#tw / descriptions of murder

[vive-le-roi-au]

Prologue

(This post contains both images and text.)

(You’d been looping back to just the third floor for… you don’t know how many loops. Hundreds?)

(Maybe that was the problem. You didn’t do it all in one go. You just have to do it all, from start to finish, and kill the King.)

(From the top.)

(…Again.)

(You went back. Again.)

(Maybe you took too long. Just need to go faster.)

(…No. Still not enough.)

(It feels good though. Killing the one who killed you, thousands of times. It’s cathartic.)

(You’re even strong enough that you don’t need the Housemaid—MIRABELLE. HER NAME IS MIRABELLE, MIRABELLE, MIRABELLE!!!)

(…You don’t need Mirabelle’s help anymore.)

(…)

(You wouldn’t mind doing this a few more times.)

(…)

(Back to the stage, Siffrin.)

(…)

(…)

(…)

(It’s just another part of the loops now.)

(Go through the House. Kill the King. Talk to the Head Housemaiden. Something’s broken, failing, rotting. Loop back to Dormont.)

(The worst part?)

(Murdering the King has stopped bringing you joy.)

(It used to make you smile, seeing him crumble, blood spilling from his mouth, pooling on the ground.)

(Sometimes, you reduce his body to dust, cutting it up more and more and more until there’s nothing left. You’ve killed him slowly, draining him of his strength and bleeding him from a million places all over, watching the light slowly leave his eyes.)

(And you can’t even enjoy it anymore.)

(…)

(So why are you still here?)

(Whose fault is it that you’re trapped here?)

[spicysourchimken]

Murder! Murder! Murder!

TRIGGER WARNING: discussions of death, murder, descriptions of corpses, gore and corpse desecration

(This Idea is loosely inspired by @/the-witchhunter's 'Ghost in the Morgue', please go check it out if you like this concept and have not yet read it)

[Other stuff in this AU: World Building]

Corpses au Danny, not just Corpse but Corpses. Every time Danny transforms he drops a new body, Danny honestly has lived with it long enough that it's funny at this point (and also. maybe made him a little weird about his own death and or deaths). This is not the same for Tim, who now has to deal with a potential serial killer.

Tim is looking into a string of strange and suspicious deaths that might point to the appearance of a new rogue, this results in him taking a visit to the morgue as Red Robin, only to meet a potential victim, Daniel Fenton the latest medical examiner for GCPD.

----

Tim was the one who had found the first body a week ago. He'd been on patrol when he'd spotted it propped up against a dumpster in an alley. It couldn't have been there longer than an hour, the blood was far too fresh.

Tim had planned to just check out the scene and call it in, but then he actually saw the body. It'd been eviscerated, torso ripped open organs spilling out and its hands had been frozen to the ground- hell the entire body seemed to be coated in a layer of frost.

Tim kept tabs on the investigation, if anything for simple curiosity. Then they'd found the second body. Body frozen to the ground, same victim profile- but the death had been completely different. Slashed throat, face mutilated.

Then there was another, and this time Tim wanted to see it in person. This was either a serial killer or the start of a new rogue, and for Tim to be able to tell he needed to see. He sent word to Gordon, if anything more of a warning. He was greeted by the medical examiner.

Greeted was a strong word.

The medical examiner was... strange. Tim had heard news of him starting work and as far as Tim was aware of he was clean, and an almost boring person. The medical examiner that Tim met was unnerving. Pale, staring almost through him and carried blase attitude to his work.

What was worse is that he reminded so much of a corpse, not just a corpse but the corpse.

Then it struck him.

Fenton could be a target. Fenton could be the focus of the killer's obsession.

He'd have to keep tabs on Fenton, too bad he might be the most reckless Gotham citizen in existence.

----

Gotham, admittedly hadn't been Danny's first pick after he finished medical school. Danny had always intended to become a medical examiner, dealing with your own corpses for years would do that do you. 'Finished' was the real problem, Danny had been doing well, great even but then he'd died. Twice. Real unfortunate really, hit and run and then poison, left him with a dry throat for weeks.

His own classmate apparently tried to kill him, which means it would be more than hard to actually finish medical school. That's fine, he had access to Tucker, an actual godsend who was able to make it look like he had all the proper qualifications... as long as you didn't look too hard.

Gotham was apparently pressed for a good medical examiner. All he needed to be was experienced.

Thankfully he had that in spades.

Things frankly only started going down hill last week. He'd made a habit of taking on requests between work, occultist avoided Gotham like the plague leaving him the only voice for the dead. Usually it was pretty easy gig, collect some momentos, help a few ghosts recognize they're dead. Until he'd had to deal with a Wraith.

It didn't go well. Danny was dead set on handling it as a human, appearing as Phantom could cause all matter of chaos. Danny had also not been informed that the claws of a wraith could pierce through human flesh so there's that. Danny was once again evicted from the mortal coil, dropping his own corpse and having to finish the fight off

Danny had planned to deal with his body after gaining his human form back and making sure that the thing could no longer return to the earthly plane. Turns out a bat got there first, turned the place into a crime scene. Just his luck he was beaten bloody enough to be unrecognizable.

His luck continued to go down hill when he was killed, not once, not twice but three times (this of course, wasn't accounting for the times he'd needed to go ghost). He'd gotten good at taking care of his bodies in Gotham at that point, or so he thought, until he was told he had not only a new body on his table and Red Robin waiting to be escorted to his morgue.

Now Danny has to juggle the growing chaos that it they spirits of Gotham while trying to make sure none of his bodies are identified, even if that means making a mess of Red Robin's investigations.

[eldritch-ace]

Don’t let your friends watch Hannibal

[jentry-chau-stan]

Yandere Kit

Kit originally befriends you because of your unusual high Qi. At first he wants to drain you dry so he can spend more time with Jentry without her starting to see through his demon guise. But as time goes on Kit gains an attachment to you and finds he doesn't want to drain your Qi but instead wants to be your Friend. You make him feel less like a monster and more like himself? He honestly isn't sure how to explain it but he feels comfortable around you, like he doesn't need to hide. Of course it's early in the friendship so he hasn't told you yet but he intends too.

In the past Kits personality was based on his victims. With Jentry he's learned everything about Kpop, Seoul, and Korean snacks to make him like her. His pattern has always been to copy his victims, get them to like him by spying on them, take their personalities and merge them with his own, lower their guard, and then steal their Qi when he's inevitably rejected. Kit is now exploring his own interests and hobbies outside of what potential victims like. He loves the things you love because you love them but he also recognizes if he isn't his own person you'll never really know him and... he wants you to know him. He wants you to like him for who he is, not the skin he's wearing.

Outside of copying his Victims' passions Kit has always been a very talented artist. He is very much an Art Nerd. Being a Painted Skin has given him centuries to hone his craft and an innate talent for art. He loves to paint, draw, and sculpt in his free time. It's a part of him. While skin is his go to medium he also practices on Canvas and uses other more human Materials and Mediums. Kits done research on Famous Artists and was even alive during some of their times. He enjoys talking about Art and loves to hear your thoughts on the subject, always wanting to hear you talk or watch your face as you listen to him.

Kit has a bad habit of Drawing, Painting, and Sketching you. At the beginning of his obsession he finds himself thinking about you more and more. Doodling you in his notes, sketching you in art, painting you in his free time. He thinks you're perfect and that you could never do wrong. He enjoys your presence and wishes you could always be around each other. The more pieces he makes about you the weirder he realizes that is. He keeps his art projects a secret out of embarrassment

(But if Kit ever kidnapped you "For Saftey" he'd be more than happy to show you his Collection/ Growing Shrine)

The attic is always locked and his parents are always busy when you visit. Kits room that's dedicated to his Skin Craft is up there and his parents are a bit uncanny, he doesn't want you to think he's not normal so he hides everything related to his demon side.

In his Skin Room Bolts of different colored skin are organized on shelves, while white painted symbols on the wall show a human outline where he cuts and shapes the skin. He also has a box with tongues, teeth, eyes, and other body parts from people he's murdered all preserved with magic for later use. Jars of body fluids as well as magic paint for the skin lay on the ground near where he paints his skin. Wigs and hair line another wall allowing him to make different skins and shape their features and hair how he wants with his artistic talents. Someday he wants to share this space with you. Show you who he really is and what he does with his Qi magic but until then this is where he keeps his secret Art Projects of you so when you come over you don't see anything you're not supposed to.

Kit sometimes forgets how strong he is as he is easily able to break human skin and bones. He can punch and dent metal without feeling pain and has to be reminded of his strength so he doesn't hurt others. He also has to remember humans don't have super senses. He is highly sensitive to things a human would never notice. His sense of smell, sight, and sound is much better than other humans. He can see your Qi with his special eyes but he can also hear your heartbeat or whispering from across the room.

When Kit starts realizing he likes you as more than a friend and he has more romantic feelings in mind for you, he falls into old habits and starts to stalk you around the school. With his super senses he can listen in to what you are saying and is able to find out everything about you. He already knew a lot but now he knows more. Your privacy is practically non-existent as he wants to know everything about you. Including your thoughts and feelings about him. And if he feels your lying Kit will pressure you until you tell him the truth or he's convinced of whatever truth he's come up with.

Despite Kit's best attempts to keep the truth from you until he was ready to confess you find out before than. When a Gui attacks Jentry at school the blonde is able to dodge but you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. Looking for Kit the Gui unable to get Jentry suddenly charges at you.

