#If you’re curious this is about “In The Shadows” btw | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nalpurey · 6 months

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in honor of the 10 months anniversary of my first ever drabble i never posted, i present to you: my first ever drabble i never posted. yippee

cw: femdom, malesub, both are afab, mentions of sa, overall fluffy playful smut. it’s scrlm btw <3

also this takes place after scara’s story quest. people were headcanoning he’d join us in our travels so yeah<3

here goes nothing

As the flames danced, their shadows cast wide on the ground. Lumine yawned, feeling settled in the familiarity of the campsite. Her traveling companion was always full of surprises, and tonight was no exception. He had requested a sleeping bag in their shared tent, much to her disbelief. “What? Just because I don’t need to doesn’t mean I can’t,” he had said, grinning mischievously. Lumine had rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but smile at his antics.

The two had lit a bonfire and were sitting close to one another, quietly and secretly enjoying the warmth and company of each other’s presence.

Lumine subconsciously stared at her companion. She couldn’t help but notice the way the wanderer winced imperceptibly as the weight of his body pressed against an apparently sore muscle. Lumine saw the way he stood up and straightened his back, only to wince once again as he sat back down. It was clear to her that he was in pain, and it was clear that this was something he was used to, but she still frowned.

“Are you hurt?” She carefully asked, slightly tilting her head to the side.

The wanderer shook his head, not even looking at her. “It’s nothing worth mentioning.”

The traveler sighed. We’ve been traveling companions for a while now, and he still isn’t opening up. Sure, he should take his time, but he has no reason to not trust me after what we’ve done to protect each other…

“You know,” she started in a sweet voice, staring at the dancing flames, “it’s pretty normal to get hurt, or even just have a sore back, when you do nothing but wander around and fight monsters all day. Just let me help you.”

He shook his head again, but his voice had softened. “I don’t… need healing.”

Lumine decided not to ask if that was just another way to say no or he actually didn’t need any healing as a puppet.

“But you’re in pain”, Lumine insisted. “You won’t let me heal you, so at least let me cook you some food, give you a massage or something.”

“A massage?” At the wanderer’s seemingly disgusted frown, Lumine only nodded. “But why?”

“It’ll help your muscles relax”, she responded with a smile.

He rolled his eyes. Though he was doing his best to appear indifferent, he was curious about what she would do. He stared at her hands for a couple seconds, wondering if it would have been that bad to have those soft fingers touching his skin.

“Fine then. Do your worst.”

Oh, he just had to make it into a challenge, didn’t he?

She smiled a bit widely this time. She felt like this could help them get closer. She already considered him an ally, but she wanted him to acknowledge that; to see for himself what it meant to have a companion to place his trust in.

He took off his kimono and pulled down the top part of his bodysuit. His pale rosy skin looked soft, and as perfect as a doll’s. Looking a bit more carefully, Lumine couldn’t help but notice five fading rounded scars on the center of his back. The one in the middle was bigger than the others, and those were undoubtedly the marks his puppet strings had left.

“So? Are you gonna do something, or—”

He freezed upon feeling her warm hand trace up his spine.

“Mnnh…”

“Good?”

He bit his lip. “Shut it.”

“You’re tense. Are you always like this, or…” She stopped herself, her attention being caught by something else. A small symbol on the highest part of his back. It didn’t look like a scar, it was more like a birthmark. She let her curiosity get the better of her and slid her thumb over the mark, softly. “What’s this?” She asked simultaneously.

Tingly waves of pure electricity shot through his body, running straight to his crotch, and the wanderer couldn’t prevent a soft moan of sheer pleasure from escaping his slightly parted lips.

Lumine stopped her thumb immediately. “Did I hurt you?” She asked with urgency.

“What? No. Of course not. I’m not that fragile.”

Encouraged, the traveler pressed a bit harder on the spot. Her thumb drew slow circles along the mark, until…

“Ahn… please…”

Lumine made a surprised sound, golden eyes widening.

The red-faced wanderer hastened to clarify, “That… slipped out.”

But she had already stopped. “Please what, though? Are you sure this isn’t an uncomfortable place for you to—”

“Shut up, it wasn’t a please stop.”

“Then what was it?”

“It was nothing.”

She only let out a chuckle. She really wanted to be friends (or maybe even more) with him, but right now she couldn’t resist teasing him. “Maybe you find this arousing,” she suggested with a shrug. “This one is probably a sweet spot of yours, am I right?” The wanderer parted his lips to speak, but her thumb found itself on the birthmark again and he had to close them shut to suppress the noise he felt bubbling up his throat. “It’s really pretty, though. It’s a mitsudomoe, right? Very pretty…”

The wanderer could barely focus on her praise, completely absorbed by the feeling of Lumine tracing circles around such a sensitive part of his body.

Until she realized this could probably not help his sore back. Much to the wanderer’s disappointment, she went back to massaging his back, and yes— that helped a lot, but it just didn’t feel as good.

It was pretty relaxing, though. Lumine’s touch was delicate, careful. It was completely new to him.

Maybe being in the traveler’s company wasn’t that bad.

: : :

He looked so… serene in his sleep. He looked like nothing in the world could ever disturb his slumber. Why wasn’t he always like this? The traveler could only wonder why he didn’t sleep more often, since it made him so calm and peaceful. Maybe if he had slept like this every night he wouldn’t have been so short tempered.

Most of his clothes were lying forgotten in an angle of their tent, neatly folded.

She didn’t even realize she was staring at him, his tiny, immobile sleeping figure, his pink synthetical lips that were just barely pressing against each other, his relaxed brows, his smooth and perfect skin… yes, nothing could ever disturb his slumber…

“Mmgh… hah…” The puppet’s eyebrows started to furrow, and his body began to tremble ever so slightly. The traveler let out a sigh. Oh, she should have expected him to have nightmares. The wanderer was muttering something incomprehensible, so she got a bit closer, trying to make out what he was saying.

“D-don’t…”

Oh, here it comes. What will it be?

Lumine touched his shoulder, trying to wake him from his presumed nightmare.

Will it be… “don’t hurt me”? “Don’t betray me”? “Don’t abandon me”? “Don’t—”

“Don’t stop…”

Her eyes widened. If only she looked down a bit lower, a quick glance at the bottom of his tight bodysuit would have been enough to tell just how soaked wet he was.

In fact, at some point, during her attempts at waking him up, she somehow noticed the dark spot of wetness between his legs.

A subtle smirk crept onto the golden haired traveler’s face.

He looked so irresistible, and she couldn’t stop staring. She even forgot she was trying to wake him up.

The wanderer’s squirming and tossing around only increased in frequency, finally awaking him.

He blinked once. Twice.

“Were you having a dream?” Lumine enquired innocently.

“Not your business…” he replied, looking away so that she couldn’t see his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. “How could you tell…?” He quickly added as soon as he realized he could have said or done something in his sleep.

“Call it intuition or whatever.” She shrugged. “It’s not hard to tell if someone’s dreaming if they keep making noise. Was it a bad dream? Or was it about what we discussed earlier?”

He shuddered, rolling onto his side. “Not. Your. Business.”

“I’m assuming it was?” The traveler challenged.

“I said it’s not your business.” The wanderer responded.

“How about you tell me—” He cut her off.

“How about you go to sleep and leave me alone?”

The traveler couldn’t help but chuckle at his defensive aggressivity. “Fine, fine. Goodnight Kuni.”

He didn’t say anything in response.

Lumine ignored him back and wrapped a warm blanket around herself, facing the other way. Not even a minute had passed when the wanderer softly called out to her.

“What is it?”

“Can we… share that?” He was pointing at the blanket.

“Are you sure? You don’t look like you’re cold.”

“Shut up.”

She was right, actually. She always was. He was feeling as hot as he didn’t recall ever feeling, but for some reason he wanted Lumine to be close to him, and sharing a blanket was the only way he considered. There was no way he would explicitly ask her to come closer.

She sat up, scooted closer and pulled the blanket onto him. “Sleep well.” No response again.

She lied back down, on her side, facing away from him.

The wanderer was glad she couldn’t see him squeezing his legs together and rubbing his thighs against each other, trying to get rid of the uncomfortable, hot wetness that was only growing and growing between his folds. As it grew, he noticed he was starting to breathe, loudly— he just couldn’t help it. This feeling was too much, he wanted it gone. He didn’t even need to breathe, why did it feel so necessary yet so difficult right now?

He pressed his forehead against the nape of the traveler’s neck, making her chuckle quietly. Feeling her warmth against himself was somehow relieving, but it also made his body shake with desire and want.

He muffled a groan of discomfort by covering his mouth with his hand.

“Fuck… Lumi—”

“I’m still awake, you know. Do you need something?” She sleepily muttered.

“Ugh…”

“Won’t you just tell me what’s wrong?” She insisted softly. “I can help you.”

The wanderer wanted it. So badly— but he still had his pride. He shook his head, even though Lumine was facing the other side and couldn’t see him.

She took his silence as a no, anyway. “… Alright. Goodnight again.”

“… ‘Night”, he replied this time, in a small voice. He was determined to let the overwhelming feeling go away on his own…

But a few minutes later, he couldn’t care less. He tapped her shoulder lightly, swallowed his pride and breathed out a whispery “… Help?”

The traveler sat up again, her golden eyes shining, as if she’d been waiting for that moment. She raised an eyebrow, looking at him and waiting for him to say something more.

To which the wanderer furrowed his brows and muttered something that sounded like “come on”.

“What do you want?” Lumine asked innocently, raising a brow.

“Stop talking and do something already!” He whined impatiently, forcefully grabbing one of her wrists and directing her hand to his abdomen, not daring to push it lower— maybe hoping she would do that herself. She smiled, running her fingers up to his chest instead. At her caress, his body relaxed against the thin mattress.

“Lower”, he demanded.

But she liked his chest too much to just leave it alone already. She put both of her hands to use; while one massaged his chest through his bodysuit, the other traced its way to his lower stomach, then even lower, then some more, until it was resting on his clothed sex.

As soon as he felt her touch, the wanderer inhaled sharply, his body tensing up. The hand that was caressing his upper body found a nipple and focused its attention on it, earning delicious moans from him and helping him loosen up some more. His eyes were glued to her as soon as she started moving her hand. She really was handling him with care. The combination of her touch and the embarrassment of the situation, of how she looked so serious and focused on him, was really getting to him.

The more Lumine rubbed his clit through the fabric, the more he felt the urge to strip off and expose himself for her. He struggled to remove his bodysuit, and the traveler lent him a hand as soon as she noticed. Once free of his clothing, he laid back down, putting himself on display. The traveler licked her lips.

He was completely flushed red from his face to his chest, his weakened arms resting above his head, his hardened nipples demanding more attention, his parting legs tempting her, his blue eyes silently begging her to touch him. So she did, and he whimpered imperceptibly when her hand made direct contact with his clit for the first time. Not feeling any friction, but only a somehow unsatisfying contact, he moved his hips closer to her, but much to his displeasure she withdrew her finger. He let out a soft cry. He was feeling so good, why did it have to stop already?

“Are you playing with me?” He whined, trying to sound intimidating. “If you’re only doing this to annoy me, might as well…”

He trailed off, observing her. She was giving her thumb a few licks, carefully wetting it before placing it on his engorged clit and moving in slow circles, as two fingers of her other hand held up the hood. To which the wanderer could only shut his eyes, throw his head back and let out a long “oohh…”, pleasantly surprised at just how good it felt.

He wasn’t used to this.

Her pointer finger slid down, passed his urethra and pressed against the slit. Her thumb was still working his clit, circling it at a steady pace. Feeling that she wasn’t speeding up, the wanderer complained in a breathy voice. “That’s… too slow.”

She gradually picked up the pace, lubing her finger with his juices to help it slide inside his hole. She looked at him. His eyes were tightly shut and his closed fists were grasping the blanket they were sharing earlier. She was being careful with her movements, afraid to hurt him. “Hey, Kuni. You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”, she asked, slightly tilting her head to the side.

“Not of… my own will”, he responded through clenched teeth.

Oh.

That wasn’t completely unexpected.

The traveler removed her clean hand from his body to caress his cheeks.

“I’m… sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s… nothing, really.” He gave a nod of his head to signal her to keep going from where she had stopped.

She experimentally moved her finger, but he had gotten tighter. Thinking back about what happened had apparently made him tense up again. “I, uh… I don’t want to hurt you”, Lumine stated. He looked away. He knew it would hurt if she pushed inside him right now.

Sensing his anxiety, she straddled him and softly placed a kiss on his cheek. Her right hand lightly grazed the sensitive birthmark on his higher back, as she continued leaving kisses on his face. The wanderer made a little smile, and let out soft noises and hums of pleasure, while she showered him with affection by pecking his forehead, cheeks, and even the tip of his nose.

“My— my lips too.”

“Alright.”

Complying with his request, Lumine kissed him on the lips. His lips parted, letting her tongue in as soon as he felt it prodding his mouth. She adjusted her position so that her knee was now in between his legs, and he started to roll his hips against it immediately, moaning into her mouth. The friction felt so good on his clit, and now he just wanted more, more, more.

When their lips parted, Lumine kissed his neck, softly nibbling and sucking on it, relishing in the way he tilted his head back to expose his body even further, curving himself to get her to do more, every single cell of him screaming “take me, and do whatever you want to me”. And desiring nothing more than that.

She cupped his chest with both hands and gently fondled his porcelain skin. The wanderer was breathing heavily, completely lost in the feeling of the soft skin of his neck being marked by her mouth and his sensitive nipples being stimulated this delicately. His folds started to lubricate again as he rubbed himself against her leg, hips bucking furiously. His hands feebly grasped the traveler’s golden hair, trying to push her further onto his body. He guided her where he wanted her attention, and the traveler found herself licking and suckling on a nipple. His other breast, small enough to fit in her palm, savored the traveler’s caresses. He could feel something hot churn into his lower stomach. The feeling was slowly taking over his entire body, it was like a drug, and now he needed more.

“Lumine… it feels good, ahh…”

The traveler smiled against his skin. They were making progress.

“Lumine. I think I’m ready.”

“Mhm?”

“Yes. You… won’t need to go easy on me.”

“Well, I’m still going to make this as comfortable as I can.”

He smiled imperceptibly, nothing but pure love in his eyes. He gave a slight nod of his head to encourage her. “Come inside… Lumine.”

Her finger found itself back where it was earlier, circling the hole before slowly sliding in. Her body was moving on its own, as if it was on autopilot.

“N-ngh…”

She gradually pushed her finger deeper, observing his face to make sure it wasn’t too overwhelming for him. “Is this okay?”

The wanderer nodded frantically. This felt way better than he had imagined. “More… more…” he managed to squeeze out, his voice sounding broken and hoarse. “Go deeper…” He was sweating, so much so that his skin looked a bit shiny from the moisture.

“You’ve got to call me ma’am for that”, Lumine said.

“In your dreams. I’m not calling you that,” he mumbled.

She chuckled. “I wasn’t serious, dummy.” And as proof, her finger went deeper. The wanderer instantly forgot Lumine had been teasing him.

“Oohh… nnh… just like that…”

Encouraged, the traveler kept rubbing his inner walls with care, searching for that one spot that would have her Kuni crying out in pleasure.

The wanderer was lost in a trance-like state. His ocean eyes were unfocused and teary, and a bit of drool could be spotted at the corner of his mouth.

When Lumine’s skilled lips made contact with his clit, pressing a loving kiss on it, Kuni’s eyes went wide and he whimpered slightly in surprise. He lost his composure once again when she began to give it the softest kitten licks, sloppily throwing his leg over Lumine’s shoulder, making it easier to buck his pussy right into her mouth as she licked at his hardened clit.

“Haah… ma’am, feels so good…”

The traveler could feel blood rushing to her cheeks. And her crotch.

She was feeling like his pleasure was the only purpose of her life. She lapped up all the delicious juices that came out of him, her gentle licks turning into messy and frantic sucks.

