dancingamongstdust

[dancingamongstdust]

All the guys

Yet another guy

[dancingamongstdust]

I like this guy.

Now, for your consideration, this guy.

[dancingamongstdust]

Hmmmmm

How Rain Quenches Fire

Information: The backstory of how my current favourite TTRPG character gained her demonic powers. We all make mistakes when we're younger but not many of us can say we got possessed by a demon for it.

Content Warnings: Demonic Possession

Word Count: 2.5k words

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

The harness sat tight across Meara’s chest. It pinched at her ribs and dug into the softest areas of skin. Each passing year made it clearer she had inherited her father’s height and broadness. Her mother’s equipment would never fit properly.

One more promise dashed by a time.

“Mother would say this is a bad idea.”

“Senan, I honestly don’t care what mom says.”

He hovered in her doorway, skulking as he always did. Meara swore all her brother ever did was existed where he wasn’t wanted and drove her blood pressure up. A week past her eighteenth birthday and he already threatened to give her a heart attack.

“If you insist on participating in this barbaric practice, the least you can do is wait for somebody who’s trained in it. I’d hate to see you dead.”

Senan had mastered the art of pretending he cared. A crease would form between his eyes as he changed his voice into whatever he thought she wanted to hear.

Meara pushed past him. She’d wasted enough time looking for the right equipment and the sun had started to disappear over the horizon. Her mother’s gun remained far from ideal with its small magazine and excessive kickback but she could manage.

Senan followed her out of the house. His judgemental glare spoke volumes.

Clouds hung heavy above the small yellow house. A light misting of rain brushed against Meara’s cheeks as the chill seeped through her clothing. Oh, how she hated the cold.

Her car struggled to start and the traitorous thing gave Senan too much time to make his way to her passenger door and pull it open. For a horrible second, she feared he would climb in with her. Instead, he allowed rain to soak into the fabric of her passenger seat and chair.

“You should know better than to go to a graveyard alone. The creature you’re looking for is probably not the only thing lurking in the ground.” His advice grated against her ears.

The engine spluttered to life after the third try.

She escaped the driveway with a metaphorical squealing of tires, car door slamming shut in the process. The weather and her car’s lack of power stole the dramatic exit from her but it remained in spirit.

Senan disappeared in her mirrors but the judgemental gaze remained from her own eyes, large bags marring the sepia skin beneath them.

Could she be sure this wasn’t a mistake?

Meara refused to be seen as a child launching from the top of a jungle gym. She understood this world well. She’d grown up in it. It embraced her fully and she used everything she’d been taught.

Reports filtered in from all sources but recently several arrived from a graveyard not far from their home. A twenty-minute drive. Their job told them what they should do and yet everybody put it off.

Meara cared little for what her parents pretended to be busy with. They expected the world to stop spinning if they willed it so.

Monsters stopped for nothing. Meara understood that. She signed up for the job because of it.

Her hand hovered over the radio before it fell. She drove to the graveyard in silence and simply watched the road disappear beneath her tires. Rolling hills turned to dense forest and cows gave way to unrelenting shadows. The rain remained her only constant; the repetitiveness painful as her nerves pulled tight.

She saw one car for the entire drive.

In Meara’s imagination, the graveyard loomed like a castle at the peak of a mountain. She thought herself the main actress in a movie and the world as her set.

When the first crumbling wall appeared, tension built in her chest though she suspected to be let down. A graveyard like this wouldn’t be worth a photograph let alone a film.

Neglected graves held desperately to the long-dead flowers upon their façade. Small streams of running water turned the mossy stones slippery. Graveyards carried an overarching grief but even on a day as pathetic and gloomy, this place felt too depressing.

Her boots left deep treads in the mud she sloshed through. A twig crunched beneath her step and her hair stood on edge.

The shadows ran from her torch but the creature hid beneath no trees nor crouched between dilapidated stones. It could have been anywhere. Nobody who saw the thing agreed on what exactly they’d encountered.

Its violent outbursts targeted cars passing by night. No injuries yet but everybody said time would change that. She would deal with this tonight or she would die in the attempt.

The unexpected thought paused her. Death hadn’t run through her mind yet.

No matter how she adjusted her hold, the gun felt slippery in her hands. Her finger twitched against the trigger. She checked the magazine again and found her bullets hadn’t unexpectedly vanished.

Leaves rustled in the wind and she spun, the barrel swayed from side to side. Worse weather couldn’t have been divined. The rain pressed cold against her cheeks and dampened her hair during the wait. Nothing emerged from the darkness and she continued walking.

The tight clench of her jaw made taunts impossible and she preferred the element of surprise anyway.

Older monster hunters told her a well-placed bullet would dispatch any creature. Nothing mattered more than getting the shot right. Good aim would save your life.

She believed them but bullets held little reassurance in a forgotten place like this.

An awful crunch froze her. The second and third dragged her back into action, their sound accompanied by what could have been a small bonfire.  

Meara trailed obediently after the noise. She forced herself to stalk as she had been taught when younger with a roll of the foot. The weeds grew up to her knees in this area and the trees’ gnarled roots had begun to claim back the land.

Did anybody remember this graveyard existed? She couldn’t imagine they cared much about it even if they knew.

The monster came into view slowly, hunched over a small meal, shovelling mouthfuls of dirt and bone into its maw. The fire beneath is stony skin burned with little more than a weak glow; one of its chipped horns ascended skyward while the other bore nothing more than a stub.

Not a regular monster. A demon. A creature who lurked in places where death never strayed and fed off bodies. Too cowardly and unwilling to chase prey unless disturbed or starved. The latter rang true for this one. Its body consumed itself in hunger.

Not every graveyard took on frequent new residents and it didn’t dare to venture away from its home. Meara considered this hunt a kindness to both creature and visitor then. Not even a demon could survive without food forever and its desperation compounded as days passed without a meal.

The entire situation resembled a bomb, counting down in slow ticks.

Meara raised her gun and attempted to steady the shake. When she’d hunted with her parents, everything followed this pattern. One step after another.

The gun fired, a fierce kick of heat in an otherwise soggy landscape.

Fragments of stone flew into the air from the tombstone beside the beast’s arm. It raised its head sluggishly. A dull green flickered behind its eyes. A profound sense of hunger washed over Meara; for a second, she desired something bloodier than a bowl of her father’s stew for dinner that evening.

It dropped the remainder of its meal and Meara’s second shot missed by a considerable margin. Dragging steps created small wafts of smoke from the damp grass. Its lips �� or whatever it had in their place – pulled back to show sharpened fangs as it straightened.

Never before had Meara felt short.

She managed to launch from its path when it charged. Her knees scraped against the floor as it barrelled past with its head lowered. A snarl ripped from deep in its chest as it collided with a tree; wood splintered into the air with a sickening crack.

Meara got onto her feet despite the best attempts of the trees’ trapping roots and aimed for the chest. The right shot would be the final one.

The bullet connected with her target.

The demon didn’t buckle or scream or acknowledge the gunshot wound on its shoulder. Had she missed? None of the targets at the practice range had armour to consider.

When she shot there, at least fear didn’t drag her gun from the bullseye.

She reminded herself of its animalistic tendencies. All monsters behaved in a similar way. They couldn’t think about anything more than the desire to consume whatever they got their claws into.

Her father’s words sounded untruthful when she made eye contact with the demon once more.

Meara took measured steps backwards. She avoided ungainly roots and winced every time a stick broke beneath her feet but kept moving. The trees forced it to trail slowly as it watched with an expression of contemplativeness. A standoff then.

It wasted energy by running at her when trees blocked much of its path and it understood her weapon posed a threat. Yet she knew her bullets wouldn’t last forever. Her overconfidence whispered she only needed one but her mind reminded that she had already fired thrice to no avail.

Until she gave it the opportunity, it wouldn’t attack.

Its size gave it the advantage in speed and strength but she had planning. She could lure it into the more open plain and fix her aim. The lack of lighting caused her to miss. She repeated it in her head like a mantra.

She tripped on a gravestone, cut the back of her leg open, and forced herself to stay standing. The lack of tree coverage did allow her to see it better. Her opportunity approached rapidly.

Demons like this shouldn’t be underestimated for sheer intimidation. It hulked through the treelines and a furious green burned within its chest. A sickly glow surrounded its frame as it readied itself for a meal.

She realised too late. Her plan worked for both parties and she’d given it a clear charge at her.

The ground hit hard but at least the claws sliced the air over her head instead of taking her neck. It snapped its maw as it thundered past where she’d been standing a mere second before. She’d never been closer to a living monster. It radiated surprisingly little heat for a creature made from the fire of hell.

Green embers floated into the sky as it crashed through gravestones. It forced itself to a stop and turned.

Meara panicked. Nothing else filled her brain. She couldn’t plan beyond the image of a skeletal figure with large, swooping horns. Would this be her first and last hunt? Another statistic to scare parents away from this life. One more thing for Senan to use in defence of his hatred.

No. No. She refused to allow Senan the satisfaction of being right about anything.

Led by spite, the next bullet found a nick in armour and smashed through. The monster roared and reared back. It gave Meara the confidence to push away her fear and force herself back up.

The movie of her life wouldn’t be a tragedy. The victor would stand over the monster proudly.

Flames spluttered from its body, quickly extinguished by the steady rain. It fell forward onto four limbs and crawled forward like a creature from the depths. Why did any being need so many teeth?

It lashed out and she stepped away as more gravestones turned to rubble. She could create some distance and –

A wall met her back and her heart stuttered.

Mud squelched between its claws. The new stance protected its chest from her bullets and it approached faster than ever as though it recognised her trap.

She held the gun before her. A shot between the eyes. Then she could call her parents and show them why they needed to respect her training more. Show them what she could do.

The trigger squeezed and the gun clicked.

It launched the moment she broke eye contact. A second’s confused glance at her phone and then something smacked into her chest. The revolver dropped from her grasp and disappeared into the long grass between the tombs.

Her head cracked against the brick and stars danced in front of her vision.

Decay radiated from its breath as it grabbed her in massive claws. Her mother’s harness snapped beneath its grip and she scrambled for a knife. She remembered bringing one. Didn’t she? She couldn’t think.

She kicked and punched but when its jaw opened, the fight fled from her body. Its mouth gaped wider than her head.

She screwed her eyes shut. They said it took the bravest hunter to stare death down but, alone in this graveyard, she didn’t care who saw her cowardice. She wished for it to come quickly and relieve the burning pain in her calf.

The grip on her loosened and a thick, acrid film seeped through her nose and mouth. A putrid ash settled across the inside of her throat and she tried to wretch it up to no avail.

Her knees hit the ground and she slumped forward. She coughed and spluttered – choked on the oxygen she breathed. Through watering eyes, she searched for the demon.

It disappeared. Had somebody scared it off?

In her imagination, she saw her mother’s arrival and felt a hand between her shoulders. The soot clogged her lungs, viscous and awful but breathable. She drew in gulps of air but it had been flavoured with fire.

Yet, every breath made the world clearer. The demon no longer hovered over her in this dismal graveyard. Somewhere in the cavity of her chest, it churned and twisted.

Rarer than a lightning strike, her father had said. Demons possessed people only when they believed they had no other choice because you had backed them into a corner. A hunter killed them before they realised. They were stupid. They didn’t think.

They didn’t realise a single meal could be better as a puppet.

“No!”

The demon screamed alongside her roar of anger. Its flames burned the inside of her skin and filled her with a fury beyond anything she’d experienced before. Raw and impulsive anger welled on the back of her tongue and her nails dug into the dirt without her notice.

The rain fell against the back of her hands and sizzled away. She paused. Harsh burns wrapped around her skin there. More drops fell on her calf and they stung where they washed away her blood.

And she had thought the weather couldn’t get worse.

The demon thrashed within its new bounds. It slammed against its self-made prison cell and wrapped its claws around her organs to set them ablaze. She breathed. She held it. Smoke curled inside her lungs and she choked and spluttered but kept breathing until it settled.

It found a place in the bottom of her chest and seethed at the control. Her ribs burned and her body ached but it stopped moving.

She counted the raindrops where they fell against her skin until she lost track of the number. Still, she counted. The rain cooled her burns and soothed her anger.

She breathed out and the smoke released, expelled from her lungs like the exhale of a dragon.

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

[dancingamongstdust]

Are you an 18+ adult? I’m just checking so I know what’s ok to requests?

I am indeed! Turned 21 a month ago and university is slowly driving me to insanity at the moment...

[dancingamongstdust]

Creepypasta Scenarios - Second Meeting (Part 2)

Hoodie

Lessons were learnt, and you now braved the long walk around with things like human interaction instead of trying to dodge through the alleys.

You were more than a little shaken after your encounter with the hooded man. Something told you that no bluffing occurred during the scenario. If he had decided you were a threat, you had a guaranteed instant death.

Every walk home caused you to ponder it, no matter which route you took. The possibility of losing the chance to complete all your goals in life genuinely scared you.

So deeply immersed in your thoughts, it surprised you when somebody grabbed your arm.

Fear clouded your mind when you were dragged into an alley swiftly, your back pressed up against a wall and a gloved hand covering your mouth. Tears welled up when you recognised the man holding you. A gun was in his free hand, the barrel pointed away from you but its presence enough to cause heart palpitations.

He grumbled under his breath and removed his hand from your mouth almost immediately after a tear escaped. “Keep the noise levels down,” he hissed at you.

“I haven’t told –“

“I know you haven’t,” he interrupted. “Do you think I just let you go running off without keeping a close eye on you? My life is at stake as much as yours is.”

You didn’t understand. Hysteria was beginning to make its way into your mind and you hiccupped trying to keep it away. “Then what’s wrong?”

He glanced around and pulled you further into the alleys. “From now on, you have got to use these alleys to travel everywhere,” he snapped. “I don’t care how scared you are of them or how late at night it is or whatever. You just can’t go wandering around out there.”

“But these alleys don’t lead everywhere I need to go,” you gulped. He was waving that gun around very carelessly. “Why do I have to use them?”

“They do go everywhere. Nobody knows about them and thus you won’t be seen,” he said.

You wrapped your arms around yourself the instant he released your arm and backed away as far as you dared. “Why can’t I be seen?”

“Because some people need to believe you’re dead so until they move on, you need to act it by not running around out in the open street,” he said. “They’re too stupid to check inside shops or at your job so you’re fine there.”

“It’s because you let me go,” you summarised.

He scoffed. “I had a brief weakness to how pathetic you were with your wrong place wrong time shit. It shouldn’t happen again.”

“Then why don’t you kill me now?” you asked, instantly regretting it.

His stare was sensed through his mask. He was considering your statement. “I should actually,” he muttered. “It would save me the trouble of making sure nobody sees you and it would be soon enough after our original meeting that there would be no questioning.”

You whimpered and shut your eyes. At least this time, you had been able to send loving messages at least once before you died. “Please don’t,” you whispered.

“I’m not going to,” he said. “If you can’t attend your boss’ anniversary party because you’re decomposing, it could cause even more attention.”

It was harsh, but his tone had something beneath the snap. You opened your eyes and stared into the mask. “Even if you were just watching me, there’s no way that you could have known I was going to go to that,” you muttered.

“Does it really matter?” he asked. “I know about it. If you want, you can call the cops and lay a stalking charge.”

“Against who?” you responded. “Hooded Man?”

“Hoodie,” he corrected. “Not that it’s a real name so it probably won’t help you too much. And of course, once you do it, my boss will be the one who comes after you.” He groaned and rubbed his head. “And I’ll get into trouble for letting you walk away.”

As the subject was clearly unwelcome, you changed the topic. “I don’t know how to get from here directly to my work,” you said. “I always come out several blocks down.”

He shook his head and started to walk away. “If you don’t keep up, I’m going to leave you behind.”

Homicidal Liu

The weather had taken a turn for the worst over the course of the weekend. Frigid air nipped at your skin even through the many layers of winterwear. You shivered and let your mind wander to thoughts of hot chocolate and warm duvets.

It was a pity you still had the entire day ahead of you.

Lost in your daydreams, when somebody said your name, you jumped. “Liu?” you asked, recognising the scarf. His voice though… something about it had you on edge.

“In some ways,” he said. Without the night’s shadows you could finally study his face. Despite your initial apprehensions, he looked like a normal guy. He had some stitches across his skin but nothing else was out of the ordinary. “I thought I should come say hello.”

You smiled. All the uncertainty you’d had was fading. Out in the middle of the street, you felt safer anyway.. “Aren’t you cold?” you asked, eyeing his clothes.

He smiled. “No. I don’t really experience the temperatures. They’re all neutral to me.”

“You’re so lucky,” you complained, trying to bury your face further into your jacket. “I hate the cold. It always makes me feel like I’m going to lose a limb or something.”

“Liu and you have that in common. He wouldn’t stop moaning about the temperature the entire morning,” he laughed.

You stopped dead in your tracks, nearly causing somebody to walk into you. “You’re not Liu?”

He turned to face you languidly, showing you that he concealed the other side of his face with his hair. “Like I said, I’m Liu in some ways,” he explained. “I’m not him entirely though. I’m what many would call the better personality. The name is Sully.”

A split personality? His actions and tone-changes made a little more sense in light of that. “I think I partially met you,” you said. “You gave me your name, but Liu said it was a nickname.”

Sully nodded. “He doesn’t like me much. He was worried I would scare you enough to make you call the police or something. I didn’t think you would be the type to do that.”

“I wouldn’t call the police just because I’m nervous,” you mentioned, defensive now.

“See, I told Liu you were the reasonable type,” he said. “Although nervous may be an understatement for how a normal person would act.”

You studied him carefully. “So I should have been scared?”

He opened his mouth to answer and then paused, glaring down at the street in anger before shaking his head and making eye contact again. “Sorry, I wasn’t implying anything. It’s just that you met me in a potentially dangerous environment, so most people would be uncomfortable.”

“You’re Liu now,” you summarized. His eyes had become an softer shade of green and the overconfident expression had faded, leaving somebody recognisable.

“Yes,” he said. “I tried to get Sully to leave you alone, but he was determined to come and meet you.”

“He seems nice,” you ventured.

Liu scoffed, rolling his eyes as though your reaction was beyond ridiculous. “He’s actually not. He just acts like that for the first while and then he changes. I’d warn you to avoid him, but he apparently is going to make that hard. Just be careful with him.”

You hadn’t had the chance to interact around anybody with a split personality before and it was… rather confusing to say the least. “What do you mean he’s going to make it hard?”

“He wants to get to know you,” Liu explained. “And he’s not easily controlled lately.”

“You act like you’re not in agreement,” you joked. “I’ll have you know that I am a lovely person to interact with. I even share my food.”

He sighed and turned his attention back to the ground. “I don’t like interacting with other people. I avoid them as much as possible and normally Sully helps but… but not this time.”

You shifted your weight and tried to smile as warmly as possible. “Don’t go fighting yourself about this. If you don’t want to be around me, you can just let Sully be the only one who talks to me? Do you know what’s going on when he’s in control?”

“No!” Liu said suddenly. “I mean, yes, I know what’s going on but no I am not letting go of his leash. I have to try and monitor him.”

“Do you want to monitor him over coffee?” you offered.

