#this happens so much the other ghouls predict when it happens

[hatchets-garages]

So um

My foot got ran over

But heres a small draft of writing

Dew sat on the edge of his bed, wondering and wandering in his mind. Countless fires all in rage and waves of emotion, things turning into ash; yet still, cock in hand and leaking prejack. His devious plans rummed in his mind. Swirls and whirls and thoughts about Swiss, Little did he know

His door wasn't fully closed and there was a figure being aroused with the warmth

The door slowly creaks and dew almost fell, he landed on his side in his bed. The figure moved forward and staked a grin.

"FUCKING SWISS" Dew blurts "Love you tooooooo!" Swiss' grin grows bigger as he slides back out and makes sure that Dews door is fully shut.

[everybodyshusband]

ooooo husband requests back on??? count me in!!! if you'd find it in yourself, I'd love to see some sappy swissalps in your style, whatever comes to mind!!! and take your time :3

fuck yeah, husband requests back on !!!! sappy, morning routine swissalps coming right up <3

(divder by @wrathofrats)

Swiss stretches and groans as he wakes, rubbing his eyes to rid them of sleep and popping his back as well as he can against the soft mattress. A muffled whine at his side prompts the multi ghoul to turn his head to the right and he feels his expression melt into something that can only be described as unrestrained adoration at the sight of the sleepy earth ghoul lying next to him.

Swiss shifts himself over a little closer, melting against the warmth of Mountain's body heat and murmuring a soft "Mornin' sapling" against his shoulder, making sure to kiss the freckled skin afterwards for good measure.

The earth ghoul's only response is to whine tiredly and roll over to face the other direction, pulling the covers up to his ears and burrowing his face even deeper into his pillow. Swiss can't blame him for not wanting to wake up just yet, the two of them were up late last night, and as much as Swiss longs to stay in bed with his love for a while longer, the few sparks of fire element that run through his veins are calling out to him this morning, flickering to life alongside the dawn of this new day and urging him to get up, get moving.

He groans again as he hauls himself out of bed—softer this time, lest he wake his tired mate again—and pads over to the ensuite bathroom of their shared room. The multi ghoul splashes his face with water to help wake himself up, swishes a mouthful or two of water around in his mouth and gives his appearance a once-over in the mirror for good measure. Once satisfied with the general tousled-ness of his hair and his singlet top and boxers are deemed appropriate enough for this early hour (when any of the pack who do happen to be up and about will barely be awake enough to register his state of undress), Swiss makes his way out of the bathroom and into the ghouls' kitchen. He pauses only for a moment on his way out of the room, taking the time to smile down at his mate and press a gentle kiss to the earth ghoul's head—the only part of his body that's visible underneath all of his blankets.

As it usually is at this hour, the kitchen and the rest of the common areas lie empty, the rest of the pack choosing to stay curled up around each other for a while longer while Swiss sets about organising everything for breakfast. On a typical day, breakfast is a team effort between himself and Mountain and the system works a treat. While the earth ghoul gets his extra hour or so of sleep, Swiss connects his phone to the speaker resting on the bench and loses himself in the music as he busies himself with mixing up batter for pancakes, cutting up fruit for toppings and setting the table out with bread, condiments and all manner of cereals. He loves his pack and he's always been adamant that they all deserve options for their breakfast. Of course, the most important task, at least in Swiss' eyes, is setting the caffettiera onto the stove to get the morning's coffee brewing for all those who drink it.

Predictably, the smell of brewing coffee is enough to rouse both Mountain and Dewdrop from their respective slumbers. Dew is the first to appear and Swiss doesn't hesitate to pour out the fire ghoul's morning coffee and leaving it on the bench for him as the multi ghoul continues to cut up the pile of fruit in front of him. Dewdrop takes the cup and wordlessly nods his thanks before disappearing into the common room, no doubt curling himself under a blanket and settling down to enjoy the coffee, paired with his latest loan from the Abbey's library.

As predicted, Mountain appears next, just as Swiss is humming along to the song playing from the speaker and wiggling his body in time with the music. As he makes his way through the fruit, he feels the earth ghoul's strong arms wrap around his waist and a head rest against his shoulder.

"You look like you're having fun," Mountain muses, turning his head to press a kiss to Swiss' bare shoulder, a mirror of what the multi ghoul had done to him barely an hour before.

"Always," Swiss grins. "Coffee?"

"Please."

It takes Swiss less than a minute to make the earth ghoul's coffee. After all these years making everyone's drinks, he's gotten surprisingly quick, he's pretty sure Dew and Cumulus have a spreadsheet detailing his progress in the speed of his coffee making. He slides Mountain his drink and leans in to sneak a quick kiss before the earth ghoul takes a sip. Mountain deepens the kiss but it remains chaste, a lazy thing that has warmth spreading from the place they're connected all the way to the tips of his fingers.

"I didn't get a kiss with my coffee," Dew jokes, smirking as both ghouls spring apart in surprise from his sudden interjection as he enters the kitchen to rinse his mug out and deposit it next to the sink.

"Shut up, Dew," Swiss complains good-naturedly, shoving at the fire ghoul as he walks back past him and Mountain, still smirking even as he rounds the corner into the common room again.

"Don't listen to him," Mountain reassures. "I think we're cute." He leans forward slowly to capture Swiss in yet another soft, all-consuming kiss, his coffee and the multi ghoul's fruit entirely forgotten.

But just before their lips can touch, they're interrupted once again by none other than Dewdrop himself, although this time, he's shouting from his spot on the sofa rather than accosting them directly. "For Satan's sake, stop flirting in there, some of us are fucking starving!"

The two ghouls stare at each other for a second or two before bursting into laughter. Swiss shakes his head at his packmate's antics and moves away from Mountain to let the earth ghoul begin cooking the pancakes as he arranges the cold food to be set out on the table. As Swiss pulls away, Mountain's tail wraps around his own, squeezing lightly a few times, a declaration of his love for the multi ghoul that even Dewdrop can't interrupt.

[divine-misfortune]

Quint ghouls quint ghouls quint ghouls !!

I've been meaning to do these designs for a while @wrathofrats and I have been talking about all of the older ghouls for a long ass time we've been thinking so hard on them.

Ghoul thoughts below the cut :)

Ps: pls ask me abt my old ghoul lore I'll die for u

Omega

First quintessence ghoul. Has always been Papa's right hand man.

When not touring, he helped in the infirmary but after retirement took a much more hands on role there.

His magic is more attuned to healing than the others. Is the only one of them able to mend more than surface level injuries.

Warm, and soft voiced. Omega is an inviting and stable presence in the ministry. He is kind and patient, human enough in behavior the ministry allows him to speak publicly, to give interviews and speak to the adoring masses.

Delta

Initially a water ghoul, he was the first elemental transition. His transition was not authorized by the clergy, the timing just happened to be convenient.

Like the water ghouls before him, cursed by an element that refuses to be tamed, Delta was bound to reverting back to his base ghoulish nature. Turn feral, if you will. He sought about saving himself, but in turn damned himself to a new fate.

His vessel is not suited to harbor an element like quintessence, and as time went on, the unstable energy inside of him began to eat away at him. Mentally and physically, he was decaying. It changed him in a way nobody could have predicted.

Delta is cold and distant, more so than he ever was as a water ghoul. There is something deeply, deeply unsettling about him.

His magic is weak and a little unpredictable. Rarely allowed to be used on others, Omega makes sure he does not get too involved in the infirmary and its affairs.

Aether

Delta's replacement, one they found quickly and quietly. Aether just seemingly appeared one day, and with his arrival Delta practically went missing in action.

Terzo's first successful quintessence ghoul, something Aether is a bit prideful of. Also had a hand in summoning the rest of his pack.

Studied quite closely with Omega, but had an insatiable curiosity to explore their element more. A tad reckless with it at first, there were several siblings that seemingly disappeared after last being seen with Aether that the clergy scrubbed from their records.

Was fairly tightly wound when he was summoned but has since become much more approachable given time. His nature is quite loving, a very "others before himself" mentality. Charming, dangerously so. Older siblings tend to warn about the honey he speaks, but nobody believes someone as calming as Aether could ever truly be that bad.

His magic is an internal thing. Attuned closer to the brain than the body, sure he can heal but only surface level injuries for the most part. He's much better at tinkering around in your skull than anything.

Retired of his own volition.

Phantom

Newest quintessence ghoul.

Was the first ghoul Copia summoned without assistance.

Much smaller than the previous ghouls of his element, he compensates with a larg personality that is he's really just starting to settle into. Mostly sweet, a little naive. He's picking up his packs bad habits, mostly Dew's excessive use of the word 'fuck'.

Unlike those before him, Phantom's magic is hardly useful for things like healing. He can fix your headaches, but that's about it. Phantom's quintessence, while somewhat similar to Aether's, is mostly new to the clergy. Shadow magic. It's a little unstable, not like Delta's, more he's just unfamiliar with how to control it. Tends to get a little wispy around the edges because of it.

[cityofmeliora]

transcript: Sweden Rock Festival (June 4, 2015)

this was only Terzo's second live performance. you can tell from the way he speaks in this concert and in his first concert that he had not yet grown into the role of an entertainer. he wasn't fully sure of himself and what he was doing. (which caused a few endearingly awkward moments.) he did eventually build up his confidence, and he became the flamboyant, dramatic, powerful stage presence we've come to know and love.