And the wanderer, oh, he was long gone. Weakly holding Lumine’s free hand, occasionally squeezing it when he felt like the pleasure was too much for his body to handle, he’d never felt as good as he was feeling now. His head thrown back in heavenly bliss, resting on the blanket he had used to lie to the traveler and get this in exchange— oh, it’d been so worth it, he kept thinking. He would have done it again and again if it meant feeling the same pleasure he was feeling now.

The traveler was so gentle with him. Did he even deserve her gentleness?

“Kuni? Are you feeling alright?”

Warm juices trickled down her chin as she lifted her head from his crotch to make sure he was okay. Placing a hand on the underside of his thigh, she waited for his nod to start eating him out again.

“I’m feeling... a little more than alright.”

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ashdreams2023 · 5 months

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Hiii i loved all your headcanons n absolutely love how all of them are so accurate!!

I was wondering if you could write a headcanon with loki dating someone who is an animator/artist? I could totally see how loki would absolutely love to model for various poses n the artist having a separate book full of loki's sketches or a loki's painting

I hope you have a great day n give this one a thought. Thank you😚

Loki x animator reader

At the beginning he thinks you only draw, like that’s it, like comics and stuff then he starts to realize how wrong he was

"Why is it moving?" "because I made it move?"

Thinks it’s the coolest thing ever

Also finds the faces you make while working are hilarious

"Stop laughing it’s for work!"

If you make him a little animation thingy boy will he replay it until you get sick of it

Loves watching your work process and constantly boost on about how you’re the best in the business

He’s the best reference you can ever have, animals, objects, people, any weird pose! He will do it all

And if he’s not feeling like it he makes one of his shadow clones do it

Once he found you art book of him he gets a little teary

"Why are you crying?" "I can’t be emotional now too?!"

Most of your sketches of him are him in his Asgardian suit and the horns, it’s just fun to do

"Draw me like one of your French girls" "titanic is overrated Loki" "hey!"

His are the perfect shape btw, sometimes you just hold it while you work to trace on the perfect lines

He thinks it’s endearing but it’s Loki "Yes yes my darling I know I’m the most perfect muse"

But in all honestly you couldn’t ask for anyone better than Loki, he might be acting like a curious toddler sometimes but he was also your number one fan and you wouldn’t change that for the world

"You drew my mother?" "Happy birthday"

And he wouldn’t dare lose you to the world

#imagine #mcu #loki laufeyson #loki #loki x reader #loki imagine #fanfic #mcu loki #loki/y/n #headcanon #loki layfeyson x reader #loki friggachild #loki friggason #loki god of mischief #loki mcu #loki layfeyson x you #loki fluff

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ridhearts · 1 year

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“Wanna Watch My Favorite Show With Me?” {Scarabia - Diasomnia}

Basically: would they watch ghost hunting shows with you?

Ever since I watched my first episode of ghost adventures, I've been an avid fan. I know it's not real but I just have so much fun turning out the lights and watching these ghost hunters roam around and "talk to ghosts." I have such a fun time!!!

Also I know ghosts exist in twst but when they say "it's not real" think of it as them saying that the shows aren't actually talking to ghosts/that's not how ghosts act/etc. Ghosts just being your friends kind of throws off the vibe of ghost shows but i'm just trying to have fun ok

!! information !!

characters: kalim + jamil / vil + rook + epel / idia + ortho (platonic) / malleus + lilia + silver + sebek

reader: gn!

cw: none

masterlists ⇿ requests

Part One (Heartslabyul - Octavinelle)

• • • • • • • Kalim Al-Asim

"Hey Kalim, do you wanna-" "YES."

Had no idea what you were going to propose but said yes immediately anyway because, in Kalim's humble opinion, you have THE BEST ideas. It takes a while to get him to stop bouncing in his seat and confirm that he's down to watch a potentially scary ghost show. He still says yes!!

Kalim is the type of guy to get scared every. time. at anything even remotely paranormal but still go back and try to watch it again. However, he has a brief moment of clarity and, when Jamil asks with a huff why he's hauling so much junk food to his room, Kalim only answers that he's watching a show with you. Jamil knows something is up but decides to leave it be- "and if you forget about the food in there and get bugs, you're cleaning up the mess."

Kalim kinda spaces out during the first half of the show. He talks to you a few times, but if you prefer to watch then he'll get the hint and munch on popcorn or play with your hair or something. (Yes he wipes his hands first! He cares u 😊)

During the scary part, though, after jumping far more times than he's ready to admit, Kalim ends up clutching a pillow and curled into your side, hiding his face and peeking out. You ask him what's going on - it's not like it's a slasher film and there's a chase scene going on - but then the investigators "capture a shadow figure" and suddenly Kalim is curled into you again.

Unless you want Jamil pissed that Kalim bothered him because he was scared, you're spending the night. Kalim, for as scared as he is, falls asleep relatively fast. You're stuck in his arms for the night btw - if you get up for water, Kalim WILL wake up and follow you silently, only to scare you so YOU'RE the one screaming in fear and waking up the dorm.

• • • • • • • Jamil Viper

At first, Jamil doesn't have much of a reaction. He doesn't care much for what's on television these days (not that he has any time to watch it anyway) and ghosts just don't intrigue him like that. However, it's an excuse to get away from Kalim, and he really does appreciate the moments he gets to spend with you. A quiet moment of quality time is hardly a horrible way to spend the evening.

Jamil can sit and watch quietly, but you wind up only half paying attention to the show and talking about your day with him. If you're really curious about the ghost stories, he'll remember the location so you can look it up together later.

The investigation itself is much the same, but you both pay a little more attention to it just because it's more interesting. If you wanna poke fun, that's fine. Jamil finds your wit charming. However, if you're more the gullible type…

He's planning ways to scare you. 100%. Jamil is stealthy and he knows Ramshackle like the back of his hand at this point. He'll be able to make a room more draft, send papers fluttering, or open every cabinet in the kitchen without you even realizing he left. And if that means that he has to tell Kalim he'll be staying longer than intended and just turn his ringer on so he can keep YOU safe…well, then, that's just the way it'll have to be, hm?

• • • • • • • Vil Schoenheit

See…Vil wants to narrow his eyes at you and scoff at your childish taste in entertainment. But…with a schedule as busy as his, he tends to jump at any opportunity to spend time with you. Far be it from him to miss out on some quality time just because you want to watch a bad movie or something.

It does come with a catch, though - you're having a mini spa day while you watch. Face masks, dry hair treatments, foot masks, painting each other's nails…that's all stuff you can do while watching a show, right? He'll make smoothies for the two of you, even if you've already had one today, as a treat :)

If you want to actually watch the show, he'll keep his voice low and do his best not to keep your head turned away from the screen for too long while he applies your face mask. If you don't mind idle conversation, though, he'll happily fill in any boring spaces with some conversation.

In fact, he'll even pause the show if you get too involved in a conversation and by the time you actually finish the show, what's this? It's rather late…hm, well this was meant to be a surprise, but he does have a new set of pajamas for you. Why don't you stay the night?

Won't try to scare you on purpose, but he does look like a ghost with his white robe and white scrub mask…when you scream after happening upon him, he'll just mime rubbing his temple (so he doesn't get the mask all over his hands) and wonder why he always manages to scare people like this…

• • • • • • • Rook Hunt

He'll blink at you once, twice, undoubtedly wondering why you care about fake ghosts when you're friends with real ghosts, but then he'll throw caution to the wind and say "But of course! Fret not, mom coeur, for I will protect you!"

Hopefully you invited Rook over for a Halloween Special on a chilly night, because he is very warm and will not stand for being anywhere except glued to your side. True to his most obvious eccentricities, he can find enjoyment in any part of the show; the local legends people are sharing, the eerie abandoned buildings, whatever! Rook wouldn’t get scared even if he believed in the ghost ‘evidence,’ but he can pretend he believes in the ‘evidence’ and have a fun time!

He might try to scare you a few times, but it’ll end up more as play chase around the house until he inevitably catches you. However, if you’re scared, Rook won’t demean you, of course! He said he’d protect you and he’ll keep his word until he dies. You may not have reason to fear, but the real ghosts living in Ramshackle are steering clear from Rook for the night, just to be safe.

• • • • • • • Epel Felmier

Heheheheh, you’re asking him because you’re scared, ain’t ya? You can agree or insist that you’re not, but Epel’s already got it in his head that this is another chance for him to prove how manly he is!

He absolutely expects lots of snacks. Being invited to Ramshackle gives him a rare opportunity to eat whatever he wants without Vil’s interference! If he has any extreme requests he’ll definitely pay you back/give you the money to get it, but by now you should have some of his favorite staples in the cabinet, right?

Honestly…I can see him falling for any jumpscares, but he doesn’t get scared at the show itself? He’s convinced it’s baby stuff and now that he knows the Ramshackle ghosts, there’s not much for him to be afraid of! If you’re scared, he won’t find out until he actually calls the show baby stuff, but he feels bad immediately after and tries his best to comfort you! It’s a bit awkward, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

Vil probably didn’t give him authorization to stay the night. But if you’re really scared…Epel supposes he can deal with a ridiculous punishment in exchange for some more time with you. (Rook, while supervising his punishment, will croon over the things people do for love, purposely flustering Epel for his own entertainment.)

• • • • • • • Idia Shroud

E-eh?! You’re…inviting him to do something? With you?? (So you remembered……..the two of you really are dating and it wasn’t an elaborate dream…)

He’ll sigh and mutter something about “normie shows,” but since you’re willing to listen about his interests, he can indulge you once a week to watch a ghost show. His room has the perfect ambience for that sort of thing, too: dimly lit from all the monitors and glowing trinkets, but the overhead light is never one. There’s plenty of cushions and blankets to cuddle up with, too…

He doesn’t get scared. At all. He’s played horror games scarier than what’s on screen. But he doesn’t say anything and listens if you have anything to say while it plays!

…Or, he half-listens. Honestly, he couldn’t say anything negative about the show if he wanted to. He’s instead suddenly realized how close the two of you are and how smoothly he suggested you sit this close and you readily agreed and - suddenly you’re watching your ghost show bathed in a flustered pink lighting.

This does give him an idea, though….wanna play whatever the TWST version of phasmophobia is later?

• • • • • • • Ortho Shroud (Platonic)

“Ghost hunters? But I can bring up many sources that debunk the evidence on those kinds of shows-”

Even if he doesn’t particularly care for the idea of ghosts, he’s excited to be invited!!! Ok, you need to tell him that the charm is in having fun and pretending this is a real phenomenon, but once that’s out of the way he’s totally excited to spend time with you! Should he ask Idia to come along, too?

Ortho probably doesn’t need to study what makes the show scary, but he will study how scary you find it. He’s subtly tracking your heart rate and other vitals, trying to see if they jump at anything or if your fear centers in your brain activate at the scary voices. He’s just curious!

Hopefully, you don’t get super scared by the show. If he has to leave and you’re shaking, he’ll feel really bad. Don’t worry, Prefect, you LIVE with ghosts! They’re nice! You’ll be fine!

• • • • • • • Malleus Draconia

!!! As expected, he’s pleased as punch to participate in whatever manner of recreation you want to introduce to him. However, he must first ask, whatever is wrong with your typical evening walks? You haven’t grown bored of them, have you?

He teleports to Ramshackle exactly when you told him to arrive. Even though you told him he could dress comfortably, he’s still in his school uniform. You feel terribly underdressed, and wonder for a moment if perhaps the nice, tailored, standard school uniform really IS the most comfortable and least expensive item he owns. If you try to say you feel underdressed, he’s quick to say that you look as stunning as always. Considering you’re wearing an old pair of sweatpants from the school lost and found, you doubt his judgment but don’t say anything about it.

LOVES the show if they’re in some old building. He’ll be staring in awe at the architecture and silently listing places he wants to visit for himself. He also thinks it’d be fun to roam around the places at night. It’s 50/50 on whether or not he understands that the screen is green because of night vision - if he doesn’t, he’s probably imagining a firefly-lit walk w you <3 in a haunted penitentiary

I feel like this would be the first time Malleus has experienced such a casual date. He’ll sit still as stone and be super tense, as if he’s taking some sort of etiquette test. If you lean on him, he’ll make you comfortable! But he acts as if he hasn’t been on a date with you before at first.

Wouldn’t dream of scaring you on purpose!.......the first time. But when Lilia brings it up and points out that Malleus could then play the part of your protector…maybe he suddenly decides he wants to watch the next episode with you, too.

• • • • • • • Lilia Vanrouge

Is IMMEDIATELY down. Definitely intends to laugh at all the shenanigans on screen.

He’s bringing over a mountain of snacks for the two of you to share! And besides, if he’s already hanging out with you, why not add a few movies to the mix and make the night a full entertainment binge fest!

Isn’t specifically interested in the history or anything, though he will pepper in some facts and “correct” the people on screen when they’re wrong. Choosing to trust him is a gamble, but then again, so was pursuing him romantically…

Absolutely does laugh at the dramatics while they’re investigating the building. It’s hard to be scared when he’s having the time of his life right next to you, but maybe that’s a good thing if you’re normally the skittish type?

Except…he’s definitely spooking you after the show (and the extra movies he brought) are over. Most of the time he just goes for a classic jumpscare, but you’re almost certain he’s opening doors and windows he knows you’ll walk by or breathing down the back of your neck. Still…watching the movies made him stay pretty late, so maybe he wouldn’t mind spending the night…?

• • • • • • • Silver

Sure :) Anything you want! Although, there’s no guarantee he won’t fall asleep during the show…

Silver might try to stay awake by downing as much soda as you have on hand, or engaging you in light conversation while the investigators are learning the history of the building. He’s paying attention, and he doesn’t want to interrupt your show! He just wants to stay awake since it was something you wanted to share with him

If you want to focus, he agrees…and totally does fall asleep moments later. He didn’t mean to! He was just relaxed next to you, is all!

He still feels bad, but if you forgive him, Silver will try to let it go that he fell asleep on your date again. But, to make it up for you, he’ll stay as long as you’d like and protect you if you’re scared!

…you’re not? Oh. Then…he’s still pretty tired, actually. Why don’t you both just fall asleep right here?

• • • • • • • Sebek Zigvolt

WHAT FOOLISH THINGS ARE YOU FILLING YOUR BRAIN WITH DURING YOUR PRECIOUS SPARE TIME, HUMAN?!?

Even if you’ve been dating for a while, Sebek finds it difficult to just…accept your invitation. He has to do it under a guise of “making sure you aren’t filling your mind with useless information,” or “ensuring you keep to a reasonable sleep schedule.”

Still, once you actually get him to Ramshackle, he mellows out fairly quickly. I mean, he’s still the same old mildly-ridiculous Sebek that you know in love, but he isn’t going to push you away when you purposely sit right next to him and lean into him before the show even starts. You really do have no shame…

Sebek watches with rapt attention, not wanting to interrupt your show. The only time he’ll interject is if you’re saying something to him, or if the show says something that contradicts one of Lilia’s obviously true facts that he’s told Sebek. Other than that, he’s way more invested than you thought he’d be.

Listen. Sebek is a brave knight (or will be), but he’s also very gullible. He’s probably going to wind up falling for all the shows’ tricks and “evidence.” However, that’s not going to stop him from going around your dorm like he’s scared something will jump out at him! Of course not!

Ignore the fact that he pushes you behind him as you walk from room to room. It’s sweet that he’s protecting you, if you can hold in your laughter over there being nothing to protect you from.

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imagrindylow · 11 months

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Amit taking it up the ass and being a big whimpering mess plz. Btw love your stuff 🥵❤️

Ahh, this is my very first request! Thanks for sending it! I hope this is what you wanted and that you like it! I'll admit, I was pretty out of my element writing for Amit for the first time. So I hope I did him justice!

Seeing Stars

Amit Thakkar / m!Reader 2k Words

Content Warnings: 18+ Explicit Content; Anal fingering and sex. ~~~

You couldn’t count the number of times you and Amit laid in the grass outside the castle grounds, veiled in the shadows of the night, under the stars. The two of you would frequently spend hours laying, staring at the vast sky above, just talking about life, your respective dreams, goals and desires... Everything. He was your person, and you were his, in every sense of the word. It had been that way since midway through fifth year. Amit fell first, and fell hard, going out of his way to make a good first impression on you, his curious nature and desire to learn drew him to you and the extraordinary story of your arrival to school immediately, and well, the rest was history.