Liu hesitated for a second before he said, “Gladly.”

Jane the Killer

“Be there in a second!” you shouted.

Of all the times for the doorbell to ring… You quickly tried to wipe all the excess bread dough into the bowl and off your hands. It was horrible stuff to clean.

You peered through the door’s peephole and you stilled.

There was a woman standing outside your door. Dark hair fell around her masked face and a suspicious stain covered her shoulder. Something about the entire situation made you uneasy. You got ready to call emergency services just in case something had happened.

“Who’s there?” you asked.

She glanced around almost nervously before she said your name. Her voice was raspy and deeper than you remembered but you recognised it all the same.

You opened the door and stared out at a woman you thought you would never see again. “Jane? Is that really you?”

“It is,” she said.

You could see it now in her posture and her stance. If you ignored the mask, you could imagine this as the same girl from a few years ago who had gone missing in your final year.

She shifted uncomfortably. “I’m sorry but do you mind if I come inside? I’m really exposed just standing out here.”

“Oh yeah, come in,” you said, stepping aside. She brushed past you and instead of the floral scent you had come to associate with her, she smelt of ash.

She stood awkwardly in the hall once you closed the door. “I didn’t think you would recognise me,” she said. “I’ve gotten ugly.”

You couldn’t see it due to the mask but you chose to tactfully avoid the topic. “The last thing I heard about you was…” you trailed off. “I was going to come and visit you in the hospital but they said you had run away.”

“I did,” she said. She rubbed her arm and gave a half shrug. “It’s not what they said on the news. I wasn’t in leagues with that horrific creature.”

“I never thought you were,” you promised.

She hesitated and dropped her hand. “I know we never really spoke in school besides that one time but I have a huge favour to ask,” she said. “I understand fully if you say no.”

You were a little suspicious despite not wanting to be. It had been years since you’d last seen Jane and all the rumours about her could very easily be true. “What is it?” you asked cautiously.

“I need a place to lay low,” she said. “Just for a short while. I can’t entirely explain why but I promise it will not affect you in the slightest.”

“Is it illegal?” you asked.

She shook her head rapidly and her hair seemed to shift. It took you an embarrassing long time to realise it must be a wig. “Not at all,” she said. “The person after me isn’t a law enforcer at all.”

You wished she didn’t have that mask on so you could study her facial expressions. Your mind went back to the news report you had watched so many times over instead of studying. There was no guessing why she wore the mask. “Why did you run?” you asked.

“I was angry,” she said. Her fists clenched. “He destroyed everything I’ve ever had. Burnt it away in a few seconds and he doesn’t even care.”

There wasn’t anything you could say. You just stood there are stared into nothing.

“I’m sorry to ask you this,” she said. “I barely knew you back then and even less so now but you’re the only person around here that I somewhat have met before.”

The small crush you had nurtured for your entire high school career whispered in your ear to let her stay. You were sure this was a bad idea but you couldn’t ignore the pleading from your past self.

“You can stay for a short while,” you told her. “I have a guest room but please don’t lead anything or anybody back to my house.”

Her shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank you,” she breathed.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for whatever happened,” you said. “I only saw brief news reports but I really do wish there was something I could have done to make it better.”

“By letting me stay here, you have done something,” she promised.

Jason the Toymaker

Guilt coiled in your stomach as you explained to your friend that you had lost the picture they had given to you. Apparently, they had wanted to go and show it to a bunch of people and ask about the man but couldn’t redraw him again.

You tried to explain that you had met the man in question but they refused to listen.

There were dark bags under their eyes and their hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed in years. Combined with their extraordinarily pale and clammy skin, you were worried they had fallen ill.

They ignored your concerns and went storming home, leaving you alone in a coffee shop. You watched them through the window and sighed.

After you paid the bill, you headed home. Just like the previous night, something crept up your spine and warned you to look around.

This time, you knew what you were looking for.

The little black mouse was sitting next to a dumpster. If you hadn’t seen it before, you would have thought it to be junk but you had spent the entire previous night obsessing over the image.

You walked into the alley and picked it up.

It jumped to life the moment you grabbed it. The key on its back turning like a real toy’s would. It didn’t try to escape. Just sat and stared at you.

“I didn’t think you would have been observant enough to notice the mouse,” he said smoothly. “I owe you an apology for my assumption.”

You jumped, fumbling to catch the mouse you nearly dropped. It was a close one. “Don’t do that,” you huffed.

He looked different in the sunlight. Far less intimidating than he had when you previously saw him. His eyes were still cold though, holding no emotion in them. He merely stood and watched, with a half-smile on his face.

Stepping backwards so you could easily run for the street if needed, you steeled your nerves. “I think my friend is becoming really desperate to know who you are. Could you go talk to them?”

“Do you not wonder who I am?” he asked.

“Of course I do,” you said, noticing his ignoring of your question. “I also wonder about why you’re dressed like you just came from a carnival.”

He chuckled. “If I answer your questions, you must answer mine.”

You narrowed your eyes sceptically. “This sounds like a very loaded deal and I’m not quite sure I’m willing to accept it.”

“Jason,” he said, holding out his hand to you. “I design toys, thus the getup. It gives me a flashier and more eye-catching look. All I really want to know is how close you are to your friend.”

“I’m presuming you mean the one that knows you,” you said. “And I suppose not that well. We’ve been friends for a year or so and we do talk about almost everything, but there’s not much to be talked about if they have amnesia. Especially not lately.”

He smirked at that and your suspicions grew. “Understandably so. They’re going through stuff.”

“If you have something to do with this, I will call the cops,” you threatened. “And I have your mouse hostage at the moment.”

His eyes fell on the toy and he laughed softly. “Keep it,” he said. “I have countless others. That particular one has been losing its usefulness either way.”

“It has a camera in it, doesn’t it?” you asked.

“Two actually. One for each eye,” he said. “It also picks up on audio and can even administer a slight shock if somebody unwelcome attempts to pick it up. Quite the advanced piece of machinery.”

You held it back out to him and he gently took it from your hand. “What do you want from me Jason?” you asked.

He placed the mouse on the floor and it went scurrying away down the alley. “Originally I wanted to make you into a doll,” he said. “Now I would rather speak to you before doing that.”

“A doll?” you asked.

“It was going to be a special gift for the friend you care so deeply about,” he said. “But I doubt they would appreciate it. They never do.”

“You’re awfully cryptic about everything,” you told him.

He merely laughed.

Jeff the Killer

Your eyelids were getting heavy… you needed more coffee. Maybe something stronger. You didn’t want to fall asleep because then you would be vulnerable.

Then he could come back.

The encounter in the kitchen had made you move your coffee machine into your room. Less need to unlock your door during the night. You started putting all the stuff you needed together in a deep haze. It was habit at this point.

When tired, drink something to keep you awake or eat to distract you. If your body adapted to one thing, move onto whatever was stronger. You’d never need to sleep again.

“If you’re going to plan on locking me out, at the very least lock your windows properly,” an all too familiar voice drawled from behind you.

You startled, and coffee spilled everywhere. Clutching your hands tightly into fists, you tried your hardest to stop the shaking. You didn’t want to look terrified, but your voice still cracked. “I had a feeling you’d be coming to kill me.”

“Did you now?” Jeff asked. His tone lilted as though you had entertained him. “I was originally planning on waiting for you to sleep before coming back but you’re not doing that.”

“I didn’t want to miss your visit,” you spat bitterly. “I want to see my death coming.”

He laughed properly. “Oh, is that so? Well then why are you staring so intently at the bedroom wall instead of turning around to face me?”

You steadied your breath and turned. It was hard not to cringe at his intense gaze and creepy smile, but you managed to keep control of your expressions. “Make this quick,” you requested desperately. “Don’t drag my death out.”

He dragged his tongue along the split cheek, allowing you to glimpse it. “I would be asking for a serial killer to spare my life personally.”

“I’ve heard about you,” you said. “You leave no survivors.”

Jeff tilted his head to the side a little in acknowledgement. “You’re right but sometimes I can unintentionally forget one. Not normally but it has happened.”

“Is that meant to reassure me that you may forget to kill me while I’m standing right in front of you?” you had to force down the bile that threated in your throat.

He shrugged. “Well I don’t need to forget to kill you if I never originally planned it.”

The shock from his statement meant it took you a while to comprehend. “You’re… you’re not planning on killing me? Why else would you be here?”

“Call it a morbid curiosity,” he may have been joking but you couldn’t tell. “Now I was originally going to come back and get rid of you because I wasn’t sure but then I started watching you instead of that roommate of yours. You don’t seem like you would be fun to kill.”

“What classifies as fun to kill?” you asked.

He pointed at your coffee machine with a knife. “Not being so paranoid that you won’t go to sleep or call the police. All of that stuff is more along the lines of insanity. Not my specialty.”

You dug your nails into your wrist, still desperate not to shake. “Is your specialty stabbing?”

“Killing entire families and watching the effects after,” he corrected. “It may involve stabbing, but it can also involve slitting and slashing.”

“None of which you plan on doing to me?” you uttered.

He nodded slowly, as though interacting with a small child. “No. If I was going to kill you, I wouldn’t waste time coming up here and talking to you. Exhausted or not, you could definitely have set off an emergency call in this time. I’m here to watch how this plays out before I make my final call.”

“But you can’t!” you protested. “If you’re going to kill me in the end, why not just get it over and done with now?”

Jeff chuckled. “Haven’t you heard that doing the same thing over and over again is a sign of insanity? You have to have something new every once in a while.”

He left through your window after you found yourself unable to respond and you finally released your arm. The small droplets of blood seeped over your skin and you averted your gaze from them. Instead you collapsed on your bed and, despite your better judgement, fell asleep.

Kagekao

It spoke Japanese – the creature that lived in your house.

The police had come over multiple times and searched the property, looking for any sign that you weren’t going crazy, but aside from the markings left by its clambering along your walls, they hadn’t found anything. At least it left the marks so you weren’t fined for wasting police time.

But, yes, it spoke Japanese.

After several traps failed, you’d taken to cursing it out and actively looking for it so that you could yell or demand your things back. It terrified you but you’d quickly learned that it didn’t actually want to hurt you. Sometimes its pranks would injure but if you lectured it, it at least had the decency to look abashed about the whole thing.

And then, out of the blue, it started replying when you called out a greeting upon returning home. At first, it had scared you but now you were used to it.

It started responding to your questions more and more so one day, you walked into your living room with a mug of tea and several sheets worth of Japanese translations.

“I want to talk to you!” you called out. “Can you stop rigging whatever you’re setting up and come chat?”

Several seconds passed before you heard the tell-tale scratching noises from above you. You glanced up, confused to find it sitting there instead of scurrying away. Perhaps it had gotten over its fear of being seen.

“Hi,” you said. “Do you want to sit on the couch or…?”

It just laughed so you took that as a no.

“I know you can understand me,” you said. “But I don’t know what you’re saying so I just want to get some clarification, if that’s alright? Easiest one first, what are you?”

It cackled maniacally and started crawling along the ceiling, going down the wall at a horribly awkward angle until it was standing on the opposite side of the coffee table.

You hadn’t been this close to it before and it was making you nervous.

But you pushed on, not willing to let it see you scared. “I have several options here so if you say it in Japanese, I’ll translate it.”

“Akuma.”

You nodded and scrolled through your pages, noticing it was now playing with your cup of tea. “A demon?” you asked after a while. “Alright… that’s a little worse than what I was thinking. What do you want from me?”

It tilted its masked face to the side and you waited. And waited. Without warning, it backhanded your cup and sent it smashing to the floor, cackling with laughter as you merely sighed.

“You could be a nicer houseguest,” you sighed. “But I guess not.”

As you started gathering the pieces, you became frozen by a silky-smooth voice answering your questions.

“What do I want? I don’t really have anything in specific. I guess that I want to have fun and watch your reactions but as to why… well, what else is there to do? It’s not like I have anything better, you know?”

You slowly turned around. He had lifted the mask half off and was nibbling on one of your biscuits, revealing a perfectly human face.

“So you can speak English?”

“Obviously. If I understood you, why wouldn’t I have been able to reply?” He whistled while looking at your stack of papers. “You really wanted to talk to me though… this must have taken a ton of effort.”

“Yeah, it did.”

Kate the Chaser

You were worried about Kate after your first meeting with her and, as it turned out, rightfully so.

The next time you went to visit, she hadn’t been home. And the time after that revealed more of the same. She was never around and she answered her phone sparingly – if she responded to the messages at all.

Nobody else was worried but you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. And so, you created a perfect plan to find out why Kate was disappearing again.

You waited for what felt like an entire day around the back of the house. In fact, you were there for so long that your phone died and you finished the book you had brought as a backup. So now you had nothing else to do.

Just waiting.

It wasn’t as though you had nothing better planned for the day but something urged you to remain where you were. A horrible feeling in your gut was warning you that her disappearances weren’t normal and you were only proven right when your stake out yielded results. You straightened when you noticed the figure approaching the house.

Kate was limping, her face was smeared with dirt and her clothing ripped. She wandered in from the other side of the garden and made her way to her bedroom as if in a haze.

You hopped from the car where you waited and made your way to her, calling out her name curiously.

Her attention snapped to you and she froze like a deer in headlights.

“Are you okay?” you asked. A branch hung from her hair as though she’d been rolling around in the forest. “Kate?”

She started shaking bringing her arms up to hug herself. “I thought it was over,” she said. “I thought he’d leave me be but I can hear him again.” She stared at you with wide eyes. “I’m not crazy. He’s not some kind of hallucination like other people think. He’s real.”

You paused in your approach, not sure what you could even say in response. “Who is?”

She shook her head and wiped a tear away from her eye. “He doesn’t have a name. He doesn’t even have eyes.”

If the situation had played out differently, you may not have believed her. Perhaps you would have told somebody about your worries and had her sent back to the hospital – believing it would be better for everyone. But you happened to notice a reflection in the window while you were speaking to her. A reflection of a tall man with no face.

You froze, staring at his silhouette. It was a good distance away but there was a supernatural element to everything happening that you just couldn’t trust.

“Kate,” you said. “Maybe you should come and get cleaned up at my house, okay? I’m parked right up there.”

“What?” she asked.

She followed your gaze and you heard her breath catch. You gently took her arm and urged her to come with, something that she gladly did. You only stopped watching the man when you were in the car and you’d locked the doors.

“He’s going to follow,” she whispered. “He always does.”

“Yeah?” you asked. “Let him try.”

You wheelspun out of the driveway and floored it, your tires squealing as you headed away from the house. Kate shrunk lower in her chair, watching through the mirrors. By the time you arrived at your own house, you’d nearly gotten yourself lost with how many twists and turns you’d made.

Laughing Jack

“You brought her here?!” you nearly shouted. Your eyes darted rapidly between the two people standing outside your door. “Why would you do that? I thought it was just going to be the two of us watching some movies.”

They gave you a smile and ruffled the child’s hair. “I know but Maisie said she really liked you and wanted to come visit. I know you don’t like kids, but I figured it would be good for her to get away from all the fighting in her house.”

“I didn’t want to come,” Maisie said. “Jack wanted to.”

All colour disappeared from your face. “Absolutely not,” you said firmly. “Take her back home with you or whatever but this is not happening.”

Maisie’s morose expression nearly made you regret practically slamming the door in their faces.

Making extra sure you locked the door, you watched the two of them leave through the peephole before turning around to go back to cooking.

The clown standing in your kitchen archway made you stumble backwards.

“You really hurt her feelings,” he said. His voice sent chills down your spine. He was aiming for a joking tone but with far too much creepiness. “Kids are sensitive you know. She won’t understand why you don’t like her.”

You lived in a pretty crowded area. If you could bolt through the door quick enough and screaming, maybe somebody would come to your aid.

Jack smiled, his pointed teeth bared in a small reminder that this thing wasn’t human. “Do you know I choose who can see me and who can’t?” he asked. “It’s a great deal of fun.”

“Are you going to kill me?” you asked. The words came out slowly in your efforts to sound normal.

“Kill you?” he pondered. “Now, I could, obviously but I wasn’t planning on it. I didn’t think you would want me to harm you.” He laughed, and it echoed creepily. “Last time we met, I wouldn’t have pegged you as suicidal but if you want to die, I can help you out.”

You shook your head rapidly. “No. Please don’t kill me.”

He nodded. “You see, I’m quite good at the whole guessing who would want to die thing. The look on your face when I grabbed your arm gave it all away!”

It was taking you a while to calm your heart enough to understand what he was saying. “You… you’re not going to kill me?”

“No,” he sighed. “My, you are a suspicious one. Do you just presume everybody you meet is going to murder you? Or is it because of the nose? I’ve been told my nose is sharp enough to stab people with.”

“You’re a giant clown,” you said.

He took a step closer and you rapidly backed away until you couldn’t anymore. He stopped walking and gave a disappointed expression. “Aren’t you an observant one.”

“Maisie says you’re her imaginary friend,” you said. “But then shouldn’t you be invisible and friendly looking? Like a teddy bear?”

Jack shrugged. “I didn’t choose my form any more than you chose yours. If I could shapeshift, it would make my job easier… You’d be surprised how few kids actually fear me though.”

“Your job?” you asked.

“I bring happiness and candy to small children everywhere!” he said enthusiastically but something in his expression made your stomach churn. His eyes were almost flickering with a dark glee that suggested he wasn’t being entirely honest.

You took a deep, stuttering breath. “You kill them.”

He gave you a small grin. “Not all of them. I’ve sometimes let a few get away.”

You were going to vomit. Even though you were expecting it, his answer shocked you. “Why?” was all you could manage.

Jack tilted his head to the side a little. “I don’t know. I just do whatever I want to do. Not like anybody’s going to tell me differently. I wanted to meet you, and so here I am.”

“Meet me…” you whispered. “But I’m a nobody.”

“True,” he admitted and gave a little chuckle. “And I’m imaginary.”

He faded away in the time it took you to blink. It took you a while to move and the entire time you were constantly checking over your shoulder. As you cooked you hummed an old nursery rhyme that had gotten stuck in your head.

“Pop goes the weasel.”

#creepypasta #scenarios #hoodie x reader #marble hornets #homicidal liu #jeff the killer #jane the killer #jason the toymaker #kagekao #x reader #jeff the killer x reader #laughing jack #kate the chaser

[dancingamongstdust]

OMG!! Aren't you MoltenGold from Quotev?? I've missed you!! T___T I was so sad when I went back there and couldn't find your works anymore, you were my favorite author! I've been hoping that you would come back one day and god am I happy to find you again! Do you plan on reuploading all your works besides de CP Scenarios? I would love to read them again. But either way, I'm just sooo happy that you're back! Can't wait to see what you have in store for us! Anyway, I hope you have a nice day! <33

For some reason, it never occurred to me that people would have both Quotev and Tumblr (and remember me).

Hey! Your message just absolutely made my day... no, actually, like my entire month. I unfortunately lost a great deal of my work when Quotev updated and my account was glitched but I managed to find my CP scenarios so perhaps I'll find some of my other work hidden away on my computer! If so then I'll definitely be updating it.

Thank you for the amazing message and I hope you have an amazing day also <3.