FULL CONCERT (AUDIO ONLY)

[BETWEEN "FROM THE PINNACLE TO THE PIT" AND "RITUAL"]

Thank you very much. How are you doing tonight? So nice to see you all here tonight in the cold. Are you feeling cold? No? Maybe it's just me. Maybe my rigor mortis is setting in. Anyway, this is my first big night together with all of you all. I hope you all will enjoy this as much as I will. So, join us here now for our first real big "Ritual" together.

[BETWEEN "PRIME MOVER" AND "MAJESTY"]

Thank you very much. Are you still awake? Perfectly sober, right? A little bit tipsy? Yes… So are you getting some tonight, heh? Some more than others… Well! We have a new phonographic record coming out. Yes, yes! We're gonna treat you for some new songs. This is one of them. This is called… "Majesty"!

[BETWEEN "CIRICE" AND "STAND BY HIM"]

Yes… So, how am I doing so far? Not very bad! I know, this is a very good show, heh! So… it's very cold up here. Not everywhere. And I hope you are warm in the right place, too. Are you warm in the right places, Sweden Rock? Are you doing good? Fantastic. Now, we're gonna play you a rocking song. And I need you to clap your hands -in pace, preferrably- along with the introduction, which happens to be on the drums.

[BETWEEN "YEAR ZERO" AND "ABSOLUTION"]

How about that? Well, it's getting late. Yes! It's not a matter of opinion; it is getting late. So, I know it might seem a little confusing –it's even a little confusing to me, sometimes– y'know, playing new songs for people who've never heard these songs. But I tell you what– we have a really good ending song that you will understand why it is an ending song when you hear it. But now it might seem a bit strange, huh? But we have to finish this off now. And this is a really cool song that we have on the next record. This is called… "Absolution".

[BETWEEN "ABSOLUTION" AND "IF YOU HAVE GHOSTS"]

Goodnight, everybody. Thank you very much. You are beautiful. Goodnight. Wear rubbers. Have fun.

[THE BAND PRETENDS TO LEAVE AND COME BACK]

You're saying our name wrong. We're called "Ghost". But nobody's perfect. But you know what, Sweden Rock– Do you know what you have tonight here, which is all yours? Say it! [AUDIENCE SHOUTS "GHOST!"] Yes… you do.

[BETWEEN "IF YOU HAVE GHOSTS" AND "MONSTRANCE CLOCK"]

There you are. Don't you be falling asleep on me! Okay! We are now officially wrapping– with a song. It's not a rap song, though. [STAMMERS] I've heard from my brother that you are somewhat of a singing crowd. So you like singing, eh? That is fantastic because that is exactly what we're gonna do right now. And if you had said no, that would have been… weird. So thank you for not being weird and weirding me out. I'm weird enough as it is. So! Apparently, these lyrics are very easy. So everybody knows the lyrics for this last song, huh? It's a damn predictable band, always playing the last same song. I told him, but… apparently, it works. So, are you all down for singing with me tonight? Fantastic. And while you're at it, please give a big round of applause for the Ghouls. Conclusively, I give you… "Monstrance Clock".

setlist below cut:

INTRO (MASKED BALL)

GENESIS

FROM THE PINNACLE TO THE PIT

RITUAL

PRIME MOVER

MAJESTY

CON CLAVI CON DIO

DEATH KNELL

CIRICE

STAND BY HIM

ELIZABETH

SATAN PRAYER

YEAR ZERO

ABSOLUTION

IF YOU HAVE GHOST

MONSTRANCE CLOCK

[runscold-runsdeep]

Goner

Copia x GN!Reader - Comfort angst

Warnings/Disclaimers: This could be read as Papa Copia or [RHRN Spoilers], heart attack aftermath, hospitalization, established relationship.

Word count: 700+

///Author’s note

I know I said I would make a banner for this, but work has been heavily sapping away my energy so I can’t make art the way I want to, but I will make the art for it and publish it separately whenever I can. I hope you all enjoy this though!

🫀⸸⛧⸸🫀

It was unexpected and frightening. You, Copia, and the ghouls were together, laughing, joking, celebrating his promotion, then it happened. But, looking back, it wasn't completely unexpected. Copia complained about some chest pain earlier that day that both of you shrugged off as just stress and maybe too much caffeine. A warning sign you both didn’t pay attention to. As Copia sat there, his chest constricting with pain, the relentless throb of his heart drowning out all other sounds as he gripped your hand, the wait for the ambulance felt excruciatingly long. Yet, eventually, the shrill sound of sirens pierced through the silence, signaling the arrival of the medical help he so desperately needed.

That was yesterday. Now, with a bouquet of scarlet roses in your trembling hand, you made your way through the stark, sterile corridors of the hospital, following the signs that led you to Copia's room. With a mixture of anticipation and dread, you pushed open the door, uncertain of what you would find inside—fearing the worst after what happened.

When you opened the door, there he was, lying peacefully on the hospital bed, surrounded by get-well cards and flowers from the ghouls and other Clergy members that visited him before you did. A faint smile graced his lips as he looked up at you with grateful eyes, putting away one of the cards he was reading. When he noticed your expression, his own softened. He sat more upright, silently beckoning you in.

You carefully shut the door behind you as you entered, setting your flowers with the others before pulling a chair up to his bed. “How long are you supposed to be here?” You muttered as you sat down, leaning close to him.

“Six weeks, more or less.” He replied, “They sort of, uhh… put a mesh thing inside me, to open up an artery. And they need to make sure I heal the way I need to.” He continued as he gestured to his chest, trying not to touch the opening. His shoulders slumped as he noticed your empty expression, your eyes focused on his chest, his eyes almost stinging as he watched the tears form in yours.

He took your hand, squeezing it gently. “Are you alright?” He spoke softly.

“…I feel like this is my fault.” You tried to fight the lump in your throat and speak, “If I would’ve known that this would happen—“

“We didn’t know.” He rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb, “That’s the tricky thing, we don’t ever really know when this shit will happen. It’s hard to predict.”

You rubbed your eye with your sleeve. “I… thought you were a goner.”

Copia took a deep breath before speaking, “I thought so too.” He replied quietly, his free hand wandering up to gently press his palm to his heart. “…But I’m still here.” He spoke once more after another brief pause, “I’m still here and with you. Here…” He took your hand, placing it on his chest where his other hand was, his heart beating letting you know that he was indeed there, alive, not a goner. That was when your tears began to fall.

“Shh-shhh-shhh… Hey, it’s okay.” He guided you onto the cot with him, holding you close with your head on his chest to allow his heart to whisper to you, to say the things he didn’t know how to at that moment, to let you know that he wasn’t going to leave you without a fight.

“…C?” You sniffled a bit.

“Yes?” He whispered, rubbing the back of your head.

Gently, you turned your head to kiss over his heart, your lips lingering there for just a moment. “I love you.”

He smiled, “I love you too.” He tapped the tip of your nose, just to make you smile also, which worked.

You laid there with him like that for several hours, the two of you mumbling back and forth about whatever came to mind until a nurse had to almost chase you away, as you seemed to overstay visitation. You saw him every day for those six weeks, watching him heal and making sure he didn’t go insane from staying in one place for too long.