Breaking curfew to stargaze was just about the only rule you could ever convince Amit to break anymore, but that was enough for you nowadays, late into your seventh year. You realized as you grew closer to him that you’d much rather spend your time wrapped safely in his arms than off fighting in the forest.

You relished in the warmth of his embrace, as you laid under the stars with him on this late fall night. The heat of his soft breath on your neck as he nuzzled against you while you laid on your back, small telescope to your right eye, and one arm slung around his shoulder, brought you comfort like nothing else could.

But that same feeling, his gentle exhale, his every softly spoken comment about the constellations above, also stirred something within you that was growing increasing difficult to contain. You could feel your cock twitch as goosebumps rose on your arms at the sensation. You wanted him. Desperately.

You inhaled deeply before setting the telescope down at your side and rolling towards Amit, your cheek brushing his as he scooted back to accommodate your new position.

He rolled to his back, extending his hand your direction, expecting you to pass him the telescope. “I would like to take another look, if you’re finished with it for now.” He said sweetly.

You took his hand in yours, bringing his knuckles to your lips and pressing a soft kiss there. “I’d like for you to see stars.” You told him, still holding his hand, your thumb brushing over his knuckles. “But you won’t be needing a telescope to see what I’d like to show you.”

Amit furrowed his brows, confused on exactly what you meant, he opened his mouth to speak but before he could, you dropped his hand and pulled him close, gripping his hip and bringing his body against yours. You pressed a kiss to his neck and rocked your hips towards him, nudging your erection against his thigh.

Even in the dark, the moon and stars providing the only light around you, you could see his eyes go wide at the realization. You knew that would have gotten your point across.

“Oh… Well, I… I believe I would like that, too.” Amit whispered, his voice unsteady.

You leaned up and over him, kissing his lips deeply, trailing your hand up his chest and to the clasp of his robe, unfastening it. Amit slid his arms from the wide sleeves, and wrapped his arms around your neck, bringing you closer and returning your kiss with fervor. You worked his tie, loosening it with one hand and supporting your weight over him on your other arm. You undid the buttons of his shirt slowly, and let it fall open at his sides. You trailed your kisses from his lips down his chin and throat while your hand roamed the exposed skin of his chest, eliciting a breathy groan from the other boys lips.

You sat up and hurriedly lost your robe and pulled your sweater off over your head, then made quick work of your own tie and buttons. Amit took the chance to finish removing his button down. You chuckled as you both finished undressing. Amit laid back once more, atop his robe, over the grass. He was so excited, but as he laid there and watched you making your way towards him, his chest tightened, the reality of the situation setting in. This was really happening, his first time.

You laid your body over his, a wide grin on your face and your heart racing in your chest. You laid your hand over his chest, holding his eye contact and feeling his heart pounding with as much excitement as yours was.

Amit opened his mouth, but again his words failed him. You could practically hear his breath catch, he laid a hand over yours on his chest, he was anxious, having you know just the effect you were having on him. He took a deep breath and you could feel his body shudder beneath you.

“I…” He trailed off, a soft smile playing on his face.

You took one of his hands and held it to your chest. “My heart’s racing, too.” You assured him, leaning down to kiss him gently. You could feel Amit’s hands coming to cup the back of your neck, his fingers burying into your hair and gently rubbing your scalp.

You deepened the kiss, licking over his bottom lip before taking it between your teeth gently and sucking it into your mouth before releasing it with a pop. Amit whimpered against your lips, his hands tightening in your hair.

The sweet noises he was making only drove your desire for him further. You trailed kisses across his jaw and down his neck, you slid a hand between the two of your bodies, until you found his length, taking it into your palm. You could feel Amit’s body tense up under your touch.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” You whispered softly against his next, removing your hand then lifting your body up a bit to meet his eyes.

Amit nodded, enthusiastically, even not wanting you to get the wrong idea. “I’m nervous. But I do, I want it. I trust you.”

“I’ll take care of you, then.” You promised, stroking back his hair.

You hummed, kissing his lips, more tenderly this time, and your hand found him again, your fingers wrapping around his tip, slick with precum. You thumbed at it, and teased him, wanting to make him feel good, and to loosen up.

Little by little he started to unwind and relax beneath you, his hands wandering the bare skin of your shoulders and back, giving you chills in the cool evening air. He ground his hips upward against your body, seeking out that friction, pressing himself harder against your palm, with the faintest smirk on his face.

“Ready then, eh?” You asked him, anticipation burning both in your eyes and at your groin. You released your hold on him, running knuckle across his jaw.

“I’m ready.” He smiled up at you, leaning into your gentle touch.

You sat back reaching to the side, fumbling through the pile of your robes, and pulled your wand and the bottle of wiggenweld you always carried on you out from your pocket. Amit watched you, puzzled and intrigued, as you flicked your wand at the bottle and the liquid turned from green to clear.

“That was very impressive, and very practical!” Amit was thoroughly impressed with your little bit of transfiguration. A little trick you developed, to make your life easier awhile ago.

You chuckled, a look of adoration on your face for that adorable little nerd as you shuffled back over to him, small bottle in hand. He parted his legs for you and you fell into place between them comfortably. You quickly uncorked the bottle, spilling the slippery liquid onto your fingers and coating them. You lowered yourself down over him once again, your lips finding his, the kiss was short and sweet. You rest your forehead against his, your slick fingers teasing him, circling his entrance. You raised a brow in a silent ask for approval and were met with a subtle nod from him. You slowly and steadily pressed a finger inside, immediately feeling his body squirm under you.

Amit’s face was flushed, cheeks hot to the touch against your lips, as you whispered encouragements to him. He had his arms around your neck, keeping you close as your finger toyed with him. You worked slowly, putting pressure on just the right spot until his sounds shifted from sharp little inhales to unmistakably pleasured whines. You added another digit and kept up your work, getting him ready to take it all.

You were surprised at how quickly you had this typically well spoken and proper boy mewling, lips quivering, body writhing under your touch. His dark eyes pierced yours, widening in a plea for more. You withdrew your fingers and sat back, finally taking your aching cock into your hand, spreading your precum over your tip with your thumb and pumping against your still slick fingers for a moment. You pressed your head to his entrance, slowly giving him an inch at a time.

You had never heard Amit curse until this very moment, a low broken whimper of of “O-Ohh… f-fuck! Ummfff…” It sounded entirely unnatural to be falling from his lips. He gripped around your shoulders, staring up at you with parted lips. You smirked and pressed forward the rest of the way into him, and just like that you were lost in this moment with him. Not a single other thought in your head besides how fucking good it felt to make him crumble like this, and not to mention how good it sounded.

You took up a steady pace, moving against him with increasing force, encouraged by his strings of drawn out moans and gasps. “You feel so good, Amit.” You whispered against his neck before leaving kisses there.

Amit whined through gritted teeth as you thrust against him over and over. His cheek was pressed to yours as you nuzzled your head against him and you felt a dampness there. Was he crying? You sat back a bit, trying to get a good look at him but is was so dark.

You slowed your pace down and spoke softly, “Amit, are you-” He cut you off, not interested to hear your concern. He was fine – desperate and losing himself and maybe tearing up a little at the overwhelmingly beautiful sensation of it all, something he had never felt before that was fulfilling him in a way he never thought possible – but he was fine. “Just keep going, please, please give it to me.” He whimpered, pulling you close.

Well, that was certainly all you needed to hear. You got your pace back to where it was and you fucked him with a renewed sense of purpose, until his fingertips were digging into your shoulders, his mouth agape and filling the ambient night with sounds of his sinful cries, until the sensation got too much for him to bear. He came, making a mess of himself and your stomach,

Your release followed immediately after, those delicious sounds and the needy way he clung to your body, sending you over the edge. You cursed out in pleasure and pulled back from him after finishing, and let your body lay over his, holding him tight, and him returning the affection. You kissed his forehead.

“That was wonderful.” Amit praised you, breathlessly, his fingers winding through your hair once again, as he stared back up at the night sky.

“You were wonderful, Amit.” You grinned and kissed his cheek, rolling off of him and laying at his side, taking his hand and squeezing it.

Amit reached over to the side, where his little telescope had rolled at some point during your activities. He put it to his eye again, taking in the sights above for a moment before lowering his hands and holding the device across his stomach. “You know, I think I preferred the stars you showed me.” He said with a cheeky smirk.

You raised a brow and leaned over to catch his eyes. “That is quite the compliment, coming from you. I’m very flattered. Thank you."

#hogwarts legacy smut #hogwarts legacy fan fiction #m!reader #male reader #amit thakkar #amit thakkar x mc #amit thakkar x you #amit thakkar x reader #amit thakkar smut

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misscarnivalofcarnage · 1 year

Text

SFW Alphabet: Jerome Valeska

,,I‘m more than a man. I‘m an idea, a philosophy. And I will live on in the shadows, within Gotham‘s discontent“

This is so corny o my god

A= Affection

How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?

Okay so of all the metaphorical rock stars you could meet in Gotham, Jerome's da choice if you're looking for someone to give you a lot of affection

One way he uses to show you his affection is physical contact. He loves to kiss and hug his S/O. Especially in public, he likes to wrap his arms very tightly around your waist to spread kissies all over your face

Moreover this man wastes no opportunity to tell you & others how great you are. He is thrilled with you, worshippes the ground you walk on and has zero shame in admitting it

If you like to be given gifts, he would also fulfill those wishes, even if he can't really relate to that, in view of the fact that he simply prefers physical closeness over material things

B= Best Friend

What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?

Your friendship started either in Arkham or in the circus:

• You came to his attention in Arkham. Either he's heard a lot about you and you're entertaining enough to keep around , or you've been otherwise interesting and made him curious

• You approached him in the circus. Maybe you saw that he was beaten up by his mother and felt sorry for him, so you decided to take him under your wing

No matter what option it has been, you're now part of Jerome‘s plans and you better take part in them because bores are not appreciated. Be prepared to be dragged into dangerous shit and watch your buddy slap his ass in goofy suits before swinging it on a cannon to kill an orphan

C= Cuddles

Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?

Aw hell yes. Since his Love-Language is physical contact, he likes nothing better than to lie in the, in his eyes, godlike arms of his S/O. It gives him a feeling of warmth and love, feelings he has been missing all his life. He feels a sense of security to be so close to you

Jerome’s probably the type of guy that likes to lay on his S/O to rest his head on their chest.

Preferably, they crawl through his red hair, too

But, however, he wouldn't mind turning it around so that you can lay their head on his chest

Apart from that, he likes to grab you by the waist to pull you onto his lap. Now you‘re sitting on his lap, which is btw obligatory

D= Domestic

Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?

No, that probably wouldn't be possible, at least not in Gotham. Thanks to his insanely long criminal record, you'd never be able to stay in the same place for long and would have to move frequently. Besides, he's not used to living in one place for more than a few weeks, since he grew up in a circus

Yet in the places where you would live, living together would be surprisingly pleasant. At least as far as the household is concerned

(As I’m not sure whether you would find the dragging of hostages and corpses very funny)

His mother was away time and time again for nights on end, which made him have to take care of himself once in a while for years. As well this kid was condemned to take care of the dishes while his begetter was banged by a clown next door or to take care of giant elephant crap in the very very freezing winter

So he is used to cooking and cleaning

However, my incredibly professional advice would be, to not leave him unattended in a kitchen. Relying on him to clean up messes is also something to avoid

Nevertheless cooking together so that someone has an eye on which buttons he pushes, on the other hand, is something that might even be fun

E= Ending

If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do that?

Depending on his reasoning, he‘ll act

If you've become boring, he'll distance himself from you further until you hear nothing more from him personally. Or he simply makes off straight away

As a substitute he decides to make sure you’re fun again by making a pig of you in front of his cult

But if you betrayed him, he'd probably give you a clean shot in the head. On the one hand as a short-circuit reaction, on the other because you were important to him. Alternatively he would be so merciful and forgive you after abundant psychological punishments

F= Fiance(e)

How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?

Since he‘s head over heels about you, he sees nearly ridiculous many advantages in a wedding and would have no doubts about it

You‘d share a last name (preferably his), you would wear his, stolen from a jeweler, ring and you'd be officially his. What more could he possibly want?

(Needless to say that he couldn’t be more indifferent to the legal benefits)

If it were up to him, you could marry him almost right away. He believes that what you have is special and that it will last forever, so why not seal this thing?

G= Gentle

How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?

Physically, he'd be quite cautious at first, but would squeeze tighter and tighter over time when he hugs you. Seeing as when he wants physical contact, he wants it as tight as possible. Very tight. The kind of tight where you struggle with breathing

Emotionally, you're safe with him when you feel like a piece of trash. He'll want to cheer you up, offer himself for a hug, after all he knows how it feels to be alone

He wouldn't even hesitate if something bigger was needed, such as huge fireworks or another terrorist act

Jerome tries his best to be emotionally gentle. After being abused all his life, he’s used to suppressing his feelings, only to explode at some point, which he tries to avoid with you

But in any case, it‘s certain that he would never raise his hand against you

H= Hugs

Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?

Oh definitely. Physical contact is very important to him and he won‘t let it be taken away

As I mentioned in the column above, he loves tight hugs. As soon as he has the chance, he’ll wrap his arms around you and hug you TIGHTLY from behind. Or very TIGHTLY from the front. Or he'll pick you up TIGHTLY and start spinning around

He also insists that he is the one to break up the hug, which he sometimes really takes his time to do

I= I love you

How fast do they say the L-Word?

He says what he thinks, and that includes when it comes to tell you how he feels

Once he is aware of his feelings, he wouldn‘t hesitate to tell you that he loves you. On the contrary, he would like nothing better

My man would also have no problem telling not only you, but all of Gotham about it. I mean he wouldn't brand "I LOVE YOU, YN!!!!" into Gotham's skyscrapers, that's too corny for him, but there‘s no universe where he would deny it

J= Jealousy

How jealous do they get? What do they do when they‘re jealous?

Once you've entered his sight picture and he has decided that he wants you, he sees you as his

And it's really not hard to tell that he's not going to share you with anyone

His jealousy can take on enormous proportions, to the point that he'll do anything to keep you all for himself

Not like his brother, he wouldn’t plan ahead to get his competition out of the way. He would solve the dilemma like a reasonable, grown ass man

Very publicly and very dramatically

His target will be stalked, humiliated and killed in a hella twisted way

No matter how he ends up doing it, on TV, at an interrupted live concert, or a captured circus, he‘ll make damn sure you see it

K= Kisses

What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?

He kisses his S/O everywhere. Cheek, temples, hairline, neck, shoulders and, of course, lips

A French kiss with him will probably take some getting used to, as he probably drools an incredible amount

He loves to be kissed on the hairline and on the cheek (especially after having his face cut off). Apart from that, he also loves to be kissed on the lips

And of course on his di-

L= Little ones

How are they around children?

Thanks to his childish nature, he is good with kids. He would love to play with them, watch cartoons and make jokes

Children would love him, too, until his first death. The sewn-on face would prob freak them out

I wouldn't say that he would be a good father, because I consider the methods of education that he would use to be more than questionable and would show dangerous, violent psychopaths as results, but who am I to judge

M= Morning

How are mornings spent with them?

Jerome's a ball of pure energy, thus he doesn't need much sleep, which is why he wakes up early. He def won’t wait for you to wake up by yourself, since he'll be bored soon afterwards. Instead, he’ll kiss you awake, hit you with a pillow or jerk you until you finally open your pretty eyes

When he's done with that and you're awake, he’ll either hold you against his chest or kiss you (either very gently, or very intimately to get you to sleep with him)

I'd say that he's the type of person who doesn't eat in the morning before getting ready, so preparing a huge breakfast wouldn‘t make sense

N= Night

How are nights spent with them?

Surprisingly relaxing when he's not busy turning Gotham into a giant madhouse

Before you go to sleep, which you never do without each other btw, you two watch his name constantly popping up on the TV news or play some video games. But when it's time to go to sleep, you listen to him talk about his plans for what feels like hours while you drift off in his arms

O= Open

When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait to reveal things slowly?