Humans when in Danger or near Death are able to see the Spiritual World if only for a moment because of the possibility they may be joining it soon. As Kit jumps in to defend you, your increased Qi allows you to see the Gui. Your Qi unlocks because of the danger and you see into the Spiritual World in a way you've never been able to before. As you watch Kit and the Gui fight unsure of what to do, Kits skin is ripped and you see his true self. The thing he's been holding off on showing you because he was so afraid of losing you. You end up running but not from Kit, the entire situation leaves you head spinning and you just needed to get away.

Kit is quick to think, his Looks or Demon Nature are the problem instead of his Actions or Behavior. While his true face was a bit surprising it's not his Skin Painter form that bothered you but rather how he lied to you. He tries to overcompensate for this with friendly gestures but he gets confused when he's rejected or gets asked for space. You're not exactly mad at him but there's a lot of conflicting emotions you're struggling to come to terms with that need their own space.

Despite you requesting Space, Kit gets very clingy after the Incident. He struggles to understand the idea of allowing space because he thinks space means ending the friendship or relationship. Wherever this has happened in the past he's had to take the person's Qi for his own personal safety but he would never dream of doing that with you. Kit has gotten so used to your presence he's dependent on it, unsure of how to go about his day without you by his side.

He shows you the Demon Guide as a way to give you more information and be completely honest with you. While you're hesitant the Guide actually does give you a lot of information. It reveals that Painted Skins are said to not have emotions, but Kit promises he's different. He lists off examples where you have hung out and explains that he is clearly trying to learn and understand how to be human despite some small set backs. He doesn't enjoy draining Qi and only does it as a means to survive as it's what he is. He compares not taking Qi to you not Eating or Drinking.

He admits to you how scared he was of showing his true self because he's been rejected for being a monster before. He knows he is a Demon and doesn't deserve you. He laments about how he hates himself for his nature and how his greatest wish is to someday be a human with a real soul. It's not necessarily on purpose but Kit heavily pressures you to forgive him. Through the constant gifts, using your shared interests, reminding you of old times, and sharing more of his sad past it's only a matter of time before you crack and give in befriending him again.

When you forgive him Kit becomes much clingier. He craved physical affection before but now that you know what he is and you've accepted him he is always touching you in some way. Your arm, your hand, leaning on you, tucking you under his chin, wrapping his arm around your waist. If you are not a touch orientated person he tries to understand that but he genuinely can't comprehend it. He uses his demon heritage as an excuse and says it's rude not to cuddle/ touch the people you care about in demon culture.

He loves pressing himself against you and stealing your body heat as he has a hard time producing his own. He's not necessarily cold blooded but he isn't human either so his body temperature is a bit strange. With his painted skin suit on he feels more human, warm. But when it's off he is colder. In either form he'll wrap himself around you for cuddles though, he's absolutely shameless about it.

Despite all his good traits, being friends with a demon comes with some down sides. Kit has some unresolved anger issues that come out when he gets confused about being human or the boundaries that come with being a friend. He doesn't understand how to be human and therefore struggles to contain himself and his emotions. He often needs guidance or for things to be explained to him in a very direct but still gentle way. Almost like a child despite his old age.

Kit can also be very impatient at times and struggles with change or learning new human things if they throw off your perceived norm. He often struggles with misconceptions during conversation which can lead to confusion which then leads to arguments or mounting resentment. He will snap if he feels the relationship is being threatened and has chased off some of your other friends.

All in all Kit isn't the worst Yandere but he is still a Demon and therefore DANGEROUS. He would never intentionally hurt you but his Qi Draining powers combined with his unstable Temperaments can lead to scary situations which are difficult to deescalate.

[sunnynwanda]

Hi, sorry to bother!

I’ve had this idea lately but I wondered if you would like to write it, feel free to ignore it if it doesn’t convince you btw

Pet hero whumpee but not the docile type of pet, more like superhero/supervillain has conditioned/deshumanized them to be like some sort of rabid, aggresive pet that attacks anyone who isn’t their “owner”

Maybe they’ve been missing for some time already and when villain (or any other character you want to) finds them, they worry about the fact that hero is attacking them and doesn’t seem to recognize them at all

I hope you’re having a nice day✨✨✨

Master

Warning: dehumanisation, conditioning, pet whump and everything that comes with it, mentions of physical and psychological abuse, graphic injuries, suffocation, blood, gore, murder. I have no idea how I wrote this. Please do not interact if any of those might be triggering for you.

The door opens with a taunting creak, the sound reverberates off the empty walls. Villain takes a tentative step in, glancing around for any traps. The apartment looks perfect in its apparent abandonment - not a thing out of place, no sign of a fight or kidnapping. Hero had been gone for a little over three months. Just like that, no traces left behind, no warnings - nothing. It's like they vanished into thin air. Evaporated. Villain didn't know why or where they went. They had no idea who to contact or what to do about Hero's sudden disappearance. The only thing Villain did know was they missed their nemesis. 

Oh, they missed Hero like crazy. 

They still recalled the brawl they had the day before. Villain was attempting to cause a riot in the city stadium for the fun of it; Hero had been their ordinary cheeky self as well. Nothing new to the usual scheme of things. They took turns delivering the blows and tumbled around a bit; Villain ended up restrained against a wall and accepted temporary defeat despite being capable of obliterating the entire stadium - Hero included - with a flick of their wrist. Both were accustomed to the game plan and felt no need to deviate. The next day, Villain seized a bank and demanded Hero's presence - per standard procedure.

Except, Hero never came. 

They robbed the bank despite not needing the money and departed in a sour mood because nothing was supposed to be of more importance than their battles. Villain expected Hero to return the next day and intended to make them apologise relentlessly for such disrespect.

Needless to say, that wish never came true. 

After a week of waiting in vain, Villain started suspecting something was off. They spent the following weeks in search of any clues to decipher Hero's mysterious disappearance, any clues that could lead them to Hero's whereabouts - to no avail. 

That is, until today. Villain pulls the letter out of the envelope and unfolds it. An invitation to Superhero's estate. Villain hums, scrunching their nose. That's the last place they want to go to, but at this point, they'll resort to anything to find Hero.

Little did they know that finding Hero would be the least of their concerns.  

Villain exits the apartment, making their way outside the city right away. A deep-set sense of anxiety pushes them forward, a feeling of urgency and despair. They can't comprehend what it is yet, the idea building in their subconscious mind, but they can tell it's bad. They can tell it's entirely vile.

Villain doesn't bother announcing their arrival, instead sneaking over the high fences and past the numerous guards. They walk into the manor, darting past the hounds that roam the first floor, and climb to the second floor, where Superhero's study is. Their hands shake with dreadful anticipation. 

Villain pushes the door open, and in the same instant, something lunges at them. Their first guess is that it's another dog, but the assumption soon proves untrue. The creature withdraws at the sound of a whistle, skipping back to the leg of its master.  

"Good boy," Superhero smiles, brushing Hero's hair the wrong way. Villain watches in shock as Hero turns their head to the side, leaning into the touch and licking Superhero's palm like a dog. 

"What the-" Villain breathes out, too stunned to form a coherent thought. They stare with widening eyes at whatever is left of their Hero as they rub their head against their owner's leg, looking for praise. But when their gaze lands on Villain, Hero's expression shifts to pure rage. They snarl, aggressive and aggravated. Villain's voice is barely audible behind their growls. "What have you done?" 

"Me? Nothing much," Superhero grins, hooking their fingers into Hero's collar and pulling at it harshly until Hero starts to choke. "I've taught them what they really are. What they deserve to be."  

"But why?" Villain glances at them, seeing insanity in Superhero's eyes. They look back at Hero's dehumanised form on all fours. Their back is arched in what Villain assumes is a defensive stance. Their mind is reeling, running a hundred miles an hour. They cannot grasp the situation in full yet, refusing to believe that the creature in front of them is indeed Hero. Their Hero. "W-why?" 

"Why, you ask?" Superhero drawls, fisting Hero's hair and tugging with brute force. Hero falls onto their back, letting out a whimpering whine. Villain turns away, unable to take the sight of them in such a state. "You think I haven't noticed the little play you two have devised? Your little game of back and forth?"

"What are you..." Villain starts, getting up from the floor. Hero jumps up, preparing to attack. Superhero zaps them with a shocker, sending their body back down with another loud whimper. "Stop! Please... For the love of God, stop!" Villain yells, their lips and hands trembling in desperation. 

"Hero failed. Their purpose was to defeat you. They could have done it months ago," Superhero explains, using their foot to prompt Hero's chin up. "They chose not to. They betrayed their pack, so they needed to learn how to be a good dog." 

Villain shudders at the impassive tone of their voice. "You've conditioned them into submission. You've turned them into an animal, you monster!" They spit out, their eyes flaring up with newfound rage. Their fingers curl into fists as they look around the room, trying to find a solution. An escape.  

"No, I've made him my pet. I'm a patient master," Superhero caresses Hero's cheek and rubs their ear, their touch looking almost soothing until their fingers squeeze, digging into the skin on Hero's chin. "Now, attack."

Hero switches into a fight mode with a snarl, their teeth glimmering white in the dim-lit room. Villain dodges the attack by jumping to the side and reaching out to take hold of Hero's head, prompting them to meet their gaze. 

"Hero, it's me!" Hero's pupils are dilated and empty. They seem incomprehensive. "Please, Hero, it's me, me..." Villain pleads, tears brimming their eyes. For a short moment, something seems to flicker behind Hero's gaze. But, Superhero blows their whistle, and Hero loses all sense of self again, attacking Villain with renewed vigour.  

"No, no, no," Villain tries their best to hold Hero back without hurting them. Their voice is thick with emotion when they speak again, struggling to contain Hero.

"Look at me! Please, just look at me..." Their expression is nothing short of begging, but Hero remains unaffected. With no other choice left, Villain grasps Hero's collar, hooking their belt through it and securing it. 