Soon, he was well enough to come back home to you, and you even then still kept a close watch on him, making sure he was following the Doctor’s instructions. Though, he would argue that you were watching a little too closely, like a helicopter parent—as you’ve heard him mention to a ghoul. But who can blame you? It would be a cold day in hell before you would let something like that happen to him again.

~~~

Tag list: @cor-obscenum @boomerangjr @sisterwolfsbane

[spoiledleaff]

Hello! Do you happen to take xReader requests? I would just love to see a ficlet from you where Mountain catches Rain and Reader cuddling in the gardens? They/Them pronouns for the Reader please? and SFW if possible?

I know I'm asking for a lot, so please don't feel like I'm pressuring you! :)

i mean, i've been threatening to delve into the world of /reader fics for quite some time, but i've never actually made true on my threats, unfortunately :') but!! i will tonight!! >:3c

sfw ✿ he/him mountain/rain + they/them gn sibling of sin reader ✿ wc ; 860.

Mountain knows that Rain's been... predictably vacant from the Ministry's hallways, but the earth's sin had just figured that he was napping in between the pews after Mass or getting high at the lakeside. Rain might not be the same... 'level' as Dewdrop, but the water ghoul certainly knows how to shirk the work he simply doesn't want to do.

Luckily for the Ministry, it's only during the more extreme seasons that Rain choses to abandon his duties. Luckily for Mountain, nothing's really happening at this point in time, so Rain's extra hands aren't a necessity for the wellbeing of the Abbey.

It was midday when he caught them, the black ink of their church uniforms clashing dramatically against the vibrant colors of the garden's flowers. It wasn't surprising at all to find Rain curled up in the depths of the gardens, the shade of the gazebo sparing the water's sin from any risk of drying up in the sun's rays. It took a moment, however, for Mountain to find that Rain wasn't alone in his loafing around.

Mountain recognizes the Sibling from the way they wear their uniform: elongated in some traditionally short areas and trimmed shorter where it was once long. He recalls Rain rambling once — after having met the Sibling a couple of times — about how everything they did was just so uniquely them; their uniform included. It drew Rain in, among other things, and Mountain was happy to watch as Rain grew increasingly infatuated with the very existence of the Sibling.

Speaking of, the earth's sin watches as Rain's tail flicks lazily against their ankle, docile barbs brushing against the sliver of exposed skin. There's small pink welt dragging across the bone of their ankle, he notices, and Mountain decides he's going to have to talk to Rain again about human fragility.

Other than that small detail, the sight laid before Mountain is actually quite wholesome. Rain has the poor Sibling practically suffocated in his arms, his mask flattening the grass below them though his balaclava remains secure over his face. His arms are locked tight around the small of the Sibling's back, their arms curled up in the small spaces left between them and the water's sin. Mountain notices how one of their hands is buried deep between the seam of Rain's button-up shirt, one of the golden buttons having been popped free to accommodate the space of their hand.

The Sibling is curled up tight in Rain's chest, so small and human in comparison to the water ghoul's borderline awkward proportions. It's cute, and Mountain can't help but think of how much smaller the Sibling would feel tucked up into his own side.

Well, it's not that he's never thought about it — the way this Sibling in particular would slot so perfectly into his side or the weight of them on his chest — and he knows that they wouldn't mind! Mountain's lost count of how many times he's caught the little creature wrapped up in Dewdrop's arms or faceplanted into Cumulus' chest. Of course, Rain is never too far away from the Sibling, but Mountain knows the water's sin — or any of them for that matter — wouldn't have any issues with sharing.

They've even offered it to him before! All sweet smiles and an outstretched hand, somehow managing to wiggle out of Rain's grasp just enough to brush their fingers against the leather of Mountain's boots. But, alas, Mountain was supposed to have been in Copia's office two minutes prior to your proposal, and the earth's sin had to refuse.

But now? Mountain's finished his chores in the greenhouse, dinner isn't for another hour or so, and there's no gremlin trying to get into his pants with nothing but hot hands and sly smiles, so-

There's nothing stopping the earth's sin from joining the pair.

Just in case, Mountain quietly slinks off to Rain's side of the cuddle pile, watching the steady of rise and fall of both cuddlebugs' chests as he moved. Mountain plops himself down right behind Rain's curled up form, carefully slotting himself behind the water ghoul so as not to disturb neither sin or Sibling. He presses his chest against the hard plane of Rain's back, scrambling to be rid of his own mask before getting too comfortable dozing underneath the gazebo's shade in the company of those he adores. He sets his mask next to Rain's, mindful of the 'clink' the two masks make, before allowing himself to curl up around both Rain and his napping partner.

Mountain purrs quietly as throws one arm above his head and wiggles the other carefully in the open spaces between Rain and the Sibling, quickly finding the lump of their hand underneath Rain's partially unbuttoned shirt. Through the cotton of the fabric, Mountain holds the Sibling's hand, delighting in the way they snuggle closer and press their nose against his knuckles.

Rain's tail stops swishing, and the devious little bastard starts up a purr of his own, taking great pleasure in having lured in another sailor lost at sea with the sirensong promise of a nap in the middle of the day.

[secretsandwriting]

3 Times No One Believed Dewdrop Has A Partner and The One Time They Couldn't Deny It

Dew: This is my partner, we've been dating for a year Everyone else: No its not, how much is he paying you? Dew: well well well, if it isn't the consequences to my own actions

Some notes: So while it might seem like the ghouls are being harsh on him, it is because Dew has joked about having a partner enough times that they figure he's doing it again. There are ways Dew could have been like "No this is actually my partner" and the ghouls would have believed him but he didn't. The ghouls also know him well enough to know the limits of what they could tease. Dew just really wanted the dramatic, "I told you they were actually my partner." (He got it)

crossposted from my ao3

~One~

            Silence had never been so loud. Dew had just introduced you to the other ghouls and none of them seemed to know how to handle it, you weren’t sure why exactly as Dew had told you he had talked about you before. 

            “No.” Aether, or the one you assumed was Aether based off of the descriptions Dew had given you. “There's no way you actually have a partner.” The rest of the ghouls nodded in agreement while Dew sputtered next to you.

            “Look Dew, we love you. But there’s no way you managed to get a partner as pretty as them in a year. It would take at least two for them to look past your spontaneous combustions, much less the pranks you pull.” 

            So Dew was right when he said he didn’t think they believed him. Dew argued back and forth with them, the other ghouls teasing him with reasons your relationship couldn’t be true using reasons that wouldn’t bother anyone who spent enough time around the fire ghoul. 

            “Nope. You’re too ticklish for a partner.” 

            “What the fuck does that mean?” After a few minutes of the teasing with no sign of it stopping, you moved to one of the couches. It provided some comfort as you watched Dew fight for his life in the argument you knew would leave all of them in a good mood. A mug of tea was handed to you by Mountain.

            “You can go if you want, we know you're not actually dating. Dew’s claimed to have a partner before. You are however the first person he’s brought in to prove it.” He spoke softly while Aether was in a screaming match with Dew over pizza rolls? You took a sip of the tea, it was decent.

            Eventually the ghouls couldn’t hold it together anymore and broke down into a giggling mess. Dew glanced back at you and grinned. At the end of the day all that mattered is that you were in a happy stable relationship, not that people believed you were. Besides, Dew had already predicted this would happen. 

            Despite all of them thinking Dew paid you to be there you were invited to stay for movie night. Dew gladly gave up some of his space for you and watching the ghouls react to some classic movies was quite entertaining. 

~Two~

            Copia had heard from the other ghouls Dew had brought his “partner” to meet them. So when Dew inevitably dragged you to practice to watch he was somewhat prepared. He greeted you just as politely as all the other ghouls and was a little more subtle then the ghouls about his disbelief.

            Dew ignored it. You had had a conversation with him after meeting the ghouls to make sure it really didn’t bother him. He had confirmed that it really didn’t and their disbelief was the consequences of his own actions so he didn’t blame them for not believing him. He assured you that eventually they would believe it.

            You didn’t let it bother you as Dew said it was a waste of energy to care. They were his pack and he had no doubt that if it weren’t for all the times he joked or made up a partner they would be denying it. 

            “I don’t mean to pry, but how did you meet?” Copia asked you when the group was taking a break. You could tell the other ghouls were listening in. Dew just smiled from his spot next to you. 

            “He just kinda appeared next to me when I was walking down the hall in the middle of the night so I kicked him in the balls and then punched him in the face which is apparently not normal behavior for being scared by a ghoul so he started to do it every night until it didn’t phase me anymore.” 

            “It hurt too.” Dew piped up. “Can’t imagine how bad it would feel if I was human.” Copia paled and you snorted. 

            “It was just an adrenaline rush.” No one seemed to believe you, it was really becoming a common theme especially since no one believed you had been dating Dewdrop for almost a year.

~Three~

            You didn’t mind the ghouls or Copia not believing you because they had a reason and they were nice about it. The other siblings of sin were an entirely different thing. They were rude, constantly making comments where you could hear them. 

            “There’s no way he would date them. He probably just likes them in bed.”

            “He could be dating anyone in the Clergy and he chose them? I don’t believe it.”

            Most of the time you could ignore their comments and you always tried to let them roll off your back, at the very least make sure you pulled yourself together before you saw Dew. You weren’t sure what he would do if he found out about the comments.

            No one had ever said anything to your face but you were sure that wouldn’t last. Eventually one of the siblings would get brave enough to approach you and talk like they knew everything about you and berate you for trying to lie to the whole Ministry. You had seen it happen multiple times.