Obviously, he has no trouble admitting in front of a bunch of people that he was abused by his mother and dragged around the country with a circus (which he apparently thought was pretty ass), so it won't be any different for you

However, there‘ll be things that he wouldn’t tell you. Like his brother, for example. It'll take some time for him to reveal that, if at all

But other than that, there's probably invariably little he wouldn't tell you. In any case, he is anything but a private person

P= Patience

How easily angered are they?

As I said before, he bottles up his anger to the point where he explodes. That can have many causes:

Did you upset him? Has he been confronted with his childhood? Is someone using you to get to him?

Then, when it comes to his explosion, they can get pretty violent. Even if he didn't hurt physically you, it'd become extremely uncomfortable, even for you

In the meantime, he's no longer so prone to getting extremely angry. He either laughs his penis off or destroys whatever is a thorn in his side, before he‘s really starting to worry

Q=Quizzes

How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?

He remembers everything

Everything

No matter what you’ve said or done, he'll remember it. Unfortunately, this also applies to the embarrassing stuff that you did in his presence. He won‘t forget em either

More likely he‘ll remind you every time it comes into his head

R= Remember

What is their favorite moment in your relationship?

Besides the moments when you guys made a mad mess, he also likes to remember simpler, formative moments in your relationship

Since the rest of this post is already so hella corny, it doesn't make a difference now anyway, fuck it, so let’s just say he likes to remember your first kiss, your first meeting and the day he asked you out

If I'm honest, he also likes his memories where you were intimate. If I'm being even more honest, he thinks about them all the time

S= Security

How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?

I don't think he expects you to protect him. But he‘d kinda enjoy it

If you put yourself in enormous danger, he would melt, but wouldn't find it very funny. If you were to help him out with a small argument, things would be different. THAT would be funny

Jerome doesn't take you out to protect him, but it's obviously vice versa with you. He suffers from jealousy, but doesn't feel like he has to isolate you to protect. His presence is enough to keep creeps off your back. I mean, He is Jerome Valeska, he has a name in Gotham. But if that's not enough, he doesn’t mind taking care of the problem another way

T= Try

How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?

Whatever you like and also suits his taste will be done. He spares no effort, no breaking of the law, and no dead ppl

He has a thousand ideas, which makes the difficulty of making a decision his only problem

While he would appreciate suggestions, he prefers the ideas to come only from his head. He wants to take care of special occasions, and will make sure it's a blast

U= Ugly

What would be some bad habits of theirs?

Shittily, he has little understanding if you're not keen on being in the spotlight

I mean he’s a showman, obviously!

Even if he naturally wants to be the star of his show, there's certainly some room for you too, so once he makes it back on stage, he'll make sure you're by his side. On stage, in front of all his followers cheering and applauding for the two of you

Apart from that, living with him will be more than nerve-wracking. Chaos, he constantly seeks your attention and behaves like a violent child

V= Vanity

How concerned are they with their looks?

I must admit that I don't quite agree with the headcanon that all his self-confidence is fake, since many sociopaths are eventually confident to a whole different degree

He's aware that he’s a fucking smoke show.

Doesn't mean that the thing with his face didn't bother him even a little. After a while he came to terms with the fact that he had to staple his face on for a while so he wouldn't lose it, but by now he's cool with it

W= Whole

Would they feel incomplete without you?

You're probably the most important part of his life. Without the first and only person who really loved him for who he is, took care of him and made him feel safe & understood, he'd know he was missing somethin

He’d no longer have anyone to talk to, who would let him get close and with whom he could enjoy a nice life together

Especially because he knows he wouldn't find a replacement anywhere that could fill the void you leave behind

So yea, he would

X= Extra

A random headcanon for them

He was one of those kids who wasn't allowed to drink Coke or other drinks that contained too much sugar

Caffeinated substances and too many sweets made him hyperactive, and if he had friends for a sleepover, he would have gone off like Missy in Big Mouth, would he have consumed one of these

Y= Yuck

What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner

Uhhhhhh

Aside from a boring one, there would be another S/O who is too obsessed with him. Don't get me wrong: he loves it when you show him off and are head over heels with him, however he doesn't want to be controlled and manipulated

Needless to say that he does not want to be spanked by his partner. Neither just like that (okay well who would want that) nor if it’s something sexual

Z= ZZZ

What is a sleep habit of theirs?

He sleeps restlessly and moves incredibly much. He also laughs and talks in his sleep

I can't decide if he's a light sleeper so one wrong move is enough to wake him up, or if he's such a deep sleeper you could hit him with a golf club until he doesn't wake up at all lol

#Gotham #gotham headcanons #jerome valeska #dc #sfw #swf alphabet

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krystaldeath · 1 year

Note

Headcanons for Shadowpeach being Bai He’s dad’s please? (You can do it for your au where that happens if you want to btw, though you can also do it in a sort of canon scenario where the two adopt Bai He after making up or something)

Ahh I haven’t done anything for my au in a while so I’ll do that!

* So in the beginning Wukong was a bit hesitant to get too close to them, since he and Macaque don’t have the greatest history, but one day he saves Bai He from almost falling off a cliff when she was running around with the baby monkeys (the monkeys (both the babies and Mac & SWK) had heart attacks but it’s ok-) and she started to want to play with him more. So he became close to her before he and Mac patched things up and became lovers again

* Bai He likes to wear her hair in two buns on the side of her head. When Wukong one day finally asks why, she stops playing with her dolls and says, “Because it makes my shadow look like a monkey like my baba and papa!” with the biggest smile on her face. She immediately turned away to start playing again so she doesn’t see her fathers both clutching their hearts and crying their eyes out

* She calls Macaque Baba and Wukong Papa

* Bai He knows that her dads have a history together, and she figures out some things when she’s older by looking them up in books/on the internet. She keeps her knowing a secret because she’s afraid that if she brings it up her family will fall apart. Dw they all talk it out eventually but there’s a long period of time where she has this insecurity

* Groom/Braid train! Bai He in front getting her hair brushed, cleaned and braided by one of her dads while the other does the same to him. Mac is surprised that Wukong is actually pretty good at braiding (Wukong takes mock offense to his mate thinking he would suck at it; Bai He just giggles at her dads’ banter)

* Self projecting the little “Oo-Ooh~!” Id do whenever I saw my parents kiss when I was younger onto Bai He

* When she’s hanging out with the Traffic Light Trio for the Big Sis/Big Bro thing she has to hold back so much bc of MK’s rambling over Moneky King. “That’s my papa. He’s talking about my papa and I can’t even say anything about it. WAIT MY PAPA DID /W H A T/????” This is how she gets her Dad Lore™️, much like a lot of us (I assume or maybe this is just me-): From a person who isn’t her dad. In case you’re curious my mom is my Dad Lore supplier usually. Macaque probably tells her the stuff not usually talked about in stories though. “Oh yeah he was an idiot (affectionate). Still is but-“

* Macaque puts on shadow plays for her all the time, especially before bed. She asks for her favorite story and Mac gets flustered bc Wukong is watching too. “Th-the Hero and The Warrior were like the… the Sun and the Moon-” “Oho, were they now~?” “Papa, shh! Baba, please continue!”(It’s a bit of an edited version of the story from the Shadowplay episode, dw, he’s not putting his daughter to bed with a story about betrayal and heartbreak)

* Big timeskip here but after the events of season 3 (oh boy once I get the basics of this au out and can finally get into the shows timeline with it, yall aren’t ready for the angst), they all have some white in their hair. The family have “Hair Dye Days” where they all dye said white either their natural hair color or a fun unnatural color. Usually it’s just Bai He who does the unnatural colors (like pink or red; red is to match her dads :3), but sometimes Mac will dye his purple and Wukong will dye his teal/turquoise (I do Not know which one is the one he often has as his accent color but it’s gotta be one of the other. Probably)

* Last one for now bc this is getting long: Wukong is a living space heater. Macaque and Bai He will just cuddle up to him on each side and he has to try not to cry bc he’s been alone for so long, with only the baby monkeys to keep him company, and now he has a daughter and a husband and his touch starved self is gonna burst from how much love is in his soul now

#lego monkie kid #lmk headcanon #lmk au #bonds that bind us au #shadowpeach #lmk bai he #lmk sun wukong #lmk six eared macaque #not to sound like a broken record but sorry this took a week for me to respond #couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to word the first thing and so I was unable to carry on with the rest #word heavy #I swear Tumblr makes my rambling look like so much less than the notes app does #still a lot but now I feel like I didn’t put enough #oh well hope you enjoy!!!#i seriously have got to make more posts about this AU #maybe some art too… maybe #someone give me motivation lol

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madamxrose · 2 years

Note

Hi! This is my first time asking and am really nervous. Take as long as you need! :) My request is a Tanjiro x reader which the reader uses siren breathing but the problem is the reader has extreme social issues can it be fluff? Tysm :) (take your time btw)

♡ Word Count: 910

♡ Warnings: contains the reader confronting social anxiety and occasional physical affection/contact (mainly hand-holding) please avoid reading if any would make you uncomfortable <3 also, I used “damn” once

❥ A/N: Hi! Thank you for requesting, I'm so glad you let me be your first ask <3 I wasn’t sure how siren breathing would work, so I mainly treated it as just singing. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to let me know if there’s anything you want changed. And of course, you’re always welcome to request something else in the future, no judgement here <33

➷ By pure coincidence, Tanjiro found you training on the outskirts of the Butterfly Mansion one day

➷ He was returning from a successful solo mission — with Nezuko comfortably napping in the box suspended the straps draped over his shoulders

➷ Originally, he was on his way towards the infirmary, but stops dead in his tracks when he hears singing in the distance. Drawn to it, he follows the voice as it increases in volume, eventually picking up your scent, but still unable locate you

➷ Carefully concealed by a tree's shadow, he only finds you because of your voice and your body shifting every so often — presumably practicing your postures for each form

➷ Your angelic voice sent shivers throughout his body, his ears craving more and more of your voice, practically addicted

➷ When you leisurely release the final note, you tense up at the sound of another voice. Anxious thoughts permeate your mind, but lasts only a moment before Tanjiro's compliments and gentle tone take their place

➷ Dipping his head to bow, he apologies for intruding. Your scent emphasized just how much of a bundle of nerves you were, so the least he could do was acknowledge it in some way

➷ With a dismissive hand, you insist it's fine, which prompts him to further the conversation; curious as to why he's never heard you sing until now, despite knowing you for some time. He's not completely in the dark, but he's not one to assume when he can get answers from the source

➷ When you go into detail about your social anxiety, the softness in his eyes highlighted the kindness in his heart. So when he asks if there's a way to support you, your thoughts involuntarily escape your lips, suggesting to train with him

➷ Initially, the both of you would meet in secret, holding your meetings in the same place as the first time. Originally, Shinbou was the only person aware of your meetings since Tanjiro requested she watch over Nezuko for the first few meetings

➷ The first meeting was the most nerving, but Tanjiro's gaze and words were always devoid of judgement; so over time, a profound confidence developed inside you — even if unbeknownst to you for some time

➷ He's sure to ask multiple times how you're feeling throughout your sessions. During instances where your nerves get the best of your mind, he'll use the 5-4-3-2-1 technique to draw you out of your thoughts

➷ Inviting Nezuko to your sessions was easiest step for you. Her presence was like a reward. The gentle, encouraging clapping, loving pats and warm hugs she gave greatly motivated you to continue facing your fears

➷ …but including Zenitsu and Inosuke was a big feat for you. Both were prone to being rousey, so Tanjiro was sure to shut them up. It did take a few attempts, and there were times where you were on the verge of a mental breakdown, but he was always there to give you a helping hand, an open ear, and soothing words

➷ Slowly, but surely, Tanjiro became a prominent person in your life, and vice versa. Most of your free time was spent with him. Your favorite activity was sitting alongside him on the rooftop: basking in the cool breeze, the starry, clear sky, and Tanjiro's presence

➷ From the beginning, the both of you found ease in each other's presence, but one particular night, the air around you two felt different

➷ Tanjiro was sure of it

➷ When you softly call his name, he shifts his attention from the sky to you, his body following in suit

➷ The instant he meets your gaze, he realizes something is amiss

➷ Tanjiro's seen your face countless times before, but tonight, he just couldn't take his eyes off you. The way the moonlight illuminated your skin paired with the bright, affectionate glimmer in your eyes, he was at a loss for words. You were just too stunning

➷ He was no stranger to your physical affection, but the way your fingers intertwined with his, palms pressed together, the new warmth instantly spread throughout his body — the rose red tinge on his cheeks indicating so

➷ He couldn't put into words how desperately he hoped your touch had even the slightest romantic intent to it

➷ Not that he'd outwardly express it, for now. So, you could imagine how grateful he was for the gentle breeze tickling his skin, hoping it'd compose his hot skin

➷ "Thank you," you start, before detailing the reasons you're thankful for him. Your voice interrupts his train of thought because of how sweet it sounds — almost like it's a melody

➷ If someone asked him to distinguish your regular voice to your singing one right now, he'd fail to differentiate the two

➷ What really sent him over the edge, and consequently, turned him into a pile of nervous mush, was the innocent, genuine grin you give him as you joke about being able to face anything now — because of him

➷ His heart was pounding so loudly throughout the moment, that he was sure you could hear

➷ Finally, he knew what was amiss

➷ He was falling for you

➷ Tanjiro wasn't one to be nervous, but the effect you had on him said otherwise

➷ Not that he minded much

➷ Because damn, you made nervousness a beautiful feeling

reblogs and comments are always appreciated! ♡

masterlist

#tanjiro kamado x reader #tanjiro x reader #demon slayer x reader #kny x reader #demon slayer x female reader #demon slayer x male reader #demon slayer x gender neutral reader #kny x female reader #kny x male reader #kny x gn!reader #tanjiro fluff #demon slayer imagines #kny imagines

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conscharacterscentralised · 6 months

Text

Propaganda for “Team MARC or something like that…” for @group-oc-tournament

Who are they?

A group of friends since they were around 11/12. All met through school, when Mia, Xander and Ricky all moved to the same smallish town Carol lives in. Totally coincidental. But hey, you can make some great friends through moving schools.

They’ve been friends for 10 years now, even though all are on very different path trajectories. And no matter what, they’ll be friends for life. They promise. No matter what…

Richard Samuel Keyes

Also known as Ricky, he’s the oldest of the group. You’d think that would make him the de-facto leader but he’d prefer to stay in the background. He’s the most studious of the group, and the only one actively seeking further education, specifically in literature. He’s one to never mince his words, which while favourable in some circumstances is less so in others. Would do better to learn tact, but he’s not going to directly hurt your feelings. (He’d describe you being happy rather than him being displeased.) The most open book of the group, yet still somewhat unknowable. Birthday is November 3rd, and he is aroace.

Caroline Elizabeth Godliman

Also known as Carol, she’s the free-spirited creative of the group. The token “rich kid”. An only child who is always looking forward in life and never looking back, mostly because she doesn’t want to be stuck in the past and waste her life worrying. Which worries her. Very much aware of her catch-22, Carol is currently fundraising for a local band she works for with loading and transportation. Her favourite holiday is Christmas, mostly because she likes to pretend everyone is celebrating her birthday, which is December 24th. She is an asexual heteroromantic.

Mia Jolene Holmes

They’re not known by anything else. She’s short and to the point. Loyal with a fierce temper. The most extroverted and social of the group by far, and despite boasting that she can flirt with anyone she’s absolutely terrible at it. Doesn’t matter tho, they love corny one-liners. Used to have a different name and different life but she’s not one for over sharing. What you see isn’t always what you get but Mia tries hardest to make others solely see Mia and nobody else. If you’re in a pinch, they’re the one to call for affection and fun. Birthday is April 22nd, she is a pansexual demigirl.