Hero is rabid against their leash, thrashing on the ground as Villain stands, facing Superhero. 

"No matter how far you take them, they'll always be my pet," Superhero hisses, crossing their arms over their chest with an unmistakable sense of victory. They are so confident in their conviction that they don't bother to arm themself.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Villain lets out a dark chuckle, but there's no humour behind it. "It's not them that betrayed the pack by refusing to defeat me. They could never defeat me in the first place. It was me. I'm the variable you didn't take into account," Villain growls through gritted teeth, taking a step towards Superhero and wrapping a hand around their forearm. "And I will burn you to ashes." 

Before Superhero can register it, their skin starts melting off their body, the tangy smell of burnt flesh filling the room. In mere seconds, Superhero's body hits the floor, their moaning sounding like music to Villain's ears as fire washes over them. Hero howls, tagging at their impromptu leash, but Villain remains unyielding. They kneel next to them, ripping the whistle off Superhero's neck, then wrap the belt around their knuckles, forcing Hero to their feet. Villain cups their cheeks, their fingers tender on Hero's clammy skin, and looks into their eyes in hopes of finding recognition - all they see instead is fear.

Primal, animalistic fear.

They gulp down the lump in their throat and blow the whistle, watching Hero's eyes light up in recognition of their new master. 

Villain knows it's going to be one hell of a journey to get their Hero back. They know it will take weeks, if not months, of constant grind to heal what was so thoroughly broken and even then, Hero might never return to their former cheerful self. But they also know there is no one more worth fighting for. 

Villain misses Hero like crazy. And they will have them back. 

Masterlist

A/N: Hello, darling! Oh, it's not a bother in the slightest! I'm glad to have you here. I have to admit, for the longest time, I had no idea if I would be able to finish this story. It felt very raw, very painful and hit a little too deep. But at the same time, I felt the need to explore the theme, both as a writer and as a psychologist. So, thank you for this request. I hope it turned out how you imagined it. Love, xo Sunny

Taglist: @marvellousdaisy @alltimelowing@lateuplight @surplus-of-sarcasm@betwist@excusemeasibangmyheadonawall @enemies-to-idiots-to-lovers@miaowmelodie @thatonerandomauthor @hhabaddon@burningoutlikeicarus @daemonvatis @weepingcowboywolfbat @thelazywitchphotographer @kaiwewi @soul-of-a-local-bard @pigeonwhumps @aflyingsheepnamedrose @thatneptune @ohwellthatslifesstuff @worldsfromhoney@thiefofthecrowns @crow-with-a-typewriter @qualityrabbitsoup @stargeode@villain-life @villainsblood @whumpifi @glassthedumbass @silviathebard @misskowe @ayeshaturnedtoashes4444

[kalpeavaris]

To Be Among Stars

Find the story on AO3

(sadly, tumblr acts like like the AO3 URL itself is 'not a complete link' despite working just fine when send to other people or used as hyperlink, so this will have to do-)

Some doomed Jessa, a one-shot I wrote :] This is not canon to the other MD AUs/stories I have, so no worries- anything happening in the one-shots stay in the one-shots.

This one in particular experiments with the "What If" scenario of J not surviving her injuries aquired in the fall she took in the final battle against the Solver - and how it'll end for her.

Please heed the tags/warnings. o7

[bluu3berry]

Blood/Gore warning!

Drew my fictionkin, horror to a song I relate to, and also just been listening to meatcore playlist lately sooo likeee yeahh 🥩💤

Please use she/her when referencing Horror!! 🏳️‍⚧️

Don't repost my art please!

Reblogs\Interacting encouraged!!

@anon-coke @scramble-eg @borisboring @thelunarsystemwrites @the-second-reason

[eri-pl]

Ar-Pharazôn's mother

(Lady not-appearing-in-the-canon*, I'll probably devise a name for her soon.)

(Late Numenor, but in terms of things explicitely mentioned we aren't going beyond speculated murder + some emotional abuse. Not a veeery long post, but long enough that it would get the cut even without the TWs.)

So, I was thinking about Pharazôn (as you do).

About how his father was a nasty, opinionated guy hating the Faithful and yet Pharazôn in his youth spent time with Amandil, Elendil, Miriel etc, in Andunie. Why? Who took him there, who let him?

Not his father, obviously, so I assume it must have been his mother. I don't think she was one of the Faithful (his dad probably wouldn't marry her in that case, also I think it would lead to Pharazôn being a better person… maybe?). But I think she was quite neutral on the Faithful-King's Men divide—as neutral as one can be—and was close friends with some of them, probably related to some, and keeping close ties with friends and family was important to her.

Technically Miriel (and, more distantly, amandil) was Gimilkhâd's (Pharazôn's father's) family, but knowing Tolkien's family trees (only first cousins are a clear "nope") I would assume his mother was also related to them somehow. Even if not, she clearly liked them enough to keep strong contacts.

And then she died. Yes, I think she died relatively early.

If she leaned (even socially) towards the Faithful, or simply grew old and Gimilkhâd wanted a younger wife… we're talking late Numenor. There were surely many plants and substances he could have used to make it look natural.

Or she may have died giving birth to a daughter (the daughters and sisters are rarely mentioned even if they exist), which would lead Pharazôn to dislike the idea of having kids in general. (I have some HCs about it but that's another thing).

Or, tbh, it may have been both.

Anyway she died and Gimilkhâd had nobody to stop him from "teaching" his son "proper Númenorean values". Which unfortunately stuck, even after Pharazôn left to Middle Earth to prove himself… I imagine Gimilkhâd as the kind of guy who is never satisfied with his son (think: Oazi to Zuko, kind of, but there's no Azula), and his own upbringing hadn't been great either (think: Azula). It was a whole chain of emotional abuse and expectations.

And then Pharazôn returned and his father was dead but at this point he had internalized enough of the legacy. He chose to make the memory of Gimilkhâd proud, or maybe to prove it wrong. Same thing, in the end.

But the friendships ignited by his mother remained alive until almost the end. Almost.

I wonder if Sauron, when he got to know Pharazôn better, slowly changed his voice, every day making it closer to Gimilkhâd's. OK, I do not wonder. He did. He absolutely did.

*btw Edennill, don't ever watch Monty Python, you'd hate it in more than one way. Probably. Anyway, I do reference it sometimes.

[wouldntyou-liketoknow]

A Couple Nights Later...

(Disclaimer: three of the characters in this story belong to me. You can find more information about Penn here. For more information about Caliban, go here. For more information about Azalea, go here. Illinois belongs to the Markiplier Cinematic Universe. The same thing goes for Murdock...but if you'd like to see my personal headcanons on him, go here. Ness belongs to the creators of the FNAF movie; I've got some headcanons on him too, which can be found here.)

(Also, for more information on the mob Murdock, Caliban, and Azalea work for, go here.)

(This is yet another gift from me to @insane4fandoms. Just a little something in return for them remembering my fanmade egos in their lovely drawings. Please give them a follow and boost their art! You won't regret it!)

(One more thing: this story is an epilogue to my latest work. You can find that story here; it has some clarifying details...)

(Trigger Warnings: implied murder/death, implied violence, descriptions of illegal business, implied cannibalism, cravings/hunger pangs, mentions of knives/blades, mentions of poisoning, mentions of blood, eating/drinking, anxiety/paranoia, implied past trauma, strong language. Please let me know if I missed anything.)

The sun was setting again, as it tended to do. The remaining light shone between the trunks of a nearby copse of trees, casting long shadows to stretch over the road. 

That was what made Penn question if he and Illinois had left one desert only to end up in another: the trees. That is, he knew logically that this county was in one of the dryer parts of the States, and any trees growing here had more than likely been planted by the locals. Once Illinois drove to a less populated part of town, there wouldn't be much in the fields besides sagebrush. 

But right here, right now, all the trees and hills were a huge change from the cacti and rock spires. 

It was refreshing. 

It reminded him that he and his companion were closer to their respective homes than before.

It reminded him that they were at least a thousand miles away from that cavern. 

(As for the horrific thing they’d found in said cavern. . .well, the duo had stopped at two more hotels by now, and Penn thankfully hadn’t seen any maladjusted figures looming outside the windows in either of them. The combination of a threat and a promise was still fresh in his mind, yet part of him was somehow sure that it’d be a long time before that monster made good on it.)

Just one more day, Penn thought as he shifted in the passenger seat. Just one more stop at one more hotel, and then we’ll be back sometime tomorrow.

The Warden hung from the rearview mirror, silent and creepy as ever. While Illinois’ personal rituals included hanging it on the doorknob of whatever bedroom he slept in for the night, he usually moved it to his breast pocket the next day. Ever since that one terrifying night, however, he’d made sure to keep it in the open, as to let its protective juju slowly but surely cleanse the surreal dread from his and his friend’s minds. 

Penn wasn’t quite sure how, but that strategy seemed to be working. 

He reached up and gingerly poked the little totem, making it sway to and fro. Illinois glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, then took one hand off the steering wheel and poked it himself. The odd game of makeshift tetherball only lasted a moment, but it still brought a smile to both the adventurer and paleontologist’s faces.

As the jeep descended a small hill, its passengers were treated to the sight of a fork in the road, the section of grass between the two pathways adorned by a large blue sign.

The top-half silently announced NEXT REST AREA—20 MILES in bold, white letters. The bottom-half, meanwhile, displayed a row of universal symbols: a gas pump, ATM, WiFi, a bed, a plate with cutlery on either side. . .and an arrow.

“Right on cue,” Illinois remarked, the wheel spinning in his grasp as he edged in the pointed direction.