           “You're the one that claims to be dating Dew right?” There it was. You ignored her and kept working, Dew had asked you to meet him in the gardens at dinner so you were trying to finish all your chores so you would have time to clean up a bit before going to see him. Ignoring her only seemed to make her yelling louder. "Fine if you won't speak to me I'll just make your life miserable." She kicked over the bucket of dirty mop water, you sighed as you realized you would probably be late to whatever Dew planned. Her grin was wiped off her face when someone behind you cleared their throat. 

            "Actually, you just made your own life miserable." Sister Imperator has seen the whole thing. "You'll be doing all their chores for the rest of the week. I could hear your yelling in my office. As for you-" she turned and looked at you. "You're free for the rest of the week. I'll be sure to send both of your instructions to the heads of your departments."

            Word about her stunt and Sister Imperators involvement spread like wildfire and while you were left alone, the rumors spread even more, the comments not addressed to you but said where you could hear them got more intense.

            “I bet they're just a common whore he's using.”

            “Whore? That’s rude to group them in with the whores. They’re so much worse.”

            “Obviously, i was just trying to be nice.” the mocking tone seemed to echo through the halls more then most things did.

~Plus One~

            The ministry had decided to throw a formal event for everyone as a way to try and “Unify” all the members. Dew had asked for you to be able to sit with him at the table for the ghoul, making you the only human at the long table. It was your first time meeting most of the ghouls. All of them were with the others in agreement that you weren’t actually his partner but Dew just ignored it. He wanted to have a nice night with you.

            Towards the end of the night, you and Dew had disappeared and so they went to look for you. Eventually they heard Dew’s voice coming from the gardens. Standing on a partially hidden balcony they realized they were wrong.

           Dew was spinning you around in the gardens, talking and laughing with you about who knows what. It looked so intimate and it was obvious you were in love. Dew was practically glowing in the moonlight and no one had ever seen him smile that big for that long.

            When the imaginary music to your dance stopped, they watched as Dew leaned closer to you. Seeming to whisper something to you he rested his forehead against yours just standing there in silence before they noticed your lips moving. It was such a soft moment, softer than anything else they had seen in the ministry. Eventually Dew closed the distance, but flipped off the ghouls and the papa’s on the balcony. When he managed to pull himself away from your lips he sent a glare to the watching party.

            Stepping away, he pulled you with him. Sprinting through the gardens laughing as you ignored the protests coming from the crowd behind you. 

            They started believing Dew a little more after that.

Check out my ao3!

[blood-injections]

Headcanons n stuff from my Phoenix Witch Ghoul au

So like the Witch was the Witch but basically something happened and he sacrificed himself to save everyone and in doing so his soul merged with hers and so that’s how he became her

He has all of the Witch's memories now alongside his own as she has all his, they are one being and yet the Witch still somewhat has her own consciousness or like vibes in his head, it’s hard to explain but it’ll make sense in the fic i think

Ghoul has all of the Witch's powers like seeing souls, appearing to people, granting small miracles, and being able to see the history of any soul. He can also ‘manifest’ as anything so when he’s in the living world, sometimes he’s fun ghoul but sometimes they’re a crow/raven or a coyote or something. his favorite way to traverse the zones is as a raven. He can shapeshift essentially.

Since he and the Witch are one, he’s her but he’s also still himself, it’s like a genderfuck mindfuck thing and his identity isn’t the same. He’s fun ghoul but not, or well, it’s easier to be fun ghoul when he’s with the Fab Four or his friends and appearing as a killjoy, but if he’s reaping souls and stuff he’s more witch than killjoy and doesn’t feel like connected to humanity. And then when he is fun ghoul, his identity has changed since before he was the witch, he’s just genderless now as opposed to like transmasc lol

Kobra has powers too, he can speak to spiders and snakes and all the little things and sometimes they'll help him out, for he earned their respect and praise in a previous life.

And he always wears sunglasses because he literally has snake eyes. He can see infrared like snakes and it makes him fucking deadly at night

Unlike Ghoul, Kobra is still human, but he is also strangely in tune with the desert, more than any normal killjoy. Becuase of this connection, Kobra can always predict the weather or where dracs are going to appear.

Its common knowledge that crows are just puppies and when Ghouls around the diner in the form of one he always gets pet.

Kobra's the only one thats seen Ghouls true form, the one he has on the spiritual plane, the form of the Phoenix Witch or, well, what he and the Phoenix Witch merged to become. He thinks that form is beautiful.

None of them ever fail to be in awe of the fact that their little guy is now The Motherfucking Witch

Doctor Death Defying is named that for a reason, hes the Witch's favorite, after all(until Ghoul joined the witch, then theres several favorites.

Some killjoys have the ability to astral project, to walk the spiritual plane and talk to the witch in her realm. Doctor D has this ability and it’s how he always knows about claps and lost killjoys right away, becuase he astral projects and wanders the other side and sees what souls are waiting for the witch

Cola also has this power, but doesn't use it as much as Doctor D does.

The girl also has the power to astral project, thats how ghouls finds her in the first place, she passed out in the desert from the heat and is wandering his world and he sees the power in his soul, knows that she could save the world one day, so he goes to her and brings her back to the fab four, where they become her family

She calls Ghoul birdy and things along those lines a lot because her first impression of him was that of his quite feathery form of the witch

When jet star loses her eye, ghoul gives her a different kind of sight from where the eye is missing- the power to see souls and spirits

Kobra calls him Cuervo all the time now as a term of endearment

Even though he's the witch now they still roughhouse they’re still idiots

Ghoul will live forever and get to witness his friend’s souls being reborn time and time again

He can manifest as anything and kets just say he starts taking some liberties(ehhem um trnasgender things) with his form(also the pranking potential of shapeshifting.. it doesnt matter that hes a powerful spirit now hes still a little shit)

[jesuisserieux]

Prompt 2: Telling Stories

This is my second fic for the Hoes for Enjolras server's Halloween bingo! It's very silly, just the triumvirate being chaotic besties while doing Halloween things. It takes place the same night as my other fic in this collection, but you don't need to have read it to understand what's happening here. I hope you enjoy! You can read it below or here on ao3.

The Dangers of Haunted Houses

“-and that’s why I can never do a corn maze again,” finishes Bossuet.

“And therefore I can’t either,” adds Joly.

“I mean you can.”

“Yeah but it’s no fun if you’re not there.”

“Aww,” says R, “gross.”

“Fuck off, R.”

“You fuck off. Also what about Chetta?” he motions where she’s posing for a picture with Combeferre.

            Joly shakes his head, “She hates corn mazes. Says they remind her too much of home.”

            “Didn’t she grow up in the mountains?” asks Courfeyrac.

            “Apparently you can still grow corn there. Anyways, Boss is my corn maze buddy, so if he’s banned, I’m banned. Spiritually at least.”

            “Oh my god,” says Courf, “that reminds me of last year when we went to that haunted house- did I already tell you guys this?”

            Bossuet shrugs, “I don’t think so.”

            “Oh my god it was so fucking funny. Enj! Come here, I’m telling them about the haunted house.”

            Enjolras approaches, still nursing his cider from earlier. “What haunted house?”

            “You know last year when we-”

            Enjolras cuts him off with a drawn out groan, “Please stop telling that story.”

            “Well now I have to know,” says R, grinning when Enjolras looks up to glare at him.

            “Okay so we were at this haunted house thing outside town…”

~

            “What if I just wait out here?” asked Courfeyrac.

            Combeferre sighed, “No because if you don’t go in then Enjolras won’t go in, and it’s no fun to just do it on my own.”

            “You promised you’d do it with me,” said Enjolras accusatorily.

            “Why can’t you just go with Combeferre?”

            “Because! He likes haunted houses. I can’t commiserate with him, he’s going to actually be having a good time.”

            “Besides, we bought three tickets,” Combeferre reminded him.

            “Ugh,” Courf crossed his arms, “Fine. But I’m gonna complain the whole time.”

            “That’s literally why I want you there,” said Enjolras, “to complain with.”

            “I said okay! But you have to hold my hand the whole time,” he grabbed Enjolras’s hand firmly.

            Enjolras squeezed back, “I promise. I’ll protect you from ghouls.”

            Combeferre snorted, “Right. Like both of you aren’t going to be hiding behind me the second we go inside.”

            “I’m a man of my word!” said Enjolras in mock offense, “I’ll protect you Courf.”

            “My white knight,” said Courf, looking apprehensively at the door of the house.

            Combeferre paused. “You know we don’t actually have to do this right? Like, if you’re actually that scared?”

            “Nah, it’s fine,” said Courf, “Like you said, we bought the tickets. And I have you two to use as human shields.”

            “Comforting,” said Enjolras. He turned toward the entrance. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

            Notably, as soon as they got inside, they were both hiding behind Combeferre, as he predicted.

~

            “So we’re going through the house, blah blah blah, it’s scary, y’know. The usual. And I’m being very brave about the whole thing-”

            “You were not,” interrupts Enjolras. “You were squeezing my hand so hard one of my knuckles popped.”

            “Okay fuck you. Fine, if you want to expose me, I’m exposing you too.” Courf looks to the group at large, “We were both hiding behind Combeferre.”

            Grantaire laughs, “Now that sounds more realistic.”

            “Not true!” says Enjolras, “I was staying in front of you to protect you. Because I’m a great friend.”

            “You are a great friend. You were also absolutely hiding behind Combeferre.

            “What about when we lost him?”

            “I’m getting to that! Okay, so Combeferre, weirdo that he is, is having a great time, so while we’re hesitating at the doorway of the next room he plows on ahead.