Alexander Michael Stone

Alex to his family, but Xander to you. Makes an effort to go-with-the-flow and not cause a disruption. The self-nominated jokester and seemingly the easiest going… but he’s got a lot under the surface that he’s trying to hide. Everyone’s sussed out he’s not fully honest and honestly it makes them happier about their own secrets, but Xander himself isn’t generally thrilled. Still, why dwell on that when you’ve got a down-to-earth pal of the world who will teach you to drive and go on wild tangents with no meaning? Birthday is July 18th, he is a demirose bisexual (and also autistic. And dyslexic. Those aren’t the issues btw, there’s more).

Is there a story to these four outside of just friends and stuff?

Yes! I’ve gone into details on my own blog if you’re super curious but I’m planning on making it into a webcomic so I won’t go into huge amounts of detail (though the main spoilers can be seen fairly easily through the tags and art both I and others have made). But the basic gist is these four are bored one day and decide to go into a part of town they’ve never been before. Specifically to a different section easily passed through under a bridge. It’s not too long but it can leave you in darkness for a while.

Whilst walking through and joking with each other, they start seeing some odd movements in the shadows. Thinking they’re about to be attacked, they turn and leave, only to find the tunnel is a lot longer than they thought. Then one of them feels an unfamiliar hand on their shoulder… and a strange yet oddly familiar figure greets them before disappearing and the tunnel returns to normal. Slowly though, everyone feels the presence of something subtly messing with their lives, up to and including threats, violence and dragging up the past and the things they wish to remain hidden.

They call this entity Vanta. He’s almost like a fifth main character, but he’s the villain and doesn’t want to be a part of “Team MARC or something like that…”

What’s with the name? Why MARC?

Doylist reason: the forms said a name and I didn’t have one planned. I could’ve called them the Encroaching Darkness Quartet or the Vantaverse Quartet or even just The Gang, but I had to be extra.

Watsonian reason: Carol came up with it on a whim. They had to use Xander’s full first name because nobody knew how to combine together their first initial without it sounding cringe. It still sounded cringe to her, hence the trailing off… but hey! It’s nice to have a name!

Why should I vote these guys?

A vote for “Team MARC or something like that…” is a win for long lasting friendship, being queer and proud of it, autism, modern day antics and getting over your fears and being free.

Is there anything else to note?

Obviously this is all for fun, and even if my guys don’t make it past round 1, I’m happy I got to share my brain dwellers with the world. They lived for too long rent free up there, it’s time to pay tax /j

#original character #original character art #xander stone #mia holmes #carol godliman #ricky keyes #propaganda

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the-era-of-shadow · 3 months

Text

The Day The Moon Died Act II - The Wave of Black

Case 01: The Eternal Highschool Lovers

Chapter 4: School's Out!

Written by Lunar Eclipse & Ash Rose

Cover Art by Ash Rose

CW/TW:

A Lot (Swearing, heavy fictional religious themes, kidnapping, mentions of child death, mild terrorism, themes of the loss of control over one's self, mentions of blood, depiction of a volatile mental breakdown)

Summary:

The Black Arms' rally had been a complete and total success, and the group began to grow immensely in the weeks following it. To tell the tale of its spread in full, follow these three separate, and yet connected tales - cases of the Black Arms' effect on PetalBloom, and see for yourself the damage that had been done.

Notes:

I hope you're fucking ready for this chapter because this is the longest single piece of writing we've ever made and A Lot Happens in it btw if you're not in the mental state to handle a potentially devastating cliffhanger please prepare yourself before reading, take care of you ❤

[Act 1]

[Moonlight Interlude I]

[Previous Chapter]

[Next Chapter]

-☆☆☆-

“Wait! I’m confused!” Garrick announced suddenly.

“Why so?” Widow inquired, wondering if there had been a detail that she had accidentally left out in her retelling so far.

“Uhm, I dunno if I missed it, but… What’s Mini Mayhem’s plan again?” Garrick clarified.

“Oh yes! Their plan! I did indeed not go in depth about it for now.” Widow admitted, feeling relieved that there had been indeed no accidental forgetfulness on her part - none that had gone unnoticed, at least. “You see, Garrick,” She then began to speak again, gently placing her hand on her dear young son’s head. “Since the members of Mini Mayhem enact their plan later in the story, I figured it’d become boring if I had to describe the plan out twice! So instead, I decided that I’d leave the planning part out for now, so that when I show the plan in action, it’s all brand new information!” She explained.

“Oooooh, okay! Sorry for interrupting you, Mama!” Garrick responded.

“No need to apologize, Gare-Bear. You’re just being curious, as any child your age ought to be.” Widow said to him reassuringly, using the opportunity she had with it already having her hand on his head to give Garrick a loving ruffling of their hair.

“So does that mean we’re gonna see the plan play out now?” Garrick asked.

“Well, actually… Your question had got me wondering if I had forgotten anything important going on around this time of the story, and I just realized that right around now - in the Schoolhouse, in fact, took place a moment that forever impacted the advancement of us Black Arms’ biology-” Widow started to respond, though she was interrupted part-way through.

“DID SOMEONE SAY ADVANCEMENT OF BLACK ARMS BIOLOGY??” A voice that had not been among Widow’s audience before, but still incredibly familiar all the same, hollered excitedly. It seemed that Widow’s words had a sort of summoning effect to them without her realizing.

“Well well well, aren’t you quite late to the party, Eclipse~?” Rouge said teasingly.

“Party? Are we already at Station Square?” Eclipse wondered, very genuinely seeming to be out of the loop.

“No, I think we’re still a ways away. I believe that Rouge has just used another one of those “turn of phrases”!” Widow answered.

“Oh, right. So what are you all up to?” Eclipse asked. “Must be something rather significant - if not because of the crowd accrued here, then certainly by the rush Yuki had to return here after dropping off some supplies to me!” They then added, beginning to speculate.

“Actually, it’s Leanni right now.” Leanni quickly budged in to correct.

“Oh, is it? My mistake!” Eclipse replied.

“Ah well, it all began as a conversation between Rouge, Shadow and I. Then one thing led to another and here we are, passing the time until we reach Station Square by me telling the story of the Black Arms’ founding!” Widow explained, summarizing quite a lot.

“Oh, that’s where that was coming from.” Eclipse remarked.

“Come again?” Rouge asked, once again entering the conversation.

“I had heard someone telling the story through the hivemind, but I had figured that it was just my memories of Master Death telling me such tales playing in my mind to keep away boredom.” Eclipse told without hesitation.

“Sounds reasonable enough!” Widow remarked. “So then you probably know that we’re at the part of the second rally, the one held in the refurbished Schoolhouse?”

“The rally where a recently assimilated member of the Black Arms who had just so happened to have been an animal caretaker in their day to day life was invited on stage alongside Lord Black Doom himself, having with them a baby Petal-Scaled Dragon that was demonstrated on stage to be introduced into the hivemind by Lord Doom that night, thus ushering in the assimilation of more of PetalBloom’s fauna, creating the ancestry that would lead to the modern non-bipedal Black Arms subspecies of the modern day, such as the descendants of Petal-Scaled Dragons themselves, the Black Hawks and Black Volts, while at the same time opening up the collective mind of the hive to the idea of assimilating more lifeforms into the Black Arms beyond the life present on PetalBloom itself, which would be later cemented during the Black Arms leaders’ trial held in the Twilight Cage and would go on to become a massive part of the evolution of the Black Arms into what we are today, up to and including its involvement in the discovery of our new home, the original Black Comet? Yes, I am aware that’s where we are! Why, aren’t I glad I came just in time to hear you talk about it loud and clear then!” Eclipse answered quite… extensively, to say the least.

“I feel like about a quarter of that would have been enough to get the point across, Wikipedia Article.” Harazuki heckled teasingly, as siblings do.

“Well maybe I am a “Wikipedia Article”! So what? Articles on Wikipedia are carefully curated by multiple experts on the topics of the articles - experts that have dedicated their lives to not just learning about their field, but to teaching others what they’ve learned! Just as I have!” Eclipse argued passionately.

“Pretty sure by the way you’ve explained it, that’d make you a Wikipedia article moderator, not an article in of itself, which is what I called you!” Harazuki said smugly, pointing out the error in Eclipse’s argument.

“Getting rather pedantic here, aren’t we? Well two can play at THAT game! I assume what you meant to say by calling me a “Wikipedia Article” is that my response to Madam Widow’s question was worded like an article on the history of Black Hawks and Black Volts. However, that would make it more accurate to say that I sounded like I was reading a Wikipedia article, not that I am one!” Eclipse retorted.

“Well you clearly knew what I meant!” Harazuki claimed.

“What if I didn’t? What then? You need to be exact when calling people nicknames!” Eclipse theorized.

“That’s just a hypothetical!!” Harazuki fumed.

“Is it?” Eclipse asked, grinning smugly.

“YES! OBVIOUSLY IT IS!!” Harazuki answered, becoming frustrated.

By now, the two of them were not just butting heads in the metaphorical sense, but also in the literal, physical sense as well. They had become so engrossed in proving “who’s right” that they seemingly had forgotten that there was anyone else around. That is, until someone decided to step in and break the two’s feud apart.

“ENOUGH!” Shadow commanded, stepping in between the two to hold them off from each other as her voice boomed with annoyance. “Both of you, knock it the fuck off, won’t you?? Can’t you see how long you two are having to make my mother wait to continue telling the story with this petty bickering??” They pointed out.

Harazuki pouted and crossed her arms, while Eclipse covered their face with their hand and looked away from both Harazuki and Shadow. Either way, it was clear that the both of them realized Shadow was right, and felt deeply embarrassed for letting a moment of sibling rivalry get the better of them.

“Hara.” Shadow then began to speak again. “There was no need to tease Eclipse just for being passionate about the biology of the Black Arms.”

Harazuki silently nodded and sat back down.

“And Eclipse, even if it was unneeded, Hara’s comment towards you was something you could have - and should have - just brushed aside and ignored. There was no need to turn it into a whole big argument.” Shadow added.

“Right. With a reputation like mine, I can’t afford to be petty. I understand that now.” Eclipse admitted before also sitting down. “I’m sorry for that, Hara.” They added.

“Yeah, same here…” Harazuki sighed.

“Ah, wonderful. Especially from you, Shadow! You handled that just as a leader should!” Widow remarked.

“O-Oh, uhm… Th-thanks…!” Shadow sheepishly accepted the compliment, the pride and joy from it growing within her being able to be felt all throughout the hivemind.

“You know… I think I’ve finally moved on from the whole thing - but when Eclipse becomes all passionate like that, I think a part of my heart still flutters because of it…” Relic muttered in admittance only to Rouge.

“... Ya know what? I get it.” Rouge whispered back.

The two girls quietly giggled to one another about their remarks, but then, suddenly, Rouge seemed to get the idea to try to catch Eclipse’s attention.

“Hey..! Clip..!” Rouge said as loudly as she possibly could while still maintaining a whispery tone.

“Hmm?” Eclipse hummed.

“How come you’re sticking around? Aren’t you still busy with Relic and I’s assimilation chambers?” Rouge inquired curiously.

“Oh, I’ll just be here for this one little part. Besides, the chambers are almost complete, anyways.” Eclipse explained.

“Are they really?” Relic asked, her excitement almost causing her to break her whisper.

“Well would ya look at that? We’re well on our way to becoming full on Black Arms~.” Rouge remarked.

“I know..! Aren’t you excited?” Relic exclaimed.

“Yeah, I guess I am...” Rouge admitted.

“The hivemind at work~.” Eclipse stated.

“... Yeah.” Rouge nervously agreed. “Say, where are the Dark Arms? Surely they would want to learn about this stuff too, right? Rhygenta at the very least.” She then asked, changing the subject.

“They’re off being busy with their own little project… That’s what they told me, anyway.” Eclipse answered.

“You mean you don’t know what they’re up to?” Relic voiced in concern.

“I'm afraid not. All I know is that they plan for it to be complete by the end of the night.” Eclipse explained.

"The end of the night? Like… during the Firework Show at Station Square?" Rouge questioned.

“That is what they said.” Eclipse simply responded with a shrug.

Suddenly, the three’s conversation was interrupted by the sound of Shadow clearing it’s throat, in an attempt to once again return all attention to Widow.

"Oh, right. Sorry hun, sorry Mrs. Widow." Rouge apologized.

“My bad, Shadow. Let my excitement for tomorrow get ahead of me!” Relic admitted.

"My apologies to the both of you, sincerely." Eclipse said.

“Oh, it’s alright! You gave me enough time to figure out where to continue from.” Widow revealed, which seemed to make Shadow feel a bit embarrassed. “Thank you for caring about me though, Shadow.” She added, which did seem to make them feel better.

-☆☆☆-

The once dense bunch of Black Arms that had filed into the Schoolhouse together about a few hours ago had now settled, being spread throughout the building in bunches by the hivemind's directions, orchestrated by the Black Arms leaders who were somewhere within the building itself. Each bunch had a job to do, an assignment given, for once everything is completed, the leaders promised that a second rally, one even greater than the first, would be able to commence.

And then there was Latté.

Completely alone, she paced one of the many hallways of the schoolhouse, far too haunted by her own thoughts to be able to follow the hivemind's directive. Completely alone, that is, until Latté noticed Vladmira making their way through the same hallway. At first the sight had stunned her. What was Vladmira doing out here? Weren't the Black Arms leaders busy with their own plans elsewhere within the schoolhouse? She had wondered to herself. It was then that anxiety had struck her, swinging at her swiftly with mighty power. The question of why Vladmira would be here was one that Latté envisioned an answer to quite quickly, regardless if it was correct or not. They must be here because they noticed I'm not doing anything, she figured. She felt bad for not being productive, truly, she did. She just was so terribly worried.

"Worried? What do you have to worry about, Latté?" Vladmira asked her through the hivemind, spooking the young lady despite their gentle tone.

"O-oh, well, if I must confess… then it is Uni that I'm worried for." She answered, perhaps a bit more formally than she needed to. Even though she and Vladmira had been friends for a while before the founding of the Black Arms, Latté's formed a sort of habit of seeing them as "above" her, as a leader.

"That doesn't surprise me, nor do I blame you for that. It certainly must be quite troubling for you to have someone you hold so dearly refuse to stand by you at a time like this." Vladmira said to Latté, understanding the girl's woe, even if they themself have not experienced such a thing for themself.

"It definitely is… And it's not like she has abandoned me! I know she very clearly wants us to be reunited!" Latté explained further.

"That too, I have noticed. When we were retrieving Death last night, you saw her pursuing you, yeah?" Vladmira noted.

"How could I not? Even if I didn't see her, I could certainly hear her..!" Latté responded, throwing in a joke to hopefully lighten the mood for herself. Vladmira chuckled at the joke, which certainly did help in that. "If she's determined enough to have me to chase us down in the dead of night, there's no doubt she'll chase us down again. I would be pretty surprised if I didn't see her again today." She then continued.

"Oh, definitely. In fact, I feel like you could use that to your advantage." Vladmira suggested.

"In what way?" Latté asked.

"I… don't know quite yet. I tried to plan something out for you with Death earlier, but he just said that he thinks Uni is a lost cause and that you should focus on other things." Vladmira admitted.

-☆☆☆-

"Oh wow, Death really just… never changed, did he???" Harazuki remarked, interrupting the story.

"Heh, I've certainly heard that one before." Eclipse chimed in.

"And yet, here I am." Shadow quipped, just being unable to help herself from doing so in the moment, despite her frustrations earlier.

"Why am I not surprised to hear that…? Oh, it's because I knew him too well to expect anything else." Widow said, joining in on the criticism of Black Death to make a segue back into the story.

-☆☆☆-

"Oh wow, so helpful of him." Latté remarked sarcastically.

"I know, right? What would we ever do without him?" Vladmira replied just as sarcastically, shaking their head.

"Well, if Death isn't going to help you, then why don't I? I know Uni better than anyone else in all of PetalBloom - even herself. Besides, I bet if she sees that I'm just as determined to be with her as she is to be with me, then maybe she'll realize that us Black Arms aren't just heartless, mindless monsters that want to destroy everything!" Latté then suggested, being serious now.

"Exactly! Sure, we do like destroying things, a lot, it's very cathartic - but we still care about people! That's why we're doing this in the first place! We care about each other and all the people on PetalBloom that have been hurt by Madam Moonshine's puritanical bullshit, so we're gonna burn her order to the ground and build a chaotic utopia on its ashes!" Vladmira blurted out in a passionate ramble. "But anyway, you're on to something there, I think!" They added, getting back on topic.