[dancingamongstdust]

Do you do 18+ stuff? If so, could we please see some h/cs for how you get the bucci gangs attention when you're in the mood? Like how the best way to seduce them is.

I do as long as the character's are naturally over 18 or are aged up! Also, yay! More Jojo's requests! Seriously, these make me way happier than they should.

All characters are aged up.

· Buccerati is always busy with something. He doesn’t know how to not do something so he doesn’t think of sex too often. While he’ll sometimes initiate, it’s rare and it’ll have to come from you often.

· The best way to get through to him is by just being as blatant as possible. Give him no possible way to misread your intentions because he will try and force himself to focus on his work.

· That being said, choosing your moments is a necessity.

· If he’s busy with something important, he’s going to just gently push you away and ask you to come back later. He’ll always give you a soft yet worn smile in those moments, his exhaustion shining through.

· But if it’s something that he can leave then you can sidle up behind him and run your hands down his sides.

· He’ll pause what he’s doing and give you a slight smirk, asking what exactly you’re after.

· The best way to drive him crazy is to then slip beneath his jacket. The brush of skin will make his breath flutter prettily. He’ll close his eyes and lean his head back to rest against you if he can.

· When you lean forward to nip at his earlobe or run your tongue along the shell of his ear, he’ll make the softest noise.

· He’ll tell you that he has things to get done and promise to give you all his attention later but he won’t move away from your touch.

· If you do leave him be, he’d probably be disappointed but accept it, which is exactly why you should just ignore the half-hearted protests.

· Instead, whisper in his ear that you miss him.

· Follow the outline of his lingerie tattoo with your fingers and continue speaking about what you want from him. Make sure you punctuate your words with as much physical attention as you can.

· Trail kisses down his neck and begin removing his jacket until he turns around and pulls you closer still.

· Whatever he was doing is going to have to wait.

· Fugo is almost entirely uninterested in anything sexual. Even when it comes to you, he’s not going to be too eager for anything surrounding the topic no matter who initiates it.

· He doesn’t mean anything by it but he’s got too much bad experience with the entire thing.

· If you’re trying to gain his attention, you should avoid coming up behind him or doing any kind of physical or verbal flirting. He doesn’t like it when you touch him without warning either way. When you first started dating, it had nearly gotten you injured several times.

· While he’s working on his computer or reading a book, you can sit next to or across from him and hum until he glances up at you.

· You should definitely start with a more casual conversation, holding out your hand for his and seeing how he’s feeling on the day. If he’s in a better mood and he takes your hand, you can start tracing little shapes on his skin.

· After that, you may mention some slightly more flirtatious things and look up at him through your lashes with a soft smile.

· Fugo will always hesitate when he gets a hint of your mood.

· He’s told you before that he’s just thinking things through when that happens. You used to think it meant you had done something wrong but he reassured you it wasn’t going to go away. It was just a thing.

· If he’s interested, he’ll probably put down whatever he’s working with and bring you closer to continue your conversation.

· His touches will grow more adventurous while you’re busy talking, shifting from tucking hair behind your ear to lightly tracing the outline of your collarbone.

· You should always check with him before kissing him but when you’re at this point, it’s unlikely he’s going to deny you. The slight strawberry taste that he has just has you sighing from the contact.

· Initiating things with Fugo isn’t ever hot and heavy but it doesn’t have to be.

· Abbacchio is hard to read but he’s one of the gang members that’s got more interest in sex. He’s going to be initiating it the vast majority of the time though, especially when he’s feeling more comfortable with your relationship. Before then, it’s going to be difficult to get his attention either way.

· If you’re trying to get his interest, your best way forward is probably to be blatant.

· He’s not comfortable with public displays of affection however so if you want him to respond well, you need to make sure there’s nobody around or even the possibility of somebody walking in.

· Once you’re sure of that, just walking over and straddling his lap is going to get him raising an eyebrow.

· If he’s standing, throw your arms around his neck and press your body against his own.

· His hands automatically go to your hips but he doesn’t move more than that, asking what you’re doing.

· Abbacchio really enjoys kissing. It’s one of his favourite things to do.

· If you tangle your hands into his hair and pull him into a deep kiss, he’s going to respond almost lazily. It’s part of his personal method of driving you wild. He never gives you too much unless you work for it.

· Just keep in mind that he isn’t too fond of having his hair actually pulled. You can keep your hands wrapped in it but don’t tug.

· His makeup isn’t cheap and it never really transfers.

· Once you pull back, mention it and run your thumb over his lower lip. It’s a pity that you don’t get to mess it up.

· He’ll chuckle and tell you that you’re welcome to continue trying before bringing you back into another kiss. There’ll be more energy in it this time and you should play with the lace-up on the front of his shirt.

· You’re going to have to fight if you want to be in charge of this encounter. If you give him even the slightest chance, Abbacchio’s going to take the lead completely.

· But if you insist, he doesn’t mind letting you be in control.

· Narancia isn’t extremely focused on sex because he’s always getting distracted by other stuff. This means that generally he’s not going to be initiating things without your input in some way.

· The best way to get him interested isn’t doing anything you’d expect because not even a steamy make out session is going to guarantee anything further.

· Annoying him is surprisingly a great way to get what you’re after.

· Nothing too bad but general teasing (primarily physical) is going to keep his attention entirely on you. Nudge him while he’s busy with something, pull at his hair lightly, fiddle with his clothing, or even straight up steal his food right as he’s about to eat it.

· At first, he’s going to find it cute or coo at you for your attentions. If you’re tickling or stealing his food, he’ll whine about it and try to move away.

· Honestly, you’re lucky that you mean a lot to him because anybody else doing this would probably end up getting injured.

· After you’ve annoyed him enough, he’ll give up on just stopping you and your teasing will turn into a wrestling match of sorts. Narancia adores messing around like this and his laughter will be the most delightful sound.

· Despite his smaller size, he’s stronger than expected and he’ll quickly be able to win which is good because if he loses, you’re just going to get mumbled complaints out of him.

· But once he’s won, he’ll be straddling your hips and breathing heavily, a victorious grin on his face.

· He’ll make sure to keep your arms pinned and lean down to ask what you’re doing.

· If you continue your teasing or not, he’s going to playfully taunt in return while hovering above you. By this point, he knows what you’re after. It’s surprising that he hasn’t learned your other hints yet but Narancia hasn’t ever claimed to be too good with remembering stuff.

· He’s playing a game now and the more desperate you seem, the longer he’s going to tease.

· But either way, he’s definitely going to be claiming his prize for winning.

· Mista is almost definitely one of the gang members who’s most interested in sex. He’s flirty and playful when he’s initiating and he’s the same way when you’re the one showing off for him.

· For that reason, your best way forward is teasing not because other methods don’t work but because it’s simply the most fun.

· Choose a day when you’re out and about or just generally surrounded by other people. With your tightest outfit as a weapon, you can get his attention just by standing there.

· He can’t even complain because he does it to you almost every day.

· You should make sure you overexaggerate every movement you do whether that’s just sitting down or leaning over to pick up something you’ve ‘accidentally’ dropped for the eighth time that day. It’s better still if you make eye contact with Mista every time you do it.

· He knew what you were planning on doing the moment that he spotted your outfit choice. Your swaying hips only prove him right.

· He’ll stick as close to you as he can after you start with your teasing.

· To an outside party, nothing will seem amiss.

· Mista will have an arm around your waist at all times, his fingers tapping a pattern against your hips. He’ll lean his head against your own and trace over your figure with ghostly touches when nobody is looking.

· Neither of you will mention it but you both know what you’re doing.

· He’ll just ignore the way your arm brushes against the exposed skin of his midriff and you’ll only smile when he invites you to sit on his lap instead of in a chair.

· Your shifting around is because you’re feeling uncomfortable and nothing more. If you happen to brush against Mista a few times then that’s just an accident and you’re sure to apologise every time.

· There’s going to be a reason why you guys have to go home early. Mista’s always got something that needs immediate attendance.

· You never make it further than the car’s backseat.

· Giorno is a pretty neutral party when it comes to desire and stuff like that. He’s interested in it but not enough to put effort into actively initiating unless he’s gone through quite an emotional upheaval.

· He’s really good at reading people though so you don’t need to put too much effort into getting his attention.

· The best way to get him to guess what you want is by making your way into his room when you know he’s busy (just not with anything or anybody too important).

· You can choose a book from his shelves and settle down on the small couch, flipping through the pages and humming softly. He won’t meet your quick glances at first but it won’t be long until he sits beside you with his own book.

· Giorno will move you until you’re sitting between his legs, his free hand playing with your hair.

· If you keep reading, he’ll move your hair aside and start lightly fluttering kisses along your neck. His touch is always like that of a feather.

· When you attempt to lower the book, he’ll whisper for you to keep reading and just ignore him. He didn’t want to disturb you.

· You should bring your own free hand up to play with his braid then.

· He doesn’t mind when you play with his hair. Though it takes him ages to get it done, there’s something very touching about when you run your fingers through it. It just feels so personal.

· He’ll continue offering his soft kisses until he reaches your ear where he’ll ask if he read your mood right.

· If you say that you just want to relax, he’ll happily shift you around so that you’re resting against his chest while you’re both reading. He was planning on taking a break anyway and your presence just makes it better.

· But if you say yes or just hum playfully then the book is going to disappear from your hands (probably turning into a butterfly or something and returning to its place on the shelf).

· It’s a good thing that his room is mostly soundproofed.

#jojo headcanons #jojo's bizarre adventure #team bucciarati #bucciarati gang #bruno bucciarati #bucciarati x reader #fugo x reader #pannacotta fugo #leone abbacchio #abbacchio x reader #narancia x reader #narancia ghirga #guido mista #mista x reader #giorno giovanna #giorno x reader #jjba part 5 #golden wind

[dancingamongstdust]

Creepypasta Scenarios - Second Meeting (Part 1)

Ben Drowned

You dropped your phone onto the table and glared at it with a deep-seated anger.

The app couldn’t be deleted yet when you had taken the phone a tech store, they had magically found no trace of it. When you ignored the messages or were rude in response to them, all the other apps on your phone stopped working. You had even gone to an exorcist and that did absolutely nothing.

The phone in front of you was brand new with absolutely no connection to your prior one. No backups or accounts to show they belonged to the same person. Yet you had finished setting it up to find a single app already installed.

“What do you want from me?” you complained, perhaps too loudly.

A message popped up on the screen soon after.

Don’t you think that it’s a bit rude to keep getting rid of me? What if I’m friendly and just want to chat?

“I tried answering all your messages,” you said. A few weeks ago, the phone answering your voice would have scared you. Now, it was practically expected. “I tried being nice. If you want to drive me insane or kill me, just get it over with already. At least let me sleep without lighting up every electronic device in my house.”

But that’s no fun!

You had been expecting the answer. It wasn’t as if you hadn’t tried begging or pleading after the second time your television turned on at full volume.

It had been a long, long time and you just couldn’t do this anymore. Taking several deep breaths so your voice didn’t break, you requested, “Why don’t you come out of the phone?”

Cleverbot didn’t respond to you immediately.

Seriously? I mean, yeah, I was going to do that anyway in a couple weeks but why are you asking after it?

Strengthening your resolve, you glared at the screen. “Why not just get it over with?”

Behind you, your television turned. A dark, static-filled screen danced for several minutes while you stared at it. Then an arm came through, followed by another. You took a step back and swallowed as his head appeared. He crawled through slowly, like a scene from a poor horror movie.

It took every ounce of you not to scream when Ben stood up properly.

He was pale in a way that felt inhuman, his skin blotchy and almost grayed out. His eyes were the thing of nightmares. Dark and swirling, danger lurked within the fierce red as bloodied tears ran down his face and dripped onto his green adventuring outfit.

“What?” he asked, his voice high-pitched with hints of static. “Did I ruin all your daydreams about how hot I must be?”

You couldn’t break eye contact with him, as much as you desperately wanted to look elsewhere. All the hairs on your neck stood up as the air in your house got colder. “What do you want from me?”

He laughed loudly. The sound barked out, making you flinch. “Nothing.”

“So, you don’t plan on either driving me to the point of insanity or killing me?” you asked. “You’re just making my life difficult for no reason other than because you want to?”

Ben grinned, and you startled when red tears started streaming down his face. “I do those first two so often, I was planning something completely different for you.”

You wanted to curl into a ball, but you couldn’t even move your limbs. “Whatever you’re going to do, please don’t drag it out. Please.”

“See, I would have been more willing to listen to begging if you hadn’t tried to exorcise me,” he said.

“What does it matter if I did?” you asked. “You’re still here so clearly it didn’t work.”

His eyes narrowed and more of the red tears flowed. “It’s offensive. Those people are all hacks and liars and you thought so lowly of me that you believed they could get rid of me. I’m not some low-class movie ghost.”

“So, you are a ghost,” you muttered.

He gave you a mocking smile. “Not entirely.”

“How did you die?” the words weren’t meant to come out, but your curiosity overruled your logical brain for a brief second.

Ben stared at you for what felt like ages before he turned around and crawled back into the static-filled television. Shortly after he left, the television went back to its normal state and the only sign that he existed was the red on the floor.

A new message popped up on your phone.

Ben drowned.

Bloody Painter

It took you a long time to stop seeing the man wherever you walked. Sometimes you would swear he was standing in the audiences of your performances but when you took the time to look, he wouldn’t be there.

You had questioned some people about it. Those who didn’t think you were crazy told you that it was more than likely in your head. Some made comments about wishful thinking or a crush.

Sometimes, your brain reasoned that you were being straight-up ridiculous. The man had brushed you off several times before so he definitely wouldn’t care now.

That was why when you thought you caught a glimpse of him while at a photoshoot, you choose to push it out of your mind and continued focusing on the camera that flashed in front of you.

It was only once everything was over that you realised you hadn’t imagined it.

“You’re right,” he said.

You startled from his voice. It sounded all too familiar for something that you had only ever heard once before. If it hadn’t been for your reflexes, you definitely would have faceplanted after tripping over your shoes.

After you had put some distance between yourself and him, you answered cautiously. “Hello?” you said. “Good to see you again but uh, what are you talking about?”

“There are very few attractive people who visit your shows,” he said. “I was watching them for inspiration and I found that you were correct. It’s no wonder that you were so desperate to draw my attention to you.”

“I was not desperate!” you spluttered indignantly.

He laughed but there was no emotion behind it. It sounded like a robot. “You were prancing around with a high-pitched voice and fluttering eyelashes.”

Huffing, you started gathering up your things. “You could have just said that you weren’t interested in the beginning.”

“But then I wouldn’t have seen your display,” he said. “I’ve watched a few of your things now and I have to admit that your work is certainly of a high standard. You put effort into it.”

“As one generally does when they enjoy something,” you said, still annoyed from the earlier comment.

He said your name slowly. “Certainly sounds like something that belongs on the silver screen.”

“I’m not sure if you’re complimenting me or being sarcastic again,” you said. You crossed your arms and faced him. “Do you think you could show a little expression? It’s impossible to read you.”

There it was again. The smallest smirk that sent chills down your spine. “Generally I don’t, no. It seems like a waste of effort on people who don’t truly care.”

You glowered at him. “Maybe you could try responding to flirting then? Even if it’s just a thank you.”

“There’s no point to it,” he said simply.

He was purposefully infuriating you. You knew how to read people enough to understand that the entire situation was humoring him immensely. “Come on,” you implored. “Don’t you at least find it a little fun? I mean, it doesn’t have to mean anything.”

“Watching your attempts at it is certainly entertaining,” was all he said.

Pulling your mouth into a small pout, you opted against flirting with him once more. He was attractive but he was weird also. “Whatever,” you muttered.

He held out his hand to you unexpectedly. “I’m Helen Otis,” he introduced. “I remember your name. Don’t worry about it.”

You shook his hand wearily. “Why did you choose to come and speak to me again? You seemed pretty irritated with me the last time we met.”

“I was running errands and you interrupted me,” he said.

“Again, you could have just said that and I would have immediately dropped it,” you said. “Why would you entertain me at all?”

“Sometimes I have an impulsive feeling or two,” he said. “It’s admittedly rare but always fun to listen to and I had the feeling I should let you finish whatever game you were playing.”

If memory served, he hadn’t been doing anything besides drawing when you first met him but you brushed that aside. “Mr. Otis, you are a really confusing person.”

He nodded. “I’ve been told that before, what of it?”

There was a glint in your eye, something that signified a challenge being taken up. You leaned forward and smiled as flirtatiously as you could. “It’s not the boring, normal stuff and it makes you all the more fun to speak to.”

Candy Pop

Dreams were imaginary. They were merely formations of your mind’s current state and meant little else. No need to worry about them.

Until they started invading your waking thoughts as well.

Since the hospital visit, nearly every thought and dream would lead you back to the colourful jester. Sometimes he was threatening and other times he was just a motionless statue. Once you had tried to flick him, but he vanished and reappeared further away.

The worst was when you were trying to get some work done but found your mind wandering back towards him. Groaning, you tried to ignore the distraction but it didn’t help. It never helped.

Closing your laptop, you walked over to your bed and lay down face-first into it. Nothing could be finished anymore.

The air grew heavy but you initially ignored that. It was something you had come to expect from your jester friend.

Until you turned around and found him floating directly above you.

You gasped loudly and scrambled backwards on the bed. The further you got from the jester floating over you, the better. He wasn’t meant to be in the real world… He wasn’t real!

“Am I going mad?” you asked. “Are they going to have me admitted now?”

He didn’t respond in his normal way of just standing there. Instead, he scrunched up his face and laughed. His body twisted around until he was hovering upside down in front of you.

“How are you –“ you stopped asking when his laughing cut off.

“We haven’t been properly acquainted,” he hummed. He had a breathy voice with a sugary-sweet undertone to it. The sound of it brought up every negative emotion all at once and you nearly started crying on the spot. “I’m Candy Pop,” he practically sung. “And I know your name already.”

You couldn’t respond. You opened your mouth, but no words came out. Never had you seen him with emotions and actions. Normally he just jerked like an awkward toy.

“No response?” he asked. “Oh, how morbid. I came all the way into reality just for you and now you won’t even talk.” His expression twisted overdramatically. “How mean you are.”

“You’re real,” you whispered.

Candy Pop laughed again and floated closer. “I always have been! I can’t believe you think your mind would be brilliant enough with somebody as amazing as me.”

You tried to move back further but the headboard stopped you. You gulped, staring into his dark eyes. “What…” you choked trying to get the words out. “What are you?”

He lowered from the air to sit cross-legged in front of you. The smile on his face was terrifyingly large. “What am I? Is it really important? Haven’t you ever been told not to judge by outward appearances?”

“I think I can make an exception for a creature that just walked out of my dreams,” you said.

Candy Pop tapped a finger against his lips and then chuckled. “You flatter me by making it sound so easy. Your world is so… different to my own. I don’t suppose you want a balloon?”

“A balloon,” you repeated.

He nodded and clicked his fingers. A purple helium balloon popped out of nowhere and he held it out to you. “It’s to help cheer you up!”

You nearly accepted but you remembered something. “No thank you.”

He let go of the string and the balloon floated up and through the ceiling of your house. “I knew you were the smart type,” he said approvingly.