            “There’s an innuendo to be made there somewhere,” murmurs R. Joly smacks his shoulder.

            “So by the time we’re to the next room he’s already way ahead and it’s just us two on our own. At which time, Enj did stand in front of me,” he says begrudgingly. “Doesn’t mean he wasn’t still shaking in his boots.”

            “This is what I get for protecting you! Mockery!”

            R laughs, “But you’re so fun to mock, Apollo!” Enjolras flushes red.

            “Anyway, we come to the next room and it’s so dark in there. Like you can’t see almost anything. But they have the path you’re supposed to take lined in glow in the dark tape, so we’re inching along that. Both of us are literally so tense we’re shaking. It was like, genuinely excruciating. And then there’s a noise behind us-”

            “Oh no,” says Bossuet.

            “No but it was a distraction! Because we both turn towards it, and then immediately after, this guy jumps out while our heads are turned and yells- what did he yell?”

            “Intruders,” supplies Enjolras.

            “Right, ‘intruders!’ and he’s right next to us and it’s super loud and we both screamed. And I’m standing there trying to recover, when I realize that there was a third scream. And then I tune back in and I hear Enjolras apologizing profusely.”

            “Oh my god,” says Grantaire with barely contained glee.

            “Shut up,” says Enjolras.

            “And he’d elbowed this guy in the stomach!” Everyone loses it.

            “I said sorry!” Enjolras clarifies between gasps of laughter, “I made sure he was okay!”

            “Yeah you were a real gentleman about physically attacking him.”

            “I said I’d protect you! I was in protection mode!”

            “Anyway the guy was pissed and he walked us out to where Combeferre was waiting. And like, he was fine, it’s not like he broke anything, but I could tell it hurt and he was not happy with us. And yeah, both of us are banned from that haunted house now. And therefore most others in the city, because the same program staffs most of them.”

            “I felt so bad,” groans Enjolras, “it was a disaster.”

            “What was a disaster?” comes Combeferre’s voice behind him.

            “Oh hey!” says Courf, “I was just telling them about how Enj got us banned from that haunted house.”

            “Oh my god” Combeferre laughs, “that was incredible.”

            “Can both of you please find a new story to tell?”

            “It’s such an Enjolras story though!” says Joly, “I feel like that’s the kind of thing that only happens to you.”

            “Oh my god speaking of,” interjects Combeferre.

            “No,” says Enjolras severely.

            “Did Courfeyrac tell you about what happened after? Because that guy still somehow ended up giving Enjolras his number.”

            “It’s not like I asked for it!” Enjolras looks like he wants to disappear.

            “No that’s true,” says Courf, “he didn’t ask for it. He’s just so supernaturally hot that somehow that guy still wanted to get freaky after you threw an elbow at him.”

            “Really?” the more embarrassed Enjolras looks, the more R looks delighted.

            “Really,” says Combeferre.

            “Tell me everything.”

            “Please don’t,” pleads Enjolras.

            Combeferre ignores him. “Okay so basically after the haunted house…”

[linkspooky]

Spoilers if you still haven't read the new jjk leaks so...

I really cant believe that your prediction of Gojo's battle ending up like Kaneki's beatdown has come full circle...my God even the one where he is lying dead chopped up with no arms and legs is exactly the same.

What are your thoughts on the conclusion of this battle or the whole progression of the story rn,because this really cemented Gege's bad writing at its finest for me.Such a lamest and most underwhelming death granted to one of the most well written character of the series with an offscreen death coupled with his whole afterlife dialogues dickriding Sukuna saying he wouldn't have stood a chance even without sukuna using 10s when the whole battle contradicts this,then Nanami telling Gojo that they always knew Gojo was a battle junkie and didn't care for others,committing a massive character assassination.Just why did Gege had to butcher his character this much?Im so livid right now with the way his death was executed and Gojo's character arc without achieving anything in his life and says he doesn't have any regrets and satisfied? I decided to drop the series because this all left a sour taste in my mouth and knows that there are more ridiculous asspulls to come in the future.But there are some theories going online saying Gojo will come back by rebirth or as a vengeful spirit by going North and correlating to the Lotus flowers in the panels.I still dont believe this will happen since Gege ruined the character for good,but I need to know your predictions on this one too to huff on my tiny amount of copium.

I CALLED IT! *EVERYONE BEGINS HIGH FIVING ME*

Besides the fact that I have proven without a doubt that I can see the future and therefore I can tell everyone with confidence Megumi will live until the end of the manga (this is a joke, or is it?), I have some more to say on the rest of your ask anon.

I'm not going to comment on whether or not I think this is good or bad writing. For me the question is not "is Gojo's death written well?" but rather "What does Gojo's death mean for the story?"

I'll address some parts of your ask and remember I'm not really agreeing or disagreeing with you, just trying to analyze why Gege made the story choices that he did.

with an offscreen death coupled with his whole afterlife dialogues dickriding Sukuna saying he wouldn't have stood a chance even without sukuna using 10s when the whole battle contradicts this

In this case I believe Gege offscreening the death is a pretty classic bait and switch. It happens exactly the same way that Kaneki's fight happens in chapter 143 of Tokyo Ghoul: Re, we as the audience see a build up to a big climactic fight between Kaneki and Juzou two of the most powerful characters in the manga only to literally skip the entire fight and show it's conclusion: Kaneki limbless on the ground.

It inspired a huge controversy back in the old days of the Tokyo Ghoul fandom too, imagine if instead of just skipping the final moment of the fight we skipped the ENTIRE fight between Gojo and Sukuna. Just Nah, I'll Win *Smash Cut to Gojo cut in half* The last chapter also ends with this, declaring Gojo's victory.

My friend Comun said basically after this Gojo was guaranteed to lose because in shonen manga the second a character is entertain that they'll win they have the rug pulled out from underneath them. It's the same reason that when you're making a plan to have a heist in a heist movie you whisper it at first instead of explaining the whole plan ahead of time. If you just explain the whole plan and everything goes according to plan you've spoiled your own story.

In other words the classic bait and switch the audience is led to believe one thing and then slapped in the face with something else. This is just my justification for why I think the ending to the fight is offscreened, the same way it is for Kaneki's fight with Juzou, it's almost parodying battle shonen. Jujutsu Kaisen is a story where characters fight, and Gojo and Sukuna is one of the most hyped up fights in the manga, but the fight is not the most important part the characters are. Fight mechanics are important to the story, but they don't trump everything else so less important to the question of how Gojo lost, or even seeing his loss onscreen is the question of why he lost.

In my opinion the reason Gojo lost is because he was fighting for the wrong reasons, he cared far more about winning a satisfying fight then he did saving Megumi the kid he was responsible for. Gojo is kind of like the audience, he cares more about the battle aspect of shonen manga then the characters, so the author denies both Gojo and the readers their climax.

This is what we call an Anti-Climax.

As a result, the subversion of the climax, the Anticlimax, is probably almost as old. The anticlimax is when you're set up for a climax, such as a spectacular, battle-to-end-all-battles between the hero and the villain. It's built up more and more until the suspense is extremely exciting, and the reader/viewer can't wait for it...then the hero kills the villain in one hit, or the villain spontaneously drops dead [...] Anticlimaxes can work well if it's clear that the subversion of audience expectations is the point, either for humorous purposes [...] or as a more serious commentary on the genre of the work.

It's alright if you're disappointed though because fights are one of the main draws of the series, I'm just explaining the trope that's at work here. As for Gojo saying he wouldn't have stood a chance against Sukuna if he was going all-out I'm not sure precisely that's what he said. He just says he's unsure he would have beaten him even without the ten-shadows, that it would have been close. It's also not completely out of left field that Gojo found Sukuna challenging.

We are told beforehand that Sukuna is holding back a move, because Gojo only has to defeat Sukuna, while Sukuna has to do a boss-rush marathon and beat Gojo and everyone who comes after him. We also receive this piece of foreshadowing, Sukuna saying "Very Good" after Mahoraga succesfully cleaves off Gojo's arm which was likely him learning the technique that he'd use to finish Gojo. He even called Mahoraga his shadow.

Someone else pointed out that Sukuna was also winning the domain battles pretty thoroughly before Sukuna started to use the TenShadows in the fight so I don't think Gojo's statement of how he could have won with his techniques was that out of left field.

If it were not for Sukuna's whim of wanting to use Mahoraga, he would have beaten Satoru and it is even implied that Sukuna allowed himself to be hit so that Mahoraga would adapt to Satoru's infinity. Even in their activation of domains Gojo had to destroy and regenerate his brain five times while Sukuna didn't have this problem, this is because Sukuna didn't lose his domain as many times as Satoru because we must not forget that Sukuna's domain doesn't need barrier like Gojo's so it was easier to destroy Satoru's domain than Sukuna's.

Yet another person also pointed out that Gojo acting completely on top of his game the whole fight and confident in his victory, and yet seemingly contradicting that at the end by saying he might have lost even if Sukuna didn't have the Ten SHadows makes sense if you consider the fact that Gojo was putting on a show for his students. He had to appear absolutely confident he was going to win in front of them to make them feel safe. Whereas, with Geto he's with a peer so he can be more honest about what he thought his chances were.

There's another shift after the opening stage of their fight in chapter 224. What always stuck out to me from that chapter was Gojo noticing that their fight was being broadcasted. After he spots Mei Mei's crows, Gojo never, not once, for the remainder of the fight expresses doubt in himself in any outward way. We see frustration, we see anger, we see surprise, but never doubt. Never worry. And what does he say as soon as he get's the upper hand in the fight?

As for the final part of your post:

Im so livid right now with the way his death was executed and Gojo's character arc without achieving anything in his life and says he doesn't have any regrets and satisfied?