"You really think so?" Latté asked.

"Definitely." Vladmira confirmed.

"Cool! Guess we can start making a plan after I'm done doing whatever it is you guys wanted me to do originally, right?" Latté then inquired.

"Oh uhm, well, we don't… have anything for you to do, actually." Vladmira answered awkwardly. "As I said, the plan to get you to go get Uni fell through because Death doesn't believe in anyone except for Doom and maybe himself every once a week, and it was pretty last second so uh. Your schedule is blank." They elaborated.

"So that's why I didn't hear anything! I just thought I was so lost in my worrying about Uni that I accidentally drowned the hivemind out! Well I'm glad that wasn't the case." Latté remarked, feeling relieved. "So we should start planning now, right?"

"Better now than late-" Vladmira began to respond, but was interrupted when something took Latté's attention away from them. "Hey, where are you going-?" They asked, but their question was quickly answered as they turned their head to where Latté had gone.

In a hallway connecting to the one Latté and Vladmira had been traveling down, there stood a lone young Bloomian, one that hadn't been in the schoolhouse before this moment according to the Black Arms' knowledge.

"Hey! What are you doing here??" Latté said to the Bloomian in a tone one would use to address a friend who you run into unexpectedly.

"Yeah, I thought you told us you weren't gonna be able to make it!" Vladmira added, sounding delighted to see the young Bloomian.

"I did - I thought that I wouldn't have the chance to sneak out with the Mini Mayhem meeting planned today! But the craziest thing happened!" The Bloomian explained, immensely piquing the interests of Latté and Vladmira.

"Crazy enough to get you here against the odds? Despite all the supposed distancing from us that your buddy Kuel had you all do last year?" Vladmira questioned.

"Most certainly! Latté, you're really gonna like this!" The Bloomian promised.

“... No way.” Latté uttered in disbelief, already having put two together in her mind.

“Yes way!!” The Bloomian exclaimed, feeling the hope and joy sparking within Latté’s ever widening eyes.

“Now how in the hell did Uni “The Word of Madam Moonshine and Priestess Waning Are Never To Be Questioned” Bishop end up teaming up with Mini fuckin’ Mayhem of all groups???” Vladmira questioned the Bloomian curiously, just as taken aback as Latté.

“Honestly, from what I understood - it was entirely happenstance! While we were bunkering down in our HQ, Kuel overheard the sounds of you all heading to the Schoolhouse and decided to go and investigate - curiosity and all that - and he just so happened to notice Uni just about to go chasing in after you guys! They stopped her, and talked her into going in to retrieve you and Mocha as a team!” The Bloomian explained.

“Well doesn’t it suck for him that you’re playing double agent, then? Probably made a whole plan and everything… Only for it to all go so terribly wrong…~” Vladmira assumed, an evil grin appearing on their face as they spoke.

“That’s the thing! I want the plan to go as she had wanted! I want to get the chance to find Latté and Mocha - which I’m already halfway there on, go back to the others one by one telling them I found the two - while bringing them into the hivemind along the way - so that once we all get back to where Kuel and Uni will be, they will be too little to fight our influence, and Latté and Uni will be reunited in the hivemind! With bonus points for the restoration of Mini Mayhem’s affiliation with the Black Arms!” The Bloomian retorted excitedly, renewing Latté and Vladmira’s shock with just how exact and detailed their plan was.

“You… seem to have yourself under control then…” Vladmira remarked. “But there’s… A problem - just a little problem, really should only be a matter of a time constraint really.” They added, almost as if they had completely forgotten about whatever it was that they were referring to until this exact moment.

“What would that be, exactly?” The young Bloomian asked.

“Weeeeell… The other Black Arms leaders and I had planned it to be a surprise, but… At the end of tonight’s rally, we’re planning on taking everyone outside and reenacting the explosion of the original schoolhouse that Widow and Sen pulled off last year… And if you’re still in the process of going through your plan when that happens…” Vladmira revealed, causing Latté and the other Bloomian to look quite nervous.

“That… wouldn’t be very ideal…” Latté muttered. The Bloomian shook their head in agreement.

“But hey, there’s still time for both of us to adjust our plans. We could do ours later, you could make things quicker on your end-” Vladmira began to say, but Latté interrupted them part way through.

“Or… I could use that to my advantage! I mean, if I did, by whatever means, save Uni’s life, that too could make a big effort in showing that I still love her!” She theorized.

“I suppose it would, but don’t make that your main plan, alright? Us Black Arms have made it a bit of a personal rule that we don’t kill kids. To take away the life of a young soul just as Moonshine and her constituents stole ours would be to completely undermine our goal - our message.” Vladmira warned, their tone deeply serious.

“That would be most preferable, yes. But if something unfavorable must occur in pursuit of our mission, then it simply must happen.” Troubling words seeped into the hivemind suddenly, spoken by a very familiar voice.

“I’d prefer it if you’d at least try being an optimist every once in a while, my love.” Vladmira remarked, chastising the young man who had spoken such skeptical words.

“You imply that I’m being a pessimist.” Death surmised.

“Yes.” Vladmira affirmed. "Because you are."

"No, I’m not. I’m just being realistic.” Death argued before taking off further into the hallway, leaving Vladmira behind with Latté and the other Bloomian.

Latté and the Bloomian looked at one another in concern, which Vladmira clearly noticed.

“Don’t worry about him, you two. He doesn’t know Uni and Mini Mayhem the way you two do.” They told the two of them, trying to be as comforting as they possibly could be.

Despite Vladmira’s comforting words however, Latté still couldn’t help but to become haunted by her worries once again. The young Bloomian must have picked up on this, because they spoke just as the feelings started to return.

“I know it’s probably a tall ask, but could I by any chance be in charge of the explosions? Would probably lessen our chances of a tragedy occurring.”

“Hmm. definitely sounds reasonable. I’ll have to…” Vladmira began to respond, but got distracted when they noticed that Death was lingering at the end of the hallway, as if waiting for something, or someone, even. Vladmira called out to him and asked about such things rather than completing their reply to the young Bloomian.

“Indeed I am. I’m waiting for you.” He answered rather vaguely.

“Me?” Vladmira questioned.

“Yep. The reason why I’m here is because Doom told me to go find you, actually.” Death explained only slightly.

“And the reason for that would be…?” Vladmira quiered.

“We’re having a leaders meeting back at the lounge in about five minutes.” Death finally revealed.

“Is that so? Then perhaps I can bring these two along to tell the others about their concerns with our finale for tonight?” Vladmira suggested, gesturing to Latté and the other Bloomian.

“Concerns? What would their concerns be?” Death asked as if he hadn’t just been lingering in the background of the conversation going on.

“Ugh. I’ll tell you while we make our way there since you didn’t care to listen while you lingered around.” Vladmira remarked as they made their way towards the lounge that Death spoke of.

“Hmph, of course you’d do that… Now those two have to come along, it’d seem.” Death groaned in response as he followed from behind. A giggle given by Vladmira basically confirmed his theory. “You’re lucky that you’ve captured my good side…” Death stated, his face nearly completely bright green.

“I could see Uni and I having an exchange like that, I won’t lie.” Latté speculated.

“What an absurd comparison. What Vladdie and I have is a relationship like none other in the entire universe. You certainly don’t understand it.” Death objected, rolling his eyes rather dramatically.

“I dunno… I see it.” Vladmira noted with a cheeky smile.

It didn’t take very long for the four of them to reach the “lounge” that Death had spoken of, which turned out to be the main teacher’s lounge, situated in the dead center of the schoolhouse. When they reached the lounge, they were met with Sendrir and Widow standing at the doorway like a pair of guards.

“You two do know that the whole thing of the lounge’s location being a secret is more so to encourage the usage of the hivemind for communication rather than for explicitly keeping anyone out, right?” Death implored of the two rather snidely.

“Of course we do. Are you aware of the fact that Doomie told us to stand out here to make sure you came back with Vladmira on time?” Widow replied, annoyed by Death’s assumption.

“Whether or not any of us are aware of all that, we are all aware that the meeting’s about to start, yeah?” Sendrir added light heartedly, stepping in to break the tension between Death and Widow. Her tone of voice sounded a lot more cheerful than it did the last time Latté saw her, which made her happy to see.

“Of course I am, since I did my due diligence to force the info outta Death.” Vladmira remarked, causing Widow to chuckle. As Vladmira spoke, Sendrir seemed to notice Latté and the other young Bloomian standing just behind them.

“Hey! Looks like Death and Vald brought guests! Two of ‘em!” She announced to the others as she peeked her head into the room.

“It wasn’t my idea, make no mistake! Those two being here is all Vladmi-” Death insisted, though was cut off before he could finish speaking.

“Is that so? Quite marvelous! Now I will not be the only one who brought an extra!” Doom exclaimed, which clearly caught both Death and Vladmira off guard - though in different ways, it would seem.

“B-But when they told me they wanted to bring these two lovely brethren of ours along, I knew that it would be a great opportunity to hear what our followers want!” Death added to his previous statement, backtracking on his dissociation from the affair.

"What a kiss-ass..." Lattè whispered to the other Bloomian through the hivemind, and gritted teeth, somehow.

“Something like that, I suppose.” Vladmira replied, Latté managing to pick up on the fact that they were rolling their eyes as they spoke despite their irises blending into their sclera due to their coloration. It was an ability she picked up on from being close to Uni for so long, as Uni too had eyes like that.

Another thing Latté picked up on as she entered into the teacher’s lounge was an immense feeling of excitement coming from the Black Arms leaders. Whatever the reason - or reasons - may be, it made Latté happy to see, and even happier to feel for herself. Though she just couldn’t help but wonder where such excitement was coming from, so in search of what the culprit could be, she started to look around the room investigatively. In her search, she found multiple possible causes.

At the side of Ms. Lillian, Latté saw the youngest Black Arms Leader; Tsunami, who she had thought would end up stuck at home and rendered unable to attend, much like the young Bloomian by Latté’s side.

By the icebox, grabbing each other drinks, were Widow and Sendrir. Vague memories of the conversation between the two of them and Doom came back to Latté as she saw them.

At the table in the center of the lounge was Doom, and sitting next to him was who Latté assumed to be the guest that she had overheard him mentioning having brought along; an average height looking Bloomian man she assumed to be in his mid twenties age-wise. He dressed rather typically for an adult Bloomian, aside from a thick pair of gloves that grabbed Latté’s attention - or maybe it wasn’t the gloves themselves, but rather what stood on top of one of the gloves that actually caught her gaze. A rather young yet still majestic looking Petal-scaled Dragon standing politely on the guest’s finger, looking even from afar to most likely stack up pretty closely to Latté herself in height.

-☆☆☆-

“Oh, it would have most likely done so! It was believed that ancient Petal-scaled Dragons could grow to be around fifteen feet as adults! Even baby Petal-scaled Dragons like the one in the care of Lord Doom’s guest were on average eight feet when standing up in such a way, according to my research. With Bloomians themselves being on average eight to nine feet tall themselves, and Latté being a still developing teenager during these events, there’s no doubt that she and the dragon would have been similar heights!” Eclipse suddenly interjected.

“Oh fuck I think I’m falling in love again.” Relic muttered, beginning to rather heavily blush.

“Eclipse, I think you’re gonna kill her if you keep being so filled with information.” Rouge remarked jokingly.

“Oh, sorry. Sometimes I just can’t help myself, you know?” Eclipse said earnestly.

“No no, no need to apologize, dear…!” Relic insisted despite the fact that she was trying to cool herself off in between writing down what Eclipse had said in her journal.

“Oh, I think I know how I can make things better~!” Rouge proclaimed just before giving Relic a kiss on the cheek.

“Well now I don’t feel b-bad for blushing, at least….!” Relic stammered out as she fell back onto the floor, her face completely bright green.

“Would you look at that, her blush is completely green! It’s as if she is already fully a Black Arms!” Eclipse pointed out.

“Well she better not be! The two of us still gotta get our assimilations done by you!” Rouge jested, poking Eclipse’s arm playfully.

“And the lack of need for such would completely throw off my schedule!” Eclipse added light heartedly. “Speaking of schedules, I’m sure that everyone’s would be affected if we continued to mess around here, so Rouge, you make sure Relic gets all she needs into her journal, and let Widow’s tale continue!” They added.

“Oh, uhm, you bringing up schedules and stuff reminded me of something I wanted to tell you, but we can talk about it later.” Shadow said to Eclipse.

“Are you sure…? I think I remember what you’re talking about Shadow… I think Eclipse would be very interested…” Relic managed to say while still being a blushy mess.

“No no, I can hear it later.” Eclipse insisted. Widow nodded in approval.

-☆☆☆-

Once everyone was seated at the table, Ms. Lillian began to pass out plates of cookies to each person seated.

“I hope you weren’t made to come up short with the treats because of our sudden arrival.” The young Bloomian seated next to Latté said to Lillian, sounding guilty.

“Oh no, don’t fret a single bit darling. I anticipated that something like this would occur. That’s why Sen and I made sure to make extra cookies just in case.” Lillian responded kindly.

“Wait, Sen helped make these cookies?” Latté inquired.

“She most certainly did!” Lillian answered.

“Even though it sucked, at least I gleaned some class action cooking and baking skills from being locked up in my old man’s restaurant all day everyday my whole life!” Sendrir added.

“Most certainly! These cookies are delightful - thank you, you two.” Doom said cheerfully.

“You’re very welcome dear.” Lillian replied.

“Consider it a thank you from me for this morning.” Sendrir added, much to Lillian’s confusion. “I’ll explain once the meeting starts.” She promised.

“I’m surprised you were able to make it, Tsunami!” Vladmira remarked. Latté nodded, admitting non-verbally that she had been thinking the same thing.

“Why do you think I told you two to leave her behind last night? Did you assume carelessness on my end? Well I assure you it was not.” Death proclaimed.

“So you did have a plan… Nice going, sweetheart.” Vladmira confirmed.

“Of course I did! I knew that our parents wouldn’t be surprised by me sneaking out in the middle of the night - I do it all the time. But Tsunami is a different story! If she were to have gone with us last night, our parents would have surely been suspicious of that.” Death responded confidently.

“So instead, we relied on them being okay with me going to school! I got ready for the day, they saw me going to the schoolhouse, then I talked with Death over the mind-link thingy so he could tell me where you all were! Yayayaya!” Tsunami added with pride. Latté could tell by how much Tsunami’s signature cheer tugged at the other leaders’ heart strings that they had missed the young girl very very much.

“I’m very proud of both of you.” Lillian said to Death and Tsunami, giving the both of them pats on the back for their masterful planning.

“Thank you grammy!” Tsunami replied. Death nodded.

“I do believe that settles things on pre-meeting matters… Let the meeting commence!” Doom announced. “With what matter shall we begin~?”

“May I begin, Doomie?” Widow immediately proposed. “Well, Sen and I, but I’m sure you know what it would be regardless.”

“Ah! Yes! Of course!!” Doom beamed approvingly.

“Alright, what’re you three keeping from the rest of us?” Vladmira asked playfully.

“Whatever it is, they seem rather excited about it..!” The young Bloomian remarked.

“Well, you see…” Widow began.

“Widow and I are girlfriends now!!!!” Sendrir continued excitedly as she hugged Widow tightly.

“I’m still dating Doomie by the way, just so we’re clear!” Widow added.

“We simply added Sendrir to our wonderful relationship…!” Doom concluded.

“Yay!! Everyone has love!! Yayayaya!” Tsunami cheered.

“Ah! What a wonderful way of breaking through yet another one of this world’s rigid expectations, sir!” Death exclaimed.

“Would it be rude of me to say that I honestly saw this coming…?” Vladmira implored.

“Of course not!” Sendrir replied happily.

The meeting was off to a wonderful start, at least in Latté’s eyes. Everyone was happy for Widow and Sendrir. But despite this, she couldn’t help but feel worried about Uni again. The Bloomian sat next to her gave her an understanding glance, and the two were just about to silently agree to volunteer to speak next. But before they got the chance, Ms. Lillian raised her hand to speak.

