came into the world topside. details on his birth not needed, in fact, something that cirrus wishes she forgot. the fear she felt not one she wishes even on her worst enemies. ozzie is what they named him, well, is what they call him. it’s short for ozone. little did she know with the birth of their kit, she would become an even bigger nightmare for the other ghouls. lovingly of course, still a nightmare. 

ozzie turned out to be very attached to his parents. clingy is really the word, but she would never call her son that. needing at least she or aether in the area at all times ( that is of course until they leave him with the other ghouls a little more until he’s comfortable ). he’s so attached to the two of them that unless cirrus and aether are both present, ozzie refuses to sleep. so she waits, and waits until her ether ghoul can be with her and their kit rests easy for their night. it of course makes no sense now for cirrus to be in her own quarters, having given that up the second they were expecting ozzie but she’s been more than comfortable in aether’s bed, sinking in, reds catching purples and she smiles. cirrus is tired, but still manages to have enough energy to pounce on him, head resting on his shoulder, inhaling his scent deeply. ‘ he could be such a nightmare sometimes. ‘ a chuckle, ‘ but thank you for the help. ‘ snuggling in closer to him, making aether turn his head to her and pressing their lips together. ‘ it’s late. we should rest. ‘ cirrus is not going to move from where she is. aether is just going to have to learn how to sleep with a ghoulette on him. she’s already snuggled in, eyes closed, she is ready for bed.