You stared at the spot where the balloon disappeared. “What would have happened?”

He shrugged. “You would have been stuck to it and gone floating up into the atmosphere until it popped.” He leaned forward and scrunched his face up. “Then splat.” A brief pause and his shoulders slumped. “But I wouldn’t have let you take it.”

Slowly, you allowed yourself to make eye-contact with Candy Pop. “Why not?” you asked wearily. “Are you going to kill me another way?”

He snorted and shook his head. “Nope. I wasn’t going to kill you at all.”

While you were staring at him blankly, he slowly started turning into confetti. His clothing, skin, and hair all started to come apart until you were staring at brightly coloured paper on your bed.

A gust of wind came suddenly though your window and blew it everywhere, carrying a breathy laugh as it did so.

Clockwork

It wasn’t that you were uncomfortable being around patients with eye injuries, it was just that they were reminding you of her more and more every day.

You were worried about her. Those stitches weren’t clean and whatever was going on with her eye had a ridiculous chance of becoming infected. You thought about it as often as time would allow. There had been no reports on bodies found with unusual injuries so you presumed she was still alive.

Days passed slowly and every report you got of wrongful stitching (common with small children whose parents were trying to save money) brought you back to her.

Without a name, you just explained her to your colleges as ‘clock girl’ when they asked why you were distracted.

Clock Girl was on your mind constantly.

When you were walking home from work and you saw her, sitting on the same bench as always, your heart made an unusual stuttering motion in your chest. Given what happened last time…

You ignored her as you walked past, pretended you didn’t see her at all. Until she called out, in a high-pitched and yet still pained voice, “Hello once again doc.”

Turning around to face her, you flinched at her bloodied eye. “Hello,” you said wearily.

She stood then and walked over to you with her hands in her pockets. She walked with a bit of a limp and with her shoulders hunched over. “You offered to help me, right?” she asked. “Does that offer still stand?”

“Of course,” you said. “We’ll take you straight to the hospital –“

“No,” she interrupted. “I don’t want to go anywhere near one of those hellholes. Look, I have a bullet in my arm and I just want to know if you can take it out. Here.”

“A bullet,” you repeated. On closer inspection, her clothing was indeed unnaturally dark on the right side of her body. You hadn’t taken notice because you were so fixated on the possible issues with her eye and mouth.

She shrugged with a single shoulder. “If you can’t help, you can’t. I was just wondering.”

You glanced around and grimaced. “Come up to my apartment,” you said. “I have enough medical supplies to at least provide basic care but you really need proper attention.”

“Whatever,” she said, heading for the front door of your apartment building. She pulled a hat from her pocket and pulled it over her face to hide her features. “It’s not like I’m going to die.”

Given the amount of people surrounding you, you didn’t ask about that. You just led her to your apartment and then rushed ahead of her to get your measly first aid kit out.

She shrugged out of her jacket and you tried your hardest not to stare at how built she was.

It was a clean shot, you realised. That was good. It meant there was no bullet to try and remove with standard household tweezers. You had been worried about that. Still, the injury was bad.

She sat in front of you and huffed. “This is all I’m asking for before you start to offer with regards to my face,” she said. “I just don’t want to wait for this to heal.”

“This wouldn’t heal naturally,” you said. “It would definitely get an infection of some sort. I’m worried it’ll get one no matter what I do now.”

“It won’t,” she replied but offered up no explanation other than that. “So what’s your real name doc? I can’t call you that forever.”

After you gave her your name, you paused and then asked for hers.

She thought about it for a while. “Natalie,” she eventually said. “Although people haven’t called me that in years. I think you can though. You’re not entirely bad unlike most other doctors.”

“What do you have against doctors?” you asked.

She hummed. “That’s a very long story but I won’t bother you with it. I think my main problem is that I’ve never found one quite as cute as you.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Don’t try that. I only accepting flirting if it comes with the chance to take a look at your eye.”

“No flirting then.”

Dark Link

5 days. 120 hours of near constant gameplay.

You had taken every possible day of leave you had available. The only breaks you had taken were for the bathroom and to eat. Every phone call or visit from a concerned party was dismissed as quickly as you could to get back to playing.

There was nothing that mattered more than defeating Dark Link. Your life literally depended on whether or not the game would let you win.

When you finally managed to defeat him, you actually sunk to your knees in front of the device and stared at it. There was no energy left to celebrate but you had done it. You were just so tired.

You woke to extreme backpain and sunlight beating down on your face.

With weary eyes, you stared up at the open curtain and wished the sun would leave. It was burning your retinas. You startled awake when you realised that it had been closed when you fell asleep.

The movement hurt your back and you groaned. Why had you thought sleeping on the floor was ever a good idea…

“I think congratulations are required,” a male voice drawled.

You had never leapt to your feet so quickly in your life. Dizzy and disorientated, you tried to calm your beating heart. It was pounding; threatening to jump out your chest and smash your ribs to pieces.

Now that you had beaten the game, you recognised exactly who was sitting in your desk chair with relative ease.

“You – You’re real,” you said, breath catching in your chest. “I did what you wanted. I pl-played the game and beat it in under a week.”

He smirked and kicked his legs up onto the desk. “Sure,” he said. “We’re going to ignore that I let you win, right? But I guess there’s something to be said about participation.” His eyes glinted dangerously. “That cartridge was a waste on you.”

“Why?” you asked.

“Because I didn’t get any fun out of watching you struggle with it,” he huffed. “And you were so focused on beating the game that you didn’t notice any of the other strange things.”

It was strange to hear a terrifying creature sound so much like a petulant child. He was genuinely acting like you had taken away his favourite toy.

Despite your better judgement, you calmed down a little. It still felt like you were going to vomit but your heart had calmed a small amount. Just enough that you weren’t worried about breaking a rib.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked. “Have you become such a recluse that you no longer speak?”

“I uh…” you cleared your throat multiple times. “How are you real?” you managed to choke out. “You’re in the game.”

“Not right now I’m not,” he teased, winking at you. He gestured to your gaming device which just held a static-filled screen. “See that? That means that I’m no longer in my game. I’m out here, talking to you. Aren’t you lucky?”

You stared at the static lines. “But why are you out here? You belong in there.”

He scoffed. “I do not. If I’m in there, I don’t get to experience the real world. Would you really want to condemn me to a life of playing the same game over and over and over again?”

“No,” you said on instinct. Those red eyes met yours with a frightening intensity. You were locked in place as you stared into them.

He hummed and looked away, freeing you from the penetrating gaze. “You need to give that cartridge away,” he said. “Sell it if you want. Just don’t give to anybody you like.”

“I will,” you said firmly. You had been planning on doing that anyway.

“Don’t think you’ll be getting rid of me alongside it,” he said and your heart dropped into the pit of your stomach.

You took a deep breath. “What would I have to do to get you to leave me alone?”

He laughed and stood up, crossing the room to stand in front of you before you could blink. He grabbed your chin and held it tight, forcing you to stare at him. “There are some things I could think of,” he said. “But not today. I’ll let you revel in your victory.”

He disappeared into pixels and vanished into the cartridge, leaving you nauseous.

Dr. Smiley

The piece of land was clear of all debris now and you were actually contemplating keeping it. Without a creepy shed, the flat ground could lead to a perfect place for a new house. You had been planning on moving either way.

The previous squatter, who had apparently disappeared by the time the police arrived, was probably still in the area but you could pretend you didn’t care.

Pretend being the optimum word in that sentence. You had severe nightmares about glowing red eyes and a mask with a shark-toothed grin drawn onto it.

You walked around the boundary of the land, plotting on putting down some fences.

Back on the road, your land surveyor was placing markers to indicate the size and he was marking significantly more than expected. If you were going to be building, you certainly hoped they worked quickly. You were getting uneasy in your rented place.

“You broke my nose,” a familiar voice said. “And you destroyed my clinic.”

The speed with which you spun to face the man gave you whiplash. He was leaning against a tree just off the property’s borders. His clothing was exactly the same as what he had been the first time you encountered him. The mask still hid his mouth entirely, hiding most of his expression from view.

“You were trespassing and grabbed my wrist unexpectedly,” you responded, keeping your voice as authoritative as possible.

He made eye-contact with you and you started to doubt if your initial presumption about him wearing contacts was correct. “This land has been unoccupied for a very long time.”

“And now it’s going to be occupied again,” you said. “But by the person who holds the deed.”

“I heard your name,” he said, ignoring your words. “They mentioned it right before they burnt everything. Claimed you had been attacked by a demon. Am I that scary?”

“You don’t scare me at all,” you answered. A lie, yes, but you were adept at lying.

He stared at you. “I’ve had to move because of you. All my patients are rather confused about the new location.”

You raised an eyebrow. “You’re telling me that you’re a doctor? Seriously? Then you should have known better than treating patients in such a disgusting hovel. What’s your name? I’ll be sure to avoid it when I need medical care.”

“Most people call me Dr. Smiley,” he said.

“Trustworthy. Would that be the reason for the surgical mask having a smile drawn on it?” you asked.

The land surveyor must have noticed something was wrong and he called your name from across the field. You didn’t take your eyes of Smiley as you responded, not trusting the ‘doctor’ at all.

“I’m fine!” you yelled back. “I’ve just realised that the first thing I have to do around here is set up cameras once the house is built!”

“So, you’re definitely keeping the land?!” he shouted.

Smiley’s mask was covering most of his face, but he must have grinned or something. “You were thinking of selling?”

Whatever fake confidence you sported started to fade the more you spoke to him. Something was dangerous about how he presented himself. “I was,” you said. “But I’ve been planning on moving for a while and this seems like a nice town.”

“It’s a great area,” he agreed. He stepped away from the tree and moved closer to you. “So many friendly people. I’m sure they’re going to roll out a full welcome wagon for you once you’ve officially moved in.”

You glowered at him. “The sarcasm is not appreciated.”

He laughed, and it was a chilling echo that made all the hair on your neck stand. “I was being serious. They love talking and trusting strangers around here. Just like you.”

You scoffed at him. “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t trust you in the slightest. The only reason I’m talking to you is because you spoke to me first.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re smart not to,” he said. “I’m not a trustworthy person.”

“May have something to do with the mask,” you suggested. “If you got rid of it, I may be less inclined to think you’re a serial killer.”

Smiley laughed again and turned to walk away from you without a word. You watched him go until he vanished from sight. This was definitely not going to be your last encounter with him.

Eyeless Jack

“Hey Terry,” you said. “It’s good to see that you’re out of hospital. How are you feeling?”

Your neighbour gave you a tired smile. “I’m exhausted,” he said. “Never thought that I would be living with only one kidney but the other was too damaged to save. At least there are still police outside.”

“I’ve never been more grateful for the law enforcement,” you agreed. “My family want me to move but I’m trying out positivity.”

It was obvious he wasn’t in the mood to talk so you headed through your own door. You had spoken to the police outside your apartment block for several minutes so you felt safer than ever entering your home.

Turns out all of that trust was misplaced.

“If you scream or make any move to bolt, I promise I will remove your spine one vertebra at a time.” The warning came the moment your door closed.

A breath caught in your throat and you physically bit your tongue to prevent the scream. How did he get past the cops? They were literally directly outside your window. “What do you want?”

“You have caused more trouble than I expected,” he said, walking slowly towards you with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. “I didn’t think the story would get anywhere near the media and yet here we are with your description of me plastered all over the news.”

“They knew who you were,“ you whispered, your voice unable to get any louder. “The cops –“

“They’ve been trying to catch me for a long time,” he interrupted. “But they’ve always kept it quiet until you decided to open your mouth. Don’t suppose they told you what I want?”

Your muddled mind was too confused to think so you shook your head.

“I’m after your kidneys,” he explained. He pulled a scalpel out of his pocket and ran his fingers along the blade. “And occasionally some other organs.”

It was impossible to keep your hands from shaking. “Do you sell them?”

He shook his head as though you had disappointed him. “No,” he said. “That would be a waste.”

The shaking was getting worse and your legs were about to give. The thick goo from his eyes was trickling slowly down his mask. You prayed that it wasn’t blood. “Are you going to kill me?”

“How would that help anything?” he asked. “You can’t scream when you’re dead.”

“Scream,” you echoed.

He gestured to the open window. “Those idiots are parked directly outside. You’re going to scream and they’re going to come rushing up to see what’s wrong. Make sure you look just as pathetic as you do right now and point at the window.”

Keeping your voice normal was becoming more of a challenge every time he moved that scalpel through the air. “They’re going to tighten security around here.”

“Not when they find the body of ‘Eyeless Jack’ lying dead on the street,” he said. “Then they’ll spread the news that he lost his footing while climbing out the window and died. The world will forget about it within the week.”

“Why do you need me to do this?” you asked. “They would believe it more if you went next door.”

He scoffed. “Your friend would have a heart attack upon seeing me.”

You couldn’t stand anymore, and you slumped against the wall, drawing your legs up into your chest and hiding your face. “Please don’t hurt me,” you murmured. “I really didn’t mean to cause problems, the police just asked questions and I answered.”

Jack walked over to you and pushed your head away from your knees, so he could stare directly at you. “I know,” he said. “It’s one of the reasons you’re not going to be losing anything vital.”

You stared up at him with puffy eyes and he shook his head. He released your head and walked over to the open window.

“Scream.”

You released every bit of fear you had been holding back in an ear-piercing screech.

Glitchy Red

“Well… this is rather awkward,” the man said as he walked up to you. He pushed the cartridge into your hands with an uneasy smile. “This didn’t even get scratched.”

You sighed and took it from him. “I didn’t expect it to. Thanks for trying.”

While walking out, you dumped the cartridge into the nearest trash can. It hadn’t worked before but it was all you had left. Granted, the failed cremation didn’t give you much hope but you were nearly out of other options.

Besides just straight up playing the game and answering Red’s bloody question. And you were not going to do that.

It surprised you when you got home and it wasn’t waiting for you by the front door.

Suspicion settled in your stomach as you walked through the rest of the house. Something wasn’t right if the cartridge wasn’t managing to appear in front of you during your every waking moment.

You returned to the front hall after your initial check. No sooner had you arrived when you heard somebody knock on the door. Three very slow and deliberate knocks.

Chills raced down your spine and you slowly turned to face it. “Hello?” you called.

Nobody answered.

It took a great amount of effort for you to look through the peephole. Instantly bile rose in your throat and your veins turned to ice.

Red stood outside your front door, his corrupted eyes shining like fresh blood. He looked exactly like the character brought to life. He smirked, as though he knew you were peering at him and held out his hand.

The cartridge sat perfectly on his palm.

“Dreadfully sorry to bother you,” he said. His voice hurt your ears. It cackled like live electricity. “But you appear to have dropped something.”

You shoved away from the door, tripping over your own feet as you did so. Things went flying as you scrambled away.

The phone was barely out of your pocket when it started sparking and you flung it as hard as you could at the wall. Static rolled up the screen.

Then he was inside.

You tried to scream but the sound died in your throat.

“I can see why you don’t get many visitors if this is how you act with them around,” he scoffed. “You try to screech at them and you throw away their presents. Do you think they’re jokes?”

Wordlessly and with your mouth hanging open, you shook your head.

He smirked and stepped forward, electricity cackling through the air. “This is so much more dramatic at night,” he said. “There’s a certain pizzazz that comes with being able to knock off all the power and advance slowly on liars.”

Your voice cracked with hysteria when you spoke. “I’m not lying! I promise. Please don’t hurt me! I don’t think you’re a joke!”

“You’re not the first one to tell me that and yet you threw me away,” he said. “Like a piece of garbage you don’t want.”

“I’m scared,” you whimpered. “I didn’t know what you were going to do. Never did I think you were real.”

He scoffed. “The fact that you couldn’t destroy me didn’t make that obvious? You wasted enough of my efforts protecting the damn thing from fire and garbage.”

“I –“

“What is with the whining?” he snapped. Glaring down at you, he pushed his cap out of his eyes. “You said I’m not a joke?”

“I never thought you were one,” you said. “Please, I was just –“

He made a gesture with his hand that was a very obvious indication that you needed to shut up. “If you don’t think I’m a joke, there’s no need for me to kill you but how do I know you’re not lying?”

You just stared up at him while he contemplated your fate. It felt as though the world around you was shaking as you watched his expression change. This couldn’t be happening. There was no way a video game character was standing in front of you.

Finally he laughed and the sound sent shivers down your spine. “Since I want to believe you,” he said slowly. “I’m going to offer you your life.”

“What’s the condition?” you asked, voice barely a whisper.

He gave a non-committal shrug but smirked at you. “You’re going to have to apologise to your cousin for scaring her and give her the game back.”

Hobo Heart

The dog had become a personal escort for you and you genuinely adored it. It always managed to find you at least once in a day, would walk with you for a bit and then leave.

You had tried to tell its gender to no avail and you hadn’t gotten a name. Most of the time, you called it a male for simplicity’s sake even if it didn’t have any genitalia.

Since the first day, you hadn’t had another encounter with the man you presumed was its owner. You had tried to find him, but it hadn’t helped much and at this point, you accepted it. At least the dog kept your pain in the ass ex from trying to speak to you.

He hated dogs.

It was an accident when you finally did meet the dog’s owner and you nearly had a heart attack when you did.

The dog didn’t want to follow you around on your heels and instead tried to drag you with it. It nipped at your ankles and raced off before coming back to repeat the loop. You didn’t follow because it was running in the opposite direction to your destination.

You collided with the guy hard, stumbling backwards from impact.

“I am so sorry,” you apologized. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

The man shrugged, his head hung low so his face was shrouded. “I don’t know why he’s acting like that. He’s normally calm,” he muttered.

You tore your eyes away from the pup to study the guy, recognising the nearly pure white outfit. “You’re his owner?”

“In a way,” the guy murmured.

He turned his head to face you then and you stumbled backwards a few steps from the shock. He had a skeleton painted onto his skin… only it wasn’t paint. It was almost glowing white markings on dark gray skin.

“What…?” you stammered.

Tons of people milled around you, but they all merely gave you weird expressions and kept walking. Nobody even noticed the guy in front of you who wasn’t human.

“He’s never gotten obsessed with a mortal so much,” he commented. “Not for barely one treat. He normally stays by me but lately he’s been leaving.”

Part of you wanted to turn around and run away but something was stopping you. Whether it was because nobody else was paying attention or because he didn’t appear threatening, all you were registering is that you should stay. “I’m sorry,” you said.

“What for?” he asked.

“I kind of stole your dog, then didn’t I? I mean, I know he only follows me around for a bit but I’m sure it worries you,” you clarified.

He shook his head. “I don’t worry. I’m merely confused. Nothing can hurt him.”

You found yourself caught up in his deep blue eyes, trying to figure out how they swirled. “What are you?” you finally managed to say.

“Most who knew me called me Hobo Heart,” he said. “If you’re asking about species however, I can’t help you at all.”

“But you’re not human,” you said.

“No,” he responded.

You shifted your weight uncomfortably, nearly knocking over the terrier that had now happily settled on your left side. “You’re not going to harm me, or anything are you? Or am I going to wake up any second now from a dream?”