“What matters do you wish to bring to the table, Lillian?” Doom asked inquisitively.

“I have two, actually, if that’s alright.” Lillian admitted.

“I shall allow it.” Doom said.

“The first of my concerns is with my dear grandchildren, Death and Tsunami. I know very well that they cannot stay with us permanently, not for now. If they stay with us for too long, their parents are bound to become suspicious again.” Lillian explained.

“I know that feeling.” Sendrir confided.

“I suppose the question would be… How long is too long?” Death suggested. Tsunami nodded in agreement.

“That’s what I was wondering too. I have no doubt that this second rally of ours will run a decent ways into the night, and it would be a shame for two of the organizers to have to leave early.” Lillian stressed.

“Maybe you could tell their parents after the rally’s over that they had to stay late at school for an extracurricular event? That’s seemed to work for us Mini Mayhem members quite a few times in the past!” The young Bloomian beside Latté proposed.

“That might work. I’m just a bit concerned on account of their father. My daughter Shelby and I are rather close, as you probably inferred from my speech at the first rally. Her husband and I on the other hand… We tend to butt heads more often than not.” Lillian responded.

“I don’t know if this would help tonight but maybe we can try to get them to be a part of the Black Arms? Maybe then they wouldn’t mind Death and I staying out for rallies like this!” Tsunami suggested, her voice somewhat muffled by the many cookies she had shoved into her mouth.

“If we did manage that, I think the chances of them being lax on you two would be a lot higher than a “maybe”.” Lillian remarked.

“I’m not sure how possible that would be, though.” Death retorted.

“It wouldn’t hurt to try, would it?” Tsunami argued, still having some cookies in her mouth.

“We’ll see. But let’s get back on focus to the here and now.” Lillian said, taking a bite of one of the cookies on her plate. “And pace yourself with the cookies, Tsunami.” She added.

“Okay!” Tsunami replied, immediately shoving another handful of cookies into her mouth.

“Who’s to say our father will even be home when we get back? He has quite the habit of coming home quite late. The extracurricular excuse would most certainly work for our mother, and we would already be home by the time he would typically come home, so he’d be none the wiser.” Death pointed out.

“Well what if he does come home before you two do?” Lillian questioned.

“You get our mother pitted against him if he questions the extracurricular claim. Accuse him of demonizing you. Works for me.” Death answered.

“That settles it then.” Lillian concluded with a nod.

“And what of your other concern?” Doom asked Lillian as a reminder.

“Oh, yes. While I very much appreciate that my home is seen as a safe space by so many of the Black Arms, I fear that I’m running out of room for everyone to sleep! I would like it if we could funnel some funds together to buy some hammocks for the cabin.” Lillian requested.

“We most certainly can do that!” Doom replied. “Though, there is a curiosity I now have.” He added.

“Oh?” Lillian inquired.

“Widow, my dearest. With your prowess for creation, would you perhaps just so happen to know how to make hammocks yourself?” Doom asked his beloved girlfriend.

“Oh, I’m uh… afraid not.” Widow revealed. “But I’m definitely willing to learn!”

“I suppose we will have to settle for buying hammocks for now like Lillian had originally planned, then!” Doom surmised.

“For now.” Widow added. “In the meantime, I’m willing to bring the mask shop back to raise funds for the hammocks!”

“Ooh! Maybe Sen and Ms Lillian can bake more of these cookies and we can sell them around the schoolhouse, too!” Latté suggested.

“Ehhh… I don’t think I’m quite ready yet to be in the kitchen again for business purposes…” Sendrir admitted, clearly looking uncomfortable with the idea.

“Oh, that’s okay!” Latté replied assuringly.

“Thanks, kiddo.” Sen responded back.

“Can we go next?” The Bloomian beside Latté spoke up, not wanting the opportunity to pass them again.

“Please?” Latté added, making sure that the two of them didn’t come off as impolite.

“I do not see why not.” Doom answered approvingly.

“Thank you!” The Bloomian said.

“From what I know, Uni is heading to the schoolhouse as we speak, with the intent to track down Mocha and I. I believe that if I am able to in some way show her that I want to be reunited with her just as much as she wants to be reunited with me, she just might be able to see beyond the viewpoint she’s been made to look through all her life.” Latté testified.

“Is she coming alone?” Widow asked.

“No, she’s chosen to ally herself with Mini Mayhem for the time being.” The other Bloomian explained. “She’ll be arriving with at least Kuel by her side, though if my plan doesn’t have the chance to play out how I want, she could have more by her side by the time she finds Latté and Mocha.” They elaborated.

“And what is your plan, exactly?” Death questioned.

“And what’s Mini Mayhem’s plan? While we're on the topic.” Widow added.

“I’m glad you asked.” The Bloomian replied.

Even though it was now a few hours after the high noon of PetalBloom's central star, to Uni, it somewhat felt like no time had gone by at all. As once again she stood just a little bit aways from the entrance to the Schoolhouse with Kuel at her side.

"It's quite funny how much things can change in a single day." Kuel suddenly spoke. "Just this morning we were rivals, but now… We are allies."

"Don't let it get to your head - this is just so I can find Latté and Mocha. A means to an end, and nothing more." Uni replied bluntly.

"How kind." Kuel remarked sarcastically, to which Uni rolled her eyes.

"We don't have much time, let's go." Uni told him as she started to advance to the entrance.

"Right. The quicker we meet back up with the others, the quicker we rescue Latté and Mocha." Kuel agreed, following Uni.

"The classroom at the end of the first hallway, right?" Uni asked Kuel for clarification as she opened one of the doors to the Schoolhouse.

"Right on." Kuel responded, opening the other door that was on the left of the one Uni was opening.

As the two entered the building, its complete and utter emptiness caught the both of them off guard.

"... Where the hell is everyone?" Kuel blurted in shock.

"They must all be congregated farther into the building." Uni surmised, pushing down her feelings of uneasiness. "Must have figured someone would try to interrupt their little get together."

"They're hiding from us…!" Kuel assumed, slamming their fist into their hand.

"In a sense, probably. My guess is that they figured that the longer the distance any opposing party would have to travel, the more likely they are to either give up or become too tired to fight against them." Uni elaborated.

Despite her reasoning, the sheer lack of people in the hallways still unnerved Uni - and seeing that the same rang true for the classrooms didn't do her worries any good.

Uni decided it'd be better just to not give such details any mind, and instead kept her focus on Latté. Even though Kuel and her were to be meeting up with the other Mini Mayhem members before setting out for her and Mocha, she figured it wouldn't hurt to at least try to keep an eye out for any sign of where Latté may be from just the building itself. Very quickly, it seemed like everything else faded from Uni's view, her eyes glued onto a thin track leading to her girlfriend, as if she were almost able to sense out Latté's location. No, not almost. Definitely. Uni didn't know what it was that she was feeling at that moment, but it was Latté's, whatever it was. The emptiness of the hallways created a sort of vacuum effect, funneling this strange sense straight into Uni without interruption. A part of her questioned what this sense was, what it was that she was feeling, if it was a gift given to her by Madam Moonshine in this moment, chosen to bring Latté and Mocha salvation in that moment, or if it was something else, something perhaps a bit more… unfavorable? But another part of her wanted to completely abandon all reasoning that her mind could conjure up for her as to what was happening, or to try to prove it as a mere illusion, and to just simply follow what her gut feeling was telling her, what her heart was telling her, what this feeling was telling her-

"Uni!" Kuel called out to her, breaking the trance-like state that had taken Uni. "Where are you going, the classroom where we're supposed to be meeting at is right here!" He continued, pointing into the classroom that she was standing next to.

"Oh, uhm, right. Guess I got distracted." Uni sputtered, feeling embarrassed for what had happened. In fact, she'd probably start feeling downright paranoid about it if it weren't for the current mission going on.

Looking into the classroom, Uni was surprised to see only Katrien in there, with no sign of Kæ'Mirah or Rehkloos, and by looking over at Kuel, it was clear that he was surprised too - as well as a bit angered.

"Katrien." They spoke, calm for now, but still a bit harsh sounding.

"Oh, you're here." Katrien noted, turning to face Kuel and Uni as if nothing was amiss.

“Yes. But it seems that Kæ’Mirah and Rehkloos aren’t.” Kuel pointed out. “Where are they?”

“Well, we split up to cover more ground in our search for a pathway to Latté and Mocha. Just as you had told us to.” Katrien explained casually.

“But we were all supposed to meet back up here. You remember that part too, don’t you?” Uni interjected, clearly having said exactly what Kuel was thinking, given by how he looked at her after she spoke.

“Seems that they are running late then.” Katrien answered.

Kuel and Uni looked to one another and silently agreed that this wasn’t going anywhere, and unilaterally decided to drop the subject.

“That teacher’s desk you seem to be eyeing there has scratch marks on it.” Uni said to Katrien, changing the subject with the first thing that came to her mind.

“Indeed. I noticed them all throughout the classrooms. Their presence indicates a… struggle of some kind. Marks left by fingernails dragging for dear life as their owners are taken… Somewhere.” Katrien replied, elaborating on what they correctly assumed to be Uni's train of thought.

“Do you think that…?” Uni began to say, but Katrien cut her off.

“That the teachers that arrived at school today were kidnapped?” He said.

“Yes, exactly that.” Uni confirmed.

“... Why would the Black Arms be doing that?” Kuel questioned.

“To find that out is the reason why we kept ourselves apart…” Katrien stated, which confused Kuel and Uni.

“I thought you said that Kæ’Mirah and Rehkloos weren’t back yet because they were running late?” Kuel pointed out.

“I misspoke earlier. Apologies.” Katrien briefly explained, which seemed to be enough for Kuel to accept, but Uni wasn’t as convinced.

“Well, we might as well go find Kæ’Mirah and Rehkloos.” Kuel suggested as he began to leave the classroom.

“You and Uni go ahead on that matter. I wish to keep looking for where the teachers may have gone…” Katrien told them.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to ya man!” Kuel replied, approving the adjustment to the plan.

Uni followed behind Kuel slowly, eyeing the classroom and Katrien with suspicion for as long as she was able to.

“Something on your mind?” Kuel asked her, seeming to notice Uni’s behavior.

“Don’t you think it’s suspicious how casual Katrien was about diverting from our plan?” Uni questioned.

“Suspicious?” Kuel echoed with concern. “Are you implying that he’s switched sides or something??” She added, almost sounding offended by the unsaid accusation, which ticked Uni off a bit, but she tried to not let it show.

“... Maybe.” Uni admitted. Uni’s attempt at hiding her anger must have come out sounding some variety of hurt, because Kuel immediately went for a softer approach afterwards.

“Look, I know that at a time like this, it’s easy to be paranoid. But I assure you, us Mini Mayhem members are loyal until the very end!” Kuel promised, clearly attempting to comfort Uni.

“Except when it comes to the Children of The River, right?” Uni remarked cheekily.

“R-Right!” Kuel agreed. Though he tried not to show it, Uni could tell that Kuel was at worst taken aback by and at best impressed by Uni’s momentary teasing of them. “We took an oath the day the original schoolhouse was destroyed that we would never align ourselves with them ever again!”

Such a declaration should have been comforting for Uni to hear, but she still felt unnerved, haunted by her suspicions. Without thinking, she asked Kuel if they could go look for Latté on their own instead of trying to track down Kæ’Mirah and Rehkloos.

“Not a chance. We need their scouting information to have better odds at finding Latté and Mocha." Kuel responded. “Or at the very least I do. If you really need your girlfriend that badly, then you can go do your own thing, I guess.” They added sarcastically.

“So much for sticking together, huh?” Uni remarked. “Pretty hypocritical of you to let me go like that when you were stressing earlier today that me going in on my own would be a death sentence.”

“True, true, but I just figured you’d be used to hypocrisy, being a member of Moonshine’s clergy and all.” Kuel replied. “You should know better than to speak of things you don’t know about.” Uni retorted nonchalantly.

“I’d argue I know some things about it…” Kuel scoffed. “By the way, and not to be rude, but are… you acting more like me on purpose?”

“I’m… acting like you?” Uni asked, completely confused, as she hadn’t noticed any significant change in her behavior. Sure, she was cracking a bit more jokes, teasing Kuel a bit too, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary, was it?

“Kinda.” Kuel responded simply.

“... Well it’s not on purpose if I am. Though I’d like to argue that I’m just… letting myself be a bit looser. Since we’re on better terms and all. Allies, right? That’s what you called it.” Uni argued, not at all helping her case. Honestly, she started to notice where Kuel was coming from. Just fifteen minutes ago, Uni insisted that Kuel and her were not allies, that teaming up with him was a means to an end. But now she’s saying the opposite? It was almost like there was an odd disconnect between her words and her mind. Like her words were a shield to hide what was going on in her mind. He noticed how I was diverting from their plans, my heart forever set on my sweet Latté. She’ll grow suspicious of it. They’ll cut me off from the plan, I have to prove it to him that I’ll play along.

… What? Suspicious of what? “Play along”??

“We need to go find Kæ’Mirah.” Uni ordered, needing a distraction from all this. Kuel nodded, seemingly unaware of the turmoil in Uni’s mind as he trusted her judgment - which felt like it was becoming cloudier and cloudier by the minute.

As she and Kuel ventured deeper into the schoolhouse, a sign of life within the building could finally start to be heard. It sounded just like the meeting at the Yasmin Cabin that Uni had run into last night, and also just like the rally at the Riverbed Plaza last week. Either way, it sounded like a huge grouping of people, and it sounded like it had something to do with the Black Arms. At least, that’s the vibe Uni got from it.

Uni slowed her pace slightly to attempt to possibly make any sense of the noise - or even possibly sparse out Latté and/or Mocha among it. Kuel however kept moving at the same pace he always had, it was almost like they couldn’t hear what Uni was hearing. But why would that be the case? To Uni’s knowledge, it wasn’t like Kuel was hard of hearing in any way. So what would be the reason why she can hear the noise but they can’t-?

It’s not hearing, but sensing.

… Right! That sense she’s been feeling! That must be it!

That means Latté must be wherever the noise is coming from! Or Mocha too, maybe even both?

Uni still thought it a bit strange, what with it’s sudden appearance and strength, but she had no doubts about the fact that it would help lead her to Latté and Mocha.

For now, she settled her concerns about it by seeing it as a gift from the gods. An empowerment to her unwavering determination, even. Priestess Waning referred to her determination as a gift that morning, so that must be it!

Without any explanation to Kuel, Uni zoomed on ahead to where she felt the sounds were coming from, fueled by a newly found confidence provided to her by this gift of sense.

“Uni! Wait!” Kuel called out to her, trying his best to keep up.

Only a couple of seconds later, Uni, and then Kuel, reached the entrance of the schoolhouse’s cafeteria. It was there that they also found Kæ’Mirah, standing in front of the doors to the cafeteria, having a bite to eat.

“Uni! Kuel! Fancy running into you two here!” Kæ’Mirah remarked, clearly going for a momentary bit; pretending that she ran into the two of them rather than being a part of the plan. But neither Uni nor Kuel laughed.

“Joking around so you can hope to get away with being late on our plans? An interesting play - I’ll take the bait, only because we’re in a bit of a rush.” Kuel responded in a strict tone of voice. “It’s nice to see you, Kæ. Do you have any info on where Latté and Mocha are, by chance?” She then asked.

“Mocha yes, Latté no. I also have snacks if you want.” Kæ’Mirah answered.

Well, Uni was feeling hungry…

Uni went up to Kæ’Mirah and took one of the foil-wrapped snacks she was holding. Inside the wrapping seemed to be some sort of hand pie.

“Wait, where did you get those?” Kuel questioned Kæ’Mirah as she was handing the hand pie to Uni.

“The Cafeteria.” Kæ’Mirah replied simply, pointing to the cafeteria just past the doors behind her.

“And who in the cafeteria gave you them?” Kuel questioned her further.