___

The car’s headlights caught a pair of raccoons up ahead, waddling on their hind-legs and fidgeting with their weird little hands as they sniffed at a lumpy mound of. . .something that sat right on the seam between asphalt and grass. 

Murdock tapped at the center of the steering wheel; the horn’s blare was short and quick, but it still made Azalea flinch in the passenger seat. Just behind her, Caliban did the same, instinctually grabbing Snare and holding him to his chest. The raccoons each let out a startled squeal as they scampered off into the nearby trees, their striped tails swaying back and forth.

Azalea stared after them before raising an eyebrow at her accomplice. “What was that for?”

“Yeah, they weren’t even in the way,” Caliban chimed in, his crimson leather jacket sliding against the similar material of his seat. 

There was actually a fourth passenger here, but only in a technical sense, considering he’d been crammed into a hidden compartment in the trunk. And while that probably would’ve led to a chorus of dull thumps and muffled shouts, he wasn’t really capable of complaining. 

Or moving. 

Or breathing.

Murdock lifted his chin, glancing at the backseat as he shrugged. “Well, if we make a pit-stop, I thought I might as well scare off the competition for you, Cal.” 

Caliban tilted his head, unable to stop the confusion from creeping onto his features. It only lasted a few seconds before the hitman eased on the brake pedal, ever-so-slightly slowing down as the car drew closer to the rancid pile that the raccoons had been examining. 

“Well, that’s very thoughtful of you, ‘Doc,” Caliban replied, now understanding as he rolled his eyes, lips quirking into a sarcastic smile. “But I think I’ll pass.” 

“I thought you were hungry?” Murdock hummed as he picked up speed yet again. 

Caliban nodded. "That’s right. Hungry, not desperate.”

Murdock huffed a laugh, black-tinted glasses shuddering on his face. “Said the cannibal.”

“Exactly! I eat people, not roadkill or garbage.”

“Eh, not so sure about that last part. You’ve helped me get rid of some real scumbags before. Besides, you follow your feeding schedule like some kind of religion.”

Caliban paused. “. . .Okay, that’s fair. But the point still stands! If I’m gonna eat anything, it at least has to be somewhat fresh.”

He then leaned forward, resting one hand on the back of the driver-seat, still focusing on the rearview mirror; if he looked closely enough, he could make out his companion’s dark brown eyes behind his shades. He could make out the way they glinted with morbid humor and a challenging air. 

Caliban made sure to return the unconventional vibes tenfold. Joking with Murdock could be a gamble sometimes, but that was what made the dynamic between the two of them fun.

“I mean, that stuff might’ve been part of a person at one point,” Murdock mentioned. “It’s not like we got a good look at it, but I could turn around—”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Azalea interjected, reaching over to flick him on the side of the head.

Caliban snickered, flashing a big grin his sister’s way. Azalea smiled right back, firmly ignoring the offended hitman noises.

The snickers and grin died down, however, as his stomach started churning with a hollow ache.

The presence of a fresh corpse stowed away further behind him didn’t do many favors. But then, that target was off limits. Yeah, his organs could still be harvested to make a nice little profit on the Black Market, but they’d already been tainted enough to effect the prices. (He’d been given a hefty dose of batracotoxin courtesy of Azalea. Not that Caliban was blaming her; poison was her personal signature. She’d just been doing her job, just like he and Murdock had been a little while ago.) 

That wasn’t quite what annoyed him, though. 

What annoyed him was the fact that the target had been working with a crony when the trio had tracked him down to the dilapidated lakehouse he’d apparently been using as a hideout. 

The aforementioned crony had looked very healthy (read: appetizing) and had screamed and struggled in such an exciting way when Caliban and Murdock corned him on the pier, taking turns stabbing and slicing to interrogate him.

The smell of blood had been so heavy and rich in the air.

The red splatters had looked so dark and deep.

The adrenaline-high had been awesome, as was the anticipation of eventually getting to eat a very well-earned meal. . .and then some LAZY BASTARD OF AN ALLIGATOR had decided to JUST LUNGE UP from the water, clamp its jaws around the crony’s neck, and dive back down again in LESS THAN THREE SECONDS! 

Because APPARENTLY, when you’re a creature that nature has given so many deadly gifts for HUNTING YOUR OWN DAMN FOOD that you barely even had to evolve since prehistoric times, you STILL find it easier to STEAL from hard-working contract-killers who are just trying to earn their keep and get some fresh air. 

Caliban sighed through his nose, leaning back and propping his elbow up to rest his cheek against his hand. Snare, like a good little emotionally-tuned boy, wasted no time craning his neck to nudge at his owner’s face. With a smile that was softer than before, Caliban gently scratched his pet’s ears.

Now, he did have some well-preserved, perfectly edible human remains at home, hidden in that huge chest freezer in the corner of his abandoned-subway-tunnel-office-den. But he, his sister, and their mutual companion still had a ways to go before they returned to the Cove Port Inlets. 

This certainly wasn’t the first time his cravings had acted up, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, either. This wasn’t even the worst instance; the emptiness wasn’t wracked with gnawing and pinching sensations for flavor (pun vERY MUCH INTENDED) just yet. It would get to that point if left unchecked for another hour or so, but that wasn’t going to happen. 

Things like beef, chicken, pork, or fish may not have been as savory as Caliban’s addiction, but they were good enough. So long as he got a bite to eat in general, he’d be fine. Sure, part of his mind wouldn’t know peace until he cooked up some pieces of human-person, but his stomach wouldn’t twist and growl and beg. Not for a while, at least.

Gravel ground beneath the tires. Bright, artificial light streamed in through the windows.

“‘Sparky’s,’” Azalea announced, reading off the sign that stood tall before a tidy little building that carried the exact same aesthetic of all roadside diners in the known world. “Looks nice enough. Have you been here before?”

Murdock nodded as he maneuvered into a space on the very edge of the parking lot. “A few times to test the waters, yeah. There’s no cameras anywhere outside the entrance, and even if there were, not many people stop here at hours like this.” 

Caliban made sure to crack both of the backseat windows open before the engine stopped rumbling. He then tugged his black hoodie off over his head, leaving its sleeves tucked into those of his jacket. He draped the clothing-combo over the vacant seat beside him. Snare promptly scurried over, flopping down and curling up on the makeshift nest. 

Caliban chuckled, reaching over to pet the hare’s fur one more time before heaving the car’s door open and stepping out.

Azalea stood at his side soon after, fidgeting in place, clearly still full of energy from the kill. The two of them shared another grin; it helped keep the awkwardness at bay as they waited on their accomplice. 

Varying shades of red weren’t part of The Pentas Family’s signature just because of the flower it’d been named after. Red was a very convenient color. Wear it to a kill and no-one would be any the wiser (especially not if you combined it with black). 

Murdock was aware of this, almost always wearing his currant-colored turtleneck and ebony overcoat when working on gruesome assignments. And yet he still remained in the car for another minute or two, elbows knocking against the ceiling and window as he took off both articles. 

He then leaned over the center console to pop the glove compartment open and fished out a bundle of dark fabric adorned by a pattern of gray leaves and orange petals. 

Once he finally emerged into the cool nighttime air, the hitman looked almost nothing like himself. 

His tinted glasses were gone too, replaced by a headband that was wider and stretchier than the cherry-tinted one Azalea was wearing. It mainly kept Murdock’s nearly shoulder-length raven hair back, but the white-as-snow material gave it an ambiguously medical look. Murdock pulled one side of it down in order to cover his right eye. 

Or, to cover the misalignment of his right eye. The way it was turned to the right as though he was looking as something sideways.

It wasn’t like his right eye was infected; it wasn’t even useless. It could still blink and see. . .it just couldn’t move around in its socket like the left one. Sure, it was a bit jarring to look at, but not too jarring in the grand scheme of things. 

Still, it was very understandable for Murdock to always keep it hidden. And that wasn’t even due to how needlessly judgemental other people could be.

No, his eye had been damaged in his former life (due to a near-death paragliding incident that he proudly enthralled any newcomers to the mob with), before he’d discovered his skill and passion for killing. All the pain that had apparently come with it...

It’d been a type of rebirth for him. There was no questioning the significance. 

(Although Murdock hadn’t appreciated Caliban’s thoughts on the matter. Which was just another way of saying that Murdock didn’t appreciate comedy. Not even the eloquent, well-thought-out masterpieces of wordplay.)

“. . .Damn,” Caliban had murmured, thoughtfully drumming his nails on mahogany. “I know people just throw words like ‘legendary’ around for almost anything these days, but that. . .that story really does feel like a mash-up of Neil Gaiman, Monty Python, and a sugar-bombed nine-year-old.”

“An inspiration to everyone, me.” Murdock had grinned, the definition of cocky as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head. “Anyone can survive Death Gulch if they WANT to. If they want to BADLY ENOUGH.”

“Words to live by,” Caliban agreed, his eyes shifting about. 

The Pentas Family’s base was a lot like the dens he and his sister now worked out of. Hidden underground, once part of the subway-tunnel-system that had died quite a while ago. It was bigger than the other dens down here, able to fit more furniture along the walls, like the table in the corner that he and his accomplice were sitting at. 

But just like all the other dens, the base came with relative darkness and a slight chill in the air. 

The darkness and that chill. . .they were part of his and Azalea’s lives now, as fundamental as oxygen. 

They now made their way with blood and blades and screams and secrets, and that was more than fulfilling enough after all the things they’d gone through together. 

And it was all thanks to Murdock. (Yes, The Boss had obviously contributed, but meeting the hitman who sat across from him had been the thing to really put the change into motion.)

Caliban had licked his lips, his smile stretching wider to reveal his teeth. To reveal the new silver one that glinted more than the rest. “I guess that really must’ve. . .shifted your view on things, huh?”