“Your heart is too broken,” he voiced. “It wouldn’t last long if I tried to use it. I won’t hurt you because there is no need for me to. Plus, the dog likes you.”

The pup at your feet gave a loud bark as if in agreement.

“Can nobody else here see you?” you asked. “They’re all acting like this is a completely normal conversation. Or that we’re invisible…”

He glanced at the others and shook his head. “They can see me,” he explained. “But I don’t want them to see my real face. All they’ll register is a blur and so they don’t focus on it too much because it hurts their eyes. They see you normally.”

You gave him your name and held out your hand. “Well, it’s nice to meet you.”

He shook hands with you. “I suppose so.”

#creepypasta #creepypasta x reader #ben drowned #ben drowned x reader #hobo heart #hobo heart x reader #glitchy red #glitchy red x reader #eyeless jack x reader #eyeless jack #dr smiley #dr smiley x reader #clockwork #clockwork x reader #bloody painter #bloody painter x reader #candy pop #candy pop x reader #dark link #dark link x reader

[dancingamongstdust]

sdc group when their partner sneakily joins their Egypt mission? And they only find out when it's too late for them to return?hcs pls?

Yes! My first Jojo's request! Hopefully I get more of these in the future because I love this show.

· You didn’t even make it onto the first plane before you sensed Jotaro’ large presence standing behind you.

· You turned around with a big smile and tried to pretend that it was a complete coincidence to see him there. He just stared while you slowly made your way through the boarding terminal with your ticket out.

· His plan was to send you home the moment that you next landed.

· The fight with Tower of Gray caused a problem with that plan though the stand itself had little effect on your trip. You only noticed when the group went bustling towards the cockpit, their tones betraying the importance of what was happening.

· You had ventured over and asked about the situation.

· The majority of the group had attempted to usher you out and Jotaro didn’t even respond. Still, Star Platinum kept you safe when the plane hit the water and you were practically carried into the lifeboat with the rest of the group.

· Your comment about the trip being more hazardous than expected earned you a glare.

· The rest of the group didn’t realise anything was special about you until you all arrived in Hong Kong officially and Jotaro led you alongside them to the hotel.

· Details about your relationship with him were quickly brought up after that though he seemed content to mostly ignore everything that was said. You found yourself enjoying the conversation with Joseph though he too felt that the trip was too dangerous for you to be on.

· Jotaro didn’t share a room with you in the hotel, instead having his grandfather get you one that was next door to his.

· Before he could disappear after making sure you were safe, you quickly apologised and asked if he was upset. He was always quiet but there was a heaviness to the air that made you feel as though you’d upset him.

· He told you that you hadn’t and that was the last of that.

· You missed your flight the next day when it became clear that Dio hadn’t sent just one person after the group. Star Platinum’s tendency to hover in front of you (whether you could or couldn’t see him) made it clear that you weren’t to be put in danger.

· Jotaro thought it would make you an easy target to send you back alone after you had been seen with the group.

· He was right and you quickly found yourself an occasional target for those who didn’t know any better. They never injured you badly but scratches and bruises became expected as you continued on the journey.

· Jotaro wasn’t affectionate normally but his coldness built up until one day, you asked if he resented you being there and apologised for your brash actions. You had no idea that the things they were involved in broke the lines of reality and fiction.

· He stared at you for a bit before sighing and wrapping one arm around you.

· That was all that you needed to fling your arms around his middle and squeeze him as tight as you could.

· He didn’t need to say it for you to understand that he didn’t hold it against you. Despite the constant danger that you were in, he had found himself calmer about the situation thanks to your presence. It would have been a much harder trip without you being there.

· Kakyoin thought he saw you several times but brushed it off as wishful thinking until toward the end of their Singapore stay.

· You were remarkably good at remaining undetected but more and more creepy things were happening, and it made you want to be closer to the group. It felt like the better option if you were putting yourself in danger anyway.

· There was a moment of silence when you made eye contact – your attempts at sneaking around now thwarted.

· So you raised your hand and waved.

· Kakyoin wasn’t sure what to think. For a second, he was sure that he was imagining it but your reaction to his unexpected departure had been suspicious in hindsight. You had gone from being devastated that he was just leaving without warning, to supportive about whatever he had to do.

· And this would be why.

· You made a joke about being mildly codependent when you sat down next to him, awkward and unsure of how he would react to you being there. It was followed by a question about his sun tanning wear that made him chuckle.

· Somehow, he wasn’t overheating in his uniform even though you were dying in just casual summer clothes.

· You apologised for not telling him that you were coming but pointed out how weird he’d been acting for the past few months. Sure, he had gone back to normal afterwards but you were worried. Especially because you knew fully about the slightly weirder aspect of his life.

· Whether you could see him or not, you felt Hierophant Green appear at the mention. He wrapped around your waist as usual. Close even when Kakyoin couldn’t be.

· As if to prove your worries correct, the first thing you found out after spending a day at the pool (pretending that you were just a couple on a regular vacation) was that an imposter had been walking around as Kakyoin.

· The others weren’t entirely on board with your presence and Kakyoin wasn’t happy with the amount of danger you were in.

· Several times he attempted to convince you that it would be safer elsewhere. He even asked Joseph to get you a plane ticket home at one point but each time you would see or experience something that added to your worries.

· The only way you were going home was if he was with you.

· You managed to remain mostly out of danger despite everything. The main threat you faced came in the form of Death 13 who quickly found a way to manipulate your cares for Kakyoin.

· After the first nightmare, you had started staying up later to make sure he was okay before going to sleep – thwarting the stand’s plans in a substantial way.

· When he nearly lost his eyesight, you didn’t sleep for days on end. You sat alongside the bed and waited for him to recover. Often, you’d think you should call somebody back home to let them know what was happening but he always asked you not to.

· While he was recovering, he asked you again to go home. The trip had almost doubled in danger and he didn’t trust Hierophant to be able to protect you fully.

· You refused once more and reiterated that you had come this far.

· You weren’t going to be going back without him at your side.

· Yeah, Polnareff wouldn’t have noticed you were following at all if it hadn’t been for Jotaro.

· It was shortly after they had arrived in Varanashi and you had accidentally drawn attention to yourself by laughing at Polanareff’s attempts at flirting with Nena. Though he himself hadn’t noticed that you were there, Jotaro had and he quickly come to the conclusion of having seen you before.

· You had made eye contact with him and quickly realised that continuing to hide was going to turn dangerous.

· So you waltzed over to your very distracted partner and draped yourself over his shoulders, playing with the earring and smugly smirking at whomever he had been flirting with.

· He was a flirt, that part you had never minded, but it was always satisfying to show off that he wasn’t truly available.

· Not having expected your sudden appearance, Polnareff had almost fallen over in his scramble to get away from you. After the shock subsided however, he had gasped and swept you into the air with an excited greeting and a seemingly endless stream of French.

· After you were put down, he rapidly introduced you to the rest of the group before realising that you weren’t meant to be there.

· You gave Jotaro an apologetic smile and mentioned that you hadn’t meant to cause trouble with your following.

· He had rolled his eyes and gone back to staring at nothing so you had to assume it was all fine now that you had shown you weren’t an enemy.

· Polnareff on the other hand had begun interrogating you to find out exactly why you had been in India when he remembered saying goodbye to you in France. Though admittedly, that memory was hazy due to the fleshbud having been in effect during time.

· When you explained his suspicious behavior was why you had followed in the first place, he gathered you close and squeezed you as tightly as possible.

· Your unexpected appearance came at the right time. After the bittersweet experience with the Hanged Man, Polnareff had been struggling and you acted as the best possible solution.

· You are a distraction, that much quickly becomes obvious, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

· Unfortunately, you did end up getting injured quite frequently while you were with the group but never once did Polnareff mention sending you home. You were never hurt in a way that would leave more than a small scar.

· The others did suggest it once but Polnareff had instantly shut that down.

· He could make sure you were safe. Why wouldn’t he want you with him at all times?

· You got quite a bit of attention during the trip, primarily from other men who all took great interest in you. It was entertaining to see the contrast between your casual attraction of attention and Polnareff’s active seeking of it.

· The only time either of you got actually jealous during the trip was of Iggy who had quickly realised how to exploit both of you.

· Surprisingly, you managed to follow the group all the way to Singapore before you were spotted by Avdol.

· You could have made it further still without notice but you had been so worried when their ship didn’t arrive in time that you just ran into Avdol the next time you saw him, hugging him as though he was going to slip from your fingers and never return again.

· Avdol was confused though he held it in well enough, just stroking your hair and reassuring you that he was alright.

· After you had calmed and pulled away, he touched your cheek before asking what you were doing there.

· You just shrugged and he sighed.

· Introductions happened then and you made an incredible impression on the rest of the group. Apparently Avdol had been sending you updates about his trip but due to your following, nothing had gotten through and you had to be caught up with everything they had learned.

· Stands were far from a foreign concept to you but you found yourself fascinated by the newer ones.

· Magician’s Red came out shortly after you had examined Silver Chariot closely – betraying Avdol’s otherwise well-hidden jealousy. He simply smiled and winked when you had given him a look because of it.

· He knew their trip would be difficult but Avdol couldn’t bring himself to send you home.

· You had spent such little time together since his first encounter with Dio (him having to flee Egypt shortly after) and he genuinely missed you more than he cared to admit. Additionally, Avdol was very certain that their group could protect you with the combination of knowledge and power they had.

· Avdol kept you well protected while you travelled. Nobody suspicious even got close to you while you were near him.

· He guided you away from dangerous situations with a hand around your waist and a smile on his face. You never even knew there was a problem. Those who got too close quickly found themselves at the mercy of Magician’s Red.

· Even if you couldn’t see his stand, the warmth of its presence would quickly alert you to its appearance. If you could see it though, Avdol would find it harder to brush off things as ‘precaution’ though he would still try.

· After his initial encounter with Hol Horse, you felt your entire world shatter around you.

· That was the end of your journey with the Crusaders as, after he was stabilized, you refused to leave Avdol’s side. You tended to him as best as you could while secretly hoping that he wouldn’t rejoin their quest after this injury.

· But as he recovered you realised that wouldn’t be an option.

· You volunteered to come with him again. Though you hadn’t been much help on the earlier parts of the journey, he was still injured and could probably use your assistance.

· The incident had been frightening to both of you however and when he next left, you weren’t with him. Before he left, you clutched at his clothing in a silent plead for him to stay.

· After the submarine disappeared beneath the waves, you sat down on the beach and just stared at the ocean for hours to come.

· You got to India before he noticed you and it was a complete accident.

· There was a problem with your hotel booking so you had to remain in the lobby for longer than anticipated – a hand propped on your hip and a bored expression on your face. You hadn’t anticipated that the group would make their way downstairs again, a problem with some missing room service.

· Honestly, he really should have noticed sooner given that the additional charges were coming from his account.

· To the others, nothing was wrong. Joseph just kind of stopped walking and you offered a simple smile in hopes that neither of your covers would be blown.

· He didn’t allow that to last.

· His shout of confusion made everybody jump and you turned around sheepishly. There were a few seconds while the rest of the group realised that you were the source of the commotion so you volunteered your information.

· You had been worried after Joseph’s stand developed (having been there when it happened) and you realised something dangerous was going on. While you weren’t planning on getting involved, surely it couldn’t help to at least know what was happening. From his stories, he didn’t exactly live the quiet life.

· Avdol – having met you before – had a feeling that you were trailing him and is pleasantly surprised to be proved correct.

· Joseph was irritated and worried and happy all at once which resulted in a half-hearted but very loud complaint about why you couldn’t understand what the word ‘dangerous’ means.

· He immediately demanded that you take the first plane home and you very simply responded with ‘no’.

· This resulted in a pretty one-sided argument where he continuously tried to urge you to stop being stubborn and just get back to safety. Your response remained the same to pretty much everything until eventually you just smiled and said that it was good to see him.

· That flustered him enough to cut off his tirade.

· A small silence was broken by the return of the hotel receptionist who couldn’t find a spare room to make up for the booking not coming through on their system. She began apologising when Joseph cut her off.

· It didn’t matter, you would be staying with him either way.

· Avdol sighed and commented something about having to change rooms when the question was finally asked by a very irate Jotaro.

· Who the fuck were you?

· There was a great deal of awkward stammering from Joseph before he eventually settled on saying that you were his assistant. You raised an eyebrow at that but went along with it.

· Though it was obvious that nobody believed it, the matter of your identity wasn’t pushed any further.

· You stuck around after that, mostly remaining at the hotel, and occasionally getting slightly hurt. Joseph made very sure that you remained far from any potential stands and you really didn’t mind that all too much.

· A rule was quickly made to make sure you weren’t ever left alone but that was just fine. You ended up dragging Joseph into too many stores, him complaining about it all the while, until you both left with at least one bag each.

· Jotaro didn’t warm up to you for a long time and even then, it’s more tolerance than anything else.

· The trip didn’t leave you badly injured but it strengthened your relationship with Joseph more than you had ever expected.

#jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #jojo part 3 #jojo headcanons #joseph joestar #joseph joestar x reader #oldseph #oldseph x reader #muhammad avdol #avdol x reader #avdol headcanons #polnareff x reader #jjba polnareff #jjba kakyoin #noriaki kakyoin #kakyoin x reader #jotaro #jotaro x reader #stardust crusaders

[dancingamongstdust]

Hcs of tsukishima with a girlfriend who also wears glasses?

Of course ~

· Tsukishima didn’t notice your glasses the first time the two of you meet – he tends not to bother remembering every person.

· At least, that’s what he says if anybody mentions first impressions and stuff like that.

· He quite likes your glasses honestly and, in actuality, they were one of the things that made you memorable after your initial introduction. They suit your face very well, highlighting your features and amplifying your style in a way that makes him slightly envious.

· He’s never cared about his own glasses but there’s just something about how effortlessly they work for you that gets to him.

· Once, he plucked them off your head and peered through them.

· He just scoffed and gave them back – never telling you what exactly he had been doing or what he had found.

· Don’t try to do the same thing with his glasses, even if it’s his spare pair. He’ll immediately sweep them out of your hands and probably place them well out of your reach if he can. He doesn’t mean anything personal by it but he’s had way too many pairs broken by clumsy hands to allow anybody to play with them.

· You can try and encourage him to trust you but it probably won’t work.

· Especially if you have broken a few of your own pairs.

· If you happen to break a pair while he’s with you, Tsukishima will just roll his eyes and encourage you to salvage what you can before throwing the rest away. He doesn’t like the idea of trying to fix something broken when you can save time and effort on just getting a new pair.

· He will laugh at you on days when your glasses fog up whether that’s because of the weather or because of a mask.

· His own seem to be magically enchanted because you never see them affected in the same way.

· If you ever complain about how you look in them, he will simply take them off your face. His argument is simply enough that if you don’t like them, you’re always welcome to go about your day without them. And he won’t give them back either until you admit that you actually like how you look with them.

· Straight up compliments aren’t his style so you’ll just have to learn that’s how he tells you he likes them.

· If you ever get little charms for them, he will tell you that you look like an old woman.

· That doesn’t mean take them off though. He can’t acknowledge stuff without making a sarcastic comment. You can make similar comments to him and he’ll never take offense.

· Your glasses are one of his favourite things though and he’ll be a little disappointed if you exchange them for contacts moving forward (though he won’t let you know that).

#haikyū!! #haikyuu!! #tsukishima kei #haikyuu headcanons #tsukishima headcanons #tsukishima x reader

[dancingamongstdust]

Ok! Another request by me!

Can I request jumin reacting to his s/o smoking and on top of that burning the cigarettes out on their skin as a form of self harm? He can discover either by seeing the scars her seeing her actively doing it!

Thank you so much for requesting!

· As loath as he is to admit it, Jumin found a certain appeal in the way the smoke curls around you when you stare off into the distance, completely lost in thought. He wouldn’t ever admit to such a thing, however.

· Instead, you won’t actually hear much about your smoking although he’d be loath to kiss you too soon after you’ve had a cigarette. The smell just isn’t pleasant.

· He’d also prefer if you didn’t smoke inside but won’t make a big deal out of it if you do. He’ll just open a window and convince you to come over and sit by it.

· But he stops being unaffected by it the first time he watches you press a lit cigarette against your arm.

· You had been standing outside on the balcony, unaware that Jumin watched you over the top of his book. He’d always found it hard to concentrate when you were around.

· It started raining and you turned your head up to face the sky. Your eyes had fluttered closed, enjoying the cool weather for just a little bit, and then you had taken your half-finished cigarette and just pushed it against your inner arm without so much as a flinch.

· Jumin had frowned in concern but didn’t say anything when you came in, smiling at him and commenting something about the weather.

· The cigarette had gone in the trash and he had stared at it for a second too long.

· You didn’t notice for a while that Jumin had begun hanging around whenever you started smoking. He would just appear and the two of you would talk for hours, forcing you to use one of the trays that had started appearing around.

· One of those nights, he took your arm and ran his fingers over the small scars that were there while you spoke softly.

· You grimaced but he didn’t mention anything.

· Later, he would pluck the cigarette from your hands and put it out for you before leading you back inside. You lay with your head in his lap while he gently stroked your hair.

· He was so concerned but he had no idea how to even bring it up.

· Luckily, you mentioned it first.

· You didn’t mean to do anything beside defend your scars, maybe brush them off as an accident or point out that they didn’t hurt all that much, but he stopped you from making it out to be nothing.

· He mentioned how the people he cares about tend towards self-destructive hobbies, reminding you that you’re not the only one who gets hurt from your actions.

· It wasn’t meant to make you feel guilty. He would never want to do that.

· He rubbed your arms while you both spoke and he commented about smoking being unhealthy just by itself. The suggestion that you try and stop was expected.

· Whether you agreed or not, or even simply became unsure, he nodded and continued gently touching your arms. All that he wanted was for you to be safe. He could give you anything in the world that you desired. The only thing that he asked in return was that you remained safe.

· He attempted to subtly appeal to you with small offers but you would quickly cut him off and ask him not to do that.

· It just wasn’t fair on either of you.

· Jumin sighed. Though he knew it wasn’t the best way to deal with the situation, he wasn’t sure what else there was.

· Around that point in the conversation, Elizabeth had jumped up onto your chest and decided to fall asleep there. Her soft purrs distracted both of you into a few minutes of silence while you watched the spoiled cat sleep.

· Jumin stared down at the two most important things in his entire world and sighed.

· He could protect you from a lot but he couldn’t do anything to protect you from yourself.

· Please could you do that part for him.

#mystic messenger headcanons #mystic messenger #mm jumin #jumin x y/n #jumin han

[dancingamongstdust]

Can you write a tsukishima kei X reader where they both tease eachother but don't realise that they have feelings for eachother. Then tsukishima says something really offensive to reader and she gets really upsets and ignores him, he then realizes his feelings for her?

I struggled writing this but it was actually quite fun! Thank you for the request.

Teasing was something fun. The tumbling words were light and playful, hinting at something more but never letting their secrets free.

You lived for the flash of annoyance in Tsukishima’s hazel eyes; a small smirk always betraying that he enjoyed the banter. Whether you were speaking to him or commenting loud enough to draw his attention, he would turn to you fully and respond in kind. Though his words dripped in sarcasm, you never took them personally.