I don't think Gojo said he was satisfied. In fact it's the opposite.

Gojo's unsatisfied because of two reasons, number one he wasn't able to push Sukuna into giving his all, and number two that Geto wasn't among the people who were saying goodbye to him before he went off to fight. I did an entire post, on why I don't think Gojo is satisfied with his death at all.

However, the TLDR: Version, Gojo could have chosen to fight for two things, number one to be the strongest and number two for the sake of his connections to other people. Gojo chooses the first and he fails at that. He's not only no longer the strongest but he couldn't give Sukuna the fight of his life. He's unsatisfied for that reason. He's also unsatisfied because he deliberately gave up all of his personal connections in life, and chose to only focus on being the strongest. Not only did he fail at being the strongest but he also lost Geto and practically everyone else. If he'd have chosen to fight for personal connections instead then maybe things would be different and Geto would still be alive, and he'd be more satisfied because he could have lived a life with genuine connections to other people, but that's not what he chose.

If anything I think it's there to connect him to TOji and the way they died. They both die offscreen and die standing on their feet. In Toji's final moments he thinks he only chose to fight for his personal pride but then Megumi flashes by his mind.

In Gojo's final moments he thinks about how much he regrets that he wasn't able to give Sukuna a true challenge, and then Geto flashes by his mind. He could have chosen to live for something other than pride, the same way Toji could have chosen to live as a father and that possibility flashes before their eyes before their deaths.

[duskspring]

Can’t Stop Laughing - Sunshine&Phantom& Swiss/Aurora

Domestic December - Day 25

Summary: Sunshine teaches Phantom how to be a real prankster

Content (do let me know if I forgot anything!): A bit of pressure from Sunshine’s side, prank, spider

Word count: ~1.1k

“So,” Sunshine marched back and forth in front of the very confused looking Phantom, who was seated on her bed, her hands clasped together behind her back, “you wanna know how to mess with people?”

The new summon’s eyes darted around for a moment before giving his answer, “Not particularly.”

The ghoulette’s steps didn’t stop, but one of her hands found its way to her chin as if in thought, “Well you’ve certainly come to the right gal.” She said, ignoring his apparent disinterest, “I’ve messed with just about everyone. Every ghoul, every sibling. Even…” Her laugh was soft yet maniacal. Phantom didn’t know if he should lean back in fear or closer in anticipation, “Sister Imperator.” She leaned in to him instead when she revealed that, her hands raised in the air as if to startle him more.

He shot back against the couch, “I don’t want to do that! She’d kill me!”

“Bah,” Sunshine made a dismissive noise as she waved her hand, “I just wasn’t allowed to go on tour after that. Jokes on her, that just gave me more time to mess with her again. As if keeping Aether behind too could ever stop me.” She scoffed.

Phantom fiddled with his hands nervously. He really wasn’t one to break rules, especially since he was still so new and didn’t want people to dislike him or view him as troublesome, “I don’t know-“

“I promise it will be alright! We’ll start off easy and low stakes. You can scope out the scene and if you don’t want to after that, I won’t mention it anymore.”

Phantom still wasn’t really on board, but it was clear that Sunshine wasn’t gonna let him get out of this, “What would I have to do?” He asked hesitantly.

“The plan is simple,” Her face gained an unnerving grin, “Swiss decided it’d be a good idea to blow me off to instead spend time and try to impress little Aurora. So we’re gonna make him look like a fool in front of her.”

“How?” He, again, didn’t really want to know the answer. Though at this point curiosity got the better of him.

“Easy.” He was told, Sunshine’s grin only widening.

After the plan was explained to him, and they got what they needed, Phantom was immediately dragged away so the two could go find Swiss. Just as Sunshine had predicted, he was sitting on the common room couch with Aurora next to him.

The multi ghoul had put himself in the perfect scenario to be messed with and he didn’t even know it yet.

Sunshine nudged Phantom’s side, encouraging him to follow the plan. He gulped, before stepping up to them, his hands clasped together in a manner that wasn’t unlike him, but in reality was done to conceal Swiss’ demise. She, meanwhile, stayed behind to record the whole thing. She knew she would be considered suspicious when she so much as walked up to them. Swiss knew her longer than that day.

“Hi, Phantom!” Aurora beamed when she saw her fellow newby.

Phantom felt bad for interrupting her interaction, hoping the prank wouldn’t get her as well.

“Hey, little guy.” Swiss said over his shoulder, barely turning away from the ghoulette.

“Hey yourself, you... friend.” Phantom said incredibly awkwardly. His hands were shaking as he released his little prank on Swiss’ shoulder, before clapping his hands down beside it to rouse less suspicion about the movement.

It didn’t exactly look natural, but luckily Swiss hadn’t properly seen it happen behind him and Aurora was already used to some more odd behavior coming from Phantom.

The quintessence ghoul turned to the doorway with a questioning look, unsure if he should leave now or stay. Sunshine ducked away a bit further, afraid the others would follow his gaze. She gestured for him to keep going, which confused him greatly.

“Did you need something?” Swiss asked suddenly, once again looking over his shoulder. He would usually always try to include everyone, but right before Phantom joined he really felt like he was getting somewhere with Aurora and he so desperately wanted to continue that uninterrupted.

“Well, I-“ While he tried coming up with an excuse, Swiss had noticed something was on his shoulder. He pulled the fabric a little closer so he could see, resulting in a high pitched scream and him jumping off from the couch in a startle.

“Ah! Ah, what the fuck!” He desperately batted himself in the hope of getting rid of it, stumbling over his own feet and the coffee table to try and get away.

At this point Sunshine had come further into the room, hysterically laughing at her friend’s misfortune.

“Sunshine, I swear to fuck!” Swiss yelled at his fellow multi ghoul, immediately understanding that she’d set him up.

Aurora stayed put in her spot, looking first at Swiss and then Phantom. Her features asked a hundred questions, before she spotted something moving down in front of her on the couch.

Right there walked a tiny little spider, freshly caught from the greenhouse outside.

Aurora gasped in awe, cooing while she put her hand out in the hope that the critter would hop on.

“That’s not funny,” Swiss reiterated, barely being heard over Sunny’s hysterical laughter that still hadn’t stopped, “Also, for the record, I’m not afraid of spiders. I was just caught off gua-“

“Swissy, look!” Aurora held her hand out toward him, the spider climbing all around it, which only caused him to clammer back further.

Even more life was breathed into Sunshine’s joy at that moment, one arm draped over her stomach as she fell to her knees with the intense shaking of her shoulders.

Phantom mostly felt guilty, but a part of him couldn’t help how infectious the laughter was. He chuckled. Just a quick exhale of breath that slowly turned into more and more.

He looked over at Aurora, who herself giggled at the notion that big scary Swiss could be so scared of such a cute creature.

“I mean it!” Swiss tried defending himself, which only resulted in a further outburst. His expression was pissed, dropping his head to the ground where he laid on the floor, mentally willing the other three away. He knew he wouldn’t be mad for long, he was more so frustrated at his own embarrassment.

Though the prankster lifestyle clearly wasn’t really something for Phantom, he had to admit this was a memory he’d cherish.

[My Main Masterlist | Domestic December Masterlist]

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers LOST EDEN ー Carla Maniac [10]

ー The scene starts in the saloon at Banmaden

Carla: ーー While I did succeed at getting the Ghouls on my side, they are somewhat inferior as warriors, huh? 

In which case, we could always compensate for that with our strategy and tactics but...

Things could end up rather tricky if the Vibora decide to make the first move before that.

I cannot afford to lose any military power ーー ...Coff!

Ugh... ーー Che.

...I felt rather well while we were staying at Rotigenberg.

But from the second we returned here, it’s back to this. Hmph. Seems like this Castle loves to deny me in every way possible...

...Banmaden. Can you hear me!? Are you punishing me because I killed your King...!?

ー Somebody enters the room

Carla: ...!

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: ...I’m back.

Carla: ...Good work. 

Yui: ( ...? Something seems a little off about him...? )

Is something the matter?

Carla: ーー No. Nothing.

Yui: ( ...Really...? )

Carla: More importantly, how did it go with the Ghouls?

Yui: ...I tried to explain the situation to them, but I’m not sure if the misunderstanding has been solved...

I’m having Kino-kun help me out with that though...

...I’m sorry, Carla-san. I really am such an incompetent loser. 

If only I had the ability to persuade others as well. But compared to you, I am nowhere near asーー

Carla: ...

ー He steps closer and embraces her

*Rustle*

Yui: Eh...? Carla-san...

( He’s holding me close...? )

U-Uhm...What has gotten into you all of a sudden?

Carla: ...I got worried about what will become of you once I am gone. 

Yui: ...!

( Once he’s gone...? )

Carla: Heh. I thougth that I was incapable of experiencing concern about something. 

But perhaps I got infected with your paranoia about everything from spending so much time by your side. 

Even if I am no longer with you, thenーー

Yui: No!

Carla: ...

...What’s wrong? Getting upset like that.

Yui: Of course I’m upset! I don’t want to hear you say such a thing...!

Carla: Do not rush to conclusions. I am only hypothetically speaking. 

Yui: ( Hypothetically... )

Selection

→ I feel a little relieved now (❦)

Yui: ...Hypothetically speaking, huh? I feel a little relieved now.

Carla: Of course. In reality, I am here right now.

Yui: Yes...

( It’s true that he’s here embracing me. )

( He’s undeniable here with me right now. I’ll try to focus solely on that. )

→ I don’t want it as a hypothesis either

Yui: Even if you were only hypothetically speaking, I still don’t want it.

Carla: ...You should trust me a little more. 

Yui: Eh? No way ーー I do trust you!

Carla: If you truly do, then stop looking at me with those fearful eyes.

I am here right now. That is the undeniable truth.

Yui: Yes...

( It’s true that I can feel him right next to me. )

( But still, when I think that I might lose that, I cannot help but grow anxious... )

Carla: However, from the moment I made my decision to fight for the Demon World. 

We cannot predict what fate might await any of us. 

That is the reality of war. Remember that, Yui. 

Yui: ...

Monologue

My efforts to solve the Ghouls’ wrong assumptions were in vain,

as the misunderstanding seemed far from being lifted. 

While I was already worried about that,

Carla-san started talking of the possibility of him being gone. 