Murdock froze, which was the green light for Caliban to start giggling. His shoulders slumped. Even with his shades on, it was very obvious that he was now questioning some of the choices he’d made to get to this point. 

Murdock heaved a long-suffering sigh. “There’s something very wrong with you.”

“Pot-Kettle-Black, ‘Doc!” Caliban, whose giggles had quickly transitioned to cackles, replied. “C’mon, that was a good one! You can’t deny that!”

“I can, and I will,” Murdock retorted, getting dangerously close to tipping his chair over. . .

Azalea pulled the glass door open, eliciting that well-known whoosh. Caliban felt a rush of cool air as he followed his sister into the diner, Murdock right behind him. A little bell suspended above the threshold let out a chipper jingle. 

The walls followed a simple wood-panel design, though the powder blue paintjob on the windowpanes gave it a little more personality. Cushy leather booths were lined up here and there; a small pendant lamp hung over each table, some flickering more than others.

A coffee-bar stood across the building, separating the main dining area from an aluminum door that had to lead to the kitchen. 

True to Murdock’s word, the joint was pretty empty. A muffled chorus of clinks, footsteps, and running water that leaked through the kitchen door was the only sign that anyone else might be here. 

Along with the voice that called, “Sit wherever you like! I’ll be out in a just a sec!”

Murdock pursed his lips and shrugged. Following standard protocol, the three contract-killers claimed a spot that was closest to the entrance.

The kitchen door swung open and a man came strolling out, dressed in a white button-down with sections on the collar and sleeves that matched the dark blue apron tied around his waist. He held a bundle of laminated menus the same way a stereotypical schoolgirl would hold her textbooks, a tired-yet-genuine smile on his face.

As the waiter came to hover in front of the table, Caliban got a clear look at the little nametag pinned to his breast-pocket: NESS.

“Welcome, welcome!” Ness greeted, setting the menus down before his customers. “What can I get for you—maybe some coffee to start off?”

“Oh yes, please,” Azalea replied, her brother and Murdock murmuring in agreement. 

Ness nodded, quick to retrieve a steaming pot from the bar-counter, as well as a trio of mugs and a bowl full of sugar packets and creamer cups. 

Once the fresh brew was poured, the trio was given a few minutes of quality time with the menu. After that, Ness returned, fishing a notepad and pencil adorned by a tiny rubber chicken-head topper from a pocket in his apron. “So, what else would you guys like tonight?”

Being a hitman meant having experience some odd emotions. Such as the instinct to keep yourself and your business hidden clashing against the desire for attention or recognition. It was a matter of (very relative) sensibility and twisted pride. And Murdock was a prime example of that.

“Oh, well—y’know, I. . .I think, m-maybe. . .maybe I could. . .” Murdock stammered, fidgeting in his seat as though he was about to pass out right then and there. “Um. . .ah. . .w-what do you recommend? If you—if you don’t. . .mind me asking.”

Even after all the time he’d spent working with Murdock, it still took some effort for Caliban to not snort at the sight. Yeah, the social-anxiety-incarnate-facade had never failed yet, but Murdock always laid it on thick. He tossed a subtle knowing glance at Azalea, who was carefully biting down her own chuckle. 

Ness, meanwhile, stayed focused. His smile softened as he pointed out certain things on the menu and explained. He was patient and polite, nodding along and not seeming to mind all the verbal vomit he was being doused in before Murdock’s mask finally made a decision. He then moved on to take Azalea’s order with not a finger out of place. 

As he watched all this, Caliban realized that he liked Ness’ spirit, even if he didn’t really know him. The food service industry was infamous for how its workers were treated by customers and higher-ups alike (with Aftertaste being one of few exceptions, of course. Azalea was living proof that even a professional murderer could have a bit more compassion than the average Joe, and that was equal parts impressive and depressing). 

If you knew what to look for and how to look for it, you could see the exhaustion and stress behind Ness’ friendly demeanor. . .and yet, that demeanor wasn’t at all fake.

Ness truly seemed to be doing his best, determined to earn his keep and survive, while still maintaining some positivity. It was refreshing to see that type of energy.

Not only that: Ness was clearly the observant type. Perhaps (hopefully) not enough to cause any problems for the trio or their work right now. . .but enough to see the rising hunger Caliban specifically attempted to hide while in public.

“Did your lunch get away from you?” Ness asked, the playful tone of his voice somehow mixing very well with the slight concern in his eyes as he wrote down the order for a rare steak. 

Caliban laughed, offering a combination of nod and shrug. “Something like that. . .”

One part of him was all-too happy to make his typical jokes, the actual meanings of certain phrases slyly hidden under a veil of casual innocence. (The way Murdock’s facade got close to twitching as he side-eyed him was also amusing.)

Another part had to focus on reminding himself that this guy was a waiter, and any waiter who wasn’t used to seeing hungry people probably had a few issues to work on. He had absolutely no way of knowing about his true eating habits.

With that, Ness vanished into the kitchen once more, calling “Order In!” to whoever else was back there, his words hanging in the air as the aluminum door swung to and fro. 

The shy simper on Murdock’s face warped into a more typical sardonic grin. He put a hand to his chest and leaned forward in a tiny little bow. 

Caliban clicked his tongue, grinning back as he offered a slow applause. “Bravo.”

Azalea waited a few seconds before joining in. “Encor, encor.”

The grin fell from Murdock’s features as he corrected his posture and pouted. “Hey, say what you will about my act, but at least it’s convincing. Not quite as obvious as your pun-addiction.” He kept his voice low as he pointed an accusatory finger in Caliban’s direction. 

“Oh, c’mon. It’s not as bad as you always make it out to be; let Cal can have his fun,” Azalea argued, nudging at her brother’s arm with her elbow. 

Caliban nodded enthusiastically. “Besides, that one doesn't count. I only make things obvious when they need to be obvious.”

“. . .When?” Murdock asked, his brow furrowed as a concoction of blankness and aggravation flashed in his left eye. “When do things ever need to be obvious?”

“When it’s already too late,” Caliban chortled, deciding to be wild and add some extra sugar to his coffee.

“You of all people should know,” Azalea agreed.

Murdock was in the middle of an overexaggerated sigh. . .only to flinch and put his facade back on when the bell above the entrance interjected.

___

“It’s them,” Penn declared in a hushed tone, struggling to keep his head down and his eyes fixed on the table. 

Illinois hummed and squinted at him, a spoon in his hand softly clinking as he stirred creamer into his coffee. “What are you talking about?” 

Penn shuffled in his seat and pursed his lips, nodding past his companion. 

The adventurer turned his head, tossing a glance over his shoulder at three other patrons who sat at another booth on the opposite side of the diner. The only other people here aside from the waiter who he'd half-chatted-half-flirted with five or so minutes ago.

“Those guys?” Illinois murmured as he returned his focus to the paleontologist across from him. “Do you know any of them?”

Penn nodded. “Not the one with the white-band-thing wrapped around his head, but the other two. . .”

The other two indeed. They sat side-by-side:  a lanky man in a dark blue button-down and a truly petite women wearing white with a cherry-red headband. They both boasted fair skin and chocolate-colored eyes to match their hair. 

That was what really caught Penn’s attention.

Those two looked distinctly related. . .like siblings. . .or cousins. 

Cousins.

Cousins, cousins, cousins, a voice in Penn’s head chanted, getting a bit louder each time, competing with flashing images of that ever-shifting monster. . .of that ungodly amount of teeth, of what the monster had said about those teeth. . .

“It’s. Them,” Penn repeated, quieter yet harsher than before, willing his eyes to give off the same vibe as concrete in order to somehow beam that particular recent memory into Illinois’ head. 

Apparently his efforts were successful, as Illinois’ eyes widened from under the brim of his hat.

“Are you sure?” Illinois inquired, leaning ever-so-slightly forward. 

For a few seconds, Penn’s mouth merely opened and closed with no words coming out. Was he sure? Or could this be some weird cosmic coincidence? (Of course, Penn’s deeper instincts already knew the answer, but some of his nerves were now on fire, and the smoke obscured that just a bit.)

There was one guaranteed way to find out.

Subconsciously weaving his red neckerchief about his fingers, Penn gazed around the diner before zeroing in on the kitchen door. He watched it, listened to the muffled chorus of sizzles and hisses and pops and other trademark noises of cooking for what almost felt like an hour.

Until the wait—uh, Ness glided back out, this time deftly balancing a platter of food on one hand. 

That was where Penn finally moved. 

He shuffled out of the booth and headed over to an empty doorway near the far-side of the coffee counter with a sign proclaiming RESTROOMS hanging just above it.

He walked right past the table Ness was now delivering meals to; right past those three other customers. Penn let his eyes briefly wander over them as he traipsed by.

In a way, it was truly fascinating just how much you could see and feel in under a minute. (And it was equally embarrassing that whenever you knew that you had to be subtle or casual about something, you inevitably ended up trying too hard.)

Two pairs of eyes flicked over in Penn’s direction, one after the other. 

Memories from his childhood flashed in that millisecond of darkness as he blinked. Those images blurred in his peripheral vision as he got further away from that table, almost like they were trying to physically get out of his head and connect themselves to what he was seeing like puzzle pieces. They lingered in his reflection as he ducked into the restroom and hovered over the sink. 

He’d seen them both pause. 

He’d seen both their eyes widen. 

He’d seen that same spark of what could only be recognition etch its way across both their faces.

Both he and the sibling duo had just barely been teenagers the last time he saw them, and somehow. . .

Penn sighed, taking a long moment to splash some cold water on his face before trudging back out. He felt his cousins’ eyes on him as he passed by yet again.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he announced in a small voice as he sat back down.