Perhaps you should have. Your comments never held any malice and you always strayed away from actual insults.

Tsukishima didn’t quite understand that part of your game.

Some of the things that he said stung. In those times, you’d just flip him off and pretend to go about your day without a second thought. But they did bother you.

Enough to find you standing in front of your mirror and glaring at your reflection as though it could give you the answers. Everything about your relationship with Tsukishima was frivolous. You had never held a real conversation. He was just a stupidly confident man with a sharp tongue and honeyed hair. His glasses were ridiculous, his taste in music was poor, and his eyes were the type of golden brown that snatched your breath from your lungs.

You groaned and turned away from your reflection.

Why did you have to fall for him?

Was it because of his voice and the soft edge that lay beneath its harsh words? Perhaps the gentleness of his movements had drawn your attention. He never looked out of place and you envied him that.

You contemplated telling him initially but decided against it. Getting a better feel of his attitude towards you would help before any misguided confessions slipped out.

That lasted until the next day.

“I know I shouldn’t be expecting anything intelligent to come from you but think things through a little more before you speak.”

Tsukishima glanced down at you as he passed, the hint of a smile on his lips. The insult wasn’t meant. He had often mocked your intelligence before to little response – after all, he knew that you didn’t get easily offended.

This time though, you didn’t immediately respond and when you did, it was just a slight jab about something trivial.

He turned around to look back at you but you had hurried off somewhere.

Shrugging that off, he continued on his day until the next time he saw you. When he did, he waited for the retaliation.

And waited.

And waited.

He was so focused on listening out for your snide comment that he didn’t even pay attention to his other conversation. Yamaguchi, thankfully, didn’t need an active participant in his discussion. He only seemed minorly confused by Tsukishima’s confusion before continuing.

Once you’d left, he sighed and said, “Maybe it’s been a bad day.”

Tsukishima glanced over his shoulder to confirm you hadn’t walked back in. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You didn’t, like, call her a bitch, right?”

“What? Obviously not.”

Yamaguchi shrugged. “Then don’t worry so much about it. She’ll be back to normal soon.”

Tsukishima scoffed, electing to pretend the conversation was unimportant. He changed the topic onto something that was more in his area of expertise but his thoughts kept hanging on you. It irritated him to no end and he spent the rest of the day snapping a little too harshly at everybody.

The next day went no better.

He waited to hear your voice, having never realised before how well he knew it. It was something missing from his day and he didn’t even know why.

“It’s not my fault if she’s going to be sensitive about stupid stuff,” he stated when Yamaguchi next commented about your unusual silent treatment.

“Nope. Some people are just soft.”

“You’re one of those people,” Tsukishima had retorted. He meant it mockingly though any kind of rudeness had little effect on his best friend. It was part of who he was… he had really believed you understood that.

Yamaguchi tried to move on but Tsukishima continued with his complaints.

“Why would she just suddenly start taking offense to things?”

“Maybe you hit a nerve.”

“How was I meant to know she was touchy about her intelligence? Anyway, it was days ago. She should be over it by now.”

“If it’s bothering you that much, just say sorry.”

“It’s not bothering me.”

He wasn’t stupid – of course, it was – but he was hardly about to tell somebody that. You were nobody to him and your lack of comments was an absolute relief. In fact, he was rather happy that you had decided to finally take the hint.

A whole month passed and he stopped waiting to hear your voice. His stubbornness kept any apology away from you, even though one accidental meetup in the hall had nearly drawn one out. It was honestly ridiculous, he had nothing to apologise about.

He could apologise just to have you speak to him again… Tsukishima quickly chased away that traitorous thought. It was rare for him to apologise for things that actually required it, let alone for nonsense like this. A simple fact that everybody he complained to seemed to directly refute.

Just apologise. Just apologise. Like he cared enough to do so.

It took him another two months to realise why he minded so much. Why he was still hung up on you despite your supposed non-importance.

He had been walking with Yamaguchi when they passed a flower store, the place having a special on roses for your loved ones. Yamaguchi had decided to get some and for a split second, Tsukishima had touched the petals and considered buying some for you.

He pulled his hand away as though it had been burned.

“Normally you get fifteen for a situation like this.”

He scoffed at Yamaguchi. “You really need to deal with your obsession about this woman.”

Tsukishima didn’t buy fifteen roses but he realised then what it was about you that bothered him so. And he absolutely hated the conclusion that he came to.

He stepped in front of you the next day, drawing your attention to him (though he didn’t know that it rarely left). “Why are you ignoring me?” he asked.

“I’m not?” It sounded like a question, even to you.

Tsukishima wasn’t going to argue with you about it. He just raised an eyebrow and waited for you to sigh and continue.

“I’m just… I…”

“Wow that explains it very well.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “Would it kill you to say something nice?”

“Since when have we ever been nice to each other?” he asked.

Of course you didn’t have an answer for that. You had never been ‘nice’ to each other – at least not in the way most people would consider nice. But the thing was, those moments still came to your memory fondly.

“You know, I always made sure never to actually insult you,” you said.

“I never actually insulted you.”

“Yes, you did,” you pointed out. “You’re constantly pointing out how stupid I am or how uncoordinated I am or whatever!”

“It’s not like I meant them.”

That tripped you up a little. Tsukishima’s height had you looking up at him, his expression entirely unchanged. Why would he have said things that weren’t true? It wasn’t like you had even initiated this entire taunt exchange way back when you had first met. Sure, you had responded but it was his comment on your hair that had gotten to you.

“You didn’t… what?”

Tsukishima stared at you like you were stupid. “It’s not my fault if you choose to take things personally but get over it a bit quicker, would you?”

It wasn’t an apology, not by a long shot, but it was enough to explain something that you couldn’t quite pinpoint yourself. Tsukishima wanted to talk to you. Even if he thought you were being childish, his main problem lay in your sudden silent treatment.

“We’re not friends,” you said.

“No.”

“So why do you care if we’re talking or not?”

He shrugged. “I don’t.”

He did. Of course he did. Part of him wanted to say that but his pride just wouldn’t allow it. Thankfully, the message seemed to get through to you regardless.

“Do you want to go out for lunch?” you offered.

“Why would I ever want to do that?”

You smiled, noticing the small smirk’s appearance on his face. “Tomorrow. At 12.”

“Fine.”

Tsukishima left you standing there, refusing to glance back even if he wanted to. He told himself it was because he didn’t care and it had nothing to do with the uncharacteristic smile on his face.

#haikyuu!! #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima kei

[dancingamongstdust]

MHA Scenarios - First Meeting (Part 4)

Requests are still open as of this post.

Shigaraki

You hadn’t meant to cause that level of destruction. It was an accident.

But they hadn’t seen it that way.

Their words followed you even when they could not. You could hear the accusations ringing in your head whenever you used your quirk – for better, or for worse. It became easier to ignore as you slowly learned to stop caring.

Until your quirk went out of control again.

You woke up in a dark room with a pounding headache and exhausted limbs. The doctor who was looking after you (a man you were relatively certain had no actual medical knowledge) had gotten very close and asked how much you remembered. When you informed him that it wasn’t much, he had smiled.

“Well, you certainly drew attention to yourself,” he had laughed. “Perhaps you should consider yourself lucky that the heroes didn’t get to you first.”

“I guess so…”

Something warned you that this situation was more dangerous than it seemed. Your eyes drifted over the covered windows of the room and you stared at the door. “Why did you help me?”

“Well that’s hardly for me –“

He didn’t get a chance to answer before you dashed for the exit. The doctor’s quirk didn’t allow him to grab you and his alarmed shout was all you heard before you were darting down the hallway. You weren’t going to stick around and get experimented on.

You turned the corner, heart pounding in your chest. They must have given you something because you felt drowsy. The entire world was spinning.

But you had to nearly trip yourself up to avoid running directly into somebody as you sprinted down a different hallway.

This was hardly your first time dealing with villains and many of them had odd quirks, to say the least. It shouldn’t have shocked you to see somebody with a human hand on their face but maybe the medication was lowering your tolerance because it was terrifying.

“Who are you?” you snapped out, immediately on the defense. You took a step away, ready to run or fight, whichever seemed easiest.

The man didn’t seem too bothered by your snap at least; the one eye that you could see watched you steadily from behind his hand mask. “I’m sure you’re not meant to be running around here,” he said. “But you’re no hero so you must be here for your quirk. Do you still have it?”

Your heart skipped a beat.

It wasn’t unknown in the underground that there was a man who stole quirks he liked. Nobody knew what he did with them but it wasn’t unheard of for villains to wake up with nothing. And you would never get them back.

You could feel your quirk was still there. It pulsed under your skin like a warning.

“My quirk?” you repeated. “I have my quirk.”

You did a random gesture, summoning all of your past acting experience to appear horrified when nothing happened. Again and again you tried before looking around in shock and horror.

The guy bought it and he shrugged. “Then there’s no reason to stop you.” He brushed past you and continued walking. “Not like you could find the exit anyway.”

The moment he turned the corner, you dropped the act and bolted again. This place was a maze but you found the exit and avoided any encounters with a practiced ease. Before leaving, you looked back up at the building and grimaced, hoping to never see it again.

Toga

It was late at night when you had the strangest encounter of your life. Not that that was a bad thing necessarily but it was something that occurred, nevertheless.

You had been feeling quite exhausted from a long day of fun with your friends. They had headed off to get a cab when you had realised that you needed the bathroom and disappeared to go find one.

There was a public toilet not too far from the street though it certainly wasn’t as clean as you would have hoped. Not to be deterred, you slipped in and found a sight that, even to your exhausted mind was uncomfortable.

A girl stood in front of one of the mirrors, blood staining much of her face. It covered the counter beneath her fingers and seemed to be coming from her lip.

“Are you okay?!” you asked, panicked.

She looked up at you, startled. Her dark hair covered much of her expression but she seemed a little out of it. Maybe she got hit on the head or something.

“I –“ she paused, her voice croaky and sore. She brought her hand up to rub her throat. “I think so.”

“Just wait, let me help you,” you said. You rushed into one of the stalls and gathered up some toilet paper. “Do you need me to call somebody or?”

“No,” she said quickly. “No. Thank you.”

You offered some of the damp tissue to her and she started wiping it away from her mouth. While she dealt with that, you cleaned the blood that she had left on the counter, making sure to get it out of all the cracks in and around the sink. “What happened to you?” you asked. “Did somebody attack you?”

“I slipped,” she said. “The tiles are really slippery and I think that I hit my mouth on the sink. It’s all kind of blurry.”

“Don’t worry,” you said, digging through your bag and grabbing some headache tablets. You offered the bottle to her. “Take two of those just in case. Even if it doesn’t hurt now, you don’t want to wake up with a headache tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Do I still have any blood on me?”

“Just on your jaw,” you pointed out. “Come on, my friends and I are getting a cab. We can call one for you also if you need.”

She took one last glance in the mirror before leaving. You had forgotten your own need for the bathroom and it was for good reason also. If you had hung around for a little longer, you may have seen blood trickling out from one of the stalls. Perhaps then you wouldn’t have been so worried about this stranger hitting her head.

“What’s your name?” you asked as you looked around for your friends.

“Toga,” the girl said, though she didn’t seem too happy with having told you. The words must have slipped out without her meaning to.

You gave her your own name and went up onto your toes to look around the crowd for your friends. Eventually you spotted them and waved but when you spoke to Toga, she didn’t respond.

She had disappeared into the crowd.

You went back into the bathroom and checked but she was long gone. Just like how the blood has escaped your notice earlier, you didn’t see the blonde watching you from the other side of the street, her head tilted a little.

Dabi

It was a rare day when you found yourself alone without at least one person to watch your back. You didn’t always need the protection but sometimes, it was nice to have.

But you had given your word and it wouldn’t do to back out of this now.

The building where everything had been organised was old and crumbling – its ancient nature hidden on the outskirts of the city and slowly becoming overtaken by countless plants. It wasn’t somewhere anybody with good intentions would find themselves.

You liked to think that your work was good. It benefitted many and took only from those who could afford to lose it. Unfortunately though, rules had to be broken for the best results, and sometimes what was classified as ‘wrong’ turned out to be needed in order to achieve a goal. It wasn’t quite in line with what you believed but it had to be done.

Did working with villains make you uncomfortable? Of course. But it was hardly going to be something that stopped you from moving forward.

The two members from the League of Villains that had been sent to meet you were both men. You didn’t bother with greetings, just holding up the briefcase that you held.

“I’m looking for a specific artwork,” you said. “I’ve been told that you might be able to help?”

“An artwork?” the one asked. He wore a white and black mask that concealed most of his face and an extremely gaudy costume.

“Not just an artwork,” you explained. “It has something of mine hidden in the canvas. Normally, I would just get the police involved but if they found it, it would be quite problematic for me. The group that stole it won’t listen to many but the League of Villains, I’m afraid. They have a few good quirks and they’re extremely cocky for it.”

“We’re not lapdogs,” the other man said. “Especially not for whatever agenda you’re pushing.”

“I don’t pay lapdogs,” you acknowledged. “Consider me a sponsor.”

Flames cackled into existence in his hand, surprising his colleague enough to jump a little. “Chances are, they’ve already found your thing. Even if they haven’t, the league can hardly go around picking fights with random gangs.”

“Shigaraki did ask –“

The masked man was cut off by a glare. Blue flames sent flickering light through the air as they waited patiently for your answer.

“If it’s already been discovered or if it happens to get damaged during the process, then I don’t plan on getting anything out of our deal. It’ll simply be a loss on my side.”

The flames slowly flickered out and you allowed yourself to breathe again. Confidence was a requirement for these deals but you didn’t quite have the nerves of steel that you portrayed. It was always a fight to keep your reactions in check.

“I guess if we happen to bump into the group, we can check around for your shit.”

You knew his bluff as well as your own. The League of Villains had always worked well with those who had money. They required funding and wouldn’t say no to being able to flex their reputation around the underground. It was almost needed with the way rumours were circulating.

It was less than a week after that encounter when you found your artwork sitting outside your home. Charred on the edges, it was damaged enough to make the art itself worthless. But your items inside were perfectly unharmed.

Not bad for your first time working alongside the League of Villains. It was worth the cost… you should do it more in the future.

Twice

When you had been called in for this job, you had no idea that it was going to turn into a fight of the magnitude you experienced.

Flames tore along the streets. They melted lamps and trapped hundreds inside buildings – the screams for help becoming almost deafening as you broke down yet another wall to get civilians out. It was the third building you had had to smash into and there were more yet.

Nobody could get out and, if they remained trapped, they wouldn’t survive much longer.

When your partner and you had realised you were dealing with the League of Villains, you had immediately called in the big guns. What you hadn’t realised was that doing so would result in a brawl of sorts in the streets. The League of Villains didn’t care about collateral and honestly, sometimes you wondered if the heroes did.

You were starting to overheat. The amount of fire swirling around was getting to you, drawing the breath from your lungs and slowing your movements. Its angry blue nature hinted at its abysmal nature.

The next building’s walls took even longer to get through but you managed it and a few people scrambled out. You ushed as best as you could although it was starting to get hard to speak.

But then you noticed a dark figure lying in one of the rooms

Outside, the fire roared and smacked against the walls but you couldn’t just leave somebody there. You stepped over the rubble and made your way to the figure.

It was hard to make out details with the flames. The heat seemed to be getting worse as you approached – soon identified as being caused by the gaping hole in the wall. It radiated around the room in waves. You covered your mouth and nose the best you could, creeping forward to reach where the person was.

When you arrived, it took you no time to recognise that you weren’t saving an unfortunate civilian but rather a member of the League itself.

You hesitated for a second before hooking your arms under his and beginning to drag him away from the danger. This was the type of thing that lost reputation for heroes. Civilians didn’t like seeing villains being rescued but you honestly didn’t care.

If he was left there, he was probably going to end up dying.

Though he had seemed unconscious, when you got him out of the building, he muttered something and moved. It was enough to make you jump back but he didn’t attack or anything. He just touched his face and then let his arm go limp again.

You moved back cautiously. His suit had been ripped on the one side, missing its arm and half of the torso. You checked his pulse, relieved to feel that it was still going, even if it was unsteady.

“Can you hear me?” you asked.

He didn’t respond and you reached up to remove his mask. His hand immediately snapped up to grab your wrist and you prepared to activate your quirk but all he did was push your arm away from his face.

Alright then. No touching the mask.

You bandaged the open wound on his side as best as you could. It looked like he had gotten launched through the building. Once he was as stable as he could be, you moved him to a safer area and jumped back into the fray. A ton of rescues later and the heroes had won, at the destruction of much property.

And, rather unsurprisingly, the villain you had saved was long gone.

Overhaul

There was a new drug running around the market. You had heard of a number of small-time villains taking it – most of them dying shortly after consumption. It wasn’t unheard of. If something had even the promise of a good time then it would attract thousands.

But what was a problem was that you had lost several of your newest underlings as a direct result of this drug.

Given how picky you were about hiring, this was going to be a problem.

You tracked the source to none other than the Shie Hassaikai. They were an old branch of the yakuza, sitting on the edge of a downward spiral into irrelevance. Rumors followed that their boss had fallen quite ill and now, it was only a matter of time until they fell completely on their faces.

So you didn’t feel too nervous when you approached the house that fronted their main base. Even with the members watching you from the bushes, you kept a straight line.

You weren’t unknown. It would do them a great disservice to attack you.

And they knew it.

You walked in the front door with absolutely no resistance and remained unsurprised when two masked men came out to greet you. They didn’t ask about your business or enquire as to who you were. Instead, they led you into a sitting room and gestured for you take a seat.

Instead of that, you walked around the room and picked up everything that looked interesting. Nothing was hidden around but you hadn’t expected there to be.

“Please don’t touch things without gloves on,” a smooth voice interrupted your curiosity. “Cleaning this entire house is rarely needed and I’d rather you didn’t change that.”

You turned around to find somebody considerably younger than you had expected for the head of the Shie Hassaikai. He wore their signature mask and a feathered coat, almost his entire body hidden in some way.

“Not a fan of germs?” you enquired.

“Not at all.”

You shrugged and made your way to the couch, sinking down into it. “Guess that means no drinks or anything? Oh well, that’s too bad.” You gestured for him to sit.  “So, you’re not who I was expecting.”

“You’ve never worked with our organisation before,” he said, sitting on the edge of the chair opposite you.

“No. You’re not in the same line of work as me and I don’t care too much about the Yakuza.”

“Then why are you here?”

You straightened, aware that you were about to get into the most dangerous part of the meeting. “Your drugs have been getting into my areas. Now, I don’t care all too much about how you distribute stock but it’s not just coming into possession of low-life criminals. My men are getting practically gifted it.”

His eyes narrowed. “We need to test it somehow. Besides, that sounds like a problem for you, no? Have better control of your men.”

“Keep your test tube shit out of my territories.”

A small staring contest took place – a test to see who would break first. You had been in almost a hundred of these over the course of your career. They didn’t bother you much at all in anymore.

Eventually he waved his hand through the air. “I guess we could stop supply to traders in your areas but this isn’t a charity.”

“I could kill your men.”