While he did explain to me that this was but a supposition,

I do not want to hear such a sad thing, even if he was only hypothetically speaking (仮定の話).

Even though he is embracing me, all I can feel is loneliness (さみしさ).

Absolutely anything can happen once we go to war. 

Even though I realize that this only makes sense,

I failed to fully grasp itーー

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

[sticksbatnix]

I know its super late, but on your Batman Beyond thoughts, I always wonder where all these powerful and weird looking misfit teenagers become Jokerz?

Or like does Bonk have parents, if so did they care about his death?

You make a very good point here, anon.

The show, as great as it is, fails to elaborate much on The Jokerz's past as a whole. Sure, there are tidbits here and there but more should have been added to properly explain how and why they joined The Jokerz in the first place.

Sure, make the point they were dumb teens who didn't know better, but there's more than that, there always is.

So let's explain it further by the five W’s.

Who, What, Where, When, and Why.

Who?

Who are the characters presented to us?

Ghoul, DeeDee, Chucko, Wolf, and Bonk.

And whoever other teenager dressing up is similar to either The Joker or Harley Quinn herself.

What?

What is happening to these characters and the people around them?

Simple, a group of misfit teenagers go out of their way to cause chaos and mischief wherever they go. Of course, lacking general empathy, causing property damage, and directly or indirectly murdering people whether they were innocent or not. And to be stopped by either law enforcement or by The Batman.

Where?

Gotham City, more specifically Neo-Gotham City.

The various old and decrepit buildings of what Gotham City was like before were long forgotten. Likely, used for the citizens of Gotham who couldn't afford the luxurious apartments and homes near and within Neo-Gotham.

When?

The future.

A time beyond Batman’s prime in time for a new Batman to take place. Just in time to handle the new and chaotic criminals that run or fly freely across the city. New technology, new law enforcement, new drugs, and new opportunities to cause havoc upon the citizens of the futuristic city.

Why?

Many reasons, few predictable, others reasonable, and the rest unexplainable.

Throughout the show, it's shown that various teenagers who go into a life of crime have rough backgrounds. Abusive or neglectful parents, low income, bullying, or even the corruption of authorities.

Bonk’s death, while brief, shows the cruel reality that many of these young criminal teenagers would face. Yes, they may be having fun, but over time they’ll be able to face life-threatening situations that may end their life. It could be painful, it could be painless, or it could have long-lasting effects if they survived. In Bonk’s case, he made the fatal mistake of going up against The Joker, paying dearly for it, and dying with a permanent smile on his face.

His body might as well be disposed of near or in a trashcan. I doubt DeeDee would go the extra mile to deliver his body to his parents, but if they did I can't imagine the horror his parents would have finding his corpse laid out on their front porch. Now, whether or not they cared for Bonk is unknown, but judging his brutish personality I could only speculate he cared for himself and likely hated being seen as lesser than everyone else. Especially his parents.

The other Jokerz can be speculated as well.

Ghoul came from a rich family, likely running off to live a life without rules and regulations. I've written a few scenarios about this on this blog about this. His family likely disowned him because of his involvement with The Jokerz as I never see them visit him when he's captured.

DeeDee are related to Harley Quinn, now whether they know about that is up in the air. But it's obvious they were inspired despite how much their ‘Nana Harley’ despised them for it. They seem to enjoy the limelight of joining forces to cause havoc and chaos all at once despite everyone telling them not to.

Chucko is a bully who loves inflicting misery on others. Likely joined The Jokerz to bully others without consequences and cause mass amounts of destruction. Whether or not he came from a bad family, it's clear that Chucko enjoys bullying others he sees as lesser than him.

Wolf was human before being spliced with hyena DNA and became the rabid creature we all know. It's possible that he felt a clear connection with animals, specifically dogs, rather than with his own family. Maybe he felt like being a dog/hyena made him feel more complete rather than living his life out like a human.

And we already talked about Bonk.

God knows about the other Jokerz members.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen in the next ten years for these characters and where they’ll be then.

Would they be dead? Would they get proper help and move on? Would they still be in jail? Would they change their whole gimmick and become like the villains from the past?

This reminds me, I found an artist on Devianart who specifically drew The Jokerz gang if they took part in the inspirations of past villains. Ghoul as Scarecrow, Wolf as Killer Croc, and Bonk as Bane. It's very creative and I feel like it should get more attention for how creative they all were.

Nonetheless, The Jokerz gang should be talked more about not only for their missed potential but for their capability to do so much more.

[kkaisarion]

mushy may: first kiss

in which swiss is a dumbass, but we love him anyway

pairing: swiss/rain rating: teen word count: 1132

read on AO3 or below the cut

Swiss had a problem.

A problem that was annoyingly talented and unfairly attractive, in the form of a certain water ghoul.

See, Swiss was starting to fall in love with Rain, and he really didn’t think he could hold it in for much longer. (That first part was a lie, by the way, to make himself feel better. In reality, he had been a goner pretty much since day one.)

He was going to tell Rain soon, Swiss kept saying to himself. But there was never a good time. Never a good time to confess, and then have his heart broken if Rain didn’t feel the same way about him.

Maybe Swiss would be able to resist Rain, if only he weren’t so damn nice .

There was this one time when a string on Swiss’ guitar snapped, right before band rehearsal. Rain had immediately offered to fix it, telling him that it was no problem, really. While Rain was at it, he restrung the entire guitar, since it was about time to change all the strings anyway.

Swiss figured that Rain helped everyone out with this kind of favor, and smiled gratefully when he took his instrument back. When Swiss started to play, it kind of seemed like Rain was staring. But that was probably just because Rain wanted to make sure the new strings were on correctly.

And then the band went on tour. Swiss found his home on the stage, with the music thrumming through his veins and the colorful lights flashing everywhere and the adrenaline rush coming from the crowd. He had a good vantage point from his platform in the back, and it was fun to watch Dew and Aether stride across the front of the stage and tease each other with their antics. 

But some nights when the band performed, Swiss couldn’t help but be drawn to Rain, admiring the way he played his bass with such easy confidence and moved around so gracefully. (Most nights. It happened most nights.) Swiss also learned new things about himself—for instance, who could have predicted that he found black basses so appealing, for whatever reason?

After rituals ended, Swiss always had trouble cleaning off his face paint—no matter what, he would end up missing a spot. Rain must have felt sorry for him, because one night backstage, Rain came up to Swiss and started wiping off his paint, looking intently to make sure to get every bit off. Swiss held his breath as Rain grasped his chin to keep his face still, trying not to think about how warm Rain’s hand felt against his skin.

Rain did the same thing at the next ritual too, and the one after that, until it became somewhat of a routine for the two of them. It was a very Rain thing to do, to be this helpful and sweet to everyone.

Finally, Swiss decided that he’d had enough. Unsure about how to approach Rain, he went to ask Dew for advice. The two of them were pretty close friends, despite how often they poked fun at each other in front of the other ghouls.

The band was staying at a hotel near that night’s concert venue, and Swiss found Dew inside the room that the fire ghoul was sharing with Aether. Thankfully, Aether wasn’t around at the moment.

“Are you being serious?” Dew stared at Swiss incredulously after hearing him out. “You absolute dumbass .”

“Hey now,” Swiss frowned. The name-calling seemed a little harsh.

“Rain likes you, it’s obvious,” Dew said. “Well, obvious to everyone except you,” he added, muttering what suspiciously sounded like “idiot” under his breath.

“But he’s so nice to everyone, it’s hard to tell,” Swiss protested. He started telling Dew about all the different things that Rain had done for him.

At that point, Dew leaned forward and put his hands on Swiss’ shoulders, shaking him forcefully. “I promise you, he’s only that nice to you,” he said. Swiss just stared back doubtfully and tried to ignore the flutter of hope that was rising in his chest.

Eventually Dew left to go and eat, but not before threatening Swiss to get his act together—otherwise, Dew would tell Rain himself. He was just joking, Swiss knew. Probably.

As Swiss started to wander back to his own room, he passed by the bank of elevators along the way. Suddenly, one of them opened, and he came face to face with a decidedly drenched water ghoul—the very same water ghoul who was currently occupying Swiss’ thoughts.

“Hi Rainy,” Swiss greeted him in what he hoped was a casual tone. “So, you got caught in the storm outside?” he said, immediately kicking himself for what he said. Obviously, Rain did.

But Rain didn’t seem to mind. “Yeah, it got so much worse as I was walking back here,” he complained. “I look like a drowned rat.”

Swiss could have replied in any number of reasonable, appropriate ways. “Yeah, kind of,” would have worked. Or, “C’mon, it’s not that bad.” Even a simple laugh would have sufficed.

“Yeah, but a pretty drowned rat,” was what his brain landed on instead.

Rain’s eyes lit up in amusement. “You think I’m pretty?” he grinned.

“No—I mean yes—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that,” Swiss panicked.

Rain started to say something in reply, and then just shook his head. Before Swiss could fully register Rain’s forward movement, he found himself right next to Rain’s face, near enough to feel his soft breath. This close up, Swiss could see that his eyelashes were really quite lovely, especially when decorated with droplets of rain. 

After a brief moment’s pause, Rain leaned in and gently pressed his lips to Swiss’. 

“I like you,” Rain told him, somewhat redundantly.

“Oh,” Swiss said intelligently. “That’s good.”

“I assume you like me too?” Rain prodded.

“Yeah, I really do,” Swiss said with a breathless laugh, his brain finally kicking into gear. “I like you so much.” (Someday, Swiss would admit to actually being in love with Rain. Someday.)

When they kissed this time, it was much more awkward, because both of them were smiling too much for it to work properly. Then Rain grabbed Swiss’ hand and started dragging him in the direction of their rooms.

“I can’t believe you didn’t realize, this whole time,” Rain said.