Cal and Aza, his mind whispered, dredging up names from years and years ago. They’re here. They can see me, and they know I can see them. 

Illinois offered a slow nod, chewing his lip as his eyes wandered over to the window by the table. “Well. . .” Sooner or later, a bit of expectancy mixed into the contemplation in his features. “Are you gonna go talk to them?” 

Penn blinked. “‘Talk to them?’”

“I didn’t think there’d be an echo in here,” Illinois chided. 

If there was one thing to know about Illinois, it was that he had a knack for taking things in stride when they probably shouldn’t be taken in stride. It was usually his best quality, though sometimes it could also be his worst. 

Penn wasn’t quite sure which of those categories this scenario fell into. 

“I can’t just do that.” Penn argued.

“Why not?” Illinois wondered. 

“Don’t you remember what that thing said? How he worded it?” Penn couldn’t help but shudder.

All of those godforesaken eyes and fangs. . .

Illinois’ brow furrowed with a combination of empathy and exasperation. “Yeah, I do. I heard it all, and I know how awful it sounded. But like I said before: since you don’t know what he meant by all that, then you need to find out.”

Penn couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “You really think I can just ‘find out’ everything I need to know about such a cryptic message right now? In a place like this?” He spread one arm to gesture at the diner around them.

Somehow, the diner’s atmosphere remained quiet and normal. For the most part.

“. . .The Walmart incident really did a number on you, huh?” Illinois asked, though the question seemed a bit more aimed at himself than his companion. “I didn’t say you had to learn everything right now. Hell, I know that you probably won’t be able to. I’m just saying that you might not get an opportunity like this again. So. . .why not at least try to give it a shot?”

Any words that might’ve been forming died a quick death on Penn’s tongue. He shifted in his seat, suddenly compelled to stare at tiny imperfections in the table’s surface. 

Illinois sighed. “Look, whatever’s apparently going on is your business. That means you deserve to choose however you may or may not get some information or closure. I’m just trying to help.”

Oddly perfect timing worked in mysterious ways, as the statement had barely left Illinois’ mouth when the universe saw it fit to have Ness reappear and drop off ordered meals (eggs benedict for the paleontologist, biscuits and gravy for the adventurer).

With that, the duo tucked in. It’d been a long day, and it was unbelievable just how much being trapped in a car could really take out of you.

There was much less conversation than usual, but that wasn’t too much of a problem.

Though Illinois hardly ever missed a chance to talk someone’s ears off, he still knew when to keep quiet. So, he fished one of the many old novels he’d collected in his career (specifically The Egyptian Book of the Dead) out of his satchel, reading and reminiscing while he ate.

Penn, meanwhile, couldn’t stop glancing past his friend and at his cousins. 

On one hand, he knew it probably looked weird at best and maybe a little creepy at worst. 

On the other hand, while both Caliban and Azalea’s focus was fluctuating between their entrees and their companion, whose HMS Self Confidence seemed destined to keep hitting iceberg after iceberg. . .they were both glancing at him in that same quick-but-not-quick-enough-thus-painfully-awkward way.

They both shifted in place, whispered to one another. Just a moment ago, they’d acted with a confidence that Penn had never seen before, only for said confidence to evaporate when they realized who he was. 

Caliban had filled in nicely. He looked to be at a healthy weight now, but Penn couldn’t avoid recalling just how skinny he’d been in his youth. (Now, Penn knew he had no room to talk, because he’d had quite a metabolism as a child, but. . .well, people usually didn’t stay so thin after they had their first growth spurt, like the kid he’d seen at just a couple family reunions.)

Out of all the differences between then and now, the biggest one was a small scar that dragged over the skin on the left side of his upper lip. Each time Caliban took in a bite of food or spoke words that just couldn’t be made out thanks to the relative distance, Penn caught a glimpse of something silvery in his mouth, right below that scar. 

Azalea had been downright tiny as a child, despite the fact that she was a year older than both her brother and her cousin. Right now, her skin was practically glowing. Quite the departure from how pale she'd been back then, which had made the rings under her eyes stick out like a pair of sore thumbs.

And that, Penn realized, was something that had stayed. 

Neither of the siblings’ eyes looked sunken perse. . .but the skin beneath each pair of sockets still boasted hollows. 

The eyes themselves were a different kettle of fish. 

For Caliban, a vague hunger was still present, going deeper and darker. 

For Azalea, vigilance remained, now much sharper and more cunning. 

But there was. . .something else in both of them. 

Penn couldn’t tell what it was exactly. But somehow, he knew that it was very, very wrong. 

He took a break from his dinner to scrub at his own eyes, not hearing the footsteps until he re-opened them and saw the latter sauntering up to his and Illinois’ table.

___

“E-everything was great, thank you!” Murdock’s mask offered what had to be the sixteenth nervous smile tonight as he paid his portion of dinner. Aforementioned smile trembled on his face as he continued, “. . .Gareic would’ve loved it! Probably as much as he loved fireworks. . . ah, w-well, I don’t know for sure. I’ll never—I’ll never really know. . .”

Murdock then hunched his shoulders, forehead suddenly an inch from the table, putting on a truly Grammy-worthy act of fighting back tears. 

A cocktail of sympathy and confusion swirled about Ness’ features. He merely nodded, giving an appreciative look to Caliban and Azalea in turn. 

The siblings nodded right back in that classic Don’t Worry, We’ve Got This fashion. 

And as the waiter retreated once more, the trio made their way back outside, a rather hefty tip left in their wake. 

The shaking and choked sobs up and disappeared from Murdock’s body as he trekked over to his car, quietly celebrating a successful evening of making someone believe that he really was just another poor sap who probably wouldn't survive a public speaking class. 

While Caliban and Azalea would’ve given more sarcastic commentary on the matter, they found themselves having to concentrate on not looking over their shoulders. 

“. . .Why did you do that?” Caliban finally asked, referring to the way his sister had eventually gone over to strike up a conversation with their cousin. The way she’d acted all surprised to see Penn, given him a quick hug, introduced herself to his friend, the works. 

The way she’d ended up giving Penn one of her business cards for Aftertaste. . .

“I should be asking why you didn’t follow along with it. I had to make excuses about you being tired from a wild day. . .well, I mean, I guess I can cut you some slack for that part,” Azalea replied. 

Though that did get a chuckle out of Caliban, it was still laced with a bit of anxiety.

Azalea winced, giving him an apologetic glance before she continued. “I was setting up a gameplan.” 

“You saw that look in his eyes.” Caliban sucked his teeth. “We both did.”

Azalea fidgeted with her sleeves. “It’s been years upon years. It’s impossible for him to actually know about our work.” 

“Right, right. It’s just—” Caliban sighed, running a hair through his hair. “Something obviously happened. I don’t know how it could relate to us, but. . .” He trailed off as something cold traced along his ribcage. 

Azalea reached up to place a comforting hand on her brother’s shoulder. “Hey, we’ve gotten through much bigger things. I know how this feels right now, but it won’t be so bad later on. I promise.” She hesitated for a few long seconds, then added, “. . . It’s not like he ever tried to make things worse back then.”

Caliban gazed down at her and nodded. She was correct; she was taking initiative like she had so many times years before. She wouldn’t have to handle things alone. 

And Penn. . .well, Penn had been a good egg as a kid. Chances were he was still smart and reasonable today. 

Azalea nodded back. “What I did bought us some time to go over our stories. To come up with something convincing enough. So, once he accepts my little invitation and stops by for a visit—” 

“—we’ll be ready to put him at ease and keep him off any scent,” Caliban finished.  

Headlights beamed to life as Murdock took his place behind the wheel. 

Azalea didn’t call shotgun, but she didn’t really need to, She already had earlier that day, and Caliban, who knew his car etiquette, slithered over to the backseat without any fuss. 

Snare stirred, letting out a tiny yawn and stretching before clambering into his owner’s lap, curiously sniffing at the to-go box in said owner’s hand. 

As Murdock eased the car out of Sparky’s parking lot and back onto the main road, something in Caliban’s brain decided now was the time for him to start staring at those glowing windows. He glimpsed his sister looking in the same direction. 

Penn and his friend were still there.

It only took a moment or two before the restaurant became a small blur in the distance, but Caliban's instincts told him that his cousin could still feel his and Azalea’s eyes. . .

@sammys-magical-au @insane4fandoms @b-is-in-the-closet @im-a-weird0 @lexusinsannus @sunny011387 @x-hotrose-x

[witchcraftandburialdirt]

[ TRUST ] for a scenario where sender’s muse is the only one receivers muse will let close. ( Robin )

✧ ━━ 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐂 𝐈 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝙳𝙴𝙰𝙳 𝙱𝚈 𝙳𝙰𝚈𝙻𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃

The gargling prayers and pleas had long begun to mingle into a single, choking drone bleating from the mangled body below him. He had lost count of the strikes; how many times his blade had wedged itself between Haruko's ribs or plunged down into her precious heart. Not that it much mattered, anyway, for Robin found himself captivated by the shift; that pathetic whimpering and weeping was a welcome reprieve from her previously barbed words. It was an unfortunate truth that Haruko's voice held an unsettling power over him, and it seemed she had only searched him out to indulge in her advantages. Pity for her that he was not a patient man. Taunt after taunt she berated him with rather scornful observations that burrowed quick into his mind to hide away. It was simpler this way; the guttural noises that filled the space were far more satisfying than those verbal knives she had earlier hurled at him.

Anything to get her to stop talking about it.