“But you would lose your own in the process. Wouldn’t it be easier to do this the peaceful way and maybe even establish a relationship between our two groups?”

“You have my attention. Don’t waste it.”

Kurogiri

There are those days when everything begins so well only to rapidly spiral into a situation out of your worst dreams. This was something like that.

You had gotten horribly caught in the crossfire of a battle between heroes and villains. It all occurred faster than you could have ever imagined – flashes of light and explosions of sound. People were screaming, the sound coming through a haze as you tried to get a grasp on what had happened.

Blood was trickling down your arm but you felt no pain. You slowly lifted your head. Something had hit you, you remembered that now as your brain caught up to the dull ache coming from your ribcage.

You tried to move, finding that you couldn’t. The ache became worse and a heavy, scraping sound interrupted your attempts to crawl away.

It was a piece of concrete, heavy and painful, pinning you effectively to the ground. A smaller chunk was holding it up and stopping you from being crushed. But if you moved too much…

You forced yourself to take a deep breath, nearly choking on the dust that filled the air. Maybe if you shifted slowly.

A crunching noise made you hiccup.

Alright, so that wasn’t going to work either. You strained your eyes to see through the carnage but you couldn’t make out any heroes. They would come eventually; you just had to wait patiently and try not to move too much.

The concrete seemed to get heavier still and you fought the desire to cry.

There was a crunching sound. You couldn’t just wait around.

Slow as you dared, you began to inch forward. The rough surface snagged at your clothing and made every centimeter feel like it was going to end with you crushed. Worse still, the more you moved, the more apparent the injury on your back became.

The blood that had been trickling down your arm was now creeping along your torso. It pooled in your clothes and made everything sticky.

You tried not to think about it but it made you light-headed regardless.

About half-way out, you spotted somebody nearby. It was just their silhouette but still, relief flooded your veins and you cried out desperately for help.

The figure made its way over to you, soon revealing that the man was almost entirely made of smoke. He wore a suit and tie but his body swirled as though only somewhat solid. Bright yellow eyes stared at you – any emotion behind them was completely unreadable.

His eyes traced your shape. “You’re not who I’m looking for.”

“Please help me. This thing’s going to crush me.”

He paused, the swirling darkness that made up his face shuddered as though it was unsure how to respond. “I should leave you here,” he mentioned. “You’re of no consequence to me or to my cause. If anything, I should add pressure to the piece of rubble and make sure the fatality numbers are higher.”

You caught of whimper before it could escape. “Please.”

His smoke shook again, almost as though he was struggling to keep hold of it. Then he raised a foot and placed it on the concrete.

You screwed your eyes shut and tried to imagine the best parts of life.

A loud horn blaring made you open them again and a surprised yelp escaped as you saw tires race past in front of you. People were shouting, their voices loud and nearby. Bright lights surrounded you and the air was clear once more.

The last thing you remembered seeing was a panicked nurse rushing over to you.

#my hero academia #mha #bnha scenarios #bnha x reader #shigaraki x reader #dabi x reader #toga x reader #twice x reader #kurogiri x reader #overhaul x reader

[dancingamongstdust]

Ur Warren story was really good!! I love how you wrote his character and the relationship between the 2

Thank you so much! I'm really glad that you enjoyed it! His character has always been one of my favourites and I'm happy to have gotten it right.

[dancingamongstdust]

Old Habits (Warren Worthington x Reader)

So I was digging around in my old files and I found this from a few years ago. I’m sure I published it somewhere once but I have no idea where. Either way, the writing isn’t too bad so I thought some readers here may enjoy it. 

Before, when you originally met Warren, you had never had an issue with reaching out and grabbing his wings if he tried to march away from you. It had become a habit.

There would be an argument over something inconsequential and both of you would scream and shout like children. Warren would realise that his temper was getting out of control and try to stalk away from the fight before it got out of control. You would snatch a fistful of his feathers or the edge of a wing; anything that was within range was ample gain. It never hurt him but he stopped moving due to the sensation. Then he would turn around and kiss you until your lips were bruised and you couldn’t breathe properly.

This time…

You had been eternally grateful to Charles Xavier for bringing Warren back despite all his previous actions and your heart belonged to whoever had saved his life. When you had seen him walking through that portal, you had sold yourself on the notion that you would never be seeing him again. A bitter reality without the white angel wings that you had spent hours wrapped in.

The fight had been inconsequential really. Something about his sulking and yelling at anybody who tried to get close to him.

But now you withdrew your hand as quickly as you reached out.

Warren still spun around to look, the metal feathers screeching against the walls as he did so. Instead of kissing you, his eyes fell on your bloody hand and he reached for it with tentative hands. “I…” his words died in his throat.

You met his eyes with a clouded expression and sighed. “Sorry,” you said. “I forgot…” Your eyes fell on the huge metal wings and you sighed. “I didn’t think that through. I’m sorry.”

“No,” Warren said. “No, you shouldn’t have had to think about it in first place.” Unlike the feathered version, these wings made a horrendous noise when they bristled and even he winced at the sound. “Just go and get somebody to look at that.” And he stormed back into his temporary room, slamming the door far too loudly behind him.

You sighed, shoulders slumping. Charles had approached you to see if you could possibly fix the situation and maybe convince Warren to relax a little more in the mansion. His end goal obviously being to offer the angelic mutant a permanent place to stay.

Stomach churning, you hurried down the stairs to the nearest mutant that could heal your hand or at least somebody who knew basic medical skills.

Two stitches and a little bit of healing later, you were sitting in your own room and staring down at your bandages. While you had been standing up there, it hadn’t hurt at all but now it was burning like fire. You rubbed it gently and sighed. Warren had always been self-sabotaging. At this point, shutting you out could almost be classified as a hobby of his.

So eventually – at an hour that any reasonable person would be asleep at – you climbed out of bed and marched over to the room to quiet your wailing mind. If you didn’t know Warren’s self-destructive tendencies you would have presumed it was too late.

But you had lived with the man before.

You didn’t bother knocking. You knew that Warren would have pretended he didn’t hear you. So you counted on him forgetting – or purposefully – not locking the door.

“I’m tired of this,” you said when Warren finally noticed you and removed the headphones that were blaring rock music so loudly that you could hear them from across the room. You walked over and sat on an untouched desk, watching the winged mutant carefully. “Every day, you make me sit and watch you turn all that anger and hatred inwardly and I can’t do anything about it. I feel useless when it comes to you. Like there’s nothing I can do to help.”

“Help?” he scoffed. “Help what?”

“You.”

He rolled his eyes and sat up on the bed, those metal feathers screaming a symphony as they were dragged across the wall. “I don’t need your help,” he said. He glanced at your bandaged hand. “Look what happens when you try. I’m fine. They said that my feathered wings will grow back soon and then I’ll be able to get as far away from this fucking place as possible.”

“I want to stay.”

“Then stay.”

You gave a forced laugh. “And here I thought you knew me well enough to know that there isn’t a chance that you would leave without me following.”

Warren crossed his arms and his wings puffed up as he attempted to become more intimidating. It would work on most people. Not you. “Nobody likes codependent twits,” he grumbled. “But then again, it’s not my problem if you want to chase me around the country like some lost poodle. If you get killed, I don’t want anybody blaming it for me.”

“It’s not… alright, no, I’m not rising to that,” you said firmly. “No matter how often you insult me, I’m not going to leave and you know that by now. Warren, won’t you at least consider staying here? There are others who –“

“Joined forces with an ancient evil and attempted to bring about the end of the world because they were offered shiny wings then almost died and had to be saved by their enemy out of pity. Just so many of those assholes running around that I can barely even walk without seeing one.” His hair was falling into his face now but he didn’t seem interested in doing anything about it. “But they don’t count if they switched sides during the actual battle.”

“You were unconscious the majority of the battle.”

“Thank you for reminding me. I wasn’t aware.”

You sighed and reached out to move his hair away from his eyes. It said something that he didn’t move away despite the glare he was sending in your direction. “Wouldn’t you prefer to be able to rest for a little while until you got back onto your feet?” you asked. “I’ve been talking to some of the people here and they’re all friendly if you give them a chance.”

“I don’t see any weapons attached to your back that are constantly hurting people you actually care about,” he noted.

“My hand was my own fault,” you repeated. You stood up and moved closer, reaching the uninjured hand past his head and resting it gently on the metal of his feathers. “See? I’m being careful now and it’s not getting me hurt. If I had taken a few more seconds to think it through, I wouldn’t have grabbed your wing out of habit. But you said they’ll go back to being normal soon.”

“Apparently,” he said. “Some of them have fallen off but they’re meant to do that. What would you do if they stayed metal? You’d have to start finding your own beds instead of curling up next to me constantly. Something tells me you won’t find these wings ‘comforting’.”

A phrase you had always used when speaking about his wings and it hurt to hear him spit it with such bitterness in his tone. It had always been something genuine to you. “They probably won’t keep me as warm as the normal feathers,” you admitted. “But I don’t doubt that I could grow used to them and love them as much as I adored the originals.”

He scoffed. “Always a fucking optimist. Even when I have tattoos that probably will never fade etched into my face.”

“I’m not always an optimist,” you said. “When you disappeared into that cage fighting thing for months without telling me and then came back with your wing fried to a crisp, I was so worried that I thought I would vomit. I lost countless hours due to nightmares about waking up and finding you dead or missing again.”

“And then you did.”

“I was too late,” you said. “No matter what you said, I knew that your wings were making you distressed and I wanted to help but I didn’t know how. If I had figured out how to fix things sooner then there wouldn’t have been a reason for you to go with that asshole.”

Warren just glared at you and then flicked his bedside lamp off and lay down on his side. It used to hurt his wings when he slept like that but you were unsure that the metal felt anything. Either way, you lay your hand on his shoulder temporarily and then took the hint to leave the room. There was nothing else for you to say or do.

Almost a week passed where you only opened the door to throw random food and drink items at Warren where he was pretending to be asleep. Sometimes he would mumble something and other times he would continue to ignore you. You took the bandage off a few days later. It was something Warren undoubtedly noticed but he didn’t say anything until the day you opened the door to find everything strewn across the floor in such a state of disarray that you flinched.

“What’s the problem?” you asked.

Warren glanced at you out of the corner of his eye and muttered something about not having any shirts that weren’t torn to shreds by his new wings. Which later led to you going shopping and returning with a bunch of new shirts with cuts in the back for the new wings. It took you a while and he grumbled under his breath when you dumped them on the floor but you didn’t say anything.

The charade continued day in and day out but you weren’t deterred. You waited patiently for Warren with a well-learned routine. This had happened many times before. A waiting game that you had perfected over many years of worrying about the angelic mutant who held so much of your attention and your heart.

You walked through the door with a milkshake in hand when he was busy plucking the metal feathers off his wings. Silently, you placed it down and settled cross-legged behind him on the bed to help him peel off the shedding metal over the unreachable areas.

It came off easily and you happily spotted some of the soft, white feathers peeking out from beneath the metal. You ran your fingers happily over it and smiled. They would be returning soon.

“You’re going to need to preen these daily while they’re growing out,” you said. You didn’t expect an answer but you said it with the knowledge that you would be the one to do it. “Otherwise they’re going to be crooked and then you won’t be able to fly properly.”

Warren’s feathers fluttered slightly as he turned around to face you. They didn’t sound quite as horrible when they brushed against the wall now and there were fewer grooves than before. Deep scratch marks already tore up the bedframe and one of the bedside lamps had disappeared a week ago. “Just leave.”

“Alright. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Why do you bother?”

Your fingers brushed the doorknob and you shrugged. “It’s just force of habit now.”

#x-men #one shot #archangel #warren worthington x reader #warren worthington iii #x-men apocalypse

[dancingamongstdust]

Hi! I heard requests were open? Can I request ship relationship hcs for jaehee x Zen?

Of course. I don’t personally ship this pairing but if they were to get together, this is how I could see it going.

(Still trying out the banners thing)

* Zen would have to show interest first because there is no way that Jaehee would tell him about any of her feelings. Not only is she too self-conscious but her appreciation for what he does would lead her to convince herself that she isn’t worth his attention.

* Due to this, Zen would probably need to ask her out multiple times in order to convince her that it wasn’t a bad idea.

* Jaehee automatically takes a managerial role in the relationship, trying to plan things out and make sure that it all fits into Zen’s plans. It will take her some time to relax enough to just go with the flow. She doesn’t mean to come off as controlling but it’s the best way she knows to cope with the start of the relationship.

* Zen fans get to her also. She tries to convince herself to not allow them to get under her skin but they still do – especially if the public becomes aware of their relationship.

* Zen, on the other hand, feels a little insecure because of how much Jaehee idolizes him. He doesn’t want to fall short of her expectations. Being placed on a pedestal is flattering to his ego but he can’t maintain it all the time.

* Zen doesn’t compliment without including himself. It’s something that Jaehee always finds humorous. Instead of saying ‘you look nice’, he’ll always say ‘we look nice’.

* The vast majority of their dates are musicals.

* Zen is incredibly happy to have somebody to gift tickets to when he’s performing. He often gives them to friends but he knows that Jaehee will appreciate them far more than anybody else would. It makes him smile when he sees her eyes light up at the tickets and she’s always clapping the loudest in the crowd.

* Zen inspires Jaehee to grow her hair out and he helps her find a good routine that fits both her hair and her schedule.

* While Zen doesn’t mind PDA that much, Jaehee is quite against it. She gets easily flustered and would prefer to avoid it. This has led to people not realising the pair are dating and presuming them to be friends.

* Jaehee’s baking is to die for although she does sometimes experiment with questionable results. Zen’s always willing to try anything she offers him though, even if it doesn’t taste good at all.

* Neither Zen nor Jaehee are interested in the very traditional family lifestyle and thus children or even pets will never really be on their minds.

* They work well because neither of them really need the other. They’re incredibly independent, respecting each other and moving forward in their own fields.

* Arriving home after a long day and being able to rant together over a glass of wine and dinner is the best part of their daily ritual. Neither gives solutions to the other’s problems but they listen and laugh together.

* Their relationship isn’t the traditional romance but it’s full of love, respect, and adoration.

#mystic messenger #jaehee kang #zen mystic messenger #mystic messenger headcanons #jaehee x zen #headcanon

[dancingamongstdust]

Creepypasta Scenarios - First Meeting (Part 3)

I’ve opened requests now, if anybody is interested. Here’s the post:

Requests

Lost Silver

As stupid as it sounds, the game didn’t scare you.

It had started as a joke, something passed around your friend group after it had been discovered. The cartridge was just a janky version of a Pokémon game that was apparently spooky and so, everybody had taken turns messing around with it. They all said creepy things started happening but nothing too bad.

When it was your turn, you had been fully expecting something out of a horror movie. Instead, you had gotten a game that just had audio cut offs and weird notes warning you to stay out. It wasn’t all together scary.

You mentioned this to the next person you gave the game to in your friend group and they had laughed, saying it would probably ring true for them also.

But for some reason, your ally didn’t manifest.

Less than two days later, they practically threw the game at the rest of you and ran away sprouting things about curses. After that, the appeal of playing it kind of went away.

Nobody wanted to buy it and apparently throwing it out wasn’t a suggestion. So you ended up getting it.

Curiosity soon got the better of you and you booted up the game again, really sure that it would do something absolutely crazy but it never did. It ran like it always had with only that one file being completed.

So you deleted the file.

And nothing happened.

The next day, when you booted up the game, the file had simply returned as though you hadn’t deleted it in the first place. A similar thing occurred the next time. And the next.

Eventually you gave up and just started your own game. There, everything ran like it was meant to and you were beginning to think that your friends had all been imagining stuff. Maybe their paranoid got to them or something like that?

But eventually, the nightmares started. And they were bad.

You couldn’t remember exactly what happened during them. They were a swirling mess of games and glitches, horrible things spelled out in letters and blood covering everything. You would always wake up right when they seemed to be coming to a pivotal point. You’d find yourself dragged into a graveyard and then you’d wake up screaming

It was awful. You hardly got any sleep during them and they seemed to haunt you every night, keeping you up until the early hours of the morning.

But the worst only came when you didn’t wake up.

When you were dragged to the grave and looked down to see the ellipsis where the name should be. A punch to the gut that reminded you of what the game file was called. A confirmation of what was causing this dream.

You stared at it for ages before your eyes drifted up and you met his gaze. He was covered in blood, it leaked from every orifice and limb. It stained his dirty clothing even worse.

While you were staring, the world seemed to distort even though he didn’t. The game world melted away and your bedroom slowly reappeared.

It wasn’t until you saw car headlights move past your window – casting awful shadows across the room – that you realised you were no longer dreaming. He wasn’t a figment of your imagination.

The temperature in the room plummeted and you began to slowly reach for a weapon of some kind. He turned to look at what you were watching. His head tilted to the side and a glitch raced across his body before he vanished into thin air. Flicking on the lights didn’t show him hiding or cowering.

Perhaps your friends weren’t crazy after all.

Masky

“You know, if we had been a little more patient, none of this would have happened,” your sibling lectured. “We could be relaxing inside the car without having to worry about a bloody flash flood coming down from the sky.”

You shoved their back, forcing them to stumble a little as they went through the door. “Chances are the river’s going to burst its banks anyway. We would have been stuck in traffic for hours because the bridge is blocked off.”

“At least we would have been dry,” they muttered, running their fingers through their hair. “And not trapped inside an abandoned building.”

You rolled your eyes and made your way over the rubble to settle down on a camping chair. “Don’t even start. This place has been a hangout for my friends and I for ages. There’s never been a single problem bigger than a few spiders.”

“Till a landlord shows up,” they scoffed.

“Then we’ll move to the forest,” you joked. “I’m sure there’s a good bear cave we can use.”

“I’m going to be an only child,” they said, rolling their eyes. Still, they made their way over and sat. “How long do you think we have until the storm dies down?”

You relaxed back into the chair and smiled up at the asbestos-filled ceiling. “From the sound of it, a while.”

It wouldn’t have been the first time you had taken a nap in the building. You were scared of giant cockroaches coming to eat you once. You had gotten used to it since then but this time when you woke up, you were uneasy.

Glancing around, nothing was out of the ordinary. Your sibling was snoring in the chair next to you and outside the rain was pounding the roof.

You sat upright. Sometimes was definitely wrong.

Pulling your phone from your pocket, you got up from the chair and began walking as quietly as you could through the house. It had always been tiny and practically void of furniture, but the few rooms provided ample hiding spots.

Nothing but rubble was in most of the rooms but, in what you presumed had once been a bathroom, you found a person.

He had his back to you but when you pushed the door open to peer in, he spun around, his hand flying to his side. He was wearing a white mask, dark features etched onto it, and an orange jacket. A dark stain ran up the right side of it, emanating from under his hand. The oddness of his clothing made you immediately back away from the door, finger twitching on your cell phone in case you needed to call for help.

The two of you stared at each other in silence.

You were lost about what to say or do. The stain on his jacket was spreading and the more you stared at it, the more you became convinced it was blood. “Are you okay?” you finally managed to ask.

It took him a while to respond but then he nodded. The mask was unnerving you. You didn’t like not being able to see a person’s facial expressions.