“Mocha! She told me that her friend’s grandma made them!” Kæ’Mirah answered nonchalantly. The mention of Mocha in relation to the hand pie made Uni even happier to have it - as if it had been intended for her all along. As she bit into it, she felt a warmth much like when napping with Latté and Mocha during a cold afternoon surge through her body.

“H-Hey! Hold on, Uni!” Kuel exclaimed as they watched Uni eat the hand pie in record speed.

“Hmm?” Uni hummed, already having the final bite in her mouth.

“Uhm…” Kuel began to respond, seeming to hesitate greatly at first. “Didn’t you… Uh… For no particular reason… Say something about the Black Arms eating flesh? Back when you had that meltdown earlier?”

Uni took a moment to register his words, a feeling of dread spreading from deep within her, but then eventually fading. Not fading away, per say. Just fading.

“Was that just… Something you had said in a moment of panic, or-?” Kuel continued, but Uni cut her off.

“Last night… While I was searching for Latté for the first time… The first place I checked was the home of Lillian Yasmin, as I had heard about quite a few Black Arms taking residence there. I didn’t find Latté there, but what I did find was… A terrible bloodbath, orchestrated by Widow and that mysterious lover of hers… They were torturing one of the guys from the church, and when they were finished with him, they chopped him up into pieces and tossed them into a pile to be… Eaten… It was horrifying and grotesque… And yet…” “I just couldn’t look away…!”

“I just… I couldn’t… I just couldn’t… I..”

Uni’s body began to shake, muttering that last sentence on repeat. Kuel held her, trying to calm her down, but after a few minutes, Kuel seemingly gave up on trying to gently coax Uni back to reality, and went back to their old reliable - smacking Uni upside the head to get her to snap out of her daze. But instead of being upset and confused like she was the last time he had done that, she simply thanked him, wiping her now bleeding nose with her arm.

“Hey now, Uni… Look on the bright side! At least that gives you a good bit of insight into their tactics! You know better than any of us what lengths they’re willing to go to!” Kæ’Mirah said optimistically. Almost… too optimistically. Uni started to feel her senses go off again, but instead of guiding her to Latté, she now started to feel a terrible aura around Kæ’Mirah, one that felt distinctly… Black Arms-like in nature.

But she didn’t want to believe that the members of Mini Mayhem could possibly be falling to the whims of those demonic monsters. Besides, Kuel promised to her that they’d never side with the Black Arms, no matter what.

As she had looked away from Kæ’Mirah, trying to block out her senses, she looked back at the arm she had used to wipe her nose, which was now barely even bloody, despite it having only been at most thirty or so seconds since the bleeding began. The blood on her sleeve was still fresh, and it had the slightest, strangest glow to it, as if bioluminescent.

It reminded her a lot of when Archæsis uncovered the wings that had sprouted from Latté’s back the day before. She remembered how the blood that flowed from where the wings had sprouted glowed just like that, though more brightly. It wasn’t something that Uni took note of originally, but now, it was the only thing she could think of as she stared at her arm.

It was pretty, the way the blood on her arm glowed. It almost seemed to glow brighter the more Uni stared at it, but that only made it more beautiful. It glowed like a full moon, it glowed like Latté’s gorgeous face.

Oh how Uni yearned to see that face again, to be with Latté again. She’d do anything to have Latté back at this point. Absolutely anything.

“Kæ’Mirah, fetch Mocha and find Latté. Uni and I will go on to the rest of the schoolhouse.” Kuel’s voice cut through Uni’s internal monologue, shocking her with the thought of her having to wait even longer to reunite with Latté.

No.

No!

She was sick and tired of people keeping her away from her beloved Latté, Kuel being the most guilty of this themself.

An indescribable anger filled Uni’s head, taking her over like a parasite. She refused to be stopped again. She will reunite with Latté! And she’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen! Even if that means-

… Even if that means…

No…!

She couldn’t…!

And why was her mind even telling her to hurt Kuel in the first place? To kill him, even?? “If she has to”, no! She shouldn’t have to!

What the fuck is wrong with me?? She thought, finally getting up from the floor and facing Kuel.

She immediately noticed how uncomfortable Kuel looked. Apologetic as well. Like she was also considering something unthinkable.

“... But that wasn’t the plan…” Uni croaked out, fighting against the anger trying to eat her from the inside.

“I know.” Kuel responded plainly, sounding like he wanted to elaborate upon his thoughts, but was too choked up on the words to do so. “But… It’s close enough. We split into groups, we reconvened, we’re gonna get Latté and Mocha.” They finally added.

“If… If Kæ’Mirah is going to go find Latté… Where are we going?” Uni asked Kuel.

“We’ve still yet to check in with Rehkloos.” Kuel answered, a sense of calm and even confidence returning to her voice. “I’m sure she’ll have the answers we need.” They continued, almost accusatory towards Rehkloos.

Just the utterance of Rehkloos’ name sent a shiver down Uni’s spine. One that was as powerful as it was unexplainable.

“You… You feel it too now, don’t you?” Uni asked, starting to figure that she and Kuel were finally on the same wavelength.

Kuel didn’t respond, seemingly brushing away Uni’s question as one would to a discomforting thought. He refused to look Uni in the eyes.

“... I’m sorry…” Uni muttered out from somewhere deep within her, not even knowing why she said it.

She was in too deep to understand the sorrow those words carried.

The journey to finding Rehkloos was a painfully long and silent one, the dread both Kuel and Uni felt keeping either of them from being able to speak.

When they finally did reach Rehkloos, she was sitting on the teacher’s desk of the last classroom down the hallway that was furthest from the entrance.

In this hallway, there was a door that led outside.

Before the two of them had entered the classroom, Uni had managed one little thing to say to Kuel. She had noticed that he looked deeply uncomfortable as they had entered the hallway, and had decided to ask them why.

This was the hallway that Kuel’s brother had left from just before the destruction of the first schoolhouse.

That was his answer.

“Hello Kuel, hello Uni!” Rehkloos greeted them. Casually, as if nothing was amiss.

That was the first thing that set Uni off. Immediately, she felt distrustful of Rehkloos. This distrustfulness led Uni to discovering the second thing of suspicion quite quickly. In one of Rehkloos’ pairs of hands, Uni noticed a box of matches. In fact, it was the exact same brand of matches that were given to her last night by the stranger Uni had run into while looking for Latté. Uni decided she wouldn’t bring it up just yet, but she made sure to keep that information in her head for later.

“Have you guys found Latté and Mocha yet?” Rehkloos asked, still playing innocent.

“Nope. I sent Kæ’Mirah out to do that.” Kuel answered her bluntly.

“Oh..? Why so? That wasn’t part of the plan - wasn’t Uni supposed to find them?” Rehkloos wondered. Though she was clearly trying to sound concerned, Uni could still hear the annoyance that laid within.

“Why not? Surely you wouldn’t be against diverting from the plan, since you clearly already have! You, Kæ’Mirah, and Katrien were supposed to meet back up at the time I specified so that we could convene as a whole! And yet, here Uni and I find you three, still separated!” Kuel responded with unfiltered fury in his voice.

“Didn’t Katrien already tell you why we separated again?” Rehkloos questioned, her annoyance towards how the situation was unfolding starting to reveal itself more.

“How’d you know that, Rehkloos?” Kuel inquired.

“I… I… It was just an assumption, okay?! I’ll tell you the reason then!” Rehkloos reacted, losing her cool. “We split back up because we didn’t want to give the Black Arms a chance to ambush us! We figured we could fight more of them off if need be if we were scattered around the schoolhouse, that way they’ll never be able to pin us all down!”

“... What kind of idiot do you take me for, Rehkloos?” Kuel bellowed.

“E.. Excuse me??” Rehkloos hissed.

“Have you ever read a single horror novel before?? Or even a little kids’ scary story?? Because if you have, you’d know that splitting up in a dangerous situation is the worst thing to do!! Do you know how many stories have the characters being picked off one by one until only the main female lead is left because they were all split up???” Kuel challenged her loudly, not hesitating to get up in her face as he did.

“Hey, by the way.” Uni spoke, mimicking the out-of-place calmness that Rehkloos had moments ago. “What’s with the matches?” She asked.

“Wh-what the matches are for? I-isn’t it obvious?? I wanted to be able to light any lanterns in the schoolhouse that weren’t already lit yet!” Rehkloos claimed, sounding almost offended by the question.

“... Is that so?” Kuel uttered, joining in on Uni’s blow to Rehkloos’ facade. “Then tell me why all the lanterns in the schoolhouse are already lit while that box you have there looks unopened?”

“Ho-how’d you know what an unopened matchbox even looks like??” Rehkloos questioned, trying in vain to keep the mirage of innocence going.

“Because I’ve seen that brand before - some guy gave me a box of them last night while I was looking for Latté.” Uni answered. “You know what I also see?”

“What?” Rehkloos replied.

“Your eyes. They look rather… glassy, don’t they?” Uni remarked with a knowing grin.

There’s nowhere for her to hide now.

Rehkloos looked stunned, unsure of how to respond.

“Why… I do agree with that observation, Uni! Good work-!” Kuel added, being cut off by Rehkloos dragging him closer to her, making sure they got a good long look at those glassy eyes of hers. Kuel managed to break free of her grasp, but then instantly fell to the floor once out of her arms.

Uni rushed up to her, asking him profusely if they were okay.

“Head…. Hurt… Can’t… Think…” Kuel muttered weakly.

At that moment, the words that Kuel had said earlier to Uni resonated with her. Mini Mayhem was split up, and now they’re gonna be ambushed if her and Kuel don’t try to do something to fight back.

So Uni did something.

She picked Kuel up and prepared to make Rehkloos have to fight for whatever her plans were to succeed.

“Last one to Latté and Mocha is a sore loser~.” Uni snidely remarked before taking off out into the hallway.

“HEY! GET BACK HERE!!” Rehkloos cried, following her.

By now, Uni had finally begun to truly understand what was happening to her. This sense of hers, though most certainly of divine origin, was not a gift, but a curse, and it was certainly not from Moonshine.

Despite this knowledge, Uni still made use of it, though now on her terms, using the pathway to Latté that was laid in front of her as a path to make Rehkloos give chase along, relying on it to make detours that would catch Rehkloos off guard and create more distance between the two girls without taking Uni too far from where Latté was. At this point, there were only two things that Uni wanted - to be with Latté, and to make sure that Kuel would be safe. Uni figured it was too late for her, that she had no hopes of escaping the schoolhouse with her sanity and wavering loyalty to Moonshine intact, but maybe, just maybe, she could use the last bit of will she had left in her to keep Kuel from suffering the same fate as her.

This was a plan that Rehkloos clearly was not a fan of. All throughout the chase, she whined on and on about how no one ever cares about her and what she wants.

“Not everything is about you and your happy little love life, you know!!” Rehkloos hollered to Uni at one point. “You might get to have your happily ever after with Latté, but have you even considered what’ll happen to me if my plan doesn’t come to fruition?! I’ll be a failure! A failure in the eyes of the Black Arms leaders!! In the eyes of everyone!! They’re all relying on me!! They need me to succeed!! They need me to WIN!!!”

“What happened to no one ever loving you, hmm?” Uni asked her.

“They don’t love me YET! But they will!! They’ll honor my name for all of eternity once my plan is enacted!! Once all of you are under their command!!” Rehkloos manically responded.

“Oh for fucks sake…” Kuel groaned, finally awakening. “Rehkloos, you’re doing it again… You’re… You’re acting just like your mother…”

That remark of Kuel’s seemed to be the final straw for the already furious and emotionally unstable Rekloos.

“How… HOW DARE YOU??!! You know more than anyone all the terrible things that woman has done to me, Kuel!! And you’re comparing me to her??” Rehkloos snapped, stopping her anger-fueled monologue to have a spout of maniacal laughter. “That’s it… That’s fucking it. Neither of you ungrateful assholes deserve to join the magnificent Black Arms! Neither of you deserve to get that closure!! To be able to be with your loved ones again!!” She continued as Uni quickened her pace, admittedly a bit scared of what Rehkloos could do in this state. “The only thing either of you deserve is to BURN!! Burn with the rest of this tortuous building and the ones who run it!!” Rehkloos’ voice echoed into the cafeteria, which is where Uni and Kuel eventually ended up.

Within the cafeteria, Uni saw no sign of the crowd that had once been inside of it. No sign, that is, except for the various staff of the schoolhouse tied up around the massive room.

“You were… You were right…?!” Kuel exclaimed in shock, looking at the scene.

“Suppose so…” Uni replied, not knowing what else to say.

“Come on, we can maybe untie them all if we work together!” Kuel commanded, hopping out of Uni’s arms.

“Wait-!” Uni called after him in a panic. But before Uni could get a hold of Kuel again, Katrien appeared out of seemingly nowhere and pinned Kuel to one of the walls.

“Hm.. Seems that I only got one of you two, what a shame.” Katrien stated.

For a moment, Uni considered leaving the cafeteria to go find Latté. After all, that is what she was truly after in the first place, wasn’t it? She hadn’t even really wanted to team up with Mini Mayhem in the first place, and now that she has, where has that led her? Fighting for her own mind, possibly even about to lose her life?

Admittedly, she felt a bit betrayed.

She remembered the oath that Kuel had told her about earlier, and began to wonder if it was all just a bunch of bullshit.

But then she looked back at where Katrien and Kuel were, and overheard the struggle the two were having at that very moment.

“Kat…! Please, let me go…!” Kuel begged, their voice very noticeably wavering.

“I’m sorry, Kuel, my dearest companion, but I cannot do that until I’m given the command to do so.” Katrien responded, clearly having some sympathy for Kuel, but not enough to let her go free.

“You do have the command!! My command!!” Kuel stressed.

“I’m afraid that your command no longer applies.” Katrien revealed, refusing to budge.

“No… No no no no no-! You have to listen to me!! You can’t let them take over your mind, Katrien!! Please!!” Kuel wailed in desperation.

“Please, do not cry for me… I will keep you from being harmed, even now…” Katrien replied, but his words gave no hope or comfort to Kuel, who began to sob uncontrollably in the absence of any actual words left to speak.

The scene playing out in front of Uni’s eyes reminded her very much of herself and Latté. She sympathized with Kuel's desperation to salvage the person that they once knew, to try to bring them back in some way. In Katrien, Uni saw Latté, and felt just as sorry for him as she did for Latté herself. Uni wanted to save the both of them, even if she now understood such a thing to be impossible. She wanted to make sure that Kuel would be able to live another day, whether it be free from the Black Arms or not.

No, she didn’t want to ensure such things.

She had to, needed to!

And thus, she knew she would run no longer. She prepared to face Rehkloos directly, who she saw was now at the other side of the cafeteria.

That is, until she turned one more time to see Katrien taking off outside with Kuel.

Not knowing what Katrien planned to do with him, and not wanting to see Kuel be harmed, Uni chased after them, almost making it out the door before Kuel themself begged Uni to focus on Rehkloos instead. Reluctantly, Uni listened to her and turned back around to face off with Rehkloos again, but as she advanced towards the girl, she noticed that she had taken one of the matches out of her matchbox, and that beside where she stood was the start of a wick to some sort of explosive.

Adrenaline surged through Uni’s body, forcing her to move at speeds she had not known that she could go, all for the sake of reaching Rehkloos before she could light the match, before she could release the match, before the match could light the wick.

But Uni was just barely too late, the wick already starting to burn as she was face to face with Rehkloos.

“Awww, what a shame! Looks like you won’t get to have your sweet little Latté after all!” Rehkloos taunted her.

“And neither will you.” Uni remarked with a scowl.

“That’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.” Rehkloos confessed, which did make Uni feel bad, even if only a little bit.

Rehkloos, in the end, deserved just as much to live as Uni or anyone else. She was just a troubled child from a troubled home who got unhealthily attached to the wrong people.

But there they were, Uni and Rehkloos, staring down each other’s eyes, both of which were already without life even as their bodies still stood, about to be blown into bits just like the schoolhouse.

Just as Uni could hear the wick about to run out, she heard an all too familiar voice cry out.

“Rehkloos!! WAIT!!”

#the era of shadow #teos #teos origins #the era of shadow: origins #undescribed #writing tag #black arms #mod eclipse #mod ash

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