"It" being merely an answer he did not want to hear, a resounding "yes" where it should have been a sharp "no". The way she looked at him when she said it too, so confidently, so sure of herself - even now, splattered in blood did she appear happy. As if his violent reaction had simply validated her stance.

Do you truly perceive me as a man capable of such gentle ministrations?

𝒀𝒆𝒔. ... 𝑰 𝒅𝒐.

His aching knife hand, however, finally found pause when a single stick crunched behind him; a deliberate act, of course. Robin knew that his usual visitor would never actually accidentally reveal themself, they were far too clever for that. They thrived on the thrill of the chase, the unseen dance of predator and prey that Robin was usually all too pleased to take part in. But by now the remnants of life now splattered around him had stained Haruko's beautiful dress from the soft ivory of the Holy Virgin into a sickening garden of crimson offal, and her killer found it difficult to turn away from it all. A quiet, very small, flicker of relief fell over him though, as he recalled the horror of his previous encounter atop the clock tower. He could not handle another episode like that — perhaps it was a good thing he had expelled all of his emotion onto her.

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐, 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔, 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖? 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒔, 𝑺𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.

You are ignorant. Now I beseech thee; rush homeward to your husband.

The gentle downward tug on his lip alerted him to the sticky strands of bloodied saliva that grotesquely connected his mouth to the gaping, festering wound leaking unceremoniously from the lovely column of Haruko's neck. Another step from his Ghostly companion, and before he could stop himself - an animalistic bark erupted his throat as he snapped his head towards Ghostface. Wide eyes glinted in the lowlight of the backwood like shards of glass, while stained fangs bared; like some starving animal prepared to defend it's kill at all cost.

After a moment, the revelry fell to a haunting lull, leaving only the sound of his ragged breath. With trembling hands, Robin slowly removed the blade from its gruesome duty, quick to yank it free from Haruko's breast, and tossed it into the dead grass beside them to be swallowed by the earth itself. Then, with a desperate urgency, he brought the length of his sleeve to his mouth, wiping away the evidence of his insatiable thirst. As if that could erase all of what had been seen.

"I fear dying an obedient lap dog. I fear being trapped in a cage for eternity."

Was he what Ghostface feared most? A starved ratling scrabbling around in desperate search of its next fleeting morsel? Stuck forever at the mercy of his God ...? Even if it was so, the Grave Walker persisted with ludicrous devotion, returning time and again. Was it from some twisted sense of care? A foolish idea Robin thought rather stupid. Or was it to jeer at him? Somehow that was worse. No. No. Not you too. Robin hated it. He hated this vulnerability, this clarity that stripped away the blur he had mulled in over the centuries, all of it lost the moment his vision crossed that woeful mask. He loathed how intimately aware he was of his own sharp, cypress gaze softening — dissolving, like the last vestiges of daylight spilling into a tranquil, sun-kissed lake calm enough to reflect the abyss of Ghostface's hollow eyes.

━ 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑩𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇.

Ah yes, that had been the last, delicately placed attempt at pity that broke his demeanor; the absurdity to grant him such kindness. To act as though he was merely a pitiable, pathetic welp — a fragile thing deserving of mercy! To want … mercy for him. Over and over. In and out. Ruthlessly he sought to reclaim the dignity that had been stripped away by her impudence, plunging cold steel into her delicate form until his arm had begun to ache and strain from the motion. Each stab was a vicious attempt to get the maiden to take back the foolish words that had ignited all of this chaos; to let his mind forget about what he was.

But she never yielded.

Haruko just … watched him without any fear in those navy gems she called eyes; even dulled by the veil of death she held a gaze that seemed to pierce through the last sparks of his soul, as if challenging him to reconsider the depths of his madness. Haruko had died hours ago; that much was evident in the rigid chill of her body, still he found himself consumed by a twisted compulsion to continue, to savage what remained of her until — wintry brows suddenly furrowed downward as a wave of frustration crashed over him once he turned back to the corpse, horror momentarily gripping his heart once he found the her already half lost to the Entity's spindling legs dragging it deeper and deeper into the dirt.

Confusion clouded Robin’s features as he gawked at the woman's death mask, taking note how the once-familiar contours of her visage had been nearly obliterated by the devastation he had wrought upon her. How could it be then, amidst the horror he had inflicted, that Lady Kovacs' spirit still seemed to weep? He could hear it. Echoes of soft whimpers drew his gaze to the stark canyons of her bronze skin where the blood had retreated, leaving traces of a raw flesh in their wake. Long, winding rivulets of skin emerged from the red-stained landscape, each one carved its mournful path along the curve of her body. But his ascending gaze found no storming clouds above, nor even the faintest sign of rain falling from the oppressive gray heavens.

It was as if the very notion of tears was foreign, something he was incapable of understanding let alone feeling; so instead he could only stare bewilderedly at the droplets falling onto her face.

"I … "

Too many words were fighting along his tongue, yet as soon as his mouth opened to allow their freedom, a wave of nausea surged through him and twisted his stomach in a vicious knot of protest. The Sin Eater was practically trembling in his spot, paralyzed by his own weakness. Each breath now a struggle as he fought against the tremors that threatened to overtake him. By now Haruko's beautiful face had shed away and curled those pretty lips back, and Robin was unable to rip his gaze away from the worm cleansed smile before him. And equally helpless was he to stop the constant repetitions of Haruko's deep voice in his head. Suddenly, fueled by a surge of rage and desperation, he propelled himself to his feet, fists clenched at his sides as he spat his fury at the lifeless form under him. “Shut up! I’m in no mood!”

Up came his boot to crash down onto her body, snapping bones and squelching in the torn insides now out. Eventually her cadaver was shattered enough that it disappeared entirely into the Entity to leave the two ghostly figures alone amidst the destructive scene that had been left behind. A hat thrown, once neatly tucked and braided hair now a waterfall of soft glistening snow; and Robin's furious tears streaming down his cheeks as he collapsed back down onto his knees and squeezed his hair in frustration, his stare flickered around him, as if he were pleading with an unseen audience for understanding, "Just, everyone shut up! — I need to think."

Each tear clung to the gentle curve of his lashes, each one settling and shimmering like dew kissed pearls upon lily petals. With a heart pounding in trepidation, Robin turned his gaze upwards, his eyes searching for answers, for comfort, for anything to make sense of the havoc swirling around him. Now along with Haruko's words he also wrestled with the disbelief of Danny’s presence; the thought of his friend returning felt surreal, surely it just an apparition born from the depths of his fractured psyche. A cruel trick, a twisted jest played by his own fraying mind. Why ever would they return to him? Let alone stay after seeing such a revolting display of despair. Of something so dreadfully human. He couldn't envision a reason for them to stay. Kindness wasn't something he was given. Mercy was not something he was given. So, just as the weight of his misery threatened to crush him, Robin's voice finally emerged — a whisper, shaky as a newborn fawn, crossed his trembling mouth:

"A-Are you real … ?"

[void-of-unparalleled-chaos]

Campus police send out shooting alerts in a timely manner challenge (impossible)

[bobateaboo]

“Well I can tell you where this body came from! Or the one before that, dozens more if I really feel like it! But me? Ha! Who has the time?”

oh boy oh boy do I have a lot to say about this, lore under the cut

okay SO. Cinnabon has been skipping around bodies for centuries. there was a time when he didn't have one, and sometimes the stretches of time between the destruction of one vessel and the finding of another can last years, but he never isn't

when he doesn't have a vessel, things are... weird. it'd be wrong to call him a ghost because a ghost has some sort of form, intangible as it may be. without a being, he's less of a person and more of a force, there but unfocused. if he wants to be a "person", he needs a container to keep all of himself nearly in one(ish) place

he's still dangerous when he's unfocused, but in a very different way. as a force, he, or in those times, more accurately it, is more of a case of extreme bad luck. comical misfortune that can ruin someones life if you're not careful. when he has a body though, it's very different

one of his little rituals for after he's gotten a new body is to drive whoever is closest to it insane before killing them. example; his most recent form is a puppet carved out of wood, so he spent a good few months making the life of the old man who carved him absolute hell before dismembering him and leaving what was left for his family to find

the closest anyone's ever got to destroying him is a little someone I can't name because of spoilers, but they're the one who keeps him and Onyx on a leash, and that's less destroying him and more binding him to his current vessel. he can't destroy it himself and until it's broken, he's stuck

in theory it should be easy enough for Cinnabon to trick some poor sod into burning the wood and plastic that makes him up and then taking their body for his own, but due to some magical agreements our mystery person is the only one who can do that. they've promised to free him, but only after the goal they hired him for is fulfilled

but yeah Cinnabon, or at least the thing that calls itself that, has been around for as long as anything has had a life to ruin and intends to stay around until there aren't any more. He lives for his own entertainment and he's found that, 9 times out of 10, the best entertainment is making someone truly and completely despise their own existence

anyway tha's it :]

[herarcadewasteland]

Tragic, Really.

A/N: Inspired by @hoseokhasmyheartxx and @orchidyoonkook because Yoon sent the post that @hoseokhasmyheartxx reblogged about a quote: "I know baby, I know." (Condescendingly). And this was born. No idea who the original poster is, the reblog rabbit hole went too far for me to keep looking.

-CW: Violence and kinda gorey, read at your own discretion.

-Hoseok x Reader, almost yandere (probably full yandere hoseok)

This took a fairly dark turn. Enjoy?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I know baby, I know.”

His voice was overly sweet. Condescending. His large hands pressed roughly into your side, the stab wound gushing as he released pressure to draw a line of your own blood over your cheek. It didn’t start like this… he had been the sweetest, most attentive and caring boyfriend in the world. But when Yoongi started spending time with you, something changed. He became quicker to anger, he pulled you closer with more force than necessary, kissed you in front of Yoongi for no reason. He had changed overnight and now you were here, laying on the floor beside Yoongi, Hoseok hovering over you with his normal joyful smile.