“I don’t mean to pry or anything, but it really looks like you’re bleeding,” you said. “And quite badly. I can call for an ambulance or something although…” you turned your attention to the window behind his head. “I’m not sure they’ll be able to get anywhere with this weather.”

He stepped backward. “I’m fine,” he said, so soft you barely caught it. “I thought this place was abandoned.”

“It normally is,” you answered. “But we had to avoid the storm. I’m guessing that’s why you’re here also?”

“Yes,” he responded.

You waited or him to say something more, but all you got was silence. He had moved further away and now he had his back against the window. Part of you wanted to turn around and go back to your sibling but you were unsure about turning your back on the strange man.

The mask made you scared he could stab you or something.

Somebody calling your name made you turn your head on instinct. Your sibling must have woken up and realised you were missing.

Quickly, you turned back to the man, but he had disappeared. Rain spat through the now open window.

Nurse Ann

Everybody always warned you about exploring old buildings. They would yell about how many things could injure or kill you. Stray animals, drug addicts, old equipment, and all that. You had heard just about every warning imaginable. Ghosts were pretty commonly mentioned also.

But killer nurse was a new one.

“Come on, just give me a little more information,” you nagged. “I’m going there whether you’re with me or not so you may as well just tell me what you’ve heard.”

Your friend (and partner in crime for most ventures) groaned. “It’s not much. They just say that she guards the place and if you get too close, she’ll run you off with a chainsaw. Some people have died from injuries they got while there. Let’s just give this one a miss, alright?”

But you were not in agreement at all.

“Maybe she’s cute though,” you teased.

They didn’t find that funny and you didn’t push them to come with you. So later that evening, you snuck in by yourself.

The hospital was old with crumbling walls and smashed windows. It was hidden from the public by means of a tall barbed-wire fence and a substantial distance of open garden. Nothing too extreme for you and definitely worth the potential items you’d find inside. When hospitals went under, they often left tons of awesome stuff just scattered around.

You’d never sold anything you found in your abandoned building dives. They were more collectables than anything else but they meant quite a bit to you.

There weren’t any signs of crazy nurses as you approached the place. Nobody came running at you with a chainsaw at least. You didn’t even find evidence of squatters who could sometimes pose some danger.

After deciding it was safe enough, you lifted yourself through one of the windows and began to explore.

Honestly, it was creepy. Everything was way too old to be worth collecting and there were too many unidentifiable stains for your liking. The water damage was bad. It looked like the ceiling was there for aesthetics only and several rooms creaked too much for you to comfortably cross them.

And that was even without the awkward feeling of being watched.

You told yourself that it was just superstition but you couldn’t shake it. Every few seconds saw you looking over your shoulder in anticipation. It distracted you from keeping your eye on the path in front of you and the loud crack reached your ears too late.

The floor gave out and you fell through. Your shoulder hit some kind of metal object as you landed in the room below. Painful shocks ripped through your body and your head knocked against the floor with a heavy thud.

Stars danced in front of your vision and you raised your hand to the top of your head. Blood coated your hand when you lowered it to look.

Shit.

Shakily, you tried to pull yourself up but quickly found that your arm was too sore. Instead, you pulled your phone from your pocket and sent off the emergency text to your friend.

The world faded to black not long after that.

When you woke up next, you were in your room with a bandage wrapped around your head. You had felt like absolute crap but still gotten up to thank them for the save. They had nodded and warned you to be more careful, happy that you had been outside the hospital so they didn’t have to look for too long.

Before you could even think about how you had crawled there, they asked how you had managed to do your own stitches so nicely.

Puppeteer

Your camera was on 10% battery.

Grumbling, you shoved it into your bag and cursed your past self for forgetting to put it on charge. In order to get the best sunrise photos, you had found yourself waking up earlier and earlier. It was tiring but it was worth it… most of the time.

You just hoped that at least one of your pictures was usable but you could only check on them once you got home.

The streetlight above your head flickered as you walked past. It wasn’t unusual but when you were the only person awake for miles around, it was awfully creepy.

Putting your hands into your jacket pockets, you continued strolling back home. The neighborhood had never been dangerous and despite living in the area for your entire life, no incidents made you want to stop walking around at night.

Deciding that you wanted to take a precautionary shot, you headed for your neighbour’s house first. They had an arch covered in jasmine flowers that made for some perfectly safe photos and they never minded your presence.

After making your way there and getting a few photos, you were treated to the fright of your life when their began howling and barking. It wasn’t aimed at you but you didn’t like the noise regardless.

As you rounded the corner of the house, planning on racing back to your own home, you encountered the dog’s target.

A man – cloaked in the darkness and barely illuminated by the streetlight – opening one of the windows with ease. Irritated by the dog, he didn’t notice you until your finger twitched around the shutter of your camera. There was a flash.

His head snapped up and you screamed.

The man’s complexation was literally grey. He wasn’t just ill, he was the colour of storm clouds. Golden eyes with no pupils glared at you and froze you in place. Whatever he was, this man was the furthest thing from human.

Your scream woke your neighbors. The sound of movement began coming from inside the house.

He abandoned the window, stalking towards you. The air tingled like it was expecting a lightning storm. Golden tendrils grew from his fingertips and shot towards you. They had you pinned in an instant.

You struggled against them and opened your mouth to scream again but they wrapped around your head, forcing your jaw shut.

This was how you died… tears spilled down your cheeks at the realization. You were going to be an unsolved murder. All you hoped was you got a good picture of him.

Your neighbor’s front door opened and great dane let out an ear-splitting bark as he raced toward you.

The man, or creature, or monster, or whatever he was, released you to face the dog. He let it approach before vanishing into a cloud of smoke as its jaws reached him.

“What was that?” the timid voice brought you back into reality.

“It was trying to get into your house,” you said. “I screamed when I saw it and then it grabbed me.” Your voice changed to a whimper as reality hit you. You nearly died.

The small child of the house came over to hug your leg. “I’m sure Puppet didn’t mean to scare you,” she said. “He always comes to visit but he doesn’t like it when people make noise. You shouldn’t scream when you see him again.”

You made eye-contact with the parents and they wore expressions of horror at their daughter’s words.

“Puppet?” you asked in a small voice.

She nodded rapidly. “He says he stops by because he likes watching people. I think that he’s watching us all right now! But he can hide in the shadows too well.”

“I’m going to go and call the police,” somebody said.

You weren’t all too focused. The feeling of being watched grew heavier and you clutched tightly at the camera in your hands.

Slenderman

You couldn’t tell if they were being serious. You hoped that they were joking. They weren’t genuinely going to…

“No,” you stated.

The two younger children both turned to look at you simultaneously. Guilt flashed across their faces as though they weren’t aware you were listening. It was as though you were asked to babysit them because you didn’t pay attention. These two should have realised that by now.

“Do you think all the stories are true?” the boy asked. “I think that they are. One of my friends said she saw a huge dog in the forest and then it ran away after eating a whole cow!”

“No way!” his twin sister shouted. “Dogs don’t eat cows, so it can’t be true!”

You put on your best intimidating expression and crossed your arms. “I don’t care if they’re true or not. There is absolutely no chance that either of you are going to go running off into the woods with bears, wolves and all kinds of other creatures.”

The two children glanced at each other and bolted for the tree line before you could grab their shirts.

Thankfully your legs were longer even if they had a head start and you managed to catch up pretty quickly. Once you caught the boy and picked him up with ease, the girl dashed behind a tree.

“Can we please just leave?” you asked nicely. “If we forget about the forest adventure thing, I promise I won’t tell your parents and I’ll get you ice cream.”

The boy was trying his hardest to get out of your hold. You were starting to think babysitting didn’t pay enough.

“I don’t want ice cream,” the girl said. “I want to go and find a unicorn.”

She darted off into the forest and you let out a deep groan. Shifting the boy’s weight over your one hip, you started walking after her. If you wanted to give chase via running, you would have to put the kid down and trust him to follow or stay.

It was obvious that wasn’t happening.

It didn’t take you too long to find the girl. Mostly because she had stopped in the middle of a weird grove in the trees. She was just staring off into the dark shadows beyond it.

As you approached her, static popped in your ears. You shook your head in an effort to displace it but the closer you got, the louder it became.

The child in your arms whimpered, clutching his head.

You softly called her name and then it appeared. It was a man-like monster, standing just in the shadows of the trees. Easily over 7ft tall and insanely thin with no facial features. Your heart jumped into your throat and your stomach tied itself into a knot.

Without taking your eyes off it, you reached out a hand and fumbled around until you grabbed the girl’s shirt.

The static was getting louder and louder. You tried to shut it out as you started moving backwards, tugging the child along after you. She wasn’t willing to move her legs. She was entranced but whether by fear or magic, you couldn’t tell.

And then it was much closer.

You stumbled in fright, letting go of the girl’s shirt and landing on your ass. The boy fell on top of you but scrambled away and hide in the bushes within the blink of an eye. You sent a silent prayer to him to run back home to the other adults.

Once again, the creature was stationary but now the static was growing to such a volume that you could imagine your ears were starting to bleed.

You reached out for the girl again slowly, but something wrapped around your leg and yanked you into the air.

It took almost a full second for you to realise that the screaming ringing in your ears was you. Whatever was holding you tightened and whipped your body through the air. It was like your leg was being ripped away.

Then you were falling.

It was some feat of luck that you managed to twist your body, so you didn’t land on your head. You lay there for a while before something poking your back made you unbury your face.

The twins were staring at you with wide eyes and the monster was nowhere in sight.

“What was –“ you couldn’t finish.

“Slenderman,” they said in perfect sync.

Splendorman

Another stop…

You couldn’t help yourself. Every time you walked past one of the posters fluttering lightly in the wind you had to stop and stare at it.

A few days ago, your dog, your beautiful and sweet puppy, had disappeared from your house without a trace. The missing posters were depressing reminders that he wasn’t home. It hadn’t taken long for your mind to spiral into the negative thoughts about how close the road was.

Damn your coworkers. One of the had suggested the road in the first place and while they hadn’t intended anything malicious, it was definitely not helping your fears.

The dog had been with you through thick and through thin… if it was dead, you may as well have lost a close family member.

Hanging your head, you dragged your eyes away from the poster and kept walking.

People bumped into you, but it was your fault. You refused to look up in case another poster distracted you. Getting home before the sun set was your only focus now.

You had tried going out and searching in all the places where your dog once spent time to no avail. Always willing to try again, you chose to drop off your bags and head out later that evening when you ran out of distractions.

As you walked through the gates in front of your house, a gust of air gently messed up your hair. A gust of wind suspiciously similar to a laugh.

Your logical mind told you it came from the street, but something made you stop in your tracks.

The walls around your property towered. There’s no possibility that somebody could be in your garden. To try and scale one of the walls, they would have been in full view of your neighbours who would have undoubtedly called the cops.

“You’re sad,” the wind whispered before you could brush off your suspicion.

Spinning wildly, you searched around for the source. You backed up until your entrance gate was behind you. You could run down to the main street with ease if you could just get your fumbling fingers to unlock things.

“Don’t run,” the wind said, this time blowing from a separate direction. “I promise I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to know why you’re upset.”

Is this what going insane was? Nobody around and the wind was talking to you. You had always feared losing your mind and now it was happening.

“I’m real,” the wind said. “I’m hiding because I’ll scare you if you see me.”

“I’m going mad,” you muttered, shaking your head. “If this is somebody pulling a prank on me I swear….”

The wind quietened for a bit and then it picked up again, ruffling your hair as it spoke. “If I show myself, it’ll prove that you’re not going crazy, but I don’t want to make it worse by frightening you… you’re so sad already.”

“I lost my best friend and people have been telling me he’s most likely dead,” you hissed. “Obviously I’m not in the best mood. Now I’m losing my fucking mind and talking to air.”

The atmosphere around you dropped, like it does moments before lightning strikes. You glanced at the sky in confusion. As expected, no clouds in sight.

You lowered your gaze and a 7ft tall creature covered in bright polka dots stood in front of your house.

Once you screamed, it disappeared.

“I’m sorry,” the wind said. “I knew I would scare you, but I had hoped it would show you that I’m not imaginary. I’m just trying to help.”

The gate finally opened behind you and you stumbled backwards through it, your heart sitting in your throat. A monster was in your house and it was probably going to kill you. Spinning on your heel, you took off full speed back towards the main street.

You were fully expecting it to give chase now that you hadn’t fallen for its claims of harmlessness but it didn’t.

Instead you reached the main road and only got a few strange looks because of how much you were shaking. Nothing followed you.

The wind picked up once more. “I’ll try and help,” it promised.

People walking around you should have heard it as well but none of them so much as blinked.

Ticci Toby

While you had been told that a noise limit for the forest existed, your laughter refused to cooperate. It rang through the trees and probably chased off all the animals nearby. A picnic out in a national forest was a fantastic way to reconcile with nature and to scare it all away.

With eleven people in your picnic party, chances of any creatures coming into view were already slim though so you didn’t worry too much.

“We didn’t bring nearly enough fruit,” you muttered as you dug in the basket.

“Excuse you, I brought a whole watermelon but you ate it,” somebody answered your grumble. “If you want fruit, it is spring. Go and forage for some berries.”

You snorted. “Yeah, right. I’m going to go out by myself in the middle of the one season where bears are irritable as fuck. I know I sometimes act a little impulsively, but I don’t exactly have a wish to die at the claws of a grumpy teddy.”

Your friend leaned towards you. “Is that so? What if we split into teams and made a bet? Loser has to take a dip in the river.”

“A bet?” you asked. “I’m interested.”

She grinned and snapped her fingers. “Okay, there are eleven people so I’m feeling groups of two with one impartial party as a judge. We should be fine if we make enough noise and stick within close vicinity to each other. See how many berries we can gather?”

Tipping out the picnic basket’s contents, you smirked and pushed it into her chest. “Oh, I hope you brought a swimming costume.”

Everybody teamed up with ease and grabbed one of the many containers lying on the blanket. You headed out with your partner and gave a wink to the other teams. All you needed was to find one good bush first and you had it won.

“We should split up,” your partner said. “Cover more ground.”

You nodded. “We meet up back here once we’ve found a good bush,” you agreed. “And we shout if we find any animals.”

Obviously, your plans hadn’t involved losing your footing almost directly after the two of you split.

Tumbling down the small hill, you tried your hardest to protect yourself from the bushes as you went through them. At some point, you lost your basket and by the time you had finally rolled to a stop, you had no idea where it was.

Grumbling, you stood up and started searching until something dark caught your eye. Thinking it was your basket, you made your way over.

The clearing you walked into housed a scene you could never have imagined.

A dead bear lay slumped against a tree, its fur being what had caught your eye earlier. A hatchet buried in its neck was spilling blood onto the floor around it. All that hardly compared to the man leaning against a tree.

“Oh my god!” you exclaimed. “Are you alright?”

His head immediately snapped up, allowing you to see that he was wearing a mouth guard and a pair of goggles. Blood seeped from between his fingers where they clutched against his chest, but he hardly noticed. A hatchet was hanging from his belt.

Suddenly, you were wishing you had kept your mouth shut.

He stared at you blankly for a while, an occasional twitch minorly affecting his body. Reaching up, he took off his mouthguard. “I can’t feel any pain,” he said. “So, I’m fine. Why are y-you out here? The hiking trail is far.” He struggled with one of the words, seeming to hiccup a little on it.

“I was searching for berries and I slipped down a hill,” you answered. “Are you sure you’re okay? It looks like you got into a fight with a bear. Your shirt is all bloody.”

“I did fight a bear,” he laughed, gesturing to it. “I won.”

Your eyes grew wider. “I think you should get to a hospital. What’s your name? I can call somebody for you and we’ll get you medical attention.”

“Toby,” he said. “That’s my name. What’s yours?”

You gave him your full name and pulled out your phone. “My friends are close by,” you said. “Don’t worry, they’ll be here to help soon.”

When you raised your attention from your phone, he had disappeared and so had the hatchet from the bear’s neck.

Trenderman

Work was hard. It made your feet ache, it made your back click and crack, and it felt like the problems would never end.

Would you give up working in the fashion industry? Not a chance.

Your boss walked past where you were calming down an irate customer over the phone and dropped the keys to the front of the building in front of you. “Close up for me,” she mouthed as she left.

Nodding, you moved them to the side of the desk where they couldn’t be lost.

Once you had finished calming the customer, you glanced around to check how many people were left in the room. Three still working and one in the process of leaving. You were technically going into overtime at this point, but you didn’t mind.

There was a reason you were promoted so quickly.

“We need to set up cameras!” one of the floor managers snapped, storming into the office. She marched straight over to your desk and glowered at you. “I put this request in a week ago.”

Scrolling through the documents, you quickly opened the file. “I see but it looks like it’s been bumped due to a shipment malfunction, I’ll flag it. What’s the problem?”

“Customers or members of staff are moving items around and throwing things out without warning. We need to catch the culprits!” she snapped.

“What has been thrown out?” you asked. “I’ll add it into the information.”

The woman started listing quicker than you could type. “I’ve found crocs, toeless thigh-high boots, bellbottomed jeans, coloured faux fur jackets, luminous lipstick, w-necks, and jeggings all in vast numbers in the trash can. Every time I put them out on shelves, they disappear again.”

It took everything in you not to snort. “I’ll mark this vital.”

She stalked off and you went back to inputting the shipping requirements. You were meant to be organising what was coming in for the latest line and subtly omitting anything that wouldn’t sell well enough.

Slowly but surely, your co-workers trickled out of the office after finishing off their daily tasks. You kept going, trying to make sure you could have a longer break the next day.

Finally, when the sun had already set, you relented and started getting ready to go home.

You sung as you finished packing up for the day. Being the last one in the building (thus having to lock up) made you a little more confident as you danced around getting everything together. You slung your bag over your shoulder and happily trotted over to the door.

It made you so happy that your boss entrusted you to be the last one around. She was so hyper-protective of company secrets that you were proud of yourself for winning her over.

Your talent with people was something you attributed to dealing with painful customers.

As you passed through the store-part of the business you stopped to rearrange a mannequin. Every morning when you came in, you always noticed something had been changed with this specific one. You figured you could move something small and see if it would be a good place to set up a hidden camera.

Though you weren’t expecting it to suddenly grab your arm.

“You may be one of the few workers here with good taste, but I advise you don’t try and change my outfit,” it said. It didn’t have a mouth, but the words rang in your head, nevertheless.

You screamed and pulled away, tearing your arm from its grip. Shelves were knocked over and clothing was sent flying as you tried to escape.

The mannequin just watched you as you fumbled madly for the door.

The glass rattled in the frame from how hard you slammed it shut behind you. You sped off down the street, moving faster than you ever had before. You collapsed on your lawn by the time you reached the house, taking deep breaths.

Nothing had followed you. Everything was okay.

With shaking fingers, you dialed your boss’ number and told her you would be taking a sick day. There wasn’t a chance in hell you were going anywhere near there again.

Not to mention the mess you made… you were definitely getting fired.

#creepypasta #creepypasta x reader #slenderman #splendorman #trenderman #ticci toby #nurse ann #masky #cp masky #marble hornets #lost silver #puppeteer #x reader