“Me neither,” Swiss said mournfully, thinking of all the time they could have spent together. “Dew called me a dumbass.”

“I mean, he’s not wrong,” Rain said, considering. “But at least you’re a lovable dumbass,” he added fondly.

Swiss’ heart gave a flip at his words. Did that mean Rain loved him too? Maybe not, Swiss thought. After all, Rain probably said that kind of thing to everyone.

Right?

(@forlorn-crows)

[eric-the-bmo]

Blood and Silicon Ep 4 recap: Cinnamon Apples & Files

[except it’s copy/pasted from me rambling to my friend about the game/ slightly edited to avoid Character Spoilers]

Ok ok so the coterie all gets in the car after the Torpor Quest (i forget if i told u that?? We needed info on harrison and the gangs, and the guy who could give us the information told us to torpor some vamps for him). While Blake refuels his car (and laments over gas prices), Leo asks Pauline if the Cobweb can show people visions (it can), and tells her about his Black Sun vision. She doesn't know what the crown symbol represents, but the mask and mirror are nosferatu and malks respectively. Blake returns. Leo is still on edge around him and kinda refuses to talk to him, but accepts the cinnamon-apple gum he offers. We head back to Victor's place, the guy who has the info, and tell him we did the job. Victor asks if there was anything of importance the vamps had, and Pauline slides him the photo we grabbed (a masked figure standing in front of a bank), and Victor like. Panics. He asks who had it (the nosferatu vamp did) and if we've all seen it, and he's typing away at his computer. He grabs the photo, puts it in an envelope, and as he's writing a note on a post-it he asks Pauline for her clan. She tells him: Malkavian. He asks if she can make people forget things, and tells her to erase his memory of the past few minutes, dont ask why. She does. Leo is on edge now. Victor blinks, looks at the note he wrote for himself, and tells us to stay here as he grabs the envelope with the photo inside and leaves. Leo asks Pauline if she's done that to either of them before. She says she values their autonomy, and Blake asks if Leo got anything from the photo; Leo says he got the name of the bank in the background- Flagstar Bank.

Victor returns and tells us to not to look into the photo, since hey theres a reason those two were meant to be torpored. He hands us the documents about Harrison and the gangs. Before we leave, Leo asks Victor if he can investigate a man named Jeremiah, providing him with what little information he has in order to help him get info. Blake and Pauline overhear this; Blake casts a glance at Leo with some kind of expression (empathy? Sadness??), but denies he did so when Leo asks what it was about. Coupled with his worries about the Dominate, and what happened with Blake earlier in the night, Leo's a bit frustrated that Blake is denying this. The coterie heads out. We then roleplay the entire sequence of driving up to Wendy's and ordering food. So then we head to the Asylum, where Pauline gives her ghoul Sebastian the food he wanted [Wendy's Quest is now complete!], and we introduce ourselves to him. He's a bit creeped out by how cold our hands are. We head to Pauline's office to look over the documents. Harrison's is first. Despite being a Malkavian around 190 years old, not much is known about him before he arrived in san jose in 2000; The first indication of his presence was a letter he wrote to someone named Van.

Harrison introduced himself to important city figures while managing to reveal little about himself, which is impressive. He only claimed a spot called the Haberdasher as his turf until 2008, which was when the Fall of Vienna happened, as well as a Sabbat incursion upon San Jose- he established a base of power due to being incredibly useful in fighting back against the Sabbat with his uncanny predictions of their movements and his counter-attacks. Due to the Sabbat attacks taking out many Tremere and other kindred, Harrison was able to take over the abandoned territory for himself; he wasnt challenged on this due to his age and skill. The Hecata Clan have refused his offer on an alliance. Harrison has recently gifted some territory to some NeoNates: Jose, Blaine, and Perseus (we do not know these characters). Harrison also knows some level of Blood Sorcery. Possibly taught by a Tremere named Asha? Before arriving in San Jose it was confirmed he sired at least 1 person, Macy Andrews, and theres no evidence she's ever entered the city. In 2010 he sired Tony Pollocks, who is claimed to have met his final death outside San Jose in 2018. When reading this document, Leo zoned out– he receives a vision that I’m unable to elaborate on due to spoilers.

As for the gangs, a member named Higinio offered this information to Victor: The reason the Ashen Roses and Diablos Descendants split is reported as being stupid, over resource management and such, and the informant thinks they should get back together. (Van, who's mentioned here as well, thinks there's more to why they split.) The Ashen Roses have been making a lot of money dealing with an interesting strain of weed; the effects arent that special, but it explains the uptick in criminal activity. While the Roses are stepping up their drug game, the Diablos are taking a step back, which is odd, since Vic was expecting them to ramp it up a bit. Victor tried to learn more about their goals, but was met with anarch babble from the informant about overthrowing elders- he notes they seem young, and wonders if any of the gang members were sired during the Sabbat Incursion. The gang's more immediate goals are strengthening their current territory, and theyre decently armed. Rae (the leader of Diablo) has a bar frequently visited by various ghouls and kindred at regular hours; Victor notes theyre not good at hiding, and says the Diablos owe the Nosferatu a boon, since the Nos covered them from some vampire hunters earlier.

Pauline asks about the Sabbat; Blake says they're idiots and has had some run-ins with them before, and theyre not really his kind of scene. Pauline and Blake discuss Harrison's blood sorcery for a moment, and suggest the Hecata might be good allies if we go against Harrison, i think? (I myself was still preoccupied figuring out the vision Leo received) Blake notices Leo's zoned out, and asks if he needs blood. Pauline sends someone over for him to drink from but Leo is like?? Kind of uncomfortable feeding from someone awake, it's this whole thing. Blake pretty much goes "hm well if you're not gonna have any can i feed instead" At this point the game stops, because I got confused over the contents of the documents and needed them explained to me, and also we were running out of time lol

[Leo has a lot to think about.]

[lovingdread]

Life update: Homeless, but it's whatever.

So a lot of crazy shit has happened since I last posted. In March I was lured back to Maine by my ex-therapist with the promise of helping me get a solid career job and mortuary schooling, then she had some kind of pill-fuelled breakdown and held me hostage in her basement for about a month over Passover...the memories get real blurry after that. Returned to Iowa by the skin of my teeth on an ex-acquaintance's dime and just completely deteriorated. Everything fell apart, my paranoia around other humans became delusional psychosis, I started having seizures from stress, spent a month in the psych ward after cops beat my head in for the aforementioned seizures, and my roommate couldn't handle the pressure of knowing me anymore...well, I don't blame him for that. I can't deny being enraged beyond words at the rushed eviction (was legally entitled to 30 days to pack & figure things out before getting dumped like a dead cat) but I'm terrified of his family for the same reasons he originally reached out to me about 9 years ago on here. And after reading over the deranged Discord message I sent him as I was getting booted, I'm still unnerved by my darker-half...when I was 17 I carved "Jackal and Hyde" into my leg, and at age 33 this scarred prediction finally unburied itself like one of Lovecraft's ghouls.

I'm overflowing with fear and regret, missing my platonic mate and rat and viola with the kind of ache that would drive me to put a knife to my skin again or crawl into a bottle of cheap gin if not for the simple fact that such actions would get me institutionalized with no way out. Been wondering what it is about this state in particular that curdled our relationship and broke my brain even worse than years of forced prostitution--everyone proclaims their love for Jesus but speaking as a crookedly agnostic naythiest, Iowa feels particularly godless. The only other Jew I've seen is statues of a stylized corpse on a torture device and ever since coming out here I've been wondering when they're gonna do that to me, too.

After the pigs beat me in the trailer bathroom I died, briefly. I know this because I've read enough about near-death experiences to recognize the typical elements: all my ancestors standing around the hospital bed in shades of brass, telling me to pull through even though I just wanted to be done with it all (and still do); I'm not religious so much as broadly spiritual, and growing up in a haunted house has everything to do with that. Seeing my parents and grandparents and a bunch of people whose names I couldn't place to faces was gutwrenchingly painful--however, I also saw something madly hilarious. The face of Fun Itself, and I never even got to visit Coney Island on the few New York trips I took as a kid; in a classic carnival barker's uniform, Mr Steeplechase bent down, said something to the effect of, "Hey kid, are you alright? You're not supposed to be here yet. Want some ice cream?" and helped me to my feet. So while I hope to never experience a NDE again, The Tillie was very genteel and had a lovely Old NYC accent. Perhaps I just miss carnivals so much that my ideal afterlife is full of ferris wheels, carousels and candy apples.

Anyway...not sure how much longer I'll be alive out here. This state hates the homeless and women in particular, so if I get raped my only option is to stand on the railroad tracks, and I really don't want to spend eternity on a random ghost train. I thought I was doing the right thing, accompanying my (ex)friend so he wouldn't have to face his family alone, but Hindsight is 20/20 and perhaps living in a tent in Salem MA with the population I know would've been best after all. My entire world, family heirlooms, sanity and last true human connection traded for a $60 pull-string-less puppet that was originally a Hanukkah gift to the fellow Goosebumps fan I bonded with nearly a decade ago over shared art, love, pain, and determination to make it through the shit life threw at us both.

In short, I escorted a fellow changeling home to his family and became the monster in his closet along the way. Never got to finish my silly fanfictions let alone write my original novel, Eye of the Storm...never even got to send that postcard to RLS thanking him for writing the GB books that introduced me to my best friend, who I've since irreparably repelled. There's some bitter, shitty poetry in that. I only hope that the Dead look after their mourners, because my tears are running dry and even this doll's smile seems strangely sad.

I wished on the Old Burying Point's oak tree to find direction and never forget my dearest loves; the gentle lad of the birch grove sent me an answer set in cedar and bone. Maybe I was always more of a "Jimmy" than I cared to admit.