Your head shook from left to right, legs pushing you away from his crazed smile and harsh touch. He tsked and looked like you had shot his dog, his eyes watering before he grabbed you around the waist, pressed his thumb into your wound and pulled you back. The only difference now was he had settled over your thighs, not just leaning over you from your side.

Tears tracked down your bloody cheeks, eyes dancing from Yoongi to Hoseok, his smile still firmly in place. Your struggle resumed despite the sharp pains it caused, his thighs tightening around yours as he pressed your wound harder, reaching behind him to grab a discarded bottle of Soju that had been involved earlier in a drinking game. Your eyes caught the shine of the glass, head shaking side to side in denial even though you knew exactly what he was about to do. His disappointed tsking made you freeze, eyes trained on the hand holding the bottle of alcohol. The tilt of the bottle tensed your stomach, pain pulling a strained cry from your raw throat. The liquid hitting your wound and pooling in it caused a burning sensation to spread through your body, the dried blood around it flaking as a new source of wetness pulled it from its new place on your skin.

Screaming at the added pain, you saw Hoseok frown through hooded and blurry eyes, his smile somehow bigger as he watched you writhe. His hand tilted again, the Soju burning an imaginary hole through the existing one in your side. You thought watching Hoseok change so drastically was the worst pain you had ever felt, but as he took a few sips from the bottle and chucked against the wall before he leaned down to your ear, plush lips brushing it lightly, you realized whatever happened next would be even worse than losing your brother.

“This could have been avoided, Y/N. How could you do this to me?! You left me for him. Your attention wasn’t mine. I had to do it. You understand, right? Of course you do! You love me~!”

His whisper sent rough shivers through your body, his hand pressing against your wound again. You coughed violently, blood spilling past your lips as you struggled to breathe. A new, duller and redder shine caught your eye as you spoke roughly.

“He’s my brother! I couldn't-”, you coughed again, watching the shine become clearer in your blurred vision, “I couldn’t just abandon my family for you!”

A growl left him. Your pulse quickened against his lips as he trailed them down your neck. His hand raised above you as the shine grabbed your attention once more. The knife. There was nothing you could do, even if you were afraid. You couldn’t be scared to death, you were right on the brink of it anyways. So as his hand raised, his monologue continuing, you closed your eyes and waited for the greatest pain of your life. Being killed by the one man you had loved more than anything. The knife pierced your chest with a dull thump, your body lurching as you coughed up more blood. You could feel his eyes as he watched the blood drip down the edges of your jaw, his laughter filling the space as he pulled the knife back only to plunge it back in moments later.

“If even I can’t have you, then no one will. Not ever. Tragic, really. How you thought you could get away with it!”, his voice raised with a new arc or the knife, your body jerking upwards again.

His voice faded slowly, his laughter following stabs of the knife as he traced his other hand over your body. Seeing a light behind your eyes, you smiled. As much as you loved him, the man above you was no longer him. It never would be. For after you let the warmth of the light take you in its embrace, he had let himself go after you, following you to be with you, even in death. In some ways, the news article that would be released days later was accurate. He had gone insane. And you had struggled. But in the eyes of the public, you died as lovers. Hoseok was not your lover at that moment. He had simply been Jung Hoseok. Kind man gone insane.

[bathroomcorpse]

fuck it. the full thing that i posted a snippet of last night. its super short.

[zaynes-ocs]

Tempest

Tw for graphic descriptions of execution via electric chair

This is part 3 of milo’s backstory read parts 1 and 2 here:

Part 1

Part 2

He was going to die.

He was just a boy.

He was going to be executed.

All of these realizations had slowly settled in on Milo’s psyche as he had sat huddled in his cell for the few days he was allowed as the world around prepared for his death while he was left to stew in the anxiety of it all. Every set of footsteps echoing down the hallways sending a jolt of terror down his spine, wondering if it was finally his time until his anxiety ran him numb. At some point, he stopped caring, though he couldn’t for the life of him remember when, so when those footsteps finally halted in front of his cell one day, he found it easy to stand.

He didn’t resist as he was guided down the hall, chains jangling like the bells that would toll for his demise as his feet shuffled against the cool cobblestone floor towards his doom. His tears had long dried from the hours if not days upon sobbing he did in his cell, and quite frankly he was over it by now.

Even as the doors moaned open into a dimly lit room, he felt nothing. His dull, lifeless gaze settled upon the only piece of furniture in the entire room as he entered. A single, wooden chair was bolted to the ground, metal restraints that shimmered like the foaming waves of the trecherous waters of a flood were attatched to the arms and legs of the chair while another sheet of metal lay in the seat. Up the oaken backing stuck another line of frigid metal leading up to an odd mechanical circlet hanging by looping wires that spiraled up into a cold and clinical cobweb of copper and iron.

“Take your seat.” Came the guard’s command, to which Milo silently complied, wincing breifly as the metal cuffs of the chair bit and constricted his wrists and ankles, a discomfort that he promised himself would disappear soon, as dead people dont feel.

The chair was uncomfortable in design, forcing Milo’s back staight as the cold metal backing pressed up against his spine while the circlet clenched like the fangs of a predator against his temple as his guard checked over his restraints.

“Sorry to have to do this to you kid… but orders are orders…” The guard sighed as he took a step back, glancing over the young boy’s form with a grimace of discomfort. “If you have any final words to get out… I’ll record them for you if you’d like.”

“Alec is a lying bastard… and I hope he rots in hell.” Milo softly snarled, surprising even himself at the venom that drolled off his tongue, astonished to the new feeling of pure, vengeful rage that held no room for fear to prevent him from speaking, for what place does fear have in a dead man’s body anyways?

The guard’s mouth formed a fine, grim line in silent understanding of those words before he swiftly made gis departure, leaving Milo alone in the room with only the feeling of impending demise and the ever present weight of his mother’s ring boring a hole through his pocket. At least he’d have a chance to apologize for being late to dinner this way, he supposed.

His fists clenched in nervous anticipation as a soft electrical hum filled the air, almost a squealing shrill scream that danced through the wires before it roared into a cacophonous buzzing as untamed blue light shot down the wores, igniting across the metal of the chair before sinking its prickly fangs into Milo’s nervous system, his skin clicking and popping as sparks jumped between him and the metal, forcing his body rigid as the sheer power overrode his body as his execution began.

He couldn’t scream, nor control any of the haphazard spasms and convultions that rocked his body against the chair, his jaw forced tight as lightning danced hotter than fire through his blood, burning and stinging far worse than he could even imagine as his heart was forced to thunder with every spasm, constricting and gasping for every missed beat as it tried to keep up with it all. Milo’s very spine scalded like magma as it was forced against the metal, his skin feeling like it was boiling from the inside as the tingly sensation of needle-like sparks jabbed and stabbed at the very bone, sending shudder after shudder to the rest of his limbs that rattled and bashed against their restraints that only served to burn him further, condensing the circut into only his body and leaving the excess nowhere else to go as it was forced to burn its way back through the body reversably.

The circlet atop his head bit and hissed as a bolt of energy danced across his face like a thunderclap, searing its way over one of his eyes with a terrible flash that nearly blinded him as his eyes watered with tears that wished to express themself, his lip tearing and cracking as the lightning tore him apart from the inside. His heart hammered faster and faster until he was certain it had stopped completely before it seized once again, his organs twisting and churning just like his limbs with no way for him to control their movements before the electricity finally ceased, and his heart lulled to a final stop.

Mere seconds had felt like an eternity as Milo’s head slouched forward, his snowy hair straying from the path of gravity with wn electric hum to it as his mind slowly began to fuzz and fade, his last few surviving moments of air to his brain dissappearing with every sefond as his vision grew darker and darker, conciousness fading with it as he was faintly aware of the sensation of his restraints finally loosening before a sudden, violent spark leapt between his fingertips and danced its way back through his body, and his heart began to beat again.

Gasping out, Milo lunged forward with a vicegrip, holding on for desperate life as his systems reinstated themselves and his vision returned, only to find his hand wound tightly around the neck of one of the guards and his pocket filled with a warm, energetic buzz that drew him like a moth to a flame. Wordlessly, he dug his other hand in, finding a small sapphire ring hidden amongst the cloth that hummed with purpose and gave off a faint glow almost that mesmerized the newly awakened elf as the cogs in his mind slowly began to turn, remembering once more who he was, where he was and what exactly had just transpired before a roar of rage shot through his body, a surge of energy flowing through his arm like a tidal wave before it slammed into the helpless guard with a violent electric flurry, brilliant blue sparks shooting out and swarming his arm like ribbons.

The guard lay bloodied and motionless on the floor of the chamber, earning nothing but a glower from the elf a gave him nothing more than a glance before turning his attention back to the ring in his pocket which slipped flawlessly onto his finger, calling to him like destiny as he shed what remained of the shy, quiet boy from the village and donned a new outlook on life and an all consuming rage the likes he had never felt before. His very mind itself had changed as he stormed his way out of the prison like a hurricane, wind and thunder smiting any who blocked his path as he had only one destination lingering in his mind.

They wanted a monster to blame so badly?

They’d get their monster.

Part 4 - FINAL PART!

[ladyfarona]

[Picture ID: a black and white drawing of three crows standing in what is likely a living room next to a fireplace with a fuzzy rug on the floor. A framed picture and trinket are on the fireplace mantel and there is a large picture on the wall. In the background, there are two crows standing by a party table.

One of the crows in the living room is holding a cup. The crow to their right is complaining, "This is barely a manslaughter." /End ID]